meepOwnage in your control

Introduction

Before we get started you must ask yourself one thing: Do I have skills to control multiple units and activatable itens? Now that you said "yes" we shall proceed.

Things you should keep in your mind:

1. Meepo is carry, starter, tanker and pusher. Never supporter!
2. Team fights are not recomended on early game and ganking is not a must.
3. Meepo is an early, mid and late-game hero.
4. Meepo can play on every lane (top, bot, mid and jungle), but only playing mid you will be able to make your travel boots in 7 minutes.

A word for DotA 1 players:
If you came from WC3's DotA custom map, you probably know that Meepo is controlled like this:

• F1: Main meepo
• F2: Meepo 2
• F3: Meepo 3
• F4: Meepo 4
• F5: Meepo 5 (Aghanim)

WC3 play-game mode use F1/F2/F3 for heroes on their races (elf, undead, human and orc) but now everything is different. On DotA 2 only your main meepo uses F1, just like any other hero. The game automatically recognizes your heroes in this way:

• F1: Main meepo
• #2: Meepo 2
• #3: Meepo 3
• #4: Meepo 4
• #5: Meepo 5 (Aghanim)

To follow this guide you have to keep in your selected "control + 1" all your meepos. Whenever you are fighting you must keep your eyes on their lifebars (bottom - interface) and quickly REMOVE COMPLETELY this meepo from fight, by clicking F1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 (depending on your meepo who's dying), leaving all full-life meepos fighting. Nobody told you this is an easy task, that's the main reason why people who plays invoker, chen and meepo are respected.

Early-Game, Skills and Build explanations

The standard build is almost like a must for Meepo, in special because you need itens that will affect all the five meepos, leaving you with less building options.

1. STARTING BUILD
   • Headdress: this item will help you on early game because you wont have to worry about getting hit (+3 regen). Then, you can always upgrade this item on mid game (mekansm or vlad). Your healing itens (tango / potion) are useless compared to Headdress and soon or later you wont have them anymore, which means that you will have to buy Headress anyway!
2. EARLY GAME
   • Ring of Basilius: This is also a MUST-DO-ITEM, because just like Headress you will regen both (mana and health) quickly and you wont have to worry about using your poof to creep. If your enemy is a range hero and he doesn't allow you to get close, use your poofs to kill creeps and then rush jungle to poof a single jungle-creep spot and then return to protect your mid-lane.
   • Boots of Speed: You need to move faster ^_^
   • Town portal scroll: If you run out of mana or life in one of your meepos, return him to base (walking) and keep the other meepo closer to creeps just to gain XP. As soon as your low-life/mana meepo arrives home, teleport the other one to your base, get a TP and return to mid (ps: it's smart to buy 2 TPs, because you will be able to provide assistance in case your top/bot opponents decide to dive in your top/bot towers).
3. A-MUST-DO
   • Boots of Travel: Please don't buy any other boots, that's the reason why I've added all the other boots on 'rejected list'. YOU ARE A PUSHER! With this item you can ALWAYS return to your base to heal and quickly get back on Team Fights or then travel to another lane and push and destroy all in-game towers. Double click it with any damaged Meepo (after getting some safe-distance obviously) and you should be fine.
   • Blink Dagger: This one will help you to kill anyone who dares to walk alone or farm. You teleport to a tower or any of your creeps on fog, blink to your enemy, earthbind him and poof all of your meepos on him (TAB + F + TARGET / TAB + F + TARGET / [...])
   • Aghanim's Scepter: This is your main item for sure, because you will have an extra meepo and also extra stats. Thanks to Aghanim all your meepos will become stronger and harder to die.
4. SITUATIONAL
   • Assault: This item increses the armor and attack speed of all of your meepos. You will die harder and hit faster, this item is a great plus for your geostrike skill. With an Assault, you will barely have to care about your earthbind.
   • Gem: If you earthbind an unit before it becomes invisible, this unit will stay visible until your earthbind releases it. However, you can always use a new earthbind before the previous one fade away. Nevertheless, some players cannot manage to do it quickly, so a GEM becomes important for players who're still getting used to meepo's skills.
   • Mekansm: this was a must-do on DotA 1, but not on DotA 2. You will only build this item if you have become an easy target and didn't manage to get your dagger and travel before 14 minutes of game. Also, remember that buying this item will delay your aghanim, so think twice.
   • Tarrasque: Straight to the point: 5 tankers!
   • Vyse: This is a MUST-DO against Counter and Escapist heroes. Your earthbind holds Anti-Mages and QOP, but this wont hold a Storm, Mirana or ANY OTHER hero who makes a Ghost Scepter or Force Staff. Also, sometimes you will need a vyse if you want to kill heroes that reprents a great danger to you (Tiny, ES, Sven, Legion, Lina, etc). Recently Vyse became a MUST-DO in 100% of the games I've played and it was very useful against heroes I couldn't fight because they were too strong (Trol, Slark and Legion). So if you are facing a hard match, buy this one before you get an Aghanim.
   • Boots of Travel (LvL.2): This is the 7th and last item of your building, you will only buy this item after 45-50 minutes of game and only if you're already full-itens. With this item you can protect your allies from getting ganked.

Your first skill is certainly earthbind (E) because you will need it to ensnare anyone who tries to take your rune from you. The first rune is a big XP BOOSTER for meepo and will help you to kill your opponent at level 3.

Your second skill is poof because you will need it to kill your opponent, don't use it right now to creep, because you don't have enough mana to creep and kill. From level 4 poof is always your priority because of it's damage.

At level 6 you cannot increase your poof so you upgrade Geostrike to slow down your enemies movement (in case they try to run from you). You wont upgrade it after level 7, because you need to improve the range of your earthbind. Considering that your dagger will be bought around 12 - 14 minutes of game, you will need earthbind upgrade to ensnare long-range targets.

Remember that on early/mid game it's your poof (magic damage) that kills your enemies, it's not your passive damage.

You have two tasks to accomplish on early-game and if you do that the game is yours, otherwise you will be competing just like the other nine heroes:

1. TAKE THE RUNE!
   • If you manage to get the first rune you have great chances to do a first-blood, because you will reach level 3 faster and as soon as you have two meepos you must give it a try.
2. FIRST BLOOD!
   1. If your opponent is range it will be harder (in special Lina and Invoker), but you will have to give it a try anyway, but if we are talking about a meele opponent, killing him is a must (pudge is your bonus-gold/xp)!
   2. Whenever your opponent get closer to the creeps (between levels 1-2) try to hit him and return. When you reach level 3 it's your best chance to kill him, your opponent will stay in allert now but you will have several gaps, specially if you're in your high-ground.
   3. At level 3 you must hit him with both meepos and when he losses 1/3 of his life, you will have to use your skills quickly: After hitting him a bit you will throw your first earthbind (press 'E' for classic setting) with your meepo 1, get closer to him, press TAB and use poof (press 'F') with your meepo 2. As soon as your meepo 2 arrives you will use earthbind ('E') with your meepo 2, press TAB again, and then poof ('F') with your meepo 1. If your opponent is not dead you still have a chance to kill him, which is moving alongside him while hitting. This "moving" is just your coldown for the next hit!

You can also wait until level 4 and upgrade your poof to level 2, this will improve your magic damage, but remember that if you took the rune you will reach level 3 faster and you will be able to easily kill your level 2 opponent.

Never hit those creeps because you don't want neither your opponent hitting you from highground nor fighting closer to his tower. You have to hit him a bit, don't worry if he hits you back (but keep your life around 2/3) because opponents like Lina, Never and Invoker could become your nightmare.

Farming and Team Fights

This guide does not focus on 'what do I have to do on mid and late game' but mostly on how to alternate your style between pusher and fighter. This is the key for you and your team to carry mid and late game without a problem.

Farming:

If you managed to kill someone on early game you probably built your travel between 7 - 9 minutes and your blink dagger between 10 - 12 minutes. It's common to build your travel around 10 and dagger around 14, delaying more than that means that you failed and you will probably become an easy target.

With Travel and Dagger you don't have extra stats, but you have great mobility to kill, scape, farm and push lanes. YOU MUST AT ALL COSTS AVOID STARTING A TEAM FIGHT during early or mid-game, because you die so quickly as you kill. If a Team Fight is happening, wait for a gap to jump on weaker targets (Intelligence Heroes) because they are weaker and also because they wont be able to provide support from heaven.

As soon as you get your boots you will have to "rage-farm" all lanes and even your jungle. You can always leave a lane (bot or top) for your HC to farm, specially because meepo usually takes the whole xp and gold from the rest of his team. If you do that, make sure you also carry your team over your shoulder.

Another possibility to avoid getting xp and gold from your team mates, stay farming mid and jungle and wait for the right moment to teleport bot/top just to kill enemies and then return to regen.

Team Fights:

Sometimes you will have to completely avoid team fights. If you notice that your opponents are together waiting for an opportunity to dive in one of your towers, teleport to another lane and push it. Note that someone will back to defend and then you can teleport back to your tower and help your team to defend it. In case your opponent forgets about you, keep pushing and destroy everything, you will have two options and you will have to decide quickly:

1. You teleport back and help your team to defend or attack. If all of your team dies (including you) your tower will fall as well.
2. Ignore your team and keep advancing. If your whole team dies you will have destroyed their towers. If your whole team dies, but they brought some opponents with them, you are fine to keep pushing and kill anyone who decides to return. Even if your team complains about you, this is a strategic decision for hard games (situational).

The second option is a good choice sometimes, in special if your whole team (including you) is a lot weaker than your opponent's team. This means your only chance is pushing the towers and forcing them to return. With this you grant your team an opening to start a TF against the ones who decided to stay. Also, meepo is able to kill any kind of hero who decides to return alone, so you still have an advantage.

Keep in mind that you have only one hero, so your advantage is clear only on one-on-one fights (you should be fine on 1v2 as well, but never 1v3). You have great chances to make triple-kills, ultra-kills or even rampage, but you cannot do any miracle alone, specially against stunners (Lina, ES, Sven, Tiny) or multiple-damage heroes (Lich, Kunkka, Invoker).

Last but not least, if you are willing to kill roshan alone, remember that you will need at least 4 meepos (Level 16 or bellow with an aghanim, or Level 17), a vladimir and a smoke. The best moment to go roshan is when some of your enemies are dead or when they're getting together to push or defend a lane.

Foes

This would be awesome if your whole team could remove your main counters, but considering that it's just a dream and that your target is solo mid, let's talk about your main enemies and how to counter your counters.

Early Game Trouble

	Axe is for sure an early game trouble, maybe a mid game trouble and never a late game trouble. Avoid getting close to him on early game, use wisely your earthbind so your team can do the rest. Once you have 4 meepos, feel free to jump on Axe, he's no longer harmful to you.
	You simply cannot kill a good invoker on early game. Be careful if you try to kill him on this stage, because if you die, your team will have problems through the rest of your game and this will be your fault.
	Lina is seriously a trouble to you in all stages, but as soon as she get level 6, don't even think about fighting her alone. One stun followed by Ult is enough for you to fail.
	Most players believe that Never is weak and should be a problem only after building his BKB. Well, this is not how it works if you're playing as meepo. If you play mid against this hero, make sure you don't waste your opportunity to kill him right after you reach level 3, because he wont allow you to farm and if you dare, consider yourself dead.

Late Game Trouble

	If this heroes gets stronger during mid-game, you will have serious trouble during mid and late game, because he wont allow you to push lanes. In case he goes mid against you, you must kill him at least once before level 6. After that, your earthbind is nothing to him.
	A strong Kunkka can make you disappear with a single combo of Torrent, Ult and Splash. Be careful, a good Kunkka does not waste his chances and once you are marked, you're dead.
	Riki is a headache on late-game, because you cannot counter him even if you have a MKB. You will need a GEM and a VYSE, be faster and kill him before you get inside his smoke.
	This guy will easily kill you on late-game, all he needs is a BKB and a dagger. Be careful and don't walk alone late-game if this hero is your enemy.
	It doesn't matter how strong is your meepo on late-game, without a vyse you are an easy target for any Legion with a dagger.
	She will basically hold one or two of your meepos and kill it before the other meepos reach her. Your damage is nothing to her, so you will have to pray for your poof to be enough, or else you die.

Whole Game Trouble

	You simply cannot get outside his trap with a poof. If you get trapped, blink all your meepos inside his trap and try to kill him, because you cannot run from this guy.
	Gyro is such a headache for you, avoid fighting him specially till you get strong enough, because your low-stats Meepo is fresh meet for Gyro.
	What to say about Lich?! Kill him and forget all the other enemies on Team Fight. Just do it fast because if he uses his ULT, your chances to stay alive are low, specially if there's someone besides him.
	People believe that this hero could be a problem to you, but don't take it this way. You can always kill him alone, he's just a trouble if other enemies are near.
	Your earthbind doesn't work properly in this hero, so he can easily run away from you. Don't waste your time trying to gank this hero.
	Timber is a whole-game-trouble because he will never be afraid of you and when you think the win is in your hands, he will grab a tree behind you and your meepo wont survive.
	This is another 'waste of time' to you unless you have a VYSE. You simply cannot kill this guy with a proper set of itens. You will need a stunner or disable in your team.
	Tide is strong but he's not harmful alone. Don't be afraid of him unless his team is close to him.
	Your POOF is useless against Ursa's ultimate and he can quickly kill your meepo. So what you have to do is: take off the damaged Meepo and LET THE OTHERS HITTING HER BACK. If you try to run away you will die.
	When this hero is walking with his team, she will focus on you and there's nothing you can do. She's one of your main targets on team fights.

Your worst nightmare

	SVEN is your first nightmare. He just needs a dagger or shadow blade to rip you. VYSE is the only item you can use to counter a SVEN!
	Usually ES starts the TF, all you have to do is to keep your main meepo (Meepo 1) out of range and wait for the right moment to earthbind or vyse ES. Whenever an ES is in the game, ALWAYS AVOID STARTING! Keep wathing the TF and wait until ES gets inside and only then you make your move.
	If Tiny gets strong just like you, no matter which itens you have, he will kill you. All of you have to do is to stay behind and out of range, wait for Tiny to start and then jump on him. Your ally will probably die but that's a must if you're willing to have any chances against this tough guy.

Conclusion and Acknowledgements

This is my first guide and Meepo is my best hero. I've played over 1000 matches with Meepo (since DotA 1) and the changes are really small. This tutorial took me half a day to build, so I hope you enjoy reading this guide.

Different than most heroes, you cannot play Meepo while reading a tutorial. This guide has been made for those who're willing to read it carefully until the end and for those who're already skilled enough to control five units.

This hero was created for those who were used to play WC3 or SC2, players who don't have any problem microing several units at once with an APM above 220.

I am open for any criticism, but please make sure you read everything before you begin a discusison.

Thanks Euro and everybody who did read this guide!

Best Regards,
In.My.ConTroL.