Red vs. Blue: Build Matchups by Reidblack

Note: This guide was originally created by player Reidblack in the official Vainglory forums. Reidblack is the author; I am just helping make it available on VaingloryFire.

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It's been a while since my last guide, but I've been relatively busy lately(and lazy) so I haven't really been able to pay attention to the gaming situation in Vainglory.

In my previous guides I've focused on particular heroes but now I'm starting to think what newbies need to learn are not specific builds but to have an understanding of the two types of damage dealing elements - weapon power and crystal power. (The hidden third is pinging allies to death but I won't get into that)

Compared to other MOBAs, Vainglory's heroes are very flexible in regards to playing roles in a team. You may have come across both weapon and crystal Glaives, weapon SAW or the notorious crystal SAW - so basically heroes don't have to be played in a particular way to excel.

Sure some builds may perform "better" than others but that's dependable on not only your build but also the items of your opponents. Which is what I will be elaborating in this post. (If you don't know what elaborate means, google is your best friend ;)

Weapon Power Items

If you're the kind of player that enjoys dishing out raw damage "red" items are the way to go. Items like tyrant's monocle , serpent's mask and sorrowblade are prime items of turning your hero into a basic attack monster, keep in mind virtually anyone in Vainglory can utilize such items and often times it will be necessary to have at least one red item in your build so your basic attacks won't be useless.

Crystal Power items (Blue)

If you're the kind of player that enjoys mini bursts of damage (no big bursts because let's face it - the only time you can pull off pub stomping burst damage is when your opponents really suck) and utility "blue" items are the way to show. The main advantage blue items have over red is the fact that both itemizations often deal similar amounts of damage but blue items possess a utility aspect - such as frostburn's slow or clockwork's cooldown reduction. In addition to that; one particular crystal item, the alternating current , provides the hero with attack speed and buffs the blue hero's basic attacks - which is basically what weapon players specialize in!

If that's the case, why not just always play crystal builds?

Simple, because tanks. One of the things I've noticed lately is the increase of "blue" builds, sometimes to the point of seeing my entire enemy team with only crystal items! Lol.

And truth be told, it works. Even if I build anti-crystal items like aegis I don't last very long in fights because crystal heroes end up having low cooldown skills and crystal damage is just that strong. Now I'm not saying don't play weapon items because Lolz dey sucks ballz, they're better than you think.

Based on my experience, a single or two weapon items synergies very well with defense items, in MOBA terms you'll be called a bruiser - slightly tanky but can still dish out consistent damage.

This is where the table turns; you'll get to be tankier whereas blue builds usually excel when they go pure crystal without defense items, leaving them squishy. Sure you'll sometimes see a tanky Glaive with a single alternating current or aftershock and still wrecking the game, but Glaive IS and awesome snowballing hero and you probably had let him have his way early game (enemy does well despite awful build because you're falling behind). Generally the perfect counter to any crystal based hero builds is building tanky, I personally get an aegis AND crucible to shut down most skill combos(remember skills are crystal powered).

So in the end I've concluded the current meta of Vainglory to be of a somewhat scissor-paper-stone-ish kind of game.

Pure red < Pure blue < Tanky red < Pure red

I'm not too sure where to put Tanky blue builds in this equation because I haven't really come across that many.

The most common builds I see nowadays, and this is also one of the reasons why I'm posting, are the pure blue builds regardless of the hero. Krul can be an exception since he's a rather new hero and everyone's been following builds similar to the recommended one. Hah.

Now on to the second part of the post... Hybrid builds.

I personally think hybrid builds are always the coolest types of builds (in any MOBA) because they're difficult to counter build so it all boils down to skill.
Unfortunnnnaaaattteeellyy.... My experience of hybrid builds in Vainglory is BAD.

Every time I decide to try a mix of red and blue items I always end up not being able to deal enough damage, unless I'm doing relatively well and have more items than my opponent.

Many hybrid builds usually include a tension bow and alternating current (you would see many Petals or Ringos playing like this), simply because the stats that they provide are independently awesome.

I personally believe hybrid builds are meant for the veteran players of Vainglory, since these type of builds require the player to be ahead of the opponent most of the time, and isn't recommended for newbie players.

In time this method of categorizing builds will change as more heroes/items are introduced to the game but at the moment this is how I see things.

Hope I've put out some fresh ideas, do share your ideas and critics regarding this way of analyzing items. It's just something that's been on my mind for a while and thought I should write about it.

Regards,
Yo home dawg Reid

Ps: If I sound like I'm rambling, it's because I probably am.