Hero Tips and Tricks: King Leoric, the Skeleton King

After having played with or using Leoric, I already memorized how people react to him. If he approaches you then stops somewhere within 600 range, you'd instinctively move back to get out of Storm Bolt's range. But what if Leoric continues towards you without casting Storm Bolt? In that split-second wherein he advances, your brain would actually tell you that he's not going to stun. (He may just be going for a last hit or something).

Wrong. A good Leoric player would not cast Bolt from the maximum range as this would waste at least a second of the stun in getting to the stunned enemy. A good Leoric player would semi-flank the enemy, pretending to hit a creep whereas he's actually going for the hero himself. Before the enemy could retreat, that's when you cast Storm Bolt to maximize the stun length.

Seems basic and easy to pull off, but a lot do not do this. They're so used to the times when they chase enemies wherein they have to cast Storm Bolt whenever possible. No. During clashes, walk towards your enemy first before stunning him. GG.


2. Reincarnation
This is Leoric's signature skill, the ability to come back to life. Good players know how to counter this. A well-timed ambush versus Leoric would waste his ultimate. So any ways to counter these Leoric-counters?

Items

Personally, I am a fan of Kelen's Dagger of Escape, and I feel Leoric needs one, especially once team pushes and team ambushes begin to take place. This scenario often happens: your team clashes with the enemy, the enemy wins and most of your allies are dead or fleeing. You, too, die but with Reincarnation, you are resurrected in the battlefield. But all enemies are now around you--ready to finish you off the 2nd time. So what now? This is why I recommend Leoric to get Blink.

Offensively, Kelen's Dagger of Escape has its uses too. It can chase down enemies with ease, distract enemies and support your allies who may be in danger.

Another item that owes perusal is Manta Style. With Leoric's High Hp Pool, 3 Leorics are actually something when teams clash. Not only would this provide you with extra bit of Mana (for Storm Bolt and Reincarnation), but this also discourages enemies to focus fire on you, making you more useful to the team.

Offensive Uses

Reincarnation has an uber long cooldown especially at Levels 1 and 2. But more often than not, even good players do not fully utilize this cooldown. Meaning, they play too safely that the Reincarnation is put to waste. Of course better safe than sorry, but sometimes, Leoric really has to push his weight around (and let himself die) for the good of the team. Besides, if you have your Skeleton King equipped with Kelen's Dagger of Escape, you need not worry much about dying the second time.

- Tower Pushing - Let Leoric tank to take down that tower once and for all! (Same applies to creep-producing buildings)
- Hero Chasing behind enemy lines (a red hero managed to escape your friends' wrath but you happen to be in the vicinity.) Go chase him, land your storm bolts and grab the kill. If enemies are around, think twice, but be practical. What's your ultimate for? For display, only?
- Roshan - in dire situations, you may have to give up your utlimate just to crush this ugly Golem.

Lots of other situations but the bottom line is this: that ultimate of Leoric is meant to be USED. Don't let it go stagnant. Think quickly but rationally. Use this skill wisely. And please, please, get Kelen's.