What to collect for a skeleton in Dota 1. History of Wraith King

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Leoric is an aggressive melee fighter with high survivability and excellent mobility. Leoric deals high damage with basic attacks and short-range abilities, and his self-healing abilities allow him to counter multiple enemy heroes at once. Upon receiving lethal damage, Leoric automatically activates his Deathless trait, transforming into a ghost, able to move freely and use spells to slow enemies. Some time after death (depending on the frequency of using abilities in spirit form), Leoric returns to life in the place where his spirit is located.

1. Brief information

Cards (good, average, bad):

Damn Hollow, Dragon's Land, Tomb of the Spider Queen, Eternal battle, Blackheart Bay, Garden of Terrors , Haunted Mines and Sky Temple .

2. Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages

• Provides effective control and expands the field of view of allies when Deprived of Death is triggered.
• Successfully cleans waves
• Haunting Spirit provides high mobility and protection from enemy control effects
• High survivability due to Grip of Despair and Step of the Black King
• Some situational talents (such as Spell Shield and Overbearing Presence) provide build flexibility

Flaws

• Relatively difficult to use
• Greater cooldowns for Grip of Despair and Haunt
• To achieve maximum effect, the Step of the Black King must be used at strictly defined points in time.
• Successful play requires awareness of the state of the card, especially during the Deathless effect.

3. Role in the current meta

Currently, Leoric serves as an aggressive fighter who puts constant pressure on nearby opponents. Although Leoric's health pool is not as high as that of other fighters (for example, Joanna or Muradin), thanks to his effective self-healing, he can effectively participate in team fights as a tank. Strong defensive abilities (such as Bonescutter and Strong Shields) allow Leoric to hold his ground on the front lines while fighting multiple enemies at once. However, Leoric is no match for fast and cunning heroes, so he must choose his targets carefully. To play Leoric effectively, you will have to correctly determine the moments for attacks.

Leoric compares favorably with other fighters with his feature Deprived of Death. Thanks to it, the deceased hero turns into a ghost who can move freely around the map, constantly replenishing his health. When the wraith's health is full, Leoric appears on the battlefield and can immediately engage enemies. While Leoric's abilities do not deal damage while in ghost form, they do slow down enemies and speed up the resurrection process.

4. Leoric's abilities

Mana: 50. Cooldown: 8 sec.

Leoric strikes in an arc in front of him, dealing 300 (110 + 10 per level) damage to enemies. damage and slows them down by 40% for 2.5 sec. This ability deals double damage to non-hero targets.

Dead Man's Strike allows Leoric to slash nearby enemies, damaging them and slowing them by 40% for 2.5 seconds. Dead Man's Strike deals double damage to non-hero targets (including buildings).

Dead Man's Strike allows Leoric to easily clear waves of warriors and capture mercenary camps. In addition, with its help the hero can push through lines.

When using Dead Man's Strike, try to position yourself to hit as many targets (warriors or buildings) as possible to get the most out of it. When you see a wave, kill wizards who are dropping regeneration orbs as quickly as possible, especially if Reanimation was chosen as your level 1 talent. Dead Man's Strike pairs well with Despair's Grip. By slowing down the enemy with a Strike, you will ensure that the Grasp lasts as long as possible.

Mana: 60. Cooldown: 12 sec.

Leoric grabs the soul of an enemy Hero, dealing up to 25% of his maximum health to the enemy and healing himself for up to 25% of his maximum health over 4 sec. While the effect is active, Leoric's movement speed is reduced by 25%.

Despair's Grip allows Leoric to capture the soul of an enemy Hero and deal 25% of their maximum health as damage over 4 seconds. In this case, Leoric must be close to the target. When Leoric deals damage, he heals himself for 25% of his maximum health over 4 sec. While Grip of Despair is active, Leoric's movement speed is reduced by 20%.

Grip of Despair is Leoric's main source of self-healing and must be used wisely to restore as much health as possible. By choosing the right targets and timing to use Despair's Grip, you will greatly increase your effectiveness in battle.

In team fights, try to use Despair's Grip as effectively as possible. Avoid targeting fast heroes and ranged assassins (such as Illidan or Valla), who can easily move beyond the range of your abilities. Use Grip of Despair on enemy fighters who are unlikely to flee the battlefield. In addition, fighters have more health, and you will deal more damage to them.

To avoid confusion, let us clarify that when using Grip of Despair, Leoric always restores 25% of his maximum health. This is why, from a self-healing perspective, the target for the Grip of Despair is not important. However, in terms of damage, it will be more effective to use it on heroes with a large supply of health (for example, tanks and some specialists like Azmodan).

Mana: 50. Cooldown: 14 sec.

Leoric's spirit separates from his body, gaining CC immunity and a movement speed bonus that gradually increases to 50% over 2.5 seconds. When the effect ends or is canceled, Leoric's body is transferred to his spirit.

Wandering Spirit allows Leoric to separate his spirit from his body, gaining immunity to all crowd control effects and an increasing bonus to movement speed (up to 50% for 2.5 seconds). At this time, Leoric's body freezes in place, and the player gains control of the spirit. When Haunting's effect ends, Leoric's body is transferred to his spirit.

Haunting is a very flexible ability that allows Leoric to have a lot of mobility. It can be used to quickly cover the distance to a target (for example, to catch up with a fleeing enemy or to run out of a dangerous zone).

Leoric's talent tree includes several talents that affect Haunt. The most significant of these is Hardened Bones. It increases Leoric's survivability while Haunting is active. By taking less damage in team fights, you can stay in the fight longer. Remember that for the talent to work effectively, you need to use Haunting Spirit at the right time (in particular, before receiving the stun or slow effect).

Mana: 75. Cooldown: 50 sec.

Creates an impassable grave in front of Leoric for 4 sec.

Burial allows Leoric to create a grave next to himself, which poses an insurmountable obstacle to opponents. However, some of them can ignore this obstacle (for example, Tyrael with the Might of the El "ruin or Zeratul with Blink). Similar to Nazibo's Zombie Wall, Entombment can be removed manually by pressing the R key again. This will cause the grave to explode.

Using Entombment effectively requires considerable experience. It is not difficult to understand the principle of its operation, but choosing the right moment and purpose may cause some difficulties. Below are the priority targets for Burial, because... These heroes do not have abilities that allow them to escape:

• Azmodan
• Jaina
• Kel"tas
• Li Li
• Malfurion
• Nazibo
• Raynor
• Sergeant Hammer
• Butcher
• Thrall
• Tyrande
• Zagara

Having created a grave, Leoric blocks the entrance to it, so before using Entombment you need to decide what exactly you need to do - prevent enemies from escaping or allow allies to enter the grave to attack the target located in it. The first option is suitable for teams with several ranged heroes who can attack a buried victim from a safe distance. The second option is suitable for teams with melee assassins, whose full potential is revealed in a confined space.

Mana: 100. Cooldown: 80 sec.

Leoric gains immunity to crowd control effects and swings his mace three times, restoring 7.03% of his maximum health for each hero hit. In this case, the targets receive 400 (210 + 10 per level) units. damage.

The Step of the Black King gives Leoric immunity to control. In this case, the hero walks in the chosen direction, swinging his mace. Enemies who stand in Leoric's path take heavy damage. With each successful hit, Leoric heals himself for 7.03% of his maximum health.

Step of the Black King is a powerful heroic ability that not only deals damage, but also increases the hero's survivability. It should be noted that unlike Dead Man's Strike, which hits targets directly in front of Leoric, Step of the Black King's area of ​​effect covers all enemies that are near the hero.

However, there are two major drawbacks to this ability that you need to be aware of. First of all, Step of the Black King has a long cooldown (80 sec), so mistakes in its use are unacceptable. That is why in team battles we recommend carefully monitoring the location of opponents and using Footfall on narrow paths or in confined spaces. In addition, Step of the Black King causes Leoric to move in the chosen direction and cannot stop until the effect ends. This means that you must choose the right direction so that you do not inadvertently end up at a disadvantage.

Deprived of death

Peculiarity

Upon death, Leoric takes on the form of a spirit and is revived when his health reaches maximum again. Leoric's spirit form abilities do not deal damage, but can heal Leoric, allowing him to revive early.

Deprived of Death allows Leoric to transform into a spirit at the moment of his death. In spirit form, Leoric can use two basic abilities - Phantom Strike (slows down enemy heroes) and Essence Drain (allows you to quickly replenish health and resurrect). When Leoric's health reaches maximum, the hero appears on the battlefield in the place where his spirit was. While in spirit form, healing effects (such as Reanimation or Chiropractor) continue to apply, speeding up the resurrection process.

Deprived of Death is a unique trait that allows Leoric to influence the game situation even after death. While Leoric's abilities do not deal damage while in Spirit Form, he can still slow enemies with Spectral Strike and heal himself with Essence Drain to speed up his resurrection. We highly recommend using these abilities on cooldown to give your team maximum benefit while awaiting resurrection.

In addition, Deprived of Death expands the area of ​​​​visibility for Leoric's allies, as... The ghost can move freely around the map, revealing the location of the enemy team's representatives. However, it should be remembered that Leoric resurrects directly next to the spirit, so you need to monitor the ghost's health so as not to appear in enemy-occupied territory.

Phantom Strike (Q)

Cooldown: 8 sec.

Leoric slashes in an arc in front of him, slowing enemies by 40% for 2.5 seconds.

Spectral Strike allows Leoric to slash nearby enemies and slow them by 40% for 2.5 seconds. This ability can only be used in spirit form.

Spectral Strike is one of two basic abilities available to Leoric while in Spirit Form. While Phantom Strike does not deal damage, it does provide a slow that can significantly impact the outcome of a team fight. Use it on cooldown to slow down targets that are chasing your allies or trying to get away from them. Remember that Phantom Strike benefits from Life Steal (level 13) and allows you to revive much faster.

Essence Drain (W)

Cooldown: 12 sec.

Throws a chain that catches the first enemy hero hit and restores Leoric to 486 (178.2 + 16.2 per level) HP. health for 4 seconds while he is near the target. The longer Leoric stays near the target, the more health he absorbs.

Essence Siphon allows Leoric to capture the soul of an enemy hero and restore some health to himself over 4 seconds. In this case, Leoric must be close to the target. The longer Essence Siphon lasts, the more health Leoric gains. Can only be used while under the Deathless effect.

Essence Siphon is one of two basic abilities available to Leoric while in spirit form. Essence Siphon is similar to Grasp of Despair, however it does not damage the target or slow Leoric. Instead, Leoric receives a small amount of healing while remaining close to the target. The ability is necessary to speed up the resurrection process, so we recommend using it on cooldown.

5. Leoric Builds

Level 1

• Thirst for mana. Replenishes Leoric with 10 units. mana for each enemy hit by Dead Man's Strike. Maximum - 50 units.
• Hopelessness. Increases the range of Despair's Grip by 20%.
• Block. Once every 5 sec. gives one charge of the same effect. Charges are consumed when taking damage from a hero's basic attacks, reducing that damage by 50%. Can accumulate up to 2 charges.
• Resuscitation. Each picked up regeneration sphere increases the speed of health restoration by 1.5 units. per second even in spirit form. Allows Leoric to collect orbs of regeneration while in spirit form. This takes into account the purple orbs that drop from neutral bosses.

Reanimation is a great talent for Leoric because... he can easily clear waves and quickly collect regeneration spheres. Reanimation increases Leoric's overall survivability as a fighter, and also allows him to revive faster in the later stages of the game.

Situational

Block is a very effective defensive talent against enemies that rely on using basic attacks. Block increases Leoric's survivability in the lane if there is a strong assassin or ranged specialist on the other side (for example, Valla or Sylvanas). At the final stage of the game, the Block absorbs an average of 100-150 units. damage every 5 sec., which helps Leoric ensure a long-term presence in team fights.

Other talents

Thirst for Mana is a useless talent, because... Leoric rarely has mana problems. Lust for Mana can be useful for pushing through lines, but it provides much less survivability than Reanimation or Block.

Despair is a good talent because... Increasing the range of the Grip of Despair allows you to hit targets more effectively. However, Reanimation and Block are reliable sources of defense throughout the game, and Despair does not affect Leoric's effectiveness if Despair's Grip is not available.

Level 4

• Oath of Death. When a warrior dies near Leoric, the hero restores 1% of his maximum health and 5 units. mana. This effect occurs while Leoric is in spirit form.
• Vessel of Sorrow. Increases the amount of health healed by Grip of Despair to 30% of its maximum.
• Hardened Bones. Reduces damage taken by Leoric by 25% while Haunt is active.
• Phantom King. Reduces the cooldown of Haunt to 4 sec if Leoric's body does not take damage while the effect is active.

Vessel of Sorrow further increases Leoric's survivability, allowing him to remain in the fight longer. Moreover, this talent synergizes well with Spectral Hunt (level 13).

The Hardened Bones talent allows Leoric to avoid dangerous situations by giving strength to his body while Haunting is active. Reducing the damage taken by the body helps to counter opponents who are capable of inflicting heavy damage in a short period of time (for example, Kael'thas or Jaina).

Situational

The Death Oath talent is useful for gaining experience and pushing through lines. It does not affect Leoric's effectiveness as a tank in fighting for objectives or when capturing mercenaries on large maps (for example, in Cursed Hollow or Garden of Horrors, where there are often no warriors near the hero). On smaller maps (like Haunted Mines or Tomb of the Spider Queen), Death's Oath is a good choice.

Other talents

Phantom King is one of the worst talents for Leoric, because... it contradicts the very mechanics of fighters. As a durable hero, Leoric is usually on the front lines and protects more fragile allies by absorbing damage from opponents and blocking them with his body. Thus, he never actually uses Haunt without taking damage.

Level 7

• Phantom Sweep. Increases the range of Dead Man's Strike by 25%.
• Long lasting phenomenon. Increases the duration of Haunting Spirit by 60%.
• Paralyzing Rage. Increases the slow effect of Dead Man's Strike to 60% for 2.5 sec.
• Chiropractor. When used, restores 20% of Leoric's maximum health over 6 sec. Can be used in spirit form to speed up resurrection.

A chiropractor is a very flexible talent. It can be used to heal himself if Leoric is alive. In addition, the Chiropractor significantly speeds up the resurrection process while the Deathless effect is active.

If your allies cannot use crowd control abilities often, the talent Paralyzing Fury is a good choice. Dead Man's Strike has a short cooldown and a long range, so you can use it to slow down multiple enemies at once. The extra slow will give your allies some time to catch up with retreating enemies or retreat themselves.

Other talents

Phantom Swipe is a useless talent because... Dead Man's Strike already has a long range. We recommend using Bonecrow or Paralyzing Fury instead. These talents give Leoric additional survivability and the ability to control opponents. All this is extremely necessary for the effective performance of the duties of a fighter.

At first glance, Long Appearance interacts well with the Hardened Bones talent. However, the standard boost from Haunt is usually enough to quickly change locations. Thus, in this tier, we recommend increasing survivability with Bonescutter or increasing control with Paralyzing Fury.

Level 10

At level 10, Leoric gains access to heroic abilities. A detailed description can be found in the "Abilities" section.

This is a powerful heroic ability with a short range that allows Leoric to become immune to all forms of control. Increased damage and survivability give Leoric the opportunity to cause chaos in the enemy ranks with impunity.

It should be noted that when using the Step of the Black King, you must carefully choose the right moment and targets. If you use Footstep too early, opponents will be able to avoid the effect because Leoric, swinging his mace, moves rather slowly. If you use Footstep too late, its effect may not be enough to restore the required amount of health, and the hero will die. We recommend using Step of the Black King on narrow paths and in confined spaces to hit as many targets as possible.

Situational

This is a good heroic ability, but it requires a certain team composition to use it effectively. If your allies cannot quickly kill a hero caught in the Entombment, this ability will be useless. When choosing Entombment, make sure you have strong killers on your team that can deal a lot of damage in a short period of time (for example, Butcher or Jaina).

Level 13

• Fiery Fury. Deals 10 damage. damage per second to all nearby enemies. The effect does not trigger when Leoric is using a vehicle.
• Broken hopes. If Grip of Despair is not interrupted before the effect ends, it deals additional damage equal to 10% of the target's maximum health. This damage does not restore Leoric's health.
• Ghost Hunt. Casting Grip of Despair no longer affects Leoric's movement speed.
• Spell Shield. After receiving damage from abilities, a shield is placed on the hero, reducing damage received from abilities by 50% for 3 sec. (including damage from the ability that activated the effect). Can trigger no more than once every 30 seconds.

Spectral Hunt allows Leoric to relentlessly pursue the target of his Grip of Despair and deal more damage to them. When combined with Vessel of Sorrow, Spectral Hunt increases Leoric's survivability and damage output.

Fiery Fury allows Leoric to clear waves even faster. In addition, it can be used to detect invisible enemies and objects created by them (for example, Zagara's tumors) simply by approaching them at a sufficient distance. Fiery Fury is a useful talent that increases damage when fighting one or more enemies. As a fighter, Leoric is always at the center of the action, so Fiery Fury suits him well.

Situational

Spell Shield significantly increases Leoric's survivability against spell-based opponents (such as Jaina or Kael'thas). Consider it if your healer is unable to neutralize high peak damage.

Other talents

Shattered hopes is a frankly weak talent, because... Grip of Despair rarely lasts all 4 seconds, and therefore the effect almost never triggers. Compared to Burning Fury, Shattered Hopes are extremely unreliable and we recommend that you avoid this talent.

Level 16

• Reverse swing. Within 3 sec. After Dead Man's Strike, this ability can be used again without costing any mana. The second Dead Man's Strike deals 50% of base damage.
• Stealing Vitality. Dead Man's Strike heals Leoric for 2% of his maximum health for each target hit, up to a maximum of 10%. Can be used in spirit form to speed up the resurrection process.
• Boundless despair. For every second that Grip of Despair is active, reduce its cooldown by 1 sec.
• Overbearing presence. Enemies that use basic attacks on you have their attack speed reduced by 50%.

Stealing Vitality allows Leoric to regenerate his health with Dead Man's Strike, further increasing his survivability. It should be noted that Vitality Steal also affects Spectral Strike, reducing Leoric's resurrection time while Deathless is active.

Endless Despair pairs well with Vessel of Sorrow and Spectral Hunt, because... the last talent allows you to relentlessly pursue your chosen goal. This gives you the opportunity to use Despair's Grip more often, which is Leoric's main source of self-healing, especially in the late game.

Situational

Overwhelming Presence provides good defense against opponents who rely on basic attacks, such as Illidan, Valla, or Raynor. However, we do not recommend Leoric to use this talent because... Lifesteal and Endless Despair provide better survivability than Overbearing Presence. A dominant presence is only useful if your team has enough heroes to support you, and the enemy team includes at least two assassins who deal damage primarily with basic attacks.

Other talents

The additional damage from Backlash doesn't make much difference, but the lack of survivability without Vitality Steal or Endless Despair will be quite noticeable. In terms of wave clearing, the basic Dead Man's Strike does decent damage to non-heroic targets and its buffing is generally not needed.

Level 20

• Buried alive. Enemies in the area of ​​Entombment take damage once per second.
• March of the Dead. The final swing of Step of the Black King also applies a basic Grasp of Despair to all enemy heroes in a large area.
• Phantom Abduction. Basic attacks against enemy heroes deal additional damage equal to 5% of their maximum health and restore Leoric's health for the same amount.
• Durable shields. When used, reduces damage taken by 75% for 4 sec.

Spectral Leech is an extremely reliable talent that affects basic attacks as the main source of damage coming from Leoric. When combined with other talents and self-healing abilities, Phantom Abduction effectively grants Leoric immortality.

Durable Shields is a talent for Leoric as a tank who needs maximum survivability in late game fights, especially if he has to play against heroes that can deal a lot of damage in a short period of time (for example, Jaina or Kael'thas). We recommend using it whenever you notice that you have attracted too much attention to yourself The general rule is: it is better to take cover with Strong Shields too early than to wait and lose the opportunity to use them.

Situational

March of the Dead is a powerful, but very risky talent, because... its effect is entirely dependent on the successful use of the Black King's Step. To get the most out of March of the Dead, you need to hit as many targets as possible with the final strike of Footfall. However, Leoric moves very slowly under Tread, making this condition difficult to achieve. We recommend the March of the Dead talent to experienced players who know how to properly use Step of the Black King. Remember that Grip of Despair cast by March of the Dead does not benefit from the talents described above - specifically Vessel of Sorrow or Spectral Hunt.

Other talents

The talent Buried Alive is directly related to the heroic ability Entombment, so we do not recommend using it in ranked games. Even if your allies are able to support you in time and inflict heavy damage on the target imprisoned in the tomb, you should not use the Buried Alive talent, because To do this, you will have to give up Phantom Abduction and Durable Shields, greatly reducing your survivability.

6. General strategy for playing Leoric

When playing Leoric, you must act carefully at all stages of the game. Your priority is to appear in the right place at the right time, be it to protect allies or attack opponents. Don't forget to look at the mini-map, especially when the Deprived of Death effect is triggered, because... Leoric is the only hero who can reveal the location of the enemy team in spirit form. Despite the fact that Leoric is able to stand in the lane alone without resorting to the help of others, he should not stand in one place for too long. Instead, we recommend that you actively move between lanes and help your allies collect regeneration orbs, especially if you have the Reanimation talent (level 1). In the middle of a match, Leoric's tasks depend on the game situation. As a rule, he:

• selects priority targets and uses Dead Man's Strike or Entombment on them;
• Absorbs control and damage coming from opponents while Grip of Despair and Strong Shields are active;
• blocks opponents with his body and uses Dead Man's Strike to push them away from allies;
• uses Step of the Black King (if this talent is available) on narrow paths and in confined spaces);
• Slows down enemy team members and expands the area of ​​vision of allies while Deathless is active.

To successfully play Leoric, no special experience is required, because... his abilities are quite easy to use. For newcomers choosing Leoric for the first time, the main problem is the incorrect use of Grip of Despair. It should be remembered that the amount of damage from Grasp depends on the maximum health of the target. Thus, Grasp should be used on targets with the highest health.

Additionally, when playing Leoric, you need to use Haunt at the right time. This ability is the only source of mobility and is used for both defense and offense. In the first case, Wandering Spirit allows you to avoid enemy control, quickly change location or retreat to a safe place. In the second case, with the help of the Wandering Spirit, you will be able to pursue fleeing opponents by accelerating by 50%.

In the early stages of the game, Leoric should use Dead Man's Strike as often as possible to clear waves and reduce enemy pressure on the lanes. Leoric is well suited for organizing surprise attacks, but his true strength lies in his ability to dominate the lane due to the Reanimation stacks that appear when collecting regeneration spheres from killed warriors.

Once both teams reach level 10, the lanes will fade into the background and Leoric can focus on capturing objectives. If Wandering Spirit is unavailable, this hero depends on the right choice of location much more than other fighters. However, if Leoric manages to get close enough to the enemy, the slow from Dead Man's Strike (and possibly Entomb) will prevent the enemy from escaping.

• Use Step of the Black King to hit as many targets as possible, deal as much damage to them as possible, and restore your health.
• Chiropractor and Vitality Steal can be used during the Deathless effect to revive faster.
• If you have the Reanimation talent (level 1), you can also collect Regeneration Orbs while under the effect of the Lifeless effect to speed up the resurrection process.
• Avoid being controlled by using Wandering Spirit at the right time.
• After death, help your allies by slowing down opponents and opening up visibility in bushes and other problem areas.
• Wandering Spirit allows you to pass through enemy gates.
• Enemy units are ideal targets for Grip of Despair due to its high health pool.

8. Best allies

In this section, we'll look at heroes that give Leoric additional benefits.

Jaina

This is an ideal partner for Leoric, because... they both can effectively control opponents. Often, Leoric is unable to relentlessly pursue agile enemy heroes, while Jaina can slow them down, and vice versa. In addition, Jaina can take full advantage of the helplessness of an enemy trapped in Leoric's Tomb by using Blizzard or Summon Water Elemental on them.

Regar

Able to restore massive amounts of health to single targets with the Heroic Ancestral Healing ability, supporting allies on the front lines. In addition, Rehgar's Lightning Shield allows Leoric to deal additional damage when using Dead Man's Strike or Step of the Black King.

Abathur

Leoric's strong base abilities make him an ideal target for Crown of Evolution. Moreover, thanks to Abathur's talent Adrenaline Overload, Leoric slows down targets more often and deals more damage with basic attacks.

Zeratul

Zeratul's Void Bond eliminates one of the main drawbacks of Step of the Black King (the need to use it in a timely manner and choose the right direction). By pinning several enemies in place, Zeratul allows Leoric to approach them at the exact moment the control ends. Conversely, Leoric's Heroic Entomb allows Zeratul to unleash his full might on a single defenseless target.

9. Worst Enemies

In this section, we will look at heroes who can effectively counter Leoric.

Valla

Leoric's main drawback is his lack of mobility when Haunt is unavailable. During this time, he cannot effectively pursue agile and fast assassins like Valla.

How to resist Valla?

When playing Leoric, try not to allow damage to be dealt to you from a safe distance. Turn your attention to easier targets while protecting your allies. If Valla uses a build that allows you to deal high damage to one target (talents Malice, Manticore, Searing Attack), we recommend that you take the Block talent (level 1).

Illidan

Illidan has several abilities that allow him to avoid direct contact with opponents in case of danger. Thus, Roll and Sweep make Illidan a very disadvantageous target for Despair's Grip, and Evasion almost completely blocks Leoric's strong basic attacks.

How to resist Illidan?

In battles with agile and fast opponents, Leoric invariably experiences certain difficulties, because... cannot use Despair's Grip effectively. Thus, we recommend that you slow down with Dead Man's Strike first, and only then use Despair's Grip on him. Try not to get involved in duels with Illidan, because... you are unlikely to be able to cope with it without the support of your allies.

Tyrande

Although she doesn't pose a serious threat to Leoric in close combat, her Mark of the Huntress trait significantly harms all enemy tanks in team fights. If you fail to react in time, you will receive increased damage from all sources.

How to resist Tyrande?

To deal with the Hunter's Mark, which poses a threat to all fighters, use the Hardened Bones talent (level 4). In addition, in the battle with Tyrande, you will need Wandering Spirit, which protects you from the dangerous stun and slow effects that are a consequence of Lunar Flare and Starfall. Since Tyrande is not mobile enough and unable to retreat quickly, she is an ideal target for Entombment.

Silvana

Like Valla, she is able to deal damage to enemies from a safe distance and receives a bonus to movement speed from Wandering Spirits and the Covert Retreat talent (level 13). Additionally, Sylvanas' Wailing Arrow prevents Leoric from using his abilities, including Haunt.

How to counter Sylvanas?

When playing Leoric, stay away from Sylvanas, especially if Wailing Arrow is still available. Instead of rushing towards it recklessly, turn your attention to easier targets. If you have the Entomb heroic, don't use it on Sylvanas unless you know for sure that Haunting Spirits are unavailable.

If you liked our Leoric guide, then you can rate or repost on social media. networks. See you in the game!

In this guide, we will look at a very strong hero with excellent potential as a damage-dealing tank in the middle and end of the game. So meet the Skeleton King - Leoric. We have very interesting spells that make it very difficult to kill us. A little about spells, we have a very good stun, excellent innate vampirism, a critical hit and an ult that allows you to be reborn after death. Our hero is very diverse, and the assembly shown below is not the only one for us.

What to collect for Leoric:

As you can see from our purchase, we assembled it into a good demager with a shot at the tank.

Power Threads - attack speed is important for any hero, especially for us, because we focused on dealing damage. It also gives a good increase in strength, which is also very suitable for us.

Dominator - we already have good vampirism, but it’s not very pleasant for us when enemies beat you and you don’t even notice them, so we definitely collect this artifact, later it can be improved in Satanic, which gives an excellent increase in strength.
Now it will be impossible to stop us.

Monkey King Bar - greatly increases our damage, gives increased attack speed, we will never miss the enemy again, and we have the ability to deal additional damage of 100 units and stun the target for 0.01 seconds.

Black King Bar - will make us immune to magic, which means no one can stop us, it also gives a good increase in strength and a little damage.

Assault Cuirass - by collecting it we will greatly increase our armor and attack speed, we also get an aura of reducing the enemy’s role.

Heart of Tarrasque is the most important artifact for any tank and hero belonging to the strongman class. It greatly increases our maximum health and provides fantastic regeneration.

As I said above, this is not the only correct purchase for Leoric. Below is a list of artifacts that are not included in the leoric guide. but they will also look good on us.
Artifacts for Leoric:

Buriza de Kanyon

Mask of Madness

Friends and enemies of Leorica:
like any hero capable of stun, we are friends with other heroes like Crixalix or Vengeful Spirit.

Enemies:
The most dangerous enemy for us is Magina, he will burn all the mana, and we will not be able to be reborn.

Result:
Leoric is a very strong hero, with huge potential, well suited for beginners, because thanks to his ult you are always protected from accidental death on the battlefield, and his only active spell is a hammer. I hope you liked our Leoric guide and you will definitely become the king of skeletons.

Hyde on Skeleton King (Leorica) For Dota 2 (update 6.85) . Skeleton King is one of the best late-game players in Dota 2 thanks to his lifesteal aura and his critical damage skill, in addition, in the late-game he has amazing survivability thanks to his ultimate.

1. General description of the hero

Skeleton King (in the first Dota he was more often called Leoric than Skeleton King, in Dota 2 on the contrary - he is more often called Skeleton King than Leoric) is an almost ideal hero for beginners - only one active skill (and quite simple to control) and an ult that grants a second life if the first one was carelessly missed. But at the same time, in the late game, with the right build-up, he is capable of turning into a real death machine, not inferior to the best late-game players of Dota 2. Also, thanks to his ultimate, he counters the miner well (which, however, has not yet appeared in Dota 2, but let's hope that someday will appear) - with its mines, this hellish creature kills us once, but we have an ult that revives us after that.

2. Characteristics

Strength: 22 + 2.9 (main stat)
Agility: 18 + 1.7
Intelligence: 18 + 1.6
Damage: 61-63 - very stable damage, practically no difference from blow to blow
Armor: 2.52
Movement speed: 300
Attack range: 128 (melee)

3. Pros and cons of the hero

+ very easy to control - only one active skill, so it’s good for beginners in Dota 2
+ thanks to its ult it is difficult to kill, which is also very useful for beginners
+ one of the best crits in Dota 2
+ has its own lifesteal aura
+ good initial damage

- at the beginning of the game there is simply a terrifying lack of mana (in the beginning there is only enough to cast your stun once (!!!) once)
- if he couldn’t swing normally, he can benefit the team only with his aura, but otherwise he will be useless

4. Description of abilities

Wraithfire Blast(bolt, stun) - Skeleton King launches a clot of Hell energy accumulated at the end of his sword at the enemy, causing the victim to burn. Deals damage and stuns an enemy for 2 seconds and slows them by 20% for another 2 seconds.

Level 1 - 50 initial damage, 15 damage per second
Level 2 - 100 initial damage, 30 damage per second
Level 3 - 150 initial damage, 40 damage per second
Level 4 - 200 initial damage, 50 damage per second
Cast range: 525
Mana cost: 140
Cooldown: 8 seconds

Notes:
- damage type: magical
- total damage (by level): 80/160/230/300

A comment: our only active skill, but overall quite good, since stun is always better than, say, some simple slowdown skill or other disable. I remember once, even in the chat of one of my games, someone wrote: “The principle of winning in Dota 2 is simple - you need more stunners in the team”)). The only negative is that for such a mentally retarded hero like us, it consumes an extremely large amount of mana, so in the initial stages of the game we will be terribly short of mana.
Enemies can dodge our stun with the help of dagger/manta/eul/bkb, but rest assured that in the pub few will have time to do this anyway))

Vampiric Aura(aura of vampirism, lifesteal) - allied melee heroes and creeps (melee and ranged), including Skeleton King himself, restore health (that is, simply lifesteal) when they attack enemies.

Level 1 - 15% lifesteal
Level 2 - 20% lifesteal
Level 3 - 25% lifesteal
Level 4 - 30% lifesteal
AoE Aura: 900
Stacks with the aura from Vladimir.

As of update 6.85, it no longer shows the lifesteal effect on enemies if Wraith King is in the Fog of War or invisible.

A comment: quite a good innate lifesteal (much better than even the lifesteal from Vladimir), will help all melee heroes from our team in mix-ups, with pushes (after all, this aura also affects creeps), and will also help restore the HP of Leoric himself while farming in the forest and on the lines.

Mortal Strike(Critical Hit) - Leoric (Skeleton King) gains a 15% chance to deal critical damage when attacking.

Level 1 - damage is 1.5 times stronger
Level 2 - damage is 2 times stronger
Level 3 - damage is 2.5 times stronger
Level 4 - damage is 3 times stronger

A comment: one of the best critical hits in Dota 2. Thanks to this skill, Skeleton King really inspires fear in enemies in the late game.

Reincarnation(reincarnation, rebirth) - when Skeleton King dies, he can return to life with a full supply of lives and mana. When reincarnated (reborn alive), slows down enemies by 75% (both movement speed and attack speed) with 900 AoE for 5 seconds.

Level 1 - skill cooldown 260 seconds
Level 2 - skill cooldown 160 seconds
Level 3 - skill cooldown 60 seconds
Mana cost: 160

With Aghanim collected, allies within a 1200 radius of Wraith King turn into ghosts for 7 seconds upon death, delaying their death. They can continue to attack, use their abilities, etc. When the 5 seconds are up, they die and the kill is awarded to whoever dealt the final blow to them in the first place. The revival aura for allied heroes using Reincarnation with Aghanim's Scepter remains active during the reincarnation of Wraith King.

Notes:
- rebirth occurs 4 seconds after death
- when revived, Skeleton King slows down all enemies in AoE 900 by 50% for 3 seconds
- rebirth occurs even if Leoric was silenced before death
- if there is not enough mana (160), then revival does not occur (that is, the hero simply dies like any other Dota 2 hero)
- rebirth does not occur if Leoric dies in an impassable area of ​​terrain
- Skeleton King is reborn with full HP and mana (trump, isn’t it)
- if Leoric has aegis, then reincarnation works (if it’s not on cooldown and there’s enough mana) before him

A comment: a skill that in many cases gives Leoric a second life. It is especially effective against the miner as it practically reduces the effect of its mines to nothing. The main thing is not to run too far into enemy territory alone, otherwise enemies can kill you twice as easily as once, making your ult useless.

5. Skillbuild

1. Stan
2. Stats
3. Stan
4. Stats/Vampirism
5. Stan
6. Ult
7. Stan
8. Vampirism
9. Crits
10. Crits
11. Ult
12. Crits
13. Crits
14. Vampirism
15. Vampirism
16. Ult
17. Vampirism /stats
18.-25. Stats

This skill build is aimed at gradually turning the Skeleton King into a killer of all living things on the Dota 2 map. Why don’t we immediately upgrade the aura - after all, with its help it will be possible to restore HP on the line? The fact is that the aura also affects creeps - therefore, the meeting point of yours and enemy creeps will in any case shift in the direction of the enemy tower - and since Skeleton King is very weak before reaching level 6 and cannot boast of any super survivability at this time - this is not very good. If the opponents against you on the line are weak, then with a pumped up aura of vampirism, the meeting of creeps will almost always take place near the enemy tower - as a result, the enemies will be able to last hit the creeps, but for you this will be problematic due to the danger of coming under fire from the enemy tower. If there are good ranged damage dealers on the line against you (that is, the line turns out to be very tough), then you are unlikely to be able to approach the creeps (and you will also practically not be able to heal from the aura). Most likely in this case you will only have the opportunity to last hit your creeps near your tower. And if you pump up your aura, then the creep meeting point will no longer be near your tower, but a little further away - that is, with such tough opponents in the lane, you will still not be able to get close to the creeps for a last hit. I hope I clearly explained why, with this build-up option, it’s better to first pump up stats rather than aura.
At level 8, it is still advisable to pump up one level of aura, since at this stage of the game you will not only have to level up in the lane, but sometimes also farm in the forest, and there this aura will be very desirable for restoring your HP. Then there is no particular need to immediately pump up the remaining levels of the aura, since the increase in lifesteal as a percentage is no longer as large as from level 0 to level 1, and mass mix-ups will rarely occur. Instead, it is advisable to start pumping up crits as the power of your attacks becomes very noticeable. And after that, we pump up the remaining levels of the aura - the era of mass mixing is just beginning, in which it is desirable to have the maximum level of pumping the aura to help your team.
Sometimes at level 4, instead of stats, you can pump up an aura - if you are going to soon go to the forest to level up or things are very bad with your HP and your tower is pushing a lot under the pressure of enemies.

It is useful to start pumping up the Skeleton King’s aura of vampirism at the beginning only if he is on a line with one of the good pushers (for example, Spider, Furion, Lycanthrope) and from the very beginning you are aimed at quickly demolishing the enemy’s first tower.

Some argue that Skeleton King can be leveled in the forest from the very beginning of the game (naturally, in this case, the aura of vampirism and crits are maximized, not the stun), but personally I am against this, because Leoric does not have any skills that help kill creeps quickly enough ( for example, his first skill helps in this matter, and his second skill and passive help well), so from the very beginning of the game he will creep in the forest very slowly and because of this he will significantly lag behind the other heroes in the game in terms of levels. I believe that Leoric can go to the forest to level up no earlier than after he reaches level 4-5.

6. Itemorder
What to collect for Skeleton King in Dota 2

After the latest updates in Dota 2, I use the following items as an initial purchase for Skeleton King

The hatchet makes it easier to last hit creeps, 2 packs of tango will allow you to hold out on the line until you reach level 6 against almost any enemies (it will not always be possible to use a kuru at the beginning of the game because there is usually only one for the whole team), but the glove is to effectively use the remaining Spend 150 gold (well, if the game goes hard, you can upgrade it to a bracer).

Since at the initial stage of the game Leoric will be terribly short of mana, and he will need mana not only for the stun, but also for the ult to work (rebirth will not happen without mana), then It is advisable for Skeleton King to buy at least one item that increases the regeneration/reserve of his mana. Such items may include:
basilius- along with the increase in mana regen, it gives another +6 to damage and an aura of increased armor, if no one else in the team wants to collect basil (or items based on it - vladimir, aquila ring), then assembling basil will look good at the initial stage of the game

urn- gives +6 strength and 50% mana regen, and also accumulates charges for the deaths of enemies, which can then be used to heal allies (and yourself too) or cause gradual damage to enemies. But since in the initial stages of the game farming is more important for Skeleton King than participation in ganks, he will most likely accumulate few charges from the urn, so the urn will not be as useful to him as, say, a born ganger and hero killer.

peach- with a further upgrade to battlefury - not bad for mana regen, and for subsequent farming and damage, but a little expensive just for the purpose of increasing mana regen. Sometimes battlefury, of course, looks very good on Leoric, but in most cases I still like to collect mzholnir instead because it significantly increases the attack speed and thereby significantly increases the rate of crits

soul ring- this is the item I like most on Skeleton King to increase the regen of his mana - it’s cheap, and it additionally regenerates HP (which, unlike, say, basilius, makes it easy to stand on the line even with an unpumped aura of vampirism), and even has an active that instantly gives you 150 mana in return for your HP - and this in many cases will save your life, since quite often it happens that you spent all the mana on stuns, you see that you will soon be killed and there is not enough mana for ult - with soul In this case, with the ring you easily solve the problem of your survival because it provides you with enough mana for your ult to work (let me remind you, it requires only 140 mana).

arcana- a rather exotic option, but some on the network claim that with arcana Leoric does not face the problem of lack of mana at all. But it seems to me that collecting arcana for a carry (which is Leoric) is still too much.

So, in most cases, after the initial purchase, I start assembling the Skeleton King on the soul ring line - a regen ring and a mana mask for it can be bought in the side store, but the recipe for assembling it will have to be dragged from the base with a chicken. Also, during the initial standing on the lines, it would be nice to buy boots. If you have enemies on the line who often use spells, then a stick would be a good buy at this stage of the game.

In the future, I like to upgrade boots for Leoric in PT - they give +8 strength and +30% attack speed, which is quite good for this cost. But more advanced dotters can also collect phases for Skeleton Keen - if you know how to use them correctly, then due to their activity they can help you in many situations.

After the soul ring and PT, I usually start collecting Skeleton King Maelstrom (later upgraded to Mzholnir), since it improves farming due to lightning quite well, and increases our attack speed, which is quite good for our critical damage skill. Personally, I think that if a hero has some kind of passive that gives some effect when attacking from his hand (bash/crit/slow, etc.), then it is more priority for him to increase attack speed rather than attack power .

But there is another good item for the mid-game that looks great on Leoric - this is the armlet (although it was fixed in the latest updates, it is still quite good on Leoric). But it is worth collecting it just like the phases for more experienced dotters (not beginners) who know how to handle it. What to collect first in this case: armlet or mzholnir - here I find it difficult to answer because a lot depends on the situation in the game.

Also, Midas would look good on Skeleton King - but it is very rarely possible to collect it for him in the first 8-9 minutes of the game (well, unless the support on the line with you is good), and later there is no particular point in collecting it - it will not pay off. An item like drums would also be a good fit on the Skeleton King - it gives quite a lot of bonuses for its price, but usually the team has more suitable candidates for assembling this item.

Some advise collecting Skeleton King Vladimir - like it gives mana regen, and his lifesteal aura stacks with our vampirism aura, but in my opinion this item will be in demand on Leoric only if your team is aimed at winning the game using fast pushing tactics.

So, after assembling the soul ring, PT and maelstrom (and possibly an armlet), I start saving up for hyperstone to upgrade the maelstrom to mjolnir - with it our attack speed will be colossal and crits will fly out quite often. If there is a lack of survivability at this stage of the game, then before buying a hyperstone I usually collect a sasha (in the late game it can be upgraded to a halberd) or a BKB (useful if enemy magicians are very annoying). Next, there are two options for building up the Skeleton King - either start collecting a tarasik (if the team lacks tanks), or a cuirass (if the team lacks damage dealers and no one else in the team plans to collect a cuirass). In most cases, of course, it is useful for Skeleton King to collect both of these items - the only question is which of them to collect first.

What else can you collect Skeleton King in the late game:

Halberd- due to evasion, it is well suited for almost all Dota 2 security forces in the late game

Moon shard- with it our crits will fly out much more often, it is logical to collect instead of a cuirass if someone else in the team collects the cuirass

ICD- can be collected if the enemy team has at least a couple of heroes with evasion (either their own or from items)

Desolator- personally, I prefer mzholnir as an orb on Skeleton King, but in some cases this item may be more useful, for example, if our team already has heroes capable of reducing the armor of enemies with their skills (Slardar, Templar, Dazzle)

Satanik- stacks with our aura of vampirism, but does not stack with lightning from Mzholnir, although some still like to collect these 2 orbs together (in this case, in 25% of cases, lightning from Mzholnir will fly out when hit, and in other cases, lifesteal from Satanic will work )

Rapier- you can almost fearlessly collect if Roshan’s shield is knocked out (that is, in fact, in this case we get 2 additional lives in the batch, and maybe 3 if the batch lasts more than 60 seconds). Although sometimes, when your team is dominant, Skeleton King's rapier is collected even if he does not have an aegis.

Daedalus- sometimes they collect Leoric, but keep in mind that since Leoric has his own crits, the effectiveness of crits from Daedalus on him decreases to some extent

Abyssal- can be collected if you have already collected mzholnir and cuirass, which significantly increase the attack speed of Skeleton King. Without them, there is little point in collecting because Leoric’s own attack speed is low. Although in the deep late game it can still be useful to stop dangerous damage dealers, especially since his stun penetrates BKB and Guli’s avatar

Radiance- earlier, when I just started playing Dota, I really loved this item on Leoric, because it provided him with excellent farming and therefore gave him the opportunity to get ready for the late game “as it should.” But, apparently, in those days my rivals were too weak since they allowed me to save up for this item relatively painlessly. This artifact is really very good if you have time to collect it in the first half of the game, but with adequate opponents it is very difficult to do this because in the initial stages of the game the farmer from Leoric is simply useless.

Aganim- with the latest upgrade to our hero’s ult, sometimes in the deep late game it can be useful to collect this item when the battle with pushes is life or death.

7. Game tactics

Level 1-6
Skeleton King is not well suited for going solo mid - he will quickly get crushed there, so it is advisable to go to one of the light side lanes (bottom for light and top for darkness). If you have a stunner among your allies along the line, then your chances of shedding first blood are quite high (the most likely chances of this are when you and your ally reach 3rd levels). We behave calmly and carefully on the line. If the opponents in the lane are tough, then we try to approach the creeps only for a last hit, but if there are miles of heroes against you in the lane, then you can behave more aggressively. And in any case, we throw stuns carefully and only if you are sure that the stun will help you kill. But in general, we just farm to the maximum and wait for level 6.

Level 6-11
At this stage of the game, we try to continue farming, and also not miss opportunities to push the line (after all, they pay good money for demolishing a tower). At these levels, it’s almost impossible to kill us 1v1, but it’s not worth dying once again, getting into trouble against several enemies. Remember that even 3 wounded enemy heroes pose quite a big threat to us (and our ult will not help much here). Also, at these levels, we begin to slowly connect to ganks if they pass near your farming places - our stun in this case will be useful.

Level 11-16
Now we are strong enough to impose our own rules of the game. We already have good crits and good artifacts. Conclusion: we must go and knead our enemies! But it is worth remembering that our enemies are also not immune and have also swayed. Therefore, some precautions still need to be taken. And we don’t gank enemies with full HP alone - in most cases they will run away from us since we only have one stun.

Levels 16-25
Now problems with mana will only arise if there are nearby enemies who can burn mana (see the list of friends and enemies in this guide). At this time, expensive artifacts are collected and a positional battle begins, as well as the era of pushes/anti-pushes and mass mix-ups. If you leveled up correctly and died a little, then at this time Skeleton King finally turns into a death machine and we now have one of the key roles in the mix-ups. But still, it’s not worth going out to fight one against five, since the BKB lasts only 10 seconds upon the first activation (and with subsequent activations even less, if mass mixing occurs very often, then sometimes you have to buy the BKB a second time to return its duration to 10 seconds again ), and for the rest of the time you will be bombarded with stuns and hexes and easily killed.

In the original Dota, Wraith King had the name Skeleton King, but due to copyright infringement it was changed. However, players often call this hero the Skeleton King. The second name of the hero from the original Dota is also very often used, namely Leoric. All these names may be mentioned in the article.

Performance gain
	1 lvl	15 lvl	25 lvl
Health	695	1572	2202
Mana	291	555	747
Armor	1.9	5.7	8.4
Damage	61-63	100-102	128-130

Pros:

Minuses:

• Even though the hero has only one active skill, Leoric still won’t be able to use it often, since it spends a lot of mana, which needs to be saved for his ult. If the hero's mana is burned, then he will not be able to use his ult, and in this case, the effectiveness of the King's Ghost drops significantly. The situation is worsened by a small increase in intelligence.
• A rather slow and immobile hero. There is no way to quickly close the distance to the enemy or quickly escape from danger.
• Doesn't have the ability to speed up your farming. If Leoric is not allowed to farm at the beginning, then it is very difficult to correct this situation later.
• Leoric has several tough counters that will be very difficult to play against. So don't rush to pick this hero at the very beginning.

Wraithfire Blast- a very powerful skill that deals a total of 90 | 170 | 250 | 330 magic damage and already from the first level of pumping it allows you to stun the enemy for 2 seconds. The range of the skill is 525, which is more than enough to control the enemy from some distance. Please note that immediately after being stunned, the enemy is slowed down for 2 seconds and this also greatly helps during pursuit. Damage over time is also dealt during this period of time. The skill is, of course, excellent and even has a relatively small cooldown, but you won’t be able to use it often, since it consumes a lot of mana. Typically, the skill is used when you know for sure that you will kill the enemy or at least harass him very strongly. It is also worth understanding that a thrown projectile flies at a speed of 1000 and the enemy can dodge it with the help of some skills, or simply run away to a safer distance (for example, under a tower). The skill does not damage enemies immune to magic and will be blocked by the artifact.

Vampiric Aura- Leoric's aura gives vampirism to all allies. Vampirism works on absolutely all types of attacks, be it a melee or ranged attack. Also, the aura of vampirism is easily combined with other sources of vampirism, for example. If you start the game on the line, and not in the forest, then usually the aura swings by a maximum of one. A higher aura level will be useful later, when all your allies have normal artifacts and you work together. In addition, a higher aura level at the early stage of the game can lead to the fact that your allied creeps in the lane will live longer and, accordingly, will begin to push the lane, which is most often not necessary (unless you use an early pushing strategy). In general, the aura can significantly increase the hero’s survivability in battle, especially when huge crits are generated from the Mortal Strike passive. In this case, Leoric restores a significant part of his health. The aura of vampirism will not work while attacking buildings or towers, as well as other sources of vampirism. The aura effect persists for 0.5 seconds when an ally leaves the aura's radius. Visually, illusions receive an aura effect, but in reality they are not affected by vampirism. If Leoric is standing somewhere in the fog of war and the enemies do not see him, then they will also not see the effect of the aura. That is, for example, the effect of working vampirism will not appear over your allies or creeps.

Mortal Strike- this passive skill allows Leoric to deal enormous damage if a critical attack is triggered. The chance, of course, is only 15%, but if successful, we deal triple damage to enemy heroes. Sometimes a well-placed crit can change the outcome of a battle, especially in the early stages of the game. Please note that monsters and creeps receive much more damage than heroes in the event of a critical attack. This allows, for example, to farm the forest much faster and sometimes Leoric is even taken on as a forester. Illusions also gain a chance to trigger a critical attack. Of course, this does not mean at all that you need to run out and buy it, but illusions can be obtained, for example, by using a rune.

Reincarnation- Leoric’s ult makes this hero truly unique. The fact is that this ability is essentially a built-in artifact, but much better. The main thing to remember is that even though the ult is a passive skill, its activation requires mana, and a lot of it. Thus, if, for example, you use the Wraithfire Blast stun in battle, then you should always calculate your mana reserve in such a way that there is mana left for activating the ult, but you should not constantly save your full mana reserve. The fact is that after resurrection, Leoric will appear with a full supply of health and mana. That is, before dying, you need to spend your mana on stuns and leave it exactly for resurrection. In addition to essentially giving Leoric a second life, the skill has a very important slowing effect. All enemies within a 900 radius will be greatly slowed down for 5 seconds. This slows down not only your movement speed, but also your attack speed. Thus, during a team battle, Leoric is even better if the enemy team focuses him first. After all, you will then be reborn, and your allies will quickly deal with slowed down enemies. The slow does not work on enemies who are immune to magic and can be removed by cleansing. Please note that the resurrection duration is 3 seconds, and the slow lasts 5 seconds. Thus, immediately after resurrection, Leoric can very well pursue slowed enemies for 2 seconds. The initial cooldown of the ult is 260 seconds, which is actually a lot, but the good news is that the last level of the ult has only 60 seconds of cooldown and at a later stage of the game Leoric can safely count on resurrection in almost every battle. But again, the most important thing is to monitor your mana reserves for the ult to work. If Leoric has an artifact in his inventory, then the ult will work first and only then Aegis. Ultimate can be upgraded with . On the one hand, it may seem that the improvement is really interesting. After all, in the event of death, your allies do not immediately go to the world of spirits, but turn into ghosts that can attack, move, use skills or use artifacts. But in practice, it is rarely possible to implement this opportunity well. In addition, Leoric is not the hero who can sacrifice one place in his inventory for a dubious improvement from Aghanim.

	1		3		5		7
		2											13	14		16
				4				8	9		11
						6						12					18

Initial purchase:

Although Leoric has an aura of vampirism, Vampiric Aura, the skill will not be able to fully compensate for the loss of health, so when starting a purchase it is better to take and. If you play in conjunction with some heroes, then you can also purchase it in order to use the stun once again. As a last resort, you can eat a mango before activating the ult. When playing in the forest, and will be excellent items. To make it easier to finish off creeps on the line (or in the forest), you can buy a hatchet. Among other things, during the initial purchase, simple items can be purchased to increase basic characteristics, for example. In the future, this item will be useful for obtaining. The remaining money is better spent on.

Main subjects:

First, we will look at the basic items for Leoric that are used most often.

In general, Leoric is a rather slow and clumsy hero and during battle he has to run after his enemies. If at the same time enemies constantly stop you, then this can become a serious problem. Try to avoid situations where the enemy team has too many control skills, or in this case, strive to acquire BKB as soon as possible.

If we consider Leoric as a forester, then in this case it does not matter to him what allies he will have. The most important thing is to ensure that the heroes are more or less strong and can do without the help of the Ghost King for some time. If we consider Leoric as a carry hero on the safe lane, then in such a situation it is advisable that your allied supports have enough control skills. Your stun alone will not be enough to kill the enemy. Good lane allies can be: , and so on. Supports will also be good, capable of enhancing our attack or giving some good bonuses.

In the vast majority of cases, Leoric is taken as a carry and placed in the safe lane. This is due to the fact that the hero needs to farm a lot, especially at the beginning of the game. On the safe lane, the King's Ghost will have this opportunity, and there is also the option that you will be able to kill the enemy hero with the help of your allies. Another option is to play on a difficult line or in the forest. On a difficult lane, Leoric will be able to stand normally only against one enemy and preferably with a melee attack. Otherwise, the most he can count on is gaining experience. On the one hand, forest farming seems very attractive. After all, the hero has his own vampirism and even crits. All this really helps to kill monsters faster. The main problem is that on the safe lane Leoric will be able to farm everything faster. Besides, you can find more effective junglers than the King's Ghost. It is also worth saying that in the role of a forester, Leoric will not be able to help his allies for a long time. In the role of a ganker, the hero can perform more or less normally only after receiving Dagger, and until this moment he will only have to farm and hope for the stupidity of his enemies.

When playing on the safe lane, Leoric's most important task for the first half of the game is farming. It is necessary to finish off every enemy creep and be sure to finish off your own creeps in order to control the lane. If you do not finish off your creeps, then sooner or later the line will begin to push and in this case the enemy will have the opportunity to calmly finish off the creeps near his tower. This should not be allowed. You need to strive to ensure that creeps are encountered as close to your tower as possible. In this case, you will feel much calmer, since the enemy will not have the opportunity to unexpectedly attack you from the forest. Also, the enemy hero will have to move far from his tower to gain experience, and in this case your supports have the opportunity to bypass him from the rear. Be sure to monitor the actions of your supports. Yes, Leoric is slow, but you still have a powerful stun that can be enough to additionally control the enemy and kill him. The opportunity to kill the enemy should not be missed under any circumstances. At the same time as farming, you should definitely monitor the entire composition of the enemy team. Which of the enemies is stronger and more aggressive and what artifacts the opponents buy. Based on this, your final assembly of artifacts and their purchase sequence will be formed. It may seem that playing as Leoric is very boring and in some ways you would be right. After all, most of the game you only have to kill creeps and monsters. You can only stop farming if you are participating in a battle. Unlike other heroes, the King's Ghost does not have the ability to significantly increase his farming speed. Yes, of course, you start killing creeps and monsters faster due to purchased artifacts, but there are a huge number of heroes who will farm much faster. Because of this, farming always comes first.

If the first half of the game went well, you farmed well, didn’t die, and even possibly killed someone yourself, then the game will become much more interesting. Due to good survivability indicators and especially due to his ultimate, even as a carry hero, Leoric can easily enter the battle first. Calculate in advance how many stuns you can use so that you definitely have mana left for your ult and be sure to take into account the fact that perhaps someone from the enemy team can burn some of your mana. After this, calmly enter the battle and focus your attention, if possible, on the weakest enemy. Such an opponent could be a support, a mage, or a gaping enemy carry. If the enemy team starts focusing their attention on you, then don’t worry, that’s what we wanted. If present before the first death, we can deal a lot of damage. In general, it will take enemies a long time to kill Leoric. The most important thing is to rush into battle with the support of your allies. If you die and there are no allies nearby, then the triggered ult will have no meaning. The whole point of Leoric is that at the moment of revival he greatly slows down his enemies. This is certainly not a hard control skill, but it will be very difficult for opponents to get rid of such a slowdown. In addition, the enemy carry hero will attack much slower. After revival, you can start using stun again, as your mana will be fully restored.

In general, during the battle Leoric acts very monotonously, simply throws a stun and kills enemies with a regular auto attack. It couldn't be simpler. Such simplicity does not mean that the hero is weak. If you didn’t lag behind the enemy in terms of farming, then due to the triggered crits, Leoric can give out simply enormous damage and literally kill weak enemies at once. In some duel battles, Leoric kills a huge number of heroes without any problems.

I would recommend the King's Ghost for those players who are just starting to get acquainted with the world of Dota. All you need to do is learn how to farm normally, keep an eye on the enemy and buy the right artifacts for the situation. Otherwise, the hero will not require any special skills from you and you will not have to aim with any complex skills.

Hero's story
Leoric was a noble knight who bravely defended his kingdom. But he was killed by his comrades, who were very jealous of his strength and glory. After death, the knight's soul could not calm down and suffered greatly. One day Lucifer brought him back to life, but too much time passed and only bones remained from the body of the mighty knight, beside himself with rage Leoric found and brutally killed those through whose fault his soul had suffered all this time. Because of his cruelty, he became bloodthirsty, his strength increasing with every drop of blood. He joined the Scourge army to increase his power by shedding the blood of the living. Since then he has been nicknamed Skeleton King , because after each death of the victim, he absorbed all the remaining energy of the body, after which only a skeleton remained from him. He is even called immortal, as he was never defeated on the battlefield.

Characteristics

Strength: 22 + 2.9 (main stat)

Agility: 18 + 1.7

Intelligence: 13 + 1.6

Damage: 54-56

Defense: 4
Travel speed 300

Attack radius: 128 (miles)

Pros and cons of the hero

Pros:
1. A very simple hero who has one active skill, he is well suited for beginners.
2. He is difficult to kill, which makes him an excellent tank.
3. Has very good critical hits.
4. There is built-in vampirism.
5. At the beginning of the game, good damage.

Minuses:
1. At first there is a very serious lack of mana. Enough for only one hammer throw.
2. If you don't rock up, you'll be a burden to your team.

Description of abilities

Hellfire Blast (hammer) – Leoric releases a clot of bloody energy at the enemy, in the form of a hammer. The victim begins to burn, causing him to slow down and become stunned.

Level 1 – target takes 50 damage, 15 damage every second
Level 2 - target takes 100 damage, 30 damage every second
Level 3 - target takes 150 damage, 40 damage every second
Level 4 - target takes 200 damage, 50 damage every second

After the stun, the target will be slowed by 20% for another 2 seconds.
Use range: 525
Requires 140 mana.
Reload time 8 seconds.

On a note:
1. Magic damage is dealt.
2. Total damage:
At the first level 80 damage
At the second level 160 damage
At the third level 230 damage
At level four 300 damage

Comments: Leoric has the only active skill, but it’s a stun, which is better than some kind of slowdown. The only downside is that at first we will only have enough mana for one throw.

Vampiric Aura – allied troops and heroes sense a bloody aura Leorica, they begin to restore their health by attacking enemies.

Level 1 - 15% lifesteal
Level 2 - 20% lifesteal
Level 3 - 25% lifesteal
Level 4 - 30% lifesteal
Aura range: 900
Stacks with Vladimir's aura.
Comments: pretty good innate vampirism (even better than from Vladimir). It will help all melee heroes in battles, and pushes will also become more effective, because creeps will restore their health. And Leoric will feel comfortable both on the line and in the forest.

Critical Strike – grants bloodlust Leorica the ability to inflict critical hits on enemies.

Critical hit chance is 15%
Level 1 – deals 1.25 times more damage
Level 2 – deals 1.75 times more damage
Level 3 - deals 2.25 times more damage
Level 4 - deals 2.75 times more damage

Comments: This is one of the best crits in Dota. Because of this passive, Leoric can become a good late game.

Reincarnation - when Skeleton King win, he can return to this world using the accumulated vital energy of killed enemies.

Level 1 – skill cooldown 260 seconds
Level 2 - skill cooldown 160 seconds
Level 3 - skill cooldown 60 seconds
Requires 140 mana to activate.

On a note:
1. Leoric will rise 4 seconds after death.
2. Within a radius of 700 after resurrection, all enemies will be slowed down by 30% for 3 seconds.
3. Leoric will be reborn even if a ban on the use of spells (fat) was placed on him.
4. If Leoric had less than 140 mana before dying, the spell will not activate and he will die.
5. The hero will not be reborn if he died in an impassable area of ​​the map.
6. Leoric revives with full health and mana.

How to download?

For the killer:

This leveling is used to turn Leoric into a killing machine (even at the expense of helping the team). We don't pump up aura because vampirism will cause your creeps to fight closer and closer to the enemy tower. Moreover, before reaching level 6, Leoric does not stand out for its special survivability. If the enemy heroes on the line are weak, then with a pumped up aura you will fight near the enemy tower. Thus, allowing enemies to finish off creeps, and you will run the risk of being attacked by an enemy tower. When there are strong heroes against you on the line, making it difficult to level up and farm (hard line), then most likely you will finish off creeps near your tower, and with a pumped-up aura of vampirism, the point of collision between your and enemy creeps will be further from the allied tower and finish off creeps will be more difficult. I hope you now understand why in this leveling we first pump up pluses, and not aura. When you reach level 8, it is advisable to study the first level aura, because you will start farming on the line or even in the forest, and the aura will already be needed to restore health. Then you can take your time pumping up your aura since you won’t feel much difference, but the crits will be statistic, with them your attacks will be much more effective, and already

After fully pumping up your crits, pump up your aura to the maximum level, it will greatly help allied heroes with a melee type of attack.

For pushing:

This boost is used when your team decides to quickly destroy all enemy lines. Then it’s very good to stand with such pushers: Lucan, Bear Druid, Broodmother, Furion. It will be much easier to destroy the lane with them, and the aura of vampirism will help them a lot.

We download the aura first.

What to buy?
With the initial gold we buy this:

With the help of an ax it will be easier for us to finish off creeps, a very useful item for all melee heroes.
If you are sure that you can buy an ax later, that is, you can, go to the store. Then you can use this purchase:

When we are already on the line, we try to buy boots as soon as possible, which we then turn into PT - they suit him very well, they will give him an increase in strength and additional attack speed. Next, you can collect several bracers, at the current stage of the game they will look good on it, or collect drums that will increase the speed of movement and attack, and add shackles to all characteristics. You can also get a soul ring, which will help you throw the hammer at the right moment, and also increase the regeneration of mana and health (very noticeably at the beginning of the game).

What else can Leoric collect in the mid game:
Vand - will be useful if enemies often use spells.

Urn - will increase health and enhance mana regeneration, and will also accumulate charges for the death of enemy heroes.
Vanguard - good for Leoric, will block damage, increase health regeneration and increase our tank potential.
Vladimir is also a good artifact due to the fact that his aura will add up to our aura, we will be able to feed off our opponents pretty well. It will also increase damage, speed up mana regeneration and increase attack speed for us and our allies, as well as increase their vampirism from our aura.
Medal – will increase defense, speed up mana regeneration and give the ability to reduce armor to the selected enemy hero. Which will nicely increase the damage and burning from the hammer.

For Leoric to be a good late game player, he must farm well throughout the game. The armlet and MoM will help him with this. Battle fury is good for farming; there will be a good increase in attack, mana regeneration and there will be mass damage. Next, we buy hyperstone, which we will then upgrade to the ribs.

What else does Leoric like:

Ribs are a very good artifact for Leoric, with high attack speed and aura we will quickly feed on enemies.
ICD - will increase our damage well and will allow us not to miss such heroes as Morta, Void

And for those who have a butterfly.

Taraska - with her we will become a thick tank that will be very difficult to kill.

Halberd - good for any security officer, and also gives good evasion.

Desolator – will lower the enemy’s defense, and paired with ribs it will be absolutely gorgeous.

Satanik - he will be a good help in the late game, having such a percentage of vampirism, plus our aura

It will be even more difficult to kill us.

BKB – collect if the enemies are very tired of their skills.

Rapier - suits Leoric very well since the crits will be simply fantastic, and since the hero can die, the chances of dropping a rapier are greatly reduced.
Reflash - one more life, will enormously increase our survivability, you can die 2 times, and with

with the shield of Rohan as many as 3 times, then the rapier will become just an ideal artifact for Leoric.

What Leoric does not need to buy:
Sasha Yasha - its price does not justify the qualities that Leoric will receive when purchasing this artifact.
Shedding - why do we need it? For this, BKB is better suited for us.

Butterfly - it’s better to collect a halberd instead, and buy something else with the remaining money.

Game tactics

From 1st to 6th level
Leoric is not suitable for a solo mid, or even a regular solo, he will just get humiliated quickly. So it's better to line up with an ally. If your ally is a stunner, then you have a high chance of getting first blood. On the line we play calmly and not aggressively. If it is difficult to stand, then approach the creeps only to finish them off. And throw the stun only at the necessary moments to kill the enemy or escape, we have very, very little mana. In a word, before level 6, try to farm as much gold as possible.

From 6th to 11th level
We still try to farm and push the enemy line when there is a good opportunity. It’s extremely difficult to kill us one on one, but we still don’t mindlessly attack enemies, because we shouldn’t simply waste our ult. We try to take part in ganks, the stun will be very useful there.

From 11th to 16th level
Leoric has pumped up and become quite strong, he already has good crits and good artifacts. But just remember that your enemies did not stand under the fountain the entire game, but also pumped and bought new items. We ourselves do not gank heroes with full health, since in 90% of cases they will run away from us, because we only have one stun.

From 16th to 25th level
Problems with mana no longer arise only if the enemies have