Strenghts & Weaknesses

What a better way to get an idea of what a bloodline can do, than by comparing his strenghts and weaknesses!

Strenghts
+ Disabler
The biggest defining quality of Thorn is his disruption capability. Thorn can be a big hinderance for enemy
team.
+ Durable
All Thorn's skills can be used defensively, which makes him a tough nut to crack in a 1vs1 situation.
+ Support
Most of Thorn's defensive skills can be used to aid allies, even from a distance away. Thorn has one of the best
support kits out of all non-healer bloodlines.
+ Burst
By executing combos Thorn can punch big loads of damage in short periods of time. Thorn is one of the most
threatening bloodlines.

Weaknesses
- Ultimate
There are only brief moments when Thorn's ultimate can be used to gain enough value for its cost. These
moments are hard to capitalise on, so Thorn's ultimate usually ends up either being really good or lackluster.
Usually the latter.
- Space is a commitment
Thorn has couple ways to initiate, but the only reliable way is his space. Using space offensively can quickly go
wrong, because as it happens, space is also Thorn's only reliable escape tool. Once Thorn dives in middle of
action, he has to commit to the fight.
- Predictable
Thorn has predictable playstyle even if the player isn't that predictable himself. Some of Thorns skills are
predictable by nature and the whole skill-set has synergy worth capitalising. This becomes bigger weakness the
better enemies Thorn is facing.
- Counters
Because of above weaknesses and stenghts Thorn has multiple counters. For example dispels hurt Thorn's
playstyle a lot, as well as instant defensive skills. This weakness, like the one above, is negletable at lower levels
of play, but becomes close to unbearable at top level of play.

Builds & Role

Thorn has two main playstyles, and Thorn's build and team composition should reflect them. These two
playstyles do not exclude one another. A Thorn player should find a balance between both.
You can mix up these builds as much as you would like, until you find the build that fits best your own playstyle
and team composition.

Pressure
Thorn dives in and causes as much havoc with his disruption skills as he can. Enemy team will try to deal with
the pressure, while being hammered by rest of Thorn's team.
This kind of playstyle benefits most from speed. Frostshard is in my opinion a must have for this style of play,
because it gives Thorn superior offensive power and means to disengage from a fight or relieve pressure if
need be.
Good team-mates include other pressure-based bloodlines and bloodlines with team-support abilities, such as
other melee bloodlines (Stalker, Glutton) and short-ranged bloodlines (Nomad, Engineer). If Thorn is paired
with another self-sustained bloodline, one might even consider Astronomer for teams healer.

Zoning
Second style of play revolves around keeping enemies at a distance. Thorn will sit back and observe the
battlefield, waiting for a moment to launch his brutal combos. If enemy team tries to come after Thorns team,
Thorn can either use his wide defensive skill-set to support his team, or go after enemy healer 1vs1. Most
healers are vulnerable for Thorns combos, which make them ideal pray whether Thorn is directly challenging
them or waiting an opportunity at a distance.
Zoning playstyle also has a variation called Voidstone Thorn. The Voidstone-build allows Thorn to use his
Voidstone-medallion immeadiately after using ultimate. When using this build Thorn should play even more
defensively while trying to collect enough energy for the ultimate+voidstone combo. Launching this combo
at an ideal moment is game-winning. Be sure to communicate with your team.
Ideal partners for zoning are long-ranged and burst oriented bloodlines, such as Igniter and Gunner. Thorn's
friends are also those who can help him by setting up an ultimate or a pull. This much is true for either
playstyle, but even more so for zoning. For example Alchemist is a perfect fit for either playstyle.

[Example Pressure Build], [Example Zoning Build], [Voidstone Build]

Overview of Skills
Below are some guidelines and tips on how and when to use Thorn's abilities.
M1 - Root Bash
There are not many useful things to say about Root Bash. The Regrowth buff is something you shouldn't be
concerned about 99% of the time. The energy gain of 9 is something to keep in mind while you are close to
having 100 energy.
M2 - Fungal Spores [Burst]
Fungal Spores is Thorn's main tool of building pressure. Using this skill whenever it's off cooldown is fine, as
long as you do not use Fungal Spores just to poke your enemies. If you are not building pressure with Fungal
Spores, you are wasting it.
Ideally you would like to combo Fungal Spores with your pull for maximum impact, but the skill does a decent
amount of damage on its own. The debuff of Fungal Spore isnt worth of thinking about, other than Fungal
Spores' slow can help you land a pull or ultimate.
Players are aware that Fungal Spores has two projectiles, so aiming two different targets is a safe move and can
possibly bait a trance from the first target. If hitting two targets isn't an option, consider canceling the second
projectile by using stop-cast.
- If you are affected by the Regrowth buff from your m1, Fungal Spores heals you. If you hit both of your
spores, the heal procs twice.
Space Mud Walk [Mobility]
Mud Walk is Thorn's only reliable initiation and escape skill. Be extremely mindful when using it offensively,
because you will always have to fight your way out. As mentioned in weaknesses, Mud Walk is a commitment.
It is easy to tell where Mud Walk is going to land, so you should always strafe after the Mud Walk ends to avoid
incoming hostile abilities. You can also mitigate this weakness by using terrain to break line of sight. Initiate
from behind pillars and escape under walls.
- The travelling distance can be slightly adjusted by your cursor position.
- While underground Thorn is immune to delayed effects, such as Seeker's ultimate and Alchemist's Deadly
Injections debuff.
- You can interrupt channeled abilities with Mud Walk.
- Mud Walk has a small energy gain of 3. If you use your Root Bash right after landing Mud Walk, you can
reliably gain 9 more energy.

Q - Defiled Plant [Control, Combo]

Pull is one of the most powerful tools in the game, because it forces enemy out of his position. Defiled plant
has multiple purposes and thus it's extremely important that you hit your pulls when you are playing Thorn. __
Good players can dodge pulls with ease. Slowed or otherwise disabled targets are easier to pull. Capitalise on
your Fungal Spore's slow or pull a target who is shortly immobilised by your shield's seed.

Target who is being pulled can only use instant skills, which means he is vulnerable for all damage and combos
during the pull. Good team cordination can win a round, even more so if you manage to pull a target who has
no defensive skills remaining.
The location you were in the moment Defiled Plant hit the enemy determines the location where the target is
pulled. You can extend the pulling distance a little bit by backing off before the pull hits an enemy. You should
also guide your pull by strafing. Always look to pull more targets than one, if it just is possible. You can also
somewhat hide your pull from enemies by aiming it way behind them.
- Pull interrupts casts, but not channeled abilities.
- Pulling distance is affected by debuff reduction effects as well as dispels.
- If pull breaks entangle, the target isnt pulled.
E - Mushroom Spore [Control, Combo]
Mushroom Spore is a very strightforwarded control skill. You can use it as a piece in your combos, but keep in
mind that the damage-tick which breaks entangle will be reduced in half. Ideally you would want to time your
combos so that they hit just after the effect of entangle wears off.
You should keep in mind that entangling someone gives him and his team time to react and recharge their
cooldowns. Never entangle someone who is under pressure with an intention of just leaving him be. Aim for
passive targets, preferably enemy healer.
R - Treacherous Roots [Support, Combo]
100% damage reduction, small heal and a disabling effect: Treacherous Roots is the most defensive shield in
the game. It comes with some drawbacks though. Because the entangling effect is delayed, it is easy to avoid or
dispel. However you can also this for your advantage by comboing your skills with the entangle.
Only stay inside the shield for as long as you need to. Otherwise you do not have enough time to relocate
yourself during entangle or avoid hostile AoE abilities planted at your feet. At higher level of play you can
actually use this tip in reverse: Players are expecting you to cancel your shield early, so they might hit you too
soon!
- When the delayed entangle procs, the entangle spreads to nearby enemies.

F - Deadly Roots [Burst, Support]

Deadly Roots has multiple purposes, but it is hard to get enough value to justify the energy-cost of using it.
If you plan to use Deadly Roots for its damage, you would ideally want wait until the target and his team has all
of their defensive skills on cooldown. Always track the use of skills such as Psycopomps Otherside and
Harbingers Nethershift. If there ever is a window to use Deadly Roots, it will be brief.
Besides this, the ultimate itself has an awkward shape. Whenever you use your ultimate, you should follow it
up with your pull. Any kind of slow makes your ultimate that much more valuable and the follow-up pull easier
to land. If you have the luxury of time, use Fungal Spores on the target you are about to use Deadly Roots on.
Always coordinate with your team.

The ultimate blocks all enemy projectiles, including heals. You can us Deadly Roots to separate enemy healer
from his team-mates. The ultimate can also be used for defensive purposes, if you need to relieve pressure off
your team.
You can also use the ultimate as means of escaping from a stciky situation. When you are close to 100 energy,
keep in mind that you can quickly gain enough energy for ultimate by using Root Bash. You can play more
aggressively by knowing that you have an additional way of escaping.
If you have a chance to use your energy, do so. Do not hold on to 100 energy in hopes that you might get to use
your ultimate later.
- Similar to Mud Walk, Thorn is immune to delayed effects while underground.

ex Q - Healing Spores [Support]

Healing Spores is one of the best healing skills in the game. Surprisingly though, Thorn should avoid using it.
Pull is the key piece of Thorns combos and overwriting it with Healing Spores will trade away momentum. That
being said, Healing Spores is still an excellent support skill, so dont hesitate using it if you need to relieve
pressure off your team.
If you are a new player looking to win, you will most likely find most succes by spamming Healing Spores.
However if you are looking to improve, you will have to learn to get most out of your pulls. Trial and error.
ex E - Deathspore [Burst]
Deathspore is probably one of the most underrated skills in the game. It turns a slow control skill into
immediate burst damage. Deathspore has brutal debuff too, but it isnt the main selling-point of the skill. The
debuff is just a nice extra, escpecially if your target is a healer.
If you hit double Fungal Spores on the same target, you should follow them up with Deathspore. Debuffs from
these skills stack and the combined burst damage is a lot. A healer who gets hit by these debuffs is in a very
vulnerable position.

Combos
E+Q+M2
- Bread and Butter
This is the Bread-and-Butter combo. Hit your mushroom and time your pull so that the pull hits right after the
effect of mushroom ends. If your timing is off, your target can either run away or your pull breaks the
entangling-effect and thus the target isn't pulled.
After hitting a mushroom look for an opportunity to pull an extra target with the entangled target. Use
maximum range pulls and guide your pull by strafing. Timing the pull right is harder and will take experience,
but the potential payoff of pulling two targets instead of one makes this trick worth learning.
A new Thorn player should focus on mastering this combo. If you can't do it reliably in a real match, you lose a
lot of your burst-potential.

E+Q+Meteor+M1

- The Bold Combo

Q+M2+exE

- Gg combo

R+Q+M2

- Initiation

R+Meteor+M1
E+Meteor+M1