Waddup. I'm SHIFT, and I like pickles.

I will be putting together a couple of very quick guides with some build ideas and rationale for discussion. These are mostly a resource for my viewers on Twitch who ask about builds and want to kind of get in my mind while I'm playing heroes. I will reference my pre-set builds in the talents and abilities section, these initial builds are not to be taken literally or followed 100% of the time for every single game. Please read the rest of my rationale as I give it below and make up your mind on what you want to do!

If you have not seen my stream, feel free to check me out here!

Falstad is a ranged assassin that can be built in a number of traditional ways. He can either be built as an AOE damage dealer through his Hammerang build, a single target damage dealer through his Lightning Rod build, or as an auto attack based assassin through his Auto Attack build. All of these can be found in the pre-build list above.

Also know that your Flight makes Falstad so incredibly great when it comes to early game ganking and initiating with Mighty Gust for huge team opportunities. AND! If you find yourself in a losing battle against heroes with no stuns available you can use Flight to get out of those situations!

Whatever playstyle you decide to build with, make sure you are utilizing your pros while minding your cons.

Hammerang Build - You are best off at a distance and not getting beyond your first line unless the fight has completely fizzled out and you can get some extra single target damage in at the tail end of the fight. With this build you limit your escape ability and you are rather mana intensive so be mindful of that funny little blue bar as you are fighting. A Falstad witout mana is a useless Falstad. This build also relies on Gathering Power, so you need to eliminate as many deaths as possible.

Lightning Rod Build - This require a bit more finesse in tight and up-close situations. You will only get out a high level of deeps if you are in range of your Lightning Rod radius. This can usually put you in some pretty hairy situations. Make sure your support/healer knows that he needs to stick on your like a fat kid on vanilla bean cake.

Auto Attack Build - Similar as above. However, with Giant Killer at level 13, you actually have some room to mess up some warriors and healers. So don't feel like you HAVE to be hitting the back line all the time. It needs to be noted that there are BETTER choices of hero when it comes to dealing Auto Attack damage, but with some changes to Falstad's abilities he can provide an unsuspecting source of auto attack damage.

(Q) Hammerang A linear skill shot that primarily does damage and inflicts a slow on any enemies hit by the Hammer in flight. Damage from the hammer are inflicting both on its way out as well as on its return trip to Falstad. Great for lane clear and multi-enemy damage dealing.

(W) Lightning Rod Now activatable on a single target! This ability is great for focusing down one particular enemy as you either initiate a fight or chase down a target as they leave the battle.

(E) Barrel Roll Your main source of escape/chase. Know that this ability will allow you to roll over terrain obstacles like hedges, and small ledges. Using this talent will also grant you a small shield.

(Trait) Tailwind Bonus move speed as long as you are not taking damage. Notice how it says not TAKING damage. The trait will still be in affect as you are DEALING damage. A great trait for chasing enemies and overall map mobility out of combat.

---

Power Throw - There are SO many good options Level 1 now with the most recent rework of Falstad. However, this is my normal pick up. The extra range plus the increased slow duration is just so strong in lane as well as in early team fights. Falstad is a squishy dude, that extra distance gained in your ability to deal damage is really pretty incredible. However, there are some other viable options, be sure to read the ALTERNATIVES.

ALTERNATIVES Bribe - You may have noticed in my Build Overviews I did not include Bribe in any of them... This isn't because it sucks, it's because it's hard to rationalize it if you are a single minded selfish bastard who is picking abilities based purely on putting out more DPS in the Hero Damage category. Stat hunger punks... This coupled with Flight on big maps like Cursed Hollow, Sky Temple, and even Garden of Terror and Dragon Shire make this one of the more dangerous abilities that Falstad has as an enemy team looking for map control. Be mindful though as you need to make sure you are keeping up with your stacks and you are only using your Flight to get away from the camps, not necessarily to get TO them. This is my usual second choice, but there are other solid options as well. Updraft - With the way Lightning Rod now works, this is a great ability to have when either pursuing heroes at the max extent of your Rod range, or to get out of situations where you may have overextended to chase down a kill with Lightning Rod. I would only take this if you are going with the Lightning Rod or Auto Attack builds provided above. Seasoned Marksman - This synergizes SUPER well with the new opportunity to have a reasonable Auto Attack build. Granted, Falstad is not my first choice of heroes to select if going for Auto Attack damage, but again, it IS a viable option now with some of his new abilities. Be sure to grab this if you are trying that particular build out. Otherwise, skip it in favor of something else. Conjurer's Pursuit - This would probably be one of my last choices but still, IT'S NOT BAD AT ALL! And is very viable if you find yourself spamming a lot of Lightning Rod coupled with Hammerang. This would be THE choice to go with if you find yourself wanting to take Battle Momentum at Level 7 with your Lightning Rod build. Falstad is very mana hungry, so this isn't a terrible option and could be argued as a solid choice if utilized right.

---

Gathering Power - Now there is a lot of debate, even internally with myself, about which ability is best at this level. For the MOST part I will go Gathering Power simply because the amplification it gives to your consistent damage providers is too strong to give up (Those primary damage providers are Hammerang and Lightning Rod). Please read through the ALTERNATIVES as there are GREAT choices there as well.

ALTERNATIVES Charged Up - This is a MUST if you are going to be focusing on your Lightning Rod damage. Some people will look at this and say "But why? If Gathering Power gives you the amplification to all talent damage, wouldn't that be best?" Well, noble reader, you will see when you get Thunderstrikes that having 2 extra lightning strikes will end up giving you more damage later as Thunderstrikes gives 15% subsequent damage to each strike that connects. Meaning that those bonus strikes you are getting now will give you 45% extra damage later on. Flow Rider - This has only become a consideration only because Rewind is no longer an ability for Falstad. But even still, I don't find this as useful as the other options. If you find yourself needing to Barrel Roll more often, you aren't doing it properly the first time you use it. Make sure you aren't rolling in too soon to a battle, and make sure you leave battles over walls or hedges. Vampiric Assault - Not worthwhile. You don't attack fast enough for it to give you back enough health to merit picking this ability up. Plus, your healer should be doing this for you.

---

First Aid - Man, Falstad's recent rework has really put a struggle on me to find the best options at nearly EVERY level... However, First Aid has still been my go-to. Especially when I'm not fighting with a full team or if I don't know/trust my healer. That being said, there is great value in both Secret Weapon and BOOMerang...

ALTERNATIVES BOOMerang - So, like I said I will usually take First Aid before I take this ability. UNLESS, I find myself on Haunted Mines or Garden of Terror and my team needs help clearing camps faster. That AOE damage boost really is great with lane clear and camp clear and becomes a VERY viable option over First Aid in cases where you need that extra clear. Even if you decide to go with a Lightning Rod build, this ability is great to aid in your lane clear as well as helping you gain stacks for either Seasoned Marksman or Bribe. Secret Weapon - I'm still deciding whether or not this is worth the investment if you do NOT go with an Auto Attack focused build... On one hand you can put out MASSIVE damage while your Hammerang is out, especially if you went with Power Throw and you plan on taking Hammer Time. I'm serious, the extra amount of damage on a single target with it is really incredible. Now, is it more beneficial than BOOMerang and its AOE and lane clear potential? I think in certain cases, yes. If your team has enough AOE damage then you NEED to be going with Secret Weapon in your Hammerang build. It does a lot more damage output compared to the explosion that you get in BOOMerang at the cost of poor lane clear at the late game stage. So you choose... Late game: Do you want more damage? Or do you want to be able to aid in lane clear and lane push? Secret Weapon for the first, BOOMerang for the latter. Battle Momentum - This is only really an applicable choice in a Lightning Rod build. The choices that buff Hammerang are too strong to make Battle Momentum a consideration in a Hammerang build. BUT! It couples nicely with putting out more damage with Lightning Rod. I would suggest taking Conjurer's Pursuit if you are going down this route. Free Roll - You aren't using Barrel Roll enough for this to pay off as much as it seems to advertise. Just don't bother with it.

---

Both of these Heroic Abilites are viable options, it really just comes down to what you are feeling and what your team needs more of.

Hinterland Blast puts out an INCREDIBLE amount of wide-line damage and can absolutely decimate enemy heroes. Especially if you end up going Overdrive later on, you will be putting out 1100+ damage in a single blast; not to mention the buff increase with Call of the Wildhammer at Level 20.

Mighty Gust - With a coordinated team this might be one of the best initiating ults in the game. I had a nice long discussion with some rando who claimed to be 4000+ MMR about how Mighty Gust is so incredibly powerful... He didn't seem to get it, kid was a lying-non-4000+ moron, but I digress... Here's what ya do...

Step 1. Flight behind the enemy into a bush or behind a ledge where they can't see your landing graphic.
Step 2. Step behind the entire group of enemy.
Step 3. Mighty Gust them into your team.
Step 4. Laugh.

I'm serious, this ult is incredible. Again, I didn't put it in the build layouts up top because I know a lot of you will sit there and say, "This guy is an idiot" or think that you just want the deeps. This ult is game changing. Try it out in game and then come back and listen to everything I have to say. Or I will find you... and eat all of your Jell-O Snack Packs... Again, you may not top the DPS category in the stat line but trust me your teammates will suck your D with how game changing this ult can be if pulled off correctly.

---

This is solely dependent on what build you are going with at the beginning of the game. Read the ALTERNATIVES for descriptions and rationale.

ALTERNATIVES Giant Killer - Really only grab this if you are going with Secret Weapon. This is a great tank-killer ability and should only be taken if you are looking for those Auto Attack deeps. Granted, if you are going with a Hammerang build it is viable, but so is Thunderstrikes for similar damage outputs from other sources that are NOT Hammerang. Crippling Hammer - If you find that your team does not have the CC that it needs to be successful in the later parts of a team fight, this is a great skill to prevent heroes from escaping as easily. The extra 25% slow is great, especially if you went with Power Throw which makes the slow last 25% longer. It's not a CONSIDERABLE change, but it does make a slight difference in the mobility of enemies. Thunderstrikes - A must take if you are going with a Lightning Rod build. Static Shield - Not 100% God-awful, but not worthwhile in comparison to other ability options. Your support should be healing you enough and giving you shields, you need to be focused on the damage or impact you can have on a team fight, not your survivability.

---

This level really is a toss up and depends a lot on what your team does or does not have a lot of.
Hammer Time - More often than not you aren't getting the stun consistency on the target you, yourself, want to kill... This eliminates that. Most people don't notice this ability in the midst of the game (especially on your team), but use it for a couple of games and it will surely be felt, and you will notice it quite a bit. Great for eliminating channeled ults, or tracking down a hero that might otherwise get away. That being said, if you do feel confident in your team's stuns, you need to be going Overdive...

ALTERNATIVES Overdrive - This is viable both with Hammerang and Lightning Rod builds and should DEFINITELY be taken if you are going with Hinterland Blast. HOWEVER, if you find yourself taking Mighty Gust I would highly suggest going with Hammer Time instead just because that little extra stun follow up is great to stop certain heroes from getting out from the forced team fight you just started. If you do go Overdrive you need to be hitting it before you hit all of your abilities, and DEFINITELY have it active while you are trying to hit Hinterland Blast. Afterburner - Not terribly useful as you really shouldn't be chasing too much... I suppose it's beneficial for either escaping or chasing, but not compared to the impact you get from the other 2 aforementioned abilities. Aerie Gusts - See above. Don't take it.

---

You want to upgrade your Heroic Ability this level, doesn't matter which you took, they are too good to pass up on.

Call of the Wildhammer - Increased damage, range, and width. More potential to melt enemies... Self-explanatory

Wind Tunnel - Have you found your Mighty Gust initiations to be hilarious? It's even funnier when they can't retreat AT ALL.

ALTERNATIVES Fury of the Storm - It won't put out the damage that a Call of the Wildhammer will, and it won't impede enemies as much as Wind Tunnel will. Your selfishness isn't worth it by taking Fury. Epic Mount - You'd only be using this as an escape, and if you have to rely on your Flight to escape situations, you aren't using your Barrel Roll properly...