Most posts I see, say that new players generally run around with Torchbearer in fire mode all the time, that mediocre players play in ice mode all the time, and that the great players play in both, swapping back and forth.
In my experience, this hasn't been the case. I run around in fire mode all the time and typically double or triple my teammate's damage and get a ton more kills and assists - and these are my friends so I know they know what they are doing with their characters. No I don't have any control, but that doesn't matter since most Demigods are psychologically controlled. After I finish my alpha attacks, they are running away from me typically. A demigod running away is not doing damage. So when I tried to "advance" up the Torchbearer skill ladder to ice exclusively, the only difference I noticed was that my damage went way down. The control didn't affect me much at all, since I could do that with clever fire tactics before. Also, I was using a cold build recommended here on the forum, and I tried it for a day or so to confirm it wasn't just lack of knowledge of the build.
I eventually assumed cold just sucked, and tried going directly to Fire and Ice builds for those sweet toggle bonuses. Again, all the time spent in cold mode really nerfed my damage output, time spent switching between modes to keep the buffs up was like three seconds I could be using to cast a fireball. That's three seconds of not doing damage, which for a fire Torchbearer is also three seconds of not psychologically controlling the enemy - if they aren't damaged, they aren't running from me, so while I'm playing with modes, they're charging me at safe health levels. Those three seconds are huge in a typical demigod duel.
These are just things I've noticed, and honestly I think that in capable hands, a fire exclusive Torchbearer can really tear it up. Most people aren't giving the build enough credit, and are completely ignoring the fact that damage IS control. When you realize that you can play this character build very well. At one point I was level 19, my buddies were level 10-12, and I was taking out towers in three seconds. I charged down my lane straight to their citadel alone, and soloed it after getting a triple smite AT THEIR CRYSTAL. Fire Torchbearer is just that bad ass - and his voices make it such a pleasant experience. "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAH!!!!" "TRIPLE SMITE!"
That is one thing I have noticed about Demigod - I suggested this build to a friend, he tried it, did poorly, and hated it. My friend suggested Rook to me because he's awesome with Rook, I tried it, did poorly, and hate it. I do amazing with this particular build, it's just how I play Torchbearer. It's cool how in Demigod each player can find a "niche" and do great in it, but nobody else can, since it's totally dependant on very small discrepencies in playstyle.
So do you guys think that an experienced player can use Torchbearer as effectively as a Fire and Ice Torchbearer?
