BLGRNT BUILDS

I've been playing Vainglory casually since around 1.6 when Rona was released. I've always been a fan of VGF guides and they've helped me a lot through the game. I never felt my understanding of the game was good enough to create build guides, I just played.

I have been a big fan of Lance since his release. Possibly one of the most versatile and agile characters in the game. He's a tank from the word go, and with a few items his health and armor sky rocket and he becomes the equivalent of beating your head against the wall taking a team to take him to the ground. With Gythian Wall he can create space and protect teammates. Yet with Impale he's very capable of playing the lane. Finally with the proper use of Combat Roll he can keep up or cut off the most slippery targets.

I have collected stats and compiled ways to understand the game, and what effects the builds truly have. Hopefully that will translate well to my build guides. I this is one of many guides I hope to make in the future. I'm not a pro player, but I think I am pretty good with analysis, and I think my guides will contribute to other players enjoying the game further.

A final note on my guides and guides in general: The author of the guide has a particular play style. As do I. My guides reflect my play style. They won't fit everyone's style. Typically for my builds I look for different ways to build characters. There isn't a reason to repeat the same stuff over and over, but mostly I look for what works for me. So understand these guides probably won't reflect the typical thought process towards a character.

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Welcome to BLG3RNT BUILDS: Lance

Throughout this guide I will explain what this build actually does for your stats, how the items affect your build and abilities. It is my hope that this will help you better understand how swapping items effects your character. A guide is a exactly that, a guide. You don't have to follow this to the letter. Your game play is probably different than mine.

The reality of this, however, is that it's virtually impossible to cover every variation against every opponent. If there is something specific you are having problems understanding let me know in the comments and I'll try to help you out. I will say up front, that it is completely possible that I won't be able to answer every request. That circles back around to not being able to cover every variation.

All of the stats I give here are based on the characters lvl 12 stats

I may offer stats vs particular items. Such as "This build deals x damage vs Aegis. Since I cannot account for every character and every possible statistical build I will let you know what the stats vs that item are.

I generally math well, but if you see a calculation that might be inaccurate please, please, please let me know.

In general stats are rounded off rather than ridiculously long decimal numbers.

One final note I can think of: I searched for hours looking for basic attack speeds. I could not locate anything that stated what 100% attack speed officially meant. The closest I came to an answer was that at 100% attack speed a character would attack approximately 1 time every 1.3 seconds, so that's what I ended up using for my stat analysis.

Here are the lvl 12 stats for this build. Numbers in parenthesis indicate how much of that number is effected by the items in the build. If no parenthesis exist it's a stat that is only influenced by items.

Main Roam Build Health 3985 (1800) Energy 0 (0) Crystal Power 0 Weapon Power 328 (150) Cooldown 0 Energy Regen 0 Health Regen 16 Atk Spd 100 (0) Armor 300 (200) Shield 210 (110) Range 4.5 (0) Move Speed 3.7 (0.4) Crystal Lifesteal 0 Weapon Lifesteal 0 Shield Pierce 0 Armor Pierce 0 Crit Chance 0 Crit Dmg 0 Sprint 2

More DMG Roam Build Health 3985 (1800) Energy 0 (0) Crystal Power 0 Weapon Power 403 (225) Cooldown 0 Energy Regen 0 Health Regen 16 Atk Spd 100 (0) Armor 300 (200) Shield 210 (110) Range 4.5 (0) Move Speed 3.7 (0.4) Crystal Lifesteal 0 Weapon Lifesteal 0 Shield Pierce 0 Armor Pierce 0 Crit Chance 0 Crit Dmg 0 Sprint 2

More ARM Roam Build Health 3585 (1400) Energy 0 (0) Crystal Power 0 Weapon Power 328 (150) Cooldown 0 Energy Regen 0 Health Regen 16 Atk Spd 100 (0) Armor 320 (230) Shield 335 (235) Range 4.5 (0) Move Speed 3.7 (0.4) Crystal Lifesteal 0 Weapon Lifesteal 0 Shield Pierce 0 Armor Pierce 0 Crit Chance 0 Crit Dmg 0 Sprint 2

Lane Build Health 2885 (700) Energy 0 (0) Crystal Power 0 Weapon Power 403 (225) Cooldown 0 Energy Regen 0 Health Regen 16 Atk Spd 175 (75) Armor 300 (200) Shield 260 (160) Range 4.5 (0) Move Speed 3.7 (0.4) Crystal Lifesteal 0 Weapon Lifesteal 10 Shield Pierce 0 Armor Pierce 0 Crit Chance 20 Crit Dmg 20 Sprint 2

I've included too many builds to touch on all the different changes applied to Lance's abilities. There are no special stats effected, only basic WP multipliers. There is no cooldown built into these builds so that's all that's affected.

Partisan's Technique Slot: Heroic Perk Lance's basic attacks damage every target along their path. However, his attacks are slow to land and attack speed is less effective on him. Instead of energy, Lance uses stamina to activate his abilities. Purchasing items with energy and energy regeneration increases his stamina and stamina regeneration. Max Stamina: 100 + 30% Max Energy Stamina Regen: 25 + 50% Energy Regen

Lance's heroic perk only lends stat improvement

Impale Slot: A Lance lunges forward and strikes through his opponents, dealing weapon damage and rooting them in place (max 1.6s). Overdrive: At max rank, ths ability also resets the cooldown of Combat Roll if Lance hits an enemy. If this attack hits at least one enemy, Lance will immediately recover from the ability. Deals reduced damage to minions.

Gythian Wall Slot: B Lance smashes enemies back with his shield, dealing weapon damage and also stunning them if they collide with a wall or structure (max 1.6s). Afterward, he holds his shield steadfast, greatly reducing incoming damage from the target direction by up to 90%. Overdrive: At max rank, Lance ignores all negative effects (from any direction) while this ability is active. Damage reduction is 50% effective against turrets. Passive: Lance strafes around the enemy he has most recently attacked. While strafing, he reduces damage from the target's direction by up to 50%.

Combat Roll Slot: C Lance rolls in the target direction. His next basic attack within 2s will strike quickly, dealing bonus crystal damage.

Total Build Cost|13300
Weapon Blade: Ok, so let's look at this. Very few of the guides I looked at on this site choose to start with a Weapon Blade, and I'm sure it will cause some doubt. Occasionally a build designed specifically for weapon power or laning will start with this item, but not in general. So why do I? When I started playing Lance I loved his abilities, and his durability, but I could battle with an opponent for ever and unless a teammate came to assist eventually the other team would bring reinforcements or I would lose the battle. Lance trades atk power for durability, which makes him an awesome tank support. So I started looking at stats. I discovered that Lance has the highest starting armor and health of anyone in the game except Phinn who has a higher starting health, but Lance tops out at a higher health. So if I'm already at the higher health and armor why start the way most Lance builds start, with more armor?
Sorrowblade: I race to this item. Lance's Impale applies a 160% WP ratio. Most enemies are used to brushing off Lance's attacks. Surprise! If you are smart you should be able to survive with the already high health/armor stats. It is not uncommon for me to have the highest kill stats on the team, even as roam, because of this item.
Fountain of Renewal As a roam, healing your allies is an important job. This item is great for that. Passive: Lifespring Active: Heals you and nearby allies for 2 health for each % missing health per second for 3 seconds. (60s cooldown) But it's the rest that I think makes this item terrific. It's enough additional health to keep you a tank, plus it adds 75 shield and 30 armor. Only Aegis offers more shield for 50 gold less. This item also offers the ability to heal your team. +200 Max Health +75 Shield +30 Armor
War Treads I choose these boots because only Crucible offers more health (tanky) and applies the effect to your team. As a roam the more I can do for my team with my items the better. Pretty simple.
Shiversteel Another simple item for Lance. Still adds to the tanky, +500 health, and, as mentioned above, no other item but Crucible adds more health. What really helps Lance with this item is the slow. Many characters can simply outrun Lance, especially when you are new to playing him and haven't learned the advanced tactics to cut off their retreat (which I'll touch on a little later). Just remember the slow is an active, so you have to tap it to use it. Best way to accomplish that is Impale > activate Shiversteel > attack. For the next 4 (6 if you are melee) seconds, your basic attacks slow the target by 40% for 1.2 seconds. (18s cooldown) +500 Max Health
Metal Jacket ((The following is an excerpt from my lyra build that explains Metal Jacket vs Atlas Pauldron. Rather than rewording it for Lance I'm just inserting it. The example point remains the same.)) [from Lyra build] Originally I was playing Lyra with Atlas Pauldron to counter the speed of Krul, Koshka, and other speedy characters. Then I started looking at it closer. So here's what I did. I created a Krul build that included Sorrowblade, Tornado Trigger, serpent's mask (actually when playing a match during the development time of this build I encountered a Krul with precisely these items in his build). I understand that most builds here on VGF use crystal items, but I wanted the build to be weapon heavy so I could look at the effects of Atlas Pauldron vs Metal Jacket. Something to remember is the effect of Atlas Pauldron is an active and it lasts for 5 seconds. So I looked at this in burst of 5 seconds of damage. It has a 15 second cooldown, and slows attacks by 65%. Reduces attack speed of nearby enemies by 65% for 5 seconds in a 4-meter range. Does not reduce below the base attack speed animation. (15s cooldown) Here's how it breaks down: Atlas Pauldron: Armor: +85 In 5 seconds without Atlas Pauldron active this Krul would cause 1035 damage (this accounts for the damage negated by the armor). In the 5 seconds with Atlas Pauldron active this damage lowers to 673. Metal Jacket: Armor: +170 (twice as much armor btw) In 5 seconds this Krul build would cause 710 damage Conclusion: With Atlas Pauldron active we save ourselves 37 damage. That's we the caveat that we remember to activate it. Without the active we are hammered with an extra 325 damage. To put this in perspective lets look at a 10 second encounter, which means you'd have 5 seconds with the active and 5 while it was on cooldown. Atlas Pauldron: 1035+673=1708 damage taken Metal Jacket: 710+710=1420 damage taken So yes, if you manage to only fight Krul for 5 seconds in which 37 damage is the difference between living and dying and you have the active available and not on cooldown, yes it would save you. but in the long run you have 282 health better chance at survival with Metal Jacket if that encounter goes beyond the 5 seconds the active lasts. Of course the choice is up to you.
Crucible By now I'm guessing you are understanding that the items I pick are simple items for Lance. This item adds +600 health, the highest health boost in the game, plus applies Reflex Block to your team. for roam I like team applications. Activate: Trigger Reflex Block for you and nearby teammates. (45s cooldown) +600 Max Health

Lance is most commonly played as a roam, which is why the focus of this guide is around the roam position. I will state I LOVE playing him in the lane. We'll get to that later. This is my roam philosophy.

As a roam I choose Gythian Wall first. The reason is that the passive gives you straffe, which reduces damage by 50%. This is great for tanking jungle camps. Though with the 1.19 update and the change of Ironguard Contract it's a better tactic for the jungler to tank the camps, many players haven't made this adjustment yet, and with this passive it doesn't hurt you much to tank the camps.

Rotation
I always head for the camp closest to the jungle shop first. From there I work back towards the base: Heal camp, dual camp, heal camp. (I'm probably not using the correct lingo here, but oh well). Then I head back to the first camp I attacked. If the two jungle creeps are back I'll clear that camp, if not I'll head to the shop, if so I'll head to the shop after clearing the camp. I'll take another Weapon Blade and return to the rotation. Rinse and repeat.

Support
If the lane is in trouble, or killed, I'll rotate up into the lane. Obvious probably. Like I said I love playing Lance in the lane. If I've made two rotations through the jungle, and lane seems to be at a stalemate I'll then attempt a gank.

As a roam it's my philosophy to be the defender when needed. Again, probably obvious. However, I see many roam tanks more focused on kills than protecting their teammates. This bothers me. It is my opinion that a good roam/support has to be egoless. My job as the protector is to keep my team alive, because the jungle and the lane are our team's firepower. The longer they stay alive, the faster they level up, and the stronger they get. Lance is great for this. You can mix it up for a long time, even with an entire team. Use [[gythian wall] to give your fleeing teammates space. If all else fails bite the bullet and take the death instead of your teammate.

Have I mentioned I love playing the lane as Lance? Most lane characters are very squishy. SAW is the one that's a little tougher. When you play in the lane you want to ramp up your Impale every opportunity you get, which is why I take it first.

Many opponents will underestimate Lance's reach. Your range is only .5 less than celest. Impale catches most players off guard, and with the root effect you'll get at least one other attack in on them before they can retreat. Lance's health/armor will also come in handy here, as many laners will play the way they are used to, and try to burst you down like they do other lane characters, but Lance can handle it.

Now, you're slower than a race between a snail's fart vs drying paint, and your impale also takes a bit to recover from. Impale > basic attack > Gythian Wall is a good combo if you find yourself making a mistake and ending up too far into enemy territory surrounded by the other team. I will play it safe in the lane until I get Combat Roll. By that I mean I'll stay on my half of the lane. When you gain Combat Roll you have much better escape ability.

When farming the lane attack the minion in the back. lance's heroic perk allows him to hit everything his weapon passes through. This is a much better farming technique.

Let me touch on a few things about this ability very briefly.

Use walls. Whenever you can push your opponent into a wall to use the stun. Pay attention to your positioning, don't just flail your shield.

Stop letting opponents escape! Don't just nail all of your abilities because you are in the middle of a fight. This gave me nightmares when I first started using Lance and it still gives me nightmares when a teammate uses Lance. Gythian Wall pushes players away. I can't count how many times I had an enemy dead to rights and I'd hit my Gythian Wall it would shove them away, and they'd turn and run. STOP IT. Gythian Wall should be used for defense, a last hit, or a stun (which requires a wall).

The other aggravation with this ability is moving them out of the way. Stop saving the enemy with poor usage of the ability. Picture this: You nail an opponent with Impale, they are rooted. Your teammate Skye hits Death From Above while they are helplessly routed, and had them dead to rights, but instead of gaining a kill Lance slams the rooted player with Gythian Wall and shoves them clear of the Death From Above.

I've got 3 letters for you: UGH

Focus on proper usage of Gythian Wall.

Combat Roll may be the ability you underestimate the most. I did when I first started using Lance, after all there's no special effect applied, there's little to no bonus damage, what the heck do I do with it?

Combat Roll takes this otherwise lumbering oaf of a character, and makes him very agile. The most simple usage of this ability is escape. I won't touch on that much, roll away.

Make 'em miss
A well timed Combat Roll can turn the most devastating attacks into "almost had him".
It can turn Death From Above into Dud in the Dirt.
It can turn Suppressing Fire into wasted ammo.
It can turn Big Red Button into Big Shiney Light.
It can turn One Shot One Kill into One Long Cooldown.

Obviously there's many more. Most abilities give a brief warning before they strike. It looks so cool to tuck and roll at just the right moment and watch your opponent's death fly harmlessly by. Best of all you stay alive.

This is a continuation of using Combat Roll but this is a combo, and one of my favorite moves, and it deserves it's own section.

Here's what I typically see from other Lance players.

Impale the enemy and root them, Gythian Wall them away, and then attempt to Combat Roll to catch back up. Or Impale, hit, hit, chase.

Time to learn how to allow your opponent no escape. I will attempt to get a video loaded in future updates of this guide because the description it going to be short, and might not do it justice, but here goes...

This combo take awareness of the surroundings because you'll need to know their most likely route of escape (a lot of times that's just backwards). You should also be aware of the environment, aka walls you can use to stun them.

Start the no escape combo with Impale and root your enemy. Immediately Combat Roll to their most likely escape route (again, this is usually just behind them). Follow this with Gythian Wall. You will want to shove them either into a wall for a stun, which now puts you between them and their escape with them stunned, or you want to shove them back towards your teammates or your turret. Push them to where the damage is.

Again as I mentioned in the earlier section, don't just fail your abilities, use them smartly.

Thank you for reading my Lance build guide. I plan to update this in the future with videos and advanced gameplay, and anything else that strikes me to add to it. I hope this build guide has helped you better understand Lance, and I hope I don't have to face you when you're using this build. I genuinely would love any feedback you might have for my build. This is a simple character so their aren't a lot of stats to calculate but if you have any questions on this build, the stats and calculations, or would like me to add any specific sections, leave a comment and let me know. I will do my best to answer as many as I can, though as I said earlier I can't handle every single scenario this amazing game can produce.

~BLG3RNT