A Close Examination of Supports: Leshrac

Leshrac: Bringing Discotheque back in a big way!


(source:cyborgmatt.com)

"Science has not yet taught us if madness is or is not the sublimity of the intelligence." -Edgar Allan Poe

It's time for another installment, but this time, lets pick a hero I do not play, nor do I enjoy, and talk about him!

Leshrac: Why would I pick him?

This hero may remind you of "Goatman" but with an extra 2 hooves. If that doesn't grab your attention, along with all the pulsating lights and particle effects, maybe the stun and the massive push power will sway you. This guy is a towers worst nightmare, and for that, you pick him for early-mid game map control and pushing power.

That being said, we should move straight into builds, as his skill build determines why you picked him

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Skill Builds:

First, you need to ask yourself, "Why did I pick Leshrac?"
A. I wanted to try and literally kill another player through a photosensitive seizure
B. I want to push towers that would make Shadow Shaman and Death Prophet weep and collect their tears into a bottle
C. The enemy has a lot of short range nukes, and you are looking to rain on some parades
D. You are a support that needs to control your lane.
F.  You are feeling masochistic and want to punish yourself for some terrible deed



If you picked A or B, you are going with the Diabolic Edict Build

Diabolic Edict
(1-3-2-0 or 1-3-1-1 if you have mana regeneration items already)

Did you know that Diabolic Edict does 1200 damage at level 3, and 1600 damage at level 4? Did you know tier 1 towers have 1300 health, and towers greater than or equal to tier 2 have 1600 health? as long as no creep or hero comes into your way, those towers are dead from 1 spell.

The reason why I would level the stun last(Split Earth) is because the stun has a radius increase of 25 and damage increase of 60, while Lightning Storm has 1 extra bounce, with the same 60 damage increase(-40 total damage from level 1 up) and a 4 sec cooldown. This keeps your push up and increases your range of damage.



If you picked C or D, Congratulations, your going Lightning Storm

Lightning Storm
(1-2-3-0 or 1-1-3-1)

Lightning Storm is a great tool to harass unfortunate heroes. At first, 80 damage isn't that scary, but with a 4 sec cooldown and +60 damage every level +bounce, you can really harass a kill lane into submission.



If you picked F, please choose whatever skill build you would like, because clearly something is wrong with you.

You can always max out Split Earth if you like, to help you land those stuns, but you are missing out on some real damage potential when you do that. This hero relies on intense knowledge of positioning, and hero dps, possibly explaining why the stun is comparably weaker to his other skills and to other heroes' stuns.


Pulse Nova: The skill builds for Leshrac tend to skip over levels of Pulse Nova till both Diabolic Edict and Lightning Storm are maxed because Pulse Nova isn't "worth" it at that point. If we look at level 3 Diabolic Edict versus a Level 1 Pulse Nova, We see Pulse Nova taking 18.18 seconds (versus Diabolic Edict's 8 second duration) to do the same amount of damage, costing 363.63 mana (verses 135 mana drain on Diabolic Edict's cast). This huge mana drain starts to be inconsequential later on in the game, and the more people nearby, the better, but you just aren't going to see those kinds of situations/teamfights when you first hit 6.

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Items that work for you:

The name of the game here is regen, positioning, and survivability. To really maximize this hero's potential, you are looking to sustain your presence in team-fights and damage output. Finding the sweet spot can be difficult, so hopefully these items can help you determine what you need for when.


Core Items:

Arcane Boots: Movement Speed + Mana Pool Increase + AoE Mana Gain, need I say more?


Eul Scepter: This bad boy is a strong pickup on Leshrac. Movement speed and mana regen alone is something worthy of a consideration every game. The cyclone is useful to control teamfights by removing a hero for a few seconds and finally landing that stun on them, but you can also use it to dodge damage and put out some damage while remaining invincible. The Diabolic Edict and Pulse Nova still continues while your in a cyclone, so..... OP much?

Mechanism: It's good to stay alive, it's even better if your teammates (what I call shields) stay alive so people hit them, not you.



Blade Mail: What's scarier then a pulsating Goatman that melts off people's faces? Maybe a pulsating Goatman that is covered in spikes? If you're tired of people like Phantom Assassin or Riki just skipping the foreplay and just jumping on you, Blade Mail is the way to go.

Force Staff: Pretend to be a Pegasus for one brief moment of your life, then realize no one will ever love a Goatman, and take out your frustrations on a tower. Great to close the distance, or flee because you find yourself permanently out of position.


Drum of Endurance: More Movement speed to keep up to those fleeing heroes, not to mention the sound effect goes well with your hooves chasing down those heroes as they scream in agony.


Veil of Discord, Orchid: Increasing Magic damage is nice, but if you are dying, it may be better to opt for survivability items.



Ghost Scepter, Black King Bar: Stay Safe, Stay Alive.





Luxury Items

Rod of Atos: This one skirts the line. The slow lets you land your stun and murder your victims, the mana gain and health gain are appreciated, but because it's a slightly difficult build up and is ultimately used to pick off heroes, I feel that this is a luxury item.

Bloodstone: Not really viable for support Leshracs, and lets be honest, when was the last time you saw a soloLeshrac in one of your games? If your stomping, it's usually a great item, but the cost usually means it will be far to late in the game for this pickup, so usually ignore it and go for something easier.

Aghanim's Scepter: Move this right next to Bloodstone, If you are surviving, stomping, and have more gold thenSpecter, and lets be honest, Specter hasn't even been in a teamfight yet, he's just free farming and ulting to KS your hardwork, then yea, go for it. Show thatSpecter that he's not needed anymore.

Scythe of Vyse: More CC, the better. Not to mention the huge mana gain.

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Tips:

• Diabolic Edict is unstoppable once started, even through death. Not even Diffusal Blade will stop the maelstrom of damage.
• The cast distance on Split Earth is very small, if you have to run to get in range to cast it, then you are probably going to miss it do to the cast time. Also, remember to place the Split Earth where the enemy will be, not directly on the center of your target(unless of course they are stunned).
• Split Earth has a ridiculous cast animation in which Leshrac goes on his hind legs, waves to his enemies, announce to them that he plans to stun, and then casts it. It is better off to let someone else initiate and you land your stun while they are slow/stunned/preoccupied.
• Diabolic Edict and Pulse Nova damage invisible units.
• Diabolic Edict can damage Magic Immune Units.
• Positioning is key for this hero. You have a high base movement speed of 315, use it to your advantage. Only Pugna, Luna, Choas Knight, Lone Druid, Legion Commander, and Naga Siren have base values faster than 315.
• Lightning Storm can be ignored by Linken's Sphere. If you cast it on someone carrying a Linken's Sphere, it will be dispelled completely with 0 bounces, but if you cast it on someone/something else, and it bounces to a Linken's Sphere, it will still proc the Linken's Sphere, protecting them from damage, but continue bouncing. This is a great way to remove Linken's Spheres in fights.