Monkey King/Guide

Hero

Strategy

Equipment

Gear

Gameplay[]

Playstyle
Monkey King is a trickster hero who jumps from treetop to treetop, scouting out his opponents from above, waiting for the opportunity to crash down on them with Primal Spring. With his magic extending staff, he smashes distant foes with Boundless Strikes, each blow charging his weapon through Jingu Mastery. Prone to Mischief, the Monkey King disguises himself as trees and everyday objects, allowing him to ambush enemies, or deceive them for a quick getaway.
Pros	Cons
Tricky and elusive. Very mobile. Long melee attack range. High damage and teamfight control with items.	Item dependent. Slow farmer. Requires some attack speed to build up Jingu Mastery stacks. Highly dependent on trees. Suffers long stun if he falls from a tree. Wukong's Command relies on Black King Bar to sustain.

Carry[]

Monkey King is typically played mid or safelane carry, as he is severely hindered by his lack of farm. Players often grab a Hand of Midas as soon possible and briefly farm whenever it is off cooldown in between fights. However, he is otherwise an extremely slow farmer and requires an extraordinarily good head start above the enemy team to keep up, with mediocre attack speed for an agility hero, only one true AoE ability on relatively long cooldown and fairly high mana demand, and weak damage without his passive which only works on heroes. But with enough items, Monkey King can become a force to be reckoned with into the late game, as he can be highly elusive and can clear entire creep waves with one Boundless Strike.

Ganker/Roamer[]

Monkey King's ability to roam is top tier. Tree Dance allows him to jump tree to tree with low cooldown and no mana cost. He can quickly go from lane to lane without enemies knowing, as without high ground or flying vision, they cannot see him while he is on a tree. The mobility and elusiveness from Tree Dance also allows him to place wards deep in enemy territory with little effort. When ganking, an ally with stun or slow will be of great help as it can allow him to fully channel Primal Spring. In the early game, an Orb of Venom is commonly bought to help slow a target. Boundless Strike can be used to stun and nuke the fleeing target or other enemies attempting to counter the gank.

Ability Builds[]

Carry Monkey King
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	20	25

Roamer Monkey King
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	20	25

Talents[]

Hero Talents
Additional Wukong's Command Ring	25	-1 Jingu Mastery Required Hits
-7s Boundless Strike Cooldown	20	0 Cooldown Primal Spring
+110 Jingu Mastery Damage	15	+450 Tree Dance Cast Range
+0.3s Boundless Strike Stun Duration	10	+75 Primal Spring Max Damage

Notes:

Talents are fully copied by the Wukong's Command Soldiers.
- Except for Jingu Mastery talents, the Soldiers do not benefit from other talents as they cannot use active abilities.

Tips & Tactics[]

General[]

Unlike most melee heroes, Monkey King has an attack range of 300, allowing him to attack other melee opponents without fear of retaliation.
It is ideal for Monkey King to build items that provide him plenty of attack speed in order to gain Jingu Mastery stacks quickly, since it is his main source of damage and survivability throughout the early game.
- This is why it is plausible for players to opt for Hand of Midas, Maelstrom or Echo Sabre to provide Monkey King the edge he needs to stay on top of his foes.
Take advantage of Monkey King's ability to hop from tree to tree to retreat into the treeline around the edges of the map whenever he is threatened.
Take advantage of Boundless Strike's stun duration to land Primal Spring.
Due to Wukong's Command being unaffected by attack speed and Boundless Strike relying solely on raw damage values, players would normally go for raw damage and agility in order to maximize these abilities.

Abilities[]

Boundless Strike[]

Boundless Strike's damage depends entirely on Monkey King's basic damage, so building up high damage and agility items will tremendously increase its damage output.
- Boundless Strike's critical multiplier is not significant until later in the game, when Monkey King has more damage.
- Boundless Strike's damage output is augmented by the damage bonus from Jingu Mastery. Use Boundless Strike when Jingu Mastery stacks are available to deal high damage in the early game.
Boundless Strike is affected by Jingu Mastery and will apply a counter stack and expend a charge as if it was performed by a basic attack.
- Each hero caught by its reach will have a counter stack applied onto them.
- Boundless Strike will always expend a single charge, regardless of how many enemies are hit or if it misses entirely. Try to maximise the potential of each charge by hitting clumps of opponents at once.
- Jingu Mastery's Lifesteal applies to all targets struck with Boundless Strike, a great way to sustain when used against multiple units like creep waves and heroes.
- Boundless Strike will only trigger off of one hero's counter if the resulting strike hits multiple heroes with a counter stack of 3.
Because of its long cooldown, Boundless Strike should be used carefully.
Levels in Boundless Strike increases the stun duration by 0.4 seconds and critical multiplier by 20% per point. It may be wise to invest just a single point in Boundless Strike during the early stages of the game for the purpose of interrupting abilities, if your team has other heroes with disables.
Use Boundless Strike to hit enemies through trees, high ground, and other obstacles.
Use Boundless Strike after jumping on an enemy with Primal Spring to deal burst damage.
- In some circumstances, Boundless Strike should be saved to disable or interrupt targets after they have used a disable or escape ability.
  - For example, Boundless Strike should be saved to interrupt Pugna after he starts channeling Life Drain.
Boundless Strike has a fairly quick animation and impact time. Monkey King can turn around and land a Boundless Strike to momentarily stun his opponents, even when retreating with low health.
When Jingu Mastery is charged, use Boundless Strike on multiple enemies to recover a large amount of Health via Lifesteal.

Tree Dance[]

Tree Dance has no mana cost as well as a very low cooldown. Use this ability to bypass cliffs and traverse across the map quickly.
- Tree Dance is placed on cooldown whenever Monkey King takes player-based damage, similar to the mechanics of Blink Dagger, making it near impossible to use as an escape mechanism once Monkey King is engaged in combat.
  - Use Primal Spring to dislodge yourself from a tree if you are being attacked by an opponent.
Monkey King is disarmed while perched, but he can still use items and his abilities without restriction.
- Boundless Strike and Mischief can be used while on a tree without causing Monkey King to jump off.
- Items like Force Staff, Blink Dagger, and Eul's Scepter of Divinity will force Monkey King to descend from his tree.
- Take the opportunity to place Observer Wards in unorthodox and hard-to-reach places that can't normally be accessible by other heroes.
While perched in a tree, activating Tree Dance again will highlight nearby trees that are within range of being perched from your current tree with a soft aura.
Monkey King is masked in the Fog of War while he is perched in a tree. Enemies require flying or unobstructed vision in order to target Monkey King while he is perched.
- However, when Monkey King jumps from one tree to another, he can be seen and targeted as if he was on the ground.
Watch for enemies and allies with items and abilities that can destroy trees, such as from Enigma and Timbersaw. If Monkey King is perched on top of a tree while it is destroyed, he will be stunned for 4 seconds, which would almost certainly guarantee his demise.

Primal Spring[]

This ability cannot be canceled by Monkey King. If the channeling is stopped by Monkey King, he will still cast the ability for a reduced amount of damage and slow.
Be wary that Primal Spring produces a sound effect while charging up, which can be heard by allies and opponents alike. A cunning opponent may be able to guess your location and may avoid the general area or even try to cut down your tree and turn the tables on you.
Primal Spring can be used immediately after a Tree Dance jump. Using these two abilities consecutively makes for a good gap closer with a max total of 2000 range.
With a few items that provide decent mana regeneration, Primal Spring works as a farming ability for Monkey King who somewhat struggles in getting the gold he needs to scale.
Unlike most abilities, Primal Spring does not have a visual indicator to denote the maximum cast range and instead locks and prevents the targeting reticle of the ability from exiting its maximum cast range.

Jingu Mastery[]

Monkey King can apply a counter stack to each opponent through the use of Boundless Strike.
- Each hero struck by Boundless Strike will have a counter stack applied onto them.
- Boundless Strike will always expend a single charge, regardless of how many enemies are hit or if it misses entirely. Try to maximise the potential of each charge by hitting clumps of opponents at once.
- Boundless Strike will only trigger off of one hero's counter if the resulting strike hits multiple heroes with a counter stack of 3.
Charges of Jingu Mastery are dispellable. Keep a look out for enemies with the ability to do so.
- If you believe that your opponents are going to dispel you, use up your charges on nearby enemy or neutral creeps. Even if you are not dealing direct damage to your opponents, you will be able to recover a considerable amount of health from using your charges.
Jingu Mastery charges are lost if Monkey King dies. This applies even if he is holding onto the Aegis of the Immortal and reincarnates.
- Depending on the circumstances, you can take the risk and fight and expend your charges in the hopes of recovering enough Health. You may even be able to turn the tables on your pursuer.
Jingu Mastery charges are only granted after four successful hits on the same opponent. Try to stick to the same target in order to ensure you gain your charges as quickly as possible.
- However, do not be too aggressive and reckless in pursuing an enemy for the purpose of activating Jingu Mastery, as you may end up exposing yourself to greater threat.
- Alternatively, you can consider spreading out your attacks on multiple opponents, and quickly regain new charges once you fully expend your current load.
Jingu Mastery does not acquire new charges nor does it apply a counter on opponents when there are charges remaining on Monkey King.
Illusions of Monkey King do not benefit from Jingu Mastery, and as such, they do not apply or add on to a counter.
Monkey King can detect enemy illusions since he will not gain Jingu Mastery counter after hitting them.

Mischief[]

Use Mischief at the beginning of the game next to Animal Courier to turn into it, allowing you to run at 300 speed without any boots, that is higher than your initial movement speed.
Use Mischief to block paths as a tree.
Mischief makes it difficult to track down Monkey King when juking in trees, especially at the edges of the map.
Do not move when transformed unless absolutely necessary, as this will give away Monkey King's disguise.
- Pay attention to the general foliage of the area when you have disguised yourself as a tree, as if you decide to reposition yourself to another part of the jungle, your current tree disguise may stick out, and Mischief does not retroactively refresh itself to fit in with the new environment.
Creative use of Mischief can allow you to escape from a tight spot, especially if you're in the jungle. Disguising yourself as a tree after your opponents lose sight of you in the jungle may just be enough to confuse them into thinking that you've teleported away.
If you believe you are about to be revealed with flying vision while standing on a tree, use Mischief to transform into a tree and blend in with the surroundings.
Mischief hides Monkey King from being seen on the minimap; enemy creeps and towers will not attack him either. Therefore, he can best use it in the early stage of the game to snipe couriers.
Mischief grants damage immunity for 0.2 seconds after it is cast, so if timed well it can negate damage from abilities such as Assassinate or Laguna Blade.

Wukong's Command[]

Soldiers from Wukong's Command do not benefit from Jingu Mastery and do not add to the counter of an enemy hero.
Soldiers do not benefit from any form of attack speed bonus whatsoever. Be sure to build up on items that increase raw damage and agility to maximize the effectiveness of this ability.
Soldiers can apply attack modifiers, and exude any auras that Monkey King happens to have on him.
- Soldiers are not treated as illusions, so a Diffusal Blade works fully on each Soldier.
Take note of the boundary of Wukong's Command, as the ability will end prematurely if Monkey King leaves its radius.
- Be careful of enemies with Force Staff and heroes with abilities that can push you out of the area, such as Drow Ranger and Magnus.
- Being hidden, such as by Astral Imprisonment, does not cause the ability to end prematurely. Soldiers will, however, still vanish if Monkey King is moved out of the area while hidden.
- To avoid being pushed or accidentally moving outside of the radius, try to position Monkey King so that he can use Wukong's Command on top of himself, so he will remain near the center of the circle.
Soldiers are invulnerable, cannot be targeted and are not affected by abilities, so they are unable to block or intercept abilities such as Meat Hook and cannot be chosen as targets by items such as Boots of Travel.

Items[]

Starting items:

Tango helps Monkey King stay in lane with health sustain.
Healing Salve can save Monkey King in a pinch by restoring his health.
Orb of Venom helps Monkey King slow heroes when building up Jingu Mastery stacks. The soldiers from Wukong's Command can apply the slow as well.
Quelling Blade helps Monkey King land last hits.

Early game:

Boots of Speed grants movement speed to chase enemies.
Magic Stick offers burst health and mana, saving Monkey King in a tight spot.
Blight Stone helps Monkey King hit harder, and can upgrade into Desolator later.

Mid game:

Power Treads provide bonus attack speed and agility for Monkey King to build Jingu Mastery. He can switch to intelligence to manage early game mana issues.
Phase Boots grants bonus movement and attack damage, allowing Monkey King to catch up to opponents.
Magic Wand increases attributes, as well as more burst health and mana compared to Magic Stick.
Battle Fury lets Monkey King clear creeps quickly with Tree Dance, and its cleave works with Wukong's Command.
Echo Sabre makes it much easier for Monkey King to get Jingu Mastery stacks as it provides attack speed, slow, and double attack. However, as of 7.27, the soldiers from Wukong's Command no longer apply the slow. Albeit, it still works if the player is opting for more aggression and presence across the map.

Late game:

Black King Bar helps Monkey King build up his Jingu Mastery charges without being interrupted, as well as increasing his survivability to keep up Wukong's Command.
Butterfly boosts damage output and evasion for a deadlier and longer Wukong's Command.
Desolator gives bonus damage and reduces armor of targets, which greatly boosts Monkey King's damage output against enemy units and buildings, and synergizes well with critical hit of Boundless Strike.

Situational items:

Bottle helps Monkey King store runes, which he can reach easily by jumping through trees.
Mjollnir grants extra attack speed, and its Chain Lightning can be procced by Boundless Strike and by the soldiers from Wukong's Command.
Orb of Corrosion allows Monkey King to apply both slow and armor reduction upon an enemy while providing bonus health to him
Diffusal Blade's active slow helps Monkey King build Jingu Mastery or keep targets in Wukong's Command. His soldiers from Wukong's Command can also proc Manabreak.
Eye of Skadi gives Monkey King more survivability and strong slowing effect to help land the multiple hits needed to charge Jingu Mastery. The soldiers from Wukong's Command can apply the slow as well.
Silver Edge helps Monkey King stay inside Wukong's Command without risking death. It also apllies break to counter certain enemy heroes, opening up opportunities for kills.
Monkey King Bar increases attack damage and counters enemy evasion.
Aghanim's Scepter gives decent stats and spawns more soldiers to attack.
Abyssal Blade allows Monkey King to stun an enemy long enough to get Jingu Mastery stacks or keep them in Wukong's Command.
Radiance ,although expensive,is a useful item for farming and fighting.Wukong's soldiers inherit the burn effect.As Monkey King becomes quite durable later on, he can survive longer in fights and deal more damage through his summons.