**There's a triangle/arrow at the top that lets you switch between builds!! There are two builds so you can try a differnt playstyle or team synergy.

If you're playing Krul, you are melee, and your teammates are either squishy and need you to tank, or if they are tanky they work well with Breaking Point.

Because of the shield from Dead Man's Rush and the heal from Spectral Smite Krul has natural survivability, this defensive build takes advantage of that strength. Melee heros like you are always on the front line anyway, so good defense is needed.

As far as strategy, I'm going to offer two suggestions that I believe are absolute:

1 Use Shadows Empower Me as much as you can. Try to initiate with it.
2 Don't use Spectral Smite unless it's going to kill your opponent. The stacks are more valuable than the damage or heal. Only use it for the heal if you face certain death.

When I select Krul I generally want to end up with three defensive items. The question is which two offense/utility/ability items???

I tend to either go for Breaking Point and Shiversteel OR Alternating Current and Aftershock depending on what my teammates and the enemy are building. If my teammates are heros that typically go crystal, and start out that way I will go Breaking Point, if they they are characters that often go weapon, and they start out that way, I will go Aftershock. I strongly prefer the Breaking Point build but if it looks like we're going to be all WP, then I go with the crystal build.


-With squishy evasive junglers like Taka or Koshka on your team, you need to be the tank... when they dissappear who does the enemy come after next???

-With tank teammates like Catherine, Adagio Fortress or Phinn then Breaking Point is great because those players are built for longer fights too.

-Most of the ranged can't take a hit, and don't, so they'll expect you to.

I get a lot of assists with these builds if I'm with an assassin, or kills if I''m with the more tanky characters. I can very easily solo the Kraken, and the Miners are cake.



A note on Ironguard Contract;

Typically I find myself playing with Fortress, Ardan, Adagio, Phinn, or Catherine. And usually they will get Ironguard Contract, and I follow them around farming the minions with them. I try to let them get the first hit, and do the tanking, while I try to get the last hit.

If I’m not with one of those 4 heroes, then I assume I should get Ironguard Contract hit minions first and do the tanking. Sometimes I wait a few seconds to see if the other hero buys it.

If the game goes well it might be over before I need to decide what to do with that slot. If my team is doing an excessive amount of chasing and fleeing, I might upgrade to the Warhorn. If the other team has Taka, who is being a nuisance, I might go for Contraption. If I think another tier 3 defensive item is necessary I will sell Ironguard Contract to make room.

If I'm going Breaking Point and I almost always am...

I grab Swift Shooter and a Scout Trap first and head to the jungle. If my teammate gets Ironguard Contract I make sure to farm together... This makes for a team attitude right from the start!!!

After killing just 3 minions I usually grab Minion's Foot at the jungle shop and I prefer to get Blazing Salvo next, but if there are 2 aggresive enemy junglers I might grab Sprint Boots earlier. You're off to a pretty aggresive offensive start so you can farm well, and hold your own in PvP, but things changes soon.

I generally grab Blazing Salvo before Lucky Strike. You can definitely solo the miners with just 3 weapon items at level 3, which is very easy to obtain before 4:00. I only bother with Sprint Boots this early if I've seen the other team pushing our side.

If I'm going Aftershock

I grab Swift Shooter and head to the jungle. I've been grabbing a Scout Trap in case the enemy comes after me early, or Flare Gun if Taka is on the enemy team. After 3 - 5 minions I have enough gold for an Hourglass. If I'm not running or chasing a lot, I might skip Sprint Boots for a long time.

At this time you really haven't committed to Aftershock - you can easily follow the Breaking Point build if that seems better.

I put a lot of value on getting Breaking Point as soon as possible, and then follow with Shiversteel immediately after.

Blazing Salvo is usually what I want most, but if I'm doing a lot of running away I might prioritize Travel Boots. I only grab Lucky Strike if it's convenient on the way to Breaking Point. After that, if I'm fleeing often I prioritize Travel Boots, if I'm chasing, I go for Shiversteel

The next bit of the game really depends on whether you're ahead or behind the other team. You have one offensive item that depends on having good defense, and you don't have much defense yet. Avoid enemy encounters unless you're very confident you can win.

Now, the tier 1 defensive items are better for the cost than the higher tier items, so I fill all 6 slots as soon as possible. While I'm respawning I check what the other team is building and who is getting lots of kills or ***sists so I can builde defense to counter them. Now you're ready to encounter the enemy, and soon they may avoid you because you're tanky, or focus you because you have Breaking Point. Either way, you are now a problem for the opposing team.

I grab the Chronograph and Blazing Salvo asap.

...Now it's time to work on the crystal components towards Aftershock and then I'm working on the crystal parts of Alternating Current. With Aftershock and Alternating Current you should be very potent offensively... perhaps more so now, than later since it's all defense from here. If the enemy is particularly aggressive, and has a one sided build, either weapon or crystal I might grab a defensive item or two earlier.

The simplest way to describe and remember this build is this: Breaking Point Shiversteel Travel Boots. Those are the absolute priorities you should have at this point, and the core of the build. After that it's just defense and infusions.

If I've been hit by something Reflex Block would have helped against like Hellfire Brew, my knee jerk reaction is to buy Reflex Block!

You need to decide what you need defensively based on your enemy and their build. I'm often afraid of Crystal builds, so I get Light Shield which can combine with Reflex Block towards Aegis, and free up another slot later... This is usually a great time to buy and use a Crystal Infusion. I think these items are often overlooked, and good enough to put you over the top for the final push. Then fill the slot with another tier 1 defensive item.

Crystal Infusion is very powerful in this build, so I definitely make a point to grab them every 5 minutes, as the build allows.

My defense items are heavily based on what's happening in my game. If the enemy is totally one sided weapon or crystal it's easy to decide what to build first. If the enemy is balanced I might look at who I'm encountering most, or who is doing particularly well. I might also look at what my teammates are doing. I don't like Crucible but if my team has no shields, and keeps dieing I might try to help them out. If the enemy is tank and fights are slow, I might grab Fountain of Renewal so we can outlast them.

I don't like to say that I always get a certain defensive item, but Aegis is pretty much an always for me. When you go from Kinetic Shield and Reflex Block to Aegis a slot opens up again, which is usually a great time to buy and use a Weapon Infusion. The open slot can whatever defensive item you need. I tend to think Lifespring is cheap and Fountain of Renewal is valuable if the enemy team is balanced. If the enemy is all weapon or crystal, defend accordingly. I left Coat of Plates in the build, because I buy Atlas Pauldron against SAW or in team oriented games, or Metal Jacket if an enemy is a pure weapon build trying to burn me down.