How to get ahead in Blackheart’s Bay.
There’s a very fun bonus mechanic at the heart of this pirate-themed map, and it’s one of our favourite battlegrounds to play in the rotation.
Your job here isn’t just to dominate in the lanes and bases of the map, you’ll also have to gather gold coins which can be used to bribe the pirate Blackheart into launching a volley of cannonballs at your opponent’s defences.
There are three lanes to contend with, but things are a little lopsided, and so the two uppermost lanes can almost be treated as one and the same. Expect plenty of frantic and furious team brawling as you compete to bring the required Doubloons to Blackheart – while preventing the opposing team from doing exactly the same!
Note that the cost of unlocking the cannon-fire the first time is ten Doubloons, but twelve Doubloons the next time, and things get increasingly expensive from there. This increasing cost is on a per-team basis, so there is some scope for your opponents to catch up faster than you’re able to escalate the bonus damage against them.
Blackheart’s Bay Tips and Tricks
– Note that minions will only spawn into the top and bottom lanes throughout this match, so those are the only ones that can be pushed for control and experience points. A typical strategy is to have one team member focus on the bottom lane, while the remaining four deal with the upper threats.
– There are a few ways to collect Doubloons. You can either pinch them from the corpses of enemy Heroes who were carrying them, have them pop off treasure chests as you attack them, or earn them by attacking neutral Mercenary Camps.
– It takes around eight seconds to hand your Doubloons over to Blackheart, and you can expect to come under attack from the enemy team during this time. Always travel with friends when you’re ready to hand in your coins, otherwise you run the risk of being killed and having the enemy pick up your hard-won cash.
– This map can be won or loss based on how many rounds of cannon-fire you manage to unlock. Even though the cost of bribing Blackheart goes up, you should continue working towards this objective whenever possible. The cost increases as follows: 12/14/18.
– Should you find yourself passing through the area, do take a moment to capture the Watchtowers located on this map. Having extra eyes on the battlefield can be vital for securing a successful hand-in to Blackheart, without falling foul of an ambush.
– If you see a lone Hero trying to hand in Doubloons, get in there as quickly as possible and either tap them with damage or stun them as quickly as you can. If you can bring them down nice and fast, you can even nab their coins for your own team! Hopefully the other team haven’t got the same surprise lined up for you…
– If you’ve managed to develop a decent lead through ship-fire and old-fashioned lane-pushing, take the time to unlock a Mercenary Camp or two. The extra damage can pay dividends in finishing the fight before the enemy can mount a fightback.
