Queen of Pain: Ace of all roles.

Self-Introduction:

Greetings! My name is Aditya 'Az7y' Vaidya, and I've been playing DotA around 10 months. I'm not a very good or experienced player, but I'm good at understanding the mechanics of the game, and applying it to my gameplay; this guide is perceptional. Since I'm not an experienced player, if you do find any mistakes in my explanation, please provide suggestions in the comment box. I would like to apply that to my guide, as well as gameplay, on a trial-error basis. Open to suggestions, constructive criticism, judgement or anything which enlightens me.

DotAbuff Statistics: Az7y
Queen of Pain Statistics: Az7y's Queen of Pain

Introduction to Queen of Pain:

Queen of Pain is an intelligence hero which is mainly a ganker & a semi-carry, but can be a jack of all trades. A ganker, with high mobility, a slow, a couple of high area of effect nukes & mainly, an instant escape/initiate. Queen of Pain is not just a ganker, but also can be used as a secondary carry, with specific items, which can be used as a damage-per-second machine, in the late game.
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To pick Queen of Pain or not to?

That's something very perceptional. That's something to ask yourself checking other's & your team's picks.

When to pick Queen of Pain:

• Your team composition is good, except a Mid.
• Your team consists of 4 carries. You need to extend the game.
• Your team consists of low pub level players.
• You want to be self-reliant.
• The other team reeks of squishy heros.

• Your team already has a Mid hero you can depend on.
• Your team has a guy screaming "Solo mid or feed".
• Your team has good support & nukers, i.e: Zeus, Tiny, Nyx, but no carries.
• There're a couple of Silence heros in opposite team.
• There're a couple of instant nukers in opposite team.
• If you're a creep-*****, and not having a ganker's mindset. If so, just go pick Drow.
  

Pros & Cons:

Pros :

• Extreme mobility with initiate or escape.
• Sufficient base damage.
• High burst nukes.
• Good at almost any Mid, offlane, sidelane or jungle.
• Can pose a comeback, even with a bad start.
• Best rune-***** on in the game.
• Can potentially carry the game, with specific item choice.

• Very squishy. Low H.P / Armor.
• A silenced Queen of Pain is a dead Queen of Pain.
• Level dependent.
• No disable.
• Cannot carry against true carries.

Skills usage:

I'm taking in account that you already have played this hero, a couple of times, to understand the basic abilities, and what her skills do. But, understanding the numbers is far from understanding how to utilize the damage number in it's most efficient way, so here I go:
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Shadow Strike : This skill does a lot of single-target damage overtime. Although it's very strong ability, this skill is a single-target nuke, which is not the best way to gank, hence, it's taken for about only one or couple of levels for the 20% slow. It's good for lane-harassing. It's good for targeting a specific hero for prioritizing ganks on him. It does a ton of damage overtime, but, a heal, bottle, instant teleport can provide a great escape from this skill._______________________________________________________________________________________
Blink : Blink, this spell defines ganking, this spell defines escape, this spell defines initiation. It's like being an Anti-Mage, but a useful one, early game. This skill is preferred to be maxed early in the game, as it enhances your ganking ability. 6 second cool down at 1150 with a manacost of 60. That's like a dream come true, for any ganker._______________________________________________________________________________________


Scream of Pain : This is like your bread & butter. An area of effect ability, with considerably low manacost & very low cool down, and high early-game damage. All you have to do is keep the range in mind; a proper three man scream, along with Sonic Wave is capable of taking on almost the entire team with little support._______________________________________________________________________________________
Sonic Wave : Similar to Scream o' Pain, but more effective, high mana cost & a bit harder to pull off. It has a bit of cast time, where many players find it difficult to do it effectively. Practice would make it perfect, for you.
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Item build:

Here, I'm going to briefly explain & justify how each & every item can benefit for Queen of Pain:
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The Starting Build :

Iron Branch : A very obvious item for gaining the required stats in the beginning. This will make a transition to Magic Wand soon enough. Do not upgrade it first, unless it's a Zeus, Batrider, Silencer or a dual-mid lane.

Observer Ward : I would not recommend this for ordinary Mid heros, but, since it's usually a pub, and you're unsure of your support's understanding of the term 'Rune-Whoring', just get it yourself. Queen of Pain, herself, has considerably high base damage, and doesn't need a Null Talisman or any attack modifier to last hit.

This starting build will ensure that you have a quick bottle, to follow up the harassment & regen you can deal & win mid against most heros.

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The Core :

Bottle : Bottle is a very essential item for Queen of Pain as well as most mana dependent Solo-Mid(s). Just gives you continuous flow of regen. going through. Losing Rune-Control on the Mid, with a Queen of Pain is quite the challenge, since you have a Blink, by which you can quickly take away rune from any possible opposition, if you are fast enough, or have wards up your sleeve.

Power Treads : Queen of Pain is not just a nuker, but also a semi-carry, at the same time. It benefits equally with an attack speed-damage item, like P.T. Although, that being said, an Arcane Boots wouldn't seem like a bad option either, considering the amount of mana she requires; but only go Arcane Boots if you are - Bad at rune-control, going for a Team-Support, or extreme self-reliance. For general purposes, Power Treads is the best option to go with.

Magic Wand : A ganker's quick-buy. That's a huge amount of total regen, taken in account with mere 500 cash. Just allows you that extra blink-scream or the required mana to cast your ultimate, in the times of urgency.

Aghanim's Scepter : Makes your ultimate spammable, i.e: Reduces the cooldown, and also substantially increases the damage. After A.G, you can simply clear off a creep-wave to farm up, or to push without worrying about it's cooldown.

Scythe of Vyse : The most highest category of an item an Intelligence hero can possibly get. A complete disable over a target for a short period of time, enough to set up ganks, and kill him off before he pops up his ultimate, or uses his items, or maybe just the 'Anti-carry' item, against fed up carry heros with extremely high damage, but comparatively less H.P.

These are the items you would need to ensure a good Queen of Pain game. Anything beyond that, is basically situational.

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Extension(s) / Situational items :

Orchid Malevolence : A very common 'Ability' disable, against heros with skills capable of mass-disables or nuke, like Lion, Lina Zeus. It can also be used to kill off a Tidehunter, Warlock, Omniknight, by silencing & getting rid of that potential ultimate right in the beginning of a five-man gank.

Refresher Orb : Not a very common item seen on a Queen of Pain, but, after your Scepter, it can be seen as the right choice, depending upon your team composition. A Faceless Void or an Enigma in the team, you can simply get a Refresher Orb and cast your ultimate twice, killing off each & every hero in the CronoSphere or Black Hole.

Shiva's Guard : Very basic. Need survivability against physical damage & anti-carry item? Go S.G instantly.

Necronomicon : Quite situational. Can be very useful against a team consisting of a couple of invisibility heros, while gem is risky to keep. Also can be useful against a massive cleave or A.O.E damage, since killing off one can explode quite the effective damage.

Dagon : Commonly seen in pubs. You can switch to a mass-nuking machine by going Dagon level 5, in the very early stages of the game, to shut down specific heros, or to kill off a hero completely with your combo: Blink -> Scream of Pain -> Shadow Strike -> Sonic Wave -> Dagon. It is very risky item, since it does not provide much stats, and takes away huge amount of gold. An only pub build to go with.

Ethereal Blade : A farmed Clinkz with no B.K.B giving you trouble? Or someone like Huskar with high right-click potential? Go Ethereal & do the combo. This will not only make him more effective to your nukes, but also stop him attacking you or lifestealing off an enemy. Do go Ethereal Blade if you have a Dagon, this will make your combo an extremely deadly one.

Black King Bar : A must item against mass-disable or nukers, and especially a silence. Turn it on, be fearless, do your combo, kill a couple; blink off to safety.

Linken's Sphere : My fav. item for Queen of Pain, for it's rightful reasons: The very high regen, to be able to spam Scream of Pain to farm up, and be mobile & every ready for ganks throughout the game, you will need a lot of regen. Bottle will not help you throughout the game. Linkin's Sphere will be the better choice to go with. Also, consider a Blood Seeker, Doom Bringer or Clinkz with an Orchid, that's the best possible item to carry.

Veil of Discord : Not a very commonly seen item, but if you know to use it right before you cast your combo, it can be very effective. The extra magical damage just makes a huge impact on the gank.

Desolator : The armor debuff might not be most helpful to you, since you produce more Magic-Damage than Physical-Damage, but it can provide as an effective semi-carry build, with another carry in your team.

Daedalus : Another way to get rid of heros with Black King Bar if you are on low of carries in your team. Do not go either of these items, unless you are in short of carries. Getting a Hex or Shiva's is the better option to go with.

With all of these items in mind, the best way to build your Queen of Pain, is by understanding the items possessed, and basic abilities of your & your opponent team. Understand. Relate. Improvise. Execute. There is nothing like, 'The perfect build'. There is only 'The perfect build for a specific game'. Think about yours.

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Survivability options :

Ghost Scepter : To defend yourself against physical damage, i.e: raw damage from a carry, like: Phantom Assassin, Ursa, Troll Warlord and Faceless Void.

Heaven's Halberd : To have 25% evasion, against a team consisting of primarily physical damage hitters. It also helps in disabling one unit from attacking using right clicks.

Linken's Sphere : A very useful regen & single-target counter item.

Shiva's Guard : This item can provide basic armor, against high damaging units. It can provide the late-game slow effect, helping the team, as well as helping you.

Heart of Tarrasque : Heart lets you jump in & out of a combat, maintaining full health. This is not recommended in most stages of the game, since you can buy a full Hex or Scepter, in that money, which could be more usefull.

Black King Bar : Obvious usage. Against mass nukers/disablers.

Mekansm : Not recommended, but a good choice for side-lane support Queen of Pain in the early stages.

Pipe of Insight : Situational. If nobody else is getting it or can't afford it., you probably should.

Diffusal Blade : Diffusal Blade is not exactly an item made for Queen of Pain, but, it can be made in situations against Warlock or Omniknight.

Rune prioritization:

Invisibility Rune : This rune can be very helpful to secure a couple of early kills, in the early game, since a Queen of Pain, who can stand invisible, scream a couple & sting one is very devastating for a lane. Although, after the laning phase, this rune is pretty insignificant, since you can initiate with a blink instantly. Get it if nobody else wants it, later on.

Illusion Rune : This is not an effective rune, the most you can do with it, is improvise on your last hit, combining your Illusions to your attack, as a base-damage modifier.

Haste Rune : Pick a Haste? Find an opportunity to gank, tower dive, get them, bottle up, go back. This is your rune.

Double Damage Rune : Early game, that's a sure-shot kill, on most heros without escape mechanism, a blink, scream, strike & a couple of auto attacks, it's a kill. It's not just a rune, but a +1 kill, for you.

Regeneration Rune : Pick up if you need it, bottle up, regen, provide bottle charges to someone else, to keep everyone in a healthy situation.

Gameplay transition:

Here, I'll explain you guys about how your gameplay should progress, as a Queen of Pain, in order to successfully dominate the game.

Early game (0:00 - 12:00) : Early game for Queen of Pain is your time to shine. Almost every hero on the map is not as strong as you, and cannot take you on. Go mid, with the recommended items; possibly, ward the cliff of the opposition solo Mid-lane, on order to have complete view over his actions, as well as control over the rune. Do note, that warding the side nearest to the carry is more beneficial, since it can maybe reveal the potential ganks targeting your main carry. The gameplay is very simple, keep spamming Shadow Strike as often as possible, to harass the Solo-Mid. Last hit creeps, as well as deny to keep your lane control, get a bottle, push the lane, blink out for the rune. (You already have the ward, so you know where the rune is.) Finding a Haste, D.D or Invisibility can ensure a kill on either of the lanes; repeat, while keeping your farm up. You're not farm dependent but can benefit a lot, if so. Ward up again, at around 6:00 mark. Keep harassing using Scream of Pain as well as getting more last hits in the process.

Mid game (12:00 - 25:00) : Your ultimate is strong, right clicks are strong, you almost or fully, have your items, P.T, Bottle, Wand, half Scepter, by now. All you want is kills. Keep targeting carries, as you can. Keep your mana pool up with rune control, keep some Dust of Appearance in your inventory to hunt the Invisible carry who can be trouble in the later scenario. While doing so, be present in each & every gank. Farming is not an option, either farm on heros, or farm with abilities, as you advance to ganks. Good positioning is the only thing you need to attain kills, not farm. Let the carry do their work, and do yours.

Late game (25:00 - 50:00) : Your Scream of Pain hardly affects anybody, although your ultimate still hurts a lot, however, at this stage, you can hardly solo-out someone, right now. Supports have a Meck, carries have a B.K.B. You need to have fast hands, and take the right opportunity to strike, cast your ultimate, and there goes out a couple of heros. Do not extend the game, finish it as soon as possible, since you are not seen as a big threat anymore.

Very late game (50:00 - 75:00) : Your time is over, you're seen as almost a butterfly trying hard to bring down huge monsters. There's not much you can do, expect stand by your carries, and help them as you can. You have to depend on your right clicks & your carries, than depending on your nukes. They will hardly do any damage. Tactics such as getting an Ethereal Blade, Heaven's Helbard or Shiva's Guard to defend yourself against carries can help.

Versatility:

As I have earlier stated, Queen of Pain is extremely versatile hero, with it's build, and also with it's position, as a hero. I'll now explain the number of roles she can play, prioritizing in an ascending order of impact.

Mid : Queen Of Pain is usually taken as a complete devastating Mid hero. There are hardly any heros who can go against a Queen of Pain, on the Mid, mainly because of her harassment, lane-control, escape & good attack animation combined with good base damage.

Off-lane : The Off-lane Queen of Pain is not as effective as Mid, since she doesn't necessarily get the required amount of farm she might need, but as per we know, she's not very item dependent, and is rather level dependent; getting early levels is the only thing one would want, apart from the fact that bottle-crow would be the only option left, if she needs the extra last hits.

Jungler : Seems quite awkward, right? But no. Queen of Pain, is, infact, one of the good heros to Jungle with. All you need to do is, stack easy & rune camp, and blink in, at the Nature's Prophet Dire spot, and kill it using scream of pain. Use smoke, if you wish, rush a bottle, get a soul ring. It's quite better than farming in a dual-lane, on a pub level. That would enhance your level up of the solo heros. Here is the YouTube link, to make you understand better about Jungle Queen of Pain.

Support : Queen of Pain, on a Tri-Lane, is the most useless thing, and hence, I would disregard that. She's as useless as a Tri-Lane Dark Seer. But, here, we're talking about pub; she can take the support role, by getting Arcane, Meck and warding, it's very easy to ward with Queen Of Pain, than it is to, with any other hero.

Hence, Queen of Pain can be considered one of the most versatile heros in the game.

Friends & Foes:

Friends :

Faceless Void : The guy catching 3-4 of them, in his Cronosphere, it's like target practice for your ultimate.

Naga Siren : Good timing & proper combo can get you good results, tagged along with a Dark Seer and Naga Siren.

Enigma : The ultimate disable, Black Hole can be very useful for you.

Omniknight : The ultimate friend, obviously, for any hero.

Foes :

Bloodseeker : Extremely annoying. He will target you, you & most likely you. Silences you? You're dead. Ruptures you? You're dead. On a Mid, you can outlane him, but make sure about your position. A rupture under his tower & you're history.
Counter build: Linken's Sphere / Black King Bar and Town Portal Scroll.

Doom Bringer : Everyone hates him, for his ultimate. The only possible counter to him is Linkin's Sphere, but a proper player can avoid it using L'VL death on you before casting Doom.
Counter build: None. You're doomed for eternity.

Silencer : Stopping you from casting your combo. Can be annoying in lane, as well as in ganks.
Counter build: Black King Bar.

Anti-Mage : You might be the only way to shut down an Anti-Mage early on, but are you capable of taking him on, in a late game scenario? The answer is no. Blink out before he blinks in.
Counter build: Orchid Malevolence, Ghost Scepter.

Nyx Assassin : It's a nightmare to get nuked by an invisible worm. He will do his combo, and you won't get any time to turn on your B.K.B or to blink out, before he Dagon's you right in the butt.
Counter build: Sentry Ward or Gem of True Sight

Zeus : You have low H.P. He has high nukes, simple as that.
Counter build: Linken's Sphere, Black King Bar, and Orchid Malevolence.

Pugna : He might not actually look like a big deal, but his third ability, Nether Ward could be hidden somewhere around the trees, which will kill you off as soon as you cast your combo.
Counter build: Black King Bar.

Bane : His ultimate, your H.P, relate. It also goes through B.K.B. It can catch you before you casting your combo, which can be lethal for you, as well as for the team.
Counter build: Linken's Sphere.

Thank you, as well as welcome.

I hope my guide helped you in understanding basic mechanics & how you can apply it to your gameplay. My item build & Skilled build is not stubborn, there is nothing you 'MUST' do, or 'MUST NOT', in a game. It all is perceptional. Adjust my guide according to your gameplay, your favorite experiences, and improve.

Analyze -> Understand -> Execute -> Repeat -> Improvise -> Adjust -> Innovate.

Thank you for your time, I hope I've been helpful.