Magebane - Feel the Burn!

[Shixax]

Version Upgrades:
-Original (Still like dota's antimage)
-1.59 Closed Beta.
-1.66.1 Closed Beta.
-0.3.4.1 Open Beta
-1.02 Release
-2.0.10 HoN 2.0

Background

http://www.honwiki.net/w/images/b/bd/Magebanehero.gif
http://www.honwiki.net/wiki/File:Magebanehero.gif

A keeper of lost lore and a priest to forgotten gods, Magebane invokes unholy rituals to drain the energy of his enemies and turn it back against them. In less desperate times, heretics such as Magebane would have been burned at the stake, but this is not the first unexpected clemency brought about by the war against the Hellbourne.


Starting Attributes


Damage: 46-50
Armor: 3.08
Move speed: 320
Attack type: Melee (100)
Attack rate: 0.69

Strength 20 (+1.6)
Agility 22 (+2.8)
Intelligence 15 (+1.5)

Roles:
Early - Babysitted
Mid - Farmer/Ganker
Late - Carry

Pros

-Mana Combustion is good against mages in mid and low mana pool heroes in late.
-Ult is devastating if used right because it has ministun and AoE.
-Fastest Attack Speed in the whole game.
-Very good carry with escape mechanism.


Cons

-Low Health in early and regular in late with items.
-Low mana in early if played incorrectly.
-Extremely item dependent hero and Most suited for a pub, although IMO could go to competitive with a good game play style.


Skills



Mana Combustion

http://www.honwiki.net/w/images/9/95/Magebaneskill1.gif

On each attack, Magebane drains some of the target's Mana. The drained Mana combusts, dealing additional damage back to the target.

Exclusive Modifier (http://www.honwiki.net/wiki/Exclusive_modifier) (Stacks with everything except with Other mana burning modifiers)
Manacost Passive
Targeting Passive
Cooldown None
Detailed Effect Takes 16/32/48/64 of the targets Mana and deals Physical damage equal to 60% of the Mana taken. (By taking, it means draining but not stealing for yourself, aka burning)


Flash
http://www.honwiki.net/w/images/4/4a/Magebaneskill2.gif

In a flash of light, Magebane is able to teleport a short distance to a target location.

Manacost 60 mana.
Targeting Ground, Min. range 200, max range 1000/1075/1150
Cooldown 12/9/7/5 seconds
Detailed Effect Teleport self to target position. Applies Flash Armor (Self) to self for 10 seconds and applies Flash Armor to allies within 500 units of target position for 7 seconds.

Flash Effects:

-Self: +3/+6/+12/+15 Magic Armor
-Others: +2/+3/+4/+5


Master of the Mantra

http://www.honwiki.net/w/images/c/c1/Magebaneskill3.gif

Magebane proves he is the master of the flow of Magic around him, limiting the speed enemies can control it while damaging them if they cast.

Manacost Passive
Targeting Passive
Cooldown None
AoE 600
Detailed Effect -15/-20/-25/-30 Cast Speed. Damaged for 35%/50%/65%/80% of abilities and items manacost when cast.

Mana Rift (Ultimate)
http://www.honwiki.net/w/images/3/34/Magebaneskill4.gif

Magebane tears a rift in a target unit's mind, stunning it briefly. He then detonates the rift, dealing damage in an area around the target based on how much Mana the target has missing. The more Mana the target is missing, the higher the damage dealt.

Manacost 125/200/275
Targeting Enemy Hero
Cooldown 120/100/80 seconds
Detailed Effect Deals 0.6/0.85/1.10 Magic damage per Mana point missing from primary target to 250 AOE around it and stuns primary target for 0.1/0.2/0.3 seconds.


Skill Build


1.- Flash
2.- Mana Combustion
3.- Mana Combustion
4.- Flash
5.- Mana Combustion
6.- Mana Rift
7.- Mana Combustion
8.- Flash
9.- Flash
10.- Master of the Mantra
11.- Mana Rift
12.- Master of the Mantra
13.- Master of the Mantra
14.- Master of the Mantra
15.- Stat Points
16.- Mana Rift
17-25.- Stat Points





Skill explanation:

You need the first level of Flash for mobility. The extra skill point at lv 4 that can't be used for mana combustion would have a much better use if you get Flash instead of another level of Master of the Mantra, maybe even stats for laning, but the few seconds off the cooldown on Flash are really worth it.



Item Build


Runes of the Blight


http://www.honwiki.net/w/images/0/09/Runes_of_the_Blightitem.gif X 1

Health Potion
http://honwiki.net/w/images/4/4c/Health_Potionitem.gifX 1

Get two of these:

Minor Totems
http://www.honwiki.net/w/images/b/bb/Minor_Totemitem.gif X 2

This should be enough to let you stay in peace in your lane for a while. And for last hitting (although that's easy with mage due to his awesome animation), get a logger's hatchet!

TIMBEEEER!
http://honwiki.net/w/images/0/04/Logger%27s_Hatchetitem.gif X 1

Alternatively, you can also get an...

Iron Buckler
http://honwiki.net/w/images/0/05/Iron_Buckleritem.gifX 1

Get this when you know you are gonna get harassed a lot. The stats are better for last hitting, but the stout is really helpful against the auto attacks of ranged heroes. You will be getting this next if you rather get Minor Totems and two healing items, since this can be turned into an Iron Shield or Helmet of the Black Legion later on. If you do decide to get it first, I prefer the health pot over the Runes of Blight with whatever gold you have left. For this part of the guide, I'm going to stick with my personal build, so next up you are going to get:

Marchers
http://www.honwiki.net/w/images/7/7d/Marchersitem.gif X 1

Then you can either finish off your steamboots, you wanna make em strength first cause you will need it for survivability, or get a Helmet of the Black Legion. If you are gonna be farming some more, Helmet might just be the way to go, due to the 5 health regen from the Life Tube. However, take into account that helmet is somewhat situational. It always helps, but the other team might deal a huge amount of magical damage rather than physical damage, so for the sake of this guide, let's say you get steamboots first, since it still gives 190 hp and the extra movement speed is ALWAYS good.

Steamboots
http://www.honwiki.net/w/images/7/70/Steam_Bootsitem.gif http://honwiki.net/w/images/8/88/Steambootsitem.gifStr Steamboots

Now here is up to you. You got 2 choices, choose wisely as it varies from situation to situation. This items are important for magebane's survivability and shouldn't be skipped.

Helm of the Black Legion
http://www.honwiki.net/w/images/f/f4/Helm_of_the_Black_Legionitem.gif X 1 If they lack mages

After getting this you can turn your steamboots to Agi, I personally just keep em on strength.

Null Stone
http://www.honwiki.net/w/images/7/7d/Null_Stoneitem.gif X 1 If they got Deadly targeting skills.

As far as I know, any targeting skill can be blocked and this is lifesaving against heroes as blood, lego, pyro, witch slayer, [Insert 1-Shot 1-Kill skill here] Also the regen and stats are pretty nice. However the cost is extremely high, should only go for it if your gpm is real high, and even then you might wanna get a Shrunken Head first. Which reminds me:

Shrunken Head
http://honwiki.net/w/images/a/a4/Shrunken_Headitem.gifX 1

Now you wanna get your damage item, personally, I would go:

Savage Mace
http://honwiki.net/w/images/7/79/Savage_Maceitem.gifX 1

It was actually Shield Breaker, but with the change that made lifesteal an exclusive attack modifier, well it doesn't work as well as it did (sure you can manually change between attack modifiers but 1. It is a pain and 2. By doing so you really have to work that micro and that can be distracting, especially since the shield breaker debuff doesn't really last long). Still, Savage Mace gives a little attack speed buff, which goes well with Magebane, 88 physical damage and 35% chance to deal 100 physical damage, which I personally believe it's cool. Also, in case it's needed, it gives True Strike, which means you DON'T MISS.

Now, remember I mentioned lifesteal? Yes, you will wanna get this little guy now, or maybe before savage mace, depends on your survivability item and pace of the game:

Whispering Helm
http://honwiki.net/w/images/5/58/Whispering_Helmitem.gifX 1

Now, for my favorite:

Wing Bow
http://www.honwiki.net/w/images/4/44/Wingbowitem.gif X 1

I already said magebane is the fastest hero in the game. Not because he can increase his attack speed more than everyone, but because his base attack speed is faster and that allows him to have the fastest att speed in the game without having more att speed items. Get him one of this babies and he's ready to roll.

Symbol of Rage
http://www.honwiki.net/w/images/1/10/Symbol_of_Rageitem.gif X 1

This is just what you needed, the item that will make you immortal and also pretty hard to get except if you are farming noobs. Btw, with immortal I mean you will be pretty hard to kill unless they got some nasty disables or they outcarry you, which, if you got this far, it's very unlikely.

And the last item is...

Homecoming stones!
http://www.honwiki.net/w/images/8/8d/Homecoming_Stoneitem.gif X 1 - 2

And it's no joke, from your first time back to base you should always carry one or two of these around just in case you need to tp to base. A good Idea with magebane is to blink to somewhere unreachable and tp base to escape annihilation. This is just a general reminder though, it's common knowledge to ALWAYS carry homecoming stones.

Now I'm gonna post a summary of what items to buy, in what order, and your final item build.

Summary

Build 1 (Preferred and tested Build)

Early
x1 Health Potion
x1 Iron Buckler
x1 Logger's hatchet
x1 Marchers
x1 Helmet of the Black Legion
x1 Str Steamboots

Sometimes farm is bad, which means you might end up finishing your Helmet or Steamboots by the start of midgame.

Mid
x1 Whispering Helm/Shrunken Head
x1 Savage Mace

Late
x1 Shrunken Head/Whispering Helm
x1 Wingbow
x1 Symbol of Rage

*Carry Homecoming stones since your first time back to base.

Final Build

Shrunken Head
Steamboots
Symbol Of Rage
Wingbow
Savage Mace

The final item can be anything you want. You can carry Homecoming Stones in case you fear backdoor, or another damage item. The thing is, your best damage item choice at this point will probably be Riftshards, but the last slot is very situational, so just do as you see fit.

The reason I don't suggest Geometer's Bane, is because by this point in the game, all it does is 50 damage per illusion, because it only deals a percentage of your base damage, plus a little from the mana burn. While that is +130 or so with illusions, plus the extra speed, but by this point of the game, Riftshards would scale better.

Build 2

Early
x1 Runes of the Blight
x1 Health Potion
x2 Minor Totems
x1 Logger's Hatchet
x1 Iron Shield (Buy in the store next to you)
x1 Steamboots Str/Agi
x1 Lifetube

Mid
x1 Runed Axe
x1 Shrunken Head

Late
x1 Abyssal Skull
x1 Frostburn
Trade Iron Shield for:
x1 Wingbow

*Carry Homecoming stones since your first time back to base.

Final Build

Shrunken Head
Steamboots
Abyssal SKull
Wingbow
Frostburn
Runed Axe

Note: Only build 1 is tested and IT WORKS. Build two might be good but remains untested.



Gameplay




General Tips

This are discussed much more In-Depth later on, but it's just so you can take them into account or if you are in a hurry just so you get an idea.

- Blink in front of the target when pursuing to get extra hits.
- Farm as much as you can, as fast as you can. During mid-game, if your lane is getting ganked much, you can go around the map picking off anyone that's left alone. At this point of the game, your burn hurts like hell and your Aoe Ult is hated by your enemies.
- Do not be afraid to keep pursuing the enemy. Try to avoid towers by blinking. If you have to back before he is dead, he either got backup or you blinked in at a wrong time. KEEP MAP AWARENESS.
- When escaping, run in one direction and discretely flash to another.
- When escaping, blink to a hill or behind the woods in the edges of the map and then Tp base for a sure escape.




Early Game

When starting the game get your items and go to your lane, it's always good to creep block a little. You cannot really gank at runes, but you can scout it and pick it off and then blink away before you get ganked. About creep blocking, in your case you wanna be just outside of tower's range at all times so you can rush back to it and the tower won't push your lane, which is bad at early in most cases.

Take it easy on early, you cannot make any kill until you get your ult or unless you are coupled with a disabler (which rocks since if he can stun/freeze/slow/silence him you can blink in and try to go for the kill). Your main focus should be to farm your survivability item, at this point.

When blinking, try to blink in front of the hero, almost on top of him. If done right, you can get from one to a couple of extra hits in, if done wrong, at most you can get one extra hit. Here's a bit of advice, when blinking, take into account your opponent's level of gameplay. If he turns around when you blink in front on him, then, when blinking, blink just behind him instead of in front of him and watch him walk to you.

Things to take into consideration: If you have to back after you blink into combat, then you didn't blink right and have no escape mechanism available. When you are sure you can get the kill, or think he will start backing when you blink in instead of fighting, then go ahead. The thing about magebane is that you shouldn't back until you get the kill. You gotta be a little stubborn but also know your limit. What I'm saying is that if his skill are on cooldown or has little mana and life then blink in and you can try and tower dive and then blink away, you gotta be careful though.

Mid Game

Keep farming! That's right, Magebane has no nukes or disables other than his ult, so you really need your items, however, he hits like a truck once he has a couple of items and his ult can land you some nice kills. If your lane is getting some pressure, DO NOT PANIC: It's your time to SHINE! Go around the map ganking the hell out of 'em. You already should have steamboots and your ult around lv 2. You are in your prime and if you have done well you should already have at least a couple of kills. This is the time when you gotta be the most careful though.

Remember, your role right now is that of a farmer, whenever the lane is free, go back to it and squeeze out any rice you can get. Your goal is to get your survivability item, if you haven't already, and if you can your damage item.


Late Game

You are either 4 things. Immortal due to your superb blinks, great damage and competent team, a decent carry that can manage in a team fight but ends up backing before it's finished, one of the firsts to die in battle as you are targeted before you can run away and your team does nothing to help you or worse, you are the one screwing up the whole game for your team and feeding the other team.

Whoever you are, try to remember this things. When in battle, work together with your team and aim at a single target. If the target is a mana dependent hero then ult away because if you targeted him first, he's gotta be the one holding the other team together. If he is not mana dependent, try to save your ult for killing 1-3 heroes that are mana dependent, beware of the temptation to ks, beware.

The best way to go is to attack the one disabled or the one left behind or the mage that cancels your team lineup but for some reason no one is paying attention to him. The target is always defined in-game with your team, when I say all this, this are just some basic pointers of what a magebane can do, it all comes down to your item build in the end.


Good Teamates

Any disabler. Be it Glacius, Pollywog, lego, devourer, any1. The best mate is the one whose disable last longer. Also allies that will keep you alive, such as Jera and Nymph are good.

For laning you will DEFINITELY need a babysitter that can harass, creep pull and stack for you and counter ward... this means a good player, not any specific hero. Demented Shaman is a good example, due to it's heal. Demented Shaman is incredibly good, although everything is rapefest when it includes Dazzle.

As your role is to be the carry and have no effective way of slowing anyone down the best mates are those who can keep the enemy pinned down for you or those who can help you become invincible in combat.


Worst Enemies and Lane's Lineups

TB: I don't care if you think that just because you are magebane you can kill this one easily. A skilled TB will kill you with 2-3 nukes in early b4 you can burn away half of his life. A skilled TB, will try and juke you through the jungle while nuking you with his lightning bolt that doesn't reveal position. Just terrifying. In late however, you got the upper hand, not in early to mid though. When fighting this guy, get em out in the open and just go headfirst into him. You gotta be quick, for every seven seconds you delay, he will nuke away a big chunk of your HP, so take advantage of his slow MS and get him when you can get a clear vision of him, since his nuke doesn't reveal him.

Defiler: Let's see, a low cooldown damaging wave. Silence so you can't blink away nor use your ult and his ult is devastating when trying to pursue him or in any other occasion except with a tank. This one is really hard to kill especially if equipped tank-like in late when his ghost will come back to him and heal him his lost life, extra care recommended.

Succubus: A correctly played succubus is deadly 1-1 or in team fights if he targets you. He can sleep you so you will be around when the fight is over and they will focus on you, he can ult you so you won't have anyway to run, he can take away your damage so you have to entirely rely on mana burn or won't be able to fight at all. Null Stone recommended for this. Pay close attention to his mana, he has a high mana cost for his spells, so abuse that.

Puppet Master: High DPS, cancels your blink or forces you to attack your own team. Doesn't need to be explained more. Wait till team fights to get him since he might not focus on you. When grabbed, try to get him till you can blink away, or get someone else. When ulted, blink away and then come back.

Blood Hunter: He can silence you indefinitely, period. Even if he increases your damage, you won't probably be able to get to him. His ult also cuts your chase off. Have a null stone with you to fight him and wait till he silences himself or someone else to go in, unless you trust your teammates to get him when you can't.

Credits




That's it, credit goes to myself and pie's guide to magina in dota-allstars forums from which I gained part of the knowledge a year or so back. The metagame, skill and my knowledge has changed much, and I'm a better player now, so I hope this guide proves useful. Look forward to updates on this guide and I value your feedback! Thanks.

Special Thanks to: The people on this thread for their feedbacks.
-Killda (Man haven't seen you in a while)
-Skull4er (Added the worst enemies lineups)

[exnx]

you should type out the item names because the pictures won't load

[brn4meplz]

Think he means Homecoming stones.


My build is pretty similar from the Steam Boots to the helm for Melee dps classes or the Headress for high dmg casters(neither if a balanced team) I very rarely get the brutalizer. Typically i go for Elder Parasite/Hack the increased attack speed and increased movement on parasites active ability is good for chasing and hack allows you to stay close by. i usually choose hack cause it's dirst cheap for him

If your pubbing it up a shield breaker is pretty decent as his mana burn deals physical dmg

[Utred]

Is helm of the black legion worth the cost?

[Paragon]

Magebane is very squishy. You need a strong survivability item, which will usually be Helm of the Black Legion if you're up against several strong physical heroes, and Shaman's Headress if you're up against nukers.

[cremson]

Good guide, a few sugestions thow. After u get a helm of the black legion and steamboots u should aim for abyssal skull if the are a lot of melle players in your team, or whispering helm if there are few melle or some1 allready has abyssal skull. The big life steal helps a lot mid game as u will have to survive in team aoe fights w/o ur expensive items. A good adition to ur guide would be pics of the blink distances and how to blink in order to dodge enemys ( i dont know if u can dodge stuns in hon like u could in dota). Some gameplay tactics will also help and will make ppl play him better early game.

[Paragon]

i dont know if u can dodge stuns in hon like u could in dota
Most of the projectiles in HoN move much faster and are therefore much more difficult to dodge.

I have, if you're curious, Blinked out right as Pebbles landed Toss on me, and I ended up zooming all the way back from where I blinked to where the Toss would have placed me. It was weird. I'm not entirely sure I took damage.

[cremson]

yes i know they move a lot faster, i was talking about stuns like hammerstorms stun , and other similar skills.

[ElementUser]

4.- Stat PointsThat Blink cooldown is more important than +2 stats, believe me

Headdress is overkill if you have your Spell Resistance. Spend the money on HP items instead.

[rhodric1]

sweet guide.
i usually start out with 2x runes, 2x crowns, and 1x minor totem.
also I almost never get bashers on him unless I'm super rich. it's just not useful enough to justify the price.

[a_cloth]

That Blink cooldown is more important than +2 stats, believe me

Headdress is overkill if you have your Spell Resistance. Spend the money on HP items instead.


Agreed I believe you never need headdress on magebane. You already have magic resistance. The problem isnt the damage the spells do but the disables like stunning nukes. The money for headress would be much better spent on shrunken head for damage/ health/ survivability.

Also remember you can get elder parasite on magebane for lifesteal and more attack speed, since your mana burn scales with attack speed. This can be used to replace your helm of the black legion

[Paragon]

Elder Parasite makes him squishier. I don't think that it's ever a good item on Magebane. It works on Chronos because he gets six seconds to attack you for free.

[Shixax]

Just so you all know, as I said most of the survivability items are situational, I usually get null for the mana regen + spell negation and as you said shaman headdress isn't most cases the best choices, BUT you might need it agains tons of nukers or aoe damagers, that's why it is SITUATIONAL, thx for the feedback.

[EnragedCamel]

Is the damage done by mana burn added to life steal, or does lifesteal only works on the base damage?

[Shixax]

As far as I know, only your own damage. Mana burn is dealt as an additional damage which in lv 4 would be equivalent to 3/4 of 51. Some say it does, haven't really payed attention.

[Farow]

i would reccomend something like Sange and Yasha ( im too lazy to learn HoN names ) instead of the flayer for more atk speed and movement, also the ability to main the target, that plus blink is basically giving the enemy no escape, and the blink cooldown is probably more important than stats early game.

[Shixax]

Again listen for a second. You all don't appreciate the value of stats. Early on is when they have the biggest value. Flash does the same at all lvs but increses distance by 50 and reduces cooldown by 3 seconds, compare that to having extra dmg, armor, health, regen, att speed, an overall boost. Noting you can't get from 2 minor totems of course but it's free and it's just to give you more survivability. You might say, just get 2 minor totems then, but it doesn't require you to go back to base and if you have been following my build then your inventory is already full of minor totems. When you escape with 30 hp or so from a gank, you don't think about it, but if you had those 2 extra points, those just saved you and that has happened to me many times.

[Noivern]

mmm the skill build imo depends on your enemies: if there a lot of nukers, max up spell resistant first and thunderbringer/pyromancer will be a joke

[Kirbyski]

I have to admit this is one of the heroes I am worst with and I dont know many players who are solid with him but I do know that he has the potential to be quite deadly - This guide looks like it is what I need to take him the full length :D thanks

[SuperStanos]

Null Stone really isn't a good item for the cost.

[Utred]

I have to admit this is one of the heroes I am worst with and I dont know many players who are solid with him but I do know that he has the potential to be quite deadly - This guide looks like it is what I need to take him the full length :D thanks
Imo magebane is just not on par with the better heroes in the game atm.

[a_cloth]

Elder Parasite makes him squishier. I don't think that it's ever a good item on Magebane. It works on Chronos because he gets six seconds to attack you for free.

Ya it is a huge trade off, but because nukes do less damage to magebane the 20% extra damage doesn't make as big of an impact. Also remember that the 20% extra damage doesn't occur until after the buff wears off. I'd say magebane is one of the better candidates for elder parasite.

Also if you get a brutalizer at any point, then you should DEFINITELY consider elder parasite. 2 passives that scale with attack speed makes it a hard item to pass up.

Try to think of it like this. Which 3 item combination will make a bigger impact lategame? (lategame is when you dominate)

Helm of the Black Legion/Wingbow/Shrunken Head

vs.

Elder Parasite/Wingbow/Shrunken Head

Also null Stone is kinda a joke right now for the cost.

[evotech]

Magebane is a beast. Its the only hero i know how to play well, because of the playstyle. When i play other heroes i forget i dont have a blink to save me, leaving me dead alot when i take "unsafe" routes.

I dont agree at all with the spell build though, you want to max flash and mana combution first / take one point of spell protection if you are in a lane against nukers. then when you are done with flash / MC / Ulti, you take either stats or spell protection based onthe other team

Never get shamans, ever. It give syou +10 Magic resist, at lv 4, you have +15 resist. Making all spells a waste on you to begin with.

[Shixax]

Many ppl discuss which is the best survivability item in this case, what I'm saying, it's that its situational. Im not very fond of elder parasite though

[evotech]

I go hotbl and whispering helm for this guy, idk, when you get the evasion form winbow aswell you are just a unkillable monster

hes blink make it so you can farm lanes without fear too, so teh ability to escape ganks easily make you a very potent farmer who should have alot of golds

[Volt]

Magebane is by far my favorite hero, and this guide helped me very much. Elder Paras + Magebane = no mana. Me and a Predator reversed a game with a 5+ level fed Blood Hunter. Magebane for the win.

[brn4meplz]

thats funny cause Blood Hunter is actually a hard counter to magebane. He's got the longest lasting Silence in the game, and the cooldown allows it to overlap with duration. Essentially you can never blink when there is a Blood Hunter.

[evotech]

unless if you just fight him, and drain his mana, then he cant recast it and you can blink out

[TGR1]

Nice guide but i don't feel the burn sorry

[DemonStar]

Nice guide. Magebane is the ultimate carry hero. You should mention that he has 0.69 Attack Speed (meaning 1 attack every 1.44 seconds, rather than 1 attack every 1.69 seconds). Also has 320 base move speed, but sometimes I like to get Yasha/Slash on him for faster move speed.

A few questions:
- If not getting Elder Parasite, what is the next best orb effect? Is Helm of the Dominator the best choice, or is it smart to just stick with Vlad's and perhaps get another orb effect later.

- Will Diffusal Blade stack with Magebane's mana burn? It also helps a lot with preventing heroes from running away.

[brn4meplz]

Unfortunately Mana burn is an exclusive modifier to everything in HoN. Unlike his Spell resistance which stacks with Shamans headdress. So no only his innate manaburn is used.

Typically you don't need to worry about Lifesteal items until much later, when you have a damage output where it matters, but yes if your not getting Elder parasite then Wispering Helm(Helm of the Dominator) is your best choice, it is also used in the symbol of Rage which got a nice buff as of 1.37.

[Shixax]

Nice guide. Magebane is the ultimate carry hero. You should mention that he has 0.69 Attack Speed

I DID mention it, it's at the beginning



Also has 320 base move speed

Again, already at the begining.


Will Diffusal Blade stack with Magebane's mana burn? It also helps a lot with preventing heroes from running away.

Did you even read the guide? You can find the answer when you read the skill description in this guide, but to help you out, no, it doesn't stack.


If not getting Elder Parasite, what is the next best orb effect? Is Helm of the Dominator the best choice, or is it smart to just stick with Vlad's and perhaps get another orb effect later.

It's explained in my guide why it's good to get elder parasite, but also why I don't recommend it and say you get symbol of rage (Satanic) later on. You see, most people get elder parasite since your mana burn scales with att speed and since this is the fastest hero in the game you can really do some damage with the extra 75% att speed.

The reason, I don't recommend elder parasite, is because it either replaces or delays a survivability item magebane needs, being the fragile carry he is during most time of the game. In a game where many disables are present, I would rather get a null stone if they are targeted, even though most ppl think it's not worth your money (which is a lie since it cancels any targeting spell and that helps a lot).

In a game where nukers are abundant, get a Shaman's Headdress(that most ppl think it's not worth it due to your already big magic resistance, but the headdress is good for regen and the extra resistance does help since you should only get it when really needed).

Most other times, get a helm of the black legion(since it helps you keep pursuing and general survivability)

The reason I wouldn't get elder parasite is because it makes you receive 20% more damage, even though you are faster, already got a escape mechanism and can really dish out damage with it. the lifesteal is at most in that lv 20-30 healed hp per hit which is nothing compared to blocking 40 damage of incoming attacks.

The main reason, though, is and will always be the 20% extra dmg. In most serious games you cannot afford that cuz with a normal duration disable they can finish you off due to you receiving extra damage instead of having something to block it.

It's affordable in pubs though, cuz mostly noobs don't fight in teams and you can own any 2 or 1 heroes by yourself with it, unless they got an awesomme disable.

Basically

Elder Parasite:
-Affordable for Pubs
-Mostly bad for serious games in this hero (if you think this is a lie read the above post through and retrace steps to the guide item build)

[Killda]

All the guides i've seen are almost completely ignorant to the fact that magebane can now have orb effect items unlike he could in dota, and all these builds are very similar to the old dota builds for anti mage.

One thing anti mage always lacked was a disable or slow of some sort, now he can have that, but none of the builds i've seen recommend hack and slash or another slowing item in any way, or the new desolator for that matter.

This is why I see it wrong for you to write a guide on a hero that you just used in dota and obviously have not used very much in HoN, or have and just not up to his full potential.

[Hippie]

Hack and Slash is often not worth it in the least on most heroes - the gold to stats value on it is mediocre at best, and a chance for a slow doesn't make up for that.

If you need a solid slow, go Frostwolf IMO. It'll take a while to build up to, but the slow and the HP will make up for it in the long run. Of course, this is assuming you can't simply slaughter people with your damage+movespeed+blink.

[Shixax]

Umm lemme tell you something, my build is made to get the most out of this hero, as far as I can see, of course there can always be improvement but what you are saying is that my build is worth nothing and that my experience with Magebane in HoN is close to 0.

Well I've already said why and how my build works and that it is proven, so let's see. You suggest Hack and Slash instead, I didn't put it in as a choice for several reasons but the most important being, you cannot get your moneys worth out of it.

Simply put, Hack and Slash is good. Increases your att speed, ms, maims and increases your dmg a bit and health. Also, it costs around 2000 more gold than a brutalizer and the brutalizer's stun not only slows, but disables a hero in all ways, even for 1.1 seconds, that with magebane's att speed happens every 2-3 seconds.

So let me put it this way, you are saying im not suggesting any slowing item. Strictly speaking, no, I'm not. I'm, however, suggesting a more cost effective build which helps not only in pursuing but also during combar, allowing you to get more hits in than your enemy.

About putting the new desolator or other orb effects that now stack, you might notice im focusing on attack speed rather than damage as his mana burn scales with damage. I did add a symbol of rage, which is the satanic equivalent and a flayer (buriza) since I find critical far more charming than -6 defense, especially for lifesteal.

That's about it, don't think I haven't given my guide some serious thought before posting 12 pages of word about magebane.

[Killda]

Brutalizer in no way allows you to get more hits on your enemy. Hack n Slash provides magebane with everything he needs after steamboots and HoBT. Health, as, ms, dmg, and A SLOW. Once maim procs, you get 5 or more hits on the enemy than you normally would, since he is slowed to a crawl and ur ms is unreal with the boost from from HnS.

Brutalizer on the other hand, is a good item, but not as good as hack n slash for magebane, because although it does stun, it provides a 1 second stun, for MB to get in 1 or 2 more hits and then try to proc another, instead of the maim effect that allows far more hits on the enemy in that time.

As for the beserk lifesteal item....meh, i wouldn't see it usable until you have obtained hack n slash, to provide you with the slow to land those constant hits, or if you have competant allies that will actually stun and slow enemies (haven't run into many in the pubs i've played unfortunately).

And flayer should only ever come after you have hit your peak (not max) attack speed. So getting an mkb before the buriza makes more sense to maximize attack speed and damage. But most games will not last long enough for both.

[Llama]

eldar parasite is great for farming, thats why i take it

[Killda]

lol @ buying an item that makes you attack faster for farming, that's just lazy, makes alot more sense to get battlefury, regen (hp and mana), and damage.

[Shixax]

I DO think your build is good, but I still like my build a lot, ima add it though Since it's a reliable alternative in some cases (not fully convinced yet) Oh wait, it already somewhat is (build 2 in summary part) revise that one though cause it doesn't convice me yet please.

[Bali1]

nice guide, too bad magebane isnt worth playing

[Lethe]

nice guide, too bad magebane isnt worth playing

yea that's always a real shame.

[Killda]

I DO think your build is good, but I still like my build a lot, ima add it though Since it's a reliable alternative in some cases (not fully convinced yet) Oh wait, it already somewhat is (build 2 in summary part) revise that one though cause it doesn't convice me yet please.
Glad you agree, thanks for seeing me eye to eye. Gonna add you to buddy list on HoN, always enjoy playing with good players, if you can at least come to terms and agree, usually means ur damn good at the game, and not a terrible cocky player.

Username's Killda, see you online.

[Loosance]

Double runed axe is one of the best build in public game (starting with 2 lifetube) its nearly impossible to stop his farm and hard to catch up the outfarming in late, in team magebane is nearly unplayable in HON (he is unplayable in Dota too) even if you have a jereziah providing the support/babbysit.

[KPhux]

nice guide, too bad magebane isnt worth playing

I take it that Scout is your hero of choice? :D

[Bali1]

I take it that Scout is your hero of choice?

Pharaoh/Electrician actually :o

[Shixax]

Magebane is a great hero if used correctly, the problem is that he is way too item dependent so if you screw up even once you are done for. I don't see why it isn't worth playing though.

[Shixax]

Bump

I'm only doing this so my guide is in the front page since my guide's link in the sticky is broken and if you don't have the name right you won't find it. Hope they fix it soon.

[Ryuusen]

well i aways do this build and i never had a problem

2 bracers and 2 soulscreams (u need them on early game becouse u r squishy and need stats,sell em when u need or qhen ur inventory is full)
steam boots
whispering helm(later on symbol)
helm of the black legion
wingbow
now make symbol of rage
after this u should alredy b owning but anyway
if u wanna b a godly tank dpser go 4 heart of behemoth altough u never get this far and the shaman

isnt very realiable cos u alredy have a great magic armor go for it unless they have 5 nukers wich would b stupid

[Glorify1]

Why the random stat point?

[dreamex]

Good effort on the guide, lots of really really misguided discussion in the topic.

A few notes:

1. Magebane doesn't need a slow, having the fastest movespeed and a blink ability along with the fastest attack speed means if you're halfway decent at animation cancelling you'll keep damaging a target even if they try to run. The Brutalizer is a holdover from DotA where Magebane was a near-perma basher and is important to reducing an opponents ability to fight you, not to reduce his/her ability to run away. It's not as viable in HoN due to the inherent Bash Cooldown, but since Brutalizer was buffed to 1.4 seconds in the latest patch you can see Magebane late game stunning nearly every 2 seconds.

2. Hack and Slash and Helm of the Black Legion are both terrible items on Magebane. Magebane doesn't need movespeed, he's faster than every single hero, and he has a blink, if you don't suck you won't ever need to run slightly faster to catch up to 90% of the heroes (even if they phase). Similarly, the slow is unreliable and unnecessary to kill heroes, would you rather be wailing on someone for an extra few seconds while they're retaliating or be able to double your damage output with something like a Savage Mace instead? H/S also provides little benefit offensively. HotBL is acceptable if you intend to disassemble it and turn the Beastheart into a Behemoth's Heart and the Lifetube into a Runed Axe, but buying Behemoth's Heart is really subpar on Magebane. If you need the survivability I'd recommend items that have value later on. Steamboots + Bolstering Armband (used in a Brutalizer if you opt that route) + Mighty Axe (used in Shrunken Head, which is important if facing strong disables) will provide you with a ton of HP and your naturally high Agi growth will give you good armor. A single Slash is reasonable now that they've ported the change to Geometer's Bane, you may opt for this if you intend to build a Geometer's late game to improve your damage output.

3. You should leverage his mobility and attack speed into a strong pushing presence with a Runed Axe either as a first or second major item. It allows him to push side lanes while his team pushes mid lane and then he can quickly blink away from ganks and rejoin them. Not only does this greatly speed up his farm but it provides additional value to your team. The only hero that can reliably gank Magebane is Bloodhunter, and with judicial use of wards you should see that coming a mile away.

4. Most of Magebane's limitations come from his inability to contribute except in the most aggressive of setups. He has remarkably high dps from early levels thanks to the buffed mana burn damage but his paper stature makes him a poor hero to play in pubs where everything is solo solo. At this point he is relegated to hard carry status and can only rice for half the game and attempt to carry later on. He saw limited use in DotA as a semi-carry + pushing hero with Runed Axe + Steamboots + Brutalizer/Wingbow setups. In HoN he can play the same way, a 5 second disable setup by an electrician will give magebane opportunity to deal 400+ melee damage by level 7 when you factor in mana combustion damage. That's almost as much as swiftblade can do via Frenzy, and there's no cooldown or mana limitation to Magebane.

He has some potential with recent buffs to Brutalizer and his attack animation, as well as the slight buff to his Mana Burn.

I wrote a guide to playing him as a semi-carry/pusher awhile back, but that was before the buffs in this patch. Dunno if there's any value for you in it to help your guide :)

http://forums.heroesofnewerth.com/showthread.php?t=15105

[Mizaru1]

thats funny cause Blood Hunter is actually a hard counter to magebane. He's got the longest lasting Silence in the game, and the cooldown allows it to overlap with duration. Essentially you can never blink when there is a Blood Hunter.

Y the hell would he silence u unless ur losing? Him silencing u means he is dead from the extra damage u have + ur crazy att speed.

[dreamex]

Y the hell would he silence u unless ur losing? Him silencing u means he is dead from the extra damage u have + ur crazy att speed.

You are pushing a lane solo top with a runed axe.

3 Heroes come from the woods and you blink away.

You are pushing the same lane solo top with a runed axe.

Blood hunter + 2 heroes come from the woods, you get silenced and ganked hard.

Before you ask why you are pushing a lane solo, that is one of the strengths of having Magebane on your team. He provides intangibles in terms of mobility and presence all over the map due to his blink and high movespeed. He can be pushing a side lane and rejoin his team for a push while you are wasting your time trying to catch up to gank him.

Bloodhunter to a degree counters this, though if your in a more competitive game then there will likely be a ward battle to provide you intelligence on how to avoid the ganks.

[Mephs]

unless if you just fight him, and drain his mana, then he cant recast it and you can blink out

If BH silences magebane he's in for a world of hurt (assuming late game and not a gank)

But why you would pick magebane is beyond me, unless you think your team will last to the 1hr mark :p

[Pyros]

Magebane can rape before that, he's a relatively early carry, and his attack animation makes it easy to last hit a lot. In the current patch at least I think he's fine, you can farm a wingbow by 30-35mins. I made some different stuff for him though, I first bought a hatchet for easy last hits/jungling, the new agi shield instead of a ring, the mana battery instead of the other soulscreem ring, then steam boots and farmed for wingbow. The advice of "do not KS" is stupid though, against players you should by all means KS so you make sure they don't escape with a random stun, plus you're a carry so you should be the one finishing people anyway. So just KS people with the ulti or blink+finish.

I agree BH would put Magebane in trouble really fast though, unless you outfarm him.

[Shixax]

Will update in the near future.

[Servitor]

Pharaoh/Electrician actually :o
You have awesome taste! :)

Edit: I liked this guide. Looking forward as to how the new one will be.

[Skull4er]

some thinks you should mention.
best lane buddies (for example polly, glacius, demented, pesti)
worst enemis (succubus(problably the worst enemy in early/midd), Puppet (puppetshold disables blink, and puppetshow increases the time you can't get away if ganked), electicin(probably best friend and worst foe for everyone?), bloodhunter(was already explained).
and magebane is not the fastest hero :P madman is just a lvl above it, and maliken can also get a higher attackspeed (as far as he drops low enough).

I usually always get a rift shard on magebane, Is it worth it what do you guys think?

[xXKnighTXx]

niiiiice as guide! i played twice following this guide to the word, i got 19/0 on the first and 10/4 on the second, we won them both!

[JaySean]

nice guide,

i play magebane as my main,

usually i go :

X6 Blight
X3 Totem
X1 Lodge Axe

then ghost marchers,

helm,

geo,

brut,

then whatever, wing,

[Zehbear]

Why are we taking stats over another level of flash? I mean c'mon!

[Shixax]

Guide is finally UPDATED


some thinks you should mention.
best lane buddies (for example polly, glacius, demented, pesti)
worst enemis (succubus(problably the worst enemy in early/midd), Puppet (puppetshold disables blink, and puppetshow increases the time you can't get away if ganked), electicin(probably best friend and worst foe for everyone?), bloodhunter(was already explained).
and magebane is not the fastest hero :P madman is just a lvl above it, and maliken can also get a higher attackspeed (as far as he drops low enough).

Some heroes are already added, check the bottom of the post (still added the rest, thx).

Also so that people know, Maliken doesn't get any base attack speed time reduction when ulting anymore. Also, magebane CAN get more attack speed than madman if he focuses on that, but normally he won't due to madman's ult.

Thx for the feedback ppl.

[Marylinn]

A suggestion for those who are against Elder Parasite - Insanitarius in place of it. Insanitarius is not, however, something you can afford to keep on for very long on Magebane. That being said, you may be better off with another item (nullfire or something.) but if you're trying to zerg people down, this could be a safer alternative.

[Papa`T]

Hey guys, the point in stats instead of flash shows that this guy's build is more about flashing very carefully and developing the sense that you're a carry.

To the OP, you should really further explain the tip where you tele in front of your opponent. Maybe even give it it's own section with some screenies. It's such an important part of playing magebane. gives u 2-3 extra hits if done well.

[Hi]

Do not go elder parastie :P

[nyxon]

dude.. just get 2x crowns + 6 blight + 1 minor totem.. and u got 0 gold left (603)

Bcoz than u get +5 all stats AND 2 items you need! :-)

[Voulture]

I like to get iron shield, i gives you a bit of survivability in lane, from harassment and after steamboots (and sometimes whispering) rush geometers for tripple the mana burn.

[MrKoreanGuy]

this may be noob but would a runed axe be worth it on magebane? give him some extra damage and make farming easier?

[Marylinn]

this may be noob but would a runed axe be worth it on magebane? give him some extra damage and make farming easier?
No. His attack animation is so easy to last hit with. Learn to not auto attack.

[MrKoreanGuy]

I don't think getting ulti at lvl 6 is necessary because people really dont have alot of mana so it wont do much damage. maybe if they are down to like 100 hp you will get the kill from it but i like to take it at lvl 8... am i the only one that does that?

[Vaim]

How do you not mention Geometer's at all?
Unbelievable.

You blink into someone, make with the illusions - your target will be oom very fast and then rift.
Absolutely deadly.

This wins games, since if you have the geo at around lvl 13 or later, int casters have a huge manapool.
That, combined with being not-too-bad AOE damage, you will be pulling off massive AOE hits.

[themacs]

some times i play magebane with elder combined with void talisman +7 stats on all and 4 secs of physical damage immunity if im playing against major physical dmg dealers (pred etc.) funny to watch them be like WTF!!! losing health and mana while i attack with elder and void on mwhahaa

In general tho i dont like playing elder on him like op said i just think he is too squish. besides wingbow + 2 agi rings give you like +42 agi which is 42 attack speed + another 30 from wingbow so your pretty fast with out elder

[Shixax]

To the OP, you should really further explain the tip where you tele in front of your opponent. Maybe even give it it's own section with some screenies. It's such an important part of playing magebane. gives u 2-3 extra hits if done well.

Yeah I plan on adding screenies. Anyday now, lol. Seriously they WILL be added, just not atm.


How do you not mention Geometer's at all?

I haven't tried it out. When I made this guide geometer's bane still had mana burn in it and haven't really tried it since it was turned into only creating illusions. Might give it a try later though. Also, this item build is tested and it works. IMO if you get a geometer's bane at lv 13 it will only further delay your wingbow (which is better imo thanks to the upgrade in damage, mana burn and evasion[which might not be good enough mana burn as with geometer but will give you survivability and increased damage])

[HONYoda]

I totally disagree with Helm of the BL. For the same price, a Whispering Helm could be had, or an Abyssal Skull...you want survivability and staying power, go Abyssal Skull.

[R4GE]

1. Flash not stats
Justification: U wont need the survivability if ur flash cd is low enuf to blink in blink out done + magic armor makes tb/pyro a piece of cake.

2. max burn + flash and get ulti at lv9
Justification: Mana pool is tiny on people at low levels - even pyro and other nukers will not have a huge mana pool (probs around 400 mana MAX at level 6 divide by 2 bcoz ulti only does 0.5 dmg per mana point + resis - will do around 175 damage (not worth it) for survivability vs nukers and MUCH better escape (lower cd on flash). Also ulti will do even LESS damage versus people with smaller mana pools (str/agi) heroes.

3. Shamans headdress = nullified by flash - another reason to get flash

4. HotBL = not needed - u r burst damage hero - ur ment to flash in flash out ur not ment to take the hits thats for lego - ur team shud b there to initiate if they have disablers- not u. If its 1v1 then HotBL wont help u anyway - as much as other items anyway

5. Nullstone - MID GAME! are u crazy??? 5k gold. FULL STOP.

6. Brutaliser is amazing mid game - after u blink the caster gets stunned = death for caster bcoz of ur mana drain (no mana for nukes) during the stun and their sheer squishiness and ur insane dps.

6(expanded). Go for marchers (ordinary) then straight for brut - u have the best escape and the second best chase (after maliken's sword) - wots the point in marchers - they give u damage (brut does that) and a bit of move speed (xplained before).

7.GEOMETERS BANE!!!straight after brut. mana burn 3times quickr + 3bashing cooldowns - insane combo.

[Rassen]

Actually, whispering helm is superior since you can take over wonderful creeps like minotaur or werewolf for the aura or use them to stack ancient. Also it build up to symbol of rage (i wont say you must upgrade it up but it allow you another option for late game and the item is decent on magebane)

Helm is not really bad also, magebane is fragile and he gonna have to chase to make kill (just because he can blink in blink out doesnt make it burst damage, he got no nuke or burst attack like scout) The deal with helm is, usually in pub, if you play well you wont need it that much for it to be core and it's better to get more damage item so you farm faster. I never go for helm myself but it appear alot in comp matchs.

EP on magebane is rubbish and only work on noobs (unless you get it after getting other tanky items first) the hero is fragile enough already without it.

[Cow]

Great guide, agree 100%

[Blet1]

runed axe is worth it if u get it in less than 20 mins and plan on turtling. Nay -sayers are wrong however they prolly cant farm it under 20 minutes anyways so they will never see it's effect

[Shixax]

after looking at this, I will include what you guys say as an alternative build, also, im planning to test the new hack and slash to see if it fits well and instead of what item. at the moment, though, it just seems like a dumbed down frostwolf's skull except for the extra ms.

[Patonki]

Guys, what do you think about riftshards on a magebane?

[awayish`]

runed axe does make you farm faster, because you can farm more lanes and neuts in between, taking advantage of your mobility. ricing in a lane only gives you gold for that one lane.

[sYthex]

my build for him:
Enhanced, Brute, Warp (extreme mana burn and stun), Runed, Wingbow, and some sort of lifesteal.
if you meet someone solo they are dead between your stun, manaburn, and lifesteal.
I have actually farmed all of it before in non EM games. just takes non stop farming until level 20.

[R4GE]

if ur non stop farming until lv20 u will have lost by then unless ur playing a retard team who u wud beat anyway - farmed up or not. so there u go.

[Kingsof420]

No H/S or called Frostburn??

That's my primary to get it after steamboats/ghost marchers. After that, symbol of rage.

This is what I usually go for.

Iron shield
Steamboats/ghost marchers
Slash
Hack
Symbol of rage.

[Hi]

I totally disagree with Helm of the BL. For the same price, a Whispering Helm could be had, or an Abyssal Skull...you want survivability and staying power, go Abyssal Skull.

Agreed.

Guys, what do you think about riftshards on a magebane?

Works well since he's got fast attack. But that would be a late-game item.

[R4GE]

No H/S or called Frostburn??

That's my primary to get it after steamboats/ghost marchers. After that, symbol of rage.

This is what I usually go for.

Iron shield
Steamboats/ghost marchers
Slash
Hack
Symbol of rage.

HnS??-*-
jst tell me the point of HnS??u hve blink for chasing u SHUD have brut and the stats r shitty. Maybe- MAYBE icebrand - it worked for me one game i got 27/3 XD with tiered out items but situational. Definitely dont get over brut or geometers tho.

[Lethe]

http://replays.heroesofnewerth.com/match_replay.php?mid=15409825 check this out probably the most hilarious Magebane game I have ever seen. Like absolute maximum farm possible.

[Shixax]

So I tried Frostburn and guess what? I died too fast. What I went for was instead of HotBL get a Frostburn. That didn't work out well since they could hit me without the extra 40 damage reduction, which I realized is incredible.

Anyhow, if you wanna get Frostburn you need something like the agi shield. After trying frostburn I realized that if you wanna replace anything to get it, it should be either the tp (following my build) or the brutalizer. But the brutalizer is so much awesome. Cheaper and stuns. The stun actually lets you battle more and can help counter nasty mages and disables. Sorry but for me Frostburn doesn't fit.

[R4GE]

Shixax I agree with all of the things you said, except for the fact that HotBL is worth it. No. It isnt. Its useless. Get a whispering helm, with which u can stack ancients, it gives u ok stats, it gives u big lifesteal which WILL regen ur helth alot quicker than HotBL. Lifesteal keeps u in a fight instead of block. Also, if u rush a brutalizer like i do, even better. Also, frostburn can be used if ur tiered out and r pretty much raping the other team, it is a WIN MORE item, u can get it to win more than u r, bcoz it is an insane chase, still dont get it over ur core items (whispering, Brutaliser, geometers) which will b hard to farm in one game anyway. Definitly dont get it while losing though.

[Shouta]

yes i know they move a lot faster, i was talking about stuns like hammerstorms stun , and other similar skills.
You can except of ultimates like pyro, witchslayer.

[Farkon]

17801955 That's how you play a magebane baby, even though the match doesn't look impressive, let's just say that the legion and his little friend up top was a pain to handle. Not to mention a 14-0 corrupted disciple mid game, not fun stuff. (damn witch slayer) (btw, normally I'd get geomancer's bane, but I needed the evasion for the corrupted disciple ;( )

When you get that helm of the legion, everything changes since you can actually last in fights. If you get the elder parasite, if you just get stunned once, or hit by a big spell, you'll be dead before you can drain their mana and prevent more spellcasting.

[NoobKillah]

What about runed axe on magebane? I've seen it in a competitive match. Is it a good option? When should I buy it?

[Farkon]

In my opinion I wouldn't get it.

1. Ruined axe gives out damage, mana regen, and health regen. You don't need mana regen, you get your health regen from helm, and you want more attack speed then damage!

2. If you can last hit, then you don't need a farming tool, remember, you can mana burn archers/warlocks.

3. Farming is already easy since you have flash, you can farm more aggressively (get closer to the enemy tower then most chars), I do that alot since the enemy wastes their time trying to gank me as I stay up there.

4. By the time you get the ruined axe, your survivability will be lower then the magebane who's gotten the helm, and that hp regen you get from ruined axe won't mean nothing if you're dead.

The only time I'd get the ruined axe is if your team is losing badly (Like you can't gank anyone from the enemy team) and you haven't gotten many items.

[NoobKillah]

In my opinion I wouldn't get it.

1. Ruined axe gives out damage, mana regen, and health regen. You don't need mana regen, you get your health regen from helm, and you want more attack speed then damage!

2. If you can last hit, then you don't need a farming tool, remember, you can mana burn archers/warlocks.

3. Farming is already easy since you have flash, you can farm more aggressively (get closer to the enemy tower then most chars), I do that alot since the enemy wastes their time trying to gank me as I stay up there.

4. By the time you get the ruined axe, your survivability will be lower then the magebane who's gotten the helm, and that hp regen you get from ruined axe won't mean nothing if you're dead.

The only time I'd get the ruined axe is if your team is losing badly (Like you can't gank anyone from the enemy team) and you haven't gotten many items.

Thx for a quick reply. That's what i thought, just asked to make sure.
btw. it's runed axe, not ruined axe :)

[Ashitaka]

nice guide, too bad magebane isnt worth playing
lol gud 4 u tard.


dude.. just get 2x crowns + 6 blight + 1 minor totem.. and u got 0 gold left (603)
Bcoz than u get +5 all stats AND 2 items you need! :-)
That's exactly what I do! I do that for a lot of heroes because I usually get 2 Fortified Bracelets or 2 Soulscream Rings. So using that build, I spend all of my initial gold and get 2 useful and reusable items (or 3 reusable items - that minor totem can be used for some heroes' Plated Greaves).

Anyway, I completely disagree with these guys:

I very rarely get the brutalizer.

Brutalizer in no way allows you to get more hits on your enemy.

If you at least had played with Magebane more than once, you'd know that his key item is Brutalizer. Not only does it stop his enemies from running away it also allows him to completely shut down their casting. Why the hell does he need slow when he can just blink in front of them and stun them?

My item build (which is perfect for me the way it is) goes like this:
1. Buy 2 Pretender's Crowns, 6 Runes of the Blight, 1 Minor Totem
2. Turn the 2 Pretender's Crowns into 2 Soulscream Rings while at the same time building Steamboots.
3. Finish Steamboots and get Hungry Spirit - 10% lifesteal gives Magebane exactly what he lacks and needs: survivability.
4. Switch your Steamboots from str to agi. Get Whispering Helm by buying Helm of the Victim OR, if you've farmed enough, do point 5 first and then finish WH.
5. Build your Brutalizer. Now you can start ganking left and right.
6. Finally get your luxury item: Wingbow. Start with Steamstaff as it is not only the cheapest of the 3 items but it also gives you 10 Damage and exactly what you need to get the most out of your Brutalizer: 10 Attack Speed. You're now pretty much unstoppable.

And that's it, you'll be carrying your team to victory if you weren't already.
I know that Geometer's Bane does wonders with Magebane but I've never tried it, I think it only delays you getting the items you really need.

[Lolololage]

Out of curiosity, if your buying all those minor totems, why not put 2 of them to good use and get a power supply?

[Shixax]

magebane doesn't really need the mana, and you are already getting the hp regen from the tangos/runes of blight. If you use 400 gold in a power supply, you get lower stat boots than from a soulscreamer ring. Although the instant heal could be of help, instead of healing you can blink away, so it's not life saving.

Simply put, its not worth it, its just a waste of gold as you don't NEED it nor benefit much from it.

[MrKoreanGuy]

brut is amazing on magebane...don't know why you wouldn't get it. A passive stun for the fastest attacker in the game=own

[Ashitaka]

brut is amazing on magebane...don't know why you wouldn't get it. A passive stun for the fastest attacker in the game=own

Simply put, if there's a hero that should get Brutalizer, it's Magebane. There's no better item for him.

[olives]

havent read all the comments so excuse me if this question has already been answered...

But why does so many think hotbl/headress are that good for magebane? i've never had any trouble surviving... His blink is imo. the best survivability spell in the entire game. beats the **** out of stealth.

[Shixax]

@olives

True, but the whole point of headdress (if really needed) and hotbl are allowing you to fight more. Magebane WILL get targeted, and during that time he won't be able to fight nor escape. Meaning that if you have lifesteal it won't work and that if you have brut you won't disable, etc. So you get it from early game (since you wanna start ganking here) to be able to chase, survive, etc.

Can someone give examples of lineups where you would get headress, versus lineups where you'd get hotbl? Sometimes in a pub you'll face the four-AGI-carry lineup, which makes the choice easy, but that's the exception, not the rule. (And even in that case there's almost always magic damage floating around.) I never face a quadruple-nuker lineup.

[Shixax]

Lets see. They have a really balanced team. A carry, an initiator, a tank, a healer and a disabler. And of course that's only roles, all these heroes have other skills. Lets go with:

Behe, madman, accursed, demented, silencer (yeah why not!)

Here you want two things: HotBL and not being in the middle of it when they initiate. Avoid that and you can go in with your own balanced team, kill silencer fast and then you'll see. Head would be useless here. Once stuck in this you won't get out. HotBL is because you will need it for normal attacks in case you aren't caught in that mess and since you already have (like what 15?) magic armor when blinking.

Other lineup:

Pebbles, pyro, witch slayer, Sand wraith, lego.

I would go headdress here because of the obvious damage this casters would make. If it were just pyro or witch or lego Or even just 2 of em I would go null stone, but since it's all 3 + pebbles you want something fend you in case your blink armor is down.

Basically this is how I do it:

No single target nukes? Forfeit Null.

Physical > magical: go HotBL.

Magical > Physical: go headdress (only if it is by FAR since you already got loads of magic resistance. In this case it might be good to go null [In the case magic > physical but not by far] Since it will block single target spells and give you stats plus regen)

Its a matter of: Will I be able to farm it? Will it interrupt other items I need more OR I actually DO need this? Am I ok with the damage I receive of all but one spell (please let it be the only single target or the one they use on me)?

Always take into account: You NEED a survivability item (u are squishy as hell till you get Satanic) And NO I don't count elder parasite as a survivability item (Yes more att speed = more mana burn and more lifesteal but hell even with the extra ms you are already squishy as hell. Go up against a competent team and you will get disabled then instantly owned if not rendered useless.

To sum it up (I tend to go on and on about this)

Balanced team: depending on money go HotBL or Null. Null should be taken only if there is a single target spell that cancels you or two and you don't care which it stops as long as you don't have both on you at the same time.

Magic imba team: If regular magic go Headress ur shrunken depending on your money and what is the enemy team (if disablers > nukers go shrunken). If they got tons of superior magic go Headress.

[joeltee]

Can someone give examples of lineups where you would get headress, versus lineups where you'd get hotbl? Sometimes in a pub you'll face the four-AGI-carry lineup, which makes the choice easy, but that's the exception, not the rule. (And even in that case there's almost always magic damage floating around.) I never face a quadruple-nuker lineup.

Sure,

get hotbl when the enemies are as follows: :blac: 1v5ing

and get headress when they are as follows: :blac: 1v5ing

So, never. Just get whispering helm then geometer's bane then shieldbreaker.

[Tinie`Tempah]

the item choices in this guide are pretty abysmul, the rest of the guide is ok, must have put a lot of effort into it.

[XeenWoozy]

Isn't Madman the fastest?

[Shixax]

Isn't Madman the fastest?

Madman ult gives him +120 IAS, however his base attack speed is 1 attack every 1.7 seconds. Magebane's is 1.4. When this is taken into account for the att speed formula, magebane attack speed can get to be faster than anything, but madman's ult gives him an edge over magebane.

[XeenWoozy]

If you mean base, then yea.

[Electroid]

I would say magebane isn't that much of a ganker...unless you have a massive slow w/ you. (frostwolf) i prefer to farm pretty much all game long..

[ChikenMcTest]

I like to get Runed Axe and Elder Parasite, then Frostburn.

[Torguish]

IMO. For magebane. Just go for brutalizer, clones and elder parasite. And then a bit hp. (Brutalizer + Elder Parasite) x (clones + mana burn) = Win the game
Then just add Wingbow and Lifesteal aura (or satanic).

Then you can't be killed.

[hughjas1]

i personally do not like this build... i have never gotten a nullstone on magebane and i dont think i would ever want to... but if you find it works well for you then you go for it

[Orkimond]

No to the elder parasite, too squishy
No to the Headdress, ever
No to the Null Stone, Shrunken Head is better in every way for carries/tanks
No to the level 4 stats
No to the Symbol of Rage, Behemoth's Heart is better for Magebane
No to the Shield Breaker unless you're team is to stubborn to get it and they have lots of physical, otherwise Savage Mace is better because burn isn't physical.

[ForTheSwarm]

No to the elder parasite, too squishy

He's not really suggesting parasite.


No to the Shield Breaker unless you're team is to stubborn to get it and they have lots of physical, otherwise Savage Mace is better because burn isn't physical.

Burn IS physical you nub.


Instead of nullstone, I would instead suggest shrunken head, as it is far more useful.

[Shixax]

Yes shruken head is more useful, but mage has already buffed magic def, null is to block the dangerous single target nukes and for the stats, that's why I consider survivability item. With shrunken you would get a little less life but magic immune. I choose null.

[tapewar]

im startin to play without a logger axe now on him because he can last hit so good anyhow, and he has very low starting stats. I go for 2 crowns, 6 runes of blight, and totem. I try to work to a shield and lifetube in the lane for staying power/farm, followed by finishing my rings, getting normal boots, then completing helm. I then go steamboots -> brutalizer -> Geometers -> symbol of rage gg. I like this build because around 11-17 you can actually help your team gank, and not just farm and probably lose the game in the process while you are getting ur luxuries after u farmed ur runed axe, or some other wacky build.

[Shixax]

/updated

[Dark`Templar]

THnx for this guide I think it is unique.
Last game I was in I had

Steamed Boots
Runed Axe<==Money maker
Shaman HeadDress
Helm Of Black Legion
Shrunken Head
Wingbow.

[Leetard179]

no mention of runed axe or geos?!

[PedoGom]

I don't think magebane says feel the burn

[D3VILMAN]

that item build is ripped straight from Pie's anti-mage guide.. gtfo poser

[Shixax]

that item build is ripped straight from Pie's anti-mage guide.. gtfo poser

A couple of things:

First of all, I give credits to pie's guide and say I took some of the ideas from there (Stats at lv 4). This is because I had read the guide and played with that build before and liked it, then suggested it when I was making my magebane guide because it works, not because I copied pie's guide, but because I play it myself.

Second of all, The items may look similar early game, but then become something completely different, and that's only item build number one of the 2 that are there. The reason item build 1 is similar in early, it's cause I have tested and tested it again and it works. That I suggest a similar item build for the first 15-25 mins of the game because it works doesn't mean I ripped off the item build from pie's guide, but that I agree with him on that and later on I don't.

This is not a ripoff. It is a guide for magebane, which means it is centered around magebane who spells are different + the game engine which allows stacking orb effects, not something I copied directly from the dota forums and slightly modified it.

[Headbus]

Blink before stats, rush steamboots and runed axe. Then go shrunken head, hack n slash then satanic.

Protective items aren't worth it when you have that much mobility.

[Blessed_]

There is really no reason to take master of the mantra over blink, even if they have pyro, torturer, witch and idk what else all in the same setup.
Afterall you are the ****ing carry and you want to have this 6 second cooldown blink with a longer range than a shitty 12 second one (+ I believe magic armor bonus increases with higher level of blink).

[AAAustralia]

My item build usually follows this rough outline:
Starting Items:
Tango x2
Flask x1
Slippers x1
Ironwood Branch x3

End game items:
treads
battle fury
bkb
the butterfly
stygian desolator
helm of the dominator

[a_cloth]

item build is fail =/

steamboots
runed axe
shrunken head
symbol of rage
frostburn
wingbow/savage mace

[AAAustralia]

that's almost the same as mine except for satanic(which hotd is a part of) and the sange

[Neverw1nter]

a_cloth has it. I've never seen so much dumbness in one thread. This pub builds just kill me from the inside. Brutalizers and helm of the black legions /vomit. Shrunken head is all you need concerning his HP and Magic immunity. Unless your just too dumb to know how to play the charachter and suicide blink yourself. And seriously, Runed Axe is freakin core in a Carry hero that needs as much farm as him.

[ofx]

Just for worst ennemies, add predator. He got alot of life and don't need his mana to rape you :(

[SReis]

Shouldn't Magebane jungle?

[Shixax]

Updated for version 0.3.4.1, changed the item build since life steal is no longer an exclusive attack modifier.

[Ass_Fister]

2 problems ... ulti is useless at level 1 so get it after level 10+, max flash and mana burn earlier ... replace passive with stats ;)
-replace null stone with runed axe and farm abysall skull and helm for survivability first not null stone - useless for him ;)
later get brutaliser and end the game with wingbow ... if it's em go for mace + geometer's bane later (illusions do proc the mace's stun - imba :D)
p.s. learn more ... your guide sucks, no offense, you even want it to be a premium guide ...

[BrutalOne]

Ok, srsly guys, with all personal posts here, and personal opinions new player can learn **** from this thread.

As a new player, Im playing like this;
START:
Hatchet, 3x minor totem, HP, Runes of blight

- lifetube - for surv. early on and for axe later
- marchers
- runed axe
- steam boots
- abysall skull
- shrunken head
- frostburn
- savage mace or wingbow


Whats your opinion about that build? Should I remove/swap something? Whats the difference beatwean Abysall skull and Whispering Helm? Maybe Null Stone instead Shrunken Head? Im taking about competitive play not public games here :D
Every feedback is very welcome.
Thanks

P.S. Feel the burn is Corupted Cultists :P

[`Grav1ty`]

Ok, srsly guys, with all personal posts here, and personal opinions new player can learn **** from this thread.

As a new player, Im playing like this;
START:
Hatchet, 3x minor totem, HP, Runes of blight

- lifetube - for surv. early on and for axe later
- marchers
- runed axe
- steam boots
- abysall skull
- shrunken head
- frostburn
- savage mace or wingbow


Whats your opinion about that build? Should I remove/swap something? Whats the difference beatwean Abysall skull and Whispering Helm? Maybe Null Stone instead Shrunken Head? Im taking about competitive play not public games here :D
Every feedback is very welcome.
Thanks

P.S. Feel the burn is Corupted Cultists :P

Seems like a stable item build, no need to remove/swap any of it. The difference between abyssal skull and whispering helm is that Abyssal is a aura, where Whisper Helm is used like Frostburn, so if you had whisper helm you had to choose between that and frostburn. For competive I wud say stick with Shrunken head.

[BrutalOne]

Seems like a stable item build, no need to remove/swap any of it. The difference between abyssal skull and whispering helm is that Abyssal is a aura, where Whisper Helm is used like Frostburn, so if you had whisper helm you had to choose between that and frostburn. For competive I wud say stick with Shrunken head.


Thank you mate for clearing Abyss/Whisper to me and for quick reply. :D

[MrKoreanGuy]

Ok, srsly guys, with all personal posts here, and personal opinions new player can learn **** from this thread.

As a new player, Im playing like this;
START:
Hatchet, 3x minor totem, HP, Runes of blight

- lifetube - for surv. early on and for axe later
- marchers
- runed axe
- steam boots
- abysall skull
- shrunken head
- frostburn
- savage mace or wingbow


Whats your opinion about that build? Should I remove/swap something? Whats the difference beatwean Abysall skull and Whispering Helm? Maybe Null Stone instead Shrunken Head? Im taking about competitive play not public games here :D
Every feedback is very welcome.
Thanks

P.S. Feel the burn is Corupted Cultists :Pno life steal. go for behe. keep shrunken

[SuperStag]

Firstly, Babysat not Babysitted. I know/ I'm a grammar Nazi.
Second, build 2 is better from my experience, but it's down to personal play-style and taste.
Overall a nice guide, not too much of the "Whoa, I didn't know that!" kind of stuff, since guides aren't meant for guys like `chu anyway.
:mage: upon thou.

[sillent]

Okay well this guide is kind of out-dated since magebane got heavily nerfed..
Flash is 6 second cd at lvl4 and his base stats and stat gain has been reduced too..

I found this skill build helpful: Flash > Max out Mana Combustion and give 2-3 levels to stats.. then max out Flash > then stats to level 13, then Ulti at 14-15-16.. after that you can do his 3rd passive if you want..
His low strength means he really needs the stats early.. and the ulti isnt that useful and takes way too much mana early on

For items I find this useful: 3x totem + Blight + Health Potion + Hatchet > Iron Shield from side shop > Ring of Health > Steamboots (STR) > Runed axe > Geometers Bane > Frostwolf > Bash/Warpcleft/Lifesteal/Shrunken/Wingbow (whatever basically)

Explanation: Iron Shield lets you farm a bit better (you could go HoBL too), ring of health and steamboots gives you more survivability and mobility.. Runed axe lets you farm your late game items and helps with mana regen..
Geometers bane is the single best item for magebane, you often get it for other heroes AFTER getting them nullfire blade which gives them a fraction of his mana burn.. His illusions will have 64 mana burn and the increased MS..
Once you get frostwolf, your illusions will literally need to be killed fast or they can solo down a heroes mana (slow from frost and speed from geometers -- its awesome)

[ViS]

Soulscream rings on one of the hardest carries in the game? What the hell is the point? While +6/+3/+3 is still a decent portion of your total stats, you should be farming instead of ganking. Who the hell needs stats for farming?

[Kenpachi1337]

i like how you get blink first, IMO farm is all that matters to this guy, and not dying for that matter. Blink is the best way of doing both these things, allowing u to get out of danger fast and far with the higher lvls of blink + helping in mobility for creep pulling and stacking.
What i do different from this guide though is the itembuild:
i start by getting gaurdian ring (for ring of the teacher) + some stat and regen items.
i want ring of the teacher for dmg boost + armor, after this i also get the iron shield to really boost my survivability while jungling and farming creeps.
when i have these 2 items i can farm pretty decent and rush to steamboots + some form of lifesteal. and that is where i have some doubts about the item build you are suggesting. there are no attk modifiers at all in it and no geobane? i love geobane for draining the enemy and then going in with the actual hero.

[rightclick]

I really think this is a silly guide.

I would considering hotbl if your farm is absurd (but it shouldn't be).

If you don't go hotbl, then I'd go steamboots+whispering helm, allowing you to jungle when you can't farm a lane. After this core I'd go geometer's bane. At this point, you need to decided whether or not you need a bkb. Get one if you're playing against competent players. Everything after this is luxury, symbol of rage and wingbow would be at the top of my list.

I think you should max blink asap, mana combustion is great but it won't help you much in lane whereas blink cooldown will make the difference between living and dying.

You could ofc just go runed axe and rice for the entire game but I don't find this very interesting.

[icvajjj]

Get Runed axe first farm for 5-10 minutes win the game. I've seen too many games where magebanes get hotbl or frostburn. These items are terrible on magebane. DO NOT GET THEM. (Brutalizer and geosbane too!)

I have something like a 70% winning with magebane. I've figured out what works and what doesn't. Runed axe always first (should be between 10-24 mins) then you should be able to get steam boots and whisper within the next 5-10 minutes. Once you have those 3 core items you can start farming intelligence heroes. Attack them or blink in when their mana is low and use your ult. If you are having problems with the enemy carry grab a wingbow and/or a symbol. Spell casters? Get a shrunken head. Push push push! You can push down towers really fast and by the time anyone can respond you can just blink away. If you are out of position or a few of your team is dead and the other team is pushing you should be able to make the opposing team pay for it by taking one or even 2 of their towers by yourself while they push.

Start: Hatchet Buckler Runes of Blightx3
Lifetube from side shop(u want around 4 minutes)
2x duck boots from side shop
Manatube / 1200 gold item for axe
1400 gold item for axe
Then you get steam boots and whisper and win!



EDIT: This goes without saying as you should have it on every hero but you should always carry a TP scroll you never know when you need to escape or join a fight for some easy ganks/gold.

EDIT 2: For reference Hotbl gives 0 damage Runed axe gives 65
Frostburn gives 26 damage Runed axe gives 65 - The axe still gives you the hp regen from the hotbl and still gives more damage than the frostburn! It seems really simple why you should get Runed axe over any other item ,but I guess there are alot of bad magebane guides floating around.

[Shixax]

Updated.

[`S1lence]

Shixax writing a guide for a carry? Shixax knows nothing about carries<3

[Mauti]

write a guide on double-killing with Behe through fog

instant premium

[Extract]

I personally never tried any builds from this guide, but since playing mage a bit I devoloped an easy facerolling build:

Early:
:RunesOfTheBlight:x9
:LoggersHatchet:
:MinorTotem:x2

Than quickly :IronShield:, from the shop.

Than :Lifetube: and :BolsteringArmband:, buying the first item according to the situation.

complete :Sustainer:, or go straight for damage :BastardSword:,:Broadsword:.

You'll have :RunedAxe: before the 20th minute mark.

Complete :Steamboots:.

Mid
:ShrunkenHead: - if the enemy team has too many disables
:Nullstone: - if they enemy team has mainly single-target spells, all of whom are worth negating. The 2nd :Sustainer: will make you a farm machine.

Mid-late

:SavageMace: - My pref.
:Riftshards: - Everything that has savage mace, can be replaced by this (unless the enemy has evasion).
:SymbolOfRage: - Get it after your late DPS item, if the game isn't over by than.
:Brutalizer: - MEH. Only for the 6th slot.

[ElementUser]

There are basically 2 main cores on Magebane:

- Owning/having good GPM/can afford to go AFK-jungle: Runed Axe rush.
- Playing in serious game/want to be useful early: HotBL

That's all, rest is luxury. :3

(Other than stuff like Boots of course)

[Garbage]

than/then

a really hard concept.

codex is core on magebane

[Shixax]

I'm not a fan of runed axe, I can farm just as fine without it. Splash damage is just easy mode, and not having it helps while static ricing without pushing a lane, actually.

HotBL is core, I agree. Wingbow however is REAL nice on magebane. I mean, you could go Charged Hammer for the attack speed, but the evasion + HotBL = very little physical damage done to you, plus the 30 agi giving around 4,2 armor.

[BoxyBrown]

I love runed axe on MB. People act as if the only benefit of having a runed axe is the splash. You get 65 damage and both types of regen (AND the splash) for 4350. By no means a bad choice.

[Shixax]

It is BY NO MEANS, a bad choice, as you said. However, I rather get some other core items. Want damage? I rather go savage. Want regen? You won't be using your mana as much, get lifesteal.

These two options scale better into the game than the runed axe, so the only thing that only the runed axe can give is the splash, which is awesome for farming, but I rather not have it and manage without it.

The true power of getting a runed axe, IMO, is how the components are separated into 4. You can buy according to your needs, get that extra damage boost, health regen, mana regen, or a second damage boost. Real nice during the laning phase.

[CaptainDHN]

I'm not the best player but i really think people don't give brutalizer enough credit. It's not the best damage item, true, but I've seen a lot of magebanes around the time the alt avatar came out, and if he gets brutalizer after a nice damage item like runed axe, you're not getting away from him.

It provides a slight survivability boost along with aspd and damage but more importantly if you get one before the enemy team carry you're guaranteed to win any toe-to-toe fights with them. Any casters on the enemy team can will also never get away from you. Brutalizer might seem like a lackluster item but that bash proc will make so much difference in a lot of cases that i really think it's worth the relatively cheap cost.