Hero Tips and Tricks: Harbinger, the Obsidian Destroyer

1. Astral Imprisonment
In my opinion, all OD users should max this skill first. I'm very surprised to see some players not getting this until mid-game. These players max Arcane Orb and Essence Aura first. I'm very sure this is a wrong way to use OD.

First of all, Arcane Orb is a percentage skill which means it is more effective later in the game. At low hero levels, it's pathetic.

Now, let's focus on Astral Imprisonment. What kind of skill is this anyway? Aside from being a DISABLE, it is a skill that increases the effective damage of Harbinger's ultimate and also a skill that cuts enemy mana pools, preventing them to cast some spells or perform some combos.

Compare it with Harby's other skills-- isn't it obvious that this skill has the most use early game? Essence Aura is good, also, but since you usually get two skills before your ultimate, you get this one first. Arcane Orb is situational. Sometimes I put one point in it, sometimes I let my teammates do the damage dealing while I just support. For me, the latter option is better in organized games.

Early Game

This skill is not yet effective at Level 1 so I would suggest you start casting it at Level 2. At Level 2, it effectively reduces an enemy's mana pool by 52 (13x4), and slightly reduces its mana regeneration rate as well. This is very effective against those Agi and Str casters like Axe, Raigor and Nevermore. When Obsidian gets to Level 5, he has Level 3 Astral already-- so spam this continuously so that your enemy would have very little intelligence when you reach Level 6. Just watch out for your mana-- make sure you have enough mana to cast Sanity's Eclipse.

Offensive Uses

These are pretty intuitive.

- Cast to isolate an enemy. Useful in setting up an ambush, allows you and your allies to surround an enemy.
- Cast when chasing enemies for the most obvious reasons.
- Cast during team clashes to get rid of the damage dealer (Agi-type late gamers) or those pesky chain-nukers.
- Cast while pushing towers down to get rid of the defending hero who might want to deny.
- Cast to cancel channeling spells such as Dismember and Freezing Field and of course, Teleport.
- Cast on enemy to prevent him/her from denying or getting a money shot on creeps.
and so on.

Defensive Uses

- Cast to evade the enemy hero chasing you.
- Cast on your teammate who's been hit with Doom, Poison Nova and other Damage over Time spells.
- Cast on yourself to have a 4-second reprieve while waiting for allies to back you up.
- Cast on someone who is being double or triple teamed. Now, draw the enemy fire unto you and your other allies.
- Cast on someone who has just killed Roshan, then take the goodies. LOL.
and many more.

You can get really creative with this skill.


2. Arcane Orb
Image / Summon Blaster

Let us not forget that this skill enables OD to blast illusions and summons to oblivion. This works well against Chen, Warlock, Terrorblade, and also those who would want to get Manta Style.

When to Auto-cast

Early game, you don't auto-cast this because of its high mana cost but when you already have a huge mana pool, you may want to turn this spell on before battles. If you already have an insane mana pool, one that is hardly depleted, go perma-Arcane Orb so you can push swiftly, too.


3. Essence Aura
Be a team player. Try to be in the middle of everybody during team battles and team pushes so your allies could benefit from this aura of yours. Encourage your teammates to spam their cheap spells (those that cost few mana e.g Empower) so their mana could be replenished.


4. Sanity's Eclipse
Be Smart!

Invest on your Intelligence because this skill often decides the outcome of team battles. But provide some balance as well. Don't go buying Mystic Staffs when your health is around 1000 Hp only! I suggest a Blink Dagger for OD, too, because he's a favorite target during team battles.


Reminders in Casting
Yes, OD's ultimate has a relatively long casting delay, which makes him miss sometimes. Take this in consideration. Aim in front of the enemy, in case he's running away. If someone like Gondar goes invisible, cast this one anyway, as it can still hit him. Lastly, do not wait for an enemy to be in red before casting this. Do not go greedy. Be a teamplayer. Cast this immediately to drain mana away from the enemy Int heroes and deal as much damage as possible. If you have managed to cast a well-aimed Eclipse at the start of a clash, the battle's already won.