Analyzing competitive plays with Mirana, by Peppo_o'Paccio

+1 :)

I forgot to mention that it's a fairly situational. I agree that mirana is kind of squishy, that's why I usually (if not always) build Bracer. And if I still feel squishy, I sacrifice Phase attack for Treads survivibility and switching capability. Though attack speed compensates this a little, allowing you to make more right-clicks.
My point here is that with Orchid Mirana don't really need to upgrade Bracer to Drums. Int and attack speed is already included and you only need that Bracer survivibility. Mirana doesn't benefit from that MS that much, as she has leap. Moreover, Orchid is asnowball item as you correctly said. Being so, it's very likely that you will gain momentum rapidly and will be able to buy that perfect Manta Style, that will give you survivibiliy, MS And much more.
Another situation, which I actually faced the first time I decided to try Orchid myself is when you are against nasty heroes like Weaver, Storm or Earth spirit(probably more, just don't come up to my mind at the moment). These are very hard to deal without a silence/long disable, as they are very evasive and can kill you easily. Also they are quite squishy in the early-mid game , that's why under amplification they will literally melt.

Hope I was helpful!

P.S. Peppo, I'm just a casual player, who actually learned by reading your competitively oriented guides. So I will appreciate very much if such an experienced guy like you gave it a try and then posted how did it feel.

Thank you, and good luck with your guides!


And about the Orchid: while I think it's a good item on BH and Storm, I'm not sure about Mirana. I think rushing an Orchid might be a very good idea (I've never tried it though), but there are a few problems with it:

• You're squishy because of no Drums;
• Your basic combo (Sacred Arrow + Starstorm) and a few hits are usually enough to kill an enemy early on.

So, even though it's a nice item, you don't need it as a snowball item like Storm or Clinkz do; on the contrary, you can spend the gold you've got in the mid game on damage items. I think that's the main difference between Mirana and the other Blink or Orchid gankers: while they need a good item to start gaining momentum, Mirana's skillset make her a very good ganker/teamfight Hero without them. And that's why she's also a pretty good support.
I would add an Orchid Malevolence rush build, but I think the all-out damage one is almost always better at doing the same thing. I still have to try it though, maybe I'll change my mind.

This is a great guide! Great job, Peppo.

One thing I'd like you to consider is an Orchid Malevolence on ganking midlane/offlane Mirana. I was surprised when I tried it our forst, but it's just an amazing item. You can skip bottle and go straight for it after your phase boots or treads. It gives all Mirana needs:
-Mana regen and int gain for increased mana pool (since she's very short in mana unless u have your bottle, ring of basilius/aquila)
-Attack speed (thought it can be gained by buying other items like Mjolnir, Orchid gives a very handy combination of everything)
-Attack, which is very good when combined with phase boots
-And finally a nice Silence with an 30% (SICK!) damage amplification, that is just perfect for ganks, since it amplifies damage from Starstorm (your very good nuke) and from quick right-clicks.
It is just like getting this item for Bounty Hunter or Storm Spirit.

Really like the layout on this guide. It has inspired me to rework my own guides, heh!

I do see that side of the argument, and understand it. It's just that Starstorm costs so much mana - a large proportion of Mirana's small pool pre drums. If you're roaming and ganking a lane, as long as they have a stun then you'll hit your arrow, and if you're going for a solo kill then there's no way you're getting that unless you hit the arrow.

If you could guarantee that the second hit from Starstorm would hit the intended target then I'd max it, but as it is, you're either relying on luck in the middle of a creepwave, or you're going to need to have hit an arrow to get close enough away from a creepwave.

Referring to Sando: I've even seen some pros skipping the ultimate at 6 and getting an extra level of the arrow, as said in the Skill Build section, but I think this is the most used build for at least the farming Mirana. Maxing out the Sacred Arrow is like getting full points on Light Strike Array before Dragon Slave on Lina: nobody does so, but one can take extra levels of it sometimes.


To Xyrus: it makes sense, but with more than one enemy I wouldn't try to gank in the first place. A maxed Sacred Arrow may be good for ganks, but as samukobo said most of the time you'll need AoE damage instead of a single target nuke because you'll have more mid game presence that way.



How could I forget him! Added.



I don't think that's the best way to play Mirana. With that mindset people would either stop ganking or, on the contrary, spend too much time - and time is money! - ganking and accomplishing nothing with a bad arrow. On the contrary, Leaping in and throwing a Starstorm always deals a big amount of damage; without a setup spell the Sacred Arrow is more like a punishment for people whose positioning is bad, like a Meat Hook.

But anyway, since a lot of people are asking for it, I'll change the support skill build as I said.

I almost always play Mirana as a Roaming Support, so my main reason for Maxing Sacred Arrow 1st is that I find it suits her in that role.

Typically, I won't have much Exp or Farm when Ganking, so if I use my Escape as a gap closer, I'll only do it if I'm sure I can simply walk away afterwards.

If I'm Ganking a lone target, odds are, once I've landed an Arrow, my Teammate(s) can finish them off with their own Nukes/Right-click, without needing a Starstorm.

If there are more enemies however, I'd rather not jump into the middle of them, as that's a great way for Squishy Supports to die.

When Ganking with an ideal partner like Shadow Demon, Bane, etc. I usually find they have their own source of damage to supplement the lack of a follow-up Starstorm, i.e. Soul Catcher and Shadow Poison while they're Banished, Brain Sap, etc.

Outworld Devourer missing from allies :c

Mirana is best played as a support imo because her base damage is so bad to the point that last hitting skills alone and items are insufficient to excel at something that requires adequate amount of farm (hence, I believe she is best at a #4 position - #3 is fair enough, but inferior to 4).

Anyway, I do think that it is possible to go for a build that maxes arrow first if your team would have good enough setup and you have the skills.

I don't think it's better than the Q max build though, it may be more explosive but it's single target and not exactly guaranteed.

I take the opinion that I'm not going to land a gank without hitting my arrow, so I may as well max that for the maximum damage per mana spent. I find mirana does not have the mana pool for starstorm early on.

Great guide as always Pep, personally I do level Sacred Arrow more than once, but ultimately this is a guide to competitive plays, so if that's what the pro's do then it's accurate. With some farm there's no reason you can't have the mana to support Starstorm, and the total damage is higher. (That up to +100 is from level 1 right...so you could hit for 200 damage?)

Setup is what makes for great arrows (otherwise it's a combination of luck and skill), Clockwerk is another good example thanks to Power Cogs. Bane is only reliable if they don't have another ally who can take the Nightmare off them - I remember a game from the international (Na'vi vs Orange?) where they baited the stun from Leshrac and took the Nightmare just in time to let the player dodge it, turning round the first blood.

The biggest problem for me with Mirana is her poor base damage - I randomed a Bloodseeker yesterday and between Poor Man's Shield and Quelling Blade she couldn't get a last hit or harass me effectively. Been on the other side of that vs a Phantom Assassin too. She really need a Ring of Aquila ASAP for me, or at least a lane where she might get some hits.