As I promised last week, this week we're going to be focusing on Witch Slayer.
Witch slayer is a ranged support/ganking hero, that is very item independent, but brutally effective none the less. Since he is so item independent, getting wards for your team should be a top priority, and enough survival items so you don't just explode in team fights. He is ranged, brings a stun, and is a great babysit for your carry, so he is definitely a hero to pick up early in any of your games.
I don't wanna go home!
Many people think Witch Slayer's power drain is worthless, however at max rank it takes 400 mana from a unit up to 750 feet away and gives it to you. 400 mana is often enough to shut down enemy strength heroes with important casts like kraken, for an entire engagement instead of just 3.5 seconds like miniaturize.
In fact, you can even drain neutral camps without them attacking you, giving you more staying power. Good Witch Slayers can gank around the map, never going home until things go poorly for them and they need to heal.
Is it kinda creepy i feel at home in this graveyard?
Witch Slayer's graveyard skill allows him to stun all targets within a 700 unit line. However, the cast range is only 500, so it will often go farther than you expect. Be sure to lead this skill on the ground, as sometimes you can still get heroes even if you can not cast on them directly. Also, this ability does give you some time to channel mana drain, if you're afraid the enemy hero is going to harass you while you drain.
His miniaturize is just a plain old point stun, and while that's nothing to sneeze at it is kinda boring compared to his other skills. At max rank, it lasts for 3.5 seconds, so it definately is a huge contribution to team fights.
Finally silver bullet is the skill everyone fears, as it unleashes 500/650/850 damage single target nuke. Many people save this until they're sure they're going to get a kill with it. In team engagements, it's better to use this early; and on an important enemy hero, like the carry, so they flinch because they're suddenly low on HP.
Core items for Witch Slayer:
Nome's Wisdom demands a bit of a explanation as many people don't understand why its so good on casters like Witch Slayer. Any time you cast a spell, Nome's Wisdom heals you, or puts a shield on you if you're at full HP, for an amount equal to 25% of the mana used to cast the spell. With silver bullet, Nome's Wisdom is 50/105/162.5 extra HP in every team engagement, while giving your team regen, and extra HP, for only 2240 gold! It will definitely bring all the boys to the yard!
You might wanna leave some kills for your carry >.>
Witch Slayer is a hero that is easy to play, but the best players make him into a powerhouse. I'd definitely recommend adding this hero to your list if you're trying to learn HoN.