Disclaimer:Glacius is an incredibly straightfoward hero. Crystal Maiden (the dota equivalent) was probably my strongest hero when I played competitively, so after reading this guide, all my knowledge of this hero will be passed on to you. That's all there is to it.
This guide is meant to be straightforward and to the point. I will not go over basic skills like last hitting and ward placement, however, you can refer to Nome's guide on warding by following this link http://forums.heroesofnewerth.com/showthread.php?t=4839
Skills:
Tundra Blast: Glacius assaults an enemy unit with an explosion of ice. The unit is first damaged from the initial attack, and then damaged again when the explosion hits nearby units. All units hit by the explosion will have their movespeed and attack speed slowed.
Target: Hostile, organic unit
Type: Magic
Range: 700 at all levels
Mana cost: 100/120/140/160
Cooldown: 15 seconds at all levels
80/130/180/230 damage, 4 second 30% movespeed slow, -20% attack speed slow at all levels.
Duration: 5 seconds at all levels
Notes: A decent snare + nuke, the slow is constant at all levels, which means that the only benefit of extra levels in tundra blast is for the damage. However, there is a big difference between 80 and 230 damage, so we will be maxing out this skill mid-game as opposed to taking stats.
Ice Imprisonment: Glacius encases an enemy unit in ice. The target if frozen solid, unable to move or attack. The unit takes damage over time while frozen.
Target: Hostile, organic unit
Type: Magic
Range: 500 at all levels
Cooldown: 10 seconds at all levels
1.5/2/2.5/3 second duration, 70 damage/second
Notes: A very simple skill, it holds the enemy in place, allowing your allies to murder them. It does not stop spells, however. Displacement spells like Flash, Time Leap and Charging Strikes will result in the target still being frozen after executing their spell. Stone hide, Hardened carapace, protective charm and shrunken head can be used to instantly dispel the freeze. Swiftblade's spin will dispel the damage but you will still be frozen in place (thanks to those that pointed this out). Nevertheless it is a strong skill and is more reliable then tundra blast all things considering. Ice imprisonment does not last longer against creeps. Ice imprisonment can be used to stop channeling spells.
Chilling Presence: Glacius helps his allies remain cool in the face of danger, giving them a clear and calm mind. Increases mana regeneration of all ally heroes no matter where they are on the map.
Type: Global aura
Grants .75/1.5/2.25/3 mana/second to all ally heroes and Glacius.
Stacks with Ring of the Teacher. The mana bonus is static and is not considered for % mana regen items.
Notes: What do I need to say about this, really? This is the whole reason we pick Glacius. And it doesn't even require skill. Your allies will love you, and even a mentally damaged monkey can level up a passive skill. Every hero on your team becomes much, much stronger when you level this skill, Madman and Magmus, for example.
Glacial Downpour: Glacius showers are area around him with shards of ice. The shards will randomly strike around Glacius, slowing move speed, attack speed, and dealing intense damage. Can be boosted by Staff of the Master
Target: Instant, Channeling
Type: Magic
Aoe: 700 at all levels
Mana cost: 150/175/200
Summons an ice shard every 0.1 seconds at a random location in the 700 AoE around Glacius. Hostile, organic units within 200 radius of an ice shard will take 105(*170)/170(250*)/250(310*) damage and will be slowed for -30% movespeed, and -20% ias
(* shows the improved values when staff of the master is applied)
Notes: Comparing this skill to Crystal Maiden's freezing field, there are some notable differences. First of all, the mana cost of Glacial Downpour is much, much lower then Freezing field (300/400/600). Some people question the viability of this ult at level 6, but I believe that the low mana cost and the effective AoE slow is already enough reason to take it. It is certainly going to do more then an extra level of ice imprisonment or tundra blast.
Note that Glacial Downpour slows enemy units in the AoE even if they aren't hit when cast for 1 second. Thanks to Idejder to pointing that out.
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Core Analysis: This is where we analyze hero-specific stuff like stat/stat gain and movespeed. Glacius has poor base damage despite an improved attack animation. He is incredibly slow, and has poor armor. Although he has a rather high int gain, it isn't that effective since his spells have relatively low mana costs. His base int could be alot better too.
Ice imprisonment doesn't stop spells, while tundra blast essentially is just a nuke+slow that isn't particularly great for farming due to its mechanics. Glacial Downpour kind of sucks and is used more for the slow early in the game, although the damage can add up later on.
Conclusion? Glacius sucks...but wait! What about his aura? Oh wow, look at those numbers...Glacius doesn't suck, we can just pick him for his aura! Anyone can max out a passive skill though. Let's try to max out his potential via the only way possible on a hero with this kind of skillset, support!
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Skill build:
1: Ice Imprisonment
2: Chilling Presence/ Tundra Blast
3: Chilling Presence
4: Tundra Blast/Chilling Presence
5: Chilling Presence
6: Glacial Downpour
7: Chilling Presence (maxed out)
8-10: Ice Imprisonment (maxed out)
11: Glacial Downpour
12-14: Tundra Blast (maxed out)
15: Attribute Bonus
16: Glacial Downpour (maxed out)
17-25: Attribute Bonus
The cookie cutter build with Glacius, focusing on his aura and ganking potential with Ice imprisonment.
Why Ice Imprisonment over Tundra blast at level 1? Surely 30% slow for 4 seconds > 1.5 immobilize right? Well I have 2 arguments for this. First of all, any Bloodlust combo with Glacius (Swiftblade, Devourer, Electrician, Slither) will work regardless of which one you use. Ice imprisonment will be more useful then tundra blast if you are the target of a Bloodlust combo, however. If you do not have a lane with FB potential, then Ice imprisonment is certainly superior to Tundra blast.
Second of all, the cooldown difference between tundra blast and ice imprisonment makes it obvious which one is a safer choice at level 1.
Why would you ever take tundra blast at level 2? To gank the solo lane. If you have vision of the rune spawns via wards and can access it, ganking the solo lane with one level in tundra blast and ice imprisonment is more often then not enough to draw bloodlust. Giving your solo that edge is worth more to your team then giving your team a level of Chilling presence a level earlier.
If you do not have vision of the rune spawn or you cannot access it, take Presence at level 2.
As mentioned earlier, the only way tundra blast scales, besides mana cost, is damage. One level at level 4 is enough for early game.
Ice imprisonment not only scales in duration, but damage (since they are linearly related). It has priority over Tundra Blast.
Glacial Downpour, while having completely unpredictable damage, is still useful for the slow. Take it whenever possible.
Item build:Although you can do stuff in pubs like rushing staff of the master, tbh I don't really care. I am going to post one item build that will work in all scenerios regardless of tier.
-Monkey/Winged Courier (200/400 g)
-Wards (both types, 200 g)
-Fortified Bracers (510 g each)
-Steamboots (1490 g)
-Portal Key (luxury, 2150 g)
-Shrunken head (luxury, 3900 g)
If you can get an ally to buy courier so that you can buy a set of wards right off the bat, or vise versa, you should do so. Buying both the courier and wards right off the bat puts quite a strain on any support hero. You will want to fill up the rest of your starting inventory with minor regen, a mana pot or two, and minor stats whenever possible. Despite chilling presence, it may not be enough very early on, especially if you are aggressive, depending on your lane/playstyle. You will want to build fortified bracers (at least 2) and farm up steamboots whenever possible...imho the +10 to str is and +5 int (terribad base int) is far more favorable then phase.
Between all the warding you will do, if at all possible find a way to farm shrunken head. However, without the ward limit, you should realistically rarely ever farm shrunken head. Map control is more important then the ability to channel your rather crappy ult. Portal key is also a possible purchase, being quite useful in ganks (and depending on the circumstance half decent for setting up your ult) and escapes. It is more viable as of the last patch where the limits on wards was FINALLY removed, but it boils down to personal preference whether you choose to go shrunken head or portal key. Both have their uses.
Explanation: This item build revolves around support, this should be obvious. Wards and courier all follow this idea, and survivability via fortified bracers and steamboots is a necessity. Don't go bottle on Glacius. If I thought bottle on Glacius was a good idea I'd tell you to max out tundra blast and ice imprisonment first. Your allies will make better use of bottle then you ever will.
Support and vitality. Rather similar to my Slither item build huh?
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Laning: Any lane is fine, just don't take a solo lane. Having vision of the closest rune spawn is a VERY good idea as Glacius. Farming is never a priority, feed the ally hero in your lane creep kills, and remember that you have chilling presence. If the enemy heroes make a mistake, you have every right to punish their ignorance with an ice imprisonment + stun combo from your ally.
Ganking: Although Tundra Blast has a longer cast range then Ice Imprisonment, chaining Tundra blast after Ice Imprisonment is alot more efficient then the other way around. Only start a gank with Tundra Blast if there is absolutely no other way you can catch up with the enemy. If Glacial Downpour is not on CD, feel free to use it for the slow. It works alot more then you would think. Depending on your lineup, sometimes you will be initiating ganks, sometimes not.
Team fights: After your initating hero goes in, turn on shrunken head (if you have it) and enhanced marchers, freeze a key hero (likely a carry or soft caster) and immediately chain with your ult. Remember that the distribution of Glacial Downpour is random. As long as the enemy heroes are within 700 AoE, you have done your job. If it gets cancelled prematurely and you are still alive, nuke any hero with tundra blast (well except for a tank I guess) and long story short, try to stay alive, while offering your snares whenever possible. If for some reason you channel your ult for the full 4 second duration you will still want to follow the post-glacial downpour procedure.
Other: Chilling presence will give you enough mana regen to spam alot more then you might think. If you aren't warding, ganking or pushing, don't be afraid to grab quick creep kills by nuking them with Tundra Blast. Don't do this with allied heroes nearby though. They will not be impressed that you are stealing their farm.
Well that is the end of my 5th guide. I believe it is incredibly straightfoward, and I hope you will agree.
Cheers!
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