ThePope
03-07-2010, 02:43 PM
Alright then, this is my first guide, but hopefully it'll work out alright. This build has served me well in the past, and I hope that it'll do the same for you. Let's get started, shall we?
The Basics
http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/7990/andromedahero.gif
Andromeda seems like, and is, a decent support character. She's got a very nice aura for DPS heroes like Puppet and Madman, and a similarly good debuff against those same heroes with somewhat meh stat growth. Still, she'll turn Madman and Puppet into gods of war if they're on her team, and give them a possible fatal nerf if they're on the other. Her debuff is spamable, making a Nome's Wisdom seem like a decent choice, and with Plated Greaves, she can send supercharge allied creep waves while making enemy waves crumple like a paper cup in a hydraulic press.
However, that's not the build we're talking about here: we're going for the carry Andromeda, which means you will be the one they fear and not the one they try and gank to nerf your team before a push.
Skills (All images taken from HoN Wiki)
http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/3325/picture17p.png
Comet is easily your first skill to max out. It's a respectable nuke with a decent manacost, and the stun (though static and slightly below average) is nothing to scoff at. More on his with the skill-build.
http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/4792/picture18z.png
Very useful during teamfights and pushes mid-late game, but of limited use until you boost it level three or higher.
http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/8020/picture19j.png
An amazing skill once you've boosted it level two and beyond. It's also what helps make Andromeda terrifying both ganking and during teamfights.
http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/9814/picture20a.png
A great ability...even if its usefulness is somewhat diminished with the carry build. Andromeda's scary enough without it. It's like giving a shark a few extra teeth: you're already scared shitless by the mouthful it already has, and a couple more isn't going to change much.
Skill Build
1. Comet
2. Aura
3. Comet
4. Dimensional Link
5. Comet
6. Void Rip
7. Dimensional Link
8. Comet
9. Dimensional Link
10. Aura
11. Void Rip
12. Dimensional Link
13. Aura
14. Aura
15. Stats
16. Void Rip
17-25. Stats
Comet: Simple Enough
As you might've noticed from my blurbs earlier, Comet is easily your most important skill to start off. It's powerful and has a respectable stun attached to it. It's useful for ganking, chasing, breaking channels for people like Electrician, or for breaking channeling ults of heroes like Voodoo Jester, Glacius, Tempest, Succubus, etc, or even Magmus, if he's not bright enough to have a Portkey.
Aura: Early Bluff 'n Buff, Late Pusher
While I did say that Aura was of somewhat negligable use with this build early on, it is, however, useful for a few other reasons. It's got a 1400 range (and 300 wide) and does a really minor amount of damage, (I've gotten one kill that I can remember with it on a really wounded Puppet Master), but it also reveals through the fog for that 1400 distance, which is amazingly useful. It's also a decent deterrent or bluff to hold back pushes before they even happen, seeing as foes are less likely to push when they've got a debuff on both them and the creeps. Plus, it should make your creeps push back that much harder with the debuff it puts on enemy creeps.
Once you get to late game, however, and have it maxed out, it can be devastating before you (or they) start a full-on teamfight. It'll reduce their base damage by 20%, which is excellent, and reduce their armor by 5, which is almost the equivalent of hitting everything in front of you once with a Shieldbreaker.
For a quick frame of reference, let's look at Pebbles at Level 11. He's got his Level 2 ult, giving him +80 base damage, and let's also assume a Level 3 Slab Skin, meaning he has +6 armor. If he's already doing ~100 damage a hit before Enlarge's buffs, he's doing 180 a hit with probably about 10 armor. Aura will cut his armor in half, and he loses near 40 points of damage from his attack. The debuff will be a bit shorter since Slab Skin reduces debuffs, but the point stands. And since the Aura works off percentage, it scales with their attacks, meaning it'll keep being useful until the bitter or sweet end.
Dimensional Link: Also known as 'Aura of Rape'
Just like Wildsoul's self-buff Wild, Dimensional Link is in large part what allows Andromeda to be such a good carry. At Level 4, she gets not only for herself, but every ally within 900 units a 36% damage boost. If you're a Madman dealing 200 damage a hit, congratulations, you're not dealing over 270, and that's not even counting critical hits.
Don't underestimate the effect this has on creeps, either. Casting Aura on the enemy wave and letting your own creeps work under Dimensional Link's influence will mean they're a lean, mean, pushing machine, especially if someone with Plated Greaves is kind enough to give them an even better buff to their armor.
Creeps start off doing about 20 damage a hit with 2 armor and 550 health. Every time the message 'The creeps have grown stronger' appears (seven minutes each time), they're given +10 health and +1 damage. so, if you cast just a Level 2 Aura on that wave while an ally uses Plated Greaves...
Their creeps just took 50 damage, to start off. Negligible, possibly, but they've 0 magic armor, so it's all going directly into them. They also lost 3 armor, putting them at -1, meaning they're taking every point of damage they're being given. On top of that, they lost 10% of their base damage, bumping them from 20 points a hit to about 18, which is a modest drop considering how little they have to work with.
And then there's your creeps. They're getting...you know what? I'll just make a chart. The base stats once they hit, with the buffs and debuffs.
----------------Your creeps------------------Their creeps
Health------------550----------------------------500
Armor ----------- 4 ------------------------------ -1
Damage-------- 28-29 -------------------------- 18
Other---Automatic -10 received damage ---- None
Yep. I think that summed it up pretty nicely. Your creeps are dishing out 30 damage a hit, and taking roughly 6 per hit in return. If the other team's frantically trying to push one tower, you can take out another effortlessly with a support character by your side.
Void Rip
As I said waaaaaay back when, this is actually of remarkably little use compared to her other abilities. Just use it as you would normally: warping back a fleeing opponent, stunning, then destroying him, or as an initiator/ganking tool. Normal rules apply.
Items
I normally random and swap for the heroes I want if I didn't already get them, but I'll work from the starting 603 gold for picking.
Starting off
Marchers: 500 g
http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/2480/marchersitem.gif
Usually something you take first in EM, perhaps, but being able to run considerably faster than the competition has given me better survivability than a Fortified Bracelet.
Runes of Blight: 90g
http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/1339/runesoftheblightitem.gif
Simple enough. Depending on who you're laning against, you might want to take a mana potion instead if you're not in danger of taking damage and want to keep using Aura or Comet.
Early-Game Items
Iron Buckler, x2 Duckboots -> Iron Shield
http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/5992/ironbuckleritem.gif+ http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/7616/duckbootsitem.gifx2 = http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/5417/ironshielditem.gif
An Iron Shield is, simply, an easy and relatively cheap way to increase your ability to take bits and pieces of damage and give yourself a nice boost to your agility. Later on, feel free to pawn it if you're in dire need of that extra 275 gold for an item.
Easy next item is a Hungry Spirit for 900 g
http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/7273/hungryspirititem.gif
It'll let you lane for longer because of the Lifesteal, and once you then buy a Helm of the Victim for 950 g
http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/4238/helmofthevictimitem.gif
it will become a Whispering Helm.
http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/935/whisperinghelmitem.gif
Total so far: 2990 g, 2400 if you take away the 600 you were given.
Next up, your choice of which to get going into Early Mid game. Either...
http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/5741/punchdaggeritem.gifx2 to get http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/8342/ghostmarchersitem.gif
Go for Ghost Marchers if you're finding others outrunning you, lacking in damage, etc. If you're having survival/health problems even with Whispering Helm (unlikely), then go for a Bolstering Armband first, then the Daggers.
http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/7033/bolsteringarmbanditem.gif
Early-Mid Game (about 20 min)
First, a Quickblade for 1000 g
http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/5792/quickbladeitem.gif
Then save up 950 g to turn that Quickblade and Armband into a Firebrand
http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/9278/firebranditem.gif
Now, start saving towards a Blessed Orb, which is 2100 gold.
http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/2774/blessedorbitem.gif
If you're slow farming it, you might already be about 30-35 minutes in before you can get it. Although, considering most good players can farm 200+ gold per minute, you ought to easily have the Orb within 10 minutes or less.
At this point, this build requires that you've earned some 5800 gold, not counting the Blessed Orb. This is, obviously, a considerable amount to be spending on fairly basic items, but it's worth it. Not only that, but again, with about 200 gold per minute as an average, and assuming you've either 1) not died or 2) killed a tower or 3) killed a few player, you should easily have that much.
Once you have the orb, and if you don't already have the extra gold for it, kill a handful of extra creeps to get yourself the recipe for Geometer's Bane.
http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/9381/sbaneitem.gif
With this, your 'necessary' build is done. You've got pretty good attack speed, solid lifesteal, high movement speed, and excellent damage. It only gets better with Geometer's Bane, seeing as each illusion deals a third of your damage, meaning you can dish out an additional 66% damage if you focus together.
If things have been going this smoothly, hopefully, you're going to be done soon. If the game's turning into a farming contest to see who can buy the best junk the fastest, then you've a few more items to choose from.
Riftshards
http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/6739/128pxriftshardsitem1.gif
If you have Riftshards and all the previous items, you are officially aloud to quote Oppenheimer, "Now I am become death, destroyer of worlds." You'll be dealing 2.4x crits with fully upgraded 'shards, not to mention getting +75 base damage. Not only that, but Geometer's Bane illusions deal "regular" damage when they get a critical hit, so you've triple the chances per volley of getting a critical hit.
Shieldbreaker
http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/5226/shieldbreakeritem.gif
Can you say 'Death Incarnate'? If you throw down Aura first, you'll be attacking enemies with -10 armor. Fun times, eh? And the rather large damage boost is nice, too.
Daemonic Chestplace
http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/9899/daemonicbreastplateitem.gif
Just general usefulness. It debuffs theirs and buffs yours even more, and has some nice armor and attack speed attached to it. This is probably the least useful of the super-late game items because of the lack of damage boosters.
Well, that's all I've got. Spent about an hour on this, so I hope it's at least semi-helpful to y'all. Comments and suggestions are more than welcome, seeing as I feel like I might've had some issues with my timing of game-periods.
See you on the battlefield!
The Basics
http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/7990/andromedahero.gif
Andromeda seems like, and is, a decent support character. She's got a very nice aura for DPS heroes like Puppet and Madman, and a similarly good debuff against those same heroes with somewhat meh stat growth. Still, she'll turn Madman and Puppet into gods of war if they're on her team, and give them a possible fatal nerf if they're on the other. Her debuff is spamable, making a Nome's Wisdom seem like a decent choice, and with Plated Greaves, she can send supercharge allied creep waves while making enemy waves crumple like a paper cup in a hydraulic press.
However, that's not the build we're talking about here: we're going for the carry Andromeda, which means you will be the one they fear and not the one they try and gank to nerf your team before a push.
Skills (All images taken from HoN Wiki)
http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/3325/picture17p.png
Comet is easily your first skill to max out. It's a respectable nuke with a decent manacost, and the stun (though static and slightly below average) is nothing to scoff at. More on his with the skill-build.
http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/4792/picture18z.png
Very useful during teamfights and pushes mid-late game, but of limited use until you boost it level three or higher.
http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/8020/picture19j.png
An amazing skill once you've boosted it level two and beyond. It's also what helps make Andromeda terrifying both ganking and during teamfights.
http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/9814/picture20a.png
A great ability...even if its usefulness is somewhat diminished with the carry build. Andromeda's scary enough without it. It's like giving a shark a few extra teeth: you're already scared shitless by the mouthful it already has, and a couple more isn't going to change much.
Skill Build
1. Comet
2. Aura
3. Comet
4. Dimensional Link
5. Comet
6. Void Rip
7. Dimensional Link
8. Comet
9. Dimensional Link
10. Aura
11. Void Rip
12. Dimensional Link
13. Aura
14. Aura
15. Stats
16. Void Rip
17-25. Stats
Comet: Simple Enough
As you might've noticed from my blurbs earlier, Comet is easily your most important skill to start off. It's powerful and has a respectable stun attached to it. It's useful for ganking, chasing, breaking channels for people like Electrician, or for breaking channeling ults of heroes like Voodoo Jester, Glacius, Tempest, Succubus, etc, or even Magmus, if he's not bright enough to have a Portkey.
Aura: Early Bluff 'n Buff, Late Pusher
While I did say that Aura was of somewhat negligable use with this build early on, it is, however, useful for a few other reasons. It's got a 1400 range (and 300 wide) and does a really minor amount of damage, (I've gotten one kill that I can remember with it on a really wounded Puppet Master), but it also reveals through the fog for that 1400 distance, which is amazingly useful. It's also a decent deterrent or bluff to hold back pushes before they even happen, seeing as foes are less likely to push when they've got a debuff on both them and the creeps. Plus, it should make your creeps push back that much harder with the debuff it puts on enemy creeps.
Once you get to late game, however, and have it maxed out, it can be devastating before you (or they) start a full-on teamfight. It'll reduce their base damage by 20%, which is excellent, and reduce their armor by 5, which is almost the equivalent of hitting everything in front of you once with a Shieldbreaker.
For a quick frame of reference, let's look at Pebbles at Level 11. He's got his Level 2 ult, giving him +80 base damage, and let's also assume a Level 3 Slab Skin, meaning he has +6 armor. If he's already doing ~100 damage a hit before Enlarge's buffs, he's doing 180 a hit with probably about 10 armor. Aura will cut his armor in half, and he loses near 40 points of damage from his attack. The debuff will be a bit shorter since Slab Skin reduces debuffs, but the point stands. And since the Aura works off percentage, it scales with their attacks, meaning it'll keep being useful until the bitter or sweet end.
Dimensional Link: Also known as 'Aura of Rape'
Just like Wildsoul's self-buff Wild, Dimensional Link is in large part what allows Andromeda to be such a good carry. At Level 4, she gets not only for herself, but every ally within 900 units a 36% damage boost. If you're a Madman dealing 200 damage a hit, congratulations, you're not dealing over 270, and that's not even counting critical hits.
Don't underestimate the effect this has on creeps, either. Casting Aura on the enemy wave and letting your own creeps work under Dimensional Link's influence will mean they're a lean, mean, pushing machine, especially if someone with Plated Greaves is kind enough to give them an even better buff to their armor.
Creeps start off doing about 20 damage a hit with 2 armor and 550 health. Every time the message 'The creeps have grown stronger' appears (seven minutes each time), they're given +10 health and +1 damage. so, if you cast just a Level 2 Aura on that wave while an ally uses Plated Greaves...
Their creeps just took 50 damage, to start off. Negligible, possibly, but they've 0 magic armor, so it's all going directly into them. They also lost 3 armor, putting them at -1, meaning they're taking every point of damage they're being given. On top of that, they lost 10% of their base damage, bumping them from 20 points a hit to about 18, which is a modest drop considering how little they have to work with.
And then there's your creeps. They're getting...you know what? I'll just make a chart. The base stats once they hit, with the buffs and debuffs.
----------------Your creeps------------------Their creeps
Health------------550----------------------------500
Armor ----------- 4 ------------------------------ -1
Damage-------- 28-29 -------------------------- 18
Other---Automatic -10 received damage ---- None
Yep. I think that summed it up pretty nicely. Your creeps are dishing out 30 damage a hit, and taking roughly 6 per hit in return. If the other team's frantically trying to push one tower, you can take out another effortlessly with a support character by your side.
Void Rip
As I said waaaaaay back when, this is actually of remarkably little use compared to her other abilities. Just use it as you would normally: warping back a fleeing opponent, stunning, then destroying him, or as an initiator/ganking tool. Normal rules apply.
Items
I normally random and swap for the heroes I want if I didn't already get them, but I'll work from the starting 603 gold for picking.
Starting off
Marchers: 500 g
http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/2480/marchersitem.gif
Usually something you take first in EM, perhaps, but being able to run considerably faster than the competition has given me better survivability than a Fortified Bracelet.
Runes of Blight: 90g
http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/1339/runesoftheblightitem.gif
Simple enough. Depending on who you're laning against, you might want to take a mana potion instead if you're not in danger of taking damage and want to keep using Aura or Comet.
Early-Game Items
Iron Buckler, x2 Duckboots -> Iron Shield
http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/5992/ironbuckleritem.gif+ http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/7616/duckbootsitem.gifx2 = http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/5417/ironshielditem.gif
An Iron Shield is, simply, an easy and relatively cheap way to increase your ability to take bits and pieces of damage and give yourself a nice boost to your agility. Later on, feel free to pawn it if you're in dire need of that extra 275 gold for an item.
Easy next item is a Hungry Spirit for 900 g
http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/7273/hungryspirititem.gif
It'll let you lane for longer because of the Lifesteal, and once you then buy a Helm of the Victim for 950 g
http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/4238/helmofthevictimitem.gif
it will become a Whispering Helm.
http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/935/whisperinghelmitem.gif
Total so far: 2990 g, 2400 if you take away the 600 you were given.
Next up, your choice of which to get going into Early Mid game. Either...
http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/5741/punchdaggeritem.gifx2 to get http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/8342/ghostmarchersitem.gif
Go for Ghost Marchers if you're finding others outrunning you, lacking in damage, etc. If you're having survival/health problems even with Whispering Helm (unlikely), then go for a Bolstering Armband first, then the Daggers.
http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/7033/bolsteringarmbanditem.gif
Early-Mid Game (about 20 min)
First, a Quickblade for 1000 g
http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/5792/quickbladeitem.gif
Then save up 950 g to turn that Quickblade and Armband into a Firebrand
http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/9278/firebranditem.gif
Now, start saving towards a Blessed Orb, which is 2100 gold.
http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/2774/blessedorbitem.gif
If you're slow farming it, you might already be about 30-35 minutes in before you can get it. Although, considering most good players can farm 200+ gold per minute, you ought to easily have the Orb within 10 minutes or less.
At this point, this build requires that you've earned some 5800 gold, not counting the Blessed Orb. This is, obviously, a considerable amount to be spending on fairly basic items, but it's worth it. Not only that, but again, with about 200 gold per minute as an average, and assuming you've either 1) not died or 2) killed a tower or 3) killed a few player, you should easily have that much.
Once you have the orb, and if you don't already have the extra gold for it, kill a handful of extra creeps to get yourself the recipe for Geometer's Bane.
http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/9381/sbaneitem.gif
With this, your 'necessary' build is done. You've got pretty good attack speed, solid lifesteal, high movement speed, and excellent damage. It only gets better with Geometer's Bane, seeing as each illusion deals a third of your damage, meaning you can dish out an additional 66% damage if you focus together.
If things have been going this smoothly, hopefully, you're going to be done soon. If the game's turning into a farming contest to see who can buy the best junk the fastest, then you've a few more items to choose from.
Riftshards
http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/6739/128pxriftshardsitem1.gif
If you have Riftshards and all the previous items, you are officially aloud to quote Oppenheimer, "Now I am become death, destroyer of worlds." You'll be dealing 2.4x crits with fully upgraded 'shards, not to mention getting +75 base damage. Not only that, but Geometer's Bane illusions deal "regular" damage when they get a critical hit, so you've triple the chances per volley of getting a critical hit.
Shieldbreaker
http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/5226/shieldbreakeritem.gif
Can you say 'Death Incarnate'? If you throw down Aura first, you'll be attacking enemies with -10 armor. Fun times, eh? And the rather large damage boost is nice, too.
Daemonic Chestplace
http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/9899/daemonicbreastplateitem.gif
Just general usefulness. It debuffs theirs and buffs yours even more, and has some nice armor and attack speed attached to it. This is probably the least useful of the super-late game items because of the lack of damage boosters.
Well, that's all I've got. Spent about an hour on this, so I hope it's at least semi-helpful to y'all. Comments and suggestions are more than welcome, seeing as I feel like I might've had some issues with my timing of game-periods.
See you on the battlefield!