I. Preface
II. Introduction
III. Skill Explanations
IV. Summoner Spell Explanations
-- Considerable Summoner Spells
V. Rune Explanations
VI. Mastery Explanations
VII. Core Item Build Sequence
-- Situational Items
VIII. Laning & Play Style
-- Early Game Phase
-- Mid Game Phase
-- Late Game Phase
-- Late Game Summarized
IX. Tricks & Strategies
X. Closing
XI. FAQs
XII. Other guides
XIII. Change Log




Brand is a burst mage, meaning he deals a buttload of damage, then needs to wait for his cooldowns before he can continue casting. This means he does a lot of damage in a short time. As any mage he is quite squishy and depends on his items a lot so it helps i you're able to farm effectively. Try getting mid and try farming as many minions as possible without taking damage.

Abbreviated Terms
AA = Auto-attack [Basic Attacks]
CC = Crowd Control [Stun, fear, slow, snare, etc]
FB = First Blood
AP = Ability Power
AD = Attack Damage
MD = Magic Damage
AS = Attack Speed
MS = Movement Speed
MR = Magic Resistance
ArPen = Armor Penetration
MPen = Magic Penetration
LS = Life Steal
SV = Spell Vamp
DPS = Strong Auto-attacker
MDPS = Strong spells; casters
CDR = Cooldown Reduction
OOM = Out of Mana
MP = Mana
HP = Health
MP Regen = Mana Regeneration per 5 seconds
HP Regen = Health Regeneration per 5 seconds
EXP = Experience



Pros:
- Deals a lot of damage.
- Has more survivability than most of the other builds.
- Very fun to play.
- Stun(!!).
- Has more sustainable damage due to lower cool downs.

Cons:
- A bit less damage then flat AP builds.
- Deals less burst damage then Annie.
- Out of mana VERY quickly without Clarity or Golem.



Blaze - (Passive): Brand's spells light his targets ablaze, dealing 2% of their maximum Health in magic damage per second for 4 seconds.

Very useful passive, with this you can harass like crazy. As each time you hit an opponent with a skill, they'll take some nice DoT damage.

Sear: Brand launches a ball of fire forward that deals magic damage. If the target is ablaze, the target will be stunned for 2 seconds.

Great skill to use in your combo. Not only does it deal some nice damage, if the target is ablaze, they'll be stunned for two seconds! Do remember it is a skill shot though, so PLEASE, practice it since it's such a big part of your combo.

Pillar of Flame: After a short delay, Brand creates a pillar of flame at a target area, dealing magic damage to enemy units with the area. Units that are ablaze take an additional 25% damage.

This skill is so amazing. Not only does it deal a LOT of damage, it's also AoE! Plus, if your targets are already ablaze, that's 25% bonus damage! Woah!

Conflagration: Brand conjures a powerful blast at his target, dealing magic damage to them. If the target is ablaze, the conflagration spreads to nearby enemies.

Great spell, it's a click on target instant cast spell so it's great to use as a first hit, just to set your target ablaze for the rest of your combo. It's also nice to use in combination with Pillar of Flame W to farm minion waves at higher levels.

Pyroclasm (Ultimate): Brand unleashes a devastating torrent of fire, dealing damage each time it bounces. If a target is ablaze, Pyroclasm's missile speed increases.

This skill is just AMAZING. You shoot a huge fireball at your target, but that is not all, it will bounce to nearby targets randomly. It will bounce a maximum of five times, which means it can hit your original target up to THREE times! If the target is ablaze, it will move faster.




Flash: Your escape mechanism. I prefer this over ghost since it can put you over walls, get out of danger zones FAST and you can even use it to land that last hit on that escaping enemy.

Clarity: As I said before, in my opinion Brand has some SERIOUS mana issues. I like using mana so you can surprise your opponent with a quick clarity as he thinks you're OoM.

Ghost: Some people prefer Ghost to Flash, I like it too but I still prefer using Flash due to the simple reason you can actually go through walls. Making you VERY hard to chase at times.
Ignite: I don't like this skill much on Brand, but some might prefer it to combo it with your passive. I often find my passive enough to finish people off so I don't need it.




I realize that there might be over a hundred different ways to play Brand, but I prefer this one.

9x Greater Mark of Insight
9x Greater Seal of Replenishment
9x Greater Glyph of Potency
3x Greater Quintessence of Potency

The reason why I pick these runes are the following:

Marks of Insight: I really like the Magic Pen, it helps provide some extra damage, both early game and late game, making his burst even bigger.

Seals of Replenishment: I use these for a little extra mana regen. If you want to play this character aggressively and use his burst to your advantage, you're going to need some mana. At early game this and your Dorans Ring should provide you with enough mana regen to stay in lane until you can get your items.

Glyphs of Potency and Quintessences of Potency: AP! This is just to give your early game a huge boost and to be able to harass like a mad man!




I prefer these masteries over the others, the 9 in offensive give you the boost in magic pen, while the 21 in utility provide excellent mana/health regen, some nice CDR and more EXP.




This is NOT the item order I usually get them in, please continue reading

I choose these items because they provide Brand with some VERY nice burst damage, the MP regen helps a LOT and the spell vamp provides you with a nice way to get a bit of health back.


The item order I usually go by is the following:

I start out with a Doran's , I find the stat's really help as does the mana regen. I try to stay in my lane untill I have enough money for at least my Hextech revolver and rank 1 boots . After that I try and upgrade to my upgraded boots (see optional items) and my Will of the Ancients before getting a Tear of the Goddess . After that I rush my Rabbadon's Deathcap and try to get my Morello's Evil Tome . After that I'll get the first few items for my defensive item, which I'll finish up after my Archangel's Staff . After that is done I upgrade my defensive item and voila.


Defensive items:
or or or

This really depends on the enemy team. Do they have a lot of stuns? Are they mostly physical or magical? Things like that. If they're physical DPS heavy, get a thornmail, if they're Magical, Banshee's, Soul Shroud or even a Force of Nature.
Movement speed:
or or
This all depends on preference. I like the sorcerers boots, yet some might prefer the extra cooldown. If they're heavy on CC and focusing you I'd suggest getting Mercury's Threads.




At levels 1-6.

This is where he's the most fun. If you're solo mid then you can have a LOT of fun versus the enemy. Try and see how he's moving so you can place your Pillar of Flame in the middle of his walking path. As soon as he starts noticing your placement, try switching it up. CONSTANTLY KEEP MOVING to avoid their skills. Don't spam your pillar since you burn through your mana VERY quickly.

Another tip is to avoid using skills until level 3, when your PoF is level 2 and then surprise them with the sudden amount of damage you'll be doing.

At levels 6-?
Basically, mid game begins as soon as people actually start roaming. At this point you should be doing a nice amount of damage and you should have your first (and maybe your first few) items. Just try to keep farming as much as you can, and pay attention to your side lanes. See a gank incoming? Run over there as fast as you can to make it a fair fight. Communicate with your team and try to work together.


This is where Brand lights up (Teeheeh), he's such a nice nuker, you can use your stun to keep people in their place as you and your team mates kill them off together. Try and push the lanes for your DPS's but stay out of trouble, don't initiate and NEVER stand in the middle of the battle, you'll be targeted and that'll be the end of good 'ol Brand.



- Before recalling, spend all of your mana on pushing your lane back. You're basically using free skills since you'll regain the lost mana in base anyways, and you'll give yourself some extra time.
- Try using the following skill combo: E -> Q -> W (-> R) This means you first get the ablaze, then stun and hurt them with your skills AND get the 25% bonus damage from pillar.
- FARM FARM FARM FARM.
- Get a friend to play 1v1 with you and practice placing your skillshot and pillar. Tell him to try and dodge your skills and hit you while you do it.
- Buy some wards once in a while. Get to know the key spots of the map and where wards are extremely important. (ie. Dragon, Baron, some bushes)



This was my guide on how to play Brand. It's pretty straightforward but I do hope it helps some people out. Please comment and rate this guide, everything posted here is up for discussion and I'd love to hear your comments.




Q. Why would you prefer Brand over Annie?
Q. Why don't you build a Mejai's Soulstealer on him?



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