Nome
11-19-2009, 02:01 AM
This guide is written for Forest of Caldavar play on non-EM modes, though you can extend the general tips for any map.
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/heroes/44/icon_128.jpg
The Scout (http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/heroview.php?hid=44)
Never has there been another hero in HoN that has caused so much controversy. The butt of many jokes, and one of the most improperly played heroes in all his incarnations, the Scout is one of the most underrated heroes in the game. There are many ways to play Scout--this is the way I have found to be most effective.
The guide is divided into sections. Use the find function in your browser (probably CTRL+F) to jump to the section you're interested in.
Introduction
A History of Fail
Skill Overlook
Skill Build
Item Builds
Starting Items
Core Item Build
Late Game Item Build
Optional Items
Items You Should Avoid
Complete Playguide
Complete Playguide: Laning
Complete Playguide: Farming
Complete Playguide: Ganking
Complete Playguide: Teamfights
In-Depth
In-Depth: Vanish
In-Depth: Electric Eye
In-Depth: Disarm
In-Depth: Marksman Shot
Positioning
Positioning: Line of Sight
Positioning: Movement Blockers
Positioning: Psychology
Positioning: Range
Specific Countering
Specific Countering: Soulstealer
Specific Countering: Moon Queen
Specific Countering: Defiler
Resources
Other Guides
Replays
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A History of Fail
One of the first guides I wrote (http://forums.heroesofnewerth.com/showthread.php?t=5478) was for the Scout, who was at the time being played as a carry. Players were not leveling Electric Eyes, while Vanish backstabs and Marksman Shot were being used as finishers. In my guide, I advised for players to not only level Electric Eye, but play him as a ganker, as even when farmed, Scout was too weak to carry a team. When Scout was remade, the old, team-oriented mentality of players did not change. Scout players continued to take the advice and play him as a ganker--and herein lies the irony--he is no longer a ganker, but one of the most devastating carries in the game.
For this reason, I will not be covering any aspect of early-game ganking. Playing Scout as a ganker is like playing Andromeda as a carry--while there is potential as one role, following it will completely neglect the fact that you are eons better at the other. In other words--you're doing it wrong.
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Skill Overlook
http://i30.tinypic.com/126fi8g.jpg
Despite being in slot 1, this is TB's secondary nuke. It does nearly negligible damage to the target, scales horrendously (adds a few bounces and a tiny amount of damage), reveals your position, and drains mana from your primary nuke. For our build, this skill is largely useless. Some players like to get this at LVL1, because it offers similar damage to Blast of Lighting--85 vs 100 damage, at a lesser cost--65 vs 75 mana, and at a lower cooldown--2 vs 7 seconds. Don't fall for this. We will be only leveling this a single time, as its effectiveness is largely for the bonus we get from Lightning Rod.
http://i31.tinypic.com/2eckdmo.jpg
This is, without question, the most dangerous nuke in the game. It costs very little mana at all levels, does insane damage LVL2 and onward, has a big cast range of 700, and has a short cooldown of 7 seconds. You will without doubt be leveling this as your primary skill. Oh wait, it also ministuns and reveals invisible heroes within a large area for 3 seconds. WAT.
http://i29.tinypic.com/33y10du.jpg
Possibly one of the best passives in the game, Lighting Rod will be our secondary skill in terms of leveling priority. This is what makes TB incredibly dangerous from beginning to end, and is what makes his already insane nuking ability absolutely stupid.
http://i28.tinypic.com/j110jt.jpg
Yo, it hits and reveals every enemy hero on the entire map.
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Skill Build
1 Electric Eye 1 / Disarm 1
2 Vanish 1 / Vanish 1
3 Disarm 1 / Vanish 2 / Electric Eye 2 / Disarm 2
4 Disarm 2 / Disarm 1 / Vanish 2 / Vanish 2
5 Disarm 3 / Vanish 3 / Vanish 3 / Disarm 3
6 Marksman Shot 1 / Vanish 3
7 Disarm 4 / Vanish 4 / Vanish 4 / Disarm 4
8 Vanish 2 / Disarm 2 / Disarm 1 / Vanish 4
9 Vanish 3 / Disarm 3 / Disarm 2 / Marksman Shot 1
10 Vanish 4 / Disarm 4 / Disarm 3 / Electric Eye 1
11 Marksman Shot 2 / Marksman Shot 2
12 Electric Eye 2 / Disarm 4
13 Electric Eye 3
14 Electric Eye 4
15 Stats 1
16 Marksman Shot 3
17 Stats 2
18 Stats 3
19 Stats 4
Normal Build (Preferred)
Safe Build
Weenie Build
Nome Build (Men Only)
The Normal Build is your preferred build. With enough points in Disarm, you can easily outDPS any hero in an early encounter, including feared melee like Pestilence and Maliken. Disarm serves not only as a ward against melee harassment, but a good last-hitting tool. Vanish is used here solely as an escape, so use it wisely. Marksman Shot is trained simply to catch stragglers or initiate during a gank--a gank on your lane, that is, by an ally.
The Safe Build is used when you are under constant harassment in your lane and must make good use of Vanish to constantly escape. It is also the superior build for harassing within your lane, as it does not rely on Disarm to output damage.
The Weenie Build is for when you must keep extra Electric Eyes around either to scout the forest for incoming ganks or snuff in-lane casting without removing the other Eyes.
Finally, Nome Build is for the self-respecting, boss ballering ballerina that knows he can carry his team. This is the build you want to go against a comparatively weak mid-solo like Blood Hunter.
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Starting Items
http://i35.tinypic.com/30l17ia.jpghttp://i37.tinypic.com/vwz9t1.jpghttp://i38.tinypic.com/313jh2d.jpg (565)
TB is a hero that heavily depends on rune control in order to dominate his lane. If you feel confident about your ability to grab runes, then go ahead and get a Bottle first, but otherwise, I suggest you get a Winged Courier, some consumables, and then get a Bottle. More information about why we do this in the Complete Playguide. If you're playing with friends, it would be beneficial for an ally to share the cost of buying the Winged Courier, though as a strong solo, you should at least buy one component.
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Core Item Build
Item recipes and information (http://forums.heroesofnewerth.com/showthread.php?t=521).
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_EnhancedMarchers.jpg
Enhanced Marchers (1550)
This is one of the first items you'll want to get. It increases your movespeed and armor for a fairly low price, which is absolutely necessary for playing like a monkey ninja.
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Intelligence5.jpgx 2
Talisman of Exile (485 x 2)
I highly recommend buying two of these, as they will increase your mana pool by a lot, as well as give you pretty decent HP. Of course, they're ridiculously cheap. Some players like to get Fortified Bracelets--I'd caution against that, because if you're getting hit, either you, or your team, is failing. You should be invisible, and therefore, maximum mana is more important than maximum HP.
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_HomecomingStone.jpg
Homecoming Stone (135)
Every hero should have one of these at all times, no exceptions. This is from early game to end. As a below-average speed hero, this is especially important.
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Late Game Item Build
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Morph.jpg
Totem of Kuldra (5675)
Expensive, but gives you a guaranteed disable. If you have the money, you should get this. If you are getting a lot of kills, chances are you should be able to farm this relatively fast compared to other heroes--holding this will not only give you HP and mana, but will keep you relevant to the end of the game.
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_HealthMana3.jpg
Sacrificial Stone (5050)
This is an excellent item if you're absolutely dominating, and is of course one of the most popular items to get on Thunderbringer due to the amount of kills he tends to get. However, you should be able to conceptualize as to why this isn't a strong competitive choice compared to Totem of Kuldra, especially if you're not in hero-farm mode already. As usual, you should get the Glow Stone first if you plan to get this item--it adds a lot of HP and mana.
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_FrostfieldPlate.jpg
Frostfield Plate (4700)
If you are TRULY rich, you can get this item, as it will make you unkillable. However, you shouldn't be in heat of battle in the first place...
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Optional Items
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_PortalKey.jpg
Portal Key (2150)
Believe it or not, this is a good item even on heroes without AoE disables. Rich players who enjoy ganking may wish to get this after they have a fairly decent mana pool. It makes him very, very difficult to catch.
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Astrolabe.jpg
Astrolabe (2364)
While your high mana pool might make you a great candidate for Astrolabe, your positioning during team battles doesn't place you in a good spot for healing. It's usually not worth running in to heal, either, as your poor survivability tends to mean you can't get out. However, it's still Astrolabe--it's a good item.
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Items You Should Avoid
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Intelligence7.jpg
Staff of the Master (6000)
For it's price, it's a horrendous item that barely does anything for your ult.
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_RestorationStone.jpg
Restoration Stone (5300)
Same as above--a lot of TB players think they can own with Staff of the Master and Restoration Stone, but the amount of gold required to pull that off is ridiculous and absolutely not worth it. The fact is, pulling off a double Lightning Storm costs ridiculous amounts of mana--mana you're not going to have in any extended teamfight.
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Complete Playguide: Laning
Do not get a skill at LVL1--wait until you've reached the lane. Start off by blocking your creeps as they spawn--this is more important than grabbing that 0:00 rune, unless that 0:00 rune is regen. Rather, tell an ally from each lane to camp the runes. An idea block has the creeps fighting around your ramp. This way, you can stay on high ground, while your opponent must get on high ground to obtain sight of you. Gauge your opponent's aggressiveness in denies--if it's a strong denier, spend your saved skill point on Chain Lightning to last-hit. Otherwise, get Blast of Lightning. If you are facing a weak hero, you may attempt to last-hit or deny. However, if you're facing a stronger laner, like Arachna (who can orbwalk you to death if you're not careful) or Defiler (spammable nuke that good players use to prevent denies and harass), hang back out of sight and just chill until you reach LVL3. Once you hit LVL3, you can start playing extremely aggressively. Maneuver yourself to an advantageous positions and hit with Blast of Lighting, then immediately pull back--don't attack any units, don't attack the hero. Keep back and out of sight until the 7 second cooldown is up, then repeat. You want to minimize damage to yourself--whether or not you, or your opponent, is getting creep kills doesn't matter much, as you'll be doing a ton of damage very early on like this. Chances are, your opponent will be spamming his regeneration consumables. Use your mana pots as you hang back, and use your Flying Courier to bring you more if absolutely needed. Otherwise, buy a Bottle. Once you have Bottle, use your Flying Courier to scout runes before grabbing them, or, if someone else is getting the runes, use your Flying Courier to ferry your Bottle from the fountain back to you. Once you hit LVL5, you are more or less an unstoppable nuking beast. Combined with a ferried Bottle, very few heroes can stop you from the constant damage. Once you have a Bottle and Marchers, you are ready to move on to ganking. However, it's best to have Enhanced Marchers first.
My more general guide on laning can be found here (http://tinyurl.com/mm6o78)--most of the tips given in that guide apply here as well.
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Complete Playguide: Ganking
Your gank attempts should generally go with the direction of your rune grabs. However, as usual, the Hellbourne Bottom and Legion Top lanes are the easiest to gank due to tower positions and neutral creep positions. You should wait until after the most current creep waves clash. This way, when you pop out, you're not greeted by an enemy creep that instantly gives away your position. That is... if you pop out at all. If you are uncertain of a kill, you should pop out from behind--this forces the enemy to either run towards you, or run towards your allies. On the other hand, if you're certain of a kill, abuse the range on Blast of Lightning and use it from behind the trees. Again, this minimizes the ability for your opponent to pinpoint your position and target you. Of course, if there is no chance for you and your allies to kill an escaping enemy, finish him off with Lightning Storm--otherwise, don't use it. After a gank, go for the next rune. You should occasionally return to the mid lane, as you don't want the enemy mid solo to free-farm for too long.
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Complete Playguide: Teamfights
Once the teamfight stage has begun, you truly begin to shine. Read up on the in-depth analyses on Blast of Lightning and Lightning Storm for more information about how to use them in teamfights. In general, you will want to stay hidden--this can mean behind allies, behind trees, or on ledges. You want to avoid physical attacks, but rather, use Blast of Lightning, and if you don't mind giving your position away, Chain Lightning as welll. Basically, stay alive, and just nuke. Against certain teams, you may want to use Lightning Storm to initiate--for example, if they have a blinking Behemoth. This must be extremely well-coordinated, however. If your team doesn't go in after you use Lightning Storm, it's completely wasted. If you're about to die in a team battle, make sure you use it before you die, so you at least do some damage. Usually however, you'll want to save it for the middle or end of the fight.
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In-Depth: Runes
_Archangel_ has an excellent general rune guide here (http://forums.heroesofnewerth.com/showthread.php?t=5285). Rune spawn every 2 minutes, and to keep up your nuking, you will want to make an attempt to grab as many as you can.
Regeneration: The granddaddy of laning runes for TB, this lets you spam Blast of Lightning to no end. Make sure you exhaust all your mana doing this before popping the Regeneration--then hang back and spam it some more until it wears off.
Haste: This is the most important rune to obtain for ganking, as it allows you to chase after you nuke--because the cooldown on Blast of Lightning is only 7 seconds, it's perfect for you.
Invisibility: The second most important rune for ganking, it allows you superior positioning, which is quite important. However, most of the time, if you're ganking, you're probably going to be well-positioned anyway. If you're of sufficient level, consider going back mid and killing or at least forcing a fountain trip.
Double Damage: Another lame rune. It'll help you last hit, and that's about it.
Illusion: Fail!
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In-Depth: Blast of Lightning
700 Range: This is a long-range nuke, and you should use it as such. In essence, it makes up for your 350 attack range, and you should use it as if it were your primary attack. The high range means you can deliver it from behind a lot of cover, so as long as you have sight of your opponent.
Ministun: If the enemy lineup includes a powerful channeler like Electrician or Tempest, you'll want to save it for when they channel--hit 'em with it and the ministun will stop the channel. The ministun is also useful for disorientling moving enemies slightly. If an enemy charges you, and very briefly enters tower range, cast it on him as he enters so he spends that very extra little time getting smacked by the tower.
True Sight: If there's an invisible hero that's in the area, use it on a random creep to reveal the area. If the invis player is bad, chances are he won't even notice.
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In-Depth: Lightning Storm
Infinite Range: This will hit all heroes on the map, invisible or not. Abuse this fact, because this means that all your enemies effectively have lower max HP at all times your ultimate is up. This also means you can participate in ganks without being there. See Synergy section for more info on heroes this works well with.
True Sight: Again, this will hit all heroes, including invisible ones. If you know a Scout is invisible beside you, waiting to pop out, use Lightning Storm, then Blast of Lighting and Chain Lightning. Even better, if you have a disabler on your team like Electrician, Devourer, or Pollywog priest, have them ready to disable--this will catch a lot of stealth players off guard, as they love to position themselves in vulnerables places as they depend on quick fading. You should also use it to check enemy position. Several heroes missing? Use it. Think they're killing Kongor? Use it. Afraid of going up that hill? Use it. Enemy just popped a mana and healing pot? Use it.
Initiating vs Finishing: In ganks, you always want to save it for the finish--this way, they don't run before you actually need it. However, never use it if the hero's going to die anyway--you don't need the gold. In teamfights, only use it to initiate if you need to see where they are, if you need to stop a Portal Key user from blinking, or if you KNOW you're going to get focused and die quickly.
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In-Depth: Synergy
You are a long range and global ganker, so you synergize well with just about everyone. However, players with magic damage amps are particularly good.
Voodoo Jester's Cursed Ground + Blast of Lightning is a surefire kill. And if you're not there, using Lighting Storm is a pretty good chance too. Always use them at the beginning--this way, it deals more damage in the later ticks.
Ophelia's Nature's Wrath is also a good damage amp that benefits from your nukes.
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Positioning: Line of Sight
Line of sight is an extremely important aspect to consider when playing TB. In particular, you want to always have sight of your opponent, but never let him have sight of you. This can mean forgoing creep kills and denies in favor of hiding behind some trees, or sitting on a ledge to the side while an opponent Defiler blindly Wave of Death's some creeps hoping to hit you on higher ground. This extends to team battles--if there's a clump of trees nearby, sit back and take shelter. Avoid damage, and just nuke. Viole has an excellent guide on juking here (http://forums.heroesofnewerth.com/showthread.php?t=6514)--many of those areas can be of direct help when following the way of the bigfoot ninja.
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Positioning: Movement Blockers
In addition to using line of sight blocking, you should always position yourself such that there is impeded movement between your opponent and yourself. If he comes after you, he should have to run around some trees, a cliff, or some units. Units are easily one of the best choices, if you have Enhanced Marchers and he doesn't--you can run through them, but he can't. Abuse this fact against melee heroes like Scout that try to double Vanish backstab you--activated your Enhanced Marchers after the double backstab, then run through some creeps while repeatedly nuking--he won't be able to keep up!
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Positioning: Psychology
One of the most important tactics when playing TB is to abuse the way opponents think. You want to avoid your target from drawing any association between him talking damage and you dealing it. For this reason, you should forgo attacking, using Codex, and Chain Lightning--all three will draw a direct line straight from you to your target--when he sees this, his brain will perk up and think "oh, that's what's attacking me". It's pretty much an invitation to attack your position. On the other hand, if you stick with casting Blast of Lightning from afar, you minimize your profile, especially in hectic battles where the opponents may be actively searching for you. If you become a master of positioning and psychology, your opponents will often ask in All Chat: "what just happened?"
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Positioning: Range
You should use a very simple rule when determining your positioning. Simply, 700 > enemies > 350. That is, your enemies should be between 700 and 350 range. 700 is the range for Blast of Lightning, and 350 is your attack range. Unless you're getting pummeled in the face by a melee, there is absolutely NO reason you should EVER use your normal attack, for reasons stated above. You want to be able to nuke someone, but you never want them to be so close to you that you're in danger from physical attacks, especially if their team has a powerhouse melee like Madman or Legionnaire.
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Specific Countering: Soulstealer
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/heroes/24/icon_128.jpg
A well-played SS is a huge threat to TB. Good SS players understand that the primary strength of SS is his ability to pull off multiple high damage nukes without need for line-of-sight; secondary is his huge physical damage output early on. His weakness of course is his low HP. A good SS will have the following playstyle vs TB: they will hang back at low levels, accepting denies but staying out of nuke range. Once they hit LVL3, they will use Demon Hand to obtain creep kills. Because your nuke requires sight, while his doesn't, you have the disadvantage here. The best way to fight him is to go CL/BL/BL/LR/BL for your first five skills trying to make sure he doesn't outdeny you. Use BL when possible, and try to strafe and keep yourself in constant motion to avoid his nukes. When approaching him to nuke, move quickly and accurately--you will likely walk straight into a double Demon Hand if you are not precise. If needed, buy Wards of Sight so you have vision of him on high ground.
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Specific Countering: Moon Queen
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/heroes/20/icon_128.jpg
Like the SS, MQ has very low base HP. Unlike the SS, her nukes don't pose much trouble for you early on. However, she has a base movespeed of 320, making it very easy for her to dart in and out, and making her rune control especially powerful, and nearly unstoppable when she hits LVL6. Because you must approach her to nuke, and she is faster, she will move back as you walk forward, and just as you turn, Moon Beam you to cause a mini-stun and run forward and get a hit or two in. Don't fall into this trap--play aggressively early, but avoid getting caught by incoming waves. To avoid her getting runes, use your Flying Courier to scout them out and grab them before she does, or ask your teammates to camp the runes. ALWAYS alert teammates if she's missing, especially at LVL6.
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Resources: Replays
http://replays.heroesofnewerth.com/match_replay.php?mid=11903617
http://replays.heroesofnewerth.com/match_replay.php?mid=11718091
http://replays.heroesofnewerth.com/match_replay.php?mid=11550716
http://replays.heroesofnewerth.com/match_replay.php?mid=11502111
http://replays.heroesofnewerth.com/match_replay.php?mid=11392637
http://replays.heroesofnewerth.com/match_replay.php?mid=11024292
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That's it. Have fun zapping people!
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/heroes/44/icon_128.jpg
The Scout (http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/heroview.php?hid=44)
Never has there been another hero in HoN that has caused so much controversy. The butt of many jokes, and one of the most improperly played heroes in all his incarnations, the Scout is one of the most underrated heroes in the game. There are many ways to play Scout--this is the way I have found to be most effective.
The guide is divided into sections. Use the find function in your browser (probably CTRL+F) to jump to the section you're interested in.
Introduction
A History of Fail
Skill Overlook
Skill Build
Item Builds
Starting Items
Core Item Build
Late Game Item Build
Optional Items
Items You Should Avoid
Complete Playguide
Complete Playguide: Laning
Complete Playguide: Farming
Complete Playguide: Ganking
Complete Playguide: Teamfights
In-Depth
In-Depth: Vanish
In-Depth: Electric Eye
In-Depth: Disarm
In-Depth: Marksman Shot
Positioning
Positioning: Line of Sight
Positioning: Movement Blockers
Positioning: Psychology
Positioning: Range
Specific Countering
Specific Countering: Soulstealer
Specific Countering: Moon Queen
Specific Countering: Defiler
Resources
Other Guides
Replays
__________________________________________________
A History of Fail
One of the first guides I wrote (http://forums.heroesofnewerth.com/showthread.php?t=5478) was for the Scout, who was at the time being played as a carry. Players were not leveling Electric Eyes, while Vanish backstabs and Marksman Shot were being used as finishers. In my guide, I advised for players to not only level Electric Eye, but play him as a ganker, as even when farmed, Scout was too weak to carry a team. When Scout was remade, the old, team-oriented mentality of players did not change. Scout players continued to take the advice and play him as a ganker--and herein lies the irony--he is no longer a ganker, but one of the most devastating carries in the game.
For this reason, I will not be covering any aspect of early-game ganking. Playing Scout as a ganker is like playing Andromeda as a carry--while there is potential as one role, following it will completely neglect the fact that you are eons better at the other. In other words--you're doing it wrong.
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Skill Overlook
http://i30.tinypic.com/126fi8g.jpg
Despite being in slot 1, this is TB's secondary nuke. It does nearly negligible damage to the target, scales horrendously (adds a few bounces and a tiny amount of damage), reveals your position, and drains mana from your primary nuke. For our build, this skill is largely useless. Some players like to get this at LVL1, because it offers similar damage to Blast of Lighting--85 vs 100 damage, at a lesser cost--65 vs 75 mana, and at a lower cooldown--2 vs 7 seconds. Don't fall for this. We will be only leveling this a single time, as its effectiveness is largely for the bonus we get from Lightning Rod.
http://i31.tinypic.com/2eckdmo.jpg
This is, without question, the most dangerous nuke in the game. It costs very little mana at all levels, does insane damage LVL2 and onward, has a big cast range of 700, and has a short cooldown of 7 seconds. You will without doubt be leveling this as your primary skill. Oh wait, it also ministuns and reveals invisible heroes within a large area for 3 seconds. WAT.
http://i29.tinypic.com/33y10du.jpg
Possibly one of the best passives in the game, Lighting Rod will be our secondary skill in terms of leveling priority. This is what makes TB incredibly dangerous from beginning to end, and is what makes his already insane nuking ability absolutely stupid.
http://i28.tinypic.com/j110jt.jpg
Yo, it hits and reveals every enemy hero on the entire map.
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Skill Build
1 Electric Eye 1 / Disarm 1
2 Vanish 1 / Vanish 1
3 Disarm 1 / Vanish 2 / Electric Eye 2 / Disarm 2
4 Disarm 2 / Disarm 1 / Vanish 2 / Vanish 2
5 Disarm 3 / Vanish 3 / Vanish 3 / Disarm 3
6 Marksman Shot 1 / Vanish 3
7 Disarm 4 / Vanish 4 / Vanish 4 / Disarm 4
8 Vanish 2 / Disarm 2 / Disarm 1 / Vanish 4
9 Vanish 3 / Disarm 3 / Disarm 2 / Marksman Shot 1
10 Vanish 4 / Disarm 4 / Disarm 3 / Electric Eye 1
11 Marksman Shot 2 / Marksman Shot 2
12 Electric Eye 2 / Disarm 4
13 Electric Eye 3
14 Electric Eye 4
15 Stats 1
16 Marksman Shot 3
17 Stats 2
18 Stats 3
19 Stats 4
Normal Build (Preferred)
Safe Build
Weenie Build
Nome Build (Men Only)
The Normal Build is your preferred build. With enough points in Disarm, you can easily outDPS any hero in an early encounter, including feared melee like Pestilence and Maliken. Disarm serves not only as a ward against melee harassment, but a good last-hitting tool. Vanish is used here solely as an escape, so use it wisely. Marksman Shot is trained simply to catch stragglers or initiate during a gank--a gank on your lane, that is, by an ally.
The Safe Build is used when you are under constant harassment in your lane and must make good use of Vanish to constantly escape. It is also the superior build for harassing within your lane, as it does not rely on Disarm to output damage.
The Weenie Build is for when you must keep extra Electric Eyes around either to scout the forest for incoming ganks or snuff in-lane casting without removing the other Eyes.
Finally, Nome Build is for the self-respecting, boss ballering ballerina that knows he can carry his team. This is the build you want to go against a comparatively weak mid-solo like Blood Hunter.
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Starting Items
http://i35.tinypic.com/30l17ia.jpghttp://i37.tinypic.com/vwz9t1.jpghttp://i38.tinypic.com/313jh2d.jpg (565)
TB is a hero that heavily depends on rune control in order to dominate his lane. If you feel confident about your ability to grab runes, then go ahead and get a Bottle first, but otherwise, I suggest you get a Winged Courier, some consumables, and then get a Bottle. More information about why we do this in the Complete Playguide. If you're playing with friends, it would be beneficial for an ally to share the cost of buying the Winged Courier, though as a strong solo, you should at least buy one component.
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Core Item Build
Item recipes and information (http://forums.heroesofnewerth.com/showthread.php?t=521).
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_EnhancedMarchers.jpg
Enhanced Marchers (1550)
This is one of the first items you'll want to get. It increases your movespeed and armor for a fairly low price, which is absolutely necessary for playing like a monkey ninja.
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Intelligence5.jpgx 2
Talisman of Exile (485 x 2)
I highly recommend buying two of these, as they will increase your mana pool by a lot, as well as give you pretty decent HP. Of course, they're ridiculously cheap. Some players like to get Fortified Bracelets--I'd caution against that, because if you're getting hit, either you, or your team, is failing. You should be invisible, and therefore, maximum mana is more important than maximum HP.
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_HomecomingStone.jpg
Homecoming Stone (135)
Every hero should have one of these at all times, no exceptions. This is from early game to end. As a below-average speed hero, this is especially important.
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Late Game Item Build
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Morph.jpg
Totem of Kuldra (5675)
Expensive, but gives you a guaranteed disable. If you have the money, you should get this. If you are getting a lot of kills, chances are you should be able to farm this relatively fast compared to other heroes--holding this will not only give you HP and mana, but will keep you relevant to the end of the game.
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_HealthMana3.jpg
Sacrificial Stone (5050)
This is an excellent item if you're absolutely dominating, and is of course one of the most popular items to get on Thunderbringer due to the amount of kills he tends to get. However, you should be able to conceptualize as to why this isn't a strong competitive choice compared to Totem of Kuldra, especially if you're not in hero-farm mode already. As usual, you should get the Glow Stone first if you plan to get this item--it adds a lot of HP and mana.
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_FrostfieldPlate.jpg
Frostfield Plate (4700)
If you are TRULY rich, you can get this item, as it will make you unkillable. However, you shouldn't be in heat of battle in the first place...
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Optional Items
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_PortalKey.jpg
Portal Key (2150)
Believe it or not, this is a good item even on heroes without AoE disables. Rich players who enjoy ganking may wish to get this after they have a fairly decent mana pool. It makes him very, very difficult to catch.
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Astrolabe.jpg
Astrolabe (2364)
While your high mana pool might make you a great candidate for Astrolabe, your positioning during team battles doesn't place you in a good spot for healing. It's usually not worth running in to heal, either, as your poor survivability tends to mean you can't get out. However, it's still Astrolabe--it's a good item.
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Items You Should Avoid
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_Intelligence7.jpg
Staff of the Master (6000)
For it's price, it's a horrendous item that barely does anything for your ult.
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/items/Item_RestorationStone.jpg
Restoration Stone (5300)
Same as above--a lot of TB players think they can own with Staff of the Master and Restoration Stone, but the amount of gold required to pull that off is ridiculous and absolutely not worth it. The fact is, pulling off a double Lightning Storm costs ridiculous amounts of mana--mana you're not going to have in any extended teamfight.
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Complete Playguide: Laning
Do not get a skill at LVL1--wait until you've reached the lane. Start off by blocking your creeps as they spawn--this is more important than grabbing that 0:00 rune, unless that 0:00 rune is regen. Rather, tell an ally from each lane to camp the runes. An idea block has the creeps fighting around your ramp. This way, you can stay on high ground, while your opponent must get on high ground to obtain sight of you. Gauge your opponent's aggressiveness in denies--if it's a strong denier, spend your saved skill point on Chain Lightning to last-hit. Otherwise, get Blast of Lightning. If you are facing a weak hero, you may attempt to last-hit or deny. However, if you're facing a stronger laner, like Arachna (who can orbwalk you to death if you're not careful) or Defiler (spammable nuke that good players use to prevent denies and harass), hang back out of sight and just chill until you reach LVL3. Once you hit LVL3, you can start playing extremely aggressively. Maneuver yourself to an advantageous positions and hit with Blast of Lighting, then immediately pull back--don't attack any units, don't attack the hero. Keep back and out of sight until the 7 second cooldown is up, then repeat. You want to minimize damage to yourself--whether or not you, or your opponent, is getting creep kills doesn't matter much, as you'll be doing a ton of damage very early on like this. Chances are, your opponent will be spamming his regeneration consumables. Use your mana pots as you hang back, and use your Flying Courier to bring you more if absolutely needed. Otherwise, buy a Bottle. Once you have Bottle, use your Flying Courier to scout runes before grabbing them, or, if someone else is getting the runes, use your Flying Courier to ferry your Bottle from the fountain back to you. Once you hit LVL5, you are more or less an unstoppable nuking beast. Combined with a ferried Bottle, very few heroes can stop you from the constant damage. Once you have a Bottle and Marchers, you are ready to move on to ganking. However, it's best to have Enhanced Marchers first.
My more general guide on laning can be found here (http://tinyurl.com/mm6o78)--most of the tips given in that guide apply here as well.
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Complete Playguide: Ganking
Your gank attempts should generally go with the direction of your rune grabs. However, as usual, the Hellbourne Bottom and Legion Top lanes are the easiest to gank due to tower positions and neutral creep positions. You should wait until after the most current creep waves clash. This way, when you pop out, you're not greeted by an enemy creep that instantly gives away your position. That is... if you pop out at all. If you are uncertain of a kill, you should pop out from behind--this forces the enemy to either run towards you, or run towards your allies. On the other hand, if you're certain of a kill, abuse the range on Blast of Lightning and use it from behind the trees. Again, this minimizes the ability for your opponent to pinpoint your position and target you. Of course, if there is no chance for you and your allies to kill an escaping enemy, finish him off with Lightning Storm--otherwise, don't use it. After a gank, go for the next rune. You should occasionally return to the mid lane, as you don't want the enemy mid solo to free-farm for too long.
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Complete Playguide: Teamfights
Once the teamfight stage has begun, you truly begin to shine. Read up on the in-depth analyses on Blast of Lightning and Lightning Storm for more information about how to use them in teamfights. In general, you will want to stay hidden--this can mean behind allies, behind trees, or on ledges. You want to avoid physical attacks, but rather, use Blast of Lightning, and if you don't mind giving your position away, Chain Lightning as welll. Basically, stay alive, and just nuke. Against certain teams, you may want to use Lightning Storm to initiate--for example, if they have a blinking Behemoth. This must be extremely well-coordinated, however. If your team doesn't go in after you use Lightning Storm, it's completely wasted. If you're about to die in a team battle, make sure you use it before you die, so you at least do some damage. Usually however, you'll want to save it for the middle or end of the fight.
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In-Depth: Runes
_Archangel_ has an excellent general rune guide here (http://forums.heroesofnewerth.com/showthread.php?t=5285). Rune spawn every 2 minutes, and to keep up your nuking, you will want to make an attempt to grab as many as you can.
Regeneration: The granddaddy of laning runes for TB, this lets you spam Blast of Lightning to no end. Make sure you exhaust all your mana doing this before popping the Regeneration--then hang back and spam it some more until it wears off.
Haste: This is the most important rune to obtain for ganking, as it allows you to chase after you nuke--because the cooldown on Blast of Lightning is only 7 seconds, it's perfect for you.
Invisibility: The second most important rune for ganking, it allows you superior positioning, which is quite important. However, most of the time, if you're ganking, you're probably going to be well-positioned anyway. If you're of sufficient level, consider going back mid and killing or at least forcing a fountain trip.
Double Damage: Another lame rune. It'll help you last hit, and that's about it.
Illusion: Fail!
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In-Depth: Blast of Lightning
700 Range: This is a long-range nuke, and you should use it as such. In essence, it makes up for your 350 attack range, and you should use it as if it were your primary attack. The high range means you can deliver it from behind a lot of cover, so as long as you have sight of your opponent.
Ministun: If the enemy lineup includes a powerful channeler like Electrician or Tempest, you'll want to save it for when they channel--hit 'em with it and the ministun will stop the channel. The ministun is also useful for disorientling moving enemies slightly. If an enemy charges you, and very briefly enters tower range, cast it on him as he enters so he spends that very extra little time getting smacked by the tower.
True Sight: If there's an invisible hero that's in the area, use it on a random creep to reveal the area. If the invis player is bad, chances are he won't even notice.
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In-Depth: Lightning Storm
Infinite Range: This will hit all heroes on the map, invisible or not. Abuse this fact, because this means that all your enemies effectively have lower max HP at all times your ultimate is up. This also means you can participate in ganks without being there. See Synergy section for more info on heroes this works well with.
True Sight: Again, this will hit all heroes, including invisible ones. If you know a Scout is invisible beside you, waiting to pop out, use Lightning Storm, then Blast of Lighting and Chain Lightning. Even better, if you have a disabler on your team like Electrician, Devourer, or Pollywog priest, have them ready to disable--this will catch a lot of stealth players off guard, as they love to position themselves in vulnerables places as they depend on quick fading. You should also use it to check enemy position. Several heroes missing? Use it. Think they're killing Kongor? Use it. Afraid of going up that hill? Use it. Enemy just popped a mana and healing pot? Use it.
Initiating vs Finishing: In ganks, you always want to save it for the finish--this way, they don't run before you actually need it. However, never use it if the hero's going to die anyway--you don't need the gold. In teamfights, only use it to initiate if you need to see where they are, if you need to stop a Portal Key user from blinking, or if you KNOW you're going to get focused and die quickly.
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In-Depth: Synergy
You are a long range and global ganker, so you synergize well with just about everyone. However, players with magic damage amps are particularly good.
Voodoo Jester's Cursed Ground + Blast of Lightning is a surefire kill. And if you're not there, using Lighting Storm is a pretty good chance too. Always use them at the beginning--this way, it deals more damage in the later ticks.
Ophelia's Nature's Wrath is also a good damage amp that benefits from your nukes.
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Positioning: Line of Sight
Line of sight is an extremely important aspect to consider when playing TB. In particular, you want to always have sight of your opponent, but never let him have sight of you. This can mean forgoing creep kills and denies in favor of hiding behind some trees, or sitting on a ledge to the side while an opponent Defiler blindly Wave of Death's some creeps hoping to hit you on higher ground. This extends to team battles--if there's a clump of trees nearby, sit back and take shelter. Avoid damage, and just nuke. Viole has an excellent guide on juking here (http://forums.heroesofnewerth.com/showthread.php?t=6514)--many of those areas can be of direct help when following the way of the bigfoot ninja.
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Positioning: Movement Blockers
In addition to using line of sight blocking, you should always position yourself such that there is impeded movement between your opponent and yourself. If he comes after you, he should have to run around some trees, a cliff, or some units. Units are easily one of the best choices, if you have Enhanced Marchers and he doesn't--you can run through them, but he can't. Abuse this fact against melee heroes like Scout that try to double Vanish backstab you--activated your Enhanced Marchers after the double backstab, then run through some creeps while repeatedly nuking--he won't be able to keep up!
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Positioning: Psychology
One of the most important tactics when playing TB is to abuse the way opponents think. You want to avoid your target from drawing any association between him talking damage and you dealing it. For this reason, you should forgo attacking, using Codex, and Chain Lightning--all three will draw a direct line straight from you to your target--when he sees this, his brain will perk up and think "oh, that's what's attacking me". It's pretty much an invitation to attack your position. On the other hand, if you stick with casting Blast of Lightning from afar, you minimize your profile, especially in hectic battles where the opponents may be actively searching for you. If you become a master of positioning and psychology, your opponents will often ask in All Chat: "what just happened?"
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Positioning: Range
You should use a very simple rule when determining your positioning. Simply, 700 > enemies > 350. That is, your enemies should be between 700 and 350 range. 700 is the range for Blast of Lightning, and 350 is your attack range. Unless you're getting pummeled in the face by a melee, there is absolutely NO reason you should EVER use your normal attack, for reasons stated above. You want to be able to nuke someone, but you never want them to be so close to you that you're in danger from physical attacks, especially if their team has a powerhouse melee like Madman or Legionnaire.
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Specific Countering: Soulstealer
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/heroes/24/icon_128.jpg
A well-played SS is a huge threat to TB. Good SS players understand that the primary strength of SS is his ability to pull off multiple high damage nukes without need for line-of-sight; secondary is his huge physical damage output early on. His weakness of course is his low HP. A good SS will have the following playstyle vs TB: they will hang back at low levels, accepting denies but staying out of nuke range. Once they hit LVL3, they will use Demon Hand to obtain creep kills. Because your nuke requires sight, while his doesn't, you have the disadvantage here. The best way to fight him is to go CL/BL/BL/LR/BL for your first five skills trying to make sure he doesn't outdeny you. Use BL when possible, and try to strafe and keep yourself in constant motion to avoid his nukes. When approaching him to nuke, move quickly and accurately--you will likely walk straight into a double Demon Hand if you are not precise. If needed, buy Wards of Sight so you have vision of him on high ground.
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Specific Countering: Moon Queen
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/images/heroes/20/icon_128.jpg
Like the SS, MQ has very low base HP. Unlike the SS, her nukes don't pose much trouble for you early on. However, she has a base movespeed of 320, making it very easy for her to dart in and out, and making her rune control especially powerful, and nearly unstoppable when she hits LVL6. Because you must approach her to nuke, and she is faster, she will move back as you walk forward, and just as you turn, Moon Beam you to cause a mini-stun and run forward and get a hit or two in. Don't fall into this trap--play aggressively early, but avoid getting caught by incoming waves. To avoid her getting runes, use your Flying Courier to scout them out and grab them before she does, or ask your teammates to camp the runes. ALWAYS alert teammates if she's missing, especially at LVL6.
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Resources: Replays
http://replays.heroesofnewerth.com/match_replay.php?mid=11903617
http://replays.heroesofnewerth.com/match_replay.php?mid=11718091
http://replays.heroesofnewerth.com/match_replay.php?mid=11550716
http://replays.heroesofnewerth.com/match_replay.php?mid=11502111
http://replays.heroesofnewerth.com/match_replay.php?mid=11392637
http://replays.heroesofnewerth.com/match_replay.php?mid=11024292
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That's it. Have fun zapping people!