- Tittle: The Ancient Evil Survives
- Author: Lapis Lazuli
Pros
- 600 Ranged
- Many disables
- Good animations
- Versatile
Cons
- Slow
- Squishy
- Mana Intesive
- Has a giant "Hate me" sign on his head
Skills
Impale
The Demon Witch releases his demonic magics into the ground in order to thrust solidified rock spikes along a straight path. This sends all his enemies into the air, only to take damage on their painful impact with the ground.
- 1. Mana 100 / Cooldown 12 / Duration 0.5 second / 60 damage
- 2. Mana 120 / Cooldown 12 / Duration 1 second / 130 damage
- 3. Mana 145 / Cooldown 12 / Duration 1.5 second / 200 damage
- 4. Mana 170 / Cooldown 12 / Duration 2 seconds / 260 damage
- Damage type: magical
- Hit units will fly for 0.52 seconds before the real stun is applied.
- Distance traveled is 700.
- The wave of tendrils moves at 1600 units per second.
Voodoo
Transforms an enemy unit into a random critter, disabling special abilities.
- 1. Mana 125 / Cooldown 15 / Duration 1.75 seconds
- 2. Mana 150 / Cooldown 15 / Duration 2.5 seconds
- 3. Mana 175 / Cooldown 15 / Duration 3.25 seconds
- 4. Mana 200 / Cooldown 15 / Duration 4 seconds
- If the target is an illusion, it will be instantly destroyed.
- The hexed target will have a base movespeed of 100.
- Hex disables damage block and evasion.
Mana Drain
Absorbs the magical energies of a target enemy unit by taking mana from it every second.
- 1. Mana 10 / Cooldown 20 / Duration 4 second / 20 mana drained per second
- 2. Mana 10 / Cooldown 15 / Duration 4 second / 40 mana drained per second
- 3. Mana 10 / Cooldown 10 / Duration 4 second / 60 mana drained per second
- 4. Mana 10 / Cooldown 5 / Duration 4 second / 120 mana drained per second
- Illusions which are being Mana Drained will be destroyed after 0.25 seconds.
- Mana is drained in 0.25 seconds intervals.
- Can continue to drain as long as the target is within 1200 range from Lion.
Finger of Deadth
Instantly rips at a target, attempting to turn it inside-out. Deals massive damage.
- 1. Mana 200 / Cooldown 160 (100*) / 600 (725*) damage
- 2. Mana 420 / Cooldown 100 (60*) / 725 (875*) damage
- 3. Mana 650 / Cooldown 40 (20*) / 850 (1025*) damage
- Damage type: magical
- Can be improved by Aghanim's Scepter (* shows the improved values).
Skill Build
Support Skill Build
- Level 1 Impale
- Level 2 Voodoo/Stats
- Level 3 Impale
- Level 4 Stats/Voodoo
- Level 5 Impale
- Level 6 Finger of Death
- Level 7 Impale
- Level 8 Voodoo
- Level 9 Voodoo
- Level 10 Voodoo/Stats
- Level 11 Finger of Death
- Level 12 Stats/Voodoo
- Level 13 Mana Drain/Stats
- Level 14 Mana Drain/Stats
- Level 15 Mana Drain/Stats
- Level 16 Mana Drain/Stats
- Level 17 Finger of Death
- None of us quite enjoy playing Support Lion are we?
- We know who is to blame for that.
- Anyways, the skill build here is just a bit different from what we were starting at a few builds before. The point is that Voodoo is decent at level 1, with its new buffed duration mechanics while stats help you add some bulk on those bones while giving you a relatively larger mana pool to work with.
- Since you are most likely passive at this point, it is common that you would not be getting much farm. Thus you would aim for your spells coming up online fast to be hillarious sometimes. All in all it's just about the best you could do as support Lion, since we strongly feel that his potential is wasted like that.
Semi Carry Skill Build
Yes, semi carry Lion, also known as Transitional Carry Lion, is a hero's role of much misunderstanding. It doesn't hog NEARLY as much farm as Hard Carry Lion, while still allowed to farm DPS items. Actually, this is my favorite role playing the hero
- Level 1 Impale
- Level 2 Stats/Voodoo
- Level 3 Impale
- Level 4 Stats/Voodoo
- Level 5 Impale
- Level 6 Finger of Death
- Level 7 Impale
- Level 8 Voodoo
- Level 9 Voodoo
- Level 10 Voodoo/Stats
- Level 11 Finger of Death
- Level 12 Voodoo/Stats
- Level 13 Stats/Mana Drain
- Level 14 Stats/Mana Drain
- Level 15 Stats/Mana Drain
- Level 16 Stats/Mana Drain
- Level 17 Finger of Death
Now this is more or less a mash-up between full spell Lion and dps Lion. You can opt to go one way or another depending on whether you want to go ganking earlier. If you opt to go ganking early, some level of mana drain can prove useful to your needs. Finger at 11 is no longer an option but mandatory, as it skyrockets your usefulness when you finally go ganking. Remember, you're not playing Lion as a burst nuker (not this role at least) but a ranged disabler with srs auto attack power. No questions asked. Actually, that's about it. Any questions?
Item Build
Support Item Build
Starting Items
- First time these things have appeared in a guide, but it is a support guide (this part) after all. That means you gotta be the support gaiz, buy them wards, counter the opponent's, smoke some weed, lay those eggs and be sure to nuture those chicks. Don't forget these things though
Early Game Items
- Cheap and cost effective items are usually your best bet. You are not aiming to get much farm, so you shouldn't. This is what you should aim for, that and hopefully not feeding. All of these items are extremely good for what they cost, and you should try and be flexible around these things.
- Obviously the supports items mentioned before needs to be bought though
Core Items
I don't suppose there are any, really
Optional Items
Should your responsibilities for being a warder lift for just a little while, here some items for you to indulge your extra gold into
- You would recognize by now that these are support items, well then what else did you even expect?
- As a side note, you might be wondering why this section is considerably shorter than the other ones. Well, that would be since this is everything to say. We obviously won't go over what we have already covered, and some items should be self-explanatory. If you are looking for what to do with them, this isn't the guide for you, unfortunately.
Semi Carry Item Build
Starting Items
- Relatively simple and effective early game items. Mass up on Mantle (2) if you plan to go Voodoo early for that mana pool of yours, else go with Branches. All three formes of early regeneration items are welcome here. Although some time you can skip out on Healing Salve and mass up Tangoes instead if you plan to stay in your lane just a bit longer.
Early Game Items
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Any one of these is fine. Power Treads give flexible stats boost as well as a nice attack speed for those auto attack lovers out there. Phase Boots give burst speed and nice early game damage for those lovely gankers. Arcane Boots make sure you stay nice and full of mana, essentially never choking on it, allowing you to invest in non-mana items later. Just pretty much awesome items that is worth while every time they are bought. You cannot go wrong with these items really.
Core Items
/ Ulitility Positioning Items. No matter how much of a dps wanna-be you are, if you come to rely on your spells as well, these items are pretty much there to help.
Cheap DPS item. If you're wandering where is MoC this time around, then the answer is you probably wouldn't be doing that much dps damage. Ulitilizing your spell combo earlier give you better control of the overall flow of the game. The above items are cheap and extremely cost effective in their own right. Which is why this semi-dps build is still going for them. Usually choose just one though,
Optional Items
Stats semi-dps item. Costly but not overpriced, if you can afford it sometime around 45 min mark and not having Mjonir/Maelstrom already
Mjolnir makes a return this time around, especially now that semi carry Lion drags game more than Hard Carry Lion. Its active is quite awesome, its bonuses are generally great and it's slot friendly too.
Disable, disable and more disable, all packed in one extremely stat-synergetic item and the mana is ALWAYS appreciated, no matter what you do when you play Lion. It's just that this time the mana regen is much more appreciated compared to last time.
If you're saying "wtf"
WTF
- Priceless. I normally wouldn't advocate Lothar, but one cannot deny that it is extremely effective gotten at a certain "unexplored" stage of the game, when the element of surprise is largely appreciated. It can basically get you up to the enemy (in pubs) hit stun hit hit hex hit hit ulti hit stun. Just remember, pubs only
/ 
Ah yes. AC for mass combat power, BKB for self protection. Needn't any further explanation, the time to get them should come natural in the game. Too much magic? BKB. Too physical? finger Assault Cuirass
Strategy
Support Strategy
Early Game
- This should be straight forward. Being the support, what you must do is usually ward/counter ward at the start. You can go for the pull if something is needed to be done about the creep equilibrium, or just straight up harass,deny with your carry in lane. Always be ready to pop those disables BEFORE the enemy has a chance to use their spells themselves. It mitigate unnecessary damage and gives your carry a good time.
- You CAN always go for the double roaming route, but Lion is kind of terrible at that, since WD, CM and the like pretty much outclass him in this role. It's not totally bad, but should be avoid. Then again we recommend staying away from support Lion altogether.
Mid Game
- Be ready with your TP and to participate in a LOT of fights. You are expendables at this point, so don't be alarmed if you die a little bit more than you used to. Although if it's getting to the point when you fail to do anything before dying, it might be a good time to stop being aggressive...
- And be more passive. Always be present at fight, but not necessarily at the front. No one likes a support that dies before contributing anything. Just pop in after the front man does and use all your spells. If there is a specific hero on the opponent team that is subjectible to mana draining, use it. Your damage is kind of pathetic anyways
- If your carry is ganked and you can tp in, do it. Stun and mb even eat some disables for him/her/it. Remember, play like a support while doing your best not to feed like one.
Team Fight
- Since you lack those items that make you do something other than casting spells, be sure to use everything you have to your fullest. Do not be too rushing with your spells, but never be too conservative. Do not stay when you think you can get away either, it is all about making the opponent think you are the threat that you actually aren't.
- Remember, be practical. You don't ALWAYS have to die for your carry (since he might be having enough gold for buy back tp and would rather appreciate the heal. Do what you can do and don't try to overestimate your own abilities. There are many times when you stun -> hex -> ulti and oom. Well you would most likely want to stick around to bluff the opponents into thinking you still have some mana. With the lack of mana bars mind games are definitely possible with this kind of hero.
Late Game
- You "should" be quite lackluster at this point. Do not falter however, as your disables are still extremely valuable and you should not have any more mana problems at this point.
- That said, there are little that would die to your combo right now though, that's why you don't really want to go around acting all high and mighty. Just stick to your team and be expendable.
Semi Carry Strategy
Early Game
Semi carry Lion is more, and I mean MUCH more versatile than Hard Carry Lion
That's actually not totally true
O'rly?
I'll be good
- Right. Semi Carry Lion isn't the team's last hope when it comes down to late game dps, so you can afford to be much, much more loose now. Lion can go to any lane and dominate some of them, so generally you should be a solo (middle lane is preferable) or dual lane farming carry. You're still a semi carry, you're still #2, you're still allowed to farm, just less than the main carry.
So how do you lane him then?
- Well, you can generally go any lane you like (that means not roaming or jungling) and try to avoid tri-lanes. If you opted for a solo lane, then you should try and be a bit more agressive so that your opponent can be forced out and you can enjoy your farm. However, should you face a solo you cannot compete (say... SD/Invoker) then play it safe and get the last hit. Harass them back if they become too aggressive. If you're on a dual-lane, be sure to have a partner capable of pairing kills, such as ES or SK or something, but you still need early levels so be sure not to share to much exp.
Mid Game
Now let's get to the fun part.
Not sure what to expect from your definition of "fun" really.
- Now you could do several things. Since you have extreme mid game presence as Lion, you could participate in small teamfights (pushing/roshing/defending) and/or skirmishes (random encounter/counter gank) but you should still opt for farming whenever possible. Do not go out of your way to gank someone, because it usually just pushes you back down the gold count. You generally want to get as much gold as possible in this stage, whether it be getting through kills or farming.
That's right, but you shouldn't be too focused on farming of course. As cheap-yet-effective cores come online for you, it is better to put pressure on your opponent. Even though you lack the pushing power of, say, Lycan, you still have good presence nonetheless
Team Fight
Now that your priority has most likely skyrocketed, people would most likely want your head on a stick. So watch out for those nasty disables, they ruin your day really, really fast.
- Well yes, do not try to initiate if possible. Rather, work your way so that Impale hits grouped enemies, while Hex the one you're focusing or is left out. Finger whoever deem necessary. Mana Drain should generally be out of the question since you'll be auto-attacking most of the time.
Is that really it?
- Well, yes.
Late Game
Most of the time this is where your REAL hard carry comes online. You're still invaluable with your cheap dps and disables though
At what price comes the "cheap" part?
- Whatever you can get your hands on for the mid game, hopefully.
Right, so what do we do now?
- Well, more or less simply do what you always did throughout the mid game. However, you could always focs a bit more on Smoke ganking (if it all) and catch enemy heroes off guard. You farming isn't going to be nearly as effective as before, so maybe it's time to give your #3 some farm for his/her/its potential. Generally you wouldn't need any more items, so we you should go for broke and can afford to be a little more selfless
Edited by basicdotaguide.blogspot.com