My Guide to Faceless Void

About Me

Hi guys my name is Felix. I have been playing Dota2 for 2.6 years (If I'm not wrong) and you can find me on Instagram or Twitter (@felix_denz).

This is my second guide here, so i expect my elders to give me comments and help me fix my mistakes. If there is a sameness with other's guide, it is a pure coincidental and don't sue me for it.

About Faceless Void

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Lore
Darkterror the Faceless Void is a visitor from Claszureme, a realm outside of time. It remains a mystery why this being from another dimension believes the struggle for the Nemesis Stones is worth entering our physical plane, but apparently an upset in the balance of power in this world has repercussions in adjacent dimensions. Time means nothing to Darkterror, except as a way to thwart his foes and aid his allies. His long-view of the cosmos has given him a remote, disconnected quality, although in battle he is quite capable of making it personal.

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Faceless Void is one of the hardest carry in the game. He scales very well in mid to late game. However, he's kinda squishy in early game, even with high base damage. Synergize well with many heroes, but can be fatal with wrong miscommunication < Chronosphere caught friends when enemy Death Prophet is still activating Exorcism outside Chronosphere (this is only one of the mistakes I have ever done with Void)>.

I saw many people play Faceless Void the wrong way, like wrong Chronosphere location, or tanking teams with him. FACELESS VOID IS NOT A TANK HERO, I REPEAT, HE'S NOT A TANK HERO EVEN THOUGH HE HAS BACKTRACK!!. So that's why I will try to make this guide.

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In this guide I will cover these points:

(*)Pros and Cons
(*)Skill DESCRIPTION
(*)Items
(*)Skill build
(*)Friends and Foes

Pros and Cons

Pros:
(*)High base damage
(*)One of the hardest carry in the game
(*)Scales very well in the game
(*)A perfect Chronosphere means a win team-fight
(*)Good escape mechanism
(*)High damage output thanks to Time Lock



Cons:
(*)Very farm dependant
(*)Mana dependant on early game
(*)Squishy in early game
(*)Susceptible to ganks
(*)A bad Chronosphere means GET KILLED >> TEAMMATES DIE >> EVERYONE ANGRY AT YOU >> REPORTED
(*)Doesn't stack with Skull Basher
(*)First target on war
(*)Pretty low attack speed without items

Skill Description

Rushes to a target location while slowing the movement and attack speed of all enemies along its path for 3 seconds.

Range: 700 / 900 / 1100 / 1300
Radius: 300
Duration: 3
Movement Speed Slow: 20% / 30% / 40% / 50%

(*)Useful when chasing enemy hero
(*) Faceless Void's only escape mechanism
(*)MS slow has a very huge impact on 1-1 battle
(*)Becomes invulnerable when jumping
(*)Doesn't disjoint particles like Magic Missile or Unstable Concoction

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backtrack

Faceless Void dodges damage by jumping backward in time, eluding both physical and magical attacks.

Dodge Chance: 10% / 15% / 20% / 25%

(*)Stacks with evasion, but is subject to chance stacking.
(*)Backtrack will not evade the secondary effects of enemy spells and attacks (such as stuns or slows).
(*)Any damage type can be dodged except HP Removal.
(*)Backtrack works against true strike attack like Monkey King Bar
(*)Backtrack can dodge damage from AOE spells as well as Unit-targeting spells.
(*)Ability is disabled by Doom.

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Adds the chance for an attack to lock an enemy unit in time, stunning it and dealing bonus damage. The duration is twice as long against creeps.

Stun Duration: 1 (2 on creeps)
Damage Bonus: 40 / 50 / 60 / 70
Chance: 10% / 15% / 20% / 25%

(*)Stun works on heroes with Black King Bar
(*) Linken's Sphere doesn't block it as it's not a particle-point skill
(*)80 / 100 / 120 / 140 damage bonus inside in Chronosphere.

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Creates a blister in spacetime, trapping all units caught in its sphere of influence. Only Faceless Void and any units he controls are unaffected. Invisible units in the sphere will be revealed.

Range: 600
Radius: 425
Duration: 4 / 4.5 / 5

(*)Upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter
(*) Black King Bar doesn't block it.
(*) Linken's Sphere doesn't block it.
(*) Repel doesn't block it.
(*) Faceless Void got 1000MS inside it.
(*)timelock gains bonus damage inside it.
(*)Affects everything except courier and the map itself (it's not like the game is paused and only Faceless Void can move.
(*)Evasion is disabled
(*) Faceless Void can still move in other's Chronosphere, but doesn't get bonus movement speed.

Items

Great for tankability. Blocked damage means less injury and you don't have to return to base when you ran out of tangoes. As I say before in my Riki guide, survival is more important than kills.

Main healing items, you know what these does.
Provides stats for sustainability, upgradable to Magic Wand

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Boots of choice. Provides MS, AS, and stats.
Upgraded from 3 Iron Branch, you can either sell the branches or build this when you are facing enemy spammers like Zeus, Batrider, or sometimes phantom assasin that spams Stifling Dagger.
Upgraded from Stout Shield. Great for lane sustaining thanks to the higher damage block. Provides +6 AGI, which is your main attribute.
You can ignore either Magic Wand, Poor Man's Shield, or even both to build this. Provides HP regen, and one of the main ingredient for your wrecking core item, Battle Fury.

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This is your bread and butter. Try finishing this before 20 min, if possible. If not, 25 min is fine. Cleaving ability lets you clear creep waves faster for gold and exp gain. Also provides mana and HP regen, so goodbye mana problems.
People always prefer Crystalys, Yasha, or even Mask of Madness rather than this item. Why? This item provides a little dmg, STR, and a 10/9/8/7/6/5 sec INVULNERABILITY. This means 10s of no skills targeted at you! What's better than that? Note: Be careful of skills that go through BKB such as Culling Blade, Doom, and others.
This item removes Faceless Void's short-comings. ATTACK SPEED. +25 AS is not something to be laughed at, especially when you are trapped within Chronosphere. Also synergize very well with Battle Fury thanks to chain lightning, lol both have area damaging effects. DON'T UPGRADE THIS DIRECTLY TO MJOLLNIR, AS Mjollnir ONLY PROVIDES MORE ATTACK SPEED AND ONE ACTIVE EFFECT THAT IS NOT SO USEFUL. BETTER BUY TALLISMAN OF EVASION FOR Butterfly XD

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Sell your PT and purchase this for split pushing and more MS
Provides ****ty things. AS, DMG, EVASION, AGI, MS. What else do you need?? Counterable by Monkey King Bar
One of the alternatives to Battle Fury. Provides more damage, and a critical chance, which is a huge impact in a Chronosphere.
Upgradable from your early Orb of Venom. Some player focus this from early games. I don't really prefer this, but sometimes I still buy it.
Upgradable from Maelstrom. Provides more AS and +30 DMG on chain lightning. Active skill lets you damage at least 3 enemy heroes by 200 DMG. Not preferable in mid-game. Better upgrade this when you have your Butterfly or at least Eaglesong. I only buy this when I fight Monkey King Bars focusing hero like phantom assasin.
Provides tankability.
OUCH.

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SITUATIONAL

People often argue about this item on Faceless Void. I find this item quite interesting on him. The feedback burns mana really quickly, which is very helpful on heroes with fleeing ability like Anti-Mage or Queen of Pain. Especially when they got stunned. 1s stunned is enough to melt a carry mana, especially when Time Lock keeps jumping out. purge is useful when chasing.
Improves your ultimate, increases the ultimate to 4/5/6 sec. Usually this item follows before / after Refresher Orb. The +10 stats and +HP MP is also pretty good.
Alternative from maelstorm. More attack speed and armor, and minus armor aura is pretty good. DO NOT BUY THIS WHEN YOU HAVE A Lycan ON YOUR TEAM AS HE WILL OF COURSE PURCHASE THIS ITEM. ALWAYS COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR TEAM ON WHO WILL PURCHASE THIS ITEM TO PREVENT DOUBLE CUIRASS
Alternative from Heart of Tarrasque. Provides lifesteal and health, and an active +175% lifesteal for 3.5sec which is terrifying. Usually a 2 man Chronosphere + Satanic means a free health fountain XD.
Useful for early and mid-game jungling. You can buy this when you have an early Ring of Basilius. IF YOU INTEND TO BUY THIS ITEM, NEVER BUY A Morbid Mask FIRST. A MERE LITTLE LIFESTEAL IS NOTHING COMPARED TO Ring of Basilius' AURAS.
Only buy this when you have / planned to purchase Aghanim's Scepter. Double ultimates are fun to watch, and terrifying for the enemy team.
For countering Blur, Butterfly, drunken haze, Drunken Brawler, tallisman of evasion, Smoke Screen, and Heaven's Halberd. One of the highest damage item in the game.
Alternatives from Black King Bar. Useful against point-skill, such as Duel, Life Break, Hex, and many more.
Other alternative from Assault Cuirass. Provides damage and -7 armor aura. Not very popular on Faceless Void.
Provides lifesteal with active increase MS and AS when you take extra 30% DMG. Extremely situational, pick this when you want to snowball hard XD
You know what this does. Very situational, I mostly buy this if I'm not facing "living in jungle" heroes [A.K.A Pudge, Treant Protector, you name it.] or when the game is extremely in our favor. Very situational.

Skill Build

As always, this chapter is not so long, so chill.

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Skill Build 1

At level one, take Time Lock for the bash chances. Taking Time Walk first is also okay, so choose. At level 3 you will have all 3 skills at 1 point. Max Time Lock first for the bash chances and damage. Supports will always accompany you, so there's a high chance for early first blood. Your supports will have the locking skills, so you have to focus on your hitting. Time Lock provides that. After you got 4 points on Time Lock, max both skills EVENLY. Faceless Void is a hard carry. Therefore, you will be farming in early to a-little-bit-mid-game. Maxing Time Walk first is also okay, but I find that 2 or 3 points on it is already enough. Use your points on backtrack too, so that you won't be taking so much damage. When you have 3 points on both skills, max backtrack first then Time Walk. There, you have all skills at 4 points.

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Skill Build 2

Max Time Walk first. This enables you to escape from ganks fairly easy, 1300 range is no joke. Also, maxing Time Walk lets you chase your enemy pretty easy, as the 50% slow is no joke too. After that, max Time Lock for the bashing chances, and lastly backtrack for the dodge chances.

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Skill Build 3

Most people do this. Maxing backtrack first for the lane sustainity, much like phantom assasin maxing Blur first. Especially when you are fighting long-range harrasing hero like Lina or Viper or Sniper with Take Aim. After that, maxing Time Walk or Time Lock first is up to you.

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Friends and Foes

FRIENDS

(*) Death Prophet > Exorcism
(*) Skywrath Mage > Mystic Flare
(*) Omniknight > Repel > free BKB
(*)Stun heroes
(*) Crystal Maiden , Keeper of the Light
(*)AOE heroes like Sand King, Tidehunter and kunkaa that give you set up for Chronosphere
(*) Rune of Double Damage
(*)Bounty Rune. DOTAFIRE please put bounty rune inside.

FOES

(*) Doom
(*) Silencer
(*) Decrepify, bye bye right clicks

Well, as a glass cannon hero, he has many foes. You could say almost everyone is his foes. But that's just Dota XD.

Conclusion

Thanks for reading my guide. Hope that helps, and elders are welcome with open hands! As for newcomers, I will give you a cup of coffee.

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Please.

Updates

Sun, 28 Dec 2014
(*)Added Hand of Midas into Situational Items

Thu, 25 Dec 2014
(*)Added Mask of Madness into Situational Items

Wed, 24 Dec 2014
(*)Guide Published