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Arcane Boots
Medallion of Courage
Glimmer Cape
Solar Crest
Orchid Malevolence
Assault Cuirass
Animal Courier
Mantle of Intelligence
Circlet
Clarity
Tango
Observer Ward
Iron Branch
Null Talisman
Magic Wand
Boots of Speed
Medallion of Courage
Flying Courier
Observer and Sentry Wards
Town Portal Scroll
Arcane Boots
Medallion of Courage
Glimmer Cape
Solar Crest
Orchid Malevolence
Veil of Discord
Dagon 1
Removed Item
Scythe of Vyse
Eul's Scepter of Divinity
Force Staff
Heaven's Halberd
Assault Cuirass
Shiva's Guard
Linken's Sphere
Lotus Orb
Refresher Orb
Moon Shard
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15 | 17 | 18 |
Greetings Everyone.
I've been playing Dota for about a year now and am far from a master in this game. However, I wanted to add to the community, and seeing there are only very very few Guides on my favorite hero, Auroth the Winter Wyvern, especially since the 6.86 patch, I decided to add my own guide.
In my honest opinion, and as I've seen in the tournaments this year, Winter Wyvern is one of the supports with the highest impact. Right aside the most popular supports like Earthshaker and Lion. Most of all because of her wide range and wide range of skills.
The 6.86 patch has hurt her very much, but it far from crippled her, only made Winter Wyvern harder to play, position and pushed her more into the support role than ever.
Overall, a quick acting, smart and well trained Wyvern can solo support an entire team and keep them all alive even in the thickest of teamfights. Or if the fight cannot be won, she's great at distracting the enemy enough to get her teammates the time they need to escape.
So, without further ado, let's dive right into how I see Wyvern being played often and how I play her myself.
Hard Support!
Let me emphasize that again.
Hard Support!
Yes, she can do a lot of damage and can get very powerfull late game, but she shines most when she's played as a support.
Why you ask?
Look at her arsenal.
With the three abilities and one ult that she has, she actually possesses 14 utilities hidden inside. That's more then Invoker has spells.
Winter Wyvern has:
- a range increases (up to 1000 range (that is sniper level of range)
- a sort of AOE
- two slows
- one DOT
- a percent current health damage tool
- a small damage high range nuke
- a vision increaser
- a heal
- a physical damage immune ability
- a setup ability
- a near one click kill guarantee ability
- a taunt
- a disable
... oh, and of course an escape/positioning tool.
Naturally many come with their drawbacks, but that's not the point.
Just think of what you can all do with those abilities. How many allies you can save with them, how many kills you can serve your carry on a silver plate, how many team fights you can just turn around, or how many initiations and ganks you can take all momentum from.
Considering all this, it's no wonder Wyvern, although only introduced this year, was a common sight in the tournaments and ranked matches since she arrived.
Of course such power comes with downsides, to which even more have been added since patch 6.86. But that doesnt take away from her potential, only makes her harder to play, or simply increases the player's chance to screw up with her.
Now.... I say all this and have a Core build for Wyvern in my guide...
That's because in the past, when her Arctic Burn did Pure damage, she could be build as a carry. That potential is still hidden in her, and if you have more then two supports, Auroth has the potential to take a core role if she must.
I added this build for completion's sake. In some situations getting a more offensive core-like then support like build on Winter Wyvern is more beneficial, especially in some pub matches, where it happens often that your teammates don't know how to put together a good team.
In general though you shouldn't have to use that build.
Pro
- Has a very versatile arsenal of skills that are powerfull from the start of the game till the end.
- She gets stronger the stronger the enemy carrys get, as she can deny their damage and use it against their own team.
- Doesn't need gold or levels really. She's a great support throughout the game even at low level.
- Has quite the kill potential even though she's a hard support.
- Has a percentage of current health damage ability
- Huge range with Arctic Burn and Splinter Blast
- Can use the enemy's power against them, turning team fights around.
- Has a percentage heal, meaning she heals more the more health the ally has
- Has a physical damage immune ability
- Has a large ranged, long duration, instant cast setup tool!!
- Great Stat gain! Seriously, she's the hero with the 5th highest total stat gain in the game.
- and finally... She can FLY (and that without breaking trees, allowing enemies to follow) :D What more do you want to have?
Cons
- quite mana hungry till around the middle of the game (you can't spam her spells till later)
- squishy and low armour
- very slow (Among the third slowest group. Only CM, Invoker and Techies are slower)
- low right click damage without Arctic Burn
- abilities have no fast cooldown (again, no real spamming)
- her heal/physical damage immune disables the ally and gives no magic immunity
- her escape is also her main damage ability
- ult makes the entire enemy team IMMUNE to ANY form of your team's DAMAGE !!! (at max level that's 4.75 seconds long)
I'd guess you know what each ability does (you can hover over the name anyway to read it) so I'm not going to list the numbers here but talk about what you can do with them.
Each of Auroth's abilities might seem straight forward but they are actually very versatile.
All 4 of them!
Arctic Burn
This ability is Auroth's main damage ability as well as her escape.
In combat, use this ability mostly in order to either take out a high hp tank, or to stop fleeing enemies from running away. The sudden 1000 range will always surprise them. And the 40% slow will be enough for your carry or core to catch up to them and kill them.
You can also turn this around and use the slow to slow an enemy that is chassing after one of your teammates.
Always make sure you use it carefully!
At full lever it has a 20 seconds cooldown, so you generally have to commit to staying in or moving out of battle. However, don't hesitate to suddenly turn away from a fight and head for the trees or cliff.
Splinter Blast
This is your 'nuke'. The main part about it isn't the damage though but the 1200 range.
Dont spam it early on as it's to mana costly!
However, use it early, when Arctic Burn's range isn't 1000 yet, to snipe fleeing enemies. Especially if they move in pairs.
Mid to late game Splinter Blast is great for team fights or slowing a hoard of enemies.
Also it's wonderful for pushing creep waves or against illusion heroes. One Splinter Blast and you, and your team, normally know which of them isn't an illusion.
Cold Embrace
Auroth's most important support skill. It heals a percentage of the ally's total health. Meaning everyone takes the same time to heal fully.
Also it is a physical damage immunity, like Omni's ult. Thus very very powerful late game or against right click burst damagers like Ursa, Troll or Void.
It does not give magic immunity though and disables your ally! So don't freeze anyone when a Magic Nuker is nearby!
Winter's Curse
Auroth's most powerful, most disruptive, but also most dangerous to use tool.
This ult is one of the best setup tools in the game.
Superior to Enigma's black hole as it's instant cast.
Superior to Dark Seer's vacuum because of it's longer duration.
And on paar with Naga's ult. (lower duration and range, but with the chance of making a 5v5 a 4v5 team fight.
The taunt is not to underestimate! Use it to draw enemies away from your stunned or disabled allies. (It's always the best feeling if Void chronosphere's your team and you curse Void's teammate right aside him, thus saving your team and wasting void's ult. :D Uhhhh the good feeling.)
Even though it's a "**** this guy" point and click, it's not a grantee kill. So don't use it as such. Better use curse as a setup tool or to save your allies then trying to get kills.
First thing's first.
In order to support Auroth doesnt need items. Not one at all realy.
Only in games were we are crushing the enemy or I am crushing enemies left and right as much as my cores, I get to actually finish a full build.
Sentry and Observer Ward
Thus I point out these two first.
You can spend the gold to buy those and set them up. You dont need your gold THAT badly to not use it on those to support your team with. Also, with Arctic Burn, you can easily escape an enemy if you happen to run into a roaming one by accident.
Vision does a huge amount! Especially if heroes like Pudge, Nightstalker or other gankers are on the enemy team or invisible heroes like Riki are in you lane.
Starting Items:
First of all, get a courier! If you have a support partner they will surely be more then happy to upgrade the courier later in return for getting to spend the 100gold for something else. If they get the courier, be sure to have 200 gold to upgrade the courier once it's available.
Tangos are very good, even if you have a heal. Early on it's cooldown is very long, so you should save it for emergencies. Also it might be more helpfull to your lane partner to get one of your tangoes so can stay near the creeps and gain exp. Also, if you both have to heal, freeze them and nom a tree yourself.
Clarity is not needed for you, unless you wish to make good use of Splinter Blast early. So it fully depends on your use of that spell for how many Clarity you get as it's only that spell that really drastically drains your mana early on.
Finally I personally pick up a Circlet and a Mantle of Int. Stat's are best early on always! But of corse you can also get two Circlets or a Magic Stick.
A word on boots.
I've seen people get boots first on many supports and rush Arcane boots as their first item. While I agree that Arcane are quite good early on and let you and your lane partner spam your spells more, my experience shows that stats do much more early on. So I would leave Arcane boots for when you have a few stats
Early game items:
Like mentioned before, your first priority to buy should be a flying animal courier. Unless of course the second support of your team agrees on buying it.
Null Talisman is a great item to get first on Wyvern. Her lasthitting is pathetic, so denying with her is hard. Null Talisman helps a lot there as well as giving you some help with your mana.
Magic Wand is not to be underestimated as it gives you +4 in every stat. Early on that's a lot. In addition it's good for mana and hp recovery. Against laning partners that dont use spells really though it might be effective to skip it.
Medallion of Courage
Long time I didnt think it would realy be nessesary, but now with how Winter's Curse has become, it's a must have!
-5 armour on whom you curse makes it so much more likely to get them killed.
Not only that, but that armour is wonderful to supprot your carry too. Reduce the armour of an enemy tank, or increase the armour of one of your allys. Keep in mind, it's always better if you die then your cores or carrys.
Finally, Medallion can easily be upgraded into Solar Crest, which gives -10 armour and a blind to an enemy (which is more than desolator's -7), or +10 armour and a evasion bonus to an ally.
I tend to get Medallion even before of Arcane boots as it's cheaper and gives mana regen too.
Town Teleport Scroll
Have one on you at all time! Teleporting from the fountain to the tower saves so much time and prevents you from loosing so much needed exp. Besides, mid game, when it moves away from laneing, you can switch lanes quickly with a TP. And finally late game, you can safely push, knowing that you can teleport to your base to defend if needed.
In my opinion this is the most important and most underestimated item in the game!
Core Items
Auroth's Core is debatable. But I came up with quite a good, cheap and effective one.
Arcane Boots
Quite self explainatory. You need mana and your team needs mana. Even if your other support gets Arcane, you must get your own. A team with many Arcane boots needs a lot of mana, so having a lot of mana makes your team stronger. Plus they can later be upgraded to Guardian Greaves, which allow you to purge debuffs from yourself.
Medallion of Courage
As mentioned before. Get it!
Glimmer Cape
I used to not get this. But...
This item is PERFECT for Auroth. It gives you not only a second escape (you can TP out while invis), but also a chance to set-up your ult without getting killed while positioning for it. And most importantly, you can save allies with it! Most importantly of all, you can invis them while they are frozen. That way they are protected from spells, which they are normally vulnerable to.
It requires a good bit of mana to activate, so you have to manage your mana mid game a lot even more between your abilities.
Core Extensions / Late game items
You will rarely get a full build on Auroth. Your Core is hard enough to get with you buying wards and leaving the last hits to your carrys and cores. However, I have two late game items I nearly always get.
Solar Crest
Medallion is awesome for you, both to support and to actually kill someone with your ult by yourself. Solar crest is double the power plus giving you some much needed survivability with it's evasion.
Also.... never underestimate how easy Roshan gets when you use your Solar Crest on him! A teammate with Solar Crest speeds up Roshan kills enormously.
Orchid Malevolence.
Yes, yes. Hex is a better active and Scythe gives more int. But this gives more attak speed, a silence that's nearly one and a half times as long as the hex of Scythe, and, get this, the target takes 30% more damage!
You already know where this is going....
Like with Medallion you should use it on the enemy you Curse, or on an enemy tank that your team is fighting against. Or naturally to silence a nuker or disabler.
You dont need Hex realy as you can save teammates with Cold Embrace late game easely and Orchid gives you the chance to save them from spells too by simply silencing them.
Situational Items
Depending on the game I get one or more of those. These are the items I normally switch around to adapt to the enemy team's play style. Sometimes I even don't get a core or core extension in favour of a second one of these here.
Urn of Shadows.
Early on it makes you more durable with it's strength stat instead of armour on medallion. Plus it gives you a second heal. Generally I get this item instead of Medallion if I'm the only support on the team as I need to survive longer and have to focus on keeping my team alive more then snatching kills with Curse.
Late game this item falls of a lot as the HP pool of your team gets so high, but by then your Cold Embrace really shines.
Veil of Discord
This item I get nearly every game as it's upgradable from Null Talisman and it sinergyzes perfectly with your ult. It's radius is higher then your ults, so it will reduce every enemy's magic resistance that is caught in your curse. That's their whole team if done well!
However, if your own team has hardly any magic damage at all, it's best to get another item instead as the bonus magic damage your team would do is small compared to other items you can get.
Dagon
Difficult, difficult.
For one the burst damage is great, but to fully upgrade it and give it full effect you need A LOT of gold. A fully upraded Dagon is the most expensive item in the game!!!
Generally I get a one or two level dagon if the game goes well and Veil is not needed or already bought. But generally you can use that gold for other things better. It is a usefull item for when you wish to do more damage though. Just dont dagon enemys you cursed.
Guardian Greaves
A very good upgrade for Arcane. Normally it's not needed for you, but if you dont know what to get or upgrade, you can never go wrong with those. They have Mechanism's heal and aura, as well as a purge to heal you from debuffs!
Heaven's Halebert
An item that basicly doubles your carry countering capability. You can disarm an enemy with that just like you can nullify the damage of a arry with your Cold Embrace. You dont need it because of Cold Embrace, but if you face multiple rightclickers, it mgiht be usefull. Aside of that, the strenght and evasion gives you a lot of survivability. So if you want more survivability, consider this item over other utility items.
Scythe
Yeah.... I prefer Orchid because of the bonus damage, attack speed and the 5 second silence in comparison to the 3.5 second Hex. But a Hex is a Hex. Also, 35 int on an int hero is no joke.
If your enemy team has very view heroes that really get crippled by a silence, like heros who rely on passive abilities and items mostly, get Hex instead.
Force Staff
Most builds and people I see get Eul's Scepter on Wyvern for the bonus movement instead of Force staff. While Eul's has a good active and bonus speed too, personally I think force staff is much better. You can save allies just as much with it as with Eul's (and don't give the enemy the opportunity to stand beneath and wait for their prey) or you can chase after the enemy with it easily (with 1000 range on your arctic burn, one hit of your slow and your team WILL catch up) Finally, it's wonderful for saving yourself when your Arctic burn is down. Push yourself through the forest or over a cliff and your safe.
If you master Force staff you never need the bonus speed from Eul's and have a much less disruptive utility for your allies and just as disruptive or confusing active for your enemies.
Eul's
I explained before why I prefer Force Staff over Eul's. But hey, so many people use it, so it can only be good, right?
Well, it gives bonus speed and the active is like a disable and interrupts channeling and TPs, something Force Staff can't. However, I find it less useful to safe allies or yourself with.
You make the call, which you find better.
Mask of Madness
No, I'm not Insane. In the glory days where Arctic burn did pure damage, this item made Auroth a carry. Now Arctic Burn does only magic damage, but the -8% current health damage still remains, allowing Auroth to shred through Tanks if done correctly.
This is the core item in my Winter Wyvern Core build for that reason.
I rarely build her that way anymore, but if you have to many supports in your team, this item will allow you to core or even semi-carry for your team. Every other core or carry hero will be better though, so dont go in with the hope of killing all the enemys as Auroth. Like other situational items this is something you only get when the sitation calls for it.
Refresher Orb
Never a bad item to have. Your ult is one of the best if not the best setup tool in the game as well as one of the most disruptive in teamfights. Aside of that your arctic burn and cold embrase are very powerfull spells that are not always ready when you need them, especially during or after a teamfight, so refresher is definitely good.
It's just not needed. And many items benefit you more in my opinion. But if you feel like getting it, there is no reason why you shouldn't if you have a slot free for it.
Luxury
These are the items I get when I have A LOT of gold.
Generally when I have my core I look at my situational items instead of my Luxury items as they are all quite expensive. But if I have enough gold for one I will generally prefer one of the Luxury ones over Situational ones.
***ult Cuirass
If you have a lot of gold, get it! It gives you all that you need. Survivability with it's +15 armour, 55 attack speed, an aura that gives armour and attack speed to allys, and reduces armour for enemies. And the latter works during your curse! Meaning, with Solar crest and you nearby, the cursed person has -15 armour!
Not to mention the armour and attack speed bonus for allies is huge.
Shiva's Guard
Gives survivability, a lot of Int and a AOE slow. Funnily, the slow is 40% just like your arctic burn. If you dont have enough for ***ult Cuirass or want to buff your own right click attack, then this item is for you. The Active is also very useful in team fights for either allowing your team to retreat or preventing the enemy from escaping.
Linken's Sphere
You wount get this in order to use it yourself. No, the idea here is that you use it to protect your initiator when they start a teamfight, protecting an ally when they flee or protect your carry from stuns inside the teamfight.
Lotus Orb
Same as with Linken's Sphere. The idea here is less to use it for yourself but more to protect your allies and carrys. The difference here is that it lasts longer, doesn't protect against the spell but just reflects them, and thus scares off enemy casters from targeting your carry.
Moon Shard
I think I established that more attack speed is great for Auroth because of her Arctic Burn. Thing is you dont have slots free for such luxury normally. Moonshard helps there. If you have to much gold get a moonshard and either eat it yourself or give it to a teammate to eat. Keep in mind that you should do that when you have to much gold, and not just to boost yourself.
Moonshard is the ultimate luxury item, or item to waist your gold on. So keep always in mind to have enough gold for a buy-back.
Generally you will lane top of bottom lane and babysit your team's carry or core.
Auroth CANT hold a lane ALONE.
She has to little mana early on to spam her splinter blast, which she needs to hold the lane. Although she can mid reasonable, I'd advise you to be offlane.
What you should be doing is support your lane partner, let him lasthit, deny creeps and poke the enemy. If one fo them is out of place and your core is confident to get the kill, Arctic Burn and keep the enemy from running away in order to feed your carry a kill.
On the other hand keep your Cold embrace to save your lane partner if they are caught out of position or the enemy jumps them.
Splinter blast should only be used to poke enemies or snipe a fleeing hero. Dont spam it! It uses up to much mana and you can end up without your slow/excape or your heal/damageimmuneity
Wards:
If you're on the long lane, make sure that you have an observar ward in the forest at all times. Even if there are no gankers on the team. This one ward will save your and your lane partner's life numerous times!
And as observer wards last a full 7 minutes, you'll at max need 2 of them for the laning phase. That's only 150 gold. Very affordable.
The rune spots you should ward also, but if you're on the safe lane the forest ward is more important. NEver the less, the rune spots are crossroads. If a ganker comes to gank they pass through there or come along the lanes.
If you're on the short lane, putting up a ward in the enemy forest might prove very valuable too. But it's not as needed as it is in the safe lane. It is also very dangerous to set up such a ward.
About spells:
If you feel comfortable with your mana management go ahead and put one point in your first and third ability and max splinter blast to 3 first.
If you feel less confident in your mana managing, go one in each, then put a second point in cold embrace, before getting Arctic burn to 3.
At level 6 get your ult, but dont use it to get kills in lane as it makes your enemy immune to your partner's damage. Use it to stop them from killing you or your lane partner.
Stay in lane with your laning partner unless you are called into another lane. If your laning partner leaves, stay in lane if you can to get some much needed last hits. By then you should be able to hold the lane enough to farm without feeding.
Keep the wards up that you put down before if they go away. Dont go ward exotic places yet though. Also maybe get a pair of sentry wards now (if you have an invis hero in your lane you should get them first item anyway) So you can start dewarding the runespots.
About spells:
You should have at least 2 levels in all three abilities before you max out one now. IF you max Arctic Burn or Splinter Blast first depends on which you prioritized in the laning phase.
Your ult you must save now for teamfights that will start happening.
ALWAYS keep a TP on you now!!!
This is the time where you porting in and ulting, can save lives and the first teamfights, allowing your team to start snowballing or stop the enemie's snowballing.
Dont suicide port in though. Nor try to snipe some kills! It's better you stay away from a fight that went badly then you going in and making it worse.
This I your time to shine!
Not that it's not otherwise in the game...
Now though you should be with your team. Be there to initiate, counter initiate or simply keep your team alive. These team fights determine the late game. If you're on the defensive or offensive side.
So make sure your team comes out on top!
About spells:
Max out the other of your damaging abilities and get your ult to level 2. Your Cold embrace you should get at least to level 3 too before you fully max out the other two abilities.
Items:
You should have your core now, or finish it asap.
Ward where your team mostly is. Get a feeling for where your team mates prioritize to attack or defend, and make sure you have vision their always.
If there's an invisible hero, always carry between 2-6 observer wards with you. You should get enough gold for them from assists and the occasional kill.
If you're entering the late game with a expriance, gold and push advantage of your team, just keep on going with the flow. Nullify the enemie's tries to disrupt your pushing, and keep your carry alive at all costs.
Glimmer cape and cold embrace become your most important tools here.
Splinter blast is for killing creeps mostly at this stage and you can freely spam it with all your mana.
Arctic burn is to make sure the enemy doest escape and to help your team from a save range.
Items like Shiva's Assault Cuirrase and maybe Scythe or even a moon-shard are good to get now. Items that boost your survivability and strenghtens your allies.
If your towers are pushed out, the enemy carry ripps your team to shreds and you are fearing for your baracks is the time to go in disrupting.
Also. In this case, keeping enough gold for a buy back is ESSENTIAL.
If you must dont buy items just to be sure to keep the chance to buyback.
Your job from now on is less saving your team but simply disrupting the enemy with your ult and setting them up for your team to either kill completely or damage enough to force a retreat.
While you can ult, your own survivability is Top Priority to you. Use your arctic burn to flee, Cold embrace to protect and heal yourself and just stay alive.
Once you ulted it's less bad if you die, but you must get that ult in right to give your team a chance.
Once you got a chance, push with your team. In this situation though make sure your carry survives. He's needed to keep the enemy team at bay.
If you die and had your ult ready, do not fear. If the enemy pushes back, you can buyback and disrupt them with your ult again.
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