Monthly Archives: May 2015

Vainglory, Vainglory gameplay, Vainglory news, Vainglory update

Surprize 1.5 update roll-out including Fortress the new wolf hero

This post has been updated in real time as the Vainglory official stream was revealing the news in 1.5

Note! Some things may be wrong or misinterpreted as I was writing while watching the stream.

Wolf hero –  Fortress

Fortress gameplay
Fortress gameplay

Perk – Runs faster when near allies.

Truth of the Tooth – Mark the target. Attacks became short-range lunge. Team mates can run towards the target.

Fortress' Truth of the Tooth
Fortress’ Truth of the Tooth (click to enlarge)

Law of the Claw – Damages with crystal power and makes the enemy bleed. Bleeding heroes will take  extra crystal damage over time and will give life steal to the attacker.
It is also possible to apply stacks of bleeding with basic attacks from any allied hero, minions, wolfs from the pack or Fortress. After 5 number of stacks the target will get extra damage, will be slowed and will be inflicted with a mortal wound meaning that the target will get less healing and less hp barrier.

Fortress' Law of the Claw
Fortress’ Law of the Claw (click to enlarge)

Attack of the Pack – Fortress gets extra health and attack speed and also summons pack wolfs that will chase and attack the enemy heroes. Each wolf will chase a different hero, even though they are not visible and apply bleeding upon attacking. The wolfs will die after 3 hits, regardless the damage.
The pack wolf will track Taka but will not be able to attack Taka until he becomes visible.

Fortress' Attack of the Pack
Fortress’ Attack of the Pack (click to enlarge)

Bots

Bots are added in 1.5. The bots are very basic and don’t have a high AI and are meant mainly for really new players, the ones that have never played a moba before.
Also the new players will have to level up before playing in solo q.

Minion mines changes

The minion mines can now genuinely be used to push the turrets. Minions buffed by minion mines now deal way increased damage to Turrets and Turrets alone, no change to damage to other minions or heroes. The buffed minions will still be worth more gold.
The minions are upgraded instantly when the minion mines are taken and not over time like before.

Hero balances

Skaarf

  • Removed piercing and reduced damage of Skaarf’s perk Fan the flames. It now has crystal ratio instead.
  • Spitfire got nerfed and is more of a skill shot and riskier.
  • Goup got buffed with increased crystal ratio.
  • Ulti got nerfed a bit with reduce damage

As Captain Neato said: “The goal wasn’t to make tank Skaarf not viable, the goal was to make sure tank Skaarf wasn’t the carry.”

Vox

  • Crystal ratio for the bounce reduced.
  • The bounce distance decreased.
  • Resonance doesn’t bounce off Kraken.
  • Attack speed increased.

Joule

  • Reduced piercing of Thunder strike
  • Cool down will be reduced with levels

SAW

  • Crystal rate increased for Roadie Run
  • Ulti will be considered a basic attack so it will be able to crit.
  • The crystal rates have increased for the Mad Cannon

Celeste

  • Does less damage to minions.

Koska

Base armor reduce. Too tanky in early game.

Item changes

Brokenmyth – No more shield piercing but amplifies the crystal power.

Scout traps – Timer changed from 1.2 to 1.3 seconds

Boots –Tier 1 less movement speed
Tier 2 increased movement speed and health

2 new items

Minion’s foot – will start the crits build instead of the Swift Shooter

Contraption – Combination of flares and scout traps. Gives you cool down acceleration and charges over time with flares / scout traps.

Warhorn changed – It builds from Oak and Dragon heart instead of the Hourglass and Chronograph. The utility has also changed but it is not revealed yet.

Ironguard Contract – grants 50% gold bonus for the jungle minions instead of the 30% now. It still grants 30% bonus for the lane minions.

Skins and Cards

Tier 2 skins and Epic cards are out.

Shogun Ringo Skin Tier 2
Shogun Ringo Skin Tier 2

The Tier 2 Shogun Ringo and Kandi Twirl Koshka have been revealed in game.

A new Skaarf skin has been announced (leaked) but it will not make it into the 1.5 update.

Infinity Skaarf skin reveal
Infinity Skaarf skin reveal

Bug fixes

Crit on SAW
Fan the flames. Extra tick of damage removed.
Spitfire was applying 2 stacks cosmetically. Removed.
Gold times fixed.

New app for iPhone

Last but not least. The iPhone users will be downloading a new app instead of updating the old one. This is because before there were different apps for the iPhone and the iPad. There is only one app to rule them all now. So the old iPhone app should be deleted and a new app will be installed.

A new setting for iOS. You can turn it on to hide the non activable items anymore and instead make the other item icons bigger.

I’m going to go and give the new update a test run!

See u guys on the stream at twitch.tv/ahotiklive

Thanks Vanglorigame for the awesome update!

Vainglory, Vainglory news

Some new skins Joule, Ardan and Krul

First of all I have to say that it has been some time since I’ve posted. This is mostly because I have been busy with streaming, improving the stream but also the personal life has been getting in the way lately.  To make things worse I even got a nasty cold this last weekend.

Killa-Joule 9000

But back to Vainglory. Some new skins have already been announced for the next update. The first one is Killa-Joule 9000 which personally I really love. I have now read the lore for Joule and also for new skin. I love how much time and effort has been invested in making all this so cool.

Here are some “stolen” splash art images with the new Joule skins (kudos to the artists @ vainglorygame.com)

Killa-Joule 9000 Tier 1
Killa-Joule 9000 Tier 1

I think that the tier 2 skin looks even cooler with the red armored suit and the rockets. The only downside with the second one is the missing cleavage 😉

Killa-Joule 9000 Tier 2
Killa-Joule 9000 Tier 2

Stormlord Ardan

Now Ardan is like Ringo, one of my mains. As with Shogun Ringo (which I also bought), for some reason I’m not really impressed with the skin. I don’t know, maybe because I like the heroes so much, I am expecting too much. Don’t get me wrong the skins are awesome looking and really cool, but I need a really interesting story behind it that I can relate to when playing using these skins. It kinda feels like both Ardan and Ringo get a bit ruined by their new “personalities”. Yes, I understand that these are parallel universe, “what if…” lores and that they could not ruin the main lore  since they are not connected, but the nice, family caring Ardan, is now a Stormlord… I admit I am curios about the lore for this one, but I still need to get used to the idea. On the other hand, this might be a good reason to fight an enemy Ardan.

Here is the splash art borrowed from Vainglorygame.com

Stormlord Ardan skin
Stormlord Ardan skin

Death Metal Krul

Death Metal Krul Tier 1
Death Metal Krul Tier 1

This can be summed up like: Hated by many, loved by me. Here is why I love this skin:

  • I’m a fan of metal. Not the biggest fan like I don’t listen to anything else, but I enjoy the music
  • I like puns and smart word games. Krul is .. dead hence death metal.
  • The guitar instead of the sword is awesome! Especially when he swings it.
  • The Tier 2 is even more awesome epic coolness!
Death Metal Krul Tier 2
Death Metal Krul Tier 2

I can’t wait for this Krul skin.

I haven’t written about ESL and the new wolf hero yet, but I will.

Short about the ESL –> It started way to quickly after the announcement and got me by surprise and since I kinda missed the start, I decided to let it run for some editions and give my opinions about it after that.

See you on the stream twitch.tv/ahotiklive

/ahotiK

Elgato, Streaming, Tutorials, Vainglory gameplay, Vainglory news

Elgato iPad/iPhone real-time sound solution

Hello fellow (future) streamers / youtubers!

I have decided to make a category dedicated entirely to tutorials. I’ll be adding tutorials on streaming, creating youtube content and more.

Elgato game capture HD(60)

I have recently purchased an Elgato capure card that I am using to stream and record Vainglory games from my iPad and iPhone. Before purchasing the card though, knowing that the card will produce some delay in the Video / Audio feed to the computer, I was a bit concerned about the game Audio delay. I would get real time video since I would be watching it on the iPad screen, but the audio would be sent through the lightning to HDMI adapter to the Elgato and later to the PC with a delay of about 0.5 seconds. This would mean that the game experience would decline dramatically and I would rather be streaming using and AirPlay server on my PC. (A video tutorial on this coming later).

This problem is not as major when playing games where the audio delay is not a problem. But in Vainglory it was really annoying to always hear things after they happen. (Pings, Ultis, Turret attack warning, etc.)

I then realized that when using the Lightning to HDMI adapter, the iOS devices can send the audio out on the analog headphones jack which is not possible while using AirPlay.

Short about Streaming with Elgato

In order to stream or record gameplay (or anything) from an iOS device (iPhone or iPad) using a capture card like the Elgato game capture HD60 you will need an Apple Lightning to HDMI adapter.

Lightning to HDMI adapter
Lightning to HDMI adapter

Through this adapter the sound and image from your iPad will be mirrored out on the HDMI port. The small connector by the HDMI is another Lightning connector in case you would want to charge the device while using the main Lightning connector for video out.

The basic setup would be an HDMI cable between an iPad or iPhone (with the above mentioned adapter) and the Elgato and then having the Elgato connected to a PC or Mac using the provided USB cable. But this setup will have some short-comings.

Elgato game capture HD(60) sound delay

I have recently purchased an Elgato capure card that I am using to stream and record Vainglory games from my iPad and iPhone. Before purchasing the card though, knowing that the card will produce some delay in the Video / Audio feed to the computer, I was a bit concerned about the game Audio delay. I would get real time video since I would be watching it on the iPad screen, but the audio would be sent through the lightning to HDMI adapter to the Elgato and later to the PC with a delay of about 0.5 seconds. This would mean that the game experience would decline dramatically and I would rather be streaming using and AirPlay server on my PC. (A video tutorial on this coming later).

This problem is not as major when playing games where the audio delay is not a problem. But in Vainglory it was really annoying to always hear things after they happen. (Pings, Ultis, Turret attack warning, etc.)

I then realized that when using the Lightning to HDMI adapter, the iOS devices can send the audio out on the analog headphones jack which is not possible while using AirPlay.

The solution for real-time sound

The sound delay problem is solved by using the analog audio in on the Elagto for the game sound. Here is a schematic of how to connect your iPad or iPhone with the Elgato and your headphones:

Elgato game caputure hd60 real time sound connection schema
Elgato game capture HD60 real time sound solution – connection schema (click to enlarge)

By using an audio splitter cable you will be able to send the sound to the Elgato and thus to your stream or recording, but also to your headphones.

Continue reading Elgato iPad/iPhone real-time sound solution →

Vainglory, Vainglory news

Vainglory update 1.4.0 aka Skin system update

While watching the update Vainglory stream I’ve picked up some of the things that were updated and that were missed on the official patch notes posted below.

The Skin system

Described on this skin survival guide.

TL DR;

In short it work like this:

  • skins will have 3 tiers
  • skins will be purchased with Cards
  • Cards will sometimes drop at the end of matches
  • only tier 1 skins will be purchasable with ICE
  • Later on Cards will be purchasable with ICE

Requirements and performance improvements

  • Vainglory is now available on iPhone 5 and iPhone 5c
  • On iOS the game will adapt the resolution to the device’s performance in order to reduce lags and frame drops. This can be turned off in settings (at the moment it seems that there are no setting in the settings menu. Not even the old ones for language, screen zoom, volume and so on)

For me this is a huge improvement and I believe this will make the game so much better especially for those who are playing on a bit older devices. I play and stream with my iPad 4 and this will hopefully be a huge improvement on the quality of the game.

Balance changes and bug fixes

Vox will not proc twice for Tension Bow and Aftershock any more while using Sonic Zoom

Vox’s ulti, Wait for it, is now slower so dodgeable. And does less crystal damage

Aftershock has been nerfed a bit.. I didn’t really got in which way.

Reflex block is now not spammable any more. It will take more skill to use effectively.

Eve of harvest has been nerfed a bit. A bit more Crystal power added but the life steal has been reduced 25%-20%.

Flares are working differently. They are not global any more. Now the flares will have to be placed on the map and will reveal a small bit of the area.

Joule has been buffed and is now hopefully going to be more present in the game. The hero portrait in hero selection screen has been changed and I personally like it more.

Skaarf has also been buffed a bit. He’s Spitfire will now not hit lane minions, but will go through them damaging them.

Krul has been indirectly nerfed by changing how the weapon ratio works now.

Frostburn has been buffed a bit by increasing  the Crystal Power.

It is now possible to see the skill tiers of your friends before inviting them to a party and also in private chat. The information will show the skill tier number, the name and the color (Brown for Bronze, White/Light grey for Silver and Yellow/Golden for Gold). This will be very helpful when doing private matches and trying to make the teams even especially on the stream when playing with viewers. Also it will allow you to party with people with similar skill tier when going for pubs with people you might not know that well.

Tier 2 skins revealed for Petal, Ringo and SAW, Adagio and Glaive.

Feel free to check out the official patch notes and discover for yourself in the game all the other changes from the huge update!

Enjoy the game!

The official 1.4.0 patch notes

From the App store:

Hero Skins System Unveiled!

– Every hero skin theme contains three tiers. Each tier has different art and a different in-game model!
– Unlock Tier 1 hero skins using ICE in the Market or by “weaving” cards into skins.
– Cards of varying rarity will sometimes be awarded in post-match Spoils of War.
– Collect cards and trade them in for skins when you meet the requirements!
– Tier 2 & 3 skins and their required cards will be included in a future update.
– Tier 2 & 3 skins must be earned (cannot be unlocked directly with ICE).

Continue reading Vainglory update 1.4.0 aka Skin system update →

Vainglory, Vainglory news

Vainglory update 1.4.0 skins and more

UPDATE: The SEMC team will stream (twitch.tv/vainglory) from 10 AM PDT –> 7pm CET (Check your time zone here) about the upcoming update. More on the Vainglory forums.

The next Vainglory update is due today (5th of May 2015). Let’s see what the devs have announce for this coming release.

Skin system

According to the announcements there will not be any hero released with this update but instead the long waited skin system will be made available.
There have been a lot of hero skins reveals lately and I believe all of the look awesome. There are some earlier posts about most of the skins.

There hasn’t been any reveals about how the skin system will work and/or how the skins will be purchased so I’m really looking forward to seeing how I can get those lovely looking skins.

Shogun Ringo

Shogun Ringo skin art
Shogun Ringo skin art

I haven’t had the chance to write about the Ringo skin yet so here it is. Continue reading Vainglory update 1.4.0 skins and more →