As a fairly experienced UB player I can say that Fractallicon is right on in his analysis (+Karma!).This motivated me to finally get around to putting down my own thoughts on Beast balance, but instead of slamming a massive wall of text down in the middle of this thread and derailing the discussion, I slammed down a massive wall of text over here. I think you may find it worth the read.

I dont get I JUST dont get it! Whats wrong with people!

The spit is an DoT = DAMAGE over TIME. If your not familiar with the difference between BURST and DoT damage The spit looks overpowered because you just add the numbers together ans see ZOMGWTF! 2K dmg skill!!!!

Burst= Fireball in a guys head. Pure 1200dmg and he´s dead. Assuming he has 1100hp.

DoT: Spit. 300damage(burst). 1200dmg DoT. 1100hp...dead? NOOOOO!. First you have your base hp regen. that withdraws a lot of the damage. Assume the dot is over 10sec so its 120dmg/sec. Then withdraw 5hp/sec from the basic armor. Thats 50.

Withdraw a possible sedna passive...12-36hp/sec or whatever. Another 120-360dmg reduced. Now we´re down to what? 900dmg. By the time spit does 1500 damage you prolly has another armor, taking off another hundred-few hundred. Then you can use a consumable to surive. You can walk to base and survive. NO its NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT! O-V-E-R-P-O-W-E-R-E-D! It doesnt do a whooping 1500dmg to a person! It does at MOST 900-1100. and then the guy has a serious lack of regen.

This is w/o taking into account all active spells that removes dmg. Don´t get hung up on the numbers I never seem to remember them This is more a general post so people might understand that a DoT doing a LOT more damage then an burst skill are of equal strength.

sidenot: TB-ice rules. So much fun, nice disabling skills, slows and all you want for a good fight

I think people are stuck in static playstyles. They buy certain things at the start of the game, try to follow their build strictly that they know has success, largely only adapting their lane control and killing playstyle as needed.

If you don't get out of this bad habit, your going to be stuck dealing with spit forever. It will get worse if more decent early game harrasment heros get introduced.

I know people hate Demigod being compared to Dota, but it is similar in this case.

The Lich King in dota is an early game harrasser/lane controller. He has high damage frost spells (frost nova can outright kill you if casted on most heros at lvl 3 two or three times), combined with the fact he has near limitless mana right from the start of the game, by sacrificing one of his creeps and converting it to mana. So he can KEEP harrassing you.

HTF?? do you deal with that. Simple, you deviate from your ideal build and strategy, get some hp regen items before your completely denied from the lane. Everyone always start with some "potions" in Dota because harrassment and mistakes happen. Failed gank attempts against you can also leave you hurt, this saves you a trip back to base.

The same posts were all over the Dota boards at a stage, but back then, everyone was buying Boots of Speed as their staple first item with their starting cash. They have since learnt spending their starting cash on Boots of Speed gave them virtually no staying power in their lane and they were brushed aside by strong early game heros.

IMO starting without any form of health regeneration in Demigod, just like in Dota (esp. combat potions) makes the assumption that you are going to have perfect lane control, never make a mistake where you take damage, never get ganked, never have a decent opponent in your lane etc. Spend a little extra cash, and stay in your lane longer.

Last but not least, if your still getting denied from your lane and just cannot cope, ask for a lane swap, theres nothing wrong with this. Some heros are just better suited to dealing with other heros.

Wow, now thats what I wanted to say. Gj man!

QFT! Why does nobody ever seem to buy potions? The can absolutely destroy opponents who are mana dependant and hoping for that single combo to get you out of their lane and into their pocket.

The cast time on the potions is prohibitive to actually saving your life in a great number of situaions.  They aren't instant cast.

If it wasn't this way, they'd be too effective. They are still very useful early game for keeping you in your lane against harrassers.

You time the cast time on your potion if you wanna use one. If you see a sedna charging who hasnt used her stun/silence yet, then its not the time to potion...its time to run! ....awareness ownz.  All the DG abilities in the world doesnt matter if you can´t use them right. Now what do u do if you see a TB not shooting if ur sedna? The correct answer is you pounce him. Wanna know why? Because hes casting something....

Your playing ice Tb and a low hp erebus charges you...What do you do? Not rain of ice ofc...you cast your nova to time his arrival to stun him and prohibit bite and then you use rain of ice...Timing is everything.

Armored Sedna.  Level 1 heals for more than Level 1 spit.  Level 3 Heals remove spit.  Armor neuters his autoattacks.  That gets rid of his two most powerful abilities.  Meanwhile you pounce every few seconds for 1000 damage and your minion priests keep you healthy.