WHO ARE YOU TO TELL ME-
I'm not a tournament player or very successful with any champions but with Fiddlesticks I think of myself as a beast. You can take my word for this or leave the text unread! The reason I'm writing this is that a lot of the fiddlesticks I see just make me sad and actually caused me to quit playing him.
THIS FIDDLE
The role my fiddle plays in a team is the Sword of Damocles, capable of striking anywhere at any time with terrifying accuracy. Like the Sword of Damocles the only thing it does is fall and kill, it doesn't do swinging, stabbing, shaving, rubbing, gleaming or any of that useless ****. Farming minions - fine, but don't go out of your sadistic little way to do it. Stopping them from farming is just as effective.
RUNES: Magic pen, mana regen and cooldown reduction
Masteries: 9 0 21 (no 21 0 9, we want clairvoyance and clarity buffed)
SKILLS
Two skills I always use. I do NOT use flash because in my eyes it's for people who failed to aim the ulti right.
First off clarity: every penny spent on mana could have been spent on pain! Wasting no time to get AP early in the game will make you a wonderful bully. There's a reason the stats have a bar for Magic Damage Dealt instead of Mana Regenerated, and since fiddle has few cheap spamming spells that you can regenerate constantly I feel mana regen items are a no-no.
Clairvoyance is the absolute life-blood of my fiddle. After your first unscrupulous attacks your enemies will be cowering in the jungle, hiding in the shrubbery, wringing their hands and dreaming of counter-ganking you in the woods you love so dearly. Consequently you will find them where they feel safe and warm, just to jump on their clueless scalps and turn their hopes to screams.
ITEMS
The build is an AP and cooldown reduction one, focused on gaining the upper hand quickly. I almost never deviate from:
Amplifying tome + Mana pot
Sorc Boots + Mejai's Soulstealer
Blasting Wand / Catalyst (depending on how the game feels)
Staff of ages / Banshee's Veil (though I prefer the staff)
From here on it's whatever you prefer. Rylai's Crystal Scepter is a great health boost and makes sure even fewer escape from your crowstorm, Frozen Heart lets you spam your ult more, Zhonya is something to aim for.
WAY TO PLAY
Out the front door with an Amplifying Tome and a mana potion, skills left unpicked. I don't care if you go mid or lane, you'll end up the most fed ******* of the game anyhow. Wait until you see your opponents. (Check the shrubbery with clairvoyance if you have to).
Are your opponents:
Solo mid? Get Drain. Incapable of stunning, fearing of flinging you through the air? Get drain! Drain has been my favorite skill in this whole **** game from the moment I saw it, making opponents either flee in terror or die in the hopes of punching the health they gave me back out.
Even if your opponent mid has a stun, get drain. Just run at him till he's fed up and stuns you - he will use this time to retreat or start attacking. If he retreats, fine, no exp for you! Run back and drain a minion. If he stands and fights drain the hell out of him until he runs or breaks.
Laning with a teammate it is important to establish who you're killing - your drain can absorb one enemy's abuse but if theres two you have to make sure one of em dies fast. Retreat as soon as he's dead - if your teammate wants a double kill let him go for it but you need to get your squishy ass back till drain is ready again.
Laning together with one or more stuns:
Get Dark Wind. If they have a stun, they'll probably be waiting for an early gank in the bushes. Of course you've already seen this! Run at the bush innocently, feel the joy in their trigger fingers as they wait for you to enter just as you throw dark wind and your teammate rolls in for heavy damage.
This sets the tone for the rest of your low levelling. Bully them away from the creeps and the exp. At level three you decide whether you're going to do more damage with drain or dark wind; four you get Fear, which won't do much damage but can save your life as well as end theirs. One level of fear will do while you level drain and wind.
LEVEL SIX
For anyone really new to fiddlesticks I'll illustrate the glorious ballet of Crow Storm ganking:
1. Get into some bushes or behind a wall, in range of where you think the enemy is going to be/stay for a few seconds. If it's a calm harassing duel, ping your teammate to fall back a little / lure / flee as you start to channel crowstorm a few steps behind the last, or in the back of the group of enemies. Judge who is DEFINITELY going down because of your ult, who is just going to flee and get hurt a little, and who might get killed with a little effort.
2. As soon as you land cast Dark Wind on the enemy you think could get killed. As the mad crows bounce around, hopefully silencing all the stunning heroes, start running back with their terrified group. NOTE: If it's a teamfight or you're outnumbered they might decide to just stand still and die. In this case, skip the running back part.
3. If they're gonna run and crowstorm is about to end, Fear the guy you want to kill (ideally you're still ahead or not far behind him). Drain until he dies.
IN A TEAM FIGHT or against stay-and-die mindsets, use Fear on the most dangerous stun or DPS character. Drain is for their tank: Sometimes I am so greedy that I use Drain to get kills in a team fight, but as soon as you make the kill your life-sustaining cord is broken and you're in terrible danger.
This combination of skills is extremely lethal and at the same time extremely comfy, often leaving you with full health and a barely half-empty mana supply after a bloody fight.
ANYWAYS, lvl 6:
They all know what this means! Assuming you are not playing with complete nitwits, your lane will cower and hide every time you step into a bush. They will call mias religiously and you can bask in this fear they have by being as sneaky and tricky as possible. Kill some golems left and right (perfectly easy at level 6, as long as you use clairvoyance to cover your back) to disappear off their map for a while and use Clairvoyance to intercept any mia's running around.
After a few minutes of being out of sight or just being unpredictable your lane might come under pressure. If the enemy thinks this is their opportunity to take your tower, go ahead and prove them wrong!
IN THE JUNGLE
Make sure you're comfortable running around on your own. You are actually in very little danger! When you encounter an enemy in the jungle, be quick to Fear them.
Decision time:
Are they squishy, alone and aggressive? Follow the Fear with a Dark Wind (it won't bounce but hey every ounce of hurt counts) and start draining them for an easy kill.
Are they tough, capable of stuns and viable to call their friends? In this case you can expect their team to start pinging your position on the minimap like crazy. You do the same. After Fear, run away from their character in a 'oh no you've found me, my sneaky little butt is doomed!' fashion, heading (preferrably around a corner) for the nearest shrubs. Clairvoyance the region you expect their attack to come from -hopefully revealing several vengeful enemies storming near. Aim your Crowstorm in a position that corners them, either forcing them to run into a tower, into your teammates or away from their base. Proceed with the other steps of Crow Storm Ganking, let your teammates pick up the pieces but be sure to RETREAT TO SAFETY before taunting their abused faces on chat! Arrogance (and counter-ganking) might be a fiddle players' only weakness.
AGAINST OTHER GANKERS
We are all familiar with the intricate dance of two teams attempting to 'Push Mid', one defending and one attacking. A few or more members of both teams are often found (if you use Clairvoyance effectively) creeping around the treeline, trying to flank or get behind the opposing team. Little do they realise that behind the treeline that protects them there is a whole Jungle of trees protecting you!
If you happen to be approaching such a fight a little late, don't bother meeting up with your teammates. Locate the sneaking enemies and get behind the bushes on their far side from Mid. Aim your Crowstorm between them and their escape route back to their tower and team, forcing them to run into your friends if they get that far.
This goes for most ganking threats; normally using your clairvoyance on a hunch or as a safety measure reveals just a few enemies on the edge without much clarity if they're staying or where they're going. In these cases you keep a safe distance, stroll over to the place you think they want to gank and eat a few minions on the way. As soon as their position is known and they pose a threat (no one is distracted like an enemy being all threatening and ****) you can get behind them and unload.
GOOD THINGS TO KNOW
1. Your ultimate is a weapon of mass destruction to People Your Size or Below. It can change losing team fights to massacres, in some cases it can destroy teams all on its own. HOWEVER if you are low on levels or AP, you are ****ed. Instead of using your ult to turn any fight to your advantage, wait for an even and close battle - this is where you can tip the scales and harvest those Souls you need for pwnage.
2. Be creative. Fiddlesticks is all about surprise and spectacle. Note for instance that the channeling of Drain looks the same as chanelling your ult save for the green wire and aura - this green wire is even invisible if you're draining a minion standing behind you. I don't know if the game designers were just lazy here but the trick is -either extremely stupid or super hilarious- to pretend you're draining a Minion while getting chased / 'surprised' by (melee) enemies. Simply step infront of the minion, blocking view of it, and aim your Crowstorm right on top of it - you will now face the creep and Jesus-Pose as if you were draining, causing careless, overly greedy or extremely pissed off (make sure they're not too smart) opponents to dash forward and hit you in the back.
If it works they just ran into a crowstorm got silenced feared and drained and died. If it didn't work you just farmed a minion with your ultimate.
3. A good offense is the best defense. Fiddles sticks weren't made for running away - in spite of being a squishy caster, his position in a teamfight is often standing in the heat and draining for dear life. Once your dark wind and fear are cast you have to run or commit to draining completely - until all cooldowns have finished this is your strongest attack and best chance of staying alive. Unless you are perfectly sure that running away is your only option (a position you should never put yourself in), stay and fight and pray your team does the same.
That's about it! I realise the order of things might be terrible jotting down whatever comes to mind, but I think this is just how fiddle plays. He's versatile and has a new tactic for every situation, these are the tactics that work for me and I hope they help you.
I'm not a tournament player or very successful with any champions but with Fiddlesticks I think of myself as a beast. You can take my word for this or leave the text unread! The reason I'm writing this is that a lot of the fiddlesticks I see just make me sad and actually caused me to quit playing him.
THIS FIDDLE
The role my fiddle plays in a team is the Sword of Damocles, capable of striking anywhere at any time with terrifying accuracy. Like the Sword of Damocles the only thing it does is fall and kill, it doesn't do swinging, stabbing, shaving, rubbing, gleaming or any of that useless ****. Farming minions - fine, but don't go out of your sadistic little way to do it. Stopping them from farming is just as effective.
RUNES: Magic pen, mana regen and cooldown reduction
Masteries: 9 0 21 (no 21 0 9, we want clairvoyance and clarity buffed)
SKILLS
Two skills I always use. I do NOT use flash because in my eyes it's for people who failed to aim the ulti right.
First off clarity: every penny spent on mana could have been spent on pain! Wasting no time to get AP early in the game will make you a wonderful bully. There's a reason the stats have a bar for Magic Damage Dealt instead of Mana Regenerated, and since fiddle has few cheap spamming spells that you can regenerate constantly I feel mana regen items are a no-no.
Clairvoyance is the absolute life-blood of my fiddle. After your first unscrupulous attacks your enemies will be cowering in the jungle, hiding in the shrubbery, wringing their hands and dreaming of counter-ganking you in the woods you love so dearly. Consequently you will find them where they feel safe and warm, just to jump on their clueless scalps and turn their hopes to screams.
ITEMS
The build is an AP and cooldown reduction one, focused on gaining the upper hand quickly. I almost never deviate from:
Amplifying tome + Mana pot
Sorc Boots + Mejai's Soulstealer
Blasting Wand / Catalyst (depending on how the game feels)
Staff of ages / Banshee's Veil (though I prefer the staff)
From here on it's whatever you prefer. Rylai's Crystal Scepter is a great health boost and makes sure even fewer escape from your crowstorm, Frozen Heart lets you spam your ult more, Zhonya is something to aim for.
WAY TO PLAY
Out the front door with an Amplifying Tome and a mana potion, skills left unpicked. I don't care if you go mid or lane, you'll end up the most fed ******* of the game anyhow. Wait until you see your opponents. (Check the shrubbery with clairvoyance if you have to).
Are your opponents:
Solo mid? Get Drain. Incapable of stunning, fearing of flinging you through the air? Get drain! Drain has been my favorite skill in this whole **** game from the moment I saw it, making opponents either flee in terror or die in the hopes of punching the health they gave me back out.
Even if your opponent mid has a stun, get drain. Just run at him till he's fed up and stuns you - he will use this time to retreat or start attacking. If he retreats, fine, no exp for you! Run back and drain a minion. If he stands and fights drain the hell out of him until he runs or breaks.
Laning with a teammate it is important to establish who you're killing - your drain can absorb one enemy's abuse but if theres two you have to make sure one of em dies fast. Retreat as soon as he's dead - if your teammate wants a double kill let him go for it but you need to get your squishy ass back till drain is ready again.
Laning together with one or more stuns:
Get Dark Wind. If they have a stun, they'll probably be waiting for an early gank in the bushes. Of course you've already seen this! Run at the bush innocently, feel the joy in their trigger fingers as they wait for you to enter just as you throw dark wind and your teammate rolls in for heavy damage.
This sets the tone for the rest of your low levelling. Bully them away from the creeps and the exp. At level three you decide whether you're going to do more damage with drain or dark wind; four you get Fear, which won't do much damage but can save your life as well as end theirs. One level of fear will do while you level drain and wind.
LEVEL SIX
For anyone really new to fiddlesticks I'll illustrate the glorious ballet of Crow Storm ganking:
1. Get into some bushes or behind a wall, in range of where you think the enemy is going to be/stay for a few seconds. If it's a calm harassing duel, ping your teammate to fall back a little / lure / flee as you start to channel crowstorm a few steps behind the last, or in the back of the group of enemies. Judge who is DEFINITELY going down because of your ult, who is just going to flee and get hurt a little, and who might get killed with a little effort.
2. As soon as you land cast Dark Wind on the enemy you think could get killed. As the mad crows bounce around, hopefully silencing all the stunning heroes, start running back with their terrified group. NOTE: If it's a teamfight or you're outnumbered they might decide to just stand still and die. In this case, skip the running back part.
3. If they're gonna run and crowstorm is about to end, Fear the guy you want to kill (ideally you're still ahead or not far behind him). Drain until he dies.
IN A TEAM FIGHT or against stay-and-die mindsets, use Fear on the most dangerous stun or DPS character. Drain is for their tank: Sometimes I am so greedy that I use Drain to get kills in a team fight, but as soon as you make the kill your life-sustaining cord is broken and you're in terrible danger.
This combination of skills is extremely lethal and at the same time extremely comfy, often leaving you with full health and a barely half-empty mana supply after a bloody fight.
ANYWAYS, lvl 6:
They all know what this means! Assuming you are not playing with complete nitwits, your lane will cower and hide every time you step into a bush. They will call mias religiously and you can bask in this fear they have by being as sneaky and tricky as possible. Kill some golems left and right (perfectly easy at level 6, as long as you use clairvoyance to cover your back) to disappear off their map for a while and use Clairvoyance to intercept any mia's running around.
After a few minutes of being out of sight or just being unpredictable your lane might come under pressure. If the enemy thinks this is their opportunity to take your tower, go ahead and prove them wrong!
IN THE JUNGLE
Make sure you're comfortable running around on your own. You are actually in very little danger! When you encounter an enemy in the jungle, be quick to Fear them.
Decision time:
Are they squishy, alone and aggressive? Follow the Fear with a Dark Wind (it won't bounce but hey every ounce of hurt counts) and start draining them for an easy kill.
Are they tough, capable of stuns and viable to call their friends? In this case you can expect their team to start pinging your position on the minimap like crazy. You do the same. After Fear, run away from their character in a 'oh no you've found me, my sneaky little butt is doomed!' fashion, heading (preferrably around a corner) for the nearest shrubs. Clairvoyance the region you expect their attack to come from -hopefully revealing several vengeful enemies storming near. Aim your Crowstorm in a position that corners them, either forcing them to run into a tower, into your teammates or away from their base. Proceed with the other steps of Crow Storm Ganking, let your teammates pick up the pieces but be sure to RETREAT TO SAFETY before taunting their abused faces on chat! Arrogance (and counter-ganking) might be a fiddle players' only weakness.
AGAINST OTHER GANKERS
We are all familiar with the intricate dance of two teams attempting to 'Push Mid', one defending and one attacking. A few or more members of both teams are often found (if you use Clairvoyance effectively) creeping around the treeline, trying to flank or get behind the opposing team. Little do they realise that behind the treeline that protects them there is a whole Jungle of trees protecting you!
If you happen to be approaching such a fight a little late, don't bother meeting up with your teammates. Locate the sneaking enemies and get behind the bushes on their far side from Mid. Aim your Crowstorm between them and their escape route back to their tower and team, forcing them to run into your friends if they get that far.
This goes for most ganking threats; normally using your clairvoyance on a hunch or as a safety measure reveals just a few enemies on the edge without much clarity if they're staying or where they're going. In these cases you keep a safe distance, stroll over to the place you think they want to gank and eat a few minions on the way. As soon as their position is known and they pose a threat (no one is distracted like an enemy being all threatening and ****) you can get behind them and unload.
GOOD THINGS TO KNOW
1. Your ultimate is a weapon of mass destruction to People Your Size or Below. It can change losing team fights to massacres, in some cases it can destroy teams all on its own. HOWEVER if you are low on levels or AP, you are ****ed. Instead of using your ult to turn any fight to your advantage, wait for an even and close battle - this is where you can tip the scales and harvest those Souls you need for pwnage.
2. Be creative. Fiddlesticks is all about surprise and spectacle. Note for instance that the channeling of Drain looks the same as chanelling your ult save for the green wire and aura - this green wire is even invisible if you're draining a minion standing behind you. I don't know if the game designers were just lazy here but the trick is -either extremely stupid or super hilarious- to pretend you're draining a Minion while getting chased / 'surprised' by (melee) enemies. Simply step infront of the minion, blocking view of it, and aim your Crowstorm right on top of it - you will now face the creep and Jesus-Pose as if you were draining, causing careless, overly greedy or extremely pissed off (make sure they're not too smart) opponents to dash forward and hit you in the back.
If it works they just ran into a crowstorm got silenced feared and drained and died. If it didn't work you just farmed a minion with your ultimate.
3. A good offense is the best defense. Fiddles sticks weren't made for running away - in spite of being a squishy caster, his position in a teamfight is often standing in the heat and draining for dear life. Once your dark wind and fear are cast you have to run or commit to draining completely - until all cooldowns have finished this is your strongest attack and best chance of staying alive. Unless you are perfectly sure that running away is your only option (a position you should never put yourself in), stay and fight and pray your team does the same.
That's about it! I realise the order of things might be terrible jotting down whatever comes to mind, but I think this is just how fiddle plays. He's versatile and has a new tactic for every situation, these are the tactics that work for me and I hope they help you.
