Harley is a mage. He looks like an assassin because of his mobility and abilities. He also looks like a marksman because of his magic damage basic attacks. Your main objective is to farm and kill the marksman and other mages and squishy heroes like assassins. Harley will dominate early and mid game but falls late game so end the game quick. He is currently ranked as an A Tier Hero. He is easily countered by the Aegis Spell and other shields. Since the release of Esmeralda, Harley's popularity and game effectiveness falls down.
Skills
Passive – Magic Master: As a magic master, his basic attack deals magical damage.
Skill 1 - Poker Trick: Shoots rounds of cards, dealing magical damage to the first hit enemy(damage decays when the same target is hit by 3 or more times) and increasing his attack speed by 5% at each hit up to 8 times, lasting 3s.
Skill 2- Space Escape: Disappears right away, leaving a magic hat at his place and then appears in the front, increasing his movement speed by 30%for 2s; use this skill again in 4s to return to the hat.
Ultimate Skill - Deadly Magic: Locks on an enemy and casts a fire ring (can be blocked by other heroes), dealing 200 magical damage and slowing the enemy for 1.5s. Then it generates a big fire ring around the enemy for 4s at hit. Harley is able to deal damage by hitting the fire ring by his skills. After that, it deals magical damage and additional 40% damage taken by the target during the period.
Skills summary and explanation
Skill combos
Preparation:
Recommended Spells
Retribution - so that you can dominate the early to midgame by leveling up faster and farming more golds to fulfill your role well.
Execute - also proven effective especially when an enemy tries to counter you with Aegis. Though, the main point for using this spell is to better secure kills.
Recommended Emblems and talents
Mage emblem Mystery Shop talent. This is for those who mastered Harley already because this helps Harley to build items quickly and finish the game within 12 minutes.
Use Mage Emblem Magic Worship Talent if you are trying to feel the burst damage of Harley. This is good for beginners because this talent enhances the damage that Harley deals. This is a good motivation for those who want to burst enemies down using Harley.
Put 3pts for Magic Power and Magic Penetration
Build:
Jungle item: Beast Killer/Star Shard
First item: Arcane boots
- this gives you early penetration, not only on heroes but also to minions and other enemy unit. This is in addition to the unique + 40 movement speed stat for mobility.
Core item: Glowing Wand
- some might argue that it is very early to build an anti-Tank item but the extra HP and movement speed helps Harley to rotate faster and help him beat marksman 1v1 even with red buff.
Optional first core item: Lightning truncheon
- this item really helps your poke damage and wave clearing because of the passive of this item. This passive can be amplified by other items that gives mana. Best paired with Clock of Destiny. The main point of building this item is for the cooldown reduction and splash damage.
Third item: Calamity reaper
- this works really well on harley since all of his skills have low cool down which means he basically has constant true damage which comes in handy when chipping down tanks and jungle faster. Calamity Reaper gives true damage after using a skill. This amplifies the damage of Harley's skill combos because he always uses basic attacks.
Another option is Holy Crystal for the 3rd item. This has been very popular since Season 11 because Holy Crystal boosts both basic attack and skill damage unlike Calamity Reaper that mostly improves your basic attack but lesser in skill power.
The advantage why Calamity Reaper is said to be much better is because also of its CDR stat.
Fourth item: Concentrated Energy, Clock of Destiny or Holy Crystal (if Holy Crystal is not your 3rd item)
You may ask why I recommend Concentrated Energy even on a Burst role Harley. In early game, Harley's role is to deal damage and secure the kill then get out. So you wouldn't need sustain since you aren't getting hit but as the fourth item, you need the sustain so you can be consistent in mid game but also because you have damage now so you can get pretty good amount of spell vamp from your skills.
If you are a beginner, I suggest building Clock of Destiny. Build elegant gem after the boots if you are already planning to build this yet finish Lightning Truncheon first. Pro Harley have different item building techniques yet this is what I am suggesting for beginners. You will feel the impact of Clock of Destiny after 5 minutes of finishing building this item. Thus, this will give you the most damage in late game because as time pass by, your magic power will slowly increase.
But if you are confident that you can end the game fast, build Holy Crystal to get that burst damage already.
Fifth item: Divine Glaive/Genius Wand
This is just a situational build. This is every tanks’ worst nightmare because this allows harley to shred a tank into pieces along with calamity reapers’ true damage.
Quick tip: If the enemy tank gets annoying in your match, sell the jungle item immediately to build this item quickly but make sure you are already ready to buy this item after selling your jungle item.
Other options would be those I mentioned in the fourth build.
Sixth item: If you haven't sold your jungle item yet, sell it now then buy Bloodwings.
Other items to consider would be Immortality. But this is for super late game. You may pick other defense item. Best defense items would be Dominance Ice against Physical Damage Dealers or Oracle against Magic Damage Dealers.
Last three items decision tips and more info:
CoD (Clock of Destiny) synergizes with the lighting truncheon well which provides extra poke damage. CoD also gives Harley some hp and mana for sustain and skill spamming which help with triggering calamity reapers’ passive.
Holy crystal also synergizes extremely well with calamity reaper since its damage is based on magic power. This will help if you have still trouble with the enemy tank/s and also if you are struggling to finish and secure the kill on an enemy that is out of position.
Gameplay
Early game tips
This depends in your playstyle but one of the best rotation is explained here.
Go midlane because Harley is a great midlaner because of his mobility.
Buy jungle item first. Prioritize skill 1. Use this to clear the wave. Make sure you last hit and also harass the enemy midlaner so that they don’t get the last hit and they will lesser gold than you. That is good for your whole team. You should be at level 2 after the first wave and should upgrade skill 2 now then kill buff and clear the next wave. Always remember to get the last hit.
When you reach level 4, upgrade ultimate skill and look for potential kill in top and bot lanes. Your target could be a low health hero or squishy hero. Quickly gank and secure the kill on your target and return to mid and clear lane.
You can also aim for turtle with the help of a teammate if you have your first core item already.
Mid game
Within the 8th minute mark, you should have 3-4 items if you farmed effectively. At this stage of the match you should try and push towers with your passive as well as picking the right times to gank. Just practice because mastering Harley comes with experience so play more. Don’t focus too much on kills when you could destroy or deal a large amount of damage to the towers. This is essential since this will allow you to end the game early which is what a Harley player wants since Harley isn’t as impactful in late game.
Late game
Before this 15-minute late game mark sets, you should have full build. Your role in team will slightly change. You should now protect the late game heroes like your marksman and other heroes like Aldous.
Start by helping them kill enemy heroes. If they are low hp, damage the enemy hero that is chasing them. If the enemy hero is smart, they will call for back up or try to kill you. In that case, run and use second skill to escape and play with them by using the hat tricks which will frustrate them while you help the team buy more time so they can revive or gather for a gank.
Miscellaneous Tips
1) Harley is also commonly being ganked and killed. Thus, using Harley requires a great map awareness skill. Also learn how to trade kill with the opponent properly.
Example: If you are chasing a tank that is about to be killed by just one skill combo yet you are also low health and there is an enemy moving towards you as you check the minimap, don't risk of chasing that tank because your death in trade of the opponent's tank is not worth it.
2) Master doing your hat tricks. Here are some tips:
- Know where your hat is. Check the minimap if an enemy is waiting to kill you as you come back to it.
- If you left a team fight with low hp yet you leave your hat behind near your allies and an enemy is low health teleport back and secure the kill.
3) Practice 20 classic matches and show your teammates your winrate when using Harley. This is important in Rank Games so that your allies will also have an idea on how good you can carry the team. Learn how to carry properly using Harley that is why it is important to practice first before you play in Ranked Games.
4) Pro Build for Harley
5) Harley should always hunt for the most squishy or low health hero and kill it using the combo. Maximize time by searching for the next target when your ultimate skill is about 4 seconds duration to be available. If you manage to kill an enemy hero in a solo defended lane, then you can push.
6) Prioritize leveling skill 1 over skill 2.
7) Don't force using Harley especially if the enemy already picked Lolita!
I hope you learned something in this guide. You may comment suggestions for the next hero guide you are looking forward to be posted here in this site.
Skills
Passive – Magic Master: As a magic master, his basic attack deals magical damage.
Skill 1 - Poker Trick: Shoots rounds of cards, dealing magical damage to the first hit enemy(damage decays when the same target is hit by 3 or more times) and increasing his attack speed by 5% at each hit up to 8 times, lasting 3s.
Skill 2- Space Escape: Disappears right away, leaving a magic hat at his place and then appears in the front, increasing his movement speed by 30%for 2s; use this skill again in 4s to return to the hat.
Ultimate Skill - Deadly Magic: Locks on an enemy and casts a fire ring (can be blocked by other heroes), dealing 200 magical damage and slowing the enemy for 1.5s. Then it generates a big fire ring around the enemy for 4s at hit. Harley is able to deal damage by hitting the fire ring by his skills. After that, it deals magical damage and additional 40% damage taken by the target during the period.
Skills summary and explanation
- His passive makes his basic attacks deal magic damage. This allows harley to deal more damage to turrets than other mages.
- Harley's first skill is a poke skill used to clear both minions and jungle fast. It also provides a stack up to 10 which increases your overall damage.
- Skill 2 allows harley to dash forward and increase his movement speed leaving his hat behind. If this skill is used again in the 7 second time period, you will teleport to where you left your hat. This can be used to escape, chase and tower dive opponents.
- His ultimate skill or skill 3 is considered the bread and butter of harley. It surrounds the enemy in a ring of fire and does damage after some time. When the ring is about to disappear, it does extra damage according to how much magic damage harley did during the ring duration. When killing an enemy, use this skill first then use skill 1 and basic attacks while the ring is still active. Don’t further chase the enemy if the ring has ended unless you know you can secure the kill.
Skill combos
- Tower dive combo: Skill 2, skill 3, chase the enemy if it is running away from the tower so that you will also receive less hits from the tower, skill 1, basic attacks until the ring duration ends or..., skill 2 if the kill is already secured or you are now escaping.
- Basic combo: Skill 2, Skill 3, Skill 1 , Basic Attacks, Skill 2
- Nearby enemies/Ambush combo: Skill 3, Skill 1, when enemy uses dash skill or escapes with great mobility use skill 2 to chase, then use basic attacks, skill 2 if you want to get back to your hat's position.
Preparation:
Recommended Spells
Retribution - so that you can dominate the early to midgame by leveling up faster and farming more golds to fulfill your role well.
Execute - also proven effective especially when an enemy tries to counter you with Aegis. Though, the main point for using this spell is to better secure kills.
Recommended Emblems and talents
Mage emblem Mystery Shop talent. This is for those who mastered Harley already because this helps Harley to build items quickly and finish the game within 12 minutes.
Use Mage Emblem Magic Worship Talent if you are trying to feel the burst damage of Harley. This is good for beginners because this talent enhances the damage that Harley deals. This is a good motivation for those who want to burst enemies down using Harley.
Put 3pts for Magic Power and Magic Penetration
Build:
Jungle item: Beast Killer/Star Shard
First item: Arcane boots
- this gives you early penetration, not only on heroes but also to minions and other enemy unit. This is in addition to the unique + 40 movement speed stat for mobility.
Core item: Glowing Wand
- some might argue that it is very early to build an anti-Tank item but the extra HP and movement speed helps Harley to rotate faster and help him beat marksman 1v1 even with red buff.
Optional first core item: Lightning truncheon
- this item really helps your poke damage and wave clearing because of the passive of this item. This passive can be amplified by other items that gives mana. Best paired with Clock of Destiny. The main point of building this item is for the cooldown reduction and splash damage.
Third item: Calamity reaper
- this works really well on harley since all of his skills have low cool down which means he basically has constant true damage which comes in handy when chipping down tanks and jungle faster. Calamity Reaper gives true damage after using a skill. This amplifies the damage of Harley's skill combos because he always uses basic attacks.
Another option is Holy Crystal for the 3rd item. This has been very popular since Season 11 because Holy Crystal boosts both basic attack and skill damage unlike Calamity Reaper that mostly improves your basic attack but lesser in skill power.
The advantage why Calamity Reaper is said to be much better is because also of its CDR stat.
Fourth item: Concentrated Energy, Clock of Destiny or Holy Crystal (if Holy Crystal is not your 3rd item)
You may ask why I recommend Concentrated Energy even on a Burst role Harley. In early game, Harley's role is to deal damage and secure the kill then get out. So you wouldn't need sustain since you aren't getting hit but as the fourth item, you need the sustain so you can be consistent in mid game but also because you have damage now so you can get pretty good amount of spell vamp from your skills.
If you are a beginner, I suggest building Clock of Destiny. Build elegant gem after the boots if you are already planning to build this yet finish Lightning Truncheon first. Pro Harley have different item building techniques yet this is what I am suggesting for beginners. You will feel the impact of Clock of Destiny after 5 minutes of finishing building this item. Thus, this will give you the most damage in late game because as time pass by, your magic power will slowly increase.
But if you are confident that you can end the game fast, build Holy Crystal to get that burst damage already.
Fifth item: Divine Glaive/Genius Wand
This is just a situational build. This is every tanks’ worst nightmare because this allows harley to shred a tank into pieces along with calamity reapers’ true damage.
Quick tip: If the enemy tank gets annoying in your match, sell the jungle item immediately to build this item quickly but make sure you are already ready to buy this item after selling your jungle item.
Other options would be those I mentioned in the fourth build.
Sixth item: If you haven't sold your jungle item yet, sell it now then buy Bloodwings.
Other items to consider would be Immortality. But this is for super late game. You may pick other defense item. Best defense items would be Dominance Ice against Physical Damage Dealers or Oracle against Magic Damage Dealers.
Last three items decision tips and more info:
CoD (Clock of Destiny) synergizes with the lighting truncheon well which provides extra poke damage. CoD also gives Harley some hp and mana for sustain and skill spamming which help with triggering calamity reapers’ passive.
Holy crystal also synergizes extremely well with calamity reaper since its damage is based on magic power. This will help if you have still trouble with the enemy tank/s and also if you are struggling to finish and secure the kill on an enemy that is out of position.
Gameplay
Early game tips
This depends in your playstyle but one of the best rotation is explained here.
Go midlane because Harley is a great midlaner because of his mobility.
Buy jungle item first. Prioritize skill 1. Use this to clear the wave. Make sure you last hit and also harass the enemy midlaner so that they don’t get the last hit and they will lesser gold than you. That is good for your whole team. You should be at level 2 after the first wave and should upgrade skill 2 now then kill buff and clear the next wave. Always remember to get the last hit.
When you reach level 4, upgrade ultimate skill and look for potential kill in top and bot lanes. Your target could be a low health hero or squishy hero. Quickly gank and secure the kill on your target and return to mid and clear lane.
You can also aim for turtle with the help of a teammate if you have your first core item already.
Mid game
Within the 8th minute mark, you should have 3-4 items if you farmed effectively. At this stage of the match you should try and push towers with your passive as well as picking the right times to gank. Just practice because mastering Harley comes with experience so play more. Don’t focus too much on kills when you could destroy or deal a large amount of damage to the towers. This is essential since this will allow you to end the game early which is what a Harley player wants since Harley isn’t as impactful in late game.
Late game
Before this 15-minute late game mark sets, you should have full build. Your role in team will slightly change. You should now protect the late game heroes like your marksman and other heroes like Aldous.
Start by helping them kill enemy heroes. If they are low hp, damage the enemy hero that is chasing them. If the enemy hero is smart, they will call for back up or try to kill you. In that case, run and use second skill to escape and play with them by using the hat tricks which will frustrate them while you help the team buy more time so they can revive or gather for a gank.
Miscellaneous Tips
1) Harley is also commonly being ganked and killed. Thus, using Harley requires a great map awareness skill. Also learn how to trade kill with the opponent properly.
Example: If you are chasing a tank that is about to be killed by just one skill combo yet you are also low health and there is an enemy moving towards you as you check the minimap, don't risk of chasing that tank because your death in trade of the opponent's tank is not worth it.
2) Master doing your hat tricks. Here are some tips:
- Know where your hat is. Check the minimap if an enemy is waiting to kill you as you come back to it.
- If you left a team fight with low hp yet you leave your hat behind near your allies and an enemy is low health teleport back and secure the kill.
3) Practice 20 classic matches and show your teammates your winrate when using Harley. This is important in Rank Games so that your allies will also have an idea on how good you can carry the team. Learn how to carry properly using Harley that is why it is important to practice first before you play in Ranked Games.
4) Pro Build for Harley
- Star Shard
- Arcane Boots
- Glowing Wand
- Holy Crystal
- Genius Wand
- 6th item is situational. Also, the game sometimes ends before you even have a chance to complete the last item.
5) Harley should always hunt for the most squishy or low health hero and kill it using the combo. Maximize time by searching for the next target when your ultimate skill is about 4 seconds duration to be available. If you manage to kill an enemy hero in a solo defended lane, then you can push.
6) Prioritize leveling skill 1 over skill 2.
7) Don't force using Harley especially if the enemy already picked Lolita!
I hope you learned something in this guide. You may comment suggestions for the next hero guide you are looking forward to be posted here in this site.
