Should I learn Fenix?

General Discussion
#1

Started playing him after watching that carbot episode with the dragoon/goliath pathfinding joke but it seems he’s a Sgt. Hammer clone.

Is he worth learning?

Why do i call him a Sgt. Hammer clone? Both have % damage as their 16 talent. Both have +IAS as their 20 talent. Both’s primary damage is rightclick. Both do pathetic damage to the point they’re only good at killing squishies which they can’t get to because of their lack of mobility/range and therefore becomes the reason you lose the game but then after 20 they become the tank melting uber killer that is responsible for you winning the game. So just trade out Sgt Hammer’s range for mobility and that’s Fenix.

I’m playing a lot less hammer because just trying to not lose until 20 is such a painful experience I’ve been looking for other heroes and here it is… Fenix, yet another hero that is a try-not-to-lose-until-20 hero.

So is he worth it? Or should I look for another hero?

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#2

I think youll find fenix has a very different feel when you start really trying him.
but never mind that. Go for it!

1 Like
#3

Interesting comparison. I always viewed him more as valla or raynor clone.

This. Hands down. It’s all about trying a different flavour. Is he “worth it” to climb the ladder or improve your overall win rate? Probably not. You pick Fenix for the same reason you pick Zuljin, different mechanics to master.

For me personally, i pick Fenix for the sound effects. Shooting his long range AoE AA brings back good memories.

Fssst-Poom, Fssst-poom, Fsst-poom
I know you’re playing those sounds in your head right now as you’re reading this.

And let’s not forget your ults. Your choices are as follows:

bvvvd - pume, pume, pume, pume, pume, pume, pume. Or,
BrrrrAAAAAAAAAAAFirinmahlazors

Both are good options.

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#4

I don’t really agree with the comparison, it’s like saying Artanis and Fenix are clones because Artanis and Fenix focus a lot on AA, have % dmg at 16 and are protoss, have shields, only difference is one is melee and the other range.

What? Both have good substain damage. Fenix can do strong dmg to tanks and squishies depending of the build. Go E build and get % at 16 and Fenix can be pretty scary vs tank. You can go W to have strong aoe in team fight at 1, or you can get the move+attack bonus damage which can be fun too. All depend of your playstyle.

Not at all. Fenix is pretty good all game. He’s not robot Naz. At 20, there are multiples choice, more substain with the shield, more dmg (depending if you think you can stay alive), some do fine with the lazer ult upgrade.

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#5

It’s a pretty common tier 6 talent option.
Valla also gains % dmg on that tier and I bet even after the many reworks this is still not that rare.

?
What’s that?
Most Heroes get a Heroic upgrade at tier 7/lvl 20, and Fenix has a the Johanna/Mei/Uther kind of “not truly dying” talent.
What else does he gets and what is similar to Hammer’s?

Raynor, Valla, Zuljin, Greymane, Artanis and many more.
Not every Hero is Ability-driven.

?
I don’t understand.

  1. Listing two common things like mobility+range, just makes it easier to fit this into a “lacks” narrative, while it misses why they’re balanced the way they are.
  2. Fenix has mobility and range.

Fenix is not a lategame Hero.

I suggest to watch videos of ppl playing Fenix because so far you don’t seem to know his potential.
And I’d like to add, that there is never a case when learning a Hero is not worth it.

2 Likes
#6

I only play Fenix.

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#7

Such an odd comparison. Just from your post, I can kind of tell you’re making superficial comparisons and don’t really understand Fenix.

I can play Hammer quite well because I’m basic. Learning her abilities is pretty straight forward even if it takes practice when to use them at the right time while positioning just right.

All the juggling of Fenix’s abilities is a bit much for me that would require significant practice to get well at him. Practice, that I’m not really that interested in doing when I can just play my sub 50% win rate Raynor and pew pew.

3 Likes
#8

Like said above, he is not a late game hero at all even though he gets very powerful in late game - he is online as early as lv7 when he gets Warp Warfare if the player knows how to take high risks with aggressive teleports to reset the cooldown and kill multiple heroes at once.

Also, his playstyle just isn’t comparable to Sgt. Hammer in any way. When he is played properly I would rather compare him to someone like Zeratul. He can be very mobile, he can take down a heros health pool rapidly (do not underestimate how much damage Offensive Cadence + Warp warfare does to a slowed target) and he can go in and out of forts with a kill.

Difficulty wise, I’d say mastering him is up there with very hard heroes like Abathur or Lost Vikings. IMO, he is the hardest assassin to play, even harder than Zul’jin. I’ve never quite got the hang of him but I have been decimated by a few very good Fenix players.

3 Likes
#9

He can be pretty good if you can handle the shutter stepping skills it takes to play him properly.

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#10

of the aa heroes, fenix is highest risk, lowest reward imo.

His shield mechanic is closer to a crutch that reduces his overall sustain, other heroes have stronger/faster/safer Q builds, and his aa dps is kinda “balanced” around using a weaponswitch toggle rhythem to increase his overall dps (not going to link to a vid explaining that on my mobile)

Granted, some people “click” with select heroes regardless of advise, but imo, outside of “firin’ my beam” memes, he can be a lot of work, and not much to show for it.

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#11

Sgt. Hammer and Fenix are not similar.

Sgt. Hammer I don’t have a lot of experience with, but I have played a decent amount of Fenix.

Fenix has to stutter step to be played optimally, Sgt. Hammer essentially self-roots being one of the biggest differences imo.

Fenix is high mobility, high risk, mainly hero damage. Hammer, on the other hand, low mobility, risk mainly depending on team and positioning ability, mainly siege damage.

On subject, why you should learn Fenix? In my experience, he’s enjoyable, highly rewarding, and has a meme beam. On the flip-side, your enemies will punish you for mistakes, and the learning curve can be rough.

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#12

His learning curve is extreme. On the left end of the bell curve you have average or below average Fenix players, and at the very right end (top 10%) you have those who can actually swing a game in their favor.

Just stutter stepping properly is not enough. His true power comes from his highest WR build (Warp Warfare teleport reset), with constant 50% armor, 175% aa speed and 6% max hp each auto attack. And that build requires you to use Warp aggressively as an offense tool instead of an escape.

It requires knowledge of various heroes cooldowns, mechanics etc. to ensure you are not just teleporting in to feed and ruin the match for 4 teammates. So that instead you actually warp out with a few kills.

He is too mechanically intense for me to play, his AA speed with buffs is too high for me to execute it properly + he has to juggle two modes of auto attacking, Phase Bomb and regular AA. I do admire people who can play him but he’s just not for me. Too much effort for a video game :smiley:

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#13

Ima stop you right sir! the correct way and the socially acceptable way to write that is as follows:
IMA FIRIN’ MA LAZAAAARRR!!! :eye: :lips: :eye:

but otherwise yeah what Xenterex said is pretty much accurate
perhaps if you have another person that deals slow or a reliable “slower” such as arthas Fenix would be good because of his extra damage with his ult and (I think)
his Q ability later on the talent line

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#14

New assessment of fenix. He’s a kerrigan dupe without the stun. As in he’s a suicide unit who is all in one that one combo.

Warp build is the only build I’m seeing success with and with that build it’s all in on that 4 seconds or die. Poke with planet cracker, suicide with warp combo.

And that combo isn’t all that because 1 CC and that’s it, gg, you’ve wasted your life.

Warp cannot be used as defense because it takes so long to trigger that you can’t dodge skill shots with it, and anyone with a CC is gonna CC you. So you gotta use it offensively.

You don’t have to stutter step if you go his extra spin at 1. Higher damage lategame so you go with that because it’s impossible to stutter step with +275% attack speed.

I decided to learn fenix cause that carbot animation about wombo combos made me wanna use that death laser.

1 Like
#15

I would really reevaluate your hero analysis.

1 Like
#16

No, I’m right about fenix. After a 10 game loss streak I’ve finally turned it around to a 4 win streak.

If you go in even with the 50 armor he gets blown up so quickly you need someone else to initiate for you just like kerrigan. And after the initiation you gotta go in and combo a squishy to death just like Kerrigan. And just like Kerrigan once you’re in, you’re in until someone dies. At least kerrigan can chrysalis up to survive longer. Fenix needs a kill to warp out which even then is unreliable because anyone with a CC, even a push, will cancel it.

Unlike Kerrigan though, Fenix can chain warp for an absolutely devastating team wipe (won a game by doing that). But again this only happens if no one focuses you down otherwise you gotta warp out instead of warp deeper again.

All other fenix builds I tried made no impact. Not even close. Warp build is not only the strongest dps build but also the only build that can get kills.

Planet Cracker is the better ult because purification salvo eats up your Q which is vital to your combo and you still have to get into danger range to pull it off for not-impressive damage. Planet Cracker on the other hand is an insta-kill against any stunner or self-rooter and even if it does no damage, it splits the fight in half letting your teammates initiate easier creating an opening for you to warp in.

In anycase, jumping into your death with no ability to escape = Kerrigan. Though i will say Fenix can retreat if he wants cause of the improved movespeed after a successful combo. Emphasis successful combo. CCed after jumping in = no movespeed increase = death.

I like fenix now. He’s fun to play. Nothing gives you a high greater than a beautiful planetcracker.

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#17

While I agree that his aggro warp build is the only way to really make him win games (he can sweep up a battlefield full of 40% HP heroes much faster than Genji ever could and get a quad/penta kill), I would not liken him to Kerrigan who is a combo based hero.

You do need other people to initiate so they don’t cc you down, but that applies to all assassins, melee or ranged.

Planet Cracker does lead to some very fun ult combos. My favorite being Zarya’s vortex + PC. There is no escaping that one.

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#18

He’s not like Kerrigan or Sgt. Hammer. They all are very different in terms of kit and play style. That’s what I’m saying you’re wrong about.

#19

Fenix is way stronger than Raynor. His damage potential far outscales Raynor. I mean his AA speed alone makes his DPS much higher than Raynor’s. He has an actual escape and mobility tool. His sustain is on a 6 second cool down instead of Raynor’s 20+ second. And it regenerates faster and indefinitely. Fenix also doesn’t run out of Mana.

I thought you only play tracer? Lol

I don’t wanna be that guy but I think OP has previously made a post also complaining the lackluster damage of Fenix and how Raynor was a better version of him. I could be mistaking them for someone else but this whole post gives off “fishing for attention” vibes. OP seems either fishing for people to come and defend Fenix to either validate that he’s actually good or that he’s somehow bad. Idk the whole post seems weird. Comparing Raynor and Fenix is one thing, as faulty as their argument is, but then saying Hammer is similar seems too far fetch.

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#20

100% worth

1 Like