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Hey guys and girls, welcome to my guide on He Bo. He Bo has a great damage output and also quite a bit of Crowd Control. He is a magical power caster, so he should go mid lane and also build magical power. Of course, he is also completely viable in any other lane. He is also amzing at farming and has a HUGE teamfight ultimate, being able to reach 1.2k damage if built properly.
PROS
Please do note that this is referring to my timezone, Australian Eastern Standard Time.
August 31st
-Guide is created!
September 2nd
-Editted item build to show 3 of each item
-Added second build. Special thanks to Asmoday for the suggestion!
-Added Timeline
-Added 'Purchasable abilities' section
-Grammatical and spelling checkthrough of whole guide
September 3rd
-Started work on God matchups
-Experimenting with Warlock's Sash. Special thanks to Fastball2600 for the feedback.
September 5th
-Finished God Matchups chapter.
-FIRST GUIDE THAT HAS REACHED 70%! Small steps, and we'll soon break 90!
-Reached most viewed guide on Smitefire! 1,500 views!!! A pretty momentous day in my eyes.
September 10th
-Fixed up skill sequence
-Remade the item builds to add Recovery, Snowball and also my Normal build.
-Complete rework of item chapter.
-Reached 3500 views!
September 13th
-Added a few suggestions, Big thanks to AMAZING MONKEY for the suggestions! Specifically Elixirs and Purification Beads.
September 18th
-Added a little note to the introduction regarding minor item change suggestions.
October 6th
-Added Lore.
-Added tips and tricks for each God in the God Matchups Chapter.
-Added comboes in Abilities chapter.
December 22nd- I SURVIVED THE END OF THE WORLD MUAHAHA!
-Finally added Spear of the Magus to starting items section.
-Guide History now renamed Changelog.
April 25th
-Added changes from Assault patch. These are:
He Bo's skills are great for farming and also having a consistent damage output to a whole team, as his abilities are all AoE (Area of Effect) and have a relatively short cooldown.
He Bo's build is pretty straightforward, building what a magical powered caster usually builds. However, what I usually like to do is substitute some of my damage for tankiness, just so I can go up close and use Water Cannon in temafights.
Starting Items
Shoes of the Magi
Healing Potion
Healing Potion
Healing Potion
This is what I usually start with, and I honestly can't think of any other scenarios where I would want something else. The only other one I can think of is:
Plated Greaves
Healing Potion
Healing Potion
Healing Potion
For when you are against an Anubis or any other God that can harass well.
Build 1: Normal Build
This is the typical build I use if the game is just going normally. In this build, I get a warlock's sash just for the great stats overall. Farming is a sinch for He Bo, so you do not need to panic about going farm crazy. Also, I recommend meditation with this build because you will have no mana regen with this build.
Build 2: Recovery Build
Only use this build if you have died before you have gone back for the first time and you have gotten behind on farm and kills.
For this build, I purchase a Vampiric Shroud because of how well worth your gold this item is. The best option when you are losing lane and constantly getting killed is to build tankier. This will allow for safer farming. Generally, if I were losing, a Void Stone into Focused Void Stone will allow me to trade better, where as a Gem of Isolation will give me that extra bulkiness.
THE CORE ITEMS
Warlock's SashWarlock's Sash
A very good item, providing health, mana and magical power, all things that He Bo loves. Also, this item has a maximum stack of 100, and considering how easily He Bo farms, this number should not be a problem for him. I get this item first because I want to get those stacks up starting as early as I can.
Rod of Tahuti
I think this item is pretty much core on every mage. This item provides a HUGE amount of magical power, and therefore should be purchased every game. However, I don't really recommend getting this straight after Warlock's Sash, as you get more magical power and overall utility from other items.
Gem of Isolation
Pretty biased, but I'd say this is my favourite item in the game, so I generally buy this item whenever I am playing a mage. It gives a good amount of health, mana and magical power, and the passive is definitely very helpful.
THE SITUATIONAL ITEMS
Hide of Leviathan
I usually get this item just for the extra tankiness. Your overall damage will go down slightly with this item, but this will make sure you will not get focussed and die instantly in teamfights.
Magi's BlessingMagi's Blessing
I only get this item if an opposing AP caster has managed to get some kills elsewhere and therefore kill you nearly instantly. Note that if the opposing AP is 'just fed' as opposed to extremely fed and uncontrollable, then get a Void Stone to deal with him instead.
Void Stone/ Focused Void Stone
I usually always get this item alongside with Hide of Leviathan. If the whole enemy team is building Magic Resist to counter you or if you feel the enemy AP Caster is doing a bit too much damage to you, I highly recommend you get this. I generally find myself building the Focused Void Stone more often because of the greater penetration it provides for yourself.
Obsidian Shard
Pretty straight forward. Enemy is building Magic Resist and you feel the enemy AP caster isn't a threat whatsoever, this is your item.
Wall of Absolution
My go-to item if there is a fed physical assassin/bruiser on their team. Provides quite a bit of physical protection, a nice chunk of magical power and a little bit of mana regen which I generally don't notice too much. I always find myself building this item if there is a Loki on the enemy team.
Polynomicon
A great item... which I don't find myself building too much. It provides a nice chunk of magical power and some mana. Oh, and magical lifesteal, but no one cares about magical lifesteal. Of course, the main selling point if this item is the excellent passive, but since I find myself missing my basic attacks, I don't get this item. However, combined with the low cooldown of Water Cannon, this item can be deadly on He Bo... if you can aim.
Bancroft's Talon
Ok, I know I call this situational, but I always find myself building this. I mean, it provides a huge amount of magical power, and a passive which I also find amazingly good, encouraging riskier play and more dueling. Oh, and magical lifesteal, but, you know... it's magical lifesteal...
Ethereal Staff
I'll come clean, I don't think I have ever built this item before. But simply looking at it's stats, and my build which generally goes for a tankier route, I can definitely see this go well on He Bo. It provides some magical power, which will be more if you build tanky, it has a pretty big amount of health and some mana. Overall, I can't see how building this item could go wrong.
Potion of Magical Might
Elixir of Power
Elixir of Defense
First of all, BIG THANK YOU to Amazing Monkey for bringing up the point of elixirs! ELixirs are generally items you want to get when you complete your build. Of course, this being a somewhat expensive build, you may not get the chance to finish it. But if you get super fed/super farmed (you should be getting super-farmed either way), you can get these little buddies. Of course, it depends on what you need. If you want a bit more magical damage, then go for an Potion of Magical Might. If you want a LOT, and we are talking a LOT, then go for an Elixir of Power. And of course, if you want that tankiness, then go for an Elixir of Defense. Note that I only recommend getting an Elixir of Power or an Elixir of Defense after your build because they do cost quite a bit of gold. It may be a good idea to get an elixir of magical might sometime during the early game just to get that little extra edge on your opponent.
For purchasable abilities, there are only two that I highly recommend.
Meditation
Get this only if you are an inexperienced player.
Pretty simple. He Bo is incredibly mana hungry early game, that is if you spam your abilities. By grabbing meditation, this will solve all your mana problems and you won't have to purchase a Book of Thoth, being able to substitute it for more damage or Tankiness. Note that you ONLY want this early game, as by late game mana should not be a problem. Also, when you get more experienced at this game, I recommend you do not grab this and learn to maintain your mana.
Aegis Amulet
This ability is pretty useful in general. It can actually allow you to initiate fights with your ultimate without instantly dying afterwards. It can also save you from taking huge amounts of damage from other big teamfight ultimates, such as Ymir's. I recommend getting this mid to late game, as that is when most of the teamfights occur.
Purification Beads
This is an all-round good ability. If you get fed or farmed, then the enemy team will most likely focus their damage on you, and if they focus their damage, then that means their CC will come along too. And what do you get if they focuss CC at you? Purification Beads!! Yes, this is a pretty useful ability. This, most of the time, will get you out of a lot of sticky situations. Ymir stuns and ults? No Problem! Cupid initiates on your team? No Problem! Anubis got you in a snare? No Problem! If you're having CC problems, then this is your ability.
Combat Blink
The new kid (ability) on the block. Basically, if you are a hardcore LoL player, this ability will probably seem very familiar. Yes, that's right, because it's essentially just flash (and we all love flash, don't we...). Combat Blink is incredibly versatile. It can do a whole array of things, both offensively and defensively. The sneaky little Loki slipping through the grasp of He Bo]? Simply [[Combat Blink over and whoop his *** for being disrespectful. 5-man gank? Simply Comabt Blink away, and maybe chuck out the middle-man as you are running away to show good sportsmanship. Combat Blink is just amazingly versatile, and pretty much every god and use it.
Farming is incredibly easy with He Bo. Early game, you want to damage the melee creeps with Water Cannon and the ranged creeps with Waterspout By mid game, you should easily be one-hitting the ranged creeps at the back with your Waterspout. You want to be using Waterspout on the ranged creeps and Water Cannon twice on the melee creeps. By late game, farming should be a sinch, one shot ranged creeps with Waterspout and also greatly damage the melee creeps with Water Cannon.
With He Bo, you usually want to harass the enemy with Waterspout a few times before engaging.
When you decide to engage, the enemy team will most likely have a big disadvantage with their health. You want to throw flood waters right through the enemy team and spam Waterspout and Water Cannon whenever they are off cooldown. When the opposing team is low, swim through them, pun intended again, with your ultimate, Crushing Wave. By then a majority of the enemy team should be dead.
DO NOT TRY TO FOCUS ANY CARRIES IN THE BACK OF THE ENEMY TEAM. You'll get focussed and killed immediately.
Ra
Hmm, it's a bit hard to explain how this match-up works. Basically, you will rape him in lane, but he's pretty much always going to get your tower first. I find it impossible to out-push him in lane, but I find myself winning every duel against a Ra. I suppose this generally is favourable for He Bo, considering how all he is in He Bo's eye is a nice roast turducken.
Tips against Ra
-Don't be braindead. I mean, seriously, you win against him in every duel.
-Stay mobile. His Celestial Beam is pretty much his only source of damage, and it's an incredibly slow moving skillshot.
Kukulkan
This is a a near impossible match-up. He will out-harass you, he will outrange you, he will dodge all your abilities with the extra mobility he gets from slither. Just try to avoid this match-up if possible. Heck, if you can at least beat a decent Kukulkan player, then I bow to you.
Tips against Kukulkan
-Play aggressive in this match-up. You will be able to deny him farm if you stand behind his creeps. You'll still be getting gold, while Kukulkan will be pushed to his tower.
-Try to bait Whirlwind, moving out last second before Kukulkan casts it. If you successfully do this repeatedly, he'll run out of mana and most likely go back, then you can further deny him creeps by pushing the lane.
Agni
Still to come.
Artemis
A relatively easy match-up, you just have to play smart. Don't go in front of your minions to try to harass her, or else you'll end up taking more damage. Eventually she'll come and try to CS, so that's when you should harass.
Tips against Artemis
-STAY BEHIND YOUR CREEPS! If you do this, she'll have no way of harrassing you without burning mana. Her abilities are quite costly, so she will quickly have to go back.
-Be careful when she reaches level 5. This is where most Artemis players will become more aggressive and go for the kill on you. Go back and buy if you haven't done so already.
Kali
I've only seen this happen once, and my god was this a graping. This is an incredibly easy match-up for you. She shouldn't be able to get close to you. Even if she does, you will out damage her, unless if she has her ultimate, but even then you can juke her with your ultimate.
Tips against Kali
-Zone her. If she comes even near your creeps, unload the combo Waterspout into Water Cannon. This will out damage her heal.
Anubis
This is a 50-50 match-up. It's just the better player wins. On one hand, he has better harass than you, but on the other hand he's a sitting duck for you to land all your abilities when he's using his abilities.
Tips against Anubis
-Be mobile. Never stand still. If you keep on walking from side to side, he'll most like miss his snare. No snare = No harrass.
Sobek
Like Kali, I've only seen this once, and also like Kali, this is easy as hell. He can't get close, and if he does, he has no escape. If he tries to initiate on you, you will deal more damage. Even with his ult you'll out-damage him.
Tips against Sobek
-Once again, STAY MOBILE. If he can't land his dash, you will take no damage and he will take a truck load. When he misses his dash, do the main harrass combo.
Hades
This guy is pretty easy. He can harass you, but you will harass him harder. Like Sobek aswell, he will have no escape if he attempts to initiate, so after he blows all his abilities, just start to wail on him.
Tips against Hades
-Watch out for level 5. He'll start to be slightly more aggressive. However, if he hasn't harrassed you much pre-level 5, then he won't kill you with his main kill combo.
-If he hasn't built any magic resistance against you, then you'll be able to kill him if he dives in.
Hel
This is an annoying match-up, but it's bareable. He Bo outranges her, so you should be fine to harass, it's just her sustain which is annoying, but your cooldowns are shorter, so eventually she'll get low enough.
Tips against Hel
-Harrass her as much as you can. One of your abilities does as much as one of her heals. Too bad you have two major damaging abilities, one on an incredibly low cooldown, and she has only one major heal. Keep harrassing and eventually the damage will add up.
Zeus
It's a rather even match-up in my opinion. His only threatening source of damage comes when he can land 3 skillshots on you, you if you can dodge well enough, you'll be fine. Also, when you see clouds above you, run the f*ck away.
Tips against Zeus
-Dodge his basic attacks. No charges=No damage
-As soon as he ults, just try to get out of there as fast as you can. I really recommend Combat Blink or Aegis Amulet for this match-up. If you are caught in his ultimate, then you can simply ult out of his ultimate and onto him. You should win the duel after that.
Poseidon
This is a fairly even match-up. He does out-damage you if you do decide to trade however. His sustain is low, so constant waterspouts should bring him low enough. Also, he has relatively long cooldowns, so constant harassing will win you this match-up.
Tips against Poseidon
-Dodge. Best way to put it. His abilities are either slow-moving or damage over-time, so they shouldn't be too hard to dodge. If you suck at dodging, then start with reinforced boots.
-His Tidal Surge generally hits for about four-fifths of He Bo's health, so be weary of that.
-Every Poseidon I have faced immediately goes for the kill as soon as he hits 5. Try to force him out before then to get a level on him and make him reconsider about trying to kill you.
Neith
Like every physical power carry, you will harass better than them but will not duel better than them. She has a heal, but the amount is very small, easy to dodge and Neith players generally don't max it first, so it shouldn't be too much of a hassle. However, she does have a penetrating skillshot, so she may be able to get some harass even if you stay behind creeps.
Tips against Neith
-Always recall out of sight and not near enemy minions. She WILL pick you off with her ultimate if you recall in the open.
-Although less effective against Neith than most physical power carries, stay behind your creeps. Her main damage is from basic attacks, so get minions to block them.
-Bait the backflip with Water Cannon before you fully dedicate into the kill. Waterspout should have enough range to reach her after she backflips.
Freya
The key to winning this match-up is positioning. At level 5, she will try to kill you if you are at half health, because believe me, her ultimate HURTS.
Tips against Freya
- Valkyrie's Discretion will turn the tides of any duel. Just be wary of it, as you don't have any way to get away if you over-dedicate.
-The position you want to be in is behind your minions but to the right. This way, Freya can't hurt you. If you stay behind your minions, you'll still get hurt from the AoE of Pulse.
-Every time she uses Pulse, you will have 6 seconds of free harass or denying farm. She can't harass back as she will not have any ranged damage output except her ulti (which she probably won't waste just to harass).
Thank you guys and girls very much for reading through my very first guide on one of these guide posting websites. If you want to add me anywhere on these MOBA games, feel free to, username being the same, HiFromBuddha. So anyway, thank you guys so much for reading through my guide, and I may post some more guides in the future.
Also, please leave any constructive criticism or remarks in the comment section. As this is my first guide, your feedback will improve the quality of possible future guides by a lot.
And for the third time, Thank you everyone so much.
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Are you ever going to fully update this?
Well it hasn't been updated since February 6, 2016 and if it says "Outdated", 9 times out of 10 it's not getting updated.
Up voted by the way :)
The ground target is white and blue and the scroll is also white and blue.
Anyone know how to solve the problem?
Because of the addition of kukuklan and the new ao kuang your matchups page is a bit off. I believe you have Ao Kuang's name but you are referring to Kukuklan.
Great guide by the way!
Ah yes, sorry. I haven't tended to this guide in a while.
Great guide by the way!