Warbeast guide by acertree

While there are plenty of ways to play this diverse hero, this is my way. This is the way of the jungle. Actually, this hero is not diverse and he blows if you don’t play him this way. When properly played following this guide, the Warbeast can be 3-4 levels above the enemy solo, with thousands of gold in items at a very early point in the game. He is able to four-five shot a running hero in seconds.

The Jungle vs the Lane
Some people may advocate a lane build, but I don’t. This is because the War Beast has absolutely no power in lane–most lane builds forgo Summon Hellhounds for Stats, but Summon Hellhounds are his only harass skill. Therefore, he becomes a dead weight that only sucks XP from his lane mate. On the other hand, if you go a Summon Hellhounds jungle build, you are effectively creating a new source of cash and XP for your team, and your team gains more money and XP on the whole.

Tell Your Team
This is important. Tell your team you’re going jungle Warbeast before they pick their heroes. This is because you’re going to need two solo heroes–one for middle, and one for Legion bottom or Hellbourne top. If your team all goes AGI carries, you’re in trouble. Keep in mind that the Warbeast is EXPECTED to carry the team–your team should constantly be watching out for you and distracting the other team for you while you farm away. A proper Warbeast play heavily depends in team intelligence and cohesion.

Skill Build
1 Primal Rage 1
2 Summon Hellhounds 1
3 Summon Hellhounds 2
4 Primal Rage 2
5 Summon Hellhounds 3

A. I like to occasionally visit my friends.
6 Metamorphosis 1
7 Summon Hellhounds 4
8 Primal Rage 3
9 Primal Rage 4
10 Battle Cry 1
11 Metamorphosis 2
12 Battle Cry 2
13 Battle Cry 3
14 Battle Cry 4
15 Stats 1
16 Metamorphosis 3

B. I am a social recluse and prefer solitude with my dogs.
6 Primal Rage 3
7 Summon Hellhounds 4
8 Primal Rage 4
9 Battle Cry 1
10 Battle Cry 2
11 Battle Cry 3
12 Battle Cry 4
13 Metamorphosis 1
14 Metamorphosis 2
15 Stats 1
16 Metamorphosis 3

Going option B will definitely make you a lot more money and allow you to kill Kongor faster, but Metamorphosis actually boosts your damage output by a ton, allowing you to repay your laning buddy with an assist or kill so you should strongly consider option A. On the other hand, if you are playing a mid-high level game, you should always go option A, or, if you go option B, at least get one level of Metamorphosis early on as you will be facing some ganks from a worried opposition.

Starting Items

This is more or less the only viable build for jungling if you don’t have a courier.

Item Build: Creep Commando
This is an item build that focuses on your ability to command units. Primal Rage will give all units you control +25% damage and +25% AS, while Metamorphosis gives all your units 522 movement. If you are controlling a few 1100 HP Minotaurs and Catmen, you should see why this is very, very strong. Of course, this requires a decent amount of micro–if you’re not good at that, go ahead and skip to Lone Wolf Rambo. However, understand that this is the far superior build in most games, though its effectiveness wears down as the game moves on, mainly because you should eventually be strong enough that you don’t need creeps to help you.

Whispering Helm
Get this item as soon as possible, and start taking over Catmen and Minotaurs. Use it AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE.

Abyssal Skull
This will not only give you supreme jungle power, but it will give your Hellbeasts and dominated creeps even more damage and lifeleech. This is an absolute MUST for the build.

Steam Boots
Get this next. Keep it on STR. After you get this, you can move on to the General Item Build section.

Item Build: Lone Wolf Rambo
This is the same basic build as Creep Commando, but if you don’t want to bother with micro, you can forgo Whispering Helm, as Abyssal Skull gives enough lifeleech.

Abyssal Skull
This is still a good item because it makes Kongor super-easy, and gives you the mana regeneration and bonus armor needed to persevere without going back to base.

Steam Boots
Get this next. Keep it on STR. After you get this, you can move on to the General Item Build section.

General Item Build
Depending on the situation, you will want to prioritize your items differently. If they are nuke and disable heavy, and are trying to push early, get Shrunken Head first. Otherwise, go for Shieldbreaker for DPS.

Shrunken Head
Absolutely necessary item. It gives you magic immunity. You’re a rambo hero, so get it.

Shieldbreaker
Most players don’t tend to armor up. Your easiest targets are mages who have very little armor, so Shieldbreaker can increase your DPS by a ton.

Insanitarius
If you’re not waddling in money, and have problems obtaining Shieldbreaker or the below items, get this. It’s great for the price.

Symbol of Rage
If you went Whispering Helm, this is the natural progression.

Demonic Breastplate
This is the “pro” choice. It increases your survivability by a lot.

Complete Playguide: Game Start
Ask lane mate to go to river to camp 0:00 rune while you block creeps. Hang back and soak XP until you reach LVL3. Then begin to neutral.

Complete Playguide: Early Neutralling
Summon Hellhounds to neutral. Micro them so that neither of them die by pulling them back if they take too much damage. If one is near death, and cannot be used anymore, send it to the river to check rune. Continue until you obtain Abyssal Skull or Whispering Helm, at which point you will be able to tank with your hero and not Hellhounds. You should be LVL6 or 7 when you get the first of those items–that’s your target. It’s easy sailing after this point. Continue to neutral until you have LVL4 Hellhounds and LVL4 Primal Rage, as well as two of the three items in the first Item Build sections. At this point, you can kill super neutral camps with ease. At LVL9, head to Kongor and kill him, microing your Hellhounds to tank damage for you. Abyssal Skull makes them last a long time if microed properly.

Complete Playguide: Teamfights
Continue to farm indefinitely until you are required for teamfights. You should now have Shrunken Head and/or Shieldbreaker–it is now about 30 minutes in, usually, and you are one or two levels above their highest hero. Position yourself so that you can run in from behind, or from another weird angle, while your team approaches from the front. This flank will force their team to turn in one direction the other, and screws up their push. Alert your team right before you initiate (and you should always initiate), then run in with Shrunken Head activated as you tear their team apart. Because of your superior damage and leveling, as well as your extra life from killing Kongor, your team should wipe them out completely. After this, you can either help your team push, or go back to farming. Continue until you can wipe them out reliably and push to win.

Suiciding to Neutrals
Early on, LVL1-4, it is better to suicide to neutrals than to return to base by foot. Spend all your money, then die–free fountain trip! Make sure you tell your allies so they don’t QQ in All Chat. Keep in mind that when you do this, the enemy team will be alerted to your death. This can remind them that you’ve been jungling, so be prepared for more ganks.
Kongor
You can always kill Kongor at LVL8 with Abyssal Skull if you have LVL4 Hellhounds and LVL4 Primal Rage. I personally like to make sure I have Abyssal Skull and Steam Boots before I go. The earlier you do it, the better. It’s a lot of XP and gold for you and your team. Make sure you ask your team to distract for you. Never let them Kongor with you–you need to XP and gold for yourself.

Whispering Helm Abuse
If you decided to go Whispering Helm, remember that all your units have 522 MS when Metamorphosis is activated. After you right-click the hero with all your units, it may be good to select your Minotaurs and Catmen and micro them specifically to stomp.

Dark Lady
Dark Lady is your best friend. If you have a Dark Lady on your team, ANY time the enemy team is at all fragmented, a Metamorphosis rambo + Darkness Falls will result in a dead team. It’s ridiculous.