Heroic Bowling. Test Ball. A Pilot Guide to the Gamer.ru Knowledge Base.
So, the time has come, comrades. I have waited a long time for this moment, gathering strength, maturing, becoming more experienced and all that — now I, no, we — are ready. I'm starting a whole series of posts, which I hope will be the gold (in every sense) of the Gamer.ru knowledge base. In the Heroes of Newerth blog, there will now and henceforth regularly appear detailed, high-quality, relevant, accessible to everyone, and easy-to-read tips and guides. Tired of pros writing only for those similar to themselves? Don’t know how to play a particular hero? Want to rank higher, be better, cooler, stronger, and more solid? Excellent! This is all specially for you.
Just a picture to attract attention
As part of this cycle, I will provide recommendations for playing each hero with consideration of small and not so small tricks. Additionally, there will be general guides (like the sacred meaning of runes and the science of disappearing into the shadows). There will be no cluttering of terminology or unverified statements — clear, accessible, high quality, and all that.
Here’s another important point I want to highlight. I have already written tips on popular cyber disciplines in my life. In particular, about DotA. Some, probably, even read them in the magazine “Best Computer Games”. At that time, I encountered a very aggressive backlash. The reasons were clear — my level of experience was, let's say, not very high. However, since then, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge, so we will divide the guides into those suitable for real professionals and those that are exclusively for coordinated team play, and those that are suitable for everyone and written for "pub stomping" ("pub" refers to a normal casual game). Thus, I urge everyone who considers me unqualified and a noob — look at whom these tips are meant for. Put your ego away, and better engage in something useful and noble.
If, however, you, out of kindness, want to civilly point out errors, inaccuracies, and shortcomings to the author — feel free to do so in the comments. Posts can be edited — I will definitely add sensible corrections and, of course, mention their author.
**I’ve lost all the screenshots from Armadon, so for now, I’m just putting up illustrative ones. Over time, I will replace them with in-game ones when I get this cute spiky fellow again.**
Today's test post is Armadon. The hero is very interesting and cute, even though he’s a bit lacking in brains. Why him? Perhaps because many players (both random and friends) have a very vague idea of what to buy, how to level him up, and what to do at all. Let’s first figure out why this happens.
The reasons for failure when playing as Armadon stem from DotA, as the hero hasn’t changed at all since then. He can still spit snot, takes less damage when hit from behind or from the sides, tosses out spikes, runs fast, and hits hard. In other words, he has no stunning spells, no invisibility or teleportation that could help him escape or sneak up, Armadon lacks "nukes" (spells that deal a lot of damage), and his ultimate doesn’t drastically change the gameplay style. All his skills are relatively cheap, but require frequent use — the snot has a stacking effect, the spikes hit harder if summoned constantly… for that you need mana, and from this need, all the harmful ideas that ruin the game grow.
So, let’s determine Armadon’s role in the team. He is a pure tank who should take the hit. He is the one who will run into the fray under fire and still smear the enemy with snot. The one who boldly crashes into the crowd, scaring the enemy, causing panic and confusion. But to do all this, a serious artifact base is needed. Despite his remarkable talents, Armadon is weak and useless without the proper “cosmetics.” Let's break down some options for purchasing and skill development for different game situations. But first, let’s get to know the hero better.
What are we rich in?
Snot Storm
Armadon firmly collects his thoughts and then joyfully blows snot at the enemy, picturing himself as the Bogerman. This unclean act decreases the enemy's movement speed by 20%, and each subsequent spit exacerbates the deleterious effects of the snot.
Type: Magic
Distance: 600
Mana cost: 30 at all levels
Cooldown: 1.5 seconds at all levels
Duration: 5 seconds (meaning you can only apply 4 charges at once)
First level: 3% speed reduction and -1 armor
Second level: 6% speed reduction and -1 armor
Third: 9% speed reduction and -2 armor
Fourth: 12% speed reduction and -2 armor
This spell should be learned first regardless of the circumstances. Slowing down, with cheap costs, is very important. You can help an ally (kill or save) protect yourself, or participate in a coordinated attack (in-game language, this is called a "gank"). In general, this will make you somewhat useful. At the second level, you can act according to the situation, but at the first — you must learn to snot the enemies.
Spine Burst
Armadon unleashes spikes from his back in all directions, painfully pricking all present enemies. And as if that weren’t enough, the needles that pierce the enemy's body for 10 seconds increase the damage from the next explosion by 30.
Type: Physical attack
Distance: 650
Mana cost: 35 at all levels
Cooldown: 3 seconds at all levels
Duration: 10 seconds (meaning you can only apply 4 charges at once)
First level: 20 damage
Second level: 40
Third level: 60
Fourth level: 80
The primary attacking spell. Weak, but quickly recharges, so we will engage in numbers. The spikes are good because they don’t require aiming — the hero's control doesn't break. They are considered a physical attack, so they work even through magical immunities. They hit very hard when a serious crowd charges at Armadon. They are suitable for safely finishing off enemy creeps (a settled term that denotes creatures controlled by the computer that go down the lane or live in the woods) when the opponent doesn’t let you breathe… but developing them first isn't always wise. So we move on to the next skill.
Thus, we can finish off enemies
Armordillo
Armadon spreads his spikes such that they reduce the damage he receives, but only when he is hit from behind or the sides. For every 250 damage he receives to his spiny back, a free Spine Burst is summoned.
Type: Passive
First level: damage from behind is reduced by 10%, from the sides by 5%
Second level: 20%/10%
Third level: 30%/15%
Fourth level: 40%/20%
Here it is, our main distinction from all other tanks — real armor. In combination with other damage-absorbing items, Armadon’s spiny back becomes an impenetrable wall. It can be very hard to kill him even in a five-man situation, especially if there are many casters on the team — their basic attacks become useless. Armadon’s armor is also good because it deals retaliation damage. And in combination with charges from Spine Burst, this retaliation can become very unpleasant. In general, the spiny back (and sides) is our main “role” skill. Sometimes it’s better to level it up before Spine Burst when emergency tank support is needed, for example.
Restless
The spells stir Armadon’s blood. This agitated blood rushes through his veins, supplying his muscles with oxygen, making the hero run faster and hit harder. With each successive charge from spells, the increases in damage and speed grow.
Type: Passive
First level: 10 damage, 4 per charge; 4% speed, 1% per charge
Second level: 20 damage, 8 per charge; 5% speed, 2% per charge
Third level: 30 damage, 12 per charge; 7% speed, 3% per charge
Due to this spell, many often buy unnecessary items. Yes, Armadon runs faster, and he hits harder than a well-fed agile character, but… our role in the team is a tank, not a damage dealer. Moreover, the increase in damage in the early stages is not that great, and we lack mana to maintain Restless charges. Thus, you get a picture — charged Armadon rushes into the crowd, starts poking the enemy with his club, and they all run away, another one takes his place to take a couple of hits and also run away. Mana runs out, the benefit from the “ult” (from the term Ultimate — the last, most powerful skill) is proportionate to the supply of magical energy and fades. That's pretty much it. However, in the mid-game and at later levels, Restless will give Armadon decent damage (up to 78), plus speed. Combined with snot and something stunning — it turns out excellently.
We have established what we can do. Next. What’s good about Armadon?
Thick-skinned — practically unkillable at a certain stage, probably one of the best tanks in the game.
High starting damage — we can finish off creeps with a smile. Both our own and the enemy's — we can ruin the enemy's entire life.
There is an escape mechanism — snot to the pursuer and make a run for it.
Slowing down helps allies. Killing enemies is easy.
We can finish off creeps from a distance, plus we often weaken the opponent painfully.
A serious increase in intelligence allows us to hope that we won’t have mana problems later.
We’ve cleared the pros, now let’s say a few words about the cons.
Very low strength gain for a tank — we depend on artifacts more than any other hero.
We completely lack mana, and even a high increase doesn’t help.
No nukes (strong spells — the term Nuke), we also lack stunning spells, which is why in the first half of the game, we are rather useless without proper team support.
Without a team, Armadon is sad and often dies. He cannot kill anyone on his own until the mid-game. Without support from allies, our spiky friend is absolutely useless.
Armadon cannot compete with late-game heroes (that is, heroes who are strong toward the end of the game, from the word Late), no matter how quickly he hits — the enemies will always be faster.
These "rules" are very harsh — crossing the line can mean the game is lost. Armadon without considerable health and armor is useless. All exceptions can usually be attributed to the incompetence of opponents.
From experience: Armadon is a pure tank. All deviations where the focus is not on armor but on dealing damage in normal games with more or less adequate opponents (in our case, with a kill-death ratio of at least one-to-one) are punished immediately. Don’t experiment — that’s the path to defeat. At least for this hero — definitely.
Skill Sequence
Let’s move on to the main thing — the order of skills. I believe that two-thirds of players make mistakes here. It’s clear why — the spikes deal damage, and everyone wants to kill. No other skill of Armadon deals damage as painfully… hence, basically. As a result, you get a damaged hero who can do nothing. But, as known, in every game there are options and everything depends on the situation you are in. Let’s examine several examples.
Suppose we are on the lane with an ally who has a slow (Plague Rider, for instance). Our task #1 is to provide snot support, so we’ll take Snot Storm first. This way, we can slow down the enemy who is fleeing or trying to catch us/our buddy. The second task is to provide a frontline, to take the hit. That is to say, I will develop armor first and then the spikes. If the enemy allows us to get close, snot him, and hit him, then it's worth learning Restless by the sixth level. If not, then we should max out armor, develop the spikes, while collecting something for mana recovery, and only then pay attention to the ultimate.
In general terms, the set looks like this:
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Level 1: Snot Storm
Level 2: Armordillo
Level 3: Spine Burst
Level 4: Armordillo
Level 5: Armordillo
Level 6: Restless or Spine Burst
Level 7: Armordillo
Level 8: Spine Burst
Level 9: Spine Burst or Restless if not picked at 6
Level 10: Attribute Boost (the “pluses”)
Level 11: Restless
Level 12-15: Attribute Boost
Level 16: Restless
Level 17-22: Attribute Boost
Level 23-25: Snot Storm
In the second example, the situation will be much more fun — we dominate. The enemy is suppressed and has fallen into despair. For example, this is two late-game melee heroes — Magebane with Night Hound or any other strength hero without nukes or with low mana reserves (like Magmus and Pestilence). Here we have a field day — the enemy gets slapped by a hypothetically shooting ally, and we aggressively push him away from the creeps. In this situation, we need to consolidate our advantage, how? The first step is once again to level that snot — it’s always useful, that’s an axiom. Secondly, let’s grow the spikes on the back — this will give us additional spikes when we take 250 damage to the back. Then from levels three to seven we learn Spine Burst and scare the enemy off even more effectively, but in such a way that we always keep some mana reserve. At any moment, we must be ready to snot the enemy — to escape or catch up.
The overall picture looks like this:
Level 1: Snot Storm
Level 2: Armordillo
Levels 3-5: Spine Burst
Level 6: Restless
Level 7: Spine Burst
Levels 8-10: Attribute Boost
Level 11: Restless
Level 12-15: Attribute Boost
Level 16: Restless
Levels 17-19: Attribute Boost
Levels 20-22: Armordillo
Levels 23-25: Snot Storm
Finally, the third example — a really good one. We are on the lane with Nymphora, she restores mana. In this case, we must develop Spine Burst as quickly as possible. We still take snot at the first level, forget about armor, at the sixth take Restless and fling spikes non-stop. The enemies are left broke, and we earn money, and occasionally get kills. Healing Nymphora is also good in that we can focus on expensive artifacts of non-primary necessity before then buy cheap ones.
Adapt to the situation — any modeling in HoN (like in DotA) is absolutely unpredictable; it only provides an approximate scheme that cannot be applied universally.
Items
Armadon is one of the few heroes who are critically dependent on artifacts. Buying the wrong thing transforms him from weak to useless. Clearly, that’s not our goal, so let’s pick a nicer outfit for our spiky friend.
There are also several variations here (and, in fact, there are many more than in skills) — everything depends, firstly, on the starting cash amount and how much you'll be earning. The starting purchase, in principle, is standard for everyone; the set is just a bit different. That’s attributes plus health regeneration. In our case, we also add a helmet. So the inventory looks as follows:
Or like this:
This honestly doesn’t particularly affect the game’s course because in just 5-10 minutes we’ll be buying the missing item from the forest shop:
And then again, depending on the situation. If mages are giving us a hard time, we gather a cheap health item (assuming that we are very sad and not earning money), plus slowly but surely we accumulate for magic resistance. That turns out like this:
A more or less normal tank should carry these artifacts:
Plus, somewhere in between, you need to buy boots and upgrade them:
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If mages are seriously overwhelming, we save for the Barrier Idol, the team will thank you:
If no one is overwhelming anymore, we continue bulking up acceleratedly. To do this, we’ll have to gather an expensive “heart,” but it is undoubtedly worth it. Alternatively, we can think about a Null Stone, but only if there are single target stunners, not mass ones:
If things are going well for us, then we can build anti-hero defense that will deal very, very, very painful damage to the enemies. Barbed Armor combined with Armadon’s natural spikes is a very sturdy and annoying pairing for any melee fighter:
There's also an option with expensive ice armor which can really solve all the mana-related issues, solidify our position, and help our allies. Mock of Brilliance would help allies even more, but I’ve rarely seen it. Usually, Armadon doesn’t get that much food. We’ll also add a speed-up armor to this:
Now about the items that are highly desirable, but absolutely not worth buying. Here are these items:
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Why? The answer is humorously simple — we don’t need any of this because it interferes with fulfilling our main role in the team — tanking everything and anything. Money goes to useless artifacts from all sides, and health doesn't increase. Ultimately, we end up with a completely incapable Armadon, who can’t even kill anyone, but can be killed by everyone.
This is how the right Armadon should be equipped
I repeat, no matter how much you want to buy all those items — resist it. It’s hard. Many won’t succeed, but… I believe in you, honestly.
We have covered most of the nuances of personal play; now let’s move on to allies and enemies. To know whom to beware of and what to do and how.
Allies and Enemies
Let’s start with friends. Here, the logic is, in principle, simple — ideally, you want a shooting partner who will additionally irritate enemies by firing at them from a safe distance. Also, he doesn't need to run to the enemy, which partially relieves the chance of getting stuck in creeps. Ideally, this should be someone with slowing or stunning abilities. A typical lane situation will be like this. If the buddy stuns, then ideally he starts the attack at the moment when our creatures are left without resistance. That way, we hit the enemy together with support from the creeps for 1-2 seconds. Immediately, we snot so the fleeing one doesn’t escape. Ally shoots, and we repeat until he’s crispy-crunchy.
This is how we slow down to escape. The reverse is also true
In other words, any heroes who can shoot along with stunning or slowing abilities are suitable partners for us. And there are indeed a lot of them. Melee heroes also look pretty good, especially Swiftblade. Snot combined with his spin is a guaranteed kill in most cases. A list of good allies looks something like this:
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The list of heroes we shouldn’t meet on the lane isn’t too large. However, Armadon’s worst enemies are usually fatal for him. They take him down, deprive him of mana, and do all sorts of bad things. For instance, the Legionnaire is dangerous because he turns Armadon to face him, losing all the benefits of the back shield. The Puppeteer can do anything; losing control means death. Also dangerous are slowers — we have no stuns, so we won’t be able to escape quickly. Anyone with persistent slowing effects is potentially our killer. For instance, Arachna, Kraken, Shaman. If not them, then the enemy team will finish him off — beware. All other heroes in HoN don’t especially stand out in terms of threat, so there is no special need to fear them.
An illustrative example of tanking
Here’s the list of those we fear:
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Final Words
In conclusion, I want to note that learning is easy. The main thing is not to make thoughtless moves, always analyze the situation. Predict what the opponent might do in the next moment — because, in reality, it’s not that difficult. Look into the future and try not to die — kills will come with experience, and keeping deaths at zero should already start at the beginning.
At the end of this colorful and illustrative post, I would like to introduce myself to the wide public. Here’s a screenshot of my stats so far. Feel free to add me as a friend, perhaps we’ll play together. Well, I hope these stats will at least somewhat confirm my level.