1. Introduction 1.1 Misunderstood Taka 2. Matchups 2.1 Easiest Targets 2.2 Biggest Threats 3. Items 3.1 What Items to Get and Why 3.2 When to get These Items 3.3 Additional Item Suggestions and Theories 4. Gameplay 4.1 Early Game 4.2 Mid Game 4.3 Late Game 4.4 Combat Strategy 5. Conclusion 6. Activity Log

Taka, everyone's favorite character when they begin playing Vain Glory. I mean, what's not to love? This switch-blade wielding assassin that can disappear at will, sliced his way into many players hearts from the very beginning. But, as you progress into higher skill tiers, you may notice the fox-tailed assassin appears less and less. Why are high skill tier Taka players so rare? Many believe that Taka himself is to blame. The general consensus is that Taka cannot be played at a high skill level, for a myriad of reasons. This is completely and utterly False! We all know the typical Tension Bow and Aftershock Taka, but that is simply not how he is meant to be played! When played correctly, Taka is a frightening adversary. It just takes a good build, correct play style, and a little bit of practice. But, before we delve into the items and gameplay, let us review Taka's skill set.

Taka's heroic perk is called "House Kamuha" (The template coding for this isn't working, but it is basically this,) Every time Taka lands a critical hit, or uses Kaiten or Kaku, he gains one Ki stack. ( X-Retsu gives him three) He can have a maximum of five Ki stacks, and each Ki stack reduces the cooldown on his abilities and guarantees him a critical hit. The Ki stacks also give Taka's critical strikes lifesteal. Each subsequent Ki stack further decreases his ability cooldown and reduces the time between guaranteed critical hits. This perk paired with items such as Tyrant's Monocle and Tornado Trigger allows Taka to deal massive amounts of damage with his basic attacks when his Ki stacks are at 5. The best method for doing this is to constantly be farming jungle camps and using Kaku while traveling long distances to refresh his Ki stacks.

Kaiten Slot: A Taka flips over his target, cutting it with his switchblade. Taka is invulnerable to damage and negative effects while in mid-air.

This ability has one of the most amazing Overdrives in the game. When this ability reaches level 5, it no longer costs any energy. Also, during this ability, Taka takes no damage. When used with proper timing, it can negate damage that could cripple him.

Kaku Slot: B Taka throws a smoke bomb at his feet and becomes invisible while gaining increased movement speed. Invisibility ends early if he strikes a target or takes direct damage. Turrets, Scout Traps and Flare Guns can still see Taka while he is invisible.

This ability is a great initiator, allowing you to get right in your enemies face before you are even seen, and a even better retreat method, enabling you to slip out of battle unnoticed. Also, don't forget to keep your Ki stacks at 5 with this.

X-Retsu Slot: C Taka bursts through his target for massive damage and gains Ki Stacks. The target suffers a mortal wound (reduced healing) and takes damage per second for the next 3s. The wound's duration is refreshed whenever Taka Mortal Strikes this target.

This is a useful ability if your Ki stacks run out before a battle, giving you three Ki stacks. It is also a great gap closer.

Squishy|Weak early game An easy kill, especially early game, as long as you can stick to him. But don't let him keep his distance from you, as his high damage output can kill you quickly from far away.

Squishy|Low damage output|Watch out for Munions Another easy kill, if you can catch her by surprise. Her Munions might give you problems, though.

Low health|Watch out for stuns and burst damage [if=You can eat up her health rather quickly, but a stun from Core Collapse can put you in a bad position.]You can eat up her health rather quickly, but a stun from Core Collapse can put you in a bad position.[/if]

Healing|Slows Adagio's ability to heal himself and slow you takes away the two things that Taka needs to get an easy kill, a quick fight and the ability to move quickly.

High damage|High health Saw's relatively high health mixed with a high damage output makes Saw a real threat, avoid one on one encounters unless you have a great advantage.

Extremely high health|Insane damage output|Avoid Glaive is the embodiment of a squishy assassin killer. High health mixed with unreal damage in prolonged fights, Glaive should be avoided except in a team-fight situation. Even then, let your allies handle this monster.

Weapon Items

Serpent Mask not only grants a fairly decent weapon power boost, but also grants lifesteal. This lifesteal, coupled with the lifesteal Taka gets from his critical strikes, allows Taka to stay in battles much longer than he typically would.
Tyrant's Monocle provides a minimal boost to weapon power, but where it really shines is the added critical strike chance and damage. Providing a sizable boost in booth these stats, this item synergizes well with the guaranteed critical strikes Taka has from his heroic perk.
Tornado Trigger provides a slightly less of a boost in critical strike chance and damage than Tyrant's Monocle; however, it does provide a large boost in attack speed. This is helpful for dealing large amounts of critical strikes and maintaining five Ki stacks.
Sorrowblade provides the biggest boost in weapon power in the game and is a great addition to any build centered around dealing a lot of damage with basic attacks.

Utility Items

Journey Boots is an indispensable item for Taka, or any assassin, as the bonus life, armor, and shield allow Taka to become more of a prolonged fight threat. Also the added speed is essential for traversing the map or making a quick escape.
Shiversteel is a great item for Taka, as it gives him a much needed health boost, and the slow allows you to stick to your target, allowing you to do some serious damage.

Defense Items

What's not love about Crucible? Gigantic health boost, Reflex Block for you and everyone near you, a must have in almost any situation.

Sixth Slot?

You'll notice that the sixth slot in all of the builds are empty. This is because I feel that the sixth slot is best reserved for consumable items, such as Scout Trap, and infusions. Characters like Taka greatly benefit from having the ability to buy items that grant him much needed vision.

This is a tricky topic. At the beginning, some players may go for a Weapon Blade, while others may opt for a Swift Shooter. Some may build all the weapon power items first and focus on defense last. However some players prefer a more balanced approach, such as building one weapon item, then one defense/utility item. It all comes down to play style and personal preference. What is in this section is what approach I feel you should take, given a certain set of circumstances. These approaches are based on my personal experiences and opinions, feel free to approach them your own way to suit your personal preferences and play style.

I feel that at least one weapon item should always be built first, with at least tier one boots. If you notice you run out of health quickly in this match, I suggest working on items like Reflex Block and Shiversteel after building your first weapon item. If you seem to be okay in the health department, while being sure not to neglect those health items, focus on building your next weapon item.

This is intended to be a vague set of guidelines, not a set of set in stone rules. Every game in Vainglory is different, and every player plays differently. This is one of the best things about this game ;however ,it makes it very difficult to try and give item building strategies. Follow the guidelines listed in the previous paragraph; mix that with a few games experience, and you should have a solid basic strategy for when to get your items.

The builds at the top of this guide are what items I have found synergize well with each other. This is based on experience in matches and much thought outside of games. However, you may find that different items or different combinations of them work better for you. If this is the case feel free to let me know in the comments section below! Here are some alterations to the above builds you may wish to consider:

• In the Sustainable Taka build, you may wish to replace Tornado Triggerwith Tyrant's Monocle to get more power in your critical hits and more subsequent healing from the added damage. Personally, I find the attack speed from Tornado Trigger can give you more health than the stronger hits from Tyrant's Monocle.
• Shiversteel can replace Sorrowblade in the Weapon Power build, if you feel the health and slow can give you more of a boost than the weapon power from Sorrowblade.
• Serpent Mask can also replace Sorrowblade in the Weapon Power build, for an extremely powerful critical strike build.

The part you've been waiting for! You have the items, you know the biggest threats to you, you even know some easy targets, but how do you take this knowledge and turn your Taka into a fearsome sight on the battlefield of the Fold? Keep reading, oh patient Taka-lover!

Taka is an assassin character, meaning he is best played jumping into fights that have already started and dealing some serious damage to an important, yet squishy target. He isn't great at drawn out fights, but excels at quick, violent melees. Keep in mind while you are playing him that he has low health and is prone to large bursts of damage.

This is a tricky time for Taka players. If you can catch an enemy hero by surprise you will most likely be able to kill them without much difficulty; however, under pretty much every other set of circumstances, you are an easy target for enemy heroes. This part of the game should be spent primarily killing jungle creeps for gold and experience, with trips to the lane when the need/opportunity for an ambush arises. By the time this part of the game is over, you should try to have one tier 3 item finished, another started, and tier 1 boots. Again, this time of the game is best spent farming jungle creeps and working toward getting better items. When you and your allies farm the jungle efficiently and quickly, the extra gold earned over your enemies can make all the difference. I know that it can seem easy to let yourself go into "autopilot" during this part of the game, but avoid that at all cost! Vigilance will allow you to farm more effectively and save you from ambushes and allow you to spring a few of your own. Taka is very item dependent, meaning that this part of the game will greatly affect his potency in the later game.

At this point in the game, you are more free to take risks, more frequent trips to the lane for ambushes, one or two jungle invades etc. However, your main objective is to continue farming jungle creeps, never stop doing this. It can be easy to get lost in the ambushes, team fights, and turret destroying, but farming jungle creeps is the most important and valuable way to spend your time. However, don't neglect your team mates, look for pings on the mini-map and assist them in fights. At the end of this part of the game, you should have at least four of the five items in your build finished and be close to finishing the fifth, if you haven't already.

This is the part of the game where Taka really starts to become a terrifying sight for your enemies. Until this point, the enemy team has been made aware of your presence by several (hopefully successful) ambushes and a multitude of kills during team fights. Now, however, they will be afraid to walk by any cover alone, as you are able to dash out, land some devastating blows, and disappear with a kill before any ally can come to their aid. While still keeping in mind your squishiness, take more risks in this part of the game. The balance between worthwhile risk and stupidly running into danger is very delicate, and I suggest playing several matches in the casual queue to refine your late game tactics.

We all know the typical Taka player who runs into the fight, uses X-Retsu, then Kaiten, and ultimately dies a quick, useless death. This is not how Taka should fight! When fought with correctly, Taka can easily turn the tide of team fights or utterly disrupt the enemy team.

X-Retsu should only be used as an initiator, in a weapon build, if you accidentally lose your Ki stacks before a fight. In a weapon build, Kaiten should be reserved for avoiding large bursts of damage. In general, avoid using your abilities unless absolutely necessary. They will only prevent you from dealing as much damage as you should, and may result in an untimely death.

The bulk of your damage should come from several quick critical strikes aimed at the squishiest high damage dealer, usually the enemy lane hero. If a hero fitting that description is not present, your best bet is to pick a hero and land as many hits as you can. In both these situations, however, you have to keep close proximity to your opponents to be effective. There are many ways you can do this; however, this is the best way I have found: Use Kakuto get close to your enemies without taking damage. Once you are engaged to a hero, hit and run with your opponent, who may try to get away from your deadly switchblades. (In a pinch, you may use X-Retsu to get close to enemies.) Builds involving Shiversteel should use this strategy: When engaging enemies, use Kaku to get close, but, while hidden in Kaku, activate Shiversteel. Your first hit will slow the enemy, allowing you to easily stick to him/her.

Overall, Taka is great character, he just requires skilled play and a good build to shine in battles. The meta for him has destroyed his reputation in higher skill tiers. I hate that this has happened! So, now, it is up to players like you and me, who love Taka and know how he should truly be played, to return him to his rightful position as a fearsome sight in Fold and nightmare alike. I look forward seeing you switchblade-loving assassins tearing up the Fold!

If you have any comments or feedback, I would love to hear it!

• Update:1.1(In progress)Crystal Build