Atropos, the Bane Elemental
Skill Build:
1. Brain Sap
2. Nightmare
3. Brain Sap
4. Attribute Bonus
5. Brain Sap
6. Fiend's Grip
7. Brain Sap
8-10. Attribute Bonus
11. Fiend's Grip
12-14. Nightmare
15. Attribute Bonus
16. Fiend's Grip
17-20. Enfeeble
21-25. Attribute Bonus
Explanation of Skill Build:
1.Enfeeble vs. Attribute Bonus. Enfeeble is quite weak compared to BaneElemental's other 3 spells, and the reason most people choose AttributeBonuses over Enfeeble is that due to Bane's already low startingIntelligence and low Intelligence growth, they don't think his manapool can support a 4th active spell. However, since the two core itemsin my build both give plenty of mana, and due to the high cooldown onall of Bane's skills, the mana requirement isn't an issue. But the corequestion still remains: is it even worth it? Even though the 80% damagereduction only affects base damage, this still significantly reducesthe Damage Per Second (DPS) of many Agility Heroes, and some StrengthHeroes as well. Consider, for example, a Level 14 Razor, whose basedamage is 70-72. The Level 4 Enfeeble will shave off 56.8 damage fromthat, leaving him with a whopping 14.2 base damage. How does thataffect his overall DPS? Well, Razor's first item is usually Radiance,so we'll say he has that at Level 14 in addition to a Broadsword andBlades of Attack (he's working on his Buriza!). Using diaz_leon's niftyeasy DPS forumla, we can compare and contrast how much of an affectEnfeeble has on Razor's DPS. Here is the formula:
Assume your average damage is A;
Agility is B;
Bonus attack speed from items and skills is C;
Base Attack Speed is 1.7;
Your DPS will be (A)*(100+B+C)/170.
First, his DPS without Enfeeble:
A = (71 + 70 +18 + 9) The 71 is his base damage, the 70 is from Radiance, 18 from Broadsword, 9 from Blades of Attack
B = 54.5 (22+2.5*13) The 22 is his starting Agility, 2.5*13 represents his Agility gain over 13 Levels
C = 100 This is from Frenzy, his only attack speed modifier at this point.
DPS = 251.5
And now, an Enfeebled Razor:
A= 111.2 (14.2 + 70 + 18 + 9) The 14.2 is his base damage afterEnfeeble, the 70 is from Radiance, 18 from Broadsword, 9 from Blades ofAttack
B = 54.5 (22+2.5*13) The 22 is his starting Agility, 2.5*13 represents his Agility gain over 13 Levels
C = 100 This is from Frenzy, his only attack speed modifier at this point.
DPS = 166.5
Thisis an overall loss of 85 DPS, or cutting his total DPS by 33%. Not badfor 120 mana, and the example given here isn't that favorable. Enfeebleonly gets better as the game goes on, and will show a larger affect onthose Heroes who either get Attribute Bonuses early, or who get asignificant amount of their damage from +Agility items like WraithBands/Yasha/The Butterfly or +Strength items like Bracers/Sange/Heartof Tarrasque. Also, the cooldown on Enfeeble is actually slightlyshorter than its duration, meaning that you can keep it on a Hero foras long as you want provided that you have the mana. The negative HPregeneration of 4hp/sec, though somewhat insignificant, is icing on thecake.
Item Build:
Item Order:
Chicken
Tango & Clarity
Branches/Circlets
Necronmicon 1
Boots of Speed
Necronmicon 2
Necronmicon 3
Complete Boots of Travel
Eul's Scepter of Divinity
Complete Guinsoo's Scythe of Vyse
Explanation of Item Build:
1.Necronmicon is clearly the best item for Bane Elemental. Not only canBane's early mana pool not support a silly item like Dagon, butNecronmicon has incredible synergy with Fiend's Grip, in addition tobeing a much better team support item and being worth upgradingthroughout the game.
2. Eul's is also necessary for BaneElemental, as he needs more mana and mana regeneration than whatNecronmicon provides to support his 4 spells. It also further increaseshis role as a disabler in team battles, allowing him to potentiallydisable a total of 3 Heroes, and severely weaken a 4th via Enfeeble.
3.If the game continues, Effective Hit Point boosting items such asNetherezim Buckler and Eye of Skadi are recommended. Refresher Orb isan option as well, giving Bane Elemental something to do in battleafter using all of his spells/item cooldowns.
Lane Choices:Insist that you be allowed to have a solo lane. Due to Bane'sincredibly easy attack animation and high starting damage, denying andlast hitting is a breeze. Bane Elemental can also heal himself, thusoftern turning the tables on 1v2 lanes with his powerful early gamenuke/heal and extremely powerful Ultimate. At Level 6, the simplecombination of Fiend's Grip+ Level 3 Brain Sap will deal 544 damage toa Hero after magic resistance. This is often enough to kill manyIntelligence and Agility Heroes, especially if they are only Level 4since they are in a 2v1 lane. It's really an almost certain death forANY hero if they took a bit of damage from creeps and/or you were ableto work in a Brain Sap earlier before your combo.
Final Words:Bane Elemental has a lot to do in team battles, so don't lose yourhead. Remember to summon your Necronmicon beforehand, then cast yourNightmare on any Hero that can stop you from channeling your Fiend'sGrip, Enfeeble nearly any Agility Hero, use your Eul's/Guinsoo's, andthen finally Fiend's Grip a low HP Hero.