Cool guys don't look at explosions - A Howitzer Guide (WIP)

Introduction

Hello, my name is BlazingMessiah and welcome to my Paragon guide about Rumbl... erhm Howitzer! I am not a MOBA expert; I started playing Leagues of Legend, my first MOBA, 6 months ago and I just started playing Paragon with the payed alpha. I mainly play support champions, but I found myself to highly enjoy Howitzer and since there isn't a lot of guides, i tought "Why not make one myself?". And yeah that's pretty much it. I am far from being an expert but I will try explaining how I play this champion and I will try to frequently update this guide, following my own discoveries and your ideas. Don't hesitate to comment if something seems out of place or if you tested something really cool!

THIS GUIDE IS FAR FROM BEING COMPLETED

Summary (TLDR)

Howitzer isn't a champion that relies on burst damage to get the job done. This champion can poke from afar with his Q, and all his abilities let him control the battlefield.

Pros:

• Massive damages AoE Ult
• Have a AoE slow and a displacement ability working on both the enemy and yourself making it hard for the enemy to reach you
• Long range
• Has a cigar
• Has a giant mech

Cons:

• Relies alot on positioning 
• Relies almost exclusively on his Ult for killing

Abilities Overview

Passive: Fast reload

"If Howitzer gets a kill or assist, his active cooldowns are reduced."

The reduction, if I remember correctly, is 20% of the total cooldown timer of each abilities.

LMB: Cannon

"Howitzer fires a medium damage explosive projectile."

Energy Damage: 49.95/56.19/62.44

Energy Damage Scaling: 0.375

Cooldown: 1.5

Not much to say about this; it deals a small percentage of your basic attack to enemy near the target you hit.

RMB: Slow grenades

"Howitzer fires 3 grenades in a line that explode after a short time or if any enemies enter their proximity. Any enemies hit are slowed."

Energy Damage: 50/100/150

Energy Damage Scaling: 0.5

Mana Cost: 52/56/60

Cooldown: 15

It's important to note that, unlike grenades, these projectiles more act like mines; once they hit a wall or the floor, they stop moving and are ready to explode (Unless you it a enemy champion or a minion, in which case the mine will detonate on contact). Charging it let the 3 grenades cover a wider area and each one can explode independently, letting you applie multiples slows. 

Q: R2000 Missile

"Howitzer fires a long range Rocket at a target location. On impact, the rocket explodes and deals damage in a small radius."

Energy Damage: 85/120/155/190/225

Energy Damage Scaling: 0.8

Mana Cost: 52/56/60/64/68

Cooldown: 12/11.5/11/10.5/10

This ability is what makes Howitzer the master of poking and pushing. Its scaling and Its long range let you wither the enemy HP without having to put yourself at risk. It can also be used to secure kills from afar and it absolutely destroys minions when you put a couple points in it.

E: Detonator

"Howitzer throws a Land Mine to a target location. After a short delay or after re-triggering, the mine explodes dealing damage and knocking nearby enemies away. Howitzer will also be affected by the knockback if he is nearby."

Energy Damage: 50/75/100/125/150

Energy Damage Scaling: 0.3

Mana Cost: 56/60.5/65/69.5/74

Cooldown: 17/16/15/14/13

This ability is perfect for engaging enemy or disengaging, even tought it's diffucult to land flawlessly. An enemy is attacking your tower? Shoot your E behind him and watch him panic when you destroy his minion and he realize he is alone under your tower with your mercilessly exploding his face with your basic attack and your slow. An enemy is trying to escape your Ult? By predicting his movements, you can force him back into the AoE with this ability. Need to disengage? Shoot it at your feet and fly away while your enemies are propulsed in the opposite direction! This ability is best used to set up your attacks or to save yourself. Do not use it for farming or only to deal damages.

R: Make it Rain

"Howitzer launches into the air and Makes it Rain missiles in a target area. The missiles hit repeatedly over a short duration with the last missile dealing extra damage."

Energy Damage: 450/675/900 (Over a few seconds)

Energy Damage Scaling: 2.5

Mana Cost: 100

Cooldown: 100/90/80

Pretty simple ability in fact. It let's you evade from combat for a few seconds and deal a lot of damage on a pretty big area (Almost a lane wide). In addition, when you fall down, you can reposition yourself easily, making your ult an easy engaging/disengaging tool.

Abilities upgrade priority

R > Q > LMB > RMB > E

Abilities Combos

WIP

Early Game

Farm and poke. Until you get your Ult, you literaly have zero killing power. Your main objective is to deny farm to the other laner while getting yourself as much cxp as possible. Try as much as possible to last hit so you get a lot of cxp and so you don't have to expose yourself bye getting the cxp lying on the ground. You get Q first, then E and RMB. Then, just follow the abilities upgrade priority!

Mid Game

Du to your kit that synergise very well with itself, you can quickly turn the tide of a battle and get a kill or two by going all-in. Pushing is key here; it let's you gank other lanes very effectively and when you come back, repushing your lane is a child game.

Late Game

In the late game, you are the pushing master. Q let's you destroy waves after waves of enemy minion alone, letting you solosiege towers while your team is putting pressure elsewhere.

Card Build

I still mainly use the basic deck. I will still work a bit on my deck and card experience before posting a real build, but I like to go Energy Damage and Mana for the sustained damage. 

Jungling

Don't.

Howtizer, as awesome as he is, has zero sustain in the jungle. You will burn through your mana pool really fast. 

Laning

Ganking