Keeper Of The Light- Not to be confused with Gandalf

Introduction to the Author/The Character

Hey, I'm iPopCherry(laugh all you want, it's a name I've been stuck with due to friends) and I've played many MOBAS including HoN, LoL, SMITE, and obviously the original DOTA. Fortunately I was lucky enough to stumble across some very nice friends who also share the same interests as me, and therefore I managed to snag a Dota 2 key (inb4 desperate)
I'm not the most experienced player, but I have 900 wins on LoL, 400 hours on HoN, and a fair few hundred hours on the original Dota to boot, so I would think that I have a wide set of basic knowledge on my belt that I wish to share with you all with this guide ;)

This is my first guide, so feel free to point out any criticism(But don't just say I have a bad guide, say WHAT I did wrong and I will improve it)

Anyway, KotL was introduced to Dota 2 in the newest patch, and due to me having to either play support or semi support, he seemed like a good pick. And oh he was. With an incredible versatility and a wide set of skills, this Gandalf lookalike is not to be messed with.

*Video will be uploaded shortly once I can find a decent recorder*


As many can see, I haven't been on Dota 2 in a good few weeks. This is because I have been focusing on preparation for my second year at college, and have been busy with several jobs I need to do. I will try and keep this guide as fresh as I can, but I cannot make any promises. Thanks for the great rating you guys have given me on my first guide, I appreciate all the support and the feedback :)

Edit: Will be adding synergies and hard lanes when I play a varied amount of games with Keeper.

Edit 2: Added Justification for Clarity Potion in Other/FAQ

Edit 3: Added more to the introduction. Added Pros/Cons
Gotten used to coding and format of this site, so expect a prettier layout!

Pros/Cons

Pros


+ Item Independent

+ Fairly high movement base speed

+ His attack animation is just plain awesome, who doesn't want to fire magic out of his staff while on a horse?

+ Escape Mechanism if needs be with ult

+ Great at mana heals late game, can replenish both mana and health to high amounts with Mekansm

+ Fantastic at pushing out waves, or counterpushing enemy heroes.

+ His ult contains 2 new spells, which are very very useful

+ He looks like Gandalf. (Which is why I want to do a 1 v 1 with Doom Bringer and re-enact the Balrog battle) - I'm that sad


Unfortunately, every hero must have his cons, and this badass is no exception

Cons

- Incredibly squishy, favourite target for enemy carries/nukes due to low health pool

- Only form of disable is Mana Leak, which is a 1 target stun (and it's fairly unreliable at best)

- Not the highest source of damage, even Gandalf died once.

- Requires fantastic communication within the team, Recalls can wreck an entire team composition.


As you can see, there are plenty of cons as well, but these are mainly due to the fact that KotL has a fairly high skill arc. BUT CMON, HE LOOKS LIKE GANDALF. HE CANT BE EASY TO PLAY.
Also, the pros outweigh the cons, and even the cons that are there can be dealt with, good communication can win matches with a KotL, bad communication can lose them (as with any game)
He's highly versatile, and can fit around a wide array of team compositions, due to the high spell dependant metagame of Dota 2.

Skill Build

Q- Illuminate

"Channels a ball of light energy, building power the longer it's channeled. Once released, the ball deals damage and gives vision in a line. The longer it is channeled, the more damage dealt."

The low cooldown at ALL levels on this skill makes KotL so good. This spell allows you to push,defend,harass at a relative distance. The cooldown is 10 seconds and the range on this is 1600 on Dota 2, which is double the original Ezalor had. Although it is channelled and therefore can easily be broken or leave KOTL vulnerable, the damage it does the longer it is channelled is far more than worth that. Early game you want to use this as often as you can on the opposing team to stop them harassing your carry and to make farming easier.
It is also great for scouting out areas of the enemy jungle camps, and for scouting Roshan without getting too close, as it grants vision in a straight line.


W- Mana Leak

"Weakens an enemy's magical essence, causing them to lose mana as they move. If the enemy loses all of its mana, it will be stunned."

Similar to Bloodseeker's ultimate, but instead of draining health, drains mana, and is on the maximum mana pool the enemy has.

When cast, the target will have 3.5/4/4.5/5% of their mana pool drained, for a period of 4/5/6/7 seconds.

This is a great spell for mana hungry enemies, as it gives KOTL the extra early harass (which is why I pick it up at 4 instead of maxing Illuminate/Chakra) and provides a stun if they run out of 1.3/1.6/1.9/2.2 seconds.

You can use this spell in a wide array of situations. Chasing the enemy seems obvious, as if they run out of mana they get a stun plus have no chance of getting away. However, it can be used to prevent some forms of initiation (does not work with Blink) as if they chase you they may run out of mana before they are able to pull off a skill.

It can also be used as a lifesaver, enemies who chase your carry will be weaker with no mana, and the stun will prove invaluable in many situations.


E- Chakra Magic


"Restores mana to the target unit."


Simple, yet again, very invaluable. This is the main reason KotL is picked in games, as the mana restore is phenomenal and heals 75/150/225/300 mana instantly, with a fairly low cooldown of 19/18/17/16 seconds.

It can also be self cast, but be aware of the fact that because the base mana cost is 75, you only heal 35/95/155/215 mana.

You want to use this spell as soon as it is on cooldown, as letting it sit would be pointless when you can cast it on a nearby Nature's Prophet for a push and/or cast on an ally to provide the ult that they need.

Note that this spell does not work on magic immunity, so make sure you cast before any BKBs go off on your team to provide maximum efficiency.

R- Spirit Form

"Ezalor turns his body luminescent temporarily, gaining various abilities. Illuminate is now channeled by a separate spirit, and gains the Blinding Light and Recall abilities."

KotL's ult, this grants 2 new spells plus an alternative Illuminate.

Spirit Form has a duration of 40 seconds, a cooldown of 80/70/60 seconds, and a mana cost of 100 at all levels.

I will go into further detail about the Blinding Light and Recall abilities as they are what makes KotL's ult even more powerful.


R Recall


"After a short delay, teleports the targeted friendly hero to your location. If the targeted friendly hero takes player based damage during this time, the ability is interrupted."


This spell can be used in many situations, and acts as a free Town Scroll for any allied heroes or can allow junglers to get back into their jungle quicker.

The only unfortunate thing is that this spell does not work for any heroes that run away, as damage they take will cancel the recall.

Recall has a mana cost of 100 and a short duration of 15 seconds, so can be cast up to 4 times while the ult is activated.


Blinding Light

"A blinding light flashes over the targeted area, knocking back and blinding the units in the area, causing them to miss attacks."

This can be cast as a semi-escape as the knockback plus the 80% miss chance will make KotL get away in a lot of situations.

This is also fantastic for initiating team fights. As the knockback has a radius of 675, in an ideal point, this will hit all 5 of their team in mid game. Although this can knock them back into your team, the 80% miss chance is a massive advantage for your team, and allows you to dish out more in the teamfight.

Illuminate

Although KotL already has an illuminate, the boosted one after the ult has been cast allows a ghost to cast it instead of you channelling yourself. This allows you to perform hit and run situations ( cast Illuminate, run back and let it cast) or can be cast as bait, as the enemy team will go towards the damage and find out it's a ghost.

All these spells can be invaluable to any team composition, so make sure they are used wisely!

Item Build and Justification

Starting Items:

The items provide a ton of heal, minute stat boosts, and the vision/courier for the rest of the team. This allows you to harass efficiently and stay in lane with your partner for a fairly long duration of time without being in too much trouble.


Core Items: Mercury Treads are for the extra HP and MS as KotL is squishy and therefore should focus on survivability instead of damage. Obviously BoT are more efficient for pushing and defending creep lanes, but the extra cost of this should only be considered if you have a fantastic early game.
Urn of Shadows is a widely used support item, and provides heals that everybody needs and that KotL lacks as a support. (Under edit as Tranquils seem a better option

Magic Wand is used like it is used on a lot of heroes, the mana and health bonuses it gives are great if the enemy lane has to cast a lot.

Town Portal Scroll is fairly self explanatory, used to push back lanes/push lanes that the BoT would normally give.


Luxury:


Normally Mekansm is all I reach as I am constantly warding and helping my team, but if the situation arises, and you have the gold to spend, consider getting any of the luxury items I have listed.

Other/ FAQ

I know KotL can be played as a different role, especially a mid. However, even though this is viable, it tends not to be the role I PERSONALLY pick, so this is why I posted a support KotL down.


Any questions I see will be posted here, as well as my responses, so make sure to check on them often if you have sent me an inbox

Clarity Potion justification

I've seen a lot of posts resolving around the issue that clarity pots on a KotL early are a BAD idea. Although in certain cases, getting a clarity can be switched around for different items, in most cases they are needed.

P.S


YOU.SHALL.NOT.PASS

:D

iPopCherry(Ashh)