Hey, everyone! Librarian Husky here, and today I’m excited to dive into a topic that I know a lot of you have been curious about: why I choose to skip Extra and Superior Stamina in my builds. There’s a lot of debate around these items, with many players assuming they’re essential for competitive play. But I’ve found that these items are actually overrated and can limit your effectiveness if not used carefully. So let’s break it all down and explore the alternatives that bring even more value to the battlefield.

Understanding Extra Stamina and Its Benefits

Extra Stamina provides a single additional stamina point, a 16% stamina recovery boost (for faster regeneration), a 6% fire rate increase, and a bonus of 25 health. While these stats seem beneficial, the overall value is minimal compared to other items, especially when taking cost and competitive impact into account.

What Superior Stamina Offers

Superior Stamina provides three extra stamina points, a 25% stamina recovery boost, 30% increased air jump and dash distance, a 7% fire rate increase, and eight spirit power. This item also allows players to perform two air dashes and jumps instead of just one. Although these benefits appear useful, they are often outclassed by other items in the same tier, making them less favorable in competitive builds.

Comparing with Melee Life Steal and Extra Regen

Melee Life Steal, for example, grants additional melee damage, 75 bonus health, and considerable sustain during melee attacks. Similarly, Extra Regen offers three health regeneration points, a 10% ammo boost, and an additional 25 health, making it an overall stronger choice. These items provide more sustained advantages than Extra or Superior Stamina, aligning better with the current competitive meta.

The Value of Veil Walker and Majestic Leap

Items like Veil Walker and Majestic Leap bring significant competitive advantages. Veil Walker offers a 400-shield that refreshes every 18 seconds at no additional cost and grants invisibility, providing both defense and stealth. Majestic Leap improves map rotation and positioning for surprise attacks. These options often bring more impact to gameplay than Extra or Superior Stamina.

High Demand for Green Items

The lower value of Extra and Superior Stamina also stems from their classification as green items, which are highly contested due to their consistent and broad utility. Green items typically provide defense and healing, crucial for maintaining survivability, which players often prioritize over offensive stats.

The Versatility of Three Stamina

Three stamina points are often enough for various actions. Additionally, numerous items indirectly offer stamina-like benefits. Kinetic Dash, a preferred choice, provides a dash jump every 10.5 seconds at the cost of one stamina point and occupies an orange slot, less contested by other heroes. It also grants a 100 health bonus, a 20% fire rate increase, and additional stats per dash jump.

The Versatility of Amino and Other Core Items

Amino serves as an exceptional item for both offensive and defensive scenarios and is particularly strong for split-pushing strategies. Restorative Locket is also effective, restoring one stamina point when healing stacks are consumed, providing a reliable and immediate stamina boost that is often more valuable than passively holding extra stamina.

Point Blank and Knockdown: Essentials for Close Quarters

Close-quarters characters benefit greatly from items like Point Blank, which enhances effectiveness with additional stamina. Knockdown, a powerful utility item, provides flexibility in intense battles by adding stamina, giving players an edge in crucial moments.

Enduring Speed: A Superior Choice

Superior Stamina’s value is further reduced when compared to Enduring Speed, which increases movement and sprint speed while reducing movement-slow effects. This resistance to slows is a valuable passive in high-stress scenarios, often outweighing the benefits of additional stamina items.

The Impact of Movement-Slowing Abilities and Items

One of the most significant abilities in the game is resistance to slows, given how many abilities inflict this status. Bop and Dynamo, for example, have ultimates and kinetic pulses that slow players, as do Gray Talon’s Reign of Arrows and Immobilizing Trap. INF’s Furnace Medalist, Ivy’s Kudzu Bomb, Kelvin’s Frost Grenade, Arctic Beam, and Frozen Shelter all apply slows, further hindering mobility.

Slow Effects Across Multiple Characters

Characters like Lady Gist’s Malice, Lasher’s Ground Strike and Death Slam, Magus’s Mini Turret, Spectral Wall, and Heavy Barrage also add to the prevalence of slow effects. Additionally, Mirage’s Gins Mark, Moan Krill’s Sand Blast, Paradox’s Pulse Grenade, and Time Wall, Pocket’s Barrage, Seven’s Lightning Ball, and Vindicta’s Steak all highlight how frequent and impactful slows are.

Slow-Inducing Items and Their Influence

Items that inflict slows include Slowing Bullets, Cold Front, and Slowing Hex, each adding slow effects that reduce movement speed and dash capabilities. For players using Extra or Superior Stamina, these slow effects can render stamina gains far less effective.

The Effect of Slows on Dash Abilities

Slows also hinder dash abilities, impacting mobility significantly. For instance, Point Blank slows players when shooting in close quarters, Life Strike applies slows to enemies hit by melee, and Mystic Slow impacts spirit ability users. Further, Lucky Shot applies a 30% movement slow on bullet hits, and items like Inhibitor, Colossus, and Phantom Strike also apply slows upon use. This makes slow resistance crucial for effective gameplay.

Managing Stamina Effectively Against Slows

Superior Stamina users sometimes rely on dashes to counter slows, but the frequency of these slow effects quickly drains stamina. Without enough stamina to counter these slows, players become easy targets. This makes stamina management a key skill in the game.

Encouraging Effective Stamina Management

One disadvantage of Extra and Superior Stamina is that they often encourage poor stamina usage. Players may over-rely on these items in fights, leading to a mindset that prioritizes using extra stamina instead of managing it wisely, ultimately resulting in less effectiveness during battles.

Drawbacks of Extra Stamina Misuse

Extra stamina can also lead players to be less cautious with stamina use, often depleting it faster than intended. This is especially true with Superior Stamina, as the additional air dashes and jumps encourage overuse. In practice, a player with fewer stamina points who manages them carefully may outperform one with a higher stamina pool who overuses their abilities.

Situational Benefits of Extra Stamina

While Extra and Superior Stamina are generally less effective, they can be useful in specific situations. For instance, when facing Warden, the extra stamina allows players to escape from Binding Word and maintain distance. It’s also helpful against Alchemical Flask, which drains one stamina per hit.

Early Game Utility of Extra Stamina

Extra Stamina can be especially useful in the early game for characters like Vindicta and McGinness, who begin with only two stamina points instead of three. For Vindicta, who is particularly vulnerable and doesn’t prioritize green items heavily, an additional stamina point can provide a much-needed boost.

Superior Stamina for Enhanced Aerial Movement

Some characters, like Lash, benefit more consistently from Superior Stamina due to their playstyle. The additional air dashes and jumps enhance Lash’s aerial movement and allow for greater flexibility in airborne maneuvers, providing a distinct advantage.

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