I've always had a soft spot for Heimerdinger. He was the second champion I played (behind a very confusing game as Twitch), and the first champion I considered my “main”. Call it a soft-spot for small, intelligent characters, but something about the little afro-headed genius clicked. Turrets that farmed for me? Instantly-hitting rockets? You had me at substandard intelligence!

Of course, as I continued my time in the League of Legends, the general stigma that followed my Heimerdinger obsession was made readily apparent; people, to this day, hate having the smartest Yordle ever on their team. His pick-rate is the fourth worst currently, and his win-rate fluctuates from average to 'meh'. Anyone playing him is instantly a “troll” or a “noob”, and after a couple months of playing him, I was forced into different roles and champions.

But why is Heimerdinger so despised, left amongst the Lost Legends never to be seen again? He's had a rough balance history, and hasn't been touched recently, but does that mean he's as bad as his reputation? And with the sweeping changes of the ever-approaching Season Three, will he ever be considered pick-worthy?

There is potential in Heimerdinger; I noticed that in Season 2. The one match I had as Heimerdinger had more damage than my other, multiple-game AP mids. His turrets produce some of the most steady AP damage outside of Teemo, and his rockets have 285 base damage at max level. His grenade is potent as well, but landing it is tricky. Overall, the main problem with Heimerdinger is not that his damage is low, but merely inconsistent.

Getting Heimerdinger's abilities to work in your favor is tedious, especially during the laning phase. His turrets generally shoot at anything that seems least threatening, his grenade moves slower than electricity seemingly should, and timing his rockets to hit just before that third minion is able to block them can drive any Summoner to madness. Without any priority to his spell targets beyond distance and luck, Heimerdinger's damage requires a surprising amount of patience and skill for a champion who seems so simple. A lot of this is removed in team fights; as long as their aren't enemy minions/pets to worry about, the damage from his rockets alone is brutal.

Recently, I ran a sample blind-pick game to get some baring on whether the recent changes have made him any more viable. While I haven't had much luck picking him again (people tend to dodge games when they see Heimer), I will explain my thought process and build below.

Role: AP Carry, Mid Lane

Runes:





With my runes, I focus on getting as much penetration as possible, with mana regen and move speed for lane sustain and survival. The penetration Quintessence is optional, as an extra move speed rune in its place is just as helpful.

Masteries:





Fairly standard masteries. Defense or Utility really depends on play style, but I can see both working.

Summoner Spells:

Flash, Ignite, Teleport

Flash is essential, as it provides you with an easy escape (which Heimer is lacking). Secondary choice is more personal. Ignite is always nice, but Heimerdinger is usually not putting himself in range to use it. Teleport is the best alternative, but any can be used to match your play style.

Build Order:

Dorans Ring -> Haunting Guise -> Sorcerer’s Shoes -> Void Staff -> Rabadon's Deathcap

Options:

Liandry's Torment, Rylai's Crystal Scepter, Athene's Unholy Grail, Zhonya's Hourglass

With my items, I focus on getting as much magic penetration as possible, as quickly as possible. Heimerdinger's spells have high base damage with average ratios. I don't recommend instantly upgrading Haunting Guise, as it has the same penetration as Liandry's and the money is best spent elsewhere. After Void Staff, you've hit max penetration, and can start building damage. Rabadon's is essential, but after that the choice is more based on how team fights are going. Rylai's gets fully proc'd with each rocket, Zhonya's is great if you keep getting focused down in fights, and Athene's is a good solution for any mana problems.

Laning:

Heimerdinger is a defensive laner, and relies mostly on the poke from his rockets to keep his lane opponent at bay. Leveling skills generally goes in this order:

Rockets, Turrets, Grenade.

Rockets offer the best controllable damage, so I tend to level them first.

Turrets are best used behind the line of the river; this keeps you less susceptible to jungle ganks by keeping the lane from pushing. They also offer a good line of defense if your lane opponent is getting right in your face. This setup also keeps aggressive pushers in lane; if they are attempting to keep the lane pushed so they may gank other lanes, your back line turrets will make sure the minion wave never touches your tower. Last hitting should be left to your auto-attacks, which isn't too difficult with his responsive animations.

Poking with rockets is based on distance and the number of minions in lane. Generally, two caster minions will be the last minions out of a wave; use this opportunity to throw out some rockets. Two will hit the minions, and the last will hit your opponent. Also, if you notice your opponent separated from their minions, quick reflexes can land opportune rocket hits.

Heimer's spells are rather expensive, though, so keep your casting only to situations where your spells will hit your opponent, and last hit with auto-attacks. Never use your grenade to farm. It should always be saved to prevent lane opponent or jungle aggression. With patience and careful spell casting, items like Chalice of Harmony aren't as essential early on.

Team Fights:

Team fights are pretty simple. Don't get too close; generally stay a full auto-attack distance out of the thick of things.Your ultimate can either be used as initial burst from your spells or saved for if either team decides to retreat. Always shoot out rockets whenever possible. In conjunction with your ultimate, you can hit all five enemy champions with your rockets and do some serious damage. You should be able to get two to three rockets out per fight.

One turret should be used in the first area of a fight. If it's obvious the fight will stay there (due to CC ultimates like Amumu's), feel free to use both. If the fight is moving, try to keep one stored up for later placement.

Your grenade is super fast with your ultimate popped. While stunning opponents is difficult, try getting the blind effect on the AD Carry. It is also a great tool for giving vision in fog of war.

Sample Game:

I recently played a game versus Morgana in blind pick using these methods. With proper dodging, I was able to survive the lane phase with no deaths, but was unable to kill Morgana during it. Against most mids, Heimerdinger doesn't have a high-kill potential without jungle support, so your goal should be to keep up in CS, keep your lane partner in lane, and not feed any kills until the lane phase is over.

I noticed that enemy jungle ganks seemed less frequent on Heimerdinger than in Season 2; since ganks have become more risky, my persistent ability to evade early ganks dissuaded the enemy jungler from ganking my lane every 30 seconds.

While the laning phase was uneventful, the shift into team fights was surprisingly strong; my damage output was the highest on the team. Multiple small skirmishes were quickly ended by swift rockets. Morgana was up on farm towards the end of the laning phase, but she was easily focused down before her ult could do any real damage. I was also able to successfully counter her ganks with ease; she made a few mistakes with her engages, and by the time I got there one rocket took her out.

I was also able to successfully turn entire battles around with my rockets alone; the enemy bot lane was slightly fed towards their favor, but my presence in early team fights made enough of an impact to shift the game towards our favor. It seems hard to believe, but my Heimerdinger actually carried the game, and my teammates actually complimented me on this fact.

I ended the game with the most gold, most kills, and no deaths to my name.

My damage output was also outpacing everyone in the game (both dealt to champions and overall)

Final Analysis:

The changes to Season Three have inadvertently given Heimerdinger some buffs. With less lane pressure from junglers, he is able to farm effeciently and safely. More magic penetration means he is able to deal his impressive base damages early and scale later into the game with pure AP items. Since his damage is consistent and scales quickly, the major thing holding him back is the positioning of the person playing him and the placement of his spells.

One change that I have yet to experience, though I feel is extremely important, is the popular trend of Assassins in the mid lane. In Season Two, Heimerdinger had his toughest battles against these characters. Though not impossible, the necessity for well placed grenades and turrets to ward of in-your-face characters like Katarina and Akali was extremely vital to survival. Use caution against these champions, as they are the most likely to push against your defensive play style.

Have fun out there, Heimerdingers. Try not to let the dodgers get you down.