Introduction: My thought process behind this build Top
I built this guide with the intention of building around one of the more under utilized items in the current meta:
Alternating Current. AC is a bit of a niche item that not only boosts your crystal power and attack speed, but also adds every other basic attack with a 50+75% crystal of your crystal power as damage bonus. In the right character (like
Joule ) it can really complement them well, and
Skaarf is definitely one of those characters. The synergy between
Fan the Flames and Alternating Current is pretty substantial; the attack speed increase alone allows you to fan the flames much more quickly, but it's the sizable power increase as Skaarf builds into Crystal that makes this item, pretty much a must have.
Also Skaarf recieves a substantial buff in 1.1.7, so now, you really want to be overdriving his ultimate, rather than his second skill, especially as a ranged carry. This build is primarily built with the lane in mind, as many of the items are fairly expensive; enough to warrant very diligent farming if you want any real chance with this build. Despite these buffs, Skaarf still experiences a power drop off at the end of the game, and using the AC and Crystal Infusion Synergy is an attempt to overcome that drop off.
This guide is also written with a fairly new player in mind, or people who might have been turned off by Skaarf before, but would like to try him now that he has been buffed. Thus there is a lot of detail to help them out.
Before the Game Starts Top
In terms of team composition, the best kind of heroes that compliment Skaarf really well is first a heavy Crowd Control Hero, and a melee burst damage hero: the best ones in this category, imo, are
Ardan and
Taka. Ardan's
Gauntlet allows you to utilize
Dragon Breath to it's fullest potential, by having Ardan trap a team inside a narrow space. Taka is surprisingly good for coordinated attacks on an enemy Lane Hero, as Taka's
X-Retsu is usually enough to take a sizable enough chunk of health to really maximize
Spitfire and
Fan the Flames. Skaarf also synergizes with other protectors like Adagio's slow, Catherine's Stun, and any other hero who is able to stun or slow long enough for Skaarf to aim his Spitfire or his Dragonbreath. Lastly, since Skaarf, in general heavily, favors prolonged and protracted team fights, avoid team compositions without a solid Protector on the team, otherwise you will not have enough time to really build up those Fan the Flame stacks.
Aside from farming in the Lane you will always want to travel with your team, especially when pushing the lane or Jungling. Do not attempt to take gold mine, Kraken, or even go 1v1 in the Jungle, as you are too squishy to do that. Don't worry, there will be plenty of opportunities for kills in coordinated team fights.
The Early Game Top
For the first minute of the game, quickly buy your items and then head straight into the jungle with your teammates. Your goal is to help in a team fight if a 3 hero jungle invade occurs. Once you see the enemy laner start to push the lane, then you may begin farming in earnest. Keep Skaarf behind the midline, while occasonally upgrading items at the jungle shop. ONLY go to the Jungle shop when you have your two allies nearby to cover you while you're vulnerable buying stuff.
Now, while you are very focused on farming gold, that does not mean you will not come down and help out in the jungle when the enemy team jungle invades or counter jungles. The rule of thumb is, if the enemy appears on your minimap when they are in that bottom middle portion of the map (from jungle shop to gold mine), you will want to help out. While farming, if there are Junglers with gap closers, you will want to hug the northern part of the Lane as a general rule. But watch the obvious gank cue: when the Laner moves away from the midline and closer to his turret or taunts you into wanting to follow him. Don't do it. If you must, then approach from the north so you can make an easy escape for when gap closers do come in.
For the Gold Mine, hopefully you will be level 6 before the Mine is even a factor. If the enemy team attempts to capture, throw a goop beneath and zone them out of the area. If they do not respect your DPS or they are close to taking the Mine, then Dragon Breath the area.
By level 6-9 you should already have an Alternating Current complete along with a Reflex Block. This well help with your sustain and survivability against all ultimates. Crucible is really the best defensive item for Skaarf, and taking anymore defense really cuts into your damage output.
Mid to Late Game Top
By now, you should have the Core pieces of your build already assembled, and by 15 minutes you should be well into the next items. This is where you reach a crossroads in terms of your build. You will need to respond to what their building against your team. In general you will want to keep to your ideal build, but if they are building a lot of shielding then you will need a broken myth. If they are very bursty then that crucible changes into an Aegis. For all other situations, like WP or high HP builds, the damage output from the Ideal build will usually be enough to overcome a lot of stuff.
By the end of the game you will want to be pushing with your team. You are leaving the sixth slot open for consumables. Infusions effectively allow you to have a seventh item in your inventory for 3 minutes; the perfect amount of time to push with your team. Generally Crystal Infusion synergizes so well with AC and your strategy in general so you almost always want this infusion. Against Aegis, serious think about getting both infusions, as this will help your damage output.
Once you buy an infusion, buy a second tier item. These are cost effective enough to sell by the end of your infusion, buy another infusion, then buy the same second tier item. If you have fantastic activity, think about buying a third tier, but otherwise keep to this rule.
Also having a flex sixth slot open allows you to react to any last minute enemy items, and allows you to buy items that don't fill the general build order, such as a metal jacket or any other items that you see fitting best in the given situation.
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