Blade Barrier- worth without dc?

[burningwind]

well... thinking about grabing Blade Barrier into my fvs spell list.. though as a war priest wisdom isn't exactly high.. and i have no place to fit in evocation dc item.. so is this spell worth getting for end game gameplay?

p.s. i currently don't have this spell.. considering swap it into my spell list

[Ryiah]

Against enemies with no evasion it will always land for at least half of its damage. Keep in mind it'll be rather weak without Empower/Maximize and a Radiance item/augment.

[Charononus]

I have it.

It's still useful for grabbing initial aggro on things if you are going to be a kiter for anything.

[Teh_Troll]

No.

[IronClan]

Yes, there's a million and a half places in the game where you'll use it and be happy you did. Without trying hard it will do a couple hundred damage per hit on a save... then just circle strafe and listen to the popcorn sound.

My Wis dumped melee soul gets great use out of a maxed BB w/ spell power item and no kinetic lore item. At some point I'll fit lore in and 300 a POP save procs will turn into some 600 on a non evasion save. Granted my wis based caster FvS is more than doubling up on those numbers. The utility of the spell can't be ignored... they both,use DOT's as well for that same reason: still extremely useful even at lower damage (the caster soul has empower where the melee doesn't).

[zDragonz]

This spell needs to be taken out the game.

It is either pure specialization or don't do it at all.

[Soulfurnace]

Spells needs to be taken out the game.

It is either pure specialization or don't do it at all.
Ftfy ;)

[Highlander]

Hey Burning,

It's not really a simple yes/no answer.
It is a very versatile and useful spell as the others have suggested - particularly if you want aggro.

But it also depends on what BB is competing with in your limited spell selection?
How do you play your war priest? Are you stand and deliver or are you happy kiting?
BB is most effective if you can kite in and out of it around the perimeter.

DC's aside, to make the most use out of it, do you have any spell metas like Maximise, Empower?

Whilst not essential, finding an impulse item (spellpower boost) and kinetic lore (crit boost) can make a big difference to damage. You can get them on sceptres and staffs, so you could swap em in and out easily enough.

It's a great spell and as a soloing Cleric I have gotten great use out of it.
Anecdotally, for me it is losing it's effectiveness in the higher Epic content though where mobs have so many HP that BB takes forever to bring them down though.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

[voodoogroves]

Heroic, yes.

Epic, not so much.

If you're leveling and just going to TR at 20, it's totally worth it. If you're planning on playing "end game", it probably isn't worth it unless you've invested in it.

[burningwind]

Hey Burning,

It's not really a simple yes/no answer.
It is a very versatile and useful spell as the others have suggested - particularly if you want aggro.

But it also depends on what BB is competing with in your limited spell selection?
How do you play your war priest? Are you stand and deliver or are you happy kiting?
BB is most effective if you can kite in and out of it around the perimeter.

DC's aside, to make the most use out of it, do you have any spell metas like Maximise, Empower?

Whilst not essential, finding an impulse item (spellpower boost) and kinetic lore (crit boost) can make a big difference to damage. You can get them on sceptres and staffs, so you could swap em in and out easily enough.

It's a great spell and as a soloing Cleric I have gotten great use out of it.
Anecdotally, for me it is losing it's effectiveness in the higher Epic content though where mobs have so many HP that BB takes forever to bring them down though.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

ty, my war priest is divine archer(aa+war priest tree), child of silverflame.. ill be kite all the time.. which is why i even bring up the question.. ill not likely have maximize, but ill have about 200 spell power to all school

[IronClan]

Everything on EE makes its saves anyway (on forum EE's that is).

IMO no matter how you choose to play there will be times when you need to kite, so the real question is, do you want to do this without BB? Basically: running around until you die? Or would you rather do it to the sweet sweet sound of BB popcorn.

Yes it can take a long time to saw the HP off EE mobs that don't have evasion but a long time is better than infinitely. On the other hand the only place where the game is played exclusively on EE and/or versus mobs that all have evasion is on the forums :p

[Robai]

Everything on EE makes its saves anyway ...
^^This.

And yes, BB is worth taking.
And it's not just a must have spell for FvS, it's the main spell you'll use (at least when you solo).

At lvl 12 I took heal spell, but I didn't need it since Cure Critical was fine for that level (I had maximize).
So I swapped Heal to BB and never regret it (I took heal later ofc).

I like how my friend explained BB: it's more powerful than any twist cheat.

[Shaatan]

It's good even without DCs on EE, but only if you are planning to play in Shiradi. Shiradi will be procing even if mobs save or evade.

[Capricorpus]

For end game?

No.

At least not if damage is your goal...for kiting it can be handy to grab aggro.

[Raoull]

In heroic, it is great damage and can kill stuff even with lousy DCs. I imagine that works in Epic Norm as well, although not so sure about EH, and definitely not EE.

But I still like it as a tool, even when it ceases to be a good weapon. When you want to kite something, I find it is not only a good source of aggro, but it also gives you a visual aid for running tight circles. I find in FoT, for example, it can be used well for dragon kiting. If you stick just outside your BB, the dragons will not catch you with their breath weapons and in general mobs get confused working in such tight circles.

In EEs, it also works fine for grabbing initial aggro, when you want to keep some heat off of your party. As the divine, you can jump/run around much more, limiting incoming damage via sheer twitch skills (somewhat doable on melees, but much more difficult), and the melees can peel things off as needed.

When used as a tool, I don't even bother with metas. It is just there to generate some aggro, and any damage will pretty much do the trick.

[SirValentine]

Keep in mind it'll be rather weak without Empower/Maximize and a Radiance item/augment.

Radiance isn't going to help at all. You need an Impulse item.

[zwiebelring]

For levelling up to 20 yes, otherwise non (I include meta-feats into that opinion). The only way using it reliably even on low DC was to increase spell crit. rate rather than pure DC. But this does not cut it at all, I guess.

[axel15810]

I've always used it on my STR based battle cleric. It's still essential for big mobs and soloing. Low DC mostly just means you'll be running in circles longer than others.

[bartharok]

Dont know abotu the divines, but on my arti it was invaluable. Since i kited a lot anyway, i could kite and get some extra damage to a large amount of mobs at the same time i focused on nailing the bigjobs.