Beginner's Guide to Venomancer

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For those of you with no time:

Early game

• Use Venomous Gale to damage and slow enemies, initiating or countering a gank
• Use Plague Wards to scout the area around your lane, preventing ganks and scouting runes
• Let the carry you are babysitting farm
• If the person you are babysitting is doing fine/has an advantage, be annoying elsewhere.

Mid/Late Game

• Use Plague Wards to push/counterpush
• Use Poison Nova to do damage in teamfights will not kill enemies, leaves them at 1 hp
• Use Venomous Gale to slow/damage enemies
• Get Aghanim's Scepter to massively upgrade Poison Nova if someone else on your team is getting Mekansm

Introduction

Venomancer is a ranged agility hero defined by his strong skills rather than his auto-attack ability. He's primarily played as a support. His Venomous Gale and Plague Wards are used to protect a carry in the laning phase, his plague wards give vision and (counter) pushing power, and Poison Nova does an absurd amount of (non-lethal) damage over time in teamfights.

Pros Best Level 1 slow in the game ( Venomous Gale) Strong candidate for first blood Great non-Unique Attack Modifier Passive ( Poison Sting) Free Wards!! Poison Nova does great teamfight damage, even if you die immediately after using it, you've done your job Not extremely item dependent Fabulous babysitter or ganker Good sustained push/counterpush

Cons Slow No escape mechanism Low HP Mana limited for the majority of the game Mediocre auto-attack damage, little carry potential No Stun

Skills

Venomous Gale

Type: Targets:

Active Target Point

Launches a ball of venom in a line, poisoning enemy units so that they take both initial damage and damage over time, as well as suffering slowed movement. Venomous Gale deals damage every 3 seconds over its duration.

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Notes:

• Gale does magical damage.
• The slow starts at 50% and decreases as time passes. The slow is the same at all levels.
• Gale requires a little bit of timing/leading, you need to lead your target if you want to hit them at max range.
• Arguably the best level 1 skill in the game, always picked first in case either team makes a first blood attempt. The 50% slow allows your allies to escape and/or prevents enemies from escaping.
• Gale will kill enemy heroes, enemies can be denied by their allies if they are under 25% health.

Poison Sting

Type: Damage:

Passive Magical

Adds poison damage to Venomancer's normal attacks, slowing movement speed.

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Notes:

• Not a unique attack modifier (sometimes called orb), so you can add a unique attack modifier in addition. Unfortunately Veno is not particularly suited for any UAMs.
• One point results in 11% slow, the next three result in 1% slow each, meaning that maxing the skill can be delayed but the first point in it is always at level 2 (any other hero would take it at level 1 but Gale is so good)
• Sting deals lethal damage but enemy heroes cannot be denied if it's the only DoT on them.
• Each point in Sting increases the total damage by 35. Each point in Gale increases total damage by 70+

Plague Ward

Type: Damage:

Active Point Piercing

Summons a plague ward to attack enemy units and structures. The ward is immune to magic.

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Notes:

• Wards deal piercing damage. Piercing damage does half damage to heroes, 1.5x damage to lane creeps and only 35% damage to buildings.
• Creeps and towers will ignore wards if they can see any other target. You can use this ability to jungle by placing wards and having the creeps chase you while being attacked by the wards.
• Plague wards grant less vision than observer wards, but are free and you can have up to 8 out at once.
• Keep at least one ward off to the side in the jungle to spot incoming ganks.
• Try to place a ward by a rune spot with less than 40 seconds until rune spawn (every two minutes). It helps your mid to be able to see the rune and your ward can deny (attack) the rune if it appears the enemy will get it.
• Wards do give a small bounty when killed (10-19g) so don't needlessly spam lvl 1 wards where the enemy can kill them (do use them for vision though, even if the enemy kills it, you'll know they're there (well worth the 15g).
• Use wards in juke paths (small openings between trees) to prevent an enemy from running or following you. You may be able to box them in until allies arrive to finish them off.
• Big plays: If you are under the effect of a (deniable) Damage over Time that will kill you and there are no allies around to deny you, place a plague ward and have it finish you off to deny the enemy the gold and experience.
• If a tower is going to fall and you can't safely get in deny range, you may be able to place a ward in range of the tower to deny it (not likely considering that wards do reduced
  damage to buildings, but always worth a shot).
  

Poison Nova

Type: Damage:

Active (no target) Magical

A spreading ring of poison that does damage over time to enemy units around Venomancer. Poison Nova's effect cannot bring units below 1 HP.

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Notes:

• Aghanim's Scepter upgrade shown in parentheses (it's quite significant, almost halving the cooldown and going from 1200 damage to 1700 damage at level 3.)
• Poison Nova cannot kill, it will leave enemies at 1 hp. Combine with any other Damage over Time (such as Gale) to kill.
• The effective radius of Nova is a lot larger than its animation indicates, 830 is roughly equivalent to a level 1 ravage (aka most of the screen).
• Venomancer's job in a teamfight is to hit as many people as possible with Nova. He'll likely die afterward since he is squishy and walked into the middle of the enemy team, but it doesn't matter. If you are having problems landing good ultimates, Blink Dagger, Force Staff, and Shadow Blade can help with positioning.
• Don't be afraid to use Nova to secure a kill or two in the early game, before 5 man teamfights start happening.

Skill Build

Venomancer's skills give the majority of their utility (50% slow for Gale, 11% slow for Sting, vision for Wards) at level 1. Therefore the first 3 skill points should almost always be spent 1-1-1. Gale is first due to the huge slow. Sting is second, because 11% slow is still significant and can be the difference between life and death (for you/allies or enemies). Wards are third, because vision can warn you of incoming ganks, but won't directly lead to or prevent any kills.

After the first three skill points, what you prioritize depends on your situation/how you want to play. I max Gale, because I like to pop out of the jungle, land a Gale and a few auto-attacks and try for kills. Prioritizing Gale maximizes the damage of this combo. However, at level 6, you only have enough mana for a lvl 2 gale and a nova, if you get lvl 3 gale at 5, you'll have a few seconds between spells for mana regen. If you're spending time in lane harassing the enemy with auto-attacks, Sting should be your priority (and it keeps Gale's mana cost down). If you're pushing or counter pushing, max Wards. Always get Nova when possible.

Items

As a support, Venomancer doesn't get much gold to spend on items, so you have to make it count.

Starting:

• Healing Salve and Tango - regen and sustainability in lane. Give them to your carry if he needs them and you don't.
• Ring of Protection - grants %10 physical damage reduction and builds into a Ring of Basilius
• Animal Courier or Observer wards - As a support, it's your job to get the courier, if a teammate has already bought the courier, buy Observer wards instead and place them where your team wants them. If you bought the courier, you have 50 gold left over for a clarity potion or Iron Branch, your call.

Early lane:

• Boots of Speed - Everybody needs movespeed, especially slow and squishy heroes.
• Ring of Basilius - Grants you and your close allies armor and mana regen. You need the mana regen to keep a plague ward screen to prevent ganks while still having enough to gale when needed. Turn off the aura if you don't want your lane to push. Ring of Basilius doesn't stack with itself or Ring of Aquila or Vladmir's Offering so make sure your team isn't doubling up on these items.

Boots choice:

• Power Treads - Grant attack speed and stats on demand. Keep them on strength for the majority of the time (for extra health) or intelligence when you need mana for spells. If you can't handle switching, leave them on strength.
• Arcane Boots - My personal favorite. They solve most of Venomancer's mana problems allowing spamming of Gale and Wards as well as giving mana to your teammates. Can be disassembled, but Venomancer can't do much with the Energy Booster.
• Tranquil Boots - Great move speed and health regen. Can be disassembled and the ring of regeneration can be used to make a Mekansm. If you're taking a lot of harassment, these are a good option.

Core:

• Ring of Aquila - Adds a cheap stat boost to Ring of Basilius. Again, make sure your team isn't doubling up on RoB, RoA, or Vlad's.
• Aghanim's Scepter - It's not cheap, but it's worth it. Adds a good amount of damage to Poison Nova and reduces the cooldown. The stats and heath/mana are also much needed to keep Venomancer alive and useful during a teamfight. Get the Ogre Club and Point Booster first to buff your weak health pool.
• Mekansm - Gives health regen and absolutely cruicial AoE burst heal. It will make you (and your entire team) last longer in teamfights and sustains pushes. Ideally another support will get this so you can get Aghanim's Scepter, but get it if they don't.

Situational:

• Blink Dagger - Allows you to land perfect Gales and Nova's, doesn't offer much else.
• Shadow Blade - The active invisibility allows you to position yourself for maximum effect in teamfights or escape after using Nova.
• Shiva's Guard - Huge teamfight item, grants you intelligence and armor, the passive aura slows the attack speed of enemies and the active does AoE damage and slows enemy movement, requires the same positioning as Nova, so it's easy to get them both off.
• Eul's Scepter of Divinity - Grants mana regen and move speed, always appreciated and a pseudo disable that can save yourself or allies or remove an enemy from the fight temporarily.
• Force Staff - Ridiculous amounts of utility. Use it to save allies, get the jump on enemies, push enemies out of position, chase down fleeing enemies, or go over cliffs.
• Ghost Scepter - Renders you immune to physical attacks at the cost of increased magic damage, also grants +7 to all stats. Useful if the enemy carry is tearing through you.
• Desolator - Reduces enemy armor and grants you bonus damage, only get this if no one else on your team is.
• Drums of endurance - Solid cheap stats and grants movement and attack speed to nearby allies, every team should have one.
• Gem of True Sight - Venomancer is one of the best counterwarders in the game, due to his ability to place a Plague Ward on every potential ward spot. Heroes are no longer able to dodge Gale or Nova due to invisibility. Give it to someone else if you're dying in every teamfight.
• Pipe of Insight - Grants your teammates a shield to block magic damage, a must against spell heavy teams.
• Veil of Discord - Increases the amount of magic damage nearby enemies take. Get this if your team relies large amounts of magic damage. Veno is a good carrier, since Nova requires him to be in the middle of the enemy team anyhow.
• Orchid Malevolence - Active silence and damage amplification and grants attack speed, damage, and mana regen. Never hurts to have more silences on a team.
• Scythe of Vyse - The king of support items, turns an enemy into a chicken for 3.5 seconds and grants a ton of intelligence, mana regen, and a little strength/agility. It's not cheap and neither are its components, but if you can afford it get it.

Special Mentions:

Town Portal Scroll:
You should almost always have a tp scroll on you (after the first minute or so of laning). It can save you from ganks, allow you to save/deny a tower, get you back in lane (and getting gold/xp) faster. Perhaps most importantly though, it allows you to gank/countergank. As a support, it's your job to be where the action is. If something is going down in another lane, a quick tp and a well placed Gale will ensure that it goes well for your team (and Plague wards turn it into a push).



Observer Ward:
You can't be everywhere at once, and Plague Wards only last 40 seconds, which is fine for a screen around a lane/jungle but Observer Wards give more vision and last for 6 minutes. These should always be on cooldown in the shop, stockpile them if they aren't needed. Place them where you team needs them, whether offensively in the enemies jungle or defensively preventing ganks.



Sentry Ward:
Venomancer is one of the best counterwarders in the game, place a sentry ward nearby (most commonly in the rune spot) and place Plague Wards wherever you think an enemy ward might be.

Friends and Foes

Friends
...Pretty much everyone.
Special Mentions:

• Warlock - Warlock's Fatal Bonds essentially doubles the damage of Poison Nova and can kill. Upheaval synergizes well with your slows, and Chaotic Offering is a huge AoE stun, which should give you time to walk in and get off a perfect Poison Nova
  
• Viper - Laning Viper and Venomancer together is almost unfair. Between Venomous Gale, Poison Sting, and Poison Attack, the enemy won't be able to move and auto-attacks and poison damage will finish them off quickly. (Add in Corrosive Skin, Poison Nova, and Viper Strike and it gets silly. Bonus points for Eye of Skadi and Orb of Venom (I'm joking, don't do it))
  
• Juggernaut - A poisonous gale followed by a Blade Fury is an almost guaranteed kill for the first 10 minutes of the game, the enemies shouldn't even come close to the creeps because of the threat of this combo.
  
• Zeus - Even if the enemies manage to win/survive a teamfight, they're still likely at low health due to Poison Nova being unable to finish them off. Thundergod's Wrath can easily clean up the entire enemy team after Poison Nova works its magic.

Foes

• Lycanthrope - Not only does Lycan's Shapeshift make him unable to be slowed, but he has enough health (and lifesteal) to be able to shrug off Veno's poisons and continue to tear through your team.
  
• Black King Bar/ Pipe of Insight - Like any hero that relies on magic damage, Veno is countered pretty solidly by BKB and pipe. Poison Nova will still burn through Pipe's magic block, but it prevents damage for the first (crucial) 5 seconds.
  
• Lifestealer - Between Rage granting magic immunity and Open Wounds slow, Naix can mess up Venomancer's day.
  
• Omniknight - Repel grants magic immunity to whoever you least want to have it.
  
• Rubick - No matter what spell Rubick steals, it's going to hurt. The best you can hope for is to give him Plague Ward.
  
• Invisible gankers - Riki, Nyx Assassin, Clinkz, and Bounty Hunter all deserve a mention, Venomancer is squishy and dies quickly to burst damage. The added invisibility allows these guys to get past your plague wards without you noticing them.