Everyone things that they are more complicated than everyone else they see around them because they only know themselves and haven't even thought about what goes on in everyone else. Which explains why a lot of blogs are filled with angst and stuff that probably feels a little better going out but doesn't make anyone any better or help him in any way. You are special and unique, don't get away with thinking that everyone else isn't.

Above paragraph isn't triggered by any event, merely an opinion I've been wanting to give that sort of hasn't had the avenue to be said. Clears my mind.

Hero logging starts. Every hero I played starting from last sunday, which I haven't played yet since then, I will post about it and my notes on what I feel about it. Actually I'll do the same with heroes that I've been using for months and are now obsolete, perhaps. If you're looking for a guide, you won't find one because no one should play like me even if the same circumstances arise. If anything, you should play better.

3 hero logs today, 80 heroes in total I hope to cover, not counting the new ones in 6.39. School is at its worst, but I'm squeezing a few games over a few days.

Oh, and speaking of which, I did a BattleReport for CAPL for a slot since the shoutcasting machines couldn't connect to the network for that game. Also did two commentaries after that, following CCC through all their matches in Open Category Season 1 Week 1. Commentaries and BattleReport available at the CAPL website, www.capl.com.sg


Hero 1/80: Skeleton King

This hero is a lovely melee hero. Aside from large size, not the best attack animation (though I believe it was improved from last time), and the really low attack speed, this guy is definitely on the list of heroes I like, and somewhere among the top of the melee hero list.

Unlike RK, there is no tactical GSing to be done. Crit is permanently with you, costs no mana, cannot be purged, nor debuffed in any manner. As such, my weakest element of combat in team battles, choosing when to cast what, doesn't affect usage of this hero. Plus the ability to stun is always good because it really is irritating when you're chasing someone down and can't reach him because you can't slow or stun him.

Vampiric Aura and Reincarnation are really the bomb though. I can actually play aggressive with this hero (WOW) in team fights because by all means, I don't mind you wasting everything on me and dying once because I'll just pop right in again.

Oh, and critical strike. Did I mention this already? Life leech and critical strike just aren't meant to be together. Stack a good life leech item (if you farm enough) and the Skeleton King is set to be a Naix with much more damage output (assuming you reach your opponent). Really, crit strike is as good as GS. If you're lucky enough, with similar items, and of rather high level, you can take down an RK that has GS'ed without using Reincarnation. Plus, all damage items boost crit strike, whereas GS is only boosted by Strength items. That rapier helps me crit for 4 digit damage! But what does it do for GS? NOTHING!

Early game is a bit difficult though, seeing as how SK isn't as fast as RK for animation and attack speed, meaning backstabbing and farming isn't as easy if the first 10 minutes of momentum isn't established. Bolt does help a lot in possible backstab playstyle if lane control doesn't work in the early game though. Generally though, I don't lane control well with melee heroes until the first 10 minutes of momentum is established.

Everything seems to work well with Skeleton King. Battle Fury works, Sange and Yasha does the usual, Radiance is awesome, even Skadi is fine. I think attack speed is really important though. This guy has really low agility.

In conclusion? Skeleton King is definitely my kind of hero. No need to make decisions in battle, just right click, and no need to be scared of death. Definitely kick-ass.


Hero 2/80: Warlock

Warlock is another hero I think I can sort of use. I usually do well if my early game momentum is good, but am practically useless if I do badly for the first 20 minutes in the game. Warlock sort of ensures that unless your opponent lets your entire team farm and aims you with more than half of their team, you can't do too badly in the early game.

Minus point of Warlock is that this guy is far too easy to KS, with all the DoT and what spells. Plus Diffusal Blade dropping you from almighty hero to just another fly on the battlefield really hurts your morale.

I have been cursed with the inability to hit most spells that target an AoE. Fortunately, it's very very difficult to miss Infernal. Battle decision making is easy as well, unless the opponent has a Diffusal Blade, in which case you usually don't feel any pressure since that Infernal would have died anyway. Drop the Infernal, find the opportune moment to cast Fatal Bond, and check for any good targets to cast Shadow Word on. Unfortunately my Warlock has been getting aimed at quite a lot lately so I don't usually try Upheaval in battles.

So this guy can heal, has a lot of health, and can drive people away with Infernal. Nearly impossible to kill early game, which is something I like a lot. Plus I can stay in a lane all I like most of the time since lane control early on in the game is no problem at all.

Also, it's always fun to micro more than one unit at a time, although Infernal doesn't require that much clicking, it's still nice. I like microing more than one unit at a time. Really.

Downside is that Warlock gets pretty useless late in the game. I have been trying a few item builds for a late game Warlock, but at most I could only take down one late gamer, not carry the team. Really, I've gone about everything on this hero and have at least 4 choices of item builds to go in any draft. Versatility makes for even more fun too. Awesome hero, except I feel useless late game.


Hero 3/80: Visage

Actually it's Necro`lic, but I have no idea what that word means, so Visage sounds better. This hero is like my dream hero. Next to maybe Bear or Enchantress. Let's go down the check list.

Difficult to kill? Check. Mostly because Grave Chill makes the Visage one difficult mofo to catch, and well placed Revenants make it difficult to reach him without proper hero choices or a lot of sneakiness. Add that on to the fact that Visage, being a late gamer and a possible tank, usually goes one or more big Survival items, usually a Heart.

More than one unit to micro? Check. Of course sometimes there are far too many units to micro effectively, but Revenants usually have enough health for me to micro them to safety if they are far away, and it's especially fun to dodge AoE spells with Revenants.

Ease in battle? Check. Grave Chill, select Revenants + Hero, autocast Soul Assumption, and right click on something. Occasionally if you're being slowed and the target hero has a lot of survival power, maybe some Soul-Assumption-Click chasing is neccessary.

Ability to neutral? Check. Somewhat. Creeping fast with low level Revenants though, is an art I have yet to master.

Excuse to stay in lane and farm? Check. I'm a late gamer! I can't backstab anything much anyway! Well, okay, this isn't really true, but Revenants make the Visage one difficult mofo to out-micro once they are up.

Early game power? Not really check. Grave Chill helps in backstabs, but you need a really strong ally to make up for your lack of a damage output or a nuke. Soul assumption helps in gaining life but again only when the later levels are reached. Farming if momentum is right in the first 20 minutes or so is a breeze, but getting there is usually more difficult than most other ranged heroes.

KSability? No check, but with Grave Chill and 7 Revenants and Soul Assumption, unless you are superbly underfarmed, you'll deplete most of your target's health anyway before getting KSed.

And of course, playing a late game hero makes me feel powerful, especially one that can win another late gamer even while being slightly less farmed. In late game, at least.

Did I mention that it can neutral creep? Amazing hero, it just isn't the best early game and loses to the likes of Chen and other stunners early on since they can catch up and pwn him even with Grave Chill.


Three heroes that I can use. I plan to cover most of what I can use before venturing into the stuff that I'm not sure if I can use or outright suck at.