Xbalanque - Lunartic Jaguar(WIP) (Updated 1st August)

Xbalanque is a ranged physical carry, and one of my personal favorite gods. Now some might ask, why Xbalanque? Wouldn't Apollo, Anhur or Neith would be a better choice? The reason is as follows: while the strength of many AD carries lies with their auto attack, Xbalanque's abilities are capable of dealing severe AoE damage to the enemy team, while still retaining the mobility he needs to get in and out of a team fight safely. Better still, his ultimate ability, while dealing no hard damage to the enemy, provides him with a temporary speed boost, and affects all enemy gods with decreased vision and a short stun from anywhere in the map. With some skill, he can turn the tides of a battle. But now, on with the guide!

Pros:

• Devastating AoE
• Good team fight support with ultimate
• Strong early game

• No jump ability
• Squishy
• Mana guzzler
• Ultimate ability deals no damage

CORE BUILD:


Death's Toll should, under any circumstance, always be the first you buy for Xbalanque(unless, of course, you think you can do without it in which case, go ahead, get killed :D). This is because in the early game Xbalanque is very squishy, and if he wants to put up a decent fight, he will desperately need the sustain Death's Toll gives him. Having every hit with your basic attack restore health and mana is extremely valuable, especially in the early stages of the game.


Getting Tabi for movement speed is extremely important. While there are several other items that might give more physical power or attack speed at this stage of the game, few items will give both AND movement speed. Rank these up to Warrior Tabi as quickly as you can, since the physical penetration on them is vital for dealing decent damage to enemy tanks.


At the start of the game, the 1500 gold you have is enough to buy Death's Toll and the first tier of Tabi, with 100 gold left. Use this to buy one Healing Potion and one Mana Potion, and make a point of having at least two of each type of potion with you at all times in the future. While their effects are slow, they certainly help you recover without having to retreat, and therefore maintain a lane longer.


At this point in the game, you'll have returned to base at least once to rank up your Tabi, with maybe enough money to purchase your next item, The Executioner. The reasoning behind getting this item should be obvious; physical power + attack speed + physical protection reduction, three things that make you that much more dangerous to enemy tanks. Now, just because you have this, don't immediately assume you can take down the first tank you see. It won't automatically get you kills, but it certainly helps.


On the subject of sustainablity, we must inevitably arrive at my new favorite active item in the game; Restoration Shard. At full rank 3 and full charges, it will heal for about as much health as rank 3 Meditation, and a little less mana. Best of all, it has a 25 second cooldown, so if you enjoy playing up in the enemy's face where you'll be taking damage(and building shard charges off their abilities) this active is for you. I still advise buying a few extra Mana potions though when you're just starting out with it.


Next item, Devourer's Gloves. These give you more physical power, and lifesteal that slowly becomes more potent over time. Like Death's Toll, having this item makes you much more sustainable in your lane, and unlike Soul Eater, piles on some extra damage at the same time. Win win.


Next comes the most devastating combination of items an AD carry can ask for: Rage and Deathbringer. With the increased physical power and critical strike chance from both items(in addition to the attack speed from Rage), plus their crit-affecting passive abilities, your basic attacks should crit about 50% of the time, and these crits will be devastating. Get these for ludicrous amounts of damage late-game, that will ensure you remain as an important member of your team all the way to the end.

SITUATIONAL REPLACEMENTS FOR DEATH'S TOLL:

At this stage in the game your physical damage will be insane and you will (hopefullly) have kicked a lot of booty. You will have reached the stage where it is in your best interest to sell Death's Toll for a better late-game item. Here are my picks:


For more damage, get Hydra's Lament. Its passive provides horrendous damage from your basic attacks after using an ability, plus it has cooldown reduction, meaning you hurt more, faster. This is an excellent item for Xbalanque.


If you're still looking for more sustain, plus maybe a little more extra damage, buy Eye of Retaliation. This item gives you more lifesteal, as well as a giving you more physical power as your health bar drops. Definitely consider it.


If you find that the enemy carries or assassins are ripping you to shreds, buy Ankh of the Bear. You get physical protection, plus increased damage depending on how much physical protection you have.


On the other hand, if you're having trouble with mages or magical tanks, get Magi's Blessing. More health, mana and magical protection can only help you, plus it has what is IMO one of the best passives in the game; it absorbs one enemy ability every 30 seconds. Lifesaver.


If you want the magical protection but don't want to sacrifice physical power, get Runic Shield. More phys power, more magic protection, some HP5 and a great passive. Definately consider this one.


If you find you're generally happy with your damage, but want a bit more bulk for team fights, buy Hide of Leviathan. It gives you health, mana and a decent amount of physical and magical protection, so you're acceptably prepared for anything the enemy team can throw at you.

Remember that above all, builds are situational, so you may want to buy some items sooner than later, but aim to finish up with everything in the core build described above. :)

With Xbalanque, the greatest lesson you can learn are that not all abilities are created equal. Some are excellent, some are decent depending on your situation and if used wrongly, some downright suck.


Xbalanque's passive ability is called Dead of Night, and it permanently gives him 5 more physical power for every enemy he kills. It is capped at 6 stacks however, so it is only really effective early game, providing he can get enough kills.


Xbalanque's first ability is called Branching Bola. Long story short, it adds some nice AoE to his basic attack, and works on a toggle system. However, it makes every basic attack consume mana, which can be very costly over time. Use it to take out rooted tanks or in large team fight situations where you're unlikely to miss the skill shot. In regular laning, it doesn't have much of a purpose, so put a point in it at level 6 and don't touch it again until after you've maxed out your 2 and 3.


This is where Xbalanque really starts to shine. Poison Darts is a ranged ability that fires 10 darts in a cone in front of Xbalanque, and they deal some nice damage over time. Remember that the closer you are to your target, the more darts will hit them, and be aware that the darts may pass on either side of an enemy and not hit at all. Rank this up first.


Rising Jaguar must be by far Xbalanque's most versatile ability. It is a dash, an escape, and when used immediately after Poison Darts, deals massive damage to enemy gods. While in the air, Xbalanque is free to move at will, so he can get around tight jungle corners while being chased, or perform a mid-air tower dive for a kill and land outside of the tower's firing range. Rank this up after Poison Darts and alternate between the two until both are maxed out. Note: as of the 31st July 2013 patch, the combo now only deals 20% additional damage, instead of 30%. While this nerf makes life a little harder early game, remember that some bonus damage is better than none at all. Use your combo whenever you can.


Darkest of Nights is Xbalanque's ultimate ability, and while it doesn't deal any damage, it has some excellent team-based applications. Being a global ultimate, it affects every enemy gods in the world with a stun and decreased visibility for a few seconds, while providing Xbalanque with increased movement speed and attack range. Use this to assist allies from afar, or secure an escape when at low health. Ranking it up only increases the movement speed buff, so put a point in it at level 5 and then wait to rank it up further until after Poison Darts, Rising Jaguar and even Branching Bola are all maxed out.

As Xbalanque, your early game is where you can easily outmatch your opponents. Try to lane with a tank if you can, maybe a mage, but avoid laning with another carry. You need someone else more capable of clearing out enemy minion waves while you harass the enemy gods with your 2/3( Poison Darts and Rising Jaguar) combo. Your Death's Toll] will allow you to heal up on the enemy minions when you need to, while your combo takes out around half of your squishier foes' health at a time. If your laning partner is good, a final combo can secure a kill(possibly even a double kill) for your lane. Try not to get greedy though. A fed enemy can rip Xbalanque apart in the early game. Also, you'll soon see why I said to get health AND mana potions; your combo is effective, but expensive. Only expect to fire it about three time before needing more mana.
Once you have enough gold, get your partner to stay and hold the lane while you buy more items.With your increased damage output, you may be able to get a few more kill for you lane, and hopefully steamroll the towers in the first 10-15 minutes or so. At this point, if your lane's towers are still relatively intact, you can go ganking.
Xbalanque is an anti-gank superweapon. Imagine your mid mage gets ganked by an additional two enemy gods. If Xbalanque comes in and use his combo behind them, he can do enough damage to allow the mage to secure a kill, or at least scare the gankers into a retreat. If your gank more or less fails, using Darkest of Nights means that Xbalanque, and hopefully your mage will live to fight another day. Remember though, while his damage is amazing, Xbalanque is still only a carry, and is therefore a relatively squishy god. Don't greedy.
In the late game, once most towers are down, your team should be focusing down phoenixes as a group, and the enemy team will most likely group up to defend. Again, use your combo like crazy on those guys, stun them with Darkest of Nights to help your team secure a kill, and maybe even Branching Bola if you think it's worth the mana. Don't be afraid to use your ult as an escape, since exchanging a 100 second cooldown where you can still be fighting for a 70 second respawn time where you can't do anything is lunacy IMO.
At endgame, remember your combo and even your basic attack will deal tons of damage to the minotaur, but don't go alone! Bring a tank AT LEAST to take the heavy hits for you.

If you take nothing else from this guide, remember this; Xbalanque's 2 and 3 used in conjunction with each other are devastating to enemy gods, and as an AD carry, his basic attacks hit hard as well. Wait until an enemy is CC'd or rooted to use Branching Bola, or you'll probably end up wasting your mana. Buy potions. Have 2 of each with you at any time. Don't get greedy. Let the enemy get greedy, so you get fed, not them.
Follow this guide, and before long you might just get good at Xbalanque.
This guide is a WIP, and my first, so please be kind and constructive in your criticism. :) Remember to upvote this if you like it too, because it really helps guides to get seen.