Fire / Ice Hybrid Farming Torch Bearer Guide

by muusbolla

This guide is no longer being updated because I can't abide playing this game any more. The lag is terrible, there are no new DGs, stat tracking is broken, the list goes on. I waited MONTHS for Stardock and GPG to get their sh*t together and it still hasn't happened. I can't believe I paid $40 for this game; it should never have gotten out of beta. I have gone back to playing DotA.

0. TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction
2. Skill Build
3. Strategy / Macro
4. Tactics / Micro
5. Item Build
6. Matchups
7. End Game
8. Final Notes

1. INTRODUCTION
    The Torch Bearer is one of the most innately powerful DGs. He does not require many items to dominate; however, he is the best farmer in the game hands down, which makes it very easy for him to acquire items. This build focuses on maximizing his burst damage and AoE farming abilities by using both sides of the skill tree. You will drop your opponents very quickly, leaving them surprised (and dead). You will never have to go to base to heal. You will kill towers and creeps with ease. And then you will buy many items, and many upgrades.

2. SKILL BUILD

Image courtesy of DemigodDB.com

LEVEL    ABILITY
1    Rain of Ice I
2    Fireball I
3    Permafrost I
4    Rain of Ice II
5    Fireball II
6    Fire Nova I
7    Rain of Ice III
8    Fireball III
9    Permafrost II
10    Fireball IV
11    Rain of Ice IV
12    Fire Nova II
13    Permafrost III
14    Deep Freeze I
15    Biting Chill
16    Deep Freeze II
17    Deep Freeze III
18    Deep Freeze IV
19    Fire and Ice
20    Fire Nova III


3. STRATEGY / MACRO
Early Game (before buying Heart of Life):
    Switch between lanes, killing each creep wave instantly with one AoE spell. Try to go to lanes with enemy-controlled flags and cap them. If you encounter a strong enemy, hit them with your AoE spell while killing their creeps at the same time. Then fireball them and go to another lane. Harass your opponents constantly so they cannot farm effectively. Destroy their creeps so they must retreat to their tower (where they cannot kill creeps because their own tower destroys them). Get kills when you can; see kill strategy below.

Mid Game (after buying Heart of Life):
    Continue to bounce between lanes, but now actively engage and harass enemies at every lane. Drive them back from the flag using all your spells from range, then cap the flag. If they try to rush you, run behind your creeps/tower and use Heart of Life. Now you are at full life and mana; rinse and repeat. Dominate and farm every lane. Kill anyone who tries to resist you 1v1. Focus on map control and getting $$$ - your enemies will come to you. Never go to base if you can.

Late Game:
    Continue making gold like it's your job. Get yourself a Godplate if your opponents are tough enough. Then dump money into creep upgrades. Destroy enemy towers - your spells work on them! Push the enemy base by repeatedly nuking towers and keeping yourself full with the Heart. Avoid any enemies you know to be particularly dangerous; stick with your team to kill them.


4. TACTICS / MICRO
a) Kill Strategy
    Initiate with Fire Nova (come from behind, if you can) and then Fireball. Switch to frost form, drop Rain of Ice and then use Deep Freeze soon after Rain of Ice hits. This leaves your opponent -3800 health, and with all of their abilities on cooldown. Now you have the 50% damage bonus from switching from fire to frost, and they are slowed by Permafrost. Now is a good time to use Wand of Speed. Chase and kill.
    If your opponent does not run, just keep autoattacking them for a few seconds, then switch back to fire and Fireball, Fire Nova again. Then switch back to frost to refresh the 50% damage buff. Not many DGs can survive this second wave of spells until the very end of the game. See "End Game" for information on how to deal with really buffed-out enemies.

Stayin' Alive
    This is where using your head comes in. TB excels at 1v1 fights versus Generals. TB can fight 1v1 against Assassins. TB can even fight 1v2 against Generals (by farming their minions and harassing them down). However, do not try to 1v2 if the enemies have an Assassin. You will get stunned/slowed and destroyed.
    The best way to fight against an equally matched enemy is to fight until you are both getting low on health. Then switch to frost form, activate Wand of Speed and run. With Permafrost, you will be able to get out of their range soon. As soon as you get out of range and are no longer taking damage, activate Heart of Life, but keep running. Once you have reached full HP/mana, or the enemy turns around, turn right back around and start nuking them again. Now you have a huge point advantage and all your abilities just came off cooldown...
    In general, Boots of Speed + Wand of Speed + Permafrost + Heart of Life is my key to staying alive with TB.

5. ITEM BUILD

Image courtesy of DemigodDB.com

- Favor -
Swift Anklet

- Start -
Scaled Helm
Banded Armor

- Early -
Vlemish Faceguard
Wand of Speed
Boots of Speed

- Mid -
Heart of Life
Capture Locks

- End -
Godplate

Buy both start items at the beginning. Wait 10 seconds to get enough gold if you have to. This will give you a starting bonus to both health and mana, and static +4/sec regen to both. Static regen is most effective at the beginning of the game, so this will serve you well. You can buy some armor in the mid game if you find that you are dying a lot, but try not to delay farming Heart of Life too long.

Swift Anklet is the best favor item. Move speed is the best stat in Demigod, period. Combined with Permafrost, +move speed items allow Torch Bearer to outchase AND outrun any enemy. I have tried playing with the Amulet of Teleportation, the Blood of the Fallen, and the Staff of Renewal, and every game I wish I had Swift Anklet. The only favor item I have yet to try that might be worth it is Poisoned Dagger.

Note that I have specifically listed Capture Locks. This item's effectiveness cannot be denied, and TB is in the best position to purchase and use Cap Locks - he has plenty of money to buy them and plenty of pushing power to expose the enemy's flags. At the end of the game, I usually leave my base with 3 cap locks every time - they have won me many games. Capping and locking the enemy's portal flags or the 30% reinforcement damage/health flag quite often results in a GG.

6. MATCHUPS
ASSASSINS
    General strategy vs. assassins consists of maintaining optimal range, wearing the enemy down while taking as little damage as possible, until the time is right to strike. Then go for the kill with a barrage of spells and chase them down in frost form.

Torch Bearer
    I find repeated harassing with Fireball from the edge of range to be the most effective tactic against other TBs. If you fight to the death, it all comes down to who has faster fingers. Try to use Deep Freeze to interrupt your opponents' spells. Conversely, avoid the use of Fireball if your opponent is frost - it is easily interrupted by Deep Freeze.

Unclean Beast
    The toughest UB to defeat is one who knows when to rush you. If he charges you directly after Venom Spit, and he has a teammate or it is 1v1, you must run away or he will be able to easily defeat you. Do not try to cast on a UB who is moving towards you; by the time your spell finishes casting, he will be in range to hit you. You must wait until the UB is flat-footed or turning away from you to nuke him.
    If you have a teammate and UB tries to fight you, do not run. Your nukes will leave him at 1/3 health or less, and your teammate will be able to easily finish him before he can kill you.

Regulus
    Very early game (before level 6) Regulus can pose a serious threat. His higher base attack damage, range, and Snipe will make your life difficult. Make sure to 2v1 Regulus or just ignore him until you are higher level.
    Middle game, Regulus is easy food. You can nuke down his small HP before his attacks can do any significant damage. Heart of Life negates Snipe as long as you can use it quickly enough - make sure to get out of combat fast when your HP gets low.

The Rook
    The Rook is food. He has lots of HP, but his damage is relatively low. Just strafe around him (to avoid Hammer Slam and his arrow tower) with Wand of Speed and keep nuking him. He cannot run away from you. A Rook at low HP is an almost guaranteed kill for TB.
    If Rook is trying to hide behind tower spam, hit the towers repeatedly with Fire Nova and Rain of Ice. You will damage him at the same time with the AoE, and his defenses will rapidly melt.

GENERALS
    Against generals, use your 2 AoE spells to destroy their minions at the beginning of the battle. Once they find themselves facing you alone in the middle of a battlefield strewn with the bodies of their dying allies, most generals will run. If they stay and fight, they are almost surely dead.

Oak
    Oak is tough. He has a lot of HP, and does a lot of damage. His slow (Penitence) and attack-while-moving skillz make him hard to escape. However, once you get Permafrost III kiting him becomes relatively easy. Just abuse his melee range to keep hitting him without taking damage. Avoid wasting spells on him when he becomes invulnerable, and then get the hell out once he dies (so he doesn't kill you after he comes back to life).

Queen of Thorns
    Queen is nothing more than an annoyance most games. She can push hard, and is difficult to kill if her shield is high level. However, her damage is very low. Focus on destroying her minions and you will restrict her effectiveness. Do not waste time seriously trying to kill her; your efforts will usually be futile.

Sedna
    Sedna can be dangerous, if she can get on top of you with Pounce. Sedna also runs quickly, making her hard to chase and escape from. She has low HP, but can heal herself quickly to full. A Sedna who plays defensively will always be at full HP, making her difficult to kill. Focus on pushing Sedna back, but do not engage her directly, as she usually will not die. Only a well-timed Deep Freeze can effectively keep her from healing herself.

Lord Erebus
    Verrrry dangerous. An Erebus who buys items (instead of minions) will be able to rush you quickly with Bat Swarm, keep himself alive with Bite, slow and chase you down. He can also escape using Bat Swarm. My advice is to bring a friend, and try to lock Erebus's abilities with Deep Freeze.


7. END GAME
    This section is dedicated to dealing with very drawn-out games. In a long game, the leveling advantage that TB often enjoys will be gone once everyone hits level 20. Stat-dependent heroes (Reg, UB, Oak, Sedna) begin to do a lot of damage and often become very hard to kill due to lifesteal. Ability-dependent heroes (TB, Rook, QoT, Erebus) begin to weaken as their abilities do not scale after level 20.
    Therefore, once you hit level 20, end the game ASAP. A well-played TB with this build will always be the first DG in-game to hit level 20. At this point, your power over the other demigods is at its peak. After this, they will continue to level, but you will not. Your relative power will decline over time from here on. Therefore, now is the time to use your power to end the game, before your opponents become too strong.
    Sometimes you cannot end the game before everyone reaches level 20. Here are some general tips for how to change TB's playstyle for a difficult endgame.

If you are winning:
* Buy creep upgrades. Help your team win by pushing the enemy base.
* Destroy enemy towers with spells. TB can be a siege machine.
* Run around and cap every flag. Let your team handle the enemy DGs.
* Stay in the back. Allow your teammates to "tank" by hiding behind them if the enemy tries to rush you. Continue to rain destruction on your enemies' base from your protected position.

If you are losing:
* Buy creep upgrades. This one is always important; spending that 10k on Catapultasaurii & Giants can sometimes be far more effective in defending your base than buying one artifact.
* Focus on destroying invading creeps. Let your team deal with tougher DGs; help them out with Fireball.
* Rain of Ice and Deep Freeze can work very well at shutting down enemies, especially when you have an ally.
* Definitely stay in the back. Hide behind your allies, the citadel, towers, your health fountain, whatever it takes.

8. FINAL NOTES
    This build of TB excels at farming money and experience quickly. It generates a mid-game advantage that has successfully won many games for me. My win percentage is near 80% with this build (despite what the online stats may say - they are very bugged). Its end-game weakness (due to the lack of Frost Nova) is countered by better items and creeps - double the creeps instantly killed equals double the money. I have employed this build to great success against many different teams. Try it; I don't think you'll be disappointed.

    About switching forms - do it often. I switch forms 2 or 3 times every fight against enemy DGs. I do it even when enemy DGs aren't around. The 50% damage bonus is critical, 50% mana regen is nothing to sneeze at either, and I need access to all of my spells to be effective with this build. Switch to fire, cast spells, switch to frost, cast more spells, attack, wait for cooldowns, switch back, repeat. Don't be afraid to switch forms in combat - switching to frost form in particular only takes 0.5 sec. This makes switching forms to chase or run very effective.

On skills not chosen:

Permafrost vs. Frost Nova

While Frost Nova is very good (and I agonize over not taking it), I find that the passive bonus from Permafrost is better, simply because it gives me some way to kill enemies while all my abilities are on cooldown. Even if I am completely out of mana, Permafrost allows me to chase enemies or run from them. Frost Nova depends on Deep Freeze to do damage, and does not allow me to chase the enemy indefinitely.

Fire Nova vs. Frost Nova

Frost Nova stuns the enemy and, with Deep Freeze, does 850 damage. It also freezes all the enemy creeps. However, after Frost Nova is over, the enemy's creeps are free to continue attacking you. Fire Nova has the advantage of instantly killing all the enemy creeps and damaging the enemy. This leaves them *in the long term of the fight* weaker than Frost Nova, which allows the creeps to live.

Fire Nova vs. Circle of Fire

Circle of Fire is good only against melee characters. Against ranged characters (for example another TB) they will just sit at the edge of the circle and pelt you with spells. Circle of Fire also does damage over time, so it cannot be used to kill enemy demigods, because they can simply run out of the circle. Usually, you will get 2 or 3 ticks of Circle of Fire before the enemy runs out of it. As before, Fire Nova has the advantage of doing damage instantly. This makes it more efficient in terms of actual damage dealt to the enemy demigod.