Gideon To Victory - MID Guide

TL;DR

Gideon isn't a carry, in early game Gideon can stand on his own two feet 1v1, but after about lv 9, its time to avoid 1v1s.

Push lanes!!, Ward jungle often, Keep an eye out for team fights. They will happen, you will be needed.

Damage > AS/CDR > Mana Regen/Def > Crit/Lifesteal

Get blue buff(CD Reduction / Mana Regen), leave red for your carry

Intro

Gideon is classified as a pusher. When it comes down to what kind of character you want to play, if the answer is you want to;

1. Push lanes aggressively
2. Be difficult to catch
3. Deal Poke Damage
   1. poke = damage from afar. Softens targets for killing blows
   2. burst = lots of damage all at once (Kallari)
   3. sustained = pew, pew, pew, pew, pew (Carry)
4. Play a hero with some utility - IE (Teleport,  speed boost)

Gideon is good at poking. Using burden with cosmic rift can deal a sizable 1/4-1/5 of an enemies life, forcing them to use a health potion. Gideon has a lot of great abilities to help with any occasion.

PROS

1. Escape - Get out of Ganks and help position yourself in team fights
2. Slow - Slow down enemy to help escape or secure a kill
3. Amazing AOE Poke ability!
4. Pushes lanes like a boss

CONS

1. Ultimate ability leaves you vulnerable, especially late game.
2. Team fight effectiveness falls off late game

Abilities Overview

Infinity - Passive    

15 Energy Penetration

Portal Blast - Primary Attack - LMB/R2    

Your main attack, don't underestimate it. Also don't stop using it. If you get scared and ganked continue to hit the enemy.

Lv 1 Damage = 49.95 + (ARC x Energy Damage Stat)***

ARC = 0.375 at all levels

Burden - Secondary Attack - RMB/R1    

Another very useful ability.  It doesn't do very much damage and its scaling isn't amazing, but it does more than a basic attack. Use it to keep enemies in your Q longer and slow your enemies so you can get away.

Lv 1 Damage = 50 + (ARC x Energy Damage Stat)***

ARC = 0.5 at all levels

Cosmic Rift - Primary Ability - Q/Square     

This is your bread and butter. One of the few abilities in the game that you can easily use over most terrain, you can even use it to hit the enemy when you are down a tier and cast it up towards a tower from the jungle. This is the 2nd hardest hitting ability in the game at the start, IF & ONLY IF, the enemy is inside the target area for the full duration of the attack. This is why burden (RMB) boosts the effectiveness of your Q.

Lv 1 Damage = 100 + (ARC x Energy Damage Stat)***

ARC = 1 at all levels

Torn Space - Secondary Ability - E/Circle    

The amazing get out of jail free card. The main thing about this ability is that it gets better at lv 2 because that extra 50 range helps you move up elevation easier. At lv 1 when you aim up to a mid tower from the jungle you have to position it just right or you'll teleport into the wall and be trapped, at level two it gets much easier. Getting high and using your Q to prevent them from travel mode while you enter travel mode is how you will get away the cleanest. The only people that can follow you are Rampage and Kallari

Black Hole - Ultimate Ability - R/Triangle   

This is not the best Ult in the game, however a full Ult can do a severe amount of damage. "You are very vulnerable while using Black Hole, so timing and positioning are even important." Black hole gives you a tiny shield upon use, that will probably stop 1 basic attack. if you do teleport ult (E>R), try to get into the air so that you are out of melee range, no matter how high you are, your ult will hit the ground. If you are in the jungle, using E>R can get you high up in the trees so you are harder to see/find by the enemy while using the ult.

Press R/Triangle again to cancel your ult.

Heroes who can interrupt your ult: Steel, Murdok, Rampage, Muriel, Dekker

Lv 1 Damage = 450 + (ARC x Energy Damage Stat)***

ARC = 2.25 at all levels

*** Is not the full formula for damage

Abilities upgrade priority

R > LMB > Q > E > RMB

Always level your R & LMB when you can     5,10,15(R)     7,14 (LMB)

Abilities Combos

Basic Combo

This slows your opponent and leaves them inside your Q longer
RMB → Q → LMB, LMB, LMB

(Extremely aggressive Ult)

This is the yolo tactic, "you have no escape after this", you better kill them or be positioned well afterward. I feel this is most Gideon Ults when it should only be about 1/4 or 1/2.
RMB → Q → E → R

(Normal Ult)

This is the normal fight style, your strutting around throwing basics and positioning well. You still have an E to get away from that Rampage Rock / Steel Ult. If you can see a team fight turn to your favor get into travel mode right away this will help you realize you don't need to use your E to get a good Ult off.
RMB → Q → R

(Defensive)
RMB will slow a carry or anyone else so you can get around a corner. Your E/Circle will get you elevated, try to save your E for higher elevation, its your best chance at escape. which Is why I get It to lv 2 then upgrade RMB more.
 

Early Game

You are strong in your early game, Strong enough to 1v1 carries assuming you have better aim. "When you are up against someone early game move back and forth quickly to dodge, instead of strafing."

DON’T OVER EXTEND!

By this I mean "you should not be on the enemy’s stairs leading to their outer tower." This is how beginners die. They believe they can push their lane all day and not worry about good ole grux waiting for them to push just a tiny bit further so they can chop them to death (see what I did there?). When you die you give up CXP and lose CXP by not being around dying minions / last hits. Not to mention tactically, now the enemy can push your tower forcing others to help you, and leave there lanes, which they may not be winning themselves.

"Don't chase". If an enemy is low on life and runs into their jungle, don't follow them, you will likely be attacked by their jungler. Don't chase into their tower either, you can only take 1 or 2 tower hits, not to mention you are now over extended.

GET LAST HITS

When you get the "last hit on a minion you get 5x more cxp", which is 100 cxp per last hit,. This is 80% of your world lv 1-5.

WARD RED SIDE

"Most successful ganks come from red side". Ward closer to there side, into the jungle if you can safely.

Mid Game

"Gideon's power resides in working together" with literally anyone else. If you are fighting 1v1 try to lure them to a teammate. Your abilities make you a very useful person in skirmishes.

After lv 5

Buy 1 Defense item, either late early game or early mid game. look at enemy team composition. Either Tempered Armor for physical or Tuned Barrier for energy

The three best for Gideon are Damage, CDR and AS in my humble opinion. I like to go whirling staff and put 2 2cost AS and a 3 Cost Cast in there, Then I’ll fill up my ward with CDR.

Crit is fun, but not reliable without dedication. With that one whirling staff you will feel better about taking out jungle camps, last hits, and getting another hit or two in team fights.

Then I’ll build to whatever is needed, usually some Energy Pen at this point. Keep in mind that Gideon has 15 Energy pen from his passive. Extra defense will help you die less. Damage is always good to make your Qs hit harder.

Some people like to fill every item they get right away, but I find this to be counter productive as even though you can follow a build to a T, paragon is not like other mobas where you build a certain End Item, its more like you get to choose what combination of little items finish your end item, which is pretty cool. So ultimately I would not be scared to have the Ward and Tempered Armor/Tuned Barrier not maxed out for a good portion of the game, They both offer too good of bonuses to not buy early on. Try not to skip the defense item. Mid gets picked on, because you are mid. So get that defense so you can survive those rampage/steal tower dives and that carry roam.

Late Game

You are much less of a threat than you were, MUCH less. Push lanes, Ward jungle often, Keep an eye out for team fights. They will happen, you will be needed. If you run into someone try to lure them to a teammate while poking them or run away while poking them. 90% of my deaths come from late game, Gideon's kit isn't meant to deal with 1v1s

**This advice will be in the scenario of you running into eachother 1v1 with full life at the same level at about lv 12+.

______WEAK AGAINST____

Carrys (Twin, Murdok, Sparrow)

Carry’s will kill you late game 1v1, just don’t mess with them 1v1. What do you have? More AS, probably not, more Damage, probably not, better ult for 1v1, no. Gideon stands there and just chills in the air while they 3 shot you or worse if you didn’t grab a defense item like you were supposed to. You need to be thinking about how can you help your team without Killing unless it’s a team fight. The answer is pushing, warding and assisting in team fights. Late game, my priority is being that Gideon that doesn’t stop pushing lanes. Your Q will wipe out an entire minion wave in 2 seconds and then if you have any CDR you will probably have another q for the next wave. Push a lane, move push another lane, move back to lane, keep them pushed, but DO NOT ENGAGE ALONE. You can’t do it, you’re not an amazing carry. If you have some fantasies about using your q to travel stun a carry and basic attacking them to death, fine whatever. 90% of the time you will die. Not to mention late game carries are hardly ever alone. Whats that? You were about to kill their carry by yourself but then a Muriel ulted in, now you’re dead waiting 50 seconds to get back in and the lanes you pushed are no longer pushed, but its not your fault, a Muriel ulted in. If she had 1/… Get my drift here?

Junglers (Rampage/Steel/Feng)

All beefy heroes. You won’t be able to kill them alone unless they’re under-leveled or magically didn’t build any HP/Def items. Rampage will probably have the best luck against you as he can jump and stun. Get to the fancy footwork and try to get out of there before you start a team fight starting with your death and their tank in the front lines. If a team fight does develop, you as Gideon want to get lots of pokes in with your Q, the more you get in, the better chances your team has of winning.

Kallari

Kallari makes a sound when he is stealthed, if you hear it, he is close and probably trying to get a good angle for death sentence. You can run into jungle and place a q behind you to stop her from following or possibly travel stun her. Either way, an invis kallari with nothing on CD is scary. Move around A LOT, don’t be predictable in your movements, if she misses her ult, which is a straight line attack with a slight delay before executed, you will live for another 30-50 seconds at least. Kallari’s lv 15 death sentence gets 300% physical damage bonus. It hurts, a lot.

Howizter

Fighting Howitzer can be tricky, If you do fight him, fight in the jungle. Gideon does better in the jungle as his Q doesn't require line of sight to do work and he will probably chase you down thinking he will win. Your best chance of winning is luring him to a teammate to help you.. His E will cancel your ult, His ult is better than your ult. If you and howitzer ult ontop of eachother, and he is above you, your ult will still hit him, but his still hits you too. The difference here is that howitzer can leap away from where he was ulting and turn to you and continue to use his Q while you're trying to exit his ult, which the last rocket hits for more than all the others.

______YOU CAN WIN____

Gadget

Gadget is like Gideon in that her Q is her major damage focus, this fight will be you looking out for her launching her little drone at you and dodging it, which will dodge 60% of her damage output. Watch for the drone and you will win. Fight in an open area for more dodging room.

Muriel

You CAN win, but you will need penetration and time, which you will probably not have much time against a Muriel. Most Muriel's build CDR/Sustain so they can live to protect their carries. If you run into a Muriel it's probably not a good sign, Muriel's like to hang out with other heroes, so there is likely to be a Twin around the next corner with two big guns and a grudge against that lv 2 kill you got on him. I would poke her, as is a customary greeting by Gideon and check yourself, if you don't know where the enemy is, there is a 90% chance they are about to kill you. Otherwise go ahead and let the beat down begin, if she runs, she will get away from you, her orb gives movement speed so she will likely get away from you in the end and lead you to her team, SO in the end is fighting a Muriel worth it? probably not. Poke her a bit and move on.

Dekker

I have fought some good dekkers, with a bunch of CDR they can stun you quite a few times in a small 1v1 bought. Dekker's will slow you, stun you and then poke you. If you dodge her stun you can beat her, but you will probably have to dodge 2 of them. And as is customery watch the map, if you don't know where some enemies are, they are probably on there way to you. Try to remember your main mission which is pushing, if you are winning a bought with a Dekker and she is running, she may have been the only enemy that was able to try to stop you from pushing lane, which means you can A) Chase her, maybe get a kill or B) Use the time to push the lane and probably get a tower

Card Build

Damage > AS/CDR > Mana Regen/Def > Crit/Lifesteal

Jungling

Get blue, leave red for your carry

Laning

LAST HITS! Look at the scoreboard to see how many last hits your lane opponent has, if they have more that means they are going to out gear you. They will get heavier hitting items faster and that means you will lag behind. Getting last hits is important to stay with or ahead of the game as it progresses.

Ganking

Don't go through the shadow pool, it makes noise, you don't need it. Your teleport gives you an advantage in ganking. You can teleport up from jungle close to tower to help take down a low life hero or teleport closer to get that last basic.

FAQ

Frequent questions that may appear while playing this build and your answers

1. Q: Why do I always die?
   A: You probably use your E too early, over extended or you have no defense item

2. Q: Why don't I do any damage?
   A: Gideon falls off late game in regards to damage, he is meant for pushing lanes, not killing people. He only has his Cosmic Rift, which they can dodge most of and his ult, which they can also dodge. This means you have to try to kill someone with a target AOE, basic attack and your ult, which may or may not be on cooldown. Even if it isn't on cooldown do you really want to waste it on a Dekker you met in the jungle? If you see yourself feeling like you are a wimp turn to your real job and kill waves upon waves of minions for your team. Still keep an eye out for team fights though.

3. Q: Your grammar stinks.

          A: That's not a question.