Terrorblade Build (6.85) - Earlier Aggression

Terrorblade is a (somewhat) illusion-based hard agility carry.  He's extremely squishy early game, especially against nukes, but has great damage both mid and late-game with Metamorphosis and high agility growth and hard-hitting illusions.  His ultimate is a bit strange, but can be used both to weaken enemies and save both teammates and Terrorblade himself.

Tips:
- Don't pick Terrorblade against a heavy-nuke (magic damage) line-up!
- DO pick Terrorblade against heroes that like prolonged fights!
- DO pick Terrorblade if you are running a defensive Safelane tri-lane, or have a dedicated hard support to back you up in the early game!

Worst Enemies (by Dotabuff win rate):
- Timbersaw
- Sand King
- Axe
- LC
- Slark
- Zeus
The Pro Scene

In the current meta of 6.85, as of this writing, Terrorblade hasn't seen pro play due to the preference for early-fighting carries, or carries with absurd early-farming speed, such as Shadowfiend and Alchemist.

So if you DID want a Terrorblade who could fight earlier, how could you itemize?

Early-Aggression Item Build:
Start:  Tango, Branch x 3, Shield, Gauntlet.
Early:  Boots, Bracer, Shield, (leftover branches), TP
Midgame*:  Power Treads, Ogre Club, Bracer, Shield, TP
Core**:  Power Treads, Maelstrom, Bracer, TP
Core Ext***:  BKB/S&Y (situational), HoD (once your hp pool and damage have been increased, add lifesteal - it's better if a teammate has a Vlad's, though - it works for your ranged form now with the recent change).
6-Slotted****:  Boots of Travel, Butterfly, Deadalus, BKB or Manta, +2 situational (Heart, Satanic, Skadi, Mjolnir, MKB)
7-Slotted:   Moon Shard

*This combination is largely to buff Terrorblade's terrible hp pool.  The idea here is to get cheap items that will give him toughness.  Because of high agility, he doesn't need armor, and a Vanguard is not a great choice because Terrorblade should be in ranged form whenever he is fighting.  The ranged form is your raw damage boost, which gets boosted further with the addition of crit.
** This becomes your early-fight equipment.  With L4 Metamorphosis and Agility Treads, you'll be doing 256 DPS, with 967 hp, or 1663 EHP / 1289 MHP (Magic EHP).  Mael is also good for farming and wave-clearing either both melee and ranged forms.
***Given that you took the Ogre Club for toughness, you can go for early a BKB against lockdown/nukes, or an S&Y for better chase and damage.  You can later disassemble the S&Y to create a Manta (sell the Sange eventually).
**** The order is which you get items is important, and depends on what composition you are facing.  You will generally just get BoTs to free up a TP slot, but with the decent decrease in cooldown of BoT vs. TP, you may want to get them earlier for farming.  You may also need another defensive item (Heart, Satanic, Skadi), or an MKB, depending on what you are facing).  I personally favour Skadi + MKB.


Skill Build:
General: You want to maximize Metamorphosis, for the raw bonus damage.  Given that you're going for cheaper toughness items rather than a drum for balanced stats, you can skip Conjure Image until later, and take some early Stats.  One level of Reflection is taken for the slow.  Sunder (ultimate) is delayed because of the lack of mana available to cast it when needed; the item build above skips the Aquila, meaning that you need a support with Arcane Boots, and/or you need to conserve mana for fighting.
*First Skill-up:  You should generally NOT skill your first point until you need it.  In some situations, having Reflection in an early engagement (especially 3vX or more) can make a huge difference.
Level 1* - Metamorphosis
Level 2 - Stats
Level 3 - Metamorphosis
Level 4 - Reflection
Level 5 - Metamorphosis
Level 6 - Stats
Level 7 - Metamorphosis (L4)
Level 8 & 9 - Reflection
Level 10 - Sunder
Level 11 - Sunder
Level 12 - Reflection (L4)
Levels 13-15 - Conjure Image
Level 16 - Sunder
Level 17 - Conjure Image
Level 18+ - Stats

** You should be level 4 before the mid-laner comes ganking, so delaying Reflection until this point shouldn't hurt you that much.  When enemies' right-click damage is low, Reflection L1 isn't a great harass tool anyway (40% of their damage for 2 auto-attacks, taking into armor mitigation, is going to be somewhere around 65*2*0.75*0.4 = 40 damage total).

Spotlight: Winter Wyvern - 6.84 Builds

Winter Wyvern is still trying to find its place in most line-ups, but almost everyone agrees that the hero's main purpose is lane support and teamfight.  It's the kind of hero that wears the enemy team down, with a possible burst initiation using her ultimate.

Here are some build ideas, based on the new items:

Lane Harass:

Ability build:  1-2-1-3-1-4-1 (to level 7, early Arctic Burn)
Starting Items: Wardx2 or Courier, Tangos x 2, Clarity, Ring of Protection
As Needed:  Wards, TP Scrolls, Health Pot for carry, Flying Courier
Core Items:  Tranquil Boots, Medallion
Luxury:  Solar Crest

Team Support

Ability build (early Splinter Blast): 2-1-2-3-2-4-2 (to Level 7)
Starting Items:  Wardx2 or Courier, Tango, Health Pot, Clarity, Ring of Protection
Early:  Basilius
As Needed:  see above
Core Items: Boots, Vlad's
Luxury:  Veil of Discord

Team Ideas:

Safe: Gyro + Wyvern + Treant
Mid: QoP
Offlane Solo: Axe or Bristleback
Idea:  Two initiators with a Taunt, and followup from Overgrowth and AOE damage

Spotlight on Legion Commander

Legion Commander is a very versatile hero, who can be played in many roles.  Despite not having a teamfight-oriented Ultimate, she could probably be played as a support similar to Abaddon or Ogre Magi, due to her ability to buff/heal teammates and nuke.

Laning LC (farmer)

Starting:  Courier, Tango, Clarity, Healing Potion, 3 Branches
Early:  Boots, Stick
Core:  Power Treads, Armlet, Blink Dagger
Core Ext:  Basher, BKB
Lategame: Abyssal, AC, Boots of Travel (BoT), Heart

Jungler LC

Legion Commander is often jungled even from level 1, because she is tanky, has early Lifesteal thanks to Moment of Courage, and can self-heal with an attack speed buff using Press the Attack.
I highly recommend Bottle with the 6.82 change to runes.  Soul Ring is also a viable option combined with LC's self-heals and lifesteal.  A Jungle LC should try to gank and snowball after L6, hence the "racecar" midgame items such as Phase and Drums, and OoV to help with chases.  Blink helps a LOT to get good initiation.

Typical Jungling Build:

Starting: Tango, Stout Shield, Quelling Blade
Early:  Boots, Bottle (or Soul Ring)
Core:  Phase Boots, Blink Dagger, Orb of Venom, Drums
Core Ext:  Basher, BKB
Lategame: Abyssal, AC, Boots of Travel (BoT), Heart

Support LC Item Build:

As a support, LC could level Overwhelming Odds and Press the Attack, giving high amounts of healing and buffing to a carry (creating a pseudo-Alchemist).  However, she needs SOME farm to be effective, and thus should be played as a position 3 or 4.
Skipping Duel at Level 6 would be a good idea in this case, because LC will be under-farmed to win duels (unless hunting enemy solo supports or initiating).  Can transition into a semi-carry late game.

Starting:  Courier, Tango, Clarity, Healing Potion, 3 Branches
Early:  Boots, Stick, Basilius, TP
Core:  Power Treads, Vlad's, Eul's, TP
Situational:  Pipe, Gem, Blink Dagger, Halberd
Long Game?  AC, Scythe, BKB, Boots of Travel


Support LC Skill Build:

Level	Skill	Level	Skill
1	Press the Attack	9	Duel
2	Overwhelming Odds	10	Moment of Courage
3	Overwhelming Odds	11	Duel
4	Press the Attack	12	Moment of Courage
5	Overwhelming Odds	13	Moment of Courage
6	Press the Attack	14	Moment of Courage
7	Overwhelming Odds	15	Stats
8	Press the Attack	16	Duel

... and of course Stats for levels 17-25.

Good Teammates:

Paired with Carries that need attack speed, such as:

• Lifestealer
• Sven
• Tiny
• DragonKnight
• Slardar

Hero Build: Visage Position 4 (Greedy Support)

Visage is a hero most known for his aggressive tri-laning and he excels in teamfights, especially prolonged ones.  However, as a support, he lacks a true disable other than dropping his familiars on enemies, and starts out quite squishy (due to his negative armor).  His abilities also cost a ton of mana to use, even though they have a good range and are otherwise spammable.

Visage Item Build (tri-lane):

Start (625):  Courier, Tango, Magic Stick, Clarity x 3
Early:  Boots, Stick, TP
Core:  Power Treads, Medallion, Wand, TP
Low Luxury: Drums, Force Staff, Platemail, Point Booster
High Luxury:  Shiva's, Scythe, Agh's, AC
Situational:  Pipe, Vlad's, Gem

Item Build Notes:

• Some people would prefer a Ring of Protection for Visage, but with the later pickup of Medallion, I feel that someone else could get the Basilius, which would benefit the team more (and Visage would still get the armor aura).
• Power Treads can be swapped for Arcane Boots if you don't have another support picking up a pair.  Treads are preferred to make Visage tankier (set them to Strength).  Phase Boots aren't a bad choice for the speed boost, but the damage doesn't provide as much benefit to the team.
• Don't hesitate to pick up a Pipe, Vlad's or Gem on Visage.  All of these benefit the team greatly.
• 'Casual' Platemail and Point Booster are both great pickups, even if you don't finish a larger item.
• Visage (and his familiars) are very position-dependent, so a Force Staff can be of great use.

Visage Ability Build:
L1 - Soul Assumption (or GraveChill for defensive tri)
L2 - Grave Chill
L3 - Gravekeeper's Cloak
L4 - Soul Assumption
L5 - Soul Assumption
L6 - Familiars
L7 - Soul Assumption (maxed)
L8 - Cloak
L9 - Cloak
L10 - Cloak (maxed)
L11 - Familiars
L12 - Grave (or stats)
L13 - Grave (or stats)
L14 - Grave (maxed, or stats)
L15 - Stats
L16 - Familiars
L17+ - Stats

Ability Build Notes:

• Despite Grave Chill's attraction for right-clicking, the bonus is static, and the duration does not increase rapidly, making me favour earlier levels of Cloak, for staying alive longer to spam Soul Assumption more often.
• An early level of Grave Chill is taken for the slow, to secure kills or aid escapes.
• Cloak is mainly a deterrent against being focused first, and to mitigate AOE damage and the occasional pot-shot.  It is NOT something you can use to tank for your team, because its layers will fall off rapidly, and leave you squishy once again.
• Unless your team needs a really long slow (as in, you have melee carries that are getting kited), consider skipping Grave past level 1 and get Stats from levels 12 to 14 instead.

Hero Build: Crystal Maiden (Position 5 - Hard Support)

I was looking on the dota2gamepedia, and I didn't really like the way the item suggestions for Crystal Maiden (CM) were laid out.  Here's my take on Crystal Maiden support, which allows you to roam or lane, and has a few early points in her mana-regen aura, to support the rest of your team.

Crystal Maiden by Zrog (Position 5):

Start (590):  Courier, Tangos (give 1-2 to mid), Clarity (to be annoying), Health Pot, 3 Branches

Early:  Boots, Wand, TP, Wards

Core:  Tranq Boots, Wand, Bracer, TP, Wards, Dust

Low Luxury:  Eul’s, Ghost Scepter, Force Staff, Shadow Amulet, Blink Dagger

High Luxury:  BKB, Scythe, Agh’s, BoT

Situational:  Medallion, Urn, Drums, Vlad’s, Veil

Item Notes:

• You want an early Teleport Scroll (TP) to save teammates if they get tower-dived, or to counter-gank
• I made two sections of Luxury items, because in some games, if you're doing your warding/de-warding and other support duties, you aren't going to EVER have gold for the bigger items.  Instead of saving for something you'll never get, go for a low-luxury item.
• Some builds advocate a Gauntlet instead of three Branches, to free up inventory space, or to get a very early Urn.  However, given that you're going to want a Wand anyway, I would always prefer three Branches over a Gauntlet, for the extra stats.  IMO, if you really need the inventory space, skip one of the Branches.

Ability Build:

L1 - Frostbite

L2 - Crystal Nova

L3 - Arcane Aura

L4 - Crystal Nova

L5 - Arcane Aura (you ARE a support, after all)

L6 - Blizzard (yes, at L6 - it's better now)

L7 - Crystal Nova

L8 - Crystal Nova (maxed)

L9 - Frostbite

L10 - Frostbite

L11 - Blizzard

L12 - Frostbite (maxed)

L13 - Arcane Aura

L14 - Arcane Aura (maxed)

L15 - Stats

L16 - Blizzard

L17+ Stats

Notes:  

• Versus Blink-carries, level Frostbite over Nova.
• For Level-1 teamfights, Nova is better than Frostbite because of the AOE and attack slow.
• Crystal Maiden is awesome in teamfights if there's no one to interrupt her ultimate.  She is similar to Witch Doctor in this respect, although unfortunately she's less tanky.

Good Combos with Maiden:

• Strength carries with small mana pools and good early nukes (Sven, WK, Tiny, etc)
• Secondary Stunners (Lesh/Lina/Jakiro)
• Melee Stunners (Slardar, Centaur, Ursa, etc)
• AOE lockdown heroes (Magnus, Enigma, Disruptor, Clockwerk, etc)

Anti-Maiden Heroes:

• Gankers (Nyx, Riki, Bounty Hunter, Clinkz, Bloodseeker, etc)
• Silencers (Silencer, Drow, Death Prophet, Skywrath, etc)
• Pugna

Hero Builds: Jakiro

Introduction

Jakiro is a great support hero - he can push, stun, defend, and team fight.  He doesn't really need items, and is decently tough, with a good starting Strength and Strength growth.

His main downside is his lengthly cast animation, meaning you might not get your ability off before you get stunned or before you die.  his attack range isn't great (400), but if you target-cast his Liquid Fire instead of auto-casting it, the range increases to 600.

Jakiro Abilities:

I favour Dual Breath over the recently-nerfed Ice Path.  Ice Path only does 50 damage at all levels, and has only a 1s stun at level 1.  Of Jakiro's three abilities, I think Liquid Fire is the strongest laning ability, and does well for pushing towers as well.

Skirmishing (or Aggro Tri) Build:

The idea of this build is to get access to your three abilities ASAP (with a 1/1/1 build at L3), and then maximize Dual Breath for skirmishes.  This build emphasizes skirmishing instead of pushing or laning.

Ability Build:
Level 1 - Dual Breath or Liquid Fire (depending on role)
Level 2 - Liquid Fire or Dual Breath
Level 3 - Ice Path (this gives you a 1/1/1 build)
Level 4 - Dual Breath (the damage increases from 80 to 180)
Level 5 - Dual Breath (the damage increases from 180 to 280 total)
Level 6 - Macropyre
Level 7 - Dual Breath (damage 280 to 380)
... Max Ice Path
... Max Liquid Fire

Item Build:
Starting:  Courier, Tango & Healing Potion*, Clarity, Gauntlet
Early: Boots, Stick, TP
Core: Arcane Boots, Urn, TP, Wards
Luxury:  Force Staff, Drums of Endurance, Ghost Sceptre, Eul's Sceptre
*Alternately, get 2 Tangos, and pool 2 charges to your mid-laner or carry.

The Laning/Pushing Build:

The idea of this build is to abuse Liquid Fire, both for harassment and pushing.  The main reason to level Liquid Fire ASAP is to reduce its cooldown.  It does a ridiculous amount of damage for a zero-mana-cost ability.  The damage doesn't scale that rapidly (75/100/125/150), but the cooldown decreases by ~5 seconds per level (20/15/10/4).  This gives you a harassment tool that scales from 225 damage per minute (225/60 = 3.75 DPS) to 2250 damage per minute (37.5 DPS).  This damage output is really annoying to lane against, especially in combination with, say, Heartstopper or TideBringer...

Ability Build:
Level 1 - Liquid Fire
Level 2 - Ice Path
Level 3 - Liquid Fire
Level 4 - Dual Breath
Level 5 - Liquid Fire
Level 6 - Macropyre
Level 7 - Liquid Fire (4 s cooldown)
... Max Dual Breath
... Max Ice Path


Item Build:
Starting:  Courier, Tango, Clarity, Healing Potion, Branch x 3
Early: Boots, Stick, TP
Core: Arcane Boots, Magic Wand, TP, Wards
Luxury: Force Staff, Drums, Ghost Sceptre, Eul's

Mid Build

I saw this done in a pro game in patch 6.81c, and Jakiro is surprisingly good at shutting down some mid heroes (especially melee ones), and forcing the tower early. I think this approach will do less well in 6.82b, since the nerfs to tower gold.  However, that said, one of my pub-friends used to play Jakiro mid with great results, even several patches ago, before the buff to Liquid Fire.

Ability Build:
Build is similar to the Laning/Pushing Build, above, with L2 and L4 swapped
Level 1 - Liquid Fire
Level 2 - Dual Breath
Level 3 - Liquid Fire
Level 4 - Ice Path (alternately, Dual Breath again, if no supports are rotating to gank mid)
Level 5 - Liquid Fire
Level 6 - Macropyre
Level 7 - Liquid Fire (4 s cooldown)
... Max Dual Breath
... Max Ice Path

Item Build:
Starting:  Tango, Branch x 3 (bottle rush)
Early:  Bottle, Boots
Core:  Arcane Boots, Mekanism, TP
Situational:  Eul's, Force Staff, Pipe, Veil of Discord, Blink
Luxury:  Aghanim's, Scythe

Build: Sven (aggressive laning carry)

Sven 6.81 build (carry; be aggressive in lane!)

Here's a Sven build for 6.81.  In general, you want to be in a dual lane, or tri-lane vs. tri-lane.  If you have a safe trilane, you don't need the Shield (take Quelling instead, or save for earlier Treads).

I'm a big fan of Blink Dagger on melee carries that have stuns.   It's WAY too easy to get kited otherwise, and often it's easy to get pulled out of position while trying to chase someone down so you can hit them, even with Warcry.

Start:  Tangos, Stout Shield, Healing Salve, Branch x 2

Early:  Power Treads, Ogre Club, TP

Core:  BKB, Blink Dagger

Core Ext:  Crystalis, Basher, HoD

Luxury:  Abyssal Blade, Deadalus, Heart, Satanic, BoT

Situational:  MKB, AC, Halberd

Builds: Shadowfiend

Shadowfiend (early effectiveness)

Start (625): Circlet, Slippers, RoP, Healing Salve

Early: Boots, Ring of Aquila

Core (go gank): Phase Boots, Shadowblade, TP

Core Ext: Crystalis,  BKB

Luxury (6-slotted): MKB, Butterfly, Deadalus, Satanic, BoT, BKB

The following build provides "lean" item progressions for Shadowfiend, where he will start coming online as a ganker quite early, with minimal farm:

Shadowfiend Midas Build:

Another build is the "Midas" build, where you will be aiming for slightly later impact, but stronger late-game presence with higher farm:

Start (575):  Tango, 3 Branches, Circlet, Healing Salve

Early:  Boots, Gloves of Speed

Core:  Midas, Power Treads, Shadowblade

Core Ext:  BKB, HoD

+ Attack modifier item (choose 1):

Diffusal, Desolator, Satanic, Skadi

Luxury:  Manta, Butterfly, BoTs, MKB

Shadowfiend Split-Pusher Build:

This would be a very-situational build, where you'd want Shadowfiend to be able to push a lane by himself (which he can do well with flash-farming), but also be able to escape at a moment's notice, or switch lanes easily:

Start (625): Circlet, Slippers, RoP, Healing Salve

Early:  Boots, Aquila, Maelstrom

Core:  Shadowblade, BoTs, Blink Dagger

Luxury:  Mjolnir, Manta, Skadi