Introduction

Hello,
First and foremost, thank you for viewing my guide. I hope it provides some insight and improve your gameplay in some way or the other. A little bit about myself, I am currently the Marksman for team Mixed Company and former top-laner for team Surreal Gaming who placed 3rd/4th in the first season of ESL. Although I spent time top lane, Marksman has always been my true love and where I spent my time for years in other MOBAs. Thank you again for viewing my guide and I hope I can show you a few things about how I play Green Arrow.

Just I quick disclaimer: This is how I play Green Arrow. This doesn't mean it's the only way to play Green Arrow. It may not even be the most optimal for you and your team. This guide is to give you insight on what I do and hopefully it will help you in some way or the other.

Why Green Arrow?

↑ Strong Lane Presence
↑ Good Poke
↑ Good Single Target Burst
↑ One of the few Marksmen with Utility
↔ Decent Wave Clear
↔ Decent Escape
↓ Low Auto Attack Range
↓ No(small) Attack Speed Steroid
↓ Falls off Late Game
↓ Susceptible to Ganks

Green Arrow excels at laning and peaks mid-game. His ability to provide strong amounts of poke and single-target burst at the same time gives him a very strong laning phase. Utilizing his Thermite Arrows, the single-target burst provided can really bully your lane. Poking with charged Bullseye can widdle down opponents and help control the lane. His Superfoam Arrows provide a decent escape and utility most marksmen lack with the added slow and move speed.

However, Green Arrow has a lower auto-attack range than other marksmen and a lower scaling base attack speed. (, , all have higher auto-attack range and scaling base attack speed) The lack of, or small, attack speed steroid gives him a weaker late game. This makes him susceptible to ganks meaning you really have to watch your position. Thermite Arrows adds on to that by naturally pushing your lane so make sure you or your team keeps up good vision.

Amplifiers: Mods

Mods give you that extra advantage you look for to give you the edge on the opponent. Therefore, the theory behind it is that you want to reach your mods earlier than your opponent. In theory, you want your first 3 buys to utilize the mods. Having one mod up on the opposing marksman can mean the difference between winning a duel or team fight. I will go more in detail later on in this guide including the build path. On to the mods I use and other viable options!

Enhanced Attack Damage Coda Blade +10 Attack Damage (Tier 3)
Coda Blade (4) is the premier early game item and should be your first buy. Following the ‘First 3 buy’ rule, you want to get an early game item first. Flat Attack Damage is the stat you want early and the this is probably the one mod I think is absolutely necessary on Green Arrow

Enhanced Attack Speed Huntress' Crossbow +10% Attack Speed (Tier 2)
Having tons of Attack Damage is great and what you want early. However, you want attack speed eventually, especially since little skirmishes and team fights are now starting to happen when you purchase this item. [[Huntress' Crossbow (3)]] should be your next buy after Coda Blade and you want the mod for it to follow that ‘First 3 buy’ rule. Crossbow gives both Attack Damage and Attack Speed, just what you are looking for to transition into fighting those mid-game skirmishes. Getting 40% Attack speed with the mod at Tier 2 is the same amount of Attack Speed you'd get from a full Velocity 9 Implants (4) and should provide sufficient Attack Speed into your next mod and buy of [[Joe Chill's Revolver (3)]]. But the important thing is you get the option of getting the passive Slayer at any time as needed for a very cost efficient price of 750 credits. It may be the most cost efficient 750 you will ever spend and a nice luxury that is available when needed.

Empowered Joe Chill's Revolver Deadly 3: +75% Critical Damage(Tier 3)
This mod is the premier late game mod. Critical Chance and Critical Damage is what makes a marksmen's auto attacks hurt and the stat you look for later on when you have sufficient Attack Damage and Attack Speed. Deadly 3 boosts' Critical Damage up to 75% and can boost your damage output more than any other mod available.

Other Options:

Enhanced Attack Damage Huntress' Crossbow
+10 Attack Damage (Tier 2)

This is the mod I used to run instead of the Enhanced Attack Speed because early Attack Damage is amazing. +10 Attack Damage on Coda Blade (3) and +10 Attack Damage on [[Huntress' Crossbow (2)]] gives you a huge power spike, especially if you are still in lane. The reason I went away from this mod is because I adjusted my build path to fit the 'First 3 buy' rule. I used to purchase 2 or 3 ranks into Velocity 9 Implants (3) after Huntress' Crossbow but didn't mod that item. I now build [[Joe Chill's Revolver (3)]] 3rd after my Crossbow because I don't want to delay my Deadly 3 but felt lacking in Attack Speed as I bought expensive ranks of the Joe Chill's Revolver. Switching to +10% Attack Speed just transitioned smoother to me. This is still a viable mod to get and possibly go to Velocity 9 before Joe Chill's. Just know that you are delaying Deadly 3 so you have to take advantage of the +20 Attack Damage spike you get from your other mods. However, this next mod might make the Enhanced Attack Damage Huntress' Crossbow mod worth it.

Enhanced Critical Strike Velocity 9 Implants
+10% Critical Chance (Tier 3)

This mod can really push your mid-game advantage. You may have to sacrifce the Deadly 3 mod but this could make you a monster mid-game. Straight Attack Damage on just Coda Blade (3) isn't enough early in my opinion, so I don't recommend sacrificing buying [[Huntress' Crossbow (3)]]. However, delaying [[Joe Chill's Revolver (3)]] til a later buy so you can purchase other items in between can be really beneficial. This opens the option of getting Atomic Axe (2) earlier for high Attack Armor stacking teams or a defensive item such as [[Entrophy Aegis (3)]] for team dependent on a single engage like Wonder Woman's Blocking Bracers and Power Damage burst. The mid-game boost you get from having a nice Atomic Axe or defensive item can be amazing while their marksman is still trying to finish up Joe Chill's Revolver and Velocity 9 Implants (4). You already have 30% Critical Chance at Tier 3 with this mod, which is comparable to the 40% Critical Chance someone building Joe Chill's and unmodded Velocity 9 Tier 3 would get. You will apply critical hits more often mid-game which can be worth it because they won't have the Critical Chance rate and extra Critical Damage from the Deadly passive until they get Tier 3 Joe Chill's but even then, it will be at a 25% chance until they finish their unmodded Velocity 9 compared to your 30%. They will have to spend at least 3000 credits more until they have comparable Critical Chance rate which is the price of a full Atomic Axe, giving you more Attack Damage and Attack Penetration. Just know the biggest factor here is that you are sacrificing late game for that spike mid-game. You will be weaker late game so take advantage of the spots you are stronger.

Amplifiers: Augments

These are very flexible and up for debate, but I feel like if you can make it work for you, it is fine. I personally run Attack Lifesteal with a mix of Attack Damage, Attack Penetration, Health and Attack Armor. These are all early game stats and what Augments are used for. Late into the game, augments become irrelevant because you have items and base stats that will over power the difference of augments. I feel the need for at least 4% Attack Lifesteal for the laning phase. At 4% Attack Lifesteal, you are healing 5 to 6 hp each auto attack at level 1 with the Nil Weapon. This can go a long way especially with a controller such as Nightmare Superman or Starro who doesn't have a heal to sustain you in lane.

The augments I use are:
Codename: Cube

Codename: Lemon

Codename: Slasher

Codename: Shrew



Stolen Powers

Your job is to be the main damage dealer and in order to do damage, you have to stay alive. The meta right now is to run double defensive stolen powers to stay alive. It doesn't mean you can't run other stolen powers and win. But in a competitive match where the whole other team is coordinated and know you are the primary target, You need the defensive spells to stay alive. You find yourself in duels with the other marksman as well and if they have 1 more defensive spell than you, they will generally win in an even match. The only other stolen powers that are used to keep you alive are Surveillance Camera and X-Ray Vision but those are usually ran by your lane partner. Vision is important and if you can't stay alive in lane because you are constantly ganked without vision, they you won't even get the credits to buy items to deal the damage needed later. Now which defensive stolen powers should you run?


[[Arcane Green Lantern's Healing Wave]] is a stolen power that heals you and gives you Attack Armor and Power Armor. Some may argue [[Poison Ivy's Healing Wave]] is better but if you think about it, what is you goal when you use healing wave? To stay alive. Attack Armor and Power Armor is to keep you alive. The extra Attack Damage and Power Damage is nice but you aren't efficiently using the stats when you use [[Poison Ivy's Healing Wave]] because you will either use it to stay alive and waste the Attack Damage, or you are using it to gain Attack Damage and not heal. There may be times you will try to use both in say a duel and want to heal and keep fighting, but those chances will come way less often than using a heal to save yourself from being bursted by the opposing assassins.


[[Doomsday's Invulnerability]] gives you a shield that blocks damage. It gives you a larger shield that [[Shazam's Invulnerability]] even thought it doesn't heal you. [[Shazam's Invulnerability]] may sound like it's better but the down fall is that the shield has to stay up for you to heal back that amount. It's a very negligible amount anyways. And the times you are using this stolen power is to incoming damage you know you can't avoid. So the shield will mostly like break if you are using it efficiently. If the shield is to break for you to use Invulnerability efficiently, you won't be healing the full amount from [[Shazam's Invulnerability]]. [[Doomsday's Invulnerability]] scales better later in to the game as well and is by far the better option.


Build Path

Starting Items:

Core Build:

Offensive Items:

Defensive Items:

Situational:

Skill Order

Lane Opponents

Title