Overview

Tyto the Swift is unquestionably one of the strongest Hero's in Gigantic. His speed, mobility and raw damage make him a formidable opponent and a valuable ally to have on your side. He can quite comfortably dive in and out of combat, leave a trail of bodies and leave under heavy fire without a scratch. I would add that Tyto is one of the easiest Hero's to begin with but he's also difficult to master as he can die incredibly quickly if caught without stamina or Swoop. With practice however Tyto really begins to shine. 

Guide Updated: 14 September 2015

Pros

Cons

High single target damage capable of quickly killing many Hero's

Has no real means of mitigating damage outside of Swoop 

Swoop is a valuable means of escaping

He's incredibly squishy if caught without Stamina or Swoop

Amazing mobility and speed

Can be easily focused by a coordinated team 

Difficult for enemy players to hit due to his speed

 

Skills

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

Base Skills

Talon is Tyto's default attack and allows him to perform a powerful melee combo. Unsurprisingly you need to be close to opponents to deal damage to them and the combo chain takes a few seconds of swinging to complete. If you're near your enemy and you have used Blade Dance, you should be using Talon as much as humanly possible. 

Swoop is both a means to engage enemies but to also escape from them. If you use Swoop against an opponent you'll deal damage on landing but in all honesty, Tyto's speed means you don't really have to and I'd recommend you save it for escaping instead. Once upgraded, to allow you to use Swoop twice, being caught is incredibly difficult. 

Your highest damage skill and also known as "spin to win", Blade Dance deals huge damage and allows you to pin down several people. When upgrade it can slow or bleed enemies, increasing its damage or utility significantly. 

Fang is Tyto's trusty pet and your only ranged attack. Using it sends Fang out to cause bleeding on the target hit. Through upgrades Fang will be able to break armor, giving you a big damage boost. 

Similarly to Swoop, Blur can also be used as a means of escaping if needed as it causes Tyto the Swift to rush forwards in a straight line. In all honesty it's pretty difficult to know if you've hit your enemy or not so the best thing to do is to try to ensure you get as near as possible to a group of enemies to cause bleeding. If not, save it as an escape. 

Skill Upgrade Paths and Order

Below is the upgrade path I would recommend for each skill. It offers Tyto the Swift high damage, a valuable armor break and early game mobility. I choose Swoop first to ensure I can survive longer during the first few levels. 

Level 2: Swoop de Loop (RMB)

Level 3: Catch the Wind (RMB)

Level 4: Pounce (E)

Level 5: Knawing Out (E)

Level 6: Kith and Keen (LMB)

Level 7: Synchronicity (LMB)

Level 8: Cyclone (Q)

Level 9: Burden of Prey (Q)

Level 10: Renewed Focus (Focus)


Kith and Keen allows Tyto the Swift to build critical hit chance quicker, as well as Focus. Although it's not amazing, it does allow you to hit harder and use your Focus more often. Synchronicity is what we're after as it allows you to deal more damage after sending Fang out. 

Swoop de Loop allows you to use Swoop twice but it will no longer cause damage on landing. It makes no difference, really, as it allows you survive much longer and engage easier. I choose Catch the Wind because when you do need to escape, quickly using both Swoop's allows you to gain a 33% movement speed buff, which no one can match and even Lord Knossos when you're sprinting can't come close to your speed. 

Cyclone causes your Blade Dance to have a wider radius, allowing you to hit enemies further away from you meaning you can be somewhat worse with your aim and still land the hits you need. Burden of Prey causes it to slow enemies struck, allowing you to keep players near you and for them to take the full damage of Blade Dance.

Pounce causes Fang to deal a fixed amount of increased damage against a target. The most important upgrade however is Gnawing Out which provides an invaluable Armor Break. Always open with Fang.

Renewed Focus is undoubtedly the best choice here as it allows Tyto the Swift to reset all his cooldowns on use. Want to Swoop 4 times? Not a problem. 

Talents

Level 3: Bird of Prey

Bird of Prey allows Tyto the Swift to use Swoop even more. Yes it's a defensive choice, but it means you can maximise your ability to engage and retreat when needed. If you're alive, you're helping your team by being able to deal damage. 

Level 5: En Garde

Similarly to Tripp's upgrade, En Garde provides you with 10 additional armor by default and +20 when fighting. As you're out in the open much more than Tripp, it's incredibly useful for mitigating some damage. 

Level 7: Easy Strider

Having increased movement speed (10%) and your stamina consumption lowered is too good to give up as Tyto. Your mobility is key and at level 7 its improved significantly thanks to Easy Strider

Level 9: Hero's Might

Hero's Might provides Tyto the Swift with +10% extra damage. Although it won't boost your damage by a huge amount, it's an increment that'll help burst players down quicker. 

Tactics

This section of our guide contains a list of tactics for skirmishing, team fighting and dueling against Hero's with Tyto the Swift. 

Aisling can be a challenge if played well due to Cador acting as a body block. Combined with her heal, reach and crowd control she's a challenge to kill. The best method I've found is to land Fang on her early, use Blade Dance even if she has Cador up and avoid her immobilize. If you land a good Blade Dance she'll be forced to heal and if she doesn't, at the very least Cador will be low health. Use Talon as much as humanly possible and use your speed to duke her. If she heals, repeat the Fang > Blade Dance process. 

Threat: 7/10

Charnok is always a nuisance because of his AOE and burning. From range, his poke is strong and he can easily reduce your health fairly quickly. Even close up, if you get caught in Hot Hail you're in trouble. If you can leap in early, Fang and Blade Dance at the very least you'll force him to detonate. At that point, just run back towards him and continue to strafe around him whilst using Talon. 

Threat: 6/10

Griselma is very easy to deal with if she doesn't have her hands (especially if she's moving from point to point). However, if she does have her hands she's incredibly tough to kill. Even if you do get her low health, she'll portal away. If she's out in the open, by all means kill her.

Threat: 5/10

HK-206 is pretty easy to kill as Tyto because your mobility is a brilliant counter to his bunker-style play. From afar he'll happily gun you down but your speed allows you to quickly close the gap and once near him, there's very little he can do. Send out Fang, hit Blade Dance and keep strafing around him using Talon. If he tries to run just use Swoop twice for the extra speed. 

Threat: 4/10

Imani is similar to HK in the sense that once near her, she's in big trouble. Just use terrain to get near her to avoid her sniper fire and when close enough use Swoop. She'll stealth instantly but she can't run far. Just wait for her to come back out and run at her, using Talon. 

Threat: 3/10

Lord Knossos is always going to be a tough fight for Tyto the Swift because his damage is incredible and he has lots of skills to not only ramp his damage higher, but to also incapacitate you. I'd honestly recommend you avoid him if he's full health (and well skilled). If you know he's low on stamina and has taken some damage however, he's fair game. Just be sure to avoid his gore and try to get him trapped in Blade Dance early. 

Threat: 8/10

Mozu isn't a problem for Tyto the Swift because she's so squishy. Yes she can reduce your health rapidly if she starts up her Magic Bolt. However, if you use terrain or a double Swoop she'll struggle to track you. Just get close enough to force her to use her Dimension Door, at which point she'll only have Attractor Beam left. If she hasn't upgraded it to interrupt you, she's as good as dead.

Threat: 4/10

The Margrave is one to avoid as Tyto the Swift because he's so tanky. His interrupts, knockdowns, survivability and damage output mean he's going to flatten you very quickly - even with your armor break. Only take on The Margrave when he's low health or already being focused. 

Threat: 9/10

Tripp is hit or miss with Tyto. If she opens on you from stealth you're going to take a ton of damage. Once she's out in the open however, just try to trap her with your Blade Dance and Fang. She'll likely run away but if she does stay and fight, as long as you avoid her knock down. 

Threat: 6/10

Tyto the Swift versus Tyto simply boils down to who lands Fang, who hits Blade Dance first and who can avoid being hit by Talon once skills are on cooldown. It really depends entirely on your own skill versus your opponent. If you do land fang, just try to ensure Blade Dance hits them fully for maximum damage. 

Threat: 6/10

Uncle Sven isn't much of a challenge for Tyto because you're too fast for his potions. 90% of the time Uncle Sven will attempt to run away and/or knock you back. Just continue to pursue him, even when he's knocked you back and he'll soon die. Just remember not to over extended.  

Threat: 6/10

Vadasi doesn't have the damage to be able to take you down, but she can hurt and if she has her Focus she's going to survive for a long period and likely escape. If you can pin her down with an early Blade Dance, at the very least you'll force her to escape. 

Threat: 5/10

A good Voden is always a nuisance because of his ability to switch places with Green Man decoy, snare you or use his super jump. Recent changes mean he has to choose whether to take the super jump or not, so you're at somewhat of an advantage if he hasn't. As long as you can force an early use of his Decoy, he's fairly easy to train to death. 

Threat: 6/10

Wu is always lethal if you get caught in his Tongue Lash. If you can avoid that, you're in a much better position to deal with him. 

Threat: 6/10

Xenobia is a threat regardless of who she faces but is arguably fair game for Tyto the Swift because she lacks mobility. As long as you avoid her immobilize, there's very little she can do once you get in her face. 

Threat: 7/10

Tips

This section of our guide contains a list of tips and tricks we think will help your Tyto 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. Remember that Swoop is a valuable tool for engaging as well as escaping. If you can sprint up to an opponent, do so instead of using Swoop. That way, once they're dead 

2. Tyto is all about speed and mobility. Make use of this early game to secure quick kills whilst Hero's such as Griselma or Vadasi aren't up to full strength.

3. Always open with Fang for the armor break and bleed.

4. Once Blade Dance is used, you should always be using Talon on your opponent - don't stop until they're dead.

5. Try to focus targets who lack mobility: Xenobia, Griselma, Vadasi or Imani. They're far easier to kill than The Margrave or Lord Knossos. 

6. Tyto can be very good at back-capping quickly but you need to be conscious of the enemy Cerberus revealing your position. 

7. Blur can be a great way of escaping even though it's an offensive skill. Using it before two Swoop's can gaurentee your escape.

8. Blade Dance is difficult for most Hero's to avoid, especially when it slows them. Try to always use it when you know your enemy has low stamina or if they've already used their "out".

 


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Last Updated: Mar 21, 2016

About The Author

Lewis is a long standing journalist, who freelances to a variety of outlets.

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