Battle Lina v1.0

Lina is an intelligence based hero. Like you already didn't know. She has a nice varied skill set of nukes, stuns, and self-buffs. Dragon Slave and Laguna Blade nukes, Light Strike Array stuns, and Fiery Soul will buff. Her missile speed is at an average 900, just like Lich or Puck. Her starting move speed is a bit below average with a value of 295, however, this will not be an issue after being buffed with Fiery Soul and having some boots will fix this problem. Lina's health is what to be expected from an intelligence hero.

The purpose of this build is to confuse and anger your allies and/or enemies. People do not expect a DPS Lina. And if you are terrible, people will most likely not enjoy your presence. But what can they do? DOTA 2 is just in its beta stage right now. Ban hasn't been implemented yet, so let's try to create and enjoy some unorthodox builds while we can.

DPS Lina, if done correctly, can be immensely satisfying and hilarious. With an adequate skill set of nukes and disable, Lina can rip through almost anything with fast ranged attacks thanks to Fiery Soul, or stun and nuke people with magical damage from Laguna Blade, essentially a free, upgradable Dagon.

Just think about it.

Plus, she is smoking hot. Literally.

Stats (Level 1/Level 25):
Hit Points: 492/1556
Mana Points: 351/1599
Strength: 18/54 +20 (+1.5)
Agility: 16/52 +20 (+1.5)
Intelligence: 27/103 +20 (+3.2)
Damage: 40-58/116-134 +20
Attack Speed (Attacks per second): 0.68/1.01
Range: 600
Move Speed: 295
Armor: 1.24/9.08

Note: This is with max attributes at level 25. Stats round down to the nearest whole number.

Pros:

-Has disable
-Has nukes
-Can gank early giving an advantage
-Excellent farmer
-Nice lane control

Cons:

-Fragile
-Ultimate is mana heavy
- Light Strike Array can be difficult to land
-Expensive build
-Heavily item and spell dependent

Dragon Slave (Active)

Damage: 100/170/230/280
Mana Cost: 90/105/125/140
Cooldown: 8.5 seconds
Cast Range: 600
Travel Range: 275-1075
Radius: 150 (Final)

Note: Can hit targets up to 1225 units away.

Lina channels the breath of a dragon, sending out a wave of fire that scorches every enemy in its path.
In the scorched barren of Misrule, Lina learned to manipulate the fiery breath of the Desert Wyrm as a form of entertainment.

The range on this spell is massive and can hit targets almost two times your attack range. Dragon Slave's damage is quite high early game with 170 damage at level 2. At level 4, it is on par in damage with Puck's Illusory Orb and has a lower cooldown and mana cost. Quite fascinating. When used in conjunction with Light Strike Array, the damage output is massive at low levels. But since we are doing a DPS build, Light Strike Array will not be outputting as much damage as it can in the early game.

Light Strike Array (Active)

Damage: 90/150/210/280
Mana Cost: 90/100/110/125
Cooldown: 7 seconds
Cast Range: 600
Stun 1.6 seconds
Radius: 225

Note: This spell has a 0.5 second delay after casting. It can break trees.

Summons a column of flames that damages and stuns enemies.
Lina's essence allows her to focus the sun's energies, causing air to combust at will.

Light Strike Array is Lina's disable. It can be quite difficult to land with the 0.5 second delay so some practice is recommended to land it with ease. It has a decent radius; a little bit bigger than Lich's Frost Blast but not as cool as Crystal Maiden's Crystal Nova. Shame. Nonetheless, this skill is crucial to what makes a good Lina. It is critical to master this ability so Lina can support the team while giving her a Fiery Soul boost and some time to get some free hits in the 1.6 second stun. This and Dragon Slave are very effective at farming. Light Strike Array can destroy trees. Use this to your advantage in ganking. If no stun is needed, use trees as cover then break them to initiate.

Fiery Soul (Passive)

Attack Speed Bonus: 40%/55%/60%/85%
Move Speed Bonus: 4%/5%/6%/7%
Max Stacks: 3
Duration: 5 seconds

Note: Duration restarts every time a spell is cast. Items do not affect this skill.

Grants bonus attack and movement speed each time Lina casts a spell. Stacks with itself. Lasts 5 seconds.
Dancing flames embody Lina's playful nature, bringing out her true blazing self.

The most essential skill in this build. With this ability, Lina is able to attack up to 180% faster and move up to 18% faster. This skill isn't selected until level 4, and it still will not reach its full potential until Lina is able to gather items that increase her overall damage. Since its duration is 5 seconds and Dragon Slave and Light Strike Array are 8.5 and 7 seconds respectively, a good Lina should be able to prolong this buff for an indefinite amount of time or until she runs out of mana from casting spells. This can be done by spacing out the cast times of Lina's spells so that at least one spell will finish its cooldown before the duration is up. Know when to try to keep this buff up and when not to to save mana and possibly your allies.
This spell has recently been buffed with increased movement speed and attack speed. Now with 15% more DPS than before!

Laguna Blade (Active)

Damage: 450(600)/675(925)/900(1250)
Mana Cost: 280/420/680
Cooldown: 70/60/50
Cast Range: 600(900)

Note: Scepter upgrades are in parentheses.

Fires off a bolt of lightning at a single enemy unit, dealing massive damage.
The air around Lina becomes so intensely torrid that it scorches a foe that came too close with white-hot lightning.

The ultimate. The last ability that makes Lina so scary. Laguna Blade is an instant cast spell that is essentially a Dagon, however, at Level 3 it consumes 680 mana. When Lina is level 16 and without items, 680 mana is easily 6/10s of her mana pool. It is important to take care of mana shortage problems by increasing Lina's mana pool or adding mana regeneration items. With a DPS Lina build, this ability will mainly be used to last hit heroes or just to kill steal if wanted. If Lina has Aghanim's Scepter, Laguna Blade will be extremely deadly if opponents do not have magical resistance.
This ability has recently been buffed with decreased cooldowns. Me gusta.

Attributes (Passive)

+2 to all stat points per skill level

Yum. Stat points.

Starting Items:

Tango (90)
Tango (90)
Clarity (50)
Circlet (185)
Circlet (185)
Animal Courier (170)*

Gold needed: 600/770

*IF YOU RANDOMED. Or if you just want to get it early.

There are many possibilities to start out. For instance, one might go Tango, Clarity x2, Healing Salve, Gauntlets of Strength, and Gauntlets of Strength. Or 6 Iron Branch. And add a Animal Courier if you randomed. Personally, I like getting Circlet because it increases all my stats for less health if I had gone 2 Gauntlets, a slightly faster attack speed, more damage, and more mana.

Early Game:

Bracer (525)
Bracer (525)
Boots of Speed (500)
Void Stone (875)
Magic Stick (200)
Animal Courier (170)
Flying Courier (370)*

Gold needed: 2425/2455

*IF YOU GOT FIRST BLOOD AND IF YOU ALREADY HAVE COURIER. Or if you just want to get it early again and have a recipe lying around.

This seems quite expensive, but considering on how well you last hit, it should be no problem to get a Void Stone with Boots of Speed before Level 7. You do not necessarily need to get bracers first. You can buy Boots of Speed from side shop and Void Stone is bought from Secret Shop. If you can stay in the lane for a long time then bracers shouldn't be your first choice. Farm and gank well and Lina should have no problem rising to the top. The Magic Stick is useful for farming because it will help heal you and reduces visits back to the fountain. This build is flexible enough so if you don't get enough money in time, you can always go as a regular Lina. But who wants that?

Mid Game:

Stygian Desolator (4100)
Flying Courier (370)

Gold needed: 4300

This is where it gets fun. +60 damage with -6 armor. Lina will hit hard with her attacks and with Fiery Soul and her disables and nukes, ganking should be quite easy. When waiting for opportunities to gank, Lina can farm easily with Light Strike Array to stun and using Fiery Soul to DPS. Be sure not to use all of your mana because Laguna Blade still takes up quite a lot at level 1.

End Game:

Guinsoo's Scythe of Vyse (5675)
Boots of Travel (2500)

Gold needed: 6800

Finish your Guinsoo's Scythe of Vyse as fast as possible because this is when carry heroes and fat tanks will start to catch up to you. If you do not gank enough, they will close the gap on which you worked so hard to create. Do not get overconfident. Overconfidence will get you killed. Be sure to stay close to allies late game since nukes will have less effect on higher level heroes. Lina is still fragile even though she can hit pretty hard. I chose Boots of Travel over Power Treads because it adds a nice 95 movement speed which allows you to catch up to most heroes who simply have Power Treads. It also helps with mobility across the map. After these items are complete, you have many free slots to fill up with items. Below are some extra items that you may want to fill up the extra slots that you have.

Total Cost:

Tango (90)
Tango (90)
Clarity (50)
Bracer (525)
Bracer (525)
Magic Stick (200)
Boots of Travel (2500)
Desolator (4100)
Scythe of Vyse (5675)
Flying Courier (370)

14125 Gold

Extras:

Buriza-Do Kyanon ( Daedalus) (5750)

Critical Strike and a massive increase in damage. Also I love Diablo 2.

Manta Style (4900)

Create images to trick opponents. Use good micro to not die. Good increase in stats as well as more attack speed and movement speed.

Black King Bar (3900)

Why not?

Cranium Basher ( Skull Basher) (2950)

Only a 10% chance to bash. But better than nothing. Increases damage by a little and adds a thin layer of extra skin from the +6 strength. This can be upgraded to Abyssal Blade when combined with Sacred Relic.

Veil of Discord (2650)

Opponents stacking magic resistance? Get this to maximize magical damage on enemies as well as an increase in armor and a little boost in physical damage. The active ability has a radius of 500 and a casting range of 875. So if you are able to use any of your spells, you should be able to use this item first. Laguna Blade has a range of 900 after Aghanim's Scepter though.

Rod of Atos (3100)

50% movement speed cripple and a nice boost in intelligence and health.

Shiva's Guard (4700)

If there's too much physical attack going around and you don't like being the first to die in a team battle, use this item. It might help you live a full 10 seconds longer. Also, its Arctic Blast is useful for catching up or running away from opponents.

Linken's Sphere (5175)

I don't like being focused or targeted. Every 20 seconds, it will save your life. Also adds a bit of heft to Lina with the +15 to stats.

Bloodstone (5050)

One of my favorite items for casters and support and I guess it can work here as well. Bloodstone gives a huge increase in health and mana as well as health mana regeneration. Each charge on the Bloodstone will help mana regeneration and your allies if you ever die. It also reduces the impact from death by reducing gold lost and respawn time per charge. This is an excellent item to go for endgame and will make Lina a bit harder to kill. Added after a suggestion from Atlas.

Aghanim's Scepter (4200)

I guess...

Alternatives:

Eye of Skadi (5850)

Gives a cold orb effect. This is usually an endgame item but can replace Stygian Desolator, assuming you are doing very well in the game. Its stat boost is very helpful to fragile Lina. Eye of Skadi does stack with Life Steal though. Oh well. I don't get this item because it adds more money to the already expensive build making it less possible for it to work.

Power Treads (1450)

When Eye of Skadi is used, the extra movement speed on Boots of Travel is meaningless since the cold effect slows opponents. Gives attack speed increase with a little bonus damage.

Eul's Scepter of Divinity (2800)

If Guinsoo is too much for endgame, this is a great alternative. It still helps with reducing the impact of Laguna Blade's immense mana cost. Also serves as a nice disable to help with team fights.

Satanic (6150)

A possible Life Steal item. Since orb effects do not stack, I do not use this with Stygian Desolator. However, it does work with Eye of Skadi. BUT LOOK AT THAT PRICE. Satanic helps makes Lina more durable in addition to raising the price of this build. Its activated ability increases lifesteal temporarily. More lifesteal is always good.

Radiance (5150)

I really like the +60 damage on Stygian Desolator. So why not Zoidberg? I mean, a 650 radius Immolation that costs no mana?

Arcane Boots (1500)

I was wondering for the longest time where Arcane Ring was. Turns out this is the replacement item for it. This is only temporary if you need a boost in speed and some extra mana. Once you get items that help with your mana, these should be turned into Boots of Travel.

From Dota2wiki.com

Hero Armor, the armor that every hero uses, has 25% Magic Resistance. The total damage from a spell is calculated by the equation below:

Total Damage = Spell Damage - (1 - 25% Natural Resistance)(1 - Magical Resistance from Items)(1 - Magical Resistance from Abilities)(1 + Magical Amplification)

Anti-Mage with Spell Shield maxed out and a Hood of Defiance has 73.75% magic resistance.

1 - (1 - .25)(1 - .30)(1 - .50) = .7375 = 73.75%

This page will go more in depth into magic resistance.

Choosing lanes:

Personally, I like choosing the side lane that is closest to the Secret Shop. That way, I can just go and grab a Void Stone and come back losing minimal exp. Also, the Side Shop sells Boots of Speed and other goodies I might want to have depending on the situation. It is recommended that Lina does not solo since if you're out of mana, you're screwed. You cannot do anything worthwhile unless someone can back you up and take the lane while you heal.

If somehow you end up mid solo, try to conserve your mana and deny as much as possible. There is very little chance that you will be able to get much money since solos are usually carry heroes and will be very aggressive versus a low health hero like Lina. When the time comes for a gank in mid, do your best to stun with Light Strike Array and help your ally as much as possible. Be wary of missing heroes because without any shops nearby to buy Boots of Speed, Lina will be very slow. Don't overextend. Play cautiously.

Gameplay:

Lina early game, is a team player. Her Light Strike Array's 1.6 second stun is just about enough to whittle down the life of an opponent low enough to be finished off with a Dragon Slave. At first, Lina's attack animation is very slow. Almost a full second animation before her projectile leaves the model. Denying and last hitting can be quite hard if the player is impatient or just likes to click a lot. To be aggressive, have Lina right up in front of the creep so her projectile will not have as much distance to travel. This will help a bit with last hitting and denying. Also try to harass enemy heroes and drive them away from the experience range. If possible, score some kills.

Before the game progresses to midgame, Lina should be adequately equipped to start ganking. Her abilities are going to be main portion of the damage right now since her attacks are still quite slow. Assuming you have some kills and have not lost any of your unreliable gold, going straight for Stygian Desolator after getting Void Stone is a viable choice. It might take awhile to amass the gold for Stygian Desolator at such a low level, but with enough farming and good ganks, 4100 gold should be no problem. Since Lina will be out farming a lot, getting an Animal Courier to deliver items would be smart so Lina will not have to go back to base so often. Pushing lanes will help gather gold and defend towers from being overrun. If your team needs your disables, help set up ganks and enjoy your reliable gold.

When Lina hits level 16, mana for her ultimate can be a problem. Don't even trip. If movement speed is not a problem for now, delay on getting the Boots of Travel and go straight for a Mystic Staff. That is 325 mana and 25 extra damage for Lina right there. Boots of Travel should be used to defend and get around the map with ease. After finishing up Guinsoo's Scythe of Vyse, Lina should be set for end game. She will still be fragile so try not to be focused. Use your spells to proc Fiery Soul and DPS all the heroes to death.

Any hero with disable or Silence.

Riki

Rikimaru is probably one of the scariest heroes for Lina. Unless the area is warded well, Riki can pop up and Smoke Screen. This forces Lina to back out making his Backstab own your health. Silence from Smoke Screen effectively disables anything Lina tries to do. Avoid battles with Riki unless you have a partner or team to back you up. When laning against this guy, harass him as much as possible before he reaches level 6. Then you'll have to start buying Sentry Wards to counter.

Anti-Mage

This should be self explanatory. With level 4 Spell Shield, Magina is able to reduce all your nukes to 37.5% of its original damage. If he is stacking agility or has Vanguard, your physical attacks will be less effective. Desolator is a good choice against Magina since it reduces his armor. Do not lane against Anti-Mage. It isn't work the effort.

N'aix Lifestealer

A very tanky hero. N'aix is able to take a lot of hits from your attacks. However, what is to be feared from him is his Rage. Once he has his magic immunity up, it is best that you run away since your spells will be useless. Since most N'aix will jungle nowadays, it is best to gank him in the jungle when you can. Ward the jungle and people will accuse you of maphacking. Quite hilarious when they are losing. Fight Lifestealer with backup. Scythe of Vyse will help if you can get it in before he uses Rage and try to kill him before hex is up.

Pandaren Brewmaster

Thunder Clap, Drunken Haze, and Drunken Brawler. Evasion and attack speed decrease are hard counters to this Lina build. Be wary of Mangix. He is also quite beefy and hits really hard. With Lina's health, she wouldn't last very long against him 1v1. Mangix isn't in Dota 2 yet. Have no fear for now.

Pudge

Pudge is possibly the most beefiest hero in Dota. Lina will be no match for a fed Pudge because of his magical resistance from Flesh Heap. Rot and Dismember will chew through your health in no time. Try not to get too close or get hooked. Sounds easy on paper, but in the real game, an experienced Pudge will be able to hook you no problem. Pudge Wars does that sometimes. Don't try to lane against him. It isn't worth the effort. Let a hard counter deal with him.

Silencer

He silences and steals your intelligence. That's not very nice. Glaives of Wisdom will tear through your health. Curse of the Silent will drain your mana and health. This isn't a fun hero to lane against or go 1v1. Run away. Now. While you can.

Drow Ranger

Traxex is a formidable opponent for Lina even though she is fragile herself. Frost Arrows will slow down Lina's physical attacks but Lina still has nukes. However, Traxex herself has Silence which seals all of Lina's spells and preventing you from procing Fiery Soul. Unless you can get the first hit, it is recommended not to fight Traxex unless you have backup. When laning against Traxex, its easy to get some spells on her since Dragon Slave reaches so far. Try to harass her as much as possible without getting hit by Frost Arrows.

Nerubian Assassin

This guy is so frustrating to play against. Vendetta will basically allow him to walk around unnoticed, Impale will stun you for 2.25 seconds and deal a good amount of damage, his scarabs will be able to scout your jungle fairly easily, and last but not least, Mana Burn burns your mana. No mana for spells, no Fiery Soul. What is this? Outrageous is what it is.

Spectre

Dispersion is what is going to make Mercurial scary. You range is less than the 1000 AOE it has. Most likely, Spectre will be attack you as well so you will be damaging yourself and taking hits from Spectre has they heal themselves too assuming they have lifesteal. Spectral Dagger will help Spectre chase you if you run away. It is recommended that you do not fight Spectre alone.

Phantom Assassin

35% evasion from Blur and a good chaser, Phantom Assassin is not a hero to be messed around with. Mortred is able to output a lot of damage from Coup de Grace. 4x Critical damage. Who ever thought that was balanced? Mortred is a bit like Riki but without the cloud to silence and the backstab. But at least she is still visible. Disabling her and nuking her to death is most likely your best choice. If you want to auto-attack her, you're going to need a Monkey King Bar.