Ursa Divinity

Fast & Ready

Ursa is one of the most powerful melee attackers in the game (probably the best). He can also tank a lot of damage, becoming almost immune through his ultimate. The Status Resistance provided through his ultimate skill has a similar effect to a Black King Bar, which is why it is good to add the 25% Status Resistance Talent.

Ursa's major advantage in the game is to kill Roshan early at around 15 minutes in about 40 strikes. He can also destroy the Tormentor alone at 20 minutes with Phase Boots, Skull Basher and either an Aegis of the Immortal, Greater Healing Lotus, or a bit of extra attack speed. This quick and easy guide will teach you how to best take advantage of these power peaks.

It actually amazes me that many Ursa players don't take advantage of his lethal timings. A lot of players wait until around 30 minutes to take their first Roshan or Tormentor. In my opinion, this is a complete waste of the Ursa's advantages, because by 35 minutes you can have destroyed 3 Roshans and 2 Tormentors! That's a lot of extra value for your team.

Pros & Cons

Spells

Spell 1: Earthshock

This spell is great for both chasing enemies as it applies quite a strong slow, and also escaping (heroes like Nature's Prophet for example).

Spell 2: Overpower

This spell works in conjuction with Ursa's passive spell ( Fury Swipes), providing exceptional physical damage very fast. It is particularly useful because a second instance of this spell can be cast immediately after the first sequence if timed well.

Spell 3: Fury Swipes

Every time Ursa attacks, he gains 37 additional damage (this applies on the first strike). Since 6 attacks are very easy to land with Overpower, the extra damage from this spell from 6 attacks will be 777 damage plus his base damage. This works out to 129.5 extra damage per hit, worth 8633 gold!

Spell 4: Enrage

The amazing thing about this spell is that it costs no mana! It makes you almost invincible and reduces incoming stuns and all status effects by 50%! Adding the Aghanim's Scepter upgrade allows you to cast Enrage when stunned, and is absolutely worth it, but it's more situational for certain games. If you're versing a Necrophos or Earthshaker, it's worth buying. However, it doesn't work against Hex, Chronosphere or Duel. Also regard that silences disallow casting it.

Spell Order Justification:

The reason I recommend getting 2 levels of Fury Swipes early in the lane, is purely because of the added reset time from 8 seconds (Level 1) to 12 seconds (Level 2). This allows you to zone out the enemy a lot easier, get extra farm and dominate the lane.

Maxing Overpower first is best, because it is the most powerful spell. However, if you have to leave the lane to jungle farm, go for Fury Swipes instead.

Safe Lane Preparation

Ursa hits pretty hard at level 1 and killing the enemy is possible. You need to decide whether you're going to either focus on killing the enemy heroes in lane or farming. If the enemy hero is hard to take down ( Mars, Centaur Warrunner , Necrophos), choose the farming build. Alternatively, if you have a good support, and the enemy heroes are easy to take down (low HP/Armor, no stuns), you can go Boots of Speed as a first item (this also works well on Juggernaut) and aim for an early kill. The extra damage from Fury Swipes makes it quite easy.

Hero Killer Build:

1. Tango
2. Boots of Speed

Farming Build:

1. Tango (2)
2. Magic Stick
3. Quelling Blade

Taking Down Roshan

My advice is to aim for between 15-18 minutes at Level 10. However, with an ally, you can take down Roshan down at around 12 minutes at Level 8. Good allies are ones that can either heal or tank damage ( Winter Wyvern, Abaddon, Jakiro, Phoenix, just to name a few).

Items:

In a standard game, at 18 minutes, you should have Phase Boots, Skull Basher, Morbid Mask, and it also helps to have a Neutral item that gives you extra Lifesteal or HP/HP Regen.

Alternatively, you can use either a Shadow Amulet or Shadow Blade instead of a Skull Basher, depending on the game, and this will allow you to go invisible whilst waiting for your Overpower cooldown to refresh (not taking hits).

Method:

1. Cast Overpower: 10 seconds before you reach the Roshan pit.
2. Hit Roshan 6 times, and then cast Overpower again, hitting 12 times total.
3. Run away to the edge of the Roshan pit, strike for another 2-3 seconds. (When Roshan turns away, stop hitting him and allow him to return to his original position.)
4. Select Roshan and wait for Fury Swipes to almost reset. Hit Roshan again and fire another bunch of Overpower attacks.
5. Repeat sequence 3-4, until Roshan is dead. Use Enrage if you fall below 40% Health.

Taking Down Tormentor

My advice is: don't necessarily wait for your team to help you, although it makes things easier having at least one ally with you. This usually means their death, but the free 1400-gold Aghanim's Shard is totally worth it. This also stops the enemy from attaining the free resources, and if you take it early and sequentially every time the Tormentor resets, you'll take the enemy by surprise and you'll obtain a major economic advantage for your team.

Method:

Try to take the first Tormentor at 20 minutes, and then every time it refreshes. (Don't provide the enemy a chance!)

I recommend taking the Tormentor with at least one of these assets:

1. Aegis of the Immortal
2. Greater Healing Lotus
3. Tanky ally
4. Skull Basher with extra attack speed or damage.