Ophelia Hero Guide

Seldom Used... Perhaps for Good Reason

Is the hardest hero to play really that difficult...?

Hello to the readers of this HoN blog, I am Ezarox and am happy to add an Australian's touch to the feel of this website. To start I want to touch on one of the least played heroes in HoN and discuss both how to improve the necessary skills to be capable of using her and how to use her effectively.

Ophelia is a ranged intelligence hero who is capable of controlling numerous units. The fact that this hero is intelligence alone will scare off a number of players who merely seek to improve their K:DR or win rate by spamming agility heroes and Ophelia also lacks a stun (on her own) which makes her an even less likely candidate for a good team pick. This being said, the main reason for this hero's incredibly low play rate, as most players know, is the micromanagement prerequisite.

Micromanaging is a skill often linked to RTS games such as Starcraft II or Warcraft 3 and when players realize the potential of Ophelia's skillset (or even look at the hero's play rate) they are surprised to discover what is expected of them. Looking at the specifics in higher level play shows that most players are capable of micromanagement; from the minor level of buying items with the courier while maintaining focus in the lane to managing a Puzzlebox, Geometer's Bane or even Illusion rune to some sort of success. The Whispering Helm is another example of how micromanagement is spread throughout the game (regardless of whether people choose to use its ability or not).

Perhaps if a new player were interested in playing Ophelia, they should make it their task to gain experience with micro through the scenarios mentioned so that they are semi-capable of performing what is required to play a successful Ophelia. This would make the veil of impossibility fade and enable you as a player to be confident using this seemingly difficult hero.

The base stats of the hero are pretty average, with the exception of a rather high agility gain per level. This hero is a port from DotA, so to speculate, Icefrog could have chosen this increase simply to add to her ability to survive due to increased armour late game or to add a slightly faster attack speed to combine with your commanded units to finish off a hero just that little bit faster - or possibly because he needed to give her decent stat increases but didn't want to make her a late game tank.

Abilities:

Nature's Wrath

Ophelia's Judgement

Command

Ophelia's Touch

Playing Ophelia:

In The Fountain

There are a variety of different builds which many users um and uh about due to general confusion over the hero itself. Most of these builds are slightly outdated as the is no need to buy a courier at the beginning of the game unless you are upgrading (which early is not exactly necessary). If none of the other heroes have immediately bought wards, be sure to have at least 1, or even 2, so that you can ward in the river of your jungle (north for Hellbourne, south for Legion) for your team. As far as I'm aware, the best positions for wards (if you are not familiar) can be found under the glossary/wards section at the bottom of the Prodex website developed by Nigma (and designed by Joel Semczyszyn) which can be found here. As for the other items you should need for early game, a Ring of the teacher goes well with 1 ward, allowing you to regenerate mana to maintain your farm and help add a gank throughout early game, while also becoming a part of Nome's Wisdom later in the game. If you are experienced with micro, you might even like to stick with a bolstering armband, which is a start to the Puzzlebox, which summon 2 more minions at Ophelia's disposal. If you have 2 wards you can start to buy a refreshing ornament by buying a trinket of restoration and a minor totem; as this will become a part of the astrolabe later in the game. After shopping, simply put one skill point into Command so that you can convert creeps - and then head to your jungle (as mentioned above).

Early Game

Early game is all about impressions; if you don't do well in the early game, your team won't appreciate you and the enemy will laugh at your poor gank attempts. To make the best impression possible, Ophelia should start jungling at the dark orange camp near the middle lane. The strongest creep there should enable you to defeat both the current camp and the weaker yellow camp nearby (applies for both Hellbourne and Legion). Depending on the situation, the next objective is to either pull creeps, or quickly scout the remaining 3 camps near the lane for a good neutral monster and gank the enemies (with the help of your ally of course). HoN is a team game and you should never go in without him/her knowing about it as the opponents will most likely turn the gank around on you and that first blood isn't the impression you want to make. As for pulling creeps, The easiest method is to leave your converted minion(s) out of range of the neutral you're pulling, move Ophelia to the clearing just before the camp and then attack and run back to the lane at roughly 15 or 45 seconds into the minute so that the neutral creep follow you and you end up pulling your lanes creeps into the neutral camp. There is also stacking, which is a semi related topic that I will not be going into, players can learn the details and effectiveness of pulling and stacking here.

As you level, be sure to increase Nature's Wrath (NW) and Command (C). From level one, the order should be C, NW, NW, C, C, Ulti, C etc.. The reason the two level of Nature's wrath are together is because at level 2 of Command, you are still only able to control 1 neutral creep and this makes the extra slow and damage increase worth more than the 75 extra hit point on your converted friend. Continue warding in the best areas (resort to the earlier mentioned warding guide if you need assistance), farming and converting neutrals, ganking and pulling/stacking creeps if necessary. The items to buy in early game are to firstly finish the basic items you were working on; ring of the teacher needs no development at this stage, but the refreshing ornament could be finished or if you're going for Puzzlebox early, rush it (just to level one at this point) for the powerful ganks it provides. After these items are assembled the items that hedge towards a successful (supporting) Ophelia are Plated Greaves and the Astrolabe.

Mid Game

In the mid game Ophelia (as well as maintaining support by warding) is mainly a ganking and pushing hero, utilizing the strength of her minions and her slow to destroy both opponents and towers. Virtually any creep can be used to push, so it does not matter if your neutral army is comprised of 2 Vulture Lords and a Vagabond Leader when you're pushing, but if you are ganking with allies, make an effort to have atleast one Minotaur, Skeleton King or Catman Champion among your mini-army. In order to be most successful in a gank, you must surprise the enemy with your minions. Getting your Minotaur's stun or Skeleton King's hold off is very important to ensure your opponent's death. after the minions have done their part to impede the enemy, use Nature's Wrath to slow them further and then finish them off (because now they will take the bonus damage for a more effective period of time). If they realize straight away, be sure to use Ophelia's slow regardless, just so that your minions will reach - just remember that it only lasts for 7 seconds (a lot of which you will take up reaching them with your minions). Items for mid game which make Ophelia most useful are Nome's Wisdom and a Sol's Bulwark. As a player you should be aware of others who might want to buy these items and through communication decide who will buy what. The fail-safe item if someone wants to use your build is to collect a Staff of the Master, or even still if you feel like utilizing your micro skills, a whispering helm can help boost the strength of your team.

Late Game

Late game you should really focus on doing whatever is required of you by your team. If the game has gone this long, your warding will be really important as this game will be a close match. Do you best to maintain your 3 commanded creeps while continuing to gank and push with your minions. Use your Plated Graves for your minions to push and micro them out as they get low on towers. If they all become low, use your ultimate to restore them to pull health and continue pushing (all the while maintaining map awareness so that you don't get ganked). The items to go for are anything in this guide that you haven't picked up (aside from perhaps whispering helm and puzzle box if your micro skills aren't that decent). Other items to consider are Kuldra's Sheepstick to disarm enemies as well as a Barrier Idol for the added magic protection for both your allies and minions. Be sure to use your ultimate in the team fight if you believe it will change the tide of the situation or to save the life of an ally; it is always worth it.

Tips for Success

The most important things to know when playing Ophelia aren't much different to other heroes:

• Learn how to be aware of the map
• Cooperate with your teammates
• Know the positions of wards and even learn counter-warding
• Know the correct timings for pulling/stacking neutrals
• Make the right decision when team fights come around; be as calm as possible and think for the team, not for yourself. 
• Heal when you think it's necessary.
• Learn how to micro

By doing these things,not only will your Ophelia skill pick up, but your skill as a general HoN player will improve. Remember to keep at it if you get crushed a couple of times - Ophelia isn't announced the most difficult hero in HoN for no reason. Good luck and Good games.

-Ezarox

All images were either created by myself or provided by honwiki.net or www.heroesofnewerth.com.