Paragon Monolith Guide

Paragon’s .4x Monolith update changes everything about the game, specifically with cards and heroes. This guide has been put together to offer tips for current players who want to find out about the changes in .42 onwards and new players coming to Paragon for the first time.

Paragon Heroes, Cards and Economy

In Paragon, each heroes role is still defined with casters, support, carries, melee, and junglers. Paragon‘s premise is to take down the enemy core by destroying two tiers of towers and pushing back the enemy minion waves.

Gold

Gold is collected by killing minions in the lanes and in the jungle. Gold is also acquired through kills buff creatures, enemy heroes, towers, and through a global drip.

Gold is used to buy Attribute Points (see section below). Each Attribute point costs 1000 gold.

To gain Gold faster, make last hits on your target.

Gold is also shared with other players in the lane so do not stack the majority of your team in one lane.

Players can gain extra gold without farming minions by utilising cards such as Coinmaster which automatically provide bonus gold over time or slotting a gem to increase gold acquisition.

Cards

Players select cards from five affinities and utilise the abilities of these cards which include some base stats and additional effects. These effects can either be passive or active just like the previous versions of the game.

Cards simply do what’s specified on the card adding more abilities or bonuses to your hero. You will also notice that cards also have a button to level them up but this is only relevant to an upcoming PvE mode.

Cards are split into different categories by Affinities which are Growth, Knowledge, Order, Death, Chaos.

In Paragon, Players can only have three cards active at one time and all card slots can contain either active or passive cards. Active cards require the player to click a key to activate the power (the number keys).

Cards cost currency and that could be either Gold or Attribute Points depending on the card.

A player can select up to twelve cards for each deck. Cards can only be changed when a player is back at base. These can be removed and re-added as you play and you may need to switch cards in and out depending on what’s happening during the match.

Cards show the important details such as cost, whether they are consumable, active or passive and more. Things to be aware of on the labeling are:

• Consumable – Active cards acquired with Gold. Can have multiple charges. Once used they need to be repurchased.
• Combustible – On death, they are placed back in the deck.
• Cultivate – Cards that grow in power depending on conditions of the card. These cards will reset when removed from active duty.
• Cursed – These can not be removed once selected for use.
• Elevate – More effective when they are the only cards currently activated.

 

There’s no doubt that it takes some practice remembering what cards to use at what stage of a match. It also takes some practice remembering where to assign attribute point to gain those cards at the correct stage in the match. It will become easier once you start sticking with a build you like, but you need to persevere. What cards you slot may also change depending on which characters are in the opposing team and how the match is going.

Attributes

Attribute points are purchased with Gold. Each point costs 1000 Gold.

Attributes are new to Paragon .42 and there are three types: Agility, Vitality and Intellect. Each of these Attributes can have 25 points placed into it. Each tree includes a Gem slot at levels 1, 7, 13, 19 and 25 and slots. Each slot can take three different Gem options (see Gems section below). Effectively you level up each tree point by point with gold and unlock the Gems you picked when building the deck as you increase points in each tree.

Note these attribute points are separate from cards, these augment your hero in the battlefield and can be added while in combat, you do not need to return to base.

The following basic rules apply and where you place Attribute points will be dependent on what hero you choose to come extent.

• Agility – Attack speed and Basic Armor.
• Vitality – Health and health regen.
• Intellect – Mana and Mana regen.

On the bottom right of the Attribute screen when you press (G) there is a number like 1/4. The left number is the number of points currently available to use to slot cards and the right number is the total amount you have assigned so far.

Keep adding attribute points as fast as possible while you play so you are always as powerful as possible.

Gems

Gems are slotted into the Attribute trees at levels 1, 7, 13, 19 and 25 and each Gem has a different function. Each of the five slots in the attribute tree can take one of three Gems on each tier. Gems are essentially another way to augment your hero with more powers and boost stats such as mana regen and health.

Gems are slotted in during the deck building process and a total of six Gems can be assigned to the build.

Think of Gems as another way to slightly change how your hero will function outside of the cards you have slotted and the hero’s innate abilities. So for example, you may want to build attack speed so you would put more points in the Agility slots and activate the Agfility Gems you picked during the deck building process.

Gems are only activated when the correct number of Attribute points have been reached.

Affinities

In the previous versions of Paragon, each hero had different affinities assigned to them. In Paragon 4x players can now select any two affinities which can be applied to any hero. This means that players can now build decks which can be used on any hero they wish.

There are five Affinities to choose from:

• Growth
• Knowledge
• Order
• Death
• Chaos

Each of these Affinities has a number of cards all with various based stats and effects to help in combat. Only three of these cards can be active at any one time. Only the cards within the affinity you selected can be used.

Deck Creation

There is no hard and fast rule to creating a deck. Everyone plays Paragon differently. However, think about what you need in the early game and equip cards that you can trade-in for better cards after about 15-20 minutes.

Selecting cards can take time, you need to calculate what Attribute points you need to slot the correct cards in for early, mid and late game. This is done in three stages, selected the two Affinities which determines which cards you can use, select the cards you want, and then select the Gems. Because the gems you use rely on how many points you slot into each Attribute, it’s sometimes easier to start on the third stage first. Assign the Gems and then go back to selecting the cards.

The Search bar on the deck builder located in the top right is more useful than you may think. Using the search you can find cards by name but you can also search cards by their abilities. For example, if you want to find all the cards in a certain Affinity that give you power, just type in the word “power”. or if you want more mana/mana regen type “mana”. Try this for things such as attack speed and mana. It will make deck building a lot easier.

Having a variety of decks available is a good idea depending on how you want to play and who the opposing heroes are. Just make sure you label these so they are easily identifiable when selecting. There is nothing worse than selecting the wrong deck for your hero.

As Epic continues to tweak the UI, expect to see changes on how this works and looks in the future. This initial implementation is not that user-friendly.

Starting out

Play matches against the AI when testing a deck. While the AI is a bit rubbish, it will help you determine what order to place cards in the early, mid and late game.

Think about where you are going to slot Attribute points in the early and mid game. You want to be as powerful as possible at all stages of the game so some thought is required.

Epic has also redefined the characters to better explain their roles. In general MOBA terms, Guardian is the same as a support for example. All roles are detailed below this hero list.

Hero	Role	Attack
Aurora	Elusive / Controller / Burst / Attacker / Zoner	Melee
Countess	Assassin / Burst / Sieger / Ganker / Durable	Melee
Crunch	Initiator /  Burst  / Wild / Controller / Attacker	Melee
Dekker	Guardian / Controller / Zoner / Elusive	Ranged
Drongo	Ranged / Maruader / Attacker / Sieger / Controller	Ranged
Feng Mao	Attacker / Durable / Assassin / Elusive / Wild / Ganker	Melee
Fey	Controller / Guardian / Sieger / Burst	Ranged
Gadget	Sieger / Zoner / Burst / Guardian / Elusive	Ranged
Gideon	Burst / Assassin / Elusive / Sieger	Ranged
Greystone	Durable / Initiator / Attacker / Elusive / Wild	Melee
GRIM.exe	Marauder /  Attacker / Burst	Ranged
Grux	Attacker / Ganker / Initiator / Wild / Sieger / Controller	Melee
Howitzer	Sieger / Elusive / Burst / Zoner	Ranged
Iggy & Scorch	Zoner / Sieger / Elusive	Ranged
Kallari	Assassin / Elusive / Ganker / Attacker / Initiator	Melee
Kwang	Initiator / Wild / Durable / Attacker / Ganker	Melee
Khaimera	Assassin / Ganker / Attacker / Wild	Melee
Lt. Belica	Controller / Zoner / Burst / Sieger /Guardian	Ranged
Morigesh	Burst /  Ganker / Elsuive / Sieger / Durable	Ranged
Murdock	Marauder / Attacker / Burst / Zoner	Ranged
Muriel	Guardian / Durable / Zoner	Ranged
Narbash	Guardian / Controller / Durable	Melee
Phase	Guardian / Controller / Durable/ Elusive	Ranged
Rampage	Durable / Wild / Attacker / Initiator / Elusive / Ganker	Melee
Revenant	Marauder / Assassin / Burst / Attacker / Ganker	Ranged
Riktor	Controller / Guardian / Ganker / Assassin	Melee
Serath	Marauder / Attacker / Elusive / Assassin / Durable	Melee
Sevarog	Attacker / Initiator / Durable / Controller / Sieger	Melee
Shunbi	Assassin / Burst / Elusive /Ganker / Sieger	Melee
Sparrow	Marauder / Attacker / Sieger	Ranged
Steel	Initiator / Guardian / Durable / Attacker / Zoner	Melee
Terra	Melee / Durable / Ganker / Controller / Attacker	Melee
TwinBlast	Marauder / Attacker / Burst	Ranged
Wraith	Assassin / Ganker / Attacker / Elusive	Ranged
Wukong	Marauder / Attacker / Elusive/ Sieger / Zoner	Melee
Yin	Marauder / Attacker / Elusive / Assassin	Ranged
Zinx	Durable / Attacker / Controller / Seiger	Ranged

Primary Roles Explained

Assassins are heroes with high burst damage focused on eliminating priority enemy targets such as casters or rangers. They specialize in isolating key targets and dealing huge bursts of damage to take them out of the fight.

Attackers deal a large amount of damage using basic attacks.

Burst Heroes can deal a large amount of damage quickly – usually ability damage, but not always!

Controllers can disable or otherwise affect other Heroes’ mobility and positioning.

Durable Heroes are naturally tough through armor, health, regeneration, or any other mechanism.

Elusive Heroes have abilities which allow them to escape from bad situations or otherwise make them hard to hit.

Gankers excel at setting up quick, safe kills.

Guardians have abilities which help them keep their allies safe or assist in setting up allies for plays. They are especially good early game.

Initiators excel at being able to start a fight from range.

Marauders have the potential for the greatest end game power via itemization, though they are weaker earlier in the game.

Siegers have abilities which allow them to deal with waves of minions easily, whether on offense or defense.

Wild heroes have tools which enable them to be effective clearing Jungle camps early in the game.

Zoners have tools which enable them to zone out or otherwise corral enemies by contr

Last Hits

Probably the most important stat in the game now is last hits. Not kills, but last hits. Last hits will grant a significant boost to Gold gained. You need to time each mouse click carefully to make the hit. This is less of a problem mid to late game but very important in the early game to help you gain Gold faster. A team that is making fewer last hits than the opposition will have a higher chance of losing the match as they will likely be under powered compared to the opposition.

If possible, let the minions come to you and pick them off one by one with some expertly timed clicks. Practice this against the AI.

What lane should I take?

Paragon features 3 lanes, the Solo Lane, mid lane (middle obviously), and the Duo Lane. But which lane should you take? That depends on the hero you choose.

The Solo lane is usuall taken by a durable tank-like character such as Greystone, Zinx, or Terra but it’s nor a hard and fast rule. Heroes such as Aurora and Iggy can hold their own in the Solo lane. The solo lane is a battle of wits and tactics.

The Duo lane is usually taken by a carry such as Twinblast, Drongo, Sparrow, Murdock or Grim.exe. These characters are accompanied by a support character such as Phase, Murial, or Narbash.

The mid lane is usually manned by a ranged caster such as Lt. Belica, The Fey, or Gadget. These heroes sit well here because they can utilise the river buffs for quick mana regen in the early game. They can also clear the waves quite easily while staying out of danger. Beware of ganks though. Two wards, one either side of the lane, are handy to place to prevent being ganked.

Paragon is reasonably flexible on roles and you can have a lot of success with heroes such as Steel or even Riktor playing a support role. You just need to experiement.

After the first couple of enemy towers are downed, heroes tend to rotate to where they are needed most. Of course, these are not hard rules, but it’s an efficient way to get through the early game and level up.

XP

XP is not the same as Gold, XP is gained from fighting in a lane and allows players to level up their abilities. A single hero in the Off-lane (left lane) can gain XP quite quickly and will gain more XP than the two players you are fighting in that lane which is their Safe Lane. However, holding off two heroes can be tricky and don’t be too concerned if the first Off-lane tower goes down first.

In Paragon .42, players can level characters up to 20 in a match.

 

Buffs and the Paragon Map

Safe and off laners should utilise the gold camps just to the side of each lane.

The River Buffs near the middle of the mid lane have random spawns and change between Red, Black, Blue and Purple buffs (see image below). It only takes a couple of hits to take them out so they are easy and great for mid-laners.

Carries should make use of the Gold Buff to boost gold gained from the last hits to increase leveling and gold acquisition rate. In general, Carries should start in the right lane along with a supporting character to protect them but that’s not a hard and fast rule.

Junglers can use the green jungle buff to help them take out minion camps and enemies in the jungle. By utilising this buff it offers extra protection and can help take out camps quicker and will boost the team’s overall Gold Link pool.

The Gold Buff

The Gold Buff in the Safe Lane (right lane), When the black insect is killed it will grant 300 CXP when killed. Try and steal the enemy’s Gold Buff as often as possible.

Jungle Camps

When jungling the main jungle camps to gain more Gold, kite the minions by moving around the circle. The minions will not be able to hit you as quickly which means you will lose less health.

Jungle Buffs

This is hard to pick up at the start of the game, but about 10 to 15 minutes in, junglers should be picking this up as often as possible as it applies AOE damage to the main jungle camp minions making them easy to take out. When characters are leveled up, everyone should make use of the jungle buff and camps to help boost Gold for the whole team and it offfers shield protection.

River Buffs

The mid-laner should try and control the River Buffs as much as possible. Not only do these apply bonuses (see image above) , but they offer a massive mana regen boost for five seconds. Casters who rely on mana should be picking these up as much as possible throughout the match to stop the opposition picking them up. It also means fewer trips back to base to replenish mana if it’s low.

 

Wards

Wards provide vision to spot the enemy when they are out of the line of sight of your minions or a teammate. In v.42, wards are only available in Order affinity. As long as one player on the team has Order as their affinity, they should be placing wards to help the rest of the team.

Use Wards to keep yourself protected. Wards are important and increase your chance of survival so encourage their use if the team composition allows it.

Heroes such as Wraith can use the Who’s There? skill to drop mini-wards which will help the team. This will last for up to 60 seconds.

Epic will hopefully add more cards eventually that will help with warding but read card descriptions carefully to see which ones offer wards now and in the future.

The character playing the Support role usually carries wards, but that’s not a rule and not all supports will slot them into their deck.

Fog Walls

The Fog walls hamper vision into the jungle and lanes and replace the old Shadow Plain pools. These are great for ganking unsuspecting players in the lanes. While Wards help a little they are by no means perfect and you should always be map aware and communicate with the rest of the team.

In the mid lane, beware of the fog walls behind and in front of the tier 1 tower. You are highly vulnerable in front and behind the tier 2 tower. It’s incredibly easy to be ganked here when trying to push the middle lane.

Jump Pads

The jump pads are useful to move out from base quickly but it’s important to note that if one tier 2 tower (that’s the tower closest to the base, not the inhibitor) is destroyed, the jump pad from the base will no longer function which means it takes longer to get to the lanes.

Towers

Paragon‘s Towers are not there to save you, they are to offer some defense against minions and attacking heroes. If you have a healing towers Gem slotted use the towers to regain health and mana.

Heroes such as Countess and Khaimera can practically fight you under a tower while taking damage and still get out alive. Do not rely on towers for complete protection.

Step inside the tower zone without minion support and the tower will target you. Hit an enemy inside their tower zone the tower will target you. Always try and have minions in support to distract the tower’s beam.

Tier 1 towers have bonus armor for the first seven minutes of the match. Keep this in mind when you are trying to take them down. If attacking solo, it can be slow process getting these down in these first seven minutes.

Once the Tier 1 tower goes down in your lane, look to move and rotate between the other lanes and help your teammates.

Overextending

With all players now moving at the same speed, if you overextend without any kind of support you will likely be ganked by one or a group of players. Escape skills only go so far on Monolith. Stay safe at all times and be map aware. Use Wards or cards that allow you to enter the Shadoe Plain to keep yourself protected. Wards are important to increase your team’s chance of survival.

Be Cautious Early Game

For the first five to ten minutes play cautiously. Concentrate on getting in last hits to gain card points. At around the five to ten minute mark, you should hit level five and gain your ultimate. After around six minutes card points should start coming in faster. Don’t be afraid to jump back and slot cards in and out in this period.

Cards such as Coinmaster can be helpful in the early game to increase gold acquisition rate so look for lower cards that can give you a boost or help defensively in the early game.

Reward Chests

Chest now only contain cards and Gems. They no longer reward the player with Reputation, Skins, Keys or other rewards that would pop up in the older versions of the game.

Comms

Iif you have a way of using voice comms such as Discord, do it. Communication is now more important than ever to warn teammates of incoming enemies. The map is now more complicated, as well as being tighter, so you need to be aware of what’s going on at all times.

Do not spam the chat or hurl abuse at other players in the chat. It only causes frustration and you will probably end up losing.

Report Players

If a player is abusive or sabotages a match, make sure you report them at the end of the match. Same goes players who go AFK. Epic now has a system in place to penalise repeat offenders.

GLHF

If you keep all of the above in mind you will have a higher chance of success. Paragon players who played Legacy and pre-.42 Paragon will find the game very different, so play a little cautiously to start. It will all eventually fall into place and new players will probably need at least 10 competitive games to get the hang of it. Stick with it though, it can be highly rewarding.

Paragon is free to play and can be downloaded from Epic’s site.

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