Starting
Quelling Blade: For last-hitting and juking. You can get a ring of protection instead, but some ranged heroes with good base damage might outhit you if you do so (if your support isn't harassing properly - or if you're playing a pub). Note: IF YOU ARE FULLY CONFIDENT WITH PL'S GREAT BASE DAMAGE THEN FEEL FREE TO NOT GET QUELLING BLADE (you could go for slippers to convert them to PMS instead).
Ironwood Branches: For stats and to later upgrade to a magic wand. Stats obviously provide better survivability as opposed to no stats, and starting out with branches is much more cost-effective.
Salve: Merely for the HP regeneration. Try to only use it if you need the regeneration quickly.
Tangoes: For over-time HP regeneration. These shouldn't need an explanation.
Phantom Lancer Item Build
Core
Main
Treads: Treads should be in your core because it provides cheap stats and is more lategame dps oriented (you should obviously have BOTs at some point too - treads just come first).
Magic Wand: It's just a great item in general, and people with escape mechanisms like PL are especially good holders of magic wand because it provides that burst mana and health for more survivability (along with cheap stats).
Radiance: You should definitely rush a Radiance, and get it around the 20-25 minute mark (depending on whether or not you get Vanguard). It's a great item on PL is because it is:
- Great for pushing in tandem with your illusions.
- Annoying for blink initiators on the other team.
- Great on good chasers, like you.
If you cannot rush radiance in time, and if your farm is going to be delayed, get a diffusal blade first instead. Or if they have an Ursa on the other team, you will want to get diffusal blade before radiance.
Ring of Basilius: Is awesome on Phantom Lancer in the early-mid game, because it allows you to spam your lance more freely in-lane, and is also good for regening your mana for doppelwalk to avoid ganks. NOTE: RoB IS NOT FOR VLAD'S.
TP Scroll: Regardless of the hero you are playing - you should ALWAYS carry a TP scroll on you. You may think: "well, wouldn't that delay from getting my radiance?" The answer, put simply, is no. The reasons why you should always have one on you are:
- You can teleport to any lane for more freefarming
- Great for avoiding ganks, especially if someone brings dust
- The mobility that it offers, in general, is a must-have for any hero
Phantom Lancer Item Build
Extension
Vanguard: You should probably get Vanguard before Radiance - unless if you are totally confident that your team can watch your back while you are farming. You are, after all, a low hp hero who can definitely make full use of the survivability that Vanguard offers. In all honesty, this item is not just for Axe--it's great item that can be gotten on practically any melee hero because it offers insane survivability against physical damage. If you try to get radiance first, your farm might be delayed from dying too easily to gankers. People always assume that getting Vanguard delays from the rest of his core--this is completely wrong. If anything, getting Vanguard first will allow you to get your core faster since you will be dying a lot less than a Phantom Lancer without Vanguard. Note: YES, I KNOW THAT IMAGES DO NOT BENEFIT FROM THE DAMAGE BLOCK ON VANGUARD. THAT IS NOT THE POINT. VANGUARD IS SIMPLY FOR THE HP AND SURVIVABILITY OF THE REAL PL UNTIL HE GETS HIS HEART.
Poor Man's Shield: Cheap and effective. You can get this instead of Vanguard, but keep in mind that you are skipping the health component of Vanguard, as well as a higher damage block (On average, Vanguard blocks 28 damage). Another thing that PMS lacks in comparison to Vanguard is regen, a component that I consider invaluable to hardcarries like PL.
Bottle: You can use the Crow-Bottle method to regen your health and mana pool. Bottle costs only 600 gold, and this method is pretty effective - especially in-lane. Just keep in mind that if you don't get bottle, then your mana will regen much more slowly, even with a Ring of Basilius.Phantom Lancer Item Build
Luxury
Diffusal Blade: Diffusal Blade should come right after Radiance or Vanguard - the feedback orb that it gives in conjunction with your images is amazing. Not only is the feedback simply awesome on PL, but purge is just a great skill all by itself. And to top it all off, it's cheap! Only 3300 gold.
Manta Style: Increases the number of illusions that you are capable of producing, and of course synergizes with Diffusal Blade. In general, it's a great, stat-buff DPS item. Some people say: "PL doesn't need manta because he already gains enough dps from his illusions." This is retarded reasoning. Why else do you think that manta is in Naga Siren's core? Manta is simply a great DPS item in general that is gotten for most agility carries for all the reasons just listed.
Butterfly: The item that almost any agility carry should have. And of course, it synergizes with Juxtapose and Phantom Edge because of the immense attack speed bonus that it offers. Evasion is also a great lategame skill. I shouldn't even have to explain why this is a good luxury item for PL.
Heart of Tarrasque: Despite the fact that your illusions take 450% extra damage, HoT still makes them pretty tanky. HoT is considered your core luxury because there tends to be a lot of aoe, so making your illusions last longer is vital for PL to have a much larger influence in team fights.
Situational
Monkey King Bar: If the other team has a lot of evasion / chance-to-miss skills, then MKB might be a good choice. I would only swap out Radiance for this - however, you should only do this if there are no blink-dagger initiators and if you already have enough pushing power on your team.Phantom Lancer Item Build
Maybe...
Buriza: Buriza offers a lot of DPS on PL. But getting Buriza kind of defeats the purpose of playing a deceitful hero. You are supposed to confuse your enemy with your illusions - buriza doesn't let you do this because your illusions will crit in smaller numbers (because they don't benefit from raw damage--go test this in single-player mode if you don't believe me).Phantom Lancer Item Build
Rejected
Vladmir's Offering: If you seriously considered buying this, ask yourself this question: "am I playing in a pub?" If yes, then take a look at the rest of your teammates' items--there's a 95% chance that all of them are holding one, so don't even bother buying Vlad's since you can just mooch off of your teammates. I see this all the time in pubs, and yet they don't realize that Vlad's is perhaps the worst possible item you could get for Pl. By all means, let a support get it, but don't detract from PL's dps capability by wasting an item slot on Vlad's - you are not Ursa or AM. Just because you are a diffusal blade holder it doesn't mean that you should get a life-steal aura to complement the mana burn. There are a countless number of other items that can fit the bill better than Vlad's can.Phantom Lancer Item Build
Battlefury: They say that whenever you buy Battlefury for PL, a baby dies. PL is maybe perhaps the worst battlefury-holder in the game - even some ranged heroes are better holders for it than PL. I hear some newer players argue that it complements his pushing power - even if illusions could cleave, which they can't, it would still suck on PL because illusions do not benefit from raw damage.Phantom Lancer Item Build
Cranium Basher: Illusions do not benefit from the bash that CB offers. It also offers raw damage which illusions do not benefit from. In summary, it's a pretty bad investment on PL.Phantom Lancer Item Build
Stygian Desolator: This is a pretty popular item for PL... in pubs. Yes, it grants a negative armor buff that illusions can benefit from (assuming that the real PL hit the enemy hero with it in a certain time frame), but it's a mid game item and PL is a lategame hero. And of course, illusions do not benefit from raw damage.
Sange and Yasha: This is also a really popular pub item. Don't get it for Phantom Lancer. This shouldn't be considered a cheap replacement for Manta, because SnY is like Skadi - which also shouldn't be gotten for PL. The maim isn't needed because you are already a good chaser, and Manta offers much more dps. Avoid getting SnY at all costs.Phantom Lancer Item Build
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