Thank you for taking the time to read this. Fortress is a very unique hero in vainglory as he does the most damage out of any support. His primary and secondary abilities match power with Taka and Koshka, however he is best as support because he can't actually perform well against them as a carry being too squishy. At lower skill tiers especially, I do believe him to be a serious threat to any team because of his impeccable ability to deal a ton of damage as a support. I am an experienced Vainglory player and I hope you enjoy reading the rest of this guide.

My other guides:
Koshka: Krazy Killer Kitty
Taka: Fox in a Box
Krul: Might of the Smite.

If you want, you can add me. My IGN=Rydor1

Everyone knows that the primary use of Attack of the Pack is for vision, but there must be a reason for that attack speed boost and health boost. Well, there is. Instead of just using this ult as soon as it becomes available, use it when you need it. Initiating it just before a battle, especially when in overdrive, will give you a huge boost and might even turn the outcome of the battle and thus possibly the game. All of his abilities give huge boosts to him in overdrive, but if you are going to use Attack of the Pack wisely and effectively, its overdrive gives you the biggest boost to you and your team. 80% more attack speed and 850 more health is a lot. The effects last 15 seconds, which is long enough for almost any team fight to take place. I believe that overdriving it and using it wisely will provide a huge boost to your performances in the late game.

So in my experience I've struggled with the concept of choosing which ability to overdrive with Fortress. I originally would overdrive Law of the Claw first and then Truth of the Tooth, leaving Attack of the Pack not overdrived. Then, when Fortress's hero spotlight was released I was very surprised at what they said. I had never considered overdriving Attack of the Pack, but they also recommended overdriving Truth of the Tooth, the weaker of the abilities in my opinion at the time. This was the complete opposite of what I was doing. So, I began to dig deeper and look at the statistics. I realized that Attack of the Pack gives you a huge boost to your attack speed and health. Even if it doesn't do any damage, I thought for the first time that it could be used in more ways than just vision. So after that I've been overdriving the ult, but what about Truth of the Tooth and Law of the Claw? Well, statistically speaking, Truth of the Tooth when overdrived does 400 damage per use. Law of the Claw only does 340 damage in comparison. So I've been overdriving Truth of the Tooth, but recently I've been thinking that I'm wrong. I've thought that the only bonus to Law of the Claw was for lifesteal, completely ignoring the fact that after the original blow it also deals an additional 25 damage +15% crystal power per second. I don't know how long this effect lasts, but I figure it has to do the same amount of damage as Truth of the Tooth in total, if not more. So if they do the same amount of damage, which should you overdrive? Well, the difference is in the crystal power. Truth of the Tooth has a 110% crystal power ratio, while Law of the Claw only has 70%. Therefore, I believe that if you decide to build any kind of crystal power (damage not just energy), it would be a better idea to overdrive Truth of the Tooth. If you are going all tanky, then overdrive Law of the Claw. However, I believe that Law of the Claw will be better until you start building your crystal power. If you're following my build where only the last item is CP and you'll be lvl 12 before you start building any crystal power, I think it would be a good idea if you prioritize Law of the Claw over Truth of the Tooth until the end. You will stop at the last upgrade and instead overdrive Truth of the Tooth. I don't think this will punish you too much when switching over to Truth of the Tooth and it will definitely be better in the early game and late game. The only problems might come in the mid game, but I don't think it would really change anything. Overall, I think this strategy is the best and will pay off for you in the long run.

Fortress is a support, meaning that he'll need support items. Typical items that you would get for support are Crucible, Fountain of Renewal, Utility/Warhorn, Contraption, Atlas Pauldron, and Shiversteel. Aegis and Metal Jacket are not support items. Just because they are defense does not mean that they are support. Their actives only effect themselves and are horrible to get as a support because they will not help the team. Now, these are all viable options to prioritize as a support, but which is most important and which should you get first? Well, these items all have different effects on the game. Utility/Warhorn, Contraption, and Shiversteel are all utility items that have a very situational aspect to them. Utility/Warhorn gives a speed boost that helps your team chase or run away from the enemy. This has no impact on your team's ability to kill the enemy. As a result, it is a good item to have if you are winning team fights easily, but if you are losing it would be much better to have a Crucible or Fountain of Renewal. Shiversteel has the opposite effect, it slows down the enemy. This slow is similar to Utility/Warhorn in that it is good when you are chasing, but doesn't help you kill the enemy faster. Contraption however, is different. It places Scout Traps. Scout Traps can deal a small amount of damage, but are mainly used for vision and not to kill the enemy. Unlike these situational support items, Fountain of Renewal, Crucible, and Atlas Pauldron can be used to turn the tide of any battle. A good support will always build at least two of these items early on in the game. Atlas Pauldron slows down attack speed. This can be very effective against SAW and Krul who generally rely on attack speed for damage. It is highly recommended that you counter Krul with Atlas Pauldron because his gameplay generally revolves around attack speed. Atlas Pauldron can also be a good counter against WP Vox and Ringo. Fountain of Renewal and Crucible are the most common items used by supports. Crucible gives a Reflex Block active to your whole team. This produces a barrier of health for 1 second. Fountain of Renewal on the other hand has an active that produces a healing of your team's health over time. This heal lasts for 3 seconds and unlike Reflex Block, you get to keep the health. When comparing the health bonuses of each item, Fountain of Renewal will often result in granting more health (which you get to keep), despite taking twice as much time to get it (with 1600 max health Fountain of Renewal will give a health back equal to the barrier of Crucible after 2 seconds). Fountain of Renewal is almost unanimously used as the first item to buy by a support in higher levels. Crucible should be bought second, unless you need to be able to block a Verse of Judgement from Adagio. Playing against Adagio you should build Crucible first. Otherwise, the order should be Fountain of Renewal, Crucible, then Utility/Warhorn/ Contraption. Journey Boots are always necessary, Clockwork or Aftershock is necessary for energy and to get your abilities off faster, and then add another attack item to complete your build.

When I see other Fortresses I usually see failed opportunities with their builds. Most Fortresses will rush Utility/Warhorn like complete idiots. The thing about defense items is that there is almost no difference between upgrading to tier 1 items and upgrading to tier 3 items, except for cost. It is definitely not worth it to save up all that gold for Utility/Warhorn early. Get all your tier 2 defense items instead of rushing that tier 3 defense item and I promise you will see a huge difference in the mid game. I mean, what is better? 500 health or 800 health? And this will be in the mid game where you will only have 800 health to begin with, not that 15k health you get at lvl 12.

Aftershock: Aftershock is a tricky item to use instead of Clockwork, but when mastered is amazing. Aftershock will allow you to do a lot of damage despite building tanky. It is tricky, because you will be energy starved, but at least you will be doing damage with your abilities. You have to know that Halcyon Potions restore energy as well as health to use this. Running out of energy is my pet peeve in vainglory, so you know that this works when I'm willing to sacrifice that for this item. It works if you make it work.

Clockwork: The safe replacement for Aftershock. You won't be doing much damage with the build I had for this item, but you sure will be tanky. A decent, reliable option.

Utility/Warhorn: You'll need the extra speed, the health regen, and the health desperately. This item is a lifesaver. Use it wisely.

Journey Boots: When do you not use these?? Speed, speed, speed!

Contraption: Who doesn't love Scout Traps? Koshka sure does *wink* *wink*. Not a defensive item though like Utility/Warhorn. You'll need to make up for it.

Fountain of Renewal: Health regen! Yay! Shield is a great counter to CP and the health regen not only protects you during a fight but prevents you from being low on health later.

Crucible: Use it wisely. Reflex Block saves lives!

Atlas Pauldron: A counter builds focusing around attack speed items. Extremely beneficial in taking down a Krul.

These two items are special, so they get their own chapter. I hardly ever see anyone else take advantage of them, probably because they are situational items that only last for a short amount of time. They give you a huge boost to weapon or crystal damage for 5min. Despite running out, they make a huge difference in games. Never use them early on, because that would be a waste to get them without actually killing anybody, but you might want to get Crystal Infusion at around the 15min mark, and then later when you start really pushing towards their vain (or if they're pushing towards your vain). They'll make a huge difference in team fights. As long as you've got a coordinated attack, you will kill the first enemy faster, and then you know that once one of them's dead they're all dead. If you are struggling in team fights, this might turn the tide around. These have the potential to turn losses into wins. I cannot understate the importance of infusions. You'll need them.

Fortress is an early game roamer. He has great damage that you can take advantage of early game by surrounding yourself with other early game characters. These early game jungle characters that synergizes strongly with Fortress are Koshka and Rona. Combined with one of these two characters, he has the potential to dominate the early game and create a huge advantage going into the late game. However, if you don't capitalize on this early game advantage, you may struggle late game. Taka is a character who used to synergizes strongly with Fortress, but unfortunately constant nerfs have made him less effective. A Fortress- Taka comp can still be strong as well as Fortress- Glaive. The advantage to these comps is that Taka and Glaive are better in the late game, but with Koshka you can deny the enemy the opportunity to even get to their late game advantage through farming way more than them.

The best jungle partners in order:
1. Koshka
2. Rona
3. Taka
4. Glaive

Unfortunately, there are also bad comps. Krul is a late game jungle character who really has a hard time early game. When paired with an early game Fortress, the lack of early game power from Krul is a waste of Fortress's potential. When you play Krul you are essentially throwing away the early game. Fortress really struggles late game compared to other supports, so he is definitely not the best option to choose from to pair with Krul. When in character selection screen and your teammate picks Krul, I highly advise you not to play Fortress as he won't be as effective as Catherine or Ardan in that situation.

I get frustrated when people think they can lane with Fortress. Fortress is not good at ganking and he should stay in the jungle for almost the entire game. As Fortress, you will be support, so you will pick up that Ironguard Contract and let your jungle partner pick up all of the kills. Well, unless you're playing with Catherine who would be the support in that situation. Always follow your jungle partner everywhere he goes, unless he's trolling or just being an idiot. If he goes to the lane, you go to the lane. If he invades the enemy jungle, you invade the enemy jungle. You're only as strong as your weakest link, but that will be him not you. You need to support him and make him better. You can't gank on your own, you need him to participate too. Fortress is about coordination and teamwork. Your purpose is to provide sticking power for not only yourself, but your teammate. You get that Truth of the Tooth to lock in on an enemy and you know he won't be running away so easily. The problem with Fortress is that you need them to run away. You can't let them take out your entire team, because you won't be doing anything alone. You won't be carrying the game and you won't always dominate, but you should put your team in a much better position to win. You should survive longer than anyone else and be able to put up consistent damage. What I love about Fortress is that his primary ability Truth of the Tooth does 400 damage when overdrived. That's about as much as Krul's, Koshka's, or Taka's first or second abilities. Fortress is able to do the most damage out of any support and should be able to beat any other support especially 1v1. Use that sustainability and that consistent damage output to your advantage.

Side Note: When you get to the 15 min mark it's a good idea to put a scout trap next to the Kraken for vision.

If Fortress is built to be tanky, it's best to target someone else more squishy. However, if you notice that he is built CP or WP, you should target him first because he will be squishy. Krul or Glaive can beat him in the jungle. You can always afford to take risks with Taka. If you are playing someone else like Koshka, avoid him at all costs. If you are someone tanky like Joule or Ardan you will be fine. Always try to use your stuns against him. They are very important in containing Fortress's influence. Hope that the rest of his team will be unskilled, because he relies on his team to be successful. Hope you can get into 2v1 against him early. Control your side of the jungle, later on he might be able to take huge risks and control your side. Try to keep him in the lane, he will be less deadly. Be very cautious and stick to your side of the jungle. Always travel in pairs if you can or at least keep someone close.