Don't underestimate him but you shouldn't have a problem getting an early lead on him.
0
Taka
Weak early game, nothing to worry about if you use vision.
1
Krul
Infamous for his weak early game. You really want to buy atlas and get a lead on this guy, which shouldn't be too hard.
1
Phinn
Another slow start hero, his A does good damage but he doesn't get started until mid-game.
1
Ringo
Weaker early game, not much of a threat when trying to establish an early lead.
2
Fortress
Personally I think fortress isn't all that, but his abilties perform well with team coordination
2
Glaive
He's got a decent early game but he isn't a big threat in this meta. still watch out for him though
2
Ozo
His early game isn't that bad but he won't stop you from getting a lead.
3
Celeste
One of the easier heroes to CS with, she isn't super strong this patch but definitely someone who can put up a fight.
3
Idris
Idris is great in the right hands, it's a good thing not many people know how to play him well. low threat for now
3
Joule
A fairly balanced hero, unless you go up against a joule god player you shouldn't struggle to get that lead.
3
Samuel
Strong poke game with an average early game,
3
Vox
He can hold his own in the lane very well and can be tricky to gank with his dash ability being so good. Early lead on him is slightly harder to do.
4
Reim
Another hero with considerable early game strength, beware of his fortified health.
4
Adagio
Like his description says, hes got it all.
4
Baron
Baron suprised me this patch, I rate him higher than celeste throughout the whole game.
4
Flicker
Strong throughout the whole game. Though if you buy vision he won't give you too much trouble.
4
Kestrel
Top tier hero this patch, don't let her ruin your plans to win.
4
Skye
Skye is good even at level 2, be careful with her. She's a high skill cap hero.
5
Rona
Similar to the other threat picks here, Rona has high sustain, which is why Ive chosen her as a threat. This build is most effective against poke and burst damage enemies.
5
Lyra
Lyra has the potential to stop the early game lead you want to establish with this build. Combining her healing ability and strong basic attacks, shes a worthy foe.
5
SAW
His early game is as strong as Arnold Shwarzenegger (Rare skin/Tier 1 skin pun intended). Remember, we're trying to establish an early lead with this build, and SAW being so dominate in the lane can be an issue.
5
Alpha
She's a great hero with a high skill cap, always a danger.
5
Gwen
An almost op heroic perk and easy to cs with, I think if you want an early lead you want gwen on your team.
5
Lance
Lance being a top tier hero this patch makes him higher than average of a threat, especially those WP lances.
6
No Threat
7
Petal
Due to her strong munions in the early game, petal has become a threat across all tiers this patch (2.0)... the heal she gets from her ultimate is also a problem.
7
Blackfeather
Blackfeather has a strong game all across the board..evasive heavy hitter with barriers of his own, these factors make him someone to be taken seriously.
7
Koshka
Shes got one of the strongest or the strongest early game this patch... definitely watch out for her.
8
No Threat
9
Catherine
The single biggest threat you'll encounter is a nullwave and or +echo catherine. Not only does her ultimate shut you down, but being able to do it twice and being nullwaved will render you useless as you watch your team get demolished without any utility.
10
No Threat
Introduction to Gaurdian Ardan. NEW 2017 Build! Top
First off, I do realize there are no boots until later in the build! Read my whole guide, I explain everything! This is slighlty off meta because of the use of protector contract and that boots arent bought until mid game typically.
I believe this path synergizes very well with all of Ardans abilities, that's why you'll notice you're tankier than usual starting sooner and able to provide more utility than your average captain once your build gets going! As the name suggests, this build is designed to provide your team with lots of support, revolving around giving barriers to your teammates.
Personally I have tons of fun playing this!Good luck in the halcyon fold and please share any feedback you have or let me know how this worked out for you :D Want more build guides? Send me any requests! I'll be trying to put out 1 guide every week.
Above is Ardans Legendary/Tier 3 Skin! This is just the splash art but trust me it holds up visually in-game. One of my personal favorites <3 Let's get started now :)
To begin with, every hero has 4 traits (1 heroic perk/passive & 3 active abilities) and Ardan has a unique set with high utility and defensive abilties, which makes him an awesome captain. If you want FULL details and stats on him, check out his hero page in-game or click on the hyperlinks within this guide to be taken to the wiki section of this site. I'll be telling you how I use these abilties and why they work so well with this build path specifically.
Vengeance is what ardan uses to power his abilities, you may have already noticed he doesn't have a normal blue energy bar below his health- instead a yellow one. This yellow bar is called vengeance, it fills up with time and your basic attacks help to fill it up too, this isn't very problematic and you can play ardan usually without even looking at your vengeance bar. However, because he has no energy, all energy regen and max energy stats you get from items will be converted to crystal power (more damage) remember this when buying items, because energy stats are not completely useless.
Heroic Perk,:
This passive basically grants you a very small percentage of your missing health every time you are hit. So by building lots of health, you'll be recovering a nice amount of health points during fights, especially out of combat when lifespring kicks in...which is also another source of self regeneration based on health %percentage% it's almost as good as recalling back to base. These are the main reasons why I like building so much health on Ardan.
Wiki Link- Julia's Gift
(A), Vanguard:
The first ability I put into overdrive, because it's going to be our best friend throughout the match. Vanguard provides a temporary 4 second barrier of health points to an ally hero, it also gets stronger with the more health you buy. Combine this with your protector contract and you'll make your enemies irrelevant for a couple seconds, that's why we use protector contract and max this ability first. On top of that, vangaurd slows nearby enemies of the protected ally, damages them, and provides a speed boost to the ally. The only downside to this ability is that it has a 13 second cooldown, so use it wisely, timing is everything and try not to use it on yourself during fights! We're suppose to be gaurdians remember?! not greedy self preservers :p
Wiki Link- Vanguard
(B), Blood for Blood:
Our 2nd ability which will receive our 2nd skill point in-game, this is a pretty simple to use ability which is just an empowered basic attack that also can be used as a dash. Although it's range isn't super far, you want to use it to close gaps between enemy heroes because remember that with this build you won't have boots until later than normal so any speed you can gain is important to take advantage of. When you use this on an enemy hero,the cooldown is reduced and combo it with atlas pauldron for a guaranteed slow of their attack speed. Occasionally, I also use this to help me dodge an enemy skill shot or as a getaway tool... once again the range isn't far but anything helps when you don't have boots. Last thing, DO NOT put this ability into overdrive as a captain Ardan.
Wiki Link- Blood for Blood
(C), Gauntlet:
One of the BEST ultimates in the game and in all honesty I wouldn't mind having this ability in real life. Ardan's ultimate is a temporary arena which will stun enemies that try to leave it for 1 second+ damage them. Once this ability is on overdrive it will last 8 seconds, which is plenty of time to kill 1-2 enemy heroes if you can manage to get them inside. It's best to get only 1 or 2 enemies inside this ring and ping your teammates to ask them for help/notify them what your plan is to get the most of your 4-8 seconds. Do your best to not get all 3 enemies because separating their team makes winning the fight A LOT easier. Shortly after you catch your enemy within the gauntlet, use your nullwave item to silence them - preventing their escape...this combo is very important and if you can do it, you'll win 9/10 of those fights. It's why we buy nullwave as our 3rd item. Don't hesitate to throw down your gauntlet either, you'll miss 100% of opportunities you don't take. But with that in mind- watch out for enemies with stuns because they WILL catch you sometimes and interrupt the animation before the gauntlet is set down, costing you the fight and many times the entire match. DO NOT jump blindly over walls either if you aren't sure how many enemies are within range or if you aren't sure the jump range is long enough to make it across lol :') Lastly, I just want to remind you guys that pinging for help before throwing down your ulti is very important and you could end up wasting it if you don't.
Wiki Link- Gauntlet
Vainglory's Official Ardan Spotlight!
Please remember some details may have changed, but for the most part this is an excellent video to get familiar with ardan even further.
Buying items for Guardian Ardan? Explanation + General Captain Tips! Top
Not every match is the same and that's what makes vainglory fun, right? :)
Therefore, we shouldn't build the exact same thing every game. There are a variety of items to choose from for a reason and there is always something in the shop to help with every situation.
With that said, I've provided the typical path you should take most of the time. In addition to going over the general captain gameplay, I will also go over variations in this build path and why you shouldn't always build the exact same thing every time.
Contracts
... you know? those things that many people have forgotten existed?.. yeah those things! In my opinion, they're seriously underrated and no I'm not trolling. For that 300 gold, yes, you could just rush fountain as your first support item like everyone else OR you could buy a dragonblood or in this case with gaurdian ardan- a protector contract and DOMINATE the early game. (or at least help not get dominated lol). Both, skipping contracts to rush fountain and buying a contract are viable decisions by the way! Although, I feel irongaurd contract really isn't necessary if you know how to clear the jungle camps correctly. Protector Contract is pretty effective throughout the game until you reach 5 items and have enough gold to buy or get started on that 6th item to reach full build. THINK ABOUT IT! 120 health points worth of barrier, and you can shield 2 teammates! twice! (theres 2 charges of it that can be held at once and the cooldown is also fair) When you add that 120 barrier to vangaurds base strength it doubles barrier pretty much until you overdrive it, then it's a little bit lower than 50% increase. That's a pretty strong barrier- go try that combo and see how many teammates you toggle god mode on :O
Consumables:
All consumables can be helpful in deciding the outcome of a game, you should'nt overlook any of your options. Potions can help in fight, escaping a fight, or recovering from one to stay and farm longer. Don't hesitate to buy potions even in mid-game when they don't always seem effective, trust me when I say they can and will make a difference because every point of health matters in the end.
Minion candy is commonly used to help shove a minion wave into the enemy turret or make the enemy miss gold, you'll see this primarily in the early game when everyone's basic attacks do low damage. Personally, I don't ever buy minion candy but only because I'd rather spend my gold on vision or potions. That doesn't mean that candy isn't good though, it can definitely hurt the creep score/last hit count of the enemy laner.
Infusions as a captain really aren't necessary or recommended, unlike the other positions. You're better off putting your gold into finishing your items, unless of course, you're at full build in the late game sitting on a few thousand gold then by all means go crazy and buy a crystal one
Extra Gold?
Try to keep in mind, that it's also good to keep that extra gold in the late game because you may want to swap an item you have for something else. I do this often because I notice that a different item can be more effective in helping my team. See the very bottom of this guide for decision making when it comes to last items.
Vision!
In my opinion, the most important consumables to buy as a captain are flares and scout traps. Why? because vision is key. Without having vision on at least half the map, you won't know where your enemy is, especially if one of them is a stealth hero! The #1 reason for losing games against stealth enemies is because many captains don't buy flares or scout traps. So if you've been having trouble against against let's say... that sneaky flicker who keeps popping up behind you and slowing you to turtle status? Buy a scout trap and you'll see him coming before he even decides he wants to gank you. Always remember vision is IMPORTANT in EVERY match & especially against stealth heroes.
Epic rarity/Tier 2 skin above. Another great one I like to use in-game!
Guardian Ardan's Final Build. 5th & 6th items?
What your options are when you should choose them.
Our 5 core items for this path are as listed and I highly recommend staying strictly on this path:
Fountain of Renewal
An essential 1st item for most captain builds, it's a good idea to use this when your teammates are on about 1/3 health.
Protector Contract
Guardian Ardans signature buy, combine this barrier with vangaurd for an amazing layer of protection on your teammates.
Crucible
Another essential for any captain, protect your team from powerful attacks, it doesn't always have to be an enemy ultimate but that is the best time to use it.(ex. ringo ulti)
Nullwave Gauntlet
Our new 2.0 must have item, this I HIGHLY RECOMMEND as your 3rd buy and using it to combo with your gauntlet ,preferably on the enenmy carry or jungler if you can catch them away from their team but otherwise use that combo normally and nullwave the enemy captain to give your team an edge.
Atlas Pauldron
This is on my always buy list, Atlas is great for countering any enemy who depends on their attack speed for damage. usually that enemy is the weapon power damage dealer but there are exceptions like CP ringo so pay attention to who needs their attack soeed the most and use atlas on them.
Those are our core items. What about when we have enough gold for our 5th & 6th items? Do we sell the protector contract? At this point, this is where you have to make the important game winning decisions and what you purchase will probably be a huge factor in whether you win or lose.
Remember, it's not always how much gold you have that matters but how effectively you spend what you've got. So enough blabber now, let's look at our options- I've listed them at the top under "final build /w all options 4 last item" but I'll put them down here again and go into detail.
Its important to note again that vanguards barrier becomes stronger with the more health you've got so health on items is much needed to increase vangaurds effectiveness once you sell your contract to make up for the buff loss. Here is our 5 items to choose from:
War treads
A great choice in many matches, they provide you with 500 more health points, that speed you waited all game to get (if you followed this build path correctly), and most importantly it gives your team another valuable asset. I buy War Treads when my team needs help in keeping up with a highly mobile enemy team or to catch up to an evasive and poke heavy team comp such as Samuel + Flicker+ Blackfeather Using war treads team-wide speed boost gives the enemy less time to react as well during an engage. I highly recommend buying this most of the time, as it is usually the best option.
Halcyon Chargers
The other boots option we have. Occasionally, I'll buy these if my team isn't having an issue sticking with the enemy in a fight and my teammates have their own escape/engage tools too. Chargers still gives you 200 health which isn't too bad compared to war treads 500hp. The main stat you'll gain from this is cooldown reduction and that's good all across the board because it means more frequent vangaurds and gauntlets. The other energy stats on this item are converted to crystal power (more damage is welcome) because once again, Ardan uses vengeancenotenergy.
Echo
Another awesome item that was added in 2.0, I've only bought this a few times with ardan but I'll tell you this, double barrier+ the extra damage is amazing and so is double gauntlet! Try it out if you're comfortable with your timing and ability to remember to use it ... sometimes i forget its there then use my next ability.
Contraption
The ultimate item for vision and countering stealth enemies. It also gives a good amount of cooldown , health, and a little converted crystal power. Which means more frequent stronger barriers and gauntlets. I think that it would be fine to build contraption as your 4th item and get atlas pauldron later if you feel it's necessary in a specific match against a stealth heavy enemy team.
Stormcrown
A solid item all around, which is why it's on my list of options. It's got the same bonuses as contraption- stat wise, but instead of vision this provides that extra damage that you may need in many cases + a little extra for your basic attacks against enemy heroes. This will be a good item to buy if you have a CP Skye on your team or someone else who takes down objectives relatively slower than average like the kraken and turrets because every second counts when you're trying to secure those. The enemy will respawn or come to stop you if you don't take down objectives fast enough.
Below is Ardan's newest skin that just released, Gladiator Ardan! I love Vainglory's splash arts and I hope you guys enjoyed them while learning.
my firet guide.., the goal is to share what Ive learned in my years of playing vainglory. I hope my efforts helped you in some way, leave any questions/feedback/requests in the comment section!
VaingloryFire is the place to find the perfect build guide to take your game to the next level. Learn how to play a new hero, or fine tune your favorite VG hero’s build and strategy.
Above is Ardans Legendary/Tier 3 Skin! This is just the splash art but trust me it holds up visually in-game. One of my personal favorites <3 Let's get started now :)
Epic rarity/Tier 2 skin above. Another great one I like to use in-game!
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