Fortress isn't just a support anymore! Top
Fortress is my favorite hero in VainGlory, and after playing him as support for a few months I started to realize I could be a serious damage threat with some Crystal Power items if my Lane/Jungle weren't up to snuff. From there, playing Fortress as a CP Jungle was a natural step, particularly since it opens up the Roam role for someone with a stun. I'm still working out the kinks, but early results look good!
Starting out Top
Fortress is a badass early game. You should be invading the enemy jungle early and often to build up an early lead. I usually start with a Crystal Bit and 2 Potions to get a jump start on my build, but Oakheart is good too and makes you a little better at early game skirmishing since your base damage is already excellent. Remember to hang close to your Support for the nifty speed bonus, and try to avoid using Truth of the Tooth until the enemy runs away.
Early Game Top
The most important item in the build is Eve of Harvest. Its your first big damage spike, and the health and mana sustain means you can stay out in the field pretty much until you get banged up in a fight. However, since upgrading items in VainGlory is not as gold efficient as buying lower tier items, I recommend picking up at least one defensive item and boots along the way. Pick Aegis or Metal Jacket to go for first, depending on what type of damage the most threatening enemy is sporting, and grab a tier 1 component or 2 while you alongside Heavy Prism and Void Battery. Also, don't forget boots - they can seal a kill or save your life.
At this point, make sure to gank for your laner every now and then. Remember, you're a great brawler early game, and the team movespeed bonus from Truth of the Tooth goes a long way to tracking down kills. Fortress is a team fighter, so unless you're really ahead make sure to fight with teammates for the bonuses.
Mid Game Top
Once you have Eve of Harvest and your first defensive item, you have a few options. Unless you back with a ton of gold or desperately need more survivabiliy, I recommend Travel Boots - the passive movement speed bonus is really useful. Once you have those, you need to decide if you need more tankiness or can go for damage. For damage, I prefer Alternating Current, since the attack speed buff on Attack of the Pack allows you to proc it over and over in a fight. Its more useful than Aftershock since Fortress' cooldowns are fairly long. Either before or after Alternating Current, grab another tank item. This will probably be whichever one of Metal Jacket or Aegis you don't have yet, but on the off chance that the enemy is all one damage type, don't be afraid to stack either armor or shield.
When fighting in the mid game, try your hardest to cast Attack of the Pack right before engaging the fight. Not only is the bonus attack speed a huge boon with Alternating Current, the damage from the wolves helps lifesteal a surprising amount of health thanks to EOH, particularly since they inflict bleed. Remember, wolves requires at least 3 attacks to kill no matter how much damage your opponents have, so either they have to take the damage and let you heal or waste precious attacks killing them. Again, you're a teamfighter, not a solo assassin, so try to work with your teammates.
A great way to secure gold miner is to cast Attack of the Pack when it hits half health. If the enemy is hiding nearby, the wolves will reveal them and you're in the perfect position to turn and fight them, and if they aren't, free gold miner! You can also use this trick to secure Kraken later in the game.
Late Game Top
MAKE SURE YOU TAKE THE LAST LEVEL OF ATTACK OF THE PACK AT LEVEL 12. I cannot stress enough how important this is. While Roam Fortress generally only uses the wolves for vision, they're a critical part of your teamfighting power, and the attack speed bonus is huge.
At this point you should have Eve of Harvest, Alternating Current, and two defensive items, most likely Aegis and Metal Jacket. Upgrade to Travel Boots before going for one last damage item. Truth be told, my games have ended before I finish that 6th item, so what follows is theorycrafting. Shatterglass helps you stack on the damage, and since that means health thanks to the EOH lifesteal its what I normally go for. Frostburn can be handy for chasing people down before they make it to their turret/fountain, but Fortress is so fast I rarely find it necessary thanks to Packmates (yes, you still need to fight with your teammates!). I'm personally not a fan of Broken Myth, but other people swear by it, so if you want one here's where to grab it. If you get this far in the build, please let me know what you pick and how it goes!
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