Swiftblade — HoN Hero Guide

Swiftblade

Swiftblade is a melee Agility hero in Heroes of Newerth based on DotA’s Juggernaut.   Swiftblade has one of the strongest lane presences of any Agility hero early game, with a dangerous combination of a magic damage/immunity spin and hero-killing ultimate, and can also carry late game with a good critical strike.  Here are the abilities:

Blade Frenzy (q)

Swiftblade spins with his blades out, dealing magic damage to units around him while remaining immune to magic damage himself.  This is great for killing enemy heroes early game, so long as you can get close enough to them, and stay close enough to them during the duration of the spell.  This is also a good way to avoid nasty stuns and other magic damage with a timely activation.

You can also attack at a reduced speed during Level 4 Blade Frenzy, which is good to do extra damage against a hero that is not moving (otherwise they might get away), or if you have a lot of slows and movement speed advantage (like Frostburn + Ghost Marchers).

Counter Attack (passive)

Counter Attack gives a chance for Swiftblade to hit back on any ranged or melee attack that hits him. The damage done is proportional to Swiftblade’s damage, so this improves as the game goes on and Swiftblade picks up more items.

Way of the Sword (passive)

Way of the sword is a Critical Strike; it gives a chance for 2X damage on any attack.  This also works during Swiftblade’s ultimate to deal more damage.  This becomes really powerful when Swiftblade has picked up attack speed and damage items.

Swift Slashes (ultimate) (r)

Swift Slashes does damage to random units in a small area around a first targeted unit.  This means if only one hero is in the area, it does all the damage to him, so this works worse and worse as more and more units are around.  This damage is distributed in 3/5/8 bursts depending on the level, and if Swiftblade’s attack speed is fast enough he can attack in between these bursts as well.  Swiftblade can crit strike from Way of the Sword like normal on these attacks and applies any other attack effects like attack modifiers or cleaving damage from Runed Axe.

Strategy

Recommended Skill Build

1. Blade Frenzy (1)
2. Stats
3. Blade Frenzy (2)
4. Stats
5. Blade Frenzy (3)
6. Swift Slashes (1)
7. Blade Frenzy (4)
8. Way of the Sword (1)
9. Way of the Sword (2)
10. Way of the Sword (3)
11. Swift Slashes (2)
12. Way of the Sword (4)
13. Counter Attack (1)
14. Counter Attack (2)
15. Counter Attack (3)
16. Swift Slashes (3)
17. Counter Attack (4)
18. Stats -> Level 25

Explanation: Blade Frenzy gets maxed first to get kills early game.  Stats are desirable at Level 2 and even at Level 4 to get enough mana capacity (310 needed) to cast both Blade Frenzy and Swift Slashes at Level 6.  Way of the Sword really helps your ultimate damage and your attack in general so we get this next.  Counter Attack doesn’t do much till late game so hold off on that.

Early Game

Recommended Early Game items:

+ +

Logger’s Hatchet + Ghost Marchers + Sustainer

An Iron Shield can help you farm early game too, if needed.

Early game you should lane with a ranged hero like Glacius, Plague Rider, or Demented Shaman who can slow or stun heroes for you to kill with Blade Frenzy.

Mid Game

Recommended Mid Game items:

+

Runed Axe + Frostburn

Mid game you should be farming and occasionally killing heroes when your ultimate is up.  Look for enemies that are isolated away from the creep wave and allied heroes so that you can kill them quickly with your ultimate.

Late Game

Recommended Late Game items:

+

Abyssal Skull + Wingbow

Another decent item on Swiftblade is Charged Hammer.  Any item that gives Swiftblade more attack damage and attack speed (indirectly or by adding Agility) improves his ultimate and his critical strike, which is what you want.  A Shrunken Head can be useful against teams with a lot of disable.

Counters

Disabling Swiftblade with a Hex or stun before he can use Blade Frenzy or use his ultimate is the easiest way to deal with him.  Some abilities like Devourer’s and Succubus’s ultimates can be used to disable Swiftblade while he is already spinning.  A great way to deal with a farmed Swiftblade late game is with a Void Talisman.  Activating this puts an immediate stop to Swift Slashes and prevents him from attacking you further.  Also, a Nullstone can prevent Swift Slashes from even casting, since it is a single-target ability.

Pestilence — HoN Hero Guide

Art by Kingaby

Pestilence

Pestilence is a Melee Strength hero in Heroes of Newerth equivalent to Slardar in DotA.  Pestilence is a strong ganker and initiator, tank, and counter to enemy heroes with invisibility.  Here is a look at his abilities:

Flight (q)

Flapping his wings Pest gets increased movespeed at the cost of amplified incoming damage.  At a constant +10% damage (any level) this is almost negligible, while having +40% movement speed at Level 4 is huge.  Use this to quickly initiate battles with your stun, catch enemies in bad positions, and chase them down.

Impale (w)

Insects impale the ground in a radius around Pestilence, damaging and stunning nearby enemies.  Radius is constant at all levels (and large), while damage and stun duration increases with level.  This is the great spell that lets Pestilence initiate onto several enemies at once and disable them so his team can wipe them out.

Gore (passive)

Pest stabs a unit with his horn giving bonus damage and a stun.  This gets more and more important as the game goes on and your attack speed continues to increase, allowing Pest to continuously stun and disable important heroes on the enemy team and effectively take them out of the battle.

Swarm (ultimate) (r)

Pest unloads a swarm of Locusts which temporarily lower the armor of an enemy unit and make it visible.  Needless to say this is the best counter to any hero with invisibility in the game.  The mana cost and cooldown are extremely low (only 25 mana, 10 seconds at all levels) which means you can keep spamming it on every enemy hero, making them die much quicker to attacks.  This also combines extremely well with items that reduce armor like Shield Breaker and Daemonic Breastplate, and heroes abilities that do the same, like Andromeda’s Aurora and Pandaomnium’s Flick.

Strategy

Recommended Skill Build

1. Impale
2. Flight
3. Impale
4. Flight
5. Impale
6. Swarm
7. Impale
8. Flight
9. Flight
10. Gore
11. Swarm
12. Gore
13. Gore
14. Gore
15. Stats
16. Swarm
17. Stats -> Level 25

Explanation: Impale is your main utility and should get maxed out asap.  Flight should be taken before Gore since this allows you to chase down heroes and land Impales which gets you a lot more kills and facilitates ganking early game.  A common noobie mistake is to level Gore instead of Flight which makes you a stronger fighter but with a lot less ability to initiate and make any battles happen where you will actually be able to fight.  At most you could get a single level of Gore early in lieu of a level of Flight which could give you some chasing/initiation speed in combination with the chance to proc an occasional Gore stun for additional killing power. Or get a couple levels of Flight then a couple levels of Gore.  Just remember that Flight is pretty important even though it looks like a shitty skill at first glance.  You might even prioritize it over maxing out Impale.

Early Game

Recommended Early Game items:

Steamboots

An Iron Shield and/or Logger’s Hatchet can help you farm in lane at start of game if necessary.  If farming is difficult then just try to get Steamboots.  If it’s easy you could just go Marchers straight to Portal Key and get Steamboots later.  Steamboots are the best choice of footwear on Pestilence because they give increased hit points for tanking and attack speed for Gore stun procs.

Early game you should focus on last hitting in your lane.  Whenever an enemy gets in a bad position you can kill them with your Impale stun and a few attacks.  Pest works best in a lane with someone like Demented Shaman who can slow an enemy enough (with Entangle) for you to get an Impale stun off, before healing you for more damage onto the enemy.

Mid Game

Recommended Mid Game items:

+

Portal Key + Shrunken Head

Portal Key is essential as it allows Pestilence to deftly initiate and pick off enemy heroes.  Once you have this item the combination of Portal Key/Flight and Impale makes Pestilence a very effective ganker and initiator for team battles.  Take advantage of this and pick off the carries and puny support heroes on the other team to give your team the advantage.  Make sure to use your ultimate as much as possible to give vision and make enemy heroes die quicker.

A Shrunken Head activated before blinking in to a group of enemy heroes to stun them makes a big impact on a battle if your team is good enough to follow up.  Pestilence will usually survive and be able to chase down any remaining heroes with Swarm and Flight for the Genocide.  You might consider a Shaman’s Headdress instead of Shrunken Head (later turn into Barrier Idol), or even a Nullstone or Barbed Armor in certain situations.

Late Game

Recommended Late Game items:

+ +

Shield Breaker + Daemonic Breastplate + lifesteal

Shield Breaker combines well with the armor reduction of Pestilence’s Swarm ultimate to really accelerate the death of any thing he hits.  Daemonic Breastplate is a great item on Pestilence as it adds armor to a Strength hero making him extremely difficult to kill, attack speed to proc more Gore bashes, and even has an armor reducing aura to further combine with Swarm and Shield Breaker to wipe out enemy heroes in almost no hits.

After this Pest is a fighting machine and the last thing to do is get lifesteal.  If you already have an attack modifier (like Shield Breaker) then you want to get Abyssal Skull because it gives lifesteal as an aura.  Otherwise get Whispering Helm and do it big.

Counters

You basically want to Hex or disable Pest in some other way to keep him out of your grill.  Killing him early when he’s saving money for Portal Key is very good.  If he’s able to farm unchecked and get Portal Key and Shrunken Head early in the match then you are in serious trouble and need to follow his position closely on the minimap so he doesn’t pick you off.

Doctor Repulsor–HoN Hero Guide

Doctor Repulsor

Doctor Repulsor is a new ranged Intelligence hero in Heroes of Newerth Patch 1.0.7 equivalent to Storm Spirit in DotA.  Repulsor is a mad scientist who travels the map in his hovering contraption, manipulating enemies with his mastery of magnetics.   Repulsor is great at ganking, escaping death, and is one of the few Intelligence heroes that can carry his team.  Here is a look at his abilities:

Magnetic Contraption (q)

Leaves behind a magnetic contraption to explode and deal magic damage to nearby enemy units (and also wreak havoc on ear drums of people under 20).  This has a very low cooldown (four seconds) so it can be continuously spammed in combat to damage the enemy and keep applying Electric Frenzy to your attack.  These only last a few seconds so you can’t just lay them all over the map like Goblin Techie mines.

Opposite Charges (w)

Repulsor magnetizes an enemy and uses a magnet to pull them in, dealing magic damage.  It also slows the Doctor’s movement for 3 seconds.  This is a channeling disable like Pollywog Priest’s Shackle or Electrician’s Static Grip that holds an enemy while also preventing your own hero from doing anything else.  This is a good spell to use while your Magnetic Contraption is cooling down and you need another way to apply Electric Frenzy to your next attack to keep slowing enemies and keep them from escaping.

Electric Frenzy (passive)

Every time he uses a spell, the Doctor applies an electric charge to his next attack, which deals bonus magic damage in a radius and slows the target briefly.  Late game your goal is to use your other 3 abilities as much as possible in order to continuously apply Electric Frenzy to your attack so that the enemy hero you are targeting is continuously getting slowed and taking bonus damage so it can’t avoid death.

Ludicrous Speed (r)

Just like in Space Balls, Doctor Repulsor kicks it into Ludicrous Speed and travels to a target location while draining his own mana along the way. This deals a small amount of magic damage to any units Repulsor runs into along the way, more if he has traveled farther to get there.  This spell has no cooldown so if you have the mana you can keep using it over and over again.  With enough mana, you can travel anywhere on the map (and back) instantly.

Late game when you have enough mana to use it, this is a great ability to get your hero to an isolated enemy hero on the map and pick him off with a gank.  You can then make use of your other spells and Electric Frenzy to make it very hard for that hero to escape from you.  If a hero gets out of your attack range, all you have to do is use Ludicrous Speed again to get close enough to them to start putting more disables and slows on him again.  You can also use this to escape from enemy heroes so long as you have mana left.

Strategy

Recommended Skill Build

1. Magnetic Contraption (1)
2. Electric Frenzy (1)
3. Magnetic Contraption (2)
4. Opposite Charges (1)
5. Magnetic Contraption (3)
6. Ludicrous Speed (1)
7. Magnetic Contraption (4)
8. Electric Frenzy (2)
9. Electric Frenzy (3)
10. Electric Frenzy (4)
11. Ludicrous Speed (2)
12. Opposite Charges (2)
13. Opposite Charges (3)
14. Opposite Charges (4)
15. Stats
16. Ludicrous Speed (3)
17. Stats -> Level 25

Early Game

Recommended Early Game items:

+

Steamboots + Talismans of Exile

Steamboots are primo on Repulsor, adding +10 damage, mana, and attack speed in Int mode, and can be switched to Str mode for hit points for survival purposes.  Talismans of Exile are a cheap early game option to also give you some more mana and last hitting power.

Mid Game

Recommended Mid Game items:

or

Sacrificial Stone or Null Stone

Sacrifical Stone is the best option on Repulsor if you are getting kills.  This will provide you with limitless mana regeneration and an increase in your hit points and mana pool that makes hero killing and surviving in battles very possible.  A very good alternative to this is Null Stone, which is especially useful in situations where you are going against heroes with a lot of one-target spells like Succubus or Andromeda, etc.  Really you want to get any item that boosts your mana pool, mana regeneration, and hit points.  The Stormspirit item is okay since it takes care of 2/3 of these.

Late Game

Recommended Late Game items:

+

Kuldra’s Sheepstick + Harkon’s Blade

Kuldra’s Sheepstick again is another item that gives you a larger mana pool, mana regeneration, hit points (these 3 are key), and a great disable in addition.  Harkon’s Blade will seal the deal and have Repulsor spitting out insane amounts of damage.

A situational item choice would be Hellflower, if you really need that silence for example.  Some other workable alternative items are Frostwolf’s Skull and Frostfield Plate.

Counters

Use disables like stuns, Succubus’s ultimate, or Kuldra’s Sheepstick to keep Doctor Repulsor from zipping around constantly and wreaking havoc on your team.  If you don’t get him disabled he is very difficult to kill unless he runs out of mana.  Heroes and items that burn mana like Fayde and Nullfire Blade can help this happen.

HoN Gladiator Hero Guide

Gladiator

The Gladiator is a new melee Strength hero in Heroes of Newerth version 1.0.5 equivalent to Kunkka the Admiral in Dota.  The Gladiator has a sword and a whip, uses spike traps and other tricks in the arena, and even calls in a chariot to aid him in battle.  Here is an overview of his skills:

Pitfall (q)

Pitfall unleashes a spike trap that impales enemy units after a two second delay, stunning and damaging them, and tossing them into the air.  Because of the delay this can be an easy spell to miss.  Try to cast it the same way you use Deadwood’s Rotten Grasp: on heroes that are standing still to last hit a creep, or running along a predictable path.  Later in the game you can use Pitfall in combination with Showdown to catch heroes in the trap more reliably.  Pitfall is also a great way to set up Gladiator’s ultimate by stunning an area right before the chariot comes in.

Showdown (w)

Showdown marks a unit and calls it back to that spot after several seconds.  This is a good spell to stop fleeing heroes from escaping.  You can also call the unit back sooner at any time before the max duration by hitting Showdown again.  This is a good way to land a guaranteed Pitfall stun on a hero by calling it back right before the spikes go off.

Showdown can also be used on allied units or your own hero.  This is less useful but could get you out of certain situations or save an ally.  For the most part you just want to use Showdown to set up stuns or prevent enemy heroes from escaping battle, especially if they are using a Homecoming Stone (Teleport Scroll) or have an a blink ability or Portal Key that would otherwise get them to safety.

Flagellation (passive)

The Gladiator uses his whip to deal a 500 AOE splash damage attack on his next attack as much as every four seconds.  It also adds bonus damage to his attack.  Think of the ability as something like a melee version of Puppet Master’s splash damage attack or Jeraziah’s passive without the slowing effect.  This is a phenomenal lane control ability as you get bonus damage every four seconds for last hitting, and you can constantly deal harass damage to enemy heroes in your lane without even getting near them.  You can even last hit far away creeps without getting near them by hitting a unit that is closer to you.

The whip doesn’t go off when hitting allied units (but you still have bonus damage), so you deny any number of creeps in a row without resetting the cooldown and losing the damage bonus.

Call to Arms (ultimate) (r)

Call to Arms sends in a chariot that explodes, dealing magic damage and stunning in an area.  The chariot also reduces the damage your nearby allies take for several seconds (though they take it after a delay as non-lethal damage) and increases their movement speed.

The Chariot starts 1000 units behind the Gladiator and explodes 1000 units beyond where you aim it, so make sure to aim it in front of where you want it to actually hit.  It takes a few seconds to get there so this works best if the enemy is already disabled by something like Tempest’s ultimate or Pebbles’ stun, etc.

Strategy

Recommended Skill Build

1. Flagellation (1)
2. Pitfall (1)
3. Flagellation (2)
4. Pitfall (2)
5. Flagellation (3)
6. Call to Arms (1)
7. Flagellation (4)
8. Pitfall (3)
9. Pitfall (4)
10. Showdown (1)
11. Call to Arms (2)
12. Showdown (2)
13. Showdown (3)
14. Showdown (4)
15. Stats
16. Call to Arms (3)
17. Stats -> Level 25

Early Game

Recommended Early Game items:

+

Sustainer + Steamboots

Early game you should focus on controlling your lane with Flagellation and try to get farmed up.  Kills should be possible around Level 5 or 6 or earlier if you are good with landing Pitfalls.  Gladiator is a great farmer, and if you are farming really easily you could consider going for a Sword of the High for an early Mock of Brilliance to really carry your team.

Mid Game

Recommended Mid Game items:

+

Runed Axe + Shrunken Head

Keep farming and mid game a Runed Axe is a great item to complement your Flagellation passive.  Gladiator is a scrappy hero that needs to get involved in the middle of battles and stay alive long enough to put out some damage.  Frostburn, Insanitarius, and even Frostwolf’s Skull are other workable item choices on Gladiator.

When team battles start happening it’s usually best to wait until the other team has committed to a battle before sending in your Chariot ultimate on them.  This has a much likelier chance of hitting several targets effectively and aiding your teammates than if you attempt to initiate a battle with it.

Late Game

Recommended Late Game items:

+

Symbol of Rage + Daemonic Breastplate

Symbol of Rage is a great item to boost your hit points, armor, and add lifesteal to your attack.  A similar alternative to this would be Abyssal Skull (especially if you got a different attack modifier like Frostburn) and Behemoth’s Heart.  Add to your attack speed and get more armor with a Daemonic Breastplate.  These items are expensive but remember that Gladiator farms very easily thanks to Flagellation and in hour-long games you should be hitting these items before the end.

Wretched Hag — HoN Hero Quick Guide

Wretched Hag

Wretched Hag is a ranged Intelligence hero in Heroes of Newerth based on the DotA hero Queen of Pain.  Wretched Hag is a strong ganker, farmer, initiator, and is very difficult to kill.

Recommended Skill Build

1. Flash of Darkness (1)
2. Haunt (1)
3. Sonar Scream (1)
4. Sonar Scream (2)
5. Sonar Scream (3)
6. Bat Blast (1)
7. Sonar Scream (4)
8. Flash of Darkness (2)
9. Flash of Darkness (3)
10. Flash of Darkness (4)
11. Bat Blast (2)
12. Haunt (2)
13. Haunt (3)
14. Haunt (4)
15. Stats
16. Bat Blast (3)
17. Stats -> Level 25

Recommended Item Build

+ + + + +

Talisman of Exile + Bottle + Steamboots + Nullstone + Kuldra’s Sheepstick + Frostwolf’s Skull

Alternatives: Puzzlebox, Staff of the Master, Frostfield Plate, Harkon’s Blade, Hellflower

Counters

Use items like Sheepstick or Hellflower or disabling abilities to prevent Hag from blinking away as you kill her.  A Shrunken Head, Shaman’s Headdress, or Barrier Idol will protect you from Hag’s spells.