The "Situational" Builds

Introduction.

Hi All

my name is Smuggler or Smuggels or great god above in the sky with puppies and candy (or so it says on the side of my van....that was a joke btw ...so.... laugh).

anyway i like to think i have a decent amount of knowledge concerning DOTA2 but as with all people who play our beloved game know, i probably haven't even scratched the surface. now ive done one previous guide and that was in a more frivolous tone then this one will be because *GASP* im going to be serious...ok ... semi serious, BUT still serious as i feel this might actually help people out there who are starting or even some people who feel have become a veteran.

what im going to write about in this guide is the reason behind the differences you find in so many advised hero builds, item builds, lane builds and team builds or in laymans terms "The What, Who, When, Where and Why they are built."

these differences all stem from a simple core cause.

The "Situation"

*CUE Dramatic music and audience gasps*

The Situation is based upon many factors but in the essence of time ill focus on the four core types.

HERO

(mostly to do with skills)

LANE

(mostly to do with skills)

TIME

(Mostly to do with itemization)

ENEMY

(both skill and items)

These four core Situations change (sometimes drastically ) how a hero is built both itemization wise and skill wise.

also in the essence of time (totally going to be using that from now on...for EVERYTHING) i shall be focusing on 3 heroes as examples in this regard. these heroes shall be:

Mirana

Leshrac

Wraith King

also for the purposes of a more in depth explanation i will also have a few other heroes as examples like:

Axe

Weaver

so with out futher ado i give you ...

The Situational Builds

HERO (Part 1) SKILLS

Now when it comes to hero builds ill split this into two parts.

SKILLS

*ill focus on this first.

ITEMS

these are the basic tenants of a hero, their skills and their items, and how you level/buy these has an impressive impact upon your game.

I shall be looking at skill builds for part one and item builds for part 2.

Now im going to say something that a lot of people will be quite angry about.

THERE IS NO "RIGHT" BUILD

*please post all "noob" "idiot" and "dumbass" comments in the comments section below thankyou*

The reason for this is because when you are skilling your hero EVERYTHING is situational. It based on your player level, your team level, your knowledge of the hero and your knowledge of your enemy, where you are laning who you are laning with and against.

For new players (and also some supposed "Veteran" players) please base your first skill upon the simple rule of S/E.D.D.S.E.

STUN/ESCAPE>DISABLE>DAMAGE>SLOW>EFFECT

(some times depending on the situation this^^^ doesn't apply but for most games it does)

what does that mean?

Skill your stun or escape first it will be the most help in lane and in general. If you dont have a stun or an escape then lvl a disable skill first like Shadow Shaman Shackles. if you dont have either which is rare Timbersaw then skill a high damage ability first, or a Move slow then an effect ability like a heal, armour reduction, debuff, buff.

but why?

say your a Wraith King and your off trundling along into your lane then *BOOM* a wild lvl one gank appears, in this SITUATION what ability would help you the most out of all his abilities he can get at lvl 1?

ummm his stun?

Exactly, by correctly assessing the ganking heroes he can throw out his stun on the one that will be the biggest threat maybe its a [Leshrac]] who is the closest by a margin, stun him before he can stun you then FLY YOU FOOL (LoTR reference FTW)

now that situation and in a lot of others early game is why you should level up your stun first. it allows you to stop spells if timed right, he allows you a (semi) escape and most of all it provides CONTROL. ((you shall see that word a lot btw)

now it seems like from the above your thinking " really that doesnt seem situational it seems like your saying get certain things before others that is like totally the opposite". ok i understand so im going to explain how a heroes skill build is SITUATIONAL with out cutting into the other chapters.

Mirana

SITUATION

Mirana is heading into bottom lane after just having got level 4 she hasn't skilled it yet so that beautiful gold point is just sitting there. she is laned with a Bane and a Sandking but is up against a Lion, Vengeful Spirit and a Wraith King. now she has 1 point in Leap 2 points in Sacred Arrow and 1 point in Starstorm. what should she skill and why?

ummmm going off your thing from before she should level her Stun or her Escape first because the stun does damage and her escape allows her to get away.

But what about the fact that Starstorm does damage to everyone in an AoE being able to damage all three heroes in a trilane is a huge advantage no?

Oh ok yea i can see that, ok then she should skill her Starfall

But what happens if Bane manages to get a well placed Nightmare off? wouldnt an increase in Sacred Arrow help more against a single target?

ohhh err yea i guess, then level that?

what happens if Mirana is caught out and because she doesnt have level 2 leap its still on a 30 second cooldown instead of 26 and she can only Leap 630 instead of 700?

Oh for ****s sake what should i level then?

this is why skilling a hero is situational, based upon the situations you might find yourself in. Each option had its benefits and negatives so skill your hero based upon the SITUATION is this instance unless the Mirana was finding herself constantly out of position she should be maxing her Starstorm first in an aggro trilane Situation.

now if we take into account the other factors it becomes a whole lot more complicated so i shall explain it through SONG .....

just kidding...or am i??? (currently singing frozen at the top of my lungs!!!)

when you are playing at higher levels the factors affecting the SITUATION change a fricking lot which in turn affects your BUILD. This is because of 3 things. Your TEAM, Your LANES and your ENEMY.

now onto Part 2 of HERO(ITEMS)

HERO (Part 2) ITEMS

A lot of people have a set item build for each hero, they use this same build each and every time they play that character and the only thing that changes is "when" they buy them.

this is "okay" it allows stability and knowledge transference in your build.

but! sometimes when playing that hero say for example Wraith King a lot of people build him into a durable semi/hard carry.

they have the same items every game and no matter what is happening in game, who they are versing, and the team composition they buy the same items every time.

now for some red colouring

in my opinion:

ITEM BUILDS SHOULD ALWAYS BE SITUATIONAL

now before the flamerinos come along id like to explain.

Yes some heroes are quite restricted in how they are skilled and yes some are quite restricted in what items they should buy to become viable in the game.

BUT to explain further i will give you another SITUATION

you have random'd Wraith King your Tri-laning with a Leshrac and a Gyrocopter with an offlaner and a mid already picked. In this SITUATION the most viable option is for you to play as a support, which means rushing Armlet and Black King Bar is not the best choice as you will need farm and space to achieve such items. thus your ITEM BUILD will need to change. since you have a position 5 already that means building position 4 items and supporting your team.

This is where your TEAM will change your hero item builds.

Wraith King is playing against a Zues Queen of Pain and another high magic damage output hero. now building a Pipe of Insight would be the best option for him as the magic block will allow your team to survive longer in fights. [[ *basic stuff i know but....

This is where the ENEMY will change your item build.

the story so far....

ok this is where im upto just need a small amount of help so post comments and other assorted musing below so i can get some inspiration to finish this thing!!!!!

THANXXX