Dear DrmDestryr,
I see you’ve been playing a lot of Li Li lately. Is she as spammy as everyone says?
-Tobie4687
Dear Tobie4687,
Related to her alcoholic uncle, Chen, she dispenses drinks instead of partaking (unless extremely pressed). And though the joke remains that all you have to do to be good with Li Li is spam Q, this is actually far from the truth. See, Healing Brew has a cooldown of 3 seconds meaning your team is out of health for 3 seconds and, if things aren’t going so well, 360 (113 + 13 per level) of health to the lowest bidder in your range isn’t exactly going to keep the party bumpin’.
Li Li actually requires a lot more finesse than we all joke about. At the beginning of matches, you simply don’t have enough mana to spam Q and stay in a fight long enough to make a difference. Remember, everyone is relying on your ability to keep chucking out heals, and if you’re low on mana because you indiscriminately spammed when it wasn’t needed, it could throw the rest of the game. This early and mid-game mana crunch led me to learning more about Blinding Wind and Cloud Serpent.
Blinding Wind causes enemy players to miss with their basic attacks. This is a huge advantage when you’re trying to minimize how much damage your team is taking. Then, Cloud Serpent comes in to add to damage output and, if you take the talent, increases healing. The rub, however, is knowing when and where to use these. Blinding Wind is always fun for mobs but really serves no purpose unless you have the mana to use it when you can. This means early and mid-game, it should only be used against enemies. To do this, you have to position yourself relatively close to enemy fire, hence why her trait is Fast Feet. You’re supposed to get up close to make the hit and then get out. Cloud Serpent is a bit different. Use it for mobs. Level advantage at the start is huge. Use it in team fights. Ranged damage for melee heroes is amazeballs. Don’t use it when you’re downing any kind of structure. Unless there is an active enemy (mob, hero or merc), the dragon will not attack. Don’t waste the mana.
Now we get to the heroic abilities. Jug of 1,000 Cups has a cooldown like everything else. This means you need to know when to pop it for it to be useful. Likewise, you can’t do anything except keep your team in its loving range embrace. No dragon, no brew and absolutely no wind. If you pop it at the wrong time, you’re technically impairing your team because they won’t have an extra bit of support that they actually need. Remember this well: popping the cups does not automatically save everyone from death.
My guilty favorite is, of course, Water Dragon if only because it’s very much an offensive attack. Again, it does have strategy that needs to be employed for it to work properly. Only the closest enemy feels the true wrath of the dragon, making aiming it a bit of a challenge in a grouped onslaught. Plus, if it hits an enemy, will it actually be doing your team any good or simply delaying an already bad team fight? Either way, using it to kill someone running away is probably the best visual in the entire game.
-DrmDestryr
Dear DrmDestryr,
As I’m sure you’re well aware, Sylvanas is coming out soon! How do I prep?
-Wimbly345
Dear Wimbly345,
Lead an army. Die. Get brought back by Lich King. Break away. Form your own army.
That’s probably as close as anyone will get to matching the glorious might of our undead queen.
That, or you can play two heroes.
Valla
I say Valla because Valla has Vault. As we’ve seen with the released footage of our praiseworthy leader, she has a very similar looking move in Haunting Wave where she can either dash behind someone or use it as an escape when a fight has turned sour. Another similarity with Haunting Wave is Hungering Arrow. I think it can also be safely assumed Haunting Wave will be a skill shot like these two Valla attacks. Similarly, let’s not forget how Sylvanas is shown to move. Though not a speed demon like Valla, she nonetheless sticks with rather rogue-ish tactics through quick escapes and heavy damage from afar. Knowing when to escape is half the battle.
Tyrande
Tyrande is the closest in terms of attack speed, being only a hair slower than Sylvanas (or so the abilities video shows). Tyrande is your best way to learn how to successfully keep the basic attacks coming. Though Tyrande does not have an escape outside of Shadowstalk, she does have Hunter’s Mark, the perfect way to practice landing target shots like Shadow Dagger (assuming it is an attack where you choose the target). Plus, let’s not discount the evinced range of Wailing Arrow that can be practiced with Sentinel. I think it’s safe to say it won’t be a targetable ability if only because that much damage done from so far away without the need for any kind of aim is just a tad op.
Not that I would complain if she was op…
-DrmDestryr
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