Beginner's Guide to Venomancer

+1, I've been having a lot of success with this guide. However, 2/3 of the time somebody else on my team builds a basilus/aquila/vlads, even if they know that I am making one (or already have one). I know it's a waste to pay for an aura that isn't going to stack and it sucks to be stuck with a ring of protection that I'll just have to sell off; do you have any thoughts on an alternative?

tldr: What do you build instead when someobody else has basilus?

From the Skill Build Section:



How to build Veno depends almost entirely on the situation (past lvl 3 that is). Hopefully people read the above section and it helps them a) realize Veno's flexibility and b) make the correct decisions.

meh.. veno's best build is flexible for 2 scenarios. but both do not include maxing gale
Gale, as it is only good at level 1, after that the mana cost goes up, it does a bit more damage - but it's whole purpose is the slow. get it at level 1 and leave it. get stats before you max it!

2 scenarios -
1. your supporting a farming carry, against a tri-lane, or aggresive duo lane.
gale, sting, wards, wards, wards,ulti,wards,stingx3, ulti,stats etc. use the wards to stop a push, kill, and generally harass them for low cost, especially casters who like to pop clarities regularly.

2. your supporting a carry against a solo laner, or passive duo lane (ie both are melee, or have very little capability to harass)
gale, sting,sting,wards,sting,ulti,sting,wardsx3,ulti,stats

of course if you're a push strat, regardsless of lane get wards first.

This is veno's best and only builds. poison sting is an insane harass skill. can you imagine 15dmg a sec for 7 seconds, refereshed with every hit. + the slow at only level 5! no hero can sustain that damage at level5, that's 100hp per hit. complete lane control at no cost, and your carry can free farm.. wards are great for vision/harass and push/counter push.

veno gale is probably the worse scaling skills in dota - and is ultimately best at level 1. + the mana cost goes up, and your just wasting levels of other skills!

The order for a side lane veno is gale, poison, gale, ward, gale, ult, gale, max wards, ult, then max poison touch. Maxing poison touch first is not effective, since it only adds a percent per lvl. Gale is so powerful for ganking and harass, that in side lane support veno it gas to be gotten first. Wards push the lane, which you shouldnt due if you want your carry to farm, and it also does half damage to heroes, so it is pretty useless in a side lane support veno.

Is Gale's at level 2 more severe than at level 1? I thought the slow was the same throughout levels, but I think I might've read somewhere that the slow dissipates slower as its level rises.

If Gale's slow is consistent throughout its levels, then I think you should max Poison Sting first. Gale's total damage (Total DoT + Initial)scaling goes: 100-170-270-350. Poison Sting's Scaling goes 35-70-105-140. I think Poison Sting's no-mana cost would allow you to harass better than Gale.

See Build #2.

Wards are great for pushing/counterpushing, the first build is based around protecting a carry in lane or ganking, both of which benefit more from Gale and Sting than maxing wards.