Bradwarden - How to play Centaur off-lane like a PRO (6.81 updated)

Introduction to this Centaur Warrunner guide

Hello there! I'm happy to see that your eyes are reading the words I'm writing at this very moment. This is my first guide, but do not let the inexperience on dotafire.com fool you, for I am an experienced player who has played DotA for about 9 years today. Even back then, Centaur Warrunner (former Centaur Warchief) was one of my favourite heroes!

If you are reading this, you probably just randomed Centaur for the first time, or you wish to learn how to play him as in competetive games. If not, you might just wanna learn more about this fantastic Dota hero. This guide will focus on how to play Bradwarden on the Off-lane because I think the team benefits from his arsenal of skills the most if he gets leveled up fast.

I hope you'll enjoy this guide and please use the comment section to criticize this guide, or if you feel that I've forgotten something.

The lore

Old lore from DotA

"Gifted with a tremendous body and an ever-growing fortitude, Bradwarden's courage is only matched by the size of his heart. Prophesied as a savior by the oracles of his tribe, Bradwarden is the living token of the allegiance of the centaurs to the Sentinel. He swings his axe with massive force, sometimes even hurting himself when doing so. The ground trembles every time he slams his hoof and his reflexes are impossible to surpass; allowing him to retaliate just after being attacked. Bradwarden is decided to fulfill his destiny, and he knows that the upcoming battle will become his ultimate challenge."

Dota 2 lore

It's said that a centaur's road is paved with the corpses of the fallen. For the one called Warrunner, it has been a long road indeed. To outsiders, the four-legged clans of Druud are often mistaken for simple, brutish creatures. Their language has no written form; their culture lacks pictographic traditions, structured music, formalized religion. For centaurs, combat is the perfect articulation of thought, the highest expression of self. If killing is an art among centaurs, then Bradwarden the Warrunner is their greatest artist. He rose to dominance on the proving grounds of Omexe, an ancient arena where centaur clans have for millennia gathered to perform their gladiatorial rites. As his fame spread, spectators came from far and wide to see the great centaur in action. Always the first to step into the arena, and the last to leave, he composes a masterpiece in each guttering spray, each thrust of blood-slickened blade-length. It is the poetry of blood on steel, flung in complex patterns across the pale sands of the killing floor.

Warrunner defeated warrior after warrior, until the arena boomed with the cheering of his name, and he found himself alone, the uncontested champion of his kind. The great belt of Omexe was bestowed, wrapped around his broad torso, but in his victory, the death-artist found only emptiness. For what is a warrior without a challenge? The great centaur galloped out of Omexe that day with a new goal. To his people, Warrunner is the greatest warrior to ever step into the arena. Now he has set out to prove he is the greatest fighter who has ever lived.

Summary

Why do people pick Centaur to their teams? Bradwarden is a great tanky initiator with one of the longest AoE stuns in the game and a massive 400 dmg cleaving nuke with a very low cooldown. His ultimate give himself and his team a massive speedboost and deals damage as well.

Pros:
+ Great initiator (either with Stampede or with Blink)
+ A great AoE stun (2.75 seconds at lvl 4)
+ Annoying for enemies to harass due to Return
+ Insane 400 dmg nuke with 8 second cooldown (the negative part is that you take 400 dmg yourself)
+ Stampede allows anyone in your team to become an initiator

Cons:
- If the enemies are fast, they can outrun Hoof stomp
- Heavily relies on a blink dagger
- Susceptible to massive nukes early and mid-game
- Since you are on the off-lane, you will probably face a tri-lane with stuns and such, which will make your early game hard

Quick recap and Tips & Tricks with Centaur

This video shows the essentials of Centaur Warrunner in case you are in a hurry and don't have time to read the whole guide!

Abilities

Now that you know why (or why not) you should play Centaur, lets look at his arsenal of skills and how YOU should use them.

Q - Hoof stomp

Type: Targets:

Active Enemy Units

Slams the ground, stunning and damaging nearby enemy units.

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Notes:

• Can hit invisible units.
• Has a small cast delay which makes it possible for enemies to outrun the AoE before the stun is actually cast
  
  This is the ability that Centaur is known for - the AoE stun. Initiate by blinking into stacking enemy heroes and press Q to stun them. Without blink, use it for defensive purposes on the lane if they try to gank you.

W - Double edge

Type: Targets:

Target Enemy Units

Centaur strikes a mighty blow at melee range, damaging both himself and the target. Centaur cannot die from Double Edge. Double Edge deals its damage in a 190 AoE around the target.

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Notes:

• Double Edge deals magic type damage to both the targets and himself.
• By having Linken's sphere, the recoil damage towards Centaur can be blocked.
• Double Edge can be used to commit suicide, but only if Centaur Warrunner is under the effect of damage amplification.
  
  After you hit your stun, use Double edge on the stacked heroes to deal cleave damage to the stacking enemy heroes. Use this ability to kill the supports in a fast way due to its low cooldown.

E - Return

Type: Targets:

Passive Enemy units and structures

Centaur Warrunner immediately counters every attack, damaging the attacker based on a percentage of Centaur's strength.

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Notes:

• This ability works on towers.
• Return causes damage when the enemy begins a normal attack, not when their attack hits.
• Does more damages with armor reduction (to confirm).
  
  Whether to skill Return at level 1 or level 2 depends on the enemies on your lane. If they are ranges, skill return first since they most likely WILL try to harass you. The nice thing is that they only have to start casting the attack to take damage, they don't need to finish the cast. This ability works on towers as well - so use it wisely to you and your teams advantage.

R - Stampede

Type: Targets:

No target Allies

Centaur leads all allies into a vicious charge causing them to move through units at max speed for 3.75 seconds and slow enemy units they tread upon by 100% for 1.5 seconds. Each enemy can be trampled once and takes damage based on the Warrunner's strength.

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Notes:

• Units hit by Stampede cannot have their movement speed reduced below 100.
• Cannot be dispelled by anything.
  
  Use it to save allies (especially allied carries) or to initiate a gank. When you have your blink, use it AFTER your initiation combo with Hoof stomp and Double edge to finish off fleeing enemies.

Early game - level 1-7

Starting items

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Cost: 600 gold This build is simply the best build for Centaur Warrunner . The Ring of Protection is a must, since you want to get your Tranquil Boots as soon as possible by completing them in the Side shop. The Ring of Regen and the Boots of Speed can be bought there but the Ring of Protection cannot. The Stout Shield adds some damage reduction from harassing enemies and creeps. The Tango is a must to remain moderatly healthed and the casual Iron Branch add the +1 to all primary stats which is a HUGE boost. There is a reason for why they are called "GG-branches"!

Strategy

The enemies you are laning against will decide whether or not you should tower hug early game. If you are facing 1-2 ranges, make sure to block creep waves so they get close to your tower and to stay within EXP-range. Focus on taking a few last hits and denies and working towards your Tranquil Boots.

If the laning enemies have a lot of spells, do not hesitate on purchasing a Magic Stick since it can benefit you a lot until you get your hands (or feet) on the Tranquil Boots.

If you have a good support on your team and he/she bestows you with an Observer Ward, either block the enemies camp, or get yourself some vision to avoid beeing ganked. (See figure below)


5 ward positions are marked on the minimap - choose either depending on if you are on the Radiant or Dire side. Use it to get vision or to avoid enemy supports pulling creeps - if you put it elsewhere you should change your name from Bradwarden to Bad-warden hehehehe....

Your main goal at early stages is not to get kills or to gank (well, if you do, make sure you succeed etc) but to stay alive long enough to farm Tranquil Boots. If you try to gank mid and fail, the laning opponents you had will get ahead of you in experience, and if the gap between you are getting too big, you're screwed big time!

After you got your Tranquil Boots you should be level 5-6. Try to rotate mid or bot - ALWAYS have a Town Portal Scroll in your inventory. This is what separates PRO's from the NOOBS. You need to be aware of the map and help mid or bottom lane if they are getting dived at the tower. Use your TP to help your enemies followed by stampede to even turn the fight around. Save money to get Blink Dagger because when you have it - all the fun begins!

Mid game - level 7-13

At this point, you should have finished your Tranquil Boots and be halfway towards Blink Dagger - gold wise. Your main objective now is to follow the supports in your team to gank either lanes. The best options here are if you use the runes to your advantage or Smoke of Deceit in case the enemies have warded. The best profit will be to gank mid, since he's the highest level and will thus yield a nice experience and gold boost for both you, the support(s) and the middle hero in your team.

Once you have farmed that 2150 gold and purchased your Blink Dagger, you should get a Town Portal Scroll and roam around. If the enemy have a jungler, make sure that your supports have warded the enemy jungle because they can give you 300 free gold if you find them with low hp.
You can basically roam around solo now, but don't get too self-confident and roam their jungle without wards or if all 5 enemy heroes are invisible on the map. Map awareness is king.

Your next item of choice are very much dependent on the specific game, but in 90% of the cases, a Blade Mail is the way to go. This is because of the 100% damage return once it's activated. This will kill most of the people trying to nuke you off once you've initiated because they will take damage both from your Blade Mail and from Return .

Tips & tricks:

If you find yourself dying a lot early game (even before getting Blink Dagger), get a Bracer or Belt of Strength (which could be used to finish Sange and later into a Heaven's Halberd. Personally, I would never buy Vanguard on Centaur at this point of the game because Sange gives equal HP-value AND scales with Return and Stampede

Mid-game items

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Cost: ~5500 gold

Late game (level 14-25) and item choices

Late game is all about winning teamfights and pushing towers and baracks while giving space to your own carry and at the same time not letting their carry farm. Your team should now have a lot of items compatible for teamfights and YOU - yes, YOU - should be the one initiating them and telling your teammates to stop the farm for a gank or two.

When you have pushed a lane and the enemies plays passive in their base, use the time to take down Roshan and stacking ancients for your carry.

End game items

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Item

When should you buy this? If you don't wanna carry a TP-scroll all the time, Boots of Travel is a great option as it gives you a movementboost as well as a permanent 60 sec cooldown TP-scroll. If you have a REALLY good early game farm, you could rush Radiance before/after Blink Dagger, although I recommend going Blink Dagger since your team might heavily rely on your initiation. If the enemy team has a lot of stuns/nukes/crowd controls, you should go for Black King Bar. If you initiate but cannot follow up with or , you will be useless and thus should aim for Black King Bar Great item choice after Blink Dagger and Blade Mail. Not only does this make you a harder hero to kill, it also gives you a massive regeneration outside of battle AND increases your damage output from With the active Mjollnir-buff on you, nobody would like to attack you! Great way to add more damage to the carries attacking you (in addition to and Blade Mail). Shiva's GuardShivas guard gives you a 200 damage AoE spell which is great to use right after your initiation to prevent enemies to run away. Also makes it harder for enemy heroes to attack you as their attack speed will be slowed against you. In most of the cases, the enemy carry will get a Black King Bar and while that is active, none of your spells will work to bring him/her down and that is why Abyssal Blade is a great counter. Monkey King Bar is great against heroes with evasion (such as Phantom Assassin, Faceless Void, Brewmaster etc. and also makes your attack from downhill towards uphill to never miss! This item is good for you for two reasons. First, it can disarm the enemy carry for 4 seconds, making him useless and gives your team time to nuke him down. Second, the evasion scales great with your Return since it will damage the opponents even if their attack misses and also with your Stampede! Force Staff makes it possible for you to escape after your initiation and also to chase enemies further if both your Blink Dagger and Stampedeis on cooldown. You could buy a Mekansm if none in your team will, but this is not preferred due to Centaurs rather low mana pool.

You could also consider an Orchid of malevolence if you are facing an escape artist hero such as Antimage, Queen of Pain, Clinkz or Storm Spirit, which apart from silencing will boost your mana regeneration and damage.

Friends and foes

There are some heroes that work better with Centaur than others when you want to gank. I'll list some of them below and mention WHY they are especially good/bad with or against Centaur. Basically anyone with stuns or disables are good, but these ones listed below are somewhat greater together with Centaur.

Good friendly heroes

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Hero

Why are they a huge benefit for YOU? Shadow Demon and you are a very deadly combo. Disruption followed by Soul catcher, Hoof Stomp and Double Edge will instantly kill any support and low-HP carry. Crystal Nova + Frostbite followed by your combo is deadly for anyone you find. Apart from that, her mana regeneration will never let you be low on mana and you can basically do your combos over and over again with low downtime. Magic Missile - a large damage dealing nuke and stun, Wave of Terror which reduces the enemies armor and Vengeance Aura that increased the physical damage you deal. Do I need to say more? Venomous Gale will make any hero without a speed buff chase-able for you. The Poison Sting adds further slow which will increase the damage taken by the foe and increase your chances of reaching him. Nightmare will immobilize the foe for 3 seconds at level 1, and make your Hoof Stomp 100% successful. Paralyzing Cask will stun your target, Maledict will make your foe take further damage over time and scales ridiculously well with your Hoof Stomp and Double Edge. Ion Shell on you, together with a Surge and you can take down any hero (who doesn't have a Blink ability or Invisibility. Tether increases your speed and Overcharge will reduce the amount of damage you take. Crazy combo! Fireblast will stun your target, and with the buff from Bloodlust you will both move faster and attack faster.

Bad enemies

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Hero Outworld devourer

Why are they a good against YOU? Lifestealer deals a lot of damage against you if you build HP. He also got Rage which will render him immune towards your arsenal of spells making you useless. His Infest can be used to escape your combo if you attack him near creeps and he can also hide in a support which you try to gank. Apart from being able to use Blink to escape your initiation, his autoattacks will burn your mana and thus prevent you from using Hoof Stomp if an ally wants to gank your lane. His Spell shield will reduce the damage of you spells later on as well by 50%. Repel and Degen Aura will give himself or an ally spell immunity while slowing you down. Guardian Angel can turn a potential team fight against you if played right. If you fail on killing Terrorblade off by your combo, he WILL use Sunder and you will stand there with 25% HP, and he will most like you kill you off solo - but most of the time he will have a support that will help feasting on your soon-to-be dead horse body. Astral Imprisonment reduce your intelligence and after 2 or 3, you will have so low mana pool that you won't be able to use Hoof Stomp or Stampede. Sanity's Eclipse will hurt you as a truck as well since you now lack a lot of intelligence. Mana Drain at level 4 and you will be useless. A quick-reacting Lion will Hex you and Earth Spike you before you have a chance to react and then his team-mates will finish you off. Imagine that you use your initiation on their carry that is unaware of your presence. You use Hoof Stomp and then you are somewhere else on the map... Glimpse can **** you over, and with his Static Storm active in a team fight, you cannot blink in without possessing a Black King Bar. Shallow Grave will make one of Dazzle's allies immune to death for 5 seconds (most likely the carry) and a well timed one will probably be enough for the enemies to kill you off before you have a chance to kill them. Spiked Carapace will neglect one of your spells, stun you and make you take damage. Mana Burn will make you unable to use Hoof Stomp and his Vendetta can be used to kill you before you initiate or to flee. Combine that with the stun from Impale

How to play like a pro!

[A]dmiralBulldog from Alliance (The International 3 winners) playing Centaur in a public game. This is one of the many ways to play Centaur, but he uses the same gameplay in pub-games as he does in Pro-games with the exception that he "YOLOSWAGS" less in the latter game.

I hope this guide will encourage you to try Centaur if you haven't because he is an incredibly noob-friendly hero who is easy to learn.

And if you have missed out, search on google for Centaurs different sounds from Dota 1, because his rare ones are hillarious! :D

/Fiskerik