Strategy
Gameplay
| Playstyle | |
|---|---|
| Oracle is a versatile spell caster who can use abilities defensively or offensively depending on different combinations of abilities. A well-timed False Promise may change a surprise attack from the enemy into a failed gank. However, Oracle is not really mobile, thereby susceptible to getting picked or focused first in fights if poorly positioned. | |
| Pros | Cons |
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Support
- Max Purifying Flames first to heal and nuke.
- Then, invest in Fortune's End to dispel dangerous disables, or to nuke with Purifying Flames.
- If the enemy has strong physical attack carries or relies heavily on magical damage, invest in Fate's Edict instead for increased duration and cast range.
Ability Builds
| Support (Dispel/Nuke) Oracle | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 20 | 25 | |||||
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| Support (Disarm/Magic Resistance) Oracle | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 20 | 25 | |||||
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| Support (Anti-melee) Oracle | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 20 | 25 | |||||
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Talents
| Hero Talents | ||
|---|---|---|
| +1.5s False Promise Duration | 25 | Instant Fortune's End |
| +30% Purifying Flames Enemy Damage | 20 | -20s False Promise Cooldown |
| -1s Purifying Flames Cooldown | 15 | +80 Fortune's End Damage |
| +10 Armor False Promise | 10 | +0.5s Fortune's End Duration |
Tips & Tactics
General
- Oracle's strength lies not in his individual abilities, but in how he uses them in combos or with teammates. So, playing Oracle requires communication and coordination with allied players, as well as good reflexes and knowledge of what each ability does.
- Oracle suffers from poor strength and agility, making him vulnerable to any types of damage. Because of his array of abilities, Oracle should build items that offer mobility to position himself for casting spells and to escape enemy attempts to kill him.
- Furthermore, his heavy reliance on spell casting means that he should invest in increasing the size of his mana pool and acquiring a reliable source of mana replenishment.
- While Oracle has strong healing and nuking abilities, he possesses no hard disables, so he cannot interrupt channeling items/abilities, or prevent enemies from using abilities and items.
- Oracle's abilities have long cast ranges, and his good base movement speed allows him to get into position rather easily. However, his low turn rate may delay abilities usage, so good map vision allows Oracle to face allies and enemies ahead of time to maximize his effectiveness.
- With his long attack range, respectable cast animation, and low base attack time, Oracle can harass enemies in the laning stage safely and often, as well as denying with ease because of decent base damage. Combined with his array of impact-heavy abilities and high base movement speed, Oracle functions as a strong lane support who helps the lane partner immensely.
Abilities
Fortune's End
- Fortune's End damages enemies in an area around the target.
- Because its damage and cooldown scale with levels, you may find Fortune's End a good ability to max out early in the game.
- Fortune's End's dispel removes buffs from the enemies in an area.
- Fortune's End's root stops enemies in an area for the channeled duration, serving as extra disable to follow or set up allied abilities.
- Channeling Fortune's End longer only increases rooting time.
- Stop channeling Fortune's End immediately after casting if Oracle only wants to damage and apply dispel.
- Aim Fortune's End on a clumped up group of enemies to deal area damage, dispel, and root them all for allies to follow.
- Avoid using Fortune's End as leading disable in ganks because the enemies can see the marking of Fortune's End's visual effects on themselves as Oracle is channeling, so they most likely will retreat to safety.
- Unlike most other dispel, Fortune's End can target invulnerable units. So, it can remove certain instances of invulnerability, particularly a self-cast Eul's Scepter of Divinity.
- However, it still does not work against spell immunity.
- As a root, Fortune's End prevents affected heroes from using certain abilities to move, like Ball Lightning and Tree Dance.
- However, root does not stop channeling abilities and items.
- Start channeling Fortune's End on mobile allies, then release the projectile as they approach the enemies to apply the long duration root.
- Examples include Phantom Strike, Charge of Darkness, and Blink Dagger.
- Fortune's End is always released after Oracle start channeling it, even if he is disabled in a process.
- Self-cast Fortune's End in anticipation of enemy's disables to dispel it, e.g Global Silence, Nightmare, Tornado, Orchid Malevolence.
Fate's Edict
- Fate's Edict disarms targeted enemies or allies, while increasing their magic resistance to 100%.
- Have an early value point in Fate's Edict because it synergizes well with Oracle's other abilities.
- Oracle does not need to invest further in Fate's Edict because it only increases duration by 0.5 second for each level, making it less attractive than the damage and utilities of Fortune's End and Purifying Flames.
- However, maxing Fate's Edict early reduces its cooldown and increases its duration, allowing Oracle to keep disarming strong enemy carries right from early fights.
- Oracle may want level 2 Fate's Edict to use two successive Purifying Flames on a friendly target and block the damage of both.
- Use Fate's Edict to negate incoming magical nukes. Abilities like Ghostship, Reaper's Scythe, and Assassinate leave plenty of time for Oracle to counter due to their effect delays.
- Use Fate's Edict to mitigate magical damage-over-time debuffs such as Ice Blast and Poison Nova.
- Use Fate's Edict on enemies during a fight to disarm them, particularly attacking carries, gimping the enemy overall damage output in fights.
- Misuses of Fate's Edict on either allies or enemies lead to disastrous outcomes, stopping friendly carries from attacking or shielding enemies from allied magical nukes.
- Oracle may remove the debuffs of Fate's Edict from an enemy by using Fortune's End on them, making them susceptible to magical damage again so Oracle and allies can clean up.
- Fate's Edict works as a simple magic resistance buff on allies who do not rely much on attacks.
- For instance, Fate's Edict protect allies from magical damage when they are channeling abilities like Freezing Field, or just running rampage with Pulse Nova.
- The magic resistance of Fate's Edict synergizes with many other effects in the game.
- Cold Embrace protects target from physical damage while Fate's Edict adds magic resistance on top. Furthermore, Cold Embrace already disables the target, making disarm irrelevant.
- Any form of ethereal will leave its target unable to attack or take physical damage, but decreases their magic resistance at the same time. Using Fate's Edict in such a situation would make them invulnerable to magical damage as well, and ethereal form already disarms the target.
- Use Fate's Edict to disarm enemy siege creeps, saving allied towers from pushes.
- Use Fate's Edict on Roshan to disarm him, negating most of his damage output and bashes.
- To kite a melee hero, use Fate's Edict on your target, wait 0.5/1/1.5/2 seconds and channel Fortune's End for max duration. With maxed Fate's Edict, Oracle can use it a second time. With maxed Fate's Edict and Fortune's End, Oracle can repeat the combo forever.
- This means you can ignore Purifying Flames and max out Fate's Edict and Fortune's End first against melee carries like Ursa.
- You may also consider skipping False Promise at level 6 it works better with the heal from Purifying Flames, but Oracle can just buy Urn of Shadows.
Purifying Flames
- Targeting friends and foes alike, Purifying Flames deals magical damage on low cooldown, and applies a heal.
- Max out Purifying Flames first for great damage and heal. Its damage scales higher than Fortune's End, and the heal works well at all points in the game.
- Use Fate's Edict first on friendly target to give them 100% magic resistance, then use Purifying Flames to apply the heal without dealing any magical damage to them. As Purifying Flames can stack with each other, higher levels of Fate's Edict extends the magic resistance's duration, giving Oracle better time window to heal allies more.
- Use Purifying Flames on an enemy first to nuke them, then use Fortune's End to dispel the heal and deal more damage.
- At base magic resistance for heroes, Purifying Flames always heals more than it damages at the end.
- Take high magic resistance into account when using Purifying Flames, as abilities like Counterspell and Corrosive Skin make the heroes take less damage, thus enjoying more heal, which could help or hinder Oracle.
- Use Purifying Flames as a magical nuke to either finish off low-HP enemies, or score easy last hits.
- Make sure to finish off the target quickly after Purifying Flames, since they will eventually heal up, which may require the use of Fortune's End.
- Use Purifying Flames with Fortune's End to nuke enemies. Ideally, you want Fortune's End's projectile to land right after Purifying Flames hit so enemies will not benefit from the heal.
- If an enemy is within the cast range of Purifying Flames but is more than 400 distance units away from Oracle, channel Fortune's End and then interrupt it at anytime with Purifying Flames. The enemy will take the damage from Purifying Flames during the travel time of Fortune's End's projectile, and then it will immediately remove the healing buff and deal damage.
- Purifying Flames, by itself, cannot kill Oracle or allies, allowing Oracle to just use Purifying Flames on a low-HP ally without wasting time and mana with Fate's Edict first.
- However, always check for damage over time debuffs and nearby enemies first because they may just finish off the low-HP ally before Purifying Flames can heal.
- Pair with Ice Blast, Demonic Purge, or Spirit Vessel to prevent enemies from healing up from Purifying Flames.
- Purifying Flames registers as player damage, even when targeted on an ally, and can trigger on-damage effects. That is, it removes layers of Refraction, Living Armor, and Gravekeeper's Cloak. It cancels Clarity, Healing Salve, and Urn of Shadows. It even puts an allied Blink Dagger on cooldown.
- Thus, start with Fate's Edict so the allies do not take damage from Purifying Flames.
- Use Purifying Flames to damage allies, waking them from sleep.
- Use Purifying Flames to secure last hits and denies as it has a relatively low mana cost and does not have a projectile.
- Use level 2 or higher Purifying Flames on ranged creeps and keep attacking to deny.
False Promise
- False Promise temporarily delays all damage and healing done to an allied target, while applying a strong dispel on them at the beginning, dealing its damage and double the heal at the end of the duration.
- The delayed damage at the end of False Promise will result in death if the target takes too much damage but not enough healing from Oracle and teammates.
- The orb above targeted hero will grow bright red, warning that they are taking excessive damage and will probably die at the end of False Promise.
- Usually, the double healing during False Promise should save the target if Oracle and teammates keep using healing items and abilities on the target.
- Keep using Purifying Flames during False Promise because it doubles the healing done during its duration, most likely surpassing that of the damage.
- Avoid using Fate's Edict during False Promise when fighting as the target usually wants to attack and deal as much damage as possible.
- Since False Promise halts all incoming damage during its duration, items like Healing Salve, Bottle, Urn of Shadows, and Spirit Vessel will continue to heal the targeted hero even if the enemies are attacking.
- Because False Promise doubles any heal during its duration, combo with allied abilities like Chemical Rage, Heavenly Grace, or Death Pulse to keep target alive.
- Watch for certain abilities like Doom, Rupture, or Berserker's Call which place debuffs that even False Promise cannot dispel.
- The damage versus healing calculation does not take into account whether the damage is non-lethal or lethal. While the damage from Purifying Flames is normally non-lethal, it nevertheless still contributes fully to the damage calculations.
- Example 1: Unit A is on 100 HP. Oracle uses False Promise on Unit A. Unit B deals 700 damage to Unit A. Oracle uses Purifying Flames twice to Unit A, dealing 600 damage but healing 1000 during the remaining of the False Promise duration. Total damage = 1300. Total healing = 1000. Therefore, once False Promise ends, Unit B lands the killing blow of 100 damage on Unit A.
- Example 2: Unit A is on 700 hp. Oracle uses False Promise on Unit A. Unit B deals 600 damage to Unit A. Near the end of the False Promise duration, Oracle uses Purifying Flames on Unit A, dealing 300 damage and only healing for 100. Total damage = 900. Healing = 50. Therefore, once False Promise ends, Unit B deals 600 damage to Unit A, and Oracle deals 99 (non-lethal) damage to Unit A, leaving Unit A at 1 hp.
- Therefore, using Purifying Flames with less than 5 seconds of False Promise remaining is not a good idea.
- Use False Promise before Aeon Disk activates to guarantee that whatever damage False Promise delays will be nullified by Aeon Disk, and target will always survive. Though Aeon Disk only triggers to hero-based damage, therefore if you get damaged during False Promise at least once by non-hero source Aeon Disk will not save you.
Items
Starting items:
- Tango sustains Oracle's health in-lane, preventing him from being harassed away by enemy attacks.
- Iron Branch is cheap and gives Oracle extra attributes. It also builds into Magic Wand or Mekansm.
- Clarity restores mana so Oracle can use his abilities on enemies and allies more often.
- Animal Courier ferries items to allies.
- Observer Ward provides vision for Oracle's team, giving information on enemy positioning in fights.
- Healing Salve helps Oracle heal after early fights and cycles well in the mid game with False Promise to guarantee and double the healing from it.
Early game:
- Infused Raindrop adds some survivability early on and fixes Oracle's mana issues in tough lanes.
- Magic Stick allows Oracle to instantly replenish his health and mana, useful in a tight situation or in the middle of a teamfight, surviving just long enough to cast one or two more of his high-impact spells to change the tide of an engagement.
- Boots of Speed helps boost Oracle's respectable base movement speed. In the early game, it allows him to quickly get within range to cast Fortune's End on an enemy during a gank.
- Wind Lace also provides a small movement speed bonus, a great cost-effective item for supports; it can upgrade to Eul's Scepter of Divinity later.
- Urn of Shadows grants charges when Oracle contributes in kills; furthermore, enemies cannot cancel the heal when Oracle uses it with False Promise.
Mid game:
- Magic Wand gives Oracle extra attributes, crucial to have on a hard support with no farm priority. The extra charge storage can give Oracle enough mana to cast his ultimate, or another round of his basic spells.
- Arcane Boots increases Oracle's mana pool, allowing him to get more out of his spells, and the active can replenish mana for himself and his allies.
- Mekansm replenishes the health of teammates and Oracle. Most notably, use in tandem with False Promise to heal an ally for double the amount.
- Aether Lens provides extra mana and mana regeneration, and built with Energy Booster disassembled from Arcane Boots. The increased cast range allows Oracle to use abilities and items from an even safer distance, combining with his high movement speed and already long-range abilities makes Oracle's range of action extremely wide.
- Spirit Vessel, upgraded from Urn of Shadows, provides movement speed and health. Also, it reduces the amount of healing enemies receive, e.g. from Purifying Flame.
- Holy Locket increases sustain and survivability with mana, health, and magic resistance. Furthermore, the item amplifies heal, synergizing with False Promise, Purifying Flames, and items like Urn of Shadows to save and sustain allies in fights.
Late game:
- Glimmer Cape gives invisibility that may help allies initiate with disables in lieu of Blink Dagger. Additionally, the invisibility and magic resistance help Oracle or allies escape. While not as strong as Fate's Edict at mitigating damage from Purifying Flames, it does not disarm the target, allowing them to attack if needed. Also, if enemies use Dust of Appearance to counter, Oracle can dispel with Fortune's End.
- Guardian Greaves greatly improves Oracle's support potential, allowing him to replenish both health and mana for his allies. Just as importantly, using the active allows Oracle to remove debuffs from himself, chief among them silences that may be preventing him from using abilities.
- Force Staff increases intelligence to give mana, while the health regeneration keeps Oracle's health topped up. The active allows Oracle to reposition himself or allies when they are using abilities or escaping.
- Eul's Scepter of Divinity improves Oracle's intelligence and mana regeneration to fuel his abilities, and the bonus movement speed grants him more mobility for positioning when casting spells. The active can dispel debuffs (such as silences) while providing temporary invulnerability, or can target an enemy as a hard-disable that dispels buffs, doubling up on his ability to do so with Fortune's End.
Situational items:
- Tranquil Boots give mobility and keep Oracle at max health, saving the mana to heal allies instead of himself.
- Blink Dagger gives Oracle greatly improved mobility and positioning. Getting within range to cast his spells allows Oracle to change the tide of engagements, and it can also help to increase his mobility around the map, reaching hot-spots and allowing him to escape ganks. Furthermore, Oracle can use False Promise to negate Blink Dagger's damage cooldown.
- Sentry Ward helps eliminating enemy wards.
- Medallion of Courage gives Oracle armor for survivability, and some mana regeneration for sustaining his mana pool. Oracle can use the active on allies to give them more survivability, particularly during False Promise to increase the odds of surviving. Additionally, Oracle can use the active on enemies to lower their armor so his allies can deal more physical damage.
- Pipe of Insight is a strong teamfight item that helps Oracle to further protect his teammates. The magic resistance and health regeneration help to make Oracle more survivable, while the aura gives his team improved resistance to magic damage, including from Purifying Flames. Using the active in a teamfight will allow him to shield allies from enemy magic damage, without having to resort to Fate's Edict.
- Lotus Orb is an expensive but powerful utility item that allows Oracle to take False Promise to its limit. The item gives Oracle more armor, increasing his survivability, and health and mana regeneration for self-sustain. Echo Shell, when cast on a False Promise target, can dissuade enemies from targeting them with single-target abilities, increasing the target's survivability.
- Aeon Disk saves Oracle from burst damage and disables at the beginning of fights, keeping him alive to contribute to team efforts.
- Shiva's Guard greatly improves Oracle's survivability and gives him more casting power. The intelligence greatly increases the size of his mana pool, while the armor helps him to resist physical damage. The Freezing Aura can reduce enemy attack speed, allowing Oracle to lower the effectiveness of enemy physical attacks, particularly against a False Promise target, while Arctic Blast adds more nuke damage and slows enemies from fleeing or pursuing.
- Scythe of Vyse is a powerful item to build on any intelligence support hero. It improves Oracle's attributes, and greatly increases the size of his mana pool and gives him powerful mana regeneration. The active allows him to hex an enemy from range, improving his impact in teamfights.
- Aghanim's Scepter reduces cooldown of Purifying Flames, so Oracle can use it often in the late game to heal more during False Promise.
