Bane/Guide

General

 * While he possesses strong disables, Bane suffers from a poor mana pool and no escape spells, meaning that he can run out of mana quite often while casting his high-cost low-cooldown spells, and can be easily killed if caught out of position. As such, Bane should focus on building items to increase the size of his mana pool and give himself mana regen, as well as mobility items to give him initiation and escape ability.
 * Keep in mind, all of Bane's spells are single-target, which makes him quite easy to be countered by items such as and . As well, his single-target nature means that he is unable to disable more than two enemies in an engagement unless additional disables can be obtained through farming items. Be sure to factor this into each game, as the enemy team's lineup as well as that of your own can vary, and as a result drastically affect Bane's effectiveness in that match.
 * Bane can be played effectively as a side lane support due to his combination of disabling and nuking power. Nightmare can be used to set up kills against lane opponents or hinder them from pursuing in the event of rotations and ganks from either side, while Enfeeble provides a safe way to harass the enemy and prevent them from getting last-hits. As well, Brain Sap can be a strong damage nuke to cast in the event of ganking targets as it deals Pure damage to the enemy while also healing Bane.
 * Bane's high base movement speed and disabling potential also allows him to be played as a roamer, especially if combined with a teammate with an unreliable but strong disable. His movement speed allows him to quickly get within range to cast Nightmare on a gank target, holding them in position for up to four seconds and making them easy targets for a follow-up disable.
 * Beware that while Bane is a strong disabler, he is also quite frail and easy to kill if focused by the enemy; as such, he is not a very strong first initiator in teamfights, but can be a strong second-wave disabler who casts his disables once the enemy's attention is not focused on him. As well, he has a very long cast animation on his spells (0.5 seconds on most spells, compared to the standard 0.3 seconds on most heroes), so it is necessary to plan ahead when casting spells.


 * Enfeeble can reduce its target's attack damage by a tremendous amount, making their physical attacks much less effective. Its extremely long cast range also allows the debuff to be placed on targets from long range and complete safety.
 * Enfeeble has a very long cast range, and its cool-down allows it to be simultaneously active on two enemies at a time, making it a powerful laning spell for preventing the enemy from farming or trading attacks. However, keep in mind Bane's small base mana pool, and be conservative with its casting as spamming the spell can render Bane unable to use his other spells if they are needed.
 * Enfeeble generally has two uses in the laning stage: preventing the enemy carry from getting last-hits and shutting down their farming, or hindering their ability to output physical damage when harassing or attempting to gank. In both cases, only one or two points in the ability are needed, as Bane should expend skill points on other important spells.
 * Although it is generally not recommended, it's part of what makes Bane such a fearsome mid-laner. You can trade hits and deny farm very effectively with Enfeeble and spam Brain Sap to heal you back up; and you can set-up any support rotation easily with Nightmare (or while you gank the side-lanes).
 * However, Bane's damage scales pretty poorly and good opponents will quickly nullify your contribution by cancelling Nightmare and Fiend's Grip, therefore wasting most of the farm your team granted you in the middle lane.
 * One very powerful aspect of Enfeeble is that it cannot be dispelled, neither by regular dispels nor strong dispels. While it can be blocked from being cast on spell immune targets, it cannot be removed once placed, which means that heroes with spell immunity will still suffer from greatly reduced attack damage. This means that placing the debuff on the enemy's strongest physical damage carry at the start of a fight will greatly hinder their damage output. As well, the debuff will remain visible on the enemy through Mirror Image-type abilities such as and, making the real hero easy to identify among the illusions.


 * Brain Sap acts as both a heal and a nuke, allowing Bane to deal Pure damage to enemies and heal himself simultaneously.
 * Due to its high damage output, Brain Sap is the first ability that Bane should max out, as its nuking power gives Bane strong team-fight contribution. Its low cool-down also allows it to be used to maintain Bane's health pool once he has secured a source of mana regeneration.
 * While its high mana cost relative to Bane's mana pool does not allow him to spam this spell in-lane, trading HP with the enemy can allow Bane to be surprisingly resilient, which can catch the enemy off-guard. Given a source of mana regen, Bane can use the spell to harass and replenish HP, rendering the enemy's lane untenable.
 * Remember that unlike most damage nukes in the game, Brain Sap deals Pure damage rather than Magical. This can be used to your advantage to damage or even finish off enemies that have strong magic resistance, as it can cut through abilities like and.
 * If Bane is the target of a gank, it can be wise to reserve Brain Sap until the very end, when Bane is at very low HP, in order to lure the enemy into a false sense of security and bait them into committing to a gank. As Brain Sap creates an HP shift double what is listed (Bane is healed at the same time that the enemy is damaged), this can be used to turn the tables on enemy ganks if allies are already rushing to your aid.


 * Nightmare is one of Bane's signature abilities, and what makes him one of the most powerful level 1 disablers in the game. With just one point in the ability, it can lock down an enemy for up to 4 seconds, rendering them helpless and giving teammates plenty of time to re-position and set up for the kill.
 * The best use of Nightmare is to hold an enemy in position and allow allies to land their unreliable stuns with ease. This is best done when combined with abilities such as, , , and so on.
 * Remember that Nightmare does not always have to be cast on the primary target. If attempting to get kills on two enemies, casting Nightmare on a secondary target can prevent them from acting, allowing your team to focus fully on the first target without interruption.
 * Nightmare can also be used in a defensive situation. If multiple enemies are attempting to gank Bane or an ally, casting Nightmare on one of them will remove them from the fight, reducing the numbers that the enemy are able to bring to bear.
 * One of Nightmare's greatest weaknesses when used offensively is that it can be transferred via physical attacks, even by other enemies. This means that enemy players can save their team-mates by ordering an attack on an ally afflicted with Nightmare to remove the debuff from them and allow them to act; this can be repeated over time and even done at range with ranged heroes. As such, it is best to use Nightmare in situations where there are no other enemies who can interrupt it, such as when ganking the enemy's mid, or to use an additional disable on other nearby enemies.
 * In tandem to the above, make sure that when setting up for a kill, not to initiate it with a physical attack. This will not only wake up the target prematurely, but will also transfer the Nightmare to an ally, rendering them unable to act unless awoken.
 * Keep in mind that Nightmare will render its target invulnerable for the first second of its duration. When cast on himself or an ally, it can allow Bane to effectively dodge projectiles and spells for one second, potentially wasting enemy spells.
 * While active on an enemy, Nightmare will eliminate any vision that they might otherwise have. This can be used to mask allied movement while setting up on a lone enemy, as they and their team-mates will have no information about your team's positions prior to the Nightmare being removed.
 * can allow Bane to immediately end all active instances of Nightmare. This can be useful for removing the debuff from an ally without ordering an attack on them, which requires Bane to get within attack range and take the Nightmare debuff.


 * Fiend's Grip is one of the most powerful channelled disables in the game, allowing Bane to lock down an enemy for up to 5 seconds through spell immunity.
 * Fiend's Grip is a very powerful ganking spell, as it can lock down an enemy and deal tremendous damage to them while Bane's allies also throw their damage nukes and attacks into the mix. Unlike Nightmare, the enemy can still be attacked and damaged during the disable, making it much more powerful.
 * Because it is a channelled ability, Fiend's Grip can be interrupted by disables such as stuns and silences, more-so since Bane himself is immobile for the duration of the spell and can also simply be focused down and killed by physical attacks. Be sure to position yourself prior to casting this spell such that the enemy cannot reach you, or build countermeasures to prevent disables from affecting you.
 * Remember that Fiend's Grip will drain its target's mana, not simply disable them while dealing damage. This can allow Bane to replenish a portion of his mana during the disable, enough to cast another spell at the end. As such, if you are low on mana then it can be beneficial to use Fiend's Grip first, as Bane can recover some mana during its duration, potentially enough to cast another spell that would otherwise not be possible with a different spell order.
 * Using all of Bane's spells in combination can allow him to disable and nuke down single targets, making him a very powerful ganker. He can initiate on a lone enemy using Nightmare, then re-position to set up for the kill, interrupt Nightmare by casting Fiend's Grip, then finish off the target with a Brain Sap at the end. Used to set up kills with team-mates, it can provide a 7 second setup time, then 5 seconds of hard disable during which they can attack and cast damage nukes.
 * As Fiend's Grip is a channelled spell, spells and item abilities can be cast immediately afterwards by shift-queueing them during the channel. This will allow Bane to immediately use those abilities once Fiend's Grip ends, preventing it from being ended prematurely.
 * When upgraded by, Fiend's Grip greatly increases in lethality and disabling potential. The increased channel time gives allies more time to kill the enemy, while the drastically increased mana drain percentage allows Bane to almost completely drain away the target's mana, leaving them virtually impotent even if they survive the channel. Additionally, inflicting Nightmare on enemies that attempt to attack Bane during the channel will paralyse even more members of the enemy team, leaving them wide open for follow-up by Bane's allies.

Items
Starting items:
 * allows Bane to maintain his HP pool in-lane to avoid being harassed away. As well, it can be used to destroy trees to create pathing for support functions such as chain-pulling jungle camps, revealing blocking wards, or instantly destroying enemy wards from a distance.
 * Two give Bane the ability to replenish his mediocre mana pool, allowing him to sustain casting his spells in the lane.  costs more than half of his early mana pool, so having the ability to cast it more than once in the early game allows Bane to set up ganks and kills more frequently.
 * increases Bane's intelligence, reducing the strain that his costly spells put on his mana pool. The increased base damage also helps him to deny allied creeps more easily and apply more harass damage to the enemy with his physical attacks.
 * should be purchased on Bane, as his laning phase does not rely heavily on needing items to be effective.

Early game:
 * is crucial to get on Bane, as he must get within range of enemies to cast Nightmare on them. As well, the increased movement speed allows him to escape ganks by the enemy more easily.
 * is crucial to get on Bane in order to give him burst HP and mana regen. This can tremendously increase his effectiveness as a fully-charged Magic Stick can give him enough mana to cast his high-impact spells in a fight if he runs out.
 * is extremely important to get early on Bane in order to give him the mana to cast his spells more often, offsetting his abysmal intelligence growth. Its HP cost can be offset by casting.
 * can be upgraded from a Mantle of Intelligence for a relatively cheap price. It gives Bane useful stats, particularly to his intelligence, giving him more mana and attack damage.

Core items:
 * increases the size of Bane's mana pool and gives him some additional movement speed, allowing him to cast spells more often and get into position for casting those spells more easily. As he otherwise has problems casting spells on his small mana pool, Arcane Boots can allow him to be more effective in any engagement. It also allows him to replenish his mana and that of his allies, important for supports.
 * is expensive but can be a very powerful tool in Bane's hands. By increasing the damage and duration of, he can increase the odds of getting kills during ganks. As well, it can immediately counter attempts to focus him down with physical attacks, as he can inflict Nightmare on enemies that try to attack him, increasing the odds of channeling his ultimate to its maximum duration.
 * are important to regularly purchase on support heroes. Aside from providing rune vision in the laning stage, it provides intelligence on the enemy team's movements and helps spot potential gank targets.
 * is crucial to always carry on high-impact supports. By being able to re-position around the map, Bane can save allies from ganks by disabling the opponent and even turn them completely around, or can position to gank an important enemy hero when the opportunity presents itself.
 * provides Bane with many useful bonuses. Its easy and cheap buildup makes it easy to obtain even as a support, and the item provides more intelligence and HP regen, giving Bane a larger mana pool and some HP sustain. The active can be used to re-position Bane for casting his spells or escaping, on allies to help them escape pursuing enemies, or on enemies with Linken's Sphere to break it prior to casting a disable.

Situational items:
 * can be used in conjunction with Fiend's Grip, as the summons can be used to attack the gripped target. In addition, it provides Bane with increased survivability through bonus strength and a bigger mana pool through bonus intelligence.
 * protects against most stuns and disables. When casting Fiend's Grip with Black King Bar active, the only way for the enemy team to interrupt it is either with spell immunity-piercing disables or to attempt to focus Bane down with physical attacks.
 * is extremely powerful in Bane's hands and should be built in the late game if possible. The item provides a large intelligence bonus and scaling mana regen that alleviates Bane's casting problems, while also providing all-around stats to increase survivability. The active adds yet another disable to Bane's arsenal, giving him a ranged instant hard disable to use.
 * provides Bane with armor, increasing his resistance to physical damage. The added intelligence improves his damage and expands his mana pool, and the active slow can be used to add more damage in teamfights or to slow fleeing enemies to catch up to them for casting disables.
 * gives Bane more HP and a larger mana pool, both useful on casting-focused low-HP supports. The active lets Bane drastically slow enemies from an extremely long range, allowing him to quickly get within range to cast a harder disable.
 * is an expensive investment, but it gives Bane increased positioning and ganking capability. The increased movement speed allows Bane to get within range for casting his disables on targets, while the ability to teleport allows
 * gives Bane a way to shield himself from physical damage for a short duration, giving him time to cast his disables if the enemy attempts to focus him down. It can also be used while channeling Fiend's Grip to prevent the enemy from killing him with physical attacks.
 * is extremely powerful, and should be considered a core item for Bane. It drastically increases his initiation power by allowing him to instantly get within range to cast his disables, crucial for getting ganks off or disabling the right targets in teamfights.
 * should be purchased as early as possible as a support, in order to ferry items to teammates faster. This is particularly important for your mid player, who may need to use it for Bottle crowing.
 * is a cheap utility item that increases Bane's overall effectiveness. It can be cast on allies to save them from enemy initiations, it can be cast on Bane himself to allow him to invisibly initiate on an enemy with his disables, or it can be used while channeling Fiend's Grip to cloak him from enemy vision, preventing them from hitting him with targeted disables.
 * s are important to purchase regularly on supports, especially ranged heroes that can de-ward elevated ward spots.
 * is a useful laning item, as it provides Bane with a small amount of passive HP regeneration, allowing him to mitigate harass damage. More importantly, it gives him burst mana regen in the early game, allowing him to get off one more spell if he runs out of mana at an inopportune moment.
 * can be a useful roaming pickup for replenishing Bane's mana, allowing him to cast his spells more frequently. A full Bottle can restore up to 210 mana (more if attribute switching is employed), giving Bane more mana to use.
 * is best reserved for playing the roaming hard support role where gold is harder to come by. While Bane will be more mana-starved without Arcane Boots, the increased armor and HP regen helps give him more survivability, while the higher movement speed lets him roam and position for spells better. The passive HP regen also helps to offset Soul Ring's HP cost, increasing Bane's independent roaming potential.
 * gives Bane more utility while also providing useful bonuses. As he is already a strong ganker, Bane can easily get charges that can then be used to heal teammates or add additional damage to ganks. The item also provides bonus strength, giving Bane more HP, and some mana regen for casting purposes.
 * is a strong utility item that gives Bane more setup power. Casting the active on a gank target will weaken their armor, allowing allies to deal more physical damage to them, and the passive mana regen helps Bane to maintain his mana pool. As well, it can be used to help take Roshan more easily.
 * greatly increases Bane's overall effectiveness, as all of his spells are single-target. It can be easily completed from disassembling Arcane Boots, and provides a boost to HP regen, allowing Bane to roam more effectively due to the reduced need to return to base. Increasing the cast range of all of Bane's spells allows him to disable enemies from much longer ranges with Nightmare, inflict enemy carries with Enfeeble well before they enter combat range, and channel Fiend's Grip from behind allies so that it cannot be easily interrupted.
 * is very powerful on Bane should he be able to build it up. The increased movement speed allows Bane to position for spells or chase enemies more easily, and the intelligence and strong scaling mana regen greatly help with his casting. The active provides yet another disable that Bane can use on the enemy to set up ganks or hinder them in teamfights, or can be cast on Bane himself to provide a short duration of invulnerability while also dispelling debuffs such as silences.