Engaging:
Entomb is
Leoric's most reliable, and basically only, form of engaging the enemy team.
Skeletal Swing applies a 40% slow, but that doesn't help
Leoric get deep into the backline or cut off the enemy frontline from advancing.
Wraith Walk is an approach option, but unless it's follwed by an
Entomb, no one is getting locked down anytime soon, just slowed.
Peeling:
Skeletal Swing offers a wide slow that could potentially be applied to the entire enemy team and it's only made even better by taking
Paralyzing Rage at level seven.
Leoric may not have any hard CC, but a 60% slow is enough for friendly mages to burn down incoming threats before they reach the backline. The 50% movement speed bonus from
Wraith Walk is useful for rapidly coming to the aid of an ally as well.
Mobile Ward:
Leoric may not have the biggest health pool in the game, but he has tons of mobility, making it easy to escape should he run into the enemy team while scouting. Even better, he can cast and maintain
Drain Hope while also using
Wraith Walk to make sure that he survives any incoming damage and escapes safely.
Leoric is also unique in his ability to continue scouting the map with his
Undying trait.
Damage Sponge: It's really hard to say if
Leoric does well taking damage or not because his ability to self-sustian is entirely dependent on a skill shot that can be interrupted while being channeled. This leaves the burden of survivability upon ally support, keeping
Leoric alive through the first wave of stuns and damage until he can safely cast a full-duration
Drain Hope.
Builds - Drain Hope
Existential Despair
This is, in my opinion,
Leoric's strongest build available to him as it allows him to put upwards of 70,000 hero damage on the board during a standard, twenty minute game while also making him nearly unkillable with the rigth support and team composition.
Level 1:
Hopelessness increases the range of our primary ability, making it easier to grab onto fleeing opponents and stick to them as they try to escape. Because most players will try to unleash from the ability as soon as it lands, increased range means you spend more time dealing damage, thus making the ability much more effective. This talent also serves to counter-balance the 20% slow that's applied to
Leoric while channeling the ability. This talent is required unless you take
Drain Momentum at level thirteen, in which case you can take either
Block or
Reanimation, but even then the increased range is still the best option to increase your damage and survivability.
Level 4:
Willing Vessel increases the healing received from
Drain Hope from 25% to 30% of your maximum HP. This talent tends to be the biggest increase in self-sustain unless you plan to spend most of the game solo laning. If you are the designated solo laner, then
Fealty Unto Death can be a good alternative in those situations where you may not be able to cast
Drain Hope as often as you'd like.
Level 7:
Ghastly Reach makes it possible to snare opponents that were previously out of range while also making it easier to wave clear. This is a great talent to catch ranged assassins off-guard who thought they were at a safe distance. It also enables
Leoric to hit more structures when pushing a lane and doing siege damage.
Paralyzing Rage is a nice alternative to trap your targets in
Drain Hope if you feel that you don't need the increased range on
Skeletal Swing.
Level 10:
Entomb works on enemy heroes just like a great pick-up line works on the ladies, it keeps them right where you want them. Once you have an enemy trapped inside
Entomb, you're basically guaranteed a full duration
Drain Hope outside of enemy CC. What's more, your ranged assassins now have a stationary target to easily burst down.
Entomb can also be used defensively to block oncoming enemies with clever placement by closing choke points.
Level 13:
Crushing Hope is the biggest increase to your damage in this tier and works wonderfully to crush opposing warriors, taking an extra 10% off of the target's maximum HP.
Drain Momentum is also great for staying in range of mobile targets who would otherwise unleash from your ability before completing the full duration.
Level 16:
Unyielding Despair makes your most powerful ability available more frequently, reducing the cooldown from 11 seconds to 7 seconds, assuming that you can land the full duration. This is a direct increase to your damage output and survivability; more self-sustain keeps you in the team fight longer and more time in the fight is more damage on the board.
Level 20:
Spectral Leech causes your auto attacks to do percentage based damage to your target and heal you for the damage dealt, making
Leoric an incredible frontline bruiser to go against high HP tanks on the enemy team. If you find yourself facing extremely high burst, then
Hardened Shield might be the better alternative, but it's hard to recommend over such potent healing.
Shadow Charge
Detainment Strike
Drag
Hunter's Mark
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