Table of Contents Top
Major rework coming. With the changes in 1.9, Petal's play can be very different, so it might take a while to get the guide updated.
Introduction Top
Hello, this is 000calc1, or calc1223 in game. I have noticed a conspicuous lack of
Petal players, and seek to amend that. I mean, who wouldn't want to play such an adorable character?! With the major 1.6 buff, and 1.7 level 1 buff, Petal is becoming viable again. Whether you are a complete noob, or a veteran player looking for a new strategy, I believe this build can work for you. This build is unique as it places Petal in the jungle, something typically not done (when this guide came out in 1.3). Please up vote if you enjoy! If not, leave a comment and explain why you are dissatisfied. Will be updating this guide regularly. At least check out the secret tips section in the guide.
Thank you so much for all the support and the feature!
Also, shout-out to DISCORD! Vainglorians everywhere unite on this voice chat. Click here to the thread explaining this chat. See you on Discord!
Petal's Strengths Top
Petal was once upon a time the most overpowered character (in my biased opinion), but was hit hard with a nerf. Weapon builds were
no longer as effective, as her attack speed has been reduced to ridiculous slow (in my opinion). Good thing is, when dancing just in and out of range while firing (kiting and stutter-stepping),
attack speed has little effect. Her munions are still as strong as ever. Petal was meant to be a kiting hero, and excels at the role because of her long range and her Bramblethorn Munions. She also can
capture Kraken, no health lost, or any of those jungle creeps, which is why I am making this guide for a jungle Petal.
Petal for Noobs Top
Skip if you aren't new to the game.
Petal
excels in extended fights, which are most low-level fights. The enemy will spam his basic attacks and abilities. By laying down many seeds during a 1v1 fight, you will continue to heal while your enemy exhausts his abilities. In long fights, your munion damage will really add up. Also, if you can get your opponents on top of your seeds, when you sprout the seeds, the opponent will take damage. Just
don't try fighting
Krul without kiting, as he has more sustainability then you.
Before the Game Top
Some people just don't get it that you want to jungle as Petal! Even with the "position" tool, where you can tell your teammates if you will jungle, support, or lane, I have been pinged countless times, telling me to get out of the jungle and back into lane. To ensure you will have a teammate that will lane for you, first select some jungle character, and set the position to roam. When your teammates lock in, switch to Petal (idiotic and rude, I know, but it works).
Starting Off Top
As you enter the game, grab your
Energy Battery and 2
Halcyon Potion as quickly as possible. The energy battery lets you keep spamming the seeds, granting amazing armor and heal, and the potions are for emergencies.
Run into lane, coming up through the brush (don't show yourself). In the brush, plant as many Bramblethorn Seed as possible. You can probably manage 2-3 before the first enemy minion gets to low health. Though this guide is for jungle, early on Petal takes too much damage in jungle. I prefer to get to level 2 first, and then I won't take any damage in jungle. Pop out just in time to last hit the minion. Hopefully your fellow lamer doesn't mind, especially since you recently tricked them into having 2 ranged characters. Practice last hitting with Petal. Her projectiles are a bit slow, and she has slow attack speed. Once level 2, summon your Bramblethorn Munions with Yay, Pets! and leave the lane if your fellow laner is holding up.
Now in 1.7, you can START OFF WITH PETS!! Forget about my old stealing farm from lane to get level 2. Rush to the at least the healing creep nearest to the jungle shop, which you can reach quicker than other characters because of your range. If you load quickly, rush to the creeps near the jungle shop.
NOTE:
Jungle invasions are done quite frequently, though less in 1.7. While I personally think they are a bit of a waste of time (you can get more gold killing minions and jungle creeps early game), if your team insists on doing one, go along with them. Try to tank the hits, then run while your munions continue to attack the enemy. This way, your allies will be at near full health, while you can sit in the back and deal damage from a distance. Then, you can continue with the above start.
However, at level two, paired with a [Fortress], you are UNSTOPPABLE. The Fortress's [Law of the Claw] deals massive damage once at full stacks. While your munions no longer add to stacks, because of your range, you can easily get all stacks. Invade the moment you hit level two (and clear your side of the jungle, of course). If your enemy invades, don't hesitate to fight. Petal is arguably the strongest level 1 hero (other than perhaps
Ringo buffed with
Adagio's
Agent of Wrath, or
Skaarf with full stacks on
Fan the Flames.)
Jungle Top
By the time you clear your jungle (assuming you have a support with you), you probably have enough gold for
Sprint Boots, and maybe even a
Crystal Bit. Head down to the shop, using an "On My Way" ping, and buy these. I believe Petal is the perfect jungler. Here's how: first, you land a projectile on a jungle creep. Then, you walk out of its range. However, it will agro your munions, who are still in range and attacking it,
letting you turn around and take the gold, without the creep ever dealing damage to you. Her long range also let's her safely invade the enemy jungle. Do it frequently, so that your fellow jungler can safely farm on your side of the jungle, while
depriving the enemy of gold. With your range, you can determine whether
to run or
fight the enemy.
Ganking Top
Just like any good player in the jungle, it is essential for Petal to occasionally come up into the lane and gank. I prefer to come up behind the enemy, through the enemy brush. Wait for the enemy to overextend, or at least come closer to your side. While waiting, drop as many seeds as possible. These will
heal you, give armor, and also provide a place to summon more munions mid-fight, as you will most likely lose some. Your opponent will have no idea where those munions are coming from! Activate your
Shiversteel to prevent them from fleeing, and to make sure your
Spontaneous Combustion lands.
Using Spontaneous Combustion Top
Spontaneous Combustion can be rather
hard to land. Enemies can simply run when they see the munions exploding. To prevent this, make sure they are committed to fighting with you, or activate your
Shiversteel. I also like to initiate with this. Start with exploding your minions, then immediately send them after your target. They won't have time to react! It will also leave helpful seeds behind to sprout and deal additional damage, and to heal. Immediately after your munions explode, use Yay, Pets!. The combined damage from the
Spontaneous Combustion and the Yay, Pets! sprouting is
2040 damage, larger than even Joule's
Big Red Button damage.
Secret Tips Top
These tips (while not completely secret) will give you a major edge in any game. For example, you can solo Kraken as Petal.
The phrase
'soloing Kraken' sounds scary, but really is not at all. First, make sure the coast is clear, as you do not want the Kraken stolen from you, and you will take a long time to take him out. Then, plant a bed of seeds out of the aggro range of the Kraken. Attack the Kraken, and then move out of his aggro range to the seeds. He will attack the munions, just like any jungle creep. When 2 munions have died, summon more to continue to tank.
Have fun soloing the Kraken!
Another secret is that
Minion Candy boosts the gold mine tremendously. While Petal's munions are no longer by minion candy, I still carry one around after 7 minutes and before 15 minutes, to pop one near a friendly gold mine. Always try to start fights near a friendly gold mine. When given a minion candy, it's like
having a fourth member on your team.
Petal's seeds give vision. Plant one directly where each jungle creep spawns to know when they come up. Remember, the vision radius is smaller than a melee attack, so it has to be right where the jungle creep is. These seeds also provide a place to summon munions.
Stagger stepping is key with Petal (or any ranged character). Stagger stepping is where you do a basic attack, then tap away quickly to cancel your attack animation. This means that doing a basic attack takes almost no time, no matter how slow your attack speed. With Petal, this means that your munions will target an enemy again, meaning you can run or dodge shots while still doing damage.
Finally, the
BEST TIP of all. Petal suffers from a lack of mobility. Your only escape is through
Sprint Boots. However, it has a long cool down on the active. You can "refresh" the active by selling the Sprint Boots, then buying them back. This will cost you 150 gold, but could save your life.
The Items Top
I highly recommend rushing an
Eve of Harvest. Remember, any damage your munions do is crystal damage. This means that in retreat, you can quickly attack the opponents chasing you.
Your munions will attack them, granting you lifesteal and some of your health back. This has saved my life on multiple occasions! It also provides the
excellent energy regeneration, which is needed for spamming abilities. Keep in mind that
Eve of Harvest does 20% less life steal with 1.4, and you can no longer rely on it to keep your health up. This nerf was meant for heroes like Vox and Celeste, who can get massive life steal through their AoE attacks, but hurts you even more.
Shiversteel is the second item I typically get. It provides
more health, which is important for such a
squishy character. You can get this item a lot earlier with its reduced cost in 1.4, but it also provides less health. When enemies attempt to run, activate
Shiversteel. Also, when using
Spontaneous Combustion, activate Shiversteel so that the enemies cannot dodge the damage.
Great for chasing, escape (slow chasing opponents), or when using
Spontaneous Combustion. Read the Frostburn section to decide whether to get Frostburn or Shiversteel.
Shatterglass will add crystal damage. Your munions will do
more damage, and heal you more from
Eve of Harvest. A second one will add even more damage.
Get
Sprint Boots early for the extra speed, and
Travel Boots for the same reason. Get
Journey Boots only after you have bought transfusions and the such, as it does not add much benefit.
Broken Myth is now highly viable. As you already have a
Shatterglass, you will have plenty of crystal damage, and then the
Broken Myth just amplifies it. It will also give shield pierce (even if your opponents do not build shield, they do gain shield when they level up). Petal, with her long range, and munions that will chomp away even while you run, can build and maintain Broken Myth stacks easily. Check out
this site, ironically named BrokenMyth, for why it can be better than a second
Shatterglass.
Alternating Current will boost your basic attacks. As you already have a
Shatterglass, you will have plenty of damage from your basic attacks, which is always helpful. Also adds crystal power, and attack speed, which was made really low in the 1.3 nerf.
Frostburn is super useful for the slow and the high added crystal power. However, you already have a
Shiversteel for slow. Get a
Frostburn instead of a
Shiversteel if your enemies have
Aftershock, as the Shiversteel will add health, and the opponents can then do more damage. Frostburn is even more viable with 1.4, with it's added crystal power.
Only get
Aftershock if your opponents are tanky, and building high-health. This will help you take out high-health targets faster.
Not recommended.
If the enemy can stun you, especially
Koshka and
Glaive, sacrifice one of the optional items for an
Aegis or
Crucible for the Reflex Block ability. I prefer
Crucible to protect the entire team, but if the opponent builds
Aftershock, or is also high crystal power, get
Aegis. Get one early on when facing opponents with consistent stuns.
Never forget the consumables. They can be extremely helpful late-game, as well as early game. Wait until a fight breaks out before consuming them if you have the extra space.
Thank you for reading my guide, and I hope it has helped you! Please up vote if you enjoyed!
-000calc1
Change Log Top
- 1.0 - April 20, 2015 First published. Added many minor edits throughout the day and the next day.
- 1.1 - April 21, 2015 Added Adagio, Joule, Ringo, Petal, Celeste, and Glaive to threats list. Will finish threats at later date. Also added change log.
- 1.1.1 - April 25, 2015 Minor edits.
- 1.2 - April 26, 2015 Finished threats list.
- 1.3 - April 27, 2015 Added Table of Contents, reorganized.
- 1.3.1 - May 2, 2015 Small changes, added color.
- 1.4 - May 5, 2015 Updated for 1.4.
- 1.4.1 - May 9, 2015 Clarified boots purchase(see comments).
- 1.5 - June 16, 2015 Changes for 1.5 Update (added Fortress, removed no longer relevant situations)
- 1.5.1 - June 26, 2015 Error fixes, updated Fortress threat.
- 1.6 - July 2, 2015 Updated for 1.6. Changed change log to match updates.
- 1.6.1 - July 3, 2015 Minor changes (Broken Myth) + Secret Tips.
- 1.6.2 - July 8, 2015 Taka is male (I knew that!).
- 1.6.3 - July 13, 2015 Further clarifying minion candy.
- 1.6.4 - July 21, 2015 More small edits.
- 1.7 - August 14, 2015 Updated for 1.7.
- 1.7.1 - August 15, 2015 Small edit.
- 1.8 - September 26, 2015 1.8 update (added Skye).
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