Vanato the Fiend guide: skills, build and team roles
Overview
Vanato the Fiend is a Legendary Dark Ranged Attacker from the Nocturna Faction in Invokers: Titan Legacy. He deals focused damage that grows when the enemy has no buffs: his Skills hit harder and cycle faster against an unbuffed target, and Ravager Blast places Weaken so your whole team deals more damage. Ichor Bullet helps empty a target's buffs, and he's at his best beside allies who strip or block them.
Fully Awakened and before Gear, Vanato has 1,246 ATK, 803 DEF and 7,845 HP. His ATK and HP are both high for a Ranged Attacker.
An enemy that can't keep its buffs gives him several advantages at once. Be wary of enemies with permanent or protected buffs, as they can shut off those advantages even when his ATK, Crit Rate and Crit DMG are excellent. Vanato is strongest against targets that can't hold on to buffs, not a universally strong Ranged Attacker.
Skills To Prioritize
Hungering Shell gains 90% damage against an enemy with no buffs at Level 10, rising to 100% at Max Level. His fifth Combo Attack can also reduce this Skill's cooldown when the target has no buffs, so it keeps single-target pressure going between his bigger casts.
Ichor Bullet attacks twice. Each hit shortens up to three random buffs by eight seconds at Level 10, or four at Max Level. If the target has no buffs, each hit can also reduce all his active Skill cooldowns by four seconds. It needs Accuracy to land, and shortening a long-lasting buff doesn't always remove it, so the cooldown reduction isn't a guaranteed reset on every cast.
Ravager Blast places 25% Weaken for 22 seconds at Level 10 and 24 at Max Level. Weaken increases the damage the target takes, so it helps your allies as well as Vanato. Max Level's 24 seconds is longer than the Skill's 22-second base cooldown, which gives you a margin to keep Weaken up. Resisted placements, control or a change of target can still break it.
Black Wolf Vulcan ignores 30% of the target's DEF at Level 10 and Max Level. Its extra damage against an unbuffed enemy rises from 175% at Level 10 to 200% at Max Level. It also returns 250 Mana at Level 10 and 300 at Max Level, against costs of 1,050 and 1,000. The refund helps your next cast, but you still have to generate Mana before the first one. Max Level is most valuable when your team can reliably keep the target unbuffed; otherwise part of the extra damage goes unused.
If you want Vanato to open up targets and keep his Skills coming, upgrade Ichor Bullet first. If you want your team to hit harder, upgrade Ravager Blast first, as Max Level keeps Weaken running longer. If you want him to finish a target your team has prepared, upgrade Black Wolf Vulcan first.
Build And Team Support
Vanato places Weaken and shortens buffs, so put Accuracy on his Chestplate and Flask and stack as much as the build allows, so both land. After that, build ATK and Crit Rate to about 75-80%, then as much Crit DMG as the build allows. Past that point, Crit DMG is worth more than more Crit Rate. Add HP and DEF to keep him alive. He has native Bloodrot and Manashock Tolerances, which match Sakiel's Corruptions.
For Relic Sets, Accuracy Relics help Weaken and buff shortening land more consistently, and Crit Rate Relics help you reach the Crit Rate threshold. For more damage once those are covered, Predator Relics add ATK and, at five pieces, Crit DMG. Voodoo Relics shorten a random buff on the target with his 3rd and 5th Combo Attacks, which helps keep targets unbuffed.
Pair him with allies who strip or block enemy buffs, since a partner who does that reliably often does more for him than a higher damage number. He doesn't heal, shield or control the whole enemy team, so bring a Tank and a healer to protect him.
Arena, Bosses And Spires
In Arena, allies who remove or prevent buffs can prepare an enemy for Vanato's focused ranged damage. Protect him from enemy Invokers who rush him or control him early. Don't expect his own buff shortening to strip a whole enemy team.
Against Sorgott and Sakiel, who keep gaining buffs, Vanato's no-buff bonuses need a teammate who places Jinx or steals buffs, as both are very useful in those fights. Ravager Blast's Weaken still raises your team's damage against them either way.
In the Dark Spire, he brings focused damage and Weaken, and his fifth Combo Attack gives him some wider reach. Bring another Invoker to control waves.
Awaken
Awakening boosts an Invoker's stats significantly. Bonuses from Relics, Accessories, the Trophy Room, Tactics and Titan leader bonuses apply to base stats and Awakening stats alike, so unlocking the Awakening nodes is critical to maximise Vanato's potential.
Unlocking each Titan node at Star 2, 4 and 6 adds a second to Titan Invokation, taking the total from 12 seconds to 15.
Review the Awakening guide for more detail.
