06-21-2012, 02:21 AM
ok so here's the breakdown on why jord is not a common recruit (in no particular order):
1) laurels: post-nils, legion runs are a rare occasion (troop loss too high, drop rate too low), so all laurels will have to be generated through npc farming. to spend 1mil laurels washing a luxury hero is a lot to ask for (high vip players have the luxury of spending gold so this isn't an issue)
2) Usefulness: obviously jord is a very nice supplement to full elemental builds; however, for those not limited by taking specialized approaches to maps jord's damage output in pvp/maps is nowhere comparable to BM counterparts. The logical progression is to think who you substitute jord for... anubis (maybe, damage situationally superior, but jord's effectiveness as a meatshield doesn't nearly compare), odin (not even close), liu che (situationally superior), asteria (not even close), and mist (ability to reach back row and success/fail on multiple targets makes mist significantly superior). So on a hero vs. hero comparison jord is situationally superior (thus my comparison to thrud/isis/rhea). On a pvp scale it is important to remember to not consider jord on current pvp setups... standard 150/160 lineups are anubis/oen (or liu che)/odin complemented by 2 bugs or 1 bug. Therefore, the cav bonus really only benefits against anubis who is largely a secondary damage dealer at this point.
2) COST: i think this is by far the most important. cost of laurels has already been mentioned and that pales in comparison to cost in arms. Up to this point the only considerations are laurels and gems. Armament considerations take efficiency to another level. For perspective, to complete 170 maps, you will need an average of grade 35 arms... enchanting will seem unbelievably easy compared to that... It is much easier to focus on spirit hit as the primary arm (which is what even the top level/heavy spender players do).
All in all, elementals are great (zhang liang might be amazing). However, the efficient players will take the BM heavy route.
1) laurels: post-nils, legion runs are a rare occasion (troop loss too high, drop rate too low), so all laurels will have to be generated through npc farming. to spend 1mil laurels washing a luxury hero is a lot to ask for (high vip players have the luxury of spending gold so this isn't an issue)
2) Usefulness: obviously jord is a very nice supplement to full elemental builds; however, for those not limited by taking specialized approaches to maps jord's damage output in pvp/maps is nowhere comparable to BM counterparts. The logical progression is to think who you substitute jord for... anubis (maybe, damage situationally superior, but jord's effectiveness as a meatshield doesn't nearly compare), odin (not even close), liu che (situationally superior), asteria (not even close), and mist (ability to reach back row and success/fail on multiple targets makes mist significantly superior). So on a hero vs. hero comparison jord is situationally superior (thus my comparison to thrud/isis/rhea). On a pvp scale it is important to remember to not consider jord on current pvp setups... standard 150/160 lineups are anubis/oen (or liu che)/odin complemented by 2 bugs or 1 bug. Therefore, the cav bonus really only benefits against anubis who is largely a secondary damage dealer at this point.
2) COST: i think this is by far the most important. cost of laurels has already been mentioned and that pales in comparison to cost in arms. Up to this point the only considerations are laurels and gems. Armament considerations take efficiency to another level. For perspective, to complete 170 maps, you will need an average of grade 35 arms... enchanting will seem unbelievably easy compared to that... It is much easier to focus on spirit hit as the primary arm (which is what even the top level/heavy spender players do).
All in all, elementals are great (zhang liang might be amazing). However, the efficient players will take the BM heavy route.
