My name is FlashX. I am the ROAM player for Team SoloMid who are the current reigning World and North American champions. I have been playing Vainglory since September 2014. I am currently Vainglorious Silver in the Spring 2016 Season. You can check out my previous guide on Catherine
here.
This guide will focus on playing
Glaive as a ROAM hero. With the second qualifier of the Spring 2016 concluded, playing Glaive as a roam hero is definitely a thing. With the 1.17
update offering no changes to Glaive, understanding why he is viable as a roam hero requires looking back to the 1.16
update. Update 1.16 was the patch where Glaive received buffs to all 3 of his abilities.
Afterburn cooldowns were reduced,
Twisted Stroke energy costs were reduced, and
Bloodsong lifesteal was increased. All 3 of these improvements made
Glaive an incredibly strong pick as a carry, both in lane and in the jungle, but understanding why he is also viable as a roam hero, and when to utilize him as a roam hero, will require a deeper look into his kit.
I believe
Glaive is effective as a ROAM hero because of his ability to both initiate and disengage from teamfights by utilizing
Afterburn. His ability to deal massive amounts of damage from the combination of
Hunt the Weak and
Twisted Stroke forces enemy heroes to build a lot of defense. He's an incredibly tanky frontline purely from the fact that he has the single highest base health of any hero, and can maintain his footing in the fray of battle by utilizing his
Bloodsong to lifesteal the health of multiple enemy heroes.
Difficulty: MEDIUM
Position: ROAM (JUNGLE)
Role: WARRIOR
"Glaive has one of the most feared abilities in the game: a jet-powered
Afterburn strike that will slice through you and blast you back into a tactically fatal position. In teamfights, Glaive's area-of-effect cleave and
Bloodsong lifesteal makes him incredibly hard to bring down. Try glaive first as a jungler, but roam into the lane to rocket enemies toward your allies and turrets."
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Hunt the Weak
Slot: Heroic Perk
Glaive's critical strikes cleave in a 4-meter cone in front of him.
- Cleave deals half damage to minions.
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Understanding the significance of Glaive's heroic perk can be challenging. In the simplest form, rather than basic attacking a singular enemy hero, Glaive can actually hit all 3 enemy heroes at once. In combination with
Stormguard Banner and a well timed
Weapon Infusion later on in the game, this can result in massive damage output. Particularly,
Hunt the Weak shines most against enemy team compositions that use 2 melee heroes, and especially 3 melee heroes which makes it very easy for Glaive to position himself in a manner such that all of the enemies are within the cone of his cleave damage. One should note that the cleave damage is based specifically on Glaive's
Twisted Stroke.
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Afterburn
Slot: A
Glaive rockets in the target direction, damaging all enemies along the way. His next basic attack is replaced by a frightening blast that knocks his target back 5.5 meters and briefly stuns them. |
Using
Afterburn:
Afterburn is the single strongest ability in Glaive's kit and is what makes him viable as a roam hero. This ability can be used both
offensively and
defensively.
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Offensively:
Glaive can utilize
Afterburn in order to punish enemy heroes who are caught out of position. Taking advantage of rotations up into the lane in order to knockback the enemy laner into Glaive's allies will be how this ability is used most frequently.
Afterburn can also be used to prevent enemies from trying to flee from a teamfight. A good example would be an enemy
Blackfeather who normally has to get very close to the minions in order to last hit thus allowing a good opportunity for
Glaive to activate his
Afterburn.
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Defensively:
Glaive offers a large amount of peel for his allies by using
Afterburn to knockback enemies who are focusing Glaive's allies. A good example would be if an enemy
Krul is trying to stick to an allied
Skaarf, Glaive can activate
Afterburn to knock the Krul off of the Skaarf.
What to AVOID: Be patient when using
Afterburn. Glaive needs to be sure that when he uses
Afterburn that his allies are prepared to respond accordingly whether it is used
offensively or
defensively. If his allies are not in a good position to engage if
Afterburn is used offensively then Glaive is at risk of being out of position and with afterburn on cooldown, lacks a reliable means of escape. When using
Afterburn defensively, it is important for Glaive to make sure that his allies are ready to either immediately reengage or retreat depending on the situation.
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Twisted Stroke
Slot: B
Instantly executes a critical strike.
- This ability deals weapon damage, but it can deal bonus crystal damage if you have any crystal power.
- Triggers basic-attack effects.
- Passive: Increases critical-strike chance and AOE-cleave damage of basic attacks.
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Using
Twisted Stroke:[/b]
Twisted Stroke is a very simple way for Glaive to apply additional damage to his enemies. By executing a basic attack, this ability synergizes very well with
Stormguard Banner which allows Glaive to deal a massive amount of burst damage in a very short time. Glaive will want to prioritize the same target that his allies are focusing which will most often be the squishiest target or the enemy that Glaive had just afterburned.
What to AVOID: Because
Glaive requires a lot of energy to use
Afterburn, it is important that he manages his use of
Twisted Stroke effectively. Most often it will be wasteful to use this ability to clear the jungle and would be better for Glaive to conserve his energy for the possibility of an ensuing teamfight after the jungle has been cleared.
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Bloodsong
Slot: C
Swings Glaive's axe in a 5.4-meter circle, dealing massive area damage that increases with the number of Bloodsong stacks used. This removes all stacks.
- Passive: Glaive generates Bloodsong stacks from basic attacking or from receiving basic attacks (max 20 stacks).
- Each stack grants Glaive bonus lifesteal.
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Using
Bloodsong:[/b]
Bloodsong can first be unlocked when Glaive reaches level 6. It is important that Glaive be proactive about quickly building stacks of bloodsong (maximum 20 stacks) in order to have the most impact during a teamfight.
"Glaive generates Bloodsong stacks from basic attacking or from receiving basic attacks." Not only will this ability offer a great amount of burst damage that also synergizes well with
Twisted Stroke, but
Bloodsong also allows Glaive to absorb damage for his allies by lifestealing health back from enemies upon activation.
What to AVOID: Glaive should ensure that
Bloodsong is being used to it's maximum effectiveness. Avoid activating this ability until all 20 stacks have been generated, unless absolutely necessary (Glaive or one of his allies will likely die otherwise).
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Fountain of Renewal
Fountain of Renewal is best utilized when allies are low on health during a team fight. Active: heals you and nearby allies for 2 health for each % missing health per second for 3 seconds.
Fountain of Renewal has found increased effectiveness with an increased projectile speed in the 1.17 update making it the quintessential first item for all ROAM players! |
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Warhorn
warhorn pairs extremely well with Glaive. Active: Grant +2.75 move speed to all nearby teammates. Lasts 1.0s for each hero affected. This enables Glaive to quickly navigate the map with his allies and engage upon unsuspecting enemies. This can provide Glaive with a extra speed boost in order to get in range to land an
Afterburn onto unsuspecting enemies! |
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Crucible
Crucible is best utilized against teams with area of effect (AOE) abilities. Active: Trigger Reflex Block for you and nearby teammates. This item can also be activated to provide a simple health barrier if an ally is close to dying. Crucible will also give Glaive an additional 600 bonus health to make him an even tankier front line. Examples: Blast Tremor (Catherine), Verse of Judgement (Adagio), Dragon Breath (Skaarf). |
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Atlas Pauldron
Atlas Pauldron is best utilized against teams with high attack speeds. Active: Reduces attack speed of nearby enemy heroes by 65% for 5 seconds in a 4-meter range. Glaive can activate either his
Afterburn or his warhorn in order to get close to these enemies so that he always uses
Atlas Pauldron effectively. Examples: Ringo, SAW, Adagio. |
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Clockwork
Clockwork is a strong item choice for Glaive later on in the game because the cooldown reduction will allow Glaive to use his abilities multiple times during a single fight. However, it is still more important for Glaive to prioritize the core defensive and utility items in his kit as well as infusions. Building
Clockwork will enable
Glaive to use
Afterburn multiple times during a single teamfight both offensively and defensively. |
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Journey Boots
Journey Boots are not necessarily an essential part of
Glaive's kit. However, having the additional health, armor, shield, as well as the reduced speed activation cooldown makes it a viable option for
Glaive because his allies are reliant upon him withstanding massive damage as the frontline as well as making sure she can land his
Afterburn whenever necessary! |
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Contraption
With the recent changes to the scoreboard that prevents teams from seeing what items have been purchased until vision has been gained, I believe that
Contraption may become a very useful tool. Charges should be focused on deploying
 Scout Traps while
Glaive and his allies still continue to purchase
 Flare Gun's. Used in this manner,
Glaive and his allies will get the most out of having a contraption and the additional cooldown reduction will help
Glaive to use his abilities more quickly! |
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Crystal Infusion / Weapon Infusion
Both
Crystal Infusion and
Weapon Infusion are very important for
Glaive in the late game. At level 12,
Glaive will receive an additional 30 armor and 30 shield for EACH infusion. This will make him massively tankier and thus directly increase the effects of his abilities through the additional cooldown reduction, attack speed, and damage output. If you only have enough gold for 1 infusion,
Crystal Infusion should be prioritized.
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Using these different items depending on the situation will surely give you an advantage in team fights. A good
Glaive will focus on counter-building the enemy team thus allowing him to offer the most utility and defense to his own team.
Fountain of Renewal and warhorn are ESSENTIAL parts of
Glaive's kit. In all situations they are considered effective because there is not a significant amount of counter play to them. Utilize
Fountain of Renewal when Glaive or his allies become low in health, and use Warhorn to either engage or disengage from a team fight.
Playing the EARLY GAME: (t = 0:00 - 8:00)
1.
Starting ITEMS:
Ironguard Contract, HALCYCON POTION,
Flare Gun - Buying 2 potions is unnecessary because
Glaive will receive health back from the passive ability of the
Ironguard Contract (
If a minion has attacked you, you heal for 120 health and your ally also earns 30% bonus gold). It is especially important when clearing the jungle that
Glaive takes the first hit damage from jungle minions for optimal clear mechanics. This will maximize the amount of gold Catherine and her allies are able to earn.
2.
Clearing the jungle: When the game begins,
Glaive should position himself to stand to the left of where the large double minions will spawn in the jungle. Immediately basic attack the left minion,
Afterburn through both minions, knockback one minion, and then begin to basic attack them while
Glaive's ally kills the large medic minion. Before Glaive's jungle carry kills any of the jungle minions, Glaive should begin moving towards the inner healer minion. This is so that the jungle carry will reach level 2 after the first rotation through the jungle. Be careful to not leave the jungle carry too soon or else they may take too much damage. However, most damage can be mitigated through the health they receive from killing the healer minions.
3.
The first engagement: In most situations, both jungles will have finished this mirrored rotation at relatively the same time. (Note: On some occasions, the enemy team may revert to a backwards rotation in which they start from the small double camp and rotate back towards their respective base). At this point, an engagement is likely to occur. Use the flare purchased at the begging of the game in a manner such that it reveals both the enemy shop bush as well as their tri bush.
Glaive and his ally will only want to engage the enemy jungle at this point if they feel they can win the fight. If not, it is a VERY good idea to rotate up to the lane and attempt to gank the enemy laner by using
Afterburn to knock him away from safety.
4.
To Invade, or not to Invade? If you end up winning a fight in the jungle, simply purchase a potion and head for an invade. The enemy team likely has very weak early game heroes and will not be able to win a second engagement either. Just be careful to not take too much damage from the jungle minions if the enemy team is positioning for an engagement. If you decided to go up to lane for a gank, whether it was successful or not, you should return to your jungle to clear it immediately. Note: If the enemy team has a much stronger jungle, they may have invaded and it is important to utilize flares to see if they have indeed invaded. If so, they simply rotate into the enemy jungle and take their camps instead.
Playing the MID GAME: (t = 8:00 - 15:00)
Glaive begins to ramp up in the mid game. He hits her first major power spike once she completes his
Fountain of Renewal and his Warhorn, a second major power spike when he reaches level 6 to unlock his
Bloodsong, and a final power spike when he reaches level 8 in order to overdrive
Afterburn so that it now has a mere 10 second cooldown making it a much larger threat for unsuspecting enemies. All of this will happen during the mid game. Glaive's decisions here should be reflective of his allies versus the enemies. If his allies are strong in the mid game, Glaive will want to be aggressive, using his
Afterburn to capitalize on enemies so that objective such as turrets or the gold miner can be secured. If Glaive and his allies have a weaker midgame, saving
Afterburn as a tool for a disengage in that enemies are knocked away from Glaive's allies should be encouraged.
Playing the LATE GAME: (t = 15:00 - End of Game)
While
Glaive should have built an immense amount of both defensive and utility items at this point, the enemy team has also scaled significantly in their damage. Choosing fights selectively is very important at this stage in the game. Enemies have should built enough defense, or even reflex blocks, such that
Afterburn is not as devastating as it has been during the early and mid game.
Glaive will want to make sure that he is keeping his allies safe as well as just trying to do the most damage possible through
Twisted Stroke and
Bloodsong.
What to avoid:
1. Avoid taking last hits. Glaive's allies should always be the ones who get the last hit. Glaive will earn 75% of all gold that his allies earn from the passive of
Ironguard Contract (as long as she is within range).
2. Avoid overextending. While it is important for Glaive to be the frontline for his team, he needs to make sure his allies are in a position to help Glaive should he be engaged upon. If caught out of position, Glaive can activate her
Afterburn as a means of running away from the enemy as well as
Bloodsong in order to lifesteal health. Glaive's allies will have to make a decision as to whether they should stay and help fight or use the time to retreat.
4. Be patient with
Afterburn. It is hard to predict how the enemy team will respond or where they might be lurking. If used to engage, be sure to know if the enemy's allies will be coming to their assistance by using a flare gun to check surrounding areas. Once enemies have built
Reflex Block, Glaive can run the risk of being caught out of position even more so waiting to use the knockback from
Afterburn may be smart.
1. Skill Skipping - In all of my guides, the suggested path for choosing abilities ALL involves skill skipping. What is skill skipping? A unique opportunity presents itself when all heroes reach level 5. The average player will simply choose an ability which most commonly is level 2 of their less important ability (Petal's Trampoline 'jump' is a good example). This ability does NOT provide a large benefit to the hero. In this guide I utilize skill skipping to achieve a level 4
Afterburn and a level 1
Bloodsong when I reach level 6. How does skill skipping work? When you reach level 5,
DO NOT SELECT AN ABILITY TO LEVEL UP. This is NEVER a disadvantage. Some players may find it unsettling that they have the option to improve one of their abilities but are choosing not to do so. However, once you reach level 6, you will be able to upgrade an ability to level 4 as well as getting your C Ability (
Blast Tremor) to level 1. This differs from normally having a Level 3, Level 2, and Level 1 ability when you reach level 6. However, if you do engage in an important team fight at level 5, it is okay to upgrade an ability at this point. Obviously it will help slightly. For
Glaive, this is his
Afterburn. At level 6, Glaive should have a level 1
Twisted Stroke, Level 1
Bloodsong, and Level 4
Afterburn. The additional base damage as well as the reduced cooldown are very helpful during teamfights.
2. Voice communication. While Vainglory does have userfriendly ping options which can to a degree communicate what to do between allies, voice communication is standard for any team based eSport. Being able to decide what actions to take in the upcoming 5 seconds before a teamfight such as who to focus as previously mentioned, is incredibly important. When using
Blast Tremor to initiate the fight, Catherine should communicate who the priority focus is and how her allies should follow up after the enemies have been silenced. My team prefers to use an iOS/PC app called Discord. Teamspeak or Skype are also good alternatives.
3. Be Patient. - Most
Glaive players may panic in a teamfight and try and use all of his abilities immediately. However, this may not be ideal. If the abilities are not used correctly, and in unison, this could be detrimental to both Glaive and his allies. Wait for the perfect scenario to use
Afterburn. If enemies are too far, Glaive may need to position closer, keeping in mind that his allies also need to be positioned correctly to follow up the engagement. Landing a successful
Afterburn can often have massive positive effects on a teamfight. Glaive should be patient enough and wait for an opening that will almost ensure she will land it successfully. Using
Afterburn on one of the enemy carries can often ensure they will be silenced as well as enable Glaive's allies to gain a better position to follow up the engagement.
4. Positioning. Positioning in team fights is very important. Similarly to how all ROAM heroes should be played (with the exception of Roam CP Adagio), Glaive will want to be the frontline meat shield for her allies. His goal is to absorb as much enemy damage as possible while Glaive's allies are attacking the enemies. However, unlike typical roam heroes such as Catherine or Ardan, Glaive is not as tanky and needs to be very careful with how much damage he is absorbing. Key items to his kit are
Fountain of Renewal, Warhorn, and
Crucible. All of these items will greatly increase the effectiveness of his ability to stay in the front and absorb damage while her allies are dishing it out.
THANK YOU to everyone who took the time to read and study my 1.17 ROAM
Glaive guide. Every situation is different and depending on what situation you are in will dictate exactly how to utilize this guide to your best benefit. This is by no means a definitive guide on how to play
Glaive but purely my interpretation of him as a hero in the ROAM role. I hope everyone is able to learn a thing or two in order to improve your own gameplay. Please feel free to comment with questions, criticism, or any feedback whatsoever so that I can continue writing guides that will best benefit the Vainglory community in the future.
If you're not already, follow me on Twitter
@TSMFlashX and be sure to catch my streams on Twitch
@FlashX.
Best,
FlashX
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