Quick pointer Top
As the (hopefully) only jungle fighter on your team, Taka will be responsible for trying to keep tabs on enemy movement through the jungle as much as possible. This means scout traps and flare guns, but only use consumables sparingly- if you buy too many you will delay the build up of items by too much, allowing enemies to start manhandling you in the jungle. I recommend buying a scout trap right after purchasing the Tornado Trigger, which, if the build is followed, will leave you with one spare item slot until you start working towards the monocle. Place the scout trap in a back corner of the Kraken's spot, so you can watch the kraken for signs that the enemy is attempting to capture it without risking an enemy stepping on the trap.
Starting the match Top
Despite his suggested "lane" position, Taka is a true master of the jungle, especially with the contract active. With his stealth capability, Taka can take on the jungle monsters on his side of the jungle first and then cross to the OTHER side and start farming the other team's monsters. Obviously, great care has to be taken when invading the other jungle, and if the other team has more than one jungler, it might be safest to stick to your own side. Take the first few minutes to analyze how the other team is playing even as you fight jungle monsters, earn gold, and level up. Also, keep an eye on the lane- if your team has worn an enemy down, sneak onto the lane from an unexpected route and finish that sucker off. Be wary of enemy turrets though- Taka suffers more from turret fire than most other heroes, and you can't avoid it with your stealth ability. In fact, if a turret fires at you and you activate the fox in a box jutsu, the turret's shot will nullify your ability, wasting the use. The lane is a perilous place for early game Taka. Keep that in mind if you try to balance your time in the jungle and the lane.
First off, there is NO need to continue the utility build started by the iron guard contract. Taka is a very mobile unit and his abilities make him more than capable of escaping enemies without using journey boots or the war horn. What he DOES need is two factors- high Lifesteal and better defense. Taka's heroic perk grant his criticals Lifesteal- the point of the build is to use the Serpent Mask, Tornado Trigger, and Tyrants Monocle to greatly increase his critical damage and the Lifesteale percentage it grants. The extra weapon power doesn't hurt either. Also, with the faster attack speed, you can capitalize on the wicked fast guaranteed crit recharge that a full stack of ki grants. The Eve of Harvest has two benefits- the energy increase and regen provided allows Taka to stay in the field indefinitely, rather than having to return to the spawn to recharge once he's used his abilities too much. If you run out of energy in the field, it can easily mean your death- you can't avoid damage with the cartwheel, sneak away with the fox in a box jutsu, or use X-retsu to attack a jungle monster at range and pull yourself over to it. Your escape options have to stay open, and EoH keeps them open. The second benefit is that your ABILITIES now grant Lifesteal- once all three weapons and the EoH are purchased, EVERY SINGLE ACTION you take in battle will replenish your health. Steal ALL the life, indeed.
Items part 2 Top
The last two item slots were slots I thought about for a while when I first unlocked Taka, but in the end, I had to go with defensive items instead of extra life stealing ones or items that increase Takas overall health. See, the whole point of a lifestealer is that your Lifesteal intake has to be greater than the enemies damage output. Unfortunately, there are a few heroes who can dish out damage amounts that your Lifesteal can NEVER match up to. However, Aegis and Metal Jacket together do what either one alone can't- they provide a huge barrier of both shield and armor that greatly cuts down on all damage that opponents can inflict. See, even if Taka had a ton of life using the Fountain of Renewal or Dragonheart, he'd still lose to a high damage enemy- it would just take longer. Aegis and the Jacket, on the other hand, together reduce enemy damage to the point that your Lifesteal can keep up. You don't need a ton of health if what you have gets replenished constantly.
Suggested teammates Top
Taka is good at two things- using the jungle to harass the other team and flanking weakened enemies to secure the kill. While this makes him good for finishing off enemies that his teammates have already started on, he's never going to be a good opener for fights. Also, Taka needs to level up quickly and farm gold fast- that critical tipping point where the enemy just has too much build and leveling to overcome arrives sooner for Taka than other heroes. If you don't move fast when using Taka, you WILL be shut down and denied gold farming access, and once that's gone, you're in the deep end, bro. To avoid this, it's safest to just leave the jungle to Taka and have the other two teammates focus on the lane. Obviously, this means both of the teammates have to BE good laners. Personally, when I'm using Taka, I'd be happiest to have Petal and SAW as my teammates. Those two are a frightening team and can lock the lane down for days. Leave them to farm minions and chip away at enemy turrets, and when necessary, Petal can hit the jungle to back up Taka, either to get the gold mine or deal with one or two enemies that are contesting the jungle. If they badly wound an enemy, head to the lane and finish him off. I havent yet lost a match that had SAW, Taka, and Petal all working together.
FINISH THEM! Top
Alright, so it's fifteen minutes in, you're starting to get your tier 3 items, and everyone's at level 12 or getting close. Once you've begun finishing the life thief item build, do NOT assume you can now destroy anyone. The other team has their own builds and leveled skills ready, and you will be facing challenging one on one duels in the jungle. Above all, stay away from enemies who can stun you, slow down your attack speed, lower your damage output, or any combination of the three. These are the enemies who can negate your Lifesteal advantage, which leaves you as a squishy fox with an attitude and nothing more. Stick to gold farming, fighting and killing the enemy glass cannons, and finishing off wounded enemies for your teammates. And above all (and this goes for ANYONE with ANY hero) do NOT rush the Kraken when two enemies still have 15 seconds till respawn or something like that. Taka getting caught out in the open, wounded and distracted, is how the guy gets killed 90% of the time, and the Kraken is what does that to you. Be a careful, silent but deadly ninja throughout the game, use your life stealing on jungle monsters to maintain your health and stay out in the field indefinitely, and you WILL eventually find the 30-45 second opening you need for your team to RELEASE THE KRAKEN!!!
After that, well... Game over, man. Game over!
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