ALL ABOUT FORTRESS by XxBaCkStAbxX

ALL ABOUT FORTRESS

By: XxBaCkStAbxX
Last Updated: Oct 29, 2016
3 Votes
Rating Pending
Build 1 of 1

Fortress

Build: my build

Ability Path

Packmates
Heroic Perk
Truth of the Tooth
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Law of the Claw
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Attack of the Pack
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

All about Fortress Top

To start off I am going to show fortress' stats and abilities

(based on in-game info, not the vainglory site itself)

FORTRESS: lvl 1 lvl 12 per level
health: 658 1560 +82
energy: 300 465 +15
weapon: 73 156 +7/+8
atk speed: 100% 144% +4%
armor: 30 85 +5
shield: 20 75 +5
range: 1.8 1.8 +0
move speed: 3.4 3.4 +0

apparently you really get +7 or +8 weapon power based on what level you go up to, I checked it myself and I got these numbers (from lvl 1 - 12) 73-80-88-95-103-111-118-126-133-141-149-156

HEROIC PERK: PACKMATES
when you're near teammates, fortress will gain a speed boost after 1 second, he will keep the boost untill he is no longer near an ally. it seems like a very simple and weak passive, but let me tell you, it will safe you so many times, it also helps with following enemies as your team can give you a speed boost and your A can give them a boost


TRUTH OF THE TOOTH
FORTRESS: lvl 1 lvl 5 per lvl overdrive
type: directional directional - -
range: 9.0 9.0 +0 +0
energy cost: 35 75 +10 +10
cooldown: 13 8 -1 -2
damage: 0 180 +45 +45 (110%)
speed boost: 2 3 +0 +1
duration: 2 3 +0 +1
lifesteal: 10% 20% +2% +4%

first of all, when this ability is used, fortress marks the targeted enemy, giving all allies lifesteal when using basic attacks and allies gain a speed boost when moving towards this enemy. second, note that even that it says 0 damage at lvl 1, the ability counts as a basic attack. the damage of the ability on lvl 1 is equal to 1 basic attack, and on lvl 5 the damage of 1 basic attack +180 crystal power damage as listed above

LAW OF THE CLAW
fortress claws his enemy, applying bleeding damage

FORTRESS: lvl 1 lvl 5 per lvl overdrive
type: directional directional - -
range: 2.5 2.5 +0 +0
energy cost: 30 70 +10 +10
cooldown: 11 6 -1 -2
damage: 100 300 +50 +50 (70%)
percent max health: 10% 20% +2% +4% (5%)

when you use this ability you apply bleeding to the target. bleeding does 10 (+15%) crystal power damage per second. this bleeding effect gains 1 extra stack if you or an ally uses a basic attack on the enemy (up to 6 stacks). when the stacks reach the 6th stack, the enemy recieves dmage based on their max percentage of health (amount per level listed above) and recieves mortal wound (-33% healing). if you overdrive this ability the enemy also gets slowed by 30%

ATTACK OF THE PACK
fortress summons 3 wolfs, each seeking out 1 enemy hero

FORTRESS: lvl 1 lvl 3 per lvl
type: radius radius -
range: n/a n/a -
energy cost: 120 160 +20
cooldown: 90 60 -15
duration: 15 15 +0
attack speed: 30% 70% +20%
fortified health: 300 550 +125
wolf attack damage: 20 60 +20
wolf base health: 300 550 +125

it always takes 3 basic attacks to take out a wolf, while abilities do normal damage. the wolfs are granted 20% of fortress' bonus defensive stats

What to overdrive? Top

lets begin with calculating the amount of damage both first abilities do on lvl 1:

TRUTH OF THE TOOTH:
0 + basic attack damage (on lvl 1) = 0 + 73 = 73 weapon power damage
cooldown: 13 seconds
73 | 13
:13| :13
5.6| 1
5.6 weapon power damage per second if you were to use this ability instantly when it's available

LAW OF THE CLAW:
100 crystal power damage
cooldown: 11 seconds
100 | 11
:11 | :11
9.1 | 1
9.1 crystal power damage per second if you were to use this ability instantly when it's available


what does the info above make clear?

TRUTH OF THE TOOTH (lvl 1)
damage: 73 weapon power damage
cooldown: 13 seconds
damage per second: 5.6 weapon power damage

LAW OF THE CLAW (lvl 1)
damage: 100 crystal power damage
cooldown: 11 seconds
damage per second: 9.1 crystal power damage


that means if you're looking for damage, LAW OF THE CLAW is the way to go, however in the early game it could be very useful to have the speedboost from TRUTH OF THE TOOTH to track down enemies if you expect to fight enemies in the beginning of the game.

now, lets calculate how much damage the first 2 abilities do on lvl 4, this won't mean everything because both abilities do other things:

TRUTH OF THE TOOTH:
damage: (lvl - 1) x 45 = 3 x 45 = 135 crystal power damage
cooldown: 13 - 1 x (lvl - 1) = 13 - 3 = 10 seconds

135 | 10
:10 | :10
13.5| 1
13.5 crystal power damage per second if you were to use this ability in a fight instantly when it's available, however this ability also does a basic attack, so theres some more calculating to be done:
basic attack damage: (in this unique case its not calculate-able, so I am gonna get it straight out of the game) the fastest you can get this ability on lvl 4 is on lvl 7, so I am gonna use the basic attack damage from lvl 7: 118 damage
cooldown: 10 seconds
118 | 10
:10 | :10
11.8| 1
11.8 basic attack damage per second if you were to use this ability instantly when it's available.
13.5 + 11.8 = 25.3 damage per second if you were to use this ability instantly when its available

LAW OF THE CLAW:
damage: (lvl - 1) x 50 + 100 = 3 x 50 + 100 = 250 crystal power damage
cooldown: 11 - 1 x (lvl - 1) = 11 - 1 x 3 = 8 seconds
250 | 8
:8 | :8
31.25| 1
31.25 crystal power damage per second if you were to use this ability in a fight instantly when it's available, however this ability also adds a bleeding effect to the enemy, dealing 10 (+15%) crystal power damage per second, lasting 5 seconds (not official, I had to count it myself in-game).
bleeding damage: 50 crystal power
cooldown: 8
50 | 8
:8 | :8
6.25 | 1
6.25 crystal power bleeding damage per second (only if you were to say that the bleeding were to last over the course of the whole cooldown)
31.25 + 6.25 = 37.5 crystal power damage


what does the info above make clear?

TRUTH OF THE TOOTH (lvl 4)
damage: 135 crystal power damage + 118 weapon power damage (on lvl 7) (total 253 damage)
cooldown: 10 seconds
damage per second: 13.5 + 11.8 damage (25.3 total damage)

LAW OF THE CLAW (lvl 4)
damage: 250 crystal power damage + 50 crystal power bleeding damage (300 total damage)
cooldown: 8 seconds
damage per second: 31.25 crystal power damage + 6.25 bleeding damage (37.5 total damage)


that means that its almost always best to upgrade LAW OF THE CLAW over TRUTH OF THE TOOTH.

now, the big question, which one to overdrive if you decide to take the 3th upgrade on the ultimate?

TRUTH OF THE TOOTH:
damage: 180 crystal power damage + (lvl 12 basic attack) 156 weapon power damage
cooldown: 8 seconds
180 | 8
:8 | :8
22.5| 1
22.5 crystal power damage per second
156 | 8
:8 | :8
19.5 weapon power damage per second
22.5 + 19.5 = 42 damage per second

LAW OF THE CLAW
damage: 300 crystal power damage + 50 crystal power bleeding damage = 350 crystal power damage
cooldown: 6 seconds
300 | 6
:6 | :6
50 | 1
50 crystal power damage per second
50 | 6
:6 | :6
8.3| 1
50 + 8.3 = 58.3 crystal power damage per second


what does the info above make clear?

TRUTH OF THE TOOTH (lvl 5)
damage: 180 crystal power damage + 156 weapon power damage (on lvl 12)(total 336 damage)
cooldown: 8 seconds
damage per second: 22.5 + 19.5 damage (total 42 damage)

LAW OF THE CLAW (lvl 5)
damage: 350 crystal power damage
cooldown: 6 seconds
damage per second: 50 crystal power damage + 8.3 crystal power bleeding damage (total 58.3 crystal power damage


if you have to choose, I would recommend to overdrive LAW OF THE CLAW over TRUTH OF THE TOOTH, not only does it deal more damage, but when you overdrive it, it also gains a slow (under the condition that you get 6 bleeding stacks on your enemy)

Should you choose the 3th upgrade for your ultimate over both overdrives?



this decision is totally up to you, both options are strong in different ways. however I might be able to help with this decision:

TRUTH OF THE TOOTH (lvl 5)
-from 65 to 75 energy cost
-from a 10 seconds cooldown to an 8 seconds cooldown
-from 135 crystal power damage to 180 crystal power damage, which is a 33.3% increase compared to the level 4 crystal power damage
-speed boost duration up from 2 to 3 seconds, a 50% increase from lvl 4, very nice to stay close to your enemies
-duration up from 2 to 3 seconds, a better chance to hit this ability if the enemy runs away
-from 16% to 20% lifesteal for your team on the targeted enemy. this is very strong if you fight someone mostly 1vs1, simply because the 20% healing gives you a huge edvantage, also good in teamfights for you and your team.
-this ability in itself gets stronger when using weapon power because of the basic attack, but also has a pretty high crystal ratio


LAW OF THE CLAW (lvl 5)
-cooldown from 8 to 6 seconds, which is a VERY short timer and makes you capable of keeping up the bleeding during pretty much the whole fight even when you don't manage to hit him with a basic attack every 5 seconds.
-from 60 to 70 energy cost
-from 250 to 300 crystal damage
-percentage of max health as damage dealth when reaching 6 bleeding stacks up from 16% to 20%. if you can manage to get that sixth bleeding stack alot you can deal massive amounts of damage to your enemy with only that bleeding effect
-both the percent max health damage (from the bleeding stacks) and damage have a decent crystal ratio, but this ability doesn't get stronger from weapon power


ATTACK OF THE PACK (lvl 3)
-from 140 to 160 energy cost
-from a 75 seconds cooldown to a 60 seconds cooldown
-from +50% to 70% attack speed when used (lasts 15 seconds) which, in some ways, counts as +20% basic attack damage over the second level
-from 425 to 550 fortified health (lasts 15 seconds), you can survive even more damage when you use your ult
-wolf damage up from 40 to 60 damage, that is a 50% increase from the second to the third level, it might not seem like alot, 20 damage, but it is more than you think
-wolf base health up from 425 to 550, this one is not really important as it still will take 3 basic attacks to kill a wolf, the wolf are just harder to kill with abilities
-your wolfs also apply bleeding to the enemy
-your wolfs gain 20% of your BONUS defensive stats (your base armor, shield and health don't count), if you build lots of health and shield items your wolfs get lots stronger against abilities

My items Top

PINK: utility items, these items can do all sorts of things
LIGHT YELLOW: items best used against crystal power enemies
DARK YELLOW: items best used against weapon power enemies
GREEN: health items purely for the extra health to survive fights longer
RED: items to gain extra basic attack damage
BLUE: items to gain extra ability damage (not used in this build)


First item, the stormcrown
Passive: Basic attacks deal 60-120 (level 1-12) bonus true damage per second to non-heroes, 20% to heroes
stats:
+30% cooldown speed
+4 energy recharge
+200 health


Second item, the fountain of renewal
Passive: regenerates 2.5% of your missing health when you're out of combat for 5 seconds
Activate: heals you and nearby allies for 2 health for each % missing health per second for 3 seconds with a 60 seconds cooldown
stats:
+200 health
+75 shield (shield is best against crystal power/most abilities)
+30 armor (armor is best against weapon power/basic attacks)


Third item, the war treads
Passive 1: +0.4 move speed
Passive 2: +1 speed when out of combat
Activate: Grants a sprint to all nearby heroes for 2 seconds with a 60 second cooldown
stats:
+500 health


Fourth item, the sorrowblade
stats:
+150 weapon power


Fifth item, the bonesaw
On hit: Your basic attacks shred 6% of the enemy's armor for 3 seconds, up to 8 stacks
stats:
+15 weapon power
+50% attack speed


ALL NEXT ITEMS ARE OPTIONS AS YOUR LAST SIXTH ITEM

the atlas pauldron
Activate: Reduces the attack speed of nearby enemies by 65% for 5 seconds in a 4-meter range but doesn't reduce below the base attack speed, in fortress' case that would be 100% on lvl 1 and 144% on lvl 12. (15 seconds cooldown)
stats:
+85 armor
+35 shield
*best used against heroes with high attack speed like for example saws, kruls and most glaives


the crucible
Activate: gain a barrier worth 25% of your missing health and block all debuffs for 1 second for you and all teammates near you, 45 seconds cooldown
stats:
+600 health
*best used against heroes with mass stuns, mass silences or any mass debuff ultimate (catherine, samuel, adagio, etc.)


the aegis
Activate: gain a barrier worth 25% of your missing health and block all debuffs for 1 second, 35 seconds cooldown
stats:
125 shield
+30 armor
+200 max health
*best used if most enemies go crystal power


the metal jacket
stats:
+170 armor
+35 shield
*best used against weapon power heroes without attack speed items or slow-hitting weapon power heroes (like weapon power lance for example)


the shiversteel
activate: for the next 4 (or 6 if you are melee) seconds, your basic attacks slow the target by 40% for 1.2 seconds with an 18 seconds cooldown
stats:
+500 health
*best used against heroes with abilities that allows them to escape very easily (under the condition that you don't die very quickly of course, I would recommend an aegis or metal jacket in that case)


the contraption
activate: target yourself to place a Scout Trap. target the ground farther away to fire a flare. you can have a max of 3 charges and it takes 20 seconds for 1 charge to reload
stats:
+350 health
+40% cooldown speed
+3 energy recharge
*buy this item only if you don't die very easily and if you're good with contraption


now that that's out of the way, I want to find out what every item exactly does and if there are better alternatives

(->) = improvement from my recommended item
(->) = same as my recommended item or have completely different uses
(->) = worse than my recommended item



starting with the stormcrown


the stormcrown does 160 true damage (on lvl 12) to non-heroes and 20% of that damage to heroes. that is 32 damage to heroes on lvl 12. this item is very strong against the gold mine, minion mine, kraken, turrets and even the vain crystal. I really recommend buying it first simply because it helps you clear the jungle.


+30% cooldown speed, I don't really know how this is calculated in-game, so I am gonna test it using ardans ult on lvl 2 (the cooldown at level 2 is 100 seconds)

without any items: 100 seconds
with aftershock (+25% cooldown speed): 80 seconds
with clockwork (+40% cooldown speed): ~72 seconds
with stormcrown (+30% cooldown speed): ~77 seconds

after a little bit of thinking I figured it out.

without any items = 100% = 100 seconds
with aftershock = 125% = 100 : 1.25 = 80 seconds
with clockwork = 140% = 100 : 1.4 = ~71.43 seconds
with stormcrown = 130% = 100 : 1.3 = ~76.92 seconds

this is how it should be calculated in-game

[base cooldown time] : ([cooldown speed in %] : 100) = [increased cooldown time]

so +30% cooldown speed on fortress' abilities:

TRUTH OF THE TOOTH
(lvl 4) 10 : (130% : 100) = 10 : 1.3 = 7.69 seconds, a 2.31 seconds decrease
(lvl 5) 8 : (130% : 100) = 8 : 1.3 = 6.15 seconds, a 1.85 seconds decrease
LAW OF THE CLAW
(lvl 4) 8 : (130% : 100) = 8 : 1.3 = 6.15 seconds, a 1.85 seconds decrease
(lvl 5) 6 : (130% : 100) = 6 : 1.3 = 4.62 seconds, a 1.38 seconds decrease
ATTACK OF THE PACK
(lvl 2) 75 : (130% : 100) = 75 : 1.3 = 57.69 seconds, a 17.31 seconds decrease
(lvl 3) 60 : (130% : 100) = 60 : 1.3 = 46.15 seconds, a 13.85 seconds decrease


+4 energy recharge

since I couldn't really find any info I can only guess it's the amount of energy per second, in other words, +4 energy recharge per second + base energy regen

+200 health

this just helps to survive longer

FORTRESS lvl 1 lvl 12
health: 658 1560 [+200]

the closest thing to a replacement for this item would be contraption but both items serve a different purpose.

the contraption:
-gives more health (+200 -> +350)
-has more cooldown speed (+30% -> +40%)
-has less energy recharge (4 -> 3)
-costs less (2200 -> 2100)
-BUT serves a whole different purpose (extra damage to non-heroes and a little extra to heroes -> placing mines and throwing flares all over the map)



the fountain of renewal


the passive is very strong, it helps you survive in the jungle FOREVER. however, it does not heal when you are fighting enemy heroes. it almost always outheals the gold mine and is stronger when you're low on health

the activate ability helps you and your team to make a comeback, the fountain is best used when you and your team is low, and can turn the battle around in your team's favor


+200 health

FORTRESS lvl 1 lvl 12
health: 658 1560 [+200] [+200]

+75 shield

works best against abilities or mage heroes

+30 armor

works best against basic attacks

the closest thing to a replacement would be aegis or atlas pauldron

the aegis:
-gives the same amount of health (+200 -> +200)
-gives more shield (75 -> 125)
-gives the same amount of armor (30 -> 30)
-costs less (2300 -> 2250)
-has no passive (start to heal based on your lost health when 5 seconds out of battle -> none)
-has a different activate ability (heal alot based on your lost health -> triggers a shield that lasts for 1 second protecting you from debuffs and damage)
-has a lower cooldown (60 seconds -> 35 seconds)

the atlas pauldron:
-gives no health (+200 -> none)
-gives less shield (75 -> 35)
-gives more armor (30 -> 85)
-costs less (2300 -> 1900)
-has no passive (start to heal based on your lost health when 5 seconds out of battle -> none)
-has a different activate ability (heal alot based on your lost health -> slow nearby enemies' attack speed by 65% for 5 seconds)
-has a lower cooldown (60 seconds -> 15 seconds)



the war treads


the double passive is really nice. 0.4 speed, always active, and 1.0 speed, only active when not in combat, super nice to get everywhere on the map.

the activate ability is really nice, it can help to stay near your enemies, boost out a teammate or to simply escape dangerous ults


+500 health

FORTRESS lvl 1 lvl 12
health: 658 1560 [+200] [+200] [+500]

the closest thing to a replacement would be journey boots or halcyon chargers

the journey boots:
-have a better passive (+0.4 speed -> + 0.6 speed)
-have a worse activate ability (grant a sprint to all nearby heroes lasting 2 seconds -> grant a sprint to only you lasting 2 seconds)
-have less health (+500 -> +250)
-costs less (2500 -> 1900)
-have the same cooldown, however the journey boots' cooldown gets reduced to 12 seconds when you hit an enemy hero with an attack (60 seconds -> 60 seconds + reduction passive)

the halcyon chargers:
-have a better passive (+0.4 speed -> + 0.5 speed)
-have less health (+500 -> +200)
-have extra stats (+500 health -> +200 health, +15% cooldown speed, +250 energy and +4 energy recharge)
-costs less (2500 -> 2300)
-have an activate ability about as strong (grant a sprint to all nearby heroes lasting 2 seconds -> grant a sprint to only you lasting 3 seconds)
-have a shorter cooldown (60 seconds -> 50 seconds)



the sorrowblade


not much to say, extra damage, needed because without it you seem kinda weak


+150 weapon power

works best with basic attacks

the closest thing to a replacement would be serpent mask or shatterglass

the serpent mask:
-gives less weapon power (+150 -> +85)
-gives lifesteal (0% -> 10%)
-has a passive (none -> your next 600-1200 (level 1-12) points of weapon damage to enemy heroes has +25% lifesteal, recharges over 40 seconds)
-costs less (3100 -> 2800)

the shatterglass:
-gives crystal power instead of weapon power (+150 -> +150)
-costs less (3100 -> 3000)



the bonesaw


its on hit effect is very strong against heroes with lots of armor, I recommend you get it almost always because most heroes will go lots of armor and because of your high health, armor and shield you can survive long enough for all stacks to be applied


+15 weapon power

works best with basic attacks

+50% attack speed

works best when you already have lots of weapon power

the closest thing to a replacement would be tension bow or broken myth

the tension bow:
-has less armor piercing (+48% (with all 8 stacks) -> +8%)
-has no attack speed (+50% -> +0%)
-has more weapon power (15 -> 45)
-costs less (2700 -> 2150)
-has a passive (none -> every 6 seconds, your next basic attack will deal 180 bonus damage) *I am not counting the on-hit effect as a passive since it will only trigger when basic-attacking an enemy

the broken myth:
-has a different effect (on hit: shred 6% armor (8 stacks max) -> passive: amplify all crystal power damage by 7% when in combat with enemy heroes (5 stacks max))
-has no attack speed (+50% -> +0%)
-has crystal power (0 -> 70)
-has shield pierce (+0% -> +10%)
-costs more (2700 -> 3100)


*quick tip, if you were to replace sorrowblade with shatterglass and bonesaw with broken myth, I recommend you go with aftershock as your last item. not only does it decrease your abilities' cooldowns, but also helps killing high-health characters

Thank you Top

I just wanted to thank you for reading my Fortress guide and build. I also saw that my Fortress build appeared in the weekly staff picks. I am happy to know my builds can help people, so I decided I will be making more of these builds about other heroes, starting with Krul.

Thank you for reading and I hope you might give Fortress a try.

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