6.82c updated: Defensive/Midgame/Ganking Spectre

Introduction

This build focuses on allowing Spectre to be much more flexible during the early/midgame and allow for an easier transition into a strong lategame. This is intended as a pub/dual lane build rather than a competitive build-- if Spectre has a functioning trilane or really easy freefarm then I recommend the standard Radiance rush into Heart etc. However, in a game where your team fails to create safe farm space for Spectre (which is quite common in pub games) the situation often becomes a 4v5 in which Spectre is stuck rushing a Radiance at 30 min because of over-commitment.

This build allows Spectre to have a much stronger early laning phase and a much more fluid midgame-- the focus is on opportunistic ganking every time a kill is within easy access to Haunt or Spectral Dagger, and very easy, safe, and efficient farming in jungle or in lane by midgame. Movement speed is prioritized-- by around 20-25 minutes with Spectral Dagger, phase boots, mask of madness and yasha boosts Spectre has 522 movespeed. (aka free haste+flying movement every time dagger is up)

Again, I'm not a competitive player by any means but I've had a fair amount of success with this build since I developed it so I just wanted to share it and I welcome any criticisms or suggestions.

Item Build Justifications:

Note: I recommend building the Starting Items, Early Items, and Core Items in the order presented here, and the late game items in whatever order you feel necessary. (I'm not your mother though.)

Starting Items:

Tango: 2 stacks! What a luxury.

Quelling Blade: The first last hits are very important for Spectre to have a stable laning phase, and an immediate QB helps a lot to guarantee early farm.

Gauntlets of Strength: Early health is great, and can be built quickly into a Bracer.

Iron Branch: GG.

Early Items:

Stout Shield: Purchase as soon as possible to be effective.

Bracer: Early health mainly, also stats are always great. Build into Drums midgame.

Poor Man's Shield: Early agility is great, very useful and easy to build (unlike Vanguard).

Boots of Speed: Gotta go fast.

Orb of Venom: Chase them *****es down. Spectral Dagger + OoV + Phase Boots = nobody getting away for ****. Also builds into Skadi, but I would recommend selling it once you buy yasha so you have space for TP's and buying it again once you build Skadi.

Core Items:

Phase Boots: Run real fast, extra phase on your phase. Great for last hitting, chasing, roaming, murdering noobs etc. Get Power Treads if you're manfighting more than chasing (but really you should just go fast bro).

Mask of Madness: Spectre can't farm early you say? Well, show those losers and get an early MoM to wreck the midgame. Spectre doesn't mind the extra damage, especially once she has level 4 dispersion and a couple more HP items. Early on use it only for farming (which will become so much faster) and once you have HP use it to wreck with absurd desolate damage.

Yasha: You will be astounded at how much the movespeed, damage, and attack speed help both farming and ganking. (I reiterate that with yasha, dagger, and phase you're at 522 movespeed, which is essentially free haste + flying movement. Pretty absurd.) Builds into Manta Style, which is a fantastic item on Spectre.

Late Game Offensive Items:

Diffusal Blade: Great item in general, if you want to get it to help ganks get it moderately early (even instead of Yasha) but honestly I think it's a waste of space on Spectre by the later game. If they have tons of squishy heroes that your illusions are destroying then go for it, and get Radiance and Manta too while you're at it. Or, go for early Diffusal/Radiance/Refresher for an easy 4-man wipe from afar.

Radiance: OMG SPECTRE WHY NO RADIANCE RUSH NOOB REPORTED!!!1! cyka
But really, Radiance is still a fantastic item as a first late-game pickup. With the core items built farming it should be much faster (and it's crazy how much gold killing people gives you lol) and it still adds a ton of damage to your ult and is useful all the time in ganks or in farming. Always a great pickup on Spectre, and synergizes great with Manta or Diffusal Blade.

Eye of Skadi: I love this item on Spectre. It has a great build-up, and the slow is really just absurd. Feel free to farm an Eye of Skadi whenever you want, it'll be great. The damage potential against a single target skyrockets with this skill, and nobody will ever be able to run from you.

Boots of Travel: Free up that TP spot, as well as even more movespeed all the time. Great pickup whenever you have 1775 gold lying around.

Daedalus: Crits yo. Rek noobs.

Late Game Tanking Items:

Eye of Skadi: Again, this item is absurdly good on Spectre. Crazy tanking with a better buildup than a Heart and way more perks if you're not abusing Heart's regen enough. Also the infinite mana is great. I could go on and on.

Heart of Tarrasque: Classic, standard. Tank **** = kill team = win game. OP regen. If you get a Skadi too you're literally immortal.

Satanic: Lots of HP, lifesteal stacks with Skadi, great carry item in general esp. if you bought lifesteal earlier instead of a Hood or something.

Crimson Guard: TY 6.82 for making Vanguard not ****ty. Get this midgame if you got Vanguard instead of PMS, but honestly slots are so valuable so it's probably not worth the space.


And that's it! Consider this as a very flexible/situational build, you don't necessarily need to follow it exactly but if you do it should work fine.

Skill Build Justification:

With the changes in 6.82 to Spectre's base movespeed and the buff to the Dagger bonus/slow, getting this skill first is now priority. The damage falls off hard after earlygame, but a level 3 or 4 dagger can come online pretty fast and is Spectre's best and only real tool.

Desolate is pretty strong in the midgame, once you have a value point in dispersion max it to deal pretty absurd damage.

I prefer getting other skills and stats to maxing haunt because it scales pretty poorly, if you get a really early radiance then go for 6->11->16, but in general stats will be more beneficial. Level Haunt whenever you feel like it.

Summary

That's it! if you have any input or suggestions please post comments, I'd love to hear anyone's advice. Again, this isn't a definitive Spectre build, but a situational one that might be easier for newer players or pub game players to develop an understanding of the hero while being as effective as possible. Or even maybe useful for a more experienced player that doesn't know what to do if you can't rush a radiance (which if they're actually pretty experienced is unlikely I guess). Anyways, thanks for reading!