Phantom Lancer Guide

Items

Starting Items

• Tango helps keep Phantom Lancer longer alive during the early game.
• Healing Salve is a standard regeneration item, useful for any hero to stay longer in lane.
• Enchanted Mango helps Phantom Lancer endure harassment, and can be consumed to get off one last Spirit Lance or Doppelganger.
• Ring of Protection is one of the components for a Ring of Basilius   Item   Changelogs     Ring of BasiliusB Ring given as a reward to the greatest mages. Cost500 Bought FromSupport Passive Basilius Aura Bonus +7 Attack damage Disassemble? Yes Alert allies? No Recipe The , which builds later into Ring of Aquila   Item   Changelogs     Ring of AquilaB The ring of the fallen Warlord Aquila continues to support armies in battle. Cost985 Bought FromSupport Passive Aquila Aura Bonus +3 Strength+9 Agility+3 Intelligence+10 Attack damage , but it cannot be purchased at the side shop.
• Iron Branches provides an extremely cost effective increase to

Gameplay

Playstyle
Phantom Lancer   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Phantom Lancer 21 + 2 29 + 2.6 21 + 2 Level is an exceptional carry who outnumbers and overwhelms his targets with armies of illusions Default buff iconPlay Spawn soundPlay Death sound “ Play A legion sprouts from one! Click to listen— Phantom Lancer ” Illusions (also commonly called illus) are imperfect, weaker copies of heroes, created by spells or items. They . With the ability to charge at his opponents, the Phantom Lancer is relatively mobile, and can disappear briefly from the battlefield to confuse or avoid his enemies. Indistinguishable from with his clones, enemies often have a hard time targeting the real Phantom Lancer during fights. Be that as it may, the Phantom Lancer`s illusions can be destroyed by area of effect abilities, rendering him less effective as a result.
Pros	Cons
Creates confusion with large numbers of illusions. Excellent disjoint Shadow Fiend using a Blink Dagger to dodge Phantom Assassin s Stifling Dagger Disjointing is the act of dodging projectiles, or rather, to cause a projectile to fully lose track of its target. A disjoint is and dispel   Dispel   Removable buffs   Removable debuffs     A dispel is the term used for a forced removal of status effects. Dispels usually come together with other mechanics and are rarely seen as mechanism with Doppelganger. Good chase potential with Phantom Rush. Fast, clean attack animation.	Dependent on illusions Default buff iconPlay Spawn soundPlay Death sound “ Play A legion sprouts from one! Click to listen— Phantom Lancer ” Illusions (also commonly called illus) are imperfect, weaker copies of heroes, created by spells or items. They . Weak against AoE abilities. Low health. No burst damage.

Videos

Info

Hero

Strategy

Counters   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Contents 1 Bad against... 1.1 Others 1.2 Items 2 Good against... 2.1

Equipment   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     v • d • e Phantom Lancer Equipment (collapse sets)Sets Ancestors Pride Set Arms of the Bramble

Gear   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     This is a list of cosmetic items that reflects Phantom Lancer s design

Responses   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     v • d • e  Voice responses Hero responses Abaddon Alchemist Ancient Apparition Anti-Mage Arc Warden Axe Bane

Sounds   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     v • d • e  Dota 2 Sounds Hero Sounds Abaddon Alchemist Ancient Apparition Anti-Mage Arc Warden Axe

Lore   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Azwraith, the Phantom Lancer The remote village of Pole had no knowledge

Old Abilities   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Doppelwalk PlayWW AbilityNo Target AffectsSelf Renders Phantom Lancer invisible, while generating a

Changelogs   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Contents 1 Version history 2 Patch history Version history edit] Version Description

Generic/Carry Phantom Lancer

Phantom Lancer is traditionally played as the farming core in the safelane, harassing opponents with Spirit Lance, but mostly focusing on getting last hits and keeping his lane static close to his tier 1 tower. His great base damage, base agility and attack animation makes it easy to control the lane, denying at will without missing any last hits.

Every Phantom Lancer build should probably include an early Ring of Aquila   Item   Changelogs     Ring of AquilaB The ring of the fallen Warlord Aquila continues to support armies in battle. Cost985 Bought FromSupport Passive Aquila Aura Bonus +3 Strength+9 Agility+3 Intelligence+10 Attack damage . A carry Phantom Lancer can skip Magic Stick   Item   Changelogs     Magic StickBL A simple wand used to channel magic energies, it is favored by apprentice wizards and great warlocks alike. Cost200 Bought FromArcane Active Energy Charge Charges 0 Disassemble? entirely versus a weak offlane, keep his Boots of Speed   Item   Changelogs     Boots of SpeedBL Fleet footwear, increasing movement. Cost400 Bought FromArcane Bonus +45 Movement speed Disassemble? No Alert allies? No Recipe The Boots of Speed are an item purchasable at and immediately rush a Diffusal Blade   Item   Changelogs     Diffusal BladeB An enchanted blade that allows the user to cut straight into the enemy s soul. Cost3150 (700) Bought FromArtifacts Active Purge Charges 8 Passive Manabreak Bonus +25/35 Agility+10/15 .

Mid/Ganker Phantom Lancer

Thanks to his great base damage and attack animation, Phantom Lancer can easily get last hits in the middle lane. Get an early level of Phantom Rush to make it even easier to finish off that ranged creep, or to start harassing the enemy mid-laner.

Start off with a Poor Man`s Shield   Item   Changelogs     Poor Man s ShieldB A busted old shield that seems to block more than it should. Cost500 Bought FromCommon Passive Damage Block Bonus +6 Agility Disassemble? No Alert allies? No to give you some good damage block which will allow you to trade hits better versus the opponent, and rush a Bottle   Item   Changelogs     BottleBL An old bottle that survived the ages, the contents placed inside become enchanted. Cost650 Bought FromConsumables Active Regenerate Charges 3 / 1 Passive Store Rune Disassemble? No Alert to keep your mana up while you spam Spirit Lance. A mid Phantom Lancer may want a couple of items to help tank him up before getting his Diffusal Blade   Item   Changelogs     Diffusal BladeB An enchanted blade that allows the user to cut straight into the enemy s soul. Cost3150 (700) Bought FromArtifacts Active Purge Charges 8 Passive Manabreak Bonus +25/35 Agility+10/15 , such as an upgraded Power Treads   Item   Changelogs     Power TreadsBL A pair of tough-skinned boots that change to meet the demands of the wearer. Cost1350 Bought FromCommon Active Switch Attribute Bonus +25 Attack speed+45 Movement speed Disassemble? or Vladmir`s Offering   Item   Changelogs     Vladmir s OfferingB An eerie mask that is haunted with the malice of a fallen vampire. Cost2275 Bought FromSupport Passive Vladmir s Aura Bonus +2 Strength+2 Agility+2 Intelligence Disassemble? No Alert (don`t forget to disassemble your Ring of Aquila   Item   Changelogs     Ring of AquilaB The ring of the fallen Warlord Aquila continues to support armies in battle. Cost985 Bought FromSupport Passive Aquila Aura Bonus +3 Strength+9 Agility+3 Intelligence+10 Attack damage for the Ring of Basilius   Item   Changelogs     Ring of BasiliusB Ring given as a reward to the greatest mages. Cost500 Bought FromSupport Passive Basilius Aura Bonus +7 Attack damage Disassemble? Yes Alert allies? No Recipe The ).

Split-pusher/Survivor Phantom Lancer

This style could be identical to the generic Phantom Lancer, but it assumes you`re against heavy AoE line-ups against which you`re sure to die from for most of the game. Many people rightfully pick Zeus   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Zeus 19 + 2.6 11 + 1.2 22 + 2.7 Level Base or Bristleback   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Bristleback 22 + 2.2 17 + 1.8 14 + 2.8 Level Base to counter Phantom Lancer. In these cases, upgrade your Magic Stick   Item   Changelogs     Magic StickBL A simple wand used to channel magic energies, it is favored by apprentice wizards and great warlocks alike. Cost200 Bought FromArcane Active Energy Charge Charges 0 Disassemble? to a full Magic Wand   Item   Changelogs     Magic WandB A simple wand used to channel magic energies, it is favored by apprentice wizards and great warlocks alike. Cost465 Bought FromCommon Active Energy Charge Charges 0 Bonus .

For survival, you can rush a Vanguard   Item   Lore   Changelogs     VanguardL A powerful shield that defends its wielder from even the most vicious of attacks. Cost2150 Bought FromArmor Passive Damage Block Bonus +250 Health+8 Health regeneration Disassemble? , and since the goal is to split-push and not fight, quickly upgrade your boots into Boots of Travel. Diffusal Blade   Item   Changelogs     Diffusal BladeB An enchanted blade that allows the user to cut straight into the enemy s soul. Cost3150 (700) Bought FromArtifacts Active Purge Charges 8 Passive Manabreak Bonus +25/35 Agility+10/15 could come as late as a fifth or sixth item, after Magic Wand   Item   Changelogs     Magic WandB A simple wand used to channel magic energies, it is favored by apprentice wizards and great warlocks alike. Cost465 Bought FromCommon Active Energy Charge Charges 0 Bonus , Ring of Aquila   Item   Changelogs     Ring of AquilaB The ring of the fallen Warlord Aquila continues to support armies in battle. Cost985 Bought FromSupport Passive Aquila Aura Bonus +3 Strength+9 Agility+3 Intelligence+10 Attack damage , Boots of Travel, Vanguard   Item   Lore   Changelogs     VanguardL A powerful shield that defends its wielder from even the most vicious of attacks. Cost2150 Bought FromArmor Passive Damage Block Bonus +250 Health+8 Health regeneration Disassemble? , and another tanky item.

Ability Builds

Talents

Hero Talents
+600 Phantom Rush Range	25	+20 Strength
15% Evasion	20	+15% Magic Resistance
15% Cooldown Reduction	15	+8 All Stats
+20 Attack Speed	10	+75 Spirit Lance Damage

Notes:

• Upgrading health increases maximum health capacity and keeps the current health percentage.

• Cooldown reduction affects abilities and items. Stacks multiplicatively with Octarine Core and additively with Arcane Rune.

• The magic resistance stacks multiplicatively with other sources of magic resistance.

• The evasion stacks multiplicatively with other sources of evasion.

General

• As with other illusion-dependent heroes, Phantom Lancer should build items that provide stats and passive buffs rather than raw damage or attack speed, because those stats and buffs are transferred to his illusions.
• Diffusal Blade   Item   Changelogs     Diffusal BladeB An enchanted blade that allows the user to cut straight into the enemy s soul. Cost3150 (700) Bought FromArtifacts Active Purge Charges 8 Passive Manabreak Bonus +25/35 Agility+10/15 is the most important item for Phantom Lancer. In the early game, most of his damage against heroes will come from Diffusal Blade`s mana burn.
  • A hero with mana will take more damage from Phantom Lancer than one who is out of mana, meaning that Phantom Lancer starts off dealing more damage, and less once the target`s mana is drained.
  • Because of this, Phantom Lancer sometimes has difficulties finishing off tough, retreating enemies like Timbersaw when they are already out of mana.
  • When fighting heroes with low mana like Sven, Phantom Lancer will do less damage overall because the target`s small mana pool is quickly depleted.
• Phantom Lancer`s illusion army will often overwhelm new to mid-level players, causing them to attack the wrong target and waste their abilities. Be that as it may, this should not be your primary strategy, because more experienced players are usually able to discover the real Phantom Lancer by observing the amount of damage being dealt (most illusions take more damage), debuff status, as well as player movement patterns.
• With enough micromanagement, you can deceive enemies by controlling illusions independently, and moving in ways you might move Phantom Lancer himself.
• Moving illusions together in clumps usually tells enemies that they are illusions.
• During smaller teamfights, staying inside a big group of illusions can make it harder for enemies to find the real Phantom Lancer.
  • Be that as it may, this tactic can backfire if enemy nukers target the entire group with AoE abilities. Make sure no nukers are nearby before grouping up.
• Remember to move Phantom Lancer himself when manipulating his illusions. A good tactic for newer players is to issue a distant move command for Phantom Lancer, while moving his illusions to trick the pursuing enemies.
• Though attack speed is still important on Phantom Lancer, it is not needed as much due to his ability to create attacking illusions.
• Get teammates to use buffs and abilities on an illusion to confuse enemies, such as Shallow Grave. This tactic is highly situational.
• Illusions are counted as heroes in a target check, but they sometimes receive effects intended for units, letting the enemy tell them apart straight away.
  • For instance, Witch Doctor`s Paralyzing Cask will stun Phantom Lancer`s illusions by 5 seconds, but only stun Phantom Lancer himself for 1 second.
• When choosing an item build, remember that not all passive item abilities are shared with illusions.
• Read the Illusions article for a full understanding of how illusions work.
• Phantom Lancer is a moderately good ganker, but still needs to farm items for the late game. Try to balance the two roles depending on what opportunities are present on the map.
• Phantom Lancer has no strong disables, instead relying on speed and slows to catch up to his opponents.
• Phantom Lancer is a decent split pusher, especially in the late game. Take advantage of this whenever you aren`t fighting.
• Phantom Lancer excels in long, drawn-out fights, which give him lots of time to wear down his opponents` mana and spawn more illusions.

Spirit Lance

• Spirit Lance is Phantom Lancer`s generic nuke. Use it during the early game to supplement his damage during ganks and for harassment.
• Use Spirit Lance during the laning phase to intimidate enemy laners, especially vulnerable supports.
• Using Spirit Lance to get last hits can be worth it if Phantom Lancer is not farming well.
• The illusion spawned from Spirit Lance has the same properties as every other illusion. It will burn the enemy`s mana once you have Diffusal Blade   Item   Changelogs     Diffusal BladeB An enchanted blade that allows the user to cut straight into the enemy s soul. Cost3150 (700) Bought FromArtifacts Active Purge Charges 8 Passive Manabreak Bonus +25/35 Agility+10/15 , and spawn further illusions with Juxtapose.
• Don`t hesitate to use Spirit Lance on a squishy support in the back line rather than on the enemy carry you`re currently focusing. Once you`re farmed enough, it could force the support to back off by itself, or waste his precious AoE disable on the illusion army that gathered up around him.
• If Phantom Lancer is too weak to join a fight, use Spirit Lance repeatedly from the edges to send an illusion to help your allies. The illusion could spawn an army of illusions by itself to confuse and mislead enemies, as well as burn their mana.
• Spirit Lance`s projectile is slow and very visible, and thus easily disjointed. Avoid wasting it on heroes who can dodge the projectile, such as Puck.
• Spirit Lance`s deceptively long cast range can be used to finish off an enemy during teamfights.
• Spirit Lance`s short cooldown means it can be used to initiate and finish off fleeing opponents.
• Use Spirit Lance on an enemy who is just about to move out of vision, such as up high ground or into the trees. The illusion that spawns next to them will grant vision.
• If your illusion is not auto-attacking its target after impact, check your game settings. Do not have the Illusions ⃢₆ₒ Never auto-attack option turned on when playing Phantom Lancer. But, while trying to juke with Doppelganger, you don`t want use the Illusions ⃢₆ₒ Always auto-attack option either, as the opponent will immediately spot which is the real hero. Find the compromise.

Doppelganger

Doppelganger`s short cast time allows Phantom Lancer to easily dodge Fortune`s End.

• Doppelganger has a very short 0.1 second cast time, making it easy to dodge attacks and disjoint Shadow Fiend using a Blink Dagger to dodge Phantom Assassin s Stifling Dagger Disjointing is the act of dodging projectiles, or rather, to cause a projectile to fully lose track of its target. A disjoint is projectiles with. This is its most important purpose, and will save Phantom Lancer from many disables and deaths.
  • Because of its low cast time, Doppelganger can dodge an enemy disable right after being cycloned with Eul`s Scepter of Divinity, provided the enemy didn`t time their follow-up disable perfectly. In the best case scenario, it can even allow you to immediately turn a gank around with your spawned illusions.
  • In the early game, enemy initiators do not yet have a Blink Dagger, and must walk up to their targets before initiating. Use Doppelganger when you see them coming.
  • Unless you`re very confident with its cast range, click right next to you when trying to dodge an attack, as clicking further away could cause Phantom Lancer to walk before using Doppelganger, and miss the dodge window.
  • Enemies like Earthshaker will often wait until you to have spawned an illusion army before initiating. If you believe that someone is about to jump you because you`re surrounded by yourselves, don`t hesitate to pre-emptively use Doppelganger, as you might be able to dodge a poorly-timed Echo Slam.
  • Pay close attention to the Wrath of Nature that`s bouncing around your illusions, and use Doppelganger to dodge the attack before it bounces on you.
  • Keep an eye on your team`s health to guess when Zeus   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Zeus 19 + 2.6 11 + 1.2 22 + 2.7 Level Base will try to finish you or an ally off with Thundergod`s Wrath. Though it takes good timing, it can also be dodged with Doppelganger.
  • Use Doppelganger to escape from large area nukes, such as Call Down.
• Doppelganger applies a basic dispel   Dispel   Removable buffs   Removable debuffs     A dispel is the term used for a forced removal of status effects. Dispels usually come together with other mechanics and are rarely seen as on cast. As its cost is also very low, use it freely in lane to get rid of pesky damage-over-time abilities like Shadow Word or Poison Touch.
• Use Doppelganger to move through cliffs and other terrain obstacles, such as the barrier from Fissure.
• Doppelganger gathers any and all illusions within a 900 range radius from Phantom Lancer`s point of origin, and will reappear alongside him at the targeted area. With enough illusions, it is possible to surround your opponent upon reappearance, similar to Chaos Knight`s interaction with illusions and Reality Rift.
• Doppelganger destroys trees in a rather large 200 AOE around Phantom Lancer and each of his illusions, allowing you to create shortcuts in the jungle and easily find an opponent that`s hiding in the trees.
• The enemy has no way to know which is the real Phantom Lancer after Doppelganger, and one of the spawned illusions actually takes 100% damage, the same as Phantom Lancer himself. In desperate situations, try to lure enemies into chasing an illusion by keeping yourself immobile and running way with the illusion.
• Doppelganger`s 8 second illusion duration is not long, but it`s long enough to scout Roshan, bait an enemy`s initiation, or detonate a Proximity Mines.
• In some offensive situations, such as when ganking a single target, Doppelganger can be used right away so the two illusions will begin spawning more illusions sooner through Juxtapose.

Phantom Rush

• Once Phantom Rush starts, Phantom Lancer will not stop until he either reaches the target, loses vision of the target, gets disabled, or is given a move command.
• Be careful not to inadvertently initiate with Phantom Rush, or charge into a bad situation. Cancel the rush with a move command if necessary.
• Phantom Rush`s extra movement speed makes it a good chasing mechanism against heroes with movement speed buffs, like Surge, Shukuchi, Stampede or even Shapeshift.
• Phantom Lancer cannot be slowed during Phantom Rush. Use this to charge to and between enemies in teamfights, picking off supports and dying heroes.
• At level 3, Phantom Rush has a longer cast range than Spirit Lance, making it a better initiation tool in some scenarios.
• Early levels in Phantom Rush can be useful for a ganking or mid Phantom Lancer.
• In some situations, Phantom Rush can be used as an escape tool, if there is an enemy target close enough for you to rush, and is far from the rest of the enemy team.
• With Phantom Lancer`s level 25 talent, Phantom Rush becomes an extremely long ranged charge, allowing Phantom Lancer to run to any enemy during a teamfight, and chase down fleeing stragglers.

Juxtapose

• Like every passive, Juxtapose is disabled by break, such as from Silver Edge. When this happens, Phantom Lancer loses the ability to passively spawn illusions, and becomes very vulnerable to single target abilities like Primal Roar or Doom.
• Take note that the illusions spawned last for 8 seconds when Juxtapose is triggered by Phantom Lancer, while illusions only last for 4 seconds when triggered by other illusions. As such, while it is possible to push multiple lanes with items like Manta Style, the pushing effect would only be momentary due to how short the time limit is for spawned illusions.
• All illusions spawned through Juxtapose provide a fixed bounty of 5 gold and experience when they are destroyed. Though this is only a fraction of the average bounties from lane and jungle creeps, the large amount of illusions that can be spawned from Juxtapose can give opponents with area-of-effect and crowd control abilities a gold and experience advantage, especially in the early game when Phantom Lancer`s stats is not high enough to allow his illusions to take a beating.
• More tips needed.