Effective Skaarf Playing by Roppo

Effective Skaarf Playing

By: Roppo
Last Updated: Jan 19, 2015
1 Votes
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Build 1 of 1

Skaarf

Build: Build #1

Ability Path

Fan the Flames
Heroic Perk
Spitfire
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Goop
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Dragon Breath
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

Threat Meter

Threat
Low
High
Show all
Threat Hero Notes
1
  No Threat
2
SAW Technically always a threat when on max spin up BUT you shouldn't need to get in his range.
3
Skaarf Play your cards right and you'll be better of 2 Skaarf's
3
Adagio Adagio's basic attache range can make him difficult to attack but isn't much of a threat
3
Joule Avoid Joules melee range and she's no problem
3
Ringo Spitfire + FTF tends to keep Ringo at bay
3
Catherine Avoid Catherin's melee range and she's no problem
4
  No Threat
5
Krul This is where things get a little more tricky. Kruul's movement speed out of the bushes can quickly bring him in to melee range. I'd avoid being to close to the bushes that boarder the lane/jungle.
5
Petal Moderate threat in terms of damage to you. Petals main advantage is her seeds making it very difficult for you to land spitfire
5
Glaive Glaive can hit hard and his Afterburn can bring him in to melee range quickly making it hard for you to flee. Hopefully his knockback pushes you in the right direction...?
6
  No Threat
7
  No Threat
8
Taka If Taka opens with X-Restu, it's usually a bad ending...
8
Koshka Don't let Koshka get in range, if she does, it's difficult to flee!
9
  No Threat
10
  No Threat

ABILITIES AND RELATED STRATEGIES Top

FAN THE FLAMES (HEROIC PERK)



Fan the Flames

When you burn an enemy using one of your abilities you inflict a damage over time debuff on your enemy which deals 3 percent of their maximum health as damage over 3 seconds. Each subsequent basic attack made within that 3 second window refreshes the debuff AND increases the damage caused by a further 3 percent up to a maximum of 12 percent i.e. 4 stacks.

All of a sudden those flimsy basic attacks become quite powerful

SPITFIRE



Spitfire

Literally as the name suggests you spit fire causing crystal damage which then inflicts the Fan The Flames DoT debuff mentioned before.

Pros
Decent damage which scales with CP. Landing 4 basic attacks afterwards 4 stacks of Fan The Flames is where things get good though.
Insane range. Great for harassing enemies whilst keeping a safe distance
Travels through walls

Cons
Can be difficult to aim whilst pre-empting your foes movements
Will hit the first thing in its path e.g. minions or Petals seeds so it can be difficult to land hits on player characters.

GOOP



Goop

Drops a pool of black sticky oil on the ground slowing enemies that try to walk through it. Using one of your fire abilities sets the goop alight causing splash damage and additional AoE damage over time.

This is probably one of the most versatile abilities in the game. It increases your DPS. It offers AoE damage. It gives you a means to escape and prevents enemies from doing the same.

Goop Tips

1. Drop a puddle of goop between you and an enemy when you need to flee to give you the edge. If they cease chasing you think about setting it alight for a last minute up yours

2. Drop a puddle of goop in front of your enemy when he tries to run slowing him down. A well timed spitfire can add some extra damage just as they leave the goop not to mention the damage from spitfire itself

3. Use goop to reposition enemies or dissuade them from moving in to certain positions

4. Drop goop in the middle of a pack of minions and light it up to burn them down quickly earning you quick cash

5. Double goop. Late game if you spend 5 of 5 points on goop the cool down is less than its duration and so you can light up 2 goops with 1 spitfire offering additional damage.

DRAGON BREATH



Dragon Breath

Skaarf takes a big breath in for 1.5 seconds. During this time fleeing enemies will be slowed and chasing allies will be accelerated. Thereafter you get 3 seconds of flame throwing carnage that even Smaug would be impressed with. Same slow effect applies to enemies.

This can be a difficult ability to master which I still get it wrong on occasions. I will breathe in and I am dead before I can blow out... Lets take a look at a few key points

i. The flame spits out in a cone shape in front of you.
ii. Skaarf can move during the 3 seconds allowing you to aim chase or flee as necessary
iii. Damage scales with distance. Almost no damage at zero range and max damage at max range. You may have noticed that your Dragons Breath does almost no damage to an enemy you are standing toe to toe with yet it obliterates enemies at the tip of the cone.

This is a really important point

Dragon Breath can become your best friend and a game changer or your worst enemy rendering it useless. It is all down to how when and where you use it. When you get it right it can be devastating. It is possible to take out all 3 enemies within that 3 second window. Here are a few tips

1. Get your distances right. It is a very fine margin. If your enemy is too close they can close you down and get in to that 0 range I mentioned above... Too far and they can flee and you will miss entirely.

If it helps you will notice air lines as Skaarf inhales for 1.5 seconds. This is a useful indicator of the cone shape in which the flames will go. Imagine that Skaarfs head is at 0 percent range and the tip of the air lines are 100 percent range. As a general rule try to catch your enemy at around 70 percent ish. Adjust depending on their movement prior to engaging. More often than not they will be too far from you to think about attacking but not so far that they will move out of your maximum damage range. Get it just right and they are toast.

2. Try and attack when the enemy team are bunched up Attacking a mine or the kraken or minions or an ally for example. All too often I see enemy teams fleeing as a group all in the same direction. If they are all in your sweet spot they are all dead.

3. Use it to support your teammates If your team has already engaged this is your chance to start burning people down without enemies necessarily focusing on you

4. Use it to engage. This scenario occurs regularly end game. You are hiding in a bush and one or all of the enemy are coming towards you. Unlike in point 1 you need to engage when they are outside of your 100 percent range to allow for the additional ground they will cover whilst they react to seeing your air lines. If you time it just right they will get caught at about 90 percent range just as you start spewing. Their natural reaction will be to do an about turn to ensure maximum distance which means... You guessed it. They are grouped together for an easy nuke.

GENERAL WALKTHROUGH AND STRATEGY Top

EARLY GAME



I spend my first point in Spitfire since Goop deals no damage without a fiery counterpart. My first item is an Energy Battery to give myself some longevity until I port back to spend some cash or die.

I head to the lane to farm for gold and be as big a nuisance as possible to the enemy laners. Try to land well places Spitfires to enemies without taking damage. After spending my second point on Goop and if slash when I am low on health or energy or both I port back to base with enough cash to buy both Ironguard Contract and either Sprint Boots if the enemy is closing me down too much OR Hourglass if they are not.

Ironguard Contract beefs up your gold supply allowing you to upgrade a lot of tier 1 items to tier 2 quickly. I usually shoot for Void Battery first but Chronograph isnt out of the question either. Usually about half way though by the time I have got most tier 2 items see mid game items above

MID GAME



A lot of the same. Power plays made in the lane making sure the enemy are pushed back and that it is me pushing their turrets. I farm using Goop Spitfire combo whilst also trying to spill that damage on to enemy players. Dragon Breath is useful for being more forceful and gaining or maintaining advantages.

I also spend time drifting between jungle and lane to assist in skirmishes or attacking mines.

First T3 item is almost always Clockwork. I build the rest depending on how the game is going.

At this stage I should point out that the above item selections are based on my ability to evade damage, using Skaarfs range as an advantage. Obviously this isnt always possible and so it is not uncommon to buy T2 boots earlier or extra health or armor items. HOWEVER if you play well T2 boots should be enough. The rest is about building your Crystal Power...

LATE GAME



By this point you will notice that you are actually a contender in 1v1s. Enemies will be A LOT more tentative around you than normal. Dont get cocky though as you can still get nuked down within seconds. Maintain distance and slip in to a supportive role sticking with or better still behind teammates rather than sticking to the lane.

Using some of the ideas from the Abilities And Related Strategies section above you should be storming their Base in no time.

Good luck.

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