King Leoric The Skeleton King

Changelogs:

The Alt-Tab Mini Guide

Skeleton King's Skill Build

Luxury and Complete Item Build

Starting Item Build

Table of Contents:

Read Hero Introduction HERE
Read statistics and brief hero information on the same link

My Hero Introduction

First of all; I've made this guide since recently I've been browsing guides for King Leoric and there is only one guide in the whole playdota forum. Since my thoughts of it is poorly made; I'm gonna make my own guide for Skeleton.

I was inspired by Iamthespoon's Slark guide so I wrote this guide in thanks of him. And if only someone can tell me how to make that show/hide buttons, I would really appreciate it(sorry for my stupidness).

Skeleton King Introduction:
-A chaser, ganker, initiator, killer, carrier, disabler and of course a lifekeeper; King Leoric is one of the few heroes on Dota which can pretty much play the whole team role. Though he was used a lot this days, he is one of the most noob friendliest hero in earth. With a sword on his right and a shield on his left, there's no escaping this huge man. An additional stun is best for gank and kill stealing, he is feared by Pub or Organized gamers since he does the whole game and make it the worst day for your opponents. Armed with critical and vampiric aura, and with a few items and strategies you might be thinking that "hey! I do not need the fountain anymore!" Hell yeah you are right. He can come back from the dead if he wanted to, not if he can. Overall; he is the best strength type hero a noob can get his hands on

Who is Leoric?

What actually am I searching for?
If you are actually searching for someone who does an inside job, he is the most suitable. Leoric is one of the few in Dota which can perform multitasking and become the lead role if you wanted to. He has no specific job. He can be a tank, gank, kill, chase, push, def and a savior. And I do not like jokes, which means I am not joking. Let me define what Leoric is from my point of view.

Skeleton King is the only one in Dota whom suits the title Nuke and Chase and some called him Hit and Run. Some dirty players hit enemies with his massive hellfire blast and put them down before their wake and run like Leoric has never run before. But actually, he can even kill five enemy heroes if you wish to. The only key for Leoric is his items. He cannot go running, ganking and roaming like a duck if he does not carry some of the heaviest items in play especially Mordiggan.

Overall. we will focus on his survival, hit and gank

Pros and Cons

[+] Suits all of the team roles with ease
[+] Massive damage on mid to early game
[+] Dangerous on 1v1
[+] Hit and Run
[+] A probable initiator
[+] Massive strength gain and base strength
[+] Is incredibly annoying especially on mid game
[+] Extremely sufficient in last hitting
[+] Is friendly to any heroes in the game

[-] Very mana dependant hero
[-] Low movement speed for a chase type hero
[-] Slightly item dependent
[-] Slow attackspeed

The first 2 minutes:
When should I pick him?

-After the chicken gets "crockotoa", means the game is starting for you, you are pressured a bit as you've crossed your fingers that your opponent should or shall I say must not pick these heroes:

You do look like an idiot if you pick Leoric after these heroes are chosen by the enemy, probably because they kick ass.

They have the most efficient ways to counter Leoric and that is by; Sucking your mana out of your balls. They will ruin your game style from early up to late game and lose your chance on getting back from the grave which what defines Leoric a lot. SK also hates huge DpS and pure damage since he can be killed with no mana by the said hero and has a very strong 3 hit combo. And if you are really eager to play him, think first if your allies need a nuke badly than ever. If they do not, pick another one.

Leoric is best recommended against these heroes:

-opponents with massive tank capacity which your allies is scared about, then pick Leoric. He does not care how much hp gauge the enemy nor if the enemy's armor exceeds 100 as long as he can swing that huge sword of his to them they will smell meat. Another incredible feat of Leoric is tanking too much damage, as this heroes listed above must spawn 2 to 3 times of their SS(ultimate) just to pin him on ground but to know that he will only come back from the dead after they've wasted too much of their efforts.

Skill Review

Read skill information of Leoric HERE

Hellfire Blast

Skill's Pros and Cons(Usage)

NOTE: "Hellfire Blast is nerf on 6.69 if i'm not mistaken, so I'm also gonna nerf some of my details here"

+ High DpS, with maximum of 75 damage for 4 seconds, it gives a hell of a punch.
+ 2 seconds stun is very very useful + 2 seconds slow also gives plenty of time for him to chase and destroy!
+ Best for chasing and last hitting enemy heroes
+ A very useful offensive and defensive tool

- Though powerful, the only nuke Leoric got
- Projectile speed is countered easily
- Damage type is magical which means it can be reduced by magic resistant items
- 75 Damage for 4 seconds is good, Damage burst is better than DpS since regeneration may provide, somewhat a disadvantage to this skill(Tango can lessen the damage of the skill)

Its Usage:

☻ As a killing tool: On early levels and with a skilled lane partner, you may consider a first blood on early levels from 1-3, so make sure you have this skill available for last hitting for the spree is yours!

☻ As a ganking tool: An incredible 2 seconds stun may be the worst for your enemy and another 2 seconds slow will surely get the crap out of their heroes, consider it as his final words when you show up on their back and slash them with a critical hit, which smithens them out of the game

☻ As an escape and defense tool: Consider it a great escape pod after casting it and running.

NOTE: Last Hitting for this skill is discouraged, since DpS only provides enemy heroes a chance for denying creeps

Vampiric Aura

Skill's Pros and Cons(Usage)

+ High Lifesteal which fits with Critical Strike
+ Early support for teammates whom badly needs it
+ A lifesteal which rejects the use of vlad'mir
+ An early pushing tool for Leoric

- Does not affect ranged allies
- Does not contribute on gank plays a lot

Its Usage:

☻ As a pushing tool: If your team desperately needs a pushing tool why not? synergizes greatly with your creeps and your lane partner, and before you know it, you might be getting dinner on their third tower!

☻ As a survivability tool: With critical strike you might get your opponent annoyed after spamming a lot of skill unto you but knowing you just regenerate it sooner or later

☻ As a helping tool: If a teammate badly needs it, like Kunkka, get one of this which gives them balls to get beside those stinking heroes and finish them off

Critical Strike

Skill's Pros and Cons(Usage)

+ The reason why you have balls(rushing through the enemy and smithen them out of the game)
+ Huge critical strike for early up to late game
+ Tiers with Leoric's massive damage and strength boost
+ Makes him very dangerous on 1v1 combat
+ Early creep farming

- The fact that you are melee is a real hustle since you need to get close before landing on a strike
- A 15% chance skill

Its Usage:

☻ As jungling/last hitting tool: A massive damage provider and boost on Leoric for jungling and last hitting creeps which provides you large income!

☻ As a killing tool: Makes Leoric very dangerous on 1v1 combat and team clashes. Despite the fact that he is melee, he can argue with enemy heroes whom wanted to get their ass go back to their fountain

Reincarnation

Skill's Pros and Cons(Usage)

+ What defines the Skeleton King
+ Most annoying passive skill ever written on history
+ Getting a baller tier(refresher) and an aegis means you are rampaging and is unstoppable

- Though is remade on v6.67 he still needs mana on resurrection which means he cannot get out of the grave when below 100 mana points
- Huge cooldown which means long time of hiding behind plain sights

Its Usage:

☻ As a very useful healing tool: You get back from the grave with full hitpoints and manapoints which trust me, annoys most of your opponent

☻ As an effective pushing tool: No man dares to collide with you from levels 6 and above if they knew you got Reincarnation and a teammate beside you

☻ As a ganking tool: With these, Leoric has balls, he can gank whenever he wants so. Again, this is what defines Leoric, with these he does his little magic and you get enough courage on challenging your opponent face to face and say "I will be back!"

Skeleton King's Skill Build

Level 1: Hellfire Blast
Level 2: Stats
Level 3: Hellfire Blast
Level 4: Critical Strike
Level 5: Hellfire Blast
Level 6: Reincarnation
Level 7: Hellfire Blast
Level 8: Critical Strike
Level 9: Critical Strike
Level 10: Critical Strike
Level 11: Reincarnation
Level 12: Vampiric Aura
Level 13: Vampiric Aura
Level 14: Vampiric Aura
Level 15: Vampiric Aura
Level 16: Reincarnation
Level 17-25: Stats

Explanation:

Hellfire Blast: A nuke should always be maxed first, neither useful nor not useful in game since a nuke is what makes a hero, you. With this maxed up and staying at the same mana with huge damage, you can spawn it and abuse it on enemies with low hp gauge such as:

It annoys them until to the point that they will attempt to suicide beside you.

Stats: At least one on early level, for a bonus 30 manapoints for SK which gives him a great boost on abusing his hellfire blast.

Critical Strike: Nobody messes with Leoric when he's got a level 4 critical strike. On level 10 with a level 4 critical strike with your item only phase boots and a soul ring, you have a maximum crit of 354! so get ready to roam around and start killing and juking!

Reincarnation: The reason why nobody wants to collide with Leoric. This skill is a total abuse. With it learned on Level 6 and with your skills on sighting your own mp gauge, you will be alive and kicking as ever!

Vampiric Aura: Learn it on Level 12, not very useful on early game, unless a teammate demands it. Leoric becomes a push type after learning this, on early games be determined to be a juker/ganker and roam free on the map, so learning this on early game is a total waste.

AN EXPLANATION TO; WHY NO VA:

-PuB games and Organized games. I see a lot of Leorics whom learns it on level 2 or level 7 as their playstyle. Their a bunch of assholes whom made Leoric a push type and not a kill and juke type. Again, Reincarnation is what defines Leoric and not his regeneration and his hp gauge. Try to boost your toughness with armlet then get VA after it(probably on levels 12) then you can send them back home to their momma.

Item Flow

Let us focus on two main aspects:
-DpS and
-Toughness

Since Leoric needs extra damage for his critical strike and extra toughness to be manly, items that define armor does not suit him, instead give him items which gives huge hp capacity to him and he'll be rocking the boat sooner.

Starting Items:

Before you pick up an item, analyze where or with whom are you going; after then decide which is compatible:

Top Lane and Bottom Lane items:

(the soul ring item is a soul ring scroll and not the whole item)

-carry a ring of regeneration for a boost of regeneration which you will be needing for lane control. Get a Soul Ring Scroll and buy afterwards a Sobi Mask on shops located on top and bottom lane. A tango is carried if you get harrased by opponents especially when they have a good DpS laner.

WHY CARRY A SCROLL!?
If you wish to criticize feel free, but I've made my point. I said Top or Bottom Lane so you don't need any effort to get down your hometown and get a scroll since you only need to buy a sobi mask instead. This gives you faster and less time consumption on completing a soul ring which gives your hellfire blast abuse-able.

Solo/Mid Lane items:

-Buy a quelling blade for last hitting effort. Since you must maintain lane control if you are a solo laner. Buy gauntlets for extra toughness and a tango to also maintain lane control and avoid getting spammed on early levels. One extra clarity is enough since on solo laning, SK does not want to harass too much of his skills for nonsense.

Core Items:

The following are the items you must have when you turn 7-8:

or the best is completing Phase Boots on level 8:

-Discard or do not buy any tango or clarity since +3 hp regeneration provides you a great balance on your hp and 50% mp regeneration is also a great boost. With soul ring attached to Leoric you make your Hellfire Blast abuse-able. Which means no more insecurity and jealousy on mp. Getting Phase Boots early is a fulfillment since with these boots means blood!, and I mean it. Completing Phase boots means early juking, hunting and gank; thus early income for you.

The Real Core Items:

This 3 items completes your tier. Lack on toughness, dps is provided by Mordiggan while lack of mana for reincarnation and hellfire blast is provided by soul ring.

WHY MORDIGGAN?

-Great DpS, having these as your first item gives you a boost on your critical strike up to 600 of maximum and gives you a huge boost on strength which makes the hard, harder. Why many PuB gamers don't get my point is they usually go straight with orb items, the truth is, orb items go on luxury and not his core items since Mordiggan covers DpS and toughness we are aiming for right?

Fast Item Questions, This won't take a minute:

WHEN I AM PLAYING, I SEE SOME LEORIC WITH URN OF SHADOWS, DOES IT SUIT HIM?

-Yes and No, Yes if enemy's spam too much shits on your face and hurts your feelings a lot. Urn of Shadows is good for juking and bonus regeneration helps for Leoric after finishing a meal. No when they do not spam shits on your face. And continue with your life.

I GOT A ROUGH START, COMPLETING MORDIGGAN IS A HUSTLE, SHOULD I GO FOR ANOTHER CHOICE?

-Core Items are Core Items. Do not let them slip away. Aim for it because it isn't situational items that can be used when you are desperate. If you are on a rough start then try jungling or getting away with lanes whom has opponents and try to push and farm on their creeps while you know they are away

I AM KINDA NOOB ON CLICKING MORDIGGAN AND SOUL RING, WHAT SHOULD I DO?

-Another Idiot has told me this question. I ended up shouting at him. For Christ's sake! you only have one active skill and you can't get your hands on simple clicking? and what are Warkeys for?

Leoric the LifeKeeper:

On an Organized game, I saw someone build these, and he is not half bad. He ends up being Sir' Push'A'Lot and be sooooo manly that no one wants to every lay a finger on him. This scared the shit out of them. Which is good, however there are some bad aspects of it, I'll tell you why;

After getting Defiance he upgrades it to Pipe which is a follow-up to Tidehunter's Ravage(an enemy). However it did not work quite well, because he ended up being the only one survivor with his balls on. Focus more on DpS and not single-sided toughness, such as getting Mordiggan which suits him best.

Item Follow Up:

After you finished Mordiggan(core items) you might think what will come next right?
Here are some suggestions to complete your item build, but let us first define what kind of Leoric you are playing:

There are three kinds of Leoric in play:
Sir Push'A'Lot
Sir Gank'A'Lot and
Sir Kill'A'Lot

Sir Push'A'Lot

Why this two?

-Note that these two items are situational. I do not recommend buying this item for Leoric even though many will disagree on me; I will make my point. Sir Push'A'Lot is a build for Leoric when it comes to desperate times. If you knew team killing and getting high scores on the chart won't do. Then buy this two items. These two synergizes very well with each other, the fact that they both deal massive AoE damage and adds great boost on Leoric's DpS. Buy Battle Fury first before Radiance since it is cheaper, increases your mana regeneration and life which you will be needing until late game and adds +65 damage which is higher DpS than Radiance. However; you may buy Radiance first if you are annoyed when they bought Dagger of Escape

Am I that desperate?

-buying this two items means; Yes, you are desperate. You are desperate to push and control your lane to maintain victory. If you think being a ganker won't be viable anymore in the game; then twist into Sir Push'A'Lot from Sir Gank'A'Lot.

Sir Gank'A'Lot

First Question: OMG!!! A lothar on Leoric? is that even possible?

-Yes. I understand you. On PuB or even organized games, no one dares to complete a Lothar with the Skeleton King, however if you think you will be juking and be roaming on the map for quite some time, consider this as your Luxury Item. Why Lothar? Invis can provide you a lot of bonus; you gain bonus movement speed which is REALLY needed if you will be a juke and a chase type hero. A bonus damage after a blow themed up with your critical strike can be really devastating; and trust me, it is. A bonus attackspeed is very good since he needs it badly. Another damage bonus for DpS. If you are a ganker; and everyone knows that one ganker cannot survive without this item on.

What can Lothar really do to me?

-Except for the invisibility, it can really do a lot of things to you.

☻ As an escape pod: After getting harassed by enemy heroes and reincarnation is juiced up, this is a portable escape kit.

☻ Valuing a Skill Point: A dumb/noob player will waste reincarnation just to kill one hero, but not me. I can kill a hero without even wasting my reincarnation. Learn to value your ultimate. Learn to conserve it until clashes and teamplay where you will need it, BADLY.

☻ As an effective gank tool: You get invis then you hit and stun. Then your teammates may now harass that hero. It is as effective as for other heroes like Leoric. If you use it wisely

☻ To initiate: Usually, Lothar carriers are gays. But not Leoric, he is a straight guy. After hitting 3 to 4 times you might want to say bye for your teammates. If you think you can survive after hitting bonus damage, then go forward and rush to your enemies! Do not Hit and Run.

Sir Kill'A'Lot

Why buy this?:

-This is a luxury item. The most suitable orb effect for King Leoric, because it provides the most DpS on all orb effects and gives corruption which synergizes with your critical strike. Wearing Desolator means you are dominating the battlefield. If you are truly Sir Kill'A'Lot then you should have one of this. After Mordiggan; follow this item up as fast as you can, and your critical hit would have a maximum of 850! Which makes your opponents beg for pardon

How About Satanic?

-Also great DpS, however provides you only 45 damage. Even though it increases your survivability, Another lifesteal isn't needed by the Skeleton King since one hit with stygian desolator fills up his hp gauge immediately. And this item is very expensive. So I recommend Desolator for more efficient use.

Luxury and Complete Item Build

The complete set tier:

A Further Explanation:

What boots should I wear?

Fits in what type of Leoric?

Sir Gank'A'Lot
Sir Kill'A'Lot

-Extra DpS is never a waste for Leoric. Since I said first that we will focus on DpS and toughness. Phase Boots has been the best boots so far for a chaser type hero with its very affordable price and I personally recommend it for Leoric himself. Moving through units is really great for a sure no delay with hellfire blast. Fits on Sir Gank'A'Lot since you have great movespeed bonus from early games up to late game if you have this item and also first Sir Kill'A'Lot due to chase help and bonus DpS.

Fits in what type of Leoric?

Sir Push'A'Lot
Sir Gank'A'Lot

-This item really fits a desperate Leoric. BoT has been proven effective on pushing and lane control as well as chasing for ganks. However, since it has no relative bonus damage, getting this boots and your goal is to become a Sir Kill'A'Lot is a total waste. So if in desperate measures, buy this item.

Fits in what type of Leoric?

Sir Kill'A'Lot

-Treads due to some public demand is risen from the crowd. Though I STRONGLY DO NOT RECOMMEND IT. From the fact that it gives you +10 bonus strength which means 10 DpS is added, its too much of a hustle to buy treads especially it does not synergize incredibly with your Critical Strike and Phase is more affordable than Treads. However, as they say, Bonus toughness doesn't really hurt, if you want Leoric to be as manly and as huge as someone like Goliath then buy this. If you feel you are getting ditched and ganked a lot, Do not hesitate to buy this boots since it gives you balls on early games.

Sir Gank'A'Lot
Sir Kill'A'Lot

-One user suggested me the use of Arcane Boots at Skele. Well, here's how I reject items. Arcane boots is a waste of money, why? first, 1500 gold is too much for early game and will relatively delay Leoric's core item, while 900 gold may provide you Phase boots in no time. Second, Arcane Boots DOES NOT offer any dps or any As, its just plain old guts. Third, we have a soul ring which gives you enough mana in exchange with your life, which may come back in no time, Soul Ring also provides mana regeneration which Arcane Boots does not. Overall, Arcane Boots may be bought, only if you gank and roam, however, a carry does not usually do on early to mid games.

Tarrasque or Refresher?

☻ Tarrasque: A baller or toughness? Well its pretty much your decision. Since they both benefit your survivability skills but with Tarrasque you gain extra strength which means DpS. However, consider Tarrasque as an extension after getting refresher; just discard soul ring and make it your heart!

☻ Refresher Orb: Combined with Aegis, you have a total of 4 lives. And trust me, they don't love that. If the game becomes that long. Buy this after getting Desolator or Lothar to really piss them off.

Situational Items

-Situational items are items that may replace you're item set tier to what enemies are you facing and what Leoric will be needing to be bad ass.

What are Situational Items?

Am I that desperate over lane control and winning?

I badly need income and AS, what item is suitable for this and over lane controlling that is on my early budget?

Am I lacking DpS and AS at the same time? And do I hate them when they blink at me away?

Am I ganking furiously that I almost ended up dying after a juke?

I think my team will be needing support and "maphack" what should I buy?

They are annoying me with their invis and ganking, what item should I consider?

How About other true sight?

Do you think the game is gonna extend that long?

Well check it out!

Am I not convinced with my DpS chart hitting up high?

Do i need AS and toughness? Or the game extended sooo long it became boring?

Am I a lifekeeper and not manly enough?

Must I outrun all those disables they are spamming me?

All this items are very useful and handy, but remember to consider the full set item build first before buying this! and when its time for you to buy this and you have a full set item, remove Soul Ring for it may not be that helpful as of the early game.

Rejected Items:

The Gameplay of Skeleton King

A must-read questions of the GAME:

WHEN ACTUALLY AM I STARTING TO PLAY LEORIC?

-On Level 1. Leoric can draw early blood on level 1. Tri-lane is the most accepted lane on early ganks. You will feel that you are playing Leoric when you actually killed somebody at the start of the game. As for this hero, he can kill on early levels. But make sure to learn Hellfire Blast on level 1 or you may not be able to pull the trick out!

WHEN IS LEORIC FEARED BY PLAYERS?

-On Level 6. With your Reincarnation set, and with the right strategy, they might be ignoring you on the map which means that you are scary! With fear on your side, you might harass them and abuse them with your teammates, because I am in no doubt that on team clashes they will save you for last(since you are manly.

WHEN WILL I LOOK LIKE ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER?

-On level 6 or when you complete your phase boots. Even not completing Mordiggan on early games, you look like much better than Arnold upon completing phaseboots. Since it has DpS and phase ability which you will be use on juking and adding more fear into their heart. Am I that bad?

WHEN DO I KNOW IF MY GAME IS DOOMED?

-You die 5 times on at least 14 minutes. You die 8 times overall in the game. It means you are feeding a lot and your tactics isn't working. I might suggest you switch places and become Sir Push'A'Lot.

What Can Leoric actually do?

On Early Games (1-5)

Leoric on starting level can do heavy damage to enemy's day. You can even let them running loose and wild on early game since you can kill about 2 to 5 times before getting on level 6 with a partner or usually a tri-lane partner. Though you have early mana problems that might delay and slow you down. Finishing the soul ring is a great fulfillment, therefore you switch unto Sir Kill'A'Lot

[img]Coming soon[/img]

This is rather simple; you start on the first two minutes. Lane with a partner if you want but I really suggest it. But the true best way to spree on Leoric is with tri-lane. With heroes that has exceptional stun and nuke damage or even small disables that may help you a lot, there is no doubt that you will start on spilling blood. This are the step-by-steps on ganking on level 1 with a lane partner or two:

[img]Coming Soon[/img]

☻: Bottom lane is the best lane to go for when you are senti, and top lane on scourge. Probably because you have dominance over tower range and juking spots. Mid Lane is the poorest juking spot ever on early game since there are many escape paths available.

☻: Hide unto the tree's shade not too far away from the tower.

☻: If a hero with disable or stun with high nuke damage is present, a good example is Vengeful Spirit or even Sven, let them do the first hit.

[img]Coming Soon[/img]

☻: Arrive at the back part of the enemy as he approaches to his fountain.

☻: Stun with Hellfire Blast, do not panic. Some dumb or even stupid players shouts that they cannot stun with idk reason. The truth is they are panicking probably with their hands palpitating like crazy; the result is poor targeting.

☻: You can commit probably two blows and your teammate with three blows the lowest

☻: Tri-Lane; the third team member should be by the place of ups(waiting for ups) then arrive also at the back part of the enemy where he disables it.

☻: Continue chasing until you last hit with your Hellfire Blast, three skills and the IMO is finished.

The key here is to spam and spam a lot of Hellfire Blast as you can while running. However due to lack of mana; a level 1 Leoric can only cast one maximum Hellfire Blast on level 1 juking. This results to his mana dropping 90 where Hellfire Blast needs 140. If you think this will happen, bring a clarity with you while running. Or just rely on your teammates but make sure to last hit! though its hard without hellfire blast.

On Mid-Games (6-10)