Pangolier/Guide

Hero

Strategy

Equipment

Gear

Gameplay[]

Playstyle
Pangolier is an agile brawler who dashes across the map, rending his target's armor with a flurry of rapier strikes. Curling up in his armored shell, he stuns and scatters foes as he rolls into teamfights, bouncing over obstacles and crashing down on the battlefield. However, Pangolier must stay vigilant in the early game, because the enemies can disable him before he has leveled up his escape abilities.
Pros	Cons
High mobility. Ignores turn rate. Repeated stun/knockback with Rolling Thunder. High burst damage.	Fragile in the early game. Vulnerable to disables. Low mana during the early game.

Initiator[]

Pangolier's strength lies in his early power spike when he hits level six. His ultimate grants spell immunity and hits enemies several times, making him a dangerous ganker and initiator, while Swashbuckle and Shield Crash allow him to quickly clear creep waves and catch up on farm. Shield Crash gives him insane amounts of survivability that allows him to safely disrupt team fights, while Swashbuckle lets him catch up on fleeing targets to finish them off.

His flexible item choices make him a great hero to have on any team. He can choose to buy sustaining items like Arcane Boots and Guardian Greaves to help his team in fights. Or, he may fancy some more disables with Diffusal Blade and Skull Basher. When the situation calls for, Pangolier may even consider offensive items like Radiance and Monkey King Bar to take advantage of the mobility and sustainability from Swashbuckle and Shield Crash to deal reliable damage.

Carry[]

As a carry, Pangolier can choose to go full glass cannon build, featuring 2 or even 3 Javelins that dish out burst magical damage on top of Swashbuckle and Shield Crash, capable of melting almost all heroes in the early to mid game. With just those items, Pangolier also farms and pushes fast because he can usually clear creep waves with just one Swashbuckle.

Ability Builds[]

Generic Pangolier
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	20	25

Talents[]

Hero Talents
-16s Rolling Thunder Cooldown	25	-2.5s Swashbuckle Cooldown
+125 Shield Crash Radius	20	+15 Swashbuckle Damage
+3s Rolling Thunder Duration	15	+80 Shield Crash Barrier Per Hero
+250 Swashbuckle Slash Range	10	+3 Lucky Shot Armor Reduction

Tips & Tactics[]

General[]

Pangolier works best as a dual or solo offlaner. Upon reaching level six, Rolling Thunder gives him a chance to play aggressively and potentially kill his laning opponents.
Due to longer cooldowns, Pangolier is not mobile in the early game. Play safely in lane. He can catch up on farm later with maxed out abilities that deal heavy damage to creeps and heroes.
Pangolier should play actively on the map, looking for heroes to gank and paying attention to incoming team fights, as his presence may completely break the enemy formation.
- However, after level six Pangolier is very reliant on items, so pushing creep waves and clearing jungle camps is also important. If Pangolier is too far from his team, he can push the wave to cause someone from the enemy team to come, thus creating space for his carry and farming important items at the same time.
Map mobility is particularly important for Pangolier. With his short cooldowns, Pangolier is almost always ready to contribute to team fights, and can swing battles at any stage of the game (though less so before level six). Keep an eye on the map and be ready to teleport if needed.
Pangolier does not need to turn to move, attack, or use abilities and items.
- He may use items like Diffusal Blade or Eul's Scepter of Divinity to disable enemy chasing behind his back without wasting time to turn around, allowing him to keep on running forward.
- He does not need to face the right direction before using Blink Dagger, allowing for more precise initiation and reliable escape—comparing to other heroes.
More tips needed.

Abilities[]

Swashbuckle[]

Swashbuckle counts as four instant attacks, all of which can proc Lucky Shot and some attack modifiers.
- Use Swashbuckle for a high chance to proc Pierce from Javelin or Monkey King Bar. Each of the 4 hits have a chance to proc it; multiple Javelins will stack, but multiple Monkey King Bars will not.
- Use Swashbuckle to proc stuns from Skull Basher and Abyssal Blade. However, due to the cooldown of Bash on those items, it can only proc on one target. So, Pangolier better uses Swashbuckle on only one target if he wishes to bash.
- Use Swashbuckle to proc Chain Lightning from Maelstrom. Its high damage and ability to hit multiple units with each proc make it the perfect item for clearing creep waves and jungle camps, if combined with Swashbuckle. Maelstrom can proc 2 times per Swashbuckle; multiple Maelstroms do not stack.
Use Swashbuckle to evade area abilities, especially those with long cast animations like Split Earth.
Use Swashbuckle to dash through impassable terrain such as over cliffs and through trees.
Use Swashbuckle to safely kill the enemy ranged creep during laning stage.
Morbid Mask combined with constant Swashbuckle barrages lets Pangolier to heal up quickly and stay in fight longer, therefore it makes Pangolier able to tank and sustain more damage.
- Try to hit the opponent as well.
Swashbuckle can hit invisible heroes.
Use Swashbuckle to get behind enemies in fights, exploiting the delay from their turn rate.
Use Swashbuckle and Shield Crash together to clear creep waves.
When chasing, use Swashbuckle to get ahead of target so that Pangolier can follow with attacks and Shield Crash.
- Try to dash directly through the hero getting chased. Swashbuckle will then perform an additional attack on this hero, increasing damage dealt and the chance of proccing Lucky Shot to further slow them down.
- After dashing ahead of the opponent, try to block their path by walking directly in front of them to slow them down, letting slower allies catch up and allowing Pangolier more time to kill the enemy before they can reach safety. Pangolier does not need to turn to attack or move, so he can keep hitting the enemy while still staying ahead of them.
- Using Swashbuckle to get ahead of the enemy means distance between Pangolier and the enemy will be minimal, allowing him to cast Rolling Thunder without having to catch up while rolling.
- If close enough, attack the enemy normally, then immediately use Swashbuckle. That attack will cost less time, as the backswing animation, which would make Pangolier unable to attack for its duration, is instead completely negated by Swashbuckle. The distance gained by the enemy during the attack animation will also be lost after dashing ahead of them.
When running away, use Swashbuckle to hit the enemies, hopefully proccing Lucky Shot's slow and put more distance in-between, because Pangolier does not need to turn to use abilities or to move.
- As a comparison, other heroes will have to turn around if they want to target abilities on enemies, then turn around to run away again, adding more time for enemies to catch up.
With the Level 25 talent of -2.5s Swashbuckle cooldown, Pangolier becomes nigh-impossible to chase, allowing him to juke more efficiently.
More tips needed.

Shield Crash[]

Shield Crash's radius is bigger than what its visuals suggest.
Use Shield Crash to jump over terrain, surprising enemies or escaping danger.
Use Shield Crash early in fights to gain its protection as soon as possible, helping Pangolier survive longer.
Shield Crash will always hit an enemy if used right after rolling into them with Rolling Thunder.
Leveling Shield Crash early not only increases Pangolier's survivability in the face of heavy harassment in lane or ganks, but also gives Rolling Thunder more potential burst damage at level 6.
Using Shield Crash right before the end of Rolling Thunder will extend its duration for the time it takes Pangolier to land, allowing him to catch up to and stun a fleeing enemy who is just in front of him.
With the talent that reduces Shield Crash's cooldown during Rolling Thunder, Pangolier can refresh Shield Crash buff on himself if he keeps hitting enemies.
- Shield Crash keeps the highest value of the buff upon refreshing, meaning the value will never drop even if Pangolier keep landing on fewer heroes than before.
Shield Crash can evade some abilities, such as Pounce, even after being bound.
Casting Shield Crash on chasing enemy teams during clashes gains a better durability for Pangolier whilst dealing damage at the same time, then if a window's open, he can evade death's reach.
Paired with Crimson Guard, Pangolier becomes even more durable in teamfights, allowing him to tank both with the Shield Crush damage reduction and Crimson Guard's incoming damage reduction.
More tips needed.

Lucky Shot[]

Use Swashbuckle's multiple hits to help proc Lucky Shot.
Getting one level of Lucky Shot early on can help Pangolier harass or dive an enemy during the laning phase due to its slow, disarm, and armor reduction.
Proccing Lucky Shot again on affected target will refresh the duration.
- For that reason, getting items that increase attack speed can help keep the enemy slowed and disarmed and will work well against physical carries.
The armor debuff stacks with other sources of armor reducing items. This goes with the disarm as well.
Lucky shot can help Pangolier's team take Roshan while taking barely any damage, provided he has enough attack speed, as Lucky Shot uses pseudo-random distribution. Constantly hitting Roshan may keep it disarmed for some time, and as soon as the debuff ends, Pangolier can use Swashbuckle, that will most likely proc Lucky shot again, due to how pseudo-random distribution works.
- If Pangolier has an Aghanim's Scepter, he may also use improved Shield Crash to refresh the disarm duration, as the attacks caused by it also can proc modifiers.
More tips needed.

Rolling Thunder[]

Take advantage of Rolling Thunder's low cooldown to initiate ganks and team fights.
Rolling Thunder's spell immunity may help Pangolier run rampant among the enemies and escape dangerous situations.
Initiate Rolling Thunder behind trees or from the fog of war to surprise your enemies.
- Use Swashbuckle to dash to a safe place (such as behind trees) before using Rolling Thunder.
- Alternatively, use Swashbuckle right on top of the targets to proc Lucky Shot's movement speed slow, lowering the chance of enemies escaping from Rolling Thunder.
Pangolier can use all items during Rolling Thunder.
- Blink Dagger preserves Pangolier's orientation. Blink next to an enemy after its stun has worn off to hit and stun them a second time.
- Diffusal Blade slows the target to keep them in the path of Rolling Thunder.
- Eul's Scepter of Divinity's Cyclone keeps Pangolier's position, allowing Rolling Thunder to stun for a second time.
- Town Portal Scroll lets Pangolier teleport away without interruption.
- Shadow Blade may help a sneaky Pangolier as it keeps him invisible while he rolls over the enemy team. However, the invisibility ends if Pangolier uses Shield Crash.
Pangolier cannot make sharp turns during Rolling Thunder, and may continuously bump into walls when rolling in a narrow space.
Use Rolling Thunder on enemies near walls, as bumping off the walls will land extra hits on them. Enemies cannot avoid getting bumped if Pangolier is still on top of them when their stun wears off.
- Narrow areas such as ramps, the river, and Roshan's pit allow Pangolier to stunlock the enemies by continuously bouncing into them.
Bump and stun enemies before using Shield Crash to give them less time to react and avoid Pangolier. Shield Crash's large radius guarantees a hit when Pangolier lands.
Use Shield Crash at least 150 units before an obstacle to jump over it.
- Since Pangolier will briefly reverse direction when bumping into a wall, using Shield Crash too late will cause Pangolier to jump backwards.
Using Swashbuckle cancels Rolling Thunder.
Pangolier can use Rolling Thunder while rooted; however, he will roll on the spot, until the root duration ends.
When rolling, Pangolier may use Shield Crash then immediately use Swashbuckle to land on top of the enemies, causing them to receive damage from both Shield Crash and Swashbuckle.
Use Stop Rolling to halt Rolling Thunder so Pangolier can finish off low-HP targets with attacks instead of continuing rolling far away.
- Swashbuckle can work for the same purpose, since it cancels Rolling Thunder. It also allows Pangolier to immediately reposition himself according to the situation, instead of staying in place and letting enemies use disables on him or get away after the roll.
After stunning the enemies for the first time with Rolling Thunder, use Eul's Scepter of Divinity on Pangolier to hold him in place to stun them a second time, then shift-queue Shield Crash so Pangolier will jump in place to stun them the third time, finish with a Blink Dagger on top of the enemies again for the fourth stun.
Pangolier can fake using Rolling Thunder by cancelling the cast animation before it ends. This can be used to scare enemies into backing off or even using defensive/mobility items and skills.
Pangolier's turn rate during Rolling Thunder is boosted for a short time every time he starts rolling, lands after a Shield Crash or bumps into a wall.
- Use Shield Crash to turn faster if there are not any walls nearby.
Upon bumping into a wall, Pangolier receives the "Richochet" buff for a short period of time. It allows him to instantly turn in any direction.
- This means that Pangolier can turn in any direction immediately after bumping into a wall. Use it to correct your trajectory if you missed the enemy. It requires fast clicking or accurate timing, though, as the buff is very short.
- With this buff, Pangolier can turn towards the same wall he bumped into, negating the usual 180 degrees turn and bumping into it again. This can be chained and makes Pangolier effectively roll in place. If mastered, it allows Pangolier to keep hitting the enemy even if there is only one narrow wall nearby. Use it once or twice to wait for the stun to end in order to stun the enemy again. Pay attention to the "Richochet" buff icon to turn in time.
Using Shield Crash right as your ultimate is about to end prolongs its duration by 0.75sec and gives you another chance to stun an enemy.
Keep in mind that Rolling Thunder lowers Shield Crash's cooldown while active. Use Shield Crash liberally to deal more damage and keep up the damage barrier; if Pangolier has Aghanim's Scepter, this also greatly improves his damage output with extra Swashbuckle slashes.

Roll Up[]

Can be cast as a makeshift-BKB to protect Pangolier against magic nukes and disables (namely Rod of Atos, Hex, Mystic Flare).
Pauses Rolling Thunder on cast, and improves turn rate. Therefore, it can be used to more easily seek out enemies to stun and prolong Pangolier's ultimate in a teamfight.

Items[]

Starting items:

Iron Branch provides cheap attributes and can combine with Tango for the extra heal.

Tango helps Pangolier stay in lane with health regeneration.

Healing Salve also restores Pangolier's health.

Enchanted Mango provides passive health regeneration and burst mana for using abilities.

Quelling Blade helps Pangolier last-hit by granting bonus damage against creeps.

Early game:

Boots of Speed grant movement speed to chase enemies.

Orb of Corrosion grants a slow and armor reduction to Swashbuckle slashes, improving Pangolier's early harassment and ganking.

Magic Wand increases Pangolier's sustainability with attributes, as well as providing burst health and mana.

Javelin can proc from Swashbuckle slashes, increasing its damage output. It can later be built into Maelstrom or Monkey King Bar, which also work with Swashbuckle.

Mid game:

Arcane Boots restore teammates' and Pangolier's mana, sustaining his low-cooldown abilities.

Blink Dagger allows Pangolier to position on top of enemy heroes, use Shield Crash, and Swashbuckle away. It can also be used during Rolling Thunder for surprise initiations or chain-stuns.

Diffusal Blade adds extra damage and mana burn to the Swashbuckle slashes, and gives Pangolier a slow to keep targets in range of Rolling Thunder and Swashbuckle.

Maelstrom, built from Javelin, increases extra damage, while also hitting multiple units. Maxed out Swashbuckle with a Maelstrom usually provides enough damage to clear a whole creepwave or a jungle camp, no matter its size, with a single Swashbuckle. This allows Pangolier to farm his items a lot faster, as well as have more damage in big fights with many enemies.

Late game:

Monkey King Bar, built from Javelin, provides Pangolier with accuracy in addition to the bonus damage from Pierce.

Abyssal Blade helps lock enemies down with stun; it can also proc Bash from a distance by using Swashbuckle.

Boots of Travel allow Pangolier to get around the map quickly, aiding his team in fights with low-cooldown abilities.

Octarine Core allows Pangolier to cast abilities more often to deal more damage, and provides mana regeneration to sustain them.

Arcane Blink restores Pangolier's mana and health each time he blinks while making him even more mobile.

Situational items:

Black King Bar is usually unnecessary due to Roll Up and Rolling Thunder, but can be used as a way to safely counter-initiate with Rolling Thunder.

Eul's Scepter of Divinity sustains Pangolier's mana and combos with Rolling Thunder for more stuns.

Crimson Guard increases Pangolier's durability both in offense and defense. Paired with the damage reduction from Shield Crash, Pangolier becomes even more durable in clashes. The cast ability also aids teammates within the buff area as well as structures.

Vladmir's Offering increases both Pangolier's and his team's sustainability and damage, especially when said team has a lot of physical damage. Considering Pangolier always needs to show up to fights, this item can have much value. Pangolier is quite hard to kill while he uses Rolling Thunder, which insures the team will have the aura active during the fights, even if supports die. Lifesteal synergizes well with Pangoliers abilities: disarmed or stunned enemies are easier to focus and kill, while lifestealing at the same time.

Vanguard grants health and damage block, coupling with Shield Crash's damage reduction to increase Pangolier's survivability; it builds into Abyssal Blade.

Linken's Sphere may protect Pangolier from spell immunity piercing abilities that cancel his Rolling Thunder.

Manta Style counters silences and provides illusions that can apply Diffusal Blade's mana burn.

Shiva's Guard applies a huge area slow during Rolling Thunder.

Eye of Skadi works with Swashbuckle, slowing all enemies hit by it.

Mjollnir has a good chance to proc up to two times during Swashbuckle, greatly increasing damage output.

Gleipnir gives Pangolier a disable to hold enemies in place as he strikes them with his abilities. Because Swashbuckle is his primary means of proccing attack modifiers, the root from Eternal Chains may be more desirable than Mjollnir's attack speed.