Artillery Designed to Carry

April 10th, 2012 Keeper of the Forest

I used to be one of those, who complained about new heroes not fitting into the Newerth universe. Like Engineer and his turret, like electrician, like Flux, etc. Anything mechanical actually. In time I got used to all that and maybe I was wrong about the universe. Maybe those creatures really belong there. Right now we have the most Mech-like hero ever introduced to Newerth – Artillery. Armed heavily with long ranged missiles, cannons, lasers and stuff, he is designed to carry his team to victory.

Artillery is a ranged agility hero. His main role – carry. Let’s have a look at his skills.

  •  LRM (Long Ranged Missiles) – Fires a burst of missiles, piercing trough enemies at extremely long range. By double activating the skill you can aim at another direction. Every missile deals damage. It is a channeling spell.
  • Fragmentation Shells – a passive skill making Artillery’s attacks apply slow to the target. The slow stacks with each hit. It is insignificant at furst, but if you keep hitting the same target, it becomes a serious slow. What’s better, the slow also applies to his LRM skill. Every missile stucks slow to affected targets.
  •  Bunker Down – when activated, the area around Artillery becomes highlited. While he stays within the circle, his auto attack and spell damage and range are greatly increased. With Bunker Down Artillery can outrange even towers. The mana needed for this ability is so low, that he can practically use it all the time, getting great advantage for last-hitting and harassing during laning phase.
  • Artillery Barage – fires a barrage at the target area in front of him. It deals damage and stuns enemies within range. It also pushes Artillery backwards, even over objects, cliffs, etc.

Artillery Skill and Item Build

Start with Bunker Down to improve your last-hitting and harassment potential. You should be able to win your lane easily. LRM is the main damage output for Artillery. Max it first. But don’t start with it – you will never have to use it at level 1 and it is useless since it is not a stun or slow, besides its mana cost won’t let you cast it twice and get a kill. So keep it for level 3 before you try to finish someone off. The idea is to keep the enemy on low hp with lots of harass, and then surprise him with LRM.

artilery guide hon

artilery guide hon

You may want 1 point on Fragmentation Shell to apply the slow to LRM and lower the enemy’s chances of escaping. Since Bunker Down requires very little mana, a battery or a Blood Chalice would be enough to keep you always ready to cast LRM. Ghost marchers are preferable – he is going to carry and you don’t want to look stupid while everyone you try ti kill just runs away from you. Geo’s Bane and Wingbow would be perfect to increase his damage. Shrunken head and/or Null Stone to increase his survivability.

Check my other guides:

Blitz’s Role in HoN 

Monkey King Guide

Accursed Carry Guide

How to Own With Gunblade Guide

OP Kinesis Guide

Blitz’s Main Role in HoN

March 29th, 2012 Keeper of the Forest

I assume you have watched the official hero spotlight video for Blitz. If you haven’t you can see it on the bottom of this page. If you have, you already know that he is an agility ranged hero with some weird looking skills. Besides the obvious tendency for S2 to implement crappy music in their spotlights and make them boring and far from entertaining, the video reveals the latest AE hero in HoN. If you are not too rich or too stupid, you probably won’t have the chance to put your hands on Blitz in the near few weeks, but it is good to know what to expect from him when another player picks him.
Movement Speed300
Str per Level1.6
Agi per Level2.3
Int per Level2.3

Let’s quickly go trough his skill set.

  • Blitzkrieg – stuns the enemy and damages. Easy to land, single-target spell. The stun lasts 1 second. The damage depends on the difference between Blitz’s movement speed and the movement speed of the target.
  • Pilfer – this steals movement speed of a single target over time. The synergy with the first skill is pretty obvious. You get faster, the enemy gets slower, at the end you cast Blitzkrieg to inflict maximum damage. Keep in mind, that if the distance between Blitz and the target becomes too big, the effect from this spell is lost. That’s why its use as a defensive skill is kind of limited – just when you think you ran away, your enemy gains back his movement speed and catches you.
  • Quicken – this doubles the movement speed. Can be cast on self or an ally. It has short cool down and can be used rapidly. Again, it can be combo-ed with Blitzkrieg to increase the damage output. It can be used to surprisingly attack and enemy, chase him down together with Pilfer and then nuke him with Blitzkrieg. It can be used as an escape mechanism, though kind of limited. You can also save your allies when they are in time of trouble.
  •  Lightning Shackles – the ultimate slows down enemy heroes in an area. I don’t really know how to comment this skill. It is the ultimate ability and should be something super useful… Instead, it is like Flint’s Snare, only worse, because it doesn’t do damage. Expect this to be changed soon.

Before you keep reading, see what others think about Blitz in the poll bellow:

Blitz HoNBlitz is going to be an excellent ganker! His spells are powerful early on, leaving no chance to any enemy who was silly enough to overextend and go too far from his tower. Quickens would grant him nice mobility and enables him to roam the map and attack surprisingly. At the same time, his nuke is not too overpowered, so without an ally he may not be able to finish off his target. Plus, he is quite weak and fragile to initiate alone. That’s why you can be sure to see Blitz on the middle lane, controlling the runes with no problems and showing up bottom and top often, for some quick and easy kills.

If I was to compare him to another hero, he reminds me a lot of Valkyrie. The stun, the mobility, the high damage spell… And just like Valk, Blitz is not going to be a hard carry. Early on he would be a powerful ganker thanks to his spells, but late game he would mostly rely on his auto attacks. The way I see it, he would need an early Frostburn, starting with the Burn part. The movement speed bonus is something important for Blitz. Later that should be upgraded into Geo`s Bane and Frostwolf Skull. Frostwolf is the top item here – not just for the slow which would work well with Blitzkrieg, but also for the reduction of attack speed in case you need to deal with carries like Predator. Nullfire is going to be absolute core. The immediate slow would be soooo nice! Perhaps Assassin’s Shroud and Gnejuro would be a very good choice, but I simply don’t like this item. Wingbow would be better.

Survivability would be Blitz’s main concern. However, Steamboots should not be picked over Ghost Marchers. Ghost Marchers would increase the mobility early game and the damage of Blitzkrieg. And like we said, ganking early is what Blitz would do best. You should use his advantages.

Check my other guides:

Monkey King Guide

Accursed Carry Guide

How to Own With Gunblade Guide

OP Kinesis Guide

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DPS Andromeda – Thinking Out of The Box

March 28th, 2012 Keeper of the Forest

Andromeda is an often pick in every HoN competition. Every time we see her as a support. Her fame for one of the best supports is not surprising and very easy to explain, but in reality she can be a pretty good carry competing with heroes like Valkyrie and Soul Stealer.

So, when you play competitively you need a team of heroes to work in synergy and you need to pick the best o fill a certain role. When it comes to choosing a support, Andromeda should be among the first that come to your mind. But there is more to her than a simple ward – bitch. An easy to land, long lasting stun with considerable damage is always something highly appreciated. Not to mention the absurdly low cool down time, this lets you use it twice in a battle. None of her spells are selfish. The second spell reduces the armor of every enemy within range. The third spell increases the damage of allies based on their base damage. The ultimate is an excellent skill for saving allies in hard times. Plus, Andromeda is one of the most none-item-dependent heroes in HoN – her stun is gonna stun and damage you no matter what items you have, same for the armor reduction. The aura affects her allies anyways. The ult works well even with only a hatchet. Her presence alone is a huge benefit for her whole team. No wonder why she is a top pick, being able to contribute to any formation.

So far so good, everything is simple and clear. But I want you to think out of the box. Forget what you see on all those competitive plays. You know why those guys become so good? Because they didn’t listen to others, they didn’t believe in the “rules”, they did what they wanted. In other words, play Andromeda as carry.

How To Own With Gunblade

March 14th, 2012 Keeper of the Forest

The latest spotlight from S2 left me thinking about how huge is the lack of imagination in making both the video and the hero.

CharacteristicValue
CharacteristicValue
Movement Speed310
Attack Range600
Damage46 - 51
Strength/Agility/Intelligence2.2/2.6/1.7
Armor2.98
Damage Reduction15%
Magic Damage Reduction25%
Attack/s0.72
Attack TypeRange

He is Gunblade – agility ranged hero who is not afraid of close combats. Even more – he prefers them.

  • Skill Build

Crippling Slugs (Q) will fire3 shots in a rapid succession in a chosen direction. Every shot does small damage and slows the enemy. (Of course it slows, what a surprise…) The shots go trough objects and units letting you hit more than one enemy, if they are in line.

Demonic Shield (W) is an active skill. Upon activation a shield surrounds Gunblade to absorb all incoming damage (up to a limit). The shield looks like Moraxes’, because it is really hard to think of a different way to visualize a shield in a different way. The amount of damage absorbed depends on the agility points. It gives Gunblade movement speed as well.

Lethal Range (E) is the passive. It increases the damage dealt from auto attacks based on how far the enemy is. The closer to Gunblade, the more the damage. 600 range is the limit, after which it gives no additional damage.

Grappling Shot (R) will take Gunblade to his target. (Just like Gauntlet’s Grapple. Only worse. They couldn’t even give a different name to the skill. Pf.) It applies mini-stun which makes it useful when you need to interrupt a channeling spell. It also lowers the target’s armor. And damages. Wow.

  • Item Build

Pretty standard build, I guess. Ghost marchers. An iron shield would be nice for the additional agility and survivability early on. Then anything that adds agility. Frostburn, which to be upgraded into Frostwolf and Geo’s later. Assassin’s Shroud would grant you the escape ability Gunblade  lacks. You know what, just take a random Flint Beastwood’s guide and use it.

  • Playstyle

He is a nucker with high physical burst damage. His ult makes him an excellent ganker. Keep an eye on the mini-map and if you see an enemy wondering alone – go get him. As long as you are close to the enemy you are going to hurt him a lot. Use the ult to get to him, use the Crippling Slugs to slow him, use the shield to gain movement speed to keep up with him as he runs.

OP Kinesis Guide

February 29th, 2012 Keeper of the Forest

Kinesis is an intelligence hero. His spells are powerful but situational. The player’s skills would be crucial to define if Kinesis would be useless or a real treasure for his team.

He does fit the typical support role, being able to disable one or more enemies for quite a long time as early as level 3. At the same time, he is able to apply respectable amount of damage. We are definitely going to see him solo mid often, especially in the first few weeks after his release. But he would be much more active on the side lanes, where an ally would help him finish the target. Let’s have a look at his skills.

  • Kinesis SKill Build

Telekenetik Lift is the first skill. Upon use, the nearest creep or tree would be lifted into the air. This ability has no cool down on its cast time. Instead it gets up to 4 charges, each charge letting Kinesis lift one more unit. Upone second activation, Kinesis would throw all lifted units to a selected target, damaging and slowing it. With all 4 charges used at the same time, the damage outcome of this ability is significant.

 Stasis Smash is the second skill. It allows Kinesis to lift into air a hero unit – be it friend or foe. While in the air, the hero is not able to move, but unlike the effect from Stormspirit, he will be vulnerable to all incoming damage – magic or phisical. The damage taken will be reduced by 50% though. The spell itself also deals damage. In addition, upon landing the target enemy is stunned, as well as all enemy units in an area around him who are also damaged and stunned.

Inherent defence is his third skill. It is passive. It applies a shiled, which absorbs a certain amount of damage. This skill grants Kinesis the one thing that all intelligence heroes lack and need badly – survivability. It blocks the amount of damage attempted and not the damage actually inflicted, which means it is useful no matter how much magic and physical armor you have.

Mass Control is the ultimate ability of Kinesis. It is a lot like Tlekenetik Lift, because it also lifts objects – trees and creeps – and throws them on an enemy to inflict damage. The difference is that it is an area of effect spell and it would lift all objects within the area without any limit on the number. The landing is also aoe effect instead of single-target. In some situations it can be a really strong nuke.

  • Item Build

Power supply is a perfect for Kinesis early on. Steamboots, Striders and Ghost Marchers may be viable for different play styles. To compensate for the lack of escape ability a tablet of command is needed. Null Stone is the ultimate defensive item. Sheepstick is the ultimate offensive item. It is up to you. Stormspirit is the cheaper option for the times when your farm is bad. Frostfield Plate against carries like predator.

Quick Draconis Guide

February 17th, 2012 Keeper of the Forest

Another EA hero is available for those, who don’t mind spending money on things they don’t really need. His name is Draconis and he is a dragon. It was about time for Newerth to see a dragon-hero imo, though this one looks a little clumsy and ugly.

Draconis Skill Build:

The Q skill is called Dragonflame. It is your bread and butter early game – best source of damage, slow for the times you need to chase someone or run away, push a melee hero who comes too close to you and stun for 0.5 seconds to interrupt spells. All that in one spell. Max this first before the damage it deals becomes useless. Blazing flight is the second skill. Press W to self-cast it and gain ridiculously huge movement speed boost along with unit walking. Draconis then leaves a flaming trail behind himself, that would damage and slow enemies on it. Both the damage and the slow are significant and should not be underestimated. The third ability is passive and that’s a great news, because Draconis doesn’t have enough mana to support one more active spell. Every 6th attack spawns  fire at the destination of the attack. Like the fires from the trail and from the Dragonflame, it damages and slows any enemy within range. The ultimate has one of the most stupid names in the game – Cataclysmic Assault. It is quite spectacular, though. It increases attack speed and splits your attack to hit up to 3 additional enemies.

Drakonis Item Build:

Steamboots are the best choice, because of the attack speed bonus and the strength. Ghost Marchers are a waste on Draconis, since his W grants him speed and unit walking. Try to get Frostburn as soon as possible – its slow will stack with the slow from your spells, your movement speed would increase greatly, it boosts nicely your attack damage. For luxury items aim at something thatwould have best synergy with your ultimate. Frostwolf Skull, Savage Mace and Shieldbraker would apply their effects to all targets. Charged Hammer would proc only on the main target, but the lightning would hit the other targets, so it is still nice. Riftshards is not worth the money. Wingbow is always great, but in most games you probably wouldn’t have the chance to buy it, so focus on getting a Shrunken Head instead as the best defensive item.

Drakonis Strategy:

Drakonis is not a nucker. But his spells combined may inflict huge amount of magic damage. At the same time, his auto attacks are quite strong. The key to mastering Drakonis is in the correct use of Blazing Flight and combine it with your other skills. If you must use it as a defensive ability don’t forget to turn around and push them back with Dragonflame to keep them a little longer on the flames. At the end you may even kill your chaser. If you engage on someone, take advantage of your movement boost and unit walking to walk in front of your enemy and force him to step on your flames. Keep in mind that Fiery Barrage would push your lane fast.

Drakonis Spotlight

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