14 ratings
14 total votes
Overview
Freya is the latest revamped hero. These adjustments offer a new perspective towards this hero, shifting her away from a snowball-dependent one-dimensional hero, to one that is still able to offer value to team fights at every stage of the game. While keeping the essence of her kit centred around casting Sacred Orbs, this revamp makes Freya more adaptable and versatile to different situations, rather than optimising a fixed combo. Let us take a look!
Strengths
The new Freya kit capitalises on her profound mobility, a trait that is highly prioritised in fast paced games today. Her Skill 2 now properly counts as a dash, and regenerates Sacred Orbs outside of combat. This allows Freya to effectively rotate to different parts of the map to contribute in team fights. While her strength in lane domination still stands, Freya players should not be afraid to utilise her new kit for fast rotations. The other key change and strength lies in her Ultimate, Valkyrie Descent. Transitioning away from a Tap-Morph skill, the Ultimate now enables a Dash Mechanic. While there is no apparent crowd control with this skill, the inherent slow effect provides sufficient time for further follow-ups. Freya is now less dependent on her Ultimate and can use it to initiate team fights by swooping in to the backline, instead of merely a self-buff. The key to mastering Freya is understanding the value of her new role in the game. With the new kit, one cannot play selfishly and should instead look for engage opportunities to pave the way for the team.
Weaknesses
However, the mobility of Freya can also be her downfall. Similar to other mobility heroes reliant on Skill casts rather than sheer speed, like Lancelot or Chou, she can be countered by lockdown. She is vulnerable to chains of soft CC that renders her unable to refresh her Sacred Orb count and dish out damage and sustain. Her kit also blends elements of Skills and Enhanced Basic attacks. This leaves her susceptible to Burst Heroes, especially in the laning phase. When Freya does not have enough time to execute her skill combos, she falls flat on raw damage as her damage output is greatly reduced. Similar to her weakness to CC, a Burst matchup prevents her from sustaining through teamfights.
Fighter Sutain (5-man Build)
Tough Boots - Helps with CC resistance which covers up one of her biggest weaknesses. Allows for more seamless execution of her combos. War Axe - A core equipment for Freya. Grants additional Spell Vamp that Freya can easily stack up due to how her kit functions. A great addition for her sustain. Brute Force Breasplate - A well-rounded equipment for Fighters that love to brawl it out and sustain over long team fights. Additional increases her CC Resistance and defence. Oracle - Increases HP Regen and Shield Effects. This assists Freya in creating a bigger shield with her Skill 1, and an effective counter to Anti-Heal items bought by the opponent. Queens Wings - Again, the items in this build are focused to make Freya a sustain monster that can last throughout the team fight. Gives her additional Spell Vamp and Damage Reduction. Immortality - No explanation needed. Can be swapped out for other socialist Defence items. Remember, Freya is not immortal!
Let me Solo Them (Solo Carry Build)
If you have something against your teammates or are sure that you want to solo the game, then this is the build for you. It is more reminiscent of the build of Old Freya; centred around fast-dealing damage and snowballing potential. Golden Staff - The key equipment in the Solo Carry build. Freya can now effectively utilise this item with her standard Skill 2 - 2 EBA - Skill 2 combo, which is guaranteed to trigger Golden Staff. Endless Battle - This is the second key item in this build. It improves her HP regen outside of her Valkyrie state. With the skill combo mentioned above, she can also effectively trigger Endless Battle as she will always be casting her Basic Attacks after Skill 2. Malefic Roar - A situational item that helps with Armour Penetration in the Late Game. Can be swapped out.
Freya Damage + Sutain
Fighter Emblem is chosen due to the Spell Vamp it provides and the overall enhancement of her sustain role in the laning phase and teamfights. Go-to option for skill-dependent Fighters. Agility is chosen to facilitate faster rotations. Festival of Blood and Brave Smite are picked to improve her sustainability.
Battle Spell
Flicker is the recommended battle spell of choice due to her role as a Key Initiator. Here are some combos that can be executed: 1st Skill + Flicker - Catches opponents off guard and provides a brief time frame of CC Ult + Flicker - Provides a smoother dive into the backline to engage in team fights. Remember that timing is key! While Freya has many Dash skills, it is important to note that most of them come from engaging in Combat. Hence, Flicker can also be used defensively to disengage and reposition out of sticky situations.
Early Game
The revamped Freya does not take away from her prowess in the Early Game. Lane domination is still evident for Freya as she can easily force her lane opponent to back off as early as Level 1. Freya players should push this advantage to establish an early lead. This allows her to have a more prominent role in Early turtle fights and secure a winning Early Game for her team.
Best With Grock
100% co-op win rate
With her optimised AoE ultimate, Freya favours heroes that can follow-up and combo with her AoE potential. Heroes like Grock are able to deny space from the opponent and execute nasty AoE combos with Freya, compensating for her lack of CC in her Ultimate.
Watch Out For Ixia
100% counter win rate
Freya shins against squishy targets with limited Mobility Skills. This allows Freya to effectively close the gap with her own mobility and engage on them at close range. Ixia is a perfect example as she is heavily vulnerable to Dive, allowing Freya to easily close in on her.