Sobek - Charge to win! (Updated: 10/4/12)

First off, thanks for checking out this guide. This is my first ever guide. I would very much appreciate suggestions to the formatting, as that's something I still need to work on.

Every game is different in some way, so remember there are certain situations where you will need to stray from this guide. I have over 600 games played and a majority of them are with Sobek.

Pros:

• VERY good initiator
• His Sickening Strike reduces enemy healing by 50% (Not a lot of players realize that)
• Great at chasing/escaping
• Great at disrupting and being a pain in the ***
• Good at tanking Gold Fury and Fire Giant earlier on because of his passive (armor of the nile)

• Miss your Charge Prey and you could be in some trouble
• Not the best farmer/pusher

For the basic tanky sobek build, it's basically based on the enemy team having a good balance of AD/MP team with an equal amount of gold per player. Of course that's not normally the case, so feel free to switch up some items in the basic build. I've included my Magical Power build at the bottom of this section.


To start off, you'll want to get a couple Mana Potion and tier 2 reinforced boots.
(In higher level play, you may start out with hands of the gods and tier 1 reinforced boots)
This will give you a decent amount of protection. The reason you will want Mana Potion instead of health potion is because Sickening Strike can heal you.

Core Build

reinforced boots
Reinforced Boots

This item gives an all around decent amount of tankiness and crowd control reduction by 30%. You'll definitely want to start off with this for the basic stats.



Gauntlet of Thebes

This item gives you health based on the amount of minions/players you kill. They do not go away after dying. If you think you can keep your farm up, then go ahead and get this item as early as you can. If you're already having some trouble farming and want the extra health, then consider getting Silverfox Girdle instead. The HP5 will also help you sustain if you are by yourself protecting a tower.



Void Stone

I like picking this item up 3rd because it adds nice damage to Sobek's abilities as well as protect him from magical abilities. It will also allow your allies to do more magical damage due to the passive of this item (Reduces Magical Protection by 30 within 55 feet).



Wall of Absolution

I usually pick this item up 4th, unless I need the physical protection early on. It gives you a good amount of physical protection as well as a magical protection debuff on enemies that hit you with basic attacks. Combine this with void-stone and your magical carries (as well as your own abilities) will do a great amount of damage, even to the tanks.

Situational Items

Breastplate of Valor

This item gives you a very good amount of physical protection. Not only that, but it reduces your cooldowns by 20%! I love having cooldown reduction on Sobek for his charge-prey.



Hide of Leviathan

This item gives you good all around stats that would be nice on a tank. However, the downside to it is that it doesn't have a passive effect.



Sovereignty

If the enemy team has a lot of AD or if the AD is really fed, then definitely consider getting this item for your team. It gives you a good amount of extra health and buffs your team's physical protection by 30.



Stone of Gaia

Because of this item's passive, it will give you a good amount of health regen. Pick this item up if you are having trouble tanking against the enemy's magical powered gods.


Magi's blessing
Magi's Blessing

Again, if you are having trouble tanking magical damage, then pick this item up. It works well with Stone of Gaia because of the health that it gives. The passive is pretty good too. It allows you to absorb an ability every minute. Just try not to let it get wasted on a lesser ability by the enemy.

Magical Power Build

I don't normally build magical power. I feel that since all the previous nurfs, Sobek is a lot more useful as a tank. However, I've included it for those that feel like doing damage as Sobek apposed to tanking.


warlock's sash
Warlock's Sash

I like building this item second for multiple reasons. For one, I can't let myself play Sobek without building some tankiness. This gives you both good magical power and health. Get it early so you can get started on the passive.



Void Stone

This items gives you a good amount of Magical Power, Magical Penetration and some Magical Defense as well. Again, I just can't build pure Magical Power Sobek.



Gem of Isolation

This item gives you a great deal of Magical Power, a good amount of health and mana, and all your abilities will add slowing effects!



Polynomicon

Since you are a melee mage, this item is pretty good on Magical Power Sobek. It not only allows your abilites to lifesteal, but every time you use one of your abilities, you can auto attack one of your enemies and it does as much damage as you have Magical Power. It also gives you a good amount of mana and Magical Power.



Rod of Tahuti

If everything is going well, then you should build this for a last item. Gives you an amazing amount of Magical Power.

Of course, you may feel like building different items than I choose for this Magical Power Sobek build. I don't ever play this way anymore, but I feel like this is a decent amount of tankiness for the amount of Magical Power you will be doing. I prefer to build a lot tankier though.

In team fights, Sobek should first try to initiate by using Charge Prey a carry for your team to eat up. Use Tail Whip and Sickening Strike on as many enemies as you can before using Lurking In The Waters. While you are using it, the squishies should be trying to avoid it, as it does a pretty good chunk of their health. When they try to avoid it, keep following them. While the rest of your team bursts down whoever you threw back, you'll keep the carries out of the fight. If they decide to just stay in the fight anyways, well, the squishies will regret that as soon as it pops. If they decide to try and burst you down while you are in Lurking In The Waters, don't be afraid to pop it early for reduced damage before dying. Don't be too bummed out about dying in team fights though. If you die instead of the carries, then you are doing your job.

One of THE best laning partners in this game at the moment is Cupid/ Sobek. The lane sustain is by far the best. With both having heals and a way to get mana from their abilities. Let Cupid get 10 stacks of his passive ( Lovestruck), then Charge Prey and have cupid stun that god. The early game from both of these guys are far too strong. When it comes time for your ultimates, have Cupid use his around the same time you use Lurking In The Waters so it does a massive amount of damage when it comes time for those abilities to pop. Another amazing partner is Anubis. Charge, stun, burst down, gg.

Other good partners are Anhur, Sun Wukong, Artemis, Bakasura, and basically any carry.

During laning phase, it's incredibly hard to counter Sobek. One of the few things you can do is play passive or try to predict when a Sobek is about to Charge Prey, dodge it, and make him taste the pain. Also, try to have your team place gods with jumps and escapes against Sobek.

After laning phase is over, if the enemy Sobek is a big enough problem, get Aegis Amulet. Remember to wait 2-3 seconds after Sobek uses Lurking In The Waters. Consider getting Magi's Blessing as well to cancel out Charge Prey.

Also, since the Purification Beads buff last Thursday (20th Sept 2012), you are able to use it before or right as soon as Sobek hits you with Charge Prey to cancel it out.

I'm including the last games I've played as Sobek in my ranked games.

Thanks for reading this guide! I'll be sure to edit it whenever I need to. Let me know how you feel about this guide please! It's my first one and I tried to make it look as good as I could. If you feel like the formatting or colors are too much, let me know before downvoting and I'll be sure to change it! Please focus more on the content than the formatting before voting.

Thanks again!

~JELLYz

10/4/12: Added the .4s buildup on Tail Whip