Oak Team Build

Agreed.

I think most people always try to go full out with spirits, but he really is a very good support character with any of them.

Interesting.  Are you still using this build?  

The debuffs are nice, but Oak earns his keep with a point in the interrupt and a point in the shield.  You can really spec any way you want as long as you invest those two points early

I tend to like maxing his damage/spirit count and penitence, though, because late game Oak can 1 v 1 most opponents effectively, which comes in handy if you aren't attached to your ally at the hip.

Each rank of Penitence increase the damage bonus by 5% which means if you have 2 players each doing over 200 damage a hit, you have gained more from a rank of penitence than from the +20 damage you get from spirits/weapon buff.  On top of that, you get another 5% slow with each rank of penitence along with increased damage (which is handy for taking out runners sometimes).  To make penitence even better the +5% affects spells and regular attacks, which the +20 damage doesn't.

For the shield, I've found that the increased duration really helps the nearly dead ally (or self) get away and at level 10 you get a 600 point heal on top of it which I've found makes a big difference in surviving after the shield wears off.

By level 20 I will have 10 spirits and +60 damage (total damage bonus of +160) so I eventually get those, though most games don't last that long.

I always use this build with Oak

Havent used spirits for a while. Sometimes late game I use them, and usually keep them around my base just for the extra damage.

Well, I always max out penitence, but if there were a build I liked more I'd keep it at level 1 for the interrupt and low mana cost.  I'm sure higher levels of shield are useful, but I've just always liked something else better.

O man.  Really?  Every fourth kill with Oak is a minion kill, for me.  I just keep my lane flags up and the minions replenish themselves..

I'd be interested in playing against the above build.  Looks like the only game I've played with you recently you went QoT, Micah, but we'll have to get some dependable teammates and duke it out. Edit:  Looks like Miles played Oak that game - was he using your build?

One thing that's nice is that people seem to have stopped pegging Oak as a late bloomer

Yeah, there are a few strong Oak players out there and I think that has nicely changed people's minds about Oak overall.

It sounds like your build is more early-game and low mana usage.  With my build I generally have to get a couple 1500g helmets pretty early on to be able to sustain output of all spells whereas taking only rank 1 of penitence/shield and using passives/spirits primarily is pretty low mana cost overall.

Yah I'll max out Penitence - that's where most of the mana usage is and I'll use it a couple of times against a given opponent - ideally once as an interrupt and once to slow them down when they run away   This build isn't much good against sustained enemy interest though, it works better when supporting a Rook or UB.  With a caster ally in a 2 v 2 I'd probably play something else.   

Quick question if you guys have access to the game right now - you start with 1k gold and buy lvl 1 monks, can you channel to summon the monks and then sell the idol back but keep the monks?  If so you have a pot and heal advantage that's pretty hard to overcome at level 1.   Cheesy.

Yes, you can buy the monks, cast them, and sell them.  You do lose 200g doings so though.  If you are good at micro-managing them and can keep them from dying needlessly it could be worth it.

Generally on Oak I grab the two low level armors first thing (950g combined) which gives me 5 health regen (don't have to come back as much) and 600 armor (which is really nice early-game when most damage is non-spell).

ok thanks, I'll make a post about it. 

I think I posted a bug about them not disappearing when you sell the idol a while back.  If only search worked...

Yah I remember but I can't find your post either.  Same issue, different application

edit:  I didn't think it was a big deal at first because minions were so weak and you had to pay for each idol, but I didn't know you could sell idols without replacing them. 

Now that I think about it - If you buy level 1 monk idol and then buy a level 2 idol to replace does it cost you only the difference between the two or is it full price?  I think it just replaces at full price, right?  So instead you should just sell your level 1 idol for 80% of what you paid for it and buy the level 2 seperately.  At high levels of minion use you end up paying alot less than you should...

edit edit: Wish I could test this stuff :/  Now I feel like idols won't replace each other, so you have to sell anyway.  If that is how it works then no biggie there.

I always sell old idols first. If I'm not mistaken the game won't let you buy an idol to replace an old one, you have to sell the old one first.  For me the upper level idols are just too expensive.  5000 for level 4 monks is just too much considering they still only heal for something like 450 every 10 seconds.  Better off buying a breastplate.

Penitence is deadly. Surge of Faith blasts through creep waves. Divine Justice is fantastic for pushing. Shield is a lifesaver in tight situations against enemy DGs. Spirit Banners do almost nothing.