Lina, in fiery depth (WIP, reworking for 6.84)

Introduction

STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS, NOT FINISHED YET

Criticism on what I have already published would be appreciated

Last update - July 03 2015 - Still WIP

Hi! I tried making this guide as alt-tab friendly as possible, as well as a place to do research and learning.

Lina is probably my most favourite hero to play, thusly I have decided to write my first guide on her! I hope you enjoy it!

As this is a work in progress any comments would be appreciated.

Lore

The sibling rivalries between Lina the Slayer, and her younger sister Rylai, the Crystal Maiden, were the stuff of legend in the temperate region where they spent their quarrelsome childhoods together. Lina always had the advantage, however, for while Crystal was guileless and naive, Lina's fiery ardor was tempered by cleverness and conniving. The exasperated parents of these incompatible offspring went through half a dozen homesteads, losing one to fire, the next to ice, before they realized life would be simpler if the children were separated. As the oldest, Lina was sent far south to live with a patient aunt in the blazing Desert of Misrule, a climate that proved more than comfortable for the fiery Slayer. Her arrival made quite an impression on the somnolent locals, and more than one would-be suitor scorched his fingers or went away with singed eyebrows, his advances spurned. Lina is proud and confident, and nothing can dampen her flame.

Pros / Cons

Pros:
-Spammable spells, supplying lots of burst damage
-Your passive gives you lots of DPS, and allows you to chase or escape easily
-2nd highest attack range in the game to techies(until sniper gets leveled)
-Great mid hero
-Can play as a carry or support, and possibly switch roles mid game
-7th highest int gain

Cons:
-Slow early game movement speed(without points in E/items)
-Squishy
-Stun's delay and attack animation are fairly long, and will need some practice
-Mana problems early game without arcane boots/euls/orchid

Lina is a very versatile hero, a three-way hybrid if you may. She is an excellent support, and if played right, will guarantee your lane partner or yourself a first blood easily at level 1. She is also an excellent mid hero, outranging most heroes, until sniper gets leveled up. If you choose the right items for the situation, you can easily work around any situation!

When to pick Lina

Pick Lina if:
-The enemy team has a lot of fragile heroes
-Your team needs someone to fill in position 2 to 4 (position 5 lina is okay)
-Your team has more disables than the enemy team

Don't pick Lina if:
-Your team doesn't have a position 1 (late game carry)
-The enemy team has a lot of silencers/mana burners etc
-The enemy team has a lot of magic resistance
-You can't land your stun (or last hits if you're going mid)

Skills

Dragon Slave (Q) Lina channels the breath of a dragon, sending out a wave of fire that scorches every enemy in its path. Range: 800 Damage: 110 / 180 / 250 / 320 Starting Radius: 275 Distance: 1075 Final Radius: 200 Mana Cost: 100 / 115 / 130 / 145 Cooldown Time: 8.5

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
In the scorched barren of Misrule, Lina learned to manipulate the fiery breath of the Desert Wyrm as a form of entertainment.

Notes:

• Dragon Slave can hit units up to 1275 units away.
• Does not provide vision.

Your main damage nuke. It has a very large AOE, hitting units up to 1275 units away, and 400 units across, meaning you hit units farther than the actual cast range of 800.
(insert demonstration video here)
This nuke can be used to last hit, and in later levels, can clear a whole creep wave paired with your Light Strike Array.

---

---

Light Strike Array (W) Summons a column of flames that damages and stuns enemies. Range: 625 Radius: 225 Stun Duration: 1.6 / 1.9 / 2.2 / 2.5 Cast Delay: 0.5 Damage: 120 / 160 / 200 / 240 Mana Cost: 100 / 110 / 120 / 130 Cooldown Time: 7

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Lina's essence allows her to focus the sun's energies, causing air to combust at will.

Notes:

• Light Strike Array will destroy trees in its area of effect.

Your stun, if landed properly, is your way to initiate(without Scythe of Vyse). You should always try to land this before using your Dragon Slave and/or Laguna Blade. It can be used to cut down trees, useful in chasing a fleeing Spectre or Batrider. Personally, I always level this skill first as its first level 1.6 second stun duration and 160 damage almost always gets my team the first blood.

---

---

Fiery Soul (E) Grants bonus attack and movement speed each time Lina casts a spell. Stacks with itself. Lasts 9 seconds. Attack Speed Bonus: 40 / 55 / 70 / 85 Bonus Movement Speed: 5% / 6% / 7% / 8% Duration: 10 Max Stacks: 3

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Dancing flames embody Lina's playful nature, bringing out her true blazing self.

Notes:

• Duration refreshes each time a new spell is cast.
• Using items does not trigger Fiery Soul.
• At 3 stacks it provides {120/165/210/255} attack speed and {15%/18%/21%/24%} movement speed.

Fiery Soul, in my opinion is one of the best passives in the game, and is the reason Lina is so versatile. Paired with Light Strike Array, and Lina's minimal need for farm, allowing her to be a viable support, this passive also allows her to be a decent carry especially in mid-late game. The added attack speed reduces your need for attack speed items, allowing you to go more for damage builds, or builds that compliment your nuking abilities, and the movement speed bonus allows you to chase or escape! Add a Mjollnir and BAM! BAMBAMBAMBAMBAM!x10

---

---

Laguna Blade (R) Fires off a bolt of lightning at a single enemy unit, dealing massive damage. Range: 600 (900*) Damage: 450 / 675 / 950 Mana Cost: 280 / 420 / 680 Cooldown Time: 70 / 60 / 50

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Black King Bar Aghanim's Scepter upgrade deals Pure damage.

Aghanim's Scepter Increases Laguna Blade's range, changes damage type to Pure that pierces magic immunity.

The air around Lina becomes so intensely torrid that it scorches a foe that came too close with white-hot lightning.

Notes:

• Laguna Blade has a 0.25 delay before the damage is applied after the spell is cast, allowing certain abilities to avoid the damage.
• Aghanim's Scepter Aghanim's Scepter upgrade changes damage to Pure damage, which ignores magic immunity, and is not reduced by magic resistance.

Ah, your ULTIMATE source of burst damage(heh). In a recent update(6.82), this ultimate had a bit of a shift in the way it works when upgraded with Aghanim's Scepter. Before this update, Aghanim's Scepter would increase your damage and case range. Now, instead of your damage being increased(and essentially ineffective against high magic resistance heroes(ever have Huskar eat your Laguna Blade? Sucks.)) the damage type was instead changed from magical to pure, meaning 950 damage is dealt, 100% of the time! I like to think of this as a buff, as now Aghanim's Scepter is now more of a situational item than a must have, and we can focus on other items(making Lina more versatile).

I realize this has all been about update 6.82...I guess you want some tips on when to use it.
1) Press W
2) Press Q
3) Press R
4) Are they dead? No? Beat them down!

Besides using it in a combo, you shouldn't be afraid to use this to start an initiation in a team fight, by just throwing your ult and running away, especially on a Huskar(when you don't have your Aghanim's Scepter). As Huskar's health diminishes, his magic immunity goes up, so unless you have your Agh scepter, you should definitely use it first!
(Insert video of huskar eating a laguna blade here)

Great Allies

BEST ALLIES(special mentions):

Just imagine it, Hex> Light Strike Array> Earth Spike> Laguna Blade> Finger of Death>Whatever abilities are off cooldown

You. Are. Unstoppable.

Outworld Devourer
Quite possibly the best lane partner. With Essence Aura, you can spam your abilities to your heart's content! Probably.


Mom was right, you should always bring your younger sister everywhere you go! With your combined bursty damage and disables, as well as Arcane Aura, you synergize very well with Crystal Maiden.

Heroes who give you mana:
Outworld Devourer
These are great allies to have, as you won't need to buy clarities, and Arcane Boots possibly can be skipped. Outworld Devourer's aura is especially helpful as it allows you to spam your spells and use less mana.

Disables/Stuns:

Heroes that can stun, slow, or hex the enemy are great for guaranteeing your Light Strike Array to hit.

Damage Amplifiers:

These heroes amplify the magic damage you do. Pugna's Decripify is essentially a free ethereal blade, and Skywrath's Ancient Seal is essentially a free Orchid Malevolance (except orchid amplifies all damage where Ancient Seal is only for magic damage).

Items(Intro)

As with any hero, the items you buy often define the role you take in your team, even from the start of the game. Quite often the support buys the courier/wards in the beginning. HOWEVER, Lina is a very versatile hero, and really shines as a damage dealer. I like to think that I play Lina a bit differently than others, I usually start the game as a support, get a couple kills in a team fight, and snowball into a fairly hard carry, although occasionally I'd get more kills then our actual carry/carries, even though I try to play more as a "body guard", more will be explained in my "How to play/How I play Lina" section.

Items(Carry)

There are 2 main builds that I use to carry as Lina, one revolves around burst damage, and the other revolves around dps(though sometimes I mix the 2 together for special situations).

Why/when should I go for DPS?
Lina's passive increases her attack speed(and movement speed) after you cast a spell, because of this, Lina does well with items that increase her damage.


When should I go for burst damage?



Why is do you not build bloodstone when playing carry lina?

Items(Support)

stub