KA-BOOM BABY - VULCAN GUIDE 4.12

Hello, first of all (and as you can see / read), my English is very bad, so advice about my English or the guide (the first one I do), are welcome.
I am a vulcan player (he is my favorite god, followed closely by Thoth, Janus and Bellona), I have some experience with him, so I hope to help in something. What I like about him is his consistency compared to other mages throughout the game (good early game, good mid game, good late game), somewhere I read that the vulcan players did not care about the goal .. All the reason
I center myself in Conquest mode, even so, it can serve in the other modes (although it would not be the most efficient).
Let's go there!

PROS

Great consistency in all stages of the game (early, mid and late game).

Ability to take jungle camps and buffs alone with the help of Inferno Cannon.

Good poke with Backfire and Magma Bomb.

Destructive damage if you manage to connect Earthshaker (even at minimum range), this ability can change a team fight completely.

It is relatively easy to connect skills.

Inferno Cannon is very annoying for enemies (at maximum range it is very difficult to destroy).

Your passive can help you out of a dangerous situation.

CONS

It is very squishy (like practically all magicians).

Little escape (no dash or anything like that), so it is difficult to survive a gank of gods like Thor or Susano if you are advanced, your jungle / support are not close and you do not have relics ready.

It is quite constant throughout the game, so it does not get to excel in any stage (for example, Thoth excels in the late game).

You should play something passive if you take the option of the Build with Doom Orb.

Earthshaker can be difficult to connect.

As you can see, the order in which I recommend boosting the abilities of vulcan does not vary much in the two builds, only in the build of the life steal, I prefer to boost the turret in level two because I usually play a little more passive . Many will see it strange to boost the Inferno Cannon only to level 2 and from there to concentrate on boosting the Magma Bomb, I do it because at that level is more than enough to position it in some jungle camp, use the Backfire, Magma Bomb And let the turret finish the job. We could boost it before the Magma Bomb, but we would be losing that poke so beast that gives us this.


Backfire: This skill is a priority to boost it, with it we clean the line faster (very important thing in the early game during this season) and is our most constant gross damage. It can also help us to flee using it with a 360 turn taking advantage of that momentum (and if we connect it, we will activate our passive :D), and in the build with the Bancroft's Talon, it helps us to get the maximum lifesteal.

Inferno Cannon: Now explain one of its uses a few lines behind (position it in a camp, use our 1 and 3, and let it finish the job). You can also serve during our retreats, use it to make a body block or take a 360 turn and apply the damage. At maximum rank is a little complicated that the enemy destroys it (seems to have more life than several gods haha).

Magma Bomb: It's so fun to hit an enemy with it several times in a row and see how annoying it is (or do I just get annoyed when they do it with me?), Just having this ability in your kit causes Vulcan to be considered by many And I include myself) the king of poke.
It helps a lot to easily connect your Backfire.
It is also used to flee, the strips above you to apply a knock up to the enemy that is following you.

Earthshaker: My favorite skill of the whole game, there is no better feeling than connecting it to several enemies at maximum rank, as well as stealing a gold or a fire with it. In late game you can end a blow to an enemy with it.
It can also be used to block escape lines or use it on top of you to move enemies away.
It is quite combeable with other ultimates ( Ares, Odin, Sylvanus and Geb, especially).

BUILD 1 (BURST DAMAGE)

This is my favorite build, I choose her 75% of my games.

Soul Stone: I like the aggressiveness in the early game; Offers great damage at the beginning, a great push and the ability to take jungle camps / bufs to you alone quickly.

Doom Orb: This item gives you great chances of getting an early kill as it gives brutal damage the moment you acquire it (even often, I buy it before the boots, depends on how well I go in the game); The problem is the risk you run once you acquire it, it is very likely that the enemy jungle begins to focus on you; So you must play safe, do not enter places where you do not have wards and try to always be grouped with your jungle or support, or stay to play the middle line always.

Shoes of the Magi: I'm much fan of these boots than of cooldown; It seems to me that the damage in early you get is non-negotiable (I guess this is the only item I would see viable change in my build).

Book of Thoth: The imprecindible in my builds of magicians (along with the tahuti); Gives you brutal damage and mana needed to be useful in the game. Just buy it haha

Obsidian Shard: The penetration item par excellence. If you want to hurt him and do not tickle the tanks, you have to buy it. I tend to buy it before the Spear of Desolation because it is cheaper.

Spear of Desolation: Normally the wizard build does not change much season after season, patch after patch ... until season 4 comes with changes to this item. Personally, I think it's an OP item: Cooldown + Penetration + A lot of power + Affordable price = Shut up and take my money!

Rod of Tahuti: Not much to say, you have to buy this item if you really want to do damage in the late game. I have seen that many buy it from the fourth item, I do not see it viable because of its high price. I always buy it as my last item, but this is a personal taste, it can vary when you buy it, as long as you do.

Chronos' Pendant: An excellent item for cooldown, that 20% is really useful, plus what gives you the passive. I tend to change the doom orb for this item in the late game, if I am dying a lot, since you will not focus on completing the 25 missing stacks, you will focus on team fights.

BUILD 2 (LIFESTEAL)

This build I use 24% of my games (the other 1% use some of the alternatives I added), I use mostly when I am against gods that can apply damage very easily (Change, Ne Zha, etc.). Although I use it to play something defensive, the damage that gives Bancroft's Talon in the early game, is no joke.


Sands of Time: It is probably the most complete item starter of the entire game. It does not give the raw damage that Soul Stone provides, but it compensates it by using the abilities more often (for cooldown and mana sustain). I do not sell it until I have the gold for the Rod of Tahuti, it's too good.

Bancroft's Talon: The lifesteal you provide is a crazy thing. Do you have 20% health? No problem, use your Backfire twice against the minions and you're full. In addition to those 100 magic damage it gives once finished, it is too much to have only two items purchased (it is finished after the boots).

Thank you for being my guide, I hope it was to your liking. I repeat that my development of guides is not the best and much less my English (I preferred to do it in English to do it in Spanish, due to the community of Smitefire); So any constructive criticism is more than welcome.

There are still things I would like to add and others that I should improve, but I do not have much time and I would like to see the reception of it.

Greetings. GGWP.