Your Perk, and Abilities. (Please read them up on the official hero page before reading this) Top
Notes before beginning: Alpha's abilities are self-vampiric, taking her own health and exchanging it for damage or lifesteal. This effect is very minute and almost completely unnoticeable, though, so don't worry about it. Just think about the lifesteal and damage :P
I also apologise as I got lazy writing paragraphs for all the different threats, so I tried my best to condense them into universal ones that generally fit both
WP and
CP builds. May edit in the future when I have more time. Hope you enjoy my first guide! Now, let's begin!
Heroic Perk:
Infinite Reboot
Playing
Alpha, your heroic perk is
Infinite Reboot. It allows you to enter a
revive cycle the moment you die, effectively giving you
two health bars. This
revive cycle takes a while, and for its entire duration you're
immobile and
unable to attack. Enemies will have to try their best to terminate you before you're fully revived coupled with a
fresh new supply of health, a task that can prove to be rather difficult if you've built
enough health. Yes, the supply of health enemies have to deplete while you're rebooting
scales with the amount you've built. A counter for
Infinite Reboot replaces your
energy bar. When it's full and white, it means that there's a Reboot available. Upon being taken down, the bar will begin to slowly slide to zero, indicating the time left until you're
fully revived (when the bar reaches zero). The bar will then slowly slide back up to full again, showing how much time left before you have another Reboot available. Note that
Infinite Reboot does not instantly charge back to full when you
respawn, but the timer until a new Reboot is available does keep counting when you're dead.
Infinite Reboot is extremely powerful in early game, allowing you to survive most 1v1s and rise back up to finish what you started.
A Ability:
Prime Directive
Upon execution of
Prime Directive, you will scan a
shoulder-width line of land
in front of you. Upon the line making contact with an
Enemy Hero,
Jungle Minion,
Enemy Turret,
Hostile Miner,
Hostile Kraken or
Enemy Vain Crystal, said target will instantly be
slowed down and you will
teleport behind them, swinging your sword in a
full circle around you, dealing
damage to the scanned target and
reduced AoE damage to any enemy in the radius. This works on enemies who aren't currently visible, such as
Taka when he's in
Kaku and
Kestrel when she's in
Active Camo. Upon successful full execution of
Prime Directive, all your stacks of
negative
Core Charge effects will also be cleared. Damage of
Prime Directive scales with the number of stacks removed. When overdrived, the range of
Prime Directive is increased from 10 to 12.
Prime Directive is an extremely effective brush-checking ability, but exercise caution when doing so, because you really wouldn't want teleport solo right behind two enemy heroes in their brush.
Prime Directive is my favourite
Alpha ability. It deals exceptional damage, especially when used with 3 negative stacks of
Core Charge. With practice, it become virtually impossible to miss this. I've played
Alpha for my whole account life, and I almost miss one, even when snapping to something behind a wall that I can't see. It's killer on a CP build, and offers decent damage and also a very nice method to keep connecting with enemy heroes on a WP build.
B Ability:
Core Charge
Core Charge executes a quick dash towards a target, which works
through walls. Upon contact with said target, you'll cleave it vertically,
land a basic attack, and
fracture the ground beneath them, dealing
crystal damage to the target and anything that's very
close around it (The official description states "small area", but what SEMC actually meant was more along the lines of "2 meter circle"). Basic attacks
reduce the cooldown of
Core Charge by 1 second (1.2 seconds when overdrived). Upon successful full execution of
Core Charge,
Alpha will be granted a stack of
Core Charge. It'll show up as two stacks, but one is for the positive effects (Increased damage for subsequent executions of
Core Charge and basic attack lifesteal) while the other is for the negative effects (Health cost goes up by 2.5%).
Core Charge stacks are
capped at 3, so make sure to use
Prime Directive before they expire to get rid of the negative effects and deal additional damage.
Basic attacks refresh the expiry time of
Core Charge stacks.
Core Charge is extremely convenient, acting as a constant source of chase connection and
crystal damage. Definitely the first ability you should learn. Use it in quick 3 burst successions, then clear them with a
Prime Directive. This combo should get rid of most minions rather easily, and is great against enemy heroes, especially when they're running. But sometimes it works a little
too easily, and leaves you with nothing left to use
Prime Directive on, but that's alright.
Ultimate Ability:
Termination Protocol
Upon activation,
Termination Protocol grants
Alpha an acceptable amount of
fortified health and
briefly increases her movement speed. Soon after, she'll
lose a ton of movement speed, dropping to 50% speed as of Update 1.22. I love SEMC for changing this from the original drop to 30% movement speed. After a while, or directly upon losing all of her
fortified health,
Alpha will
stop completely and
self-destruct, dealing
literally ridiculous crystal damage to everything in a decently wide area around her and initiating
Infinite Reboot. On a
crystal build, this will absolutely decimate everything around you when it detonates. Enemies will be scared, and enemies will run.
Prime Directive and
Core Charge, along with
basic attacks, can still be used while
Termination Protocol is initiating, so be sure to utilise them properly to deal damage or latch on to all those scared enemies trying to escape. Remember to use
Termination Protocol only when you're
low on health, in order not to waste its potential. Enemy heroes capable of stunning can negate your
Termination Protocol when you're
low on health and jump you straight into your
Infinite Reboot. Avoiding situations like that requires experience to time your
Termination Protocol properly, so just play more!
The
speed boost at the beginning of
Termination Protocol is very useful for getting out of sticky situations, or just
replenishing your health if you're low and don't want to go back to base.
Boots do work while
Termination Protocol is initiating, so don't hesitate to use them to chase enemies down. You can also activate
Termination Protocol in advance then use your
Prime Directive to snap behind an enemy and detonate instantly, but I'd strongly advise against it unless you're sure you can get the kill and not die immediately afterwards.
Gameplay Tactics and Combos Top
Playing as
Alpha, you're ideal in the
jungle. Your performance will falter terribly in
lane and
roam, usually proving fatally detrimental to your team. So
don't instalock if both of your teammates are going
jungle/
roam, it just won't work. Truth be told though,
Alpha is great at supressing the
lane for short periods of time when needed. This usually happens when your
laner is gone and you get in for a good gank on the enemy one, causing him to run after doing enough damage. You can then proceed to swiftly take out all enemy minions, but
don't push, lest you get ganked and die. Just stay in
lane and keep terminating minions with either your
WP attack speed or
CP
Core Charge AoE damage, both are equally good at messing up enemy waves.
But that's all miscellaneous information which I really should have saved for later- now I'll get into actual, real-time gameplay.
When the Match Begins
The moment the match starts you'd want to get your starting items quick and head towards the 3-minion farm area in the
jungle nearer to the shop. Here, you can either take on the
Treant solo while your
roamer begins engaging the other 2 minions, or you can pair up with your
roamer to kill the 2 minions first. Immediately after this, go to the other 3-minion farm area at your team's side and farm as per usual. Make your first trip to the shop afterwards to stock up on items.
My tip for these first crucial moments of the game would be to pair up with your
roamer to get the lowest 2 minions first, then take the
Treant solo, leading it closer to the other farm while your
roamer engages the 2 minions there. Build up your stacks of
Core Charge, then use them to your advantage to finish off the work your
roamer has been doing on those 2 farm minions. Proceed to kill other
Treant, then head to shop.
You should avoid any fights in the first few minutes of the match unless the enemy chases you back to your side of the
jungle. Though you can easily win fights with your
Infinite Reboot and
roamer, there's no guarantee that their
laner won't come down and mess you up.
When Mining Begins
When Mining starts, you'll follow the lead of your
roamer. If he chooses to engage the Minion Mine at your side, go ahead and help him out, preferably getting the last hit for that
sexy 150 gold. Preferably leave the Mines alone until a few minutes later though, for your
laner to get some more farm. Definitely leave the
Gold Mine alone until a while after it's full or if the enemy is taking it and you're confident of getting a steal.
Mid-Game
By Mid-Game you've probably got a decently rounded build that gives your
Alpha a substantial boost in most of her stats. You've probably ganked the enemy
laner to harass him a few times already, and picked a little on the enemy
jungler with the company of your
roamers. Get your build a little past what I've stated you should get for a Mid-Game build (around 2 new items), then start to
fully aggress the enemy team. You're great at supporting and initiating team fights now, and also efficient at chasing down lone souls. Secure your Minion Mine,
attempt to invade the enemy
jungle a few times and
together with your team attempt to capture the
Gold Mine at least once.
Kraken Emergence
When the
Kraken emerges, go weapons free. Initiate team fights within the proximity of your teammates using a 3 stack
Prime Directive, then just play normally once the fight begins, slashing up enemies and occasionally chasing them down. Be warned when using
Prime Directive in the
jungle though, since you'll often get blocked by
jungle minions, making it a little inconvenient to chase enemies down sometimes. However, they also serve as a great
means of escape back into your
jungle if you're about to die. Remember to activate
Termination Protocol when you're
low on health during a team fight, as you'll either
deal good damage to enemies or force them to run.
Ideally after an
Ace or when only one enemy is left and you're sure you can take them down quite easily, start capturing the
Kraken. You should have a close to full build by now, and be able to dish out a constant supply of rather potent
CP or
WP damage. Alternatively if the enemy team somehow manages to begin capturing before you do, you can snap in
after activating
Termination Protocol, use
Core Charge to get some damage on the
Kraken and hopefully get the steal with a
Core Charge or
Termination Protocol detonation.
End Game
End Game is pretty straightforward. Stick with your team, initiate team fights and push their
base and
lane. If the
Kraken is in your possession,
wait for your team then follow it to push into the enemy
base. If the
Kraken is on the enemy's team,
wait for your team, assemble around the furthest Turret and pile damage onto the oversized turtle or camp at your Minion Mine to get some sneak attacks on the enemy. Trust me when I say that your instinct will take over during End Game. You don't need a guide; it'll feel all natural. Become one with
Alpha.
Combos
Combos with
Alpha are really fun. The one you'll be utilizing the most is called a stacked
Prime Directive, whereby you build up to 3 stacks of
Core Charge by using
Core Charge then execute
Prime Directive for
increased damage. When chasing with this, it can prove useful to be able to change directions and targets (Very much like Attack On Titan). Let's say you're chasing an enemy back into his Turret. You use
Core Charge 3 times, and realise that he gets out of safe chasing range. You then spot their
laner further away from the Turret, and now you can use your 3 stack
Prime Directive to escape the range of the Turret completely and start dealing damage to him at the same time.
You can also experiment around with
Termination Protocol, activating it in advance then using either
Prime Directive or
Core Charge to snap to a target and detonate instantly.
I heavily discourage this on a WP build or unless the situation is perfect for it though, since doing so leads to immediate death in most cases.
Some Tips and Tricks Top
Always have map awareness. This applies to most heroes, but as
Alpha, although you're a damage dealer it also makes you a great enemy deterrent. If your
laner or
roamer needs help, immediately head up and you might
save his life. Then everyone will think you're an even bigger carry.
Practice, practice, practice! I'll admit it- though the official description states her difficulty level as medium, she's
by far one of the hardest heroes currently available to play. Landing those Prime Directives and timing those
Core Charge executions will take a
VERY, VERY long time to get right. So if you're planning on playing
Alpha long-term, be warned that it will be a
huge commitment. You don't want to be a burden, now do you?
Be familiar with all the ability and item effects. You'll want to be able to adapt your playing style to properly counter the effects of the abilities and items your enemies possess, in order to max out your efficiency. For example, you'll want to know only to use
Prime Directive AFTER
Taka uses his
Kaku. This will allow you to provide way better support during team fights, and trust me, your teammates will be very grateful in return.
Help out your teammates. I really can't stress this enough, especially with
Alpha. When someone's in trouble and you can see it,
get there as fast as you can and
try to avert a death. Ping
properly and responsibly to call your teammates to certain locations where you think their presence is needed. If they don't listen, then improvise, because it's everyone's game and you're not the one calling all the shots. And don't be dumb- if there's only two of you left and your teammate is stuck in a 1v3, don't rush there to try and help him out. you'll both die, get
Aced, and your teammates will most likely start pinging inherently angry question marks all over your corpse.
Good job! You're now one step closer to mastering Alpha. Top
Thanks so much for reading my first guide! I hope you've learnt something useful from it. Please give feedback if you have any, and point out typos if you can find them (I really hate typos). Maybe even comment something useful you've learnt or something useful that you think can be added to this guide?
I'll probably be updating this soon when I have the time, so stay tuned.
Happy Hunting on the Fold!
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