Hello everyone! This guide demonstrates my preferred way to play Joker and is not backed by any empirical data about optimization in terms of numbers or mechanics. I understand Joker as focusing on crowd control and kiting around enormous burst damage, so this is my attempt to explain how to utilize those all effectively together. This does not focus on solo or duo lane Joker, but more on how to play him as a champion overall. Also I've never created a guide so expect awful formatting and inefficient ways of communication. DEAL WITH IT


Beautiful art by: http://annawieszczyk.deviantart.com/ 
Stolen Powers:



Essential to grant him the mobility to kite. The cooldown is low so it's typically available for most combat scenarios.



Any type of teleport will do, of course. I think teleport is excellent for Joker mainly as a split pusher. With all of his kite and escape potential, he is one of the safest champions to roam about alone, as long as you chain his abilities properly.


Ability Order:

There is definitely not an "incorrect" way to level up his skills, with perhaps the exception of maxing Sadist or Vanish first. Taking Mr. Punchy or Surprise! at level 1 is entirely up to you as a player. I like to take Surprise! for the initial wave clear and for the scenario of an early invade. Since it deals AoE damage and the teeth slow, it's excellent for stopping enemies from chasing or from slowing an enemy that's attempting to get away. That being said, Mr. Punchy can be used to the same effect, only without the AoE. Heretoforward I am going to refer to Mr. Punchy as punchy and Surprise! as presents, for simplicity's sake!

or ?!

I alternate between leveling punchy and presents. This keeps his poking power roughly equivalent to his wave clear. Depending on your playstyle, you could elect to level either one first. Leveling punchy will allow you to bully the enemy champions, but it is a skill shot, so be sure that you practice your aim! (Note: skillshots in Infinite Crisis are best aimed by firing at the enemy's feet. This is because of the missile height for most of our skillshots. If your cursor is at an enemy's torso or head, it is much more likely to miss. Test it out!) Leveling presents has a moderate amount of harrass as well because of the teeth that can chase and slow. Be careful about maxing the presents primarily, as your wave clear will become so powerful that you will constantly be pushing your lane. This will make you vulnerable to ganks, and potentially make it difficult to collect credits if they're dropping within the enemy's turret range.

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Sadist grants more utility overall than Vanish in terms of leveling up. The most important thing about maxing Sadist third is the cooldown reduction. Anytime anybody near you dies, your cooldowns are reduced by a flat amount.



Always take his ultimate whenever it's available. It's power has been reduced since the stun has been removed but the damage over time is not to be trifled with. Also, baby.

Artifact Build:

To make it simple, I've listed the artifacts in a general order that I think they should be acquired. As a rule of thumb, you can't really go wrong starting with Nil Ring and Tektite Vial:

 

This gives Joker everything he needs. The will regeneration combined with the sustain allows for a safe lane and leaves room for a couple of mistakes.

During laning phase, I learn towards something with survivability or power damage. Cosmic Staff or Cosmic Belt fits both of those bills:



Its overall cost gives you many stats, and the first couple of ranks are only 500 credits and health and Power Damage are supreme early stats.

The attack damage and the Skilled Attack allow for some great harrass combos. Remember that the final tier has a toggle, so be sure to keep it toggled to the Power Damage effect! However, typically I do not rush the final tier of Sci Scimitar until I've completed the Starheart (to maximize his damage output).

STARHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEART and Psi Scimitar!



I consider this and Psi Scimitar to be Joker's core items. The power damage burst that he is capable of doing with these 2 items is nearly unmatched.

Artifacts past Starheart and Psi Scim are completely up to the player. I tend to find that you can't quite so wrong with high power damage values and/or with some sort of power armor mitigation, such as Cosmic Staff and The Book of Eternity  (Remember, if your enemies are not stacking power armor, the flat penetration on Cosmic Staff is likely a better overall choice!)

If you find that you are taking a bit too much damage or don't tend to survive fights, consider picking up items like Atlantean Royal Seal and/or Neron's Contract.



General Gameplay:

In my mind, Joker is more of a counter-blaster than a true blaster. This isn't to say that he isn't capable of completely destroying his enemies in an aggressive way, because certainly, he is! However, his presents and his ultimate are fairly short range, and though he has some great range on Mr. Punchy, he can't combo too well with his other abilities unless he's fairly close to his enemies. This makes positioning the most important point of focus when trying to play Joker to his fullest potential. Knowing who to focus in a team fight and when, and when to back out and throw your abilities defensively, is something that comes with time, and there is no straight answer for.

In a lane:

Joker in a lane is much different than Joker in a team fight. In the lane, he is somewhat constrained by the laning phase, with his focus being on farming the drones and experience. Coast City is demanding in terms of objectives, so try not to get too caught up in the lane mentality. He is extremely powerful at taking control of power relays with the high bully potential from his abilities, so try to take initiative in at least securing the power relay closest to your base.

In a teamfight:

Because the Joker isn't naturally very tanky, it's likely that the enemies will try to focus you in a teamfight. As tempting as it is, the most ideal thing to do in this situation is not throw all of your abilities at your feet and Vanish away. THOUGH THAT CAN DEFINITELY PICK UP A KILL OR TWO. If you start taking heat as the Joker but you have room to breathe, try to use your Super Speed and your Vanish to position yourself nearer to the enemy marksmen or blaster, and lock them down with your punchy and presents. Wait until they use their defensive ability (i.e. Gas Bat's swing or Green Lantern slow) before you decide to throw out your ultimate. Always try to catch multiple enemies, as the stun is the most important part. If anybody dies, anybody at all, remember that your cooldowns are refreshing, meaning that it's likely that you can churn out a punchy almost immediately (or literally immediately) after you've thrown your first one.

Advanced Tactics:

Kiting is a gorgeous art. A trolly art. Joker is both of these things. Art and art. When being chased by an enemy, do not rapidfire your skills. Throw your punchy and take the half second of grace it gives you. Once they are nearly upon you again, then throw your presents at your feet or directly behind you. The teeth will slow them so extensively that you may not even need to use vanish. **USING VANISH FIRST IS NOT ALWAYS THE BEST IDEA** due to the fact that there are many unknown factors. For example, if you use your Vanish reflexively against a Shazam gank, he can simply ult you. If you save your Vanish to use in a reactionary way, you can wait until Shazam starts his ultimate before you Vanish, so that you completely evade his damage and slow.

Last Laugh and Neron's Contract have decent synergy. If you can afford to, throw Last Laugh at enemies who are upon you. Activating Neron's Contract in the safety of your ult will either compel them to stay and suffer the damage from your gas, or it will force them off of your ultimate's circle and give you space to escape or reposition to churn out more damage.

Psi Scimitar can proc on each ability if you chain them right due to its short cooldown. Punchy and Psi Scim basic attack, then wait a couple of seconds to presents and Psi Scim back attack, and then keep chasing with Vanish and Sci Scim basic attack, etc etc. Psi Scimitar allows your basic attack to do nearly as much damage as your abilities, so never underestimate it and try to get your rotation flowing!

Fin

Thanks for stopping by! I hope there was some useful information contained in here. Good luck and be sure to hit me up at https://twitter.com/IC_Zagnette if you have a suggestion, comment, or just wanna say hi and stuff!

I leave you with the song of my people. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXrlp65VGmM

UPDATE: I did a segment with Axslav of MLG where he played as the Joker and we talked about some stuff. Watch and maybe hopefully potentially learn something! http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=WMWnOBI4OLg&list=FLzSItlUKaVNWbd7ybbfnFhg#t=716