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15 Votes

[7.19b] Vesper's In-Depth Guide to Phantom Assassin

September 4, 2018 by LordVesper
Comments: 13    |    Views: 98473    |   


Build 1
Build 2

Snowball Carry (Not Countered/GGEZ)

DotA2 Hero: Phantom Assassin




Hero Skills

Immaterial (Innate)

Stifling Dagger

1 3 5 7

Phantom Strike

2 8 9 11

Blur

4 13 14 16

Coup de Grace

6 12 18

Talents

10 15

Hero Talents

Triple Strike Stifling Dagger
25
+10% Coup de Grace Chance
+60 Phantom Strike Attack Speed
20
+20% Stifling Dagger damage
+200 Phantom Strike Cast Range
15
+15% Immaterial Evasion
-2s Stiffling Dagger Cooldown
10
+0.5s Phantom Strike Duration

Introduction

Greetings, everyone! I'm LordVesper, and this is my in-depth Phantom Assassin guide. Phantom Assassin is an amazing hero especially in low-tier ranks due to her ability to quickly kill soft enemies with the infamous Stifling Dagger + Phantom Strike combo. Couple that with the fact that she has innate survivability, elusiveness, AND map-hack with Blur plus Coup de Grace which amplifies her damage even further and you've got a true assassin!

Anyways, I did my best to make sure this guide covers everything that I could possibly think of so please don't forget to give some feedback as to whether it was good or not :)

Without further ado, let's get on with the guide! Once you've applied all this forbidden knowledge to your games, I can assure you that you'll get that awesome K/D/A AND win the ******* videogame at the same time!

Links:
WEBSITE: https://housevesper.wixsite.com/mainlobby
YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCo-y47zREpyLyDhKvg8_Jzg
TWITCH: https://www.twitch.tv/housevesper
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/housevesper
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/House_Vesper
STEAM CURATOR: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/30575847/
STEAM GROUP: https://steamcommunity.com/groups/VSPHub
STEAM PROFILE: https://steamcommunity.com/id/VSPLeader
REDDIT: https://www.reddit.com/user/House_Vesper
DISCORD: https://discord.gg/kDmTVpm

Video References

BONUS MEME

That's all for video content that could help you. Now, for the written guide!

Hero Abilities




Stifling Dagger (Active)

RANGE: 525/750/975/1200
SLOW DURATION: 1/2/3/4
COOLDOWN: 6
Throws a dagger that moves at 1200 speed towards the targeted enemy. Upon hit, the dagger slows and deals damage as if Phantom Assassin herself attacked the target. This means attack modifiers such as Desolator and Battle Fury's cleave work with this skill.


Phantom Assassin's main tool for chasing down enemies since the slow is INSANE (50%!). Can also be used in the laning phase to secure last-hits that you would not have otherwise received or to harass the opposing laner from a safe distance. It deals negligible damage early on but scales incredibly well with damage items and Coup de Grace.


TIPS AND TRICKS:




Phantom Strike (Active)

RANGE: 1000
BONUS ATTACK SPEED: 130
COOLDOWN: 14/11/8/5
Teleports to a unit and grants bonus attack speed for the next 4 attacks if it's an enemy. Buff lasts for 4 seconds.


Phantom Assassin's source of mobility and one of her damage steroids. The bonus attack speed is significant and comes into play when using the ability offensively. However, Phantom Strike can also serve as a somewhat reliable escape mechanism assuming there's a unit nearby away from the source of danger.


TIPS AND TRICKS:




Blur (Passive)

DETECTION RANGE: 1600
EVASION: 20%/30%/40%/50%
Assuming enemies don't have True Strike, this ability increases Phantom Assassin's survivability against physical attacks by 25%/43%/67%/100%. It also serves as a legal map-hack for detecting enemy heroes within 1600 range EVEN if they are not within vision. If the icon is active and Phantom Assassin looks all blurry, then it's USUALLY safe to say that there are no enemies nearby. If not, well... prepare for battle!


Phantom Assassin's natural protection against right-click based heroes. This gives her a significant advantage when manfighting and will force enemies to deal with her by buying Monkey King Bar or Silver Edge later on. Oh, and the visual blur effect hides you from the minimap unless an enemy hero is detected within that 1600 radius. This can occasionally save your life or make ganks more successful.


TIPS AND TRICKS:




Coup De Grace (Passive)

CRIT CHANCE:
15%
CRIT DAMAGE: 230%/340%/450%
AVG DAMAGE INCREASE: 19.5%/36%/52.5%
This ability is what allows her to kill enemies incredibly fast, sometimes INSTANTLY! You strike fear in the hearts of enemy supports, forcing them to buy defensive items like Ghost Scepter in hopes of surviving for more than two seconds in teamfights.


Phantom Assassin's massive damage steroid that makes her a true assassin with just one damage item, whether it be Battle Fury or Desolator. While incredibly luck-based, there are actually things you can do to increase your chance of getting that juicy critical hit (without using hacks). Not to mention, it can make her look deceptively strong or weak, causing enemies to misjudge you and either overreact/ignore your presence only to their demise.


TIPS AND TRICKS:

Skill Build Explanation + Talents


Stifling Dagger
  • You get Stifling Dagger whenever possible because the benefits are far too good to pass up compared to other abilities. The cast range increase allows you cast it much more often on the right targets without getting dangerously close or filling up enemy Magic Wands (if cast while not in vision). The manacost decrease allows you to consistently spam this spell without fear of mana issues especially once any form of mana regeneration is acquired. Yes, the damage increase is somewhat irrelevant this early on in the game but it's still something especially with all these other perks!


Phantom Strike
  • You get Phantom Strike at Level 2 for the utility and possible usage later if you decide to go in on an enemy. Put more points into it once Stifling Dagger is maxed out. Never max this before Stifling Dagger because only the cooldown decreases per level. Yup, no cast range increase nor increased bonus attack speed.


Blur
  • Get a value point into it at level 4 for that enemy detection utility and sliver of evasion that may make or break early fights. However, max this last since you really only start benefiting from evasion in the midgame.


Coup De Grace
  • As with most ultimates, max this whenever possible since the average and burst damage increase is too good to pass up. Besides, it doesn't interfere with maxing Stifling Dagger so it's all good.

+150 Health
VS
+15 Damage
Explanation:
Explanation:

+20% Cleave
VS
-4 Armor Corruption
Explanation:
Explanation:

Triple Strike Stifling Dagger
VS
20% Lifesteal
Explanation:
Explanation:

+25% Blur Evasion
VS
Explanation:
Explanation:

Pros and Cons

Pros

+ Insane burst physical damage

+ Built-in maphack that's somewhat effective

+ Above average laning phase

+ Requires less items than most carries to be effective

+ Eats squishy enemies for breakfast

+ Very hard to kite around even if melee
Phantom Assassin can heavily abuse her damage potential when picked in games where dedicated nukers and disablers aren't present. She makes quick work of squishy heroes and those who cannot fight against her Blur and insane damage output. She is also good at ending games fast if she manages to get a significant kill advantage. Yes, she falls off late-game but will that matter if the game has ended by then? Long story short, pick Phantom Assassin in the right games and I can assure you that the game is already won!

Cons

- Heavily countered by some items and heroes

- Weaker than most carries in ultra-late game

- Weak against dedicated nukers outside of Black King Bar

- Typically relies on snowballing to be successful

- Doesn't like being in the frontlines

- Much more luck-based than most heroes
Phantom Assassin is incredibly weak against nukers until she gets her Black King Bar. This forces her to stay in the back and only join in teamfights once someone else has initiated. Otherwise, she'll just get bursted down before she can even contribute anything. She also typically relies on snowballing and ending the game with that advantage so if she doesn't get her crucial items and push objectives in a timely manner, then she will fall off hard. Think of it as if you're playing on a timer, and each second after minute 35:00 decreases your chance of winning as Monkey King Bars get completed, Ghost Scepters are purchased etc.. Lastly, while she still requires skill to play, there will be times where you just have to leave it to luck to decide whether or not you get those crucial kills or die trying to.

When To Pick

GOOD AGAINST:


DROW RANGER
EXPLANATION:

ANTI-MAGE
EXPLANATION:

RIKI
EXPLANATION:

GOOD TEAMMATES:


LYCAN
EXPLANATION:

MAGNUS
EXPLANATION:

UNDYING
EXPLANATION:

She generally does well against heroes who like to keep their distance and those who would rather prefer that the game goes late. As for good teammates, pick her with heroes that like ending games fast or those who can help her snowball even faster.

When NOT To Pick

BAD AGAINST:


MORPHLING
EXPLANATION:

PANGOLIER
EXPLANATION:

TIMBERSAW
EXPLANATION:

BAD TEAMMATES:


KOTL
EXPLANATION:

BRISTLEBACK
EXPLANATION:

ANTI-MAGE
EXPLANATION:

She generally does horribly against heroes who are both nukers and durable enough to survive her initial burst damage from Stifling Dagger + Phantom Strike combo. As for bad teammates, she doesn't like cooperating with passive heroes who like to take the game nice and easy. She falls off hard in the lategame so ending the game at around ~35:00 is of utmost importance.

Laning Scenarios

MIDLANE


WHY IT'S GOOD





SAFELANE


WHY IT'S ALRIGHT





OFFLANE


WHY IT'S BAD

Ideal Gameplan

EARLYGAME


GOALS:


REMINDERS:

MIDGAME


GOALS:


REMINDERS:

LATEGAME


GOALS:


REMINDERS:

Battle Fury V.S. Desolator


BATTLE FURY
VS

DESOLATOR
EXPLANATION:
EXPLANATION:

Phase Boots V.S. Power Treads


PHASE BOOTS
VS

POWER TREADS
EXPLANATION:
EXPLANATION:

Starting Items: Explained

Tango

Tango (Shared)

Observer Ward

Healing Salve

Stout Shield

Iron Branch

Wraith Band

Quelling Blade

Earlygame Items: Explained

Ring of Aquila

Magic Wand

Infused Raindrops

Mask of Madness

Medallion of Courage

Hood of Defiance

Situational Items/Extensions: Explained

Abyssal Blade

Aeon Disk

Assault Cuirass

Bloodthorn

Boots of Travel

Diffusal Blade

Eye of Skadi

Linken's Sphere

Manta Style

Monkey King Bar

Moon Shard

Nullifier

Sange and Yasha

Satanic

Silver Edge

Solar Crest

Closing Remarks

Oh, hey! You've finished the guide! Thank you for taking the time and effort to read this. I hope you've learned some new useful information along the way and I only wish you luck in your future games. Go get em, tiger!

Anyways, if you feel like helping me out, why not leave some feedback in the form of comments, votes, and/or messages? I'm always open to criticism so feel free to point out any mistakes that I've made so that I may correct them and avoid them in future guides. I'm LordVesper, and I'll see you... next time!

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