Viper- Pub Match All-star

Introduction

Hello! I decided to write this guide because Viper is the first Dota 2 character that I feel like I mastered. He's simple to play, and is a great choice for any level player, whether you be brand new or a veteran with 1000 wins.

Viper is primarily a bulky ganker who transforms into one of the most dangerous late and mid-game carries out there with the right build and playstyle.

This guide will be aimed at a more defensive early game, but leans toward a highly aggressive late game, and aims at being ideal for pub matches with random players. So let's get started!

You will want to choose Viper if your team is not already crowded with carries (which happens a lot in pub matches), and if your opposing team isn't stacked with bulky strength heroes. Viper makes short work of squishy, offensively oriented heroes such as Sniper and Lina, so pay attention to who your enemies are.

You also want to make sure your team has a decent support. Viper is pretty self-sufficient, but you lose farming and ganking time if you're constantly running back and forth to base. Any support with mana-giving abilities such as Keeper of the Light or Crystal Maiden is helpful, or anyone who is likely to build Arcane Boots. It isn't mentioned in the item list, but an early Clarity or two can be extremely helpful in the early game since you'll be solo mid-laning with this hero.

Viper is slow, and caution is the key to this guide. You want to get a lot of kills early on, but the main focus is simply not dying. This means staying back from their tower and letting them come to you. You'll be tempted to chase enemies who are near death past their tower, but I can't stress enough how bad this is. You may not get a kill, but you will send them back to base, or at the very least make them run through their healing items, and that will cut down their early farming by a lot. This can absolutely ruin midlane carries like Sniper and Drow who rely on the experience that the midlane provides.

What Viper Does

Viper is a ranged Agility hero who excels at dealing high amounts of DPS to single targets. His natural bulk makes him difficult to bring down early on in the match, and allows for some serious harassment of enemy heroes.

Wielding two passives and an auto-cast, your job isn't too hard. You'll mostly be activating your ult and items instead of skills. Viper is actually very easy to play, but you do need to know some basic things.

Skills

Poison Attack

This skill is taken and maxed as soon as possible because it is one of the best harassment tools in the early game. This adds poison damage over time and a pretty substantial slow to Viper's normal attack, which can send an opposing hero back to base in just a few hits. If your enemy underestimates you and tries fighting back, they'll have a hard time cutting through your natural bulk, and the added poison damage will whittle away at their health before they realize how bad they're in trouble.

This skill does tend to keep your mana pretty low, as it's one of the more costly auto-casts in the game. Be sure not to right-click this skill early on, because you'll simply be orb-walking with it, meaning you activate each one individually to target the opposing hero. You don't want to waste 20 mana to last hit a creep by accident.

Nethertoxin

You take this skill second because it further boosts your auto-cast. This skill adds damage depending on how much health your target is missing, so it really makes last hitting easy. Since you probably won't be killing many heroes before level 2-3 (unless they're just a bad midlane player), take this second to make your harassment that much more potent.

Note: If your enemy has strayed too far from their tower and you're able to get a few shots of Poison Attack on them, this skill is enough to finish them off without wasting mana on further auto-casts. Saving mana is very important early on, because you'll be far away from your supports until later.

Corrosive Skin

This ability becomes more important in the late game, as it will block a quarter of the magic damage you take, but it has its place at Level 3 too. Since a lot of midlaners are ranged heroes such as Sniper and Drow Ranger, they'll be looking to get jabs in at you whenever possible. This means that with every attack they hit you with, they'll be taking almost as much damage as you just from hitting you. This discourages them from targetting you, and if they happen to not notice then they'll end up having to run through their tangos and salves.

During the late game this ability will become useful in teamfights by blocking magic damage, and can function as an escape when combined with the Shadow Blade. Corrosive Skin adds a movement slow to whoever attacks you, which makes running away easy. Remember that the goal of this guide is to be careful and know when to pick your fights.

Viper Strike

This is Viper's bread and butter. Combined with Viper's first two skills, you'll be slowing your opponent down to a crawl. In addition, it adds large damage over time, but it mostly slows them down enough for your first skills to finish them off as they try to flee. This skill is excellent for hitting heroes trying to push your tower, as it will trap them within the tower's range. After you have this skill you're ready to gank, and you can choose to leave the midlane to join your team, or continue until you've pushed the tower.

You'll want to survey how your team is faring before making this choice. If they have their lanes pretty well locked down and you've managed a kill or two, it's probably wiser to continue in your own lane until you push the tower. If you've harassed and played cautiously as you should have, you'll probably have an exp advantage (and maybe a couple of kills) on your opponent, meaning you've done your job well. If your team needs help against an aggressive opposing duo in their lane, go ahead and gank them. This ability will absolutely wreck any hero at this point in the game, making ganking (and solo kills) a piece of cake.

Item Explanations

Starting Items

- Pretty obvious. Since Tangos come in 4s now I suggest 2 of them over a healing salve. If you harass like you're supposed to, you won't be taking many hits from enemies that a few tangos won't heal. The slippers add agility that boost you enough to deal some moderate early damage.

Note:

There are no Iron Branches here because they don't build into anything Viper uses later. They're cheap and you should have enough gold for one, or a Clarity if you prefer, but you really don't need it that much.

Early Game

- Boots first. Viper is really slow, and your target will outrun you even with your poison slowing him occasionally. Finishing the Wraith Band is relatively cheap, and since you aren't fighting for last hits you should have plenty of cash on hand. A stout shield is a cheap investment that will later build into the Vanguard, and should be bought with your boots. Ideally you will have killed your opponent in the midlane at least once by now, so having money for your ring shouldn't be an issue. If it is, then wait until you have a few kills to purchase this.

Note:

Remember that this build focuses more on surviving than sheer damage output. Viper has natural ability to deliver a lot of damage, so early items are focused on keeping you alive so you can deliver it and save gold.

Mid Game

- Finish your Vanguard asap. It's not terribly expensive, and it will keep you alive a lot longer. It blocks enough damage and adds enough health to keep you alive one-on-one at this point in the game, and regenerates a lot of health when you're farming. Shadow Blade is the next thing you must buy. Corrosive Skin is not an escape on its own. Shadow Blade boosts your speed, but mostly makes you disappear completely, allowing you to set up easy ganks, or escape after killing someone. Not to mention it gives a great boost to your auto-attacks. Once your Shadow Blade is built, try to finish your Boots of Travel. The blade combined with teleportation is one of the best ganking tools in the game, and will allow you to be anywhere on the map at any given time. Not to mention that it greatly boosts Viper's sub-par speed. Pick up an Oblivion Staff if you can, as it will give you a bit more damage while also boosting your mana regen that your auto-cast demands.

Core

- Viper isn't too item-dependent, so he really only needs these three to fully evolve into the killing machine he is. Scepter will make your ult's cooldown almost nothing, and greatly increases the cast range, meaning you can hit faster opponents and slow them into your range. Finish your Orchid, as it will mostly solve your mana problem. It also gives you a silence, which can shut down supports like Lion and other disablers. Its damage increase also means that your auto-cast and ult will cut your target down in about 2 seconds. Sange and Yasha are a good item to build on any Agility (and even Strength) hero, and Viper also benefits from the speed increase. I almost put this in Luxury items, but it benefits Viper too much to be there. If you favor an active ability over S&Y's passive, go with Manta Style. The two aren't very different, and each has it's pros, so depending on how the fight goes, make your choice.

Luxury

- Three sets of armor for whatever situation you find yourself in. If you want more bulk, build a Heart. If you find yourself needing attack speed and armor reduction, the Assault Cuirr*** is great (and if you can't complete it, the hyperstone is a fantastic standalone item for Viper). Shiva's Guard should be built if you still have mana problems. Luckily you won't need to build armor, as Viper has a lot of natural bulk. Monkey King Bar is good on just about any hero, and further adds to Viper's attack speed. Not to mention you can hunt down evasive heroes like Faceless Void or Phantom Assassin who could otherwise ruin your day. If your opponents are annoying you with constant disables, invest in a Black King Bar for magic immunity (and a little more bulk). Butterfly is obvious, but pricey. Don't build this unless you are just dominating and happen to have 3300 to drop on Eaglesong. Daedelus can fit almost anywhere, but should be last priority on Viper. Your poison and attack speed should already be enough to kill just about anything without the need for crits here, but if you find yourself wanting a bit more pure power, go for it.

Note:

Most of these items are built for killing, minus Heart and Shiva's Guard. You should have spent the early game making surviving your focus, and that should have kept a lot of gold in your pocket. With this build I typically only die once (and that's before I build Vanguard) or not at all, so gold should never be an issue. In a nutshell, survive long enough to build yourself an arsenal and you'll be set.

Actually Using Viper

As I said earlier, Viper isn't difficult to play. But this doesn't take away from his usefulness at all. Any player of any skill level can make Viper a great hero, but it's about knowing what to do with him.

Early-

You'll want to position yourself in the middle lane for maximum farming opportunity, and less competition with your team for last hits. Since this is a pub match guide, even your supports will be trying for last hits so it's nice to have all the creeps in your lane to yourself. Harass your opponent to no end. Keep their health low, and send them back to base/kill them as often as possible. Viper has a fast auto-attack, so last hitting and denying is relatively easy. After you hit level 6 and get your ult you should be getting kills. Players won't be able to build great items yet, and since you don't need them to kill stuff you have the advantage. If you aren't having luck with an evasive mid lane enemy, gank top and bottom. This requires communication with your team, which isn't always great in pub matches. Give a few pings and a message that you're headed that way, and try to coordinate an attack the best you can.

Mid-

You should have a few kills and items under your belt now, so you should be roaming the map and ganking. Viper isn't a pusher, so let your team take care of that while you relieve the pressure of opposing heroes. If everything is going well, you should have your Boots of Travel and Shadow Blade, giving you fantastic map presence. Teamfights will be starting up now if they haven't already, and you need to be very active in them. Don't open with your ult, but instead use your Poison Attack on their supports. They're the squishiest targets, and will be more likely to set up kills for their carries. If you take them out, your team will have a good early advantage. After the supports are gone, use your ult on their carry so the rest of the team can pick them off as a group. They won't be able to run, making the kill easy. If the rest of the team runs, try to take one yourself while your team focuses on the slowed enemy. Your Poison Attack can slow them enough for you and your team to chase them down.

Late Game-

You should still be roaming the map looking for kills here. Teamfights will be constant, and you need to be in the middle of them. Silence the most dangerous teamfighting tool they have from the beginning and let the damage boost from orchid do the rest. If you have Scepter by now, spend a lot of time blasting whatever moves with your ult. It resets relatively quickly, so use it as much as possible. At this stage in the game you should be able to afford the mana to keep your auto-cast permanently active. Focus less on structures and more on heroes. You're a killer and not a pusher, so you need to let your team take the towers and racks while you keep the heat off of them. You can take an impressive amount of damage and magic before needing to retreat, which gives your team time to react and help you kill people.


This build has led to several games of 20+ kills and almost no deaths, and it mostly revolves around safe play in the early game. I can't stress that enough. Getting behind early will make the rest of this guide useless, so be careful and pick your fights.

Viper's Weaknesses

Anything with magic immunity kind of defeats the purpose of Viper, which is to slow them down while your poison eats them alive. Lifestealer is a pain to bring down, along with anything that tends to build a Black King Bar early on.

Viper is really slow, so don't get yourself in a situation you can't outrun. This means no overextending past towers. They will kill you really fast in the early game, and if you don't have boots or anything yet, you're not going to get away fast enough. One kill is not worth dying, because it will take away gold that you need to complete the build. Let them get away if you must, because it will ultimately take a lot away from their early farm.

Be careful of anything that silences you. With your abilities muted, you're relying solely on your items for damage, which isn't much since Viper gets most of his damage from abilities. Make anyone carrying a silence (or hex) your first priority. (Lion, Shadow Shaman, Drow Ranger, Skywrath Mage, Riki, etc).

Other than that, Viper is just a really solid hero to choose. Natural bulk and huge damage output combined with a smart player is enough to completely own most pub matches.

Summary

As stated several times, this is built for random matches with players you don't know. It's a bit of a selfish build, and that's because your team isn't always that helpful when you don't know them, so you have to be able to fend for yourself extremely well. The key is surviving the early game so you can be the biggest weapon your team has in the late game. It requires patience and careful playing, but as long as you don't do anything crazy you shouldn't have a problem.

If you spot any problems, please let me know. This is my first guide, so I'm sure there's something I missed.