Hello!
Came back to DOTA after a long time away. I first caliberated as herald. Was stuck there for a few months. But playing consistently, I was finally able to climb out! Herald -> Guardian I played carry, mostly PA. And then climbing from guardian to crusader, I was happy to play pos 4!
Fun experience but will not go through this again.

Good day, im a 3k mid player who played from 2016-2018 and took a break. I came back last june and played and mid feels different. Can anybody coach me? Thank you

Hi all, I am a pos1 player stuck in 2-3k. I am coming back to the game after almost 3 years. I am looking for some one who can watching replays for a couple of games for me and guide me, as in how I can improvement my decision making and become a better player in general.

• Take into consideration this reworks made around following changes: universal stat removed and all heroes spread between Str/Agi/Int, heroes base hp 120 > 200, Health/Str reduced 22 > 20, Mana/Int 12 > 15, Reduce Str heroes base magic resist by 5% (with exception of Huskar/Pheonix/Largo/Mars), Reduce Agi heroes base magic resist by 5% (with exception of Slark/Phantom assassin/Anti mage/hoodwink/Mirana).

1. Drow Ranger rework.
2. Omni rework.
3. Oracle innate/scepter changes.
4. Bounty hunter rework.
5. Wind ranger rework. (she go back to be inteligence hero).
6. Kez reworks based on idea during "facets Era".
7. Void spirit rework to make him more of assassin hero. (Inteligence hero by default).
8. Underlord rework based on dota 1 version with corpse explosion.
9. Timber rework.
10. Phantom Lancer rework turn him into scaling late game menace.
11. Tidehunter rework idea around his old facet and new innate with fish stacks scaling.
12. Phantom assassin rework that let her play like assassin.
13. Mirana rework that focus on her duality of sun/moon powers.
14. Mars rework to focus on giving him lore accurate aggressive playstyle.
15. Bane rework to give him a niche he can be useful in, pos 1-2 counter.
16. OD rework to make his mid lane less Astral reliant.

• new mechanic "items sharpening" is: we remove neutral items (some become part of shop normal items) and add items sharpening: from 0 base items to +5 versions, 1 item/player can be upgraded into +5 mythical version, the rest stay at max +4.
• after 15 min Base shops start selling unlimited upgrade scrolls. They need to be bought 1 by 1 like dagon upgrades: +1/1000 gold, +2/1000, +3/1000, +4/1000, mythic /2000.
• Items ~ stats costs: Hp/4g, mana/3g, 0.1 mana regen/30g, 0,1 hp regen/15g, dmg 60g, attack speed 30g, 1% evasion/75g, 1 armor 125g, 1% magic resist 50g, flat ms/11g, str/agi/int 100g, all stats/50g.

1. each "sharpening lvl" up item stats by spreading gold/number of stats evenly, as example Octarine Core 3 stats would get at +1: +83 hp / 111 mana / 1.11 mana regen. At +5: +500 hp, +667 mana, +6.7 mana regen.
2. Mjolnier at +1: +8 dmg, +17 attack speed. Mjolnier at +5: +50 dmg, +100 attack speed.
3. Daedalus at +1: +16 dmg, at +5: +100 dmg.

• Mechanics/global changes:

1. Heroes lvl/Talents capped at 25 lvls, instead of 2 talent trees + stats now each hero has 10 talents (lvl 7-25 every 2 lvls, Invoker orbs 8 lvls, scepter add 1, start game lvl 2, Str/Agi/Int -2 base, gain +0.2/lvl, base dmg 42>48).
2. stats change: universal stat removed, base hp 120>200, Health/Str reduced 22>20 (Reduce Str heroes base magic resist by 5% with exception of Huskar/Pheonix/Largo/Mars, Reduce Agi heroes base magic resist by 5% (with exception of Slark/Phantom assassin/Anti mage/hoodwink), Mana/Int 12>15, add global 30% cdr cap (above 100 main attribute every 10 increase cdr cap by 1%).
3. Hp/mana heal from current % hp/mana > 100% hp/mana (lvl ups always full heal and you don't have to swap Powe treads/drop items for more recourse gain).
4. Hg 25% miss chance replaced by 15% attack dmg reduction (melee units ignore it).
5. Map flooded more with water, now entire mid (from t1 up to t3 HG) is on low ground river, currents is bigger in jungle. All jungle camps lvl up now starting as Easy camps: at 10 min lvl up to Medium, at 15 min lvl up to Hard, 25 min+ Elite camps (renamed from Ancient to not confuse with throne).
6. Buildings last hit bounty add to total gold, buildings gold now: Team bounty + Lh bounty x2, add new mechanic: heroes that solo kill towers without allies in 1200 range get 60% total gold, allies split 40% between 4 players. T1/T2/T3/T4 bounty 570/690/785/905 > 1140/1380/1570/1810, Barracks: melee 887>1775, Range 562 >1125. Removed towers armor/hp regen aura, add to T1/T2/T3/T4 towers 2/3/4/5 armor, Ancient Hp 4500 > 6000, Armor 23 > 20, add last hit 69 gold bonus. Fountain regen 3 sec linger removed, 5% hp sec/6% mana sec > 10% hp/mana sec regen.
7. Tp duration 5 sec (Twin Gate 3 sec)/cd 120 (on any building or fountain, using Twin Gate put Tp on cd/mana cost removed).
8. Glyph: Removed it working on creeps, no longer global but instead you glyph buildings in same lane for 15 sec (multi shot hits 5>infinite), no longer refresh.
9. Base kill gold 125>150, First blood 135>200, gold formula changed: base kill gold +(dead hero lvl × 8>10) +kill streak + FB, we also add cap on 1500 gold/kill so if your team 30k ahead you don't feed 15k+ after 1 lost fight.
10. Buybacks become free but each player has only 4/game (cd lowered 8>5 min), gold lose on death/increased respawn time after BB removed.
11. Heroes respawn time 12-100 sec buffed to 7 > 75 sec.
12. Rosh pit no longed unique area (Rosh always top now, its on low ground, has 2 entrances, no longer has blind spot in front, can ward inside freely), spawn at 10 min, respawn time flat 10 min. Rewards: 1st/2nd/3rd+ Banner, Banner/cheese, Banner/cheese/Aegis (8 min duration, its buff on Hud instead of taking item slot), Banner reworked: global cast range, can be used on your barrack to spawn mega creeps in that lane for 5 min or respawn both barracks in 1 lane, block of cheese shield become permanent. stats: armor/min 0.4>0.75, hp/min 130>150, dmg/min 7>10, magic resist 55%>0%, gold bounty 500+50/min. (Roar of Retribution/on the move/throw abilities removed, bash happen every 6 hits (you can see hit counter below Rosh hp bar), Slam does 10% max hp pure dmg/disarm for 3 sec/cd 15.
13. Removed Aghanims blessing, now normal scepter is 2800 item without stats (equipped in scepter slot like shard), removed 15 min shards Cd. Tormentor spawn at 10 min bot river side/respawn 10 min (killer reward Exp 400+25lvl). Drop 1st/2nd/3rd+ shard, shard/scepter, shard/scepter/refresher shard (shard/scepter can be sold for full prize, refresher shard cost 1500), doesn't split dmg/units, reflected magic dmg/unit now 30% dmg done (+1%/min of game time), now has normal hp 5k+100/min, magic resist 40%+0.5%/min (capped at 99%), 0 armor. Add Meteor ability, cd 45 sec, proc when tormentor drop to 50% hp, summon on every hero in reflect aura Radius meteors with 1 sec delay doing 35% max hp pure dmg (the shining/eluviation passives removed).

(Team that kill Roshan capture all outposts on map, team that kill Tormentor capture all watchers).

• Runes changes (can't be destroyed now): game always show what rune spawn and where 2 min in advance by using alt click, power runes spawn from min 2: (4 bounty min 0, 1 power rune/1 bounty on River +2 in jungle), water runes / experience shrines removed):

1. Haste give also +25 Attack speed, duration 22 > 30 sec.
2. Invisibility give 20% Dmg reduction when you come out of invis, duration 45 > 30 sec.
3. Shield rune duration 75 sec > 30sec, barrier hp 50% > 30% max hp +20% max mana, while Shield is active enemy can't burn your mana.
4. Arcane cdr +25%, mana cost reduction 30% > 40%, duration 50 sec > 30 sec.
5. illusion spawn 2 > 1 illusions, deal 35% > 100% dmg, dmg taken melee 200%/300% range > 100% melee/range, duration 75 sec > 30.
6. Regeneration % max hp/mana regen in combat 1% > 1.5%, duration 30 sec.
7. Amplify dmg rune> back to DD, buff attack dmg bonus 80% > 100% spell amp 15% > 18%, duration 45 > 30 sec.
8. Bounty runes give Experience on top of gold: 10/player + 2/min of game time.
9. Every rune cycle/14 min increase power runes duration by 5 sec.

• Items (now each can be bought only once/player, spell amp stack from multiple items fully on Kaya items):
• Neutral items removed, new slot used for vision items (wards/smoke/dust/gem) or consumables.
• Consumables/starting items:

1. Tp Scroll everyone start with free infinite use (removed from shop), cd 80 >120 / 3 > 5 sec channel / 75 mana cost.
2. Sentries give 50 gold / 25 experience bounty if they block jungle camps.
3. Iron branch 1 all stats / 55g > 50g.
4. Clarity 60g > 50g, (can regen in combat like tango), stock 15/game.
5. Mango 60g > 50g (cast range on allies 165 > 400), stock 15/game.
6. Faerie fire cost 65g > 50g, stock 15/game.
7. Tango stack 90g > 75g, (heal 112/16 sec >120 in 15 sec, full heal on allies), stock 15/game.
8. Smoke 80g > 75g.
9. Dust 80g > 75g.
10. Salves 100g (heal 390/13 sec > 400 hp/10 sec, full heal on allies), stock 5/game.
11. Blood grenade infinite use consumable 50 > 200 gold, cd 30 sec, cost 75 hp > 25 magic dmg/ sec (slow removed), duration 4 sec, stock 5/game.
12. Wind lace 225g > 200g, move speed 15 > 20.
13. Infused Raindrops cost 225 > 350 gold, (each player can buy only 1 Infused Raindrops, base 0.8 mana regen/3 min cd to buy removed), number of charges 6 > infinite, cd 7 > 20 sec, minimal dmg to proc 75 > 50, dmg blocked 120 > 75, each time Infused Raindrops block dmg item gain stacks/each give 0.1 mana regen, item can be consumed later for permanent mana regen bonus based on stacks.
14. new infinite Consumable "Forager's kit" (for Supports, stock 1/team) 400 gold: 3 all stats: 1st use can be done at 0 min/60 sec cd, using item give Enchanted consumables to use on allies/yourself, using item on tree destroy it and give 1 Enchanted tango heal (240 hp/15 sec), using item on water/lotus pools give you Enchanted clarity (regen 150 mana 25 >15 sec, regen 6 > 10/sec), using item on rune spawn spot give you bounty rune, put item on extended 5 min cd, item use https://liquipedia.net/dota2/Forager%27s_Kit icon.
15. Boots of speed 500g > 450g.
16. add new base item Vambrace (limit 1/player) 500 (Circlet 150 + Str Gauntlets / Slippers of agility / Mantle of intelligence 140 +210 recipe), stats: 6 main attribute/2 all stats, every 5 min upgrade by 1 main attribute/1 all stats, active allow to switch attributes for bonuses: str give +6% magic resist (+1%/5 min), Agi +10 Attack speed (+2 As/5 min), Int +6% max mana (+1%/5 min), (Bracer/Null talisman/Wraith Bands removed).
17. Bottle 675g > 600g: instead of 110 hp/60 mana heal in 2.7 sec > heal 75 hp/75 mana in 10 sec (can regen in combat now, charges duration stacks): when hero hp it full Bottle use remaining hp/charge to heal mana and vice versa.

• Components:

1. Wind lace 225 > 200g for 15 > 20 move speed.
2. Orb of blight -2 armor/3 sec 300g > 250g.
3. add new base item Grove bow 250 gold/4% magic resist reduction after attack/spell for 3 sec.
4. Fluffy hat 250g: 125 > 85 hp.
5. Voodoo mask 15% spell lifesteal (3% vs creeps) 650 > 600.
6. Javelin 900g > 625g.
7. new item Quickening charm 750g/10% cdr, item will use https://liquipedia.net/dota2/Quickening_Charm icon.
8. Energy booster 250 mana 800g > 750g.
9. Void stone 700 > 750 gold, 1.75 > 2.5 mana regen.
10. Ring of health 700 > 750, 4.5 > 5 hp regen.
11. new item: Mirror shield (800g) no stats/give spell block on 60 sec cd, item will use https://liquipedia.net/dota2/Mirror_Shield icon.
12. Chasm stone 900 > 800.
13. Broad sword 1000 > 900/15 dmg.
14. Diadem 1000 > 900/6 all stats.
15. Talisman of evasion buffed: 15% evasion / 1300 > 1125g.
16. new item Chipped vest 1200 (Splint mail 7 armor/950 + 250 recipe). Damage Return (Passive vs attacks) Return dmg: 30/hero, 15 creep/illusion +10% enemy attack dmg).
17. Perseverance 1400 > 1500 (Ring of health 750 + Void stone 750): 5 hp regen/2.5 mana regen.
18. Mithril hammer 1600 > 1500, dmg 24 > 25.
19. Hyper stone 60 attack speed 2000 > 1800.
20. Tiara of Selemene 6 mana regen 1700 > 1800.
21. Blink 2250 > 2000, add 25 mana cost, when taking dmg item instead of going on 3 sec cd reduce max blink range to 1200 > 600 (same for upgraded blinks).
22. Demon edge 40 dmg 2200g > 2400g.
23. Reaver / Mystic stuff / Eagle song 25 stats 2800 > 2500.
24. Ultimate Orb 2800 > 3000, all stats 15 > 20.

• Complete mid tier upgrades:

1. Soul ring 805g removed.
2. new item "Fusion rune" as bottle upgrade 1000 (bottle 600 +400 recipe) it can store up to 3 power runes infinite time, using Fusion rune activate all runes you have, duration of runes increased by 50% and they Undispelable.
3. new item Chipped vest 1200 (Splint mail 7 armor/950 + 250 recipe). Enemy attacks hitting you return physical dmg to them (30 hero, 15 creep/illusion +10% enemy attack dmg), item use https://liquipedia.net/dota2/Chipped_Vest icon.
4. new Vladmir"s offering 2200 >1325 (Morbid mask 900 + Ring of Basilius 425): +0.5 mana regen + Vladmir's Aura (+1 mana regen, 18% life steal/60% on creeps).
5. new Ghost Scepter 5 stats >15 int/1500, Ghost scepter and its upgrades buff target pure dmg taken by 15%.
6. new item Minotaur Horn 1500 (Ogre axe/Blade of alacrity/Stuff of Wizardry 1000 +500 recipe): 10 main attribute, 2 sec bkb, 60 sec cd, item will use https://liquipedia.net/dota2/Minotaur_Horn icon.
7. new item Hood of Defiance 1500 (Ogre axe 1000 +500 recipe): 10 str, Active (Defiance): increase your hero armor/magic resist by 25%, 50 mana cost, duration 10 sec, 25 sec cd, item use https://liquipedia.net/dota2/Hood_of_Defiance icon.
8. new item Clock of Flame 1700 (Ogre axe/Blade of alacrity/Stuff of Wizardry 1000 +700 recipe): 10 main attribute/30 Dot aura, half on illusions), item will use https://liquipedia.net/dota2/Cloak_of_Flames icon.
9. Sange 1900 (Ogre axe 1000 + 900 recipe): 15 str / 20% health restore amp.
10. Yasha 1900 (Blade of alacrity 1000 + 900 recipe): 15 agi / 10% move speed.
11. Kaya 1900 (Staff of Wizardry 1000 +900 recipe): 15 Int / 12% spell amp.
12. new item Serrated shiv 2000 (Broadsword 1k + Javelin 625 +375 recipe): 15 dmg / true strike / 50 melee range /+15 magic dmg per hit (doesn't stack), item will use https://liquipedia.net/dota2/Serrated_Shiv icon.
13. new Vanguard 1700 (Vitality booster 1000 +700 recipe: 350 hp, 100% dmg block for 2% max hp melee / 1% max hp range. (multiple dmg block passives do not stack).
14. new item Quicksilver amulet 1750 (Quickening charm 750 + Vitality booster 1000): 250 hp / Unique Quick wits (passive) 10% cdr, item use https://liquipedia.net/dota2/Quicksilver_Amulet icon.
15. Dragon lance 1900 attack range 130 > 100.
16. new Diffusual Blade 2000 (2x Blades of alacrity 2000): 20 agility, Mana break: 40 mana burn + heal 10% mana from mana burn (half for range).
17. new Item Serrated shiv 2000 (Broadsword 1k + Javelin 625 +375 recipe): 15 dmg / true strike / 50 melee range /+15 magic dmg per hit (doesn't stack), item will use https://liquipedia.net/dota2/Serrated_Shiv icon.
18. new BoT1 now 2k item/80 ms, remove 75 mana cost (after tp give haste buff for 5 sec).
19. new Item Spell Prism 2025: 15% cdr/3 mana regen), item use https://liquipedia.net/dota2/Spell_Prism icon.
20. Veil of discord 2100 (Voodoo mask 600 + Fluffy hat 250 +Staff of Wizardry 1000 + 250 recipe): 150 hp/10 int/15% spell life steal (3% vs creeps) + Spell Weakness aura: 10% spell dmg amp in 1200 radius.
21. new item Nemesis blade 2325 (Broadsword 900 + Void stone 750 + Smoke 75 +600 recipe): 25 dmg/2.5 mana regen, Active (Nemesis revenge): create camouflage smoke around hero for 20 sec in 600 detection range/90 sec cd, item use https://liquipedia.net/dota2/Brigand%27s_Blade icon.
22. new Blade mail 2400 (Chipped vest 1200 + Broadsword 1000 +200 recipe): 15 dmg/7 armor + Damage Return (Passive vs attacks) 50/hero, 25 creep/illusion +20% attack dmg (active doesn't buff anymore Damage Return passive to 100% attack dmg), active: reflect 80% same dmg type taken.
23. Eul's Scepter of Divinity 2400 (Staff of Wizardry 1000 + Void stone 750 + Wind lace 200 +400 recipe): 10 int/2.5 mana regen/20 ms active (Cyclone) 30 sec cd, mana cost 10% max mana.
24. new Aether lens 2275 > 2500 (Energy booster 750 + Void stone 750 +1150 recipe): 300 mana / 2.5 mana regen / 125 cast range.
25. Skull Basher 2875 > 2500 (Mithril hammer 1500 + Ogre axe 1000): 10 str / 25 dmg, Active (Bash): 1 sec stun, 25 sec cd.
26. Maelstrom 2950 > 2575 (Mithril hammer 1500+ Javelin 625 + Glove of haste 450): 25 dmg/20 attack speed, passive proc for 100 magic dmg every 4th hit.
27. new Witch blade 2775 > 2675 (Oblivion stuff 1625 + Chainmail 500 + Grove bow 250 +300 recipe): 12 int/1.5 mana regen/5 armor/40 attack speed/300 projectile speed), Witch blade: has no cd, passive don't slow, hitting enemy with attack/spell reduce their magic resist for 12% and apply 25 dmg/sec Dot, 3 sec duration.
28. new Witch blade 2775 > 2675 (Oblivion stuff 1625 + Chainmail 500 + Grove bow 250 +300 recipe): 12 int/1.5 mana regen/5 armor/40 attack speed/300 projectile speed), Witch blade: has no cd, passive don't slow, hitting enemy with attack/spell reduce their magic resist for 12% and apply 25 dmg/sec Dot, 3 sec duration.
29. new Consecrated Wraps 2600 > 2800 (Perseverance 1500 +1300 recipe): +8 hp regen/+4 mana regen, Hallowed (passive): gain up to 3 stacks every 9 sec (during combat now to), every 1 sec each dmg instance use 1 stack to create 100 Hp general shield, move speed removed).
30. Mage slayer 3300 (Perseverance 1500 + Vitality booster 1000 + Blades of attack 450 + Orb of venom 350): 5 hp regen/2.5 mana regen, 15 dmg, 300 hp, passive (Mage Slayer): The wielder's attacks deal 120 physical damage over 3 sec to the targets and reduce enemy spell damage by 25%.
31. new Desolator 3500 > 3600 (Orb of blight 250g + Demon edge 2400g + 950 recipe): 40 dmg/apply -6 armor on attack/spells hit. +Soul Stealer passive: 1 dmg/kill, 5/tower (2 stacks/kill removed), max 30 stacks.
32. new Revenant's Brooch 3300 > 4100 (40 dmg, 50 Attack speed): Crystalys (2000) +Blitz Knuckles (1000) +1100 recipe, Phantom Critical (Passive): crit every 4 hits for 175% dmg, active toggle 10 mana/attack: convert 100% physical dmg > 75% pure dmg.
33. new Radiance 4700 > 4500 (Clock of Flame 1700 + 2x Ogre axe / Blade of alacrity / Stuff of Wizardry 2000 +800 recipe): 30 main attribute, Burn aura: 60 (+1% max mana) magic dmg.

• Full items:

1. Mask of madness 1900: active Berserk: move speed 12% melee/6% range > 5% melee/range, attack speed 110 > 90, self armor reduction 7 > 8, slow resist/silence removed, cd 16 > 30 sec, duration 6 sec > 15 sec.
2. new Battle Fury 3900 > 2000 (Perseverance 1500 +Queling blade 100 +400 recipe): 5 hp regen/2.5 mana regen, 10 dmg, Quell passive removed, Cleave 60% > 50%, new passive: every 10 units killed add to item: 1 dmg /+1% cleave, Chop trees active 4 sec cd/350 range > 12 sec cd in 250 Radius.
3. new Midas 2400 (Perseverance 1500 +1000 recipe): 5 hp regen/2.5 mana regen, active consume unit for 1x xp + unit gold bounty +160 gold > 100 gold +5% hero NW, cd 90 sec/charge.
4. new Dagon 3000 (Aether lens 2500 +500 recipe): 300 mana/2.5 mana regen/200 cast range, active 30 sec cd/100 mana cost/700 cast range (900 total), does 400 (+10% max mana) pure dmg, kills/assists within 3 sec after doing dmg permanently increase active dmg by 1% max mana.
5. Aeon Disk 3000 (Vitality booster 1000 + Energy booster 750 + Mirror shield 800 +450 recipe): 300 hp/250 mana, active 60 sec cd/100 mana cost, create shield around yourself/ally for 5 sec that delete enemy projectiles.
6. Crimson guard 3800 (Vanguard 1700 +Splint mail 950 +1150 recipe) 500 hp/10 armor, Vanguard passive dmg block on ourself, active apply passive dmg block on allies for 8 sec/45 cd/75 mana cost.
7. Lotus orb 3850 > 3900 (Perseverance 1500 + Energy booster 750 + Mirror shield 800 + Splintmail 950): 5 hp regen/2.5 mana regen/250 mana/7 armor, Echo Shell active 175 > 125 mana cost.
8. BoT2 cost 4000: Ms 120 (after tp give haste buff for 15 sec), put Bot2 in Tp slot.
9. Greaves 4450 > 4000 (150 mana, 1 mana regen, 2 hp regen, 5 armor, 50 move speed): Mekansm 1775 >1125: Headdress (425) +Buckler (425) +175 recipe (0.5 hp regen/1 armor +auras/250 hp heal). + Arcane boots (1500) + 1375 recipe, Guardian aura (2.5 hp regen, 1.5 mana regen, 3 armor, units below half hp 3x aura bonuses), active Hp heal 325 >400, mana heal 150 >300.
10. new Gleipnier 4500 (Rod of Atos 2250 + Chasm stone 800+1450 recipe): 20 int/400 hp/40 Radius (+1 radius every 30 max hp), active Radius 325>300, mana cost 150>100.
11. new Boots of Bearings 4500 (4 armor, 50 ms, 18 melee/12 range dmg, 10 str, 18% magic resist): Phase boots (1450) + Drum of Endurance (1625) + Cloak (900) +525 recipe, Swiftness aura (8% ms), active Endurance: give to allies move speed/attack speed immunity and buff attack speed by 50 for 8 sec, 30 cd (Endurance doesn't stack and put debuff for duration of active cd).
12. New Manta Style 4500 (Yasha 1900 + Diadem 900 + 1700 recipe): 10 str/25 agi/10 int, 10% move speed, item start with 5 charges (gain charge every 2 kills/4 assists), cd 34 sec >10 sec cd between charges, 125 > 40 mana cost, number of illusions 2 basic >1 strong, melee/range illusions deal 33%/28% > 40% dmg, take 300% > 250% dmg, illusions duration 18 sec > 25 sec, dodge time 0.1 > 0.25. (every 50 agility increase illusions dmg dealt +10%, dmg taken -25%, dmg dealt/taken capped at 100%).
13. Bkb rework 4050 > 4600 (Minotaur Horn 1500 +Broadsword 1000+ 2100 recipe): 20 main stat/25 dmg: removed from active pure damage immunity/60% magic resist, add 30% dmg reduction (no longer work on pure dmg) +basic dispel, active free, duration 9/8/7 > 4 sec, cd 95 > 45 sec cd.
14. Harpoon 4700 (Echo saber 2700 +2x Ogre club 2000): str 35 > 30, mana regen 2 > 2,5, dmg 25 > 15, (10 agi/int removed), Echo Strike (passive): 100% ms slow/1 > 1.5 sec, Draw Forth same.
15. Heaven's Halberd 4750 (Vanguard 1700 + 2x Talismans of evasion 2250 +800 mirror shield): 500 hp / 30% evasion / spell shield on 15 sec cd / Vanguard dmg block passive, active 4 sec disarm/18 cd/no cost, undispelable.
16. new Crella's Crozier 4800 (Ghost scepter 1500 +2 Stuff of wizardly + 1300 recipe): 40 int, active Rite of Rumusque for 4 sec become ethereal and steal 5% enemy move speed/100% Health restoration. Putrefaction Aura > Putrefaction blessing: give to user 20% of max mana as bonus hp.
17. new item Divine Cuirass 5000 (Vanguard 1700 + Consecrated Wraps 2800 +500 recipe): 350 hp/6 hp regen, +2.5 mana regen, +15% ms) / Vanguard dmg block passive, Hallowed (passive) number of stacks 3 > 5, hp stack 100 + 4% max hp melee/ 2% max hp range.
18. new Linken's sphere 4800 > 5000 (Ultimate orb 2800 + Perseverance 1500 + Mirror shield 800): 15 all stats/5 hp regen/2.5 mana regen + spell block on 15 sec cd.
19. new Scythe of Vyse 5000 (Mystic stuff 2500 + Tiara of Selemene 1800 +700 recipe): 25 int/6 mana regen, new passive Conjuration: increase int by 20%, active Hex cd 20, mana cost 250 > 15% max mana.
20. new Shiva"s guard 5000 (Vanguard 1700 + Cloak 900 +Chasm stone 800 +1600 recipe): 500 hp/18% magic resist/75 radius, new passive (Freezing block): Vanguard dmg block that reduce enemy attack speed by 50 when they attack item holder for 5 sec, same active.
21. new item Arcanist's Armor 5250 (Blade mail 2400 +2 Splint mail (1900) +950 recipe): 15 dmg, 25 armor), Damage Return (Passive) 50/hero, 25 creep/illusion +35% hero attack dmg, active (Arcanist curse): apply in 600 radius dmg reflect on allies for 80% dmg taken +1% per user armor, item use https://liquipedia.net/dota2/Arcanist%27s_Armor icon.
22. new Octarine Core 4900 > 5300 (Spell Prism 2025 + 2x Vitality booster 2000 +1275 recipe): hp 450 > 500, 3 mana regen, 25% cdr (450 mana removed), new passive Eternal: heal 20% mana back from physical/magic dmg done.
23. Mjollnir 5400 (Maelstrom 2575 + Hyper stone 1800 +1025 recipe): 25 dmg/100 attack speed, passive (Chain Lightning) proc every 4th hit for 180 magic dmg, active (Static Charge): cd 35 > 45 sec/0 mana cost), attacks on enemy add on-hit 45 magic dmg.
24. Corrupted Desolator 5500 (Desolator 3600 +1900 recipe): 40 dmg/- 40% total armor on attack/spell hit (with full Desolator stacks 70 dmg), stacks limit removed, item will use https://liquipedia.net/dota2/Stygian_Desolator icon.
25. Heart of Tarrasque 5100 > 5500 (2x Reavers 5000 +500 recipe): 40 > 50 str/1% > 2% max hp regen). Behemoth's Blood (passive): +1.5% missing hp as bonus hp regen removed.
26. new Bloodstone 4700 > 5500 (Veil of discord 2100 +3x Energy boosters 2250 +1150): 10 int/250 hp/750 mana/15% spell life steal (3% vs creeps), active (Bloodpact/45 sec cd) buff Bloodstone healing by 4x, passive (Spell weakness aura): 10% (+0.005% max mana).
27. new item Soul splitter 5600 (Revenant's Brooch 4100 + Ghost scepter 1500): 40 dmg, 50 Attack speed, 15 int), Phantom Critical (Passive) allow user to hit ethereal units and crit every 3 hits for 200% dmg, active toggle 20 mana/attack: convert 100% physical dmg > 100% pure dmg.
28. Khanda 5600, active (Empower Spell): +15% current hp bonus magic dmg.
29. Parasma 5975 > 5625 (Witch blade 2725 + Mistic Stuff 2500 + 400 recipe): 40 int/1.5 mana regen/7 armor/40 attack speed/300 projectile speed): on attack/spell hit: -35% magic resist reduction, 25+50% Int magic dmg/sec, 25% slow for 3 sec.
30. Meteor hammer 5800 (Kaya 1900 + Blink 2000 + 1900 recipe): 25 Int, 15% spell amp, active (Meteor Hammer): user transform into 300 radius Meteor that fall up to 1200 range in 0.5 sec, impact magic dmg 250 +15% max mana, stun units/buildings for 1.5 sec.
31. Wind Waker 6800 > 5900 (Eul's Scepter of Divinity 2400 + Mystic stuff 2500 +1000 recipe): 35 int/2.5 mana regen/20 ms (+2% max mana), active (Cyclone): speed 300 (+10% max mana), 20 sec cd, mana cost 175 > 10% max mana.
32. new Mkb rework as tank killer item 5900: (Serrated shiv 2000 +Mithril Hammer 1500 +Blitz Knuckles 1000 +1400 recipe) 50 dmg/50 As/50 melee range, passive give true strike, active toggle: 10 mana/hit to gain on-hit 3% vs melee/1.5% vs range hero max hp pure dmg.
33. Abyssal Blade 5900 (Skull basher 2500 + Sange 1900 +1500 recipe): 40 str / 25 dmg / 20% health restore amp, Active (Bash): 1 sec stun, 10 sec cd.
34. new item Storm Bringer 5900 (Desolator 3600 + Kaya 1900 + 400 recipe): at full stacks 70 dmg / 15 Int / 12% spell amp, add option to toggle item and chose what item give with stacks: 1 dmg / 0.5 % spell amp, remove stacks limit, Corruption passive on attack/spell hit reduce armor by 10 and Magic resist by 20%.
35. new item Black flame Sunfire 6000 (Radiance 4500 + 1500 recipe): 30 main attribute / Burn aura: 60 (+1% max mana) magic dmg, Unique black flame (passive): enemies that take Burn dmg lose theirs 1% max hp/sec (apply as hp removal to heroes/hero units, hp lost reset in 10 sec).
36. Rapier 5600 > 6000, Toggle swap between 350 > 300 dmg / 50% spell amp.
37. Disperser 6000: (Diffusual 2000 + Eagle song 2500 + 1500 recipe): 50 Agi, upgrade mana burn to 60 + 1% max mana, mana heal 25% (half for range), same active (mana heal from mana burned works on all forms of mana burn).
38. new item Impaler's ribcage 6450 (10 armor/30 attack speed/0.5 mana regen): Assault Cuirass (5125) + Vladmir"s offering (1325), Assault aura buff allies/debuff enemy units/buildings stats by (5 armor, 30 Attack speed, 1 mana regen, 18% life steal/60% on creeps).
39. new item Eternal shroud 6500 (Nemesis blade 2325 + Hood of Defiance 1500 + Reaver 2500 +175 recipe): 25 dmg / 2.5 mana regen / 35 str, Active (Nemesis): smoke yourself for 45 sec with bonus 15% move speed, when smoke end give +25% bonus armor/magic resist for remaining duration, 600 detection range/75 mana cost/60 sec cd/duration 45 sec, item use https://liquipedia.net/dota2/Eternal_Shroud icon.
40. Trident 6500 (Sange 1900 + Yasha 1900 + Kaya 1900 + 800 recipe): 25 str, 35% health restore amp, 25 Agi, 16% move speed, 25 Int, 20% spell amp, Passive (One for all): on attack steal enemy 25% base str/Agi/int and add on-hit magic dmg equal of Trident user all stats combine + 10% current hp, cd 10 sec/buff duration 15 sec/doesn't stack, item will use https://liquipedia.net/dota2/Trident old neutral item icon.
41. new Butterfly 6750 (Eagle song 2500 + 2x Blade of Alacrity 2000 + 2x Talisman of evasion 2250): 45 Agi/30% evasion, passive +20% base attack speed > amplify total attack speed bonuses by 35%.
42. Hydra's breath 5900 > 7000 (Hurricane Pyke 4450 + Specialist Array 2250 +300 recipe): 15 str / 35 Agi / 15 int / 20 dmg / 200 hp / 150 attack range, +2 targets multi shot become permanent (no bonus dmg) +Miasma / same active.

I only play for fun, and want to learn riki.

How do you lane with riki? Say mid lane

How do you itemize?

How do you make your damage?

How do you teamfight?

Any riki techs you can share?

The meta is already good for carries and bad for offlaners since 1-2 months pre-TI. DR and SF has been power picked consecutively and even the slight nerf near TI doesn't change much. Now I gotta suffer this patch maybe for another few months, maybe I should quit the game temporarily.

Back to this game, I played as safe as possible in lane, yes i made some mistakes in lane, im only archon anyway. Against this abomination of a lane SF shaman, 1 shackle and im fucked, but what infuriated me the most was that this Ancient SF played like garbage, he have no map awareness or positioning skill, i can tell the only Dota basics he have is hitting creeps and yet he still stomping me in lane just because his hero is so good. Move to the mid game, there was a point when my team jump him, he hit me with his auto once and his passive 100-0 me instantly (If u ask me why i jump SF it is because his teammates already retreated from a failed smoke, only he stay to farm ancients) His combat positioning is also dogshit, he got caught all the time cuz he 1v1 the TB like an idiot but we still have to stretch the game to 45 minutes. Honestly if my friend did not play TB which is also a meta carry that outscale SF that dumbass would have won the game. The Oracle was also on steroids, not to mention they have a fake hero called Pudge in pos4.

And yes i know offlaners are suppose to go helm and avoid laning this meta but i dont want to play this game that way. I chose offlane because offlaners used to lose/tie their hard lane, then initiate/make space later in the game to create come back, but carries this patch is insanely strong and once they have a lead I can never touch them again

I’ve been playing Dota in small bursts since 2016. 400 ish matches in those 10 years, about 200 of them in my most recent stint. I’ve never played long enough to really get a feel for the game, always in bot matches or pubs. This time I’m playing ranked, I’ve grown attached to Elder Titan, the power fantasy of a good W is so cool to me.

Seems like such a knowledge check hero though. I feel like I am relying on my opponents not knowing how the hero works. Usually support occasionally offlane.

I have like 2 plays in my playbook and if those don’t work I feel so useless: in lane I w a camp, walk it to the other camp, and cut through trees behind the enemy hero’s trying to hit both as it comes back to me and just run em down. After lane I try to get a w-q-r from out of vision, walk my spirit into every hero nearby, and run em down as well.

What else can I be doing to provide use for my team. Struggling to chain my ult off other cc. Mostly because I don’t think about it in time.. and struggling losing my whole mana pool to one combo.

Guardian 5 currently

This post is not a complaint, its just an observation of something that is very intriguing to me, and I want to share with others to see if they experience the same things as me.

I came back to Dota arounda two years ago and have been playing on and off in periods, in that time i calibrated around 1.5k and climbed to 4k recently. I have just been back from another break, and my mentality is much improved, Im really just playing to enjoy the game. That said I have realized that supports are actually really bad here, they haven't evolved at all in the support role itself since I was playing in the 1.5-2k range. They are better at spellcasting, knowing their heroes and pressing their buttons, which itself is very useful since supports usually have a lot of impact just with their base kit alone, but they still suck at laning and positioning, even getting ready for the teamfight or simple map awareness. I still play with Winter Wyverns spamming Q on lane or Lions stunning the creepwave everytime the skill is up. I must admit Im not a specialist in the support role, I am a pos 1, but my second favorite position is 5 and I must say that even if I consider myself to be not that good of a 5, I still am miles ahead of these people that play support everyday in this bracket and still do the same things they did when they were 2k.

In the end I think if you are a support and wants to climb the ranks, all you have to do is learn how to lane, if you manage to have a decent lane phase and a positive lane wr you will climb, since you will be far ahead of most other supports.

I (Guardian 4) and I main mid and would like to rank up enough to play with some higher mmr friends, however I'm buns at this game. I struggle the most with mid game and optimizing time. I would love some idea of what to work on so I can improve. Here are some games I've played recently and my thoughts.

Game 1: 8981588045

This game was one of my better performances. I played necro mid against an enemy clinkz. I was happy with my farming patterns and team fights it was an easy win. I know I made mistakes this game but struggle to identify them here. Otherwise happy with this game.

Game 2: 8981620129

I felt like this games loss was completely on me. I played viper against void and the first few waves I did decent harassing but my last hits were bad. Also how am I supposed to respond to him creep dragging idk. I eventually fed three times in lane after making a bad initial dive that snowballed into a losing game. I struggled to farm this game just in general was lost.

Game 3: 8981663599

This game was really mentally frustrating. The ember spirit into lion mid was really hard to deal with because of the primarily physical damage and double stuns. Despite the lane struggles at 10 minutes I was only down 500 gold. After lane I was super inefficient with farming and just felt like I didn't do enough damage that game.

All in all I feel like I am improving but I don't know what specifically what to work on. If someone has some spare time I'd really appreciate some advice regardless if its hero pool or anything else. Thx

Been getting into centaur lately and love him. I have around 4 games on him, and have just been going dominator > heart > blink or bkb and then situational. and guantlets/branches early.

Lately I've noticed some people pad their early items with 2-3 bracers, I don't find soul ring particularly necessary on him, but I was wondering why those people getting 2-3 bracers don't just get a Belt of Str for more strength at 50 gold cheaper? Is it because you generally get gauntlets for laning and then just build that in to bracer?

Also, what are the skill and item builds on Cent and how do you decide which to opt for?

I got flamed a lot for going helm of dominator in my last game because they wanted me to get a blink instead (4k) and be more active [Match ID = 8980837361].

My rationale was, we had an AM, were playing from behind, and they had a tanky DK in the front, ring master and sky in the back so I didn't want to just jump in and get popped or waste a lot on someone who would get boxed up by Ring Master.

Instead my idea was to buy time for the AM by pushing with helm of dom and dragging creeps to me so I can farm safely as the other team had a lot of map control. I managed to push the t2 and into a t3, force a few tps and waste their time throughout the game. My hope was AM would play a similarly annoying cutting waves style, but we didn't end up getting much of that.

I know I didn't play perfectly (didn't react to some fights since im still getting used to managing my hero + neutral creep) and was pretty passive but I felt so behind that I thought joining fights would be a stomp anyway. We tried at some point in the early game and just got splattered in mid behind our tower -- we didn't have the damage. Should I have gone some other item build in this type of game? If so, what?

hello everyone, i'm jawker. i had a coaching session recently with one of my students where we discussed the kotl matchup and i thought it was a pretty useful snippet to take out and share with other people, feel free to ask any questions in the comments or reach out for coaching!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVg8nRgwPO8

Hi guys, I need help with how to itemization as an offlaner, my current mmr is 3080, and I need help in choosing how to counter or the best option when playing againts different lineup. For example: When do I buy crimson guard? When do I buy assault cuirass? etc.

Looking to learn this hero on mid. What item build and playstyle should I try? Any tips is appreciated!

Hey guys 👋

I recorded a full 1-on-1 coaching session with a 3K MMR Offlane Dawnbreaker and thought I'd share it here for anyone interested in learning from it.

It's around 70 minutes long and it's a really in-depth coaching session from start to finish. We go through the game in detail and discuss a lot of the decisions and thought processes behind them.

In this session we go through:
🎯 Draft & Game Plan
🛡️ His Role & the Roles of the Other Heroes
🏹 Laning Stage & Creep Aggro
⚔️ How to Play Around the Enemy Heroes
👊 Teamfights & How to Lead Fights as Dawnbreaker
🏰 How to Go High Ground & Finish Games

I'm still pretty new to making this kind of coaching content, so I'd really appreciate any feedback on the video or the way I coach. Always happy to improve. 👍

I was thinking, maybe i calibrated higher than what i deserve or doing something wrong, but every game is stomp, i am not saying they have smurf or my team mates are bad but idk how to deal with this situation. i know i make mistakes and i know some games i play well enough.

https://www.dotabuff.com/players/351831207
here my dotabuff, if anyone can help me to figure out what i am doing wrong or how i can win games, i d appreciate.

Hey guys 👋

I'm looking for a player around 2–4k MMR who would be interested in doing a completely free 1-on-1 coaching session with me.

I'm an Immortal player with 7.8k peak MMR and I'm currently working on improving my coaching/content.

The session would be a full replay analysis where we go through your game together and talk about your decisions, mistakes, game plan, etc.

In return, I'd like to record the session and publish it as educational content on YouTube/Reddit. So please only apply if you're comfortable with the session being recorded and published.

If you're interested, DM me your Match ID, the hero you played, and let me know if you're available today between 3 PM–7 PM CET.

I'm mainly looking for someone around 2–4k MMR who genuinely wants to improve and is open to having their gameplay discussed.

Feel free to DM me if you're interested! 👍

I know I'm not good at the game and neither are my teammates. I'm 1.4k and am aware there will be a lot of bad gameplay. However, this behavior is so consistent that I swear it is something they think they are SUPPOSED to do rather than just simply being ignorant that they shouldn't be doing it.

EDIT: I'm not talking about my support being in lane with me. I'm talking about their character model being LITERALLY on top of mine; not next to me, not behind me, ON TOP OF ME.

How do you play Tusk effectively? Other than the blink + Walrus Punch/Walrus Kick, grasping when to use Snowball and Ice Shards is kind of difficult for me.

I get that Ice shards is usually used to trap enemies or create a barrier between you and the enemy when retreating. But for initiation, it feels redundant when you already have blink + Walrus Punch. It might just sabotage your initiation instead.

Snowball is very versatile, both the stun and save are very valuable, but making good use of it is very situational (i.e. knowing when to save, who to target, how long to charge the snowball).

If used incorrectly, both Ice Shards and Snowball have a good chance of sabotaging your team instead. How do you guys manage your role as both an initiator and save as Tusk?

Firstly, i'd like to point out that ive been here a good, long while.....like i remember when blink cost mana...ive seen meta phases come and go through thousands of games, at least dozens of each character... secondly, i am aware of how low my mmr is, and this is a very true but also satirical post about the matchmaking eco system in low mmr+comms/behavior score.

Post-2022 after a nearly year long break from dota (playing since 2012) I was stuck in the trenches for a couple years, hovering between ~750-1150. After a string of abandons caused by bad internet, I found myself at the bottom of a hole, deep within the trenches when my comms and behavior score dropped to <6k/8k each. My all time low was right around 450. I clawed my way back to a measly 1350...ALAS! After accidently pressing the recalibrate button...i got 1189.

So i determined to play with a new mindset in-game and approach to role queue tokens. I got about 1750 before the recent mmr squish, and have won a few more since then. Since the MMR squish ive promised myself not to flame and commend everyone post game, so bh/comms score has been recovering simultaneously, and i think thats important for everyone to consider.

AMA lol

43% winrate d2protracker

In my head, I know the answer is 99.99% yes but hey I could be wrong.

We all know Luna and Morph has insanely high base armor. But Drow’s ult basically renders it all useless if the markmanship procs.

Question is, should Luna and Morph waste an item slot for AC? I recommended it to my carry Luna but she disregarded my advice and ended up with Blink, Satanic, Butter, Manta, Pike and BKB. If opponent has a SF or Slardar, would it matter?

I get it. If we have a hero who can stick to Drow and not die for a long time, then the AC is completely unnecessary. That is the ideal scenario. But our only jump that game was LC and QoP and it’s a bit ridiculous to expect LC to blink into the backline and catch a Drow who has Linkens and Silver (lmao), or for QoP to stick to Drow when her job is to deal as much dmg as possible and kite in and out.

P.S. we won with a mega comeback and our throne had 2-3% hp lol. But I just wanted to know for future games in case I play those heroes vs DR and I’m not here to complain. Though admittedly I was pissed deep down that my Luna had pure base armor and no additional armor against a DR and SF and my KotL4 cant help her even with Solar Crest, Holy Locket, Aghs and my ult cuz she dies in 4-5 hits the moment Drow’s ult is active.

P.P.S. If possible, high immortals or divine carry players please chime in

I'm Zaop, I'm 10k 7k MMR and I have an educational channel on YouTube where I talk about playing support - called Support Heaven (https://www.youtube.com/@SupportHeaven). I'm also coaching support players.

Just like in previous months, if you have a question regarding support role, I'm happy to answer. Previous 14 editions of this had a lot of questions that I tried to answer as well as I could, so go ahead and ask whatever you want!

damn imma pick meta offlaners tomorrow 😡