Gameplay Style with Skaarf Top
I like to think of Skaarf like a glass cannon. He can dish out massive damage, but he's extremely squishy, and so playing him takes a certain level of skill - and a good set of allies. There are two main ways the enemy team can counter you: 1) They gank you, or 2) They cancel your ultimate. For the most part, playing Skaarf requires you to stay in the background, he's squishy. But, there are key moments when you do want to put yourself in the middle of a team-fight - mostly to use your ultimate.
- Team Fights: When the enemy team waste their stunning abilities, you can safely use your ultimate - Eve of Harvest and your high crystal power will allow you to stay alive. It's not hard to kill two of the three enemy players by doing this, and it becomes easier if you have an ally that can stun them. This becomes especially challenging when the enemy team has several hero's that can stun you, or if their stunning abilities have a fast cooldown (like Catherine's Merciless Pursuit). If this is the case, I recommend building Crucible.
- Lane in Early/Mid Game: Let's face it, Skaarf is squishy, and he has a very short range, all of which makes him vulnerable to ganking. Skaarf's low powered auto-attack also makes it difficult to get gold in the early game, especially if you have a teammate laner - this is why I always get an Iron Guard Contract. If you don't have a teammate in lane, you'll likely spend most of your time pressed against your turret - it takes quite a bit of practice before you can reliably get gold while doing this. Once you hit level 8 and have maxed your Goop ability, and once you've built up some crystal power, getting gold becomes a breeze. You can take out whole chunks of enemy minions at once, and by late game you can take out an enemy turret with two Goop/Spitfires. A final note on laning: early game laning can make or break you as a Skaarf player. If you die too much from enemy ganks, or if you cannot score gold efficiently, the enemy will both level up faster than you, and they'll get their tier three items first. It's hard to come back from a bad start like that. Play conservatively and don't push lane.
- Heroic Perk: Don't forget about Skaarf's Fan the Flames ability, most of your enemies do. This can be very useful in both early and late game. In early laning you can force the enemy back with a well placed Spitfire or Goop/Spitfire and a few follow up auto attacks. During late game the enemy is usually too focused on your tanky allies to concern themselves with your "heroic perk." Big mistake. You can take out even the tankiest of characters in a handful of second, given that damage Fan the Flames is based on a percent of the enemies health.
Build Explanation Top
- Why No Defense: Like I said before, Skaarf is squishy. There is no point in trying to make him a tank, or even in beefing up his defense past Journey Boots (unless your team has no tank player on it). Instead, I argue that you should model your build around his strengths, and adjust your play style to accommodate his weaknesses. His ultimate has gains an extra 600% crystal power, so why not build more crystal power? With three Shatter Glasses you can steal the Kraken, and you can snipe enemy turrets with two Goops. Not to mention, tank characters basically don't exist on the enemy team anymore - I've never encountered an enemy that could survive my ultimate late game. With Eve of Harvest and your high crystal damage, you can also stay alive for longer, especially during team fights, and during end game you can 1v1 pretty effectively as well. Finally, don't be afraid to play Dragon Breath chicken late game, you win every time.
- Why Max Goop Instead of Spitfire: Most of the other guides I've seen have suggested you max Spitfire over Goop. There are several reasons I choose to max Goop: 1) During late game play you can take out enemy turrets in about 15 seconds (Goop/Spitfire) while putting yourself at minimal risk - I call this sniping enemy turrets 2) Goop can do loads more damage if you time it correctly - when Koshka uses her ultimate, or when your ally stuns an enemy, for example 3) You can use Goop to protect your Kraken from enemy melee hero's 4) Goop is very effective a killing/unleashing the Kraken 5) You can get gold very quickly in mid/late game 6) You can protect yourself from Petals Munions more effectively 7) It's more difficult to miss with Goop 8) Goop can effect a group of enemies, which is more helpful for team fights 8) Maxing Goop make the cooldown time similar to that of Spitfire, so you can use the Goop/Spitfire combo more effectively and more often.
The Game Itself Top
Start off with the suggested gear and head to lane. I usually go for the bushes towards the bottom, but that's a personal preference. Throw a Spitfire at the larger enemy minion and continue to hit it with auto-attacks. If you time it well that larger minion will die from your Fan the Flames Heroic Perk, and you can switch your auto-attack quickly to the now-almost-dead minion that your minions have been working on for you. After this point you just repeat the cycle - every time a new batch of minions comes your way, Spitfire/auto-attack the larger one and then switch to the smaller one right before it dies. Once you get Goop you can start to rack up gold a little more quickly. Don't be afraid to use your Halcyon Potions for energy, it's how you get more gold. Don't push lane too much, and just continue to rack up gold until you reach about 2,000. Then ping your allies to lane so they can cover for you while you had back to the shop. Buy a Void Battery, Heavy Prism, Sprint Boots, and more Halcyon Potions (4x). Head back to lane and stay there until you get 2,000 gold again. At this point you'll want to get your Eve of Harvest and work your way towards your first Shatterglass. After you've built Shatterglass, buy Travel Boots. At this point you just continue building Shatterglasses until you essentially become unstoppable. Once you get two Shatterglasses you can start sniping enemy turrets (it only takes two Goop/Spitfires), and you can steal/unleash the Kraken easily with your ultimate. Just stick around your allies or a turret the whole time and play conservatively and you should be fine. Remember, you have a lot of power, but you can only use it when it's safe to do so; wait for your enemies to waste their stunning abilities before you use your ultimate, and don't push lane too far unless you have support from your tanky allies.
The Kraken Top
Okay, most people avoid the Kraken unless your team just got an Ace. Now, for the most part this is a good idea. But, if your allies are willing to help you out, and if they are tanky enough, the Kraken can be a great idea during late game, even if the other team is alive. With your high crystal power, and your maxed ultimate you don't have to worry about the enemy taking the Kraken - just start up your ultimate when the Kraken is at about two-thirds health.
Feedback Top
I've practiced a lot with Skaarf, but I'm always open for feedback. Please leave comments below!
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