Puck Overview

Lore & Bio

"I find myself strangely drawn to this odd configuration of activity."

Anyone who first encounters Puck might think this creature is playful and naive. But don’t let the appearance of this creature fool you, hide inside are the unique and exotic personality. This creature is a Faerie Dragon which has been living in the juvenile form for several eras. Therefore, It is safe to say that Puck is young and he will remain in this form for ages even when the current cities come to an end and start to disappear. No one knows the purpose of Puck, some say that behind its playful character is an evil plan. However, the taste for playfulness and prank is the true sign of Puck’s essence.

In-game, Puck is described as: 

“Puck has a talent for confounding its enemies with playfully elusive mischief. By teleporting to its damaging orb in order to hop short distances, it attacks foes with bursts of silencing dust. By the time its enemies can react, Puck has long since escaped..”

Attribute & Stats

• Strength: 17 + 2.4 each level;
• Agility: 22 + 2.5 each level;
• Intelligence: 23 + 3.5 each level;
• Health: 540;
• Health regeneration: + 2.2 each second;
• Mana: 351;
• Mana regeneration: + 1.15 each second;
• Damage: 46 - 54;
• Amor: 0.67;
• Magic Resistance: 25%;
• Turn Rate: 0.8;
• Attack Range: 550;
• Projectile speed: 900;
• Attack Animation: 0.5+0.8;
• Movement: 290;
• Sight Range: 1800/800;
• Base Attack time: 1.7 seconds per attack;
• Damage Block: 0;
• Collision size: 24.

Abilities & Talents

Notes:

• The attack damage granted by talents is raw attack damage.
• Illusions don't get this bonus damage. Furthermore, most percentage-based damage increasing or reducing effects don’t affect bonus damage from talents.

Skills building guide

With the abilities and base stats aforementioned, Puck can be played as the mid laner or supporter but this build I will focus on guiding you how to play Puck in the mid lane. In the first three levels, we should place one point on Illusory Orb, Phase Shift and Waning Rift respectively. 

The first ability you should max out is Illusory Orb. Illusory Orb works as a useful tool for you to harass the enemy, make them struggling in farming and put them in the low HP status. Furthermore, With Ethereal Jaunt leveled up alongside with Illusory Orb, Puck can have a lot of mobility and really have a leg up in the lane. 

The second ability to max out is Waning Rift. Beside the damage and debuff that this ability can cause, It also grants Puck the tool to be proactive in the duel. Phase Shift will be maxed out last as It is more useful in the teamfight or the late game combat when Puck needs to find a good position to cast his ultimate.

Abilities

Illusory Orb

Illusory Orb (Point Target, Magical)

Effect: Puck throws towards a radiant sphere which deals magical damage on any enemy units standing on its projectile. Furthermore, Puck can teleport to the sphere’s area by casting Ethereal Jaunt.

Mana cost: 80/100/120/140

Cooldown: 13/12/11/10 (Talents: 9/8/7/6)

Range: 3000

Damage:75/150/225/300

Travel Distance: 1950

Effect Radius: 225

Cast Animation: 0.1+0.27

Notes:

The flying speed of Illusory Orb is 651.

According to the travel speed, distance and the damage range. The Orb needs seconds to reach the end and the maximum range that Illusory Orb can cause damage is up to 2175.

Undispellable

Red pulses emitting from the orb is the sign of nearly reaching the end of the active range when it has been flying for 2.5 seconds.

The sphere grants vision in the place that it flies through. The vision will last for 5 seconds.

When leveling Illusory Orb, Ethereal Jaunt is leveled too.

Waning Rift

Waning Rift (Point Target, Magical)

Effect: Puck blinks to the target place and radiates the delighted powder that causes damage and silences the nearby enemy units.

Cooldown: 19/17/15/13 (Talents 13/11/9/7)

Cast Animation: 0.1+0.27

Cast Range: Global

Mana Cost: 100/110/120/130

Max Distance: 300 ( Talents:550)

Radius: 400 (Talents: 650)

Damage: 70/130/190/250

Silence Duration: 2/2.5/3/3.5 (Talents: 2.75/3.25/3.75/4.25)

Upgradable by Aghanim’s Shard:

Effect: Warning Rift pushes the enemy units back,deals extra damage and unveils the invisible units and wards within the active area.

• Damage: 140/200/260/320
• Knockback Distance: 250
• Knockback Duration: 0.4
• True Sight Duration: 5

Notes:

By ↓↓ Double-tapping Puck will teleport to the target in the front with the range of 25.

If the projectiles have been cast before Pluck uses the Waning Rift, He can not dodge them.

The damage and silence are applied immediately in the area without delay regardless of visual effect.

• The order would be: Damage -> Silence -> knockback -> True Sight ( pushback and True sight are only applied when having Aghanim’s Shard).

With Aghanim’s Shard update, the pushback speed is 625. The pushback distance is 250 regardless of the distance between the unit and the center.

• During the pushback time, Units are not disabled, they can still attack or use items. Furthermore, channelling items is not disrupted.
• The pushed units can not be stopped by any terrain. The trees are destroyed in the knockback range.

Phase Shift

Phase Shift (Channeled)

Effect: Puck temporarily disappears and immunes from any types of damage for a few seconds

Cast animation: 0+0

Max Channel Time: 0.75/1.5/2.25/3.25

Cooldown: 7.5/7/6.5/6

(Talents) Instant Attack Range Bonus: 200

Notes:

Only be dispelled by death.

No projectiles can hit Pluck during the Phase Shift’s duration.

Phase Shift can be disrupted easily.

During the Phase Shift’s effect, Pluck is banishing and impregnable.

• Others can not go through Pluck during Phase Shift’s duration.
• The banishing and impregnable effect stays for a short moment right after the channeling finishes or is disrupted.

The instant attack given by talents will cause damage on all opponent’s units within the attack range whenever Phase Shift is cast.

• These instant attacks can be performed even when Pluck is disarmed. These instant attacks are granted with attack modifier proc and on-hit effects as normal.
• Most of the visible enemies in the attack range will be attacked by Phase Shift’s instant attacks except wards and Undying Zombies.
• The total range of instant attack is 750
• Other attack range bonuses can have an effect on the instant attack radius, not cast range bonuses.

Ethereal Jaunt

Ethereal Jaunt

Effect: Puck is instantly transmitted to a flying Illusory Orb

Cast Animation: 0+0.53

Cooldown: 0

Notes:

When leveling Illusory Orb, Ethereal Jaunt is leveled too.

This ability is only available and ready to use only when Illusory Orb is cast and in its duration.

• In Ability Draft mode, Ethereal Jaunt and Illusory Orb are put in the same slot as the non-ultimate abilities can not have more than one slot. Ethereal will be visible and available to use in this slot when the orb flies

If the projectiles have been cast before Pluck uses the Ethereal Jaunt, He can dodge them.

In case there are two spheres cast consecutively, the duration to trigger this ability relies on the first sphere.

• Nevertheless, Pluck will be transmitted to the latest created sphere.

Dream Coil

Dream Coil (Point Target, Magical)

Effect: Puck creates a luminous globular object that stuns, damages and leashes the nearby enemy heroes. If the enemy heroes try to get away by running out of the active range, Dream Coil snaps and they will be stunned and receive extra damage.

Cast Animation: 0.1+ 0.27

Mana cost: 100/150/200

Cooldown: 80

Cast Range: 750

Coil Latch Radius: 375

Link Break Radius: 600

Initial Damage: 125/200/275

Link Break Damage: 200/300/400

Initial Stun Duration: 0.5

Link Break Stun Duration: 1.8/2.4/3

Coil Duration: 6

(Talents) Instant Attack Radius: 775

(Talents) Instant Attack Interval: 0.75

Upgradable by Aghanim’s Scepter:

• Link Break Damage: 300/450/600
• Link Break Stun Duration: 2/3/4
• Coil Duration: 8

Notes:

Undispellable.

Any heroes in the active range of the Dream Coil including illusions, clones and creep-heroes are leashed. When leashing debuffs are affecting, heroes can not cast some mobility spells.

• If the enemy heroes enter the active range of Dream Coil after it is casted. They won’t be lashed by the coil.

The enemy heroes will be unleashed if they move 600 range away from the coil. Instead they will be stunned and receive damage.

• The damage and stun will be applied if possible
• The order would be: unleash -> deal damage -> debuff.

The enemy units which are invisible or hidden in the Fog of War still be leashed by the Dream Coil but their positions aren’t unveiled.

In cases where many Dream Coil abilities are casted, they will place their own leash separately.

The Dream Coil rapid fire given by talents will cause damage on all leashed enemy heroes whenever Puck is in the 775 radius of the targeted area.

• These instant attacks can be performed even when Pluck is disarmed. These instant attacks are granted with attack modifier proc and on-hit effects as normal.
• The instant attacks can be executed even when Puck is in the Phase Shift’s duration.
• Each instant attack is executed every 0.75 seconds, starting 0.75 seconds after Dream Coil is cast, which means the total instances will be 8 ( 10 with Aghanim’s Scepter upgrade).
• The instant attacks will stop if the leash is broken or dispelled by the spell immunity.
• As Puck might need to execute the instant attack several times due to multiple instances of Dream Coil on enemies, the debuffs will affect each instance separately.

Effective items guides

Early game

Enchanted Mango

Enchanted Mango grants Puck a large amount of mana which helps him cast the Illusory Orb more frequently.

Null Talisman

Null Talisman gives Puck the bonus in his attributes.

Faerie Fire

Faerie Fire grants a small amount of damage and instant heal, which helps Puck might be easier to last hit the creep or confident in trading skills.

Mid game

Boots of Speed

Boots of Speed can be upgraded into Power Treads which supplies Pucks with health pool and mana.

Arcane Boots

Arcane Boots: Another choice to upgrade your Boost of Speed. This item can be considered when playing Puck as a supporter because the large amount of mana it restores to the nearby allies.

Blink Dagger

Blink Dagger synergizes really well with Puck’s abilities which make him really hard to be ganked or easily find a good position to get in the teamfight and deal a lot of damage.

Eul's Scepter of Divinity

Eul’s Scepter of Divinity beside granting bonus stat which increases the damage from Puck. Its activation also provides a tool for Puck to disable the enemy for a few seconds which is extremely useful when escaping.

Late game

Dagon

Dagon: with the bonus stats and magical burst which is granted by Dagon, Puck can easily wipe out an enemy with its combo.

Linken's Sphere

Linken's Sphere is a valuable item if the opponent team has various sources of AoE damage and disables. Besides granting Puck some decent attributes and regeneration, Its activation can protect Puck and allies by blocking most of the spells.

Aghanim's Scepter

Aghanim’s Scepter: Besides increasing the duration of Puck’s ultimate ability, It also lengthens the stun effect and grants spell immunity pierce. Furthermore, the bonus stats it grants is considerable.

Puck has a tool to disable enemies by morphing them into a swine ,which helps Puck kill the enemy easier, besides the mana and mana regeneration it grants.

Situation items

Veil of Discord

Veil of Discord: Its activation amplifies the magical damage from your team which might instantly wipe out the enemy units.

Force Staff

Force Staff makes Puck more mobile and can be used to interrupt Dream Coil in order to stun the enemy heroes.

Shiva's Guard

Shiva’s Guard increases the maximum health capacity and grants armor which help Puck survive better in the teamfight. Furthermore, the slow effect it provides is also helpful.

Enemies & Allies

Allies

Dark Willow

Dark Willow: with Terrorize , the enemies are feared and run away which breaks the leash of the Dream Coil.

Magnus

Magnus: Dream Coil will put enemies in the great position for Magnus to cast Reverse Polarity. Besides, Skewer is a tool to push the enemy out of the range of the Dream Coil range to stun and cause damage on them.

Enigma

Enigma: Good Black Hole can be the perfect setup for Puck to cast Dream Coil. Furthermore,  combining Dream Coil with Black Hole and Midnight Pulse in a perfect way, they can deal tons of damage on enemy heroes.

Invoker

Invoker: Dream Coil is a great setup for Invoker to use up his combo as Invoker has many abilities that cause AoE damage such as E.M.P, Deafening Blast, and so on. Moreover, Chaos Meteor of Invoker can be used to trigger the snap of Dream Coil by pushing the enemy heroes out of the leash range.

Kunkka

Kunkka: With the great setup from Dream Coil, Torrent and Ghostship can easily hit the target and deal more damage. Besides, X Mark The Spot works as a lifebuoy for Puck in case It is put in danger by using Ethereal Jaunt or Waning Rift. 

Phoenix

Phoenix: With the help from Dream Coil, Supernova can easily disable and damage the enemies in the active area.Dream Coil also protects Phoenix while casting Supernova, preventing enemies from getting closer to kill Phoenix incubating in the egg. Besides, Puck can take the advantage from one of the core items of Phoenix: Veil of Discord.

Witch Doctor

Witch Doctor can take advantage of Dream Coil and use up his abilities. Maledict in combination with Dream Coil make a wombo combo as they amplify each other's damage. Moreover, Dream Coil prevents enemies to run away the active range of Witch Doctor’s Death Ward and Paralyzing Cask

Counters

Arc Warden

Arc Warden: When dueling with Arc Warden, Puck must be careful when casting Phase Shift because Spark Wraith will deal damage right after the Phase Shift channeling ends. To worsen the situation for Puck, with the copy created by Tempest Double, Arc Warden can cast Spark Wraith twice and double the damage deal. Flux can slow the enemy down which reduces the effect of Blick Dagger.

Faceless Void

Faceless Void: Dueling with Faceless Void will cause Puck a lot of troubles as Chronosphere locks and stuns Puck in the circular area. Time Dilation increases the cooldowns and decreases the movement speed which is the hard counter against Puck as Puck really relies on his spells to deal damage and to survive. With Time Walk, Faceless Void can restore the lost HP caused by Puck’s abilities.

Jakiro

Jakiro: Dual Breath, Liquid Fire cause damage per seconds and slow the attack and movement speed which make Puck vulnerable for any ganks or lose the position in teamfight. Ice Path can be casted in the duration of Phase Shift and Puck gets stunned and slowed immediately right after the Phase Shift ends. 

Lycan

Lycan: Using Shapeshift grants Lycan critical strikes and movement speed increase which is useful to hunt Puck down due to its low armor.

Night Stalker

Night Stalker: Void can instantly finish Puck due to its low health capacity. Puck heavily depends on its abilities to deal damage or to run away so Crippling Fear’s silence effect will make it vulnerable.

Nyx Assassin

Nyx Assassin: The skill set of Nyx is the perfect tool to counter Puck. Mana Burn puts Puck in the mana shortage status more frequently which prevents it from casting spells continually. Due to the slow movement of Illusory Orb, Nyx can cast Spiked Carapace to stun Puck and use Impulse to cause damage. The timely Impale can stun Puck when Phase Shift ends.

Silencer

Silencer: Puck does not stand a chance when dueling with Silencer. Arcane Curse reduces the effect of Blink Dagger and increases the cooldowns when Puck tries to cast a lot of spells. Glaives of Wisdom is extremely effective when used against Puck due to its low armor.  Last Word reveals the Puck’s location which prevents him from using up his abilities and dealing damage in the teamfights or ganks. Global Silence disables Puck in the teamfight for a while. 

Templar Assassin

Templar Assassin: Refraction can be used to guard Templar Assassin against the Puck’s harassment in the laning phase. Pure damage from Psi Blades and its instantly spillover effect make Puck hardly dodge the damage.

Venomancer

Venomancer: Venomous Gale and Poison Nova hinders Puck to use Blink Dagger to blink to the expecting direction.

Wraith King

Wraith King: Waning Rift’s silence is quite useless against Wraith King as he only has one active ability. The only active ability, Wraithfire Blast can deal damage per second besides the stun and instant damage that its causes which can make Puck use up his consumables or be put in the dangerous low HP state in the laning phase.

Items Counter

Black King Bar

Black King Bar: protect the holder from the damage caused by Puck.

Orchid Malevolence

Orchid Malevolence: prevents Puck from escaping with Illusory Orb.

Scythe of Vyse

Scythe of Vyse and Abyssal Blade: disables and silences Puck so it can not get away.

Nullifier

Nullifier slows Puck down and reduces the efficiency of Blink Dagger.

Dagon

Dagon: the burst damage will finish Puck before it can cast Phase Shift. 

Favorable Matchups

Void Spirit

Void Spirit: Puck’s enormous magic damage in the early game can be a threat to Void Spirit as It can easily wipe out Void Spirit. Besides, using Dissimilate and Astral Step when Puck casts Waning Rift and Dream Coil is suicidal.

Pangolier

Pangolier: SwashBuckle and Rolling Thunder are countered totally by Waning Rift. The situation even gets worse for Pangloier when Puck has Aghanim’s Scepter.

Crystal Maiden

Crystal Maiden: Freezing Field can be stopped easily by Waning Rift and Dream Coil.

Mirana

Mirana: Sacred Arrow is slow  which gives Puck enough time to get away by using Ethereal Jaunt or Blink Dagger. Phase Shift also guards Puck against Starstorm. Mirana can not cast Leap if Puck already used either Waning Rift or Dream Coil in the area. 

Phoenix

Phoenix: By using Waning Rift, Puck stops Phoenix casting Supernova which helps Puck and his allies to execute Phoenix. Dream Coil makes Phoenix to be more careful when casting Icarus Dive in order not to get out of the leash range. In the late game, Waning Rift and Dream Coil can disable Sun Ray. 

Sniper

Sniper: Like its name, Sniper is supposed to be used to take down enemies from a long and safe distance. However, Puck can approach Sniper easily with Blink Dagger, Illusory Orb and even Waning Rift. Besides, the Sniper's health capacity is quite low which can evaporate instantly if receiving the full combo from Puck. Puck can use Phase Shift to dodge Sniper’s ultimate easily due to its prolonging cast time. Puck’s core items and abilities such as Blink Dagger, Linken’s Sphere, Ethereal Jaunt and so on, give it various options to dodge or disjoint attacks from Sniper.

Terrorblade

Terrorblade: Waning Rift and Illusory Orb are used to clean up Terrorblade’s illusion quickly. Using Waning Rift timely, Puck can stop Terrorblade casting Sunder.

Game plan

Early game

Farming is Puck priority in the early game. Use Illusory Orb and Waning Rift to last hit the creep and harass the enemies and prevent them from farming. With the Bottle items, you should try to control the runes as they are gonna give you more health and mana to farm and only go back to the fountain for the complete item. 

Only casting Ethereal Jaunt on the enemy when you know it is a sure kill or your jungle is close to and the enemy is not too close to the tower. If you are an underdog in your lane, try to hold your position to farm and avoid any unnecessary skirmish and wait for the jungle to help you secure the skill. 

When clearing the creep wave, you can increase your golds by farming the neutral creeps in the jungle near the mid lane. You might consider moving in the loop instead of moving straight back after you successfully last hit a creep which prevents you from getting hit by any abilities from your opponent.

Mid game

Your priority is still farming but be ready to engage in any imminent fights.With some items and Town Portal Scroll, you can teleport to other lanes to support and secure the kill. 

Make sure you only do that when clearing up the creep waves in your lane or winning your lane. Immediately go back to your lane when finishing the gank to maximize the efficiency and destroy the wards on your way back to the lane if possible.

Late game

Your objectives in the late game are quite the same with the mid game but this time you and your team might play around the keys objectives like Roshan and towers. As you are insanely strong when the game is dragged to the late so you must find a great position to cast your whole abilities and then win the combat or even the game. 

With Waning Rift and Ethereal Jaunt, you can initiate the teamfight then cast Phase Shift and Dream Coil to immune yourself from damage and debuffs and set up for your allies abilities respectively.