Hey all, I'm a fairly high-skilled Li-Ming main here to share some insight on my favorite hero. First of all, Li-Ming has an incredible talent tree and many of her talents synergize with each other. There are few "bad picks", but some talents may become "bad picks" if you do not pair them up with other talents. For instance, do not choose Zei's Vengeance unless you have chosen Triumvirate and plan on choosing Arcane Orbit.

I hope you all enjoy this guide!

There are quite a few heroes which do really well with Li-Ming. Below is a list of Heroes which synergize with Li-Ming incredibly well.


Zagara's Devouring Maw into a Magic Missiles and Arcane Orb is usually a guaranteed kill. As we all know, guaranteed kills with Li-Ming lead to more guaranteed kills thanks to Critical Mass. This combo is incredible. In addition, Zagara's minions tend to block Li-Ming's spells, so choosing Zagara will deny the enemy the chance to choose her as a counter!


E.T.C. pairs well with every mage, but Li-Ming excels when her opponents are immobile. By stunning them via a Powerslide or Mosh Pit, E.T.C. enables Li-Ming to hit her spells perfectly, provided the E.T.C. doesn't accidentally use Face Melt!


Due to similar reasons as Zagara, Xul can pair extremely well with Li-Ming. His Bone Prison guarantees an immobile target, and his Spectral Scythe will secure the kill if they survive Li-Ming's spells. In addition, Mortal Wound, if chosen, will block out the burst healing required to save the target from Li-Ming's burst.

I'm a personal fan of this talent, and I choose it nearly every game. However, it's often overshadowed by Power Hungry. Choose this if you need to remain in lane or fights for a long period of time! This talent is also useful on maps where Regeneration Globes may be rare.

This talent is pretty useful, as the ability power increases your burst power significantly.

This talent helps versus burst such as Cleave, Pulse Bomb, Flamestrike, or Ring of Frost (not that you should get hit by Ring of Frost.) Choose this if nothing will shred your charges and you're facing a bunch of burst casters.

This talent really isn't too useful, and really only helps in dodging long range skillshots frequently. It doesn't compare to the other talents on this tier.

This talent eluded me until recently. The extra damage is pretty powerful and can be utilized much more often than the other talents on this tier.

I like this talent when there aren't things blocking your Arcane Orb. This allows you to throw them out frequently, provided you're skilled at making them hit only far away targets. Heroes like Anub'arak will completely negate the effects of this talent.

This talent can still be utilized sometimes in Teleport focused builds, as it allows for sustain since you need to be in melee range to utilize Calamity. Only choose this if you're opting for a Teleport build, or perhaps if your healer is incompetent. :D

This talent allows for some extra burst on your Magic Missiles. It can be utilized really often when chosen with Mirrorball, and becomes easy to land as you become more skilled with Li-Ming.

This talent is useful when chosen with Triumvirate and Arcane Orbit, but otherwise should not be chosen.

Calamity allows for great burst potential, and counters dive Heroes such as Anub'arak, Zeratul, and Tracer. It also allows for great waveclear.

Disintegrate offers great "sustained burst" damage, which is hard to avoid and great for securing kills. This is the go-to Heroic, unless you're under a lot of pressure, or are opting for a close-range Teleport build. This ability is somewhat clunky when trying to cancel it, so make sure to be safe from enemies, as it roots you for the duration of the channel.

Wave Of Force is a quicker burst option, and displaces enemies. This is useful versus E.T.C., and utilized often with a Teleport build to quickly bring a Hero to their knees.
Warning: The displacement is insignificant until you choose Repulsion at level 20.

I actually saw this talent for the first time ever recently. It really doesn't offer much extra damage and is counter-intuitive to your playstyle. Being in range to use your basic attacks also means you're in range of danger!

I recently picked up this talent and have loved it ever since. Your squishy health pool means you're usually dead if you're caught anyway. Don't choose it versus dive heroes like Zeratul or Anub'arak. So just stay far back, and enjoy the extra 15% ability power! Also, be careful when choosing this against Azmodan, as his globes can deal a ridiculous chunk of your health pool when you take this talent.

This talent is much safer than the rest on this tier, and gives you much greater safety. This helps you be able to Teleport over most walls, and is used often with Calamity. Choose this if you are in too much danger for Glass Cannon.

Fireflies isn't necessarily bad. In fact, the DPS output is comparable to Mirrorball, but unless you're really trying to make use of Charged Blast and Cannoneer, there's little reason to choose it over Mirrorball. Also, reducing cooldowns on a Hero who resets her cooldowns is somewhat pointless.

Mirrorball adds insane burst potential to your Magic Missiles, and makes landing Seeker much easier. I highly recommend this talent in almost every build.

The must-have talent if you chose Triumvirate and Zei's Vengeance. This talent means your orbs can hit from an entire screen away, and deal a ridiculous amount of damage on top of that. Just remember, your Arcane Orb explodes on first target hit, so be sure to aim it strategically!

This talent is useful when picking Calamity and Illusionist. The shield won't be as useful if your build isn't focused on Teleport.

The slow is really useful, whether it is used to help with Executioner or simply chasing down fleeing enemies. It also makes it much harder for them to escape the beam itself!

I think this talent is a must-have if you chose Wave Of Force. Pick it once, and you'll see for yourself that the displacement it offers is unreal. Surprise enemies as you use Arcane Orb and Magic Missiles, then force them into it using Wave Of Force! It also adds incredible self-peel if you're being subjected to a lot of dive.

This talent used to be really good, but now it's only useful if you're lacking damage. However, seeing as you will likely not be at 0% ability power due to Glass Cannon and/or Power Hungry, its effects are less useful. It's also somewhat difficult to gain significant value from this talent. Don't get me wrong, though, it can be useful!

I don't think this offers enough to compete with the rest of the talents on this tier. The self-rooting from Disintegrate is dangerous enough, and entering/exiting the Archon mode is also rather clunky. This can be useful when you're completely protected, or when sieging, but other than that, it doesn't compare to the other talents on this tier.

Thanks for reading this guide, I hope you enjoyed it! If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, feel free to post a comment or message me privately.

Good luck in the Nexus!