Hercules: Immortal Mocha Coffee of Death

Hello and welcome to my second guide on smitefire. Herc has dashed, smashed and wrestled his way up to the top of my god pedestal over the past few weeks, and here I would like to share my playstyle of him with you guys. This will contain guides for both carry and bruiser, and also will have an itemization section as well as images. I am not experienced with icons, so they will not be here initially. More will be added over time. So now, order your coffees and get ready for the herc!

1: Driving Strike
This is your main nuke and escape. It's a short dash that knocks enemies back a million miles and stuns them. Like 1.5 second stun at max rank. That's pretty scary, and with your tankiness, it's easy to just LEEROY the hell in and kill some stuff. Max first due to early game dmg.

2: Earthbreaker: BAM. One second the enemy is at their tower, then they're right next to you in lane. This is a line nuke with a TWEEST. At the end of the target is an additional target box. Enemies caught within it will be flung back and take dmg. It has a delay, so aim well. I max this last, because it deals underwhelming dmg and does its job fine at lvl 1.

3: Mitigate Wounds:
In a nutshell. This is a buff that initially heals herc a small amount, but the total dmg taken during the healing period will be multiplied by a small amount and returned to herc over the next 10 seconds as healz. When used right, this spell really does allow herc to keep fighting FOREVER.

4: Excavate: IT'S A ROCK. THAT YOU THROW AT PEOPLE. THAT ROLLS. THAT BOUNCES OFF WALLS. So basically, IT KILLS STUFF. Remember that subsequent hits halve their dmg, so you can do lots of dmg, but it's not the best ult in the game. I use it as a teamfight device and a finisher.

Passive: Strength From Pain: WHAT DOESN'T KILL YA MAKES YA STRONGER! Oh, and it's gonna die.

Well, nitty gritty time folks. It's here, and I'll explain why I use certain items.

Bruiser:

Warrior Tabi: Like, guys. You have attack speed, power, pen and move speed all in one item. A definite grab.

FBH: Y'know, since herc has no slows, one might be useful to complement his other cc abilities. And here it is, with health and power to go with it! Grab it early to ensure kills.

Ankh of teh Golem: Phys protect and attack speed and health are all really good stats for a bruiser like herc, but when you consider that this beauty takes extra health and turns it into pure power, it becomes a must have.

Bulwark of HOPE: THIS. JUST THIS. Like honestly guys, perfect for herc. Gives you health for your ankh and tankiness, a ton of magic protect and a beautiful passive that means you can be on the brink of death, but then suddenly take less dmg and still hit hard and heal up with your 3. Just beautiful.

Qin's Blades: Another perfect utility pack. Health, attack speed and power, three stats that work amazing on herc. Definitely worth the pick-up.

Hide of Leviathan: Health, mana, both varieties of protect and 1/3rd cc duration reduction. All a bruiser needs after getting enough power. The lovely item helps you gain the greaves passive without getting greaves, which is a huge plus. So yeah, take this after you're done.

Ok, here it is for the carry. More yoloswag dps needed here.

Warrior Tabi: Ditto the bruiser one.

Heartseeker: You have great clear and push (later by the way) and you can easily farm 50 stacks. It's cheap, so pick it up first for some good move speed and great dmg. You only lose half your stacks on death, so you can farm back up more easy.

Executioner: Attack speed, power and a ton of pen. Truly essential for a pure carry.

Deathbringer: 3 TIMES CRIT. JUST 3 TIMES CRIT. I get this only on carry because I build some crit next, with none in my bruiser build.

Rage: With this and the previous entry, enemies will crit their under pantaloons with how much you're dishing out ******ed dmg. PLAY SAFE THOUGH AS YOUR NOT AS TANKY.

Eye of Retaliation: Guys. READ THIS THING'S PASSIVE. At low health you can crit for about 1k dmg. It's too crazy. IT. IT BURNS!!!

This is easy as DINNER. You use 2 on the ranged minions so they group up with the melee minions, and then use your 1 to clear them out. SIMPLES :D This tactic allows herc to mid with ease. But he is better sidelane.

Use your clear tactic to keep the lanes pushed and harass enemies with no minion support. If you see an opening, earthbreaker enemies and driving strike them backinto your partner. Remember, staying safe is CRUCIAL. That said, the more fed you are, the better.

Now you have FBH, try and cc enemies as much as possible. With mitigate maxed out, you can easily tank a full health gank against you. Gank lanes by shoving enemies against a wall and either basic attack or throw a rock. A strategy for finishing off enemies gankign you is to shove them against a wall and smash a rock against their face. The dmg will most likely destroy them, so good play makes you impossible to gank. Once again, PLAY SAFE. Just because you're super tanky doesn't mean you can't get caught unaware. You may want to ward with your spare gold.

Teamfights are here. And your job? Absorb a ton of dmg, cc your enemies and keep them from killing allies, and throw in a rock to add dmg. Using the wallpush boulder tactic works a dream here, as cc'd enemies are easier to hit.

Not too different: Just clear and utilize opportunities. Once you have full HS, farm and demand last hits. You'll need them.

Ok, gank lanes like crazy and with full HS start being a nuisance, and show your enemies just how op your AD is. You need to get fed and not die in these areas. Coming out with at least 5 or 6 kill involvements and 0-2 deaths will be necessary for full potential.

Be the hard hitter. Just go in and do as much dmg as possible with mitigate wounds on you. Basically, you're the one who kills things due to your power level (over 9,000). As far as towers go, you're also the hard hitter on them too. So a tank absorbing tower and phoenix dmg allows you to own them quick.

Herc/Sobek: He pulls, then you pull who he's pulled. Simple and very effective.

Herc/Aphro: Aphro provides you with a ton of sustain and can cc enemies, making it easier for you to use your skillshots on them.

Herc/Thor: Both of you are bruiser, thor has good cc, thor can give you walls and you can save his life with your own cc. Perfect.

Herc/Freya: You pull in, she rapes. 'nuff said.

Herc/Odin: Hey? Up for some pinball? Throw your ult into his spears for fun times!

Herc/Ymir: Lots of cc, a wall and a massive nuke. What's not good about this lane combo?

Herc/Athena: She can taunt them into your cc for massive awesomeness. Also, she can make you take 25% less dmg. Combine that with Bulwark's 50% and you take very little dmg at all at low health.

Herc/Apollo: This guy can mes the enemies you pull and his 1 provides a great combo nuke.

Anubis: No escapes and slow move speed. Relies on straight burst. Easy prey for you.

Ne Zha: He's so squish. His only escape is his ult. Way too much effort for him to get out, so he'll mostly turn round and fight. You win because of your tankiness if he isn't too fed.

Athena: She may have a taunt, but it can't withstand your ****** dmg, making her taunt a plus for you mid-late game.

Cupid: Once he's dashed in, he can't beat your 3, so smack him up a bit and he'll be needing to change his nappy.

AK: This guy will miss you 5/10 with his main dmg, his ult, so he'll be easy to pick off. If he slithers away, you have a rock. JUST USE IT.

Vamana: You'll never beat this guy 1v1 at full health. He can juke you once he has FBH and hsi ult just bludgeons you with your feeble attempts. Stay the heck away from this dude.

Neith: MURDERS YOUR SANITY. SHE CAN F**KING ROOT YOU IN PLACE ALL DAY LONG SO YOU CAN'T DO ANYTHING TO HER. ARRRRRRRRRRRRGH! OH, AND SHE HAS A BACKFLIP. JUST STAY. THE HELL. AWAY.

HB: This monkey's 2 can mess up your 3 due to its dmg, and his ult is just terrifying to contest. He can escape and his teleport means he can come right out of left field. So annoying.

Odin: Well, what were you expecting? He cages you in and destroys you. Simples.

Other Hercs: Like guys, don;t do this engagement. IT'S SO BORING. YOU BOTH HEAL SO MUCH.

Note: You may have noticed that all your foes are physical. As such, if these guys are troubling you, get some more protect of that variety in place of hide or something like that.

Earthbreaker>Driving Strike: Minion clear and harassment.

Mitigate Wounds>Earthbreaker>Driving Strike>Basic Attacks: 1v1 initiation. AAs do the brunt of the dmg.

Mitigate Wounds>Driving Strike>Excavate: Combo to wreck enemies near a wall attacking you. More valuable as bruiser than carry due to tankiness.

Earthbreaker/Driving Strike>Excavate: Panic kill. Use on mid-low health enemies in a panic situation e.g. near death and securing multikills.

In conclusion, Herc is an amazing mix of tankiness, CC and dmg that makes him unstoppable in the right hands. He has a relatively low skill floor but a really high skill ceiling, so practice can take him very far.

Pros:
Huge DPS
Tanky
Can regen enormous amounts of life
Lots of CC
Versatile
Works in any lane
Has lots of gap-closers
Many ways to secure kills
Lots of panic attacks
Can survive and escape impossible situations
Can bait very well
Lots of fun
Always Smiles
Lasts FOREVER
COFFEE

Cons:
Can get shut down early
Not very mobile
Shares his main nuke with his main escape
Hard to hit his 2

Play Video
Skip to 35:25 to see a long train of epic jukes

Now, let's see what dry did here. He used his dash to avoid animations as they were cast. Learn the sounds of enemies' attacks to know when to dash. It takes p
ractice, but it's worth it.
Play Video
Not using the build here, and yes, this is from january when herc's pull was much better, but still an example of herc tearing it up.

And that, my friends, is herc. I have taught you most of what I know to help you with this phenomenal god, and I wish you good luck on the battleground. And I hope to meet you there, soldier! Also, we need gold herc. But for now, LET THE COFFEE BE WITH YOU.

Next up: Vamana
After that: Odin