Asian Girls | Dota Guide and Strategy

This is my first guide on this site, but i have very much experience with Lesale Deathbringer, the Venomancer. This guide is designed to be an easy way for Venomancer beginners to learn a build that I found to be very successful. After reading my guide please post your imput on my development of the Venomancer. This guide is meant to explain how to use Venomancer as a proper ganker and a team battle initiator.

HERO OVERVIEW

PROS

-Poison has a slowing effect.
-Excellent harasser.
-Wards good for farming.

CONS

-Low mana and health.
-Limited combos.
-Slow move speed.

Contribution to the team: He is an initiator and a ganking hero. By initiator i mean in team battles he’s the rambo hero that blinks into the madness to nova. And he is also the hero that is meant to roam around the map slowing and ganking hero’s and farming up gold.

Statistics

Level One Info:
Base Damage-46-48
Base Armor-3.1
Base HP-492
Base Mana-195
Attack Range-450 (Ranged)
MS-290

Level One (No items or stat bonuses)-
Str: 18
Agi: 22
Int: 15

Increase per level-
Str: +1.85
Agi: +2.6
Int: +1.75

Level 25 (With all stat bonuses)-
Str: 82.4
Agi: 104.4
Int: 77

HIS SKILLS

Shadow Strike:

Information:

-It CAN kill enemies.
-90 damage over 15 seconds on level 1.
-150 damage over 15 seconds on level 2.
-230 damage over 15 seconds on level 3.
-300 damage over 15 seconds on level 4.

HOW DO I USE MY SHADOW STRIKE?

This is an excellent slow, so use it to your full advantage. The main and most common use comes in a chase. If you can hit the enemy in a chase, you can easily catch up and attack attack attack!! Also, if you and your opponent are at low health, hit him with a ss. You can then run back to heal, and let the poison eat at his soul!! No matter what though this is not a spammable nuke, be careful not to waste it!!

Poison Sting:

Information:

-35 total damage over 7 seconds on level 1.
-70 total damage over 7 seconds on level 2.
-105 total damage over 7 seconds on level 3.
-140 total damage over 7 seconds on level 4.
-ORB EFFECT INFORMATION (info taken from Malle’s guide):
*Maim- Poison sting overrides unless the spell triggers, in which case maim overrides.
*Lifesteal- Both lifesteal and poison sting occur.
*Feedback- If you get the skill after getting the feedback orb, poison sting overrides.
If you aquire the skill first, then feedback will override ONLY if the enemy has mana.
*Chain Lightning- Poison sting overrides unless the spell triggers, in which case the lightning overrides.
*Corruption- Corruption overrides poison sting.
*Cold Attack- Poison sting overrides the cold effect.

HOW DO I USE MY POISON STING?

This move is an excellent harasser, which is why i level it early. Most people criticize choosing it over stats, but it adds up and does plenty of damage early. It also slows, so you can get more attacks off, allowing even more damage!

Plague Ward:

Information:

-Heavy armor type; 0 armor.
-Average attack speed on all levels.
-Level 1 damage is 9-11.
-Piercing attack type.
-Level 2 damage is 17-21.
-Level 3 damage is 26-32.
-Level 4 damage is 34-42.

HOW SHOULD I USE PLAGUE WARDS?

There are many reasons to use these, none including dps purposes. First of all these are pretty nice farmers. Just set one near some creeps and rack up gold. One way I often use them is is to draw the attention from the towers and roshan. If you set one down a tower will automatically attack the ward and ignore you only if it attacks the tower itself, not other creeps/heroes), letting you get a hit in. The same goes for roshan. The third way to use these is as observer wards. If your neutral creeping you could surround the area your in with the wards, so I enemies try to gank you while your fighting creeps you can at least be aware and ready for the attack, or maybe run away if you have to!!

Poison Nova:

Information:

-500 Area of effect.
-Level 1 damage is 432 over 12 seconds.
-Level 2 damage is 696 over 12 seconds.
-Level 3 damage is 972 over 12 seconds.
-Aghanim’s cooldowns are 140/120/60 seconds.
-Level 1 damage w/ Sceptre is 696.
-Level 2 damage w/ Sceptre is 972.
-Level 3 damage w/ Sceptre is 1296.

HOW SHOULD I USE MY NOVA?

This is a wonderful team battle initiator. Blink to the middle of the fight and hit as many people as possible. One large downside to nova is that it cannot kill the enemy, unlike ss. In other words if you hit your opponent with it when they have low life the lowest it will take them to is 1 life. This explains the nova+ss combo, nova takes away all the life and ss finishes the job.

THE BUILD

1. Shadow Strike
2. Poison Sting
3. Shadow Strike
4. Poison Sting
5. Shadow Strike
6. Poison Nova
7. Shadow Strike
8. Poison Sting
9. Poison Sting
10. Poison Ward
11. Poison Nova
12. Stats
13. Stats
14. Stats
15. Stats
16. Poison Nova
17. Stats
18. Stats
19. Stats
20. Stats
21. Stats
22. Stats
23. Poison Ward
24. Poison Ward
25. Poison Ward

PURPOSE OF THIS ORDER

The slowing effects of poison are tremendous for getting an extra little boost early in the game. This is why i start out with shadow strike and poison sting. I also like to bump up plague ward early to get a quick lead on some low-level neutral farming.

ITEMS

This is my item setup. One thing I love about the Venomancer is that he isn’t very gear-dependant, so the set-up I use is pretty cheap:

Caster

Agility OR Strength Power Treads
Kelen’s Dagger of Escape
Aghanim’s Scepter OR Shiva’s Guard
Strength Bracers OR Wraith Bands (x2)
Bottle

DPS

Agility OR Strength Power Treads
Strength Bracers OR Wraith Bands (x2)
Bottle
Lothar’s Edge
Butterfly

The Sequence

This is the order in which I aquire the items:

Starting Items:

2x
2x

2 Tangoes
2 Clarity Potions
Circlet of Nobility

Core Items:

2x OR 2x


OR

2x OR 2x

THE EXPLANATION

Aghanim’s Scepter improves his ultimate, Poison Nova, and I love the mana boost because before using this there always seems to be a lack of mana. Also, because I’m SICK AND TIRED of people saying “the damage boost sceptre gives is garbage late game”, let me just say Aghanim’s is for the SIXTY SECOND COOLDOWN, not the damage boost. Now for the second big item, Shiva’s Guard. It’s cheaper, and also slows the enemy in ganks and is more team oriented. It gives you the mana you need but not the HP boost, which is basically the only negative contrast to this from Aghanim’s. Use whichever one you want, for me though Shiva’s will be the way to go from now on. Note that Shiva’s does not interfere with Poison Nova in any way, shape, or form. So many people argue over whether bracers or wraiths are better, and I got fed up with changing my mind in this debate, so I added BOTH interchangebly to the guide. If you feel the damage is more important, get wraiths. If you feel survivability is more important, get bracers! Same with the Agi/Str Treads situation. I actually go Bracers/Agi Treads to acheive a sort of balance between the damage you need and the survivability you need. Lothat’s and B-fly are just great DPS items, especially Lothar’s since 6.50. Lothar’s has good escaping AND Nova placement skills. NOTE FOR 6.50 AND ABOVE: I have reviewed Blink Dagger in these new versions, and though it doesn’t work well for escaping anymore it is still great for placing your Poison Nova. Blink Dagger will remain in the build.

KILLING STRATEGY & GAMEPLAY WALKTHROUGH

1-7:

1. Shadow Strike
2. Poison Sting
3. Shadow Strike
4. Poison Ward
5. Shadow Strike
6. Poison Nova
7. Shadow Strike

HARASS!!! GET AHEAD!! You should see the words “first blood” in your favor in 50% of the games you play. Veno is strong all game, as soon at this point just gank like a crazy mofo. At level 6, you should return to your base and buy your bracers or wraiths. Then return to a top or bottom lane to kill the enemy. Then buy a bottle at the side secret shop. Use it, and go gank mid. Just harass, gank, and repeat!!!

8-16:

8. Poison Sting
9. Poison Ward
10. Poison Sting
11. Poison Nova
12. Poison Sting
13. Stats
14. Stats
15. Stats
16. Poison Nova

Once you feel satisfied with your amount of ganks-gone-good use wards to farm like crazy. You should have your core items completed, getting blink dagger before aghanim’s or shiva’s. Continue the ganks and there should be team fights occuring by now. Remember to be the initiator, just try not to die Many people think you are meant to die, you’re not. It’s your job to blink in and nova, pick an enemy to ss, then attempt to run outside the center of the fight so you can attack from a safer distance.

17-25:

17. Stats
18. Stats
19. Stats
20. Stats
21. Stats
22. Stats
23. Stats
24. Poison Ward
25. Poison Ward

You should be DOMINATING. His core items are complete, and you could proably beef him up a bit more. Replace some bracers with a HoT. Maybe get a butterfly before going for a heart. Its your choice from here just dont f*ck him up. Anything past his core items are a little hard to farm, but if the game carries on long enough you will be extremely strong with an Aghanim’s/B-fly.

Combos

+

^^This is what I meant by “limited combos”. That’s basically his only one….

GOOD ALLIES

Zeus.

By now you know that Poison Nova cannot kill by itself. That’s why you have Zeus. Nova does a butt-load of damage over time, and Zeus is a perfect way to seal the deal if SS doesn’t do it for you. Try to hit more then on enemy with the nova if your gonna be paired with Zeus, because then his global ultimate will have a little bit more “KABLAM!” to it.

Speed Demons.

Anyone with fast attack speed basically. If they have good move speed and attack speed they will 100% dominate any enemy you’ve slowed. That’s what you are as venomancer, a slower. So if anyone your chasing is slowed, the fast attack/move speed hero, such as Troll, will just run up to them and take them down!!

Slowers.

Another slower is also a good. If a cooldown on your shadow strike is down have your ally slow the enemy. Another slower in your lane means the enemy is gonna be slowed almost 100% of the game. The enemy will be helpless non-stop. Lich is a great option. Bristleback is too.

Disablers.

If the enemy is disabled you can easily catch up to nova, aim your ss, or even call in some wards to attack him. That last one is kinda pointless though You don’t need wards to fight, but anyways a disabler is an extremely wonderful ally for ANY hero.

WORST ENEMIES

Mana Burners/Disablers.

Venomancer is nothing without his mana. Mana equals slows for venomancer, which is all he has going for him. Preserve your mana wisely! He needs his mana to bust off a nova every gank or every 60 seconds once he got aghanims.

Tanks.

High hp/high strength enemies will dominate venomancer. He has very little damage output against tanks by himself, and if he isn’t laned with a heavy dps’er lesale has nothin against a tank. If you do have a decent tank as an enemy get wraiths over bracers. Any extra bit of damage is significant against a tank.

Nukers.

These will tear apart your hp in an instant. Unlike against tanks, your gonna wanna get bracers over wraiths. Any hp is godly to you when facing extreme nukers such as Lina, CM, etc. My advice: try to avoid these guys!!!

Silencers.

Like a mana-drainer, silencers are a nightmare as well. Once again he takes away your two large slowing/damage skills. Avoid heroes like drow, death prophet, and (DUH) silencer.

REPLAYS

first_veno_replay.w3g ( 337.98k )
Number of downloads: 315
- Now let me warn you, I autoattack in this replay and have very little ganks, but it shows well-executed combos, and it’s the newest version. Since I wasn’t really ganking I avoided buying bracers/bottle until endgame, just to show you all what the complete build looks like. I had a pretty nice ratio for such a small ammount of ganks, and our team completly pwned the sentinel.

Sentinel:
Omniknight
Drow (Leaves)
Pudge
Treant (Leaves at end)
Tiny

Scourge:
Slardar
Veno(ME)
Luna (Leaves)
Puck
Anti-Mage

CONCLUSION

The Venomancer is a wonderful hero if you aren’t too great at making money. He dominates early and can be a wonderful hero if used properly. He isn’t the easiest character to use, but he can surely be superior with practice.

Thank you for taking the time to read my first guide ever!! Please comment with any feedback you have and it might just get into the guide (with credit to you of course).