Intro

Greetings and welcome to by guide for Batman. To start I would like to say that this is my first guide for this site so any feedback is more than welcome and greatly appreciated. As things change with the game and the website I hope to keep things updated. With that out of the way, my name is DredPriest within the confines of the game. I play Batman frequently and have certainly played around with different styles of play with him. The following guide is how I generally play Batman and it what I have found to be rather effective.
You are more than welcome to join me on my stream at www.twitch.tv/dredpriest and watch me play Batman as well as mess around with other champions.

How I play Bats

I typically play Batman as a high damage melee carry type of opportunist when I don’t have to worry about being a tank and initiating. I believe that he is best played from the shadows with coordination with your team to catch enemy’s off-guard. With this in mind I like to stick to stealth pads and in the close jungle to keep enemies wondering where I am, unless they have surveillance cameras out then they might know. Batman goes well with other champions like Shazam and Green Lantern, the double stun with Shazam and slows on GL’s shackle allows for more Batman punishment. There are other good choices; however these are my top picks for lane partners. And as always, make use of the stealth pads to get your passive running for the 5 second heals.
 
Item Build

A note on how I build Batman: These are the item that I use more frequently than others and by that I mean pretty much all the time. Depending on the flow of the game determines which item I choose next so consider that when playing rather than following the item build to the letter. One thing I have noticed with Infinite Crisis is the game can evolve rather quickly and people need to adapt. Things change and if you want to win then you need to be able to alter your builds as need be. With that in mind, away we go.

Typically I start off with the Nil Weapon, the 150 health along with the attack damage and life steal is a good option if you don’t have partner with a heal. I couple this with 5 health packs to help me stay in lane longer. If you happen to be in lane with Poison Ivy you can skip these items and go for the Claw of Horus, but you may have a harder time in lane.

If you went with the normal Nil Weapon start then you should be moving onto the Claw of Horus next. This item is great for early game damage, defense and life steal. Once it is maxed it allows you to steal Attack Armor and increase your damage as you lose life. This makes Batman a lot harder to deal with if going toe to toe with him.

Depending on how you are doing is where you should go from here. If you are getting kills and not having much of a problem I would start working on Batman’s Utility Belt. Health, attack speed, movement, and cooldown reduction. Being that this is Bats own item it is too good to pass up since the more attacks you can pump out as well as move faster to catch enemies makes this a great choice for damage and some extra health. If however you are not doing so hot and it happens, you can invest in the Hawkmans Harness and Promethium Mace. These are good items to get some more damage and health if you find yourself to be lacking. They also can be sold back for full price to help you purchase the next item. At this stage I would be buying and selling these items frequently like a stepping stone to the next item until my build is complete.

Next I work on the Soultaker Katana. This item will help you pump out more damage as well as keep you in the fight longer. Once maxed it gives even more damage and life steal from coin collection. It is an overall good tool to have when you enter fights and need to escape to recover some life. In team fights, this item will allow Batman to retreat and heal off drones and come back. If he is not being focused then you have free reign to punch faces in without worry. A great choice for Batman who excels in one on one combat as well as clear drone waves better.  

Deathstroke’s Claymore is next on the list and if you were not already punishing people with your punches you will now. The Attack Speed and Attack Damage this item adds will make you a punching machine, and if you are fighting within your ultimate your fists will be flying. There isn’t much more to say about this item because it speaks for itself in my opinion.

The last two items on my list are more of the optional variety. If you want to go full on glass cannon style you can continue with the Velocity 9 Implants and the Joe’s Chill Revolver. This effectively makes you cave enemy faces in with your punches at a very fast pace. However if you find you having trouble with a particular enemy such as those close one on one fights you can swap out the Velocity 9 Implants for the Cheetah Claw. It will give you some additional life steal along with attack speed so you will still work your enemies over with a flurry of punches while you stick around to deal some more punishment. If you feel confident in your beat downs you can add some defense with Ra’s al Ghul’s Robe or go with Lobo’s Chain for some more health and the slow on hit. When it comes down to it, it is really a gut feeling on what you think you need over stats as well as how well your team is doing.

Bat Skills and Stolen Powers

Stolen Power 1: Flash’s Super Speed – This is a pretty self-explanatory power as it works well for anyone who needs to chase down enemies or get away. This is the only power that I consistently use because of its utility.

Stolen Power 2: This is my more interchangeable power so I can alter play style just a bit. When I am more focused on lane I will go with Zatanna’s Psychic Assault. This helps with the early game to keep enemies close to allow more beatings. Depending on your play style you may wish to go with Shazam’s Invulnerability for a shield or Nightmare Batman’s Consume if you want to dip in and out of the jungle.

Watching, waiting: Passive: Batman gains 5 Power Armor and Attack Armor. These values are doubled when Stealthed or on a Stealth Pad.
Trigger: When Batman enters Stealth or a Stealth Pad, Batman will begin to heal over time, restoring a total of 6% of his Max Health over the course of 6 seconds. This healing will stop if Batman is no longer Stealthed or on a Stealth Pad.
 
Probably one of my favorite things about Batman I generally level this up after Martial Arts and Cape Sweep. The increase to armor and healing can give you the advantage Batman needs to survive those close encounters with other champions.

Batarang: Batman throws his Batarang at an enemy, dealing 40 Attack Damage and applying a mark for 6 seconds. Batman's Basic Attacks or Martial Arts will consume this mark, Stunning the target for 0.3 seconds and restoring 5 Energy to Batman.

I start with this ability to give me that early game ranged poke, the low cost and fairly low cooldown helps give Batman some damage to those who want to stay away from his fists. And those who get close will get the stun. Great for those folks who get greedy under your turret and you give them the ole Batstun.

Martial Arts: Batman dashes to target enemy, dealing 65 Attack Damage and applying on-hit effects. Each time Batman lands a Basic Attack, the cooldown of Martial Arts is reduced by 1 second.
I typically max this second following Cape Sweep. However there are times where I will put this before if I feel like I need that extra damage. I typically use this only to close the gaps and initiate on fights since a great deal of my damage comes from auto attacks.

Cape Sweep: Batman sweeps his cape in an area around him. All enemies are dealt 50 Attack Damage, lose 40% Move Speed for 2 seconds and lose 10% Attack Speed for 5 seconds.

So if you have been reading thus far you will have noticed that I typically max this skill out first. Well some of you might think I am a bit crazy for doing this over Martial Arts first. Well maybe I am, but so far I have had a great deal of luck with the debuff on attack speed and movement speed to keep people close. Cape Sweep does a decent amount of damage along with debuffs which can put you ahead of champions that rely on auto attacks. Having this early game has certainly put me ahead of other Batman Primes who take the normal Martial Arts route. Not that this is perfect in any way and works every time it is merely preference on my part and how I play. It is up to you how you want to level your champion.

The Dark Knight: Batman consumes 1 Charge to create a cloud that blocks enemy line of sight in and out of an area for 6seconds. Enemies within the cloud are visible in the fog of war. While inside the cloud, Batman gains 10 Energy per second, 30% Move Speed, 20% Attack Speed, and Watching, Waiting is active. A Charge is generated every 45 seconds, to a maximum of 2.

Love this ultimate. It is great for disrupting the enemy team and even making those daring escapes. Anyone who is foolish enough to take Batman on in his own realm of the shadows is generally a dead guy. This makes Batman a punching machine and with the way I build him he usually caves faces in. Using this ultimate to backdoor turrets or take down Dooms Day makes it all the more useful.
 
Final Thoughts

Overall, Batman is a very strong champion when he is getting kills and the items to pump out the damage. If you are having trouble then you need to start investing in the Hawkman’s Harness and Promethium Mace to supplement your health and damage until you can get Deathstroke’s Claymore. I do hope that my guide will help you find your own way to play Batman that works for you or at least some incite if you find yourself having a difficult time with Batman. Early game can be kind of difficult, just remember to stick with it and find what works for you. Thank you for taking the time to go through my guide.