Pub Venomancer : A plague on your foes (out of date)

Introduction

Welcome to my Venomancer public game guide! This game was created for people who wish to play Venomancer in an All Pick public game. It is based on my own experience and what I have seen other people build Venomancer as. I do not pretend to be the best at playing Venomancer; the build presented here is merely the one I think is best in order to win in public games.

When to pick Venomancer:

• Nobody has picked a support / pusher yet
• Somebody picked a great lane partner for you (see the Lane Partners chapter of this guide)
• You need burst damage / lane control
• You feel like being an annoyance to the enemy team

When not to pick Venomancer:

• Somebody picked Storm Spirit or you know you will be up against a kill lane
• You have enough team fight potential / burst damage / pushing potential already
• Your team is lacking in hard CC

Strengths and Weaknesses

STRENGTHS Very strong laning phase, especially against melee opponents Very good for first blood Plague Ward has incredible utility Level 3 Poison Nova + Aghanim's Scepter = strongest damage over time in the game

SPA

WEAKNESSES Squishy Pipe of Insight counters Venomancer No escape mechanism Needs to capitalize on his early game advantage

Skill order

Your skill order REALLY depends on the opponent's team; as such, the skill order presented above is the "Standard" build - the one I like to use the most. It is optimal to use this skill build when in a lane with heroes that can get an easy kill with the help of Venomous Gale, such as Ursa, Juggernaut or Riki.

Venomous Gale is important to max out as early as possible, as it deals a lot of damage - more than Poison Sting at level 4. Poison Sting should be maxed second, with an early point at level 2, in order to annoy your opponents as much as possible; however, the slow doesn't become much stronger with levels, so it isn't important to max it as soon as possible in most situations. Plague Ward is taken at level 4 in order to protect your lane from ganks / push the lane, but it can be taken earlier (level 2, then Poison Sting at 4) or later (level 7-8) depending on the situation and the skill of the enemy team. And, of course, take Poison Nova whenever you can, as it is your most damaging and annoying skill.

However, there are many different possibilities, especially in pub games, and I will present some other here.

I am in a lane with a hero that cannot get easy kills and needs farm.
In that case, take more points of Poison Sting early on and harass your opponents while letting the carry farm. Poison Sting is a powerful dissuading tool in the early game.

I am against a lane with two ranged heroes.
Ouch, sucks for you. You can either use the standard build or try a more defensive build by putting more points in Plague Ward and harassing your opponents with those. Remember, your plague wards give 10 gold on death, so try not to give your opponent too much free gold.

I am against a lane with a ranged hero and a melee hero, but my lanemate sucks!
Play defensively. Put more points into Plague Ward than you normally would. Either that, or build the standard build and try to get as many kills as you can yourself.

I am in a solo lane against two heroes.
Hug the tower and max Plague Ward first, then Venomous Gale. Do NOT try to get kills unless your mid ganks. Venomancer benefits from being in a solo lane because he will get more experience and gold, but he is also very squishy and has no escape mechanism, so don't overextend and play like a fool. Against two people, your goal is to not die and hold the tower for as long as possible, not get kills.

I am against a trilane.
You're up against a trilane in a pub game? Your luck sucks. All right. It's unlikely that your team mates will send another person as backup, so you're going to have to play defensively. Max Plague Wards then Venomous Gale, and take a point of Poison Sting early in order to poke their carry from a safe distance. Hold the tower for as long as possible, and deny as many creeps as you possibly can.

I really, really, really feel like pushing every single lane / I am in a lane with another pusher such as Leshrac or Broodmother.
Poison Nova > Plague Ward > Venomous Gale > Poison Sting, taking the first point of Venomous Gale at level 2 and the first point of Poison Sting at level 4. Put your Plague Wards around the enemy's tower and consider buying a Ring of Basilius instead of a Bracer for mana sustain. Have fun watching your opponents cry.

Items

Here I will explain my item choice. I have my own build, but you may switch items around if you deem it necessary - I hear Shadow Blade or Urn of Shadows are popular, but they are situational items (Shadow Blade if you need the escape, Urn of Shadows if you're playing Ganker Venomancer or get lots of kills). Personally, I don't use them.

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Start of game

• Animal Courier because it's unlikely that anyone else will buy it. If someone does, you can either pick Observer Ward or some more regeneration, your choice. (If you pick wards, put it down in such a way that the rune closest to you is visible.) Remember to upgrade it later if no one else will!
• 3x Iron Branch because it will segway into a Magic Wand later on.
• Tango, Healing Salve and Clarity for the regeneration. If you find that, at the end of the laning phase (or when you've destroyed your lane's tower), you haven't used all of your regeneration items, either give some to your allies or sell them, depending on the situation.

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Early game

• Magic Wand because you are going to need the sustain and the stats in order to live a bit more in team fights.
• Boots of Speed is pretty obvious. Venomancer is quite fast with just those boots, so if you have a good game, it is not always necessary to upgrade them.
• Ring of Basilius gives you a little bit more survivability, especially in the early/mid game. It also gives you some mana regen and allows you to push faster. As a note, consider taking a Bracer instead if the enemy you're facing deals mostly magic damage and that you need more HP (and that you don't feel like pushing.)
• Bottle is picked up because Venomancer uses up a lot of mana, but mostly in bursts, so a quick, reliable regeneration item like a Bottle is better for him, especially since it regenerates both health and mana (with the added benefit that you can now bottle runes). Save it for when you really need it, and don't forget to use it all up before bottling a rune (since bottling a rune will give you all of your charges back).

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Your mid game item build will then depend on whether you've had a good early game (lots of kills, lots of cs, tower destroyed, etc.) or a bad early game (enemy team keeps focusing you, lots of death, etc.).

Mid game with a good early game


Upgrade your Ring of Basilius as soon as you are able. The added stats will benefit Venomancer greatly, adding both to his survivability and attack speed, but only bother to do this if you are having a good game in the first place - if you aren't, you're gonna need something stronger.

As a Venomancer in a pub game, you will NEED Aghanim's Scepter as soon as possible, especially if you've had a good game so far. You can find some good number crunching in this playdota guide, but basically, picking up an Aghanim's Scepter early on will improve your ultimate by one step (for instance, if Poison Nova is level 2 and you pick up Aghanim's Scepter, your ult will do the same damage as your level three Poison Nova). But that's not even the best part; at level three, with the Scepter, Poison Nova will deal a whooping 1728 damage over 16 seconds, on a 60 seconds cooldown! Picking this item as soon as possible will positively WRECK the enemy team - more than you've already been wrecking them, I mean.

Mid game with a bad early game
Pick one: VERSUS
Don't pick both - if you're having a bad game, you just need an escape mechanism to help you live longer. Here is my reasoning between those two items:

• Eul's Scepter of Divinity gives you higher movement speed and mana regen, can be used to save yourself (temporarily) from a gank or it can be used to stop a fleeing opponent. It is very good if the enemy team has lots of stun and insists on ganking you a lot - picking this item up will give your team the time to save you (in a pub game? Yeah, right) or at least give you enough time to cast Poison Nova.
• Force Staff gives you better attack speed, but mostly, it has FAR more utility than Eul's Scepter of Divinity. Using this item correctly can save you from a gank, help you position your Poison Nova or your Venomous Gale, draw a fleeing ennemy back to you, throw your tank in, and so on and so forth. It is extremely useful to have this in your kit - even if you're not having such a bad game.

Personally, I prefer Force Staff over Eul's Scepter of Divinity most of the time, but again, it's situational.

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Late game with a good early/mid game
At this stage of the game, Venomancer starts to lose some power, especially if the enemy team picks up a Pipe of Insight. Therefore, your role will be to be an utter annoyance to the enemy team. Pick the following items according to the situation :

• Pick Power Treads if you keep getting focused in team fights (Strength setting), or if you feel like you need more attack speed (Agility setting). I suggest taking those any way at this stage of the game, but you could take some Boots of Travel if you're REALLY fed.
• Pick Force Staff if you need an escape mechanism, or if you're having trouble positioning Poison Nova.
• Pick Ghost Scepter if they have a lot of melee heroes in the enemy team, and if you need to counter them.
• Pick Shiva's Guard if you're always in the middle of team fights / need extra survivability while preventing the enemies from fleeing.
• Pick Orchid Malevolence if there's an Intelligence carry / ganker in the enemy team ( Storm Spirit, Bane) and if he keeps annoying you.
• Pick Scythe of Vyse if no one else has one at this point, and use it on the carry.

If you have money left but your inventory is full, save for a buyback - you'll need it in the later stages of the game.

Late game with a bad early/mid game
If you're still having trouble despite picking up a Force Staff or a Eul's Scepter of Divinity, take the following items:

• It's a bit late for Aghanim's Scepter but you can still use it in order to wreck the enemy team. Plus, it'll give you a bit more survivability.
• Take the Power Treads and keep them on the Strength setting - it'll help you survive some more.

You shouldn't have too much money if you have got to this stage of the game while having a bad day, but if you do, save for a buyback.

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Full Support Venomancer
I don't recommend going full support on Venomancer most of the times, especially in a pub game, but if you really feel like it, build the following items (always have room for wards / a TP scroll):

Most of them are standard support items and are straight-forward, but some need a special footnote for pub games:

• Pick Sentry Ward ONLY if you are SURE the enemy team has Wards / an invisible hero like Bounty Hunter / Broodmother / Riki, and place it in order to counter-ward or counter those heroes.
• Pick Dust of Appearance to counter invisible heroes.
• Pick Smoke of Deceit only if your team is smart and can gank when under its effect.

As always, make sure no one else is taking Mekansm or Drum of Endurance before building it, because the auras don't stack!

Lane partners

Here I will discuss some good partners for Venomancer.

Carries with tons of early game damage
Skeleton King
Those heroes can capitalize on your Venomous Gale and get some easy kills in the early game, making them unstoppable by the late game if done correctly.

Heroes with a long stun / good burst damage

If those heroes go in your lane, then you can use your Venomous Gale along with Poison Sting while your lanemate uses his stun in order to destroy the enemy lane. They will never see it coming!

Pushers

If you're in a lane with another pusher, then skill Plague Ward first and have fun pushing the tower with no one to stop you. Most of those heroes do need a solo lane for the experience, though - but hey, it's a pub game, anything can happen.

Greatest enemies

Venomancer is not without his weaknesses, however, so he does have some mortal enemies. Here are some of them:

Kill lanes
with , anything with , etc.
Venomancer is extremely vulnerable, and he has no escape mechanism, so if he's up against a kill lane, then he will be left powerless. In the case of a dangerous lane, build Plague Ward first and then turtle - it's your only chance not to feed.

Heroes with high mobility

Heroes with high mobility, and especially Storm Spirit, will destroy you. The worst part is that they can easily avoid your Poison Nova and your Venomous Gale, making them the worst possible enemy for Venomancer.

A competent Pudge

In public games, competent Pudges are relatively rare, but they can happen, and if they do, oh boy. He will eat you up before you can even realize what happened, and you have no way to flee from him. If you have a competent Pudge up against you, take Plague Ward at level 2 and put some near the trees next to your lane, so you can see his ganks coming.

Silencers

Heroes with a silence will most likely use it on you, as it prevents most of your damage ( Venomous Gale + Poison Nova), which is extremely annoying. They aren't the worst counter to Venomancer, but they're up there.

Unusual/situational items

In this section I will attempt to explain why some people build certain items on Venomancer, and which situations are best for building those items.


The Orb of Venom is actually a fairly popular item on Venomancer. Why, you may ask, when you already have Poison Sting, which is essentially the same thing but even better? That is because Orb of Venom's slow and damage stacks with Poison Sting, making your right-click harass even more potent. Very few heroes in Dota 2 are capable of out-harassing a Venomancer with an Orb of Venom, but it remains a very situational pick.

Mostly, it is only really good if you're up against a melee hero or two in your lane. Never build an Orb of Venom against a lane with two ranged heroes, it just won't be of any use to you. Furthermore, if you do decide to build an Orb of Venom, build it immediately after buying your Boots of Speed. Obviously, you shouldn't build an Orb of Venom if you're unable to harass in the first place, perhaps because the mid lane is a competent Pudge, or perhaps because they have an aggressive jungler.

If all the conditions are met, you should now be able to completely prevent your enemies from farming. Have fun making them cry and rage while you laugh as you and your lane partner completely dominate your lane.


Both of those items are also good on Venomancer (and Shadow Blade is very often picked on him, as evidenced by Dotabuff data and the best-rated Venomancer guide on Dotafire as of this writing), but they both assume that Venomancer is played as a ganker (probably in the mid lane), and not as a lane support.

While Venomancer is a very potent ganker thanks to Venomous Gale, I generally do not play him in the mid lane and prefer to stay with my lane mate in order to grab kills on our opponents, or just to help him and me farm. If, however, you prefer to play more aggresively, feel free to build a Shadow Blade before or after your Aghanim's Scepter, depending on how the game is going, and a Urn of Shadows instead of a ring of aquilia.

One thing, however, if you decide to play Ganker Venomancer: your are very squishy, and Shadow Blade is countered by Dust of Appearance and Sentry Ward. You also do not have a stun and you have to aim your slow carefully (this is not exactly a problem most of the time, but it can take some getting used to). This is why I prefer to stay in my lane, but it can work. It's all situational, of course.

Venomous Gale VS Poison Sting

Here I will examine the differences between Venomous Gale and Poison Sting, which should explain my choice for prefering to max the former over the latter.

• 50% slow across all levels
• Deals damage every 3 seconds for a duration of 15 seconds: 5 damage instances + initial strike damage
• Level 1: 25 strike damage + 5*15 periodic damage = 100 damage
• Level 4: 100 strike damage + 5*60 periodic damage = 400 damage
• Low on health units affected by this spell can be denied
• Black King Bar blocks damage but not slow

• 11%/12%/13%/14% slow (15%/16%/17%/18% with Orb of Venom
• Deals damage every second for a duration of 6/7/8/9 seconds: 6/7/8/9 damage instances + auto-attack damage
• Level 1, no Orb of Venom: 6*5 = 30 damage + auto-attack damage
• Level 1, with Orb of Venom: 12 + 5*6 = 42 damage + auto-attack damage
• Level 4, no Orb of Venom: 9*20 = 180 damage + auto-attack damage
• Level 4, with Orb of Venom: 12 + 9*20 = 192 damage + auto-attack damage
• "Upgraded" by Orb of Venom
• Low on health units affected by this spell cannot be denied
• Black King Bar blocks damage but not slow

As you can see, Venomous Gale deals more damage than Poison Sting, since Venomancer's basic auto-attacks are not very strong to begin with. In the early game, 400 damage is good, even with resistance added in. Therefore, it is my opinion that it should be maxed first.

Of course, there are situations where it would be preferable to max Poison Sting first, as explained earlier (mostly if there are two melee heroes in your lane, or if you're up against a melee carry). Frankly, the choice is up to you. Venomous Gale merely has my preference, but it is also perfectly valid to max Poison Sting first, as long as the situation calls for it. Both deal magical damage (although Venomancer's auto-attack deals physical damage, of course), so Null Field or Spell Shield are strong against both of them anyway.

Conclusion

Venomancer is a great hero for public games, mostly because he can annoy the hell out of the enemy team and deal some very good damage, while still being able to push the lanes and defend his towers like no one else can. He is not a pure pub-stomper, but he will remain very useful to almost any team, and is generally a great hero to have around.