Overview
This guide is designed to be a very quick look into the character and how to use them for people wishing to pick them up with no prior experience. I will go over their skills, their role in pvp matches specifically, and a build that can be used with no character ranks. These include video commentary and guides.Thorn is a very powerful character, capable of pushing lanes up with her skills, launching powerful sniping arrow shots from a distance, or unleashing burst damage up close. This guild will show you the easiest way to unleash her full potential with zero previous experience.
Video Guide
Guide Video:
Match Demonstration
Character Basics
Thorn can either left click to hip fire an arrow, or hold it down to charge it up. Hip fire arrows do less damage, do not apply her passive, and have a large spread that prevents them from being used far away. However, hip shot arrows overall do more damage faster than taking the time to charge them up. Charged shots are best used to harass and weaken big targets from a distance, like turrets, minions, or players. Hip fire is best used up close in combination with Thorn’s skills to do alot of damage very quickly.
Thorn’s arrow have a significant travel time attached to them. This is less noticeable at close range and erased at point blank, but being able to reliably hit targets at anything beyond medium range requires a good amount of prediction and leading. The only way to do this is practice, but with this build focused on skill based close range burst, being able to use Thorn at long range is a bonus but not vital to doing well. At longer ranges, right click can be held down to zoom.
Thorn’s passive, Nature’s Curse, applies a debuff to any target hit with a fully charged arrow to take an additional 25% damage to any future charge arrows or skills, including her ultimate. While vital to doing damage at long range, it is very difficult to charge up and land a charged shot at the close range required to use her skills effectively. Plus, on it’s own the curse does not apply to her hip fire arrows. This build is centered around applying that curse quickly and effectively to burst down targets with key mutations. This will be discussed more at length in the Battlefield Role Section.
Thorn’s first ability, Volley, takes a second to ready up as Thorn takes a moment to draw several arrows, then can be fired at any time. 5 arrows will be fired off in a spread pattern that do less damage individually than a hip fire shot but all together do a significant chunk of damage. It can be used at range to help destroy an enemy minion lane or at close range for a powerful damage spike. With the right mutation, it will become an essential part of Thorn’s gameplay.
Thorn’s second ability, Blight, puts a big aoe on the ground that does damage over time to anything unfriendly standing in it. On it’s own, it wont do a great deal of damage to players because they will just walk out of it, but can be used to zone, and is amazing at clearing enemy lanes, one of the best abilities in the game for it. However, with the level 1 mutation we take, Blight actually slows, which not only increases it’s damage because enemies spend more time in the area, but vastly increases it’s utility for both catching enemies with the slow and escaping dangerous situations.
Thorn’s Ultimate, Wrath of the Wild, takes a second to charge up and then lobs a big spirit bomb. The area of effect of the orb is not huge, and it does not go very far, but it does alot of damage, and even more if it hits a cursed enemy. Best used to secure a kill or burst down a target in combination with other abilities and curse.
Mutation Build
Build Order
1.Left
2.Left
3.Left
4.Left
5.Left
6.Right
7.Left
8.Left
9.Left
10.Right
Character Role
Thorn on her own can do well at range, but this build makes her especially potent at close range. However, in order to access her combo that makes this possible, she needs to achieve specific mutation levels. When she does, rather than being forced into a specific style, she maintains her flexibility, allowing her to switch between man different roles and tactics and adapt to the situation, making her extremely formidable.
Prior to mutation level 4, her game play will focus on pushing lanes with her Blight and Volley, using charged shots at range, or using Blight and Volley at close range followed by hip fire to finish off enemy players close to death.
Kreshek’s Judgement at mutation 4 allows Thorn to curse with her Volley ability. This applies immediately, allowing her to catch targets with a slowing Blight and then Volley for the increased damage. Or, allow her Volley and then use Blight for more a impressive damage total. Either way, this can be followed up by standing in the Blight and shooting empowered hip fire, or charged shots if the target is far enough away.
At mutation level 5, Thorn gets access to her ultimate, Wrath of the Wild. This unlocks her full combo skill combo, either opening up with Blight or Volley depending on the situation, then following up with the other ability, then finishing with ultimate for a huge chunk of damage. It is vital that the Ultimate is used after Volley for the full bonus, or if the target is low enough that the Wrath does not need the extra boost. Now Thorn’s full damage combo is unlocked, you can assassinate full health enemy players that are not tanks quite easily, as well as doing everything else Thorn can when not curb stomping.
Final Words
Thorn is my favorite starter character not only because of her power but because she improves dramatically with pratice. She can fit into any comp for any kind of strat. While technical, she is a very rewarding character to learn.
Thank you for taking the time to read the guide. If you would like more information, I suggest taking a look at the videos posted above. For more videos on Battle Born, check out my playlist here:
Happy Face Stomping out there!
