Abilities Build
Agora Deck Builder Links
Beginner: http://agora.gg/deck/kallari/kallari-custom-deck/821
For Those Of You Who Don't Like Reading (Cliff Notes)
This Is ALL You Need
"The build is developed so that you can have early and late surprise ganks. You're very quick and can get out of most situations after level 3."
I understand the build leaves you squishy, but you should almost never be seen or caught. They won't want to focus you because they'll end up burning their abilities on someone who can get away every single time. Especially when you get kills, your stealth will reactivate and you're free to escape clean again (hoping there is no other Kallari present). Currently there is almost no way to catch you and finish you unless it's another Kallari.
Also understand that you are an executioner, not a carry. You're movement and kills can and will sway any battle because of the fear the enemy has for Kallari. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure Kallari has carry capabilities but that is not what she is for. If you are against a formidable team that will not be an option.
Abilities Combos
There is no set ability combo. You have your E and your R . Use them as necessary. For example if you R first save that E for the last hit long distance kill.
I will outline certain key strokes that will help in many situations though.
Double Jump + Daggerfall (RMBx2 + LMB) is kill secure heaven. Most people aren't expecting it at all, especially because it happens so fast.
"Quality skill shots will yield quality results"
Position Yourself
"Prepare for the other team to make the poor move, then engage." Use R to secure kills when further engagement is not imminent.
This video will illustrate beginner placement.
Enter, Then Exit
Jump Escape: RMBx2 + Q (This will literally put you out of view from close proximity Heroes then when you come back down you'll be invisible)
Make use of your RMB to quick exit a threatening area. This allows for safer engagements.
This video will illustrate such an occurrence.
Sprint Is Your Friend
Utilize Sprint so that you not only catch up to the enemy, but time your enemies Sprint well enough and you'll secure a kill because of their ignorance.
An example below is how to wait until your enemy has primed their Sprint, and attack immediately upon activation.
Early Game
Keep your distance until level 3. Start ganking or completing fights at 5.
If you and your lane partner can work an enemy down that has pushed too far ahead, you'll almost always get the kill because of high damage output of your E.
The video below will illustrate beginning game team counter. Focus on the use of Sprint for positioning and securing those kills with E.
Mid Game
You should be a shadow on the map and show up all over keeping the enemy at bay. They will be so worried about your presence they will not take actions they otherwise would.
DO NOT be afraid to consistently using sprint in order to catch up with enemies, many will be running from you and can catch them in their sprint with your E. Just be cautious of your surroundings.
Here is a good illustration for Kallari vs Kallari counters. New players may have a poor time playing against her, so here are some tips. This is also an excellent example on positioning strategies.
Late Game
At this point you can two shot most heroes that are not tanks (possibly even a lacking CXP Grux).
Find idiots who tend to find themselves alone and eat up.
Most people question but below this video illustrates a mid/late (36 Minutes) game push by the enemy, and a counter offensive from Kallari.
"Because of ignorant "tunnel vision prone" opponents, the use of Sprint to position yourself for initiating engagements is vital for counter-offensives. Do your best to line up your Ultimate to dissuade them from pushing."
"The general question or concern is that Kallari can't handle hero's solo very well. Well if those late game carries build to carry, they will be vulnerable. If you've "made" them choose cards for sustainability (ie. health, armor) you've done your job and made your ranged carries be able to counter better."
For The Love of God
Do NOT waste your R on kill steals. If they are going to die let them die by your hand or another, it will not matter in terms of progress, XP, and CXP.
(I'm always pulling my hair out when I see a Murdock use their R against someone who is about to die, just to gain the kill on the scoreboard)
Use your E for securing kills and R only for initiating engagement or securing a kill (whether you be 1v1 or not). Do not kill an "already dead" hero with R. You will always need it especially if the other team is formidable.
"Think of your R as a secret weapon, almost impossible to dodge and when it hits, it devastates."
EXAMPLE: No matter how much you "carry" you can't carry a bad team to victory...
Jungling
Own that jungle while moving around the map if you do not have a jungle or they do not rely on it anymore.
Your R ability is great for killing jungles right before going back to base, it generally will have cooled down before any action happens.
Obviously as a jungle be aware of surrounding battles taking place, your presence is undoubtedly advantageous. A simple E to bring a target lower in health would work last minute.
The below illustrates Kallari's maneuverability in the game, and her ability to kill secure.
Laning
Preferably lane with a ranged hero or a tank like Steel. Their ability to harass and possibly push enemies towards your lines will help you secure your kills.
I will be posting more example videos soon for different techniques and strategies. I will also be updating the cards as the game progresses.
I appreciate your contribution, Stryken! Just one hint: you can embed YouTube videos rather than putting them as a link. Use short-code [yt:[YouTube ID]] as described here.
@George, For some reason the videos are having errors. Any idea why? They are not private.
@Stryken, yep. The [] are in bold you need to remove bold style from them. I did it for one video and it worked.
@George, Awesome! Thank you.
If anybody has any questions, please feel free to ask. I will also be updating this guide content frequently.
Hb a life steal build i am very interested in a hero that can
Is it best to simply run 5 cards the game? Do you use your 6th slot for harvester key late game? Or potions?
@ArchAngel180 (not verified), Personally I believe this 5 card build to be the most efficient for now. As teamwork and communication progresses it will shift the build a little. Keep in mind these 5 cards use up your 60 available card points by end game.
@Snkyghost (not verified), I've experimented with Life Steal but come up empty handed because your basic attacks don't do a great amount damage until late game. And by that time if you're attempting to rely on Life Steal you've done something wrong. Read my first section and remember that your character is not a brawler, or a 1vs1 hero. You have the abilities for cheap kills, and impressive ganks, don't try to "fight" your battles, you're not made for it. I'll be posting a video very soon (tonight) on how you can take down a hero that's a Kallari Counter purely because of your immediate output damage.
Ive ran kalli up to this point with attack speed, crit, and damage. Is the high pierce really neccesary?
@Voidless (not verified), Great question. I usually have the pierce because it helps against your direct counters. People such as Grux and Feng will hurt bad. But if you have pierce you stand a chance. ALSO. You will be able to bring annoying tanks such as Rampage down to low enough health to kill before he "overpowerly" escapes. The one pierce card of 64 basically gives you that slight edge on HP melting. Remember in part of this guide, I explain your role as ganker, not a fighter. Attack speed does not go hand in hand with that. With this build you'll have your 44% crit and it will be enough, trust me. If you want any live example let me know and I'll pull some data from replays.
I am going to try out your build with the pierce and see how that works for me. Ill update you later. Thanks a bunch!
@Voidless (not verified), Goodluck! Just keep in mind you aren't a carry. I posted a pic of a good example. No matter how hard you carry, or how you build it won't matter if your team is terrible. So build with understanding you're an assassin.
Hey man. Thank you for the guide! You rock!
Few questions:
1. Would you say you prefer jungling or laning with her?
2. What do you do about harvesters? Do you play around them a lot?
3. Where do you usually place wards?
Cheers
@Stryken, thanks for the guide, well crafted :) Keep it up
@Stryken, please check, I have updated Header Image in your guide. Feel free to replace if you have a better idea of what should be there
Hi there, I've only used Kallari a few times. In the last 2 matches I could not kill any of my enemies. I critically wounded several of them but could not finish off my opponents. Is it normal for you to be able to kill your opponents with an ult plus the dagger, and maybe a slash? She's so squishy for me that's usually about all I can manage before jumping and stealthing away. I'm wondering if I'm playing her right. Normally with Grux or Feng Mao they get melted fairly quickly. My last match was extremely frustrating in that my ult plus dagger and 2 auto attacks could not down Gideon or Sparrow. I put all card points in damage, a little mana, and some crit. Maybe the armor Pierce is that much better than straight damage?
@Silverjackal_, Normally you'd want to burst down DPS enemy heroes that are already damaged. Or to attack them in full HP but aiming not to kill but to prevent them from dealing damage to your team.
So I would not say that your main goal is kills (while it is a goal as well). And of course you should never stay and do a melee fight.
@NethioX (not verified),
1. I prefer jungling with her. Easy to escape ganks and allows for economical roaming. Problem is a decent Grux or Feng will want the jungle, and they'll need it because they should be the ones carrying. Laning doesn't hurt.
2. Harvester are just something everyone contributes with, I usually start with a key but I don't press it unless my team is useless. Because you're roaming so much it can be advantageous to harvest.
3. I place wards generally around enemy side camps and mid positions. Assassin ward allows you to have 2 wards to place so you can place quite a bit. If mid is doing poor you may want to place the wards in those gank spots next to towers, I usually get many kills even on tower there.
@George, Yeah that's awesome thank you!
@Silverjackal_, I'm actually not quite sure what the issue may be. You may be severely under farmed vs your opponent, but come Mid Game you should be able to E+R or E+R+LMB any Gideon and ESPECIALLY Sparrow. But as @George said, you generally want to be finding people who are weak and vulnerable, even a bit above half health is easily dead. The crit part of the build helps finish heavier carries late game, you'll melt them for most of their health and then auto attack for about 700+.
Keep in mind another great point @George alluded to was that you're a battle changer. The other team with be far less aggressive and far more cautious if your presence is unknown. Especially when you can come into a grouped up team fight and melt all of them for more than half health in 1 second. The sound of your R after you gank will make them re-think 3 times, haha.
Add me on the North America server if you'd like, my replays may help. Stryken
@Stryken, hey. Don't you want to share your guide in Reddit sub? Now there is a special button for this.
@Stryken I will take you up on your offer and look at your replays. I like the idea and style of Kallari, I just thought it was strange I can 2 shot most of my opponents with Feng Mao or whittle them down in seconds with Grux but was failing with the assassin. Thanks for the advice gents. I'll follow it, happy ganking!
@Silverjackal_, I'll be on in the evenings PST. I'll look for the invites.
@George, Where might that button be? Your highlighted text brings me to the top of the page but I may be missing something.
@Stryken, if you have external scripts blocked you may probably not see that. Here is how it should look like. http://i.imgur.com/n4UqfHo.png
I don't understand how exactly how to read the build and i feel stupid ;(
@Droe14 (not verified), Sorry about that, which part are you having trouble with.
Abilties? Cards? Or the bulk of it?
Everything below the cards is basically beginner formulas for understanding how to get better with Kallari.
I just don't know what cards I should have at each parts of the game I see them listed but there are more than six cards so I don't know what to keep and what to exchange for something and what upgrades like mid and end game there are an uneven amount of cards sorry if I'm making this more confusing a than what's it needs to be and
Nice Build and explanation but can you provide a link to Agora deck builder LOT better to have a quick view ;)
BTW Assassin's Ward and Voidsteel Daggers are not in the game anymore if I'm not saying shit
@Ju Lian, I will provide an Agora Deck Builder Link, thank you for the recommendation.
And as for your comments on the Assassin's Ward and Voidsteel Dagger cards, I was playing with them as of April 3rd, 6:00pm PST. So unless they were patched out immediately after that they are most certainly in the game.
@Droe14 (not verified), The card build I provided only requires you to discard the initial potion, mana, and harvester key. You may discard those at your discretion. The earlier the better because the extra damage card you gain from can aid fairly well in early ganks.
Ok thank you very much!
Great videos, really helps sell your guide
Do you reach further with kallari ult by jumping?
@Skl3UD (not verified), Yes you do. For example you can RMBx2 (Double Jump) and use your R (Ultimate) to kill a Howitzer in the middle of his Ultimate (Being that he is high in the sky). I'll have to post a video for that example.
@Bad Alchemy (not verified), Thanks for the input! Always help, I'll continue to update everything.
Crit and armor pen are useless for Kallari
@Spell Echo (not verified), The ONLY reason I include crit is because when you face a team that builds for burst damage heroes, it helps to have those 700-900 crit hits after you Ult them. Other than that you are correct.
Awesome guide! Thanks bro!
My friends' and I were wondering if Kallari is still worth it if you already have a Sevarog jungling, since a jungler can gank if necessary. We also have a Steel to tank for Kallari if that helps you answer.
Awesome guide and build! What if I don't have the Voidsteel Dagger? Is there any other card I can use to achieve relatively same attack power?
@Feenyx, At that point it probably depends on the person preference. I would say a good Kallari is more advantageous than a Severog due the swiftness of her ganks. Sev is more meaty, and requires time to be effective, whereas Kallari is immediately gank material at LvL 5. Also if your team comp is a little squishier than you'd like, a Severog may be a better choice. So if you didn't have a tank, or your only ranged carry was Sparrow, etc.
To be honest it almost won't matter because the real determination comes in how you need to counter the other team, that isn't a part of the game yet if ever so choose who you do best with for the moment.
Congratulations! The 1st guide ever reached +10 rating.
@George, Thank you!
@Stryken, please post a complete gameplay for us. I also don't have the cards that @Ju Lian talk that are not in the game anymore, could you help with that? Thanks.
@Pedro (not verified), In response to the cards not being available that's false. I most definately still use those cards to this day. (4.15.2016). And as for a complete game I will have to do that for you guys!
@Stryken, I've added a combat guide video. It's from a 1 hour 10 minutes game. Condensed into a little over 5 minutes. I hope this helps a bit.
@Stryken maybe the cards aren't there because i'm playing on PS4? Or you just have access to those cards later in the game? Watching you play Kallari made it look so easy, thanks for your help.
@Pedro (not verified), It's possible. I'd check the forums for more details and maybe submit a support ticket. As far as I know PS4 and PC are on the same update. Glad I could help!
You have to unlock some of the cards from playing I think. Or he might not have gotten them yet. @Pedro what level is your account?
@Varking I'm level 17 now, already have the assassin's ward. Thanks guys.
What's a good substitute for Assasins ward? The armor pierce priority on the card?
How do you beat wards? I was playing my first PvP match with Kallari today and kept getting flushed out because of their wards. How do you avoid getting flushed out when they have wards?
@Feenyx, The only response I know to that is to have your own shadow wards in your team or even in your hand. Place them in key points and destroy enemy's wards in advance. I know it's easier to say than to do :)
@MeNasty, there are lots of cards with pierce. Check out Cards section. Though there are no wards other than Assassin's one with physical armor penetration
@MeNasty, I would get another card that allowed wards, the wards are ideal because of your consistent movement throughout the map. Not only will it help with ganks but it keeps you aware of people coming for you as well.
@Feenyx, Wards are just a counter to stealth, just as other aspects of the game counter others. The best you can do is place yourself when engaging in a manner that wards will not help a whole lot. @George, is right but I believe you're speaking of when there is an engagement and they slap a ward down, leaving no time to kill it without removing stealth and exposing yourself. In this case you'll want to escape in the least expected way. Again you can always watch them drop the wards and wait till their out of range to engage. The sound of your stealth puts the other team on guard and may give your carries the distracting edge they need.
@Stryken Thanks. My biggest problem was actually trying to gank during a team fight but getting caught out by wards and dying instantly. I'll probably stick to ganks during one or two person fights.
nice guide man.. I use a completely different build, but that's what is so great about paragon, different builds work well for different people :).
I read somewhere(don't remember where) that crit only applies to LMB. If that's the case then why have crit?
After reading your guide I may have to add a ward into my deck, I never really worry about it too much, but can see how it could benefit me and my team.
And as far as harvesters go, you must be getting teamed with better people than me, I end up having to put at least 3-4 of them down(I try to get 5 if I can).. ur lucky :)
All in all I love the guide.. but I'm more of a Glass Cannon guy myself.
Good build i used a few different thing but looking at this helped me build what i have now
@StabbySantaa, Great question, and the crit thing basically comes down to a 100 dmg increase on ulti (without the crit) or double your autos at 44% crit, being around 600-700 basic hits. You're basically giving up that extra damage on your ult to have a beter chance at a 1v1 with a champ such as feng or grux.
But kind of like you said, many builds work. This one is catered to a kallari player who can maneuver well enough after their engagement. I rather have a fighting chance after I've spent my 2 skill, haha.
@XcrackedXkillerX (not verified), That great to hear. Like @StabbySantaa, said this game is great because each person can build each hero a different way and succeed. It can depend on your play style and many other factors. But my hope for this guide is to help those looking to develop their skills with Kallari especially since she is a high skill cap hero. Considering if you miss her Dagger and/or Ultimate you're done basically, haha.
Thank you so much for this build, I tried it out and my first PvP game with Kallari, I ended with 11/0/8! Really good deck. The pierce damage really helps out alot.
I love how everyone is voting up the guide but its total garbage and its not even full guide. Just some lucky plays and one game that went well. Also Kallari ultimate IDK if it was nerfed or what is with it but the range you are traveling with it is half in game now.
@Derthiel, do you have any specifics to stand for your criticism? Just saying "the guide is bad" isn't constructive neither for readers nor for the author.
hey @stryken, do u have any particular order in which u buy your items and why ? great guide btw @Derthial just doesnt have the killari skills we all have :). haters guna hate, potaters guna potate i spose.
Idk how you guys play Kallamari....Every time I Solo Q with her it's like playing with AIDS. I would constantly have to go from lane to lane to save people. As you know, Kallamari is not a lane pusher. So...yeah....I hate her lol.
Hey there, Stryken. Are you going to be updating the guide for .27 patch?
As Figher's basic attacks are changed and they changed(I think buffed) Kallari.