Manly Supports Are Best Supports

Introduction

6.82 - Rekindling Soul update :


6.83 - Shifting Snows update :

Sven support CONFIRMED !

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Hello everyone, and thanks for clicking on my guide :D
With the latest updates, giving Sven some great supporting tools, I was wondering if it was somewhat viable to play the manliest of the fighters... as a little support :3

So, why not give it a try ?

Pros & Cons

Pros :

+ GIFF TONS OF DAMAGES AND ARMOR BUFFS TO YOUR WHOLE TEAM
+ Good aura carrier if built tanky enough
+ Easy stun easy ganks easy life
+ Scales well with items as the game goes on

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Cons :

- Big mana problems, even in mid-late game (poor int gain)
- Still items dependant (you don't need much though)
- Better in a team full of right-clickers (is this even a con ?)
- What is this big sword for ? You can't even hit with it.

Play style

First, never forget that you are a support.
Even if in this build, I give some good late game items such as Assault Cuirass or Scythe of Vyse, you are not even supposed to reach them, because you will be buying wards and support stuff all the game long.

That's why I stopped at Crimson Guard in my sample build. In most game, you won't go any further.

By the way, if you see some creeps that your carry is definitely not taking, you can farm them to get your stuff earlier. This situation is pretty common in mid-late game, and you should take the best out of it.

Now to the support part: You will basically see two play styles possible as a support, roaming, and staying on the lane.

Laning

This is the classical pub support. You stay with your carry on the lane, without taking his farm, and try to set up some kills for him.
As Sven, you will be able to be agressive, with your stuns and armor boost, don't hesitate to go in and make the enemy fear you, so they can't farm properly.
As a lane support, you will have to stack and pull. Don't forget it, it will really help your carry farming.

Roaming

Roaming is what support Sven is best at.
If you see that your carry can hold the lane alone (or if you are in a trilane), then just travel on the map, ganking as much as possible.
It will allow your carry to get more experience, and you will hopefully give kills to your mates.
Ganking with Sven is pretty easy. Just go in, Storm Hammer, Warcry, and hit the most as you can until they all die :D


I won't give you precise advices on how to gank, ward or stack/pull here, because other guides are doing it better than I would be, so, just check them out.

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I feel like this part is not complete, but I don't know what else to say at the moment.
I think I will rework it in a few time, when I will be better at writing, and playing the game itself.
Sorry if you felt this part of the guide wasn't interesting enough... :<

Skills

     Storm Hammer

Sven has one of the best stuns in the game, and that's Storm Hammer.
Stuns in AOE, deals a good amount of damages, and it's not even a skillshot (it's rather a killshot... ahah.)
Just click on the enemy and "Look at it go !".
The only downside to this is his mana cost. It feels like every time you cast this spell, your whole mana pool has gone (and it could be the case, indeed).

I max it first, because DAMAGES.
It doesn't increase the stun duration, but for killing purpose (and that's what you want), damages are great too.

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     Great Cleave

Great Cleave allows Sven to... cleave. Yea.
This won't be reaaally useful as a support, at least in early game.
It can help you pushing lanes though, and it will help farming in late game.
I up it as late as possible, because in early you just don't want to push your lane. So lvl 10 that is.

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     Warcry

Now we are talking about supporting.
Warcry will give you and all your surrounding allies a huge defense boost, and a sweet move speed boost too.
Much appreciable during ganks or teamfights, and it will help you to save your mates too.

You need it at max level asap.

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     God's Strength

"bonus dmg, just for me ?
meh, am a support, u fgt."

Nah !
An Aghanim's Scepter will turn your God's Strength into a really good supporting tool.
You will basically be able to give a DD to any allies in a 900 radius, for 25 seconds.

I'm pretty sure all of your carries will appreciate that really much ;)

Items

Starting items

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Classic support start. Ask the other support to give you one ward. If you're alone, then just go without ward and buy some asap. Or you could go with Animal Courier+ Observer Ward+ Tango+ Magic Stick. I like having a Stout Shield on melee heroes though. It really helps in early game, and you can build a Vanguard out of it later.

Early game options

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After my Brown Boots, I like going for a Soul Ring, because it really solves your early mana problems. Soul Ring gives 150 mana, and your stun needs 140. So... infinite stunning :D The downside to this is you have to get Tranquil Boots to heal the self damage. If you are roaming, another option is the Urn of Shadows. As you will most likely be killing (or at least help doing it), you should get some charges pretty early, which can help either you or your mates in difficulty. Last option is Medallion of Courage, which I'm not fond of, but it can help getting some difficult kills on armored enemies. And since 6.83, it can now be used to give a +7 bonus armor to an ally too, which is nice.

Boots choice

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If you went Soul Ring, it seems logical to get Tranquil Boots, as you will be hurting yourself each time you cast your stun. Tranquil Boots will basically help you recovering from these damages, and gives a nice armor buff too. Otherwise, Arcane Boots seems a better choice. First, because you are a support, and giving mana to your allies perfectly fits this role. But it will help you too, as you will need mana at some point. +250 max mana, and 100/min isn't anything (even if Soul Ring actually gives you 150/30sec). I would not recommend Power Treads, as you are not here to hit fast. At least in early game. Maybe you should get either Tranquil Boots or Arcane Boots, and change it for Power Treads or Boots of Travel later in the game.

Mid game options

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You should be getting only one of these items. Otherwise, it would delay your Aghanim's Scepter too much. I like Vanguard the most here, because it makes you really tanky, and can be built into a Crimson Guard a little later. Tanky Sven = Fighting Sven ! Enemy won't hurt you at all with your Warcry and Vanguard, so you can just run in and get some kills with help from your mates. Another really legit choice is Vladmir's Offering, particularly in heavy-melee team compositions. If more than 2 of your mates are melee heroes, then it could be worth it to give them that nice 15% lifesteal. It does otherwise give a nice +16% damage buff, and some armor, which are really nice, and scales well with your other capacities. After come Drum of Endurance and Blade Mail, which I'm not used to build on Sven. Anyway, Drum of Endurance gives a good speed aura, so as an aura carrier, you should like that. Blade Mail will help you yoloing in, but for that purpose, I really think building a Vanguard is a better choice. Blade Mail would help solving your mana problems though, with its nice +10 intelligence bonus.

Core item

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DOUBLE DAMAGE FOR YOUR WHOLE TEAM ! Not much more to say, that's great, so you should get it as soon as possible. This is the only item that I consider core on support Sven. Others are facultative, this one is not :)

Late game options

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There are plenty of items that can be useful to get just after your Aghanim's Scepter.
You will maybe have to farm a bit to get some of them, but that's ok if your carry is not doing it. You should not be stealing farm from your mates though, just get golds as you can.

Blink Dagger will help you initiate, by setting up easy stuns.

Crimson Guard can be built out of your Vanguard, and is clearly a Mekansm for strength heroes. It will give a really neat buff to your whole team, and doesn't cost any mana. You should totally abuse it, combined with Warcry, to make your team invicible.
My favorite item to get after Agh's, by far.

Heaven's Halberd doesn't cost too much, and makes you tanky (25% evasion) while giving you a nice support active: Disarm.

Black King Bar for sustain in fights, so your allies will benefit from your auras as long as you can live. Should be built if there are too much stuns and magical damages. A Pipe of Insight can be a good choice too, in some situation. Be careful though, it costs mana !

Assault Cuirass is a really good item on support Sven if you manage to farm it. It scales so well with your Warcry and God's Strength, you should buy it every time you think it's possible.

Shiva's Guard and Scythe of Vyse are good items that will completely solve your mana problems, with these huge intelligence boosts. They have pretty good actives too, that you can use in fights, now that you have the mana for.


In really late game, you will likely come to turn into a carry, building damages so you can profit from your own God's Strength. Sven is one of the most well-scaling heroes in late game, so it would be a shame to not profit from that.
As soon as you feel the time is right, you can build items such as Abyssal Blade, Daedalus, etc. to get as much damages as you can.
You can even show you balls, buying the forbidden Divine Rapier ;)


Support items are not an option :)

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Should I repeat it ? Maybe yes... Don't forget you are a support ! I just showed you some items you should get in very late game. But before, you will have to buy wards, and more wards, and more again :D

Friends & Foes

Friends

As friends, support Sven will like right-clickers that can take the most out of it Aghs God's Strength, such as: Sniper, Drow Ranger, Shadow Fiend, etc.

If you are going for a Vlad's, melee carries such as Anti-Mage, Phantom Assassin, Legion Commander, Slark etc., will really like you. They profit a lot from your Warcry and God's Strength too.

Other than hard carries, support Sven will be loved by stunner such as Lina or Leshrac, who needs a set up for their stun.
By the way, another hero in the team will have to carry a mek, because you just can't, considering your poor mana pool. So either support like Dazzle, Bane or semi-carries such as Viper and Razor.

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Foes

You don't like Omniknight. At all.
His Guardian Angel basically cancels your God's Strength.

Conclusion

First of all, many thanks for reading this guide :)

This is my first guide, and I can understand that it's not perfect.
Writing this, I realized how hard it could be to provide quality content, and maybe mine is not.

Some people (most people ?) surely won't agree with me, and what I said in this guide.
Well, after all, I'm a just a 2k MMR scrub trying to get into guide writing and provide some Dota content :)

Didn't want to tell this at the beggining, because I know you wouldn't read a guide written by a noob, right ? :D
But yeah, now here it is, and I hope it can at least come to a debate on support Sven, which I really think is viable after this 6.82 update.

Once again:
Thank you, who read that guide :D


By the way, I hope there isn't too many grammar mistakes in these lines.
I'm a French guy, and everybody knows that Frenches eh... struggle with other languages :/
Hope my english was not too bad for you :)

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GUDBYE o/