Artemis - Kill or Be Killed

First of all, thanks for giving this a read. This is my first build, and Artemis is my God of choicce.

In this guide I will

Explain why to purchase each item and in this order
BRIEFLY explain some of my Artemis play style with this build (If you're looking for a more indepth guide at playing Art, this is not the guide for you)

I hope you find this guide helpful, and remember I'm always looking to learn, so if you have any criticisms or contradictions on any of this, feel free to tell me and I may edit the build based on them (if they're solid facts).

Firstly I will explain the Standard Build

So first thing is first, a lot of people are going to question why boots aren't the first thing on the build. That is a fair question and I respect it. However, as Artemis you are best playing like the Queen in chess - be versatile, cover a lot of the map but do it from the back. If you're far enough ahead of people to need to run back early game, you've already over extended yourself and there's no amount of boots which is going to save you there. Hang behind your team and have a little spice in your hits with the Executioner early game. People will be quicker than you, but if you play right you will quite possibly get first blood, if not just early kills.

Next you build your boots. I choose the Ninja Tabi as it adds to attack power, attack speed and movement speed - as Artemis you want ALL of these.

After this, it's time build Deathbringer. By now you may have a few kills. That's fine, hopefully you're getting plenty of assists though. But when it comes to you getting kills, you want Deathbringer. Rolling face and Deathbringer is one in the same. It just happens if you play it right. You get Deathbringer, you roll face. At this point in the game your Crit Damage can be in the mid 300's, and Mid Game, this is likely to get you a good amount f kills if you play your cards right and you're againt the right opponents.

Now that you're rolling face, you want to keep up this momentum, and I find what is perfect for this is Heartseeker. Don't get me wrong, this is a little bit of a curbveball, given that Artemis is a single target damage God, but when you pop some minions while you have Heartseeker, you'll get some sweet stacks, and now you'll find your crit damage can be mid 400's. This silly amount of damage is going to kick some serious ***, but it's no good if you're firing as slow as a canon.

So how do we get quicker? One word - Ichaival. Don't get me wrong, you could build Odyesseus' Bow, and I wouldn't fault you for doing so, t's a valid choice. But for only 10% less attack speed and 10% more physical penetration, for a whole lot less cash, Ichaival is the choice which will build quickest.

Last but not least is Shifters Shield. This is your protection late game. You're going to be dangerous, but you're now a total glass canon, and end game this is going to be a real liabilty. This item is going to hlp your out here. Not only is it going to add a little bang for your buck, you're going to get both Physical and Magical protection, meaning everyone on the other team is covered. Granted it's not a suit of armour so you're still vulnerable, hopefully with this end to your build, you should kill your enemy way before they kill you.

Now I will cover the build for if you're doing well.
Now your standard build is good for attack damage already right? Well if you have Artemis nailed down in terms of gameplay, maybe you want to turn yourself into a blackhole of destruction? Well with a tweaks to the standard build you can do this!

This alternation relys on you getting early game kills. If that should happen, then skip the Executioner and go straight to Qin's Sais. This is prepping yourself for late game.

Next is the standard boots and Deathbringer to roll face. Then go for either Ichaival or Odysseus' Bow. I put Ichaival because that's my forever choice but Odysseus' Bow will really benefit a massive AD build so feel free to go for that instead.

Lastly, don't care if you're squishy, instead go for more damage. Go for Rage. Rage is going to work well with Deathbringer to max out your crits, and insanity ensues if you build enough stacks with Heartseeker.

You have 4 skills with Artemis and all are used for offence regularly.

Now a big con to playing Artemis is that she has no escape. Hence why I stated before to play like you are the Queen in chess. However your number one skill - Transgressors Fate is a tricky one to use. Most people use it as a simple trap - lay as many as possible and spring on someone when they find themselves trapped. This is such a waste of a move, and a waste of mana. Nothing says "AVOID THIS AT ALL COSTS" when playing against Artemis than seeing a pile of vines on the floor. Unless you're good enough to force people onto them with tactical placement, then I have a different way for you to use your Number 1. Use it as an Escape! This is a difficult skill to acheive, but let me give you a situation when this is all kinds of useful. Imagine you are running away from a Warrior or a Guadrian - basically anyone who can use ranged skills - and you need to get some distance between you. Well if you simply place vines just infront of you and run over them, the chances are they won't have enough time to react. If your Artemis game is strong enough, this should be a standard escpae manouever, and a signal for allies to come in for the kill while you go back to base.

Your number 3 skill - Supress the Insolent - shouldn't take too much describing. It's a volley of arrows which drop on a moderately small radius and do damage to everything inside. USe this to clear minions all gathered in one place, or - more importantly - use it to kill escaping enemies on low health. It's a win win either way. However, I will shout this until my throat bleeds, DO NOT ENGAGE WITH THIS. IT WASTES YOUR MANA AND YOUR TIME.

Your number 2 and number 4 I will expain in tandem. Number 2 is called Vengeful Assault and will eternally be Artemis' most usefull skill. You can engage with this, although I would save it until they are mid health and finish them before they think to run. It can also be used with your number 1 skill, due to the fact that it increases your movement speed. Together they make a pretty logical escape mechanism. Number 4 is called Calydonian Boar and is best used with your number 2 skill ready. I find you will usually be able to use this to pick off 1 guardian or a 2 or 3 mage/hunter/assassin's based on how they have built. Simply, under usual circumstances, number 4 will release Artemis' boar, and it will attack the nearest God in the set radius. Once the boar has hit someone they will be stunned for a short amount of time. With regards to this build, while someone is stunned activate your number 2 and fill them full of arrows. You can take down 2 or 3 God's like this if you do it right and anyone trying to escape can be pickd off with the number 3.

That's in regards to Artemis' skill set, however there are some basic notes to be taken into account.
Firstly I will state that for Artemis my Kill to Assist ratio is way out of whack because I spend my time trying to hit as many people as possible. Remember, Artemis may have great single target damage but that is no reason not to help out your team mates, if you see a team member near by, help them out and filling their target with a few arrows. A kill is a kill, and if your team is getting them, it's better for everyone. If you feel the need to kill secure, go for it. Some people see it as kill stealing, and if they do apologise, but feel no guilt because this is a team game, and in the end if your team wins then nobody can complain. Well except for the other team...

Also remember to stick with your team. Hunter's in general are best used in coordination with the rest of their team so try not to get too far ahead of them, especially with this build where you will be SQUISHY.

This build should help you out if you like playing a glass cannon. Remember not all builds work for everyone, and if you struggle with this build it's probably because working as a glass cannon is probably not the best play style for you. You are unlikely to ever keep a clean sheet in terms of deaths, but if you work uner the assumption that "If they kill me 3 times, i'll kill them 6", you should do just fine.