Dota 2 News & Guides

6.79 has officially been released for DotA 2 and is now on the main client. Some of the main changes include

-Changes to jungling & stacking/pulling
-Changes to offlane
-Spirit Breaker nerf
-Batrider nef
-Alchemist nerf
-Axe buff
-Bloodseeker buff

Here is the link for the full list of changes:

http://dev.dota2.com/showthread.php?t=109826

Drow ranger is an AGI carry who mainly relies on her auto attacks to do damage.She is very straightforward to play and is often a good choice for begginers. Although she has a strong early game due to her high damage and strong slow, you have to remember that drow is a carry and must be farming the majority of the time, not ganking. Her skill build is:

1. Frost arrows
2. Precision Aura
3. Silence
4. Precision Aura
5. Precision Aura
6. Ult
7. Precision Aura
8. Frost arrows
9. Frost arrows
10. Frost arrows
11. Ult

One point in frost arrows is all that's needed for early game harass. One point in silence in case you need it to survive or to land a kill on someone like a QoP or AM. Aura is maxed first for the global damage and lane control. With this and one point in frost arrows you can easily farm, deny, and harass your lane opponent. Her item build consists of:

Tranquil Boots/Power Treads
Shadow Blade
Manta Style
Ring of aquila
Helm of the Dominator
Butterfly
Daedalus
Monkey King Bar
Black King Bar (

You typically wanna aim to get some kind of survivability first via shadow blade or manta. Don't forget to use your pushing power to quickly mow down towers.

Icefrog has released the 6.77 changelog and it includes some big changes. There is the expected Drow Ranger, Centaur, and Magnus nerf, as well as a Treant buff like I predicted. Another one of the big changes is Bounty Hunter's track no longer reduces armor. Sven and TA were also nerfed, but mostly only minor changes. Other than that the rest of the changes are only minor buffs or tweaks. You can find the full changelog below:

http://www.playdota.com/changelogs/6.77

IceFrog has confirmed that 6.77 will likely come before Christmas, according to posts he made on the PlayDota forums. He also confirms there will be no heroes and instead it will just be a balance patch. Drow nerfs and treant buffs are probably expected.

Source: http://www.playdota.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1196343

Spirit breaker is a STR ganker/carry. He excels at catching opponents off guard and in 1v1 situations. He is pretty straight-forward to play and doesn't require too much micromanaging. His skill build should typically be:

1. Charge/Empowering Haste
2. Charge/Empowering Haste
3. Bash
4. Charge
5. Charge
6. Ult
7. Charge
8. Bash
9. Bash
10. Bash
11. Ult
12+ Haste

Recommended items include:
Power treads or Tranquil if you're having a tough time in lane
Mask of Madness
Drum of Endurance
Urn of Shadows
Black King Bar
Assault Cuirass
Crystalys/Daedalus
Monkey King Bar

Also try shadow blade as it's quite funny in pubs and effective. While charging you can use both shadow blade and mask of madness. You'll hit your enemy for large damage and he won't see if coming with any wards.

Centaur Warchief is a strength based tank/initiator and even semi-carry at times. His high STR gain makes him very tanky even without items. Coupled with his passive, return, and he is a force to be recokned with. He also farms at a decent rate and scales nicely into the late game. His skill build should be:

1. Stomp/Return (Get return if there's two ranged harassing you early, or stomp if you might get a kill)
2. Stomp/Return
3. Double Edge
4. Double Edge
5. Double Edge
6. Ult
7. Double Edge
8. Stomp
9. Stomp
10. Stomp
11. Ult
12+ Return

Double edge is maxed first since it's a 400 damage nuke at level 4. It's your main killing tool and farming tool. Also note that the skill has no mana cost, only a health cost, so be careful when casting it. It is also non-lethal, so you can't suicide with it. Stomp is maxed after since it's your primary disable.

Recommended items on Centaur include:

Tranquil/Phase boots
Hood/Pipe
Drum
Blink (I personally don't feel its necessary with your ult)
Heart
Blade Mail
Shiva's Guard
Armlet

Dota 2 Resource is back after a period of downtime. We are ready to get back on track and continue with new updates and guides every day. Stay tuned!

Skeleton King is a STR carry that is ideal for beginner and novice players. His only active skill is a targeted stun that is impossible to miss/fail. The hero is very straightforward to play, you want to prioritize farm and take whatever kills come your way. Make sure you do not go ganking as SK is not a ganker and needs farm to be useful in the later stages of the game. Skill build:

1. Hellfire Blast
2. Stats
3. Hellfire Blast
4. Stats
5. Hellfire Blast
6. Ult
7. Hellfire Blast

Max Critical Strike next taking ult whenever necessary and maybe 1 level of Aura if you feel you need it before. Common item choices:

Hand of Midas
Power Treads
Armlet
Desolator
Assault Cuirass
Black King Bar

Shadow Fiend is an AGI carry best known as a glass-cannon powerhouse who farms incredibly fast. He is an intermediate-advanced level hero and should NOT be taken by beginners. If you want to practice with him feel free to fire up practice mode and thoroughly learn the placement of all his skills. With his recent buffs in 6.75 he should see a lot more playing time in competitive games. The only Shadow Fiend skill build you should use is:

1. Necromastery
2. Raze
3. Raze
4. Necromastery
5. Raze
6. Necromastery
7. Raze
8. Necromastery
9. Ult

Max your passive after and take ult whenever available. Use two shadowrazes in quick succession to farm creep waves quickly. Try and position your ultimate on top of as many heroes as possible for maximum damage output and effectiveness. You need to go mid as Shadow Fiend, take as many runes as possible and maximize your farm. Only gank if you get a good rune and think you can land a kill. For items there are a few options depending on your playstyle. Many people like Power Treads/BKB/Dagger, there are also others such as myself who prefer Phase/Drum/BKB. Shadow Blade is also a good choice if you are doing well and there isn't a counter such as Bounty or Slardar. Your core item will always be BKB. General item choices:

Bootle
Power Treads/Phase/Travels (only good if you can farm it quickly or as a late game pickup)
Drum
Dagger
Shadow Blade
Black King Bar
Manta Style
Desolator
Butterfly
Monkey King Bar
Eye of Skadi

Ogre Magi is an INT melee hero with a huge STR gain. He has a very basic skillset; a stun, a slow, a buff, and a boost to his stun via his ultimate. He is hard to bring down with his big HP pool but suffers from being melee and for having a poor mana pool. He is a great hero for beginners as he is very straight-forward to play. The most common skillbuild is:

1. Fireball
2. Ignite (I actually like getting 1 point in stats here instead)
3. Fireball
4. Ignite
5. Fireball
6. Ult
7. Fireball
8. Ignite
9. Ignite
10. Bloodlust
11. Ult
12+ max bloodlust, ult at 16

You want to prioritize your fireball as it boosts the damage and stun duration. You can also use it to get last hits at lower levels if you need some farm. Common item choices include:

Chicken/Wards
Arcane Boots/Tranquil Boots
Bottle/Soul Ring
Force Staff
Orb of Venom
Eul's Scepter
Aghanims
Sheep Stick

Make sure you are constantly ganking and keeping wards up as much as possible. You don't need any items beside some basic mana regen like bottle or soul ring. Try out Tranquil Boots + Soul Ring as well, it is a very good combo.

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

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.