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Are Balance Wizards Bad at Battling?

AuthorMessage
Explorer
Jan 03, 2010
59
Hi! Being a Balance wizard myself, I have a lot of trouble soloing the game. I often need help in Celestia, and basically all worlds, even at a level 53 for Celestia. I was significantly over-leveled for Krokotopia I believe but I still needed help.

We're great trappers/hexers/bladers, except soloing is our weakness... OR I'm just a BAD BATTLER!

My level 20-ish Ice Wizard has soloed most of the Game, she's in Krokotopia I believe now, and I couldn't solo the game even back then. Is it just me or is this a wide-range problem?

Thank you,

Hannah GoldenRiver
Level 53

Survivor
Jun 19, 2011
49
As a balance wizard, I found soloing to actually be quite easy most of the time. I would use team up for dungeons, but otherwise I quested alone most of the time until about part 2 of Khrysalis. Even in part 1 of Khrysalis I was soloing bosses if they weren't in dungeons.
I know that back when I started Celestia I was level 60 and had my full Waterworks set. If you haven't done so already I would do Wintertusk to get that level boost, and then when you reach level 60 get your Waterworks gear. That will significantly boost your stats, which will make it easier for you. Also, at level 58 you will be able to get Ra, though you will need access to the Floating Island in Celestia for that quest. If you haven't already, I would recommend getting Feint and Satyr to add to your deck (also Tower Shield if you are more defensive, though I never got it myself), and don't forget to check out the new astral schools you should have access to now. Sun school and star school both gives boosts that can help a lot. If you have any questions I'd be happy to help out.

A+ Student
Dec 11, 2010
1665
Hannah GoldenRiver on Nov 28, 2015 wrote:
Hi! Being a Balance wizard myself, I have a lot of trouble soloing the game. I often need help in Celestia, and basically all worlds, even at a level 53 for Celestia. I was significantly over-leveled for Krokotopia I believe but I still needed help.

We're great trappers/hexers/bladers, except soloing is our weakness... OR I'm just a BAD BATTLER!

My level 20-ish Ice Wizard has soloed most of the Game, she's in Krokotopia I believe now, and I couldn't solo the game even back then. Is it just me or is this a wide-range problem?

Thank you,

Hannah GoldenRiver
Level 53
Balance is not built to be offensive and is built like a support school (and thus lacks any real oomph behind their attack spells) same with ice, but ice has it even worst

Archon
Feb 07, 2011
3175
Hannah GoldenRiver on Nov 28, 2015 wrote:
Hi! Being a Balance wizard myself, I have a lot of trouble soloing the game. I often need help in Celestia, and basically all worlds, even at a level 53 for Celestia. I was significantly over-leveled for Krokotopia I believe but I still needed help.

We're great trappers/hexers/bladers, except soloing is our weakness... OR I'm just a BAD BATTLER!

My level 20-ish Ice Wizard has soloed most of the Game, she's in Krokotopia I believe now, and I couldn't solo the game even back then. Is it just me or is this a wide-range problem?

Thank you,

Hannah GoldenRiver
Level 53
my balance wizard soloed the entire game through khrysalis (save for the ridiculous cheat dungeons) and never had any issues. she was my first wizard, and i found the school itself to be pretty weak until around level 60, but things picked up after that.

(before the update, i had awesome stats, but they got cut in half when ki changed the crit/block system)

a couple of questions for you:

1) what are your stats like now?
2) what gear/pet do you have equipped?
3) if you have a pet, what talents does it have?
4) how many cards are in your deck, and what are they?

since i won't be doing any questing until the system is fixed, i'd be happy to answer any questions you may have.

-von
forever exalted

Archon
Sep 17, 2012
4162
Hannah GoldenRiver on Nov 28, 2015 wrote:
Hi! Being a Balance wizard myself, I have a lot of trouble soloing the game. I often need help in Celestia, and basically all worlds, even at a level 53 for Celestia. I was significantly over-leveled for Krokotopia I believe but I still needed help.

We're great trappers/hexers/bladers, except soloing is our weakness... OR I'm just a BAD BATTLER!

My level 20-ish Ice Wizard has soloed most of the Game, she's in Krokotopia I believe now, and I couldn't solo the game even back then. Is it just me or is this a wide-range problem?

Thank you,

Hannah GoldenRiver
Level 53
First off, level 53 is still a little low for Celestia soloing. I'd recommend getting to the Floating Lands to get the crafting quest there, then finish off Grizzleheim up to Sudrilund to get the crafted gear there. This will get your level up near if not all the way to getting Ra and the gear is the best set until Waterworks. Having Ra and the improved gear will take you a big leap forward in soloing your Balance. Once you get Ra you'll see the next few worlds are very doable as a solo Balance.

Explorer
Dec 25, 2009
76
Balance has perhaps the worst PvE in the game (maybe other than life, but death mobs don't put life shields) earlier on (up to level 80ish) due to balance mobs.

They have resist to balance so they are difficult to kill, as well as elemental shield spam (bye spectral blast, hydra) and spiritual shield spam at higher levels (bye chimera). With the introduction of shadow shrike, things got better.

I suggest you take life, death, or myth as a secondary for earlier on due to the onslaught of elemental shields. If you wish to be more supportive, learn life to heal more (Availing hand is a joke compared to Satyr), Death to solo bosses easier (feint), or myth if you are interested in PvP or kill minions quicker (Humongofrog, Earthquake).

Don't worry, the school is only weak for the first couple of worlds, but will quickly pick up as a strong school able to support, strike, heal, and (kind of) tank.

"Learning balance takes longer, but the power it holds is immeasurable." -School of Balance, Book

Essentially, you are still in the slow "learning process", but it will become stronger in it's potentials. (I laugh when people complain about balance being OP in PvP when they have no idea how painful it is to solo as a balance in PvE, I did it, but I didn't like it)

Also mad that Chastisement and Punishment does not boost Chimera, Nested Fury, Hydra, or Spectral/Spiritual Blast.

John Hawkward
Prodigious Sorcerer

Mastermind
Mar 13, 2010
328
I think it's just play style.

I soloed nearly the entire game on a Life, a Death, a Fire and had no trouble soloing until Avalon on a Storm. (She's met up with some questing partners, so she isn't soloing now, but I'm confident she could.)

I have struggled with Balance in several different worlds, when I struggled on none of the other girls. I never farmed gear, so Balance only having Crafted is the same as all of my other characters.

Don't give up, but you might want to start another school for a break. Sometimes the struggles seemingly solve themselves with a fresh perspective

Illuminator
Oct 22, 2011
1304
I gave up on my Balance at the beginning of Khrysalis. She's just short of L91. Balance is hard to do in PvE and takes a lot of build-up to make a decent hit. There's a lot that is unfair for Balance. If you get frustrated, start another school and play that for a while, maybe working on your Balance here-and-there.

Balance was the very first school wizard I made, and I regret it. I have played all of the other schools and like them so much better than Balance.

Now, Balance is a great school for support in PvE. That's the only time I enjoy playing her.

Defender
Nov 24, 2012
124
It's a matter of preference and playing style. That is the most reliable answer you can get.

The amount of difficulty to solo a specific school depends on the player's preferences. For example, a slow-paced player will usually not mind taking his or her time blading and putting traps on enemies to do adequate damage, therefore he or she might be satisfied in choosing a school that does low to moderate damage. On the other hand, a player who is fast-paced and prefers high damage will have an easier time adapting to a fast-paced style than a slow one.

As a Life wizard, I have always valued heals. Healing myself and others has always been an important part of my playing style. Damage was never an issue. I was able to do a lot of damage on enemies by getting the proper gear and taking the time to blade and put traps; however, boss battles have sometimes taken me longer to finish.

I've often come across people that have told me I made Life look easy, even though I've never found Life difficult to solo.

As I stated, It's all a matter of preference and playing style. What you might find difficult others might find easy and vice versa.

Explorer
Jan 03, 2010
59
Dr Von on Dec 1, 2015 wrote:
my balance wizard soloed the entire game through khrysalis (save for the ridiculous cheat dungeons) and never had any issues. she was my first wizard, and i found the school itself to be pretty weak until around level 60, but things picked up after that.

(before the update, i had awesome stats, but they got cut in half when ki changed the crit/block system)

a couple of questions for you:

1) what are your stats like now?
2) what gear/pet do you have equipped?
3) if you have a pet, what talents does it have?
4) how many cards are in your deck, and what are they?

since i won't be doing any questing until the system is fixed, i'd be happy to answer any questions you may have.

-von
forever exalted
hi there dr. von!
here are responses to questions you've asked:

1) Stats are: Damage- 7 for all Resistance- 23 balance,20 fire, and 5 for everything else Accuracy- 0 Critical Rating- 34 Block Rating- 81 fire, 96 balance, 66 everything else Power Pips- 57% Healing In- 15% Healing Out- 13% No Shadow pip Bonus nor Stun Resistance.
(Those stats. Ew.)

2) Gear/Pet: Hat- Horned Helm of the Mighty (level 54) Robe- Burnt Coat (Level 54)
Boots- Balanced Wolf Boots (Level 50) Wand- Staff Of Absolution (level 54) Athame- Raven's Citrine Talon (Level 50 I think) Amulet- Wyrm's Blessing Charm (Level 54) Ring- Raven's Justice (Level 50) PET- Jade Oni (Adult, gives Jade Oni card and may cast Hex spell)

3) Pet's talents: May cast Hex spell, Jade Oni Card Given

4) Cards In Deck: Name of Deck: Dragonfire Deck (Level 45 oy, I need another) # Of Cards: 60
Cards I have in Deck: Strong, Fairy, Fire Trap, Glacial Shield, Helephant, Meteor Strike, Phoenix, Sunbird, Ninja Pig, Amplify Infallible, Balance Blade, Bladestorm, Myth Shield, Hex, Hydra, Judgement, Power Nova, Spectral Blast, Spirit Shield, Elemental Shield, Elemental Blade, Spirit Blade, and Unbalance. Cards in Sideboard (Or the bottom section): Cleanse Ward, Major Burst, and Jade Oni
I rely heavily on treasure cards...

Thank you so much! I plan on crafting gear in Wintertusk (there are some nice robes and stuff there) and should I go for health or stats? What should I focus on?
And one of my most important questions;
If I buy a "Buy back all training points", do I have to find astral trainers again and that? Because it's a lot of work, but I regret buying some things. Fire is basically my secondary school, and I was stupid enough back then to buy random school spells. Anyway, thanks again.

Hannah Goldenriver
Level 56

Archon
Feb 07, 2011
3175
Hannah GoldenRiver on Dec 5, 2015 wrote:
hi there dr. von!
here are responses to questions you've asked:

1) Stats are: Damage- 7 for all Resistance- 23 balance,20 fire, and 5 for everything else Accuracy- 0 Critical Rating- 34 Block Rating- 81 fire, 96 balance, 66 everything else Power Pips- 57% Healing In- 15% Healing Out- 13% No Shadow pip Bonus nor Stun Resistance.
(Those stats. Ew.)

2) Gear/Pet: Hat- Horned Helm of the Mighty (level 54) Robe- Burnt Coat (Level 54)
Boots- Balanced Wolf Boots (Level 50) Wand- Staff Of Absolution (level 54) Athame- Raven's Citrine Talon (Level 50 I think) Amulet- Wyrm's Blessing Charm (Level 54) Ring- Raven's Justice (Level 50) PET- Jade Oni (Adult, gives Jade Oni card and may cast Hex spell)

3) Pet's talents: May cast Hex spell, Jade Oni Card Given

4) Cards In Deck: Name of Deck: Dragonfire Deck (Level 45 oy, I need another) # Of Cards: 60
Cards I have in Deck: Strong, Fairy, Fire Trap, Glacial Shield, Helephant, Meteor Strike, Phoenix, Sunbird, Ninja Pig, Amplify Infallible, Balance Blade, Bladestorm, Myth Shield, Hex, Hydra, Judgement, Power Nova, Spectral Blast, Spirit Shield, Elemental Shield, Elemental Blade, Spirit Blade, and Unbalance. Cards in Sideboard (Or the bottom section): Cleanse Ward, Major Burst, and Jade Oni
I rely heavily on treasure cards...

Thank you so much! I plan on crafting gear in Wintertusk (there are some nice robes and stuff there) and should I go for health or stats? What should I focus on?
And one of my most important questions;
If I buy a "Buy back all training points", do I have to find astral trainers again and that? Because it's a lot of work, but I regret buying some things. Fire is basically my secondary school, and I was stupid enough back then to buy random school spells. Anyway, thanks again.

Hannah Goldenriver
Level 56
hi there~

glad to hear that you're planning to craft the wintertusk gear; that's definitely your best bet at this point. i didn't know about it when my sorcerer was a baby wizard, but i've used it for all of my others.

once you craft the wt gear, you have a few options for accessories~ sun kris, ring of rare origins, and bear's claw of balance are some good ones. and always go for stats; health is nice, but you won't survive if you can't block those back-to-back crits.

(under the new system, good block is hard to get; there are some wands in the bazaar that will help, like the quagga blade and some of the ice ones from wintertusk)

i would suggest upgrading your pet; i'm in the atlantic time zone (central +2hrs, pacific +4hrs), and will probably be around after work (between 6pm- midnight ast; if that works for you, i have some nice (though not perfect) balance pets, and would be happy to hatch with you.

your deck itself is fine, though you have too many cards in it. all you need is:

1 power nova
1 amplify
2 monstrous or gargantuan
1 balanceblade
1 bladestorm
1 reshuffle
1 sandstorm (for cleanup on aisle 5, just in case your power nova doesn't finish the job)

unless you're packing a mastery amulet, don't bother with tc. as your power pip chance increases exponentially, you'll find that your own school's spells are best for getting things done quickly.

when i was new, i made the same mistake as you and had fire as my secondary. it was only at level 80 that i realized how useless having a second school was, and i had to spend 12,000 crowns to buy my points back. it was an expensive mistake, but i never made it again.

von's note: if you do buy points back, you'll need to re-train any off-school spells you had; i recommend that you train stun block and death to feint, plus sun/star~ with availing hands, you don't need life heals unless you plan to pvp.

any other questions, feel free to ask!

-v.

Explorer
Dec 25, 2009
76
Hannah GoldenRiver on Dec 5, 2015 wrote:
hi there dr. von!
here are responses to questions you've asked:

1) Stats are: Damage- 7 for all Resistance- 23 balance,20 fire, and 5 for everything else Accuracy- 0 Critical Rating- 34 Block Rating- 81 fire, 96 balance, 66 everything else Power Pips- 57% Healing In- 15% Healing Out- 13% No Shadow pip Bonus nor Stun Resistance.
(Those stats. Ew.)

2) Gear/Pet: Hat- Horned Helm of the Mighty (level 54) Robe- Burnt Coat (Level 54)
Boots- Balanced Wolf Boots (Level 50) Wand- Staff Of Absolution (level 54) Athame- Raven's Citrine Talon (Level 50 I think) Amulet- Wyrm's Blessing Charm (Level 54) Ring- Raven's Justice (Level 50) PET- Jade Oni (Adult, gives Jade Oni card and may cast Hex spell)

3) Pet's talents: May cast Hex spell, Jade Oni Card Given

4) Cards In Deck: Name of Deck: Dragonfire Deck (Level 45 oy, I need another) # Of Cards: 60
Cards I have in Deck: Strong, Fairy, Fire Trap, Glacial Shield, Helephant, Meteor Strike, Phoenix, Sunbird, Ninja Pig, Amplify Infallible, Balance Blade, Bladestorm, Myth Shield, Hex, Hydra, Judgement, Power Nova, Spectral Blast, Spirit Shield, Elemental Shield, Elemental Blade, Spirit Blade, and Unbalance. Cards in Sideboard (Or the bottom section): Cleanse Ward, Major Burst, and Jade Oni
I rely heavily on treasure cards...

Thank you so much! I plan on crafting gear in Wintertusk (there are some nice robes and stuff there) and should I go for health or stats? What should I focus on?
And one of my most important questions;
If I buy a "Buy back all training points", do I have to find astral trainers again and that? Because it's a lot of work, but I regret buying some things. Fire is basically my secondary school, and I was stupid enough back then to buy random school spells. Anyway, thanks again.

Hannah Goldenriver
Level 56
Don't use crowns to buy back training points, wait for a promotional event to get them back for free. If you are a member that is.

Explorer
Jan 03, 2010
59
Dr Von on Dec 6, 2015 wrote:
hi there~

glad to hear that you're planning to craft the wintertusk gear; that's definitely your best bet at this point. i didn't know about it when my sorcerer was a baby wizard, but i've used it for all of my others.

once you craft the wt gear, you have a few options for accessories~ sun kris, ring of rare origins, and bear's claw of balance are some good ones. and always go for stats; health is nice, but you won't survive if you can't block those back-to-back crits.

(under the new system, good block is hard to get; there are some wands in the bazaar that will help, like the quagga blade and some of the ice ones from wintertusk)

i would suggest upgrading your pet; i'm in the atlantic time zone (central +2hrs, pacific +4hrs), and will probably be around after work (between 6pm- midnight ast; if that works for you, i have some nice (though not perfect) balance pets, and would be happy to hatch with you.

your deck itself is fine, though you have too many cards in it. all you need is:

1 power nova
1 amplify
2 monstrous or gargantuan
1 balanceblade
1 bladestorm
1 reshuffle
1 sandstorm (for cleanup on aisle 5, just in case your power nova doesn't finish the job)

unless you're packing a mastery amulet, don't bother with tc. as your power pip chance increases exponentially, you'll find that your own school's spells are best for getting things done quickly.

when i was new, i made the same mistake as you and had fire as my secondary. it was only at level 80 that i realized how useless having a second school was, and i had to spend 12,000 crowns to buy my points back. it was an expensive mistake, but i never made it again.

von's note: if you do buy points back, you'll need to re-train any off-school spells you had; i recommend that you train stun block and death to feint, plus sun/star~ with availing hands, you don't need life heals unless you plan to pvp.

any other questions, feel free to ask!

-v.
Again sorry for the late reply.
Your timezone seems to be one hour ahead of mine so that seems fine to me.
Do I really need only 8 cards? I think that it would be easier to find them, and I don't feel too powerful with my spells.

About the pet, that would be wonderful! I have a heckhound/jade oni for adult pets and no idea about the others but I'm willing to hatch with those. what is a date that would work out for you? We should probably arange some sort of time.

Thanks again,
Hannah GoldenRiver
level 56

Archon
Feb 07, 2011
3175
Hannah GoldenRiver on Dec 23, 2015 wrote:
Again sorry for the late reply.
Your timezone seems to be one hour ahead of mine so that seems fine to me.
Do I really need only 8 cards? I think that it would be easier to find them, and I don't feel too powerful with my spells.

About the pet, that would be wonderful! I have a heckhound/jade oni for adult pets and no idea about the others but I'm willing to hatch with those. what is a date that would work out for you? We should probably arange some sort of time.

Thanks again,
Hannah GoldenRiver
level 56
hey hannah, glad to hear from you :)

admittedly, i haven't been around much lately (what with the holidays and all) that said, i'd still love to meet with you, if you happen to be online sometime in the near future.

(and yes, you only need those 8 cards)

-von

Explorer
Jan 03, 2010
59
Dr Von on Dec 25, 2015 wrote:
hey hannah, glad to hear from you :)

admittedly, i haven't been around much lately (what with the holidays and all) that said, i'd still love to meet with you, if you happen to be online sometime in the near future.

(and yes, you only need those 8 cards)

-von
how about the 28th or 29th? since that's a weekday maybe this Sunday. (if the formatting is bad it's probably because I'm on my phone, haha)

we would it's likely meet on a non-crowded server (possibly vampire) or somewhere, maybe in Wintertusk (in front of the sudrilund entrance since that's where the vendor is and where I can't get in)

Also I saw on a masterpost on another website that wintertusk gear isn't as good as some things dropped in waterworks or even celestial by itself. any ideas?

thanks again!

Hannah GoldenRiver
level 56

Explorer
Jan 03, 2010
59
Dr Von on Dec 25, 2015 wrote:
hey hannah, glad to hear from you :)

admittedly, i haven't been around much lately (what with the holidays and all) that said, i'd still love to meet with you, if you happen to be online sometime in the near future.

(and yes, you only need those 8 cards)

-von
I know it's been crazy with the holidays.

Finally level 58! I have Ra finally but I use Ra with a Giant, a balance blade, and amplify then a sandstorm to finish the job in Celestia against enemies. But is there another way to do things?

If we met in game we could discuss more gear (I'm overdue for some new gear anyway.) Needing more critical.

Hannah GoldenRiver
Level 58