As there have been increasingly more people asking me how to use a certain active item or which hero can use which active item, I decided to write a brief analysis on this topic, so you will have an overall concept of the new items. I’ll rate the 3 items on a scale of 5 stars subjectively, as listed below:
Arctic Orb
The recently introduced Arctic Orb is worth a 4-star rating! This is also the item everyone most frequently asks after since the Talent - Endurance was removed from the game. The Arctic Orb affects the whole AOV balance with its low cost, easiness to assemble and pretty good item abilities. It is most often compared with Hecate’s Diadem, which lost its magic piece ability after the last patch. The Diadem, which used to be a general item used by most mages in the mid game, has now become a not so necessary item bought in the late game to maximize ability damage.
Furthermore, with the removal of the Diadem’s magic pierce, that leaves only Spoopy’s Mask and the Staff of Nuul with magic pierce boosts. I personally think very highly of Spoopy’s Mask, because it provides not only 100 ability power but also 75 magic pierce for only 960 gold. In the early and mid game, when the tanks only have a pair of Gilded Greaves and Belt of Clarity to shield themselves, a mage can cause an impressive amount of damage using Spoopy’s Mask if armed with suitable Arcanas.
I could go through even more details on these items, but I’d rather list the item builds in this patch for a few popular mages for your reference. Please take note that these item builds are tailored to my game style and personal opinions, I would strongly recommend you to adjust them to suit your play style and habits to better meet your needs.
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The side effects of this item is that it reduces damage when activated, but it also allows some heroes to become extremely hard to take down. Although its assembling route is unnecessarily complicated, it can greatly increase some heroes’ survival rates. I rate this item 3.5 stars, and I’ll also list some item builds that are acceptable with this item.
For this item, I think it’s only worth 2 stars. The reason for this is that although it gives a high life steal rate, you can only use normal attacks to activate it. From another aspect, let’s look among the most popular marksmen in the current build: The Joker, Violet, and Lindis. The Joker relies on his skill damage, not his normal attacks, which is obviously not suitable for this item. Violet also relies more on her skill damage and needs to stack up CD reduction and items in order to poke tons of damage with her first skill. She also doesn’t need the Bow of Slaughter. Lindis, on the other hand, can activate the Bow with her ultimate, making her the only one among the 3 most popular marksmen who can use the new active item.
Other heroes who can utilize the abilities of the Bow include Yorn, Slimz, Tel’Annas, Wisp, and Moren. However, these heroes lack escape skills and ability damage instead of life steal.
The above is my two cents on the 3 new active items, I encourage you to leave your thoughts below in the comments and I’ll try to reply to all of you!
Arctic Orb
The recently introduced Arctic Orb is worth a 4-star rating! This is also the item everyone most frequently asks after since the Talent - Endurance was removed from the game. The Arctic Orb affects the whole AOV balance with its low cost, easiness to assemble and pretty good item abilities. It is most often compared with Hecate’s Diadem, which lost its magic piece ability after the last patch. The Diadem, which used to be a general item used by most mages in the mid game, has now become a not so necessary item bought in the late game to maximize ability damage.
Furthermore, with the removal of the Diadem’s magic pierce, that leaves only Spoopy’s Mask and the Staff of Nuul with magic pierce boosts. I personally think very highly of Spoopy’s Mask, because it provides not only 100 ability power but also 75 magic pierce for only 960 gold. In the early and mid game, when the tanks only have a pair of Gilded Greaves and Belt of Clarity to shield themselves, a mage can cause an impressive amount of damage using Spoopy’s Mask if armed with suitable Arcanas.
I could go through even more details on these items, but I’d rather list the item builds in this patch for a few popular mages for your reference. Please take note that these item builds are tailored to my game style and personal opinions, I would strongly recommend you to adjust them to suit your play style and habits to better meet your needs.
- Lauriel: Orb of the Magi, Gilded Greaves, The Aegis, Arctic Orb, Holy of Holies, Hecate’s Diadem
- Tulen: Orb of the Magi, Gilded Greaves, Rhea’s Blessing, Spoopy’s Mask, Arctic Orb, Hecate’s Diadem (Upgrade Spoopy’s Mask to Staff of Nuul in late game)
- Liliana: Orb of the Magi, Enchanted Kicks, Boomstick, Spoopy’s Mask, Rhea’s Blessing, Hecate’s Diadem (Upgrade Spoopy’s Mask to Staff of Nuul in late game)
- The Flash: Orb of the Magi, Enchanted Kicks, Spoopy’s Mask, Apocalypse, Rhea’s Blessing, Hecate’s Diadem (Upgrade Spoopy’s Mask to Staff of Nuul in late game)
- Preyta: Orb of the Magi, Enchanted Kicks, Boomstick, Spoopy’s Mask, Rhea’s Blessing, Hecate’s Diadem (Upgrade Spoopy’s Mask to Staff of Nuul in late game)
- Raz: Gilded Greaves, Boomstick, Spoopy’s Mask, Rhea’s Blessing, Hecate’s Diadem, Holy of Holies (Upgrade Spoopy’s Mask to Staff of Nuul in late game)
~ The side effects of this item is that it reduces damage when activated, but it also allows some heroes to become extremely hard to take down. Although its assembling route is unnecessarily complicated, it can greatly increase some heroes’ survival rates. I rate this item 3.5 stars, and I’ll also list some item builds that are acceptable with this item.
- Taara: Leviathan, Gilded Greaves, Mantle of Ra, Medallion of Troy, Mail of Pain, Rock Shield
- Arum: Gilded Greaves, Knight’s Plate, Gaia’s Standard, Mail of Pain, Rock Shield, Amulet of Longevity (Upgrade Knight’s Plate to Shield of the Lost in the late game)
- Teemee: Gilded Greaves, Knight’s Plate, Gaia’s Standard, Asterion’s Buckler, Rock Shield, Mail of Pain (Upgrade Knight’s Plate to Shield of the Lost when you get Gaia’s Standard or in the late game)
For this item, I think it’s only worth 2 stars. The reason for this is that although it gives a high life steal rate, you can only use normal attacks to activate it. From another aspect, let’s look among the most popular marksmen in the current build: The Joker, Violet, and Lindis. The Joker relies on his skill damage, not his normal attacks, which is obviously not suitable for this item. Violet also relies more on her skill damage and needs to stack up CD reduction and items in order to poke tons of damage with her first skill. She also doesn’t need the Bow of Slaughter. Lindis, on the other hand, can activate the Bow with her ultimate, making her the only one among the 3 most popular marksmen who can use the new active item.
Other heroes who can utilize the abilities of the Bow include Yorn, Slimz, Tel’Annas, Wisp, and Moren. However, these heroes lack escape skills and ability damage instead of life steal.
The above is my two cents on the 3 new active items, I encourage you to leave your thoughts below in the comments and I’ll try to reply to all of you!
