Hello, I am LuluXiu, the current laner player for Phoenix Reign and this is a guide for how I play Adagio successfully in both ranked and competitive matches. Adagio is a powerful backline mage/support than can deal out an incredible amount of damage throuhgout the game. As a carry, Adagio needs a lot of gold so start him in the lane and focus on getting last hits for maximum success.
I hope you enjoy!
-Lulu
Adagio’s abilities use a lot of energy, but his perk allows him to gain most if not all of his energy back when used correctly. When enemies are burning with Arcane Fire from Gift of Fire, Adagio gains 35% of the damage taken by said enemies back as energy. While it is already important to combine Gift of Fire with Adagio’s buff, his perk gives added benefits for doing just that. If you ever need energy, pretty much all you have to do is burn either enemies or minions with fire and damage them and you will gain energy back extremely quickly. This energy regen also applies to damage teammates output onto burning enemies, so you will likely never run out of energy during team fights if you land Gift of Fire onto enemies.
When activated, Adagio can heal either himself or heal a single ally. If Adagio uses the heal on himself, nearby enemies will be slowed by 70% for 0.7 seconds. To increase the total healing on this ability, build health or crystal items. The healing is done in a burst, then heals slightly more over a course of 3 seconds. Additionally, enemies near the healed hero or minion will be doused in Arcane Fire.
Gift of Fire is kind of a tricky ability in that in order to land the DOT and fire effects onto enemies, you don’t attack them directly but rather use the ability on an ally, minion or yourself. The Arcane Fire is EXTREMELY important for the rest of Adagio’s kit, as it is necessary for regaining energy with his perk, for bonus damage with Agent of Wrath, and in order to stun with Verse of Judgement.
When going CP, the healing on Gift of Fire is significant but less important than landing the Arcane Fire onto enemies to combine with the rest of the kit.
Upgrade Priority:
In the lane, unlock Gift of Fire first but overdrive it second after Agent of Wrath. The extra buffed attacks and bonus damage outweigh the added healing early game. Upon overdrive, the total healing is significantly increased and the Arcane Fire does increased damage.
Agent of Wrath is Adagio’s main damage source. When activated on himself, Adagio’s next few (5 until overdriven) basic attacks are empowered for the next 6 seconds or until the number of attacks expires. Adagio can use this ability on allies, but gains a self-cast bonus when used on himself. Agent of Wrath’s damage is greatly increased if the target enemy (minion or hero) is burning with Arcane Fire.
Like previously mentioned, combining this ability with Gift of Fire is extremely important for maximum damage output. Not only will you gain increased damage, but using this ability without first burning targets may lead you to run out of energy very quickly.
Upgrade Priority:
Unlock Agent of Wrath second, but take the overdrive first. Upon overdrive, the amount of buffed basic attacks increases from 5-7. This is essential for increasing Adagio’s total damage output, as with merely 5 attacks he runs out rather quickly and does not do much damage without being buffed.
When activated, Adagio channels a large ring of damage for the next 2 seconds. After the 2 seconds, a large burst of damage is done to enemies inside the ring. If enemies are burning with Arcane Fire, they will be stunned for 2.2 seconds- one of the longest stuns in the game. Adagio also gains a moderate amount of fortified health while channeling.
Verse of Judgement can be deadly when enemies do not have reflex blocks, and is also good for dealing a large amount of AOE damage to an entire enemy team. Verse of Judgement should only be used as a last resort, though, or you know for sure that you can stun the enemies, or if you have been hit with an Atlas Pauldron. Otherwise, it is usually better to output damage using basic attacks if you have your Agent of Wrath buff available. Alternatively, you could buff/heal a teammate and use Verse while your teammate outputs increased damage with the buff.
Since landing Gift of Fire onto enemies is so critical, Adagio pairs best with melee hero that will be close to enemies and in the front line protecting Adagio. With melee heroes, Adagio can provide backline support and damage with his heal and self buff and ensure that Arcane Fire lands onto enemies.
Heroes to Pair With Adagio:
Lance- Lance is a frontline menace that can both peel for Adagio and be a target for his healing to apply Arcane Fire. Let Lance get close to enemies and then heal him to apply Arcane Fire to the entire enemy team. Lance can be in both the Jungle and Roam positions effectively with Adagio.
Ardan- Similar to Lance, Ardan is great at getting into the middle of the enemy team while also providing protection and separation for Adagio.
Blackfeather- Blackfeather is incredibly good at holding his own in the jungle, and at getting close for applying Arcane Fire. Also, Blackfeather oftentimes NEEDS the extra healing in order to survive, so Adagio and Blackfeather have great synergy. If you are chasing an enemy down, or are out of position to deal damage, buff/heal Blackfeather and let him output a majority of the damage.
Krul- Krul, like the other melee heroes mentioned above needs to stick to his enemies so he will always be in a position to heal and apply Arcane Fire
Kestrel- Kestrel is not melee, but is still a great pairing with Adagio. If you use Kestrel, make sure you have another melee roam so that you will be able to apply Arcane Fire, but Kestrel is great at holding her own in jungle and buffing Kestrel is always a great option if needed.
Adagio’s early game is relatively strong, but he is extremely weak if he doesn’t land Arcane Fire onto enemies before attacking them with buffed attacks. In the laning phase, focus on farming but also attempt to bully enemy laners if they get close to your minions. If the enemy laner is near one of your own minions, heal that minion to apply Arcane Fire onto them, and then buff yourself. You should be dealing massive damage with your basic attacks, but be careful not to overextend. Adagio can also rotate relatively well in the early game, but again, make sure you land Arcane Fire onto enemies or you will be left extremely vulnerable.
Adagio begins to massively spike once he gets Alternating Current and again at Broken Myth. At the first power spike, Adagio will have a lot of attack speed and can begin outputting a massive amount of damage. Once you reach level 6, try to force a team fight if the enemy has not picked up reflex blocks yet. If they have not, you will likely be able to easily win the team fight. Make sure you have Arcane Fire applied, and then activate Verse of Judgement when enemies are close for a virtually guaranteed 2.2 second stun. If you get this team fight, push a turret afterwards and continue to snowball the lead. If not, keep farming and focus on the next power spike of Broken Myth.
After you have Alternating Current, Broken Myth and a defense item (probably an Aegis) completed, work towards building a Frostburn and make sure to infuse before major team fights. Infusions grant Adagio the extra CD he needs to have the buff and Gift of Fire combo available virtually endlessly. The frostburn is also extremely powerful since Alternating Current does crystal damage, so every other basic attack will slow the enemy meaning that you have basically an endless Shiversteel once you get Frostburn. This helps kiting and increases overall CC. In team fights, focus on landing Gift of Fire onto enemies, and outputting damage onto the main threat with your buffed up attacks from Agent of Wrath. If you happen to get hit with an Atlas Pauldron, you can use ult to do some teamwide damage but otherwise only use it if you are low health and have little other option or you know the enemies have used their reflex blocks. Besides his ultimate, Adagio only deals single target damage so target focus is extremely important.
- When trying to regain energy, don’t use fire on minions with low health since you won’t be able to get the maximum amount of energy back. Instead, wait for new minions to arrive/spawn.
- When going CP, the healing on Gift of Fire is significant but less important than landing the Arcane Fire onto enemies to combine with the rest of the kit.
- If the cooldowns of Gift of Fire and Agent of Wrath are not nearly matched and Agent of Wrath comes up first, it is often better to wait for the cooldown of Gift of Fire to finish so that you can get the full effects that combine with the Arcane Fire.
- Frostburn is amazing third item on Adagio as it gives him bonus damage and incredible CC with his auto attacks that most CP heroes don’t have.
- If you are chasing an enemy down, or are out of position to deal damage, buff/heal the melee jungle carry and let him output a majority of the damage.
Thank you for reading! I hope you found it useful. Send any questions you may have to
@LuluXiuuu on Twitter,
Team Phoenix or comment below.
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-LuluXiu
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