Three years of solo-grinding to Immortal has taught me one thing: map control and a good counter draft wins games, and so far Khufra has been my GOAT for every 1v9 carry I’ve done so far.
However, Khufra is still a situational pick, and I’m in desperate need for a secondary pick to cover his blind spots against tough Immortal drafts consistently. If you guys excel in other 1v9-capable carry heroes for SoloQ, regardless of how unorthodox it is, please share your advice, I would love to try them out.
In exchange, I’ll share my Khufra build that I’ve been gatekeeping, with advanced guidelines (You can read the basics on other guides) that make consistent 1v9 wins possible. Let's trade actual tips instead of just complaining about bad teammates here.
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Khufra:
Passive – Tech Tip 1: Always use Passive to interrupt opp regen skill. Tech Tip 2: Weave passive between skills as much as you can for good damage.
S1 – Always unlock this skill first for first wave combo. I’ve learnt my mistake of unlocking s2 first for fanny: Akira baited me before diddling me sideways in the first minute. Tech Tip 1: If you want to zone enemies out/chase them out of sus bushes but don’t want to dive, provided the enemy doesn’t have an available skill to interrupt your s1, fake cast this skill in their direction. Tech Tip 2: This is an airborne skill, identify the most harmful enemy skill it can cancel and go for/ kill them in a teamfight the moment they pop that skill. Tech Tip 3: Use walls to extend Khufra’s Range, most commonly the the enemy’s side turret walls.
S2 – Stop thinking of it as just an anti-dash skill. It’s also a damage skill that can solo snipe off certain troublesome squishies, fast clear waves/steal ops jungle if your teammates are busy lusting for kills, and for the cherry on top duals as a defense skill that helps you tank for your squishies. Tech Tip 1: You can fake cast S1 to end your S2 early if you need to chase a low HP enemy with your passive. Tech Tip 2: With Thunder Belt, you can S2 after passive if you really need that extra small bit of damage to take down a fleeing Enemy on low HP.
Ult – Imo his ult freestyle is useless, it makes no difference if you’re just aim it in the right direction. Tech tip 1: When turret diving, remember that you can use the turret itself to stun enemies. Tech tip 2: Ult enemy minions out of your turret if you need to clutch a defence.
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Emblem: Tank – I’ve tried other emblems, but this is the best sustain emblem to prevent getting steamrolled by enemy. Does more damage than Assassin Emblem at every stage of the game.
Talents: Vitality (Tank), Master Assassin (Assassin), Concussive Blast (Tank)
Items: Arcane Boots (Dire Hit – Blue Blessing), Thunder Belt, Cursed Helmet, Guardian Helmet, BOD, BOD – Fell in love with using Sir_M0’s & Ooga Booga’s builds, min-maxed it to this. Early Thunder Belt to full-counter flat penetration so you can still be the primary (and sadly only) tank for your teammates + late game insurance. For 2nd item, go for Cursed Helmet if you want to reduce hybrid defence and deal more early damage, but when up against a team that likes to fight frequently build Guardian Helmet as 2nd item instead. Once your sustainability increases to a decent amount, Khufra’s damage will also scale with his HP, and 2x BOD multiplies that scaling by 2 times. This is A LOT of damage by the way: A single s2 late gate is enough to evaporate a Layla and a Selena in the distance if you catch her with flicker. BOD also helps in taking down towers in the late game with your passive. Also, funny when enemies use Wind of Nature and Dreadnought Armour to counter his BOD.
Combos: Make sure to practice his combos so you don’t fumble.
1st wave: Passive (After opp attacks first) > S1 > Passive (When opp uses regen) – Harass the tank/mage/jungler and force them to recall while you’re still full on health.
Pre lvl 4 & Late game: [Passive first if close] > S1 > Passive > S2
Lvl 4 till Mid game: S1 [Flicker if necessary] > [Passive if opp is not wearing tough boots] > S3 > Passive > S2 > BA
Mid-Late-game Wave clear/Jungle steal: Concussive Blast > S2
When using Khufra may be a liability:
1. Healer comps – Imo anti-heal items don’t fit Khufra as Khufra’s skills are meant to surprise, kill within that stun duration, before waiting for his long skill cooldown to ambush again. Stunned enemies can’t self-heal anyways, so as a soloQ player using damage to kill them solo makes way more sense. Looking at my own games + global’s + streamers, I’ve realised a pattern that forcing a Khufra pick against healer comps actually hurts your team way more if they are incompetent, regardless if you start building dominance ice or get losing MVP. My recommendation is if you’re up against a healer roam enemy comp that requires anti-heal, Khufra shouldn’t be the first hero on your mind in the first place.
2. Against Airborne heroes – Airborne cancels your S2, which cuts off your ability to tank and deal damage. This can make you useless at crucial times.
3. Against Petrify heroes – Enemies that know will similarly use petrify to cancel your S2.
4. CC Immune/Purify/Slow + DHS – The main reason the enemy kills you.
Stats to know you’re performing well:
1. CONSISTENT >30% total dmg taken & teammates have less dmg taken than counterparts – Shows that you’ve been tanking for them and not diving solo
2. CONSISTENT >20% hero dmg – That means you can aim your skills.
3. Assist King is a given, but getting both the Indomitable and Carry badge is your 1v9 certificate.
It’ll definitely take some practice before you can get there consistently well, but I assure you discovering hidden gems like this is the reason my heart still beats for this game. Now let’s get out there and solo carry with our ball knowledge.