Luna Build Guide DOTA 2: Luna - The Wind Rider (Extreme DPS build for version 6.88)

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(32) |

Just out of curiosity, why do you opt to skip the final point in Moon Glaives until level 14? I haven't done the math on the dps or anything but the ability itself doubles in effiency from level 3 to 4. Just wondering.

The guide is really nice though, it's refreshing to see a new build.

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(1) |

Moon Glaive doesn't double in efficiency when you unlock the final upgrade because each bounce causes 35% less damage than the previous one. When you do that math moon glaive works like this

The first bounce deals 65% of Luna's base damage
The second bounce deals 42% of Luna's base damage
The third bounce deals 27% of Luna's base damage
The fourth bounce deals 18% of Luna's base damage
The fifth bounce deals 12% of Luna's base damage
The sixth bounce deals 8% of Luna's base damage

This is why I chose to max out Lunar Blessing before getting the final Moon Glaive upgrade. The last two Lunar Blessing upgrades give Luna 16 more base damage, which affects the first hit and all three bounces to that point. Overall this path is more efficient. Besides, levels 12-14 should go by in the span of several minutes anyway, so it shouldn't take long for you to max out all of your abilities once you get to this point.

Also, while we're on the subject let's put mirror image glaive damage into perspective. Since mirror images start with 28% of Luna's base damage that means a mirror image's bounced glaives will follow this formula

A mirror image's first bounce deals 18% of Luna's base damage
A mirror image's second bounce deals 11% of Luna's base damage
A mirror image's third bounce deals 7% of Luna's base damage
A mirror image's fourth bounce deals 5% of Luna's base damage
A mirror image's fifth bounce deals 3% of Luna's base damage
A mirror image's sixth bounce deals 2% of Luna's base damage

This is why I'm somewhat on the fence about the Manta Style's offensive prowess. The defensive benefits are easy to see, but because ranged mirror images take 400% damage they also don't last for very long. Since the mirror image's glaive damage falls off so rapidly anything beyond the first two bounces is hardly noticeable. This is the same reason you don't level moon glaive until Luna has a decent base damage to begin with. That's not to say I don't advocate using it, just that I see pros and cons in both Yasha based advancement paths.

I've taken into consideration all the feedback so far by the way, and I may post a few variations alongside my original build at some point down the road. I agree that satanic, manta style, and MKB all have their place. My build was never intended to be used as a once and done solution, but rather a general guide and the thought process behind it. It's important to understand situationality in this game, and with untold combinations of heroes and items no two matches will ever play the same. Experimentation isn't necessarily a bad thing, as there is rarely just one solution to any given problem.

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(32) |

Ah okay. Yeah as I said I didn't really do the math, shows that just looking at the numbers on the skill tooltip alone can be quite deceiving. Thank you for the detailed explanation!

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(49) |

The thing with is that, between and , she naturally does a ****ton of damage. As a result, you don't really need to go for a full DPS build. She's got good stat gain, a bonus 38 damage and a 267% damage steroid in the glaives. This means that even with a stats-focused Skadi, Satanic, Butterfly, Manta, BoTs and BKB build, you're already out-damaging most other heroes, and you're extremely tanky as well with 3.5k hp, huge lifesteal and lots of armour + evasion. A full DPS build seems like complete overkill that sacrifices so much of your sieging power because you can't tank very effectively.

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(89) |

She still needs DPS in the early game because that's how the hero farms. That's why Luna is a thing.
Her 6-slotted inventory is good as you say, but going full ****** damage in the early game is the fastest way to get there.

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(49) |

Of course. That's why you go Helm > Yasha/Moon Shard :) After that, though, full tank with a Butterfly thrown in somewhere convenient.

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(11) |

i wouldn't say full tank, it's just satanic and bkb, followed by compulsory boots, a manta for good measure, and 2 damage items

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(49) |

And Skadi...

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(11) |

unneccessary.

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(47) |

Safe told me to come check your guide and he's right, you deserve the +1 for the effort, originality and the clear way you lay it down.

That said, I feel the problem of your build is indeed survivibility. You say the best defence is the offense, and you theorized a build that makes her DPS as high as possible, but indeed your core items don't include any lifesteal, magical or physical immunity or positioning item (although you have it on your situational list). One of this three or more is usually chosen for the purposes of actually staying alive to dish out that damage, and a with a and a can't reliably withstand any teamfight (you probably know the limitations behind as survival mechanism in games that aren't very low skilled). A example that makes this clear I think, and since this build was mentioned: Dimony buys because, among other things (including farming and pushing more efficiently), it allows him to stay out of fights or reach until he deems safe enough to enter, which is very relevant specially because he also buys MoM, which makes Luna even more squishy in a way. The same cannot be said about , as you will have s guarding entrances and paths. I do understand the concept of not having sustain because you intend to come in, burst down and get out again, but in that case you need that positioning item that will allow you to do just that instead of being caught off guard and brought down before you had the chance of doing that right click damage.

So, although your build seems interesting as a way of maxing DPS, it also seems like a build that will only work reliably in low level games, and ideally you would want to set the bar higher I think. Which makes me want to suggest you try adjusting this exact build into buying also a and tell me what you think :)

Meanwhile, a serious doubt: Why in your initial items? You shouldn't need to TP in for rune contesting nor warding, and you won't TP to other lanes to help them, your role is to sit and farm in lane during the early game.

Anyways congrats on your first guide and welcome to Dota Fire! You wouldn't happen to also be a girl, would you?

Cheers,
ChiChi

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(32) |

This is exactly the kind of detailed and analytical guide I'd write if I wasn't a complete idiot. Your justifications are 100% sound and everything is laid out simply and beautifully. It's uh... it's a bit on the rare side, to be honest, but that's not a bad thing.

I don't play the hero enough to offer any truly good insights on the build, so I'll just leave it a that. Well constructed.

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(11) |

I'm not too big of a fan of this build. It seems okay at best, when up against heavy dps in the midgame. But then again, yasha-bkb-manta-satanic does the same thing. The fact that you don't have helm of the dominator also means that stacking ancients and the Offlane hard camp is out, unless your supports are super free. Also, Manta is a really good item on Luna, because glaves can be used by illusions, meaning they have a great pushing mechanism by themselves. After Manta butterfly, you can send illusions into 2 lanes and they can kill the creeps easy.

Luna has one of the best farming tools in the game, being ranged, and having an aoe farming mechanism. I always, always, grab save my points in the lane, and get the level 4 glaves by lvl 10, so I can start taking big ancient camps(3-4 stacks) straight after yasha. Using this and good farming rotations, I usually end up 5-slotted by 30min tops, and proceed to push and get rax by 40min.

Sange and yasha isn't a bad item on Luna, it's just that Manta is better. Don't get me wrong, I sometimes get a sange and yasha when i'm behind, but honestly, manta's utility on Luna outclasses SnY by far. For Shadow Blade, I don't find it very useful. Silver edge? Sure, if you need to shut down a passive. Otherwise, another item like mkb or daedalus would be better. Diffusal? Sure I can see the point.

You see, the most common Luna build is good because it has a nice blend of offence and defence. Your build might have more dps, but you sacrifice satanic, which is hands down one of the best items for any carry lategame.

Treads - HotD - yasha - bkb - Manta - butterfly - satanic - diffusal/mkb/daedalus - moon shard.

Try calculating the dps of this build, it isn't that far off from your build, and satanic lategame basically gives you another life.

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(1) |

You have 7 items in that final lineup.

--Treads
--Satanic
--Manta Style
--BKB
--Moon Shard
--Butterfly
--diffusal/mkb/daedalus (any one of the 3)

I can calculate the dps difference for you, but you'll have to tell me which of those items you'd like left out.

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(54) |

Moon Shard can be consumed.

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(11) |

^this

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(1) |

Aye, I forgot about that. In which case, yes your proposed setup is on par DPS wise with mine. It also costs 30,000 gold though, whereas mine is 20,000. If you can farm up the extra 10k with the helm then yes, I'm going to agree with you.

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(11) |

Well, I don't go for the full build. I can push the moment I have butterfly, which is roght before satanic, and would be a little less than 20k net worth. This is easily reached by 30min, and by 40min, I would usually have at least two sets of rax down together with the remaining 10k.

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(11) |

That being said, I appreciate you sharing your views and giving opinions, please don't feel offended by my seemingly rude comments, I don't mean to make you angry. Just sharing my thoughts about your build. +1 for effort and reasoning.

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(1) |

Nay, no offense taken. I welcome all commentary and criticism. That said, I just responded to it. You have a logistical problem with what you proposed. I'd like to calculate the difference between your suggested build and mine, but I need to know exactly which 6 items make up the final lineup.

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(11) |

Oh I almost forgot, dimony on this site has another common Luna build, which uses mom and pushes early, fights early, and tries to gain an advantage as fast as you can, while farming up and fighting. His build's aim is to get all the outer towers by 20 minutes, and using the gold he gets from all the towers and foghts, buys his items. Item progression is more situational, depending on the game, but it is overall less steady as the helm build, which focuses on constant farming. It is better when you have a team that fights early, and pushes as a team early.

Item progression is something like this

Treads - mom - yasha - bkb - manta - butterfly - mkb/daedalus - satanic

He also has one that is more situated around luna's ulti.

Treads - mom - blink - aghs - butterfly - mkb/daedalus.

All lea**** to early fighting Luna.

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(2) |

Does the moon shard night vision stack with lunar blessing's night vision?

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(1) |

Yes! Yes it does.

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(1) |

Good catch on the power treads. I've edited the discussion to account for the +2 in base stat at the item and the summary. I'll go over it later to make sure I did it correctly and didn't miss anything.

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(2) |

Good build but the guide totally lacks of any "How to play" section. A full guide would be much more appropriate.

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Hey, great guide and +1. Dont want to sound like a **** but give +9 of the chosen stat not +7. More DPS!

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Luna - The Wind Rider (Extreme DPS build for version 6.88)

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