Dante404's Invoker Guide to Supremacy

Introduction

Hi, I am Dante404 and I hope you find my guide helpful. I have played many games with invoker between Dota 1 and Dota 2 always trying to better my game.

Invoker is a ranged intelligence Hero who is very difficult to master. He is unique in that he possesses a total of 14 abilities in his arsenal; three of them - Quas, Wex, and Exort - are reagents and one is his special ultimate Invoke. The three abilities he learns throughout leveling up can have three instances, which serve as the basic ingredients or components for him to create a new ability using his ultimate. Once the reagents or elements are combined, he can invoke one out of ten different abilities. All of his invoked abilities are capable of a multitude of actions, from damaging enemies to aiding his allies, and even saving himself from danger. His three reagents can be upgraded up to level 7 which determines the power and potency of his invoked abilities, making it more powerful than an ordinary spell. Because of this, he can be played in almost any role possible. Invoker can be a carry, semi-carry, ganker, pusher, initiator or even support. He is also the only hero who doesn't have Attribute Bonuses, thus he has average attributes. However, his three reagents provide passive attributes with each level, and each instance of his reagents provides a passive bonus, allowing for specialization at early levels and situational boosts at later levels. His extremely flexible nature allows him to use many different combinations of items effectively but also make him dependent on solid builds and a good gold advantage.

Invoker is an amazing hero ; he was almost always banned or picked immediately. But now newbies reject him due to how difficult he is to play with. He is one of the top ten hardest heroes to play with, you must remember the orb combinations, and practice with friends and/or with bots. My recommendations will work great if executed correctly; feel free to adjust as you see fit.

Abilities and Notes

QUAS

Allows manipulation of ice elements and grants a permanent strength bonus. Each Quas instance provides increased health regeneration.
Instances of Quas per Cast: 1
Health Regen Bonus Per Quas Instance: 1/2/3/4/5/6/7
Passive Strength Bonus: 2/4/6/8/10/12/14

Notes:
Quas interrupts Invoker's channeling spells upon cast.
Quas can be leveled 7 times, at level 1/3/5/7/9/11/13.
Invoker can only have up to 3 instances up at any time. The orbs floating above Invoker are visible to everyone.
If he already has 3 instances, the oldest instance is replaced. The order of instances can be seen in the hud as status buff icons, the oldest one being on the left.
The strength bonus effectively increases Invoker's health by 38/76/114/152/190/228/266 and health regeneration by 0.06/0.12/0.18/0.24/0.30/0.36/0.42.
This is how much health regeneration Invoker has with 1, 2 and 3 Quas icon.png Quas instance:
1 Quas instance: 1/2/3/4/5/6/7 health regeneration
2 Quas instances: 2/4/6/8/10/12/14 health regeneration
3 Quas instances: 3/6/9/12/15/18/21 health regeneration

WEX

Allows manipulation of storm elements and grants a permanent agility bonus. Each Wex instance provides increased attack speed and movement speed.
Instances of Wex per Cast: 1
Attack Speed Bonus per Wex instance: 2/4/6/8/10/12/14
Move Speed Bonus per Wex instance: 1%/2%/3%/4%/5%/6%/7%
Passive Agility Bonus: 2/4/6/8/10/12/14

Notes:
Wex interrupts Invoker's channeling spells upon cast.
Wex can be leveled 7 times, at level 1/3/5/7/9/11/13.
Invoker can only have up to 3 instances up at any time. The orbs floating above Invoker are visible to everyone.
If he already has 3 instances, the oldest instance is replaced. The order of instances can be seen in the hud as status buff icons, the oldest one being on the left.
The agility bonus effectively increases Invoker's attack speed by 2/4/6/8/10/12/14 and armor by 0.28/0.56/0.84/1.12/1.40/1.68/1.96
This is how much attack speed and movement speed Invoker has with 1, 2 and 3 Wex instance:
1 Wex instance: 2/4/6/8/10/12/14 attack speed and 1%/2%/3%/4%/5%/6%/7% movement speed
2 Wex instances: 4/8/12/16/20/24/28 attack speed and 2%/4%/6%/8%/10%/12%/14% movement speed
3 Wex instances: 6/12/18/24/30/36/42 attack speed and 3%/6%/9%/12%/15%/18%/21% movement speed

EXORT

Allows manipulation of fire elements and grants a permanent intelligence bonus. Each Exort instance provides increased attack damage.
Instances of Exort per Cast: 1
Attack Damage Bonus per Exort instance: 3/6/9/12/15/18/21
Passive Intelligence Bonus: 2/4/6/8/10/12/14

Notes:
Exort interrupts Invoker's channeling spells upon cast.
Exort can be leveled 7 times, at level 1/3/5/7/9/11/13.
Invoker can only have up to 3 instances up at any time. The orbs floating above Invoker are visible to everyone.
If he already has 3 instances, the oldest instance is replaced. The order of instances can be seen in the hud as status buff icons, the oldest one being on the left.
The intelligence bonus effectively increases Invoker's attack damage by 2/4/6/8/10/12/14, mana by 26/52/78/104/130/156/182 and mana regen by 0.08/0.16/0.24/0.32/0.40/0.48/0.56.
This is how much attack damage Invoker has with 1, 2 and 3 Exort instance:
1 Exort instance: 3/6/9/12/15/18/21 attack damage
2 Exort instances: 6/12/18/24/30/36/42 attack damage
3 Exort instances: 9/18/27/36/45/54/63 attack damage

INVOKE

Combines the properties of the elements currently being manipulated, creating a new spell at the Invoker's disposal. The invoked spell is determined by the combination of Quas, Wex and Exort.
Spells Invoked per Cast: 1
Max Spells: 2
Cooldown 22/17/12/5 (16/8/4/2*) Mana 20/40/60/80 (0*)
Can be Improved by Aghanim's Scepter (* shows the improved values). Decreases cooldown and removes mana cost.
So begins a new age of knowledge

Notes:
Invoke interrupts Invoker's channeling spells upon cast.
Invoke can be leveled 4 times, at levels 2/7/12/17.
The arrangement of element instances does not matter.
When already having 2 spells invoked, invoking a new spell replaces the older spell.
New invoked spells are always placed in the 4th ability slot. The previous invoked spell is moved to the 5th slot in the process, while the previous spell in the 5th slot is lost.
When invoking a spell which is in the 4th slot already, nothing happens, wasting the mana and cooldown.
When invoking the spell which is in the 5th slot already,it moves to the 4th slot.
When not using legacy or custom hotkeys, the hotkey for the spell in the 4th slot is always D and the spell in the 5th slot is always F.

Invoked Abilities And Tips

Learning the combinations for Invoker's spells is essential for success.
Invoker is a prime candidate for mid lane; however, due to his flexibility he can also take other lane positions. Safe lane solo vs another solo laner or as the farmer with supports also allow Invoker to get the gold and EXP he needs to be strong.
What orb you should start with can sometimes be decided once you see your lane matchup, but often needs to be decided when you buy your items.

Starting with Exort gives you the strongest lasthitting potential, giving you +11 damage with 3 exort orbs (+3 per orb and +2 from the intelligence gain). This gives you much easier lasthitting. Against melee lanes or other weak lanes, you can start with a high attribute build to dominate lane, but against laners that can fight you, you'll need a high amount of regen to stay in lane. At level 2, you can take Invoke to get access to Sun Strike or take a point in Quas and delay Invoke to level 3. If the other lanes are high in stuns, Sun Strike allows you to help get kills, but it isn't very strong without team coordination.

An Exort or Wex-Exort oriented build gives a lot of Intelligence, but leaves you with less HP. In the early game you'll have global presence thanks to your Sun Strike which, if timed well, can deal huge damage. In mid and late game, try to initiate with your Chaos Meteor, followed by Deafening Blast. You can also add Tornado before the two abilities if you have enough mana, which will make it harder for the enemies to escape or flee. Use Alacrity on the main damage dealer if you're able to.
While your orbs are primarily thought about for what ability they invoke, having the right orbs for your situation is also important for strong Invoker play. If you're lasthitting, having 3 Exort orbs out is best. If you're not at max HP, having 3 Quas orbs out is best. If you're moving around the map, having 3 Wex orbs out is best. The tough part becomes rapidly switching between the orbs, eg. pulling out 3 Exort orbs, immediately throwing out an attack to get a last hit, then swapping back to Quas orbs, and repeating for every last hit when not at max HP.
As Invoker is one of the most level-dependent heroes in the game, and also scales well with gold, a Hand of Midas can be a very strong pickup. Be careful, however, as getting a Midas too late into the game or against heroes that are strong in the early game can be a bad idea, as buying a Midas leaves you weaker than buying other items in the immediate future.
For Quas, the highest level you will usually need is 2-4, as higher levels are generally not useful; Level 4 is only useful in that it allows you to have 2 Forged Spirits.
All of Invoker's spells have fairly long cooldowns and are individually fairly complex, while also having strong synergy with each other. Understanding how to use his spells effectively and how to combo them is key to playing Invoker well.
Cold Snap is the stunner. Use it to scare and harass enemies, especially when they are among allied creeps. To make better use of this ability, activate it right after right clicking on the enemy Hero, then keep attacking him whenever possible, without putting yourself in danger.
Ghost Walk is your most reliable escape mechanism. It makes you invisible with no fade time, and also slows enemies. Be careful when Invoking it, as it costs 200 mana to activate. Be careful about walking through opponents that have detection or spells that hit invisible units, however, as it reveals your position.
Ice Wall is perfect for teamfights as well as for 1 vs 1 fights. You need good positioning to use it, so it's preferable to have Phase Boots, Force Staff or even Blink Dagger to help you use this ability effectively. It damages and greatly slows enemies, making it perfect in combination with Cold Snap, Sun Strike, Chaos Meteor, EMP and Deafening Blast. You can cast Tornado right before it to make positioning easier.
EMP is an AoE nuke that drains the enemies' mana, while damaging them. Use it in combination with Tornado to guarantee mana drain and damage. It's a nice nuke for mid game teamfights, but it becomes less efficient as the game progresses.
Tornado is a useful ability that can be used to save teammates, damage enemies or even chase them, thanks to its enormous range. It can be a great setup for EMP, Chaos Meteor, Sunstrike, and Ice Wall, just be mindful that your opponents are invulnerable while in air. This spell is also great for clearing out creep waves, though be mindful about using it for that, as it does have a lengthy cooldown.
Alacrity is a great pushing ability, which is especially useful in late game. Use it on yourself, on your allies or even on your Forged Spirits to take down towers with ease. Cast it on your team's carry to help him deal even more damage.
Sun Strike is a deadly nuke with global range, which is perfect to kill fleeing Heroes. It has a little delay, so time it well. Avoid hitting more than one enemy, otherwise it will deal less damage, since it's spread evenly between targets in its area of effect. This includes creeps, so aiming for heroes in creep waves will also greatly reduce the damage.
Forge Spirit lets you summon one or two Spirits that will reduce the enemy Heroes' armor while attacking. It can be used to harass, scout or push. Use it with Cold Snap, Alacrity or Ice Wall to inflict constant damage over time.
Chaos Meteor is a powerful nuke, capable of hitting many units at once. It rolls forward and, much like Sun Strike, it has a little delay, so you have to take positioning into account while using it. It can be used with Deafening Blast to initiate a battle and deal colossal damage if executed correctly, especially in the mid and late game. You can cast Tornado before using your Chaos Meteor to make positioning easier, and to make sure that the enemies can't escape. This spell is also great for clearing out creep waves, though be mindful about using it for that, as it does have a lengthy cooldown.
Deafening Blast has many uses, slightly depending on your ability build. It's mainly used to disable enemies, so that they can't run away or an ally of yours (or even yourself) can escape. If going for an Exort oriented build, it is best used in combination with Chaos Meteor to keep your opponents under the meteor for longer, increasing the combo's damage. If going for a Quas-Wex oriented build, its damage will be greatly reduced, but on the other hand its disabling power will make it easier to win teamfights or to save allies, while pushing back enemy Heroes.
If you want to cast three spells in quick succession, it can help to have the Orbs for the third spell prepared before casting the other two. A common example of this is having Tornado and Chaos Meteor Invoked, with Quas-Wex-Exort already set up to Invoke Deafening Blast after casting Tornado. This can help get the proper timing required to Blast as Meteor lands, disabling enemies within it's effect and causing them to take much more damage.
Refresher Orb is a very useful item on Invoker since his invoked abilities have rather high cooldowns. There are some occasions you find yourself waiting for your cooldowns, such as lengthy team fights.
With a high enough level in Quas (6) and an Aghanim's Scepter, it is possible to Invoke two spells during Tornado. This means a standard combo of Tornado-Meteor-Blast can in the late-game include another spell, typically Sun Strike if casting on a single target, Ice Wall or EMP if you have enough levels in Wex. This is the true advantage of Scepter in most situations, and is not very relevant until you are a very high level.
Compared to other items, Scepter does not offer a lot of advantages until the very lategame stages, and is not very effective when rushed. Any mana issues related to Invoke can be remedied with Eul's Scepter, Scythe of Vyse or Orchid Malevolence, all of which offer a powerful disable as well, and the lowered cooldown is not very useful until level 3 or 4 in Invoke as you are usually limited to three spells per fight even with Scepter.

Pros / Cons

Pros
High damage output
Good push capability
Decent global presence
Arguably the funnest hero late game
10 Available Spells
Potentially, the best late game crowd controller
Best late game spell-caster
Has one of the best counter-initiation spells


Cons
Requires more resources than most mid heroes
Lacks a reliable escape
Lacks early game burst damage
Not difficult to counter or shutdown in lane
Absent level 6 ultimate

Items

Eul's Scepter of Divinity
Great item for any invoker build. However, it does not solve the low damage output of wex invoker. The 2.5 second lift duration is a perfect setup for sunstrike, meteor, and blast combo (Around 1100 damage after reduction). Also works great with dagger; Eul's 2.5 second invulnerability will buy time so you can dagger away.
Eye of Skadi
Slow effect penetrates magic immune heroes! Very good item choice to counter back! If many opponents have magic immunity, consider skipping aghanim scepter all together.
Force Staff
Great item for the team! This item has the most flexibility. Highly recommended against Stealth Assassin, nature's prophet, and clock. In addition, you can push enemies out of position, save your team, force enemy onto impassable terrain, etc. If you have fast reflexes, Force Staff yourself to dodge Impale after Vendetta.
Hand of Midas
Get this item if you can do so around the 6th minute. Otherwise, forget it. Invoker is more concerned about levels than gold, so transmute level six creeps for 2.5x the experience! Note: an entire set of beginning creep wave gives 227 XP. Transmuting with Midas on a level 6 creep gives 387 XP!
Linken's Sphere
Great item against Doom, Nyx, and sudden Hex/Orchid. However, this item is very costly.
Necronomicon
Amazing synergy with spirits/snap combo. True sight makes this item very useful against TA/BH etc. Great defense against Pudge's hooks. 4 summons and Cold Snap will likely kill your target. 4 summons plus alacrity can hurt towers real good.
Orchid Malevolence
Love this item for Wex build. It solves Wex invokers lack of damage and mana regeneration. This item works amazingly well with Cold Snap. Morph, Anti-mage, Lifestealer, Storm, etc are all going to hate you for this.
Radiance
This works marvelous with cold snap, but this is not your item to buy.
Scythe of Vyse
Best item for ganking. Very costly, but it is worth the price. Get this item before Aghanim Scepter if you are desperate to end the game.
Aghanim's Scepter
This is my favorite item. However, Doom, Silencer, Nyx, OD, and NS counters this item. I like to get this item after one of the following: Force Staff, Drums of Endurance, Euls Scepter, Rod of Atos, or Orchid Malevolence.
Black King Bar
Great item for the Hybrid invoker. Activate this item after Silencer uses his ultimate. Enemies will charge in thinking they have impunity. Now is your best chance to Tornado, Meteor, Blast, and Ice Wall. On the other hand, if you activate BKB too early, Silencer can penetrate your BKB with ultimate.
Blink Dagger
Great mobility item in conjunction with force staff. Decent item to assist you in positioning for ice wall, cold snap, etc. I prefer forcestaff in most occasions. However, this item works well with max exort skill build. Eul/SS/Meteor/Blast deals about 1100 damage after reductions. Dagger can help you catch those elusive heroes with low HP like Anti-Mage, Slark, Storm, etc. Dagger also works amazingly well to help you setup the perfect tornado/meteor/blast/etc combo.

Game Strategy

Since your in the mid lane, you will only be up against one hero. Just avoid being hit by him and you will be fine. You will need at least 8 levels to start initiating, so just survive until then. since you have a level in quas and wex, you could harass with coldsnap and EMP; not meteor as yet. You should also be keeping a steady eye on your enenies around the map, in case your ally needs help, you can give him a hand with a SUN STRIKE. When youre level 8, its time to kill. First you set your EMP with the enemy in range while chaos meteor is invoked and deafening blast is ready to be invoked. Wait a little and drop the meteor, invoke deafening blast as soon as you drop it. If it looks like he is moving out of the aoe of the meteor, feel free to send him back in with the push of the deafening blast. When i first started playing with invoker i underestimated this combo because of how i leveled up quas, wex and exort. But when i figured it out, it was mind blowing how much damage it does. Remember it does alot of damage because of the skill build( we have alot of exort leveled up). And a trick to it, try to cast the meteor and deafening blast before the EMP goes of, this way the mana used will be replenished COMPLETELY, Yep no mana used. And since for every point of exort leveled, means more mana. So you'll be as early as level 7 with a ring of regen and a ironwood branch and have no mana problem.

So now you have your Eul's septor, Hmmmmm, What to do with it ? How about a Eul/Sunstrike/Meteor/Blast combo.
This combo is amazingly powerful, BUT remember that sunstrike's damage is divided among the enemies in it's aoe, meaning, the more enemies around. the less damage it does to your primary target, so be carefull.
So here's how its done
1. select your target
2. invoke sunstrike and chaos meteor
3. prepare your orbs for deafening blast before the battle
4. now when you are in range place eul on him
5. Now wait 1.6 seconds and drop the meatball, invoke blast, and when the enemy touches the ground, send the blast into him.

Now he should be running for his life use your right click now since you hae reasonably good of damage , remember you have forcestaff, so if it is necessary use it to get to him and deliver the final blow. Make sure you dont chase him and run in to his tower cuz you are fragile early game, and watch out for his friends.
Remember if there is alot of enemy creeps around, it is best you substitute sunstrike with EMP.
You should have enough gold now to buy you Aghanim's septor. Now the cooldown for invoke drastically decreases, so now you could get down to your level 15 combos. Remember you only have 1 level in quas so you are obviously not ready to use all your spells in combat effectively but can be used if neccesary.

Now our combo should be looking like Tornado(and not eul because we want the damage from the tornado. Eul can still be used to adapt later on in the fight) /EMP/Meteor/Blast/Sunstrike.
1. first select your targets.( notice i said targetS, cause now we can lift the whole team with tornado :)
2. invoke tornado and EMP
3. get orbs ready for meteor
(now keep in mind that the further away the enemy is the better as long as all your spells for the combo are in renge)
4. position your self, then tornado and EMP right away
5. as soon as you set EMP invoke and cast the meteor.
6. by now the enemies should be reaching the ground, QWE invoke blast and cast it
7. wait 2 seconds then EEE invoke sunstrike and take out the babies that are running

Now some tanks might still be allive so i recommend icewall, coldsnap, forge spirits, and alacrity combo.

Now youre about level 21 so time for refresher's orb.

Be creative, try different combos and practice to become the best Because from my point of view is a good invoker is one who uses all his spells. I didnt state all combos and how to use all his spells but is youre interested, leave a comment or email me at [email protected]
Thank you for reading
If you want more guides feel free to comment or email.

BE THE HUNTER NOT THE HUNTED