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Quelling Blade
Healing Salve
Tango
Iron BranchIron BranchIron Branch
Mask of Madness
Boots of Speed
Maelstrom
Mask of Madness
Power Treads
Mjollnir
Mask of Madness
Power Treads
Mjollnir
Monkey King Bar
Daedalus
Butterfly
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1 | 5 | 8 | 10 |  |
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2 | 3 | 7 | 9 |  |
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4 | 12 | 13 | 14 |  |
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6 | 11 | 16 |  |
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15 | 17 | 18 |
Hello everybody and welcome to my first guide. In this guide I will talk about Faceless Void, one of the hardest (if not the hardest, maybe tied with 
Lone Druid and 
Phantom Lancer) carries in dota 2
Warning! This is just my personal playstyle, whitch may differ from others, since it is made my experience, and not from other guides etc. (ok, Mask of Madness is one of the most common items for Faceless Void, and propably for a good reason) Also english is not my naitive languange, so plz forgive for my bad english.
Faceless Void is a viable pick when...
-You have quite a few int heroes that can dominate untill late game
-Your team has heroes like 
Warlock or 
Dazzle, who can support you in lane
-You are good at lasthitting and like farming
-Your team has geroes with big teamfight spells(
Black Hole and Chronosphere =10s of disable!)
DONT PICK VOID WHEN
-Your team has one or more hard carries.
-Your oppoments have picked heroes who can mess your farm/kill you early
-You suck at lasthitting
-You have little experience of either DotA or hard carries(it's better to start as 
Anti-Mage, he's "easier")
Warning!
Before playing first time Faceless Void I highly reccomend you play a game with bots, since if you're not experienced enough you'll feed and well... it sucks :(
Pros
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Cons
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Well, no one can play a hero w/out knowing his skills, right?
so....
Your first skill is called Time Walk. It is a blink, whitch will slow all enemies near you by 25/30/35/40%. Keep in mind that it slows both attack speed and movement speed, and that it should be aimed like 
Morphling's 
Waveform, meaning you should point at the exact place you want to blink. Also, it isn't meant to be spammed like 
Queen of Pain's 
Blink, due to hight mana cost as well as long cooldown. It is usually used to initiate a fight (although not recomended), to escape for gangs early game, or to catch up to enemies. Also, since it also slows attack speed by a wooping 44% for 3sec you can use it vs some lategame carries (like blink right where you are) so that you can destroy their attack speed and out dps them.
Note: when using Time Walk just for the slow make sure you wont need it for the next 20/17/15/13sec, since it has a HUGE cooldown for a blink
backtrack Faceless Void's second skill is called backtrack, and it allows him to "dodge" incoming damage. Keep in mind that
a) it procs in both magical and physical damage, eg I have like 200HP, and the enemy 
Zeus utlies, hoping to get me. Poor Zeus! Thanks to backtrack and some luck, I "dodge" 
Thundergod's Wrath, and I survive (this actually happened to me yesterday)!
b) backtrack isn't considered evesion since it is an auto-proced heal, and as such it stacks with items like Butterfly, allowing you to have a wooping 60% evasion! This make's you sooooooooo hard to kill lategame, since even if the enemy carry has like a Monkey King Bar, you will still "dodge" his attacks thanks to this amazing skill!
This is the reson Faceless Void is such a hard carry. Time Lock is a free 
Skull Basher, with the added bonus that it has 0 cooldown, meaning you can ceep a foe stunloked just by attacking him! It also give you a +70 damage on lvl4 (when it proc's) whitch is really good since it will give Faceless Void a nice damage boost. Keep in mind that it doesn't stack with Skull Basher or 
Abyssal Blade, so don't bother buying them!
Finally, Faceless Void's ultimate. Chronosphere. This is one of the bost gamebreaking skills. It is an AoE disable, and the only "reliable" disable Faceless Void has, but be cautious using it, since it also disables you allies, buildings and generally EVERYTING, allied or foe. Early game you want to use it to get some kills (with the help of your allies of course, at that point you can't solo anyone). If you
use it for early game kills make sure you do it after you allies have used their disables, else the enemy may get away. You can also use it to escape gangs of save an importand ally from the enemy team. Lategame, however, you should not use it for just a single kill, it s better used during teamfights, so save it for them. Last but not least, it reveals invisible enemies in it.
So, as you may have noticed, i have 3 skill builds for Faceless Void. The first one, named "defencive", should be used only if the enemy team is harrashing you a lot, so you max ime walk and backtrack first, so that you can survive early game gangs. If yoy find yourself underfarmed lategame, or you just need some meore stats and can't farm properly, you can opt for only one level of Time Lock then focus on stats for more power.
Next is the "offencive build", also known as "free farm". This build focuses on offence, so you have to use it only if you have early game kills, or if you free farm. Here we max Time Walk along with Time Lock for maximum power. Ultimate is gotten whenever possible.
Last but not least, the "balanced build". This is the build you want to use most, since it gives you both survivability and offence. This time we get 1-2 level Time Walk and leave it untill lategame, while focusing on getting our passives maxed (backtrack is usually prefered over Time Lock, since early game you don't have the attack speed to utilise it properly). Again, we get Ultimate whenever needed.
Tip: you can also leave Chronosphere lvl1 untill levels 15-16, since 0.5 seconds per level isn't much, and althought cooldown goes down by 10sec at level 2, it's manacost goes up, so it may be better to keep it at level 1. (but i guess it's personal preference)
Well, I bet most people that read this guide are like... "wtf man? 2 orbs? looooool n00b" or "no battlefury? man this build s***!" So why would you ever get these items on Faceless Void?
Quelling Blade)
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Cost: 574 gold This is best used on games with a team, or with a good support/babysitter. It gives you regen, stats and (even) more lasthitting-power(you know what imean, right?) Since Faceless Void has high base damage, if you have a Quelling Blade you can last hit almost everything! Cool, right? |
Stout Shield)
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Cost: 599 gold Same as before, just more defencive, since we get Stout Shield instead of Quelling Blade. This is the build you want to use vs guys who can easily harras you (eg  Drow Ranger) |
Quelling Blade and Stout Shield
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Cost: 528 gold Please don't do that. It gives you both lasthitting-power and the damage block, but it has little regen. The ONLY way I would get these items is if I am with a friend of mine supporting me whith his own regen or heals vs a pasive farmer, like Doom Bringer |
Ah... Ring of Health. One of the most popular items by many carries, and the item that most buy first ( Anti-Mage, 
Spectre etc)
I'm pretty sure many of you are like "man, not good! you haven't got the attack speed to utilize it!" or "it won't do you any good if you're getting oulaned, just buy a Ring of Health!". to he honest, you are right. BUT! Morbid Mask: Mask of Madness, an item that is considered core for Faceless Void Ring of Health, but still helps)
Faceless Void needs attack speed, not damage, so I'd say that you shouldn't get them. Sure, you also get the +ms, but as long you have Time Walk out of cooldown, you should be able to initiate/escape/chase much better.
Faceless Void has some mana problems early game, they are not whorth it. They will just delay your core.
Althought I have never tried them, they MAY be a good idea if you really need the HP regen and can't get a Ring of Health or Morbid Mask.
If the game lasts like 55+ min and you have completed your core, you should sell you boots and get these. Early game however, they are not a viable pick-up, since they are 2 expencive.
or
Battle Fury build, it is more cost-efficient and more offencive. For 6050 gold you get: Mask of Madness active Mask of Madness active Battle Fury Faceless Void usually can. Morbid Mask-> Boots of Speed->
Mithril Hammer->
Gloves of Haste-> Maelstrom-> Mask of Madness->
Belt of Strength-> Gloves of Haste
Mjollnir build), it can help you get a lot of gold from farming, and is considered a good option for(almost) any carry Ring of Health-> Boots of Speed->
Claymore->
Broadsword->
Void Stone-> Belt of Strength-> Gloves of Haste
A Mjollnir is a really good item for Faceless Void. The IAS works wonders with Faceless Void, since coupled with a Mask of Madness you'll have around 300 attack speed, whitch is only 100 bellow max(400). It also gives you 25% chance to deal +160 damage to 8 targets, and the active, whitch gives you a 20% chance to deal 200 damage to everyone attacking you! To understand how usefull these are, let's say youre vs another hard carry, and that poth passives proc. This is +360 magic damage, more than a 
Divine Rapier! Keep in mind that this can happen more than once in a fight, so imagine the extra (magic) damage!
Since this buils focuses more on attack speed than damage, crtit is just the best(and more cost-efficient) source of damage you could find! Personally, i just get my 
Crystalys, then leave it untill i get more importand items, such as Butterfly, but I upgrade it if I feel the extra damage is all I need.
This is THE BEST item for any agi carry. It gives you +30 damage, +30 agi, +30 attack speed, and finally, 35% evasion. If you get it, the game should be pretty much over for the enemies.
Does the enemy team have a windrunner, a 
Phantom Assassin or a Butterfly carrier who kills you because you miss a lot of attacks? Well, this is the solution! It gives you true strike, meaning no more miss! It also gives you +88 damage, whitch can be lethal, and +15 attack speed, whitch is nothing huge. Just keep in mind that it's minibash doesn't stack.
Although this item is considered core for many heores, it is more a situational for Faceless Void. Why? Well, you should focus on dealing as much damage in your ulti, so you shouldn't get stunned a lot, since by the time your ulti ends, they should be a) dead, or b) unable to do anything to you, since they damage dealers are already dead. Still, if you find yourself getting stunlocked, don't hesitate to buy this bad boy.
Really good item for Faceless Void, since you get a bunch of IAS, coupled with bonus armor and the auras! If your team is running an armor redution strategy, and none has piced this item(and isn't going to), it is one of the best options out there
Although Faceless Void doesn't need to tank, sometimes you just need to be tanky so that the enemy carry/team can't kill you. If you need raw HP, this is the best item you could get, but NEVER get it before you have at least decent DPS.
Nah, just kidding.
Well, acording to dotabuff, this item has been used from Faceless Void 4(!) times and has 0.00% win rate. Nuff said.
Although it is a really good item for a lot of carries, it's not for you. The bonus stats are great, but illutions don't bash, and Faceless Void is all about bashing(or at least that's how I play him) so... meh.
As far as I am conserned, it's a terrible item for almost any hero. Sure, the extra str and agi are great, the slow/ms is also good, but... 4300gold is way too much for what it gives, since both an 
Eaglesong and a 
Quarterstaff cost 100gold less, and you then only need 1800gold for a complete Butterfly!
Although two Chronospheres seem cool on paper, truth is you can't afford the mana cost.
Nature's Prophet)
Earthshaker, 
Crystal Maiden) Faceless Void > than an equally farmed lvl15 Anti-Mage or Phantom Assassin. Just keep in mind that you have to init with your ulti so that you can kill them. If you don't then Anti-Mage will drain all your mana and phantom ***sassin will deal huge damage to you.I decided to make a chapter about teamfights because they can make your team gain/lose a lot of gold, and exp. So, what's your role on teamfights?
Faceless Void on lvl1 has 587HP, so you'll have 212HP left, and your foes will have no means of damage. That said, your attacks can deal quite a bit damage at lvl1, since your base damage is really high(58-64). Faceless Void can do more damage than expected, and if you're experienced enough, you'll find out when you should enter them or not(if you're a begginer just play it safe and farm if possible)
Night Stalker at night). Also this is when the laning phase is usually over. Althought your main priority should be to farm as much as possible, you should find a way to balance it. Don't spend the whole game farming, since this way your team may lose a 5v4 fight and thus lose the entire game. So try to enter mid game teamfights when: Chronosphere)
Tidehunter or 
Enigma. Also, don't use Chronosphere until the effects of the initiation are over (ecpesially if you have a Black Hole) When the first, big damage is dealt, your job is to Time Walk in, catch as many enemies as possible in your Chronosphere and kill then with your huge damage output. You should focus:
These guys will destroy you when they get lvl6. They have huge nukes and an even more damagin ultimate, witch early game will leave you with less than half HP. You should avoid them as much as possible since if you die more than 2-3 times early game you have been shutdown(don't give up though)
TBH, any ganager will feed on you. These guys however, are your worst nightmare. Why? Well, Spirit Breaker can almost permastun you, blalanar can silence AND slow you, and Tiny can destroy you with his burst damage, and he's also a pretty good carry and his passive can DESTROY you late game, since you will not be able to attack him more than 2-3 times!
These guys can disable you for quite a bit, making you vulnerable to the other team. Secial metion to Pugna, since he will make you ethereal, so you can't attack AND you take more magic damage.
These items disarm you or make you or your foes ethereal, meaning you can't attack them. This make 's you useless, so... yeah. Faceless Void is countered by disablers and nukers early on(fun fact: you counter nukers lategame), so it isn't so hard to find our if a hero/item counters you or not. Fortunatedly, most of your counters are counted(lol) by a 3900 gold item called Black King Bar. If you find yourself countered, JUST BUY IT!!!
Althought Faceless Void is one(if not the) hardest carries in DotA 2, if the other carry is good, you may have trouble beating him late-game. Here's what you should do against them:
This guy, or maybe these guys will make your life a living nightmare(lol, no pun intended). If he initiates you you will have no mana for your ultimate, since most Phantom Lancers gat 
Diffusal Blade as a core, and even if you manage to ulti him, witch one should you focus? After his Heart of Tarrasque is complete, his illutions are so hard to kill that you can't find out wheather they're illutions or not.
BUT!!! Everyone knows that Phantom Lancer is countered by AoE, so even if you haven't done in the early-game, get a Battle Fury, since splash crits will wipe out his illutions. Also, your Chronosphere reveals invis heroes, so if you time it right, he won't escape.
One of the oldest, and most nerfed heroes in the game. Still, a freaking hard carry that will demolish an entire team lategame! She deals pure damage, and in order to stop it you have to kill her, thus proc 
Dispersion and take even more damage!!! The only way to kill her(?) whithout killing yourself is to get a Black King Bar and kill her inside Chronosphere, before she can kill your entire team.
The most versatile hard carry, Morphling can either go shotgun mode and 1-shot you, or just get autoattack mode and hit you before you can approash him! This time, it depends witch build he is going, so you have to constantly check his inventory, so you can predict his moves(something that you should do anyways). If he's going shotgun, you MUST get a Black King Bar, and ulti him before he escaped with Waveform The best way to do this, is of cource, to Time Walk close to him, then immediately ulti him and he should be either close to death, or dead. If he gets items like 
Eye of Skadi, Butterfly etc. then he's no real threat to you, if you have equal farm,since you will easily permabash him, and kill him. If you have les farm than he has the only way to kill him is to go 1v5, but he may sill escape due to him replicate. If you play -cm and the enemy picks Morphling, faceles void ISNT'T THE BEST PICK, but still a viable one(the best pick imo would me Anti-Mage).
This is the end of my first guide. I would like to thank you for reading. Also, If you have any suggestions about the build, or have noticed any mistakes I have made pleaze tell me, so that I can fix them.
12-12-12: Some formatting changes
1-11-12: Added "Against Other Carries" chapter
5-10-12:Added "changelog", "When to pick" and "hero/item counters" chapters
3-10-12: Guide published
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