A Close Examination of Supports: Bane

Bane: Enter the Sandman

(source dota2wallpapers.com)

"I am Bane — and I could kill you… but death would only end your agony — and silence your shame. Instead, I will simply… BREAK YOU!” ~Bane, Batman #497


Bane, the most kick-assery elemental of all, he makes fire elementals quiver in their bright flaming Go-Boots. This guy is the motherf***ing elemental of Bane. Before you start to google what the exact definition of 'bane', let me save you the trouble. Bane means harm, ruin, destruction, and killing someone (especially with poison). This guy was formed from midnight terrors of an immortal goddess Nyctasha. Makes your nightmares kinda pale in comparison, especially that reoccurring dream of loose teeth and sudden nakedness. This guy is Freddy Krueger's nightmare.

So lets take a look at Bane's Skill set.

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Skill Set:
Enfeeble:
Reduces physical damage by (30,60, 90, 120). This ability has a potential of reducing a Phantom Assassin's Coup De Grace(critical strike) to something reminiscent of being slapped with a piece of soggy bread, and not that french bread either, damn those french people and their crusty bread!



Brain Sap:
This is your bread and butter skill (not french bread mind you). The damage is respectable(90, 160, 230, 300), but what really makes this ability stand out is that it heals yourself for the damage done by it, and the damage done is PURE damage. This means that no amounts of defense will soften the blow if it lands. This makes it a reliable source of damage+heal. That being said, if it is blocked by Linken's Sphere, there will be no heal.

Nightmare:
This ability will be the bane of your allies and is sometimes a nightmare if landed incorrectly(see what I did there!?). Nightmare allows for 1 second of invulnerability, allowing Nightmare a similar affect to Puck's Phase Shift, but making it a castable dodge. There are a lot of tips and tricks with this ability, scroll down to 'Tips' to find more. It should be noted though that Bane can wake himself up from Nightmare with Nightmare End.

Fiend's Grip:
Ever wanted a 5 second channel stun? Ever wanted to show Lion how Mana Drain should work? Then this little spell is the one for you. It does an impressive amount of damage if you can get off the full channel, and the 5% (10% with scepter) doesn't hurt either. The channel stun and mana drain go through magic immunity, even if the damage does not. Possibly one of the most annoying spells to deal with in a 1v1 encounter.

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Skill Build

Standard Nuke
(1-3-1-1)

This is where Bane thrives, a 4 second stun at level 1 or 2 allows for your team to get into position on some poor sod, or lets you control a lane that you wouldn't otherwise be able to do. Brain Sap early on allows for you to bait enemy heroes into tower diving you, and instantly healing yourself while harming them. This build synergizes extremely well with a soul ring, giving you an ungodly amount of harras with Brain Sap. The reason you pass on leveling Nightmare a second time is that it only adds 1 extra second on your target, while Enfeeble lets you debuff a second target for 20 seconds.


Lane Control
(3-1-1-1)

Don't panic, I haven't completely gone mad, and this is a viable build. This is extremely strong versus heroes that rely on physical damage, and even more so on heroes that rely on lifesteal, Wraith King and Phantom Assassin anyone? You may have no nuke to murder anyone and take those tasty killing blows, but if you landed your three abilities at level 6, you would have Nightmare stunned 1 hero for 5 seconds, Fiend's Gripped another hero for another 5 seconds (also removing 25% of their mana), and reduced an enemy carry to a 5 year old who has learned profanity and was given a foam light saber for 20 seconds! Your 1 hero just removed 3 enemy combatants. If you didn't know this already, this is pretty huge when teamfights go down.

This build is usually reserved solely for a trilane.

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Items:
This can be tricky as you will be generally played as a support who is channeling his abilities onto key players, and you will be generally focused down in an instant. So, as always, positioning is key.

Soul Ring:
Gives you 150 mana at the cost of 150 health. A Level 2 Brain Sap costs 150 mana for 160 damage + health. The regen from a Soul Ring helps cover the later level mana costs, but this is a very strong early game item, as it allows for more Brain Saps, healing you for more than the health sacrificed.




Mekanism:
This is a staple of every good support, and with your likely early game kills boosting your GPM, an early Mekanism can make you even more annoying than before. In an instant you can heal yourself by 550 health when matched with


Necronomicon:
You are going to be channeling for 5 seconds (7 with scepter) anyways, why not play a minigame with necronomicon. Seeing that you will not be doing anything for 5 seconds, that gives you plenty of time to set up commands for those little guys. Even if your not used to microing heroes and units, this can help you get comfortable with the notion. Just remember to use this before Fiend's Grip, not during.

Force Staff/Blink Dagger:
It depends on the type of game your having. If your initiating team fights(which you really shouldn't be), and your farming/killing well, grab a Blink Dagger for sure. Blink Dagger also lets you pick your position so hopefully you wont be woefully out of position by the time you land your Fiend's Grip. Force Staff on the other hand is an easier build up and can be used on enemy combatants, pushing them out of position and ulting them in the safety of your team. By the time the decision roles around for which one you need, you will have a good idea of what your team is expecting from you.

Dagon:
Speaking of expectations, Dagon unfortunlatly works fairly well with this hero. You have a lot of CC already, but if your team cannot bring the damage, you might as well. The Dagon with Brain Sap tends to murder any support or squishy carry if you get it fast enough in the game.


Ghost Scepter/ Black King Bar:
For those pesky players that keep focusing you in teamfights. Ghost Scepter should be picked up if the enemy has just too many physical heroes looking to murder you, and BKB should be picked up if some pesky spell caster is ensuring that you can never ulti more then 1 second, and you are unable to Nightmare him as he stays in the background (or more than 2).



Aghanim's Scepter:
The Scepter adds approximatly 55 damage per second to your Fiend's Grip, another 2 seconds to your channel duration, and drains 5% more of targets max mana pool per second. At max level of Fiend's Grip, a full duration of 7 seconds does 1890 damage(vs. 1075) and 70% of their mana pool(vs. 25%). This is a huge upgrade, especially in the sense of mana drain. Pick this up versus heroes like Wraith King and heroes reliant on Mana (but if there is a lot of mana reliant heroes, think about a BKB first).

Scythe of Vyse:
Did you really need to get that? REALLY!? Better get an Orchid too so you can CC the ENTIRE TEAM. I hope your APM can handle all the clicking... you monster!

Orchid Malevolence:
It's honestly not that great of an item for Bane, but you just HAD to be 'that' guy. That's it, just play your game by yourself and rain on everyone's parade. Why not get more CC? Is that even possible? Time for you to put on Stalin tags and embrace the oppression that you bring to a fight.            
Shadow Blade:
This is an extremly niche item. If the enemy has no AoE stuns, and your team has no invis heroes or other heroes building Shadow Blade, then this item may be for you. Shadow Blade does not break your Fiend's Grip. Just make sure you auto attack, then Brain Sap when you finish your Fiend's Grip. It makes me sad that you already went Shadow Blade in the first hand, but losing 150 damage from the Shadow Blade break makes me even more sad...if that's even possible.

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Tips:

• Nightmare has the special property of 1 second of Invulnerability. If you see a nuke flying towards yourself, hit yourself with Nightmare, and after the nuke passes, hit Nightmare End, and return to your regular duties
• Nightmare can deny your allies and yourself. Once mastered, it is hard for the enemy to get the killing blow when you are around, especial heroes that rely on DoTS.
• Accidently Nightmared someone you didn't mean too? You can attack(deny click) the hero (friend or foe) and gain the Nightmare debuff, and then Nighmare End to remove it. Just know that a good team can keep changing nightmare targets by attacking their allies. The 1 second invulnerability occurs on each transfer as well, so beware!
• Enfeeble cannot be dispelled by magic immunity, but the effects are blocked while it is active. That means a 13 second BKB activation when Enfeeble lands will allow the hero to do full damage while BKB is on, but as soon as the 13 seconds are over and BKB is off, there will be 7 seconds of Enfeeble still in effect.
• In a 1v1 situation, remember to use Brain Sap before Fiend's Grip and Nightmare. Brain Sap has a 14 second cooldown, a 5 second Fiend's Grip and 7 second Nightmare makes up 12 of those 14 seconds. properly spaced out, you can chain 2 Brain Saps on the poor sod.
• The order inwhich you should cast your spells is usually Nightmare on a stunner/nuker, Enfeeble on a physical powerhouse, and then Fiend's Grip (Brain Sap before the ulti if you are in a comfortable position) on the target you wish to kill, or keep out of the fight. Avoid the temptation to just ulti at the start of teamfights, as generally you become the target of everyone's ire and will not survive the incoming damage from 4 heroes. It is important to cast the 2 abilities first, maximizing your control on the battlefield. Wait till those pesky stuns have been used to maximize your potential(unless of course your target is the only one with stuns left!).
• You can queue up Brain Sap after Fiend's Grip (or any other spell at your disposal) by holding down shift and casting your spells to your heart's content. By casting the spells while holding shift during Fiend's Grip means that as soon as Fiend's Grip is over, he will start casting his qued up spells.
• Fiend's Grip Range is 625, other than Enfeeble (1000) and Nightmare level 4(650), all of Bane's abilities cannot reach a target at max range of Fiend's Grip. Keep this in mind if you are planning to combo abilities, as you will have to run up to your target before getting into range to cast Brain Sap or Nightmare(level 3 or lower). It is sometimes better to initiate Fiend's Grip when you are within 550-600 range instead of the max range, especially when the enemy hero is trying to escape.
• By the time you hit 6, you should be ganking heavily. between level 6-12, you are a relatively strong hero versus others of the same level. Not to mention a Nightmare out of the blue usually lets your team surround the hero and ensure his death, while his lanemates run to the nearest tower.

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Any tips I missed, or builds I forgot? Feel free to comment your ideas/suggestions down below!