Dancing Queen

Hel is an extremely versatile goddess with powerful self-sustain. At her best, she can kill 3+ gods solo and still have mana left over. She can push her creeps to the phoenix and beyond, and obliterate enemy creeps in a matter of seconds. She can bring herself and her teammates back fron the brink of death.

I can't show you how to do this. But, I can help you understand how to figure it out on your own. They key to Hel is Stance Dancing -- knowing when to switch between Light and Dark. The first step is understanding what each of her abilities do.

Decay / Restoration
These spells are very straightforward skill shot. Decay will fire a blob that deals splash damage to nearby enemies. Restoration will fire a blob that deals damage to a single target, and heal you for 50%.


Hinder / Cleanse
These spells produce a small targeted AoE. Hinder will lower magical protection and slow the enemy. Cleanse will remove all CC and make you immune to future CC for the duration.


Repulse / Inspire
These unleash a wide AoE fart centered on yourself. Honestly, it looks like she lifts her leg to let one rip. Repulse will cause a burst of damage. Inspire will heal you, nearby allies, and nearby creeps... AND give you a speed buff.


Switch Stances
This is the spell that ties everything together. You can instantly swap between Dark spells and Light spells with the push of a button. But that's not all! While in Dark Stance, you recieve +60 Magical Power. While in Light Stance, you will recieve 35 Mp5.

Now, let's take a look at items. You will notice that I list my general build, and then a set of alternates. This really depends on who you are fighting and how much power / defense you want at any given time, but I almost always start off with: Meditation >> Mana Potion x3 >> Reinforced Boots lvl 1.

Then, I will finish bulding up Reinforced Boots. I prefer these over Boots of the Magi because Reinforced gives you both Phys / Magic Protection, Hp5, and crowd control reduction. Hel is a mid-range goddess. She needs to get in close to do anything. I feel that the defense offered by Reinforced trumps the power offered by Magi. This is especially true (for me) when I am fighting 3+ gods solo.

Let's look at some of my other choices:

Void Stone
This item is useful on any mage, but especially on mid-range mages like Hel. It offers Power and Protection, and it lowers enemy resistances.

Stone of Gaia
In the same vein as Void Stone, this item gives you a lot of Magic Prot. These two items should be all the Magic Prot you need. More importantly, Gaia regens 0.4% of your max health every second. That is very useful in-between Restoration and Inspire.

Gem of Isolation
Now we can start building for POWAH. Gem of Iso fits the bill quite nicely. It gives a sizeable chunk of Magic Power, a decent amount of health, and the ever op slow. Enemies hit by your spells will be slowed by -35%. This is useful offensively, when you are chasing someone down... as well as defensively, when you want to run away. This item also makes your Hinder slow much stronger. If you want more magic power over magic protection, feel free to choose between Void Stone and Stone of Gaia, and then rush Gem of Isolation for your 3rd item.

Obsidian Shard + Rod of Tahuti -- Book of Thoth (alternate)
These are all nice for Magic Powah. The Shard will help you alot with Magic Penetration. The Book and the Rod also give you Mp5, but that should never really be a problem for Hel, thanks to the passive from Light Stance.


[ ALTERNATES ]

Aegis Amulet -- Purification Beads
These items are not necessary, but they can be quite useful depending on the enemy team. Both of them can help you get out of sticky situations.

Divine Ruin
You never really see people use this item, or Brawler's Beat Stick. I think they're quite useful and underrated. Ruin gives a decent chunk of Magic Power and a little bit of Lifesteal. Most importantly, it lowers ALL enemy healing received... from healing skills to Lifestealing items. In that way, this item is useful against just about everyone. Keep this in mind when you check out the enemy team. Use the TAB button to see what they are building.

Wall of Absolution -- Breastplate of Valor
If you want more Physical Prot (for whatever reason), try one of these items. It just depends on what other passive you want. The Wall helps you lower your enemies Magic Prot when struck. The Breastplate lowers your cooldowns. You might also find Hide of Leviathan useful for the HP and Magic Prot, or perhaps a Witch Stone for the HP and enemy attack speed penalty.

[ HELPFUL HINTS ]

1) Switch stances as much as you need. It's instant cast with a low mana cost and a low cooldown.

2) Each part of a spell (Light / Dark) has a separate cooldown. Use this to your advantage.

3) If you aren't doing anything, or you're just auto-attacking, stay in Light Stance. The Mp5 is huge. Also, take advantage of the speed buff you get from Inspire.

4) Don't forget to heal your creeps. I can't stress this enough. If things get too hot, retreat behind them and use them as a shield.

5) Keep Moving, keep casting!! Idle hands are the devil's workshop.


[ LVL 1-7 ]
Whether you mid, or you lane... the first 5 lvls will be the same. Play defensively! Auto attack the big creeps, and stay by your tower if things get too hot. Your tower will kill the archer creeps before they do much of anything... and you can also steal last kill. Of course, you can play some offense if you really want. Use your Mana Potion before you use Meditation, and try to save that as at least until you get your ultimate. Just mosey on to level 5, and drop a point in Switch Stances asap.

For now, the point is to outlast your opponents. Try to keep your creeps healed with Inspire. Stay by them. They are powerful, if fragile, allies.


[ LVL 8-20 ]
As you approach LVL 7, you should be able to kill enemy creep waves outright. To do this: cast Decay on the big creeps, rush forward, and then cast Repulse on the big creeps + archer creeps. I like to hit them head on in a straight line... then shift slightly to the left or right, and follow up with the aoe. This method of creep clearing should carry you well to 20.


[ STANCE DANCING ]
To witness the true powah of Hel, you must take all of this into account. The key to stance dancing is to KEEP MOVING and KEEP CASTING. This helps if you follow a circular / spiral pattern around your opponents. Be aware of your surroundings. Do not be threatened by their creep wave. You can easily demolish it with your Decay >> Repulse combo. Keep yourself and your creeps healed. Your Inspire gives you a speed buff. Use it. Don't be reckless, play smart.


[ TEAM FIGHTS ]
Getting lots of kills is fun, but it's all in vain if you lose. So get your priorites straight. In big showdowns, your primary goal should be team support! Stay in Light Stance. Chill in the back as you Cleanse and Inspire your group. Switch to Dark Stance only to clear creeps, or perhaps slow them with Hinder. If the enemy over extends, by all means, bring on the pain.