Sins of a Dark Age Atasha Guide

Sins of a Dark Age Atasha The Queen of Flames Guide by Genevieve

Abilities:

Passive:

Resolute Sovereign: Mana Gain: +0.5%

Atasha’s passive is by far one her best assets early on. Combined with a smart use of her Dragon’s Breath [E] and her Immolation [Q], it allows you to stay and attack/defend much longer than your average caster. This staying power often makes a difference when fighting for the control of the middle lane early on. At level 1 with no gear, her passive alone gives her close to 1.9 Mana/sec.

Actives:

Immolation [Q]:

This is Atasha’s ‘harass move’. It has a formidable range and a fairly short cooldown time (9.5 seconds at lvl 1) which allows Atasha to cast it on her enemies as often as she pleases while hiding safely behind her own minions. This move causes flames to spread onto other targets (but for half damage), thus it is possible to use it onto minions and heroes that are in proximity of your intended target. This is also a good move to cast when your enemy is attempting to run away from a fight as it does magic damage over time. It also scales well with her Special Power adding 80% of it to the original target of the spell and 20% to the targets the flames spread to.

Smoke Screen [W]:

This ability is Atasha’s only escape mechanism and last line of defense. While it is active, if she stays within the vicinity of the effect, then she becomes invisible to the enemy team while dealing some magic damage within the area of the spell. This ability functions in the same way that bush does, in that she only remains invisible while she isn’t using direct target abilities or auto-attacks. It can however be used offensively by using it early on in a skirmish against another hero or in a team fight. It is especially strong when combined with her Meteor Storm [R].

Dragon’s Breath [E]:

Atasha’s strongest damage ability, it deals massive damage to enemy heroes at a low level and allows her to clear waves of minions very quickly at a higher level. Take a habit to use it for its harass power as soon as someone gets in range. Note that it scales with 75% of her Special Power.

Meteor Storm [R]:

A very powerful channeled Area-of-Effect ability that deals high damage to all opponents that stand within it. This ability, aside from clearing waves of minions very efficiently, is extremely valuable in team fights and if casted at the right time may dissuade a belligerent group of enemies from pursuing Atasha for fear they might lose most of their HP in the process. The Mana cost is also low (40 Mana at level 1) and the cooldown short enough (6 seconds at level 1) to allow for it to be used both offensively and defensively within the same fight. Another element of this ability that should be noted is that it stays chanelled even if Atasha moves some distance away from effect. Thus, you can be out of harm’s way while your Meteor Storm [R] showers onto the enemy.

Ability Sequence:

Q – E – W – Q – Q – R – Q – E – E – E – R – W – W – W – R

Reasoning:

I start with Immolation [Q] because of how well the spell does at level 1. I then level up my Dragon’s Breath [E] and Smoke Screen [W] once each before I choose to max my Immolation [Q] first because I want to reduce my cooldown and augment my harass power as soon as I can. I then want to get as many points as I can in Dragon’s Breath [E]. Smoke Screen [W] does not need several ranks into it until later on because the effect does not change too much and the added damage isn’t worth it until later on. Put a point in Meteor Storm [R] every chance you get, it’s your best ability.

Glyphs:

Blink (Recommended) :

Atasha possesses no natural way of escaping her enemies beside her Smoke Screen [W] and more often than not, it is not enough to run away from a fight. Blink allows her to have the etra step that allows her to run away from a foe too powerful for her to burn to a crisp but it can also be used to close that gap between her and her fleeting prey in situations where an extra Dragon’s Breath [E] and another Immolation [Q] are all that separate her from another kill.

Portal (Recommended):

Atasha’s ability to wipe out waves of minions quickly is almost unparalleled. A good use of the Portal Glyph can allow experienced players to control and push several lanes at once. While this can be achieved through the help of Portal Scrolls or Riftwalker’s Shoes, I believe that she benefits greatly from picking Portal over another glyph. Mostly because it allows her to push remote lanes that are far from the action/forgotten.

Anguish:

If you’re going a more offensive route this is a viable choice and will give you an extra active to seal the deal when an opponent is about to make it out with a sliver of health by dealing pure damage and reducing their health regeneration.

Starting Items:

Commoner’s Boots/2 x Mana Potion/Blink/Portal

Early game:

Acolyte Anklet
Bead of Inspiration
Mana Potions upon each shop visit
(Optional) If you are having a very good early game, consider purchasing some Essence Of Wisdom

Reasoning:

Starting with tier 1 boots or Renewing Amulet along with some pots. is always a good bet. Should I decide for mobility first (the boots) I will usually play a more aggressive early game. In a situation where I prefer starting with the Renewing Amulet, I tend to focus more on scoring as many last hits as possible, often only using my Immolation [Q] to keep the opposing Hero at bay. Either way, the Acolyte Anklet is always the first item I complete. I the move on to completing my Bead of Inspiration for the additional Mana regen.

Mid game:

Orza’s Soul Net
Glacial Scepter

Reasoning:

Because Atasha’s damage output depends mostly on her Special Power, getting expensive items like Orza’s Soul Net early on is crucial. As I already have the Bead of Inspiration by now, I will either save up and purchase the Wizard Scepter or buy the different parts that make up the Glacial Scepter. This entirely depends how well I am doing at this point. If the pickings are slim and the game rough, I go for the Bloodstone as it gives me a HP boost as well as a faster cooldown on my abilities.

End game:

Tulaan’s Arcane Gambit
Arcane Reaver
Rush of Insight

Reasoning:

Arcane Reaver is the most important of these items for me. It gives you 25% Spell Vamp. which allows you to survive a skirmish with these pesky Physical Damage heroes and their Life Steal. Then again, Tulaan’s Arcane Gambit gives the Queen of Fire a huge Special Power boost (but as the cost of HP) so getting it after you acquired the Glacial Scepter can be a great asset. I selected the Rush of Insight because of its 20% cooldown redux. Mana regen. and raw Special Power as well as the active that reduces all cooldowns by a few seconds. Atasha is a ‘glass canon’ and I always prioritize her damage output over any other value.

Overall Combined Stats:

+472.5 Health
+700 Mana
+7.5 Mana/Sec
+682.5 Special Power
+0.60 Movement Speed
+35% Cooldown Reduction
+25% Spell Vamp
Actives:
Reduces the cooldown remaining on all your Abilities by a few seconds.
Passives:
Your damage dealt by your abilities slow affected enemies for a short duration.

Build Synergy:

As a caster, I find this gives Atasha the raw spell power and cooldown reduction she needs. Of course, the lack of defensive stats and abilities call for a more cautious style of gameplay, but the reaps are well worth it.

Strategies:

Early Game:

Be aggressive, harass with your Immolation [Q] and start using Dragon’s Breath [E] on them as soon as you can. When they turn to face you, use your Smoke Screen [W] to hide in. Last hits are crucial, but you can also push hard by damaging all minions equally with auto-attacks and then using Dragon’s Breath [E] to finish them off. Once you get to the enemy tower, damage them with auto-attacks instead of focusing on the minions. This will put a lot of pressure on the opponents facing you, but be careful and always keep track of where the enemies are in regards to the other lanes as you are squishy and may attract a lot of unwanted attention. If your opponents attempt to push the lane, destroy their minions quickly and land as many Immolation [Q] as possible on them. This should force them to leave the lane often, giving you precious time to destroy their tower. However, once your Mana runs below a certain threshold or if your Blink is on cooldown, remember to use the vegetation surrounding your lane to your advantage or to hug the tower. At this stage, Portal comes in handy for a quick Mana refill and to buy more things at the shop.

Mid Game:

This is where you start shining truly. By now, you should have destroy the first tower in your lane. This allows you to roam in the Jungle, killing creeps for the extra gold and aiding to your Team’s other lanes if need be. At this point you need to reap a lot of gold. Try to be part of every team fight as they will start occurring more and more. Remember to stay back and let the other fight for you. You’re only here to throw fire into the mix, you never want to be caught alone.

Late Game:

By now, your enemies probably have high amounts of magic resist. If they don’t, keep roaming and burn them to a crisp! If they do, always stay with your friends. You are a very valuable asset in any team fight and you can always step up to protect a wounded ally. Make sure to use terrain to your advantage also, you have lots of Area-of-Effect abilities. This is also when your selection of the Portal glyph comes in the most useful. After (or during) a team fight where the enemy suffered heavy losses, pick a lane and push it as fast and as far as you can. Late-game Atasha blazes through minions like a hot-red knife through butter.

Conclusion:

I personally really enjoy this Atasha build. It packs quite a punch and frankly, plays around her best asset; Massive Damage Output. Using this build however, requires a great deal of map awareness and some measure of cooperation and collaboration with your fellow team members. One thing is for sure, when there is a fight on the battlefield, there is always a place for Atasha’s flames to shine.