I've been playing Leoric heavily since release and have him at 9.5, but never tried Wraith Walk while Drain Hope is up. I thought it would cancel the Drain, so I never tried it. Just went into Try mode after reading this and couldn't believe it - that's a great new tactic to use. Drain, Walk past them as they run and continue the Drain. Nice! Thanks for this tip!

Seems like Sgt. Hammer should never lane against Leoric unless she's willing to abandon siege mode fast and move. I just demolished one repeatedly, every time she went into siege mode I hit it with a drain and walked up and finished her with auto attacks and one Skeletal Swing.

I keep posting edits right after you reply, lol. Thinking about Hopelessness some more, I believe the extra range is only on starting the drain, not for the duration to keep it from breaking as early. If that's the case it may not be as useful because starting a drain at max range isn't the best idea unless you know they're staying still or moving toward you and not going to turn right away. It can be useful as a finishing kill shot, though, for someone at range fleeing from you. This...

Forgot to mention, as Odwenna said above, Mana Thirst seems unnecessary. I haven't run into any mana issues on him yet, and it's not from being overly cautious or reserved in my skill use. I've been using Hopelessness instead for the bit of extra Drain Hope range. Not sure it's the best choice either, still evaluating it.

Nice guide - thanks for this! I've been playing Leoric as well and agree with a lot of your choices. One number error you might want to correct is regarding the explanation for taking Willing Vessel at level 4. You note that "that 10% HP" could be crucial but it's only 5%. The base Drain Hope is 25% and this talent raises it to 30%. I used Willing Vessel at first on release but switched to Fealty Unto Death because it's more reliable healing and works while Undying, so it helps...

Wow, that is one hell of a thorough guide - thank you! As someone that's new to Abathur this is really helpful information. I look forward to putting this to use on the battlefield. I just created an account after reading this so I could thank you and upvote the guide. ;-)