From HoNwiki
The unique armor worn by this mysterious warrior is said to have been uncovered in the ruins of an Ancient city. Whether
the armor imbues the famed speed and pinpoint accuracy possessed by the warrior called Swiftblade, or whether he would be equally mighty without it, none can say.
Contents |
Introduction
Swiftblade is easily my favorite agility hero. He is unique in the way that he doesn't play like other agility heroes. While he is still somewhat reliant on items, he is effective early, mid and late game. He's not quite as powerful as his dota counterpart, Juggernaut, but is still a very solid hero.
Stats/Skills
Stats
Attack Type=Melee
Attack Damage=44-48
Attack Range=125
Movementspeed=305
Turnrate=320
Armor=3.90
MagicArmor=5.5
Strength=20
Agility=20
Intelligence=14
Strength per level=1.9
Agility per level=2.85 (Main Attribute)
Intelligence per level=1.4
Skills
Blade Frenzy
Swiftblade works himself into a blade frenzy. While in this state, he gains Magic Immunity and deals high damage per second to any nearby enemy units. Swiftblade is free to move around even while this skill is active.
Level 1 : 80 Damage per second for 5 seconds Level 2 : 100 Damage per second for 5 seconds Level 3 : 120 Damage per second for 5 seconds Level 4 : 140 Damage per second for 5 seconds And the ability to attack at -50% AS Mana cost 110 Cooldown 30/26/24/22 seconds
Analysis: This is Swift's early game bread and butter. Combined with a decent slow/stun, its VERY effective at hero killing. Swift is the only hero that boots first item is viable on, and this skill is why. Late game, this skill is relegated to a escape mechanism, or a clutch stun avoidance tool, but its still quite useful
Note: A neat trick I use to get kills with this in lane, is to spin and then move on the ground, instead of an enemy hero so I don't draw creep agro. This means that they wont bother me while I kill their hero. Be careful however, as it is easier to juke you when you are moving on the ground instead of the target, so you will need to predict enemy movements
As this picture shows, the actual damage range of his spin is well past the animation. Keep this in mind while using spin
Special note: It can be used to avoid getting stunned while TPing, since the spin doesnt prevent use of items. To use it, simply start spinning then tp out. you will be immune to most stuns.
Additional Notes: People will often try to juke your spin, by going odd directions. the best way to counter this is to either
A. right click on the enemy, but be wary of fog. if they dive into the fog, youll need to predict where they go.
B. just predict where they go. Right clicking means if they dive into fog, you stop moving, and that can be all the distance they need to get clear of the aoe.
Personally, i predict where people go, so i dont lose that .5 seconds of movement, but it requires alot of apm and quick reactions, so be warned.
Counter-Attack
Extensive training in melee combat has
allowed Swiftblade to perfect the art
of countering enemy attacks, granting a
chance that he will retaliate every time
an enemy hero strikes him.
Level 1 : 15% chance to counter melee and ranged attacks
Level 2 : 20% chance to counter melee and ranged attacks
Level 3 : 25% chance to counter melee and ranged attacks
Level 4 : 35% chance to counter melee and ranged attacks
Mana cost n/a
Cooldown n/a
Analysis: Counter-Attack is a very sneeky and deceptive skill. He can tear appart enemy carries simply because if they fight back, they die. And any squishy supports that dare attack him risk losing alot of HP
Way Of The Sword
Swiftblade's unsurpassed skill at
the sword has made him a master
of hitting where it hurts, giving him
a chance to critically strike opponents
with each attack.
Level 1 : 10% chance for 2.0x critical strike
Level 2 : 18% chance for 2.0x critical strike
Level 3 : 26% chance for 2.0x critical strike
Level 4 : 36% chance for 2.0x critical strike
Mana cost n/a
Cooldown n/a
Analysis: This is Swifts basic crit. It works like any other crit. Not really much to say about it, other then this skill means you should never get Riftshards on SB
Ultimate
Swift Slashes
Swiftblade attacks random nearby targets
with such speed that he appears to teleport
to them. Targets are randomly chosen, yet it
is possible to teleport to the same target
multiple times.
Level 1 : 150 to 250 damage to 3 random targets
Level 2 : 150 to 250 damage to 5 random targets
Level 3 : 150 to 250 damage to 8 random targets
Mana Cost 200/275/350
Cooldown 130/120/110
Deals 0.1 second mini stun to primary target
Swift Slashes is boosted by Staff of the Master (Reduces cooldown by 20 and increases slashes by 2)
Analysis: This is the skill that distinguishes SB from any other hero in the game. The build I use builds around this skill in one way or another. There are other builds out there for him, but they are purely situational. This skill can be a guaranteed kill every cooldown if done properly. Its an excellent ganking, finishing, and overall killing tool.
Caution: Void talisman is a hard counter to swifts ulti. so is nullstone. If you see an enemy with either of these, ult someone else. if the entire enemy team has them, then bait them into using their voids, and make your supports use their single target spells on the nullstones.
As you can see, the ult has a fairly low cast range, so be aware.
Skill Build
Skill Build
1. Blade Frenzy
2. Stats/Way of the Sword
3. Blade Frenzy
4. Stats/Way of the Sword
5. Blade Frenzy
6. Swift Slashes
7. Blade Frenzy
8. Way of the Sword
9. Way of the Sword
10. Way of the Sword
11. Swift Slashes
12. Way of the Sword
13. Counter-Attack/Stats
14. Counter-Attack/Stats
15. Counter-Attack/Stats
16. Swift slashes
17. Counter-Attack/Stats
18. Counter-Attack/Stats
19. Counter-Attack/Stats
20. Counter-Attack/Stats
21. Counter-Attack/Stats
22. Counter-Attack/Stats
23. Counter-Attack/Stats
24. Counter-Attack/Stats
25. Counter-Attack/Stats
Analysis: This is the most optimal skill build for Swift. The reason stats are taken at 2/4 is so that he can use a frenzy/slash combo at lvl 6 without having to wait for additional mana. Counter-attack is an alright skill, but stats work very nicely, and are more reliable. Unless you are facing a lot of autoattackers, get stats in favor of counter.
Next is the items/roles that Swift plays during the game
Additional Notes: Now that boots are in the outpost, its best to pick up some stats+regen for laning, and if you can pick up +3 intel from totems and such, you no longer need stats instead of Crit, so pick up crit early. Also, If you arent against many auto attackers, or feel you need more survivability, you can skip Counter-Attack for stats as much as you want, since the skill isnt super amazing anymore
Phases/Items
Starting Items
X3
X2 (6 Charges Total)
Analysis: With boots now in the sideshop, theres really no good reason to go boots first, so this is my recommended build. The specific reason I use this build, is that it allows me to get crit early on, which is surpisingly useful, especially with early phaseboots/runed axe
Laning Phase/Core Items
Analysis: These boots are the best for Swift. The Phase function works well with his Blade frenzy, and you get survivablility from frostburn which is build right after these anyways.
Analysis: This item makes it into the core because it does so many things that Swift needs. The cleave is excellent for farming, the mana/health regen gives him staying power, and the 65 damage is very cheap dps that gives a nice boost to his ult.
Overal Analysis: In lane, you want to work towards your sustainer, as you should already have boots, and if you dont, use a courier to get them as soon as you have a health tube. At some point you might want to pick up a Loggers Hatchet, since it helps make last hitting a breeze, unless you got it at the beginning. You can start roaming all 3 lanes as early as you want, it just depends on the opportunities you get, and how well your lanes are doing. The main mission of this phase is to get good farm
Ganking Phase/Mid-Game Items
Ganking Phase: This is where Swift really starts to shine. He has 2 very powerful ganking spells, so he can very easily just roam around the map constantly ganking. During the mid-game you should almost always have your ult on cooldown. This is where you become a powerhouse, and hopefully hold the lead until the end. All you really have to do during this phase is gank gank gank. Run around ganking. Lead your team in ganks, go into forest to gank. Don't overgank though, because if you gank too much the enemy team will ward up and stay sharp. Farm a bit, then go ganking. Make yourself unpredictable.
Analysis: Basically, Frostburn is an amazing item for Swiftblade. It gives him more hp, attack speed, damage, movement speed and a slow to boot. It transforms him from a one hit wonder with his ult, into a powerful ganking and teamfighting machine.
Analysis: With the attack modifier change, this allows you to still stack lifesteal with an attack modifier of your choice. You do lose creep stacking, but atleast you dont have to worry about orb switching etc etc
Overall Analysis: This Phase is where you become a monster for late game. With Frostburn+Lifesteal, you have plenty of HP and staying power to work with, and Runed axe gives you incredible farming potential and solid amounts of damage in teamfights.
Team Fighting Phase/Late Game Items
Team Fighting: This is where Swift's staying power makes him shine. He can go through his ultimate on the enemy team, probably taking 1-2 enemies down, and his Spin gives him in essence a free Shrunken Head. Hes an absolute monster late game, as long as he can do some good farming+ganks early mid.
Analysis: this item works great with Swift because the 100 bonus damage can proc on his ultimate, giving him a nice boost of damage. The AS is a small bonus, but the truestrike makes this item very effective even against heros with wingbow or evasion heros like zephyr.
Analysis: A great dps item, even decent survivablility. A no-brainer for a last slot dps item.
Overall Analysis: This is the most effective build on Swiftblade. There are other items that have decent uses on him, but this is the most effective way to build him most of the time. As always, change to fit the situation. Always going this build might get you screwed over. If you have trouble farming early on, try going for frostburn, as it gives you alot of surivivability, which can be more useful then farming power.
Alternative Items
Analysis: This is the best lifesteal item in the game, hands down. It gives a nice hp boost, along with a good synergy with his ult that can potentially save you. If you want more survivability, then get this wherever you feel nessecary.
Note: This item can save you in conjunction with your ultimate. Follow these steps and you might just get away, maybe even with a kill or two
If getting chased/focuses/attacked, wait till you are low hp (but not too low, allow yourself a fraction of a second to pull this move off.
Activate Symbolic rage and then use ultimate on enemies. You are Guaranteed to be full health at the end of the ult, potentially saving you from certain death.
Analysis: Pretty decent item for him, since it works so well with his ulti, but has little physical DPS and is useless against carries with Shrunken Head Active
Analysis: It works really well with swift, but that 20% damage taken can turn you into paper, so I'd only suggest this if you are absolutely stomping bads and dont need to stack ancients. Also, the buff is dispelled if you spin before using it, so use it after activating spin. Just remember when people hear the laugh that parasite makes, they will be sure to try to focus you down.
Analysis: Has great synergy with his ulti, but requires a bit of work to keep both the Frostburn Debuff and Sheildbreaker Debuff on an enemy (use the . button to switch modifiers). Undoubtably a great dps item, just offers little-no Survivablity
Analysis: SotM definetly got replaced by Frostburn on swift, as it added basically the same things with more utility. However, SotM isnt a bad pickup as a 6th item, since it does give a pretty good boost to his Ult. Also not a bad idea if you have trouble staying alive even with Frostburn+Lifesteal
Analysis: This item has no direct synergy with your ult (other then burning the targets mana), but its an excellent tool for ganking, and works very well with your spin to net you some easy kills. Its not a bad item, but its fairly expensive for its low dps value. The purge definetly makes it worth it, so don't be afraid to pick one up if you feel it nessecary.
Analysis: DB works very well with his ult, as he gains atleast one (maybe 2-3) extra slashes on his ult, and it reduces enemy armor by 5. coupled with a sheildbreaker, he can tear through enemies like butter.
Analysis: This makes you able to do work outside of your ult, and not get disabled into the stone age. This will be useful in higher level games, just be careful not to trigger it and spin/ult, as those give you magic immunity anyways.
Analysis: This item works well with his Ganker role, allowing him to spin constantly and have mana/hp on demand. The only reason I don?t pick up a bottle is that I rush a sustainer, which has similar effects, only not in a large burst. Either way, it?s not a bad item to pick up, and if it suits your playsite, feel free.
Overall Analysis: Be careful about the orb stacking. you can only have one attack modifier at a time, so if you are going to get more then one, be ready to switch between them
Useful Allies/Dangerous Enemies
Useful Allies:
Realistically, anyone with a slow or a stun is amazing help to Swiftblade. While I could put up pretty pictures and explain why each stun is helpful, I?ll just explain that any disable works amazingly well with him. A Stun+Swift lane is almost guaranteed to get kills. Range stuns work best, but melee stuns can be used too. Simply use the stun to initate, and have Swift run up and spin. This gives him full use of his spin, and allows him to get most, if not all of his damage from spin onto the enemy he wants to kill.
Pebbles is a good ally for 2 reasons. One is explained above, and the other is that Pebbles can actually toss a spinning Swiftblade at an enemy, which works very well if the 2 are coordinated.
Aoe Disables like these also work amazingly well. They let you jump in and rack up the kills with little risk to yourself
Dangerous Enemies
Arachna can slow you through your spin, effectively kiting you around while you spin around like an idiot. Be careful around her, as she can kill you if your ult is down or you are around creeps
Jeraziahs Ultimate completely negates yours, and his repel can make your spin useless. Hes a pain in the ass to deal with for any hero, so take care when he is on the other team.
All of Panda's skills are physical in nature, so your magic immunity does nothing to prevent him from owning you. Don?t Rambo in against him, because he will wreck you if you aren't careful.
Succy's smitten spell can make your auto attack do little-no damage, significantly reducing your ult's power, and making you pretty much useless. Just focus on killing her before she can use smitten on you, and you should be alright.
Another hero who has physical abilities, his ult buffs his allies armor, his heal can go through your immunity, as can his stun. Just keep him from getting strong and keep him underleveled, and he should pose little threat.
Swift Slashes
Swift slashes is a very powerful Ultimate that if used properly, is almost always a guaranteed kill, if not 2-3. It has special condition to it however. The scripted slashes do 150-250 damage, but they dont work with all type of attack modifiers that include proc chances (charged hammer/savage mace/critical strike), and regular attack modifiers like sheildbreaker.
Also, Swiftblade can do auto attacks in between his scripted slashes. These attacks use your auto attack damage and work exactly like an auto attack, only you are invulnerable during their duration, so they are basically free hits. They scale just like your auto attack does, and they can effectively double your ults damage, if not more.
These Autoattacks scale with attack speed, meaning the more attack speed you have, the more autoattacks you will finish during the duration of Swift Slashes.
On average, for a lvl 3 Boosted ultimate, you get 2 bonus slashes free, and you get one more for every 30% attack speed you get above your base attackspeed. Since base attack speed is 100, you will naturally get an extra slash or two just from your agility gain.
This build is specifically designed for use with his ultimate. Every single item that you get has some sort of synergy with his ult, and it turns his ult from a powerful skill to a gamebreaking tool of destruction.
you can build him otherwise, and use some of the alternatives, but using his ult to its max potential just seems logical
Here is a link the guide about swift slashes. anything i didnt make clear, this thread should http://forums.heroesofnewerth.com/sh...ad.php?t=60727
Synopsis
Swiftblade is a powerful midgame ganker, who is effective early game, and if played properly, can be a very powerful threat lategame. He is a fairly item dependent hero, but he farms well and is capable of getting kills, so he can aquire all the items he needs with minimal effort. He is a fun hero to play, and fairly easy to pick up.
Hope you guys like the guide, and hopefully it's less controversial the my Pestilence guide
Good luck out there
-LegoPirate
P.S. Here are some match id's that you can download to see how to play him well. they from mid/mid-high level scrims, so they have some pretty decent play in them.
7786845 Trilane Scrim
7688687 Standard Dual Lane Scrim
7879093 Standard Dual Lane Scrim