Disruptor - Dino-Riding Puppet Master by E1Mariachi [7.02]

Preview

Disruptor is a 5th/4th position support mainly based around repositioning and crowd control abilities with big impact on ganks and teamfights.

Lore

THE LORE OF THE STORMCRAFTER

High on the wind-ravaged steppes of Druud, a gifted young stormcrafter called Disruptor was the first to unlock the secrets of the summer squalls. Constantly under assault from both seasonal storms and encroachment from civilized kingdoms to the South, the upland Oglodi have for centuries struggled to subsist atop the endless tablelands. They are the fractured remnant of a once-great civilizationa fallen tribe, their stormcraft strange and inscrutable, cobbled together from scraps of lost knowledge which even they no longer fully understand. For those on the high plain, weather has become a kind of religion, worshiped as both the giver and taker of life. But the electrical storms that bring life-sustaining rains arrive at a cost, and many are the charred and smoking corpses left in their wake.

Although small for his kind, Disruptor is fearless, and driven by an insatiable curiosity. As a youth, while still unblooded and without a stryder, he explored the ruins of the ancestral citiessearching through collapsed and long-moldering libraries, rummaging through rusting manufactories. He took what he needed and returned to his tribe. Adapting a coil of ancient design, he harnessed the power of electrical differential and now calls down the thunder whenever he wishes. Part magic, part craftsmanship, his coils hold in their glowing plates the power of life and deatha power wielded with precision against the landed castes to the South, and any interlopers who cross into ancient Oglodi lands.
source: www.hdw.eweb4.com

Introduction

Hi and hello again, dear community members and DotaFIRE visitors!

Welcome to my guide to Disruptor a.k.a. Thrall, the Stormcrafter. This is my 4th full length guide to be published as usual exclusively on DOTAFire. This guide is based on the newest balancing update: The New Jouney version 7.02.

I am very happy Disruptor has received a huge boost of popularity in professional picks. Especially the 6.85 and 6.86 patches hugely increased his appearence as shown by tournaments like the Shanghai Major 2016 or We Play 3. That shows that Disruptor is a highly viable pick -- like he always was in my eyes.

Disruptor is a intelligence support hero with great spell mechanics and a considerably high impact, especially in early to mid game and with the right itemization even in the late game stage. His skillset is a very unique mix of nuke/harass, disables and repositioning abilities. His Glimpse is maybe Disruptor's signature ability, which can semi counter a lot of hard to deal with heroes and can result in some big plays. His whole skillset is built to be used in combos in order to reach different results. His ultimate Static Storm is a huge AoE teamfight ability consisting of a silence and nuke with an intense Aghanim's Scepter upgrade.

I am E1 Mariachi, DotA player on a regular basis with way over 3k games played in DotA 2 and I can call Disruptor one of my most played and favorite support heroes after Dazzle. I have a dotabuff statistic of over 61% win rate with Disruptor and suggest everyone at least giving him a shot since he is a little bit more complex to handle, but even more rewarding when bringing big plays and teamfight changing shots to the board.

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Disruptor, Thrall the Stormcrafter, master of electrical thunderstorms, came down from the Oglodi Upland Druud where he grew up next to Axe to roam the battlefield and punish intruders and fiends with his part-magic-part-craftmanship powers based on his arcane knowledge of electrical differential and static loads. Riding proud on the back of his terrifying dinosaur mount into battle, he brings down the wraith and havoc of storm and lightning on his poor enemies, which are to face the Thrall in the fog of war. He masters the arcane powers of puppeteering his foes like stick figures on twine! Raising impassable barriers of crackling electrical bolts, torturing them with thunder strike shocks, using your twisted knowledge of the elements to manipulate space-time and send enemies back in time and summoning fields of static load rendering his contestors unable to make use of any powers... When the thunder rolls and the lightnings strike, the Stormcrafter lingers in the rainy shadows and plays with the elements like an organist his organ.

Changelog

• Expand the counter section.
  
  
• Include the new 6.84 Gameplay Update Items once they run on the main client and are tested / evaluated.
  
  

April the 30th 2015:

RELEASE including 6.84 Ability Changes

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May the 2nd 2015:

As suggested by Sando: Added clarifiying / missing explanations to Thunder Strike and Static Storm regarding specific interactions / behaviour Clarified the high item priority of Aghanim's Scepter and its interaction with Static Storm's damage output Added Point Booster as a casual pick up

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May the 3rd 2015:

Modified the shown Sample Item Build (included Guardian Greaves)

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August the 10th 2015:

Revisited and checked for changes. Up to date.

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September the 25th 2015:

Included the 6.85 Balancing Update changes to Thunderstrike (cooldown buff, vision nerf)

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December the 20th 2015:

Adapted the guide the 6.86 Balance of Power Update (no skill changes) and checked for acutality. Included Aether Lens as optional midgame item.

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March the 3rd 2016:

Added Glimmer Cape to midgame options and removed Drum of Endurance, Vladmir's Offering, Ring of Basilius and Orchid Malevolence (for now). Slight modification to the introduction chapter.

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March the 5th 2016:

Added Datdota item stats overview.

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April the 25th 2016

Included the 6.87 Gameplay Patch with its slight AoE buff to Kinetic Field.

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June the 14th 2016

Included the 6.88 Gameplay Patch with a slightly nerfing change to Static Storm.

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February the 11th 2017

Reworked the guide to adapt it to the 7.02 New Journey Patch including talents and minor changes to skills.

Role & Lanes

This section is not as hard to explain as for many other heroes since the skillset of Disruptor and his scaling possibilities for late game put him in a rather fix spot on a team's set up.

• The Support Role:
  
  The role topic is pretty easy for Disruptor compare to heroes like e.g. Wraith King or Windranger. Disruptor is a support who has to fill the 5th or 4th position on a team, depending on the other support pick and his farm / item dependence.
  
  
• Safelaning
  
  Disruptor can be send to support a farmer at the safelane, where he can act as a solo support or be one of two dual supports. What makes Disruptor a great safelane support is his pretty decent magic harass (later jungle clearing skill) with Thunder Strike when maxed. His Glimpse allows Disruptor to effectively punish mispositioning of the offlaner by sending him back into danger. Getting some levels from clearing pull camps is most likely to be enough for Disruptor to be effective in the laning phase.
  
  
• Offlaning
  
  The other viable option is to offlane with Disruptor as a dual lane support or -- which is pretty impactful -- as an aggressive trilane member. Glimpse is not as impactful as on the safelane since you are not likely to have the lane position and zoning dominance, but it also works great when making aggressive moves as a trilane. Kinetic Field can prevent enemies from retreating in tower range, while Thunder Strike is a legit AoE harass. When paired up with one or multiple disablers and some damage Disruptor is a highly viable offlane support.
  
  
• Semi-Carry
  
  There are some pub players (ab)using Disruptor as a semi carry. I feel like this is a wrong way to use one of the greatest teamfight supporters. Of course you can build Mjollnir on him -- like you can on Crystal Maiden or Dazzle. But Disruptor benefits the team much more by proper supporting and providing utility items. His agi growth is awful, his base damage is rather weak too. If you play all random and you have to, try it, but otherwise... why would you?
  
  
• Midlaning
  
  Midlaning on Disruptor is possible, but I do not consider this very viable. You have the Thunder Strike as a tool to push the wave, when going for runes or as a harassment tool. You can Glimpse a hero back, if you are ganked and you notice this before it's too late. So basically this is not impossible, though almost every other real midlane hero will have a farm advantage over Disruptor.
  
  The thing I do not like about going mid with Disruptor is, that he is considerably farm independent. He does not benefit from solo xp as much as the usual mid heroes. Sure -- an early Static Storm and a fast Aghanim's Scepter are great, but Disruptor offers way more use as a lane supporter and ganker in early game. This is for now my point of view, I will keep you informed, if I change my opinion.
  
  
• Initial Jungling
  
  Initial jungling just is unviable and there is not much to talk about. Once you have level 2 or 3 on Thunder Strike you are able to clear easy and medium camps, but before this he has to get xp by pulling / leaching.
  

Playstyle

This section deals with some general strategical and tactical hints you need to be aware of, when joining a match as Disruptor not taking into account the specific usage of his abilities, which is topic of the skillset chapters.

• General Playstyle and Positioning
  
  As Disruptor's abilities set him in a certain spot, they also determine his way of acting in lane, ganks and fights.
  
  In lane Disruptor has be to active at all times to get the max use out of his presence. This includes
  
  
  
  • harassing off enemies, who can be zoned out of xp range
    
    
  • double pulling / pulling through while granting solo xp to the farmer
    
    
  • ganking the mid lane (preferably with Smoke of Deceit)
    
    
  • providing vision and true sight with wards
    
    
  • defensively tping, when allies are being engaged on (esp. under tower)
    
    
  
  As a general rule of thumb for mid and especially late game you should stay back in engagements since you want to be able to make use of your skills and not get bursted down, which can happen pretty fast without proper defensive items. All of his abilities are pretty long range (lvl 4: 2x 800, 900, 1800) and should be set up from as far away from enemy disables and physical dps in order to survive fights. Disruptor is a kind of initiator since his spells allow him to set up ganks / teamfights pretty effectively, but stay cautious! You are no Earth Shaker or Enigma, make use of the long cast ranges you are granted also when you have to start fights. If you stay in the back lines of your team, you will be able to grant further support with skills (esp. Kinetic Field and Glimpse) and items (e.g. Mekansm / Pipe of Insights) as the engagements progresses. Also Disruptor is able to disengage with Glimpseing or Kinetic Field trapping chasers once the engagement is over and you want to get out safely.
  
  As the game enters the late game stage, your impact will fall off drastically when multiple Black King Bars are up. This is when you have to be very focused and maintain map awareness by vision and read the enemy movements. In lategame most physical dps dealer can burst Disruptor in a glimpse, so watch your step and tend to stick around your core heroes in order to be in the right place, when things get serious. As off this applies even more, when you are way behind in xp and did not have a good start into the game.
  
  
• Assistance and Communication
  
  Disruptor is not a self sufficient hero whatever he is doing. He is bad at solo laning and solo ganking. If solo supporting is a good question, especially in pubs :3. He is a highly efficient hero when accompanied by allies. His skill set is a great box of set ups. Glimpse, Kinetic Field and Static Storm are all set up abilities, that need follow up unless it's still really early in the game.
  
  When Glimpse is followed by stun layering, you will have easy isolated targets. Static Storm + Kinetic Field also want to be followed by some AoE spells or just raw dps. If noone is there to take advantage of your set up abilities, your huge potential goes to waste. In order to get this going, think about what kind of follow up your team provides or needs, when you consider picking Disruptor.
  
  Also communicate with the players / heroes you depend on to do stuff. Give calls to your lane's farmer, at when you want to pull or attempt some aggression. Chat or ping, when you want to go Glimpse gank an out of position hero and shift-call Glimpse off cooldown. In teamfights where 3 or 4 allies are with you, your set ups are pretty obvious, but if you are not sure if your team wants to go or retreat, give them signs.
  
  
• Item Dependence
  
  Disruptor is relatively item independent, which allows him to have a high impact with 4th or even 5th farm priority. There are just three major needs Disruptor has in order to function throughout all stages of the game, which are:
  
  
  • Extra mana / mana regeneration to be able to cast all of his spells and some of them multiple times during engagement without relying on additional mana regen.
    
    
  • Some bonus HP in order to survive engagements, use his abilities and not be a too easy burst target.
    
    
  • Additional mobility to be able to properly set up initiations / teamfight combos and disengage, when he is being focused
  
  The amount of these things needed in a particular match vary with the enemy team's lineup. He can obtain everything he need pretty easily. Having built Force Staff (mobility + bonus int.), Arcane Boots (mana + mana regen) and Urn of Shadows (mana regen, str. and charges) or Mekansm (stats, armor and burst heal) as a sample build are enough to solve most of his general issues until late game. Though there might be situational items to be picked up first to counter specific heroes / mechanics.
  
  
• Supporting
  
  This is just a little reminder that you are in supporting duty -- full time! I will include a list of duties and priorities for a support in this spot since there are so many other sources, which can deal way more in-depth with this topic. For a basic overview you can the supporting chapter in my Dazzle Guide or look up the great and super in-depth Full Support Guide by Sando.

Base Stats

source: dotabuff (04/2015)

Attribute Growth: Disruptor's stats and stat growth are pretty mediocre, maybe even bottom half of the range. His main attribute intelligence has a growth of 2.5/lvl, which is pretty low compared to over 3 int growths from Enigma or Lina. The strength growth up 1.9/lvl is pretty decent as an intelligence support rendering him a little bit tankier than Rubick or Chen. The agility growth of 1.4/lvl is poor, but you do not expect much coming this way. Base Stats: The basic stats of Disruptor are pretty decent allowing him to become a considerably frightening harasser in safelanes. The attack range of 600 is nice and on par with many other ranged int support. The base movement speed of 300 mediocre, but considerably comfortable for moving in and out on the lanes and over the map for ganks. The other basic values are kind of common, nothing special. After all Disruptor does not get his qualities from his base values, but from his combinatory skillset, which is can be brought to multiple uses in almost every situation of a match,

The Skillset of Disruptor

(c) Celths @ steamcommunity.com (Tempest's Wrath Set)

In the following sections I will provide basic information on the values and the effect of Disruptor's abilities. Additionally the different possible uses of the single abilities will be named.

The skill chapters will be followed by a chapter dealing with the possible combinations of multiple skills of Disruptor, explaining in which order to cast and in which situations to use. There I will provide some self-made ingame footages showing the execution of the combos aside the battlefield.

Thunder Strike

1. Data

Type: Targets: Damage Type:

Target Unit Enemy Units Magical

Repeatedly strikes the targeted unit with lightning. Each strike damages nearby enemy units in a small radius. Disruptor's charged coils occasionally overload, and a singed armor plate or tuft of fur is the enemy's result.

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2. Effect

Thunder Strike is a nuke which deal magical damage in four instances over a duration of 6 seconds affecting all enemy units in a 200 AoE around the targeted unit. The first damage instance is dealt immediately after casting. With the levels the damage per instance scales from 40 to 100, dealing a total amount of damage of 400 on level 4, resulting in 300 effective damage taking the basic 25% magic resistance into account.

A thing to note about Thunder Strike is that since 6.85 it only gives vision of the target unit over the full 6 second duration, but not of an area around it anymore. This is important when combining with Glimpse.

Note that Thunder Strike deals damage to targets turning invisible. The damage can only be avoided by turning hidden / invulnerable / magic immune.

The effect does not end upon death of the enemy unit and does deal AoE damage for the full duration at the units location of death.

The cast range of 800 is equal to normal hero vision during nighttime.

• You can use Thunder Strike as a harassment tool, especially when maxed in lane since it has a considerably high magical damage output at higher levels.
  
  
• Or you can use to it to keep track of an fleeing / juking by using the ground vision which is provided over the duration of 6 seconds by Thunder Strike
  

Glimpse

1. Data

Type: Targets:

Target Unit Enemy Heroes

Teleports the target hero back to where it was a few seconds ago. Instantly kills illusions. Playing with electricity can have unexpected results.

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2. Effect

Glimpse may be the signature ability of Disruptor since it is one of the most unique spells in the game. Since it is unique and not self-explaining I will try to provide a basic analysis of its way of functioning:

1. Effect and Indicator:
   
   
   
   • Glimpse can be described as a "send back in time" ability using a teleportation mechanism sending the hero to the location he has been in 4 seconds ago.
     
     
   • The cast range of Glimpse scales hugely as 600/1000/1400/1800. The level 4 cast range of 1800 units uqals the distance of the Radiant Tier 3 Tower to the Radiant Tier 2 Tower. Check the map picture at the end of the chapter to visualize the cast range.
     
     
   • Glimpse can not be dispelled or purged by anything. This includes all purge abilities such as Dark Pact and Diffusal Blade's active Purge. But Glimpse is overridden by magic immunity from Black King Bar.
     
     
   • The Glimpse procedure consists of three elements:
     
     • Casting Glimpse (with no cast delay)
     • Send Back Procedure showing an indicator
     • Teleportation once the Send Back Procedure is done
     
     
   • The time the target is sent back stays 4 seconds on all levels so once you get used to it you'll be able to predict the outcome position even before casting.
     
     
   • Glimpse shows two indicators:
     
     The first indicator has the form of a bolt lightning. The indicator moves in a direct line from the location where the hero is when Glimpse is cast to the location where the hero was four seconds before casting. Upon this indicator's arrival at the final location the enemy hero is instantly teleported there.
     
     This indicator always travels the direct / shortest line between cast position and arrival position with the speed of 600 but max. for 1.8 seconds. This means the send back procedure time can vary depending on the distance the enemy traveled within the last 4 seconds before casting. The maximal send back duration is about 3 seconds when you glimpse a high movement speed target at max range.
     
     Examples: If the enemy did not move in the 4 second time span, the send back teleportation will take place instantly. If the hero traveled 1800 units away from where he was in the 4 second time span the send back procedure will have its max possible duration, which is best to prepare.
     
     The second indicator highlights the area where the first indicator will arrive and the hero will be teleported to as Glimpse is casted. This allows to estimate the time arrival and to prepare the use of further abilities.
     
     In this picture you can see a max distance (1800 units) Glimpse and the two indicators: The ball lightning travelling back the movement path and the highlighted final destination area.
     
     
   • Glimpse is not interrupted / affected by the enemy hero teleporting with Town Portal Scroll or Teleportation or using any Blink ability. This results in being able to Glimpse enemy heroes back to the sport they teleported / blinked from, if it happened within the 4 seconds time span. The send back indicator will teleport back the way the target teleported in, instead of traveling the whole way.
     
     
   • Glimpse has an huge cast range of 1800 on level 4 which equals the day time hero vision, so you are able to Glimpse any hero you have own hero vision on during day.
     
     
   • Also Glimpse destroys illusions instantly.
     
   
   
2. Uses of Glimpse:
   
   
   • Use Glimpse offensively by Glimpseing fleeing or out of position enemy heroes back to a location where they are set up for further lockdown / damage by you and your allies.
     
     
   • You can also use Glimpse defensively by Glimpseing a higher movement sped chaser back in order to prevent him catching up and dealing damage / disabling.
     
     
   • You can reverse teleportations by using Glimpse within 4 seconds after the unit teleported in. This results in the Town Portal Scroll or Teleportation being on cooldown, which can be a great move, if the enemy team tped in assistance for ganks / fights.
     

In this picture I have drawn an circle with an 1800 units radius, to show you the cast range of Glimpse is Disruptor stands on the edge of the radiant mid lane next to the river. The range extends more than half way to the runes and almost to the dire T1 mid lane tower. Keep this example in mind to measure your casting.

Kinetic Field

1. Data

Type: Targets:

Target Point Enemy Units

After a short formation time, creates a circular barrier of kinetic energy that enemies can't pass. The stryder is immune to the gale-force winds that will consume its adversaries.

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2. Effect

Kinetic Field creates an impassable circular barrier after a formation time of 1.2 seconds after casting with a radius of 340. This barrier cannot be passed by walking enemy units including heroes and creeps.

The barrier can be overcome by any movement abilities such as Blink, but once the Kinetic Field is in effect, enemies cannot Force Staff out, but can be forced in.

Additionally Kinetic Field grants 325 units radius ground vision for the target area making it a useful scouting ability for uphill / fog areas, especially the Roshan pit.

• Kinetic Field can be used offensively by setting it up in the retreat path of one or multiple enemy heroes to allow you and your allies to catch up and engage on them.
  
  
• You can also set up defensive Kinetic Fields by dropping it in the chase path of the enemy in order to prevent them from getting into attack / cast range.
  
  
• In teamfights Kinetic Field can be used to keep one high priority of multiple enemies inside the boundaries to set them up for other AoE spells, disables or just some physical damage.
  

This is a sample picture for the Kinetic Fields AoE with an radius of 325 (now slightly bigger with 340 since 6.87), being 125 shorter than Static Storm's AoE.

Static Storm

1. Data

Type: Targets: Damage Type:

Target Point Enemy Units Magical

Creates a damaging static storm that also silences all enemy units in the area for the duration. The damage starts off weak, but increases in power over the duration. Upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter. A summer squall in Druud is a hardship that only an Oglodi can survive.

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2. Effect

Static Storm is an AoE spell that can be deployed with an 800 cast range. It created a circular field with a radius of 450 silencing all enemy units in the effect's AoE.

Static Storm also applies scaling magical damage to all affected units over the time of the duration (5) in 0.25 seconds interval instances (20). The damage dealt increases with every instance, which leads to Static Storm dealing to highest damage at the end of its duration.

The Aghanim's Scepter upgrade is huge:

• It extends Static Storm's duration to 7 seconds dealing a total of 28 damage instances.
  
  
• Since Static Storm's damage increases with every instance the 2 seconds extra duration lead to doubling up the potential damage output from 520/648/780 to max. 1009/1257/1512 with Aghanim's Scepter.
  
  
• Static Storm now adds a mute effect: Mute is an effect that disables active items including Black King Bar.

Uses:

• Offensive Static Storms are used to prevent targets from casting disable or escape abilities, when engaging on them.
  
  
• You can also use Static Storm defensively by placing it at a spot where you know or expect an enemy to initiate in. Do this to prevent big teamfight spells or high damage nukes to be cast in certain areas you do not want to fight in. This works pretty well against blink initiations, when you can predict when and where they want to engage.
  
  
• In teamfights Static Storm should be used to silence and damage either high priority targets or a multiple enemies to allow you team to safely engage on them.
  

This is a sample picture where you can see the AoE of Static Storm having a radius of whopping 450 units. Note that the outer, darker zones of the storm also apply the spell's silencing affect, while the brighter, inner area matches with the Kinetic Field AoE.

Crafting the Storms - Ability Combos incl. Ingame Footage

source: electsister777.wordpress.com

In this chapter I will explain the execution and the uses of the most common Disruptor ability combos and provide on ingame footage for each combo recorded in either wtf mode or taken from a ranked match replay, so you can visualize the proceeding using these.

1. All Skill Single Target Combo:

( )

1. Explanation:
   
   All of Disruptor's abilities are created to combine to one huge combo making use of all of them. Since Thunder Strike and Glimpse are single target abilities the combo also does only work on single targets.
   

   Cast Thunder Strike in order to be granted ground vision on and around the enemy hero for 6 seconds duration while dealing magical damage. Casting Thunder Strike is optional in all cases, but you need to use it, if you expect the enemy to escape out of vision range.

   With the provided vision you cast Glimpse on the target hero as he tries to run away / juke, sending him back to the place he has been in 4 seconds ago, when you and you allied are ready to follow up upon arrival of the Glimpsed enemy.

   Around 1.5 to 1.2 second before arrival of the send back indicator cast Kinetic Field so it is already in effect when the enemy hero is teleported back and cannot escape.

   Once the Kinetic Field is in effect, drop the bigger AoE Static Storm on top of the Field AoE in order to ability silence the caged hero to prevent using nukes, disables or escape abilities. Be sure to cast Static Storm a shortly before the enemy arrives in order give him no chance to cast, but make full use of the spell duration.

   
   Showcase:
   Play Video

   Ingame: Play Video

   In this sequence you can see me Glimpse back Shadow Fiend and set up a Kinetic Field to prevent him from retreating. I needed no Thunder Strike for this one before hands, because my allies provided enough vision. The Static Storm was not really needed to kill Shadow Fiend, but was more of a safety measure in order to prevent Meepo to join the fight.

   
   
2. Uses:
   
   
   
   • Use this all-ability combo to send back, trap and disable elusive escape heroes such as Slark, Storm Spirit Queen of Pain or Anti-Mage.
     
     You will most likely be able to cast Glimpse, when they already Blinked / Pounced / Ball Lightninged away once due to the vast cast range of level 4 Glimpse and the vision of Thunder Strike. Set up Kinetic Field and then drop Static Storm on top of it right before the send back indicator arrives in order to prevent further escape attempts and force them to take the magic damage.
     
     If you allies noticed Glimpse and prepare for the enemy to be sent back, you should try to burst the enemy before the effect of Static Storm or Kinetic Field end, so there won't be any further escaping and juking around.
     

2. Single Target Send Back Cage:

( )

1. Explanation:
   
   This is the some combo as the all-ability combo except ending without the use of Static Storm.
   

   You may have to cast Thunder Strike in order to be granted ground vision on and around the enemy hero for 6 seconds duration while dealing magical damage.

   With the provided vision you cast Glimpse on the target hero as he tries to run away / juke, sending him back to the place he has been in 4 seconds ago, when you and you allied are ready to follow up upon arrival of the Glimpsed enemy.

   Around 1.5 to 1.2 second before arrival of the send back indicator cast Kinetic Field so it is already in effect when the enemy hero is teleported back and cannot escape.

   
   Showcase:
   Play Video

   Ingame: Play Video

   In this little video you can see me in lane with Ember Spirit using Thunder Strike in order to keep track of Bristleback's movement, then Glimpseing him back as he gets closer to his tower range and trapping him with Kinetic Field leaving the kill for the safelane farmer. Maybe Bristleback would have died anyway, but better safe than sorry, though Quill Spray did some serious harm during this procedure.

   
   
2. Uses:
   
   
   
   • Use this trapping combo to set up targets that have no escape mechanism and can be killed safely without endangering any of your allies. If you want to be better safe than sorry, use the full combo. But if you can predict that your team will be able to bring the target down without the use of the AoE silence then save Static Storm for possible engagements after.
     

3. Single Target Send Back:

( )

1. Explanation:
   
   This combo is not a real combo, but more just a single target send back. w
   

   You may have to cast Thunder Strike in order to be granted ground vision on and around the enemy hero for 6 seconds duration while dealing magical damage.

   With the provided vision you cast Glimpse on the target hero as he tries to run away / juke, sending him back to the place he has been in 4 seconds ago, when you and you allied are ready to follow up upon arrival of the Glimpsed enemy.

   
   Showcase:
   Play Video

   Ingame: Play Video

   Here you can see me Glimpse back Bristleback as he is retreating in our safelane in order to grant Ember Spirit more time to deal dps on him. The result of this is the first blood being received by our 1st position carry, which is a big deal.

   
   
   
   
2. Uses:
   
   
   
   • Use the send back without any own follow up, when the enemy is so low that you are absolutely sure to bring him down without any trapping / disabling.
     
     You also have to make use of this shortened combo, when Kinetic Field is on cooldown, which is not likely to happen often because of its really short cooldown time of 10 seconds on level 4.
     

4. (Multi Target) Field to Static:

1. Explanation:
   
   This is the basic multiple targets set up in ganks or teamfights.
   

   Use Kinetic Field on (preferably stunned) enemy heroes in order to keep them in place for follow up spells.

   When you are sure, the barrier will rise around the targets you want to disable, follow up with an Static Storm in order to nuke and silence them to allow a safe take down attempt. If you want to prevent any casting immeadiatly, use Static Storm instantly after you have set the Kinetic Field. You can also prolong this, if you want to be sure that the target heroes are trapped.

   
   Showcase:
   Play Video

   Ingame: Play Video

   In this short footage you can see Queen of Pain ganking my lane with a Haste Rune. As she already Blinked in I start the combo with Kinetic Field dropping the Static Storm immediatly after in order to shut her down and prevent her from using any furhter skills.

   
   
2. Uses:
   
   
   
   • Proceed setting up with Kinetic Field and using Static Storm after, when the enemy heroes you initiate on do not possess escape mechanisms. You should use this either on high priority targets or enemies who have big major teamfight spells off cooldown to prevent them from making use of it in this fight.
     

5. (Multi Target) Static into Field:

1. Explanation:
   
   This is the basic multiple or single target initiation for escape heroes and big AoE spell heroes.

   Drop Static Storm centered on top of the high priority target or multiple enemies to silence them.

   Set up the Kinetic Field instantly after you have cast Static Storm in order for it to be in effect before the enemy can reach its boundary and get out.

   
   Showcase:
   Play Video

   Ingame: Play Video

   Here you can see me locking down heavily farmed Doom and Bristleback. As I notice Storm Spirit disables Doom with Electric Vortex I jump in with Blink Dagger and start with Static Storm to silence and prevent Doom to be casted. I follow up with an instant Kinetic Field leaving them as easy food for my allies. I guess they would not have lived anway, but this was a sure shot.

2. Uses:
   
   
   
   • Lock enemies down with Static Storm first, when you expect them to escape with abilities or items once they notice the Kinetic Field formation, which takes 1.2 seconds to take place.
     

6. Town Portal (In / Out) Cancelling:

1. You can use Glimpse within 4 seconds after an enemy tp'd in to a tower to defend or fight. You will send them back to the location, where they ported from leavin their Town Portal Scroll on cooldown.
   Play Video
   
2. You can also use Glimpse to prevent an enemy from tp'ing out by casting Glimpse on him once he started channeling the Town Portal Scroll.
   Play Video

Skill Builds Justification

source: dotabuff

As usual I disclaim, that the builds are not to be understood as fix sequences. You may have to adapt to the situation you are put in by swapping the skill build or priotizing a specific ability in order to have the utility you need. In general the provided skill sequences are effective in every mediocre match. I will list some cases in which one of these skill builds could be more benefitial than the other.

Build Independent Assumptions

There are some basic guidelines that in my opinion apply to all skill builds I provide at this time:

• Static Storm at 6, 11, 16:
  
  First and foremost you want to pick up Static Storm as soon as possible and max it out at level 16. Static Storm is just too impactful especially in early game to not pick it up asap. Usually if there is a situation where you can pull off any Static Storm combo this should result in an single target take down or even multiple kills.
  
  
• Kinetic Field uasually at last:
  
  In most of all cases I save up maxing Kinetic Field at last after both Glimpse and Thunder Strike. The reason for this is because it does no scale as good as the other abilities of Disruptor. Thunder Strike adds 80 damage damage per level (20 via 4 instances). Glimpses cast range drastically improves 400 per level and its cooldown decreases by 14 seconds each level. For Kinetic Field each level gives 0.5 seconds more duration and a cooldown reduction by 1 second.
  
  In my opinion these values show clearly that maxing one of the other abilities brings way more benefits than leveling up Kinetic Field that is already pretty useful and spammable at level 1. Which one of the other spells to max first depends on the lane's situation and your lane's set up.
  
  
• Variability of the first levels:
  
  The first levels should never be skilled statically. Especially the first 3 levels can be spread to one level of all abilities of Disruptor, so you have his complete skill set ready. You have to adapt to the laning situation and maybe have to contest a rune at the 0 minute mark. So spend you first skill point as you predict will have the most use for you early on. After this you can start maxing a specific ability, which you consider most impactful in this certain match up.
  

Build #1: The Lane Harasser (1. Thunder Strike 2. Glimpse)

In this skill build Thunder Strike is maxed by level 7, picking each other spell once starting with Glimpse at level 2.

To max Thunder Strike first is the most popular and common way to skill Disruptor. The reason for skilling like this is the high magical damage output Thunder Strike provides (160, 240, 320, 400). This is reliable damage that can be dealt to the enemy, most likely the enemy solo offlaner. You can force him to use tons of onsumables and force him further back in lane to deny him experience.

In this build I pick up Glimpse at level 2 because you are most likely to get more out of Glimpse than out of Kinetic Field so early. Usually the enemy will try to not be in place where you can properly cage him and catch up in order to deal some damage. Glimpse can punish mispositioning way harder and forces the enemy to back off earlier and further away in order to not get send into the creepwave or follow up damage / stuns. If the other allies on you lane provide hard disables / stuns / slows one Glimpse at the right time can be enough to set up for a kill.

If you have to contest runes with abilities you might have to skill Glimpse or Kinetic Field at level one to save the rune for you allies. If you have done so, skill, but want to proceed in this skill build, get Thunder Strike at level 2 and 3 and proceed regularly.


Scenarios:

You want to go with this build and take the ensured magical damage harass from maxed Thunder Strike

• when you face a hero with an escape mechanism after Glimpse like Weaver, Slark or Mirana, or you have to deal with Io / Relocate
  
  
• when you do not want to kill attempt continously (maybe because the enemy is too beefy like Centaur Warrunner or has enough assistance himself)
  
  
• when your lane does not have enough follow up disables for further lockdown.
  
  
• when you do not plan on ganking / fighting much.
  
  

Build #2: The Repositioner (1. Glimpse 2. Thunder Strike)

Maxing Glimpse first is my favorite skill build. The cooldown reduction and enormous cast range make you a high distance threat. You can punish every little mispositioning from huge distance. You can Glimpse enemies, when coming from the pull camps or standing under the range of your tower. The cooldown reducation makes this whole thing even more threatening to the enemy heroes.

If your allies on your lane have a follow up combo consisting of more than one disable or nuke, maxing Glimpse is almost obligatory because this is your initiation / gap closer. You can just start going on an enemy and once he ran away a few seconds bring him back in with Glimpse to follow up with your procedure.

If your ally / allies do not posses any ability to go for early take down attempts, you should consider the harassment build over this one.

Scenarios:

You want to take advantage of a strong, leveled up Glimpse

• when your lane has follow up stuns / disable / nukes, that could bring down the enemy target when Glimpsed
  
  
• when the magic harass from Thunder Strike would be wasted (because of high hp regen and / or magic resistance)
  
  
• when you want tp go gank (mid) once or continously with Glimpse
  
  
• when you expect multiple ganks coming to your lane and want to disengage with Glimpse

Build #3: The Trapper (1. Glimpse 2. Kinetic Field)

This build is also Glimpse max build, but continues with Kinetic Field being skilled at levels 8-10. Though in my opinion Kinetic Field does not scale very well, you might be in matches, where you and your team really need your maximal duration Kinetic Fields in order to catch up and pull off efficient fights.

Scenarios:

You want to have Kinetic Field maxed in the midgame

• when you team relies or greatly benefits from a AoE lockdown in early to mid game fights
  
  
• when one or multiple of your allies profit from enemies being held in place as long as possible (e.g. Troll Warlord or Shadow Fiend)
  

Talent Tree Progression

1. Options

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2. Justification

Overall I feel like the talent tree of Disruptor is pretty well put together and there is no optiont which is not viable. Pretty much all the following thoughts are suggestions and the tactical options (Respawn Time, Gold) pretty much depend on how the game is gonna develop (early/late) and what you are trying to aim for. Also the skill buffs are pretty much depending on you playstyle and needs.

• Level 10
  
  100 cast range or 60 gold per minute? The choice pretty much depends on the length of the game. If you need to end before you even get level 20, you should get the cast range. If you plan on or are forced to go late game, maybe you'll be better off getting the extra gold and try to get some luxury items like Veil of Discord or Aghanim's Scepter.
  
  
• Level 15
  
  Same thing again. Do you desperately need more utility and crowd control? Get the Kinetic Field cooldown reduction (10 to 7 at level 4). I feel like this is not quite a nice gimmick, but if your fight are going well over all, I would suggest picking the respawn time reduction, getting you back into business real quick in mid game, when the respawn time is still considerably short. Even more so, if you tend to get picked off quite regularly.
  
  
• Level 20
  
  Level 20 is the classic offensive/defensive option. If you wanna buff up your magic damage output with Thunder Strike and especiall Static Storm maybe even on top of Veil of Discord, go for the spell damage amplification. I usually only get the raw health, if I totally struggle against getting bursted down too easily by gankers like Nyx Assassin. Overall the spell damage is the more viable option, because you bring a **** load of magic damage to the battlefield.
  
  
• Level 25
  
  The level 25 choice depend more on your enemies line up. Do they bring strong casters like Lina or Zeus to the field? Then you might get more off of the magic resistance. But in general I suggest doubling up the Thunder Strike hits from 4 to 8. This not only deals double the magic damage (800 at level 4), but also lets you keep track on enemies for 14 seconds. Also 8 Thunder Strike hits help you push and counterpush in late game more effectivel.

Item Build Justification

(c) VALVE

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Datdota Items Stats for 6.86

(c) Datdota.com

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Starting Items

When you are set as the 5th position support or even solo support for your team, you are responsible to provide the Animal Courier and Observer Ward at the fountain. If there is another support and you are 4th position you should still purchase one of these, if not the other support is willing to purchase both.

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This is the standard all-round consumables package providing enough regen to sustain a long time in lane, if playing cautiously. Use the Claritys to regen up, when harassing or ganking.

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Alternative Starting Picks

Sentry Wards should be purchased, if there is one or more invisible heroes on the enemy team in order to provide true sight, when needed. If you already have bought Animal Courier and Observer Wards, deliver Sentry Wards as soon as you have the spare gold. This applies also, if the pull camp is blocked and you lane profits from being pulled for.

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If the basic support stuff is already provided by the secondary support, you can opt for Boots of Speed if you a) want to harass more efficiently and freely due to higher initial movement speed and b) want to rotate faster to the midlane for ganks. In this case you will have to play even more cautiously because you are lacking regen and will have to return to base once it's used.

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Smoke of Deceit is an alternative initial pick up, if you already plan on ganking mid (which you should!). It allows you to pass enemy vision undetected and initiate from the fog behind the enemy midlaner, if he goes on low ground for lasthits or to rune spots. This is a cheap and rewarding item, if you manage to use this efficiently.

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If you expect to have a intense lane and not lot of off-the-lane time you can swap the Claritys for an Enchanted Mango to be able to instantly refill your mana pool in order to engage/disengage. I consider this a viable choice since icefrog reduced its gold cost to 125 with 6.85.

Boots Alternatives

In my opinion Arcane Boots are the most viable way to go on Disruptor since this solves the early mana pool / regen issues for him. To maximize a proper use of his mana intensive spells (70, 100, 130, 125-225) force him in increasing his total mana pool and mana regeneration somehow. Arcane Boots are one efficient way to solve this problem for you (+250 mana) and your teammates at the same time (AoE mana replenishment). There is no option for Arcane Boots when there is an ally carry that is mana dependent like e.g. Wraith King. Example: At level 6 with Magic Wand and no further intelligence item Disruptor has a mana pool of 487 and a mana regeneration of ~ 1,5/s. Using all of his abilities once (including Static Storm level 1) already costs whopping 425 mana.

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The other option for early to mid-game are Tranquil Boots. They are 450 gold cheaper than Arcane Boots. The clear upside of these are the (unbroken) movement speed bonus of +90 making Disruptor more mobile for positioning, but you will have to get a positioning item anyway since move speed alone isn't enough. The armor bonus comes in handy, but does not make Tranquil Boots the big deal. If you aim for other items providing a lot of intelligence ( Force Staff, Eul's Scepter of Divinity, Aghanim's Scepter) and get these in time, you do not necessarily need Arcane Boots and can go for Tranquil Boots. Also if you do not expect teamfights so long that you will have to cast a huge amount of spells, this can be a good option.

Useful Early Picks

These considerably cheap items are possible early picks in the laning stage. In most cases you should grab an early Magic Stick and one other of these items to sustain through laning. Which ones you want to purchase depends mainly on your needs and your planned item progression into the mid game.

Build out of Iron Branches the Magic Wand is another cost efficient item providing stats and the charge mechanism. If you already have picked some initial Iron Branches go for it, otherwise I recommend you getting this anyway, when the enemy relies on multiple casters / spammable spells in fights and ganks.

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A Bracer is a very cost efficient item granting a little bit of survivability due to the +6 strength bonus resulting in 114 more hp while providing agility and intelligence too. It is a decent option to overcome the early to mid-game fragility of Disruptor. If do not go for other strength items like Urn of Shadows, you should always consider picking up a fast Bracer for the little extra tankiness, sometimes even before Arcane Boots.

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The Urn of Shadows is actually a very useful and my favorite early pick since it passively gives Disruptor extra 114 hp by +6 bonus strength and the Sage's Mask mana regeneration (~1 mana/s depending on amount of int). The soul release mechanic is a great way to keep your and your allies hp high or nuke down low hp targets. You are most likely to gain souls during ganking, which you should be doing since the Glimpse combos are just too effective to not be used on a regular basis. If I decided to aim for Mekansm, I usually skip Urn of Shadows because they deal a similar purpose (survivability, team hp regen).

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In my opinion Bottle can be a situational, but viable pick up on a support Disruptor on both the offlane and the safelane. An early Bottle after or even before Boots of Speed can help you sustain in lane and be able to gank even more efficiently with invisibility or haste. If a Bottle is worth its cost depends mainly on how sure you are about constantly contesting / picking runes. If your midlaner has a rune advantage or doesn't go for Bottle, you can communicate that you are going to pick the rune closest to you, where Glimpse and Kinetic Field are great mechanisms to assure saving the rune pick. Do not purchase a Bottle, if you predict that you are not going to be able to pick at least the majority of them since Bottle-crowing is not worth the 700 gold.

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Point Booster can be a great pick, if you plan on purchasing Aghanim's Scepter later on. It provides a nice mana and hp boost granting extra sustainability to Disruptor, when entering mid game. Depending on your other positioning / defensive needs, picking up Point Booster pretty early can be a matter of living or dieing when participating in ganks.

Positioning

The positioning / mobility section is in my opinion the most important part of the build. As positioning is crucial for your success on Disruptor you usually want to get one of these in any match in order to engage / disengage freely. The choice depends on your personal playstyle and the hero set up for this match. So take your time to think about the suggestions, if you are not already sure, which utility fits your playstyle the most and is of more use in specific situations.

Force Staff is one of the most built items on Disruptor and that for good reason. It extends you initiation range by 600, allowing a max range level 4 Glimpse in a distance of 2400 units and to cast your other abilities when the enemy is 1400/1500 units away. Also it allows you to get back to safety behind your enemies once you have set up a fight by forcing yourself out of the danger zone. Also you can surpass impassable terrain areas like cliff or trees in order to juke around and get out of enemy vision. The additional benefit of Force Staff is its ability to reposition allies and enemies alike. You can push allies closer to locked down targets or away when being chased / disabled. Also you can reposition enemies into Kinetic Field or Static Storm as they face into the right direction, which is not easy to manage, but quite worth trying. After all Force Staff is a huge pick on Disruptor as is allows so many different typed of usage. Also it provides an intelligence boost increasing your mana pool, which is very useful too. You are never wrong building Force Staff as there are always ways to benefit from its usage.

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The Blink Dagger is the other great mobility item for Disruptor, being one of the most built items in competitive matches and often a first item pick up, though it has be purchased at once sharing the price with Force Staff. The initiation range becomes enormous when utilizing Blink Dagger. When being granted vision by Thunder Strike or Observer Wards, the you can level 4 [color=#ff8000]Glimpse[/color] enemies who are 3000 units (!) away. This is most likely to bring back a Storm Spirit who Ball Lightninged out. The initiation with your other spells can happen from a distance of 2000/2100. This allows you stay out of day vision (1800) and then blink in to surprise initiate on enemy heroes once they clumped up for Static Storm and Kinetic Field. This makes Blink Dagger a way more aggressive item than Force Staff, which can pay off hugely, if you are confident in proper initiating. The defensive uses are not as great as Force Staff's, because once initiated on, the Blink Dagger activity gets cancelled. But still you can Glimpse back chasers and hope for it to reactivate. This said, Blink Dagger is a high-risk-high-reward pick up and can amplify your game impact as an initiator big time.

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Eul's Scepter of Divinity is on another page as Force Staff and Blink Dagger are since it does not increase initiation range, but synergizes well with Disruptor's skillset also. It is a little bit more expensive than the item mentioned before, but also provides much more passive stats including intelligence, sufficient mana regeneration and a movement speed buff, which is great as a midgame pick up. Using the active Cyclone allows another type of initiation: You can Cyclone an enemy hero and put Kinetic Field right under him in order to assure him being trapped with an optional Static Storm to follow. This can be done when Glimpse is on cooldown. The same mechanic work for defensive uses as well, trapping a chaser in a Kinetic Field or blocking a chase path for multiple enemy heroes. Keep in mind that you won't be able to initiate fights / ganks with Eul's Scepter of Divinity only without one of the before mentioned items. You might want to skip Blink Dagger and Force Staff for this one if your team has reliable initiation or you need it in order to cancel specific spells / heroes (e.g. Spirit Breaker's Charge of Darkness

Midgame Options

There are some cases in which your team or you require some midgame supportive items in order to be able to take engagements, when the laning phase is over. All of these are situational pick ups that can benefit your team, but you do not necessarily have to purchase any of these in a game. If your team is well composed, you can try to skip a midgame item in order to get a Aghanim's Scepter (or another late game utility needed) in time for when the match transitions into late game.

Glimmer Cape is a pretty common and very useful pick. In 6.86 it is the most bought core item on Disruptor. Escpecially if you decide to not go for any separate positioning items, Glimmer Cape's active allows repositioning before, in or after fights. The main deal in my eyes though is that is gives the possibility to glimmer an ally to allow a retreat or repositioning. Most likely you want to supply your carry or initiator with the invisibility for either initiation or retreating. The spell resistance is a nice little bonus since Disruptor is a pretty low hp hero and somewhat fragile to stuns and nukes.

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The 6.86 all new item Aether Lens provides some really useful benefits for Disruptor. Aether Lens grants a very handy +200 cast range bonus. You can use your high impact spells from even further away. It also enables Disruptor to cast level 4 Glimpse with a huge cast range of 2000 units, which is outside of the daytime hero vision range of 1800. The magic damage bonus gives Static Storm quite the edge. This applies even more when carrying Aghanim's Scepter already. The rest of the boni are welcome for the relative low price, though HP regen is not quite what your looking for primarily.

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Mekansm is one of the most bought non-boots item on Disruptor as on any 4th or 5th position support. It offers quite some overall tankiness with +5 to all attributes and +5 armor, while giving some extra mana too. If you try to rush Mekansm you can safely skip Urn of Shadows and similar items in order to get this done maybe 3-5 mins earlier. The later you get Mekansm, the less impact it will have. The burst heal is great for pushing towers or breaking base and teamfighting especially in the early and midgame. These are the situations Disruptor should always participate in since this is where he is most effective due to his skill set until it starts falling off into the late game. If you have a lot of team presence in this time span, try getting Mekansm up as soon as possible. If you want to go for an mobility item first depends on your team's need for initiation and your own defensive needs.

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The Pipe of Insight is as usual a situational item being mostly bought alternatively to Mekansm in the case you face a lot of magical damage nukers like Lina or big magical damage AoE spells like Freezing Field. This is a pretty big commitment for a mid game item, so decide to go so only, if you see your team being unable to progress like you would because of vast amounts of magical damage. Note that this only provides tankiness in way of 30% increased spell resistance, not by other passive stats, so you have to take care of your physical survivability in another way.

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Ghost Scepter is also a situational defensive item, which is an option you might have to consider when going late. The case to opt for Ghost Scepter is when the enemy carry is a mobile high dps hero like Phantom Assassin or Troll Warlord which are most like to have Black King Bar too at some time. In order to not be (blink) initiated on and bursted down, get a Ghost Scepter to switch into ethereal state, but watch out for enemy high magical damage nukes like Laguna Blade which are amplified by 40%, when being ethereal.

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The Veil of Discord is somewhat more of an aggressive item for the case that you want to buff up your team's magical damage output, so consider this kind of the counterpart to Pipe of Insight. It synergizes really well with Static Storm, but I suggest getting this, when there is one big or multiple other big magical damage abilities on your team. Like Mekansm Veil of Discord provides a huge bunch of survivability stats with +6 attributes and +6 armor, so in this way these both items are pretty similar, what might be a reason to go either for one or the other.

Lategame & Luxury

There are some late game items that suit Disruptor very well and can give him serious lategame relevance, when more enemies already have Black King Bars. Especially the Aghanim's Scepter is a great pick since it can mute the use of Black King Bar, if you manage to effectively initiate the upgraded Static Storm.

I listed Aghanim's Scepter as the first luxury item in this section, because I consider being the Static Storm upgrade on of the most impactful and well-designed upgrade over all. The Aghanims Scepter upgrade increases the duration of Static Storm by 2 to 7 seconds, which doubles the effective total damage output, if applied for the total duration. The big deal of the upgrade though is the addition of an Mute (Active Item Disable) to the Static Storm effect rendering enemies unable to use botch spells and items alike. This makes the trapped enemies defenseless and they have to rely on their auto attack, while dealing more instances of magical damage. Aghanim's Scepter is really paying off when the enemy core heroes / high priority targets have active items, they would make use of being trapped under in Static Storm like Eul's Scepter of Divinity, Scythe of Vyse or Satanic any many more. Passively Aghanim's Scepter grant a huge attribute, hp and mana boost, making Disruptor really beefy and not easy to burst. Note that the upgraded Static Storm does not deactivate passive abilities (= Break) or passive item effects / auras! If you manage to afford a luxury item over all, Aghanim's Scepter should be always a consideration and the go-to-item, if your team does not need another utility item more badly. Aghanim's Scepter is almost always viable and paying off.

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The Scythe of Vyse is always a big pick, but also costs a huge bunch of gold. If you get into the lucky position to have a huge bunch of gold in late game, consider getting Scythe of Vyse, when you go against an enemy team that is playing around one carry who concentrates most farm and damage output on himself. If the hero does not rely on actives that could be countered by upgraded Static Storm, but on his physical dps and passives like Phantom Assassin or Sniper, being able to hex him is a huge advantage and chance to bring him down. The huge mana and mana regen boost and the attribute boni are awesome, but still you pay a hell of a lot for it, so better think twice before being punished for starting an item that will never be completed.

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Shiva's Guard is also a really good pick, though being expensive too. You should favor this over the two single-target-disable items mentioned before, when you go versus a very balanced team with similar net worth and xp. Shiva's Guard's active AoE movement and attack speed slow allows easier initiations on multiple enemy heroes. This is a great team supporting item, granting a lot of armor, which is nice when facing multiple physical damage sources. The intelligence from the Mystic Staff part is great, but at high cost.

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Rod of Atos is a little bit cheaper and faster late game item, which synergizes pretty well with Kinetic Field. Its active slow (Cripple) makes trapping enemies easy without relying on stuns or Glimpse, which can be very useful for offensive or defensive purposes. Rod of Atos also provides raw hp and a lot of intelligence both being very welcome when going late. Do not overlook this rarely bought item, because it will be available sooner than the "big" luxury items.

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Necronomicon is an item that is not often picked on Disruptor and in fact is situational. The level 1 book is relatively cheap, but also offers the opportunity to upgrade it even further. This might be an option, if your team does rely on split pushing or trades in order to win the game or your team is running a push strategy from the beginning. It also offers intelligence and strength, which is what Disruptor needs.

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6.84 invented the Guardian Greaves being built from Arcane Boots + Mekansm + Recipe (1650) costing 5300 in total. I consider this item a viable pick up, if you already have both Mekansm and Arcane Boots. This can save you up an item slot in late game, if needed. The passive Guardian Aura is a pretty nice thing, when it comes to teamfighting, granting a big survivability boost against physical dps as your allies drop low. Though it is pretty expensive, it might be a better option to opt for the upgrade instead of trying to build a whole new late game item, though I guess it's not worth building, if you do not already possess the parts since mid game.

Counter or Be Countered

(c) Shifty44 @ deviantart.com

Heroes being extraordinary vulnerable to Disruptor

Disruptor comes with a skill set that can do harm to almost any hero as long as they did not picked up Black King Bar, which cannot be pierced by any of your spells (except Aghanim's Scepter upgraded Static Storm muting BKB too).

Since the picking Disruptor is often triggered by the attempt to counter certain heroes and strategies / mechanics, I will go through some of the cases in which you might want to consider Disruptor.

Slark actually deserves a special mention, because he is a very unique and nasty foe, if snowballing into mid game. Though most supports are pretty vulnerable to Slark especially with Shadow Blade for initiation, Disruptor still provides good control over his illusiveness. Slark relies on this active skills Dark Pact, Pounce and Shadow Dance to be very evasive, hard to catch and difficult to bring down, which allows him to snowball considerably easy. Disruptor can counter Slark's escaping mechanics by using his abilities properly. Usually you have to do the full combo in order to lockdown Slark. If you want to initiate with Thunder Strike in order to be granted vision for the Glimpse back, remember that Slark can dispel / purge Thunder Strike with Dark Pact which results in loss of vision, so usually you either be sure you have other vision sources or use Glimpse before he can purge himself. Once you Glimpsed Slark, you need to be sure to have Static Storm in effect when Slark is send back, since otherwise he will either Pounce out of the AoE or go into Shadow Dance becoming not targetable. Also try to set Kinetic Field early enough for it to be formed when Slark comes back in. If you timed the Static Storm right, you and your allies have about 4-5 seconds (6-7 with Aghanim's Scepter) to burst down Slark or layer other stuns on him. Note that the Glimpse send back effect cannot be by anything including the "strong dispel" of Dark Pact. Also it interrupts movement effects like Pounce.

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Disruptor also can deal pretty well with this pesky Weaver. Like Slark Weaver relies on his abilities Shukuchi and Time Lapse in order to move around freely. The upside when going against Weaver is that he has to show every 4 seconds for atleast 2 seconds. Once tracked with Thunder Storm Glimpseing isnt a big deal. Since Weaver is not that tanky, there is a good chance of killing the insect before he leaves the AoE. But be aware that you have to Static Storm Weaver as soon as he gets sent back, because otherwise he will just use Time Lapse to avoid getting caught and trapped. Also check for Linken's Sphere bein up, because you will have to use Force Staff or Thunder Strike in order to break it before being able to make use of Glimpse.

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Disruptor is a great hero to counter blink heroes like Anti-Mage and Queen of Pain. The Thunder Strike vision will help you keep track of them, when blinking away. Since they cannot blink away further than 1150 / 1300 units, you have a good shot at having them still in the level 4 Glimpse range of 1800 and bring them back in and prevent further blinks with Static Storm. Keep in mind, that you will definitely need assistance to bring down the target once he is caught and trapped, when the game has left early game, where you have a shot at nuking squishy targets down.

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Storm Spirit and Puck share some habits with Slark regarding their illusiveness which is based on Ball Lightning and Illusory Orb. Disruptor has the tools to shut down these mid heroes in the early and mid-game, preventing them from snowballing out of control. As long as Storm Spiritdoes not have enough mana to Ball Lightning out of the Glimpse range and they do not have Black King Bars, you will be able to send them back into Static Storm + Kinetic Field. This is most likely the best chance to bring Storm Spirit or Puck down as they are pretty much defenseless being silenced. Be careful, when trying to initiate with the Static Storm without Glimpse since Storm Spirit and Puck will try to bait out your ultimate and Ball Lightning or Blink Dagger out before being affected. So either use Glimpse or wait for a stun / disable from an ally in order to safely set up your ultimate.

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Disruptor is commonly used as a Io counter in competitive matches. The reason for this mainly is Disruptor being able to mess up Relocate action with Glimpse. Within 4 seconds after Relocating in you can Glimpse either Io back to his starting position, isolating his ally without chance of return or Glimpse Io's ally in order to catch out Io itself. Also the Static Storm Kinetic Field combo usually results in Io going down, which can be a good step at the beginning of an engagement to prevent any Relocate saves and Tether healing.

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Also Tinker's way of moving around the map is countered by Disruptor. Once targeted with Thunder Strike as he appears on a lane, you are set to Glimpse him back in and lock him down in your Static Field combo. Since Tinker in most cases relies on his Blink Dagger functioning to be able to jump around in the treelines, you have a good shot at bringing him down with some help when he is trapped and silenced. When going against Tinker your positioning is crucial. You need to get into range to apply Thunder Strike or Glimpse. In order to do so you will most likely need a Blink Dagger or at least a Force Staff. But be careful to not engage until he is silenced, when he is farmed, because he will Laser and Dagon nuke you in an instant.

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Like most of the other heroes in this section Ember Spirit's high mobility can be countered on a certain level by the Glimpse combo. Ember Spirit relies on his Fire Remnant to change positions aggressively or defensively. If he does not have a safety Fire Remnant place outside of the 1800 Glimpse cast range and tries to place remnants as he is escpaing, you will most likely be able to Glimpse him back in and apply the usual Static Storm treatment. But act carefully, if Ember Spirit has come late and picked a lot of farm since his autoattacks can hurt anyway.

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These two stand representing for heroes, who try to channel big AoE ultimates in teamfights. If you are positioning well and do not get initiated on, Glimpse enables you to disrupt any channeling abilities from a huge distance. The other way to deal with this kind of heroes is to isolate them before engaging with Glimpse into Static Storm and kill them before making use of their big spells. But care when you try to do so, because you have to be sure to be able to kill them before Static Storm ends, because otherwise you set up a huge Black Hole or Ravage for free!!!

What to dodge as Disruptor

I consider Phantom Assassin one of the most dangerous foes for Disruptor in general, because she provides everything to not be threatened by his skills: Phantom Strike can be used to jump out of Kinetic Field. Also she can just Phantom Strike burst down Disruptor with some RNG-luck before the Glimpse send back can get into effect . Also Phantom Assassin is not very impressed by Static Storm because Blur and Coup de Grace stay in effect as they are passives. Also she tends to rush early Black King Bars, which allows her to counter your combos, if really needed.

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Disruptor is pretty defenseless against all heroes that he does not see coming. Nyx Assassin's Vendetta and Clinkz's Skeleton Walk allow them to sneak up behind Disruptor and either burst him down before he can get off Glimpse or even silence him with Orchid Malevolence. Since Disruptor has no hard cc, disaarm or escape mechanism he is very vulnerable to sneaking and bursting.

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Pretty much all kinds of early Orchid Malevolence and Shadow Blade gankers mean danger for Disruptor since he is completely defenseless without his abilities like almost every support. If you see the enemy building a very gank focused, high pressure draft you should adapt your item build very early. In this case you need an early Force Staff or Ghost Scepter depending on the type of ganks incoming to be able to dodge the incoming burst damage.

Competitive Pick Analysis

(c) VALVE

In this section I will provide you some matches, which either an actual stuff from current tournaments or I found teaching on how to skill or build Disruptor. I am very happy to see Disruptor (like Undying too) is witnessing some occasional picks in the competitive meta game.

If you are interested, you can look up the Competitive Pick Tier List for 6.83 (or other updates / time spans). In the current metagame of 6.83 Disruptor has become a Tier 3 (situationally banned / picked) hero, placing him right in the middle of the possible pick/ban range.

Recently in 6.85 and 6.86 Disruptor has witnessed his revival. He has now become somewhat of a top tier pick with a whopping winrate of almost 70% some days into 6.86. I am very glad that the use potential of Disruptor finally comes to competitive use.

Disruptor by Team Malaysia MUSHI - Starladder Seasons 12 LAN Finals vs. Team Secret (24.04.2015)

Play Video MATCH-ID: 1420816727

Draft in this order: Secret:

MY:

MY picks Disruptor with the second pick as a 5th position support. You can consider this a counter pick to the previously first picked Io of Secret since Disruptor can mess up Relocates pretty easily and from huge range with Glimpse. This will force Secret to play more cautiously with their Io ganks and limits his use, which otherwise could have way more impact. MY.Mushi follows this skill sequence: 1 - Thunder Strike 2 - Glimpse 3 - Kinetic Field 4 - Glimpse 5 - Glimpse 6 - Static Storm 7 - Glimpse 8 - Thunder Strike 9 - Thunder Strike 10 - Thunder Strike 11 - Static Storm MY.Mushi goes in this game with the Glimpse max like I like to do a lot too. This skilling is addressed to Io. Mushi wants to have the max range Glimpse up and running as early as possible in order to be able to properly react to Relocate ganks from the get go. Then he maxes Thunder Strike right after, like I suggest doing since you usually want to leave the worst scaling skill Kinetic Field for last. Of course Static Storm is picked up as it gets available. MY. Mushi does not manage to get into building any mid game items and ends up sticking only with Magic Wand and Tranquil Boots while providing Malaysia with support stuff. Pretty sad we do not see Mushi progress further item wise, but there always will be games you won't be able to get anywhere close to a midgame or lategame item. Spoiler: Click to view Unfortunately Team Malaysia end up not striking through with their strategy, though having an advantage in the early game. MY.Mushi shows stats of 0-8-12 on the scoreboard, which is a rather poor outcome, but conditioned by the Phantom Assassin being a mean foe for Disruptor. Anyway -- good game, well played!

Disruptor by Vici Gaming FY - Starladder Seasons 12 LAN Finals vs. London Conspiracy (24.04.2015)

Play Video MATCH-ID: 1420243583

Draft in this order: VG:

LC:

VG get the Disruptor pick at slot 3 in the seconds pick phase. And again -- this Disruptor is a counter pick to Io, which has been picked recently before. Here applies the same reasoning as before for Team Malaysia's pick. VG.fy skill Disruptor like this: 1 - Thunder Strike 2 - Kinetic Field 3 - Glimpse 4 - Glimpse 5 - Glimpse 6 - Static Storm 7 - Glimpse 8 - Kinetic Field 9 - Kinetic Field 10 - Kinetic Field 11 - Static Storm 12 - Thunder Strike 13 - Thunder Strike 14 - Thunder Strike 15 - Stats MY.Mushi also goes for Glimpse max first at level 7, though mixing up the first levels -- like I explained in the justification chapter -- by getting Thunder Strike and Kinetic Field and then picking all levels of Glimpse. Here again the reason to for the Glimpse max is the presence of Io and countering Relocate as soon as possible. Interesting is the maxing of Kinetic Field second. This is the max full disable build, which you can prefer, when your team heavily relies on Disruptor's disables to win early fights. Especially when going with heroes like Troll Warlord who hugely benefit from set ups, Kinetic Field can offer more potential than Thunder Strike, which might be one reason VG.fy chose to go this way. VG.fy's item progression: This is somewhat of a typical item progression. A casual Magic Stick, the standard Arcane Boots, early Urn of Shadows for some tankiness and sustain. The only interesting item is Eul's Scepter of Divinity which is picked as a situational item instead of a real mobility item like Blink Dagger or Force Staff. VG.fy probably picks Eul's in order to be able to a) interrupt Bane channeling Fiend's Grip and b) dodge Juggernaut's Omnislash and c) set up Disruptor's other abilities and further disable layering. Spoiler: Click to view VG end up winning this game at 30 minutes with VG.fy having insane stats of 3/1/18 at the scoreboard. This is a game where the Disruptor counter pick to Io worked out very nicely and VG.fy gets to show the true potential of Disruptor. Good game, well played!

Disruptor by LGD.cn MMY - D2CL 5 China Qual. UB Semi Finals vs. iG (29.03.2015)

Play Video MATCH-ID: 1358517108

Draft in this order: iG:

LGD.cn:

This is a match where you can see the game and Disruptor going late game, so you can study how to progress with skills and items into the later stages of the game as the 5th position dual safelane support for Razor. LGD.cn get the Disruptor pick 4th in the seconds pick phase. This time the pick is not a real counter pick, but more of a pick, planning him utilize him beyond just countering to set up and take over team fights. MMY's skill order this is following: 1 - Thunder Strike 2 - Glimpse 3 - Glimpse 4 - Kinetic Field 5 - Glimpse 6 - Static Storm 7 - Glimpse 8 - Kinetic Field 9 - Thunder Strike 10 - Kinetic Field 11 - Static Storm 12 - Kinetic Field 13 - Thunder Strike 14 - Thunder Strike 15 - Stats 16 - Static Storm LGD.cn.MMY also goes for Glimpse max first at level 7. After this he kind of mixes up skilling, but ending up maxing Kinetic Field second, finishing the disable focus. This is maybe be because Naga Siren is able to set up huge combos by using Song of the Siren aggressively and Razor greatly profits from enemies being held in place. VG.fy's item progression: This is a typical item build. A casual Magic Stick then opting for the cheaper Tranquil Boots in order to rush a fast Blink Dagger for faster and higher range initiations. As LGD.cn greatly benefit from the Static Storm overall in teamfights MMY decides to bring up Aghanim's Scepter for the later game stages. In this game Disruptor plays a really strong role being able to mess up Faceless Void's Chronosphere initiations and shutting down Pugna and Ancient Apparition completely with the use of Static Storm. This is a good example of a team set up synergizing pretty well with Disruptor's skill set. In order to get the most use out of his impact, MMY goes for a Blink Dagger as an initiation tool. Spoiler: Click to view LGD.cn take this game after 61 minutes. MMY ends up scoring 2/5/11 which is a pretty common outcome for an 5th position support Disruptor. MMY shows great handling and nice teamfighting on Disruptor. Good game, well played!

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Disruptor by Cloud 9 Misery - Starladder Seasons 12 LAN Finals vs. iG (25.04.2015)

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Play Video MATCH-ID: 1420816727

Draft in this order: iG:

C9:

The Disruptor is actually a last pick by C9 picking him as a 5th position safe lane support. I feel like this pick was addressed to the previous Ember Spirit pick, which itself was a response pick versus Sniper. Disruptor actually has a huge set up to lockdown Ember Spirit as long as he did not set a defensive Fire Remnants far away. The Glimpse into Static Storm Kinetic Field combo work the same way it does for other escape heroes too. Also Disruptor's combos can shut down any of the relatively squishy intelligence heroes of iG Ancient Apparition, Lion and Zeus. I feel like it was a legitimate pick, but pushing the C9 team into mid game aggression. C9.misery follows this skill sequence: 1 - Kinetic Field 2 - Thunder Strike 3 - Glimpse 4 + 5 - Glimpse + Thunder Strike 6 - Static Storm 7 - Glimpse 8 - Glimpse 9 - Thunder Strike 10 - Thunder Strike 11 - Static Storm 12 - Kinetic Field 13 - Kinetic Field 14 - Kinetic Field 15 - Stats 16 - Static Storm 17+ - Stats As you can see C9.misery is going a kind of Glimpse max finishing it at level 8 followed by maxing Thunder Strike before Kinetic Field like I favor and suggest you to do in the majority of the matches. He goes for the repositioning Glimpse build, because he knows he has to be active and aggressive to pressure the more late game oerientated iG lineup as soon as possible. They actually have enougn follow up damage from Templar Assassin and Sniper and also Chen creeps follow up stuns, so in my opinion this skill build is the best way to go in this scenario. C9.misery picks up Arcane Boots first and then tries to rush a straight Aghanim's Scepter, which is a great way to build on top of an early and mid game advantage, if purchased in time as it allows to mute the core heroes of iG including any Black King Bars. Another reason for him to do so is Chen providing the Mekansm as it is core on him. He ends up buying Blink Dagger as a last item after successfully finishing his Aghanim's Scepter Spoiler: Click to view Unluckily the game ends in favor of iG, which goes back to the decision to fights instead of defensively taking Roshan after the dire top baracks had fallen. After losing this fight, the rubberband mechanics bring back and favor iG's heroes, who have the clear late game advantage, which they use to win at last. C9.misery finishes with respectable 6/8/11 stats, mirroring his considerably big impact as a set up initiator and team fighter in this match. Good game, well played!

Feedback and Shoutout

As this guide is still "under construction" and I'm no native English speaker, I am honestly and really happy about constructive criticism about it on all levels. Please let me know about incorrect facts, wrong spelling and misconceptions, because I want to get this guide at an enjoyable and useful level. Also feel free to suggest any additions, which I usually include as soon as possible, when they are righteous.

If you liked this guide, maybe you are interested in studying one of my other guides for Dazzle or Undying or Wraith King.

Finally --- I want to thank the DotA community as a whole, especially tutorial makers, guide authors, lets players, casters and positive minded players.

Thanks for reading, especially for reading the full guide and for giving feedback.

Shoutout to indota2.de|Pr0 and Pokemongo,

E1 Mariachi

But never forget: Everything in life can change in a Glimpse -- so keep on Glimpseing!

Play Video