You can get controls without having a charged up weapon just by the fact that you can have 8 weapons in the time it takes to learn your controls. Those controls are, in fact, a very nice part of the AP class. And really, your ratio doesn't have to be great just your kill count. By the time you start that unholy weapon, nothing also prevents you from having a/b/s/+ on yourself when you decide to charge into combat. I really don't see the problem. The AP class is good at what it should be and bad at what it shouldn't be. If anything, I'd say that their shield block should be nerfed because it's not really in line with the class ideals.

Side Note: I can't wait to see an unholy polearm just tearing the #### out of people. There are some _nice_ polearms.

The quote about AP's doing well being conservative just has to do with the fact that one death can completely set them back to square one. That being said, the class is intended to be almost completely offensive (They don't even get dodge). I don't see a reason to give them something like chargeset, as AP's were designed to be the ones initiating combat (to my eyes)

Side note: 4x morosa with a 100-charge thunderlance on an arial does sound fun.

' were designed to be the ones initiating combat (to my eyes) '

Quite so. Personally I'd say that anti-paladins are at their finest when able to fight exclusively on their own terms. It's part of the reason I'm currently so convinced anti-paladins had best remain uncaballed unless they have excellent knowledge of ABS locations.

' 4x morosa with a 100-charge thunderlance on an arial does sound fun. '

That's one way of putting it - even a straightforward strategy of sleeping them and summoning them in a locked room so they cannot be hurled away by the initial impact sounds awfully appealing and effective in theory.

I used to be harsh critic of the class to be honest, but the numerous changes made to it over the last two years have truly brought it up to par with what it in my view was supposed to be and do out there in the game. I liked the class quite a bit ever since.

Eh. Sorry about the sudden rambling by the way.

"are at their finest when able to fight exclusively on their own terms"

Umm, true of any class.

Have there been a lot of changes to them in the last couple years? Only one I can think of off the top of my head is excision. Which is certainly a nice addition.

"Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens." - Jimi Hendrix

' Umm, true of any class. '

Rather obviously. Very few classes are however able to exploit the advantage as well as anti-paladins can in my opinion, while at the same time few classes will suffer as much as anti-paladins do when dealing with the reverse situation, in being 'fighters' that lack dodge as well as being 'mages' that lack spellcraft, trance and the mana gains of a genuine magician class.

' Have there been a lot of changes to them in the last couple years? Only one I can think of off the top of my head is excision. '

Off the top of my head, I can name:

1) Intelligence now playing a (marginal) role in improving the success rate of spells as deafen, lightning bolt, fireball and iceball.

2) Addition of Power Word spells.

3) Addition of a large number of specialized weapon skills making alternative approaches to the traditional axe + bash anti-paladin more viable and effective.

5) Aura of Despair now giving some damage reduction against servitors such as Angels and Archons.

5) Bloodlust of the Twelve Fiends not allowing an anti-paladin to strike at anyone he is fighting with through regular combat rounds.

6) Addition of a large number of new elemental control spells as an anti-paladin increases control over unholy blessing.

7) Excision.


Edit: 5) now allowing, rather.

Except for the bloodlust change and excision, I think those are all over two years old.

Seems they're close to or even a little over three years old based on what Dio's Event Board shows. At least the change involving the intelligence stat is, which I always thought was the oldest one of the changes mentioned in the above list. Yup. My bad.

As an aside, I still maintain that 'kick' should be lowered from level 9 to level 5 or 6 in this class. Eheh. Honestly.

You can find plenty of my posts there, with same date in them. Some of those changes were six months old when I posted them. I guess this might be true for some older newsitems as well.

Think the aura of despair change was at the same time as those as well.

"Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens." - Jimi Hendrix