Brand Build Guide by LockCORE

Introduction

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Pros / Cons

PROS Insane harass damage His ultimate bounces between targets and can re-hit the same target Free Ignite from his passive Has probably the strongest combo of all mages Can easily pull in doubles, triples, quad kills Has a stun when his Q hits a burning target

CONS Mana Hungry (Don't abuse his skills) 2/4 skills is a skill shot and an AOE placement spell Very Squishy Focused early on by enemy jungler due to chunking down enemy hp in lane No escape!

Runes

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Now why did I choose these runes? Well here are some simple explanations behind my choices, now keep in mind you don't have to have these runes and everyone has their own ideas of what would be good to use. These are just what I have used and gotten pretty decent results.

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MARKS

Greater Mark of Magic Penetration - This is for helping that early game damage penetrate more of their magic resistance, and since your a mid lane caster, you'll be doing almost true damage on similar mages.

Greater Mark of Scaling Ability Power - This is a good substitute to the other possible marks as this will give you much wanted early game damage to get that kill.

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SEALS

Greater Seal of Armor - More Armor mean more survive-ability in your lane against enemy harass from AA's, that annoying Jungler, as well as resistance to those OP minions early game who like to shoot you when your at 50 Health left.

Greater Seal of Health - More health allows you to live longer in your lane or keep up with that enemy harass.

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GLYPHS

Greater Glyph of Scaling Ability Power - Pretty self-explanatory as these give you increasing AP as you level up. I prefer these over flat AP runes as they give more AP from level 6+. They will prove much more useful than flat AP.

Greater Glyph of Scaling Mana Regeneration - Mana regen per level helps you during long fights when your low on mana and just wish that you had just 10 more to use your Sear to finish off a runner, or when your low while farming minions since it will keep you up enough in case a quick fight occurs.

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QUINTESSENCE

Greater Quintessence of Magic Penetration For the same reasons as above, you get that early penetration to make your skills just blast through your opposing laner's resistance.

Greater Quintessence of Scaling Ability Power - More AP after level 6 and will help you mid-late game. Don't use if your trying for that early game feed.



Now if you have problems with these runes don't downvote me simply for them, think about it and maybe even try it before you criticize.

Masteries

My choice behind these masteries are pretty self-explanatory as 21/0/9 helps maximize your damage output since your an AP Nuke. It also helps pull in some mana-regen which is always good for a mage especially since his skill cost a decent chunk of mana considering he doesn't start off with much to begin with!

Skill Sequence

Blaze
// Passive - Brand's spells light his targets ablaze, dealing 2% of their maximum Health in magic damage per second for 4 seconds.
// This right here is what makes Brand such a threat in the lane as this is a free ignite. Now people might say that it sucks against squishies but they are wrong. Many forget that it deals DoT (Damage over time) and can be used to last hit almost anything. On top of that all of Brand's skill cause this on the enemy they hit! I personally got a Quadra once from having this on the enemy team during a team fight.[/color]

Sear
// Q - Brand launches a ball of fire forward that deals magic damage. If the target is ablaze, the target will be stunned for 2 seconds.
// This is step two of Brand's destroying combo. I tend to get this skill at level one ONLY because it allows for great harass damage if you can land it on your opponent. However please be careful when using this as it can easily miss due to being a skill shot. Using this after Conflagration gives brand a free 2 second stun! Which then allows you to follow-up with your Pillar of Flame.
Pillar of Flame
// W - After a short delay, Brand creates a pillar of flame at a target area, dealing magic damage to enemy units within the area. Units that are ablaze take an additional 25% damage.
// This is what makes Brand hit so hard. 25% extra damage if they are ablaze is just crazy damage late game! This is step three of Brand's combo and should be cast after they enemy is stunned since they cannot run from the circle explosion! Buahaha! Evil damage.
Conflagration
// E - Brand conjures a powerful blast at his target, dealing magic damage to them. If the target is ablaze the conflagration will damage nearby enemies as well and set them ablaze.
// Step #1 of the combo. It's blaze effect isn't the most useful except for last-hitting a lot of minion enemies at once. Initiate with this on your enemy, follow-up with Sear for the stun, then your Pillar of Flame, and finally your Ult. Guaranteed kill.
Pyroclasm
// R - Brand unleashes a devastating torrent of fire that bounces between enemies, dealing damage each time it bounces. If a target is ablaze, Pyroclasm's missile speed increases. It will bounce five times, and can hit the same enemy up to three times.
// Now here is an Ultimate which can secure almost any kill. Not only does it hold massive damage but it can BOUNCE! Throw it at your enemy at the end of your combo and watch it hit your enemy, bounce to a minion, and bounce back to hit the enemy a second OR even a third time if your lucky as well as setting them on fire.

Early Game

Early game for Brand is extremely important. This will decide how you will do late game. I can't seem to stress this enough to any/all players I see in ranked play but... YOU HAVE TO CREEP FARM! I know that it may be hard to farm with Brand but you must be patient and last-hit as much as you can. You need the CS to get your items and ensure you have a better chance to win in your lane and not be out farmed/out zoned by your lane opponent on the other team. With that said here's how I would start out my early game.

Personally I start with a Doran's Ring, however Boots of Speed and x3 Health Potion works just as well since you'll have more survive ability. Get to your lane (mid) and make sure to help leash blue or red for your jungler. Now proceed to last hit the minions in your lane. (Last hit ONLY. You don't want to overextend and get ganked.) Once you have enough gold for your Sorcerer's Shoes, and another Doran's Ring then recall and grab them. By now you should be atleast level 5. Return to your lane and grab enough creeps for level 6 (last hitting).

If they don't gank you then you can start going for that kill with this amazing combo. E -> Q -> W -> R.



PS:: I did not put Doran's Ring's into the item purchases as I stack them and most people don't like to see that. However I would like to stress that 2-3 Doran's Ring's make it so you never run out of mana from spamming your skills as well as giving a LOT of early damage.

Mid Game

Mid game for Brand is pretty easy and by now you should've been able to pick a couple of kills against your lane opponent. During the time your lane opponent is dead you could and probably should start ganking either top or bot lane to help your team from getting killed/pushed. Hey you might pick up even another kill. If you should "B" at any time make sure to pick up an Elixir of Brilliance for that extra CDR + Extra AP. Trust me it helps a lot. Also if you find yourself getting ganked, buy a couple of sight wards. Make sure not to jump into the middle of any of the fights, you can be focused and killed in a matter of seconds.

Late Game

Team fights happen regularly now and you should not be running off on your own anymore. By now you should have your core items. Also since your team fighting now you'll find that your regular combo won't work anymore! So here is the combo you should switch to, to make sure that you don't fail and can be of utmost use for your team.

R -> Q -> W -> E


Initiate with your ult since it will most likely hit many enemies allowing your Q to stun any of them, leaving them open to focus as well as making it so your W does 25% more damage to many more enemies at once. You should also make sure that your team regularly gets Baron and dragon to deny the enemy team gold and extra power.


OR

Q -> E -> R -> W -> Q (Thanks to HeadinPants)

Initiate with Sear and follow-up with your Conflagration so that it spreads to multiple enemies causing them to catch on fire making your follow-up with your R speed into the fight to deal that extra heavy damage just before you pop your Pillar of Flame under your enemies feet to finish off anyone still alive.

Warding

Some of you may be asking, "Who cares about warding? Why would it matter for a carry like me, I thought only supports did that sorta thing!"

First off it's not only for supports to do this, everyone should ward at least one spot near them for the sole purpose of exposing ganks (Please encourage your support though to ward for you). Can wards do other things besides save your behind from getting destroyed from a gank? OF COURSE! Ever had problems with an annoying Twitch or Evelynn? Drop a vision ward near you or buy an Oracle's Elixir and then see how much success they have in sneaking up on you now!

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Warding these spots may just save your life so why not try doing so?

Notice #1 :: Most range over Dragon.
Notice #2 :: Most range over Baron Nashor.
Notice both #3 :: Helps reveal a hidden gank to both top and bottom lanes.
Notice #4 - #8 :: Dominance over jungle.

Summary

I hope you all enjoyed what I have written. Now keep in mind that I didn't make this guide very long for a reason! I have enough writing already that I don't want to overcrowd my guide with useless information and long rants. There is not too much to explain about Brand as most of his skill comes from the user being able to aim his skill shots and keep from dieing. This guide is here to explain the unique functions of Brand such as his unique ability to deal insane amounts of damage, destroying champs 1v1, and secure ANY kill.

Again thanks to jhoijhoi and all those mentioned in his guide.

PS:: If you have any suggestions on what to add or if I've left some crucial out please let me know! Thank you :)