This build's intent is to maximize both Magic Penetration and Ability power efficiently. Though it's easy to use, it may be a bit difficult to completely master it and learn how to take advantage of what it has to offer. Hopefully reading the following chapters will make certain things a bit clearer for you.

IMPORTANT! Please keep in mind that nothing on this build is written in stone. It's important to experiment on your own, and make decisions on possible alternates for your items depending on the way your game plays out.

PROS

• Powerful skill combos
• exceptional early game
• exceptional range (both normal attack and skills)
• Ultimate can deal 900 damage at level 1 if used properly (see chapter on "Your Ultimate" for details)

CONS

• exceptionally squishy
• Banshee's Veil can stop Ultimate from bouncing.
• Skill shot based. Requires a bit of practice

Rod of Ages

Rylai's Crystal Scepter

Consider buying these items if you feel a bit too squishy. They are great because you won't be sacrificing an item slot for an HP only Item. These two items give you other bonuses that Brand will benefit from. Just be careful what build item you replace.

Exhaust

Pros

• Great after luring careless players into turret. It's easier to lure enemies with a squishy hero like brand than is is with a Tank hero.
• Great when used properly with teammates while chasing an enemy (I would avoid chasing while alone because you are very squishy and could likely run into a trap.

Cons

• Not as useful on Brand as it could be on another Player.

I hear many controversial things on picking exhaust as a Summoner Spell. It all depends on your team. If you see other players have picked exhaust then you can go with the alternatives:

Ghost - Combined with flash can get you out of almost anything.
Ignite - Though not my favorite, it may help during the early game.

Flash

A must have for Brand. You are squishy and having flash with you can help you go through certain obstacles players would otherwise have to run around while fleeing from enemies.

Rune choices may be unusual compared to many other builds but I prefer focusing the runes on magic penetration making it possible to rush Archangel's Staff and buy your Sorc Shoes later.

I don't think its important to have mana or mana regen runes like ones suggested in other builds. The only drawback is that you won't be able to spam as much, but it will not hinder you as a player. Instead, I would lower your cooldowns.

My thought process while skilling in a nutshell

• start with conflagration (you can easily put pressure on enemies, especially if you're playing mid).
• Now grab Pillar of Flame and take advantage of it's range! Also use it for farming.
• Now that the game is getting a bit more interesting you'll need one, and only one, point in sear (you will be using this for its stun).
• Maximize your Pillar of Flame first, then Conflagration, and finally Sear.

Brand is a combo based hero. If you don't use your skill combos wisely you will fail. Here are the combos

Q=Sear W=PoF E=Conflagration

WIN

• WQ(E) - Mainly for farming. Using W first will maximize farming efficiency. In a fight with another hero, I would only use this when taking advantage of W's range. Can be used as a method of fleeing by leading a far away, but quickly approaching, enemy with your W then stunning with Q.
• EWQ - because W does more damage to enemies with Blaze, you would cast E first to get the most out of W and then finish with a stun Q.
• EQ(W) - Very good combo when fleeing from battle. E is the quickest skill to cast that will blaze the target allowing you to stun with Q (only cast W if you will still be able to escape).

MEH...

• WEQ- A mediocre combo. By casting W on a target without Blaze, you aren't getting any bonus damage from W, though sometimes starting a combo with W is neccessary for range purposes.

FAIL

• QWE - No point point in this. Q will only stun if the enemy already has Blaze, plus Q has the lowest damage.
• QEW - Same reason

Pyroclasm, Brand's Ulti, is quite weak when looking at the damage dealt, but because it bounces you can hit the same target multiple times and deal a very large amount of damage.

note: bounces are random. Your ultimate will sometimes target minions if within range

• I would only use it when there are few heroes and no minions within the Ulti's bounce range.
• Never use it in a pure 1vs1 situation unless all your spells are on cooldown and you need it to quickly slay an enemy hero.
• One of the best way to use it is when 2 enemy heroes are standing next to each other.
• Sometimes using a minion to bounce the Ulti back to the targeted hero is smart. Just make sure the minion is at full health or it will die and end the chain of bounces before reaching the maximum of 5 bounces (3 hits on the targeted hero). Pyroclasm will need to hit the targeted minion at least twice for it to hit the targeted hero 3 times (hero>minion>hero>minion>hero).