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Knight Davion the Dragon Knight Build and Strategy

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Knight Davion, the Dragon Knight Guide By: slicky342
Abandoned and forsaken as a child, the Half-bred Dragon Davion sought refuge from the evils of the world, and from the uncontrollable power growing within himself. His search led him to the doorstep of a mighty Druid, who taught him to tap into the massive energies that lay concealed in his blood - a tribute to his ancient Draconian heritage. A master swordsman, Davion smites his foes in his raging frenzy - transforming at will into an Elder Dragon of destructive fiery rage to crush all those that threaten to vanquish his new home.

So why am I playing DK again?


The best part about playing Dk is that he really does not have any single hero that counters him, unlike most other heroes in the game. DPS heroes like razor and troll are very harassable early with breathe fire and can be beaten late game with your 3.25 second stun. Nukers will lose effectiveness against you much quicker than most other heroes because of your passive regen skill and your ability to harass back with breathe fire. Most other tanks in the game will lose to you in a dps race late game because of your high armor and the life steal from satanic. If you are looking to play a well rounded hero that can farm with the best and go hit for hit with almost any hero in the game then DK is the hero for you.

Pros:

  • One of the best tanks
  • Full splash frost attack
  • Excellent regen and armor
  • Relatively easy to use
  • Good aoe/farming skill
  • A great pusher/defender thanks to EDF

Cons:

  • Low mana pool
  • Slow attack speed
  • Mediocre attack damage
  • 250 range stun
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. Hero Skills
II. Skill Build
III. Item Build
IV. Items not to get
V. Lane Selection
VI. Early game
VII. Mid game
VIII. Late game
IX. Good Allies
X. Bad Opponents
XI. Replays

I. Hero Skills

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Breathes fire at enemy units, which deals damage.

Level 1 - 75 damage.
Level 2 - 150 damage.
Level 3 - 225 damage.
Level 4 - 300 damage.

Cooldown: 12 seconds.

Level 1: 100 mana, 12 sec cooldown.
Level 2: 110 mana, 12 sec cooldown.
Level 3: 120 mana, 12 sec cooldown.
Level 4: 130 mana, 12 sec cooldown.

You should always max this skill out first because it is your way of killing/harassing early and farming throughout the game. DK is lucky to have an aoe farming skill and this is spell is why some try to play him as a caster sad.gif. In a tough lane where you lose a lot of HP or might die from last hitting, you can continue to farm and harass back with breathe fire. To make sure you do not waste mana, always make sure you kill a creep with the spell and hit all the heroes in the lane. I generally click behind the creep when using this to harass and in the direction of the hero I want it to hit. If both your opponents are slightly seperated, then click behind the creep and roughly half way between the heroes to make sure your aoe hits all the targets. Breathe fire can also be used to help take down towers early by clearing the enemy creeps, so the enemy tower targets your creeps and not you. When going for a kill you should either use breathe fire right away, or save it for a potential killing blow. Generally an ally will use a ranged stun, then you run in and extend the stun time with dragons tail, and when the stuns wear off and they are out of melee range you should use breathe fire to try and finish them. Just like with most spells in the game, breathe fire does lose effectiveness as the game drags on, but it is still good for clearing creeps mid to late game. All my replays show how to use breathe fire effectively and that is the best way to learn besides trying it yourself.
IPB Image Dragon Tail


Knight Davion bashes a melee-range enemy target with the fury of a dragon’s tail swipe. Stuns the target and deals minor damage.

Level 1 - Deals 25 damage, stuns for 2.5 seconds.
Level 2 - Deals 50 damage, stuns for 2.75 seconds.
Level 3 - Deals 75 damage, stuns for 3 seconds.
Level 4 - Deals 100 damage, stuns for 3.25 seconds.

Cooldown: 9 seconds.

Level 1: 100 mana, 9 sec cooldown.
Level 2: 100 mana, 9 sec cooldown.
Level 3: 100 mana, 9 sec cooldown.
Level 4: 100 mana, 9 sec cooldown.

The time in which you get this skill entirely and I mean ENTIRELY depends on if you have a lane partner or not. There are some circumstances where if you are soloing you might get this skill if you need it to cancel a hero with a channeling spell, but besides this you generally only get it early if you have a lane partner with another disable or slow. I want to make the point either way that if you do get this skill early game, get it at level 1 for stunning a careless hero at your tower or in combo with a partner’s stun or slow. With the very low increase in damage and stun time only invest 1 point in this skill until later in the game. Late game this skill will be very powerful with your frost attack in level 3 EDF and other partners disables. The only down side to this skill besides the low damage is the low range on the stun. Dragon tail only has 250 range, but it does not have a casting time so you can immediately do another action after stunning someone.

IPB Image Dragon Blood


Grants Dragon Knight blood from his ancient ancestral dragon heritage, which increases health regeneration and armor.

Level 1 - Increases hp regen by 1 and armor by 2.
Level 2 - Increases hp regen by 2 and armor by 4.
Level 3 - Increases hp regen by 3 and armor by 6.
Level 4 - Increases hp regen by 4 and armor by 8.

Passive

If for whatever reason you are not getting this skill early game, YOU ARE AN IDIOT! This skill is what makes you a real nuisance to opponents who want you to get out of their lane. Whatever you do, you will want to max out this skill second only because breathe fire takes higher priority over picking more survivability (duh). Dragon blood relieves you from having to invest in some regen and armor items that other heroes need to get to be able to survive until they get their first main item. However, you still may need to get more regen or HP if you are against nukers or chain stunners.

IPB Image Elder Dragon Form


Transforms the Dragon Knight into a powerful elder dragon. Gives 25 movement speed boost. Lasts 60 seconds.
Level 1 - Transform into a Green Dragon with a corrosive breath attack.

Level 2 - Transform into a Red Dragon with a splash attack.

Level 3 - Transform into a Blue Dragon with an extremely powerful frost attack.

Cooldown: 115 seconds.

Level 1: 50 mana, 115 sec cooldown.
Level 2: 50 mana, 115 sec cooldown.
Level 3: 50 mana, 115 sec cooldown.

Elder Dragon Form has received a huge buff in 6.51 by reducing the mana cost to 50, and the cool down now much less. That means late game you will only spend 55 seconds out of dragon form at any time. When the mana cost was 100 for level 1, many people used to skip getting it until level 10/11 because they felt EDF 1 was weak. Well now it is pretty much spamable and it is still one of the best tower killing abilities in the game. Thus, there is no real legitimate excuse for not getting this skill. In 6.52 the animation was improved as well, so no one can complain about it having the worst attack animation in the game anymore. Even if you are not going to get the chance to take down towers before level 11, you should still get this when defending your tower for a ranged attack. Also, it still can serve the purpose of an escape mechanism, which I have done many times to save my ass. Either way, the skill still works the same, but for only 50 mana it is great for pushing, defending, or just spamming now. EDF 1 can also be a great way to harass back against enemies because it deals 100 poison damage over 5 seconds. The bonus damage that is dealt to towers when attacking them with EDF 1 is based off the skill of corrosive breath from ladder, so it does not do damage over time to towers.

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Knight Davion The Dragon Knight Guide

Knight Davion,The Dragon Knight By SolarBoyK

“Abandoned and forsaken as a child, the Half-bred Dragon Davion sought refuge from the evils of the world, and from the uncontrollable power growing within himself. His search led him to the doorstep of a mighty Druid, who taught him to tap into the massive energies that lay concealed in his blood - a tribute to his ancient Draconian heritage. A master swordsman, Davion smites his foes in his raging frenzy - transforming at will into an Elder Dragon of destructive fiery rage to crush all those that threaten to vanquish his new home.”

STATS

Attack Range:melee(125)
Base Movespeed: 290
Base STR:19 + 2.8<–Primary
Base AGI:17 + 1.7
Base INT:15 + 1.7
Base Damage: 46-52
Base HP:511
Base Mana:195
Base Armor:4.4

Pros and Cons

Pros:
Can be played Tanker,Caster and Power House in the same time
Not exactly weak like other late game hero early game
Breath Of Fire is a very good skill early game for him
GG 100% full splash,60 extra movespeed and skadi while in dragon form
Girls dig a manly hero

Con’s:
Not the best Tanker,not the best Caster and not the best Power House
Your stun is the hardest skill to stun with its crap range and damage
You..are…a…midget…

ABILITIES

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Breath Fire-Breathes fire at enemy units which deals damage.

Level 1 - 75 damage.100 mana cost
Level 2 - 150 damage.115 mana cost
Level 3 - 225 damage.130 mana cost
Level 4 - 300 damage.150 mana cost

Cooldown of 12 seconds

Your early game damage+farming+harras enemy hero+pushing skill early game.This is a excellent skill on a melee,slow hitting,slow running hero like DK.He is truly blessed with a farming skill that does sweet damage early game.

Sidenote:Early game when you see 2 creeps dying use this to kill both as 2 creep kill>100-150 mana early game.Be sure to hit your enemy hero too~

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Dragon Tail-Knight Davion bashes a melee-range enemy target with the fury of a dragon’s tail swipe. Stuns the target and deals minor damage.

Level 1 - Deals 25 damage, stuns for 2.5 seconds.100 mana cost
Level 2 - Deals 50 damage, stuns for 2.75 seconds.100 mana cost
Level 3 - Deals 75 damage, stuns for 3 seconds.100 mana cost
Level 4 - Deals 100 damage, stuns for 3.25 seconds.100 mana cost

Cooldown of 9 seconds

Wow a stun!But in my way of playing 1 point is more then enough for him early as hes other two non-ulti skills we should be pumping.Why you ask?Because Dragon Knight was never the hero killing type early game.He’s just the play safe farming and supporting type early game.With 1 level of stun he is able to defend himself against gankers by stunning the opponent with the disable and run back to a safe distance.

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Dragon Blood-Grants Dragon Knight blood from his ancient ancestral dragon heritage, which increases health regeneration and armor.

Level 1 - Increases hp regen by 1 and armor by 2.
Level 2 - Increases hp regen by 1 and armor by 4.
Level 3 - Increases hp regen by 3 and armor by 6.
Level 4 - Increases hp regen by 4 and armor by 8.

Passive

Sweet!A skill that saves your money.With this skill you don’t have to buy a ring of regen at all unless your going for a hood.This skill should be maxed as soon as possible after breath of fire.Why you ask?Because this skill shines the most early game!Its imba armor and hp gives you the power to overtake harassers and nukers if done correctly.

[Ulti]
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Elder Dragon Form-Transforms the Dragon Knight into a powerful elder dragon. Lasts 60 seconds.

Level 1 - Transforms into a Green Dragon with a corrosive breath attack.
Level 2 - Transforms into a Red Dragon with a splash attack.
Level 3 - Transforms into a Blue Dragon with an extremely powerful frost attack.

Dragon Knight turns into a powerful dragon with diffrent abilities.My friend told me not to get his ulti on level 1.Why not?The Corrosive Breath is total pwnage and it also helps you get extra gold from tower as it increases your chance to get tower kills.On level 2 you get splash and on level 3 you get FULL splash and frost in your attack.By the way it also adds some move speed.

Skill Builds

Before i start i want you to know is this is not a force you to use this in every game type of builds because its your hero and you should choose weather you want to use it or not.

[Recommanded Build]

Level 1 - Dragon Blood/Dragon Tail
Level 2 - Breathe Fire
Level 3 - Breathe Fire
Level 4 - Dragon Blood
Level 5 - Breathe Fire
Level 6 - Elder Dragon Form
Level 7 - Breath Fire
Level 8 - Dragon Blood
Level 9 - Dragon Blood
Level 10 - Stats/Dragon Tail/Dragon Blood
Level 11 - Elder Dragon Form
Level 12 - Dragon Tail
Level 13 - Dragon Tail
Level 14 - Dragon Tail
Level 15 - Dragon Tail
Level 16 - Elder Dragon Form
Level 17-25 -Stats

Okay I shall explain why i(and you) will follow this build.Level 1 we add Dragon Blood instead of Breath of fire because a level 1 breath of fire damage is very low and its mana cost is just too high!Adding into dragon blood will help you survive although its just 1 hp regen and 2 armor.After that,level 2-3 is where you will add more points into breath.At level 1 you may also add 1 point into Dragon Tail if you want to be safe from early ganks and an easy escape,but imo if you are experience enough and know how to avoid getting(i.e hear missing calls and know what your lane enemies are capable of) not getting it is okay.I have play many LAN/TDA/IHC/Pubs and i rarely used my Dragon Tail till mid game.But you never know if something wrong happens,it okay to play safe= ).

By level 2 if theres a chance to get 2 creep kills with breath don’t hesitate.In level 4 we continue to add dragon blood.The reason we are pumping Dragon Blood instead of Dragon Tail is because in early game,Dragon Tail is next to useless unless you have a disable teammate.Getting 1 point in between is not a bad chioce.When ever you think you will need Dragon Tail for escaping and disable be my guest,as i’ve said, you do NOT exactly need to follow this build 100%.This is just a base guideline.Getting elder dragon form at level one is not a bad idea.Some people say this level 1 ulti is shit.By level 6 you can already burst your 1st tower giving you a 500 and 200 your teammate gold bonus.

Continue to max both your dragon blood and breath fire.By mid game your game is beginning to get easier with 8 armor,4 hp regen and a AOE breath fire which is easily spammable if you followed my core item build.Now while farming adding more points into Dragon Tail is not a bad choice since you will still be farming but ganks are happening so much often and you better be ready.With tail not only you can avoid ganks but you may even come out with a kill = )

You maxed your Tail and Elder Dragon Form.You already finished your core build with 1 tier four item.All the enemy are aware of your true potential now.Getting kills,pushing and assisting teammates are your top to-do list now.

Item Builds

Core Items

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2 bracers,Arcane Ring,and Boots Of Travel

Okay i’ll explain why these is my main core items.2 bracers for early game hp and mana,Boots for TP around when you spot a big pack of creeps for extra gold.But why arcane you ask?The real question should be why NOT arcane?Alot of people would say that ring of bassilius would give him sufficient mana but i say screw that!With arcane you are estimated to have enough mana for 1 breath every 46 seconds with its 100 mana replenish every 33 seconds and breath of fire’s 150 mana cost.If every time you kill 2 creeps with breath you are estimated to earn 80 gold every 45 second with last hitting!And with arcane you can be able to use elder dragon form and spam breath of fire without worrying about mana for dragon tail incase of emergency!Even bassilius can’t do that!

Items After Core

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Heart,Satanic,Assault Cuirass,Guinsoo,Radience

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Nevermore the Shadowfiend Guide and Strategy

Nevermore the Shadowfiend
Guide By: NXM.NunnoX

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I have decided to write a guide for the Shadowfiend because he is one of my favorite heroes, and in my opinion, very hard to play. His primary nuke can be devastating, his Necromastery can destroy last hit depending heroes and his ultimate also can be devastating. Now that sounds a little bit to imbalanced, but it isnt. Shadowraze definitely requires some skill(although not as much as most think), Necromastery requires some serious last hit skills and his ultimate is only useful if timed correctly and if you are able to use it. His ultimate needs an item. Let it be Lothar’s Edge or Black King Bar.

The Shadowfiend should be played as a carry hero, so farming and staying alive are very important for him.


Skill Build

Level 1. Necromastery
Level 2 and 3. Shadowraze
Level 4. Necromastery
Level 5. Shadowraze
Level 6. Necromastery
Level 7. Shadowraze
Level 8. Necromastery
Level 9. Presence of the Dark Lord
Level 10 and 11. Requiem of Souls
Level 12 - 14. Presence of the Dark Lord
Level 15. Stats
Level 16. Requiem of Souls
Level 17 - 25. Stats

Additional notes

Getting Necromastery at level 1 is a must, but you can switch the order of Necromastery and Shadowraze thereafter. It depends on your lane control. If you aren’t able to get any creeps, level Shadowraze as soon as possible. If you just have too few damage to do anything against your enemy, level Shadowraze. If your opponent isn’t in your lane quite a while (example: when you solo Beastmaster, he ganks a lot) level Necromastery.
You can get Requiem of Souls at level 9, and Presence of the Dark Lord at 10, it doesn’t matter at all.

Explanation

This build is the cookie cutter build, the build that always should be used. Shadowraze is your primary weapon of achieving lane control, but don’t underestimate Necromastery. Requiem of Souls is a good ultimate, yet not so devastating as many think. At level 1, it sucks, it deals less damage then Shadowraze then so you’d better use that mana for Shadowraze.


Item Build

This actually is the main reason why i decided to write this guide. So many items work on the Shadowfiend. I think the best idea to get to a decent item build is thinking in steps, so let’s start:

Step 1

The very first step is buying 2 Circlets and 2 sets of Tango’s, that is for me the ideal start on the Nevermore.
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Step 2

Buy Bottle. For a hero who always should solo mid this will always remain the best item. It establishes your lane control. Get it AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, KTHX.
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Step 3

Buy Boots of Speed.
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Step 4

Lothar’s Edge or Black King Bar? In the previous version, you should always get Dagger. It owned. Nowadays, it has been nerfed, and Lothar’s has been buffed. However, Lothar’s provides little in teambattles, in my opinion. However, it also depends a lot on your line-up. Against an line-up with Beastmaster and Magnus, BkB has very little use, since both ultimates go trough BkB.

Anyway, get one of these items as soon as possible, just after Boots of Speed.
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Step 5

In my opinion, staying alive is the MOST important factor for a carry hero. So in my opinion, Bracers are almost always preferable over Wraith Bands. But for 70% it is personal preference. So now use your 2 Circlets that you have already bought to finish your Bracers/Wraith Bands. If you go for Treads, you only have 2 slots left (Power Treads, TP-scroll, Bottle, BkB/Lothar’s), so you should buy 2 of them. With Boots of travel, you have 3 slots left, so get 3 of them.
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Step 6

Boots of Travel or Power Treads? In this version, my opinion goes for Power Treads. Boots of Travel is more farm orientated. It mostly depends on the current game. Are we losing, need i to get powerful fast? Get Power Treads. Do we have 4 (early game) ganks heroes, do i need to be the powerful one later? Get Boots of Travel. Again, my opinion goes for Power Treads, but for a more farm orientated game, go for Boots of Travel. If you go Power Treads, you should get or a AGI Treads, or STR Treads. My vote again goes for STR Treads. REMEMBER: When going for Power Treads, ALWAYS CARRY A TP-SCROLL, I REPEAT, ALWAYS CARRY A TP-SCROLL. With that being said, remember that Power Treads takes two slots(Treads + Scroll(s)). Anyways, extremely late game, always get Boots of Travel. It saves you a slot +it makes you able to teleport anywhere on the map where a creep is, that ability is invaluable.
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Step 7

So you have finished what i call the core build, so what now? In the earlier versions, Skadi was the shit. In the newer versions, Skadi is just too slow. Skadi is an EXCELLENT item on Nevermore, don’t get me wrong, but i think it is too slow. Yet if you are farming extremely well, and if you got Boots of Travel, Skadi still is an excellent choice. Anyways, i think it is too slow so you’d better move on to other items. In my opinion, the very two best items after the core build are Stygian Desolator and Helm of the Dominator. As you notice, they both are Orbs, so you cannot get them both. They both are cheap (the other even MUCH cheaper), and they both give you mid game bonuses. Stygian isn’t one of the best very late game items, so you should buy it before the 40 min mark. Stygian is also a lot more expensive. So you should get Stygian if you are farming decently well mid game, and you need some quick assistance to your team (if your team does (really) fine, get Skadi) get Stygian. However, if your team does need quick(er) assistance, and you aren’t farming that well get Helm of the Dominator. Other items like Mjollnir and Butterfly own, but they take TOO long to farm and don’t give any survivability unlike Skadi. (My opinion goes for Stygian)

An other advantage of Helm of the Dominator is that it can be upgraded to Satanic, which is one of the power items very late game.

On a further note, Skadi leaves the path open for other orb effects like Lightning, unlike Stygian and HotD.

You won’t have enough item slots, you should sell a Bracer/Band or Bottle by now. I would go for selling Bottle.
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Step 8

Buy Butterfly. This item is the shit by now. It not only gives you tremendous DPS, it also helps a lot against heroes like Mirana and Terrorblade by now. Again you won’t have enough item slots, sell a Bracer/Band or Bottle now.
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Step 9

Filling the last slots. If you went Skadi, you should buy a Mjollnir or a Satanic. If you went Helm of the Dominator, you should finish Satanic. With Stygian, you should go for Buriza by now. Again you won’t have enough item slots, sell a Bracer/Band or Bottle now.
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Step 10

If you went Boots of Travel, you will have one slot (semi) free. With Skadi and Helm of the Dominator, get Buriza. With Stygian, get Heart of Terrasque.

If you went Power Treads, sell it and get Boots of Travel.
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Step 11

If you went Power Treads and you sold it by now, repeat step 10.

Strategy
First off you should buy 2 Circlets of Nobility and 2 Set’s of Tangs. You don’t need very much early regeneration because you are going for Bottle anyway.
In 90% of all cases you should go solo mid. Solo mid is the most ideal lane for the Nevermore. He can farm there undisturbed and he can fight uphill to get the maximum out of his Razes and last hits.

The Shadowfiend has the potential of a great solo hero. Yet against some heroes, he is gonna lose horribly if not played extremely cautious. Your worst solo enemies are these, especially the first one;

Viper the Netherdrake
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Boush the Tinker
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Dual lanes, such as the Slayer and the Skeleton King
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Your best bet against these heroes is using Shadowraze © to it’s maximum. You can hit creeps at 900 range then (Raze has a 225 AoE if i remember correctly). A Viper cannot hit you from there. Remember when facing heroes as Viper, always wear a TP-Scroll, so you can always teleport back to base when you are getting Orb-owned.

The most important factors for carries are staying alive and FARM. Farm is possibly the most important thing in whole DotA, no hero can go without farm, and especially not carries. Normally i don’t point out “checkpoints” too much, but for a hero like Nevermore, the best farmer in the game, you really should have reached the 200 cs by the 50 minutes mark, preferably even a little sooner.

The things that “make” Nevermore is his ability to farm and his early lane control. He is one of the very few agility heroes that have such lane control. Yet don’t go too aggressive in your lane. Even with a hero with so potential, you should play “careful”. This all because you cannot afford to die. A 0-0 Nevermore with 100 cs does better in general than a 5-3 Nevermore with 70 cs.

Anyways, coming back to the things that make Nevermore, he isn’t naturally the most powerful carry, not by far. Any Terrorblade rapes Nevermore by the 60 min mark if they are almost equally farmed. But Nevermore can farm more than any other hero in the game because he has the potential of destroying creep waves in less than 3 seconds, over and over again. Of all carry heroes, Nevermore is probably the weakest, yet with his potential to farm, Nevermore suddenly gets a lot stronger. That is why Nevermore should always have the most creep score in the game. This is of course not always possible, but you should at least try to. For a comparison, if you have the same cs as a LightOfHeaven in any game, you are doing fine.

If you have chosen to get Boots of Travel, you must have a different play style then when you would have gone for Treads. With Boots of Travel you should always look for the spot in the map where there are a lot of creeps. Use your Razes to destroy the wave and take another wave. Then go back and get some neutrals and wait for your TP to cooldown again. Remember, don’t go in the dangerous spots unless you surely know that you cannot be ganked or that you can escape the gank. Always watch your mini map, not only to look for nice farm spots, but you should always know for 50% where the enemies are.

In team battles, it depends a lot on your items how to play. For example, you wait for the best time to use your Black King Bar. When magic immunity is activated, walk further in and make sure to kill at least one enemy support hero (Lina/Lesh/Lich/low HP heroes). Make sure you don’t die directly after the 9 second during magic immunity.
However, if you have Lothar’s, you must make sure they cannot spot you when you go invisible. So you depend more on your (supporting) allies that they can save your ass with Sentries for example.
When having Skadi, you can go LITTLE more aggressive in team battles, you have more EHP now.

Anyways, in general, make sure not to die in team battles, if you survive during it, you are doing fine. Preferably go stand behind trees, make sure you are attacking enemy heroes and get as much razes off as possible. Now your tanking ally should go in (Skelly/Sven for example). If you can THEN activate BkB and get Requiem of Souls off. When having Lothar’s you must initiate, however, you have to make sure your allies will go in after you so that you can back off a little.

You can in general playing carries like this: Always wear a TP-Scroll and farm and farm. Then you see your team is having a fight, and TP to your team. Rarely YOU should be the one looking for a gank. It’s ok to assist in ganks (although also not too much), but you’d better farm and only be there during important battles.

Farming

Early game, you should try to reach the maximum amount of souls as soon as possible, you can do this with last hit or with Shadowraze. Try to mix both methods to reach the best result. For me, early game is almost over when you have level 4 Shadowraze.
Mid game you SHOULD, so it goes as fast as possible, use 2 Razes to destroy a whole creep wave, i always do it like this: Attack a creep at maximum range with your normal attack. Then press C and then press X. If you want to save some mana, attack all melee creeps twice and the ranged creep(s) once, then use Shadowraze (X). If you want to save a lot of mana, just auto attack-last hit/last hit them. This isn’t very preferable since you are wasting your potential to farm then.
Late game comes when 2 Razes aren’t enough to destroy a whole wave. If you aren’t pushing (so intentionally farming) you must attack all creeps once, and then use press X and C. You also can attack all melee creeps twice and the ranged creeps once and then use Shadowraze (X), you will have enough damage for that by now. “Why shouldn’t i just use X and C first and then attack the remaining creeps?” I have done this for a long time, but after experience i noticed that you ALWAYS miss at least 2 creeps. With the same easiness (first attacking, then Razing) you will get all creeps, whole game long. For the same reason you shouldn’t use your 3 Razes.

Furion the Prophet Guide and Strategy

Furion the Prophet

Guide Made by: NXM.NunnoX


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Skill build

Laning:
Sprout: 1, 12-14
Teleport: 2-3, 5, 7
Force of Nature: 8, 23-25
Wrath of Nature: 6, 11, 16

Sprout is your main disable, get it at level one. It has a long disable, yet is easily countered by tango’s. Don’t get higher levels of Sprout unless you have mana for it (read: at least one part of Guinsoo’s)
Teleport makes Furion Furion, level it as soon as possible. Being able to teleport (almost) anywhere on the map is indescribably valuable. Get one level of Force of Nature at level 8 which helps you farming neutrals without losing any health. Wrath of Nature is gotten at level 6 because you can killsteal with it, at level 3 it makes you farm at warp speed.

Jungling:

Sprout: 2, 11-13
Teleport: 4, 6, 7, 8
Force of Nature: 1, 3, 5, 9
Wrath of Nature: 10, 11, 16

Same idea, yet no Wrath of Nature at level 6, it costs too much mana, and that is exactly where the problem with Jungling-furion lies. Level 3 of Force of Nature is enough to kill most camps, so after that we level Teleport before Force of Nature. Wrath of Nature at 6 isn’t even to be considered because it is your most mana draining spell.

Item build

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Strength Treads and 4 Bracers fix your glass cannon problem, Guinsoo’s is the most powerful item in the game and you are an intelligence hero and you can farm it. After that get the items your team needs like Necronomicon/Shiva’s/Eul’s/Orchid’s/Stygian(Mkb/Buriza)/Diffusal(Manta).

You can delay Guinsoo’s for other items, in VERY rare cases. Think of Diffusal/Necronomicon.

Main strategy

Laning or jungling?
I highly prefer laning. The power of Furion lies within Teleport-Sprout. When jungling, you simply don’t have enough mana to summon Treants AND use Sprout. Yet when your team consist of 2 must-solo’ers like Shadowfiend and Tinker, go jungle. Get some clarities/early void when jungling.

When jungling, your starting items should always be RoB + 2 Clarities.

Gank. Even tough Sprout is vastly countered by Tango’s, not all heroes have 14 Tango’s in their slot. And yet, even without Sprout, you still deliver a pretty decent amount of DPS. Make sure to communicate with your allies and make your allies call for help. A Furion almost always should have the most assists on his team.

Farm. Furion needs items, period. Your game is pretty much settled if you are able to farm the build. Wrath of Nature makes you farm at warp speed. Remember a few things for farming:

  • When you go the jungling build, if there is a free lane, go farm the free lane and let your summons destroy some camps. Free farm in a lane is ALWAYS better than farm in a jungle.
  • When going the laning build, remember to get Force of Nature to get at level 8. When there is no (safe) lane to farm, just go to the neutrals and use your Summons. You will lose no health and at that level you will have enough stats to deal with the most camps.
  • When jungling, remember to scout the Ancient camps. Dragon camps you cannot kill, all the otehr camps are easy when you micro the Treants right at level.
  • It’s better to farm nothing, than to farm a lane when 2 opposite ganking heroes are missing.

The Global Strategy
Pretty common strategy which consist of at least Zeus Spectre and Furion. Zeus or Spectre uses ultimate, Furion directly uses his ultimate as well. Spectre Haunt’s/Reality the target, Furion TP’s. One of the most powerful strategies this game. Even 500 Wards doesn’t counter it.

Killsteal with Wrath of Nature at level 6. Even when Furion isn’t a hardcore carry hero, Furion is a highly item dependent hero and powerful late gamer.

You can cancel your Teleport. If an enemy attacks an ally (example, Broodmother attacks Shadowfiend) use teleport in that spot, the Teleport animation will be there, but you are able to cancel it.

When you really use Teleport, in 90% of the cases, Teleport out of sight. Teleport in woods where you can freely walk or Teleport in woods and destroy the woods with Force of Nature.

Replays

SK vs KS (Sk.Akke)
MYM vs tR (MYM|Maelk)
DCE-game by NunnoX

Darchrow The Enigma Guide and Strategy

Darchrow The Enigma
by:Sinjakinn

Yeah here we go.Darchrow The Enigma is most annoying,greedy,cruel and fragile hero i’ve ever seen and enjoyable at play.I choose not to be a supporter nor a farmer which kills the enjoy and Enigma finally.Enigma is the best “counter” char in the dota i choose a counter strategy for him just follow instruductions and read skill overviews with attention you’ll find more thing to do.

Introductions

1.Darchrow The Enigma Overview
a.start point
b.weaknesses&relaxivities
c.where is my role
2.Spells
a.Spell Build
b.Spell Build FAQ
3.Item Build
3.1-at the start
3.2-item build 1(pub build)
3.3-item build 2
4.Item FAQ
5.tips,fighting basics and general walkthrough
a.tips and fighting basics
b.walkthrough
6.Best Allies&Worst Enemies
7.Credits to…

1.Darchrow The Enigma Overview

a.start point

Damage:42-48 | Range:500 | Speed:1.49(%14 ias)
Str:16 +2.1 | Agi:14 +1.0 | Int:20 +3.4
life:473 | mana:260
armor:4 | damage reduction:%19
movement speed:300

b.weaknesses&relaxivities

pros
+Have great disablers that most usable thing for teammates and annoying thing for opponents.
+Great str bonus on each level.
+Greater int bonus on each level.
+Great range.
+AOE spells are most nuke like “midnight pulse” and “black hole”.
+If can be used right interrupt spells with his own spells.
+It’s easy to get first blood with malefice all alone.
+Can release good amount of damage unlike others said due to his great int gain per level.
cons
-Eidolons all weak and feeds enemy on low levels.
-Have a crap armor value and weak as his eidolons at the start.
-Crap agility bonus on each level.
-Slow movement speed.(290 on start mass over speed is 522)
-Slow attack speed.
-Need mass mana value for spam spells and along the game.
-Like all int chars can be assassinate but can avoid it at late-game because of his good str.

c.where is my role?

On the mid corridor,along the river and down corridor.You’ll defend your tower whatever it takes.Enigma is defensive but this is not mean you’re a meat shield.He is so fragile at the start and cannot take down anybody so easily until you take your arsenal.

2.Spells

a.Spell Build

1-conversion
2-malefice
3-malefice
4-stats
5-malefice
6-Black Hole
7-midnight pulse
8-malefice
9-midnight pulse/stats
10-midnight pulse
11-Black Hole
12-stats
13-midnight pulse/stats
14-midnight pulse
15-stats
16-Black Hole
17 to 25-stats/conversion

3.Item Build

*Item Choices are flexible.You can change the row and statements.But I listed them with priority.

3.1-at the start

On a 4v4 or crowder game;
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Circlet Of Nobility(185gp)
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Ancient Tango of Essifation x2(180 gp)
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Lesser Clarify Potions x(1-2)(100 gp)
it all cost 465gp.on a 5v5 game get them first.circlet is obvious, tango can be changed with salve if there are many nukers around grab more.if you are rushing to radiance mass them to the 4 (8 charges),lesser clarity potion is your tool of harassment your conversion casts and malefice combo depends on them if you dont rush anything and need massive harassment to punish some late game hero mass them to 5.
instead of paying them about 400gp you may decide to buy a bottle but it may leave you without stats at early which i dont like.
*if you still have money left:
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Gauntlets Of Ogre Strength
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Ironwood Branch x(2-3) (171gp)
if you have money left grab second circlet(185 gp) for second bracer if you’re not sure about doubled bracers get gauntlet of ogre strength (150gp) or instead of it grab massed branches(171 gp)

the first trip to the fountain(about 5th and 6th level) :
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Boots Of Speed(500gp)
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Sentry/Observer Wards(200gp)
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Bottle(600gp)
Bottle can be obtained at the start but i personally think some hp and damage boost is just better.

Animal Courier(225 gp)
If you have money left buy courier otherwise prefer townportal(135gp)

in case that you are doing…
good!
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Void Stone(900 gp)
in case you’re doing very well and having very little problems grab a void stone to help your mana regeneration.so you can chain midnight and conversion for creepcamps.if you’re turning back to fountain more than 2k gp that means you done fairly well and you deserved a void stone.dont forget to grab some wards and TP.
mediocre?
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Bracer recipe(175 gp),Bracer recipe(175 gp),Sobi Mask(325 gp)
You are weak agree it.already have gauntlets; if you’re doing mediocre complete the recipe and get a sobi mask to spam some conversion and midnight pulse.doing mediocre means turning the town, around/close to ~2k gp limit at the second arrive.dont forget wards and TP.
bad…
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ring of regeneration+ironwood branch+headress of rejuvination recipe scroll->headress of rejuvination
there’s nothing wrong when you want to be a supporter after doing bad.you can make a mekansm part with branches of course in case that you’re doing bad.that means you’re already dead before you can do anything and you have lots of way to go for 2k gp.only head for wards.

3.2-Alternate Build 1(Pub Build)

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->Boots Of Travel
A rushed item for fast money.you have farming issues at the start of the game.suffering from ganks cannot ganks properly because of being a snail-like shapeless shadow.also i believe before grabbing a BKB you need to position yourself first.your BH combo range is just 500 AOE (as long as your range)
——–
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Broad Sword+Ogre Axe->Black King Bar
“an interrupted blackhole” probably this will last thing you’ll see after all at the remained seconds you can kill weakened enemies with your damage bonus.Avatar ability have a movement penalty but it’s okey you can still catch somebody when you have a malefice that’s ready to pierce some meat.if you’re playing a fast paced game and need quick push skip BoT and grab BKB first.you better sure you have a plate mail or a belt of giant strenght right after this item.
Alternative(s):Almost none.May be linken’s but that’s situational and expensive.Lothar’s,Dagon or Diffusal have nothing to do with your combo.may be lothar’s if you’re smashing a pub.
——–
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Belt Of The Giant Strench+Staff Of Wizardry->Necronomicon
demonic minions are good and comes within mana leak,mana burn,fervor and last wish.Use them instead of your eidolons early game.After you complete your combo while enemy screaming inside the midnight pulse send demonic mages into the midnight pulse and repel some mana;100/200/300 burn on cast.if victim tries to kill blue mage he will fried with a demonic last wish spell about 200/400/600 damage.Upgrade it when you wish for it.it doesnt matter really.Use them while defending or pushing.
Alternative(s):Helm of Dominator.if you got killed before your combo over and over.

OR

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Mystic Staff+Plate Mail->Shiva’s Guard
That’s the newschool of that build.After completing the BKB you need an AOE spell help to done your combo.this item also grants a defensive aura which slow downs dps heroes.while you’re on avatar it will slow down everyone in sight.200 damage AOE nuke has a great range and allows you to walk into the core of the enemy without any worry.also you dont have to upgrade it at the farther steps of the game.

total stats
+30 int,+18 dmg,+24 str,+85 movement speed
or
+36 int,+18 dmg,+10 armor,-%ias defensive aura
——–
Late Game Arsenal
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Perserverance+Oblivion Staff->Refresher Orb
Well well well…Here is the mana cruelty 375 mana for a blackhole that costs 200/300/400 mana after the great combo try to cast a midnight or a conversion then you’ll not be helpful anymore.if you dont have some stacked void stones next to this item or have some +int you dont really deserved this item yet.people thought it’s total crap but well…it’s not.
Alternative(s):Mekansm.It synergizes with helm of the dominator also.also yes, this late; a meka.

3.3-Alternate Build 2(Semi-Warrior Type)

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Sacred Relic->Radiance
this item have a large AOE and helps for backstabbing and increasing the blackhole damage somehow.it dones +35 fiery damage per second to the 400 AOE.it GREATLY increases your afterward potential (you can see it in the replay) if you can rush it.the only thing that increases blackhole’s damage.radiance now stacks with blackhole.finally icefrog gave some love for enigma.it needs constant farming with your last hit abilities.with enigma’s high damage and some help from eidolons you’re good to go other wise there are other options.
For radiance delay nothing.just be sure that you’re doing great and dont spend money on extra things.Carrying tp scrolls and wards are not extra.if it’s needed then you should do it.

OR

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Staff Of Wizardry+Robe Of Magi+Void Stone->Eul’s Divine Scepter
well here is the king.this item can be useful with your eidolons.just cyclone trick is so cool.i just buy this item because of that trick,just it…it’s an alternative to the radiance if you cant farm 4k~money wealthly for sacred relic then change your route to eul’s for increasing your killing capacity with cyclone combo.eul’s combo id very effective against any chaser/carry type.
cyclone,cast midnight pulse under the cyclone and malefice+chase to death.i get it as priority because i think diving inside without mana is a meaningless suicide.there would be times that you’re out of mana for the combo.
Alternative(s):Almost none.
——–
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Kelen’s Dagger Of Escape
No need to say that thing helps for a blackhole assault i generally get it right after my boots of speed but you can delay it for the radiance.the choice is yours; if chose to go with eul’s please get it immediately to dont waste your blackhole.
only get kelen’s dagger of escape instead of eul’s/radi, if you want to finish the game quick(lots of late game heroes) and dont care about increasing kill potential.
this item is somehow imba now after the last nerf icefrog increased range at a devastating limit now you can fly 1250 AOE from fog of war to enemy core.
Alternative(s):Black King Bar and heading the pub build tongue.gif
———
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Gloves Of Haste+Robe Of The Magi/Belt Of Giant Strenght/Boots of Elvenskin+Boots Of Speed+Power Treads Recipe scroll->Power Treads
The main point is completing ptreads AFTER kelen’s always.i recommend you to use an int ptreads on him if you rushed kelen’s dagger instead of eul’s.after you grab the eul’s simply turn ptreads to the str type.
total stats
+10 str,+16 int,+%100 enhanced mana regeneration,+85 movement speed,+30 attack speed
OR
+10 str,+60 damage,immolation aura,+30 attack speed,+65 movement speed.
———
Late Game Arsenal
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Quarter Staff+Sobi Mask+Robe Of The Magi->Oblivion Staff
Oblivion Staff+Oblivion Staff+Oblivion Staff->Orchid Malevolence
at late game start to stack oblivion staves so even you cant complete them it’s still damage,int and ias bonus.as the time you bring them together and completed orchid.sure it gives more good on your dps.also since your combo depends on dps that could be the sweetest gear in your dreams.you can bring down tanks or dps heroes more faster in your combo with the help soulburn.they’ll simply melt.
Alternative(s):Guinsoo’s Scythe The Vyse.Guinsoo’s is more viable if there are fierce dps heroes.0 casting delay owns them.

6.Best allies&Worst Enemies

–Best Allies

Initiators


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Pudge The Butcher:
thi guy’s meat hook and high damage due to his high strenght helps you among the game you can slash one lane by meat hook+blackhole.
Magnus The Magnataur:
Reverse Polarity brings everyone to the point you cast blackhole and nobody can even escape from magnataur’s mighty swing.
Raigor Stonehoof The Earthshaker
his initiating capabilities is unmatched if you can do your combo be sure he can rip his combo by blink+echo+fissure.both combo heavily damages and nets a double kill at least.
Great Synergies


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Rhasta The Shadow Shaman:
his voodoo helps you among the lane but a good shadow shaman generally gets it at the late game.but other hand his disabler shackles is sure does good for you.anyway dont lane with this guy early game even his later synergies are great due to my bad experiences you shouldnt.he hexes and get away at an early gank and you being bruised at the end.he is not the babysitter you need.
Tiny The Stone Giant
here’s your top allie if he’s on team you generally dont need a kelen’s dagger.ask him to toss you over opponent team kindly.he’ll run after you and stuns the remaining ones after the combo.he’s the one who can carry an arcane ring so you dont really need this item also.all in all tiny is great on a lane with you.your malefice and his spell combo kills the victim if he wanders too close.he’s kelen’s buyer like you so he can clear the path before your combo.
Nortrom The Silencer
a global silence at the right time makes your combo more easier.also this guy is a confusing allie.he can be your nightmare when he’s on opponent team.his last wish and global silence turns on you and brakes your casting spree.even it’s he has a great spell named glaives of wisdom.he can be your dps hero when no one’s around.also he’s the best mekansm carrier in game that makes him a great allie and foe also.
Luna Moonfang The Moonrider:
her aura increases missille damage so you can use you eidolons when she’s around.her bouncing shots helps your black hole and her eclipse increases and allows you to take triple kills.she’s a great allie on a lane sadly both your weakness is high range harassment.other than that lucent beam+malefice+lucent beam is just deadly.
Kel’thuzad The Lich
Lich is in our list because of denying powers,almost infinite mana and his great AOE damage.his chain frost and frost nova helps you to complete your combo.the thing is; he’s weak at the start as you.two weak allies cannot stand against slow and instant cast spells and being juicy targets.your only synergy is his chain frost i believe and that’s a big plus also he’s pure ownage against melee charecters at mid game but let me add; enigma already owns melee charecters by himself.if you laned this way be careful against slow and silence other than that you’re pretty “cool” with everything.
Baby Sitters


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Dazzle The Shadow Priest
his heal ability, slow and new shallow grave makes him a top baby sitter for you.you have so many synergies and nearly no negative point at this couple i believe.dazzle’s attack style pretty much looks like enigma instead of stunning particularly to reduce attack frequency and casting time he slows to cut pure dps.both of the heroes will hit victim to death after that.if someone got pierced by dazzle’s slow and enigma’s stun there’s no hope until somebody disables both of them.
Purist Thunderwrath The Omni Knight
His heal deals AOE damage.if he heals you while you’re casting black hole everything will be sure good.he has a slow just like dazzle he can repel and protect you from nasty stun spells.his repel allows you to cast blackhole combo with greatest of ease.only weak point of this lane is omni being slow and melee.other than that there’s nearly no problem.besides purists’ heal is an instant effect and sometimes he cannot have time to cast it on you at the very moment also he has nearly no active offense abilities besides his heal.if that becomes a problem let me say that:you better lane with medusa or juggernaut.
Demnok Lannik The Warlock
demnok simply falls in that list because of dazzle and omni but he’s sure not useless.just his main skill build doesnt involve upheavel usage at early game.if it’s, he’ll sure gets dazzle out from his throne.even without slow at early game his offensive part is good due to blackhole rain of chaos combo that combo can get rid of most solo callers and nuking lanes.

–Worst Enemies

Anti-BKB techniques


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Medusa The Gorgon:
Yes our love could be your worst enemy her mana shield could be boring.and with her purge she can get gold feed from your eidolons.Other way she can still get gold feed with her chain lightning and split shot you can say omg this woman builded for kill me!yes she’s builded to kill you with her mana shield.proper ganks might take her down.
Slithice The Naga Siren:
her illusions can taken with malefice but anyway her manta style could be boring so no mana=no malefice=no shoot=no frag=death.so cast midnight on yourself like a cloak.so you can fade her illusions probably she’ll want to stay away when you cast it cast a malefice on her after you killed illusions.also her ensnare goes through magic immunity and makes you defenseless against her criticals.
Shendalzare Silkwood The Vengeful Spirit:
A hero that can be a headache as an opponent and a trustful teammate on your lane.it’s really hard to say who she is a technical foe or friend.whatever i put her in the foes because it really annoys you with her netherswap.she can interrupt your ultimate or she can bring you between of the opponent team to spam your spells.altough her command aura gives your eidolons damage.her stun makes your combo a lot easier but her negativity is disturbing.
Lucifer The Doombringer
i feel like im stating the obvious here a doom makes your all spells useless -since it looks like you made from spells- if you think you’re gonna die call for a deny or yell like “FIRE!” enter the jungle and die to a neutral.that’s more fair…

magic immunity list in

:simafuhan’s guide
High DPS heroes


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Razor The Lightning Revenant:
Chain lightning hurts eidolons a little but his storm seeking is not that kind.on the late game you’ll gonna escape from him for eidolons’ sake.he gets %20 more damage from everything when he frenzied.try a malefice on him.he have a slow turnspeed that gets harder retreat damn hard for him if he’s been damaging bad when frenzy is on he just want to escape away so cast a midnight on him when he started frenzy attacks.eul’s build makes it fine for you.If it’s so disturbing get yasha as optional item.
N’aix The Lifestealer:
i hate his poison attacks.blow a malefice then attack on him if you can bruised him at the start i dont think you’ll gonna be a looser.other hand n’aix is not so strong enemy have fragile hitpoints at the start.
Yurnero The Juggernaut:
ahh there’s the mageslayer.his ultimate can give a headache.cyclone him immediately when eidolons are not around.his magic immunity makes him a hard target for you.like lich he can be a great allie when you caught few opponent in the bhole.
DarkTerror The Faceless Void
his chronosphere, stops you no matter what.his stuns corrupts your casts and his dps drives you mad.if you want to escape from this guy you must use kelen’s dagger-if you can- and let your eidolons explore between the trees-wards may work-
High range heroes


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Aiustha The Enchantress:
her divine damage and nature’s attendant makes her most gangbang target but by the way never let her shoot you from far distances.cast malefice and BKB just finishes her most spells,BKB’s magic immune does not let impetus,untouchable or enchant pass your skin.if you don’t hold her hors(n)y ass in the pulse at early game she will be a trouble at late game.if you ever faced her call for a lane change or call for a double nuking
Kardel Sharpeye The Sniper
kardel has a great range as a result he is on your blacklist.you can only spam your effective spells from close quarters.he’s way food for many assassiner type heroes the thing is you’re not an assassiner type.only a little gank or backstab might give him troubles.also eidolons are free food for his pellets.

7.Replays

Attached File eenigma_damn.w3g ( 859.13k ) Number of downloads: 82

that one is from “DaMnTR” a malefice+mpulse and enigma solo feast with radiance rush…an in-house play.

8.Credits to…

[FE]HeadHunter:thanks for last fixes…
[FE]GoLyaT:n00b!! lol!
Byotch!:he’s returned to dota…ffs…
Navy_667:ill be there for crushing off that base!!
chilln_1ce:thanks for your kelen’s refresher ideas it was hard to fit them in but i just pawned more heads…
DaMnTr:thanks for the replay.