BabyComix 's Guide to

Raijin Thunderkeg
The Storm Spirit

Introduction

A shoutout to everyone who is reading this guide! I wrote this guide because Raijin was insanely fun to play for me, and there were no other guides on him that really delved into his strategy, so here I am! Welcome to my humble adobe.

Back in 6.57 and beyond Storm was a conventional dpser. With a steroid skill, a slow that came every 5 attacks, and a defensive spell sheild, he was shelved into the oh-so-boring legions of hard-core carries. Perhaps his only fun skill during that era was Lightning Grapple, which pulled alone any nearby hero, ally or otherwise. In 6.58 he was revamped into a completely different hero. His steroids and shield were confiscated, changed into a LandMine-ish AOE nuke with a 4 second cooldown, and a single-target Black Hole that slowed himself too. Overload no longer came every 5 attacks, it now came after every spell casted instead. Lightning Grapple no longer pulled other heroes, but it now dealt damage, had an infinite casting range, and had a 0 second cooldown!

Raijin was thus transformed into the ROFL-ing monster he is today.

Please comment on my guide after reading it, whether you love it or hate it!


Pros and Cons

Pros

• Insanely short spell cooldowns
• One of the best pushers in the game
• Practically unkillable
• Crazy mind-game potential
• Can catch up to heroes halfway across the map in two seconds
• One of the greatest burst damagers in the game
• Able to permanently slow an opponent

and the list goes on and on...

Cons

• His one disable slows himself
• Consumes mana extemely fast
• Pretty hard to play well

Abilities

Static Remnant


Raijin creates a remnant of himself containing his essence. The Static Remnant will release its stored energy whenever an enemy unit comes near it. Lasts 12 seconds.

Level 1 - 140 Damage
Level 2 - 180 Damage
Level 3 - 220 Damage
Level 4 - 260 Damage

Cooldown: 4 seconds
Manacost: 70 / 80 / 90 / 100
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Author's Note: This skill does insane damage due to its very short cooldown. Once maxed, Storm can clear a creep wave with two of these in 4 seconds, making it an extremely good farming and pushing tool. However, to use this requires Storm to be right next to the target, making it hard to land without placement from ROFL or the pull from Vortex.

Useful Information:

• Takes 1 second to create after cast. This is not channeling, just time delayed, but don't expect the damage to be instant.
• The remnant has a 700 unit range of vision, that sees through trees and cliffs. If someone is juking you, just plant a remnant and you will be able to spot him. Also useful for checking Roshan by planting one at the secret shop or the trees to the left of Roshan.
• Always click Stop right after Remnant, it will cancel the 1 second animation immediately.

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Electric Vortex


Storm focuses his energy to rip open vortex drawing an enemy to it. This process slows the Storm Spirit's movement speed by 50% for 3 seconds.

Level 1 - Pulls 100 units over 1 second.
Level 2 - Pulls 150 units over 1.5 seconds.
Level 3 - Pulls 200 units over 2 seconds.
Level 4 - Pulls 250 units over 2.5 seconds.

Cooldown: 20 seconds
Manacost: 100
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Author's Note: This being your only disable, treasure it dearly. Having a short 300 casting range, you would usually cast it after placement from ROFL. A Remnant-Vortex-Remnant combo is common, pulling the enemy toward your first Remnant and planting a second one right after Vortex is done.

Useful Information:

• If you are running away with around half mana and have no hope of killing the chaser, do not use this spell to disable him, as it slows you by 50% and has a 0.5 second casting time. Instead, just ROFL away. Usually you always have a chance to kill the chaser though, with your burst damage and all.
• Since it is based on Aerial Shackles, you cannot target a unit that is already being shackled.

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Overload


Storm Spirit becomes overloaded with electrical energy whenever he casts a spell. The charge is released on his next attack as an electrical burst, dealing damage and slowing nearby units' movement speed by 80% and attack speed by 50% for 0.6 seconds

Level 1 - 30 Damage
Level 2 - 45 Damage
Level 3 - 60 Damage
Level 4 - 75 Damage

Passive
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Author's Note: With a slow and extra damage after every Remnant, Vortex or ROFL, this spell is what makes Storm a fearsome pseudo-dpser and lane controller. Late into the game, the mass Overloads reaped from mass ROFLs will be great damage dishers and slowers.

Useful Information:

• Try to attack after every spell in order to harness Overload's maximum potential.
• Any item-based spells ( TP Scroll, Dagon, Shivas, Manta ) will NOT activate Overload.

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Ball Lightning (aka. ROFL)


Storm Spirit becomes enveloped with energy, losing his physical form, and travels until he depletes his mana or reaches his target. While in this form, he deals damage to nearby units based on how far his electrical form has traversed. Damage, speed and area of effect improves per level.

Level 1 - 150 AOE / 8 Damage per 100 distance traversed / 1250 MS
Level 2 - 225 AOE / 12 Damage per 100 distance traversed / 1875 MS
Level 3 - 300 AOE / 16 Damage per 100 distance traversed / 2500 MS

Cooldown: 0 seconds
Manacost: (15 + 7% of total manabase) + mana based on distance traveled (10+1% per 100 units)
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Author's Note: This spell transforms Raijin into an absolute monster. With full mana, Storm can travel from the fountain to the first mid-lane tower in seconds alone. This spell also makes you unkillable once you have racked up enough mana regen late game. The damage dealt is no laughing matter either. This is without any doubt Storm's most powerful, fearsome and fun ability.

Useful Information:

• Spells are castable during ROFL, meaning you can plant a Remant/ Vortex an enemy midway through your ultimate. More information at the Strategy section below.
• Stops traveling when Raijin runs out of Mana.
• Destroys any trees in your path.
• Raijin is invulnerable while rolling.
• If Raijin had an Overload charge before he ROFL-ed, he will have none after a ROFL, as Storm can attack during a ROFL.
• If Raijin had no Overload charge before a ROFL, an Overload charge will appear after the ROFL. Therefore, always try to use up your Overload before you ROFL into a battle. One exception to this is discussed in the Strategy section below, named "A Free Slow".
• Ball Lightning cannot be stopped, so once you cast it over a long distance, don't try spamming the stop button. Think before you ROFL, or they'll be ROFL-ing at you.
• Storm can cast spells and attack during ROFL.
• You can bend ROFL by spam-clicking to the left / right while ROFLing, slow down by spam-clicking behind you , or speed up by spam-clicking in front of you / on the target position.

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Skill Build(s)


The Solo Build
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Level 01 - Static Remnant
Level 02 - Overload
Level 03 - Electric Vortex
Level 04 - Overload
Level 05 - Overload
Level 06 - Ball Lightning
Level 07 - Overload
Level 08 - Electric Vortex
Level 09 - Electric Vortex
Level 10 - Electric Vortex
Level 11 - Static Remnant
Level 12 - Static Remnant
Level 13 - Static Remnant
Level 14 - Ball Lightning
Level 15 - Stats
Level 16 - Ball Lightning
Level 17-25 - Stats

Skill Build Justification:

1. Maxing Overload first: this ability allows you to last hit more easily and harass heroes with high damage and a slow. There can be no reason to delay this passive ability that helps your early game the most, especially as it's mostly useful in your lane and midgame in 1v1 combat when the opponent is attacking you or attempts to run away.
2. Electric Vortex as second priority: This is pumped as it is your only disable and you need it to suck people into your Revnant and more importantly, for them not to run away while you hit them with hits charged with Overloads.
3. Only one level of Static Remnant is gotten early because it barely gives any help to early lane control, as the opponent can easily weave around the revnant / back away when you go forth. When you level it, only the damage increases ( and it does so quite poorly ). As for early game farm, a Level 1 Revnant, an Overload hit, and another Level 1 Revnant is already sufficient to clear a wave. The one level early is gotten only for Overload and mindgames, which will be touched on later.
4. Ball Lightning is gotten at Level 6 obviously, it opens a whole new world of possibilities to your gameplay. The second level is then pushed to Level 14 because it doesn't really scale well over one level. Only the speed and damage increases ( slightly ), the manacost remains the same. Get it again at level 16, as Level 3 ROFL is double the speed and damage of a Level 1.

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The Dual Build
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Level 01 - Static Remnant
Level 02 - Overload
Level 03 - Electric Vortex
Level 04 - Static Remnant
Level 05 - Static Remnant
Level 06 - Electric Vortex or Ball Lightning
Level 07 - Static Remnant
Level 08 - Electric Vortex
Level 09 - Electric Vortex
Level 10 - Ball Lightning or Electric Vortex
Level 11 - Ball Lightning
Level 12 - Overload or Stats
Level 13 - Overload or Stats
Level 14 - Overload or Stats
Level 15 - Stats
Level 16 - Ball Lightning
Level 17-22 - Stats
Level 23-25 - Stats or Overload

Skill Build Justification:

I feel Storm Spirit can only reach his full potential as a solo, as he needs the money for Bloodstone, and the extra levels to dominate earlier on. However sometimes you are forced to dual-lane for some reason or another...

1. Maxing Static Remnant first: with a teammate on your side, his stun / slow will make it much easier to land your Remnant upon the poor opponents. Pump it for purely damage, as even though the damage levels poorly, early game 40 more damage makes a ton of difference.
2. Early leveling of Electric Vortex: Obviously, to get kills via dual disabling in your lane.
3. A level of Overload early on and no more: In a solo lane you have a hard time landing Remnant and thus you must turn to the other source of damage, Overload. But since in a dual lane it is much easier to land Remnant, Overload should only be gotten for the slow. The next chance you have to get Overload is at Level 12, where the extra 15 damage per level may or may not be already insignificant, so you can choose to get Stats instead.
4. You can choose to get ROFL at Level 6 or 10, it depends on your mana capacity. If you play more conservatively, go Vortex for the more defensive, "wait for them to attack you" approach. ROFL, however, is an insanely strong offensive and you should get it as fast as possible if you have barely any problems with your mana.

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Rambo King
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Level 01 - Static Remnant
Level 02 - Overload
Level 03 - Electric Vortex
Level 04 - Static Remnant
Level 05 - Static Remnant
Level 06 - Ball Lightning
Level 07 - Static Remnant
Level 08 - Overload
Level 09 - Overload
Level 10 - Overload
Level 11 - Electric Vortex
Level 12 - Electric Vortex
Level 13 - Electric Vortex
Level 14 - Ball Lightning
Level 15 - Stats
Level 16 - Ball Lightning
Level 17-25 - Stats

Skill Build Justification:

Go this build when you are facing a solo melee or dual melee lane. Does the most burst damage from the three builds.

1. Static Remnant pumped hard for anti-melee power!
2. Overload pumped second for damage and slow, probably giving you another 2 hits at the opponents.
3. Only one level of Electric Vortex is gotten because you don't really need to draw them to Remnants or keep them in a certain area to hit them: They're already melee making them sitting ducks for your Remnants and Overload harassment.
4. Ball Lightning gotten at Level 6 for the ganking rambo power, next gotten at Level 14 because of poor scaling as stated before.

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Item Builds


Starting Out
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or

Start with this. Basilius is for the mana regen and other benefits which help very well for an early solo Storm for harassing and surviving. Tangoes for HP. In a dual lane, if your ally already has an RoB or a mana-replenishing spell ( Chakra, Brillance Aura ), feel free to go for Boots instead, which helps a lot in early-game spell positioning. [/hidden]
Building Bloodstone
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On your first trip to the Secret Shop, buy this. The earliest I have accomplished this is the 5 minute mark, and the latest the 8 minute mark. Use this as a rough gauge of when you should be able to achieve Perserverance. This allows you to easily top your mana after ~ 1 min so you should be getting kills every 3 min or so. You will be turning this into Bloodstone / Linken's later on.

---->

The next three trips to the Secret Shop should reap Point (around 11th minute), Vitality (around 14th minute) and Energy (around 18 minute) in that order. This gives you extra HP and Mana to stay around the battlefield more, and once you get Energy, Bloodstone is formed.

Bloodstone is your core item. Every Storm Spirit game should be aiming for Bloodstone at the start, and then it branches out from there into your own personal style. The reasons are simple:

• Storm gets kills easily
• Storm needs immense mana regen for his ultimate and Bloodstone is the only item where the mana regen increases steadily.
• Storm needs extra HP as he will be in the thick of battle most of the time.

... which adds Storm to the short list of people who do need Bloodstone as a core item! It's the only item that gives him everything he needs for a good price. Attempt to get Bloodstone between 15 to 20 minutes of gameplay.



You should get this AFTER Bloodstone ( except during special cases while dual-laning as stated above ). Storm doesn't really need Boots of Speed actually (though he may need its upgrades ) so I mostly get this just as a filler item. [/hidden]
Building Orchid
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Grab three of these on your next trip to base.



Form an RoB if you haven't, as during your ganks you will probably be separated from your lane partner with RoB more than once. The damage and armor supports a lot and the Sobi Masks amplify the base mana regen greatly.

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In your subsequent trips to base, form Oblivions one by one and eventually end up with Orchid. Orchid is a good item to get after Bloodstone, due to its immense mana regenerative capabilities, with the damage and attack speed also helping Storm if you are aiming for a pseudo-dpser. Also, it's easy to build.

In the case of a terrible early game, Orchid is a cheap man's Bloodstone, solely for the regen. Go for Orchid straight if you see Bloodstone nowhere in sight till after the 30th minute. A Bloodstoned Storm before the 30th minute still, at least, has hope of becoming a late-game monster.[/hidden]
Items Afterward
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Cheap Void Stones are good for spamming early. Upgrade them to Linken's or Guinsoo's later on.



Disabler Storm. Also allows you to place one more Remnant. Get this if the other team has bothersome carries.



DPS Storm. Get this if the other team has bothersome disablers. Its insane mana regen is also very good for ROFL spammage. Orchid should always be your go-to item if somehow or another your farming for Bloodstone is screwed, as it gives good mana and incredible regen.



Initiator Storm. ROFL in, hit, Remnant, hit, Shivas, hit, Remnant, hit.



I usually always get this after Bloodstone, because it gives Storm extra Stats and mana regen. Usually you get this when the opponent team has a Vengeful / Potm -esque stun, or a single target silence.



I'm not advocating this, but I've seen it before, and it works. You may go for this in a fun game when you want to spam your ultimate like no tomorrow.



Go Boots of Travel for maximum map control, Treads if you are going Orchid for more dps. I don't usually go Phase, unless I'm going initiator Storm... which I never go anyway. Lol.



Get this if you having lots of trouble with the enemies' spells, what with their silences or stuns. With Spell Immunity and ROFL, you will be a monster in those precious few seconds of rape.



LoL. Usually I get this if I go Treads-Orchid, we've already raxed one lane and I've racked up 32 charges on my Bloodstone.

Note that money is not a problem for Storm, he will be racking up so many kills and CS after Bloodstone that high-tier items seems like a breeze. [/hidden]
Items Not to Buy
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Get over yourselves people, the Dps Storm age is dead and gone.



Your burst damage is already sufficient to kill and there are far more efficient item early game. MAYBE you could get this if you have too much gold on your hands (something you'll probably have many times when playing Storm).



You don't need the damage or sparklies to farm, you don't need the evasion because you'll be ROFL-ing in and out, you don't need the immolation because you already have Remnant.



Lol. [/hidden]
Core Build
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Strive to end games with a mixture of these items. [/hidden]

Strategies

THE MAIN COMBO:



or a ROVORO for short!


Static Remnant

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Farming and Pushing - Remnant + Overload + Remnant will clear most creep waves instantly, leaving you with an Overload charge to open the next wave. Usually if your creeps are engaging another wave, you would want to skip the battle and move on to the next enemy wave, so that they will sorround you for easier placement of a Remnant.

Hero Killing - To effectively damage a hero with many Remnants he must either be actively engaging you and not running away ( easiest scenario, just plant as many as you can and Vortex too ), or you must ROFL slightly behind him so that after the Remnant casting time he is still within range. Pretty easy to kill heroes with Remnants, late game you can even just ROFL-hit-Remnant-hit-ROFL-hit-Remnant-hit, always ROFLing in front of him of course.

Vision - A remnant gives 700 AOE vision around it regardless of obscuring trees or elevated platforms. The ultimate counter to jukes, this vision-giving tidbit can also be used to check on Roshan from the Scourge secret shop or the trees beside it. Also can be planted as a 12 second ward, when you are scouting their neutral spots for potential kills.

Early Mind Games - Works best in solo lanes. Run forward to the other guy beyond his creep line, without attacking him so as to not draw creep aggro. If he backs off, just keep hovering around that position till one of your creep dies ( effectively denying him of ALL the experience from that creep). If he engages, plant a Remnant, hit once for Overload, and back. If you have Vortex, you can ROVORO him, dealing 400~500 damage. This technique can be used as early as Level 1 with Remnant, and works most efficiently from Level 3 onward when you have all three spells.

Detecting Invisible Units - Invisible units trigger Remnant. Basically if you have low life and are running when a hero behind you ( Clinkz / Gondar / Etc. ) goes invisible, try running through a narrow route and planting a Remnant in the way. This should deter them from chasing, or at least give you a rough gauge of how far they are from you along with damaging them a little.

Luring - Opponent chasing you? Run up a cliff and plant a Remnant on the spot. When they follow you up they will be greeted with a ROVORO! Luring is a perfect combo-opening technique without having to use ROFL as a set-up for the ROVORO.

Activating Overload - Sometimes a hero gets away with ~ 100 health even after your Vortex. You only have enough time to attack him once yet can't kill him with a plain attack, so you Remnant to get some support from Overload and maybe even a second hit in with the slow induced. Remember to animation cancel fast when doing this method. [/hidden]
Electric Vortex

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Disabling - Does what all disables do, stop channeling, stun for more attacks, etc. It lasts longer than most other disables in the game though, and synergizes well with AOE spells.

Pulling to Tower - Though it has a 0.5 second casting time, once you get within range, the guy gets pulled no matter what (unless possessing a blink-like skill with casting time below 0.5 seconds), explaining how some times people are able to be pulled from 400 distances and over instead of the stated "300 casting range". Basically if some guy gets too close to your tower, pull him and Overload-slow him to face the tower's wrath.

Pulling to Remnants - Oops, casted Remnant too far from your opponent? Use Vortex to drag him into the trigger AOE!

Pulling Up Cliffs - Yes, you can pull an enemy from across a cliff! So if you spot an enemy from the other side of a cliff, don't hestitate to drag him up to his demise! Use this wisely, you can even ROFL up on to an inescapable platform and Vortex a hero up, leaving him stranded there.[/hidden]
Overload

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Slow - The short AOE 80% slow comes in very handy during ganks or when someone is chasing you. This slow, though 0.6 seconds may look pretty useless on paper, will save your life and get you many kills throughout the game.

Farming / Harassing - The extra damage from Overload is useful for last-hitting creeps and synergizes well with Remnant mid-late game for farming. Harassing early-game with constant Overloads also stack up to be an insane amount of damage.

Last-hitting - A tad similar to the earlier point, but specifically focusing on early-game last hitting. Sometimes the opponents' laners are too sheer overwhelming for you. In that case, stay far behind your creeps, and activate remnant to gain an Overload charge. Using the extra damage from Overload will most definitely snag you a creep kill every time, and you can use this technique as many times as you want till your mana runs out ( making it optimal to use 2 times per wave, as with an RoB, 2 Remnants every 30 seconds will replenish your mana to full each time. ). This is another reason why it helps to keep Remnant's level ( and thus mana ) low. [/hidden]
Ball Lightning (aka. ROFL)

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Running - A plain Blink. For this purpose, use it in short distances so you do not consume too much mana.

Initiating - With its speed and damage, ROFL usually catches the opponent so off-guard that he still hits creeps for the next 1.5 seconds. Use this opening to perform a ROVORO.

Clearing Pushes - This technique, when performed at an optimum range, clears all creeps at a target area instantly. As handy as an Echo Slam in anti-pushing, and the damage isn't to be scoffed at either.

Chasing - ROFL in front of the runner, Overload Remnant Overload. Rinse and Repeat.

Finishing - You have lots of mana, and an enemy hero is getting away from your allies 6000 distance across? Not while you're here! A well-aimed ROFL at that distance can do up till 700 damage, easily killing any red-life hero. If there are two / three stragglers after a team battle in mid-lane for instance, ROFL-ing straight through the whole lane will nab you a double, or triple kill! This scenario will probably pop up more than once in your ventures with Raijin . Aim a finishing ROFL like you would aim Clockwerk's Rocket.

Invulnerability - You can dodge many attacks with short-distance ROFLs, such as Dual Breaths, Starfalls, and Freezing Fields as ROFL gives you momentary invulnerability. This skill renders Rupture useless against you (sometimes mistaken as a counter against Storm). Timed well, ROFL can even cause the enemy team to waste their Laguna / Finger.

Note: In order to negate damage and any negative effects from a spell, you must be ROFL-ing when it hits you. Meaning moving spells ( Carrion Swarm, Storm Bolt ) can still damage you if you ROFL when they are first casted, but stop ROFL-ing before the spell reaches you ( very important against Storm Bolts! )

Confusion - With its flashy animation and damage (no matter how insignificant), ROFL-ing around in the battlefield relentlessly in short bursts can confuse poor opponents out of their wits, easily delaying time for your teammates to kill 'em.

A Free Slow - As stated before, if you have overload before ROFL-ing, it will disappear as Storm attacks when ROFL-ing. Use this to your advantage, if you have an Overload, ROFLing a lone opponent not surrounded by any units will ensure that you hit him and him alone, giving you a free slow even though you are still ROFL-ing! Thus when you stop, you can instantly cast ROVORO without hitting the guy once to dissipate the Overload from ROFL.

Casting Spells while ROFL-ing - Many a time will come when you are up against heroes such as Clinkz / Anti-Mage who pussy away the instant you ROFL in, leaving you no time to pull off any spells. The solution to this is to just ROFL in as per normal, but once you begin ROFL-ing, cast Vortex upon him. This will mean that once you get into range of a Vortex, he will be Vortexed immediately. Great trick for opening 2v1 ganks with your teammate following up. Remnants and all other spell-based items can also be cast during ROFL. Note that this trick gives you a free Overload charge after you land.

Deforestation - ROFL cuts down all trees in its path. Use this as you wish, whether destroying Eyes in the Forest, or cutting down a line of trees to give your dying friend an escape path.[/hidden]

Walkthrough

Early Game

After picking Raijin, grab a Basilius Ring alone with a set of tangoes and head off to solo the middle lane. At the same time, ask your ally with a chicken for control ( if there are any ), this will help in assembling Perserverance later on. Remember to turn your RoB to "hero-only" in order to prevent pushing of your creeps early game. When you solo, always go middle as it has the least chance of being ganked and the most chance of facing another solo lane. Use your Early Mind Games as much as possible. The opponents' solo lane should end up the same level as the duals, what with the Mind Games and your denying + harassing. Hit the opponent with Overloaded attacks whenever you can. From Level 3, hardcore harass your lane opponent like no tomorrow, till the start of Level 5, when you start recharging your mana which should be capped by the time you reach Level 6. Be sure NOT to lower his life below half health, as he may back off to fountain which you do not want, because... at Level 6, ROFL in and ROVORO. With your earlier harassing, this should mean a free kill for you! So do it right!

Once you start hitting Levels 6 ~ 8, you should already have your Perserverance (and perhaps your Point Booster too). In your subsequent trips to the Secret Shops or the runes, look out for top / bottom lane potential ganks. If they are below half hp and you have close to full mana, perhaps you would like to stop by to give them a taste of you .

Your first few games with Storm may end up having the early game screwed up, but with more experience and practice, eventually you'll get the hang of it!


Middle Game

Once you hit your Bloodstone your mid-game starts. At this point, you should never be caught last-hitting a lane again. Gank like hell, ask your allies to feed you some early kills for Bloodstone charges. Early charges propels your potential to no end, more mana regen and hp regen = more ultimates which = more kills. After 5 charges or so, you should be able to easily achieve kills by yourself, and every team battle you should be getting 2 kills or more. If you want to farm, plant down two Remnants, clear it and move on. Grab a Perserverance for cheap mana regen if needed. Your ultimate goal is 10 charges by late game. With 10 charges, you will be pretty much unkillable as you will be able to spam ROFL quite easily ( dun go overboard of course ) and it is at that point where Storm truly becomes the incredible monster late game.


Late Game

Late Game will pretty much be the same as the middle game, only it will be ten-times more fast paced and should be hell for the opponents. Your ultimate should be available whenever you want it what with your items and charges. Wait for the opponents to launch all their huge spells, then ROFL in and pick them off, one by one. Always Vortex their main carry first, or their main disabler like Rhasta or Lion. You should be breezing through late game, racking up huge high-tier items easily, and using the Clearing techniques whenever available.


The Art Of Ball Lightning

In this section I will expand upon the many quirks and uses of ROFL.

Coming soon.

Edit: Recently with all my schoolwork and projects piling up I am indeed finding it hard to stay focused on getting good screenshots to explain ( which is the main focus of this section ) techniques used with ROFL, nor can I find the time to even play a DotA game for a good 1.23 replay. Thus this section will probably only be upgraded around early June. Sorry! Hope you understand readers

Quick overview of what is to come:

-How to dodge spells / attacks properly
-Efficient usage of ROFL to function as a blink
-Initiating with ROFL: many in-game "glitches" with ROFL and how to overcome them
-Cheap anti-push techniques
-Chasing with ROFL: Who do you target first?
-Using ROFL to damage: When and when not to
-Using ROFL to open tree paths

and many more!


How to Counter Storm


Mana-Burners

These heroes give you hell early game. Mid-late game however, their burns pose nearly no threat to you.

PRO-TIP: Either swap lanes, or play extremely defensively and hope for a fast Level 6 for a free kill of those fragile mana-burners. Remember, never wander too close to a mana-burner.


Silencers

Storm is nothing without his spells.

PRO-TIP: Storm cannot be affected by any form of silence during ROFL, including Drow / DP's AOE silences and Silencer's GS. Well-executed ultimates will render you unflinching to all but Doom.


Keeper of the Light

KotL gets his own special section! If he mana leaks you at any point in the game, you are totally fucked over. Mana Leaks leaks through your ultimate, so you can barely travel 1000 distance without running out of mana.

PRO-TIP: Don't let KotL have a chance to Mana Leak you, assassinate him with a fast ROFL + combo from outside his sight.


Silencer

With Last Word, your flashy spells are limited to one every four seconds... don't try to engage Silencer alone if he is surrounded by his allies.

PRO-TIP: If Silencer has a sheepstick, never engage him alone. Attempt to use a ROFL and a Remnant to start off the battle with you having two Overloads and a Remnant above him. If he still doesn't run after 4 seconds, Vortex him, and keep hitting. Either way, once he runs eventually, wait for him to be 700 ticks away, ROFL up, and plant another Remnant. He should be dead by then.


Raijin's Best Buds



Lol.



His ultimate acts as a good opener for you to ROFL in a pick off the lower HP heroes. Imprisonment also gives you free time to place another Remnant but more importantly, his Essence Aura gives you crazy mana regen mid-late game.



Her aura helps tremendously in early-game spamming of Remnant, so you can choose to drop RoB for more favorable items. In a dual lane pair-up, a Bite is a great opener for a ROVORO, and they have double slows between Nova and Overload. A dual disable, dual slow duo. What more can be said?



Combining their Polarity / Vacuum with the Clearing technique and a Remnant is really painful.


When To Pick Storm Spirit

In my opinion, Storm Spirit is viable in every game! He has great lane control capacity and may even give some of the god-tier laners a run for their money. From Level 3, he possesses the constant threat of a ROVORO which does fearsome damage. However, there are some games which are easier for him then others...

1. Opponents have few stunners / silencers on their team. This applies to many heroes, but especially for Storm, because his whole playstyle is based around fast-paced ROFLing and spammage.
2. Opponents has an abundance of Agi-Carries, Techies, or people like CM or Naga who have low life and their disable doesn't really disable you, it just holds you there. Which is useless because you can just ROFL away / next to them till it wears off!
3. Opponents do not have too many tankers on their team. Storm can easily handle tankers mid-late game, too many ( 3 / 4 ) tankers prevent you from building up charges on your bloodstone giving you a much harder time than normal.
4. Opponents do not have too many counters ( stated up there ) against you.

Storm's role in the Team

"There's no 'I' in team." But there's two in Raijin! Storm Spirit is the solo ganker that strikes fear into the enemies' hearts, from 6000 distance away he can spot them static farming a lane and instantly kill them. Even when you think you've gotten away, he suddenly ROFLs out of nowhere to slaughter you. Never be afraid to tower-dive, or even ROFL into their base to kill a hero, every kill counts. The role of Raijin is not to play like a pussy and stay back and be afraid of ramboing in, rather you should be the greatest pitbull there ever was! Send a message to your opponents that they should know who they are messing with, that you're not afraid of killing them even when they've a tower to back them up. This will result in either them running whenever they see you, or focusing you whenever they see you, the former is great, and the latter is greater, because you can't die once you've racked up enough charges. Extremely adaptable mostly due to his ultimate, Raijin can be played as an initiator, pseudo-dps ( but not too hardcore on that front ), or an NA-esque roamer.

No matter how one plays Storm, he is without doubt an extremely fun and crazy hero to play. No one game will ever be the same, and his insane fast-paced playstyle and flashy graphics makes every game a beautiful work of art.


Epilogue

We've reached the end! Yes! Thank you for reading my guide till the end, and I hoped you liked it and will be able to reap some benefits from it. Feel free to ask questions below, I will attempt to answer all of them and will place the more prominent ones in my FAQ. I'll put any important tidbits and tips about Storm in my guide, so share your knowledge! Replays and pictures for my Strategy section will be uploaded later.


Replays

v1.22 Replays
[hidden]MYM vs SRS

Sentinel:
versus
Scourge:

H4nn1 went for cheap stats at the beginning instead of RoB, as early mind games do not work against a dual lane and H4nn1 has no need for cheap Overload charges to last hit. Probably should have gone gauntlets instead of mantles though, as Storm is in no dire need of mana early game especially without much usage of Remnants. Skill Build wise, he went for the Rambo Build, which was strange as he did not fight much for kills ( after getting Bloodstone, his first charges were a whole 8 minutes later ). Item Build wise, he went for a pseudo-Dpser Storm, aiming for Orchid and Treads after his Stone, to cover for their team's lack of a carry ( showing the versatility of Storm? :P ). In my opinion, he focused far too much on farming than he should have, choosing to go on the offensive only past the 29th minute mark. Being H4nn1, he still ended with a respectable amount of charges at the end. Good replay using my item and skill builds, and well-executed combos by the MYM crew.

Cruising Storm Game

I experienced a very good early game, and my teammates agreed to pump up the charges on my Stone early. Many ROVOROs in this game, look through them to get a gist of how a ROVORO should be performed. Overall, incredible game, where i ended up with 18 kills and no deaths. At the end I started playing a fool haha :P but see how I dodge some of SK's stuns near the end ( I didn't dodge any before that because I never came face to face with him before ) with ROFLs.

A Game Against Counters

Even though the opposition had many heroes countering me ( Lucifer with silence and tankiness, Bane with many disables, Alchemist with tankiness and stun, Spec with escape spell and pseudo-tankiness, and Magnataur with stun and tankiness ), I was pretty much in the mood for Storm and so I picked him. Join me in my journey as I dodge stuns, rack charges and pretty much become an unbeatable force late in to the game, finishing with 21 charges ( 21!! ) on my Bloodstone. [/hidden]

v1.23 Replays
[hidden]Storm vs ShadowFiend : Battle of the Cosmos

One for all the "Storm is a useless solo below Level 6"-ers. So THERE!
...
Anyway Storm raped face as usual. This is one of the more high-quality games I managed to produce with Storm, and I managed to pull off many sweet ROVOROs ( sometimes even ROVOs were enough ). Liked this game .[/hidden]


FAQ

[hidden]General Reason: Storm needs to rush Bloodstone as soon as possible, because he is naked without it ( HP, Regen ). Meaning you should go for pumping Overload / Remnant to farm early, and Electric Vortex to gank mid-game ( with the exception of Rambo Build, where you face opponents which you don't need Vortex to kill ).[/hidden]

[hidden]Same as the last question in that it asks if Storm should pump Vortex early, but now for a specific reason, Vortex being a "good, long disable".

Well, Vortex is one of the worst disables in the game, if one talks purely on the disabling aspect ( and why would you talk about the pulling aspect which is meant mainly for Remnant if you aren't pumping Remnant early? ). It is an incredibly short disable that scales extremely badly in the disabling aspect. With no damage. castable only at 300 range. And it slows yourself. I mean, it fucking SLOWS yourself. The only reason Vortex synergizes with SS at all is due to its pull for Remnant, and activating Overload for extra damage, and delaying time for Remnant to cooldown to place another one.

Which obviously brings up the question: why the hell would you pump EV early if your Remnant / Overload aren't pumped?

The answer: You don't.

The only time you would ever go this build is in a dual lane, and even then, an extra Level of Remnant beats that of Vortex, since your ally will be stunning for you to initiate with Remnant anyway. Meaning, the Dual Lane Build > Max Vortex Fast Build. And no, please don't ever lane Storm with a non-stunner, the fact that he is in a dual lane already weakens his Level, he needs kills to make up for that gold loss. [/hidden]


Changelog

15/03/09 - Writing and Posting of the guide.
17/03/09 - Uploaded a Replay, edited Dual Skill Build slightly to make ROFL optional at Level 6.
18/03/09 - Made Bloodstone viable in dual-laning, added another strategy using Overload, extended walkthrough section.
19/03/09 - Minor cosmetic changes, added a professional replay starring MYM|H4nn1.
12/04/09 - Made many sections hidden to improve overall cosmetics of the guide.
13/04/09 - Added PRO-TIP sections under Counters.
23/04/09 - Changed guide cover: new cover by constrictor.