She has a hard time escaping, so once she's caught in a forced accord, she's done.
1
Rona
Her ultimate can easily be stopped with quibble followed up by an atlas.
1
SAW
Once he starts using his b, he's an easy target to stun and take out.
1
Koshka
She's pretty easy to go against, if she uses her ult on someone, use quibble on her to end it early. She has to stay close in order to deal damage, so keep on stunning her. The only thing that might be dicey is that she might use an ability on you to activate her perk and rush to your team mate.
1
Krul
Stun and atlas and he's an easy target. If he uses his ultimate, body block it so your team mates don't get stunned.
1
Lance
Phinn is most likely the best counter against Lance. Lance's impale doesn't root you and his gythian wall doesn't move you at all, and you can easily stun him if he misses an impale. The only thing you should look out for is that a gythian wall while against a structure can silence you anyways.
1
Grumpjaw
He can't eat Phinn, so his ultimate is useless to him. Also, he has to stay close to deal damage, so be sure to build atlas and stun him often.
2
Baron
Jump jets help him escape the forced accord, but other than that, he's an easy target.
2
Joule
Wait for Joule to leap, then quibble where she lands.
For weapon joule, follow his up with atlas.
For crystal joule, be ready for her ultimate. You should either stun her again or move her with forced accord.
2
Petal
The munions lose most of their health from one quibble, so I suggest stunning the munions if she's too far away. Her b can be annoying when trying to stun her, but she can only use it so often. Using atlas can also be useful so she can't command her munions as often too.
2
Phinn
Have you ever used forced accord on Phinn? Yeah... I typically play ranked so I don't know how a Phinn v.s. Phinn looks like. Just be sure to build crucible around the time the enemy Phinn reaches level 6.
2
Samuel
Make sure your teammates aren't too close to you, because Samuel will most likely shoot those empowered malice and verdict shots at you.
2
Skaarf
You're basically target practice for Skaarf, so don't get stuck in goop. He's quite easy to catch though.
3
Ardan
If you ever catch Ardan out of position, capitalize on it by either stunning him while your team takes down his team, or kill him first if he is by himself. If his ultimate catches your team mate but not you, you can either walk in to protect your teammates or try to drag Ardan out with a forced accord so it vanishes.
3
Fortress
I haven't faced fortress all that often, but most of the time fortress can't defend his teammates all too well in a 3v3. If he is about to channel his ultimate, try to stun him. Watch out for mortal wounds too.
3
Idris
Don't let his hero spotlight fool you, he's pretty easy to stun with quibble, just be careful because he will mainly use his ultimate on you because you are the slow one.
3
Ringo
He has a hard time escaping from a successful forced accord, so once you get him, use atlas on him so he's useless.
For crystal, have crucible ready for his ult.
3
Skye
Her mobility makes her harder to stun, so try catching her off guard with a forced accord from a bush so she has little time to react and get a lock on.
3
Lyra
You don't have any movement based moves, so her bright bulwark doesn't do much. The common thing Lyra does against a successful forced accord is use her ult. If this does happen, follow her through the portal with your team if you know it's safe.
3
Vox
He can avoid your quibble much easier with his A, so try waiting for him to use it then quibble. Regardless of his build path, build atlas to hinder his attack speed. He will mainly use you to build stacks for breaking point of broken myth, so try to take him out quickly with your team.
4
Flicker
Put scout traps everywhere, be wary that even if you stun him, his b will still continue its duration. It's a good idea to buy flare gun first.
4
Glaive
Try to keep him away from your carry with forced accord and quibble, then follow it up with atlas.
When you are against CP Glaive, build an anti weapon/crystal build based on the path the carry is building since cp Glaive doesn't do a ton of damage.
4
Gwen
Her skedaddle is slightly annoying, try to atlas her if she's a threat. Also take the ultimate when you can.
4
Reim
Make sure he doesn't build broken myth stacks off of you and stun him when possible.
4
Kestrel
She has a hard time escaping a forced accord, so follow up with a quibble if you catch her. Be sure to put scout traps everywhere, especially if she is going crystal. If you have a feeling she has gone camp and you can't find her, use polite company, it will knock her out of her stealth if she is near.
4
Ozo
You can still use quibble on Ozo while he is using acrobounce, so you can stun him if you time it well enough. His second part of three ring circus can bypass your quibble if it is directed towards you, so watch out for that. Other than that Ozo will mainly use you for acrobounces, so try to stop him early.
4
Taka
Put scout traps everywhere. For weapon power Taka, use atlas whenever possible. If you don't know where he is, try using polite company, if he is in stealth nearby, it will knock him out of it. Also, try to avoid using quibble if he is attacking you because he will use his A to jump over them. If it does become a 1vs1, just wait for him to use it first.
5
Adagio
Captain Adagio isn't that bad, be sure to watch out for his ultimate.
For crystal, don't get him too close to you due to his arcane fire, but if he does get too close, punish him with a stun and atlas.
5
Alpha
Weapon can be taken down with atlas.
Crystal is a huge pain, try to stun her whenever possible, especially when she is close to rebooting so she can't use her ultimate. Another important thing to know about crystal Alpha is atlas can hinder her too, because her core charge ability has a cooldown reduction for each basic attack she lands, so reduced attack speed means less core charges.
6
Blackfeather
His Rose offensive can make your kit useless, so try to catch him after he uses both of them. Your best bet is using atlas regardless of his build.
7
No Threat
8
No Threat
9
No Threat
10
Catherine
Worst captain to face as Phinn. Her silences from her a and ultimate are devestating to you, so try to avoid those whenever possible. Her b reflects damage from quibble, so try not to kill your teammates.
Hello and welcome to a complete 2.3 guide to be an unstoppable force as Phinn. This is my first Guide ever so I'm open to some constructive criticism. So a little bit about me, I typically play ranked matches in NA and I'm currently straddling between Simply Amazing gold and Pinnacle of Awesome bronze in my rank. I tend to play as the role filler, and that role nobody wants to play is usually captain. So, I've gotten used to playing as captain. I personally like playing as Phinn the most as a captain mainly because he isn't used often and I love his character design. I hope you enjoy!
Unstoppable
With this perk, most heroes that depend on those stuns and roots will have very little effect on you, which is really great because it means it will be harder for the enemy team to distract you and take down the carries. This also makes Phinn one of the best body blockers in the game. However, stuns will still silence you and silencing abilities will still silence you.
Quibble
This is Phinn's most lethal ability. Overdrive this as soon as possible so you can constantly stun the enemy team. Whenever I refer to saying stun in this guide, I mean use quibble. Even if you don't have the overdrive, the lower levels still give very good slows, so still use then when you can.
Polite Company
This ability has numerous purposes. You can use it to keep your team mates alive for a little longer. You can also use it to get that slippery enemy in range for your team to take down. My personal favorite purpose for it is to steal distant monsters, after enough timing, you can do stuff like this.I'm not sure if the abilities show it properly, but I highly suggest getting this ability first.
If you happen to go against a hyper carry or a team with two of the same power type, I suggest using one of the anti builds and maxing out this ability so your team mates will gain a ton of amor/shield for 4 seconds, making your teammates super strong in defense and make them last even longer.
Forced Accord
This ability is very fun to use as well. The best way to use it is to catch people out of position (preferably the squishiest one) and drag them right to your team mates where you will outnumber them and kill them. However, you can also use it to protect a fleeing team mate from an enemy by grabbing the enemy back to you. My favorite use for it is to drag enemies into a turret, crystal miner, or even inside the base so they get killed quickly. Typically, you should follow up a successful forced accord with a quibble, but if the enemy constantly uses reflex block while running away, waiting a little before using quibble will do the charm and slow/stun them.
So you know the general background of Phinn, but when is he a better option than the other captains? Well here are some pros and cons on Phinn
Pros Body Blocking- Phinn has the highest natural defense and health stats in the game due to his ability, so if there your team mates need protection, you can simply just stand in the way and take it all up. Crowd Control- All of Phinn's abilities can drastically change the tide of the battle because he can move an entire team and stun all of them in a matter of a few seconds. With enough cooldown items, his abilities will always be available, making him a constant threat. Counter Lance Pick- If you are in draft mode and the enemy team picked Lance as their captain, the best way to win is by picking up Phinn to devestate the enemy Lance. Lance is still a top tier captain, but he's lost some fame after his nerfs. Turret's Best Friend- There's nothing a turret loves more than Phinn. The reason why is because Phinn can hook an enemy right into the turret's range and stun them there so the turret can go on a shooting spree. The same applies for the crystal miner. If you are ever at a disadvantage, the turrets and miner will be happy to help! Ace Prevention-Due to his high health and defenses, a smart Phinn can delay that ace the enemy team needs. Lane Substitute-If your carry dies, Phinn is an amazing substitute for the carry. If the minions pile up on the enemy turret, a polite company to group them up more and a quibble will finish almost all of them at once. If the carry wants to keep the lane frozen, then you can just use polite company from afar to last hit any minions.
Cons Speed- Phinn is one of the slowest characters of the game, making it quite difficult to get around. Be sure to get speed boosting items early. The main reason why a Phinn is unsuccessful is because he is out of position, so always be aware of where the enemy team is. Disengaging- If your team is in a bad situation, it may be a little hard to disengage since Phinn can only bring enemies closer to him. The best way to disengage is to either use war treads, stun and run, or slowly fallback onto a turret or the crystal miner. Stuns and Silences- Stuns become a silence on Phinn and silences are unaffected by his ability, but these are devastating to Phinn. A good stun can render Phinn useless to use his items and abilities during the most crucial part of the battle. If you do get stunned or silenced at the beginning of the match, disengage and wait for it to wear off, then go back into battle.
Fountain of Renewal
This is the staple item of all captains. You will always have this be your first tier 3 item. I highly suggest watching the following video made by woodworking if you don't know wen to use it.
War Treads
Unfortunately Phinn's major weakness is that he is one of the slowest characters in the game, and with no mobility abilities it puts Phinn at a disadvantage for speed. So trying to get Travel Boots is a top priority after getting fountain of renewal. War treads isn't truly needed until later in the game, but it should be your 4th tier 3 item following your first defensive item. For Phinn, this item is best used in chasing situations, when you are in a bad position in a team fight, or when your team needs to disengage.
Crucible
This item is more for your team mates rather than yourself. If the enemy team has any team wide crowd control or very powerful ultimates with after effects (I.e. Hellfire Brew), then you should get this as your third tier 3 item over atlas. The extra health also makes you more tanky which in turn strengthens your fountain and polite company when it comes for health. If you have a hard time using this item at the right time, just remember that it lasts for one second, so being a little early is okay.
Contraption
I prefer to get this as my second tier 3 item, but everyone has their preferences. I like this item because it gives you a good cooldown reduction, which is great for more stuns and forced accords. It is also nice because I don't have to spend as much money or item slots on getting a Scout Trap or a Flare. However, if you are low on scout trap vision, I suggest buying scout traps and using contraption as a flare gun. For those who don't know where to put scout traps, here are the spots you would want to place them. Black dot=You should always have scout traps here, if they detonate, set them back up as soon as possible
Blue dot=Situational, if you lose some turrets, then you should have the traps there
White dot=These are amazing traps to place down, but only place them down when you know that you are safe to place them
This image assumes that your team is on the left side, but if you are on the right side, it's just the same spots but flipped.
Atlas Pauldron
This item is great for when both the jungler and carry both rely on high attack speed. Generally most weapon powered builds require high attack speed, but the crystal builds that have Alternating Current are typically the ones that are hindered the most by atlas. I suggest getting this instead of crucible as your 3rd tier 3 item if your team mates keep on getting killed by someone with high attack speed or if both of them rely on a high attack speed. The best way to apply atlas on your enemies is by either using quibble or activating atlas right after using forced accord so they can't use reflex block in time if they are caught in it.
Clockwork
This item is so you can keep on using your abilities and so you never run out of energy. After your first purchase and boots, getting an Energy Battery is always the next priority so you can always use your abilities. I suggest getting this tier 3 item 5th.
Crystal Infusion
After your build is done, get this so you can use your abilities even more.
So now that you know how to use the items and Phinn's abilities, I'll give you a general idea of where to be and what you should be doing in the match.
First Round of Jungle Monsters
So once you buy your first items, you can either go to the middle treeant or your front jungle monsters with your jungler (maybe carry, but I personally think the carry is best off being on watch for back jungle monster invasions by hiding in the tri-bush). Depending on your jungler, you can either take on the big treeant or just continue taking out the rest of the monsters. If you do take out the big treeant, be sure to leash it all the way into your bush and have one of you standing in the bush with it to watch out for any enemies who might try to steal. If the enemy team already is trying to get the big treeant, you can try stealing it with your polite company or distracting them while your jungler gets it. Once your first rotation of monsters is done, rotate up to the mustache bush to check on your carry. If the enemy captain has been trying to assist their carry, I suggest using flares to see if the captain is hiding in there.
2-4 minutes
If there is a lot of lane pressure with ganks and the enemy captain in the mustache bush, then stay in the mustache bush, when you see the carry or captain gone, go through part of a jungle rotation so you can gain more experience. Don't rush right towards the jungle shop when it spawns at 4 minutes, only go when the lane pressure is relieved.
4-8 Minutes
The first somewhat teamfight will probably happen during this time if it hasn't happened yet. If this is in the lane, use forced accord to get them in the turret range. If this is in the Jungle, try to have it happen in range of the crystal miner so you have one more fighter on your side. You should generally be on the front lines or around the same level as your team mates. You should only be on the back line when trying to use. Now would be a good time to buy scout traps before you get contraption in order to get good vision.
8-15 Minutes
Keep doing the usual, and make sure you are getting good vision on the map. Around 12 minutes, the bushes start to become unsafe to face check, so you should start using flares in bushes with no traps. Around the time the Kraken spawns, your team should start rotating together so nobody is out of position.
Late Game
The same tactics are used here. Map awareness is key, so keep an eye out for lane pushing and see if any enemies pass scout traps. If you want to force the enemy team to engage on a team fight, you can affronte the kraken by using polite company, then you can rush back into your bush and let the kraken follow you a little bit. If they are watching, they might show up out of their bush. If you are pushing the kraken towards the enemy team's base, don't kill the crystal miner. If you do, it will respawn in the middle of your team trying to win and it will attack. Vision is also key during the late game, so if you happen to have a free space, buy a **** ton of scout traps and then place them in bushes while using contraption as a flare gun. Once you have sufficient traps, buy flares and use contraption to replace any popped ones.
Generally Phinn does best with melee junglers that can sustain pretty well. Assassins sort of work well with him, but the main issue with them is that they tend to stray away from Phinn in battle, making his abilities pointless.
Krul
Krul needs to be close to his enemies and Phinn excels at keeping enemies close. Stun any enemies that give Krul trouble so he can apply weakness stacks to them quickly.
Joule
Whenever you land a quibble, joule can make the slow/stun even longer by using Rocket Leap at the location you use it. It is a pretty great matchup, but you have to know each other movements well, there have been times where I have hooked people out of Joule's ultimate.
Reim
Similar to Krul, all Reim needs to do to win is to be close, and Phinn does well in letting that happen. The only downside with Reim is that he is slow like Phinn, but that's it. Stun any ranged heroes, this will give Reim enough time to root them and finish them off quickly.
Rona
The quibble makes it very easy for Rona to kill everyone with her Red Mist. Picking Phinn is also a good steal pickup if you are in draft mode because Phinn is a strong counter against Rona.
Alpha
Weapon Alpha just needs to stay close, so you'll do well in keeping them in Alpha's range
Crystal Alpha is so-so with Phinn, I personally think Ardan is a better pair with crystal alpha because his Vanguard can be used on a rebooting alpha.
Glaive
Glaive does pretty well with Phinn, but his Afterburn can mess up your stuns, so you must have good communication with him. Generally what I do with a Glaive is hook someone I to the bushes, let Glaive attack and then let him stun them if they are about to escape, then I follow up with another stun.
Taka
The only thing Phinn can do to help Taka is by checking for scout traps and by pinning down slippery opponents. If Taka is paired up with Phinn, it is most likely just to counter the carry and jungler and not for synergy.
Blackfeather
He isn't the best at sustaining in a large scale team fight, so you will have to be ready to stun and use fountain of renewal.
Ozo
Being able to keep enemies close makes Ozo's third acrobounce really effective. Phinn is also a great person to bounce off of at all times, whether it is an offensive or defensive bounce.
Kestrel
For weapon kestrel, let her build breaking point stacks off of stunned enemies.
For crystal kestrel, take out scout traps, and try leading them into Kestrel's B ability so she can stun them, then you can stun them.
Skye
There are better options for a captain to pair up with Skye, like Ardan. For the most part, try to stun the enemy jungler so they can't take down Skye before she can build her broken myth/breaking point stacks.
Petal
Phinn's abilities let the munions stick to the enemy more, making them very easy kills for Petal. Just make sure she doesn't get caught out of position.
Koshka
Quibble helps make the enemies easy to get to, just be careful of enemies attacking her while she is using her ultimate.
Grumpjaw
He has to stay close to the enemy, so Phinn pairs well in that. Grumpjaw's ultimate Stuffed is also a good pair up with Phinn because once Grumpjaw spits them out, you can follow it up with a stun and use forced accord to keep them there. He's a potato in this update so I suggest not using grumpjaw in general.
Weapon Power Lance
Impale into quibble, quibble into impale, all of that followed up by a gythian wall and then you can possibly do another quibble, the combinations are endless and I love it.
Phinn performs best with sustaining carries that can heal well with an Eve of Harvest or Serpent Mask or if they become a monster when they gain enough Broken Myth or Breaking Point stacks. Just make sure that a lot of the non-sustainers need to keep their range from the battle and be a backline, so don't use forced accord next to them. Phinn is kinda good at peeling, it is mainly with his quibble, though in some situations, you can save your carry that is running towards safety by either turning the tides with a forced accord (pull a turret diving enemy further in deeper so they have no escape) or by sacrificing yourself and grabbing any enemies near your carry and bring them back to you, it's better if you scrafice yourself for the carry than let the carry die then turn their attention on you.
Baron
I haven't played with too many barons. For crystal, Baron can use his a ability wherever you land a quibble and you can coordinate forced accords so the enemies get hit by the Ion Cannon. For weapon, help him build breaking point stacks by making the targets easy to hit. Make sure that they don't touch him, as for he has a hard time escaping mid battle.
Celeste
Wherever you land quibble, she can connect it with a Core Collapse to make a very long stun, or she can dish out damage. Her Heliogenesis makes looking for people to hook much easier. She's pretty squishy, but she is a beast when she builds enough broken myth stacks, so let her keep her range.
Gwen
Gwen is already a good hero on her own, just let her build her stacks and she'll be fine. Quibble and Aces High connect pretty well too.
Skaarf
Quibbles make it so much easier for Skaarf to land his Spitfire and Goop it's not even funny. He has a hard time escaping so be ready to peel in case something bad happens.
SAW
As long as SAW doesn't get stunned, he is one of the best sustaining carries in the game. For him, it doesn't matter too much whether the enemies are close or far, which makes him a great matchup with Phinn. Just get the enemies to him, let him wind up, and your team will be golden. Just watch out for the fact that both of you are slow.
Ringo
Peel for him so he can take down the whole team, similar to Gwen, but he doesn't have any strong CC except his Achilles Shot.
Vox
Let him keep his distance and he will not fail to amaze. Vox is a good steal pickup because Vox can silence Phinn pretty well with Wait for It
Skye
There are better options for a captain to pair up with Skye, like Ardan. For the most part, try to stun the enemy jungler so they can't take down Skye before she can build her broken myth/breaking point stacks.
Blackfeather
He isn't the best at sustaining in a large scale team fight, so you will have to be ready to stun and use fountain of renewal.
Idris
I haven't played with too many Idris carries, but you would be a good character to latch onto, that's all I know.
Samuel
I don't see him often either. However, Phinn can do pretty well at grouping enemies together with forced accord and his other abilities, making Samuel's empowered Malice & Verdict shots hit almost the whole team. Coordinate with him well though, you don't want to hook enemies out from his ultimate or hook them in a direction that hinders the range of his malice and verdict shots and forces him to get out of his Drifting Dark. With enough communication, he can be a major threat with Phinn.
Adagio
Crystal Adagio needs his enemies close enough for him to use his abilities to his fullest extent, and Phinn does amazing in that.
Lyra
Congratulations! You just created an anti melee pair up! Her Bright Bulwark slows them down while Phinn's quibble stuns them. Sadly most teams don't do all melee. She's really fragile in between her ability uses, so be ready to work very hard to peel.
Q: What if my carry dies?
A: If the lane is doing well and there's nobody else there, go shop or rotate to the jungle. If the lane is being pushed, use polite company and quibble to take out the minion wave. Surprisingly, Phinn is amazing at clearing the lane, so it is very hard for the enemy team to put pressure when you are in charge of the lane, especially if you have your ult.
Q: What if my jungler dies?
A: Use vision to make sure the enemy team isn't invading your camps. If they are, you can try stealing them back.
Q: What if I'm the lone survivor?
A1: If you are being chased, either go to the turrets or crystal miner let yourself gain health naturally, if they follow you, let the turret/miner help you take them out, you won't believe how strong the miner is.
A2: If you aren't being chased and it is mid game, check if the turret is in danger by looking at the mini map, if it isn't, then check the gold mine and try to steal it.
A3: If you aren't being chased and it is late game, chances are they are capturing the kraken if they aren't taking out another turret. Be ready to use forced accord and quibble to steal.
Q: What if the enemy team is good at blocking?
A: The best way to use forced accord and quibble effectively against good blockers is by poking (dealing small bursts of ranged damage) or by doing a regular engage to the team to force them to use their blocks. Once they use them, they are easy to hook with forced accord and to stun.
If you have any other what if scenarios, ask them in the comments!
These tips are somewhat miscellaneous, but they are useful in many different situations.
-If you are having a hard time landing quibbles and forced accords, try predicting their movements and placing it where you think they will walk to
-As long as the objective is on the edge of the ring of quibble, it will hit them. You can use this to try to hit more heroes at once
-Forced accord can move jungle monsters, enemy crystal miner, gold miner, and minions along with heroes. I suggest only using forced accord on the two miners because they can help change the outcome of the match
-The best way to catch someone off guard is by either throwing a forced accord while in a bush or throwing one through a wall and dragging them through. If you have enough vision, you should try doing this
-If you want an advantage in a fight in the jungle, try aggravating a treeant using polite company. The ring that the treeant forms will disrupt the enemy team's movements a little, and you could possibly try forcing them into the ring so they are rooted and easy targets. Don't worry if you are in the ring because you have the heroic perk.
-If the enemy team keeps on detonating your scout traps, you can either change the spot of the trap, or you can place two traps so if they get one, they will believe they are good
-If you are new to this hero and want to practice with him more, try either doing casual matches or playing with friends
-A good general pattern to follow after a forced accord is follow up with a quibble then a polite company. However, if you hook nothing, then go against muscle memory and don't do those.
-If your teammate keeps getting rooted from the treeant, try aggravating the treeant from a distance with polite company so they are less likely to trap them self.
-Even though being rooted by a treeant is only resisted for you, avoid the root anyways because it slows you a lot.
So that is all of the things you need to know in order to become an amazing Phinn captain! He takes a little time to get used to, but once you learn how to use him well, you'll be an unstoppable force. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave them in the comment section!
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I'm not sure if the abilities show it properly, but I highly suggest getting this ability first.
Hellfire Brew
Black dot=You should always have scout traps here, if they detonate, set them back up as soon as possible
Alternating Current
Rocket Leap
Red Mist
Vanguard
Afterburn
Stuffed
Eve of Harvest
Serpent Mask
Broken Myth
Breaking Point
Ion Cannon
Core Collapse
Heliogenesis
Aces High
Spitfire
Goop
Achilles Shot
Wait for It
Malice & Verdict
Drifting Dark
Bright Bulwark
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