Gladiator

[Octavia]

This guide is intended for use in 5v5 Non-em Forest of Caldavar pub play. The information in this guide is accurate as of patch version 2.0.15


Gladiator
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/heroes/161/icon_128.jpg
Gladiator's are the manliest of men who stare death in the face every day.
Unfortunately for us, this Gladiator is not quite as manly (voice wise),
and hides his sexuality behind throat numbing quotes and a bumchin.
He does, however, wield mindblowing physics defying powers enabling
him to summon chariots and anti-gravity pitfalls wherever he pleases.





Table Of Contents


Introduction

Description
Stats
Alt Avatar


Skills

Description
Skill Build


Items

Starting Items
Core Items
Luxuries
Items to Avoid


Gameplay

Laning
Ganking
Teamfights
Tips and tricks


Drafting

Lane partners
Teamfight partners
Vicious Foes


Replays

Credits


________________________________


Introduction


Gladiator is the 68th hero to be added to Heroes of Newerth. Gladiator excels in intiating teamfights, melee lane harassment and very powerful disables. Gladiator spends most of his time throwing boats [chariots] and pitfalling people with gravity defying results. This guide is designed to show you the most optimal way to play Gladiator and how to utilise his skill set to wreak havoc on your opponents. Gladiator's largest weakness is that your skills can miss, and they can miss very easily. Without good fore-sight and positioning skills you'll end up being called out by every try-hard on your team for being a big noob because you missed one little spike trap. When playing Gladiator, make sure you are always in the right spot at the right time. Without good timing your skills will be entirely unerwhelming and you'll never hit a boat [chariot], even if your life depends on it.

Gladiator is a direct port of Admiral Kunkka from Defense of the Ancients.


Role in team

Intiator, ganker, semi-carry.

Stats


Strength: 21 (2.7)
Agility:15 (1.2)
Intelligence: 16 (1.5)

Damage: 47-57
Armour: 2.8 (14%)
Movement Speed: 300
Attack Range: 128 (Melee)
Attack Rate: 0.59

Attack Point: 400ms
Turn Rate: 540

Alt Avatar

As of the 2.0.6 Patch released 14th Jan, 2011, Gladiator now has an alternative skin known as Adventure Gladiator. He boasts an outfit very similar to the well known Indiana Jones.

http://i51.tinypic.com/10ngqk4.jpg

The price of the new skin is 560 Goblin Coins. A preview of the new animations and unit reactions can found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7pt9G3zp_0.

Included in this patch was also a voice change to the original voice of The Gladiator. If you want to get the old voice back, install http://www.mediafire.com/?n5edh7mk2876vzv into your ~/Heroes of Newerth/game directory (the one that has resources0.s2z in it).



________________________________

Skills


Description



Pitfall
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/heroes/161/ability1_128.jpg

Action: Target Ground

Type: Magic
Range: 1500
Radius: 225
Cast Time: 0.4 Seconds
Mana Cost: 120
Cooldown: 12.0 Seconds

Activation
After a 1.6 second delay, any non-boss-enemy in the radius will be thrown in the air for 1.53 seconds, taking 60/90/120/150 initial damage and then 6/9/12/15 damage every .15 seconds while in the air, dealing a total of 120/180/240/300 damage. Once the target lands, they have Spiked! applied to them for 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 seconds. Gives clear vision of 400/400 (day/night) radius from the Pitfall's location for 4 seconds. Targets are stunned while airborne.

Spiked!
-30% movement speed

Synopsis
http://i52.tinypic.com/ny69hz.jpg

Very similar to Deadwood's Rotten Grasp, this skill has huge potential damage, dealing both a stun and slow combined with considerable damage. The trade-off for the tremendous output is that it is relatively difficult to land, having a total cast to action time of 2 seconds, it's very easy for opponents to dodge if they see it coming. This skill is best used from fog, while the targets are stunned / slowed, or when the enemies have only 1 safe trajectory to go to (as in, if they don't walk into it, they'll die anyway).

It is important to remember that the damage is not all dealt instantly, half of it is applied on impact time and the other half over the flight-duration. This is important to remember when trying to farm creepwaves, since sneaky allied creeps can steal your kills between the damage over time.

Showdown
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/heroes/161/ability2_128.jpg

Action: Target Enemy Heroes

Type: Magic
Range: 500 / 650 / 800 / 950
Cast Time: 0.4 Seconds
Mana Cost: 80 / 90 / 100 / 110
Cooldown: 30.0 Seconds

Activation
Summons a Colosseum at the target's location and applies Challenged to Fight to them for 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 seconds. Gives clear vision of 1000/1000 (day/night) radius from the Colosseum's location for 5 seconds.
Ability is replaced with "I Have No Patience" for the duration.

Challenged to Fight
Will be ported back to the Colosseum and issued a Stop command after 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 seconds


I Have No Patience
http://honwiki.net/w/images/thumb/5/5e/Gladiatorskill2b.gif/96px-Gladiatorskill2b.gif

Action: Target Self

Type: Magic
Cast Time: 0 Seconds
Mana Cost: 50
Cooldown: 5.0 Seconds

Activation
Instantly ports back the selected unit to the Colosseum.

Synopsis
The perfect initiation tool. If you target somebody with this skill then no matter where they go, they'll be ported right back after the duration, forcing fights when they suit you best. Using this skill you can gaurantee Pitfalls to land by bringing your opponent back as soon as the Pitfall is about to go off. At rank 2 Showdown, casting Showdown and then casting Pitfall on the Collosseum will cause the Pitfall to hit almost without fail or the neccessity to use I Have No Patience. Remember that I Have No Patience costs 50 mana. Here is an animation showing a rank 2 Showdown -> Pitfall combo.

http://i55.tinypic.com/dr5kk3.gif

When at higher levels, you can use Showdown to easily land Call to Arms on any single target. Showdown at max rank has 950 range, and Call to Arms travels 1000 units, making it very easy to aim your boat [chariot]. While you might only land the stuns on one person, it will act as area denial from all of their allies, putting the Showdown'd target in a very unenvyable position. Here is an animation showing a rank 4 Showdown -> Pitfall + Call to Arms -> I Have No Patience combo.

http://i56.tinypic.com/33x90n8.gif

Timing I Have No Patience with Pitfall is easiest done off of a sound cue. Pitfall makes three distinct sounds (di-di-di) which are shortly followed by a 'shing' sound which plays as the Pitfall goes off. If your Pitfall is right on top of the Showdown, using I Have No Patience between those two sounds should guarantee Pitfalls to land. This is only necessary / useful for levels 3 and 4 of Showdown.

Rank 1 of Showdown while seemingly useless (1 second is very short), has a couple of subtler uses (this applies to higher ranks of Showdown as well). Since it issues a stop command when bringing enemies back it can be used as a channel breaker, stopping things such as Magmus' Eruption, Tempest's Elemental Void and Homecoming Stones. Since the range on the pullback is infinite, if an enemy target has a blink and is about to use it to escape a nasty situation, you can use this on them just before they blink bringing them right back.

Flagellation (Fla-jell-ay-shun)
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/heroes/161/ability3_128.jpg

Action: Passive

Radius: 380 / 420 / 460 / 500
Cooldown: 16.0 / 12.0 / 8.0 / 4.0 Seconds

On Attack
Grants 15 / 30 / 45 / 60 bonus damage.

Applies 100% True damage splash in a 380 / 420 / 460 / 500 AOE and triggers cooldown.

Attacking Buildings will not trigger the splash, but will still trigger the bonus damage and cooldown. Attacking allied units will not trigger the splash or the cooldown, but will still trigger the bonus damage.

Synopsis
First off, covering the exact mechanic of how the range of this skill works.

When you whip a target, an invisible gadget is placed 380 / 420 / 460 / 500 in front of you. That gadget will deal the damage in a circle with a radius of 380 / 420 / 460 / 500 units. This means that in a straight line the whip will have 760 / 840 / 920 / 1,000 range. The damage done by the gadget is True damage, and cannot be blocked by Physical or Magic Immunity. The main target is not hit by this gadget; the damage that the main target takes is physical damage, just like a regular auto attack.

The amount of damage inflicted by the gadget is equal to Gladiator's attack damage. When you whip a target, your attack damage is increased by 15 / 30 / 45 / 60. A Logger's Hatchet will not affect the damage, not even to the main target. Attack modifiers and bonus damage from Manaburn, Savage Mace (and Halberds) will still apply to the main target, but not any other targets. Any attack modifiers are placed on the main target as per a regular auto attack. The damage that the main target takes (depedent on the target's armour) does not affect the amount of damage that the gadget inflicts. Bonus damage from Assassin's Shroud increases your attack damage, and will apply to all targets. Critical damage from Rfitshards multiplies your attack damage by its multiplicand, and will apply to all the targets.

http://i51.tinypic.com/xfspid.jpg
The creep in front of Gladiator was hit with a level 1, 2, 3 and 4 Flagellation. The creeps with red health are hit by rank 1, orange rank 2 and below, yellow rank 3 and below, and green rank 4 and below. The Pitfall is there for a metric.

This is probably Gladiator's most interesting skill, having a huge potential for hilarious kills. It is also the reason why Gladiator is considered to be a semi-carry. With a good amount of farm and good positioning (or bad positioning from your opponenets) you can half kill entire teams. While the potential is there, don't get too worked up about this skill. It's unlikely that you'll ever hit 5 enemy heroes with a single Flagellate, however this skill alone is the main reason why Gladiator needs so much farm to be successful.

Since people seem to still not understand, I'll put it in red. The armour of the main target (the one who you whip) does not affect the damage dealt to any of the splash targets. The splash is the same regardless of how much armour the main target has.

Call to Arms
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/heroes/161/ability4_128.jpg


Action: Target Ground

Type: Superior Magic
Range: 1000
Radius: 400
Cast Time: 0.4 Seconds
Mana Cost: 150 / 200 / 250
Cooldown: 100.0 Seconds

Activation
Summons a Chariot 1000 units behind The Gladiator that travels to a location 1000 units in front of where he casted it, in the direction that he casted it. Any allies within 400 units of where it passes have Call to Arms applied to them for 5 / 6 / 7 seconds. The Chariot gives clear vision of 800/800 (day/night) radius from its center, and lingers for 3.34s after it deals the stun/damage.

When it reaches the end, it deals 300 / 400 / 500 Magic damage and stuns all enemies in a 400 radius for 1 second.

Call to Arms
10% Movement Speed
All damage is halved for the duration. Reduced damage is taken over 5 / 6 / 7 seconds at the end of the buff as nonlethal damage.

Synopsis
The Chariot moves at 750ms, and it will always travel 2000 units. This means that the delay until the Chariot reaches its destination is 2.66 seconds. The Chariot will always travel to exactly 1000 units in front of where you were when you casted it.

http://i56.tinypic.com/2qce1bs.png

This means that if enemies are all up in your face, it's going to be difficult to target them with it. This is why good positioning is extremely important with Gladiator, if the enemy gets the jump on you your skills will be a lot less effective (the same could be said of all initiators).

The Call to Arms buff makes you and your team extremely tanky, however the cut back damage should not be forgotten about. It often occurs that a Gladiator goes in with all his shiny Roman glory, gets the enemies on the run after a big Showdown and starts diving towers. His HP then starts rocketing down, and Gladiator looks like a clown. Remember the stun is only 1 second, so don't go flailing your arms around wackily when you realise it barely lasts long enough for you to whip someone.



Skill Build


Pitfall / Flagellation
Flagellation / Pitfall
Pitfall / Flagellation
Flagellation / Pitfall
Flagellation
Call to Arms
Flagellation
Showdown / Pitfall
Showdown / Pitfall
Pitfall / Showdown
Call to Arms
Pitfall / Showdown
Showdown
Showdown
Stats
Call to Arms

The first 4 levels can be a mix-up of whatever pleases you most. I'd generally suggest getting the build on the left since the first few levels of Flagellation are rather underwhelming, and Pitfall's in lane are really where most of your lane presence comes from pre-5. Flagellation is however maxed as soon as possible since its low cooldown at max rank is extremely powerful / useful. Call to Arms is always worth getting wherever possible.

2 ranks of Showdown are generally gotten at level 8 / 9 so that you can land Pitfalls easily. Rank 2 is all you need mid-game, so continue maxing Pitfall once it's reached that point. You could get Pitfall maxed if you feel confident in hitting them, or if you have a stun heavy team setting them up easily.



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Items
Starting Items

Chalice Gladiator
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com//images/items/Item_CrushingClaws.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com//images/items/Item_MarkOfTheNovice.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com//images/items/Item_RunesOfTheBlight.jpg
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com//images/items/Item_MinorTotem.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com//images/items/Item_MinorTotem.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com//images/items/Item_HealthPotion.jpg

Easy buildup into chalice and enough health regen to last until you farm a lifetube. This build lacks a Buckler, so your resilience to harassment will not be as great as one that had that. You have to spend 350 gold on a trinket before buying your Lifetube, so it's pretty possible that you'll get harassed out of your lane when going with this build. I don't recommend using this build unless you expect an extremely easy laning phase.

Farmer Gladiator
In most cases, you want to set yourself up to be able to stay in the lane for a long time. This build allows a better build-up into Helm of the Black Legion, which makes you impervious to lane harassment. After a lot of practice I tend to favour this starting build to others because it allows you to get the necessary farm in to set yourself up for the mid-game farming routine.

http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_RunesOfTheBlight.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_HealthPotion.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_ManaPotion.jpg
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_IronBuckler.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_MinorTotem.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_MinorTotem.jpg

This is to make last-hitting as easy as possible while making enemy harassment minimal. You can drop by the outpost to pick up a Hatchet if you feel like you're having trouble landing last hits. This is the safest and in general best item build to take when weighing the risks against benefits. If you think you're really in need of regen, swap out the Minor Totems for another Health Potion.
Core Items

http://i56.tinypic.com/2zzn3n7.pnghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_BloodChalice.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Shield2.jpg
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_HomecomingStone.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_ManaBattery.jpg

This is your core build-up for almost every situation. You will have plenty of mana with Blood Chalice, and Helm of the Black Legion gives you health regeneration early game (lifetube) but more importantly, extremely good survivability. If you start with the farmer Gladiator build you can quite easily have the Helm of the Black Legion finished at around 6-7 minutes. Once you have level 7 and a Helm of the Black Legion you're able to push almost any heroes out of your lane with Flagellation, and they can't really touch you at all. If you laned in the vertical lane, once you have your Helm you should head off to the horizontal one to begin farming. Gladiator can farm with exceptional speed once he has a Helm, since neutral creeps don't damage you at all. Simply push the lane into the tower and head off into the jungle until the lane is pushed pushed, rinse, repeat.

You don't have to build a Chalice in every occasion. It's a 650 gold dump which only gives mana that in most cases a Mana Battery has you covered for.

Mana Battery is overpowered, 'nuff said.

Boots are a matter of personal preference. Phase Boots make ganks a lot easier, since you can catch up to running enemies a lot faster and your whip does more damage. However, the survivability from Steamboots is important whenever you aren't doing too well. The attack speed from Steamboots is also extremely useful since your agility gain is really poor, and it makes farming much faster. Personally I can't stand playing with Phase Boots, and am in general very disappointed with them whenever I purchase them. Steamboots are extremely versatile, and the selling point of Phase Boots is cut short by the fact that you're going to buy a Shroud anyway.

Core Continued
Once you've finished your Helm of the Black Legion, you're going to want to start building up some damage for Flagellation to really start hitting hard. In most cases, you're going to want to opt in for an:

Assassin's Shroud
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Stealth.jpg
Cost: 3300

Steamstaff: 800
Broadsword: 1100
Recipe: 1300

Passive Bonuses
+10 Attack Speed
+38 Damage

Activation
Target Type: Self
Mana Cost: 75
Cooldown: 18 seconds
Applies Stealth to self for 9 seconds

Stealth
+20% Movement Speed
Unit Walking
Invisibility
The first attack out of stealth will do +125 damage

Assassin's Shroud's bonus damage will apply to all the targets of Flagellation. This means that you can dish out an extra 120 damage to every enemy hero by doing an invis whip. Not only this, but it serves as a good escape mechanism. Not only this, but if you later build a Riftshards, the +120 damage can be multiplied by a critical hit, dealing damage capable of wiping out entire teams.

Even against Pestilence, Arachna and Keeper of De'Forest, Shroud is still a good idea. The bonus damage it gives is extremely powerful when combined with your whip.

Runed Axe
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Splash.jpg
Cost: 4150

Broadsword: 1200
Broadsword: 1200
Sustainer: 1750

Lifetube: 875
Manatube: 875


Passive Bonuses
+55 Damage
6 Health Regeneration
150% Mana Regeneration
40% Splash in 225 radius

Does not grant splash to ranged attacks

This is an item that a lot of Gladiator players seem to favour. It is definitely a nice item, giving both a high amount of damage and added splash damage. The splash also stacks with Flagellation additively, however it is not as simple as that. If you have Runed Axe and rank 4 Flagellation, units within a 450 radius circle 450 units in front of Gladiator (refer to Flagellation's description) will take 100% of Gladiator's damage, and units within a 225 radius circle 225 units in front of Gladiator will take 40% of the damage dealt to the main target (totalling 100% true splash and 40% of the damage dealt to the main target). The two splashes are separate entities and do not conflict or influence each other in any way.

Stacking splash is mostly a gimmick, but this item is still solid. It's cheap, gives good damage, good regen, makes your farming even more insane, and makes your close range whips even strong. If you're planning on getting this after Shroud, it's perfectly reasonable to skip the 650 gold dump that is Blood Chalice and go straight for a Manatube.

Riftshards
http://i55.tinypic.com/wtit4x.jpg
Cost: 5500

Broadsword: 1200
Punchdagger: 500
Recipe: 950
Recipe: 950
Recipe: 950
Recipe: 950

Passive Bonuses
+45 / 55 / 65 / 75 Damage
10% / 13% / 16% / 20% chance to do a 1.8 / 2.0 / 2.2 / 2.4x Critical Strike

The reason to pick this item up should be obvious. Nothing is more gamebreaking or amazing than a whip-crit that half kills everybody on the enemy team. Since critical hits work with Flagellation, there's hardly ever a time where there's a better item to get than this.

The huge weakness of this item is unreliability. In most games, you'll be the hardest carry on your team and taking up the majority of the farm. With that farm, you should be expected to do a lot of damage. The problem with Riftshards on Gladiator, unlike Riftshards on any other carry hero, is that the whip-crit is a one chance deal. You either hit or you miss, and the difference between the two is huge. Other carries that attack ~2 times per second will inevitably have the average DPS ironed out by statistical predictability when using a Riftshards.


Luxury Items

Once you've completed the continued core, you will want start looking in to buying some luxury items.

Demonic Breastplate
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_DaemonicBreastplate.jpg
Cost: 5550

Ringmail: 550
Platemail: 1400
Warpcleft: 2100
Recipe: 1500

Passive Bonuses
+40 Attack Speed
+10 Armour

Aura
Target Type: Allies
Radius: 900 units

Aura Effects
+5 Armour
+15 Attack Speed

Enemy Aura
Target Type: Enemy units and structures
Radius: 900 units

Enemy Aura Effects
-5 Armour

The main reason for picking up Demonic Breastplate is that being the amazing farmer Gladiator is, you will likely have more items than any other carry in the game. Demonic Breatplate fixes what Gladiator lacks with his low Agility gain - Attack Speed and Armour. With the vast amount of damage you should have, Demonic Breasplate allows you to fight toe-to-toe with carries. "But this item gives you nothing for your whip", you say. Once you have Assassin's Shroud, Runed Axe and Riftshards there honestly isn't any items left that can make your whip that much stronger (sans Doombringer), and giving yourself some defensive power after buying all that pure damage is rather necessary.

Shrunken Head
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Immunity.jpg
Cost: 3900

Mighty Blade: 1000
Rockhammer: 1600
Recipe: 1300

Passive Bonuses
+10 Strength
+24 Damage

Activation
Target Type: Self
Cooldown: 80 seconds
Applies Magic Immunity to self for 10 seconds and dispels debuffs.

The cooldown and duration of the activation are reduced by 5 seconds and 1 second respectively after each consequtive activation, with a minimum of 55 seconds and 5 seconds respectively.

Shrunken Head allows you to survive through teamfights and deal damage unempeded. This is only really necessary if you're facing a lot of heroes with Area of Effect stuns or stuns that won't go through immunity. If you're finding yourself unable to maneavour through team fights due to the number of stuns being thrown around, then picking this up would be a respectable choice. This also adds a total of 34 damage since Gladiator's main attribute is Strength. I only find myself needing this in very few games, and only as a luxury after Shroud/Rift.

Doombringer
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Damage9.jpg
Cost: 5800

Sword of the High: 3400
Slayer: 2400

Passive Bonuses
+250 Damage

Drops on death

Riftshards + Doombringers + Flagellation = ???
...you know you want to.

Items to Avoid

http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_WhisperingHelm.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_ElderParasite.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Pierce.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Lightning2.jpg

Lifesteal is useless. You don't deal damage through constant auto-attacks, you deal damage through whips and boats [chariots]. I can't see any reason to get Lifesteal, that's just not how Gladiator plays effectively.
Armor reduction is also useless, since the whip damage is true damage to everything except your main target.
Attack speed is not very effective, since Flagellation doesn't come off cooldown any faster than once every 4 seconds, and even Pebbles attacks fast enough to make use of that. It's still good once you're extremely farmed though, since Gladiator has pretty poor agility gain. When you have low attack speed, due to the diminishing returns nature of +Attack Speed it's still quite effective DPS wise to invest in an attack speed item such as Demonic Breastplate as a 4th or 5th item.

*Useless meaning sub-optimal

[Octavia]

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Gameplay


Laning

In lane, your main goal is to be getting lasthits where possible, and harassing enemies with Flagellation. If no creep is within a recognisably low amount of health, you should go inside of fog for a short time to scare your enemies. A Gladiator in fog is scary, much like any other hero with a skillshot, because if the enemies can't see the direction you're throwing your skill, they can't dodge it. When you're in the fog as Gladiator people start to act erratically, and this in general is just good for mindgames. If you see an oppurtunity to land a Pitfall, do so. If there isn't much of a way to follow up on a landed stun, simply whip a creep. A whip and Pitfall will do about 250 damage, and is a good bit of harassment necessary to winning lanes. You will in almost all cases be the secondary intiator. Pitfall is extremely unreliable for landing stuns, so you will want your ally to slow or stun the enemy enough that you can guarantee your Pitfall.

Lasthits are very important for Gladiator, and you will hopefully have at least Marchers, Lifetube, Iron Buckler and Mana Battery by the end of laning. If you're getting low on regen get a lifetube before Marchers, if you're doing really well in your lane you can get Marchers and even sometimes Steamboots / Ghost Marchers before a Lifetube.


Ganking


Ganking with Gladiator is really all about landing Pitfalls, and that is mostly practice. Pitfall is best used either:

From fog
When the enemy has nowehere else to go
When the enemy is disabled
After Showdown

If none of those conditions are met, it is somewhat unlikely that you'll hit your Pitfall. But hey, you could get lucky...

Timing of ganking is pretty general of all semi-carries. Take farm when you can, push lanes for map control and carry Homecoming Stones at all times for counter-gank opportunities. You can't intiate ganks very effectively without Showdown, and even with it Gladiator does not have a lot of single target burst damage. Gladiator's strengths is in area of effect burst, and not so much single target burst. You can't be expected to go around one-shotting enemy heroes at any point in the game (sans Doombringers), so without adequate support it isn't worth taking your time to gank a lone enemy carry by yourself. Your best bet is to either try to harass them out of lane or to go farm yourself to compete with them.

Teamfights


Gladiator is a really good initiator, being able to catch people out of position from 950 units away while giving your team 4 seconds to catch up to the victim. Unlike any other initiation method, this is extremely delayed which means that both teams have an opportunity to react to it. Do not use Showdown on any hero who can activate Magic Immunity at a whim, if you waste all your spells on a Showdown target who isn't even brought back by it you look like a prime fool. Ultimately, if you see someone out of position, Showdown -> Pitfall (-> Call to Arms). If it's a gank situation (your team vs one or two enemies) then don't bother with Call to Arms, if it's a situation where the enemy has a chance to fight back, then use Call to Arms for the damage redcution and extra nuke damage (and I guess the negligible stun is worth noting).

Line up your whips properly. This is extremely important for any teamfight, since once you have a few items your whip is dealing the majority of your damage. There is no point having a tonne of items if your whip only hits 2 people, the area of effect is friggin' huge. If you have the opportunity to, whip a creep instead of a hero. The only person who takes armor reduced damage is your main target, and if that target is a creep you're optimising your output. It is generally inadvisable to stick around in the centre of teamfights while your skills are on cooldown. Gladiator's autoattack damage is horrendous, and unless you're at a huge advantage in the fight maintaining good position is generally more beneficial than getting in 2 autoattacks. That isn't to say that you can't maintain good positioning and hit people at the same time...


Tips & Tricks


These things have mostly been covered over in the guide, this is just a short bullet point lisiting of a few important things:

Magic Immunity and Death is the only thing that will stop Showdown from working - don't use Showdown on heroes with Magic Immunity
Flagellation does armor reduced damage to the main target and the main target only - output is maximised by hitting an insignificant enemy [creep]
Cast Pitfalls from fog to stop enemies from seeing the direction it is cast at
Pitfall and lv2 Showdown's cast times are not exactly in-sync - if you use Pitfall immediately after lv2 Showdown the Pitfall will in some cases miss
Call to Arms will always travel exactly 2000 units over 2.66 seconds, and will always land exactly 1000 units in front of the point where you cast it from, in the direction you casted it
Flagellation pushses the lane, be sure to consider this when thinking about lane positions
Showdown gives a large amount of sight at the Colosseum, if you're being juked terrible you can cast it on yourself and then instantly cast I Have No Patience to get 1000 units of flying vision for 5 seconds


________________________________


Drafting



Gladiator is a team player, and needs the right team to compliment his skills. He's an unsuitable hero to choose is when your team already has too many item dependent heroes. Gladiator needs money, and he pushes lanes when he's getting it. If other heroes need that money as well you're going to be in for some trouble. Gladiator also needs supporting stuns to make landing Pitfalls as easy as possible, and ranged harassment for the laning phase.


Lane partners


The best lane mates for Gladiator are item-independent ranged heroes with reliable stuns or strong slows. If an enemy is stunned or under a strong slow, Pitfalls are guaranteed. Item independent lane partners are necessary because you need to farm Helm of the Black Legion as fast as possible to make your mid-game as breezy as possible.

http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/heroes/102/icon_128.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/heroes/8/icon_128.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/heroes/10/icon_128.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/heroes/12/icon_128.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/heroes/27/icon_128.jpg
Andromeda is a great combo with Gladiator, and in general is a great hero to have on your team. Her stun (including travel time) lasts a perfect amount of time to synchronise with Pitfall, and Dimensional Link makes your whips deal more damage.

Slither has an extremely powerful slow which, when landed, guarantees Pitfalls to land. His ranged harassment combined with Flagellation will keep almost anything out of the lane.

Nymphora has insane nuke potential when combined with your skills. The delay on her stun makes predicting Pitfalls easy, if it's going to hit you can cast your Pitfall pre-emptively.

Glacius has enough disables to make lining up Pifalls easy. He's one of the best harassers in the game with his Tundra Blast and 600 range, making your lane presence together really big. His aura also makes it so that you can skip getting Blood Chalice.

Voodoo Jester's cocktail makes Pitfalls easy (since you can predict ahead of time where the enemy will be stunned due to the slow projectile). If he goes for Cursed Ground you have good kill potential and if he goes for Mojo you have almost impenetrable lane presence. His 600 range and huge base dmg is really good for harassment as well.


Teamfight Partners


http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/heroes/125/icon_128.jpg
Bubbles' Kelp Field has a radius of 400, this means that if you target your Chariot directly in the centre you're guaranteed to hit everyone inside of the field - pretty neat!

http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/heroes/5/icon_128.jpg
Defiler has the capacity to take up the heat of teamfights ad draw enemies into a group, allowing you to deal your damage reliably and not be forced to fight toe-to-toe with your pitiful armour.



Vicious Foes


http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/heroes/39/icon_128.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/heroes/15/icon_128.jpg
Magic immunity completely screws over your whole combo. Playing against either of these guys is really quite a bother.


________________________________


Replays




15114978
Solid general play with Gladiator. Managed to waste hags blink with Showdown a couple times, and in general everything went really well.

13976894
A good example of why you should buy Doombringers whenever possible. Man up challenge mandatory posting.

12220069
Absolute domination in a low level game by soloing mid with Gladiator.


________________________________


Credits


Notepad++ for being an awesome text editing program
FRAPS for recording the the video footage
GIMP for creating the .gifs
ElementUser & Vahn1670 for mechanics info

Thank you for reading my guide, I hope you were able to learn at least something from it. If you have any questions don't be afraid to ask, I am on extremely frequently and should be able to respond to any queries within 24 hours.

[ElementUser]

RogerDodger didn't mention that Pitfall gives 400/400 clearvision for 4 seconds after it triggers and that Showdown gives 1000/1000 clearvision for 5 seconds at all levels.

Bad Roger!

Also IIRC Chariot's impact AoE is 425 - double-check code files for that

[RogerDodger]

Is that clear vision a circle or a square? Assuming a square since you mention 2 numbers. Vahn told me it's a radius and Day / Night.

I checked the Chariot files and it's 400, I also found that the Call to Arms buff is applied within 400 units and updated that info accordingly.

The Pitfall model is really quite small in comparison to its hitbox, silly S2.

Thanks for the info ;)

[ElementUser]

Oh ok

Also Chariot gives 800/800 sight and lingers for 3.34s after it deals the stun/damage.

Pitfall deals 60/90/120/150 damage and then deals 6/9/12/15 magic DoT every 0.15s over 1.5 seconds (so, it deals 60/90/120/150 damage over 1.5s). The stun itself still lasts 1.53 seconds. Just so you know the exact intervals :O

Why does it do this? Cause I forced Idejder to make it like DotA :).

[RogerDodger]

I already had the Pitfall's damage intervals added ;)

[Kzanu]

Very nice guide Roger. Played 2 games as Gladiator and did decent for a first time hero. Thanks to you I was able to finally understand how to aim that freekin chariot!!! The tooltip is so weird that it should be changed.

I was looking for a skillshot hero to replace Devourer as I can't play him because of permabanning, and the idea of Gladiator was awesome, so I played a game when he was ported... never hit that ulti once! Now thanks to you I can actually get it to explode wherever I want, but it's still hard to initiate with it.

Great guide, vote for premium +1.


Ps... you were right... if you whip and then trap the enemy creeps, you will lose most of them to you allied creeps.

[Fumn]

ty for this guide. I like the idea of glad but i find him incredibly hard to use.

How should i play gladiator in the beginning? For the first 15 should i try ganking? or should i stick to farming?

[Kzanu]

^^ I found that It's really hard to gank before lvl 8-9.

[Count_Tethys]

well, the key to gankers is you hide 90% of the time, I may be low psr and KD but when I play glad, I always hide in the forest, trap, then run at them, by the time they see me near him, hes in midair and ive whipped him already. He falls down and has 1/3 his health left or is already dead. Its really potent with plague with you or any other dps aoe.

late game if he runs, you can challenge and trap, fun fun fun

[r1g0]

looks nice so far, i wanna see the rest, thx for the guide! we newbs need it :P

[SilverStars]

Awesome, was waiting for this Gladiator guide.

A few things:
- Does Showdown's stop issue mean that you can take it at really early levels, i.e. before level 6? I've seen it been done before.
- Does that mean your whip cleave damage is not reduced by the armour of the target you directly attacked? It seems to do the same damage to both Wild Hunters when I whip them.
- A small section on...actually never mind you haven't finished the guide

Awesome guide.

[Vahn]

- Does that mean your whip cleave damage is not reduced by the armour of the target you directly attacked? It seems to do the same damage to both Wild Hunters when I whip them..

the attacked target reduces armour normally. best way to test it is go into practice, spawn a bunch of pebbles, give them all heaps of armour (demonic breastplates).

Now go whipping, the target will take alot less damage.

[Saemar]

RogerDodger, you are the best poster on these forums, thanks for another good guide. (Your signature still scares me, though)

[RogerDodger]

Thanks for the feedback, and as you can tell by the Table of Contents it's still a work in progress.

[Or1m]

1-2-2-3-3-4-3-3 is the proper build (YES IN ALL SITUATIONS)

EDIT: other than that, ok guide ))))

[ObeseSheep]

Anyone but me think that not leveling the cleave makes your rape face early game. Try it out. It's not bad.
Helm Core? uhhh. I don't really think so... It really is situational. IDk why a tank item would be core on a non tank anyway.
Why does everyone play him as a semi carry and not a ganker or supportive carry. Breastplate? Abyssal (I know I know but you get the point)? Sheep? Tablet maybe? IDK. Everyone is limiting him and buying fishy items.

[Anderbad]

Anyone but me think that not leveling the cleave makes your rape face early game. Try it out. It's not bad.
Helm Core? uhhh. I don't really think so... It really is situational. IDk why a tank item would be core on a non tank anyway.
Why does everyone play him as a semi carry and not a ganker or supportive carry. Breastplate? Abyssal (I know I know but you get the point)? Sheep? Tablet maybe? IDK. Everyone is limiting him and buying fishy items.

I think the main thing is that people want to maximize his whip damage, which cannot be done with those items.

If you do not take advantage of his whip, you lose a lot of your effectiveness as a carry. Not levelling the cleave hurts your harassment a lot in exchange for a -very- expensive nuke (though, admittedly, it's a sure hit), and simply isn't worth it in my experience.

I agree with Roger though, helm is core. What with running up and trying to whip people after just having grabbed their attention with a chariot + pitfall combo, you are going to be a HUGE target in teamfights. And without an escape skill, you'll be a sitting duck.

[MrCosgrove]

Nice guide Roger,
just got to say that i disagree with helm being core for gladiator
instead of building helmet you are better off just getting the lifetube (and maybe the buckler) and heading direct for runed axe as runed let's you farm like crazy and together with blood gives you enough mana to constantly spam pitfalls :)
other then that great guide
also if wanted i can give you a replay where i scored a quadkill with gladi hitting pitfall charots and getting invis crit splash :)

[MrCosgrove]

I think the main thing is that people want to maximize his whip damage, which cannot be done with those items.

If you do not take advantage of his whip, you lose a lot of your effectiveness as a carry. Not levelling the cleave hurts your harassment a lot in exchange for a -very- expensive nuke (though, admittedly, it's a sure hit), and simply isn't worth it in my experience.

I agree with Roger though, helm is core. What with running up and trying to whip people after just having grabbed their attention with a chariot + pitfall combo, you are going to be a HUGE target in teamfights. And without an escape skill, you'll be a sitting duck.
when you hit your chariot and your pitfall you are a low priority target and the enemy team should be dead then anyhow :P

[RogerDodger]

Anyone but me think that not leveling the cleave makes your rape face early game. Try it out. It's not bad.
Helm Core? uhhh. I don't really think so... It really is situational. IDk why a tank item would be core on a non tank anyway.
Why does everyone play him as a semi carry and not a ganker or supportive carry. Breastplate? Abyssal (I know I know but you get the point)? Sheep? Tablet maybe? IDK. Everyone is limiting him and buying fishy items.
Not sure if you noticed but Flagellation has the highest potential of pretty much any skill in the game. The most notable thing about it is the fact that it goes through armour, and lategame this means an automatics double damage on top of all the other bonus damage and the fact that it is AoE. Not building around the whip is pretty naive.

Nice guide Roger,
just got to say that i disagree with helm being core for gladiator
instead of building helmet you are better off just getting the lifetube (and maybe the buckler) and heading direct for runed axe as runed let's you farm like crazy and together with blood gives you enough mana to constantly spam pitfalls :)
other then that great guide
also if wanted i can give you a replay where i scored a quadkill with gladi hitting pitfall charots and getting invis crit splash :)
I've tried both builds to a very large extent, and I can assure you that Helm of the Black Legion is necessary. You might think that you're not going to be focussed down, but this is directly mid-game I'm talking about, around level 11 when **** starts going down. If you want buy a Runed Axe, do it after the Hotbl, if it keeps you alive just once then it's already paid for itself two-fold.

With the way Splash mechanics work, I still think getting Runed Axe in general is pretty gimmicky, however it does still give +65 damage, and you can buy 2 lifetubes early game for really good health regen.

Replay's aren't really a problem, I've played 60 games with Gladiator between my 2 accounts.

[ObeseSheep]

Not sure if you noticed but Flagellation has the highest potential of pretty much any skill in the game. The most notable thing about it is the fact that it goes through armour, and lategame this means an automatics double damage on top of all the other bonus damage and the fact that it is AoE. Not building around the whip is pretty naive.

I've tried both builds to a very large extent, and I can assure you that Helm of the Black Legion is necessary. You might think that you're not going to be focussed down, but this is directly mid-game I'm talking about, around level 11 when **** starts going down. If you want buy a Runed Axe, do it after the Hotbl, if it keeps you alive just once then it's already paid for itself two-fold.

With the way Splash mechanics work, I still think getting Runed Axe in general is pretty gimmicky, however it does still give +65 damage, and you can buy 2 lifetubes early game for really good health regen.

Replay's aren't really a problem, I've played 60 games with Gladiator between my 2 accounts.

But not testing it is even more naive.
You can still build around it but you don't need it the armor pierce early. Yeah the extra dmg is nice but so a extremly power ganking tool.
You still haven't explaned why you build a tank item on a non tank STR hero who early on should rely on his spell dmg to kill. I want to know because "he needs survivability" is not enough anymore. Everyone needs it. Why not headdress? Early on you won't be facing auto atk threats.

[RogerDodger]

I'm not sure what makes you think Gladiator is not a 'tank' hero. Gladiator requires himself to be at melee range to whip something, or at least melee range of an enemy. Compare Gladiator to every other melee hero in the game who have reliable on demand stuns, or are carries (and a lot of carries are practical candidates to buy Hotbl as well).

Headress reduces damage by a percentage, and for far inferior to Helm of the Black Legion for early game survivability since it gives +300 hp (which Headress does not). "Early on you won't be facing auto-attack threats", that's just stupid, and I won't even bother pretending you know what you're talking about when you say that. Auto-attacks are prevalent throughout the entire game, and Helm of the Black Legion's block shines a lot more early game when attack damages are lower.

If you would be so kind to tell me why you say Gladiator is a 'non-tank STR hero' I'm all for it, but right now you're claiming something from nothing.

[sk1llz4]

Gladiator needs survivability early game hence HOTBL is needed and makes him that more useful as he doesn't need to leave the lane and can farm and lane much easier.
On a side note, Flagellation has so many useful traits it's ridiculous. In a last game i played, my whip killed an invisible keeper and he wasn't even that close.
His natural str gain is not bad at all and you can get to 2.3-2.5k hp with little problems simply by buying helm, fb, steamboots and after that i tend to go some dps item and just play smart moves.

[Daggers]

ive got a quick question for you roger from an upandcoming glad-player ;)

if i find myself getting initiated onto, and this directly leads to a teamfight, should i stay and pitfall and whip some *****es or should i try to leave the fight to get my ult of?

advice appreciated, great guide!

[RogerDodger]

Assume you have 350 movespeed, if you ult in the direction you want to run, and your movespeed is unimpeded (no slows on you) then you'll be somewhat 'shielded' by your ult. In the 2.66 seconds it take for the ult to land, you'll have moved (350 * 1.1) * 2.66 = 1024 units, which is exactly where it'll land.

Of course, you should also put Showdown on the most dangerous enemy, and place a Pitfall about 500 units in front of yourself.

[Daggers]

ah, so i should try to get myself away from the battle to whip away from an angle.

[SilverStars]

Have you ever tried Doombringer on him and whether you have or not how would you go about doing it? Should you Kong before or after you finish the Doombringer, should you build Behe's first?

Yes okay it's a bad choice on him but I feel like having fun so what's the most effective way to use Doombringer?

[RogerDodger]

As long as you have Hotbl, Shroud and Lv4 Riftshards it's all game. Getting Kongor is preferred, so it's advantageous that you be on Hellbourne.

Every time I've tried Doombringer on Gladiator I've gotten a few hat-whips, then proceeded to lose the game by feeding the Doombringer(s).

[Loki]

If your support isn't very good, whispering helm seems like a viable item. You can stack ancients and kill them very fast with flagellation. Also, I suppose symbol of rage makes you more tanky by using flagellation+lifesteal to heal you back to full.

Other than that, very nice guide. It's nice to see a proper gladiator guide out there at last!

[MrCosgrove]

hehe i found the solution for the two of us,
get hotbl then spilt it when you got your staff for runed axe and then get a behes heart if you need it xD

[ader]

My last game I tried out getting 2 riftshards, and I really liked it, had crits most the whips for some insane dmg. Added a doombringer also:). The low psr games that i play, its easy to farm mid/late game, but is it a good way to spend the money? Or is it just stupid? How does the 20% x2 stack? What is the actual percentage of a crit with 2x riftshards? Watched afew replays of you playing glad, very entertaining :) keep up the good work! :D

[ader]

If your support isn't very good, whispering helm seems like a viable item. You can stack ancients and kill them very fast with flagellation. Also, I suppose symbol of rage makes you more tanky by using flagellation+lifesteal to heal you back to full.

Other than that, very nice guide. It's nice to see a proper gladiator guide out there at last!
Well he has no attackspeed what so ever, so that is reason enough for me to not get lifesteal. -_-;

[RogerDodger]

My last game I tried out getting 2 riftshards, and I really liked it, had crits most the whips for some insane dmg. Added a doombringer also:). The low psr games that i play, its easy to farm mid/late game, but is it a good way to spend the money? Or is it just stupid? How does the 20% x2 stack? What is the actual percentage of a crit with 2x riftshards? Watched afew replays of you playing glad, very entertaining :) keep up the good work! :D
HONestly, that wouldn't actually be all too bad. Considering there aren't really any decent DPS items that work for Gladiator once you have Riftshards, most people would consider simply building Runed Axes or Savage Maces for pure damage. However, more Riftshards is actually an interesting idea, and would make Critical Strikes more reliable. It gives only 15 less damage than a Savage Mace, and costs about the same price, so if you're really farmed and already have enough survivability, it's probably a better choice than a Doombringer.

Additional Riftshards would stack with basic diminishing returns.


Chance to crit = 1 - (0.8^n)
Where n is the number of Riftshards

1 Riftshard = 1 - (0.8^1) = 20%
2 Riftshards = 1 - (0.8^2) = 36%
3 Riftshards = 1 - (0.8^3) = 48.8%
etc...

[ElementUser]

I went dual Riftshards in a LN Funhouse a while ago.

Was fun =D

[RogerDodger]

I can't believe nobody pointed this out to me yet...

but the diameter of a 225 radius is not 550 ~_~

[Vahn]

The diameter of a circle with 225 radius is 450 not 550.

[PH34RST3R]

Well he has no attackspeed what so ever, so that is reason enough for me to not get lifesteal. -_-;

the last reason i used to get it on gladiator was for the actual lifesteal :> the hp reg and armor from helm of the victim helps you stay in lane for much longer which is...yeah, nice :P when whispering is completed you still gain +20 dmg and 5armor, Plus you can creepstack easily so at some point it will pay itself off(both experience and goldwise). furthermore you can actually jungle without hotbl (which i usually don't get).

wouldn't upgrade it to symbol of rage though :<

anyways, just my personal taste, and i'm by no means a expert xD don't find it as that bad of a pick on him, but the cash can be used on other more important things unless you have a good early game, and then it's most likely a win anyways.

[Rugburn]

I can't believe nobody mentioned getting a portal key on this hero. Once you showdown you can pitfall, then blink to your target for a whip.

[ader]

cant you do that without portal? =) And you can use it with shroud and get 100 bonusdamge! I suck balls at this game, but i enjoy glad a bit too much, now I am even worse with all other heroes because I only play him :(

[ElementUser]

I can't believe nobody pointed this out to me yet...

but the diameter of a 225 radius is not 550 ~_~

Didn't notice & it must've been a typo anyway

[SilverStars]

I just thought of something. If you use the solo ganking Showdown-Pitfall-Call to Arms-I have no Patience described in your guide:

Pitfall has a 1.53 second stun with 300 damage followed by a 30% slow for 4 seconds
Call to Arms has a 1 second stun and 500 damage.

Wouldn't it be more logical to do Showdown-Call to Arms-Pitfall-I have no Patience? The end result is similar but you get the full effect of the 4 second slow as opposed to 1 second being useless in a Call to Arms stun.

Or does it have something to do with area denial?

[Chumazik]

Nice guide so far. Sweet diagrams.

[ElementUser]

I just thought of something. If you use the solo ganking Showdown-Pitfall-Call to Arms-I have no Patience described in your guide:

Pitfall has a 1.53 second stun with 300 damage followed by a 30% slow for 4 seconds
Call to Arms has a 1 second stun and 500 damage.

Wouldn't it be more logical to do Showdown-Call to Arms-Pitfall-I have no Patience? The end result is similar but you get the full effect of the 4 second slow as opposed to 1 second being useless in a Call to Arms stun.

Or does it have something to do with area denial?

I personally like doing Call to Arms before Pitfall, though it really depends on your level of Showdown.

Level 4 Showdown has 900 cast range, Call to Arms has 1000. If you have lower levels of Showdown (level 2 only has 650), then you have to actually run back a bit to use Call to Arms & by then Showdown would be over by the time Call to Arms impacts the Showdown area.

TL;DR: Level 2 Showdown -> do Showdown-Pitfall-Call to Arms
Level 3/4 Showdown -> do whatever you feel comfortable with

[MATACABROS]

how is this not premium

[Vahn]

He hasn't finished the drafting or replays section, somehow I think once he does it won't take long for it to be premium.

[Face`Trolled]

Definitely a good guide, wanted to write one on gladiator, no need thanks to you !
Good skill/item builds, concise explanations, useful tips, a well-rounded guide to get to play a decent gladiator in a small amount of time.

Keep the good work up ;-)

[TDA101]

Yes you hate lifesteal, but I think Whispering Helm can be considered as a farming tool because I get it and I stack creeps. It also is on of the most imba auto combine items, giving a bonus +20 dmg, +5% lifesteal and dominating creeps on top of what it gives automatically (5 armor is nothing to be ignored and 15% lifesteal is decent on top of the 20 free damage that appears from nowhere)

Grabbing a good minion can affect your farm and ganking ability.

Wolf for harder cleaves.
Ice Orge for armor.
Mino/Cat for stacking ganking.

Gather em all up and kong?

[RogerDodger]

When are you going to get Whispering Helm?

It's inferior to Hotbl early game merely because Hotbl is ridiculously good on him, if you get it midgame you're getting a slower Shroud. The 20 damage is nice I guess, and the attack mod slot is not really being wasted since I don't ever end up getting attack mods on Gladiator. Overall it doesn't really do enough for Gladiator that Hotbl doesn't cover, and is mostly a waste of gold.

Dominating neuts is in theory strong but mostly when I do it, it ends up pretty underwhelming. If you've got good control over them it's up to you really, but personally I can't take advantage of the creep domination to make use of it.

[sk1llz4]

Frostburn is not a bad choice on him imo. If you are gonna get an attack modifier why not get something that boosts your as and ms as well as providing you with a decent slow.
I agree on the Helm issue though.

[SilverStars]

Don't forget to mention that you should line up the edge of your pitfall with the max running range of your target, because i see so many Gladiators try to line up the centre of their pitfall to the predicted place, especially if the target's running away, and they waste AoE when they're targeting it.

[Terribadie]

So technically when coming out of invis from shroud, your opening hit should be on a creep near the target hero as opposed to the actual hero? This would inflict the true damage crit, and not reduced?

[RogerDodger]

So technically when coming out of invis from shroud, your opening hit should be on a creep near the target hero as opposed to the actual hero? This would inflict the true damage crit, and not reduced?
Correct

[rightclick]

Frostburn is not a bad choice on him imo. If you are gonna get an attack modifier why not get something that boosts your as and ms as well as providing you with a decent slow.
I agree on the Helm issue though.
frostburn is gigantic waste of 5000 gold

-it will never get stacked up
-you don't want to attack your main target as whip won't do true damage
-attack speed isn't particularly good on gladiator because whip works on a cooldown, unlike whiplash

[sk1llz4]

frostburn is gigantic waste of 5000 gold

-it will never get stacked up
-you don't want to attack your main target as whip won't do true damage
-attack speed isn't particularly good on gladiator because whip works on a cooldown, unlike whiplash
Not get stacked up with with Pitfall and Showdown and 200as which he can easily attain?
So your logic is that since it works on a cooldown you should only be attacking your target when cooldown on Flagellation is off?
He benefits from everything, the movement speed, the attackspeed, the hit points and the bonus damage. I am not saying it's the only choice, but a good one nonetheless.

[Atlas]

good guide, i smile everytime i manage to farm up lvl 4 riftshards and shroud and start whipping for 1.2k+ crits

[RogerDodger]

Finished the guide up and submitted for premium :3

[ElementUser]

I still think Runed Axe sucks though (on Gladiator in this game)

My $0.02

[Launders]

First off, great guide.

I'd like to add my 2 cents in the form of alternative allies that combo well with Glad. (In a banning draft sort of deal)

Legionnaire: Port/Taunt into a Gladiator wombo combo

Kraken: Total madness when paired up with Gladiator, I've had instances where my Kraken ally has charged someone into a Pitfall/Ulti combo. Insane amounts of splash damage and a good slow are also cool to have.

[ElementUser]

Yay premium :o

[DeNova]

i dont agree with you that whispering helm is useless.

Its a great item that pays for it self.

i played a great gladiator game yesterday where i started out with phase boots then whispering helm. My team was doing great at defending so i farmed contantly in between teamfights in the forest. meanwhile i dominated a creep and was pulling the ancients gaining about 1000-1400 gold per 4-5 minutes.

once i got the cloak i farmed quite fast. while i was pulling the ancients. it took me approx 5-7 minutes of farming to obtain my runed axe. (some team fights in between) once i obtained my runed axe i could very quickly finish of a 5-7 stacked ancients stack.

although i dont always reccomend this. It's highly situational depending on the aggresiveness of your enemies are their magic or auto attack damage.

But Roger if your ever in a situation playing gladiator when having no carry but lots of ganker i argue you to try whispering helm asap for creep stacks on ancients.

[RogerDodger]

I guess if you're really fond of Whispering Helm then it's not at all a terrible choice.

Personally, I don't have the attention to actually stack ancients properly, and whenever I try to I normally end up having the creep sit there for most of the stack opportunities.

[Vuoripeikko]

Great guide. When Gladiator first came out, I loved him, although I haven't played him a lot after that first rush.

What do you think of :AbyssalSkull: on him? Does it benefit enough to be a solid pick? It does give bigger whips, but there are better choices, no?

[ElementUser]

+15% base damage isn't that much and Gladiator doesn't really need the lifesteal. Mana is covered well by Chalice/Bottle/Steams already (especially if you abuse them)

[Chinekafon]

I think that Engneer and Magmus are great team fight partners too.

[ObeseSheep]

I guess if you're really fond of Whispering Helm then it's not at all a terrible choice.

Personally, I don't have the attention to actually stack ancients properly, and whenever I try to I normally end up having the creep sit there for most of the stack opportunities.

Don't right a guide based on your skill. It's like saying: "Don't level command because I can't micro. -.- Same thing here.

[SilverStars]

Don't right a guide based on your skill. It's like saying: "Don't level command because I can't micro. -.- Same thing here.

So you should wrong a guide based on your skill? Lol.

I assume he hasn't mentioned Whispering Helm because he hasn't had notable success using it even if he had used it, regardless of skill level. Guides based on theory don't work that well. He might go try Whispering Helm after it had been suggested, but you can't really blame someone for something they hadn't done wrong yet.

Edit: I'm not trying to flame you, sorry. I'm trying to point out that Ophelia is a completely different case because there's pretty much only one skillbuild for her. Whispering Helm is a matter of choice, Command isn't. It's a completely different thing.


5-7 stacked ancients stack.

You mean 6-9 stacked ancients stack?

[ObeseSheep]

So you should wrong a guide based on your skill? Lol.

Sigh. I'm really tired.

That's not what I said. And I am not going to repeat my self. Try again.

[SynzOfGlikus]

Whispering helm is definitely viable, but helm makes farming just as easy and helps a ton more in teamfights, you just lose the ancient stacking.
Great guide Rodger

[Launders]

Quick question, regarding the item build.

Usually my build looks like this (pretty cookie cutter but w/e)
Chalice
Marchers
HoTBL
Steamboots
Shroud
Riftiesx4

After that, I split the helm and use the beastheart to make a Behemoth's heart, and I save the lifetube in my stash for a runed axe. Once I make the runed axe I sell the chalice since I dont need the burst mana.

Basically, my itemization revolves around the best bang for my buck, is there a better/more efficient way to do it?

[RogerDodger]

Seems like a decent way to itemise, normally I just end up stacking Riftshards / getting Doombringers if I'm that farmed.

[Launders]

Seems like a decent way to itemise, normally I just end up stacking Riftshards / getting Doombringers if I'm that farmed.

Normally I'd go for the doombringers, but my friends have been known to Gauntlet toss me into the enemy pool numerous times.

[TWENTYTWO`S]

Cool guide.
Bonus points for being an Abridged fan

[Deityh]

Very nice guide. Btw that dual doombringer jera replay was one of the most hilarious ive seen :D

[Assassine]

Pretty cool guide, been going for Runed on Gladi as well, might try him without now.
Btw, you wrote Teamfight Parntners at the bubbles part, might want to correct that

[Shamgoth]

Absolutely great guide, nice number crunching to.
Good job

[Bloombox]

Glad is such a boss.

[jaaraargh]

Too much waste since it isn't good for your gank / lanefarm since you do really never have time for creeps/anicients / your other teammates needs them.

So i prefer phase,Runed Axe/shroud,riftshards and doombringer or another dmg item

[Market]

Whispering Helm really shouldn't be on the items to avoid list. As mentioned above the stacking part of it is nice (allows other heroes on your lane to rice your lane/jungle while you take out the ancients quick). But the big part is that it builds into a symbol of rage which imo is one of the best items on glad for insane surviability, more so than a heart.

[ofx]

Great guide, i really enjoyed it as a gladiator player myself.
You could also add in the tip section that u can cancel tp with ur showdown/i have no patience.
You could also let him tp and bring him back but it let the enemy heal a bit and it may make a difference.

[RogerDodger]

Whispering Helm really shouldn't be on the items to avoid list. As mentioned above the stacking part of it is nice (allows other heroes on your lane to rice your lane/jungle while you take out the ancients quick). But the big part is that it builds into a symbol of rage which imo is one of the best items on glad for insane surviability, more so than a heart.
The only reason I'd consider Whispering Helm would be for the armour, but if I was going for Armour a Demonic Breastplate would still be a better option.

It's easy to have allied supports stack neutrals for you, but if you're in a pub optimal play isn't really possible for one person anyway.

[The_Doros]

I would just like to add pebbles as a notable lane partner. Stun->pitfall->chuck->whip...dead. Plus its hilarious cause they almost fly off the screen.

And honorable mention to chronos. If you haven't mastered landing glads ultimate this makes it a hell of a lot easier since they can't move.
Sent from my X10a using Tapatalk

[RogerDodger]

Chronos would not be so good, since having 2 heroes who need to farm up all game on a single team is really not a good idea.

Laning with Pebbles is also really bad for the obvious reason of being double melee. If you're going purely for burst Andromeda works best.

[The_Doros]

Yes but at level 4 its a guarenteed kill with pebbles if you level pitfall and showdown? (Second skill)

And yes I agree with chromosome not being the best team partner cause you both need farm. But its still not bad if you can manage it.

By the way I have a question...Does chronos rewind and glads ultimate buff stack?

e.g. chronos ults and starts whacking I ult. Does all damage get reduces by half and how does it work with rewind?

Perhaps I should post this in mechanics?
Sent from my X10a using Tapatalk

[D`Schrute]

The replays doesnt work any more, whats up with that? Anyone got some good gladi replays that works?

Awesome guide btw, and a really fun hero.

[ElementUser]

15878914

You can have my double Riftshards Gladiator replay then.

[Octavia]

What if I trump that with my TRIPLE RIFTSHARDS GLADIATOR??? (http://replays.heroesofnewerth.com/match_replay.php?mid=17361786)

[ElementUser]

That doesn't count, you were against noobs

[Octavia]

1,251 xp/min

[Angusiasty]

1,251 xp/min

it was APEM and double :Doombringer: >> triple :Riftshards:

[Creeping]

He's awesome with :myrm: in lane, especially against carries.

[Neeb]

Overpow as glad on a 1850+ game - doom bringer included.

http://replays.heroesofnewerth.com/match_replay.php?mid=19940923

[D`Schrute]

Nice replay, some good whips in there :)

[lightor]

HOTBL is good on him? for what purpose?
is it really core?

[Octavia]

Lets you farm neutral creeps forever and makes you incredibly hard to kill.

[D`Schrute]

What if I trump that with my TRIPLE RIFTSHARDS GLADIATOR??? (http://replays.heroesofnewerth.com/match_replay.php?mid=17361786)
I can trump that my self now. Just played the most epic game i have ever played. Five doombringers in play at the end, four bought by me, had three in invent at one point for some nice crits. Over 95 minutes long but unfortunately i lost in the end :(

Match ID:22960198 (http://replays.heroesofnewerth.com/match_replay.php?mid=22960198)


HOTBL is good on him? for what purpose?
is it really core?
I find that the extra 300 hp of an early hotbl saves you quite often, and the regen lets u abuse chalice 24/7.

[d4bidden]

do you suggest getting rift shards or shroud first? (talking damage wise, not if you need shroud to stay alive)

[Octavia]

Shroud first

General item progression is Hotbl -> Boots -> Steam/Phase Boots -> Shroud -> Rifthards -> Shrunken Head / Demonic Breastplate.

I don't even bother with Blood Chalice anymore, but I can't edit the guide. Start with Hatchet, Shield and Health Potion and 90% of the time that Health Potion lives through until you get the Lifetube.

[Sai]

great guide, but i really think if you're going mid with glad, the items should be

3str stout 2tango.

hatchet not needed w/ whip, and if you go mid without a stout as a melee you lose, 100%

[D`Schrute]

I have just totally fallen for this hero, sooo funny.

Double Doombringer Immortal: Match ID:23137519 (http://replays.heroesofnewerth.com/match_replay.php?mid=23137519)

[d4bidden]

http://replays.heroesofnewerth.com/match_replay.php?mid=23105597

Enemy team was laughing at me.

I do all the damage and the range people just auto attack once and get kill LOL. They ended up conceding

[d4bidden]

So I had my first expierene with doombringer.

My problem is I end up getting assits only and never get kills, but not this time XD I whipped the enemy team to oblivion and got instant quad kill (they had leaver)


uploading in youtube. I know I am not a pro but let me enjoy my moment :P

Edit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_yl8-ixFeQ

[BBGun]

this is a superb guide hands down - glad is now my highest picked hero at 20% lol;;

everything is pretty much spot imo

i don't play high level games but if you're in a pub game and you play to have fun - i suggest you go big = ghost marchers, hotbl, chalice first and afterwards go shroud, max crit, and immediately farm divines rest of the game. sell your chalice and hotbl to get 2 more;; don't go for the aegis it makes your games really boring. whip da livin shi- out of your enemies.

[Xsnake]

Sup, i wanted to know somethin; WHY NOT STACKING RIFT AS A LUXURY?

i mean it adds some damage and even if crits don't stacks; there is a higher probability to crit no?

[SoMighty]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjdpzsR9-3M

Enjoy

[Octavia]

Sup, i wanted to know somethin; WHY NOT STACKING RIFT AS A LUXURY?

i mean it adds some damage and even if crits don't stacks; there is a higher probability to crit no?You're better off getting either a Runed Axe or Demonic Breastplate.

It's definitely not a bad idea, but it's not a good one either.

[SilverStars]

Could you comment on some Showdown tricks and what Daemonic Breastplate is for?

[Octavia]

Demonic Breastplate is mainly for armor, since both your starting armor and agi gain is terrible. Normally you have pretty good farm as Gladiator (probably the best melee farmer in the game) so you'll have the most items in the game, and Demonic makes you able to trade shots with other carries.

[Octavia]

Updated a bit with a changed item build favouring Runed Axe much more due to its reliability over Riftshards.

[ElementUser]

Orly...interesting....

[Octavia]

Also, if you have 2 Runed Axes you can always 1 shot full non-mega creep waves by hitting the archer :D

[mukjiPA]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjdpzsR9-3M

Enjoy

yep i've seen this a few times; nice video

[dorsalgia]

noob guide
roger noob
))

[Dawnbringer]

Just a mention on the whispering helm note, i like to get it to stack ancients :/

[Sheriff]

rodger brohon

just so you know :krak: ulti is like sex for your spells

[Octavia]

Added a section for Adventure Gladiator and the old voice

[bNatural]

Thanks for the great guide, was able to have a lot of fun today with a friend of mine.

Just food for thought, maybe you'd like to add it if you see fit, but my friend and I played a game today where he was glad and I was succubus.

With level 1 nightmare + pit combo, we mowed down the lane every few minutes stacking up a ton of hero kills.

Later on, Grip + Glad's ult + pitfall, etc lead to some great combos.
I.E. 2 vs 2 lane bottom, I blink in, sleep one, grip other, and he ulted and got both.

We aren't the greatest players, but I think succubus is a solid teammate for glad.
Just my 2 cents,
Thanks again for the guide

[DaBigBoi]

I was wondering something, why not get plated greaves on Gladiator? It boosts the user too when activated, gives all stats and has 5 armor and 70 move speed.

[Octavia]

I was wondering something, why not get plated greaves on Gladiator? It boosts the user too when activated, gives all stats and has 5 armor and 70 move speed.
The activateable ability doesn't affect you, so it's pretty much way inferior to Steamboots or Ghost Marchers.

[DaBigBoi]

The activateable ability doesn't affect you, so it's pretty much way inferior to Steamboots or Ghost Marchers.

Yeah I read the tooltip wrong, silly me.

[ElementUser]

Gladiator got many bugfixes (cosmetic and otherwise) coming next patch :)

[TheMay0r]

great guide.


I'm not questioning your build, but why do you think the pro glads almost always favor an early rift over runed?

[Marach]

Gladiator got many bugfixes (cosmetic and otherwise) coming next patch :)

I hope that this includes Pitfall getting an AoE indicator of correct size. I'm not sure if any other spell in the game has its visual AoE indicator so wrong comparing to the actual effect radius.

[Ifixxx]

great guide.


I'm not questioning your build, but why do you think the pro glads almost always favor an early rift over runed?
pro games get decided/pushed alot earlier then pubs,i like runed axe also,but sometimes you need to start teamfighting as soon as you get shroud and you cant farm for 10 more minutes to get both

[ANXIOUSLY]

I don't see why some glads get 2x or 3x riftshards. I thought stacking crit was bad?

My guess is it's just for lolz

[ElementUser]

I hope that this includes Pitfall getting an AoE indicator of correct size. I'm not sure if any other spell in the game has its visual AoE indicator so wrong comparing to the actual effect radius.

Art =/= bugfix, though I would do it myself if I knew how to (not bothered with art stuff)

However, you can apply that statement to practically every spell since its graphics are almost always differing than the actual affected area (doesn't matter whether the degree of difference is large or small, just that it is there)

[Verkku]

You shouldn't mention that Shieldbreaker is bad for Gladi, reducing the main targets armor is exactly what you want to do to increase your truedamage, in team fights attacking a creep is often smarter as they very often have less armor than playertargets.

SB is also applied before the damage is dealt to the target so there's no reason not to go Daemonic + SB in longer games.

[Octavia]

The damage dealt to the main target of the Flagellation does not have any impact on the splash. Getting Shieldbraker only makes the main target take more damage (if we ignore the +60 damage).

[Marach]

huh, did I wrongly understand how Flagellation works then?

doesn't Flagellation deal true damage equal to the actual damage done to your main target? meaning, if you manage to deal more damage to your main target (where your damage is reduced by his physical armor), you will deal more true damage to others (splash). and you can increase damage you do to the main target either by buying items that increase your damage or items that reduce enemy armor.

for example, if I hit an enemy ranged creep (zero armor), I should deal more true splash damage than if I hit an enemy agility hero that has a lot of armor, right?

if that is correct, then it would also mean Verkku is right that Shieldbreaker would increase your true splash damage (as you would deal more damage to your main target due to reduced armor effect of Shieldbreaker). whether it is worth buying over other items is another thing.

[Vahn]

Nope that isn't correct.
If you have 100 damage and max level Flagellation with no items.
The splash will do 160 true damage (100 + 60 from Flagellation effect), the main target however will take 160 physical damage, which can be reduced by their armour. The true damage splash is not effected by the targets armour in any way at all.

[ElementUser]

Yeah it's been proven multiple times that NomesWisdom and Vahn1670 are correct

[Octavia]

I'll reword the description though since it's a bit ambiguous at the moment

[Triumph`117]

Bubbles' Kelp Field has a radius of 400, this means that if you target your Chariot directly in the centre you're guaranteed to hit everyone inside of the field - pretty neat!

That's the initial grab radius IIRC. Snap radius is larger (like 600 or something).

[ElementUser]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNSN4yyMkxk

(Fixed btw in current retail patch)

[Kurczak]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNSN4yyMkxk

(Fixed btw in current retail patch)
That's so epic :D
It's a shame you can't do that anymore :(

How does showdown work vs. invunerable targets?(Swiftblade ult/Doctor Repulsor)

[SK]

That's so epic :D
It's a shame you can't do that anymore :(

How does showdown work vs. invunerable targets?(Swiftblade ult/Doctor Repulsor)

Showdown does nothing on invulnerable units.

[DropBear1200]

Overall it is a good guide the only thing I sometimes do different is skip the helm and get frostburn.

[Teh_Pwnisher]

What do you guys think about alchemist's bones on him? I usually manage to get my HotBL very quickly, but I'm considering going for midas first, to boost up my farm, then get the helm asap.

[Octavia]

What do you guys think about alchemist's bones on him? I usually manage to get my HotBL very quickly, but I'm considering going for midas first, to boost up my farm, then get the helm asap.
you won't be able to jungle without hotbl so it will hinder your farm more than help it

[ElectricAxe]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwBA5dBNb70

Match ID: 20772643.

If you haven't seen it, DO IT! You lives will never be the same.

[Pathard]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwBA5dBNb70

Match ID: 20772643.

If you haven't seen it, DO IT! You lives will never be the same.
20772643 So epic, but to bad the replay isn't downloadable.

[DENANDRA]

lulululu

[wYnDoN]

You really need to mention succubus as a great laning partner. It's really sick, that you didn't. It's like not pointing out that glacius is a good partner for sb.

[Tay_z0nday]

GLadiator guide... Got a 2kd with him... favorite hero
U can go steam boot with him... if u do get hotbl
Dont phase and helm retard...
Best way to play him is to get phase... and bottle then shroud ect...
Why phase over steam....a more powerfull whip ,moving, much faster and the ability to unit walking to never miss a whip...
Farming much faster when your jungling (stacking)near 300gold min...and then after shroud, rune axe ,riftshard u may get doom bringer or behemoth heart and breasplate which help you to fight against other carry such as sw...

[Tay_z0nday]

Yeah but laning with succubus is for beginner ... only if u cant trap but still u wont do kill that much...it's better laning with someone who has a heal or nuke...such as myrmidon , ds

[Tay_z0nday]

I got a kd of 2.1 with gladiator and i never went hotbl....plus i can jungle well stacking 3 time then trap whip wait 4 sec whip again ( im getting phase bottle then shroud...)

[Octavia]

You really need to mention succubus as a great laning partner. It's really sick, that you didn't. It's like not pointing out that glacius is a good partner for sb.
Succubus can work as a laning partner, but she's by no means a good one. You're much better off with having item independent 500+ range heroes who can harass for you as well as line up Pitfalls.

[ElementUser]

Succubus getting buffed

:succ:

[Octavia]

Big spoiler :O

6-7 minutes hotbl?, are you playing a practice game?

[Octavia]

6-7 minutes hotbl?, are you playing a practice game?
7 minute hotbl requires 1975 / 7 = 282 gold/min. It's not entirely unreasonable to expect to lasthit ~80% of the creeps.

[lePhish]

There's also a really neat trick I discovered when playing Gladiator that's worth mentioning:

When you've maxed Showdown to lvl 4 you can use it on yourself, then port back to the well for a free 4 seconds of full well regen (as the buff stays on you after Showdown ports you back). Also, should you for some reason have bought a bottle, it will instantly be refilled.
It does cost 135g, but I've found it well worth it as it allows for non-stop farming with no well-visits once you've poured the necessary skill points in it.

I'm not sure this is enough to make PH viable on Gladiator, but plan on trying it out when I get the chance and the necessary farm. Especially after their buff, it might be worth looking into.

Cheers

[SamoJamo]

There's also a really neat trick I discovered when playing Gladiator that's worth mentioning:

When you've maxed Showdown to lvl 4 you can use it on yourself, then port back to the well for a free 4 seconds of full well regen (as the buff stays on you after Showdown ports you back). Also, should you for some reason have bought a bottle, it will instantly be refilled.
It does cost 135g, but I've found it well worth it as it allows for non-stop farming with no well-visits once you've poured the necessary skill points in it.

I'm not sure this is enough to make PH viable on Gladiator, but plan on trying it out when I get the chance and the necessary farm. Especially after their buff, it might be worth looking into.

Cheers

Wow, that is such a good idea. Can't believe I've never heard of that before.

[zOle`]

Great guide dude 9/10 ;)

[S`dysenteria]

Very nice guide! Thank you very much for this :D
Cleared up issues with details on skills, screenshots for whip mechanics were great also
keep it up!

[ECode]

There's no "Runed Axe" anymore! Lol just kidding! Good guide ^^! Helped me alot

[qappaq]

what does he say like if I required to kill, I kill TY!

[Octavia]

what does he say like if I required to kill, I kill TY!
I am required to kill so I kill :glad:

[davek]

Anyone got any decent up to date replays to download as the ones in the OP are gone.

[Gipp]

Anyone got any decent up to date replays to download as the ones in the OP are gone.

just look up my gladiator replays
also look up "honniversary" since it was my free 2 smurf account.

im usually pretty decent with gladiator

[Ascard]

Very good guide,I still have problems with the chariot <.< meh,will have to practice that. :witc:

[Gr333nOnion]

Nice guide. Are you allowed to edit it once it has gone premium?

If so...

1) Get rid of runed axe. It shouldn't even be mentioned. It's a cheaper source of damage, but there's a better alternative: Sword of the High. It's cheaper and it does more damage. Sure you don't get the life and mana regen, but what's chalice and hotbl for?

2) People already mentioned about stacking multiple riftshards, but including it in the op would be beneficial for those who don't have time reading every post.

3) You mentioned in another thread that the main target for flagellation should be a creep or a low priority target since the main target takes only physical damage. Why didn't you include it in here?

[Juerrilla]

ive seen people banned for winning a game making DB, but its a recommended item on a few heroes? hmmm

hatchet is awful shouldnt ever start with that item, branches are superior

runed axe should be your first item if thats what you plan on makin, not shroud or hotbl

leveling flag at 1 is superior, and maxing it by 7, some people cant land pitfall so showdown is optional early build, but maxing pitfall is superior imo, just practice

[ElementUser]

Sigh.

HotBL+Chalice should always be core - the combo is that good.

[Octavia]

You don't always need a Chalice. Steamboots (swapping to int whenever you cast) and Mana Battery can be enough in some situations. It really depends how much you need to be participating in fights.

[Jezu]

I think u should mention Support-Gladiator O_o

43960819

[MiaoCai]

I can pretty sure to say I am a decent gladiator player.
I just want to add 2 more things to your guide.

1, Rune axe is bad... get it after u can survive. survival is very important for gladiator. his damage output relies on mutiple whips, not one. his ult can make him very tanky with the helm of black legion. However, I always dream on get a rune axe then later on disemble it into 1200 blade for shroud, 1200 blade for rift, lifetube + manatube for nullstone! =D
yes nullstone gives me the confidence to build doom bringer!

2, Elder parasite is not a bad item for Glad when he has level 4 rift shards. it gives u ability to output huge amount damage through auto attack during ur whip cd.

My build for glad is Helm Black Legion, steam boot, shroud, rift, last 2 item depends on the line up. Sometimes I get parasite + doom, sometimes nullstone + doom. also shurken head, rune axe , demonic breast plate, or even another rift shard can be done~

[Nobreakz]

You forgot 1 thing; frosrburn, which gives you plenty of hits on the enemy, and the whip might give you kills on the other enemies. The attack speeed from steams and frostburn is all you need. The average game is 37 mins.

Frostburn runed axe riftshards is all you need to win:)

[ElementUser]

Ehh, I'm seeing Veldt pick up Runed Axe almost every game with Gladiator in our SBT games.

Perhaps he does this for sustainable farming

[ForTheSwarm]

I think you should mention use of showdown on yourself/allied units- I never knew it was even possible until I saw the one-hit annihilation on youtube. And it can some uses such as juking (a la Aluna's Deja Vu).

[Triceratops]

I'm wondering why mock of brilliance isn't under your suggested items. It gives lots of pure damage, which is great for whip, and the aoe damage fits well with his playstyle. He also has decent strength gain, and becomes decently tanky after hotbl/shroud (I know shroud doesn't give hp, but it still helps a lot with survivability. And it works with mock!)

[d4bidden]

Once you have Assassin's Shroud, Runed Axe and Riftshards there honestly isn't any items left that can make your whip that much stronger (sans Doombringer)

Waaoh WHAT!?
:BehemothsHeart::Insanitarius: and even :SavageMace:

After Shroud and Shards I skip gimciky rune axe. Get Behemot Heart then Insan, so I can keep it active all time

[doophus]

Great guide. I tend to skip helm and rely on shroud for survivability (early sword gives some nasty harrass in lane!)

Btw - i thought it'd be worth drawing on the disjoint ability of his showdown - countless times i've avoided scout/flint ults with showdown/impatience cast!!
Also it can be used as a great juke tool if u cast it in fog and have enemies chase u for 4 seconds in the complete opposite direction. I'm sure you're aware of this - but might help other players who want to get the most out of glad (one of my favs!!)

Happy whipping =)