CCq's Guide to Nature's Prophet 6.81

Nature's Prophet Introduction

Nature's Prophet is a ranged Intelligence hero, whose play style is different from most Intelligence heroes, because he can be almost anywhere at any given time with his Teleportation. This ability allows him participate in most ganks and pushes at a moment's notice.

With Sprout, he creates a ring of trees, trapping anyone within them in place, serving to disable anyone caught within them. The trees around him serve as his objects of power; using them, he summons sentient tree beings known as Treants from trees on the map with his Nature's Call ability.

Wrath of Nature is the main and only directly damaging spell in his arsenal, but it can potentially be very powerful, as it can inflict increased damage with each bounce off subsequent enemies and can clear out multiple creep waves with its moderate cooldown and mana cost.

Commonly played as a ganker, offlaner, jungler but most commonly as an extremely powerful pusher. Nature's Prophet has superb farming capabilities and global presence, giving him the power to be anywhere on the map and aid his allies in seconds.

Jungling Overview

**Images are placeholders for video guides that are coming in the near future**

My jungle technique for early Hand of Midas

Obviously this is just a bots game so there are some things that i am not doing that you should be doing while jungling.
Always keep a look out for first blood oppertunities. Even if you have to waste your mana TP'ing somewhere, it is ALWAYS worth it for first blood.
I made some mistakes in this recording so it isn't the QUICKEST Hand of Midas possible, but i'm happy with it.

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As soon as you spawn, straight away level your Nature's Call and send them out to scout. I usually send one to Roshan and one to the dire jungle. In 80% of games you won't get too much information from these initial trees, however there are some cases which you will spot a level 1 rosh attempt or get a better idea of the laning situation.

Purchase your gloves of speed and 2 Clarity. Do not leave the well until you have summoned your first set of trees at 0:00

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At 0:00, summon your first trees and make your way to the first camp. Allow a second or two where you have a chance to regen your mana. Remember that you continue to leave a few seconds after you are out of the wells range.
*Note
As you have already summoned trees, when you cast this make sure there is physically 2 tree's to cast on, because i have accidentally ended up with one tree in the past and that is not fun!

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Make your way to the first camp "A", this is a hard camp. You will face one of different 5 possible spawns. Hellbear Camps and Wildwing camps are very time consuming and risky for level 1. If you come across these i would just skip it and move straight towards the medium/hard camp to the west and come back later. (There is a posibility of you having just ****ty camps all around but you have to just deal with it if it happens)

Your main focus for the first camp is to take as much damage on the first set of trees as possible without letting them die. This is because they will be expiring before we make it to the second camp, so it's much more effective to have the new trees healthier.

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Proceed onward to the second camp "B". This is a medium camp and you shouldn't run into any problems here unless you are unlucky and get a Centaur camp.
If your tree's are getting too low on health you can tank most of the damage of the camp until you have mana to summon again. After you summon, go ahead and pop your first clarity potion. Be sure not to take damage or pull aggro because any damage you take will stop the clarity potion.

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This is the point where your Midas timing is determined. If you were lucky enough to get a Troll Camp first and a Satyr or Wolf camp second, you should only be 1 kill away from level 3. If this is the case, wait until you have level 2 Nature's Call before summoning again.
If you were less lucky, you can go ahead and summon at lvl 1 to help get through through the 3rd camp.
Whatever the case may be, you still need to pop your clarity here if you havn't already so you have enough mana for the next camp.

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Move back up to the medium camp and clear that out while regenning your mana.
When it comes to Centaur's AoE stun and the Hellbear's Thunder Clap, it can make things quite tricky.
There is one of 2 things you can do to make it easier for yourself. The first, is to send 3 tree's into the cast range of the AoE and instantly move them back out again. This triggers the creep to cast the spell, but you dodge it.
Other players like sending in 2 trees at a time in order to not trigger it at all, so go with whatever suits you.

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Move up to camp "A' and take out the hard camp there. This is where you may need to doge the AoE again. Here you can see it mid action. When we are having such tight constraints it's almost required that you learn how to dodge these spells because they can slow you down ALOT.

From here, just rinse and repeat.

Depending on how careful you were with making the most out of your Nature's Call and Clarity you may or may not need to clear some camps without treants for a few seconds. This isn't something to be too scared of, but just be very mindful of enemy ganks coming your way.

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This camp is a bit tough for us to deal with at this stage, as your mana is quite low and you will most likely be out of regen. You will more than likely need to tough situations like this out if it comes down to it. Again, if you risk losing all your trees go ahead and tank for them to maximize their damage output.

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This will most likely need to be the last camp before you get your Hand of Midas. It depends on your current situation whether or not you stay in jungle or go back to base and regen.
I often bring my midas to me via courier, use it once, Teleportation back to fountain and then use the gold to buy a Town Portal Scroll and either head back into jungle and finish my boots, or go assist a lane in need if they are desperate.

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Finish Midas! (5:27)

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If a tree is taking too much damage and you want swap aggro to another tree, you can do this by selecting the tree and "A Moving" (press a then left click on the unit) the healthier unit. This works the same as the tower aggro switch where you can do the same thing on a nearby friendly creep and it will swap aggro from yourself.

You can use spare tree's to stack other camps at the x:53 mark.

If you are taking down a tower, use a tree to drag the next enemy creep wave into the jungle and into some neutrals in order to get some more free damage on the tower.

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Solo Hardlane

Start with 1 Ring of Protection, 1 Tango and 2 Clarity.
Then, from the side shop, decide whether finishing Ring of Basilius is worth it. In some cases you won't need the mana regen or the +6 dmg, so don't bother. Just go with your Gloves of Haste into Boots of Speed before finishing off your Midas.

Depending on the match-up, most games your job in the hard lane is not to out farm your opponent, because in most games this is nigh impossible - and will usually get you killed if you overextend because yo' greedy.

Nature's job in the off-lane is to deny as much farm, experience and basically just interrupt the flow of the lane for the opposing carry.

There are a couple of techniques that make Nature's Prophet uniquely powerful in this role.

Depending on the matchup, you may want to buy Boots of Speed, Tango and Clarity instead of the suggested first items. You will usually choose this build if the risk of you getting slowed and disabled outweighs the right click harass potential of the lane. Choosing this build has often allowed me to survive with the surprise of a defensive trilane because i have been able to just get away.

Boots often give you a bit more mobility to get in and out of range for a few easy last hits before they get their boots to zone you out. But, again, if you are going to be taking more right click harass it's better to go for the standard prot ring first.

Coming Soon -

*Pull timings (x:17 and x:47) for hard camp to Radiant creep wave. (Guide/Video.)
*How to stay safe in the not so safe lane.
*Denying as much as possible from the enemy carry
*Staying safe using

Nature's Call
*Making the most out of your ultimate
*More advanced techniques and detailed information for more advanced players.

Nature's Prophet - The Current Metagame

Nature's Prophet is a very versatile hero capable playing from position 1-5 (not recommended to be position 1) all in the one hero. NP has a constant map presence, that forces the enemy to think about what their next move is a lot more often than usual.

In the current meta, NP is played in one of two positions - Jungle and Solo Off-lane (in pro games it's rare to see a NP jungle,). This is generally because of Nature's versatility and ability to control the off-lane, and stay out of/escape danger (sometimes :P).

Furthermore, his ability to split push is considered as one of the best in the game. With the combination of Necronomicon, Desolator, Mjollnir and Nature's Call, you tear down enemy towers and barracks' in moments.

These are just some of the item's that are available to NP's arsenal. My one favorite thing about the hero is that he can find a use for almost every item in the game depending on the match-up, and can fill almost any team's lineup.

In-Depth Nature's Skills

Sprout spawns a circle of tree's around a target location. This is a very useful utility spell. At max level, it lasts for 5.25 seconds which is a huge amount of time. This spell can be used in a variety of different ways.

It is important to note that if you sprout yourself, the enemy loses sight of you unless they have a directed spell that provides vision, or an enemy creep/hero is caught inside with you.

I primarily use sprout in combination with Teleportation, as my quickly pressing Q twice and W twice, it will put you in fog and instantly begin the cast to teleport you back to fountain.

This is especially useful when escaping ganks or quickly escaping when required, as enemies with targeted stuns cannot interrupt your teleport.
The only thing is these tree's work the same as normal trees in the game, meaning that items like Quelling Blade & Tango can be used to provide line of sight again.
Furthermore, some heroes have spells that cut down trees when they are cast, such as Powershot Wild Axes. This can be a pain if you are relying on sprout to escape.

The other main use for Sprout is ganking, it's very useful for slowing down heroes who are trying to run away, as you can Teleportation in their path and Sprout them to allow your team to catch up, or for you to secure a kill.

*Note
*Sprout also provides vision of the area, so if someone is trying to juke through the tree line or use cliff light of site to their advantage, you can gain vision of the area.

Teleportation is what makes you such a powerful hero. At level 4, it has a cool-down of 20 seconds, meaning that every 20 seconds, you can jump to wherever you want to on the map. Globally. For 50 mana. That's MADNESS!.

The other very special thing about that ability is that it does not go on cooldown until you have actually finished the cast, meaning that you can "S" to stop the cast and direct it somewhere else.

Use this ability to split push, chase down fleeing enemies, go back to base to regen, collect items or snipe couriers.

Without a doubt in my mind, Nature's Call is my absolute favorite spell in all of DoTA 2. It does seem like an odd statement, but in my mind there is no other ability that provides as much use as these little minions.

They can be used as scouts, as pushing tools, as a way to manipulate the enemy creep wave, to block jungle stacking and so so so much more.

I will be going into more detail on how to make the most of this ability later.
Wrath of Nature is yet another spell that adds more presence to the game. At max level, this ultimate does 225 damage, and every time it bounces (up to a total of 16), it increases the damage by 7%. That's over 15 dmg per bounce!
The aim when casting your ultimate will depend on the situation - obviously to get the most out of it you want to be casting it when you have vision of 16 enemy units on the minimap in order to maximize damage, however if you just want to finish off an escaping enemy you can just cast it on him for instant dmg.

When used as a farming tool, it's best to wait until the waves are at around 50% on average in order to get the most last hits. It is quite possible, if you cast it to early, to not get any gold from it at all.
*Also improved by Aghs (Increases damage and bounces)

In-Depth Item Discussion/Options

Ring of Basilius

Depending on the flow of the game, Ring of Basilius can be EXTREMELY powerful.
For early pushing, it gives your trees and your creep wave a +2 armour bonus, which in the early game is pretty huge. Even if it adds one extra hit from a tower or hero to hit, if you think about 10 creeps - that's 10 hits of time worth of DPS onto a tower which can make a difference between you getting it or not. And lets also give a honorable mention to the +6 dmg and the passive mana regen, which is an obvious bonus in the early game.

Depending on how important your Hand of Midas is to your overall game strategy, you may want to get Gloves of Haste first when you are off-laning instead of Ring of Basilius but ultimately it completely depends on your preference and what you find more beneficial. If you think you will be pushing very early with an early game finish in mind, then Ring of Basilius is the choice for you. However on the other hand, if you see the game going for 45+ minuets, Hand of Midas is your best friend.

This being said, it does not mean that any of this is set in stone. If you find that you are making changes to your plan, feel free to adjust your items accordingly and finish the other in an order that is suitable. For example, if i was to have my ]]ring of protection]] and tangos as usual for solo offlane, and i was to get first blood - i would immediately move into getting my Hand of Midas up and running then finishing off my Ring of Basilius afterwards if i need too, obviously it can be reversed - if you are on your way to midas and die a few times, it may be worth picking up a ring to help out a bit.

Choices of Boots

Power Treads

In the majority of your games, your choice will be between phase and treads. They both offer different benefits which i will be outlining for you.
Treads were my old go-to pickup for nature's boots. Since i have been moving up on MMR, i have stopped using these as much but they are still very useful for some games.
Treads give a nice bonus to your attack speed and health, as well as a OCCASIONAL boost in mana which could save your life (by switching treads from agi/str to int)

Phase Boots

These are my go-to boots since 6.79, overall, they provide excellent mobility through their active, good base damage and good base speed. I prefer these over Treads if i'm going offlane, but i still rarely get treads in certain games if i find that the extra HP may be useful.

Boots of Travel

Not much to say here, every 60 seconds you can teleport to any friendly unit on the map, whether it was a building creep. Can be useful if you no longer have space to carry a TP, but it's a very situation item. I very very rarely use BoT's over phase boots.

tranquil boots

Meh, not much else to say here.

Hand of Midas

Hand of Midas is a very interesting item - basically, it instantly kills any creep (apart from ancients) and converts it into 190 gold, and gives you 2.5x experience for the kill. Provided that the recipe does cost 2050 since the 6.79 update, you need to get it a a decent timing in order to get the most out of it. As Nature's Prophet you have excellent farming capabilities to ensure the timing you get is worthwhile.

Let's do some number crunching.

Basically, you can use your midas on big creeps in the jungle in order to get the most out of the EXP bonus, however in reality its more likely you will be using it on a creep in lane. This creep is worth 119 exp.

119*2.5=297.5 (This is the amount of xp gained every time you Midas)
297.5*18.57= 5524xp after 35 minutes
3080g is the profit for making a midas and keeping it until the 60 minute mark and then selling it.

Basically, the perfect situation for midas is a game going for 60 minutes, and selling it at the 60 minutes is the best option as it isn't worth using a slot for it anymore.

It's not just about the gold - the experience you get from this is huge, and will often give you a level bonus against enemies unless they are in the solo safelane for most of the game an get some solo kills. This is very useful as the extra stats come in handy because you are so squishy, allowing you to man up when you need to.

Blink Dagger

In higher levels of play where shadowblade is often - and easily countered by the enemy team, it is best to use Blink Dagger as a substitute. This item provides similar functionality to shadowblade - enabling you to escape and initiate. The only downside to Blink Dagger is that it is only usable if you haven't taken any direct damage from the enemy heroes. We'll discuss the two options in more depth a bit later.

Scythe of Vyse

This is another one of my favorite items for nature's. It may not seem like much on paper, but in a game where it may be crucial to lock down a hero in order for you to win a team fight, it is unrivaled in it's usefulness.

This item is also fantastic at helping you 1v1 enemy carries later in the game.
** It is important to note that it does not go through BKB.

Mjollnir

Ever feel like you wanted to be a wizard, harry? Now you can be.
This item is a pushers dream. Not only does it provide awesome attack speed, but it give you a proc that deals damage on bounce (like Arc Lightning). Not only does this look badass, but it makes you chew up creep waves. It is also important to note that even though this is a unique attack modifier (like lifesteal, skadi & desolator) it is only a unique mod when it procs, meaning your other attack modifier will be used until you proc some LIGHTNING POWAH.

Necronomicon

Push like a mother giving birth.
This item is the 1st must get item for pushing, this is a 3 level item which summons two creeps that provide buffs to nearby friendly units (attack speed and move speed of 3%/6%/9%) on the ranged creep, as well as an active mana burn.
The tomato creep drains mana on hit and converts the mana drained to damage, and updon death it goes all goblin sapper and blows up and deals huge damage to a nearby enemy hero. But, what's more, is this little beast provides TRUE SIGHT in a huge radius, it's basically a gem, but tougher.
Not to mention, these guys hit like trucks with their auto attacks.
When pushing, GET THIS ITEM ASAP.

Desolator

Need to carry? Got a bristle or axe that is getting exceptionally difficult to deal with? Deso is what you need. Desolator grands awesome damage, but is it's orb effect that makes it special. -7 armour for 15 seconds is HUGE.
Furthermore, pushing down towers with this baby becomes alot easier with the negative armour, because deso is so OP it works on buildings!

Shadow Blade

Shadowblade, even though in higher brackets isn't really a reliable escape mechanism as more experienced players will counter it with detection, it still has it's uses.
If you are planing on roaming and ganking alot, shadowblade can be amazing for sneaking up on someone and activating your orchid, setting up sprout/tree blocks on unsuspecting enemies and even just roaming undetected. Overall, i would suggest SB if you are doing alot of lane rotations and ganking, but not if your aim is to push down towers/rax.

Orchid Malevolence

This is one of my favorite item's on nature's prophet, as it fits into the gank as well as the push build. (Can be used offensively and defensively)

For example, while pushing a Vengeful Spirit may come to defend against you and would normally be able to Magic Missile and stop your teleport.

If your reactions are quick enough, you can actually silence her and Teleportation away before she becomes able to cast again.

Similarly, if you see a faceless void time walk and is about to Chronosphere your whole team in a team fight, you can also silence him before he gets it off.
This is an insanely powerful item as it provides so much utility, and that's not to forge the inbuilt mana regen, int and damage that comes with the active.

Blink Dagger vs Shadowblade

In today's pro scene and higher rating matches (4k+) it is a more suitable option to go for a Blink Dagger, as people in a higher bracket are more likely to counter Shadow Blade with detection.

Even though Blink Dagger does not provide with any attack speed or damage bonus, it is a very useful item on NP and is becoming more and more common.

One of the advantages of blink is that if you see your enemy coming, you can quickly blink into the tree line and teleport out of danger, whereas the risk with a Shadow Blade is they just dust you and you can't escape.

Additionally, Blink Dagger offers a lot of utility in terms of fighting, because you can position yourself in advantageous ways before or during a team-fight or a 1v1 engagement. (Prior to taking damage). It's also useful for getting in range of an escaping hero to sprout them.


Pushing Nature's Prophet

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Cost: 19950 gold Standard Nature's Prophet pushing build. This is the bread and butter go to build for any normal game where you farm and push. For higher rated players, swap out shadowblade for blink.

Ganking Nature's Prophet

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Cost: 17525 gold Basic go-to build for a ganking focused NP. In some cases you could switch out orchid if the silence is not required, for a straight up DPS item.

Pros and Cons

Pros Exceptional pushing potential. Unparalleled map presence Teleportation Fantastic Ganker Versatility to fit almost any team and lineup Amazing Farmer Useful in mid and late game.

Cons Very squishy early game Can be hunted by heroes such as Bounty Hunter and Nyx Assassin Farm dependent Not great 1v1 against equal or more farmed hard-carries. Can cause nerd rage from opponents. Low armor/spell resistance.

Coming Soon!

Coming Soon!

• YouTube guides for jungling tactics, offlane pull timings as well as general tricks and tips for NP.
• Aggro
• Fastest Midas tips/tricks.
• Example Item Builds and how to use them

Plans for the Future

• FAQ
• Unorthodox Builds/Item Choices
• Analyzing Competitive Plays

About Me

Hey Everyone,

I'd just like to begin by first of saying thankyou for taking the time to read my guide, and also that this is my first attempt at writing a guide. Please do feel free to leave feedback, positive or negative (as long as it is constructive!) in the comments below and i will do my best to get through it all and make updates. The vision is to have this guide as a complete and up to date guide to Nature's Prophet for multiple levels of play.

So, introductions. I'm CCq (Rob), i have been into DoTA 2 for a bit over a year now. In my short time i have gathered so many useful tricks and tips that should be constructive to both new and experienced players. (I hope).

Up until 2012, i played competitive CoD4 in the Australian LAN/online arena. With a huge dedication to CoD, after the popularity died down - i figured hey, why not focus my attention on DoTA. I am by no means a pro or expert player, so please do not take my word as gospel - this is just my opinions based on my experience. I am using this as not only a teaching experience but as a learning experience for myself as well.