Sobek - One pull to kill 'em all

Hello and welcome to my guide for the God of the Nile Sobek.
I play Sobek only as a tank/support character in the game, because I don't think he's good for any other roles. Nonetheless he is one of the strongest Tanks in the game and is not to be underestimated.



I love playing Sobek simply because you can support almost every carry with him and gives you a rather safe possibility to lane. He is also the best character to peel an enemy for your team and every dash you hit can be a kill for your team. His kit also provides everything a Tank needs which is why I love playing him that much.

"Shut up bird, you're ruining it!" - Sobek

12.02.14 - Update on the Items section

Items

You may also get Mark of the Vanguard you can play more aggressive in the early game but overall Watcher's Gift is the right choice for any Support character, because of it's passive. Remember that your adc has to get the last hits on the minions for you to get the passive at the max. If you don't think your adc can last right get Mark of the Vanguard.

Midas Boots

Midas' Boots are a must-have item for tanks because you will not fall behind that much in comparison to your teammates who are dealing damage and getting kills (which you won't. Going tank boots is a waste of money because as soon as you finish your Sovereignty you will have enough protections and will have enough money to stay on top of your build.

Sovereignty is the perfect item to buy first in the duo lane, since you will most likely play against at least one physical damage based god. And with this item you will get physical protections for you and your teammates.

To get ahead in both of your protection types, more health and mana the Hide of the Urchin is an awesome item to progress because it gives you so much protections and also stacks for assist (which you will most likely get). So a must-have] item.

If you need protections against mages you want Bulwark of Hope which is the best magical defense item in the game giving you lots of magical protections and also a lot of health. You will need this even if you don't have an enemy with magical power in your lane because you want to be where the action happens and most likely there will be a mage in the mid lane (if no mage is in the enemy team you don't need this item).

Witch Stone

Witch Stone is the perfect item if you are looking for some more physical protection and also because of it's aura which will slow down enemies movement and attack speed. Effective against basic attack based Gods like for example Bakasura.

Here you will get some more magical protections and damage. So getting this item if you aim for higher damage yourself is a good possibility because it also lowers the magical protections of enemies in an aura so you will perfectly aid your own mages.

Situational

Getting the Breastplate of Valor will give you some Cooldown reductions and physical protections. I would recommend to use this item instead of the Mystical Mark if you want to use your abilities more often, but you will also have a bit less protections and won't have the awesome Mystical Mark aura.

Mystical Mark

To not be completely irrelevant damagewise the Mystical Mark will do some Aura Damage and also gives you an enormous physical protection boost. So if you're looking for more physical protection I can also recommend this, because it also gives you a nice boost for clearing minion waves.

Magi's Cowl

Like the Hide of the Urchin you will get both kinds of protection but also some CC reduction which will give you the possibility to stay in the frontlines longer. But this item is highly situational and I can only recommend this when the enemy team has a very high CC output, like stuns, slows etc.

Actives

Again a must-have item for every tank in the game. The usage of Hand of the Gods I will explain later. But keep in mind always buy this item.

Here you have an active that will slow down the enemy's movement speed and depending on how you finish it you will either stop their healing for a certain time or slow down their attack speed. It is a very strong item and extremely strong in teamfight scenarios. But keep in mind that you will now have to buy wards.

If you keep forgetting to buy wards or need to learn to regularly place wards in general. Knowledge is power, I'm not sure if you noticed yet how strong and important wards are in the game but I will give you a short advice on warding later on too.

Ability Description

Passive: Your Passive Blessing of the Nile grants you protections which you can stack up to 3 stacks. So always keep in mind to (most of the time) have your 3 stacks up which you will get by succesful basic attacks. Ability 1: Your first ability with Sobek is the Charge Prey. It is the ability that makes him as dangerous as he is. This Ability should not be overused you are not invincible and won't always get a kill out of it. There are a few things to consider before using it. I will explain these in the Laning Phase. But the ability itself causes you to dash forward and by hitting and enemy or suboptimal an enemy minion, will throw him backwards to where you came from. Ability 2: The Tail Whip does quite a bit of damage and has a knockback around you. It is perfectly used after you made a succesful Charge Prey so the pulled enemy will get knocked up and is CC for a little longer giving your carry time to damage him or stun him himself. It is also a nice tool if you're surrounded by enemies by distracting them or giving you an escape plan. Ability 3: The Sickening Strike does a decent amount of damage to your enemies and also heals you up a bit. It is best used when you're low health and heal up again by hitting as many minions as you can. Or if you and your teammates are chasing an enemy you can use this safely because it doesn't slow you down while chasing. Ultimate: Lurking In The Waters lets you dive for 4 seconds being immune to CC (but not to damage) while slowing the enemies in your little sea and when these 4 seconds are over you will deal a huge amount of damage. You can also cancel this ability by pressing 4 again, but you will do significantly less damage if you cancel it. Also keep in mind that you will get used to the timer on his ultimate.

Pros

+ Very tanky + Best Peel in the game + High CC on 3 of his 4 Abilities + Easy Zoning

Sobek has uncontested the best peel in the game with a long range and a short stun. You can initiate in teamfights or in the laning phase safely for your carry but even if you miss the ability you can escape quite easily. Because of your dash you can zone enemies out easily and are a threat only by your presence. Setting up kills with his Charge Prey or dealing tons of damage on many enemies with the Ultimate Lurking In The Waters are his perks.

Cons

+ Low Damage + Easily evaded Ultimate + Useless without teammates + Reliant on a succesful Charge Prey

The Problems while playing Sobek are that you don't really have much damage on your own, so you always have to have a damage dealer with you to deal the damage. Also your opponents can easily evade your damage from the ultimate Lurking In The Waters by simply jumping or outrunning you. Also using your Charge Prey at the wrong moment can get you out of position pretty fast and might kill you.

After learning the basics in warding it is an easy thing to do but still something you should never forget if you play support. Even if you're playing any other role, if you notice your team doesn't have wards buy some and ward the most important areas. I've coloured a few spots different and I want to explain why. Wards to be safe from Ganks These wards should be placed down even in the early game phase and from that point on throughout the game. The white ones at the mid camps aren't necessary for the tank to place but feel free to also ward those spots. Now your duo lane (I placed the circles only at the long lane, because it will be the lane you will be in, by playing the duo lane) sees whenever the enemy jungler or mid tries to gank your lane and you will be prepared to either kill all of them or to back out as fast as you can. This will cause the enemy jungler to have wasted much valuable time and if you leave the lane for a while your Carry know whenever he gets ganked and can push safely. Objectives Starting from the mid game (approximately at level 10-14) you will have to keep an eye on the objectives like the Gold Fury and the Fire Giant. You Do Not want your enemy to get one of these free and uncontested, or your team will suffer a bit loss of control over the game. Also these Red Wards should be Sentry Wards so you can erase enemy wards in this area to maintain the vision for your team alone. Additional Wards These Yellow wards are not necessary to place but will help your jungler a lot because he will know what the enemy jungler does and if he can invade his jungle or not. I would recommend putting the defensive yellow one down if the enemy jungler has a huge advantage over your jungler and is constantly invading your jungle.

Duo Lane Meta

If the long/duo lane is placed on the left side of the map you will start at your own mana buff with your lane partner and leave the buff for him. After that you want to clear your wave as quickly as possible and then wait for the enemies to arrive in the lane from their mana buff. If you feel lucky you can pull one of them (it doesn't really matter who but the carry is always a better trade) with your Charge Prey and force them to take damage from your minion wave and your own carry. These early pulls often result in a kill if the enemy doesn't pay attention.


If the long/duo lane is on the right side of the map you should start at the right mid camps with your lane partner and the mid player. After that you will take your mana buff which, once again, you will leave to your lane partner. Now be careful on how you approach your lane because you could also become a victim of the earlier described scenario.


Laning Phase


Now you will start placing wards down and also try to outfarm your lane opponents. Also this is Sobeks strongest phase of the game, where you can get easy kills. But don't try to Charge Prey all the time, you will need to use this ability wisely. Here are some things to always keep in mind before charging in:

- How many minions are there?
- Is your Carry with you?
- What's your and your Carry's health?
- Can you kill the God you pull?

You yourself can most likely not kill the enemy god but you always need your lane partner to do the damage for you. Also try to get rid of the enemies minions as fast as possible before you pull so they have to deal with your minions, you and your carry.
Do not charge in if your carry is not ready. It's not easy to know how your carry is going to react since everyone plays different but if he is attacking the enemy minions he is most likely ready to also attack the pulled enemy.
After you succesfully pulled an enemy use your 2 as a knockup and if your Lurking In The Waters is ready use that too to slow the enemy down who is probably trying to escape.

Play defensively and punish enemies who play too aggressive, this tactic has been approved in battle many times by various Sobek players.


Late Game/Teamfights


As a tank you will roam around very much, you should also try to rotate to the mid camps and get them. This will give your Lane partner some solo farm which will result in him getting much more farm as if you would be in your lane 24/7. You can do this by, instead of using your Hand of the Gods on the the enemy minions keep it and use it on the mid camps nearest to your lane. You shouldn't bother with the other ones your jungler and mid should take these.
Also if you see the enemy tank/support leave the lane, follow him. If he is ganking somewhere and you're not there your ally will die.


But now for the Sobek specific teamfight scenarios.


As a Tank you're on the frontline the fight of course. You should now look for a possibility to pull one of the damage dealers of the enemy team. This could end up in getting an opponent killed and gives your team the advantage of fighting 4 vs 5. You then try to get the enemies attention and you want to get focused, the more damage they throw on you with your team in the back attacking them aswell the better.

Although if you pull the enemy tank you've made a huge mistake. Your team won't be able to burst him down fast enough and now he has the opportunity to CC your squishy damage dealing allies.

To follow up your pull you can now use your Tail Whip and Lurking In The Waters to deal some damage yourself in the teamfight. Try to hit as many targets as you can with Sickening Strike to heal up a bit to stay in the fight as long as possible.

The Charge Prey is your most usefull ability tho and you should always look for possible pulls on squishy gods that your damage dealers can burst down really fast.

To get playing as a tank interesting you should keep in mind that it's the tank/support who decides when to engage and when to stay back. You have a big influence on the pace of the game and especially with Sobek you have the possibility to quickly get an enemy killed and the aim for the objectives (Towers, Gold Fury and Fire Giant).

Again: don't use your Charge Prey headless and always be aware of your surroundings when to engage and when not to is a thin line to cross and often depends on small things such as the current mana or number of minions in the lane.

Nonetheless Sobek is a god everyone should learn to play so you also know how to counter him best.

Thank you for taking the time in reading my Guide for the God of the Nile Sobek!


You may also want to check out the other guides I made:

Solo Lane Ra
Solo Lane Tyr
Jungle Thanatos

Have fun and Smite on, greetings

Porz21