06-07-2012, 12:45 AM
In 99% of situations, even 1 second is enough (in my experience). I have had a couple of nasty situations with Molten/Waller/Vortex packs where Shadow Power's longer duration would have come to a net gain, and I prefer Shadow Power's duration for The Butcher, but outside that Smoke Screen with Lingering Fog and Tactical Advantage has ensured I did not take a single hit. The instant break and immunity from control effects is the most critical aspects, however. Jailer? Frozen? Nightmare? Waller? Vortex? Arcane Enchanted? Basically, everything that is (a) annoying, or (b) instant death, Smoke Screen has 100% reliability to completely negate all effects and damage. That is the reason why almost all players continue to use it after the nerfs: there is no other alternative that provides what Smoke Screen does.
May the wind pick up your heels and your sword strike true.