Grimstroke · Soft Support (pos. 4)
Grimstroke Aggressive Guide
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This guide is assembled by the site from match data and the game's own information — nobody wrote it by hand. Official and community guides appear alongside it when they exist.
Overview
This guide is about playing Grimstroke aggressively. Aggressive support means harassing from level one, rotating early and turning every Phantom's Embrace into a kill. Your spikes are level 6, when Soulbind comes online, and your core items: Blink Dagger and then Glimmer Cape. This patch, Grimstroke wins 52.0% of the 242,462 public matches we measured (A tier on our ladder).
Strengths
- Reliable silence: Phantom's Embrace sets up kills and interrupts enemy channels.
- Soulbind can swing team fights: it hits several enemies at once.
- Long attack range (600) to harass and last hit safely.
- Heavy magical burst: Valve lists it as a Nuker.
Weaknesses
- Low base armor (0): vulnerable to physical harass early on.
- Plays on little gold: expensive items arrive late.
- Every death while playing aggressively hands the tempo back to the enemy.
Build cheat sheet
Pick the build that fits what you want to do this game.
- Damage buildOffensiveRecommendedMoves the popular items that add damage — Shadow Blade and Hand of Midas — to the front. Choose it when your lane went well and you can afford to be greedy. Built from what Grimstroke players buy in the public matches we measured.
- Against magic damageDefensiveSituationalFor games where the enemy kills with spells: keep your first two core items and add magic resistance or spell immunity.
Builds
Damage build
When to use it
Moves the popular items that add damage — Shadow Blade and Hand of Midas — to the front. Choose it when your lane went well and you can afford to be greedy. Built from what Grimstroke players buy in the public matches we measured.
Where it's played
Picked before the game: the main lane first, then the alternatives.
244%150%- OfflaneMain50% of matchesOff lane next to your offlaner, as Soft Support (pos. 4).
- Safe lanePriority 244% of matchesSafe lane next to your carry, as Hard Support (pos. 5).
Starting items
Core items
- 1Shadow Blade+25 Damage, +35 Attack Speed. Active: Shadow Walk.
- 2Hand of Midas+40 Attack Speed. Active: Transmute.
- 3Blink DaggerActive: Blink.
- 4Glimmer Cape+20% Magic Resistance. Active: Glimmer.
Boots
Late game
Skill order
Max order:Stroke of Fate›Ink Swell›Phantom's Emb…
| Ability | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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 | · | ● | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | ● | · | ● | · | ● | · | · | · |
 | · | · | · | ● | · | · | · | ● | ● | · | · | · | · | · | ● | · | · |
 | · | · | · | · | · | ● | · | · | · | · | · | · | ● | · | · | · | ● |
Talents by level
- +70% Stroke of Fate Speed and Travel Range+150 Ink Swell Radius25
- +80% Stroke of Fate Damage+2 Attacks to Destroy Phantom20
- +25.0% Soulbind Spell Damage+15% Ink Swell Movement Speed15
- -4s Ink Swell Cooldown+65 Phantom's Embrace DPS10
Against magic damage
When to use it
For games where the enemy kills with spells: keep your first two core items and add magic resistance or spell immunity.
Where it's played
Picked before the game: the main lane first, then the alternatives.
244%150%- OfflaneMain50% of matchesOff lane next to your offlaner, as Soft Support (pos. 4).
- Safe lanePriority 244% of matchesSafe lane next to your carry, as Hard Support (pos. 5).
Core items
- 1Blink Dagger
- 2Glimmer Cape
Situational
Skill order
Max order:Stroke of Fate›Ink Swell›Phantom's Emb…
| Ability | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ● | · | ● | · | ● | · | ● | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · |
| · | ● | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | ● | · | ● | · | ● | · | · | · |
| · | · | · | ● | · | · | · | ● | ● | · | · | · | · | · | ● | · | · |
| · | · | · | · | · | ● | · | · | · | · | · | · | ● | · | · | · | ● |
Talents by level
- +70% Stroke of Fate Speed and Travel Range+150 Ink Swell Radius25
- +80% Stroke of Fate Damage+2 Attacks to Destroy Phantom20
- +25.0% Soulbind Spell Damage+15% Ink Swell Movement Speed15
- -4s Ink Swell Cooldown+65 Phantom's Embrace DPS10
Abilities
- Stroke of Fate11 / 9 / 7 / 5s100 / 110 / 120 / 130 mpGrimstroke paints a curved path of ink with his brush, damaging and slowing enemies. The damage is increased with each enemy the ink hits.
Can be put on alt-cast to have the path be straight.
- Base damage
- 100·160·220·280
- Bonus dmg per hero
- 20·40·60·80
- Bonus dmg per illusion/creep
- 10·20·30·40
- Movement slow
- 50%·60%·70%·80%
- Slow duration
- 1.75
- Phantom's Embrace30 / 26 / 22 / 18s80 / 100 / 120 / 140 mpSummons a phantom that moves quickly towards the target, latching to it when she arrives. Once latched, the phantom damages and silences. If she survives the full latch duration she rends her victim for heavy damage and refreshes Phantom's Embrace's cooldown.
Hero attacks against the phantom count as 3 attacks each.
- Latch duration
- 5
- Attacks to destroy
- 6·6·9·9
- Phantom dps
- 10·20·30·40
- Rend damage
- 120·200·280·360
- Ink Swell27 / 24 / 21 / 18s120 / 130 / 140 / 150 mpGrimstroke shrouds an allied unit in ink, increasing its movement speed. Enemies in range of the allied unit are damaged with inky tendrils over time. After 3 seconds it applies damage and stun in an area around the unit in proportion to how long ink tendril was near any hero.
- Buff duration
- 3
- Movement speed bonus
- 20%
- Radius
- 375
- Max damage
- 90·180·270·360
- Max stun duration
- 1.6·2·2.4·2.8
- Ink tendrils dps
- 30·45·60·75
Dark Portrait35s200 mp- Illusion duration
- 25
- Illusion outgoing damage
- 125%
- Illusion damage taken
- 275%
- Illusion movespeed bonus
- 30%
- Soulbind70 / 65 / 60s150 / 200 / 250 mpBinds a targeted enemy hero to its nearest allied hero within the bind radius, preventing both from moving away from each other. Any unit-targeted ability that either bound hero receives also gets cast on the other hero. If the bind is broken before the duration expires, the initial target will be bound to its nearest allied hero in the radius.
- Duration
- 6·7·8
- Bind radius
- 600
Ink TrailPassiveGrimstroke's attacks and spells cause affected enemy heroes to leave a trail of Ink behind them and deal less damage to Grimstroke for 4s.- Damage reduction
- 5%
Most played skill order
The most played order in the last 100 professional matches with this hero. Highlighted levels are the points spent on talents.
Max order:Stroke of Fate›Ink Swell›Phantom's Emb…
| Ability | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ● | · | ● | · | ● | · | ● | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · |
| · | ● | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | ● | · | ● | · | ● | · | · | · |
| · | · | · | ● | · | · | · | ● | ● | · | · | · | · | · | ● | · | · |
| · | · | · | · | · | ● | · | · | · | · | · | · | ● | · | · | · | ● |
Strategy
1When to fight
Your spikes are level 6, when Soulbind comes online, and your core items: Blink Dagger and then Glimmer Cape. Aggressive support means harassing from level one, rotating early and turning every Phantom's Embrace into a kill.
2Picking your targets
Stay behind your cores and use Phantom's Embrace on whoever jumps on your carry. The best target is the one your team can reach and kill before the enemy answers, not always the most valuable one.
3Snowballing a lead
After a won fight, take towers and Roshan before anything else: that's what turns kills into a lead the enemy can't erase. Early, your objectives are a winning off lane, the power runes with your mid and the first rotations for kills.
4When to back off
Safe support means warding ahead of danger, staying out of the enemy's reach and saving spells to protect your cores. If your key abilities are on cooldown or the enemy is missing from the map, the aggressive play is to wait.
Tips
- Fight on your spikes: right after Blink Dagger, look for the next fight instead of farming.
- Look for kills when Soulbind is ready and the enemy's key ability is not.
- Use Phantom's Embrace to start the fight, then commit your damage.
- Track the enemy's key cooldowns and attack right after they use them.
- Turn every kill into towers and Roshan: a kill without an objective is a wasted lead.
- Push your lane before you roam so the aggression doesn't cost you resources.
Matchups
Strong against
- Tidehunter58.4%win rate in the matchup
Grimstroke wins 58.4% of the 101 games measured against Tidehunter this patch.
101 matches
- Shadow Fiend57.5%win rate in the matchup
Grimstroke wins 57.5% of the 106 games measured against Shadow Fiend this patch.
106 matches
- Pangolier55.7%win rate in the matchup
Grimstroke wins 55.7% of the 185 games measured against Pangolier this patch.
185 matches
- Tusk54.5%win rate in the matchup
Grimstroke wins 54.5% of the 110 games measured against Tusk this patch.
110 matches
- Hoodwink54.3%win rate in the matchup
Grimstroke wins 54.3% of the 138 games measured against Hoodwink this patch.
138 matches
Changelog
- Guide created for patch 7.41.
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