Dazzle - My Shadow LEAPS Ahead! [6.79 Semi-Update]

I'll add the mini-stun part in, but I very rarely need to break channeling spells before level 9. It's always worth holding skill points as Dazzle, but I still think the new Poison Touch is now very situational.

Great guide, but I take issue with your re-prioritization of Poison Touch.

I agree that the 6.79 changes are a significant nerf, but I don't think they're as bad as you make them sound. Even at level 1, Poison Touch mini-stuns on impact, which is a great way to cancel TP's and channelled skills. The 3 second slow and damage over time can be a huge deterrent to the enemy when chasing you, and can make all the difference in a gank. To not take at least one point by level 3 (let alone level 9) just seems crazy to me.

Putting levels into Wave is definitely a good idea, but the lower cooldown and increased cast range on Shallow Grave aren't enough to make me prioritize it above Poison Touch, even despite the nerf. In my opinion, having Poison Touched maxed by level 8 or 9 (especially once your mana problems are sorted out) is still far more useful in the mid-game. The mini-stun, the slow, and the damage over time are completely under-estimated. The 1 second stun is just icing on the poison cake!

Thanks for the comment, great stuff. The core is definitely greedy, and if I don't do well I tend to get Mek around 30-40 minutes which is very slow... but I'm a pub player so I tend to be the only support. There's a point where I skimp on wards to get the mek out before 30 mins, or I delay the mek... it's a **** situation either way but half the time the team comp can't support any other method. If someone else gets a Mek, then that's brilliant and I can focus on wards and getting another utility item.

I've tried carry dazzle a few times and while it's fun and effective (if you get really farmed), I find he just has too many weaknesses that he has to overcome at all different stages of the game. Early on he's great... even with just a Medallion and Phase Boots he's capable of crushing almost anyone in a 1v1 (with greedy Graves). I haven't tried the defensive approach, with Black King Bar, so perhaps that's an option I'll play around with. I like Sheepstick because it's also a support item so he isn't carrying in a traditional way, he's like a 2 position, and can later on transition back to a regular support (although do you want your carries transitioning back to support?).

Mid Dazzle rocks for sure, I'm a huge fan. But it means that you need an entire team composed around a high level early-game Dazzle. For that, I'd suggest a super early push strat (a Pugna, Enigma, Jakiro with Liquid Fire) or a hyper aggressive ganking strat where you dive a tower, get a kill, then kill the tower. Keep killing each tower one by one and strangle the enemy (like the old Na'Vi strategy).

I have to say, that "core" section is just too greedy: that way, if you have to get wards, you would get your Mekansm by ~30-35 minutes (usually ~15 minutes for Phase, ~5-10 minutes for Medallion and ~15 minutes for the Mek), unless you're stomping the enemy team or you started killing Roshan very early on. I usually let another teammate get the Mekansm (as the Medallion of Courage is too valuable not to be picked) and buy a Force Staff/ Ghost Scepter instead of it as by that time the enemy carries will be really annoying for such a support. The overall guide is perfect, though: too many people forget to put early points on Poison Touch and everything you need to know about skills and teamfights is written there.

Also, I'd like to talk about carry Dazzle: I've recently experienced a carry build similar to Gyrocopter's: Ring of Basilius, Phase Boots, Medallion of Courage (without disassembling the ring, so that you can push faster early on) and Black King Bar (then, Scythe of Vyse is one of my favourite exetensions). while on paper Dazzle's damage looks too low to make him threatening, the armor reduction stacking and the slow/stun make him a really feared ganker early on. The main problem here is that you need to focus only one enemy Hero to be effective, that's why you get a BKB: throw your abilities and chase him 'til he dies (kiting isn't an issue for a ranged Hero with a slow); a Bane/ Beastmaster can come in handy if there are enemy BKB-holders. I don't know if it's viable for more experienced games, but a Dazzle with some level advantage is surely a big Hero: going mid is also fun, especially versus Heroes with low armor such as Huskar, Tiny and Doom; I believe this has been tried in competitive games too.

i registered at DOTAFire just for this guide! good job man! now i have another support hero in my arsenal, securing a ratio of 2 wins out of 3 fights with this mohawk guy (21 games is a small sample size tho)

i used to be a Visage and Lich user, so i appreciate the Medallions and Mekansms and all that.

but i have 3 things that needs to be mentioned:
1) Your thoughts about Rod of Atos? i use this lately instead of a Soul Booster (or Bloodstone if i have enough money) i love its slow, chain with poison touch, and my allies would be super happy eating the prey, while having just the same Effective HP, and it's a bit cheaper (200g is a big deal when building Mek+MoC). it seems that you did not mention it in the whole guide
2) i find the utility build more effective, there is not one time that i feel that i justified casting weave at lvl6, not to mention a bit of mana problems with it, and
3) force staff is really fun, i just want to second emotion hahaha especially if played as babysitter/5, grave+force+stick+mek+wave+urn = fully refreshed dazzle haha just my thoughts

They don't. Only Culling Blade can kill through Shallow Grave, no exceptions.

I have read that QoP's 1st skill and ultimate of Ancient Apparation can kill a hero under effect of Shallow Grave (like Axe does). Can you clarify this moment in your guide?

@Analysis Paralysis

I'll see what I can do over the next weekend. Been meaning to update this as I've been playing Dazzle a lot recently.

I'll add Soul Ring as a situational... I really don't personally find it that useful. I can see why you'd do but here's why I don't like it;

1. I prefer a Medallion and find that the more I play a 5 support, the less I can spend money on stuff like a Soul Ring early game (and late game you don't need flat mana regen). The health regen is wasted on Dazzle and I believe Medallion brings so much more than a free heal every 30 seconds.

2. I rarely need to use Shadow Wave to heal my lane partner or myself out of combat. Just from experience. Perhaps if I was solo suicide lane and, like Dark Seer, require my spells to farm... then I would pick one up.

3. Shadow Wave is very difficult to use effectively on offense. Having a 'free' Shadow Wave every 30 seconds is great if you need the healing (which I previously said is very rare) but it's so situational on offense that it's not worth the wasted cost of the Ring of Regen and Recipe (That's 475 gold!). You can't spam Shadow Wave offensively, it pushes the lane like mad.

So there are my reasons. The only reason I personally would see use in getting a Soul Ring is if we had a crazy early game pushing strategy where I maxed Shadow Wave first (ignoring Poison Touch) and I needed to push the lane as fast and hard as possible. Even in that case, I'd rather get an early Buckler (for the active) as I think that would provide more benefit for pushing than a free Shadow Wave every 30 seconds.

Also it would be superb if you update the guide a little (you CAN cast Shallow Grave on magic-immune targets now)

{Soul Ring} -Unquestionable

You have a heal that costs roughly the same as the soul ring health loss, you have a free spammable heal/pushing ability/"nuke". I think soul ring is a core, especially when you're out of mana and you carry is about to die (use soul ring and shallow grave them!)

Haha thanks Sprout,

I went through a long period without playing Dazzle but the small buffs he's received over the past few patches have rekindled a little of the old magic and I might be revising the guide somewhat. As a player I think I've improved, and my enemies too, so early game tower dives are much more prevalent and an early Shallow Grave (with its recently buffed range) has saved my team's bacon on more than one occasion.

The new Shadow Wave target increase is a very nice buff to his skill flexibility, as you can now push with only level 2 Shadow Wave instead of requiring level 3 early game. Loving how IceFrog is updating this Hero, keeping things flexible and fresh all the time.

Shoutout to my warboy, s-s-shoutout to my warboys, we rowdy.

I made an account just to say that, how sad! In all seriousness though many dota games ago I played dazzle for the very first time, found this guide and was in love with him, thanks a bunch for that, and the extensive guide! (I also totally agree on the late grave most of the time, especially since the latest patch, even though I usually get cursed at for it :D)