While the class isn't in a terrible place, Nexus Champions that go for Balance have a lot of downtime.
Your options to maintain zero are:
- being selective with your targets proactively
- taking what you can get first and shifting back later
Both of these are AP expensive, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Petmasters usually have downtime, too, after all. The sticking point is what the player gets in exchange for that downtime.
Assuming both the tattoo of Equilibrium and Nexal Spark (120 character points), an NC at 0 gets:
- +4 damage
- 10% defense
- 12 retaliation damage
- Arcane damage Nexal Spark attack
It's pretty nice on paper, but it goes away pretty quickly even with the adjustments to MO from Tattoo of Balance--especially if you're raiding.
In practice, this means after your blaze of glory, at best every other AP cycle is spent getting back to 0.
I'm not averse to the idea of upkeep for benefits, but I think the ratio could stand to be less severe.
Some ideas:
- Tattoo of Balance accelerates any shift towards zero and slows down any shift away from it. (Presently it gets you out of the Evil trap but technically keeps you Good for longer.)
- A 30 point child skill that essentially gives the effects of (and stacks with?) Incense of Centering.
I'm not overly attached to either solution, but I do think the current state of things is not ideal. *Some* sort of change would be warranted, considering you're effectively spending 4 levels of tier 3 XP to be "pretty good" every other day at best.