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Tango
Healing Salve
Ring of Protection
Iron BranchIron Branch
Magic Wand
Boots of Speed
Ring of Basilius
Bottle
Phase Boots
Bottle
Drum of Endurance
Magic Wand
Ring of Aquila
Town Portal Scroll
Phase Boots
Drum of Endurance
Manta Style
Maelstrom
Bottle
Town Portal Scroll
Diffusal Blade
Butterfly
Mjollnir
Monkey King Bar
Daedalus
Desolator
Black King Bar
Assault Cuirass
Linken's Sphere
Shadow Blade
Sange and Yasha
Orchid Malevolence
Scythe of Vyse
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Hello. Welcome to my guide to POTM. If you're reading this, it probably means you might be new to Mirana or would like a better understanding of how this hero works. If it interest you, read on!
POTM/Mirana is a very skill-dependent hero and is well known for her incredible versatility and her ability to fulfill almost every role. In this guide, we will be looking at each of her individual skills and my ways of utilizing Mirana to her fullest potential.
I have been playing DOTA 2 for close to 3.5 years and gained about 1 year of competitive experience. This will be my first guide and attempt to share my experiences. Please feel free to correct me on any errors if any, as it is still a work in progress.
(Updated as of 6/4/3015, v6.83c)
Thanks,
MoonHead
A matriarch and high priestess of Elune's blessed order, Mirana Nightshade serves as a light in darkness for the front line of the Sentinel ranks, raining arrows and falling stars alike upon the shambling undead masses of the Undead Scourge, while her very presence is said to be so holy that it melts away the fatigue of nearby allies, giving them greater haste on the battlefield. In times of need however, she can fade herself and others around her into the safety of invisibility, making her a potent supporter matched by few.
(Original Folklore from DOTA)
Pros:
- Difficult to kill
- Arrow with a stun that may last up to 5 seconds
- Team Player
- Able to save allies
- Very versatile roles
- Can solo with ease
- Rewarding to master
- Amazing Ganker/Chaser
Cons:
- Squishy
- Low base damage in early game
- Can be countered with detection/lock-downs
- High skill set needed
- Arrow requires predictability
- Out-carried easily
Starstorm:
Calls down a wave of meteors to damage nearby enemy units. One random enemy unit in 175 range will take a second hit for 75% of the damage.
Take Note:
- This skill will not hit invisible units; make sure you have vision before you cast it
- Good nuke for pushing, farming creeps
- Try to position yourself near the enemy hero when using it
- It will choose and hit another random target for 75% of the damage, so try to ensure that you are not near creeps or units for maximum damage
- Take note of the high mana cost in the early levels; unless you have mana sustain (eg, Bottle/
Arcane Boots/
Arcane Aura, don't spam this in lane unnecessarily
- Usually max this first as the damage scales well from early to mid-game
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Sacred Arrow:
Fires an arrow to a location with deadly precision, dealing large damage and stunning the first unit it strikes. Stun duration increases based on how far the target is, ranging from 0.5 to 5 seconds. Bonus damage up to 100 is applied based on distance to target.
Take Note:
- This skill hit invisible units that is within range and radius of the arrow
- Its enormous range and a potential stun duration of up to 5 seconds, if not, 1-4s stun can be applied with the damage as well
- Can be used for easy first blood on any lanes, usually I would gank the mid-lane early if I'm taking the off-lane
- Can be used for scouting (eg, Roshan, Uphill, Trees)
- Mana cost and Cooldown remains the same at all levels
- Good initiation and set-up spell to pick off heroes or start fights. You can combo it with heroes that have disables/lockdown (eg, 
Nightmare, 
Disruption, 
Unstable Concoction, 
Frostbite)
- Max this first if you're playing a Support role, or in an aggressive tri-lane, depending on your lane partners
- Always look for opportunities to arrow, don't be afraid to miss. PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
- Further down into the guide I'll share more of this skill usage during the game
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Leap:
Mirana empowers allied units with a ferocious roar, granting bonus attack and movement speed before leaping forward into battle. Speed bonus lasts 10 seconds.
Take Note:
- Leap has an instant cast animation, you will leap forward where you are facing.
- You can use this to dodge projectiles (eg, 
Magic Missile, 
Assassinate)
- Usually getting one level of this skill would be enough in the early levels, for escape and chasing power.
- Try not to leap when chasing heroes like 
Anti-Mage, wait for them to 
Blink first, then Leap.
- Combo would be Sacred Arrow, Leap, Starstorm OR Leap, Sacred Arrow
- Whenever you leap, allies around the location where you leap would receive the buff, it scales into late game
- Max this as a third option
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Moonlight Shadow:
Turns Mirana and all allied heroes invisible. If Invisibility is broken, it will restore after fade delay if the shadow's duration has not expired. Silence will stop Moonlight Shadow.
Take Note:
- This skill will cloak you and all your allies invisible, regardless of whether they are magic immune or not
- Units affected will not auto attack enemies
- Silence can reveal invisibility
- You can use this to set up a gank, catch heroes, engage or disengage team-fights. Preferably, I would use a 
Smoke of Deceit to catch the enemy, only when the team-fights start I will activate Moonlight Shadow, depending on the situation
- You can get this skill at level 6. Always look around the map and be aware of what your allies are doing. Should they dive tower/get ganked etc, this might be a good way to save them provided opponent does not have 
Dust of Appearance, 
Gem of True Sight.
- I would get at least two levels of it before adding my points into stats. The cooldown gets significantly reduced.
Mirana is a very versatile hero as I had mentioned earlier. She can be seen in the Off-lane, Middle Lane or Safe-Lane.
Off-Lane(Dual/Solo/Aggressive Tri):
- This is what I would usually play Mirana as, due to her great survivability with just a skill point in Leap.
- You can solo, or lane with a/two supports/disablers like 
Lion, 
Bane, 
Crystal Maiden
- Aggressive tri-laning in the offlane with your allies requires tons of teamwork and practice, if your tri-lane does not have any kills or action for a while, feel free to ask your supports to rotate to other lanes to help if possible
- With these supports, you can be more aggressive than usual, auto attacking the opponent's hard carry or support to lower their HP before going in for the kill
- Play much safer and closer to your tower if you are solo against a tri-lane, they would be more aggressive in much higher level matches. I would get a 
Magic Stick in this case, the burst heal & mana may help you survive a gank should you get caught
- If you're solo, landing your arrow when the enemy's support is pulling creeps should be easy as you can stun the opponent's carry combined with your creep damage in the early game should be enough to finish the job
- Rush your Boots of Speed as early as possible.
- Try to get many last hits as possible, it might be harder to do so with Mirana's low base damage, but you'll get used to it
- Always be looking around the map and have a Town Portal Scroll, be ready to assist your allies in need
- If you feel confident enough, you can get a first blood on the mid lane with your teammate, preferably a 
Storm Spirit, 
Pudge, with a 5s stun from your arrow. It can be countered easily by wards though, but it's worth a try.
- I seen many Mirana players getting a 
Hand of Midas when they are playing this role, which I personally do not recommend it as it will reduce your mid game/early game dominance early, something which Mirana excels at.
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Middle-Lane(Solo):
- Call for a middle solo if your team lacks a mid hero or if you feel like playing middle. Mirana is a great mid hero as well.
- You can skip the Ring of Protection in this case, and go for the straight Bottle rush.
- If you're bad at last hitting, get an early 
Circlet, which can be built into a Drum of Endurance later on. This item is one of the most cost efficient item which I will always get on Mirana and heroes that basically needs to use their skills alot (eg, 
Luna, 
Terrorblade)
- With a Bottle, push your wave with Starstorm before trying to take the runes and go for a gank. Always have 
Observer Ward placed in the map. If not, purchase them yourself
- As a mid laner, be ready to go for ganks when you get runes. Always check to see if your Safe/Off lane needs help or they request for a gank
- Always hold a Town Portal Scroll
- Keep a constant watch on the enemy's hard carry during the laning phase as well, try to communicate with your allies to lock down their hard carry
- Get a Smoke of Deceit or use Moonlight Shadow to make kills happen. Although just by landing a perfect arrow should be more than enough for you to get a kill. This depends on the situation.
- If you feel confident, go ahead and max out your Sacred Arrow first
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Safe-Lane(Hard Carry):
- When I mentioned versatility, it means Mirana can be either played as a Hard Carry role or Support Role in the Safe-lane
- If you're going for the Hard Carry role, prioritize your skill points in Starstorm, followed by Sacred Arrow
- Get as many many last hits as you can, go for a Hand of Midas if you feel very comfortable.
- Be paired with a support and go as aggressive as you can, due to your strong early game presence that enemy should not underestimate
- Be careful of heroes such as 
Magnus, 
Bounty Hunter with escape mechanism. In this case, you can choose to either max out Sacred Arrow first for a much higher damage output than Starstorm
- A Mirana and 
Shadow Demon combo can be very deadly
- Farm up your core and go for a high DPS build if you can. Get a Black King Bar if enemies have heroes with high magical damage, something which you are very weak to due to your low HP.
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Supporting Role:
- Playing as a Support role, get Observer Ward, Courier in the start of the game.
- Get yourself a Tango, 1-2 Iron Branch and 
Clarity for more Mana & HP to help you sustain slightly much longer in the laning phase.
- Ensure that you have Observer Ward up always, if you have another support hero like a Crystal Maiden, you can split your support duties accordingly.
- A support Mirana should go for Arcane Boots, Drum of Endurance, Magic Stick, [[Teleport Scroll] as your basic core item build.
- Remember to get detection if you are ganking an invisble hero.
- Pull creeps and let your Hard Carry get the last hits if you are matched with a Hard Carry in the Safe-Lane.
Roaming Role:
- As for playing the Roaming role, it requires tons of practice in your Sacred Arrow before making a significant impact in the game
- Always stay out of sight when trying to land your stun, like staying in the fog, trees or using a Smoke of Deceit, or you can call for a disable/lockdown before using your arrow
- Always remember, the further the target is from your arrow, the more rewarding it is to hit and stun the target. However, it is very difficult as it requires you to predict the enemy movement
- Landing an arrow in lane requires good knowledge of the Lane Creeps movement, knowing their spawn timing. You can actually look at your own creep movement to determine when the opponent lane creeps are coming.
- My basic core would be Boots of Speed, Magic Stick, Bottle and Town Portal Scroll
- You can ask for a lane ward or ward them yourself for better positioning for your as you can see the enemy movement
- Your arrow has a HIT RADIUS, (for example, trying to hit the enemy hero when he is in the middle of a Ranged Creep and a Melee Creep is nearly impossible)
- Practice, Practice and Practice
Below is a map taken from team-dignitas, which is actually the rune spots to ward. And to me, is an almost perfect place for you to position and land your arrow as well. Although not all of them, but most of it. You can use this as a reference when you are placing Observer Ward as well.
Lets take a look at:
Red & White Spot(except rune cliffs): Place which you can position when enemy is walking towards rune/river/jungling/scouting
Blue & Pink Spot: Place which you can arrow in lane to catch the enemy when there are no opposing lane creeps/scouting/jungling
Green Spot: Place to catch enemy heroes jungling/setting up a smoke gank
These are the types of heroes that can go well with Mirana either to set up, land a stun or make a gank successful. It is dependent on positioning and timing as well. This list is not exhaustive!
outworld devourer
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These heroes can counter Mirana or make her game presence very difficult. This depends on the skill level of the opponent as well. The list is not exhaustive!
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These are the matches I had played with my understanding of this hero. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to add me up on steam. I hope you have a much better understanding of this hero after looking through this guide.
http://dotabuff.com/players/120561621/matches?hero=mirana&lobby_type=&game_mode=&match_type=real
If you have any suggestions or questions, feel free to leave your comments below.
Thank you!
8/3/2014: Published
5/3/2014: Updates of certain links and descriptions.
6/4/2014: Reviewing as of latest DOTA patch.
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