DOTA All Stars Guide

BLAOW's guide to Lane Control

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Astute) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 09:59:00 +0000

BLAOW's guide to Lane Control
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Preface: This is a guide to early game lane dominance. I assume the reader has a basic knowledge of DotA and can refer to other sources to look up heroes/items/abilities. If I use an abbreviation or term you do not understand please refer to Malle's excellent DotA game commands and common abbreviations list. I will be focusing on non em since lane control in em is less important, although I will try to point out some points for em as well. If you disagree or have something to add please post and back up your points with a valid argument, I'll try to include other's view points with credit if they are good even if they disagree with me. Sometimes there is more than one right way, or different things work in different situations. Please post your comments, opinions, and disagreements, constructive criticism is welcome! Anyway, on to the guide.
What will I learn from this guide?
This guide is an effort to comprehensively cover every aspect of lane control and early game strategies within reason. If you are unfamiliar with the concept of lane control I suggest you read all of it. However more advanced readers will certainly be familiar with some or many of the ideas covered so if you belong to that group feel free to skip sections. If you wish to explore a certain aspect of lane control use the table of contents - hit ctrl-f and type in the section you wish to go to.

Brief Table of Contents

What is Lane Control?

Your Hero

How to Build a Lane Controller

Choosing your Lane Control Style

Harassing

Map Awareness and Ganks

Creeps and Towers

In-Depth Scenarios

Secret Paths and Juking

Replays and Other Reading Material

What is Lane Control?

I'll define lane control as keeping your opponent away from the creeps while you last hit and deny. Please note that autoattacking is almost always a bad choice unless you need to push up quickly. You should either focus on last hitting and denying or on keeping your opponent away from the creeps so they cannot last hit, deny, or gain xp. If you farm up or hold your opponent down you will have a significant advantage throughout the game, especially in non em games. For people who just autoattack, trust me, last hitting and denying is worth it. You will farm much faster and stop your opponents. For more info on last hitting and denying check out inDe_eD's Guide to Micromanagement

Your Hero

The key factor in how you lane control is what hero you have. Ranged heroes with a good attack animation and some form of harassment (for example, Tinker or Viper) are usually the best at laning. The worst are low hp melee heroes with no form of harassment (for example, Naix). If you think early game lane control is worthless compared to a great late gamer you've never laned against someone who is good at lane control. Here is a list of some pros and cons for lane control

Pros (good for lane control)

Ranged

Fast Attack Animation

High Base Damage

An Autocast (orb) ability

Direct Damage Spells (from now on referred to as nukes)

Damage over Time spells (from now on referred to as DoT's) (note some are useless, do the math on how much damage they do)

Stuns/Disables

Cons

Melee

Slow/Awkward Attack Animation (Lina, Razor, etc...)

No Escape Method (Blink, Waveform, some sort of disable)

Low HP

As you can see, fragile melee agi heroes struggle the most early game, especially those with no means to defend themselves or harass. A lategame hero like Troll or Phantom Assassin can be outlaned so badly that it takes them the rest of the game to recover and catch up. Generally, better lane controllers go mid because most pushes are focused mid. Sometimes better laners will go to the side lanes so they can dominate a lane and farm up so be careful and always be ready to face against a strong laner. If you find you can't handle your lane then ask for a gank or switch lanes. If your teammates are smart they will help you, rather than letting you get destroyed while your opponent farms. It is just important to LET THEM KNOW you are in trouble, rather than they get the fun surprise of a farmed out Juggernaut (or any other item dependent hero) at the 30 minute mark.
In any case, if you have a potential good lane controller then you should aim at controlling your lane, otherwise you want to survive until your hero becomes effective. In EM you should lean more towards late game since early game is vanishingly short.

How to Build a Lane Controller

Once you have your hero there are 2 important parts to creating your ultimate lane controller (or surviving to late game): Item Build and Skill Build. Your goal here is to get harassing skills and hp so you can survive nukes/chain nukes so you can stay in your lane and continue to gain exp/gold.
Item Build
Someone on your team should buy a chicken, if no one else does you should get one. The advantage of being able to stay in your lane while items and consumables are delivered to you is just to good to ignore. In any case, there are 4 types of items which are commonly bought before going to a lane: items that boost strength (for hp), items that regenerate hp, items that boost int (for mana), and items that regenerate mana.
Note: There are almost NO situations in which you should get boots as your first item. Good job, you can run back to the fountain faster to miss out on exp.

The prime choice for boosting str and int are bracers and nulls respectively. Items which give lower stats are more efficient, that is, the more stats an item gives the more gold you pay per stat (ie gg branches are 57 gold per 3 stats while Ultimate Orbs are 2300 for 30 stats, or 230 per 3 stats, approximately 4 times as much). Getting early items like bracers and nulls is cheap and effective, giving you an advantage from early to mid game over people who try to save straight up to high cost items. This is definitely worth it, even if an extra bracer saves your life or helps you get a kill just once. Consider that four bracers gives one less strength than a reaver, costs 2/3's as much and also gives +12 to int and agi. Simply sell the bracers off as you run out of item slots for bigger cost items.

Items for regeneration are a bit more complicated. There are a couple of options here, ring of regen, tangos, or flasks, all of which have ups and downs. A ring of regen gives constant regen but it is still risky to hang around one if you are in red. Flasks on the other hand give you a big hp boost over a short period of time but can be canceled if you take damage. Tangos provide a good intermediate without the risk of cancellation.
At this point, I pretty much use tangos on every hero. Flasks require you to dip dangerously low in hp in order to get the full healing effect, and in the mean time you have to sit back out of combat or risk being canceled. I would only recommend buying them in the case that you are low on hp, but you aren't in great danger, but you want to be full hp soon (then have your chicken bring one to you). This situation is pretty rare though - you aren't in danger but need hp soon?
Ring of regen is only better than tangos if you are going to make something out of it, like a Headdress or a Hood of Defiance. Otherwise the burst regen of tangos is more useful than the slow constant regen of the ring.

For mana regen, things are pretty much the same with clarity potions and sobi masks. The only difference is that sobi masks increase your mana regen by a percentage rather than a set value like ring of regen. This means that if your hero has low int and thus crappy mana regen buying a sobi mask (or a void stone) is going to be less effective (increasing terrible mana regen by 50% is still pretty terrible mana regen (The exception to this is brilliance aura which increases mana regen by a set value)). This is usually the case for caster str heroes (earthshaker, tiny, etc), who are better off with an arcane ring which will greatly boost their base mana, provide decent regen and help teammates. A sobi mask will provide more mana regen than the RoB Brilliance Aura when you have at least 31 intelligence, so keep that in mind when you are buying your items. When will you pass that mark? In a few levels, or not for a while.

Arcane Ring
It is viable to rush Arcane sometimes, but you will have to sacrifice things like bracers which can be tough. A RoB can be disassembled in your Circle of Power (behind Taverns) so you can use the Ring to make Arcane Ring and have an extra Sobi. Arcane Ring is a great team item, and its not just about the mana regen; the 300 extra mana can really help low mana pool heroes.
Arcane Ring is coming more and more into use on spammer heroes and strength casters. It isn't to hard to farm up and provides enough mana to spam most "spammable" spells constantly, while also being useful for nearby ally heroes. I would definitely recommend it on Zeus, Death Prophet, and other spammers who are only limited by mana.
Bottle
The bottle is a great item for ganker heroes. The charges let you quickly replenish hp and mana to move onto the next gank without having to return to the fountain or wait for consumables that take longer. Another great benefit is that you can store runes in it, and once you use the rune the bottle is refilled. This means that when you switch lanes to gank, you can grab the rune, use it at your leisure, heal up with the bottle, and move to the next lane to gank. A good idea on heroes like Bounty Hunter, Night Stalker, and Pudge, who need hp and mana to gank, frequently moving from lane to lane. Runes spawn every 2 minutes starting at the 2 minute mark (unless there is already rune in existence). The deal maker is that you can now buy a bottle in the new secret shops in the side lanes, meaning you can easily grab it at any time once you farm up the 700 for it.
Hood of Defiance
It is generally not a good idea to rush Hood of Defiance on most heroes. The regen is nice, and the spell resistance is also nice once you complete it. However in the mean time you are vulnerable with lower hp compared to a bracer build. Also bracers are more effective early/mid game for survivability, even against purely magic attacks. Before you decide on a skill/item build on a hero with a magic resistance skill and Hood of Defiance you should check out gradenko_2000's Spell Resistance Stacking Guide.
Hand of Midas
This helpful farming item can really help a late game hero jump start themselves. However, to often I see people struggling in their lane just to farm it. If you cannot get Midas in a decent amount of time the net payoff isn't worth it. If you are getting destroyed in your lane then get items that will help you lane - bracers, etc. It is of no use if you get a midas but it took you 25 minutes and you died 3 times, you are going to be behind. You should consider midas if you are a late game hero but you are controlling your lane easily. In this case you should be making plenty of money from last hitting so you can farm Midas quickly. However this doesn't mean you should always get it. If the enemy pushes down mid and ends the game before you've farmed anything there is no point. The recent changes to the game have made it generally shorter (no tower regen, siege creeps, etc) so midas has become even less useful (shorter game means midas has less time to pay itself off and start making you money). Basically, there are many factors in choosing when to buy Midas, but don't do it if you can't get it quickly and without sacrificing lane control. You should aim for a midas in 10 minutes, 15 minutes at most. After 15 minutes you should really just buy another item instead.

The items you buy should focus on helping you survive against your opponents and ganks. If you need mana focus on nulls and mana regen. Otherwise go for bracers and hp regen to survive burst damage. Wraith bands are mostly useless early game despite the lower cost. Consider for an agility hero, the difference between a wraith band and a bracer is the wraith gives 3 extra damage while the bracer gives 57 extra hp. Lastly, do not be afraid to buy and use consumables. You are not throwing money away just because you only use the item once. If you eat a tango and it lets you get even one more last hit it has more than paid for itself in gold and exp.
Skill Build
Of course every hero has a different set of skills but there are some which are generally useful early game and some which are not. Usually most skills which scale over time or are percentage based are useless early game while skills which do a set amount of damage (or boost stats by a set amount) are more useful early game (note that this means stats are more useful early!). Stuns and disables are pretty useful all the time but are really great to get early game if they also do damage. So while Vengeful Spirit's Magic Missile is great early for its damage and stun, Naga Siren's critical (or any other number of criticals) should be put off until later because stats or other skills are more useful. Let me say this one more time in case I have not been clear enough, sometimes it IS better to take stats over skills early game. The best skills for early game let you harass, or survive, or both (stats falls under "both" since it boosts your hp and mana), choose your skills carefully. There is not much more for me to say about this because every hero has different skills.
Some examples of what skills to get and and which not:
Leoric the Skeleton King

Storm Bolt(Recommended) - Ranged stun with constant damage, great for early game harassment and disabling

Vampiric Aura(NOT Recommended) - Useless early game because your damage is low and you don't want to be autoattacking (which will make you push up, more on this later).

Critical Strike(NOT Recommended) - Useless for the same reasons as aura - low base damage makes for crappy crits and you shouldn't be attacking anyway. If you get in a slug fest with another hero the bonuses from stats will help you more.

Recommended Build: Storm Bolt and stats
Yurnero the Juggernaut

Bladefury(Recommended) - Great constant damage harassing tool. Magic immunity is also nice for escaping.

Healing Ward(NOT Recommended) - A heal would be nice for staying in lane, but the fact that this is based on a percentage of your max hp (which will be very low early game, especially the fragile Juggernaut's) and has a large manacost makes it subpar

Blade Dance(NOT Recommended) - Another critical. Low base damage and you shouldn't be hitting things.

Recommended Build: Bladefury and stats
Shendelzare Silkwood the Vengeful Spirit

Magic Missile(Recommended) - Nice ranged stun with great damage and decent mana cost. What more could you want for early game?

Terror(NOT Recommended) - Lowers enemy offense and defense by a percentage (armor adds a percentage amount of hp per point). Useless again in that main source of damage early game is nukes.

Command Aura(NOT Recommended) - On top of the fact that you shouldn't be hitting things, Vengeful Spirit's base damage is crappy anyway. Raising a crappy amount by a crappy percent is still a crappy amount.

Recommended Build: Magic Missile and stats

Choosing your Lane Control Style

So now you are in your lane with some items and a plan for a skill build. Your objective in your lane is to gather exp and gold while preventing the enemy from doing so. This is your primary objective. Getting kills is great, but that is secondary. Do not go charging the enemy hero at level 1 unless you know what you are doing.
There are two ways to play a lane, offensive and defensive (as far as pushing to the enemy tower goes). Most of the time (and with most heroes) you should opt for a defensive style. Do not autoattack, only go in for last hits and denies, keep your opponents away if you can, do not push up to the enemy tower. This style is safe, effective and more common. The other, more dangerous and reckless, style is offensive, where you try to push the enemy tower and take it down for that sweet, sweet bonus gold. In either case you should harass the enemy if you can. If not then stand back and try not to take to much damage...
Defensive
The preferred method of laning keeps you safe while allowing you to farm and harass. The idea here is to not push up because pushing up puts you against the enemy tower, leaving you vulnerable to ganks from the river, no room to chase, no nearby safety, and making denying and last hitting difficult because of the enemy tower. Harassing your opponents with nukes, orb walking, or just straight out hitting them to keep them hiding at their tower, unable to get exp or gold.
This means you should not get pushy skills or items (if you are choosing this style). If you get a RoB, turn off the armor aura for the creeps (you and other heroes still get it) by clicking on the item. Heroes with pusher auras (SK's Lifesteal, Troll's Fervor and such) should not get those skills unless you really need it. And no, you don't really need lifesteal or ias early game - you shouldn't be autoattacking! Also consider your skills. For instance, with Lina dropping both your nukes is great for harassing but it also tends to clear the creep wave. While I am all for harassing, just be aware of these factors.

Offensive
This method should only be attempted if you can easily push up and take down the enemy tower while dealing with the enemy heroes. It leaves you exposed to ganks and lets the enemy hide under the protection of their tower if you can not take it down quickly. The point is to get the bonus gold from destroying the tower (about 500ish gold for the person that gets the last hit, and 200 for everyone else on the team). Only a few heroes have the power to do this consistently, here is a brief list

Keeper of the Light

Leshrac

Syllabear

Alchemist (questionable after nerf)

Techies

Broodmother (not recommended)

Jungling
There is actually a 3rd way to play a lane - by not laning at all! The term "jungling" has recently been coined to mean primarily neutraling (in the "jungle") rather than laning. Only a few heroes have the skills needed to jungle well. Generally a hero should be able to clear creeps quickly, mitigate damage (through summons or some other means), or both in order to jungle effectively. Furion and Undying are prime examples of summoning junglers while Axe and Dark Seer can clear creeps quickly with Counter Helix and Ion Shell respectively. The great thing about jungling is it gives your team two solos while allowing a hero with crappy lane control to still farm and level. Junglers can also easily gank nearby lanes. I highly recommend any jungler that is going to be taking hits (besides leviathan) buy a stout shield! Anyway, here is a guide to jungling by DarkMilkShake. While I don't agree with everything he says you can get a good idea of jungling from it. Also, here is a link to the MYM replay in which they have 2 junglers, pretty amazing.
So I'll assume you are going to go defensive since offensive is highly situational and doesn't require a great deal of lane control anyway. From here on I'll go over some laning advice.
If you are melee...
Melee heroes definitely have a disadvantage to ranged heroes in lane control. Almost all of the best lane controllers are ranged. In order to balance this a bit, the amount of experience you get when the enemy denies you is different depending on if you are melee or ranged (basically, melee get double what ranged get). For more info check out Nova's Guide to Experience.
Now you have to understand that as a melee hero laning against a ranged hero you are at a disadvantage. It is just much easier to last hit, deny, and harass with a ranged attack...especially because you have to be up in the fray to last hit and deny. If you have no means of harassing and your opponent is skilled at lane control you probably want to hang back or you are just going to be sent back to the fountain. In order to get close you are going to want to let them push up then come at them from the woods so you are on top of them before they know you are there, removing the ranged advantage.
Laning against another melee is a bit more interesting. You have to be very alert here as well because you are both in the fray so it only takes the opponent a step or two to hit you with a stun or slow and start whacking you. Of course you also have the same advantage - use it!
If you are ranged...
It is always nice to be ranged for lane control (unless your hero has an awful attack animation). Standing back with your ranged creep, easily picking off last hits for gold. Against another ranged hero things are usually pretty tame. You both stand back, exchange nukes once in a while, focus on last hitting and denying. Just be ready for when they make their move (or for when you should make yours).
Ranged vs melee is pretty easy. All of their dives are telegraphed to you by them having to run across the creep wave to you. If you can, hit them whenever they step in to last hit or deny, or give them a good nuke. If you let them know that they are going to be punished every time you will train them to stay back. Be wary if they disappear though - they are possibly trying to gank you from the woods.
Cooperating with a Partner
When you are paired with someone in a lane you need to coordinate. Find out how much damage your combined nukes do (remember magic resistance!) and see if you can get an opponent to within that range then dive them and finish them off in a flurry of chain nukes. Also make sure your style is the same, if your ally is autoattacking and trying to push and take down their tower while you are playing defensive you are going to be at odds. There's not much you can do about a nooby partner, you don't want to leave them with solo but nor do you want to lane with them. In any case a good synergy and communication between lane partners is key and definitely makes a huge difference. If you are laning 2v1 you are against the other team's solo (assuming its 5v5) and it is vital that you prevent the solo from farming.

Solo against 2 opponents
When you are solo you are going to be (at least, should be) the team's strongest member for mid game. It is important for you to grow strong so you can dominate and carry the team. However against 2 opponents it is much more difficult. A good chain nuking can take you down quickly, and killing one of them without the other one taking you down afterwards is difficult. Be more cautious but also don't allow them to control the lane and deny you exp and gold.

This post has been edited by Blaow: Jan 9 2008, 05:27 PM

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BLAOW

Apr 13 2007, 03:10 AM

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Harassing

Harassing is the art of weakening your opponent. There are many ways of doing so - denying creeps to hurt their exp gain, keeping them away from your creeps period, or just sending them back to their fountain. Although many players focus on making themselves stronger, it is just as effective if not more so to weaken your enemies (or do both if you can!). The most basic method of harassing is hitting an enemy with a nuke until you reach the point where they have to go back to their tower. Here are some more advanced methods for harassing (or avoiding being harassed):
Choosing a Target
If you are laning against two people then choose which one you will focus on wisely. Preferably you want to be able to keep down the more dangerous opponent but that isn't always possible or the best choice. Easier targets tend to have little or no regen, lower hps, and no method of escaping. There is no use on blowing all your mana at level 1 on 75 damage nukes if they just regen it back using a tango or 2.

Intimidation
Once you have established lane dominance by sending your opponent back to the fountain or by harassing him severely use this to your advantage - you have the upper hand! If you are clearly controlling the lane and your opponent stand on his side of the creeps, this is very intimidating and he will stand far back, missing out on gold and xp while you last hit freely. Be assertive, let them know you are in control and intimidate them, this will give you the mental edge and your opponent will hesitate to challenge you.
Overly Aggressive Enemies
So, the enemy is out playing you by being aggressive. Possibly using the intimidation method outlined above. If you can't directly challenge them (they have a superior hero, better lag, or gained the upper hand somehow) then play on their confidence. Fall back, make yourself seem harmless. When they get over confident take the kill or call in a gank. This should put you ahead, or at least on even footing. At worst they will be less aggressive...if not just repeat.
If you are in trouble
So you are getting destroyed in your lane...for some reason you can't get a lane switch or you are just to far behind in your new lane. How do you recover? The key here is to focus on getting through NOW, don't try to save up for a late game item or even a mid game item. Focus on very small items at a time. Stack bracers until you can survive and hold your own. If you fill up on bracers try to upgrade to a mid game item, selling a bracer when you need the slot.
Orb Walking
I've mentioned Orb Walking a few times so far. The key here is that when you attack an enemy hero their nearby creeps will automatically target you making it difficult to harass this way. However if you cast a spell on an enemy hero this won't happen. So if your hero has an autocast ability (Drow's frost arrows, Silencer's glaives, etc) you can manually cast it as a spell without drawing creep aggro. On top of this you can cancel the casting animation of the attack and start walking almost immediately. Done right this allows you to walk and attack almost simultaneously (hence orb walking) without drawing creep aggro. This skill is great for lane domination because enemy heroes are forced to run back to their tower taking a ton of damage every time they run in.

Stutter Hitting
Stutter Hitting is similar to orb walking in principle - you are canceling the animation of your attack. However, the idea here is to cancel the animation right before you deal damage in order to confuse your enemy. You start your swing and they think you are going to hit, so they base their actions on that idea but you cancel the animation and follow through with your real intentions (or stutter hit again!) even if it is just to hit the same creep. This is a great way to keep your enemies on their toes and second guessing you. It isn't very useful in low level play because your opponents probably won't even be able to read your actions and it isn't as useful on ranged heroes because you have to cancel before the projectile even comes out.
Denying Towers and Heroes
Not only can you deny creeps, you can deny your towers (awesome) and allied heroes (hilarious). If you can possibly deny one of your towers you definitely should, in a 5v5 match denying a tower prevents the enemy from gaining at least 1,000 (5x200) gold. Even if you are struggling to hold your lane, a tower in red (you can only deny a tower that is below 10% of its max hp) isn't going to provide much resistance especially with the recent update adding siege units and removing tower regen. It is much better to cut the enemy off from 1000+ gold rather than slow their push for a few seconds.
As for denying your allies, you can only do so if they are poisoned or doomed. This is a hard choice, if your ally is going to make it and you kill him or her, they are going to be pissed. Even if they aren't going to make it they probably aren't going to be to happy if you take the finishing blow. Still, it is definitely worth it to deny the enemies the exp. If you are out of range of enemies (your poisoned ally ran but is still going to deny) its still nice to deny the enemy the gold, but your ally is probably going to have a word with you if they thought they were going to make it...

When to push
You may notice that once an enemy pushes up to your tower, your creep wave builds up and pushes towards their tower (if they are playing defensive and not autoattacking), creating a ping pong effect (bouncing back and forth). This eventually leads to a situation where you will be at the enemy tower, unable to deny or harass for a period of time. There is a way to circumvent this though. Before your creeps push you to the enemy tower, harass them enough to make them return to the fountain then push as hard as you can. Once the enemy tower repels your attack (assuming you don't manage to push it down) resume your defensive style. This way the enemy is away when it is difficult to harass/deny (and it also makes it harder for them to deny their tower).

Map Awareness and Ganks

Map Awareness is a critical component of DotA which beginners often lack or ignore entirely. Being able to tell when an enemy is coming to kill you, or when they are open to an easy gank is key. If you perfectly harass your opponent for the first 5 levels but then you get ganked twice because you weren't paying attention to the minimap, all of your harassing has gone to waste. Map Awareness is a team effort - don't be afraid to communicate with your allies, send a helpful ping, or buy a set of wards.
Calling Missing
It is generally accepted that if an enemy hero is missing from your lane you should call it - that is, tell your teammates. I usually go with a brief "bot mia" (meaning bottom is missing in action). Some people hold that a good player should be watching all the lanes to know if someone is missing instead of relying on their teammates. To me, that is nonsense; Dota is a team game, use team work, call missing. Try to give some detail too. For instance, if you harass your enemy down to 50 hp and they barely get away tell your team they are healing. Don't be slow in calling missing either, if the creep wave breaks and you back off but your opponent isn't there immediately next creep wave...call missing! The sooner you call missing the more time your allies have to prepare. Also consider how dangerous the enemy hero is when calling. For instance, I might be a bit slow to call a level 3 Naix missing, but if a level 6 Pudge goes missing I'm going to notify my team immediately (even if he is only gone for a second) so they can move to places that are hard to hook. Nothing is more frustrating then getting hooked out of no where by an uncalled Pudge.
Diving
Diving in the DotA lingo means run past the creep waves and attempt to take out the enemy hero. For instance, if an ally is coming to gank from another lane and he says "Dive tinker" he wants you to nuke and attack Tinker while he comes from behind. Tower diving is when you dive the enemy when he is at his tower, very risky. A well planned dive will net you a kill, or at least send the enemy back to his fountain.
Ganking
There may come a time when your ally's ask for a gank, or your hero is an early game ganker and you feel ready to run around killing heroes. The first step in a successful gank is often overlooked - disappearing. You don't want to start walking towards another lane in plain enemy sight, this is easy to call and obvious on the minimap. Wait till the creep wave breaks, when you are out of sight of the opponent for a few seconds, then move back a bit and go to the other lane out of sight. Your opponent will be slow to call you missing because you normally lose sight of each other for a bit when the waves break.
While you walk to the lane you are ganking coordinate with your allies there. Don't just run in, blow all your mana, then watch the enemy hero walk away while your ally creeps, not noticing you ganked at all. Time your disables and let your ally know - say "I'll stun first", or whatever order is preferable. A successful gank with nice team work is a great help for you and your ally, while it is demoralizing to the enemy, and can cause bickering if you managed to slip away without being called missing.
Wards
It is helpful to buy Observer Wards (no true sight - get Sentry wards if you need true sight for some reason) to protect yourself from ganks, see rune spawns and the river in general, as well as keep an eye on enemies who are neutral creeping. Again, the 300 gold cost is usually well worth the advantages you get just as with other consumables. If a set of wards saves your life or gets you a gank (or a rune that leads to a gank) just once it has paid for itself, not to mention the benefit to your allies. If you are interested read madee[neRv]'s Mini Guide To Using Wards.

Escaping a Gank
Suddenly you are ganked. Your teammates didn't call missing or you just weren't paying attention and you find yourself being hunted by enemy heroes around your tower. If you survive the initial nukes then you have to make a choice - fight or flight. If you are fairly sure you can win or if there is no chance of escape then try to make a stand at your tower. If you know you can't win and you can't get away then try and juke your chasers in the woods. On the top and bottom lanes, just above and below the first scourge and sentinel towers respectively there is a small path in the woods around the tower. By running through this you can sometimes lose the opposition or at least let your tower get a few more hits in on them. There is a similar path to the right of the scourge tower mid where you can slip by the tower. Once you get out of sight of the enemy you can usually lose them with a bit of luck. Remember that running back to base taking the most obvious routes can make it easy for another enemy hero to set up an ambush.

Dying to Neutral Creeps
In the case that you can't escape the gank and there is no way you are going to win there is one option left. If you can, run into the forest and into a neutral creep spot. Try to get killed by the neutral creeps. This is, in effect, denying your self - enemy gets no exp or gold because Scourge didn't get the kill. A last ditch effort, but it can pay off.

Creeps and Towers

Towers and Creeps (yours, the enemy's, as well as neutrals) are also an important part of lane control. This section will cover some of the basics involving these computer controlled elements and how to deal with them.
Tower Hugging and Neutral Creeping
If you are getting completely dominated and there is nothing you can do, you are hopelessly outmatched, you still have a few options. Hug your tower - don't leave its safety. Only deny and attack your own creeps so they stay at your tower. If the enemy decides to dive you at your tower juke them in the woods (there is a juke spot by every tower, refer to juke map below). If the creep wave keeps moving away from your tower (the opponent is denying and playing defensive to pull the line back to their tower) then pick up a stout shield and some tangos and neutral creep. With 1 stout you will greatly reduce the damage creeps do and be able to creep semi decently. At least this way you are getting some xp and money instead of getting denied or just flat out feeding. For more info on neutral creeps read the Neutral Creep Guide by MrX.
Creep Blocking and Creep Pulling
The idea with Creep Blocking is to try to slow down your first creep wave so that the first line of battle ends up closer (or at) your tower. This is done by moving in their path of travel, then weaving back and forth while walking ahead of them so they get confused and slow down. The advantage here is that it fits in perfectly with the defensive style. Also, consider that your opponent may be creep blocking and you will end up fighting far further up than you planned. Remember, completely blocking creeps to disrupt the game is against the rules so don't do anything that bad. A nice creep blocker is Earthshaker with his fissure - 8 second delay if done right. Be aware that in some leagues there are rules against this. Know the rules of the game you are playing in!
It is important to consider what lane you are in and how much blocking you want to do when creep blocking. If you block to much then your tower could take unnecessary hits and clear the enemy wave quickly, actually pushing you up on the second wave. However, if your opponent creep blocks and you don't then you could end up equally pushed up or worse. Remember that Sentinel will end up fighting near their tower bottom lane and Scourge will be the same for top lane. I think it is always better to take the risk of putting enemy creeps in tower range rather than potentially not creep block when your opponent does, but it is pretty much a guessing game without a huge impact.
Creep Pulling, on the other hand, involves fighting neutral creeps near your lane so your creeps attack the neutrals to defend you, in effect denying your enemy the wave. This can be difficult to pull off and costs you some hp even if you fail. If you are skilled at it though pulling a whole wave of xp out of your enemy's reach is great. For more info on the specifics check out ThisisBob's guide to creep pulling. It's a little out dated but you'll get the idea.
Enemy Creep and Tower AI
The enemy creeps and towers have some AI to determine their targets. This is very important to factor in when and how to harass or dive (see below) your opponent. The basic premise here is directly attacking (right clicking) on an enemy hero near creeps will cause them to attack you. However, manually casting spells (or manually casting autocast spells - see orb walking below) will not cause them to attack you. Most of the time you do not want enemy creeps attacking you (unless you are say...Axe). So the key here is to harass your enemy without taking damage from his creeps. It's usually best to attack when the creep wave breaks or is about to break (all the creeps on one side die). This means there are few creeps around to get in the way. Of course its not a good idea to attack when the enemy creep wave kills all of your creeps and there are still a bunch of enemy creeps left around.
Towers have their own set of target priorities as well. Attacking an enemy hero at a tower is probably going to make the tower target you. Attacking the tower or having low hp will also make you a more likely target. A nifty trick if a tower is attacking you is to force attack (hit 'A' then left click on) one of your own creeps. This will make the tower recheck target priority (its possible you could be targeted again). For more info read Y0UR's All about Towers.

Download DOTA Allstars 6.57b AIPlus v1.52 Revision 1

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Astute) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 06:00:00 +0000

Dota-Allstars 6.57b AIPlus v1.52 Revision 1 Free Download

Dota 6.57b AIPlus - Dota-Allstars 6.57b AIPlus 1.52 Map Revision 1 Free Download, the latest DotA 6.57b AI for Dota 6.57b. This map is updated to the latest version and more importantly it fixes the bugs with Alleria the Windrunner that crashes the games on the previous Dota 6.56 AIplus. Here what BuffMePlz said about his latest map:
DotA Allstars 6.57b AI+ 1.52 Revision 01
This is a port of RGB's AI+ 1.52 (originally written for DotA Allstars 6.48b).
It behaves the same as the original AI, and has only been updated to account for balance changes, new item recipes, and most new features. As such, some new content does not work fully with the AI yet.
Warning: There is no AI for Lifestealer, Invoker, Clockwerk Goblin, Admiral Proudmoore nor Windrunner. They will get items but will neither use nor learn their skills.
KNOWN BUGS
* AI don't properly react to -nb, -nm and -nt modes.
* Some exploits that should have been fixed are still in the game, just don't use them. If you really want to cheat against AI, just use -test.
Commands that have yet to be implemented properly:
* -ah
* -afk
* -kickafk
* -rd (the new one in 6.53, -rd is in the game but done the same way pre-6.53)
* -cm
__________________________________________________
FUN TAVERN
Additionally, I have added two Fun Taverns in the lower right corner.
Currently includes fifteen legacy heroes (possibly more in the future):
* Old Invoker (6.12b)
* Old Lifestealer (6.48b)
* Old Silencer (6.12b)
* Gambler (6.06)
* Old Morphling (5.84b)
* Old Stealth Assassin (5.84b)
* Old Pudge (5.51)
* Old Chen (5.64)
* Old Medusa (5.84b)
* Void Demon (3.0d)
* Rider (5.72)
* God of Wind (6.01)
* Flame Lord (5.51)
* Avatar of Vengeance (6.32b)
* Astral Trekker (3.0d)
To access the fun taverns, type -fun within the first 15 seconds of the game. Note that Fun Tavern heroes do not have AI scripts and will not buy items or use/learn skills.
6.57b Port of AI+ and -fun content by BuffMePlz.

__________________________________________________
CREDITS
* Tenshinhan DN
* Overflow_GR
* Duvon
* Strikur--
* Counter_Helix_axe
* Catalyst
* chaser02
* Green_Sliche
* cp6uja
* NNCCMMLL
Dota-Allstars 6.57b AIPlus 1.52 Map Revision 1 Changelogs:
Changelog:
Revision 1
-First update to 6.57b
-Fixed a bug with long gametype commands
-Fixed display text for -csXX
-Fixed a bug with Roshan's armour aura after 50 minutes
-Fixed a bug with selling Aghanim's Scepter
-Fixed a bug with -pe on the Scourge side
-Rewrote Focus Fire to prevent crashes with AI
-Rewrote the way AI purchases and sells Bottles to address a problem with dropping items
-AI Crystal Maiden now learns Brilliance Aura after Frost Nova and Frostbite (instead of at levels 22-25)
-AI Keeper of the Light now properly learns attribute bonuses
-Run Down (Rider) now gives vision of the targeted unit
-Improved the targeting and behaviour of Betrayal (Old Invoker)
-Fixed seeing a dummy ability when swapping with AI Sand King
*Unofficial fixes
-Fixed some typos (Eye of Skadi Ranged, Windrunner, Captain CoCo's Rum, Recall, Courier Shield, Burst)

Download link:

Dota 6.57b AIPlus Rev. 1

News - New Features at Singapore's World Cyber Games

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Astute) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 15:28:00 +0000

New Features at Singapore's World Cyber Games

FOR the first time, casual games like Guitar, Hero 3, Fifa 2008 and mobile phone games were introduced at the World Cyber Games (WCG), which kicked off at the Suntec Convention Centre on Thursday.

Many gamers who play such games are making a bid to represent Singapore in the WCG finals to be held in Germany later this year.

At the mobile phone games booth, competitions were held throughout the day and anyone can join in the ongoing session.

For the first time, there is also a World of Warcraft trading segment.

The Singapore WCG was opened by the CEO of Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, Mr Ronnie Tay.

Rank - DOTA World Rankings

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Astute) — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 06:20:00 +0000

MeetYourMakers (MYM) and Evil Geniuses followed right behind to take second and third place in this world rankings. Serveral high-profile and well-known teams such as Team Pandemic, Team Cybertime and Team Virtus.Pro can also be seen in the list as well.

Dust-Off World Rankings: DotA

1. SK-Gaming
2. MeetYourMakers
3. Evil Geniuses
4. Virtus.Pro (now known as Kingsurf.international)
5. Wolk3R-Gaming
6. The elder Gods
7. World Elite
8. Pandemic
9. Rush3D
10. Cybertime

SK-Gaming has 1’050 pts, while runner up MeetYourMakers received 650 pts, the 10^th placed team CyberTime is rather far away from the top ranks with only 75 pts.

souce:http://www.sk-gaming.com/content/17846-SKGaming_leads_DotA_world_rankings

News - Vietnam gamers named for World Cyber Games

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Astute) — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 06:18:00 +0000

Vietnam gamers named for World Cyber Games

15:00' 31/07/2008 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – Samsung Vina Electronics Co. has selected 15 gamers to represent Vietnam in the World CyberGames (WCG) 2008, taking place this August in Singapore, and the world's WCG in November in Germany.

The gamers are all winners of a national competition which began in May and ended on Sunday in HCMC. Some 3,000 competitors played individually in two games, namely FIFA Soccer and Star-craft, and played in teams in two games. Counter Strike and DOTA All Stars.

Five gamers of the StarBoba team, who won DOTA ALL Stars game; To Trung Hieu who won the FIFA game and three other gamers will represent Vietnam at the Asia WCG next month in Singapore. To Trung Hieu; Le Thanh Ham winner of Star-craft and five other gamers from Vietnam 1st team, who won Counter Strike, will represent Vietnam at the world's WCG in November in Germany.

Samsung is the major sponsor of the global World Cyber Games 2008, which is being held in Vietnam for the 7th consecutive time

News - Players flock to World Cyber Games Vietnam

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Astute) — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 08:11:00 +0000

Players flock to World Cyber Games Vietnam

VietNamNet Bridge - The WCG Vietnam 2008, which was opened at the Hanoi University of Technology on July 12, drew almost 1,000 players in the north competing in amateur and professional tournaments.

The two-day competition feature four events – FIFA 2008, Starcraft, DOTA All-Stars and Counter Strike 1.6 - in both individual and team categories.

The top finishers of the on-going World Cyber Games (WCG) Vietnam 2008 will have a chance to compete in the WCG Asian Championship scheduled to take place in Singapore in August and the WCG Grand Final in Cologne, Germany, in November.

(Source: VNA)

News - World Cyber Games Update

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Astute) — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 07:45:00 +0000

WCG 2008 Grand Finals
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city after Berlin, Hamburg and Munich, and is the largest city both in the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than 10 million inhabitants.
It is one of the oldest cities in Germany, having been founded by the Romans in the year 38 BC. Cologne was granted the status of a Roman "city" in the year 50 AD.

Cologne lies on the Rhine. The city's famous Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom) is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cologne. The University of Cologne (Universität zu Köln) is one of Europe's oldest universities.

Cologne is a major cultural centre of the Rhineland and has a vibrant art scene.
Cologne counts over 30 museums and hundreds of galleries.

Exhibitions range from local ancient Roman archaeological sites to contemporary graphics and sculpture. The city's Trade Fair Grounds are host to a number of trade shows such as the Art Cologne Fair, the International Furniture Fair (IMM) and the Photokina. Cologne is also well known for its celebration of Cologne Carnival and the LGBT festival Christopher Street Day (CSD).

Within Germany, Cologne is known as an important media centre. Several radio and television stations, including Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) and RTL, are based in the city. The city also hosts the Cologne Comedy Festival, which is considered to be the largest comedy festival in Mainland Europe.

It is expected that up to 800 of the world's best gamers will fly to Cologne in November, 2008 to participate in the world's most prestigious e-Sports competition.

SINGAPORE 2008
This year's World Cyber Games event will be held once again in Suntec Singapore, Hall 401 and 402. National Preliminaries will be held from the 26th of February onwards. The Official games will be named pretty soon, so stay tuned!

News - DOTA World Rankings

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Astute) — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 07:43:00 +0000

Dust-Off cooperated with eMazing-Gaming for the well known Fire and Ice events, came together to publish an update to their DotA world rankings
SK-Gaming unexpectedly took the number one spot to lead the ranking of the best DotA teams, after coming in some of this year’s most prestige tournaments, DreamHack Summer 2008 and ESWC Masters of Paris. MeetYourMakers (MYM) and Evil Geniuses followed right behind to take second and third place in this world rankings. Serveral high-profile and well-known teams such as Team Pandemic, Team Cybertime and Team Virtus.Pro can also be seen in the list as well.

Dust-Off World Rankings: DotA

1. SK-Gaming
2. MeetYourMakers
3. Evil Geniuses
4. Virtus.Pro (now known as Kingsurf.international)
5. Wolk3R-Gaming
6. The elder Gods
7. World Elite
8. Pandemic
9. Rush3D
10. Cybertime

SK-Gaming has 1’050 pts, while runner up MeetYourMakers received 650 pts, the 10^th placed team CyberTime is rather far away from the top ranks with only 75 pts.

souce:http://www.sk-gaming.com/content/17846-SKGaming_leads_DotA_world_rankings

Guide Rehashed - Aiushtha, The Enchantress

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Astute) — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 07:36:00 +0000

Guide Rehashed - Aiushtha, The Enchantress

Enchantress is a very versatile hero who can play a hardcore support role or even carry her team to victory and has seen quite a lot of league play in recent times. I try to cater for all levels of play from Pubs and TDA games right through to IH and more serious games. I offer several item paths for different situations, along with strategy to deal with those situations, as well as covering the art of using Impetus and using Enchant to its full potential. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it!

Table of Contents

Hero Overview
Skill Description
Skill Build
Item Builds
Core Item Build
Recommended Item paths after core items
Other Optional Items

Items Not Recommended
General Game play Walkthrough
Early game: (Levels 1-10)
Mid game: (Levels 10-16)
Late game: (Levels 17-25)

Good Allies to Have
Bad Enemies to Face
Mini-Guide to Using Impetus
Harassing
Chasing
Animation Canceling

Using Enchant to it’s Full Potential
Neutral Creeps for Ganking
Neutral Creeps for Pushing
Image Heroes
Turning the Tide of Battle by Stealing Summons

Replays
Conclusion
Credits
Q&A

1. Hero Overview

Although all Dryads are Cenarius’ daughters, Aiushtha is said to be his first and favorite. Because of her direct relation to him, she has borrowed much of his powers. This is demonstrated by her control over the shy Wisps which she uses to heal her allies, and her ability to bring an opponent under the will of the Sentinel. Preferring ranged combat to melee, she fashioned a spear that strikes with more force the further her target is away. Her agility is unmatched, and any opponent attempting to kill her will find she skips ahead of them with surprising ease.

Starting HP: 454
Starting Mana: 208
Attack Range: 550
Base Move Speed: 295
Starting Base Damage: 37-47
Starting Armor: 1.7

Strength: 16 +2.0
Agility: 19 +1.8
Intelligence: 16 +2.8
Overall stat gain per level: +6.6

Advanced Data

Acquisition Range: 800
Cast Point: 0.30
Cast Backswing: 0.51
Damage Point: 0.30
Attack Backswing: 0.70
Projectile speed: 900
Base Attack Time: 1.7
Starting Attack Cool down: 1.43

Pros and Cons

Pros

Versatile role in her team.
Armor ignoring arrow ability.
Fantastic lane controlling ability.
Incredible lane staying power.
High overall stat gain per level.

Cons

Susceptible to nukers.
Quite a weak ultimate.
Below average base move speed.

2. Skill Descriptions

QUOTE

Impetus

Gives strength to the Enchantress’ attacks, causing them to deal greater damage the further away the target is.

Level 1 - Deals 4% of the distance in damage.
Level 2 - Deals 8% of the distance in damage.
Level 3 - Deals 12% of the distance in damage.
Level 4 - Deals 16% of the distance in damage.

Cooldown: 6/5/4/0

This is Enchantress’ bread and butter arrow ability. It deals damage on impact based on the distance between Enchantress and her target. This skill is fantastic to harass early game and boosts your dps late game. It also synergizes fantastically with her own slow as well as any other allied slow on fleeing heroes. Impetus damage ignores armor, making it scale well in terms of damage in late part of the game. A downside to this spell is that it is somewhere ineffective against melee heroes in later stages of the game, as they require close combat to damage you, thus losing your distance damage bonus.

QUOTE

Enchant

Brings target unit under control of Aiushtha. If the unit cannot be converted, it will instead be slowed instead.

Level 1 - 30 second cooldown, 10% slow if unit cannot be converted.
Level 2 - 25 second cooldown, 20% slow if unit cannot be converted.
Level 3 - 20 second cooldown, 30% slow if unit cannot be converted.
Level 4 - 15 second cooldown, 40% slow if unit cannot be converted.

Enchant is a great spell. On one hand it is a fantastic slow among slow of Dota Allstars, (7 seconds PHWOARH!) and on the other hand it has the ability to dominate a creep for 2 minutes on all levels. With a low cooldown of 15 seconds on level four, you can mass a nice army of creeps for pushing a tower, slowing pushes by stealing their creeps, using it for stompers or you can ignore that part of the spell and just use it as a slow. The only downside to this spell compared to some other slows is that it is a single targeted spell.

QUOTE

Nature’s Attendants

Releases a swarm of wisps to heal nearby allies in a 300 radius. Each wisp lasts 10 seconds and heals 10hp/sec.

Level 1 - 3 Wisps.
Level 2 - 5 Wisps.
Level 3 - 7 Wisps.
Level 4 - 9 Wisps.

Cooldown: 45 seconds

Healing wisps is another great spell. It makes enchantress a frustrating lane opponent in Dota Allstars to deal with. Not only can she harass you greatly with Impetus, but any attempts at harassing her are futile as she can just heal them off in a matter of seconds. Mid to late game it does not lose its effectiveness, giving a 300 AoE heal of 900hp which can turn the tide of anything from a 1v1 fight to a huge team battle. One downside to this spell is that it’s not an instant heal, meaning it’s useless against chain nukes.

The mechanics of the spell are as follows. Taken and modified from Gradenko’s mechanical explanation.

Nature’s Attendants summons 3/5/7/9 Wisps per level, which last 10 seconds at all levels. Each Wisp selects a random target within 300 AoE and heals it once for 10 HP, then selects a new target for the next second. That works out to 300/500/700/900 HP healed over the 10 seconds in the 300 AoE. The heal is triggered, so as far as I know the graphic is just there for graphics.

QUOTE

Untouchable

Whenever the Enchantress is attacked, she beguiles the unit into slowing its attack.

Level 1 - 50% reduction.
Level 2 - 70% reduction.
Level 3 - 90% reduction.

Passive

I have somewhat mixed feelings about Untouchable. As an ultimate it can be considered somewhat weak. It slows hero’s IAS by that stated amount. However this does NOT change their Base Attack Time. This means their attack speed can’t be slowed past -0.80 in total. IAS decrease comes from items such as Hand of Midas, Agility (base and otherwise) and any hero skills, such as Rampage, Bloodlust or Rabid. It has no effect against manually cast arrow abilities and once your enemies get some decent agility and attack speed items the reduction is minimal at best. It is however very effective against creeps, Roshan, Infernals and other summons. I still use it in my builds as even though the actual attack speed reduced isn’t that great, it can still be lifesaving in some situations.

If you still don’t understand how it works, just think of it as the reverse effect of Frenzy or strafe!

3. Skill Build

1. Impetus
2. Nature’s Attendants
3. Impetus
4. Nature’s Attendants
5. Impetus
6. Nature’s Attendants
7. Impetus
8. Nature’s Attendants
9. Untouchable
10. Enchant / Stats
11. Enchant / Stats
12. Enchant / Stats
13. Enchant / Stats
14. Stats
15. Untouchable
16. Untouchable
17. Stats / Enchant
18. Stats / Enchant
19. Stats / Enchant
20. Stats / Enchant
21-25. Stats

Explanation for Skill Build.

Why max Impetus first?

Maxing Impetus first in this build is a no brainer. It’s your harassing arrow ability. It allows you to dominate most lane matchups, and possibly score an early kill. By level 7 the cooldown is 0, so you are able to “Orbwalk” from there.

Why max Nature’s Attendants so quickly?

Nature’s attendants is your heal. At level four it heals 900 hp over 10 seconds in 300 AoE. It helps you stay in your lane for longer amounts of time and allows you to tank some damage (Read: I can tank most ultimates and combos in the game with this skill, live, attack back and probably win!) while attacking back or fleeing.

When should I take Enchant?

This skill build gives you a choice at when you want to take Enchant.

If you are playing a ganking role, which is Enchantress’ main strength during mid game, taking Enchant at levels 10-14 is the best option. Giving you a 7 second slow to go ganking with allows you to cut down most heroes in a matter of seconds, made twice as easy with BoT.

If your team needs you to be the late gamer and you have other ganking oriented heroes on your side, your main aim early-mid game should be farming and staying alive while calling ganks on your own lane for kills. By the time you reach level 17 when you are close to finishing the items you need, Enchant can be taken for use in ganks and team pushes.

Why not take Untouchable at 6&11?

This skill does little to improve your early game survivability against nukers or manually cast arrow abilities this is why you shouldn’t take it at level 6. It is taken at levels 9/15/16 and not 11, as the leveling of the skill between 1 & 2 is not great, an extra -20% IAS for a level of an ultimate is poor IMO. Around level 9 in the game you can start expecting some “normal attack fire” to hurt when used in conjunction with nukes and disables. You can also use it to pull a creep wave off a tower and take minimal damage or tank some Neutral creeps. The actual attack speed reduction is only from items, agility or hero skills, so you can’t slow a hero’s attack speed past their base attack time.

Could I take some early Stats instead of Nature’s Attendants?

Definitely. If you are laning heroes such as Viper or Visage, their damage comes from orb-walking, which your heal is more beneficial to heal out their harassing. However if you are laning some strong chain nukers, such as Lina, Tinker or even a Lion, early stats would prove to be beneficial in staying alive than leveling your heal to it’s max. I would still recommend two levels of Nature’s Attendants so you can heal, then taking some stats while still maxing Impetus.

4. Item Build(s)

Core Item Build:

Item order

:
1. Consumables: Tangos, clarities. However many you feel you will need. Also a few GGbranches (0-500)
2. Boots of speed (500)
3. Three or Four Null Talisman (1455-1940)****
4. Boots of Travel recipe (2200)
5. Void Stone (900) (Can be taken earlier if you really struggle to manage your mana)
6. Staff of Wizardry (1000)
7. Robe of the Magi (450)
8. Eul’s Scepter of Divinity Recipe Scroll (450)

Total Cost: 7500 gold

Explanation:

I’ll leave the early consumables and survival items up to your own play style and choices. These items include Pots, Tangos, RoR, Clarities, Circlets and GGbranches. Everyone has their own style and preferences about these items. Get Boots of Speed as soon as possible, as they are beneficial to escape early ganks and to harass with Impetus early game.

Three or Four Nulls should be taken as soon as possible. In most situations you wont need the extra HP from bracers, as long as you can get off heal off in time then you will most likely survive through chain nukes and chases. Enchantress’s base damage is fairly low. She can harass the enemy with Impetus, but in terms of last hitting, Enchantress pales in comparison to most other good soloers. Even if you have plenty of mana regeneration, it won’t help in releasing multiple Impetus in a row while trying to orb-walk someone. What you need is a pure mana boost. Three or four Nulls gives 18-24 damage, around 300 mana as well as some hp and agility, which is easily the most cost effective items for the benefits they give. And in 6.46b Nulls recipe cost was reduced which made them even better value for money!

The early BoT isn’t for the teleports(although that is a bonus), it’s for the MS. Having 385 MS to Impetus(orb)-walk against most other heroes (335-370 with just boots) when Impetus is at it’s peak (after level 7 through to mid game) is the most beneficial offensive item you can get.

(Treads are an option now since Aegis was removed, you no longer have the need to suicide push + teleport to push again. The extra IAS is nice, they’re cheap and it’s a n easy way to boost Enchantress’ IAS early.)

The major item in this core build is Eul’s Scepter. It’s taken after BoT as it will not help you net kills nearly as much as BoT will. It helps out further with your mana regen requirements as well as a another decent damage boost. The 6 cyclone charges can be used to set up ganks, escape ganks or make early team fights 5v4 for an amount of time. The charges have many uses, but remember you only have six of them, so use them wisely.

**** If you’re facing a tough opponent, either a significantly better skilled player or Heroes such as Viper and Tinker, Bracers can be taken for the extra survivability. Otherwise, Nulls are the better choice.

Recommended Item paths after core items:

The Guinsoo/Heart Path

9. Quarterstaff (1150)
10. Robe of the Magi (450)
11. Sobi Mask (325)
12. Guinsoo’s Scythe of Vyse Recipe (450)
13. Vitality Booster (1100)
14. Messerschmidt’s Reaver (3200)
15. Heart of Tarrasque Recipe Scroll (1200)

Total cost: 15,375 gold

Explanation

This build is for a Later game Tanking and Damage Enchantress. It covers everything you need to fulfill this. You’ll have the mana regen from your core build, you’ll have a great damage output and you’ll have great survivability from Heart of Tarrasque.

Upgrading your Eul’s to Guinsoo’s Scythe is a logical step once you’ve used up all your cyclones. Guinsoo’s gives another nice damage boost as well and another 3 second disable with a low cooldown, on top of your slow. Heart is a given no matter if you get Radiance, Guinsoo or Necronomicon. Later game with Heart/Untouchable/NA you are probably one of the best pseudo-tanks in the game.

The Necronomicon/Guinsoo Path

Note; In this build, Ignore the core build above and rush Necronomicon as the following order suggests:

1. Consumables: Tangos, clarities. However many you feel you will need. Also a few GGbranches (0-500)
2. Boots of speed (500)
3. Staff of Wizardry (1000)
4. Belt of Giant Strength (450)
5. Necronomicon Recipe (1300)
6. Necronomicon 2 Recipe (1300)
7. Necronomicon 3 Recipe (1300)
8. Boots of Travel recipe (2200)
9. Void Stone (900)
10. Staff of Wizardry (1000)
11. Robe of the Magi (450)
12. Eul’s Scepter of Divinity Recipe Scroll (450)
13. Quarterstaff (1150)
14. Robe of the Magi (450)
15. Sobi Mask (325)
16. Guinsoo’s Scythe of Vyse Recipe (450)

Total cost: 13,725 gold

Explanation

This build is for those situations when your team already has a carry hero, a good tank and is in need of disables and damage or you’re facing invisible/wind walk heroes.

The items you get in this build will not only help your team in large team fights, it will still allow you to deal a decent amount of damage and have good survivability. If your building Necronomicon because your opposing team has invisible or WW heroes such as Bone Clinks or Stealth Assassin then I would recommend getting this before Eul’s and possibly before BoT, as the true sight from level 3 necrowarriors will help immensely. This item synergizes well with your 7 second slow, allowing the warriors to get off a lot of manaburning attacks, as well as a 225 mana burn/nuke. The movespeed aura also helps chasing or escaping. You will also gain some nice stats with level 3 Necro adding to your survivability and mana pool.

Finally after you’ve used all your cyclone charges you can upgrade your Eul’s Scepter into Guinsoo’s Scythe, adding a nice damage boost, a 3 second disable with a low cooldown and even more mana regeneration.

Other Optional Items

Hood of Defiance (2350)

A new item in 6.42 where Aegis has now been removed. This item is a great, cheap alternative for magic resistance. Since chain nukers are your greatest enemy for most of the game, this item will help you immensely. If you’re having trouble early / mid game against casters I would recommend getting it after you complete your Boots of Travel, if you’re surviving well enough then I would recommend getting it after Heart. If you’re not against casters and nukers, then don’t get this item.

Radiance (5325)

Radiance is a good damage item, if you ARE the team’s lategame hero. If you are in a team of general sentinel picks at the moment, there IS a high chance of that happening. (THD/BM/VS/Lina/CM/Enigma/Zues/Chen etc) The team needs a hero with lategame capability in that situation and you could do worse than Enchanty. Radiance would be my damage item of choice over MKB/Buriza etc, as Immolation is fantastic and you get a small evasion which can be helpful, it also doesn’t have any effects which impede Impetus, which is the main reason.

Linken’s Sphere (5500)

Some people like to get Linken’s sphere for the spell block, stats and regen. I personally would prefer heart, but Linken’s certainly isn’t a bad item. Spell block can save you from death on some occasions!

The Butterfly (6350)

The Butterfly is another situational item. I would class this as a luxury item to be gotten after your core build and item paths. It gives nice IAS boost and the extra evasion will help against heroes who rely on physical attacks and/or any hero with a bash ability.

Hyperstone (2350)

The most cost effective way to boost your IAS. Good for increasing your DPS after you’ve completed all your damage and survival items.

Assault Cuirass (6320)

Another new item that you might think to try with Enchant since it’s implementation. The armour bonus’ are nice and the attack speed is very useful. It’s one of those items that you only get 1 per team and if you have the time and spare cash and no one else on your team has one, then definitely consider it.

5. Items not recommended:

Eye of Skadi

Eye of Skadi will be somewhat controversial as many people like it on Enchant for some reason. I would only ever suggest getting it when your team DESPERATELY needs another slow. It is overridden by auto-cast Impetus, but manually casting Impetus on alternate attacks can still make the slow work. It adds nice stats but really, there are better stat items for cheaper and better items for Enchantress.

Maelstrom / Mjollnir

These items are agility based so your gain from them will be minimal. The orb effect also overrides Impetus when it procs. Best left for heroes like troll.

Sange&Yasha

This item is pretty bad all round for Enchantress. It does give some decent str and agil but the price makes it not worth it and it doesn’t give you any damage to speak of. The orb effect is also pretty useless at 10% chance and it overrides Impetus when it occurs. The MS and IAS increase is minimal.

Stygian Desolator

Deso is a pretty good item for its Gold-per-damage, however Impetus overrides the orb effect on Manual and auto-cast. This means you will either be wasting the orb or wasting your Impetus, which isn’t what you want to do!

Monkey King Bar

Some people prefer MKB as a primary damage item. While this is fine and I can see their arguments as to why they like MKB with the attack speed and damage etc, I would personally never recommend this as the mini-stun overrides Impetus when it procs, which means you lose out of 30% of your Impetus! Definately not something you want.

Manta Style

Manta Style may seem like something you want to try on Enchantress but I will tell you why you shouldn’t. Impetus overrides the mana burn effect so you are wasting money on an orb your not using. Once you use your images, if you have Impetus on auto-cast only the real Enchantress will use Impetus and the other two wont, thus giving away your position a lot easier than normal.

Dagon

Some people go by the mentality that they should buy dagon on any intel hero. Since Enchantress is an INT hero I should buy a dagon right?? WRONG! Dagon is a waste of gold on Enchantress. You’re not a nuker so you wont be able to chain it with anything, you will have no use for it other than using it to KS and you’ll just be wasting 3k gold.

Buriza-do Kyanon

Buriza is a decent enough item for damage however your attack speed isn’t high enough to utilise the critical strikes. Not only that but if you learn Impetus first, then you buy buriza, critical will override Impetus, so you lose Armor piercing arrow for 1 double damage hit (and chances are the Impetus would have done around the same damage as the crit anyway).

Lifesteal

Lifesteal overrides Impetus on manual cast, but Impetus overrides on auto-cast. Again you’ll be wasting money on an orb you wont use or lose out on your Impetus and extra damage.

Bloodstone

While this might seem like an item you would want to get on Enchant, I recommend avoiding it. It gives nice regen, hp & mana boost but to be honest, it doesn’t suit your role as a mid game ganker and a late game DPS-tank. There are better items for Enchant, and this one is best left for supporting heroes such as Venge and Dazzle.

6. General Game play Walkthrough

Early game: (Levels 1-10)

To start off with, make sure someone on your team has a chicken they can share with you. This will save you fountain trips and will get your items out to you. Enchantress has incredible lanestaying ability, make sure you abuse it!

Get your preferred regen items and head to a solo lane. Mid works well, but basically head to the lane where the other team’s solo is, (e.g most higher levels solo mid - Most lower levels solo Top scourge and bottom sentinel) and if you run into a 2 lane, simply swap asap. Enchantress’ lane control ability against another solo is pretty much only equaled by Viper and Warlock and if it’s -ap, Tinker and Syllabear. Heroes like LoA, Leshrac and NA will give you a hard time with their respective abilities, but you should still be able to out lane them with smart play.

If mid is your lane, ask a teammate to grab some observer wards for you on the chicken so you can place one at the top of the scourge hill. Having sight up the hill allows you to farm better, orbwalk your opponent better and see them coming if they try to attack you. Also placing one ward at each rune spot allows you to avoid river ganks as well as seeing any useful runes you may want to use.

Lane Controlling (Solo)

Your ability to control a lane is the main reason that you will be soloing. Making it impossible for your lane opponent to farm should be your main aim, sending and keeping them out of farming range if you can. The extra experience also allows you to rush level 7, giving you 0 cooldown on Impetus. Impetus is your harassing and lane controlling tool. It costs 40/45/50/55 mana on it’s respective levels, so it is somewhat costly in the mana department for an arrow ability. This is where your clarities and Nulls will help you. You should always make sure you keep enough mana for Nature’s Attendants. Harass with your normal attack as much as you can while you regen some mana and keep them on their toes with the occasional Impetus.

(If you need to learn more about how to use Impetus, how to harass with it, what “orb-walking” is and how to Animation Cancel you should read the section later in the guide called “Mini-Guide to Impetus”)

Farming

Your key to gaining the farming advantage is in your last hitting. Enchantress has a rather long backswing and lowish base damage as well as a slow projectile speed. Practice in single player mode until you get used to her animation. If you are controlling your lane well you will be able to move up closer to the creeps, meaning that your projectile has less distance to travel when you attack making last hitting much easier. You shouldn’t leave your lane to gank other lanes just yet, however you can call a stunner or a nuker to your lane to kill or send your lane opponent back to the fountain so you gain that much needed level and farming advantage.

Killing

While Enchantress has the ability to net early game kills, losing your life just to try to get one isn’t beneficial. You should be looking to aggressively control your lane and farm, as going for suicide kills will completely negate one of your main advantages; being able to stay in your lane for very long periods of time. Once level 7 comes you should be able to orb-walk-kill your lane opponent in 4 or 5 shots, but again don’t be suicidal, sometimes you have to settle for sending them back to the fountain with the feeling of “Just one more hit….” Mid game is where you’re hero killing potential should be realised.

Dual Lane

You wont always get the solo with Enchantress if you’re playing public games or less competitive game. In that instance you’ll have to make the most of it. You can still do very well if you play smart and have a good lane partner.

To start off with, make sure you lane with another hero who has a disable of some sort. Coupled with Impetus it will make early kills possible. Make sure you pick up some mana regen items like clarities, tell your partner to pick up a Ring of Basilius. You should pick up a headdress pretty quickly if your team has a shared chicken for the regen and to help your partner as well.

Enchantress still has great harassing and lanestaying ability in a dual lane. Make sure you use this to your benefit so you level up consistently and farm decently. Combo your lane opponent with your lane partner’s disable and throw your Impetus’ when you know they’ll be good. If you need to chase past a tower turn on your Nature’s Attendants and don’t be afraid to in this instance.

6. General Gameplay Walkthrough cont.

Mid game: (Levels 10-16)

You should have farmed your way through to Boots of Travel around this stage. You could also be leveling Enchant now, so it becomes possible to leave your lane and help with ganks, pushes or whatever else your team is deciding to do.

When you finish your Eul’s, use your cyclones sparingly as you only have 6. I would only recommend using it to escape ganks, make an early team battle into 5v4, or to set up a gank so your team has enough time to get into position.

Ganking

With Boots of Travel, some mana regen and full strength Impetus, killing enemies should now be your priority. If neither team is pushing, start hunting heroes to gank with a team mate or if you’re confident, on your own. Impetus is very powerful at this stage and will eat through any hero’s HP in 4/5/6 hits from full range at this stage.

When ganking, it’s always best to come from behind cutting off their escape. If they still try to run that way they will have to run past you, which is exactly what you want. Hit them with a few Impetus’ then Enchant them and keep hitting away. Don’t forget to animation cancel when chasing, this will ensure u stay close enough to keep attacking. If they happen to run the other way then you will have options. Either a nearby teammate should be coming from that direction, chase them so you can use Enchant or run back around the other way to cut them off again.

Try not to get fooled by a double bluff, a.k.a Juked, when they fake going one way then once you’ve gone around to cut them off again they either go back the original way you can from or hide in the bush and TP back to base. This can be embarrassing and lets them get away, this is why its best to have a teammate coming from the other direction.

Hopefully this cheap paint edited screen will show what I mean:

These are some general gank spots you will want to use from the sentinels point of view. If you see a hero or two farming alone in any of these spots call a team mate or two to come with you and head the direction that the arrows show. Be careful though as if you’re playing against decent opposition they will have most of these spots warded. They will be aware that you’re coming and either call in help or teleport out. You can counter this by getting wards of your own and killing theirs or a gem. Alternatively you could just pray they didn’t buy any wards.

Pushing

If your team is pushing, then chances are you will encounter a big team battle. You should never initiate the combat, staying behind your allies until the commencement of the fight. Your team’s role will be to use all their disables and AoE spells to cause as much damage to your opponents as possible, then try to protect you so you can deal out as much damage as possible. If you find yourself being targeting, turn on your heal as quick as possible and hang around any of your team with a mekansm or heal skill. Once the main battle has taken place it is then your job to get into the front lines and chase down any escaping heroes. With BoT, Enchant and Impetus, chasing down and killing weakened heroes should be no problem.

Farming

Once you get your Boots of Travel start teleporting around to where you can farm. If you see a massive creep waving pushing a lane close to your tower or base then teleport there and take priority farming over your teammates. Enchant a kobold for the MS aura if you come across one while neutraling. It only lasts two minutes but can help you if you’re chasing down a hero or escaping a gank.

You should never stop farming. If you’re going to help for a push or a gank, quickly farm some neutrals if your waiting for your team to get into position. Your ulti makes tanking neutrals a breeze. Once you’ve pushed that tower or ganked that hero, immediately head back to your lane, farming any neutrals you wish on the way and continue farming. You should RARELY have to return to the fountain to heal as your wisps will heal you and with either a Eul’s or a void stone you should have the mana to cast it when needed.

Using Necronomicon

If you went for Necronomicon, you can use the summons to gank effectively in conjunction with your slow and another disabler. Use your Necros liberally, not only can they be used in team fights to burn mana and nuke but they can also help you farm as well as scout around trees and even harass your enemies if you’re still laning. You can use your Necrowarriors to tank the neutrals so you don’t take damage. You can also Enchant some neutrals to tank the damage for you while using your Necros to scout around for nearby enemies as mobile observers.

In team battles, spawn your Necros just before the engagement of the battle and turn Impetus on auto-cast so you wont have to worry about manual casting and animation canceling while using your Necros. Aim your Necros at their most mana dependant hero, such as a Necrolyte or Bane. Mana burn them A.S.A.P then continue attacking so the melee Necrowarrior can burn even more mana with mana break. If any of them kill your Necrowarrior with Last Will they will receive 200/400/600 damage depending on what level Necrobook you have, but they give 100 gold so don’t feed them to your opponents if you can help it.

Late game: (Levels 17-25)

If the game lasts this long you should have completed your item paths. In this part of the game it is the time for your late game carry/DPS hero to shine. Enchantress does have the ability to carry her team to victory, probably less effectively than a true carry hero, but her potential is there. Often referred to as a “Half-carry”.

If you are the lategamer in your team, then your team should be protecting you at all costs while you deal out your damage. Impetus is still extremely strong in this part of the game due to it’s Divine damage type.

Some examples of “true” carry heroes include, Troll, Morph, Silencer, Viper, Clinkz or Terrorblade. If your team has one of these heroes who is well farmed, then you should take a different role. Your role should now be tanking for them at all costs, even if it means your death. They should possess a higher DPS than you, however most of them will be somewhat more fragile than you if you’ve followed my builds (there’s a few exceptions).

Tanking

Late game Enchantress can be daunting for enemies to face, if you farmed well and got the right items. With Radiance, Heart and Hex, she can go toe to toe with some of the strongest late game heroes in the game. Her tanking ability with Untouchable, Nature’s Attendants and Heart is really underestimated. She can heal off 1000 hp in 10 seconds while she continues to deal large amounts of damage.

If the game is dragging on and you find yourself being targeted by many disables and nukes you may want to invest into a BKB, Hood of Defiance or Linkin’s sphere as these will all provide some form of magic defense.

Ganking

Ganks wont feature much in this part of the game due to both teams sticking in a group and pushing. If you do happen to see an opportunity to gank, take it, as a gank followed by a push can be game breaking. Use the same playstyle as stated above to gank heroes.

Pushing

In team pushes your goal is to deal as much damage as possible with Impetus and keep your carry hero alive as long as possible (if it’s not you and have one of the aforementioned heroes on your team). Get in the fight before he does and don’t be afraid to take the focus fire. This time turn on your heal and be vigilant that you stay within 300 AoE of your main DPSer so if he is taking damage, he’ll get the full benefit from your heal. Don’t forget to use hex if you have it. You can either target their main DPS/Carry hero with your hex, as this will stop his damage output for 3 seconds, or you can target their main disabler in an attempt to kill him off before he can cast anything. Again slow any escaping heroes so that your team can chase them down.

7. Good Allies to have:

Single Target Disablers:

These heroes are the kind of heroes you want to be laning with if you’re not the solo. They have one or two abilities which is either a stun or a slow. They are also the kind of heroes you want to go ganking with. With their disables and/or nukes along with your slow and Impetus it will make early-mid game lane kills and ganks quick and effective.

Mass AoE Disablers:

These allies come into their own around mid game when team fights start to happen more often. Their mass disables are mostly going to be their ultimate abilities and a well landed one can be game breaking. The mass disables allow you to attack freely with your Impetus, on whoever your team wants to take down first. If you went the Necro build you can burn a large amount of mana on their most mana dependant hero.

Healers:

Coupled with Nature’s Attendants further heals from your team mates will aid your team even more. This will allow your team to sustain a larger amount of damage without dying and it is often the difference between winning and losing.

8. Bad Enemies to face

Mana Burners:

Mana burners are the bane to your existence. They will target you and you will despise them for it. Without mana you can no longer use your heal or slow and your damage output will be depleted without Impetus. I would suggest avoiding them at all costs early game, and gank them hard with 2 or more disables mid game.

Chain Disablers:

Chain disablers are bad enemies to face, simply due to the fact that they can stop you from casting Nature’s Attendants while his team focus’ fire on you. In a case of facing such heroes you may want to invest in a Linkin’s Sphere or some other spell blocking items.

Chain Nukers:

Chain nukers often get the better of Enchantress simply because it’s a large amount of damage in bursts which doesn’t allow her heal time to do it’s job. If you are laned against these types of heroes, call an ally to help or simply swap lanes. Mid-late game when their nukes lose effectiveness you can make short work of them. One exception is Pudge, who can Hook/Rot/Dismember you early/mid/late game and then tank your damage quite easily, be careful of him and make sure you stick with some team mates.

Late game Assassins:

Late game assassins are lethal to Enchantress and most other heroes, late game. The only way to neutralise them is making sure they have such a terrible early game that they have no chance to farm at all. If you are facing WW heroes I would suggest rushing Necronomicon for the true sight ability. If they do farm well then your going to need a lot of wards and sticking with your team since you will have little chance of defeating them if they backstab you while you’re on your own.

9. Mini Guide to Using Impetus

Impetus can be somewhat difficult to understand for an inexperienced player. You will probably be wondering how to use it properly and how to get the most effective results from using it. I will attempt to show you the basics of using Impetus to harass, to chase and to kill.

Impetus deals bonus damage based on a percentage of the distance at the time of impact between Enchantress and the target.

Harassing

First off, using Impetus to harass is crucial to dominating your lane matchups. Earlygame getting good Impetus’ every time on enemy heroes is vital for establishing control in your lane. When a melee hero comes up to last hit a creep, timing the cast of your Impetus is important. Too early and you’ll get a weak +50 dmg (lvl 4 Impetus), too late and he could be out of range all together. Waiting until he has hit the creep and just as he turns around to run away is the optimum time to let off an Impetus. Chances are he didn’t see you throw it, if he did he’s already clicked and is running away watching helplessly as the Impetus deals +160 dmg.

If you’re facing a ranged hero, wait until he is coming in to either harass you or last hit. Throw a few normal attacks at him to make him turn around and as he starts running back, throw an Impetus. If he runs closer to you after you threw your Impetus, attack him again and if you are level 5 or 7 with low cooldown Impetus, try to throw another one just to annoy him even more!

Hint: After you’ve thrown an Impetus, if you know you wont throw another one straight away, immediately run in the opposite direction that you threw it. This will widen the gap slightly increasing the damage dealt. It may only increase it 10 or so damage, but if you do this every time it adds up.

Chasing

Chasing is where you will see the real power of the Impetus. It is not uncommon to see +200 dmg on Impetus when chasing fast heroes such as Bounty Hunter, Bloodseeker or Slardar. Coupled with Enchant’s 7 seconds of slow it makes for lethal damage output in a short amount of time. A lot of people make the mistake of just turning Impetus on auto-cast, standing still and attacking. This will mean you wont be in a good position to chase down any escaping heroes. I find that manually casting Impetus at all times is more effective than auto cast. This allows you to cancel the “Cast backswing” more efficiently by immediately issuing another command after you throw your Impetus, a.k.a Animation canceling.

Keep in mind that the maximum damage on Impetus is +400. Which at level four is a distance of 2500 units.

Animation Canceling

When your hero casts a spell, the animation takes place. Once the effect of the spell has taken place(your Impetus arrow is projected), there is a “cast backswing” in the animation, which is just an extra bit of animation for aesthetics (e.g. CM waving her wand, Enchantress spins her spear over her head etcetc) In other words, IT WASTES TIME when you could be moving closer to your opponent for another attack, or casting another spell!

To animation cancel all you have to do, once the spell is cast/effect has taken place, immediately issue another command, either to move, or to attack. The command you issued, overrides the backswing of the animation and performs that command instead.

You may be thinking “But I’m not good enough to Animation cancel” or “I couldn’t be bothered” but let me tell you Animation canceling is not something just for those advanced players you see in all those league replays. It is easy to do and improves your chasing ability tenfold, all you need a basic understanding of what it is and some practice! Heroes with 400+ MS with their S&Y’s will be thinking “WTF why aren’t I moving away from her!?!?” when you are running along side them throwing your Impetus’ and canceling the cast backswing.

10. Using Enchant to it’s Full Potential

Enchant is a multidimensional skill with more uses than many people care to know about. Most people tend to neglect the second part of the skill that allows you to dominate many things and just use it for the ownage 7 second slow. In doing this they are missing out on a large portion of what this skill can do for you in terms of ganking, turning the tide is battles and so on. In this next section I will attempt to explain most of the uses of this skill outside of just using it to slow.

Enchant only lasts for 2 minutes, so you shouldn’t be aiming to play her like a Chen. Enchant has a fast cooldown so the idea when Enchanting creeps is to get them as you plan to use them. For example, if you were planning to gank bottom, run through the forest, quickly pick up the first useful creep you see and continue on your way to gank.

Neutral Creeps for Ganking

Enchanting neutral creeps is probably the most obvious of all things that can be Enchanted. There are many neutral creeps you can Enchant, from Gnoll Assassins right through to Satyr Hellcallers. However for the purpose of ganking there are only a few neutral creeps that are of any use.

# Centaur Khan
* Endurance Aura gives 15% increased attack speed.
* Warstomp ability the deals 25 damage and stuns for 2 seconds in a small AoE.

Probably the best neutral creep to enchant. It has reasonably high hp, a good aura and the stomp is the main reason you want this creep.

# Polar Furbolg Ursa Warrior
* Hoofstomp ability that deals 25 damage and stuns for 2 seconds in a small AoE.

About as good as the Centaur but it doesn’t have an aura. It does have 100 more mana though, so that’s 1 extra stomp you can perform over the Centaur.

# Kobold Taskmaster
* Endurance Aura gives 12% increased movement speed.

Who can argue that +12% MS isn’t good for ganking? That’s all you will use this creep for.

# Satyr Hellcaller
* Unholy Aura gives 2 hp/sec regen
* Shockwave that deals 100 damage to land units in a line.

An extra 100 damage nuke and some regen with this creep. It also deals about 60 damage per attack, coupled with a stomper and your slow it can deal a decent amount of damage early game.

Neutral Creeps for Pushing

If your team is planning a push simply make your way through a forest and pick up as many creeps as you can. They don’t have to be the ones mentioned above, however they do help more. If you run out of the bush with a Centaur, Hellcaller and an Orge to push a lane in the early stages of the game, unless you’re facing their whole team it will be tough to stop you taking the tower. Do be cautious though as Enchanted creeps gain no extra HP and when they die they will be giving out bounty, so you don’t want to just feed them to your opponents.

Image Heroes

Another cool fact about Enchant is that it can also be used on Images(not geomancer however). When your facing Image heroes such as Naga Siren, Phantom Lancer, Terrorblade or Chaos Knight, you should always aim to Enchant one of their Images away from them when they use their Image abilities. This can seriously hamper a Chaos Knight, as his image skill is his ultimate and you are effectively making it 33% weaker by taking an image and turning it back against him, and a Terrorblade who, without Manta Style can only get 2 Images up.

Naga and PL are somewhat less effected as taking away 1 image from them wont hamper them too greatly as their images are easier to create than the one’s mentioned above. However it can still be effective to have one of their images fighting against them.

Turning the Tide of Battle by Stealing Summons

In large team battles Enchant can be used to hopefully turn the tide in certain situations. If you are playing an -ap game, Enchant can be used on Chen’s persuaded creeps. This will not only neutralise one third of his creep army, but can be used right back against him.

Another one worth mentioning is you can Enchant the Blue and Fire Panda when Pandaren uses Primal Split, the Earth Panda is Immune to magic so you can’t Enchant him. When you Enchant one and kill the other two, it results in a suicide from Pandaren, but you get to keep the Enchanted Panda until the timer runs out, which is uber cool! (Thanks to Da.Waaagh for helping me test this!)

Other examples of Enchanting summons that can help turn the tide of a battle, such as Lycan’s wolves, Beast Master’s animals, Morphling’s Replicate and Necronomicon summons.

11. Replays

My nub replays

I got another recent replay. This game was in 6.42, IH game vs a clan. I didn’t play solo / carry with Enchant, instead I played as a support / ganker / tank. The game isn’t very high level, but it’s around the level of a standard friendly IH with some friends.

Started off laned with Spirit Breaker against Bristleback + Magnus, I stupidly get 1stblooded a few minutes in while trying to block them from 1stblooding SB. After that I just try to harass and farm as much as I can while not dying. After a while we start ganking and pushing, I use a lot of the strategy from my guide in this game, the skill build, orb-walking, ganking, pushing and what I could get made of the item build before the game ended. Our Viper was the Radiance buyer which meant I didn’t need to get it, so I finished Guinsoo after my core build and started to make Heart.

In the end we dominated them pretty easily with double their killscore, but I liked this replay because it shows most things in my guide and how they can be done in a normal, non league, non pro game which most of the guide readers play.

Enjoy:

Enchant_vs_mR.clan.w3g ( 997.25k )
(1.21)

Ok I have a 1.21 replay of me nubbing it up with Enchantress. The game is a pub game, however there are 5 of my friends (3 on sent, 2 on scourge+me) the mode is -ar. The NZ host (Im Aus) gives me a ping about 0.200. So with a small amount of delay I start the game fairly badly in terms of my -cs. After a while I got used to it and finally start to land a few last hits.

The teams were fairly lopsided in terms of early game and late game capability, ours having most of the early game capability while Sentinel side had a potentially strong late game. Knowing this we decided we needed to push hard and fast if we were to win, so farming opportunities were few and far between. The game is tense and there’s a lot of team fighting. Can we push quick enough to win before sentinels superior late game takes over or will they hold off long enough to get the items they need?

All in all I didn’t play particularly well, with an ending score of only 3-2, but I feel that this replay is a good one to put here, because it shows how the average dota player would play Enchantress, as opposed to just showing you replays of how pros play her in league games.

Enjoy:

Enchant_Replay_1.21.w3g ( 902.59k )
(1.21)

Pro Replays

This replay is of Yoshi[P] playing a totally dominant Enchantress against TeG in a recent -ap draft match in semifinals of ESL. The reason I’m posting this replay is to show how Enchant can and will completely dominate her lane against heroes other than the top scourge soloers. Yoshi makes it impossible for his lane opponent to farm and keeps him underfarmed all game.

Another reason this replay is awesome, is because Yoshi shows how to totally counter an enemy Chen and pretty much render him useless other than his heal. Not a good replay if you’re looking for “how to get out of a losing situation” because in this one he dominates start to finish with good strategy, a good build and abusing Enchant’s strengths as much as possible.

Enjoy:

ESL_PS_tPD_vs._TeG_3.w3g ( 1.44mb )
(1.21)

This replay I particularly enjoyed watching. It is of MYM|Maelk playing Enchantress in an IH -ap game. The reason I enjoyed this one so much was that he wasn’t playing with the Imba 6.37 Sentinel team, thus making the performance stand out more than usual. Most of the strategy I depict in my guide is used to some degree in this replay(although he does most things 76 and a half times better than me), He buys MKB instead of Radiance because the Omniknight on his team already bought a Radiance, Otherwise the builds are much the same.

Enjoy:

Maelk_s_IHCS_Enchantress.w3g ( 2.19mb )
(1.20)

12. Conclusion

Thanks for reading my guide, I hope you liked it. I would appreciate some constructive criticism to improve this one and any future attempts I make at writing a guide. Please no flames though!

I hope I’ve helped out some new players and more experienced players alike with some new and old builds, some decent strategy and a few high quality, enjoyable replays (along with the nubness of my own replay ).

Tips and Tricks: Aiushta, the Enchantress

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Astute) — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 07:33:00 +0000

Tips and Tricks: Aiushta, the Enchantress

1. Enchant!

A skill usually taken after early game. A skill used to slow enemies while pummeling them with forceful spears that send those light blue numbers flashing in the screen. Ouch.

But here's another way to use this skill. Surveillance. Reconnaissance. Enchant an enemy creep and send it to where you think the enemies are poised to ambush. Your creep will not only expose them but will also shake their will to carry on with their plan. Sure, you give them a bit of experience and gold, but you actually save your teammates by doing this. Besides, if you are just pushing, what harm is there in enchanting a creep then sending it to the woods to explore a bit?

If the mode is -ap and you're pitted against the goblins (Squee! and Spleen!), then this skill has actually more use. Yes, you can use enchanted creeps to set off traps and land mines! That way, you can foil their ambushes and surprise them with a counter ambush, and more or less turn the tides of the battle.

2. Untouchable + Nature's Attendants

Most of us already know how hard to kill Enchantress is with her having these two skills. But we can make the enemy's life a nightmare by doing this. In case your Enchantress falls down to half-life, you may want to take a risk. WARNING: You have to have some backup for this one!

Parade her in front of two enemy heroes (just not two nukers or you're dead before you can even nod your head). Now, do some stupid moves like get stuck between creeps to invite them to you! Yes, beguile them. Now, when they start chasing you, attack first, then pretend to falter, then run. Do not turn Nature's Attendants on yet! Let them chase you for awhile. Meantime, your allies should now emerge from their hiding places to initiate an ambush. If they start running, Enchant one and go for the kill. But if they don't, just tarry on, and turn the wisps on at the last possible moment so they would not get discouraged. If you turn it immediately, they'd just back out, and your team might miss two potential kills.

Guide Rehashed - The Enchantress

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Astute) — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 07:30:00 +0000

DOTA: The Enchantress

The Enchantress

Str/Agil/Int: 16/19/16 +2/+1.8/+2

HP/MP: 454/208

MS:295 Range:550

Hero Abilities

	Impetus Gives strength to the Enchantress' attacks, causing them to deal greater damage the further away the target is. Level 1 - Deals 4% of the distance in damage. Level 2 - Deals 8% of the distance in damage. Level 3 - Deals 12% of the distance in damage. Level 4 - Deals 16% of the distance in damage.

	Enchant Brings target unit under control of Aiushtha. If the unit cannot be converted, it will instead be slowed instead. Level 1 - 30 second cooldown, 10% slow if unit cannot be converted. Level 2 - 25 second cooldown, 20% slow if unit cannot be converted. Level 3 - 20 second cooldown, 30% slow if unit cannot be converted. Level 4 - 15 second cooldown, 40% slow if unit cannot be converted.

	Nature's Attendants Releases a swarm of wisps to heal nearby allies in a 300 radius. Each wisp lasts 10 seconds and heals 10hp/sec. Level 1 - 3 Wisps. Level 2 - 5 Wisps. Level 3 - 7 Wisps. Level 4 - 9 Wisps.

	Untouchable Whenever the Enchantress is attacked, she beguiles the unit into slowing its attack. Level 1 - 50% reduction. Level 2 - 70% reduction. Level 3 - 90% reduction.

Core Items: Guinsoo/S&Y/threads

OR Boots of Travel/Soul Brooster[cheaper vanguard]/[Linken's Sphere/monkey king bar]

Late: Radiance/Linken's anything

Small items: null/basilius

On the abilities of the Enchantress: Enchantress has very high dmg granted conditionally on the distance between her and the opponent. Typically, intel characters are nukers, meaning they deal dmg directly thru spamming spells and converting mana to dmg. In fact, most of the earlier guides on intel heroes discuss the efficiency of mana conversion to direct dmg, then the efficiency of the effects(stun/slow...) or conditions(timing, position/timing/co-op of allies) that will create the probability to slaughter the opponent. Also, I will not venture into calculating the dmg to mana ratio, distance to dmg ratio... plz do that yourself when free.

In the enchantress's case, she is still quite mana intensive, at least at the early parts of the game, where mana is much too limited. Her slow is pretty useless, since the slow is pathetic, i would say even at level 4, the slow only 40%, and by then, to complete the kill, u probably still need assistance from an ally, and only in every 2 hits do u get to throw an impetus(early cd is not 0) and of course, your inability to chase or for that matter, just too slow to throw the one impetus to kill.

Therefore, in the early game, I reccomend nulls or bacillus, for additional mana, and some extra life...by simple observation, her stats are rubbish. Depending on your ally(also the opponent's intelligence), you may choose to be agressive or a farmer.

Decide if it is viable to potshot, i.e. the opponent is dumb and often gets into range then runs away when the impetus flies towards him (distance multiplier effect) and repeats this scenario often enuff to keep himself screwed... then it is good. In fact, most victims of the enchantress in some sense suicides by running and sustaining the extra dmg that comes from the impetus. Also, the impetus is awfully dmging, under the correct distance and preferrably with nuking or disabling allies. Of course, slow, hex, stun, purge*... works awfully well with her impetus. Note that despite being dmging from the front, the best position for the enchantress is still the back stab... so that even if you get counterdisabled, the multiplier effect still applies when they try to escape. Anyway, best case scenario is that u push the opponents all the way back but threatening them with a incredibly cheap nuke.... as long as your ally and u are putting them at a "comfortable" distance. Note also that the typical dota players backs when being potshot, the enchantress impetus is ideal for exploiting this weakness. In fact, the best case scenario for your opponents is being double nukers or double disablers and could kill u pretty quickly or they play denial. Well... that is quite possible since enchantress's attack spd is sad.

In a case where your ally is somewhat not performing, the impetus is nevertheless a powerful tool for grabbing last hits, and earning lots of money, also can contribute quite a lot during gangbangs with disabling allies.

As i mentioned before earlier, forget about the slow, since it is pretty sad and mana intensive. Instead, max impetus, stats(yes, for HP!), and healing wisps(again, good but note that it is not instanteous, so watch out)

Healing wisps - impt note: it is not instanteous... and only works if the wisp can touch u, so it works faster when u are stationary and alone and heals more for the same reason. By my estimates, it is a 200++hp at level 1, 400++ hp at level 2, 600++hp at level 3, and 800++hp at level 4. You can use it as a mobile water bottle, healing yourself and allies. The higher level using is in gangbangs and pushing. Many enchantresses die before they can even switch the healing on, or dies since the HP regaining is too little compared to dmg taken. So the best way is to stock up on HP, so u actually live long enuff to get a chance to heal! and while we are on the subject, stay ard long enuff to deal dmg. And yes, make people aimlessly chase you while slowed and your allies wait to rape them from behind. Enchantresses must be killed once engaged, so your job is to prevent that... otherwise, they come back, healed and healing allies, with high dmg.

So in summary so far:

weird dmg multiplier which plays on FEAR... making people stay far and in pain.
pathetic life, idea for noobs is to stay alive to do something
healing difficult but essential for use [slow but significant healing]
if u didn't get it earlier, conversion is useless(except against dearest chen) and the slow is not to be learned unless you have no diablers in team completely or only late game as a supplement to existing disables

Ok, now for the items...
S&Y - improves the HP which I mentioned so many times and movespd - erm slowing others, spding up yourself, and running and healing.... yes yes yes....the agility increase and ms of course gives you a killing edge, u can outrun pple now - imagine the amt of multiplier effect! Note also that if u alternate between normal attack and impetus by manual control, u will have a chance to miam... whoa... gross.

Guinsoo - settled HP, ms, so more intel - and more dmg, plus u get divine scepter(erm reposition yourself to bs position while the victim is flying in air...so many insane uses...) and hex... well need i even explain this? and yes the regen and increased attacked spd of 10% is very much useful too

---threads(typical), so after this it is really anything...
Alternative item build:
BoT - movespd arguement - no need to explain further, right?
Soul brooster - life(most impt!), mana
-- so now? kills not fast enuff? - mkb
-- not buff enuff? linken's

If game plan ends at level 14-16 can get mekasm - double healing to team for pushing down mid tower and raks

Late game: Tanker build: agesis/heart/platemail... Dmg build: radiance, butterfly...

Have fun!

Top 10 DotA Heroes (updated)

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Astute) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 08:30:00 +0000

Disclaimer:

Plus Ten rankings were compiled through tireless DotA research and gameplay by its elite team of in-house gamers and writers, many of whom bravely soldiered through countless expletive-ridden terms hurled by post-adolescent grade-schoolers questioning their playing skills, intellectual aptitude and sexual orientation, all to bring you the definitive list of the top ten DotA heroes. The rankings here are based solely on the hero configurations of the latest DotA patch, 6.19b. These rankings in no way reflect the views of the game's creators and programmers, who through countless panic-stricken emails, wish to remain completely uninvolved and impartial from these proceedings. Nor are these rankings indicative of the site's editor, who continues to insist to this day that the coolest hero in the game is Pudge the Butcher.

10
HERO: Lightning Revenant
AFFILIATION: Scourge
TYPE: Agility
ABILITIES: Unholy Fervor, Chain Lighting, Frenzy
ULTIMATE: Storm Seeker

COMMENTS: Number ten with a bullet, Razor makes this list as both a fan favorite and one of the most lethal crowd controllers in the game. Razor's primary attack is without contest the loudest, most viscerally punishing in the game. With every jet of blood-red current that sparks from his war mace, you can almost feel the volts of pain shoot through the enemy hero's spine. Combined with Chain Lightning and Storm Seeker, the air is always crackling around this hero. However, Razor's power is not rooted solely in the power wattage of his spells, but rather in his passive ability, Unholy Frenzy. This aura grants the Lightning Revenant both increased movement speed and hit point regeneration, allowing him not only to weave in and out of combat, but also to escape and recover from it, only to join the fray anew and shock to death whomever may be unfortunate enough to cross him.

9
HERO: Night Stalker
AFFILIATION: Scourge
TYPE: Strength
ABILITIES: Hunter in the Night, Crippling Fear, Void
ULTIMATE: Darkness

COMMENTS: Perhaps the most controversial and disputed member of this list, Balanar sneaks onto our list under the title of "specialist of specialists (by ‘specialist of specialists' we mean he is special to our editor-in-chief, who demanded he be put here)." As his name might imply, The Night Stalker draws all of his abilities after sunset. The only ability not (entirely) nocturnally dependent is Void, a direct damage ability that slows its target when cast at night. Other than that, Balanar must remain a defensive figure so long as the sun mutes his powers. As soon as the sun sets, however, Balanar stalks the battlefield with predatory purpose. Hunter of the Night makes this boogeyman of the black day move and attack at speeds that would put most agility heroes to shame. Meanwhile, casting Crippling Fear causes enemies to be paralyzed with terror, rendering them unable to cast spells or attack efficiently, thereby burdening them with a percentage chance to miss on attack. The Night Stalker can also command the night to unfold prematurely by using his Ultimate, Darkness, which turns his "tower hugging" tactics into merciless tower leveling as well as hero killing. Often, when the sky suddenly turns a deep, ashen gray, heroes take their positions by the nearest tower like a child hugs his comfort blanket, to avoid unsupported conflict with Balanar. Sometimes, even that is not enough.

8.
HERO: Shadow Shaman and Demon Witch
AFFILIATION: Shadow Shaman (Sentinels)
Demon Witch (Scourge)
TYPE: Shadow Shaman (Intelligence)
Demon Witch (Intelligence)
ABLITIES: Shadow Shaman-Hero Shackles, Voodoo,
Forked Lighting
Demon Witch-Impale, Voodoo, Mana Drain
ULTIMATE: Shadow Shaman-Mass Serpent Ward
Demon Witch- Finger of Death

COMMENTS: There comes a point in any list making endeavor that contentious dispute can only appeased with the use of the ever-impartial tie. In the case of our 8^th place heroes, the honor is shared by both Rhasta the Shadow Shaman and Lion the Demon Witch. Yes, they share a similar spell—the ability to "hex" or polymorph their opponents into random animal critters—and, yes, they are both intelligence heroes, but you have to look past the obvious similarities to see how each cancels the other out in our rankings. Forked Lightning and Impale both do direct damage to multiple targets; Lion's ability may give him the added advantage of stunning his opponents, but Rhasta's Lightning makes up for it with higher base damage. Besides which, Rhasta is not without his own talent for immobilizing hostile prey. The Shadow Shaman can ensnare an enemy hero using the channeling spell, Hero Shackles, whereas Lion uses his own channeling ability to siphon mana from his enemy. The only marked difference between the two can be found in their Ultimates: the Shadow Shaman plants a hellacious number of Serpent Wards to spew venomous darts at his enemies while Lion's Finger of Death (500 base damage, level 1) all but sentences his opponent to an agonizing, torturous demise. It is often fun to see these two meet on the battlefield, taking turns transforming each other into toads or crabs and hammering each other with some of the best spells the game has to offer.

7
HERO: Bounty Hunter
AFFILIATION: Sentinels
TYPE: Agility
ABILITIES: Jinada, Wind Walk, Shuriken Toss
ULTIMATE: Track

COMMENTS: Hero killer among hero killers, Gondar the Bounty Hunter is the hero to use if you prefer to deal in bad-blooded, face-to-face vendettas. His abilities are among the most complimentary for his class of character; from the ability to move stealthily and swiftly (Wind Walk), to his ability to dodge enemy attacks and counter with critical strikes of his own (Jinada), to heavy direct damage (Shuriken), Gondar is without par or peer. His Ultimate is one of the most original and unique in the game-- Track. This skill allows him to "mark" another hero, seeing everything that hero sees, while decreasing the armor of his "bounty." And true to form, if Gondar manages to kill that hero while he is "tracking" it, he receives an extra amount of gold. It's nice to see you get a little extra for bringing them down dead rather than alive.

6
HERO: Drow Ranger
AFFILIATION: Sentinels
TYPE: Agility
ABILITIES: Silence, Trueshot Aura, Frost Arrows
ULTIMATE: Marksmanship

COMMENTS: A common fear of any DotA player is having to deal with heroes who have the ability to stun or slow their opponents. Traxex of the Underdark is probably the name that most commonly lands at the top of this list. She is swift, accurate, and like her arctic stepsister, the Crystal Maiden, can be lethal regardless of proximity. One ice arrow biting frigidly into an enemy hero's skin is enough to send him scurrying in the opposite direction-- an escape most agonizing as each arrow continues to slow his attempt, allowing Traxex one fresh volley after another. The Drow is considered the alpha-queen when it comes to killing melee heroes, as most are unable to close the distance quickly enough to do any real damage. Also, her Ultimate (which is a percentage chance to kill a lesser creep instantly), while passive, allows her to earn money quickly and with ease, giving her the edge in the item market-- upping her deadly quotient immeasurably. Words of advice in dealing with the Drow: 1.) never face her alone; 2.) if you do encounter her alone and have the ability to stun or stop her, do it and run for help; 3.) if you encounter her alone and do not have the ability to stun or stop her, be patient and wait for your respawn time to finish.

5
HERO: Lord of Olympia
AFFILIATION: Sentinels
TYPE: Intelligence
ABILITIES: Arc Lightning, Static Field, Lightning Bolt
ULTIMATE: Thundergod's Wrath

COMMENTS: No finesse required—or necessary-- with this dwarven avatar by way of Greek lore. Zeus makes his way onto this list through the sheer, overwhelming strength of his offensive spell arsenal. The Thunder God is capable of dealing considerable heaps of pain to multiple units and creeps (Arc Lightning, Static Field) at a rate almost criminal, as well as massive direct damage usually reserved for single heroes (Lightning Bolt). The swinging motion of his mythic mallet looks as painful to opponents as it is powerful. Zeus's ultimate is quite possibly the single most powerful target spell in the game. Wrath allows Zeus to strike all enemy heroes simultaneously wherever they are on the map, regardless of visibility. Often, teams work out a signal before the game—like typing "z" or "w"-- which notifies the player controlling Zeus to unleash his Olympian fury on injured enemy heroes fleeing the battlefield. Thankfully, his Ultimate takes massive amounts of mana and has a considerably long cool down before recast, making Zeus imposing but not omnipotent.

4
HERO: Crystal Maiden
AFFILIATION: Sentinels
TYPE: Intelligence
ABILITIES: Frost Nova, Frost Bite, Brilliance Aura
ULTIMATE: Freezing Field

COMMENTS: Unlike most heroes that rely on a stunning or stopping spell to incapacitate their enemy before attack, the Crystal Maiden has no need to close distances to be equally as dangerous. In fact, she is the only hero capable of both stopping AND slowing her targets. The common attack format for Rylai is simple: stop the enemy hero with Frost Bite, hammer it with Nova, and top it all of with the icy flurry of her Freezing Field. Rarely do heroes, in any number, manage to escape this sub-zero bombardment, and with the increased mana regeneration dispensed by her Brilliance Aura, this pattern can be repeated to perpetuity. Even if a hero manages to survive, he or she is slowed to such a shivering crawl, it gives other heroes time to aid Rylai. If the Maid has any weaknesses, it's her low hit point base, along with the rather lengthy recharge time required by her Ultimate. Yet even with these shortcomings, Rylai can hold her own both alone or in a supporting role.

3
HERO: Juggernaut
AFFILIATION: Sentinels
TYPE: Agility
ABILITIES: Healing Ward, Blade Fury, Blade Dance
ULTIMATE: Omnislash

Comments: Renowned as one of the heroes, Yurnero is quite possibly the most famous hero in DotA's storied history. Yurnero is so iconic, a previous incarnation of him from patch 5.84 is still being played to this day; a version so powerful, his Ultimate, the blink-of-an-eye buzzsaw that is Omnislash, could clear out multiple enemy heroes from anywhere on the map. In more recent patches, Yurnero has been balanced to near perfection, to the delight of some fans, and the disgust of others. The dilemma with The Juggernaut is that each of his spells is as worthy of selection as the next. Whether it's his Blade Dance, which grants increased damage and spell immunity, to the regenerative effects of his Healing Ward, to the impressive boost to his base damage courtesy of Blade Fury, you can't go wrong with any build for Yurnero, making him just as good at "crowd control" as he is at dealing with individual heroes.

2
HERO: Sand King
AFFILIATION: Scourge
TYPE: Strength
ABILITIES: Sand Storm, Burrowstrike, Caustic Finale
ULTIMATE: Epicenter

COMMENTS: Having undergone various changes over the course of the DotA game's evolution, one truth remains constant: Crixalis' Ultimate, the tectonic menace Epicenter, is far and away the most devastating in the game. It is quick, allows for cataclysmic area of effect damage, and most importantly, requires NO channeling time. Avoiding this arachnidian executioner is difficult enough in open confrontation, but his Sand Storm creates a blinding, poisonous fog that makes him invisible to his victims, allowing him to unleash Epicenter without warning. Even if you do survive each critical wave of his Ultimate, the slowing effect, combined with his ability to Burrowstrike-- the most powerful stunning spell in the game-- will leave you and your hapless comrades open to the Sand King's deadly stings.

1
HERO: Bone Fletcher
AFFILIATION: Scourge
TYPE: Agility
ABILITIES: Wind Walk, Strafe, Searing Arrow
ULTMATE: Death Pact

COMMENTS: Easily the most selected hero, the Bone Fletcher is a mainstay of almost every DotA game. Clinkz is the epitome of versatility as well as simplicity. Proving that size doesn't matter, this spitfiring, trigger-happy twig is the most efficient hit-and-run character in the game. Wind Walk allows Fletcher to dart in and out of combat relatively unharmed, while Strafe turns his bow into a Tommy gun on amphetamines. While not physically Clinkz's Ultimate- the ability to devour the life force of friendly creeps-- more than makes up for his lack of hit points.

Hero Guide - Kael the Invoker

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Astute) — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 16:39:00 +0000

Quas (Q)

Level 1 - 0.75 HP regen per level per instance.
Level 2 - 0.75 HP regen per level per instance
Level 3 - 0.75 HP regen per level per instance
Level 4 - 0.75 HP regen per level per instance
Mana Cost:
Cooldown:

Wex (W)

Level 1 - Gives 2% AS and 1% MS per level per instance.
Level 2 - Gives 2% AS and 1% MS per level per instance.
Level 3 - Gives 2% AS and 1% MS per level per instance.
Level 4 - Gives 2% AS and 1% MS per level per instance.
Mana Cost:
Cooldown:

Exort (E)

Level 1 - 3 damage per level per instance.
Level 2 - 3 damage per level per instance.
Level 3 - 3 damage per level per instance.
Level 4 - 3 damage per level per instance.
Mana Cost:
Cooldown:

Invoke (R)
Combines the properties of the elements currently being manipulated, creating a new spell at Invoker's disposal. The invoked spell is determined by the combination of Quas, Wex and Exort.
Level 1 - *
Level 2 - *
Level 3 - *
Mana Cost:
Cooldown: 30

Spell Combinations:

Cold Snap (Y)

Key Combo: QQQ + R

Description: Invoker draws the heat from an enemy, chilling them to their very core for up to 6 seconds based on Quas. Any damage taken in this state will briefly stun them for 0.4 seconds and deal 30 damage. Triggers cooldown goes from 0.8 to 0.6 seconds based on Quas.

Cooldown: 20 sec.

Ice Wall (G)

Key Combo: QQE + R

Description: Generates a wall of solid ice directly in front of Invoker for up to 10 seconds. The bitter cold emanating from it greatly slows nearby enemies based on Quas and deals up to 30 damage each second based on Exort.

Cooldown: 20 sec.

Ghost Walk (V)

Key Combo: QQW + R

Description: Invoker manipulates the ice and electrical energies around him, rendering his body invisible. The elemental imbalance created as a consequence slows nearby enemies by up to 40% based on Quas, and Invoker from 30 to 0% based on Wex.

Cooldown: 60 sec.

Alacrity (Z)

Key Combo: WWW + R

Description: Invoker infuses an ally with an immense surge of energy, increasing their attack speed to a maximum of 160% based on Wex for 5 seconds.

Cooldown: 20 sec.

Tornado (X)

Key Combo: WWQ + R

Description: Unleashes a fast moving tornado that picks up enemy units in its path, suspending them helplessly in the air shortly before allowing them to plummet to their doom. Deals 375 damage based on Wex and Quas, with distance up to 3100 based on Wex. Holds enemies in the air for up to 2.2 seconds based on Quas.

Cooldown: 25 sec.

EMP (C)

Key Combo: WWE + R

Description: Invoker builds up a charge of electromagnetic energy at a targeted location which automatically detonates after 2-4 seconds based on Wex. The detonation covers a 700 area, dealing up to 300 damage based on Exort and draining up to 400 mana based on Wex.

Cooldown: 40 sec.

Sun Strike (T)

Key Combo: EEE + R

Description: Sends a catastrophic ray of fiery energy from the sun at any targeted location after a 1.7 second delay, incinerating all enemies standing beneath it. Deals 75-450 damage based on Exort which is spread over all enemy units within its 200 AoE.

Cooldown: 60 sec.

Forge Spirit (F)

Key Combo: EEQ + R

Description: Invoker forges a spirit embodying the strength of fire and fortitude of ice. Attack range, damage, and life is based on Exort while mana, duration, and armor is based on Quas. The elementals scorching attack is capable of melting the armor on enemy heroes by 1 each hit to a maximum of 10 for 5 seconds. By maxing Quas and Exort, Invoker is capable of creating 2 spirits instead of one.

Cooldown: 70 sec.

Chaos Meteor (D)

Key Combo: EEW + R

Description: Invoker pulls a flaming meteor from space onto the targeted location. Upon landing, the meteor rolls forward dealing up to 260 damage per sec based on Exort for up to 1550 range based on Wex. Deals minor residual damage to units that get hit.

Cooldown: 30 sec.

Deafening Blast (B)

Key Combo: QWE + R

Description: Invoker unleashes a mighty sonic wave in front of him, dealing up to 280 damage to any enemy unit it collides with based on Exrot. The sheer impact from the blast is enough to knock those enemy units back for a maximum of 1.75 seconds based on Quas, in addition to preventing their attacks for a further 1-4 seconds based on Wex.

Cooldown: 25 sec.

Kael The Invoker Skills/ Spells Guide on 6.50 Dota-Allstars Map. This is the compiled guide about Invoker skills and spells. By typing "-invokelist" in game you can see an overview of his skills.

You can have 3 total orbs out at at time.Unlike any other hero in DOTA, these skills can be maxed to a level of 7. That means that Quas can give you a maximum of 15.75 +hp regen per tick, Exort can give you 21% IMS and +42% IAS, and Exort can give you a max of +63 damage.

Switching between orbs is instant cast and mana cost free, without cooldown, so feel free to mix it up by throwing on x3 Quas when your HP is low, for instance, and Wex/Exort when fighting. And unlike other heroes, Invoker gets his "ult" at level 5, although his "ult" really is only the ability to cast spells.

Orb Bonuses:

Each orb gives a special bonus when it is on active. They all scale linearly. You can have 3 orbs on you at any given point, and there are 7 levels, so 7*3=21 maximum level of power on any specific orb.

Quas - 0.75 hp bonus regen per level per instance
Wex - 2% AS and 1% MS per level per instance
Exort - 3 damage per level per instance

Orb Combinations:

There are 10 combinations total. Order is not a consideration. So if you have 2 exort and 1 quas, thats all that matters, not which came first. It is more intuitive and usable than before. The abilities are based on which properties form them.

The 10 combinations are:
QQQ, QQE, WWQ, QQW, EEE, EEQ, EEW, WWW, WWE, QWE.

Invoke:

As previously stated, this has 4 levels.. There is a new mechanic here that didn't exist before. Its dual invokes. This is allowed on higher levels of Invoke.

Level 1: 30 CD, 20 Manacost
Level 2: 30 CD, 40 Manacost, 2 Invokes
Level 3: 15 CD, 60 Manacost, 2 Invokes
Level 4: 5 CD, 80 Manacost, 2 Invokes

Invoker Spells

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Astute) — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 16:37:00 +0000

Kael The Invoker

Spells:

Quas

Gives 0.75 HP regen per level per instance. Can be learned at level: 1/3/5/7/9/11/13.

Wex

Given 2% AS and 1% MS per level per instance. Can be learned at level: 1/3/5/7/9/11/13.

Exort

3 damage per level per instance. Can be learned at level: 1/3/5/7/9/11/13.

Level 6 - Invoke [QQW] - [R]

Combines the properties of the elements currently being manipulated, creating a new spell at Invokers disposal. The invoked spell is determined by the combination of Quas, Wex and Exort.

Level 1 - 1 Invoke, 30 cd
Level 2 - 2 Invoke, 30 cd
Level 3 - 2 Invoke, 15 cd
Level 4 - 2 Invoke, 5 cd

Can be learned at level: 5/10/15/20.

Alright, we just covered Invokers basic Spells.. Keep in mind that Q represents Quas, W is Wex and E is Exort! This will help you in managing Invokers spells.

The Breakdown:

Cold Snap [QQQ] - [Y]

Invoker draws the heat from an enemy, chilling them to their very core for up to 6 seconds based on Quas. Any damage taken in this state will briefly stun them for 0.4 seconds and deal 30 damage.
Triggers cooldown goes from 0.8 to 0.6 seconds based on Quas.

Alacrity [WWW] - [Z]

Invoker infuses an ally with an immense surge of energy, increasing their attack speed to a maximum of 160% based on Wex for 5 seconds.

Sun Strike [EEE] - [T]

Sends a catastrophic ray of fierce energy from the sun at any targeted location after a 1.7 second delay, incinerating all enemies standing beneath it. Deals 75-450 damage based on Exort which is spread over all enemy units withing its 200 AoE.

Ghost Walk [QQW] - [V]

Invoker manipulates the ice and electrical energies around him, rendering his body invisible. The elemental imbalance created as a consequence slows nearby enemies by up to 40% based on Quas, and Invoker from 30 to 0% based on Wex.

Ice Wall [QQE] - [G]

Generates a wall of solid ice directly in front of Invoker for up to 10 seconds. The bitter cold emanating from it greatly slows nearby enemies based on Quas and deals to up to 30 damage each second based on Exort.

Tornado [WWQ] - [X]

Unleashes a fast moving tornado that picks up enemy units in its path, suspending them helplessly in the air shortly before allowing them to plummet to their doom. Deals 375 damage based on Wex and Quas, with distance up to 3100 based on Wex. Holds enemies in the air for up to 2.2 seconds based on Quas.

EMP [WWE] - [C]

Invoker builds up a charge of energy at a targeted location which automatically detonates after 2-4 seconds based on Wex. The detonation covers a 700 area, dealing up to 300 damage based on Exort and draining up to 400 mana based on Wex.

Forge Spirit [EEQ] - [F]

Invoker forges a spirit embodying the strength of fire and fortitude of ice. Attack range, damage and life is based on Exort while mana, duration, and armor is based on Quas. The elementals scorching attack is capable of melting the armor on enemy heroes by 1 each hit to a maximum of 10 for 5 seconds. By maxing Quas and Exort, Invoker is capable of creating 2 spirits instead of 1.

Chaos Meteor [EEW] - [D]

Invoker pulls a flaming meteor from space onto the targeted location. Upon landing, the meteor rolls forward dealing up to 260 damage per second based on Exort for up to 1550 range based on Wex. Deals minor residual damage to units that get hit.

Defeaning Blast [QWE] - [B]

Invoker unleashes a mighty sonic wave in front of him, dealing up to 280 damage to any enemy unit it collides with based on Exort. The sheer impact from the blast is enough to knock those enemy units back for a maximum of 1.75 seconds based on Quas, in addition to preventing their attacks for a further 1-4 seconds based on Wex.

That’s about it with the Invoker Spells for Dota 6.50 :) - I hope you enjoyed it!

Popularity: 11% [?]

The Psychology of DOTA (Miniguide)

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Astute) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 15:13:00 +0000

Psychology of DOTA (miniguide)

1. Writer's Foreword

Ok so by now you're probably a self proclaimed pro or trying to get into this somewhat elitist game. You've read about the heroes and what they can do. You've studied all the items and builds carefully and you've probably got a favorite hero that you feel comfortable with.

Heck you probably think I'm catering to an idiot by writing this guide. You my friend, may be correct. However what you should know before venturing into the dark alleys of Battle.net is the kinds of people you will encounter. This guide will either inform, amuse or piss you off. Either way lets take a look at the "people of DOTA!(drumroll)".

2. The Different Faces of Dota

The Chinese Gold Farmer

First of all, this guy probably got into DOTA from playing World of Warcraft and failing grades at school in order to play World of Warcraft. You will notice that whatever is happening whether your entire team is getting wiped out or your base is under attack, this guy will always do one thing.

Yep, that's farm up super-dooper-drop-your-pants-zomg-bbq items! Someone should tell him the game only lasts around 1 hour and after that everything he earns will be gone. Oh well I guess there's some sort of pleasure in amassing virtual goodies that don't exist in the real world. (PS. if you think I'm racist I'm Chinese myself.)

Strategy: Gank him. That's it. He'll be too busy pushing forward in the lane and won't be thinking about battles or ganks.

Preferred Heroes: Alchemist, Doom

The Wannabe Hero

Whether it be taking all the leavers items, farming up until late game and getting Beyond Godlike all of a sudden, or posting hundreds of replays on Dota-Allstars.com as hans2; this guy will go out of his way to get the phatest of lewt, highest amount of XP etc. He will probably not help you in a gank unless he's 100% sure he'll get a kill and make himself look good. Wait til late game and let him carry the team.

These guys could be a blessing come the 50th minute mark. Or if not then they're as useful to the team as 3 Lothar's Edge's on a Stealth Assassin.

Hey, what can I say? You play to win, you play to look good infront of everyone.

Strategy: Deny and harass until he gets pissed off and ragequits. If he stays then applaud the other players on his team and he'll also get pissed off.

Preferred Heroes: Clinkz, Clinkz, Clinkz, Naix

The Rambo

Ever seen guys who will rush into a fray of 5 enemy heroes and die and then start spamming words to the effect of "ZOMG NOOBS YOU DIDN'T HELP ME!!!! (Rambo has left the game). These guys have a seriously difficult time figuring out when a gank is coming, what minimap pings mean, why 5v1 is not odds to be proud of etc. My advice to these guys: "Stay the hell away from casinos." Often they're colorblind (I kid you not I got a friend on Bnet who is colorblind and gets confused when he sees the minimap) or they're still between being a noob and being an average player.

Strategy: Let him feed!

Preferred Heroes: Centaur, Bristleback

The Newbie

A newb and a noob are too different things. A newb is a new player who will contribute to the team and follow orders and generally ask question which will make him a better player. A noob is someone who has played for over a year and still get owned by everyone and spams in chat and ragequits after dying. Newbies should be treated with care and caressed... Maybe not caressed but you should all help these people out and give them pointers.

Strategy: Tell him that to win the game all you have to do is reach the enemy fountain. (I ain't joking, it's actually worked for me once. Yes, I am slightly sadistic.)

Preferred Heroes: Stealth Assassin, Sniper

The Silent Veteran

These are the ones to watch out for. During pre-game chat they'll say very little. After getting a triple kill they'll say nothing. Even after getting Beyond Godlike they still won't gloat or show off the fact. Why don't they speak much? Because they're so good that they're used to owning and also they're too jaded to speak to random people off the internet.

Strategy: Either run or gank.

Preferred Heroes: Any

The Leader

Usually a player will start pinging ganks and typing "b" or "push" into team chat. These people are the leaders and generally have a good strategic look on things. Leaders are vital to victory during a game.

Either that or they're power tripping. You be the judge.

Strategy: If you find out who's calling the shots on the enemy team, gank him while a lone hero on your team does a blind push and then retreats. He'll be too busy typing and signalling for everyone to gank that he'll be vulnerable for about 5 seconds. And if you actually believe this piece of advice then I recommend also getting Agannim's Sceptre on Naix.

Preferred Heroes: Techies

The Quitter

These people are defeatist in nature. Your team may lose all its outer towers and one inner tower and these guys will be the first to say: "GG." They'll also be the first to quit after an entire lane full of rax has been owned. These people have lost the fight before it's even started so the best thing to do is to run back to fountain once they've just been owned and ragequitted. That way you can call first dibs on their nice items

Strategy: Gank him a few times and it'll be 4v5.

Preferred Heroes: Any

The Never-Say-Die

Gotta love these guys. The exact opposite of the Quitter, these people will stay til the very bitter end and will often be seen defending the lone Throne all by himself against 5 enemy heroes. Give these people a compliment since they're a dying species. Heck give em a war medal since they probably fought in the trenches of World War 2 in a previous life.

Strategy: Poor lad. Go easy on him unless he's owning your entire team using the leavers items.

Preferred Heroes: Any

The 12-Year Old

"ROFL PWNED LMAO!" Yep, these kids have just hit puberty and have raging hormones. They should probably be venting this rage on Counter-Strike but here they are on Dota. During pre-game chat they'll be saying all the stupid goofy stuff. The good thing about kids is they're easy to own due to their slower brains and bad judgement.

Strategy: Do what I do in real life. Ignore little kids. There are more productive ways to spend your time.

Preferred Heroes: Any

The Elitist

In every community, and the Dota community too, there will be elitists. These people look down on anyone slightly worse then them at Dota. They'll gaze at newbies with undisguised contempt and horde their knowledge from others like it's all they have. Elitists are everywhere and there's little you can do about them except get into name-calling competitions.

Strategy: Since elitists are a curse upon their own team, perhaps you should be encouraging him to further discourage his own team mates.

Preferred Heroes: Any

The Coward

See trouble. Run to fountain.

These guys are as useful to your team as a chair is to a whale.

Need I say more?

Strategy: Gank them from behind. This confuses them as the fountain is also in the direction of danger for them.

Preferred Heroes: Stealth Assassin, Sniper, Clinkz

The Casual Player

In the pre-game chat these people will be like: "Hi, how are you guys?" and usually be ignored. In real life they are a father of three and has just gotten home from his day job to play Dota. What do you do about these guys? Well give them pointers so they don't get killed too often.

Strategy: If you are pro then simply kill them be also tell them why they died and what they did wrong so they can improve and get deeper into the game.

Preferred Heroes: Sniper

The Mathemetician

Asian Dota players are renowned for their maths skills and will often rush their first item known as the Abacus of Doom which gives +100 to intelligence. But since this doesn't exist in game they'll use their maths skills to own everyone. Before battles they'll calculate how much mana they need to do how much dmg over how much time. They'll consult their Orb stacking charts and crit probability statistics etc. and have a tiny shriek of joy for beating their personal best -cs.

My advice is stick near these guys as they seldom screw up. Unless they get ganked that is... or unless their mother starts yelling at them in real life to go study. In that case they feed.

Strategy: Things like crits and evasion are a bane to the Mathematician since that makes the equations less certain. But nothing is more dangerous to them then their high expectations parents. Now you study hard and become a lawyer ya' hear!

Preferred Heroes: Lion, Lina, Crystal Maiden, Zeus

The Partially AFK

While you're working your butt off trying to secure victory for your team, these guys are munching on chips and cutting their nails and glancing at the screen every so often. These people don't really care and just play Dota because they have nothing else to do. You'll notice them sitting in the fountain for around 10 minutes while they go take a dump. Luckily these people are a dying breed since Banlists and ivory poaching is making them extinct.

Strategy: Pfffft.

Preferred Heroes: Any

The Know-nothing Know-it-all

"STFU NOOB. I know what I'm doing. Dagon on Juggernaught is the way to go."

Ok so they managed to own a noob using their lame build and from then on they stuck to it. No matter what you do, they'll still stick to their original decision and get their Agannim's Sceptre for Phantom Assassin or Eul's for Naix.

Strategy: Tell them that getting the Dagon for Juggernaught was a nice idea and also tell them they should get a Mystic Staff so they can spam Dagon.

Preferred Heroes: Any

The Donald Trump

"Lol I killed you dude." "BANNED!"

These guys have one rule that they follow: "Anyone piss you off, then omgz0r BANNED!!!!!!"

Why? Because Donald Trump plays Dota and there's no such thing as a FiredList. (Rosie_ODonnell has been banned for verbal abuse).

Strategy: Creating Bnet accounts > Banlist.

Preferred Heroes: Any

The Unaware

So you just got ganked by 2 enemy heroes while your ally is beside you creeping. They still don't know what happened. These players will frustrate you to no end. Their slow reflexes mixed with their lack of sight makes them a major liability.

Strategy: Blinks and stuns. They won't know what's going on.

Preferred Heroes: Any

The Backdoor Bandit

Unlike normal Dota players, these guys are sneaky as hell. They'll wait for everyone on the enemy team to pick heroes before they pick so that they can choose a hero that counters all of them. While you guys are ganking, he'll sneak up on your towers and rax and own them with no resistance. You'll barely see him all game but by the time you do he's amassed a vast fortune, hasn't died at all and has owned the majority of your rax.

The fact is that these people are cowards. Cowards that are highly intelligent! (OMG NO!). And that mix by itself is dangerous.

One day you'll be off going to work with a family and kids by your side. The next day you'll come home and find the Backdoor Bandit has married your wife, your kids are calling him dad and somehow he's managed to get the lease on your house leaving you in the gutter with nothing. Sneaky bastards...

Strategy: Boots of Travel asap!

Preferred Heroes: Gondar, Clinkz, Stealth Assassin, Furion, Tinker

The Team Member

We love these guys. They will be the first to get wards, help in ganks, get gems, follow instructions and the like. They'll get an average score but will fetch and sit and keep your feet warm on lonely nights.

Strategy: They need to be killed off quickly and repeatedly so that your Stealth Assassin and your Clinkz can both run around and cause havoc.

Preferred Heroes: Treant, Tide, Keeper

The Pitbull

As soon as they hit lvl 6, bam, it's hero killing time for them. Farming is for wusses. They'll either get first blood or be first blood and will typically go with heroes like Pudge and Balanar. Their ultra aggression mixed with their confidence makes them dangerous. If you ever end up in prison and sharing a cell with these guys then be prepared to have a new boyfriend.

Strategy: Run to fountain with 10 HP left. Pitbull chases and kills you. Towers own Pitbull. You'll give him a hearty LOL. Afterwards he'll say it was definitely worth it.

Preferred Heroes: Balanar, Pudge, Juggernaught

The Maphacker

Maphackers play for one reason only. To win no matter the cost whether it be their Bnet account... or their Soul! They are ungankable, know when to attack rax, will farm none stop until they are forced to retreat and will hunt you down while you are neutral creeping. But remember that deep down inside they just crave a bit of happiness which is missing in their life. Awwwwwww grouphug.

Strategy: Don't pick invisible heroes as they're useless against the maphacker. It's a never-ending war between the Trumps and the Maphackers so leave them be.

Preferred Heroes: Stealth Assassin, Nevermore, Zeus, Nerubian, Furion

The Guide-Freak

After reading one strategy guide, they'll follow it to the letter. On the plus side this means that they'll be highly methodical and will usually make all the right decisions regarding purchasing items. On the downside they have zero flexibility and creativity. Might as well slap in a couple of AI opponents instead.

Beware if you choose one of their heroes and don't go by their strategy guide though. They'll start acting self-righteous.

Strategy: Take an educated guess what build they're going to create (won't be hard.) Then counter it!

Unorthodox Fast Push Combo - New!

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Astute) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 15:08:00 +0000

Here we will be putting in place the old school creep-style push combo. as well as incorporating a few sideline nukes as well as end-game maneuvers.

Suggested Bans:

Tiny
Treant
Centaur

The bans should be focused towards heroes which have large tanking ability at early levels. Since its a fast-kill + fast push, heroes such as qop and zeus would be relatively easy to handle.

Heroes suggested:

Chen
Lich
Earthshaker / Sandking
Rk / Ck
SF / Lina

Chen

Why Chen? Definitely the man with the strongest creeps at the early stages of the game. Comparison to Syllabear and Visage, whom has creeps with fare better at later stages of the game or with items. Similarly, his ulti carries a fading supplementary per level upgraded. Thus, definitely meant for this early game combo.

Lich

Now Lich was once known to be the championed soloer. With his ritual taking out one creep per 2 waves during the early stages of the game, as well as the imbalanced nova range + spam. He soon rose up to the first choice of heroes during the 6.27b period. However, every since his nerfed range and the entrance of the bottle-bird. He began to lose his versability. However, since we are not looking for a fast kill but rather a rush-to-level game. He is the key factor in this strategy. With the unrivaled chain frost at the early game as well as the relative level advantage he is a must have.

Earthshaker and Sandking

The two heroes which carry the strongest AoE combos (*Blink echo fissure and burrow epi respectively). Definitely a must take when it comes to pushing though the preference would be towards the Earthshaker for the backline support fissure. Sanding makes an excellent laner with Chen at the bottom lane. NOTE: The reason for either of this heroes is for the direct stun (*Stun which is can't be dodged by blinks )

Rk/Ck

Simple reasons. High damage, high hp, good laner, relative peak at early levels. As compared to the rather preferred skeleton king. Sven is definitely one of the strongest heroes at level 7 for his hp burst as well as Godstrenght ulti. CK is given the chip because of his lengthy stun as well as high catching ability, not to mention his 1.2k hp with 3 bracers. These 2 heroes will be the tankers of the team and the requirements of hp items is a must.

SF/Lina

Our favorite long rate nuke rangers. With the 900+ damage nukes at level 7 they are definitely a must have when pushing. This was chosen over the nostalgic TS, as we are not looking for a high spam rate but for a fast kill game. If either should be unavailable, possibly the qop/potm might be chosen in place?

Laning

Danger lane : Range (SF, Lina, Lich) + Tank (Es, Rk, Ck, Sk)
Solo : Sf/Lich
Safe lane : Melee stunner (Rk, Sk, Ck)
Forest : Chen

Well try to maintain a relative level advantage, creep denies here are more important then aggressive maneuvers against heroes. Note, the heroes you have should have a relatively stronger laning power as compared to the opponent heroes since this draft is very control-based. Once again, farm up gain the level advantage and down the tower if possible. Not much can be said about the laning since the opponent heroes may vary according to the draft.

Item-wise

Since its an early push, siege items are definitely a must have. For the intel heros,

*Arcane ring
*Meka
*Necro
*Dagon
*Ballius
*Vladamir?
*Nulls/Bracers
*Boots / threads (*Str)

As the draft only consists of one tanker. HP items is a yes yes yes. For the tankers,

*Bracers (*At lease 2)
*Threads (*Str)
*Hood?
*Point/Vit booster
*Vanguard?

And for the backline hero (*ES, SF)

*Bracers
*Threads (*Str)
*Arcane ring? HAHA
*Dagger? (*IF its too early in the game nevermind)

Clashing

Start the clash as early as possible to maintain your level advantage. Always form a line up with RK and Chen in the front. With a secondary stunner if possible, SF and ES should remain behind to provide back line support against enemy heroes which are very forward-based (*Heroes which rush up to start the clash). Fighting at the outer towers should be seemingly easy with the Chen + Stunner backstabs taking out more then one hero in most cases. The base tower however is a bit more tricky. Same strategy, tankers + Chen with creeps go in. Back line supports come in slowly, lich releases Chain frost as soon as the heroes begin to clash. Here at the base, losing one hero in more then one instance is OK so long as you get the tower down since you would be fighting in unfavorable conditions (*Towers + Lack of mobility). Once the tower is down, depending on the opponents heroes, you should have the given advantage and taking down the raxes shouldn't be much of a problem. Move to the remaining lanes to ensure a quick and easy victory.

With all being said, this strategy is purely hypothetical and has not been put through much trails but in the earlier versions of 6.27b. So don't ask me if it works but it definitely is worth trying.

Guide - Nevermore Shadow Fiend Guide

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Astute) — Thu, 29 May 2008 07:04:00 +0000

Nevermore Shadow Fiend Guide

Nevermore the Shadow Fiend, one of the demons of burning legion who eats cunning souls of the deep. Nevermore is one of the most powerful shadow fiend that consumes all helpless souls around him. Nevermore is not just an ordinary fiend for he can blast you with his powerful spiritual spells and decaying enchantments. Few have survived his doom, and those who come forth shall perish with his existance.
Nevermore has a normal starting stat like the other heroes.

movespeed: 300

attack range: 500

strength: 15 ; +2.0/level

agility: 20 ; +2.4/leve

lintelligence: 18 ; +2.0/level

hit points: 435

mana points: 234

damage: 35-41

armor: 1.8

In game, Nevermore is one of the most picked hero in all other dota heroes. Nevermore has very strong nuke spell called Shadowraze, which has 3 kind of range, using C,X,Z. All other skills except for his ultimate Requiem of Souls are passive but not just passive they are freaking passive skills.

How to play Nevermore'

Fresh start while having the first batch of creeps, go buy few tangos, 2 clarity potion and some woods. after minutes, buy magic bottle and a chicken which is a big help for life regen because you can travel your chicken from your position to your base (making it a crow is much more effective, specially if powerup is on). later on, go buy boots of travel and few bracers, ofcource don’t buy 2 boots because its not stackable even if nevermoe has no foot at all.

In Mid game, go buy Dagger of Escape or kelen’s dagger in dota 6.50, 6.50c. 6.51, this dagger is your escape item or best support item also. if you got all this stuff, go for more power items and distrupter items like Difuzal Blade, Black King Bar as a counter item or Ultimate Orbs for owning the game. You can also buy Hood of Defiance as a counter item for all skill nukers. Other power killing items for Nevermore is Sange and Yasha, Stygian Desolator. For 5v5, go to Lothar’s edge which you can sneak in then Requiem of Souls everyone which some oldschool players do.

For late game items i’ll go forEye of SkadyLinken SphereSatanic or HeartMonkey King Bar or Buriza or ButterflyAlso Add Cuirass if you can manage to buy them all, if you do you will rock the game killing your opponent even in their base.

Guide - Best Heroes in DOTA World Team ups

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Astute) — Thu, 29 May 2008 06:23:00 +0000

Best Heroes in DOTA World Team-Ups (5v5)
Looking for the best 5 versus 5 hero teamup? Look at this 5 Hero teamup guide I build, you will never regret reading it. And ofcourse you will owning the game not unless you have a bad connection. This is just a quick review on Razor, Mirana, Pudge, Sniper and Void as they teamup for the best 5v5 teamup in Dota.Heroes to pick before your opponent does

Razor Lightning Revenant
Mirana Nightshade
Priestess of the Moon
Pudge Butcher
Kardel Sharpeye
Dwarven Sniper
Darkterror Faceless Void

Razor Lightning Revenant is one of the dark elementor of lightning who can cast lightning and kill you in instances, Razor Lightning Revenant is one of the most fastest hero in Dota Defense of the Ancients. Razor Lightning Revenant is best with attack speed(AS) items like Boots of Travel, Butterfly, Sange and Yasha. But speed its the key, having high speed you must also equip with powerful damage enhancement like Black King Bar, Desolator or even Divine Reaper will do, ofcourse if you can save gold and buy it. if you have this items ingame you are a monsterous being the whole game.

Mirana Nightshade, Priestess of the Moon , the knight guardians of the ancient forest. Mirana Nightshade, Priestess of the Moon is also a agility type hero but still you can convert her to an intellect hero, spamming his skills still Mirana Nightshade, Priestess of the Moon is a agi hero type as i assumed. One good advantage for Mirana Nightshade, Priestess of the Moon is the escaping skill, Mirana Nightshade, Priestess of the Moon can leap a small distance but surely can avoid a hot spot for gang bang hero kill. From start just equip this hero a Arcane Ring then go Boots of Speed, after which you can kill mobs, creeps and hero then save enough money to buy Maelstorm, then after that go Mjolnir and a couple of wraight band and buy empty bottle worth 700.

Pudge Butcher - this guys is a yuck! he looks like a food for the undead, even he is undead already. Still he owned every single hero in the game. Agi type or Int type just run away from Pudge Butcher . Pudge Butcher build has a lot of combination, you can be a high damage Pudge Butcher , int Pudge Butcher or agi Pudge Butcher . But for me the perfect Pudge Butcher is a vital Pudge Butcher with his meat hook, ROT skill then eat your opponents flesh(yum yum). From startup, just equip this guy with 2 Ring of regen, Braces and branches which is very usefull for only 57 gold. After which you did those funny meat hooks and mobbing creeps, go combine 2 Vanguards and you are unstoppable.

Kardel Sharpeye, Dwarven Sniper - this hero is my grandpa, opss sorry kardel. The unique thing with Kardel Sharpeye, Dwarven Sniper’s range and stun effect. You can go against any type of hero with Kardel, unless you are against your oppornent is a skill spammer, you need a lot of health regen for this. Kardel Sharpeye, Dwarven Sniper’s ideal items are Black King Bar or Sange and Yasha, or Desolator, Boots of Speed, Butterfly and thats it.

Darkterror, Faceless Void is the best ending game hero. You need to kill Kael the Invoker ingame try using Darkterror, Faceless Void. Same build as a Strength type hero, equip this guy with Boots of Speed, Bracers for early start and Branches. This guys is best equip with Basher or Black King Bar and support with Mask of Madness and Dagger of Escape.

As a roundup review, Razor Lightning Revenant and Kardel Sharpeye, Dwarven Sniper are the one who will be the long range killing machine and will be supported with Mirana Nightshade, Priestess of the Moon who can also be the bait for your opponents baiting trick. Mirana can be also a distract Hero for those creeping in the forst. Pudge Butcher meanwhile is your tanker for all means just don’t forget to buy Mekanism. Lastly, Darkterror, Faceless Void is your final killing for those whom who seek death.

Guide - Luna Moonfang

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Astute) — Tue, 20 May 2008 16:36:00 +0000

Luna Moonfang - Moon Rider

Our mission today is to learn the basics concerning Luna Moonfang - The Moon Rider

Your primary attribute is agility so buy items and recipes containing this attribute
Try this, start with Ring of Regen then Wraith Band and Boots of Speed then 2x blade of alcrity and make Lothar's Edge so you will have the ability to Wind Walk either for quick getaway either for stealthy kill.
One must have item for Luna is HELM OF DOMINATOR or MASK of DEATH or any other life stealing item, because..... i will tell you later... You could buy Monkey King Bar ,Boots of Travel maybe Hyperstone...

Lucent Beam - [Level 4]
120 mana
Luna channels the moon's energy in the form of a Lucent Beam, dealing 300 damage to an enemy. 0.6 Ministun. Cooldown 6sec.
This spell is good for annoying/killing enemy heroes but personally, i don't like it.

Moon Glave [Level 4]
Gives Luna the ability to strike 5 units with each attack. Each enemy beyond the first incurs a 35% damage loss, per unit.
This is a passive spell that you must level up early, and this is the spell for which you need to have any life stealing item. You hit 5 enemies at once so you will gain nice hp from those items.

Lunar Blessing [Level 4]
An aura that gives friendly nearby units a 27% bonus damage to their ranged attacks.
This is also a passive spell/aura that needs leveling early. This and Moon Glave will be your primary focus if you ask me the others can w8.

Eclipse [Level 3]
The moon's magic is summoned, casting 10 Lucent Beams around Luna. Damage is equal to Lucent Beam level. No unit may be hit more than 4 times by this Eclipse. Cooldown 140sec.

Helm of the Dominator
The powerful headpiece of a dead necromancer. Gives +5 armor, +20 damage, 15% lifesteal, and the ability to Dominate creeps.

Lothar's Edge
The legendary Lothar's blade that was dropped during the Second War. Grants +21 damage, +21 agility, and a 9 second Wind Walk (Grants invisibility and +20% movement speed) Cooldown 17 seconds (ffs that's fast lol)

Monkey King Bar
A powerful staff used by a martial arts master. Grants +75 damage, 15% increased attack speed, and a 30% chance to deal 100 bonus damage on every attack stopping channeling spells.

There you have it hopefully it is at least a little helpful to you in your quest for mastering dota.
Any guide request is appreciated, and check back sooooon, until then i will cook another guide for you.

Guide - The Concept of Last Hit

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Astute) — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 10:36:00 +0000

The Concept of Last Hit

The concept of last hitting is simple. Last hit implies dealing damage to enemy creeps when its hit points are low enough for you to kill it with one blow. This also applies to attacking allied units to kill them, to deny your enemies gold and experience.

This isn't about how to steal an enemy hero kill from your allies. That does not make you a better player. And this article isn’t meant for competitive players. Last hitting is already an art form for the likes of Meet Your Makers or Virtus Pro. This isn't even for a player who has played just one game of competitive DotA. This is for people like you and me, who play with friends in public games or take a break by joining Battle.net or GG-Client to play a game. There are still a lot of people in public games who do not even understand the concept of last hitting. Don't act haughty just because you know how to last hit -- you aren't the only DotA player in the world. For those who know it, the practice might just seem too tiresome for them, being casual gamers. Nevertheless, this article aims to shed some light on the concept, and maybe make people better players.

The Concept of Last Hitting

Melee Heroes

Melee heroes only hit units that are right beside them. This puts you in a more dangerous position if you “auto-attack” enemy creeps. As much as possible, you do not want enemy creeps to damage you.

The best thing to do is to “walk” around (by right click) or hold position (by pressing H key) behind your creeps, and only move in (right click or A-left click) to attack a dying creep. Time your attack by estimating how much damage the creep receives on top of how much time you will need to get into melee range of the creep.

Enemy creeps are programmed to attack heroes who are attacking their allied heroes. A useful trick is to hit an enemy hero and force creeps to move toward you, so the creeps are facing you, and not in front of allied creeps. This makes it easier to last hit units. Also, you do not actually need to “hit” the hero to trigger the enemy creeps to move toward you.

Ranged Heroes

Ranged heroes make players lazier to last hit than melee heroes because they are usually far from the frontlines of danger. Truth. Unlike melee heroes, being in hold (H) position would not stop them from attacking enemy creeps that are in attack range.

As a ranged hero, you need to constantly “walk” your heroes around to stop your hero from attacking creeps. You can also choose to harass enemy heroes but not attacking them, then moving back when enemy creeps start attacking you. This makes them more wary of being too aggressive and allowing you to reduce their hit points, making them more susceptible for death. As always, attack enemy creeps when they are at the brink of death, to gain the gold bounty.

The Benefits of Last Hitting

More Money

There are several reasons, but the most obvious reason is to get the gold bounty. The person who deals the killing blow receives the extra gold for himself. The amount is represented by the numbers that appear on top of the dying creep after you killed it. Being a diligent last hitter gives you a good amount of money in the game, allowing you to gain an early advantage against your enemies.

Deny Gold and Experience from Enemies

By last hitting enemy creeps, you deny them the chance to kill it for themselves. This gives you an advantage by minimizing their gold income, not to mention a psychological edge if they keep seeing that “!” icon when you kill your own enemy creep. There’s nothing more demoralizing to your enemy than showing him how you can control the lane. Also, denying creeps reduces the experience they gain from dying creeps, giving you level advantage.

Better Lane Control

Early in the game, there’s nothing better than being close to your own tower – it’s your security blanket. Enemy heroes would feel less inclined to come in and launch an ambush attack if you are near the tower. Being on open field makes you more susceptible to stuns and maybe an early death. Not attacking enemy creeps when unneeded allows them to survive further, and they push you close to your tower.

Guide - Furion the Prophet (version 2)

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Astute) — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:11:00 +0000

Furion The Prophet Guide & Walkthrough

The land is never safe. Furion, therefore, never rests. The leader of all Night Elves, Furion tirelessly works to protect the sanctity of his woods. It comes as no surprise that he who helped defeat Archimonde would be called upon once more in the Sentinel's hour of need. The fury of nature is at his disposal, the trees come to life at his command, the wind carries him to lands far away, and nature itself strikes all who defy his will. He is more than just a Keeper or a Prophet, he is a savior.

Base HP: 473
Base Mana: 169

Strength - 17 + 1.8
Agility - 15 + 1.5
Intelligence - 21 + 2.9 (Primary)

Base damage 39-53
Attack range of 600
Base Armor 4.1
Movement speed of 300

Skills

Sprout (T)

Sprouts 8 trees around a unit, trapping it in place.
Level 1 - Lasts for 3 seconds.
Level 2 - Lasts for 3.75 seconds.
Level 3 - Lasts for 4.5 seconds.
Level 4 - Lasts for 5.25 seconds.

Mana Cost: 115 / 140/ 165 /205
Cooldown: 12 seconds

This skill is very usefull for ganking, especially when ganking melee heroes. But you must watch for this countering measure!

Blink
There are two heroes in dota with blink and many heroes like to buy a blink dagger. Sprout is useless on them. Dont waste your time and mana. Later on when you have guinsoo you can disable them properly. There are also a bunch of other assorted "blinkers" like sand king, Darkterror, morphling and priestess of the moon. Some spells like rikimaru's smokescreen and beastmasters wild axes will also destroy trees.

Tango of Essifation
This can be used to counter sprout effectively. I wouldnt worry about it too much though because there is reaction time to consider and they arent going to carry a supply of tangos around for the entire game.

Teleportation (R)

Teleports to any explored point on the map.
Level 1 - 60 second cooldown.
Level 2 - 50 second cooldown.
Level 3 - 40 second cooldown.
Level 4 - 30 second cooldown.

Mana Cost: 75/ 65/ 55/ 50
Cooldown: 60/ 50/ 40/ 30

Very usefull for ganking. You can surprise your enemies by suddenly teleport to the blind spot and gank with your friends.

Force of Nature (F)

Converts trees in an area into Treants. Each tree is transformed to a treant. Treants have 550 hit points and deal 21-23 normal damage, and 0 heavy armor. Treants last 60 seconds.
Level 1 - Raises at most 2 Treants.
Level 2 - Raises at most 3 Treants.
Level 3 - Raises at most 4 Treants.
Level 4 - Raises at most 5 Treants.

Mana Cost: 160
Cooldown: 40 seconds

This skills is very usefull for pushing Furion. But, since this strategy is focused on build carry Furion, this skill only usefull for helping neutrals creeping.

Wrath of Nature (W)

Summons damaging energy to swath around the map and damage random enemies. Each enemy hit beyond the first adds 7% damage.
Level 1 - Deals 140 (155 with Scepter) base damage, hits 12 targets.
Level 2 - Deals 180 (211 with Scepter) base damage, hits 14 targets.
Level 3 - Deals 225 (275 with Scepter) base damage, hits 16 targets.

Mana Cost: 200/ 380/ 610
Cooldown: 90/ 60/ 60

Skill Build

1. Sprout
2. Teleport
3. Sprout/Stats
4. Stats
5. Sprout/Stats
6. Wrath of Nature
7. Sprout
8. Stats/Force of Nature
9. Stats/Sprout
10. Stats/Sprout
11. Wrath of nature
12. Teleport
13. Teleport
14. Teleport
15. Stats
16. Wrath of nature
17-20. Stats
21. Force of nature/Stats
22-25. Force of nature

Sprout first is needed to creep block. Maxing sprout early is recommended when you have a lane mate, because another 2.25 seconds will help you ganking. When you are soloing, choose stats to help you get last hit and survivability.

Wrath is taken at level 6. Even tought the damage is not significant, if you use it wisely you can still help your teams get a kill. Teleport is not maxed until mid game when the set lanes break down and you can teleport around rapidly and farm. During early game it will just be needed to tele/sprout gank and make fountain trips.

Force of nature is a great pushing skill but furion is better played as a ganker and carry hero. Due to mana and time restrictions you cant be a pusher and a ganker at the same time. You will also need the stats to buff up for a carry role. If you like to neutral creep I suggest adding a point of force of nature. It lets you creep without losing any HP at all.

Item Build

1. 2 circlets & 1 tango of essifation
2. Gloves of Haste
3. Finish Hand of Midas
4. Boots of Speed
5. Guinsoo's Scythe of Vyse + Bracers
6. Power Treads

Your items should be like this:

Start with 2 circlets and 2 tangos for a nice stats boost and some light regeneration. You can make easy fountain trips with teleport if tangos are not enough. The circlets will later be made to bracers. Now try your best to get the midas. It is imba but only if you get it very early. You will have a noticably buff late game, which is particularly important for furion and the attack speed is very good for a battle mage. If you can't finish the midas due to a very hard lane or you just suck at last hits and denies then skip it. No midas at all is better than a late midas in furions case. Guinsoo will come too late.

As you get spare change make a couple of bracers. If you're european go ahead and make 6 bracers. If you went a stats skill build you might not even want to bother. Teleport scrolls on furion are more than a little broken so make sure to abuse it as much as you can. If you get low on HP in a push or fight you can scroll back to base and teleport straight into the field again.

Guinsoo is your next best option because you are a ganker furion. With a 5 second sprout 3 second hex and teleport you can appear out of nowhere and hold a target down while you and your team rape them. This will also be your only means of countering the very frustrating teleport scroll. The mana bonuses here are very essential as well. Sprout costs a hefty 200 mana and later on you will need to constantly use wrath of nature to farm and it costs 600 mana. The damage you get from this is also equivilant to a sacred relic. A very good deal. Forget using the euls charges, just upgrade it to guinsoo as soon as you can. Euls has been well nerfed so the hex is much more useful. You have a 30 second cooldown teleport so you dont need BoT. Treads are then the perfect option for your battle furion, especially after the convenient buff from icefrog.

If the games last long enough, buy this great stuff:

OR +

Aghanim's Scepter will boost your ultimate. Whenever your ultimates active, use it immediately for fast gold and help your creeps pushes. Aghanim's will also gives you additional health and damage. If you are a good ganker, well farmed and lust for more damages, go for Desolator and Tarras. Those two items will makes you even more Godly.

Strategy

The first thing you need to do is choose your lane. I wouldnt reccommend any particular lane for furion. He can work well with an ally because of his very long disable and range and can often handle a solo lane. Just work with whatever strat your team is pulling. I often like to use the solo lane. If you can get your levels and money quickly you can start tele/sprout ganking much earlier which can absolutely destroy some teams. The downside to choosing solo though is that furion doesnt have the worlds best lane control. He will get heavily denied, outfarmed and possibly killed if versus a very strong lane combo (bane/necrolyte or lich/pugna). Use teleport and just adjust to the situation.

One thing you can do to give yourself a lane advantage is creep block. Its much easier with furion than any other heroes because of sprout. Just sprout as many creeps as you can on their way to their lane. Most of the time they lose their pathing and will just stop. This means the enemies completely miss out on exp and money from those creeps you manage to stop. Note that this is often illegal in leagues. If it is, just use conventional creep blocking, which is walking in front of the creep wave and slowing it down.

Furion doesnt have any nukes to speak of so you are just going to have to use your attack. Concentrate and fight hard for every last hit and deny and keep them at bay with your attack. Versus very hard lane opponents you may have to play very conservatively to avoid dying. When closer to your tower and with an ally you can play more aggresively. Sprout is an unusually long disable and its a strong possibility to snag a kill.

Furion has the very powerful ability to instantly teleport behind a target and sprout them for 5 seconds. You can turn a lane from 2v2 into 3v2 with the element of surprise. This is a very effective technique and can give your team a large advantage. You will have to watch the minimap diligently to see opportunites. Generaly you want to catch heroes away from their tower in a fogged area for a surprise gank. The little pink portal appears when you teleport so if you teleport right next to them they will just run away. You can also teleport in after fights to mop up.

I find the best way to avoid ganks is teleport. You should be watching the minimap carefully anyway for tele/sprout ganking so seeing the heroes go missing is easy. Even if you dont notice and get ganked you have a good chance of getting away with teleport. Often they wont have readily available stuns or won't react fast enough to stun you.

A useful thing you can do is run into the bush where there is heavy fog of war. This makes it very difficult for enemies to get in and target you with stuns. If teleport is on cooldown or gets cancelled you can try sprouting them and running away. It only really works against single enemies though. Later on when you get euls and guinsoo they are also options.

When reaching mid-game, the game ganking becomes slightly less effective as the set lanes break down. Start to focus a little more on farming and getting that guinsoo finished. Wrath of nature is now an avaliable tool. Between farming use your guinsoo teleport and sprout to make sure that the enemies arent farming. That is the core of a ganking lineup and strategy. Keep picking them off individually and dont let them farm. You need to establish a clear level and monetary advantage.

To farm you need to teleport around rapidly between lanes. The best defence against getting ganked while farming, is to use teleport every time it cools down. Dont give them the time they need to get organised and kill you. If there arent any free lanes to farm, get a point in force of nature, teleport to the sentinel creep camps and kill everything there.

When dealing with an aggressive pushing scourge there isnt a hell of a lot you can do. Defend your base by focusing key targets with sprout and teleport. The best defence against nasty pushes is to keep ganking, get an early kills advantage, keep them distracted from pushing and your lategame can then come into play.

Wrath of Nature increases in power the more enemies are shown on the map so you should only use it when you can see all three creep waves in the three different lanes. If you time it right you will find you get quite a few creep kills. If you plan to use it on heroes, use it on the creep wave and it should bounce around a little to gain some damage before hitting the hero.

Late game is going to be all about finishing luxury items, backdooring and pushing. Teleport gives you a massive advantage in this kind of gameplay. Use it whenever it cools down. Changing lanes every 30 seconds makes you almost impossible to get ganked and puts pressure on their base. Pushing constantly from all sides often keeps the enemy team distracted and locked up in their base trying to fend off the pushing. If they manage to mount a large push however make sure you are there to defend. Also if your team is mounting a large push, push with them.

Download - DOTA All Stars Map 6.51 AI version 1.60

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Astute) — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 03:12:00 +0000

DotA Allstars v6.51 AIplus 1.60

Version: v6.51_ai_1.60
Category: Unofficial Maps

Description:
100% working map

Download Here

Maps - DotA Allstars 6.51 AI+ 1.52, Port of RGB's AI+ for 6.48b

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Astute) — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 05:56:00 +0000

DotA_Allstars_6.51_AIplus_1.52_Revision_01.zip

Available for download.
Note that AI Visage, Drow Ranger and PA get their news abilities which work for this map.

News - Metro Manila DOTA Tourney (Philippines)

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Astute) — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 05:54:00 +0000

A GROUP of student entrepreneurs from the University of the Philippines-Diliman is organizing a Metro Manila-wide WarCraft III: Defense of the Ancients (DOTA) tournament that aims to bring together the various groups of DOTA players in an effort to find the best players for a chance to compete in international DOTA events.

DOTA is one of the most popular local area network games worldwide and has a wide following in the Philippines. It is played on a five-on-five team-based match wherein the opposing teams’ primary objective is to destroy a structure in the middle of a map called “Ancient” while staving off each other.

The UP Circle of Entrepreneurs (UPCE) organized the Aenigma 2008 DOTA Tournament as part of their annual business-related project. This is the first time that the group has organized a gaming tournament on a wider scale and the group also hopes that it will be a regular event.

The tournament is being marketed across different DOTA forums in the Philippines, as well as through a special UPCE website for the event.

In an interview with hackenslash, UPCE president Kevin Velasco said the competition will have three qualifying legs: Makati, Quezon City and Manila, wherein DOTA players nearest these areas will be able to compete for a chance to get into the finals, which will be held on March 1.

The grand prize is P30,000 for the winning team and P15,000 for the first runner-up.

Velasco said the winning group will get a chance to represent the Philippines as members of the international DOTA community called Razer, which will evaluate if the Philippine team is capable of competing in the international circuit.

UPCE chair for Operations Aldrin Macaraig said there are many DOTA teams in Metro Manila alone, some of whom are already very good players as they have beaten teams from different areas.

“Unlike online games, DOTA teams have to meet up to play against each other. The Aenigma 2008 tournament hopes to bring them together and find out who really are the best players,” Macaraig said.

One disadvantage, however, is that some teams have already become so good that other teams do not want to play against them as they know they will be beaten.

“This is the perception we’re trying to change. These teams must know how they would fare against better teams so they could learn new strategies,” Macaraig said.

(Posted under Desktop, Gaming Scene, Games)

Video - DOTA's Most Funny Bug Video

noreply@blogger.com (Mr Astute) — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 01:05:00 +0000