Overview
This is simply a text-only guide (from a purely casual player) on some basic info about Thorn, and how to go about getting down the basics.
Physics and Matchups
Thorn is quite fast. She will outrun most pursuers, so long as you can start running in time. She does have a weakness, however. That weakness is when brawlers (As in a strong melee character) get in close. I can’t tell you how many times when I was learning, that I let an enemy get too close when I wasn’t paying attention, and gotten sliced to death by some swords. You should attempt to avoid engaging melee characters close range, unless you have a teammate there to bck you up. Also, if you’re stuck in the same lane as another long range character such as Marquis or another Thorn, try and challenge them mid-range, as a sniping battle usually just goes to the one with better positioning.
Remember: Thorn uses a bow. That means there will be some drop in the arrows at range. You must compensate for that. If you aim to hit them in the chest (from your end of the lane to theirs), aim for around the chin. Thorn’s arrows don’t really drop all that much from anything less than a lane’s distance away. Another thing to note about her bow is that it isn’t a hitscan weapon. Hitscan weapons work like this: When the game registers that you have clicked, it sends a beam across the entire map. This beam is as fast as the game registering your input. Whatever your crosshair as on when you clicked gets shot, so long as you aren’t working with McDonald’s Wi-Fi. Thorn’s bow, as I said before, is not a hitscan weapon. You must compensate for enemy movement. If they are strafing to your left, fire a little to the left. Same goes for the right. You’ll have to adjust your aim differently for different character speeds, but that is something you’ll learn in time.
Chasing and Pushing
Can you go deep? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) Yes, you can. Well, somewhat. You shouldn’t chase down an enemy if they have backup and you don’t. Honestly, just don’t try and get greedy. I can’t tell you how many kill streaks I’ve given up, simply because I tried to chase someone down because they had low health. If they are alone, and you are as well, just be careful. Have at least twice their health, and make it a quick job. staying in enemy territory for more than maybe 8 seconds could have an entire team destroying you.
How would you push as Thorn? Don’t expect to be at the front lines when your team pushes a lane. You should try and stay in the middle, or in the back. You should lag behind just a bit, so you can be ready to pounce when enemies run with low health. Depending on the charge of Thorns arrow (Yes, it charges if you didn’t know), and the max health and defensive power of the enemy, you can deal massive amounts of damage with just one arrow.
Specials
I don’t pay attention to what they’re actually called, so let’s call them specials. Volley shoots out arrows in a short spread. This can be useful for hitting multiple targets, or just one fast target at range. if you know your target can be hit with one charged arrow, don’t use volley unless you feel you need to. However, the cooldown isn’t too long that you should be afraid to use it on just one enemy. In fact, depending on the range, you can hit one target multiple times if they’re either a large enemy, or just move into the path of more than one shot.
Blight creates a small circular field that does damage to enemies. It has a decently short cooldown, but you should use it less than volley. Volley (usually) does more damage, and can hit at range. You can only use Blight at a fairly close range, even if you augment yourself to improve its range. Use this to get away, or to stall somebody for a quick kill.
Wrath of the Wild has a large cooldown, so I don’t use it that much. For a more detailed explanation, refer to other guides. So, this attack charges for a bit, then an energy bomb explodes in the area, dealing massive damage. Depending in the enemy, it could take them from 1/3 max health to dead instantly. I’d only use it in group fights, however. Using it against only one enemy can be a bit of a waste.
Final Thoughts
This guide is purely my opinion, plus the fact that I’m only a casual player. I haven’t played for to terribly long, but I did play since the closed beta, and have quite a fair bit of knowledge in both MOBA’s and FPS’s. I believe I am at least a fairly reputable source of information. If you doubt my experience with FPS’s, check my profile. As of Writing this, I have 1032 hours in CS:GO, and have over 800 hours in TF2. As for MOBA’s, I play League, so I don’t know what to tell you other than that I play with Silver friends, which means I at least don’t suck. Thank you for taking the time to read my guide, and I sincerely hope it helped you.