Prepare for a long read!
So after playing Malene for a few days and getting a handle on her, I wanted to share how I have been playing her.
Role: Top Lane
I know a lot of people see her as a mid laner, but there are a few problems I have found playing her in mid, and why she is better as a top laner.
Issues in mid:
-Generally you are going to find the same heroes occupying midlane. Celeste, Samuel, Skaarf, and Varya. Each one of these heroes easily out trade Malene, generally causing you to be under farmed. Celeste, Samuel, and Skaarf are the hardest to play against since Malene is a mid range mage. If the enemy plays well against you, getting close enough to deal damage is a pain.
-Mid is generally also occupied by a Captain for most of the early game. What this means for Malene is not only does she have to be outranged and harrased all game, her light form A is even harder to land as it can be body blocked by the enemy Captain. (And usually will be) This is a huge issue for Malene as being comfortable with her combos is one of the keys to success, and landing them is very important.
Perks of top lane:
In general, top lane is usually the hardest lane to work in as it is minimally supported, and usually under pressure from jungle ganks. Malene fits this role perfectly because:
-She has 3 abilities to escape from a gank. Her light powered A, and Her light and dark B. This makes her incredibly annoying to gank, and therefore perfectly suited for top lane.
-Heroes who generally occupy the enemy bot lane, your top lane, are WP snipers, or bruisers. In either case Malene trades very well into these heroes. With snipers she has a lot of power behind her to burst down squishies, and against melee heroes she has the range and abilities to out trade them if they try to get to her.
Now, on to the nitty gritty!
Final Build:
Alternating Current, Dragons Eye, Clockwork, Broken myth, Journey boots, Aegis.
Now some of you might be saying “Aftershock!!” but I do not believe it is a superior choice over AC. AC offers more to Malenes kit than AS, giving more attack speed, CP, and extra crystal ratio which aids in her empowered attacks when ulting, and increasing ability damage. AC wins out in my opinion, hands down.
Abilities:
Overdrive her A and Ult. The A is important as it decreases the energy cost to 0. The ult is important as it lowers the cooldown to 2 seconds, and increases the slow and empowered attack on basics. I haven’t really found a time where overdriving B is superior to A and Ult.
Start Malene off with 2 crystal bits and 1 point into A.
The two bits make Malene pretty strong right out of the gate, and energy isn’t a huge issue while you are farming.
On your first shop you should pick up a heavy prism, and a Blazing salvo. (You need 1,450 gold for this, do not shop until you have enough.) Boots are not a priority as her Light form B functions in much the same way early game, and gets your build online faster.
Once you complete AC, buy a void battery, Chronograph, sprint boots, and start working towards your Dragons eye. It is important to have the void battery and chronograph as it helps fill the void for energy and cooldown before you complete Clockwork.
Once you have completed AC/DE/CW you should focas on your boots. These help make Malene even more slippery than she already is, and a kiting monster.
During this build the most you should really deviate from it is by buying a reflex block or piercing shard if necessary. However do not complete BM or Aegis in the middle of the build as it really slows down her potential damage.
After Journey boots are complete build/finish BM, then Aegis.
Level 1 play:
Malene is quite powerful at level 1, but you should play very cautiously until you are level 2. Without her B Malene is very easy to take down as she is incredibly squishy.
After you get your B ability go ham! Take risks, even if you over extend a bit to far, Malene can generally escape situations that mean death for other heroes.
Combos:
There are 2 very important combos to master if you wish to play Malene well:
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Ult from dark form-AA-A-Ult to dark form-AA-A
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Dark form B-Ult to light-AA-A-B
#1 Is the main offensive combo, and deals some very heavy damage when you stack DE before using it. This combo is important to master, and very mechanically taxing.
#2 Is the best way to escape sticky heroes. Dark form B can deal serious damage to deter a chase, but if that doesn’t stop them you still have the Slow and root combo from the Light A and AA, and a barrier amd speed boost from the B. (I told you she was slippery!)
Basic attacking:
One thing to get into your muscle memory to get the most out of Malene is constant shifts between forms while basic attacking. (this is why we overdrive Ult instead of B!)
During fights everytime your Ult is available use it! You will deal insane damage overtime, while being able to kite or hard engage due to the constant slowing coming from the Dark to Light empowerment. This will take quite a bit of practice, but once you get it down you unlock a secret perk!
If you time your Ult just right while basic attacking your next attack will come immediatly after your last! This gives you an extra attack in each form dealing maximum damage!
Now as this is running a little long, and I think I got all of the important stuff in there, here are a few quick tips to make Malene work even better for you!
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Save your boots! If you really need to make it somewhere fast use your Lightform B. This is basically boots with a low cooldown built right in! This is great for chasing fleeing opponents aswell if you switch from dark form before chasing as you get a speed boost and a slow to catch up!
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If you are in a really sticky situation, pop your boots immediatly after using Dark form B. This increases your move speed while you are invulnerable and your enemies will be left in the dust!
I hope you enjoyed my guide and find it helpful!
If you feel I missed anything, or want to add something feel free to comment below!
Goodluck on The Rise everyone!
