Robot Carnival
Member
Just passed the 100 hr mark and have been investing a lot of time on Mo & Krill, which I now prefer over Warden. Over the past days I've laned Haze in like 4 or 5 games. I've noticed how bullet velocity can make a huge difference during laning phase. Haze has very high velocity, attack speed and larger clips, giving her an advantage in last-hitting, denying and harrassing, especially over Mo & Krill and Warden.
Against a decent Haze it's like 50/50 farm, but a good Haze will dominate, keeping me at a distance constantly, shooting me whenever she has the chance (which does way more damage than I can do to her), also her ult is way more powerful to the point she can just overextend and 'tower dive' to kill me, making me have to keep distance even more. Versing a good McGinnis feels similar, but versus other heroes I can play way more aggressively.
I think my usually poor early laning phase is partly due to my play style which tend to put me a little behind my own creep wave rather than right at the front so the opponent would tend to push in more. and partly because my aim isn't as fast or good as others. the fact that Haze really doesn't have as many tools as others at the start also doesn't help. with only dagger to use as an emergency sleep on whoever's pressuring, sometimes it does get hard to deal with those with shotgun type weapons that get easy last hits on souls once it's a few minutes in and they got more abilities unlocked. I wish they would give smoke bomb a disarm or stun effect against close enemies so it'll be useful for those close engagements that turn sour.
To add:
1. I'd strongly recommend everyone to watch a movement guide video and at least nail (the timing on) dash-jump-slide, which makes you cover the most ground vs. stamina used. Charged melee gives you more air-time.
2. Always try to have a fully reloaded clip at times when you're opponent will likely kill the most minions so you're able to deny. Be conservative with ammo for denying, a soul only needs 1 shot and the hitboxes are generous. And if you do find yourself out of ammo, you can also melee deny (at least the charged melee does).
Remind yourself to use teleporters more.
Even with 100 hours in, I see most players don't jungle enough and the juicy 'soul dispensers' are usually still up. I'll gladly take those souls. There's a ground level room with 1 soul dispenser and a room on the other side with 2 when you go up the rope. Each side also has an underground room filled with creeps, which are usually left untouched. Occasonially check up on creep rooms, I've noticed enemy players are increasingly doing the MOBA trick to leave 1 little creep alive to prevent the whole group from spawning.
some great tips. added to the OP.