Hassem, the War Elephant

Hassem, the War Elephant Primary: Marksman Secondary: Tank

http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2013/126/9/f/marchofwar_warelephant_by_isotxart-d64b62a.jpg

http://th07.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2012/250/8/1/war_elephant_by_sugarsart-d5dw7v4.jpg

Please, regardless of the pictures, or the Lord of the Rings, understand that elephants are not 50 foot tall monsters that can crush everything. They can crush a lot of things of course, but they're only like 11 feet tall. This one, Hassem, is more like 20 feet, a big one, but not too big. If comparing to character models in LOL, think the model to be around Sejuani's size, only a little longer and of course, taller. This is a fairly big model.

Also, not my pictures...

Abilities:

http://hydra-media.cursecdn.com/dota2.gamepedia.com/3/3a/Earthshock_icon.png Passive: Massive Presence Hassem increases his armor by 3% for every basic attack that hits him (maximum of 30% bonus armor), that decays by 2% every 1 seconds.

http://hydra-media.cursecdn.com/dota2.gamepedia.com/e/e9/Searing_Arrows_icon.png Q: Strike First The rider on Hassem's back fires a single, piercing harpoon in a target direction, dealing true damage to the first enemy it hits, then reduced physical damage to subsequent enemies.

http://hydra-media.cursecdn.com/dota2.gamepedia.com/7/77/Activate_Fire_Remnant_icon.png W: Reinforcements Passive: Hassem's attack speed is increased by 10/15/20/25/30% Active: The archers on Hassem's back holler out a battle cry, calling up another archer, increasing Hassem's attack speed by 20/30/40/50/60% for 5 seconds.

http://hydra-media.cursecdn.com/dota2.gamepedia.com/4/4c/Blade_Fury_icon.png E: Tusk Rage Enraged, Hassem charges forward a short distance with his tusks, dealing physical damage to all nearby enemies and knocking them up.

http://hydra-media.cursecdn.com/dota2.gamepedia.com/4/49/Overwhelming_Odds_icon.png R: Elephant's Graveyard Hassem trumpets, calling all his archers to fire arrows at a target 600-radius area for 6 seconds, slowing and dealing physical damage per second to all enemies caught within the area. Elephant Graveyard's damage increases by 1% for every 3% attack speed Hassem has (maximum of 45% bonus damage).

Pictures for abilities are a bit big, sorry for that... Also, they belong to DOTA 2 (I apologize if I offended any of you)

Lore: The caravan couldn't take much more from the desert. For days, we had been beaten down by the forces of nature: sand, wind, heat. The desert is merciless to those who do not strive to live, and is graceful to those who continue on. No man has rested in many days, neither have the horses nor the camels. Exhausted, but determined, we carry on. We must.

For many days, we feel as if we are never alone. There is always something there, something that watches us... There are always tales, bandits who come and go with the swiftness of the wind, monsters that lurk beneath the sands, waiting for their next prey, creatures from another world, who come to destroy all they see...

A scount sent ahead comes running back. He shouts out something to us, the the vast desert mutes the sound. He flails his arms, screaming out to us, and the panic is immediately recognizable. We look around and at each other in fear. Bandits? Monsters? The man falls, rolling into the sand, but he wastes no time in rising, continuing his run. A shadow appears behind him, a beast unlike any other. It's massive, a monster of a creature, but from its back, a small flash, and the scout falls the ground, never to rise again.

The beast comes slowly, but we cannot run, for we have exhausted our strength. We must fight back. Our best warriors take up their bows to fire at the beast. From its back, several men appear from the top, all armed with bows of their own. One arrow hits a man next to me, square in the heart. Another strikes one of our camels in the leg, which collapses, bringing down another man into the sand.

The raiders above on the beast are hollering, screaming out in a language I do not recognize. The beast no longer lumbers around, but instead goes into what is undeniably a charge, swinging its massive tusks back and forth. Men run and leap out of the beast's way, only to fall, pierced by arrows. One man falls in the sand, only to look up into the foot of the monster, crushing him into the sand. Most of our horses are flung across the desert, or gored on the tusks of the beast. Their blood stains the golden sands of Shurima.

We find what is left of our energy and our horses, and we ride away, not daring to look back. Suddenly, a trumpet echoes out in the desert, and the sky becomes dark. We look up, only to see the heavens falling with arrows, and what is left of our company falls. Arrow after arrow falls down relentlessly on us, one catching me in the thigh, three catching me in the shoulders. Several more fly into my horse, which crumples into the sands, crushing my leg. The hollering and whooping behind me grows lounder by the second. As the hail of arrows still continue to fall down on me, I look up into sky to look at the desert sun once more...

Gameplay:

Hassem is a marksman, dealing a lot of damage using his AA and his abilities to boost his damage and effectiveness. His strength comes in his massive attack speed, and his strength in long confrontations. Hassem, as a marksman, is best suited for the bot lane, but his overall tank-like features allows him to be just as strong in the top lane, or even the jungle if played well.

In lane, Hassem shouldn't be as aggressive. Although he looks like a very aggressive fighter, Hassem should wait for his enemy ADC/support to enegage for maximum damage. Otherwise, just farm up. Hassem, unlike other ADCs, does very well close up in a fight. It allows for more damage and effectiveness overall. In a fight, Hassem should soak up a portion of the return damage with his passive Massive Presence. Upon an engage, quickly using his W Reinforcements and his E Tusk Rage will help to deal damage. His Q Strike First should be used to try to get a true damage hit. His R Elephant's Graveyard should be used either when the enemy engages on you, or is escaping, usually depending on the situation. If the target has an escape, use it upon their engage, as they will likely waste it on engaging you (ex. Ezreal, Vayne, Corki). If the target does not have an escape, or has wasted it (ex. Caitlyn, Kog'Maw, Miss Fortune) use it to chase them down later.

In teamfights, Hassem is a background fighter, chunking away at enemy health from afar. Hassem doesn't want to engage in any situation. Rather, he should wait for an engage, then immediately use his R Elephant's Graveyard to deal as much damage as possible for the duration of the teamfight or even divide or cut off the enemy team. Then, just AA and Reinforcements should help to take out the opposing ADC. Strike First should be used on enemies that are escaping (contrary to the name of the ability) for maximum damage. His E Tusk Rage can be used to chase down or escape enemies, but rarely during a teamfight (risk is high, even with a bit of survivability). Hassem's worst enemy is CC, so keep that in mind before jumping into any fight.

Counters

Is bad against:

Vayne:

Very mobile, with a lot of damage and attack speed. Vayne is great at locking down enemies with her E, and can quickly drain Hassem's health in a matter of seconds with her R before Hassem can react.

Braum:

A stun, a shield, and a knock up/slow is going to make things difficult for Hassem. Braum can help any ADC fight off Hassem with his passive stun, and the shield will definitely negate a lot of Hassem's overall damage.

Varus:

Varus completely outranges Hassem in poke, and his E and R are good enough to disable Hassem long enough for Varus to chunk away at his health. Varus also has a lot more damage than Hassem overall, especally with Varus' W and Q.

Is good against:

Blitzcrank:

Thank you Blitzcrank. Hassem wants to engage with enemies, and Blitzcrank just made it a bit easier for him. Although Blitzcrank's Q+E combo is strong, Hassem can recover from it faster than other disables, then continue with his own combo to deal damage.

Kog'Maw:

Kog'Maw has range, but Hassem doesn't care. Hassem's going to get up in Kog'Maw's face and barrage him with damage. Kog'Maw has no escape, and Hassem deals a good amount of damage. The only thing Hassem should worry about is Kog'Maw's passive, which might actually hurt a bit.

Caitlyn:

Caitlyn also has range, and a strong poke, but Hassem has poke just as good and a much better attack speed boost. Caitlyn also is known for her range in her R, but Hassem can interrupt it without hesitation with his E, or just kill her quickly. In any trade or direct confrontation, Hassem is going to come out on top, with more attack speed and more damage.