Introduction Top
The Lost Vikings are a unique addition to the Nexus. The first, and so far only, Hero that has multiple elements that can be controlled individually. These elements are of course
Erik the Swift,
Olaf the Stout, and
Baleog the Fierce.
Controlling the Vikings both separately and together is a challenge and is part of the appeal to many players. With that in Mind the basic goal of this Guide is to outline when, where, and how to best make use of
The Lost Vikings ability to be in more than one place at once.
How to start a game when Split Top
One of the most important decisions you need to make with
The Lost Vikings happens before the gates open and the game starts. The question is of course where to send the Vikings, if they'll stick together or split, maybe
Erik the Swift is off alone while
Olaf the Stout and
Baleog the Fierce stick together. There's a lot of potential and especially with
Viking Hoard there's some motivation to put the unique ability of TLV to use. If the enemy team has an obviously good early game fight potential it's usually best to go ahead and TRY to multi-lane soak and collect globes, but if the opponents prove to you their serious about making you dead, don't be stubborn just accept it and group The Vikings up to keep them safer.
When to Split- Look at the Enemy team. If there's no great threat from a bursty ganking roamer like
Zeratul or Stiches, who even though he himself lacks damage his role early is still one of roaming for pick-off kills. Sending a Viking to each lane is okay. Let your allies know that each Viking alone isn't all that strong, particularly early game before obtaining talents, and you yourself need to carefully juggle keeping each of them safe, but in range for exp and importantly Globe collection.
Olaf the Stout Is best sent with a traditional Solo laner, like a
Tassadar Because of his passive health regen, he can pop out and nab up globes, and even take some harass and be okay after a few moments of rest a little bit back. (Generally this is when your attention shifts to the other two, and while you do Olaf will regen his health and be in perfect shape for the next wave)
Erik the Swift Doesn't need support, his speed can in a pinch allow him to steal globes and race to safety if need be BUT, yes there is a but. Sending him to the lane with your team's support will greatly reduce his ability to be killed in the blink of an eye. Erik is the most squishy, and as such is at the most risk while your attention is focused on the other two. His speed however allows him to get into and out of trouble at a quick pace, and when backed by heals he can be quite a pest to an opponent.
Baleog the Fierce Is overall the most Vulnerable. While he's got more health than Erik, he isn't as fast. And his health regeneration starts at a 'normal' rate unlike Olaf. But Baleog isn't all downsides. His attacks are the strongest, and they also splash behind the primary target, making him the Viking best at pushing a lane. Because of this if there's a 'target lane' your team wants to damage early (like the middle gate on Blackheart's to guarantee the first turn in kills the fort, or the Golem lane on Mines) Then he's best sent there. And I personally feel both Olaf and Erik are more important to properly pair up with allies, so Baleog often ends up just getting to go wherever is left.
So I can't split up, what do I do now? Top
So there's a
Zeratul who wont leave poor
Erik the Swift alone What now? Well lucky for you TLV aren't just a one trick pony. When grouped together there's still plenty that can be done to attempt to garner an advantage in exp gain or map control.
First, and importantly, just because all three vikings are in the same place, doesn't mean there isn't any opportunity to make use of the fact you can control them individually. Getting Olaf and Baleog into position to get the most out of
Spin To Win! and Baleog's splash is worth doing, and Erik's speed makes him an excellent little scout to constantly be checking nearby bushes, paths, or anywhere else you can't see normally while laning.
There's also Olaf and Baleog's ability to take Seige camps without need of Erik's presence means that even while Erik soaks a lane, the other's can be earning more, and adding a nice boost to the push power of a lane.
The Lost Vikings Have good pushing power, not the best, they wont out push a
Sgt. Hammer or
Zagara But they can get work done, and their higher than most total auto-attack damage means once they push a minion wave to the towers they get a lot of headway into the buildings during the time they're allowed to. This is another way that you can help earn an advantage for your team, Forst are worth exp too!
And perhaps the riskiest way
The Lost Vikings can be put to use as a unit is aggressively harassing or even seeking kills with a team mate. Now with virtually no CC besides a simple slow and most of their damage being from auto-attacks how can they even attempt to fight alongside strong roamers? There's Three Bodies. That's a lot of body blocking potential. When your team mate seeks to engage, Start by getting Olaf to attack the target to slow them. While also getting Baleog in position to just deal the most damage possible. While ALSO using Erik's speed to get him into body blocking position. Once Erik has body blocked, let him use his ranged attack to add damage while the enemy attempts to get around him. By now Olaf himself should be moving ahead to attempt to bodyblock further. In this way the vikings can delay a retreat for plenty long enough for an extended enemy to be picked off. Not only rewarding exp, but also giving them a temporary advantage or even a temporarily empty lane to push hard.
Team fights and Objectives. Top
Team fighting with
The Lost Vikings is a process that has immense depth involved, and I'm sure in a Month the primitive uses we use now will look amateur and silly. But for now there's basically three things to worry about. First and foremost is staying alive, which with the short range on Olaf and Baleog can be quite tricky until you have
Norse Force! Second is dealing as much damage as possible, typically Baleog's attacks, and good
Spin To Win! positioning are key. And Third is trying to keep Erik(it could be any Viking, but Erik's speed make's him the easiest to use) in a proper position to activate
Longboat Raid! As the non-mortar damage isn't targeted, getting into and staying in the right position can be the difference between two kills and a survivor and three survivors at super low health.
Avoiding AoE is beyond important for TLV; A well placed Ring of Frost-Blizzard from Jaina can completely end the Viking's lives. Strafe can take Erik and Baleog out in the blink of an eye. Even just incidental AoE damage like Psi-storms or Putrid gas can over the course of a fight wear TLV down to dangerously low health. While unintuitive perhaps, splitting Olaf and Baleog to two different targets can help immensely! Baleog's range isn't melee, but it's pretty dang close and if Olaf and Baleog are hitting the same target many common AoEs are able to hit both of them(while Erik and Olaf are far enough apart that many skills can only hit on or the other) But having to move Two vikings out of AoE, even for the best of us, takes longer than moving a single viking. So Position in such a way as to save yourself hassle further down the road!
More to come, guide quite unfinished. Top
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