Epicenter of Attention - Sand King Guide

Amazing strategy, especially on the Epicenter Combos. Hahaha.. You should make more strategies. You might want to add item build order though.. Which should I get first? Blink dagger or Linken's sphere or Black King bar?

This is a great guide! I actually have nothing against it. Well, except for the item build, lol. Myabe I wanna get Bracers first instead of Null Talisman, simply because you won't be needing Burrowstrike all the time in the early game. And I'm not a fan of Boots of Travel for him, as Power Treads will suffice when chasing with Epicenter. Linken's Sphere is almost a basic item for Sand King, simply for the mana regen and stat boost. Good job quickbrownfox!

The purchases sections of the guide specify building order.

@ Garfield
You are free to tweak at the items as you like,lol. Not really muich difference between a bracer and a Null talisman, or a Boots of Travel and Power Treads.

Best strat I've seen so far.........I'm quite envious

@Shadowinks - I'm glad you liked it. I tried make it a bit detailed yet simple enough to understand by breaking down different gameplay aspects. I'll try to do the same for the next stragegy I make.

the killin n fleein strategy is gd but i disagree wif the item build,ur item build makes sandking hav veri low dmg in the beginning even in the end,if u get linken sphere dere isnt a nid to get blink dagger cos ur linken will negate disable skill,bkb is oso useless as well,shadow shaman is realli gay,he hex u n wen he is fleein he hex n summons wards n counter u

@ PureDude = Wow. You're the fist and only person I know that says BKB is useless for Sand King.

@xPureDudex - You just justified the use of BKB, by mentioning a heavy disabler. That's what BKB counters. Linken's sphere only negates 1 spell every 45 seconds, but its major purpose in the build is to boost Health, Mana and Mana regeneration. You don't rely on damage per second until late in the game. Get Mkb as your option item if damage looks low for you. Blink dagger adds an array of new options, such as some killing methods in the guide and a chase/flee option as well.

yes i noe bt the prob is dat this build the dmg is too low,the money use for bkb can be used to purchased other items,n do u tink u can kill usin bkb rite after the dispel effect of linken sphere,look at epicenter's cooldown,so i dun c a nid in makin a bkb in this build n anyone hu can kill sk(if u bought the rite stuff) in late game is considered godly due to his high hp

i played a match wif a juggernaut b4 wif maxed omnislash n he's at lvl 25 wen im lvl 22,he has blademail butterfly mkb etc etc,he whack me a couple of times n did omnislash,im still alive on near red health,n if u get tele boots nobody can do anythin to u so bkb is rather useless at then,wads more bkb's effect onli last 10secs if u cnt get the kill u will waste hell lot of mana,which is crucial 4 sk's survival,imagine dat if u did nt use bkb u wuld hav enuf mana for a burrowstrike n or a sandstorm to kill or to run

Just remember that BKB IS an optional item. Mkb is in the build as an optional item as well, if damage is your issue. Btw, Juggernaut is one of the hero counters to sand king, so don't expect beating him so easily.

Nice one quickbrown!! But it's kinda hard to use SK against NA, he keeps on disappearing..

And that's why you should take caution against a Nerubian Assasin. Skills are practically built against you. Ask for team help when against such units.

Fantastic guide, must vote a 10! Puredude, in early and mid game you do not need much melee damamge becuase you kill your opponents with nukes i.e. Burrow Strike and Epicentre. And Epicentre level 3 has a very fast cooldown, which will complement with Black King Bar. Can read more carefully? Black King Bar is in the optional item list.

ok bt if u say juggernaut counters sk i tink ur wrong,shud be other way round,whether its life or dmg sk still wins over juggernaut and juggernaut doesnt hav much mana during early games and if his omnislash fails to kill u he dies n 6.38b's omnislash has reduced to onli 8 blink strikes so is nt much of a threat to sk now,i prefer a satanic over aegis of immortal,becos of its lifesteal and the armour is nt bad as well

@ PureDude = Omnislash has ALWAYS been 8 slashes at level 3. O_O If you say Juggernauthas low mana early game, that's the same with Sand King. And remember, Omnislash deals additional hits when your attack speed reaches 150%-200%? Easily achieved with Mask of Madness. Epicenter is pwned by Blade Fury.

but i'm pretty sure sk can kill juggernaught on a 1vs.1 by using epicenter and blink dagger then once low health burrowstrike and attack

Problem is, the wise juggernaut player would reserve his blade fury for such occasions, wasting most, if not all epicenter waves(even with surprise of blink dagger). Retaliating afterwards with an omnislash, once you're on even footing again (just attacks), juggernaut would probably win.

Great strat, your tactical description are also very good. One thing I'd like to point out is that if you're up against another melee hero without an AoE spell, sandstorm can be used to farm and deny them exp.

@xPureDudex - you say bkb is useless then in the next sentence mention Rhasta with hex. Bkb stops hex, get it?
"whether its life or dmg sk still wins over juggernaut" yes sk has more life than jugg, but how is a strength hero going to get a higher dps than an agi hero with a 40% chance to deal 2x damage and whose primary attribute increases both his dmg and atkspd?

rdiance is a good item... develop the sand storm first.tactic is to impale sandstorm the enemy.

@kAEm - Sandstorm isn't really good for farming and denying heroes. 350 AOE is small. Probably keeps them away from last hits for 1 wave, but won't deny them exp, and doesn't let you deny. @mark_jel - you could get radiance instead of mkb, but using it with sandstorm isn't really practical.

Very nice presentation, same as my opinion
about playing SC exept MKB i dont use that
art for sk.Still extra!!! :)

Nice strategy! It's similar to mine, but has the "edge" that I'd been looking for.

True they decreased the aoe of sandstorm hence it's less useful, but I still think that it's more than just an escape tactic. If you position yourself correctly, you can impede your opponent for 3-4 creep waves, and the dmg adds up. Either they're forced to move back or take damage which puts them in combo range. Similar idea to alchemist's gas cloud.

ns itembuild almost same as mine,,,w/o the kelens doe...........

ns strategy especially your combos......... and ns item build....

my question is not really related to this topic but.,, will SK still cast epicenter if use lothar edge (epicenter being cast) to avoid being hexed?? ^^ BTW... nice strategy for SK..

@ Adrian = Yes.

COOOOOOOOL GUIDE !! AMAZING STRATEGY ESPECIALLY ON THE COMBOS DUDE ! I SUGGEST GETTING NULL TALISMAN FIRST RATHER THAN BRACERS OR 1 NULL TALISMAN AND 1 BRACER

NICE STRAT DUDE BEST STRAT ITS LIKE STEVE-O'S FAVORITE DOCTOR STRAT ! AMAZING

I LIKE YOR STRATEGY SO MUCH
BECAUSE EU LIKE TO PLAY SAFE
EU GT FOUR ITEM TO PLAY SAFE
N IT EASILY TO KILL PEOPLE
SO I LIKE IT EVERY MUCH

ANY1 KNOW A GOOD HERO TO COUNTER PHANTOM LANCER???

good strat ....ive try it
but i get 2or3 bracers early for damage and hp it is more safe

I think battlefury will be better than going for linkinsphere.Battlefury makes sandking an awesome farmer.Linkinsphere is not much use if u hav BKB

Hey nice guide! tnx. This one is my favorite char. keep it up.

major props to you and your strategy, its so detailed and I understood all of it, much luv

this must be a strategy of a god!!!the build is very impressing!!My item build consists of battle fury,blink dagger,heart of tarrasque,linkin's sphere and aegis of the immortal..

Good strategy...especially the bit about useful allies and dangerous enemy

Thanks for the latest comments. Hehe. good people like it. BTW, please remember to rate the guide.

nice

in yurnero and sk issues, i would say juggy wins.. Sk surely cast an burrow then epi or epi and burrow.. he would use his blde fury. if sk blinks, omni will be d finisher

i disagree with the sand storm not being useful, sand storm is one of the best skill of sand king, that's why it was named after that, use sand storm on group of creeps while you stay invisible, see how the creeps die, use it for farming, its like the acid spray of the alchemist although you have to stay in the storm, also a great thing is that you can stay there and be invisible for 80 sec!!! and wait for a prey then burrow strike and epi combo hehehe

@doraemon_jr: Why wait for 80 damage/second when you can just sweep ther wave with burrowstrike/caustic finale? Why wait 80 seconds in the same spot, when you can just hide fo 20 seconds until backup arrives or burrowstrike cools down(or has mana)? Why wait in the storm, when the forests provide good cover and the dagger creates your own ambushes? Why mark your location and have yourself area-stunned out of it?

waiting for ur hit points, and mana to fill up, waiting for ur abilities to cooldown, u can just stand on neutral creeps or creeps fighting in line while u wait for an oportunity, it's a great push skill, you should know that, 80 damage per sec, a usual creep has only 600 hit points, it will take you 7 sec to kill the entire creep line plus ur push creeps, with 30 mana cost at its 4th level, it's cheap skill for farming, and using the sand storm will force ur enemies move out of it because it will deal damage

nice strat, but i've saw sk use sand storm for farming at the first way.. it made different lvl far enough.. ever test it before?

oh yeah and at my place sand king use lothar too..burrow...epic..and lothar....an beautifull epic

@jolly_cute: please do not use my guide to test smileys...

dude great guide used it! and owned!

great!! but, what about purchasing battle fury? i think you can get lot of money faster... and S.KING'S damage increase too.....

be honest

@epicenter2007: Am I being addressed? And if I am, what do you mean?

@doraemon_jr: You only need 3 seconds to erase a creep wave, No mana shortages with a completed linken's Sphere, Enemies could care less about 80 damage late game, and will bring wards if you're irritating enough. Early game will just keep melee heroes from last hitting well. Ranged ones wouldn't have that problem. If you place sandstorm ahead, then they move to the side, If it's lvl6x, they be idiots to stand near you with a possible epicenter unless they can disable you.

VERY GOOD GUIDE.I thank you

very good strategy......

who to kill hero with hp more than 3000?if will be use cranium basher+BDK IS BETTER?someone can help me abaut this!and how to face hero with anti magic or mana?

A nice strategy^^, though i hav some questions with the item build--would it be better if a battle fury replaces linken? the dmg (+65) is much more highly boosted n the aims of mana as well as hp regen can also be reached. In addition, although sny has an orb effect (which is not quite useful actually), would u still considering buying sk this item on the condition that orb effects do not stack? I think the increased attack speed n movement speed n loads of others worth the buying.

Thank you again for contributing such a nice strategy^^.

@supernoob1989: What linkens provides that battlefury doesn't is HP and mana, With enough mana, you have the same farming capacity as what a battlefury would give, and you need the HP, since yous strength gain is low. If you really want to go battlefury, I suggest supplement the missing HP/Mana with a couple of Bracers or Nulls.

As for SnY, I don't think replacing the creep sweep of caustic finale merits maim. And you won't need the MS bonus. There are better items for Sand King.

sandking does not have a good str grain for a str hero. So bracers istead of nulls imo. Use claritys if you need. and rush blinkdagger instead. Even if you dont have mana for that much action. You got mana for atleast one push/defend and that is your job mid game. Aswell as keep farming.
Linken is fun, but not good. 2-3bracers blinkdagger aegis and heart. Thats the simple but very relaible build you should go

my build is wen 1v1
1 boot of speed - move speed
2 nuls - more mana
1 perseverance- regens helth and mana
then linken and heart and aftr dat watevr itms u want....just try dese itms and comment bak

I consider myself the Sandking master, when I use Sandking I swear on it I get around 15 to 18 kills before level 20. I do agree with this strat, this is a very good blue print on how to use Sandking, gj Quickbrownfox. However my main items build order is somewhat like this

(1)boots of travel/(2)BKB/(3)Heart(yes I know, but I like getting heart now, while getting this item I kind of lay off killing for awhile, in other words I just farm lanes, mid creeps and tele back and forth. I almost become non existent for a bit till I get it. After this I go right back to killing, and boy it isnt fun for the opponents, you have now returned with a Heart"Oh Shit for them!")/(4)Radiance I choose this item for the damage and farming, you are now a slot machine jackpot winner(caustic and radiance), creeps are simply going to hand you gold/now that is 4 main items, I usually have 2 null chains(which I get from the start of the game), because SK does require a bit of mana. At this point I am usually owning the shit out of them and never really get a 5th main item, but if I do I get another Heart of EOS just to get crazy.

One thing to note about SK, don't worry about getting a ton of atk speed, Sandking does all his damage right around a few hits, so I make the hits count by getting high damage items. In the past I have seen many people get Butterflys or S n Y, which I think is a waste. Get high damage, and high tank(hp+regen) and you will own. If you do this right or use Quickbrownfox's strat(which imo is a good one) you will be owning with SK, and it will take anywhere 3 to 4 heros to take you down.

Linkensphere, good item but I think doing away with it on SK, its not really worth the Blocked Spell. Yes it does provide mana, but its cheaper to get another Heart, and if you have 2 hearts, that blocks more than just one spell, you definetly tank.

Anyways, good strat Quickbrownfox, just think of mine as a little lime added to the Rum and Coke. It was good, now it is better, lol

tnx...

i am now good in handling sang lord...

@raz: Nice speech there, hehe. I don't believe there's one canon item build for any hero anyway, experience will let you be able to choose for yourself later. Whatever Items you get, tactics will remain, and tactics are what's important. I have unfortunately not tried Rum and Coke nor have added any Lime, I'd take your word that it tastes good.

Best strategy I have seen so far..... I will have to try it out since SK is one of my top 5's

THIS IS REALY GOOD IT IS THE Best strategy I have seen so far

this is no match for dark terror bec.:while epicenter is been launch dark terror uses his chronosphere and attacks sandking and when dark terror stuns sandking the epicenter stops and then dark terror will do the killing

Bravo! Very good strategy! Thx a lot!

Yah even if you can kill a single hero with this strategy this sucks

my fav hero....easy to GODLIKE!!his cau.finale does plenty of damage n helps A LOT in farming..GUD!!!!

I dont really like this hero but this strategy is awesome. It makes me want to use this hero now.

Sand King is a hero that don't very much micro to play with him... So even noob players can own with a good item build and the burrowstrike-epicenter combo.
Nice guide

hi guys, im new to this website

im just curious because in a game
i had a partner whose hero was a
faceless void. he told me to buy a
dagger of escape not for a standard
killing strategy. he said that when
he had activated his chronosphere,
i have to activate my epicenter outside
the chronosphere and then get my hero
inside the chronosphere using the
dagger of escape. i didnt know it would work. but it did. i was wondering if someone could shed light as to how
such a strategy was created in the
first place. this is a strategy section
so maybe someone here has an answer

really appreciate a reply

thats all thanks

@rougeace:
That's a more specialized tactic. Since magic works in a chronosphere, using epicenter on trapped heroes ensures a lot of damage goes in. Your epicenter is also uninterrupted if no one's moving to stop you. You can also do this with other units with a mass duration stun, such as enigma's black hole or magnataur's reverse polarity.

nice strategy dude but I think that sand king should wear the boots of travel without kellen's and I also suggest he should have battle fury because of the damage, mana, an oh andd splash damage oh and xpuredudex, the BKB is perfect for sand king

why use BKB when you already have blink dagger? why dont use epi+blink
nice guide

wow amazing strat just played my bro 1v1 and followed it and i completly owned him he just couldnt handle it. amazing.

i have problems with sand king = do u ult then dagger or dagger then ult?

ult then dagger


i usually get lothars,dagger, and bkb

lothars to get closer to them, then ult, then when he runs blink to him.


when there is a giagantic hero battle(like 5v5) i would bkb 1st because if you ult then bkb it cancels ur ult. when you are in avatar you wont be able to get hurt from spells ao you live longer to use the full power of your ult.1100 damage in a area is very powerful. If you kill creeps by atacking it it will deal an extra 190 damage to nearby enemies.

can epicenter be countered by bkb? im a noob

At first on Sand King Arcane Ring or Vanguard Which is good????

good, i like this one..

The strat resembles my style when playing Crixalis, except for the items... Epi+Blink=ownage :D

aatropos can still cancel the ulti of sandking eventhough it activates its bkb... gets u???

no battle fury?

you need BF so bad if you want to farm, 1 battle fury, 2 HoT, treads, blink and radiance man, so easy to get when u get the BF and max Caustic

awesome dude i owned when i tried ur build i was 21 kills 0 deaths after i used your build but i added a divine rapier instead of the aegis this increased damage like hell. by the way include all the players sandking is bad with next time .

Whats The Point of the lvl 1 SandStorm?? If your not going to lvl it up more?

@DontAttack:
What is sandstorm for?:
It is for temporary invisibility.

Why don't we get more levels?:
Because 20 seconds is enough time for burrowstrike to cool down/allies to assist.

But it deals low damage at level 1:
The damage is unnecessary. Sandstorm is not for farming, but for escaping/buying time.

Hope that helps.

You know what will be amazing refreshers orb two epicenter in a row lol and pwned but only get it if you are pwning the other team and wanna have fun

7/10

well I like your guide because I had a hard time beating disablers w/o Black King Bar and Linken's.

hey, i found another way to surprise and confuse ur enemies wif ur ulti. this is wat i do:
burrowstrike-sandstorm-use ulti-activate lothars edge

ur opponents ill think that u would have run away wen the sandstorm went away, but u would still be ther

will epicenter still affect a hero if the hero uses bkb?!?!?

hello there qbfox.. did u know how sand king cast a spell that grew him bigger? i cant find it in his skills.

Whoa, but with slardar + silencer your combos are worthless

nice

skill build:
i always go burrow+stats early game due to the following reasons:
1. sand king has little lane control even with burrowstrike, due to mana problems. stats will definitely help in that area.
2. sandking's str growth is a bit low compared to other str hereoes, so stats will help you against constant harassments.
3. caustic finale wont help you early game. first, if your against melee heroes, if they're decent players, they will call for a lane switch and put range heroes in your lane. caustic doesnt do anything against range heroes. second is that caustic will push creeps away from your tower.

so my suggestion is to get stats instead and get only caustic by level 12, when you start farming using burrow+caustic

item build:
good choice of items but i disagree with some stuff:

1. blink dagger
this is a core item. burrow-epi has too many counters, epi-blink is almost "uncounterable". with or without enemy disablers, dagger is a must. the surprise factor of epi blink in team battles is more than enough to make dagger the core item for sandking. not to mention the fact that its rare to see a team without disablers.

2. bkb
i used to be a bkb fan for sk. not anymore. the main purpose of getting bkb is to let you channel epi without getting disabled. however with blink dagger, your enemies wont have a chance to prevent your epi since the moment you blink n, epi is already casted. hence, no need for bkb.

3. im still testing this but i think guinsoo is better than linkens. euls solves your mana problems by providing both mana and mana regen. linken's spellblock is not needed since you channel epi out of enemies' sight. +agi from linken is not needed since sandking never relies on physical attacks. guinsoo provides hex.

aside from these stuff, this is a great guide. put screenies on how to burrowstrike and epi blink as those stuff are badly needed by newbies. you can ask "andoklopez" for screenies.

eyefury

I thought I'd looked at this guide but I haven't -.-. Ummm, good, you've skipped Battle Fury in favor of Caustic Finale... which is probably fine, I haven't tried early Caustic and I should (*slaps forehead*). You know what you're doing etc. All the question and answer stuff that I need to duplicate on my next guide, my current two are lacking in that area (and are still pretty good but meh). Good guide, 10/10

@eyefury:
Hmm... for early game caustic, I guess you can go stats instead if you get a ranged hero as an opponent, or if the melee one makes a switch, otherwise, good harassing on melee opponents.

For the dagger, It does depend on the volume of disables, whether you can put off a dagger or not. If you can't get 2 seconds free for casting, then prioritize the dagger. If they have little methods to stop you(at that time), then you can put it off for a while.

What I like about linkens is the HP boost. Alternatively, a Eul's + getting heart earlier might do the same thing... I'll test this as well when I get the time.

It is unfortunate that I have difficulty in acquiring screenshots, but I'll ask him if he's willing to provide...

@THE_ONLY:
Silencer is a bane to SK, but a proper blink+Epi should keep you out of last word range, but get you in enough to damage him with epicenter. What's the slardar for? Well, if you're jumping in to silencer+a stun/tank, then you're pretty reckless. that's what teammates are for.

@haliotis:
That is probably the effects of an activated Black King Bar.

@sandking_crixalis023:
To my knowledge, epicenter pulses are magical damage, and nullified by a BKB, Anyone confirm/deny this statement pls?

10/10.but try battle fury.it really makes a difference.combine wif caustic finale.wooooooo

B.F is good for SK. It increases his damage. Y do you need likinsphere when u already hav BKB? If ominight is ur teamate and he put rapel on u, they can use D.B to remove the rapel.So the enemy can stop ur ult..

Another strategy!! Oh men so exciting you know. I'll try this so that I can bang my friends hehe grabe laaks pare!! Pwede na to!! Gagamitin ko lahat ng malalakas na hero. yung mismong paborito nyo. para masubukan naman. Mababang ko na mga friends ko.haha Lakas Cryxalis. Sana may sandking na strategy na mas efficient sa farming. Yung sya ang gusto kong maging ultimate farmer. Bibili na ako ng BkB just in case. Basta kung ano ang nasa taas gagawin ko!!

hello there qbfox, i believe its his skill and not merely the effect of bkbar. if you notice the computer using him, it grews bigger even during early games without that mkbar item. I believe its not.

I think the early game strategy is good, but for me Linkage anf BKB are must have items for Sand King. When i already have both of them i cast avatar then strike with burrowstrike followed by epicenter.
Usually could slay multiple enemy. but we must be careful because epicenter has long casting time.

My Item (final) are usually
1. Power Treads
2. Linkage Sphere
3. Black King Bar
4. Heart of Tarasque
5. Buriza do Kyanon (relatively fast to
build)/ Monkey King Bar (good
damege&increase attack speed)
6. Radiance / Divine Rapier

i'm sorry, my strategy is noob enough. i'm still rookie (eventhough few times got beyond godlike when using Sand King )

HAIL THE (SAND) KING !!!

The best strat for SK

it is a good guild but i will like to buy bf as i can farm faster...

I highly disagree with your Skill Build. Caustic Finale pushes you. Level 1 and 2 pushes, 3 and 4 farms. And since Caustic Finale is a farming skill, nonetheless, level 1 - 2 caustic is pathetic. Getting it early game is useless. I'd rather get stats and one level of Sandstorm.

Getting Sandstorm earlier is great. When you face ranged heroes, you'll be harassed and crushed till kingdom come. You should get it earlier, and I agree with your last level Sandstorm leveling. It's in common sense.

I hate to be very harsh, but BKB + Dagger is the most pathetic thing I've ever seen on Sand King. It's really useless, really. Both are used for one reason and one reason. To make epicentering easier. BKB < Dagger. Dagger is far more flexible, and there are some spells which go through BKB that does a 0.1 second ministun, which is bad.

Linken's Sphere. I rate it optional. It's single spell block is useless in team clashes, and it's either many enemies would do multiple spells that trigger the Sphere, or they'd go AoE Spell style.

Your other choices of items are the same items I do. I'd be posting my guide soon.

From early game strategy: 1 melee enemy: Best scenario for you. enemy hero is easily harassed by Caustic Finale. If they keep distance, it is easier to do last hits. Win-win situation.

No it isn't. 90 damage is tickling. A single tango would do the trick.

From Q&A: Q: Linken's Sphere and Black king Bar? at the same time?

A: Yes. Though it might seem redundant, it still has its uses, like the follow-up when avatar time is up, or the in-between times when avatar is inactive.

Linken's Sphere has a 60 second cooldown. BKB has 100 seconds of cooldown. That's some time. What happens in those seconds without both? Seriously, you have a HoT. Even if you die, you've done what you're supposed to do. Tank and draw a lot of fire with Epic + Blink and Radiance.

Other things are quite good.

I highly disagree with your Skill Build. Caustic Finale pushes you. Level 1 and 2 pushes, 3 and 4 farms. And since Caustic Finale is a farming skill, nonetheless, level 1 - 2 caustic is pathetic. Getting it early game is useless. I'd rather get stats and one level of Sandstorm.

Getting Sandstorm earlier is great. When you face ranged heroes, you'll be harassed and crushed till kingdom come. You should get it earlier, and I agree with your last level Sandstorm leveling. It's in common sense.

I hate to be very harsh, but BKB + Dagger is the most pathetic thing I've ever seen on Sand King. It's really useless, really. Both are used for one reason and one reason. To make epicentering easier. BKB < Dagger. Dagger is far more flexible, and there are some spells which go through BKB that does a 0.1 second ministun, which is bad.

Linken's Sphere. I rate it optional. It's single spell block is useless in team clashes, and it's either many enemies would do multiple spells that trigger the Sphere, or they'd go AoE Spell style.

Your other choices of items are the same items I do. I'd be posting my guide soon.

From early game strategy: 1 melee enemy: Best scenario for you. enemy hero is easily harassed by Caustic Finale. If they keep distance, it is easier to do last hits. Win-win situation.

No it isn't. 90 damage is tickling. A single tango would do the trick.

From Q&A: Q: Linken's Sphere and Black king Bar? at the same time?

A: Yes. Though it might seem redundant, it still has its uses, like the follow-up when avatar time is up, or the in-between times when avatar is inactive.

Linken's Sphere has a 60 second cooldown. BKB has 100 seconds of cooldown. That's some time. What happens in those seconds without both? Seriously, you have a HoT. Even if you die, you've done what you're supposed to do. Tank and draw a lot of fire with Epic + Blink and Radiance.

Other things are quite good.

nice strategy but add more items like crstalys or damager items

-.-'. Sand King won't attack after Epic + Blinking. Any attack increasing item would show no use in team clashes. And Team Clashes are almost what happens in serious/ league games.

Hi, im a beginner. I dont really understand about orb effect. It says on SK skill Caustic Finale is an orb effect. So, when u get an orb effect item for SK, which orb effect will be active? Caustic Finale or the item?

Anyway this is a great strat, it helps me a lot when playing SK

If the item you get is something like Mask of Madness (Lifesteal, and you deal it every attack), it will override Caustic, which is of course, pathetic.

When you get a debuffer (Debuffer: Something like SnY's maim which leaves a status on the enemy status bar), it will be like an orb effect (Which means two orb effects don't stack). They will not stack. Sure, this is better, but still, it ruins your Caustic (Which is also a debuffer).

i played a bot that used crixalis..
it went something like-
STUN! STUN! SLOW! BLINK..DEATH
I want to do that

Then you think you can fly. Which CANNOT BE.

hai,dis is ma 1st time comment,i wanna tell sumething,i 1 on 1 with ma fren,he use razor n i use sk,his major item is powertreads,sny,mjolinir,radiancen,wraith band n 1 heart,my major item is battle fury,blink dagger,powertreads,ring of basilius,ring of regen..n he still can pawn me..can u tell me how 2 beat him??plzz..

@Newtype99: Not a good matchup, personally. You'd be harassed to hell in that matchup. Sand King fills the "weaken opponents" slot in a team clash, his damage gains aren't spectacular, his armor isn't that good either. One thing I'd notice is that your HP is being ignored, he'll eat though it. but, I also notice his HP isn't that buffed either.
If you insist, I'd say you need a guinsoo. Then Stock up on damage items and some HP/armor. Won't need blink dagger that much here, he can't stun you.

Another nice trick I found today was to hit Sandstorm, then quickly hit Epicenter. It detargets and the sandstorm graphics usually disorients them enough that you can get the Epicenter off, which is a good way to turn a fight around.

i know silence can stop epicenter from chanllening , is there anything else?

so what u think i should buy??heart,guinsoo,then should i buy burize,battle fury or u got a better item than me??plzz,i really need this stategy 2 beat him..

i have a noob question,ahahaha,,does kardel's headshot or the 2nd skill will affect crixalis' epi eventhough he was already in BKB mode?bec any spell wont affect anyone if they activated their BKB.but as far as i know,there's a split second stun for kardel becauce of his 2nd skill ryt??hope you understood my question and hopefully anyone will answer..thanks everyone...btw,i am a newbie here in dotastrategy.com but i played dota for quite a while..and sandking is my favorite hero..hahaha!!! owning!!!

@drummerboy13:
I believe headshot will still have a chance to trigger on him(including the ministun), since non-spell inflicted stuns(like bash) still affect a unit under Avatar.

shit shit shit shit lol worst item build ever fuk

i posted a comment earlier saying the wrong things. i had a closer read and the skill build is 100% percent correct; the Sandstorm is not a necessary skill. as i said before the item build is not so impressive. i had been using sandking alot and i consider ths to be the best build.
2 x Bashers
Assault cuirass
power trends or boots of travel
burusa do-kayno(something like that)
HoT
this is one of the most common builds i 've seen. i like the detailed killing farming etc.. strategies. good try.

Yo, I used this its pretty awesome i did only get to get like a heart and linken [only reg boots] i did bad in the beginning...not enough farming. I was against Morph...so it was kinda hard. God strat tho got me a couble. I did ok that game. Was like 7-4 in end

Putting DPS items on an anti-DPS hero sucks. BDK + Double Basher? Have you mistaken this for N'aix or other hero? I compromise you, Double Bashers is everlasting used. In fun games, that is.

I seemingly don't find any rhetoric or I don't even think you've used that build in team plays. Unless your allies are Chen, Omniknight, Dazzle and Witch Doctor, you'll just have to act as a tanker+damage dealer late game, and playing him as a DPS hero is terribly weakly inappropriately dumb.

@3th4n: Good you found some use for my guide.

@Pro200™: Forcing Sand King to go DPS is pretty off. I wonder how you've seen that as a common build, you're one of the few, if not first, I've seen toting such a build. If the team is desperate for damage, I suppose. I share Riki's sentiments on the build you provided.

@Rikimaru the Assassin: Thanks. Saves me the text for explaining.

sandking the most powerful hero in the game

hey guys..i would like to ask some questions..how come i didnt find may comments here from the previous days??thanks...sorry,im a newbie in this site...bare with me...thanks a lot...appreciate it..

@drummerboy13: I see a comment of yours at 126 or so. Try checking again.

Posted by Jyruz
2007-06-27
power tread
dagon
battle fury
mkb
hot
radiance

try dis guide its hot hot

do i need battle fury gor sand king?

yah u need it to farm more...battle fury + custic finale...heyeeeeeeeeeaaahhhh..

Why no butterfly/s&Y? not even an option?? aren't they good?

Nice guide, it will be better though if there's screenies that explained all of your strats. The skill build is almost same as mine, but not for the item build though, but overall its good
so i gave it 8/10

-Regards-

s&y and butterfly are also good cuz it adds on attack speed but the guide ive posted is much better..."sand king is a strength so i had to increase on strength"..

@jayquiling:
Battle Fury? Not really. If it's for the cleave, you don't need it. Just follow above strategies for farming.
@Shades+A Hat:
Generally, Sand King isn't meant to be the melee powerhouse. Leave that to other heroes as much as possible. Also, SnY interferes with caustic finale.

I absolutely agree with your item build, as well as your skill build. Very good job with the stratgiz... GJ. A well diserved 10/10 :D

What a strategies...

rikimaru the assasin you're right i must have mistaken this build for another heroe. you've ashamed me which is a good thing. i musent forget about DPS heroes. i like how you think very inquisitive. thks

battle fury is useless for sk.try it and you'll know what i mean

once i bought 3 to get 100% cleave but ... nothing....waste we 14k just like tht

depends Sk might win jarganaut if Sk have BKB and Blink, i would BKB first then ecip then blink from the forest suprise attack he wouldnt have time to omislash other way avoid from omislash is stay near the creep while he's pushing our creep when he omislash it dosent hit sK 8 times

awesome

Np.

You should make a little block of text about Guinsoo. It's decent, but not a core item. I could get you my block of text from my guide when I get access to Dotaportal, and I permiss you to quote that from me. ;).

I'd go for battle fury, easier farming, damage and regen,

try having priestess as an ally.. when epicenter is being cast then PotM uses her ss for SK to become invisible thus avoiding disables...

purchase VOID STONE FIRST then BKB before completing LINKEN SPHERE.
BKB and LINKEN counters most if not all ulti and disable spells.GREAT GUIDE!PERFECT 10!only the item order is what i could argue against.make more guides!

Ok combos but I think you forgot to add euls so that you dont need stun anymore.
Cyclone,Epi,Burrow
I also recommend BF it helps farm and has a nice combo with your 3rd skill+mana regen. My opinion ^_^

nice strat but...y dont u use Sange and Yasha?its maim is very good and it has a good stat bonus to make your life greater and IAS...thats all...nice epi combos...i like the blink dagger epi one...

NicE itEM builD!!! tnx! BTW the blink epi cmbo is also gooD make more strats!!!

try getting a refreshers orb and as soon as epicentre is finished, if u got enuf mana and enemy is not dead have a nother go at epicentre, absolte ownage

try partnering with dark seer; basically it the same strategy with tehies. just vacuum everyone in the middle of the epi and ur good

can i get a BOT first...den a linkin sphere den a mkb...and a heart???

linkens and bkb is a waste u dont need, if u stun then ult there's like .4 seconds to stop it from going off all u need are 2 bracers travels radiance or fury and 2 hearts, push get radiance/fury right after boots and bracers so u can farm easier

battlefury works nice with caustic, and also helps with mana regen since it's an attk type item

yes i think battlefury works well for sandking, and skadi might be a good choice as well.

Great guide, by the way.

get battle fury instead of sphere so that ur poison enhance the damage and ull be killing all the creeps in a snap

Good guide.. I like the build. This is my faivorite hero :P ...
Sandstorm is a realy good spell you know, once you get you and your team to understand it properly. :P

Is Satanic good if you have already got Dagger, Linken, BoT, and Hot?

nice

a killing and farming machine...
use your bkb,use your burrowstrike,and finish them with the ultimate...

watchout for strenght-stunner heroes,they'll kill you easily...

GOD LIKE

Great strategy! But i prefer Battle Fury to him because his third skill is great with BF.

wow this is very helpful

epicenter can only dominate early game
can you tell me a way to make sandking independent of epicenter in late game?

slithice can also negate "epicenter" bcoz of the song of the siren...right?

a perfect guide!!!

So how is sandstorm best utilised? cos it seems like a waste of time, they can just AOE stun and ur naffed. I find BF early on before BKB is really effective, as i wait till my opponent is about to be surrounded by his own creeps, then i blink, EC and start attacking his creepos that have just arrived and it deals like 220x5 or 6 creeps damage to the hero... die, no chase needed. but im just a noob feeder so dont listen to me

wow..nyc

Ok. Having played many games with SK since reading this last, I have completely removed Battle Fury from my build. SK simply does not need it. What I generally do is get BKB as soon as possible - behind Boots and a coupla Bracers, etc. Considering that you get 10 Strength, this is quite good, and easier to do than sit around waiting for a Blink Dagger. The tanking ability with just those items is extraordinary.
Skill-wise, and apparently in accordance with some of these posts, I got two levels of stats before Epicentre then started on Caustic after, and it seemed to work a lot better. If you don't die, between the stats, Bracers, and the Ogre Axe for BKB, you can basically double your hp (seeing as SK isn't naturally a tank, only having 2.3 STR gain). It also solves your regen issues a bit, considering you have so much more of everything. I implore you to try it. The Perseverance is 1775, with that you could have a Bracer and the Axe - an extra 16 Strength - and cash to spare.

Guides still oh-so-good though. Not saying anything about that. My 10 is somewhere up there. Just a few ideas.

> To my knowledge, epicenter pulses are magical damage, and nullified by a BKB, Anyone confirm/deny this statement pls?

Confirmed. At least Omniknight's repel nullfies them, while angel does nothing. So I guess a HoD will work too.

Still my favourite bug. Can stun, blink, farm, push, aoe and turn invisible...
Give him Manahack (aka Arcane Ring) and heart and you got a tanking Str mage.

y not use battle fury??? it helps on farming a lot... my build is 2 battle furies, an arcane ring and a refresher orb, threads and hot.... it's simply beyond godlike... u hav 2 try it...

BKB

10/10...liked ur combo for disablers i always bought bkb but i see i was stupid lol

well i think u can include axe in his CAUTION. axe uses berserker call to cancel off epic center and he will hit you to your death, ithink hehe

why not 2 battlefury, linken, BoT, and a HoT... it OWNS

hehe ang galing mo po

Bobo ka

Bobo ka

Y'know, I bet he says in the guide 'why not such-and-such for items' if you went and READ THE GUIDE. Seriously.

fuck me hehe lakas talaga sandking fuck you all

Methinks admins will not appreciate above post.

Niiice.

What about Battle Fury??Anyway nice guide

y not .. b fury ..w/that .. farming is so easy ... 7 out of 10

you raelly dont like to cancel you epicenter huh, linken bkb,blink, you lack one item and that is LOTHARS HEHEHE

This is a pretty good build, i havent tried Linkens yet as i tend to rush Radiance or Heart, but with the Manareg. and spellblock that can help you channel it might be a very good option.
BFury on SK, as some suggest, doesnt make sense. Come on, you have caustic and you'll be getting radiance, no need to get Cleave as well, waste of money.

bfury will help u clear creep faster.

hey there!!!i have been using sandking for quite a long time now.My best choice is that you buy a ring of basilius and consumables 1st.if u r playin a 4v4 or 5v5 game.den followed by a boots.then a power thread.or a perserverance.or other way.followed bya battlefury.the main thing is battlefury.it helps a lot.then a heart.then a linken.then radiance.i treat the kelen's not so importantly.if the opponent has disabling skills,change lane.if not team up with an ally to suck its mana so it cannot use spells.u can either buy kele's or mkb or bkb.i always play lik tat and i own very much.trust me.it is proven n tested.as for the skill,if there is a stunner in ur lane, dont learn it first.y?cause if it stuns u, u will come out, n no longer be invisible.if it is not a stunner, then u can learn it at level 10 or erlaier.at level 3,stun ur opponent ogether wif creeps,but hit the ranged creep, den melee.tis will cause quite a lot damage 2 the opponent because of sand king 3rd skill.oh yes, i almost 4got.4 1v1 game u can buy a mithril followed by perserverance.then go back when u have cash to complete battlefury.then power threadsand the other items i mentioned.if u r desperate 4 first blood,den buy a dagon first n some consumables.stun the oppponent and use dagon.it will sure die.if it doesnt, giv it a chase.remember u must hav some distace 2 chase it, not when it is near a tower.for 2v2 n 3v3 it is almost the same.try it, it really works.4 those who did not make it,the problem may lie on your skill or u r new to the hero.and yes, of course u stun and use epic.if it does not die, chase it,when there is mana 4 stun, stun it.dont miss.i'm sure u own if u follow these tips.tk.trust me. u can email me at Jaggee0608@hotmail.com.thks!!!i look 4ward 4 ur tips n comments wadsoeva!!!
all tis will help 2 win.bf will clear creep.perseverance will give mana and hp.heart givs mana.power thread gives speed for both movement n attack.radiance gives an arae of effect to aid bf 2 aid 3rd skill.linken to aid ppl not to stun u when casting epic.tis is it.

My Build
Power Treads
Battle Fury
Tarrasque
Vanguard
Radiance
Ring Of Basilius...
lol :D
i know i dont have any linken's or kelen's to cope up with disablers
i just use timing...
Sand King is one of my favorite heroes..
so i respect your strategy alot
just dont agree with the items though...
lol :D

who is the best agi type hero?????!!!

Everyone's juz wanted yo make battlefury huh? I don't think so. Sandking already has caustic finale that is much2 better than bf's cleaving attack, also, bf doesn't give sk hp n mana pool, which linken has.

@stayalive
bullshits.
"the main thing is battlefury.it helps a lot.then a heart.
then a linken.then radiance.i treat the kelen's not so importantly."
bah. Yeah you can farm to get all those item only if ur facing noobs. And bf+linken? 300% mana regen for sk is such a waste. He doesn't need that much mana regen.
And you say dagger is not important?
For chasing, you can extend the range of your burrowstrike using dagger;
For escaping, sandstorm is not so effective mid n late game since it can easily be countered.
For EPICENTER! I bet that u don't even know how to epi using dagger.

@stayalive (again)
I forgot to mention, these are ur sayings,
"4 1v1 game u can buy a mithril followed by perserverance.
then go back when u have cash to complete battlefury.then power threadsand the other items i mentioned.
if u r desperate 4 first blood,
en buy a dagon first n some consumables.
stun the oppponent and use dagon.it will sure die.if it doesnt, giv it a chase."

Yeah". I can own u easily if u only buy mithril+perse. Example: Naix wif BoS + 5 bracers.
SK wif dagon? lmao.
sk has low mana pool, so it cant spam so many burrowstrikes then dagon. And also, it wont be much effective, since he has no hp regen, and low hp only using dagon. Moreover, without hp regen, u can be owned easily, while u cant spam dagon n burrowstrike at lv 1.

Very nice Strategy..
I tried it out and got a 14/2 stat.Thx a lot.

wow nice tactics

i agree but battlefurry doesn't increase the chances of casting caustic finale

No, battle fury helps in last hits and is essential for SK as it helps farming to get the more expensive items.

Same build as mine except i also get a battlefury.

tight guide but i got one suggestion...why dont u get the 40 second sand storm cause the cool down is 40 seconds and u invisible for 40 seconds.

Ok, this guide is great, has some real aspets of pre player ,and i like it, keep it going, but there are some mistakes from my point of view... Linken's isn't needed, cuz u don't need extra mana and HP, u will have it with +stats on the end, however, BF gives u mana and hp regen so u can farm longer.
As my SK item build i go like this- first u make BF, then go for a helm of dominator, cuirass, then u make satanic
and mass hearts till the game end. For the blink, yeah it is useful in early game, but not for escaping- u already have sandstorm and burrostrike... For harrassing it's okay but u can epicenter-> burrowstrike instead so it isnt such a 'Must'... i made a mistake in the text, dont make satanic, i now remeber that caustic is an orb... u should go for vladmir's or maybe Necronomicon- It gives str and int, besides summons boost ur speed, have mana burn, and feedback, and whoah, if the blue one dies- 600dmg is pretty nice. With that speed boost u wont need even burrowstrike ^^

reeeealllly nicce...

Good guide but i dont put caustic finale early game. 1st- it pushes. Means that you'll be hangin around in the tower range which means opponents' exp.
2nd- need stats to counters SK mana problems

really good strat like the epicenter combos and that u give options

uhm nice guide dude i totally agree but if you guys want you can try my items ^_^

1threds
2battle fury=for easy money you can you borrowstrike then hit boom gold! or you can get radiance but i prefer battlte fury so that i can spam borrowstrike
3BKB or Linkens depends on you but u usually get BKB
4 Blink Dagger
5 Tarasque
6 refresher? haha LoL ive never tried it because i dont usually see many players use it on Ssand king but hey why not? or you can get tarasque battlte fury or radiance what do you think?

why buy linkens and black king bar???when you cannot be disabled when you use your kelens to cast the epicenter???

what about battle fury?? its the creep slayer in early mid til the end

WEAK WHEN I'LL USE TERROR BLADE OR CRYSTAL MAIDEN.....I'VE CONQUER HIM......!!!!!!!!!!!!!!SUCK

@ Above post = What da f*ck ever...

@ Battle fury discussion = Fury is unnecessary as you already have the supreme power of Caustic. But if you do get it its fine because it is still convenient damage and regen, plus it supersizes your already-huge farming capacity. ITS NOT A BAD ITEM.

yeah

Battle fury T.T battle fury battle fury battle fury T.T with ur 3rd skill its $_$

Wow thats a very nice guide And how about getting the sand king a battle fury... what do you think isn't that going to help farming a little bit + it has a lot of damage

Radiance + Battle Fury + Caustic Finale (3rd skill) = $$$

fuck u fags

Ty!!! Hehehehhehehehehehehhhehehehehehhehehehehhehehhehheehhehhehhehehehhehehehehhehhe

nothing to argue,but you should get 1 lvl of sandstorm for safety reason early game

I like to get battle fury

whynot guinsso?

I wud say sandstorm wud not be totally useless. Cos in a clash and ppl aims u, u can sandstorm. BUt wait, the fun just started. In sandstorm mode, u press C. Epic castime of 2sec starts. Sandstorm gives u 1.2 sec invis time. U appear with 0.8 sec casting time to epic. PPl reaction time wud be near 1 sec. So?
An immediate epic saving ur blink and stun for further kills ^^ Man, it wud scare the hell outta ppl tat theykena wiped out like tat.

have you ever heard of targetable stuns?impale?LSA?split earth?seriously,SK needs more from stats from the lvl 2/3/4 SS.gems and wards are also common,so less than 2 of7 cases,that will work

cool!

Well, I usually purchase battlefury first before kelens and tarrasque because it helps a lot in farming. Then I now buy the kelens..

It's only my suggestion.

MY BEST hero ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hahas!!

my best build=
power treads
SnY (faster attack in early game owning)
buriza
MKB
butterfly
radiance

burrow strike,epicenter if run den burrowstrike= PWNED! hahas

refering to post 213

i had personally tried fighting crystal maiden and terrorblade.(both insane)

they still would get owned..
trust me i tried!

The most expensive core item that Sand king needs to buy is blink, why delay the blink with a battlefury? After blink dagger all other items are just optional. Unless you plan to play Sand King as a carry hero, battlefury is not needed. 10/10 for the guide.

w00tage
rate bug,i rated this guide 5 times now.any1 that gets BF on SK is extreemely farmaholic

nice strat.. easy to use sand king.. even if u dont read dis its easy to use..

I don't see how posters can disagree with the item build WITHOUT trying it first.

Personally I disagree with BF because: 1) it costs too much for a hero that hardly relies on physical attack 2) cleave unnecessarily stacks with caustic finale 3) burrowstrike works well enough by mid-game using qbfox's tactic of aiming for range creep.

And yes I've tried this, and suffered as I gave up a HoT for BF during team battles.

As for Blink, I think qbfox didn't really stress this portion (but it was mentioned). Apart from being able to get you into position for epis, more importantly, it saves your behind when you're getting ganked. You can't use burrow when you're getting chased by more than 1 hero like I do with NA, as you'll be going BACK to them rather than away from them. Blink - town scroll makes the difference between getting back to the fountain with barely any health left and back the the fountain...after you respawn.

Of course, having said that, I think if you pick your battles well you should not be put in a position where you have to run. Maybe if qbfox plans to update this guide, he might want to go EVEN FURTHER into detail about choosing battle scenarios.

The best teammate to have in my opinion is naga siren.

NET+EPICENTRE = DEAD

PLEASE ANSWER!!!
IF THE EPICENTER CAST! AND THE EARTH IS SHAKING ALREADY, THEN I WILL BLINK

OR BEFORE IT SHAKES, I WILL BLINK IMMEDIATELY?

@makumaku:
Blink just after the epicenter stars(shaking). otherwise, you waste the epicenter, and end up next to the enemy at the same time.

@jnutse: Hmm. Can't spoonfeed everything. Experience is key to choosing your fights, I'd say. (aka I'm lazy/busy) If I do find some time, I may go more in-depth, but I can't guarantee anything. Thanks for the suggestion.

Would mask'o'madness work? Along with battlefurry, it could be useful when doing an epicenter combo.

Very good guide, however I like to get 2 levels of sandstorm so that enemies are unable to wait out my sandstorm, as duration=cooldown.
I should think about linkens (i get Bfury)...

Great strategy the combo is awesome

@ jnutse 237 = actually you'd be surprised how much you get out of Sand King's attack. Consider, what do you use when you don't have Epicentre on you? Burrow Strike consistently am I right? You Burrow, then what when they're stunned? Attack them! You will get at least two or three hits in. And with, what, BKB-Heart-Linkens or something, you have a hefty amount of damage, so Burrow essentially does 500ish by then. But with a Fury or two, you can do even more.

I stand by my previous post's opinion though, you don't NEED a Fury and should get Dagger and/or BKB FIRST.

very good strategy.... can you make one for abadonn... please... i just love that hero.....

kwl man
gona try that out now!

nice dudue... thanks

nice dudue... thanks

I got a suggestion i though of, since sk has a very powerful farming tool, finale caustic. Getting 2 Battlefury would be good, replace it for linken and bot get a threads instead, you can greatly improve your ulti, 60% splash =additional dmg for each pulse