First off, this build will take your team from 0 warrank and no citadel upgrades to 10 warrank, currency 1, and fully upgraded creeps before your opponents team.
Some guidelines about the build are
#1: your teamates do there best to NOT die
#2: your teamates invest a small portion of there gold to consumables (teleport scrolls and cap locks)
#3: your teamates do not use any of there gold to upgrade the citadel, unless you ask them for assistance.
The Power of Torch Bearer is that he can gain attributes through skill points that usually take a heavy investment in gold or a favor item to attain. This build is here to show new players how to properly play TB and win the game, and to give experienced players a new build to try out. The next sections are Build Order, Item Purchase, How to Play the Build, and Why to Use This Build.
Build Order::
1. Fireball 1
2. Fire Aura 1
3. Rain of Ice 1
4. Rain of Ice 2
5. Fireball 2
6. Fire Aura 2
7. Fireball 3
8. Fire Aura 3
9. Rain of Ice 3
10. Fireball 4
11. Rain of Ice 4
12. stats
13. stats
14. stats
15. biting chill
Item Purchase
Starting items
|| Blood of the Fallen (Favor Item)
|| Banded Armor (550)
|| 2 Teleport Scroll (250 a piece) OR a Teleport Scroll and a Cap Lock, level dependant
Gold Usage Priorities
|| Getting currency 1 at WR3 is the TOP PRIORITY for this build.
|| Try your VERY BEST to have a TP and a Cap Lock at all times, Teleport Scrolls have higher priority though
|| Scaled Helm (550)
|| Totem of Revelation (50) - this increases view radius, is very important to have untill level 8
|| Boots of Speed (1000) Great early game item for this build. Helps compensate till level 8, normally obtained through a skillful kill as money is scarce after the other priorities are achieved
|| Unbreakable Boots (1500) This is a mid game item. Used as a boost to HP and mana, very much needed at this point
|| Wand of Speed (1250) Replaces your Totem of Revelation. Lets you cap base flags and get out of stun traps.
|| Vlemish Face Guard (1750) The last item listed in this build. This will be your limit until you have bought giants. Solves all mana problems that have come as a result of having level 4 fireball and rain of ice by level 11.
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|| You will be getting your last item near warrank 5/6. Your focus is to save money (around 10000) for warrank 8. Continue purchasing TP and Caplocks, but concerve enough that as you reach WR 8 you may fully upgrade priests angels and catas
How to Play The Build
It's fairly obvious by the skill selection and use of gold how your life will go in game. I do want to give some clear tips and pointers about what MUST be done to make this build work. Your goal is not to get kills, its to keep flags, as many or more than the opposing team is holding. Use your superior HP and ranged attacks to push melee users off of flag range. Not holding flags with this build is almost as bad as dying, which is another reason for the NEED for cap locks. Any time you can't hold that flag, Cap it and move to help a friend or go back to the crystal. Remember before level 4, your main attack is fireball, go to ice mode and auto attack for extra damage, after 5 seconds switch back and set up another fireball. Repeat as often as needed untill your opponent is gone.
At level 4 your ability to farm creeps becomes amazing. You can easily clear a lane with 1 click of the button, so your EXP engine starts coming into shape. At around this level you mana pool and ability to maneuver around the map is great because of your choice of consumables and items. If you were lucky / skilled enough to get a kill you probably have boots of speed as well. Escaping bad situations and controlling flags becomes much easier, and it just keeps getting better as you level, gain warrank, and assist your Team where they need help with Teleport and Gank assists. Again I can't stress enough, getting currency 1 right as your warrank becomes 3 is your top priority. Allow your teammates to gear up, your skills give you abilities that your teammates must use gold to buy, like increased attack speed, dmg, run speed, and mana regen. Because of this advantage you must help your team out by supporting them with cash and dmg support when you see the ability to do so.
As you get to level 8, the game changes. Your move speed becomes so high, and your HP pool and mana pool from unbreakables becomes sufficient that you can start caping important flags behind enemy lines. NEVER advance behind tower lines for a flag without a teleport ready. NEVER work for a flag in your opponents base unless you can clearly see all of the enemy DG are on the opposite side of the map. This forces them to use teleport scrolls to get to you, which you easily are able to use to get out because you are well prepared. Further more it allows your team to focus on the front lines, while you are running flags for more warrank.
Not if but when you manage to get a flag advantage, CAP LOCK THAT FLAG. 2 - 3 flags in your teams favor starts accumulating warrank at an exponential level over the opposing team. Continue to move around the map and suppress the opponents from recapturing territory. You will reach WR 8, upon which you get back to base and purchase all creeps up to catas. The game continues as you save gold, suppress the opposition from regaining ground, and you save 6000 for buying giants. All these upgrades done by you, your teamates will supposedly have 17800 gold that they could have used on personal items. Thats a Bulwark of the Ages for Each of your teammates, among other amazing items.
Why to Use This Build
Most advances players know that 1 particular DG that plays a support role should be doing most citadel upgrades. What I believe many are unaware of is how effective torch bearer is able to assume this role. In fact, it's my honest belief that his skill set is the best suited to do just that, aside from possibly Queen of Thorns.
This build offers your teammates better items, while allowing you to play a vital role in the game. It progresses the game in a uniform way that compliments a typical game pace. The way TB skills level, how you gain gold, your ability to farm all enhance your ability to assist your team as a whole. TB is a lot worse when purchasing items for himself to make a pure assassin build. His other Main Fire and Main Ice builds are amazing, but require such a high degree of team support in battle to be worthwhile that they are not viable.
Rain of Ice, Fire Ball, and Fire Aura are TB best skills IMHO. They give the most damage for mana, have decent cooldown timers, and give you tools to do just about any job. Typically when going a hybrib build, you are so split between fire/ice that taking 1 specific aura is a really bad idea. Being mosty fireball / fire aura oriented with Rain of Ice as your AoE you eliminate this problem. You also raise your chances of constantly form switching for the form switching buffs to damage and mana regen, while playing just fire or ice I typically forget to ever change forms.
Enjoy the build, it is fun to roll the team with giants and money.
interesting build, i always thought his interrupt and aoe stun were his strengths.
I thought so to. Ends up they are complete mana sinks, and any other favor item than BotF makes TB utterly unplayable.
I've playtested extensively Pure Ice with BotF, swift anklets, Heavens Wrath, Staff of Renewal, and Serpent Blade. The most viable is swift anklets because of early kill potential and the ability to run away. Late game your ability to kill health stacked opponents becomes nill, even in a group. Erubus does AoE stun BETTER than TB, and sedna's pounce is way better than DF (which BTW removes the debuffs your other skills do) It always feels like an accomplishment to kill someone with ICE TB.
Pure fire suffers from the same fate. Fire ball alone does not do enough damage, circle of fire is easily avoidable, and his fire AoE is heavily mana intensive and is centered around TB, which is a bad thing. Pure fire also has no stuns or interrupts, which his poor ability to deal damage from range does not make up for.
Hybrid builds have always been the bread and butter of TB play, IMO. I was getting great play out of fireball, ice nova, rain of ice and deep freeze. Up untill HoL was nerfed, then having plenor / vlemish just to execute 1 combo started becoming a liability because of lack of health items. HoL made it viable, it being 12000 is just to late in the game to wait for that gold.
This plus the fact that games are decided well before level 10, having a streamlined build that focuses on 1 means to victory, then enhances itself with attributes seems to be the right way to play. If the game lasts longer than this, something has gone wrong, terribly terribly wrong.
I didn't realise he had any strengths.
What about the poisoned dagger and purish ice?+ Fireball?
I personally go for permafrost over fire aura, but I've never really given it a try. I also go for deepfreeze late game, having an interupt isnt bad, and extra 300 damage to fireball with fire and ice is nice too. also, thank you for understanding TB. it anoys me how many people think he sucks just because he cant take most other demigods one on one(which isnt even true if you know how to play right)
interesting build and thanks for sharing it. id like to just throw out there though, that upgrading to catas waaaay before the opposition is most of the time a detriment if they know what theyre doing. theyre going to defend their citadel, level past you, catch up in warrank, and then theyre equal in creeps, ahead in gold, and ahead in exp. you only want to jump to catas if you have enough equipment and reserves to push with your creeps. its a judgement call.
It's very important to use the time they are 'recovering' from your early creep push to continue dominating with flags and getting giants imediatly at WR10. 4 + creep waves of giants catas priests and angels + your whole team knocking on there front doors is enough to end the game, at least in my experience.
>>I thought so to. Ends up they are complete mana sinks, and any other favor item than BotF makes TB utterly unplayable.
Just no.
Agreed, torchie doesn't need blood.
Good strat!
Agreed. Going for a guantletless build for torchie is interesting and doing three helms instead with 2 good armors rocks...or one armor narmoths
i play a hybrid TB too but with some differences than ur build. i usually put points into premaforst early because of the speed debuff and mana regen and take fire aura later. i would also suggest to put 1 point into the exp upgrade in the citadel as soon as WR 2. TB is excellent at farming creeps with his rain of ice. The exp upgrade will let u lvl much faster than your opponents. the hybrid TB is great for map control so i strongly recommend to use flag locks and abuse them. make it difficult for ur enemies to take flags from u. just rain of ice a creep wave, lock the flag, and run to another flag. TB is the most fun character to play in the game imo
you talk about superior hp in this build, but i don't see where this is the case. botf and banded armor are just enough to even out his initially innate hp disadvantage. regulus or erebus or any general with cloak of night or any minion general could, for example, quite easily cover the distance and kill you or at least push you to the crystal.
try a hybrid using essence of magic. not only it gives you additional mps but also you can cast rain of ice and lategame frostnova for free.
additional vlemish and plenor is enough to cover mana needs, which leaves space for armor and hp.
Stupid n00b question: what is auto attack mode? How to switch it on?
Overall this is just a Hybrid Torch that obsesses over Flag Locks and Citadel Upgrades, right?
Getting Mint 1 at 1620 War Score = good idea. Using lots of Flag Locks = usually a good idea. Having 1 person be responsible for all Cit upgrades = bad idea. Buying catas at WR8 = usually a bad idea.
To kermo, when in the fire "stance" you cannot chase and auto attack. This is a bug and is needing to be fixed for awhile now. Frost presence does not suffer from this however (ie you can chase and attack). I personally don't like hybrid builds because the stance dancing causes you to lose dps and kills. Plus fire presence is so bad except for casting your fireball. I don't think you should bother with fire aura since, at least for me, you'd stay in frost almost constantly. Plus lvl 2 frost aura gives you mana regen.
I personally use a pure frost build that late game will try to get fire and ice for increased dps. Late game (lvl 15+), you can pull off 3k spikes using rain, frost nova, and then the cold snap ability (gives you 3 effects to knock off). Also, I don't see guides telling players to save rain of ice for the creep waves early, and make sure you hit the enemy demigod with it as well. Beyond that, as you control the lane and flag, you need to push up and make sure your rain is also hitting the tower. Furthermore, you need to, "stance dance," (ie switch presences) in between creep waves to gain the effects associated with a change in presence. When you change into fire, you get increased mana regen, when you change into ice, you gain increased damage. So what i do is switch to fire after the creeps are dead, and when the new wave is almost to me, i will switch back to frost.
I really like the suggestion of getting a level of exp early on. I'll do that with my reg as well since he goes mines and heaven's wrath by lvl 5.
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