Leoric Is a high self sustain warrior that can easily keep himself alive during trades or fights without the aid of a support. However, Leoric suffers from being "slow" and by that I mean, his cast time on his Skeletal Swing and Drain Hope and also his basic attack animation. He has decent engage and re-positioning with Wraith Walk and his ultimate, March of the Black King can scatter an enemy team in fear of being hit by it. Leoric also has the special ability to linger around after death thanks to his trait
Undying. However, Leoric will still give full experience after killing him unlike Murky or The Lost Vikings. Just because you have a nice trait that revolves around being dead doesn't mean you should actively seek to die.
Undying This is what makes Leoric such a special hero. His has infinite presence, he can reduce his death timer which is a huge thing, he can linger around after death and help set up kills by slowing enemies. Most people just seem to forget about Leoric floating around being spooky, they forget that he can still slow you and its strong. Remember, Leoric respawns exactly where he is once he reaches full health again. If enemies are around you, you can hearthstone back.
Skeletal Swing Very good wave clear, he can easily push against anyone, and since its stronger against non-heroic targets, specialists such as Zagara, Azmodan and Gazlowe, who like to push with the aid of summons will now have a tough time when it comes to pushing. The slow is really nice as well, however the animation on his Q is slow, so you have to be in melee range or just about for it to hit a fleeing enemy.
Drain Hope This skill will literally drain the hope of enemies who think they will win a trade. Use this skill on the enemy, and watch as you out heal the damage they deal to you, whilst dealing health based damage to the enemy. The only way they can break the affect is by running away from you and that causes the enemy to stop attacking you, giving you extra time to heal up without being harmed. Its best to apply this skill then use your Skeletal Swing, that way if they do try to turn around and escape to break the skill, they'll have a harder time doing it.
Wraith Walk A very nice skill for re-positioning, its ok for engaging but not as good as other warriors. It doesn't take the enemy by surprise however, if the enemy is dismounted, Leoric will easily be in their face thwacking them with his mace. Use this at the start of the fight to get on the front line, use to to move around away from harm or to dive in deeper. Good for escapes and good for general mobility.
Entomb Nice for securing kills but that's it. It can be used like a Tassadar wall, but if that's what you really want then just play Tassadar.
March of the Black King Many people don't like this skill simply because the enemy can just move out of it, while that is true, this means you need to pick the right moment to use it. If the enemy is stacked up then you should use it, but don't use it just for the AoE damage. Its whole purpose as well is to heal you as well. Try to hold on to this skill until you need to heal up. Leoric will be in the center of the fight, and you can easily hit around 2-3 people from 1 swing alone.
Tier 1
Mana Thirst It's always nice to have extra mana however Leoric does not suffer from mana problems that much. Nothing a regen globe won't fix.
Hopelessness A decent talent if you want to go for a Drain Hope focused build but Block and Reanimation are better.
Block You should take this talent if you're facing against 2 or more assassins that focus on basic attacks for their main source of damage.
Reanimation Take this talent if the enemy doesn't have 2 or more auto attack based assassins. Leoric clears waves easily, and in the early game just 1 Q and an auto attack will kill the sorcerer minion for the regen globe. The regen helps a lot vs poke, or skirmishes, it keeps Leoric going and helps out with his triat.
Tier 2
Fealty Unto Death This talent sounds nice however I feel as if its a trap talent. You're not going to be laning for the entire game, most of the game making fights happen away from lanes. Its nice to help you get back in to the fight once you're dead but I feel as if the other talents are better.
Willing Vessel Extra self sustain is always nice since that is Leoric's specialty.
Hardened Bones This is my preferred talent of choice. Wraith Walk is what gets you in the fight and allows you to re-position yourself. This also lets you escape sticky situations as well. The extra damage reduction does help out, especially in the center of a team fight, where you will be taking most of the damage, if you need to re-position yourself, simply use Wraith Walk and take less damage. You can also use it just to take less damage. The less damage you take the better.
Royal Focus Not a very good talent, its nice to have the reduced CD to re-position yourself after you engage as you most likely won't take damage when you're moving in to engage a fight but Willing Vessel or Hardened Bones are better.
Tier 3
Ghastly Reach Your primary focus is for self sustain, this may be good for a skeletal swing damage focused build but Ossein Renewal is better for sustain.
Lingering Apparition Extra spook is always nice, but the duration of Wraith Walk is already good enough.
Paralyzing Rage The slow is already quite decent, you could probably take this instead if you have 2 supports but Ossein Renewal is better.
Ossein Renewal More self sustain, keeps you topped up in and out of fights and can also help you reduce your death timer quite a bit.
Tier 4
Entomb Can be good for securing a kill or two but has no damage or sustain. It's just a Tassadar wall thats more for securing kills.
March of the Black King Can easily help put you back to full health after you've taken a beating in the fight, don't blow this ability instantly, the damage is nice but you need to use this more for healing than damage. Try your best to hit as many people as you can, even if its just for 1 hit.
Tier 5
Burning Rage An ok talent but there are better talents in this tree.
Crushing Hope If you want a more damage focused build then take this.
Drain Momentum Any skill that slows you, immobilizes you is not that good, therefore this talent is a must have, it allows you to keep up with the target you're healing up from, so you may stay linked to the target for the full duration. Wraith Form does help out with movement but you cannot rely on it all the time.
Spell Shield If the enemy team has both Kael'Thas and Jaina i would consider taking this talent.
Tier 6
Renewed Swing Good for a damage focused build.
Consume Vitality More self sustain, this also helps with your death timer as well.
Unyielding Despair Shaves 4 seconds off the cooldown and means more self sustain. Personally I prefer
Consume Vitality But this talent is decent as well.
Imposing Presence Great if the enemy has 2 or more auto attack based assassins.
Tier 7
Buried Alive Helps secure kills even more
Death March A very nice addition to your ultimate but it makes hitting as many people on the last swing even more crucial, and that doesn't always happen. If you're able to CC the enemy team and keep them close together then take it.
Spectral Leech Because of Leoric's slow attack animation it makes me feel unsure about this talent. It's great if the enemy is running with 2 warriors and gives Leoric extra damage and sustain but I feel as if this is a situational talent. I would either go this or Hardened Shield.
Hardened Shield This talent makes you incredibly durable, if you're starting to get low or you want to mitigate incoming burst damage, use this along with your
Drain Hope or
March of the Black King and out heal the damage they deal to you.
Leoric is an incredibly fun warrior that does decently well without a support through high self sustain. He many not be able to set up kills as good compared to Diablo, ETC or Muradin, but he is just as durable if not more so than them in a fight and is able to take a lot of damage whilst healing himself up.
Thank you for reading my guide, please leave any feedback if you have any and I wish you the best of luck in your games.
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