Lion Guide


Items

Starting items:

Early game:

Core items:

  • Magic Wand is a great upgrade for extra attributes and the additional charges, always useful on hard supports. Its cheap price makes it useful on Lion, who will not always have the gold to buy better items.
  • Tranquil Boots are the best boots upgrade for Lion, as they are cheap and give him everything he needs. The passive HP regen keeps his health pool topped off, synergizing with his ability to keep his mana pool at full with Mana Drain. The additional armor gives him increased survivability, while the increased movement speed gives him better roaming and positioning ability.
  • Force Staff is a powerful utility and mobility item on Lion that grants him more mana, base damage, and some HP sustain. It can serve as an inferior substitute to Blink Dagger, or as a supplement to further increase Lion`s mobility. The active can also be used to help allies re-position as needed, or on an enemy to disposition them or instantly break their Linken`s Sphere ahead of other disables.
  • Sentry Ward is crucial to purchase regularly as a support Lion. As a ranged hero, Lion can destroy enemy Observer Wards he finds, taking away map vision from the enemy team.
  • Town Portal Scroll is important to carry at all times. Lion`s nuking and disabling potential allows him to turn ganks and teamfights completely around if he is present.
  • Aether Lens is a very strong item to obtain on Lion. The increased mana pool allows Lion to more easily get off his spell combos due to the high cost of Finger of Death, and can be easily replenished with Mana Drain, while the HP regen works alongside Tranquil Boots to keep Lion`s HP topped up. The cast range increase can greatly extend the reach of all of Lion`s spells, especially Hex and Earth Spike for disabling foes, and the spell damage amp makes his nukes deal additional damage as well.

Situational:

  • Mekansm   Item   Old Abilities   Changelogs     MekansmB A glowing jewel formed out of assorted parts that somehow fit together perfectly. Cost2375 (900) Bought FromSupport Active Restore Passive Mekansm Aura Bonus +5 Strength+5 dota2 is useful to build on Lion if no other teammates can utilize the item effectively. The additional stats and armor increase Lion`s survivability, while the heal drastically improves his teamfight contribution. As well, Lion does not suffer from the tremendous mana cost of the item as he can always recoup it with Mana Drain.
  • Blink Dagger is extremely powerful on Lion, and should be considered a core item no matter his farm situation. The ability to instantly jump on top of enemies allows him to get much more use out of Hex and Earth Spike, greatly increasing the odds of getting kills on the enemy.
  • Boots of Travel are invaluable in the late game for the additional movement speed and ability to globally teleport. The movement speed helps with Lion`s positioning and chasing, while the teleport allows him to jump to allied creeps to set up or participate in kill opportunities on other parts of the map.
  • Scythe of Vyse is expensive, but is a strong late-game item on any casting-oriented support. In Lion`s case, it gives him better overall stats and reduces his reliance on Mana Drain, while also adding yet another instant hard disable to his already formidable arsenal.
  • Dagon drastically increases Lion`s nuking potential, as it allows him to double up on the already formidable nuking power of

Gameplay

Playstyle
Lion   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs   Known Bugs     Lion 16 + 2 15 + 1.5 20 + dota2 is a powerful spellcaster and is mostly played as support or ganker hero due to his disabling spells. He is best to partner with auto attack carries or another spellcaster to finish enemies quickly. His Earth Spike and his Hex make him a formidible disabler, while his Mana Drain can prevent enemy heroes from casting spells if done effectively and allowed to drain. His Finger of Death can easily nuke the chosen enemy, dealing incredible damage to help his allies or himself finish a kill.
Pros Cons
  • One of the best disabler hero.
  • Good early/mid game nuker.
  • Easily targeted due to low health.
  • Slow movement.

Videos

Info


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Ability Builds

Generic Lion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Talents

Hero Talents   Main   Table of Gained Bonuses     The Talent Selection interface. Talents are traits unique to each hero. They are chosen every 5th level starting at level 10, offering a permanent choice between dota2
+3 Mana Drain Multi Target 25 +20 All Stats
+8% Spell Amplification 20 +20% Magic Resistance
+90 Gold/Min 15 +80 Earth Spike Damage
+60 Damage 10 +75 Cast Range
Notes:
  • The attack damage is added as bonus attack damage, and therefore does not benefit illusions.
  • The magic resistance stacks multiplicatively with other sources of magic resistance.

Lion   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs   Known Bugs     Lion 16 + 2 15 + 1.5 20 + dota2 `s Talent Tree is very situational, strongly based in the game. As Lion is a fragile caster, you might as well take the +75 cast range in the First Talent Tree and the +20% Magic Resistance from the Third to increase your survivability. +90 Gold/Min is awesome for supports, seeing that these can`t/don`t get any farm, so getting it will help you to buy your supportive items and the items of your choices (damage, survivability, disables, etc.). The +20 to All Stats in the Last Talent Tree is the best choice since the removal of attributes bonuses.

General

  • Lion is renowned for being one of the strongest disabling supports in the game. He has two hard disables in Hex and Earth Spike, which allow him to set up kills in virtually any situation once he hits level 2, potentially giving his team a strong early advantage with his combination of nukes and disables. Be sure to layer your disables properly, in order to lock down a target for the longest possible duration instead of stacking the disables and wasting one or both.
  • Like most other intelligence-based casters, Lion suffers from low strength and agility growth, making him frail and easy to kill if focused down. Due to this and his strong array of disables, Lion benefits greatly from building survivability and mobility items, as his great intelligence growth combined with his Mana Drain ability means that he is never wanting for mana to cast his spells.
  • Beware that due to his single-target nature, all of Lion`s spells can be blocked with Linken`s Sphere   Item   Interactions   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Linken s Sphere This magical sphere once protected one of the most famous heroes in history. Cost4850 (1000) Bought FromArmor Active Transfer Spellblock Passive Spellblock dota2 , or even worse reflected with Lotus Orb   Item   Interactions   Changelogs     Lotus Orb The jewel at its center still reflects a pale image of its creator. Cost4000 Bought FromArmor Active Echo Shell Bonus +6 Health regeneration+10 Armor+250 Mana+125% dota2 . As such, be extremely careful about when and where you cast your spells, and be sure to regularly check the enemy`s inventory so that you know if they are building towards either item.
  • Because of his powerful early disabling potential, Lion can be played in a variety of ways.
    • In most cases, Lion is played as a hard support, protecting his safe lane carry by pulling neutral camps and harassing the enemy off-laner. He is also able to set up kills with his disables if he is able to get within range to cast them on the enemy, whether it be their off-laner or rotating to gank their mid-laner.
    • True to his name, Lion is also a strong roamer who can prowl and pounce on enemies in their lanes, using his disables to hold them in place while his teammates kill them.
    • In unusual circumstances, Lion can also be a respectable mid, as his good base damage allows him to compete with other mid heroes with last-hits, and his disables allow him to set up the enemy mid if supports rotate for a gank. The early gold and levels can allow him to transition into a strong roaming who can catch enemies with his disables and nuke them down with Finger of Death.

Earth Spike

  • Earth Spike is a disable that deals damage and stuns in a line in front of Lion, making it a well-rounded stun and nuke.
  • Because both its damage and stun duration scale with levels, Earth Spike is generally Lion`s best ability to max out first. This allows Lion to deal respectable nuke damage and disable for a good duration with a single spell.
  • Earth Spike is unusual in that it can be both ground-targeted and unit-targeted. This allows the spell to be used both as a reliable and unreliable disable, be that as it may, it also means that the spell can be blocked by Linken`s Sphere   Item   Interactions   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Linken s Sphere This magical sphere once protected one of the most famous heroes in history. Cost4850 (1000) Bought FromArmor Active Transfer Spellblock Passive Spellblock dota2 even if ground-targeted.
  • Due to its line target nature, Earth Spike can potentially damage and stun multiple targets at once. If the opportunity presents itself, try to position yourself such that you can line up a stun on at least two enemies at once.
  • One unusual aspect of Earth Spike is that it can be targeted at only 500 range but travels up to 825, possibly hitting enemies up to 950 units away. This means that while the spell can reliably stun an enemy at 500 range or less, with skill it can be used as an unreliable stun to disable an enemy at almost twice that distance.
  • Beware that Earth Spike does have a travel time, and that it is possible for the enemy to dodge the spikes near the end of the spell if they are fast enough. As such, it can pay off to get as close as possible to a target before casting Earth Spike on them, to give them as little time to react if possible.
  • Keep in mind that the elevated spike animation will still play if the spell catches an invisible hero. While it cannot be used to reliably search for invisible enemies due to its thin radius, a successful hit will alert allies to a stunned invisible enemy, allowing them to cast an area-targeted unreliable disable or nuke on that spot.

Hex

  • Hex is an extremely powerful hard disable that can silence and mute its target, preventing them from casting spells or using items. As well, it has an instant cast animation, giving the enemy absolutely no time to react.
  • Due to its poor scaling, Hex is generally best left with one point in the early game. Each additional level only adds half a second to the disable duration while drastically increasing the mana cost, which can tax Lion`s mana pool beyond its limit. It is better left as the last ability to max out, as Lion can replenish his mana pool reliably with more levels in Mana Drain, and it is unlikely that targets need to be hard-disabled multiple times in the early game when all-out teamfights are rare.
  • Due to its instant cast time, Hex is a powerful initiating disable since it can lock down a target immediately when Lion gets within range to cast it. As well, the slow it inflicts on the target makes them an easier target to hit with a followed up Earth Spike. Be that as it may, this will generally vary according to the situation, as Earth Spike`s longer disable range can allow Lion to disable an enemy from a greater distance away first, then follow up with a longer-duration Hex.
  • Hex can instantly destroy illusions, making it a powerful counter to certain illusion heroes and Manta Style   Item   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Manta Style An axe made of reflective materials that causes confusion amongst enemy ranks. Cost5000 (900) Bought FromArmor Active Mirror Image Bonus +10 Strength+26 Agility+10 Intelligence+15 dota2 . If the enemy can create a small number of powerful illusions with abilities like Replicate, Phantasm or Mirror Image, Lion can instantly remove one of them from play or hard-disable the source of the illusions directly. And if an enemy uses Manta Style defensively, Hex can instantly remove one of them, increasing the chance of finding the right hero to 50%.
  • In dire situations, Hex can be cast defensively as well. If a lone enemy initiates on Lion and he is unable to kill them with his nukes, casting a max level Hex on them will disable them for 4 seconds, more than enough time for Lion to channel a Town Portal Scroll to escape.

Mana Drain

  • Mana Drain is a strong utility and soft-disable spell that allows Lion to roam independently as he can maintain a near-limitless supply of mana.
  • Next to Earth Spike, Mana Drain can be a powerful spell to max out early on. While it is not very strong at level 1, getting it to level 2 allows Lion to start recouping the mana cost of his spells, giving him the mana to cast his full combo whenever he needs to. At level 4, it can drain mana at double the rate that it does at level 3, making much more powerful.
  • Used judiciously, Mana Drain can hinder enemies` attempts to lane as Lion can threaten to remove their mana pool if they remain in the area while he casts this spell on them. It is particularly effective against melee heroes that have to approach the creep wave to last-hit, and used over time it can force them to leave the lane as they will not have the mana to cast any of their spells, including escape abilities in the event of a gank.
  • While Mana Drain can be a powerful harass tool in the laning stage, it can leave Lion wide open to retaliation since it is a channeled spell that forces him to stand still. Be sure that the enemy is not in a position to jump on him before attempting to cast this spell on them, and that allies are ready to come to your aid if necessary.
  • Remember that Mana Drain can be cast on any non-friendly unit that has a mana pool, not just enemy heroes. This means that Lion can drain mana from ranged lane creeps, as well as neutral creeps with mana pools. Be that as it may, keep in mind that casting this spell on neutral creeps will draw aggro, so it is best to cast it when they are otherwise occupied in order to avoid taking damage while draining mana.
  • Past the laning stage, Mana Drain has strong utility despite its seemingly mediocre effects. Its ability to drain up to 120 MP/sec means that, when combined with other disables, it can completely destroy an enemy`s ability to retaliate at all as they will have no mana to cast any spells or use certain active abilities. It can be extremely powerful against heroes with small mana pools that rely on survivability abilities, with Reincarnation being one of the most prominent examples.
  • Like Hex, Mana Drain is capable of destroying illusions, removing them from play upon the first drain instance (0.1 seconds after casting). As its cooldown and mana cost is even lower than Hex, Mana Drain can effectively destroy an illusion every four seconds.
  • When used in combination with Earth Spike and Hex, Mana Drain can allow Lion to completely remove Manta Style illusions from the field: use Earth Spike to disable all three targets and identify the real hero by how much damage they take, destroy an illusion with Mana Drain, and follow up with Hex on the hero once Earth Spike`s stun ends. The second illusion can be destroyed at leisure once Mana Drain comes off cooldown.
  • Due to its long cast range, Mana Drain can be used to break an enemy`s Linken`s Sphere ahead of a fight or gank. Be that as it may, be very careful when attempting this, as Mana Drain`s cast animation can add an additional delay that the enemy can take advantage of.

Finger of Death