Raijin Thunderkeg

Introduction.

Hello everyone.

I wanted to make a guide for a long time now and i thought I'll make one for my favorite chubby man, Storm Spirit.
Everything here is my personal preferences and i would like to hear your thoughts about them. I personally consider Storm to be a great carry, even really late game. He scales pretty well and in the right hands, can turn games around. I think playing him really aggressive is the right choice for a really successful game with him so i will share my experience with you and hope you'll enjoy it.

Skills

I'll try my best at explaining why i choose that skill and why i bought that item.

---

Getting one level of Static Remnant allows you to harass and last hit. Sometimes even both at the same time! And it's a really good first level 140 damage nuke (i don't think there are many 1st level nukes with such great damage and a really low 3.5sec cooldown, so it's pretty strong) And of course, it procs your Overload which at level one is 30. Making a simple math, casting a Static Remnant on your target (140) and right-clicking him afterwards (base damage ~50 + 30 Overload )you are dealing roughly 220dmg every 3.5 seconds just on level two. That's pretty huge. So as it follows, you take Overload on level 2, i explained why, and then you start putting points in your second skill Electric Vortex until you reach 3 points in it. And again, I'll explain why. On level three, having 1 point in Static Remnant and Overload makes you deal ~220 damage, and because Storm Spirit's abilities work perfectly well together, taking a single point in Electric Vortex at lvl 3 rises your damage potential even higher at just level 3 making it (well, math again) a whooping ~300 damage every 3.5 seconds. Yes there are skills that make 300 damage when they are skilled 3 times but, you can't skill them 3 times in a row at level 3 can you? So again, that makes your damage pretty damn high for early levels.
I said early that you should put 3 points in Electric Vortex, leaving Static Remnant and Overload at just one. I'll explain why(again). Having a 2 second disables i actually a big deal, and it gives you time to unleash your combo on the enemy without him getting away and of course, makes your damage even higher but i won't do maths this time.
Level your Ultimate on level 6 and start maxing Overload. Some of you may debate that maxing Static Remnant first is better but i think Overload gives you more damage. Considering that your Ultimate procs Overload and both are with no cooldown, while Static Remnant is every 3.5 seconds. You can cast Ball Lightning 2-3 times in those 3.5 seconds and having Overload maxed, is like 270 damage, which grows every time you cast a spell and procing overload.

Those are the important things i wanted to point out about the skills.

Items

As i said, the true way to play Storm Spirit is aggressive and offensive and i like to go DPS builds. But I'll go through most of the items and explain why i choose them.

First of all, the starting items. I get a single Tango and 3 Iron Branch because i like to get a fast Bottle and i usually get it around the 1st minute mark. You can get a Mantle of Intelligence for more last hitting power but with Static Remnant i don't think it's necessary.

Bottle - Self explanatory, gives you regen and it allows you Rune control if you manage to take them of course. (i usually keep it until i run out of slots i really need a burst 300 gold when i sell it)

Arcane Boots - Well, burst mana, which is very helpful in crucial situations where those extra 30-40 or even 100 mana can change the outcome of a fight. But for the most important part, you disassemble it later for your Bloodstone.

Bloodstone - For me, the game decider. Always aim to get this item before the 20th minute mark, the sooner the better. In 80% of my games, if i manage to get it before the 20th mark, I'll surely win the game. What can i say about it, when you get your first 4-5 charges - unlimited mana if you have good mana management. Gives you survivability, again, lots of mana and hp regen and it's a good teamfight item whit it's passive. For me, it's a must item on every Storm Spirit.

Orchid Malevolence - My favorite item. If you have it, you are close to unstoppable. It's probably the best DPS item on Storm Spirit. Gives you intelligence which equals Damage and mana, alose gives you flat +30 damage, and attack speed is always welcome for a faster combo. And of course, more mana regeneration. And it's active, which gives you even more damage output.

Linken's Sphere - A pretty good item on Storm Spirit if there are too much disables on the enemy team. Most notable are Silencer, Doom, Nyx Assassin and of course, someone with Orchid Malevolence with the most attention to Clinkz, because he pops out of nowhere and it's hard to avoid him with no detection.
About the item, gives you +15 all stats which means HP, mana and damage again, hp and mana regeneration (the most important thing) and a flat +10 damage. And of course, the most important thing, Spell block.

Scythe of Vyse - Probably the best item in the game. Gives you damage lots of mana and mana regeneration, and some HP. And Hex which is again, another and probably the best disable in the game.

Black King Bar - I personally don't like the idea of getting a BKB on Storm Spirit. It kind of ruins the whole playstyle. I mean, you have to Zip Zap around and not giving a chance for the enemy to stun or silence you and activating a bkb while 60% of the time you'll be in Ball Lightning doesn't seem right for me. Still you can get it if you can't get the money for Linken's Sphere which for me is good enough.

Shiva's Guard - I didn't include it in the build but I'll give it a mention. I rarely buy it because i don't see much use from it besides the 30 intelligence, which is pretty cool, yes but i just don't see it as important item. I usually buy it if i have nothing else to buy, and that is probably a huge stomp game.

Power Treads - Almost forgot about them. Get them right after you finish your Bloodstone. Gives you attack speed which is the most important thing and allows you the execute your combo better.

P.S: Don't buy flat damage items on Storm Spirit except for Monkey King Bar if the enemy team has a Butterfly user or a Phantom Assassin or everyone else with evasion.

Gameplay

Early game.

Take the middle lane and of course, try to take as much last hits as possible. Try harassing your enemy with Static Remnant and Overload. A good technique is to try last hitting with Static Remnant and harassing the enemy with Overload if he's out of Static Remnant range. Of course, try for first blood every time you can. I think it's pretty easy to get it with Storm Spirit if you manage to land your nukes. Getting level advantage with Storm Spirit is crucial. Take your Ultimate at level 6 and continue farming. You should look for ganking opportunities. Try avoiding going all the way to the lane you want to gank, so having a TP scroll with you all the time is important. Try to avoid wasting time in walking around the map for ganks which can also fail and that results in losing farm and EXP, which is always bad for a Storm Spirit. If you are doing good at farming, you should be having your Arcane Boots up and maybe a Point Booster or in best case scenario even the whole Soul Booster / Perseverance. I personally like to go for the Soul Booster instead of Perseverance.

Mid game.

You should have your Bloodstone by now but again, try to make it as fast as possible, before the 20th minute mark is preferable. Now you should start building your Orchid Malevolence or linke's sphere if there are too many disables but even then, i think Orchid is better. You must always try to pick lone heroes off and always look for ganks. You don't really want to be the main initiator but it still works if you feel confident that you won't get disabled and die. Of course, never stop farming because you really need that Orchid for the late game to be effective and probably unstoppable. In big team fights, try to enter the fight when most of the big AoE stuns and disables are off and start unleashing your combo on the enemy.
For me, the best combo usage is: Ball Lightning in > Overload > Electric Vortex > Overload > Static Remnant > Overload > Ball Lightning away from potential stun or disable from the target > Overload again.
That's probably the whole rotation for your Mid game.

Late game.

Again, try looking for lone heroes to pick which will be hard because most of the time, enemy will move as a team. Maybe if there's still a carry farming on the lanes or in the jungle so, scouting is an option. In team fights, of course, you don't want to initiate first most of the time. Try picking off the supports first and try multitasking of some sorts. Electric Vortex someone and Silence some else in the mean time with your Orchid Malevolence for a double disable. If you, by some chance, even have a Scythe of Vyse make that a triple disable.
That's pretty much it.

Conclusion

I think Storm Spirit is a pretty good carry and some of you may disagree with me but, I'm sure that he can outcarry most of the hard carries with the proper decision making, reflexes and skill. Even a [[Mortred with 3 Rapiers shouldn't be a problem if she can't even hit you, you got my point.

So yes, i'll try to keep updating the guide if i can but for now, that's all i have to offer. If you have anything to add, please do so. I accept criticism well so, feel free to make me feel bad.

Now go pick Storm Spirit and pwn.
Have fun.