Leoric is one of, if not the highest damage dealing warriors. He can 1v1 basically anyone and has a ton of sustain. This is not a warrior you want to ignore in a fight, he has about as much health as Arthas, but can dish out massive damage. He also never technically dies, you can kill him, but he will just haunt the battlefield as a ghost until his death timer ends. He can't damage anyone in this state but he can slow with Ghastly Swing and can lower his death timer with Drain Essence along with Ghastly Swing once you get Consume Vitality at level 16.

Q - Skeletal Swing This will be your most used ability. It does double damage to non-heroic targets, so its perfect for doing high damage to mob waves. You will mainly want to learn to arc it so you hit as many targets as possible. Always use Skeletal Swing before Drain Hope so you don't lose them as soon as the Drain Hope is activated on the enemy hero.

W - Drain Hope This is where your sustainability comes from. The most important thing to learn is when to use it and when not to. A lot of people will make the mistake of just throwing it on an enemy when they are passively within distance, they will move out of reach as soon as you cast it if you cast it at a bad moment. make sure you use it when you know the hero won't be able to easily walk out of it's reach. If you are fighting multiple heroes, cast it on the hero with the most health as it deals percentage not a base number in damage.

E - Wraith Walk This ability is very good for chasing and escaping, one thing to always keep in mind is that it can't be used last second right before you are about to die. You will continue to take damage at the cast site until you either cancel the ability or it finishes. always keep an eye on how much damage you are taking when using this ability and cancel it early if you are out of the reach of your enemy while they are hitting your body. The most important thing to note about this ability is, that it cancels Auto target abilities like The Butcher Ruthless Onslaught or Kael'thas' Pyroblast, just make sure to teleport as the ability is about to hit you, not before or after and you will escape any damage and cancel the ability following you. You can also move through any heroes and hero made objects when in Wraith Walk like Tassadar Force Wall and Leoric Entomb. Generally if you want to use it as an escape, I highly recommend using Drain Hope on a nearby enemy hero so it sustains you while you choose where to teleport to.

R - March of the Black King On any map that teamfights are going to be frequent and clumped together this is the best choice. It gives you extra sustain and damage, The most important thing to remember when using this ability is that you will continue to move forward and will be unable to change your direction, so aim it carefully and strategically. For example if the enemy team is retreating all in a clumped group, use Skeletal Swing to slow them and then use March of the Black King in the direction they are going to be escaping. If you find yourself on the receiving end of this ability, make sure to move in the opposite direction of where Leoric is heading to avoid getting hit after the first hit.

Option 2 - Entomb If you are fighting a mostly squishy team, or a team with no warriors, This will be the better option as it will allow you to trap any enemy you want and decimate them. make sure to aim carefully as to not trap allies. it can also be used to protect an allied hero who is retreated behind you, as it will act as a wall to prevent enemies from following. Always remember that there is a short delay between you casting the wall and it actually appearing, so leave some leeway between the edges and the direction the target is moving. The ability can be canceled with R if you trap yourself or an ally.

Which talents to pick highly depends on what the enemy team composition is. There are two builds I go with.

Build 1: This is the one I use as the main build against most team comps for the highest damage possible.
Build 2: This is the one I use against very basic attack heavy teams with such heroes as The Butcher, Valla, Falstad, Raynor, Sgt. Hammer, Thrall, Illidan, The Lost Vikings and Warrior heroes.



Build 1: Reanimation Not much to say about this ability other than it is good for keeping you in fights longer and reviving you faster when you are in Undying.
Build 2: Block A basic talent that many heroes have. Very useful to have against basic attack heroes.


Fealty Unto Death is the goto Talent at this level, the other 3 in my opinion are not good enough to warrant giving up Fealty Unto Death.


This becomes a toss up between Ghastly Reach and Ossein Renewal
Ossein Renewal If you find yourself taking a good bit of damage, or dying often Ossein Renewal is the better choice as it allows you to revive faster and heal up a little bit while alive.
Ghastly ReachIf you find yourself having difficulty keeping enemies from running away or just need extra range on your Skeletal Swing then Ghastly Reach is the better choice.
Neither of these talents will make or break a build, so choose whichever you think will suit your situation better.


March of the Black King On any map that teamfights are going to be frequent and clumped together this is the best choice. It gives you extra sustain and damage, The most important thing to remember when using this ability is that you will continue to move forward and will be unable to change your direction, so aim it carefully and strategically. For example if the enemy team is retreating all in a clumped group, use Skeletal Swing to slow them and then use March of the Black King in the direction they are going to be escaping. If you find yourself on the receiving end of this ability, make sure to move in the opposite direction of where Leoric is heading to avoid getting hit after the first hit.

Entomb If you are fighting a mostly squishy team, or a team with no warriors, This will be the better option as it will allow you to trap any enemy you want and decimate them. make sure to aim carefully as to not trap allies. it can also be used to protect an allied hero who is retreated behind you, as it will act as a wall to prevent enemies from following. Always remember that there is a short delay between you casting the wall and it actually appearing, so leave some leeway between the edges and the direction the target is moving. The ability can be canceled with R if you trap yourself or an ally.


All the choices at this level are useful
I personally go with either Burning Rage or Spell Shield the most.
Burning Rage This talent just simply let's you dish out extra damage while being in the area, and it also helps clear creep waves after using Skeletal Swing on them.
Spell Shield I take this talent if I have highly bursty ability based heroes on the enemy team like Nova, Kael'thas and Jaina. This is not the Talent to take if the enemy team is very Basic attack heavy.
The other two options Crushing Hope Drain Momentum are good choices, but I don't think they synergize well with this build.


Build 1: Consume Vitality This is the best talent for this level, it allows you to lower your death timer significantly and gives you extra sustain in battle, especially teamfights.
Build 2: Imposing Presence This is the talent to go with against very basic attack heavy champions. If the enemy team has a The Butcher this talent is a MUST HAVE. With this you will be able to 1v1 the butcher pretty easily as his healing is based around how quickly he can hit you while Butcher's Brand is on you. Overall this talent screws up heroes that rely on basic attack for most of their damage, and almost cripples the damage output of most warriors.


Spectral Leech Is the goto talent for this level, it ups your damage output and sustain by a huge margin, especially against warrior heroes. Your chances of winning a 1v1 vs. The Butcher were good at level 16 with Imposing Presence, with Spectral Leech he doesn't stand a chance. No hero will be able to contest you 1v1, and it will keep you going in fights for a very long time, even while outnumbered.

Death March Is an alright Talent, I just personally don't think it compares to Spectral Leech as Death March only helps when you are using your Heroic vs. Spectral Leech helping always.

Hardened Shield I would only recommend this talent if you find yourself getting ganked often and dying very quickly.

I have completely fallen in love with Leoric, he is a warrior that feels like a tanky assassin, especially after level 20. I may change this guide as time goes on, but I don't imagine the build changing too much, if at all. You will often find yourself having the highest siege and hero damage in battles, even with good assassins and specialists on your team. Along with his Trait Undying Leoric will surely become a very good pick in many team comps. If he is paired with an Abathur with Adrenal Overload he is an absolute monster just like The Butcher.
The biggest word of advice I can give is to not let Undying cloud your judgement when it comes to leaving a fight, I see too many Leoric staying in a fight too long because Undying makes death feel less detrimental. Always remember to be aware of where you will be revived from Undying, you don't want to revive in the middle of an enemy team and just end up dead again. You can also use Undying to get to a Abathur hiding spot if you know where he is, but be weary as that may get you killed again.