Enigma/Guide

Jungle
Enigma starts off in the jungle, farming with an indescribable efficiency with his Eidolons and setting up ganks with those. After jungling, he transitions into pushing with Eidolons. His ultimate is probably the strongest team fight ability in the game, as it pierces spell immunity, deals pure damage and disables enemies for an incredible 4 seconds, and it has a large AoE. Not to forget, this is "only" his ultimate ability, he still has other tricks on his sleeve, like the bothering stun chain from Malefice and the health percentage damage from Midnight Pulse. In contrast, such strength comes with a huge price, as Black Hole and all Enigma's abilities cooldown and mana cost are insanely high, he is kinda fragile, and the ultimate must be channeled, so good positioning and timing when casting are required. Due to this, Enigma's mandatory item is, as it offers him the capability to gank, escape and, mainly, start a team fight by placing a scary Black Hole in the middle of the enemy lines. Having a Dagger on his hands, the other items may vary, but often, Enigma players rush a as a protective item against any ability that might cancel Black Hole's channeling and to any heavy nuke. ,, , are some of the items that should be useful on Enigma's inventory. When not fighting, Enigma is jungling or either ganking an enemy with Demonic Conversion and Malefice.

Maxing out Demonic Conversion first is crucial for a jungling Enigma, as it makes his Eidolons more tanky and deal more damage against creeps, especially those in the medium and large camps. Midnight Pulse is mostly used to clear trees or just to add more damage to the jungling, but the next priority skill must be Malefice, as this ability has more effect in fights than Midnight Pulse. Keep in mind that Midnight Pulse's damage is percentage based, meaning it will deal roughly the same portion of damage to all enemy Heroes, and its best use is only to add minor damage to fights, not as a zoning or killing-intent spell.

Offlane
When opt to the offlane, Enigma should still level Demonic Conversion to make Eidolons, helping him get last hits and maybe attempt to harass enemies. Enigma has the option to level Malefice over Midnight Pulse early on to threaten a kill on enemy heroes. Enigma is good in the offlane because he can use Demonic Conversion on his own ranged creep, denying a lot of gold and experience to the enemies. After the laning stage, Enigma will push as usual with his Eidolons and help ganks with Malefice and Black Hole. Enigma often gets to accelerate his farm, getting him levels and gold to key talents and items.

General

 * Enigma can get and  quickly thanks to his jungling ability.
 * Enigma can kill Roshan before the 10-minute mark, with the help of Level 3 or 4 Eidolons. For acquiring them, use Demonic Conversion on either a neutral creep if he's on the Radiant side, or a lane creep if he's on the Dire side. An item commonly picked up is a, as it allows him to reduce Roshan's armor for a higher damage output. Begin the fight by tanking Roshan yourself, until your Eidolons have multiplied; let the Eidolons take over and apply a Healing Salve. Try to micro the Eidolons to distribute the damage that Roshan does to them. Re-cast Demonic Conversion on one of the Eidolons before they expire and repeat the process (tank, heal up, nuke). If executed properly, Roshan will fall within about one minute.
 * Enigma works best with allied heroes that have strong AoE capabilities, such as, , or.
 * Due to it pulling enemies closer together, Enigma synergizes particularly well with heroes with strong but small AoE damage, be it physical (i.e. with his cleave), or otherwise (i.e.  with ).
 * Level 10 talents: The additional magic resistance is more useful if Enigma is having trouble against enemy nukers such as, or . But if the enemy lacks nukes or Enigma finds himself always lagging behind teamfights, the movement speed is the better option for better mobility.
 * Level 15 talents: The extra gold per minute should be the definite choice if Enigma is aiming to buy expensive late-game items as soon as possible, such as, or , or perhaps if Enigma has been ganked too many times early game and is lacking in farm. But, if Enigma finds himself with plenty of gold on his own or items are not his greatest concern, the cooldown reduction will serve him better as it will allow him to initiate or disrupt teamfights more frequently, even allowing him to skip buying Octarine Core in favor for another item.
 * Level 20 talents: If Enigma's team has the advantage, the additional health can make him tankier and more difficult to bring down or dissuade, allowing him to land a good Black Hole easily if the enemy lacks disables.
 * Level 25 talents: If Enigma can micromanage his Eidolons very well, an additional eight more can increase his pushing and farming potential greatly, clearing camps and leveling towers at a much quicker pace. But care must be taken, for the additional Eidolons may appear to the enemy as free gold, especially if they have lots of area-of-effect damage spells such as or.


 * Enigma's presence in encounters is greatly diminished while Black Hole is on cooldown, but he can make himself useful by saving Malefice for a crucial moment and also sneaking around to use Midnight Pulse within an area the enemies may try to escape through. A good combo is to use Malefice on an enemy walking through Midnight Pulse or any allied AoE damaging spell.
 * Malefice can prove to be surprisingly detrimental to opponents with slow attack speed, such as siege units and 's Golem, as the periodic stun will reset their attack animation and prevent their attacks from connecting with their intended targets.
 * Roshan in particular is hampered by this spell greatly, as this not only prevents him from performing basic attacks, but also greatly reduce the chances of him bashing.
 * Take note that Malefice acts as a debuff that can be dispelled easily with any basic dispel.
 * Although Malefice can easily be dispelled, the first stun will always occur so long as the spell hits the target. The subsequent stuns/damage instances may not be important if the primary purpose of the spell is to disrupt channeling abilities.


 * Use Demonic Conversion in the laning stage on allied ranged creeps to deny and gain experience for Enigma himself.
 * The Eidolons can then help Enigma trade hits with the enemy laners or score last hits and denies.
 * Eidolons have an innate magic resistance, but have very low maximum health, even when the skill is fully maxed. With their high gold bounty, they are prime targets for farmers, and care should be taken to ensure that they are not recklessly sacrificed.
 * While they have rather low health, they deal very high damage, especially when you've manage to amass six of them after splitting. Coupled with items such as and 's summons, and they are a force to be reckoned with.
 * In sufficient number, Eidolons can be used effectively in encounters, as en masse their collective attack does significant damage. If you die in an encounter and you have Eidolons still alive, use them to boost your team's damage a little.
 * Demonic Conversion instantly destroys siege units, ruining the enemy pushes.
 * Keep Eidolons around you when there is a Pudge or Mirana on the enemy team, as it makes you difficult to be hooked or arrowed, which is important considering that Enigma is an easy prey for kills in the early game.
 * When jungling, max Demonic Conversion to beef up your Eidolons and increase their damage. Also, micro your Eidolons to make sure none of the initial three Eidolons die to jungle creeps so that all of them can multiply. This increases jungling speed significantly. Do not be afraid to tank for your Eidolons either when clearing the big camps.
 * Eidolons will always split and fully heal upon firing their th shot. Careful micro-management is key whenever you are using them for jungling or tower-pushing.
 * Enigma can use Demonic Conversion on Eidolons as they are about to expire, useful when pushing or taking Roshan.


 * Investing one point in Midnight Pulse for early game utility is usually enough, as Enigma does not have a rather large mana pool early game, and that mana could be better spent on creating Eidolons for his time in the jungle or to have some sort of immediate stun for his enemies using Malefice.
 * Use Midnight Pulse before Black Hole to boost the damage done. However, you must use this at your discretion because there might not be a time to use it or it can make you miss out on crucial Black Holes.
 * Like Black Hole, Midnight Pulse deals pure damage and bypasses spell immunity. This means heroes who use will still take the full effect of the spell if they do not leave the area of effect. When not comboing with Black Hole, Midnight Pulse can be used to hold off important chokepoints such as tier 3 towers or Roshan from opposing heroes.
 * Unlike Black Hole, Midnight Pulse does damage based on enemies maximum health, therefore countering their armor, magic resistance, and raw HP.
 * Use Midnight Pulse to clear trees around towers during pushes, preventing enemies from using them as covers to launch surprise attacks on Enigma's team.


 * Black Hole is a powerful disable that bypasses the spell immunity granted by.
 * Lasting for seconds, a successful cast will almost guarantee a team-wipe, especially if he has allied heroes who can deal heavy area damage like  or.
 * Black Hole is a channeling spell, so care and consideration should be kept in mind when looking at the opponent's hero lineup. You may need to invest in a or  to lower the odds of getting interrupted.
 * Invest in and even, as well as using trees and fog of war, to initiate with Black Hole, giving enemies little time to react.
 * Refresh your Black Hole immediately after casting, as a teamfight can happen anytime, anywhere.
 * Although, depending on the situation, Enigma may save Refresher Orb for the next cooldown, as a double Black Hole is devastating to the enemy team.
 * Sometimes Enigma may want to refrain from using Black Hole to initiate on a single enemy hero, as having the ultimate available as a threat may dissuade the enemies from pressing their advantages.

Items
Starting items:
 * provides mana to produce Eidolons in the early game.
 * provides some health regeneration to keep Enigma in jungle or hold the lane.
 * grants mana to use Demonic Conversion in lane.

Early game:
 * helps in the jungle since it gains charges from neutral creeps casting their abilities, restoring health and mana to Enigma.
 * is a great source of mana, allowing him to use his Demonic Conversion as often as possible. Enigma does not mind the health cost since he does not often go close to enemies as his abilities and Eidolons have good cast range and attack range.
 * covers Enigma's lack of effective health from the start of game and can be sold away easily.
 * help you getting into position to use Black Hole.
 * can cover Enigma and its summons lack of armor by providing some damage and mana regen, useful when laning and alternative to Soul Ring. Can be disassembled for going towards Medallion of Courage.

Mid game:
 * is a cost effective upgrade from Magic Stick.
 * helps your positioning greatly and helps to pull off a good Black Hole. Might need to be rushed way early by pushing lanes with Eidolons.
 * is highly recommended, as Enigma can farm very quickly in the early stages of the game, is relatively item independent, and has a large mana pool, all of which are traits of a strong Mekansm carrier. The added armor, health regen, and active heal can also aid Eidolons, and is very effective. Main purpose is to buff or remedy hurt allies in teamfights for push power.
 * can be a small upgrade for BoS also provide extra mana, ups it a notch from Soul Ring and can be combined with Mekansm for Guardian Greaves.
 * allows Enigma to get away from a sticky situation or disable another threat beforehand, in case enemy team consist of many disablers, healers or position jugglers that can pick him on a team fight or recover the aftermath of a BH combo. Scepter also provides movement speed and self-cast invulnerability helps you to array a Blink Dagger cast and use your low level Eidolons as a bait.
 * summons can be handy for watching any flanks, deny disabler attempts with mana burn and allows more pressure with Eidolons. A decent defensive choice when you are laned against large area of effect nukers or ricocheting burst casters.

Late game:
 * grants spell immunity so the enemies cannot easily interrupt Black Hole, though some abilities can pierce spell immunity so Enigma also has to consider Linken's Sphere as a supplement or an alternative. Favored to be paired with Blink Dagger at most staple builds but either can substitute each other.
 * is an alternative to Black King Bar for when the enemy team has disables that ignore spell immunity, such as and  or long ranged position juggling effects like . When paired with Greaves, you'd have a reliable dispel at your service.
 * can be an alternative to Linken's Sphere to endure damage and position when paired with any sort of invisibility buff or spell immunity. Can be a safety net for unique aggro deflect skills like, or  at late game.
 * grants him additional cast range, allowing him to land his ultimate perhaps at much quicker speed without having to walk toward the team, and also to keep him out of harm's way if there is a nearby enemy that is not caught by his ultimate.
 * allows a slot to be freed, provides a steady supply of health and mana regeneration to the team, and increases Enigma's survivability. Aside from healing and replenishing mana for team, Mend ability also will apply a basic dispel helps team when they got stuck.

End game:
 * gives Enigma high health and mana regeneration. The active allows Enigma to use Black Hole twice in one fight.
 * stacks with talent to reduce cooldown of Black Hole, putting constant pressure on the enemies with the frequent threat of this dangerous ultimate ability.
 * also gives Enigma some mana management bonuses with protection, and its active ability synergizes well with Black Hole.
 * upgrading this artifact to level 3 can be good investment at end game if you have it by mid game. Fills up the dps role nicely at the full upgrade as you combo BH, also reveals invisible enemies.
 * provides an intense increase to mana regeneration, and adds a much needed secondary disable that does not have a cast point.

Situational items:
 * with the help of some wards and callouts, Enigma can buff another initiator or carrier upfront to soak up some aggro before he wades in for early BH combo.
 * can be an alternative to Mekansm when healing can not out-do massed area nukes on a push. When you have more than one fragile carry heroes in your team, they will appreciate the thought in a team fight.
 * is useful when there are hard counters with global effects like and  or abilities that turn your own spell cast back at you such as  in the opponent team to shut your combo down. Damage return buff can help you to slide away from a dire situation at mid game by creating an intimidating barrier preventing you to get focused after counter casts.
 * grants invisibility so Enigma can initiate with the element of surprise without waiting to hunt for an Invisibility rune with Bottle. Can be an alternative to BKB or Blink when combined with Smoke of Deceit to gank enemy jungler. When you need to stop a push, you still have to roam in the fog of war in the forest to initiate better instead of following the open lanes.
 * will be a better investment in case enemy team have passive aura carriers and push together at spread positions. Shadow Blade's effectiveness will diminish rapidly at endgame by the power of growing passive buffs.
 * may come handy to reflect single target long ranged nukes, mana manipulations, hexes or curses back at their fragile casters.
 * allow you to initiate while suffering damage over time debuffs or very long ranged mini-stuns that can cancel out Blink Dagger.
 * expands and serves as a secondary Midnight Pulse when Malefice is off at cooldown or you're out-numbered. Also it heals your allies for a last ditch attempt. When paired with Bottle to hunt runes and buff your carry hero, no reason for it to not have charges when you need it.
 * used for rushing Roshan faster. Better when paired with Helm of Dominator to resupply for Neutral Creeps to recast Eidolons
 * greatly increases the effectiveness of Black Hole, as well as much needed attributes to remedy his health and mana pools.
 * rewards bonus gold and experience so Enigma can gain access to powerful items and talents sooner. While risky to set on a lane, a jungle meta would give you better chances to build gold up.
 * 's attack speed aura helps Eidolons multiply faster. Furthermore, the dominated creep also adds to Enigma's pushing power for jungling. Can be an alternative to Necronomicon when you failed to push for Mekansm but statwise it's weak for direct combat and dominated creeps start to lose power by mid game and only can be used as a distractor.

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