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90 Votes

How To: Dirge, the Undying

February 3, 2013 by xCO2
Comments: 68    |    Views: 485601    |   


Build 1
Build 2
Build 3

Health Orientated

DotA2 Hero: Undying




Hero Skills

Decay

1 10 12 13

Soul Rip

2 3 9 14

Tombstone

4 5 7 8

Flesh Golem

6 11 16

Talents

15 17 18

INTRODUCTION

______________________________________________________________________________________________
Considered to be an exceptionally filthy and despicable specimen by all who encounter him, including his fellow zombies, Dirge has wandered in from the wastes outside to serve the Lich King (Dead God) in hopes of finally obtaining a place of acceptance amongst the Undead masses. While he is still considered to be unpleasant as ever by the rest of the Scourge (Undead), his horrifying abilities, which include raising lesser ghouls and spreading vile, rapidly communicable plague throughout the enemy ranks, are unquestionably powerful and may just give the Scourge (Undead) the edge they need to complete their unholy conquest once and for all.
______________________________________________________________________________________________

Dirge is a very Pseudo-esque hero. He can fill a variety of roles, but his talent lies in initiating and team fighting. Dirge revels in teaming up with heavy hitters and crowd controllers, as just his presence makes the enemy shiver in agony as nukers become the most imba thing next to your maxed blood stone.

GUIDE KEY

COLOUR CODE:

YELLOW - Good, go for it.
ORANGE - Situational, a maybe.
RED - Bad, generally a stay away.
GREY - Is titled accordingly.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
LEVEL [LVL] CODE:

PURP - Q, your first ability.
LIME - W, your second ability.
BLUE - E, your third ability.
PINK - R, your ultimate.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
The below content is appropriately color coded to the above key. All of the following information, with the exception of the actual [ RUNES ] or the [ PLEASE READ ], initially correspond with their description accordingly. If something is not understood fully regarding the color code, please comment with your question / issue.

ROLE and POSITION

ROLE:

Undying: INITIATOR.

Like it or not, Undying is a CASTER. He is neither a source of DPS, nor is he a TANK, which means that Ring of Health should not be turned into a Battlefury. In public matchmaking it will be pretty common to see people playing him with alternative builds, and obviously there is a chance of being successful, but these builds do not truly accent his kit to it's potential. There is no need to restrict your abilities exclusively to you, the strength of Undying is in team situations. If you're expecting to go on a rampage then look elsewhere. Undying is not a hero that is meant to CARRY or even SEMI-CARRY; your main purpose is to make sure you win by aggroing team fights and pushing, not achieve an epic kill to death ratio.

POSITION:

Assuming you bought your starting equipment as suggested and are wondering what to do now, you might want to consider your lane or jungle position; for the purpose of this guide you will head to a DUO or TRI lane. You should not SOLO a lane for the sole purpose of your role.

BOTTLE and RUNES

Bottle: NO

Illusion: DO NOT PICK UP, unless there is no one nearby with a bottle.

Double Damage: Do not pick this up EARLY or LATE game, this is a great pick up for you in the MID game.

Invisibility: This is your rune, PICK IT UP , and use it to successfully nuke the opposition.

Regeneration: SITUATIONAL, for the most part you will pick this up if no one needs it anymore than you do.

Haste: Exceptional PICK UP on Dirge, allows for your R to create max performance and an easy in-out.

EARLY GAME

HEALTH ORIENTATED:

Lvl 1: Occasionally cast Q, making sure to land it on as many heroes as there are in the lane.

Lvl 2: Try to save casting for your next level, using your W if needed.

Lvl 3: Cast your W frequently, making sure there are at least 10 creeps nearby.

Lvl 4: Do not cast your E, as the mana cost and cool-down are not worth it at the time.

Lvl 5: Continue casting W, and occasionally Q, using your E only in defense.

Lvl 6: Use your R in conjunction with your E to successfully nuke any opposition.


MANA ORIENTATED:

Lvl 1: Cast W only to heal or secure first blood.

Lvl 2: Try to save casting for your next level, using your W if needed.

Lvl 3: Cast your W frequently, making sure there are at least 10 creeps nearby.

Lvl 4: Do not cast your E, as the mana cost and cool-down are not worth it at the time.

Lvl 5: Continue casting W, and occasionally Q, using your E only in defense.

Lvl 6: Use your R in conjunction with your E to successfully nuke any opposition.


SUPPORT:

Lvl 1: Cast W only to heal or secure first blood.

Lvl 2: Only use you E if someone is ganking your lane, friendly or enemy.

Lvl 3: Cast your W frequently, making sure there are at least 10 creeps nearby, heal your carry.

Lvl 4: Your Q should be used to temporarily heal you or harass them.

Lvl 5: Continue casting W, and occasionally Q, using your E only in defense.

Lvl 6: Try to secure an early game kill if your lane has not yet. Use a combination of your Q, W, E, and R.

TEAM FIGHTING

Coming soon...

FRIENDS and FOES

To pick Dirge, or not to pick Dirge, that is the question.


What makes a good Ally? Any hero that can either provide Dirge with mass pools of MANA, or create immense AoE NUKES. Listed below are some of, not all of, good allies for Undying.

ALLIES:
+ Keeper of the Light - Ezalor
+ Crystal Maiden - Rylai
+ Lich - Ethreain
+ Tidehunter - Leviathan
+ Enigma - Darchrow
+ Lord of Olympus - Zeus
+ Outworld Destroyer - Harbinger
+ Disruptor

Dirge may be an undead, but if you've ever played a zombie game in your life then you'll know that Dirge is far from undying. Listed below are foes that you should avoid matching against. These include, but are not limited to; heroes that BURN MANA, DEAL DAMAGE TO HP, or enemies that BENEFIT FROM TOMBSTONE being in the battle.

FOES:
x Keeper of the Light - Ezalor
x Nyx Assassin
x Anti-Mage - Magina
x Lifestealer - Naix
x Sacred Warrior - Huskar
x Necrolyte - Rotund'jere
x Gyrocopter - Aurel Vlaicu
x Axe - Mogul Khan
x Death Prophet - Krobelus
x Earthshaker - Raigor Stonehoof

PLEASE READ

These guides are somewhat time consuming to produce, and most of them do lack some at the moment, but for the most part I believe they provide enough information to play properly with the given hero. Even though the guide is still UNFINISHED, I still need feedback on how to better it. The item build and such is always up for change, and your opinion is wanted as long as it's not something that smashes the entire guide because you don't like a little detail. Please keep in mind: if you have the time to read this guide and vote on it then you should have a sufficient amount of time to comment what pleased or displeased you.

TLDR:
Please take the time to provide feedback.
What can I change? What areas need improvement? Is the guide visually unappealing?

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