Phoenix DotA

Take Pride in playing Dota!

2010-04-01T01:25:00.001+05:30

One of the most motivating posts on playing computer games by team OK player Drayich. Must read for all devoted gamers. Read his complete post or continue reading with the major points covered. My views are inside this post. :)

I can see alot of people around stating dota is just a dumb computer game, something you wouldnt do when you grow older, yet they give this game hours and hours of effort everyday. For me that sounds really destructive.

Yeah, Dota is just a computergame. Like boule is just boule or collecting stamp is just stamps. But whatever hobby you choose to do, its still a hobby, and if you didnt know it i can tell you now, hobbies are very important.

Why do we undermine the fact that we really have something that we like to do. We enjoy it, it makes us emotional, perhaps it even makes us better at english and provides us with faster reactions. But it makes us happy. Thats the key.

The major reason to why gamers still are considered nerds is simply because they have no pride in what they do. They undermine and shut down discussions about gaming when they talk to girls or parents. Seeing it as just something that you do cause you have nothing better in your life to do.

Take pride in it, and who knows maybe next time you get a girlfriend you dont have to stop playing. Because you told her from the beginning that even so she's beautifiul and really nice, there is just something special about charging up a alchemist stun and getting firstblood. She'll understand, if she loves you!

Although I'm pretty satisfied with what Dray wrote, there are a few points that don't go down my throat. First and foremost, people who think Dota is just a dumb computer game DO NOT give spend hours and hours on it daily.

Secondly, sharing gaming stuff with girl friend is okay but sometimes it's much more difficult when it comes to parents. Why? Because one can CHOOSE his girl friend but there is no alternative when it comes to parents. It can be really difficult for a player to share his feelings or feel proud gaming if his/her parents refuse to accept the fact that their child is a gamer or he spends most of his time playing computer games.

Mana Bars!

2010-03-30T22:36:00.001+05:30

A Warcraft tool by Lynn that allows you to see mana bars along with health bars.

I used this tool in a few LAN games and worked out fine. It really helps when you're Anti-Mage or Nerubian Assassin. However, many people reported that this causes Warcraft to crash when playing on Garena & B.Net and many tournaments might ban use of this tool as it provides you with an advantage over the enemy. So I wouldn't suggest using this on Garena & B.Net at the moment. It's worth trying on LAN anyways.

Download Link
ManaBars 1.4
Release Date: March 23, 2010

After extracting the files from the zip folder, run the program and Warcraft III in whatever order. :)

Note: If you disable "Show HP Bars" option in Warcraft 3, the manabars will also disable.

I hope Blizzard implements this tool in warcraft next patch.

Source

The Magic Stick dilemma

2010-03-09T11:05:00.002+05:30

Joining up on the hot Magic Stick debate started by team OK (former name TheShit!) player Dray, I'll be giving some of my view points and suggestion for the item here. First of all, sensible tweaks are always welcomed in the supposedly developing DotA world and therefore I can safely say that we'll see some changes in the item soon.

As far as my mind goes, I think of hp regen by the stick as it's defensive part while mana regen the offensive. If we want the game to get more action packed, nerfing the defensive part comes as the first thought. Dray proposes of removing the item completely from the game. But wouldn't that actually make the game imbalanced? Doesn't that mean that every healing spell forms a part of defensive mechanism and therefore, should be removed? This would also mean removing the concept of armor and spell resistance, because they basically serve similar functions. But if we think about it again, doesn't healing help pushing? Doesn't high armor promote tower diving? Everything can be seen in two different perspectives and magic stick is no exception.

My first point is, an item never makes a game imbalanced because it is the same for both the teams. [Although the item itself might not be in the perfect shape :)]

My second point is, one can always find aggressiveness and defensiveness in the same multi-use item/spell, it's only a matter of how people view it. We can think of hp regen as a defensive ability or an ability to promote pushing.

For my third point, let us suppose Icefrog codes magic stick such that we also get a charge for using a spell... I know it's a broken concept but don't you think that would actually promote aggressiveness? DotA is not a game where you can really talk much of logic. After all, it's a magic stick ;).

My suggestion for the time being is simple, remove charging up magic stick for spells that don't deal damage to you. I mean, it's always a moment of rejoice when enemy doom eats up 5 creeps :P (maybe just nullify the hp regen coz mana regen is the 'offensive' part).

The discussion is still open and I might post updates to the post later on, but these were my first response thoughts to Dray's & Loda's blog. :)

Related Links

Drayrich's blog - Remove Magic Stick?

Loda's blog - Is imbalance always a bad thing?

Ducky's Blog - Disagreement from Dray's view of the version

Milikki's Amazing DotA Comics!

2010-02-24T23:34:00.000+05:30

This Dota Fan Art has been made by a talented girl from China. Quite famous in China, xfy890228 brought her marvellous works into light on the official forums.

You can enjoy some of her amazing arts at the Official DotA Forum [You might need to register first... put the referral name "phoenix" if you like ;) ] or her original works in Chinese at her blog.

Nirvana.int players giving paid tutorials!

2010-02-21T13:07:00.001+05:30

So, Nirvana.int professionals are onto something new in DotA... giving paid tutorials!

From Demon's blog...

Recently, I've received a lot of requests for personal help and private DotA lessons so that I can help you and your team reach your maximum potential.

After teaching several people and talking to a couple of my team members, we've decided to offer private lessons in whatever form requested (Practice 1v1's, Replay Analysis, Theorycrafting, etc.)

Merlini, Kuroky, Demon and Fear will be the ones offering help. This will all be done via Ventrilo/Skype, payments will me made through PayPal.

From Kuroky's blog...

Please write a proper request, leave your msn adress etc. Tell me what specific training and lesson(s) you want for your own interest, so we can maximize the time we spent into the training.
*I editet the irc part out, due to massive amount of requests I couldn't keep a good overview so please write me a mail so I can prepare better if a deal will come up.

I got many people asking me how much I would charge. To give an example, averagely I'd take $20/hour. I will not answer any email that doesn't fulfil the requirements or doesn't look serious, thanks for your understanding

You can contact Nirvana.int for these tutorials at nvagaming@hotmail.com or on mIRC in #nirvana.DotA @ quakenet

Sources:
http://kuroky-kky.blogspot.com/2010/02/player-lessons-from-me.html
http://demon-miley.blogspot.com/2010/02/dota-lessons-from-pros.html

Awesome News: Reconnection in DotA now possible

2010-02-20T19:53:00.000+05:30

Icefrog says...

The first version of Varlock's reconnection tool is almost ready for release. We've been testing it in real DotA games for the past few weeks and it has worked very well. We've had many players disconnect only to reconnect moments later, saving otherwise lost games.

The code for this tool (both client and server) will be open source so that anyone can build upon it and integrate it into their platforms and communities.

It's a great advancement for the DotA World. A blessing for the league players while pubbers will get stripped off some of their excuses for leaving the game. ;) Also, we won't lose replays due to save reload. :D

On a side note, I hope you did notice that this tool has not actually been released yet! We still need to wait for a while.

I Got a Boat ft. Kunnka

2010-02-17T07:02:00.001+05:30

Pay attention to the lyrics of the song parody... Enjoy ;)

Excerpt from the lyrics...

I'm callin' solo mid.

Ricin' like Viets.

My waveform splashes,

gettin' everybody all wet.

This ain't the AI map.

This is real as it gets.

I got a boat motherfucker,

don't you ever forget.

GET THE FUCK BACK!

THIS BOAT IS REAL!

Fuck lanes, I cross the fjord, motherfucker!

Fuck range, I got a sword, motherfucker!

I got my boys gankin' top, motherfucker!

My X always mark the spot, motherfucker!

Original Song

Youtube Link for this song

Nirvana sponsors ex-Blight.int 5 LAN travels per year!

2010-02-08T15:12:00.003+05:30

Blight.int is now Nirvana.int!

The former sponsor of CommeDieu, Jun Sheng 'Loveen' Chang has created team Nirvana with their first team being the players from former Blight.Int, Kuro 'KuroKy' Salehi Takhasomi and crew.

Loveen with his sister

With their contracts left unsigned over at Blight, the six members of ex-Blight.Int have decided to look far east where DotA is booming for a more reliable sponsor. After months of searching with speculation of them joining SK-Gaming, the star-studded team has finally found a sponsor from China and it is none other than the former sponsor of CommeDieu during SMM Grand Finals 2009, Jun Sheng 'Loveen' Chang.

After the disbandment of CommeDieu over a month ago, Loveen has been searching for a new team to sponsor to express his passion for the game. When he was asked a few weeks ago by Jimmy 'Demon' Ho, he willingly accepted Demon's proposal to sponsor the team.

Now, the boys from ex-Blight.Int will go under the name of Nirvana.Int. The sponsor promised their new DotA team a monthly salary and up to five exclusive LAN travels per year. Loveen also expressed his thoughts of picking up a Nirvana.cn team in the upcoming weeks that will consist of a few players from the late cD team with some new faces.

Jun Sheng 'Loveen' Chang:
"I think the boys from Blight.int is one of the best DotA clan in the world. It is undeniable that they are all 5 God-class player. A few days ago, Demon approached me for a sponsorship deal and at the same time, I was looking to create a great DotA Club. I will create another two or three teams in my club like Nirvana.int (Blight.int) and Nirvana.cn (cD) and allow them to attend big events all over the world to gain experience. Nirvana will dominate every championships available."

Jimmy 'Demon' Ho:
"We are more than happy to be sponsored by Nirvana. We will exceed his expectations, and achieve the very best of results. We are also eager to be playing under our new tag as well! LAN travel support will not be a problem with Nirvana supporting us. Thanks Chang. (Smiles)"

Kuro 'KuroKy' Salehi Takhasomi:
I am very glad to be part of this new organisation, unfortunately blight gaming couldn't offer us alot in the long run and due to differences within the contract we decided to part ways.
We searched for a trustful organisation that we can rely on and be happy with for a long time, Nirvana was clearly the best option for us, I am happy that we actually did find a reliable sponsor for our euro-american mix.
Nirvana will set up a website very soon, so stay stuned!
I am very confident that Jun Sheng 'Loveen' Chang will do his best to support us, let's rock 2010!

Nirvana.Int team roster

Clement 'Puppey' Ivanov
Ben 'Merlini' Wu
Jimmy 'Demon' Ho
Clinton 'Fear' Loomis
Amar 'Amartnt' Hassan
Kuro 'KuroKy' Salehi Takhasomi
Morten 'ZexTaR' Knudsen (Manager)

Sources:
1. http://www.mymym.com/en/news/17852.html
2. http://kuroky-kky.blogspot.com/2010/02/blightint-goes-nirvanaint.html

Another BFB player starts blogging, this time it's Demon

2010-01-23T02:29:00.006+05:30

I hope everyone here knows about Kuroky's blog. It happens now that his teammate, Demon has started blogging as well. I think we all should pay a visit to his blog... :) Link to Demon's blog (Although currently it looks more like a personal blog rather than a blog devoted to DotA :D )

Also, famous Fnatic player Loda made a blogging comeback this week telling the world that he's still loyal to DotA and not HoN (which some websites claimed to happen) Check out his blog here :)

6.66 The 'Satan' is here!

2010-01-15T14:39:00.000+05:30

I hope everyone knows 666 is called the "Devil's Number"... dunno if Icefrog set some traps in the map. :P

Roshan is on fire!

Techies courier gets replaced by Nightmare Sheep

This was rather a quick update after 6.65 and I see all changes being welcomed. The best change was in Devour which gives Lucifer a totally new flexible jungle game-play.

Gains the abilities of the target neutral creep has until you devour another creep with abilities to replace it (Changelog)

He is much more fun to play now rather than just the ulti-silence stuff. Even Scorched Earth is much better now... looks like a promising competitive pick.

All changes were nice and don't need separate commenting imo. Good job Icy! :)

The DotA Bus Ride!

2010-01-14T14:39:00.003+05:30

I would like people to tell me what all is happening in this epic artwork. :D [Basically wanted to share this pic :) ]

The best part in my opinion is Mortred, followed by Bloodseeker eating up his neighbor. Zeus looks cool listening to music. Warlock is shouting over everyone while Riki is backstabbing him. I wonder who is chickened by Lion o.O . Whatever, but it's an epic piece of art. hehe! :D Do tell what other important aspects of the picture I miss. :)

This art was originally posted by Redisni @ playdota forums. (Link)

Update 1: Adding more image details (in case you missed some)
- Invoker's learning up from the book Invokelist
- Tiny is the bully/rejected guy sitting at the back
- Huskar's peeping on Lina's b**bies :P
- Dragon Knight's using his shield against Clinkz fire arrows.
- Rexxar thinks he is batman!

Original concept of the artwork by ShwigityShwonShwei. (Link)

Recovering from Illness :D

2010-01-03T17:36:00.000+05:30

Ahh! I'm finally sitting on my computer desk after a long pause of straight 7 days. Got sick a week back and had to consume 3 different type of capsules, 3 different tablets and 2 syrups everyday lying on my bed taking all my energy from a glucose drip, I dunno what more anti-biotic inject-ables doctors kept adding in it ... feeling as if almost dead xD... and finally DEAD, reduced to ashes! But don't worry, I came BACK FROM THE ASHES, coz I'm Phoenix ;P.

Just kidding about the dead part, but yeah, I was severely ill for the 'New Year'. Didn't get the chance to wish you all a Happy New Year - may this year bring you lots of gaming so you can rape-face every other player and Icefrog completes his 'Valve DotA'. Have Fun! :)

And if some noticed, the post on new heroes has been cancelled. :P

6.65 First Impressions part 2! Who's in, who's out?

2009-12-25T16:47:00.001+05:30

First of all, I would like all my readers to promote dota at World Cyber Games. Click the following link, register and leave a message for the WCG organizers to include dota in their tournaments all around the world. :)

http://www.wcg.com/6th/fun/eventzone/200912_want/want.asp

Now, resuming my comments on the new version 6.65, (first post - read first so you understand this one to the fullest) I feel we're gonna see a lot of forgotten faces in competitive scene. As I said in my last post, heroes with teleport based skills are to be seen more often but what I didn't realize at that point was that the new teleport mechanism applies only on teleport scrolls and not boots of travel! This does not decrease the importance of Pit Lord, Furion, Spectre and KotL here, but it does mean that the problem is not as big as it seemed to be. This also means boots of travel would be given far more importance than other boots.

Talking about the push-meta, someone will need to tank enemy spells & damage while pushing, someone to be focus fired. Tankers like Axe, Dirge and Bristleback come my mind here. After being almost completely neglected in 6.64, they seem to fill the void perfectly. Beastmaster, though not a proper tank, will continue to get picked/banned due to 'wild axes' having physical type damage which is far more important than magical in shorter games.

Summon heroes (Furion, Syllabear) will be the call of the day for tanking tower damage, accompanied by AoE healers like Necrolyte, Dazzle & Voljin and tower breakers like Pugna and Krobelus, who got small buffs themselves.

Two changes, introduction of the new item Urn of Shadows and the availability of boots in the side shops support the idea of roaming and reduces the number of fountain trips required. The problem of aggresive supports not having a healing mechanism is solved and teams can just carry on pushing after winning a team fight. Twin head dragon has been buffed several times, now it seems he can easily fill the slot of an aggressive support.

We'll have to wait and watch what new strategies professionals come up for playing the new Visage and Alchemist. I'm expecting a change in play style of both. With the new 'Familiars' having a active spell themselves, only high level players will be able to enjoy his full potential.

Gondar got a nice skill replacement but as I said in my last post, single target heroes are a no no this version. Many people are expecting Chaos Knight to make a come-back with only one skill replaced, but I still think he needs more buffs to get in par with other competitive picks. He's still a single target hero with images that get wiped out with a few AoE spells.

Panda (Mangix) got hit by the nerfstick. Icefrog wants us to kill Fire Panda if we don't like him. Judging by the change in the metagame, he's not going to be picked often now.

Blademail got a nerf and now it's not an item for everyone anymore. But the return of tanks will support this item. Force Staff on the other hand got a small buff, shorter games will lure players to get it as a dagger replacement but it's still not good enough to be seen frequently.

These are my first thoughts on 6.65. Thoughts change with time, new things pop up and I still need to figure out the counter strategies of such a meta-game. So don't take these to be my final verdict on the version and go enjoy some 6.65 action yourself. I would love to listen your views on the map update, so start commenting. :)

I'm yet to publish my views on the new heroes, so subscribe and stay connected. :D

First Impressions of 6.65! A New Metagame?

2009-12-24T22:30:00.002+05:30

The wait is finally over with an awesome update by Icefrog. (6.65 Changelog) The version came out with two major updates, one was the xp and gold change on creeps after destroying barracks and the other one was the reworked mechanics of Town Portal.

Both these changes indicate a clear green signal by Icefrog to push strategies. The benefits of destroying barracks are too good to ignore. What this means? The game has turned into a push competition, whoever pushes enemy rax first wins! The turtling era has been replaced by the push era (Yipeee!). Length of games will go down considerably. Pick a summoner, an AoE whore, an AoE healer, a tower demolisher & a carry jungler and you're bound to have a great time crushing your opponents. The carry spends most of his time jungling while the rest of the team goes out pushing everything to the rax. You don't even need to care much once you push rax. Push a lane or two and then farm in jungle as hell coz the other team is losing experience and gold relatively as the game goes longer.

Talking about the changes to teleport mechanics, it looks like Icefrog took Kuroky's excerpt on Mass teleport seriously. The changes are somewhat complex at first looks. People in organized games will need to teleport selectively. Mass teleporting to save carry and towers is a broken concept now. Other professionals should take a lesson from this and start posting their own views on the map. ;)

The other strat Icefrog seems to promote in this map is Ganking. The TP nerf promotes ganking and the new item Urn of Shadows is totally awesome for aggressive support heroes.

Defending base will be a pain in the ass and single target heroes like Viper will need to make AoE damage items else they might fade away from the Competitive Scene completely, while AoE whores like Puck will be used more frequently. Pit Lord is likely to make a comeback here with his mass-teleport ulti and the ability to kill creeps in a matter of seconds. The same concept applies to other global teleport heroes like Furion, Spectre and KotL. Some might say Spectre has got useless after the nerf to dispersion but she will continue to appear in higher level games in my opinion.

These were basically my first thoughts on the meta-game changes I expect in 6.65. I will continue to express my views on the new version, so subscribe and keep in touch with me. Thanks for reading. :)

Boots of speed are now available in side shops! <--- TOTALLY UNEXPECTED :D

XMas to come with 2 bangs! Merry Christmas!

2009-12-23T19:04:00.000+05:30

Merry Christmas everyone! :D

Yes, It's Christmas ! Time to enjoy, wait for Santa Icefrog and get loads of gifts heroes maps updates surprises! It's also the time to show dotaters that you are beyond godlike! So play dota with all your friends, enemies & unknowns and show them Who's their Daddy? ;)

As I mentioned in my previous post,

"Icefrog's actually planning to surprise us with Christmas gifts

the wait is almost over as Icefrog has given his statement,

"All set now, thanks for everyone's input

and gift unpacking has already begun. Everyone was thinking there would 1 new hero in 6.65 but it turns out there are two of them! :D

Hero No #1

Hero No #2

To view these pictures on the official dota download website, open getdota and refresh the page several times (press F5 key several times after opening the website) and you get two pictures one after the another for the two new 'Challengers' of 6.65. xD

Besides these, Icefrog posted another teaser on official dota website playdota, mentioning and asking when did he release a previous video teaser.

"I had this video up replacing getdota.com right before a map release a long time ago, anyone remember which version that was?

This video was released by Icefrog as a 6.50 teaser. We'll have to wait and watch he plans this time.

Let's hope he doesn't surprise us by not releasing 6.65 this Christmas! Or maybe he'll just skip 6.65 and post 6.66 directly. lol, can't help thinking about the surprises. Icefrog, you're a devil when it comes to teasing. :)

My predictions for 6.65

2009-12-20T10:09:00.000+05:30

Well, 6.65 is to be released soon and I'm expecting quite a lot of changes in this version. Even though there's no assurance even one of the following changes would be seen but nevertheless, THESE SHOULD BE CHANGED. One should also note that what I'm writing are the expected changes while Icefrog's actually planning to surprise us with Christmas gifts. :P

Where will she fit in the 6.65 load-screen?

DISCLAIMER

The things mentioned in this post are just my predictions. Anything may or may not come true.

End the Turtling era

SMM'09 came as a nightmare for me and taught every pro in the world how to go 'win win' situation in the 6.64 era, defensively farming. Honestly, this turtling thing should come to an end and dota should become a more spectator friendly game. It is the best thing that can happen to this game currently. My best bet would be nerf of defensive/tanking items like Vanguard, Hood/Pipe, etc., solving the mass tp problem as stated by Kuroky and maybe a small vision nerf to observer wards.

Pubs will galore with Night Crawler

One doesn't need to be a Dota expert to know this. New heroes become an instant hit in pubs and this one's rather Icefrog's Christmas Agility gift! The player with fastest clicking rate or the server will pick him, and it's inevitable for a hero who remains invisible while hitting to own the pubs like hell.
Now, there are high chances more pubbers would start using true sight items leading to downfall of other invisibility heroes like Riki, Gondar, etc. This means true sight is going to be nerfed so that pub invisibility heroes don't lose their ground.

Comeback of the Tanks

I'm sure Icefrog has noticed the silent disappearance of Dirge, Bristleback and other tank heroes from this version and will come up with some idea to re-balance the situation... probably a buff to Heart of Tarrasque.

Which heroes and what items will get nerfed?

Visage - Now that Icefrog's asking for suggestions, its obvious.
Mangix - "IMBA" of the version?
Vanguard, Hood & Pipe - Stated earlier.
Vision/true vision giving items - Stated earlier. Due to this I'm also expecting some Nerubian Weaver action. :)

Which heroes and what items will get buffed?

Tauren - The permaban of one version becomes an outcast in another. lol? He's not bad but needs just a tick to come along.
Force Staff - Never really used anywhere.

We all know Dota is very far away from attaining utopia. Icefrog always says he wants to make all strats viable for winning the game.

I want players to always feel there is a lot to improve upon and to encourage situations where a player is rewarded when he is able to make better decisions than his opponent, which is something I think even non-competitive players value.

Let's see how far he reaches his goals with this major update. (and how far he surprises us with his Christmas gifts. Merry Christmas! :D )

Heroes that kicked ass in 6.64!

2009-12-13T17:07:00.001+05:30

As most of you would be aware, Icefrog has indicated release of v6.65 near around Christmas,

so I thought why not compile a list of heroes that hit the spotlight in the current scene? After all, this was one version where I can say we witnessed games of many unforeseen heroes, whatever be the reasons. Don't believe me? Let's have a look...

Heroes that dominated the scene

Vengeful Spirit

First pick of every game? At least in Europe she was. She proved useful in several different strats. Need a baby-sitter? Pick Venge. Need a tri-laner? Pick Venge. Need someone to enhance negative armor strats? Pick Venge. Forget about being a part of a strat, swap is game breaking even at later stages of the game. She was undoubtedly the most picked hero in this era.

Mangix

This hero rose from just being a situational pick to every game ban with just two changes to fire panda: its move speed and the fact that it deals hero damage. It's just a matter of him splitting and all enemies go like "Run for your life! Fire Panda on the loose." I hope no one will be surprised when we see him nerfed in the next version! I would rather be surprised if he's not! o.O

Dark Seer

Choose one: Permaban or Permarape. I don't have the exact statistics but he was another hero beside Mangix who brought teams into auto-win situation. His marvellous ability to jungle and gank at early levels with monstrous damage is unparalleled, leave aside his ability to save allies' ass.

Sniper

Arguably the most unexpected dominating pick of this version. The prime target of comics to make fun off earlier, after receiving numerous buffs by Icefrog, finally saw the divine light of Competitive Dota. Sniper proved out to be one of the most effective component of turtling strategies as well as a counter to few heroes dominating the scene like Rhasta, Atropos, etc. Farming is easy being ranged, just make manta and the enemy finds three heroes shooting from out of their screens. :P

Picks of the SMM

The tournament infamous for sleeping spectators proved out to the world that defensive farming is the most secure way to win matches. Carries namely Medusa, Phantom Lancer, Spectre, Visage and Lightning Revenant, that could tank later in the game were most picked in this tournament with Vanguard as their favorite first item. Many dotaters cursed this version after SMM, for being so carry friendly. Anyways, hoping that Icefrog takes care of everything in the awaited version. :)

Who got scrapped?

As I mentioned in an earlier post, 6.64 scrapped all 'tanks' namely Dirge, Bristleback, etc. There were other heroes too, but lets stick to the discussion and talk about heroes that shined.

Player Specific heroes that kicked ass!

Mushi's Lanaya & Ursa

Mushi was the person who set out the trend for two heroes - Lanaya and Ursa. Lanaya paved way for the viability of two strats, armor reduction and tri-laning, became the 'map-hacker' of the version just like Visage was a few versions ago.

Roshan's nightmare and pubber's dream came true with Ursa! Again, Mushi became the trend setter proving out Ursa's usefulness to the professional world. Burst Physical Damage became much more recognized in ganking line-ups.

Angel's Storm

Storm proved out his worth in European games especially at the hands of MYM|Angel. The changes in bloodstone proved out to be a boon for this hero. Now either pick full time disablers like Rhasta and Atropos or get ready to face the wrath of an unkillable machine.

Mania's Sand King and Misery's PotM were also mentioned quite sometimes.

There are some other heroes too but these are the cream of the crop. The usage of some of these heroes has dropped after SMM, after which all teams are going for defensive farming. Perhaps we'll see more gank style games in upcoming versions. Lets hope for the best! :D

MYM vs BFB and Ganking

2009-12-12T07:17:00.000+05:30

Kuroky shares his views. MUST READ!
MYM vs BFB and Ganking
Might be posting views on it later. or not. :P

Ben's Fuck Buddies: Puppey, Merlini & Kuroky unite!

2009-12-06T20:30:00.005+05:30

BFB Logo

Puppey recently announced the making of his new team, Ben's Fuck Buddies (BFB) comprising of 7 big names in the Competitive DotA: Puppey, Merlini, Kuroky, Demon, Pajkatt, Fear & amartnt (more details). It looks like being a star and having a huge fan-base is a pre-requisite for this team. Looking at the list of players and the team's name, it is clear that they're gonna put up a lot of ganking-style gameplay which means highly entertaining matches for spectators. YaY! But can this clan meet the standards of a top level team? None of these 7 is a well known supporter and only time will tell if they mesh well with each other. As for now, they've already started playing together. You can watch their first tournament match as a team on Gosugamers.

Good luck to the newly born star studded team, hoping for some extreme action and thrilling games. :)
----------
Update

The team has changed name to Ben's Friendly Buddies and the pic above is their temporary logo. So... does this mean there are Ben's unfriendly buddies too? lolz.

SMM Grand National Dota Tournament '09 a summary...

2009-12-04T08:26:00.001+05:30

As many of you must be aware, SMM'09 was the biggest offline tournament in the history of DotA, it is no wonder we got to witness some interesting and some surprising stuff in the world of Competitive DotA. Talking about the interesting stuff, the tournament was won by team FTD inspite of the presence of much more popular teams like Cybertime, Kingsurf, EHome, etc. But of course, the most unexpected development in the tournament was MYM getting out of the tourni in the qualifier rounds. This came as a big big surprise to the DotA population, how can the rank 1 team in Europe could not even pass the Qualifier Rounds? MYM leader Kuroky says he played with Asian teams during the practice matches and realised that turtle farming is a way more secure strategy than their usual ganking stuff in the current meta. In fact, he even said that their ganking strategy would not work against the Asians. This was also widely accepted by all the participating teams in the tournament. But then, MYM fail to execute a good turtling strategy, did some bad hero picking and ended up out of the tournament. It's no wonder the game deciding MYM's fate, MYM vs Ftz.Asia became the most discussed match of the tournament online (on GosuGamers).

Spectators, who were expecting some entertaining matches like MYM vs Fnatic played a few weeks back were totally disappointed from the event as the only dominant strategy was passive farming. This aspect of the meta-game was truly shown in the most spectated match of the event, FTD vs Kingsurf where FTD won the game even after Phantom lancer lost his Sacred Relic once and FTD played with two lane barracks down! Though no-one can defy the fact that turtling is the most secure strategy in the current meta, I refuse to accept it as the only game winning strategy. Other strategies like ganking and pushing were not tried to their best a decent number of times during the tournament. Though we cannot blame the teams for trying out the best available strategy, many spectators were not happy with the match strategies.

One good thing noticed in the tournament was the usage of a large pool of heroes particularly those who had pushing and late game tanking powers like Visage, Phantom Lancer, etc. UTDC.Justin (Official DotA Staff Member) writes...

"This tournament showed the strength of the team presence heroes. There is a huge focus on heroes, I guess the closest type of characterization would be "heavy hybrid" - it includes Visage, Spectre, Medusa, Razor, and to a small extent Necrolyte, SF, Bristleback, amongst some more. Basically these heroes are special at the moment because they have the ability to win games. They don't do it by being especially powerful as carries in terms of damage output, but their ability to take damage and draw focus fire and survive temporarily makes them extremely effective.

These are heroes that will punish initiation of all types, you take on their teammates and you can get ready for a world of hurt - focus them and their natural ability to survive kicks in and what do you think happens to enemies that focus these heroes? "

All in all, though the tournament was not exactly a treat to the eyes for spectators, but it did bring out the most effective strategy in current DotA i.e. defensive farming. What all teams cared about the most in this tournament was the huge prize stash (approximately $26000 in cash total + goodies). Now, I'm waiting to see how Icefrog reacts to the outcome of this tournament. Again, congratulating FTD for their epic win (well deserved) and thanking all organizers & sponsors for conducting such a huge event in DotA. :)

MYM Kuroky launches his own blog... Leaves MYM!

2009-12-02T19:09:00.002+05:30

Kuroky made some important decisions after returning from Malaysia. He has decided to leave MYM and make his own team. Also, he's positive to write a weekly blog, The True Vision. He states in his blog... (I've highlighted his important statements)

"hey all!

I wanted to start a blog long time ago but thought I am too lazy for this, but for various reasons I decided to stop the lazyness and start writing some interesting stuff (hopefully :D).

The main reasons for starting a blog are my fans, who supported me so much through the years and gave me alot of motivation to keep on playing, the 2nd reason is SMM, where I wanna give some insight from me into this.

First of all, I wanna apologize to all my fans who I disappoint big time, this won't happen again, I will put all my energy into the game now. I did not only fail this time, I felt I played bad the last 6 months, but I promise I will change things now.

About the trip to SMM, it was really awesome. All the teams were so nice to us and the people there seem to have alot of dedication for the game, it was simply the best lan I ever attended. I always thought asian DotA is better than european dota, but I never knew that asian dota is SO MUCH better.

When I started playing solo mid versus mushi in the MYM vs CT showmatch, I realized how bad I am, he simply out cs'd me all the way and I felt like a noob. After playing nearly 6 years of DotA, I thought I can't improve so much anymore - but I was totally wrong, there is still so much for me to improve and that makes me really happy, I feel more motivated than ever and gonna start training alot more for my individual skills again.

When we started playing the tournament, I felt we never really put ourselves together to play our game and got simply rolled by ftz and xlo. They were simply better, we never deserved to come any further than groupstage in my oppinion. It's a nice feeling to get stomped like that, now I know where my limits are and how to extend them.

But hey, atleast MYM > PMS!!! :D

I also met the ehome manager, penny, and talked alot with him. He is a really nice guy and had to share alot of ideas in the game with me. The most interesting part was, when he started complaining about the version. The chinese teams seem to hate the version, because it's a farmer version. I always thought the version was quite balanced, but after watching SMM I realized that DotA is still broken. The best way to win is farming. I was totally amazed watching the finals, I know the score was something like 4/4 after 30minutes but the way they played the game just showed how high their skill is, they simply want to win.

Their teamskill was insane, aside from that their individual skill was just a pleasure to watch, when 2009's sniper stomped sanshengs tinker, I felt he won the game alone for FTD.

I know so much people disagree with me, but please - bring the old dagger back, otherwise DotA will always be dominated by boring heroes with boring farmstyle. It's simply the easiest, safest and best way to win a game, to grab the cash. Nobody gives a fuck if you lose a game by ganking, even though you played amazing, all people remember is the result. They get the title, the money, the fame, I believe and I really fear that most LAN tournaments with big prizemoney will end up having boring finals. If anybody remembers IEM, which FTD won, the endscore was similiar to SMM's. And no, it's not FTD's fault, not at all. They totally deserve the win, I believe they deserve the title best team of the year 2009, they were smarter and better than any other team this year and won it.

Besides that, we scrimmed a bit against ehome and cd, ehome smoked us 4-1 and cd won us 3-2 the other day. I really love ehome's playstyle though, they are absolutely my favorite team and I am happy that penny stole GK's shirt and gave it to me hahaha. I love you penny!!

Too bad fnatic couldn't attend, I believe they had 100x better chance than us to win and represent europe in a better light. Since they attend the china-event now, I am sure they will do much much better than we did, they are actually the best team in europe, go ahead and rock on "fnatic". Nevertheless props to PokerIdol for their awesome performance, also nice people to talk with.

Furthermore I would like to thank some very special people, namely rein, danny and frasier who helped us out ALOT in the whole trip. thank you.

Btw, I decided to leave MYM. It was my decision, most of you probably won't believe it but I decided to leave MYM 2 weeks ago, but I didn't tell them since I didn't want to bring the team down. I have other plans, other goals in the game and I feel I need to go back to my roots, and make a new team. I think most of you won't understand it, but it's very needed for me to grow more as a player. Both parties agreed on this, no hard feelings, we love each other and they will NOT disband, so no worries haha. :)

I would really like to thank them for giving me the chance to go to SMM and to play with them, special thanks to MaNia- and PusHer, great personalities, great humans. I wish you the best, keep on rocking, you will be much stronger without me.

That's it for now, I will try to keep my blog updatet atleast once in a week, depending on how many people are interested into my blog, I will also advertise for my blog haha :D

At last i would really wish, that people stop comparing EU and ASIA, it was only 1 event out of hopefully MANY more in future, if you want dota to get bigger, stop flaming for no reasons, make love not war !

btw, I know the title rocks."

I guess MYM defeat at SMM'09 was totally heartbreaking (at least for me). Anyways, you can check out his blog at kuroky-kky.blogspot.com

MYM vs FTZ.Asia: An Analysis

2009-11-29T15:13:00.000+05:30

Well, as many of you must be knowing, MYM was out of SMM Grand National Tournament'09 held at Malaysia in the first round of the tourni, this came as a big surprise to me and everyone actually. No one expects the top team of Europe to get out in the first round getting defeated by a not well known Malaysian team and it's no wonder that the match deciding MYM's fate became the most discussed replay of the month on Gosugamers (not just in top 10, it is rank 1) within 20 hours. If you haven't seen the replay here are Pick/Ban details with download link...

Match Details

Map Version: 6.64

Warcraft III Patch: 1.24b

Download Link (900 Kb approx.)

Now, as the result of the game were not anticipated, people have been thinking over why did the game ended that way? To me, MYM were already in deep trouble with the pick/ban session followed by a sub-par team leading and gameplay.

How did MYM ended up picking the heroes they did?

Okay, so here is my hypothesis explaining why both the teams ended up picking the particular heroes.

1. FTZ pick Puck

With a Puck pick, FTZ try to have a strong position in team battles. A Puck with Blink Dagger means an instant setup for the team to f*ck enemies. How? Puck blinks between enemies, silences and coils them making sure they don't move out of place and cannot retaliate with their own spell stuff.

2. MYM pick Lion, Zeus

Lion and Vengeful are staple first picks for MYM. Vengeful was banned (reason being MYM not wanting Ftz to first pick her) and Lion got picked.

Zeus, as most know is used as an anti-blink hero due to Thundergod's Wrath, gets picked as a counter to Blink Puck initiation.

3. FTZ pick Crixalis, Spectre

Ftz continue making a stronghold in team battles and pick Crixalis, who forms a team combo with Puck. (Puck blink, silence, coils -> Sand blink, epicenters)

Spectre was picked so MYM don't go global / anti-dagger. (Spectre is already a great pick in current metagame anyways)

4. MYM pick Kunkka, Earthshaker

MYM were a bit screwed at this moment and they knew it. Their only hope was that Zeus uses a timely Wrath and saves them from a non-favorable team battle. Anyways, MYM realized that if Ftz pick Kunkka, things would totally go out of control. So, good or bad, they had no other option than to pick him.

Now, lets suppose MYM deals with team battles some or the other way, but what about Spectre? She's a pain in the a*s if got beefed up. Here, MYM decide to go a tri-lane against Spectre and picked Earthshaker who was supposed to keep Spectre down with Lion.

5. Ftz pick Warlock, Medusa

Ftz knew they have pretty much outpicked MYM. What they need to care about now is make sure Spectre farms while have some way of keeping Kunkka down (he's also a pain in the a*s apparently). For obvious reasons, Spectre needs a healing baby-sitter to farm properly. Two names come into mind when we talk about healer baby-sitter, Dazzle and Warlock. Dazzle was not a worthy pick the enemy damage being mainly magical and cleave damage, so we're left with Warlock who also forms another big+ in team battles.

About keeping Kunkka down, Medusa forms a personal choice to screw with him.

6. MYM pick Obsidian

MYM continue with their attempt to counter-pick Ftz and picked Obsidian which again, is a personal choice to screw Medusa. [Sanity's Eclipse to sweep away Gorgon's mana]

Proof that my hypothesis is correct

[00:30 game time] Ftz could sixth sense the incoming tri-lane to counter Spectre. Therefore, they send Spectre-Warlock combo mid instead of anticipated top lane. This means Medusa would face a tri-lane and therefore we can notice her keeping on backfoot until and unless all enemy heroes are visible on the mini-map. Also, after noticing a mid Spectre, Earthshaker & Lion go mid to gank her.

What decisions could've let MYM end better? (by UTDC.Justin)

The combination of Lion-Zeus was very poor, MYM usually tends to play something like Lion Sandking (Hello Mania SK) or could have two strong teamfight heroes (SK/Spectre -> allow two lane picks (Lion/ES/Slardar) -> Warlock/Pirate). Anyways, after the Spectre pick, though, picking more immobile heroes (ES/OD) wasn't the best of decisions. Medusa more or less made it easy for them to fight out their battles and simply win it on attrition later on. OD isn't a bad counter for Dusa, just not very functional with the rest of the lineup (kind of like old Dusa to counter Omni sort of mentality)

Viability of Bristleback in the current metagame

2009-11-15T10:19:00.008+05:30

By the current metagame I mean versions around 6.64.

Huge Thanks to Impulsive for totally changing my mindset over bristleback.

Now, is BristleBack really viable in the current metagame?

At the moment, Bristleback does not fit anywhere reason being the BIG nerf to heart, the one that needs you out of fight for the regen. Bristleback is a hero that needs to be IN BATTLE all the time to deal the much needed damage.
Honestly, tankers don't fit anywhere right now. (Don't talk about Mangix & Tide, Mangix is imba with Aghanim while Tide is banned coz of his -armor and the power to pull out his ultimate everytime... thanks to the buffed Kraken Shell)

You need to have a systematized skill set to work, someone like Kunkka who has all 4 skills useful at various parts of the game.
Also, if you want Bristleback to work for you, you'll need the complete line-up to rotate around BB pick and there are much better heroes for that purpose like for example Spectre... the agility version of Bristleback? Lets have a comparison...

Bristleback can't hit the enemy much himself so he needs 'allies' to take advantage of the slow/-armor from Goo while Dagger, use it for the AoE slow, use it to escape, use for the vision predicting ganks and so on.

Talk about quills when enemies hit you... I guess dispersion works almost the same, hit and get youself damaged!

Bristleback reduces 40% damage from rear while Dispersion reduces 20% damage from all sides!

And the ultimate, not even worth comparing. Spectre is wayyy better.

Both the heroes need some farming to be effective so we can't compare them on item requirement basis. Also, both have their own way of farming.

Bristleback is nowhere near being a good pick in the current metagame. Perhaps, if pros come out with some other way to play this hero or lets wait for the next version if it brings some goodies for the tanker.

-tips... Unfolding Icefrog's Gameplay Suggestions

2009-08-05T05:00:00.003+05:30

In my opinion, "-tips" is a great idea from Icefrog that not only helps the beginners but also clears to many of us the actual role of a hero in the game. For those who don't know what "-tips" is, just use this command when starting a game and a bunch of advices from icefrog will come up during the game regularly.

And for those who love the "tips" from icefrog but don't have the patience to wait the whole game for them to show up, here's the complete list of tips provided by the -tips command.

Note: There are no tips for Tauren Chieftain, Batrider or Goblin Techies.

Big wall of text coming up...

[To search for some particular hero press "Ctrl+F" and write name of the concerned hero]

Vengeful Spirit

"Cheap items such as Bracers, Bottle and Magic Stick help give Vengeful Spirit what she needs to use Magic Missile and Swap safely and frequently."
"By getting Magic Missile first, Vengeful Spirit should take advantage of this powerful stun by moving around the map instead of simply farming in a lane."
"It sometimes a good idea to save the Command Aura for later in the game when it will give your team more damage."
"Wave of Terror is used to provide sight, giving you vision over an area or providing an opportunity to use Swap."
"Swap will allow you to isolate a key hero on their team, sometimes your sacrifice is needed to win the battle and maybe even the game."

Zeus

"When using Arc lightning, try to kill creeps and harass your opponent at the same time"
"When ganking, you can use Lightning Bolt to ensure you will not lose sight of the target quickly."
"Lightning Bolt has a mini-stun that can be used against channeling spells and teleporting heroes."
"Static Field is extremely powerful throughout the game: Use your spells as frequently as possible during fights."
"Both Lightning Bolt and Wrath of the Thundergod reveal invisible units. Wrath will not damage invisible units."

Enchantress

"Enchant can be used on neutral creeps, meaning Enchantress can fight and use neutral creeps to engage enemy heroes effectively."
"Nature's Attendants heals in an area AOE, so make sure you're far from creeps if you only want to heal yourself."
"Untouchable is great against physical attacks, but it does not help you survive huge burst damage nukes."
"Impetus deals negligible damage at short range; switch to normal attacks if your target gets close to save mana."
"Impetus deals pure damage, making it a great tool against heroes with a lot of resistance because it is not reduced."

Morphling

"Waveform is extremely powerful: Used for damage, chasing, escaping, it even allows you to dodge some spells by casting it at the right time."
"Morph allows you to manipulate your Agility and Strength. Using the Strength Morph ('F') can act as a heal to help you survive between spells."
"Use Morph Replicate to take the location of your Replicated unit, making it great for a quick escape or simply as a free teleport."
"Replicate is usually cast on the strongest ally or enemy to a fight. Certain hero passives or items will retain their effects, so Replicate those heroes."
"Eye of Skadi and Linken's Sphere are two examples of Statistic-increasing items which give Morphling a lot of versatility and the ability to cast spells often."

Crystal Maiden

"CM is a fragile support hero: Items like Bracers and Phase Boots will help her survive and deal with her low movement speed and armor."
"A few points of Brilliance Aura early on provides your team with massive amounts of extra mana."
"Enemies hit by Frostbite can still cast spells, so don't take them lightly. "
"Frostbite on non-hero units will last 10 seconds. This can be useful for killing neutral creeps that are level 5 or lower as well."
"There are two items that can help you with the perfect Freezing Field: Placement with Kelen's Dagger and the spell immunity of Black King Bar."

Sven

"Storm Bolt is a skill Sven should usually get early because of its damage and stun. "
"Take advantage of Storm Bolt's area of effect by hitting additional enemy creeps and heroes whenever possible. "
"Try to be near your allies when you cast Warcry."
"Only items that increase Strength will give you additional damage from effect of God's Strength."
"Casting God's Strength before engaging in fights or casting Storm Bolt will allow you to get additional attacks on your opponent."

Slithice

"Opponents can attack and cast spells while Ensnared. However, it will work on magic immune units and reveal invisible heroes until the duration expires."

"Mirror Image can be used defensively to avoid certain spells and dispel debuffs or channeling spells."
"Items that provide attribute bonuses improve your Image's power."
"Enemies caught by Song of the Siren are invulnerable while asleep. Save your attacks and spells for after the spell expires."
"Use Song of the Siren to isolate a magic immune or Cycloned hero (since they will not be affected), or to demolish buildings while enemies are asleep."

Earthshaker

"Although he's a strength hero, Earthshaker (ES) actually plays more like a caster. Damage items are not very useful, but mana items can be nice."
"A good cast of Fissure can isolate an opponent and cut off their escape. Practice often to achieve devastating results."
"Kelen's Dagger is an incredible item on ES, it allows you to quickly position yourself for the perfect Fissure or Echoslam."
"The timing of your spells is important, by spacing them out properly you can keep a group of heroes disabled for several seconds."
"Due to Raigor's ability to split up an enemy team and keep them stunned, he is great for initiating fights."

Stealth Assassin

"Getting at least one level of Blink Strike and Smoke Screen help you survive to level 6 when you can learn Permanent Invisibility."
"Attacking or using your spells makes you visible: Consider the fade time of Permanent Invisibility before placing yourself at risk."
"Try to position Smoke Screen slightly behind enemies so that they spend more time in the cloud if they retreat."
"Wraith Bands and later a Yasha or a Diffusal Blade will provide Rikimaru with cheap damage and chasing power for dispatching fragile heroes quickly."
"Be careful of items that render you visible, such as Dust of Appearance, Sentry Wards or a Gem of True Sight."

Syllabear

"Spirit Bear is great to have in the lane and allowing Syllabear to fight neutral creeps because of its high HP and damage. "
"Leveling Spirit Bear also gets various bonuses that make it very powerful for fighting heroes and towers so it is usually the first thing to max out."
"Your Spirit Bear might be able to handle a lot of damage, but if it dies you will also take damage (100 X its level). If you die, it dies as well."
"Give items to your bear instead of Syllabear since it is usually engaging the enemy for you. Remember that stat-increasing items do not benefit the bear."
"True Form gives Syllabear massive HP in his melee form, and Rabid and Battle Cry give both him and his Bear huge damage temporarily."

Lina Inverse

"Light Strike Array is usually a good skill to get at level 1 because it provides you with a stun."
"Target the ground in their direction instead of clicking on enemies to maximize Dragon Slave's long range."
"Cheap items will help Lina do her job: Bracers, Bottle, Phase Boots. A Point booster provides a nice HP/mana bonus for its cost."
"Fiery Soul can help you maneuver better during a fight."
"Try to stun as many heroes as possible during team fights"

Juggernaut

"Blade Fury is your most important skill early game for getting hero kills and avoiding magic damage."
"Avoid follow-command (right-clicking) heroes with Blade Fury and instead click the ground near the opponent."
"Isolate enemy heroes before using Omnislash to prevent Juggernaut from attacking multiple targets and doing less damage."
"Increasing your attack speed will give you 'extra attacks' during Omnislash, which are treated like a normal attack (in terms of damage and orb effects)."
"Protect the 1-HP Healing Ward in battles and it can prolong and save the lives of your entire team."

Silencer

"Glaives of Wisdom is useful to get early because it is useful for killing creeps and harassing your opponent manually ('W' and then the target)."
"Curse of the Silent will cause an enemy to lose HP/mana if they do not choose to use their spells, or cannot use their spells (disabled, silenced, cooldown)."
"Last Word will prevent enemies from using multiple spells on you and your team at the same time provided you get close enough."
"Global Silence can be used for initiating on enemies or saving allies early on. Try to pay attention to your teammates and enemies, even those not nearby."
"Global Silence will also give your allies the opportunity in team battles to use their spells without repercussions - making it a powerful control spell."

Treant Protector

"Thanks to his high base damage and survivability, Rooftrellen can usually obtain high-tier damage or caster items depending on the needs of the team."
"Living armor adds significant defensive bonuses to an allied unit. It can even be cast on buildings to make them more resilient and provide regeneration."
"Nature's Guise is more than an escape tool, it can be used offensively as well. Use it to position allies and yourself near trees before surprising the enemy."
"Use Eyes in the Forest whenever you can to gain vision of key locations such as the rune spots, neutral creep camps and Roshan."
"Enemies under the effect of Overgrowth can still use spells and items, so make sure your team acts quickly while enemies remain immobilized."

Keeper of the Light

"Chakra Magic is an amazing support skill that you should cast on allies as often as possible if they have powerful spells."
"Illuminate can be useful for earning gold or clearing creeps quickly, but channeling the blast can leave you vulnerable. "
"Mana Leak gives you the offensive: An enemy that moves loses his resources to cast spells, but if he does not, you can punish him with spells and attacks."
"When in your Spirit Form, use Blinding Light to push enemies aside, and Recall for saving or calling on the assistance of an ally."
"Keeper of the Light usually needs to stay back in fights and make use of the long range of his spells as a support hero when pushing and defending."

Ursa Warrior

"Get Fury Swipes and Overpower early. Fury Swipes is a very powerful orb effect on Ursa, replacing it with another is not advised."
"Ursa is a very effective hero to fight neutral creeps with: Vladimir's Offering is a recommended item choice."
"Thanks to Enrage, Ursa usually purchases items that increase HP or Strength over Agility and Damage items."
"It is a good idea to fight the two ancient camps when you need a quick boost in experience and gold. They are marked red in your minimap."
"Certain items like Kelen's Dagger and Lothar's Edge will help both close the distance on enemies and take them by surprise."

Ogre Magi

"Buying a few Clarity Potions, Ring of Basilius or Bottle in the beginning of the game will help you cast a few more spells."
"Fireblast provides a disable, Ignite provides a slow. Both deal damage, usually making them good skills early."
"Ogre Magi has a lot of survivability but he does need the ability to use his spells: An Arcane Ring might be the only item you will need all game."
"Use Bloodlust to help teammates chase and escape enemies and on the hero capable of dealing the most damage before major battles."
"Focus heroes that need to be shut down quickly with Fireblast: Hopefully they are repeatedly damaged and disabled by the effect of Multicast."

Tinker

"Laser and Missile give Tinker massive burst damage, so it is usually a good idea to get these two skills before Rearm, your ultimate."
"Laser is not reduced by magic resistance or armor; you deal the number in the description exactly."
"You can use the active effects of items indefinitely with Rearm, which makes Boots of Travel a very powerful item for Tinker."
"March of the Machines can be very useful for killing creeps quickly, its large area of effect makes it useful for pushing and team fights."
"Level 1 of Rearm is generally enough until much later when you have the mana pool to support levels 2 and 3."

Furion

"Get Force of Nature early if you plan on leaving the lane to kill neutral creeps. Start with a Ring of Basilius to provide you with mana and armor."
"Invest points in Teleportation, it gives you the mobility to be anywhere in the map: Cancel the spell if you change your mind by clicking 'S'."
"Sprout can be extremely useful offensively and defensively so get at least one point in it. Higher levels increase the duration but also the mana cost."
"Teleportation shows allies and enemies where you intend to go, so if you want to surprise enemies, teleport where they cannot see."
"Wrath of Nature is a great farming tool but also a powerful nuke on enemy heroes: Hit other units nearby to deal more damage to the intended target."

Phantom Lancer

"Get Spirit Lance and Doppelwalk first because Juxtapose is better when your illusions have more health and damage."
"Beware of the high mana costs of your spells early game, especially for Doppelwalk, which can be an escape mechanism."
"Keep your opponents guessing by controlling your illusions created by Doppelwalk and Juxtapose."
"Your illusions are amazing for pushing later on. Focus creeps and heroes first because illusions will not create new ones when attacking buildings."
"Diffusal Blade and Manta Style are good choices of because they make his images much stronger by adding Agility directly."

Tiny

"Buy items that give you at least 3 Intelligence or 39 mana in the beginning of the game so that you can use both of your spells at level 2."
"Avalanche and Toss should be the two spells you level first because they make you a force to be reckoned with early game."
"You can sometimes kill a hero outright by casting Avalanche on him, and then Tossing him on the Avalanche area of effect before the animation ends."
"To ensure that you Toss your desired target, isolate him by making him the only one in the area of effect. Kelen's Dagger can help you with placement."
"Tiny deals most of his damage through Avalanche and Toss, so the reduced attack speed from Grow is less important than the bonuses given."

Chen

"Chen can take control of high level neutral creeps with Holy Persuasion, making him extremely powerful at low levels even without items."
"Neutrals with special abilities usually are more useful, try to find out what has a disable or slow as this will be much better for attacking heroes with."
"When preparing to attack from the forest, start with Penitence to slow enemies. Engage enemies from the side or from behind to catch them off guard."
"Chen excels as a support hero, items that contribute to teammates such as Mekansm usually benefit the team more than damage items."
"Hand of God is really useful early on for helping allies across the map. Later, it can be used to assist with pushing or defending."

Luna Moonfang

"The level of Lucent Beam determines the damage of Eclipse, making it the most important spell to get first. "
"Moon Glaives can be useful early if you plan to kill neutral creeps. Lifesteal items like Helm of the Dominator can help you survive against neutral creeps."
"Try to cast Eclipse on enemy heroes when other units are not present to maximize the damage dealt to a single target. "
"Later on with some attack speed, Lunar Blessing and Moon Glaives provide you with both massive damage and pushing power."
"You should also consider items that allow you to land Eclipse successfully and increase your carry potential in battles, such as a Black King Bar."

Dwarven Sniper

"Headshot will provide you with bonus damage and a short stun, making it useful for killing creeps and harassing with his incredible attack animation."
"Sniper usually needs to find a combination of damage, attack speed and survivability that allow him to deal significant damage but survive to do so."
"Sniper is very fragile so he needs to maintain his range. Getting Take Aim and/or Shrapnel can help provide means of staying out of harm's way."
"Shrapenl can also be used for slowing opponents, pushing or defending against large waves of creeps."
"Try to use Assassinate to heavily damage an enemy before the fight even begins to give your team an advantage."

Troll Warlord

"Berserker's Rage gives Troll the option of melee combat, which gives him many powerful offensive bonuses at the cost of losing his ranged ability."
"roll Warlord generally does not have to worry about attack speed thanks to his set of skills, go for damage or survivability items instead."
"Blind will prevent your opponents from landing all their attacks, making it harder from them to harass you or kill your creeps for gold."
"Play defensively and fight neutral creeps too. Switch to melee form and it will allow you to have an easier time."
"In team battles, it is vital that you cast Blind on the enemy hero that deals the most damage as this will greatly reduce their damage output."

Rhasta

"At least one level of Shackles is advised early on for immobilizing opponents. Remember that it is channeling so it can be interrupted or broken by yourself."
"Rhasta needs survivability and the mana to use his spells: Bracers, Null Talismans, Point Booster are examples of items that will help out a lot."
"Forked Lightning is your primary nuke and finisher due to its range and ability to hit multiple targets, so it more effective to get it earlier than later."
"Use Shackles and Voodoo on enemy heroes when casting Mass Serpent Ward. You can even surround an enemy completely with the right timing."
"Mass Serpent Wards can clear creeps quickly and deal a lot of damage over time to buildings, making them really useful for pushing and defending."

Bristleback

"Rigwarl is a known for punishing heroes that attack him and surviving for long times but he still needs armor, regeneration and hit points."
"Quill spray doesn't initially deal much damage, but the stacking effect makes it very powerful over time in battles."
"Sometimes one level of Goo can be enough to slow down an enemy hero early game."
"Rigwarl needs a fair amount of mana early-game, Ring of Basilius, Magic Stick or Bottle can boost his early offensive power immensely."
"You can mitigate a lot of damage if you turn your hero at the right times thanks to your passive Bristleback. Play mind games on your opponent."

Pandaren Brewmaster

"Thunder Clap is a great skill early game but you may need to invest in regeneration items such as a Bottle, Magic Stick, Ring of Basilius or Void Stone."
"Drunken Haze works not only as a slow, but the miss chance reduces the damage severely for enemy heroes."
"Primal Split is not only for escaping: Once you master your three Pandas, Earth, Storm and Fire, you can use them offensively as well."
"In Primal Split form, Mangix has two useful disables that can be used against enemies: Storm's Cyclone and Earth's Hurl Boulder."
"Mangix usually initiates for the team, so survivability items are helpful, investing in a Kelen's Dagger to help land Thunder Clap is often a good idea."

Centaur Warchief

"Return should be leveled if Centaur plans to fight neutral creeps, otherwise Double Edge is more useful in the lane."
"Thanks to a high strength gain and the bonus strength from your ultimate, Centaur is a great at heading into battle first and receiving damage."
"A Hood of Defiance can prove to be just as useful as a Vanguard depending on whether the other team has a lot of magical spells."
"Avoid putting yourself at risk after using Double Edge. You can use it to commit suicide if you are about to die to deny opponents experience and gold."
"Kelen's Dagger is a great way of initiating on opponents and dealing with his slow casting animation of Stomp."

Gondar

"Shuriken Toss, Wind Walk and Track are much more useful than Jinada early on."
"You're going to need mana regen: Bottle, Ring Of Basillius and Void Stone are examples of good options. "
"Use Wind Walk cautiously: If you wait until the cooldown is complete before breaking out of invisibility, you can cast it again immediately afterward."
"Shuriken Toss and Wind Walk deal a lot of damage quickly: Search the map often for low HP heroes to hunt. "
"Use Track on a nearby enemy hero to allow you and your allies to outrun them. Also cast it on nearly dead heroes for bonus gold."

Dragon Knight

"Breath Fire is a strong nuke and farming ability. However, against difficult opponents, Dragon's Blood is very useful."
"Dragon Tail is the longest duration level 1 stun in the game. One point is usually sufficient until later on."
"Thanks to the defensive bonuses on Dragon's Blood, he can often focus on other damage items instead of increasing armor and regeneration."
"Level 1 of Elder Dragon Form has a special passive called Corrosive Attack, which deals significant damage over time against towers."
"The ranged splash damage and slow of his Level 3 ultimate makes him extremely powerful; getting to level 16 is very important for DK."

Magina

"Blink is very versatile, allowing you to chase, escape and even avoid certain spells. It is definitely worth at least one point in the beginning."
"You can also use Mana Break to prevent enemy heroes from casting spells on you, but be careful since it forces you to get in melee range to attack."
"Spell Shield might be useful for reducing magic damage, but it does not prevent you from being disabled or status effects (slow, poison, etc.)."
"Offensive items without orb effects such as a Battlefury, Monkey King Bar or Butterfly are usually desired over items that would override your Mana Break."
"Sometimes survivability is just as important as damage, items such as Linken's Sphere or Manta Style offer a good mix of both offense and defense."

Drow Ranger

"Frost Arrows make Drow an excellent chaser early game and allow her to harass opponents safely by manually casting them (clicking 'R' and the target)."
"An early level of Silence is great for preventing opponents from using multiple spells on you or your allies."
"Trueshot Aura and Marksmanship provide Traxex with plenty of damage even with just a few Wraith Bands and Power Treads."
"Lothar's Edge provides damage and an escape mechanism, the latter of which can help Traxex survive."
"Stay out of danger in major battles, only close in on your enemies when you are chasing and finishing off heroes near the end."

Omniknight

"Omniknight is a powerful support hero, items that provide mana such as Arcane Ring help make sure that you can use all your spells."
"Purification can be used offensively and defensively: The unit you cast it on will deal damage around it, making it a powerful heal and nuke."
"Degen Aura is a very strong passive slow that is useful both to chase down enemy heroes and help you and your allies escape as well."
"Repel is used to remove buffs from allies and enemies, and to prevent heroes with spells from being interrupted or damage dealers from being disabled."
"Guardian Angel makes a team nearly impervious to physical damage and provides 25/sec HP regeneration, use this time wisely to survive or attack."

Rexxar

"Endurance Aura is usually more useful later in the game when your team is fighting together, so get your other skills first."
"Call of the Wild is very powerful: The boar gives damage and slow, while the hawk can provide vision over runes, neutral creeps and other key locations."
"Wild Axes are more useful early game and against heroes with less armor. Destroy trees with Wild Axes to surprise your opponents and for escaping."
"Try casting Wild Axes behind the target to compensate for their movement. You can also manipulate their return path by moving Rexxar."
"Find opportunities to use Roar whenever it is available. It is useful on heroes who have an escape mechanism or are immune to magic."

Jakiro

"Dual Breath and Ice Path help to make Jakiro a strong offensive and defensive support hero. "
"Jakiro can cast his spells immediately by clicking the nearby ground in the desired direction, sometimes this is more effective than clicking on the target."
"A level of Liquid Fire early on can be useful for deterring physical attacks "
"Macropyre is a slow but powerful spell, combine it with other spells (yours or a teammate) to make sure the opponent is standing in the area of effect."
"It is often a good idea to purchase useful support items like Mekansm or Shiva's Guard, two items that also increase his low armor significantly."

Alchemist

"Unstable Concoction provides you with your only disable; it will not stop charging unless the target becomes invisible."
"You can release Unstable Concoction at any time, the duration of the stun and damage is based on how long you charged it. "
"Surprise enemies by charging Unstable Concoction from a hidden location to prevent them from noticing and running away from you."
"The high regeneration of Chemical Rage makes it a useful heal if you have low health."
"Acid Spray and Chemical Rage are extremely useful for killing creeps and earning gold, especially with the passive effect of Goblin's Greed."

Priestess of the Moon

"PotM can be extremely efficient and gank with just a few Wraith Bands, Boots of Speed and a Bottle."
"Getting one level of Leap is usually sufficient early on until Starfall and Elune's Arrow are fully leveled."
"Land your Elune's Arrow by coordinating with allies and predicting enemy movements. You can even hit invisible or faraway targets with practice."
"Starfall hits a second time for half damage to one random enemy within 200 range, get close if you can to deal bonus damage"
"Moonlight Shadow can be used to initiate or escape but sometimes it can be learned later when PotM can use it without compromising her mana pool."

Storm Spirit

"Do not get Overload at level 1 since you do not have any spells to activate its effect with."
"Choosing which ability to max first can be difficult, but generally at least one point in all three skills is a good idea."
"You have to wait 1 second after casting Static Remnant before it begins detecting nearby units for its explosion effect."
"In addition to chasing and escaping, Lightning Ball can be used to dodge many spells with the right timing."
"An item like Bloodstone is useful on Storm Spirit because the percentage-based mana cost of Lightning Ball makes regeneration an important asset."

Huskar

"A level of Burning Spears early on is great for harassing enemy heroes. Use it manually by clicking 'R' then the desired target to avoid drawing focus fire."
"Berserker's Blood makes you stronger as you take damage. The bonuses stop when you have 51% HP, so there is little point in taking additional damage."
"Life Break deals damage based on the remaining health of the target, making it strongest at the beginning of a fight. "
"Inner Vitality heals more when you have less than 40% of your life, but avoid making the mistake of casting it too late in battles."
"Survivability while in low health is important for Huskar: Consider items such as Armlet of Mordiggan, Black King Bar, or Heart of Tarrasque."

Lanaya

"Refraction is a great way of surviving in a lane, just be careful not to get hit by creeps too much."
"Meld starts cooling down when you click the spell, so you can hit him twice with it if you can predict your enemy's movements."
"Traps can be used for vision, most effectively in cramped areas like the end of ramps or at the rune powerup spots."
"You can farm extremely fast by positioning yourself so that the Psi Blades splash on multiple creeps at once."
"Placing a trap or two before engaging a fight can be a good idea, to cut off possible escape and/or chase routes."

Puck

"Illusory Orb and Jaunt are used to travel short distances quickly, but if you wait too long to Jaunt, you will lose the opportunity."
"Puck is very fragile early game, some Bracers or Null Talismans and a level of Phase Shift can help you survive."
"Using Phase Shift manually instead of Autocast will prevent stray attacks from triggering it on Autocast. In general you will have better control of its use."
"Waning Rift deals damage and silences, but forces you to be close enough. Use Illusory Orb or Dream Coil to help you land the spell on enemies."
"Puck is a great initiator in fights who offers control of the battle with his spells, allowing allies to join the battle and use their spells or attacks safely."

Clockwerk Goblin

"You can use Rocket Flare for harassing and killing creeps early on. With the right timing, you can even fire at enemies across the map."
"Power Cogs can be used to trap an enemy, push them away while draining mana, or as an escape mechanism since Rattletrap destroys Cogs in only 1 hit."
"Battery Assault adds a lot of damage and the stuns help you with chasing, use it when no other units are nearby for best results."
"Hookshot's long range and high speed lets you reach enemies from out of sight. Follow up with your other spells quickly so your target cannot escape."
"Rocket Flare also gives vision where it lands, making it very useful for scouting areas such as rune spots, neutral creeps, the enemy base."

Admiral

"Tidebringer is extremely useful early game: Use the bonus damage for killing creeps and the cleave effect to harass opponents at the same time."
"The bubble animation from Torrent can only be seen by your team so try to use this to your advantage."
"An ally's assistance or X Marks the Spot is a great way of making sure Torrent and Ghost Ship hit your opponent."
"Escaping enemy heroes is easy by casting X Marks the Spot on them. It also prevents them from getting away."
"The Ghost Ship will crash 1000 range from where you stand when you cast it. Keep your distance when you use it."

Windrunner

"Powershot deals significant damage, making it ideal to max first. Be sure not to fire through creeps if you want to deal maximum damage to your target."
"An early level of Windrunner can provide you with a quick getaway and chasing tool."
"Shackleshot can either be used on your intended target to bind him to a nearby unit, or to bind the designated target located BEHIND the unit that you fired it at."
"Focus Fire is also a powerful spell to use on buildings and Roshan."
"As long as you do not attack another target, the effect of Focus Fire will stay on. Use your spells and active items to help you fire at your target."

Terrorblade

"Get Soul Steal if you need healing in the lane."
"Purchase statistic-increasing items like Wraith Bands and later items like Sange and Yasha to benefit both Terrorblade and his images."
"It might be difficult to escape due to the trail you leave behind when walking, you may have to use an image to act as a block or decoy."
"Sunder can turn fights around when you have low health but be careful of disables and high damage spells when trying to swap."
"Creating ranged images in Metamorphosis will allow you to deal damage safely in fights as well as push down buildings very quickly."

Leshrac

"Split Earth is a very useful disable while Lightning Storm is taken because of its low cooldown. Both are powerful spells that hit multiple targets."
"By using Lightning Storm to finish low-health creeps with nearby opponents, you can get gold and harass enemy heroes at the same time."
"Diabolic Edict is one of the most powerful spells for destroying buildings. Eliminate the creeps first so that you only have one target."
"Turn off Pulse Nova when you have finished using it because the spell will continue until you have exhausted your entire mana pool."
"Items like Bloodstone or Aghanim's Scepter will allow Leshrac to use his spells more liberally and survive in the midst of battle."

Lich

"Dark Ritual is useful for denying allied creeps and provides you with mana to use spells without buying regeneration items."
"Frost Nova is a very powerful spell that allows you to be aggressive. Attack the enemy a few extra times while they are slowed."
"Chain Frost is most effective when used against 2-3 nearby targets (ideally heroes), but will not bounce when used on a lone unit."
"Frost Armor should be cast on multiple teammates when you have the mana for it later on; it works nicely against melee units."
"The first target of your Chain Frost can interrupt channeling and teleport spells if absolutely necessary."

Krobelus

"Carrion Swarm is your primary nuke and first skill to max. Make use of its range by casting it on the ground instead of on a unit directly."
"An early level of Silence can help prevent you and your allies from being attacked by multiple spells."
"The ghosts of Exorcism will attack whatever you attack, so if you want to direct all attention to a single unit simply focus them and stay nearby."
"Exorcism also makes Krobelus extremely effective for quickly destroying enemy buildings, so be sure to push the enemy base when you can"
"The effect of Exorcism stops if you die in combat: Invest in items that improve your survivability, such as a Bloodstone or a Heart of Tarrasque."

Lion

"With plenty of damage and disables, Lion is quite a force to be reckoned with cheap utility items such as Bottle and Phase Boots."
"Impale gives Lion the ability to disable multiple targets and deals decent damage, so it is definitely the most versatile of his three skills for the early game."
"Mana Drain only works on units with mana: Using Mana Drain on enemy heroes will reduce their spell use while replenishing mana."
"Avoid wasting Finger of Death on low-health enemy heroes when a few extra attacks or using another spell like Impale will deal enough damage."
"Wait until the duration of your first disable wears off before using another one for maximum disable time when using Impale and Voodoo."

Venomancer

"Venomous Gale is a spell that hits multiple opponents and slows them, making it very useful for getting early kills."
"At least one level of Poison Sting is recommended early game for its slow effect."
"Bottle and Magic Stick will help deal with his low HP/mana, while Phase Boots are a cheap way to improve his chasing capabilities."
"Wards are very useful for pushing a lane and killing neutral and enemy creeps, but you can also use it to provide vision."
"Poison Nova deals a lot of damage but you have to combine it with other spells and attacks because it does not deal fatal damage (stops at 1 HP)."

Magnus

"Bottle and Perseverance help with early regeneration,. while purchasing Kelen's Dagger later will help you to land Reverse Polarity."
"A few Attribute Bonus points can help you cast more spells. Save Mighty Swing for later levels when you have more damage."
"By targeting the ground where you want to fire Shockwave, you can hit both creeps and opponents and make use of its long range."
"Magnus should cast Empower on himself and other allies with high damage before initiating team battles with his ultimate."
"The cleave of Battlefury stacks directly with Mighty Swing, making it a good damage item especially if you already have a Perseverance."

Visage

"Although an Intelligence hero, Soul Assumption gives Visage high damage and with Gravekeeper's Cloak, he can be very difficult to kill."
"Soul Assumption is great for the laning phase because it gives you a heal and the ability to kill creeps and harass enemy heroes."
"Use Grave Chill for chasing and escaping from opponents, and to reduce the damage capabilities of heroes in team battles."
"Raise Revenants can provide you with summons that can move around scouting the map or stay around you and deal damage."
"Gravekeeper's Cloak is a passive that promotes buying survivability items like Mekansm and later a Heart of Tarrasque."

Chaos Knight

"Chaos Bolt and Blink Strike are active abilities that are more useful in the lane and for killing opponents than Critical Strike."
"Chaos Bolt is a disable that switches between average and extremely powerful, the sooner you have max out this spell, the better."
"His high natural movement speed (325 - the highest in the game) and Blink Strike make him very difficult for opponents to outrun or chase him."
"If you Blink Strike and then use Chaos Bolt, you can spend more time hitting opponents and less time waiting for his slow casting animation. "
"Make Nessaj and Phantasm stronger by buying Strength items like Armlet of Mordiggan (when activated) and Heart of Tarrasque."

Lycanthrope

"If you want to neutral creeps, start with Summon Wolves and a Ring of Basilius, which can be used to make Vladmir's Offering later."
"Spirit Wolves gain invisibility at level 4, making them difficult to kill and easy to harass heroes with in the lane."
"Feral Heart make you and your wolves stronger overall, while Howl is an offensive spell used before engaging the enemy."
"Shapeshift makes you incredibly powerful and gives you max movement speed. Avoid being blocked by your wolves when chasing."
"A Black King Bar will prevent enemies from disabling you, making you very fearsome and almost unstoppable when attacking heroes."

Broodmother

"At least one level in Spin Web early game will increase your survivability greatly. Remember that attacking/using spells will cause you to break invisibility."
"Spawn Spiderlings is both a nuke and pushing spell, so getting items like a Ring of Basilius will provide you with both mana and armor for pushing."
"Incapacitating Bite makes it very difficult for enemies to get away from you, great for chasing and slowing opponents temporarily for your allies."
"Try to space out your webs with least 2 seconds of walking distance so that you can benefit from its bonuses on as much ground as possible."
"With the damage and lifesteal from Insatiable Hunger, sometimes it is best to get items that will prevent you from being disabled, such as a Black King Bar."

Mortred

"Stifling Dagger is used for creep-killing and slowing opponents; prevent enemies from escaping by using it with Blink Strike."
"Try to Blink Strike to a nearby allied or enemy unit to make a quick escape when caught in a defensive situation. "
"Be cautious when entering battles with Blink Strike, you could be caught outnumbered or disabled without your escape mechanism."
"Blur can sometimes allow you to surprise opponents if they aren't paying attention."
"Items like Battlefury are useful, but getting a Black King Bar or a Satanic afterward will help you survive long enough to deal damage."

Medusa

"Mystic Snake is a smart choice to have early game: Its damage and mana drain makes it great for harassing and offsetting its own mana cost."
"Mana Shield will increase your survivability drastically. Use it wisely or it can also leave you with no mana for your other spells."
"Using Split Shot allows you to attack multiple units, but the extra arrows from Split Shot do not gain the properties of orb effects."
"Stone Gaze is an ultimate that is used to slow opponents and remove their buffs, making it easy to escape or attack the purged enemies."
"Items that increase statistics and regeneration like Linkens Sphere will always be a good choice because of Mana Shield."

Night Stalker

"Night Stalker may be passive during the day, but at night his spells make him much more powerful and great for hunting heroes down."
"Void is your primary source of damage early game and can be used to interrupt spells and teleports with its mini-stun."
"While Hunter in the Night does nothing during the day, get it so that during nighttime it will give you massive movement and attack speed."
"Use Crippling Fear when you are hunting heroes so that they cannot disable or slow you while you are chasing them."
"Since Darkness will pause time when activated, casting it at night whenever it is on cooldown will extend the total nighttime."

Skeleton King

"Skeleton King is a hero who is known for his ability to reincarnate if focused upon and dealing a lot of damage if he is ignored by opponents. "
"Hellfire Blast is a great spell for the early laning phase and a few levels of Attribute Bonus can give you stat points for additional stuns."
"Critical Strike is generally preferred over Vampiric Aura because its lifesteal is not very effective earlier when Leoric needs more damage."
"Make sure you have enough mana for Hellfire Blasts and especially Reincarnation. Buying a Magic Stick and/or a Bottle can pay off nicely."
"Get cheaper damage items like Armlet of Mordiggan and Desolator. A Black King Bar will allow you to dish out damage without being disabled."

Doom Bringer

"Lucifer can obtain gold very quickly thanks to Devour, so getting regeneration items like Perseverance will help him to cast spells and survive in the lane."
"Devour deals 20 damage per second, so consume creeps with low HP remaining so you can finish digesting the enemy quickly."
"Use the command -ma to find your opponents' level for potential LVL? Death targets. Its mini-stun will also interrupt channeling spells and teleports."
"Doom is usually used in conjunction with LVL? Death for killing enemy heroes; you can also use it on heroes to silence their spells."
"When chasing or escaping with Scorched Earth, cast it in front of you so that you will experience the movement speed bonuses for a longer period of time."

Nerubian Assassin

"Effective use of Impale and Mana Burn early game requires you to purchase some Null Talismans or Bracers and Bottle."
"Mana Burn is a devastating spell to have in the lane, force opponents to play defensively by preventing them from casting spells."
"Unlike other Agility heroes, Anub'arak is a caster. Getting items like Dagon can be more useful than purchasing damage items."
"Vendetta is a good initiating spell for surprising opponents. Cast it far away so that they cannot hear its sound effect upon activation."
"Be careful when using Vendetta against multiple opponents and going near towers where they can see you while you are invisible."

Slardar

"Slithereen Crush requires good positioning, so do your best to stand next to the hero you are trying to stun."
"Sprint is a great spell for both chasing and escaping but be careful when using it because you will take bonus damage."
"In addition to lowering armor, Amplify Damage provides vision of enemies, even heroes that have the ability to become invisible."
"Bash is usually more effective later in the game when you have more items like Armlet of Mordiggan."
"Slardar's role in battles is to initiate with Slithereen Crush and focus an enemy with Bash and Amplify Damage. Pick off escapees with Sprint."

Queen of Pain

"Blink provides you with an escape mechanism and spell dodge but on higher levels it becomes a powerful chasing tool as well."
"Scream of Pain is used for killing creeps and harassing opponents, making it more useful than Shadow Strike early game."
"Try to hit as many targets as possible with Sonic Wave by targeting the ground instead of on an enemy hero directly."
"Shadow Strike does decent damage but its primary use is for the slow it provides for chasing and outrunning opponents."
"Her spell reliance, mobility and survivability allows her to buy expensive Intelligence items such as a Guinsoo's Scythe of Vyse."

Bone Fletcher

"Searing Arrows provide damage for last hitting creeps and harassing enemy heroes by using it manually by clicking 'R' followed by the designated target."
"Wind Walk is commonly used for chasing and escaping but the invisibility and movement speed can help you avoid specific spells with the right timing."
"Cast Death Pact on enemy or neutral creeps instead of allied units whenever possible because it will give you the gold for killing the unit."
"Regeneration items like Orchid Malevolence or a Linkens Sphere will allow liberal use of his abilities in battle and help him against spellcasters and nukers."
"Strafe is usually gotten later, but combined with Searing Arrows, Clinkz can deal a lot of damage quickly, powerful against enemy heroes and buildings."

Faceless Void

"Time Walk is your escaping and chasing skill, but it will allow you to avoid spells and damage since you are invulnerable during the animation."
"Get Backtrack early game if you need to play defensively, while Time Lock will allow you to be a little more aggressive."
"Since Darkterror is so fragile, enter battles by using Time Walk and then cast Chronosphere to prevent yourself from being disabled or killed otherwise."
"Chronosphere affects all units that are not controlled by you, including both allies and enemies. Avoid hitting teammates or it could cost them their lives."
"Items such as Power Treads and Butterfly will give both damage and attack speed, which is useful if Void wants to repetitively stun with Time Lock."

Viper

"Poison Attack allows you to harass an opponent and permanently chase them thanks to a 0 cooldown starting at level 3."
"Prevent creeps and towers from attacking you by casting Poison Attack manually by clicking 'C' and then the designated target."
"Neurotoxin will add bonus damage, useful early for getting the last hit on creeps and also for dealing damage to heroes as well."
"Early HP and movement speed items like Phase Boots or a Point/Vitality Booster can really make a difference."
"Sometimes it is wise to invest in a Lothar's Edge or Kelen's Dagger to provide you with the ability to get in and out of combat safely."

Razor

"Use your attack range to help gauge how far opponents need to be for Plasma Field to deal the most damage."
"Unstable Current will slow opponents who cast spells on you and could be useful to help prevent yourself from being killed."
"Static Link is powerful if you can stay within the range of opponents - getting Unstable Current can sometimes help with that."
"Storm Seeker strikes the target with the lowest health, so use it after creeps have died or when chasing a solitary target."
"Consider increasing your HP along with damage when purchasing items."

N'aix

"Open Wounds is a powerful slow that nearly stops enemies in their tracks; it also lets you and your allies heal for attacking that unit.Open Wounds is a powerful slow that nearly stops enemies in their tracks; it also lets you and your allies heal for attacking that unit."
"Feast deals percentage-based damage, which is useful against heroes with high HP and lets Naix fight neutral creeps with ease."
"Rage can be used to avoid spells and to prevent opponents from disabling you while you are attacking them or trying to escape from them."
"Infest can be used for escaping, surprising your opponents, to neutral, or to just gain significant health quickly when necessary."
"Thanks to your physical damage and ability to steal life, Armlet of Mordiggan or Desolator are both solid choices for high-tier items."

Pugna

"Nether Blast gives you an incredible skill for killing creeps, harassing heroes and pushing. Use it to score the killing blow to a tower."
"Decrepify can be used on opponents either to increase spell damage from you and your allies or to prevent them from attacking."
"Nether Ward will drain mana and punish opponents for using spells. Just remember to cast it where opponents cannot destroy it easily."
"Aghanim's Scepter, Linkens Sphere and Bloodstone are examples of items that offer survivability while improving his spellcasting abilities."
"Life Drain deals a lot of damage unless opponents disable you or run away. With an Aghanim's Scepter, its cooldown becomes 0."

Tidehunter

"Be sure to attack enemies slowed by Gush, the armor reduction means that your hits will deal more damage than normal."
"Anchor Smash is an offensive damage spell that lets you hurt multiple units, good for killing neutral creeps and useful in team battles."
"Kraken Shell gives you some protection against physical damage as well as a debuff removal against certain spells."
"In fights, Tidehunter should be in the middle of the action drawing focus fire and dealing damage because of his skill set and high survivability."
"Ravage has a large area of effect but Kelen's Dagger will allow you to initiate without being disabled and use it in an optimal spot."

Bane Elemental

"High costs and cooldowns give Atropos limited ability use: Cast spells intelligently and get items like Null Talismans and/or Magic Stick for your mana pool."
"Brain Sap is a powerful nuke and heal and deals exact unreduced damage so get it early and always try to use it on enemy heroes when using the spell."
"Use Nightmare to help teammates to aim their spells and remove an opponent from battles temporarily while you fight their allies."
"Enfeeble is usually a skill to get after Brain Sap and Nightmare to use on enemy heroes with high damage to reduce their damage capabilities severely."
"Fiend's Grip will work on Magic Immune units such as those under the active effect of Black King Bar, holding them in place but dealing no damage."

Necrolyte

"Death Pulse lets you kill creeps and harass heroes simultaneously, great for pushing and healing allied units because of its low cooldown."
"Sadist will provide you with some early regeneration for killing creeps, while Heartstopper Aura becomes effective as the game goes on."
"Reaper's Scythe is known for its ability to kill heroes outright, allowing you to bring down even high-HP Strength heroes with ease."
"Your ultimate can also be used to stun opponents in certain situations, such as interrupting channeling spells and teleports."
"Items like Bloodstone or Heart of Tarrasque allow you to survive long enough in team battles to make your spells more effective."

Pudge

"Pudge can known for his ability to isolate enemies with Meat Hook and using Rot and Dismember afterward, killing them outright. "
"Early regeneration and movement speed items such as Bottle and Phase Boots help provide Pudge with the means to cast spells and chase his opponents."
"Use Meat Hook from a location where you are not obstructed by any allied or enemy units other than your target to ensure a better chance of landing it."
"A Hood of Defiance will improve your magic resistance to reduce damage from using Rot and getting hit by spells; The massive regeneration is also good."
"Use your spells defensively: Rot can be used to commit suicide if necessary and Meat Hook can be used to rescue an ally from one or more enemies."

Spirit Breaker

"Empowering Haste is a smart skill to level first, it gives Barathrum movement speed and significant damage for killing creeps and heroes."
"A level of Greater Bash early game can be useful as an extra disable, since the 17% chance is the same for all levels.A level of Greater Bash early game can be useful as an extra disable, since the 17% chance is the same for all levels."
"Get Strength Power Treads because the attack and movement speed benefits your other skills and the boost in HP helps you survive."
"Charge of Darkness gives Barathrum spell immunity after 12 seconds and provides vision of the target for you and your allies."
"Nether Strike puts you from the opposite side of where you were facing, push opponents backwards and into your allies."

Weaver

"Take care of Weaver's HP/damage problems with Bracers or Wraith Bands and get regeneration so he can use his spells freely."
"An early level of Watchers can be used to provide vision over the rune powerups. Patrol them to increase their area of detection."
"Shukuchi is used for harassing and chasing opponents offensively, and escaping and avoiding certain projectile spells defensively."
"If your Geminate Attack is not working, make sure that you input an attack command ('A' or right-click) and are not simply auto-attacking."
"Use Time Lapse after taking a lot of recent damage to heal yourself, allowing you to pull off some dangerous moves like diving into towers."

Shadow Fiend

"Necromastery is important because of its massive damage gain and because your ultimate deals damage based on the number of souls."
"Shadow Raze gives you three powerful nuke spells that should be maxed out first. Gauge the distance correctly and hit multiple times."
"Requiem of Souls deals more damage the closer you are: Placement items like Lothar's Edge and Kelen's Dagger can help you land it."
"After maxing your other two spells, Presence of the Dark Lord will be useful by then, good for pushing and dealing more physical damage."
"If you die, remember to fill up on souls again before major fights when you respawn or you will be much less effective in battles."

Sand King

"Burrowstrike is both versatile and powerful: It deals damage, stuns and provides you with a useful escape or chasing mechanism."
"Using Sandstorm at the right time will dodge certain projectile spells and can protect you temporarily if it is necessary."
"Getting Kelen's Dagger will give him increased mobility and reach, and also the ability to Blink into battle right after channeling Epicenter."
"While you cannot move while Epicenter is channeling, once the pulses begin you can freely move around (mostly to chase your opponent)."
"Caustic Finale might be an orb effect but it is extremely useful for killing multiple units quickly for fighting neutrals, pushing and defending."

Axe

"Counter Helix gives Axe the flexibility to both lane and jungle. A Stout Shield will help reduce the damage from taking attacks in order to activate Helix."
"A Vanguard or a Hood of Defiance offers survivability and regeneration, which are usually more useful to Axe than increasing his attack speed or damage."
"Berserker's Call is used to initiate fights and draw focus fire. Using it when there are more enemy units increases the chance of activating Counter Helix."
"Monitor your opponent's HP for the perfect Culling Blade opportunity to finish them off. However, if your enemy has too much HP, it will hardly do anything."
"Kelen's Dagger and/or Phase Boots can help you enter the fight first and get close enough for a Berserker's Call."

Bloodseeker

"Getting Blood Bath will allow you to take a few hits as you are killing creeps because you will recover your health immediately afterwards."
"An early level of Bloodrage can be useful for silencing enemies temporarily and for dealing a little bit of damage."
"Phase Boots and HP can be just as useful as damage items because they increase his survivability for chasing enemies and other longer battles."
"Use Rupture when your enemy has to either run away or to prevent them from moving, such as when an ally is about to use a powerful spell."
"Both allies and enemies gain the massive damage increase and are silenced from Bloodrage, which can be disastrous if used incorrectly."

Abbadon

"Abbadon's spells can save allies while dealing damage, so support and regeneration items like Vladmir's Offering can be more useful than damage items."
"Death Coil can be used both as a nuke and a heal, just remember that it deals damage to you unless you are using Aphotic Shield or Borrowed Time."
"Aphotic Shield prevents damage but can also be used to remove certain debuffs, such as removing the stun duration effect on an ally."
"Frostmourne is usually gotten later but it is very useful for chasing and helping your allies outrun your opponents."
"Borrowed Time can be cast manually as well. If you know you are going to receive a lot of damage sometimes it can be wiser to use it then."

Spectre

"Spectral Dagger is your utility spell. You can use it for chasing people down, scouting dangerous areas and escaping. "
"You also walk through units, trees, even cliffs while you are walking on Spectral Dagger's black path, making it very handy when used properly."
"Desolate is great for dealing target to isolated targets but Dispersion helps you to survive in the lane: Chose whatever combination suits you best."
"Haunt lets you jump into a fight directly from anywhere in the map; just make sure that you pay attention to the actions of your team."
"Getting HP will allow you to withstand and dish out more Dispersion damage, which is extremely powerful in team fights."

Witch Doctor

"Paralyzing Cask is your initiating spell for your other skills and can effectively keep two nearby units stun-locked at higher levels."
"Maledict drastically reduces the damage needed to kill opponents and is an important spell to land in every fight."
"An early level of Voodoo Restoration can provide a relatively cheap heal if you are forced to play defensively."
"Damaging your opponent immediately after using Maledict is wise because it will deal more bonus damage overall at the 3 ticks."
"Death Ward is a powerful channeling spell if not interrupted. A Black King Bar will help to prevent enemies from disabling you."

Harbinger

"Getting Intelligence and mana items is extremely important for Harbringer as the power of Arcane Orb and Sanity's Eclipse rely on this."
"Use Astral Imprisonment to control your opponents' mana, for escaping/chasing, or on yourself and allies to avoid spells."
"Cast Arcane Orb manually early on because you will have a greater chance of activating Essence Aura to use it endlessly."
"Guinsoo's Scythe of Vyse is a great choice because it offers Intelligence, balanced stats and provides Harbringer with a powerful disable."
"Use Sanity's Eclipse early in fights so that you drain casters with high Intelligence of their mana and cripple their ability to cast spells."

Warlock

"Shadow Word is either a heal or damage over time, definitely the most powerful early game spell to have."
"The affordable Mekansm is a good support item for Warlock, who is not a hero who is reliant on gold and items to be effective."
"Rain of Chaos creates a powerful Infernal that can take on heroes and is also great for killing creeps and pushing buildings."
"Fatal Bonds can deal huge damage if you and your teammates have other area of effect (AoE) spells that would hurt multiple linked units."
"The stun when using Rain of Chaos along with its huge casting range (1200) is great for interrupting spells and initiating battles."

Meepo

"Vladmir's Offering and/or Mekansm provides valuable auras and useful heals that can help support your team and keep your Meepos alive."
"Poof is both a teleport and damage spell and is great against neutrals. Poof to yourself to deal double the damage (from departure and arrival).Poof is both a teleport and damage spell and is great against neutrals. Poof to yourself to deal double the damage (from departure and arrival)."
"Geomancer is an advanced hero: Be sure to monitor their individual health because if one dies, they all will."
"Strength Power Treads are suggested since clones will receive all of the Strength from footwear along with a 2.5 bonus (12.5 total)."
"Time Earthbind with each of your clones. With 4 Meepos and Level 4 Earthbind, you can almost permanently immobilize them."

Shadow Priest

"An early level of both Shadow Wave and Shallow Grave provides a lot of support before getting Poison Touch to level 3 for its added stun."
"Try to use Shadow Wave to heal and damage opponents at the same time. Surround an enemy with multiple allied units for more damage."
"In addition to slowing and damaging opponents, Poison Touch will allow you to interrupt channeling spells and teleports"
"Dazzle generally does not need many items and can sometimes focus on increasing his spell use with regeneration and support items like Mekansm."
"Weave is a powerful spell, try to hit both allies and enemies with it, and it can also be used to provide vision before major battles occur."

Pit Lord

"Firestorm will be your main ability for killing creeps but it can deal a lot of damage to heroes if you combine it with disables or slows."
"The Pit of Malice is a useful disable that lasts for 10 seconds so it will both ensnare opponents and deter opponents from entering the circle."
"Expulsion is usually used after some creeps have died so the spell lasts longer and will deal damage and mini-stun enemies."
"Pit Lord is played more as a caster, increase his team presence and spell use by obtaining expensive Intelligence items like Shiva's Guard."
"Dark Rift is a great spell for transporting multiple allies to surprise opponents, and more importantly to defend and attack the base."

Dirge

"Decay is used to deal damage and make opponents more vulnerable, while increasing the survivability of Dirge temporarily."
"Make sure Dirge is a presence who can cast his spells in fights by buying regeneration items like Vladmir's Offering and Void Stone."
"Soul Rip is a powerful heal or nuke but remember that it will have almost no effect without nearby units. Cast it in crowds."
"Use Tombstone when engaging the enemy because the zombies have a slowing capability and may also help block your opponents."
"Tombstone Zombies become extremely powerful when your opponents have low health and attack and move much faster."

Dark Seer

"Ion shell is great for killing creeps and dealing damage to heroes, but it will not damage an enemy target if you cast it on them directly."
"A level of Surge early game can help you and allies escape and chase enemies, and works nicely to help you close in on opponents with Ion Shell."
"Vacuum is an extremely powerful skill that can be used for initiating and combining with other spells. It can also interrupt channeling and teleport spells."
"Make sure they are standing closer to the edge of your targeting circle when casting Vacuum to pull your opponents further."
"Use Wall of Replica where multiple heroes will touch it; try using it with Vacuum. Get your allies to run through the wall too."

Invoker

"Having at least one level in Quas, Wex and Exort will give you a larger repertoire of spells. Type -invokelist to obtain a full list of combinations."
"Ghost Walk (QQW) can be used to get yourself out of a tight situation, and also for slowing opponents so that your allies can chase/escape."
"Sunstrike (EEE) is a global-ranged nuke that deals damage based on the level of Exort. When using it, you have to factor in the 1.7 casting time."
"Forge Spirit (EEQ) and Cold Snap (QQQ) can be effective for pushing towers and against heroes with low armor. "
"EMP (WWW) and Tornado (WWQ) can completely drain off heroes with low mana pools and have a impressive casting range."

Enigma

"Conversion allows Enigma to neutral creep effectively. Target the highest level creep possible and move your low HP Eidolons out of the way to save them."
"In the lane, Conversion can be used on allied creeps to deny your opponents of experience and gold, and for making sure you last hit enemy creeps."
"The multiple stuns on higher levels of Malefice make it useful for preventing an opponent from channeling spells or help you chase/escape them."
"Use Midnight Pulse in conjunction with Black Hole to deal massive damage to enemies. Just make sure that you cast it before Black Hole."
"Kelen's Dagger is great for Black Hole placement, and a Black King Bar will prevent most spells from stopping the channeling effect of the spell."

Credits:-
- Robzor.

Vengeful Spirit

2009-07-29T22:00:00.001+05:30

Vengeful Spirit - Shendelzare Silkwood
This blog post has been written for ver. 6.61b

Magic Missile

A magic missile is thrown at an enemy unit, causing damage.Stuns for 1.75 seconds.
Mana Cost: 95/110/125/140
Cooldown: 10 secs
Casting Range: 500
Damage Dealt: 100/175/250/325 (Magical)

Advanced Mechanics
- Full effect on a unit in "Ghost" form (Target unit takes 44% extra damage if Ghost Scepter is activated.)
- Casting range is 500 and range buffer is 300 i.e. if the target gets out of 800 range before the projectile is launched, the spell casting will stop.
- Projectile speed is 1250.
- Can be dodged by blink.

Wave of Terror

Shendelzare lets loose a wicked cry, terrorizing nearby enemy units. Their armor and damage are reduced.
Mana Cost: 40
Cooldown: 15 secs
Casting Range: 1400
AoE: 500
Duration: 20 secs
Armor Reduction: 2/3/4/5
Damage: 25/50/75/100 (Magical)

Advanced Mechanics:
- Does not decrease raw damage from items.
- Gives vision as it moves forward.
- The duration of vision is 3 secs.
- Use vision for nether swap.

Command Aura

Increases her and nearby units' damage
AoE: 900
Cooldown: Passive
Effect: Increases 12%/20%/28%/36% damage.

Advanced Mechanics
- 900 AoE
- Does not increase damage from raw damage items.
- If Vengeful is invisible, it will affect no other unit except herself.

Nether Swap

Instantaneously swaps positions with the target hero.
Mana Cost: 100/150/200
Cooldown: 45 secs.
Casting Range: 600/900/1200

Advanced Mechanics:
- Has a ministun... interrupts channeling. Stops channeling of allies also.
- You can swap a unit inside Chronosphere.
- Cancelled by Linken's Sphere.
- Aghanim Scepter reduces cooldown to 10 secs.
- Destroy all trees within a 300 AoE of Vengeful and Target.
- Goes through magical immunity (Doesn't care if the unit is avatared)
- Nether Strike can negate Panda’s primal split and Spiritbreaker’s nether strike if used just before he uses it.

Tips on Vengeful (provided by the -tips command)
- Cheap items such as Bracers, Bottle and Magic Stick help give Vengeful Spirit what she needs to use Magic Missile and Swap safely and frequently.
- By getting Magic Missile first, Vengeful Spirit should take advantage of this powerful stun by moving around the map instead of simply farming in a lane.
- It sometimes a good idea to save the Command Aura for later in the game when it will give your team more damage.
- Wave of Terror is used to provide sight, giving you vision over an area or providing an opportunity to use Swap.
- Swap will allow you to isolate a key hero on their team, sometimes your sacrifice is needed to win the battle and maybe even the game.

References/Thankful people:
- playdota.com
- antiweltteilchen
- Robzor