Strategy 3

Building and Playing Taka in 1.4.0 [Narrated Gameplay Video]

Back in February, I heavily evangelized a “burst Taka” build with Tension Bow, Aftershock, and Broken Myth. However, that feels like an eternity ago and Vainglory has evolved rapidly since then, with many changes to items, heroes, and the meta. As a result, I frequently see people on Reddit and the forums asking how they should be building Taka now or if he’s even a viable pick.

In short, Taka is not only viable, but he can be outright terrifying when built and played properly. After much experimentation and testing, I believe the end result is a Taka that is strong throughout all phases of the game, including his infamously weak early game. While I work on a more extensive write-up and guide, here’s a video to get you started. The biggest thing I’m going to ask of you is to open your mind… and cease to use Tension Bow.  <gasp>

— Gadianton

P.S. Unlike my April Fools post, this one is for real.

 

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3 Comments

  • Inkeyes
    May 12, 2015 12:27 pm

    I really enjoy what you did with Taka, although i do appreciate the bursty Taka a little more, and a lot more than the 6 CW Taka (that was a sin). But as a carry, i still think bursting down a person (especially another carry) helps team fight a lot more than the very high and consistent damage this Taka offers. All you gotta do is turn him into a zombie and stab a sword into the chest, then you will have a perfect carry.

    • Gadianton
      May 12, 2015 1:43 pm

      I had to think long and hard about which video to post. I knew I was taking a risk by posting one that was a difficult match. However, if you take a look at the majority of games when I play Taka this way, the matches are *very* one-sided. What I’m trying to say is that what you’re seeing in this video is long past the experimentation phase and it’s something that is delivering consistent results. I’m expecting this to give Taka players another option that is proven and successful. In particular, the meta right now is very crystal damage heavy and having some more weapon carries could really help.

      Here’s my observations from playing a ton of Taka over the past 6 months. I respect your opinion, so let me know if you agree or disagree.

      Burst Builds:

      (1) By trying to build Tension Bow or crystal damage, he has a *very* weak early game. A smart opponent will bully him out of his own jungle and starve him into irrelevance.

      (2) Once you get to Hotness, people learn how to build defense. Burst Taka is almost always shut down by shield items. Heck, when I play Ringo and I see an enemy Taka, I can usually counter him with appropriate defense. Sadly, the hit-and-run tactics of a burst Taka do not synergize with the new Broken Myth, so there’s not really a good option for shield penetration.

      (3) If you don’t eliminate your opponent in that burst, you’re fairly useless to your team until your cooldowns finish again. If your team was killed and you’re the only one left, you’re often equally worthless without someone to wear down your opponents for you.

      Weapon Builds:

      (1) The base damages on his A and C abilities are huge without any additional augmentation. You can build weapon damage and still get a ton of burst of his X-Retsu, but be able to follow that up and finish off your opponent with basic attacks.

      (2) While weapon builds are more about steady damage output, Taka’s auto-crits take large chunks of the opponent’s health bar. It’s not as large of a chunk as an Aftershock, but they’re more frequent not reliant upon cooldowns.

      (3) Greater survivability. Many Taka’s are glass cannons and become liabilities to their teams.

      (4) Presence. The ability to confidently stand in your opponent’s face can put a lot of pressure on them.

      (5) Early game strength. Takas are renowned for having a weak early game. Using this build, I’m able to be very aggressive before level 6 and not have much in the way of fear.

      • Inkeyes
        May 12, 2015 5:50 pm

        Dont get me wrong, I very much like this weapon based Taka with appreciate defense. The video really showcased the strength of this build (i think they call this Tanka?) I actually watched the video twice, and rewind the team fight portion a few times. No doubt this is a close match and u went 17-5-5 which is outstanding. At the later team fights, one you guys lost due to the lack of focus, another was lost cuz they caught ur very light defense vox. So no fault of urs.

        About burst, I dont necessary just mean the hardcore sniper package. If u take a look at the other end result taka, and just replace the last two items with ur two defense item, i think that would give you the burst but retains your tankyness. I only play taka for fun and havent done any testing but just trying to babble my non-sense is all. =D