The Enigmatic Core of Enigma

Very good job showing how to manage the necro guys by tabbing. A lot of people avoid necro because they don't know how to control the necro guys efficiently.

nice strat! collective and informative 9/10

Great guide. This surpasses mine alot.

ALOT.

9/10 for now. Need screenies of everyone caught in BH

pretty good guide
gotta try that midnight pulse-clearing trees technique
i did it before...only on trent's eyes tho O.o Ö

Why not get lvls two and three of black hole earlier?

Congrats on your guide!

I like how the screenies work; it's like a comic strip lol

good job

nice strat.. same item build with mine... and it has screenies!! XD
GJ 9/10

Nice guide... Will rate it after applying this strat 3-4 times.

Good guide, screenies are a bit confusing though.

i still dont know how 2 use this hero!! but i will try!!! tnx 4 dthe strat!! waaaaaaaaa im in #8 ahaha

Nice Guide

Good guide. About time we had this hero recognized once again.

finally, someone who thinks maxing the ulti is a waste early

9/10

THe pictures is hard to understand 8/10

"One of the best skills in the game, if not the best skill" about black hole::
its clearly not. In a pub its ok, because half the team are noobs but in other games, If you are verseing a team that is half decent they will have enough sense not to stand in a group, and then the stunner will stun you, or oblivion staff silences.
there are sooo many ultimates and even skills better than black hole..

Agreed with CFX
the damage increase is shiity,
20 sec cd isnt worth leveling it.

Very Nice Indeed ! 8/10 !

if black hole is (in ur opinion) the best skill y u do finish lvling it at lvl 24

@diz-ass

because what he(enigma) needed is only the disable..
not the dmg

great guide...i agree with lvling black hole later...GJ

8/10

great guide!
i've always level up BH and didn't notice the damn high increase of mana cost -__-
thx.

thanx zequirne for the guide. short but good. i learned a lot of new info too. congrats for getting #7. any plans for update?

i gave you 9/10.

Nice one. I waited for a decent Enigma guide for so long.

Just wanna ask the small Enigmas can earn lots of golds, so is it reasonable to max it 1st??? So i can get my items quickly.

How much gold will get by the enemies the small Enigmas are killed????

Awesome guide, loved the screenshot "comics". Also i think it's pretty good that you included a necronomicon guide, don't think i've ever seen one before.
GJ 10/10
I can't find anything that's missing.

Hmmm... I haven't tried Necronomicon on Enigma but I understand that it works along the lines of Bane with it, which means its good. However it doesn't do much for multiple enemies, which is Enigma's specialty. Nor would I get Blink on anyone at this stage (^%&@ 3-second rule) but I guess it works for initiating.

What you DO need in here is a better explanation of the Black Hole usage. The screenshots you do have are of little-used techniques with Pulse that are really a waste... continuing...

... a waste of its potential damage. I mean, using it to clear trees? Then what are you going to do? *shrug*
Basic Enigma combo: Malefice target, move closer, use Pulse so it actually hits them, then use Black Hole on top of Pulse and hope more targets blunder into it. Or Blink in, do everything but Malefice, and Malefice anyone escaping (what you said, yes). But anyone who hasn't played Enigma or can't very well will have NO IDEA WHAT THAT MEANS!! You need screenies.
Big comment continuing ...

... Screenies of that and other killing combos, rather than of a little-used and extremely circumstantial tactic (kill trees to ambush) and a way to possibly harm one specific hero (kill trees to reveal Treant Protector).
Besides this, microing Necro minions is somewhat hard when you already have your own summons to micro (I solve this problem by not using them at all) as well as your other, rather complicated skills.
I would give this 7/10, maybe 9 or 10 if you updated it with more screenies.

Ahh Shim? I think you undestood something wrong.. not Black Hole is for clearing trees, MIDNIGHT PULSE is! ;)

HE also mad a screenie from it, he escaped Furions skill with it :)

I like it, although the screenies could be slightly better :)

@ BH usage: He wrote: "blink dagger in the middle, then midnight pulse in the center and use black hole"

i destroy trees for fun.

when you know what you are doing it is great for juking.

moving on, reasonable build, skills are odd... given people would generally go with the conversion/malefice or malefic/black hole builds but i can see this working.
level 1 conversion isn't good for much other then denying and they are fragile so if they start releasing nuke chains on your creeps, they will get more gold/exp than they would have otherwise.

you totally ignore black hole until 24-24, but you have refresher?? I`m disapointed

@darklord_sr

read the manacost of level 2/3 black hole and see why

You got it all wrong. Enigma is for teamplay and support. I dont know if you have ever played an actually 5v5 game (where you help your allies and they help you) but if you did then Mekansm is a great item for enigma and the damn eidolons are a big waste early. Enigma is all about starting the battle, with his combo MP and BH, the a little support with Mekansm and then use malefice of the enemies who want to escape. Travel, Mekansm, Blink and Then Guinsoo is all you need (along with 2 bracers)

Thanks for the comments guys. Just want to justify some things...

Black Hole as I said is one of the best skills. Being a team player, leveling it up would only increase damage AND MANA. You don't benefit from it at all. Refresher on the other hand, allows you to increase the time disabled. Thats why Refresher is a good item on this guy.

Midnight Pulse there is not only used for those situations, its mostly used for team battles. Those are just some examples...

Well done, i haven't seen a decent guide on Enigma for a while until today!
Very well structured, sensible skill build, although I'd rather get a Shiva instead of Refresher Orb because I'll be more likely to finish it + 30sec cooldown synergizes well with midnight pulse, as the enemies will have a hard time getting out of the area (that's if they're not maleficed first =)

oh, almost forgot!

10/10, it certainly deserves a place amongst the top 9

I disagree about the order of your items, in my opinion blink has more priority than necrobook first. What good are necro summons if you can't land a perfect black hole. Black king bar is an important item that you missed out. There's always a good chance that someone will not get caught by black hole, a black king bar is needed to prevent them from canceling your ulti. Another reason for black king bar is to protect yourself from stuns that still can be casted within blackhole like ravage.

cant really see clearly the screenies
i give it a 7/10

Need More Mana

@fwii~
i believe the new black hole silences the opponents it sucks so that doesnt really matter

Would just like to clarify something. BKB isn't there because Blackhole gives a silence effect on heroes who get caught. Although getting everyone on a Blackhole is hard, think about it; Who has the most threat on the enemy? The disablers. Disablers usually don't have high Hp thus, sticks on the back. Thats why you have Blink Dagger. To et into position to disable the enemies befor they disable you.

About the item build, Necronomicon allows you to farm while ganking. farming=money. Money=items

One more thing. The reason why I prefer Refresher rather than Shivas is because it benefits more on team battles. You may dominate one team battle with Shivas, but what about buyouts or quick team battles? Refresher would be better. Don't over think about this though, the game is usually finished by the time you get Blink Dagger or that you would rather save up for buyouts.

you're guide is cool! I was just confused on your screenies hehe , the pixels are too low. I not used to necro. Since you said your Enigma is for team battle, Dagger first and then BKB followed by Refresher that's your core item. I agree with you for not leveling the BH coz it is only useful for disable and silence. Overall, you did a great job my fella! thumbs up. I wonder my guide is next here..

Toxido. What made you think I was talking about Black Hole? Because I wasn't.

Not that anyone cares (you don't) but I get Dagon then Shiva. Don't ask, don't comment, but its my built and it works. (Dagon makes you useful more than once every three minutes). Refresher after those if I have time or money.

btw for spammable minions. if your sent, go mid lane and make them kill the creeps. i do that as dirge its really effective.

WOW
I really like this guide
A diferent build for this amazing hero!
COngratulations!

Thanks for joining the contest! Nice shot! Okay.. here's my comment. I really respect your item build, it's your choice and no doubt about it. Now, it's kinda awkward since you've been talking about team plays using enigma. I didn't find necro book as a team-friendly item. Base from my experience, it will only ruin your combo and team play/combo resulting to failed execution of skills and combo.. You should aim for Dagger first and BKB if you want for perfect execution of BH..

Necro is really good on enigma however, you should build it according to hero environment. It's perfect for wind walker enemies, necro level 3 is perfect. Dagger and BKB is the key item for successful BH because every cooldown is really precious for the team. As much as possible never ever cast BH on a single hero. At least two hero should suffer I agree with refresher.

My build: Dagger, BKB, Refresher, Necro3

Combo: Activate Avatar, Blink, M. Pulse, Black Hole, team will do the rest

i like ur guide man...
good job, but i have a question: y not Conversion earlier?

Awesome.. I really learnt something here. Didnt know you could swap highlighted char by using tab. I always manually clicked the yellow necromonion when i wanted to mana burn.

i think you must add lich in the good allies section because a black hole and chain frost ensures many kills

great guide and good screenshots. you explain everything well

maybe add some info on soloing (maybe bc it does happen)

maybe add some early game tactics about how to lane against the different groups of heroes (ranged and melee)

maybe add a screen shot of black hole and aoe

maybe add a section about combos, a list of the order to activate all your spells, blink dagger, necro, refresher etc.

good guide 10/10

"Necronomicon has many uses, mainly-

-Ward Hunter

-Destroy Techies' mines

-See invisible heroes (e.g Rikimaru)

-Endurance Aura by the Necro Archer

-Piss enemies off." - oh they are great tower wreckers IMO XD...


BKB IMO is a must for this guy since he will be focus fired by the opponents.. i dont believe that you will catch all heroes against decent opponents.. there will always be a stunner or silence to stop BH..

TBC......

think about it; Who has the most threat on the enemy? The disablers. Disablers usually don't have high Hp thus, sticks on the back. Thats why you have Blink Dagger. To et into position to disable the enemies befor they disable you.

-yes.. and most of the tanks in front has stuns and not to mention the other guys hiding.. and waiting for the right moment to stop your BH..

BKB IMO is still a must.. ^^

I think u should max ulti twice not once... and also I Think that u should include an alternate core item for enigma if some1 isn't good using necromicon, and don't like this item, but overall decent job and for the reasons stated above I shall rate it 7/10

please compare the mana cost of level 1 and level 2

@ zequirne
fwii mentioned that Enigma needs BKB. he need it coz when you use your BH, there is a 1 second casting time. if the enemies see your casting animation they will stun or disable you to cancel it, thus wasting your ultimate.

A perfect build I tried it once its destructive!! well its because thats my build!!!!!!!!!!!!! the AI build of atropos and enigma is all about the necronomicon!!!!! ur a NOOB!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hmmm... Nice Guide!! well nicro is the best for em! but bigginers dnt go for nicro its hard 2 controll so go for shivas or dagon 1st! only the pics are not clear. All Done well.. NICE! 9/10

good guide. but i ignore your skill build.

malefice and midnight should max first

and you said that conversion is MUST ON MIDGAME. but why you get conversion on very early game? dont like you skill build

aby play nice.
I also agree about the skill build... I just didn't get around to that on the last comment.

i think conversion before stats. Because since black hole is channelling, he really needs other units like converted units and nercos to damage enemies.

-Cancel the fog of war created by trees -

lol its actually damage to the trees, which killed sight blokcers.

btw, skadi wont be a bad item on engima late game. maybe include Guinsoo too for more disable!

@mirana
it's for denying

Need to emphasize something again.

About getting all disablers in BH. Yes, tanks usually have stuns. So now I ask, doesn't your team have one? I thought you were relying on your teamates? Cause yes, you are relying on them. Your team should also have more than one disabler. Thats why we hate multiple stuns right?

About the item build, thats why I said it would be different. If you can't even force yourself to practice a little, then you won't gain experience as well.

To be continued...

About the Necronomicon not being a team item. Necronomicon Archer has an aura. Just by that, you already helped the team. Second is the mana burn. Mana burn is a big pain to everyone. We hate this skill. Can easily destroy combos on STR heroes. Third, true sight. Although not suitable for every situations, Ward wars happen for a reason. This is because map control is essential.

Good strat. Though no to stat build and another thing to add on to your item build, a bkb. It gives your str after all. Enigma is extremely fragile. And... the chances of you being able to cast black hole interrupted isn't all that high either. Blink dagger to start of your ulti is kinda expensive but I guess that's the best idea there is right now. And... no way to necron being rushed first. Blink's more impt.

And... I don't quite get the screenies heh. sorry. But this is overall a pretty good guide.

Btw, on bkb, it's not always meant for preventing an interruption but also makes it easier for you to escape. Say.. against sven leoric etc. The only ranged skill they have is a stun. So.... activate bkb, and blink away. 3 second rule fulfilled.

Your teammates sometimes just can't help it if they fail to disable the heroes breaking your channel. What can your teammates do about a vengeful who suddenly swaps you or a Raigor throwing a fissure out of no where. Your allies must have urber reflexes if you expect them to be able to stop it. You teammates won't always be able to cover for you. I also believe that blink should be rushed ASAP, perfect black hole is alot more important than necro summons.

BKB won't actually stop Netherswap, by the way. Or Dismember, Ensnare, Netherstrike, Fiend's Grip, and a bunch of others that will stop you channeling.

i don't like tke skill build
why put stat and conversion at early?
better put malefice and pulse first and continuing with stats and BH.
7/10 because not my style play this guy

nice guide.. 8/10

thank you very much. 10/10

thanks a lot again

Pushing is actually better to do early game when agi and str heros cant solo entire creep waves. Also I dislike the item build and it doesnt match the skill build. You get a refresher but you have level 1 Blach Hole.

WTF?!?

Also what are the odds that games are going to last until level 24-25 for a squishy support hero. Also, there is noone. NOONE. Who will kill roshan and then give the aegis to a support hero.
IMO the skill and item build dont match up but its still ok 6/10

red the damned manacost of level with and compare how much you're gonna suffer if you go level 2 or 3

NICE GUIDE I MUST ADMIT. 10/10

Nice guide! *screenies lil bit confusing*
Well, 9 / 10.. Keep it up!
btw, we're not the same in skill build but i think this is better than the max BH. ,

the BH is okay with refresher,..nyc,very good,i wud rather get a BKB and meka instead of necro,..hard micro. maybe wen used necro there is no more mana left for BH or MP,..but destroying wards with necro is okay

Although you already explained it, not leveling black hole asap is so NOOB! Why? Even it is a disable skill, the 4 second disable with minor damage is not quite fit to kill all enemies in 5 on 5 matches and by there i mean REAL 5 on 5 matches without noob enemies! The combo of mmidnight pulse and BH is not also that good with only 70 damage per second.. and another thing, WHY WOULD YOU PICK STATS RATHER THAN BH DAMAGE TO THINK THAT IT IS A CHANNELLING SPELL AND IT THE STATS WONT ADD ANY EFFECT!

Also, MEKA is a very good item for enigma whn talking bout team battles coz you are big but paper-thin so you are always the one to be attacked first..!

Good strat over all. I think what you have here is a good conservative/support way to play Enigma. Enigma is one of my favorite heroes in the game. A different item build for him that I usually do is Radiance, Skadi, Necro Book, maybe BKB depending on the situation. It's an expensive build, but once you complete radiance and skadi (you need to farm a lot), you are definitely a force to be reckoned with, esp. in large team battles.

dont pick enigma if you are not going to get mek.... putting mek as an item not to get completely voids the usage of enigma...

Nice Screenies...!!!!
Great guide, but I can't seem to own with Darchrow.... But 10/10 guide.. nice....

wait a second.. you did not get bh imediately?
omg...
anyways you seem to have not understand the power of radiance combined with bh..
before i moved on mastering another hero.. i always get dks and tks with this guy as soon as i reached level 18..

with items:

radiance
BoS
2 null talismans
refresher
arcane..

skill combo would be:
malefice
midnight pulse
black hole
refresher
midnight pulse blackhole..
and malefice if there's any hero left..

trust me, i've done this dozenz of times!

with radiance your opponent will loose hp rapidly..

its not impossible to get radiance with this hero as early as level 11..plus hero kills you might be able to get radiance at level 8... just spam his conversion and bring lots of clarity potion.. i recommend five..
i suggest getting all his skills before stats.. and if low hp is the problem then you should get vanguard, it strengthens any hero...^^

I wish to emphasize the reason for only lvl 1 BH.

COMPARE THE DAMAGE OF LVL 1 AND 2 BLACK HOLE. ARE YOU REALLY WILLING TO PAY 25O MORE MANA FOR AN EXTRA 160 DAMAGE? AND THAT'S IF ALL ENEMIES ARE CLOSE UP, WHICH IS EXTREMELY UNLIKELY. AND ARE YOU WILLING TO ADD ANOTHER 200 MANA TO GET 160 MORE DAMAGE(UP CLOSE, EXTREMELY UNLIKELY)? I'D KEEP IT AT LEVEL 1, 200 MANA FOR A 4 SECOND DISABLE IS VERY CHEAP, ALMOST TO THE POINT OF IMBANESS.

I sometimes disagree with the BKB.
1.bkb has casting time(Growing) which makes u be delayed.
2.u dont know when the enemy will be perfectly bonded to be blackholed but when you use bkb the enemy wil start to scramble away.
3.The enemy will know that the clash wil start right away when u use bkb.
Hard to explain.zzz
I also somestimes Use Lothars Edge its nice.

"1.bkb has casting time(Growing) which makes u be delayed. "
lies

Good guide, I agree with the skill build, stats are indeed very important for the fragile Enigma, good idea on not maxing ultimate quickly, seems pretty logical. Screenies are okay, but one or two on the usage of Black Hole would be good. To those claiming that Mekanism is vital, I think that depends, I think that although it is certainly workable in most team structures, if there are other non-nuker INT heroes in the team, they would be a valid choice as well. Anyway, after the rant 8/10

nice strat your screenies is good and necro micro management,

@rambol
owned them
with level one it'll cost about 775 mana for 2x BH with refresher

with level the BH you owned yourself for eating up 900 mana more, thats about 70 INT there nutcases

the

Here is another way..
max up conversion and malice only at early level to farm fast(except you met AOEnuker),then buy a mystic staff before lv10 to get unlimited mana pool.
my recommended items:
hex staff
eye of skadi
boot of travel
kelen dagger escape
refresher orb

ways to kill hero at early level:
control all your "morphing' and atk &ambush a hero by using malice

nice guide!!!
hehe
very informative
I give a 9/10

EoS on this guy fails

Good strat. But apparently you havent played Enigma that much. All you need is 3 null talisman for mana. And also you can solo. just stay near trees and when they get near u stun and midnight pulse. you dont need to upgrade stat if u have 3 talisman...thats why get stun pulse and ulti then stats then conversion. items: in end game rad, ref, linken, bot, book and whatever u want. also max midnight pulse and ulti asap...do the math how much damage!!!! and since you have null talismans its enough

Good strat. But apparently you havent played Enigma that much. All you need is 3 null talisman for mana. And also you can solo. just stay near trees and when they get near u stun and midnight pulse. you dont need to upgrade stat if u have 3 talisman...thats why get stun pulse and ulti then stats then conversion. items: in end game rad, ref, linken, bot, book and whatever u want. also max midnight pulse and ulti asap...do the math how much damage!!!! and since you have null talismans its enough

Good strat. But apparently you havent played Enigma that much. All you need is 3 null talisman for mana. And also you can solo. just stay near trees and when they get near u stun and midnight pulse. you dont need to upgrade stat if u have 3 talisman...thats why get stun pulse and ulti then stats then conversion. items: in end game rad, ref, linken, bot, book and whatever u want. also max midnight pulse and ulti asap...do the math how much damage!!!! and since you have null talismans its enough

May I suggest dagon for enigma? He has plenty of mana, and this will seriously increase his hero killing abilities, ragaining most of the gold used for dagon. After the nerf of dagger, I have sometimes bought lothars for battle initiating, as this gives you a more accurate placement of MP and BH. afterwards, just malefice and kill, if on low hp, otherwise, lothars is out of cd by the time malefice is over. Thus lothars = initiator + escaper, but its expensive, and doesn't help u as an int hero..

I used to think no strat could ever get a 10/10 but u proved me wrong

LOL goodjob

sorry for the first comment.

u deserve a 7 for this guide.

Im with you for not lvling BH asap but on lvl 16 and 17 u hve 2.
come on man thats just sad.only disable with no dmg.
on the bright side i wasnt proven wrong.LOL

Black Hole doesn't need to have damage, it's up to your teammates to do the damaging for you.

nuff said
why waste 450 into a wasteful upgraded skill?

This site is in desperate need of updates. Perhaps people should actually play the heroes before they say things about them, because Black Hole actually costs 200/300/400. I'd think the guidemaker at least would know that much, considering he has screenshots which implies that he is in fact playing. Increase from 200 to 400 isn't really as significant as 200 to 650 so not exactly worth leaving it. I did leave it at lvl1 while it was still 650 though.

still doesnt change tha fact that the drawback is too far

especially ones that takes refresher

nice STRAT dude..
i like the way you explain how to use the NECRO guys..^^

good items..

ill rate it: 9/10

dude are you serious you keep the iron wood branch lategame

why not?

Nice strat.Good Guide I learned more about Enigma especially on Enigma's Ultimate.. ^ _ &

is radiance good on this hero?

Hmm nice guide ^^ 8/10....

I don't really play like that with enigma lol....

I usually get radiance, 2 bracers, BoT, and refresh

Usually ends by then...anyway...


What i don't really get is....

is necronim really important?
Does it have a purpose?

And Enigma can be swapped between a hero killer and a support...

It's not neccesarily just a support, plus enigma has high damage.

Just wondering...8/10 though nice work

stupid strategy though.. useless

Looks ok, not how i play him though, gone godlike a few time going boots-vanguard-radiance-BoT, hes impossible to take on 1v1, like that, i even have a replay of a 3v1 gank against me turned into a triple kill =p radiance is great on him.

i don't get your "mana burner"
naga siren, Lancer, spec, invoker...
they all have no mentionable manaburn

cool ingredient

thank's very much,this guid realy helped me...i olso used Dagon.. thx again.....

i like use lothar for this hero eheheh,coz my enemy always run if he/her see me wahahahaha
nice guide 9/10

If you level your eidolons first before malefice you can farm like a beast. Plus it adds a lot of dmg when you malefice a target. I find radience is better than refresher, normally only one black hole and midnight = gg when in team battles, the radience helps when heroes get away on low hp then you cast malefice and just walk by them with radience and its gg

great!! thx a lot!!

LOL no skadi? you're daft. i go refresher, boots of speed, skadi. it gives you mad survivabilitiy, and works nicely with malefice. you give your team an aoe stun, a stun, an aoe damage spell, a summon, AND a slow? you're TeH buffzorz.

how do i use black hole and midnight pulse at the same time

how do i use black hole and midnight pulse at the same time

@ kaung = Midnight Pulse is not channeling, Black Hole is. Use Pulse on an AOE then channel Black Hole on the Pulse. Provided with targets.

@ dither = explain why Skadi is a good synergy with Black Hole? You can't do it can you...

this strategy is very mediocre, first off u need to lvl black hole. second off instead of necro or right after u should be a radience (preferably before because the burn is more dmging early) so that u have another aoe, also with maliface u can atk them and do heeps of dmg. ALso if u go refresher ur mana pool is to small for all the casts.

Good guide, you have captured the use of enigma as a support disable, gr8.

ok we learned to play with necronomicon but i still dnt know how to play with enigma.
very bad guide, i give it 5/10

not bad... but the skill build is so wrong

tnx dude cuz'a dis a godliked in a 6 on 1 game me agaisnt my mates!!!