Before reading this guide, I assume you have a basic knowledge of Icarus and DotA terminology. If you don't know the effects of Icarus's skills, go to the Heroes page.
Contents
1.0 Why (Not) Pick Icarus?
1.1 Friends
1.2 Counters
2.0 Skill Usage
2.1 Icarus Dive
2.2 Fire Spirits
2.3 Sun Ray
2.4 Supernova
3.0 Gameplay and Builds
3.1 Lane Control Build
3.2 Heavy Killing[Risky] Build
3.3 All-Game Strategy
3.4 Early Game
3.5 Mid Game
3.6 Late Game
4.0 Replays
4.1 The Good
4.2 The Bad
4.3 The Ugly
Why Pick Icarus?
* You like ganking
* You like an action-packed game
* You do well under pressure
* You are willing to sacrifice yourself for the good of the team
Pros
[+]Good attack animation
[+]Not too difficult to master
[+]Good starting STR and STR gain
[+]Little to no mana problems early game
[+]Built in blink
[+]Hard to kill early game
Why Not Pick Icarus?
* You like farming
* You like right-click heroes
* You hate supporting
* You play solo
Cons
[-]Fades toward lategame
[-]Very situational ultimate
[-]0 starting armor and low AGI gain
[-]Runs out of mana quite quickly during Sun Ray
[-]More vunerable than most casters after using his combo.
[-]Low base MS
Friends
Carries
Icarus is a good friend to carries, thanks to his early game heal and late game slow and disarm.
Stunners
Stunners are a great help to Icarus as they allow him to complete his ult and also help him hit people with his laser.
Counters
Carries
Yes, carries also counter Icarus. Fast attack speeds=dead sun.
Image Heroes
Image heroes completely own Icarus's ult, able to get twice as many hits in as anybody else or more. Also, it's double the pain vs. TB or PL.
Silencer
Silencer f***s up Icarus so badly, it's not even funny. He kills any Dive combo, and without your Dive+Nova combo, you will die during your ult. Also, he stops your allies from casting spells to save you.
Skill Usage
Icarus Dive
Icarus Dive (henceforth referred to as Dive) is mainly used for setting up Icarus's other skills. Dive is a blink when used with Supernova and Fire Spirits(henceforth referred to as Spirits). Do not attempt to stop in the middle of a dive with Sun Ray (henceforth referred to as Laser). It won't stop the dive and it costs another chunk of your HP. Dive is also a good harassing skill used in moderation. Use it to initiate fights by using a Dive+Supernova combo. Gank and escape ganks by doing a Dive+Spirits combo to an upper ledge.
Fire Spirits
Fire Spirits is what makes Icarus such a good supporter/babysitter for carries. At Level 3, he has a 240 damage heal if the carry gets harassed to badly, or a 180(counting magic resistance) nuke. It is also the main skill used to end a Dive. The most important thing to remember about Spirits, however, is that each spirit has a small AoE. Remembering this will much improve your efficiency. Also, never nuke using Spirits late game. You will have wasted a heal and barely tickled anyone.
Sun Ray
Sun Ray is mainly used to kill fleeing targets and/or slow them down for allies. It is one of the few spells that scales well to late game, as it deals a percentage of your opponent's HP in Pure damage, meaning that it is not reduced by magic resistance. The main thing to learn about Sun Ray is when to turn it off. It eats mana like a b****, but to cast it, you sacrifice a nasty 25% of your HP. Turn it off if your opponent went directly sideways relative to you, or went invisible. Keep it on when there are multiple opponents in the line of fire, as you will deal damage for more of the time Sun Ray is active. I also reccomend using it on the initiator/tank of the enemy team, as this deals the most damage.
Supernova
Supernova is Icarus's ultimate, and most powerful skill. However, it is situational so be careful when you use it. Only use it in large team battles(against 3 or more enemies.) It takes a long time to stun, but you are still helping your team because it deals heavy DoT before detonation. To ensure your survival, hit as many opponents as possible with Icarus Dive, then immidiately activate Supernova. If you and/or your teammates are not retarded, they should attack the enemy heroes, forcing them to either kill the sun and be destroyed by your allies, or engage your allies and be destroyed by you. Think of it as Rupturing a whole team.
Gameplay and Builds
Now I will tell you what I generally skill first and buy on Icarus, as well as some good strategies to use while using Icarus.
Lane Control Build
1-Icarus Dive/Fire Spirits
2-Fire Spirits/Icarus Dive
3-Icarus Dive/Fire Spirits
4-Fire Spirits/Icarus Dive
5-Icarus Dive/Fire Spirits
6-Supernova
7-Fire Spirits/Icarus Dive
8-Icarus Dive/Fire Spirits
9-Fire Spirits/Icarus Dive
10-Sun Ray
11-Supernova
12-Sun Ray
13-Sun Ray
14-Sun Ray
15-Stats
16-Supernova
Justification
This build maximixes Icarus's role as a support ganker, as well as making use of Fire Spirits while they are powerful. Sun Ray is taken later as it doesn't heal, have an AoE, or deal semi-reliable damage like Spirits do. Dive is taken as a good harassing, blinking, and killing skill.
Heavy Killing[RISKY] Build
1-Icarus Dive
2-Sun Ray
3-Icarus Dive
4-Sun Ray
5-Icarus Dive
6-Supernova
7-Icarus Dive
8-Sun Ray
9-Sun Ray
10-Stats
11-Supernova
12-15-Stats
16-Supernova
Justification
This is a very risky build. It severely cripples his support role, but gives him excellent killing power. Dive is maxed, then Ray, as these have the highest damage potential out of his 3 skills. With this build, and a good lane mate, you should easily get 2-4 kills in the first 10 minutes. Keep in mind that this also leaves YOU wide open to ganks, because of the nasty health cost on Laser. Fire Spirits is skipped completely, as they are worthless by level 12.
All-Game Strategy
Gank, gank, gank, gank, gank. Did I mention gank? Icarus's primary role is a ganker. All game you should be helping kill enemy heroes. NEVER GO AND FARM. Icarus is not a carry and never will be. Gank with Icarus by Diving the target then using Fire Spirits. Let them charge up, and use them to heal any allies (or yourself) that have taken significant damage.
Another thing Icarus is pretty good at is pushing, if you are intelligent about it. Use Dive on enemy creeps and defending enemy heroes if you dont smell a fight or gank coming soon, and use fully charged Spirits to heal yourself and your creeps and damage enemies. Don't 1v1. Icarus doesn't have the attack speed or the most significant nukes to do it.
Early Game
Early game, lane agressively, pushing towers and going for hero kills. Focus on denying rather than lasthitting, especially when facing a strong lategamer. Pick up a Bracer or Null Talisman to start, then buy a Mana Booster when going for in-lane kills, Boots of Speed if going for ganks. This is a part of the game where most heroes can't compare to your laning and ganking presence, so maximize this opportunity to supress your opponents.
Middle Game
Midgame is when you shoud really start aggressively pursuing towers and trying to force teamfights. You still deal significant nuke damage, and the DoT and stun on your ultimate is nothing to sniff at. If possible, end the game here, as for the most part, the late game is a cold place for Icarus. By now, you should at least have Arcane Boots and anywhere from 700-1600 gold. Spend it on a Perseverance. Then, proceed to build a Bloodstone. Again, ideally the game should end here..
Middle Game
Late game, play much more passively as the carries are now farmed andready to kick your ass. In ganks and fights, Dive everyone and Laser your target of choice. If you are about to die, use Supernova. Don't initiate fights with it anymore as even with the 3 second disarm with Dive, carries and basically everyone else can get those 7 hits in. For items, basically anything is fine after Bloodstone, as long as it provides health or regeneration.
Replays
No replays available at the moment, as Icarus is currently banned in -cm.
Contents
1.0 Why (Not) Pick Icarus?
1.1 Friends
1.2 Counters
2.0 Skill Usage
2.1 Icarus Dive
2.2 Fire Spirits
2.3 Sun Ray
2.4 Supernova
3.0 Gameplay and Builds
3.1 Lane Control Build
3.2 Heavy Killing[Risky] Build
3.3 All-Game Strategy
3.4 Early Game
3.5 Mid Game
3.6 Late Game
4.0 Replays
4.1 The Good
4.2 The Bad
4.3 The Ugly
Why Pick Icarus?
* You like ganking
* You like an action-packed game
* You do well under pressure
* You are willing to sacrifice yourself for the good of the team
Pros
[+]Good attack animation
[+]Not too difficult to master
[+]Good starting STR and STR gain
[+]Little to no mana problems early game
[+]Built in blink
[+]Hard to kill early game
Why Not Pick Icarus?
* You like farming
* You like right-click heroes
* You hate supporting
* You play solo
Cons
[-]Fades toward lategame
[-]Very situational ultimate
[-]0 starting armor and low AGI gain
[-]Runs out of mana quite quickly during Sun Ray
[-]More vunerable than most casters after using his combo.
[-]Low base MS
Friends
Carries
Icarus is a good friend to carries, thanks to his early game heal and late game slow and disarm.
Stunners
Stunners are a great help to Icarus as they allow him to complete his ult and also help him hit people with his laser.
Counters
Carries
Yes, carries also counter Icarus. Fast attack speeds=dead sun.Image Heroes
Image heroes completely own Icarus's ult, able to get twice as many hits in as anybody else or more. Also, it's double the pain vs. TB or PL.Silencer
Silencer f***s up Icarus so badly, it's not even funny. He kills any Dive combo, and without your Dive+Nova combo, you will die during your ult. Also, he stops your allies from casting spells to save you.
Skill Usage
Icarus Dive
Icarus Dive (henceforth referred to as Dive) is mainly used for setting up Icarus's other skills. Dive is a blink when used with Supernova and Fire Spirits(henceforth referred to as Spirits). Do not attempt to stop in the middle of a dive with Sun Ray (henceforth referred to as Laser). It won't stop the dive and it costs another chunk of your HP. Dive is also a good harassing skill used in moderation. Use it to initiate fights by using a Dive+Supernova combo. Gank and escape ganks by doing a Dive+Spirits combo to an upper ledge.
Fire Spirits
Fire Spirits is what makes Icarus such a good supporter/babysitter for carries. At Level 3, he has a 240 damage heal if the carry gets harassed to badly, or a 180(counting magic resistance) nuke. It is also the main skill used to end a Dive. The most important thing to remember about Spirits, however, is that each spirit has a small AoE. Remembering this will much improve your efficiency. Also, never nuke using Spirits late game. You will have wasted a heal and barely tickled anyone.
Sun Ray
Sun Ray is mainly used to kill fleeing targets and/or slow them down for allies. It is one of the few spells that scales well to late game, as it deals a percentage of your opponent's HP in Pure damage, meaning that it is not reduced by magic resistance. The main thing to learn about Sun Ray is when to turn it off. It eats mana like a b****, but to cast it, you sacrifice a nasty 25% of your HP. Turn it off if your opponent went directly sideways relative to you, or went invisible. Keep it on when there are multiple opponents in the line of fire, as you will deal damage for more of the time Sun Ray is active. I also reccomend using it on the initiator/tank of the enemy team, as this deals the most damage.
Supernova
Supernova is Icarus's ultimate, and most powerful skill. However, it is situational so be careful when you use it. Only use it in large team battles(against 3 or more enemies.) It takes a long time to stun, but you are still helping your team because it deals heavy DoT before detonation. To ensure your survival, hit as many opponents as possible with Icarus Dive, then immidiately activate Supernova. If you and/or your teammates are not retarded, they should attack the enemy heroes, forcing them to either kill the sun and be destroyed by your allies, or engage your allies and be destroyed by you. Think of it as Rupturing a whole team.
Gameplay and Builds
Now I will tell you what I generally skill first and buy on Icarus, as well as some good strategies to use while using Icarus.
Lane Control Build
1-Icarus Dive/Fire Spirits
2-Fire Spirits/Icarus Dive
3-Icarus Dive/Fire Spirits
4-Fire Spirits/Icarus Dive
5-Icarus Dive/Fire Spirits
6-Supernova
7-Fire Spirits/Icarus Dive
8-Icarus Dive/Fire Spirits
9-Fire Spirits/Icarus Dive
10-Sun Ray
11-Supernova
12-Sun Ray
13-Sun Ray
14-Sun Ray
15-Stats
16-Supernova
Justification
This build maximixes Icarus's role as a support ganker, as well as making use of Fire Spirits while they are powerful. Sun Ray is taken later as it doesn't heal, have an AoE, or deal semi-reliable damage like Spirits do. Dive is taken as a good harassing, blinking, and killing skill.
Heavy Killing[RISKY] Build
1-Icarus Dive
2-Sun Ray
3-Icarus Dive
4-Sun Ray
5-Icarus Dive
6-Supernova
7-Icarus Dive
8-Sun Ray
9-Sun Ray
10-Stats
11-Supernova
12-15-Stats
16-Supernova
Justification
This is a very risky build. It severely cripples his support role, but gives him excellent killing power. Dive is maxed, then Ray, as these have the highest damage potential out of his 3 skills. With this build, and a good lane mate, you should easily get 2-4 kills in the first 10 minutes. Keep in mind that this also leaves YOU wide open to ganks, because of the nasty health cost on Laser. Fire Spirits is skipped completely, as they are worthless by level 12.
All-Game Strategy
Gank, gank, gank, gank, gank. Did I mention gank? Icarus's primary role is a ganker. All game you should be helping kill enemy heroes. NEVER GO AND FARM. Icarus is not a carry and never will be. Gank with Icarus by Diving the target then using Fire Spirits. Let them charge up, and use them to heal any allies (or yourself) that have taken significant damage.
Another thing Icarus is pretty good at is pushing, if you are intelligent about it. Use Dive on enemy creeps and defending enemy heroes if you dont smell a fight or gank coming soon, and use fully charged Spirits to heal yourself and your creeps and damage enemies. Don't 1v1. Icarus doesn't have the attack speed or the most significant nukes to do it.
Early Game
Early game, lane agressively, pushing towers and going for hero kills. Focus on denying rather than lasthitting, especially when facing a strong lategamer. Pick up a Bracer or Null Talisman to start, then buy a Mana Booster when going for in-lane kills, Boots of Speed if going for ganks. This is a part of the game where most heroes can't compare to your laning and ganking presence, so maximize this opportunity to supress your opponents.
Middle Game
Midgame is when you shoud really start aggressively pursuing towers and trying to force teamfights. You still deal significant nuke damage, and the DoT and stun on your ultimate is nothing to sniff at. If possible, end the game here, as for the most part, the late game is a cold place for Icarus. By now, you should at least have Arcane Boots and anywhere from 700-1600 gold. Spend it on a Perseverance. Then, proceed to build a Bloodstone. Again, ideally the game should end here..
Middle Game
Late game, play much more passively as the carries are now farmed andready to kick your ass. In ganks and fights, Dive everyone and Laser your target of choice. If you are about to die, use Supernova. Don't initiate fights with it anymore as even with the 3 second disarm with Dive, carries and basically everyone else can get those 7 hits in. For items, basically anything is fine after Bloodstone, as long as it provides health or regeneration.
Replays
No replays available at the moment, as Icarus is currently banned in -cm.
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