Li Ming is a ranged assassin. Know in advance that the enemy’s gonna run into your skillshots, and that’s the reason you can go Orb build if you want. But I wouldn’t recommend it when you get to a higher level of play, as Orb are as fast as a snail on narcotics, and easily avoided. In the late game, except in cramped spaces or against a low-level team, it’s not gonna do much.
If you want to go PVE Ming though, Orb build is probably the way to go. It’s a way to destroy structures safely and quickly from afar. Useful late game. So, structures should be unsafe anyway. Really can’t recommend that build. Also, it’s not fun so 
Ming’s Q is Magic Missiles. Boom, DVA. Your ult is Ming’s Q. And hers are MAGIC, not MICRO.
Her W is Arcane Orb, which I talked about previously.
Her E is Teleport, which basically teleports. That’s a lvl 20 talent for other people isn’t it? Well who cares.
She’s got 2 ults, the first one is Disintegrate, it doesn’t disintegrate much to be honest. It has a low cooldown, and that’s all it got for itself. Its damage is the same as hitting all 3 Qs on a same hero, without any talent. So…
However, it does AOE damage, it can slow at lvl 20, and it can melt a few things (like Anub’s cocoon, or other target that need to take a number of hits to be destroyed, like BHB chests, ChoGall or Lunara vision, etc).
Also, it’s one of her only abilities that can go through enemies. So it’s your only chance at dealing damage if you’re on Braxxis or Infernal Shrines. If you’re playing QM, that’s the way to go if nobody else can clear fast. If you picked her on these maps, you shouldn’t have (Chromie, KT or Tassadar would have been better).
The other ult is Wave of Force. It allows to create distance AND reduce distance with enemies if you want. So yeah. Low damage though, but it goes well with the build I’m gonna suggest. Also, it allows to get picks, especially if empowered at lvl 20. Be careful to place it well, there’s a bit of time before it launches, so you could save the enemy just as well. Also, you can save yourself from situations through alt+R with this ult.
Butcher charging at you? Just alt+R when he’s about to reach. You should deny him pretty much all his damage by pushing him just after the end of his charge.
Same goes for heroes who will pursue you (Illidan, Genji, Zera etc).
For her build. The first one, that I do not recommend, is the orb build. Pick all orb talents. The lvl 1 should be Power Hungry or Force Armor. I’d recommend Force Armor though, as you’re going Glass Cannon at 13, so getting the globes could get hard if your teammates are not considerate. It also provides mana when it gets low, which it is gonna get.
Her other build, which is the one I’ll recommend, goes that way:
Lvl 1: Aether Walk
Lvl 4: Dominance
Lvl 7: Calamity
Lvl 10: Wave of Force
Lvl 13: Illusionist
Lvl 16: Mirrorball
Lvl 20: Repulsion
That is the build I have as “prefered talents”. Know however that I often go Glass Cannon at 13 especially in QM.
I’ll go back on the talents one by one.
Lvl 1: Aether Walk has the high advantage that it reduces the cooldown of your E if you don’t take damage.
Usually, in teamfights, you will be away from the enemy abilities. So, it allows you to get out of the fight quickly if you see them trying to get you.
Also, it allows you to travel through the whole map without the need of a mount, as you go about as fast (if not faster, on some maps where you can TP through walls). You will go faster than a mount from lvl 13 if you take the E talent. This allows you to double soak if needed (in QM…) but also allows you to reposition quickly in fights.
It also removes entirely the mana cost of your E, which is always good.
And as a bonus, it gives extra damage to your missiles. That talent has become a really good pick.
Always use it if you haven’t since the last Q when you’re not fighting. It allows you to always have an empowered Q ready in any situation. Do it before your mount, for example.
The other interesting talent on this tier would be, in my opinion, Power Hungry. It gives bonus damage from globes, and gives more mana from globes. This bonus damage is not limited to your Q but also to your ult and W. The only problem is that you will need globes regularly to keep your bonus up. It’s fine if it’s a quick teamfight near a lane, but it becomes quite bad if your team is getting globes without giving any to you.
Some maps are bad for this talent, such as Warhead Junction, where the objective is away from lanes and there usually are teamfights going on for a long time.
Lvl 4: Dominance is the only way you will get back HP as Li Ming. Yes, it was way better before the nerf. It’s still good, and allows you to fully get inside the enemy team to finish off a kill with your E (from lvl 7) with a relatively lower risk. It also increases your staying potential, as winning a duel or a fight in general will give you back a high amount of HP, allowing you to abord the next one with a serene mind.
Triumvirate is not too bad if you’re spamming orbs, but I wouldn’t recommend that talent on that build.
Charged Blast allows you to deal more damage with your Q, to both structures and enemies. it’s good if you miss your kill with your E but still had previously hit the enemy hero with your Q. It allows for an empowered basic attack. It’s also the only way to counter some heroes, like the divers.
Lvl 7: I’ll have you go Calamity on that one. It gives your last ability some damage potential. Usually, you will use it on an enemy who either is on cooldown or is off CD, because the damage is free. Get out afterwards. Do not use to get in bushes.
Mostly, it allows you to finish off kills by using your TP on them. If the enemy team is packed and there’s a low-HP hero in their midst, you can even double-TP (after his death) to deal high damage (600 total) to the people close to him. Don’t forget that it’s also the talent that gives you better Missiles with Aether Walk. It’s also free. And it recharges fast while you’re not hit, which allows you to spam it before you decide to get into the enemy team, at the point when you’re still using abilities from behind your frontline.
Seeker can be hard to get unless you’re against big targets or going PVE.
The orb talent is good in the orb build, but gives way less to Ming outside from that.
Lvl 10: Already talked about the ults. See above.
Lvl 13: I will have low-level Mings go Illusionist. Your E is now also on reduced cooldown when you get hit.
It allows you to get away faster if your frontline is penetrated.
Also, the range of your TP is now higher, so you can go inside the enemy comp from a further range, which makes it safer.
Your escape is also empowered, and it allows to get through walls you previously couldn’t. It’s a talent that will improve your survivability, contrary to the second one I’ll be presenting you.
The other talent you may go is Glass Cannon. When I feel safe, I usually go Glass Cannon as I don’t need the escape.
When I need to flank as Li Ming for example, I won’t go with that one.
I also use it when I notice that some enemies get out of teamfights with low HP, which could be prevented through higher damage. It’s only ok to take this talent if you’re confident that you can survive with 15% less HP.
Cannoneer can be fun in some cases, but I usually wouldn’t recommend it. Unless you’re being dived all the time, and you went Charged Blast at 4.
Lvl 16: Usually, go Mirrorball. It gives you the most more Missiles at this tier.
Your missiles are empowered from Aether Walk, which combines really well.
The increase in mana cost is not a problem at this point.
Also, it allows you to destroy small targets which could block your orb with ease, and gives a form of AOE to your Ming.
Arcane Orbit is troll unless you go orb build (which is kinda troll to be honest).
Diamond skin can be taken if you’re not confident in your survival abilities, either because you’re being dived, or because you don’t know how to get kills with Calamity just yet.
Yes, using your E to get inside the enemy team when they have a stun at the ready can be deadly. This talent is at this tier just for those cases when you’re still learning.
It can also be used in other cases, but it shouldn’t be your go-to.
Fireflies is a trap talent. it makes your Missiles harder to aim (because you should predict your enemy movement and hit where they are going, not where they are), so you have to readapt mid-game.
The reduced cooldown also doesn’t bring as much as Mirrorball.
Lvl 20: I would usually advise you to go for Repulsion if you took Wave of Force at 10. It gives higher denial of kills, allows you to peel better with your ult, and to isolate enemy heroes to get picks.
If you went Disintegrate, Temporal Flux might be something you want to look at, but I wouldn’t recommend it in most cases. It will only prevent enemies from getting out of your ult. Which you only use to finish off kills you can’t TP to to be honest.
Tal Rasha’s elements is a good talent too. However, to not “break the chain of talents” and keep high spell power, you need to also use your ult, which you will have a hard time doing.
When you don’t want to use your ult, I’d recommend going E+W+Q to maximize your spell power on Q on top of your lvl 1 bonus. Then, you choose the ability you want to use last (it will retain the +15% spell power and break the chain, losing the spell power you’ve collected up till this point) and use it as your last source of buffed damage. For example, using it to get a buffed E.
You could also go Q+E+W+Q to get max damage on Q.
It’s an ok talent, but it’s harder to make full use of hit than Repulsion in my opinion, and it is less versatile. It doesn’t allow you to peel or isolate enemies. It’s pure “more damage”.
Archon: Pure Power is a trap talent. It will allow you to melt structures, but it greatly diminishes your mobility in teamfights. Also, you’re highly vulnerable to any kind of dive or flank, as you will need to first deactivate the talent before you can use your E. Yes, there is a cast time to deactivate it, so you won’t be able to use your E on reflex. It’s a good way to die stupidly. You also won’t be able to mount.
I may be ok to take it in some very rare cases, but I won’t expand on that. It will usually not be any good.
Notices:
- Li Ming’s teamfights is made of 2 phases:
- Hit from afar
- Get in for the kill
Learn to switch between them in the midst of the fight.
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You can use your ults frequently, even to depush waves. The cooldowns are really low.
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I usually just Q+W when in teamfights. However, you might want to delay the use of your W in some cases. For example, if a Gaz turret or an Anub scarab is on your way.
Your Q is faster than your W. However, your W grows in size. Which means that more often that not, your W will trigger before your Q hits. For maximum damage, do not always use both at the same time.
However, still know that hiding your Q in your W is a good way to have the enemy take unexpected damage. At some level, people will know that going into the orb lessens the damage you take without needing any evasion. The Q hidden in the W can be a high source of damage that will scare them from doing that again. -
Know that you can hit the back minions with your W when they’re in line. It allows for faster clear.
Also, you can hit the mage minion from the side with your W to get all minions, it just requires a bit of practice. Don’t hesitate to position yourself better to get enemy heroes or the minions in lane. Your E allows such deviations as you will usually be able to TP out of situations.
Also take note that your Q, if you send it far away, sees the three missiles go in a parallel line, which can be used in some cases (finish off 3 low-HP minions, denying escape to a low-HP hero, hitting all the frontline of the enemy team if you went Charged Blast at 4, etc). -
Know that when hitting the boss (or any structure/merc camp), the way to get the damage is as such:
- throw an orb when you arrive
- use your Q
- AA until Q is back
- Q again
- wait until W is back
- TP away, orb and get closer
- AA
repeat
You can also use your E on the side to get empowered Q if you wish (that’s what I do, so W-Q-AA-E-Q-E-W-AA-E-Q-AA-E-Q-E-W-…).
It’s quite the same in teamfights, with the calamity build. Don’t hesitate to take distance as much as you can with your E. You can also get in and deal high damage with your lvl 7 talent.
