Overview Top
Back in 1.4, I was running a WP build Joule that focused on the crit damage from Thunder Strike with fairly good success. Then Joule got really popular in 1.5 with the changes and (supposedly, *cough*) a programming bug in her [Big Red Button]. After the 1.6 nerf, I mean - fix, The beam still remains one of the biggest game changing abilities in the game.
Since the 1.6 update, I found myself running a hybrid of the two, and choosing to focus more on CP or WP as the game goes on depending on the team dynamic.
Ability to mix up damage type makes it more difficult for enemies to defend against, and sometimes tricks enemies into picking up extra shield because they remember those cruel cruel Joule beams that wiped out the entire team back in 1.5... only to get surprised with a crit Thunder Strike for 800+ dmg.
Here it is - I present you my WP/CP hybrid build.
Strength & Weaknesses Top
Strength:
- Ability to shift focus on damage type as game plays out
- Bursty damage from either
Big Red Button or nasty
Thunder Strike - or both
- Some sustainability from life steal via
Aftershock or
Serpent Mask - or both
- Comfortably solos Kraken
Weaknesses
- Not a tanky build
- Slightly weak in early game
- Less escapability by not overdriving Rocket Jump (don't have that sweet reduced cooldown)
Early Game Top
It's common for teams to engage in early jungle invades in the game, and that's why I typically choose Rocket Jump as the first ability and picking up a
Crystal Bit. Feel free to use your rocket jump to engage, since early team battles tend to take longer, you might get a cooldown to use it again to chase down a fleeing enemy hero.
If invaded successfully, get the
Book of Eulogies at the jungle shop the way back to your side of the map. If invaded unsuccessfully, then get just enough for 300 and make your way to the shop to pick up the book then. Chances are you will not encounter the enemy hero at the jungle shop here since they are happy jungling on their end.
In short, GET THE BOOK soon because it lets you stay out on the map all game long.
If for whatever reason you KNOW your team isn't going for jungle invade, then pick up
Book of Eulogies to help with sustained jungle farming. Even with the nerf in 1.6, the book is still very powerful - but do learn how much damage your thunder strike will do so you can last-hit with normal attack for max heal. The flare is good for preventing gank while jungling solo or when you make your way over to the shop.
Notes on Item Build Order Top
Before I mention specific item build order, a general tip: level 1 items give you more bang for the buck. If you have empty item slot, don't upgrade unless you absolutely need to. Get another lower level item and use that slot. Empty slots are wasted resources!
Note that I try to leave most item at level 2 before committing in level 3 items, besides
Frostburn, which you want to rush. This gives me more time to see how the game's shaping out before I pick a damage type to focus on.
For WP heavy build, I typically go for
Sorrowblade first before I upgrade my
Blazing Salvo to
Tornado Trigger. You don't care about the increased crit chance and damage until you can max out
Thunder Strike, which usually comes after I get the blade.
Only time I abandon WP for CP completely is when enemies are stacking up on armors and both of my other two heroes are building WP. Occasionally, the game work out such a way that my team just really lacks support. I would then sell my Six Sin and
Book of Eulogies, overdrive my Rocket Jump instead, and use its greatly reduced cooldown as a poor man's
Merciless Pursuit. I have also swapped out
Shatterglass or
Clockwork out for
Eve of Harvest when the match keeps churning out long, sustained fights.
Beam + Frostburn Top
The next thing to focus on is rushing
Frostburn by the time you hit level 6. When jungling with someone who has an
Ironguard Contract (and know how to freaking use it), this is not difficult to achieve.
But if you are paired with someone who has no clue how it works even after futile attempt at map signals (tears), or sharing the jungle with another hero, then you might end up waiting till Level 7 or 8 before the Frostburn. But either way - rush it.
Why? Frostburned beams make a great surprise because enemies are hit with a slow as they take the first beam damage. Especially if you can place the beam at critical locations, you can get in a couple early kills at this stage in the game and gives your team a good chance to take the Gold Miner.
Two most common critical locations for applying your frostburned beams (I'll try to get screenshots in here sometime in the future):
1. Just above the bottom bush in the lane between the - enemy heroes can't escape down and have to walk up to the center part of the lane, taking more damage along the way
2. Through the narrow pass/bush area just to the right or left of the gold miner.
When combined with other hero's slow/stun abilities such as Catherine's
Merciless Pursuit, Ardan's
Gauntlet, SAW's
Suppressing Fire, etc, the beam is deadly.
Be sure to be patient when using this ability. The 1.5 meta made players very aware of the possibility of a beam, and it does somewhat keep enemy at bay when they think you may have a beam saved up. You don't want to get too excited and use it early in an engagement without securing a kill (or at least forcing an enemy hero to retreat to base). So while you have that powerful beam in your back pocket, you hit them with your bread and butter...
Crit Thunder Strike Top
In short, this deals a whole lot of damage. You want to time it so that when you get to overdrive your
Thunder Strike, you can get your
Tornado Trigger. On the other hand, without the overdrive (which enables crit on your Thunder Strike), it's kind of a waste to spend the money holding that giant toy.
At level 5, Thunder Strike base is 200, with 100% crystal and 175% weapon, plus 20% shield AND armor pierce. When you add weapon crit damage to that - okay, I don't know the math exactly, someone else on Vainglory Fire has done the calculation before - it's a LOT of damage.
Further more, since the Thunder Strike cooldown scales with weapon attack speed, Thunder Strike creates great synergy with Aftershock and Alternating Current. This is how a very well executed team engagement could look like:
1) Rocket Jump + Stun
2) Basic attack, apply Aftershock
3) Thunder Strike
4) Basic attack, apply Alternating Current, sometimes you could squeeze in a 2nd Aftershock effect here
5) Thunder Strike again
6) Still have the beam in back pocket right?
About Map Vision Top
In this build write-up, I had items for all 6 slots. But in real matches, I often ended up getting only 5, saving one for
Scout Trap and
Flare Gun. When I play support, I almost always go for
Contraption and litter the entire map with traps so my team can be on the side that gives the ganking, and not receiving them. Maybe that mentality has crept into a bit of my play even as a Jungler too.
But with the bursty nature of this build, I would argue that having good vision on the map is even more important. Identifying the enemy escape route of a broken down 2v2 or spotting occasional lone enemy jungle store shopper are great way to apply the bursty damage and giving the team a chance to take the Gold Miner or Kraken.
Enjoy! Top
Hope you enjoyed this guide, and while you're reading, please:
1) Learn how Ironguard Contract works PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD
2) Don't spam me and my fellow junger's face with "???????" when you get overpowered in the lane but never asked for help via a "!"
3) Don't ignore the rest of the team throwing down "!" asking you to not chase after a silly kill, getting yourself killed, then spamming the rest of the team with "??????????". We just don't want to die with you.
4) Don't spam arrows-arrows-arrows-arrows at the Kraken when the entire team just got aced together and we're obviously all regenerating... yes, I know the enemy will take Kraken.
5) How about just don't spam any map markers? :)
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