Brutalis' Guide to Phantom Assassin [Last Updated 5/2/2015]

I Really like building manta on Phantom Assassin regardless of the direction of play, if you get good at using the illusions you can pull enemies and dodge a lot of stuff, the damage and anti target should not be overlooked even if you are farmed. Great guide over all, I'd love to see a little more Manta Style

I find that you need the Phantom Strike on a low enough CD to chase down heroes aswell as to have a big attack speed increase to help getting Coup de Grace procs. Max Blur won't help you pick enemies off and be really aggressive in the mid game and keep you snowballing, but it's a superb ability if you're gonna sit in lane farming. Also after a HoD, Drums and some levels I find that PA's armour is good enough to take a few punches but all skill builds are variable and there are plenty of situations where I can see maxing Blur first would be best.

I can also see why Vlads would be good, especially if you wanna get a Deso or if the enemy has an Omni and you really want the repel from Diffusal, and I see your point about there being better survivability items like a Heart in the late game but the thing about HoD > Satanic is that it saves an inventory slot rather than Vlads + Heart and the 25% passive/175% active is nothing to scoff at when RNGesus isn't with you and you aren't getting the huge crit lifesteals.

I prefer going Vladmir's Offering over Helm of the Dominator because it has much more mid game impact and you won't be stacking ancients with a dominated creep most of the time. Besides, you won't need to buy a Satanic since a crit already gives you a lot of HP back and there are better alternatives for survivability like Black King Bar, Eye of Skadi, Heart of Tarrasque or even a Butterfly if nobody builds an MKB/Vyse in the other team.

About the skill build, now that the evasion percentage of the level 4 Blur is 50% I think it's always better to max it out before Phantom Strike. I think that while the cooldown reduction of Phantom Strike does make a difference you won't be using it so much in the early-mid game; on the contrary, given PA's low HP, you'll get focused with physical damage a lot of times, in which case a 50% evasion chance will help you a lot.

Man, this is a great guide! I think this will be so useful to rule pubs since it's mid-game oriented, and fun as hell too! Thanks for sharing the opportunity to avoid the boring butterfly build!

I like your build#1 a lot., since when I play carries I usually prefer to build them so they're more mid game oriented. Focusing on stocking up on cost efficient items can really let you dominate the midgame, and not have to be a situation where you have to try to outcarry a 6 slot FV *shudder*

hah I completely forgot about maelstorm its alot efficient and cheaper than a battlefury.

And the maelstorm instead of a battlefury in your build because the attackspeed from

the Power Treads can be substituited with the maelstorm since you pick a Phase Boots

instead. Also maxing Stifling Dagger first in your build synergyses well with the Phase Boots, makes you save a ton of mana and chase more efficiently.

Thanks or the positive responses. I never thought my first guide would be so well received.



That's a really good idea. I think that build would work best in a minus armour strat. With an SD mid, an Alch support and a Medallion carrier like offlane BH your physical DPS would skyrocket. However I think that it's a very one-trick pony whereas this build is adaptable and works in most situations regardless of team composition.

Dang man! Great guide - seriously with such creativity in your builds, I sure hope I have you on my team ;)

This is very mid-game heavy Phantom Assassin build that I believe some pros use. Love this ! I also notice your Hard Carry Build, and it's fine too :D

Hi! First of all, great guide, I really like that you don t go for that standard, boring battle fury build and chose drum instead for midgame fighting. To further deviate from the standard build, I personally go for vlads and desolator combo, you should try it. Add the Assault Cuirass for some more tankiness, attack speed and -12 armor reduction and your crits will be insane!
Don't really agree with Butterfly because sooner or later the enemy will get a MKB and your 6k golden item will loose its potential, I mean yeah, sure, great agi, attack speed an damage, but for that much cash you can get the Abyssal Blade.
Anyway, try vlads and deso an tell me how it goes. Gj!