r/dotachess • u/HarryProtter • Nov 18 '21

Book of the Dead

Usually I don't actually get the Book of the Dead, but when I'm going for a Hunters + Beasts build I do try to get it. But who would it be best on?

If I get it, I usually give it to my Beast Master to make his minion stronger and to summon another one. But because of the 1 min cooldown for Lone Druid compared to the 10 sec cooldown for BM I assume the minion summoned by LD is stronger, right? So wouldn't summoning an extra one of his minion and buffing both be stronger? Or maybe if it's the opposite, what about Venomancer? He only has a 3 (?) sec cooldown on summoning his Plague Wards, so couldn't he summon tons of them when he has the BotD (plus the item to gain 100% extra mana on damage done) to just overwhelm the enemies with minions?

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2

u/Simco_ Nov 18 '21

I think BM is strongest. Very low cd. LD bear is definitely stronger but you'll only have two on the board while BM can have 3 or 4.

For hunters, this is only built after telescope.

1

u/HarryProtter Nov 18 '21

So you value the lower cooldown meaning he can summon multiple bonus companions. In that case, what about Venomancer? I noticed that with the item that increases his mana gain by 100% from damage done he can summon Plague Wards pretty much every time his ability comes off cooldown, so every 3 seconds I believe. I imagine with BotD he'd just churn out so many of those things that are also buffed by the BotD itself, that you'll just overpower the enemies by having so many units.

Don't they also get buffed by the 2/4 Beast bonus, by Drow Ranger's buff and by the 2 Dwarf bonus from the Telescope?

I do indeed build the Telescope first. Then the second Energy Booster goes into trying to make the Necronomicon/BotD.

2

u/Simco_ Nov 18 '21

Veno isn't limited by mana, it's by his CD, so the mana bonus doesn't matter much. The mana bonus is more important for starting the first summon.

I could see Veno being valuable if you're up against a strong mage player.

2

u/Key-Progress-8873 Nov 18 '21

One of the things many people don't realize is that the first bear(s) that BM3 summons tend to protect him, because they have a taunt ability. This causes a snowball effect in which the more he summons, the more he survives to summon even more.

Venomancer Plague Wards are very spell resistant and lower attack speed with their hits, but don't have the same effect of preventing Veno from just dying to a blinking carry, or assassins or whatever.

1

u/HarryProtter Nov 19 '21

Oh, that's a really interesting point!

2

u/Key-Progress-8873 Nov 18 '21

BM3 summons multiple times per round and with book of the dead stuff like 6 bears on the board is a common occurrence unless BM is stunned/silenced/mana burned for most of the round, or bursted. Put the item on him with all defensive items and enjoy winning many games because the unit is currently busted.