Azwraith, The Phantom Lancer

To truly make Phantom lancer useful you need to skill into stats early and keep one point in dopplewalk up to about level 9. Max spirit lance, 1 point juxtapose if you find yourself jungling often.



Buying radiance is a timing build. Unless you can get it under 19-20 minutes don't do it. You'll hurt your team more than you help yourself.

Opt to rush diffusal to be useful early, plus you jungle fast with the mana burn through illusions. After diffusal you can go for radiance. Your abundance of +stats will carry you through early to mid. One purge = one kill 90% of the time.

I'm not trying to bash this guide, just pointing some of the major flaws. In brief, your guide is kind of contradictory and seems very rushed. Put some time into it and it could be really good. There's hardly any Phantom Lancer guides on the website, so this one being improved would be a definite plus for dotafire.com indeed.

This guide has potential man but you really need to evaluate your item build especially, and think over what this hero is actually like. You mention that he's a hard last hitter and you need to farm well with him at the start, then later on you say he's not gold dependent.

Early boots of speed in particular is a bad idea. Rushing a Radiance is a terrible idea in particular. I don't know if I agree with Soul Ring either for such a low hp hero that should be focusing on auto attack late game, using the Q and W as utility really, not as bread and butter.

In any case, take some time to learn Phantom a little better, think over the item build a lot more as it definitely needs improvement, and clean up the guides aesthetics a little, and it would be a solid guide I think. It just needs more thought and time put into it.

The guide is good, even though it lacks some colors/links/images. The skill build is relevant even though I prefer maxing juxtaposition first, before ult.

Too bad there is no "When chosing PL". PL must be chosen when
-There is no good Battle Fury bearer in the opposite team
-There is no hard carry in your team
-There is two or less melee hero in your team
-There is no sustained AoE dps (If there is a Leshrac f.i. it will be very difficult for you)
-There is no earthshaker
-All the hard carries/semi carries opposite are single target dps (Drow, Mirana, Silencer etc)

The item choices are quite incomplete. You just need to understand illusions better.

Illusions benefit from

*Evasion
*Critical Strike (it should be noted that the red number is before the illusion reduction)
*Feedback (only works on melee illusions)
*Movement Speed bonus
*Attribute Bonus (Strength, Agility and Intelligence)
*Health or Mana
*True Sight
*Radiance's Burn Damage (the aura still will not affect units already affected by a different *Radiance aura)
*Magic Resistance from abilities, and from base Magic Resistance
*Quelling Blade's bonus damage to creeps

Illusions do not benefit from

*Raw Damage, Armor or Attack Speed increase
*Health or Mana regeneration (this includes Lifesteal)
*Unique attack modifiers (except Feedback on melee illusions)
*Cleave
*Bash, this includes the interrupt on *Monkey King Bar
*Damage Block
*Magic Resistance from items (Cloak, Hood of Defiance or Khadgar's Pipe of Insight)


=> Thus, illusions highly benefit from 2 types of items
1) Agi based items as it will add to their damage and AS
2) Auras as they will have it as well

Diffusal Blade, Heart of Tarrasque is core I agree.

Quelling Blade is a must-have as it will make your Farming/pushing so much better.

Wraith Band is very good an item for PL as it is cheap, give you all you need, and scales perfectly with your illu.

Tranquil Boots is a waste as you are not that good a ganker. Soul Ring is nice but again, you do not have so much life you can take the risk of using it often without some decent life regen. Vladmir's Offering is way better for lifesteal, damage boost, mana regen and armor auras. It's a must have as well. Power Treads for the agi (when you are safe), str (when you are doubting), int (when you need mana) as well as giving you AS to create your own illusions.

Daedalus is good too as it does work with illu (0.25*2.5 so your illu will make 0.61% of your own base damage)

Boots of Travel is awesome, that's true... when you have nothing else to buy. Else the cost is way too high. Butterfly/ Manta Style are more important imho.

About "The most important thing is gaining experience; getting gold is a luxury." well I disagree. Gold is critical. However there is something that is more important : making illusions. Making illusions will confuse your opponent, higher your pushing/dps potential so yes, auto attack is better than last hitting... in late game. In early last hitting is extremely critical. Yeah if you must die for it, avoid it. But getting gold means getting better items means more farm means everything.

Just a few remarks ^^'