Alpha is a Fighter role hero with moderate to high sustain and damage depending on your playstyle.
High Sustain means you need Festival of Blood as a Talent and prioritize Bloodlust Axe and Oracle.
High damage means full attack build with Endless Battle and Blade of Despair along with Bounty Hunter Talent.
He relies mainly on his skills, but combined with the item Endless Battle, his basic attacks become a whole lot deadlier.
He can deal high damage, provide crowd control, heal himself and is good at poking.
The difficulty of using Alpha is in his ultimate skill. You need to aim well since this is a very good CC skill. You won't be called a good Alpha user if you always missed your ult.
He also has a high carrying capacity for lower ranks (GM and below) but become more team-dependent as you climb up to the Mythic Rank.
But of course, you can also use him solo if you farm enough, making him an unkillable force in early to late game.
Skills Analysis
Passive: Beta, Advance!
When Beta hits an enemy with Alpha's skills, he will put a mark on them. After Beta hits the same enemy with a mark, Beta will deal true damage three times to that enemy.
A crucial part of Alpha's kit that can deal unexpected damage and melt tanks. Be sure to always proc his passive on enemies to make sure he deals as much damage as possible.
Skill 1: Rotary Impact
Deals minimal damage in a long but thin line which will slow down enemies. Beta will then shoot bullets following its path a little bit afterwards.
This skill is best for poking enemies in a safe range. With a relatively short cooldown and low mana cost, you can continuously poke the enemies at ease.
The only thing that you must take note of this skill is the fact that Beta might not hit the enemy if the target moves away immediately so be sure to predict the target's movement too so that you can tilt your aim a little to secure a hit from this skill along with your passive.
Skill 2: Force Swing
Deals damage in a conical area in front of Alpha which will slow enemies. This skill will heal Alpha and give him attack speed depending on how much enemies he has hit. Beta will also deal damage afterwards.
Alpha's main damaging skill. Use this skill to deal high damage to enemies that get too close or to heal himself, which works on minions. When low on HP in middle to late game, don't recall unless you need mana as well. Paired with Bloodlust Axe, you can use this skill on a large horde of minions to instantly get HP back without having to recall back to base to waste time.
Moreover, when pushing, use this skill on enemy minions when they are approaching to increase self's attack speed for pushing. Keep in mind that Alpha can use this skill while moving, so if you're being chased, you can use this skill on enemies that are close by to heal yourself and slow them without having to stop yourself.
Skill 3: Spear of Alpha
Launches himself to the target location which will knock up enemies along the way as he is flying towards the area. Then, Beta will continuously shoot at the targeted area.
Alpha's only mobility and CC skill. When targeting this skill, make sure that you hit as much enemies as possible. You don't have to always target them at the tip, you can shoot over them and still knock them up nonetheless. Also, when the area is targeted, the enemies are stunned before Alpha flies towards them, so use this to your advantage.
Don't always immediately use this skill when you see a gank potential. Save it for later when they are escaping. Even though this skill has a relatively short cooldown, you should still save it for the best moments. Of course, you can immediately use it if you are too far away from the enemy that you are trying to gank or initiate a team fight.
In short, it depends on your team composition. Your team cannot rely on Alpha's ult as your main initiating skill in teamfights. Alpha is not a hard CC hero unlike the likes of Guinevere and Chou that has knock up effects even without their ults.
Skills Upgrade Guide
Unlock Skill 1 at level 1.
Then prioritize skill 2 until it reacg maximum level
Upgrade your ult every 4 levels. At level 4, 8, and 12.
Skill Combo:
His basic combo is
3-2-1-BA
Or
3-2-BA-1
Explanation: Use ultimate to dive into the team fight or get close to your target. Immediately use skill 2 to deal massive damage and activate passive. You can choose to basic attack afterwards or use first skill immediately.
By the time you finish basic attacking, use skill one first to give a mark and then use skill 2 to heal yourself, deal damage and activate passive again.
When paired with Endless Battle, your basic attacks can deal true damage every time after you use a skill. So be sure to use even just one basic attack after every skill to maximize the effect of Endless Battle.
Preparations
The emblems that I recommend are:
Fighter with Festival of Blood Talent
Or
Assassin with Bounty Hunter Talent
Festival of Blood gives more spell vamp which means sustain.
Bounty Hunter Talent gives you extra gold after getting a kill.
The spells that I recommend are:
Retribution - for faster farming
Or
Petrify - additional CC effect because this spell stuns nearby enemies.
The items that I recommend are:
Boots:
Warrior Boots
For extra defense and movement speed. This can be replaced with Demon Shoes if you are facing mana problems.
Rapid Boots is also good for lower rank since high mobility means you can rotate faster.
Items:
Endless Battle
Its passive makes Alpha able to deal true damage with his basic attack after using a skill. This pairs really well with Alpha's skill combo. The extra lifesteal, mana regeneration and 10% cooldown reduction from this item also helps too.
Bloodlust Axe
Aside from the 10% cooldown reduction, it also gives Alpha + 70 attack power. The spell vamp works very well with Alpha's second skill, Force Swing, where it can increase his heal even more.
Rose Gold Meteor
When Alpha is low from diving into the team, the extra shield from Rose Gold Meteor's unique passive can increase Alpha's sustainability. The lifesteal from this item gives Alpha just enough lifesteal to survive in sticky situations.
For more indepth explanation about this item, search for Rose Gold Meteor Item Review.
Wings of the Apocalypse Queen
A perfect item to increase Alpha's sustainability. Aside from the extra damage and cooldown reduction, it will give Alpha damage reduction and lifesteal when he is low at health. Paired with Rose Gold Meteor, Alpha will hold up very well in one against many types of situations.
This can be replaced with Immortality if you don't want to die too much.
Immortality - A perfect super late game item. One of the most used item in Professional Tournaments.
Blade of Despair
This gives him massive damage. This helps a lot when enemies are at low health as well because it will increase his damage, in turn increasing his sustain from Bloodlust Axe.
Oracle
The passive of this item increases HP Regen and this works with Alpha's Massive Sustain. This item also gives Cooldown Reduction and Magic Resistance. This is perfect against two or more magic burst damage opponents.
Dominance Ice
This item is situational. Auto build this item when you are against Lesley or Bruno. This gives armor, mana, crit chance reduction, and Cooldown Reduction too.
For me, this is a better armor item for Alpha than the Antique Cuirass that only gives +54 Armor compared to the +70 Armor that Dominance Ice gives. The passive of this item also lowers movement speed and attack speed of nearby opponents.
Build this to counter melee heroes that relies on basic attack like Sun.
Recommended Builds
For Lower Ranks
- Rapid Boots
- Bloodlust Axe
- Endless Battle
- Blade of Despair
- Rose Gold Meteor
- Wings of the Apocalypse Queen
Semitank build
- Warrior Boots
- Bloodlust Axe
- Oracle
- Dominance Ice
- Endless Battle
- Immortality
Assassin Build
- Warrior Boots
- Bloodlust Axe
- Endless Battle
- Blade of Despair
- Wings of the Apocalypse Queen
- Immortality
Gameplay
Early Game:
When the game starts, buy Hunter's knife as your first item and you may prioritize Pillager's Axe only if you have retribution as your battle spell.
I will give two ways to get to level 4 easily at the same time, delaying the leveling up and gold earned by the opponent in your lane:
1. Immediately go to either top or bottom lane. Hide in a bush and wait for the enemy to come. When they get near you, use your second skill to deal damage on them. Clear the first minion wave and kill the lizard monster if you're going to the top lane; or the purple bug if you're going to the bottom lane and do not use retribution.
2. If you are the who was pressured while laning, hide in your turret and wait for the minions to come then poke them with your first skill.
It really depends on what skill you unlock first and your playstyle. Learn to adapt in every situation and it can only be learned and enhanced through experience.
Next step to be in level 4 is...
You will need retribution to steal the crab. Do not take the buff if your other teammates need it. If they don't, then gladly take it as it will help increase your level a lot.
Another tip: If you are low health, you can use skill 2 on minions to heal yourself unless there is an opponent to pressure you.
Your leveling to level 4 will be delayed until 2:30 if you recall.
When you reach level 4, go and find a place to gank. If you can't find an opening in your lane, rotate to middle lane to gank. A successful gank can set the start for a heavy snowball for the rest of the game.
MidGame:
Stick with your team as much as possible since Alpha is still quite squishy. Take part in all team fights and keep the enemy's farm under control. Continue to gank a lot during the game to ensure the enemies don't get enough farm.
Late Game:
By the time you reach late game, you should still stick with your team. Alpha is very important when it comes to team fights, as a good ultimate can change the tide of battle.
You may roam away from your team to lanes without any support to clear the wave and split push. If you see enemies coming for you in the minimap, run back to your team.
Never be late to a team fight - You might be the only one capable of initiating a team fight. Your team will also depend on your damage and crowd-control.
Tips and Tricks
1. You may not use Demon Shoes while having enough mana sustain by buying two magic necklace after buying Hunter's Knife. Master this trick because this is very helpful.
The two magic necklace can be used to build Endless Battle later on.
2. It is best to switch to Warrior Boots in late game. After you got full build, sell Demon Shoes because it won't be that useful in the latter part of the game.
3. To lessen recalling, use skill 2 in minion waves and jungle monsters.
4. When the tank is the initiator in your team, you may reserve your ultimate skill to secure kills or surprise enemies by having that reserved CC skill.
5. Try using Jungle Emblem if it reaches level 40 already. In order for this to be effective, you should have mastered Alpha's Rotation already. Use Mage Killer Talent with plus Damage to Monsters and Attack Speed on the First 2 tiers of the Jungle Emblem.
This gives you much more carrying capacity in higher ranks. You may solo kill turtle starting level 4 and solo kill lord starting level 12 with two damage items.
Comment if may gusto po kayong info na idagdag para na rin po malaman ng nga newbies. Thanks for reading
