crazysheep
10-25-2009, 08:07 AM
Demented Shaman
Introduction: The [almost] direct port of Dazzle, the Shadow Priest from DotA, the Demented Shaman is one of the versatile heroes you can rely on. Some will choose to play him as full support, healing and dropping Storm Clouds on allies, while others will use his full array of offensive skills to destroy enemies. This guide will discuss the different gameplay alternatives to the Demented Shaman, namely the Battle Shaman and the Healer Shaman.
http://i444.photobucket.com/albums/qq165/kyp2055/dementedshaman.jpg
Background Story:
No greater shame has the Beast Horde than the Demented Shaman, one of their holiest priests, an initiate into their deepest secrets and greatest lore, who betrayed his people and turned to join the Hellbourne. He is a force of corruption and outrage, draining the life of the land to heal those who would destroy it and defeat those who would defend it.Skills [from HoNWiki, only important sections copied]:
1. Entangle
Performs a mini-stun on target and slows its movement speed by 33/66/66/66%. After 1/2/3/3 seconds, applies Entangled to target for 7 seconds and stuns them for 0/0/1/1 second.
Entangled deals 7/14/21/28 physical damage per second.
Manacost: 100/115/130/145
Cooldown: 15/13/11/9 seconds
Cast range: 600
Comments:
Note the ministun on casting this spell. It will be your major defence against anyone with a channeling spell. [Magmus, Tempest, Electrician, Succubus...] Also, note the 1 second stun which is applied after the duration of the MS slow. It will be useful for Battle Shamans when they can make use of that stun to deal some damage through their auto attack, or for Healer Shamans to get their allies to safety.
Also, the DoT on Entangle synergizes perfectly with his ult. Reduced armour values amplifies the physical damage taken, and the amplified damage can usually be the reason for Demented Shamans scoring the last hit on red HP enemies.
2. Arcane Hide
Applies Arcane Hide to target for 15 seconds with 5 charges. Each time target is damaged by a Hero, Tower, or Boss, 1 charge is removed. Damage over time effects are not reduced and do not remove charges. Arcane Hide is removed when no charges remain or after 100/200/300/400 damage has been absorbed.
Arcane Hide Effects: Reduces incoming non-DoT damage from Heroes, Towers, or Bosses by 50%
Manacost: 85
Cooldown: 10 seconds
Cast range: 600
Comments:
This only reduces damage, it does not negate damage completely. This is not Dazzle's Shallow Grave [from DotA].
Having said that, it means that your support capabilities have been diminished, although not to the point of uselessness. Arcane Hide now works more like a shield for your initiator. Toss it on him as he goes in, and he can gain ~400 HP more to spend as he initiates for the team.
3. Healing Wave
Chains between the successively closest 3/3/4/5 targets, healing each for 80/100/120/140. Enemy units within a 180 radius of a healed target will take 80/100/120/140 Physical damage per target. Heal does not affect magic immune targets, but the damage will affect magic immune targets because it is physical damage.
Manacost: 80/90/100/110
Cooldown: 12/10/8/6 seconds
Cast range: 600
Comments:
This is your heal, your main nuke and your farming tool. You will get focused in teamfights for this reason as well, since the ability to drop ~400 HP worth of heals to each ally is very strong. Not only that, the total physical damage you can potentially lay down is more than the base 700 total damage if coupled with Storm Cloud and repeated spamming of the heal thanks to its short cooldown at level 4. Prepare for massive damage outputs during teamfights!
Battle Shamans will want this for damage and some minor farming, whilst Healer Shamans will prioritise this for the heals under any situation.
4. Storm Cloud
Applies Storm Shield to allies and Storm Strike to enemies in 600 (800) radius for 12/18/24(18/24/30) seconds. Storm Shield adds one armor per charge, Storm Strike removes one armor per charge. Adds 1 charge per second and does not affect magic immune units. Can be upgraded with Staff of the Master (bold shows the improved values)
Manacost: 100
Cooldown: 40 seconds
Cast range: 2000
Comments:
3 things stand out about this ult. One, it has a very long cast range. Abuse it to initiate teamfights. Let your carries know that you're going to Storm your enemies before you ult. Scout wants to get kills? No problem, tell him to get into the crowd of heroes before you ult. Then get the crowd to charge right in.
Two, it has a low manacost. 100 mana is about the same cost as Healing Wave. Abuse that as well. Cast it every time you have the mana to spare for teamfights. That being said, number three pops up: low cooldown on Storm Cloud! Cast it every fight you can get into!
Now here it can be a little controversial as to when to level Storm Cloud. I argue that its low manacost makes it viable to grab at level 6 for ganking, especially if you take any of the side lanes. Battle Shamans will definitely want to take Storm Cloud whenever they can, boosting their ganking power early on, whilst Healer Shamans can afford to take Storm Cloud at a later level [levels 8-10] depending on the situation.
Skill comparison with DotA's Shadow Priest:
1. Arcane Hide is not Shallow Grave.
Arcane Hide reduces half of the incoming damage, whereas Shallow Grave provides immortality for 5 seconds. Also, Arcane Hide only blocks 5 hits or 400 damage [max], whichever comes first. Creep damage is not reduced by Arcane Hide - only Hero, Tower and Boss [eg Kongor] damages count.
This makes Demented Shaman less capable of babysitting earlygame compared to Shadow Priest, since Arcane Hide depends on your carry's HP to work well, whereas Shallow Grave works well any time. This also justifies the skill build below, where Arcane Hide is pretty much ignored until late, when your allies have enough HP to back up Arcane Hide and not die before the duration ends.
2. Storm Cloud does not give AoE vision where it was casted, unlike Weave.
Considering the huge AoE of Storm Cloud and Weave, it could be used to reveal any trap they'd have set up for you. In DotA you can then plot your way out, but in HoN it means you'll need to work your way around the lack of AoE reveal from casting Storm Cloud.
Skill build:
Level 1: Healing Wave
Level 2: Entangle
Level 3: Healing Wave
Level 4: Entangle
Level 5: Healing Wave
Level 6: Storm Cloud / Entangle
Level 7: Healing Wave (maxed out)
Level 8: Entangle (maxed out)
Level 9: Entangle (maxed out) / Arcane Hide
Level 10: Stats / Storm Cloud
Level 11: Storm Cloud
Level 12: Stats / Arcane Hide
Level 13 - 15: Stats
Level 16: Storm Cloud (maxed out)
Level 17 - 21: Stats
Level 22: Arcane Hide / Stats
Level 23: Arcane Hide / Stats
Level 24 - 25: Arcane HideJustifications for builds:
Battle Shaman
You'll want to maximise your earlygame potential with Healing Wave and Entangle. Armour values are at their lowest during the early game, making Storm Cloud more potent. [negative armour values amplify damage] Hence this justifies maxing Wave over Entangle to get the best out of the damage. [around 700 damage if targeted properly.]
Healer Shaman
Healing Wave/Entangle makes for a good combo for escaping early ganks. Heal your carry, Entangle your chasing opponent, and then run fast. Heal again as necessary later on. You'll want to get Storm Cloud by level 10 so that you can help with team battles. Drop a Storm Cloud, heal your allies, Entangle anyone who's casting channeling spells. One level of Hide during midgame will help your initiator as he goes in, or your carry just before the battle begins in earnest.
Items:
Demented Shaman has one big problem - he lacks Str early, giving him problems with his HP early on. I firmly believe in stacking Str to solve HP problems, so you will find Crushing Claws and Fortified Bracelets to be the most cost effective solution to HP. There will be 2 paths for you to follow: the Battle Shaman path, or the full support Healer Shaman build.
Starting [ie before first creepwaves spawn]:
2x Crushing Claws - 300 gold
2x Runes of the Blight - 180 gold
2x Minor Totems - 106 gold
Running Total: 586 gold
Justifications:
Crushing Claws provides the necessary Str boost to keep your Shaman alive in lane, when harass is common. Runes over Mana potions, because you can then save the heals for your carry. Minor Totems, well, are just there to boost stats by a bit, as well as being the building blocks for Astrolabe/Barrier Idol later on.
Mid game:
Battle build - rush Staff and get Icebrand.
Support build - rush Astrolabe if there are less casters, otherwise rush Barrier Idol.
Mixed build - aim for any 3 of these: Plated Greaves, Stormspirit, Icebrand, Astrolabe/Barrier Idol.
Late game:
Battle build - get Frostwolf Skull
Support build - get Sheepstick/Frostwolf Skull
Your role during:
Laning:
You should go with the carry in the short lane to babysit.
If you end up facing a dual melee lane [which can happen a lot in pubs] remember to use Healing Wave for harassing them when they come up to the creepline to deny/lasthit. If you're facing a normal lane [one melee + one range / 2 range], play safe instead. Harass the enemies when they come up to lasthit, and remember to deny your creeps aggressively. Let your carry take the enemy creeps instead.
Ganks:
Open with Storm Cloud, then Entangle the gank target. Bash target's head in, heal your allies if they drop too low. There's really nothing much to using Demented in a gank, just dropping his skills down will do.
Teamfights:
As with ganking, open with Storm Cloud. You'll want to maximise the potential of Storm Cloud when it nears its end, when the armour reduction is the highest. Again, Entangle whichever hero is the nearest. Entangle has a rather short cooldown, meaning you can use it twice in normal teamfights. In teamfights, spam heals on every ally. You'll be pleasantly surprised as to how much damage you can rack up just using Healing Wave. And lastly, autoattack - you have a good Int growth, you'll be eating into every enemy a lot.
From the "Healing Wave vs Arcane Hide" thread:
The other thing going against Arcane Hide is the fact that you need some HP behind that hide. It only reduces half the incoming damage, so you can't use it to save people when you really need it. Early game is when you have the least HP to back up Hide, so you can't use it effectively.
And hence Healing Wave > Arcane Hide.
Introduction: The [almost] direct port of Dazzle, the Shadow Priest from DotA, the Demented Shaman is one of the versatile heroes you can rely on. Some will choose to play him as full support, healing and dropping Storm Clouds on allies, while others will use his full array of offensive skills to destroy enemies. This guide will discuss the different gameplay alternatives to the Demented Shaman, namely the Battle Shaman and the Healer Shaman.
http://i444.photobucket.com/albums/qq165/kyp2055/dementedshaman.jpg
Background Story:
No greater shame has the Beast Horde than the Demented Shaman, one of their holiest priests, an initiate into their deepest secrets and greatest lore, who betrayed his people and turned to join the Hellbourne. He is a force of corruption and outrage, draining the life of the land to heal those who would destroy it and defeat those who would defend it.Skills [from HoNWiki, only important sections copied]:
1. Entangle
Performs a mini-stun on target and slows its movement speed by 33/66/66/66%. After 1/2/3/3 seconds, applies Entangled to target for 7 seconds and stuns them for 0/0/1/1 second.
Entangled deals 7/14/21/28 physical damage per second.
Manacost: 100/115/130/145
Cooldown: 15/13/11/9 seconds
Cast range: 600
Comments:
Note the ministun on casting this spell. It will be your major defence against anyone with a channeling spell. [Magmus, Tempest, Electrician, Succubus...] Also, note the 1 second stun which is applied after the duration of the MS slow. It will be useful for Battle Shamans when they can make use of that stun to deal some damage through their auto attack, or for Healer Shamans to get their allies to safety.
Also, the DoT on Entangle synergizes perfectly with his ult. Reduced armour values amplifies the physical damage taken, and the amplified damage can usually be the reason for Demented Shamans scoring the last hit on red HP enemies.
2. Arcane Hide
Applies Arcane Hide to target for 15 seconds with 5 charges. Each time target is damaged by a Hero, Tower, or Boss, 1 charge is removed. Damage over time effects are not reduced and do not remove charges. Arcane Hide is removed when no charges remain or after 100/200/300/400 damage has been absorbed.
Arcane Hide Effects: Reduces incoming non-DoT damage from Heroes, Towers, or Bosses by 50%
Manacost: 85
Cooldown: 10 seconds
Cast range: 600
Comments:
This only reduces damage, it does not negate damage completely. This is not Dazzle's Shallow Grave [from DotA].
Having said that, it means that your support capabilities have been diminished, although not to the point of uselessness. Arcane Hide now works more like a shield for your initiator. Toss it on him as he goes in, and he can gain ~400 HP more to spend as he initiates for the team.
3. Healing Wave
Chains between the successively closest 3/3/4/5 targets, healing each for 80/100/120/140. Enemy units within a 180 radius of a healed target will take 80/100/120/140 Physical damage per target. Heal does not affect magic immune targets, but the damage will affect magic immune targets because it is physical damage.
Manacost: 80/90/100/110
Cooldown: 12/10/8/6 seconds
Cast range: 600
Comments:
This is your heal, your main nuke and your farming tool. You will get focused in teamfights for this reason as well, since the ability to drop ~400 HP worth of heals to each ally is very strong. Not only that, the total physical damage you can potentially lay down is more than the base 700 total damage if coupled with Storm Cloud and repeated spamming of the heal thanks to its short cooldown at level 4. Prepare for massive damage outputs during teamfights!
Battle Shamans will want this for damage and some minor farming, whilst Healer Shamans will prioritise this for the heals under any situation.
4. Storm Cloud
Applies Storm Shield to allies and Storm Strike to enemies in 600 (800) radius for 12/18/24(18/24/30) seconds. Storm Shield adds one armor per charge, Storm Strike removes one armor per charge. Adds 1 charge per second and does not affect magic immune units. Can be upgraded with Staff of the Master (bold shows the improved values)
Manacost: 100
Cooldown: 40 seconds
Cast range: 2000
Comments:
3 things stand out about this ult. One, it has a very long cast range. Abuse it to initiate teamfights. Let your carries know that you're going to Storm your enemies before you ult. Scout wants to get kills? No problem, tell him to get into the crowd of heroes before you ult. Then get the crowd to charge right in.
Two, it has a low manacost. 100 mana is about the same cost as Healing Wave. Abuse that as well. Cast it every time you have the mana to spare for teamfights. That being said, number three pops up: low cooldown on Storm Cloud! Cast it every fight you can get into!
Now here it can be a little controversial as to when to level Storm Cloud. I argue that its low manacost makes it viable to grab at level 6 for ganking, especially if you take any of the side lanes. Battle Shamans will definitely want to take Storm Cloud whenever they can, boosting their ganking power early on, whilst Healer Shamans can afford to take Storm Cloud at a later level [levels 8-10] depending on the situation.
Skill comparison with DotA's Shadow Priest:
1. Arcane Hide is not Shallow Grave.
Arcane Hide reduces half of the incoming damage, whereas Shallow Grave provides immortality for 5 seconds. Also, Arcane Hide only blocks 5 hits or 400 damage [max], whichever comes first. Creep damage is not reduced by Arcane Hide - only Hero, Tower and Boss [eg Kongor] damages count.
This makes Demented Shaman less capable of babysitting earlygame compared to Shadow Priest, since Arcane Hide depends on your carry's HP to work well, whereas Shallow Grave works well any time. This also justifies the skill build below, where Arcane Hide is pretty much ignored until late, when your allies have enough HP to back up Arcane Hide and not die before the duration ends.
2. Storm Cloud does not give AoE vision where it was casted, unlike Weave.
Considering the huge AoE of Storm Cloud and Weave, it could be used to reveal any trap they'd have set up for you. In DotA you can then plot your way out, but in HoN it means you'll need to work your way around the lack of AoE reveal from casting Storm Cloud.
Skill build:
Level 1: Healing Wave
Level 2: Entangle
Level 3: Healing Wave
Level 4: Entangle
Level 5: Healing Wave
Level 6: Storm Cloud / Entangle
Level 7: Healing Wave (maxed out)
Level 8: Entangle (maxed out)
Level 9: Entangle (maxed out) / Arcane Hide
Level 10: Stats / Storm Cloud
Level 11: Storm Cloud
Level 12: Stats / Arcane Hide
Level 13 - 15: Stats
Level 16: Storm Cloud (maxed out)
Level 17 - 21: Stats
Level 22: Arcane Hide / Stats
Level 23: Arcane Hide / Stats
Level 24 - 25: Arcane HideJustifications for builds:
Battle Shaman
You'll want to maximise your earlygame potential with Healing Wave and Entangle. Armour values are at their lowest during the early game, making Storm Cloud more potent. [negative armour values amplify damage] Hence this justifies maxing Wave over Entangle to get the best out of the damage. [around 700 damage if targeted properly.]
Healer Shaman
Healing Wave/Entangle makes for a good combo for escaping early ganks. Heal your carry, Entangle your chasing opponent, and then run fast. Heal again as necessary later on. You'll want to get Storm Cloud by level 10 so that you can help with team battles. Drop a Storm Cloud, heal your allies, Entangle anyone who's casting channeling spells. One level of Hide during midgame will help your initiator as he goes in, or your carry just before the battle begins in earnest.
Items:
Demented Shaman has one big problem - he lacks Str early, giving him problems with his HP early on. I firmly believe in stacking Str to solve HP problems, so you will find Crushing Claws and Fortified Bracelets to be the most cost effective solution to HP. There will be 2 paths for you to follow: the Battle Shaman path, or the full support Healer Shaman build.
Starting [ie before first creepwaves spawn]:
2x Crushing Claws - 300 gold
2x Runes of the Blight - 180 gold
2x Minor Totems - 106 gold
Running Total: 586 gold
Justifications:
Crushing Claws provides the necessary Str boost to keep your Shaman alive in lane, when harass is common. Runes over Mana potions, because you can then save the heals for your carry. Minor Totems, well, are just there to boost stats by a bit, as well as being the building blocks for Astrolabe/Barrier Idol later on.
Mid game:
Battle build - rush Staff and get Icebrand.
Support build - rush Astrolabe if there are less casters, otherwise rush Barrier Idol.
Mixed build - aim for any 3 of these: Plated Greaves, Stormspirit, Icebrand, Astrolabe/Barrier Idol.
Late game:
Battle build - get Frostwolf Skull
Support build - get Sheepstick/Frostwolf Skull
Your role during:
Laning:
You should go with the carry in the short lane to babysit.
If you end up facing a dual melee lane [which can happen a lot in pubs] remember to use Healing Wave for harassing them when they come up to the creepline to deny/lasthit. If you're facing a normal lane [one melee + one range / 2 range], play safe instead. Harass the enemies when they come up to lasthit, and remember to deny your creeps aggressively. Let your carry take the enemy creeps instead.
Ganks:
Open with Storm Cloud, then Entangle the gank target. Bash target's head in, heal your allies if they drop too low. There's really nothing much to using Demented in a gank, just dropping his skills down will do.
Teamfights:
As with ganking, open with Storm Cloud. You'll want to maximise the potential of Storm Cloud when it nears its end, when the armour reduction is the highest. Again, Entangle whichever hero is the nearest. Entangle has a rather short cooldown, meaning you can use it twice in normal teamfights. In teamfights, spam heals on every ally. You'll be pleasantly surprised as to how much damage you can rack up just using Healing Wave. And lastly, autoattack - you have a good Int growth, you'll be eating into every enemy a lot.
From the "Healing Wave vs Arcane Hide" thread:
The other thing going against Arcane Hide is the fact that you need some HP behind that hide. It only reduces half the incoming damage, so you can't use it to save people when you really need it. Early game is when you have the least HP to back up Hide, so you can't use it effectively.
And hence Healing Wave > Arcane Hide.