Items
Starting Items:
The items are pretty obvious choices. I use and suggest the first choice, but the second choice is good if you are new and may need to regen (or if you think you will be heavily harassed). The basic idea is to set up for
Wraith Bands early.
Early Game:
There will be some dispute as to whether or not to get
Wraith Bands before basic boots or not. The fact is that no item build nor order should be absolute in Dota, because you have to be fluid (as opposed to rigid) in order to play at your full potential.
If I can get decent farm, I generally finish one
Wraith Band, then buy
Boots of Speed, finish another
Wraith Band, and then finish
Power Treads. Choose gloves or belt first depending on what is needed in your situation (more survive vs more dmg).
Power Treads vs
Phase Boots:
I choose power treads on Viper for the following reasons:
- Attack speed > Damage because of
Nethertoxin's damage
- Strength option give more survivability which can be offensive or defensive esp early on
- Sacrificing the attack speed for Phasing just isn't worth it because you have high base movement and all your slows to get away. And if you are good with positioning you won't need phase most of the time.
Mid to Late game:
There will be people who tell you to get
Vanguard and/or
Hood of Defiance early on Viper. I've done this, and it isn't a terrible choice but I find that if I have a decent team and I play well by considering my opponent's, having good positioning, and having map awareness; then these items aren't worth the damage you postpone. Secondly, the next item gives you survivability.
After my
Power Treads are complete, I always pick up a
Quarterstaff first (because of the attack speed and it is cheaper than
Claymore) and then build it into a
Shadow Blade as soon as possible. By this time it is early-mid game and you need to remember to
keep your farm up. If you are new, research ways to have better farm elsewhere. Getting a quick
Shadow Blade does so much for Viper because the +150dmg + your slows means that not only will you quickly stack
Nethertoxin, but your enemy will have a hard time escaping from a gank they didn't know was coming since you stealthed in. Also, having to see a carry that is getting farmed escape a gank with a
Shadow Blade can be somewhat devastating psychologically at the ~15-20 minute mark.
Note: Sometimes it is helpful to pop this in a team fight just to get the +150 dmg and get the enemies to target someone else.
Building a
Manta Style is great because
Yasha is affordable, and in pieces. The
Manta Style gives us great stats, none of which are wasted on Viper: extra agi (speed + dmg + armor), strength (more survive), intelligence (keep that Poison Strike going), and attack speed (
Nethertoxin++).
The active of Manta Style is amazing for Viper because it adds to your survivability, but also because illusions gain passive damage abilites (
Nethertoxin) just like how
Anti-Mage's illusions sap the **** out of your mana.
If you finish Manta and your team is doing well it is pretty much good game and you can be choosy (based on what you need) about the rest of the items.
At this point I choose between
Heart of Tarrasque and
Desolator. The logical pathway is: do I need more staying power? Am I doing enough damage already? Is my team having trouble killing certain enemies?
If your team seems unable to take a certain hero out before they cause devastating damage, then
Desolator is the way to go. You must not commit to a heart if your team doesn't have the dmg output to finish the game.
If you have enough damage and the need is to keep the pressure on their base and/or have some more survivability, then
Heart of Tarrasque is a great choice.
Do not make the mistake of thinking you are a tank once you finish Heart. It is great for keeping the pressure on, and if you need to last in a fight, use your
Shadow Blade to get to the edge of the fighting area to try to regenerate some health.
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