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Hey Kitty! If you want to have a larger talk about CM or any sort of help starting it would be my pleasure. I do some coaching and I love CM, I'm sittting now at more than 400 games with her and making a video guide for her, so hopefully I can bring some input to your questions:) send me a PM please so I can add you on steam tonight, I'm at work now so I don't know my friend's id.
Thanks Michi for going in ahead and doing long and clear explanations on the subject! As you can see by what he said a lot of times your build depends on your particular playstyle and what works better for you, besides the particulars of the game in question.
Hi ChiChi, it's a little funny I'm getting a response from you after I completely changed my in game item build based on your guide. As of right now I don't have many questions I'm just playing and practicing. Yes I'll send you a PM, that would be cool.
Renounce Darkness! Shadow Blade, Bloodstone, Shiva's Guard and Octarine Core are items to be bought by other positions.
I know that they might seem like a strong addition to your hero but by the time you get them they will be useless and you won't have anything else because you are a support.
It's almost the same with Aghanim's Scepter can seldomly bought because you would need to snowball really hard to get that much money for Cm.
Also with your build you are turning CM into a Creep with a really ****py auto attack :D.
You only got one level into Frostbite and now Crystal Nova therefore your killing and zoning potential is close to 0.
Just some food for thought here. Everyone can play dota as he wishes
Thanks for responding, those are points I would have never have thought of myself. Are there any other guides or builds you could recommend? I'm 500 MMR and I'm trying to learn how to play Crystal Maiden.
Edit: "you would need to snowball really hard" Informative pun. a lot of the builds I see tell you to buy this item in the late game, I wouldn't have thought of this to be luxury.
You almost always want mobility for Crystal Maiden at some point in the game so see Blink Dagger/ Force Staff as your core. Which one is better is really hard to say.
Every support player on this forum probably can remember countless of discussions we had about this issue...anyways I am getting sidetracked.
People usually max out Crystal Nova nowadays with one poin in Forsbite and one in Arcane Aura. I prefer maxing Frostbite but that really changes every single game.
If you want to look at a good guide you can take a look at ChiChi's Cm guide: http://www.dotafire.com/dota-2/guide/crystal-the-underrated-support-6-87-13653.
If you have further question feel free to ask them in the new player part, ask our mod Hades for an invite to our discord server or pm me.
Cheers!
Sorry for the late response. You're right about mobility, I usually end up buying Drums or Euls instead because of blink daggers price. I tend to avoid Force Staff because it can backfire if not used properly. I can't tell you how many times I accidentally initiated, fed or caused the enemy team to initiate causing us to die.
Regarding Abilities, I see how ChiChi maxes Crystal Nova first. How do you know when to level Crystal nova over Freeze? (what is your reasoning behind it), I used a similar build before making my own but I never understood how it works. I know it can be used to harass ranged heroes while in lane but, I would rather use freeze to get some last hits. I may archive this and release an updated version when I learn how to play better. The new ability build I'm testing is similar to ChiChi's but not the same, I start putting points in Freeze when Nova is level three and keep Arcane Aura level two until passed ten.
I was briefly viewing the guide and I didn't know about alt clicking observer wards. Speaking about items, I was reading what she said about Shadow Blade and I replaced it with Urn of Shadows in the situational items. I was against buying Urn when I wrote this for a few reasons but the points she brings up are very valid, even the Mango is something I wouldn't have thought of. She mentions why others buy shadow blades but you bring up an even greater point by saying CM can turn into a right click creep . I watched a video where someone built Mask of Madness and Shadow Blade and they did a lot of right clicking. As for the other three late game items you mentioned in your first post, I might replace those with Heaven's Halberd and some other items, I never seen that used by a support. As for the discord, I stopped using VoIP services after I got hacked a few years ago. So yeah, let me know what you think I still have to make changes to the in game guide version of this guide. Thanks again for the response!
Edit: How do you add pictures to your post? like when you write Shadow Blade a picture of Shadow Blade appears.
Late Response?
This is a forum m8. People might take a few days to answer. So no problem :)
I can understand your concerns with the Force Staff but practice makes me perfect.
I could show you my old games; blinking and force staffing into Chronosphere and Black Hole or even Meat Hook aren't exactly things I am proud off (although blinking into a Meat Hook requires really precise timing ;) ). But I rose from 1.5k to 3.1k and understanding when to use those items is one of the reasons I rose so high. But of course you might want to learn how to use Crystal Maiden first and then mobility items in general.
My reasoning is simple: A skill that reduces the enemies movement speed by 100% is better than a skill that reduces the enemies movement speed by 20-50%.
I am a player that loves to paly agressively and Frostbite helps me do that.
Just "stun" the enemy and ping your ally to attack the enemy. If they have a stun even better.
In the early game there are less teamfights and therefore a single target spell is usually stronger. Also you are sometimes to Frostbite the enemy twice in a single fight. That is why I prefer to max Frostbite in most cases.
That being said you have to keep in mind that I more often than not meet solo offlaners because the enemy is trilaning or jungling.
If I met a particulary agressive trilane or even a trilane I will most likely max out Crystal Nova.
Urn of Shadows is an item you should buy if you notice that a lot of fighting is going on/will happen soon. I would actually advice you to stay away from the Enchanted Mango as it is basically a clutch-play item on Rylai and even I find myself being unable to properly use it. But you might just be good at that.
Heaven's Halberd is an item I get in 4/50 Crystal Maiden games because it can be game winning. Dota is just such a confusing place that some items are really only good in nice cases. But yeah situational is a good place.
Btw: I have another tip for you:
Ever noticed that hard camp next to your safe lane?
What I like to do is go to that camp and attack them at 0:53 then let them follow you and just as they want to turn you Frostbite the big creep and start autoattacking it. The camp should be stacked so attack the camp again and frostbite the new big creeo when it wants to turn. This will leave one of your teammembers alone and means you must buy a Clarity but it grants you an early level 2 which will help your whole team. You can also do this when your laning partner is safe to get some extra cash and exp.
I understand if you don't want to use the discord server but I assure you that it is 100% save. If you have any more questions feel free to ask.
If you have more questions or want coaching or whatever just ask.
The reason I want my own Crystal Maiden build is to make practice easier by being able to identify my situation. I find a lot of the builds confusing, like your Lion guide for example. It's the details like using Earth Spike on the ground instead of on an enemy to get max cast range.
I used to buy Enchanted Mango when I first started playing DOTA so I have some practice with it. I will try ChiChi's starting build. What I like about her build is that I sometimes buy Ring of Basilius which can be dismantled and built into Tranquil Boots and Urn of Shadows.
Regarding your advice, defiantly. That is the reason why I place Flying Courier in my sticky buy because at 3:00 game time you are either fighting an enemy or stacking a camp. That's a great game play tip. I appreciate it.
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Thanks Michi for going in ahead and doing long and clear explanations on the subject! As you can see by what he said a lot of times your build depends on your particular playstyle and what works better for you, besides the particulars of the game in question.
Cheers!
ChiChi
Shadow Blade, Bloodstone, Shiva's Guard and Octarine Core are items to be bought by other positions.
I know that they might seem like a strong addition to your hero but by the time you get them they will be useless and you won't have anything else because you are a support.
It's almost the same with Aghanim's Scepter can seldomly bought because you would need to snowball really hard to get that much money for Cm.
Also with your build you are turning CM into a Creep with a really ****py auto attack :D.
You only got one level into Frostbite and now Crystal Nova therefore your killing and zoning potential is close to 0.
Just some food for thought here. Everyone can play dota as he wishes
Edit: "you would need to snowball really hard" Informative pun. a lot of the builds I see tell you to buy this item in the late game, I wouldn't have thought of this to be luxury.
Every support player on this forum probably can remember countless of discussions we had about this issue...anyways I am getting sidetracked.
People usually max out Crystal Nova nowadays with one poin in Forsbite and one in Arcane Aura. I prefer maxing Frostbite but that really changes every single game.
If you want to look at a good guide you can take a look at ChiChi's Cm guide:
http://www.dotafire.com/dota-2/guide/crystal-the-underrated-support-6-87-13653.
If you have further question feel free to ask them in the new player part, ask our mod Hades for an invite to our discord server or pm me.
Cheers!
Regarding Abilities, I see how ChiChi maxes Crystal Nova first. How do you know when to level Crystal nova over Freeze? (what is your reasoning behind it), I used a similar build before making my own but I never understood how it works. I know it can be used to harass ranged heroes while in lane but, I would rather use freeze to get some last hits. I may archive this and release an updated version when I learn how to play better. The new ability build I'm testing is similar to ChiChi's but not the same, I start putting points in Freeze when Nova is level three and keep Arcane Aura level two until passed ten.
I was briefly viewing the guide and I didn't know about alt clicking observer wards. Speaking about items, I was reading what she said about Shadow Blade and I replaced it with Urn of Shadows in the situational items. I was against buying Urn when I wrote this for a few reasons but the points she brings up are very valid, even the Mango is something I wouldn't have thought of. She mentions why others buy shadow blades but you bring up an even greater point by saying CM can turn into a right click creep . I watched a video where someone built Mask of Madness and Shadow Blade and they did a lot of right clicking. As for the other three late game items you mentioned in your first post, I might replace those with Heaven's Halberd and some other items, I never seen that used by a support. As for the discord, I stopped using VoIP services after I got hacked a few years ago. So yeah, let me know what you think I still have to make changes to the in game guide version of this guide. Thanks again for the response!
Edit: How do you add pictures to your post? like when you write Shadow Blade a picture of Shadow Blade appears.
This is a forum m8. People might take a few days to answer. So no problem :)
I can understand your concerns with the Force Staff but practice makes me perfect.
I could show you my old games; blinking and force staffing into Chronosphere and Black Hole or even Meat Hook aren't exactly things I am proud off (although blinking into a Meat Hook requires really precise timing ;) ). But I rose from 1.5k to 3.1k and understanding when to use those items is one of the reasons I rose so high. But of course you might want to learn how to use Crystal Maiden first and then mobility items in general.
My reasoning is simple: A skill that reduces the enemies movement speed by 100% is better than a skill that reduces the enemies movement speed by 20-50%.
I am a player that loves to paly agressively and Frostbite helps me do that.
Just "stun" the enemy and ping your ally to attack the enemy. If they have a stun even better.
In the early game there are less teamfights and therefore a single target spell is usually stronger. Also you are sometimes to Frostbite the enemy twice in a single fight. That is why I prefer to max Frostbite in most cases.
That being said you have to keep in mind that I more often than not meet solo offlaners because the enemy is trilaning or jungling.
If I met a particulary agressive trilane or even a trilane I will most likely max out Crystal Nova.
Urn of Shadows is an item you should buy if you notice that a lot of fighting is going on/will happen soon. I would actually advice you to stay away from the Enchanted Mango as it is basically a clutch-play item on Rylai and even I find myself being unable to properly use it. But you might just be good at that.
Heaven's Halberd is an item I get in 4/50 Crystal Maiden games because it can be game winning. Dota is just such a confusing place that some items are really only good in nice cases. But yeah situational is a good place.
Btw: I have another tip for you:
Ever noticed that hard camp next to your safe lane?
What I like to do is go to that camp and attack them at 0:53 then let them follow you and just as they want to turn you Frostbite the big creep and start autoattacking it. The camp should be stacked so attack the camp again and frostbite the new big creeo when it wants to turn. This will leave one of your teammembers alone and means you must buy a Clarity but it grants you an early level 2 which will help your whole team. You can also do this when your laning partner is safe to get some extra cash and exp.
Use simple square brackets and put in icon=X size=Y
[urlhttp://www.dotafire.com/dota-2/blog/dr-d/guide-formatting-and-you]Dr.D's guide formatting and you[/url] is really helpful when creating a guide.
You can also check out my Lion guide as I only used very easy methods of formatting that are still easy to read (because I suck at formatting - but don't tell anyone)
to give you a general idea about how a full guide could look.
http://www.dotafire.com/dota-2/guide/to-hell-and-back-23066
If you have more questions or want coaching or whatever just ask.
I used to buy Enchanted Mango when I first started playing DOTA so I have some practice with it. I will try ChiChi's starting build. What I like about her build is that I sometimes buy Ring of Basilius which can be dismantled and built into Tranquil Boots and Urn of Shadows.
Regarding your advice, defiantly. That is the reason why I place Flying Courier in my sticky buy because at 3:00 game time you are either fighting an enemy or stacking a camp. That's a great game play tip. I appreciate it.