Thoughts on Battle Birds/Str. Birds/Warbirds

Hi all- I have been playing with Fieldfare- my second character as a STR based bird since about level 12 and hadn't seen to many dedicated posts to this particular hybrid. In using it, I have realized it lends itself to a very different blend of Skills, so I thought to start a discussion around it and share some ideas.

I have been a big follower of Splurds guide, but some of the tips in it don't really apply to a Str. Bird, especially as you aren't able to kite and hang back in the same way.

http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__..._of_Legend.jpg

While I am considering a re-spec to tweak things, I have evolved my guy towards this build lately.

Obviously Focus and Blast Shot are crucial, and one of the real plus factors I have noticed with a Battle Bird vs. a Bear Warrior is that alone of the races, our main AOE doesn't knock back opponents, which is really a plus for using hand to hand weaponry. You just keep swinging and don;t have to chase people after a blast. This is really useful when you have auto-attack on, because it can avoids the situation where you knock back an enemy and then get drawn towards one of them- sometimes deeper into a mob that you want to avoid.
The same is true for Avian Scream, and I have boosted mine to 5 accordingly. Being surrounded by stunned enemies is a good thing, since you can keep swinging away with the axe and not have to chase down new targets.
This is also the reason I have avoided either of the thorn spells, since I want enemies to come in close. The other skills I have focused on are mediation and restore, as well as evasion.
One of the good pieces of luck I have had was to get the Frosty Hatchet and it is my main armament for this warrior. The freeze proc. really helps keep opponents close enough to hit, but slows them often enough to help out with reducing their offensive. I also use a hammer sometimes for the same reason, especially if I know I am going into a room or area with just a boss hanging around, since I can focus the hammer on them and get a quick stun on them.

At the moment I am debating the other skills prior to a re-spec. I had tried Shattering scream, but am not sure how great it is (and it doesn't do damage any longer after the most recent update). I have blinding shot at the moment, but almost never use it, and I am considering Break Armor or Repulse instead.

Any other muscle-bound birds out there who want to share some strategies?

cheers all!

Get shattering scream. Casting it before a Blast Shot triggers the Cruel Blast combo (i.e. bigger damage potential). You will also need at least 1 Thorn root for those range enemies that walk away from you. As for the other skills, I say Break Armor before Blinding Shot.

I'm respeccing to this build.

Ive got a bunch of thoth gear which will give me 15m/s regen so I will see how that works out.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Dizko

I'm respeccing to this build.

Ive got a bunch of thoth gear which will give me 15m/s regen so I will see how that works out.

---

post a screenshot when you do- it would be cool to see.

@ Neurion- I think that Break Armor is definitely worth a look. Is it roughly the same as the armor piercing proc. that comes with tridents and spears?

Break armour is awesome. Try it out.

The main area in which bears are superior is buffs... Birds have nothing that can match Iron Blood.

Perhaps, but bears would have a hard time matching Blastshot. High damage and ranged ;O

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by rainwork

@ Neurion- I think that Break Armor is definitely worth a look. Is it roughly the same as the armor piercing proc. that comes with tridents and spears?

---

Yup it is. Maxed level will let you one-shot a lot of enemies. Btw, this is my current build right now and my suggestions above are focused on PvE. If you want to specialize more on PvP, you'll want maxed Thorn root to counter other birds' Evade.

@Dizko: 15 m/s is a little overkill. 2 thoth gears are enough to let your m/s keep up with your cooldowns. With 10 m/s I can keep casting all my skills when they're ready.

Your right.

Ive just specced to STR Birdy and I'm loving it!

Got 2 thoth peices, a zombie shield and a Pink helm which gives 2h/s.

All in all I have 12 h/s and 12 m/s.

Havent died yet and only use pots for bosses, normally only 1-2 pots.

you should put 5 points into break armour it increases the dps potential at least 1 point into thorn root

str birdy sounds very promising especially as dizko mentioned the thoth gear, you can have aloooot of m/s and have alot of armour!

this setup is alot better for mages though due to their healing capabilities but overall very nice

What about the attribute points?