Cao Cao

• His passive builds stacks of an empowered, longer-range basic attack that also grants bonus attack speed.
• His 2 heals him on every hero hit, giving him strong lane sustain and staying power in extended fights.
• His ultimate cleanses control and heals aggressively while boosting his damage, letting him win drawn-out duels.

• Passive · Hegemony — Casting a skill grants a stack of an empowered basic attack; using it swings a sword wave forward for bonus range and 35-70% bonus attack speed, up to 5 stacks stored, with reduced damage at the wave's tip.
• 1 · Overlord's Blade — Charges forward slashing, dealing physical damage to enemies in the path; can be cast up to 3 times in a row, with each unused cast reducing the cooldown by 30%. The third slash launches enemies.
• 2 · Sovereign of the Land — Swings a mighty sword wave for physical damage and a slow along the path, healing on each hero hit (halved vs. non-heroes); basic attacks cut this skill's cooldown by 0.5 seconds.
• Ultimate · Blood-Forged Hero — Empowers his blade with will, cleansing his own crowd control and healing a chunk of missing HP, while gaining bonus physical attack and tenacity for 8 seconds; deals physical damage around himself on cast, and heals further on each basic or skill hit while empowered.

Build 1: Boots of Resistance → Shadow Battleaxe → Glacial Storm → Phoenix's Eye → Doomsday → Sage's Sanctuary

Tip: Heavy cooldown reduction lets Cao Cao cast more often, and some tankiness keeps him alive long enough to close the distance safely.

Build 2: Boots of Resistance → Thorned Armor → Shadow Battleaxe → Champion's Warplate → Phoenix's Eye → Famed Blade · Siming

Tip: His healing kicks in hard once he's in range — pairing that with Famed Blade · Siming's passive can turn a losing fight around.

Inscriptions: Fate, Hawkeye, Hunt

Tip: As a bruiser, Fate boosts his survivability while diving in; Hawkeye ensures he has enough damage to finish squishies once he reaches the backline; Hunt's move speed adds mobility.

Best with: Zhuang Zhou, Sun Bin Counters: Wang Zhaojun, Luban No.7 Countered by: Liu Bang, Wang Zhaojun