Tons of huge changes, the game is going to change significantly. Definitely no more pushing meta. Head over to http://www.playdota.com/changelogs/6.75 for all the details.



Venomancer is an AGI support/ganker with a vicious early game. His primary slow, Venomous Gale, can land an easy first blood if coordinated properly. He is currently a top pick in the competitive scene due to his versatility and unrivaled lane control. He is pretty item independent but typically does better with a few items. As a Venomancer you want to play aggressively throughout the game as you will become less useful in the late game. The most common skill build is:

1. Venomous Gale
2. Poison Sting
3. Plague Ward
4. Plague Ward
5. Plague Ward
6. Ult
7. Plague Ward
8. Poison Sting
9. Poison Sting
10. Poison Sting
11. Ult
12+ Venomous Gale

Use your Poison Sting to harass enemies early on and Gale if you see an opportunity to grab a kill. It is basically the best skill at level 1 and should be abused. Plague Ward is your primary skill since it helps you push, defend, farm, and most importantly, gain vision. Drop as many of them as mana allows. Common item choices include:

Tranquil Boots/Phase/Treads
Ring of Aquila
Aghanims
Shadow Blade
Drum of Endurance
Urn
Mekansm
Pipe of Insight

at 7:22 PM Posted by Unknown 0 Comments





Crystal Maiden is an INT support hero known for her global mana aura. Like Lich, she is pretty straightforward in her play style and skills, but many people still do not use her properly. Ideally you want to go safe lane with a carry or aggressive ganker. Some examples include - Juggernaut, Spectre, Slardar, Sven, Sand King. As a support you do NOT need any farm, and you should NOT be fighting for creeps with whoever is in your lane. Your job is composed of buying the chicken and wards, providing the team with mana through your aura, supporting your carry, and ganking with your team. Skill build:

1. Frost Bite or Nova
2. Crystal Nova or Frost Bite
3. Aura
4. Aura
5. Aura
6. Aura/Ult - You can choose to skip your ultimate if there isn't a lot of fighting going on
7. Ult/Aura
8. Frost Bite
9. Frost Bite
10. Frost Bite
11. Ult
12+ Crystal Nova

The slow on Crystal Nova is consistent throughout the levels so it's best to leave it at 1. Aura is the most important/useful skill you have so that gets maxed first. Frost Bite is a very deadly skill, especially when combined with something like Juggernaut spin. Also, with her high INT and aura you should always be using your skills to harass in lane. General items include:

Chicken/Wards
Tranquil Boots or Power Treads
Magic Wand
Urn
Bracer
Mekansm
Blink Dagger

As mentioned above, you want to avoid spending the game farming and most of your extra gold should go towards wards. Generally, having boots and an Urn is all you need.

at 7:21 PM Posted by Unknown 0 Comments




Lich is an INT support hero, most commonly known for being the most recommended for beginners. He is simple to play and never really a bad pick, especially in public games where support heroes are usually lacking. In order to play Lich well you need to: make sure you're not taking farm away from your carry, harass the enemy with your nuke, buy the chicken/wards, and buy any other support items necessary. The most common skill build is:

1. Dark Ritual (Deny a ranged creep as soon as it spawns)
2. Frost Nova
3. Frost Nova
4. Dark Ritual
5. Frost Nova
6. Ultimate
7. Frost Nova
8. Dark Ritual
9. Dark Ritual or Frost Armor (If you're not having any mana problems then take Armor)
10. Frost Armor
11. Ultimate
12. Frost Armor
13. Frost Armor
14. Frost Armor
15. Stats
16. Ultimate

Common items for Lich include:

Chicken/Wards
Tranquil Boots/Power Treads
Mekansm
Pipe of Insight
Bracer/Wand
Urn

Lich does not really need any items other than boots and maybe some cheap stat items like a bracer. He is very farm independent and should use most of his gold on wards and a Mek if no one else on the team is making one. Also, his ult breaks channeling on the first hit, so feel free to use it if you need to stop an important enemy from TPing or an Enigma ultimate.

at 7:20 PM Posted by Unknown 0 Comments




Bounty Hunter is an AGI Carry/Ganker who excels in racking up gold for your team through his ultimate. In professional games he is often played in the suicide lane (long lane) since he can use his invis to soak up experience and cause the supports to buy sentry wards and dust. I believe that BH should be played in the 2 or 3 role as he is not a great primary carry compared to other heroes. Once you reach lvl 6 you should be spamming your ultimate on every hero possible, especially invis heroes such as Riki. Skill build:

1. Invis or Jinada -If you're up against a tough lane grab invis first, otherwise take Jinada for the improved last hits
2. Invis/Jinada - Whichever you didn't grab at lvl 1
3. Shuriken Toss
4. Shuriken Toss
5. Jinada
6. Ult
7. Jinada
8. Jinada
9. Invis
10. Invis
11. Ult
12. Invis
13. Shuriken Toss
14. Shuriken Toss
15. Stats
16. Ult

Toss is left at level two since the damage gained from leveling up is mediocre and BH does not have the mana to support it early on. Jinada is great for harassing and farming, and only 1 level of invis is needed early on. Once you reach level 6 you want to stop farming and start ganking as this is where most of your gold will come from. Your ultimate not only provides bonus gold for you, but for your teammates as well. Keep in mind you can use Toss to stop TP's and any other channeling spell. My preferred item build is:

Bottle
Phase Boots
Drum of Endurance
Black King Bar or Desolator - Depending on your opponents, how the game is going, etc.
Manta/MKB - Again depending on the game

at 7:20 PM Posted by Unknown 0 Comments



Dragon Knight is a STR carry who is hard to bring down and has good pushing potential. He is pretty straightforward to play compared to other heroes. He can be played in practically any lane but the safe lane or middle are usually preferred. The skill build that is used the majority of time is:

1. Dragon Tail
2. Breathe Fire
3. Breathe Fire
4. Dragon Blood
5. Breathe Fire
6. Ult
7. Breathe Fire
8-11. Dragon Blood

His stun at level 1 is 2.5 seconds, so there isn't much of a need to level this up early on. If you are in a difficult lane to farm in then consider maxing Dragon Blood first. Breathe Fire is maxed first as it's his nuke and farming skill. Try and kill 1-2 creeps along with harassing the enemy if possible with this skill. Also, it is interesting to note that his lvl 2 ultimate is often skipped, as the lvl 1 version provides better pushing power. Common items on DK include:

Drum of Endurance
Bottle (If mid)
Power Treads (Core)
Soul Ring/Urn
Helm of the Dominator
Black King Bar (Core)
Assault Cuirass
Maelstrom/Mjollnr

Overall, a good hero for beginners who want to learn how to play carries. Just make sure you're prioritizing farming and pushing and not ganking. Dragon Knight needs levels and a few core items before he can make a big impact.

at 7:18 PM Posted by Unknown 0 Comments




Treant Protector is a STR support hero know for his devastating ultimate and team fight potential. He also has the highest win rate of any hero according to www.dotabuff.com. He has the perfect skill set for low-mid tier matchmaking games: an aoe heal, an invis, a global +armor and +hp, and a big aoe ultimate that is easy to land. He is not as common in professional and high tier matches, but that does not mean he is not a strong and effective hero. There are a few common skill builds, depending on what your team needs. Here is a ganker-oriented skill build:

1. Leech Seed
2. Living Armor
3. Leech Seed
4. Nature's Guise
5. Leech Seed
6. Ultimate
7. Leech Seed
8. Living Armor
9. Living Armor
10. Living Armor

With this build you max leech seed early for the slow and aoe heal. You can easily tower dive with this and turn the tide around if your team is the one being ganked. Living armor is at it's best around the early-mid game, so it's usually best to max it after leech seed. A more support-oriented skill build:

1. Living Armor
2. Leech Seed
3. Living Armor
4. Nature's  Guise
5. Leech Seed
6. Ultimate
7. Living Armor
8. Living Armor
9. Leech Seed
10. Leech Seed
11. Ultimate

Common items include:
Arcane Boots
Soul Ring
Mekansm
Urn
Blink Dagger
Pipe of Insight
Heart

Also, be sure to avoid going for a carry-oriented build. If you choose to go solo mid and get good farm, please do your team a favor and grab a Mek or other support item instead of a Radiance. Treant does not have the skill set to be a carry and should not take away farm from a real carry.




Shadow Shaman (also known as Rhasta) is an INT support hero notorious for his ability to lock down the opposing team with disables and pushing power. He is most commonly played as a tri lane support, but can often go solo mid as well. Regardless of the situation, you want to have Ether Shock maxed by level 7. Your skill build should go something like this:

1. Hex/Shackle
2. Shock
3. Shock
4. Hex/Shackle (only take 1 point of shackle, hex should be maxed first)
5. Shock
6. Ultimate
7. Shock
8. Hex
9. Hex
10. Hex
11. Ultimate
12-16. Shackle until maxed, Ult at lvl 16

Shadow Shaman's playstyle involves setting up ganks with his disables. You want to lead the way by hexing the opponent, then shackling him if you feel you won't get stunned or disabled instantly. You can also attempt a ward trap if you feel your skill is good enough for it. At lvl 6-7 you want to drop your ult on a tower and take it down, don't forget to use ether shock to clear out the creep wave. Common items include:

Arcane boots
Wards
Magic Wand
Bottle
Eul's Scepter
Blink Dagger
Aghanims
Urn
Force Staff
Sheep Stick

Shadow Shaman can be tricky to play because his skills require you to play agressively, but his HP and mana are quite low without a lot of items. If you are going to die, try and use as many skills as possible before going down.