LifeDrainer[RO]
17th April 2008, 11:37 PM
A GUIDE TO KING LEORIC, SKELETON KING
This is an old hero that has been around for a very long time. I have yet to see a premium guide on him, so I'll give it a shot.
HERO STATS
Strength - 22 + 2.9
Agility - 18 + 1.7
Intelligence - 13 + 1.6
Movespeed - 300
Attack Range - 128 (melee)
HERO ANALYSIS
Pros
Ability to tank twice
High DPS potential
Disabler
Cons
Big target
Slow attack speed
Very vulnerable to mana attacks
WHEN TO USE SKELETON KING AND WHEN NOT TO USE SKELETON KING
I realise that skeleton king has fallen out of favour ever since his ultimate was changed to require mana. In spite of this glaring weakness, I still think he's a powerful tank or DPS machine. The sight of a skeleton king on the opposing team is quite daunting; you know you're going to have to kill him twice, and in the meantime he's going to hammer and chop one of you to bits. It can still be used against mana burners, but this is very subjective. Having your mana destroyed is not such a big deal if you have enough hp to tank and/or are dealing enough damage and lifesteal to compensate. Ironically, skeleton king's small mana pool is both its strength and weakness. Smaller pool, lesser mana to burn, less hp to lose. The important thing is to overpower your opponents with high hp, damage and lifesteal, so don't fret too much about losing the ability to reincarnate.
However if the opposing team is made up mostly of heroes that destroy mana or uses mana burning items, frankly you'd be better off choosing another hero instead of skeleton king. The reason is because at least with other heroes with more than one active spell, they can take the initiative and cast something first. All you have is one miserable hammer to contribute. I understand there have been suggestions to boost skeleton king's mana pool with mana items in order to cover up this flaw. However, in my opinion that is the worst thing to do. If you're facing mana destroyers, the last thing you want is to have a whole lot of mana on you when you only have one spell to use. You'll probably be wishing you had full health and zero mana instead!
HOW SHOULD I PLAY THE SKELETON KING?
The skeleton king is all about sarcrifice. Not suicidial sarcrifice, but smart sarcrifice. Your role is to disable someone, take all the hits you can take, make the enemy team pay dearly, resurrect and make them pay again. You will die sometimes, you will resurrect and die again for nothing sometimes. However, as long as your team pulls through in the end, the sarcrifices are well worth it.
WHAT KIND OF HERO IS THE SKELETON KING?
I find that the nature of the Skeleton King depends very much on its team, the enemy team and how the game goes. I've decided to put two builds, because realistically it is either a TANK or a DPS MACHINE. If you can become a DPS TANK, honestly go and find better opponents. Very rarely will you ever get the chance to build Skeleton King up to a DPS TANK.
THE BUILDS
TANK BUILD
Level 1 - Storm Bolt
Level 2 - Stats
Level 3 - Storm Bolt
Level 4 - Stats
Level 5 - Storm Bolt
Level 6 - Reincarnation
Level 7 - Storm Bolt
Level 8-10 - Stats
Level 11 - Reincarnation
Level 12-15 - Critical Strike
Level 16 - Reincarnation
Level 17-20 - Vampiric Aura
Level 21-25 - Stats
Use this build when your team needs a TANK, or if the game is going really ****ty. Life steal and critical strike mean absolutely nothing when you can't even get close enough to get in a few good licks of your own. Remember, your job here is to tank. Besides having a bunch of hp, you will also have enough mp to throw a few hammers as well.
DPS BUILD
Level 1 - Storm Bolt
Level 2 - Critical Strike
Level 3 - Storm Bolt
Level 4 - Critical Strike
Level 5 - Storm Bolt
Level 6 - Reincarnation
Level 7 - Storm Bolt
Level 8-9 - Critical Strike
Level 10 - Vampiric Aura
Level 11 - Reincarnation
Level 12-15 - Vampiric Aura
Level 16 - Reincarnation
Level 17-25 - Stats
Use this build when your team needs a DPS machine, or if the game is going really well. However, remember that skeleton king is a big target, so try not to attack someone in crowded places or if they're a lot of creeps around. Get critical strike early so that you can deal major damage mid-game when you've gotten your Armlet of Mordiggian, and then lifesteal to complement it.
CORE ITEMS FOR ALL BUILDS
http://www.dota-allstars.com/images/lists/BTNAncientOfTheEarth.gif
http://www.dota-allstars.com/images/lists/BTNGauntletsOfOgrePower.gif X 2 http://www.dota-allstars.com/images/lists/BTNCirclet.gif X 2 http://www.dota-allstars.com/images/lists/BTNRunedBracers.gif X 2
http://www.dota-allstars.com/images/lists/BTNBootsOfSpeed.gif
http://www.dota-allstars.com/images/lists/BTNUnholyStrength.gif
http://www.dota-allstars.com/images/lists/BTNWirtsLeg.gif
OTHER ITEMS
From here you have some options.
http://www.dota-allstars.com/images/lists/BTNHeartOfAszune.gif
If you are the TANK, get a Heart.
http://www.dota-allstars.com/images/lists/BTNHornOfDoom.gif
If you need more hp to deal the damage, get a Satanic.
http://www.dota-allstars.com/images/lists/BTNTransmute.gif
TANK STRATEGY
Level 1 - 11
Last hit and deny if you can. If you can't, hang back and leech experience. Do not die. Bolt only if there is an opportunity for your opponent to sustain significant damage, i.e. about half his life chopped off. Your mana pool is miserable, 140 for a bolt is very expensive. When ganking, bolt if you are the only disabler. If not, get someone else to disable or slow, run right up and then bolt. You can get in a few more licks that way, and it matters. Whenever possible ambush around corners, the closer the better. One whack, run alongside, one hammer, one whack, run alongside. That way you won't lose sight of your prey. Just remember to try and bolt at point blank range whenever safely possible. When in team battles, charge right in and bolt someone, not necessarily the most dangerous guy but someone everyone can whack immediately. At this point you don't have the luxury of choosing, you may die before even loosing a hammer. If things go well, using reincarnate is fine. If things go bad, bolt if you really have to before retreating. Running with 1hp and 0 mana is still much better off than resurrecting with five heroes hanging around your corpse. You should have made enough money to obtain two bracers, boots and a helm of iron will.
Level 12 - 16
Now you have critical strike. Not only are you a tank, you can dish out a lot of pain every now and then as well. You can resurrect every three minutes forty seconds. Time to push and destroy a lane. Do the same thing you always do for ganks and team battles. This time you're hitting faster, so after a hammer give at least two whacks before running alongside. You should have made enough money to complete Armlet of Mordiggian and on your way to completing power threads as well. Make sure you fully use Armlet of Mordiggian's "super healing" potential. For a detailed explanation, please visit Patccmoi's Mini--Guide on Armlet of Mordiggian.
Level 16 - 25
You now hit fast and hard enough to warrant the use of lifesteal. You can resurrect every two minutes and twenty seconds. Time to crash the base. When attacking a base tower, be very careful. If your team can't blink in or get in easily, don't attempt to charge into the base. You will die fast, your pals can't squeeze in to fight in time, creeps may appear to jam you when you've resurrected, and you will die again for nothing. Try and draw them out. Better still, gank them when they're not anywhere near the base. With longer respawning times, you have all the time in the world to sarcrifice yourself for a base push.
DPS STRATEGY
Level 1 - 11
Last hit and deny. Go right up and whack your opponents if they're weaklings. Preferably have a teammate to lane with you. Your attack speed is miserable, but a critical strike at that stage is really quite damaging. Bolt when there's an opportunity to inflict heavy damage. When ganking, bolt if you are the only disabler. If not, get someone else to disable or slow, run right up and then bolt. You can get in a few more licks that way, and it matters. Whenever possible ambush around corners, the closer the better. One whack, run alongside. One whack, run alongside. That way you won't lose sight of your prey. Just remember to try and bolt at point blank range whenever safely possible. When in team battles, charge right in and bolt someone, not necessarily the most dangerous guy but someone everyone can whack immediately. At this point you don't have the luxury of choosing, you may die before even loosing a hammer. If things go well, using reincarnate is fine. If things go bad, bolt if you really have to before retreating. Running with 1hp and 0 mana is still much better off than resurrecting with five heroes hanging around your corpse.You should have made enough money to obtain at least two bracers, boots, helm of iron will, and possibly gloves, claws or both. If you have no lane problems, get the helm from the corner shops first before the boots and bracers.
Level 12 - 16
You have full critical strike. You have some life leech. You can resurrect every three minutes and forty seconds. Time to make life miserable for your opponents. Complete Armlet of Mordiggian and you are set to deal A LOT of damage. Gank whenever possible. You ought to be hitting faster now, so after a hammer give two whacks or three before running alongside. Activate Unholy Strength the moment you enter battle, the extra hp will help you tank considerably. Don't deactivate it until after ten seconds. For a detailed explanation on how to use Armlet of Mordiggian, please visit Patccmoi's Mini--Guide on Armlet of Mordiggian. Complete power treads and then buy whatever you feel is necessary.
Level 16 - 25
You can resurrect every two minutes twenty seconds. Your opponents cower in fear at you. They want to take you out, but you simply resurrect, rendering their efforts futile. You hammer and strike with impuny. You're a strength DPS machine with lifesteal, critical strike and reincarnation. Time to end the game. Be the pointman and charge right in. Take and dish out as much pain as possible. Sacrifice yourself if necessary. Chop down the tree, or melt the throne.
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION
GOOD ALLIES
Whether as a TANK or DPS, anyone with a stun, disable or slow is your ally. There are really too many to list. Other buffs like repel, aphotic shield, ion shell, empower, frost shield, bloodlust, static charge, etc, whatever makes you more of a pain, they're all good. Skeleton king works well with pretty much anyone. Just remember you're big, so be smart and manoeuvre accordingly when chasing, it's pretty stupid to be bumbling with other biggies trying to chase a small target and it gets away before you can throw another hammer.
BAD ENEMYES
http://www.dota-allstars.com/images/lists/BTNHeroDemonHunter.gif
http://www.dota-allstars.com/images/lists/BTNHeroCryptLord.gif
http://www.dota-allstars.com/images/lists/BTNGhostMage.gif
http://www.dota-allstars.com/images/lists/BTNSpellBreaker.gif
As mentioned before, skeleton king is extremely vulnerable to mana attacks. Without mana you can't hammer people. Worst of all, without mana you can't reincarnate. Skeleton king needs to be able to reincarnate early and mid-game since it's not yet strong enough to overpower opponents.
Early game mana burn and curse of the silent by nerubian assassin and silencer will leave you crying. Mid-game mana leak by keeper of the light will render you almost useless after just one hammer. Hopefully you can tough it out and simply overpower them later on. Anti-mage is someone you really don't want to face throughout the game. If he can't kill you, he'll burn all your mana before blinking away, it's just not worth it. And mana void destroys too much hp at one shot for you to compensate. Make sure you and your team shut him down.
Diffusal and manta are really painful due to feedback. Overpowering heroes who use these items may be close to impossible because they are often very powerful DPS late-gamers like naga siren and spectre.
Necronomicon is equally deadly. Mana break and mana burn, fantastic. What about two necros? Three?
ROSHAN
You don't really need the aegis, but you may wish to get it if you're going for the DPS build. It's very disheartening to have to face someone like skeleton king twice in one battle without being able to kill it. If you're having a lousy game or going for the TANK build, give it to someone else instead. There's no point for you to die twice and waste the aegis.
RUNES
Runes are a great way to boost your combat potential for free, but honestly, skeleton king does not need them. If you happen to chance upon any, great, but I wouldn't recommend seeking them out on purpose.
FAQ
Why do you not get vampiric aura early?
Some think vampiric aura is good for early laning. Let me tell you something. If you can't lane without getting harassed, you don't need lifesteal. With such miserable damage and attack speed, you're going to have to find opportunities to chop a creep at least five times to get back the hp you lost if a hero hits you just one time. Why not just hang back and pump stats? And if you can lane without getting harassed, you don't need lifesteal. If you're having such a great time, why not pump critical strike so that you can really lay it on when you've gotten your Armlet?
Some think vampiric aura is good for jungling. First, skeleton king isn't old naix. It has 20% lifesteal, not 40%. Don't think you can keep jungling all the time. Second, skeleton king is a lousy jungler. It has no farming skills whatsoever. Third, do you really need that much gold? My core build is only 5720 gold. Leave the jungling to those who need the gold, you're not that kind of hero.
Why do you get critical strike so early when it's useless?
For the DPS build, critical strike is pumped early so that when mid-game arrives you can put it to use immediately instead of having to level it first. Since you want to deal damage, why not deal as much as possible for the same 15% chance? Besides, early game is the best time to pump because there's not much ganking and not so much experience is required to level up. And when you're ganking, is it more important to steal life or deal damage?
Why do you not rush radiance as a first item?
Some think radiance should be rushed in order to farm lots of gold. The idea of farming a 5325 gold item in order to farm more gold is simply ludicrous. Being the lousy farmer that skeleton king is, by the time you've farmed that amount, the enemy team would be knocking at your door step, and you have no hp or attack speed to be of any use. Pathetic. Why do you think my core item build is only 5720? In spite of being a lousy farmer, skeleton king is not particularly item depedant, it just needs a few items to maximise its potential. By all means get radiance after the core build, but to rush it as a first item is a very bad idea.
Why do you not get any mana items?
Some think skeleton king needs mana items in order to fire more hammers and still reincarnate. I think it's a waste of gold. You can only fire off one hammer every 8 seconds. Other heroes can fire off two, three or even four spells consecutively. Those are the heroes who will benefit the most from mana items, not you. Furthermore, what if you're facing mana burners/destroyers? More mana for them to destroy you with?
CONCLUSION
As long as mana destroyers are not used or kept underlevelled and underfunded, skeleton king is an excellant tank or DPS hero to wreck havoc with. Hopefully there will be some new item in the future that prevents mana attacks for a brief period so that skeleton king can once again be the king of higher level play.
Credits to Veteran from dota-allstars.com
This is an old hero that has been around for a very long time. I have yet to see a premium guide on him, so I'll give it a shot.
HERO STATS
Strength - 22 + 2.9
Agility - 18 + 1.7
Intelligence - 13 + 1.6
Movespeed - 300
Attack Range - 128 (melee)
HERO ANALYSIS
Pros
Ability to tank twice
High DPS potential
Disabler
Cons
Big target
Slow attack speed
Very vulnerable to mana attacks
WHEN TO USE SKELETON KING AND WHEN NOT TO USE SKELETON KING
I realise that skeleton king has fallen out of favour ever since his ultimate was changed to require mana. In spite of this glaring weakness, I still think he's a powerful tank or DPS machine. The sight of a skeleton king on the opposing team is quite daunting; you know you're going to have to kill him twice, and in the meantime he's going to hammer and chop one of you to bits. It can still be used against mana burners, but this is very subjective. Having your mana destroyed is not such a big deal if you have enough hp to tank and/or are dealing enough damage and lifesteal to compensate. Ironically, skeleton king's small mana pool is both its strength and weakness. Smaller pool, lesser mana to burn, less hp to lose. The important thing is to overpower your opponents with high hp, damage and lifesteal, so don't fret too much about losing the ability to reincarnate.
However if the opposing team is made up mostly of heroes that destroy mana or uses mana burning items, frankly you'd be better off choosing another hero instead of skeleton king. The reason is because at least with other heroes with more than one active spell, they can take the initiative and cast something first. All you have is one miserable hammer to contribute. I understand there have been suggestions to boost skeleton king's mana pool with mana items in order to cover up this flaw. However, in my opinion that is the worst thing to do. If you're facing mana destroyers, the last thing you want is to have a whole lot of mana on you when you only have one spell to use. You'll probably be wishing you had full health and zero mana instead!
HOW SHOULD I PLAY THE SKELETON KING?
The skeleton king is all about sarcrifice. Not suicidial sarcrifice, but smart sarcrifice. Your role is to disable someone, take all the hits you can take, make the enemy team pay dearly, resurrect and make them pay again. You will die sometimes, you will resurrect and die again for nothing sometimes. However, as long as your team pulls through in the end, the sarcrifices are well worth it.
WHAT KIND OF HERO IS THE SKELETON KING?
I find that the nature of the Skeleton King depends very much on its team, the enemy team and how the game goes. I've decided to put two builds, because realistically it is either a TANK or a DPS MACHINE. If you can become a DPS TANK, honestly go and find better opponents. Very rarely will you ever get the chance to build Skeleton King up to a DPS TANK.
THE BUILDS
TANK BUILD
Level 1 - Storm Bolt
Level 2 - Stats
Level 3 - Storm Bolt
Level 4 - Stats
Level 5 - Storm Bolt
Level 6 - Reincarnation
Level 7 - Storm Bolt
Level 8-10 - Stats
Level 11 - Reincarnation
Level 12-15 - Critical Strike
Level 16 - Reincarnation
Level 17-20 - Vampiric Aura
Level 21-25 - Stats
Use this build when your team needs a TANK, or if the game is going really ****ty. Life steal and critical strike mean absolutely nothing when you can't even get close enough to get in a few good licks of your own. Remember, your job here is to tank. Besides having a bunch of hp, you will also have enough mp to throw a few hammers as well.
DPS BUILD
Level 1 - Storm Bolt
Level 2 - Critical Strike
Level 3 - Storm Bolt
Level 4 - Critical Strike
Level 5 - Storm Bolt
Level 6 - Reincarnation
Level 7 - Storm Bolt
Level 8-9 - Critical Strike
Level 10 - Vampiric Aura
Level 11 - Reincarnation
Level 12-15 - Vampiric Aura
Level 16 - Reincarnation
Level 17-25 - Stats
Use this build when your team needs a DPS machine, or if the game is going really well. However, remember that skeleton king is a big target, so try not to attack someone in crowded places or if they're a lot of creeps around. Get critical strike early so that you can deal major damage mid-game when you've gotten your Armlet of Mordiggian, and then lifesteal to complement it.
CORE ITEMS FOR ALL BUILDS
http://www.dota-allstars.com/images/lists/BTNAncientOfTheEarth.gif
http://www.dota-allstars.com/images/lists/BTNGauntletsOfOgrePower.gif X 2 http://www.dota-allstars.com/images/lists/BTNCirclet.gif X 2 http://www.dota-allstars.com/images/lists/BTNRunedBracers.gif X 2
http://www.dota-allstars.com/images/lists/BTNBootsOfSpeed.gif
http://www.dota-allstars.com/images/lists/BTNUnholyStrength.gif
http://www.dota-allstars.com/images/lists/BTNWirtsLeg.gif
OTHER ITEMS
From here you have some options.
http://www.dota-allstars.com/images/lists/BTNHeartOfAszune.gif
If you are the TANK, get a Heart.
http://www.dota-allstars.com/images/lists/BTNHornOfDoom.gif
If you need more hp to deal the damage, get a Satanic.
http://www.dota-allstars.com/images/lists/BTNTransmute.gif
TANK STRATEGY
Level 1 - 11
Last hit and deny if you can. If you can't, hang back and leech experience. Do not die. Bolt only if there is an opportunity for your opponent to sustain significant damage, i.e. about half his life chopped off. Your mana pool is miserable, 140 for a bolt is very expensive. When ganking, bolt if you are the only disabler. If not, get someone else to disable or slow, run right up and then bolt. You can get in a few more licks that way, and it matters. Whenever possible ambush around corners, the closer the better. One whack, run alongside, one hammer, one whack, run alongside. That way you won't lose sight of your prey. Just remember to try and bolt at point blank range whenever safely possible. When in team battles, charge right in and bolt someone, not necessarily the most dangerous guy but someone everyone can whack immediately. At this point you don't have the luxury of choosing, you may die before even loosing a hammer. If things go well, using reincarnate is fine. If things go bad, bolt if you really have to before retreating. Running with 1hp and 0 mana is still much better off than resurrecting with five heroes hanging around your corpse. You should have made enough money to obtain two bracers, boots and a helm of iron will.
Level 12 - 16
Now you have critical strike. Not only are you a tank, you can dish out a lot of pain every now and then as well. You can resurrect every three minutes forty seconds. Time to push and destroy a lane. Do the same thing you always do for ganks and team battles. This time you're hitting faster, so after a hammer give at least two whacks before running alongside. You should have made enough money to complete Armlet of Mordiggian and on your way to completing power threads as well. Make sure you fully use Armlet of Mordiggian's "super healing" potential. For a detailed explanation, please visit Patccmoi's Mini--Guide on Armlet of Mordiggian.
Level 16 - 25
You now hit fast and hard enough to warrant the use of lifesteal. You can resurrect every two minutes and twenty seconds. Time to crash the base. When attacking a base tower, be very careful. If your team can't blink in or get in easily, don't attempt to charge into the base. You will die fast, your pals can't squeeze in to fight in time, creeps may appear to jam you when you've resurrected, and you will die again for nothing. Try and draw them out. Better still, gank them when they're not anywhere near the base. With longer respawning times, you have all the time in the world to sarcrifice yourself for a base push.
DPS STRATEGY
Level 1 - 11
Last hit and deny. Go right up and whack your opponents if they're weaklings. Preferably have a teammate to lane with you. Your attack speed is miserable, but a critical strike at that stage is really quite damaging. Bolt when there's an opportunity to inflict heavy damage. When ganking, bolt if you are the only disabler. If not, get someone else to disable or slow, run right up and then bolt. You can get in a few more licks that way, and it matters. Whenever possible ambush around corners, the closer the better. One whack, run alongside. One whack, run alongside. That way you won't lose sight of your prey. Just remember to try and bolt at point blank range whenever safely possible. When in team battles, charge right in and bolt someone, not necessarily the most dangerous guy but someone everyone can whack immediately. At this point you don't have the luxury of choosing, you may die before even loosing a hammer. If things go well, using reincarnate is fine. If things go bad, bolt if you really have to before retreating. Running with 1hp and 0 mana is still much better off than resurrecting with five heroes hanging around your corpse.You should have made enough money to obtain at least two bracers, boots, helm of iron will, and possibly gloves, claws or both. If you have no lane problems, get the helm from the corner shops first before the boots and bracers.
Level 12 - 16
You have full critical strike. You have some life leech. You can resurrect every three minutes and forty seconds. Time to make life miserable for your opponents. Complete Armlet of Mordiggian and you are set to deal A LOT of damage. Gank whenever possible. You ought to be hitting faster now, so after a hammer give two whacks or three before running alongside. Activate Unholy Strength the moment you enter battle, the extra hp will help you tank considerably. Don't deactivate it until after ten seconds. For a detailed explanation on how to use Armlet of Mordiggian, please visit Patccmoi's Mini--Guide on Armlet of Mordiggian. Complete power treads and then buy whatever you feel is necessary.
Level 16 - 25
You can resurrect every two minutes twenty seconds. Your opponents cower in fear at you. They want to take you out, but you simply resurrect, rendering their efforts futile. You hammer and strike with impuny. You're a strength DPS machine with lifesteal, critical strike and reincarnation. Time to end the game. Be the pointman and charge right in. Take and dish out as much pain as possible. Sacrifice yourself if necessary. Chop down the tree, or melt the throne.
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION
GOOD ALLIES
Whether as a TANK or DPS, anyone with a stun, disable or slow is your ally. There are really too many to list. Other buffs like repel, aphotic shield, ion shell, empower, frost shield, bloodlust, static charge, etc, whatever makes you more of a pain, they're all good. Skeleton king works well with pretty much anyone. Just remember you're big, so be smart and manoeuvre accordingly when chasing, it's pretty stupid to be bumbling with other biggies trying to chase a small target and it gets away before you can throw another hammer.
BAD ENEMYES
http://www.dota-allstars.com/images/lists/BTNHeroDemonHunter.gif
http://www.dota-allstars.com/images/lists/BTNHeroCryptLord.gif
http://www.dota-allstars.com/images/lists/BTNGhostMage.gif
http://www.dota-allstars.com/images/lists/BTNSpellBreaker.gif
As mentioned before, skeleton king is extremely vulnerable to mana attacks. Without mana you can't hammer people. Worst of all, without mana you can't reincarnate. Skeleton king needs to be able to reincarnate early and mid-game since it's not yet strong enough to overpower opponents.
Early game mana burn and curse of the silent by nerubian assassin and silencer will leave you crying. Mid-game mana leak by keeper of the light will render you almost useless after just one hammer. Hopefully you can tough it out and simply overpower them later on. Anti-mage is someone you really don't want to face throughout the game. If he can't kill you, he'll burn all your mana before blinking away, it's just not worth it. And mana void destroys too much hp at one shot for you to compensate. Make sure you and your team shut him down.
Diffusal and manta are really painful due to feedback. Overpowering heroes who use these items may be close to impossible because they are often very powerful DPS late-gamers like naga siren and spectre.
Necronomicon is equally deadly. Mana break and mana burn, fantastic. What about two necros? Three?
ROSHAN
You don't really need the aegis, but you may wish to get it if you're going for the DPS build. It's very disheartening to have to face someone like skeleton king twice in one battle without being able to kill it. If you're having a lousy game or going for the TANK build, give it to someone else instead. There's no point for you to die twice and waste the aegis.
RUNES
Runes are a great way to boost your combat potential for free, but honestly, skeleton king does not need them. If you happen to chance upon any, great, but I wouldn't recommend seeking them out on purpose.
FAQ
Why do you not get vampiric aura early?
Some think vampiric aura is good for early laning. Let me tell you something. If you can't lane without getting harassed, you don't need lifesteal. With such miserable damage and attack speed, you're going to have to find opportunities to chop a creep at least five times to get back the hp you lost if a hero hits you just one time. Why not just hang back and pump stats? And if you can lane without getting harassed, you don't need lifesteal. If you're having such a great time, why not pump critical strike so that you can really lay it on when you've gotten your Armlet?
Some think vampiric aura is good for jungling. First, skeleton king isn't old naix. It has 20% lifesteal, not 40%. Don't think you can keep jungling all the time. Second, skeleton king is a lousy jungler. It has no farming skills whatsoever. Third, do you really need that much gold? My core build is only 5720 gold. Leave the jungling to those who need the gold, you're not that kind of hero.
Why do you get critical strike so early when it's useless?
For the DPS build, critical strike is pumped early so that when mid-game arrives you can put it to use immediately instead of having to level it first. Since you want to deal damage, why not deal as much as possible for the same 15% chance? Besides, early game is the best time to pump because there's not much ganking and not so much experience is required to level up. And when you're ganking, is it more important to steal life or deal damage?
Why do you not rush radiance as a first item?
Some think radiance should be rushed in order to farm lots of gold. The idea of farming a 5325 gold item in order to farm more gold is simply ludicrous. Being the lousy farmer that skeleton king is, by the time you've farmed that amount, the enemy team would be knocking at your door step, and you have no hp or attack speed to be of any use. Pathetic. Why do you think my core item build is only 5720? In spite of being a lousy farmer, skeleton king is not particularly item depedant, it just needs a few items to maximise its potential. By all means get radiance after the core build, but to rush it as a first item is a very bad idea.
Why do you not get any mana items?
Some think skeleton king needs mana items in order to fire more hammers and still reincarnate. I think it's a waste of gold. You can only fire off one hammer every 8 seconds. Other heroes can fire off two, three or even four spells consecutively. Those are the heroes who will benefit the most from mana items, not you. Furthermore, what if you're facing mana burners/destroyers? More mana for them to destroy you with?
CONCLUSION
As long as mana destroyers are not used or kept underlevelled and underfunded, skeleton king is an excellant tank or DPS hero to wreck havoc with. Hopefully there will be some new item in the future that prevents mana attacks for a brief period so that skeleton king can once again be the king of higher level play.
Credits to Veteran from dota-allstars.com