With the Autumn Season of Vainglory kicking off, players must break their old habits and start anew with an overhauled meta. Part of this quest is battle readiness, and packed in its core incentive comes the implementation of two new items—Healing Flask and Spellsword. Both seek to encourage players to act more resourcefully in life-threatening situations. Broken Myth is here to break down the immediate and long-term effects of the two new Vainglory items that debuted in Update 2.8.
HEALING FLASK
- Activate: Block 115-500 (level 1-12) damage and recover 30% health and energy over the next 5s. (120s cooldown).
- Buy: 300 gold | Sell: 0 gold
- Automatically in inventory upon start of Standard matches
The bong wasn’t enough.
The shopkeeper has returned from his long summer’s break of Twitch moderating and debating Twitter kids whining about how “this game sucks” to fill the Blitz Bar’s latest drink with the hottest… sugar.
With the removal of Halcyon Potions and addition of Healing Flask, lane and jungle carries alike are forced to use their ale carefALEy. In the lane, the first few minutes of the match get off to a slower start (factor: meta changes), which in turn changes the face of aggression before Kraken spawn. Meanwhile, in the brush below, battles become more intense with higher stakes in the likes of reaction timing, ultimately impacting the effectiveness of early game burst damage from junglers; especially crystal mages. Moving into the mid game, Flask’s 30% health and energy mechanic scales well with an influx of major defensive purchases around this time. Most players should return Flask post-Kraken spawn to make inventory room to complete their build path.
Because of its free nature, Healing Flask is essential to hold onto until the mid game on most heroes. The barrier it provides is strong against early game burst damage like Reim’s Winter Spire or Kestrel’s Glimmershot. However, something to note about the barrier is that all heroes benefit from it the same when timed cautiously since it scales with your current health. Something to keep mind of—rotations: Currently, you can activate Healing Flask, return home, and travel through your rotation at normal pace for Flask to still be on a 20-30 second cooldown. Plan out when you’re going to activate this item as it’s not as “free” as Halcyon Potion was. Activate it when you’re sure to utilize its barrier and massive healing rather than just as a miniature Fountain of Renewal. Healing Flask’s percentage-based mechanic provides it with more effectiveness in the later portions of the match compared to his late brother. It’s important to emphasize that Flask is not a replacement for other defensive items like Reflex Block, and is not intended to be kept later on.
SPELLSWORD
- Passive: Every basic attack grants you 3 energy (9 on heroes).
- +90 weapon power
- +35% cooldown speed
- +2.5 energy recharge
- Build: Six Sins and Chronograph
- Buy: 2600 gold | Sell: 1300 gold
One minion’s foot, three mandibles, Julia …
Baewitched Celeste is back to brewing, but this time it’s not for her. Red-decked heroes struggling to cast through the duration of enemy interactions rejoice at the new dark magic, and Katy Perry has already requested Part 2 of her music video to be shot in this pot. Hourglass and Chronograph couldn’t find the right time of day to represent the swinging blues amongst their red counterparts.
Spellsword finds a spot in page two of Lyra’s book, and coupled with a second heavy hitting weapon item, the shopkeeper will be happy to see his new creation in full swing. Players must remember that this is not an item for all heroes, and instead benefits heroes running weapon paths that require bulk energy to stay in the fray. Throughout tests, we’ve found that on heroes like Alpha, Glaive, and Kestrel, rushing Sorrowblade followed by Spellsword brings out its darkest magic. Other heroes that may encounter success with Spellsword purchased are Joule, Krul, Skye, and occasionally captains as a third or fourth tier three item (Grace and Lyra). It’s also important to note that Spellsword’s core utility is not brewed in its passive on-hit energy gain—rather, the passive stats it provides.
Spellsword’s addition to the shop will shed a few extra rays of light onto heroes that struggle with engages just out of reach. By restoring a small amount of energy with every basic attack, weapon carries are able to sustain through fights. More importantly, it combines an aspect of both the weapon and crystal item tree to decrease hero cooldown timers without sacrificing an additional item slot. On heroes that tend to hit a power spike in the early to mid game, consider purchasing Spellsword as your first or second tier three item. On heroes that reach their power spike in the mid to late game, purchasing Spellsword should occur as your third tier three item.
That’s a wrap! Update 2.8 released this week, so jump onto the Fold and see Healing Flask and Spellsword in action. Be on the lookout for our Vainglory 2.8 Update Review releasing this week on our YouTube channel.