Overview

Mozu was the first Hero I ever played in Gigantic and she remains, to this day, one of my favorites. I've always felt that she was a Hero that was largely underplayed because players weren't willing to get to grips with her nuances whilst her left mouse button, Magic Bolt, takes some getting used to. Its wind-up time means that Mozu ramps up in damage at the mid and end of a fight. This poses several tactical quandaries for her because it means that at the start of any fight, her damage is fairly low (and takes a certain time to charge up) that she can easily be disrupted, blocked or the opposition can simply run away. Her strength lies in the fact that when she does begin to unleash Magic Bolt's, they do incredible damage. The key is to arm your Magic Bolt slightly before a fight, or Dimension Door to a location to instantly unleash them. Be warned that Mozu requires exceptional positioning because she's also incredibly squishy. If you're caught without stamina or Dimension Door, you're pretty much a free kill. 

Guide Updated: 1 February 2016

Skills

This section of our guide contains a list of Mozu skills, what they do, which upgrades you should choose (and when) as well as what those upgrades are for. 

Base Skills

Magic Bolt slowly ramps up its attack speed as you hold the mouse button down. By the end of its duration, your bolts fire at frightening speed and will, at that point, be dealing huge damage. You need to factor in the charge time so that you're in the right position, firing at the right enemy, at the right time. As one tip, the opening salvo of Magic Bolt deals little damage so it's sometimes possible to charge the attack even when you can't see an enemy, move into position when Magic Bolt is mid charge, and then aim at an opponent. That way, they take a huge burst without you exposing yourself during its charge. 

Attractor Beam slows and deals very minor damage to an enemy it hits. By default it isn't amazing but it's useful in a team fight if you can snag Tyto or Tripp whilst they're hitting one of your allies. An early upgrade allows Attractor Beam to interrupt an opponent so it becomes invaluable at preventing the likes of Tyto using Blade Dance when he's in your face. The main thing you need to be aware of with Attractor Beam is that it's range is short and if you aren't close enough, the skill will fail and go on cooldown. 

Dimension Door allows Mozo to teleport to any location. The only restriction is you need to be able to physically target an object or location by aiming the projection. It takes a little practice, but once you've got the hang of it it's a gaurenteed method of escape once talented. The distance you travel and the speed is unmatched, just be aware that for about a second you're vulnerable before you teleport. 

Arcane Vortex allows Mozu to create a shield infront of her. It's radius is small but it is enough to protect you and your allies if you don't all spread out. Against another Mozu or a particularly annoying Voden, Arcane Vortex is incredibly useful for mitigating damage. When upgraded it allows you to deflect projectiles back at foes, gain haste when you run through it or pull enemies towards you.

Death Ray is a powerful focus that deals reasonably high damage to multiple targets, while slowing them. At level 1 it will strike 2 targets, and level 2 it will strike 3 targets and level 3 it will strike 5. You should also be aware that it will pierce through targets if, for example, The Margrave is trying to protect a vulnerable team mate. 

Skill Upgrade Paths and Order

Below is the upgrade path I would recommend for each skill. It offers Mozu high damage output whilst balancing her survivability. There are some variables which I'll discuss below but for the most part, these upgrade paths make Mozu a flexible Hero who if left unnoticed will deal huge damage to the opposition. The numbers below on each image correspond to when you should upgrade that individual skill, and for ease it's listed below in order. This build order is important as it provides Mozu with a stronger left mouse button and an interupt early game. She'll also ramp up in terms of damage only a few levels later.

Level 2: Arcane Guidance (LMB)

Level 3: Cantrip of Disruption (RMB)

Level 4: Omega Bolt (RMB)

Level 5: Temporal Discontinuity (E)

Level 6: Open to Offence (E)

Level 7: Reverse Polairty (Q)

Level 8: Warp Factor (Q)

Level 9: Feedback (RMB)

Level 10: Nigh Invulnerable (Focus)

View the full build here.

Arcane Guidance allows Mozu and her Magic Bolt to track enemies easier. This makes a huge difference to your damage potential and makes it less of an to have to stay exactly on your enemy as you aim at them. It makes Mozu much more forgiving and thankfully, improves your chances of dealing damage to opponents. For a second upgrade, Omega Bolt allows you to fire a final blast of magic at the enemy upon the skill ending. It hits hard and is a huge boost to your damage potential.

Variable: If you want a more aggressive playstyle, take Run and Hit. After using Dimension Door this allows Magic Bolt to charge at full speed instantly, allowing you to land and deal huge damage with no build up time. 

Cantrip of Disruption is a must for Mozo as it allows her to interrupt an enemy player. Your range might be short on Attractor Beam, but it will save your life, especially if Tyto is attempting to use Blade Dance or if Knossos is about to use Gore. It also significantly improves the damage of Attractor Beam. Feedback as the second upgrade allows Attractor Beam to deal damage to an enemy if you successfully interrupt them but also lowers the cooldown.  

One of the most powerful escape skills in the game gets better and better with upgrades. Temporal Discontinuity allows all your skills to recharge after use, meaning you can use Arcane Vortex and Attractor Beam twice in a very short space of time. Open to Offense boosts your damage by 25% after you Dimension Door. If you are kiting someone (and remember Magic Bolts recharges instantly after Dimension Door) you're going to melt them when you reappear. 

Reverse Polarity allows Mozu to deflect ranged attacks back at your opponent. It's particularly powerful against another Mozu, Charnok or Voden as it'll protect you and your team. Warp Factor allows you to travel through your Vortex to gain haste. This is invaluable when you're trying to escape as you'll gain a significant boost to your run speed. Combined with your sprint (if you have stamina) there's very little that can catch you. 

Nigh Invulnerable is incredibly useful with Death Ray because the range on the Focus skill is actually quite short. As such, you sometimes need to get a little too close for comfort. Reducing the damage you take by 90% when channeling will allow you to successfully cast the skill without losing too much health in the process. 

Talents

Level 1: Dominator

Having the ability to gain 15% extra damage after 3 kills, thanks to Dominator, is enormous. It's also fairly easy to stay alive as Mozu thanks to your Dimension Door. 

Level 5: Wand Mastery

Allowing Magic Bolt to track for longer generally means you're capable of dealing more damage throughout its duration. Between all the talent upgrades, Wand Mastery is undoutedly the best choice. 

Level 7: Precision

Mozu is all about damage and taking Precision allows you to ramp up your critical hit chance must faster, considering your base critical hit chance from Magic Bolts is already very high. It does mean you're squishier than if you took En Garde, but it's a worthwhile tradeoff. 

Level 9: Endurance

Hero's Might is an excellent choice as it provides a 10% boost to your damage. Being able to deal more damage as Mozu is never a bad thing and with Dominator, you'll be dealing 25% more damage.

Threat

This section of our guide contains a list of tactics for fighting against other Hero's with Mozu. Please note that only the Heroes that are the highest risk and threat to Mozu are included in this list. 

Fighting Aisling is particularly challenging for Mozu because of her self healing, Cador's body blocking and utility as well as the fact that Magic Bolt can't charge up quick enough to burst down Cador and then Aisling before she'll escape. The best thing to do is sprint away from Cador when Aisling sends him at you. Once she has, unleash Magic Bolt towards Aisling. A good Aisling will use Cador to body block then recall him (Into the Blade) to prevent his death. If she doesn't, she'll send Cador at you again (he can be sent twice to deal damage or slow/immobilize). At this point, I'd recommend you Dimension Door through Aisling and unleashing Magic Bolt in her back. She'll take huge damage and instantly sacrifice Cador to heal. At this point, drop Arcane Vortex to gain haste and begin to kite her. She's tough but beatable. 

Threat: 8/10

Charnok hits like a truck but he really can't survive your Magic Bolt burst. Better still, if you use Arcane Vortex in the right spot you'll be able to mitigate his Heat Wave and deal significant damage to him. If he tries to run, follow it up with a Dimension Door > Magic Bolts (instant cast) and use Attractor Beam to interrupt his use of Dragon's Breath or Hot Hail. Having said all this, if Charnok gets the jump on you, you're going to take a huge amount of damage in a very short space of time and at the very least, you'll have to Dimension Door away. 

Threat: 7/10

A good Griselma is difficult for Mozu to deal with. Her Portal Beasts can comfortably body block your Magic Bolts, she doesn't personally fire a projectile for your Arcane Vortex to fire back and her Portal usually gives her a clean escape. If you can burst down her hands first, you're in a much stronger position. However, a good Griselma will likely play aggresively towards you if you begin to do this and there's every chance you'll take a fair amount of damage before the hands are down. I've found poking the hands to force Griselma out of position works best, to the Dimension Door behind her and use Magic Bolts. She'll likely Displacement down at which point just use Attractor Beam > Magic Bolts again. Just be mindful of your health if all three hands aren't down, as they'll continually hit you whilst she does.

Threat: 7/10

Knossos is tough for Mozu if you're intending to go toe to toe with him. Like any Hero, you can easily escape with Dimension Door but if you want to fight him, just be sure that you use Arcane Vortex first to gain haste followed by Attractor Beam to interrupt his opening attacks. Use Dimension Door to escape (preferrably onto a ledge) and attack him with Magic Bolt. Kite him until Dimension Door is available again. The best you can hope for is to avoid his Focus and his immobilize. If those two or Gore hit you or if you're out of stamina, you're in real trouble. 

Threat: 9/10

The Margrave, similarly to Knossos, is easy to avoid if you just Dimension Door away. The difficulty is fighting him one on one. His combination of armor, health pool, stuns, cleave and reflects make him an excellent counter to Mozo. The best you can hope for is an early interrupt on his Charge Forth or Staggering Leap, but even then you're still left with Hellburst or one of his other skills to crowd control you. In all honesty, it's best to just avoid him 1 on 1. 

Threat: 9/10

Tripp is similar to Tyto in her ability to kill you quickly. If you've no Dimension Door and stamina, you're a free kill. If you have all skills and stamina available, she's a challenge but can be beaten. Ensure you use Attractor Beam first to slow and interrupt her, use Arcane Vortex for haste and to gain some distance. Use Magic Bolt as soon as you can to pressure her and Dimension Door away once she gets near. Use the instant Magic Bolt to burst her down and use Attractor Beam again when it becomes available. 

Threat: 8/10

Tyto The Swift's main threat is from Blade Dance. If he gets near you and you eat all of it in the face, you're going to die incredibly quickly. Just use Attractor Beam if he gets close and escape using Dimension Door. As long as you kite him using your haste from Arcane Vortex, you'll be fine.

Threat: 8/10

Wu is only a threat to Mozu (hence the 8) if you stick around. His speed, mobility and damage can eat you alive in seconds and kiting him is particularly difficult due to Tongue Lash that pulls you backwards. If you can, use Arcane Vortex to gain haste and Dimension Door away. It's just not worth fighting him 1 on 1. Even with Attractor Beam, you'll only slow him for a second so just run. 

Threat: 9/10

Xenobia has the potential to crowd control Mozu to the point where she can't do anything. Fortunately, she has a terrible range and you have mobility. All you need to do is stay back, use Magic Bolt's until she comes close, Dimension Door away and use Magic Bolt's again. She'll die quickly and you'll pickup the experience. In a team fight however, if she Cripples you and you don't have Dimension Door you're in trouble. 

Threat: 6/10

Tips

This section of our guide contains a list of tips and tricks we think will help your Mozu play. We'll continue to add to the list as required and if you have any tips you'd like to share, let us know in the comments below and we'll place them here. 

1. Arcane Vortex is not only a shield, but deflects projectiles when you upgrade it and also provides haste. It's versatile and valuable.

2. Dimension Door is probably the best escape skill in the game just remember you have to touch an object or piece of terrain to be able to teleport. 

3. Magic Bolt takes a period of time to charge up and reach maximum speed. You can charge it (hitting nothing) and then move into the sight of an opponent to hit them mid speed.

4. Management of your stamina and Dimension Door is incredibly important to your survival. Save both until you need it. 

5. Attractor beam provides a powerful interrupt and slow, use it against Hero's who are in your face.

6. Death Ray is strongest when used against multiple foes as it'll not only slow the group but deal huge damage. 

7. Try to place Arcane Vortex, in a team fight, in front of your allies. It's also best in a close area so that opposing players can't shoot from the sides. 

8. If you're facing melee Hero's such as Tyto, Tripp or Knossos, it's honestly easier to run than try to fight. Use Dimension Door, get away and rejoin the fight once they've gone or until you have support. 

9. Mozu has incredible damage when Magic Bolt's is charged up. Play clever and try to find angles or locations where enemies aren't looking for you to deal huge damage to them from behind. 

Ten Ton Hammer would like to thank GGUnleashed for their awesome GiganticSkill Calculator!