Overview

Griselma is the only turret Hero in Gigantic. She utilizes a staff and Portal Beasts to control specific areas of the map. As a turret Hero her skills, with the exception of her left mouse button, are all static. Her Portal Beasts and traps cannot follow her unless summoned one at a time, meaning that she is strongest when protecting a small area. Fortunately and what makes Griselma particularly useful is the fact that her turrets - known as Portal Beasts - have a relatively short cooldown between summons. Should you play it as such, Griselma can be incredibly aggressive and she is capable of pushing forwards quite quickly to establish her Portal Beasts, especially if the opposing team backs away.

I will forewarn that Griselma is a particularly difficult Hero to play well. She has almost no mobility until mid game and relies heavily on her stamina to stay alive. Knowing when to push with your Portal Beasts and when to retreat is key to playing her effectively. Although you'll never likely be top of the leader board for kills, your group support can be invaluable.

Guide Updated: 28 June 2017

Pros

Cons

Exceptional at holding a specific location

Very poor mobility and stamina intensive

A nuisance to fight against when she is turtling a Control Point

Requires exceptional positional skills

Great at forcing a push on opponents as you lay down Portal Beasts alongside allies

No guaranteed method of escape without Exit Strategy (even that isn't 100%)

Can solo almost any Hero if she has all her Portal Beasts and traps established

With the exception of her Reach Out, she has no long-ranged attacks 

Can solo any Creature to flip the Control Point

A slow playstyle that lacks raw spike damage

Skills

This section of our guide contains a list of Griselma skills, what they do, which upgrades you should choose (and when).


 

Reach Out (LMB) - Although Griselma wields a staff, when you attack with it you'll send a channeled beam of light to the enemy, causing damage in quick succession. Like any beam, you really need a clear line of sight to hit opposing players, so be sure to weave around your Portal Beasts to get a shot on target. I should also add that Reach Out deals very little damage by itself and is designed to be complimentary to your Portal Beasts. Whomever you target with your Reach Out, your Portal Beast's will turn towards and attack. 

 

Portal Beast is your most important skill, as it allows Griselma to summon 2 Portal Beasts at any one time. Your Portal Beasts will attack nearby enemies automatically and have quite a few functions. The first and most obvious is providing Griselma with additional damage output. 2 Portal Beasts (or hands as they're known) hitting one target, alongside Griselma, is a solid amount of damage. Secondly, your Portal Beasts act as a body block for you and your allies. Each hand has its own health pool and can take a fair amount of damage before dying.

Finally, hands serve as a brilliant deterrent to prevent easy capture of Control Points. If you place both around a creature, that area isn't going to be taken for some time. What you really need to be aware with when it comes to Portal Beasts is that if you die, they die. Worse, if a hand is killed your Portal Beast skill will gain a cooldown of 9 seconds. With that in mind, you have to place your hands where they can't be easily sniped and never group them close together - place them apart to avoid AOE. 

 

Rift Zone (Q) - This AOE attack allows Griselma to place a Rift Zone at an area of her choosing. When cast, any enemies caught in its radius suffer cracked armor. Although Rift Zone can be used by itself, it's also a source for Griselma to quickly summon Portal Beasts. Ideally you want to use Rift Zone offensively when your Portal Beast's are active (to attack the enemy and reduce their armor) or to quickly get setup in an area of your choosing, by summoning a Portal Beast inside the rift. What's also interesting about Rift Zone is that any effects it can cause, can be triggered early if you summon a Portal Beast inside. Alternatively, you can wait for it to expire (and use it as a zoning tool). 

 

Displacement (E) - has three primary functions: 

1. Healing Griselma

2. Allowing her to avoid attacks

3. To teleport forwards (when upgraded). 

4. To reposition once submerged (at a slow speed!)

By default the skill allows Griselma to submerge for around 3 seconds, meaning it's long enough to avoid a single attack. As for healing values, it returns over 400 health which can certainly help you survive a little longer. Based on this and its short submerge duration, it's important to look at this skill as one that buys you time or allows you to avoid a particularly powerful Focus. Charnok's Flame On is a perfect example of a skill you should be using Displacement to avoid. Successfully timed, you can avoid Flame On's entire damage. 

 

The Abyss (F) - is one of the strongest Focus skills in the game. It lays down a trap that then when triggered, sees an enormous Portal Beast erupt from the ground. It launches enemies back and will then proceed to physically attack nearby foes. If used when fighting over a Control Point, it's more than possible to kill several low health people at once. The Abyss is also incredibly valuable when fighting 1 on 1, especially against melee Hero's as it'll buy you enough time to escape or finish them off. Knowing when to use The Abyss is incredibly important, as Griselma doesn't gain focus quickly - just be aware that The Abyss has a health bar and can be killed when it erupts. 

Skill Upgrade Paths and Order

 

Level 1: Shattered Rift (Q Right)

Level 2: Mark of the Master (LMB Left)

Level 3: Mark of Survival (LMB Right)

Level 4: Beastial Auria (RMB Right)

Level 5:  Beastial Feast (RMB Right)

Level 6: Right Burst (Q Right)

Level 7: Exit Strategy (E Right)

Level 8: Escape Hatch (E Right)

Level 9: Fringe Benefits (Focus Left)

Level 10: Life Line (Focus Right)


Clash Talent: Zoned Out (accessible at level 5)

Threat

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


Aisling is particularly challenging to face because she has a lot of health and will get in your face. What you need to concentrate on is quickly dispatching Cador and then turning your attention to her. If you can place down at least two Portal Beasts followed you’re in a very strong position to kill her. The only thing you really have to worry about is when Aisling uses Into The Blade. I

Threat: 7/10

 

Charnok is easy to kill as Griselma but one wrong move and you’re dead. He hits like a truck and is capable of not only killing your Portal Beasts quickly, but you as well. The best way I’ve found to deal with him is to get right into his face while saving your Stamina for avoiding his area of effect attacks. If you get into his face you can lay a Portal Trap at his feet to knock him up. At this point you should repeatedly use Reach Out to keep him slowed from your hands.

Threat: 7/10

 

HK-206 is difficult for Griselma to kill. It’s not that the encounter is challenging, it’s the fact you simply can’t deal enough damage to HK-206 in a quick enough period. It sometimes feels like you’re tickling him, rather than hurting. Although I’d recommend you just run or ignore him (it saves considerable time) your best bet is to use terrain to block his ranged attacks while laying Portal Beasts. If he comes near them, he won’t last long. 

Threat: 8/10

 

Knossos is very difficult Hero for Griselma to kill as he has lots of health but also lots of mobility. I wouldn’t worry about his ranged power (Chuck is easily dodged) it’s when he gets close to you using Skewer and Gore that you need to worry. The best you can hope for is that you place a Portal Beast and Rift Zone quick enough to stop his Bull Rush. If you achieve this, you need to reposition yourself so that his chances of hitting you are reduced (try to find some terrain or a rock). 

Threat: 9/10

 

Similarly to lord Knossos, The Margrave is really hard for Grislema to deal with. Lots of mitigation and great mobility make him a headache to fight against. If you’ve already 2 or more Portal Beasts established when he engages, you should be fine kiting and slowing him with Reach Out. If you don’t, you’re in trouble - especially if he has all his skills available. Try to gain enough distance so that you can lay some Portal Beasts down while baiting him into a Rift Zone. 

Threat: 9/10

 

Encounters with Tripp are hit and miss. Sometimes she’ll destroy you, other times you’ll eat her alive. If you’ve no Stamina, you’re already at a huge disadvantage. The best you can do is use Displacement early to avoid her primary attacks before stunning her when you reppear. Once you do, place a Portal Beast as quickly as possible. Try to run while your skills come off cooldown. Once they have, place another Portal Beast behind you while using Reach Out. 

Threat: 8/10

 

The main thing to worry about with Tyto The Swift is Blade Dance. If you get caught in it, it’s going to eat an enormous chunk of your health if not kill you instantly. When Tyto uses it, use Displacement to avoid the entire duration of the attack. When you reappear, knock Tyto down using a Portal Trap or summon your Portal Beasts. If you kite him around the Portal Beasts you’ll usually win because your health gain from Mark of Survival is significant.

Threat: 8/10

 

Wu is my nemesis. He’s fast, hits incredibly hard and has lots of mobility. I’ve only ever beaten him several times in a 1 on 1 scenario and it’s simply because he deals so much damage so quickly. My best recommendation is to attempt to dodge Tongue Lashing as if you get caught in it, you’ll be pulled away from your Portal Beasts. If he uses Crashing Wave to aerially bombard you, use Displacement to avoid the damage all together. 

Threat: 8/10

 

I rarely come across particularly skilled Xenobia’s but there are a few and she's a very powerful Hero due to her crowd control. The main thing you need to look out for is Mark of Despair which will slow you dramatically. Her Gaze of Envy doesn’t deal huge damage, but it will mitigate the damage your Reach Out is dealing. Try to use your Portal Beasts to block her main attack while using terrain and kiting to keep damage on her.

Threat: 8/10

Tips

This section of our guide contains a list of tips and tricks we think will help your Griselma 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. Always try to position yourself on the edge of fights so that you can flee quickly.

2. Kiting against Heros in 1 on 1 fights is very important with Grislema. Use the terrain, use objects that block your opponents view and use your Portal Beasts as defensive barriers.

3. Stamina is incredibly important for Griselma because you need it to kite properly. Try to avoid sprinting and jumping in combat unless absolutely necessary.

4. Remember that you have few escape skills so try to save them for the “Oh shit!” moments.

5. Griselma just isn’t good at facing some Heros one on one. That’s fine, just learn which Heros you can comfortably kill.

6. Your Portal Beasts are disposable, don’t worry if they die you can summon them relatively quickler, however, that doesn't mean you should waste them. 

7. Although you’re a turret class, don’t think that you can’t play aggressively. If you've all your skills active, and a Focus on hand, you can often charge in and cause mayhem.

8. Always save The Abyss for 1 on 1 encounters if you can; it’s a great tool for escaping.

9. You can use Displacement and the Exit Strategy aggressively to close the gap on squishy targets. Imani is a perfect example of this as it means you can spring up next to her without taking damage from her long ranged shots.

10. If you’re taking on a creature, just let your Portal Beasts distract it. They act as a taunt and will guarantee you take no damage while killing the creature.

11. Some creatures that heal will also heal your Portal Beasts if you place them next to them: this keeps them alive for a long time!

12. Using Portal Beasts at choke points such as stairs or between walkways is particularly useful for blocking the oppositions progress. Try to do this when you know an attack is imminent.

13. Canyon is a particularly challenging map for Griselma because it has lots of wide open space. Try to hole yourself up in one of the canyon Control Points that is surrounded by walls on all sides.

14. Remember that Griselma is a particularly challenging Hero to be successful with. You'll likely spend many matches dying horribly before you get better! 


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Last Updated: Jun 28, 2017

About The Author

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

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