Ayla/Wrecking Ball

This guide is for an Ayla Rage build, one that uses Rage as its primary means of dealing damage. It's important to make note of who your opponents are when deciding which build to use. If the enemy team is composed of mostly passive/defensive 'Nauts (Gnaw, Voltar, Genji...), 'Nauts without a lot of knockback potential (avoid Coco, Lonestar, Skolldir, and Ted), and/or 'Nauts that don't specialize in assassination (Froggy, Leon, Vinnie, Penny), then this is a good option for a build. If you're up against a Gnaw and/or a Voltar, it's preferable to AAyla, as it can clear out weedlings and is immune to bodyblocking teammates.

Despite what many newer players might argue, Rage has many weaknesses, and can leave Ayla very vulnerable against opponents who know what they're doing. That's why it's critical to make note of who is on the enemy team before committing to it as your damage-dealer. There are some team combos that leave themselves more vulnerable (or rather, present less of a threat) to Rage Ayla than to AAyla, and those are the teams to use this build against.

Recommended Loadout








Game Start
Piggy Bank, Rage, Evil Eye, Space Air Max
 * These four right out of the starting gate. As with most 'Nauts, it's important to get both abilities ASAP, and this is especially true for Rage Ayla as they're both going to be her main methods of attack, with only rare AA use. With a good drop in the beginning of the game, you should have just enough Solar for all four of these upgrades. If you missed some on your way down and find yourself short, go and farm a quick Solar nickel or two and then come back. Space Air Max increases Ayla's movement speed and jump by a greater amount than any other character in the game, the jump being critical to being able to move around the map quickly.

Early Game
Blue Three-wheeler, Angry Drawings, Power Pills Turbo, Rip-apart Bear
 * Wasting no time, max out Rage. Evil Eye is very important, but doesn't have the added benefit of usefulness against droids/creeps that boosting Rage has. Blue Three-wheeler is the most important purchase to make first, as it will vastly improve your mobility (and thus area control), allow you to chase down enemies low on health and finish them off, and most of all, allow you to escape a sticky situation consistently when needed.
 * After Blue Three-wheeler, go for Angry Drawings to boost Rage's power and DPS (damage per second). The sooner you can get this, the better, as it can start a serious snowball in your team's favor and, if enemies aren't upgraded enough, allow you to take on whole teams 1v3. Not that you should try that if you're not sure you can get away with it, of course.
 * Angry Drawings is both offensive and defensive, as the higher your DPS, the more lifesteal you receive, and the better you are at sustaining yourself. This is why it's more important than Rip-apart Bear.
 * Don't go for Fiery Jawbreakers. While it's true that it will boost your damage dealt, it increases your self-damage by a much greater amount than it increases your dealt damage, making it a liability.
 * It's a good idea, either during or immediately after your Angry Drawings purchases, to upgrade Power Pills Turbo, as well. It's a fairly cheap upgrade by this point in the game, and helps make Ayla much less squishy. Either intersperse them with your Rage purchases or max them out as soon as you finish buying both Angry Drawings.
 * Rip-apart Bear helps you survive longer while in Rage mode. If you're doing well in the match and have a snowball going, buy this defensive upgrade to keep it rolling. If you're on the defensive side, it might be better to hold off on this until later in the game and start upgrading Evil Eye.

Mid Game
Toothbrush Shank, Fake Family Pictures, Biter Mask
 * With Rage powered up, it's now time to give Evil Eye a little love, as it's very useful in combination with Rage or by itself. While Biter Mask is useful to increase EE's slowdown effect and set up for a Rage chase, most would argue that its burst damage is more useful, so first max out Toothbrush Shank to get the most bang for your Solar buck.
 * Fake Family Pictures is almost as effective as Toothbrush Shank and will allow you to reach those higher damage thresholds, faster. If you're liking how that burst feels, go for this upgrade next. If you'd rather improve the slowing effect to set up your Rage kills, feel free to get Biter Mask instead. These three upgrades will allow you to ambush incoming enemies with deadly precision, if used well.
 * Don't forget to get those Rip-apart Bears if you opted out earlier in the game.

Late Game
Thief Tools, Explosive Neckband, Hungry Zurian
 * With both Rage and Evil Eye souped up, you'll be dealing some heavy damage and hopefully getting a good number of kills, whether you're attacking or defending. With little else to do, it's time to start upgrading your turret-smashing power, Demolition Ayla style. Go for Thief Tools first; both it and Explosive Neckband increase Ayla's AA DPS by approximately the same amount while Thief Tools is much cheaper.
 * With that maxed, then start on Explosive Neckband.
 * Hungry Zurian isn't nearly as important as it is on AAyla, but it can help keep you alive when tearing down turrets if a group of enemy droids wander into your path, so make that your third AA purchase.

Game Start
As most Ayla Rage guides will tell you, early game Ayla is rather vulnerable. She doesn't have a lot of HP, and using Rage in combat can hurt more than help in many situations. This is when Ayla must rely heavily on her team, and focus on hit-and-run tactics with Evil Eye and Rage. Evil Eye has a slowing effect which can make it difficult for enemies to escape from Rage, or make it difficult for them to chase you. Most of all, though, it can be used as a surprise burst to wipe out enemies when both of you are low on health. This is risky to pull off, but Ayla is all about risk. Practice your aim well and be ready to back off if things get too hairy. Deal some damage when you're sure you can get away with it, back off at the first sign of serious danger, and always watch your back for assassins. Fortunately, they haven't powered themselves up much yet either, but they're still Ayla's greatest threat. Above all else, though, farm. Kill every droid in sight. Hog the neutral creeps from enemies. If it moves, kill it. If there's one thing Rage Ayla excels at, it's killing groups of droids and creeps. Get as much Solar as you can to propel yourself into an advantageous position (helping your team along the way, of course) and get those upgrades as soon as you can to start the landslide.

Early Game
Once you've got your three-wheeler, you'll be significantly more mobile. At this point in the game, that's best used for escaping (and continued farming—get to those creeps before the enemy!). When you get that chunk of solar needed to max out Angry Drawings, then you'll be ready to take the offensive. As the game progresses, you'll slowly be able to start pushing more, relying less on hit-and-run tactics. But for now, keep your guard up, and make it a slow transition, and as with almost any strategy, try to stick with your teammates most of the time. Continue farming droids and creeps when you have the time and you'll build your solar up to the point of maxing out Rage (and your HP). It's important to note that, despite its self-harming, when you're trying to escape from enemies, DO NOT drop out of Rage and start running. This is what many new players intuitively want to do, but the flight, added mobility, and defense boost from Rage (once you've gotten Tear-apart Bear) make it a much stronger escape option, and leave you less vulnerable than trying to flee on foot. Absolute worst case scenario, better you've killed yourself than let an enemy last-hit you.

Mid Game
When this happens, you'll be a force to be reckoned with, and with some game smarts, you'll be able to start reeling in the enemy Awesomenaut kills. Mid-game is Ayla's time to shine, as she easily gets kills on lesser-prepared or lesser-upgraded enemies one after another. Be wary of ambushes and surprise attacks, and again, when in doubt, keep your team about. If a Rage Ayla is too much of a threat, often a team will band together specifically to kill her, which can certainly happen without backup. Watch at all times for an ambush or any kind of burst. Remember that you have Evil Eye to slow enemies with and deal your own burst damage, making Rage that much more lethal, and start to upgrade it further with any Solar you collect.

Late Game
With Rage and Evil Eye both maxed, little Ayla will be dealing some killer damage, with some pretty hard-to-break defenses while attacking a group. It's important to keep as many enemies as you can in your field at one time, as many of them as possible droids, enough of which will make you functionally invincible. As mentioned in the purchase order section, by late game, it's time to upgrade your Chain Whack to improve your damage to turrets. The tactic hasn't changed much between mid and late game, but if the game is going evenly, then your enemies are upgrading and getting stronger, making them somewhat more of a threat. Be smart about when to attack and when it comes time to defend, focus on enemy droids, as Ayla can get rid of them faster than perhaps any other character, and gains life from doing so, as well. With Hungry Zurian at her disposal, Ayla gains yet another lifesteal with her Chain Whack, making her an even greater threat to structures. Once you get a foothold, start pushing, and whittle away at what's left of the enemy's defenses, then pat yourself on the back, you little ball of death and cuteness.

FINAL NOTE
This build is very team-dependent in higher leagues, especially if you upgrade Rage before Evil Eye. It is meant primarily for droid clearing and multiple assassinations (swooping in for kills after your allies have weakened opponents). Despite what it may seem, this is a PASSIVE Ayla build. If your role is that of an initiator, then AAyla has a higher skill ceiling. If you must use Rage for your primary attack in an initiating playstyle, though, then you should upgrade Evil Eye via Toothbrush Shank before Rage in the Early Game portion. For soloing purposes, Evil Eye is what's going to get you your kills; upgrading nothing but Rage and diving in headfirst is what's going to get you killed.

Finally, if you see an Ayla on the enemy team, absolutely go for Evil Eye upgrades before Rage. In most cases, Ayla vs. Ayla is decided by which has upgraded her Evil Eye the most.

--XTApocalypse (talk) 23:01, 14 October 2014 (UTC)