Ring Master · Hard Support (pos. 5)
Ring Master 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
Ring Master is a ranged Intelligence hero that Valve tags as Support, Nuker and Escape. It is played mainly as Hard Support (pos. 5): 51% of the public matches we measured, by starting lane and starting items. In this guide you play it as Hard Support (pos. 5): your job is to keep your carry safe in the safe lane, buy the wards and give up farm so the cores can have it. The kit brings crowd control (fear) with Tame the Beasts and invisibility with Spotlight. Its ultimate is Wheel of Wonder. This patch, Ring Master wins 48.6% of the 176,827 public matches we measured (C tier on our ladder).
Strengths
- Reliable fear: Tame the Beasts sets up kills.
- Invisibility with Spotlight to scout, escape or set up ganks.
- Heavy magical burst: Valve lists it as a Nuker.
Weaknesses
- Low base armor (1): vulnerable to physical harass early on.
- Plays on little gold: expensive items arrive late.
Build cheat sheet
Pick the build that fits what you want to do this game.
- Most-played buildBalancedRecommendedThe items most bought with this hero, phase by phase. Pick it when you don't have a clear reason to deviate. Built from what Ring Master players buy in the public matches we measured.
- Damage buildOffensiveAdvancedMoves the popular items that add damage — Shadow Blade and Vladmir's Offering — to the front. Choose it when your lane went well and you can afford to be greedy. Built from what Ring Master players buy in the public matches we measured.
- Team utility buildUtilitySituationalBuilt around the popular items that help your allies — Essence Distiller and Eul's Scepter of Divinity. Choose it when your team needs saves and auras more than your damage. Built from what Ring Master players buy in the public matches we measured.
Builds
Most-played build
When to use it
The items most bought with this hero, phase by phase. Pick it when you don't have a clear reason to deviate. Built from what Ring Master players buy in the public matches we measured.
Where it's played
Picked before the game: the main lane first, then the alternatives.
245%151%- Safe laneMain51% of matchesSafe lane next to your carry, as Hard Support (pos. 5).
- OfflanePriority 245% of matchesOff lane next to your offlaner, as Soft Support (pos. 4).
Starting items
Early game
Core items
- 1Blink Dagger
- 2Rod of Atos
- 3Essence Distiller
- 4Eul's Scepter of Divinity
Boots
Late game
Skill order
Max order:Tame the Beas…›Impalement Ar…›Escape Act
| 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
- Escape Act Grants Strong Dispel and Flying+150 Wheel of Wonder Radius and Range25
- +1s Impalement Arts Bleed and Slow Duration+75/+300 Tame the Beasts Min/Max Damage20
- Debuff Immunity While Channeling Tame the BeastsImpalement Arts Penetrates One Target15
- Whoopee CushionStrongman Tonic10
Damage build
When to use it
Moves the popular items that add damage — Shadow Blade and Vladmir's Offering — to the front. Choose it when your lane went well and you can afford to be greedy. Built from what Ring Master players buy in the public matches we measured.
Where it's played
Picked before the game: the main lane first, then the alternatives.
245%151%- Safe laneMain51% of matchesSafe lane next to your carry, as Hard Support (pos. 5).
- OfflanePriority 245% of matchesOff lane next to your offlaner, as Soft Support (pos. 4).
Starting items
Core items
- 1Shadow Blade+25 Damage, +35 Attack Speed. Active: Shadow Walk.
- 2Vladmir's Offering+1 Armor, +0.75 Mana Regeneration.
- 3Blink DaggerActive: Blink.
- 4Rod of Atos+12 Intelligence, +275 Health. Active: Cripple.
Boots
Late game
Skill order
Max order:Tame the Beas…›Impalement Ar…›Escape Act
| Ability | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ● | · | · | · | · | · | · | ● | ● | ● | · | · | · | · | · | · | · |
| · | ● | ● | · | ● | · | ● | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · |
| · | · | · | ● | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | ● | · | ● | ● | · | · |
| · | · | · | · | · | ● | · | · | · | · | · | · | ● | · | · | · | ● |
Talents by level
- Escape Act Grants Strong Dispel and Flying+150 Wheel of Wonder Radius and Range25
- +1s Impalement Arts Bleed and Slow Duration+75/+300 Tame the Beasts Min/Max Damage20
- Debuff Immunity While Channeling Tame the BeastsImpalement Arts Penetrates One Target15
- Whoopee CushionStrongman Tonic10
Team utility build
When to use it
Built around the popular items that help your allies — Essence Distiller and Eul's Scepter of Divinity. Choose it when your team needs saves and auras more than your damage. Built from what Ring Master players buy in the public matches we measured.
Where it's played
Picked before the game: the main lane first, then the alternatives.
245%151%- Safe laneMain51% of matchesSafe lane next to your carry, as Hard Support (pos. 5).
- OfflanePriority 245% of matchesOff lane next to your offlaner, as Soft Support (pos. 4).
Starting items
Core items
- 1Essence Distiller+1.5 Mana Regeneration, +3 All Attributes, +6 Armor. Active: Soul Release.
- 2Eul's Scepter of Divinity+10 Intelligence, +2.5 Mana Regeneration, +20 Movement Speed. Active: Cyclone.
- 3Glimmer Cape+20% Magic Resistance. Active: Glimmer.
- 4Pavise+3 Armor, +175 Mana, +175 Health. Active: Protect.
Boots
Late game
Skill order
Max order:Tame the Beas…›Impalement Ar…›Escape Act
| Ability | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ● | · | · | · | · | · | · | ● | ● | ● | · | · | · | · | · | · | · |
| · | ● | ● | · | ● | · | ● | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · |
| · | · | · | ● | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | ● | · | ● | ● | · | · |
| · | · | · | · | · | ● | · | · | · | · | · | · | ● | · | · | · | ● |
Talents by level
- Escape Act Grants Strong Dispel and Flying+150 Wheel of Wonder Radius and Range25
- +1s Impalement Arts Bleed and Slow Duration+75/+300 Tame the Beasts Min/Max Damage20
- Debuff Immunity While Channeling Tame the BeastsImpalement Arts Penetrates One Target15
- Whoopee CushionStrongman Tonic10
Abilities
- Tame the Beasts16 / 14 / 12 / 10s90 / 105 / 120 / 135 mpCHANNELED - Ringmaster twirls his whip for up to 1 second then cracks it. Whipped enemies are damaged and flee in fear from Ringmaster. Channel time exponentially increases damage and extends the fear duration, but reduces the radius.
- Radius start
- 450
- Radius end
- 200
- Min damage
- 50·75·100·125
- Max damage
- 180·280·380·480
- Min fear duration
- 0.1·0.2·0.3·0.4
- Max fear duration
- 0.6·0.8·1·1.2
- Escape Act38 / 32 / 26 / 20s120 mpRingmaster packs himself or an allied hero into a mobile, extradimensional box. Boxed units gain phased movement, slow resistance, bonus magic resistance, and bonus movement speed. They are also untargetable, muted, silenced, and disarmed. The box will pop open after the effect expires or it moves out of the initial area.
- Radius
- 500
- Duration
- 2·2.4·2.8·3.2
- Bonus movement speed
- 0%·8%·16%·24%
- Bonus magic resistance
- 50%·60%·70%·80%
- Slow resistance
- 100%
- Impalement Arts1s50 mpRingmaster throws one of his daggers to a precise point of his choosing. If he strikes an enemy, the dagger deals impact damage, briefly slows the unit hit, and causes them to bleed. The bleeding deals a percentage of the victim's maximum health in damage every second to heroes and flat damage per second to creeps.
- Impact damage
- 20·35·50·65
- Max health damage per second (heroes)
- 3%·4%·5%·6%
- Damage per second (creeps)
- 60·75·90·105
- Duration
- 4
- Movement slow
- 100%
- Slow duration
- 0.5·0.6·0.7·0.8
Souvenir SlotPassiveGather souvenirs from kills and assists.
Spotlight30s50 mpRingmaster shines 3 spotlights that sweep over an area. Enemies in the light have a chance to miss their attacks and are revealed if invisible. Illusions hit by the beam fade away, losing a percentage of their maximum health each second. These effects linger for 0.3 seconds after leaving the light.- Radius
- 275
- Illusion max health loss
- 30%
- Miss chance
- 30%
- Wheel of Wonder90 / 80 / 70s150 / 225 / 300 mpRingmaster rolls the Wheel of Wonder to the targeted location, knocking aside enemies along the way. After it reaches its target, enemies in range of the wheel take damage over time and are slowed by -50%.
Enemy heroes who face the wheel for more than 0.5 seconds are mesmerized and drawn towards it. The first enemy to be mesmerized triggers a timer for the wheel to explode. If the timer is not tr
- Minimum range
- 700
- Radius
- 500
- Timer duration
- 2.5·2.75·3
- Aura damage per second
- 50·75·100
- Explosion damage
- 300·450·600
Crack0.5s*CRACK*
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:Tame the Beas…›Impalement Ar…›Escape Act
| Ability | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ● | · | · | · | · | · | · | ● | ● | ● | · | · | · | · | · | · | · |
| · | ● | ● | · | ● | · | ● | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · |
| · | · | · | ● | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | ● | · | ● | ● | · | · |
| · | · | · | · | · | ● | · | · | · | · | · | · | ● | · | · | · | ● |
Strategy
1Early game
Position 5 starts in the safe lane with your carry: their last hits come first, so harass the enemy offlaner, pull the small camp when the wave needs resetting and buy the wards nobody else will. Harass when the enemy core walks up to last hit: every hit you land is gold your carry keeps.
- Early items: Urn of Shadows.
2Mid game
Rotate to the lanes where you can get kills, keep vision around the next objective and leave the farm to your cores. Your spikes are level 6, when Wheel of Wonder comes online, and your core items: Blink Dagger and then Rod of Atos.
- Core items: Blink Dagger, Rod of Atos and Essence Distiller.
3Late game
Late, your death costs little gold but your spells are worth a lot: stay behind the team, keep your save items ready and ward before the fight, not during it.
- Late items: Aether Lens and Force Staff.
4Team fights
Stay behind your cores and use Tame the Beasts on whoever jumps on your carry. Use Wheel of Wonder where it hits the most enemies or catches the key target.
Tips
- Land Tame the Beasts on the enemy core first: a disabled carry doesn't hit back.
- Buy and place wards every time they are available: vision is your first job.
- Your key purchases are Blink Dagger and Rod of Atos: they give your team the saves it needs.
- Plan fights around Wheel of Wonder: without it, Ring Master is far less threatening.
- Keep Spotlight for getting out, not for chasing.
Matchups
Strong against
- Skywrath Mage59.9%win rate in the matchup
Ring Master wins 59.9% of the 142 games measured against Skywrath Mage this patch.
142 matches
- Dark Willow57.2%win rate in the matchup
Ring Master wins 57.2% of the 145 games measured against Dark Willow this patch.
145 matches
- Timbersaw55.6%win rate in the matchup
Ring Master wins 55.6% of the 124 games measured against Timbersaw this patch.
124 matches
- Muerta54.8%win rate in the matchup
Ring Master wins 54.8% of the 124 games measured against Muerta this patch.
124 matches
- Axe53.6%win rate in the matchup
Ring Master wins 53.6% of the 166 games measured against Axe this patch.
166 matches
Weak against
- Invoker40.8%win rate in the matchup
Ring Master only wins 40.8% of the 142 games measured against Invoker this patch.
142 matches
- Shadow Demon41.3%win rate in the matchup
Ring Master only wins 41.3% of the 160 games measured against Shadow Demon this patch.
160 matches
- Doom41.6%win rate in the matchup
Ring Master only wins 41.6% of the 101 games measured against Doom this patch.
101 matches
- Shadow Shaman42.8%win rate in the matchup
Ring Master only wins 42.8% of the 138 games measured against Shadow Shaman this patch.
138 matches
- Largo43.1%win rate in the matchup
Ring Master only wins 43.1% of the 102 games measured against Largo this patch.
102 matches
Works well with
Tame the Beasts from Ring Master holds enemies in place for Magnetize from Earth Spirit.
Tame the Beasts from Ring Master holds enemies in place for Mana Void from Anti-Mage.
Tame the Beasts from Ring Master holds enemies in place for Supernova from Phoenix.
Changelog
- Guide created for patch 7.41.
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