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Joule Reveal & Tactical Breakdown

Joule Reveal & Tactical Breakdown

  • Vainglory
  • |
  • Sep 20, 2014

HEAVY PLATING (heroic perk)

Joule takes reduced damage from basic attacks that hit her from the front and sides. Damage is reduced by 15 – 33% (level 1 – 12).

 

ROCKET LEAP

Joule leaps to a target location. Enemies caught underneath Joule take full damage and are stunned, while enemies near the impact are knocked away, slowed and take 1/3 the damage.

 

THUNDER STRIKE

Joule thrusts her sword forward, arcing a bolt of energy out through the blade. This strike deals both weapon and crystal damage in a line in front of her. When this successfully strikes an enemy, the next Thunder Strike within 7 seconds will deal bonus damage and cost extra energy. This buff can stack up to 5 times and is lost when stunned. When maxed, this ability can crit weapon damage.

BIG RED BUTTON

Joule fires a massive beam of energy in a target direction that continually deals damage to all targets along its path. The force of this beam pushes Joule backward during channeling.

Joule is an incredibly flexible hero who can adapt to your preferred position and playstyle. She’s viable in Lane or Jungle. Despite her natural short range, she can be used as a mid-range poke-and-harass hero. She can look to isolate vulnerable targets—or jump feet-first into teamfights and scramble the wits (and health bars) of opponents.

Let’s break it down …

Rocket Leap is a utility-first ability fantastic for escaping and closing. That said, it does deal damage (especially to the primary target) and can be used to single out, stun and eliminate an enemy. You can also leap into open space to push enemy players apart with the force of Joule’s impact. This puts enemies out of position and makes any enemy pushed toward your team much more vulnerable. While less common, maxing Rocket Leap dramatically decreases its cooldown, giving you more options and the freedom to get in and get out of fights at will.

Your use of Thunder Strike will define your playstyle. Some stay carefully at the perimeter and harass, while others use it to bully and mix it up as much as possible. The key is building up—and maintaining—stacks. Yes, stacks expire after 7 seconds, but if you thrust this skillshot too soon, you’ll miss and lose all your stacks, crippling Joule’s offensive potential for a time. This is Joule’s tenuous dance: No matter what, do not miss with Thunder Strike … but don’t wait too long to fire it, either. It’s a balance that takes practice, but keep in mind that hitting minions and monsters will keep your stacks alive. Thunder Strike is also an attack reset. Using it immediately after a basic attack will allow you to immediately use your basic attack again. Aggressively use this advantage.

Big Red Button is all about lining up that energy beam for maximum sustained damage. Hit heroes in map choke points where they have nowhere to run. Hit heroes locked down or stunned by teammates. Hit multiple heroes at once whenever possible by looking beyond the primary target for juicy opportunities. And bonus points if you line up a hero through a turret. That’s right, starting in Update 1.0.14, abilities can damage turrets (with varying effectiveness).

Put simply, if you have at least four Thunder Strike stacks, you’ll have the advantage in a duel. Look to pick fights with stacks, and use the Scoreboard to track opponents’ item builds. That’s the only way to know if you can hang around when low-stacks. Unless, of course, it’s Krul. Then, run.

Either initiate with your energy beam or stay on the outside, harass and wait for opponents to engage your teammates before ripping them apart with your ultimate. If you’re tanky, jump into the fray; otherwise, leverage Thunder Strike for its range. Ideally, use Leap Strike to stun a high-valued target while pushing the rest of the enemy team out of position mid-fight.

  • Build damage. Sorrowblade’s weapon damage is vastly preferable to attack speed. You’re already resetting your basic attacks with Thunder Strike, and the line of energy coming from the blade is an ability, so it doesn’t speed up from items like Tornado Trigger. And “proc items” like Tension Bow don’t synergize well with Joule.
  • Build critical strike. When Thunder Strike is maxed, its weapon damage can crit. That makes Tyrant’s Monocle a devastating later-game item. This is an investment that takes a while to pay off. But when it does, it pays off big.

  • Build energy. Joule’s riding one energy-hungry mech. That makes items that build out of energy such as Eve of Harvest and Frostburn prime pickups.
  • Eve = defense. If you prioritize Eve of Harvest, look to build super-tanky from there (Atlas Pauldron, Aegis, etc.).
  • Frostburn = offense. If Frostburn is your first core item, follow up with crystal damage and cooldown—or go hybrid and start building weapon!

Catherine

She can be harassed to death and has a hard time forcing Joule to fight head on. She also has to get so close that it’s nearly impossible to dodge or escape Joule’s ultimate.

Petal

She doesn’t have the health to survive most fights with Joule. If Petal triggers Spontaneous Combustion, Joule can leap away if you’re quick to respond.

SAW

When SAW is spun up, he’s a sitting duck for Joule’s Rocket Leap and subsequent Thunder Strikes. Camp the brush and wait for him to push up too far. Joule also has success harassing in Lane by stepping in and out of Thunder Strike range.

Ringo

His mobility allows him to dance outside of Thunder Strike’s range, resetting your stacks, and he will step to the side to avoid Joule’s ultimate while kiting you.

Adagio

Matches Joule in Lane harassment, but has the added benefit of taking a few hits and healing himself up—all while still threatening Joule.

Koshka

Her hit-and-run style is a nightmare for Joule. Her speed makes it hard to land Thunder Strike, and Big Red Button is better saved for more reliable (and less acrobatic) targets.

  • Shoot Thunder Strike blind through walls to maintain your stacks. If you’re at risk of your stacks timing out, fire through a wall at a jungle monster camp. This is difficult to do consistently and will require practice to learn the correct angles.
  • Place Scout Traps behind jungle monsters, along the inside wall. This will help you pull off the tip above and give you vision for lining up Big Red Button. It’s especially good if you have Koshka on your team, who can utilize the vision for pouncing over walls.
  • Escape over walls with Rocket Leap. Need to flee? Run toward walls and leap over them, creating crucial separation from your pursuer, who will have to go around. This takes some testing to figure out which walls and “thickness points” you can reliably leap over.

Joule’s arrival is imminent! We can’t wait to hear what you think when she’s in your hands.

—PlayoffBeard