I am Groot

[DoremianCleff]

Any Groot mains around? I think people need to talk more about Groot, because there seems to be a general lack of experience amongst player base around how to play as, with or against Groot. He has an interesting kit and all around a good Hero, but somehow very few people choose to play as him, which i think stems from general confusion about how he should be played.

So, how's your experience with Groots? Do you play him? Any cool strats that worked for you? And tips and tricks? Anything goes, it's a general discussion of everything that is Groot (and tanking in general).

[Jesi]

His walls are as annoying for allies as they are for enemies.

He is kinda fun to play and one of few Vanguards with fun Ultimates... its basically him and Magneto. Its fun that his weaker walls are doing damage. Its NOT FUN that his stronger wall is giving only temporary shield (should either deal damage or heal you).

[Nydas]

I like him but his walls are tough to use well. That and i think its silly that friendly fire also damages them, so they get deleted instantly if your teams not paying attention or you are playing with a squirrel girl.

[Memag]

I am lord Groot , so far. Played him almost exclusively.
Groot excels when healers are good. Can deal a lot of dmg and take a good beating.
I still feel he's just too slow and immobile for a character.
Walls are good but to finicky to set up properly, angles and placement, you must multitask at all times. Double walls behind the enemy team and ult afterwards is wiping everything.
People in team don't know that these walls also react to them shooting the enemy nearby,
so most of the setups are wasted opportunity for a quick wipe.

Have yet to test if casting a ironwall beneath Groot can save you from Jeff's ult.
But sure you can prop up by casting it beneath your feet.
Setting walls horizontally above the entrances and chokes is better way to deal massive damage then to cast the to the back or sides, most enemies ignore ceiling walls.
Setup a tunnel and they are gone.

To generate stack of walls click and drag the mouse. Useful for building ramps and double wall for before the ULT.

Melee attack with primary combo demolishes tanks (strange) , especially if you have a wall nearby.

If you cast a wall in front of the enemy to block, shoot grenade behind the wall, so it will activate the lash damage of the wall, if grenade hits.
I usually make setups prior to battle than to react in the battle.
I setup walls near the other (or onto) obstacles/walls as they are harder to shoot or notice. I use ironwood wall to block enemies from single points of entrance to buy time for my team as these walls have huge HP.
You can also cast ironwood wall onto the cart and it will move with the cart acting as a moving shield. For longer distance shots spam grenade as primary is limited in distance.

[DoremianCleff]

Originally posted by Jesi:

Its NOT FUN that his stronger wall is giving only temporary shield (should either deal damage or heal you).

He can have up to 1200 hp with shields, if i am not mistaken. Even if it's a temprorary health, you kinda undermining how much you get from it. You get shields from any damage, which includes your walls and your team, but you need to be withing wall range.

Originally posted by Memag:

I am lord Groot , so far. Played him almost exclusively.
Groot excels when healers are good. Can deal a lot of dmg and take a good beating.
I still feel he's just too slow and immobile for a character.
Walls are good but to finicky to set up properly, angles and placement, you must multitask at all times. Double walls behind the enemy team and ult afterwards is wiping everything.
People in team don't know that these walls also react to them shooting the enemy nearby,
so most of the setups are wasted opportunity for a quick wipe.

Have yet to test if casting a ironwall beneath Groot can save you from Jeff's ult.
But sure you can prop up by casting it beneath your feet.
Setting walls horizontally above the entrances and chokes is better way to deal massive damage then to cast the to the back or sides, most enemies ignore ceiling walls.
Setup a tunnel and they are gone.

To generate stack of walls click and drag the mouse. Useful for building ramps and double wall for before the ULT.

Melee attack with primary combo demolishes tanks (strange) , especially if you have a wall nearby.

If you cast a wall in front of the enemy to block, shoot grenade behind the wall, so it will activate the lash damage of the wall, if grenade hits.

Yep, pretty much summirizes my knowledge and experience with Groot.
He is slow, but i feel like if he was any faster, he would be too strong, because his attack has 20 metres range, which is about as much as Magneto's. He is better at close combat, but i feel like him chasing people with this much range would have been close to unfair.

I would also add a little "fun" trick for your ranged DPS - you can place a ramp behind your ironwood wall, so they can use it as a fortification to shoot above front line and maybe hit healers more effectively. Not entierly gamechanging, but some Punisher players seems to enjoy using it. But it's only good in first minutes of a match, before you need to use it to block people.

[DoremianCleff]

Would like to throw some general information for people who play as Groot, with Groot or against the Groot.

As Groot, try to pick up your walls when not in use. There been so many times when i forgot to pick up my Ironwood wall and having to start the fight without safety it provides. The cooldown is short, so there is no reason to keep it, even if you are going to place it again in same spot in a moment. Even more so if the wall blocking a path for your team.

If you damage anyone within range of Groot walls, all the effects still applied. If a Groot building walls and cutting Tanks away from the team - help them. Any damage you deal will cause vinelash to attack them as well. And it also applies to Groot health - any damage you deal to opponents in active range of a Ironwood wall, Groot will get shields and be able to soak more damage or survive the fight.

Against Groot you want to put him away from walls or destroy them. He is a strong anchor tank, but will struggle against long sustaining damage. With how much damage often comes from both sides, it's easy for Groot to spend all walls and because of low speed, Groot can't keep up with retreating team if caught out of possition or heavily anchored.

And generaly, expect some passages to be blocked, so when playing with Groot on eighet team and you are a flanker, be sure to have alternative routes in mind, because there is a good chance to get stuck behind a wall.