Favourite DOTA Strategy - Brood Mother

Black Arachnia - The Broodmother

Range: 128 | Move Speed: 313
Primary: AGI
Str: 17 + 2.5 | Agi: 18 + 2.2 | Int: 18 + 2
Damage: 44 – 50 | HP: 473 | Mana: 234
HP Regen: 0.76 | Mana Regen: 0.73

Attack Speed: 1.39 | Armor: 4 Spawn Spiderlings (W)
The Broodmother injects her young into a target, creating immense pain. If the target is killed by the injection, spiderlings will be born.
Level 1 - 75 damage, 1 spiderling.
Level 2 - 150 damage, 2 spiderlings.
Level 3 - 225 damage, 3 spiderlings.
Level 4 - 300 damage, 4 spiderlings.
Spiderlings have 350 HP, 18 - 19 Normal damage, 0 Heavy Armor, last 60 seconds.

Spiderling skills:
Poison sting - Deals 4 damage per second for 2 seconds and slows movement speed by 15% Spa[w]n Spiderite (autocast) - Plants a spiderite egg in enemies that lasts around 1 second. If the unit dies while infested, a spiderite is born.
Spiderites have 175 HP, 9 - 10 Normal damage, 0 Heavy Armor, lasts 60 seconds.
Mana Cost: 75/ 90/ 105/ 120
Cooldown: 10
Comment: This is your nuke and your pushing/farming skill at the same time. If its not maxed by lvl7, you're an idiot if you intend to follow the bulk of this guide. Why? Because you won't be able to farm or push. Further explanation in the main guide.

Spin Web (B)
Spins a web which grants the Broodmother invisibility in an area, regeneration, truesight, as well as a passive speed increase. Regeneration improves per level.
Level 1 - 2 allowed webs.
Level 2 - 4 allowed webs.
Level 3 - 6 allowed webs.
Level 4 - 8 allowed webs.
Mana Cost: 140
Cooldown: 90/ 75/ 60/ 45
Comment: Another heavily imba skill. You get invisibility, movespeed, and regeneration as long as you don't move more than 200 or so. Don't max this until later, only level it when you need additional webs. One level - two webs - should be sufficient until lvl8 or so. Mainly used for early game lane control, secondarily for spotting Runes and creeping heroes. Further explanation in the main guide.

Incapacitating Bite (P)
Gives the Broodmother venoms which will greatly reduce the target's ability to function, and deals extra damage.
Level 1 - Gives a 10% chance to miss, slows movement speed by 10%, and adds 2 damage.
Level 2 - Gives a 15% chance to miss, slows movement speed by 20%, and adds 4 damage.
Level 3 - Gives a 20% chance to miss, slows movement speed by 30%, and adds 6 damage.
Level 4 - Gives a 25% chance to miss, slows movement speed by 40%, and adds 8 damage.
Orb effect.
Mana Cost: N/A
Cooldown: N/A
Comment: Broodmother's passive skill. Great anti-DPS - slows them AND makes them miss attacks. The sole downside is that this is an orb-effect, but thats what Vlads is for. Combined with the additional movespeed from your Web and your hefty base movespeed, this is enough to mow down enemies with only one level of this, assuming they don't have Boots because they're smart - once they get Boots, it becomes more difficult but still doable. Obviously more is better, so max it when you're done with Spiderlings and in between Webs. Further explanation in the main guide.

Insatiable Hunger (T)
The Broodmother throws herself into violent thirst for vital fluids. This lust greatly increases her attack damage and gives her a vampiric attack.
Lasts 20 seconds.
Level 1 - 60 bonus damage, 40% life steal.
Level 2 - 75 bonus damage, 50% life steal.
Level 3 - 90 bonus damage, 60% life steal.
Mana Cost: 100
Cooldown: 60
Comment: The primary source of Spider's unbalancedness - the I-Win Button. Thats exactly how it works: you press this and kill everyone in sight. Powerful skill at all stages of the game. Further explanation in the main guide.

Skill Build:

1. Spin Web
2. Spawn Spiderlings
3. Spawn Spiderlings
4. Incapacitating Bite
5. Spawn Spiderlings
6. Insatiable Hunger
7. Spawn Spiderlings
8. Spin Web
9. Incapacitating Bite
10. Incapacitating Bite
11. Insatiable Hunger
12. Incapacitating Bite
13. Spin Web
14. Spin Web
15. Stats
16. Insatiable Hunger
17. Stats
18. Stats
19. Stats
20. Stats
21. Stats
22. Stats
23. Stats
24. Stats
25. Stats

Item Build:

1.
Ring of Basilius (500)
+6 Damage
Passive: Brilliance Aura
900 Radius +0.65 mana/ second to friendly units
Passive: Devotion Aura
900 Radius +3 Armor
Does not stack with Crystal Maiden's Brilliance Aura, but stack with Sven's Devotion Aura. Active: Toggle Devotion Aura
Turns the passive: Devotional Aura on and off as desired.
Ring of Protection + Sobi Mask
RoB is one of your mainstay items thoughout the game. You don't have to sell this for ages unless you deviate from this build.

2.
Ancient Tango of Essifation (80)
Actived (2 charges): Eat tree to gain 100 hp.
Item disappears when charges used up
Only get Tangoes if you picked Spider instead of randoming. Otherwise the RoR you buy plus your Web should be sufficient regen.
3.
Ring of Regeneration (275)
+2 hp/sec regen.
Another mainstay item, bar the fact that you'll upgrade it into Headdress to aid your Spiderlings (thats another reason for the RoB).
4.
Power Treads (1850)
+65 Run Speed
+35% Attack Speed
+10 Selected Attribute
Boots of Speed + Gloves of Haste + Boots of Elvenskin or Robe of the Magi or Belt of Giant Strength + Power Treads Recipe Scroll
You don't need Boots of Travel because you're already super-fast and you have the Web and you have a passive slow. BoT for speed-freaks or if you have to teleport alot, otherwise Treads shall suffice. Oh and with this you can kill most heroes in early game with little or no effort.
5.
The Butterfly (6250)
30% Evasion
+30 damage
30% increased attack speed
+30 Agility
Eaglehorn + Quarter Staff + The Butterfly Recipe Scroll
After Treads, you need a damage item of some variety. Through numerous tests, I find the Butterfly to be the most lethal. Further explanation in the main guide.
6.
Vladmir`s Offering (2400)
Grants a +12% Lifesteal Aura (melee), 0.8 mana regen Brilliance Aura, a +5 Devotion Aura, and +12 damage.
Mask of Death + Ring of Basilius + Ring of Regeneration + Vladmir`s Offering Scroll
Upgrade that mainstay item to this nasty piece of work. The only way for you to get lifesteal without compromising your killer orb effect. Not to mention that your Spiderlings shall also have lifesteal, which is always cool; even if 16% of 20 damage is only 3 stolen per hit, its better than nothing. This is the end of the main build, further items, discussion, and explanations in the main guide.

Early Game:

Spider Pros and Cons:

Pros:

• High stat gain per level.
• High base movespeed.
• High potential for lane control in early game with lvl1 Web.
• High potential for farming in mid and late game with Spiderlings.
• High potential for pushing lanes and towers at all stages of the game.
  
• Powerful hero at all stages of the game.
• Distinctly advantaged against other DPS heroes because of Incapacitating Bite.

In short, the hero this guide focuses on is highly unbalanced...

Cons:

• Melee hero.
• Can't use Orb effect items due to Incapacitating Bite.
• Heavily reliant on lurking in Webs in early game; if you aren't in mid, you might be forced either to spend more points on Web than you want or towerhug until the creeps fight in your web again.
• Farming and/or pushing efforts easily countered by enemy AOE spells.
• Somewhat average agility gain of 2.2 rather than full-fledged agility gain.
  

... and has no severe weaknesses. Excellent.

Starting Items:

If you picked:

If you repicked:

If you randomed:

Starting Item Disclaimer: If you prefer to get a pair of Bracers and start with Bracer bits and Tangoes instead of RoB and RoR, so be it. Your choice. RoB and RoR is how I play. I will not force that on everyone else. Most of my friends get Bracers for Spider.

Lane Assignment:

Attempt to go mid lane, because it is best for your lane control strategy. If you can't go mid then it doesn't matter whether you are top or bottom lane but either one you will need two levels of Web instead of one and that means no Bite until lvl8, and we can't have that. Hence go mid.

Its your choice whether or not to solo - the trade-off is between gaining faster experience and having a potential disabling ally there to pin them down while you mow them. It wouldn't be a good idea to have 2v1 in your favor, because Spider can't do that much to heroes of much higher level, but this depends on who your allied lanemate is.

Ultimately, it doesn't particularly matter if your enemies are ranged or melee, because most of the time you shall be invisible. And in fact, the only thing you fear at the moment are casters.

Web Placement:

Ideally you want your Webs in spots that allow you to do all of the following from the safety of the Web:

• Last-hit/Deny creeps.
• Harass/Kill enemy heroes.
• Gain experience.

Also, do not put the Webs directly adjacent to each other. Some people think that you need to do this, but you don't. The Web buff (the movespeed, invisibility, and regeneration) lasts a few seconds after you leave the boundaries of the Web. What you need to do is this; after placing your first Web, unless you already know how far apart you need it from experience, find out the distance yourself by running out from the Web until you lose the Web buff. Then place a second Web over the area you were in immediately before you lost the buff. Now you should be able to traverse the two Webs without losing the buff. Later on, this pre-determined distance will become larger since you have Boots and then Treads, and you can get farther before the buff dissipates. Place later Webs accordingly.

The below screenshot is an example of typical Web placement in early game:

Note that if you have gone mid lane like suggested, you can cover the whole lane with a single level of Web - two Webs as shown above. This leaves you free to get Bite and get some very early kills. Edit: yes those are rather close Webs - once you have Treads and a larger area to Web, spread them much farther than this. For now they are good enough to survey the whole lane for now.

Tactics Before I-Win Button:

Until you have Insatiable Hunger, you're relatively unremarkable, so act like it. Don't towerdive, don't attack whole mobs of creeps, no stupid things like that (yet). Once you get to your lane, place your first Web and sit in it. Only attack to last-hit and deny, and occasionally to harass heroes, depending on what they can do in response:

Caster/Disabler Combo: Steer clear until you have the I-Win Button and your ally's ultimate.

One Caster: Harass them into wasting nukes on you, then retreat into your Web and recover. It will cost them more than you. Then you're free to harass, particularly if you know their skills are in cooldown or they have no mana.

Two Ranged Heroes: This is actually your best bet, because they won't be able to harass you and you can eliminate their advantage by creeping up on them in your Web. Harass frequently then retreat; try to make their attacks bounce off your Web (as in miss when you become invisible). You can probably kill both of them in short order if you do things carefully.

One Ranged Hero: Only worse than two because they will level up faster and you can quite possibly get a doublekill at lvl6 or lvl7 if there were two heroes to kill. Then again, if you deny them enough then they don't have that experience advantage. Same tactics as with two ranged.

Two Melee Heroes: Slightly more dangerous than two ranged because you can't harass them without closing in on them, therefore the same advantage you have from attacking up close is also gained by them. Harass cautiously, particularly if they have a stun combo or similar.

One Melee Hero: Your second-best lane assignment. You can undoubtedly harass the one hero better than they can harass you, seeing as you can retreat into your Web.

Do not harass heroes or pairs of heroes who have sufficient power to kill you instantly. Obviously.

Go for the kill if they have approximately half hp or less and can't counter-attack. Requires lvl4-5 - lvl1 Bite. Attack them until they are low, then use Spiderlings to finish them. If you misjudge their hp when you use Spiderlings and they don't die, turn back at once because they will have gone too far by this point.

I-Win Button Tactics (Killing with Insatiable Hunger):

Follow the same strategy as with pre-I-Win Button, but if the timing and positions are right you can go in for the kills. Wait until their creep wave has pushed into your tower. This puts the creeps in front of your first Web and the heroes in between your two Webs. Now you run into your second web. The positioning should now look like this:

Tower, Lanemate | Creep Fight | Web | Enemy Heroes | Web, Spider | Enemy Tower

Enemy Heroes <------ Spider

So now, you are behind them and they can't know that - because you are invisible. Activate Insatiable Hunger while you are behind them. Their reaction is to run, so they either run into you, run into your tower, or run into the side lane and lose how much experience even if they do escape. Or they fail to notice the extremely pissed-off Spider about to mow them and sit there attacking the tower.

Have your ally attack, nuke, or disable the target hero/s now. You yourself attack the weaker hero until they either die from your bogus extra damage or they are low enough to be nuked, which is when you use Spiderlings - only use the Spiderlings if you really have to, because you will probably need the nuke if you go after the second hero, after they notice how quickly you devour their ally. If you killed one hero and still have a large duration of Hunger left, attack the other hero, assuming they haven't fled which would be a good idea in their position. Same tactics as killing the first hero, except definitely last-hit with Spiderlings as this is the last threat. Probable doublekill.

If your pursuit takes you into a tower, don't hesitate unless they have a spare disable or they still have a lot of hp. Otherwise, your Lifesteal should be enough to tank the tower and/or the hero suddenly turning and attacking you. Don't towerdive without Insatiable Hunger still on.

Alternatively to starting behind them, although that is easier, you can activate Hunger while in fog and charge to them in your Webs so they still can't see you.

Here are screenshots of typical use of the I-Win Button:

Step 1: Reach level six.

Step 2: Activate Insatiable Hunger.

Step 3: Begin to attack heroes.

Step 4: Kill one hero.

Step 5: Attack and nuke the second hero.

Step 6: Bask in the glory of your doublekill. Meanwhile, get the hell away from that tower.

See that sequence in real time in the replay!

Insatiable Hunger Notes: You can easily spam Insatiable Hunger due to its tiny mana cost and cooldown (100 mana and 60 second cooldown), therefore feel free to risk a failed attack because it won't cost you that much in terms of mana experience or lane control if they get away. Likewise, you can do it again in a mere 40 seconds. In addition to this, Hunger is a great way to restore your hp, rather than sitting in the Web - you can just turn it on and attack enemy or neutral creeps and finish off with 100% hp.

Early Pushing + Web Leveling:

As I said before, you only want to level up Web when you have more space that needs Webbing. So you may choose not to push in order to prey on the tiny section of mid-lane rather than have to police a long stretch of it. If that is your overall plan, you should ask to solo mid. Otherwise, get lvl2 Web at lvl8 and set up another two Webs once you knock down the first mid tower. If it doesn't look like the tower is going to fall any time soon, spend more skill points on Bite rather than Web, because its really only good for the Invisibility and the movespeed, not so much the regeneration - leveling Web only gets you greater regeneration and more Webs allowed, which you don't need if you only have space to utilize two.

Expected Post-Early Game Items:

Or if you were fed to the extreme:

Or if you're having trouble:

The additional RoR will a) help out early, and b) eventually become Vlads.

Or if you are getting Black King Bar:

Stat Items:

If you like to get a number of these before proceeding to bigger and better things, you may do so. As said in the Starting Items section, this is just the way I play. If you do things slightly differently, its not a problem.

So if you would rather have these than Treads and RoR, so be it.

Mid Game:

Mid Game (and Late Game) Goals:

• Level
• Farm
• Push
• Kill
• Survive
• Acquire good items

Leveling:
This will happen when the other goals happen. Requires only the actions of those goals.

Farming and Pushing:
This will involve a tactic I call Spawn-Farming. To be explained.

Killing:
Largely the same as in early game, with some notable differences and scenarios. To be explained.

Surviving:
If you are in trouble, there are numerous things you can do. To be explained.

Items:
Put simply, get your hands on a Butterfly by lvl16 or so. Or at least an Eaglehorn. Unless circumstances dictate otherwise. To be explained.

The only difference between mid-game and late-game goals are the items. Everything above and below should be followed for late game as well.

Spawn-Farming:

Spiderlings! In addition to being your nuke, this imba skill also summons. The whole Spawn-Farming tactic revolves around this skill. If you don't remember or can't be bothered, heres that skill again:

Spawn Spiderlings (W)
The Broodmother injects her young into a target, creating immense pain. If the target is killed by the injection, spiderlings will be born.
Level 1 - 75 damage, 1 spiderling.
Level 2 - 150 damage, 2 spiderlings.
Level 3 - 225 damage, 3 spiderlings.
Level 4 - 300 damage, 4 spiderlings.
Spiderlings have 350 HP, 18 - 19 Normal damage, 0 Heavy Armor, last 60 seconds.
Spiderling skills:
Poison sting - Deals 4 damage per second for 2 seconds and slows movement speed by 15% Spa[w]n Spiderite (autocast) - Plants a spiderite egg in enemies that lasts around 1 second. If the unit dies while infested, a spiderite is born.
Spiderites have 175 HP, 9 - 10 Normal damage, 0 Heavy Armor, lasts 60 seconds.
Mana Cost: 75/ 90/ 105/ 120
Cooldown: 10

The key bit is this ability of the Spiderling:

Spiderite (autocast) - Plants a spiderite egg in enemies that lasts around 1 second. If the unit dies while infested, a spiderite is born.

This means that your summons also summon. So you can get massive amounts of Spiderlings and Spiderites in short order.

Basic Steps to Spawn-Farming:

Find a creep wave.

Get a creep to half-hp with attacks or your allied creeps.

Use Spawn Spiderlings on the creep. You now have Spiderlings.

The Spiderlings attack everything in sight, spawning Spiderites on the death of the target creeps. You now have Spiderlings and Spiderites.

Order all summons to attack-move to the enemy base.

Repeat on as many waves as you feel comfortable (between mana and probability of being ganked).

Summon Count:

Creep Wave One:

• 5 Creeps.
• Spawn in one Creep.
• 4 Creeps, 4 Spiderlings.
• Spiderlings spawn in all four remaining Creeps.
• 0 Creeps, 4 Spiderlings, 4 Spiderites.

Creep Wave Two:

• 5 Creeps, 4 Spiderlings, 4 Spiderites.
• Spawn in one Creep.
• 4 Creeps, 8 Spiderlings, 4 Spiderites.
• Spiderlings spawn in all four remaining Creeps.
• 0 Creeps, 8 Spiderlings, 8 Spiderites.

Creep Wave Three:

• 5 Creeps, 8 Spiderlings, 8 Spiderites.
• Spawn in one Creep.
• 4 Creeps, 12 Spiderlings, 8 Spiderites.
• Spiderlings spawn in all four remaining Creeps.
• 0 Creeps, 12 Spiderlings, 12 Spiderites.

So in three waves, for only 360 mana, you get a gigantic 24 summons. This is when you can leave - let them rampage, have the push take a life of its own. With that many summons, the next three creep waves belong to Spider. As does that tower. But you probably should attack the tower yourself, just to make sure.

Things to Remember when Spawn-Farming:

Do not, ever set Spawn Spiderlings to autocast. It will activate on the first target it finds, which is generally a full-hp creep which then doesn't die. No creep kill, no Spiderlings, no push.

If you see a target creep on half-hp without a Spiderling attacking it, assign one to attack it immediately. You want those Spiderites.

If you want to kill a tower, you are highly advised to attack it yourself. Your Creeps may steal it from your summons. Your presence will also ward off enemy heroes from denying the tower or mowing your summons.

If you are done pushing a lane, or are forced to flee, or any other circumstance that leaves you with a pile of Spiderlings, send them to farm Neutral Creeps. They are very proficient at this. You can also start in the Neutrals, build up a wave of Spiderlings from a few Creep Camps, then move into the lane itself and devour all the enemy creeps. Because you start with more summons, you will probably bag more of the enemy wave than if you started now.

If an enemy hero comes, either have all the summons retreat, or have all the summons attack the hero.

If Earthshaker comes, get away from the summons. And then flee.

Spiderlings can be used as scouts. Check Runes and have them patrol around the outside of the lane you're in to counter ambushes and ganks by enemy heroes.

Pushing in the Replay:

8:30: First middle tower dies (shown below).

11:00: Second middle tower dies to summon push and I get the tower kill (shown below).

Oh and this is just hilarious... Spiderling kills. Do not ever expect these.

If you're dissatisfied with the clarity of these images, view the replay itself.

Killing Tactics:

As I said in the goals section, mid to late-game killing tactics are mainly the same as in early game with a few additional scenarios to consider.

1. Killing in Your Lane
2. Ganking
3. Team Battles

Killing in Your Lane:

By which I mean that Web-infested hellhole with the huge mother-of-all-Spiders - thats you - lurking somewhere within. Exactly the same procedure as in early game: go behind them, I-Win Button on, disembowel the target, Spiderling the target. If theres two of them, mow down one, then mow the other and finish them with the Spiderlings. Allies to help if and when necessary. You should still avoid certain disablers in such attacks (Rhasta, Lion, etc). If you by any chance have a Black King Bar, said disablers are your easiest targets and should be murdered at all times.

Ganking:

Quite simple. The sole difference is that you'll have to put in a tiny bit more effort due to your lack of Webs in this area - come from way behind them in their lane or from fog, and turn on Insatiable Hunger once you're right on top of them and they can't run anywhere. If you have an ally or two around, they disable or attack the target now, rest is the same as before.

Team Battles:

Ah, more complex. By team battle, I mean a big face-off with basically all players involved. If this happens in your lane, its better for you (duh, Webs) but if not, theres not much you can do about it - except place another Web near the area before the fighting starts: where you would be fleeing if necessary.

Now, if you went in first you would become a target for who-knows how many disables. So don't do that. What you should do is wait until your team has engaged - if possible, via a powerful ganking skill such as Netherswap or Meat Hook - then pick out either the weakest (and first to die) on their side, or the one who's doing your side the most damage, or whoever your side decided was the prime target prior to the fight. Then hit the I-Win Button and charge them. Attack them until they are red-zoned and finish them with Spiderlings - no risks, just throw in everything you've got rather than reserve an average nuke with a 10 second cooldown. Then attack someone else. Keep going, until Hunger wears off. At this point, if they have more disables and nukes left than your side, head for that Web. If your side is on top, press the attack. You should have Spiderlings again by now, don't be afraid to use them.

Rule of thumb, heroes with easy to use escape skills do not make good targets without a good disable or two. You don't have an active disable. So when you charge someone, don't aim for, say, Anti-Mage, unless hes the one doing the most damage and you have to get him out of the fight first even if he lives beyond this point. On the same token, they probably will be reluctant to target you because of the high probability of you fleeing into a handily-placed Web - but thats in your lane.

If you have a Black King Bar, alter the battle plan considerably. Now you instigate the fight: activate Avatar first, then activate Hunger (not the other way around because Avatar debuffs you) then charge and kill their most powerful disabler. The rest as above.

Finally, if you killed one or two heroes, there are liable to be some Spiderlings lying around, maybe even some Spiderites. So push! Why not? May as well kick 'em while they're down... they've just retreated to heal and wait for their teammates to respawn, which leaves them highly open to pushes by your side. Even if your side also needs to heal, send the summons to push alone.

Survival Tactics:

Spider has a number of tricks up her sleeve or whatever passes for her sleeve - assuming anyone would dare attempt to kill Spider. But if you have done anything useful, they're liable to be pissed off at you and indeed want you dead; if you haven't, they'll think you're a noob and therefore easy prey and still want you dead. So you've got it coming, heres what to do.

Only use these escape tactics if you absolutely have to run. If you have Hunger ready and can kill them, why not? But if that wouldn't work, or its on cooldown, then run.

What Spider Has:

• Webs
• Superior Movespeed
• Summons
• Passive Slow

Webs:

Your chief escape device. Invisibility on one spot and wherever you chose to run from there if need be. You can do a number of things:

• Hide in a Web.
• Pretend to hide in a Web and run out in another direction they can't see.
• Run through a Web without stopping (versus Wards, Gems, Track, Bloodseeker, Amplify Damage, Charge of Darkness) so you gain the movespeed bonus.
• Place a new Web near you and use it for any of the above.

Superior Movespeed:

Put simply, outrun them. Base is 315, quite powerful. Only a quarter of heroes can keep up with that, and only a quarter of them can do it without relying on activatable skills such as Blink or Windwalk.

Summons:

Have your summons attack heroes pursuing you. They have a minor slow - either the pursuing heroes will keep going at a slower pace, kill the summons to follow at their usual pace (losing distance on you while they kill the summons), or break off altogether. Just make sure you're still running while you micro the summons.

Passive Slow:

This is difficult and risky. Only do this against melee heroes and only under certain circumstances. What you do is turn around and attack the hero pursuing you. Your Incapacitating Bite will then slow them down for a bit while you make good on your escape. Only against melee heroes. And only do this if they're going to catch you without a reaction from you - if they're falling behind, but have a reserve stun cooling down soon, don't try this at all but just run.

Items:

Your primary goal for mid game is to farm a Butterfly. This isn't totally doable in every game, so your achievable goal is an Eaglehorn.

Or if you were fed:

Alternate Build: Anti-caster

If you're up against a caster-oriented team, you may want to purchase a Black King Bar immediately. It doesn't exactly hamper your fighting skills since it packs some damage and Strength as well. A Butterfly is just preferable. Refer to the above tactics for BKB usage. If you can at this point, start on that Butterfly.

Late Game:

During late game, there isn't really much to add. Kill everything in sight, destroy the barracks, raze the Throne/Tree. All of the mid-game goals still apply in late game. Act exactly the same. Except possibly take on more heroes than before because you've farmed and been fed more. Late game for Spider is essentially an extension of mid game, or vice versa considering that it has more late game activities.

For those who weren't paying attention: late game tactics are the same as mid game tactics.

Late Game Itembuild:

By the start of late game, you should have the following items:

I have ended the game with only the above items. This is, for example, the ending build in the replay.

For further items, Spider is, first and foremost, a DPS hero. So typically get DPS items. But Spider also happens to have 2.5 Strength gain, which you can also buff up a bit. The items you get in late game should always depend on the circumstances. No single build will fit all games. Mine is quite versatile but surely has some weakness.

Personal Build:

Before anyone screams like an idiot, I couldn't care less that the evasion doesn't stack on the twin Butterflies. No other item gives Spider 60 damage and equivalent 60% attack speed. Having two is even better than having one. The fact you also get the Evasion from one is the cherry on top. Then theres the Heart. You now have nearly 3k hp, 2958 at lvl25. The MKB works more in your favor than Buriza because you can affect a minor permabash with the ministun since you have the huge attack speed of two Butterflies. I have sometimes replaced the Heart in the build with a second MKB to improve this. The order of the last three items is circumstantial. And this is by no means a cheap itembuild, costing 27,530 plus early support items - but you can farm easily, remember...

The above build is my personal build! I am not demanding everyone use this!

Alternate Items: (to replace the last three only)

Real permabash. Quite appealing, especially since I love permabash, but not usually necessary. Only use against other DPS permabashers. If you aim to further raze other heroes, one Basher will suffice if you also have two Butterflies. Two Butterflies + One Basher > One Butterfly + Two Bashers.

Do not get one or more Bashers and one or more MKBs. They override each other. Fails miserably.

Even more farming, or mass these for oversplash damage (to counter illusion heroes). Again desirable but not as useful. You're already a ridiculously good farmer, you don't need this to farm. And the splash loses its value in 1v1 battles. Even in team battles, since your target is liable to be limping away from the main fight with Spider attached to its head, if it has one. But it is 65 damage and regen, so still viable.

This is quite a good item on Spider. Just situational. Ie, don't get it versus a DPS/Windwalk team. Note, Avatar debuffs you, so turn on Hunger after Avatar or you're screwed. This reduces its value somewhat since you have to take that extra 1-2 seconds. But it solves Spider's main problem, because disables are what hurts Spider most, not sheer damage - lifesteal can fix damage. The additional Strength and damage help too.

Huge Lifesteal Crits with Hunger. Again desireable. Probably a good item to get. Just balance all your slots out. I consider Buriza a luxury item. Oh and theres that next section saying how Butterfly is better. The main thing is that this is pure damage output, whereas Butterfly and MKB both have additional factors as well.

Armor, attack speed, and negative armor buff. Also helps your minions with the armor and attack speed auras. But you shouldn't focus final items on your summons. Then theres the fact that this would reveal you in your Webs. Not a particularly good idea if you were to focus on hiding. But if you wanted to get this item last and while you were simply pushing and fighting with your team, then it would work. I think there are better people to get this for your team than Spider though.

Risky but pays off in dividends. Very situational. Such as, your side Roshaned before theirs did and you have the Aegis. I largely avoid getting this unless I am totally invincible, I don't get this under the assumption of 'now I am unkillable', I get this if I was already unkillable. That applies to all heroes I use, but Spider is no exception.

Items Not to Get Ever:

Assuming everyone can figure out things like Refresher, Sceptre, Null Talismans, really stupid things, we have the following, larger, and above all, less obvious list:

Orb Effects cancel out Incapacitating Bite. Noooo! Do not get these or their base items ever for Spider.

You have Webs. Self-explanatory. No need for escape devices.

You are not a caster! You are not support! You are DPS!

The only mana regeneration you need is RoB/Vlads. I've seen this work, the person got this then came back ten minutes later with a Butterfly. But they also wasted a whole Arcane Ring because you can farm a Butterfly in ten minutes without it.

Butterfly versus Buriza:

Butterfly is a better first item than Buriza. I had a large amount of what people call 'mathcraft' here, but its gone. I can't be bothered trying to figure out what the actual calculation is, and I've been criticized for it. Regardless of whatever it may be, the fact remains that the damage difference between these two items (assuming that there are no other core items bar say Power Treads) is negligible - comparing the damage and the crits and the attack speed. And then the Butterfly also has armor from the Agility, and Evasion which stacks magnificently with Bite for a 47.5% chance for them to miss. Enough said.

Shifting Webs:

Consider that you now have eight Webs maximum and enough mana pool and regen to place Webs without heavily undermining your mana, you should move your Webs to better suit you. For instance, if you are pushing all lanes, place two or three Webs per lane, leading up to the enemy towers. Or two Webs per lane and one on each of the Rune spots. If you are defending, shift your Webs to cover the afflicted lanes. If you pulverize mid lane towers and barracks, and theres only the towers covering the Throne/Tree itself left, mass Webs in mid like you should have been all game. Keep piling them up in the middle of their base so you can strike without warning at passing heroes and creeps, then push the towers down when they all thought you'd gone to heal. Of course, place them far apart so you maximize the space you can travel invisibly, like you did in early game.

Late Game Killing Sequence:

This is actually when I am lvl15, so hardly late game - but for the replay it is. I have these items only: RoB, Headdress, Treads, Butterfly. Which is quite good for lvl15 of course. I 1v2 Tiny and PotM at their tower. And win. See below and/or in the replay:

I have turned on the I-Win Button. I have been stunned, attacked by Tiny and PotM, stunned again, attacked lots by the tower, and here comes the final nuke for Tiny.

Tiny dies. Note the Spiderlings... This is where I try to run, get owned by the tower to 41hp, then decide to attack PotM to save myself which I do.

Having thus saved myself, I have also brought about PotM's brainwave - the realization that she can't kill me - so she Leaps...

... into the Spiderlings!! Impossible, yes? Hmm what a lousy screenshot - watch the replay people...

Watch the replay to view that sequence in real time.

Conclusion:

There are no game tactics to add. Mid game tactics are to be followed for the rest of the game, this will work.

Best Allies:

Stunners:

Slowers:

Disablers:

Stunners, slowers, disablers. IMO, quite obvious: they use their thing, you devour the target. Again obviously, the ones shown above are examples only.

Support Heroes:

• Blue: Defensive Buff
• Red: Aggressive Buff
• Green: Heal

Respectively:

• Vengeful Spirit: Command Aura
  
• Enchantress: Natures Attendants
• Sven: Toughness Aura
  
• Juggernaut: Healing Ward
• Treant Protector: Living Armor
• Ogre Magi: Bloodlust
• Chen: Hand of God, Test of Faith (Teleport to base)
  
• Storm: Barrier
• Omniknight: Purification, Repel
• Lich: Frost Armor
• Magnus: Empower
• Lycan: Howl
• Leoric: Vampiric Aura
• Necrolyte: Death Pulse
• Lord of Avernus: Death Coil, Aphotic Shield
• Witch Doctor: Voodoo Restoration
• Warlock: Shadow Word
• Dazzle: Shadow Wave, Weave
• Dirge: Soul Rip

Again, obviously. Heroes to help you while you eat people. Not forgetting nearly all of those heroes also pack some sort of slow or stun or disable as well.

Overall however, Spider isn't really a team player. Acts fine alone and can't particularly help out others. If Spider 'helps' others, it would be Bite slowing them down, which then turns into a kill for Spider's own gain.

Worst Enemies:

The heroes in these sections are only problems if they are playing well, or only target practice if you are playing well. The outcome of a game is defined by the players' skill.

Ditto above, stuns slows and disables can really hurt. Not so much for slows as they don't stop you attacking. Disables are the worst, generically. AOE heroes are annoying because they can actually harass you even in your Web, not to mention own your Spiderling pushes later on. Blinkers and Windwalkers are extraordinarily hard to kill for a DPS hero such as yourself. But there are some enemies the Spider really doesn't like:

Disables:

Anything that prevents you from attacking can be used against you very effectively. You can't attack, you can't lifesteal, you can't live.

Trackers:

Track, Amplify Damage, Strygwyr's Thrist. You didn't know how much Webs helped until you fought one of these guys. Charge of Darkness can keep you revealed as SB charges from afar, meanwhile you're visible to the other two or three nasties.

Permabashers:

The usual suspects. You can own them until they get permabash, but if they achieve that then you and probably your side are dead without a few good disables. Typically, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em - buy yourself a pair of Bashers and see who wins. Butterfly helps counter this.

Illusion Heroes:

You can't Lifesteal illusions. Your sole survivability tactic just went out the window. The only surefire way to deal with these is to stack Battle Furies and splash them to death. Considering the slots left after the initial core build, you can easily do this. Butterfly also helps counter this.

Purge:

No Lifesteal again. See above. If you have Vlads by now, its not so much of a problem. The only real way to deal with Medusa or whichever total bastard got Diffusal Blade is to rush them without Hunger, let them Purge you, retreat to a Web for a second, then turn it on and mow them. Even better would be to send in an Illusion first. Of course, you can always have someone else attack them.

Whats this you say? Eul's? Yes, Cyclone does exactly the same thing as Purge - debuff you. So anyone wielding this can also remove your Hunger.

If against Medusa or Diffusal or Eul's, a Black King Bar would be essential.

Counter Helix:

Spiderlings attack, spiderlings die, Axe gets a pile of gold. If you were stupid enough to attack with them, you'll instantly eat about 400-600 damage in Helixes and probably give Axe a really big pile of gold. Approach alone only.

Worst Enemy

Even worse than above. In fact, flee! If you're pushing with mass summons and ES appears anywhere near you, head for the hills! Echo Slam times 30 summons really hurts. Pretty nasty to face alone too, as his stunlock can murder you. Only face noob ES or buy a BKB.

Target Practice:

The heroes in these sections are only problems if they are playing well, or only target practice if you are playing well. The outcome of a game is defined by the players' skill.

Heroes such as these are all very easy targets for Spider. A bunch of them are simply damage only, like Tinker, which you can shrug off with your lifesteal. Some have randomly targeting abilities, such as Lich, Luna, and Juggernaut - Spiderlings are your meatshields. Others are late-gamers who are of no threat in early game, unlike yourself - Sniper, Drow, Mortred, Nevermore; also these are quite easily killed early on in general.

Lifesteal>Damage Over Time:

All of the above heroes have skills that do hideous damage over a small to large time-frame, rather than instantaneously. In a fight, this works to your advantage because of your lifesteal. Granted, sitting in Macropyre is a bad idea - but its easier for you because you can tank out the damage. Enigma, Leshrac and Witch Doctor you should probably avoid unless you know their stuns are on cooldown. The rest of these heroes you can probably take, just be cautious.

Why Sand King? Epicentre. He Burrows you, in the half-second between the stun and the Epicentre he just triggered, turn on Insatiable Hunger. Attack SK during Epicentre and beyond. You can easily negate half to all of the damage done by Epicentre while you simultaneously maul SK, then finish him off. You should end up with full hp. You didn't get destroyed by his stun because you attacked him while it was in cooldown.

The same tactics as with Sand King can be used on many heroes. Crystal Maiden: Frostbite, Hunger, Freezing Field (negated), CM dies. Counter to Spider - Frostbite - was in cooldown. CM was in the Worst Enemies section up there, but is still killable like this. I completely destroy CM in the replay, despite what CM should be able to do against Spider.

Counter-Techies:

If you have read my other superior guide, Super Techies*, you'll have noticed how badly I go on about Spider in that one. Thats because Spider is completely Techies' worst enemy.

1. Web invisibility counters Suicide attempts.
2. Web Truesight counters all traps.
3. Summons counter Landmines and Stasis Traps.

Techies Guide for those who are interested or simply don't know what I mean:

http://www.dotastrategy.com/view_strategy.php?ident=1931

Spider Replay:

This link below goes to a perfect example of Spider ownage elsewhere on DS. Read the instructions carefully, download, and enjoy. Guide-related comments in here not in there please.

http://www.dotastrategy.com/forum/sutra118872.html#118872

Note that the person in that replay is called 'Salamence' but that is actually me. If you think I'm just stealing people's replays, I couldn't care less. Its me.

Also note that the opposition are indeed pretty bad. Again - I couldn't care less: their skill level does not detract from the pushing and farming examples in the replay.

Acknowledgements:

Thanks very much to the following:

• War_Wrecker for answering all those pop-up questions behind the scenes.

• Ghost for his constant help with critics and the guide.

• Lifesapity for the inspiration for the guide name.

• Everyone in the VIP section who helped me figure out what to put in here.

• Drew and the mods, for keeping DS in working order as usual and approving this guide.

• You readers for giving me high ratings!

Comments welcome, good manners please.

As always, I hope you enjoyed the guide. Use it well.

- Shimrra_3