In Update 3.4, new tank items were announced, giving more power to the tank heroes... especially tank supports like
Ardan. Synergies between
Capacitor Plate and
Rook's Decree as well as with
Ardan's
Vanguard and
Crucible all positively affect
Ardan's ability to tank damage and provide his teammates with a little help. These items are essential as they provide large amounts of max health for
Ardan's passive ability. The addition of
Slumbering Husk greatly affected
Ardan's build path:
Slumbering Husk allows
Ardan to build into a large amount of armor and shield earlier in the game without sacrificing much health in the late game. Instead of having to build two or more defensive items with low base health stats, the combination of
Slumbering Husk and
Capacitor Plate permit
Ardan to focus more on building towards max health synergy while providing generous amounts of armor and shield.
Update 3.5 nerfed
Poisoned Shiv as well as many other offensive items and heroes. These changes only solidify the role of tanks in Vainglory, and with these new changes, it is time for
Ardan to shine.
This chapter will justify the final build I have chosen for
Ardan
This item is overall solid on
Ardan. It synergizes with
Ardan's
Blood for Blood, which can apply the passive component of
Rook's Decree. The barrier from the passive also synergizes with additional health, which is going to be boosted by all the other tank items in the final build.
Rook's Decree grants a whopping 600 health bonus, with an all-important stat boost of 15% CDR and some energy regen (which will be converted to vengeance regen) for
Ardan's abilities. Overall, this item is perfect on
Ardan, though building this item will not always be a #1 priority depending on the enemy team composition (your ability to activate the item's passive will ultimately decide for you whether it is worth prioritizing or not).
Another perfect item for
Ardan. Out of all the items in the build, this one should be a top priority! Why is this item so good? Well, there are several reasons. First, it grants a load of useful stats: 450 bonus health along with 30 armor and 30 shield provide
Ardan with a sheer ton of survivability, while 15% CDR and 2.5 energy regen (again, converted to vengeance regen) dramatically lowers the cooldown of
Ardan's abilities. Second,
Capacitor Plate's first passive provides a huge boost to
Ardan's
Vanguard and other barrier-granting item actives like
Rook's Decree and
Crucible. Finally,
Capacitor Plate's second passive further boosts the effect of
Ardan's barriers by providing a speed boost to help allies catch enemies or run away.
Again, this item is another optimal one for
Ardan due to its barrier granting ability, which also has the effect of blocking crowd control. Another great benefit of
Crucible is its 700 health stat boost, which can positively affect
Ardan's passive and barrier making abilities.
This item is my favorite from the 3.4 tank update, and it's not hard to see why. Before
Slumbering Husk, tanks were all-but-in-name required to build at least one armor and one shield item (both which usually granted very little health). However,
Slumbering Husk allows tanks and offensive heroes alike to comfortably build into defense items earlier in the game without sacrificing one or more extra item spaces. In addition,
Slumbering Husk synergizes with
Ardan's health potential by preventing burst damage from ruining your day.
Obviously, boots are a must, and since this guide builds support
Ardan, it would only make sense to build this support upgrade to the
Travel Boots. Another option for 5v5 mode is
Teleport Boots which are better due to their ability to grant a barrier and some extra mobility around the large 5v5 map.
This item is a priority due to its incredible base stats, which grants a large amount of health, CDR, and vengeance regen along with the ability to utilize vision control. This item is a 100% must for playing support. It's 5v5 alternate,
SuperScout 2000 is practically the same thing and should be built in 5v5 mode.
P:
Julia's Gift
This passive has multiple components that ultimately define what makes
Ardan an especially unique hero. The first component grants
Ardan healing that scales off of missing health when
Ardan is damaged. Building health items on
Ardan will increase the rate of healing and the amount of damage that
Ardan can take. The second component outlines
Ardan's secondary bar, which is vengeance instead of energy. This second component means that
Ardan will not run out of energy and is therefore excellent at maintaining sustain over time.
A:
Vanguard
This ability allows
Ardan to grant a barrier and speed boost to an ally that scales with 30% of maximum health. This ability can also be self-cast, albeit with half effectiveness, so it is in your best interest to use this ability all the time on allies that are in need. Since this ability scales off of max health, it incentivizes a health-centric build. You can use this ability to go over walls if the target ally is on the other side of a wall, and it can be used to engage, escape, or kite. The possibilities are endless, and this is by far
Ardan's most useful ability. However, I overdrive this after
Blood for Blood since the ability to grant barriers to teammates is less useful in the early game.
B:
Blood for Blood
This ability is a simple basic attack modifier that deals extra damage. This is useful for clearing monsters in the jungle and can also be used to engage enemies. It can be used to go over walls if the target enemy is on the other side of a wall, and this ability deals a large amount of damage (which is the main incentive for leveling this ability). I overdrive this ability first since the damage from prioritizing this ability outclasses
Vanguard's barrier granting ability, which only becomes extremely impactful in the later stages of the game.
C:
Gauntlet
Ardan's ultimate ability sends
Ardan to a target location and surrounds that location with an octagonal boundary that stuns enemies that try to get through. This ability is very useful for picking out specific enemies. And like
Ardan's other abilities, this ultimate can be used to launch
Ardan over a wall to escape, engage, or kite enemies. I do not overdrive this ability because I find that overdriving
Ardan's other abilities are more effective and efficient overall.
The recent 3.5 update has given more hope for tank players, yet the meta is always forever shifting. I will change this guide in the future if drastic patch/meta changes occur.
Till then, thanks for reading this guide!
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