Analyzing competitive plays with Doom (+ Jungle Guide!), by Peppo_o'Paccio

Good strategically analyzing guide, though outdated and needs to be updated.

e.g. Centaur Conquerer's Swiftness Aura has been moved to Hellbear Smasher as of 6.82.

Can i use vlad with assault? i have read that those auras does not stack

+1 I love all the item justification on all your guides but your justification for Doom Bringer's is awesome!

Profit is definitely the most overpowered Hero in terms of swag, even though Meepo is really close to him. Storm lost 90% of his swag after the reskin.

Anyway, talking about the Soul Ring abuse I think I could add an extra guide with it, though I think too many builds can confuse newer players (so I'm not really sure about doing so). The Harpy is really strong indeed, and I never thought about that little trick with Io and the Hill Troll though it looks so obvious.

And lastly, I wanted to link this match I just finished: I had the perfect rotation for jungle Doom and I did my record time for a Hand of Midas (7:15 minutes I believe)! It also shows how to behave after you get your core, and not just keep jungling like an idiot. Too bad the enemy Dazzle disconnected because he hated Phantom Lancer for some reason, but I think we were going to win anyway (and yeah, my friend Nyx Assassin is a bad player and so was that SF I didn't know): http://dotabuff.com/matches/461845808

Swag doesn't counter Nature's Profit. He has too much swag for anyone to out-swag him.

On a serious note, if you can get the harpy ability go for soul ring. You can cast the lightning 3 times during 10s of +150 MP (0-2s, 4-6s, 8-10s), using up the entire buffer. You've traded 150 damage (HP loss) for 420/315/210/105 (1st/2nd/3rd/4th targets hit) damage (Magic, 315/236/158/79 after reduction). This is great harass or ,if you are getting zoned out, you can even last hit with it. Its also a great ability to have if you are going mid.

If you lange with IO can get the Hill Troll Healer if you can. So long as you two are tethered its +5 MP/sec and up to +45 HP/sec for you.

Swag counters all heroes. Not even Storm Spirit can emit such strong levels of swag.

Just found this hilarious image, I don't want to post it on the guide because it doesn't really fit in any place (and I want a professional guide):

Early game or possibly even mid game Doom messes up LC, but if she is the strongest initiation the enemy has they have very bad team comp (Duel is a secondary or combination initation ability, I talk about it a bit more in my LC guide).

By the late game a fed LC will have a bunch of damage and an S&Y and/or Skadi (neither of which are disabled by Doom). At that point you can't ignore her because if she hits you are likely going to die.

Grip and Roar are better against LC late than Doom is because the prevent her from attacking entirely for the duration.

I was actually considering adding two "small" creeps, one being the little Satyr and the other being that small Harpie with a ridiculous nuke; I'll do it sooner or later. About Legion Commander, I still think being able to Doom any initiator - from Tidehunter to Venomancer - is still very beneficial for your team. LC is more of a Bloodseeker-kind of Hero (as if you give her kills she can stomp an entire team), but as you don't want to focus her in teamfights for obvious reasons I think a Doom/ Fiend's Grip/ Primal Roar is the easiest way to get rid of her.

Also, I would argue Doom isn't very good against Legion Commander. Since her ult doom's her, she tends not to build items that are disabled by doom except for her initation item if she has one. Doom doesn't disable Moment of Courage, her main late-game DPS and survivability skill. Yes you disable three actives, but one is just a moderate nuke on a very long CD and the purpose of her ultimate in a teamfight is mostly to get rid of the most annoying enemy, and by casting Doom on her you are basically doing just that. Disabling Press the Attack is fairly significant, but its hardly worth a Doom when any old silence will usually do. Its like casting doom on drow or sniper: yes it reduces their effectiveness, but not enough to warrant a 100s CD spell.

Compare this to what Doom does to Faceless Void or Phantom Assassin, for whom all of their abilities/passives and most of their common items are disabled, rendering them basically a melee creep.

Very good guide!

One very powerful creep you forgot to mention is the small, white satyr (Satyr Banisher). The purge is extremely powerful, arguable much stronger than that of Diffusal Blade's but for its lower range (200 vs 600) and less damage to summons (400 vs instagib). The slow lasts longer (5s v 4s), has the same CD as duration (Blade's CD is twice duration), and can be used much more often (5s CD vs 8s CD) without running out of charges. The main drawbacks are the short range and significant mana cost (120).

The purge is extremely good not just for chasing, but for the ability to purge many disables (Hex, Ethereal, Blind, etc.) and enemy buffs ( Insatiable Hunger, Enrage, Frost Armor). Some might consider it a very situational pickup, but it certainly can't be ignored.

The other two neutral creep abilities can be quite good early game harass provided you have a mana fountain. Satyr Trickster's (blue, medium Satyr) Mana Burn does a minor magic nuke of 100 but burns 100 mana at a cost of 50 mana, and can be quite strong against certain heroes that already have mana problems (18s CD is a problem). The Harpy Stormcrafter (big harpy) Chain Lightning is an extremely spammable 140 damage nuke (50 mana, 4s CD) that is way too strong if you have the mana to support it (ie. Bottle, Chakra Magic, Brilliance Aura, Basi Aura, and/or Arcanes).

You're right about that: I don't like Vladmir's Offering on the majority of AGI carries like Faceless Void, Anti-Mage or Spectre because they farm really fast but you can't turn it into anyting, but I do like it on Troll Warlord (and obviously Ursa and Lycanthrope). It offers so much in comparison to a HotD that I gladly spend 2050 gold if I'm able keep it for the whole match: considering it complements really well any STR Hero (because of the extra mana and armor), I think it's probably the best lifesteal in the game for melees unless you really want a Satanic. What I really hate about Vlad's is when a teammate rushes it: whether they're supports, gankers or carries, rushing it provides little to no benefits. That's why I didn't list it as a defensive option in the first build.

I can't list more than 5 carries on which it would be good (Ursa, Lycan, Troll and maybe Doom and Sven; DK and Meepo too if we consider them as hard carries and not semi-carries), but it does pay off on them: Sven, DK and Doom have built-in regen or armor (or both), Lycan and Meepo have sub-units and Ursa and Troll hit fast.