magmus strategy

[spdn4cr]

Hi all,

I've been watching some Chu magmus replays lately and while he always goes lava surge early, I noticed that some games he levels up steam bath a few levels first over volcanic touch and in other games he levels volcanic touch first and steambath way at the end. I've never played Magmus but would like to start and was wondering if there was a common strategy as to which one should be leveled first. I've looked at some of the guides, but they don't seem to address this particular leveling issue. I'm assuming it depends on the enemy hero? Thanks.

Spd

[wala]

Volcanic touch pushes lanes, but does decent harass to melee enemy.

Steam bath can save you and you can disjoint with it.

Consider the laning situation and level accordingly.

I advice only 1 level of steam bath to beef up your health and mana pool (stats).

[JimmehCake]

Volcanic touch pushes lanes, but does decent harass to melee enemy.

Steam bath can save you and you can disjoint with it.

Consider the laning situation and level accordingly.

I advice only 1 level of steam bath to beef up your health and mana pool (stats).

I heard steambath is useless if not lv4.. (not 100% positive about it) because the duration of stealth is too short etc.

[PhishPaste]

Each ability has significant implications.

Lava Surge is CLEARLY an offensive ability.
Steam Bath is more defensive.
Volcanic Touch is a little of both.

Surge is great for getting both enemy heroes caught, but at level 1, it's useless if you don't plan on getting first blood(which is rare anyway).

Steam Bath is generally got as a disjoint for projectile based abilities. Andromeda, Witch Doctor, and a majority of projectile single target stuns.

Volcanic Touch is great for farming, pushing a lane, and defending against melees that come close.

[Sauron`]

A General Guideline is if your facing 2 melee, then Get Volcanic Touch, otherwise get 1 lvl of Steambath and stats.

[Jayrod]

steam bath does 80dps by the time you hit level 9, this is higher than your auto attack and its AOE. Its a disjoint and a juke ability. If they have no means to pop you out of it right away you'll get more out of it. It generally puts you on a lower priority than other heros in an all out team fight and since his stuns on a short cd you can usually stun twice in a fight. Two points in touch will allow you to rank 3 lava surge and explode entire creep waves by hitting the archer one afterwards, and the melee creep ones following the archer hit.

I don't see a problem pushing the lane early with a magmus/pyro lane for instance. It frees them up a bit to roam, its good gold helping you get portal key and it makes the map smaller. I normally max steambath, but if I'm against a strong melee I'll just try to push the lane with surge which also harasses and then go try to terrorize the other lanes.

[Padawanabee]

steam bath does 80dps by the time you hit level 9, this is higher than your auto attack and its AOE. Its a disjoint and a juke ability. If they have no means to pop you out of it right away you'll get more out of it. It generally puts you on a lower priority than other heros in an all out team fight and since his stuns on a short cd you can usually stun twice in a fight. Two points in touch will allow you to rank 3 lava surge and explode entire creep waves by hitting the archer one afterwards, and the melee creep ones following the archer hit.

I don't see a problem pushing the lane early with a magmus/pyro lane for instance. It frees them up a bit to roam, its good gold helping you get portal key and it makes the map smaller. I normally max steambath, but if I'm against a strong melee I'll just try to push the lane with surge which also harasses and then go try to terrorize the other lanes.

QFT.

1 level of Volcanic Touch can be useful against a melee hero looking for last hits, but otherwise it just isn't as good as Steambath or stats until the mid-game. Stats are useful in giving him enough mana to stun+ult+stun, but I personally never pick up stats and just buy them.

Although money is easier to get in pubs early game than in comp games, from what I've seen. So it's much easier for me to buy stats and skill Steambath than have no money to buy and have to skill stats.

Surge is of course taken by everyone, 1 in volcanic touch against a melee lane, stats if you're poor, and Steambath gets the rest of the points.

[Tinie`Tempah]

Depends, if your laning mid take stun/touch, if your in a side lane just get stun and stats, steambath is a pathetic skill in the laning phase, your uses for it will be minimal, the stats are better for last hitting/manapool/hp even out of the laning phase the amount of heroes that can interrupt it unreal, not even taking reveal items into the equation. So stun stats for laning side lanes, stun touch if your laning mid lane.

[Green]

Depends on A LOT.

*Always get 1 rank of steam bath

Enemy melee in your lane? level volcanic touch

Poor? level stats

Not Poor? level steam bath

Push team? level volcanic touch

Very little enemy ground targeted spells? level steam bath


The situational scenarios go on. Adapt to the situation and level them accordingly.


[Personally I virtually never go stats on Magmus]

[tanis1]

I've found that having 1 pt Steambath, max Surge, and then go stats is the most helpful when trying to rush for a Portal Key. Volcanic Touch is nice for when you're farming neuts... but if your lineup is gank-friendly at all, then you're much better off getting your gold from ganking and occasionally farming lanes than from killing neutrals, especially considering that Magmus has extremely low armor.

[Kaelillidan]

I have gotten hero kills by lava surging into a mob of creeps and slaying the creeps so the volcanic touch damage to the nearby hero, if u time it correctly; just by stunning the hero, and slaying the creep wave you will deal 560 damage, and that's all aoe damage.

Shrug, I usually do this strategy repetatively, because you get the 300 gold or whatever it is from the creep wave, and an additional 200 gold or the hero kill if you get it.

I probably find that Magmus Top 5 most underrated heros in HoN. He excels in lane control + team fights / ganking. He doesn't do terribly well 1v1, but there are very good combinations you could set him up with; aka. any hero.

[tanis1]

I probably find that Magmus Top 5 most underrated heros in HoN. He excels in lane control + team fights / ganking. He doesn't do terribly well 1v1, but there are very good combinations you could set him up with; aka. any hero.

Given that Magmus is one of the most picked heroes in competitive play, he is hardly underrated.

[shaolin]

i think magmus build is set in stone except for a few "extremely special situations"

1. max lava surge first
2. take steam bath at 2
3. take at least 3 lvls of stats early
4. only when u actually have a few bracers and ur other core items: bottle, powersupply, boots should u run around surging/comboing with touch to get farm for your blink dagger

when you lane against 2 melee odds are one of them has a stun or other pseduo disable and honestly they can wreck you so fast early game its not funny so skilling volcanic touch over stats early is literally worthless

steam bath - only put one point in it, seriously the only thing its good for is the temp invisbility to confuse and then juke ur opponents - u never get it for dps

my 2 cents