Greater Balrog Cat is a fantastic 180-range Single Target Melee attacker with a very short 28.2s Cooldown and low cost (3000, or 2250 with talents). His main feature is simple; very high base stats. His level 30 stats are 66k HP with 3 KBs and 64k Damage, but given his role and place in the meta it is informative to also consider his stats at higher levels: 86k HP/83k Damage at level 40, and 105k HP/101k Damage at level 50. With his rapid 2.27s attack rate and 0.93s foreswing, his DPS then sits at 28k/36k/45k at level 30/40/50 respectively. Furthermore, he is immune to Weaken and has 12 Speed. His place in the meta is truly defined, though, by his Strengthen talent (+200% Damage on 3rd and final KB), and as such his lower forms with worse stats and no access to this talent are irrelevant and should not be used.

Balrog's greatest strength is the uniqueness of his role. He serves as a frontline general attacker similar to Can Can or Manic Island, but with higher stats and longer cooldown. At full investment, his Strengthen talent allows him to reach the highest raw DPS in the game, exceeding 100k strengthened DPS at level 40, which melts through anything he hits effortlessly, ranging from bulky peons like Star Pengs to boss-tier enemies like Bores. His high base HP helps keep him alive long enough to land hits even on his final KB, and thanks to his tiny cooldown and low cost, he is very disposable - if one fails just summon another. His Weaken Immunity is also helpful for Calamary and Hannya stages, but he can't normally hit Winged Pigge without an elaborate setup.

The biggest hindrance to Balrog's versatility is his Single Target nature; you can't effectively use him on stages with heavy peon spam like Gestalt Decay, or Palcaccio Waters. It should be noted too that while he is quite bulky, his 3 KBs means he's still going to get juggled by super-high DPS enemies who outrange him like R. Ost, Bun Bun Variants, etc. His low range, average speed, and significant foreswing also expose him to proc effects from enemies like M. Ost, Mole variants, and Professor A, limiting or completely removing his effectiveness against them. Finally, Balrog's usage at level 30 and without talents is lackluster and does not really outweigh these weaknesses in most situations. He hence requires heavy investment compared to other ubers, with at least 10 Uber Catseyes and 235 NP (Strengthen talent) recommended to be spent on him before serious use, though he is devastatingly effective when reaching this point.

Balrog stands as one of the most phenomenal Ubers in the game when you have him hypermaxed and talented, although his usage before that is pretty unremarkable. You should leave him alone entirely, or go all-in with your investment. Strengthen talent and level 40 is essential, and in the late game, level 50 + attack/HP/cost talents further boost his effectiveness to staggering levels. This makes him fundamentally impossible to rate meaningfully. He is either unremarkable at low levels, or ridiculously overpowered at high levels and talented. There are stages that are easy with a conventional Backliner that Balrog cannot lift a finger against because of range or single target issues, but also many stages that are hellish to complete with conventional strategies that Balrog pretty much solos as long as he can get a clean hit or two on the boss. This gives him a truly unique place in the meta.

Changes

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