Strategy Guide for Demnok Lannik the

Warlock
by LDraggy (as of v6.60)

Visit http://planetdota.blogspot.com/ for your Dota needs!

Demnok Lannik, Warlock: Dusk Tavern, Hotkey: "R"

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
a. Foreword
b. Hero overview
c. Strengths and weaknesses

2. Build
a. Recommended skill order
b. Recommended skill build
c. Recommended items
d. Item build
e. Item explanations
f. Item Afterwards
g. General Item Order

3. Gameplay Walkthrough
a. Great allies
b. Bad enemies

4. Replays

Introduction

Foreword:
In this guide, I will teach you how to play Warlock. I won't teach you how to play DotA. Don't
look for tips on general gameplay here.

Hero Overview:

Strengths and weaknesses

Strengths

- Heal that is castable on self and allies, also doubles as a DoT on enemies.

- Spell that effectively doubles the damage on all AoE spells.

- Infernal takes towers down easily.

- Decent strength gain.

Weaknesses

- Low armor.

- No real killing power.

Fatal Bonds
Bonds up to 5 enemy units together, causing damage dealt to any of them to be partially felt by
the others.
Lasts 25 seconds.
Manacost: 120
Cooldown: 30 seconds

Level 1 - 5% damage to linked units.

Level 2 - 10% damage to linked units.
Level 3 - 15% damage to linked units.
Level 4 - 20% damage to linked units.

Great skill when used with AoE, this effectively doubles the damage of any AoE spell.

Example:

Let's say you use Fatal Bonds on 5 creeps. Then your teammate QoP uses Sonic Wave, 600
damage. All creeps take the full 600 damage. And each creep takes 20% from each other creep.
That means 120 damage from each of the 4 creeps. So each creep will end up taking 1080
damage. Which is 180% damage.
________________________________________

Shadow Word
A single word causes powerful magics to envelop the target. Creates a healing mechanism on a
friendly target or damages an unfriendly one. Does not dispel on attack.
Lasts 8 seconds.
Manacost: 90/110/130/150
Cooldown: 24 seconds
Cast range: 600

Level 1 - Heals 10 or damages 8 hit points per second.

Level 2 - Heals 20 or damages 16 hit points per second.
Level 3 - Heals 30 or damages 24 hit points per second.
Level 4 - Heals 40 or damages 32 hit points per second.

Bread and butter skill for Warlock, it heals, it damages, what more can you want?
________________________________________
Upheaval
Stirs up inert magic in a target area, channeling the force into a powerful slowing current that
grows more powerful with every passing second it's channeled. Can channel up to 10 seconds
and up to 84% slow.
Manacost: 100/110/120/130
Cooldown: 20 seconds

Level 1 - Slows by 7% per second.

Level 2 - Slows by 14% per second.
Level 3 - Slows by 21% per second.
Level 4 - Slows by 28% per second.

Channeling

I normally don't get this, reason being that if you stop channeling the slow is instantly gone.
Upheaval is much too situational, and if you need to heal one of your allies in a battle, you'd
have to stop channeling.
________________________________________

Rain of Chaos
Calls an Infernal down from the sky, dealing 100 damage and stunning nearby enemies for 1
second. The infernal lasts 45 seconds, takes reduced damage from spells, has Permanent
Immolation and a chance to Pulverize an area on attack.
Manacost: 200/250/300
Cooldown: 165 seconds

Level 1 - Summons an Infernal with weak Pulverize and average attack.

Infernal has 900 hp. Flaming fists have 40% chance to deal 75 damage. Immolation does 20
damage per second. Has Resistant skin. Lasts 1 minute.

Level 2 - Summons an Infernal with a mighty Pulverize and powerful attack.

Infernal has 1400 hp. Flaming fists have 40% chance to deal 115 damage. Immolation does 30
damage per second. Has Resistant skin.

Level 3 - Summons an Infernal with a devastating Pulverize and deadly attack.

Infernal has 1900 hp. Flaming fists have 40% chance to deal 155 damage. Immolation does 40
damage per second. Has Resistant skin

Great skill for pushing, and team battles. The stun may be for a short duration, but it's in a huge
AoE (1000). Watch out for Diffusal Blade (instakill) and Medusa (600 damage purge).

QUOTE(gradenko_2000)
Infernals have 320/330/340 MS and a BAT of 1.35

Since they deal 50/75/100 damage per hit, raw DPS is 37/55.5/74

Factor in Flaming Fists (40% chance to deal 75/115/150 damage to 300 AOE) and single target
DPS is 59/89/118, with 22/34/44 DPS against other targets within 300 AOE.

Factor in Immolation (20/30/40 DPS to 250 AOE) and single target DPS is 79/119/158, with
44/64/84 DPS against other targets within 250 AOE, and 22/34/44 DPS against other targets
beyond 250 AOE but within 300 AOE.

Build

Recommended skill order

Level 1 - Stats
Level 2 - Word
Level 3 - Word
Level 4 - Stats
Level 5 - Word
Level 6 - Infernal
Level 7 - Word
Level 8 - 10 - Stats
Level 11 - Infernal
Level 12 - 15 - Fatal bonds
Level 16 - Infernal
Level 22 - 25 - Upheaval

I pick stats over bonds, because you lack hp, mana, armour, and damage. The bonuses stats give
outweigh the harassing bonds can do, by alot. Yes, you could probably do a whole lot of
harassing with bonds, but do you really have the mana to keep it up?

Recommended items
Mekansm: 2434 gold
Shop:Level 2 (Orc) Shop
Description:
+5 to all stats
+5 armor
3 HP/Sec Healing Aura
Activatable 250 HP/+2 armor AOE ability
Requires:
Headdress of Rejunevation
Netherezim Buckler
Mekansm Recipe

Item build
1. Sobi mask + 3 Ironwood branches.

325 + 57 + 57 + 57 = 496

Note: The third branch can be replaced by a tango to use Word more offensively, but you lose 10
awesome points for not having the third branch.

2. Ring of Regeneration + Finish Headdress of Rejunevation

375 + 225 = 600

3. Chainmail + Finish Netherezim Buckler

620 + 200 = 820

4. Finish Mekansm

900

5. Boots of speed

500

Note: Finish steps 2 - 5 at the same time if possible. 600 + 820 + 900 + 500 = 2820 (Branch
costs are not included, because you have them from the start)

6. Void stone

900
 Item explanations

I find that sobi mask and 3 ironwood branches give me sufficient mana to harass and heal when
needed early game. If you choose to go the tango route, your opponents will be under the
constant assault of Word while you heal off the damage dealt to you with your tangoes.

Mekansm synergizes extremely well with Shadow Word, and takes care of your low armor. After
voidstone, you will almost never run out of mana to heal yourself or your allies.

Items Afterwards

Note: You will get all of these items eventually. The order in which you buy them will depend on
each game.

Eye of Skadi - Get this if you need more hp, the slow also helps allow your infernal to stomp the
other players who can't escape, but you're not meant to be a killer.

Refresher Orb - Double infernal, self explanatory.

Guinsoo's Scythe of Vyse - Self explanatory, get it if your team needs another disable.

Necromicon - Get this if you need fast hp, and can't afford skadi, or if the opposing team has
invisible heroes. The summons help too, manaburn and endurance aura are great.

Boots of Travel - Get this if you need maneuverability. That, and teleport is fun.

Why Boots of Travel is better than Power Treads on Warlock:

Warlock is not a DPS hero, he is a support/pusher hero. Teleport allows him to move from lane to
lane extremely quickly, to increase the pressure to defend on the opposing team. He does not
need the IAS from treads, and the bonus MS is larger on BoT.

Note: You will get all of these items eventually. The order in which you buy them will depend on
each game.

General Item Order

1. Boots of Travel (Eul's -> BoT)

2. Guinsoo's Scythe of Vyse
3. Necromicon
4. Refresher Orb
5. Eye of Skadi

This item build is a team oriented one, it focuses on supporting your team with heals, and
disables.

Alternative Item Order

Note: With this item build you will SKIP the core one.

1. Refresher Orb (2 bracers pre-Refresher) or Necromicon

2. Boots of Travel
3. Necromicon or Refresher Orb
4. Guinsoo's Scythe of Vyse
5. Eye of Skadi

This item build is a pushing oriented one, it focuses on pushing down the opponent's towers with
mass summons.

Gameplay Walkthrough
Pick your hero, get your sobi and 3 gg branches (or 2 branches and a tango). Head to mid lane,
and if you're up to it, ask for solo. Farm, farm, farm. Start using Shadow Word on the enemy at
level 3 if you have full mana and if you don't think you'd have to use it to heal yourself anytime
soon. Go for the enemy with no (or less) regen. If there's one with a RoR, and one with several
pots, go for the guy with the pots.

At level 6 (level 3 Word), Shadow Word does a grand total of 192. It IGNORES hero resistance,
so you don't have to factor that in. Infernal's immolation does 20 damage/s at level 1.

Get a few hits in, word, infernal, use infernal to follow him (don't attack, walk next to him so he
takes damage from immolation), and attack for the last hit. Most int heroes would die easily to
this. (Wait for level 7 if you're not confident a level 3 Word is enough.)

This picture shows the AoE of Infernal's stun.

After/if you send both heroes back to their fountain (which shouldn't be hard considering you
have an infernal to punch their face in for you), start pounding on their tower. It should go down
before the enemy gets back. Use word on the infernal if the tower attacks it. You have enough
mana.

After sending Clinkz back, I send my infernal pound on the tower, Word + its insane base regen
allows it to tank the tower without any problems.

After you get the first tower down, don't push further. You can survey your game, and if another
lane needs help, go help them. If your teammates are holding their own, go farm neutrals.
Usually there will always be a lane that needs help though.

In team battles, knowing who to heal is essential. If you see a ranged hero that's 300 hp down,
and not being attacked, don't heal him. Wait for your tank to rush in, then word him, and mek
BOTH damaged heroes when the tank's hp gets down by 300. If you see a red hp hero with fatal
bonds on him, no worries. Just pound on the heroes that are bonded as well, and hopefully you'll
get a kill. You can see an example of this at 42 minutes of my IH replay.

Warlock's role in the team is heavy support. Bonds to increase the damage done to the enemy,
heal to support your team. The AoE stun on infernal is a good way to open a team battle, though
the stun is short, it gives your team enough time to get into position. This doesn't change when
the game enters late game, except you'd hex the biggest threat to your team, and summon your
little minions.

Healing

I see that my ally QoP is almost dead.

I quickly mek, and word.

 Then stun to slow down their chase.

Bonds

This image shows the distance Bonds can travel.

The creeps die extremely quickly when bonds is used with an AoE spell. Always try to get as
many HEROES as possible hit with bonds. Remember though, this doesn't mean that if you see
one hero and 4 creeps, you shouldn't use Bonds. The creeps will still increase your damage, but
not as much as another hero because they'll die extremely fast.

For example: When there are 4 heroes in a cluster, and one hero is on the other side of the battle.
Aim Bonds at the cluster! Always try to get as many HEROES as possible hit with bonds.

Great allies

Anything with an AoE spell. I'm only going to list some of the best. High DPS heroes also go
well with bonds.
 Etc.
Heroes with great AoE. If 5 heroes are bonded together, you end up doing 120% of the raw
damage/160% of the damage after reduction.

Let's assume a 300 damage nuke that hits all 5, with only natural resistance.

300 * .75 = 225

225 * . 2 = 45
45 * . 75 = 33.75
33.75 * 4 = 135
135 + 225 = 360 to all heroes.

On 5 creeps bonded together, same 300 damage nuke. It will do 180% of the damage which
equals 540 to each creep.

Etc.
Disablers and slowers. They allow your minions to pound on an enemy hero, ends up in a kill
most of the time.

This hero has incredible synergy with Warlock. Word + Maledict easily deals 900+ damage at
level 4 each. Infernal allows WD to get in and maledict, while Warlock Words. This combo is a
sure kill during early game. Voodoo Restoration also provides an additional heal to your team.

Bad enemies

If you see this hero in your lane, break down and cry.
Against NA, you should try to get a lane switch ASAP. If that's not possible, try to inflict as
much pain as possible when he comes to mana burn. Word him, and attack several times. Your
damage is pretty high with the stats you've got.

The Doombringer. His ultimate is the bane of Warlock. 12/14/16/18 seconds of you doing
nothing but attacking with your pathetic damage. He will take away your skills and items,
effectively shutting you down.
When facing him, summon your minions before you head into battle, you will have to forgo the
stun on Infernal's cast for this. Mek your team for the armour bonus and use Word on your tank.
Fatal Bonds immediately when you enter battle. Even if he silences you at this point, all your
spells are on cooldown, and you can go ahead and wreck havoc with your minions.

Arcane orb does 400 extra damage to summons and illusions. That means he'll hit your minions
for 600+ damage. Lucky for us, he's fragile and hardly ever used.
If you do see him, hex him and get your necroes to burn his mana. He should be dead or almost
dead by now, then just finish him. If he's a really tough one, get your teammates to help.

Even with the recent nerf on purge, Medusa still hurts your infernal bad. Diffusal still instakills.
Infernal gives 200 gold at level 3, try to avoid using infernal when she is around (or another hero
with diffusal).
Early game, Medusa is weak and you can deal with her like any other hero.

Facing a hero with Diffusal Blade is always a bad thing. You don't want your infernal to die,
AND give them 200 gold. Here's what you want to do: Make the Diffusal Blade holder your
team's primary target. Disable him, and kill him before he gets a chance to purge your infernal. If
your team doesn't have enough disables, get a sheepstick after the core build.

Replays
 Warlock___IH.w3g ( 639.75k ) Number of downloads: 1258

Warlock in an IH game. Too bad it was only a 4v4. A good example of how to save a teammate
with heal + mek is here at around 32 minutes. At 42 minutes, you'll see me kill CM with Fatal
Bonds. At 45 minutes, you'll see me walk back to base while spamming heal on myself. I reach
my base with nearly full hp and mana.

Warlock_IH_5v5.w3g ( 1.37mb ) Number of downloads: 2422

I solo against Lich, and Sven in this game. You'll see me going Eul's -> BoT -> Sheepstick ->
Necbook -> Refresher here (After the core build, of course). I get the opposing tower down
ASAP, and then spend my time helping top. As team battles go, this one has plenty, because of
the sheer length. A whole lot of using Bonds in this game, and you'll see me score more than a
few kills with it.

Warlock_6.39.w3g ( 316.46k ) Number of downloads: 209

This is a 6.39 pub I played to test out the new Warlock. Not much here except showing that the
strategy still works in 6.39.

Warlock___C5.w3g ( 640.16k ) Number of downloads: 158

This is an IH where I go Necbook -> BoT. I get all 3 of the other team's outer towers ASAP. My
team and I then proceed to go for the raxes, and eventually the win.

Warlock_Replay.w3g ( 385.54k ) Number of downloads: 372

Warlock.w3g ( 426.66k ) Number of downloads: 341

Both of these are pubstomps, one of them is -em. Sue me.

FAQ

Items after voidstone?

Get the "Items Afterwards", according to how your game is going. If your team needs a disable,
go for sheepstick. If you need hp, go for skadi/necbook. If you feel that you need teleport, go for
BoT.

Why not have Eul/BoT in the core build?

I find the extra regen from Eul not needed, and 1.9k can cover most of the cost on parts of
several of the items.

Also, I find that the cheaper the core is, the easier it is to adapt to the game. I mean, if I add Eul's
and BoT to the core. You'll be trying to farm those when what you really need is some fast hp
(Necbook). Of course, when your game does call for sheepstick, or BoT, you'll be going that way
anyway. A nice detour to make while farming sheepstick would be BoT though, seeing that you'd
want to use up all your Eul charges before forming sheeptsick.

Beast_Pete:
Per request of the guide-writer I removed the posts in-between the FAQ post and the guide itself.
Here are the posts in quotes:

QUOTE(HERO_FRENZY @ Oct 13 2006, 10:56 AM)

I think u meant upheavel to be at lv 22-25.

You obviously cant have 5 points in it.

QUOTE(Dark Knight Gary @ Oct 13 2006, 11:24 AM)

This is a superb guide, based soley on the fact I've seen it used effectively in many an IH game
recently. It covers just about all bases with a flexible item build, and at its core, is very strong for
both teamplay and holding your own in a solo lane.

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