• 05/14/14 Build Archived
• 03/19/14 lots of changes have been made to Heimer, will post notes asap
• 03/02/14 Updated Support Masteries, added onto Turret Mechanics
• 03/01/14 Visual upgrade and possible turret buff incoming from PBE!
• 01/31/14 Updated builds, added new sections
• 01/28/14 Tweaking builds and adding more MP, more to come
• 01/05/14 Added Dominion and Twisted Treeline builds
• 12/10/13 Updated builds and added Support build
• 11/19/13 Added Turret Wall Hopping video and Turret formation pics

Since I have not been able to play for a few months I will be archiving this guide. I hope that it has been helpful and if I am able to start playing again in the future I will unarchive this and bring this back up to speed.

Pros Underestimated Zone control AOE slow and stun Good poke Pushes easily Defends easily Fun to play as

Cons Squishy Slow movement speed Long cooldowns Turrets are still squishy Positioning is key No Escape ability Modal Ult has to wait for abilities to come off cooldown

The mana regen passive is really nice since your turrets can easily rack up kills without you having to spend mana. The extra ap and health are also welcome Bar none THE best item for a Heimer, allows you to stay in your turrets while they gun down your opponent. Your turrets benefit from your spell pen and these are great to help your damage output Although Heimer has weak AP ratio's this item still adds the most damage than any other item This item lets you get to 40% CDR when for some reason you do not have the blue buff This item enhances the base damage as well as the AP ratios of your turrets. It is also your main tool to reach 40% CDR. The fact that it gives you an active and also makes your minions stronger are just bonuses for pushing down towers. Buy pieces of this item earlier if you find you are having trouble vs the AP carry or AD carry. Very good item since your turrets stay active while the item does its thing The last item which will help deal with high MR targets.

Heimer has no escape, this is a must have on any Heimer when you're in a bad position and need to get out quick. It also allows you to escape over walls and chase if you need to. The second summoner spell is much more up to personal choice. Teleport's map mobility allows you to quickly return to lane or shop while still being available for a team fight or Gank. It allows you to stick close by your turrets longer while they gun down the enemy. It can help bait your enemy to overextend. Choose Heal or barrier if you are a bit newer to Heimer or want to play a bit safer. Ignite for those of you who play a little more aggressively. I like this better than ignite in order to slow down melee champs while they are next to my turrets and chasing me. Has a lower cooldown than Heal and acts as a worse secondary zhonya's option, can be very useful

Standard for an APC Heimer's Turrets have really bad AP ratios so he gets more damage out of reducing his opponents MR These are standard, if you are feeling gutsy, you can try and replace them with AP per lvl runes 3 of these runes will help you get 40% CDR without having to spend money on an item 2 of these runes will now give you a free 10% CDR when combined with masteries at lvl 18 With the 4 remaining slots Heimer can benefit from some more Magic penetration

CH-1 Electron Storm Grenade

As seemingly bad as Techmaturgical Repair Bots looks, it does allow Heimer to stay in lane longer and farm more while his lane opponent has to recall. It gives 10 hp regen per 5 seconds at lvl one so Heimer has some of the best health regen at lvl 1. It's like having a free Rejuvenation Bead. By level 17 it reaches its max regen of 30 health per 5 seconds. This aura applies only to Champions and your personal turrets. The turrets are Heimer's signature spell, they are how you zone your opponent. I rank these up 1st because 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 which were added in the rework will proc Rylai's Crystal Scepter, Spell vamp, and Liandry's Torment at diminished values. The laser beams are much better than I initially thought they would be, the AI for them is very good and prioritizes Champions. I max rockets second since they are Heimer's main source of harrasment. Be sure to spread the rockets if you have a hard time predicting your opponents movements. I level up the grenades last since they should be used almost strictly as a way to disengage or engage your opponent. Heimer's new modal ult provides him with a great versatile kit. Ulting with your Turret can give you insane DOT, especially if you have your 3 normal turrets out. Ulting with your Rockets can give you huge upfront burst damage. Lastly, Ulting with your Grenade provides you with a skill that bounces faster than your opponent can run and lets you chase down fleeing enemies.

The rework basically made Heimer's turrets each individually weaker. However, since you can have 3 turrets now, and they have a secondary beam attack, if the turrets are attacking the same target (which they often do if they are in range) they will deal more DOT than the old 2 turret system. Furthermore, the laser beams scale at .5 of your ap, and can deliver a nice burst of damage every 12ish seconds.

It is absolutely imperative to ALWAYS have 3 turrets on the map at all times. This means do not keep placing your turrets on the front line where minions or a champion can easily kill them. If you can keep them alive, they give you amazing zone control. Be sure to spread them far enough apart so they don't die to AOE spells. Basically I always try to have 3 turrets up and running on the map, and 3 turret kits in reserve for emergencies.

The turret's laser beams proc spell vamp, Rylai's and Liandry's. The lasers proc as though they are multi target spells. After testing I do not feel as though Liandry's, Rylai's or spell vamp is very useful on Heimer. Rylai's isn't terrible on Heimer, he still benefits from the health and AP, but the slow is almost negligible in many cases.

Heimer's turrets DO share his magic penetration. Since the turrets have horrendous AP ratios, I use Magic Penetration runes. Turrets already placed will immediately update their damage when you buy Magic penetration items. However, turrets do not automatically update their damage if you gain AP after they are already placed. Turrets already on the map do not automatically update if you level the skill.

• The time it takes to make a turret kit is affected by CDR
• Normal lasers take 12 seconds to charge and Apex lasers take 6 seconds, both are affected by CDR
• Freshly placed Turrets start with an 80% charge for their lasers
• If you move 1000 distance away or die, your turrets will remain active for 8 seconds
• A deactivated turret will lose any laser charge it had
• A deactivated turret has its vision range reduced
• A deactivated turret has less defense
• Melee attacks on turrets deal 40% more damage
• Heimer's Apex Turret can shoot up to 3 laserbeams if Heimer has exactly 40% CDR
• Turrets are classified as minions and can be smited
• Turrets have both their base damage and their AP damage increased by 15% from Banner of Command
• Turrets prioritize whoever Heimerdinger is auto-attacking or the enemies attacking him
• Lasers prioritize champions especially when the champion is stunned or slowed
• The Apex turret has a slow, a larger attack radius and also a larger placement radius

Starting the game
When the game begins, buy your items quickly and help the jungler by immediately placing a turret at the appropriate buff. Place 2 more once the ability comes off cooldown. When placing the turrets make sure to put them in the back middle of the camp so that it takes all the aggro from the monster and will start attacking the correct monster. Make sure the jungler lets your turrets take the aggro or else you may accidentally steal the buff. This only happens if there are a lot of people helping the jungler, the jungler isn't paying attention or the jungler is taking aggro instead of letting the turret do so. I always tell the jungler to "let the turrets take the aggro" so they know. Usually the jungler will just smite the monster if they are worried about your turrets stealing.

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Laning
When laning, place your first turret well behind your minions so that it isn't attacking anything and so that it is far to the right side of your minion wave. This makes sure that you don't over push and makes it so your opponent has to go out of their way to kill it. Make sure to punish any players who try to attack your turret by auto-attacking, stunning them, and rocketing them.

When your turret comes off cooldown place a second defensive turret that shares about 1/3 of the attack range of the first turret. It is vitally important to Heimer's Zoning to keep all 3 turrets up at all times. This is especially true during the early game when you can only place 1 every 20 odd seconds. The third turret can also be a defensive turret so that you can keep all three of them up during the first few levels. I often position the turrets in triangles where I can easily retreat if I start to get chased, or if the jungler comes after me. If they chase you through your turrets, the aggressor is forced to decide if they want to stop to attack the turrets, or try and ignore them and go for you. In either case I will usually use my ult for an apex turret, stun the aggressor(s), rocket them and place new turrets closer to the action.




You can keep the turrets even farther back if you want, but I wouldn't keep them much farther up than what I have in this picture





Here's an example of the triangle defense system. It affords you a large area of zone control, moderate damage output and the turrets are safer from AOE spells.

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Wards
Wards are always better than turrets, so always buy them if you can. This way you don't waste Heimer's damage output by always using his turrets as wards. However, if you don't have enough money to buy both wards, you can still lane, just play defensively. You can place turrets in the brush as temporary wards, but I think that it makes more sense to have a triangle defense zone to retreat into, since you can often turn the tables if they decide to chase.

Team fights
When a team fight breaks out, try to place your turrets in relevant locations. Make sure to separate them so they don't die to a single aoe spell. It is also important to keep them separated in case the fight moves away from one of the turrets. If it is a cluttered grouped up fight, I often will lay down the Apex turret, which will deal massive damage when people are more concerned about champions than your turrets.

When playing as Heimer, you have to be very mindful with where you place your turrets and you should have a goal for what you hope that turret to accomplish.

I use my turrets almost exclusively for defense/zone control. When you have a formation of turrets near by, it is like having your own mini Tower which will deter people from diving you. Use your rockets to harass and don't be shy in spreading them out if you have a high mobility opponent. They will be forced to give ground or try to dive you in their weakened condition.

I always try to sit on 3 turret parts if I am sieging an objective, otherwise I will sit on 2 turret parts and use the third to reposition my defense closer to the objective. This is the Turtle method that Riot seems to hate. Always be mindful to not place your turrets in a position where they can easily be taken down by minions or your opponent in the next 20 seconds.

Blue Buff

Heimer can easily take down blue buff by himself because he can use the turrets to take the aggro for him. Use this to your advantage by controlling your opponent's buff. This denies them gold, xp, and the blue buff itself. Whenever possible, buy an extra ward and place it in their blue buff. Once you see their blue come up, take note of where each of your opponents are. If they are all accounted for, or if their midlane just recalled, wall hop your turrets and take the blue buff. This is a great way for Heimer to pull ahead of his opponent, although it is risky at times. (See below about wall hopping turrets)

Positioning

Heimer has no escape, this makes positioning the number 1 skill a Heimer player needs to learn. Usually when I die as Heimer, it is because I am out of position. At that point it often does not matter how much defense you have since your opponents just stick to you and kill you regardless. This is also why I pick up Zhonya's and GA since they have actives and passives which WILL keep you alive.


Always set up a safe zone using the triangle turret formation where you can fall back to if you get chased. If they chase stun them and use your rocket ult to finish them off in front of your turrets. If your rockets are on cooldown use your Apex turret ult instead and activate zhonya's. If I over extend I usually take that time to take my blue buff, take their blue buff, roam, or I will try and get a few hits on their tower.

Heimer can place turrets over some thin walls and ledges. Turret wall hopping has become easier with his rework since they extended his turret placement range. This is mostly helpful for vision, but can also lend itself to other strategies. Below is a video I created and also an older image that I borrowed from "Moron's" guide to Heimerdinger at Solomid.net
Play Video
These "turret wall hops" can help your team take Baron buff or Dragon without you being in the river. You can steal the blue buff from the other side of the wall and it also gives vision to the enemy base or right outside your own when no one has wards.

I think Heimer Support and Heimer Top can both be viable. I use the same build for top as I do mid, but will often buy a mana generating item to compensate for no Blue buff. I think the best support item for heimer is face of the mountain since it helps sustain your adc and lets your turrets "steal" cs without any harm. Then basically I dive into items that I would normally get if I were mid and camp bot lane until the tower is down. In the beginning you wont be able to freeze the lane by yourself, so keep turrets in a line. One up front as the aggressive turret, one as a fallback turret and a defensive one in the back. This way your adc can fall back through the line of turrets for cover. I also find that ADC's that have either: wave clear, poke or snare do the best with Heimer. Jinx and Caitlin often work very well with support Heimer. They also have to be good at not last hitting whatever your turret is attacking.