Errol — Patch 1.62 Verdict
[Liquipedia RPL: C] Pro play (RPL 2026): 6 picks, 33.3% WR, 2.4% pick/ban rate. Note: pro meta may differ from ranked.
Errol — Warrior Guide
Errol is the slayer lane's sustained melee answer, a demon-armed warrior who rewards aggression with survivability. Most warriors rely on a single burst window. Errol doesn't work that way. His Blood Drinker passive means every trade compounds: each hit and skill that connects adds a Berserk stack, and at five stacks you're moving faster, attacking faster, draining health with every swing, and threatening a fully empowered Boneshaver that launches enemies airborne and heals a significant chunk of missing HP. The longer the fight goes, the harder he is to kill.
Right now Errol sits at A tier with a 33.3% win rate and a 2.1% pick rate. The low win rate relative to his tier placement tells you something specific. Players who don't actively manage Berserk stacks before committing to trades bleed the damage and healing that define his kit. Play him correctly, understand the empowered Boneshaver timing, and he's an absolute menace in the slayer lane. His 0.3% ban rate means he's almost never targeted, which makes him a quietly reliable A-tier pick for players willing to put in the repetitions. He suits aggressive, mechanically confident players who enjoy trading early and snowballing through item spikes rather than farming safely to scale.
Strengths
- +Blood Drinker's stacking lifesteal means Errol becomes increasingly hard to zone out of a trade the longer it lasts, rewarding players who commit fully rather than skirmish and retreat.
- +The empowered Boneshaver at 5 Berserk stacks is one of the strongest single-target CC-plus-heal combos available to any slayer in the current patch, capable of turning a losing trade into a decisive kill.
- +Ghostscythe's cooldown reset on hero contact gives Errol unusual repositioning agency in multi-target brawls, allowing him to dash through an enemy, root them, and re-dash in the same skirmish.
- +Demon Claw's untargetable window is a genuine get-out-of-jail card against burst assassins and tower dives, adding a survivability layer that most melee warriors simply do not have.
Weaknesses
- −Boneshaver is a narrow linear skillshot that experienced opponents can sidestep reliably, and missing it at 5 stacks wastes the entire Berserk investment while resetting your sustain window.
- −Berserk stacks decay after 5 seconds, so any kite-heavy opponent who forces Errol to chase rather than brawl will consistently deny his passive's sustain and damage bonuses.
- −Errol has no hard engage beyond Ghostscythe's conditional root, making him susceptible to heavy crowd control chains that interrupt his passive stacking before he can threaten the empowered W.
- −His 33.3% win rate in ranked reflects a steep skill tax, incorrect Berserk management or premature R usage dramatically reduces his effective output, making him punishing to climb with until the timing is internalised.
Abilities
PBlood Drinker
When Errol attacks or hits enemies with abilities, he stacks Berserk for 5s (max 5 stacks). Each stack grants 2% movement speed, 12% attack speed, and 6% lifesteal (75% reduced if target is not a hero). Armor is reduced by 6% instead. Every 3rd normal attack deals 150% physical damage. Errol's abilities apply full lifesteal.
1Ghostscythe
Launch toward a target direction (cannot target projectiles). Sweep forward, dealing 150 (+100% AD) physical damage to all enemies hit. If hitting a hero, restore 6% of lost HP. During launch, hitting a hero stuns the target for 0.5s before warping to the opposite side to attack (reduces this ability's cooldown by 30%).
2Boneshaver
Errol transforms his demon arm into a scythe and attacks forward in a line, dealing 250 (+180% AD) physical damage and slowing enemies by 80% for 1s. If hitting a hero, restore 12% of lost HP. At 5 Berserk stacks, damage and healing increase by 50% and enemies are knocked airborne for 1s.
RDemon Claw
Errol leaps into the air, becoming untargetable and able to choose a landing point. Deals 40 (+12% AD) physical damage every 0.5s and reduces enemy armor in the area by 12 (stacking) for 5s. After 2s airborne, Errol launches down on the target point, dealing 300 (+100% AD) physical damage to all enemies in range and knocking them airborne for 0.75s.
How to Use Errol's Kit
Every auto attack and skill hit on an enemy stacks Berserk (up to 5), each stack adding 2% move speed, 12% attack speed, and 6% lifesteal, meaning your sustain and aggression scale together in real time. The critical mistake at Diamond+ is burning your empowered W before you hit 5 stacks; always look for the stack counter before committing. Note that the 75% effectiveness reduction against non-heroes means you should never mindlessly wave-clear expecting real sustain, Berserk is a combat tool, not a regen tool.
Ghostscythe is both a gap-closer and a conditional crowd-control tool: if you hit an enemy hero during the dash phase, Errol warps to the other side and roots them for 0.5 seconds, which also resets the cooldown. That reset is everything, treat Q as a repositioning loop in extended brawls rather than a one-shot engage. A common mistake is using Q first and missing the root, burning the cooldown and leaving you stationary against a mobile opponent; in bad matchups, use Q as a mid-trade escape or re-engage rather than the opener.
Boneshaver is the lynchpin of Errol's kit: a linear skillshot that slows by 80% for one second and, at full 5 Berserk stacks, upgrades to a 1-second airborne and 50% bonus damage with proportionally increased healing. The line hitbox is narrow, so landing it on a moving target requires anticipating their pathing rather than pointing at them directly. At 5 stacks Boneshaver heals 18% of your missing HP, in a full fight against a tanky opponent, that number gets very large, so always delay the W cast until stacks are maxed.
Demon Claw makes Errol untargetable while airborne, pulses physical damage every 0.5 seconds to anything beneath the landing zone, and shreds armor on each pulse, stacking armor reduction is permanent for 5 seconds, which means a full 2-second hover strips considerable resistances before the slam lands. Use R not just as damage but as a dodge tool: a well-timed Demon Claw negates tower dives, burst ultimates, and turret shots entirely. The common misuse is ulting immediately in a fight; hovering the full duration over the target maximizes armor shred, stack accumulation, and the slam damage.
Skill Order
Priority: R > Q > W| Skill | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1Ghostscythe | 1 | · | 3 | · | 5 | · | 7 | · | 9 | · | · | · | 13 | · | · |
2Boneshaver | · | 2 | · | 4 | · | · | · | 8 | · | 10 | · | 12 | · | 14 | · |
RDemon Claw | · | · | · | · | · | 6 | · | · | · | · | 11 | · | · | · | 15 |
Loadout
Onslaught
Spirit
Dragon's ClawStandard Build
1
2
3
4
5
6Core Combos
Standard 5-Stack Trade
12Open with an auto to start stacking, Q in to apply the root and stack faster, land two more autos to hit 5 stacks, then release the empowered Boneshaver for the airborne and maximum healing, use this in any favorable lane matchup where you can control the trade duration.
All-In Execute
1R2Use Q to close distance and start stacking during the dash, pop R immediately to go untargetable and shred armor while building stacks, drop R on target and land empowered W while they're armor-stripped, Flicker is reserved as a safety exit or to close the final gap if the target Flickers away.
Anti-Burst Reactive Combo
R21When an assassin dives you, pop R immediately to dodge their burst, build stacks while hovering, slam down with max armor reduction, then land the empowered W before they can recover, Q is held last as a chase tool or escape if you need to reposition after the fight.
Gameplan
Errol's first real power spike is completing Soulreaver. It turns his Q-dash into a significant burst tool and gives his autos enough weight to start winning short trades. His absolute strongest window opens after Broken Spear comes online: the armor shred synergizes directly with Demon Claw's stacking armor reduction, and his 5-stack Boneshaver starts deleting tanks as efficiently as squishies. Play extremely aggressively between Broken Spear and Omni Arms. His weakest period is the early game before Soulreaver. He can stack Berserk, but he lacks the base AD to convert those stacks into threatening damage. Respect that window. Focus on stacking, not killing.
Early Game
Levels 1–6- →Focus on Berserk stack management in every trade rather than all-in kills — three-to-four auto trades with a Q to generate stacks and then back off to reset the 5-second timer keeps your HP high and denies the enemy laner easy poke.
- →Rush Soulreaver as fast as possible; your pre-first-item damage is the weakest phase of the game, so farm efficiently, use Q on the wave's back row to apply skill hits for stacks on minions only when you're not trading with the enemy.
- →Respect invades on your buff: without Soulreaver, Errol loses straight fights to most dedicated junglers who contest early, so ward the slayer lane bush and play toward your tower if the enemy jungler is aggressive.
Mid Game
Post Broken Spear- →After Soulreaver and Gilded Greaves, actively seek extended 1v1 fights in the slayer lane and any nearby river skirmishes — your Berserk lifesteal now sustains you through two-hit trades that most opponents can't match.
- →Rotate to Dragon fights as a secondary priority: Demon Claw's area armor reduction and your empowered W can swing an even team fight decisively, and Broken Spear makes you genuinely dangerous to any frontliner.
- →Start split-pushing between objectives to draw pressure — Ghostscythe's cooldown reset means you can clear a camp, skirmish with one opponent, and still escape or re-engage, making 1v1 side-lane scenarios heavily in your favor.
Late Game
Teamfight phase- →In the late game, Errol is a flanking threat rather than a frontline tank — use Demon Claw to dive backline carries during team fights rather than ulting on the front tank, because the armor shred on a squishy amplifies your slam damage dramatically.
- →With Fenrir's Tooth and Blade of Eternity online, your Boneshaver at 5 stacks is a one-rotation kill on most carries; position in bushes near chokepoints so your Q dash hits a hero immediately and begins the root-into-5-stack-W chain before they can react.
- →Prioritize Slayer (Lord equivalent) contests aggressively — your untargetable R window is a genuine cheat code in objective fights where enemies try to burst you, and Blade of Eternity gives you a second life to continue stacking and trading after apparent death.
Matchups
Never first-pick Errol into an unknown enemy composition. His hardest counters are all high-mobility or evasion-based. If the opponent locks Butterfly or Quillen early, pick a different slayer. In bad matchups, play the slow burn: use Q only defensively to dodge CC, farm to Broken Spear before attempting any all-in, and treat Demon Claw as a reactive survivability tool rather than an engage starter. When building around synergies, Errol thrives in draft compositions that have at least one reliable crowd control partner in support or jungle. Grakk or Baldum in particular make his empowered Boneshaver a near-guaranteed hit, turning a 33% win-rate hero into something far more dominant when the setup is there.
Errol gets countered by
ButterflyButterfly's evasion passive causes Errol's auto attacks and skill hits to miss entirely during its window, directly dismantling Berserk stack generation at the exact moment Errol needs to convert stacks into the empowered Boneshaver.
MuradMurad can pull Errol into his ultimate dimension, resetting all Berserk stacks and removing Errol from the fight for the duration, when Errol exits, he has no stacks, no passive sustain, and Murad has full burst ready.
QuillenQuillen's point-and-click chain stun interrupts Errol's ability to auto-attack and stack Berserk, and his burst is front-loaded enough that Errol can't out-sustain it before reaching 5 stacks.
AiriAiri's superior mobility lets her dictate trade duration precisely, she can poke enough to bait Errol's Q, then disengage before his Berserk stacks build to dangerous levels, kiting him indefinitely.
Errol synergizes with
AnnetteAnnette's knock-up and area slow perfectly set up Errol's Boneshaver line, letting him land the empowered W on targets that are already airborne or displacement-locked rather than relying on the narrow skillshot alone.
GrakkGrakk's chain pull yanks enemies into Errol's face during the 5-stack window, turning a chase situation into a point-blank empowered Boneshaver that Errol would otherwise have to Flicker to achieve.
BaldumBaldum's Tavern Brawl ultimate clusters multiple enemies together, and Errol's Q cooldown reset allows him to bounce between them, building Berserk stacks on multiple targets simultaneously while dealing area damage with each slash.
VioletViolet shreds armor from range and forces enemies to group or retreat, and Errol's Demon Claw armor reduction stacks on top of her passive reduction to produce combined physical damage that tanks cannot viably build against.
Pro Tips
- →The Ghostscythe cooldown reset only triggers when you physically contact a hero during the dash phase, if you dash alongside someone rather than through them, there is no reset and no root, so aim to pass directly through the enemy model rather than stopping short.
- →Demon Claw's armor reduction stacks are invisible to most opponents and have no visual indicator on their health bar, meaning enemies rarely itemize properly against you in-game; use this to your advantage by popping R at the start of a skirmish rather than saving it as a panic tool.
- →Against dive compositions, save Berserk stacks deliberately by intentionally disengaging at 4 stacks before a team fight, re-entering the fight with one auto puts you at max immediately, giving you the empowered Boneshaver heal that opponents think you've already used.
- →Blade of Eternity interacts powerfully with Blood Drinker: when the passive revive triggers, any Berserk stacks you had accumulated survive the revive window, meaning you can come back to life mid-stack and immediately output a 5-stack empowered W if your timing is right.
Errol is the right pick for mechanically confident slayer-lane players who want a warrior with genuine sustain teeth, repositioning depth through Ghostscythe resets, and a defensive ultimate that doubles as a damage tool. He is not a hero for players who want to mindlessly all-in. His A-tier standing is real but conditional. The single most important thing to master is the empowered Boneshaver timing: if you cannot reliably land W at exactly 5 Berserk stacks, you are playing at 60% of his design ceiling. Master the stack-and-wait discipline first, and the wins will follow.
Errol — Frequently Asked Questions
Is Errol good in the current ROV patch?+
Errol is rated A tier on the Thai server this patch. That's a legitimate and competitive placement, but his 33.3% win rate signals a real execution gap between players who manage Berserk stacks correctly and those who don't. In the hands of someone who understands the empowered Boneshaver timing and the Demon Claw armor-reduction loop, he genuinely outperforms most slayer-lane options in sustained fighting.
What is the best build for Errol?+
The current meta build is Soulreaver into Gilded Greaves, then Broken Spear, Omni Arms, Fenrir's Tooth, and Blade of Eternity. Soulreaver and Broken Spear are non-negotiable. Soulreaver gives his autos and Q burst weight, and Broken Spear's armor shred stacks multiplicatively with Demon Claw's armor reduction. That combination is the foundation of his late-game damage identity.
How do you counter Errol?+
Errol is countered most effectively by heroes who either deny auto-attack contact (Butterfly's evasion), hard-reset his Berserk stacks via displacement or CC chains (Murad, Quillen), or have the mobility to kite him before the 5-second stack timer resets (Airi). Building physical armor items like Gaia's Standard or Shield of the Lost significantly reduces his Boneshaver healing, since it scales off missing HP multiplied by damage taken.
Is Errol hard to play / good for beginners?+
We rate Errol as Medium difficulty. The basic loop of auto-attacking and using skills is approachable, but the gap between functional and optimal play is wide. Beginners will struggle to track Berserk stacks in real time while also aiming the narrow Boneshaver line and timing Demon Claw reactively. The low win rate in ranked is partly a beginner-tax problem, so put in practice matches before taking him to Diamond lobbies.