General Stat Priorities (Carry leaning stats):
High Priority: STR, Attack Speed, HP Regen, Status Resistance, Spell Immunity
Middle Priority: Armor, Movespeed, HP, Attack Damage, AGI, Lifesteal, Spell Amplification, Mobility
Low Priority: Magic Resistance, Spell Lifesteal, Mana Regen, INT, Cooldown Reduction, Cast Range, Mana
Early:
Bracer,
Soul Ring,
Morbid Mask,
Crown,
Faerie Fire,
Magic Wand,
Helm of Iron Will,
Orb of Venom,
Blades of Attack,
Blight Stone,
Orb Of Corrosion,
Falcon Blade,
Bottle
Boots:
Power Treads is generally more valuable as it adds more health and attack speed which is better for this hero but
Phase Boots can be easier to snowball with.
Tranquil Boots for utility nuker, as you’re trying to cast more spells and need the regen with that build.
Mid:
Carry:
Armlet of Mordiggian,
Sange and Yasha,
Desolator,
Orchid Malevolence,
Echo Sabre,
Black King Bar,
Crystalys,
Shadow Blade,
Mask of Madness,
Battle Fury,
Aghanim's Shard
Utility:
Spirit Vessel,
Vladmir's Offering /
Wraith Pact,
Drum of Endurance /
Boots of Bearing,
Heaven's Halberd,
Blink Dagger,
Crimson Guard,
Solar Crest,
Lotus Orb,
Pipe of Insight,
Force Staff,
Mekansm,
Eternal Shroud,
Mage Slayer
Nuker:
Veil of Discord,
Kaya and Sange,
Ghost Scepter,
Dagon 1
Late (all builds):
Heart of Tarrasque,
Satanic,
Daedalus,
Silver Edge,
Eye of Skadi,
Aghanim's Scepter,
Assault Cuirass,
Nullifier,
Bloodthorn,
Mjollnir,
Monkey King Bar,
Butterfly,
Abyssal Blade,
Dagon 5,
Ethereal Blade,
Guardian Greaves,
Wraith Pact,
Helm Of The Overlord,
Shiva's Guard,
Gleipnir,
Scythe of Vyse,
Moon Shard,
Overwhelming Blink,
Hurricane Pike,
Divine Rapier
Some Item Builds:
Early Activating Armor Reduction Carry:
Power Treads/
Phase Boots>
Armlet of Mordiggian>
Desolator>
Black King Bar>
Assault Cuirass>then whatever late game items
Ganker Semi-Carry:
Phase Boots>
Shadow Blade>
Black King Bar>
Silver Edge>
Abyssal Blade/
Assault Cuirass/
Heart of Tarrasque>then late game items
Farming Pusher Carry:
Power Treads>
Battle Fury>
Sange and Yasha>
Black King Bar>
Satanic>
Moon Shard>
Daedalus
Utility:
Tranquil Boots>
Spirit Vessel>
Heaven's Halberd>
Blink Dagger>
Aghanim's Scepter>
Lotus Orb>
Shiva's Guard
Nuker:
Tranquil Boots>(
Veil of Discord)>
Kaya>
Dagon 1>
Blink Dagger>
Ethereal Blade>
Dagon 5>
Overwhelming Blink
Item Discussion:
First Damage Item:
Armlet of Mordiggian: Probably most reliable first item as a damage dealer as is pretty common on strength right clickers, but very strong on Kurthifa due to how her passive works. This item can also be used to keep her health lower to get more damage, though with the Mortality Rush toggle, it means that it is not entirely necessary to get Armlet to keep health low.
Shadow Blade: A less damage but more of an impressive ganker item, Shadow Blade allows Kurthifa to get kills all over the map by positioning well for Run Through. Builds into Silver Edge too, which is a very powerful damage item and lets her take on many carries.
Echo Sabre: This item offers some mana regeneration and allows Kurthifa to easily deal a lot of damage with the double strike, since she gains a lot of attack damage from her passive. Effective with Armlet and if you keep your health low.
Orchid Malevolence: Against key core enemies like Storm or Queen of Pain, this item can be Kurthifa's core for shutting them down. The stats are useful and the silence has a ton of potential, since it lasts much longer than Run Through's disable, which does not prevent spellcasting or attacking. The silence damage can also add up to a lot with Retribution.
Mask of Madness: Because Kurthifa gains most of her damage from her passive, if she toggles off the passive she can farm very quickly if she has attack speed. MoM gives her the sustain and burst attack speed to farm and to fight once she has cast all her spells. It also can be disassembled into Satanic and Butterfly/Bloodthorn/Echo.
Battle Fury: If for whatever reason you decide to build Kurthifa as a farming hard carry that builds around her Crits, this item fits her, as she has built in damage, can cast a crit on command, and has mobility spells to clear camps very quickly. Also very useful against summons and illusions.
Minus Armor:
Desolator: A powerful item if bought reasonably early (to gain charges), this stacks well with AC and the hero’s level 25 Armor Corruption talent. If bought early it can be a huge power spike.
Assault Cuirass: A very good and balanced item on this hero, massively increasing the value of her hit points. Should be a big priority in late game in carry builds. Pairs well with Desolator.
Utility:
Spirit Vessel: A great option, stacks with the regeneration reduction of Run Through. Makes her a huge anti-healer threat.
Heaven's Halberd: Useful against key rightclickers and generally makes the hero very survivable. A legitimate option even on the carry build of Kurthifa against the right foe.
Solar Crest: A good item for utility Crimson Knight, as it makes her tanky but also allows her to do some physical burst damage with the armor reduction.
Shiva's Guard: Another useful anti-regen item and it adds a huge amount of armor. The slow is also very useful for chasing enemies.
Eye of Skadi: If you need further anti-regen and slow. The slowing attack can help her if she is getting kited too. Helps you fight a lot of carries and prevents the enemies from running from you.
Mobility:
Force Staff/
Hurricane Pike: As Run Through allows you to drag the latched hero, you can use Force Staff and Crimson Impact to significantly displace your Run Through target far from the enemies the way a Batrider would. Useful in general as a utility hero with certain matchups as well.
Blink Dagger: If played like an initiator, Dagger allows Kurthifa to jump enemies with Retribution's stun (and significant damage, even if cast from full health) and then use the other mobility skills to flee, disengage or chase.
Aghanim's Scepter: With two charges of Run Through that is also faster, Scepter grants a large boost to mobility and disabling power.
Overwhelming Blink: Blink, but sexier. Due to Kurthifa's high strength itemization, the active will deal a lot of damage and the slow allows her to catch and outfight a lot of enemies.
Nuker:
Kaya and Sange: Boosts the damage of Crimson Impact and Retribution on two fronts with health pool and spell amp. Also makes Kurthifa much harder to kill with status resistance and regeneration boost. It can also be disassembled into Ethereal Blade.
Ethereal Blade: Can massively boost the damage of Retribution, making it one of the most powerful nukes. Its own nuke scales well with Kurthifa’s high strength too.
Dagon 1 to
Dagon 5: It’s Dagon. 3 guesses on how it synergizes with the Nuker build.
Tank and Status Resistance:
Sange and Yasha: A good all around item, the speed helps with kiting and pairs excellently with lifesteal. An excellent 2nd damage item.
Satanic: A huge damage and survival boost for Kurthifa. With Run Through's crit, the Satanic active is an effective way to heal to full and dispel any potentially nasty debuffs.
Heart of Tarrasque: This is one of the best potential damage boosters on this hero, as it gives you more health and survivability which boosts 3 of your skills. However, if you do not use your Mortality Rush toggle, it will keep you at full health and will massively slow down your farming potential, so be mindful.
Black King Bar: A major pick up in most builds. Don't skip it since you can't do damage if you're disabled.
Neutral Items:
Level 1:
Chipped Vest*,
Possessed Mask*,
Broom Handle*,
Tumbler's Toy,
Ocean Heart
Level 2:
Essence Ring*,
Vambrace*,
Fae Grenade*,
Dragon Scale,
Nether Shawl,
Brigand's blade
Level 3:
Titan Sliver*,
Ceremonial Robe,
Elven Tunic,
Enchanted Quiver,
Paladin Sword,
Spider Legs,
Cloak Of Flames,
Blast Rig
Level 4:
Penta-Edged Sword*,
The Leveller*,
Flicker,
Timeless Relic,
Ninja Gear,
Witchbane
Level 5:
Apex*,
Pirate Hat*,
Desolator 2*
Giant's Ring*,
Arcanist's Armor*,
Book Of Shadows,
Ex Machina,
Fallen Sky,
Force Boots,
Mirror Shield
*Denotes an extra useful neutral item
She is a good initiator like Spirit Breaker & a good nuker like Huskar or Night Stalker.
I enjoyed reading your idea!
She is a good initiator like Spirit Breaker & a good nuker like Huskar or Night Stalker.
I enjoyed reading your idea!
I am not sure why you're thanking me, but I'm glad you enjoyed reading about Kurthifa.
It's funny you mention she is a nuker and initiator when she was supposed to steal everyone's hearts as a right clicking carry. Though I can understand why nuker or initiator looks more fun.
I think Run Through as a skill is complicated enough, and I don't feel it is overpowered so it seems unnecessary to do that.
It would indeed more realistic though, no doubt about that.