Veera: Lust Leads to Loss (of Life)

Build and Guide Veera: Lust Leads to Loss (of Life)

Cheat Sheet
Skill Build:

Level up Hell Bat before all else. As usual, unlock your other skills by level 4, but keep pouring points into Hell Bat whenever Inferno Bats won't take one.

Items

Orb of the Magi, Enchanted Kicks, Hecate's Diadem, Frosty's Revenge, Holy of Holies, Boomstick

Arcana

Compliment Veera's own passive ability with Ability Power and Magic Pierce arcana. Magic Life Steal helps make up for her low defenses.

Talents

Sprint, Flicker, Disrupt

Introduction
A sensual succubus in everything but name, Veera pulls off all the same tricks you've come to expect from the fantasy demon trope.

Ready and willing to charm her enemies and destroy them before they have time to react, Veera might not stand up against much of a beating, but she can easily burst down a target before they can lay a hand on her. Low on the difficulty meter, too, there's little more to this demoness than a 3-shot combo.

Skill Build
Pure and simple, Veera's passive ability – Come Hither – enables each of her ability hits to 'stack' on her target, reducing their magic resistance, scaling with her level, up to a maximum of 3 times per target. This means each of her consecutive swings deals noticeably more damage than the last.

First on her list, Hell Bat is a simple forward-propelled ability that deals magic damage to everyone in its path. Travelling slightly longer than its cast indicator suggests, this is a Veera's main way to 'stack' her passive on a group of enemies.

Mesmerize is Veera's one and only control spell – but at the same time, it's the only one she needs. Fired at a fairly close range, it's own that can either get her killed or can easily secure her a kill in the right situation. With a wide firing angle and a homing projectile, this ability locks on and stuns its initially acquired target, stunning them long enough for both of her other abilities to do their work. Dealing damage all the same, it's a true 'initiator' move, but not one that can't finish off a target if need be.

Then there's Inferno Bats – Veera's readily available ultimate ability. So long as targets are in range, a simple tap of this ability will barrage targets with 5 individual bats. Just like Mesmerize, these track their target until they land, with anything but the first bat dealing 50% of the base damage on the same target. Still capable of shaving off a massive portion of a lone target's health, popping this in the vicinity of multiple targets is another way to diminish the magic resistance of the entire team without risking your own skin.

Due to the relatively low cooldown reduction awarded by levelling up Mesmerize, you're typically better off pouring points into Hell Bat whenever possible. As ever, you'll want to unlock both Mesmerize and Inferno Bats at Level 2 and 4 respectively, but Hell Bat is going to be your best friend for the most part.

Hell Bat receives modest cooldown reductions with each increase in level, whittling down its recast from an initial 12 seconds all the way to 7 when at max level. Thanks to its AOE potential when lined up correctly, its scaling attack power and long-range make it Veera's go-to ability; especially when paired with her Passive in a group combat situation.

Leveling up Inferno Bats alongside it means Veera has plenty of ways to inflict damage from a distance rather than chancing her life with Mesmerize whenever it isn't a fair fight.

Recommended Talents
Like just about any hyper-powerful mage in Arena of Valor, Veera has very low mobility. She isn't entirely slow on her feet, but non of her abilities allow her to rush into battle or make a decent getaway attempt when faced with danger. To make up for this Sprint would be a Trait of choice. With it, Veera can rush between lanes to lend a hand when needed, dancing between the brush to get the drop on her targets, or close the gap needed to Mesmerize long-range prey before they're able to fend her off. Otherwise, it's just a good skill to have on hand should things go south. If a team fight suddenly isn't going as expected, it's going to be her only real chance of survival. And thanks to the homing capabilities of her attacks, staying on her toes enables somewhat of a 'run n' gun' mode for Veera.

For similar reasons, Flicker is another Trait Veera can put to good use. Giving her the ability to rapidly teleport to close-range from the safety of the brush, popping Mesmerize becomes a very tempting assault. She's no jungler, but Veera's burst potential makes ganks very compelling.

If you're the type to stick to your own lane, think of taking Disrupt to allow for surprise tower dives. Your opponent may start to learn how to best avoid your assault each time you use it, but shutting down any tower for 5 seconds it generally enough time to destroy it with enough back up, or can give your allies plenty of time to attack defending opponent's when they would otherwise be safe. Firing from within range of a stunned tower will always incur a risk, but auto-aiming Veera's homing attacks reduces any time wasted by aiming similar shots with other characters.

Items
Arena of Valor already has a fairly solid Armory system in place to offer up tried and tested builds, but it's always up to the player to find whichever suits their individual playstyle. For this, we can take a popular Veera build and add or remove some of its survivability or hybrid aspects to create something that doesn't justify taking too many risks and, instead, rewards firing her abilities at a relative safe distance.

Orb of the Magi, Enchanted Kicks and Hecate's Diadem all stick around as early centre-points to Veera's equipment line-up, offering scaling Ability Power, Magic Pierce and a way for her to keep attacking by topping off her mana reserves in the early game. Frosty's Revenge boosts her lacking defences, further bolsters her Ability Power and allows each of her frantic attacks to make landing the next that little bit easier with a 25% reduction to her target's Movement Speed.

Lastly, Holy of Holies and Boomstick become somewhat interchangeable. Holy of Holies is far more expensive, but offers considerable bang for the buck that, when placed in the right hands, can ensure Veera either gets a kill without trying to forces one or more enemies to retreat as soon as they've entered her field of view. Boomstick, on the other hand, allows Veera to make use of her Ability Power from behind her own team more reliably thanks to its explosive benefits.

Arcana
No matter how you look at things, Veera's auto-attack isn't worth thinking about. Slow and with an amazingly short range, we're not looking at items or arcana to make it any better. Instead, just like most mages before her, you're better off making each of her ability casts deal more damage and in more situations.

Low-tier arcana users need look no further than a simple Talisman, Absorption, Disruption spread in Red, Purple and Green arcana slots respectively. This arcana tree boosts Veera's already massive Ability Power potential and helps her shred through tankier opponents with ease. She won't be killing Arthur outright, but she'll certainly play her part. Magic Life Steal should help top up health pools in quieter moments but could also mean the difference between life and death in fights against similarly bursty heroes.

Following this same pattern with Tier 2 and 3 arcana, picks like Corruption, Revelation and Corruption serve a more potent purpose. Those with lots of extra gold to burn can (and will) enjoy Tier 3 arcana like Violate, Devour and Hex with the latter providing some bonus Cooldown Speed.

Early Game
Veera shines in the early game just as much as she does later on. With simple stat weights and fairly uncomplicated abilities, she's a hero that can be easily read, but devastating when left to do her thing.

With a passive abilities that shreds magic resistance with each strike of an ability, the key to attacking as Veera is to go as fast as possible, maximizing damage output and giving plenty of time to back off if your opponent is left standing. During the opening moments of a match, you won't have much chance of outright killing an opponent thanks to your lacklustre auto-attacks, but baiting the enemy into a false sense of security as you level up allows Veera to smite down those pulled in by her 'charm' in the time is takes for said charm to wear off.

Use 'Hell Bat' to clear minions on the odd occasion, but aim to throw it at your opponent if they're within range. Firing through creep is a very good option, but you don't want to clear waves too often as Mesmerizing your target within range of your own tower is a great way to earn an early kill without running the risk of aggressive tactics.

Mid Game
As you reach level 4 and unlock Inferno Bats, Veera's damage potential will skyrocket. This is where baiting enemies into that false sense of security will win you many kills. So long as you slide Mesmerize into your assault, a Hell Bat/Inferno Bat combo will melt most opponent's in a fresh 1v1 scenario or at least cause them to take a step back. It's usually not worth the risk trying to finish off your target with an auto-attack, but having taken any damage prior to your assault is usually enough. If you managed to sneak Hell Bat in there from a distance before your target got close enough for Mesmerize, you may be able to secure the kill with a second Hell Bat before they're out of range.

1v2 situations are a little trickier, though; especially in the laning phase. Inferno Bats are free to lock onto numerous targets within range, meaning the chance of destroying your target with all 5 bats is essentially split by the presence of another viable target. In these situations, it's usually best to act as an initiator – meaning you'll start the fight with everything you've got, but should bank on any nearby allies to clean up. If you're on your own, just hold out with your barrage of abilities; you'll keep a decent income by clearing creep and should have plenty of opportunity to bait one of your assailants into being charmed under your tower.

If team fights have started to break out, and you lane won't be left alone by your leaving, feel free to lend a hand. Sprint and Flicker help ensure Mesmerize gets to shine, but your main focus should be on hitting as many targets as possible with your Hell Bat attack following up with Inferno Bats on a single target – unless there's another Mage nearby who'll make use of the magic resist reduction imposed by your multi-target hits.

Late Game
Likely having proved herself by now, Veera will be a constant target in a team fight. Landing in a 1v1 situation isn't too difficult thanks to her powerful burst, but being singled out into an ambush leaves Veera with no real escape – she can only charm a single opponent, and having a single Inferno Bat hit each member of the opposite team doesn't translate to much damage. Turning around the fight a lost cause is better than going out in silence, but you'll want to avoid those situations outright – initiator or not.

Veera can start a fight from a relatively long distance from the comfort of her own team, but she still excels in bursting down a single opponent singled out by her Mesmerize ability. Aim to pull off this rapid-fire 2-1-3 combo whenever the risk is low, but approach team battles with the intent to maim rather than kill – at least until things start to thin out a little more. Aiming to strike as many targets as possible with Hell Bat is still a priority, but launch Inferno Bats whenever possible make the most of your own enfeeblements. With each projectile finding its own target, Veera can stay relaveily safe while still dishing out a lot of damage, giving her team plenty of reason to fire on all fronts. Boomstick helps here, but isn't gospel.

Keeping the Sage Buff on yourself is a good thing to practice for its generous cooldown reduction, but isn't absolutely necessary, either. Instead, sticking by your team is about the best you can do as venturing off on your own severely reduces intimidation tactics imposed by what remains of your team with a major damage-dealer out of the way. Look to fire your abilities into the crowd if an opening isn't about to present itself, but attempt to Mesmerize anyone who comes within range. It's nice to have your own burst available to blast your victim down here, but most team's will know to make the most of this opportunity regardless. If you happen to come across any lone opponent on your travels, there's a strong chance you can take them on without much risk, but you'll be shot down the moment you're taking on two or more targets due to a single interruption reducing the effectiveness of your sole damage potential.

Once you've push the enemy to their gates, keep the assault going. Fire your abilities from a distance and aim to single out a target with your Mesmerize. Similarly, employ the same principle to defensive maneuver – you're always a prime target, so baiting an opponent to get hit by your tower can seal their doom once your charm finds its mark.

FAQ/Tips
Thanks to her passive ability, magic resist doesn't mean a whole lot against her. It also means she's incredibly potent when paired with another mage.

Her main focus will be on charming a nearby target and following up with 6 high-damage projectiles in a 2-1-3 combo pattern.

Charming an opponent under her own tower remains a great way to secure an easy kill.

Veera's incredibly low auto-attack damage means she poses little threat once her quick-fire burst is expended.

Matchups
Veera shines on her own, but can absolutely pave the way for other mages to do their thing. With each strike of her abilities reducing her target's Magic Resistance stat, other casters will often find their attacks dealing out more damage than they usually would. This can become the equivalent of almost three Soaring Aura passives in the right environment. Tanks can certainly shake off her usual burst, but they shouldn't bank on rushing into a team fight just to shut her down.

As with just about any mage, Veera suffers from dismal defences. But with her Mesmerize skill only becoming usable when in close proximity to her target, even melee heroes can't guarantee the kill unless they're able to stun her out of range and chop her down before she can counter-attack. Faster assassins like Airi who can stun their target before going in for the kill are the best against Veera, but even the likes of Butterfly can't always react fast enough to avoid a deathly charm combo.

As she tends to stay within close proximity of her teammates in larger battles, the more reliable way to take on Veera is to pounce once her burst has been used up. Sending a tank to absorb the blows can work wonders, leaving the rest of the team to jump on her knowing there's not much she can do to strike back. Singling her out, however, will remain the best option – either by aiming a long-range stun or wide-range slowdown her way or by plucking her from the lineup with heroes like Grakk  or Mina. Omega's rush/stun combo is entirely viable here, too.