Scout Guide HoN

 
"Hey guys can you tell me which direction the Battle of Antietam is I think I'm a bit late."

I'm well-aware that this is the last hero most players think they need help with, but in fact, it's one of the most misplayed heroes in the game. This is perhaps the only hero that can go 10-0 and not contribute whatsoever to the team. Nearly every Scout I've played with and against has somehow managed to achieve an amazing kill-death ratio, yet has no useful items, and is still a piece of paper when he gets caught with a single disable. This guide is specifically for the discerning Scout player who wishes to forgo the kill-stealing aspect of the hero and become a true team player.

You are NOT a Carry

You are not a carry. You do not need kills. You are picked solely for your intelligence-gathering, ganking capability, and burst damage. All four of you skills are designed to make you annoying, and you should make your playstyle annoying.

Picking a Lane

It's possible in low-mid tier games to solo mid due to Electric Eye and Vanish giving you complete rune control. Vanish can be used to deny and last-hit often if you have constant Bottle charges. On the other hand, experienced players can bully you out of most last-hits and denies. A hero like Soulstealer, for example, can completely destroy you in terms of last-hits, especially if he bothers to spend the paltry 200 gold to buy wards, forcing you not only to spend an Electric Eye to counter the ward, but to run up to it and eat nukes. However, if you can successfully solo mid, that means you're LVL6 while side lane heroes are around LVL4. This makes you an excellent ganker. You should only do this, however, if you have a teammate who is able and willing to take over solo mid after you begin the gank phase.

Normally, you should lane in Top Legion or Bottom Hellbourne. Your ability to windwalk out gives you survivability--let your carry and a babysitter go bottom. Top Legion and Bottom Hellbourne also tend to be able to access runes the fastest--which is what you want to do.

Alternatively, if you are facing a weak lineup, you may go Bottom Legion or Top Hellbourne. This is because your lane mate will likely be able to fend for himself after you start ganking.

 

Skill Build

1 Electric Eye 1
2 Vanish 1
3 Vanish 2
4 Electric Eye 2
5 Vanish 3
6 Marksman Shot 1
7 Vanish 4

Against weak lineup
8 Improve Dexterity 1
9 Improve Dexterity 2
10 Improve Dexterity 3
11 Marksman Shot 2
 12 Improve Dexterity 4
 13 Electric Eye 3
 14 Electric Eye 4
 15 Stats 1
 16 Marksman Shot 3

Srs bsnss
8 Electric Eye 3
 9 Electric Eye 4
10 Improve Dexterity 1
 11 Marksman Shot 2
  12 Improve Dexterity 2
  13 Improve Dexterity 3
  14 Improve Dexterity 4
  15 Stats 1
  16 Marksman Shot 3

Your attack damage output, while fairly high, is nothing compared to your spell-based burst damage. Improve Dexterity should therefore be an afterthought.

Starting Items

Bottle
I cannot stress enough how important this item is to a good Scout player. A Scout is fast, flexible, and knowledgeable--the Bottle is the perfect item to keep him on the battlefield for as long as possible. Each single bottle charge should result in a hero either dying or going back to base for a heal. That's every 2 minutes, clockwork. You have to be on the ball about this. Check the Rune section for more information about this.

Item Build

Marchers
I strongly suggest Marchers as the only MS booster you get. Enhanced Marchers are a waste as you have Vanish. Post Haste is a huge waste because your mobility is already very high, though it's fine if you're nasty rich. Steam Boots are good if you are the team DPS, but again, most of your damage comes from spell-based burst, so it's best to get Marchers and focus on something else.

Codex
Codex is a popular build, but it's only good against certain heroes. If the enemy team has a Glacius or another glass hero, a Codex is a pretty good choice--however, it's an all-in choice, as it's expensive, and severely limits his late-game capability if said target manages to obtain a Shaman's Headdress or HP. If you're doing extremely well early on, it's advisable to buy a single level of Codex. In general, if you can Codex before 20 min, it's cool.

Soulscream Ring
You should fill your inventory with these. They're excellent for the price.

Shieldbreaker
The preferred DPS item, the -armor effects amplify your backstab damage, making your initial burst damage even higher.

Runed Axe
If for some horrendous reason you've managed to farm so much that you can afford a Runed Axe, then by all means stack as many as you can. Cleave is affected by the backstab damage from Vanish, so you can actually do an extremely damaging, cleaving backstab to the entire enemy team.

  Scout is NOT an item-dependent hero. This is a bit weird, because he tends to make a lot of money from kills. Oh well. if you find that you're making a lot of money, get creative and do whatever with your amazing DPS powers. This is unlikely to happen against good players though.

Complete Playguide: Game Start

Buy a Bottle and go immediately to top river and place an Electric Eye on the north ledge next to the rune spawn spot. Wait here until 0:00 for the first rune. Grab it if there is one--if not, ping it to your team and go back to lane and try to help block creeps.

Complete Playguide: Laning

  Hang back until you're LVL2 and have Vanish. Once you have Vanish, you can start going for creep kills and denies more aggressively. Do not be afraid to use Vanish to last-hit--remember, Vanish backstab damage affects allied creeps and buildings too, unlike DotA. At this point, unless you have a very strong lanemate, it's useless to use Vanish to harass, as it doesn't do enough damage by itself. Use it to get creeps that would otherwise be denied, etc. Make sure you get the catapult kills and denies with it, as they give more money and XP than normal creeps. Every 2 minutes, take a look at your Electric Eye (you should only have 1 right now) to see if the rune's there. If it's there, grab it--if mid is weak, go gank, otherwise return to lane. Continue this until you're LVL6. Alert your allies that you've reached 6, and will now be ganking full-time.

Complete Playguide: Ganking

Place a second Electric Eye on a ledge at the bottom river rune spot ASAP. Gank mid and bottom. For mid, ask your ally to let him push a bit--once he's off his side of the high ground, initiate the gank with a Marksman Shot. The mid player should attack and nuke simulatenously to quickly finish him off. At bottom, do the same thing--initiate with Marksman shot, using Vanish if needed to finish off. If there is a low HP hero tower-camping, you can go behind the trees on Hellbourne's super neutrals to fire off a Marksman Shot. If this doesn't kill the hero, he will surely run to base--Vanish right away and intercept him. If you laned and ganked correctly, you should have a Codex very soon. Continue until you do, and buy Marchers while you're at it. Continue to gank. Place additional Electric Eyes near their jungle farm spots, especially if their defensive lanes are neutral-pulling or jungling.

Complete Playguide: Team Fighting

Vanish and shadow the enemy team until you or an ally initiates. Target a weak hero with Marksman Shot, Codex him, and Vanish/backstab if needed. If a hero is EVER at all even a few steps away from the rest of his team, target with Marksman Shot and pick him off with your team. If pushing, you should use your intelligence-gathering to find a hero solo-farming. Gather your team, gank, and then push.

Complete Playguide: Backdooring

If it's super-late-game, you are one of the best backdoor heroes. With an excellent crit and evade, you can take down towers and barracks quite quickly. Carry a Homecoming Stone, and move towards the target buildings. Wait until there's no one there--the enemy team might be pushing. Have your team defend on high ground and stall while you attack. If the enemy team is pushing too strong, teleport back to help your team. If they are failing, continue to backdoor until they return. If you do enough damage, chances are they will rush back, and you'll have foiled a push attempt and pissed them off greatly.

Rune Guide

Double Damage: THE best rune you can get. Pop this before hitting Vanish. Your backstab damage out of Vanish will be affected by Double Damage.
Haste: Pop this if Marksman Shot and whatever allied nukes used can't finish your opponent off. Use it to chase and finish.
Illusion: Grabbing a rune with Vanish on sets all illusions to Vanish. You can actually triple backstab this way. However, this means you can't Bottle it.
Regeneration: Pretty obvious.
Invisibility: Only get this if you desperately need Bottle charges. Otherwise, let an ally get it. Alternatively, you can use it as a getaway tool after a double Vanish backstab.

Electric Eye Placement

Check my ward guide here for general placement. Because electric eyes have less sight range and can be killed if an enemy is in the reveal range, you should adjust it slightly. Basically, place them on ramps near neutral camps. It's also good to get one in on high ground during a base push--this way, you can tell if they're clumping, or are about to initiate (ie, with Behemoth blink). Placing one early on the mid ramp can help your mid solo as well, since it gives sight on high ground. If you have an ally like Devourer (or, if an enemy Devourer is solo mid), that's invaluable.       

Marksman Shot Details

When aiming with Marksman Shot, you should always place yourself in such a position that you cover whatever escape route you anticipate them running. At earlier levels, it has a long wind-up time--during this period, if they escape into fog, it cancels. Therefore, wait behind them. At higher levels, you'll want to stand fairly close to them--this way, you can Codex and finish quickly. In ganks and team fights, you should always fire Marksman Shot from Vanish--you are invisible until the shot, and while this keeps you from doing a double backstab, it is the most effective way to initiate. When chasing fleeing heroes, Vanish and run ahead of the hero, then Marksman Shot to slow them enough for your team to catch.

Double Backstab and Defensive Vanishing
A good Scout player never exits Vanish until he can Vanish again right after--always keep this in mind. However, to get some extra damage in, Vanish, wait til the cooldown is over, backstab, then immediately Vanish again and backstab again. While this makes you vulnerable, it gives you some extra damage against easily-killable heroes that can help Marksman Shot or an allied nuke finish.