Pyromancer

[Exilya]

Pyromancer
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w149/Sanko005/Pyromancer.png

Table of Contents

Introduction

Stats
Pros and Cons


Skills

Skill Build
Calculations


Items

Starting Items
Pre-Core & Core
Luxury Items
Situational Items
Items to Avoid in General


Gameplay

Laning
Farming, Ganking & Pushing
Teamfights
Friends & Foes
Tips & Tricks


Replays
Miscellaneous

____________________

Introduction
____________________
Pyromancer is an extremely strong solo laner. His long range combined with having two nukes, one of which is a stun make him really hard to deal with. He is probably the best hero for getting kills without the help of allies just from the burst he has.

With the attack speed he gets from his passive, Pyromancer with no real items can output quite a bit of physical damage, which means that while anti-magic items like Shaman's Headress etc. are good against him, they aren't hard counter, which means Pyromancer can go late game against them, no problemo!
The DoT component from his passive is extremely good at killing towers and at killing Kongor.

Stats
Base Damage - 43-49
Attack Range - 600 (Ranged)
Movement Speed - 295
Armor - 1.14
Magic Armor - 5.5
Strength - 18 (1.5)
Agility - 16 (1.5)
Intelligence - 24 (3.2) Main Attribute
Cast point/backswing: 0.4/0.9
Damage point/backswing: 0.45/0.75
Missile speed: 900
Turn Rate: 0.45

Pros and Cons
+ One of the Best Solo Heroes in the Game
+ Extremely Good for Pubstomping
+ Team Independant
+ Good Farming Skills
+ High Magical and Physical Damage Output
+ Fun to Play
+ Can Fit About Any Role
- Unrealiable Stun
- Squishy and Often Focused
- Highly Level Dependant
- Not Very Mobile Without Portal Key
- Crappy Base Strength and Gain

____________________

Skills
____________________
Phoenix Wave
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/heroes/94/ability1_128.jpg
Pyromancer sends forth a phoenix that damages enemies in a line.

Activation (Q)
Target Dual - Enemy Units
Type: Magic
Cast Point: 0.5s
Cast Backswing: 0.9s
Cast Time: 1.4s
Range: 700
Mana Cost: 90/105/125/140
Cooldown: 9 seconds
Deals 100/170/240/310 Magic Damage to each target in a line.

Contents may be hot!
Your more realiable nuke. Simple an AoE Magic Damage nuke which deals the "average strong" damage. A thing to note especially later in the game is that it takes half a second for the projectile to travel, so you might need to predict the enemies a little bit.

To prove that my ranges are correct:
radiusstart="70"
radiusend="275"
speed="1200"

lifetime="500"

Radius end is 275. Lifetime is 500 = 0.5s, speed is 1200. This affector spawns 80 units in front of Pyromancer.
Radius start is 70, so it is possible for Pyromancer to miss a unit if its hitbox is <10 units from Pyromancer's front.

The affector travels 1200*0.5 = 600 units.

80 + 600 + 275 = 955 max effective range
http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/4213/s1stskill.png

Dragonfire
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/heroes/94/ability2_128.jpg
Pyromancer conjures a mighty elemental fire dragon at a target location, damaging and stunning enemies in an area.

Activation (W)
Target Position - Enemy Units and Trees
Type: Magic
Cast Point: 0.45s
Cast Backswing: 0.95s
Cast Time: 1.4s
Impact Delay: 0.5s
Range: 600
Radius: 200
Mana Cost: 90/100/110/125
Cooldown: 10 seconds
Deals 90/150/210/280 Magic Damage and stuns each target in the radius for 1.6 seconds.

Mana Cost? Check.
Cooldown? Check.
The ability to summon a dragon?
Priceless.
Your less reliable nuke, but with a stun added to it. The stun is decent, although the cast time & delay are quite long, so it is easy to dodge, and the stun lasts only 1.6 seconds, which is a bit under average. Make sure you hit this skill in 1v1 situation; Save it till you are sure it will hit.
Easiest stuns to hit are followup; Get a team mate to stun them.
After followups are surprising stuns; FoW, PK, Invis etc..
After that, you just have to predict them. Often people will be predictable when going for CS and when chasing your allies, so try to capitalize on that. Blindly running up to an opponent and trying to stun them may work against weaker opponents, but can lead to bad situations against good players.

http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/4565/s2ndskillm.png

Fervor
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/heroes/94/ability3_128.jpg
Learning to control the fire within, Pyromancer increases his cast, attack, and Movement speed after casting while at the same time catching anything he hits with spells or attacks on fire for a short time.

Passive Bonuses
+10/20/30/40 Cast Speed
On any spell damage or attack damage done, applies Burning! to the target for 3 seconds.

On Ability Activation
Applies Fervor to self for 6 seconds and adds one charge, maximum of 3 charges.

Fervor Effects
+2/3/4/5% Movement Speed per charge
+20/30/40/50 Attack Speed per charge

Burning! Effect
1/2/3/4 Magic Damage per second per charge

Burn, baby, burn!
This skill is what makes pure capable to play so aggressive. The fact that you win "hit-trades" is pretty huge, as well as granting you some cast speed so you can more quickly use your nukes, especially your stun. Great for killing towers and Kongor.
Another thing to note is that while an enemy is affected by the dot, even if it is level one, it will disable their regen for the time being; They can't use Bottle or other items like that, leading to an huge advantage.

Blazing Strike
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/heroes/94/ability4_128.jpg
Using power granted from Sol, Pyromancer hurls a blazing hot fireball at a target enemy, dealing massive damage.

This ability can be boosted by Staff of the Master.
Staff Effect: Increases damage from 450/675/950 to 650/875/1150.

Activation (R)
Target Unit - Enemy Units
Type: Magic
Cast Point: 0.1s
Cast Backswing: 0.9s
Cast Time: 1.0s
Projectile Speed: 2000
Range: 600
Mana Cost: 280/420/680
Cooldown: 150/90/55 seconds
Deals 450/675/950 Magic Damage to target.

It's kinda like pitching a baseball. Of fire.
Simple skill which deals high amounts of damage on a single target, pretty self-explanatory.
The skill can't be disjointed, but that doesn't mean that it can't be dodged. If the projectile hits the location where the target is, but he appears to be invulnerable, the damage is canceled. This includes Bubbles' Take Cover, Madman's Barrel Roll, Magmus' Lava Surge, and couple more, such as Succubus' Mesmerize (if activated while the projectile is in the air), which are however unreliable in most cases.

Skill Build

Dragonfire
Fervor / Phoenix Wave
Phoenix Wave
Phoenix Wave / Fervor / Dragonfire*
Phoenix Wave
Blazing Strike
Phoenix Wave
Dragonfire / Fervor
Dragonfire / Fervor
Dragonfire / Fervor
Blazing Strike
Fervor / Dragonfire
Fervor / Dragonfire
Fervor / Dragonfire
Attribute Boost
Blazing Strike



Dragonfire is your most powerful spell at level one, so that's the first one you're getting.
The early point in Fervor for extra harassment power and tower damage is usually better than having one extra level on Dragonfire so you want to have that. Skipping it is acceptable, but I highly suggest taking one level in Fervor.
Phoenix Wave is more reliable for last hitting or harassing than Dragonfire, so it is leveled as the main nuke.
The choice between maxing Fervor or maxing Dragonfire is quite simple; Early burst is more important than more points in Fervor, unless you need the Fervor for pushing and/or Kongor.
Blazing Strike is taken on chance for damage improvement
*While playing on a sidelane, or a trilane, unless you are planning to go for early push, you should skip the Fervor and get a bit more burst.

Calculations
Considering you go with the build I suggest you to go for.
To your total magic damage, feel free to add the amount of hits you expect to get out. If you can't think of the amount, generally 3-4 hits / 7-8 hits with Sheepstick, add or take few. Fervor might deal 50 - 100 extra damage, possibly 150 if you have Sheepstick.
PORTAL KEY INCREASES THE MANA COSTS BY 75!
Level|Mana Cost|Unreduced Damage|No Extra Reduction|Mystic Vestments|Shaman's Headdress
1|90|90|68|55|47
2|90|90|68|55|47
3|180|190|143|116|98
4|195|260|196|160|135
5|215|330|249|202|171
6|495|780|587|478|404
7|510|850|640|521|440
8|520|910|685|557|471
9|530|970|730|594|502
10|545|1040|783|637|539
11|685|1265|952|775|655
16|945|1540|1158|944|798

____________________

Items
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Starting Items

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg708/scaled.php?server=708&filename=itemrunesoftheblight.jpg&res=gal90ghttp://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg841/scaled.php?server=841&filename=itemmarkofthenovice.jpg&res=medium150ghttp://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg43/scaled.php?server=43&filename=itempretenderscrown.jpg&res=gal185g

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg717/scaled.php?server=717&filename=itemminortotemk.jpg&res=gal53ghttp://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg717/scaled.php?server=717&filename=itemminortotemk.jpg&res=gal53ghttp://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg717/scaled.php?server=717&filename=itemminortotemk.jpg&res=gal53g
Total Cost: 584

This starting build might be slightly risky, but it is very powerful. You get a total of 5 in all stats and a bonus of 3 in Intelligence, while also fastening your Grave Locket. Runes of Blight can be replaced with a Health Potion if you wish.

I find the other starting builds inferior compared to those above, but if you have a preference on some other build, feel free to.

If for some reason you are playing as a support, you might have to buy Wards of Sight:
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg814/scaled.php?server=814&filename=itemwardofsight.jpg&res=gal Cost: 100g each

Pre-Core & Core
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg405/scaled.php?server=405&filename=itembottleoftears.jpg&res=galhttp://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg819/scaled.php?server=819&filename=itemmarchers.jpg&res=galhttp://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQHHrhIeym6pVRrkyl8P4zVdaPwKNzuh R58DhsnPPCxHWDJ-Qbz2i83yg
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg13/scaled.php?server=13&filename=itemsteamboots.jpg&res=gal (http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg405/scaled.php?server=405&filename=itemtabletofcommand.jpg&res=galand/orhttp://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg36/scaled.php?server=36&filename=itemportalkey.jpg&res=gal)

(http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg94/scaled.php?server=94&filename=itemposthaste.jpg&res=galhttp://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg845/scaled.php?server=845&filename=itempowersupply.jpg&res=galhttp://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg29/scaled.php?server=29&filename=itembloodchalice.jpg&res=galhttp://i895.photobucket.com/albums/ac159/ss4_link/SS/Glowstone.jpg)
Bottle is the first item you will buy. It solves both your health and mana problems, and makes rune-whoring much more effective. If you are not soloing middle, then you might skip it.






Marchers are an obvious choice for any hero - But Grave Locket or Marchers, which one first? The rule of thumb is; If the Marchers help you get runes (enemy doesn't have any blinking skill) then get them first. Otherwise Grave Locket first. And by the time you buy these, get the Ward of Sight if you wish to have a lane ward.

Grave Locket is awesome on Pyromancer. It allows him to play extremely aggressive, as well as farm with his spells because of the added stats. Even if you happen to die, as long as it has its charge, you spawn faster.

Steamboots are the best boot choice. They have great synergy with Bottle and Blood Chalice, and provide you some extra needed health, as well as more attack speed for DPS purposes.
Post Haste is basically the only other viable option. They provide you with EXCELLENT mobility, for the cost of no hp, no extra dps, and loss of extra 1000+ gold. Generally I don't suggest these on Pyromancer, because I find Steamboots suit me better. They are decent choice though, so feel free!

Ghost Marchers are mediocre. The added movespeed is not necessary on Pyromancer, as you will be getting a Portal Key anyways. Steamboots are much better for farming, and keep you alive. Sure Ghost Marchers give damage, but Steamboots give attack speed.

Striders are the last choice. Pyromancer is not a ganker who should be roaming all around the map, he should focus on farming and only countergank, or gank if he gets a Haste or so. If you have so poor farm that you can't afford Steamboots, simply go drop couple neutral camps, get your Steamboots, and start farming quickly.

Power Supply is a great item. The mana/health for the price is way too good to skip for most of the games. But it is not necessary for your strategy, and you run out of inventory slots soon if you pick it up. However, it is so cheap, yet so useful, that you should in most cases get them.

Blood Chalice is a good item on Pyromancer because it works so well with Bottle and Steamboots and supplies him with mana to use his skills more often. The problem is that you lack inventory slots, so personally I don't suggest this item.

Portal Key or Tablet of Command will be your first major purchase. I find Tablet of Command superior because it can be used in so many ways. Not only does it provide you stats, has easier buildup, is slightly cheaper, but it can also be used the proc the opposing Nullstone, or to save an ally - or escape yourself. Portal Key on the other hand has a much higher blink range.
As of why you need these items, Pyromancer is highly based on positioning and needs some sort of mobility in order to gank properly, as the Stun is easy to dodge if the enemy sees you beforehand.
I usually get both of them, because it also makes it possible for me to Portal Key in, instakill an enemy, and escape with the help of the Tablet of Command - Or if the enemy has a Nullstone, I can blink in and proc it without losing my ulti on the Nullstone.

Glowstone can be taken after Tablet of Command/Portal Key to boost your HP and mana in case you are going for SotM or Frostwolf's Skull later on. 1200 Gold for what it gives is quite huge at this point of the game. Personally I just go straight up for a Blessed Orb however.
Bottle of Tears (3/3)
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg405/scaled.php?server=405&filename=itembottleoftears.jpg&res=gal
Must be refilled at the Well or by picking up rune
Bottle is only filled 2/3 when taken to the Well by a courier
Activation
Uses one charge, and restores 135 HP and 70 Mana over 3 seconds, Dispels on damage
Value 600

Grave Locket
http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQHHrhIeym6pVRrkyl8P4zVdaPwKNzuh R58DhsnPPCxHWDJ-Qbz2i83yg
Passive Bonuses
+7 Intelligence
+4 Strength
+4 Agility
When you get a kill or assist, the Locket becomes charged.
When charged, gains +3 to all stats and reduces respawn time by 10 seconds
The charge will be removed on death.
Requires
Amulet of Exile 485
Recipe 250
Total Cost 735

Blood Chalice
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg29/scaled.php?server=29&filename=itembloodchalice.jpg&res=gal
Passive Bonuses
+3 Strength
+3 Intelligence
Activation
Cooldown 35 seconds
Removes 150 HP, grants 100 Mana
If you are on 700 range of a dying enemy hero in 15 seconds after activation, you are granted back the initial life cost of 150
Requires
Crushing Claws 150
Mark of the Novice 150
Scarab 325
Total cost 625

Steamboots
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg13/scaled.php?server=13&filename=itemsteamboots.jpg&res=gal
Passive Bonuses
+25 Attack Speed
+10 Strength/Agility/Intelligence
Requires
Marchers 500
Gloves of Swift 500
Bolstering Armband/Fleetfeet/Apprentice's Robe 450
Total Cost 1450

Post Haste
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg94/scaled.php?server=94&filename=itemposthaste.jpg&res=gal
Passive Bonus
105 Movement Speed
Activation
Mana Cost 75
Cooldown 60
Target ally non-hero unit/structure. After 3 seconds of channeling, teleports to the target, and applies 200 movement speed buff for 5 seconds.
Shares cooldown with Homecoming Stone
Requires
Marchers 500
Recipe 2200
Total Cost 2700

Power Supply
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg845/scaled.php?server=845&filename=itempowersupply.jpg&res=gal
Passive Bonuses
+3 Strength
+3 Agility
+3 Intelligence
Activation
Restores 10 Health and 15 Mana per charge.
Aura
Radius 1200
Aura Effects
1 charge every time an enemy hero on the radius casts a spell. Maximum of 15 charges.
Requires
Minor Totem 53
Minor Totem 53
Mana Battery 200
Recipe 240
Total Cost 546

Tablet of Command
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg405/scaled.php?server=405&filename=itemtabletofcommand.jpg&res=gal
Passive Bonuses
+14 Intelligence
+4 Strength
+4 Agility
+10 Damage
Activation
Target Hero
Range: 800
Mana Cost: 50
Cooldown: 20 seconds
Pushes the target hero 500 units in the direction it is facing
Requires
Major Totem 540
Neophyte's Book 1000
Recipe 500
Total Cost 2040

Portal Key
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg36/scaled.php?server=36&filename=itemportalkey.jpg&res=gal
Activation
Target Position
Range 1200
Mana Cost 75
Cooldown 14 seconds
Teleports self to target position. Cooldown of 3 seconds is applied to Portal Key if damaged by a player controlled unit.
Value 2150

Luxury Items
After your core items are finished, just look at the game and see what you need. Generally, if you have a real carry, and you are not having terrible farm, Sheepstick is the first choice to go for.
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg217/scaled.php?server=217&filename=itemsheepstick.jpg&res=gal
The item is just too strong to skip on Pyromancer. Pretty self-explanatory.

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg828/scaled.php?server=828&filename=itemhellflower.jpg&res=gal
Hellflower should generally be built if the person you bought Sheepstick for farmed a Nullstone, or your team needs more disable, on top of adding vast amounts to your damage. Provides you with basically infinity mana on top of that. If you ONLY want to proc the Nullstone off, consider getting Tablet of Command or Stormspirit.

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg837/scaled.php?server=837&filename=itemfrostwolfsskull.jpg&res=gal
Frostwolf's Skull provides you with huge amounts of extra stats, especially HP. On top of that, it is a great counter to opposing Shrunken Heads, Swiftblades and Predators.

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg11/scaled.php?server=11&filename=itemshrunkenhead.jpg&res=gal
Shrunken Head is a great pickup if you need to be reckless, and the enemies have lots of magical nukes / disables. It doesn't help if the enemies are initiating on you (well, unless they don't stun you, which never happens). It allows you to blink in with Portal Key and bring down key targets uninterrupted. Even if your team has a main initiator, Shrunken Head is always a good item on Pyromancer if you're facing a cast-heavy team.

DPS

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg849/scaled.php?server=849&filename=itemharkonsblade.jpg&res=galhttp://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg853/scaled.php?server=853&filename=itemsavagemace.jpg&res=galhttp://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg855/scaled.php?server=855&filename=itemchargedhammer.jpg&res=gal

If your team is in need of a real carry, or you are simply dominating, consider getting one or more of these items.

Harkon's Blade is the best item DPS-wise on Pyromancer. However, it is countered by a Shrunken Head, and the manacost can be quite huge as it adds up. Remember to hit the enemy before casting your spells if you have this item.

Savage Mace is the second best item DPS-wise. However, if your enemy has a Wingbow or they have lots of channeling spells, you might want to buy Savage over Harkon's.

Charged Hammer is highly underrated. It provides almost as much DPS as Savage, however, it provides you with some magic damage instead of physical - meaning that Shrunken Head also counters it. The activatable part can be great as well.

Harkon's Blade + Charged Hammer can be a great combination, considering you lower the magic damage, and then the lightning procs deal even more magical damage. However, in total they cost quite a chunk, and provide you zero survivability.


In general, if you need more of defensive items, get Shrunken Head / Frostwolf's Skull, and for the more offensive part Hellflower/an item under the DPS-title
Sheepstick
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg217/scaled.php?server=217&filename=itemsheepstick.jpg&res=gal
Passive Bonuses
+10 Strength
+10 Agility
+35 Intelligence
+200% Mana Regen
Activation
Target Enemy Unit
Type: Magic
Range: 800
Mana Cost: 100
Cooldown: 35 seconds
Applies Transfigured to target for 3.5 seconds
Transfigured EffectsSilenced
Perplexed
Disarmed
Movement Speed set to 100
Requires
Acolyte's Staff 2700
Manatube 875
Blessed Orb 2100
Total Cost 5675

Hellflower
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg828/scaled.php?server=828&filename=itemhellflower.jpg&res=gal
Passive Bonuses
+20 Intelligence
+51 Damage
+30 Attack Speed
+225% Mana Regeneration
Activation
Target Enemy Unit
Type: Magic
Range: 900
Mana Cost: 100
Cooldown: 25 seconds
Applies Hellflower to target for 5 seconds.
Hellflower Effects
+20% Damage taken
Silenced
Perplexed
Leaves a visible trail behind afflicted target
Requires
Arcana 1575
Arcana 1575
Arcana 1575
Total Cost 4725

Frostwolf's Skull
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg837/scaled.php?server=837&filename=itemfrostwolfsskull.jpg&res=gal
Passive Bonuses
+30 Strength
+15 Agility
+15 Intelligence
+200 Max Health
+150 Max Mana
+10 Damage
On Attack Impact
Applies Freeze to target for 3 seconds when attacking or casting a single target spell
Freeze Effects
20% Movement Slow
20% Attack Slow
Requires
Glowstone 1200
Icebrand 2200
Blessed Orb 2100
Recipe 700
Total Cost 6200

Shrunken Head
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg11/scaled.php?server=11&filename=itemshrunkenhead.jpg&res=gal
Passive Bonuses
+10 Strength
+24 Damage
Activation
No Target
Cooldown 80 seconds
Applies Shrunken Head to self for 10 seconds and dispels debuffs from self.
After each time Shrunken Head is used, the duration of Shrunken Head is reduced by 1second and Shrunken Head's cooldown is reduced by 5 seconds. The duration of Shrunken Head will not go below 5 seconds, nor will the cooldown go below 55 seconds.
Shrunken Head cannot be removed or dispelled
Shrunken Head Effect
Magic Immunity
Requires
Mighty Blade 1000
Warhammer 1600
Recipe 1300
Total Cost 3900

Savage Mace
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg853/scaled.php?server=853&filename=itemsavagemace.jpg&res=gal
Passive Bonuses
+88 Damage
+15 Attack Speed
True Strike (you can't miss your attacks)
On Attack Impact
35% chance to deal 100 Physical Damage to target and stun for 0.1 seconds.
Does not propagate to illusions.
Requires
Slayer 2200
Warhammer 1600
Warhammer 1600
Total Cost 5400

Situational Items
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg233/scaled.php?server=233&filename=itemnullstone.jpg&res=gal
Nullstone is taken to counter strong single target spells. So this is the reason why would you get in on Pyromancer. Keep in mind, that if the spells are magical, you are usually better off with Shrunken Head.

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg221/scaled.php?server=221&filename=itemstormspiritlay.jpg&res=gal
Stormspirit can be in multiple ways; Save an ally / yourself by dodging a skill with it. Or, use it on an opponent to make him easy target for your stun when he lands, or to escape his wrath. Keep in mind, with Stormspirit + PK, if you don't take damage in 0.5 seconds, use Stormspirit and you can PK away after. Great for proccing an opposing Nullstone if necessary.

Nullstone
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg233/scaled.php?server=233&filename=itemnullstone.jpg&res=gal
Passive Bonuses
+15 Strength
+15 Agility
+15 Intelligence
+10 Damage
+6 Health Regeneration
+150% Mana Regeneration
When not in cooldown, negates a single targeted spell.
Cooldown 20 seconds
Requires
Blessed Orb 2100
Sustainer 1750
Recipe 1000
Total Cost 4850

Stormspirit
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg221/scaled.php?server=221&filename=itemstormspiritlay.jpg&res=gal
Passive Bonuses
+10 Intelligence
+150% Mana Regeneration
+25 Movement Speed
Activation
Target Hero
Range: 450
Mana Cost: 75
Cooldown: 30 seconds
Applies Cyclone to target hero for 2.5 seconds.
Cyclone Effects
Invulnerable
Stunned
Requires
Neophyte's Book 1000
Manatube 875
Scarab 325
Recipe 1000
Total Cost 3200

Items to Avoid in General
The following 4 items are bad pickups for any game.
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg534/scaled.php?server=534&filename=itemassasinsshroud.jpg&res=galhttp://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg405/scaled.php?server=405&filename=itemsacrificialstone.jpg&res=galhttp://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg24/scaled.php?server=24&filename=itemcodex.jpg&res=galhttp://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg5/scaled.php?server=5&filename=itemshieldbreaker.jpg&res=gal
Assasin's Shroud is not even comparable to Portal Key. Sure the invisibility might provide a decent escape mechanism, but the enemies WILL buy revelation and counter it. It is also much more expensive than Portal Key.

Sacrificial Stone is in general a bad item for basically any hero. As for Pyromancer, the mana from it is completely wasted. Need HP? Get Shrunken Head or Frostwolf's Skull. Sac. Stone is just inferior compared to other possible items.

Codex, while does increase your burst, also leaves you with no hp, and upgrading the Codex takes 7000 gold away from you. That could easily go for Hellflower AND a Blessed Orb.

Harkon's Blade, Savage Mace and Charged Hammer all give superior DPS compared to Shieldbreaker.

The following 5 items are extremely situational
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg803/scaled.php?server=803&filename=itemspellshards.jpg&res=galhttp://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg231/scaled.php?server=231&filename=itemstaffofthemaster.jpg&res=galhttp://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg687/scaled.php?server=687&filename=itembehemothsheart.jpg&res=galhttp://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg707/scaled.php?server=707&filename=itemdaemonicbreastplate.jpg&res=galhttp://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg825/scaled.php?server=825&filename=itemfrostfieldplate.jpg&res=gal
Spellshards make you deal much more magic damage, for the cost of no HP. But in some games, it actually works. If you are sure that you will stay alive without extra health items, then you may get them.

Staff of the Master is the same as above, except it trades off some damage for some health, which is IMO preferable.

Behemoth's Heart is not necessarily bad on Pyromancer, just that the other items mentioned are better. But if you really want extra HP, and don't want to / already have Frostwolf's Skull, feel free to get it.

Daemonic Breastplate can be great in case your team already has heroes such as Demented Shaman or Pestilence - or the enemies have them.

Frostfield Plate is a quite mediocre item for Pyromancer. It should only be taken if you really, really, REALLY need the armor, and the enemies need to be slowed. i.e. the enemies have Deadwood + Madman + Maliken, or something similiar.

[Exilya]

____________________

Gameplay
____________________

Laning
Pyromancer should generally be played solo middle. But in pubs, especially SD, AR or BD, Pyromancer is forced to lane with someone. But he should not support in terms of buying Wards / Courier etc.. at least too much, as he needs to get farmed in order to be useful.
If you go to a sidelane, you wan't to lane with another stunner so you can combo your stuns for easy kills.

But as Pyromancer is generally played middle, I am going to explain you how to. First of all, every time there is no creep to last hit, try to harass the enemy; Pyromancer has capablity to play extremely aggressive, and if you are not harassing, you are not taking advantage of that, thats why you harass.
Another thing to remember when playing middle lane is to look at the enemy's items. Count how much his items cost. If he buys gold with near 600 gold, he won't be getting a quick bottle. If he won't be getting his Bottle swiftly, play extremely aggressive and don't let him have his bottle.

"Fake" your stun, ie. Cancel the animation a lot. If you click the stun, but notice the enemy dodging it, quickly press the Stop button (S by default) to cancel it. Hitting your stun is the most important part of your hero. In 1v1 situations, you don't have to stun right away. Stun when the enemy can't dodge it.

A good way to trick your opponent is to play passive for a short time, and then if the enemy gets too cocky and tries to play aggressive because he thinks "He is forced to play passive because im in the upperhand", simply turn the tide around, drop your skills and autoattack him to death.

Every time a rune spawns, use your nuke to push the lane quickly, so that you don't lose creeps when going for the rune. This is basically how the middle lane is won.

Keep up the aggressive play, whore runes, and call for a gank if it is necessary.

At level 6, basically if you hit your stun, you will kill anybody. But if you miss your stun, they might be able to kill you. So only stun if you are sure it will hit.

Having a Ward on the opposing hill is extremely powerful, you can see incoming tp-ganks and they can't set up anything from fog, and you can also harass uphill. In higher level games people buy counterward to counterward it, so be aware.

When you are getting ganked mid, you want your allies to help as much as possible by teleporting.

Sidelane

In general, if Pyromancer is on a sidelane (2-1-2), he should be taking the farm. As for your lane partners, you want to have initiating stunners who make it easy for you to land stun, and finish them off.

Pyromancer can either take farm, or can support a trilane. This is because he is capable to farm quickly after to maintain some important items, such as the PK.

The previously mentioned tips apply here, except for the ones which mention rune-whoring / hill advantage. Aggressive play and cancelling your stun is the key to win a sidelane.
Oh, one thing; Don't use your stun right away when an ally has used his, use it after his stun has ended / is ending to get the full potential out of it.

Farming, Ganking & Pushing
This goes for almost all the time when you solo middle - don't blindly gank side lanes because they are asking for it/need it. Nothing is worse than wasting a full minute to walk to a side lane so the enemies can just run away because of a ward or otherwise escape while your middle opponent freefarms. Ganks should come when they have a high chance of success (AKA, you just got a haste rune or it's really a countergank).

With that said, you aren't ganking the whole game, you are mostly farming at least before you get your Portal Key;
Use your nukes to slay creep waves instantly once you hit level 9/10, and use the extra time to do the same to neutrals (try to stack them before killing them as this takes advantage of your nukes' AoE) and to grab runes.

If you happen to get an invis / haste, or the enemies are playing over-aggressive, capitalize on that; Get pickoff, or preferably, gank multiple heroes at the same time (with the help of allies) and then proceed to push the tower on that lane, or even better, push 2 or 3 lanes at the same time, if possible.

Teamfights
Don't expose yourself in teamfights. Your hero is extremely fragile (unless you have lots of defensive items) and has extremely high damage output, so the worst thing that can happen is for you to get focused.
What you want to do, is jump on the enemy initiator, or the enemy carry and drop him down as soon as possible. To help this at this quest, you need to surprise them with your Portal Key or Tablet of Command, and preferably have a Sheepstick.

Friends & Foes
You best allies are heroes with stuns, such as Behemoth, Hammerstorm, Magmus or Blacksmith; They let you use your stun easily, and help you burst down the enemies.

Your worst enemies are heroes who can burst you down, or mitigate your burst damage, as examples of the first one, Pebbles, Kraken, Gauntlet or Witch Slayer, and for the later one, Predator, Swiftblade, Chipper, Accursed, or heroes with Shrunken Head.

Vindicator?
Vindicator does counter Pyromancer, but Pyromancer also counters Vindicator later in the game. Now you are thinking "WTF?!", but let me explain. Pyromancer's typical luxuries are Shrunken Head, Hellflower and Sheepstick. Vindicator is shut down by disabling him, or by dispelling his silences with Shrunken. He will **** you up early to mid game however.

When to pick Pyromancer?
- Enemies have a melee mid / short range hero / squishy solo hero
- Enemies have squishy targets
- Allies have good initiation and / or followup with stuns

When not to pick Pyromancer?
- Enemies have a stronger mid hero (see: Chipper, Pollywog/Soulstealer are tricky opponents as well)
- Your team already has strong solo hero
- You have no initiating stuns
- Enemies have lots of tanky heroes (especially their carry, see: Maliken, Pestilence)

Tips & Tricks
Tell your team about things you see, In case they aren't paying attention and don't see themselves

If you are killing Kongor (and in some cases tower), Time your spells so that the Fervor attack speed buff never disappears, i.e. cast stun, after 5-5.5 seconds cast Wave, after 5-5.5 seconds cast Stun etc...

Sheepstick is instant cast while your stun has a nonzero cast time, so lead with sheepstick against opponents who are likely to stop your stun (bubbles/swiftblade/predator/people with shrunken head)

Cycle your Steamboots; About to cast spell / need more damage? Intelligence. About to regen hp / mana? Agility. About to cast Chalice? Strength. Generally keep them on Strength

Abuse Fog of War. Nothing is as easy as hitting your skills from fog, and then PK'ing out.

Practice stunning a lot. And I mean, a lot. Especially the PK --> Stun. It is EXTREMELY important to practice stunning.

Cancel the backswing in your spells by clicking another command right after you use a spell (don't wait for the animation to end after the spell is out)

If the enemy goes to fog, try to predict him and use your stun + wave. If you have an attack, or your ally's attack, or tower's attack even, following the opponent, it will show the direction he runs to even in fog.

You don't need to land the stun in the middle, catchingthem on the edge is just fine. Also, if you try to land on the edge when juking, it is very likely that they will run into the center of the stun by themselves, while if you try to hit it in the middle, they will dodge it regardless of what direction they go for.

When pushing towers, you can use your skills just to gain attack speed. Keep some mana for at least a stun with you however.

When being pursued by a melee hero, and you are running away, Dragonfire (stun) over yourself. A melee hero rushing in for the kill will be hit almost every time and you'll have a better chance of escaping.

If you are in a sidelane in the early laning phase, using Dragonfire (again, your stun) to destroy some trees, while keeping a tree barrier to harass with. Warding close to the tower can give helpful vision.

Pyromancer can easily stack 2 neutral camps at once by using Dragonfire or Phoenix Wave, but also stack the Hellbourne Ancient Camp from the river by using a skill on the camp.

____________________

Replays
____________________
Note - Will try to find some new replays which are downloadable.

61377551 - 61377551
[fray]boboSLAYER a.k.a sLiCKz
Solo Mid Pyromancer with great team-support, he decided not to take Fervor as it was basically a trilane in the middle lane. Skipped Chalice and went straight for Power Supply. Steamboots --> Portal Key --> Sheepstick --> Hellflower

My Replay - Solo Mid
50086969 - 50086969
Pyromancer VS Corrupted Disciple. I managed to kill him at 2 minute mark because he wasn't aware of Pyromancer's power. At the 3:20, I overplayed a bit, which resulted in both dying, but it was just fine as I killed CD at 5 minute when I got the level 6. Pushed the tower, got a double tap with the help of Hammerstorm. Finally ganked bottom lane after the 8 minute to mitigate Balphagore's farm, but accidently got courier killed at the same time.
We were getting kinda mad at our worthless Ra, which resulted in some trashtalk. However kept the ganks on Flint... Until started to hardly overplay and died couple times. Oh did I mention I farmed a 21 min Sheepstick? Well I did.
Farmed a 30 minute Shrunken Head to be a baller, and the enemies conceded couple minutes after. Carried the game to victory

Fly - Trilane Support
[M]51335453 - 51335453
Pebbles + Andromeda + Pyromancer VS Pharaoh. Good example of how to effectively stack and pull, and farm the neutrals. Pretty normal back and forth game, doesn't need description

____________________

Miscellaneous
____________________
Cheers, you made it to the end! There is an alternative avatar for Pyromancer, which makes him a she, which costs 560 Silver Coins or 175 Gold Coins.

Shoutouts / Credits
Ekamo
ElementUser
Drasha
HoNPortal.org
Ollie
Awazir
Unzki

[Drasha]

Old archived thread. (http://forums.heroesofnewerth.com/showthread.php?t=301894)

[Exilya]

Thank you Drasha :)

[Apolon94]

Just a question, you said Mace is a great counter to Zephyr, isn't he supposed to return ranged attacks if wind shield active, and missing only on melee?

[Exilya]

Just a question, you said Mace is a great counter to Zephyr, isn't he supposed to return ranged attacks if wind shield active, and missing only on melee?
That is true, thank you for the correction.

[LiL_Lycosa]

thanks!

[Niqhtmare]

A great guide, but as a fairly new player (played every day for ~two weeks or so) I'm not 100% sure on why a portal key is so useful for Pyromancer. If anyone would explain, I would really appreciate it. Thanks!

[Rordarok]

^It's great for ganking, positioning.

[Exilya]

A great guide, but as a fairly new player (played every day for ~two weeks or so) I'm not 100% sure on why a portal key is so useful for Pyromancer. If anyone would explain, I would really appreciate it. Thanks!
Portal Key allows him/her to perform ganks much easier, and faster, as well as escape from ganks, or simply move around faster. A Pyromancer won't be able to properly perform his combo without a Portal Key, because not only does he need the surprise advantage, but also needs to be quite close the enemy (in order to land a stun). Positioning is a key when playing a squishy hero with high damage output like Pyromancer, so that is another reason to buy it.

He could be compared to Pebbles in a way; He is supposed to shut down the enemies a lot during the mid game as much as possible, and instagib an enemy hero in a teamfight, and possibly stun multiple enemies, if possible. After his combo is out, he either autoattacks, or runs away, just like a Pebbles does.

Long story short, Portal Key allows him to properly land his combo for a quite cheap price.

EDIT: Rordarok, Y U SO FAST?

[Niqhtmare]

Thank you. So the only advantage is to get in range for the stun and getting away from ganks and escaping in general?

[Exilya]

^ Basically, yes, but PK in general benefits you a lot in positioning and such.

I wouldn't say "only advantage" though, because it is quite huge when you actually realize it (If you are a new player, you may not be able to use it that well, and the enemies are quite bad so you can do quite well even without it)

[InsideSin]

Sacrificial Stone is in general a bad item for basically any hero. As for Pyromancer, the mana from it is completely wasted. Need HP? Get Shrunken Head or Frostwolf's Skull. Sac. Stone is just inferior compared to other possible items.

That is definitely the worst excuse not to use a decent item I have ever seen.

Bloodstone is the best for scaling, if you're hitting the game with a kill every 2 minutes, and you've got a score of something like 7/2/8 then you're going to see a heck load of use in bloodstone... it scales well and it allows for both push and farm throughout the game whilst keeping you alive and kicking and always ready to lay an ult.

[Exilya]

That is definitely the worst excuse not to use a decent item I have ever seen.

Bloodstone is the best for scaling, if you're hitting the game with a kill every 2 minutes, and you've got a score of something like 7/2/8 then you're going to see a heck load of use in bloodstone... it scales well and it allows for both push and farm throughout the game whilst keeping you alive and kicking and always ready to lay an ult.
Sheepstick, Hellflower, Frostwolf, Savage etc. scale better than Sacrificial Stone, and you don't pay 5K for 500 hp and some regen.

[XrBob]

You described pyro as being like pebbles, drop your combo on someone and your job is done. I can see the similarity, but I find fervor too powerful to ignore. Two spells and you get +100 attack speed, full combo and you get +150. It's also more difficult to roam as well as pebbles because the mana cost of your combo is much higher, and the cooldown of your ult is much higher.

I find that fervor leads itself to ghost marchers as well. +175 attack speed isn't as good as +150 attack speed and +24 damage. The extra damage really helps him do more damage in fights. I also find the mobility invaluable. Sure, you'll get portal key, but it's often costs too much mana to be using it all the time until you have a reliable source of regen, which can often take a long time. Chugging around at 355 movespeed isn't as nice as 365+12% half the time.

[Frustian]

I find that fervor leads itself to ghost marchers as well. +175 attack speed isn't as good as +150 attack speed and +24 damage. The extra damage really helps him do more damage in fights. I also find the mobility invaluable. Sure, you'll get portal key, but it's often costs too much mana to be using it all the time until you have a reliable source of regen, which can often take a long time. Chugging around at 355 movespeed isn't as nice as 365+12% half the time.


You get steams to treadswap and amplify the effects of bottle/chalice (usually I get both), and between those 3 items it will give you a ton of mana sustainability, especially if you are grabbing runes. If that isn't enough mana for you, I don't know what is. And yes, you can definitely use portal key.

I've never had a problem with movespeed on pyro, with a stun and pk and all, also usually anybody within range of me dies quite quickly.

[Exilya]

You described pyro as being like pebbles, drop your combo on someone and your job is done. I can see the similarity, but I find fervor too powerful to ignore. Two spells and you get +100 attack speed, full combo and you get +150. It's also more difficult to roam as well as pebbles because the mana cost of your combo is much higher, and the cooldown of your ult is much higher.

I find that fervor leads itself to ghost marchers as well. +175 attack speed isn't as good as +150 attack speed and +24 damage. The extra damage really helps him do more damage in fights. I also find the mobility invaluable. Sure, you'll get portal key, but it's often costs too much mana to be using it all the time until you have a reliable source of regen, which can often take a long time. Chugging around at 355 movespeed isn't as nice as 365+12% half the time.
Pyro IS similiar to Pebbles, however, I haven't ignored Fervor at any point (at least not intentionally), The difference between Pyro and Pebbles is that Pyromancer actually HAS lategame potential, and is useful after his combo, mainly because of the Fervor.

Pyromancer is a farming ganker. That means that he is using a lot of mana, and is often in dangerous situations. Thus, if built with Ghost Marchers, he is far by squishier, and lacks the mana for ganking and farming.
Sure, the extra movement speed can be useful, but it's not as useful as pure HP when cc'd (and trust me, Pyromancer is often the main focus of the enemy team, especially with ghost marchers)

I have never encountered anyone saying that Pyromancer doesn't have the mana to use a Portal Key properly when he acquires one; And neither have I been in a situation like that myself. With Bottle, Chalice and Steamboots, you should have more than enough mana; And if not then, definitely after you get your Blessed Orb and/or Manatube.

I find the extra HP, mana and attack speed to be better than the pure damage and movement speed. If your choice is to build Ghost Marchers, go ahead, but when you die during one magmus stun, you might want to have built Steamboots ;)

[Arkantos3005]

I play my pyro using a semi-support / nuker build.
I go sidelane, starting with some tokens, heal and wards / winged courier, then i get :Marchers: and some :ScarabRing:, then i go :EnhancedMarchers: for mobility and dmg or :Steamboots: for HP, then i finish a :Hellflower: and finally a :Portalkey:.
This build is weak in survivability but i usually play it hiding behind team and just stun/killing supports or carriers when team start figth, with the dmg i got i can do some very good DPS too as long as I am not the target. Carries and supoorts go down really fast. I usually make some changes when figthing heavy gankers like fayde / parasite for survival.
My build is a little diferent from your guide but it worked good for me, i play at 1600 ~ 1700 games.
Do you have any sugestions or critics that can help me?
sorry about bad english :)

[terrorclown]

Two items in this guide are woefully underrated; :Stormspirit: and :Spellshards:. While it may not grant strength, Stormspirit is by far one of the best items to get on Pyro (it's cheap, it's got great utility with plenty of disable and guaranteed stuns and extra movespeed, and it gets you some fat mana regen early). And with Pyro's nuking and spellspamming capability, not getting SShards on him would be plain foolish.

Also, as scrubby as it sounds, what with the recent upgrade available for :AssassinShroud: that one might also be worth a bump up.

[Qweret]

So this is the reason why so many people start to say: "Solo mid!" with Pyromancer and disagree to buy wards, when there are no other supporters.

The guide is detailed and most of this is true. But it is more of a Pub-Stomp guide. Most of the time People are forced to buy a Tablet of Command, because they dont get the money for Portal Key and need also some mana and stats. And also most of the time the Pyromancer wont get the middle-lane.


I like to play Pyro as an annoying ganker, like Slither. Take the short lane(Legion top, hellbourne bot) Annoy the enemy-Hero in their forest while laning-phase and gank the middle. You lose some levels, but you will disable 2, maybe even 3 heroes from safe farming or dominating their lane, because you are unpredictable and always on the way.
For this, you need potions or can decide to buy a Bottle, if your mid doesnt get use of the runes.

Just my oppinion. Your way is ok too, but in the pubs i play, a Pyro will NOT carry his team to win.

[Exilya]

So this is the reason why so many people start to say: "Solo mid!" with Pyromancer and disagree to buy wards, when there are no other supporters.

The guide is detailed and most of this is true. But it is more of a Pub-Stomp guide. Most of the time People are forced to buy a Tablet of Command, because they dont get the money for Portal Key and need also some mana and stats. And also most of the time the Pyromancer wont get the middle-lane.


I like to play Pyro as an annoying ganker, like Slither. Take the short lane(Legion top, hellbourne bot) Annoy the enemy-Hero in their forest while laning-phase and gank the middle. You lose some levels, but you will disable 2, maybe even 3 heroes from safe farming or dominating their lane, because you are unpredictable and always on the way.
For this, you need potions or can decide to buy a Bottle, if your mid doesnt get use of the runes.

Just my oppinion. Your way is ok too, but in the pubs i play, a Pyro will NOT carry his team to win.

Perhaps the Pyromancers you get in your games aren't that experienced with him/her then :(



Anyways, I will be updating the guide most likely within the next few days with the Grave Locket and perhaps a few other things (if there are any outdates)

[Exilya]

Now updated with the Grave Locket, and some tweak on the starting items. Feedback is welcome.

[Marach]

considering you're suggesting items that increase pyro's dps, in situations where your team needs you to go that route, it's valuable to know what are best dps items per gold cost:

Harkon's Blade > Savage Mace > Charged Hammer > Shieldbreaker > Riftshards
(for INT heroes like pyro)
(this is from MacroHard's thread)

of course, other factors might influence the choice of your dps item, like enemies having Wingbow so you'd rather go for a Savage Mace instead of some other dps item, but that is how the items compare generally.

[Exilya]

considering you're suggesting items that increase pyro's dps, in situations where your team needs you to go that route, it's valuable to know what are best dps items per gold cost:

Harkon's Blade > Savage Mace > Charged Hammer > Shieldbreaker > Riftshards
(for INT heroes like pyro)
(this is from MacroHard's thread)

of course, other factors might influence the choice of your dps item, like enemies having Wingbow so you'd rather go for a Savage Mace instead of some other dps item, but that is how the items compare generally.

Harkon's Blade as well as Charged Hammer have their downsides though.

I have never been a fan of Charged Hammer for the fact that Shrunken Head negated the lightning effect for the duration. And Savage is superior on DPS, so I think we can leave Charged away.

The manacost on Harkon's might not seem much, but it will quickly add up, and you don't have mana for that last spell. And as above, Shrunken Head negates the effect of Harkon's Blade as well.

Savage can't really be countered, and as everybody knows, guides are always more or less based on the personal preference of the creator. Obviously I am aiming for the guide to be as good as possible, but I find Savage working better for me at least.

I might add some note about it, and perhaps do a little tweak at some point (perhaps I should do some more testing with those 2 items before that)

Also, thank you for the constructive feedback :)

[Marach]

ofc, every item is situational and they all have their cons and pros. what I posted is just a general list of best dps items (by MacroHard).

don't get me wrong, I also personally prefer savage mace (SM) to charged hammer (CH). the thing is, most people think of CH in a very negative way ('noob item', 'no real dps', 'screw those random procs', etc.), much more negative than the items deserves. and MacroHard actually proved that it provides more dps than other common items which people love to buy (not the first time that MacroHard shatters such preconceptions and I'm thankful for that).

so let us be objective here about all items. I'll comment on your post as I read it.

I have played pyro with harkon's blade and I never had any mana problems. ofc, you don't keep it toggled on when you attack creeps mostly, but you put harkon's on when you attack enemy heroes. so yea, you have to micromanage that a bit, but autoattacking with harkon's once and then using your spells will deal a lot more total damage due to negative magic armor that harkon's apply. this item synergizes very well with any high magic damage nuke heroes like pyro and also allow your teammates to do much more damage with their spells.

you say that shrunken head counters both those items and that SM can't really be countered. this is wrong statement considering there is an item called void talisman, which is also much cheaper than shrunken head ;).

also, keep in mind that there are a lot more items in the shop that mitigate physical damage (i.e. provide +physical armor items) than those that mitigate magic damage (mystic vest, shaman's headress). also consider that AGI heroes naturally gain more physical armor and are, hence, more resilient to physical damage. where I'm getting at is that it's generally harder to protect oneself from magic damage items (harkon's, CH partially) than physical ones.

and just one example where CH could be a good pick: if you have tempest/chronos in the team, imagine tempest/chronos ulting couple of enemies and you buffing yourself with fervor and then procing lightning strikes on clumped ulted enemies with your CH.

and at the end I'll just quote more food for thought regarding item picks:

- Positive Side Effects
Charged Hammer has an activatable that punishes attackers
Charged Hammer also hits nearby enemies with lightning
Riftshards can lifesteal from critical strikes
Riftshards critical strikes apply to splash attacks
Shieldbreaker lowers enemy armor such that allied attacks and
physical spells also benefit
Shieldbreaker and Riftshards have easier build up
Savage Mace removes all chances to miss
Savage Mace interrupts enemy attacks and stops channeling abilities
Harkon's Blade lowers enemy magic armor such that allied spells also benefit

- Negative Side Effects
Charged Hammer loses effectiveness against Magic Immunity
Shieldbreaker occupies an attack modifier which may be needed for
slow or lifesteal
Harkon's Blade occupies an attack modifier which may be needed for
slow or lifesteal
Harkon's Blade requires mana to use

- Charged Hammer vs Riftshards:
Does your hero have a built in critical strike? -> Charged Hammer
Does your hero have a splash attack (skill or Runed Cleaver)? -> Riftshards
Does your hero have a built in chance-to-proc ability such as bash? ->
Charged Hammer
Is your attack speed already higher than 250 (agility plus items)? -> Riftshards
Does your enemy have a headress and/or other magic damage reduction or
magical immunity? -> Riftshards
Do none of the above apply? -> Charged Hammer

- Riftshards vs Shieldbreaker:
In general (there are exceptions, of course), if your enemy has 23 or
more armor, Riftshards is a better choice. 22 or less armor favors
Shieldbreaker. One major exception is if your hero has a splash,
whether built in or from runed cleaver. Splash benefits from critical
damage but does not benefit from armor reduction. This is why
Riftshards tends to be preferred for such heroes as Gladiator, Puppet
Master, and Hammerstorm.

take from it what you think will improve your guide ;)

[Exilya]

ofc, every item is situational and they all have their cons and pros. what I posted is just a general list of best dps items (by MacroHard).

don't get me wrong, I also personally prefer savage mace (SM) to charged hammer (CH). the thing is, most people think of CH in a very negative way ('noob item', 'no real dps', 'screw those random procs', etc.), much more negative than the items deserves. and MacroHard actually proved that it provides more dps than other common items which people love to buy (not the first time that MacroHard shatters such preconceptions and I'm thankful for that).

so let us be objective here about all items. I'll comment on your post as I read it.

I have played pyro with harkon's blade and I never had any mana problems. ofc, you don't keep it toggled on when you attack creeps mostly, but you put harkon's on when you attack enemy heroes. so yea, you have to micromanage that a bit, but autoattacking with harkon's once and then using your spells will deal a lot more total damage due to negative magic armor that harkon's apply. this item synergizes very well with any high magic damage nuke heroes like pyro and also allow your teammates to do much more damage with their spells.

you say that shrunken head counters both those items and that SM can't really be countered. this is wrong statement considering there is an item called void talisman, which is also much cheaper than shrunken head ;).

also, keep in mind that there are a lot more items in the shop that mitigate physical damage (i.e. provide +physical armor items) than those that mitigate magic damage (mystic vest, shaman's headress). also consider that AGI heroes naturally gain more physical armor and are, hence, more resilient to physical damage. where I'm getting at is that it's generally harder to protect oneself from magic damage items (harkon's, CH partially) than physical ones.

and just one example where CH could be a good pick: if you have tempest/chronos in the team, imagine tempest/chronos ulting couple of enemies and you buffing yourself with fervor and then procing lightning strikes on clumped ulted enemies with your CH.

and at the end I'll just quote more food for thought regarding item picks:


take from it what you think will improve your guide ;)
Guess I'll have to create a small section for the dps items, cause there is so much into them.



Also considering to tweak the item build overall, realizing that Tablet of Command is usually superior compared to the Portal Key because of the stats (especially mana) it provides, a better way to escape as well as save teammates or put enemies in to a horrible position, easier buildup (which provides you mana with the parts of it) and being slightly cheaper isn't a bad thing either. Downsides are that the range is much lower, and the cooldown is longer, but I think Pyro only needs that 'small' pseudo-blink to catch up on their opponents, and have been very succesful recently when building it on Pyro.

PS. My picture's background color is now screw'd up cause of the forum update, gotta fix that as well.

Don't expect any major changes too soon, but will try to get them by the weekend, and if not, the following week.

[Mummpitz]

ofc, every item is situational and they all have their cons and pros. what I posted is just a general list of best dps items (by MacroHard).

don't get me wrong, I also personally prefer savage mace (SM) to charged hammer (CH). the thing is, most people think of CH in a very negative way ('noob item', 'no real dps', 'screw those random procs', etc.), much more negative than the items deserves. and MacroHard actually proved that it provides more dps than other common items which people love to buy (not the first time that MacroHard shatters such preconceptions and I'm thankful for that).

so let us be objective here about all items. I'll comment on your post as I read it.

I have played pyro with harkon's blade and I never had any mana problems. ofc, you don't keep it toggled on when you attack creeps mostly, but you put harkon's on when you attack enemy heroes. so yea, you have to micromanage that a bit, but autoattacking with harkon's once and then using your spells will deal a lot more total damage due to negative magic armor that harkon's apply. this item synergizes very well with any high magic damage nuke heroes like pyro and also allow your teammates to do much more damage with their spells.

you say that shrunken head counters both those items and that SM can't really be countered. this is wrong statement considering there is an item called void talisman, which is also much cheaper than shrunken head ;).

also, keep in mind that there are a lot more items in the shop that mitigate physical damage (i.e. provide +physical armor items) than those that mitigate magic damage (mystic vest, shaman's headress). also consider that AGI heroes naturally gain more physical armor and are, hence, more resilient to physical damage. where I'm getting at is that it's generally harder to protect oneself from magic damage items (harkon's, CH partially) than physical ones.

and just one example where CH could be a good pick: if you have tempest/chronos in the team, imagine tempest/chronos ulting couple of enemies and you buffing yourself with fervor and then procing lightning strikes on clumped ulted enemies with your CH.

and at the end I'll just quote more food for thought regarding item picks:


take from it what you think will improve your guide ;)
just as a note: there is no negative magic armor possible, just zero magic armor, but i guess that was what u meant.

[Vahn]

Common misconception, negative magic armour is possible. People get confused with this because spellshards can't go below zero, this is because it doesn't reduce, but ignores armour.

Hellbringer for example can get harkons and using lifevoid has a total of -11 magic armour which works exactly like physical armour, they take more damage.

[RikiP]

core if in lane:
steamboots or ghost marchers
power supply
grave locket/new sac stone if rich
portal key

then you can get whatever the hell you want.

if you don't get portal key on pyro, then **** you. you suck balls.

[Jezu]

Common misconception, negative magic armour is possible. People get confused with this because spellshards can't go below zero, this is because it doesn't reduce, but ignores armour.

Hellbringer for example can get harkons and using lifevoid has a total of -11 magic armour which works exactly like physical armour, they take more damage.
Well, Vahn said it :)

core if in lane:
steamboots or ghost marchers
power supply
grave locket/new sac stone if rich
portal key

then you can get whatever the hell you want.

if you don't get portal key on pyro, then **** you. you suck balls.
I would say Sacrificial Stone is more so when you're lacking in farm and can't go straight up for a PK+Sheepstick, since it provides cheap stats, but takes up one inventory slot and delays your other items.
Also, PK isn't necessarily core, in some games a Tablet is just enough (can't go wrong with a PK though) :)