Vonak, one of the Masters in MXM, is a Helix-type, mid-ranged assault character. His main weapons are dual-wielded pistols, but due to their short range, Vonak must be fairly close to enemies to deal damage. Moreover, his weapon attack can deal massive damage by using skills to reset the overheat gauge.

His skills are slightly different from other Masters’. The weapon attacks change depending on the type of special bullets fired via Vonak’s skills. Furthermore, the overheat gauge is reset every time a skill is used, allowing for continuous attacks. Using this cycle of skills and weapon attacks, you can deal immense damage and give your opponents no chance to retaliate..

When he uses his ultimate skill, he jumps into the air and sprays bullets in an area under him, dealing AoE damage. This gives him brief immunity against any attack from the opponent and also allows him to move freely during that period of invincibility. You can use this skill to finish off escaping enemies or fight back while avoiding enemy attacks.

Recommended Master options

Recommended Augments

Vonak is able to reset his overheat gauge and increase weapon damage, so having Range as a weapon augment would be a good choice as it cannot be supplemented by his passive skill.

Recommended skills combination

Spray Pattern allows the cone of bullets to become wider over time, making it easier to hit opponents. Slamshot knocks back opponents while Vonak jumps backwards and deals considerable damage, allowing him to evade critical situations while dealing damage at the same time.

Nodes

Vonak has one more offensive node than defensive nodes, allowing for more aggressive node settings. Nodes that increase weapon damage are suitable for him due to his constant use of weapon attacks. The maintenance of MP is crucial in order to deal constant damage with stance change, and a node that helps recover MP would be good in this case.

Recommended Auxiliary skill

Vonak is a jungler that levels up by slaying monsters rather than staying in the lanes, and therefore it is better to have Teleport in order to join a fight when needed.

Traits priority

Vonak is a Master that centers around weapon attacks, so it is most effective to have a trait that increases attack damage. If it seems difficult to maintain a level amount of MP, it would be also wise to have Boost Weapon Damage and Boost Cooldown/Resource.

Summary of Vonak’s skills

Unload is the most basic skill. It unleashes a barrage of bullets in a concentrated straight line. However, it can be difficult to hit a moving target if you have little experience with skill shots.

Spray Pattern fires a wide arc of shots. Although it is difficult to focus on one target with this skill, it does not require much experience to hit either a group of enemy Masters or moving targets. It launches additional bullets when you increase the level of the skill.

Whipshot fires a bullet that follows a curved trajectory, allowing Vonak to hit targets behind obstacles. On the other hand, it is not easy to hit a close target or a moving one. Given the skill’s odd path, it is the most difficult to master of Vonak’s skills.

Slamshot knocks the target back while Vonak jumps backwards simultaneously. This skill creates a considerable gap between the enemy and the character instantly, so it can be used to safely disengage or escape. The skill power itself is also reasonably high and therefore deals considerable damage, but the weapon projectile speed becomes slow as a result.

The effect of Gunslinger resets the overheat gauge by changing the stance on the use of skills. The consecutive stance changes activate the effect of Stance Dance and provide various buffs. The stage 1 is +20% movement speed, followed by +50% weapon projectile speed in the stage 2, and +20% weapon damage in the stage 3. However, the use of MP increases gradually, so you need to be cautious with maintaining a certain amount of MP.

Slide Tackle is a survival skill that literally slides and knocks down enemies you collide with. You can use this as part of a skill combination as well.

Hail of Bullets, Vonak’s ultimate skill, makes Vonak jump into the air and spray bullets in an area under him. He becomes immune for a short amount of time while he’s in the air, and can also move during casting. It can be used as a means of avoiding the enemy skills in a dire situation, or be used to chase down an escaping enemy and deal damage. Also, the skill is quite effective in big teamfights due to its AoE damage.

Using Vonak - utilize the skills in combination, slay monsters, and level up fast

Overall, Vonak is not a difficult Master to play. His playstyle involves dealing mid-ranged damage using weapon attacks. However, that is merely the case if a player does not fully understand the playstyle of Vonak. As mentioned before, each skill resets the overheat gauge, and so it is possible for Vonak to continue a combo almost without limit.

Not only do skills reset the overheat gauge, they increase the movement speed, weapon projectile speed, and weapon damage, thus you need to constantly change the stance in order to maximize the capability of Vonak. Because of his simple mechanics, he’s one of the Masters that may seem easy at first but actually requires a considerable amount of practice to fully master.

Once you are skilled enough with the character, you can then increase the weapon damage and deliver constant damage to monsters. It is sometimes better to level up quickly by slaying monsters than to join your team’s fights at the start.

However, slaying monsters does not always have to be the priority. If you have Teleport, you need to teleport to the nearby area and join the teamfight and support your team. Note that Vonak’s HP is quite low, thus it may be also good to provide supporting fire in between the team members.

It is also okay to use Slamshot when you would like to harass the opponent from a long range and deal some damage at the same time. When the enemy approaches, it is common to change the stance with Spray Pattern. Moreover, Sliding Tackle has the effect of knocking down the opponent, and it would be good to use the skill as part of a combination with ally team members in certain circumstances.

If you have levelled up fast by slaying monsters and the gap becomes quite huge, it is okay to actively join fights. Due to the fact that Vonak lacks a CC skill, it is more recommended to use the ultimate skill and deal some AoE damage to the opponent in combination with your allies’ skills.