I have killed more people than you have ever met!

Hello! And welcome to my Blackfeather guide. Note that this has been written for the average player and is not specifically intended for advanced or competitive play unless you deem it good enough yourself.

To start off with, Blackfeather is a strong hero who can play well in both Crystal and Weapon paths (my personal decision is Crystal for the mass, team-wide damage). With the role of assassin, Blackfeather works well when finishing an opponent off. He is intended to Lane although he functions well in the Jungle too. Let's cover his perk and abilities.

Heartthrob (Heroic Perk) Blackfeather's attacks and abilities apply Heartthrob stacks to enemies. This stacks twice on minions and monsters and up to five times on heroes and objectives. Any time stacks are added or refreshed, Blackfeather also deals 5-10 (+10% crystal power) crystal damage for each stacks of Heartthrob already on the target. Instead of energy, Blackfeather uses focus for his abilities. This is capped at 100 and naturally regenerates 10 per second. Blackfeather also recovers an additional 10 focus for each basic attack he lands.

Feint of Heart (A) Blackfeather lunges to his target and basic attacks them. For the next 4 seconds, the target leaves behind a rose trail that grants Blackfeather and his allies movement speed when moving through it. When this ability is used against a target with full Heartthrob stacks (shown as broken hearts) it will execute the target for bonus weapon damage based on the target's missing health (capped against non-heroes). Overdrive: The rose trail also makes Blackfeather and allies unslowable. Additionally, the cooldown for Feint of Heart is reset if the target is killed within 0.5 seconds.

The execution part of this ability is extremely useful; make good use of it! It acts as a brilliant finishing tool and the ability itself also acts as a great introduction to get up the Heartthrob stacks.

On Point (B) Blackfeather pierces all enemies in a line, damaging them and applying a decaying slow for 1 second. The duration of the slow is increased by 0.3 seconds for each stack of Heartthrob on the target. If this hits at least one enemy hero, Blackfeather also gains a barrier that scales with 10% of his bonus health and recovers 35 focus. The amount of focus recovered is further increased with 2% of his Max Energy and 50% of his Energy Regen. Overdrive: On Point gains increased range.

When playing CP Blackfeather, this ability will be your best friend. It deals high damage and the barrier it grants can counter an attack from the opponent. The slow is also a good way to catch up with a fleeing enemy.

Rose Offensive (C or Ultimate) Blackfeather cuts through his opponents, basic attacking all enemies along his path. During the dash, Blackfeather is immune to negative effects and has fortified health. This ability has 2 charges.

Because it negates all negative effects, it can be used to avoid stuns such as Koshka's or Ardan's ultimate and other dangers such as Ringo's ultimate (when timed right, the flames are negated meaning the only damage comes from the initial burst).

As you should all know, the most recent update (as of writing this guide) is 1.14 which included nerfs for heroes, a new hero and a new game mode (draft). Blackfeather was nerfed as well, maybe not as bad as some but it did reduce his potential.

Firstly, Feint of Heart, his A ability, had an execution built into the ability which, when used on a target with full Heartthrob stacks, it would deal bonus true damage based on the target's missing health. This was changed so that the bonus damage was weapon damage, not true, so it was nowhere near as strong.

Secondly (and lastly), when Blackfeather used Rose Offensive, he would briefly gain 300 shield AND armour, which reduced the damage he took by a LOT. This, however, was changed so he gains fortified health instead of increased armour and shield. While it does reduce damage, it is not as effective.

As of 1.16, there are minimal changes to Blackfeather, just to his Rose Offensive. The hitbox was changed to match his body width, and the charge time has been upped from 30-25-20 to 40-30-20 (levels 1 to 3).

More somewhat-noticeable changes to Blackfeather; his base attack speed was lowered from 100-136% to 100-111%, and his Feint of Heart had a bug fixed where it would occasionally carry him behind his target when used, instead of to the original in-front-of spot.

In 1.19, Blackfeather's execution damage of his Feint of Heart ability was slightly changed to have a higher percentage of Weapon Power, and his Rose Offensive had a minor bug fixed that affected some players a lot and some minimally.

In 1.20, Blackfeather's On Point damage was lowered slightly, but with an increased crystal ratio and the introduction of a weapon ratio (50%). His Heartthrob crystal damage was also increased slightly.

In 1.21, Blackfeather's base health was raised slightly (from 730-1340 to 782-1431).

In 1.23, Blackfeather's focus recharge was upped from 7.5 a second to 10 per second. The weapon ratio of On Point was raised from 80% to 100%, as well as the focus cost of Rose Offensive being lowered from 50 to 40.

Also: SPECIAL EDITION SKIN!

In 1.24, the barrier gained from hitting an enemy hero with Blackfeather's On Point was lowered from 15% to 10%.

In the early game, Blackfeather is not very strong and falls behind many other heroes. This means that, when playing in the jungle, your half may be invaded and without the laner's assistance it will be hard to take back.

In the lane, it might seem that Blackfeather will struggle against strong ranged heroes such as SAW or Ringo, although this is only somewhat the case. He is able to poke at them using On Point, countering an attack of theirs and chipping at their health. It is also important to predict when the opponent will use an ability and to attempt to counter it with the barrier gained from On Point.

Until Blackfeather gains a few strong items, it is not recommended to fight anyone unless in a group because you will most likely lose, especially playing CP.

Now this is where Blackfeather really starts to shine. In this section, I'll give you tips on how to ensure that you do well in both team fights and 1v1s.

To start off with, in team fights, I recommend being very conservative with your Rose Offensive. Being wasteful with it, just randomly using it into the fray of a fight, is a very poor decision as it can be used in much better scenarios.
If you still have one and you're trying to flee, it can get you ahead by a lot and, when given the opportunity, you can use it through a wall which will most likely get you out of trouble.
When chasing opponents, you can use Rose Offensive to catch up to them but ONLY if you know that you won't be able to get to them by any other means. If the ultimate is at three levels (which I don't recommend), the recharge time for the ability isn't very long but you could need it again soon and it won't be ready. Also, you can use Rose Offensive to get closer to a ranged hero so they don't get too much of a head start damage-wise.

For On Point, try using it in a strategic position where several enemies can be hit at once. This is especially necessary for CP Blackfeather, dealing high damage to multiple opponents. The barrier gained does not increase based on the enemies hit but it's still strong.

And for Feint of Heart, it is your choice whether to use it as an introduction or a finisher because of the fact it brings up Heartthrob stacks and it executes the opponent. What I haven't really covered yet on this ability is the rose trail it gives; this trail speeds you up and, when overdrived, makes you immune to slows. It's an excellent tool for guaranteeing the kill on a fleeing enemy or in a group fight (also, it's worth noting that the speed boost from the rose trail is increased with crystal power - he's ridiculously fast with pure Shatterglasses!).

Also, if you read the description of Heartthrob, you'll notice that Blackfeather deals bonus crystal damage based on the amount of stacks on the target. This damage increase is not as significant as it sounds, so don't think it makes a CP Blackfeather's basic attacks equal to a WP's.

Here, we'll look at what Blackfeather does well, and.. What he does the opposite.

Pros (Crystal) -

Deals high damage through abilities.
Abilities come off cool down fast.
Able to deal high damage to multiple opponents using B and C abilities.
Slow reaches very far, able to catch fleeing opponents.


Cons (Crystal) -

Low weapon damage (moderate damage with the Alternating Current).
No life-steal.
Requires abilities to do sufficient damage.


Pros (Weapon) -

High weapon damage.
Life-steal.
High attack speed.
A ability still does good damage.

Cons (Weapon) -

B and C do less damage than they could (B especially).

In this section, we'll look at why the items are used in the build and their individual roles. These are the late game items:

Weapon -

Breaking Point: The Breaking Point can be used in place of the Tornado Trigger but I do not recommend if going with a crit build. It is, however, very useful in long battles but you're sacrificing immediate damage and attack speed for it.

Serpent Mask: To get the life-steal. The weapon power is a nice addition.

Sorrowblade: The Sorrowblade is used purely as an item to rack up the weapon power so you can do more damage. Because of the Breaking Point nerf, it has become especially useful since you do more damage to get the stacks up.


Crystal -

Broken Myth - Just to get through the shield and the crystal amplification is strong.

Alternating Current - The Alternating Current increases attack speed which is only semi-useful for a CP Blackfeather, however it also makes every second basic attack deal +70% of your crystal power as bonus damage which makes him do more damage through basic attacks to finish someone off.

Shatterglass - For more crystal power. Increases the damage of On Point quite dramatically.


Utility/Defence -

Journey Boots: If you need an explanation as to why you should buy Journey Boots, you have issues. Just kidding. It might be my personal choice, but I feel as though every hero needs bonus movement speed. It is quite annoying to move so slow.

Aegis: Get the Aegis if you are 1. Against a hero or heroes that heavily rely on their abilities to do damage such as a CP Taka, a CP Celeste, etc, or 2. Against an enemy team that consists primarily of crystal power.

Metal Jacket: The Metal Jacket is only ever useful if the entirety of the enemy team is focused on weapon power. Even at that, one Metal Jacket doesn't do much damage reduction to someone as strong as, say, SAW. Don't make this item your primary defence.

Situational items are items that are not exactly part of the build, they are items that you buy which are reacting to what the enemy team is building or doing (such as buying an Atlas Pauldron to counter a WP SAW or Ringo).

Besides the example above, here are other situational items that come in handy:

1. The Shiversteel.

I assume you know what the item Shiversteel is, but if you don't, a quick overview:
- +500 Health
- Activate: For the next six seconds, your basic attacks slow the opponent by 40%. If you are melee (which is the case for Blackfeather, the slow lasts 2 seconds.

The Shiversteel item is a great item to have when chasing an opponent down (not that Blackfeather wasn't already good at that). Not only that, but because it adds +500 health, the barrier gained from On Point is more significant (the barrier scales with 10% of your bonus health).

2. The Crucible.

- +600 Health
- Activate: Trigger Reflex Block for yourself and nearby team-mates.

The Crucible is an extremely useful item. See Skye's ultimate raining down on an ally during a team fight? Reflex Block. Need to get through Ardan's Gauntlet wall? Reflex Block. The item itself also gives +600 health making your barrier from On Point even stronger, and it is especially useful if your team is without a roamer. Most of the time, roamers will grab this item, at least from what I have seen.

3. The Bonesaw.

- +50% Attack Speed
- +15 Weapon Power
- On Hit: Your basic attacks shred 6% of the target's armour for 3 seconds. Max 8 stacks.

The Bonesaw helps a lot if the majority of your team is weapon power, or you feel as though you aren't doing enough damage, or you can see that the opponent is building heavily on armour. A Breaking Point pairs well with this, so a combination of the two helps a lot.

December 7 2016: finally an edit! I have changed the builds and descriptions to how I have adapted the builds in the time since I last updated this. I hope they can function well for you as they did for me.

Thanks to everyone who read this guide! It's my first one and I hope you enjoyed it and learnt how to use Blackfeather well.

Sorry for any typos or information errors I had, and feel free to let me know of how I could improve my guide writing skills.

Thanks!

- inVain