Strategy
Gameplay
| Playstyle | |
|---|---|
| Magnus is one of the few melee heroes who can solo the middle lane well, because of his skill set. Shockwave allows him to safely get last hits while also harassing the lane opponent. His ultimate, Reverse Polarity, is an extremely important ability for teamfights, allowing him to stun and group up enemies hit into a small area in front of him, which can then be moved through Skewer. It is ideal for him especially if he is needed to be a carry in the late game. | |
| Pros | Cons |
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Ability Builds
| Generic Magnus | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 20 | 25 | |||||
 |  | |  | |  | | | |  | | | | | | |  | | | | |||||
Talents
| Hero Talents | ||
|---|---|---|
| +0.8s Reverse Polarity Stun Duration | 25 | +10% Empower Damage/Cleave |
| +275 Skewer Range | 20 | +125 Shockwave Damage |
| -5s Skewer Cooldown | 15 | +10 all stats per hero hit with Reverse Polarity |
| +0.5s Shockwave Slow Duration | 10 | +10s Empower Duration |
Tips & Tactics
General
- Most of Magnus' abilities work effectively only if his targets are in front of him. When surrounded, Magnus will be forced to change directions too much, not only delaying him from casting spells in rapid succession, but also rendering his spells' area-of-effects useless. As such, place Magnus in the side lines, or until his enemies are in a manageable range in front of him. You should only place yourself in the middle when planning to cast your ultimate, Reverse Polarity, since it forces all of the targets you hit to be in front of you.
- Magnus players need to communicate with the team because his initiations are most likely to be sudden.
Abilities
Shockwave
- Shockwave is Magnus's ranged nuke, one with a low mana cost:
- Shockwave is Magnus's signature laning ability, since it's perfect for both harassing heroes and last-hitting creeps. Thanks to the mana cost and low cooldown, Magnus is able to perform this ability continuously, so long as he receives a stable mana supply.
- Though usually used against disabled enemies, Shockwave can act as a great finisher to fleeing enemies. Make sure to cast it carefully, since it has a limited range.
- Take note of Shockwave's limited area-of-effect. Much like Lion's Earth Spike, Shockwave directly affects targets in a straight path. Aim to hit multiple targets to maximize its effectiveness.
- Shockwave's pull may correct a poorly placed Reverse Polarity by casting it at the direction toward which Magnus wants to push enemies with Skewer.
- More tips needed.
Empower
- Empower is a great buff that boosts base damage for a long duration, as well as grant cleave with each attack on melee heroes. Use it as much as you can on allies or yourself whenever possible, especially when a team fight is ensuing. Outside of team fights, Empower could be used for farming in lanes or jungles.
- Don't be afraid to cast Empower on ranged allies, especially if they are carries; ranged heroes like Drow Ranger or Weaver can greatly benefit from the base damage boost, since it adds more power to their already devastating physical attacks.
- Empower stacks with other cleave to help Magnus's carries farm even faster.
- Empower can even replace Battle Fury, allowing his carries skip the item so they can come online earlier.
- More tips needed.
Skewer
- Skewer is soft-nuke and reposition skill that allows Magnus to rush forth towards a certain place and forcefully drag and damage all enemy units in his path. It is a tricky ability to use effectively:
- When the target is moving, determine its path ahead of time, since there is a short delay in deploying. The closer you are to the target, the sooner Skewer will land.
- To maximize its range, always target Skewer's landing point from a distance.
- Note that Skewer is not a disable; it does not interrupt targets from casting their spells. Skewer is more of a crippling ability used to push targets to a certain distance and slow them, making escape more difficult.
- Always try to Skewer in front of an enemy; the farther the target is pushed away from safety, the better.
- Though it is offensive in nature, Skewer can also act as a quick escape mechanism, functioning similarly to a slower Force Staff. You can charge toward cliffs to make it more difficult for your pursuers to chase you.
- During the laning phase, try to Skewer enemy heroes toward your tower; they will be forced to take tower damage, giving you additional offense while fighting them.
- Skewer placement is usually ideal when in front of a hero. This can easily be attained with a Blink Dagger, as it lets you blink in front of your enemy for an easier placement. Invisibility can also be used to your advantage, as you can easily place yourself in front of the target without their knowledge (unless of course they have methods to prevent invisibility).
- Skewer is a good initiation ability in the absence of a Blink Dagger. Use it to position yourself into the middle of an enemy team for Reverse Polarity. Keep in mind that you are not immune to crowd control during Skewer, so wait for the proper time before attempting to use Skewer in this fashion.
- Skewer has a moderately long cooldown, so make sure to use it only when you really need it; otherwise, you will lose either an escape ability, or an offensive cripple.
- More tips needed.
Reverse Polarity
- When planning to cast, place yourself in the middle of as many heroes as you can. The more heroes you disable, the more advantage you gain in the team fight.
- But don't be too greedy to use your Reverse Polarity on many heroes. Even though it's much better to use Magnus' ultimate on many heroes, it's still good to use Reverse Polarity on the core heroes of the enemy team.
- The enemy targets' designated landing point make it easier for your allies to land their area-of-effect spells.
- The pull also synergizes well with Magnus' frontal target spells. While your affected targets are stunned in front of you, you can cast Shockwave in a line, cleave with Empower, or trample them with Skewer. Note that only Skewer will displace them from the pulled location.
- Though very powerful, Reverse Polarity's huge drawback is its cooldown. Use it carefully.
- If possible, pave your way into an area full of enemy heroes with Skewer, then cast Reverse Polarity. Skewer's charge will help you get to the area faster, and will guarantee you stunned targets if you manage to drag heroes with you.
- If you issue a move command just before you cast rp, you can turn your hero as the animation happens, meaning you can control where the heroes caught in the aoe end up - because they will always be pulled to in front of your hero.
- Reverse polarity can also pull enemies from the low ground into high ground and vice versa.
- More tips needed.
Items
Starting items:
- Tango provides health sustain during laning stage.
Early game:
- Bottle can save Magnus trips to the fountain, since its mana rejuvenation works well with his low-mana cost abilities. It is crucial if soloing the middle lane, allowing for rune control.
- Magic Wand will not only provide him bonus attributes, but also more sustain.
- Boots of Speed provide movement speed bonus early on, helping Magnus collect runes and perhaps kills.
Mid game:
- Power Treads give attack speed, and attributes switch between strength for damage output and health, and intelligence for mana to use abilities.
- Blink Dagger will help Magnus initiate with Reverse Polarity, as well as give him more mobility. Shockwave and Skewer can also be efficiently used after blinking in front of the enemy.
- Shadow Blade offers cost effective attack speed and damage increases that synergy with Empower, strong initiation and mobility, and a mediocre escape trough Shadow Walk. It also can be upgraded in to Silver Edge.
- Force Staff provides additional intelligence so Magnus can use more abilities, as well more mobility so he can positionate for Skewer and Reverse Polarity.
Late game:
- Black King Bar makes it easier for Magnus to use his ultimate, as he can place himself in the middle of heroes without being interrupted. It can also be used so that he can live longer against too many disablers.
- Refresher Orb gives Magnus more regeneration and the ability to cast his ultimate in a shorter period of time.
Situational items:
- Drum of Endurance gives him additional strength and intelligence for his health and mana pool, as well as give him a small boost to his attack and movement speed.
- Silver Edge offers all the benefits of Shadow Blade and a good boost to your stats. Attacking to end the invisibility will aply a break on the target for 4 seconds.
- Aeon Disk greatly increases his survivability and gives him a chance to counter-initiate or escape even if he got caught.
- Battle Fury gives Magnus more regeneration, additional attack damage, and a permanent cleave that stacks with Empower.
- Heart of Tarrasque makes him more tanky and gives him additional attack damage.
- Mask of Madness will give him a quick boost in attack speed, which could help when he is buffed with Empower.
- Daedalus gives Magnus critical strike, enabling him to deal huge damage without relying on his spells.
- Assault Cuirass gives Magnus additional attack speed as well as armor, and also debuff his enemies' armor.
- Shiva's Guard gives Magnus an additional nuke once he's in the middle of the enemy team, much needed armor, and a large boost to his somewhat small mana pool.
