How do YOU build Dehaka?

[Doom]

The first time I played dehaka, I decided to not put a second point into q until level 12. After all, you only increase damage, not utility, unlike the other two spells (extra slow duration for w, extra range blink e). I would max e first, to initiate from ranges greater than micro. Next game, I maxed w first, because with heroic passive you can basically cast it every couple of seconds if attacking a stationary target. Then I realized just how dramatically cooldowns are reduced for each level, and started maxing q first, to maybe get an extra pull in a teamfight..... overall I'm still undecided which to max first. Even the ultimate seems unlike one you'd max at each opportunity. In a slower-paced game, you might not need it at level 6, while level 2 and 3 ultimates are not that much better than level 1 ( an extra +10% max hp IS a lot, but from a percent standpoint it's only a 25% and 20% increase to total healing, while casting e or q 5 seconds earlier or about 3 extra w's in a teamfight can make a much larger difference...)What are your thoughts?

 

As for items, what do you build? Your w scales with weapon damage, your ult with max % hp, you cooldowns with your weapon speed. Do you support team with silver soul, korhal, buffer, coat of arms, that healing crystal thing, or do you go pure AA, similar to many kerrigan builds? Are you a tank, are you an aura mule, do you go e saber + bhm like a tankier ling, or do you go yolo-swag crit build because winning ~ losing with the rating still unfixed and besides, your team's MK will still push down the other team's base anyway?

[heimdallr]

I have NOT played this hero much...like you say there are many things to take into consideration and many ideas viable. If you have some way to slow enemy getting fast cooldowns on the pull like you suggested may be a good idea. Don`t bash me yet cause it depends on team composition and I have not figured out a buildorder for this. But try to get somewhere FoE, superheated mantle and nitro. Basically you dive with your tunneling, then nitro + mantle keep enemy slowed and you alternate pulls with your auto attack(that slows further with entropy). Also theres the stomp when you can. As long as you keep moving and not just auto attacking (move between attacks) and if said character does NOT have a blink or some trick, they can never escape. FoE, shm and nitro all give in combination decent life so the ultimate can do its thing. Other items could be cooldown based to make you tankier and many cooldown items have aura so you can be an aura mule or maybe have moove speed along the cdr. With some cdr + your attacks you pretty much spam spells all day long so no attack speed needed.

 

Also that weird build aside, and talking dehaka in general, I see him as an undying tank with many utility skills. Aoe stomp, pull, that dive to escape or initiate....the 3 provide support in teamfights and can be used for chasing or running if needed. On top of that the ultimate is the "non utility" skill that puts him definitelly in the category of tank. It is a skill that gives you ridiculous regen based on total life. Your main stat is str that gives life. Organic gives lots of str and life and a unique based on max life. Lifetech gives life, spell resist, and a unique regen based on max life too. See where I`m going? With your ulti active and organic + lifetech if for some reason your hp would drop below 1/3 you would have ult + organic + lifetech regenerating. Asuming you know when to retreat you can never ever ever die!!! Besides organic and lifetech you can go aura mule as you mentioned or go hard str for some power behind those punches and weapon damage.

 

For dehaka IMO is all str or str with some cooldown resistance items. There are few heroes that get so much out of being str as his main stat as dehaka. I don`t think weapon speed is the way to go but sure some builds may be viable. Specially in pubs. But to get the most out of him Organic, Lifetech, Foe, Khoral, ___ ____ (maybe chilling + swordbreaker combo if carries are giving you trouble), (DST to help you escape after initiation if you are doing that role), (Nitro+ shm if you are ina trolly chasing mood or to slow everything during teamfights vs squishies that like to kite), (other aura items like coat of arms to help your aa`s and teams`, or spell buffer if you remember to activate it with your team near or right after you tunnel), so many aura items that buff your team, give you LIFE, and resists(make your LIFE wiorth more).

 

Funny thing with dehaka is that besides getting strenght pretty much all aura items are situational and all of them work amazingly!!! Just learn how to combo chase and how to adjust the skill timings according to your partners. There`s just about no character I can think of that dehaka does not combo well with. Period. Strenght for yourself, aura for whomever you are supporting and you will do fine. Same with skill orders. Get em according to what you face but I do hav my preferences for his pull and 1 point in tunnel.

Edited February 10, 2014 by heimdallr

[iatebambi]

@heimdallr

You are forgetting the most effective STR item on him! The Powerstrike-3 one (forgot name atm, silly me D: ). With his ability to spam W every few seconds with a couple auto attacks means you can pretty much proc this item whenever the internal cooldown allows. And the slow it gives is great vs anyone.

 

I would also get one attackspeed item on him, such as pyre, Cerebro (also gives heaps of energy, which he may need if spamming), or an AGI item like Sliptyde or TimeSplitter. Other than that get full tank items depending on their team comp.

 

As for skill build order I agree that upgrading his ultimate past lvl 1 may not necessarily be the best option. As Doom suggested before, I would be more inclined to max his other skills first in order to get the shortened cooldowns. So you could go

WQEWWRWEEEQQQRR stats, maxing W first for farming and lengthened slow and E second for the increased range, because it is almost useless at lvl 1 haha.

[Midknight]

With Atom Smasher, you won't really need FoE. So Atom Smash, SHM, Nitro will make you a slowing monster, Cerebro for both energy management and attack speed, and a combination of either (CoA or Chilling) + (Korhol, Buffer, or Silver Soul) depending on the situation.

[heimdallr]

though I agree on atom as a good item I did NOT forget it, lol....its jujst that the internal cooldown would make it useful on dehaka only early game cause of the low cooldowns on all spells late game+ cdr items its just too fast and all your spells allow for a chase so atom smasher becomes irrelevant by then. I do grant however that it is a STR item that gives you SPELL damage so if you happen to have trouble with mass armor stacking you may consider this instead of shm+nitro or add em all for mega mass murdering slow and let your team do the actual killing. I don´t like that sometimes you screw the targetting and attack a target in the wrong area and you have to wait for the internal cooldown and its a drag but meh.

 

A matter of preference I guess.

[thomulf]

early ocelots, ihan, foe just for stats, up to smasher, nitro I think, yamato reactor definitely.

 

And symphonic but I won before that point (played 1 game only).

[Hogwarts]

http://www.aeonofstorms.com/index.php?/topic/5130-dehaka/