Introduction Top
My name is FlashX. I am the ROAM player for Alliance who recently won the Vainglory International Premier League (VIPL) Season Two. I have been playing Vainglory since September 2014. My highest achieved rank is Vainglorious Silver. I am currently Vainglorious Bronze in the Winter 2016 Season and our team was the first team in the world to achieve the team rank of Pinnacle of Awesome. You can check out my previous guide on 1.14 ROAM CRYSTAL POWER BUFF ADAGIO by going here:
http://www.vaingloryfire.com/vainglory/guide/1-14-crystal-powered-roam-adagio-buff-edition-13586
This guide will focus on playing
as a ROAM hero. In competitive play, Taka was first debuted as a viable pick for the ROAM position in the 3rd game of the Vainglory International Premier League (Season 2) when Gabevizzle of Gankstars Sirius chose
in blind pick against Ardent Alliance. The entire series can be viewed here:
http://www.twitch.tv/ognglobal/v/34049081 (Game 3 starts @ 1:33:00). At the time, there was quite a lot of controversy surrounding this pick.
had never been seen in competitive play before this point. However, as many people didn't know, Gankstars Sirius and Ardent Alliance had spent the previous 5 weeks scrimmaging each other on a daily basis. Gankstars Sirius knew that for these previous 5 weeks we had been spending 90% of our time playing and practicing buff comps exactly like the CRYSTAL POWER BUFF ADAGIO guide I published before this. What is the single greatest hero threat?
.
has 3 different paths of initiation in which he can quickly maneuver onto Adagio who will quickly be killed from his lack of defensive items. In this game 3, had we chosen Adagio with the intention of playing a buff comp as we had been doing for the last 5 weeks, Gankstars Sirius would have looked absolutely brilliant. Their strategy was sound and I do give them a ton of credit for trying to predict this outcome. Unfortunately, they got unlucky.
I believe
is very effective because of his innate ability to catch enemies by surprise and quickly burst them down. Both his KAITEN and X-RETSU pair incredibly well with STORMGUARD BANNER and can quickly turn enemies to ashes.
is devastating for squishy heroes who are reliant upon their range to kite opponents but fortunately for
, assassins are not easily kited. At the expense of utility and defensive items, Taka's best defense is his offensive nature in which he kills enemies before they know what has happened.
HOUSE KAMUHA (Heroic Perk) Top
Difficulty: MEDIUM --- Position: JUNGLE (ROAM for this guide) --- Role: ASSASSIN
is a stealthy assassin who weaves in and out of battle, eliminating targets with his switchblades. With proper timing, and combat awareness,
can pick off an enemy and escape -- only to reappear again for another kill. Start
in the [ROAM position], but feel free to venture into the lane to surpass your opponents
HOUSE KAMUHA - Every 5 seconds,
's next basic attack is replaced with a Mortal Strike. Mortal Strike deals 40 (+25% weapon ratio) bonus damage and grants
a burst of movement speed. Whenever
Mortral Strikes or uses an ability, he gains a stack of Ki, which speeds up his Mortal Strike timer by 0.9 seconds and grants 25% cool down speed.
's House Kamuha is perhaps one of his biggest strengths. When playing
as a ROAM, it is essential that 5 stacks of Ki are maintained as much as possible, and certainly built as quickly as possible during team fights. All of
's abilities (SEE BELOW) grant stacks of Ki as well as reset the timer for the heroic perk. High level players manage this perk incredibly well and consistently take advantage of the speed boost that is granted after attacking as well as the increased damage coming from the Mortral Strike. ROAM
is still able to produce high amount of damage from only having a STORMGUARD BANNER if this perk is managed well enough. Advice on how to manage the heroic perk for optimal performance can be viewed in the chapter 'PRO TIPS'
KAITEN (A Ability) Top
KAITEN -
flips over his target, cutting it with his switchblade.
is invulnerable to damage & debuffs while in mid-air.
Using KAITEN: Not only will KAITEN deal a substantial amount of damage to the targeted enemy, but it will also allow
to dodge EVERYTHING. Yes, e v e r y t h i n g. He cannot be stunned. He cannot be slowed. He cannot take damage. This benefit was unique to
until the introduction of Blackfeather (Although Blackfeather can take damage, albeit reduced). This makes
incredibly deadly against particular heroes such as Catherine or Celeste who are very reliant upon their stuns in order to be effective. A highly skilled Taka can predict when he will be stunned and simply use KAITEN to dodge it. In the early game (see below), Kaiten is essential for building stacks of Ki thus improving jungle clear speeds.
What to avoid:
-Avoid taking last hits from your jungle carry. Katie deals an immense amount of damage that can often result in last hits (even on accident).
-Avoid using KAITEN immediately when playing against heroes who can stun. In high level gameplay, talented ROAM players will wait until
has used his KAITEN so that they can guarantee he will be stunned. A good
will hold this ability to dodge enemy stuns.
-Avoid using this ability once 5 stacks of Ki have developed ONLY when clearing the jungle. This is to manage
's energy. Because he is the ROAM in this guide, he will not have the benefit of energy regeneration from last hitting the heal minions. His small energy pool requires careful management.
KAKU (B Ability) Top
KAKU -
throws a smoke bomb at his feet, vanishing from enemy sight and gaining move speed. This illusion ends early he strikes a target or takes direct damage. Turrets and Flare Guns can still see
. This ability heals
while he is invisible.
Using KAKU - KAKU is the melee version of kiting. There are predominantly 4 different ways for KAKU to be used most effectively.
1.
can be aggressive at the start of a fight, use KAKU after he has received the focus of the enemy team, wait for the enemy team to focus one of
's allies, and then return to battle.
2.
can use KAKU to gain a positioning advantage over his enemies. Either in the lane or the jungle,
can preemptively use KAKU to stand on top of his enemies without them knowing. Before they know what has happened,
has already used his KAITEN (see above) and his X-RETSU (see below) which almost certainly has taken over 50% of the health from his enemies.
3. When losing the jungle,
can use this ability to navigate past enemies into the opposing teams jungle and steal it for himself.
4. When doing the jungle rotation,
should activate this ability if it is possible to maintain his stacks of Ki to improve clear speeds.
What to avoid:
-Avoid panicking. The optimal time to use this ability is when
is the focus of the enemy team's damage. HOWEVER, talented enemies will prematurely deploy a flare gun.
should be weary of this and escape the radius of the flare gun before using KAKU.
-Avoid using this ability when maintaining stacks of Ki is not feasible. ROAM
has a very limited energy pool and should use it sparingly.
X-RETSU (C Ability) Top
X-RETSU -
bursts through his target, carving an X with his switchblades for lethal damage. The target suffers a mortal wound, reducing its healing by 50% and taking damage per second over the next 3 seconds. The wound's duration is refreshed whenever
mortal strikes this target. Grants bonus Ki stacks upon use based on number of ability points in X-RETSU.
Using X-RETSU - X-RETSU is
's easiest way to shut down enemy carries.
can use this ability to deal immense amount of damage. Similar to KAITEN, this ability will build stacks of Ki which is essential for ROAM
in 1.14.
should prioritize the enemy carry with the least amount of armor as to burst this hero down the quickest. However, there are exceptions based upon the enemy team heroes. See ITEMS section for a deeper explanation of how to most effectively use X-RETSU.
What to avoid:
1. Avoid using X-RETSU on tanky heroes. ROAM
is most effective by bursting down squishy heroes.
2. Avoid using X-RETSU to clear jungle minions. This ability requires a large amount of energy and should only be used to kill jungle minions if stealing them from an opponent.
Best heroes to pair with ROAM TAKA Top
1. Krul - Krul is a monster if he is not killed quickly. If
initiates a team fight, Krul can follow behind him and begin building stacks.
can exit the fight when he becomes weak, forcing the enemy team to shift focus onto Krul.
can then re-enter the fight and clean up kills while Krul regenerates all of his health from his stacks of SPECTRAL SMITE.
2. Koshka - Arguably the single strongest early game hero,
is a close second. Kosher and
can out damage perhaps every single other jungle composition. This pair relies on coordinated, raw aggressive to destroy the enemy team.
3. Fortress - Carry fortress, both as weapon power and crystal power, has become quite common in 1.14. Relying upon his Law of the Claw, Taka can quickly proc the bleed stacks making this a very deadly jungle duo.
Pro Tips Top
1. Skill skipping - in all of my guides, the suggested path for choosing abilities ALL involves skill skipping. What is skill skipping? A unique opportunity presents itself when all heroes reach level 5. The average player will simply choose as ability which most commonly is the level 2 ability of their less important ability (Petal's Trampoline 'jump' is a good example). This ability does NOT receive a large benefit of putting additional points into. For
, this ability is his KAKU. While KAKU in and of itself is a very important ability, the ability itself does not scale very well and
does not receive a very large benefit from putting points into it. So one you reach level 5 on ROAM
, DO NOT select an ability. When
reaches level 6, he will now be able to upgrade his KAITEN to level 4, as well as gaining access to X-RETSU. (This is different than having level 3 KAITEN, level 2 KAKU, and level 1 X-RETSU which is the most typical skill path for
)
2. Hold your KAITEN. Most
will want to use KAITEN immediately in a team fight as to deal the most amount of damage possible. However, KAITEN can also be much more effective if used to prevent a debuff or incoming damage. This could be dodging a MERCILESS PURSUIT from Catherine or HELLFIRE BREW from Ringo.
EARLY GAME Top
How to play the EARLY GAME:
1. Starting ITEMS: IRONGUARD CONTRACT, HALCYON POTION, FLARE GUN - Buying 2 potions is unnecessary because
will receive health back from the IRONGUARD CONTRACT. The potion should only be used during the engagement with enemies after the first rotation.
2. Autoattack + KAITEN + Autoattack the first healer minion at the start of the game. Then allow your jungle carry to finish killing it while
begins to kill the large double minions. (PRO TIP: Allow your jungle carry to kill the double minions on his own such that he gets solo experience and can reach level 2 after the first rotation is done - if the opposing team does not do this, your team will have a clear advantage if they force a fight).
3. Move to the inner healer minion and use KAITEN again. This is to ensure the fastest clear speed as possible. (PRO TIP: Also allow the jungle carry to solo kill this minion for additional experience).
4. After you have cleared your jungle, you should have roughly 300 gold, and 5 stacks of Ki. Shop quickly. Either purchase Oakheart or Light Shield+Scout Trap. If your opposition does high crystal damage, I recommend the light shield with scout trap. If they prioritize weapon power, buy the oak heart. Whichever route is taken, they will be the start of your first tier 3 item, fountain of renewal.
5. Force a fight. From
's HOUSE KAHUMA, he can almost certainly chase every hero in the early game. If you have managed to clear your jungle faster than your opponents, your item and level advantage (using the PRO TIPS above) you will almost certainly win this fight.
6. If you win this team fight, proceed to invade enemies jungle. If you lose this team fight (or it is a stalemate), simply return to clearing your own jungle.
becomes rapidly stronger in the early game reaching his peak in the mid game. Continue this cycle until
develops in both levels and items in order to capitalize on the mid game.
What to avoid:
1. Taking last hits. Always let your carries be the ones to take the last hits. You will get all of your necessary gold from the IRONGUARD CONTRACT.
2. Overextending. Because
is incredibly mobile, he can often move faster than his allies. It is important to be aware of his positioning such that if an engagement begins with enemies, his allies will be able to quickly come to his support.
MID GAME Top
How to play the MID GAME:
1. By this point,
will have developed Fountain of Renewal and Warhorn.
is now incredibly tanky, as well as able to deal massive damage from both his abilities as well as from storm guard banner. Hopefully
has capitalized on this squishiness of his enemies during the early game. Even if the game is fairly even,
should be able to dominate the mid game.
2. Get aggressive. Be willing to jump into a fight using X-RETSU in order to quickly burst down squishy opponents. Activate Warhorn so that allies are able to follow up and capitalize on his burst damage. When
and his allies become low in health, activate Fountain of Renewal.
3. Secure objectives. Because of his dominance, focus on securing objectives such as minion mines, gold mine, and pushing turrets. Creating a gold advantage is very important for
who tends to fall off in the late game now that enemies have begun to build defensive items.
4. If a gold advantage is built during this time, prioritize building damage items such as tension bow to further increase his amount of burst damage. If the mid game is fairly even,
should prioritize building utility items such as Atlas Pauldron, Crucible, or Shiversteel for the late game.
What to avoid:
1. Taking last hits. Always let your carries be the ones to take the last hits. You will get all of your necessary gold from the IRONGUARD CONTRACT.
2. Overextending. Because
is incredibly mobile, he can often move faster than his allies. It is important to be aware of his positioning such that if an engagement begins with enemies, his allies will be able to quickly come to his support.
LATE GAME Top
How to play the LATE GAME:
1. The late game can be challenging for ROAM
. If he did not have a successful campaign in the early and mid game, the late game will surely be a struggle. At this point, enemies have developed a significant amount of both health and armor which will drastically reduce the amount of burst damage which is what ROAM
normally relies upon. However, a successful showing in the early and mid games means that
can be incredibly impactful during the late game.
2. STRONG EARLY/MID - Prioritize damage items.
can continue bursting enemies from the lead that was developed. Both weapon and crystal infusions are powerful tools for
during the late game. Capture both minion mines, and secure Kraken. Prioritize a tension bow for damage. Shiversteel is also a good item because it makes
tankier and prevents enemies from fleeing his burst.
3. AVERAGE EARLY/MID - Prioritize infusions.
's abilities all scale very well with crystal power. A crystal infusion will enhance the damage coming out of his abilities as well as the additional cool down reduction. A weapon infusion increases the damage of his basic attacks as well as increases in attack speed. Both infusions will increase Taka's armor and shield enabling him to still focus the enemies squishy carries.
4. WEAK EARLY/MID - A weak/early mid game is very hard for Taka to deal with. Prioritize utility and defensive items such as crucible, atlas pauldron, and shiversteel. Taka will not be able to freely target heroes as he would and should try and be a distraction while his allies deal the damage. Infusions are still strong in this scenario.
What to avoid:
1. Avoid overextending. Remember that Taka can quickly move too far away from his allies which may result in an accidental 1v3.
2. Energy conservation. Now that all of his abilities are increasing in levels, they will proportionally cost significantly more energy. It is very important for Taka to conserve his energy to that he will have all of his abilities available in the event that a team fight arises.
There are several different items that Taka can build depending on the situation:
Crucible - best utilized against teams with area of effect (AOE) abilities.
Examples: Blast Tremor (Catherine), Verse of Judgement (Adagio), Dragon Breath (Skaarf).
Atlas Pauldron - best utilized against teams with high attack speeds. Taka can either KAKU or X-RETSU to a target and then immediately use Atlas Pauldron to hinder enemy damage output from basic attacks.
Examples: SAW, Ringo, Krul, Blackfeather, Rona
Aftershock - Best utilized against heroes that rely on long team fights and/or stacks from a breaking point. Aftershock greatly increases the amount of burst damage that can be done to enemies as well as slightly reduces cool downs. Aftershock pairs incredibly will with a tension bow enabling Taka to provide large amounts of burst damage. Aftershock is also very effective against heroes which have built a lot of health.
Examples: Krul, Ringo, Blackfeather
Tension Bow - Best utilized against heroes that rely on long team fights and/or stacks from a breaking point. Tension Bow greatly increases the amount of burst damage that can be done to enemies as well as pierces armor and increases basic attack damage. Tension pairs incredibly will with an aftershock enabling Taka to provide large amounts of burst damage. Tension bow is also very effective against heroes which have built a lot of armor due to the piercing percentage in the passive.
Examples: Krul, Ringo, Blackfeather
Shiversteel - Best utilized against enemy heroes that rely on kiting mechanics and/or enabling your teammates from being kited.
Examples: Vox, Skye, Ringo
Using these different items depending on the situation will surely give you an advantage in team fights. Late game roam Taka should attempt to prioritize the squishiest threat on the enemy team with his X-RETSU but if an opportunity to create separation of a team during a fight presents itself this is also a viable plan of action (ex. using Shiversteel to prevent separated enemies from fleeing).
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