Cath can only stun Churn just as he is casting his Hook & Chain, which leaves it on a 3-4 second cooldown for you guys to dive the carries. However, this also renders you useless for more than 5 seconds as your primary stun ability is on cooldown. Furthermore, there's almost nothing Cath can do to stop Churn from being a menace.
4
Ardan
Ardan cannot do much to stop Churnwalker from landing his hooks and using his ultimate as his gauntlets CANNOT be used aggressively to trap the enemy team where CHurn will just become even stronger.
5
No Threat
6
Skye
As mentioned above, a high dps carry like cp skye will melt Churn, rendering his abilities useless and he has to quickly use fountain and crucible to save himself, wasting them especially if his teammates are of high health at the start of the fight.
7
SAW
Although good for CHurn to quickly pull and CC him for an easy kill, many good SAW plauers will almost instantan
8
Samuel
Long ranged, poke-oriented heroes like Samuel which deal tons of burst damage in a short period of time (high dps consistently) will melt Churn if he is trying to be useful - rushing to the enemy team to get his hooks - therefore, killing churn as soon as possible renders his inablity to hook anyone over a period of time to be useless since he will die quickly.
8
Fortress
Dive heroes like Fortress will be too fast for Churn players to hook and pull back, as they are very slippery and are able to dive the carries. Since Churn does not have any shields/barriers/utility abilities to protect his carries, dive heroes are optimal in countering his weaknesses.
8
Koshka
As above.
8
Vox
A slippery and skilled Vox is also hard for Churn to hook, and if he gets to stack his BP stacks long enough or his DE stacks, he can kite Churn so much that he will be melted quickly after a short period of time.
9
Grace
Her B (Holy Nova), distracts Churnwalker from concentrating on chaining his hooks - even breaking some of his existing ones. She has far higher burst than Churn, making dive comps with Grace a huge counter towards Churn comps since Churn takes awhile to deal DPS with his team. Her A also mitigates some damage from his hooks on her and her ally too, making Churn a weaker foe in terms of damage and utility.
9
Kestrel
His stealth proves that it is very hard for Churn to hook an invisible Kestrel. For a CP Kestrel, his immense burst from his 4 arrows will melt Churnwalker before he can even do anything, especially since he has to focus on trying to hook the carries like Kestrel. Trying to chase a Kestrel is unwise as his mist will stun you, dealing immense amount of damage afterwards and you'll have to back off.
9
Gwen
Her B is so annoying in rendering your hooks useless as she can basically remove your hooks from her and poke you to death especially since her range got buffed and she has her stun to assist her.
9
Petal
A good petal is able to destroy Churnwalker since she can constantly slow and deal damage to this low mobility hero and melt him before he can even try to engage or escape.
Hi guys, Ryan here from Singapore and my IGN is xKrayon from SouthEast Asia. I am a Vainglorious Bronze Captain/Roamer main player and my favourite hero is Churnwalker, followed by Ardan, Grace, Lance, etc. Churnwalker brings so much skill to the table, and that's why it was love at first sight when Churnwalker first came out! Yes, he does not provide much to protect his carries like a heal/barrier etc, but his damage is perhaps one of the highest amongst all the other captains currently in Vainglory, making him one of the most - if not the most - offensive captain in my opinion. With the required high skillcap and patience to land his thin skillshot Hook & Chain, he can simply be a devastating monster in both the Halcyon Fold and the Soverign's Rise if played smartly. Let's take a look at how I've managed to excel with this hero. Also, do check out my channel Krayon or click this link here for videos of my gameplay/montages [still working on them :)] . Thank you!
Lets take a deeper look into his abilities and I will explain some ways in which you guys will be able to use each ability efficiently without the need to simply spam them and risking a chance to lose a teamfight because of poor decision-making in handling an intense brawl smartly.
: Your primary skill that makes up for who Churnwalker is. It is the only skill that can be used in order to unlock his two other skills, failing to land it will deem you obsolete for a few good seconds!. It works (basically) just like most other 'hooking' heroes in many other MOBA games in which you simply throw out a skillshot hook in a direction of your choice and it clings onto the enemy hero forever until you get out of range of the hooked target or you use your ultimate Trespass. One thing that most players do not realise is that the moment a hook lands on an enemy, it slows the enemy hero for a brief period of time, granting minimal but optimal time for your teammates to follow up and catch the enemy hero. Furthermore, his hooks actually heal Churnwalker from time to time, allowing him to sustain a substantial amount during teamfights as the fights progress.
: The much-needed, perfect combo ability that follows up Churnwalker's A to pull his hooked targets towards him (and nearer to his teammates) catching them by surprise if they decide to run away OR a defense mechanism if dive comps try to target your backline carries thus a deterrence. Since Torment's damage has been buffed in 3.1, I'd prefer to overdrive this ability second instead of his Trespass as it provides significantly high damage WITH his chains still being locked on.
: His major CC ability, stunning all targets he has his chains locked onto. When cast, Churnwalker is able to travel a notable distance from his current position while immobilising the enemy team. There are many ways to use his ulti, sometimes to catch one person offguard or as a multi-chain 2 or 3 man stun to turn the tides of a teamfight. I will cover some useful tips on how to use Trespass later :).
As seen from some of the examples given, there is a plethora of team comps that fits Churnwalker playmaking ability to win teamfights as a unit of 3, regardless of whether you choose to have two long ranged/poke oriented teammates like Samuel and Vox or two short ranged (but heavy burst/AOE damage)like Ozo Blackfeather. For my personal preference, the best heroes that compliment his chains, amplifying their damage significantly, making them the most efficient will be (in no particular order) Vox Baron Alpha Adagio Gwen Ozo Petal Reza Samuel SAW
In this chapter, I will be explaining what you should do at every stage of the game while playing as ChurnwalkerCaptain.
Early Game
You are one the strongest captains early (damage) so contesting a 3v3 fight middle should be taken unless your team comp (excluding you) is very weak early game OR your team does not have good abilities to chase down the enemy team. P.S. This is assuming you land all your Hook & Chain :p
If you have a strong early game jungler like Koshka or someone good for short-burst duels like Ozo, you guys can invade the enemy jungle aggressively if you know that your laner is able to hold his lane against 2 people(most likely the enemy capt and carry) (assuming there's no SAW on the other side 'gatling gunning' your tier 1 turret).
Make sure you dont go for aggressive plays early even if you manage to hook on anyone as your mobility is far lower than most heroes and your CC and damage isn't as strong as many other capts like Catherine Lance
Mid Game
At around level 6 onwards (where Trespass is unlocked), your pressure on the enemy team is at an extreme high as you are so capable of setting up so many teamfight plays, incorporating the fact that your teammates are much stronger in terms of damage now.
Missing Hook & Chain now is more critical in losing a teamfight, so focusing on teamfights during the mid game is optimal in snowballing your team to a full-on victory.
At this point in time, also be careful in recklessly invading the enemy jungle as the enemy heroes are far more stronger/faster and can catch you offguard especially since your mobility is at an all time low AND you aren't as tanky as most other captains in the game.
Late Game
MISSING YOUR Hook & Chain is CRITICAL in losing a teamfight just because in the 3 seconds you waste while the enemy team knows you've missed, a smart enemy team would've 'all-in(ed)' your team while you as Churnwalker- in that mere YET wasted 3 seconds in the late game- cannot use ANY abilities at all to protect your teammates except for your Fountain of Renewal and Crucible, which can only do "so much".
Always maintain vision around the map, as the pressure of you hooking any of the enemy heroes is immense in controlling a long and intense late game teamfight WHERE your damage is at its all time high.
- Clockwork is pretty good for Churn players who are not good at landing their Hook & Chain accurately, so purchasing this will be good especially for these players (keeping in mind that they should have their team-utility items already bought OR their team is winning greatly.
- Nullwave Gauntlet: Honestly a preference for anyone who wants to silence any enemy hero (usually the enemy capt) if the enemy capt is good at blocking Churnwalker's Trespass consistently or simply silencing a carry that can block it too.
- Contraption: If you are tired of buying 5 flares/scout traps each time and you think you can take the gamble of missing out on some vision at the stage when you buy a Flare Gun in order to build to this item (since it only provides 2 flares with a long cooldown.
- Aegis against a heavy CP comp or a heavy CC comp
- Journey Boots is suitable if you want to constantly chase a slippery moving hero like Vox or Koshka and hook them at all times to pull or stun them eventually.
Tips & Tricks (To play him and to counter him) Top
Keep your hooks locked on to as many targets as you can as long as possible to deal as much DPS and utilising your perk Futility of Life - BOTH damaging to the enemy team while sustaining you constantly and efficiently. >To do this, try to be at the center of the whole team fight (assuming you have at least 2 hooks locked on)so that your chains will not break so soon/that easily and you are able to perform your other two abilities if needed for the extra CC and damage.
A very hidden tip for using his Torment is that when you have a hook on an enemy target (AND you guys are chasing him) that is near you, walk in the opposite direction from the target until you are almost at max range of the chained hook(s) and immediately use Torment. >This pulls the target way further back (almost touching you) as compared to a 1mm pull when the target is almost in your face.
Another critical reason why you don't recklessly use Torment is because of the terrain. If you notice, you can't always pull back a target the same distance at every position on the map even though you are constantly keeping the same hooked distance between you and the target because the target is leaning against a wall. If your hook is chained on a target that is near a wall and your hook is somewhat touching or covering even the slightest part of the wall AND at certain angles, you cannot pull the target back into the wall towards you because IT'S A PHYSICAL OBSTACLE. >THUS, wait it out and just continue chasing the target until you are able to pull him a much longer distance (at an angle) where a wall will less likely restrict you.
On to his Trespass, did you know you can escape using his ultimate physically and not just relying on the stun alone? If you are caught and you are desperate to escape, try to walk near a wall (luring the enemy team to walk near the wall too) and use your ulti - aiming at a spot across the wall - to fly out of reach of them!
On an aggressive note, do not always immediately use your ulti at the beginning of the fight even if you have all 3 hooks on the enemy team. > Your chains amplify 1/4 of all your team's damage on the enemy team, so by using Trespass and if their Captain simultaneously used crucible (regardless of whether he managed to block the stun or not), you will not be able to land ANY of your Hook & Chain for almost a whole 5 seconds and your damage in the teamfight will be significantly reduced to a bare minimum. Instead, keep your chains as long as possible locked on to the enemy team. Use Trespass only when necessary.
Many Churnwalker players are greedy for hooks, always walking up aggressively and putting pressure on you to hook your whole team, hence catch him offguard (when he's far from his team especially since he has such low mobility) and kill him ASAP with long ranged poke abilities or just sheer burst damage.
When you guys are at a high tension point of being so close to fighting (because you guys are physically just beside each other or ya'll are waiting for someone to engage), don't be afraid to jump in once Churnwalker misses a hook as he will be rendered useless for a good 3-4 seconds which is a huge window for you guys to do so much before he can try to stop you.
Always try to dodge his hooks as much as possible, unless you are diving the carries and are at a high mobility that he gets stressed trying to catch everyone.
Captains - I'm sorry but you guys must train yourselves to block his Trespass. Only then, playing against Churnwalker is actually very winnable if you make him useless as an offensive captain.
If your team is triple-hooked by him, try not to engage a fight at all and run if you can as its almost more than 50% chance that you guys will lose a teamfight getting triple-hooked the entire time.
Hope you guys found my LOOONNNGG guide useful in playing Churnwalker, the alien that looks like Predator?? :). He is indeed a very hard hero to master, requires A LOT of decision-making especially in terms of using his abilities - not a hero that just spams abilities to be efficient. This is my first time making a guide and I hope you guys vote and leave some comments on how I can improve too! I will be uploading a short Churnwalker montage down here once I'm free, so I hope you guys do support my Youtube channel too by clicking this link Krayon! :D
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Churnwalker
Lance
Rona
Alpha
Adagio
Ozo
Baron
Blackfeather
Reza
Flare Gun
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