Rylai Crestfall (The Crystal Maiden)

Rylai Crestfall - The Crystal Maiden

Range: 600 | Move Speed: 280
Primary: INT
Str: 16 + 1.7 | Agi: 16 + 1.6 | Int: 21 + 2.9
Damage: 38 – 44 | HP: 454 | Mana: 273
HP Regen: 0.73 | Mana Regen: 0.85
Attack Speed: 1.43 | Armor: 0

Frost Nova (V)
Blasts enemy units around a target enemy unit with a wave of damaging frost that slows movement speed and attack rate for 4 seconds.
Level 1 - 50 target damage and 75 nova damage.
Level 2 - 100 target damage and 100 nova damage.
Level 3 - 125 target damage and 125 nova damage.
Level 4 - 175 target damage and 125 nova damage.
Mana Cost: 100/130/155/185
Cooldown: 11 seconds
Comment: A nice spell with slow effect.Damage is quite good for early and mid game but not so good for my build.Use it when chasing enemies to slow them(and damage them).

Frostbite (E)
Freezes the target in a case of ice, prohibiting movement and attacking. Deals 70 damage per second.
Level 1 - Lasts 1.5 seconds.
Level 2 - Lasts 2 seconds.
Level 3 - Lasts 2.5 seconds.
Level 4 - Lasts 3 seconds.
Mana Cost: 115/ 125/ 140/ 150
Cooldown: 12 seconds
Comment: This skill is veeery good because of the freeze effect which acts similar to stun,only the damage is dealt over time.So at level 3 its 70 Damage* 3 seconds = 210 damage.Very useful skill.

Brilliance Aura (R)
Gives additional mana regeneration to all friendly units.
Level 1 - Adds 0.6 mana regeneration.
Level 2 - Adds 1.2 mana regeneration.
Level 3 - Adds 1.8 mana regeneration.
Level 4 - Adds 2.4 mana regeneration.
Mana Cost: N/A
Cooldown: N/A
Comment: Now this is the skill I use.It helps your mana regeneration,and i go for it first,not nova because my strategy is quite mana demanding.More on this later.

Freezing Field (Z)
Causes many random icy explosions in an area surrounding Rylai. Lasts 4 seconds.
Level 1 - Each explosion deals 105 damage.
Level 2 - Each explosion deals 170 damage.
Level 3 - Each explosion deals 250 damage.
Mana Cost: 300/400/ 600
Cooldown: 150/120/90 seconds
Comment: Aaahhh…The Freezing Field.The level 4 damage is with the Aghanim’s Scepter.The damage it deals is MASSIVE.Note that it is a channeling spell,so you can easily be stopped by stuners like Vengeful Spirit for example.It also slows all enemies within the Area of Effect.

Item Build:

1.
Ancient Tango of Essifation (80)
Actived (2 charges): Eat tree to gain 100 hp.
Item disappears when charges used up
Rylai is a low HP hero so she needs these items.
2.
Boots of Speed (500)
+50 incr movement speed.
+Movement speed does not stack with Boots of Speed, Power Treads or Boots of Travel.
Rylai is a very slow hero so she needs this thing early too.
3.
Aghanim`s Scepter (6200)
+500 Hitpoints
+500 Mana
+30 Intelligence
Passive: Improves Ultimates for Lina, Zeus, Furion, Pugna, Rylai, Rhasta, Queen of Pain, Venomancer, Lich, Leshrac, Lion, Necrolyte, Keeper of the Light, Luna, Orge Magi and Lucifer
Cannot be Dropped
Mystic Staff + Soul Booster
My Rylai needs much mana.This gives her looot of mana.Rylai is low HP.This gives her loooot of HP.Rylai’s ultimate is main combo component.Thi improves her ultimeate.Nothing else to say.Simply the best item for Rylai.Components order:I suggest point booster first,then energy booster and finally vitality booster.
4.
Lothar`s Edge (4050)
+21 Damage
+ 21 Agility
Wind Walk (active)

2x Blade of Alacrity + Claymore + Lothar`s Edge Recipe Scroll
This item is used for windwalking,not for agility and damage ofcourse.More on lothars edge later.
5.
Linken`s Sphere (5175)
Blocks most targeted spells once every 20 seconds
+6 HP regen/second
+150% mana regen
+15 Agility
+15 Intelligence
+15 Strength

Perseverance + Ultimate Orb + Linken`s Sphere Recipe Scroll
This item is important because it can block most stun spells that would otherwise stop your channeling.It also provides nice all stats bonuses and extra HP and mana regeneration.
6.
Boots of Travel (2700)
+85 Run Speed
Active: Teleport
60 Second Cooldown 4 Second Cast Time
Boots of Speed + Boots of Travel Recipe Scroll
This gives her more speed that Power Threads and the teleport ability.Since Rylai isn’t a hitting character,she doesn’t need attack speed of Power threads
7.
Refresher Orb (5575)
+150% Mana Regeneration
+4 HP/Sec Regeneration
+40 Damage
Activate: Refresh Ability Cooldowns
240 Second Cooldown 275 Mana Cost
Perseverance + Oblivion Staff + Refresher Orb Recipe Scroll
This item is good in late game or when you face high HP heroes such as Pudge or Axe.
8.
Shiva`s Guard (4900)
+30 Intelligence
+15 Armor
Freezing Aura
Arctic Blast (active)
Plate Mail + Mystic Staff + Shiva`s Guard
Well, if you have all items from above and STILL have much money(not usual)…Buy this!Nice aura,artic blast can be used to escape and it is cool to have this with Crystal Maiden!You will be the master of ice..

Early Game:

Crystal maiden:

Pros:

-good int gain

-nice skill damage

-skills help each other

-you can make nice combos

Cons:

-low HP

-She is slow

-Ultimate manacost is insane

-Ultimate is channeling

Now,just to make it clear,my build solves all cons of Rylai:)

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Now,for the skill build,you wonder why do’nt use nova,and use Brilliance Aura instead.Well,if you go frostbite and nova,you won’t have enough mana for both of them.You may make it with Clarity potions,but they dispel on attack which means you will have to stay back and miss Xp, denies and last hits.Frostbite is more then enough to kill somebody,and with the aura,you will have mana to cast it more often and no gold is wasted on clarity potions.So let’s get started.In all games buy and 1 or 2 .In smaller games buy a point or energy booster if you can afford it.The best lane for Rylai…Well in VERY early game best lane is mid of course but once you hit level 7-8 and get freezing field and maxed frostbite,it will be much easier to kill enemies in bottom or top lanes.It is your decision,in mid lane you won’t die but you won’ kill either and in other lanes you will kill easier but can be easily killed by some good melee heroes like axe.You may block creeps but then after your tower destroys first enemy wave,your creeps will push towards enemy tower which is NOT what you want.

Frostbite

Now more about how to use frostbite.Frost bite can be used in more then one way.The point is to use it so the hero takes most damage.Of course it does same damage no matter how you cast it but the point is when you cast it:

1)-when you see the enemy hero will be attacked by your creeps for those 2-3 seconds he is frozen.That will not hurt him VERY much,but when you keep doing that,he will always be low HP.A screenshot:

This made him lose only about 25% hp,but I do that rapidly with right timing,so he becomes low hp in two more creep waves.Then,when you are sure your ulti will kill you,cast frostbite,run next to him and cast ulti.Note that you should position your self a little bit towards the enemies escape route,but still not too far,or he will run in opposite direction.

Another screenshot of me vs axe,who made a stupid mistake to come this close to me,hoping to kill me with few helixes and his ulti(a bit lower resolution because larger isn’t required):

Of course,this damaged him quite a lot although he is axe.He retreated to his base and healing after this,missing expirience,gold,last hits and denies,so I gained big advantage over him.

2)-Frostbite is a great skill for saving allies.When you see somebody chasing your ally,cast frostbite on him.If your ally turns around,finish the enemy,if not,you run too if you can’t kill the guy.Here’s a screenshot.Now my ally Vengeful spirit had just pwned somebody’s head,but barely escaped the tower.I’ve already used my ulti to kill an enemy,but furion survived.Because he realized I will kill him,he decided to at least kill Vengeful spirit before dying(smart of him)-1 hit would be enough.

Luckily i cast frostbite in last second,and of course:

3)Now look at this screenshot(Sorry if there are too many screenshots,I just wanted to make things as clear as possible):

Furion and I are just shooting at each other.But he doesn’t see my ally vengefull spirit(you cannot see her either,sry for that but I circled her on minimap.).So when I saw Vengefull spirit was coming in I froze furion for few seconds.That + V. Spirit’s stun and we got the kill(actually she got the kill:( )

Ok so early game is till lvl 11 for Rylai ,and you should aim to get get as much boosters as possible,and maybe even complete Soul Booster.Pushing is not goal here because you want the enemy close to your tower.Just keep casting frostbite,2-3 kills and do not die!

Mid Game:

Ok so middle game starts with level 11,your ulti has lower cooldown but larger mana cost.You will notice that your frostbite tactic isn’t working anymore becasue heroes get stronger compared to towers and creeps than they were in early game.Since that was our primary damaging tactic,we will have to think of a new one.So before i show you how to score kills in middle game I just want to make some points here:

• Do not attack stunners.You start your ulti, they stop your ulti.Bad.Since you still don’t have any anti-stun tactic,don’t attack stunners 1 on 1 or without an ally disabler.
• Watch your mana.It isn’t good when you plan a kill,cast frostbite and then discover that you don’t have enough mana for freezing field.However,with you aura and with boosters,and possibly aghanim’s scepter,you should be fine.
• If your freezing field fails,or you think you will not score a kill,get the hell out of there!No,seriosly if you, let’s say, get stunned while chaneling ulti by Barathum or something similar, what can you do? Your attack isn’t strong so you can’t rely on it for kills. Use frostbite to escape.
• Do not do anything stupid and know when to run. Consider this screenshot: That’s me and my famous ally V. Spirit against 3 heroes + an incoming Mirana arrow (which of course means Mirana is coming too). A stupid thing would be staying here hoping to kill Furion,although he is low HP. You are silenced by riki’s smoke by the way. So how should you escape? Left would be a bad option,because you see that elune’s arrow will hit V. Spirit and if you are close to her, it will stun you too for a looong time(5 secs max!).So if you go right, arrow will hit your ally, all enemies will attack and kill her, but you will escape while they are killing her(They will choose her as a target because she is stunned:)).In these situation do not even think of using ulti to kill 4 of them in the same time or something similar.In these situations it is important not to panic, stay cool and in 2 vs 4 don’t even think about saving your ally, because only thing you will achieve is getting yourself killed too.

Ok, so now let’s move on to killing.The key thing in killing enemies is the element of suprise. So you should sneak up to an enemy,f rostbite him and cast freezing field. Of course,more screenshots:

1)-You spot an enemy alone in east lane. His last creep is being killed at the moment so he will run back.You have to frostbite him,come close to him and cast ulti.So her it is: You spotted him: 2)Frostbite: 3)Frezing Field: 4)He is dead.You should do this as often as possible.Stay out of trouble and in team fights don’t stand in the front row because you are not a tank.Stay back,wait for the right opportunity and then strike with Freezing field.Freezing Field is the ultimate batle changing.Your team may be losing a fight, but you cast Freezinf Field and kill everyone in sight.Get Aghanim’s Scepter as soon as possible,and then start buying for lothars edge-that’s 2 blades of alaricity(each 1000) and a claymore(1400).The recipe costs 650 gold.And when you have lothar’s edge… (Original idea by Steve-O)-You who have read Steve’O’s guide to witch doctor know what am going to show you now.If you thought that buying lothar’s edge was nonsence, hear this. Now when you cast Freezing Field,as soon as you press “Z” hotkey,press Lothar’s edge. You will go in wind walk,but will still channel Freezing Field! This is great against stuners who need to target you like V.Spirit or Leoric. Now you can kill those stunners too. They will wait for you to cast ulti so they can stun you,but you go invisible…Simply wonderful.Note that if you buy Lothar’s Edge you don’t have to buy Linken’s Sphere.And if you don’t know which one to buy:

Linken’s Sphere:

Nice all stats bonuses+15 to int = + 15 damage

Nice Regeneration bonuses

Blocks only 1 spell every 20 seconds

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Lothar’s Edge:only + to agi-not so useful+21 damageWindwalk can be used to escape toowhile channeling while invisible,no targeted spells can hit you for the whole duration,uklike when you have linken’sI prefer buying Lothar’s Edge,especially for escaping.So mid game goals are ambushing opponents,running from trouble and helping teammatesNote that Lothar’s edge will not save you against stunners who doesn’t have ti target you like Tidehunter,Lion,Nerub and those guys.

Late Game:

So you’ve made it till late game.Now you have lvl 3 ulti + Aghanim’s,a massive damage spell with a massive mana cost.Mana cost shouldn’t be a problem since you have a lot of mana and good mana regeneration.Now the question is:Do you have enough mana for refresher orb?Well it depends on your play.Watch your mana and you decie whether to buy it or not.Note that it can be a bit chalinging to use it.The spell order should be:

Frostbite-Freezing Field-WindWalk-Nova-Refresh-Frostbite-FreezingField-Windwalk-Nova-Frostbite if cooldown is over-…he is dead.

Now Rylai should really get the best items because she is STILL quite killable if enemy counters windwalk.Now get what you want to get,but here are a few suggestions:

Shiva Guard-Helps chasing and escaping because escaping with Lothar’sisn’t always very promising.

Heart Of Tarrasque-More Hp and Hp regeneration

Radiance-More Damage,And it’s wonderful with freezing field.Only downside is that they can notice if you are windwalking near them, but as soon as they start running you Frostbite them.

Guinsoo’s Scyte of Vyse-a disabler.

If your team has to push on one side but to defend on another,Rylai should stay and defend.If there is a massive wave of creeps,especially mega-creeps,feel free to use your ulti to clear whole wave and get much gold,because 90 second cooldown isn’t much.When you go to fountain and come back ulti is ready again.

Conclusion:

Good Allies:

Any good stuner or disabler like Leoric or Tiny

Best ally:Well it is hard to say,but i like this guy:You just have to love his hex,Nets and mass wards.Great complementary heroes.

Another nice option would be.It’s quite simple:You freeze,he spins.You will crush opponents in early game.Works wonders.

Bad enemies:Ok so again all stuners and disablers apply,but I will point out some really nasty ones:.Most of these guys stop your channeling no matter of Linkrn’s or Lothar’s.Lucy’s Doom is just too powerfull.It damages you heavily and silences(read “kills”) you.

Worst enemies:

Ok so how to deal with Magina:1-you see magina.2-you press lothar’s and run if you are low on mana.If you are HIGH on mana and have some allies to help,you can kill him,but his mana burning attacks/magic resistance(oO)/ultimate can make your life harder.

How to deal with silencer:1-you see silencer.2- you run.Quite simple.Here’s why:Yor powers are your combo’s.This guy’s aura is something worse somebody can do to you.Silences after each of your spells.Simply too powerfull.And his ulti can silence you wherever you are on the map,so you become useless if the team has a silencer,unless you have refresher orb.So the best idea is not to spam-click Rylai’s icon as soon as host types “-ap”,but to wait till enemies have chosen their heroes,or if they choose silencer and you have already picked Rylai,repick.

Source: Moon_Raven

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008 at 10:42 am and is filed under Guides and Technique, Rylai Crestfall. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.