It depends,
I have seen offlane vipers going for max corrosive skin and a casual cloak
and solo mid/bottom vipers building casual point booster + mek
Exactly. I see a lot of 2/1/2 builds recently.
I had always maxed nether toxin before he got buffed. I still feel like its amazing to max early for winning a man fight.
W>Q>W>W>E>R>W>E>E>E>Q>R
If you are being harassed a lot, or if you need to generally tank up, swap E and W around. The reason why you get W maxed asap is because it gives you more damage than Q at level 1, which means more last hits and stronger harass, and then you get the 1 point of Q for the slow and harass, then max E because the damage from it is bullshit op early on and turns you into a decent tank.
Recommended core items: Phase/PT, Mek, Aghs
As above.
Q first always for orb harass, although you can delay this a creep wave if you want and opt for W instead. The W will give you +20 dmg when creep are below 20% hp so you should be able to get every last hit in the fiirst wave.
Then W/E is situational, generally W though for extra damage, you want those Q's to hurt. Max out W/E first then finish Q. There is not a lot of point in maxing Q early as one point gives you everything you need since its buff. You used to put 3 points in it to get the 0s CD but you don't need to any more!
Some people say max Q. That is not a bad strat early if you plan on doing a lot of killing as the 40% slow will mean you can do that, but for last hitting this is the worst option and you'll also have to manage your mana if you are agressive with it
I'd always go phase for that extra speed and ability to chase through creep easily, +24 dmg too
Yasha after for extra move speed and some agility, maybe build into S&Y for some tankiness and even more slow chance.
Crits after Yasha for extra damage.
Aghas maybe, 4200 just for a lower CD and 50% mana cost seems quite high since even with a 12s CD it's probably only going to be used once in a team fight. I'd add this later rather than sooner.
Mek is a good pickup if no one else is getting it
If you are mid get bottle always, start with 4 sticks so you can rush it.
^you would be shocked by what a 12 second cooldown on viper strike could do. I go aghs right after mek or yasha and i use it twice per fight, every fight. As for the s&y thing, manta gives better stats, as well as a purge from the active and then the illusions do all your passives, so more damage. Much better item imo.
And never forget BKB after aghs/manta if you need it.
It really depends on who you are facing in lane. Always put one point in Q to start. Vs a melee with no real harass I go all nethertoxin next to make last hitting super easy. Vs anyone with harass maxing out corrosive skin is really effective. Does corrosive skin proc on cleave and aoe attacks? Can't remember if kunkka's tidebringer and qop's aoe proc it.
For items mek is really effective. More armor and hp regen makes him more tanky, lets your poisons do the work. I like aghs on him too then usually a butterfly.
Wink's build is that classic build i was referring to. Its not wrong, but its generally for a solo mid or dual lane approach. Viper is starting to be played offlane.
Manta is a better item Wink, but sometimes S&Y is nice because you can take advantage of its components far more quickly and it adds Maim chance.
Viper offlane, I'd still go for a Q and max out E next. If they dare hit you they'll probably hurt themselves just as much, plus the slow should mean you can get out of range of more attacks.
Vipers stat gains are pretty average across the board, and maxing Q is kinda dumb as you will just run out of mana and the passives will do more damage for free.
im a good viper player (mid)
E if they have roaming supports, OD, razor or whatever mid
dont really need many points in Q but if you are certain you can kill the mid guy, get points in it
W for last hitting, usually what i skill first
@ djgandy
pretty sure Q is 20 mana regardless of level, thus maxing it isn't going to cost you any more mana than leaving it at 1 point.
Also, Aghs is very very common pick up on viper in pro games, and goes well with meka.
phase, shadow blade, mek later than 15 minutes, heart as first luxury item etc = sign of bad players
I dislike shadow blade. Yeah it's nice for ganking but it's expensive for what you get. I prefer a tanky viper over a ganky viper.
What do you think of building S&Y first? Then disassemble into Halberd + Manta.
Anyway I fully agree with Wink's skill-build and item build. Thumbs up! I'm personally 31-6 with Viper doing mostly W-Q-W-E-W-R-W-Q-E-Q-R but I've been thinking more and more that I should 2-2-1 early on and then rush for max E.
Phase is only for hardlane (for escape) or mid Viper (for running to runes and ganking), if you're playing the more common carry Viper then please go PTs. Your team needs you to tank with strength treads and deal damage with the IAS.
Mek RoA Wand Upgraded boots core no matter what. Aghs if safelane, Drums if mid.
probably one of the few heroes that could do the old HoN disassemble into great two halves.
That said, i feel like it should come after meka ags, and in most cases, rushing manta is better.
My Skill build :
W,E,W,Q,E,R,W,Q,W,Q,R,E,Q,E,U,R
My Item build:
startig items: tango, wraith band
rush Mek, yasha, aghs, manta, shadow blade or bkb (Depends),desolator ( manual Q when i have deso)
@Concede
Q is 20 regardless of level. I was simply saying that maxing Q is not that great since you now have to use it heavily to make maxing it worthwhile and that will put pressure on your mana. What is the point of maxing it to not use it? W is free and will make last hitting easy and also give decent bonus damage on all attacks if you get the opponent down to 60% health which is easily done early on.
@ hatsuna, i only take issue with your starting items. Risky and inefficient.
Wand is still the best item in the game.
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Current patch/meta has seen a bit more viper lately. I have been seeing a variety of skill builds.
Whats your favorite/preferred skill build for viper? Throw in items if you like.