Lycanthrope Tested Guide

Introduction

Lycanthrope - jungle - carry hero.

When to pick Lycanthrope:

1. Your team doesn't pick any jungle hero & no hard carry & picked solo hero for side lane
2. Enemy team picked carry that can be invisible like Bounty Hunder, Broodmother, Clinkz, Phantom Lancer, Riki, Templar Assassin, Weaver

1. Your team picked jungle hero or picked some hard carry already - no need for other.
2. Enemy team picked Lifestealer - Naix. It's hard to counter. There are better heroes to counter Naix.
3. Enemy team have many disablers like Bane, Lion, Ogre Magi, Shadow Shaman, etc.

Items

Why Vladmir's Offering and not Helm of the Dominator?
Because it gives lycan bonus Mana Regeneration that you need for summoning wolves, howl and shapeshift. That you need much more than other controlled units from Helm of the Dominator.

Why Power Treads?
Because it gives lycan enough movement and attack speed. But mostly, it grands +8 to selected attributes! Which is lot because while farming at woods lycan can choose to select intelligence to have mana high and +8 to strength while ganking, etc.

Why Necronomicon 3?
Because of summoned warrior and archer that greatly cooperates with lycan's ulti and howl! It helps makes team fights even more messy. Even if hero gets disabled, your units still can hunt and cause very nice damage. Summoned demons gains same movement speed and grands vision to see invisible heroes and wards (or traps).

Why Heaven's Halberd and not Sange and Yasha?
The main difference between Heaven's Halberd and Sange and Yasha is Talisman of Evasion. Which I think is better choice for Lycan then Yasha. It is better to counter enemy carries with 25% Evasion than 12% of Movement Speed (which Lycan doesn't need) and +15 Attack Speed.

Why Black King Bar?
When enemy team have some nasty disables or spam a lot of strong spells it is very good choice. If necessary get it even before Necronomicon 1, if not leave it for later.

Why not Skull Basher / Abyssal Blade?
I don't think that this item is what lycanthrope need. Bash / Stun suits better with other heroes with high attack speed, that can't hunt enemies, but it is not case with Lycan. Abyssal Blade grands +10 Strength and +100 Damage, 25% to stun target for 1.4 seconds on attack, which is actually not that help for Lycan for that price (6750g). With Heaven's Halberd he gets +25 Damage, +20 Strength and 25% Evasion, 15% change to slow target movement and attack speed by 20% for great 4 seconds and only for (3950g)! So, the reasons are obvious.

Why Observer Ward in Situational Items?
In some rare games support heroes leaves lycan unprotected. When your jungle is not warded, it is very difficult and very risky to farm. It is much better to buy observer wards by yourself then gets killed. Take those 200g as investment for safety future farming at jungle.

Team Work

It is very important to keep towers up near your jungle as long as possible! When necessary, don't sit in jungle, but go and help defending towers, go gang those who try to endanger you, punish them.

It is also very much help when somebody from your teammates helps with stacking creeps. (Axe stacking ancient creeps)

When wolves gets invisibility (lvl 4), send them to harass enemy heroes, while pulling creeps at jungle, but don't feed enemies with wolves.

Creeping / Jungling

Don't forget to pull creeps at jungle when necessary. It means:
When your teammates pushed lane too far, pull.
When enemy team pushed lane too much to your towers, don't pull, stack for later.