Leshrac/Guide

Generic/support-ish Leshrac

 * As of patch 6.88, it's become rather difficult to pinpoint Leshrac's default role. He comes with a low-cd, aoe, 2 sec stun but it's unreliable at best and you will often require an ally for setup before you farm up a . Two of his skills provide no control whatsoever, though they deal considerable damage. And gives only a little slow, though it can be enough to land your own stun.
 * Therefore, he may seem like a weak choice for a support position. And yet, as a spell-caster with no abilities that scale particularly well into the late game, this is often where you will see him. Get an and some s if no one else will.
 * As a support, it may not be your role to push towers so you can opt to skip Diabolic Edict until you've maxed the other skills. It can be risky to stay too close of an opponent when you're this fragile, and you won't have enough mana to spam every spell anyways. Instead, focus on spamming during ganks and teamfights. The slow lasts only for a second, but it's usually enough for a partner to catch-up and use his spells. Also it's on a 4 second cooldown so the slow can technically have ~25% uptime (minus cast animations). If your allies offer no better alternatives, you will have to rely on that slow to land your.
 * Start off with a point in split earth as it's a 2sec stun at all levels, which is always useful.
 * If you took a support position, aim for some cheap items. is nice, so is . Both these items provide some good early game with stats with a, a  or s.  and  are both useful on Leshrac.
 * It's worth mentioning that used to be skipped until level 10/11, when its activation cost was very high. Now that it's been reduced, you will usually want to skill it by level 6. However, if you're having some serious mana problems, you may consider leaving it at level 1 since level 2 only increases the dps by 30 but doubles the mana cost per second.

Pushing/carry-ish Leshrac

 * When its damage is not divided between targets, is very strong. If the enemy team has few solutions to jump on top of you, you may wish to try to take out most tier 1 and tier 2 towers as soon as possible.
 * If you're trading hits with a single opponent, it's still your best bet at level 1 to make him run away (or kill him). But neutral and lane creeps are your worst enemies in this case, be mindful not to draw any aggro on you.
 * The Edict's damage is entirely physical. One way to make it stronger on an opponent is through purchase of a . Or you can leave it at a simple to also reduce a tower's armor... although the medallion will also help you push by giving +7 armor to the creep which the tower attacks.
 * Lightning Storm has a huge cast animation that will often result in the enemies running out of range of your Edict or your  before you catch-up with them again. You may opt to skip it entirely for stats instead, in order to be slightly tankier.
 * is usually the first major item on a core Leshrac, as he benefits immensely from the mana regen to keep farming/pushing with Nova and Split Earth. You will want very early too, but if your team prefers to group up,  is a great addition too.
 * From there, core Leshrac's usually want to farm up a, an and a  for sustainability and extra damage in team fights. If you still have slots in your inventory,  is always nice, and Leshrac can make good use of a  and an.
 * Overall, there is not enough room to spare for an considering the little benefits it provides.
 * If you're the main farmer of your team, there's a chance you will be 6-slotted rather early considering how fast you can farm. Since you have no reason to consume a, you might as well relieve your supports and buy a.

General

 * One of Leshrac's greatest weaknesses is his long cast animations. In order to counteract this, good positioning and prediction are key, as Leshrac must stand still for an extended period of time before the spell takes its effect.
 * While Leshrac has tremendous nuking power, much of it is damage over time, requiring him to survive long enough to cast multiple iterations. As such, not only is a large mana pool required in order to sustain such casting, but also enough HP to avoid dying to the enemy while casting.
 * Mind that because the vast majority of Leshrac's damage output is magical damage, he can be easily countered by spell immunity, and his frailty allows enemies to use his damage against him via . If Leshrac is to be effective in teamfights, he must focus on disabling enemies to prevent them from activating spell immunity, and build spell immunity himself both to increase his survivability and block Blade Mail damage.
 * Leshrac can usually be played as a core or a support.
 * Played as a support, Leshrac has powerful disables that can greatly aid his team in fights, and can deal tremendous damage to enemy towers as well. His nuking spells also allow him to obtain gold fairly reliably for buying more support items. A support Leshrac should focus on purchasing utility items to aid his team in fights.
 * Played as a core, Leshrac has tremendous pushing and nuking power that can allow him to deal large amounts of damage in teamfights, or push lanes and take towers by himself. Once he has enough mana, he can use his nuking spells to farm very effectively as well. Core Leshrac should aim to build items that enhance his survivability and casting, as he must stay alive in order to put out the damage to kill enemies, and requires steady mana regeneration in order to fuel his costly and low-cooldown spells.
 * All of Leshrac's spells have differing priorities to max out depending on his farm priority, team lineup and expected opposition. There is no one-size-fits-all build, as certain abilities may greatly synergize with those of allies, cover for their weaknesses, or exploit a flaw in the enemy's lineup.


 * is a ground-targeted spell that stuns enemies within its radius while dealing damage.
 * Split Earth will stun any targets it hits for 2 seconds, no matter how many levels were put into the spell. Therefore, it should be leveled up if you need the wider radius to make hitting the spell easier, or the increased damage.
 * Remember that the stun's effect occurs 0.35 seconds after the cast animation, so it will stun and damage roughly one second after Leshrac is commanded to cast the spell. If an enemy is watching your cast animations to predict when the stun will land, they can dodge its effects with certain spells (such as or ). Therefore, if landing the stun without a leading disable, it can be useful to cancel the animation mid-way to fake out tricky opponents.
 * When using Split Earth as a support, it is best to only put one point into it early on and have a teammate lead with a reliable targeted stun first. If an enemy has been immobilized by a stun, they cannot move to avoid Split Earth and the long cast animation and small effect radius do not matter. This way, you can chain-stun an opponent and spend your skill points on your other nuking spells.
 * It's a good spell against Roshan as it won't trigger it's Spell block and you don't need to wonder if it's off cd.


 * causes physical damage explosions to surround Leshrac once casted, targeting any enemies near Leshrac and following him as he moves.
 * Edict deals tremendous amounts of damage if all the explosions land on a single target. It is best used after other enemy targets in the area, especially creeps, have been cleared away by your other spells, in order to make the most of its effects.
 * Diabolic Edict is what allows Leshrac to destroy towers so quickly by himself if he is left alone by the enemy team. A single cast of level 4 Diabolic Edict can deal 940 damage to a tier 1 tower, after reductions, which alone is enough to bring it below 30% HP (not including any creeps and siege units also attacking the tower). If pushing down the enemy's towers early on is a priority, consider maxing out Edict first.
 * Try to keep Diabolic Edict in reserve when attacking a tower, as the enemy may immediately use their Glyph of Fortification when they see you cast Edict. Try to force the enemy to fortify their towers, and then cast Edict afterward to deal the most damage possible.
 * The explosions follow Leshrac, and are focused on a radius around him, so even if there are enemy creeps near a tower it is possible to re-position Leshrac so that the tower is within the spell's radius but the enemy creeps are not. This also allows Leshrac to chase enemy heroes with the spell after casting it, as they will automatically hit any enemies that he is walking next to.
 * Keep in mind that the explosions will still home in on invisible units if they are within the radius of the spell, and as such can be used as a weak form of detection. This means that Edict can be used as a counter against abilities such as, , , and so on.


 * is a low-cooldown unit-targeted spell that damages and slows its target, then jumps to other nearby enemies. As such, it's a great spell to trigger a, although only the first bolt pops it.
 * Lightning Storm is a strong farming and wave-clearing spell, as its low cooldown and area targeted nature allows Leshrac to deal large amounts of magical damage in a short amount of time.
 * Lightning Storm is the perfect complement to Diabolic Edict, as the spell's nuking power and low cooldown can make short work of lane creeps, allowing Diabolic Edict to be focused on the enemy's tower alone. As well, it can be used as a leading slow on an enemy prior to casting Split Earth.
 * Try to take advantage of Lightning Storm's long cast range and ability to bounce. It can be a powerful harassing spell as Leshrac can hit a creep with the spell and allow it to bounce to the enemy hero.


 * deals tremendous amounts of damage to all nearby enemies, and is a toggled spell that does not require a cast animation. It is a powerful spell to use when chasing or fleeing, especially alongside Diabolic Edict, as it can remain active while moving, allowing Leshrac to run down foes or discourage them from chasing him.
 * Keep in mind, Pulse Nova requires Leshrac to stand very close to the targets he wishes to damage. If you intend on using Pulse Nova in team fights, survivability items that boost Leshrac's HP are highly recommended.
 * Note that since Pulse Nova can be toggled, it can also be used as a farming spell by turning it on while farming creep waves or jungle camps, adding to your nuking power.
 * Since the first damage instance is dealt immediately upon toggling the spell on, the damage per second of Pulse Nova can be increased by constantly toggling it off then on after every two damage instances. However, the cost of this tactic is a significantly higher mana cost due to incurring the toggle cost multiple times, so ensure that Leshrac's mana pool is sufficient to support it.

Items
Starting items:
 * and are generally the minimum amount of regen needed no matter what position is being played.
 * All of Leshrac's spells are mana-costly, so bringing at least one will greatly help as it allows more use of your spells early on. In particular, being able to use  more frequently can help with setting up kills in the early game.
 * is an expensive starting purchase, but good for mitigating Leshrac's early frailty and building into a Bracer.
 * Purchasing the for your team is important when playing as a support. Ensure that your team has a courier at the start of the match.

Early game:
 * is important on Leshrac since his HP is quite low throughout the game, and the burst mana regen can give you enough mana to cast one more spell in a fight.
 * are important to get early on Leshrac since he needs good positioning in order to get his spells off. As well, the extra speed allows you to chase fleeing enemies with if needed.
 * is important for improving Leshrac's strength so that he has more survivability in fights.

Core items:
 * provides attributes and increased charge storage for more burst regen. It can be crucial to purchase as a support in order to increase survivability.
 * are very powerful on Leshrac, both as a core and a support, as the movement speed boost allows him to position for spells and chase with Diabolic Edict and, or flee more easily. The bonus damage also helps with last-hitting to increase your farming rate.
 * cannot realistically be expected when playing as a support, however as a core it is a very important item to get. The increased HP and mana will give Leshrac immense survivability and the ability to cast his spells profligately, while the greatly increased mana regen can sustain his spell casting.
 * s are important to purchase regularly when playing as a support. Map vision provides ganking and split-pushing opportunities for you, as well as allowing your team to gain map control.
 * is important on all heroes, but should be carried on Leshrac at all times due to his ability to nuke down enemies on top of his disables, both of which make him a powerful ally to have in any engagement.

Situational items:
 * is quite powerful on a support Leshrac as it gives him survivability through stats and armor, while the active ability drastically improves the nuking power of all his spells. It is a useful utility purchase for a team with multiple magic nukes.
 * gives Leshrac additional strength, which increases the size of his HP pool, and prevents him from being disabled, allowing him to get within close proximity to damage the enemy with his spells. As a core, it provides Leshrac with immense survivability against disables and any burst magic nukes the enemy may have, as well as immunity against Blade Mail.
 * is a very powerful item on any intelligence hero, and is no exception in Leshrac's case. The larger mana pool and enhanced mana regen allow him to push much harder without worrying about running out of mana for his spells, the extra stats give him survivability, and the item's active allows you to instantly hard-disable an enemy hero, particularly their carry, and follow up with an easy Split Earth.
 * is a good purchase if you can already chase the enemy with Pulse Nova, and need something to give yourself more damage output. The stats also increase your survivability and give you more mana, allowing you to further take advantage of your ultimate.
 * is a useful positioning item that allows you to cast your spells more effectively. Used to initiate or chase, you can put yourself immediately within Diabolic Edict and Pulse Nova range, and in a pinch, it can be used as an escape item.
 * enhances Leshrac's survivability against physical damage while also increasing his mana pool. Once you've built enough HP items and can ensure that you will not get chain-disabled, giving yourself more armor can allow you to weather right-clicks extremely well. By using the active blast, you can slow enemies down to keep them within range of Pulse Nova.
 * is a good purchase as a support, as it is relatively cheap and gives you HP and mana. The active ability can drastically slow a target from long range, allowing you to catch up and land an easy Split Earth.
 * Be sure to upgrade to the as soon as possible when playing as a support. Giving your carries faster access to their needed items is essential in the early game.
 * is very powerful on heroes with low-cooldown burst magic nukes, which makes it the perfect item to build on a core Leshrac. Besides the immense HP and mana bonuses it provides, the cooldown reduction allows Leshrac to put out even more damage in fights, and the spell lifesteal allows him to maintain his own HP pool from that damage. Once Leshrac has built up enough survivability to ensure that he can keep dealing damage with his spells, purchasing an Octarine Core can make him almost unkillable.
 * is a very strong utility item in the hands of Leshrac. Besides providing him with additional magic resistance, the active can act as an initiation aid to get within range to cast a disable, and can be cast on allies as well to safeguard them against magic nukes.
 * can be strong on Leshrac, no matter what role he is played in. The item increases his survivability via additional stats and armor, as well as the aura, and the active both heals him and removes debuffs the enemy may have placed on him, giving him more time to get his spells off.
 * is important to purchase regularly as support Leshrac in order to remove enemy map vision. As support Leshrac is a frail and easy target to kill, taking away the enemy's vision can aid in his survivability, and allow him to better position himself to cast his spells without as much enemy interference.
 * is a strong early purchase as a core Leshrac, particularly in the mid lane. It gives him good starting stats, particularly intelligence and some extra bonus damage to aid in last-hitting. The intelligence also increases the size of his mana pool to allow him to use his spells to harass his lane opponent and flash-farm the creep waves more often.
 * gives mid Leshrac HP and mana sustain, ensuring that he can continue to lane even after using all of his starting regen; in particular, the mana regen allows him to cast his nukes more profligately. Bottling runes also gives him an edge in fights and laning.
 * is a good utility item to purchase on a support Leshrac over a Bracer. It boosts his strength to give him more HP, and a small amount of mana regen to aid in casting. The active allows Leshrac to heal himself or teammates, particularly useful on Leshrac as his small HP pool makes Urn charges go farther, or can add additional damage on top of his existing nukes.
 * are useful for building if mana is more important than mobility. As a support it allows Leshrac to sustain his mana pool and replenish allies' mana as well, while as a core it can shore up his mana pool for more extensive spell casting and lead to an easier buildup to Bloodstone.
 * is a good stat item to build, as it gives Leshrac more HP as well as mana. The extra movement speed allows Leshrac to position for his spells more easily, and the active allows for chases using Pulse Nova no matter what role Leshrac is played in.
 * is useful for building on Leshrac as a support, as the item's utility makes it powerful for re-positioning to cast spells or as a movement booster during escapes. As well, it can be used to chase with Diabolic Edict and Pulse Nova more effectively.
 * is a good utility item no matter what role Leshrac is played in. The cyclone can be used to disable an enemy and land an easy Split Earth, while the increased mana pool and mana regen allow for more sustained spell casting. The additional movement speed also helps in chasing with Edict and Pulse Nova.
 * allow Leshrac to globally re-position, and frees up an inventory slot due to not needing a Town Portal Scroll anymore. As well, the enhanced movement speed allows Leshrac to chase down almost any enemy he fixes his sights on.
 * helps to increase a core Leshrac's survivability. The improved attributes make him tankier and give him more mana, while Spellblock can cancel unit-targeted spells that may otherwise disable Leshrac as he approaches enemies to catch them within range of his nukes.