What To Build On: Lifestealer

What to build on; N'aix, the Lifestealer

Lifestealer is one of the top tier carries in the current metagame, despite the significant nerfs to the hero in patch 6.78. He is a strong laner who is difficult to bully, can be laned in a number of different ways, and can be built primarily for the mid game or for the late game. Throughout every phase of the game he has the ability to burst down squishy enemy supports in a few seconds and can go 1 to 1 with most carries once he has a suitable amount of farm. I will try to analyse the best item builds on Lifestealer in some general situations and outline some of the reasons why some items are strong choices in these situations whereas others may not be.

Power Treads vs. Phase Boots

There are essentially two options as to what type of boots to buy on Lifestealer; Power Treads and Phase Boots.
Power Treads give the player +8 in the selected attribute (generally strength for a Lifestealer), +30 attack speed and +55 movement speed. Assuming they are set to strength, the Lifestealer gains 152 hitpoints, 0.3 hitpoint regen and 8 attack damage as a result of the Treads. Phase Boots give the same flat +55 movement speed, but with +24 damage and +16% movement speed for 4 seconds, every 8 seconds.

Overall, Treads give Lifestealer higher DPS than Phase, however this does not take into account the bonus movement speed from Phase Boots. Lifestealer's biggest problem when trying to get kills in lane and often later in the game is that he can be easily kited, so Phase Boots are the best choice against an opponent with a high base move speed, or slows/stuns. Phase boots also make tower diving more viable for N'aix, so if you have a Treant Protector on your team for example, the player can look to buy Phase Boots and harass enemy heroes completely out of lane, if not kill them.

In a nutshell; if you are simply looking to sit back and farm until you can get an Armlet and one or two other items, go for Treads, but if you're looking to be aggressive as early as possible, purchase Phase Boots.

Hand of Midas

Midas is viable on Lifestealer, but rather situational depending on team composition. Lifestealer is not a flash farmer and so will fall behind in terms of CS against flash farming carries (Anti Mage, Luna etc). One of the ways that N'aix can keep up until later in the game is to buy a Hand of Midas, sacrificing some of his potential to fight early game in return to being able to keep up in the mid game. The Midas pickup also potentially leaves the Lifestealer vulnerable in the early laning phase, particularly if rushed before (upgraded) boots, so if N'aix is against an aggressive trilane, the enemy team has roaming supports or a mid that can gank before level 6, then Midas should generally be avoided.

Drum of Endurance

Drum of Endurance is the first item of choice after boots for many carry heroes in the current meta, and for good reason. The bonus stats as well as the bonus attack and movement speed aura make this a very solid early to mid game choice in virtually any situation, and there are very few instances where this isn't a good pickup, particularly as Drum of Endurance is one of the most cost efficient items in the game. It works particularly well in combination with Phase Boots as the movement speed bonuses stack, and the aura allows N'aix to push tier 1 towers more effectively.

Armlet of Mordiggian

By far the most common first item after boots on N'aix is the Armlet of Mordiggian, being picked up on Lifestealer in 70% of pub games. The biggest reason for this pickup is the way it synergises with Feast, N'aix's inbuilt lifesteal passive. The bonus strength, damage and attack speed means that targets can melt very quickly in the wake of Lifestealer's right click attacks, whilst Feast giving N'aix 7% of the targets current HP at level 4 cancels out the HP loss from having armlet active. The ability to Armlet toggle and survive when you otherwise may not have is, of course, always nice. Armlet is almost always worth picking up, there are practically no situations where it isn't viable if not simply the best item, as it is once again very cost effective.

Sange and Yasha

Sange and Yasha has become more favoured at top level as a 2nd big item, after boots and Armlet, in recent weeks. The stat bonuses once again make it a solid choice, and the bonus movement speed as well as the slow proc chance help stop N'aix being kited. The Greater Maim slow proc also means Lifestealer can save Open Wounds for a second target or conserve mana. Sange and Yasha is good for taking down the supports of the enemy team, but contributes less in a 1v1 manfight against an enemy carry. Buy it when you are already ahead and want to amplify your advantage, or if against a heavily late game-centric carry and you want to finish the game quickly.

Skull Basher -> Abyssal Blade

Skull Basher is a very strong next item after Armlet. The bonus movement speed of the Armlet combined with that of Rage gives N'aix a very high proc chance for the bash, allowing him to man-mode enemy carries, cancel teleports, stop heroes kiting him etc. The ministun is also physical, meaning it will penetrate magical immunity and the additional +40 damage makes N'aix even scarier. Abyssal Blade has much the same advantages of Skull Basher and it is a straight upgrade. The target stun similarly goes through magic immunity and allows N'aix to go toe to toe with almost any carry in the game. Abyssal Blade/Skull Basher doesn't do much to help a N'aix farm or push compared to Sange and Yasha however, and should be picked up in order to fight the enemy carry and prevent him from farming further rather than trying to outfarm/outpush him.

Assault Cuirass

Assault Cuirass allows N'aix to push towers faster and do better in team fights, as well as providing his whole team with some survivability. It's a good 4th/5th item and can be useful in most situations, but it does little for either N'aix's farm or his ability to burst down a single target, meaning it is better to get an item to accomplish either of those things first.

Maelstrom -> Mjollnir

Both Maelstrom and Mjollnir are primarily items for accelerating a carry's farm, however Lifestealer is not really picked for his ability as a farmer, more for his ability to deal huge amounts of damage to enemy heroes and make aggressive plays earlier than most carries can. This makes the two items slightly redundant on N'aix and should only be picked up very situationally.

Heart of Tarrasque, Monkey King Bar and Desolator

With Lifestealer's inherent tankiness as a strength hero, combined with the bonus strength from Armlet and built in magic immunity from Rage, he is already very hard to kill, making a Heart of Tarrasque very situational. It could be picked up anywhere in the 4th-6th slots, if the game goes late and there are hexes in the game and N'aix needs to be able to tank through them, or if the enemy carry is a Faceless Void and Lifestealer needs to live through Chronosphere, for example. It also allows Armlet to be permanently active.

Monkey King Bar provides a large amount of bonus damage, but is only cost effective if the enemy carry has evasion. This means it is a potential pickup against Phantom Assassin, or Butterfly carriers such as Anti Mage, Luna, Gyrocopter etc. NB Monkey King Bar does not go through Faceless Void's Backtrack. Desolator provides some minus armour benefits, however it is a unique attack modifier and does not stack with other negative armour debuffs on the target, meaning it is often not cost efficient on Lifestealer.

Thank you very much for reading!