Hera Guardian of Olympus (5.20)

Pros

Good sustained poke
Lane pressure
AoE CC
Good peal if timed right

Cons

Not to tanky
Argus Polymorph is main set up
Polymorph can be easily dodged
Can't do much without Argus active or off cooldown

Full Build Example

This build give 20% CDR ,up to 29% damage reduction and 40% CCR.
This set does over cap CCR by 20%, however you can swap out Reinforced Shoes for Shoes of Focus for extra CDR but at the cost of defence.

Boots

Reinforced Shoes are good in any situation. The added tankyness with the CCR makes you a difficult target to pin early game.
Shoes of Focus as more situational and person preference. The extra mana and CDR help in being more aggressive as well as helping with lane clear.

Second Item

Genji's and Breastplate give CDR which is helpful if playing against an aggressive comp. Also they give a fair amount of early game protections on top of Guardian's Blessing. On the flip, if playing against a team with low mobility,Heartward and Sovereignty have good aura effects to help sustain in lane. If healing is more of a problem, Pestilence can help more in this sistuation. However although is the Support, she's more of a utility and will be weaving in and out of the front line so most enemies wont be affected by Pestilence, pick with caution.

Third Item

If you're not ready to give up 20% of your damage straight way only build Protector's Mask and build Lono's Mask a bit later on or fully build Lono's Mask as you forth or fifth item. Bulwark Is another good item here due to the added shield effect that'll help more than you think. And if peared with Mantle of discord can set up a good escape.

Forth Item

Oni could be seen a a core item in this build, mostly to the fact that Hera is still a mage at the end of the day and the 9% damage reduction will help with her engage. If playing against attack speed gods, Hide and Midgardian are good counter picks to punish them.

Fifth Item

As a support your first relic will most likely be Magic Shell. because of this you wont have Beads to counter any hard CC. Magi's Cloak should help negate hard CC ult's, such as Area or Nox's 2-1 comb. However on the flip side, Winged Blade can be factored in instead to just counter slows. With the shorter cooldown between uses and the bonus of 10% movement speed, Winged Blade will help with positioning.

Sixth Item

The sixth item is mostly situation. If you need higher CDR and haven't built Breastplate or Genji's then now would be the time to. Although fairly late to build these they will boost your protections greatly. If being pressured to much building Spirit Robe or Mantle of Discord both grant CDR as well as powerful effects when focused. If wanting more damage and CC build Gem of Isolation for added control, also the CCR is a added bonus. Other controling items can be used here, such as Divine Ruin but this isn't a necessity for Hera as the mid laner should have bought this unless they're a hunter. With Hera's newest buff, Polymorph will now have a 20% slow, so when paried with Gem the slow will increase to 45%. With gives good set up for Royal Assault to continue to slow effect or to ult and knock up the enemies.

Relics

Hera is a mage with no escapes and relays on on good positioning and her 3 to stay safe. Magic Shell is good in any situation due to the added safety it can bring to lane. However is not a must pick. The enemy team compchosesreatly impact your relic chooses. The relics at the top are just suggestions on what to get and not get in stone. I normally find Magic Shell and Sprint does the trick, but sometimes swap out Sprintbto a situational relic such as Beads if against a CC heavy comp or Cursed Ankh when fighting high sustain gods.

This build is based on current Hera, however I will be factoring in the buffs which Hera will be receiving in 5.20.

Passive

C O M M A N D I N G P R E S E N C E

Each time Hera deals damage to gods while Argus is inactive, Argus’ cooldown is reduced. While Argus is active, each time Hera deals damage to gods Argus is healed for a flat amount, scaling based on Hera’s Level.

Cooldown per hit: 1s
Argus Heal: 20 + 5 per level

CHANGING COMING IN 5.20

Damage from Royal Assault and Polymorph also reduces the cooldown of Divine Shroud by 0.33s

Ability 1

R O Y A L A S S A U L T

Hera damages enemies in a cone in front of her before opening a portal for Argus to attack through. Enemy minions hit by this cone are knocked into Argus’ path. Argus then slams his fists at the target location dealing heavy damage. If both of his fists connects with an enemy, it deals 15% extra damage.

Ability: AoE
Affects: Enemies
Range: 45
Cone Damage: 30/40/50/60/70 (+15% of your Magical Power)
Fist Damage: 75/120/165/210/255 (+80% of your Magical Power)
Cooldown: 10s
Cost: 55,60,65,70,75

CHANGING COMING IN 5.20

Increased base damage from 75/120/165/210/255 to 80/130/180/230/280

Ability 2

P O L Y M O R P H

Hera weaves magic in front of her before sending it out. Enemies hit by this ability take damage. If this ability hits a god it causes their form to shift into a monster.

Ability: Line
Affects: Enemies
Range: 80
Damage: 60/105/150/195/240 (+75% of your Magical Power)
Polymorph Duration: 1.2/1.4/1.6/1.8/2s
Cooldown: 14s
Cost: 60

CHANGING COMING IN 5.20

Polymorphed enemies are now Slowed by 20%

Ability 3

D I V I N E S H I E L D

Hera shrouds herself in her divine power, granting her a shield from damage and temporary movement speed that lasts as long as the shield remains.\n\nIf Argus is active, Argus shines with the same Divine power as Hera, causing him to deal radiant damage and move at an increased rate.

Ability: Shield and Buff
Affects: Self
Shield Health: 50/100/150/200/250 +15 per Hera’s Level
Shield Duration: 5s
Movement Speed: 15%
Argus Aura Damage: 7/11/15/19/23 (+7.5% of your Magical Power)
Argus Speed: 50%
Cooldown: 16s
Cost: 45/50/55/60/65

CHANGING COMING IN 5.20

Increased Shield Health from 40/80/120/160/200 + 15 Per level to 50/100/150/200/250 + 20 Per Level. (Maximum increased from 500 HP to 600 HP)

Ability 4

A R G U S, T H E D E F E N D E R

Hera brings Argus crashing down at a location, damaging and knocking up enemies. On landing Argus will attack the nearest target. Hera can control where Argus moves through refiring this ability onto an enemy or if he has a target, to recall him. While recalled Argus will defend Hera and attack anyone that gets close. Argus has a hit chain that starts with a normal basic attack, into a ground circle AoE slowing enemies by 20% for 1s, into a line attack.

Ability: AoE
Affects: Enemies
Radius: 20
Damage: 100/150/200/250/300 (+35% of your Magical Power)
Argus Lifetime: 40s
Argus Initial Hit: 30 (+30% of your Magical Power)
Argus Second Hit: 30 (+30% of your Magical Power)
Argus Third Hit: 45 (+40% of your Magical Power)
Argus Base Health: 700/1275/1850/2425/3000
Cooldown: 70s
Cost: 80/85/90/95/100

CHANGING COMING IN 5.20

Increased deploy range from 55 to 65 units.
Increased maximum leash range from 85 to 125.
Increased Protections gained from 15/20/25/30/35 Physical Protections and 15 Magical Protections to 25/30/35/40/45 of both Protections.
Increased Argus’ Health from 700/1275/1850/2425/3000 to 700/1400/2100/2800/3500 Health.
Increased Crash Landing Damage scaling from 35% to 55% Magical Power.
Argus Attack – Increased targeter range from 65 units to 80 units.
Argus 2nd Attack in Hit Chain
Reduced self movement penalty on Argus’s Ground Slam windup from 50% to 35%.
Increase Slow duration from 1s to 1.5s


The 5.20 changes are not set in stone and are subject to change.
Abilites and 5.20 buffs in grater detail in 'Abitliy Break Down' section.

Hera is a utility mage who brings a fair bit of CC and lane pressure.

Hera's passive grants her to quickly gain Argus back if he's on cooldown by hitting gods with her damaging abilities (Royal Assault and Polymorph). This, paired with the ult's already low cooldown, allows Hera to not have to invest greatly into CDR. However CDR is till good on Hera and around 20% CDR should be built on her to maintain her lane pressure and her ability to haveArgus the Defender up in every fight.

With the up coming patch Hera will also gain 0.33s off of Divine Shield each time shes hits an enemy god with Royal Assault and Polymorph. Although not a major buff, in a fight Hera should get Divine Shield back 1 or 2 seconds faster.


Hera's 1 , Royal ***ult, is her main lane clear. The ability has to targeters, a small cone infront of Hera and a rectangle AoE which can be moved in a lane. both deal damage but if minions are hit by the cone attack they are knocked up and throw to the second targeter location. This doesn't work on gods' or jungle camps. The ability to displace minions with Royal Assault pairs her well with ADC's like Cupid or Cernunnos, as shes able to throw minions in to a small area and increase their lane clear potential. Furthermore if Cupid Heartbombs' a minion, she is able to throw that minion before it deonates and stun enemies if the Heartbomb was full stacked.

In 5.20, the base damage of this ability will be increased from
75/120/165/210/255 to 80/130/180/230/280. Hera's already good lane clear with this buff will make it difficult to out farm her. Also as a support the higher base damage will just solidify her role as a support mage.


Polymorph is a good CC tool which rewards good Hera's for hitting it,

In 5.20 Polymorph is getting a 20% slow which will give Hera greater set up for not only her team but for use of her 1 or ult.


Hera's third ability, Divine Shroud, is a offensive and defensive ability. Granting 15% increased movement speed and a 500 shield, at max rank, allows her to quickly disengage or reposition in a team fight. If Argus is active, he'll gain a 50% increased movement speed and emit a AoE damage effect, similar to Mystical Mail but at a much higher tick rate. I'm unsure if Gem of Isolation procs on this AoE. The moevemnt speed Argus gain makes him pretty scary to fight against, and with upcoming protections increases, more difficult to deal with

In patch 5.20 Divine Shroud is seeing a shield health increase.
Shield is increased from 40/80/120/160/200 + 15 Per level to 50/100/150/200/250 + 20 Per Level. Max level increase from 500 to 600 shields.

Hera's ult, Argus the Defender, has great set up potential as Hera would be able to easily hit a Polymorph or Royal Assault straight after knocking up enemies. However most times you'd never be able to hit enemies with both due to the lack of movement CC outside of the knock up. Know the slow from Polymorph will allow you to hit you Royal Assault. Furthermore, Argus' second attack slows enemies and with the target being slowed by Polymorph Argus is more likley to hit this second attack. Pairing this with Gem of Isolation will further her control up to a 45% slow. Argus is good at tanking objective. Although early game his tower dive potential isn't to stronger, in the later stages of the game he's able to withstand a lane siege or tank the Firegiant/Gold Fury.

Argus' basic attacks do not trigger item effects such as Gem of Isolation.

In patch 5.20 Argus is receiving a large amount of buffs.

Increase deploy range from 55 to 65 units
Able to chase enemies further (was 85 units now 125 units, same as Kaldr leash range)
Physical Protections increase from 15/20/25/30/35 to 25/30/35/40/45
Magical Protections increased from 15 to 25/30/35/40/45
Argus Health increased from 700/1275/1850/2425/3000 to 700/1400/2100/2800/3500
Argus enitial landing damage scaling increased from 35% to 55% Magical Power
Argus 2nd attack in chain:

Self movement penalty reduced from 50% slow to 35%
Increased enemy movement speed slow from 1s to 1.5s