Item Guide: Smoke of Deceit

There are lots of ways to make use of this item. You usually see it in four main situations:

1. Level 1 Gank
2. Ganking
3. Smoking into Rosh
4. Gaining Control

However, there is logic beyond that for WHY you do it at these times.

Level 1 Gank

While this is used to get a quick kill, a morale boost from the first blood, and to give your team an immediate advantage, it also has other purposes.

The main reason I see to use the level 1 gank is to find out where the enemy trilane is going to be. Especially in cases where you either want to force trilane vs. trilane (e.g. you drafted Undying and want to Aggressive Trilane against them), or if you want to dodge their trilane. Even if you don't manage a kill in this situation, you've guaranteed a better laning phase through information collecting (which is always one of the most important pieces of any RTS game).

While you're smoked, you can also put up wards safely.

Ganking

Frequently you'll see supports pick up  Smoke with their starting gold. Often this is used to gank mid once their carry has been established in the lane and no longer needs as much support.

However, there are other uses in the midgame for this item. One of the main uses is after a big item pickup, for instance a Blink Dagger. This will essentially guarantee a kill for your team because the other team has no idea you have the item yet.

You'll also see Smoke ganks come out when you find a key hero out of position (e.g. a carry farming the jungle). This gank will set them back in terms of farm.

Smoking into Rosh

This is the most common use you'll see in pub games. Usually an Ursa/Lycan will Smoke before going to Rosh to guarantee that he is not seen by Observer Wards.

But, you'll also see it in pro games to sneak in there all together and quickly kill Rosh before the other team has time to react.

Gaining Control

When your team needs to get some sort of advantage to do a push, or to stage a comeback, Smoke is often a vessel for doing so.

For instance, if you need to siege the opponent, but it's not feasible in a 5v5 uphill fight, then picking off a key target with Smoke can give you an advantage.

On the other hand, if your team is behind then Smoke can be used to give you some map control. Smoke up, pick off a key hero and force the opposing team to fall back. Now your team has some room to farm, get wards up, etc.

Item Guide: Veil of Discord

Overview

Gives a lot of stats that casters & supports would like. Many of them are lacking in HP Regen and Armor. The INT is a bit of a bonus.

It's a supportive item in nature, but can be ok on magic damage dealing semi-carries.

I feel the reason you don't see this often is because:

• Most teams don't have a magic dealing carry
• Most supports pick up other utility items (e.g. Mek, Force Staff)

Who to Get This On

The item can be good on many heroes. Armor is good for anyone, but especially for heroes in the middle of the fight.

I'd cluster it into groups of:

Supports

• Jakiro - he has a lot of spam to offer, adds to his natural tankiness
• Crystal Maiden - she has low Armor and barely any HP Regen (excluding item pickups like Tranquil Boots). Combos well with her ult (provided you manage to get it off).
• Shadow Demon - Shadow Poison can hit a huge group and does a ton of damage
• Lina - lots of AoE magic damage spam and a huge magic damage ult
• Keeper of the Light - combos well with Illuminate, which already does an absurd amount of damage. KotL is very squishy and lacks HP Regen.

You might consider it on heroes like

• Ogre Magi - though you're mostly single-target, Ogre Magi has huge potential to insta-kill a target with lucky multi-casts. This item also adds to his naturally tankiness.
• Lion - another hero that is basically single target. Not really worth getting on him, but could be situationally good.
• (Support) Gyrocoptor - big AoE ult that's pretty reliable to combo this with. Gyro is naturally very squishy lacking in HP Regen.
• Venomancer - another squishy hero. Combos well with many of his spells (namely his ult). A bit more achieveable than an Aghanim's Scepter if you're playing support.
• Disruptor - Combos well with your Ult. However, getting a good combo off isn't guaranteed. Gives Disruptor many things he needs - mana pool, HP Regen, and Armor.
• Lich - combos well with a GOOD ult. Lich lacks HP Regen, and it gives him armor that's not conditional (i.e. Frost Armor spell)

Semi-Carries & Carries

• Leshrac - there are arguably better items for a Carry Leshrac, but as a heavy magic damage dealer that needs to be close to your targets, you can get a lot out of Veil of Discord.
• Zeus - you're squishy, deal a lot of magic dps, and you have virtually no HP regen (minus Bottle). All around pretty good and more affordable than an Aghanim's if you're struggling

You might consider it on:

• Pugna - Netherward deals a lot of damage (and I believe it's Magical). Pugna has a lot of magic damage besides that, Netherblast and his ult deal tons of magic damage. I'm not 100% sure, but I believe this item stacks with Decrepify.
• Outworld Devourer - Not very useful for most of your spells, but can work with your ult. I wouldn't say it's very useful in general though.
• (getting it for) Meepo - while I wouldn't get it ON Meepo, getting one to support him early-mid game could be useful due to the damage output of Poof
• Necrolyte - basically the same as Leshrac, however, your magical DPS is not as high. I'd say it is more situational on Necro.

Initiators

• Sand King - you have a lot of controllable magic damage with your ult, however casting the debuff might be tricky. If you cast before ulting in, you might tip the other team off. If you wait, you might forget, get stunned, or miss out on some damage. You're still going to want to prioritize your Arcane Boots & Blink Dagger first (unless you have other setup)
• Enigma - Your ult & midnight pulse should both benefit. Works well if you get the enemy team in a black hole and other heroes can cast on top of that. Getting all of your spells off + this item is tricky though.

Might consider it on:

• Puck - you are a magic damage initiator, but I don't feel like it is necessarily worth it to go this route. You already have to get in and out of the fight quickly being squishy and don't have much time in your Blink + Ult + Silence + Orb combo.
• Earthshaker - your damage is situational (based on nearby units), but can be a decent addition to your items after your core.
• Warlock - Combos well with your Ult. However, Fatal Bonds is damage removal. Really not too worth it unless you have more spells to combo from other heroes.

You could make arguments for heroes like Queen of Pain, Tiny (when you're not playing him as a carry), Tidehunter, Magnus, etc. But I think their money could usually be better spent elsewhere.

When to Get This

The timing on when to get this item is kind of odd.

• It's great for team fighting
• It loses some of its power after your opponent picks up BKB or Pipe
• Spell damage hits its peak around level 16 (late game, heroes have magic armor, tons of HP, or can insta-kill you; many spells don't scale well into late game)

The item becomes increasingly effective with the more "Wombo Combo" your team has (e.g. Sand King Ult into Jakiro Macropyre and a Warlock ult in there somewhere).

I think more often than not, you're going to find this to be a luxury item. Most teams don't have enough (or coordination for) Wombo Combos. It has a short enough cooldown that only hitting 1-2 opponents would be worth it. But, you also have a lot of items that are more beneficial, like BKB, Mek, Force Staff, etc. Magic Damage has plenty of ways to counter it (e.g. BKB, Pipe).

I feel the main times you'd really want this are:

• Rushing it on a ganker/initiator to gain early game control
• Getting it early-mid game on a Wombo Combo team
• Getting it later on when you're looking for a 3rd or 4th cost-effective item on a hero like Sand King

Item Guide: Shadow Blade

Shadow Blade is by far one of the most misunderstood items in all of DotA.

At low levels of play, it's considered "imbalanced". People think that invisibility is immortality.

At mid tier, it's considered "the worst item". People think you spent 3000g on an item that's "countered" by 180g Dust or 200g Sentry Wards.

Both viewpoints are incorrect. Shadow Blade can be a powerful item when used appropriately. It can be a terrible purchase as well.

The key to the item is that it forces teamwork. You can't just go somewhere alone if a hero has Shadow Blade. If you want to beat the item, you stick as a group. You buy Sentry Wards for pushing or get a Gem. This is why you don't see it much at the pro level. Teams move together, they work together, they ward, they buy the items that would shut this item down.

Let's break it down.

Overview

Components

• Claymore (1400g)
• +21 Damage
• Shadow Amulet (1600g)
• +30 Attack Speed
• Active Ability: Fade

 Item as a Whole

• Shadow Blade (3000g)
• +30 Damage (Note: you get 9 damage essentially "free")
• +30 Attack Speed
• Active: Shadow Walk
• Information
• Duration: 12 sec.
• Mana Cost: 75 mana
• Cooldown:  18 sec.
• Effect
• Invisible for Duration
• Can move through units for Duration
• +20% Move Speed for Duration
• +150 Bonus Damage on attack out of invisibility
• Notes
• 0.3 sec. Fade Time
• Does not break channeling spells
• Damage is dealt as separate instance of damage (i.e. is not included into crits or similar)

Buying the Item

Purchase Order

Going about buying this item can be tricky. The two components are largely expensive. If you get Shadow Amulet, players will know what you're getting next. If you get Claymore, it's easy to assume you're going Shadow Blade unless your hero can get Battle Fury.

Most of the time, you want the item to be a surprise. That way, the other team has little time to prepare and you can catch them off-guard. If they have not been saving for counter-invisibility measures, they have less time to gather that money.

In my opinion, it's best to buy the item all at once, or at least not to carry around the components (even if it feels like they're going to waste in your stash).

When to Get It

The times it makes most sense to buy the item are:

• Your team is ahead (makes the gap bigger because now their support has to invest in counter-invisibility)
• You don't have any other invisible heroes (otherwise it's an easy choice for the other team to buy a Gem)
• You're ganking more than team fighting (it's still ok, but there are other items that might help more)
• You need it for initiation/scouting in addition to everything else it offers
• Early on (the active is more useful in the laning phase)

Mostly, you want to pick it up for aggressive play. You DO NOT want to be using this to run away (Dust is very easy to get).

Who to Get It On

You want this item on good gankers that benefit from the attack speed and the move speed while invisible. It's a great item for sneaking past wards and getting into position.

Here are some (i.e. a handful of examples) heroes where the item is situationally a good pick up:

• Silencer
• He lacks the ability to chase well
• He lacks attack speed
• He benefits from ganking (stealing int)
• He lacks an escape mechanism
• Drow
• She's able to pick off heroes quickly if she can easily land her silence
• The DPS helps early-mid game (she is AGI, so eventually it won't matter that much)
• She's a great ganker, but needs good positioning
• She lacks an escape mechanism
• Ursa
• He benefits from the attack speed
• He needs positioning
• He's terrible at chasing
• Helps him sneak into Roshan's pit (replaces Smoke of Deceit)
• He lacks an escape mechanism
• Bloodseeker
• Great initiation tool for him (get next to enemy -> deal bonus damage -> rupture)
• He lacks reliable chasing
• He benefits from the attack speed (early to mid game)
• Lacks a reliable escape mechanism
• Tiny
• Great for him to use during ganks to get into position and easily land his combo
• Benefits from the attack speed (he has high base damage, but slow attacks)
• Helpful for chasing
• Again, gives him something for an escape if necessary
• Shadow Fiend
• Works decently well with his ult (he doesn't become visible until it's too late for his opponents)
• Great for helping him get into position (i.e. landing razes when ganking)
• Early-mid game, he has a ton of damage, but not as much attack speed
• Yet again, it gives him something for an escape if needed

Usage

This is the part that gets people because they mostly see it used the wrong way. It's best used aggressively. You want to actively go ganking with it and make sure you make the most of that bonus damage out of invisibility.

You want to be using the item to:

• Initiate (ganks or team fights)
• Get into the middle of a crowd and start the fight
• Find a hero off alone farming and get an easy kill
• Sneak through the river and gank a lane
• Sneak past Observer Wards
• Scout out dangerous areas

It's an extremely aggressive item. It should never be picked up for the sole purpose of running away. You're setting yourself up for trouble because Dust is very cheap.

Final Thoughts & Reiterations

• Get this to play aggressive
• This is an item that forces team work
• Hence why it is seen more in match making (and is more potent) than in pro matches
• If you can't get it early game, it's probably not worth the investment
• If you are team fighting a lot, it's probably not worth the investment
• It's not a bad or good item, it's a situational pick up

Comparison: Sustainability Items (Early-Mid Game)

There are three big items that help with sustainability throughout the early-mid game:

• Tranquil Boots
• Vanguard
• Mekansm

 

Overview

	Tranquil Boots	Vanguard	Mekansm
Cost	975g	2225g	2306g
Component	Ring of Protection 175g Ring of Regen 350g Boots 450g	Stout Shield 250g Ring of Health 875g Vitality Booster 1100g	Headdress 603g Buckler 803g Recipe 900g
Stats	+80 Move Speed +3 Armor +3 HP/Sec	+250 HP +6 HP / Sec	+5 STR +5 AGI +5 INT +5 Armor
Active	HEAL 170 HP over 10 Seconds Regen Stops if damaged by players or Roshan Costs 24 Mana 40 Second Cooldown		RESTORE Heals 250 HP in 750 Radius Applies +2 Armor in a 750 Radius Cannot affect units that have had Restore in last 25 seconds Costs 150 mana 45 Second Cooldown
Passive	BREAK If damage is taken (20 minimum) 4 times in 10 seconds, Boots become Boots of Speed until the last 10 seconds don't have 4 instances of damage.	DAMAGE BLOCK 70% chance to block damage (40 if you are Melee, 20 if you are Ranged)	MEKANSM AURA +4 HP / sec to all allies in 500 radius

Tranquil Boots

Overview

These boots are amongst the best items in the game right now. Cheap cost, paired with an excellent heal for a low mana cost make them a great option for a number of heroes. Being able to disassemble them later on is even more of an incentive to buy them.

You'll frequently see these picked up on off-laners who need the HP regen to live through the trilane harass. Carries also pick these boots up frequently for the burst of healing and the low cost gives them a decent set of boots that allow them to hit bigger items faster. Junglers also pick these up frequently (specifically melee junglers).

Burst Healing vs. Sustained Healing

In a lot of ways, the burst of healing is much better than a sustained healing (e.g. Vanguard). In a high level setting, you're more likely to see a coordinated attempt to quickly burst a hero down (e.g. double stun) than a spell here and there. If you live through the combo, you can retreat and be back in the fray within 10 seconds.

On the other hand, an item like Vanguard would take significantly longer to allow you to return to the action.

Downsides and Coping

There are some downsides to Tranquil Boots. You don't get any HP, they are terrible for escaping (being able to break), and they give no stats.

But like every item, the downsides aren't so bad if you realize how to play around them. You want to be the aggressive side of a conflict if you get these, static farming, or already have a good escape mechanism.

Vanguard

Overview

At the moment, Vanguard is fairly unpopular at the pro level. In many ways, it's overshadowed by Tranquil Boots. The two items fill a similar role, but Tranquil Boots are a fraction of the cost of Vanguard, making Tranquils much more appealing. Having an extra 1250g means you're able to get big items faster.

That said, Vanguard is still a very powerful early-mid game item if you can farm it fast enough, but really only if you're a melee hero. The HP and Regen are great, but the damage block is devastating early game. On average, you're blocking 28 damage per auto attack, which is roughly half of many heroes base damage. However, you must take into account that much of the damage early game is from spells, but that's where the 250 raw HP is useful.

Downsides and Coping

The real downside of Vanguard is the price, and to some extent the rate of regeneration.

To make the most use of the item, you'd want to get aggressive early on and be involved in many team fights. Early game is where the damage block will make the most difference (unless you plan on tanking creep damage).

If you plan on getting a farming item (e.g. Hand of Midas, Battlefury), then you will not want to pick up a Vanguard. It will set you back too much.

If you plan on farming heroes, this might be a good option. However, items like BKB may be more important to pick up early

If you are an Illusion hero, you're better off picking up the Vitality Booster and saving it for a Heart. As far as I know, your Illusions only benefit from flat HP, stats, and certain attack modifiers (e.g. Diffusal Blade). Damage Block animations may play for your Illusions, but the damage is not blocked.

At best, Vanguard is currently a luxury item similar to Bloodstone. It's nice to have, but no one absolutely needs it. The price is too high for what you get. If you get it, that should only be if you've been fed several kills very early on and plan to keep playing aggressively.

Mekansm

Overview

Mek is generally considered a "support" item, but in reality any hero can pick it up (e.g. Carries like Necrolyte frequently pick Mek up). A burst heal is good at any point in the game. The item gives a lot of good stats and the HP regen is very good, for being an aura. The components are small (other than the recipe), so it's quite easy to build up to.

Some pros have argued that Mekansm is more efficient than Vanguard and that if you're considering Vanguard, to get a Mek instead. A burst heal for the entire team can turn a fight around moreso than a single hero with Vanguard.

Downsides and Coping

The main issues with Mek are that it is expensive (though made up of inexpensive items), it requires activation (which can be hard to remember in the midst of a fight, especially if you've taken the least damage), and the mana cost is high (150). The heal and armor do become less helpful late game, but 250 burst heal is still decent.

To cope, you can build the item over time. It's generally more beneficial to get Buckler early because it has the active armor bonus that can essentially be activated all the time (cooldown and duration are the same). It's great for pushing towers as well.

During a fight, you just need to make sure you don't get initiated on so that you can activate Mekansm.

Lastly, it helps to be a hero with a high mana pool so that you can afford to use Mekansm often and when needed.

Final Thoughts

All three items are great for early game sustainability.

Over the years, Vanguard has fallen a lot in popularity. Changes that nerfed it ranged heroes started the downfall. With the introduction of Tranquil Boots and their rise in popularity, Vanguard has been overshadowed.

Another big factor seems to be a pacing change in the game. Vanguard was picked up considerably more when popular strategies did not involve as much early game pressure. Carries don't have the time to farm up a Vanguard just to be safe.

I would not go so far as to say Vanguard is a "bad item", but there are too many other items that are higher priority, and a number of heroes that can mitigate the downside of not having a Vanguard. For instance, Magnus is a powerful initiator with a long duration stun. Having several seconds to attack your opponents care free means you can prioritize damage items over something that is more for survivability.

As for the other items - Mekansm has always been popular. Given that Vanguard only blocks 20 damage on Ranged heroes, Mek is a pretty good substitute if you really want that extra survivability. It's an item that doesn't always have to be pawned off to the supports. In some cases, it can be hugely beneficial for a carry to get it. For example, Necrolyte is frequently in the middle of the fight so that his Pulses hit everyone. Having him carry a Mek is convenient for healing your entire team with ease (as opposed to a hero like Sniper who is off to the side). Razor is another good candidate, though lacking in mana.

Tranquil Boots are border line broken at the moment. They provide so many benefits like burst healing, cost effective, cheap, disassemble-able, and a lot of speed. If you're on the offensive, they aren't very likely to break, which makes them great for aggressive carries that want the heal and speed, but don't want to put a lot of money into boots early game.

In my opinion, Tranquil Boots have completely obsoleted Vanguard, and Vanguard is in need of buffs or is only going to be seen as a niche/luxury pick up going forward.

Item Guide: Manta Style

Overview

Manta Style is a strong, versatile pick up on many heroes. It tends to be bought more on carry heroes, especially if they are AGI, but can be bought on others (e.g. Carry Tiny).

Components

• Ultimate Orb (2100g)
• +10 Strength
• +10 Intelligence
• +10 Agility
• Yasha (2050g)
• +16 Agility
• +15 Attack Speed
• +10% Move Speed
• Recipe (900g)

Item as a Whole

• Manta Style (5050g)
• +26 Agility
• +10 Intelligence
• +10 Strength
• +15 Attack Speed
• +10% Move Speed
• Active Ability: Mirror Image
• Creates 2 Illusions of your Hero
• Lasts 20 seconds
• Illusions Deal 
• 33% Base Damage for Melee
• 28% Base Damage for Ranged
• Illusions Take and Additional 
• 350% Damage for Melee
• 400% Damage for Ranged
• Costs
• 165 Mana
• Cooldown
• 35 Seconds for Melee
• 50 Seconds for Ranged
• Odd Mechanics
• Upon use, you are invulnerable for 0.1 seconds during the splitting animation
• Movement and Attack Speed bonuses do not stack with Yasha, Sange & Yasha, or other Manta Styles
• Purges some effects upon use (see section below)
• Morphling cannot replicate a Manta Style Illusion

Item Role

By and large, this is a pretty typical pick up on a carry (#1 farm priority) if they are Agility, Benefit from the Move/Attack Speed (e.g. Tiny), need additional survivability, or increased farming.

In pub games, most low-mid tier players that pick up Shadow Blade could pick up Manta Style instead. Generally, you'll see pub players only using Shadow Blade to retreat rather than initiate or sneak past wards. Manta Style can fill a similar role because Illusions give you a lot of defensive advantage, the purge effect is excellent, you gain similar attack damage and attack speed, plus stats and move speed.

You'll see heroes like Anti-Mage and Phantom Lancer pick it up for both its offensive and defensive uses. Anti-Mage becomes incredibly fragile if he cannot blink. Luckily, Manta Style purges that effect upon use (with the exception of Doom's ult). Similarly, Phantom Lancer can use it to purge dust so he can escape.

Usage

Manta Style is a very versatile item. There are Offensive, Defensive, and even some uses that are neither here, nor there.

I'll go over some examples of how it can be used.

Offensive

• Split Push
• You can leave your Illusions to push a lane while your hero goes off to do something else (farm, team fight, etc.)
• Aura Spread
• Illusions can spread auras, though they do not benefit from them. If a team fight spreads over a wide area, your Illusions can ensure auras like Vlad's, Drum of Endurance, etc. touch all your allies.
• Baiting 
• Baiting spell usage can be incredibly powerful before a fight. Getting a hero to use a big stun, or an ult on your Illusion makes starting a fight much safer for your team.
• Hero Specific
• Phantom Lancer
• Sometimes it's difficult to start your army of Illusions during a team fight. Manta Style Illusions have the same rules as your normal Illusions, so using Manta is like starting with 2 free clones.
• Shadow Demon
• Sometimes you want to Disrupt the carry to get increased DPS while pushing a tower or fighting. However, doing so will take your main damage source out of commission for a bit. If the carry uses Manta Style, you can Disrupt the Illusions instead.

Defensive

• Disjointing
• There is a 0.1 Second window where you are invulnerable during the animation. Timed correctly, you can dodge stuns, damage, etc. Great against big spells like Lina's Laguna Blade.
• Confusion
• Juking
• Run into a thicket of tree or fog of war, use Manta Style, and it's incredibly hard for your opponent to tell which one is real.
• With good micro, you can do the above anywhere. Quickly send your hero and illusions off in different directions.
• Multiple Targets
• Great way to stall for time or discourage any initiation. Pudge won't hook if he cannot tell which one is real. Likewise, many players won't waste spells on targets that may not be real.
• Blocking
• One of the more difficult feats to pull off. You can use Manta, then run away as you use your Illusions to block the movement path of your pursuer.
• Similarly, there are times where you can use the terrain to your advantage, like blocking the ramps out of the river.
• Purge Debuffs
• Upon using Manta Style, some effects are purged from your hero. See the "Purge Mechanics" section below.
• Scouting
• Sometimes it's dangerous to head into the fog. Sending an Illusion in first is a huge benefit in collecting information while risking very little.

Miscellaneous

• Tank Roshan
• Illusions die when they attack Roshan. However, they can "Hold Position" and Roshan will attack them while your real hero puts in some damage.
• Stats
• While items like Shadow Blade can fill a similar role to Manta Style (i.e. attack speed, offensive/defensive uses), Manta has a leg up on them because it gives great stats. For some heroes, like Drow Ranger, additional AGI helps your team because of the Global Aura she has.
• Upgrade Sange & Yasha
• Some games you'll get off to a bad start and build easy items like S&Y, or perhaps it's late game and you're looking for something better. In either case, breaking S&Y apart to make Manta Style and Heaven's Halberd can be a very powerful option.
• [Rumor] Hidden Aura
• Unconfirmed, but supposedly Manta Style's Attack & Movement Speed buffs apply to Illusions as something of a "Hidden Aura"

Purge Mechanics

Using Manta Style will not purge any debuff (or buff in some cases), but it does apply to a wide variety.

As of this post, the comprehensive list is...

Hero Spells

• Abbadon - Mark of the Abyss (Buff on Attackers)
• Axe - Berserker's Call
• Yes to Armor Bonus (Self), No to the Buff on Attackers
• Bane - Enfeeble
• Bane - Nightmare
• Bloodseeker - Bloodrage 
• Bounty Hunter - Track
• Brewmaster - Drunken Haze 
• Broodmother - Incapacitating Bite
• Broodmother - Insatiable Hunger
• Chen - Penitence
• Crystal Maiden - Frostbite
• Dark Seer - Surge
• Enchantress - Enchant 
• Enchantress - Impetus
• Huskar - Life Break
• Keeper of the Light - Mana Leak
• Lich - Frost Armor
• Lifestealer - Open Wounds 
• Only one instance - this is reapplied as the debuff weakens over time
• Lone Druid - Rabid
• Magnus - Empower
• Night Stalker - Crippling Fear
• Night Stalker - Void
• Ogre Magi - Bloodlust
• Omniknight - Guardian Angel
• Omniknight - Repel
• Phantom Lancer - Spirit Lance
• Pugna - Decrepify
• Shadow Fiend - Requiem of Souls
• Slardar - Amplify Damage 
• Spirit Breaker - Charge of Darkness
• Will continue if Spirit Breaker maintains vision of the unit, otherwise he attack-moves to the location they were last seen.
• Templar Assassin - Psionic Trap (debuff)
• Tinker - Laser 
• the lingering attack miss effect
• Treant Protector - Living Armor
• Treant Protector - Nature's Guise
• Treant Protector - Overgrowth
• Troll Warlord - Blind
• Vengeful Spirit - Terror
• Visage - Grave Chill
• Warlock - Upheaval

Item Effects

• Buckler - Armor Buff
• Eul's Scepter - Cyclone 
• Mekansm - Armor Buff
• Orchid - Silence/Damage Amp
• Rune - Double Damage 
• Rune - Haste
• Rune - Invisibility
• Sange - Maim
• Satanic - Unholy Rage
• Shiva's Guard - Arctic Blast
• Tango - Healing Buff

Miscellaneous

• Silence 

Item Guide: Invisibility Detection

Detection items are rarely seen in pub games. Even when you do see it, most people have no idea what item to get for their situation.

Here's the breakdown.

• Sentry Wards
• Dust
• Gem
• Spells
• Long Term
• Bounty Hunter's Track
• Slardar's Amplify Damage
• Short Term / Conditional
• Zeus' Lightning Bolt & Ult
• Bloodseeker's Thirst

Countering Detection:

•  Diffusal Blade
• Manta Style
• BKB

Lastly, we'll work through some scenarios to see how/when you might use these items.

Detection Items

 Sentry Wards

Uses:

• Counter-Intelligence (i.e. destroying Observer Wards)
• Blinding an enemy makes then very vulnerable to ganks
• Gives you more map control
• Observer Wards are on a cooldown, Sentries are not
• Pushing
•  If they have an invisible hero and you're trying to push a tower, plop down a Sentry to make it safe for the next 2 minutes
• Defending
• If you are defending a tower or your base, put one down to gain additional invisibility detection
• If you're afraid of being back doored, put one down at a vulnerable entrance to your base
• Roshan
• If the other team has a hero like Ursa (who regularly Smokes into Rosh), it's good to have a Sentry up  on Rosh around the time Ursa hits level 7 (typical time Ursa will rosh)
• If the other team has a hero like Riki and you're all Roshing, put one down so there is no chance he will steal the Aegis

Precautions:

• They only last 2 minutes (versus Observer Wards which last 6)

 Dust

Uses:

• Ganking an Invis hero
• You need to know where they are so you can Dust
• Prevents them from using Invis to escape
• Team Fights
• Use it during a teamfight so the enemy invisible hero is revealed the entire time
• Counter-Ganking / Baiting
• In some cases, Dust can be used once an invis hero has initiated, then your team will ideally come to your aid and get an easy kill (NOTE: This is risky because some heroes can be 1-3 shot by a fed invis hero)

Precautions:

•  Can be Purged
• Diffusal Blade (while offensively it slows and removes buffs), can be used defensively to get rid of debuffs on yourself/allies (i.e. things like Dust)
• Manta Style removes debuffs when used
• BKB gets rid of most debuffs
• Many heroes have spells that get rid of debuffs like Dust too 
• Long Cooldown
• Does not Stack

 Gem

Uses:

• Preventing a gank from happening
• Gem is great for stopping a gank from happening
• A lot of invis heroes will sit on top of you until allies come to assist them
• Counter-Intelligence
• Works the same way as a Sentry Ward, but it's mobile
• Get rid of all their vision
• Turning a Slight Advantage into a Huge One
• You've made one hero's spell useless (maybe more if they have multiple invis heroes or Shadow Blade users)
• True Sight works on illusions
• Gem is similar to an aura, and auras work on Illusions
• You and your illusions reveal (great for scouting out areas, split pushing, etc) 

Precautions:

• Dropped on Death
• If you have invis heroes, this can now be used against you
• Costs 700g
• Long cooldown on the item in the shop

Spells

Long Term

Track and Amplify Damage work similarly to Dust. They DO NOT counter invisible heroes. You have to have vision of them before these spells work. They are great once you get the spell on them (though they can be purged).

If picking up Slardar or BH will ruin your lineup, DO NOT get them. There are items that replace their ults' functionality.

Short Term / Conditional

A lot of people forget heroes like Zeus and Bloodseeker can reveal invisible heroes. It's not necessarily a reason to pick either hero up, but it is something to keep in mind.

Zeus' Lightning Bolt reveals for 3 seconds after it has struck. Same goes for his Ult.

Countering Detection

The big three are:

• Diffusal Blade
• You can activate it on yourself or allies for a positive effect of removing debuffs with no other side effects
• Manta Style
• Splitting into illusions will remove most negative debuffs like Dust
• BKB 
• Should remove most negative debuffs

Examples

Scenario 1

Problem:

 Enemy team has Riki who has been initiating every team fight with a Smoke. The vision he grants his team allows for other heroes like Enigma to get very clean initiations.

Solution:

Get a Gem. You will see Riki sneaking in and getting in position to use Smoke. Now you'll be able to kill him before he gets the chance

Scenario 2

Problem:

You're defending your Barracks (Rax) but your tower is down. Enemy team has a Bounty Hunter that is very fed. Your team is pretty much broke.

Solution:

Buy Sentry Wards and place them around where your tower once stood. Sentry Wards don't give a lot of sight radius, but they give a huge amount of Invis Detection radius.

Because you're stationary (sitting there defending instead of moving around the map), this functions like a Gem. You can see Bounty Hunter sneaking up to pick off a support and jump him before he knows what happened.

Scenario 3

Problem:

You're trying to gank a free farming Clinkz. Your Mirana ults to give you all temporary invisibility to sneak up on Clinkz as he split pushes. Your team has only a bit of money.

 Solution:

Buy Dust. You know where he is and will be able to use the Dust so you can keep on him. If your team had more money, a Gem would work too, but it might not be worth the risk of losing it. Sentry Wards would not work here because Clinkz has a high move speed and would easily be able to move out of its detection range before you could do much.

Item Guide: Orchid Malevolence

If you're a #2, 3 or 4 (5's too, but you'd have to be pretty far ahead) farm priority and can benefit in any way from the Int, Mana Regen, or DPS Orchid Malevolence is generally a great pick up.

NOTE: if you don't know, generally 1 = carry, 2 = solo, 3 = offlane, 4 = 2nd support, 5 = support (see this post)

Almost every game has an opponent that is worth silencing.

Good Against

This is exceptionally powerful against heroes like Anti-Mage and Storm Spirit who rely on their escapes. If you can Orchid Anti-Mage and focus him a bit, the 30% amplified damage should finish the job.

Likewise, it's good against heroes that rely on spamming/spells to be useful like Leshrac, Invoker (well, Exort can DPS decently), or Zeus.

Not Particularly Useful Against

One-hit Wonder heroes like Tidehunter, Sand King, or Venomancer. If you can silence them and kill them before they use their ult, that's great. But most of the time that's not the case. You'd probably be better off getting a Pipe (or BKB).

Queen of Pain is an interesting case. It's good to lock her down and kill her (i.e. preventing her blink), but you're probably not going to stop her from blowing her ult.

Synergizes Well With

Clinkz:

• He loves the Mana Regen
• He loves the attack speed
• Silence + Amplified Damage means that he can gank without worry of being stunned or having his victim blink away

Silencer:

It was always a pretty decent pickup on him. However, with his new changes to Last Word, you can basically guarantee a disarm by using Last Word, then Silencing before they can cast (both Orchid and Last Word last 5 seconds).

It also gives him Int and Regen which benefit his Glaives, as well as attack speed which he desperately lacks.

Generally Recommended For:

Heroes that have a slow, but nothing to prevent their target from blinking away, stunning, etc. Or just generally need mana regen and DPS.

For instance:

• Broodmother - can be great if you're not the primary carry. She can slow heroes, but has nothing that will prevent them from just stunning her
• Venomancer - tons of slows, but no actual CC. The attack speed is somewhat useful, but the bonus INT and Regen are huge on Veno who is largely mana dependent.
• Enchantress - she can slow, but again, nothing to stop her target from using spells. She also can spam her ult for tons of damage.
• Nature's Prophet - he can surround someone with trees, but that won't stop them from jumping/blinking out or going invis until the trees go away
• Storm Spirit - he has Vortex, but that has a 20 second cooldown. If you want to ensure you kill your target, Orchid is a nice addition; He also benefits from the regen
• Wind Runner - she has a lot of spammable spells, the extra CC adds to her very versatile kit, and she can benefit from some DPS
• There are plenty of others too, these are just some examples

Miscellaneous Notes

• This will not stop Skeleton King from Resurrecting. He will still Rez even if he's silenced. Only burning his mana below 140 will stop his ult.
• The 30% amplified damage is dealt as a lump sum at the end of the 5 second duration
• The build up is pretty great
• This is more of an offensive item than defensive
• Heroes that have toggle abilities will continue casting because silence disables the ability to toggle the spell (e.g. Pudge's Rot, Leshrac's Ult)

Item Guide: Bloodstone

Great item on Mana Heavy heroes that can also benefit from some tankiness. However, it is mostly useful for the mana regen as the mana regen is the part that scales (along with reduced gold lost from death, death timer reduction, and the heal nearby allies get when you die).

If you look at the item's design, it screams "ganking". Regen helps you stay in the field longer. All the other benefits come from ganking. If you get a kill, you get a charge. If you die, it's not so bad when you have charges.

When to Get It

 

• On #1/2 farm priority heroes (i.e. carry and solo lane) - "Bloodstone Carries/Semi-Carries"
• When you're doing extremely well - it costs a shitload and you need to be getting/involved in a lot of kills for its passive to be most effective
• You're a Ganker or heavily involved in Team fights -- gotta get your charges
• You're Regen dependent

In Short: heroes that need mana regen, will not die often, benefit from flat HP, and are heavily involved in skirmishes/team fights.

When to Give Up

Remember, sometimes it's best to give up on a big item like this. If it's 30 minutes in and you've got boots, Magic Wand, and perseverance, just fuck it. Get something useful (i.e. a utility item like Drum of Endurance or Pipe - which you can break Perseverance apart for). It will help the team more than watching you struggle to complete the rest of your Bloodstone.

Also, if the enemy carry has their BKB before your Bloodstone is done, it may or may not be worth the investment.

Heroes You See This On

• Storm Spirit - dude can use regen. More Ults, more jukes. His spells are all pretty spammable. Also, he's incredibly hard to kill, leading to massive amounts of charges on his stone.
• Semi Carry Leshrac - his spells are spammable, and the better his regen, the longer he can ult. The longer he can ult, the more damage he does in a team fight and it makes it easier to push. NOTE: This is for SEMI-CARRY Leshrac (i.e. not #4/5 support Leshrac - I've made this mistake before, I'm sure others have too)
• Death Prophet - she can spam spells and the added HP helps her take damage while ulting. She can get pretty ballsy for a woman because her ult heals her at the end.
• Necrolyte - at a certain point, he becomes nearly invincible because he can keep spamming his heals. This makes his entire team hard to kill as well. However, Necro really needs some snowball for this to happen.

Heroes it can be situationally good on:

• Zeus - he can spam like a mother fucker, the HP helps him survive. However, it can often be more beneficial to get other items like Aghs, Refresher, etc.
• Enchantress - helps her spam impetus, the extra tankiness makes her more obnoxious due to her Untouchable spell. However, most Enchantress' are played as #4, so it's not really on your itinerary to get a big semi-carry item like this
• Ogre Magi - more spam, more tank. Again, like Enchantress, he's usually not going to have the farm to get a big item like this
• Witch Doctor - justification is basically being a walking Healing Well. However, WD is mostly a support hero at Pro Level.
• Puck - helps with survivability and he's usually a big piece in team fights. Phase Shift helps him survive (i.e. keep charges). He doesn't have the spam to make max use of the regen. Generally seems better to get yourself a Blink Dagger and some utility/initiation items
• Queen of Pain - able to spam to an extent and she has high survivability. A lot of players will opt for more utility or carry items though like Sheep Stick or sometimes a Desolator.
• Semi Carry Lina - again, spammy spells, improves her tankiness, and she also has Fiery Soul, which means the more you spam, the faster you auto attack, giving her that carry potential

Things New Players Generally Overlook

• Bloodstone > Aegis :P
• You keep getting XP in a 1000 radius after death (makes a suicide initiation less sad)
• You gain a massive 1800/1800 vision of the area around your death

Passively, Each Charge:

• +1 Mana Regen/sec (but not HP)

On Death, Each Charge:

• Reduces Gold Lost by 25
• Reduces Respawn Time by 4 Seconds
• Resores 30 HP to allies within 1675 range (in addition to the flat 400 HP) - it's like a Super Mek or Chen Ult

Also:

• It's not necessary on anyone, but it's super nice to have
• You can get early Mana Boots, break them apart and have a piece of your Bloodstone ready to go

Item Guide: Boots

There are many different options for boots. Each has its own set of scenarios where they are most applicable. Here, I'm going to walk through my understanding of when to get each.

 

Power Treads:

 

 

Advantages:

• Versatility: you can switch the main stat depending on the situation (e.g. switch to Int so you can cast 1 more spell, switch to Str to tank that last hit)
• Generally good if you need survivability, or you don't need move speed
• Also can be good on illusion heroes because stats transfer to them
• Gives raw attack speed as well
• Only breaks invis if you switch stats

 

Example Heroes That Might Get These:

• Fast & Squishy: Anti-Mage, Luna
• Illusion Heroes: Phantom Lancer, Chaos Knight
• Heroes That Need to Extra Str: Batrider, Enigma
• Invisible heroes: you can't use other boots while invis, plus this gives you stats (most invis heroes are squishy), examples are Riki, Broodmother, Clinkz
• Nature's Prophet - when you're not playing some sort of support, this gives him what he needs. He can TP around with his skills, so the MS isn't a problem, he can lock people in trees, so no chasing. Basically, he just needs attack speed and some stats
• Morphling - this gives him more stats to morph between
• Faceless Void - when you have people Chrono'd, the stats & attack speed work wonders (Phase could also be decent though)

 

Tranquil Boots:

 

 

Advantages:

• High Movespeed (unless you get hit by enemies) - decent for ganking
• Able to heal yourself - sometimes good for taking harass or jungle
• Diassemble-able - has many of the components needed for Vlads or Mek
• Very cheap - easy to make for broke ass supports, especially if you have crap for HP regen

 

Example Heroes That Might Get These:

• Pudge - rotting can be used to harass/farm, gives him movespeed to gank, easy recovery from ganking w/ rot
• Wisp - good for abusing tether
• Some Junglers - Ursa (can be used until you want to finish Vlads), Axe (heal between clearing camps)
• Solo Hard Laners - some players get it on solo hard laners to keep up with harass in lane
• Supports that are broke/have no regen - Crystal Maiden (who also like the MS), Lich
• Roamers - helps to get between lanes and heal between ganks

 

Phase Boots

 

 

Advantages:

• No Collision - great for chasing through crowds of creeps or juking through them
• Speed burst - again, good for chasing or escaping, also for getting between creep camps quickly in the jungle
• Helps with positioning - use for a quick speed burst to help position that shackle shot
• Raw Damage - gives +24 damage, which is the highest any boot can give you. Some heroes don't need anything more than just raw damage
• Better able to stay on a target - if you have a DoT that is centered on your hero, this can help
• Roaming - like Tranquil boots, Phase boots help with roaming as well. Both gives good move speed, but Phase are more dependable in a fight

 

Example Heroes That Might Get These:

• Heroes that need positioning: Wind Runner, Invoker, Pudge, Leshrac (non-support version), Witch Doctor (if not hard support), Kunkka, Templar Assassin
• Heroes that need to stay on their target: Pudge, Leshrac, Clockwerk, Juggernaut, Razor, Ursa
• Heroes that benefit from the raw damage: Bounty Hunter, Kunkka, Phantom Assassin
• Roamers: Pudge, Tiny, Vengeful Spirit (I like it on her at least)

Special Note: Juggernaut can start spinning and then use Phase Boots to get the Phase Bonus while spinning (the other way around cancels Phase Boots)

 

Arcane Boots

 

 

Advantages:

• Benefits the whole team (or at least whoever is around you)
• Improved Mana Pool
• Disassemble-able
• Gives enough mana to cast most spells

 

Example Heroes That Might Get These:

• Mana Dependent Heroes: Sand King, Bane, Tiny, Zeus, Omniknight
• Support Heroes: Rubick (when not mid), Jakiro, Dazzle
• Wisp: can be abused the same way as Tranquil boots using tether (they get 2x the mana), however, Soul Ring can also provide the same benefit

 

Boots of Travel

 

 

Advantages:

• Don't have to carry a TP Scroll
• Best base movespeed bonus
• Can TP to creeps (instead of just buildings)

 

Example Heroes That Might Get These:

• Tinker - his ult resets the cooldown on these boots
• KotL - his ult allows him to teleport a friend to his location (effectively getting a free BoT for the other player)
• Pushers - easily port to a lane creep to help push, e.g. Pugna, Leshrac, Tinker, KotL
• Beastmaster - he can port to his minions (i.e. Hawk/Boar)
• Anyone during late game - if you're all maxed out and want to free up your TP scroll slot, get these. You probably have the stats to make any other boot negligible

 

Build Boots for the Situation:

• Get Arcane in a Support/Utility Role (e.g. don't get them on Carry Tiny)
• If you're dying a lot, you might consider Power Treads or Tranquil Boots. Both are affordable and help you deal with harass (though, don't get Tranquil if you're chased down a lot)
• Don't get Boots of Travel early if you're not going to use them (i.e. pushing/ganking super hard)
• Don't get Boots of Travel just because you can 
• a) afford them
• b) they're recommended (e.g. if you're Pugna and dying a lot, get something like Treads instead of wasting time saving your Boots of Travel)

Basically, make sure you're getting your boots for the circumstances, not because it's a recommended item. Situation is based on a lot of things:

• What is your role in this game? (many heroes can be played in multiple ways. You're not always going to be Carry Nature's Prophet or Solo Mid Pugna)
• How is your farm?
• Are you dying a lot?
• Are you able to use the active to max potential? (e.g. you're not ganking/chasing enough for Phase to be useful, but you could use the Stats & Attack Speed in team fights from Power Treads)

Item Guide: Farming Items

Last Updated: February, 2013

There are a number of items that help with farming:

• Hand of Midas
• Battlefury
• Radiance
• Maelstrom/Mjollnir

In this post, I'm going to analyze and compare each of these options.

Comparison

Item	Cost	Build Up	Passive	Active
Quelling Blade	225	N/A	(Melee) +32% Damage to Non-Hero Units (Ranged) +12% Damage to Non-Hero Units	Destroy Tree: Destroys Target Tree 100 Range 5 Seconds Cooldown
Hand of Midas	1900	Gloves of Haste (500) Recipe (1400)	+30 Attack Speed	Transmute: Kill Non-Hero/Ancient Target 190 Reliable Gold (instead of normal) 2.5x XP 100 sec Cooldown
Battlefury	4350	Ring of Health (875) Void Stone (875) Claymore (1400) Broadsword (1200)	+6 HP/sec 150% Mana Regen +65 Damage 35% Cleave in 225 Radius	N/A
Radiance	5150	Sacred Relic (3800) Recipe (1350)	+60 Damage 45 Magic Damage per Second (650 Radius)	Toggle Burn Effect on/off
Maelstrom	2700	Gloves of Haste (500) Mithril Hammer (1600) Recipe (600)	+24 Damage +25 Attack Speed 25% Chance to proc Chain Lightning	N/A
Mjollnir	5400	Maelstrom (2700) Hyperstone (2100) Recipe (600)	+24 Damage +80 Attack Speed 25% Chance to proc Chain Lightning	Static Charge: Place Shield on Target Unit Lasts 20 sec 20% chance to proc Chain Lightning when attacked

 

Quelling Blade

A very cheap item that helps with getting last hits. It also brings infinite tree chopping to the table, which can be helpful when up against a hero like Nature's Prophet, or just juking through the trees in general.

Many players, even at the professional level, miss last hits and if a cheap item can boost your ability to last hit, it can be well worth the money. However, note that it does not bring much else. It's purely for farming/escaping.

Benefits:

• Increased ability to last hit in lane (or jungle)
• Pseudo-escape mechanism
• Can be bought entirely in lane
• Very cheap in comparison to other items that help with farming
• Helps with stacking the jungle

Disadvantages:

• No application to fighting heroes (other than the pseudo-escape)
• Little to no application past early game
• Potential to screw up last hitting under the tower (there are patterns of last hitting)
• Does not build into anything

Uses:

• Farming / last hitting
• Juking through the trees (certain trees can be cut down to enable juke routes)
• Cut down certain trees to stack multiple jungle camps, or reduce time between camps
• Some trees can be cut down to give extra vision (e.g. in the safe lane to get rid of the tree that blocks vision)
• On Radiant side, it can be helpful when pulling to cut down the tree between the lane and primary pull camp

Notes:

• Kunkka's Tidebringer - only impacts main target (no cleave element)
• Illusions can benefit from the damage 

Hand of Midas

This is a decent early game item that has no impact in late game (most sell it in late game). It's kind of a "selfish" item as well.

The item pays for itself through Transmute, it's Active Ability. The item costs 1900, and you get 190 gold per use. You can use it every 100 seconds. In a perfect world, that means it takes 1000 seconds, or about 16 minutes and 40 seconds to pay itself off. Note: in theory, if you use it 5 times and sell it for half price, you make up the cost of the item.

If we factor in that the average game is probably between 35 and 45 minutes, that means you need to get this very early for it to be anything more than a waste of money. Most people would say you want to target between 6-10 minute mark if you're going to get this at all.

Benefits:

• Gold is reliable (i.e. you won't lose it upon death)
• Guaranteed farm/XP, even if you're having a rough time
• Can use it for farming gold or XP (small creeps vs. big creeps)
• Fairly cheap

Disadvantages:

• You don't get much other than farming ability
• No real use late game

Uses:

• Use on a big creep if you want to focus on gaining XP (gives you 2.5x)
• Use on a small creep if you want to focus on gaining gold (gives you 190 gold instead of the normal bounty)
• Good for Junglers who are always near creeps
• Good if you can get it early
• Can be good if you're struggling for farm

 

Battlefury

This is a great item for melee carries. The build up is very nice and provides a lot. Perseverance is excellent for survivability and mid-game jungling. You also get one of the best gold-to-damage ratios for an item.

The cleave helps you farm and push incredibly fast. You also can cleave on-attack modifiers like Crits (Note: On-Attack Modifier is no the same thing as a Unique Attack Modifier).

While it is an excellent item, it is much more effective early-mid game. General consensus is that optimally, get this before 20 minutes. I would also say that you can still get it before 25 minutes, but after that, it's usually better to give up and go a different route. This is because you get the item mostly for farming. At a certain point, you just won't have enough time to farm, so it's better to focus on Survival and Team Fight items.

Benefits:

• Excellent Regen
• Excellent Damage Output
• Able to Cleave
• Stacks with other sources of Cleave
• Increases Farming Ability
• Increases Pushing Ability (or counter-pushing)

Disadvantages:

• Cleave only works on melee heroes
• Somewhat costly

Uses:

• Early-mid game farming
• Pushing/Counter-Pushing
• Mid-Game Jungling (i.e. more farming)
• Doing lots of damage in team fights with good positioning (e.g. after a Dark Seer Vacuum)

Notes

• Cleaved Damage will affect primary target normally, but secondary targets will only have the damage reduced by their armor type (i.e. by some standard percent, rather than based on armor value).

 

Radiance

A great early-mid game farming, harassing, and pushing item. This is very common on Illusion heroes like Naga Siren, Spectre, and Phantom Lancer because Illusions alone can farm/push effectively with the Burn Aura.

You also see it picked up frequently on beefy heroes like Alchemist and Doombringer because they are difficult to kill, have trouble farming (not real great candidates for Battlefury, but also need the farm). Being tanky and carrying Radiance makes you very deadly in team fights. The longer the fight lasts, the more damage Radiance will deal out. If they can't kill you, then they have to deal with the aura for the duration.

Weaver is a unique case. Because of Germinate attack, Weaver usually just wants raw damage. Getting attack speed won't give you more Germinates because it's on a cooldown. It does benefit from Raw Damage though (unlike some other modifiers that only take your Main Attribute into account). In addition to the damage output, it gives Weaver a way to farm. She is also difficult to kill, not because she's tanky, but because she has temporary invisibility and her ult gives her another health bar (essentially).

Lastly, you'll see this picked up quite frequently on Lone Druid's Spirit Bear. Using the aura, he can send his bear to push a lane while he farms (and he gets the gold from each kill Radiance gets). Normally, if the bear is out of range, it cannot attack. However, it can grant auras. This is a huge benefit for Lone Druid so he can use his bear in more than one way.

Like Hand of Midas and Battlefury, Radiance also loses potency over time. Common opinion is that you want to get Radiance before 25-30 minutes. After that, the burn damage just doesn't do so much to heroes, or the creeps.

This is what makes it a difficult item to decide to go for. Sometimes, you'll have to abandon going for it. It's hard to save up for because you need 3800 gold, then 1350 for the recipe. That's no easy task and you need a lot of uninterrupted farm.

Benefits

• Easy harass due to the burn damage
• Works on Illusions (and spirit bears)
• Great farming ability
• Great early-mid game pushing ability
• Excellent in early-mid game team fights

Disadvantages

• Very difficult to save for
• Loses potency in late game
• Aura can give you away while ganking (but you can turn the aura off)

Uses

• Tons of damage in team fights
• Farming
• Split pushing/farming (send illusions to different camps or to the lane to push while you farm safely)
• Raw Damage output
• Killing invisible units (not a reason to pick it up, but fun nonetheless)

 

Maelstrom/Mjollnir

When people think farming items, this is one that doesn't always come to mind. However, it can be loosely labeled "the ranged Battlefury". This is because the passive (Chain Lightning) rips through creeps, especially given the attack speed increase the item grants.

The two items are fairly similar (granted Mjollnir builds off of Maelstrom). They do have some differences though.

Differences

• Chain Lightning
• Maelstrom: Deals 120 Magic Damage, hits 4 targets, 25% chance
• Mjollnir: Deals 160 Magic Damage, hits 8 targets, 25% chance
• Attack Speed
• Maelstrom: +25
• Mjollnir: +80
• Active
• Maelstrom: N/A
• Mjollnir: Static Charge
• Lasts 20 seconds a target unit
• 20% chance to cast Lightning when attacked
• Lightning deals 200 Magic Damage to attacker and 2 nearby units
• Costs 50 Mana, 35 sec Cooldown

As far as I know there's no standard time to get either by.

It's a great item for farming/pushing as a ranged hero. The Lightning Jumps do a good deal of damage in a team fight too (e.g. 480 Magic Damage per proc for Maelstrom, 1280 per proc from Mjollnir).

The active ability on Mjollnir is also pretty veratile. It can be cast on allies, along with yourself. So say you cast it on Axe, he uses Berserker's Call. Least you can say is that the enemy team will be hurting.

Benefits

• Increases farming ability
• Can be used on Ranged heroes
• Mjollnir's active ability has lots of uses
• Exploits teams that don't have magic resist/immunity/Pipe
• Gives Magic Damage to accompany Physical Damage
• Huge increase to attack speed
• Build up can surprise people (Mithril Hammer looks like you're going for BKB or Desolator)
• Mjollnir can be disassembled

Disadvantages

• Still a lot of discussion as to whether it's worth picking up versus more "standard items"
• Counts as a Unique Attack Modifier

Uses

• Mjollnir can be a counter to Radiance carriers (each tick of damage can proc Lightning)
• Farming/Pushing
• Teamfight Damage output
• Static Charge can be placed on allies (like initiators), or yourself
• The attack speed can be great in combination with other effects like chance based bashes
• Heroes like Dragon Knight and Lone Druid benefit from it in both their Melee and Ranged forms
• Gives mostly Physical Damage heroes some Magic Damage to ensure they hurt everyone

Item Guide: Armlet of Mordiggian

Overview

Armlet of Mordiggian

This is a great item in many respects. Yes, it's a risk/reward item. However, it is very cheap for what it gives you. The build up is excellent. And the Active is very versatile.

Passively Gives:

• +8 HP/sec Regen
• +9 Damage
• +5 Armor
• +15 Attack Speed

Actively Gives:

• +31 Damage
• +10 Attack Speed
• + 25 Strength 
• Which is 19 HP/STR and 0.03 HP/sec regen == 475 HP, 0.75 HP/sec regen
• -40 HP/sec 
• Which as I recall is HP Removal, similar to Necrolyte's Aura
• You cannot die to it (at worst, left with 1 HP)
• It doesn't count as "taking damage"
• It cannot be reduced in any way

Some Uses

Turn it on When:

• Going into a fight (500 extra HP, lots more damage)
• You're super low, then immediately turn it off for a quick burst of HP (you get to keep some of it!)
• You're low and hear something coming (e.g. Clockwerk Rocket, if you hear the Sunstrike audio, etc.)
• You're low on HP and someone is coming to finish you off
• This is how it goes down:
• Someone thinks "Oh, look at this easy kill"
• flips on Armlet 
• Hue hue, my friends ;)
• (works great on Huskar)
• You want to quickly kill a neut camp, then turn it off right after

You turn it off When:

• You're fairly high on HP
• You're not in danger
• You're not using the effect to it's maximum capacity

Basically, you want to avoid being "caught with your pants down". Don't turn it off too early while going back to the well if you know they have some global presence hero like Invoker, Clockwerk, Zeus, Ancient Apparition, etc. You can easily toggle it repeatedly for some quick HP (i.e. when you're on like 100 HP, toggle off --> 1 HP, toggle on --> 475 HP)

When to get it

There are lots of scenarios that are "Well known" like:

• Huskar
• It synergizes with his abilities because he gets better the lower on HP he is
• He's a STR hero, so instead of 31 damage, he gets +56 (31 damage + 25 damage from STR being his main stat)
• Skeleton King
• He is STR
• He has massive life steal
• Lifestealer
• Same deal as Skeleton King
• He also has built in magic immunity (can't be stunned and get boned by the HP loss)
• Chaos Knight 
• This one is pretty cool: turn it on, use your ult, then turn it off. Now you have 1-3 clones that still have the active (or at least the STR from it), but don't take any damage.
• Nightstalker 
• Another STR hero
• He's a "Hey, I just met you, but not you're dead" kind of hero. The effects are negligible when he can kill you so damn fast at night.
• Alchemist
• You're strength
• Your ult basically cancels out the HP drain.
•  Others
• Slardar
• Quickly kill a stunned enemy that also has your ult on it
• Sven
• Deal out massive damage while ulting
• Dragon Knight
• You have naturally high damage, and in your ult form, you're ranged (one of the few STR Ranged)
• Clockwerk
• Works well while you have someone trapped in cogs
• Pugna 
• You're squishy, but your ult gives you a massive HP drain, so the HP loss is negligible

So, we extract this "rule of thumb" (i.e. a good general rule, but not always applicable):

• You have Lifesteal (or can regen ~40 HP/sec, like Alchemist)
• You can quickly kill a hero with the active (i.e. you're an awesome ganker)
• You're a Strength hero (and will benefit extra from that being your main stat)
• You get better at lower HP (which right now is basically just Huskar, though some future heroes like Terrorblade/Soul Keeper can benefit as well -- look at his ult)
• You love to bait attacks (being low on HP and then flipping Armlet on is hilarious)

Less Common Uses:

• Some players pick it up on squishy heroes for the HP, Attack Damage and Attack Speed (e.g. like a Drow/Luna/Anti-Mage)
• (As I recall) Some casters analyzed some mid game items and determined Armlet to be the "best bang for your buck" (i.e. best deal)

As you get better, you'll find times to pick things up because they provide what you need, even though it's not an "obvious pick" or doesn't fit the mold of when to buy it.

Risks

• If you get stunned, you're going to lose a lot of HP (so generally, grab a BKB afterwards if you plan to Carry/Semi-Carry)
• You can easily get sniped by Invoker on your way to the fountain
• If you can be kited, you're gonna have a bad time

Miscellaneous / Final Thoughts

Armlet has a great build up. Helm of Iron Will is great in lane for dealing with harass. It also leaves you open to either going Armlet or Helm of the Dominator (and technically Veil of Discord).

It's a great mid-game item, which is also where it shines due to the HP bonus tapering off at higher levels. Therefore, you get this when you want to be aggressive early/mid game, as it does not scale very well. If you would rather farm, then opt for a farming item. They tend to be the safer choice if you want to carry in the mid-late game.

Armlet is also very, very good for it's price (2600g, holy shit). I think a lot of this is attributed to it being a double-edged sword item (i.e. high risk/reward). It's kind of on par with Mask of Madness in that respect, but still a little less risky (you get HP and shit with it, plus it's great without the active).

Item Guide: Starting Items

Starting Items can have a pretty big impact on the laning phase. Each item has a particular purpose and while many are good in almost all situations, some are situational.

Item Summary

Consumables

• Tangos
• Keep you topped off on HP
• Technically heal less total HP than a Salve
• Are not cancelled by being attacked
• Can be useful for juking, or against a Nature's Prophet (Sprout)
• Salve
• Restore a lot of HP quickly
• Can be cancelled if attacked
• If you live on the edge, use this while being chased and juking to turn the battle by recovering HP then surprising your persuer
• Can easily be used on an ally
• Clarity Potion
• Slowly recovers mana
• Good for restoring mana so you can play aggressively with your spells
• Can be cancelled if attacked
• Can easily be used on an ally
• Observer Wards
• Great use of early money because of the vision they provide
• Can be used to block neutral spawns (good for anti-pulling and countering jungle heroes)
• Nice to have one on the Rune Spawn for your mid hero
• Prevent ganks
• Courier
• Always great because it helps the whole team, especially mid
• Pretty cheap to get a ground courier (back in the day, it was 200g for ground, 200g for upgrade)
• Dust
• Awesome against heroes that get invisibility early (e.g. Broodmother, Bounty Hunter, etc.), they won't expect it --> Easy First Blood
• Smoke
•  If you get 3-5 heroes together, this is a great way to get an early first blood by roaming the enemy jungle (or your own in some cases)
• Can also be used if your lineup allows for level 1 Roshing
• Some heroes (e.g. Dark Seer) can use this to jungle harder creeps at level 1
• Ion Shell --> Smoke --> Stand by Creeps (they take damage, but cannot attack you)
• Sentry Wards
• In some games, you know the other team will ward, so it can be a cheap way to immediately get rid of the enemy vision and hurt them bad in the lane phase
• Great for counter-warding your pull
• Generally best as an early item, but not as a starting item (unless you have courier + wards already)

Bottle

Bottle is a highly controversial starting item. Most Pros would say its a "trash starting item". In my opinion, if used correctly (i.e. timing, positioning, etc.), any item can be good. Here are the pros and cons though:

Pros:

• Fast HP/Mana Recovery
• More able to spam spells like Hook/Rot
• Already have it at the 2 minute mark (to get rune)
• Can ferry to and from the fountain if you have a courier

Cons:

• No Stats --> Harder to last hit, can take less hits, have less mana
• Cancelled if hit
• If ganked early, you'll probably have to immediately use all your bottle charges

The idea behind it is that you better be using the regen you get from it if you opt to go bottle first. In 99.9% of scenarios, that isn't the case. You also better have a good way of last hitting because early on, 2 damage you get from GG Branches can make a world of difference (as well as that 2 STR which is roughly 40 HP or something).

Stats Items

• Iron Branch (53g)
• Nicknamed the "GG" Branch for a reason - a lot of stats for only 53g. However, each takes up an item slot and they are built into a limited amount of early items (e.g. Magic Wand)
• Excellent for Stats and Filler

• Gauntlets of Strength / Mantle of Intelligence (150g)
• I generally find these to be a waste because for a little more, you could have bought 3 Iron Branches and got +3 to all stats
• Mantle can be decent on some Int Carries (e.g. Carry Silencer, Outworld Destroyer, Storm Spirit)
• Gauntlets can be good for survivability or if you plan to go early Urn of Shadows / Drum of Endurance
• Likewise, you can get Mantle for going early Dagon
• Mostly, these are used for taking up less space and giving you more ability to last hit
• Slippers of Agility (150g)
• Situationally, these are good for better last hit ability as an AGI carry
• Can be built into a Poor Man's Shield
• Circlet (185g)
• I also find this to be a waste. For 106g, you could have bought 2 Iron Branches and got the same effect (though they take up 2 spots in inventory)

Other

• Ring of Protection (175g)
• Some people get this for rushing Ring of Basilius or Tranquil Boots
• Provides +2 Armor, but that's usually not as valuable as stats or regen
• Can be decent for jungling and then making into an early Ring of Basilius, but you also won't be taking most of the hits (your minions will)
• Stout Shield (250g)
• Generally useful as a melee hero in a lane where you expect harass
• Can help you get last hits without taking as much damage
• Can be built into Vanguard or Poor Man's Shield
• Less useful for ranged heroes (60% chance to block 10 Damage vs. 20 for Melee)
• Quelling Blade (225g)
• Helps ensure last hits
• Can cut trees down (good for juking or against Nature's Prophet)
• Not really useful on Ranged Heroes (+12% Damage vs. Creeps, instead of +32% for melee)
• Good in lanes where you're against a hero that has high base damage (e.g. 1v1 Tiny)
• Can be useful for farming into mid-game
• Magic Stick (200g)
• Can be useful in a lane where you'll get a lot of charges (e.g. a Batrider that spams Napalm)
• Doesn't give any stats
• Doesn't give regen if no one is casting spells 
• The hero that will charge it might not be in your lane

No Items (e.g. Rushing an Item like Ring of Health)

• Generally not a good strategy
• No Stats
• No Regen (until you get RoH)
• Once you have Ring of Health, you can take harass, but you'll have trouble with last hits, mana management, and be squishy

Ring of Basilius

• Again, you get no stats
• The Mana Regen can be nice if you're in a Trilane or something of the sort (applies to more heroes)
• Odds are, you won't be using the aura for pushing THIS EARLY
• Can be decent for jungling (aura applies to minions), but a lot of the time, Clarity Potions work better.

Sage's Mask + Ring of Regen (i.e. Rushing Soul Ring

• Good Regen, but no stats
• Also, the regen is slower than what you'd get from well timed consumables

Recipe

• This is seriously just silly. You get nothing from a recipe alone
• A courier can bring this to you

Common Starting Combinations

General Laning

• Wards/Courier (if Support Hero, or you have Random Gold in AP)
• 1 x Tangos
• 1 x Salve
• 2 x Clarity Potion
• 2-3 x Iron Branch

Melee Jungling (e.g. Axe, Lifestealer, Dark Seer)

• Stout Shield
• 1-3 x Tangos
• 1-2 x Salve
• 0-2 x Clarity
• 0-2 x Iron Branch

NOTE: Dark Seer uses more mana, so more Clarity Potions might be useful. He can also use Smoke to jungle because of Ion Shell.

Heavy Harass Lane

•  Configuration 1:
• Stout Shield (250g)
• 1 x Tangos (sometimes more)
• 1 x Salve (sometimes more - e.g. they are a double stun lane)
• 2-3 x Iron Branch
• 0-2 x Clarity Potion
• Configuration 2:
• Stout Shield
• Quelling Blade
• Tangos / Salve

Logic:

• Stout Shield allows you to take extra harass
• Quelling Blade allows you to last hit easier

Heavy Spam Lane (e.g. Zeus, Bristleback, Batrider, and sometimes Shadow Demon)

• Can be worth it to get a Magic Stick because it collects charges
• Lots of Regen otherwise (probably Tangos moreso than Salves)
• Might not know which lane the hero that can easily charge it will be in

Minion Jungling (e.g. Enigma, Prophet, Enchantress, Chen)

• Configuration 1
• Tangos
• Clarity Potions
• Ring of Protection (for early Ring of Basilius)
• Configuration 2
• Tangos / Salve
• Clarity Potions
• Configuration 3
• Ring of Basilius
• Tangos/Salve
•  Pub Stomp Build
• Gloves of Haste
• Clarity Potions
• NOTE: This is for rushing Hand of Midas, usually just for Nature's Prophet. Not exactly a "serious" build.

AGI Carry

• 2 x Slippers of Agility (300g)
• 1 x Tangos (90g)
• 1 x Salve (100g)
• 2 x Iron Branch (or Clarity)

 This is good for increasing ability to last hit, as well as rushing Poor Man's Shield.

Mid Bottle Rush

• 3-4 x Iron Branch (159g - 212g)
• 1 x Tangos (or Salve) (90g - 100g)

This gives you good stats, some regen, and a lot of leftover gold to get an early bottle with.