Pressure
by FranksMad
Splitting Ice
Frost Bolt bounces to an additional enemy.
Splitting Ice
Affinity
Reduce the Cooldown of Elemental Shift by 1-5s.
Elemental Shift
5
Draconic Will
Elemental Shift reduces the Cooldown of Frost Bomb and Inferno Cannon by 1-5s.
Elemental Shift
3
Pyretic Momentum
Frostfire Glide travels 5-25% faster.
Frostfire Glide
3
Swift Sear
Increase your movement speed while casting Inferno Cannon by 20-100%.
Inferno Cannon
3
Elemental Barrier
Using Elemental Shift heals you for 100-500 Health.
Elemental Shift
1
Guide
This build focuses on putting pressure on the enemy from a distance while alternating elements. Splitting Ice is used since Frost Bolt is better DPS and will allow for easier application of Cauterize. Affinity V and Draconic Will III allow for more flexible use of Frost Bomb and Inferno Cannon. Pyretic Momentum III makes Frostfire Glide much more practical overall. Swift Sear III provides enough movement during Inferno Cannon to allow for repositioning or chasing a target when cast while airborne. Elemental Barrier I gives a small heal, but can be replaced without losing much effectiveness; Cooling Runes I or Discipline I would likely make for the best replacements.
With this build it's generally better to maintain a longer distance from the enemy team. Without any falloff on her projectiles, Imani is excellent at both harassing the enemy and picking them off from long-range. Use Frost Bomb proactively when you know it can hit multiple targets and find close cover while it's being channeled. Groups of low health targets can then be finished off with Frost Bolt if your team doesn't kill them first. If you think you'll be stuck at close-mid range, switch to Fire form. You can continually charge Pyro Ball, allowing for a quick 1000 damage advantage should an enemy engage you. Inferno Cannon can quickly be cast after firing Pyro Ball, which should easily finish off any target that eats the full channel. If Inferno Cannon is on cooldown, switch back to Ice form as soon as possible. Fire form should really only be used for Inferno Cannon with this build due to its higher utility in close-mid range situations where Imani otherwise performs poorly.
Frostfire Glide is useful as both an escape and for repositioning. It can be good for escaping a dicey close-range engagement, it's still a fairly slow and attention-drawing ability. In all cases, breaking any lines of sight with the enemy team is crucial for getting away. If you don't trust it as an escape, use it to move around the map more quickly or to reach higher ground.
Imani's ultimate, Dragon's Call, is incredibly effective when used properly. However, it can also be rendered completely useless very fast. It's an excellent way to clear an objective or draw fire away from the rest of your team, but the dragon's 7500HP health pool can very quickly be drained by a coordinated team - especially if someone is running Bulldozer. The dragon also disappears early if Imani is killed, so finding a safe and effective location is important for getting the most out of this ultimate. Keep in mind that the dragon slows down notably while using the fire breath and can often fit under many doorways. Use this to your advantage while chasing targets and be sure to focus on higher-threat ones the most.
For items, pick based on both teams. If the enemy a heavy focus on shielding, Wrecker will be much more useful as the higher damage will contribute to your Mana. If the enemy has good healing, then Cauterize will be a great pick - bolstered by the Splitting Ice talent. If your team is lacking heals, it may be safer to start with Life Rip. If healing cards don't seem necessary, focus on Wrecker/Cauterize II. Picks after that can include Morale Boost to help increase Dragon's Call usage, Bulldozer if there's another Imani, or Nimble to help with overall mobility.
So for a quick recap:
- Primarily use Ice form to damage and pick off targets from a range.
- Try to only use Fire form while Inferno Cannon is off cooldown or if you need to hide behind cover for a while.
- Frost Bomb is best used proactively from mid-long range, while Inferno Cannon is effective when used reactively in close-mid ranged engagements.
- Firing a charged Pyro Ball and chaining into Inferno Cannon is an effective combo both defensively and offensively.
- Frostfire Glide can be used as an escape, but make sure to break any lines of sight with the enemy.
- Use Dragon's Call from a safe but close location to the intended target(s).
- Don't play draconic peekaboo with the Ruckus running Bulldozer III.