You Move Like a Jaguar!: Axe Murdering 101 (SEASON 3: Updated 5/6/16

Hello and welcome to my first ever guide on Chaac, the axe-murdering psychopath!

5/6/16 >> Though it's been a long time coming, it's finally here! Axe Murdering 101 has finally been updated for season 3! Although there's still a bit more to do, I've reworked the build and the item section to more accurately reflect the vast changes made to Chaac and warriors in general. I'd like to thank the Smitefire community for all the support and feeback for this guide as well as my Isis guide! I hope you like it! Expect more changes to come and don't forget to upvote! -Jon S AKA Sgorr


7/22/15 >> It's raining even more views, hallelujah!! We're now sitting at over 150k views, 50+ upvotes, and 16 freakin Facebook likes, holy cow! Thank you all so so much for your support, upvotes, and constructive comments. In other news, I'm proud to finally unveil my Isis guide for your reading pleasure, hope you guys enjoy!

With the advent of new patches and warrior nerfs (which hit Chaac particularly hard), I figured I might put in my two cents on how I build my all DPS Chaac and how to effectively use his abilities to their fullest. I play mostly arena, but this build/strategy works well in any game mode.

This guide is designed for players of all difficulty ranges, especially newer ones. Admittedly, this probably isn't as effective in league play due to its lack of defense, but you're welcome to try it out.

All of this is quite new to me so excuse me if I sound amateurish (this is my first guide on anything. Ever.). I don't claim to be an expert and I apologize in advance for any glaring mistakes. Please feel free leave any comments, suggestions, or improvements in the comments section.

Also, if you are thinking of downvoting, it would be great if you could please leave a quick explanation in the comments section so I can improve the guide ASAP. Thank you!

Meet Chaac:

If you haven't played Chaac before, here's the down and dirty:

-Chaac is a DPS warrior with high sustain and the potential to be a mid-game carry with the right items. -Unfortunately, his sustain is not as effective as Guan Yu's or Vamana's ulti, but he makes up for it in combat versatility and the utter havoc he wreaks with Thunder Strike and Storm Call. -If you want to deal loads of fast damage, be a strong, flexible team DPS supporter, and frustrate the hell out of your enemies with area-of-effect slows, silences and ranged pokes, then Chaac is the god for you.

PROS -Very good overall damage! Stomp on their faces! -EXTREMELY versatile poke ability -Excellent team support with invaluable ultimate -Great sustain -Critically useful passive

CONS -Abilities are notoriously SLOW. -Not only are they slow, they aren't very MANA EFFICIENT -Passive requires getting close - Torrent and Storm Call don't do nearly as much damage as you'd expect -Very little hard crowd control (except with a supercharged Storm Call)

Overflow allows your next ability to cost no mana after 5 successful basic attack hits. A lot of people overlook this passive because of its need to get close to the enemy, or they simply forget about it, but I'm here to tell you it is one of the most important abilities in your arsenal, and the best part of it: it's absolutely free! The fact that it frees up your other abilities make it all the more amazing.

Overflow Do's and Don'ts

Do:

-Build towards a strong basic attack speed base with items

-Always try and go into a fight or poke with full stacks

-Use abilities on minions/jungle ONLY with full stacks.

Don't:

-Think you will still outlast other gods mana-wise

-Stay in a fight longer than you have to just because you can with Overflow

Explanations, Tips, and Tricks:

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Ah yes, Thunder Strike, with its long range poking ability and absolute synergy with all of Chaac's other abilities its easy to see how this is the lament and frustration of many an enemy god team. Thunder strike is a high damage poke that is unlike that of any other warrior, rivaling even Sun Wukong's The Magic Cudgel. It's rather large radius and range make it perfect for ending chases or initiating team fights and is the bread and butter of Chaac's arsenal, so make sure you max this first. It's damaging capabilities are formidable on their own, but wait! there's more!

-Using Torrent with Thunder Strike already out allows you to blink to it instantly, dealing damage to enemies on the way. -A second Rain Dance will appear at the location of your landed Thunder Strike. -Using Storm Call with Thunder Strike in radius increases your ulti's damage.

Max out Thunder strike first in order to get the most out of your other abilities.

Thunder Strike Do's and Dont's.

Do:

-Poke early and often with it

-Herd enemy gods to where you want them to be with it, lining them up perfectly for yours or your teammates ulti's.

-Use it to escape when being chased when combined with Torrent.

-Set up a second Rain Dance radius to cover an ally escape or for zoning.

Don't:

-Lead the target too much, it's a damn slow attack.

-Forget that using any other abilities will use up the axe in the process, including Torrent

Explanations, Tips, and Tricks:

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Torrent gets a lot of **** because its damage is mediocre, the protections don't last very long, and everyone knows where you're going to teleport to because their's a giant purple lightning axe sticking out of the ground. I'm here to tell you that all of these claims are absolutely true. That being said, it still has its uses.

Torrent Do's and Don'ts:

Do:

-Try and hit as many gods OR minionswith it

-Use it as a cheap finisher as opposed to your Ultimate

-Use it for some extra protections in a pinch, especially when surrounded by the enemy team

Don't:

-Initiate with it

-Be suicidal with Torrent. Yes, the protections are awesome but they don't last long.

Though Torrent is a pretty alright ability, it's a great way to deal some instantaneous pain within a short radius, giving you that little extra burst of damage and protections in a fight. You can prioritize this last for your abilities.

Explanations, Tips and Tricks:

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Rain Dance is an excellent utility ability that is nothing short of critical to a Chaac built this way. Rain Dance causes a 6 second slow that also heals you for the duration, making this a very useful chase ability as well as for covering your or your allies escape during a pursuit. Because of its versatility, max this out second.

Rain Dance Do's and Don'ts

Do:

-Use it for zoning and positioning

-Always have one ready before a team fight in case you need to chase or escape

-Use it as a last minute life-saver, when you know you're in trouble

-Cover your allies' escape with it

Don't:

-Spam it, it's pretty costly

-There's not too much you can do wrong with Rain Dance. Just use common sense.

Explanations, Tips, and Tricks:

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Last but not least is Chaac's ulti, Storm Call, a dastardly EMP time bomb that not only damages enemies in a 30 unit radius, but silences them for 3 seconds and makes you immune to CC while in the air. What's more is that when used with your Thunder Strike in the radius, it will cause up to an additional 150 damage and knock up all enemies (tee hee). Sadly (but understandably), this ability was nerfed a while back and it no longer grants you complete damage immunity while in the air. Instead, you get 50% damage reduction, which sounds considerable, but the idea that you can be killed while in the air BEFORE your damage can be dealt is pretty frightening and must be considered. As with any ultimate, max it out whenever possible.

Storm Call Do's and Don'ts:

Do:

-Use it finish off weak enemies, even if it's just one

-Make sure you use it with Thunder Strike out

Don't:

-Use it when enemies are at full health

-Use it as a last-ditch escape when you know you're totally screwed

Explanations, Tips, and Tricks:

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Leveling

The general rule when leveling up your abilities is get Thunder Strike first always, then get Rain Dance and Torrent, then your ultimate, Storm Call and then prioritize Thunder Strike, Storm Call, Rain Dance, and Torrent in that order for maxing out.

Ability Sequence

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Okay, so a lot has changed since I last updated this guide. Chaac and other warriors have been nerfed, rebalanced, and rearranged in a couple different ways. Also, the addition of new items and the introduction of the relic system have pushed me towards a complete overhaul of my itemization section. The biggest change you'll notice is that I've done away with my initial "ADC Chaac" build, which has become unwieldy and reckless in the face of recent changes. This new Chaac is built on the understanding that he is a support-oriented warrior that needs to focus on disrupting enemy formations and tactics, rather than the axe-wielding maniac he once was (and still is, deep inside).

Starter/Active:

With the new relic system forcing players to more carefully consider their active choices, I've been playing around with what relics work and when to get them. Here's my 2 cents:

Purification

If they have a lot of hard CC or a Hades or Ares, get Purification Beads first.

Sprint

Otherwise, get sprint. Because Chaac is a little limited in terms of mobility, Sprint gives you an added boost you'll need for escapes, and I suggest saving this for only escapes, as you have plenty of other chase abilities.

Blink

Blink is usually my #1 choice for my lvl 12 active, as it enables you to switch your tactics mid-game, throwing off the enemy, and giving you a better advantage when initiating. Chaac is a versatile fighter but lacks a certain element of surprise in many cases. Blink is an excellent way to compensate for this. -When chasing a far away enemy, rather than chucking your axe and hoping that the enemy will be dumb enough to stay in the radius as the mighty thing takes its sweet time getting there (probably while you watch the grass grow), you can instead blink right next to them, throw down that thunder strike for instant wumbo damage, and maybe throw in a rain dance for extra measure. -The major drawback of Blink is that you can't have dealt or taken damage, otherwise you have to wait 5 seconds. It's perfect for initiations, terrible for escapes (though it's not impossible).

1st Item:

You can choose between Warrior Tabi or Ninja Tabi for your next purchase, but I personally prefer Warrior Tabi. The reasoning is that I like the extra little "umph" of power it gives me during the first few fights, and while attack speed is great and all, you'll already be stacking it later on in the build. Getting kills early and often is really helpful, if not a requirement for this build, and Warrior does the job best in my opinion.

2nd Item:

Get Hide of the Urchin early on to start stacking this guy immediately. It's a great all-around defensive item, providing both magic and physical protections as well as heath and mana. It's a warrior staple that works well with the aggressive playstyle of Chaac.

3rd Item:

For some reason, Mystical Mail works beautifully with Chaac. The health and physical protections are great, but when coupled with Rain Dance, the mail becomes a wonderful way to wittle down nearby enemy health, getting it juuuuust within the sweet spot needed for a beautiful Thunder Strike finish.

4-5th Items:

At this point you should start making full use of Overflow, which will give you much more mana efficiency and in turn, more killing power. Once you have your defense established, you should focus on cooldown reduction and physical power.

This is a no-brainer. With Chaac's ulti cooldown already reduced from 90 to 70, getting it even lower and Storm Calling the living **** out of the enemies is just pure brutality.

I'm not giving up on The Executioner. Despite no longer focusing on attack speed, having at least some of it is still pretty important, if only for the simple reason that it helps you stack your passive (which you should NEVER forget about). The Executioner works well since it reduces protections in addition to giving you a decent power boost and a hefty attack speed increase.

6th Item:

Your last item is really dependent on the current battle situation, what your team needs, and what you need to counter from the other team. If your team is ahead and you haven't been getting spanked the whole game, you can get aggressive with your build and go for something like crit ( Rage, Deathbringer ). If it's the opposite, or you want to be on the safe side, boost your health/defense with items like shield of regrowth or Stone of Gaia

Shield of regrowth

shield of regrowth is great for Chaac, since your self-heal Rain Dance's capabilities as a chase tactic are vastly improved when wearing it.

Blink-Storm Call Wombo Combo:

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Thunder-Torrent Escape

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Rain Dance Chase Ender

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Early Game:

Poke poke poke and more poking. Make full use of your Thunder Strike and Overflow passive. Aim for enemies who are attacking minions, as the basic attack debuff will lower their chances of running out of the radius in time. Be aggressive and work towards setting them up for yours or your allies' ultimates.

Mid Game:

By this point you should have your Greater Blink fully built and are now working towards building your basic attack base, dealing a fair amount of damage to your enemies and causing a lot of mayhem with your ultimate. Chaac will sort of fall behind at this point in terms of player damage/kills, as enemies will be less squishy and more aggressive. You will have to play very carefully at this point if you don't want to fall off completely. Keep poking, but you should now use your abilities for more team-supporting situations, such as keeping enemies silenced in a team fight, covering escapes, and helping end chases.

Mid-Late Game:

This is your arena, your game where all your face-stomping, storm-calling, rain-makin' skills come together. This build is meant to take your late game potential to a whole other level, as by now you should be able to deal some serious ***-whooping with crits, speed, and your maxed-out ability arsenal. You can be much more aggressive at this point. Pick out certain enemies you know you can throttle, (list provided below), and be wary of enemies you know will throttle you (also below). Catch them unawares, bust out your ability combos and once they're finished, blink or sprint away. You will still play your support role, but your combined sustain and murdering ability will make you a force to be reckoned with.

In General:

Remember, you are a damage supporter. You're not an assassin and you are not a tank (with this build, at least). Your main concern is securing kills and keeping your friends alive to do even more killing. Keep supporting the team in mind always and, trust me, the kills will flow to you like rainwater. Chaac is really not that hard to play. A lot of it is common sense and practice. And please please please don't just go off this guide as your only playstyle. Adapt, experiment a little, try new combos and make Chaac your own death-dealing axe murderer.

Chaac's versatility means he can take on many roles and adapt as the game and the enemy evolves. Here are the main roles that Chaac can fill for your team.

Serial Killer Mode: Full Damage

This is the main playstyle that this guide describes. It's what I mainly use and what I feel is Chaac's optimal environment. This build/role showcases the raw power behind that giant axe of yours and adds insult to injury, making you a true killing machine that deserves the title "Slaughterhouse". If you have a tank and at least one other support God on your team, Serial Killer Mode is the way to go.

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>> Basic Attacks >> Qin's Sais

>> Overflow Passive >> Rain Dance Slow

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This playstyle is all about basic attacks. As such, it is very high risk-high-reward, as you will need to be bold, aggressive, and smart, if you don't want to recklessly feed the enemy.

Once you have the all-important basic attack base established, you will be using Rain Dance a whole lot for getting those kills and for sustain. For this Chaac, the optimum target is the one running away. You have some of the best chase potential out there, and a fleeing god is as good as dead to you. The tricky part is knowing when to pull out, or, gods forbid, how to react if the enemy starts fighting back. Gauge the enemy's strengths and synergy before going in, then escape or chase accordingly.

You are there to get in close to those low-health enemies, drop that Storm Call Wombo Combo, throw up the Rain Dance, and hold down that left mouse button for dear life. With a fully built serial killer mode Chaac, filled with attack speed and juicy crit chance, you can mow down a mage in little less than six basic attack hits. Huh, funny how that works out perfectly with your 5-hit Overflow passive, giving you that free ability to use on the next god on your hit list.

A final note: Once you start fighting more experienced players who have mastered their gods you will find that going full damage, while it's extremely fun, it will get increasingly more difficult to survive. Even if you like dealing a whole lot of damage, don't be afraid to throw in one or two defensive items, or even try out a hybrid build (see below) for the sake of the team and your own sustainability. Staying alive and helping the team is more important than getting kills. Always.

Aegis shield

Storm Tank: Full Support

Full support isn't one of my favorite builds, as I feel there are many other gods who can do this job a lot better (i.e. actual Guardians). The warrior nerf simply cemented this ideal. However, there are times when this is the only option (if you all auto-locked with no support and there's no one else who wants to tank).

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>> CDR >> Torrent

>> Rain Dance Sustain >> Storm Call

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With a full support Chaac you wanna mainly focus on your abilities (specifically your ultimate) and sustain. Because of Rain Dance, cooldown reduction and sustainability go hand in hand with Chaac. Thus, CDR items like Breastplate of Valor are a must.

In contrast to the basic attack focus of serial killer mode, storm tank will be able to utilize his abilities much quicker, so you're not sitting back helplessly as your teammates get slaughtered. Instead, you will most likely be the main initiator, diving into those big enemy clusters and dismantling them with Storm Call and Rain Dance. Torrent can be utilized a lot more in this build, as you will be able to withstand big ganks and use this ability for its extra protections in a pinch.

Your job with this is to keep enemies silenced. The less they use their abilities, the more advantage and arena presence your team will have. Focus less on killing with your abilities and more on aiding your team. Use a ranged Rain Dance to cover an escape, throw Thunder Strike to disrupt a chased ally's attacker, and Storm Call as many of the suckers as possible. Although you should be doing all this in every playstyle, your cooldown reduction and optimized sustain will make your enemies quiver in their boots when they hear the sound of thunder.

Disruptor: Hybrid

This is the way most beginner Chaacs will build/play and what a lot of people stick with professionally, as it offers the most versatility and has that "jack of all trades" feel to it. Use this if you are support deficient but have a tank, or you may use this in lieu of a tank if you can manage it.

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>> Jotunn's Wrath >> Hide of the Urchin

>> Storm Call Ulti >> Thunder Strike

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This one is all about powering up your abilities with physical power and cooldown reduction so that you can utilize them and deal damage with them as much as possible.

You will be flip flopping between smoking your enemies with powerful Thunder Strike finishers/pokes and using your ultimate and Rain Dance to disrupt enemy positioning. Smite them hard with your dual roles of damage-dealing and trolling and your team will thank you and your enemies will scorn you.

You will need to decide as the game progresses how much sustain or murdering ability you will need depending on the enemy team's composition, but a good balance of both is what really drives this build. In any case, Hide of the Urchin is excellent for the disruptor Chaac, as you will be racking up kills and assists simultaneously, giving you more sustain as the game goes on.

Chaac prides himself with his excellent versatility, and this playstyle definitely showcases that. I've left a lot of options open in the initial build on purpose specifically because there is no one, two, or three specific playstyles/build orders for Chaac, and you will most likely be developing your own way of doing things that best suits you, which is something I highly encourage.

Gods You Want to MURDER:

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Ra

Ra is suuuper squishy and lacks enough escape power to run away from your basic attacks, especially under the influence of Rain Dance.

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Fenrir

Because Fenrir requires getting so close to the enemy, a well-timed Thunder Strike/ Storm Call when he pounces will be the end of our furry friend. Fret not, Fenrir's, according to TheZodiacWolf you can actually pounce over Chaac's ult at just the right moment.

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Janus

Janus is an excellent target for Chaac in arena, as Janus' escape is quite limited in the face of inadequate walling. Plus, the 3 second silence from Storm Call is annoying for any mage.

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Kali

Not only do you have more sustain than her, you can easily burst damage her down to size with Thunder Strike, giving you the chance to finish her off with your other abilities.

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Gods That Will MURDER YOU:

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Neith

Neith is in my opinion the bane of Chaac. Yes, she may be really squishy and makes for quite an enticing target, but watch out! About to smash her in with your Storm Call? Nope, she'll just jump back before you even have the chance to silence. Pulled off an excellent juke and now you're running home free with 10 hp? Nope, sniped. I'd say the best way to get her is to harass her with Thunder Strike until you force her to use her escape, then try and go in for the kill with the help of an ally who could cover your own escape, as the enemy team will most likely be rushing to her aid by then.

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Mercury

For much of the same reasons as Neith I will say Mercury is another big Chaac rival. He's got an excellent escape and will absolutely MURDER you late game, so please be careful when facing Mercury, as you will most likely lose going up against him 1v1.

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Ares

Fighting a team with Ares sucks, because not only does he force you to get beads instead of sprint, his Shackles prevent you from using your Thunder Strike-Torrent combos to escape/chase.

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Ah Puch

Ah Puch is a good counter to Chaac for two reasons. First, his Undead Surge slow will counteract your Rain Dance if you are chasing him. Second, Fleeting Breath will also turn Rain Dance against you since he can hit you with it at any time while it's activated for an easy stun.

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Bakasura

1v1, Chaac won't stand up against Baka because he can sustain himself with minions and his true damage Butcher Blades will slice through Chaac like butter, especially when he pops his ult. You don't really want to find yourself alone with Bakasura in the first place, but if you do, or if he's picking on you, I'd suggest just teleporting toward your team with Torrent and/or whacking him with Storm Call. Winged Blade Can also help.

Eat minions

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Gods That Murder WITH YOU:

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Kukulkan

Kukulkan's ulti pairs perfectly with your own, as your silence will give him the perfect opportunity to steamroll the escape-less suckers.

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Cupid

Chaac and Cupid make a pretty good team, as Cupid's array of slows/skill shots compliments your own, as well as giving you some extra sustainability.

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Xbalanque

Xbalanque pairs quite well with Chaac. Your two ultimates will wreak havoc on the enemy team and you two can easily cover each other in chase/escape situations.

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Chang'e

Chang'e will be your best friend on the battlefield. No only can she heal you, boosting your sustain tremendously, her sweeping area attacks and long range ultimate stun will make for easy cleanup.

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First of all, I'd like to thank my girlfriend, Stephanie, for bearing with all my nerdiness.

I'd like to thank Joe and Carol for all the in-game support and help they've been in making this guide.

Thanks to Jordenito for his essential BB code guide, without which this guide wouldn't be nearly as pretty. Also, shout out to Piederman and Sanguis for providing excellent examples and templates.

Also, I'd like to state that none of the artwork is mine, I just added some cool text for the banner/splash screen, so shout to the Smite artists.

Hope you enjoyed this guide! Remember, any constructive comments or improving feedback is welcome in the comments below!

Aaaaaand...if you liked this guide, check out my Eset guide! Just click the link below and get ready for bird-acious guidance:

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