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Lycan · Offlane (pos. 3)

Lycan for Beginners

BeginnersData-drivenEasyPatch 7.41
151Updated

More Lycan guides

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

Lycan is a melee Strength hero that Valve tags as Pusher, Carry and Durable. It is played mainly as Offlane (pos. 3): 76% of the public matches we measured, by starting lane and starting items. In this guide you play it as Offlane (pos. 3): your job is to survive a hard lane, bother the enemy carry and start the fights. Lycan is of average difficulty: learn the basics below and it rewards you quickly.

Strengths

  • Valve tags Lycan as Durable: it stays in fights longer than most heroes.
  • Reliable fear: Howl sets up kills.
  • Invisibility with Summon Wolves to scout, escape or set up ganks.

Weaknesses

  • Melee: has to walk up to its target, which makes the lane harder against ranged heroes.
  • Low base armor (0): vulnerable to physical harass early on.

Build cheat sheet

Pick the build that fits what you want to do this game.

Builds

Simple build

BalancedRecommended
Open build

When to use it

The most-bought items without the situational ones: buy them in this order and focus on playing the hero.

Where it's played

Picked before the game: the main lane first, then the alternatives.

Seen from RadiantRadiant · bottom leftDire · top right
  1. OfflaneMain77% of matchesOff lane as the space-making core (pos. 3).
  2. MidPriority 219% of matchesMid lane, one against one (pos. 2).

Starting items

Iron BranchSage's MaskTangoQuelling BladeMagic Stick

Core items

  1. 1Helm of the OverlordYour first big item.
  2. 2Aghanim's ShardSecond: buy it right after.
  3. 3Assault CuirassThird: completes your core.

Boots

Power Treads

Late game

Black King BarBlink Dagger

Skill order

Max order:Summon Wolves›Feral Impulse›Howl

Ability1234567891011121314151617
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Talents by level

  1. -25% Summon Wolves BAT
    Howl Reduces Total Attack Damage
    25
  2. +7s Shapeshift Duration
    +25% Feral Impulse Damage
    20
  3. +375 Summon Wolves Health
    -15s Shapeshift Cooldown
    15
  4. +14 Wolves Damage
    +3 Howl Armor Reduction
    10

Abilities

  • Summon Wolves30s115 / 120 / 125 / 130 mpSummons 2 wolves to aid Lycan in battle. At level 3, wolves gain Permanent Invisibility, and at level 4 wolves gain Cripple that gives 20% chance to cripple the target, causing 8 damage per second and lose 60 attack speed for 4 seconds.
    Duration
    50
    Base attack time
    1.2·1.1·1·0.9·0.9·0.9
    Damage
    22·28·34·40·46·52
    Hp
    325·375·425·475·525·575
    Wolf count
    2
  • Howl22 / 20 / 18 / 16s40 mpStrikes fear into enemies, reducing armor and attack damage of all enemies within 2000 range of Lycan and his wolves. At night, Howl's armor and attack damage reductions are global.
    Duration
    8
    Attack damage reduction
    25%·30%·35%·40%
    Armor reduction
    4·5·6·7
    Basic ability — applies a fear, hits an area and reaches the whole map. Use it on the target your team can kill.
  • Feral ImpulsePassiveIncreases the HP regeneration and damage of Lycan and all units under his control.
    Bonus damage
    10%·20%·30%·40%
    Bonus hp regen
    2·4·6·8
  • Wolf Bite105 / 95 / 85s150 mpLycan bites an allied hero or creep-hero, granting them Shapeshift properties. Lycan and the bitten target gain 40% Lifesteal and share the healing effect of Lifesteal with each other as long as they are within 1200 range of each other.Ultimate — heals. Time it for the enemy's burst, not for chip damage.
  • Apex PredatorPassiveLycan and units he controls deal extra damage to neutral creeps.
    Extra damage
    18%
  • Shapeshift105 / 95 / 85s100 mpLycan assumes his lupine form, granting him critical strikes and added vision at night. During Shapeshift, Lycan moves at increased speed and cannot be slowed. Movement and critical strike bonuses are also applied to all units under Lycan's control.
    Duration
    25
    Shapeshift move speed
    550
    Bonus night vision
    1000
    Transform time
    1.1
    Critical chance
    40%
    Critical damage
    160%·200%·240%

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:Summon Wolves›Feral Impulse›Howl

Ability1234567891011121314151617
●·●·●·●··········
·●·····●●●·······
···●·······●·●●··
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Strategy

1What Lycan does

Lycan is a melee Strength hero that Valve tags as Pusher, Carry and Durable. It is played mainly as Offlane (pos. 3): 76% of the public matches we measured, by starting lane and starting items. The kit brings crowd control (fear) with Howl, sustain with Wolf Bite and invisibility with Summon Wolves. Its ultimate is Wolf Bite.

2The basics

In this guide you play it as Offlane (pos. 3): your job is to survive a hard lane, bother the enemy carry and start the fights.

  • Experience first: standing in range of dying creeps is worth more than risky last hits.
  • Initiation: the best fight is the one you choose, when your team is close.

3Common mistakes

Most new players lose games with the same few mistakes. Avoid these and you'll already be ahead:

  • Chasing last hits under the enemy tower.
  • Initiating when your team is too far to follow.
  • Using Howl on the wrong target.

4Your first games

You usually play outnumbered, so experience matters more than last hits. Stay alive, keep the enemy carry busy and punish them whenever their support leaves. Use the simple build in this guide and don't worry about situational choices yet.

Tips

  • Experience first: standing in range of dying creeps is worth more than risky last hits.
  • Initiation: the best fight is the one you choose, when your team is close.
  • Check the minimap every few seconds: most deaths come from heroes you didn't see coming.
  • Learn what Wolf Bite does before anything else: it's the ability that wins fights.

Changelog

  1. Guide created for patch 7.41.

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