Hello DG community. This is my first post.
I've been messing around with different rook builds and have found one that has been pretty successful even against strong PM teams. I'll just jump into it.
This rook rely's on having strong, aware teammates to teleport to his towers should he get ganked. With a poor team, this rook will die over and over and over again. It is IMPOSSIBLE for this Rook to push without good teammates.
Skill progression:
1 - Tower
2 - Hammer
3- Save
4 - Tower, Hammer
5 - Boulder
6 - Save
7 - Tower, Hammer
8 - Save
9 - Save
10 - Tower, Hammer, Boulder
11 - Arrows
12 - Tower of Light
13 - Trebuchet
14 - Save
15 - Hammer, Poisoned Arrows
16-20 Stats
Favor Item: Staff of Renewal. This will let you slam your hammer 2-3 times during confrontations instead of 1-2, not to mention get your tower forests up 20% faster. I would never ever choose anything over this favor item. Not blood, not tele ammy, nothing. This is a massive power boost.
Starting equipment:
Banded Armor
+550 Mana Helm
Nimoth (From here on out you should start carrying Sigils)
Plenor Battlecrown
Unbreakable boots
+550 Mana Helm ->Vlemish
Banded Armor -> Hauberk of Life
That's it. Cheap stuff. You should have an abundance of money later on in the game, invest heavily in citadel upgrades.
Always carry Sigils and at least 2 teleport scrolls. Locks as needed.
Explanations of the stats:
Why only level 2 boulder and not level 3?
Level 2 boulder stuns for 2 seconds. Hammer takes 1.5 seconds to cast. The extra .5 seconds are to allow you to inch closer in case the enemy has moved out of range. Half a second is all you need. I do not think that the extra time given by ANOTHER level in boulder justifies the mana it requires, not to mention a skill point.
No god strength?
Nope. I prefer the ranged power of his shoulder upgrades. It will allow you to chase down fleeing demigods. Also, they give marginal damage boosts to your towers of light.
Additionally, I have found that god strength is not what allows you to kill entire creep waves in 1 hit. You seem to gain this abiliity at level 8 (or 9?) no matter what.
Lastly, the lvl 15 skill, poisoned arrows, is wonderful. Demigods stunned by your hammer, hit by your arrows, aint going nowhere.
Wait, really, no god strength? Stats instead?
Yes. The stat boosts will give you the mana you need to maintain the front end of the battle. Also, the health boost will allow you to last longer. Remember that the longer the battle, the more powerful the rook, as you will get your hammer off more often.
Equipment explained
Okay, so, you are REALLY weak early on. Until you get those two mana helms, plenor and vlemish, you will not be able to sustain any battle for very long. The early equipment is meant to help you stay in the field longer. It will not allow you to take on DG's, just a hold a flag. The equipment is geared towards a defensive style early on and an aggressive style later. The tow mana helms, plus stat boosts, will allow you to spam tower, hammer, and boulder to your hearts content.
Strategy
As stated, you are very weak early on. Focus on protecting towers and leveling up. You are very slow. Do not venture out, do not risk getting ganked. A poorly played rook is a ridiculously easy target early on because he will not be able to run away. So play it safe.
Your skills are especially weak early on. Those 2 puny towers and that 500dmg hammer isn't scaring anyone. Level 4 is better, you should now be able to hold a flag, as long as your mana lasts. Level 7? Now you're a beast. You have a strong hammer, strong towers, and a stun. If you have the mana equipment, you will be able to hold a flag against two demigods. (As long as your forset is already up!)
The key thing is to play very safe. Do not ever go after deep flags unless a teammate is with you. You will get ganked, you will die. You are rook. You cannot run. If you engage an enemy, you're in it for the long haul. Fortunately, your allies can teleport to your towers.
How to fight
Firstly, do not engage demigods unless you have some towers up. This is the biggest mistake I see rooks making. Think of your towers as oxygen. You need them to live. Everywhere you go, you put up towers, and keep walking. This will prevent a DG from chasing you down.
The boulder roll + hammer must be mastered. I cannot tell you how to do it, just practice. The easiest way is to click boulder, click on the enemy demigod, then about halfway through the boulder cast time, click hammer and click on the demigod. This will allow hammer to cast as soon as boulder casts. This is especially important before you get level 2 boulder, as the stun time for boulder 1 is EQUAL to the cast time of hammer. You have more lee-way when you get level 2 boulder.
The best time to do a boulder+hammer is when the enemy DG is in the middle of your towers. This will stun the DG in the "kill zone", allowing the most towers to inflict the most damage.
Remember that a good DG is EXPECTING a boulder+hammer combo. Mix it up. I sometimes start with a fake hammer just to make him use a stun or shield or whatever.
Also remember that your boulder stun has MASSIVE range. You can help allies from very far away with this.
Well, that's it. I tried to be thorugh but all this typing abpit Rook has made me want to play some Rook. See ya in-game.
Comments welcome, and thank you for reading.
