Hero Builds

So over the weekend I started working on some hero mini guides, and I figured that new players would be interested, so here's a link.

Starting Hero Mini-guides

[Hero Spotlight] Slither

Slither

So while this hero does not meet too much of the basic criteria in my original "what to play build", as he doesn't have a stun or an escape mechanism, I believe slither is a very strong hero.  He doesn't carry, he is relatively easy to play, and he offers huge benefits to your team.  That said do not pick this hero if your team needs:

More stuns
Fast nuke damage
Tanky heroes

As he is vulnerable to gank, has no stuns, and most of his damage is over time.

Slither's Skills

Poison Spray - Slither sprays a torrent of toxins toward a target location, infecting any enemies that come in contact with the torrent. Infected enemies take some initial damage followed by damage over time and reduced Movement Speed.

This ability does 50/70/70/100 damage up front when maxed, and then 10/20/40/50 damage 5 times over 15 seconds.   This ability also applies a 50 percent slow that restores itself to normal over 5 seconds.

Toxicity - Slither adds poison damage to his attacks. His attacks then reduce target's movement speed, deal damage over time, and negate health regeneration.

This ability applies a 10% Movement Slow and 40%/60%/80%/100% Reduced Health Regeneration, as well as dealing 5/10/15/20 Magic Damage per second.

This ability is an attack modifier

This ability really shines in the laning phase and is good all game as the extra 140 damage per attack is amazing.  With its ability to shut down health regeneration, enemy runes of blight become worthless as long as you continue to harass. This is the first skill I max as it makes your harass in a lane almost unstoppable.

Toxin Ward -  Slither summons a ward at target location that will attack nearby enemies, dealing minor damage and slowing their movement speed. The ward is immune to Magic.

This ability summons a ward that has a sight radius of 300 and attacks near by enemies.Realize if it doesn't have something else to sight for it, it's limited by its own sight range.  If you're gonna be trying to push, max this out as soon as possible.

Poison Burst: Applies Acidic Poison to targets in a 950 radius for 12 seconds. Grants 800 day and night clearvision around Slither for 3 seconds.

Slither's Potential

This ability, Slithers ultimate, deals 36/58/81 non-lethal damage per second for 12 seconds.  Non-lethal means it deals damage till the target is at 1 HP, but won't kill them.  Either of your other damage over time effects will kill the target just fine =D.   Try saving this for engagements with multiple targets unless you really need it.

Now if you just did the math, thats right it does about  450/700/1000 AoE (read team wide) damage! That's sick!

Slither Role and Suggested Items

Slither is all of the following:

Nuker, Ganker, Pusher, Carry (kinda >.>)

Now, there are going to be different builds depending on how you're going to play Slither but the real decision you have to make here is if you're gonna try and semi-carry, or if you're going to gank/push.

If you're ganking/pushing get:

Striders

If you're gonna try and semi-carry get:

Steamboots

No matter if you're pushing, ganking, or semi-carrying the best item by far is Slither:

Geometers Bane

After this if you're trying to deal more damage and Gank get a null-fire, if you're having trouble getting nuked down get a BKB, or if you're just plain pushing a Puzzle Box is ideal.

Important Slither Facts

Your attack range is slightly shorter than most heroes (500 rather than 600), but your attack with toxicity is brutal.  You may take a hit or two to land your harass if your enemy is super aware, but it is probably worth it.

Slither has an attack modifier already, so don't build another one unless you really need it.

Stacking your dots can be brutal, and many enemies will find themselves dead without realizing where the damage came from.

You don't have a scaling skill like splitshot, and/or a crit, so you won't be anywhere near as hard a carry as others.

If your farm isn't going well, play slither as a support, get wards and buy some HP items.

This concludes the slither hero spotlight, if you're interested in another hero, let me know.  I'm going to be working on a Witch Slayer guide for my next hero spotlight!

Alt Avatars and the Community Store

Many people think that the goblin coin store is just S2s way of making additional money from people who have already paid for a full product.  If you visit the official S2 forums at all, or even some non-official Heroes of Newerth or even DOTA forums you'll see the 6800 signatures all over the place.  Obviously people are upset about things, and some even feel betrayed, but I think its important to think about some of the things S2 gaming is doing right here.

- Goblin Coins allow S2 games to give positive reinforcement for good behavior.  This is currently seen from the coins for wards stats, assists, kills (though I'm not sure anyone needs encouragement to get more kills).  S2 even put in coins for smack downs, which leads to funny situations of humiliation and triumph.  Something I think they could improve on this by gauging rewards to encourage behavior appropriately, as many people I know STILL don't care to buy and place wards when playing support or for buying a courier which you currently don't get anything for.

- Goblin Coins allow s2 to afford to continue pushing more interesting art oriented content. (artists aren't cheap... well not good ones anyway)  The new Slither Ms Ivy, unless this is an April fools joke; in which case i will punch someone, has me very excited.  Until such a time as these purchases offer real game balance effects, these coins are purely novelty items, and as such great rewards.

- Premium items allow s2 to afford to sometimes do expensive projects (like say... hiring someone with a famous voice).  As long as premium items are only those that cost quite a bit to finance, then they truly do fulfill the intent of which I think they were created, and enable the player base to get some really cool items!

- All this said, if s2 ever makes premium items that effect in game balance, we're going to enter a world of pay to play.

Overall I think the store is a great idea, that allows s2 to make money from those people who are impatient, and yet enrich the game with great, shiny, new, motivating, content.  Did I say shiny?

[Problem Hero] Update: Bubbles

So a hero I've heard alot of people complaining about recently is Bubbles.
 

I like turtles!

This is a hero I really enjoy playing and is very strong in the current meta game due to his strong CC and AoE silence.  If you want a link to his hero skills:  Bubbles

Picking Phase:  Bubbles is a very strong hero, that requires a good player/pilot to take advantage of his skill set.  Be aware that in high level games, Bubbles could very well be a problem and if you don't think you can handle the silence and other CC Bubbles has to offer, he is a strong candidate for your ban.  If you can't afford to ban Bubbles, and he does get picked, try getting heroes that don't need to cluster up with their team mates.

Early Game:  Bubbles performs well in any lane, though he is scariest with level advantage and will often go mid because of this.  His early game harass, due to Shell Toss, and well timed dodges, with Take Cover, can make Bubbles very hard to deal with in a lane.  Play smart and don't over commit trying to kill him.

Yes, it can be this hard to kill Bubbles

Mid Game:  Like many other problem heroes, Bubbles is a hero you do not want to get clustered up for because he can bring a lot of damage and CC to bear in one spot.  Also, Bubbles tends to gank during the mid game and with shell toss he can cover a lot of ground.  Keep wards up so you are aware of his position!

 Late Game:  Barrier idol is a blessing against this hero for the team, and BKB/shrunken head as a carry really does help keep you from getting locked down.  Keep being aware of positioning and you can generally outplay Bubbles.  If you're a carry hero be aware that popping BKB before he puts down his kelp field will lead to you being snared just like everyone else.  Int heroes should stay spread out just like mid game, to allow you to minimize the impact of Bubbles silence.

As always feel free to let me know if you can think of any other problem heroes and I'll be happy to try and address them.

[Item Mini-Guide] Tablet of Command

Tablet of command is one of those items that people really underestimate but can be amazing in the hands of someone who knows how to use it.

 Tablet of Command allows you to push a unit 500 units in the direction that IT is facing (not you're facing, or you want it to go >.> Though we can dream)

So to give you a visual of what range you're talking about:

This doesn't look like much till it saves someones bacon

So from that position, if you aim well, you end up:

Weeeee!

It also can be used to get away during team fights be "hopping up" terrain.  Here we start in the river:

What would yoshi do?

And now we're safely away from any danger:

SPRING HOP!

A lot of people say, why not just get a portal key, you can go further.  Here's a comparison of the 2:

500 Jump vs 1200 Jump (Portal key wins)
4 all stats/10 extra int/10 damage vs nothing (Tablet wins)
Effects any hero vs effects only yourself (Tablet wins)
You can cast tablet while taking damage vs PK you can't (Tablet wins)
Tablet costs 2040 vs PKs 2150

So while if all you care about is self mobility, PK is definitely better, tablet of command wins in every other way.

So if I've officially impressed you this is how you build a tablet of command:

   +    +  500 gold  =

Now this is not to say that tablet is for every hero, but for int support that want to have a good escape option, chase down option, team mobility boosting item, that gives stats, and allows you to place wards in new wonky places; this is definitely for you.  I urge you to give this item a chance to be an all star!

Hero Roles and Team Composition

Many people feel the strongest thing they can do in any game is play the carry hero; most people even know what the carry hero is.  However, besides the team having a good carry, many players have no idea what they're going to need on their team.  You can be extremely valuable to your team in many different roles, but part of that is recognizing what your hero is supposed to do and capitalizing on it.  Many heroes have more than one role, so don't limit yourself to doing only one thing.

Support:  These heroes are heroes that don't scale very well with items and/or have supportive skills.  They should typically be buying wards/counter wards and the courier.   Good support heroes need to know the ward spots and place the wards as this will give your other heroes (carries and gankers) time to do what they do best.  Something many players are unaware of is that intelligence heroes are not the only supports.  Classic Examples:  Andro, Demented Shaman, Accursed

Ganker:  These heroes typically have slows or stuns, and don't scale super well into the late game.  These heroes should roam the map, looking for small engagements in which they can kill enemy team members without dying.  Classic Examples: Wretched Hag, Deadwood, Gauntlet, Pebbles.

Nuker:  These heroes may also be stunners or gankers, but the thing that distinguishes them is they deal alot of damage with their skills instead of their auto-attacks.  These heroes should save their skills for engagements with multiple people if at all possible, as they have a very large effect on team fights.  Classic examples:  Slither, Bombadier

Carry:  This heroes job is to farm as best they can, carrying a TP scroll so they can respond to favorable team engagements.  The carry is the teams insurance policy, as if you can't end the game before the late game, you'll  be relying on your carry.  Late game, you should be looking at what you need item wise to survive team engagements, deal damage, and counter the enemy carry hero.  Classic Examples:  Chronos, Madman, Maliken.

Initiator:  These heroes will either have a blink, a way to close distance, or will have skills that synergy extremely well with a portal key.  Your job is generally to catch someone unaware, and start team battles (aka initiating them >.>).  Who you lead on is often important, but sometimes when you lead will be more important.  The question often comes down to, "I'd like to lead on _____, but if the enemy starts on us will we be screwed?"  Classic Example:  Pharoah, Moraxus, Gauntlet

Tank:  These heroes are kind of awkward to define because there are 2 kinds of tanks.  Tanks like Armadon and Legionnaire where you're purposely trying to take damage to deal damage, and tanks like Moraxus where you're saying "kill me or die".  Unfortunately many people see Moraxus and think his ultimate is just for nuking.  Classic Examples:  Armadon, Legionare, Moraxus, Accursed

Stunner:   Obviously this hero is going to have a stun.  Often times, you'll be using your stun with other team mates CC in order to lock down an opposing hero as long as possible.  Make sure to communicate with your team about who is CCing whom in what order.

Pusher:  These heroes have abilities that can demolish towers, and/or have minions that make taking towers much easier.  1 or 2 pushers on a team can make defending towers near impossible, especially with the threat of strong initiation behind them.  Be sure to capitalize on your pushers to try and take as many towers or even barracks as possible.


Now that we know what different roles do, what should we typically be looking for.  When I try to craft a team I'm generally looking for

1 Carry
2 Stunners/Gankers
1 Initiator
1 Support Hero

This is just one example build, their are others but I'll continue with this one for now...

So to give you an example

Witch Slayer -  Support, Ganker, Stunner
Demented Shaman - Support
Wretched Hag - Nuker, Ganker, Initiator
Gauntlet - Ganker, Initiator, Stunner
Madman - Carry

Notice how many heroes have more than one roll.  Please be aware that while you may want to play witch player as a ganker, and not go home often, if you don't have other supports, it would be best for your team if you went home and got wards occasionally.  (your team will thank you, even if they don't say it outloud)

Please, when on the pick screen don't be a stubborn ass, if the team really needs a support hero, try playing it once and a while.  If you have a group of friends, take turns playing the "ward bitch"  as no one wants to do that every game.

Edit:  

Nigma, as often is the case has some awesome stuff for us to look at.  Here's a video the different roles.

Valkyrie Hero Spotlight and 2.17 Patchnotes

So first up, I wanted to highlight the valkyrie hero spotlight, because while many people enjoy playing her... not many are good with her.  This video will help improve your play, and show you the role that valkyrie should be taking most games.

That said, the item build they used could still work but isn't going to be as effective because of the 2.17 patchnotes.  Null-fire no longer propagates to illusions now.  So please keep that in mind for your upcoming Valkyrie games.  Thunderclaw and Frost wolf skull is also a popular build that gets you a slow and tons of damage. 

Now onto the patch notes.  I don't want to post all of them just the ones that are going to have a bigger impact:

 - The following items' Attack effects will no longer propagate to illusions
* Icebrand
* Frostburn
* Shieldbreaker
* Frostwolf's Skull
* Nullfire Blade

 Geometer's Bane
- Recipe cost reduced from 1200 to 800

So as I was saying about the Valkyrie spotlight, illusions will no longer take the effects of attack modifiers.  To compensate for this, geometers bane has been lowered in price.  Please be aware the Frostburn build of Flint Beastwood and similar carries is going to be less effective now.  Not totally worthless mind you, just not as good.  I was gonna link Sand Wraith as the obvious nerf target here... but I don't think its limited to just him.

Aluna
- Deja Vu
* Unitwalking & shadow slow moved to regular form
* Boosted Deja Vu will now cause Aluna to slow any units she runs through (in addition to shadow also slowing)
- Emerald Red
* Manacost lowered from 150 to 75/100/125
* Now uses only 1 charge on use instead of all charges
* Added 0.5 sec cd to skill

Just to make this clear, I'm not sure this is a huge buff to Aluna.  That said, it does give the player/pilot more control and that's almost always a good thing =D.  The Deja Vu buff is definately nice for chase down, and while I personally feel there is only one core item build for her still, maybe similar tweaks will help with that problem.

Devourer
- Guttling Hook will no longer grab people on the way back

 This is probably step one of the devourer nerfs.  That said, this saddens me, as devourer is one of my favorite heroes, and I thought this was a meaningful difference between him and other projectile heroes like Valk.

Besides this, there are a bunch of smaller tweaks and alot of server code optimizations (good for us, less lag maybe?)  Also, UNICORN RAMPAGE >.> He's not very colorful =(.  Oh well, time to go drag someone behind a tower to beat out my frustration.