DOTA Strategy 2008 Collection

Basic DoTA Strategy

2007-12-27T00:57:00.000-08:00

DOTA stands for Defence of the Ancients. It is a mod for Warcraft 3. Since its inception, there have been a number of good DOTA Strategy guides written about it.

Here are 7 DOTA Strategy 101 tips to help you get into the game.

Tip #1 Farming

Farming means killing creeps or neutrals for gold. The more enemy creeps you kill, the more gold you'll receive. Sometimes when farming becomes difficult, player may turn to farming neutral characters for extra gold.

Tip #2 Last Hit

Last Hit means moving in close to hit the enemy creep for gold. Damaging an enemy creep does not provide gold, so its beneficial for a non-ranged character to move in for a last hit to receive this benefit. This also allows you to stay out of range of the opposing team.

Making a last hit requires a feel of the timing to deal direct damage for different characters. You can get a feel of this simply by playing the game often. A good strategy is to keep the thumb on the "ALT" key so that you can readily see the life line of the creeps, and only move in to get a last hit when its life is low.

Tip #3 Hot Key

Hot Key is an essential DOTA strategy. Different spells are tied to different buttons which when pressed will activate the spell. Since battles in DOTA last only a few seconds, clicking on the icons with the mouse is a little slow.

Tip #4 Mouse

Getting a good mouse is important for DOTA. You'll also enjoy the gaming experience more with a good mouse, skates, and mouse pad. Get it from: http://razerdeathadder.blogspot.com

Tip #5 Item Build

Having the right item build will increase the power of your character. Some characters require more health or more speed, or more mana as the game progresses. Knowing the complimentary item build for your character will increase its power and direct damage.

Tip #6 Team Play

In competitive DOTA play, its necessary to play in groups. Public DOTA strategy and Competitive DOTA strategy are different with the latter being more difficult and emphasis on team cooperation.

Tip #7 Mana Required

Always take note of the amount of mana required to cast 2 spells. 1 spell alone will normally not be sufficient to take down an opponent.

Tip #8 Item Cost

By understanding what items need to be built, you'll be able to know the cost and time your return to the fountain. Less trip back to the fountain means more time in the battle field, which translates to more gold and experience for your DOTA character.

Favourite DOTA Strategy - Stone Giant Tiny Strategy

2007-12-26T23:00:00.001-08:00

	Tiny - The Stone Giant Range: 128 \| Move Speed: 285 Primary: STR Str: 24 + 3 \| Agi: 9 + 0.9 \| Int: 14 + 1.6 Damage: 61 – 67 \| HP: 606 \| Mana: 182 HP Regen: 0.97 \| Mana Regen: 0.57 Attack Speed: 1.55 \| Armor: -1
	Avalanche (V) Send 4 to 5 piles of rocks on an area of 200 AoE to stun and damage enemy land units. Each pile of rock stuns around 0.25 second, and the whole process lasts around 2 seconds. Level 1 - 100 damage. Level 2 - 180 damage. Level 3 - 260 damage. Level 4 - 300 damage. Mana Cost: 120 Cooldown: 18 Comment: Your stun skill. Good damage and stun duration. Helps in farming too.Practice targeting it because its cooldown doesn't let you use it again for another 18 seconds if you miss your mark.
	Toss (T) Tiny grabs the nearest unit, friend or foe, and launches them at a location. Upon landing, the unit deals damage in an area as well as receiving 20% of that damage to themselves (this damage increases as your size increases). Cannot toss Elder Form DK. Level 1 - 500 range, 75 damage. Level 2 - 700 range, 150 damage. Level 3 - 900 range, 225 damage. Level 4 - 1100 range, 300 damage. Mana Cost: 120 Cooldown: 13 Comment: Basically,your nuke. More spammable due to better cooldown. Good range and damage. Also has a lot of tricks you can do. Just make sure your not tossing an ally hero into the tower.
	Craggy Exterior (C) Tiny`s body is made of solid granite, causing great pain to those who attack it. Whenever a melee unit attacks Tiny, there is a chance that they will be stunned for 2 seconds. Tiny will not take damage if he stuns the enemy for that particular hit. Level 1 - 6% chance, 25 stun damage. Level 2 - 12% chance, 35 stun damage. Level 3 - 18% chance, 45 stun damage. Level 4 - 24% chance, 55 stun damage. Mana Cost: N/A Cooldown: N/A Comment: Great against melee enemies. Darkterror and the like would have a hard time stunning you when they get stunned for attempting to hit you. Note that you do not take the damage when this triggers. Unfortunately does nothing against ranged opponents.
	Grow (W) Greatly increases Tiny`s power and size, but does so at the cost of his attack speed. Will reset all cooldowns. Level 1 - 40 bonus damage, 5 bonus speed, 20% reduced attack speed. Level 2 - 80 bonus damage, 10 bonus speed, 35% reduced attack speed. Level 3 - 120 bonus damage, 15 bonus speed, 50% reduced attack speed. Mana Cost: N/A Cooldown: N/A Comment: Trade speed for power. The cost you save is similar to 2 relics - hyperstone. Speed is easily bought,anyway. Also gives a boost to toss.

Skill Build:

1. Avalanche
2. Toss
3. Avalanche
4. Toss
5. Avalanche
6. Toss
7. Avalanche
8. Toss
9. Stats
10. Grow
11. Grow
12. Craggy Exterior
13. Craggy Exterior
14. Craggy Exterior
15. Craggy Exterior
16. Grow
17. Stats
18. Stats
19. Stats
20. Stats
21. Stats
22. Stats
23. Stats
24. Stats
25. Stats

Item Build:

1.
Arcane Ring (1700)
A powerful jeweled ring that glows with intense magical energy. Gives +3 Armor and +300 Mana. Can cast Replenish to restore 135 mana to a 400 AoE around the caster (25 mana cost). 33 second cooldown.
Ring of Protection + Energy Booster + Arcane Ring Scroll
Cheap fix to Tiny's mana problems.
2.
Assault Cuirass (6120)
+10 Armor
+5 Armor Aura
-5 Armor Aura
+40% Attack Speed
+15% Attack Speed Aura
Plate Mail + Hyperstone + Chainmail + Assault Cuirass
Boosts Attack Speed and armor, 2 things that Tiny like to have more of.
3.
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
Movement and Attack speed. Negates penalties for up to lvl 2 grow.
4.
Heart of Tarrasque (5500)
+300 Hit Points
+11 HP/Sec Regeneration
35 Strength
Messerschmidts Reaver + Vitality Booster + Heart of Tarrasque Recipe Scroll
Big Hp boost to compliment your boosted armor.
5.
Kelens Dagger of Escape (2150)
Activated (90 mana, 25 sec cooldown):
Blink (200-1000 range).
Cannot be used by Pudge or Vengeful Spirit
Option Item. Chase/Escape too;. Avoid collision size problems.
6.
The Butterfly (6250)
30% Evasion
+30 damage
30% increased attack speed
+30 Agility
Eaglehorn + Quarter Staff + The Butterfly Recipe Scroll
Option Item. Hit Faster, Last longer. Make damage heroes work longer.
7.
Buriza-do Kyanon (6200)
+75 Damage
Passive: Critical Strike
20% Chance 2.2x Damage Multiplier
Crystalis + Demon Edge + Buriza-do Kyanon Recipe Scroll
Option Item. Hit harder. Make them feel pain.
8.
Black King Bar (3800)
+18 Damage
+10 Strength
Activate: Avatar
+5 Armor +30 Damage +200 Hit Points
10 Second Duration 100 Second Cooldown 150 Mana Cost
Cannot be Dropped
Broadsword + Ogre Axe + Black King Bar Recipe Scroll
Option Item. Don't get hexed in the middle of a clash.

Early Game:

GAME START:

4-5 player team: Purchase a Ring of Protection and a Ring of Regeneration, if money doesn't allow, some Tangos and 1/2 clarity potions should suffice. Extra money can be used for consumables.
2-3 player team: Purchase Boots of Speed, Ring of Protection, Ring of Regeneration, a circlet or 2 if money allows, some clarities, more consumables if money allows.
solo play: Complete Arcane Ring and Power Treads. Purchase Tangos.

LANE SCENARIOS:

1 melee enemy: Easy unless enemy has stun/nuke skills. Just stay behind creeps,take a free shot if the opponent is foolish.
1 ranged enemy: Slight disadvantage. Stay behind creeps and move in only for the last hit/deny. Your low armor is a disadvantage against ranged.
2 melee enemies: Similar to having one melee enemy. Watch out for a 2-on 1
2 ranged enemies: Request for assistance/lane switch(unless you can really handle it). Very difficult to handle if the enemies are sensible(they will focus on you).
1 ranged, 1 melee: Similar to having one ranged enemy. Watch out for a 2-on-1. Request for assistance if needed.

FARMING:

Timely attack creeps with low HP to kill in 1 blow. This ensures that you get the gold. Hit it before the opponent denies. ALT key may help check for targets.
If you get Arcane ring early, you can use your skills for farming. Refer to middle game farming for more detail.

PUSHING:

Do not push yet. Allow your opponents creeps to reach close to your tower. The opponent gets undeniable exp if the creeps get in their tower's range. Also provides safety that your tower is close, as well as keeps the enemy away from their tower.

KILLING:

Possible, but not a priority. To kill, harass enemy with hits until half of their health. Make sure you have 240 mana. Time an avalanche with enemy at close range, then move forward and use toss with the enemy hero at the center and with the enemy as close as possible. If you are lucky,you toss the opponent for more damage, if not, you toss a creep. Finish off with regular attacks.

FLEEING:

Use avalanche on enemy, then flee.
Toss a pursuing hero back to the creep waves.Use only if enemy is at close to melee range and a creep wave is nearby.

PURCHASES:

Complete Arcane Ring.
Buy a Boots of Speed
Purchase items for Power Treads if farming went well

INVENTORY:

Expected items by end of early game:

ZOOM-IN:

Q: Why Avalanche/Toss as early game skills? Can't I get Craggy exterior/stats instead of toss?
A: You would want to utilize both damaging skills early game, because they are most effective in hero killing at this point. Also, you don't need craggy exterior yet because you are not going to be hit by melee units. You avoid damage early game. Same with stats, you're not going to tank damage, or waste spells.
Q: Why Arcane Ring? Eul's Scepter could provide the same use, but with cyclone charges and upgradeable to another disable?
A: Arcane Ring Is cheaper and is a more reliable source of mana than mana regen early/mid game. You also have no need of bonus intelligence(just for mana). Eul's is also more expensive, making it slower to complete.

Mid Game:

FARMING:

Now that you have the mana, you can use your skills in almost every creep wave.

Wait for creeps to engage.
Move next to the enemy ranged creep, and Toss it into the melee creeps.
Follow immediately with an Avalanche. You get almost all, if not all the creep kills with this method.

PUSHING:

Clear out enemy creeps.
Attack the tower, making sure not to get targeted.
Toss a creep making sure that the tower is in the radius.
Repeat until tower is destroyed.

KILLING:

Toss->Avalanche: Best for ambushes or forest encounters. Gives you time for toss to cooldown.

Toss the enemy hero (make sure there are no close creeps to toss).
Execute an avalance immediately after enemy drops
Deal a few hits.
Chase and toss for a kill.(Note: make sure to have a tossable unit in close proximity,lest you waste mana)

Avalanche->Toss: Best for head-on battle. Deals less damage than a Toss->Avalanche though.

Cast avalanche on enemy hero( try getting the creeps to die too).
Move in on the enemy, Toss the enemy hero.
Hit the hero when it descends.

TEAMWORK:

Use Avalance to stun enemies. Try to catch ones in mid-channeling to be more effective.
Support fleeing allies by using Avalanche on the pursuers. Cast avalanche ahead of the pursuer/s.
Toss a healthy ally (preferably with disables) to a fleeing enemy hero.
Toss a mass disabler (Leviathan, Magnus, Axe, etc.) into the middle of enemies for maximum effect.

FLEEING:

Stun pursuers with Avalanche. Aim ahead of their chase path for better chance to hit.
Toss chasing enemy into creep wave.
Use a scroll of town portal.

PURCHASES:

Complete Power Treads
Buy a plate mail (Decide to go for Assault Cuirass now or later).
Work on Cuirass
Or buy a Messerschimidt's Reaver

INVENTORY:

Expected items in inventory:

or

ZOOM-IN:

Q: Why do I need a Plate Mail so early in the game? And why not Vanguard?
A: If you look at your armor, It's a pretty meager amount. The less of this I have, the more damage I take. The more damage I take, the more I am likely to die. And one of the best items to compensate for low armor is Plate Mail. Vanguard does block some damage and add some fat, but Vanguard loses it's effectiveness in the late game, and Plate Mail is cheaper and upgrades to an Assault Cuirass, which helps your teammates as well.
Q: When do I complete Assault Cuirass, before or after Heart of Tarrasque?
A: This is situational based on the opposition and your play level. If you think you need more HP now(such as with heavy nukers), then finish heart first. If you don't need the HP now, then finish Cuirass.

Late Game:

FARMING:

Follow midgame farming strategy.

PUSHING:

Push as a team. Pushing solo will get you ganked. Use skills to clear creeps, push as normal.

KILLING:

Harass the enemy with your skills first before going for the kill, then kill as normal. Though this will be harder, since heroes stick together. Best to stay as a group.

TEAMWORK:

Similar team strategy as midgame, except it will be more important to win team battles. Remember to kill disablers and damage units first, leave tanks for last.
Use your Black king Bar if you opted for it.

FLEEING:

Follow midgame fleeing strategy.
Use the blink dagger.(if you got it)

PURCHASES:

Complete Cuirass/Heart of Tarrasque(one, then the other)
Grab your options

INVENTORY:

Final inventory:

Fill in the extra slot with one of the options:

ZOOM-IN:

Q: I got all the items now. Which option item do I get?
A: If you are in a spell/disable heavy environment, then Black King Bar is a good choice. For maneuverability, Dagger of Escape can help avoid collision problems. If you're against damage heroes, Butterfly can cut a third off their hits(more if against melee). For tank killing, Buriza helps cut them down to size.
Q: The game has been dragging on for some time now,what can I do to get the game in our favor?
A: Consider switching your treads to a Boots of travel. Easier to escape and chase, as well as Teleportation to ally creep waves attacking the tower, or to go home quickly to defend. You can also sell your Arcane Ring and grab another option, or a utility item(like euls, or diffusal blade).

Conclusion:

TEAM PLAY:

Units with multiple disables: These units have 2 or more disable skills. Lets you focus on the target of choice.

Omniknight/Vengeful Spirit: Powerful setup/assist that are always of use.

Units that provide bonus attack speed: Boosts Tiny's attack speed, making him do more damage.

CAUTION!:

Disablers: Leaves Tiny as a sitting duck(or sheep,or pig, or...). Counter with Black King Bar.

Anti-Melee units: They have skills that punish melee attackers. Attack with a team to counter.

Ranged Damage per Second heroes: They evade Craggy exterior and eat through your low armor.

Damage Amplifiers: With your low armor, you wouldn't want any more damage.

REMINDERS:

Use your Arcane Ring. Always replenish mana when available. Have allies in the area as well.
Do not toss without cannon fodder. A waste of time and mana.
If a lack of melee units is noticed, you may opt to take some stats before levels of craggy exterior.
If you do not have the attack speed boosting items yet, you may take grow at a later level when you complete it.

THINGS TO CONSIDER:

Mask of Madness: Best in a solo/2 player game. Using Frenzy in a pack of 3+ Heroes is suicide.
Blade Mail: If in a predominantly melee environment, this may get some consideration.
Hood of Defiance, when there are nukes but no disables(ex. Luna). Cheaper alternative.
This build has no orb effects yet. If you think of an orb item will work well, that try it out.

CREDITS:

Drew: Kudos to the new server and the nifty inventory slots. And for the approval.
Yukino_Silvermaine: Tossing ideas here and there. Also Influenced the addition of the Zoom-in Section.
The Internet: I am the internet.
UPHGC: It's time, isn't it? Visit ALVA at Philcoa in Quezon City, and you might find us there.

LAST WORDS:

This would be guide#3 for me. Some new sections added which would probably appear in future guides. The Zoom-in section was sprung from suggestions of Yukino_Silvermaine to justify gameplay decisions and answer some of the possible questions from readers. The reminders are just some things people might forget. A recap of sorts. Things to consider are items that can be used for the hero situationally, or didn't make the build but are still good items
Hopefully the bullet format appeals to your tastes. I feel it makes the guide more simple and clean.

Favourite DOTA Strategy - Lanaya Strategy

2007-12-26T22:44:00.000-08:00

	Lanaya - Templar Assassin Range: 140 \| Move Speed: 305 Primary: AGI Str: 18 + 1.7 \| Agi: 23 + 2.7 \| Int: 20 + 2.0 Damage: 45 - 55 \| HP: 492 \| Mana: 260 HP Regen: \| Mana Regen: Attack Speed: \| Armor: 4
	Refraction (R) Manipulating psionic energy around herself granting a mystical refraction of light that protects her from external harm and giving her bonus damage for a limited number of instances. Lasts 20 seconds. Level 1 - 15 bonus damage, 3 instances Level 2 - 30 bonus damage, 4 instances Level 3 - 45 bonus damage, 5 instances Level 4 - 60 bonus damage, 6 instances Mana Cost: 75 Cooldown: 20 Comment: You'll use this skill a lot. It has three primary uses. The first is for last hitting creeps(so much easier.) The second is escaping.(3-6 hit protection.) The last is for hero killing. (Bonus damage really helps.)
	Meld (D) The art of Shakuras allows Lanaya to conceal herself at any time of the day and strike from the shadows with her armor-shredding blades. Deals bonus damage and reduces enemy armor for 10 seconds. Level 1 - 50 damage, -2 armor Level 2 - 100 damage, -4 armor Level 3 - 150 damage, -6 armor Level 4 - 200 damage, -8 armor Mana Cost: 100 Cooldown: 12 Comment: Noob laelion! You did not get this early game! Think. What good is Meld without Psi Blades? You do need last hit assistance, which is why Refraction is placed before Meld. I place this mid-game, after Refraction and Psi Blades are maxed. (Don't get me wrong. Meld is Lanaya's BEST skill.
	Psi Blades (B) Using her psionic powers, the Templar causes enemy units behind her target to feel the same pain as the target itself. This psionic power extends her attack range. Level 1 - 40 bonus damage, 60 spill Level 2 - 80 bonus damage, 120 spill Level 3 - 120 bonus damage, 180 spill Level 4 - 160 bonus damage, 240 spill Mana Cost: Cooldown: Comment: ((Note: The tip is wrong. It doesn't give damage, but range.)) This is what makes Lanaya a good farmer, as well as a good creeper. It has decent synergy with Radiance. I maxed this after Refraction so Meld has more effect. Just so meld has more effect in mid-game.
	Psionic Trap (C) Creates psionic traps on ground. When triggered, it will slow units within 400 range by 50% for 5 seconds. Level 1 - Max 5 traps Level 2 - Max 8 traps Level 3 - Max 11 traps Mana Cost: 15 Cooldown: 10 Comment: Well, I guess people want me to use this more often, which I'll try to do. Psionic Trap has some nice uses. You can use it on the chase, on the run, or as map wards. The map ward effect isn't as effective(Not much sight out of it.) or cool as the other two uses, but cluster-warding gets rid of that problem.

Skill Build:

1. Refraction
2. Psi Blades
3. Refraction
4. Psi Blades
5. Refraction
6. Psionic Trap
7. Refraction
8. Psi Blades
9. Psi Blades
10. Meld
11. Meld
12. Meld
13. Meld
14. Psionic Trap
15. Stats
16. Psionic Trap
17. Stats
18. Stats
19. Stats
20. Stats
21. Stats
22. Stats
23. Stats
24. Stats
25. Stats

Item Build:

1.
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
2.
Crystalis (2350)
+35 Damage
Passive: Critical Strike
10% Chance 1.75x Damage Multiplier
Blades of Attack + Broadsword + Crystalis Recipe Scroll
Critical+Meld=pwnage? I think that's right, sorta.
3.
Stygian Desolator (4420)
+60 Damage
Passive: Corruption
-6 Armor to Enemy Target
5 Second Duration
Orb effects do not stack
Mithril Hammer + Mithril Hammer + Stygian Desolator Recipe Scroll
Not sure if the -6 armor from Desolator stacks on Meld. I've never really had the opportunity to check the opponent's armor decrease after a double-meld desolator attack.
4.
Buriza-do Kyanon (6200)
+75 Damage
Passive: Critical Strike
20% Chance 2.2x Damage Multiplier
Crystalis + Demon Edge + Buriza-do Kyanon Recipe Scroll
Damage before defense, in my opinion. You can opt to get a Vanguard, which I'd advise for newer players. A lot of the time, it's
5.
Vanguard (2275)
+4 HP regen/second
+250 Hit Points
65% to block 35 damage
Ring of Health + Vitality Booster + Stout Shield
Defense in farming, harassing, and hero-killing. Regen is love.
6.
Eye of Skadi (7050)
+200 Hit Points, +150 Mana
+25 to All Attributes
Passive: Frost Attack
-20% Attack Speed
-30% Run Speed
2 Second Duration for ranged heroes, 3 seconds for melee heroes
Melee Eye of Skadi is an orb effect, and does not stack with orb effects; Ranged Eye of Skadi is NOT an orb effect, and stacks with some orb effects.
Ultimate Orb + Ultimate Orb + Point Booster + Eye of Skadi Recipe Scroll
Don't think this stacks with Desolator, despite not being an orb for ranged heroes. Without Desolator, this item makes you a beast to be reckoned with.
7.
The Butterfly (6250)
30% Evasion
+30 damage
30% increased attack speed
+30 Agility
Eaglehorn + Quarter Staff + The Butterfly Recipe Scroll
Luxury item, really. I suggest you shoot for this right away, though...after you've completed the main parts to the item build.
8.
Ring of Health (875)
+4 hp/sec regen
I prefer this over Tangos. But you can use Tangos, too. They're more effective, if not of equal usefulness.

Early Game:

Early game, like most heroes, Lanaya is fragile. These items help make her more sustaining in her early game pushes. RoH for sustainment. Tangos and Sapphire water work just as well, if not more effective.

Start items with BoS, 2 Slippers of Agility, and two sets of Tangos (or wait till you can get RoH.) And maybe grab an Ironwood Branch or two.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

The early game strategy is pretty straight-forward. Use Refraction for harassing and for last hits, and also if you need to run away. It's a versatile technique, so know when and when not to use it.

Also, remember to DENY. The level gap between you and your opponent determines how well you play Lanaya and the number of kills that you will get.

Lane scenarios:

1 melee hero- You are at the definite advantage here. Just beware of a nuke, since many STR heroes come with a single stun nuke, like Sven. Harass them with Refraction and hopefully, they'll go running back to base, leaving you to your leveling lonesome. What's better? You might even kill them.

1 ranged hero- Okay, more than half of these heroes have nukes. Beware of them, since they all have a bigger range than Lanaya. Come in ONLY for last hits and deny. Harass when they're not paying much attention to you. Later on, these heroes are pretty much buried.

2 melee/ranged heroes- Yeah, disadvantage. You do get more exp when you solo a lane with two enemy heroes, though. As with all other strats, come in only for denies and last hits. If you do decide to take the lane, make sure you have a lane partner.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Your goal at this moment isn't really to push, but to level. All the scenarios above have two things in common.

1. Deny

An easy way to do this is to press "A" then hold Alt. Holding Alt lets you view the health of all creeps in your view, so picking a target to deny becomes slightly more simple.

2. Last Hits

Your way to make levels. Often, the opponent will try to deny back, so denying your creeps will put you at a stalemate...sorta. Wait till you can estimate whether or not YOU, not your creeps, can kill the target creep, then attack it. This yields you gold, as you must have noticed. xD

Your Psi Blades is very useful. You can weaken other creeps while focusing on one, so the chances of you getting the gold are very high. The Wraith Bands balance out the damage problem with spill damage. =]

Your ending inventory should be this, on most occasions.

Haha! Full inventory!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And then maybe a Vanguard, if you were pretty successful.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As you can see, Lanaya will have a lot of damage to her advantage, so use that damage to harass, or to get early kills.

Don't count on kills, your Meld is placed much later. But don't worry, you'll rack them up.

Mid Game:

Your mid-game starts as soon as you get level 2 Meld, if you followed my skill build. You can start grabbing kills now.

Here's a killing how-to:

When using Lanaya to kill, patience is of utmost importance. Why? You need to wait until they are in range of your Meld enhanced attack. Pick a lane and push up to the point where you know your opponent will retreat in your direction. In advance, use Meld to render yourself invisible. Estimate the earliest time you can get a shot off with the Meld bonus, turn on Refraction, and watch them die. With BoT, chasing is pretty simple. You may have problems with Wind Walking heroes, so be wary. You will most likely get the kill(unless you get ksed), because of your bonus damage from items you have and the armor loss from your Meld attack.

Now, the Double Meld trick.

Very simple trick. I've been asked for clarification on this. I'll divide it to steps, I guess.

1. Use Meld near your target, do NOT attack yet.

2. Wait until it is completely refreshed. Do not worry, your current Meld status is still undergoing.

3. Now you can attack your target. Hit them once, hit the Meld again, and you get a good amount of bonus damage.

Meld is your priority skill for killing, though you need patience. If you see a tank in the area, you can kill them, but it'll be much easier if you use the Double Meld trick.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

At this point, you should have, minus the Wraith Bands if you sold them:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Also, your item build branches in mid-game, after you attain Butterfly or Buriza.

Right now, you need to pick an orb effect that best suits your situation.

Ask yourself these questions:

1. Do I wanna go on an all out attack? --Stygian Desolator

--This is most popular.

2. Do I need more chasing power? --Eye of Skadi

3. Do I wanna be in-between, and up close and personal? --SnY

4. Am I fighting INT heroes with channel spells? --MKB (Not orb effect. lawl.)

Go with whichever suits the battle, and go for the item. Most times, it's SnY. This is a pretty expensive inventory for Lanaya, but Psi Blades will assist you in neutral farming.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Killing with Psionic Trap:

To me, the trap limit isn't much of a burden. The trap strategy is pretty easy to understand. If you played Techies, then you know how and where to set traps. For Lanaya, just set them wherever the escape route would be for them. If there is an opening in the forest, set one at its entrance and go chase them. Meld and Refract their butts.

Often times, you would just need to set it behind them. Remember, timing is key. If you miss the trigger, then your opponent WILL know what you're doing and be smart and switch to another lane.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Escaping:

Wow. No escape item in the item list? Why is that? You're a noob, laelion! With capital 0s! No, not really. If you noticed, Refraction blocks single-target spell damage and physical damage, and Meld is an instant invisibility move. When you know you're gonna die, hit Refraction and run. That's all there is to it. Your only problem is if they carry a Gem of True Sight or they have a slow effect, *ahem* Drow Ranger. Or if their hero name is Leshrac. He'll eat through your protections like a hungry bear in the middle of a lot of fish...you get my point.

If you're that anal about escapes, get Lothar's Edge. The Wind Walk can help in killing. Wind Walk into the fray, Meld and stay invisible, then Double Meld+Refraction.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Your mid-game is pretty short, from when you finish level 3 Psionic Trap or level 3 stats.

The ending inventory branches, like I said, so depending on the situation, you should have these items. You probably won't finish said items, so just work towards it in late game. Oh, and sell the Wraith Bands, no more use for them.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stygian build

Finish the Desolator recipe in late game. You'll deal insane amounts of damage.

Skadi Build

In late game, get the next Ultimate Orb and then the Skadi recipe. You;ll have one or two extra slots when you finish all your items, so fill it with whatever.

SnY build

You'll have good chasing power and movespeed (over 400, soon to be 420+, I think) with Yasha, and the much-loved Maim. All you need is the recipe.

MKB build

Yeah, I know. But more damage is always good, right? Get the Quarterstaff and then the MKB recipe.

In relation to all the item builds, Radiance is all you need to complete it, and you'll pretty much own the game.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Late Game:

You've amassed kills, and hopefully minimal deaths. All that's left is push, right?

Wrong. You still have Roshan! Kill him with your Refraction and Meld, and then you push.

Here's some fun ways to play around with Lanaya.

You can set Psionic traps in all of your lanes, then using your BoT to get there and gank! The best spots to lay traps are the entrances to the river. There are two paths, to the top and to the bottom lanes, in the middle lane. Lay a trap or two there, and at the ends of the river. There's also the entrance to Roshan, lay one there, so they'll be all paranoid and run away.

If you've finished Radiance, sit in the middle of a creep collision, and Meld. It's often fun to see your Radiance do all the work for you, sometimes even a hero will be there. Your Psi Blades makes for effective farming, so USE IT TO FARM.

There's not much to do but to level to 25, and push, while feeding your thirst for kills.

And remember to finish your situational item and Radiance.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Your ending inventory should at least have this, plus the situational orb/MKB item.

Yeah, it's an expensive build, and half the time you can own without completing much of it.

Just a recap on the items you should have:

Desolator build:

Skadi build:

Note: More anti-chase. I still wonder if bashers would've worked better. Oh, well.

SnY build:

Notes: This'll kill big time. Beware of gankers though. When you see one, Meld. I don't think they can target you. >.>

MKB build:

Notes: With this, you can destroy INT hero filled teams within 10 seconds. Lotsa bonus damage is a god-send. HoD is a good complement to this build.

This is just a view of the items that'll work great with Lanaya, but these builds, 75% of the time, you'll never get, due to the length of time it'll take farming to get these items.

You can opt to get Linken's Sphere, or anything that involves the RoH, namely a Vanguard or a Hood of Defiance. If you need health big time, go get an HoT.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Good luck!

Conclusion:

All in all, Lanaya is a very powerful hero. There is no best hero, there are only comfortable heroes. Lanaya is comfy to me, that's for sure.

Highlights to Lanaya:

1)Can reach devastating amounts of damage.

2)Refraction is a multi-use ability. Escape, creeping, killing, you name it. IMBA!

3)Crazy gank ability.

4)Farms very well with Psi Blades.

Disadvantages:

1)Pretty frail, and easy to harass early game.

2)Moot health, but RoH backs it up, as well as SnY.

3)Requires patience for enemy heroes to come in range of a Meld attack.

4)Meld is not very good as an escape tool, and LE works better in combos with Meld.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Allies and enemies:

Generally, these heroes have some sort of slow, or disable. Or in Zeus's case, a killsteal skill. Sad to say, these are the same kinds of heroes that can put you to back to Aiur as well.

Again, generally. These heroes have a counter to Lanaya one way or another. Aiushtha's speed reduction is a total douche in the butt, and Tormented Soul eats you alive. A good amount of these heroes are AoE skill dependent heroes, which attack through your Meld invisibility, and cancel it. When you see them, you may as well hack at them as much as possible.

Hopefully, I'll have pictures up.

Thanks for reading. =3

A lot of the comments I've read were very helpful. I hope to make more and better changes.

Have fun, play hard.

It's just a game. =]

Favourite DOTA Strategy - Huskar Strategy

2007-12-26T22:43:00.000-08:00

	Huskar - Sacred Warrior Range: 350 \| Move Speed: 300 Primary: STR Str: 18 + 2.4 \| Agi: 20 + 2.4 \| Int: 18 + 1.5 Damage: 39 - 48 \| HP: 492 \| Mana: 234 HP Regen: \| Mana Regen: Attack Speed: \| Armor: 1
	Inner Vitality (V) Magically unlocks the potential regenerative power within a target unit, healing its life force based upon its primary attribute. If the target is below 40% health, it will regenerate faster. Heals 10(30)% of main attrib + 4hp regen per sec. Lasts 16 seconds. Level 1 - 5 (15%) of main attrib + 2 hp regen per sec Level 2 - 10 (30%) of main attrib + 4 hp regen per sec Level 3 - 15 (45%) of main attrib + 6 hp regen per sec Level 4 - 20 (60%) of main attrib + 8 hp regen per sec Mana Cost: 50/90/130/170 Cooldown: 30 Comment: Best heal in the game. Anyone with more than 150 to their main attribute will get at least 98 HP/second heal, if they are heavily damaged. Of course, this fits your own abilities perfectly.
	Burning Spear (R) Using his own life force to set them aflame, the Sacred Warrior can cause his spears to deal stackable damage over time as they impact the foe. Cannot cast if Huskar's HP is lower than 100. Stacks up to 5 times. Lasts 6 seconds. Level 1 - 6 dps Level 2 - 8 dps Level 3 - 10 dps Level 4 - 12 dps Mana Cost: 15 (health cost) Cooldown: 0 Comment: Ouch! Your blood is hot, and early on, stings quite a bit. Unfortunately, that's about as useful as this skill gets, and it doesn't kill very well either...
	Berserker`s Blood (B) Huskar feels each of his wounds and channels the pain, increasing attack speed and damage for each 7% missing health. 7 max bonuses. First bonus starts at full health. Level 1 - 2% IAS and 2 damage. Level 2 - 4 % IAS and 4 damage. Level 3 - 6 % IAS and 6 damage. Level 4 - 8 % IAS and 8 damage. Mana Cost: Cooldown: Comment: This skill defines you. It's a sacred relic and hyperstone if you are comfortable keeping your health at 58%. It's absolutely amazing what you can kill with lvl 4 of this and inner vitality...
	Life Break (F) Huskar reaches into the well of his own life force to potentially destroy an enemy. Huskar's target takes damage equal to 40% of his HP. Slows target by 50% for 5 seconds. Huskar pays a certain percentage of his HP to cast this. Level 1 - Huskar pays 40% of his current HP to cast. Level 2 - Huskar pays 33% of his current HP to cast. Level 3 - Huskar pays 25% of his current HP to cast. Mana Cost: Cooldown: 45 Comment: Ah, the trade-off. Good, in that it immediately activates most of your bezerker's blood. Bad, in that it becomes that much easier to kill you. Be careful when you use this...more on it later.

Skill Build:

1. Berserker`s Blood
2. Inner Vitality
3. Berserker`s Blood
4. Inner Vitality
5. Berserker`s Blood
6. Life Break
7. Inner Vitality
8. Berserker`s Blood
9. Inner Vitality
10. Stats
11. Life Break
12. Stats
13. Stats
14. Stats
15. Stats
16. Life Break
17. Stats
18. Stats
19. Stats
20. Stats
21. Stats
22. Burning Spear
23. Burning Spear
24. Burning Spear
25. Burning Spear

Item Build:

1.
Animal Courier (225)
Actived (1 charge): Summons courier unit.
Item disappears when charges used up
Cute little animals (and bugs and worms?) are your best friend...
2.
Ancient Tango of Essifation (80)
Actived (2 charges): Eat tree to gain 100 hp.
Item disappears when charges used up
Greenpeace will have a field day once they find out you don't hug trees with this...
3.
Hand of Midas (1950)
+30% incr attack speed
Activate: Transmute
Convert max level 5 creep into gold
110 mana, 65 sec cooldown
Cannot be Dropped, cannot be used by Tinker
Gloves of Haste + Hand of Midas Recipe Scroll
Carry: In DOTA, someone who farms throughout the game to get items that will carry your team to victory. IAS is very useful as well.
4.
Eye of Skadi (7050)
+200 Hit Points, +150 Mana
+25 to All Attributes
Passive: Frost Attack
-20% Attack Speed
-30% Run Speed
2 Second Duration for ranged heroes, 3 seconds for melee heroes
Melee Eye of Skadi is an orb effect, and does not stack with orb effects; Ranged Eye of Skadi is NOT an orb effect, and stacks with some orb effects.
Ultimate Orb + Ultimate Orb + Point Booster + Eye of Skadi Recipe Scroll
This is why we will do away with Burning Spear...
5.
Satanic (6150)
25% Life Steal
+25 Strength
+5 Armor
Activate: Unholy Rage
50 sec cooldown, no mana cost, gives 30 bonus damage and additional 15% life steal for 20 secs
Helm of the Dominator + Messerschmidts Reaver + Satanic Recipe Scroll
Orb + Skadi = GG...this is the orb of choice for someone who needs to slug it out at half-life.
6.
Buriza-do Kyanon (6200)
+75 Damage
Passive: Critical Strike
20% Chance 2.2x Damage Multiplier
Crystalis + Demon Edge + Buriza-do Kyanon Recipe Scroll
The definition of damage - get either this or Divine if you have some Aegises.

Early Game:

BEFORE WE BEGIN:

1) Skill build is a guide. You may opt for more Berzerker's blood than Vitality if you are doing very well in your lane, and still have trees to eat. Or, you may opt for Vitality to use all of that otherwise useless mana, and go ganking. You may also opt to put a point or two into Burning Spears for harassing. I do not recommend this however, because the spears are generally useless late game compared to Skadi and Satanic. Skadi/Satanic are much better options for him - remember that ranged Skadi synergizes with Satanic's lifesteal.

2) Because he is ranged and a STR hero, Huskar is the one and only hero where the STR gain and special effects from Skadi AND Satanic are utilized to the fullest. That may be why this is the first guide for any hero advocating the two at once. Burning spears negates Satanic, and you really, really can use Satanic's orb.

3) Huskar is a hunter. Late game, he can switch to tank mode, but early-mid game, you should be racking kills like Balanar or Bloodseeker. This will help you get the Paris Hilton Deluxe Suite of items I have laid out for you.

4) Either you will own, or be owned, repeatedly. Huskar's skills unfortunately lend themselves to a duel to the death even more than Axe, with the hope that your Vitality skill will keep you alive long enough to vanquish the foe. However, it will keep you alive at around 0-50% health...great for that unexpected 3rd party to come and ruin your day. Remember, though, that in 16 seconds, you can slaughter enemies coming at you one by one, over and over again...this is Huskar's strength.

5) This is a carry build. Throughout the guide, I will highlight other options, namely early game support/DPS, and pure tank. I prefer this build however, because of the augmentation the items give to your primary skills.

Levels 1-6

TEAM

You'd think that someone with throwing spears could hurl them like Leonidas in 300, but no, you throw them as far as that fat, pudgy little Zeus fellow. So, you're about average in your lane. You can't really help lane partners too much, as your heal is about the same as eating a tree (pathetic for 170 mana), and you have no nuke. So, just sit back and farm. Without Life break, you don't have a real ganking skill...however, with Berzerker's blood, you can do an incredible amount of damage early game. 5-6 hits can send some heroes to the fountain via river Styx, so even now, you can try to force an engagement with your lane shadow.

TACTICS

Hunters always have some funky tactics that you'll need to keep track of, mainly because of their unique hunting tools, and Huskar is quite a hunter.

Early game, your Berzerker's blood is your main tool. Use this to your advantage by keeping your health around 50-75%. With level 3 blood, you'll acquire a bonus 42 damage if you keep your health around 50-60%. This is huge, and you get it by letting the enemy harass you...a strange reward for what may seem like lane incompetance. Keeping your health at this level makes last hitting a very easy proposition, and heroes will think twice about engaging you, considering that you are already doing 100 damage per hit.

This also stresses the importance of getting basic items that augment your HP early on. One or two circlets will do here, since you also really want to get Midas as soon as possible, too. You'll be doing quite well if you can get Midas by early mid-game, if not, don't sweat it. Just be VERY careful, especially of long stuns and nukes. You may want to consider yourself melee with low HP while laning against opponents with these skills (I.E., stay back and tower hug).

Although Burning Spears seems great, and hurts the most right now, Berzerker's blood hurts just as much, and allows you to attack VERY quickly once you hit Life Break. If you replace berzerk with the burning spears, you'll attack rather slowly, and each attack will take off a chunk of your life as well, too. You simply can't afford this, since Vitality at this low level isn't even enough to replace the health lost from the spears, let alone the opponent(s) hitting you. So, I highly recommend sticking to berzerk early game instead of burning spears, even if this forces you to be below full health. ALWAYS take Vitality, since at level 4, it's easily the best heal in the game. More than any other hero, you really, really need a good heal.

If you decide to take burning spears to harass (a good option), you may need regen items early on. RoR -> Mekansm automatically comes to mind, but this has the disadvantage of slowing your build to the Skadi/Satanic/Heart. Definitely worth considering...

Anyway, I'll cover the core hunting tactics in mid game, so let's do a quick inventory check:

Very conservative - I don't expect anyone to get Midas before level 6 unless they last-hit every time, got first blood, and "dominated" in their lane against noobs. But, I really think Midas should be the first item you get, before even completing bracers, unless you are harassing with Burning spears, in which case:

You will really need that extra regen, and probably more trees to boot. I really question whether or not this is worth it - I'd rather just sit back and farm for the Midas and Skadi. Still, Mek is very, very tempting on this hero...

Mid Game:

BEFORE WE BEGIN:

Yes, now you can branch out of your lane, and begin the hunt. This is a bit harder for you than most other hunters, because you have no stealth, and no speed. Think of it like Juggs, except that Juggs will own your ass in any 1v1 encounter. So, almost like Juggs, in that neither of you have speed or stealth, but can own in a hunt anyway.

Levels 7-16

TEAM

Now, things get complicated. You are at maximum potential when below 60% health, so sticking your neck out at this potential is usually one step away from suicide. Usually, for me, once I get the Midas, I go neutral creeping until I have the Reaver/Ultimate Orbs. I play just like I play N'aix, in that I come out and assist in a gank if it's the entire team hunting, or if it's on my side of the river. And, I only do this when it conveniently fits into my creeping. You'll be amazed how quickly you can get the 3200 for the Reaver with Berzerk and Midas.

You can also assist your team in ganking anyone, ANYONE who is still laning at this point. That other troll or Void come to mind immediately.

Another way you can assist the team is in a pitched battle. This gets kinda tricky. One way you can assist is to be the tank. You have three bracers, you are a STR hero, sure, why not. Just remember that nukes hurt quite a bit, so if you go this route, turn on Vitality IMMEDIATELY when you are at full health, and then soak up the damage. 16 seconds is longer than most battles, so by the time you'll need it, you can rest assured your stunned, sheeped arse can still benefit from it because you prepared ahead of time.

Or, you can assist like how the Bloodseeker assists - once the battle begins, burst out at an awkward angle, VITALITY FIRST, turn on your spears, ulti, and own. (for BS, it's probably Rupt, rage and own, but you get my point - be the LAST one in the battle). It mainly depends upon how badly the team needs you as a tank. Just remember that without a Heart, you are about as frail as most INT heroes with a soul booster. And you have no AOE, and no stun. So, personally, I opt for the latter (i.e., don't tank unless you have to).

TACTICS

Now that we've gone through a broad picture of where you should be on the map, here's a detailed outlook on what you should do on the actual screen. We begin by detailing the skills:

Right now, this will probably heal a respectable 40 hp/second when you need it most. This is more than enough to survive a 1v1 vs most DPS heroes, and can help you greatly in escaping without Blink or Lothar. You actually are a DPS hero dependent on STR, much like Ursa, except that you are also dependent on low health as well. This skill will fit in nicely, and will also ensure that your dependency on not getting killed is taken care of as well.

Keep in mind that this is an orb with a high prioirty. If you choose this skill, you will find that with Berzerk, the 5-6 hits needed to maximize its potential will come quite quickly. Once maximized, the stacking will give you 60 damage/second for as long as you hit them after the 5th hit. I've noticed that the way it works is that EACH SPEAR has a 6 second "burning effect" that individually wears off (so each spear will do a cumulative 72 damage). So, the "burn" will slowly diminish the less you attack them, until it completely wears off 5 seconds after your last attack. This can add up over time, but most DOTA players would rather opt for the immediate kill, because they can also benefit from the EXP gain too. Also realize that this is an automatic 75-100 HP loss to you every couple seconds. Hard to figure out if it's worth it. In fact, I don't bother with this build, since Satanic/Skadi is much, much better late game.

Your bread and butter. At level 4, and at 58% health (100%-42%, your first bonus applies at 100%), you gain 56% attack speed, and 56 bonus damage o_O. Abuse this throughout the game.

This is the main reason why I wanted to break down the skills. The description given in the game is woefully inadequate:

"Huskar reaches into the well of his own life force to potentially destroy an enemy. Huskar's target takes damage equal to 40% of his HP. Slows target by 50% for 5 seconds. Huskar pays a certain percentage of his HP to cast this. "

What this REALLY means is that you can't kill any hero with this ultimate. You do NOT deal 40% of YOUR HP to your opponent. Instead, you inflict 40% of THEIR CURRENT HP as damage to them at the cost of YOUR CURRENT HP, expressed in the levels of the ultimate. So, this skill is essentially a convenient way for you to slow them for 5 seconds, bring your health down to the point where you go berzerk, and to equalize your opponent's health so it's not an uneven fight from the get-go. I emphasize this far more than solely the damage you deal because:

1) It's magical damage, so it's actually 30% of their current HP.

2) The cost to you will more than likely be far more than the cost to the opponent in absolute terms, even at Lvl3, because you may have more than 3000 hp, and 25% of that is 750 HP of YOUR HEALTH lost. But, it's magical damage to you too, I believe, so w/e.

3) You will do far more damage to them via berzerk than the ultimate.

4) Whatever damage you sustain will be mitigated through Vitality, so the "pain" of the ultimate is negligible once the engagement is over. Furthermore, you are probably going to be at around 50-60% health once everything cools down - perfect for more farming.

This ultimate is the core to the tactics mid-end game, so fully understanding what it does is absolutely essential in determining when you are going to "risk" it. So, now that we understand it, let's delve into when to use it:

A) Basically, against low HP heroes there's no real "good" time as to when to use it, except that the damage is maximized at the beginning of a battle, and the point is to kill them within the time of the ultimate. Essentially, cast if you think they will run. You will actually kill them with your insane berzerk damage anyway, not the ultimate damage. I emphasize not necessarily casting the ultimate on low HP heroes, because you can then save it for high HP heroes, the ideal target for the ultimate.

B) I strongly recommend casting Vitality FIRST before even engaging, regardless of your own health. It lasts 16 seconds, and isn't really useful until you are below 40% health. By the time this is true, you may be stunned, silenced, or whatever, which may prevent you from casting it when you need it most. Also, it will take only 2-3 seconds after casting it for you to walk up to someone and Life Break, so there's no time wasted.

C) Against tanks, Lifebreak immediately. If you can't kill them, that's all right - they probably are travelling with the majority of their team (and hopefully you are too), so just hurting them badly will probably lower the chances of their team coming out ahead in a large conflict (think Centaur or Levi). You can handle the damage dealt to yourself far better than anyone else in the game, so don't worry about it. As always, VITALITY FIRST.

D) The cost against you is in almost all situations marginal, mainly because of Inner Vitality. Remember, you cannot die by casting Lifebreak. So, do not be afraid to cast this even if you are critically low, as long as you think they are going to run, cast it. You can also cast it as a "good bye gift" to anyone ganking you. In that sense, this ultimate has the potential to be the most damaging spell in the game. The question is whether or not anyone can actually capitalize on it...

E) I will go into this more later, but doing this against the Bloodseeker is the main reason why you do not fear him. If you are ever a victim of Rupture, VITALITY FIRST, and once he comes, ultimate. All Thirst gives him is speed, but for you, the low health gives you so much more...you're probably going to worry a lot more about his stunner buddy that's ganking with him, so hopefully you're also not alone.

Complicated, no? This is where the unique style of Huskar really requires explanation - the low HP tactics require that you compensate, and compensate some more. Still, once you get used to it, you'll start getting those godlike streaks just like any other hero-killer...

ITEMS

This is your goal by the end of mid-game. That third bracer is on your critter, to put back on after you complete Skadi if you so choose. You'll have around 2000 HP, and Vitality will net you around 60 HP/second at low health. That, and with Berzerk and Midas, your attack speed is insane, and your damage is around 130-150 per hit, not including burning arrows. Ouch!

This build is early-game support/DPS. DPS, because like the Shadow Fiend, you really don't need any help with damage early-mid game. Treads compensate for not getting Midas. Mekansm, to use that spare mana and provide team support. The goal with this build is to push with some very heavy nukers - you'll be the one keeping them alive, tanking damage, and initially disabling any tanks you encounter. However, you lose one critical aspect in a gank - the Mek aura kinda announces - HEY, YOU'RE ABOUT TO BE GANKED IN 5 SECONDS - RUN NOW! The game is supposed to end before you get any other items if you attempt this build.

One more note, if you go this route, putting points into Burning Spears instead of Vitality becomes a viable option. Mekansm's heal will supplement a weaker Vitality, so you're not really sacrificing a good heal. The damage, however, is incredibly important, since you will be heavily reliant on your ultimate's 5 second window for the majority of your kills. If the game goes past 1/2 hour, you've probably sacrificed a lot of long term potential by doing this. With enough INT behind you, that certainly won't be a problem.

Just remember though, Huskar really shines late game, so this is probably a bigger gamble than it may seem at first glance.

I left this in because it's very popular to go 4 Hearts with Huskar right now. The regen from doing so is absurd...you'll have over 200 STR, which is at least 128 HP/sec from Vitality, and 44 HP/sec from the Hearts. Still, DPS heroes can wipe you out faster than you think, even with 5000 HP and this insane regen, since they'll probably have butterfly, Burize, MKBs and what not. Also, getting fat HP does NOT help your ultimate - indeed, it may actually detract you from using it, once you learn you'll lose 25% of it (1250 HP) when you are at full health. I think the reason this build is so popular is because most people think that the ultimate inflicts percentages of YOUR HP against an opponent - this is simply not true. Still, this is a compelling build, if you are the only tank on your team.

Late Game:

BEFORE WE BEGIN:

The great thing about Huskar is that two (three, if you include IAS from Berzerk) of his abilities are based on a percentage of various attributes - this means he only gets stronger as the game progresses, unlike nukers or even DPS characters. If you are having a good early/mid game, chances are you'll have a great late game. Of course, the opposite is also quite true...

Levels 17-25

TEAM

Huskar is one of the most team-friendly hunters in the game, as he naturally progresses from being an above average hunter into one of the most stalwart tanks in the game. He has a nuke that can easily take more than 1500 HP off fat tanks, and a heal that makes him, or anyone on your team for that matter, nearly invincible against any one hero, with one major exception.

I will go straight into the item build to demonstrate how this is possible:

No, I don't expect you to get this in most games, but it is easily possible if the game goes past 60 minutes. Skadi and Satanic combined give you an extra 50 STR...more than enough to compensate not getting HoTs (yet). This build gives you one tremendous benefit - you can now be very, very conservative in using your ultimate. You don't need the slow to kill, since you have Skadi, and you can keep at high health because you don't have to rely on the ultimate's 5 second window to get kills. Furthermore, you can tank damage like no tomorrow, as Vitality will return around 80 HP/sec without even getting HoTs. And, the 40% lifesteal from Satanic, coupled with Buriza's critical, will keep you alive much, much longer than with HoTs, as long as you're not permastunned. Skadi also minimizes damage dealt to you, as your target will be attacking 20% slower than normal. The only drawback of this build is the absurd cost, but again, I am constantly amazed at how much you can farm mid-game with Berzerk and Midas. I'd consider Assault or a HoT for the last item.

This gives you the benefit of choosing when to ultimate, whereas in mid-game, you will probably ultimate every chance you get. Late game, disposing of that mega-tank on the opponent's team is a matter of life or death, so using Life Break to make this possible becomes ever-important. Save it for these special occasions. This item build makes that possible.

Skadi is the key. Get it first before Satanic or Burize. You don't immediately need the lifesteal, because Vitality is simply that good. And, damage is covered by your innate Hyperstone/Relic (Berzerk), so Burize is also not an immediate priority. Skadi is, however, because it gives you more time to kill as your opponents get fatter (no more 5 second window to worry about), and allows you to be less reliant on Berzerk, which is what prevented you from appearing too often in mid-game. It also gives you 700 HP, 500 mana, 25% IAS, and an extra 15 HP/sec heal with Vitality. Truly, this is the perfect item for Huskar.

Having a large mana pool is important at this stage, because your teammates will begin to be able to benefit from Vitality almost as much as you can. You will be spamming Vitality, even though you personally may not need it with Skadi and eventually Satanic. This will help your team sustain a push far longer than if you did not have enough mana to spam Vitality. Putting points into stats largely makes this a non-issue, but in mid game, while you are still placing points into your primary skills, the Ultimate Orbs -> Skadi will give you that extra mana.

Satanic will allow you to take on 2 DPS heroes at once. Think if N'aix had 3000 HP, a hyperstone, a Relic, and an EXTRA 80 HP/second passive heal ON TOP OF feast. And was ranged. And had a nuke that could take off 30% of an opponent's HP. My head is starting to hurt...

This build also has the advantage of countering your own personal nightmare. You no longer have to be reliant on your ultimate and indirectly Berzerk, so you are now as suceptible to Scythe as any other DotA hero (as opposed to it being instant death to you). If you do not rely on Satanic, and recklessly Lifebreak and rely on Berzerk, Necro will own you over, and over, and over again. Unfortunately, without Skadi, you will have to do exactly that in order to get kills.

Ah yes, the four HoT build. 5000-6000 HP, nearly 200 HP/sec regen with Vitality, and a decent +120 damage. It is hard to argue against this, except that you will not be killing a lot of heroes with this build (no chase skill/orb and low damage), and your contribution to the team (besides being the best damage sponge in the game) will be minimal. Basically, if you are masochistic, go for this build. Just remember - you are NOT Ursa - the HoTs do NOT give you a bonus 400 damage attack. And as stated before, the synergy with your ultimate is actually backwards - you will be doing far more damage to YOURSELF when you Life Break than against anyone else in the game using this build.

Other items to consider:

As mentioned before, Mek is fantastic on Huskar early-mid game. It also allows you to become more team-centered earlier, rather than waiting for all of the luxury items I have prepared for you. However, that is also the drawback - you'll be pushing and teaming up far earlier in the game with Mek, and thereby concentrating less on farming. Just something to keep in mind - I think it's not the best for a carry build.

Dagon is also very alluring. Most hunters benefit disproportionally from Dagon, and Huskar, with Lifebreak, is no exception. Just like Mek, however, it slows your Skadi build, and Skadi is one of the best items for him, considering he is ranged. It's also more or less useless late game, so you'll be pumping a LOT of money into this, only to have to sell it later. As effective as Huskar can be mid-game, it is end game where he really becomes totally imbalanced. So, I'd recommend gunning for late game with Satanic, Skadi, and Burize.

Yet another great item for Huskar. His attack range fits neatly into Radiance's AOE, and he has a lot of HP to benefit from just sitting there and tanking. However, as DPS, Burize is far superior, and Skadi and Satanic are simply too good on Huskar; by the time you complete Skadi, Satanic, and Burize, the sparkle from this will become negligible. Else, not a bad choice at all. Just remember that Huskar has a built-in Relic with Berzerk, so skipping this is not such a sin as it may seem at first. You CANNOT afford to skip major STR items like Skadi and Satanic.

HoTs are always something to consider for Huskar, given the synergy with Vitality. I don't like it too much, because I play Huskar with more focus on DPS and killing skills than just soaking damage. Skadi allows him to chase and kill, and Satanic actually gives a lot more regen than HoT. Burize then adds that invaluable damage, which leaves HoT someone on the periphery of your choice of core items. Probably good for that last slot.

Yet another great item for Huskar. This is a tank's answer to Butterfly, so consider this if no one else on your team has it.

Good against TPers. There are so many options for Huskar, but Skadi, Satanic and Burize are just too good to ignore. So, this fights for that last slot with HoT, Assault, and Radiance.

The hood is good on anyone when facing a LOT of nukers. However, there is no offensive use for this, so be selective in getting it. Ditto for Vanguard against normal attackers - I'd much rather get ultimate orbs or save for the Reaver than get Vanguard. Linkens may sound great, but is too defensive for Huskar. He already has that covered with Vitality, so the great regen with Linkens is not needed. Furthermore, you already have a huge mana boost with Skadi...

A weak alternative to Skadi. This will help you kill in 5 seconds or less, and the True sight with level 3 is priceless. Still, with Skadi, you'll need a lot less help in any endeavor you choose to undertake, so think hard before gunning for this. This cannot replace the utility of Satanic or Burize, so more than likely, this will also fight for that last slot.

This is also not a very good alternative, IMO. You are quite hard to kill, and 10 seconds of spell immunity is just not that valuable, considering you can soak up most of the damage from spells with Vitality and your 3000 HP. Good in mid-game I suppose, but Skadi and Satanic just offer so much more...

I started out getting this, believing that Huskar didn't need the mana from Skadi. Boy was I wrong. This is good, except for that. The MS and orb are fantastic, but you really do need the extra mana from Skadi, IMO, at least in mid game. Spamming Vitality is incredibly potent, given that most people think Huskar is imba solely because of that one skill. Skadi also boosts everything by a LOT more than SnY. Lastly, and most importantly, SnY's orb is negated by Satanic, but you have no such problem if you get Skadi instead. So, this is good, but Skadi/Satanic is much, much better.

Manta is good, but it loses focus on Huskar's primary skills, which tend to be slowing, healing (or lifestealing), and damaging. The damage from feedback is good, but Skadi is much, much better at killing. You don't need the extra INT from anything else once you get Skadi - Manta is no exception. And the AGI is useless for you. Assault is better than Butterfly on Huskar for that reason as well, although the evasion is good against permabash...

OMG, I can keep going, but suffice it to say, Skadi, Satanic and Burize are what I consider core. HoT, Radiance, MKB, and Assault are so compelling as the 4th and possibly 5th item after selling Midas that discussing even more items after them seems tedious to me. I think the reason I am dwelling so much on them is because Huskar is the first ranged STR hero, and as such is probably the first hero where getting Skadi and Satanic is incredibly potent (Skadi has always been an orb on STR heroes).

After thinking long and hard, I believe this item is the bane of Huskar, at least during mid-game. Not play-tested yet (Medusa too), but if it dispels Vitality, you have a serious problem. Just like how some people buy this or pick Medusa just to counter Sven or the Warlock, they may do the same to counter you as well. Luckily, Skadi/Satanic is so potent, I rarely have the need to cast Vitality on Huskar late game...maybe IceFrog will consider banning Satanic or life-steal in general on Huskar - it is that potent.

Huskar's unique abilities give him some startling synergies with popular DotA heroes:

Synergy with Axe is incredible, with the carry item build. You will almost without exception be casting Vitality on Axe in nearly every battle. Axe is a much better candidate than you to get 3 or 4 HoTs, since he is the most masochistic hero in DotA, and is only missing an uber heal to become the most frightening hero in DotA. You will be able to heal quite well yourself, as most of your enemies' attention will be forcibly focused on Axe, and you have Satanic. Skadi will ensure that at least one hero will die to you or Axe. Congratulations, it is GG if you get to late game with a good Axe.

If Necro is on your team, then 1) you have eliminated the strongest counter to Huskar, and 2) you have a perfect setup with Life Break and Scythe. This is almost an instant kill late game every 80 seconds against even heroes with 4000+ HP. The contribution to the team is, well, obvious.

Lifebreak someone, and more than likely, the Bloodseeker on your team will immediately cease whatever he was doing and arrive at the scene in 5 seconds or less. This is great if something goes wrong during your 5 second engagement, i.e., another enemy hero shows up. He can then rupture the new arrival, and help you dispose of the original target. You can then retreat w/o fear of chase (since the ruptured hero will either move or die), and then the Bloodseeker can rage and own the second hero. The two of you travelling together can make quite a team, as long as you coordinate who is going to use their ultimate - the two ultimates on these heroes have the worst synergy in the game, but just one of them can synergize with your other combined skills quite well. The advantage here lies in that instead of hunting every 45 seconds (or 100 seconds for the Bloodseeker), you can constantly hunt without waiting for one's ultimate cooldown. And, both of these heroes are able to heal very well throughout the game. In that sense, Bloodbath and Vitality have very good synergy, and can result in some very terrifying, lightning-quick hunting expeditions (since both of you do not need to go to the fountain to heal).

In general, you synergize very well with other hunters, so accompanying them on an expedition is almost always a good idea. Furthermore, the stronger you get, the stronger your team gets, since unlike other hunters, you easily can become the cornerstone of the team with Vitality.

Another way you contribute to your team is spamming Vitality. As mentioned before, this becomes possible with Skadi. So, who benefits from this best?

These two heroes benefit greatly by pumping up their main attribute. Remember, STR is your main attribute, but INT is OD's, and AGI for Riki's. So, even though these guys are not that fat, they can benefit enormously from a well-timed Vitality (usually BEFORE, not during, an engagement). Keep this in mind, if you don't need it yourself.

These two, and especially Ursa, pump up a secondary attribute to be successful. Although N'aix is a STR hero, his STR build-up is so abysmal that no amount of STR items can bring him to an adequate level, so I consider it secondary compared to his crazy AGI build-up. Ursa is an AGI hero that benefits enormously from pumping STR. So, keep this in mind when casting Vitality on them.

Other than that, a general rule of thumb is to cast Vitality on anyone soaking more damage than you, and cast it on anyone who is running away from a chaser (like Slar or Bloodseeker). Then, chase the chaser, Lifebreak and own them yourself.

INT heroes may seem like good candidates for Vitality, since most of them become support via INT items late game. But, their contribution to the team is more than likely minimal compared to the front-line fighters, and more than likely are receiving less damage than they are. So, I typically cast it on them only when they are at critical health, and are in danger of immediately dying. More than likely, other heroes are in much greater need for the heal, so be conservative in casting it on, say, Zeus. This may seem cruel, but c'est la vie. INT heroes had their chance early-mid game.

TACTICS

Tactics with Huskar change significantly late game if you follow this guide's build. Lifebreak is now a secondary hunting tool, to be used conservatively and typically only on tanks. Items (Skadi, Satanic, Burize) heavily compensate for this, and allow you to kill in any situation. Also, you no longer need to rely on Berzerk for kills, and thus become much less vulnerable to the opposition - indeed, this allows you to take full advantage of Vitality, and become nearly invulnerable.

Tactics are actually much simpler in general late game. With Skadi, you simply have to be close to the front, and auto-attack. Once you find a nice, juicy target, right click on them. Done.

You can do this almost all the time, because with Satanic and Vitality, you have very little to fear. Indeed, you are very, very good against a hero that is actually very similar to you:

You are N'aix's bane. Why? Skadi goes through Rage, and Berzerk and Vitality work in your favor during Rage as well. Satanic, too. This means that as the battle wears on between the two of you, you attack faster and faster, hitting harder and harder, while he hits 20% slower throughout the battle. Both of you lifesteal quite well, and you have that extra edge with Vitality, which will ensure your victory. Engage N'aix as often as possible. Just be aware that the battle will probably be very long and drawn out, so hopefully your team is quicker to rally to your cause than his. Finally, beware of permabash! It will own you even with the carry build, and I personally believe that bash is very good on N'aix...

...which brings us to these two. These guys require team support, period. Engaging them 1v1 is suicide late game, Void with Chronosphere, and Troll with Blind. Troll may not even have to permabash you to own you. And unlike N'aix, permabash on you is not a good option...

Ursa is another hero that you are a good counter for. Once he appears, Lifebreak. Not only do you reduce his HP by a sizeable amount, you reduce his damage potential by a similar amount. You have basically made this bear 30% less effective on all fronts. Then, dispose as you would any other tank. You are beefy enough that his vaunted 5-hit kill method will not work on you.

As mentioned before, Necro is your bane. The main counter to him is having the carry item build, and to engage him at full health, like any other hero. With Skadi, you can ensure you kill him if you choose to engage him. Satanic will make you less vulnerable to Scythe.

Also mentioned before, the Bloodseeker is not that frightening to you. Vitality seems designed to counter Thirst, as it drastically improves in effectiveness up to 40% life, exactly when Thirst kicks in. This gives you the option to run and not be chased by him, if he has teammates hunting with him. Not only that, Thirst only grants him increased move speed, whereas what triggered the thirst (your low health) turns you into a crazed killer. Lifebreak evens the score. Vitality then ensures that your crazed spear-throwing madness properly impales this poor guy. Just remember, VITALITY FIRST! The Bloodseeker should be easier for you to handle than it may seem at first glance.

I rarely see anyone playing Medusa, so it took me a while to even think about how Purge can affect you. It robs you of your imba Vitality, so be very cautious when she is around. She may actually take the crown as your bane as opposed to Necro. Luckily, Satanic and Skadi mitigate her potency against you in late game. I do not believe Doom dispels, so if you follow my advice and VITALITY FIRST before engaging, I think Doom's potency against you is mitigated as well. Haven't play-tested yet, though, so correct me if I'm wrong.

Conclusion:

This guide is probably more serious than my other guides. I guess that's what love does to me, and I really love this guy. But, not in a gay, fruity way. More like a "I love killing and disembowling people with this guy" kind of love. You know what I mean, right? Of course you do, you future serial killer! Oh, excuse me, SACRED killer, er, WARRIOR, uh...right, hm...

Also, this is the first attempt at a Huskar guide I've seen anywhere, so I guess I wanted to be rather thorough. And, he's rather complicated, don't you agree? I hope it sheds some light into someone that's really fun to use, and I really hope that you don't turn into a serial killer after reading this. I really do!

I usually add some sort of preemptive strike against flamers and other scourges of the earth, but I really have no idea what people might think about Huskar in general, besides what I've already laid out in the guide. I do know that this works very, very well if you dedicate 50-75% of the game to farming, take it or leave it.

Thanks to the godly admin people on this site for being the godly people that they are.

And thanks to you for giving this guide a high rating, and not disembowling the contents of this guide. One caveat, if you have not read this guide in its entirety, DO NOT COMMENT ON IT. Looking at the skill and item builds alone are not enough to sound intelligible. I will call anyone doing this a complete ignoramus and poo-poo head in advance. You've been warned.

Anyway, enjoy, and happy hunting!

Favourite DOTA Strategy - Storm Spirit Strategy

2007-12-26T22:30:00.000-08:00

	Raijin Thunderkeg - Storm Spirit Range: 600 \| Move Speed: 310 Primary: INT Str: 22 + 2.5 \| Agi: 17 + 1.5 \| Int: 23 + 2.6 Damage: 45 - 55 \| HP: 568 \| Mana: 299 HP Regen: \| Mana Regen: Attack Speed: \| Armor: 1
	Electric Rave (E) Transfers mana into pure electric current at a rapid rate, increasing the Storm Spirit's attack speed by 20% for 6 mana per second. Level 1 - 20% Attack Speed Level 2 - 40% Attack Speed Level 3 - 60% Attack Speed Level 4 - %80 Attack Speed Mana Cost: 6/9/12/15 Cooldown: Comment: One of the cheapest skills in DotA. At Lvl4 it increases 80% AtkSpd = approximately 4000 Gold ! This skill makes him a terrific DPSer with god-like attack speed.
	Barrier (R) Shields a target with Raijin's discharged mana, resisting spell damage while under the effect. Lasts 20 seconds. Level 1 - Prevents 150 magical damage. Level 2 - Prevents 300 magical damage. Level 3 - Prevents 450 magical damage. Level 4 - Prevents 600 magical damage. Mana Cost: 75 Cooldown: 15 Comment: Free-600 magical damage = 75 Mana ?! This 'll help to tear apart almost all base Int heroes ! Use this to block some nasty finishing spells like Lion's Finger of Death, Lina's Laguna Blade, Zeus's Thundergod`s Wrath ...
	Overload (V) Each successful attack builds up a static charge, eventually releasing in the form for an electrical burst. The burst deals damage and does a minor Purge-like effect to the attacked foe and nearby area. Level 1 - 8 Attacks, 30 Damage Level 2 - 7 Attacks, 45 Damage Level 3 - 6 Attacks, 60 Damage Level 4 - 5 Attacks, 75 Damage Mana Cost: Cooldown: Comment: Overload makes a great synergy with Electric Rave ! Be one of the heroes whose Attack Speed is highest, Raijin may cause to enemy AOE slow/purge effect every second.Remember this: Overload is non-orb effect and it 's not bad as many people thought. Stacked perfectly with E.Rave, Overload is superb HARASS tool!
	Lightning Grapple (G) Creates an electrical attraction between the Storm Spirit and a target area, pulling him and all nearby units to that point. Level 1 - 600 Cast Range Level 2 - 900 Cast Range Level 3 - 1200 Cast Range Mana Cost: 100 Cooldown: 35 Comment: [DS need some to updated frequently T_T because at lvl 3 Lightning Grapple has 1400 Cast Range]. This is one of the best ultimate skills in DotA if used properly ! Lightning Grapple is kind of mass AoE BLink/Swap/Hook which can make a lot of combo-kill which requires a lot of training ! Lightning Grapple Guide is separated section which is not for novice players due to its hardship of use ! No kidding T_T !

Skill Build:

1. Electric Rave
2. Overload
3. Barrier
4. Overload
5. Barrier
6. Electric Rave
7. Electric Rave
8. Lightning Grapple
9. Barrier
10. Overload
11. Lightning Grapple
12. Electric Rave
13. Barrier
14. Overload
15. Stats
16. Lightning Grapple
17. Stats
18. Stats
19. Stats
20. Stats
21. Stats
22. Stats
23. Stats
24. Stats
25. Stats

Item Build:

1.
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
Fundamental item for many heroes from the start, included Raijin.
2.
Null Talisman (485)
+3 to All Attributes
+3 Intelligence
Mantle of Intelligence + Circlet of Nobility + Null Talisman Recipe Scroll
Nothing is better than a couple of this - very cheap and nice source of Dps and Mana.
3.
Maelstrom (3360)
+6 agi
+25 dmg
Orb Effect: Chain lightning (20% chance to cast on target, 150 dmg, hits 3 targets).
Orb effects do not stack
Boots of Elvenskin + Mithril Hammer + Maelstrom Recipe Scroll
Bread & Butter item ! MUST HAVE THIS ASAP !
4.
Oblivion Staff (1925)
+50% Mana Regeneration
+6 Intelligence
+15 Damage
+10% Attack Speed
Quarter Staff + Robe of the Magi + Sobi Mask
Another great addition for damage, mana regeneration and attack speed !
5.
Eul`s Scepter of Divinity (2800)
+100% Mana Regeneration
+18 Intelligence
Charged: Cyclone
6 Charges 5 Second Duration
600 Range
20 second cooldown
Robe of the Magi + Void Stone + Staff of Wizardry + Eul`s Scepter of Divinity
One small step for Guinsoo 's Scythe Of Vise... One giant leap for victory !
6.
Guinsoo`s Scythe of Vyse (5175)
+150% Mana Regeneration
+25 Intellegence
+35 Damage
Activate: Polymorph
600 Range 3 Second Duration
23 Second Cooldown
100 Mana Cost
Oblivion Staff + Eul`s Scepter of Divinity + Guinsoo`s Scythe of Vyse Recipe Scroll
This stick has everything that you desire : attack boost, attack speed (exchange from mana) and Polymorph ability !
7.
Eye of Skadi (7050)
+200 Hit Points, +150 Mana
+25 to All Attributes
Passive: Frost Attack
-20% Attack Speed
-30% Run Speed
2 Second Duration for ranged heroes, 3 seconds for melee heroes
Melee Eye of Skadi is an orb effect, and does not stack with orb effects; Ranged Eye of Skadi is NOT an orb effect, and stacks with some orb effects.
Ultimate Orb + Ultimate Orb + Point Booster + Eye of Skadi Recipe Scroll
Frost orb-effect DOES STACK with Maelstrom/Mjonnir ! No one can outrun you !
8.
Mjollnir (6760)
Thor's magical hammer, made for him by the dwarfs Brok and Eitri. Gives +35 Agility, +35 damage, and a 20% chance to release a 200 damage Chain Lightning. When a hero with the Static Charge buff is attacked there is a 20% chance that a 200 damage Static Charge will strike the attacking unit. Static charge activates at most once per second (50 mana cost).
Maelstrom + Eaglehorn
Upgrade from Maelstrom... DPs monster !
9.
Boots of Travel (2700)
+90 Run Speed
Active: Teleport
60 Second Cooldown 3 Second Cast Time
Boots of Speed + Boots of Travel Recipe Scroll
Mobility is the top priority of DotA. I 'll explain why only get this after finishing DPs items.

Early Game:

Some words before I start my guide... My guide is a bit different from the other ones for its game-time section and level cap because of his dependence on item. My guide is gonna be LONG ! Make sure you have at least 20 minutes to read and... ONLY RATE my guide if you really read it all and understand everything in my guide ! Anyone rate my guide under three stars please let me know what the problem is ! Clear man ? Let's get into my first guide !

Level 1 -> 10

Why you should play this hero:

* If you are beginner, simply pick Raijin since he is really easy-2-use but strong !

* If you have ever wished to play one of Mangix Primal Spirit then play Raijin - Storm Spirit !

* If you have ever dreamed about a hero with unmatchable attack speed ... he owns it !

Pros-A splendid farmer

High Int + Str Gain !

Terribly Strong at Late game !

Quite Good Team Combo Skills Maker !

Cons-Lousy Agi gain

Item-dependent

Require Precise Timing Ability for Ultimate Skill

* STARTER SET for a 5 vs 5 match :

My ItemBuild is progressive not consumable (i.e RoR, Tango or Ironwood Branch..) ! Why ? Since Raijin is very item reliant, he need fundamental item - Null Talisman which gives you decent mana and damage at start. Clarity Potion is a key to prolong Electric Rave. Flask allows you to heal 400 HP in 10 second which always comes in handy. STAY BACK & DO NOT get hit when you "relax" or you 'll waste precious 100 gold for nothing ! If you face Bristleback please assure you stay away from him for at least 800 range when you use Flask. His spikes hurt don't ya know ?

* LANE CHOICE AND SITUATIONS :

Mid-lane is the best beginning for Raijin. When the hero who solo in mid-lane 'll be main power for whole team in early-2-mid game, Raijin have an ability to farm/harass/deny so astonishingly. You may end your perfect early game while your opponent has to come the fountain at least twice ! If you can't pick mid-lane because of your hot-headed teammates, simply pick any spare lane. Your way on becoming the Ownag3 won't be stop by whatever !

- 1 on 1: Best assumption ever

1.Melee: You can end up his pathetic early game by decrease his EXP to almost zero and force him come back to the fountain if he want to farm or harass you !

2.Ranger : Just a little threat. Be wary of orb-effect skill heroes like Drown,Bone or Aiustha. Deny and farm effectively. Only strike back if you get hit. Stay away from battlefield when use Flask or Clarity.

3.Nuker : Except Ogre Magi and Earth Shaker, they are mostly ranged. What differentiates Nuker(s) & Ranger(s) ? They are capable of dealing massive damage just in a flash by using many terrifying spells ! Make sure that you learn 1 or 2 level for Barrier skill. You take great advantage because Barrier only need 75 mana while other heavily-nuke skills need at least more than 100 mana plus Barrier has very short cooldown - 20 seconds.

- 2 on 2: Hidden Risks

2 Melee(s): SWEEEET ! Max out Overload as soon as possible then you cannot stop laughing because your enemy can do nothing but try to stay away from your sight ! If they are stubborn you may force them to come back the fountain for 2 or 3 times !

2 Rangers/Nukers: Don't try to provoke the creep by attacking their heroes. Last hit and deny when required. Tower hugging is usual if you face dangerous rangers like Enchantress or OD.

1 Melee 1 Ranger: Hit a melee hero if he wanna last hit or deny. Stay back immediately when you grab creep's attention. It's best to have your ally to be a ranger one to keep the advantage. If your ally is a melee hero, cover him when he gets hit.

NOTE:

Aiustha The Enchantress 's Impetus and Harbringer 's Arcane Orb can strike through any type of damage reduction and spell reduction skills/items included Barrier ! Watch out !

One small tip for you: DO NOT DIE AT EARLY GAME AT ANY COST !

* TACTIC AND STRATEGY: (read carefully !)

Farm like mad and deny like freak. Remember this : Overload bonus damage WORKS on allied creeps but do not included mini AOE purge-effect ! Someone said that Raijin is a paradox with main Int attribute and godllike attack speed. It 's not true! Mana is his main source of his attack speed so he MUST be Int base hero to maintain his Electric Rave !

Don't hesitate to turn on Electric Rave when you want to "eat" whole the tower or harass/farm creeps even to deny your creeps. Try to maintain Electric Rave as long as possible with a couple of Clarity Potion ! Every hero from the start just has so-so attack damage so faster attack speed will give you more advantage !

* FARMING:

As I said, Raijin is quite adept at farming but is only from mid-game after owning Maelstrom. Raijin is gifted with cheap skill 1 and skill 3 so farming/denying is not "too" hard for him !

* PUSHING:

Don't attempt to push at early-game with Raijin, your only task at this stage is farm,farm and farm. Early-pushing is very stupid due to some reasons:

- As long as the enemy's 1st tower is existed, your farming ability is existed too!

- Pushing too deep into their base cause you lots of ganking risks which lead to the death...

* HERO KILLING:

Do not join any battle in this time ! Raijin is quite weak early-2-mid game. If you feed more than 2 lives... you are extreme unlikely to be strong in the mid-game as late-game. Your teammates may call you a coward T_T. You don't need to show your killing potential unless the situation forces you into it (i.e rescue friends, get ambushed,etc). Do not ever initiate the battle, stay calm and counter if they force you to do it.

*TIP$, TIP$ AND TIP$:

How to harass efficiently ? With your Overload and right timing you can annoy your lane's rivals alot ! Take a look at this picture :

"Each successful attack builds up a static charge, eventually releasing in the form for an electrical burst. The burst deals damage and does a minor Purge-like effect to the attacked foe and nearby area.". Yeah ! Got it ? To own with Raijin, you must be really good DotA player. You do not only have to last hit/deny successfully but to build up your Overload by hitting the creeps constanly. When you can see the his hands got charged, simply attack their main heroes. Just only one hit - buffed one ! By repeating doing this you can harass them quite well without any counter because Overload can purge them in really short time - just fit for you to come back position. Then what defines his superior harass ability ? Try this Advanced Harass Method : build up your Overload but please, do not give their heroes that hit. Let the creep who is nearest him take it ! OFMG ? What am I planning to do by dealing just 75 Dmg? Tickling him right ? HELL NO ! With super attack speed from E.Rave you should be able to this trick quite frequently. You indirectly hurt your enemies without getting a counter hit which is very rare and precious point for every non-orb-walking heroes like Raijin. Take this as your greatest advantage since you have godly attack speed and the AOE of Overload is 350 if I recall correctly.

* ENDING EARLY-MID GAME:

Play wisely and best situation should be 1-0 (you 're Sentinal). You should 've farm a lot and deny a lot too! If you farmed and pushed really well and took the dominance :

Don't misunderstand why you are so rich ! It's the end of Raijin's early-game when you reach level 11 ! If you haven't made really good progress then:

If you are really skilled player (like me ^_^) you should have 1 or 2 null talismans , depends on your dominance and visiting times back to the fountain to recharge mana and HP.

Medium Goal:

* Must farm MaelStrom.

* Do not die at any cost.

Mid Game:

Level 11 - 20

MID GAME IS THE TIME FOR RAIJIN TO SHINE (he shines already ^_^ ) IF ONLY YOU DID REALLY WELL IN EARLY GAME (obviously) !

* FARMING :

Once you get Maelstrom - 1st core item , farming is never easier. Maelstrom does stack with Overload plus Electric Rave (aka Electric Rape) which make Incredible Trio ! Those sweeet steps can be described like this: when the 1st melee creep comes, turn Electric Rap3 on, attack 2nd melee creep.... It takes 4~5 second to wipe them out all (no more kidding !). You are RICH !

* PUSHING :
At this rate, pushing just like a piece of cake. Your crew of creeps loses only 1~2 members while they lose all ! You with your crew may march into enemy's base and take down any obstacle ! Remember : Keep an watchful eye on the miss ones, mid-game is the time every one looking for fresh blood ! Lone wolf die soon ! Always come back after destroy a tower, greed is dead if you want to grab enemies attention by pushing to fast.

...So you can push quite fast then win? NO! As stated before, faster the pushing is, more possibilities you get from ganking. Only push with some support from your allies and make sure you have 1 or 2 Scroll of TP in your inventory. If you can, carry some Wards to prevent yourself from ganking while you are pushing.

Oops I forgot the URL of Art of Wards in http://forums.dota-allstars.com T_T. Luckily I found that Nova 's method is nearly as good as it ! Honestly I swear that I have never ever use wards O_o because I'm play very carefully and most of pub-gamers are noob ^_^! (pls PM me if anyone know Art Of Wards URL)

* HERO KILLING :
As I mentioned before, Raijin is very easy-2-use hero hence his killing method is easy too ! Take a look on the map, determinate which tower is being attack by enemy heroes, turn on your Rave & teleport there. Lightning Grapple to nearest hero while press "A" button and click like mad on him... Die..

Raijin is very strong solo hero due to his godlike attack speed and the "Incredible Trio". At Lvl 16 you should have Guinsoo Scythe - 2nd core item. Maelstrom is best because of its superior farming ability and greatly stackablitity with the other skills. Guinsoo's Scythe of Vyse is second the best because it provides huge damage, good mana regeneration and an ability to turn you into GOD-LIKE - Polymorph. With your (again ^_^) "Incredible Trio" , 3.25 second is enough to bury alive any hero even a living castle like Centaur WarChief or WindWalker as Gondar or Rikimaru.

At the end of Mid-game with your ultimate farming ability, you should own Eye Of Skadi - 3rd core item. Now you can pawn every hero even the toughest ones like Naix, Void, PA .... Remember this: If you aren't amateur you should have known that Cold effect of Eye Of Skadi IS STACKABLE with Chain Lightning orb-effect of Maelstrom/Mjollnir OR life-steal orb effect of MoM/Satanic Helm !

DotA is the team-game. Don't be a ruthless player who think himself is the best and always blame everyone for his own fault. Join a gank when you are asked for and stay back whenever you sense the danger (pros call that Sixth Sense ^_^). In the higher level game, a sensible will never try to take a hero kill if that causes you severe damage or death. Please keep this in mind that even you can get that kill, dying once will definitely rob your time and gold !

*TIP$ TIP$ TIP$: Read this carefully or die of knowledge's insufficiency !

- Always have at least 2 Scroll Of Town Portal. Whenever you return the fountain, buy one SoTP. Use it to move to desired location in no time. 270 gold is nothing compare to your terrific farming ability ! In this great mind game, mobility is the first and above-all key of victory. So why don't you get BoT first ? No way ! BoT need totally 2700 gold which definitely slow down your Core Item build.

- Lightning-orb-based spells (such as Weaver's Geminate attack and Maelstrom or Entangle of Syllabear's pet) do not trigger unless you specifically order your hero to attack a particular target. If your hero auto-acquires a target, the spell may not trigger unless you specifically (re-)command your hero to attack that target.

Source: http://www.dotastrategy.com/forum/ftopic4386.html

Original Source: http://forums.dota-allstars.com/index.php?showtopic=12&hl=glitch

- Your only defensive skill - Barrier cannot be more helpful. Since it can block 600 magic damage with very cheap cost, you can spam it every time on you to save your life or the main tanker when you face strong nukers.

- Get Sheepstick over Eye Of Skadi because its effectiveness on you since you are Int based.

- This bold bad boy is totally your menace if he has decent items. Your relatively main source of power is mana but he can break it quite fast ! Try not to fight him 1 on 1 without core item set or he 'll wipe you out with Mana Void ! GG...

ENDING INVENTORY

In your item building progress, you can sell your power tread/null talisman to have more slots or gold. If you don't farm very well or die sometimes(3 times is max!) :

Core Item Set 'll be finished by this stage if you are experienced player :

With Core Item Set, please feel free to activate your Electric Rave all the time and deactivate it when your mana pool reachs 1000. Once you get M'jollnir do not forget to spam the Static Charge whenever it is available.

Medium Goal:

* Finish Core Item Set.

* Destroy all lane towers.

* Get the "GOD LIKE" streak.

Late Game:

Level 21 - 25

I WONDER IF THE GAME HAVE COME THIS FAR...

The game should really end when you reach God-like and have Core item set. However, you are still struggling with them... This is quite a big problem because you/your teammates let them farm like mad! Raijin has a tremendous power to bring down anyone. It's the truth but only apply for early-mid game. In late game, there are two type of hero 'll dominate Raijin if him can farm :

1.Critical Damage Dealer :

They are capable of dealing > 1000 dmg each hit which 'll tear your team to thousands of pieces. You hold the victory from the start if you farm/deny/push/harass/kill effectively. The winning must be fast, short and merciless. Number-one solution for them : harass and deny. If you accidentally let him farm and get desired item set, it may be unlikely to stop them...

2.Permanent Basher: (aka Forever Hypnosis)

The most feared killers in DotA - the permabashers. It's not fun to watch you - Full HP and him - 1/10 HP but you still die due to his permastun! Like Critical Dmg Dealer, they are unstoppable in late game. They 'll toy with you then kill you ferociously. Number-one rule: push hard ASAP, harass like mad, deny AMAP.

So it 's impossible to stop those "monsters" ? Luckily, everything can be solved with smartness O_o ! NOTE: The following solutions is applicable for situation if your team didn't focus-fire properly the hidden threats. Early-mid game ganking method is the most important key to stop them from becoming the true god.

*SOLUTION 1: Banish forever !

May be killing them is a nightmare for you then just destroyed their Ancient Tree /Frozen Throne ! But how ? If you are pro, please do not blame me because you should have known this : every hero in your team buys Eul 's Scepter of Divinity and Guinsoo 's Scythe Of Vise if you have spared gold ! Even Agility/Strength one must get this too ! After this step the match will conclude for sure. Rush into enemies 's base, destroy everything included creeps, towers, building and kill interupters when they dare to face you ! Wait for the true confrontation - Critical Dealer/ Permabasher appears ! Immediately cast Cyclone/Polymorph on him ! One by one repeat doing this while the remained teammates are crushing their base ! Glorious vitory >_< !

Get Eul 's Scepter of Divinity over Guinsoo 's Scythe of Vyse due to its very long "banish" duration : 5.6 seconds , much longer than 3.25 seconds for Polymorph. What your team requires is his vanishment, you can do everything as long as he vanishes !

(I don't mean to get 6 Eul. I just want to show you its importance and effectiveness !)

This solution is really helpful if... If the enemy 's team has only one critical dealer/ permabasher. If they have more than one then I have to sadly tell you that you are loser because your mercy that you/your teammates let them farm like mad T_T .

....Permabash...... .....1000 DPS.....

If you see that enemy get one of those deadly hero after you choose Raijin. Tell your teammate to choose one deadly hero too (hope they didn't made a decision &_&). Tell them to get the permabashers over critical dealers because they are most effective heroes by the late game ! AFAIK, bash Exploitation - permabash of Barathrum can be done by a sequence of multi-animation canceling. I have done it only twice in 6.44 and 6.46b version !

**************************

*SOLUTION 2: Deadly Reflection

This solution should works no matter how strong they are ! The quest must be carried on from the start of the match. If they have chosen the permabasher(s), your teammate must choose Tanker/Reflect Dmg Heroes. The item build must have at least: 2x Blade Mail up to 3, 2 x HoT up to 3! The reflectors 'll be your team 's counter method against those "monsters". Best nominees for this risky task should be: Centaur Warchief, Neurubian Assassin and Axe. The God Of Unfortune may hate you so much if your arch enemy manages to buy 1 Black King Bar because reflected damage is magical type...

**************************

ULTIMATE ITEM SET :

Raijin is SUPER heavily item-dependant so the good item build affect to his power entirely ! There are many ways for you to build up Raijin Ultimate Item Set. After you get all 4 core item included: BoT, EoS, Guinsoo, Mjollnir then last best two items should be two of these :

Provides +965 HP and 11 HP regen per second.

30% Evasion +30 damage +30%IAS +4.3 armor ~ 30 agility ~ 30%IAS

15 armor + 55% attack speed

+75 damage & 20% Chance 2.2x Damage Multiplier

+75 Damage and +15%IAS +100 Damage to Target 0.01 Second Stun 30% Chance

I 'll show you 4 best (may be not *o* )item builds :

BUILD 1 : ALL-AROUND with HoT and The Butterfly

* Vital Info : 3728 HP + 22.2 armor ~ 57% damage reduction + 30% evasion + 30 damage

* Good : Very stable build with alot of HP/Dmg Reduction as the high rate of Evasion !

* Bad : Such a waste of his killing potential !

***************************************************************************

BUILD 2 : CRAZY TANKER with HoT and Assault Cuirass

* Vital Info : 3728 HP + 32.9 armor ~ 70% damage reduction.

* Good : Defensive build which make you a living castle, very "hard" to kill.

* Bad : Since he is gifted with killing potential so this build may be wasted !

***************************************************************************

BUILD 3 : IMPENETRABLE with The Butterfly and Assault Cuirass

* Vital Info: 2763 HP + 37.2 armor ~ 73% damage reduction + 30% Evasion + 30 damage

* Good : Almost impossible to kill him with this item build ! God-like attack speed !

* Bad : Not really reliable build, waste his killing potential !

***************************************************************************

BUILD 4 : BRUTAL MURDER with Buriza-do Kyanon and Monkey King Bar

* Vital Info : +150 damage + 20% Chance 2.2x Dmg + 30% Chance 100 Bonus Dmg Mini Stun

* Good : Fully release his TRUE indentity - killing machine with huge attack damage and god-like attack speed !

* Bad : Fragile build with low HP/Dmg reduction and no evasion ! Just like an assassin...

***************************************************************************

Sadly no item build is flawless @_@ ! Every build has its good/bad aspects. Choose your Ultimate Item Set carefully ! My only advice is watching the conditions wisely and take aim at best item choice for each match !

Conclusion:

ITEMS WHICH ARE BAD TO GET & SITUATIONAL ITEMS :

****ORB-EFFECT ITEMS NOT MAELSTRON & MJOLLNIR****

All orb-effect items excepted Maelstrom/Mjollnir is strongly recommended not to buy. Gifted with unmatchable attack speed which is granted from E.Rave, Chain Lightning will trigger a lot for sure ! One more thing that Raijin greatly benefits from Chain Lightning : it "chains" - hitingt multiple targets at once fantastically improve farming ability and killing possibility.

****MEKANSM/NECRONOMICON/DAGON/LOTHAR'S EDGE****

Raijin is a battle mage. Leave Mekanms for more supporting heroes. Necronomicon is not needed since Raijin is definitely DPSer with awesome attack speed.Buy Dagon if you LOVE kill stealing, completely loses its effectiveness by the late game. Lothar's Edge no comment !

****OTHER ITEMS THAT BAD FOR RAIJIN****

Hand of Midas suits farming, so what's Maelstrom for ? If you opted to play permabash job, please play Void or Barathrum... Almost non-damage items like Blood Stone and Aghanism's Scepter are totally waste of gold on Raijin. If you think Barrier is not good enough to nullify spells then get you own gold to buy HoD. Barrier is basically a spell block for Raijin with 20s cool down...

****SITUATIONAL ITEMS****

Black King Bar is recommended if their team planned to have some early-push with all Intelligence based heroes. I rarely own Divine Aegis synergy unless someone in my team accidentally dropped his Divine Rapier. Replace 2 last optional item with that god's synergy.

**************************

Mocking & Counter Section :

1. M: Why Maelstrom/Mjollnir man ?! Raijin is Int hero ! You dumba$$ !

C: Ok man. As I said Raijin has quite "fast" attack speed. 150/200 bonus Chain Lightning from Maelstrom/Mjollnir is just too tempting to pass !

2. M: Finally, which item build is the best ???

C: As I said: Every build has its flaw. If you are perceptive you can choose it wisely by yourself.

3. M: Where the hell is your "Team Killing Section" ???

C: Stay calm. You 'll see right now !

4. M: What do "AMAP" and "IAS" mean ?

C: As much as possible - Increase Attack Speed !

In conclusion, you 'll be loved by all heroes and hated by all too (lol) ! Although Raijin is incredibly strong hero, 5 vs 5 match of DotA depends much on good teamwork, even a powerhouse can be taken down by smart strategy.

******************************

There are some programs may define your DotA level:

1.DotA keys: Have you ever found it hard to manage hot keys and spell items ? For me, I always get troubled whenever I try to use Eul Scepter/Sheep Stick, Mekam, Dagon... with precise timing ! This will solve it all. Just imagine all hot keys of your skills are arranged on the same line !

Link: http://forums.dota-allstars.com/index.php?showtopic=35148

2.Ventrilo Voice Chat: Speaking are always better than typing (obviously !). With this splendid program, you and your teammates will dominate every one with almost-perfect plans and clear information of strategy !

Link: http://forums.dota-allstars.com/index.php?showtopic=37716

Actually this program will support greatly you and your teammates to manage some deadly team killing combos which are listed below.

Credits

Thanks Drew who made this marvelous site !

Thanks all Mods who helped me so much in approval progress !

Thanks Ice Frog who made this awesome map !

Thanks every high rating guide which taught me a lot !

Thanks my friends who helped me a lot to test Raijin's Ultimate Skill !

THANKS DotA-Allstars.com which provides very nice Hero Editor !

THANKS Forums.dota-allstars.com Community which provided me so much knowledge !

THANKS Imageshack.us - so kewl media host !

THANKS ANYONE WHO GIVE ME GOOD RATING AND GOOD COMMENTS ^_^

Sorry If my English was bad because I'm Vietnamese ^_^

**END For Casual Guide's Section*

HERE COMES TEAM KILLING SECTION

*THIS Part requires some basic knowledge of DotA so stay alerted !

Raijin is very powerful solo hero but what made me love to use him to so cool killing methods with my teammates - Lightning Grapple ! I'll go quick so stay tuned.

Let 's elaborate the effectiveness of the Lightning Grapple :

* Remarkably short cooldown - 35 seconds !

* Very Long Range (LvL 4) - 1400 range !

* DOES STOP Channeling Spells !

* Doesn't work on non-organic, ancient units,neutral creeps and creeps of both sides (prevent creep abuse)

* Works on heroes of both sides.

How does Lightning Grapple works ? It sucks every allowed unit (above) into its flying way in about 200 AOE. Everything will be sucked into 1 point ! See below picture for more details:

Imagine the neutral creeps are heroes (because LG doesn't work on creeps anymore). What will happen if their destination is a bunch of Techies's explosives ???

****************************

The following picture shows you how long Lightning Grapple is:

As you saw, 1400 range is absolutely long ! In older version, backward-creeps's marchway grappling will freeze creeps AI which creates so freaky awesome push with mass creeps if used properly. Sadly from 6.46b, creep abuse is no longer available T_T. With very long range of movement, Lightning can save your allies to run away from chasers or get back the fountain faster (imagine you saved your friend after the Doom, I'm sure he owes you a lot >_< )

TIP$: Where you descend the LG, it will take down all the tree in about 500 AOE which is really helpful you are chasing a tricky prey who likes to play "hide & seek" with the trees !

**************************

Team Killing Combo with Lightning Grapple require very high-class timing skill and accurate team work between the teammates. Most of T.K combo are very dangerous if used properly or you 'll end up your game with lots of sacrifices ! Deadlier the combo is, more precise the timing skill require. So try to put it into practice many times before you join a real (stake) match. Each combo 'll have these 5 elements:

* Function: Use of combo

* Possibilities to work: Percentage for the combo to happen

* Possibilities to kill : Percentage to kill

* Timing Skill : 0 --> 100%. Higher percentage means better timing skill requires

* Team work : 0 ---> 100%. Higher percentage means more precise teamwork requires

It 'll took days to tell all of possible combo. I only make a list of the most effective combo. Please keep this in mind that T.K is extremely hard to be successful if you/your partner is a amateur or you play in sooo lag conditions !

****SAND STORM****

Crixalis casts Epic Center then Raijin grapples every one into vibrating AOE ! Crixalis IS NOT INCLUDED in the crew !

* Function: Defend or Attack, often use to ambush

* Possibilities to work: 80%

* Possibilities to kill : 85%

* Timing Skill : 85%

* Team work : 90%

NOTE: Epic Center need casting animation. Be patient. Be wary of skillful players, they 'll counter this easily with stun spells.

****BLIZZARD****

Crystal Maiden casts Freezing Field then you can grapple the enemies into freezing AOE ! Rylai IS NOT INCLUDED in the crew !

* Function: Ambush

* Possibilities to work: 75%

* Possibilities to kill : 90%

* Timing Skill : 85%

* Team work : 90%

NOTE: Crystal Maiden is as fragile as crystal so if you feel that the enemies is too strong don't this combo or she 'll be broken !

****KABOOM ! ****

Techies places tonnes of mines in unexpected locations like forests, riverside or hooking place of Butcher. Wait when they move in your casting range, grapple them into bomb-set area! Sure kill! Even someone stays alive, you should wipe him out very lightly because that tons of mines dropped his HP to danger-status !

* Function: Ambush

* Possibilities to work: 95%

* Possibilities to kill : 95%

* Timing Skill : 95%

* Team work : 95%

NOTE: This combo need you to sit near your "Techies" friend or both of you must be very telepathic to understand other's mind. If Techies doesn't to sacrifice his life (most of time ^_^) you may grapple him to enemy then suicide - Suicide on The Flight !

****ATTACK OF THE CLONES****

On the battlefield, Ish~kafel casts Wall of Replica and Raijin grapples all heroes into the Wall... OMG....Mass duplication immediately ! Simply kills !

* Function: Defend or Attack, often use for general attack

* Possibilities to work: 85%

* Possibilities to kill : 85%

* Timing Skill : 80%

* Team work : 85%

NOTE: Make sure that every hero 'll be sucked into your Lightning Grapple or it 'll be wasted.

****RICOCHET MADNESS****
Raigor casts fissure on the enemies. While they are stunned, Raijin grapples him into the crowd. Raigor may casts Enchant Totem or Echo Slam. Terribly serious damage if "overcrowded" of enemies !

* Function: Defensive combo

* Possibilities to work: 85%

* Possibilities to kill : 90%

* Timing Skill : 85%

* Team work : 90%

NOTE: Make sure that every enemy 'll be sucked into your Lightning Grapple.

****ELECTRIC BURIAL****

Raijin grapples Tiny into the enemies. Tiny casts Avalanche and Toss immediately. Short description but very long list of casualties T_T !

* Function: Attack

* Possibilities to work: 90%

* Possibilities to kill : 90%

* Timing Skill : 90%

* Team work : 90%

NOTE: Always remind Tiny to pay attention before execute this combo !

****PERFECT TREATMENT****

Raijin grapples all enemies into expected location, VOL'JIN IS NOT INCLUDED in the crew ! Vol'jin immediately casts Paralyzing Casks +Maledict +Death Ward on the crowd. Just like heaven !

* Function: Defend or Attack, often use to ambush

* Possibilities to work: 85%

* Possibilities to kill : 95%

* Timing Skill : 95%

* Team work : 95%

NOTE: I repeat that Vol'Jin IS NOT INCLUDED on the crew or our doctor 'll die of cancer !

****ICE AGE****

Raijin grapples all of the enemies into expected location. Lich came there first but stay away from landed place, casts Chain Frost right after the landing. Massacre ! Frost Nove can be casted on survivors.

* Function: Ambush

* Possibilities to work: 90%

* Possibilities to kill : 90%

* Timing Skill : 90%

* Team work : 90%

NOTE: Kel'Thuzad IS NOT INCLUDED on the crew or Ice Age 'll melt !

****CURSE OF THE TORMENTED****

Leshrac casts Diabolic Edict and Pulse Nova at the same time Raijin grapples him into the crowd. Split Earth and Lightning Storm can be casted then. Really serious damage !

* Function: Defensive Combo

* Possibilities to work: 90%

* Possibilities to kill : 95%

* Timing Skill : 95%

* Team work : 95%

NOTE: The Tormented Soul need a decent HP/Mana (harvest from EoS or Aghanism's Scepter) to accomplish this combo.

From here now on I 'll remove the details. Those above example is good enough to understand the simple rules of Lightning Grapple.

****FREEZE AND MELT****

NOTE: Jakiro IS NOT INCLUDED on the crew.

****PAIN IN THE A$$****

NOTE: Akasha has to be on the crew or she must stay on the end of the grapple, casts Scream Of Pain, Blink out there and casts Sonic Wave.

****SPELL HAZARD****

NOTE: Lina IS NOT INCLUDED on the crew!

****TIME SPLITTER****

NOTE: Make sure that where that "balloon" ll be casted on and all of the enemies must be sucked into your grapple.

****ELECTRIC MIST****

NOTE: This is Mass Disable Combo not damaging combo.

****PLAGUE TIME !****

NOTE: Barrier helps Pudge not to get hurt from Root's magic dmg.

****STOMP OF WAR****

****ELECTRIC ECLIPSE****

****DARK ART'S INVASION****

NOTE: Rhasta IS NOT INCLUDED on the crew. Rhasta casts Mass Serpent Ward, Raijin grapples enemies into the wards. In the chaos, Rhasta show his talent in dark art while Raijin is overkilling !

****ELECTRIC REQUIEM****

......More and more combo(s). Discover it by yourself ! The combo will release its true potential if it is managed by many heroes. Here is 1 evident example which has been done once with my friends, our rivals left pathetically after it T_T. I wonder if anyone can survive...

Lightning Grapple + Overgrowth + Chain Frost + Epicenter + Death Ward = 100% GG !

Why Lightning Grapple can make so many skill-combinations ?! Lightning Grapple is more likely a blink/swap/hook AOE spell. It's a key. That means you give your teammates free Kellen Dagger of Escape every 35 seconds. But it has reverse effect: It works on both side and stop channeling spells! If you grasp this skill 's features, you can make any combo with any spells ! Please note that the heroes which use Channeling Spell should buy BkB or Linken's Sphere to counter stun spells ! I named it "Team Killing Method" that means If it is used properly, It may kill their whole team in a blink of an eye ! No kidding !

**************************************************

I hope you actually enjoy reading my guide ! I'm looking forward to high rating and good comment, especially the critic review !

*Confession: I fixed and edited this guide for at least 10 times before it get approved, each time = 30 mins. My friend called me "gay" when I always use this hero to test every team-killing. I used to believe that Lightning Grapple doesn't stop channeling spells! Poor me huh ?!

Favourite DOTA Strategy- Nortrom - The Silencer

2007-12-26T21:17:00.000-08:00

	Nortrom - The Silencer Range: 600 \| Move Speed: 300 Primary: INT Str: 17 + 1.7 \| Agi: 16 + 2.1 \| Int: 21 + 2.5 Damage: 41 – 63 \| HP: 473 \| Mana: 273 HP Regen: 0.76 \| Mana Regen: 0.85 Attack Speed: 1.43 \| Armor: 0
	Curse of the Silent (C) Afflicts a target with the Curse of the Silent. The target will lose hp and mana per second until it casts a spell. Lasts 10 seconds. Level 1 - 10hp/5mana per second. Level 2 - 20hp/10mana per second. Level 3 - 30hp/15mana per second. Level 4 - 40hp/20mana per second. Mana Cost: 105/ 115/ 125/ 135 Cooldown: 25 Comment: This may seem like an essential skill, but I consider it useless. A simple tango can counter this spell. Extremely useless compared to Glaives. I would rather use 135 Mana for Glaives of Wisdom. This skill is for girly-men ^^.
	Glaives of Wisdom (G) Nortrom`s Glaives are enchanted by his experience in magic. If he kills a hero, he will permanently steal 1 intelligence from it. Level 1 - Deals 15% of your intelligence in bonus damage. Level 2 - Deals 30% of your intelligence in bonus damage. Level 3 - Deals 45% of your intelligence in bonus damage. Level 4 - Deals 60% of your intelligence in bonus damage. Mana Cost: 15 Cooldown: 3/ 2/ 1/ 0 Comment: This is your ultimate skill for farming, harassing and killing. Glaives totally ignore Armour, which makes it one of the most powerful arrow/orb ability in the game. Note, the hot key is 'W', and you should use this hotkey for Silencer's full potential. You can also use this ability for last hitting, or preferably orb walking. You move around the creeps until they are on red life, you then either deny the creep, or use the hotkey 'W' to kill the creep. The extra punch given by Glaives ensure you get the creep kill, and allows you to last hit earlier. Glaives are also perfect for harassing.
	Last Word () Causes any unit under the effect of this aura to become silenced after it casts a spell. (Doesn`t silence item spells) Level 1 - 0.75 seconds. 350 AoE Aura. Level 2 - 1.5 seconds. 450 AoE Aura. Level 3 - 2.25 seconds. 550 AoE Aura. Level 4 - 3 seconds. 650 AoE Aura. Mana Cost: N/A Cooldown: N/A Comment: This is an incredibly annoying aura, which will irritate enemies, mostly chain nukers.
	Global Silence (E) Stops all enemies on the map from casting skill spells (doesn`t silence item spells). Level 1 - Lasts 3 seconds. Level 2 - Lasts 4 seconds. Level 3 - Lasts 5 seconds. Mana Cost: 250/ 350/ 450 Cooldown: 120 Comment: This global spell is extremely powerful and dominant. Global Silence is used when entering combat, or to ensure ones safety. If you are about to enter a 5 v 5 battle, notify your teammates, letting them know that as soon as they engage in battle you will Silence the opposition. Secondly, you can use it when you are getting ganged, you can use this spell to turn the tables around. Skill Build: 1. Glaives of Wisdom 2. Stats 3. Glaives of Wisdom 4. Stats 5. Glaives of Wisdom 6. Stats 7. Glaives of Wisdom 8. Stats 9. Stats 10. Global Silence 11. Global Silence 12. Last Word 13. Last Word 14. Last Word 15. Last Word 16. Global Silence 17. Stats 18. Stats 19. Stats 20. Stats 21. Stats 22. 23. 24. 25. Item Build: 1. Mekansm (2434) +5 All Attributes +5 Armor Passive: 3 HP/sec regeneration aura Active: Revitalize Gives 2 bonus armor and heals 250 hit points to nearby friendly units. 150 Mana Cost Headdress of Rejuvenation + Netherezim Buckler + Mekansm Recipe Scroll The items listed here are the main ones you will be able to get in most games. Other items will be mentioned and suggested later in this guide. Mekansm is an essential item for Silencer, as it allows him to stay in his lane forever with his large Mana pool. Mekansm is self explanatory. Mainly, it is used to ensure one's safety. 2. Null Talisman (485) +3 to All Attributes +3 Intelligence Mantle of Intelligence + Circlet of Nobility + Null Talisman Recipe Scroll Null Talisman is obtained, simply because it increases your stats. The extra intelligence allows you to deal higher damage. You will want to get two of these. You may also argue a set of Bracers are better because the extra HP it provides. You may get 2x Bracers if you are not comfortable with your HP, although Null Talismans are advisable. 3. Boots of Travel (2700) +90 Run Speed Active: Teleport 60 Second Cooldown 3 Second Cast Time Boots of Speed + Boots of Travel Recipe Scroll Since you will be orb walking, a higher movespeed acts in accordance with Silencer's strength. Silencer's move speed isn't in the fast side, which prevents him from chasing heroes. The benifits Boots of Travel provides is also great; it enables you to travel faster, which is really convinient and it also allows to juxe better, since your move speed is reasonably high. No to treads! 4. Eul`s Scepter of Divinity (2800) +100% Mana Regeneration +18 Intelligence Charged: Cyclone 6 Charges 5 Second Duration 600 Range 20 second cooldown Robe of the Magi + Void Stone + Staff of Wizardry + Eul`s Scepter of Divinity Eul's Scepter of Divinity also seems self explanatory. With this item your DPS will be increased by a reasonable amount, it is also your escape device. You can use this items to chase a fast move speed hero/ to engage in battle/ to ensure one's safety/ and to save yourself! 5. Guinsoo`s Scythe of Vyse (5175) +150% Mana Regeneration +25 Intellegence +35 Damage Activate: Polymorph 600 Range 3 Second Duration 23 Second Cooldown 100 Mana Cost Oblivion Staff + Eul`s Scepter of Divinity + Guinsoo`s Scythe of Vyse Recipe Scroll The Hex is extremely useful, and the powerful increase in intelligence makes your Glaives a powerful punch. Regarding these benifits, it is safe to say enemies will die after the 'Hex' effect runs out. Early Game: Table of Contents (I would much prefer a 'Table of Contents' at the start of the guide) NOTE: This guide requisites a lot of reading, although I tried to be concise as possible. Please respect this, and I would really much appreciate it, if you examine my guide carefully before posting a constructive criticism. Also note this hero can only be used to his full potential if the player is advanced. Early Game Strategy -Positives and Negatives -Item Choice - Early game Walkthrough: Lane Pick Last hitting/Lane Controlling -Early Game Objectives Mid Game Strategy -Overview -Recommended Items/Explanation -Mid Game Objectives Late Game Strategy -Overview -Possible Items -Gameplay Ideas -Recommended Guides to Have a Look At Early Game Strategy Positives and Negatives Now let us examine Silencer's strong points and weak points: Positives: He is a great farmer, harasser, and a great carry He has a high range with a good DPS Regarded as one of the most powerful heroes in a solo lane (in Leagues, Scrims, Wars and such) A lot of sexy silencing Negatives: Is unable to disable against a hero with fast -ms He is rather fragile Rather item dependent for full potential He requires a lot of practice Item Choice Okay, now let us begin. There are mainly two types of modes for a DotA game. Either an 'em' game or a non 'em' game. Let us examine the differences; 'em' games or Easy Mode games, are games that are very flexible. Yes flexible, one does not require much skill to farm. Mainly beginners play this mode, or simply to enjoy a crazy game. In 'em' games you receive a substantial amount of gold for doing nothing. Yes, nothing, you may auto attack much as you like and make a large income. 'em' games are enjoyable and fun, if you choose a late hero, e.g. a Naix, as you can benifit a lot from the large income. The non 'em' games, i.e. -rd,- xl,- lm,- ap, -ar, normal mode, etc... ... are less flexible, and one must often play more smartly. In non 'em' games you should try to find a foundation of last hitting, which will be discussed later on. Most leagues, Clan Wars are played as non 'em' 5 v 5 games, where standard rules apply. Silencer benifits much more from non 'em' games, due to it allowing him to be used proficiently. But, I respect both modes. DotA is simply a game for enjoyment, and one must not be prejudiced against 'em' players. So, I leave it to your decision, you may either play 'em' games or the standard non 'em' games. We have clearly differentiated the two main types of modes, so we now know the which items are preferable. In an 'em' game you will be able to purchase a Ring of Regeneration, 2x Ironwood Branches, and a Tango. If in the case you have got Silencer by random, who may have enough gold to substitute the Branches for Circlets, and you may be able to add in a extra Tango. It is up to your decision, but I do recommend you purchase from this list; tango, branches, RoR, circlets, mantles. Now in an non 'em' game, I do recommend you either purchase a Ring of Regerneration, and two Ironwood Branches, or 2 pairs of Tangos, 2 Ironwood Branches, and a Circlet of Nobility. OR Now, the Ring of Regeneration is recommended as it provides lane controlling benifits. It simply enables you to stay in your lane longer. The next items that you will want to purchase are: 2x Null Talismans, Boots of Speed, Hand of Midas (Optional), Headdress of Rejuvenation, Netherezim Buckler, and preferably if you have farmed enough, a Mekansm. I also recommend you purchase a Town Portal, but no more than two, as your job is to farm and control your lane to your fullest extent. Feel free to use Mekansm when you have lost 300 HP or more, as you have a large mana pool. Lane Pick Now, I find the correct lane quite important. If in the case of an 'em' game, the probability of receiving mid solo is very low, as most public players do not understand the Silencer carry concept. So, I believe in an 'em' game any lane works fine, but if you are very confident in your last hitting and lane control, do try and receive a solo lane. In an non 'em' game, you must obtain mid solo, unless you aren't very good with your last hitting and lane control, but despite the flamers, it is a great opportunity if you can obtain the mid solo lane. If you are a capable player, the mid solo is near compulsory. Remember for both modes, it is quite wise to creep block, in doing so you are able to receive altitude advantage and last hitting advantage. Yes altitude advantage, if you are on a higher terrain, whilst the opponent is on the lower terrain, you receive a large 25% Evasion. This is an extremely dominant advantage. Last Hitting/Lane Controlling Last hitting/Lane controlling is one of the most important skills to acquire in DotA. Simply because it allows you to gain the creep kills, and as it allows you to deny your opponent. Orb walking also goes under this section, as it is a part of last hitting and lane controlling. Last hitting and orb walking helps you avoid chances of creep aggro, remember to launch multiple number of Glaives, although at the start the damage is laughable, but this accumulates and become a pretty powerful punch at the enemy, especially at levels 5 and 7. Last Hitting: To last hit, place your thumb on the 'alt' key. This would show the health bar of creeps and heroes. Move around the creeps, or smartly move in and out of the fog (so you may not be harassed), when a creep is lowered to red life, use the hotkey 'A' to deny a creep, or use the hotkey 'W' to last hit the opponents creep. The reason for the 'W' hotkey is explained above, beside the skill explanation. By successfully last hitting, you are farming gold, and you are also slowing the level process and gold gain of the opponent. Lane Controlling: This includes tower hugging, and more. If you would like to learn more about Last Hitting/Lane Controlling, I really recommend having a look at Genosis' Guide to Lane Controlling at www.dota-allstars.com, or simply copy paste this link; http://forums.dota-allstars.com/index.php?showtopic=123945 Early Game Objectives: During the early game, your job is to simply farm for the future benifit as a carry hero. As soon as you turn level 7, you will play more aggressively, and animation cancel (see link above to learn about animation canceling). You will be able throw quite a powerful punch at level 7. Also, I have forgotten to mention, your teammates should get a chicken, so you can purchase your items without having to move back to the fountain, resulting in a loss in experience points and farming opportunities. Silencer can kill heroes with ease, if orb walking is used. Even heroes near the tower can be killed, but ensure the enemy tower is attacking the creeps, as long as you orb walk the tower will not aim you. By orb walking, you use the hotkey 'w' and use Glaives manually whilst moving fowards, i.e. you Gliave once or tiwce and move fowards and Glaive again, then move onwards, and you carry on this process to harass or to kill. Manual Glaives makes the tower ignore you! In any case you are able to farm a Mekansm quickly, feel free to use it when you have lost 300 HP or so. Your mana is pretty much limitless, due to you not using/spamming Curse. You are also hard to kill once you activate Mekansm, so use it when you are ganked or have lost HP. Furthermore, you should have these following items in your inventory at the end of the early game. (초반) or a You may get a Hand of Midas if you want, as the IAS is a great benifit, and the transmute aids a lot into the farming, and since you have a large mana pool you wouldn't lose much mana constantly transmuting. Now, let us proceed to the Mid Game Strategy. Mid Game: Mid Game Strategy Overview If you have been soloing well, you can assume the role as a team leader. Make sure you still farm well. To farm sufficiently, purchase a Town Portal and travel to a lane with a large number of creeps. Remember to last hit well, so you can farm the most gold you can. You should aim to buy a Eul's Sceptre of Divinity now. You will firstly purchase a Void Stone, then a Staff of Wizardry, then a Robe of Magi then the recipe paper. After you grab a Void Stone, you then have the luxury to leave Glaives of Wisdom on auto cast, but remember when it is in auto cast you are still complied to last hit/orb walk, so mana is not wasted whilst auto attacking. In doing so, you now can use the hotkey 'A' rather than 'W' to use Glaives of Wisdom. Thereby I assume when you have a Void Stone or a Eul's Sceptre of Divinity, you will not be auto hitting. Your Eul's Sceptre of Divinity is your escape device. You can use it to escape, save allies, gank and chase fast move speed enemies. Recommended Items As mentioned before you want to grab a Eul's Sceptre of Divinity, and possibly if you have farmed enough, a Guinsoo's Scythe of Vyse, which will increase your damage input enormously. But considering the Eul's Sceptre of Divinity is really enough during mid game, you should get a Boots of Travel before completing to a Guinsoo's Scythe of Vyse. Treads are bad, note that Silencer's move speed was nerfed. I have mentioned why Boots of Travel is important above, and since you are orb walking Boots of Travel is compulsory. In mid game item conclusion, your inventory will relatively look like this; to a or if you have farmed enough Mid Game Objectives Once you have your Mekansm and Eul's Sceptre of Divinity you can consider pushing, as it is now safe and effective. Whilst pushing, tell your allies beforehand that you will ensure their safety with Global Silence. You hold a very important responsibility; healing your allies, cycloning the correct hero in the correct time, and using your ultimate in the right time. You may also want to stay relatively close to the main battle, so the aura Last Word will trigger. You will also be Glaiving the enemies, tearing them into pieces with your now, high DPS. If the opposition recognize you as a big threat, you may become their primary target, and also note that you are still fragile, so you are to stay relatively close to your allies (not in the front line where you will get nuked) to heal, support while dealing massive amount of damage. You may also want to try and end the game, as it is hard for the oppenent to defend against your pushes. Late Game: Late Game Strategy Overview If the game has not ended, the following circumstances may come true; -if it is an 'em' game, you may not be effective against a tanky chaser such as Naix and Sven -if it is an 'em' game, your probably would have been able to farm up to a Guinsoo's Scythe of Vyse, and therefore when you engage in a 1 v 1 combat and hex your enemy, they will die before they come out of Hex. Or, you may engage a 5 v 5 combat, where you are the superior supporter, disabler and DPSer. -if it is a non 'em' game, you probably be the highest level hero or preferably the second highest leveled hero from all the farming from the early and mid game. You now want to farm for your survivability item and your damage increasing item. Late games are very unpredictable, so you may not want to enter this stage, and therefore after reading this, you may decide to end games before you hit the late game. If you are playing with players who are underdeveloped in the concept of DotA, they may push by themselves and only aim for kills. If this is the case, you cannot be prejudiced against him/her, but play in their style, by rambo pushing. You want to cooperate with your allies, and therefore you will try to ameliorate your teamwork. I mention this now, as a good team would have finished the game in the mid game. Let us proceed to the possible items you may want to obtain. Possible Items Firstly, I would like to mention, as far as I am concerned there is no correct item build for a Public game. There are correct item builds in competitive games, and these are from League Matches, Clan Wars, Scrims, and inhouses. I have carefully examined the items professionals tend to go, so furthermore I would like to say, do not criticize my item build, as I am merely following those of a pro. We have discussed what items you should have in the Mid Game Section. If you already have not got a Boots of Travel, please purchase one as soon as possible. Also complete your Eul's Sceptre of Divinity into a Guinsoo's Scythe of Vyse, if you have not already. The items you now want are; Heart of Tarrasque The Butterfly and your 6th item should be chosen from: Linkens Sphere, Necromicon, Kelen's Dagger of Escape, Buriza-do Kyanon, Monkey King Bard, or if you are really desperate for a larger DPS that Armour cannot reduce, another Guinsoo's Scythe of Vyse. Here is what you should have, if it is possible to get all six items; Gameplay Ideas -Make sure you farm very well during the early and mid game -While playing Silencer, consider that you are rather fragile, but you are still a very powerful 1 v 1 killing machine -You must support your allies during escapes, pushes, ganks etc... ... -If pushing as a team does not prevail, push separate lanes and use your Global Silence to your avail. In other words, since your ultimate is a global spell, it is as if you were still there providing support for your allies. -Make sure you use your ultimate to ensure your allies safety -Late games are very unpredictable, so ensure your towers and barracks are alive and well, because in the end they are the most important factors of the game. -If you want to become a better play, examine replays of professionals playing and move onto playing non 'em' games. Learn to last hit/orb walk etc... ... Recommended Guides to Have a Look At I really recommend everyone to have a look at Genosis' Guide to Lane Control: http://forums.dota-allstars.com/index.php?showtopic=123945 I also recommend you to have a look at the media section providing you laughter and enjoyment, and the competitive section for those who want to play more seriously in; www.dota-allstars.com For the greatest replays, I really recommend this website www.meetyourmakers.com & www.wcreplays.com (trying searching MYM Prime Nations #1) As these websites provide replays of excellent skill and proficient players who excel in DotA You may also want to have a look at an example of a pro on youtube, by searching MYM]Merlini on www.youtube.com Remember, there is a big difference between Public Games and more Competitive Games. Simply, Public Games are easy to own in, whilst Competitive Games require more examination in the circumstances, where teamwork is immensely important. Conclusion: To conclude, Silencer is an extremely powerful carry. He has very supportive disables and can provide massive damage input. (The reason getting a Mekansm is self explanatory, just like to mention it now, as many will question this item). Warning to Readers: Silencer is not a newb-friendly hero, and may require a lot of practice before you can start owning with him. Do not blame my guide if you end up feeding, as this hero can only be powerful if used correctly with great lane control and Micro. I warn you now, if you aren't very good, this may require a lot practice, and a lot studying in Lane Control. The Comments: Hello, I do not mind constructive criticism, but I do not want to hear your item build. For example: "I get a Hyperstone and that and that, and that ends me up with 10 kills..." "My item build for Silencer is this and that this and that" "I get curse of the silent cause it sucks" "OMG what's wrong with your build? I get 5 rapiers and own" Anyone who posts something like these will be ignored. I do not want to hear any of those nonsense, but I do appreciate constructive criticism, as it creates discussion, and by discussion and mistakes we can all learn. Both 'em' and non 'em' players can and will always enjoy DotA. Thank you for reading my guide. (If you would like to learn how to create a Line-up for competitive DotA, research the heroes used by professionals in Warcraft III websites such as www.meetyourmakers.com)

Favourite DOTA Strategy - Dirge Undying

2007-12-26T21:12:00.000-08:00

Dirge - Undying

Raise Dead (D)
Calls the Undying's fellow zombies out of the earth to fight. Once a zombie attacks six times, another one will rise alongside it. When a zombie dies, its reanimating life force returns to Dirge, healing him by 50 hp. Lasts 30 seconds.
Level 1 - 1 Zombie
Level 2 - 2 Zombies
Level 3 - 3 Zombies
Level 4 - 4 Zombies
Mana Cost: 100/120/140/160
Cooldown: 30
Comment: This skill is multi-purpose, with this you can farm (really well), attack in combination with Soul Rip, and harass your enemy, also lets you stay in the lane for a very long time.

Soul Rip (R)
Redirects the flow of living energy through a target friend or foe, damaging them or healing them depending on how many unites are near it.
Level 1 - 5 max
Level 2 - 10 max
Level 3 - 15 max
Level 4 - 20 max
Mana Cost: 50/75/100/125
Cooldown: 30
Comment: Two ways to use this skill, first to attack an enemy when there are lots of creeps near him and second to heal an ally or yourself.

Heartstopper Aura (T)
The Dirge's deathly air stills the hearts of his opponents, causing them to lose 1% of their max health over time.
Level 1 - 250 AoE
Level 2 - 500 AoE
Level 3 - 750 AoE
Level 4 - 1000 AoE
Mana Cost:
Cooldown:
Comment: With this skill heroes will stay away from you, I max this out so soon to harass them without any effort and make them go back to fountain eventually.

Plague (E)
Infects the target with a plague. Reduces movement speed by 30% and amplifies incoming damage. Infects other units that come within range of a plagued unit.
Level 1 - 25% Extra Damage
Level 2 - 30% Extra Damage
Level 3 - 35% Extra Damage
Mana Cost: 100/125/150
Cooldown: 45
Comment: Great for ganking heroes, the slow and the extra damage will destroy your enemies, the low cooldown makes it even better.

Skill Build:

1. Raise Dead
2. Heartstopper Aura
3. Heartstopper Aura
4. Raise Dead
5. Heartstopper Aura
6. Plague
7. Heartstopper Aura
8. Soul Rip
9. Raise Dead
10. Raise Dead
11. Plague
12. Soul Rip
13. Soul Rip
14. Soul Rip
15. Stats
16. Plague
17. Stats
18. Stats
19. Stats
20. Stats
21. Stats
22. Stats
23. Stats
24. Stats
25. Stats

Item Build:

1.
Sobi Mask (325)
+50% Mana Regeneration.
More mana regen.
2.
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
With this and Sobi Mask you have enough mana regen for the entire game.
3.
Radiance (5325)
+8% Chance to Evade
+70 Damage
Passive: Immolation
400 Radius
35 Damage/sec Immolation
Sacred Relic + Radiance Recipe Scroll
I’m not crazy, you can farm this in about 20 minutes and it will make you deadly, great damage and stacks with your aura.
4.
Boots of Travel (2700)
+90 Run Speed
Active: Teleport
60 Second Cooldown 3 Second Cast Time
Boots of Speed + Boots of Travel Recipe Scroll
Lets you teleport across the map and helps in chases.
5.
Eye of Skadi (7050)
+200 Hit Points, +150 Mana
+25 to All Attributes
Passive: Frost Attack
-20% Attack Speed
-30% Run Speed
2 Second Duration for ranged heroes, 3 seconds for melee heroes
Melee Eye of Skadi is an orb effect, and does not stack with orb effects; Ranged Eye of Skadi is NOT an orb effect, and stacks with some orb effects.
Ultimate Orb + Ultimate Orb + Point Booster + Eye of Skadi Recipe Scroll
Plague + Radiance + bot + Skadi you will chase and kill a lot. Also gives more HP and mana.
6.
Hyperstone (2100)
55% increased attack speed
Very hard to come this far, but this makes you attack at a decent speed, fell free to upgrade do Assault Cuirass.

Early Game:

Welcome to my Dirge guide, this is my first guide in dota strategy (has someone heard this already?) so go easy on me.

Dirge is a hero that doesn't appear to have any chance in battle, in the games I play my enemies always underestimate me and end up dying, I will try to show you how to use Dirge to his maximum potential.

Skill Build:

All Dirge skills have great synergy with the others, Raise Dead helps you stay in the lane a long time and improves the use of Soul Rip, Heartstopper Aura makes your enemy suffer while you are healed from your zombies and keep a distance from the enemy, and Plague increases your damage, damage of your zombies and the Soul Rip damage as well as your allies damage, does it sound good enough for you? The skill build focuses on farming and harassing your enemy, for this reason I focus on Heartstopper Aura first, only two levels of Raise Dead is enough in the early game, otherwise you will push the first tower too soon and you won't farm enough, as well as increasing the chance of ganks against you, plague is always good for ganking and trying to get a kill, and Soul Rip helps in finishing heroes.

Item Build:

Early game the build focuses on making sure your enemies don't get too close to you and staying in the lane, as I will teach you in about 20 minutes you can farm radiance and start farming even more, you will also gain the ability to chase enemies, with boots of travel you can stop any creep wave with Raise dead and Radiance as well as help in ganks, with Skadi you will have lots of intelligence and strength and a second slow to combine with plague, with this more ganks. Note that after these items and your high level you will have a lot of damage, be able to tank, and with Dirge's great intelligence gain, you can fight well, so the only thing you do not have is attack speed, with Hyperstone you solve this issue, and you're ready to fight.

Early Game:

Early game your priority is to farm as much as you can and harass your enemy without any effort as I will demonstrate, first thing to do is buy a Sobi mask, if you have more gold buy another, that’s enough mana regeneration for the entire game unless you spam spells all the time. Ideally you should solo for more farming, but your team probably won’t let you do it because Dirge is a "weak hero", the best lanes for you are bot for the Sentinel and top for the Scourge because your enemies will use their tower less to defend letting you farm more, the mid lane is good for harassing with Heartstopper Aura but you will lack in farming. With a lane partner you can heal with Soul Rip and get some kills with plague, consider this, 20-30% extra damage, as if magic attacks didn’t have any reduction, the dream of all nukers comes true, so if you lane with someone, lane with a nuker.

Lane Situations:

VS 1 Melee

The perfect situation, unless your enemy is carrying a lot of healing items he will die or go back to the fountain, the first thing to do is try to always keep him in Heartstopper Aura's range so he will suffer loss of HP, consider that it’s 1% per second, if you stay in the lane 5 minutes it will be 300 seconds that can kill 3 times, and it doesn’t matter if it’s a Centaur or a Sniper the pain will be the same. Remember to use your Zombies so the enemy will not try to go after you because you have bodyguards.

Vs 2 Melee

You should proceed the same way as above but be more careful, try to have the two enemies in your aura, don’t be too aggressive if they have some nukes like storm bolt.

Vs 1 Ranged

Here you need to wait for higher levels of Heartstopper Aura before you start harassing your enemy, your farming still works, but be aware of heavy nukers and use Raise Dead to heal yourself, if you are under heavy bombardment use your zombies to harass him.

Vs 2 Ranged

You’re in trouble here, if no one wants a lane change, or no one comes to help you, stay behind your creeps and only farm, use the aura only at level 3 or 4 with caution.

Vs 1 Ranged and 1 Melee

A mix of strategies, harass the melee and be aware of the ranged hero, be defensive because of the nukes and farm.

Now you may be asking "wtf" how will I farm in all these situations and be able to afford Radiance??? So here we go:

Farming:

Farming with Dirge is easy and can be done in most situations, first use Raise Dead and summon a zombie and order him to attack a creep if he doesn’t go automatically, done!

What????? Yes, your zombies will attack all the creeps they see and will kill them most of the time, also they will multiply themselves giving even more last hits for you and more gold, the most important thing is DO NOT ATTACK THE CREEPS so that your zombies can multiply and give you even more gold and heal you, here is a sequence of farming a wave of creeps:

Here I see a wave coming so I decided to summon my Zombies.

Hey they kill the two creeps while I was far from them; no magic trick is used here.

Hey they kill the third creep, am I with luck? NO, this happens most of the times.

As you can see farming is really easy, when you have Raise Dead lv 4 you can kill neutrals, stronger neutrals (dragons, golems) and get even more gold.

Harassing:

As I mentioned in lane situations you can farm without any effort, all you have to do is keep the enemy in Heartstopper Aura and everything should be fine, keep an eye on the foot of enemy hero and see if they are affected by the aura.

Here I was harassing Leviathan, look at his HP is half and I’m not very close to him.

His HP became really low and he is trying to face the creeps.

The big Guy goes to the bag and I didn’t even move a finger.

Killing:

Dirge isn’t able to kill lots of heroes, his function is to help the team to get lots of kills with Plague and Radiance, also he can push really well using Raise dead, but getting kills is possible, just harass your enemy with Heartstopper Aura, when his HP is low Raise Dead and Plague, then start to attack and get the kill.

Here Tiny is with low HP because I was harassing him, so I decided to try for a kill and plagued him.

Hey don’t run, I’m not even alive.

The poor Giant died due to my aura.

Pushing:

DO NOT PUSH! Simple isn’t it?

When the first tower of your lane goes down the early game is over, you should have something like this in your inventory:

Or maybe even radiance or 3000 gold, if not, farm fast!

Mid Game:

Now your team will start to love you, try to always be in the ganks to plague the other heroes, at this time you should have at least sacred relic or radiance, if you have radiance the enemies will die without you even touching them.

Remember to continue farming, now the best option is the lv 6 neutral creep, always keep an eye on the map to go where they are, when not ganking, farm or counter push, you can push as well but be careful, the enemies will now try to kill you because they have realized that you are a stone in their path, so try to stay with your allies when in dangerous positions on the map.

Here you will farm boots of travel, with this you can help your team in most of the cases and easily chase the enemies that are plagued.

Farming:

Go for neutrals, the counter push is a good option too, the way to do it still works as told in early game, but now you should attack if the creeps are too many or too strong.

Killing:

Try to gank, if someone in your team has a slow it will be great to combine with Plague, remember to ONLY ATTACK AN ENEMY HERO AFTER USING PLAGUE, and better yet, with an ally, otherwise he will fight you and probably win.

Here the poor Leviathan is running from a bad push, I already plagued him and my ally is with me.

Easy kill with an ally near me.

Pushing:

You can now start pushing, use Raise Dead and order the zombies to attack the enemy creeps so they will multiply and can push the tower faster, remember to not attack the creeps and ask your allies to do the same, when you have enough zombies push the tower, you will probably earn the gold from the tower kill.

At the end of the mid game you should have these items:

Late Game:

In late game you should farm less and push more, if you helped your team well, at this stage the enemies don’t have a chance. Your function here is to push and counter push, with travel you can take the responsibility of defending the base, in most of the games you won’t be completing Skadi because you team will have won before that.

Your final inventory should be something like this:

If the battle extends a lot:

Itens to consider:

With this and plague you can do 400 damage and some more if plague is at lv 3, the problem is that it’s not cheap and it doesn’t give a lot of stats.

Zombies with more armor and life steal have a better chance to multiply, also helps your team, think of it if you wish a more defensive play.

More HP and mana regen, with this you can stay longer in the lane.

Damage and a good disable, if no one in the team gets it, it’s a good alternative.

Upgrade from Hyper Stone if you have time.

With this you have even more ways to heal, also helps your team.

Good for pushing, the bonuses are also great.

Good alies:

Heroes with a Slow help a lot as well as stunners.

Guys that can chase well are good allies too.

Nukers + Plague deals the true damage of the spells.

Everybody’s good allies also help you.

Conclusion:

Final considerations:

Dirge isn’t a fun hero to play theoretically, but when the enemies run from the lane it gets fun, help your team as much as you can and own if possible.

Special Thanks:

To Goku, he saved the world lots of times.
The guys that created and maintain dota.
My family because in everything you do you must thank them even if you hate them (not my case).
thiagota for correcting my English errors, my English really sucks.
Everybody that will rate well this guide (low rates no thanks!).

Favourite DOTA Strategy - Necrolyte

2007-12-26T21:03:00.000-08:00

	Rotund`jere - The Necrolyte Range: 600 \| Move Speed: 300 Primary: INT Str: 16 + 2 \| Agi: 15 + 1.7 \| Int: 22 + 2.5 Damage: 44 – 48 \| HP: 454 \| Mana: 286 HP Regen: 0.73 \| Mana Regen: 0.89 Attack Speed: 1.44 \| Armor: 0
	Death Pulse (D) The Necrolyte releases a wave of death from the core of his being, dealing damage to enemies and healing allies. Level 1 - 75 damage/50 heal. Level 2 - 125 damage/75 heal. Level 3 - 200 damage/100 heal. Level 4 - 275 damage/130 heal. Mana Cost: 125/ 145/ 165/ 185 Cooldown: 5 Comment: Your main skill. This skill is backed up by Sadist, which will basically regenerate your mana for you so you can spam this. This is how you farm, push, kill, and save your teammates. The range is sort of small though - 450.
	Sadist (I) Reveling in death and pain, the Necrolyte gains mana back for killing units. Level 1 - 12 mana per unit. Level 2 - 24 mana per unit. Level 3 - 36 mana per unit. Level 4 - 48 mana per unit. Mana Cost: N/A Cooldown: N/A Comment: This prevents lots of trips back to the fountain. Keep death pulsing when you're low on health, and kill the creeps. Not only will your mana stay around the same, but your health will increase.
	Diffusion Aura () A 300 range aura that makes the willpower and might of an enemy leak out in the presence of the Rotund'jere. Level 1 - 9% reduction. Level 2 - 18% reduction. Level 3 - 27% reduction. Level 4 - 36% reduction. Mana Cost: N/A Cooldown: N/A Comment: Without this, Necrolyte would be dominated after Early Game.
	Reaper`s Scythe (R) Brings a target to full realization of its own mortality, dealing damage based on how much life the target is missing. Stuns for 1.5 seconds. Level 1 - .4 damage per life missing. Level 2 - .6 damage per life missing. Level 3 - .9 damage per life missing. Level 4 - (with Scepter) - 1.1 damage per life missing. Mana Cost: 200/ 340/ 500/ 500 Cooldown: 80 Comment: The craziest ult in the world. You can basically make every hero run away from you because of this. Of course, you have to take into account armor reduction. Skill Build: 1. Death Pulse 2. Sadist 3. Death Pulse 4. Sadist 5. Death Pulse 6. Reaper`s Scythe 7. Sadist 8. Death Pulse 9. Sadist 10. Diffusion Aura 11. Reaper`s Scythe 12. Diffusion Aura 13. Diffusion Aura 14. Diffusion Aura 15. Stats 16. Reaper`s Scythe 17. Stats 18. Stats 19. Stats 20. Stats 21. Stats 22. Stats 23. Stats 24. Stats 25. Stats Item Build: 1. Boots of Travel (2700) +90 Run Speed Active: Teleport 60 Second Cooldown 3 Second Cast Time Boots of Speed + Boots of Travel Recipe Scroll 2. Null Talisman (485) +3 to All Attributes +3 Intelligence Mantle of Intelligence + Circlet of Nobility + Null Talisman Recipe Scroll For early game mana. 3. Null Talisman (485) +3 to All Attributes +3 Intelligence Mantle of Intelligence + Circlet of Nobility + Null Talisman Recipe Scroll For early game mana. 4. Radiance (5325) +8% Chance to Evade +70 Damage Passive: Immolation 400 Radius 35 Damage/sec Immolation Sacred Relic + Radiance Recipe Scroll The ultimate farming item. Combined with Death Pulse, you'll basically get all the creeps. 5. Vanguard (2275) +4 HP regen/second +250 Hit Points 65% to block 35 damage Ring of Health + Vitality Booster + Stout Shield Add this with Diffusion Aura, and you're basically a tank. Awesome for getting money; just tank creep waves and Death pulse. 6. Orchid Malevolence (5825) +25 Intelligence 40% increased aspd +35 damage +150% mana regen Soul Burn (active) Mystic Staff + Oblivion Staff + Orchid Malevolence This will prevent people from disabling you, making sure that you can take advantage of all your skills. Near the end, you might need some mana items for Dagon and Ultimate. 7. Dagon (3000) +9 Damage +3 to All Attributes +12 Intelligence Activate: Energy Burst 400 Damage to Single Target 600 Range 40 Second Cooldown 245 Mana Cost Upgrade with Dagon Recipe +100 damage per upgrade (800 damage max.) +20 mana cost per upgrade (325 mana max.) Blades of Attack + Staff of Wizardry + Dagon Recipe Scroll Early Game: LEVELS 1 - 11 ITEMS TO START OFF WITH: One Circlets of Nobility (For Health) One Tango One Clarity Potions One Mantle of Intelligence One Stout Shield LANE TO CHOOSE: I'd suggest you to either solo or lane near the secret shops with someone. With Necrolyte, you'll find that you don't have to go back to fountain much, so it'd be nice to waste as little time as possible to shop. LANES WITH SECRET SHOP: Sentinel TOP lane Scourge BOT lane HOW TO PLAY NECROLYTE: It'd be nice to lane with a nuker, so when you get to level 6, it's easy to unleash everything on him at once and leave him in a stupor. However, supposing that you followed my advice to choose a lane near the secret shops, you'll find that the towers are MUCH closer to your base than where you'll be fighting, as compared to other lanes. What you want to do is BLOCK the creeps when they first spawn. To do this, walk in front of them, and occasionally press h to control how far they move. The better you are at doing this, the bigger the chance that your tower will be able to provide protection for you and make your game easier. To maintain your tower advantage, do NOT auto-attack (meaning constantly attacking), but walk around and LAST HIT the creeps. Once you start battling, remember to LAST HIT AND DENY. With skills like Sadist, you can't afford to not get as many creep kills as possible. If your opponent is skilled, he will attempt to deny your creep kills. For this reason, you will stay very close to your creeps (almost as if you were a melee hero) and get creep kills. When you see your opponent coming to deny a creep, use DEATH PULSE, dealing damage to him while possibly getting the creep kill. Do not be afraid to spam death pulse for creep kills. Because your base damage is not too high, and your projectiles are EXTREMELY slow, you should use it often. You'll get mana back from Sadist anyway. To get the maximum gold and mana from each creep wave you decide to death pulse, do NOT attack the melee creep all your melee creeps are attacking. Rather, attack either melee creep that are not taking any damage. That way, when the melee creep that is being attacked is at low health, you can death pulse, taking both the weak melee creep and the melee creep you were attacking as well. The range creep will take considerable damage, so take that one out too. WHEN DO I USE MY ULTIMATE?: His ultimate deals 0.4 damage for every health the enemy is missing. This is approximately 1/4 of the enemy's health. That is INSANE! In beginning game, heroes tend to stay in their lanes for maximum levels and gold. For this reason, it'll be too easy to get a kill at level 6. Just ask your lane partner to let loose everything he has, and ult. You're bound to get the kill. At this rate, I expect you to be able to farm up one boots of speed and Sacred Relic. Mid Game: LEVELS 11-16 This is where you shine. GET THESE ITEMS IN ORDER: Finish 2 null talismans. Finish Radiance. Finish Vanguard. Farm for Boots of Travel. HOW DO I FARM THESE ITEMS? YOU'RE CRAZY!: No I'm not. Right after you get the radiance, you'll realize that you can farm insanely quick. By pushing alone (without creeps), you'll realize you can start to tank them because of Diffusion Aura, and if you happen to take too much damage, just use Death Pulse. Since you will basically kill every creep, you'll get 48 x 4 = 192 mana back, which is more than enough to spam it every creep wave. By now, lots of ganking will occur anyway. You'll probably be the finishing touch of every gank, and you'll have to use your ult to get every hero that is running away. CAUTION: DO NOT ABUSE YOUR ULT. If everyone is attacking one person, and he is being disabled one after the another, do NOT waste your mana/cooldown. Use your Death Pulse instead to try to take the kill. You'll find that your money will be piling up like crazy. You'll probably farm up Boots of Travel before level 16. USING HIS ULT MID GAME: I know I didn't mention this before, but every hero has armor that'll basically reduce some of the magic damage your ult does. In the beginning, if a nuke does 300, it'll probably do 290. However, in the end, that 300 will get chopped down a lot more. Realize that although your ultimate is starting to do more damage, you shouldn't overestimate it. Continue using it for when the enemy is at 1/4 health until you reach level 16, where you can be a little more aggressive. ARE YOU STUPID? WHY WOULD YOU GET VANGUARD: You basically have very low strength gain. Your max life is around 1600 (I forget), but whatever it is, it makes you very vulnerable. HoT costs too much and even for Necrolyte is very hard to farm for at this point. You get decent HP regen from Vanguard and you'll be able to tank creeps. HINT: Don't waste your time Neutral Creeping. You get much less gold and experience if you kill a bunch of neutrals instead of tanking a creep wave. You'll probably lose more life too. Late Game: LEVELS 16-25 At this point your game will be very much similar to mid game. You'll focus on killing creep wave after creep wave, and there'll be no doubt that you can get: DAGON ORCHID IT'S TOO LATE FOR DAGON 5 NUB! Considering how fast you farm, Dagon 5 will come very quickly. You'll start thinking about it and have doubts, but you'll get it in a couple of minutes. Dagon 5 might be a bit too much, so you might consider Dagon 3 instead. After you farm up Orchid, don't be afraid to push too far. Just keep going, and if someone comes up to you that you're not sure you can handle (Anti-Mage), just silence him and TP out. If worst comes to worst and a whole group of heroes are hunting you down, silence the one that can disable you and run to your teammates while Death Pulsing. DAGON will enable you to do a LOT of things, like kill enemies that are at 60% health. It'll definitely make people think twice about having 1v1s with you. Don't waste your time chasing heroes though; you have no disables or slows, so you probably won't catch up with them. OPTIONAL ITEMS These items will increase survivability and basically transform you into a hero killer, but I chose these items mostly so you can run away. You have no skills that disable and slow, and your HP is rather low. Even if you have Diffusion Aura and Armor, you still need something extra. DON'T GET THESE STUPID NOOB ITEMS THEE ARE WASTES OF MONEY. EoS is way too much to farm up, and what are you going to do with the slow if your damage sucks anyway? Refresher is terrible because he doesn't have enough successive mana to pull his ult off twice, and you woldn't need a mana item in the first place (guinsoos). Aghanims adds so little to your ult. Conclusion: I'm just going to re-emphasize how GODLY this guy is. Your final build should be: BoT Radiance Vanguard Dagon Orchid Shiva Armor (Optional but favorite item) HAVE FUN! ~Kaoculus

DOTA Strategy 2008 Collection

Basic DoTA Strategy

Favourite DOTA Strategy - Stone Giant Tiny Strategy

Tiny - The Stone Giant

Skill Build:

Item Build:

Early Game:

GAME START:

LANE SCENARIOS:

FARMING:

PUSHING:

KILLING:

FLEEING:

PURCHASES:

INVENTORY:

ZOOM-IN:

Mid Game:

FARMING:

PUSHING:

KILLING:

TEAMWORK:

FLEEING:

PURCHASES:

INVENTORY:

or

ZOOM-IN:

Late Game:

FARMING:

PUSHING:

KILLING:

TEAMWORK:

FLEEING:

PURCHASES:

INVENTORY:

ZOOM-IN:

Conclusion:

TEAM PLAY:

CAUTION!:

REMINDERS:

THINGS TO CONSIDER:

CREDITS:

LAST WORDS:

Favourite DOTA Strategy - Lanaya Strategy

Lanaya - Templar Assassin

Skill Build:

Item Build:

Early Game:

Mid Game:

Late Game:

Conclusion:

Favourite DOTA Strategy - Huskar Strategy

Huskar - Sacred Warrior

Skill Build:

Item Build:

Early Game:

Mid Game:

Late Game:

Conclusion:

Favourite DOTA Strategy - Storm Spirit Strategy

Raijin Thunderkeg - Storm Spirit

Skill Build:

Item Build:

Early Game:

Mid Game:

Late Game:

I WONDER IF THE GAME HAVE COME THIS FAR...

1.Critical Damage Dealer :

2.Permanent Basher: (aka Forever Hypnosis)

*SOLUTION 1: Banish forever !

*SOLUTION 2: Deadly Reflection

ULTIMATE ITEM SET :

BUILD 1 : ALL-AROUND with HoT and The Butterfly

***************************************************************************

BUILD 2 : CRAZY TANKER with HoT and Assault Cuirass

***************************************************************************

BUILD 3 : IMPENETRABLE with The Butterfly and Assault Cuirass

***************************************************************************

BUILD 4 : BRUTAL MURDER with Buriza-do Kyanon and Monkey King Bar

Conclusion:

ITEMS WHICH ARE BAD TO GET & SITUATIONAL ITEMS :

Sorry If my English was bad because I'm Vietnamese ^_^

**END For Casual Guide's Section*