ADAGIO, THE PERFECT VERSATILE

Adagio is perfect for lane, jungle, roam, whatever. With enough crystal he can wipe the lane clean. With good support items, he can change the game completely. A well chosen item path and well played Adagio can take a game from "we suck" to "we can take the crystal."

This guide has a few chapters that explain how to use Adagio to his fullest. If you need a guide to use while playing because you forgot to look it up and your about to buy your first items in the game RIGHT NOW!!!!!! ... then check out the Super Quick Guide just below this. If you have time, read my Not So Quick Guide for insights and why I chose this build path.

I aimed this guide toward new players and experienced players. If you are experienced then skip my Side Notes but if you are new to Vain Glory then please read on!

I have another build path coming (Hard Crystal) so look out for that soon!

Index:
Item Build Path and Exploration
Life Giving Support Ideology
General Adagio Play

This is all I have so far but please upvote or comment if you have any suggestions!

Super Quick Guide

1---Two Halcyon Potion and an Ironguard Contract 2--- Lifespring and Sprint Boots. 3--- Kinetic Shield. 4--- Fountain of Renewal. 5--- Void Battery and a Crystal Bit ---> Eve of Harvest. 6--- Stormguard Banner and Dragonheart ---> Warhorn. 7--- Sprint Boots ---> Travel Boots 8a--- Crucible or other defense items 8b--- Shatterglass

Quick Guide

1---Start off with two Halcyon Potion and an Ironguard Contract and quickly get into the lane or jungle. 2---Move towards a Lifespring and Sprint Boots. 3---Then get a Light Shield or Kinetic Shield. 4---Your first tier 3 item needs to be Fountain of Renewal. 5---Then get an Energy Battery and a Crystal Bit in order to begin to build towards an Eve of Harvest. 6---Grab the Eve of Harvest and get the Stormguard Banner and Dragonheart in order to build towards a Warhorn. 7---After that, up your Sprint Boots to Travel Boots and work towards other defense items. **Beginner's Note** If they build weapon, get either Atlas Pauldron or Metal Jacket. If they build crystal, get an Aegis or a Crucible (for an enemy team with good stuns) or another Fountain of Renewal if your teammates are dying too often. 8---Finally, if you have enough and don't need the extra defensive items, start your way to a Shatterglass with a Crystal Bit or Heavy Prism.

Not So Quick Guide

Early Game

Start off with two Halcyon Potion and an Ironguard Contract and quickly get into the lane or jungle.

Side Note When playing a support role you will almost always play next to another ally, especially mid to late game. Because of this, to maximize gold and to get a little bit of health regen, I almost always get Ironguard Contract. They've upped the amount of gold a support receives (50% now) when you're next to an ally who gets a last hit, so you can maximize your gold quicker as a support.

When you are low on health or energy, go back to your shop, heal up and grab a Lifespring and Sprint Boots. The Lifepsring allows you to be in the game longer without having to heal yourself but rather your allies. Hopefully your allies are in the midst of the minions or enemies and when you use Gift of Fire you can light em up!

When you get the chance, head to the jungle shop and grab a Light Shield or Kinetic Shield so you can take some hits and build your way to a Fountain of Renewal.


Mid Game

Your first tier 3 item needs to be Fountain of Renewal. Then get an Energy Battery and a Crystal Bit in order to begin to build towards an Eve of Harvest.

The Fountain of Renewal is key for long battles but needs to be used correctly. If you notice, it says that it takes a percentage of missing health and adds that on for three seconds. That means you need to use it when your allies have low health but you shouldn't wait too long because...well...they'll die.
The Fountain of Renewal also plays along with your Gift of Fire. If needed, heal your ally in both ways while also lighting up the enemy and then you can take some damage for your allies because you've got an Eve of Harvest.

Side Note Eve of Harvest is key to Adagio's Gift of Fire. The more minions or enemy heroes you light up, the more life steal you get. Use it well, use it wisely.

Late Game

If you haven't already, grab that Eve of Harvest and get the Stormguard Banner and Dragonheart in order to build towards a Warhorn. Once you get the chance, build that Warhorn so you can give more speed to you and your teammates.
Once you have gotten these items, start to build against your enemies. Are they killing your teammates more? Get another Fountain of Renewal to help them stay in the game a little more. Do they have a Krul with a Tornado Trigger? Get an Atlas Pauldron to slow him down during big team fights. Are they stunning you or your teammates too much and getting the kills that way? Get a Crucible and learn to predict their stuns. Crucible is specially helpful against a strong Ringo when he launches his ult. Are you able to get some good kills but not enough or you wish you could do more? Grab a Clockwork to just throw your fire around again and again or a Shatterglass and just kill it out there.

Side Note Crucible is a great item when used correctly. Time and time again I have seen someone (myself included) trigger it too early and not get the block against a stun. Learn people's ults/stuns and how fast or slow they are so you can use Crucible or Reflex Block to their fullest.

Late Game is where you shine like the sun. Late game is when you are needed the most when you have two squishy heavy hitters. If you have a crazy head on teammate (many times a Taka or Koshka) who can't help rushing into the fray, stay close and have your Gift of Fire ready right away to light it up. If that Koshka is in between three enemies, GREAT! Give her a boost with Agent of Wrath and light them up with Gift of Fire and get ready to use your Fountain of Renewal. Your job is to slow the enemy, trickle at their health, and heal your allies. When needed, light them up and use your ult to stun them (for tips on using your ult to it's fullest, check out the previous section on General Adagio Play).

What should a support do?

Earn gold in the background.

As a support, if you are in the jungle with a warrior or assassin, your job is to help them kill the minions without taking the last kill. This way, they can build heavy hitting items quick while you can build your support a little slower. Because of your abilities, you can help support even without as many items. The faster your heavy hitters can hit hard, the better your team battles become.

Allow hard hitters to hit longer.

Since you can heal so much (between Gift of Fire and Fountain of Renewal) you can allow your squishy players to last longer which can lead to an Ace! If you have a Celeste or Taka who isn't lasting as long in team battles then your job is to keep them from dying.

Use flares and mines.

I explain this a little more in the When There Is No Tank section but flares and mines are KEY to controlling the game. The more you can see, the more you know, and "if you are to walk into hell, at least walk into it with good intel" (quote from Halo, Ghosts of Onyx).

Have an eye for the whole arena.

If you are using mines and flares properly, you should be able to see a decent amount of the jungle and lane. If you are just focused on getting last kills in the lane when you're alone, your teammates will get ganked and all of the sudden you have purple question marks all over your lane. It is necessary to keep an eye on your teammates and enemies on your mini map. Be especially aware when you see your teammates go into enemy jungle territory. That's a sign that they might need your healing in just a moment.

When Should I Use A Support Role?

A support role is needed for most games. If you have a Krul and a Joule that are building strong defense items, go HARD on crystal. But if you have a crystal Petal and a weapon Ringo then support is key (Petal, Ringo, and Adagio? That's a funny bunch...). You can almost always go with a support role but you need to support SOMETHING and if your teammates aren't hitting hard then you know that it's time to build some offensive items.


When There Is No Tank

Imagine you are in a real war zone. You have a gun in your hand and tons of heavy equipment strapped to every possible spot on your body. You're walking along an alley and someone yells, "Grenade!" Immediately you jump down and get into some sort of crevice and suddenly all hell breaks loose.

Now, would you rather jump out into the fray and just start shooting or wait for a big heavy tank to lead the way? I commend all the people actually fighting for freedom out there right now but if you have a tank that's 20 seconds away and you can wait, just wait. It's the same in VG, when Ardan is a few paces behind you and you have no defense items yet, just wait for him to face check the bushes next to the Kraken. But if you're the tank, ACT LIKE IT.

You have two Fountain of Renewal and your ability is to heal yourself, you're job is to check those bushes. Of course, this is why I build Contraption pretty quickly because it allows you to stop ganks and push farther into the jungle without having to face check. In the end, if this is your build and there's a Crystal Koshka and a Weapon Taka on your team, you check the bushes first, period.

Why Adagio?

Adagio is an excellent player for many different things. He's not going to be the get-in-your-face type of hero. Adagio is more of a slow rising wave that can come crashing down. The word 'Adagio' actually means 'slowly' or 'at ease' and that's really the type of hero he is. Adagio is on the outside and is fluid. He just needs to be played correctly.

Ranged

Adagio is ranged which makes him a stay-on-the-outside type. This is great for the lane but also a great support in the jungle.

Adagio can change midgame

With this build Adagio can quickly change from a support to a full on crystal demon! If you have another hero ally who is building a heavy tank build, go for more crystal items.

Always be with your hard hitter

If you venture into the jungle, stick with your assassin or warrior. They are perfect beacons (see below) for when you're ganking and you can help them to hit longer.

The Ultimate Ult

Adagio has a great ult ( Verse of Judgement, which also stuns when enemies who have been lit by Gift of Fire. Let me explain, his Gift of Fire ability is already great because it slows the enemy for a moment. Combine that with Frostburn and you have a serious slow almost every time you lay down your simplest ability. Now combine that with a little beacon strategy and Verse of Judgement and the team is frozen! Not just one, not just two, but you can stun their whole team. That's a frenzy for you and your allies!

Side Note I would highly recommend a Reflex Block type of item when using Verse of Judgement. It's pretty easy for a Catherine or Krul to stop Adagio's ult. AFTER you have set off your ult, wait a minuscule moment and activate your Reflex Block if a stunner is around you. It's key to wait a moment because it's easy to set it too early and they can still block your ult.

When Playing With Toxic Jello

When playing with a Taka (one of my favorite characters to play with an Adagio) you can maximize Taka's Toxic-Jello-like style. Taka rolls up and smacks a couple faces, during that time Taka can take some damage but then run. While Taka is taking a little damage, throw your Gift of Fire at him and let its fire damage the enemy for a moment. Then allow yourself a Agent of Wrath and start going at it.
See, Taka is toxic and can deal a lot of damage very quickly and run, so he's a great 'beacon' of sorts for your Gift of Fire. This is key with Adagio - use your beacons. I explain this more in the next section.


Beacons

There are several surprising characters from Vain Glory that you can use as a beacon (a beacon is someone who is close to minions or enemy heroes that you can use Gift of Fire on and light up the enemies around that someone). You can use yourself, other ally heroes, lane minions, and even the Kraken!

Side Note - Kraken A great technique when you get the Kraken is to sit back a little, allow the enemy team to get close to the Kraken, light up the Kraken, rush in there and set off your ult. Let your teammates do the rest and disperse your powers where needed!