Omniknight/Guide

General

 * Omniknight should be built for survivability and focus on what is best to counter the enemy lineup. If they have lots of AoE dmg or silences, Guardian Greaves is best and most common on support Omniknights, since it can keep your team up longer and dispel most debuffs.
 * Due to his longer than normal cast animations, playing Omniknight well requires good positioning and planning ahead, as any hesitation can prevent him from getting his spells off in time.
 * Omniknight is actually quite squishy without his own buffs applied to himself, which is why he needs to be in the back of the line of fire, or needs good counter items to keep him in the front of the fight. Items such as Mekansm or Lotus Orb.
 * Since Omniknight is a melee support, he is incapable of harassing enemy offlaners effectively, and in turn can be prevented from supporting his lane through enemy harass.
 * Silences are one of Omniknight's greatest weaknesses past the laning stage, as he must be able to cast his abilities in order to impact teamfights. Pre-emptively casting Heavenly Grace on yourself can prevent the enemy from disabling you, although good positioning also stops enemies from initiating on Omniknight.
 * Beware that while Omniknight's spells are very strong and can change the course of teamfights, Guardian Angel is dispellable. This makes dispels that affect a large area, such as and, one of Omniknight's greatest weaknesses, since it will negate his ultimate entirely when targeted properly. Also, dispels from items like  and  will remove the buff from a single unit.


 * Purification is usually maxed out first.
 * Used offensively, Purification can be used as a damage nuke. Casting the spell on an ally who is engaging an enemy at melee range can cause up to a 600 HP difference shift between the two, often enough to completely change the situation in favor of your team.
 * The target for Purification does not always have to be an allied hero. Used in-lane, Purification can be cast to gain last-hits, or to harass melee enemies by dealing pure damage to them as they attempt to last-hit. However, both abilities are best reserved for the off-lane as profligate nuking can push the creep wave towards the enemy tower.
 * Keep in mind, at low levels Purification does not heal very much and costs a moderate amount of mana. Therefore, it is not recommended to use it solely for topping up a teammate during the laning phase after taking damage from enemy harass, but rather in dire situations where you want to save an ally from death, need a pure damage nuke to finish an enemy, or both at the same time.


 * Heavenly Grace is a very powerful spell in that it can be cast on allies in the early game, when nobody on either team has enough gold to purchase a . Use this to your advantage to get off early ganks and win early teamfights by giving your teammates an advantage that they normally would not have.
 * Due to its utility, at least one value point in Heavenly Grace can be very strong in the laning stage. It can be used to escape enemy ganks and protect allies who are jumped on, foiling their kill attempts and greatly increasing the survivability of your lane.
 * Even in the late game, Heavenly Grace is a very strong ability, as it is capable of removing debuffs from allies prior to granting them spell immunity, as well as being immune from being dispelled itself.
 * Use Heavenly Grace on disabled allies who might not have time to activate their.
 * At maximum level, Heavenly Grace lasts for 8 seconds and has a 14 second cooldown. This can be useful in the late game when a Black King Bar has been reduced to its minimum duration of 5 seconds.
 * Use Heavenly Grace on a carry or initiator before engaging a teamfight.
 * Use Heavenly Grace on yourself to safely venture into hostile territory when placing wards.


 * The greatest use for Degen Aura is as an enemy inhibitor, both when initiating on an enemy and escaping. The movement speed slow can prevent an enemy from easily running away, or stop them from easily chasing, and the attack speed slow can reduce the enemy's ability to use physical attacks to deal damage.
 * In practice, Degen Aura can only be constantly utilized by directly engaging an enemy with Omniknight's attacks. While the debuff persists for 1 second after an enemy leaves its radius, the aura's small radius means that Omniknight must get very close to them in order to affect them with it.
 * Despite its small numbers, Degen Aura's greatest strength is that the slow can be stacked with other slows, and Omniknight does not need to expend any mana or target enemies in order to inflict them with the debuff. This allows it to always be a factor in battles where Omniknight is present.
 * When inflicting an enemy with Degen Aura, the most efficient way to slow them down is to get close enough to apply the debuff to them, and then walk ahead of them to body-block their path and apply any attack modifiers that may slow them further. In escapes this can prevent them from easily chasing a low-health ally, and in ganks it can stop the enemy from getting away.


 * Since it is one of the few abilities that grant immunity to physical damage, Guardian Angel can turn the tide of many battles. However, it also has a very long cooldown, so be sure to reserve it for the right occasion.
 * Guardian Angel is very effective against any ability that deals physical damage; for example, it can be used to negate or.
 * In general, it is better to use Guardian Angel too early than too late, as Omniknight or his allies may perish before he is able to cast it.
 * Guardian Angel becomes a global ability should Omniknight have an on him, allowing him to cast it upon his teammates no matter where he is on the map.
 * In a very desperate situation and with, Guardian Angel can be used to save towers and the Ancient from being destroyed by your opponents, though you have to decide if it is worthwhile to sacrifice the ability for saving buildings in lieu of a team engagement. Take note that buildings are only protected against physical damage and will still take damage from abilities like and.

Items
Starting items:
 * and Tangoes are necessary for giving yourself flexibility when healing from enemy harass. Since Purification is so inefficient at low levels, you need a way to regenerate health without sacrificing your mana pool.
 * potions greatly help you to maintain lane presence due to Omniknight's small mana pool and costly, spammable spells.
 * is a situationally useful laning item to purchase on Omniknight, as his mana pool is very limited before he can purchase items to allow him to cast his spells. The passive HP regen gives him a measure of health sustain, and consuming it can give him enough mana to cast any of his spells at least one more time in a fight or gank if he runs out of mana.
 * fills out any remaining inventory slots. Purchasing two of them allows you to either build a Magic Wand, or complete the two Mekansm components more readily.
 * s are a general requirement on support heroes, as map vision is a basic key to victory.

Early game:
 * are important on Omniknight as he can use them to take advantage of Degen Aura to slow enemies down, whether while pursuing during a gank or body-blocking chasing enemies attempting to kill your carry. As all of Omniknight's spells are very position-dependent, increasing his movement speed should be a major priority.
 * is very useful on Omniknight due to his small mana pool. Having the ability to give yourself 150 mana can easily be the difference between being able to cast your spells or not.
 * is a powerful support item that enhances Omniknight's ability to heal teammates and inflict pure damage. The item grants more strength, increasing Omniknight's HP and base damage, and some mana regen to help him manage his mana pool more efficiently. The active allows Omniknight to utilize yet another heal, or deal more pure damage in fights on top of Purification.

Mid game:
 * should be the first major item that Omniknight purchases, as its active ability is what allows him to cast Purification more than once every few minutes. By alleviating his mana dependencies, Omniknight can become much more active in teamfights and ganks.
 * gives Omniknight more attributes for little gold, and allows him to replenish 255 health and mana instantly, enough to cast any his abilities.
 * is necessary to increase size of Omniknight's small mana pool, allowing him more frequent use of his mana-costly abilities. As well, the active ability allows him to replenish his and his team's mana pools, an essential duty for a support hero.
 * , besides giving all-around attributes, further speeds Omniknight and his allies' movement and attack speed. The active charges can be used in conjunction with Degen Aura to further create a disparity in movement and attack speed between the respective teams.
 * provides Omniknight with a second source of healing, one that affects allies around him, and through spell immunity as well. Its all-around attributes and bonus armor also help to increase Omniknight's tankiness, but make sure that your mana pool is large enough to support the use of Mekansm, as it is extremely costly in mana to use.

Late game:
 * are a very strong item to purchase on Omniknight in the late game, as he often builds a Mekansm and Arcane Boots already. Combining the two items into one inventory slot frees up space for more items in the late game, eliminates Mekansm's mana cost and strengthens its aura even further. As well, the self-dispel can allow Omniknight to instantly remove debuffs from himself that may be preventing him from contributing effectively in teamfights.
 * upgrades Guardian Angel into a global ability, giving it much greater utility as Omniknight doesn't need to be with his teammates for them to benefit from it, as well as bestowing physical immunity to all allied buildings. It also grants him additional attributes, health and mana.
 * is a strong utility item that allows Omniknight to greatly hinder enemies' attempts to focus down him or a teammate. The item's bonuses give Omniknight more armor and mana regen, increasing his durability and letting him cast his spells more frequently. Using Echo Shell on himself or a teammate in a fight allows him to use his enemies' disables and magic nukes against themselves, slowing the pace of a battle down and giving him more time to use his defensive spells.

Situational items:
 * is a useful early-game item to buy, as its slow stacks with that of Degen Aura, slowing a single target's movement speed by up to 46%.
 * gives Omniknight nearly infinite mana regeneration and a hard disable, greatly increasing his teamfight contribution and his ability to gank targets.
 * provides Omniknight with a great amount of armor for durability, and intelligence for increasing the size of his mana pool. Both the active and passive abilities stack with Degen Aura, allowing him to drastically impede enemies' attempts to attack and move around in teamfights.
 * is a useful all-around utility aura item to purchase. The armor, HP regen, and mana regen aura benefit your team, and the lifesteal and attack damage bonus give them an extra edge.
 * is a strong pickup as it can allow Omniknight to cast Guardian Angel twice, as well as use Purification and Heavenly Grace in quick succession. However, refreshing your cooldowns is very costly in mana, so it is highly recommended to increase the size of your mana pool first if you intend on building this.
 * is a useful item on any support hero, and is no exception on Omniknight. Being able to re-position quickly can allow you to use your spells to greater effect, as you can get within range for casting Purification to deal 360 pure damage to enemies, or instantly apply Degen Aura to a fleeing enemy. As well, it can be cast on fleeing allies to save them from chasing enemies, further augmenting Omniknight's ability to save teammates who are in trouble. The extra intelligence is also useful for increasing the size of your mana pool.
 * is a useful mid-game utility item that can give Omniknight more initiation, utility and protection capability, once he has mitigated his mana deficiency issues. Using the active on an ally can allow them to initiate or gank an enemy, as well as letting them get right next to an enemy to hit them with Purification. If a teammate is initiated on by the enemy, using the active on them can give them extra magic resistance and give them temporary invisibility. Finally, Heavenly Grace can be used as a last-ditch measure to remove debuffs from an invisible ally, such as.
 * is a strong utility item that boosts Omniknight's casting capabilities, and can be assembled more quickly by using the Energy Booster from a disassembled Arcane Boots. It provides more mana regen that aids in Omniknight's pitiful pool, and the increased cast range allows him to use Purification and Heavenly Grace on allies from farther away, greatly increasing the survivability of his teammates.
 * is a good cheap support item that provides many uses. The extra intelligence and mana regeneration ensure that Omniknight almost always has the mana he needs to cast his spells, while the extra movement speed allows him to capitalize on Degen Aura more easily. The active ability can be used to hard-disable an enemy, something that Omniknight otherwise lacks, and then get within range to cast Purification to deal damage to them, or can be cast on yourself to dispel debuffs from yourself (such as silences which may be preventing you from casting your spells).
 * gives mana regeneration, armor, and evasion, increasing Omniknight's survivability against physical damage. The active can transfer the armor bonus to a teammate, as well as increasing their movement and attack speed, protecting them even more on top of Purification and Heavenly Grace, or used on an enemy to inflict them with reduced armor, movement and attack speed that stacks alongside Degen Aura to greatly reduce their ability to inflict physical damage.
 * is useful for protecting Omniknight and his team against magical damage in a teamfight, thus ensuring that he can cast his spells to their utmost and apply Degen Aura to the enemy for longer. The active ability also synergizes with his ability to protect his teammates from harm.
 * is a good pickup for giving Omniknight more resistance against physical damage, as he is a melee hero who must get close to the enemy to apply Degen Aura's debuff to them. However, its main use is in the active, Guard, which gives damage block and armor to all nearby teammates, very useful if you need to give them survivability against physical damage while your ultimate is on cooldown or you want to save it for more important situations.

Omniknight/Руководство