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Puck · Mid (pos. 2)

Puck for Beginners

BeginnersData-drivenEasyPatch 7.41
8.9KUpdated

More Puck 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

Puck is a ranged Intelligence hero that Valve tags as Disabler, Escape and Initiator. It is played mainly as Mid (pos. 2): 96% of the public matches we measured, by starting lane and starting items. In this guide you play it as Mid (pos. 2): your job is to win the solo lane, control the runes and create pressure on the other lanes. Puck is of average difficulty: learn the basics below and it rewards you quickly.

Strengths

  • Mobility: Illusory Orb gets Puck in and out of fights.
  • Sustain from Puckish to stay in lane and in fights.
  • Reliable silence: Waning Rift sets up kills and interrupts enemy channels.

Weaknesses

  • Low base armor (0): vulnerable to physical harass early on.
  • Tough patch: wins only 47.1% of measured public matches.

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. MidMain98% of matchesMid lane, one against one (pos. 2).

Starting items

Iron BranchTangoFaerie FireCircletObserver and Sentry Wards

Core items

  1. 1Witch BladeYour first big item.
  2. 2Blink DaggerSecond: buy it right after.
  3. 3Aghanim's ShardThird: completes your core.

Boots

Power Treads

Late game

ParasmaOctarine Core

Skill order

Max order:Illusory Orb›Waning Rift›Phase Shift

Ability1234567891011121314151617
●·●·●·●··········
·●·········●●●···
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Talents by level

  1. +350 Waning Rift Radius/Max Distance
    -30s Dream Coil Cooldown
    25
  2. +200 Initial/Break Dream Coil Damage
    -2.5s Waning Rift Cooldown
    20
  3. +2% Puckish Health and Mana Restoration
    +60 Waning Rift Damage
    15
  4. +1.25s Waning Rift Silence Duration
    +35 Illusory Orb Damage
    10

Abilities

  • Illusory Orb12 / 11 / 10 / 9s90 / 100 / 110 / 120 mpVector Targeted. Puck launches a magic orb that travels along the path, damaging enemy units along the way. The orb deals an additional 3% of its impact damage every 0.5s in its area of effect, but if it exceeds the max cast range it will be destroyed. At any point, Puck may teleport to the orb's location using Ethereal Jaunt. Can be put on alt-cast to launch the Orb straight ahead.
    Radius
    225
    Max distance
    1950
    Speed
    750
    Impact damage
    70·140·210·280
    Max orb duration
    5.2
  • Waning Rift16 / 15 / 14 / 13s100 / 110 / 120 / 130 mpPuck teleports to the target location and releases a burst of faerie dust that deals damage and silences enemy units nearby.
    Radius
    400
    Duration
    2·2.5·3·3.5
    Damage
    60·120·180·240
    Max distance
    350
    Basic ability — applies a silence and moves you. Save it for priority targets or to interrupt a channel.
  • Phase Shift8 / 7.5 / 7 / 6.5sCHANNELED - Puck briefly shifts into another dimension where it is immune from harm.
    Duration
    1·1.75·2.5·3.25
  • Ethereal JauntTeleports Puck to a flying Illusory Orb.
  • PuckishPassiveWhenever Puck disjoints an attack, it restores 3% of its max health and mana. Dodging a targeted spell projectile restores 3x that amount. Does not apply to attacks by Towers.
  • Dream Coil75s125 / 175 / 225 mpCreates a coil of volatile magic that latches onto enemy Heroes, damaging and leashing them. If the enemy hero stretches the coil by moving too far away, it snaps, stunning and dealing additional damage.
    Coil duration
    5·5.5·6
    Break radius
    600
    Initial damage
    175·250·325
    Break stun duration
    1.5·2·2.5
    Break damage
    200·300·400
    Ultimate — applies a stun. Save it for priority targets or to interrupt a channel.

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:Illusory Orb›Waning Rift›Phase Shift

Ability1234567891011121314151617
●·●·●·●··········
·●·········●●●···
···●···●●●·······
·····●········●·●

Strategy

1What Puck does

Puck is a ranged Intelligence hero that Valve tags as Disabler, Escape and Initiator. It is played mainly as Mid (pos. 2): 96% of the public matches we measured, by starting lane and starting items. The kit brings crowd control (silence) with Waning Rift, mobility with Illusory Orb and sustain with Puckish. Its ultimate is Dream Coil.

2The basics

In this guide you play it as Mid (pos. 2): your job is to win the solo lane, control the runes and create pressure on the other lanes.

  • Rune timings: power runes appear every two minutes, and a good one wins a gank.
  • Push before you leave: if the wave crashes into your tower while you gank, you lose experience and gold.

3Common mistakes

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

  • Leaving the lane with the wave sitting on your side.
  • Missing the rune timings.
  • Ganking without knowing where the enemy supports are.

4Your first games

Mid is a one-on-one: whoever has more last hits and levels usually wins it. Contest the power runes every two minutes and use a good one to gank a side lane. Use the simple build in this guide and don't worry about situational choices yet.

Tips

  • Rune timings: power runes appear every two minutes, and a good one wins a gank.
  • Push before you leave: if the wave crashes into your tower while you gank, you lose experience and gold.
  • Check the minimap every few seconds: most deaths come from heroes you didn't see coming.
  • Learn what Dream Coil does before anything else: it's the ability that wins fights.

Changelog

  1. Guide created for patch 7.41.

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