How to Play Crystal Ringo Top
Crystal Ringo should be played as more of a "burst assassin" rather than the sustained damage carry of a Weapon Ringo. The early game Crystal Ringo should operate in one of two patterns, according to the threat meter associated with this build.
1: If the opposing hero in the lane is on the low end of the threat meter, a Crystal Ringo should aggressively bully in the early game. This means using Achilles Shot whenever you can to get in little spurts of damage, all the while staying at or near the safety of a turret. In addition to this, upon activating Twirling Silver you should be getting in 1-3 basic attacks from Twirling Silver on the enemy hero. This forces them to either back off, which limits their gold intake, call for backup, (which if you play right should not result in your death), use all their Halcyon potions and have to keep returning to base for more, or die.
2: If the opposing hero in the lane is on the high end of the threat meter, you should only use Achilles Shot to bully them. Stay under your turret, and don't worry about too much damage to your first turret. Try to avoid stunning abilities or slowing abilities as they make you extremely easy to gank.
Crystal Ringo players should never hesitate to call in jungling teammates to kill a threatening enemy or eliminate a weak and slippery one. Such ganks can keep enemies' respawn timers running high and your gold counts even higher. Don't despair over early game pressure from the enemy, or slippery enemies who seem to escape you with low health every time. Keep in mind that once you unlock your ult, laning will become much easier. Opponents who find themselves low on health can simply fall to the massive damage from your Hellfire Brew, awarding you a hefty gold bonus.
When to Buy Certain Items Top
There is a discrepancy in the above build surrounding Aftershock and Broken Myth. Build Aftershock when you need to fight an extremely tanky hero. This means an Ardan, a Phinn, a Krul, or even a Glaive. The percent damage from the Aftershock will allow you to take out portions of their health with your abilities and basic attacks. Build Broken Myth when fights are taking a long time or by default when neither of these things are happening. The increasing sustained damage from Broken Myth means that if you use your A to open a fight, by the end of the fight, when your A is ready again, the damage from your Alternating Current basic attacks and your A will be enough to eliminate targets, with the absolutely massive damage from Hellfire Brew being enough to finish even moderately healthy escaping opponents.
Also, buy defense according to your own needs. I use Aegis and Atlas Pauldron to represent slots that can be used for defensive items.
Achilles Shot: Your Best Friend Top
Almost all of the damage from Crystal Ringo comes from your Achilles Shot. Begin every match by upgrading Achilles Shot, and use level 2 to obtain Twirling Silver. From there, upgrade Achilles Shot whenever possible, with the exception of upgrading your ultimate. The overdrive on Achilles Shot increases the damage substantially, allowing you to open fights with it or use it to finish or slow a fleeing target. This ability is your best friend. Use it to harass the enemy laner in the early game and to open fights in the end game.
A good strategy in teamfights is to stay 1 bush behind your teammates. This way, when a fight breaks out, the enemy team believes only 2 heroes are there to fight. Once they focus your teammates, step in and go to work. By the time they have realized you are dealing massive damage, it will be too late for them. By then, your Broken Myth or Aftershock will have allowed you to deal enough to kill anyone there or finish them with a well placed ultimate.
Thanks for reading my Crystal Ringo Guide! I hope this helped you, and I'll see you in the Fold!
Quick Comment () View Comments
You need to log in before commenting.