For the longest time, on any god I wanted to build like a bruiser, my standard build went something like this:
1. Tabi/Greaves (situational)
2. Mystical Mark
3. Bulwark
4. Jotun's Wrath
5. Titan's bane
6. Situational item
But I've come to realize that Hide is a much better defense item than Bulwark.
1. Bulwark's passive is utterly useless. 1 second of 50% damage mitigation when below 25% health? There is nothing to stop anyone from simply waiting one second, then killing you instantly. A much better alternative to this would be 50% damage mitigation for 2 seconds when hit by any ability. This would be much better at negating bursty gods, instead of applying it's effect after all their burst has been used.
2. With full stacks, Hide provides more magical protection, and extra physical protection. When fully stacked, Hide provides magical and physical protections, while Bulwark only provides 60. You are probably saying "But wait, I buy Bulwark for the health it grants too!". Fear not, Bulwark only provides 200 more health than Hide does, and Hide provides mana as well, which is helpful for bruisers with CDR.
3. The extra physical protections that Hide provides is much more useful than the extra 200 health Bulwark has over Hide. Think about this: Late game, what gods are going to be damaging you the most? Would it be the Artemis, critting you for 500 twice a second, or would it be the Agni hitting you with a meteor 3 times, then having nothing? I would much rather sacrifice 200 health for an extra 65 protections against their physical carries.
I would choose
+125 physical protection
+65 magical protection
+550 health
over
+60 physical protection
+60 magical protection
+750 health
every time
I play Smite. I like Smite. I like to think I'm relatively good at Smite.
I do agree that Bulwark's Passive doesn't help you much. Tanks who get it aren't focused, and bruisers who get it die anyway if they're being focused like that. It doesn't even help burst, as intended, and Idol of Concentration is a better anti-burst item then that. Thanks for showing this.
Ya. I try to get Urchin every time I want an early-game tank item. And saying it's best stat-wise than any other defense item, I've actually combined it with Heartseeker or Doom Orb every now and then if I want a really stat-heavy bruiser.
Well, if Bulwark of Hope didn't suck as much as it does, we'd get it more. As it stands, the only real competition for magical protection is either Stone of Gaia for the amazing stats and underwhelming passive, or idol of concentration for the amazing passive and underwhelming stats.
Bulwark of Hope's passive used to last a bit longer when it first came out (2 seconds I think?), but then it got nerfed down because it was too effective at countering burst (which is the whole reason the passive exists: it counters sudden burst kills).
Personally, I feel Bulwark still has uses in gametypes where you might not have the ability to quickly build up stacks for Hide, such as 3v3 Joust or Domi... oh right... *sniff*
Truth be told, the only reason I think it got nerfed was because of the tank meta it was introduced to at the time. Tanks (and especially lightning bruiser Thor) that were already stupidly strong AND difficult to kill became even more so once that damage reduction procced and mitigated your burst to nothing.
First off. None of you BBcoded Hide of the Urchin, but you decide to code the rest of the items. I hate you because I had to go back and reference Hide of the Urchin and it wasted a good minute of my life.
Back on topic now. Hide of the Urchin Is a wonderful item. It provides everything tanky that I want. Not only that, but it really isn't all too expensive. If I get mark of the vangaurd, then this is typically my fourth item(or third "core item"). Unless there are only magical, or only physical gods on the enemy team. I will ALWAYS buy this items. Oh god the protections.
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