Falstad is an interesting and unique assassin. He is unique and interesting because he plays somewhat differently than the other assassins. Falstad is the only assassin that does not come with a mount and his mount is instead replaced with another ability, which I will explain later on. Falstad is also extremely slow compared to other assassins and cannot give chase if the target is fleeing. However, in order to compensate for his lack of mobility he has the ability to slow down the enemy and take them out. Falstad can also output a massive amount of damage in a short amount of time compared to other assassins, but in return he is really squishy.

Falstad has many abilities, each used for a different purpose. Falstad's abilities are extremely useful especially one in particular for this assassin build. Although his other abilities are not as important as this one, they still hold some merit and should not be completely written off (considering one is your main escape ability). Here are Falstad's Abilities:

(Q) Hammerang is the most important ability for Falstad (the one I mentioned in the above summary), however it does take some skill to use. This ability is extremely important as it is Falstad's main damage ability and allows him to catch up with enemy heroes due to the slows. Many talents to this ability also buffs Falstad's DPS significantly (as I will mention later in the guide). If you want to be good with Falstad this would be the ability to master.

(W) Lightning Rod is Falstad's second damage ability. Although this ability does not nearly have as much DPS as the Hammerang does it is still useful for finishing off enemies (as it can strike from a distance) and kiting enemies when they try to chase you.

(E) Barrel Roll is Falstad's escape ability. Barrel Roll is pretty important as Falstad is slow and immobile meaning it is hard to escape. Barrel Roll acts like Valla's Vault and Tychus' Run and Gun, but it also grants a shield. Barrel Roll is also unique to Falstad as it allows him to roll over walls and forests, while Vault and Run and Gun does not.

(R) Mighty Gust or (R) Hinterland Blast are Falstad's heroic abilities. Both have their own uses, but for the assassin build you always try to use Hinterland Blast. Hinterland Blast is an amazing ability for an assassin as it shoots a long powerful energy beam in a straight line allowing you to kill fleeing enemies push out a lot of damage in a team fight. Although it is still possible to dodge a Hinterland Blast it is extremely difficult and 9 times out of 10 you will be able to hit something if not the enemy hero. Mighty Gust is Falstad's second heroic ability and it is used for a completely different reason than Hinterland Blast. Mighty Gust is an great escape ability as it pushes enemy heroes away and slows them for a while. This becomes handy when you are trying to escape, however it does no damage so it is unsuitable in an assassin guide. Mighty Gust can also be used as CC to disrupt the enemy team, but that is impractical as Falstad is slow and squishy (meaning he would most likely be killed before he got close to the enemy team).

(Z) Flight is Falstad's replacement to the Mount ability of other heroes. Flight is great and needed on Falstad because he is slow and has no maneuverability. Flight allows Falstad to get to objectives and team fights on time to assist the team. Without this ability he would become a liability to his team as he cannot get to team fights on time.

Tailwind is Falstad's trait. This trait is beneficial and extremely important to Falstad and his survival as he cannot move fast due to the lack of mounts. Even without a mount Falstad's move speed is painfully slow. Without this trait Falstad would be almost useless in every game as he could be easily ganked and would not make any team fights when his Flight ability was on cool down.

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For the first ability both Seasoned Marksman and Power Throw are pretty good, as they both stack well with the ability Secret Weapon that we will choose later. Seasoned Marksman is good because the extra damage pays off later when you are able to do 80% more damage per attack, while Power Throw is good because it increases the range of Hammerang, meaning that it will take longer for it to come back. This is good because this allows you to hit more basic attacks on your opponent and get more use out of Secret Weapon. The extra slow is also useful as well.

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Vampiric Assault is the best choice for the second ability as none of the other abilities are remotely as useful. Since Falstad is an extremely squishy and immobile character, having some kind of heal is a must. What's better way to heal than by auto-attacks in an auto-attack build? Even though the heal amount is extremely low, it is still better than no heals at all. Vampiric Assault also stacks pretty well with Seasoned Marksman as you gain health from attacking minions.

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Most people in an auto-attack build would pick Battle Momentum in this slot, however I would pick Secret Weapon. The reason for this is Secret Weapon drastically improves Falstad's DPS, while Battle Momentum does not (except from his abilities, and the only ability that actually does damage is Hammerang). An 80% increase in damage from auto-attacks is no mean feat and without it Falstad would not be the assassin he is. For this build you would not use another ability as Secret Weapon provides way to much DPS to turn down.

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For Falstad's ultimate ability I would choose Hinterland Blast as Mighty Gust does not provide any DPS and is only useful when you are trying to escape from the enemy ( Mighty Gust cannot be used on the offensive as it pushes the enemy away allowing them to escape. Even with the slows Falstad still cannot catch up to them as he himself is slow).

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Giant Killer is one of the best abilities in the game for assassins as it gives you a permanent damage increase of 1.5% of the enemies max health. This is especially useful in this build as that damage goes well with the Secret Weapon talent we picked above. Giant Killer is also good in many auto-attack builds as you will be using your auto-attacks frequently.

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Hammer Time is the best choice in this category as it helps Falstad catch up with his opponent when they are stunned as well as give Falstad the opportunity to dish out the damage from Secret Weapon as the enemy cannot do anything (when they are stunned). Although this ability does not increase the damage done by Secret Weapon and Hammerang, it adds a lot of utility to the ability and gives Falstad a chance to dish out the damage that he may not have been able to due to the enemy being faster and escaping.

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Nexus Frenzy would be a no brainer here as this is an auto-attack build. A 20% increase in attack speed is massive for an assassin and would allow Falstad to get off more hits when Secret Weapon is active. The 20% increase in attack range is also massive as it would allow Falstad to attack safely from a distance not exposing himself (as Falstad is extremely squishy as previously mentioned). It would also allow him to chase down fleeing enemies easier as he now has a greater range to attack from.