Bakasura Solo Guide

Hi guys, I'm crythundR, a fresh guy here on smitefire.
A while ago I decided to make some guides about the top tier sololaners, including some of the lower tier gods as well. The reason for this is that I really like to play some unconventional gods in the lane. Don't be afraid, I'm really into competitive Smite, so I'll most likely do guides about important sololaners.
Keep in mind, that this is my first guide ever, don't be quick to judge.
Also, english is not my native language, and despite of learning it for quite a time, I might and probably will make some mistakes.

I really love writing, so be ready for a long guide :D

Advantages and Disadvantages of Bakasura in the Solo lane

Pros:

- Great 1v1 potential
- Decent sustain
- Great chasing ability
- Good kill potential during laning phase
- Quick campclearing


Cons:

- Not the best frontline
- Lack of hard CC
- His only engage is his escape
- Can be manahungry at the start

Conclusion:

In my opinion, he's a great sololaner, and while he's an A tier god atm, he can easily carry games and do nice damage even with decent tankiness if played correctly.
However, if he falls behind, he can easily become deadmeat.

About the build and the individual items:

Starter item: Heavy Hammer

This item is awesome, especially for the gods who rely ONLY on autoattacks if it comes down to damage. {Well, the leap does a decent amount of damage, but it's either an engage or a disengage, rarely used to end up low-health targets}
It costs 1.350 gold, which is slightly more than a usual starting item, but it worths the cost. {especially because you don't need HoG because 'Eat Minion' grants you good campclear and lane-pressure with eating the Brutes}
It grants you a massive slow coming with every auto-attack. This makes it easier to catch up to the targets, and with your ult and a Sprint 3 {which is a must have on him, but I'll talk about this in the 'Actives' section}, you really don't need to waste an item slot for Hastened Fatalis {which is really only good on very few gods, like Freya, or Bakasura JUNGLE [NEVER ON SOLO]}.
Also, lategame you should sell this item, as well as all the other starter items usually, to buy an item which gives you more potential overall {mostly Titan's Bane, but since solo is the counterbuilding lane, it can be anything}.


The 'Core':Warrior Tabi, Quin Sais, Hide of Urchin


I'm pretty sure everyone knows that Warrior Tabi is a better option than any other options {Maybe there are a few exceptions, like Thanatos, but even for him, the pen is really good and the chosing between pen and cdr comes down to playstile and teamcomp}. It costs 2.150.

The Quin Sais will be your biggest damage source through the entire game {or, if you chose to do a more 'glass-cannony' build, which I'll include later, you'll have crit, but by then you shouldn't have Quin's at all. Later about this.}. This is needed because with my main build, which is included in the 'Bakasura Solo Build' section, you'll be tanky enough to be a frontliner and initiator if needed, you have to rely on the raw power of Quin Sais. And it's an awesome item overall.
It's quite expensive tho, you'll need 3.050 gold to build the whole item.

Your tankiness will begin with 'Hide of Urchin', an awesome item with an average/high, 2.500 gold price on it. It grants you 65 physical and magical protection, as well as some health and mana.
Keep in mind that you have to stack it to be worth using. {After 6 stacks it usually worths the price}
Now, while I included this item as a 'core' {must have in other words}, we should mention one of my included situational defense/utility items: Magi's blessing. If you are constantly dying because of CC, or your targets always manage to escape because of it, you should think about building this item instead of Hide of Urchin. You'll be less tanky, but next to the fact that you'll have decent CC reduct and a cleanse in every 45 seconds, it's much cheaper {2.100, as the site says, but I remember 2.150 for no reasons. Idk, but it's cheaper anyway :D}.



'Lategame': Executioner, Witchblade, Titan's Bane

The Executioner is a relatively cheap {2.200 gold} item, which grants you 30 raw power, 20 percent ATK speed and a nice passive, which takes away protections.
I like the item just because it's good, the damage boost is nice enough, but if you need something from the situational items, this should be the item traded for it.

Witchblade. This item may be my favourite in the entire game. I'd build it on every single god just because it's so good. And it's cheap {2.200 gold}
It makes you even tankier, while giving you a nice speedboost and an ATK speed boost as well, which is huge for Bakasura.
However, the passive is what is really impressive. It's an aura that takes away 15 percent ATK speed and 25 physical power from EVERY ENEMY close to you. If you're going against a Loki solo and a Mercury jungler, this item should be a starter item on every single god. It's that good.

As for the last item, you'll generally need penetration to take down objectives quickly, as well as to shred through the protections of your enemies.
You have to sell Heavy Hammer in order to buy this item.
Although you can trade it for something you need, I don't think it's a good idea to not have any penetration items {Executioner is one, but it doesn't work like the ordinary ones: it has no use against objectives I believe. I might be wrong tho.}
This is {one of} the cheapest penetration item {2.050 gold} and it's arguably the best lategame from it's kind.

Actives of viability: Sprint, Beads, Curses

The most important active for a solo Bakasura {arguably} is SPRINT.
I do not suggest you to build Hastened Fatalis, because it's only a wasting of an item slot in my opinion: you can get it's passive from a sprint 3, and even without it, considering you have all the items I suggested {Heavy Hammer, Witchblade} and your ult, you'll have great chasing potential.

Beads is the best active in the game. It givess you a cleanse, a cc immunity for a nice duration, and it lowers your cooldowns by 5 secs. I suggest this to build every time, next to sprint,
HOWEVER

There may be some cases, when you'll desperately need something to counter fast autoattacker/healer gods. In this case, you should consider building one of the Curse actives.
I'd trade Beads for them, because sprint is awesome, and you are CC immmune for a short duration after using your ult anyways.

Situational items, a.k.a. what if...:

In this part, I'll tell you which items from the standard build could be traded for which situationals, and when to build them.

Let's start with the deffensive/survival items:

Magi's Blessing: If the enemy is CC heavy. Build it instead of Hide of Urchin.

Winged Blade: If you are constantly countered by slows. However, with sprint this should not be such a threat. Build it instead of Executioner/Witchblade. I suggest Executioner.

Shifter's Shield: If you want to be slightly tankier. Build it instead of Executioner.

Stone of Gaia: If the enemy has too much magical damage. Build it instead of Hide of Urchin/Executioner. I suggest Executioner.

Runeforged Hammer: If you know you are going to go against a strong physical opponent, and most of the lanes/jungle do it as well. Build it instead of Heavy Hammer as a starter item. I don't suggest selling it lategame, buy Titan's Bane instead of Executioner.


...Poor executioner, it get's no love for me... Or maybe it's not the whole truth?

There is a build I used to use sometimes. I'll talk about it later.

Now for the offensive situationals. It'll be a slightly more... complicated because most items there should only be used with my alternative, Executioner build.

Bloodforge: If you desperately need lifesteal lategame. With your skill 'Eat minion' this should not be a thing, but I kinda wanted to include it, because I've seen it a lot of times. I don't suggest this to build with my standard build.

Deathbringer, Rage: If you want to be a glass-cannon. It does not work with my frontline build tho.

Brawler's beat stick: If you have problem with sustain gods, but don't want to trade beads for weakening curse. I wouldn't want either. Build it instead of Executioner. {It's kinda like the 'Unicorn build' of the frontline}

Ichaival: If you are going to lane against a physical AA god, and really feel like you need this early advantage. Build it instead of Quin Sais, but build Quin Sais instead of Execuitoner. You'll lack the damage output, but you'll have cheap ATK speed and a nice passive.

Now you might wonder, why did I include a lot of items I wouldn't even build myself with this stand-up.




The 'Executioner' Build:

This build should be used if your team is tanky enough {for example a Zhong Kui mid, a guardian support and a Warrior/Thor jungle}, and has enough frontline, and lacks the hypercarry potential.
While with my standard build, you'll be able to shred people in a couple hits, this build gives you much more damage output, but be careful: you may be too squishy to live long enough to do the damage!

The build itself: Warrior Tabi, Executioner, Rage, Deathbringer, Titan's Bane and a situational item, which could either be a Magi's Blessing or a Bloodforge. The order can be switched based on your match.
Executioner stacks really well with crits, that's why it's more favored with crits than Quin Sais. And, with crits you don't really need that Quin's passive damage.

Pros:
- Huge damage output
- Better 1v1 potential
- Better objective killing potential

Cons:
- Sqiushy
- Worse teamfight potential
- May be lack of frontline

Overall, I only suggest to use this lineup if your team is tanky enough, can initiate, has enough frontline, or if you are really fed, and the enemy gods are no threat at all.

Skill Order and how to use them

Now, I'll skip the order because I don't quite know when does the game let me upgrade the skills.

However, the upgrading order should be one of these: 3-2-1-4 or 3-1-2-4.

The first one is for more and faster sustain. It grants you a nice laning phase and durability in lane.

The second one is for more experienced Bakasura players. It gives you a better waveclear, but be careful: don't use your only escape to clear the wave if the situation does not let it.


How and when to use the skills:

Take Down - It's your leap, your engage and your escape. It does a decent amount of damage, as well as a protection debuff to the enemies hit. However, you should mostly use it to escape a dangerous situation or from bad positioning, or to clear the wave if the situation lets you.

Eat Minion - Do whichever skill-order you want, but ALWAYS start with this ability. It gives you a much quicker campclear, and the ability to tank the camps more. Use this ability to raise your lane-pressure by eating the enemy Brutes {the big minions}. This is especially good in early game, when the Brutes are hard to kill.
You can eat big jungle camps under 25 percent health.

Butcher Blades - This ability is your main damage source. It grants you 70 TRUE DAMAGE on max rank, as well as some physical power. Use it whenever you're going for a kill, or to clear the wave faster.

Regurgitate - This skill is your disgusting ultimate. It's not worth upgrading at all, the only benefit is a little bit more slow on each level, but you have a great chasing potential anyway. It turns your AA's to AoE.
It gives you a cripple which disables all the enemy movement abilities.
Be sure to eat as many minions as you can before using it, because it will spawn the same amount of blue minions, which will do damage and are able to tank objectives.
Use this skill whenever you're going for a kill, use it to tank objectives and to backdoor titan. However, the cripple and the slow it grants are great in teamfights as well.

General Gameplay

The Start:

As I mentioned up in the builds section, you start with Heavy Hammer, two health pots and a ward.

If you starting on the Order side of the map, you help with the midcamps for your mid-laner, and despite of your team strategy, you either go from the midcamp to your mana with your jungler, or if the jungler solo'd the Red buff, you have to stand near the wall to pick up the EXP from that as well. However, after that you two go and take Blue, and go to lane. On this side of the map you'll have a slight disadvantage, so it's not recommended to invade their mana buff, but they'll finish it before you anyway.

If you're on the Chaos side of the map, you and the jungler start with orange buff and then blue. On this side of the map you'll be in a better position, so you can invade their buff, with a decent chance of taking it as well. Especially if they HoG'd it, because your 'Eat minion' skill gives you the ability to eat the buff wielding monster under 25percent health.
You can go to their buff right after taking up yours, or you can go to lane and fastclear the first wave {just do some AA's on them to make sure you'll get the EXP} and then try to take their buff/poke them hard.

Early/mid game:

Either way on either side, you'll get to the lane. If your jungler has a decent waveclear, you have quite good killpotential. With your heavy hammer, and for example a mercury jungle you can easily kill one of them while they are doing the jungle buff, or if they become overaggressive.
After your jungler left, you'll have to farm. Try to pop up Butcher Blades and hit the enemy a couple times everytime they get too close.
On the first 5 level, you should have the skills on this level: Take Down: 1, Eat minion: 1, Butcher Blades: 2, Regurgitate: 1.
As soon as you have your ult, use Take Down whenever you're sure you can get to the enemy, try to hit them because your 1 takes away protections, but it's not quite neccessary. Pop your Butcher Blades, then use your ULT and kill them.
This guarantees a kill 90% of the time. {You can have some problems during early kills with Osiris, Loki or Aphro, maybe Chang'e}.
Keep in mind that your ult grants you cripple, which disables all their leaps, dashes, teleports, blinks etc. and a decent slow, paired with your Heavy Hammer passive.

If you play this correctly, I'm sure you can take some solokills. If you kill your lane opponent, and the enemy jungler is at the other side of the map, or you killed him as well, you should go and take some jungle buffs from the enemy side.

If your lane opponent rotates to mid/duo or somewhere, but you see that there's no real initiation from either team, you should stay and farm. Unless it's Gold Fury, you have a good zoning potential with your ult.

Lategame, teamfights and the Fire Giant:


In the lategame, when the laning phase has ended and the temfights will be oriented around the Fire Giant, your most important job will be to shred the guardians, either make them to back to the base, or kill them. Most likely they'll be the only person in the team who have Hand of the Gods rank 3, which is able to secure objectives like the FG.
However, if you catch anyone out of position, feel free to kill them, you'll be able to do it unless the enemy is too fed.
With my standard build, you'll be tanky enough to initiate teamfights, but scary enough to make the enemy flee whenever they see you. This is why your zoning only gets better, and you can easily take a sprint or/and a beads away with your ult, because the cripple in this phase is a guaranteed kill.

I don't suggest, but you can split push as well. You have really good splitpush potential, but I think, you worth more in teamfights. Let your Apollo do the job.

SUMMARY

Overall, he's a great sololaner, and have to ability to do nice damage while being quite tanky, fast and hard-to-kill.
If he's played correctly, which means farming in the solo lane, picking up solo kills {which you surely will with this build} and rotating only when needed, he can be a carry.
The good thing about him is that he's not likely to fall off lategame, his early, mid and lategame are nearly equally good. If I had to chose his 'time'? It's the early game without a doubt. Even with only a Heavy Hammer, a tabi and a sprint 3 he's guaranteed to pick up a solokill.


If you think I missed something obvious, mention it in the comment section, I'm sure I'll update.


crythundR