Leshrac - Desolation Comes Silently

A Brief Overview

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Leshrac is an intelligence based hero who can have a lot of presence in a team fight. All of his abilities can dish out some serious damage, making him a large threat to the enemy team. High damage in team fights isn't just what makes Leshrac so good, however. He possesses some of the fastest tower pushing in the game, even at a low level. If left unattended, don't be surprised to find several waves of creeps pushing into your barracks.

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Pros: High damage abilities Pushes creeps and towers quickly Good intelligence scaling (more mana) Mobile with 315 base move speed

Cons: Low health Abilities cost a lot of mana No gauranteed escape Low radius stun

Skills

Split Earth (Q)

Split Earth is a 225 radius stun at max level. It deals 300 damage, and stuns enemies for 2 seconds. Part of the reason Leshrac can be so difficult to use is that this stun has a short delay before it goes off. With the use of animation cancelling, you can realign your stun if the enemy is moving, or use it as bait to make the enemy think you're going to stun.

Diabolic Edict (W)

Diabolic Edict is what makes Leshrac, well, Leshrac. It is one of the deadliest skills in the game, and it's what makes Leshrac push towers the way he does. Diabolic edict fires off 32 explosions over 8 seconds, each explosion hitting a random unit in a 500 radius around Leshrac. A big thing to note is the damage is composite, not magical. This means Edict will actually affect towers, and it will even go through a Black King Bar. Leshrac's edict can effectively deal up to 1600 damage before resistance if he catches someone on their own.

Lightning Storm (E)

Lightning Storm is a single targetted ability that will jump between 7 other nearby targets. Lightning storm is on a 5.5 second cooldown, so it is fairly spammable. For the sake of this build, I get it last because personally, I don't think it's very good. Lightning storm is too random to be used effectively in team fights if there is a creep wave around, and Leshrac's ultimate is far better for pushing.

Pulse Nova (R) (Ultimate)

Pulse Nova allows Leshrac to eat through creep waves in a matter of seconds. Pulse nova deals 144 magic damage per second to all enemy units in a 450 radius around himself. Pulse nova can drain your mana pool very quickly, so it's best to wait until later in the game to invest points into it, as your Split Earth and Diabolic Edict are more important early game.

Skill Build

Getting a point in your Split Earth first is great, as the 2 second stun time doesn't change when you level it up. Landing the stun will be difficult early because the radius is small, but if you can land it correctly, getting first blood just became that much easier.

Next, start putting points in your Diabolic Edict. You're going to be maxing your Q and your W first, so at level 8 your Split Earth and Diabolic Edict should both be rank 4.

Once you've maxed those 2 skills, start putting points in stats until level 13. The stats will give you some much needed health and mana which is crucial as this build is built around a Leshrac that roams and ganks. Not having to go back to the fountain after every gank is very important.

By level 13, your mana pool is good enough from all of those stats that you can start pushing lanes with Pulse Nova. Get 2 points in it, another in stats, and a third point in Pulse Nova at level 16 to max it out.

From here you can choose to either continue to put points in stats, or max your lightning storm. You should have farmed up some good items by now, so getting more points in stats isn't terribly necessary.

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1. Split Earth
2. Diabolic Edict
3. Diabolic Edict
4. Split Earth
5. Diabolic Edict
6. Split Earth
7. Diabolic Edict
8. Split Earth
9. Stats
10. Stats
11. Stats
12. Stats
13. Pulse Nova
14. Pulse Nova
15. Stats
16. Pulse Nova
17. Lightning Storm
18. Lightning Storm
19. Lightning Storm
20. Lightning Storm
21. Stats
22. Stats
23. Stats
24. Stats
25. Stats

Items

Starting Items

x2

Because of Leshrac's low starting health, it's a good idea to get 2 sets of Tangos. This will allow you to be more aggressive in harassing the enemy without worrying you'll lose all of your health.



Getting a Healing Salve goes without saying. The 400 health recovered from using it will heal you up to nearly full HP.



Getting a Clarity potion is always a good idea to make sure you have enough mana for that stun that will give you first blood. No one likes an unprepared lane partner.

x3

Iron Branches are always great items to get to fill up your inventory after you've picked up some health regen. They give you that little extra bit of health and mana you need to help stay in the lane. Remember: the longer you stay in the lane, the more exp you get. Leshrac is very dependent on levels.

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While this build is more for an aggressive play style, don't forget that Leshrac is still considered a support. Purchase an Animal Courier if need be, and make sure to keep observer wards up on the map at all times. Your build and play style may be perfect but you and your team can only do so much with limited map vision. Keeping at least 1 ward on one of the 2 rune spots in the river will be convenient for whoever is mid as they can see where the rune is.

Early Game

Phase Boots are very important for Leshrac. They allow him to chase, which is crucial for his Diabolic Edict. They also give him some sort of escape, which is something Leshrac lacks. The +24 damage is great for harassing and last hitting, too.



A Magic Wand is optional, though I suggest getting one. If you bought those 3 iron branches at the beginning, finishing your magic wand will only run you 350 gold (200 for the Magic Stick and 150 for the recipe). Because of Leshrac's low health, getting a magic wand may mean the difference between living and dying.



No matter who you are playing, you should always have an extra Town Portal Scroll in your inventory. A TP scroll allows you to traverse the map extremely quickly, so if there is a team fight going down and you're busy farming, you can get there and participate. Even if you don't have that much mana to do anything, just by being there you present a threat to the enemy. If the enemy sees it's 4v5 while their carry is off farming, they won't push a fight.

Mid Game

Now that you've finished your Phase Boots, start working towards a Shadow Blade. A shadow blade gives you a great amount of mobility, and it's very helpful at lining up your stun just right to unsuspecting foes. Casting does not interrupt the invisibility from shadow blade, meaning that you can take all the time you need to setup your stun just right before the invisibility is removed. A shadow blade will give Leshrac the escape he needs to get out of a fight if he needs to.



A Rod of Atos is a very overlooked item. It provides a hefty +25 intelligence and +325 health, as well as a 4 second 60% slow when used on an enemy, all for 3100 gold. An atos will solve a lot of Leshrac's mana problems, and the extra health gives him a lot more survivability. Not to mention that it makes chasing that much easier. A rod of atos into a Split Earth and Diabolic Edict combo is hard to escape.



An Orchid Malevolence is a good alternative to a Rod of Atos. It provides you with plenty of intelligence and mana regen, and the silence will prevent your enemy from using one of their escape abilities. Personally, I prefer an atos, as the health gain is huge, but if there is an Anti-Mage or Queen of Pain that you just can't seem to kill, consider an orchid.



A Desolator, really? Yes, a desolator. Remember how your Diabolic Edict is composite damage? Well, a desolator's armor reduction will actually increase how much damage your edict does by a pretty drastic amount, and because a desolator will lower the armor of structures as well, it means you will be pushing towers down that much faster.

Luxury

A Black King Bar is essential if you are being singled out in team fights. Because your Pulse Nova does damage per second, the longer you stay in a team fight the more damage you are doing.



First a Desolator, now a Manta Style? Who do you think you are, some kind of carry? Well, not really. A manta style provides you with +10% movement speed which helps in both escaping and chasing. Making illusions of yourself when you have a desolator means you can push towers down even faster, and because Manta removes negative debuffs, if you are pushing a lane by yourself and get dusted, you can pop your Manta and shadow blade to run away or turn right around and blow them up.



Boots of Travel are pretty self explanatory. They allow you to counter push when the enemy is busy doing other things like farming, and it helps tremendously with ganks.



A Veil of Discord on Leshrac can be absolutely devastating. Because Leshrac works almost exclusively in magic damage, the +25% extra magic damage taken debuff the veil puts on enemies will ravage your foes in a team fight.



A Bloodstone works well on Leshrac when surviving is an issue, or if you are running out of mana too quickly. However, because you pick up a Rod of Atos or Orchid Malevolence early, it's not too necessary. Still, it's something to consider if you are dying too easily, as the +500 health is quite a bit.



A Heart of Tarrasque kind of goes off the bloodstone. Personally, I think getting a heart is better than a bloodstone, because you already have plenty of mana, and it will allow you to stay in team fights longer as well as being able to push longer since you have more health.

Don't Get These

Why not get an Aghanim's Scepter? Leshrac's Pulse Nova even has a scepter upgrade! Well, a scepter will only boost your ultimate's damage by 33 (144 - 177). A Veil of Discord will increase ALL magic damage by 1.25x. 1.25 * 144 = 180. So, a veil is actually better than an aghanim's, and it's 1,550 gold cheaper (4200 - 2550)



Just because you got a Desolator doesn't mean you are a carry. A Daedalus isn't what you need. Leshrac's main focus should be on surviving in team fights and pushing towers. Even if you did get a daedelus, you aren't built for attack speed.



A Diffusal Blade is a poor item choice because

• It doesn't stack with Desolator
• It gives agility which is a useless attribute to Leshrac
• If you want to slow people, get a Rod of Atos, which is more suitable for supports.

Also, people will laugh at you if they see you get a diffusal. Don't be that guy.



Don't let the increased magic damage from the Ethereal Blade fool you. While it's great on heroes that can do a lot of burst damage (see: Nyx Assassin, Morphling), Leshrac is simply not that. Leshrac relies on dealing consistent damage over time. The ethereal blade simply doesn't last long enough for it to be of any use to Leshrac. Lastly, an ethereal blade is really meant for agility based heroes. The +40 agility doesn't do much for Leshrac.



A Radiance is a great item to get early in the game as it helps hard carries to get seriously farmed. It isn't very viable on Leshrac, however, not even for pushing. The 45 burn damage/sec is much less than that of his Pulse Nova. Dropping 5150 gold on a radiance is more or less a waste of time and money.

Great Lane Partners

Leshrac works great in a lane with someone who has a good early stun or slow. While a tri lane could work, I wouldn't suggest it. Leshrac really needs some early levels so he can start doing some serious damage.

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Disruptor's Glimpse into a Kinetic Field can be deadly. By forcing the enemy to stay in a small area, Leshrac can use his Diabolic Edict to deal a ton of damage.



Wisp's Tether goes hand-in-hand with Leshrac very well. The increased move speed allows you to get close to the enemy when you use your Diabolic Edict, and the short stun the tether provides can give you enough time to impale the enemy with Split Earth.



Naga's Ensnare practically guarantees you to be able to land a Split Earth. Plus, you can use your edict and simply stand next to them while they are ensnared and they can't do anything about it.



Crystal Maiden's Frostbite and Crystal Nova both help setup a proper stun very easily. With a little bit of communication, you can sync up her frostbite with your Split Earth, increasing the time the enemy is disabled.



Nothing is quite as frustrating as having Shadow Shaman's Shackles on you as Leshrac beats down your face with a little bit of Diabolic Edict.



Because Bane's Nightmare doesn't transfer to someone when they cast a magic spell on them, you can use your Split Earth to wake them up, and then Diabolic Edict to follow up.



A Leshrac and Ancient Apparition lane is a little more difficult to get to work, but the results are very rewarding. If you hit an enemy with Split Earth, AA can follow it up with Cold Feet to hold them in place for even longer. Then, using Ice Vortex, the enemy is both slowed and taking extra damage from your Diabolic Edict.

The End.

Thanks for reading through my guide on Leshrac! This is my first guide I've posted on DotaFire, so I hope you enjoyed it. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions feel free to drop them in the comments below. If you want to see any more guides from me, just let me know. Have a good one!