Linken's Sphere on Medusa

I kinda wanted to have a discussion about this this because in a few recent pro games (Yeah I know, what works for Pro's doesn't always work in pubs, but all the same, they had a discussion about this which is kinda prudent). I can't remember who it was, but it's somewhere on the last 4 days of joinDOTA uploads (With Tobi casting I think). Anyhow, since there's been a rough increase of Medusa, there was a discussion about Linken's on Medusa when the enemy team had basically no big spells block by it. (It was like Skywrath Mage, Phantom Assassin, Centaur Warrunner and two others without any big spells for Linken's to block, or even stuns that it blocked I think?)

Anyhow, despite Linken's being a terrible pick-up for the block in that game, it was agreed by the casters that the item was still basically core on Medusa regardless. Simply because Medusa only needs to be able to sit there and tank through a fight to the damage, and that Linken's allowed that better than BKB would, because the raw stats and mana regen mean more on Medusa than any other hero in the game, and you get more value from it than any other hero does as a result.

BKB, whilst still obviously an amazing item, doesn't do a lot for Medusa. It doesn't really help you tank up when it's not active, (I mean, it gives you what 190 HP? Linken's gives you 285 actual HP, 210 Mana (Which becomes what, a bit more than 525 EHP with Mana Shield Up), and 2.10 points of armor, which lets say gives you an extra 2% Melee damage reduction), as well as 25 extra damage (So 20 extra Split Shot damage). Even ignoring any damage that the ability can block, it's a huge reward from your Linken's Sphere in terms of survivabilty. Which is what Medusa wants - Because she doesn't want to be involved in fights till she has 2-3 core items up, at which point, she can probably just sit there, switch on Stone Gaze, and hit like a damn truck.

So I'd say you could argue that Linken's Sphere is a core item on Medusa, and probably a more valid pick-up than a BKB in a lot of games unless there's genuine risk of you being perma-stuned to death. I just feel like Medusa

As an fyi, the build that this same discussion agreed upon as being the norm for Medusa was Linken's Sphere - Yasha - Manta Style - Eye of Skadi/damage items.

But what I want to discuss is peoples opinions here about the status on Linken's on Medusa. Whether it should remain situational, or whether they think it's rewarding enough on Medusa to be a core item.

If they needed some form of spell block, i.e. BKB or Linken's, they should've gotten BKB against that lineup. Linken's is absolutely worthless against it in terms of blocking magic. The stats, health, mana, etc are all better, however.

But that brings up the question "Why buy spell block at all?" I mean, if it's determined that you don't really need spell block then just don't buy it. Buy another stat item. Buy a Butterfly or a Heart. BKB and Linken's are both situational, if you don't need them don't buy them.

Against a team like Skywrath, Queen of Pain, Magnus, Tidehunter, and Spectre, BKB is just a better option. There's a ton of magic damage but almost none of it is single target. Even if you did buy Linken's Skywrath could just pop it with his Q for 70 mana making it useless. No, BKB doesn't give as much outside of the magic immunity, but if that's what you're after then it's a better pick.

Against a team with a few stuns like Storm Hammer or Shackleshot and a big ult like Doom, yeah you're probably going to want to pick up a Linken's. It all depends on the match.

It's situational, but with more situations you would get it than not, IMO.

I have no idea why pro players think its core. They've been wrong before, and I'm pretty sure they're wrong now. When Ember came out everyone was building arcane+vanguard for months before they realized it was terrible. This kind of thing happens all the time when new heroes come into the scene. They're not sure what to build, and they're slow to deviate from what they consider "normal."

For me Linkens is a highly situational item on every hero that isn't Weaver or Morphling. A couple points:

1) Linkens should only picked for the spell block. There are plenty of options for cheap all-around stats as well as regen. Drum, aquila, bottle come to mind. Every other carry seems to get by just fine with the cheap stuff, I don't see what makes Medusa special.

2) Linkens will only block a single spell, and against a pro-level team this buys you maybe half a second. For some heroes (like Weaver and Morph) this is plenty of time to make an escape. For a Medusa, this means next to nothing. It might mean that the blinking Bat will target someone else. But in all likelihood they weren't going for you anyway, since you've got a) easily the best innate EHP booster in the game, and b) an ultimate that's only effective when everyone is focusing you.

So basically I see Linkens as a 5000+ gold stat+regen stick, when Dusa needs raw DPS much more urgently. I don't think it's a bold prediction at all to say that within 3-4 months it will be a rare pickup, giving way to some combination of aquila/drum/manta/BKB/butterfly/skadi/MKB/divine. Basically the same as a Gyro.

Linken's Sphere is a situational item on every hero and a core item on none. The only real benefit of Linkens is the spell block, and it's a situational ability that depends ENTIRELY on the enemy lineup. There are other ways of getting stats and/or regen.

No, even on Morphling o Weaver, Linkens is as far from core as you can get, it's only useful if it blocks some useful spells, otherwise just get BKB. Chinese teams used to always play BKB Moprhling and Weaver with no linkens. Besides, Morph and Weaver don't even need the regen, Weaver can get a drum and he won't have mana problems, and Morph has free regen with replicate + tp to fountain :)

Against heroes such as Skywrath Mage, Centaur Warrunner and Phantom Assassin, Linkens is a complete waste of gold. This is a Black King Bar game without any question. BKB is a hard counter to these three heroes - yes, even PA because PA can't jump BKB'd targets and that's a huge deal.

BKB is good on Medusa just like on other heroes. BKB has never been meant to tank up anyways, the only point of BKB is to not get stunned. And Medusa REALLY doesn't want to get stunned, because a stunned Dusa doesn't deal damage. It's really that simple.

If you are facing only nukes, you can just rely on Dusa's tankiness with Mana Shield and build neither BKB nor Linkens. But if they have several stuns that are not blocked by Linkens, you need BKB without question.

I think professional players can sometimes get stuck in "pre-made" builds, and not adapt enough to the situation. They're used to making Linkens on Dusa, and they do it in the moment without really thinking about it, and when we analyze it afterwards we see that it just doesn't makes any sense in that specific game.

Well it is core on Medusa just because it is the perfect combination of +All stats, +%Mana Regen,+HP Regen. All of which make you tankier and stronger.

On Morphling I usually get it every game but its still situational, I am just used to it on morph,it feels comfortable to me.

For weaver it is HIGHLY situational, just an aquila into bkb,deso is good enough. You dont NEED linkins.

Why do you even get trashquilla on Weaver? That item needs a buff, badly.

linkens is never core. the benefits of the item are just way too low if the active doesnt do a lot of work.

i personally think that a part of getting linkens is just lazyness, oh ill get this item with regen so i can run around and dont have to go to base. oh i died in a teamfight?(to AOE) its probably not my fault. -_-

remember that to lower tier players regen is very important, thats why they like perseverance so much and get bloodstone and battlefury on heroes where its suboptimal or just plain bad.

Yeah, I almost always end up going for BKB on Weaver. If I know for sure that I'm gonna need Linken's then I rush it, grabbing boots -> Preserverence, but if not then I go for some damage usually, then into BKB. Some games you need Linken's AND BKB. It just depends on the lineup, neither is core but they're both useful.

It drives me crazy when I see a Morphling on my team who only has boots and Linkens 25 minutes in and it isn't even blocking anything. If you don't need to block spells, just rush your Ethereal Blade or something. Valve's "core" builds do more harm than good on heroes like Weaver and Morphling, I feel.

Finally I saw a professional game with a drum/manta/skadi/butterfly/BKB Medusa.

They are learning xD