Whiteblade
11-22-2009, 02:30 PM
Things to do:
Nothing. Moving this over to the guide section.
This is my first attempt at a guide so go easy. All experiences are aimed at pubs and the like.
Hellbringer
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s210/whiteblade99/icon_128.jpg
Lore
During the war against the Beasts, many humans became experts in summoning daemons to fight alongside the Legion. Some became addicted to this unholy act, and even when the Hellbourne turned against their masters, continued to invoke the dark rituals. One such warlock is known only as Hellbringer, now a captain in the Hellbourne army and perhaps the most despised man on Newerth.
Introduction
Hellbringer is a very unique hero. Due to having a self-heal that doubles as the best magic armor debuff in the game, a debuff to attack speed and movement speed that is very versatile, damage over time that will make kill off chasers nicely and an ultimate that is powerful as awesome to look at he is one of the most commonly banned heroes and it shows. His roles amount to Support, Pusher, Ganker, and even Chaser provided he is equipped right.
Pros:
Game-changing ultimate.
Amazing self-heal.
Only hero with an AoE skill that lowers magic armor.
Can solo or dual any lane with ease.
Good animation.
Has a skill that locks down carries and runners with ease.
Versatile hero.
Good Str and Int gain per level makes for a sizable health and mana pool.
Amazing pusher.
Almost not gear dependent at all.
Cons:
Support hero that will be focused down first if the team is decent.
Ultimate has a long cooldown.
Damage over time skill loses effectiveness quickly.
Lower movespeed.
Requires micro-management, but on a lesser scale compared to Ophelia.
Uses quite a bit of mana with spells costing a lot of mana on average cooldowns.
Skills
Unholy Shackles
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s210/whiteblade99/ability1_128.jpg
Hellbringer binds a target enemy with unholy shackles, reducing its movement speed and attack speed.
Hellbringers answer to carries and runners is here. In the lane-ganks simply apply this after a few ticks of Death Boil and watch your partner and possibly mid focus them down. In team-fights it is advisable to open with Malphas if he is not on cooldown and hit the hero lowest with this spell so he cannot get away, ignore this if someone like Succubus is on the team and instead focus on the carry with this so their attacks are useless.
Death Boil
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s210/whiteblade99/ability2_128.jpg
Hellbringer inflicts a target enemy with a disease that causes their very insides to boil, dealing increasing damage over time.
This is the main damage over time spell that will make laning much easier and maybe score a couple of kills. Spam this a couple times on the carry or caster depending on who is going to be focused down. Good to use in teamfights on a fleeing target combined with Unholy Shackles can catch more then a few people off guard and getting easy kills.
Life Void
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s210/whiteblade99/ability3_128.jpg
Hellbringer casts a Life Void over a targetted area, causing enemies hit to have reduced Magic Armor. Additionally, damage those targets take will heal Hellbringer.
Read that last line again. This is the skill that gives Hellbringer so much laning power and an ?oh ****? button in teamfights. Whenever applied to a group of hero, the health of Hellbringer can go from 1/4 to full in under 5 seconds provided that the one with this casted on is focused on. A favorite use of this is to tank Kongor since heroes out damage him by quite a bit.
Life Void has the unique ability to lower magic armor which makes it invaluable in teamfights. Magmus or Behemoth love this skill because it makes their ultimates go from amazing to quad-kill. On a caster heavy team this combined with Unholy Shackles rends carries useless.
Summon Malphas
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s210/whiteblade99/ability4_128.jpg
Summon a large demon and stun all enemies in an area around where it is summoned.
Hellbringer wouldn't be complete without a massive demon that doubles as a stun. Aimed right this ultimate WILL change the course of a team battle and even the game. A 1,200 radius stun is nothing to scoff at.
Malphas however is the major component of this skill. Early on this demon can chase down heroes inflicted with Death Boil and Unholy Shackles combined with his AoE flame-breath attack. The most notable use however is in pushing towers. Malphas on an undefended tower is guaranteed to be his.
Skill Build
1.Life Void
2.Death Boil
3.Death Boil
4.Unholy Shackles
5.Death Boil
6.Malphas
7.Death Boil
8.Unholy Shackles
9.Unholy Shackles
10.Unholy Shackles
11.Malphas
12.Life Void
13.Life Void
14.Life Void
15.Stats
16.Malphas
Life Void is taken first as a main heal and to survive any harassment from the opposition. Higher points aren't taken until level 12 because it increases in cost and team-fights don't start until around 11 or 12. Death Boil is taken early as that is the only time it is useful. A single level of Unholy Shackles is taken at 4 for early-ganks and a level 6 kill with a surprise Malphas. Late levels are taken before Life Void because the longer slow is more important then a more potent magic armor reduction in chasing down heroes. Malphas is taken at every level for obvious reasons.
Item Build
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s210/whiteblade99/slot1.jpg
This is the rather standard starting for support aside from the guardian ring which is going to be used for making Ring of the Teacher in the lane. Two mana potions is for the high-costing spells and two totems help with a little state boost along with turn into Power Supply.
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s210/whiteblade99/slot2.jpg
The next one is during the early Laning Phase. Buy two scarabs and a Mana Battery to make Ring of the Teacher along with Power Supply. Scarab is bought for the extra mana regeneration and used in Greater Arcana later.
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s210/whiteblade99/slot3.jpg
With this next picture the laning phase should be coming to a close or nearly there. Plated Greaves should be couried to Hellbringer which will make pushing towers much easier. Next time Malphas is up grab a laning partner or the team and push a tower.
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s210/whiteblade99/slot4.jpg
Team-fights are starting so a bit of gold is accumulating. Start working towards Nome's Wisdom before Astrolabe. IF the team is hurting for heals the two can be swapped in order of getting but armor helps the team much more along with an earlier aura which heals upon each casting. Not to mention Nome's combined with Life Void makes Hellbringer very hard to take down along with helping boost Hellbringers auto-attack to help do some damage in-between cooldowns.
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s210/whiteblade99/slot5.jpg
Astrolabe is bought next for the heal, health regeneration and bonus armor in a tough-spot.
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s210/whiteblade99/slot6.jpg
Support shouldn't be swimming in gold especially since Hellbringer has a farm that is right above Succubus. However if the situation permits start saving for a Stormspirit.
Reasoning For Item Build
Plated Greaves makes pushing much easier and the other boots don't give anything that directly helps Hellbringer more than these. Power Supply gives burst health and mana which never hurts. Nome's Wisdom is taken since every stat helps Hellbringer and boosts survivability dramatically. Astrolabe adds more burst health, armor and a passive health regeneration for helping teammates and beefing his own survivability even further. Luxury items are Stormspirit which gives movespeed and a bit of damage which helps in chasing or even fleeing.
I know that Sheepstick is the better choice for luxury on most heroes but that is not the case on Hellbringer. Poor farm combined with not being able to hoard 2100 and 2700 makes for a lot of trouble for no good reason.
Items to avoid
Bottle
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s210/whiteblade99/Item_Bottle.jpg
The mana cost of spells would negate one use of bottle which regen and Power Supply can help out with better.
Mock of Brilliance
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s210/whiteblade99/Item_Damage10.jpg
Damage does not scale well enough for this to be useful and the cost is way too high for a support to even try farming.
Restoration Stone
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s210/whiteblade99/Item_RestorationStone.jpg
Having two Malphaii running around can be good but it isn't practical considering it gives nothing to survivability and helping the team aside from a short stun and another big demon on a timer.
Items to always have
Winged Courier
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s210/whiteblade99/Item_WingedFamiliar.jpg
Brings items very quickly and cuts down trips to fountain.
Wards
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s210/whiteblade99/Item_FlamingEye.jpg
Any support needs to carry these.
TP
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s210/whiteblade99/Item_HomecomingStone.jpg
If Hellbringer isn't in teamfights then he can't be any good now can he? Keep one of these in inventory whenever possible.
How to play
Choosing a lane:
This really depends on what Hellbringers team looks like. If he is the only ranged caster or Nymphora is the only other caster then Hellbringer is going to want mid. If Soulstealer or Pharaoh are picked then give mid to them so they can start ganking very early.
Rune:
Regardless of the lane checking for the starting rune is vital. Do not take it since Bottle is a very poor choice on Hellbringer but alert the team of what the rune is and where it is.
Starting the game:
Start out by letting carries get the last-hits and focus on denying and harassing if in a dual-lane or babysitting. Don't play stupid but leave yourself open to harassing as opposed to the carry because a simple Life Void and Hellbringer is at full health again for minimal mana.
With no carry present start farming gold but be careful not to push the lane too far ahead. The key rule is keep the lane pushed past the river so checking the rune spot is very easy but not right on the tower.
Depending on which lane Hellbringer is in makes an effect on ganking. If midding another hero will probably have warded the rune spots so take it and try to gank at level 6. Invisibility rune is by far my favorite on Hellbringer because it allows for summoning Malphas from a very strategic spot and getting a nice double kill. If in top or bottom check the rune and grab it if needed at level 6 but most of all call the mid to your lane since almost no one expects a Malphas almost immediately after level 6.
Pushing towers:
I cannot stress how important is it to push towers right after level 6 since Hellbringer is the best hero considering he can do it alone. If the enemies are not positioned in a desirable spot don't even worry about doing anything other then scaring them off with Malphas and pushing down that tower. Gaining that advantage will push them back which is nearly as good as a double-kill.
Depending on level and items Plated Greaves can make a push much easier. Do not rush this item as it is helpful but not necessary compared to Power Supply and Ring of the Teacher + Scarab. Try to stack two waves of creeps followed by summoning Malphas near the tower to either kill a hero or scare them off. Hit Plated Graves to give a bonus which makes everyone much harder to kill and makes pushing one or even two towers easy. Don't push beyond one tower however unless every enemy is in sight or most of Hellbringers team is nearby.
Ganking:
Another spot that Hellbringer excels in. Never use Malphas to intiate unless the enemy is hiding within trees in the forest or two are caught in the stun. Normally open with Death Boil in lower level ganks and depending on if anyone has stuns or not Unholy Shackles. Life Void can be used if the ganking party is magic damage based or Hellbringer is low on health.
Team Fights:
At this point in the game Hellbringer is starting to lose power but still very potent. Intiating is a role better left to the likes of Pharaoh or Magmus but if no one else can then step up and use Malphas. In a balanced team however the most important use of Malphas should be in the middle of a fight as opposed to the start or end because the disablers will have blown their stuns and slows leaving enemy heroes free to flee. Once Malphas is up or right before drop an Unholy Shackles on the carry or if they are not farmed enough yet the lowest within the stun range for easy focusing. Death Boil should be saved for chasing since the damage is low but can still kill a hero unless dispelled. Life Void should always be kept up on whoever is being focused to ensure Hellbringer isn't focused down. Most importantly Malphas should focus on whoever the team is focusing on since that extra damage never hurts.
Pushing towers later:
With a full item build Hellbringer has enough +armor to give around half reduction from towers. Abuse this by casting Plated Greaves as mentioned earlier and Astrolabe when near an enemy base to make sure everyone is topped off and even more armor. Even with Malphas level 3 heroes will take him down very quickly at this point but it matters little since Hellbringers main objective isn't to kill the enemy team but destroy the lane. Don't get overconfident and push alone however as carries will eat Hellbringer alive with the help of a couple teammates.
Nothing. Moving this over to the guide section.
This is my first attempt at a guide so go easy. All experiences are aimed at pubs and the like.
Hellbringer
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s210/whiteblade99/icon_128.jpg
Lore
During the war against the Beasts, many humans became experts in summoning daemons to fight alongside the Legion. Some became addicted to this unholy act, and even when the Hellbourne turned against their masters, continued to invoke the dark rituals. One such warlock is known only as Hellbringer, now a captain in the Hellbourne army and perhaps the most despised man on Newerth.
Introduction
Hellbringer is a very unique hero. Due to having a self-heal that doubles as the best magic armor debuff in the game, a debuff to attack speed and movement speed that is very versatile, damage over time that will make kill off chasers nicely and an ultimate that is powerful as awesome to look at he is one of the most commonly banned heroes and it shows. His roles amount to Support, Pusher, Ganker, and even Chaser provided he is equipped right.
Pros:
Game-changing ultimate.
Amazing self-heal.
Only hero with an AoE skill that lowers magic armor.
Can solo or dual any lane with ease.
Good animation.
Has a skill that locks down carries and runners with ease.
Versatile hero.
Good Str and Int gain per level makes for a sizable health and mana pool.
Amazing pusher.
Almost not gear dependent at all.
Cons:
Support hero that will be focused down first if the team is decent.
Ultimate has a long cooldown.
Damage over time skill loses effectiveness quickly.
Lower movespeed.
Requires micro-management, but on a lesser scale compared to Ophelia.
Uses quite a bit of mana with spells costing a lot of mana on average cooldowns.
Skills
Unholy Shackles
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s210/whiteblade99/ability1_128.jpg
Hellbringer binds a target enemy with unholy shackles, reducing its movement speed and attack speed.
Hellbringers answer to carries and runners is here. In the lane-ganks simply apply this after a few ticks of Death Boil and watch your partner and possibly mid focus them down. In team-fights it is advisable to open with Malphas if he is not on cooldown and hit the hero lowest with this spell so he cannot get away, ignore this if someone like Succubus is on the team and instead focus on the carry with this so their attacks are useless.
Death Boil
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s210/whiteblade99/ability2_128.jpg
Hellbringer inflicts a target enemy with a disease that causes their very insides to boil, dealing increasing damage over time.
This is the main damage over time spell that will make laning much easier and maybe score a couple of kills. Spam this a couple times on the carry or caster depending on who is going to be focused down. Good to use in teamfights on a fleeing target combined with Unholy Shackles can catch more then a few people off guard and getting easy kills.
Life Void
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s210/whiteblade99/ability3_128.jpg
Hellbringer casts a Life Void over a targetted area, causing enemies hit to have reduced Magic Armor. Additionally, damage those targets take will heal Hellbringer.
Read that last line again. This is the skill that gives Hellbringer so much laning power and an ?oh ****? button in teamfights. Whenever applied to a group of hero, the health of Hellbringer can go from 1/4 to full in under 5 seconds provided that the one with this casted on is focused on. A favorite use of this is to tank Kongor since heroes out damage him by quite a bit.
Life Void has the unique ability to lower magic armor which makes it invaluable in teamfights. Magmus or Behemoth love this skill because it makes their ultimates go from amazing to quad-kill. On a caster heavy team this combined with Unholy Shackles rends carries useless.
Summon Malphas
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s210/whiteblade99/ability4_128.jpg
Summon a large demon and stun all enemies in an area around where it is summoned.
Hellbringer wouldn't be complete without a massive demon that doubles as a stun. Aimed right this ultimate WILL change the course of a team battle and even the game. A 1,200 radius stun is nothing to scoff at.
Malphas however is the major component of this skill. Early on this demon can chase down heroes inflicted with Death Boil and Unholy Shackles combined with his AoE flame-breath attack. The most notable use however is in pushing towers. Malphas on an undefended tower is guaranteed to be his.
Skill Build
1.Life Void
2.Death Boil
3.Death Boil
4.Unholy Shackles
5.Death Boil
6.Malphas
7.Death Boil
8.Unholy Shackles
9.Unholy Shackles
10.Unholy Shackles
11.Malphas
12.Life Void
13.Life Void
14.Life Void
15.Stats
16.Malphas
Life Void is taken first as a main heal and to survive any harassment from the opposition. Higher points aren't taken until level 12 because it increases in cost and team-fights don't start until around 11 or 12. Death Boil is taken early as that is the only time it is useful. A single level of Unholy Shackles is taken at 4 for early-ganks and a level 6 kill with a surprise Malphas. Late levels are taken before Life Void because the longer slow is more important then a more potent magic armor reduction in chasing down heroes. Malphas is taken at every level for obvious reasons.
Item Build
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s210/whiteblade99/slot1.jpg
This is the rather standard starting for support aside from the guardian ring which is going to be used for making Ring of the Teacher in the lane. Two mana potions is for the high-costing spells and two totems help with a little state boost along with turn into Power Supply.
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s210/whiteblade99/slot2.jpg
The next one is during the early Laning Phase. Buy two scarabs and a Mana Battery to make Ring of the Teacher along with Power Supply. Scarab is bought for the extra mana regeneration and used in Greater Arcana later.
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s210/whiteblade99/slot3.jpg
With this next picture the laning phase should be coming to a close or nearly there. Plated Greaves should be couried to Hellbringer which will make pushing towers much easier. Next time Malphas is up grab a laning partner or the team and push a tower.
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s210/whiteblade99/slot4.jpg
Team-fights are starting so a bit of gold is accumulating. Start working towards Nome's Wisdom before Astrolabe. IF the team is hurting for heals the two can be swapped in order of getting but armor helps the team much more along with an earlier aura which heals upon each casting. Not to mention Nome's combined with Life Void makes Hellbringer very hard to take down along with helping boost Hellbringers auto-attack to help do some damage in-between cooldowns.
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s210/whiteblade99/slot5.jpg
Astrolabe is bought next for the heal, health regeneration and bonus armor in a tough-spot.
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s210/whiteblade99/slot6.jpg
Support shouldn't be swimming in gold especially since Hellbringer has a farm that is right above Succubus. However if the situation permits start saving for a Stormspirit.
Reasoning For Item Build
Plated Greaves makes pushing much easier and the other boots don't give anything that directly helps Hellbringer more than these. Power Supply gives burst health and mana which never hurts. Nome's Wisdom is taken since every stat helps Hellbringer and boosts survivability dramatically. Astrolabe adds more burst health, armor and a passive health regeneration for helping teammates and beefing his own survivability even further. Luxury items are Stormspirit which gives movespeed and a bit of damage which helps in chasing or even fleeing.
I know that Sheepstick is the better choice for luxury on most heroes but that is not the case on Hellbringer. Poor farm combined with not being able to hoard 2100 and 2700 makes for a lot of trouble for no good reason.
Items to avoid
Bottle
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s210/whiteblade99/Item_Bottle.jpg
The mana cost of spells would negate one use of bottle which regen and Power Supply can help out with better.
Mock of Brilliance
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s210/whiteblade99/Item_Damage10.jpg
Damage does not scale well enough for this to be useful and the cost is way too high for a support to even try farming.
Restoration Stone
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s210/whiteblade99/Item_RestorationStone.jpg
Having two Malphaii running around can be good but it isn't practical considering it gives nothing to survivability and helping the team aside from a short stun and another big demon on a timer.
Items to always have
Winged Courier
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s210/whiteblade99/Item_WingedFamiliar.jpg
Brings items very quickly and cuts down trips to fountain.
Wards
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s210/whiteblade99/Item_FlamingEye.jpg
Any support needs to carry these.
TP
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s210/whiteblade99/Item_HomecomingStone.jpg
If Hellbringer isn't in teamfights then he can't be any good now can he? Keep one of these in inventory whenever possible.
How to play
Choosing a lane:
This really depends on what Hellbringers team looks like. If he is the only ranged caster or Nymphora is the only other caster then Hellbringer is going to want mid. If Soulstealer or Pharaoh are picked then give mid to them so they can start ganking very early.
Rune:
Regardless of the lane checking for the starting rune is vital. Do not take it since Bottle is a very poor choice on Hellbringer but alert the team of what the rune is and where it is.
Starting the game:
Start out by letting carries get the last-hits and focus on denying and harassing if in a dual-lane or babysitting. Don't play stupid but leave yourself open to harassing as opposed to the carry because a simple Life Void and Hellbringer is at full health again for minimal mana.
With no carry present start farming gold but be careful not to push the lane too far ahead. The key rule is keep the lane pushed past the river so checking the rune spot is very easy but not right on the tower.
Depending on which lane Hellbringer is in makes an effect on ganking. If midding another hero will probably have warded the rune spots so take it and try to gank at level 6. Invisibility rune is by far my favorite on Hellbringer because it allows for summoning Malphas from a very strategic spot and getting a nice double kill. If in top or bottom check the rune and grab it if needed at level 6 but most of all call the mid to your lane since almost no one expects a Malphas almost immediately after level 6.
Pushing towers:
I cannot stress how important is it to push towers right after level 6 since Hellbringer is the best hero considering he can do it alone. If the enemies are not positioned in a desirable spot don't even worry about doing anything other then scaring them off with Malphas and pushing down that tower. Gaining that advantage will push them back which is nearly as good as a double-kill.
Depending on level and items Plated Greaves can make a push much easier. Do not rush this item as it is helpful but not necessary compared to Power Supply and Ring of the Teacher + Scarab. Try to stack two waves of creeps followed by summoning Malphas near the tower to either kill a hero or scare them off. Hit Plated Graves to give a bonus which makes everyone much harder to kill and makes pushing one or even two towers easy. Don't push beyond one tower however unless every enemy is in sight or most of Hellbringers team is nearby.
Ganking:
Another spot that Hellbringer excels in. Never use Malphas to intiate unless the enemy is hiding within trees in the forest or two are caught in the stun. Normally open with Death Boil in lower level ganks and depending on if anyone has stuns or not Unholy Shackles. Life Void can be used if the ganking party is magic damage based or Hellbringer is low on health.
Team Fights:
At this point in the game Hellbringer is starting to lose power but still very potent. Intiating is a role better left to the likes of Pharaoh or Magmus but if no one else can then step up and use Malphas. In a balanced team however the most important use of Malphas should be in the middle of a fight as opposed to the start or end because the disablers will have blown their stuns and slows leaving enemy heroes free to flee. Once Malphas is up or right before drop an Unholy Shackles on the carry or if they are not farmed enough yet the lowest within the stun range for easy focusing. Death Boil should be saved for chasing since the damage is low but can still kill a hero unless dispelled. Life Void should always be kept up on whoever is being focused to ensure Hellbringer isn't focused down. Most importantly Malphas should focus on whoever the team is focusing on since that extra damage never hurts.
Pushing towers later:
With a full item build Hellbringer has enough +armor to give around half reduction from towers. Abuse this by casting Plated Greaves as mentioned earlier and Astrolabe when near an enemy base to make sure everyone is topped off and even more armor. Even with Malphas level 3 heroes will take him down very quickly at this point but it matters little since Hellbringers main objective isn't to kill the enemy team but destroy the lane. Don't get overconfident and push alone however as carries will eat Hellbringer alive with the help of a couple teammates.