Thorn vs Mellka (Help as Thorn)

Battleborn Battleborn Competitive Multiplayer Discussion
#1

Hey there!

Thorn was my first character and I’ve put in a solid 40ish hours as her… All mastered, and I’m pretty confident / skilled as her in most situations.

That said when I go up against a skilled Mellka, I have the hardest time countering and 1v1’ing her without running away. Caught off guard I can burst damage her pretty bad and take her out after level 5, but otherwise she’s super hard to contain; her constant gun work whittling down health, poison (rough when that hits you), jumping, etc.

I know some enemies for Thorn need to be handled carefully (Rath for example, but I’m fairly confident with him even after I get my ultimate and jump skills), but Mellka is just giving me a tough time with more skilled players mostly left playing some nights.

Any help from Thorn or Mellka players would be appreciated! It’s always fun trying to counter these challenges.

Best,
DDCP

#2

Although it can be difficult, I’d recommend staying at a distance. Mellkas skills are so close up and her aa weak enough where I find if I play her like the sniper that she’s honestly not, she does better.

#3

I’m surprised. I usually have no trouble bursting Melka with curse, Volley, Blight, Ult combo.

#4

Yeah, I mentioned in my original post she’s fine if I catch her off guard and have my ultimate (that helps a lot).

Apologies, I guess I didn’t make it clear enough… If I don’t have the ultimate, and find a more close in engagement with a skilled Mellka (especially one who’s jumping and not caught in Blight), it’s quite a tough bout.

It’s just a tad bit easier to aim her gun at a jumping Thorn versus Thorn trying to arrow and curse a jumping Mellka. If you can burst her with all the abilities and curse her (even with the Volley curse), ups to you, but not every engagement with a good Mellka ends that way.

#5

Haha yeah! She’s not a natural sniper like Marquis; but the damage at range is a beautiful thing. I’m keeping range against Mellka for now unless I catch her with Blight slow and Wrath of the Wild.

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#6

Gotcha. Yeah if a Melka is on me and I don’t have my full combo, I usually just try to put a blight down and get some range. She’s still hard to take out from range, but if you can do enough damage with blight and volley to make her use her abilities and back off I think you’ve done your job

#7

A good Volley crit with curse and blight will easily take half her health

#8

I’ll work more on catching her with that then… Thanks for the advice!!! And yeah, I guess that’s a good consolation if I can drive her away at any rate.

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#9

I play Mellka and Thorn almost exclusively. Mellka really isn’t much of a threat by herself until level 8. The only way as Thorn you’d die against Mellka is if she gets up close and starts meleeing you, and even then burst propulsion should get you out of it. The poison graphic and sound make it feel worse than it is (well, until level 8). Mellka (and most characters) should fear Thorn and not the other way around. Like others have said, holding your ground or pushing the other player is a WIN. The game is all about map control. Don’t forget, you usually need teamwork to kill anyone especially when you don’t have your Ult.

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#10

Yeah, w/o the ultimate she’s a little harder to kill. Maybe it’s just me but even other friends of mine who play exclusively as Thorn have certain difficulties with a well skilled Mellka player. If she jumps Thorn with a poison and is a dead eye with the shots, sustaining a mid-range fight without landing consistent shots is quite a risk. I’m not sure it’s so finite that Thorn will always trump her before level 8 though. If you’re undefeated in that regards all props to you! Haha!

Agreed on map control and teamwork obviously, but I’m talking those rare 1v1 encounters that sometimes happen. I think just making sure I choose the engagement is the best bet and making sure I burst her quickly for the immediate advantage.

#11

Thanks for the tips all! It’s tricky fun mastering Thorn. It’s always a good challenge finding how to counter her opponents.

#12

Most 1v1s without Ults don’t end in kills if either player is any good unless you surprise someone and they sorta get stuck in a corner or really bad spot. Most characters have “get the ■■■■ out” skills that get them out when close to death, and Mellka has 2 skills that do that. Both Thorn and Mellka are tough to kill with their agility and regen health. Mellka can get health stacks in her helix that give her a 2,000 health pool and that’s without any gear adding health. Getting a kill on Mellka without the Ult is going to come down to getting her cursed and perfect placement of Blight along with landing at least half your arrows. One minor tip is that the burst propulsion can knock enemies back so you can quick melee her into Blight.

#13

To actually fight against Mellka as Thorn is quite difficult. Her body frame is small and she’s quite agile too which makes it difficult for your arrows to hit given than your skills are on cd.

On the other hand, Mellka can out dps you with just her aa, and her bomb canister too if you get too close.

I suggest early game pre level 5, play as a farmer by placing blight killing minions, get Fell Wind helix, get tons of shards, activate your item and build buildables. I would recommend getting Vaulting Hunter helix so you won’t need Burst Propelsion since right now Draw Strength is really op, I got so much double kills whenever Miko hides behind Montana. Anyway, I always almost out-level my opponent by 2-3 levels ahead, and end up with most shards and minions killed by doing this.

However you need to remember that never try to initiate a fight as Thorn, but you can always kill someone who is out of position. And make use of your blight to farm. That’s where Thorn strives.

#14

Thanks so much!!! Honestly that’s the kind of feedback and thoughts that help me confirm and move forward… I guess I just needed to discuss tactics and I think my natural instincts are correct in really picking those battles and some of your folks’ other advice. Super appreciated.

#15

Thanks Kelz! Yeah I used to run the piercing arrows through targets too! Switch between that and the push every now and then…

I know what you mean re: initiating… I don’t feel too uncomfortable in certain situations against some opponents; it’s all about that setup and awareness to know when you got them. Most of my kills are finishing and in damage over time without having to directly engage in these 1v1’s. I definitely do the same with shards, levels, and cc. Thorn is an advanced character, but once you get her leveled she becomes a beast.

Oh and definitely agreed on Mellka and the dps’ing with that auto pistol… That’s totally what I was mentioning in the earlier post!!! So happy you see that too… Mellka is a pain sometimes! Haha

#16

That’s one of those 1v1 encounters that’s very hard to win. That’s what I love about this game different characters are great in different situations I honestly think melka is the best 1v1 character in the game. She’s to quick and small for snipers, melee characters can’t get her due to her jump and pushers have a hard time with her bc she can get in close n melee you to death. But she is kinda squishy if two people are going for her(more so than any other character)