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  • Infinite Crisis has shut down.

    With its departure, Dawnbase will be going into permanent read-only mode and will remain as both an archive of information about Infinite Crisis, and a reminder of the times we all had with the game.

    Hats off to you all. It was a pleasure, ladies and gentlemen.

    Sacrilege
    @SacrilegeGG

    Infinite Crisis builds for Star Sapphire

    Love Conquers All (In-depth, Updated 3/15/14)

    A Star Sapphire guide by WeeKneeSmasher32
    Last updated: Mar 15th, 2014
    Link to guide: www.dawnbase.com/guides/inMDeGdg
    7,223 1
    Score:

    1

    Ability levelling order
    01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
    Starter items
    Core items
    Offensive item options
    Defensive item options
    Situational item options
    Augments
    Modifiers
    Stolen Powers
    Hello and welcome to my guide for Star Sapphire. I assure you that this guide will improve your Star Sapphire play by a wide margin if you read it completely through. Now with that being said, I want you, my beloved reader (yes, I love you), to know that YOU WILL PROBABLY NOT BE SO HOT YOUR FIRST FEW GAMES, SHE IS A VERY HIGH SKILL CHAMPION. DON'TBE DISHEARTENED, YOU WILL IMPROVE AFTER YOU UNDERSTAND THE INTRICACIES OF HER KIT BY PLAYING HER. Sucking at something is the first step to becoming sorta good at something. 





         "For Hearts Long Lost and Full of Fright, For Those Alone in Blackest Night. Accept our Ring and Join our Fight - Love Conquers All, with Violet Light!"
                                                                           -Star Sapphire Corps Oath

    Her Kit


    Mastering Star Sapphire’s kit is crucial to mastering her. Sure you can say “Well obviously, it is like that for every single character,” which is true, but her kit is extremely well designed because each skill plays perfectly off of the others and you have to have intimate knowledge of how it works in order to do well with her at all.

    Passive: Glimpse of the Predator: Star Sapphire gains 20 Move Speed while the Predator is attached. When dashing it deals (30/55/80/105+45% Power Damage) Power Damage to any enemy it hits.

    She controls the Predator with her skills. The Predator automatically dashes back to her if she is too far from it.
    Most of your damage especially early on, will come from the Predator dashing. It is crucial that you always know where the Predator is at all times. He can be difficult to keep track of at first, he is the small, almost translucent crystal that is floating with you once you start. He can go through environmental objects, walls, champions, drones, etc. so always keep that in mind as well. You only gain the bonus move speed from him while he is attached, so if you are chasing or kiting it is usually best to keep him attached to yourself unless you can spare to move him (could be for a guaranteed kill, to save an ally, far enough away to poke, etc.). When the Predator is manifested (more on that when we get to R) he still dashes and does this passive damage, but can no longer reattach to you. This is why I put points into the passive before I rank the ultimate each time except the last (by then you should have more damage from items and it allows you to max your W two levels earlier than if you took the passive again, which becomes much more useful when there are teamfights and the lot). All of your combos are based around the Predator, so getting good at controlling him is essential to playing this champion.

    Q: Crystal Bomb: Star Sapphire creates a crystal at the target location and the Predator dashes to it. The crystal explodes when the Predator arrives or after 2 seconds, dealing (30/55/80/105+30%) Power Damage in an area.

    Cooldown: (4.5/4/3.5/3) seconds, Cost: (30/40/50/60) Will

    Max this first because it is your staple damaging spell and your primary way to move the Predator around. It has a decently long range as well, it is very easy to harass under towers and prevent capture points from being taken. It has a very low cooldown (it even goes down to 1.8 seconds with max CDR) and can be used to great effect for both damage and kiting once you have your Atlantean Royal Seal (4). Note that it says the crystal explodes when the Predator reaches it (which means that the closer you are to your target, the faster it pops) OR after 2 seconds (this can be useful for comboing, but more on that in the Gameplay and Tips section). Whenever you cast this, after the Predator reaches the crystal it will remain there indefinitely until you move it again with an ability or when you physically move out of range (the range where he retrurns is actually surprisingly high, think from the far end of Wayne Tower in Gotham Heights to halfway through the entrance to the middle area from the top).


    W: Violet Harvest: Star Sapphire deals (50/85/120/155+35% Power Damage) Power Damage in an area around the Predator. Star Sapphire gains (6/8/10/12) Power Damage for every Champion damaged for 5 seconds.

    The Predator dashes and reattches to Star Sapphire when this skill is activated, unless it is Manifest.

    Cost: (40/50/60/70) Will

    This skill is maxed second; while it does good damage and has very nice utility, the cooldown doesn’t decrease with rank and the bonus Power Damage isn’t really relevant until skirmishes and team fights begin. This is how you reattach the Predator to yourself, if you move it with Q it will remain unattached until you move out of range or use this skill. He will deal damage and begin to dash to you immediately when you activate the skill. It has a decent range around the Predator and will hit champions who try to run from the range when it is activated.

    E: Bonds of Love: Fire a heart that can hit the Predator and enemies. The heart deals (40/75/110/145+50% Power Damage) Power Damage to the first enemy it hits and then bounces to a second nearby target, dealing (40/75/110/145+50% Power Damage) Power Damage and bonding the two together for 5 seconds. Bonded enemies take (20/35/50/65+20% Power Damage) Power Damage per second.

    Activate again to Stun the that targets for 0.8 seconds and pull them to each other.

    Cost: (40/50/60/70) Will

    This skill is maxed last because the others are more important, but you need a point in it early for the sheer utility that it provides. It has a rather long cooldown, so you have to use it only when necessary. Use this skill to pull high priority targets (such as ADC or blaster) back into a teamfight or friendly AoE. It can be used to escape from chasing foes by bonding them together, to a drone (though once you get some damage they die almost instantly), or even to the Predator. It still can bond to the Predator when he is Manifest, so it can be used to keep a squishy target that he is munching on in his range. It has a medium range, so be wary when your positioned near something that can stick to you so you don’t have to use it to survive early in a skirmish or teamfight. It takes skill to properly utilize this for another reason though, if you notice it deals damage over time while the targets are linked together... knowing when to just pop the E for the stun or how long to leave the DoT tether active before stunning (there is a short window before the tether just disappears altogehter) takes some practice, but is crucial to learn for maximizing damage.


    R: Manifest: Enemies near the Predator are Rooted for 2 seconds. The Predator manifests for 25 seconds. It will attack nearby enemies, dealing (50/80/110/140+30% Power Damage) Attack Damage to its targets. Activating Manifest again will order the Predator to move to or attack specific targets.

    While Manifest, the Predator’s dashes deal an extra (15/25/35/45+15% Power Damage) Power Damage.

    Cost: (100/115/130/145) Will, Predator Health: (1,000/1,300/1,600/1,900+200% Bonus Will)

    This skill has a long cooldown, so don’t use it foolishly. This skill can turn the tides of a teamfight in your favor. The root is extremely useful for trapping enemies in your team’s AoE and enforcers/bruisers/burst, and stopping fleeing enemies in clean up. The Predator itself does tons of damage and will attack what you press R over and move to where you R over (with smartcast on). It is actually easier and more damaging to continue to use Q to move the Predator around though because he now deals extra dash damage. When you W he still dashes back to you, but he doesn’t attach. He exists for a quite a while, and he is pretty bulky, especially with bonus Will. You obviously want to sick him on a squishy high priority target after he manifests. Note that it manifests where you put it, so if it is still attached to you it will root in an area  around you.


    Stolen Powers

    I suggest [[Flash’s Super Speed]] and [[Doomsday’s Invulnerability]]. Super Speed helps with chasing, fleeing, and kiting; Invulnerability gives you better survivability, the ability to suddenly turn a duel, and essentially more health. Alternative Stolen Powers include [[Poison Ivy’s Healing Wave]] instead of Invulnerability for a similar effect with added team utility (heals others as well and gives a damage increase), [[Zatanna’s Psychic Assault]]/[[Star Sapphire’s Psychic Assault]] to increase your kiting ability instead of Super Speed, and of course [[Gaslight Batman’s Surveillance Cameras]] (would actually prefer Green Arrow’s, but he isn’t out for another week as of writing this) because map vision is absolutely crucial to performing well in Gotham Divided, and gives good gank protection for mid lane because you have no escape from junglers aside from Bonds of Love. .

    Items

    To Start: There are several viable starting items. [[Royal Atlantean Seal]] is great because it is part of the core build as well as increasing damage and survivability. [[Cosmic Staff]] is also part of the core build and it is cheap damage. [[Doctor Destiny’s Dreamstone]]/[[Abin Sur’s Lantern]]are both good options, but you need only pick one of them and which one you pick comes down to personal preference. The Dreamstone is what I personally prefer (though it gives no bonus will) because it gives CDR, damage, and Power Armor as well as a strong mana regen effect. Note that Abin Sur’s Lantern is just as good of an idea, it provides damage and plenty of bonus will (and thus bonus health for the Predator when he is Manifest), plus it is easy to fill up with your low cooldown Q. Only get The Medusa Mask (3) if you have the augment that makes the healing passive trigger on an earlier tier. That combined with Nil Ring and a tetktite vial is a great start on GD and will leave you with much better sustain in early lane before you get your mana item.

    The Core: Atlantean Royal Seal (4) is crucial, it gives you more kite game than a Chinaman as well as survivability and damage. Cosmic Staff (4) is raw damage, it also gives the Wounding effect which is always useful, as well as doing percent health damage (easy to constantly apply with the low cooldown of Q). Upgrade whichever mana item you choose, but make sure to get rank 2 of the item on your first back if you don’t to start because that is when they give their mana regen effects. Finally The Starheart (3) is just tons of raw damage, only get this early if you are ahead though; it is always a better option when you’re down or just doing alright to get more of the optional items to assist yourself in getting ahead of the game.  [[Pandora’s Box (4)]] adds to your kiting ability as well as providing some team utility because the ghost seeks out enemies (useful for checking for ganks, kiting, checking map objectives for enemies, etc.) It also provides delicious CDR and raw damage, so it is always a good item to have.

    Options: [[Neron’s Contract (4)]] is good for when you are a high priority target (which will end up being almost every game once you get good, I swear) because of the invulnerability effect, as well as the Attack Armor that it provides along with more damage. Helm Of Fate (3) is good against teams with a lot of Attack Damage, and that will likely mean you will have to rely on kiting, which this item also helps with in addition to providing raw damage and a damage boost activated ability. Entropy Aegis (4) is good against teams with a lot of Power Damage or against teams that have champions that have abilities that are important to not eat (like Atomic Green Lantern’s hook for instance. [[Fatality’s Energy Lance (4)]] is good against high health champions because of the percent health nuke and damage boost. The Book Of Eternity (2) is good when the enemy team is stacking Power Armor and Cosmic Belt (3) is good to get earlier in the game and is good against people with no Power Armor items; percent penetration is better when there is high Power Armor and flat penetration is better when there is low Power Armor.   Blue Scarab (3) and Psi-Scimitar (3) are both good items for Star Sapphire because her auto attack animation is very sleek and fast, so it is feasible to and recommended to auto attack harass champions that you outrange; they provide raw damage and both have effects that ultimately increase your damage (choose the Scarab when your team has a lot of Power Damage though since it reduces the Power Armor of enemies hit).

    Gameplay and Tips


    Your auto attack animation is very fast smooth (League players: think Lissandra’s AA) and you are ranged. You should last hit slightly later than normal because your auto attack travels quickly. You should harass your laning opponent because you have the range to. Your spell range is also relatively long as well, so harassing is very easy; don’t let yourself get too cocky though, proper positioning is important – try to stay near your backline and as far as possible away from any of their characters with crowd control effects. You are bulkier than some blasters, but you are still squishy. You also have no escape ability (Manifest's root and Bonds of Love's stun aren't reliable escape effects, they're utility effects), so it is important that you always mind your positioning and try not to get caught alone.

    Always keep track of where the Predator is at all times. This is absolutely crucial to having any degree of success with this champion. All of your skills directly involve the Predator in some way so if you don’t know where it is you won’t be able to respond to your surroundings in time to save yourself from things or land kills.

    Your basic combo is Q-W. Q at or around your target to anticipate dodge, this causes the Predator to dash (hitting them for dash damage) to your crystal (which explodes doing more AoE damage). From there you press W causing AoE damage around the Predator and for him to dash back to you (hitting them again for dash damage). If done correctly this combo hits them 4 times, but in order for it to do that you have to keep yourself in a straight line with the crystal and your opponent. Do not press W too early because he will deal the W damage mid-dash and return to you immediately, but the crystal will still explode (note though that if you are mid combo and someone comes to gank this in fact helps you because you will regain your move speed and still get at least some damage on your target).

    Your E can bond to the Predator as well as to drones and champions. A good escape combo is to Q behind the target and E them, reactivating the E will pull them halfway to the Predator’s crystal (since the Predator is inanimate, he doesn’t get pulled forward), you can then use W to damage them twice (W damage and dash damage) and regain your move speed. Atlantean Royal Seal (4) makes this combo even more potent for escapes. You can also do the combo in reverse, aiming your Q to bounce your E to an opponent out of your range to prevent escape. Your E can still bond to the Predator while he is Manifest. Bonding to the Manifest Predator can prevent escape from him and teamfights as well, so always keep that in mind too.

    Try to save Manifest for teamfights, but if it will prevent your death in a dire situation, it is okay to use. It has a long cooldown so wasting it just to kill a low health fleeing opponent or something of that manner is just that: a waste; that is, of course, unless it is still lane phase and you are committing murder on your lane opponent or it is earlier in the game when teamfights don’t breakout readily. What I am saying is try to save it for when there is more than one opponent because you have high burst damage and it just isn’t worth wasting such a great spell (high damage and high utility) for something trivial.




    Thank you for reading, I hope this guide helps you. I will update it frequently with any new information or tactics. If you have a suggestion send a message or comment on the guide and I will get back to you!


    You Have Great Love in Your Heart, Welcome to the Star Sapphires.
     
    Latest comments
    You practically stole my item guide, my build verbatim, have no guide text and somehow received a higher starting rating than me... You are something else
    5:36 pm, Mar 1st, 2014
    There are only so many items and our skill orders were the same. All of my text disappeared after I published the guide, you posted in your guide saying that I was a rip-off and commented on my guide saying that; getting upset over something like this and denouncing me is just petty, you are something else.
    6:02 pm, Mar 2nd, 2014
    Plagiarism isn't petty, it's a crime. I find your guide to be very inaccurate and unnecessarily long winded, it's a guide, why are you eating people's time with this huge background story? High skill level? Not really, one of the easiest characters I've played and I even explain using her abilities. Only so many items, understood, however most SS I see do not start with atlantean seal, therefor, direct copy. Anyway, 10 guides from now had you made this is one thing, I just don't understand why you're trying to immediately upstage me. I will not refute my denouncement of you.  
    7:19 pm, Mar 2nd, 2014
    I truly don't see how I plagirized you. It is an in-depth guide explaining the character and even some general gameplay in more detail to help players. I have seen so many Star Sapphires feed horrendously, so I don't know what you're taking about. One item to start with doesn't make this a direct copy. I started with that the moment I played her when she came out because it made the most sense with her kit. I began to write this guide the day she came out, you merely posted yours first and when I was ready to publish all of the text disappeared. You're the one that denounced me in your guide and even changed the color of the sentence to make it stick out more, you're the one making a big deal of this. I wrote an in-depth guide to help players, if a pro wrote an in-depth guide right now I'm sure you wouldn't harass them about it, so why do it to me? All I want to do is help people be better at my favorite champion, it isn't a competition for best guide. 
    8:12 pm, Mar 2nd, 2014
    I don't see how this guide is a ripoff whatsoever.... To me you sound a little (sorry to say it) pathetic, Gibraltor. But i do agree that this guide is VERY long :P But your guide doesn't seems that impressive either (talking to Gibraltor). The scores you posted isn't impressive and the blue color you used make it look terrible to say the least....
    4:49 am, Mar 3rd, 2014