Puchi
09-15-2009, 10:17 AM
Hello fellow forumers :D
This is my very first guide for HON, and it is made for non-em games on forest, but most tips are general and can be applied on any map. Anyways I hope you like it :P
Demented Shaman
Introduction
Introduction
Skill Overlook
Skill Build
Item Builds
Starting Items
Core Item Build
Late Game Item Build
Optional Items
Items You Should Avoid
Complete Playguide
Complete Playguide: Laning
Complete Playguide: Ganking
Complete Playguide: Teamfights
Complete Playguide: Babysitting
In-Depth
In-Depth: Healing Wave
Pros & Cons
Conclusion
Introduction
This is a guide on Demented Shaman, I make this guide because the guides that exists does not go into detail about him, there is so much more to Demented Shaman then just “that healing hero”, and I will try to enlighten you readers on how to best play this hero from my experience. Also because there are to many retarded shamans runing around in my opinion, and i hope to help you all with this guid
Skill Overview
Here I will go through the basic’s stats, skills, starting items, standard, skill build etc.
http://i28.tinypic.com/2mdpkd0.jpg
Movement Speed: 305
Starting HP: 304
Staring Mana: 351
Stats gained per lvl: Str 1.85 Agi 1.7 Int 3.4
Base Damage: 41-59
Range: 600
http://i28.tinypic.com/10sf507.jpg
Notes:
Entangle is a great ability when chasing, ganking or fleeing a gank. The damage of this spell is weak and but its still a good harass in the early game. I will go into more detail in how to use this spell to best later when I describe the different stages in the game.
http://i26.tinypic.com/2nvvww6.jpg
Notes:
Arcane hide is a very strong spell in all stages of the game and if you take the role as a babysitter to a carry/str hero. And like Entangle I will describe the when and where’s to use this spell later on.
http://i31.tinypic.com/91l081.jpg
Notes:
Healing wave is you bread and butter it is the spell that makes Demented Shaman a great hero, it is especially strong in the early-/midgame. During the early stages of a game it can in my opinion be considered a nuke.
http://i27.tinypic.com/2ihl2ee.jpg
Notes:
Storm Cloud is Demented Shamans ulti and it is a nice ulti for the mid-/lategame but it’s rather useless in the earlygame. It is especially good when defending or pushing, since its when there will be the most heroes around, and the more heroes around the better the effect of the ulti. Also mentionable is that the ulti has 2000 range; this makes it easy to use before you advance in to a teamfight.
Extra note:
Demented Shamans ulti is now affected by Staff of masters; I will look into this and get back to this post with information regarding its worth.
I have covered all the essentials in my opinion but if you feel the need to get any more basic information click here (http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/heroview.php?hid=43) for the complete information on Demented Shaman
Skill build
Standard/Defensive/Agressive
1 – Healing wave
2 – Entangle / Arcane hide
3 – Healing wave / Entangle
4 – Entangle / Stats
5 – Healing wave / Entangle
6 – Entangle / Healing wave
7 – Healing wave / Entangle
8 – Arcane Hide / Entangle / Healing Wave
9 – Entangle / Arcane hide / Healing Wave
10 – Storm Cloud / Arcane hide / Stats
11 – Storm Cloud / Arcane hide / Stats
12 – Arcane Hide / Entangle / Stats
13 – Arcane Hide / Storm Cloud / Stats
14 – Arcane Hide / Storm Cloud / Storm Cloud
15 – Stats / Storm Cloud
16 – Storm Cloud
17-25 – Stats / Arcane hide
Standard:
This skillbuild Works in most matchups, it’s a semidefensive build since I max the heal first but since that is Demented Shamans only “nuke” its also quite good in an offensive aspect, as some of you might note I put 1 skill in arcane hide before maxing entangle and this is because rank 4 entangle only give’s you 7 more physical damage over 7 sec which is more precisely; 7*7 = 49 physical damage, also you have 2 sec more cd with rank 3. This is the Skillbuild that i have had the most succees playing with.
Defensive:
This is a babysitter build designed for laning with a melee carry/strength hero, use the arcane hide on your lanemate on cd to help him harass and lasthit. This skillbuild is also good if you have a melee heavy team, use the arcane hide on you initiator before the battle begins, this way you will have it off cd when the battle begins.
Agressive:
This is the only build in which I use +stats before maxing out spells personally I do not like this skillbuild and it is the build I have had the least success with, but this is the best build for earlygame ganking and its design for ganking from lvl 5, to make it successful you need to pick a lanemate that can handle himself. This is a great build for laning with another ranged hero.
Item overview
Starting items
There are many sets of starting items that work well for Demented Shaman, depending on lane/lanemate etc I will try to describe as well as I can what you should go for and when you should go for it.
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_PretendersCrown.jpgx2http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_ManaPotion.jpgx2http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_RunesOfTheBlight.jpg
------------------or------------------
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Bottle.jpg
------------------or------------------
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Scarab.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_MinorTotem.jpgx4http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_RunesOfTheBlight.jpg
------------------or------------------
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_GroundFamiliar.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_ManaPotion.jpgx2http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_RunesOfTheBlight.jpgx2http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_HealthPotion.jpg
------------------or------------------
Power battery (have not tried this yet but I recon I could work for Demented Shaman, vs the right enemy heroes)
Notes:
The firs item build is good if you fear that you will come across good early game heroes and need the extra hp/mana to be able to stay on your lane these items fits all skill builds/play styles in the earlygame. Only ever go bottle if you are solo mid and no other hero has the bottle. Next we have the scarab build this is good if you are planning to go for defensive skill build and later go for astrolabe. If you like playing with currier that works as well, someone please correct me if you think the consumables are wrong, I generally don’t use currier.
Core items
Enhanced marchers
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_EnhancedMarchers.jpg
1510
Enhanced marchers is the best option for Demented Shaman since he is chasing most of the time he needs to be fast and the ability to run through creeps makes it easier.
Bracers x2
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Strength5.jpg
510
Since you have a high int gain and relative low hp bracers is better to go the mark of the exile.
Homecoming stone
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_HomecomingStone.jpg
135
No matter what hero you play you should always keep a homecoming stone with you, unless you have post haste which I don’t recommend Demented Shaman.
Additional items
Astrolabe
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Astrolabe.jpg
2364
Considering the low manacost of your main spells you are very suitable for a Astrolabe, and another heal for team battles is always great to have.
Codex
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Nuke.jpg
2850
I for one do not like going codex with Demented Shaman I have seen people do it but I only think that it is reasonable if you have voodoo jester or Ophelia in your team. And since getting codex is more or less a all in build since you will have to upgrade it when the game progresses it’s not worth it in the long run, also it’s a great way to fragsteal which you should NOT do with Demented Shaman since you are a support hero.
Stormspirit
http://i29.tinypic.com/sy2dfo.jpg
2925
In case your team lacks disable or you face annoying heroes like Tempest or Magmus Stormspirit is a great item to get right after you got your core items, it’s a overall good item.
Shieldbreaker
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Pierce.jpg
4400
In case you are the dominant player in the game and want to go for heavy damage you can go for shieldbreaker, but I don’t recommend farming this item if you or your team is in a disadvantage.
Hellflower
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Silence.jpg
5025
Great item to have for most heroes 5 sec silence is always useful, and if you are going for a shieldbreaker build it’s a great item to get for extra damage and AS.
Sacrificial stone
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_HealthMana3.jpg
5050
This is a overall good item and it’s not bad for Demented Shaman, but I recommend you get this item only if you are dominant in the early game/midgame, in which you should get it after enhanced marchers and skip bracers.
Null Stone
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Protect.jpg
5175
Since you are a strong supporter and will make your team survive, it’s likely that the enemy team will try to focus you and if you have problem with stunners Null Stone is also a great item to go for.
Totem of Kuldra
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Morph.jpg
5675
This is a great item to get in the lategame I gives you a high manapool and all the regeneration you’ll ever need, and again its always good to have a extra disable.
Frostwolf’s skull
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Freeze.jpg
6650
If you are truly rich and have progressed into the late, late game a frostwolf skull is a ideal item for you to get as a last item, with all the extra hp/mana, slow and regeneration it’s simply great, but expensive.
Endgame build should look something like this:
Standard:
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_EnhancedMarchers.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_HealthMana3.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Morph.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Astrolabe.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Freeze.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_HomecomingStone.jpg
Offensive:
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_EnhancedMarchers.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_HealthMana3.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Morph.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Silence.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Pierce.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_HomecomingStone.jpg
Babysitter:
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_EnhancedMarchers.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_HealthMana3.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Morph.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Astrolabe.jpghttp://i29.tinypic.com/sy2dfo.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_HomecomingStone.jpg
Items you should avoid
Riftshard/flayer
Leave the damage dealing to someone else in the team, unless for some reason you have so much money that you can farm a flayer after hellflower and shieldbreaker, just tell them to concede already...
Lifesteal items
Since you have a rather low base damage and should really focus on getting support/stat items you should avoid lifesteal items.
Frostfield plate
You should not get this item ever since you should not be in the middle of the battle where it is best put to use, if you need extra armor demonic breastplate is the item to get.
Codex
I know I mentioned this item above but, as stated previously this is not for Demented Shaman you are not suppose to lasthit enemy heroes.
Complete Playguide
In this section I will describe all parts of a match with tips regarding what to do in different situations, what lane to pick, what hero to lane with etc. I hope you will find this information helping when playing Demented Shaman. Note that all the tactics and tips bellow is from my playstyle prospective.
Complete Playguide: Laning (level 1-5)
Sweet, sweet early game this is when Demented Shaman is the strongest. Start off by picking your spec and get into the right mindset for playstyle you have picked and then depending on which lane and land mate you get/pick buy starting items accordingly. At level 3 you should depending on opposition be able to take a kill even at level 2 you can technically kill someone with entangle and healing wave but this to do this you have to get a good creepsurround on a enemy hero and then heal the creeps causing massive damage to the enemy hero and afterwards you slow him and shot him down, This is ofc easier with a lanemate but its not hard to do it by yourself. The key to creep healing is to provoke the enemy to attack you and chase you, this way the creeps will attack him and then you move in for a kill getting close to the enemy hero and then blowing off a heal. Also do not hesitate to use healing wave to last hit, the best way to do this is to move into the melee creeps and then use your heal since it does more damage the more units it heals.
In addition you will be able to orbwalk quite easily with his long range and 5 ms higher ms then standard. The key to this is as stated above to provoke the enemy in to chasing you, but since you run faster he won’t be able to hit you and when he turns you attack him quickly. This also works well for voodoo jester since he has the same range/base MS
For more detail in how to lane good see Nome’s guide here (http://forums.heroesofnewerth.com/showthread.php?t=2625)
Complete Playguide: Ganking
You can Start ganking from level 4-5 but I recommend unless you have bottle to get a manatube before you start ganking, because you will be burning a lot of mana while ganking, and the longer you can keep it up the better for the team. If you have solo mid you should gank in the direction of the rune, also take into consideration that it’s easier to come from woods when ganking if your team is in a position you can benefit from try to catch the enemy team between your tower and the entrance of wood, by doing so you will get a surround on them. If you are top/bottom you should go for a gank in mid or if you are rich, buy a homecoming when your team is pushing and attack the enemies through their woods. Something that is important when ganking with Demented Shaman is to not use entangle to early, use it when they try to escape and instruct your team to surround the hero your going for if possible for maximum effect of your heal.
A good idea is to run in pair with a strong early game ganker to ensure kills; examples of good heroes to pair up with will be stated bellow.
Complete Playguide: Teamfights
The most important thing in teamfights is that you use your ultimate correctly; if you face a team with heavy physical damage you should use it on your team before you move in use it then wait 3-4 seconds and move in. If you have a team with heavy physical damage you should use it on their team, this is a great way to strike fear into the enemy team as well, and don’t forget that it has 2000 range which makes it easy to use before advance into the battle. Also important to mention is Arcane hide, you should either place your Arcane hide on your initiator to ensure that he doesn’t die when he moves in, or place it on a weak hero like Glacius, torturer or a carry like Dl, MM, MB, Chronos or someone alike, remember to as I stated above to use your arcane hide well in advance so that you can use it again during the battle.
Use entangle to stop escaping enemy heroes or more important to interrupt channels like magmus, voodoo or tempest’s ulti. Your healing wave should be used during the first 2 seconds of the battle and remember that it does physical damage therefore if someone in their team uses Shrunken head or Jere uses Protective charm it does not matter you will still damage them with your ability. If you have astrolabe use it when you see someone in range going down fast or when the entire team has been damaged from something. If you have stormspirit or kuldra use it to either disable some annoying or to stop a fleeing hero. You position during a teamfight should be in the back in a semisafe position. You should never be in the front where you can be taken out easily.
In-Depth
In-Depth: Healing wave
One thing that is very notable with healing wave is that it deals physical damage which means that any magic immunity won’t hold against it, therefore Healing wave can be very useful when playing vs heroes who relay on magic immunity or high magic armor to get away or survive. The likes of Swiftblade, Jereziah, Magebane or Pudge are all often taken by surprise when you deal them a lot of damage using your heal.
Therefore I will try to describe the best way to use you healing wave spell to maximize your damage output on enemy heroes, the tactics bellow is for early game laning when you do the most damage, but can be used at any time during the game.
(screenshots will be up soon).
Here we see a normal creepfight and 2 heroes waiting to last hit, a note to the instructions above is that you should be a little damaged before attempting to do this trick. Start moving towards the creep and then, when you are in close proximity to your own creeps you attack your opposition, making the enemy creeps go for you. You wait a second to see the reaction from the enemy hero when he moves towards you start heading back and be ready to heal. When your opposition is in melee range of your creeps you use your heal on the creeps and then quickly slow him and start attacking if you aren’t already.
This is easier to do if you have a friend with you playing a melee hero who can act as bait, the key to making this succeed is to convince your opposition that he or she will have a sure kill, and when least expected you turn the tables turning them into your prey.
Pros & Cons
Pros
Has heal and 50% damage reduction spells
Deals a lot of damage in the early game
Has great armor buff/debuff
One of the best babysitters
All spells have a low cost
Cons
Damaging spells deals less and less damage as the game progresses
Has no real escape ability
Low base HP
Conclusion
Overall I think that Demented Shaman, like Dazzle that I have completely forgot to mention before in this guide is a great hero. I don’t consider myself done with this guide but I have to post is no before my boss comes in and finds me not working. Screenshots, more “in-depth’s” and maybe a video clip will be added in time but for now this is all I got. Hope you find my guide helpful and I look forward to having my own tactics used against me :D
And also look forward to more colourig and more information regarding heroes who are great allies and annoying foes!
This is my very first guide for HON, and it is made for non-em games on forest, but most tips are general and can be applied on any map. Anyways I hope you like it :P
Demented Shaman
Introduction
Introduction
Skill Overlook
Skill Build
Item Builds
Starting Items
Core Item Build
Late Game Item Build
Optional Items
Items You Should Avoid
Complete Playguide
Complete Playguide: Laning
Complete Playguide: Ganking
Complete Playguide: Teamfights
Complete Playguide: Babysitting
In-Depth
In-Depth: Healing Wave
Pros & Cons
Conclusion
Introduction
This is a guide on Demented Shaman, I make this guide because the guides that exists does not go into detail about him, there is so much more to Demented Shaman then just “that healing hero”, and I will try to enlighten you readers on how to best play this hero from my experience. Also because there are to many retarded shamans runing around in my opinion, and i hope to help you all with this guid
Skill Overview
Here I will go through the basic’s stats, skills, starting items, standard, skill build etc.
http://i28.tinypic.com/2mdpkd0.jpg
Movement Speed: 305
Starting HP: 304
Staring Mana: 351
Stats gained per lvl: Str 1.85 Agi 1.7 Int 3.4
Base Damage: 41-59
Range: 600
http://i28.tinypic.com/10sf507.jpg
Notes:
Entangle is a great ability when chasing, ganking or fleeing a gank. The damage of this spell is weak and but its still a good harass in the early game. I will go into more detail in how to use this spell to best later when I describe the different stages in the game.
http://i26.tinypic.com/2nvvww6.jpg
Notes:
Arcane hide is a very strong spell in all stages of the game and if you take the role as a babysitter to a carry/str hero. And like Entangle I will describe the when and where’s to use this spell later on.
http://i31.tinypic.com/91l081.jpg
Notes:
Healing wave is you bread and butter it is the spell that makes Demented Shaman a great hero, it is especially strong in the early-/midgame. During the early stages of a game it can in my opinion be considered a nuke.
http://i27.tinypic.com/2ihl2ee.jpg
Notes:
Storm Cloud is Demented Shamans ulti and it is a nice ulti for the mid-/lategame but it’s rather useless in the earlygame. It is especially good when defending or pushing, since its when there will be the most heroes around, and the more heroes around the better the effect of the ulti. Also mentionable is that the ulti has 2000 range; this makes it easy to use before you advance in to a teamfight.
Extra note:
Demented Shamans ulti is now affected by Staff of masters; I will look into this and get back to this post with information regarding its worth.
I have covered all the essentials in my opinion but if you feel the need to get any more basic information click here (http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/heroview.php?hid=43) for the complete information on Demented Shaman
Skill build
Standard/Defensive/Agressive
1 – Healing wave
2 – Entangle / Arcane hide
3 – Healing wave / Entangle
4 – Entangle / Stats
5 – Healing wave / Entangle
6 – Entangle / Healing wave
7 – Healing wave / Entangle
8 – Arcane Hide / Entangle / Healing Wave
9 – Entangle / Arcane hide / Healing Wave
10 – Storm Cloud / Arcane hide / Stats
11 – Storm Cloud / Arcane hide / Stats
12 – Arcane Hide / Entangle / Stats
13 – Arcane Hide / Storm Cloud / Stats
14 – Arcane Hide / Storm Cloud / Storm Cloud
15 – Stats / Storm Cloud
16 – Storm Cloud
17-25 – Stats / Arcane hide
Standard:
This skillbuild Works in most matchups, it’s a semidefensive build since I max the heal first but since that is Demented Shamans only “nuke” its also quite good in an offensive aspect, as some of you might note I put 1 skill in arcane hide before maxing entangle and this is because rank 4 entangle only give’s you 7 more physical damage over 7 sec which is more precisely; 7*7 = 49 physical damage, also you have 2 sec more cd with rank 3. This is the Skillbuild that i have had the most succees playing with.
Defensive:
This is a babysitter build designed for laning with a melee carry/strength hero, use the arcane hide on your lanemate on cd to help him harass and lasthit. This skillbuild is also good if you have a melee heavy team, use the arcane hide on you initiator before the battle begins, this way you will have it off cd when the battle begins.
Agressive:
This is the only build in which I use +stats before maxing out spells personally I do not like this skillbuild and it is the build I have had the least success with, but this is the best build for earlygame ganking and its design for ganking from lvl 5, to make it successful you need to pick a lanemate that can handle himself. This is a great build for laning with another ranged hero.
Item overview
Starting items
There are many sets of starting items that work well for Demented Shaman, depending on lane/lanemate etc I will try to describe as well as I can what you should go for and when you should go for it.
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_PretendersCrown.jpgx2http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_ManaPotion.jpgx2http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_RunesOfTheBlight.jpg
------------------or------------------
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Bottle.jpg
------------------or------------------
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Scarab.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_MinorTotem.jpgx4http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_RunesOfTheBlight.jpg
------------------or------------------
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_GroundFamiliar.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_ManaPotion.jpgx2http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_RunesOfTheBlight.jpgx2http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_HealthPotion.jpg
------------------or------------------
Power battery (have not tried this yet but I recon I could work for Demented Shaman, vs the right enemy heroes)
Notes:
The firs item build is good if you fear that you will come across good early game heroes and need the extra hp/mana to be able to stay on your lane these items fits all skill builds/play styles in the earlygame. Only ever go bottle if you are solo mid and no other hero has the bottle. Next we have the scarab build this is good if you are planning to go for defensive skill build and later go for astrolabe. If you like playing with currier that works as well, someone please correct me if you think the consumables are wrong, I generally don’t use currier.
Core items
Enhanced marchers
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_EnhancedMarchers.jpg
1510
Enhanced marchers is the best option for Demented Shaman since he is chasing most of the time he needs to be fast and the ability to run through creeps makes it easier.
Bracers x2
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Strength5.jpg
510
Since you have a high int gain and relative low hp bracers is better to go the mark of the exile.
Homecoming stone
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_HomecomingStone.jpg
135
No matter what hero you play you should always keep a homecoming stone with you, unless you have post haste which I don’t recommend Demented Shaman.
Additional items
Astrolabe
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Astrolabe.jpg
2364
Considering the low manacost of your main spells you are very suitable for a Astrolabe, and another heal for team battles is always great to have.
Codex
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Nuke.jpg
2850
I for one do not like going codex with Demented Shaman I have seen people do it but I only think that it is reasonable if you have voodoo jester or Ophelia in your team. And since getting codex is more or less a all in build since you will have to upgrade it when the game progresses it’s not worth it in the long run, also it’s a great way to fragsteal which you should NOT do with Demented Shaman since you are a support hero.
Stormspirit
http://i29.tinypic.com/sy2dfo.jpg
2925
In case your team lacks disable or you face annoying heroes like Tempest or Magmus Stormspirit is a great item to get right after you got your core items, it’s a overall good item.
Shieldbreaker
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Pierce.jpg
4400
In case you are the dominant player in the game and want to go for heavy damage you can go for shieldbreaker, but I don’t recommend farming this item if you or your team is in a disadvantage.
Hellflower
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Silence.jpg
5025
Great item to have for most heroes 5 sec silence is always useful, and if you are going for a shieldbreaker build it’s a great item to get for extra damage and AS.
Sacrificial stone
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_HealthMana3.jpg
5050
This is a overall good item and it’s not bad for Demented Shaman, but I recommend you get this item only if you are dominant in the early game/midgame, in which you should get it after enhanced marchers and skip bracers.
Null Stone
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Protect.jpg
5175
Since you are a strong supporter and will make your team survive, it’s likely that the enemy team will try to focus you and if you have problem with stunners Null Stone is also a great item to go for.
Totem of Kuldra
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Morph.jpg
5675
This is a great item to get in the lategame I gives you a high manapool and all the regeneration you’ll ever need, and again its always good to have a extra disable.
Frostwolf’s skull
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Freeze.jpg
6650
If you are truly rich and have progressed into the late, late game a frostwolf skull is a ideal item for you to get as a last item, with all the extra hp/mana, slow and regeneration it’s simply great, but expensive.
Endgame build should look something like this:
Standard:
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_EnhancedMarchers.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_HealthMana3.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Morph.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Astrolabe.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Freeze.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_HomecomingStone.jpg
Offensive:
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_EnhancedMarchers.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_HealthMana3.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Morph.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Silence.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Pierce.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_HomecomingStone.jpg
Babysitter:
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_EnhancedMarchers.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_HealthMana3.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Morph.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Astrolabe.jpghttp://i29.tinypic.com/sy2dfo.jpghttp://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_HomecomingStone.jpg
Items you should avoid
Riftshard/flayer
Leave the damage dealing to someone else in the team, unless for some reason you have so much money that you can farm a flayer after hellflower and shieldbreaker, just tell them to concede already...
Lifesteal items
Since you have a rather low base damage and should really focus on getting support/stat items you should avoid lifesteal items.
Frostfield plate
You should not get this item ever since you should not be in the middle of the battle where it is best put to use, if you need extra armor demonic breastplate is the item to get.
Codex
I know I mentioned this item above but, as stated previously this is not for Demented Shaman you are not suppose to lasthit enemy heroes.
Complete Playguide
In this section I will describe all parts of a match with tips regarding what to do in different situations, what lane to pick, what hero to lane with etc. I hope you will find this information helping when playing Demented Shaman. Note that all the tactics and tips bellow is from my playstyle prospective.
Complete Playguide: Laning (level 1-5)
Sweet, sweet early game this is when Demented Shaman is the strongest. Start off by picking your spec and get into the right mindset for playstyle you have picked and then depending on which lane and land mate you get/pick buy starting items accordingly. At level 3 you should depending on opposition be able to take a kill even at level 2 you can technically kill someone with entangle and healing wave but this to do this you have to get a good creepsurround on a enemy hero and then heal the creeps causing massive damage to the enemy hero and afterwards you slow him and shot him down, This is ofc easier with a lanemate but its not hard to do it by yourself. The key to creep healing is to provoke the enemy to attack you and chase you, this way the creeps will attack him and then you move in for a kill getting close to the enemy hero and then blowing off a heal. Also do not hesitate to use healing wave to last hit, the best way to do this is to move into the melee creeps and then use your heal since it does more damage the more units it heals.
In addition you will be able to orbwalk quite easily with his long range and 5 ms higher ms then standard. The key to this is as stated above to provoke the enemy in to chasing you, but since you run faster he won’t be able to hit you and when he turns you attack him quickly. This also works well for voodoo jester since he has the same range/base MS
For more detail in how to lane good see Nome’s guide here (http://forums.heroesofnewerth.com/showthread.php?t=2625)
Complete Playguide: Ganking
You can Start ganking from level 4-5 but I recommend unless you have bottle to get a manatube before you start ganking, because you will be burning a lot of mana while ganking, and the longer you can keep it up the better for the team. If you have solo mid you should gank in the direction of the rune, also take into consideration that it’s easier to come from woods when ganking if your team is in a position you can benefit from try to catch the enemy team between your tower and the entrance of wood, by doing so you will get a surround on them. If you are top/bottom you should go for a gank in mid or if you are rich, buy a homecoming when your team is pushing and attack the enemies through their woods. Something that is important when ganking with Demented Shaman is to not use entangle to early, use it when they try to escape and instruct your team to surround the hero your going for if possible for maximum effect of your heal.
A good idea is to run in pair with a strong early game ganker to ensure kills; examples of good heroes to pair up with will be stated bellow.
Complete Playguide: Teamfights
The most important thing in teamfights is that you use your ultimate correctly; if you face a team with heavy physical damage you should use it on your team before you move in use it then wait 3-4 seconds and move in. If you have a team with heavy physical damage you should use it on their team, this is a great way to strike fear into the enemy team as well, and don’t forget that it has 2000 range which makes it easy to use before advance into the battle. Also important to mention is Arcane hide, you should either place your Arcane hide on your initiator to ensure that he doesn’t die when he moves in, or place it on a weak hero like Glacius, torturer or a carry like Dl, MM, MB, Chronos or someone alike, remember to as I stated above to use your arcane hide well in advance so that you can use it again during the battle.
Use entangle to stop escaping enemy heroes or more important to interrupt channels like magmus, voodoo or tempest’s ulti. Your healing wave should be used during the first 2 seconds of the battle and remember that it does physical damage therefore if someone in their team uses Shrunken head or Jere uses Protective charm it does not matter you will still damage them with your ability. If you have astrolabe use it when you see someone in range going down fast or when the entire team has been damaged from something. If you have stormspirit or kuldra use it to either disable some annoying or to stop a fleeing hero. You position during a teamfight should be in the back in a semisafe position. You should never be in the front where you can be taken out easily.
In-Depth
In-Depth: Healing wave
One thing that is very notable with healing wave is that it deals physical damage which means that any magic immunity won’t hold against it, therefore Healing wave can be very useful when playing vs heroes who relay on magic immunity or high magic armor to get away or survive. The likes of Swiftblade, Jereziah, Magebane or Pudge are all often taken by surprise when you deal them a lot of damage using your heal.
Therefore I will try to describe the best way to use you healing wave spell to maximize your damage output on enemy heroes, the tactics bellow is for early game laning when you do the most damage, but can be used at any time during the game.
(screenshots will be up soon).
Here we see a normal creepfight and 2 heroes waiting to last hit, a note to the instructions above is that you should be a little damaged before attempting to do this trick. Start moving towards the creep and then, when you are in close proximity to your own creeps you attack your opposition, making the enemy creeps go for you. You wait a second to see the reaction from the enemy hero when he moves towards you start heading back and be ready to heal. When your opposition is in melee range of your creeps you use your heal on the creeps and then quickly slow him and start attacking if you aren’t already.
This is easier to do if you have a friend with you playing a melee hero who can act as bait, the key to making this succeed is to convince your opposition that he or she will have a sure kill, and when least expected you turn the tables turning them into your prey.
Pros & Cons
Pros
Has heal and 50% damage reduction spells
Deals a lot of damage in the early game
Has great armor buff/debuff
One of the best babysitters
All spells have a low cost
Cons
Damaging spells deals less and less damage as the game progresses
Has no real escape ability
Low base HP
Conclusion
Overall I think that Demented Shaman, like Dazzle that I have completely forgot to mention before in this guide is a great hero. I don’t consider myself done with this guide but I have to post is no before my boss comes in and finds me not working. Screenshots, more “in-depth’s” and maybe a video clip will be added in time but for now this is all I got. Hope you find my guide helpful and I look forward to having my own tactics used against me :D
And also look forward to more colourig and more information regarding heroes who are great allies and annoying foes!