Get ready all, because it's time i shared the secrets of this champion with you.

I've chosen to create one for my favorite champion at the moment. Heimerdinger!You might think: ''Why Heimerdinger? Hes so underplayed!''
Well that's exactly my reason to create this guide, many people i know don't know how to play Heimerdinger properly or think hes weak. He is the complete opposite of weak

Just a funny quote from someone ingame:
WTF How does your ult turret deal 400 damage from 1 hit?

Im here to give you insights and tips on how to play Heimerdinger, to keep heimer easy to understand, and to make you win more games as this genius inventor!

With this champion i managed to Rank from Gold 5 to Plat 5 in about 15 games. Skipped divisions gold 2 and 4.

Pros

+ Very underestimated + Great pusher + High burst potential + Has AOE slow and stun + Fun to play! :D

Cons

+ squishy + slow movementspeed + long cd's + flash is only escape + hard to master

techmaturgical repair bots

Heimerdinger grants himself, nearby allied H-28G Evolution Turrets, and nearby allied champions 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 / 30 health regeneration per 5 seconds.

This passive is just great. You have a free Rejuvenation Bead at lvl 1, which makes Heimerdinger able to stay in lane for a long time.
Also works well with Spirit Visage.

H-28G evolution turret

ACTIVE: Heimerdinger deploys a turret at the target location. Heimerdinger stores enough parts for a new turret every several seconds (affected by cooldown reduction) but can only keep a limited number of turrets in reserve. Up to 3 turrets can be deployed at a time and deploying a fourth turret destroys the oldest one.

Turrets have a short-ranged basic attack and a long-ranged laser beam. The laser beam is a pass-through skill shot that fires upon reaching 100% charge. The recharge time is 12 seconds but is affected by cooldown reduction. Turrets deactivate if Heimerdinger is more than 1000 distance away for longer than 8 seconds.

The turrets are Heimer's signature spell. I rank these up 1st because you can place 3 of them before the first minions arrive and begin pushing right from the start. At rank 5 you can store up to 3 at a time and are an important source of Heimer's damage output.
The laser beams are much better than I thought they would be, The powered beam prioritizes champions.
Try to keep up 3 turrets at all times!

hextech micro rockets

ACTIVE: Heimerdinger unleashes a barrage of 5 rockets that converge on the target location and fan beyond it up to a maximum range, each rocket dealing magic damage to the first enemy it hits.
Enemies champions and neutral monsters that are hit by more than one rocket take 20% magic damage for each rocket beyond the first. Enemy minions take modified damage from each rocket.

This is your main source of poke and harassment. Don't spam it too much in the early game or you'll get mana starved. Also make sure you do one or 2 auto attacks when poking. And remember: ''position position position''.

CH-1 electron storm grenadeCH-1 electron storm grenade

ACTIVE: Heimerdinger hurls a grenade at a targeted location, dealing magic damage and slowing enemies hit by 35% for 2 seconds. Enemies struck directly by the grenade are also stunned for 1.25 seconds.

This ability sends a grenade flying towards the location of your choice. Everything in the center gets stunned. the area around the blast gets slowed. Don't use this ability to poke or harass. Getting a stun off with this ability can set up a nice burst with UPGRADE!!! + Hextech Micro-Rockets + Ignite

UPGRADE!!!

ACTIVE: Heimerdinger empowers his next basic ability, also making it free to cast. Empowered abilities share the same cooldown as their basic form.
After Heimerdinger has had UPGRADE!!! active for 3 seconds without using another ability, he can reactivate it to cancel the empowerment and put UPGRADE!!! on a 3 second static cooldown. UPGRADE!!! will only go on its normal cooldown if Heimerdinger used an empowered ability.

Ok... I just LOVE this ability. You can either create a big turret which will fight for you.
Send a swarm of Hextech Micro-Rockets which will destroy your opponent.
or
Have a CH-1 electron storm grenade bounce a couple of times stunning everything in its way
Ill get to more detail in the UPGRAAAADE!!!! section of this guide.

Flash is a good option for Heimerdinger, it will allow you to snatch up some kills with Flash + Hextech Micro-Rockets, which you wouldn't reach otherwise.

Ignite is a good option for Heimerdinger, it will allow you to secure kills when other champions enter your turret range and you manage to stun them with CH-1 electron storm grenade

Ghost could work on Heimerdinger, gives him alot of kiting potential. Making him able to dodge most cc spells, while his H-28G Evolution Turret pound away on your opponent.

This could work if you were to play Heimerdinger toplane and you're a little farmed or fed. You could gank botlane and potentially get some kills/turret/dragon. Don't forget your lane though. your opponent will push!

No. There will be no revive soon anyway.

You could get this on Heimerdinger, will potentially save you from burst champions like LeBlanc or Talon, this opens up an opportunity for you to retaliate and potentially get a kill on them.

Heal could work to keep your turrets up that tad bit longer so that they can... oh who am i kidding. don't take this.

Heimerdinger is no jungler DO NOT TAKE SMITE!

could work against some ad opponents who would deal damage to you in a rapid succession with auto attacks. Exhausting the enemy will set up an easy to hit stun with your CH-1 electron storm grenade.

Nah.

Damage... nuff said

some early magic penetration is very nice for heimer. When the enemy jungler ganks your H-28G Evolution Turret will shred him. If you have 2/3 up and running.

Your passive Techmaturgical Repair Bots will make you able to stay in lane for a long time because of the great sustain it offers. So why not get stronger the longer you stay in lane?

Scaling MR against ability power opponents

Scaling armor against ad opponents.

You have 3 types of ult like stated above in the skills and what they do.
Here i'll get in some more detail about your ult.

There are various of different techniques you can use as Heimerdinger.
+ will create H-28Q Apex Turret
UPGRADE!!! - ACTIVE: Heimerdinger constructs an Apex Turret that lasts for 8 seconds. The Apex Turret deals modified damage based on the rank in UPGRADE!!!; gains a 25% slow and 100% splash damage on its basic attacks; and the laser beam takes half as long to charge. The Apex Turret does not count toward Heimerdinger's turret limit, nor does it interact with his turret reserve.

when to use this?

You use Ult + Q when you're ganked and overextended but you got 2/3 normal turrets up. When your opponent midlaner or the jungler get in range of your turrets, stun them and watch how they crumble before your turrets!
*Note: You can also set up a quick baron when you have 3 turrets up.

+ = Hextech Rocket Swarm
UPGRADE!!! - ACTIVE: Heimerdinger launches 4 waves of rockets in quick succession. Upgraded rockets deal modified damage based on the rank in UPGRADE!!!.

It sends out a swarm of rockets in a straight line or spread apart. I suggest using this only on locked down or stunned opponents so you can use its full potential.

+ CH-1 electron storm grenade= CH-3X Lightning Grenade
UPGRADE!!! - ACTIVE: Heimerdinger hurls a grenade that bounces up to 3 times, discharging on each bounce. Each discharge deals modified damage based on the rank in UPGRADE!!!, the slow is increased to 80% and the area of effect is larger. Enemies can only be damaged by the grenade once, but can be slowed and stunned multiple times if circumstances permit.

You will use this in teamfights to stun multiple opponents if you cannot find a way to get to the opponent teams carries.

Items in order of importance, in my opinion:
RED = highly recommended
Decent/situational
Almost never, might sometimes be good

Banner of command
REMOVED FROM GUIDE. Heimerdinger no longer has buffed turrets because of the aura passive change.

Rabadons deathcap
I think i don't have to explain why this is good... TONS OF DAMAGE

spirit visage

Good buy against ap midlaners considering the MR you get. Then there is the passive: increases healing and regeneration effects by 20%. This synergises perfectly with your passive Techmaturgical Repair Bots

Zhonya's hourglass

Good buy against ad midlaners, and a good buy overall. When the enemy tries to burst you just get into stasis and let your turrets do the rest for you, this might save you in a couple of scenarios. Also nice when you need some extra time for your turrets to pound away.

Rylai's crystal scepter

Rylai's passive states that it slows the enemy by 35% which makes your turrets able to deal more damage since the opponent will stay inside the turret range for a longer period of time.

Void staff

The void staff will greatly increase your damage, therefore i call it highly recommended.

abyssal scepter
This item is good in some situations, like when you're up against an opponent who's building heavy MR. It will reduce his MR and makes you deal more damage in the process.

banshee's Veil
Banshees will be a good item for when you're fed but you're opponent bursty champion is also fed. like [le blanc],[kassadin]. This will give you a greater chance of surviving their burst, which gives you the opportunity to burst them in return.

When you bought your items and get to your lane you immediately start with placing your turrets. This makes you pressure your lane opponent immediately when the first minions arive.
Here is an example of how you should place them. (YEAHYEAH ILLUMINATI)
As you can see it states: Agressive placement. 2 turrets in the front means you push harder than 2 turrets in the back. If the enemy destroys these you don't have alot to fall back on. Defensive position is the other way around. 2 turrets in the back

Early game objective: Keep farming, keep harassing (practise lasthitting with turrets pounding away), and keep damaging the turret. You do not stop pushing. The opponent has to choose between: last hitting, harassing you back, and defending his turret. Which he cannot do all at once. For example, your jungler wants to give you blue buff (nicenice) but you will have to leave your turrets behind making them vulnerable for destruction. This will make you lose lanepresssure.

Yeah, im making a special chapter for this part. In my opinion Heimerdinger is the best at turning ganks into his favor. especially in the early game.

In this picture you can see a scenario i had once. You might think:Run for the hills! You do not flash away or run. you stay right where you are and stun the one that gets closest to your turrets. This will enable your turrets to pound away on your opponent and you can finish him/her off with your Hextech Micro-Rockets + Ignite.
Doing this might take some practice, but it's really REALLY rewarding.

Choose one of the following scenario's below:

I'm absolutely fed and bought a Rabadon's Deathcap. It's time to shine. Push objectives and don't give a damn about what the opponent does, except maybe for a 5 v 1 situation. 3 v 1 situations are ok in some cases. If the enemy team needs 3 people to deal with you, the rest of your team has free time to do whatever they want. (push,dragon,baron,farm) You can see yourself as the new proxy singed, except you do not proxy, you push so annoyingly much that they HAVE to deal with you. But you're ready for that.

I´m moderately fed, push objectives but be on your guard. If you have 3 turrets around you, you should be fine Help out your team and get ready for teamfights. In these teamfights it is key for you to land your CH-1 electron storm grenade on their most fed champion. and place down your Big momma turret or burst him down with your focussed R+W combo.

Something went wrong. Do not panic! Heimer can still offer decent cc for your team With your CH-1 electron storm grenade you can still turn teamfights around and lead your team to victory. When you've made some mistakes and for some reason go 0-10-0(you really, really fcked something up) you can still push. You're not worth gold anymore right? Why not splitpush that toplane. If the enemy comes to get you it's their wasted time

RED = dangerous for Heimer
Decent matchup, good Heimers will win
fairly easy

Heimer can hold his pimp wrench strong against most mid champions. but there are some which are complete hell for him. But by trying to outsmart and outplay (Heimer is a brain lol) you can defeat your opponent.

Karthus

Karthus should be fairly easy for you. Early game youll shove him back to his turret and make him spam his spells to get some farm, which will leave him mana hungry even though he can utilize Death Defied. Make sure that whenever he uses Lay Waste on your turrets you poke him or use your Hextech Micro-Rockets on him.

Ahri

A good Ahri can be troublesome however, you will receive an arsenal of tips here with which you can contain her and make sure she suffers.
When Ahri goes all in on you with her ult Spirit Rush, you can hide behind your H-28G Evolution Turret and dodge her Charm. when you did this you can consecutively throw your
CH-1 electron storm grenade on her and she is most likely in your turretrange. landing a stun or slowing her will become an easy burst with your empowered Hextech Micro-Rockets

Orianna

If Orianna is smart, she will focus on destroying your H-28G Evolution Turret so you will never have any up. If she does not do this, you won your lane. make sure you spread your turrets. If you don't do this Orianna can easily use Command: Attack+ Command: Dissonance to destroy all of them at once. It's better to have her waste more mana on destroying them all. again make sure that whenever she walks into your turrets-range you use CH-1 electron storm grenade and a empowered Hextech Micro-Rockets

Akali

You will be terror for Akali since she is a melee champion. she can secure some farm from a ranged distance with Mark of the Assassin. Just harass her as much as possible with auto attacks and when you think you can kill her use CH-1 electron storm grenade and (empowered) Hextech Micro-Rockets

Syndra

This lady will make Heimerdinger cry. She will use your turrets against you, whenever the enemy jungler ganks and you use your UPGRADE!!! + H-28G Evolution Turret, she can just use Force of Will and throw it far away where it wont harm anyone. try to farm as much as possible and try to kill her with your E+RW combo.(don't rush banner of command against her, unless you feel comfortable enough with your opponent)

Morgana

Morgana is a worthy opponent for Heimerdinger. Morgana's Tormented Shadow is pretty wide which can destroy your H-28G Evolution Turret immediately if they are all stacked together. Yeah you guessed it right... spread them so she has to use at least 3 Tormented Shadow to get them all, which gives you time to place some new turrets.

Cassiopeia

Cassiopeia can be pretty annoying when she uses her expanding poison attack Miasma This might afflict multiple turrets at a time. but just like when you're against Morgana you can spread your turrets. If you want to know how to spread them effectively, i'll show you at the bottom of this chapter. Make sure that when Cassiopeia lands poison on you, you back off a little bit because she can follow that up with a barrage of Twin Fang which have their cooldowns nearly reset if the opponent is poisoned.

Talon

Talon is a very strong midlane pick for s4, but Heimerdinger can take care of him, make sure you poke talon alot in the early game. And every time he goes for a last-hit, you poke him with your auto attack.

Veigar

The key to winning this lane is also to keep your pressure up, every minion that dies to the turret is a minion missing in veigar's Q pocket Baleful Strike. Also, make sure you don't rush Rabadon's Deathcap against a Veigar. This since Veigar will almost instakill you with his Primordial Burst. Try to predict his Event Horizon and dodge it.

Anivia

Well here we go...
Once Anivia hits level 6 Heimerdinger will start to cry, Anivia can use Glacial Storm to remove all your turrets at once and most of your minion wave which will allow her to push harder than Heimerdinger. So when fighting Anivia you need to rework your whole thought process. If manage to kill Anivia with your magnificent CH-1 electron storm grenade and Hextech Rocket Swarm, she will return with Rebirth. BUT that takes some time, if you can place 1 or 2 H-28G Evolution Turret near her eggform you can finish her off fairly quick.

Twisted fate

Against Twisted Fate you need to spread your H-28G Evolution Turret, or he might hit all of them with his Wild Cards. If Twisted Fate decides to use Pick A Card, and use it on your turret, he needs to come in the range of your turret making him vulnerable for your stun and poke. If he manages to destroy your H-28G Evolution Turret you can just place a new one.

Annie

Push, count annies abilities so you know when she can stun with Pyromania.
If Annie hits level 6 she can use Summon: Tibbers, as heimer you should try to kill the bear asap since it deals damage in an aura and can possibly destroy your turrets.
push and make the girl cry

Zed

Well, everyone likes to play against Zed. right?
Against zed, i'd advice you to get an early seekers armguard for the extra armor.
Keep pushing him under the turret.
When Zed reaches level 6 he can use Death Mark on you. Of course you prepared for this and you can stun him, amidst your turrets, after he teleported to you. Then it's murderino time! D:

Nidalee

Well, this cat can cause quite some trouble. She can mostly instakill your turrets with 1 spear
Your time to shine is when Nidalee gets to level 6 and thinks she can easily overpower you by jumping in with her cougar form.

yasuo

Most yasuo's will be fairly easy to play against since he is a melee champion. When he gets close just poke him with auto attacks, but don't forget to last hit minions!
Make sure his shield from Way of the Wanderer gets popped every time.
And always dodge his third Steel Tempest.

HALL OF FAME

If you send me your match-history you can come into my hall of fame right here!
What you need to do is:

• Make a screenshot of your matchhistory
• Upload the screenshot to www.tinypic.com
• Make it 800x600 pixels
• Send the link to me

~Instamid

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Thank you all for reading my guide, i put alot of effort in it and hope to be able to improve it in the future.

If you have any tips/tops, that would be great. And i'd love to hear some sounds in the comment-section/discussion.

[Note] As you can see, not all possible opponents for Heimerdinger are handled in that section. If you are struggling with a certain opponent that i didn't include. I'd be more then happy to help you out with that problem. Just send me a pm, or add me in game (instamid - euw)

Now get out there and show them what Heimerdinger can do!

D☺NGERS! UNITE!

November 2013: Guide created
February 2013: Guide polished, counters and easy lanes added
August 2014: Revision of guide, heimerdinger still stronk.
December 2014: Rework of guide, new map included, removed banner of command from guide.