This augurs well for many kills

Updated skill build (much happier with this one), items list and some text/advice to match new version of DP.

Ever tried Drum of Endurance?

Cheap give nice stats and speed bonus plus,with boots ans Eul, make you really hard to chase/escape from.

Vanguard is a bad item for ranged heroes. No discussion. Mek, Atos, bare vitality or point booster, even armlet are all significantly better.

Actually, lots of discussions because it's topic of the week at Reddit.

Thanks Pathrazer...I have ended up in a split lane before with her and shared farm (with Axe, I think)...and it's ok. However, you do miss out on those early levels and farm that you'd get with a solo lane, and that slows down your midgame considerably. You can still team up and push towers, but you're nothing like as scary for the opposition as you could be. It can work if your team has got a push heavy strategy in mind, but personally I'd look at other options if your team has a lot of priority farmers.

Vanguard is a good tanking item...and does give you that ability to soak up damage and regenerate. The main issue is that it does nothing for your mana regeneration - personally, I'd rather go for a Point Booster and a Vitality Booster for the same price and then try to head for a Soul Booster ASAP. You miss out on the ranged block of van, and the health regen, but you gain an extra 200hp and 150mana - plus you'll get both types of regen when you finish the booster.

Hey there,

I quite like your guide but there is one thing I thought you could mention. You extensively talk about how DP is semi-dependent on farm and really shouldn't be played as a hard support to maximize the dmg on her ult.

I find that to be true and therefore often times go for kind of cheap items like Eul's but foremost Vanguard.

I feel the block, health and regen from Vanguard can be really usseful if you are not given the farm for a quick Bloodstone, which will often times be the case when you play with other priority farmers.

An offlane with another nuker/support, effectively splitting the farm seems to work fairly well.

Whether you agree or disagree with me, an answer would be highly appreciated :D

Interesting ideas...sometimes I do max Witchcraft before Silence, but not sure the slight mana saving and the 1 extra spirit are worth losing so much on your nuke. 3 + 3 is probably the best mana/dam split at level 7.

Think AC is a fair assessment of a good 2nd large item for her (I wouldn't get it before some essentials for mana/hp) - certainly the reduced armour isn't something I'd thought of. Will add it to the list of luxury options. For most games I'd suggest going in with a mindset of making your mana pool deep enough to be able to spam Crypt Swarm first, and working on your right click if the game goes very late. You're not going to beat up a proper carry 1v1 without a large farm advantage, but you can certainly help.

Not quite so sure about the mek, sure the stats that if offers would be useful for her, but you really need to get it as early as possible for it to be effective, and that means that you're delaying a mana regeneration item and potentially slowing your midgame. Certainly could see it on a support DP, but I'm not totally sold on that concept. Same with Tranquil boots really - they have some very useful effects, but as a tank you're going to get hit and could lose them at a vital moment. Again, probably better for a support Prophet.

Dazzle does get a mention for ulti already - agree he's potentially one of your strongest allies.

And even that's not 100% hard. I've seen her run with maxed witchcraft at 7 to get the most out of her ulti early, plus it makes the manacost on swarm really minimal, and the damage per mana of 4swarm/2WC is only ~15% better than 4WC/2swarm, plus it's more spammable/you get all the benefits of maxed witchcraft. Clearly not something for everygame, but it's been run competitively.

DP also has very strong int growth, making attack speed items like treads/midas/lothar's/assault curi*** semiviable at giving her good rightclick. In fact AC is a pretty common extension as her ulti obviously benefits from armor reduction, and she needs armor to maximize her large str growth. Of course you have to weigh the benefit of rightclicking over moving/casting, and Shiva's competes with AC as the extension of the mid-game platemail.

I see no mention of mekansm, despite the fact that she's a pretty common Mek carrier. In fact it's like her 4th most common item at dotabuff (obviously helped by the fact that she can use any boots). She obviously uses the HP boost and armor well along with the pushing synergy it offers. Another unmentioned item is tranquil boots -- they synergize well with her large HP but low armor as well as movespeed bonus from witchcraft, and disassemble into an eventual pipe, mek, or force staff with potential basilius for pushing.

I think you should add dazzle as your best friend. Armor for you to take advantage of your HP pool, armor reduction for your enemies to maximize your ulti, along with heals/shallow grave for when you're taking focus fire.

You're getting quicker Hades...I was still checking it! :). TBH it's difficult writing a standard build for her...everything is so situational. The only hard and fast rules are 3 in Swarm + 1 in Witchcraft ASAP, and take your ulti every chance you get.

How do you level up Crypt Swarm at 1, 3 and 4? Maybe 1, 3 and 5.