Swiftblade

[DrunkDoter]

you do so much damage at lvl 16 with runed, SB, and EP that you aren't in danger of dying because your ult kills at least 1 person. like i said, watch my replays if you don't believe me. 15% chance for a small counter or small crit isn't worth it at low levels, you need the stats. even if you have 3 minor tots.

50 and 50% are the same, you start with 100% base attackspeed and as you gain agi it goes up from there. SB's spin may decrease even bonuses but this doesn't mean he does half damage, he still hits for the full amount when he spins.

[Donn]

you do so much damage at lvl 16 with runed, SB, and EP that you aren't in danger of dying because your ult kills at least 1 person. like i said, watch my replays if you don't believe me. 15% chance for a small counter or small crit isn't worth it at low levels, you need the stats. even if you have 3 minor tots.

50 and 50% are the same, you start with 100% base attackspeed and as you gain agi it goes up from there. SB's ult may decrease even bonuses but this doesn't mean he does half damage, he still hits for the full amount when he spins.

no it's not. stop spreading misinformation please, this isn't dota. The old spin gave -50 attack speed, which made him completely overpowered. Then, S2 fixed it so that its 50% instead of just -50.

[ElementUser]

If you need someone to confirm attack speed mechanics, here I am.

This is the relevant part of the state that's applied to Swiftblade while he's spinning:


disarmed="true,true,true,false"
attackspeedslow="0,0,0,.50"As you can see, the parameter for slowing attack speed by a percent (%) is attackspeedslow. This same parameter appears in other skills that modifier attack speeds by a percent, like Frostwolf Skull and Legionnaire's Terrifying Charge debuff state on an enemy.

If you want a parameter that slows attack speed by a static amount, then it would say something like this (ie, Arachna's Webbed Shot):


movespeedslow="0.1,0.2,0.3,0.4"
attackspeed="-.05,-0.1,-0.15,-0.2"The parameter is attackspeed and NOT attackspeedslow. Same type of parameters/mechanics are used for movespeed and movespeedslow.

[Earthsea]

"can you ult on one hero, use PK and port to another hero? there was a video in this thread showing this on DOTA."

yes, you can use items during your ult, like EP.
.

wrong. just tested it in practice mode. you can use items but not portkey.

[Marach]

but afaik this possibility will come with one of the next patches. so SB will be able to use PK doing the ult.

[Yaqu]

20256128 semi tri-laned scrim (been half-wooding on WS due to 1v3 tri-lane) good Swift player though

[Stumpy3]

Hey LegoPirate, are you ever gonna fix your item build section, make it clear what items you suggest in what order and include alternate builds? The strat. section is good, and so is the skill build, but the item build is not laid out so clearly. (and all the differing opinions in response don't help, lol.)

[LegoPirate]

uh... it looks pretty clear to me. i dont know how much clearer i can make it?

[Vahn]

I think you should get a new Swift Slashes range pic, the number 450 is so ugly atm.

[RainbowPower]

I usually start with :MinorTotem::MinorTotem::RunesOfTheBlight::RunesOf TheBlight::RunesOfTheBlight::LoggersHatchet:, since I don't trust any pub enough to get boots level one, and I like the regen/lasthitting. Usually get bloodlust or at least a fast kill, get :Marchers:, then :EnhancedMarchers:, then gank/farm up :Shieldbreaker:. Since I mostly play publics or roll with one friend, I find that shieldbreaker gives my ult enough ganking/teamfighting power to demoralize the other team into conceding, especially when I can get a free kill on any hero alone at level 11. Luxuries are usually :ChargedHammer::SavageMace::Wingbow::StaffOfTheMas ter:, in that order. Situational pickups mostly limited to :AbyssalSkull: if I need lifesteal and nobody can/will buy one, makes the ult a nice full heal. Skills are built spin/counter/spin/stats/spin/ult/spin, then maxing crit/ult, counterattack if I'm getting autoattacked.

My item build is certainly not the regular runed/frostburn farmfest, and I have no problem with that, but I prefer scaling Swiftblade's ultimate with items that directly affect it. Since you are granted a long period of invulnerability during which you can autoattacking during Swift Slashes, I find it optimal to increase your damage output during the period, and all of these items definitely do so. Fullly farmed (if this is the case you probably could have won already), Swift Slashes easily puts out 5000 damage, during which you cannot be hurt. Obviously this build can be completely countered by :jera:, but I certainly know better than to try it. :HarkonsBlade: seems to put out about a 1000 more damage in a good ult than :Shieldbreaker:, but leaves you without an obvious first pickup and your mana pool can't support that without :StaffOfTheMaster: or being close to level 25.

Just my two cents on pub shenanigans.

[stevefox]

you forgot to mention that succubus' ult is superior magic and goes through spin.

[LegoPirate]

whoops

[Coolcollo]

I've gotten Portal Key after seeing Nome get it and on Puddings advice....it's nice.

[LegoPirate]

its entertaining, but i wouldnt pick it up in a tourney/league/formoney game. 2150 is alot of money to spend on no dps, and minimal surviabilty on a hero thats main goal is to do as much damage as he can.

[A1rSh4rk]

Against who?

And 3 tangos will also mean you will have no regen items by level 3-4 and your boots will serve one purpose and one purpose only:

Running back to the fountain faster.

1)Boots(he has 5 ms more than most heroes so you'll catch guys even if they have boots usually) and tangos to start

2)Get kill or two OR farm decent

3)By the time tangos are gone u have life tube

[Milzberry]

Great guide. I run my swiftblade pretty much exactly the same.

[kensanity]

I like the guide. Im a shitty player. 1600's PSR, and low 1500's for MMR. I usually run support and have high assists but my KDR is always horrible.

Used this guide, played prolly 10-12 games with SB, won all but 2 and positive KDR every game and even immortal! Granted who cares when you are stomping noobs but considering I dont play that well with carries, I really appreciate the work here.

Anyone ever opt for bottle after marchers/enhanced? Like since you are basically ganking every time you have ult up, anyone ever try to rune whore with a bottle or hell, even solo mid with SB? seems pretty viable.

[WORKAHOLIK]

Believe it or not, I was in a game going on over 60 min. I pretty much had a decked out Swift with Ruin, Wing, Savag, Abyss, H&S. I was the only one grtting the kills with a Rec of 33-4, but we were still loosing do to team idiocracy. I decided to fill my last slot with Rift (I know that sounds dumb on a someone who crits already), but tell me why I was able to tank fully decked Mage and Chron? They both blink in and start Auto-Attack. I was returning procs of, no juke, over 1200!!! I would heal even though stunned from permabash because of the items they had. It took two crits for Mage to retreat seeing he almost killed himself. Chronos then ults thinking that would change something. Needless to say, it didn't. Half way through his short he, he decides to blink away. Again though, too bad my team really really sucked on that one and I didn't think to save the replay. I've also never been able to repeat those items since then...with anyone.

[WORKAHOLIK]

I like the guide. Im a shitty player. 1600's PSR, and low 1500's for MMR. I usually run support and have high assists but my KDR is always horrible.

Used this guide, played prolly 10-12 games with SB, won all but 2 and positive KDR every game and even immortal! Granted who cares when you are stomping noobs but considering I dont play that well with carries, I really appreciate the work here.

Anyone ever opt for bottle after marchers/enhanced? Like since you are basically ganking every time you have ult up, anyone ever try to rune whore with a bottle or hell, even solo mid with SB? seems pretty viable.

Whenever I random Swift (I think like 4 times), I go mid with a for sure eye placement. I have a different way of playing mid wig him though. I use spin on every creep wave I can unless it's another melée that I can keep up with the spin. But that way, I farm up verywell very early. Him six before anyone cuz of 90-100% chance of getting all the creep kills. And if you have a smart team, you just push side towers and gank when they defend. And don't worry about mid free farming cuz u got rid of all his creeps. Most of the time he retreats and his tower gets 2 or 3 of creep kills. Like I said though, it all depends on your team and if they trust u going mid.

[LegoPirate]

the last 2 posts make my head hurt.

[LegoPirate]

I like the guide. Im a shitty player. 1600's PSR, and low 1500's for MMR. I usually run support and have high assists but my KDR is always horrible.

Used this guide, played prolly 10-12 games with SB, won all but 2 and positive KDR every game and even immortal! Granted who cares when you are stomping noobs but considering I dont play that well with carries, I really appreciate the work here.

Anyone ever opt for bottle after marchers/enhanced? Like since you are basically ganking every time you have ult up, anyone ever try to rune whore with a bottle or hell, even solo mid with SB? seems pretty viable.

solo mid is potentially viable against some weaker melee solos, but its 99% of the time a bad idea.

bottle is alright, but normally i just go straight for the sustainer to get my RA asap

[Heysup]

I have a couple questions, some mechanics clarifications with some strategy:

a) How exactly does his ult scale with Attack Speed and even Damage (if it does at all)? The "8" targets thing is incredibly vague to me, it sounds as if he's attacking 8 times......but he clearly attacks more than that. This is important because, well, I would think the minus Armor from certain items would be more valuable than Attack Speed for Swift Slashes would it not - considering the physical Damage is described to be fixed.

b) Why is Frostburn so comparatively effective? The slow, MS, and 26 Str are nice, obviously, but wouldn't you get better bang for your buck with Shield Breaker (both being 4400)? I mean, especially early-mid game since you can spend a whole team fight Magic/Completely immune? Damage-wise, you get 60 damage with an extra boost from -5 Armor vs 26 damage and 15% attack Speed. Personally, without a heavy physical burst team I logically wouldn't target Swiftblade first anyway - I even see that logic applied in high level games (ie SK vs EG).

thanks.

[LegoPirate]

a. his ult does auto attacks in between the 8 scripted slashes, and those deal damage based on his attack damage, and he will do more auto attacks with more attack speed.

b. gives him some utility and more surviability. sb with ra/phases/sheildbreaker has like 1200 hp. with frostburn he has 1500-ish. plus the movespeed, and slow and all the other effects that frostburn gives, its pretty badass.

[pk_thunder]

does the evasion from wingbow stack with his built in evasion?

[Foul]

does the evasion from wingbow stack with his built in evasion?

He doesn't have built in evasion?

You still get hit if you proc counter-attack.

[Heysup]

He doesn't have built in evasion?

You still get hit if you proc counter-attack.

Does it still have a chance to Counter Attack on a dodged attack?

Additionally, does Counter Attack work while stunned?

Sorry for the clarifications, but I'm again asking these for the sake of strategy.

[LegoPirate]

Does it still have a chance to Counter Attack on a dodged attack?

Additionally, does Counter Attack work while stunned?

Sorry for the clarifications, but I'm again asking these for the sake of strategy.

yes

not 100% sure but yes.

[Wrecker]

Staff of the masters NO!

[LegoPirate]

not nearly as bad as people make it out to be.

[Damage]

Typo on total cost for frostburn. Should be 4400 not 4800.

Great guide though. I showed this to a friend who wanted to learn swiftblade and he's improved a lot.

[M4d3r]

I think :EnhancedMarchers: is a must item for :swif:.
However, you should only get items like:HackNSlash: and :StaffOfTheMaster: if you prefer them over other ones, imo.
I've found that :swif: in most games, could play a more farming style of play, much like heroes like :sand:, it's not that :swif: depends on lots of early ganks.
Therefore, I prefer to start with :LoggersHatchet: some :MinorTotem:, :RunesOfTheBlight: and :PretendersCrown:. after that I usually get :RunedAxe: after :Marchers:, and then after finishing :EnhancedMarchers:, I rush for :WhisperingHelm: (for stacking ancients). My luxury build looks like this (may vary depending on the situation):
:EnhancedMarchers::SymbolOfRage::ChargedHammer:
:RunedAxe::SavageMace::Wingbow:
mainly focused on dmg/s, although :SymbolOfRage: makes him fairly tanky coupled with counter attack.

Can't say I'm experiencd in high elo games, but this build seems to work out fine in most of games.

overall good guide, LP :chiprel:

[LegoPirate]

I think :EnhancedMarchers: is a must item for :swif:.
However, you should only get items like:HackNSlash: and :StaffOfTheMaster: if you prefer them over other ones, imo.
I've found that :swif: in most games, could play a more farming style of play, much like heroes like :sand:, it's not that :swif: depends on lots of early ganks.
Therefore, I prefer to start with :LoggersHatchet: some :MinorTotem:, :RunesOfTheBlight: and :PretendersCrown:. after that I usually get :RunedAxe: after :Marchers:, and then after finishing :EnhancedMarchers:, I rush for :WhisperingHelm: (for stacking ancients). My luxury build looks like this (may vary depending on the situation):
:EnhancedMarchers::SymbolOfRage::ChargedHammer:
:RunedAxe::SavageMace::Wingbow:
mainly focused on dmg/s, although :SymbolOfRage: makes him fairly tanky coupled with counter attack.

Can't say I'm experiencd in high elo games, but this build seems to work out fine in most of games.

overall good guide, LP :chiprel:

the thing is that SB isnt that strong late game. he has no chasing mechanism nor distance closing mechanism, and no utility so he kinda just runs in and ults. he scales surprisingly poorly for an agi carry with a built in crit.

[HairyBanana]

No electrition/glacius in good allies? :3

[Heysup]

the thing is that SB isnt that strong late game. he has no chasing mechanism nor distance closing mechanism, and no utility so he kinda just runs in and ults. he scales surprisingly poorly for an agi carry with a built in crit.

I just want to point out that he scales well as an anti-carry with Counter Attack.

I've gone against a fully farmed TDL and just watched her charge me and 2 shot herself since 1-2 attacks/Crits and one counter attack crit generally kills TDL.

You just don't have the team wrecking power that TDL has if you're ult is down or if your opponents have gotten anti-SB items, but 1v1 you are definitely still scaled.

[SkyneT]

Your guide is clawed, hotbl is godly As well as charged hammer

[LegoPirate]

someone i played with in a higher-ish level game went hotbl (i feel like it was sadfish, but no promises), and then failed to carry like a boss. frostbrand/burn > hotbl

[Jezu]

Enchanted Marchers --> Ghost Marchers
Runed axe still has Bastard Sword & wrong damage, and sustainer includes a typo (was something like sustatiner)
Typo in Frostburn that it would cost 4800
Savage still has halberds & slayer wrong price
Wingbow - Steamstaff costs 800 not 900, dancing blade 3000 not 3300.
Charged Hammer has a recipe which costs 400.
also, please indent your body text.

those are what I found, i hope you update them :)

[Eldest]

Why no mana battery for swift?!