DotA Allstars Strategy Guides

[Bread_Master]

If your a gosu at DotA, maybe you should write a guide for your favourite hero, and post it in this thread, so we can help, the newer players get better.

Here's mine on the Dragon Knight, considering, I am, probably the best Dragon Knight on Bnet ^.^

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Bread Master's guide to the Dragon Knight. (Written with 5.54)


A little about the Dragon Knight: Knight Davion, is a strength hero. He is pretty fast on his own, and average when it comes to attack speed. While his damage is high, his armour is mediocre at best, and he doesn’t have any skills that are effective hero killers. In short, you are NOT a hero killer, you are a building razer, and unit killer. Later on in the game, you can become a powerful hero killer, but your specialty is still in the ability to level bases like its nobodies business.

The Dragon Knight is a fairly difficult hero to play, especially early on. Due to the fact that he is melee, and lacks a cheesy anti-hero spell like Chain Lightning, or Frost Nova, you must concentrate on getting as much experience as fast as you can. Be very wary of enemy ranged hero’s like the Bone Fletcher, or Death Revenant. If you come across one of these on your path, and you’re by yourself, I’d recommend switching paths, with some one else, otherwise you’re looking at a lot of aggravation, early on. But don’t worry, later on in the game, you will get your revenge.

Skill Selection: A lot of people, when playing the Dragon Knight, make the small mistake of either going Breathe Fire first, or second, and trying to max it quickly. But the reality is that this ability is next to useless. You'll never be able to kill a hero with it, as its range is far too short, and the damage is too small to even be effective against creeps. In fact the only time its good is if its level 4 and you see like ten+ Necromancer's in a row, in which case you can kill them all in one shot, but how often does this ever happen? What I do, is go Dragon Greed first, because this is obviously your main skill, and the one you will want to make ASAP, as your going to need to buy some expensive items later on. Then go Ability Boost second. Why do this you ask? Simple. As I already explained Breathe Fire is extremely limited in effectiveness, and Immolation is even worse. Not to mention, the extra stats, while they seem small, can help you tank that much better early on. An extra 44 hit points at level two for example, could very well mean the difference between life and death, in many situations.

So mainly you’re looking to go: Greed-Boost-Greed-Boost-Greed-Dragon Form-Greed-Boost-Boost-Boost-Dragon Form etc etc

Basically, after you have level four Dragon's Greed, take Ability Boost every level, with the exceptions of 6-11-16 for obvious reasons ^.^

There will be a few levels, where you won’t be able to take Ability Boost, in these situations I just take Breathe Fire, but I still almost never use it. On a small side note, for those of you who do spam Breathe Fire all the time, I’m sure you’ve noticed that there are several times, you’ve wanted to use your ultimate, but couldn’t because you have no mana. Oh the irony.

Item Selection: As with any hero, it is important to know your strengths, and your weaknesses, and to buy items that compliment these. While there are several items that might have great appeal to you, there are a certain set of six, which I always use, and almost never lose with (I have never lost a DotA game in which I have obtained four of the six.)

What I’ll do now, is explain in detail the six items I like to use, and why I like to use them.

One: Helm of the Dominator (requires Helm of Iron Will (1300), and Upgrader(1500))

This helmet is a very underused item, and I have no idea why, considering its cost, it is in my opinion anyway, one of the best items in the game. It grants you five armour, ten damage, ten percent life steal, and the ability to dominate enemy units. While the last ability is very seldom useful, the others are great.

The extra ten damage might not seem like a lot, but you have to consider the fact, that every little bit helps, especially when you see what else you’ll be using. The ten percent life steal also seems small, but trust me, it is insane, when you see what else you’ll have.

The five armour speaks for itself, this is a very large amount, and will help you tank infinitely better.

Two: Hyperstone (2600)

The Hyperstone is an item that is very useful on any hero, but particularly ranged ones, which may lead you to question why I use it on a Dragon Knight, he’s melee isn’t he? Yes he is, but don’t forget about your Elder Dragon Form, and believe me, by the time you buy this, you’re going to be doing some serious owning.

Three: Divine Rapier (requires Demon Edge (2700), Claymore (1500), and Sacred Relic (4100))

The reason I use the Rapier as my main weapon is because, unlike the Monkey King Bar, and Buriza, it is useful on both melee and ranged heroes, something you are both of. The damage is crazy, and all in all, one of the best weapons in the game.

Four: Crystalis (requires Blades of Attack (650), Broadsword (1250), and Upgrader (1500))

Another underused sword, this bad boy, grants you 35 damage, and a Critical Hit effect. The damage is decent, but the main prize here is the Critical Hit, as later in the game you’ll be attacking so fast, that it will seem like your getting Criticals every other attack.

Five: Radiance (requires Sacred Relic (4100), and Upgrader (1500))

This armour is pretty sweet, while it lacks the defensive capabilities of say, the Aegis, it does give you 60 damage, which is good for two reasons. One, your looking to do the most possible damage, so an increase of 60, is pretty significant, and secondly, why on earth would you need extra armour? By the time you get this, you’ll already be pretty much unkillable.

Six: Power Treads (requires Boots of Speed (500), Boots of Elven Kind (575), and Gloves of Haste (610))

Attack speeds, and movement speed, are two very important things, and this baby gives you an increase of 30 percent on both, not bad for an item that costs less than two thousand.

Now, I’ll explain, how, and in what order to get these items.

First off, sit in your base until you have 500, then buy Boots of Speed, you’ll need the extra speed right off, because in early levels, let’s face it, your usefulness is extremely limited, and you’ll probably have to do a lot of running, so any boost you can give your self in movement speed is all the better. Next run around and kill stuff, until you have 1300 gold. If, when you get this amount, you still have high life, continue creeping, and killing, until you get around 2000. Once you hit one of these, return to your base, and heal up. If you only have the 1300, buy a Helm of Iron Will from Beazel. If you have 2000, but the Helm, and also pick up Gloves of Haste. The reason I buy the helm now, instead of trying to finish my power treads ASAP, is because 4 armour, and 50% life regeneration this early in monstrous, and you will instantly notice that you can hang around a lot longer than you could before. Now continue creeping. Your goal now is to finish your Power Treads, so do this as fast as you can. The reason now, that I finish my Power Treads, before saving for the Upgrader, to finish my Helm, is two fold. Firstly, you’ll see a large increase in gold, because of your faster attack speed, and secondly, the life regeneration of the Helm of Iron Will, out weighs the Helm of the Dominator’s life steal, and damage at this point in the game. Later on, the Dominator is a vastly superior item, but for right now, you need the life regeneration, because you won’t be able to steal life fast enough this early, to make the Dominator useful. After you obtain your power treads (you should be between level 5-7 now), save up the 1500 for the Upgrader to make your Helm of the Dominator. Ideally you’ll have the 1500 around the time you hit level 7, which will allow you to, both, kill things at a much faster pace, and gain even more gold for doing so , because you will now have level four Dragon’s Greed, and when in Dragon Form, an extra 20 gold for everything you kill is huge. Your next goal is the Crystalis, continue Creep Farming, and attacking the Scourge, until you have at least 1250 gold, although by this time, your already starting to become a monster, so if your able to, save up 1900 instead. Return to your base, and purchase Blades of Attack, and a Broadsword. Now, you’re a serious threat to the Undead. Go out and save up 1500 as fast as you can and buy an Upgrader to complete your Crystalis. By now you should have your second level of Elder Dragon Form, and your going to start noticing that you can save up gold like its nobodies business, when you’re in Dragon Form, because of both your splash damage, and your high damage output. Your next goal of a Hyperstone may seem a ways away, 2600 is a lot of gold, but considering, when your in Dragon Form, you’re going to gain between 80-100 gold per kill, it should only take you a matter of minutes to save up for your Hyperstone.

Now that you have these four items, you should be very close to, if not already level 16. Now, something very important, and game changing happens, that will force The Scourge to vastly change their game plan. Assuming you don’t get teamed by five heroes, you are now capable of killing The Frozen Throne by yourself. Pretty sweet huh? You’d be amazed how the Scourge now no longer rushes your base with all their heroes now that they know doing so is suicide, because you can just fly into their base and win the game yourself, before they can get back.

Start helping your team out now, by buying items they need for them, because gold for you is nothing. Now that your level sixteen, you have two goals. One, if any Undead Spirit Towers remain on the paths to The Scourges base, kill them, it will take you only about five seconds to do so in Dragon Form. Also you now are trying to save up for a Divine Rapier. Once you have 1500, which by now is nothing, buy a Claymore. Now you have do keep a very important fact in mind, otherwise your going to mess up. I’ve done this a few times to, so don’t feel bad if you do it by accident. Common sense would tell you to buy the Demon Edge, before the Sacred Relic, as it’s almost 1500 gold cheaper, but in this case, ignore common sense, and buy the Relic first. What’s the Reason behind this? You have a Crystalis in your inventory, if you buy a Demon Edge, they will merge, and create a Buriza, a useless item for you. And will cause you to not only lose your 2700 Demon Edge, but also your Crystalis. Instead what you want to do is buy the Relic, then when you have 2700, go to Lergaris, drop your Crystalis, then buy a Demon Edge, creating your Rapier, then just pick your Crystalis back up. Go save up another 4100 for another Relic, then buy an Upgrader to create Radiance, and poof. Your now effectively unkillable. You now have the ability, when in Dragon Form, to solo the entire Undead team by yourself, and if for some reason you start to lose, just fly away over some trees, they can’t even chase you.

Basically, the games is now pretty much academic, take out their buildings, and keep the pressure on them, they won’t be able to do much against you, as you are now pretty much a god.

Hopefully some of you found this guide useful. And hopefully more people will start using the Dragon Knight more often. He’s an awesome hero, but very underrated. You’d be amazed how many times people have called me a n00b, and laughed, when they see that I picked him, then how they just leave without saying anything when I own their whole team by myself.

[AkA.PeoN]

Hmmmm...very good idea bread. I'm sure people like Lidow and Sapphire will probably be able to come up with some stuff for this thread. As for me, I might do one as soon as I see how much teh Fletcher gets nerfed in the new version. If its non-abusive, I'll be glad to make an attempt on making up a guide on him.

[Random Gibbon]

I've killed heroes with Breath of Fire myself :\ Don't play much with Dragon Knight, but this looks pretty good :)

[thndrcow13]

http://www.rtsgames.com/forum/index.php?showforum=77

Lots of strategy guides. What realm do you play on? I've seen a lot of good DK's (it's not hard) but never any great ones.

[rrrrreichstag]

Breath of Fire is actually a really nice damage dealer at 360 @ level 4, you probably just don't use it correctly, it lets me reap in lots of money quickly, especially with a perseverance or soul ring. It guarantees a necromancer kill every cast, and you can get at least 1 ghoul every time if you time it correctly. However, the only downside is that you have to right click for your next action (which you should be doing anyways, you fat, microless bastard) immediately after casting it, as the Dragon Knight likes to freeze for some stupid reason. Its nice for warding off low level enemy heroes - it really packs good damage.

I also highly doubt you're one of the better DK players if you don't know how to effectively use BoF...

[Burner]

Very nice guide Bread, very well done!

[JuGGaNauT]

well im not relly a success or anythiing but i had a pretty nice game with the troll guy (troll warlock froms enitel) ill post it as rep.

[Baba~]

i'd write one for the stealth assassin, but i'm too lazy, so i'll make one for bone fletcher:

Step 1: Choose the bone fletcher on the Scourge team.
Step 2: Get tons of kills because you attack so damn fast.
Step 3: Kill everyhero you can, so you will have lots of gold to buy items to make you do more damage, thus making you even more effective.
Step 4: Win, you cheesing little bastard.

[iKaº]

nice guide, think sapphire and other DotA players will love it!

[Bread_Master]

Breath of Fire is actually a really nice damage dealer at 360 @ level 4, you probably just don't use it correctly, it lets me reap in lots of money quickly, especially with a perseverance or soul ring. It guarantees a necromancer kill every cast, and you can get at least 1 ghoul every time if you time it correctly. However, the only downside is that you have to right click for your next action (which you should be doing anyways, you fat, microless bastard) immediately after casting it, as the Dragon Knight likes to freeze for some stupid reason. Its nice for warding off low level enemy heroes - it really packs good damage.

I also highly doubt you're one of the better DK players if you don't know how to effectively use BoF...

Good luck trying to kill a hero with your 200 range fire attack. Not to mention by the time you get it to level four, all your opponets heros will have like 2000 HP, so even more useless.

Also, spamming BoF, like I said wastes mana you could use for Dragon Form.

So basically pieces, what your telling me, is youd rather get 120 gold for killing 3 necs, than be able to turn into a dragon for 75 seconds, and gain about 2000 gold for killing about 40 ghouls 20 necs, a few heroes and some towers.

Nice Math ^.^

btw, the damage you do with lvl 3 Dragon Form, is so crazy when u add in the splash, that BoF seriously becomes useless.

EDIT: The one good thing I'll say about BoF, is that it's an awesoem way to finish off super creeps, just wait for them to get low life, and breathe on them, instant 600 gold =].

[rrrrreichstag]

The range really isn't that bad on BoF, its very useful against an early hero like a faceless void, who has low HP.

BTW, most heroes don't have high HP anymore, 19 hp / STR point means that only STR heroes will have more than 800ish HP by level 7, unless a vit booster (nerfed) has been picked up early.

The +8 stats that you miss out on by getting early BoF is easily negated by the gold that you make up - immolation should be your last points.

BoF
Greed
BoF
Greed
BoF
Dragon Form
BoF
Greed
Greed
Stats
Dragon Form
12-15: Stats
Dragon Form
17-22: Stats
Immolation
Immolation
Immolation

Thats the best way to play the DK IMO, the stats bonus can come later, you might as well have a use for your mana before level 6 anyways.

[EvilKnevil]

I wanna play DoTA...
it sounds fun

[JuGGaNauT]

I wanna play DoTA...
it sounds fun
it is. my senetel character is the prophet. my scourge is the wolf dude.

[Bread_Master]

The range really isn't that bad on BoF, its very useful against an early hero like a faceless void, who has low HP.

BTW, most heroes don't have high HP anymore, 19 hp / STR point means that only STR heroes will have more than 800ish HP by level 7, unless a vit booster (nerfed) has been picked up early.

The +8 stats that you miss out on by getting early BoF is easily negated by the gold that you make up - immolation should be your last points.

BoF
Greed
BoF
Greed
BoF
Dragon Form
BoF
Greed
Greed
Stats
Dragon Form
12-15: Stats
Dragon Form
17-22: Stats
Immolation
Immolation
Immolation

Thats the best way to play the DK IMO, the stats bonus can come later, you might as well have a use for your mana before level 6 anyways.

Both are good, and u can play how you want.

It's just IMO, after you get lvl 2 ultimate, BoF becoems useless because of your splash dmg, so it's like you wasted 4 skill points o.O

[Lidow]

My morphling owns o_o quick guide to how I use..

Skillz to pay the Billz

Wave/stats/Wave/stats/Wave/Agi,Str change ability/Wave/ultimate/stats/stats/stats/etc

If you want you can sub first stats to get blink but I never use it personally, having blink on a ranged hero is a bit silly for my tastes but later on it's helpful when your chasing down heroes.

Basically at the start buy a boots, from here on try and use wave to get as much gold as possible. At lvl 4 wave instantly kills necroes so just keep that in mind.

The first item you want to go for is the ultimate orb, which is 2600 gold. This is by far the best hero for this item as your main feature as morphling is you can exchange strengh for agility or vice versa. Since your an AGILITY HERO it's best if you dump your strength, so getting ultimate orbs allows you to continually get more agility. A general rule of thumb I use is to always stay just above 1000 hp at all times, if there is a doombringer in the game you might want to go higher to avoid his ultimate.

So early on your sorta weak but once you get your first ultimate orb you should be kicking some creep ass, and again the next item you want is another ultimate orb. After that get 1100 gold for a point booster, now those 3 items combine into the eye of skadi. Basically, you get a nice little frost attack. And you have well over 100 agility at this point, IE other sides hereos = your personal bitc*. Use that to your advantage.

This point you can seriously kill anyone, use your ultimate as needed to get a nice scouting of the map (or just for comedy purposes, when you type you type AS the person you morphed into you. So expect SEVERAL HACKER comments if they don't know what a morphling is =p ) and such. For next item I reccomend just getting a second Eye of Skadi as it's more stats that you still need but after the 2nd eye you should be set for that. You can go after whatever you want after that, I personally go for burize since at that point your agility is over 200 and having a nice critical strike in there is thanks. But basically just adjust to what's needed.

[MooNFatheR]

Dota isn't balanced.

[thndrcow13]

Dota isn't balanced.

Version 5.36 is about as balanced as they come. It's not perfect, but balancing a game with 48 unique heroes is pretty tough. I win about 85% of games I'm in, going random every time. If you're good, you can win against the "imbalanced" heroes.

[Baba~]

DOTA is balanced, there are just some heros that are easier to use than others, so the team whose noobs chose the easiest usually wins.

[Mr.Cygnus]

Nicely done bread i read the whole thing...im also a dragon knight user mysef. Btw dota is imba bliz needs to patch it. : P

[Blind Fremen]

i'd write one for the stealth assassin, but i'm too lazy, so i'll make one for bone fletcher:

Step 1: Choose the bone fletcher on the Scourge team.
Step 2: Get tons of kills because you attack so damn fast.
Step 3: Kill everyhero you can, so you will have lots of gold to buy items to make you do more damage, thus making you even more effective.
Step 4: Win, you cheesing little bastard.

LMFAO! :rofl: i usually dont have trouble raping the fletcher, especially late game (although he is frickin annoying early on). fletcher has like no hitpoints/armor/strength/defense/w/e!!!!!!!

IMO the Phantom Assassin is cheaper than the fletcher ESPECIALLY LATE GAME. FUKKING LEVEL 4 BLUR (32% chance of missing her) IS INSANE! CAN'T FRICKIN KILL HER. SHE EVEN HAS BLINK STRIKE/SHADOW STRIKE/COUP DE GRACE COMBO WHICH WILL KILL ALMOST ANY HERO!!!

And thats y i use the phantom assassin every game :)

(i wandered off the subject a lot there didn't i?)

[\/\/ick3d]

My morphling owns o_o quick guide to how I use..

Skillz to pay the Billz

Wave/stats/Wave/stats/Wave/Agi,Str change ability/Wave/ultimate/stats/stats/stats/etc

If you want you can sub first stats to get blink but I never use it personally, having blink on a ranged hero is a bit silly for my tastes but later on it's helpful when your chasing down heroes.

Basically at the start buy a boots, from here on try and use wave to get as much gold as possible. At lvl 4 wave instantly kills necroes so just keep that in mind.

The first item you want to go for is the ultimate orb, which is 2600 gold. This is by far the best hero for this item as your main feature as morphling is you can exchange strengh for agility or vice versa. Since your an AGILITY HERO it's best if you dump your strength, so getting ultimate orbs allows you to continually get more agility. A general rule of thumb I use is to always stay just above 1000 hp at all times, if there is a doombringer in the game you might want to go higher to avoid his ultimate.

So early on your sorta weak but once you get your first ultimate orb you should be kicking some creep ass, and again the next item you want is another ultimate orb. After that get 1100 gold for a point booster, now those 3 items combine into the eye of skadi. Basically, you get a nice little frost attack. And you have well over 100 agility at this point, IE other sides hereos = your personal bitc*. Use that to your advantage.

This point you can seriously kill anyone, use your ultimate as needed to get a nice scouting of the map (or just for comedy purposes, when you type you type AS the person you morphed into you. So expect SEVERAL HACKER comments if they don't know what a morphling is =p ) and such. For next item I reccomend just getting a second Eye of Skadi as it's more stats that you still need but after the 2nd eye you should be set for that. You can go after whatever you want after that, I personally go for burize since at that point your agility is over 200 and having a nice critical strike
in there is thanks. But basically just adjust to what's needed.
Omg lidow u are so good with morphling



Anyways heres my Drow Ranger Stratagey guide.

Skill order-

Cold arrows/Trueshot/Cold/True/Cold/true/cold/true/silence/silence/silence/silence/Point boost/Point boost/Point boost/Point boost/Point boost/Point boost/Point boost/Point boost/Point boost/Point boost/Ultimate/Ultimate/Ultimate


The first thing you may say if, "Thats BS! Her ultimate is teh ROXORS1!"

My answer- Not the wa I play drow. If you play your cards right here, you shouldnt be attacking any units past level eight.

A high level drow ranger is the only efficient counter to a high level Flecher that I have found.

*Be warned. This stratagey involves abuse, and if you do it right people will call you a noob abuser. This stratagey might seem "noobish" for its lack of gosu items, but i assure you i have yet to lose with it.


At the begining of the game, buy a +6 agility boots. These will not only provide you with extra damage now, but assist in getting your power treads. If you are luck enough to have a lunar (huntress) on your team, go with them. Lunar blessing and trushot aura stack, so your attacks will do much, much more damage. If you do not have a lunar, go whereever you please, though being alone would be preferable. With cold arrows as your first skill, you will quickly realize that you cannot keep it on autocast for long. Therefore, you shouldnt. Take it off autocast. When you see a hero at low life or withing tower range, turn it back on autocast and attack it. If within range of a tower, theres a good chance the tower will help you kill him. I realize this requires a quick bit of clicking, but you're going to have to deal with it.


***Im studying right now, will finish later!

[Blind Fremen]

it is. my senetel character is the prophet. my scourge is the wolf dude.

LOL u picked the 2 cheapest ones (prophet got nerfed however)

IMO teleport shouldnt take FOUR seconds to cast; that is just BS. Teleport should take 4 seconds to cast level 1, 3.5 sec level 2, 3 sec level 3, 2.5 sec level 4. (that might be hard to program? i dunno i cant use my world editor right now)

as for the wolf...move/attack speed too fast im sorry it just is...

[speedygonzo]

Lidow abusing the morphling bug! That hero has become so good. rtsgames.com/dota also has nice guides, like that other guy said.

[Blind Fremen]

My favorite hero now is the Phantom Assassin. She is an agility hero with some DANG good spells (Shadow Strike: lots of damage/duration/small slow effect -- Blur: aint NOBODY gonna hit this chick -- Blink Strike: Blink + critical hit -- Coup De Grace: small chance to do up to 4x normal damage...saved my ass a few times).

Anywho, I start by getting a boots of speed from the big shop, then running to either the MIDDLE or the BOTTOM path, (top path sux IMO cause its far away from the acolyte shop). For her skills, I go Shadow Strike (lvls 1, 4,8,9), Blur (lvls 2,3,5,7), Coup De Grace (lvls 6, 11, 16), and Blink Strike (lvls 10-14), Attribute Bonus (levels 15, 17-25). I suppose Blink Strike could be substituted for shadow strike at level 8, in order to kill heroes by surprise.

After the boots of speed, I immediately start going for Battle Fury. I first get Perserverence, then Mithril Hammer, and lastly Blade of Alacricity (?). The cleaving attack is extremely useful for killing lots of creeps instantly, thus gaining large amounts of gold. After Battle Fury, I get the power treads and start saving up for Helm of the Dominator and later Satanic!!!!!!!

Add items in such ways that it pleases you, and reak havic on your opponents!

[Bread_Master]

Nicely done bread i read the whole thing...im also a dragon knight user mysef. Btw dota is imba bliz needs to patch it. : P

Thnx man =D.

But I made a small adjustment to my guide.

Just out of curiosity, I used a Butterfly last game instead of Rapier, just to see if it might work better, and let me tell you it made me five times better than rapier ever did. it almost trippled my attack speed, gave me four armour, and 20% evasion. Way better tarde off for damage, plus it can't be dropped.

If this isn't unkillable, i don't know what is.

I killed Roshan bymyself, then had enough life left over, to solo the Frozen Throne to.

I don't think there is anything, that can kill this. Iot's fucking insane.

[Burner]

Thnx man =D.

But I made a small adjustment to my guide.

Just out of curiosity, I used a Butterfly last game instead of Rapier, just to see if it might work better, and let me tell you it made me five times better than rapier ever did. it almost trippled my attack speed, gave me four armour, and 20% evasion. Way better tarde off for damage, plus it can't be dropped.

If this isn't unkillable, i don't know what is.

I killed Roshan bymyself, then had enough life left over, to solo the Frozen Throne to.

I don't think there is anything, that can kill this. Iot's fucking insane.


Haha nice!

Anyways, here is how i use the Rhasta: Note: In this case im not using him as support, rather as a solo hero killer, and it works wonders.

The skill order is going: Forked,voodoo,forked,voodoo,forked,wards,forked,bo nus,bonus,bonus,wards etc...

The items ur going for are power treads and aghanims scepter (Mystic staff and soul booster)

Start off by getting boots and taking a lane of ur own, if someone comes to help politely ask if u can solo it.

At lvl 1 and 2 avoid engaging with other heroes bcuz u r not yet strong enough to kill them, or even really hurt them. Just kill the creeps until ur lvl 3. Once u hit lvl 3 u will have 2 pts in forked lightning, and one in voodoo. At this point u want to save up 1100 for a pointbooster, giving u extra health and mana.

Once u have it u can start doing serious dmg to heroes. As soon as u see an enemy hero, use forked to dmg it and creeps around it. Now, what i have found is that 90% of ppl will chase the rhasta if not too close to ur tower, this u must take advantage of. Let him chase u a bit and hex him, then quickly get off another forked and a few attacks. By now, most creeps around him will be dead and he will have less than half health. the best thing about forked is that its range is VERY long, so when he runs u can easily get off the last hit.

When u hit lvl 6 go for wards and the energy booster. what u wanna do now is wait for him to get in pretty close, hex and throw wards behind him. Then immediately hit with forked (lvl 3 now) and kiss the hero goodbye. Also since u have so much mana, u can hex again if he survies and finish him.

Later on, when uve got the sceptter, u can throw 12 wards down in one shot, which is simply amazing. No hero will ever get away when hexed and 12 towers doing 60+ dmg attacking him.

P.S lvl 1 wards can easily take down towers even without the scepter, wait till ur creeps run to the tower so it focuses them and throw down ur wards and have them all attack the tower. You'll see how quickly its hp goes down.

Also, u can finish the treads whenever u want, but its imperative that u get the point and energy booster ASAP.


ALTERNATE ITEMS: In teh beginning immediately get a ring of regen and sobi mask. Then save up about 1300 gold, finish the recipe and get a soul ring (forgot the 3rd item) and 2 null talismans. After that save up for point booster and the the other boosters for soul booster. You'll find that u have basically infinite mana for plenty of nukes. ;)

[AbuseTehWarden]

thx bread, good guide. Never thought about no BOF, I ended up not spending as much time in dragon form so I think you got a good point. Never got immo though its totally useless.

[Bread_Master]

One last thing about the pic I posted.

I did some math. If you take my average damage, I was leeching roughly 24 HP per hit. So when you combine that with the fact I could attack three times a second, thats 72 HP per second of life steel on average. And that doesn't include the extra life steal I get from the splash damage lvl 3 Dragon form does, which is about 75% I think, so, against a cluster of ghouls, it's over 100 HP a second o.O

Now when you factor in 54% damage reduction, and 20% evaision...

It boggles the mind =]

[chaWTF]

GOLEM STRATEGY GUIDE

Firstly, since I am only heavily practiced in the golem abuse for the UD, this strategy guide will be only for using the golems with UD. Furthermore, I have played about 100 times more games as the SH abusing golems, so I will post only for my build:

The 3-golem SH

First things first: get your teamates to buy you a sobi. If they give you extra, buy a potion too. Click "o" then "w" and head out to battle.

Drop a ward off the start to start the lane push. You can place it so that the spawns are just outside the ward visible-halo range, and it will still hit them. (ie. the range is larger than the "icon" shows it). Try and get behind the ward and attack their hero when he comes in. That will keep the spawns on you, while yours beat on them. Run away, they will retarget your spawns, rince and repeat. If you do this well enough, you can keep their hero outside the experience radius, and they will get ZERO exp from the first 4 spawns. (harder to do in an inhouse).

When the second spawn group comes, ward right away again. Do the same thing with thier hero. You always want to be at perpendiculars to the spawn clusters as to avoid wakes. You also want to be standing on their spawn side so as to attack their heroes when they come in, and to keep the hero as far from the spawns (outside the exp radius) as you can. This is called offensive pain-warding. In an inhouse, you clearly must be more defensive minded.

After the 2nd wave, the buildup of your spawns should be enough to quickly push the lane into their towers without killing any of your spawns. Then hopefully the towers will get all the kills, and the other heroes will still be stuck at level 1.

SIDENOTE - If they get WONS:

This can hurt, but not too much. If you are powerlevelling like a good SH, you can get your ward up to high levels fast. At that point, they need to WON 2x or WON and attack the ward. Attack them while they try and do this, and make them go back to town to heal. Get those WONS out of the picture. At the very least, you should maintain lane-parity, and they will be spending lots of gold to stop your PW.

Try and be cleaver with ward placement. Put the ward back in your spawns so that they have to run through your spawns to WON it. You will also be able to get 3-5 attacks on them doing this. All the while, your spawns are pushing the lane, and they will have to go back to town to heal, taking the WONS out of the picture.

If you have a necro by now, crippling at that point is ANOTHER thing that they need to deal with. Yes, that's a lot of micro, but practice makes perfect.

In the CNDM vs TOBX matchup, I pushed a lane solo past malf and blm, while blm bought 2x won asap. I was level 5 when they were level 1. The malf wasn't tangling the wards, but the blm was WoN'ing nicely. That shows that you can still push vs WoN abuse.

END - SIDENOTE


All this time, look for your captains and necros which are JUST ABOUT TO DIE. Try and kill them yourself for exp denial. It works wonders. Captains and necros give approximately 4x the experience of a ghoul. Killing your own dead orcs or necros when they are almost dead is HUGE.

I have been level 6 while they are level 1 before. (Pub of course). But this happens very often.

*So when is he going to start talking about golems?*
*shuddap, he's getting there!!*


At this point, politely ask a pirate, CL or DR hero to send one of their crabs/beetles/skeletons back up to town (merc shop) so that you can buy a necro. Get that necro to buy you another sobi, and have him come to battle.

Time to micro. Use your necro to cripple the opposing heroes while you drop wards on their asses. If you are a good SH, you are drastically outlevelling them, and this strategy will be LETHAL. Keep your undead brotha out of harms way. Even though he's already the walking dead, necros hate to die. Be nice to them.

*What's he on about with all this necro shizznit? I wanna hear about golems!!*
*Ya, they are all the rage aren't they?*
*I smell like farts*

If you can, keep the necro attacking the heavy armored spawn units while he's not crippling. He does INSANE damage to them (MUCH more than you do). This will help fuel the gold that you need for this strategy.

Once you hit about 800 gold, send Mr. Necro back to town and purchase your first golem. He should be ready by now. Send him to you, and send your necro up to the top expansion.

*Did he say golem?*
*Yes, I think he did*
*Yeaaaaaaah!!!!!!!*

By now you should be at least level 7. Possibly level 11 if you were pushing the lane by yourself. They should be anywhere from level 3 to 8 depending on how good they are. You should always be the highest level on the map. Why? You don't leave your lane EVER, and your painwards are ba-ro-kan. You can heal, you can PW, you can necro and golem abuse. No hero in the whole game can powerlevel like a 3-golem SH. None.

Now, it's quite obvious what to do now that you have a golem. Drop a ward and stun them. Rince, repeat. This can take some getting-used-to, as you have to learn the range of boulder, range of stun, speed of golems, etc. The timing is crucial. They will end up taking about 200-400 damage being stuck in painwards, getting pounded on by spawns, etc. Even if you don't kill them, this will keep them out of the lane at their town fountain, and keep them severely underleveled.

Use your golems to beat down on the spawnies. They do 60 some-odd chaos damage. They are slow, and fat, and melee, so be careful. Don't let them take damage at all. Ever. If they, do, heal them. This is bad because it uses up PW mana, but you MUST keep them alive.

By now you should have another 1000. Golems are money making machines. They like to eat spawnies and heroes. It's amazing how much more money you get by having golems. Infact, they easily pay for themselves. Easily.

So buy, your second golem, send relay to you (use waypoints), send your necro back south. Have him buy you boots and another sobi when he can. You won't need boots before this. They are 500 gold, and will slow down the time at while you can get your golems. You must get the golems AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. They are just as strong whenever you buy them, so clearly they are most effective early. The golem strategy isn't so much about killing heroes as it is about keeping the allied team SEVERELY underleveled.

At this point, you can either choose to go with your 3rd golem, or pool for tower drops. Typically when I play this, I am at level 16-18 by this point, and the allies are at level 7 to 12. Usually my UD allies are at around 12-14. By this point, you have easily made back your 2k from the golems. With pain ward, and a golem you can get every single spawn kill. You will certainly get all the backrow spawn kills if you attack them. The painward eats them up SOOOO fast.

When to stop levelling and HUNT:

Usually around level 11-13 or so I start hunting with my UD brothers. They are usually around 9 at this point. I will have 1-2 golems by now, and my god, they make all the difference in the world. That extra stun is usually enough to slow the running hero JUST enough so that he gets stunned 4 more times by your stun crew. With good co-ordination, NO HERO (not even leto) should escape.

Once you get 2-3 golems going, your knowledge of the timing of the boulder is essential. You must keep the hero in perma-stun, while sitting in a PW. Mash on him with the other golems while one of them stuns.

*Sounds easy, is it really that easy?*

The quick answer is no. Unfortunately, being a SH, you have other roles to your team. You must constantly be watching them for healing needs. Your golems like to autoaquire spawns and heroes, and the range of their auto-aquire is HUGE. Golems require a TON of micro, and is why you constantly see them dying in the hands of a poor player.

When you have a control group of golems and hit "b" for boulder, the others stop. This means that WHENEVER you "B"oulder someone, you must hit "b"-shift-attack/move. This is so that the other golems don't stop, and keep chasing. This is often the difference between a dead hero, and an escape. All this time, you are trying to surround the hero with the golems. The main killing comes from their attacks. 3x 60 chaos damage is nothing to sneeze at. The boulder has a very low damage, and very short stun.

All this time, you must have your SH healing your heroes, healing your golems, attacking their heros, dropping painwards. Then you must micro damaged golems out, the others in, bouldering, healing the golems, watching for ambushes (ALWAYS), and of course typing smack talk at the allies, all at the same time. If you are using your necro also, the micro goes through the roof.

After an hour and a half of playing the 3-golem SH, my brain needs a break from all the micro. I want to just settle down into a nice jean or BLM and braindead-ily spam wakes.

As for items, the 3-golem SH needs: Boots, sobis, Mot (if sashi), and wons. You won't need AMS as much, and don't have room for it. You need wons to get rid of sashi images and AMS activations. Your golems should be able to save you from focus nuking. If you are still having problems with being focus-nuked, buy an ams, but that means you can only have 2 sobis and a mot. That's not a lot of mana regen for a troll that must cast heal AND pw NON STOP after level 7 or so.

Get to know your "shift" and "alt" commands, or you won't be able to dominate the golem strategy like a pro.

Check out the "27 SH hero kill" replay in the yahoo breifcase for an example of the 3-golem SH:

http://ca.f2.pg.briefcase.yahoo.com

user name: TOB_Replay


Then it is in the CNDM replays.

The replay is a semi-decent 3-golem SH game. I've had better, but this one had 27 HK's as the SH, so it's fun to watch at the very least.

Now, I will cut and paste this from another thread that I made... it is what to fear as the SH with Golems:

#1 Scary thing that golems don't like: Sashi SoS.

With even 1 hero helping sashi, an SoS is VERY dangerous to a golem. Most people don't realise how fragile golems are. They are extremely fragile. They are very fat. They are very slow. The SOS is very scary, requiring the SH to WoN the images instantly, and cast heal, while running the golems are stunning sashi. Very scary.

#2 Scary thing that golems don't like: TGP

When I say TGP, I don't mean "random tgp". I mean "well-timed tgp". Golems are fat, and get stuck a lot, even when you try your best to keep them back. Time TGP so that the golems have the smallest chance of running out of it. Even if a SH heals instantly, the tgp will take all 3 golems down to 1/3 (ONE THIRD!!!) HP. After this, you barely have to try to kill them.

#3 Scary thing that golems don't like: BR + AMS

When battlerage is maxed, the BR with ams on him will tear golems apart. It's very sickening.

#4 Scary thing that golems don't like: Blood Elementals

This may actually be a LOT higher. Blood elementals are a PAIN to have to deal with. They basically make you focus your golems on killing the elementals ASAP. They can do a LOT of damage to golems.

#5 Scary thing that golems don't like: Nala

Funny huh? Well, it's true. Nala has a LOAD of hp, and hits HARD. When Nala is around, the golems have to kill her first. Doing this takes their attention off your heroes, and wastes their (and the Sh's) mana. Nala will most likely be able to take a golem down to 2/3 hp even with the SH healing it.

#6 Scary thing that golems don't like: Captains

I have 3 golems? That cost me 3000 gold. You go spend 3000 gold and buy 25 captains. I'll give you 1 guess at who wins the battle....

Wrong, it's the captains.

So, there are 6 ways you can stop golems. That's not including the obvious AMS, or tower drop.


Well, that was a lot of typing. I hope that helps anyone that was interested. Thanks to everyone that watched my replays and messaged me to post this strategy thread.

EDIT - Add the following

Well the cat is out of the bag. I've been toying with them forever now, but have only recently been seriously working diligently to perfect the strategy.

I feel I've basically broken them finally. The main key is getting them early when they are just as good, if not better than another hero at that point in the game. If you get them that early, they pay for themselves (VERY FAST). I have countless replays to show it if you want to analyse typical SH gold and exp vs a golem-abusing SH gold and exp. (that is what I've been doing for 8-10 months now)

UD being able to heal them, only having to fear from sashi, maybe leto, and MAYBE invisi-captains makes them uber. By the time you can kill my golem, it has already paid for itself, and has gone LONG lengths in experience killing the allies.

The SH is already adept at pushing lanes (possibly the best in the game) and a golem compounds this fact. When I push a middle lane, the lane does not exit the allies towers AT ALL. Any allied hero pushing a lane against me is commiting experience-suicide. Their towers kill 80% of the units, and they just get rediculusly outlevelled. The only (1) way to beat this is if an inquis can SOMEHOW stay equi-leveled with me to purify wards, or if a BLM can somehow powerlevel to 5 CW. Wons don't even hurt that bad. Once I get 2 golems (at exactly level 9), I don't even need to worry about that anymore, as you are stunned x2 while sitting in a PW, so you can't even kill them fast enough anymore. They have already killed your spawns and have hit you for 200-400 dmg.

I have pushed a lane solo vs 5 pubbies, and have pushed a lane solo vs 3 competant inhousers.

It's taken a lot of time and practice using them, but I am 100% confident that every single SH in the world should get golems whether inhouse or not (provided the same degree of competancy with them).

Does this make them mar.klar? Possibly.

I feel it is a strategy which is relatively new, and unpracticed at the moment. Sure, some may have used golems before, but the majority of SH's don't. And I would doubt it if anyone has put the raw effort into perfecting them as I have. When I say I have been diligently perfecting them for 10 months now, that is no exaggeration. Lately, I have played a LOT of 3-golem-SH. The power-level of golems with the SH is undeniable, and certainly borders on needing review for balancing in N.

I'm still not saying it's unbeatable. What I'm saying is that it's so strong that I would do it even in an inhouse, every single time, no question. They turn the SH into a cash-cow, powerlevellerx100, exp denial maniac, siege master, everything. I just couldn't imagine going back to playing a normal SH anymore.

In fact, I'm so certain of this (after LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS of playtesting and perfecting) that I would go so far as to say that anyone that doesn't think it would stand up in an inhouse simply hasn't played with a good 3-golem-SH.

Remember, by the time you kill my golem (if you somehow manage it), it has already made back the 1000 EASY.

All this talk comes from months of watching replay after replay, perfecting WHEN to buy them, HOW to do it. How much exp they help you gain (compared to no golems). How much gold they generate. How much they effect enemy levelling by keeping spawn waves inside their tower range. Every little tiny aspect. Maximizing everything.

Because of this, I know that the MAIN point about them (besides having decent enough micro to use them efficiently and keep them alive) is that they are available TOO SOON. When I get my first golem, he is one of the best heros on the map at the time. (with a SH bodyguard).

One last time for emphasis...

The reason I can confidently say that golems are a MUST for ANY SH is the fact that they pay for themselves SO fast, and impact the game in an immense way while they are in play. So even if you do kill them, it has almost certainly paid for itself by the time its dead.

(*** Golems are a beginning to mid game strategy. If you happen to have lost your golems by the time the allies are around level 11 or so, do not spend money on replacing them, because they are a greater risk then. They will not GUARANTEE money replacement at that point in the game. Spend your money on towers if you fucked up and lost your golems early***)

[Baba~]

Lidow, I've used the morphling quite a bit now, and I've found that, instead of the boots, getting a Ring first, then getting sobi and circlet for a soul ring help out a lot. the +50% mana regen does wonders, and you get wave much faster. plus, the +4 to all stats never hurt anyone, espescially the morphling.

i've developed a play style with the morphling that can be described as "mass stats," and i'm loving it. thanks for turning me on to this awesome hero^^

[Lidow]

Well if you don't get boots you have to invest a point into blink and I hate to do that so early =p

[Baba~]

I usually play as the stealth assassin, so I'm used to running away, and I'd like to think that I've perfected my timing, so hero speed really isn't an issue for me. I guess that it just depends on your play style, as it does with every other hero and item choice :)

[Sapphire]

Omg lidow u are so good with morphling



Anyways heres my Drow Ranger Stratagey guide.

Skill order-

Cold arrows/Trueshot/Cold/True/Cold/true/cold/true/silence/silence/silence/silence/Point boost/Point boost/Point boost/Point boost/Point boost/Point boost/Point boost/Point boost/Point boost/Point boost/Ultimate/Ultimate/Ultimate

I generally get a point in silence early on, after my second cold arrow, and get the last 2 points as my final ones. I don't think you need more than one point in it.

[Burner]

Bread ive been practicing ur strat with the DK and it owns so much lol. Once i get the hyperstone its automatic GG. Thanks for the guide! :D

[The Apprentice]

Yea it sure Rocks.....DK forever man :D
Although i like trying things myself and getting some wicked items, that strat was fun to use ^_^

[sCK]

strategy for any RANGED AGILITY hero:

buy boots of speed
2 mithril hammers + upgrader = stygian desolator
helm of iron will + upgrader = dominator
burize
you win, gg

[EvilKnevil]

Bread thanx for this strat, it owns so hard... and i use it for the Demon Hunter Hero too on the scourge side (a bit modified since he already has the ultimate form as his first skill), but this is a really nice strat, and has gotten me so many wins lately... thnkx

[Willy]

Hey Bread, can you PLEASE save a replay and post it? I'm dying to see your gosu skills :(

[LytBringer]

Strat guide for conjurer.... Spam Summons, own base.

[Sapphire]

Hey Bread, can you PLEASE save a replay and post it? I'm dying to see your gosu skills :(
O_o

[IC.Shadow]

O_o
Well said.

[bluedot]

I am not super gosu like Lidow, and believe me that he his, but I've made a guide for Queen of Pain since I see no one else has.

Comments
Before I get to spitting out skill orders and items I have a few comments. First of all, Queen of Pain is both great and absolutely shit depending on how you play her. This can be said of all heroes, but it's especially true here. The first thing every player should know about the Queen of Pain is that she isn't great to start off. This might give the impression that she is a "late game" hero, and she is pretty good in the late game as a matter of fact. But more than that, she's a high level hero. You first priority has to be getting to level 6. This is true for QoP even more so that the Dragon Knight in my opinion. The aid your QoP in levelling you can play her in a specific fashion and purchase items with that aim in mind, but I'll say more on those two points for later.

I should also note that QoP is one hero for whom Blink is very important. It might be a matter of personal preference, but Blink is the second skill I max out. The reason for this is that QoP doesn't deal loads of damage in the mid-game, or even the late game, and it can often be hard to deal enough damage to kill a hero at 50% once he has buffs on him. For this reason it is sometimes necessary to follow him with blinks, casting Shadow Strike and dealing regular damage as you go. More on this later as well.

Items
I go overboard on Soul Rings. My first item is almost always Ring of Regeneration, then I come back to purchase the remaining components of the Soul Ring (Soul Ring = Ring of Regeneration + Sobi Mask + Circlet of Nobility) as well as a Boots of Speed. Often times I wait until later to come back, and when I do I just keep building towards more Soul Rings. One might be tempted to ask why I choose Ring of Regen first rather than Sobi Mask. The reasoning is very simple, but it's important to underscore. You have to get the Queen up in levels as high as possible as quickly as you can, and if you're running away from battle constantly you simply can't succeed. Once I've got like four Soul Rings I like to make Power Treads, because that allows me to get off more shots between Blinks, which translates to more damage, and has the bonus of making me run faster anyway, so I don't have to Blink as often. Thus, Treads double as a mana saver and damage dealer.

In the very late game I usually go for the Soul Booster as well as damage dealing items like the Desolator. The Booster ensures that you can continue to cast your devastating spells while the Desolator makes your Blink stalking much more lethal.

Skills
Like I said before, I like to Blink. I also don't like to use the Fan of Knives skill since it becomes mostly useless in the late game. At level 4, Fan of Knives deals only 275 damage to a target. That's a drop in the bucket to most heroes. I know it's an AoE spell, but I'm still not impressed. My skills go like this:

SS, Blink, SS, Blink, SS, Ultimate, SS, Blink, Stats/Ultimate/FoK

Ultimates, of course, are selected with preference at levels 11 and 16.

There is an exception to this order, however. If I am in a lane against two casters or low HP heroes I will get FoK in place of my second SS (at level three) so that I can, if I see the opportunity, Blink somewhere, cast SS then FoK, and Blink out. That is usually very difficult early on because of mana constraints, and it only becomes feasible later on when you have more mana. However, at that time you will have your Ultimate and FoK will deal far less damage and simply drain your mana.

Gameplay
Since I like to get a hero level advantage over the person in my lane, I use SS to scare them early. Mind you, I don't intend to kill them, just scare them. If I can get it into my opponent's head that I have SS just waiting for him should he wander too close I can save myself from having to do it, as well as from the damage I would take if he actually did come at me aggressively. If my opponent gets within my range I will certainly attack him, which will cause him to retreat or take damage. Between your attack (600 range) and your SS, you should keep most heros pretty low in HP unless they are hanging way back--and this is what you want. Regardless of whether they're at the fountain or simple off of the screen, they're not levelling as fast as you and you'll be able to dole out more punishment than they can take if your experience gaining goes unchecked.

One good tactic to deny your opponent experience is what I like to call "creep bending," and I might have a tough time explaining how it works. Usually, the creeps come marching down the paths in a column. The first two creeps collide and the rest come to fight at that point as well. It's basically a big "ball" of creep fighting. If my opponent is ranged, he's able to sit back behind his creeps while I sit behind mine, and I can't target him too well because if he withdraws in the slightest he's out of my range. The problem with this situation is that he is also gaining experience while I am, which is not good for me.

To get him away I like to make the creeps fight in a sort of vertical line. To do this I allow the opponent's creeps to chase me when they're coming down the lane. If I'm on the right hand side the creeps tend to walk on the left side of the path, so I make them come to the right side by chasing me. I lead them down the path on the "wrong side" and then, when my creeps are approaching them I make a sharp turn into my creeps. They forces should come together something like the teeth on a zipper, if you can visualize that. You might be asking why the hell I go to all that trouble. Here's why:

I've been doing my best to keep my opponent away with SS and ranged attack. Well, he's of course not keen on leaving the battle but he doesn't want to get hit so he does the smart thing. He goes to stand by his caster so he's far enough away that I can't reach him easily. That means that when his creeps die he will do what we all do: fall back toward our base until more of our creeps come to hide behind. But I can go out in front because if he turns around I can SS him and I put myself at minimal risk because of Blink.

When the line forms I quickly run to the back of it, toward him, to ward him off with my ranged attack. If he's hiding behind the last creep, where he would if they were clumped, and the creeps are aligned vertically rather than horizontally, he's getting only half of the XP since about two of the creeps are always out of range! It might seem like a lot of work for a little gain but it really isn't once. If he decides to come in, SS him.

Now, as the game progresses you should be getting stronger. By level 6 you should get a hero kill by Blinking and using your ultimate--few people are prepared for it the first time. You can then Blink chase your opponent if you don't kill him with the Ultimate + SS. Just remember, when Blink stalking someone with SS, make sure to give SS some time to work because a lot of its damage is done in ticks rather than right away. You'll often get hero kills after a hero has left your sight.

Once you hit level 11 you should become an assassin, travelling on the river and punishing any heroes reckless enough to remain low in HP. Your ultimate is very strong now and between it, SS, and some Blink stalking you can do a lot of damage. Just remember that you should work with your teammates because it's very unlikely that a QoP can solo a full health hero, much less a couple. Stuns become very dangerous late in the game because they give heroes that you would own a chance to hit you, and for their friends to join in the fun. When you find yourself in these situations, Blink fleeing is just as important as Blink stalking, so get the eff out as quickly as you can.

Another thing to remember is that SS can slow your opponents. This becomes a marvelous tool for saving your teammates when they themselves are being chased.

At the very late stages of the game the best thing to do is to stick together as a team anyway, which is good. The QoP isn't all that great on her own because she is mostly a "sneaky" hero. She is good to use in tandem with a partner or to finish fleeing heroes. Trying to go destroy several heroes isn't going to work so don't try.

A word about Blinking to flee your opponents: there is a good chance that at least one of your opponents will have Blink and if you are constantly using Blink to get out of tight spots you might soon find that your Get Out of Jail Free card no longer works when your opponent gets wise. For this reason you have to change your direction with Blink. For instance, if you are running North toward the Scourge base, try blinking to the East, which will get you closer to the Fountain that you seek but won't keep you going in the same line. Blink on to ledges, over tree lines, or even backwards. Backwards is particularly fun since you can almost always throw your opponent off with it, but be careful of any heroes in pursuit.

Hopefully this gave you guys a couple of good ideas. Let me know what you think!

[RollingWave]

Strategy guide for da BUTCHER!!!!

Seriously, he is a hero that wins you games, he won't get that many hero kills (only really possible in late game after you get mass flies going IMHO)

Ok, skil choice: stich/auto corpse (forgot the name)/stich/corp/stich/ulti, after that keep getting these skills and then get the stats, don't bother with beetles that skill blows IMHO.

Item: for practical reason try to get a soul ring and/or a boots first when you can, after that go for the soul booster (point booster+energy booster+vital boosters) and then if you want get a mystical staff for the ulti upgrade ( I don't like it unless they have mass aoe going... cause after upgrade u get more dmg but less evasion and not sure if it's intentional but autocast isn't on by default for the bugs)

Early on, don't really even bother engaging espially when they have other heros around, just hold position behind the line and use stich when u can and keep pushing. early on this way nothing can really stop you from pushing through the towers as long as you have enough mana and they don't decend on you with several hero killer at once.

Your goal is to kill the towers... that's what ur for, don't try to get all fancy and hero kill (though do micro ur summons for hero kill if there is a clear opportunity.) once you open up a lane considerablly (usually ur lvl 4-6 now) start switching lane a lot... in fact this is VERY crucial for a good butch as any team who has a brain will REALLY start hunting you once everyone is up a bit in lvls. as the game drag on you should really try to stay as far away from battles as possible... (i'm pretty sure you get exp of ur summon's kills even if ur not in proximity)

Once you get ur ulti and higher lvl of corpse making... here's the trick... find a place (preferabbly a bit away from the main action and have quiet a bit of corpse on teh ground) turn on auto flies and start dropping corpses... wait a bit until you get at least 1 control group of flies (would be fast as they reproduce themself anyway... however if u get the scepter that upgrade ur ulti u need to turn them on urself) start sendign them into battle... try to avoid hero with big AOEs like dragon knights or morphlings, and keep telling all the new flies to attack move into their base's direction... if they don't burn ur flies up fast with some AOE... once it gets going it can own entire bases and everything in it (once had a fight where I got 7 hero kill with only flies and summon.. IN THERE BASE)... once ur getting into major fights though turn off the auto bugs again... try not to hang around near the battle field too much unless u have some nice items (like boots of travel or dagger of escape)

lvl 3 flies is pure madness if you get enough of them......

remember the key... a good butch NEVER fights the battles himself... and he NEVER let any enemy hero get close to him and he ALWAYS try to open up all the lanes and kill their base.

Butcher is by far the most pure support/base demolishing hero in allstar.

[Sapphire]

Very nice, bluedot. Just a few things to add for Queen of Pain:

Remember to use her ultimate as a finishing spell, don't initiate you attack with it, since it's great for punishing fleeing enemies and you get twice the pleasure from it.

Also FOK is extremely good. It makes money like crazy and is very helpful as a defensive spell when surrounded. I thought it was funny you said it only does 275 damage - that's awesome for aoe and at 150 mana, which should be plentiful for you in the later game. Before choosing your spells, note what heroes your enemies are getting. If they have summoning heroes, it is a very good investment to level FOK up earlier.

[iceemaker]

I've been brainstorming for Morphling. Wouldn't it be better to buy 5 Gauntlets of STR at the start (a la N'aix), get stat morph first, and dump as much points into Agility as feels fit (as in, you still have more than 300 HP :P )? Then you get stat bonus about every other level and continue adding points into Agility. You should probably save up for Eye of Skadi (2 Ultimate Orbs + Upgrader).

[Demongod86]

Demongod86's guide to Rylai, Crystal Maiden, or Ryrai, Kurystaru Maiden (if you want anime talk)

Point distribution:
Level 1: Frostbite
Level 2: Aura
Level 3: Frostbite
Level 4: Aura
Level 5: Frostbite
Level 6: Freezing field
Level 7: Frostbite
Level 8: Aura
Level 9: Aura
Level 10: Frost Nova
Level 11: Freezing Field
Level 12: Frost Nova
Level 13: Frost Nova
Level 14: Frost Nova
Level 15: Stats
Level 16: Freezing field
Level 17+: Stats

Okay, so if anyone has caught on yet, the point is really simple. Rylai is a ranged hero, so just sit in the back lines and rack up experience. Once you hit level 6, you guessed it, find the nearest hiding spot and as soon as you see a hero close to you, frostbite them, walk up behind them, and unleash your ultimate. Dead hero. Instantly. Rinse, repeat. Stick behind the melee, gaining experience, avoiding heroes when you don't have your ultimate, and annihilating them when you do. Simple and effective. Abusive? Define abusive. You're using her the way she's meant to be used.

ANother thing: Frostbite the necromancers, or the dotts if you somehow managed to draw her in allrandom. They make for easy gold.

The first thing you're going to buy is an energy booster for 1000 gold. Skip out on the boots of speed and/or soul rings. Your ultimate goal is a fast staff of aghenim, essentially giving you a level 4 ultimate at level 16. So get a mana booster with your first 1000 gold, since that much mana that early is great. Next, a point booster for 1100 gold for the mana, and the life boost is always nice. Finally, get the vitality booster to complete the soul booster to get its good bonuses of a 60% mana and health regeneration. After that, your next 2900 gold go to a mystic staff to complete the scepter of aghenim. Items after that are up to you, really. Between frostbite and frost nova, you can outrun any hero that simply tries to chase you down. There is no need for boots. If they can consistently catch you in the event of a chaos warchief with blink/stun, slardar with his uberstun, and the like, boots won't really help you. Get them if you want because by that point the 500 gold is peanuts. Instead, you may find that investing in full plate mail armors (2+) will make you highly resistant to physical damage, which gets pretty high as levels climb. Rylai does not need attack boosting items such as the buriza, eye of skadi, or the like because her attack isn't all that great and while frostbite can keep your enemies still, the cooldown for your ultimate is relatively quick and anybody that gets caught in a frostbite when your ultimate goes off is guaranteed dead. By the time you hit your level 3 ultimate with a scepter of aghenim, you can take down anybody that comes close to you. Those that are heavily reliant on summons, such as conjurer (archmage), soul keeper (illidan), and pudge (abomination) will not only provide you with hero kills when you're through with them but loads of gold and experience when you annihilate their summons in likewise fashion.

Some heroes that you should not seek to take on so early are stun heroes such as slardar, king leoric, or the warchief (red orc on a horse). If they stun you while you are performing your ultimate, they can either kill you if their atack is high enough (because your health is low) or can run away and you blew your ultimate. Some good heroes to accompany Rylai are the Omniknight for his instant healing and the ability to turn Rylai invincible, allowing her to pull off her ultimate even on stun heroes, or Furion, for his immobilization skill.

Either way, have fun eliminating people with Rylai. She is one of the funnest heroes in the game, and one of the most infuriating to face.

[Demongod86]

One other thing to add about Rylai:

The explosions in her ultimate are set off by units called triggercasters, which in this case, are none other than wisps. If you are quick enough with your clicking, while her ultimate is being executed, drag click in the field and quickly right click a wisp to move. If done fast enough, you should have moved a triggercaster out of her ultimate, which is now a wisp. And as you know, wisps build things, in this case, ancient protectors, your team's tower, for 300 gold. So if you're quick enough, you can start building mass towers =]! As long as you have the gold, of course...

Yes, this is VERY abusive but the fact that the tower cost was changed from 130 gold and 80 wood, which would make it unaffordable in this case, to 300 gold has me thinking that this little trick was an intended abuse.

Also, another note: If you use Rylai, Conjurer, Pudge, or Clinkz/Fletch/that archer skeleton/whatever you like to call him when playing with the WCR staff, the game will be more about whining and bitching about abuse than anything else. The WCR staff has this little rule of no rylai/conj/pudge/clinkz in nonrandom games to "make them fun". I find this a load of BS but I felt that I had to get the disclaimer in before someone like Miss Cindy, Bluedot, or someone else comes after my head for making a guide on one of the, if not THE most "abusive" and "overpowered" hero in the game.

[sCK]

Demongod, no one's FORCING you to join our games. If you don't like how we play, go away.

And why don't you go Frost Nova first? It's much more powerful, no need to sneak around to get hero kills.

[Demongod86]

sCK, if you wanna make rules, go ahead...though I don't think it's fair that people shouldn't be allowed to use certian heroes because you don't want to deal with them, that's all. And why I don't go frost nova first: because they can run when you frost nova them, and even if it IS slowly, you want them to stand still so you can blast them. It's just a matter of tastes, really.

But other than that, my opinion is just that...my opinion. You don't have to be defensive about it. I am, after all, entitled to it...aren't I? =/

[bluedot]

I don't complain about imba heroes. I just kinda... die to them.

[sCK]

Of course you're entitled to them.

But when you join a game hosted by someone else, that someone else has the power to make the rules. If you think it's unfair, play with other people, it's just the way we play.

Usually we go -allrandom anyways, so the point is moot.

[Burner]

a point about rylai's nova: It does at level 4 250 dmg + 150 nova. The abusive thing about her nova is the nova dmg should only hit the unit around the target, but it hits the target as well. So shes not doing 250 to the target, she is doing 400 to the target and 150 to surrounding units. Crazy. x_O

[Phreak]

Yes, much like normal Frost Nova. Actually there's no reason to level up Frostbite past 1, the stun lasts the same amount at every level, and I believe the mana cost only counts up. So no usefulness there.

[iceemaker]

Well, unless if Guinsoo messed up Frostbite, it SHOULD deal more damage/sec every level.

[Demongod86]

Phreak, frostbite's stun is what levels up every level. It's 2/3/4/5 seconds, isn't it? If not, then I'm the biggest tart in the world of dota...and you were awesome with Luna yesterday...that and I sucked with Mortred =/ First time using her.

[rrrrreichstag]

It's 2 at level 1, 3 at level 2-4.

Rylai / Conj / Pudge are all -repicked in Clan TDA games as well, even when you -allrandom them.

Rylai is currently the lamest character, theres no need for a guide at all. You just use your ultimate and everything dies. My level 3 freezing field did 7k damage to Roshan, noone stands a chance at all.

Conjuror and Pudge are known as 'base killers' and they really rip through lanes really fast with their summons, especially the Phoenix and the Flies, and noone can really do anything short of getting Radiance against Pudge, which costs 5600.

Other cheap things include: Using level 3 Dragon Knight to kill Crypts over the trees, using the Necrolytes Gargoyles to kill Crypts over trees, and Prophet in general, as he is a excellent pusher, and his level 3 ultimate + staff = you sit at your fountain and farm $.

Killing a Crypt usually wins your team the game, the boost to the Treants / Ghouls is just simply so much that that lane gets overpowered really quickly.

[Demongod86]

If I'd draw Rylai in allrandom, I'd say f*ck it and keep her! I drew her fair and square!

[Dahkar]

Repick kind of screws the person though... they lose 500 gold.

[Abuse.Craft]

++ AbuseCraft's Cheese Guide ++
I agree with Lidow that the Wavebreaker is good starting with Wave / Stats / Wave / etc. But, the items I disagree with STRONGLY. My items: Soul Ring x5 + treads. Hehe, this is the best hero to get rings on in the aspect that they increase all stats, and then the breaker can turn the added strength into agility. Its very helpful.

Wave
Stats
Wave
Stats
Wave
Morph
Blink
Wave
Stats (max out stats)
Blink
Blink
Level 6
Morph
Morph

[Abuse.Craft]

Background: Leshrac was my best hero in the days of DOTA AE4 and now I wish to explain a useful way of using him to you. Leshrac is a farmer, and a hero killer if your opponent makes any mistake at all. Most people typically use earth split + lightning storm, which is how it was done during AE4, but the radius on earth split is now too small... lightning + edict is better, edict for farming and lightning for killing fleeing heroes, or for farming also if you have spare gold.

Split Earth: Deals 80/160/240/320 damage and stuns for .75/2/2.5/3 seconds.


Diabolic Edict: Causes explosions. More points equal larger and more frequent explosions.[/b]


Lightning Storm: 80/145/205/265 damage and jumps 2/3/4/5 times.


Pulse Nova (U): Every 2 seconds, deals 200/300/400 damage. 70 mana per second used.



Skill Distribution:
Diabolic Edict
Lightning Storm
Diabolic Edict
Lightning Storm
Diabolic Edict
Lightning Storm
Diabolic Edict
Lightning Storm
Split Earth
Split Earth
Split Earth
Split Earth
Pulse Nova
Pulse Nova
Pulse Nova
+2 All Stats
+2 All Stats
+2 All Stats
+2 All Stats
+2 All Stats
+2 All Stats
+2 All Stats
+2 All Stats
+2 All Stats
+2 All Stats
Now, you may wonder why I wait so long on getting Pulse Nova, but in my opinion the nova requires too much mana for too little useage, or effectiveness. So, rather than getting that skill, I get Split Earth, because the three of Lesh's base skills are much better than two of them and nova.

Items: There are two item paths you could use with this hero, the first being a little unorthodox in that you start with a belt of strength, on Leshrac, and intelligence hero. Two belts is roughly the same cost as a vitality booster, but the booster does not add the increased regeneration. This build is based more on the earlier game and helping out your allies later on.
Belt of Strength +6
Belt of Strength +6
Boots of Speed
Void Stone
Void Stone
Gloves of Haste
Boots of Elvenskin -- Power Treads formed
Most Expensive Armor -- Sell when you can form an Heart of Tarrasque (Messerschmidt Reaver + Vitality Booster + Upgrader)

The second list of items is more about the mid- and late-game and of being a bit selfish with your gold. The reason behind getting armor is that Leshrac has very little, along with very little health. The Hearts' add health and a small amount of regeneration which will allow you to run in to your opponents base on a full siege, and kill your opponents units while your allies focus on the buildings. You have a high damage output also, so when the units are all dead, and the same can be said for the heroes, you can help your allies by killing off the buildings.


Boots of Speed
Vitality Booster
Void Stone
Magus Cloak
Gloves of Haste
Boots of Elvenskin -- Power Treads formed
Most Expensive Armor
Ring of Health -- Perseverence formed
Heart of Tarrasque ( +upgrader ($1500))


Gameplay:
Be patient when using this hero, as he is very fragile. Many people mistake him for a hero killer, which he is not. He is a farmer that defends his own base, or his allies on a siege. He clears the way of creeps so that his allies can attack with full health. He can, however, be deadly, and if your opponent errs, you will get a kill when played correctly. Do not chase after a hero, if there are creeps to be killed, as I said you are a farmer, not a head hunter, so do your job and let your allies' do their's. As I said, be patient, typically a trip to the fountain is more painful than a kill, especially early on.

Comments:
Nothing that I can think of at this moment in time.

[bluedot]

++ AbuseCraft's Cheese Guide ++
I agree with Lidow that the Wavebreaker is good starting with Wave / Stats / Wave / etc. But, the items I disagree with STRONGLY. My items: Soul Ring x5 + treads. Hehe, this is the best hero to get rings on in the aspect that they increase all stats, and then the breaker can turn the added strength into agility. Its very helpful.

One Soul Ring gives +4 to all stats, so 5 of them give +20. The cost of a Soul Ring is (325 + 310 + 290 = 925), so the cost of 5 Soul Rings is 4625. For only 575 more gold (a 12% increase) you get the same stat boost, and you can build toward the Eye of Skadi. With five Soul Rings, when you're done, you're done, and that's it.

[CRaZeD-MiND]

Abuse.Craft, the TS is an excellent hero killer, if you've ever seen Doc play him you'd know... >_< If you can aim his Split Earth and stun then just lightning bolt the hero he's going to be in red or dead, throw in a Dagon for an extra 450 damage nuke or like Doc did to us yesterday, an Aghenim Scepter so that Pulse Nova did 400 damage per second, can you say GG hero?

[Evaporater]

http://www.rtsgames.com/forum/index.php?showforum=77

[Abuse.Craft]

Lol bluedot, your right but the thing is I've seen Phreak use this, and its awesome. I tried it out and its highly abusive but it takes some skill too. You get WAAAY to much gold and you can get the skadi quickly if you desire -- I just gave gold to my allies though.

And Crazed, I said the TS is a good hero killer but thats not what he is, he can kill heroes but hes too weak to chase. If your opponent gets orangeish health, you can kill him but thats the part about your opponent making a mistake. He kills creeps, that is undoubtedly what he is best at, so why try to make him to be something he isn't quite as good at? Sure with the right items he is a great hero killer, but with the right items he is an even better creep killer... let your friendly phantom assasin get the hero kills. Its a team game, you do your part let your allies' do their's. But yeah the TS is a good hero killer bu he doesnt have enough health to chase, and I am of the opinion he is a better creep killer, and using him correctly, it is much more lucrative. You can buy items for your allies or just power yourself up. Try it out, you'll see.

Oh, and Im sure sCK will vouch for me, I have a mean TS. I killed like 20 people in a WCR private game, and sCK using Luna, was the only person able to kill me, and that was twice when I was low on HP. The TS can kill but if your opponent is forced to run, its the same thing, especially as TS. You rely more on the gold from creeps and not from heroes. Your opponent runs becus you just tri-nuked him (split, edict, storm) and you keep pushing that lane until your up against his base. Then you fall back, buy your next item (surely after a push you will have the gold) and rinse and repeat. Hero kills are over-rated, especially for farming heroes. Afterall, you get typically 150 gold for killing a hero, whereas you can get around 160 per spawn of creeps, and the creeps come back faster, with less risk.


...

As Evaportator has pointed out I added alot of the strats on this page to the RTS forums. I hope noone minds, and I believe I gave credit where credit is due? You can check it out, and see the comments on your own guide, and keep in mind some of them aren't quite so friendly.

[HELLOrc]

Im not sure if im talking about the same version but uh ill make a guide to stealth assassin ok.

[HELLOrc]

1. choose stealth assassin go to middle row and get critical strike.
2.Lvl up and get abailitys
3.Get 5 hyperstones (if long game)
4.Get relic
5. if lasts longer.slowly get more relics till u have +360 attack

[Evaporater]

Why do u need 5 hyperstones? I don't think Stealth Assassin needs that much mana.

[Abuse.Craft]

Hyperstone isnt a mana item man, its an attack speed one. But considering how expensive a hyper is I doubt that would work.

[Burner]

yea all u need is 1 hyperstone and it will do the trick. ;) 5 hyperstones = +250% speed lol, it would b pretty fun to see. :D

btw half the ppl at rts forums are stupid. They attacking the guides without trying them. x_x

They bashing breads choice for no BoF even though it makes perfect sense not to get it and my guide for no shackles even though they are not needed with high level hex and forked. :/

[Demongod86]

Burner, no offense, but if you can afford the mana, there is no reason not to get the skills. As for 5 H.stones, it's 300%. 60 x 5=300. Do yer math =P

[Abuse.Craft]

Lol demon your guide is perhaps the MOST bashed... so you might need to check that out.

http://www.rtsgames.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=5971

[Evaporater]

oo i must have been thinking of the Void Stone.

[Demongod86]

Abuse, because everyone hates Rylai cuz she pwns. Moral of the story: basically no matter what you do with her, the play style is exactly the same. Get close to them and annihilate them. And do it in any way that pleases you and/or you feel comfortable with.

[Abuse.Craft]

Yeah man thats true but you can easily stop her attacks, 2 belts of str early on and then a magus cloak later. After that your probably gonna need another str boosting item but if ur an str hero thats no problem. Otherwise a vit booster wouldnt go useless.

[sCK]

Oh, and Im sure sCK will vouch for me, I have a mean TS. I killed like 20 people in a WCR private game, and sCK using Luna, was the only person able to kill me, and that was twice when I was low on HP. The TS can kill but if your opponent is forced to run, its the same thing, especially as TS. You rely more on the gold from creeps and not from heroes. Your opponent runs becus you just tri-nuked him (split, edict, storm) and you keep pushing that lane until your up against his base. Then you fall back, buy your next item (surely after a push you will have the gold) and rinse and repeat. Hero kills are over-rated, especially for farming heroes. Afterall, you get typically 150 gold for killing a hero, whereas you can get around 160 per spawn of creeps, and the creeps come back faster, with less risk.


Err a lot of things went your way man ~_~ easy lane, easy gold farming, etc.

The key to Leshrac, IMHO, is hero killer/early money farm. Go for Split Earth/Edict first. With those, you can farm a REALLY early Vitality Booster ---> Soul Booster. That basically means you can go 1 on 1 with any hero early on, because you get that HP/Mana boost so much earlier than anyone else.

And his dmg is decent too, which helps.

[PITagoRAS]

I am not super gosu like Lidow, and believe me that he his, but I've made a guide for Queen of Pain since I see no one else has.

Comments
Before I get to spitting out skill orders and items I have a few comments. First of all, Queen of Pain is both great and absolutely shit depending on how you play her. This can be said of all heroes, but it's especially true here. The first thing every player should know about the Queen of Pain is that she isn't great to start off. This might give the impression that she is a "late game" hero, and she is pretty good in the late game as a matter of fact. But more than that, she's a high level hero. You first priority has to be getting to level 6. This is true for QoP even more so that the Dragon Knight in my opinion. The aid your QoP in levelling you can play her in a specific fashion and purchase items with that aim in mind, but I'll say more on those two points for later.

I should also note that QoP is one hero for whom Blink is very important. It might be a matter of personal preference, but Blink is the second skill I max out. The reason for this is that QoP doesn't deal loads of damage in the mid-game, or even the late game, and it can often be hard to deal enough damage to kill a hero at 50% once he has buffs on him. For this reason it is sometimes necessary to follow him with blinks, casting Shadow Strike and dealing regular damage as you go. More on this later as well.

Items
I go overboard on Soul Rings. My first item is almost always Ring of Regeneration, then I come back to purchase the remaining components of the Soul Ring (Soul Ring = Ring of Regeneration + Sobi Mask + Circlet of Nobility) as well as a Boots of Speed. Often times I wait until later to come back, and when I do I just keep building towards more Soul Rings. One might be tempted to ask why I choose Ring of Regen first rather than Sobi Mask. The reasoning is very simple, but it's important to underscore. You have to get the Queen up in levels as high as possible as quickly as you can, and if you're running away from battle constantly you simply can't succeed. Once I've got like four Soul Rings I like to make Power Treads, because that allows me to get off more shots between Blinks, which translates to more damage, and has the bonus of making me run faster anyway, so I don't have to Blink as often. Thus, Treads double as a mana saver and damage dealer.

In the very late game I usually go for the Soul Booster as well as damage dealing items like the Desolator. The Booster ensures that you can continue to cast your devastating spells while the Desolator makes your Blink stalking much more lethal.

Skills
Like I said before, I like to Blink. I also don't like to use the Fan of Knives skill since it becomes mostly useless in the late game. At level 4, Fan of Knives deals only 275 damage to a target. That's a drop in the bucket to most heroes. I know it's an AoE spell, but I'm still not impressed. My skills go like this:

SS, Blink, SS, Blink, SS, Ultimate, SS, Blink, Stats/Ultimate/FoK

Ultimates, of course, are selected with preference at levels 11 and 16.

There is an exception to this order, however. If I am in a lane against two casters or low HP heroes I will get FoK in place of my second SS (at level three) so that I can, if I see the opportunity, Blink somewhere, cast SS then FoK, and Blink out. That is usually very difficult early on because of mana constraints, and it only becomes feasible later on when you have more mana. However, at that time you will have your Ultimate and FoK will deal far less damage and simply drain your mana.

Gameplay
Since I like to get a hero level advantage over the person in my lane, I use SS to scare them early. Mind you, I don't intend to kill them, just scare them. If I can get it into my opponent's head that I have SS just waiting for him should he wander too close I can save myself from having to do it, as well as from the damage I would take if he actually did come at me aggressively. If my opponent gets within my range I will certainly attack him, which will cause him to retreat or take damage. Between your attack (600 range) and your SS, you should keep most heros pretty low in HP unless they are hanging way back--and this is what you want. Regardless of whether they're at the fountain or simple off of the screen, they're not levelling as fast as you and you'll be able to dole out more punishment than they can take if your experience gaining goes unchecked.

One good tactic to deny your opponent experience is what I like to call "creep bending," and I might have a tough time explaining how it works. Usually, the creeps come marching down the paths in a column. The first two creeps collide and the rest come to fight at that point as well. It's basically a big "ball" of creep fighting. If my opponent is ranged, he's able to sit back behind his creeps while I sit behind mine, and I can't target him too well because if he withdraws in the slightest he's out of my range. The problem with this situation is that he is also gaining experience while I am, which is not good for me.

To get him away I like to make the creeps fight in a sort of vertical line. To do this I allow the opponent's creeps to chase me when they're coming down the lane. If I'm on the right hand side the creeps tend to walk on the left side of the path, so I make them come to the right side by chasing me. I lead them down the path on the "wrong side" and then, when my creeps are approaching them I make a sharp turn into my creeps. They forces should come together something like the teeth on a zipper, if you can visualize that. You might be asking why the hell I go to all that trouble. Here's why:

I've been doing my best to keep my opponent away with SS and ranged attack. Well, he's of course not keen on leaving the battle but he doesn't want to get hit so he does the smart thing. He goes to stand by his caster so he's far enough away that I can't reach him easily. That means that when his creeps die he will do what we all do: fall back toward our base until more of our creeps come to hide behind. But I can go out in front because if he turns around I can SS him and I put myself at minimal risk because of Blink.

When the line forms I quickly run to the back of it, toward him, to ward him off with my ranged attack. If he's hiding behind the last creep, where he would if they were clumped, and the creeps are aligned vertically rather than horizontally, he's getting only half of the XP since about two of the creeps are always out of range! It might seem like a lot of work for a little gain but it really isn't once. If he decides to come in, SS him.

Now, as the game progresses you should be getting stronger. By level 6 you should get a hero kill by Blinking and using your ultimate--few people are prepared for it the first time. You can then Blink chase your opponent if you don't kill him with the Ultimate + SS. Just remember, when Blink stalking someone with SS, make sure to give SS some time to work because a lot of its damage is done in ticks rather than right away. You'll often get hero kills after a hero has left your sight.

Once you hit level 11 you should become an assassin, travelling on the river and punishing any heroes reckless enough to remain low in HP. Your ultimate is very strong now and between it, SS, and some Blink stalking you can do a lot of damage. Just remember that you should work with your teammates because it's very unlikely that a QoP can solo a full health hero, much less a couple. Stuns become very dangerous late in the game because they give heroes that you would own a chance to hit you, and for their friends to join in the fun. When you find yourself in these situations, Blink fleeing is just as important as Blink stalking, so get the eff out as quickly as you can.

Another thing to remember is that SS can slow your opponents. This becomes a marvelous tool for saving your teammates when they themselves are being chased.

At the very late stages of the game the best thing to do is to stick together as a team anyway, which is good. The QoP isn't all that great on her own because she is mostly a "sneaky" hero. She is good to use in tandem with a partner or to finish fleeing heroes. Trying to go destroy several heroes isn't going to work so don't try.

A word about Blinking to flee your opponents: there is a good chance that at least one of your opponents will have Blink and if you are constantly using Blink to get out of tight spots you might soon find that your Get Out of Jail Free card no longer works when your opponent gets wise. For this reason you have to change your direction with Blink. For instance, if you are running North toward the Scourge base, try blinking to the East, which will get you closer to the Fountain that you seek but won't keep you going in the same line. Blink on to ledges, over tree lines, or even backwards. Backwards is particularly fun since you can almost always throw your opponent off with it, but be careful of any heroes in pursuit.

Hopefully this gave you guys a couple of good ideas. Let me know what you think!

rofl, i use qop in the exatcly way/ideias as u, only that creep trick i dont make it and some item choices i use in a differen way.

[Abuse.Craft]

Err a lot of things went your way man ~_~ easy lane, easy gold farming, etc.

The key to Leshrac, IMHO, is hero killer/early money farm. Go for Split Earth/Edict first. With those, you can farm a REALLY early Vitality Booster ---> Soul Booster. That basically means you can go 1 on 1 with any hero early on, because you get that HP/Mana boost so much earlier than anyone else.

And his dmg is decent too, which helps.

Lol man. Top isnt an easy lane as sentinel, what with the creeping with the tower and all, and Pieces wasnt too bad. Cant remember the other guy, but he was ish-ish noob. Not too bad, about average around here. Of course I had easy farming, Im the TS for god's sakes lol. As for the hero kills your right that was mainly in due to my opponents being noobs. Like I said before, with TS if your opponent makes a mistake you can kill him. Vs average or noob players this means quite a few kills. But it was the farming I specialised in, and it was farming items that I got -- even so I got some hero kills but saying he IS a hero killer is not smart, since it relies heavily on your opponent making a mistake, more so than other heroes atleast. With, say, Viper, you can sneak up behind your enemy and take the from full to none in just a few secs. You can do that with TS too but its not quite as definite. If your opponents jerks to the side and then runs he will dodge a earthsplit, outrun edict for the most part and get hit by storm and a few of your attacks, maybe even nova if ur up that high, but no matter, he will get away. Viper can slow, and do damage over time. There is a very SMALL chance of getting away there. See the difference? Every hero can kill, but only a few actually master at it alone, and thus those are the hero killers (Zeus, Viper, Venomancer, Phantom Assasin, etc). TS does not fit in that list.

[nogatsira]

can i plz have a link to dota allstars? cause it sounds like loads of fun to me

[Sapphire]

can i plz have a link to dota allstars? cause it sounds like loads of fun to me
http://www.rtsgames.com/downloads/download.php?file=105

[Burner]

Burner, no offense, but if you can afford the mana, there is no reason not to get the skills. As for 5 H.stones, it's 300%. 60 x 5=300. Do yer math =P


The problem with the shackles when ur going solo is that once u shackle u have to hope the wards can finish him, because while shackling u cant attack or cast. With my strat u can kill the opponent easy without the use of shackles.

Forked + attack - voodooo (6 sec hex) + wards- forked + attack and repeat if needed.

Now, this does cost more mana then if u had shackles, but it also guarantees u the hero kill. Dont forget that u will have PLENTY of mana to cast anyway, so by the time u have lvl 4 voodoo and forked + wards u will not even have to worry about mana anymore.

but of course u could choose the shackles over the point boosts if u want. ;)

Oh btw, hyperstones give +50% to attack so its 250% GG. :p:

[nogatsira]

http://www.rtsgames.com/downloads/download.php?file=105
Thanks and sorry for me beeing lazy cause I found out a few minutes later in was sticky

[bluedot]

These are my thoughts on using the Death Prophet

Items:
Insert regular comments on Soul Ring here. Items go like this: Ring of Regeneration, Sobi Mask, then Circlet of Nobility. Get those 3 first, in that order. Fourth item is Boots of Speed. The logic is simple: you can gain XP without mana but not without life.

Late game items include the Heart of Tarasque, Eye of Skadi, and Soul Booster. Take your pick; each one suits a somewhat different purpose and Soul Booster is just all-around good, so think about incorportating it into your item build early rather than late, when you've already bought more Soul Rings than you want.

Skills:
This is a place where I use judgement during the game. If I'm facing a caster or other low HP hero in my lane I alternate between Carrion Swarm and my passive until level 7. That means I have level 4 Carrion and level 3 passive so I can nuke often and for a lot of damage. This is more powerful, IMO, that getting a single point in the ultimate. Of course, if I am really owning my opponent or I am very close to his tower I will get my ultimate at level 6 and get the towers down.

I often wait until level 9 to get my ultimate, maxing out Carrion Swarm and the passive. 325 damage every 5 or so seconds at a cost of only 150 mana is really devastating early on. Later in the game 325 damage is good but not really enough to take down a Panda or Centaur or whatever tank you might encounter. I like to maximize the effectiveness of the spell (in terms of percentage of my opponent's HP) early so I can be ahead in terms of levels and money/items later on. Then I can become a seige/support unit rather than a damage dealing beast.

Silence is great when you get it at high level, but it's not as effect early on because it's an AoE spell and I usually play through some lag. If I'm facing a melee hero that can deal some decent spell damage, like a Dragon Knight, I might drop a point into Silence early so that I can hit him while he's standing still. Otherwise it's too hard to hit an opponent early, at least for me.

Late in the game you want Silence and your ultimate for sieging. Your opponent will rush to his towers to defend them from your team's unit push and you can silence them when they stand still to attack. Be looking for this opportunity before you arrive so that you don't miss an opportunity. Your ultimate is beastly, so hopefully your team will protect you long enough.

Gameplay:
Some aspects of play can be tricky at first. My goal early on is to Carrion Swarm the crap out of my opponent and get him out of the lane either through death or by scaring him to the fountain for healing. While he's gone you're free to push the lane and gain XP. If you have decent mana regen, keep on using Swarm to maximize gold. If you don't have good mana regen, save it up for hero kills and then work on getting better mana boosting items.

I already went into some detail in the skill/spell selection on how to play with the nukes and such. Just keep in mind that you're a great damage hero early on and a fantastic support and seige hero later. Using this mindset you'll figure out the proper playstyle without too much hassle.

Super Gosu Tip:
The Death Prophet has very low HP so it might seem that units with nukes would dominate it even if they have only a few more hitpoints. This is true. But, one of the tricks that experience has taught me is to take advantage of the range of Carrion Swarm.

You can cast Carrion Swarm in two different ways. You can target a unit (hero or creep), or you can target the ground. Most players will target a hero if they want to hit a hero. You, as a Super Gosu, smart player, will target the ground in front of a hero and turn around as soon as you cast the spell. Your Swarm will go past that spot that you clicked, thereby making your spell hit heroes outside of the range of the spell's targetting had you clicked on a unit. You'll out-nuke anyone with a unit only nuke and also any player who doesn't use the trick.

Try it. I think you'll like it.

[Evaporater]

so many guides for this version and its obviously IMBA(LANCED).

bold text is secksi!!

[Sapphire]

bluedot, why Heart on the Death Prophet? Isn't she an intelligence hero? That'd be a lot of money to spend without getting even the +damage from the strength points. Soul booster = 3300 gold. Heart = 5900.

I think it would be better to go soul booster then Lothar's Edge for damage and escape via windwalk. Or even 2 soul boosters.

[ItsAbOutTimE]

Wow nice!! Very helpful..

[Abuse.Craft]

Sapphire, the heart would prolly be for health. All in all, its +850 health with 225% regen (I did the math on it, I know that the strength - HP thing is 22 instead of 25 but I dont think they changed the regen, either way I did the math: http://www.battle.net/war3/basics/heroes.shtml#str )

[Burner]

Sapphire, the heart would prolly be for health. All in all, its +850 health with 225% regen (I did the math on it, I know that the strength - HP thing is 22 instead of 25 but I dont think they changed the regen, either way I did the math: http://www.battle.net/war3/basics/heroes.shtml#str )


actually each point of str = 19 hp now. I guess they changed it in 5.54 o_O

[Abuse.Craft]

Oh, okay. Didnt know that. Thx.

Previous calculations = incorrect.

+775 HP

[ZiMMeR-MaN]

can some1 writeup some tips on the fletcher, doom bringer and slitherin guard.

I hear all are good, but i just suck with them.

I used the dragon knight and it OWNED.

Dint quite kill too many herores but cleared the entire scourge base. :D

[Sapphire]

Sapphire, the heart would prolly be for health. All in all, its +850 health with 225% regen (I did the math on it, I know that the strength - HP thing is 22 instead of 25 but I dont think they changed the regen, either way I did the math: http://www.battle.net/war3/basics/heroes.shtml#str )
Well I knew it was for the health and regen. But what are the chances you'll finish it by the end of the game when you could have a soul booster much earlier, and get that benefit immediately? I would just get a couple of soul rings and a booster or two on her honestly.

[Burner]

For the fletcher simply take the left lane (as scourge) WW behind and to the side of the hero while the creeps are fighting, turn on strafe and say GG. At higher lvl's when u get more mana add in fire arrows and a burize and/or eye and they stand no chance. :D

[Demongod86]

Unless you try that on Rylai and she freezing fields you before you can kill her. Then, we all know what happens next.

[Abuse.Craft]

Because Sapphire, regen doesn't help you vs nukes... you need the HP also. Early on you shouldn't need regen or added HP, the nukes aren't too strong... unless your nuked by like 3 heroes. As long as you don't run in the midst of battle and think your a centaur or something and try to tank... then the creeps will get you if the heroes don't.

[NiGhTmArEs]

bone fletcher cant kill at lv1.....its atk is 30-40dmg, half of what other heros have. and 40% atk speed dont add up all that much : /. even when early creep to lv2 arnt that much stronger coz still lv1 strafe. flame arrows will do the dmg i am sure but it will cost too much mana and leave u with 1 kill and forced to go home, mind u can be a good thing but u lose exp.
btw heart can also add 25dmg incase u ppl forgot...its a needed item for that ghoul hero...forgot name. heart cost too much btw. a few early talisman boost can be good cheap health and mana. or get a gaunet early on as i always do if u gonna get the bash hammer. 50hp at lv1 makes a world of difference

[NiGhTmArEs]

btw any of u see how buggy prophet is now? lv16 + scepter does 1200dmg at last hit from his ultmate. and guess what he can use every 10 or 20seconds. trick is it mostly will hit all enemies in line of sight of allies, so u hit a monster away from them and do a 700dmg easily to their heros. plus his trees raze towers eaisily early on, wont take more than 10min into the game for 2-3 towers to be down. if u thought conj was a bad ass, his trees does chaos dmg too and he can get 15 of them

[Nero.]

Ok then...I guess I am allowed to post a guide here so I will.

ITEMS

HP MANA AND MOVEMENT ITEMS

This may sound weird but with Yurnero I usually go 5 Agility Slippers at the beginning of -allrandom games. Reason being it gives +2 armor, slightly increased attack speed, and obviously +15 attack. After these I save for Power Treads, you will want to save up 1685 gold for them. The recipe required is Boots of Speed, Gloves of Haste, and Boots of Elvenskin. This is excellent for early attack speed, and with the +15 damage you should get a few early kills. You should have Power Treads and the 5 Agility Slippers by level 8. Remember that you should always have your empty inventory spaces filled with Agility Slippers simultaneously switching them out for other items. Next I save up for 4 Soul Rings. Ok, for the Soul Rings you want to save 925 gold, this way you do not need to take up inventory space with the recipe items. The items needed to create the Soul Ring are, Ring of Regeneration, Sobi Mask, and Circlet of Nobility. The Soul Rings will act as your HP and mana boosting items and will be your endgame HP and mana boosting items...with +8 HP regenerated per sec, 200% mana regeneration, and +16 to all stats. At this time you should have 1 Power Treads, 4 Soul Rings, and 1 Agility Slippers in your inventory and be at least level 12.

ATTACK AND DEFENSE ITEMS

Ok my choice for Yurneros main offensive/defensive item is the Butterfly. I chose this item for three reasons, the armor bonus, the attack speed increase, and the 20% evasion. The first item you will get for the Butterfly is the Eaglehorn, you will need to save up 3600 gold for it. When you get the Eaglehorn it will replace your last Agility Slippers. Next you will want to save up 2900 gold for a Quarterstaff and Upgrader. You will want to buy these at the same time so you do not lose the benefits of a Soul Ring. When you finally get your Butterfly, Power Treads, and 4 Soul Rings you should be level 18+.

SKILLS

Ok for Yurnero I like to go Healing Wards, Blade Dance, Stats, and Omnislash. For your first level put your skill point into Healing Wards. Main reason for this is if you get nuked or stuck and beat up by creeps you can just fall back and lay a Healing Ward and get back into action w/o having to go back to base. Second skill point goes into Blade Dance. I like Blade Dance over Blade Fury because Blade Fury uses mana and doesn't allow you to use Healing Wards as often. Third skill point goes into Stats. I do this to raise mana and HP. The rest of the skills will be applied as followed: HW, BD, OS, ST, HW, BD, ST, OS, HW, BD, ST, ST, OS, ST, ST, ST, ST, BF, ST, BF, BF, BF.

SUMMARY

Using this strat I have done really well...even against a good Bone Fletcher, but for this strat to work you also need a degree of teamwork so this strat is more team-reliable than other Yurnero strats.

[NiGhTmArEs]

mmm....not really enough health for yugino early on...and need go home too often for it to work well...so ur theory on early kill will be hard. other than that a black bar will help. most ppl start owning with him at level 6. and plus skills learnt will complete the guide i guess.

i have a alternative of yigino.
grab talisman or a sobi mask early on
skills are as follows crit-healing ward-healing ward-crit-healing ward-omnislash-healing ward-customise depend on circomstances
-stats for extra mana and health on more powerful omni obviously
-bladestrom can be learnt early on but it costs mana and yugino lack mana for ward or omni. learn this tech if enemy has good stun/hex combos or if u feel like killing tower(not as good as it used to be).best used when running away...its dmg 110persecond maybe praised by some ppl, but not me.
-crit if u plan for little extra dmg and save mana
omnislash- most of u would know this but i say it anyway. it deals 4xdouble ur dmg at level1. at random targets around a area. so if a area has 1 hero only, that hero takes all the dmg..usually die. it is bugged, and u soon find out if u play, but the bug wont matter much. evade can make it miss a hit or so however. and u can be hit when u do omni but if u die in the middle of it, the tech still does its dmg and finishes off. omni has little cooldown at level16 so maybe used much more often.

this is a yugino that will live/get exp early game until its level6 so that it can omni which is the only thing other than crit yugino can use to kill easily i guess. level1 heal shouldnt be used coz its same mana and its a waste of it. ward can