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Our Beloved Dragon - VGs first Mage Top





Skaarf



I want to provide you with a quick, short and simple guide on how to make great use of this insane late-game powerhouse. Personally, I have used Skaarf quite often in patches 1.7 / 1.8 and I think he is one of the best carries in the game if played correctly.



This is my first Vaingloryfire guide and I will attempt to add and/or edit some things as I go along after publishing. I'm going to try and avoid explaining the obvious, so this may not be a "beginners guide", but it still should be easy to follow. Please feel free to provide any feedback or ask any clarifying questions after your have read it through. has seen many changes since his introduction into Vainglory. At release Skaarf was an early game bully, then he moved to a one-hit-wonder with a massive damage ultimate, then on to a tanky jungle monster, and now a long-distance mage/sniper with great mid/late game potential. Skaarf has been all over the map and thus his builds and effective play-styles have followed suit.I want to provide you with a quick, short and simple guide on how to make great use of this insane late-game powerhouse. Personally, I have used Skaarf quite often in patches 1.7 / 1.8 and I think he is one of the best carries in the game if played correctly.This is my first Vaingloryfire guide and I will attempt to add and/or edit some things as I go along after publishing. I'm going to try and avoid explaining the obvious, so this may not be a "beginners guide", but it still should be easy to follow. Please feel free to provide any feedback or ask any clarifying questions after your have read it through.

Last Hits are a Dragon's Best Friend Top



The #1 most important thing you need to focus on with Skaarf, and arguably any lane champion, is your farm. You absolutely must last hit as many minions as you can!!! I cannot stress this enough.



For Skaarf... use the following metric averages to help determine your success: (CS = Creep Score)

- 8+ CS per Minute = Vainglorious

- 6 CS per Minute = Simply Amazing

- 4 CS per Minute = Working on It



At the end of the game you can divide your MS by the # of minutes the match took to complete to find the average.



Early Game Farm

Last hits during the first 2-4 minutes of the match plays a large deciding factor in how the rest of the game is going to go for you. While Skaarf may be a scaling champion that deals his best damage in the late game, he needs to still scale at a fast enough rate to be able to assist his team in key moments (such as purchase rotations or gold-mine captures).



Skaarf isn't the easiest champion to secure last hits on, but I recommend using a balance of auto-attacks and



Mid Game Farm & Beyond

Last hits never stop being important. If playing with teammates try to remind them that the less you pick necessary fights, the more you can focus on snowballing into the Dragon you were always meant to be. A lot of players tend to neglect lane farm in favor of hero kills and team fights around levels 6-8... Don't make this mistake!! These are your critical levels as Skaarf to begin closing in on your power spikes with items.



Once you pick up your first energy battery it's okay to push a wave with

- Rotate to Shop

- Shove wave into enemy turret since the other laner is not present

- Keep them from pushing you into tower during a time you need to be available to your team The #1 most important thing you need to focus on with Skaarf, and arguably any lane champion, is your farm. You absolutely must last hit as many minions as you can!!! I cannot stress this enough.For Skaarf... use the following metric averages to help determine your success:- 8+ CS per Minute = Vainglorious- 6 CS per Minute = Simply Amazing- 4 CS per Minute = Working on ItAt the end of the game you can divide your MS by the # of minutes the match took to complete to find the average.Last hits during the first 2-4 minutes of the match plays a large deciding factor in how the rest of the game is going to go for you. While Skaarf may be a scaling champion that deals his best damage in the late game, he needs to still scale at a fast enough rate to be able to assist his team in key moments (such as purchase rotations or gold-mine captures).Skaarf isn't the easiest champion to secure last hits on, but I recommend using a balance of auto-attacks and to pick up all the gold you can. Don't waste time harassing the enemy at levels 1, 2, etc. if it means you are going to miss out on minion kills. Also, don't use at this time either due to its high energy cost and low early game damage.Last hits never stop being important. If playing with teammates try to remind them that the less you pick necessary fights, the more you can focus on snowballing into the Dragon you were always meant to be. A lot of players tend to neglect lane farm in favor of hero kills and team fights around levels 6-8...These are your critical levels as Skaarf to begin closing in on your power spikes with items.Once you pick up your first energy battery it's okay to push a wave with if you are needing to do one of the following: (but use sparingly & manage your energy wisely)- Rotate to Shop- Shove wave into enemy turret since the other laner is not present- Keep them from pushing you into tower during a time you need to be available to your team

Executing With Skaarf's Abilities Top



Fan The Flames -

Skaarf's heroic perk has been a serious point of contention for around 8-9 months, but we have landed in a place through balancing to where it does some serious work in the late game, but isn't oppressive early. With this in mind, in the early game it's not worth chasing to fan any flames unless you either #1) can 100% secure the kill without missing hardly any farm, or #2) can push the opponent away without taking too much damage in return.



Since this scales with CP, make sure as you get closer to late game you continue to weave auto attacks in between (if the enemy is close enough) your



WARNING!!!! It's hardly ever worth moving into range to auto-attack when you can fire safely at a distance, so only fan the flames when either the enemy is near you or it's safe to follow through... otherwise keep your distance while using your 'A' ability.



Spitfire -

It's "simple" - aim and fire. :D



This ability is your bread and butter and you need to learn how to hit everything with this skill. Missing this ability leads to certain disaster levels 1-7 and some potential facepalms from 8+. This incredibly long-distance skill shot is capable of massive damage, but if you are new to 'The Dragon', the narrow hitbox and slower missile speed at early levels will take a bit of practice to increase your accuracy.



Spitfire can pick up minion kills at safe distance, steal jungle farm safely, check brush, light your goop on fire, even hit enemies when you very well may be out of direct sight. Use it, love it.



Remember that since you are weaving a few auto attacks in to keep



Goop -

The reason why Skaarf came back into the Meta in 1.7 was primarily due to a tweak on this ability which allows a large portion of the slow to still persist while burning. Simply put, it's amazing!!! This allows for a lot of amazing mechanics, but I'll just list a few uses for our friendly puddle:



1. Zoning - You can dissuade enemies from pursuing or fleeing through certain paths by placing a pre-meditated goop on the ground.



2. Igniting - When an enemy walks on the goop while on fire, or you connect a spitfire with an enemy in goop, the ignite damage does some incredible burst. This is a healthy combo to take down squishy targets fast, or slow a tanky enemy in some sustained damage.



3. Zoning Ignition - Late game you can have multiples of these on the ground all at once, some on fire, some zoning... or perhaps ALL ON FIRE!!! Your choice. But since the slow persists to an extent on both, it's an amazing way to do damage to a closer target while forcing other enemies to have to move around this area of control.



Dragon Breath -

I don't personally use this ability all that often, but when I do it's usually for the utility of the slow on my enemies or the boost of speed for my allies. If you upgrade Skaarf's ultimate all the way, at rank 3 it does some insane damage, but you might have noticed I upgrade this last and only to rank 2. This is why:

- The benefits you get for overdriving and maxing



- Most often Dragon's Breath can put you in a more dangerous position than landing spitfires and goops while being able to kite backwards. Dragon's Breath locks you in a forward-facing position of momentum in order to do damage, which is not always optimal. Skaarf's heroic perk has been a serious point of contention for around 8-9 months, but we have landed in a place through balancing to where it does some serious work in the late game, but isn't oppressive early. With this in mind, in the early game it's not worth chasing to fan any flames unless you either #1) can 100% secure the kill without missing hardly any farm, or #2) can push the opponent away without taking too much damage in return.Since this scales with CP, make sure as you get closer to late game you continue to weave auto attacks in between (if the enemy is close enough) your cooldown to keep maximum stacks on the target.It's hardly ever worth moving into range to auto-attack when you can fire safely at a distance, so only fan the flames when either the enemy is near you or it's safe to follow through... otherwise keep your distance while using your 'A' ability.It's "simple" - aim and fire. :DThis ability is your bread and butter and you need to learn how to hit everything with this skill. Missing this ability leads to certain disaster levels 1-7 and some potential facepalms from 8+. This incredibly long-distance skill shot is capable of massive damage, but if you are new to 'The Dragon', the narrow hitbox and slower missile speed at early levels will take a bit of practice to increase your accuracy.Spitfire can pick up minion kills at safe distance, steal jungle farm safely, check brush, light your goop on fire, even hit enemies when you very well may be out of direct sight. Use it, love it.Remember that since you are weaving a few auto attacks in to keep on the target, hitting them with successive spitfires will keep your heroic perk alive and burning.The reason why Skaarf came back into the Meta in 1.7 was primarily due to a tweak on this ability which allows a large portion of the slow to still persist while burning. Simply put, it's amazing!!! This allows for a lot of amazing mechanics, but I'll just list a few uses for our friendly puddle:- You can dissuade enemies from pursuing or fleeing through certain paths by placing a pre-meditated goop on the ground.- When an enemy walks on the goop while on fire, or you connect a spitfire with an enemy in goop, the ignite damage does some incredible burst. This is a healthy combo to take down squishy targets fast, or slow a tanky enemy in some sustained damage.- Late game you can have multiples of these on the ground all at once, some on fire, some zoning... or perhaps ALL ON FIRE!!! Your choice. But since the slow persists to an extent on both, it's an amazing way to do damage to a closer target while forcing other enemies to have to move around this area of control.I don't personally use this ability all that often, but when I do it's usually for the utility of the slow on my enemies or the boost of speed for my allies. If you upgrade Skaarf's ultimate all the way, at rank 3 it does some insane damage, but you might have noticed I upgrade this last and only to rank 2. This is why:- The benefits you get for overdriving and maxing outweigh a higher damage dragon's breath. Since it will take you until level 12 to max the entire ultimate, it's best to utilize the strength of your other abilities for the entire portion of the game until 12, and beyond.- Most often Dragon's Breath can put you in a more dangerous position than landing spitfires and goops while being able to kite backwards. Dragon's Breath locks you in a forward-facing position of momentum in order to do damage, which is not always optimal.

Item Builds - Offense / Defense Top



Offensive Items

*Remember that there should never be only 1 single build that you go into the game with*



The build mentioned in this guide is meant for long-distance high damage poke that spikes mid game and carries into the late.



- - - - - -

Continue to purchase throughout the early and mid-game to keep your energy and health sustained in lane. You do not want to travel back to base too frequently or leave lane often and miss out on farm.

- - - - - -



The



The late game will wrap up nicely with an



Defensive Build

You probably noticed I didn't mention too many defensive items in this guide, but honestly if you position yourself correctly in team fights you won't need many. I also like going as "True Blue" as possible with a mage. Remember that defense is also very situational, this is just an average route to take.



Skaarf isn't the most mobile of heroes, so boots are a lovely addition to the wardrobe. Pick up



I would only build a reflex block if you are going up against *Remember that there should never be only 1 single build that you go into the game with*The build mentioned in this guide is meant for long-distance high damage poke that spikes mid game and carries into the late. does not have a high energy cost so you can pick up a instead of an at the start for more poke damage and easier last hitting. This also helps you build more quickly towards your and eventually your around 6:00 - 7:00min into the game. As you build towards your make sure to pick up an so that you can use throughout team-fights, and then once the shatter is completed, grab a to allow for even more ability spam.- - - - - -- - - - - -The will allow you to hit the enemy for high amounts of damage that will be hard for them to retaliate on because of the range of . The 'Bridge' between mid and late game will see you building the components of which will essentially turn you into a hero and objective deletion machine. Since no longer stacks off the burning passive of you will want to make sure you try to hit enemies frequently with your 'A' ability in order to stack this item to 3. When it is fully stacked get ready to drop on those burning enemies for some serious damage.The late game will wrap up nicely with an allowing Skaarf to essentially heal a lot of the damage the enemy will attempt to do. also heals off of lane minions & jungle bosses, and you can just shoot some fireballs at the enemy for a little sustain.You probably noticed I didn't mention too many defensive items in this guide, but honestly if you position yourself correctly in team fights you won't need many. I also like going as "True Blue" as possible with a mage. Remember that defense is also very situational, this is just an average route to take.Skaarf isn't the most mobile of heroes, so boots are a lovely addition to the wardrobe. Pick up early so you have some better early mobility and the boots' active to get you out of a tough spot. Grabbing after your shatter will give you a nice health bonus, faster active cooldown, and a bump in your in-combat movement speed as well. You can also work your way towards a at this time by getting an and then upgrading when you have the funds. Finally make sure to slap on a pair of for all those yummy defensive stats and even shorter active CD. With these health items and the right positioning you will find that staying alive is a fairly easy task.I would only build a reflex block if you are going up against , or any other stun/zone control that can gap close to you and keep you from being able to kite. Otherwise it's not really necessary.

Rotations, Objectives, & Team Fighting Top



This section could be the most complex... but I'm going to attempt to keep it as brief as possible by following some simple guidelines:



Rotations

- Only leave lane to shop when you have enough gold to finish critical components in the build.

- Don't chase enemies around the jungle to secure a kill unless your jungle farm is threatened.

- With Skaarf, taking the Gold Mine at 4-5min is easy, so drop and nuke it down if you can.



Objectives

- You kill turrets very quickly. Staying in lane can keep the enemy jungle in a 2v2 scenario more often at the fear of this fact, but if the lane drops and your team can defend well - put damage on the turret ASAP.

- Gold Mine is incredibly easy to kill as well, and if the enemy has possession you can snipe it with your team in only a few seconds without minion candy, or a few more seconds with.

- You should be able to easily solo Kraken at the 15:00 mark, so if the call for Kraken is correct, tell your team to go play with the enemy while you sneak this major objective. (note in 1.8 you can no longer pre-goop for damage on Kraken as she spawns).

- Try to keep the objectives on top of the



Team Fighting

- Stay Back. No, I mean it... Stay way behind your teammates. You are not a "chase mage" similar to

- Once mid-game hits try to have a

- Fight from the edges and try to have your team wait for you to poke a bit for some early damage.

- Attempt to focus a single target since your This section could be the most complex... but I'm going to attempt to keep it as brief as possible by following some simple guidelines:- Only leave lane to shop when you have enough gold to finish critical components in the build.- Don't chase enemies around the jungle to secure a kill unless your jungle farm is threatened.- With Skaarf, taking the Gold Mine at 4-5min is easy, so drop and nuke it down if you can.- You kill turrets very quickly. Staying in lane can keep the enemy jungle in a 2v2 scenario more often at the fear of this fact, but if the lane drops and your team can defend well - put damage on the turret ASAP.- Gold Mine is incredibly easy to kill as well, and if the enemy has possession you can snipe it with your team in only a few seconds without minion candy, or a few more seconds with.- You should be able to easily solo Kraken at the 15:00 mark, so if the call for Kraken is correct, tell your team to go play with the enemy while you sneak this major objective. (note in 1.8 you can no longer pre-goop for damage on Kraken as she spawns).- Try to keep the objectives on top of the ignited the entire time.- Stay Back. No, I mean it... Stay way behind your teammates. You are not a "chase mage" similar to , you are meant to fire from a distance and goop at pursuing/fleeing enemies.- Once mid-game hits try to have a on you as often as you can afford it.- Fight from the edges and try to have your team wait for you to poke a bit for some early damage.- Attempt to focus a single target since your will be stacking.

Tips & Tricks Top