Hi, I'm Aevax and I made this guide to help beginners to perform well in Taka. Taka is a slippery assassin that excels in weaving in and out of battle, eliminating opponents with his switchblades. This guide is merely my experiences playing Taka and what I think would help beginners. Please drop comments down below to help me improve this guide. Thanks!

If this guide is considered well-received I will add more sections on item choices and the build for WP and more.


PLEASE TAKE NOTE THAT SECTIONS BELOW ARE FOR CP BURST. WP IS UNFINISHED AS OF NOW.

HOUSE KAMUHA

Each time Taka critically strikes, he receives 75% of the damage back as health along with a burst of speed. Every 2 seconds, Taka is guaranteed a critical strike. Taka gains 1 Ki stack when he uses an ability or performs a critical strike (up to 5 stacks). Each stack of Ki increases the frequency of critical strikes and accelerates ability cool downs.

This may be confusing to beginners, but what it means is that the more abilities you use, the more Ki you gain. The more Ki you gain, the more crits you will land and your abilities will come off the clock faster. Have you noticed you clear jungle camps faster at 5 Ki than at 0 Ki? Ki increases your critical strike chances, leading to more critical strikes and of course, more damage. A good Taka player always keeps his Ki stacks at 5 to maximise this perk. Do not hesitate to use your Kaku to keep your Ki stacks at 5 and travel distances without losing Ki!

KAITEN

Taka flips over his target, cutting it with his switchblade. Taka doesn’t take damage while in mid-air.

Damn it this ability is insane. Not only do you get to deal damage, but you are guaranteed that second of immunity. Not many people realise how good this ability is. Timing this ability is key. Stuns and abilities can be directly negated simply by timing this ability right. For example, let's say Adagio is channeling his ulti. Players will scramble away in order to get out of his aoe. A good taka player can time his kaiten well such that as Adagio unleashes his ulti, taka flips over him, suffering not a single point of damage while still dealing damage to adagio himself. Catherine after you with her merciless pursuit? Just flip over as she hits you and you won't be stunned.

KAKU

Taka throws a smoke bomb at his feet, vanishing from enemy sight and gaining move speed. This illusion ends early if he strikes a target or he takes direct damage. Turrets, Scout Traps and Flare Guns will see Taka while invisible.

This is your trump card. Knowing when to use it is key. You can use it to get close to a High Value Target, but beware that once you close the gap you have no way to escape unless your boots are ready. It will be used more often to get out of battles when enemies are targeting you. Simply hit this ability to vanish and you can either flee or turn around and surprise them by reentering the fight. Another thing to take note of, when using this ability, experienced players can predict your movement and land skillshots, causing you to come out of stealth early. To counter this, run in unpredictable directions or even past them as they chase after your last known direction. Beware of scout mines and flares, they still reveal you in stealth mode. Never activate your kaku while revealed.

X-RETSU

Taka bursts through his target, carving an X with his switchblades for lethal damage. The target suffers a mortal wound, reducing its healing by 50% and taking damage over the next 4 seconds.

An excellent gap closer and an initiating move, this ability speaks for itself. One thing to take note of, when used, this ability generates 3 Ki stacks and causes the opponent to suffer a mortal wound. Utilise the bleed damage! If you just used this on an opponent who has ridiculously low hp, don't bother chasing them and run the risk of getting yourself kited. Let the bleed damage do its work. There is nothing more satisfying as watching someone bleed out behind his turret.

What is pregame? It is the period of time where you're in the lobby waiting for your game to load and this is perhaps one of the most important times in the game. Taka IS an assassin, meaning that he should go in, kill someone and get out before the enemy knows what hit them. As such, being stealthy is a key aspect of playing Taka. As a Taka player, you must be able to assess the enemy team. Who is the weakest amongst them? Evaluate the enemy team properly and aim HVTs, in VG, this means heroes such as Celeste, Ringo, Vox, and further on and is usually the laner. For example, if the enemy team consists of Celeste, Reim and Lance, it is your duty to be that guy who x-retsus in, and take out Celeste in the first few seconds of battle. This is of course, easier said than done but it is the role of an assassin.

Depending on the enemy composition, you start from the creeps closest to the minion mine. Be wary of jungle invades as Taka is weak in the early game. Let your support tank most of the damage but do not hesitate to attack creeps when your support is busy in the lane. Taka relies on items heavily to augment his abilities, so farm until you have reached level 6 or if you see your lane desperately needs help. Remember to buy defense to counter the enemy jungler. If you find that you are unable to burst down the enemy laner, all hope is not lost. Buy armor/shield to counter the enemy laner if his damage output is too high for you.

By this time, you should have an Aftershock which will help you greatly in bursting opponents down. Now if your lane is managing well, by all means continue farming. Your primary method of healing is the healing camps as well as your Kaku. You should take a break occasionally from farming and rotate to the lane and gank the enemy laner. Be cautious in doing so and always have an escape plan ready(kaku,boots).

In the late game, this is where every mistake counts and a single ace can cost or win you the game. Be prepare to flee at a moment's notice and do not facecheck bushes unless your kaku is activated. In that crucial teamfight, always aim the enemy's carry. Check what they have built. Usually when you're performing well, opponents will have built an aegis to counter you. In that case, broken myth is the item to go. Only when the enemy carry is cut to ribbons then you can focus on their support and tankier heroes. Be careful around heroes who have the ability to lock you down. Koshka's ulti, Cath's merciless pursuit and Phinn's Quibble will most likely spell doom for you if you get stunned. Always have reflex block ready against these heroes.

AFTERSHOCK

After using an ability, your next basic attack deals 15% of your target's max health as damage with +50% lifesteal. Max 400 damage vs non-heroes. 1.5 second cooldown.

+25% Cooldown Speed
+2.5 Energy Recharge
+35 Crystal Power

The core item of CP burst Taka. Notice how Taka always automatically does a basic attack after he uses his Kaiten or X-retsu? It doesn't matter how much hp your opponent has, using a basic attack after an ability means 15% of his hp will be gone. On top of that, it boosts your cooldown speed, a very useful feature in Taka since you'll be going in and out inflicting maximum damage with your abilities, helps your energy recharge faster and provides a small boost to your crystal power. Without this, CP taka will not be as effective. You can get this when you're level 5.

STORMCROWN

Passive: Basic attacks deal 60-160 (level 1-12) bonus true damage per second to non-heroes, 20% to heroes

+30% Cooldown Speed
+4 Energy Recharge
+200 Health

This helps you to tackle objectives faster without using your abilities on creeps. Having this also means you'll take down turrets, MMs and the Kraken significantly faster. Another core item for Taka in order to farm up quickly. It also deals 10-30 true damage to heroes, meaning that its damage bypasses any shield/armor the opponent has bought. Typically bought on roams but is highly recommended for Taka.

AEGIS METAL JACKET

Self explanatory. DEFENSE.

ATLAS PAULDRON

+85 Armor
+35 Shield
Active: Reduces attack speed of nearby enemies by 65% for 5 seconds in a 4-meter range. Does not reduce below the base attack speed animation. (15s cooldown)

Not really used much on Taka, usually built more on roams. However, against a Ringo or Saw, this item is essential. Activate it the second you x-retsu in as it has a small delay. This significantly reduces the aforementioned heroes' damage output and may go a long way in winning the teamfight crucial to sealing the game. Provides a large armor bonus as well. Replaceable if there are no such heroes in enemy team.

HALCYON CHARGERS

Passive: +0.5 move speed. (Does not stack with other boots.)
Passive: Travel.
Activate: Sprint for 3 seconds (50s cooldown).
+200 Health
+15% Cooldown Speed
+250 Energy
+4 Energy Recharge

Excellent item for Taka. Not only does it grant you a very reliable way of escape (if Kaku wasn't reliable enough), it provides a small boost to your health and a significant increase in your cooldown speed, allowing your abilities to be used much more frequently. Also ensures your energy is recharged quickly. A must-have for CP burst Taka.

BROKEN MYTH

Passive: Amplify all crystal damage by 7% for each second you are in combat against heroes. After 5 seconds, you lose a stack each second. Max 5 stacks.
+10% Shield Pierce
+70 Crystal Power

Excellent against enemies who have bought an aegis to counter you. This allows you to slice through them like Swiss cheese while also providing a boost to your crystal power. However, do note that if opponents have not bought any shield (which is highly unlikely), a shatterglass will be a better choice than this given that a shatterglass provides more raw power.

SHATTERGLASS

+150 crystal power

This just gives your abilities significantly more power and is replaceable for other essential items such as defense.

CLOCKWORK

Passive: Amplify Crystal Power by 30%
+40% Cooldown Speed
+250 Max Energy
+7.5 Energy Recharge

The motherlode of cooldown speed reductions, this allows you to spam your abilities as if there's no tomorrow. You can use your ultimate 2 or maybe even 3 times in a single fight and allows you to engage/disengage using Kaku more frequently. Highly recommended to try but not necessary for CP burst Taka. Replaceable.

CRUCIBLE

Activate: Trigger Reflex Block for you and nearby teammates. (45s cooldown)
+600 Max Health

The reflex block may save your team's lives and the large health bonus ensures your own survivability in teamfights. Other than that nothing else, and hence should not be built unless absolutely necessary since you're an assassin. Replaceable.

Version 2.1 (10th November 2016)

Removed long read ahead
Added info that sections are for cp


Version 2.0 (10th November 2016)

Added Item Choices section
Removed the option to start farming from jungle shop; always start from creeps at MM
Added light shield and light armour to early game in place of chronograph for survivability
Added sprint boots to early game
Added coat of plates to mid game for defense against wp jungle
Added metal jacket to late game and finish
Added info to buy defense against jungler/laner



Version 1.0 (27th October 2016)