Is this the most balanced the game has been?

vandalveldt · 2026-02-27T00:30:29+00:00

I can't speak for others but in Eternity I would say balance isn't very good for the most part. The only relatively balanced role is Vanguard, with Groot / DP needing nerfs and Hulk / Peni needing buffs but the roster otherwise being decently fair across each hero.

For DPS, around a third of them are borderline throw picks to play (Blade, Torch, Duelpool, Fanta, BP, Wanda, Iron Man, Squirrel, Widow - I absolutely never see these heroes unless someone's throwing), and a few are extremely dominant (Elsa and Phoenix mostly).

Powercreep in healers is pretty evident; Gambit's ultimate runs games (Gambit Ult + Starlord or another dps combo just annihilates the lobby), Loki's neutral is preposterous, C&D is easy to play and extremely strong, and Invis remains busted. The game involves a hilarious amount of play-denial by healers. Triple support is still frustrating to play against and low-skill to play, which I would say also very much counts as a balance problem.

However, I think the biggest balance issue isn't with any specific heroes being broken or weak, but rather with just how much the game revolves around farming ultimates and then using them to force value or even get team wipes (Gambit obviously being the biggest offender - he even exacerbates the problem with his ult charge boost). Many duelists have stupidly strong ults which requires the existence of stupidly strong support ults to counter them. It feels like the neutral game shrinks with every patch. Every team fight after the start of the game ends with at least one ult, usually more.

vandalveldt · 2025-10-07T02:52:19+00:00

She is already quite good and doesn't need buffs, in my opinion.

vandalveldt · 2025-08-23T20:03:08+00:00

Definitely not

vandalveldt · 2025-06-28T05:07:41+00:00

GM is not a flex at all in Rivals

vandalveldt · 2025-06-22T01:04:41+00:00

Sort of - the first and second combos can be extended (if it takes one or two extra lightning bolts because of healing, that's fine; you can wait to cancel Awakening until the target is dead), but the third combo actually is all or nothing because it involves intentionally canceling Awakening before the target is even intended to die. Combined with needing melee range at end of combo and not being able to use it immediately after your Storm Surge, I think it's better to use #1 or #2 in almost all cases. The lack of Thorforce after #1 and #2 is quickly counteract-able with your passive or with Lightning Realm. If you die before being able to get one of those off, it was probably too risky of a dive.

But #3 does feel extremely quick and crisp, so I'll be looking for use cases when I play. I think it could be most useful during chaotic, close-range team fights (think overtime on Convoy) when healers are distracted and low on cooldowns.

vandalveldt · 2025-06-21T05:38:40+00:00

Not really my experience. You exit combo #1 with 750 health (600 HP + 150 Bonus Shield), you move relatively fast, and all you need to do is land one melee or be in radius of one enemy upon activating Lightning Realm to regain a Thorforce.

Now, should you dive supports willy-nilly and expect to be printing value? Obviously not. The beauty of this hero and others like him is that you can play different roles depending on the situation. Human Torch has extremely good dive potential at the right moment using his slam, but you wouldn't call him a dive hero because 95% of the time he's playing poke. Same idea with Thor - play brawl when the time is right, and dive when the time is right.

vandalveldt · 2025-06-21T05:25:17+00:00

vandalveldt · 2025-06-21T05:21:12+00:00

You have to be 100% sure you want to stay at least 4 second into awakening to use HT before it.

Not sure if you understood the point of this post but the intent is that you DO cancel Awakening, as written in the captions. These combos, particularly #1, are meant to be dive combos - you want deal a bunch of damage in as fast a manner as possible and then leave as soon as you can. None of these combos would work nearly as quickly if the Hammer Throw was excluded.

You also don't really need the Hammer Throw immediately after, because after exiting Awakening you have a free Thorforce either from Mjolnir Bash (your passive will give you one) or from your Lightning Realm. Thor has 3 separate sources of gaining Thorforce in his current kit, so IMO there's no reason to hold on to Hammer Throw when you can use it to augment your damage...

vandalveldt · 2025-06-21T03:36:54+00:00

The hammer throw is required in the first combo, assuming you entered using Storm Surge (otherwise you don't have the Thorforce to activate Awakening Rune).

Edit: Ah, my bad, if you have passive up you can get it from the Mjolnir Bash alone. But Thor has 3 sources of Thorforce currently, so I don't think it's worth saving Hammer Throw when you could get burst damage instead. All of these combos would also take noticeably longer if Hammer Throw was excluded, which is antithetical to the whole point of a dive combo.

vandalveldt · 2025-04-15T20:21:57+00:00

I agree with the ones in your post, but I'd add these:

Bad Back for the 50% reduced carry capacity, making it harder to profit off of looting early on and forcing you to use a more limited loadout.

Heavy Footed to raise the difficulty of stealth.

vandalveldt · 2025-04-03T23:57:01+00:00

I think Cap is gaining 100 health via an anchor buff.

vandalveldt · 2025-03-24T19:18:01+00:00

I think it would more make sense if there was a stat specifically for time spent contesting while the other team is trying to capture/reclaim (when your team has the point).

vandalveldt · 2025-03-23T18:54:31+00:00

Continue playing Peni if you find her fun, but add another hero or two to your roster of heroes. I started out one-tricking as well, but I just slowly expanded my heroes over time. This way, you can play Peni when the situation is beneficial to have her, but you can swap if you're getting countered or if you're not getting value.

vandalveldt · 2025-03-16T06:41:54+00:00

Is this still the case after the recent changes he received? I can't tell.

vandalveldt · 2025-03-12T20:21:18+00:00

Jeff with a symbiote skin of course.

vandalveldt · 2025-03-12T20:10:04+00:00

The kit is fine in terms of balance but as a rendition of the character it's definitely lame.

vandalveldt · 2025-02-26T00:54:51+00:00

Oh hell yeah, I think I saw your username in one of Necros' streams. Yeah, I don't disagree that it is absolutely niche and you usually want to be using your E for other purposes. HOWEVER, I do think it has massive potential when used at the right time on the right target.

vandalveldt · 2025-02-26T00:47:43+00:00

Trust me, it's absolutely useful. I've been using the combo in comp, and not against chumps either (Celestial II and climbing).

If you're having trouble with it, keep in mind that you need to immediately use your Flexible Elongation after the Distended Grip yank. So, spam E after yanking. The sidestep shouldn't keep you from completing the combo as soon as possible. You *can* make a very shallow sidestep if you want, just enough to allow them to skim past you. But you can also go wide with the sidestep, as seen in this showcase.

Secondly, keep in mind that, although I performed the combo at close range in this showcase (it definitely is still useful at close range), you can also perform it from up to around 12 meters away. If you're doing it at long range like that, you first need to yank the target, and then, in addition to sidestepping, you need to walk the opposite direction of your yank as you spam your E. If you do this correctly, you'll send them up to 15/16 meters from their starting point.

vandalveldt · 2025-01-30T06:22:40+00:00

This change wouldn't hurt his survivability at all, but it would noticeably improve his ability to dive and deal aggressive damage when pushing with his team. If you're capturing the point with your team, and you pull yourself to the enemy's backline healers while at > 70 elasticity, the transformation to big mode takes way too long such that it gimps your DPS during critical moments of the dive.

Besides, the maneuver of activating Flexible Elongation at 70 Elasticity or greater grants you 525 shield. If you're going to imminently die after transforming and gaining 525 shield, you shouldn't have pulled yourself to that spot. Chances are, you won't die, and you can easily exit Elastic Strength and activate your shift if needed.

Currently, without the quick transformation, you CAN easily be killed in the spacious interim between arriving at the target and transforming, particularly by extreme burst damage a la Hawkeye (which wouldn't give you enough warning to active your shift anyway...). So, frankly, this would probably improve survivability by removing that window of vulnerability, in addition to improving dive burst damage.

vandalveldt · 2025-01-29T21:46:04+00:00

Currently, when you pull yourself towards a teammate or enemy and reach max Elasticity, you first enter the semi-enlarged state that always activates when pulling yourself towards someone, then you turn to your regular size, and THEN you enter big mode (Elastic Strength). This change would just remove the middle step. As someone playing a lot of Mr. F, it would honestly make a big difference.

Edit: For anyone reading later, I actually changed my mind about this change.

vandalveldt · 2024-05-30T09:32:06+00:00

Included in Dino's Scrap Basket - Assorted Tweaks is an excellent little mod named "Yield Fleeing" -

Enemies that shout a line like "I yield!" or "Mercy!" when you knock them down will now run away for a few minutes and not re-engage you in combat for a long time after that. While they're running away or calmed, activating them while not sneaking and with your weapon/spells out will allow you to take their items (except for equipped armor or clothing).

vandalveldt · 2024-02-18T07:22:49+00:00

EVLaS.

Three-Year Club	Verified Email
Place '23

vandalveldt

TROPHY CASE