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    • Infinite Crisis has shut down.

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    Infinite Crisis builds for Shazam

    SHAZAM!: An Insane Damage Tank/Carry

    A Shazam guide by RavenousReptar
    Last updated: Mar 31st, 2014
    Link to guide: www.dawnbase.com/guides/shazam-an-insane-damage-tank-carry
    10,931 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
    Intro:
    For starters, Shazam is a power damage champion who is tagged as a "Bruiser". This usually means that the champion is going to be tanky in nature and have melee range auto-attacks, as is the case here. However, with the correct itemization Shazam can turn into a downright powerhouse and just Roflstomp the enemy team. This guide is going to cover the way to effectively itemize Shazam for both insane damage and survivabilty.


    Starting Items:
    I prefer to start with some variation of Olympus Gambit (2), or Oa Gambit (2), and health packs.
    This start gives Shazam an early passive that helps him gain extra credits, as well as giving him decent health and power damage. This isn't the type of starting set up to make him an early killing machine, it gives him the ability to stay out and fight longer, while also gaining him steady credits. So, you should play accordingly and stay safe. Maybe hang back and land stuns for your teammates, but don't go all in too often. This is the way I choose to start regardless of where I am laning due to the credit generation.

    First Back: 
    If all went well, you should be able to afford to finish your Oa Gambit (2) now, as well as outright buy [[Two Face's Coin (2)]]. If it went really well, try to also buy The Crime Bible (2). If all did not go well, and you got caught out of position, or over stayed your welcome in a fight, then you should prioritize finishing those core early game items as soon as possible, in the order I just listed them in. In my opinion,  [[Two Face's Coin (2)]]  is the better of the two snowball items to get first, since both of your Gambit's already give defensive stats. So I almost always buy Two-Face's first. If you think the health is more important at the moment, then by all means buy The Crime Bible (2) first, and finish Two-Face's shortly after.

    Core Item Decisions:
    Now is the part where the build path is rather open, and should be decided based on the situation. I've decided the guide into the two paths here: The first being the damage path, and the second being the tank path.

    Shazam's primary damage item is the Psi-Scimitar (3). The passive ability on the item is what gives Shazam his amazing ability to shut down and instagib a carry or weakened enemy. Due to Shazam's low cool-downs on his W and his Q, he can get the passive damage to proc often. The Starheart (4) is his next major damage item, due to the bonus power damage from it's passive. If your team doesn't need you to be tankier, then those two items alone will allow you to start to just crush people who think they can get near you. A simple Q to initiate followed by the Psi-Scimitar (3) passive, followed by a W with another passive proc will outright kill some of the squishier champions. The stun on Q should give you enough time to land both hits with next to no problem. If they don't die, there is no way a lone squishy champion will want to fight you, and will usually be forced out of lane. This kind of damage output will scare the enemy team, and will force them to focus you, which is good since you're primarily a tank.

    If damage is not the main priority at the moment, then you may want to work your way into building  Phantom Stranger's Necklace (3) and Atlantean Royal Seal (4). These are Shazam's two best defensive options, while maintaining his ability to murder people. It is important to note that the situation may change and you may not want to follow this build anymore. If your team really needs you to be tanking, then explore other defensive options. But the two I just listed are best for maintaining a high damage disruption play style.

    Whichever path you choose to rush, build the other option after. If you went for damage and rushed a Psi-Scimitar (3) and The Starheart (4), then build the Atlantean Royal Seal (4) and the Phantom Stranger's Necklace (3) after. Be aware that you can choose to mix it up. Lets say you built Psi-Scimitar (2), Atlantean Royal Seal (3), and The Starheart (1). That's totally fine, just choose which you want to prioritize next based on the situation.

    Selling Gambits:
    In most games there will come a time when you need to decide to sell your Gambit's or to upgrade them. The only time you won't need to make this decision is if the game ends extremely quickly. I have never personally had to upgrade the Gambits, because I tend to play very aggressively and do obscene damage. I usually choose to sell them. When to sell is an important decision though. You want to sell them after you've made sure they have AT LEAST  paid for themselves with their passive. You can check them in game by hovering your mouse over their icons, and that will show you how many credits they have each awarded you. For a rough timer: usually a little after the 14-16 minute mark is safe to sell, but that depends on how long you waited to finish the second Gambit.

    Proper Use of Ult, and other General Play Style Tips:

    Shazam's ult is extremely strong, and sets up an amazing team fight. Since it is such a long cool-down it is better to be aware of the game's objectives and keep timing in mind. For example, if you're level 6 and there is an enemy just our of reach of all your spells except your ult, but the game is at the 5 minute mark and you know that the Orbital Cannon is about to come on-line, then i t may be better to save that ult for the OC fight then to use it to snag a relatively meaningless kill. Those types of decisions can make or break early game advantages, which can lead to wins or losses if the wrong decision is made. Let's say you went for that kill and got it. Now the OC fight starts and you have no ult for another 65 seconds still. When your team tries to fight the enemy green lantern ults your entire team, and now you guys lose the first Orbital Canon advantage. If you had your ult, you could've ulted onto Green Lantern and then Q'd him to keep him down until a teammate helped pick up the quick kill.

    In short: Be mindful of key team-fight times, and use the ult well. Hit the most amount of people you can, or hit the key target dead on.

    Some other tips;
    In a 1v1,(when possible) always make sure you wait the 2 seconds it takes for the Psi-Scimitar (3) passive to come off cool-down before you use your W after landing a Q+AA combo. Also, make sure that when you switch your w it will put you in your damage stance. 
    Latest comments

    grimmior44
    What do you use for mods? Just my guess Over Clocked 2 Face Coin and Crime Bible with Empowered Psi. I have not tried it out but what I'm getting ready to use.
    8:41 pm, Sep 1st, 2014
    Reply

    grimmior44
    Sorry forgot to add, I have him with Power Penetration/Damage. BTW just bought him I just happen to have had some Merit left and unused augments.
    8:48 pm, Sep 1st, 2014