I think the big difference between Fireball and Spit is that the UB is a killer with autoattack and the Torchbearer isn't.  The spit is the prelude to the pain (or the parting shot) while the Fireball is a primary attack.

the difference in cast time cannot be ignored either.

also i do not think Shield (oak) is a viable counter to spit. The difference in cooldowns is just too long and you do not get the debuff removal until level 7 at least.

It seems to me that if you get spit on and use Shield I or II all it does is stop the damage temporarily. Once shield wears off you start taking damage again.

Spit is not OP. Don't put yourself in situations where a single spit can kill you. Run away from beast if he's charging towards you to let off a spit. Yes that means you have to run away a lot early game. If you cannot suppress your Rambo tendencies then carry a health potion. Over time, stack health/regen and laugh.

Ooze beast with foul grasp and HP stacking is a bigger threat than spit beast.

as said it depens heavily on the demigod who is the target. i dont really think its one of the really overpowered kills. maybe it really is too good and should be nerfed, but it's definitely not totally overpowered. but i can't really tell since i'm an oak, so:

spit--->shield--->succes^^

You can't do both at full strength effectively, at least not early enough for it to matter.

I'm confident that it's fair to say that >90% of people who think spit is OP are people who started running away too late and died from spit as they futily tried to limp back to base. That seemingly futile situation enraged them to the point where they became emotional about it and thereby deemed spit to be clearly OP.

If their opponent had specced inner beast, diseased claws, ooze and foul grasp, they would probably be even MORE annoyed by how they can't outrun this monster (diseased claws + inner beast), can't beat it at melee (ooze reducing their attack speed) and can't tele out or use their slow as hell nuke skill (foul grasp).

It's definitely OP against noobs. Fortunately, it's not against good players.

I don't find Spit as much as just the "whole UB package" to be OP. Maybe it's because i'm not an expert yet, but I often still have problems vs. UB even after over a month of play. It's often too tempting to chase a wounded UB, over-extend yourself, and get Spitted and melee'd into oblivion. The reason it's so tempting is because Spit is an incredible all-around ability, allowing both harassment and a raw DPS advantage in a melee fight.

Having to spec against abilities is fine, to an extent. What I have a problem with is the fact that you only have to spec against Spit - I've never seen anyone need to spec against Fireball, or Rain of Ice. When I see one ability (spit) that you need to actively counter, and 5 others that you don't have to adapt much to, I see an inherent imbalance in that particular ability.

Well yeah, but only because that frigging UB won't stop harassing me the whole game

Ya i think that two spits at the same time isnt really that OPd. But what u have to consider is that the beast can grasp u while the other one attacks and spits and then grabs...and then the other one spits and grabs...etc. There is no other double teams that allows for that to happen where u cant do anything until u die.

Nerf Sedna!

Spit has 5 counters.

it is not OP.

end of story.

Spit is a quite powerful skill.

Calling "Spit OP" or "UB OP" due to spit however, is simply missing the big picture imho lol.

and for ppl that say just run away from two beasts...first off try to run to ur base as any character but sedna and erebus and see who wins that race...second what if the 2 beasts capd ur portal? are u just going to run away while they destroy ur towers then ur citadel? Eventually fighting them is inevitable and thats when u realize it is OPd.

Also for those ppl that havent experienced this and uses the beast...please dont say its not OPd u never experienced how annoying this is and how impossible it is about to get out of.