by JR Cook - 9 years ago     show comments

If you’ve been watching the Heroes Powerhour, you’ll know that my favorite hero to play has been Valla. Valla is a top tier ranged assassin and one of the best, if not the best, damage dealers in the game right now. Valla matches my playstyle the best because you have to play it safe with her as she is pretty squishy, so positioning yourself correctly in fights is key. You have to know when to engage and know when to step back and Valla has some good escape mechanics if you use them correctly.

If you are unfamiliar with Valla and her abilities then check out our Hero Page for her. Her passive is Hatred which grants a stacking buff that increases basic attack and movement speed for every successful basic attack. You’ll discover as you play that this is a pretty big passive to bring heroes down quickly and maximize your damage output.

Her Q attack is Hungering Arrow which fires a single arrow that damages the first target and then will hit 2 additional targets. If no target is in the area it will hit the initial target again. Her W attack is Multishot which this build is centered around. She aims a cone shaped area in front of her and shoots out a bust of arrows in that area. Her E ability is Vault which you will use to get out of trouble, or for those times where you’re chasing down a nearly dead hero that is running. Her R ability is Strafe which does a ton of AoE damage in a radius around her. She has another R ability you can choose, but honestly, if you don’t choose Strafe then you are doing it wrong.

The Build

Level 1

Composite Arrows – This increases the range of your Multishot. This is important because this is the ability that allows you to play safe as you can hit your opponent from further away on the field.

Level 4

Arssenal – Arsenal adds grenades to your Multishot ability so now you will get the base damage from the attack, plus the additional damage from the grenades that explode on impact to deal even more damage.

Level 7

Battle Momentum – This is probably one of the most important talents you can take as it decreases the amount of your cooldowns by a half a second for every successful basic attack you land. This means faster Multishots and faster cooldown on your Ultimate ability.

Level 10

Strafe – Strafe is one of the better damage AoE abilities in the game. You can pop it off and be able to move around. You’ll want to make sure that you are nearly max distance from your targets instead of right next to them as you will still get the damage output without putting yourself into harm. Be careful of some of the interrupts that can happen though – such as getting eaten by Stitches, polymorph by Brightwing, or just flat out getting interrupted by Tyrael or Illidan.

Level 13

Frost Shot – This is the ability that will help your team win team fights. You’ll be able to slow your targets down for 2 seconds allowing them to not get away or possibly giving your team a chance to retreat when needed. This also works very well with Executioner which will allow you to do even more damage to the heroes.

Level 16

Executioner – As said above, this works out great with Frost Shot. If you are wanting to deal the maximum amount of damage then this is the talent to take. Pop off multishot and then just go to town.

Level 20

Bolt of the Storm – This is to get out of sticky situations. You already have Vault which you can use to get out, but sometimes you need that extra boost. Being able to teleport across the screen is huge and could save you from getting that 60 second timer if you die. Survivability right here is a lot more important that damage you can gain from the other abilities as you can’t damage the other team if you’re dead.

Strategy

I like to push minion waves with Valla early. I only use Multishot on minion waves so I can save my other abilities when needed. Once you get higher levels Multishot can basically take out an entire creep wave on it’s own.

When in team fights or hero fights, keep your distance. Valla is really squishy. If you’re in a lane be aware of your surroundings as a Stitches or ranged assassin coming from below you in the bushes can really ruin your day. Keep that max distance and use Multishot and go to basic attacks.

Only attack Mercenary camps if you have a tank friend to help you. Valla should be utilized in clearing creeps and putting pressure on heroes and should never be seen soloing mercenary camps. Definitely help your teammates kill them, but unless it’s a siege camp you should not try soloing them. I even recommend against soloing Siege camps with Valla because even at level 20 they can still drain about half of your health when solo.

Use Vault when you’re in trouble and need to get away. The #1 way you die as Valla is if you Vault toward a team fight and then can’t get back you. You will be targeted down first in team fights because of the damage you do. You can also use Vault if you’re in the middle of using Strafe, this is handy if you need to get closer to a hero to get that final shot to kill or they have just barely gotten out of range, or you need to keep yourself protected.

When using Strafe, make sure you’re maximum distance away from the enemy heroes. It has a huge AoE and the last thing you want to have happen is to get killed before you can fully finish the ability.

This is how I play Valla and I am routinely near the top of the siege damage, near the top of the hero damage, and normally at the top for XP contributor. I’m usually at the top as well for takedowns and I have the least amount of deaths. The trick is to play really safe and know when you need to push. Valla is a great hero to play. She’s simple to play, but definitely is a bit more difficult to really master. Just remember, if you’re dead, you can’t deal damage.

If you have any questions or comments about this build, please leave them below!