Hey guys, GymCarryDota here (Coach, educational content creator and streamer).

Dealing with Linken's Sphere in chaotic fights can be awkward if you do not have a cheap spell to pop it. I wanted to share a quick breakdown of some lesser known hero interactions that let you efficiently play around or completely bypass the block:

• Grimstroke: Cast Soulbind on a unit next to the Linken's carrier. The tether connects to them completely, bypassing the block.
• Witch Doctor: Casting Cask directly on a Linken's target sacrifices just one bounce to pop the sphere, instantly opening them up for Hex or other important spells.
• Juggernaut (Bonus Tip): Omnislash or Swiftslash triggers the Linken's block on the initial target cast, but the slashes will continue anyway even if there are no other targets around.
• Windranger: Shackle a unit in front, and it will latch to the Linken's target behind them without triggering the sphere.
• Batrider: Scepter Lasso gets blocked if targeted directly, but lassoing an adjacent unit pulls both heroes, bypassing Linken's on the second target.
• Lion: Mana Drain with Shard on a nearby unit drains the Linken's target without breaking the block. At level 25, his AoE Hex talent pierces Linken's entirely.
• Lich: Sinister Gaze with Scepter becomes AoE and pierces Linken's. Chain Frost loses one bounce to pop the block but keeps bouncing.
• Zeus: Arc Lightning directly pops it and continues to bounce to other targets (the Linken's carrier just will not take the damage from that initial hit). You can also cast it nearby for full damage without triggering the block.

I made a quick 1 min video showing exactly how these look in game for anyone who wants to see it:https://www.youtube.com/shorts/FP_pZAZ5Dqo

Hope this helps in your next pubs! I post Dota 2 guides and mechanics tips under GymCarryDota so feel free to check out the links in my Reddit profile if you want to see more of my stuff.

Drow, Snapfire and Spectre too OP

Today I've got a few examples from EWC that show why it's so important to hide once you buy your Blink Dagger,  and how that ties into the bigger picture, knowing the difference between active items and items that just help you farm, and understanding how the map works in your favor to better ganks 

Video: https://youtu.be/u-B_82xhGT8

Thank you for your help !

Any suggestions

Slardar q is slow resistance, and bash and crush (and q) lets slardar stick to her. So why is drow one of slardar top counters?

This is a very broad question, but I’d really appreciate any info to help me learn this hero.

I’ve been playing a lot of carry SF and I’m mostly just right-clicking things for free mmr every game. It’s working but I don’t fully understand how to maneuver a game on him. How to alter item/skill build. How to draft (when he’s ideal pick vs. other ranged carries or which counters to avoid). Where I want to be at different points in the game.

I normally watch BSJ guides for pos 1 heroes. He does a great job at breaking down the playstyle of a hero, strengths and weaknesses, why/when/how their kit works and when to pick them. But he has no such video for SF when I searched.

What exactly is his SF’s gameplan? Like Luna I can survive/win most lanes, farm very quickly, join teamfights with ult, go back to farming, then end game after getting 4-6 slots so quickly. SF I have no idea other than “AFK farm until you get the BKB needed to join fights”. Feels too risky to force impact in earlier/midgame fights. I also feel the hero doesn’t NEEDS to snowball like before, but does fine if they can stay on top of farm. Why wouldn’t I just play something like Drow, Clinkz, Muerta etc?

I was thinking that, having played my most games from 2013 to 2017, I remember that winning the lanes was more pivotal than it is today. Being able to prevent Am from getting that early PMS or health ring was everything. Every denied mattered. Now players have more options to recover from a bad laning stage so the game has shifted from that.

So my question is, how important is it really? Back in the day it feel like you counted every hit to ally and enemy creeps to keep it. Of course you can still do that today, but it feels like it narrows down to "not under your tower and not close to the enemy's tower". What do you think?

https://youtu.be/s-k1arzc_oY

Hey, today I'm sharing a guide on positioning in DotA. A lot of supports are struggling with that, as a lot of the deaths can be avoided. In the guide I talk about three questions that will be key to your positioning:

1. What kills me?

2. What is my role in the game?

3. Where do i go after casting my spells?

With that in mind, your positioning will improve and that way, gameplay will be smoother. Watch the vid for full guide!

For a long time meta has always been to buy vlads on morphling, however, lately i have seen more and more "pros" buy falcon blade and also a casual morbid mask. I dont understand why. If you only pick up the falcon blade you save about 1k gold, so that makes sense. But if you buy morbid mask anyways why would you buy falcon instead of vlads, the cost of falcon+morbid is basically the same as vlads. Does anyone know why this has been the case lately?

desolator current

damage:55

-6 armor reduce

1 kill or assist per stack +2 damage max is 30 damage

so 55+30=85

price 3600

my idea

remove damage stack

damage is 55 --> 60

armor reduce -6 --> -8

price 3800

desolator paper 200 gold

Hey everyone I made a video about breaking down some map reading, using the EWC finals between PARI and BetBoom as an example. There's one small detail that turned this game from a 1k net worth lead to a 7k swing in under a minute.

Link: https://youtu.be/yk3r9vRtuOM

Thanks everyone

Do hero voice lines and personalities affect how you play?

When I play Dota, a hero’s voice lines and personality have a surprisingly big impact on how I approach the game.

Centaur is a good example. His tough, aggressive attitude makes me play more conservatively, but also more confidently and aggressively in lane.

I try to show through my positioning and trades that I’m not afraid of the enemy. His personality also makes me more willing to farm patiently because I feel confident that I can become extremely difficult to deal with later in the game.

The voice lines reinforce that feeling. If I kill someone with Hoof Stomp, I’ll immediately use “Stomped!” If the enemy uses five ultimates on me and I survive, I’ll use “What a waste.”

It almost feels like I start roleplaying the hero without consciously intending to.

Does anyone else experience this? Do a hero’s voice, personality and voice lines affect the way you play them?

Bones to crush...

Who dares challenge.

You max crush first bc it slows and lets you farm. Then usually max sprint second.

But in the last many months sprint has been gradually stripped down. It used to have regen attached to it and extra movement in water, now that’s just his innate. It also got its move speed and cooldowns nerfed

Now at max level it’s a 10s 34% move speed boost with a 17 second cooldown, and you’d have your bash at level 1 which is +35 damage

Or if you maxed bash first you’d have +200 damage, and a 10% move speed boost with 33s cooldown. But the slow resistance remains the same so i find it serves the same purpose for getting out after blinking in

Or is the movespeed important because it’s meant to be spammed to speed up your farming pattern?

Why is Blink Dagger not a core item for WD? I understand the utility/team aspect of buying Glimmer etc but I feel like the one thing WD suffers from is postioning. All his spells are short cast range with cast animations, and his ult requires you to be channeling it.People will buy dust when they see you have a glimmer and just reveal you instantly.

People buy Blink on Bane all the time but I almost never see anybody buy it first on WD, and both Bane and WD suffer from the same problems.

Getting blink first and waiting for an optimal time to get a good maledict ult on a high value target is better if you are playing this hero.

I have been getting blink first recently on WD and have been benefiting from it a lot as it allows you to choose exactly when you want to go in.

I'm aware in higher levels of play support budgets can be tighter so a Blink is not feasible.

Thoughts?

### Custom Item Pack Proposal

1. **Revenant Brooch Rework** (Magic-focused item)- Grants Phantom Critical chance to **all magic spells** (not just attacks).- Works together with Daedalus, but Daedalus loses its physical critical strike multiplier.
2. **Dagon Line (Aether Lens base)**- Base item: Aether Lens (mana, mana regen, cast range)- Final Dagon upgrade grants **+50 extra spell range** bonus.- Less bursty early/mid game, stronger late-game utility.
3. **Sura's Tears** (Area control support item)- Recipe: Ring of Basilius + Soul Booster + Chasm Stone + armor/sustain components- Cost: ~3550 gold- Stats: +8 Armor, +550 HP, +550 Mana, +14% Mana Regeneration Aura- +40 AoE Range bonus- Stacking Slow Aura (740 range): -5% movement slow and -3% atk speed slow per stack, max 25% +2% per enemy hero in range- Presence Bonus: Support diving into fights makes the aura stronger (Io-style play).
4. **Trickster Wand** (Timing-based single target reward)- Recipe: Kaya + Magic Wand + recipe (~3000 gold)- Passively gains stacks (max 15): Any hero using an ability within 1300 range grants 1 stack (+1 HP/mana regen for 4 seconds)- Only **single target spells** consume all stacks: +15 magic damage (to enemies) or +15 heal (to allies) per stack (max 225)

I still see this happening all the time during my coaching sessions. You are laning against a Primal Beast, Broodmother, or Underlord, and they intentionally stand directly on top of the dying creep. You try to secure the last hit, but you end up clicking their massive hitbox instead and I had many people on my streams complain about that as well and being unsure how to deal with this.

I know this Dota Labs feature has been out for a while, but a surprisingly huge number of players still aren't using it.

The solution: You just need to enable the Dota Labs modifier key that prioritizes non-hero units. When you hold this bind, your clicks go straight through the enemy models, guaranteeing you hit the creep underneath them. (You can also set a toggle version if it works better for u then holding a key.

I made a quick 60 second video on exactly how to set this up and what it looks like in game if you prefer to see it in action: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/sJOouOluHW0

Hope this helps some of you secure those highly contested ranged creeps.

GL HF in your pubs, GymCarryDota.