Except he has swords...... And he's on fire.
Guide unedited for newer versions since 14/03/12.
Guide version / Forum Version
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Contents
- Alt-Tab Guide
- Ember Spirit - Basics
- Skill Descriptions
- Advanced Skill Mechanics
- Skill Building
- Play Style
- Item Guide
- What Boots?
- Final Items and Alternative Builds
- Alternative Items
- Hero Matchup
- Tricks with Ember
- Special Mentions
Xin (Ember Spirit) - Basics
A full hero description can be found here.
19 + 2 (69 at level 25)
22 + 1.8 (65 at level 25)
20 + 1.8 (63 at level 25)| Pros | Cons |
| Versatile | Low HP |
| Highly maneuverable | Small mana pool easily depleted |
| High initial stats | Terrible agi gain |
| Strong disable w/ short CD | Weak late game |
| Powerful early-mid game | Vulnerable when disabled |
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Skill Descriptions
Searing Chains (Hotkey: C)Xin ensnares 2 random units around himself in a 400 AoE, binding them in place for 2/3 seconds while dealing damage per second.
- Effects: Ensnares 2 random units around Xin.
Sleight of Fist (Hotkey: T)Xin dashes around with blazing speed, attacking all enemies in the targeted AoE. Similar to a mini-omnislash – deals only one hit per unit before returning to initial casting position.
- Effects: Slashes each unit once in target AoE.
Flame Guard (Hotkey: E)Xin surrounds himself with a ring of fire that consumes incoming magic damage, leaving him unharmed. Deals dps in a 400 aoe. If the shield is dispelled, the dps buff goes away.
- Effects: Creates a magic-damage absorbing shield. Deals DPS until shield wears off.
Fire Remnant (Hotkey: F)Every 30 seconds, Xin gains a Fire remnant charge (max number of charges = 3). Releasing the Fire Remnant at a target position causes it to run at 2.5X your speed as well as giving vision. The second hotkey can be used to dash to the remnant’s location, detonating it for damage.
- Effects: Places a remnant, consuming a charge. One charge replenished every 30 seconds; begin to recharge as soon as one is placed.
Fire Remnant (Hotkey: R)Triggers placed Remnants, causing AoE damage and teleporting Xin to the targeted remnant.
- Effects: Detonates all placed Remnants, causing AoE damage and teleporting Xin to targeted Remnant.
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Advanced Skill Mechanics
Contains bonus information that you wouldn't normally get from a skill description.
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Skill Building
The skill build list hasn’t changed, but the changes below need to be taken into account.
Major influential changes from 6.73C to 6.74:
- Level one Flame Guard can only absorb 50 magic damage (i.e. useless).
One hit of practically any spell in the game will remove it. This means that you’ve just wasted 80 mana for nothing. If you want to use it for a mildly effective shield or an AoE DPS spell, it NEEDS to be at least level 2 as soon as possible.
This would mean pushing back the 4th level of your primary skill to level 8.
- Searing Chains affects only 2 targets (instead of 3).
The probability of hitting a specific hero within a bunch of creeps has decreased dramatically. Also, in a full 5v5 team fight, 2 heroes will now be disabled instead of 3.
Level 1 – Sleight of Fist (Searing Chains if going for an early Firstblood)
Level 2 – Searing Chains or Sleight of Fist
Level 3 – Sleight of Fist or Searing Chains
Level 4 – Flame Guard
Level 5 – Sleight of Fist or Searing Chains
Level 6 – Fire Remnant
Level 7 – Sleight of Fist or Searing Chains
Level 8 – Flame Guard
Level 9 – Flame Guard
Level 10 – Flame Guard
Level 11 – Fire Remnant
Level 12 – Searing Chains or Sleight of Fist
Level 13 – Searing Chains or Sleight of Fist
Level 14 – Searing Chains or Sleight of Fist
Level 15 – Attributes
Level 16 – Fire Remnant
Level 17 onwards – Attributes
This skill build is purely to demonstrate the choice between Searing Chains and Sleight of Fist. It all depends on the game; read Searing chains or Sleight of Fist (below) for more details.
ALWAYS get at least one level of both skills, they both will be useful. Flame Guard is usually the second to be levelled, as by this stage any nukers will have maxed their primary spells and you'll need the defence.
Level 2 – Searing Chains or Sleight of Fist
Level 3 – Sleight of Fist or Searing Chains
Level 4 – Flame Guard
Level 5 – Sleight of Fist or Searing Chains
Level 6 – Fire Remnant
Level 7 – Sleight of Fist or Searing Chains
Level 8 – Flame Guard
Level 9 – Flame Guard
Level 10 – Flame Guard
Level 11 – Fire Remnant
Level 12 – Searing Chains or Sleight of Fist
Level 13 – Searing Chains or Sleight of Fist
Level 14 – Searing Chains or Sleight of Fist
Level 15 – Attributes
Level 16 – Fire Remnant
Level 17 onwards – Attributes
This skill build is purely to demonstrate the choice between Searing Chains and Sleight of Fist. It all depends on the game; read Searing chains or Sleight of Fist (below) for more details.
ALWAYS get at least one level of both skills, they both will be useful. Flame Guard is usually the second to be levelled, as by this stage any nukers will have maxed their primary spells and you'll need the defence.
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Searing Chains (Hotkey: C) or Sleight of Fist (Hotkey: T)?
This choice will be one that will ALWAYS be argued on. It is the players choice and is highly dependent on the specific match.
....In Summary:
ALWAYS GET A LEVEL OF BOTH. Always. The disable will always be useful, and the brief invulnerability will always be useful too.
but when deciding on the primary skill, ask yourself:
Do you have a constant supply of mana?
- Yes, I have the mana: Go with Searing Chains. OR Sleight of Fist. High DPS + low CD + disable is highly favourable when you have the mana to spam.
With the decrease in the number of units affected by Chains, I cannot outright recommend it. It is undoubtedly still powerful, and will dominate any hero caught alone. But now that it only hits 2 units, if you can’t clear the creep wave before casting, you only have a 33% chance it will hit the hero. Fist on the other hand will always hit, regardless of the number of units.
- No, I don't have the mana: Go with Sleight of Fist. Low mana cost + low CD + invulnerability makes it cheap and easy to spam.
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Play Styles
Laning Phases (level 1-5):
Mid lane (solo)
A guide to soloing can be found here.
During the early moments of the game when laning against a Shadow Fiend or any hero with a strong lane presence, Ember will struggle for CS and will be unlikely to get any kills. Utilising a bottle while controlling runes or bottle-hawking is a cheap way of surviving harassment and gives you the opportunity to spam either Fist or Chains. Buying a cheap stout shield is an amazing investment, negating around 30% of any heroes base attack damage and nearly 100% of a creeps attack when it blocks.
- Controlling runes is key.
Short lane
(Top lane for Sent, Bot lane for Scourge)
As you are a far away from the tower, play more cautiously, possibly with an observer in the forest. Given that it will be closer to the tower for the opposition, it is likely that heroes with a weaker lane presence will hug the tower.
- Last hitting is key, pull them away from the tower and towards yours, opening up the sides for the mid hero to gank from.
Long lane
(Bot lane for Sent, Top lane for Scourge)
As the opposing team will have stronger lane presence heroes in the lane, defensive plays are more common.
- Last hit creeps. As always.
- Cast Chains on any hero that ventures too close to the tower to harass
- Resist the urge of frustration that makes you want to dive in and attack. Wait until THEY make the mistake instead of making one yourself.
Mid lane (solo)
A guide to soloing can be found here.
During the early moments of the game when laning against a Shadow Fiend or any hero with a strong lane presence, Ember will struggle for CS and will be unlikely to get any kills. Utilising a bottle while controlling runes or bottle-hawking is a cheap way of surviving harassment and gives you the opportunity to spam either Fist or Chains. Buying a cheap stout shield is an amazing investment, negating around 30% of any heroes base attack damage and nearly 100% of a creeps attack when it blocks.
- Controlling runes is key.
Short lane
(Top lane for Sent, Bot lane for Scourge)
As you are a far away from the tower, play more cautiously, possibly with an observer in the forest. Given that it will be closer to the tower for the opposition, it is likely that heroes with a weaker lane presence will hug the tower.
- Last hitting is key, pull them away from the tower and towards yours, opening up the sides for the mid hero to gank from.
Long lane
(Bot lane for Sent, Top lane for Scourge)
As the opposing team will have stronger lane presence heroes in the lane, defensive plays are more common.
- Last hit creeps. As always.
- Cast Chains on any hero that ventures too close to the tower to harass
- Resist the urge of frustration that makes you want to dive in and attack. Wait until THEY make the mistake instead of making one yourself.
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Tower Defence
Scenario: Defending a weak tower against 2 waves of creeps and 2+ heroes.
Skill use:
Sleight of Fist (helps to clear creep wave, keeps hero safe, deals extra damage to heroes)
Flame Guard (deals damage per second, protects from magical damage)
Searing chains (catches heroes who venture into the towers range, or as a last resort against creeps)
Fire Remnants can be used to either clear creeps, chase down fleeing heroes, or as a means of escape.
- Try to keep heroes at bay and prevent them from attacking the tower. Creeps are a less of a priority due to their weaker damage & attack-type.
- Keep your HP as high as possible, so after the creeps are cleared, you can counter attack.
- Searing chains can be activated during Sleight of Fist. If you are on low HP but still have mana, hide behind a tree line, cast Fist, then Chains during fist.
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Creep Clearing Tactics
Keep in mind that the object of these tactics are to clear creep waves while using the minimal number of Remnants possible. Remnants can always be added to make the process faster.
A cheap Quelling Blade can be used to reduce the damage reduction of Sleight of Fist versus creeps from 50 to 18% (As described in the Item Guide below).
Early game:
Ember is going to require both Fire Remnants to help clear the creep wave; with no added bonuses to Sleight of Fist, it’s going to have low damage versing creeps.
Using Sleight of Fist first will allow it to begin its quick cooldown. Following through with two Fire Remnants should be enough to weaken all creeps within 1 or 2 hits from death. If need be, a second Sleight of Fist can be used, or the third Fire Remnant.
Video created in Single Player and recorded using FRAPS
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Shields and Escapes
(Video 2) Flame Guard is key to Embers ability to dive into fights. Often it will be other support/spellcasters that will aim him due to his weak HP, so it's necessary to absorb as much spell damage as possible.
(Video 1) The 500 extra spell defence from Flame Guard is an invaluable tool in surviving another death. Coupled with the high maneuverability of Fire Remnant and the brief invulnerability of Sleight of Fist, Ember can be one of the hardest heroes to kill.
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Item Guide
Initial Items (Assuming 603 gold)
- Quelling Blade (225 gold)
- Ring of Protection (175 gold)
- Healing Salve (100 gold)
- Tangos (90 gold)
The Quelling Blade allows Ember to last hit effectively, as well as decrease the 50% damage reduction caused by Sleight of Fist to 18%.
The Ring of Protection will further increase your base armour by 2, with damage reduce increased from 16% to 23%.
Salve and Tango’s for well.. healing. It’s what they do.
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Ember's Stats at level 7 without items:
Health = 777, Mana = 390
Early Game Items
to 
- Stout shield (followed by Poorman's shield)
- Ring of Basilius
- Boots of speed
The permanent 20 damage reduction from a Poorman's Shield is extremely useful early game to help counteract Embers low HP.
The Ring of Basilius gives 6 bonus damage and 1 extra armour, but is mainly useful for the bonus 0.65 mana regeneration.
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What boots?
Arcane Boots:
VERDICT: Possible
Arcane boots help to fulfil Embers high mana requirements. When used in tri-laning support situations, Arcane boots help to keep both your own mana pool full, but also your two allies.
VERDICT: Possible
Arcane boots help to fulfil Embers high mana requirements. When used in tri-laning support situations, Arcane boots help to keep both your own mana pool full, but also your two allies.
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Mid Game Items
+ 
OR 
later to 
- Tranquil Boots (3 HP regen, 3 armor and 80 MS)
- Maelstrom (+24 damage, +25% IAS, 25% chance for a 120 damage chain lightning)
- 2 x Javelins (+21 damage, 20% chance for 40 bonus damage)
- Vlads (lifesteal etc.)
- Battle Fury (cleave, damage, health regen, mana regen)
- Crystalys, later to Buriza (2.5X Crit, Damage)
Tranquil Boots are powerful in the early to mid game. The HP regen and rejuvenate continually tops up your HP, with the armor preventing more damage. Tranquils have 20-25 more MS than other boots, giving you that slight speed boost for yourself and your Remnants. Now that they can be disassembled, if you need more mana or to complete a Vlads, it’s effortless to change to treads or arcanes.
Personally, I prefer the Buriza over the Battle Fury due to the 2.5x crit. This extra damage when coupled with the largely increased attack speed makes Ember a lot stronger in one on one fights as well as when using Sleight of Fist. The chain lightning from Mjollnir should be sufficient to destroy surrounding creeps, with a much larger reach than the 35% cleave from a Battle Fury.
Sleight of Fist and a Battle Fury, would make creep clearing a breeze. However, against heroes Sleight of Fist would benefit most from a Buriza, making it the more effective item versus heroes (unless the enemy team has many images).
OR 
- Heaven’s Halberd - Fighters (Str & Agi) (+20 strength, +25 damage, 25% evasion, lesser maim, disarm)
- Sange and Yasha - Spellcasters (Int) (+16 agility, +16 strength, +12 damage, +15% AS, +12% MS, greater maim)
If fighting against mainly fighters, the evasion and disarm will be vital for Embers low hp to help him survive. Otherwise, substituting for an Sange and Yasha against intelligence heroes – a stronger maim and extra movement speed (12%) could prove to be more useful.
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Stats at level 25 without items (attributes maxed):
Health = 1841, Mana = 1079
Late Game Items
- Mjollnir (+24 damage, +80% IAS, 25% chance for a 160 chain lightning, 20% chance for a 200 damage static charge)
- Monkey King Bar (+88 damage, +15% IAS, 35% chance for 100 bonus damage + ministun, true strike)
- Treads can be swapped out for Boots of Travel to aid in defence and moving about lanes, as well as give bonus movement speed.
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Final Items & Alternative Builds
+ OptionalTotal cost = 10500 (w/ no optional item)
DPS (Regular)
A reasonable set of DPS items all with relatively cheap components, able to be upped to the expensive build if the game drags on.
- Crit for added damage
- Lifesteal from Vlads as well as added armour, damage + mana regen aruas
- Maelstrom gives a 120 chain lightning
- Sange and strength treads give bonus strength needed for his HP. Sange also gives a useful lesser maim and damage.
Optional Item
OR OR 
OR 
- A Poorman's shield would be a cheap option for added defence.
- An Orb of Venom to give an added 12% slow, but it's a players personal choice.
- A Battle Fury is a more expensive choice, however if you get it early enough, easy creeping should give you more gold to play with.
- A Town Portal would give you a cheap way to move around the map and heal if needed.
OR 
then 
+ Optional
> 
= 
= 
> 
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Alternative Items
All games need versatility - there's no such thing as a "perfect build".
There are a lot of alternative items, all of which are described in relation to Ember.
Alternative Orbs
Desolator would reduce the armour of all struck units/heroes by 6. This would help other DPS heroes to do more damage as well as Ember.
Skadi would give each unit hit a -30% movement speed and a -20% attack speed reduction. It doesn’t add any damage itself (besides the +25 agility). However, Ember uses it more for the buff and it's extra 675 HP and 475 mana (calculated from stats + bonus HP/mana).
Diffusal gives a 20/36 damage manaburn, as well as the purge ability. While the purge could be useful for chases, but the weak added orb damage makes it the weakest choice.
Orb of Venom: (buff placer) 350 gold for an item that gives a 12% slow. Cheap and can be easily swapped out for a different orb later in the game.
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Hero Matchup
| Strength |       |
| Agility |       |
| Intelligence |      |
Stunners/slowers/AoE nukers combined with DPS
During the laning stage, Ember is best as a support/KSing hero. Searing chains allows for Ember to deal high DPS while ensnaring the target, which can be capitalized by his allies. So any hero that deals high damage per second, has an AoE stun/nuke (useful to clear creeps) or stun/slow will make a perfect ally. Any aruas are always a bonus – making CM, Rexxar and VS stand out above the rest.
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Tricks with Ember
Utilising Invulnerability
> 
and travelling spellsSleight of Fist can be used similarly to Puck's Phase Shift; giving you a brief moment of invulnerability while you are slashing. Casting a Fire Remnant behind the tree line and quickly using Sleight of Fist will allow Ember to become invulnerable while he’s slashing, cancelling Juggernaut's ulti or dodging SB's nether strike, allowing Ember to safely move to his Remnant afterwards.
This same theory can be used to block against any spell that has a travel time.
Countering Maledict and Orchids
> 
and other compounding spellsIf caught unaware by Witch Doctor, ALWAYS cast your shield as soon as possible. This will negate the brunt of the Maledict’s damage by stopping it compounding. If casted later, maledict will do a lot more damage due to the initial build up, and the shield will only negate at max 500 damage.
Orchids works similarly, so cast Flame Guard beforehand of possible to prevent the end of duration damage compounding.
Quick Healing
= Full Health, Mana and full bottle chargesTown portalling back to base with low HP/mana can move Ember out of harms way, however when coupled with a Remnant (zero manacost to place), Ember can easily return to his position. Cast a Remnant before portalling back to the fountain. You can now shop and heal before returning. Spam your bottle before teleporting back to your Remnant, and it will help negate the 150 mana required to cast.
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Special Mentions & Thanks
- Thanks to PlayDotA.com user Pondrac for their suggestion of an Orb of Venom
- Thanks to PlayDotA.com user Kahitanou for their ideas behind "Quick healing" and their useful input in "Searing Chains versus Sleight of Fist".
- Thanks to PlayDotA.com user akillsi for their useful input in "Searing Chains versus Sleight of Fist".
- Thanks to PlayDotA.com user Lycan for their useful input in "Armour Shredding" item build.
- Thanks to PlayDotA.com user alpha_MOTH for their input into the ""Geminate Attack" effect".
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Disclaimer:
THIS IS A GUIDE. All information has been derived through gameplay experience, the PlayDotA.com hero description, personal insight and those mentioned above. No other Ember guides have been consulted in the making of this guide.
No animals have been harmed in the making of this guide.
Updates
14/02/12 - Added "Advanced Skill Mechanics" section.
13/03/12 - Added Guide Version / Forum version.
14/03/12 – Added version 6.74 changes
Xin the Ember SpiritAuthor: Garlic-Twist
Map Vers.: 6.73b
Xin - Guide for players by players
A dummys guide for New OP heroes
Last Comment:01/05/2013
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