Wraith King/Guide

Carry
Wraith King is most often played as a farming position 1. Unlike other traditional carries like or, he is equipped with a reliable stun and slow from the start with Wraithfire Blast. Therefore, paired up with an average support, your laning phase should have high kill potential from the get-go. To increase the likelihood you score a couple of kills, try to keep the creep equilibrium somewhere between your tier 1 tower and the side shop, in order to provide plenty of hiding spots for your support to initiate from the shadows. Don't forget to toggle off your.

You can't be too wrong if you choose to max out Wraithfire Blast first, with a value point in your aura at level 2 for sustain, and maxing your Mortal Strike in second. However, if you don't require the additional burst (maybe the enemy offlaner has already fled) from extra levels in your nuke, you can also choose to skip extra levels in it and max out your critical strike first.

For your starting items, you will need to figure out what you're up against. Wraith King has high base damage so you can definitely skip a, but it's useful in a contested lane, or if you transition to the jungle. A couple of es are necessary to have enough mana for two stuns at level 1, and they can be upgraded in a. es and a can be unnecessary if your aura provides enough sustain for you, but it's never a waste, and it can later be upgraded in a  then in an. You will only lose 100 gold if you sell the shield and re-buy it later, so don't ask yourself too many questions. Considering the low cooldown of Wraithfire Blast, maybe get yourself an that you can consume in the middle of a skirmish if it can net you a kill. Mangoes can be very valuable on Wraith King since you can also use them when you don't have enough mana for Reincarnation.

Wraith King's boots of choice are usually, but the only choice we wouldn't recommend are since you already have the sustain from your aura. For the same reason, and because you're a strength hero, your first major item can be. Thanks to your Reincarnation, you make an excellent initiator, so and  are good choices. is also a good item on Wraith King and the intelligence it provides is invaluable. Other mid-game items include, , ...

For the late game, there are few items we would not recommend. We've already mentioned. You will need a good attack speed to make the most out of it, both and  fill this gap. can help you push faster, can be necessary... If you are playing a position 1 and are the most farmed hero on your team, odds are  will be underwhelming. If you're against tons of mana-burning abilities, don't forget your level 20 talent removes the mana cost on your ultimate.

Jungle
Like any other hero with good base damage and some built-in sustain, Wraith King can be played as a jungler. It is not a bad choice per se, but it can be a hindrance to your team, especially if you are against plenty of roamers.

Start off with a and some es, take the value point in Vampiric Aura, and go hit some jungle creeps, starting with the small camp if it's not used for pulling. Add a and you should now be able to stay close to full hp at all times. You can proceed to max out Mortal Strike, but extra levels in your aura will not speed up your farm, so don't take anymore, therefore take a point in Wraithfire Blast at level 4 at the latest.

Get a to react to enemy ganks. Since you will be full mana, look at your allies' lanes and figure out if there's any foe to gank. If there is, grab some and a  and warn your allies that you are coming.

If the game is going slowly, you can keep farming. Perhaps rush a to speed up your farm, then a  to speed it up even more. Once you have a radiance, consider an and a, as it will enable you to split-push the lanes... But it's not always the best idea !

Otherwise, you can rush the same items as you would on a generic Wraith King, Power Treads, Armlet and/or Blink. As a jungler, there is a high chance your Blink Dagger will not be scouted by the enemy team, enabling you to easily gank a key target.

A subtle detail: it is not necessarily the greatest idea to take a point in your ultimate as soon as possible. Since the ability is on such a long cooldown at level 1, you better not waste it. If you are getting ganked and you will definitely die twice without getting anything in return, you might as well die only once and have your Reincarnation ready for the next fight, where maybe it will make a difference.

General

 * Due to Wraith King's sustainability, he usually should initiate fights and tank up some damage first. Sometimes, it is great to even die first, triggering Reincarnation which heavily slows every nearby enemy. At this point, the enemies usually either prepare to take him down again, or try to escape when they can't take him down a second time. This is the perfect opportunity for Wraith King's team to follow up and catch the enemies off-guard.
 * Besides these, dying last as Wraith King basically just wastes his Reincarnation, since he cannot do much on his own after respawning besides dying a second time right away.


 * Wraithfire Blast is a decent nuke early on, which also allows Wraith King to stun and slow at the same time. A perfect tool for ganks and team fights, it has a relatively low cooldown, but its relatively high mana cost does not allow it to be used frequently. It should be saved for when it is really needed.
 * Max Wraithfire Blast first if Wraith King wants to gank more often with teammates.


 * Wraith King may skip Vampiric Aura in the laning stage if he is doing well, investing in more offensive abilities to farm and gank.
 * Having Vampiric Aura active during the laning phase shifts the creeps equilibrium, since it also affects the allied lane creeps, forcing Wraith King to farm and fight closer to the enemy tower, which makes him more susceptible to enemy ganks in the early game. If no early pushes are planned, it should be toggled off until after the laning phase.
 * Vampiric Aura's life-stealing particles are hidden from the enemy so long as they do not have vision of Wraith King, so there isn't a need to toggle it off when jungling or ambushing to mask Wraith King's location.


 * Buy items that enhance attack speed, like, for more chance to crit. Or, buy items that reduce enemies armor, like , to deal more crit damage.
 * Wraith King gains skeleton charges when he keeps killing units, so he should consider mobility items like to help him reach different farming places.
 * Units killed by skeletons do not count toward building new skeleton charges. Wraith King has to land the last hits himself to gain charges.
 * Skeletons can attack and push by themselves, and do not need Wraith King to order them.
 * Skeletons do not block creep camps in the jungle from spawning.
 * Use Wraithfire Blast after Mortal Strike to order skeletons to attack desired target.
 * Since Wraith King has limited control over the skeletons, avoid using Mortal Strike near enemies who can clear them for gold and experience, like those with cleave.
 * Watch out for abilities like and  that apply dispel in an area to vaporize skeletons instantly.
 * Usually, Wraith King should rely on farming lane creeps to build charges.
 * Otherwise, look for neutral camps like Troll Camp and Golem Camp which spawn more units for Wraith King to make skeletons.
 * Kobold Camp also has five easy creeps for Wraith King to clear in a short amount of time.


 * Reincarnation has quite a high mana cost for Wraith King's rather low mana pool and regeneration. It is best to always keep his mana pool high enough for Reincarnation to trigger, or to make sure that enough charges of his are present in case of an emergency.
 * Another possible solution to this problem is to have a, since it grants enough mana to sustain Reincarnation's mana cost when already having at least some left-over mana, unless the enemies have mana burning capabilities. The health loss from Soul Ring's active ability is usually not a problem thanks to Vampiric Aura.
 * It is generally beneficial for Wraith King to die first during a gank, as the slow only activates upon his death, which will greatly benefit his other team members. This prevents the enemies from effectively escaping or attacking back, allowing Wraith King's allies to pick off their targets with ease.
 * Additionally, if Wraith King is the last to die, the benefit of the slow is greatly reduced, as there would be no allies around to make the most of the slow.
 * The bonus works even while Wraith King is reincarnating himself. Allies will still enter Wraith form so long as they are within range of Wraith King when they perish.

Items
Starting items:
 * helps Wraith King sustain his health against lane harassment.
 * also restores health to Wraith King.
 * sustains mana so Wraith King can use Wraithfire Blast more often for early kills.
 * gives attributes like intelligence so Wraith King will have enough mana to use Wraithfire Blast twice at level 1.
 * provides passive health regeneration and burst mana to use Wraithfire Blast.
 * blocks some physical attacks to increase resilience in lane.

Early game:
 * allows Wraith King to get last hits easier. It also makes Mortal Strike hit harder against creeps which makes you clean camps and creep waves faster. Increases the effectiveness of Vampiric Aura when attacking creeps. It can be used to cut trees and move faster from one camp to another while farming the jungle.
 * can sometimes be the difference between a death and a kill. Its active usually grants enough mana to sustain Reincarnation. It also combos with toggle, as one can deactivate, use Magic Stick, and reactivate buying enough time for it to provide the 500 bonus hp.
 * provide an excellent boost of speed for any hero.

Mid game:
 * provides the same kind of benefit as the Magic Stick does, but it also provides a small amount of attributes. It makes great use of the earlier bought Iron Branches, making room for new items.
 * provides attack speed which is one of Wraith King's main needs. Attribute switching also make his limited mana pool go much further if the treads are switched to intelligence before casting a spell. Due to Mortal Strike and his already high base damage it is better to leave treads in agility form to achieve maximum dps. One can use strength if tanking is essential or if last hitting is difficult.
 * is a very cost efficient item which provides lots of damage at cost of health degen. However, Vampiric Aura easily negates the health drain effect, making it core item.
 * solves another Wraith King's deficiency: mobility. It negates countering through kiting, helps with positioning, as well as moving across the maps quicker, thus increasing farm speed. Another possible trick is to instantly blink away after using Reincarnation, as Reincarnation delay and Dagger cooldown are both 3 seconds.

Late game:
 * causes Wraith King's physical attacks to hit harder, especially against targets with already low armor as well as towers. With Mortal Strike, Wraith King can quickly kill squishy carries and low-armor supports in the stun duration of Wraithfire Blast. Besides, it synergizes well with from the aspect of armor reduction; Vampiric Aura benefits greatly as the aura heals based on dealt damage after armor reduction.
 * increases attack speed and damage output. The item should be considered if Wraith King is counter picked by illusions, damage-over-time and slows, as the Chain Lightning and Static Shield are more likely to trigger against them. The item also accelerates his farm speed.
 * is a must-buy item most of the times for Wraith King in late game senarios. It increases his damage output by increasing the attack speed of his team and reducing enemies' armor, and single-handedly settles Wraith King's armor problem most of the time. The Assault Aura lasts longer thanks to Wraith King's high durability.
 * allows Wraith King to stun an enemy for a total of 4 seconds on top of Wraithfire Blast. Meanwhile, the item gives him an edge in close combat due to the bash component. Though the HP bonus as well as damage block is at least moderately decent, the item is bought most of the time for its lock-down viability.
 * grants spell immunity to protect Wraith King against disables and mana break, so he can survive and output damage.
 * can be consumed, granting him more attack speed and allowing him an effectively higher chance to proc Mortal Strike. He will also be able to see further during the night.

Situational items:
 * gives massive attack and movement speed, both of which Wraith King needs. The decreased armor debuff is a trade-off at little cost thanks to Reincarnation. However, the lifesteal part doesn't help Wraith King viably due to Vampiric Aura already being present.
 * can allow Wraith King to burst down an enemy or neutral, especially if Mortal Strike or any other source of critical procs. Other attack speed items may provide higher damage output over time, but Echo Sabre can provide more damage and proc opportunities when it is needed most.
 * gives Wraith King a maim chance, movement speed, and attack speed which can solve some of his mobility issue from either chasing or fleeing.
 * gives Wraith King some evasion against enemies which rely on their physical attacks, and lets him cut off an enemy carry from their primary source of damage for a while.
 * provides decent armor and damage boost. If Wraith King is the primary target of the enemy, the active damage return strongly discourages enemies from focusing him and helps Wraith King with damage output.
 * adds a burn effect on Wraith King which constantly deals damage and a miss effect to nearby enemies. The effect of the item lasts longer on Wraith King because of Reincarnation and his high durability. The item also helps him farm faster and clears out creep waves.
 * provides decent attack damage and attack speed boost. Shadow Walk is an alternative initiate item apart from . It allows Wraith King to solo pick-off single enemies as well as initiate on long attack range heroes during team fight. However, the initiation advantage diminishes when pushing towers and walking around sentries.
 * reduces the cooldown of using Shadow Walk by 4 seconds and adds a break effect as well as damage reduction effect upon attacking an enemy while Shadow Walking.
 * increases attack damage and counters enemies with evasion abilities or items.
 * enables Wraith King to elongate his teammate's lives and allow them to unleash powerful ultimates or dish out damage without fear of being focused down at first. While the item provides overall decent attributes, it does not provide much damage output for Wraith King and should be considered situational.
 * gives Wraith King a great health, health regeneration and attack damage boost, making him even harder to kill and harder to ignore. It also provides enough HP regeneration to compensate the health drain from, making these two a rather healthy combination on him.
 * reduces Reincarnation's cooldown to 30 seconds and Wraithfire Blast's to 6 seconds. The spell lifesteal properly benefits Wraith King if he went for . The intelligence boost is mostly to prevent him from lacking the mana to activate Reincarnation (unless the level 20 talent of no Reincarnation mana cost was taken) and makes Wraithfire Blast fairly more lethal, especially if the level 10 talent of increased Wraithfire Blast DPS was taken.
 * is highly situational, as it allows to potentially use Reincarnation twice in a fight allowing him to deal damage for longer periods of time.
 * is very special item for Wraith King because it's not dropping if Reincarnation activates upon death, thus making it less likely for him to lose it. When carrying the, Wraith King has to die at least 3 times (at least 4, if is used) to lose the Rapier. The great damage boost also increases his endurance by improving his lifesteal aura's returns.

Wraith King/Руководство 冥魂大帝/攻略