See You in the Spring!

Introduction

Hello, I'm NinjaBlademaster, and this is my DotAFire Guide on Puck the Faerie Dragon. This guide includes the good ol' skill and item builds you will definitely need. I'll also be going over what to do in each stage of the game, and explaining the aforementioned builds.

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An important thing to note is that you have to be flexible with these builds. This will help you adapt to different situations and counter those overpowered heroes that terrorize pub games, like Pudge, Riki, Drow Ranger, or Zeus. A mistake most players make in the intermediate levels of DotA is following prescribed builds and not making situational choices.

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Of course, criticisms and suggestions are always welcome. I'm still looking for ways to improve and perfect this guide. This is my first guide here, and I'm doing my best. Any advice is always appreciated.

About Puck

Puck is perhaps best known for being a quick and elusive Hero, with spells and items that allow him to take up multiple roles and perform hit and run attacks without being punished by the opposing heroes.

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Pros: +Can take up multiple roles +Evasive +Scales well later on +Good initiator +Unpredictable +Will confuse and damage enemies +Can disable, gank, escape, or nuke +Good synergy with multiple heroes

Cons: -EXTREMELY squishy -Very low autoattack damage throughout the game -Requires coordinated teamwork to succeed -Needs time to get used to -Requires A LOT of coordination, speed, and reflexes

So that's Puck in a nutshell. The pros outweigh the cons, but both are important to keep in mind if you want to survive and progress.

Spells: Explained

Puck's spells focus on three things: mobility & escapes, damage, and disabling. Knowing this is very important] because it helps you understand what Puck is capable of, and what items you'll need.

Illusory Orb

CASTING METHOD: ACTIVE
TARGETTING METHOD: POINT
ALLOWED TARGETS: ENEMY UNITS

Puck launches a magic orb that floats in a straight path, damaging enemy units along the way. At any point, Puck may teleport to the orb's location using Ethereal Jaunt.
Cast Range: 3000
Travel Range: 1800
Radius: 200
Damage: 70 / 140 / 210 / 280
Mana Cost: 150
Cooldown Time: 12

This spell is extremely versatile and has multiple uses. It can be used for:

• Escaping, which can be done by casting the orb in the desired direction to escape, using Phase Shift to allow the orb time to travel a bit while immune from harm, then using Ethereal Jaunt to teleport to it and escape. If you want to make sure a rapid enemy Hero won't catch up to you, launch the orb across impassable cliffs or trees.
• Harassing, which can be done by aiming it carefully towards your enemy in the laning phase. Keep in mind the mana cost early on.
• Initiating, which can be done by sending the orb towards the enemy team, then teleporting to it, then following up with a special combo(below).
• Chasing, which can be done by launching the orb forward, then teleporting to it to catch up to an escaping enemy. Take advantage of situations where your prey rounds a corner, only for you to cast that twinkling ball and intercept them.
• Scouting, which can be done by casting it in the direction you want to see.

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Waning Rift

CASTING METHOD: INSTANT
TARGETTING METHOD: UNIT
ALLOWED TARGETS: ENEMY UNIT

Puck releases a burst of faerie dust that deals damage and silences enemy units nearby.
Radius: 400
Silence Duration: 0.75 / 1.5 / 2.25 / 3.0
Damage: 60 / 120 / 180 / 240
Mana Cost: 100 / 110 / 120 / 130
Cooldown Time: 16

This is a very useful spell in all kinds of situations, whether it be:

• Teamfighting, where you can silence and damage the entire enemy team to allow for a quick kill (or kills).
• One-on-one fighting or ganks, where you can hit that W so your target can't fight back with a deadly spell, or use that irritating passive that buffs them so much.
• Chasing, where you can quickly cast Waning Rift to finish off a low HP opponent.

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Phase Shift

CASTING METHOD: ACTIVE
TARGETTING METHOD: INSTANT
ALLOWED TARGETS: SELF

Puck briefly shifts into another dimension where it is immune from harm.
Duration: 0.75 / 1.5 / 2.25 / 3.25
Cooldown Time: 6

You always hear people complain about how overpowered Huskar or Phantom Assassin are, but I'm pleased that few people know how broken this spell is. It literally makes Puck IMMUNE TO ALL FORMS OF DAMAGE, as well as disjointing incoming projectiles. It has a mana cost of...0! This means (with good timing) you can dodge a tower missile or a Life Break, or even that dreaded Meat Hook!

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DREAM COIL

CASTING METHOD: ACTIVE
TARGETTING METHOD: AREA
ALLOWED TARGETS: ENEMY UNITS

Creates a coil of volatile magic that latches onto enemy Heroes, stunning them for .5 seconds and damaging them. If the enemy hero stretches the coil by moving too far away, it snaps, dealing additional damage and stuns.
Radius: 375
Coil Range: 750
Initial Stun Duration: 0.5
Coil Duration: 6 (8*)
Coil Break Stun Duration: 1.5 / 2.25 / 3
Initial Damage: 100 / 150 / 200
Coil Break Damage: 100 / 150 / 200 (200/250/300*)

This magical bit of incredible is an amazing ULTIMATE ability that works amazingly well both with your team and with Puck's other spells. It can latch onto all enemy heroes at once. This means you can have the entire team stunned for up to 3 seconds (if they break the coil) making them an easy target for your team to enjoy finishing off. You can use it for:

• Escaping, by throwing the coil onto your pursuers, then immediately executing the Illusory Orb > Phase Shift > Ethereal Jaunt combo to make a wondrous escape, while they stun themselves by attempting to chase you.
• Initiating, by using the special combo (still more below) to transform the opposition to swift kills.
• Chasing, by placing the coil at your quarry's feet, and watch them stun themselves trying to escape and become dinner in about 2 seconds.

Items: Explained

Starting Items

• A stack of Tangoes to recover from harassment
• A Healing Salve to recover from an attempt on your life, or to heal up after chasing your lane opponent (not to be used after getting harassed)
• A Mantle of Intelligence to boost your main stat and mana regen (default) OR Gauntlets of Strength if you need extra HP and regen against someone like Viper
• A Circlet to boost overall stats

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Early Game

• A Bottle for quick regen and rune control
• Boots of Speed help alleviate Puck's slightly slow base movement speed
• A Null Talisman if you went with the Mantle, OR a Bracer if you chose the Gauntlets
• If you're going to hold the lane on your own until mid game, invest in Power Treads to focus one attribute (at a time) and get some attack speed, but if you plan on early ganks or small teamfights, get Tranquil Boots for higher mobility, regen, and the extra armor

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Core Items

• Blink Dagger gives Puck a whole new layer of unpredictability. It should stay in your inventory from the time you buy it until the end of the game. It can be combined very well with Phase Shift. Since it needs to cool down after enemy attacks, you can just Phase Shift to give it time to cool down, then use it. Another good use for it is to escape while the enemy team is ministunned from your initial Dream Coil before they can attack, in case your team are late. You can initiate with it, move around with it (it has no mana cost), it's just amazing
• A Mystic Staff will greatly boost your damage output and give you faster mana regen to help with casting quick spells, and can be built into one of the next 2 items
• If you want to increase your armor drastically and slow multiple enemies at once, then go for a Shiva's Guard. If you want to focus down one enemy, then build a Scythe of Vyse

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Late Game

• Perseverance will aid both your mana and HP regen, as well as an extra 10 damage
• Linken's Sphere is a very good buy because of its extra attribute bonuses, regen, as well as Spellblock, which can cause Heroes to waste a powerful ultimate, leaving them vulnerable
• Refresher Orb is an alternate option to Linken's, since it has similar regen bonuses, as well as a lot more damage and attack speed. The Reset Cooldowns ability helps a lot when you need your Illusory Orb back or you want to do a double Dream Coil.

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Optional/Situational Items

With these, flexibility is key. If you feel the need for one of these items instead of the core or late game ones, then by all means build them! This will help you be more unpredictable and dynamic.

• Dagon gives a massive Intelligence boost, as well as the powerful nuke it provides. If you are going to buy it, go ahead, but don't make maxing it a priority.
• Aghanim's Scepter is fairly straightforward. It helps your overall attributes, as well as upgrading your ultimate ( Dream Coil). I don't really recommend it, since the Ultimate Upgrade doesn't make too much of a difference.
• Eul's Scepter of Divinity is just another option for a disable. It also gives good mana regen and movement speed.
• Boots of Travel are more of a lategame option. They are particularly useful if your team frequently switches push lanes, as it gives 100 movement speed and an effectively permanent Town Portal Scroll.
• Black King Bar is not too common on Puck. However, if the enemy team depends on a lot of active spells, and you need a bit more regen and damage, it is a good buy.
• Necronomicon is usually a good buy on Intelligence heroes, and this is no exception. It gives much-needed health and mana boosts, as well as damage. The summoned units are ideal for pushing and/or scouting.
• Bloodstone gives major health and mana boost and a small damage increase. You can use it to deny yourself, and it is a good alternative to Linken's Sphere if you are out of control and just wreaking havoc on the enemies; you will gain charges super quickly.

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Rejected Items

• Heart of Tarrasque is something I see on some Puck builds. Frankly, I feel that instead of focusing on Puck's strengths, it tries to balance out his weaknesses. For its immense cost, I feel like it's just not worth it.
• Phase Boots aren't as flexible as Power Treads or mobile as Boots of Travel. Both the other types of boots help with the two things that Puck excels at: flexibility and mobility. Phase Boots are only good for extra damage, but you can get the same damage boost from a Mithril Hammer, which can actually be built into beneficial items later on.
• Soul Ring does help with mana problems early on, but sacrificing HP is not something you want to do with a fragile hero like Puck.

Combos

With Puck, there are a lot of different spell combinations you can use because of this hero's flexibility. These combos include both spells and items. There is no strict rule for this, so feel free to mix and match some of the steps as long as it's a safe plan.

The Initiation

This combo is used for initiating teamfights. It makes easy kills out of the most overpowered opponents you can find.

1. Dream Coil right into the middle of an enemy group
2. Illusory Orb into the enemy team
3. Ethereal Jaunt to the rear of the enemy team.
4. Waning Rift quickly during the initial stun
5. The rest of your team rushes in and causes mass destruction!

Another option, if you suspect your team will be late.

1. Illusory Orb then Ethereal Jaunt into the middle of a group of enemies
2. Waning Rift everyone
3. Dream Coil the group
4. Blink Dagger away while they are ministunned

The Escape

This combo is used to get away from your opponents when you are outnumbered and *seemingly* have no way out.

1. Illusory Orb away from the enemy team (preferably over a cliff or other impassable barrier)
2. [OPTIONAL] Dream Coil at the feet of the enemies to stun them and force them to not chase you further
3. Phase Shift quickly to avoid damage while the orb travels
4. Ethereal Jaunt to the orb and safely skip away!

If you've got the good Dagger, you can just do the following.

1. Phase Shift for the full duration to buy time for the cooldown
2. Blink Dagger to safety

The Chase

This combo is specifically for chasing enemies who are running away.

1. Illusory Orb to intercept your enemy (preferably when they round a corner)
2. Ethereal Jaunt in front of them
3. Waning Rift in the face
4. Autoattack them to death if needed

On the other hand, you can also do this.

1. Blink Dagger to your enemy
2. Activate your Shiva's Guard or Scythe of Vyse to slow them
3. Illusory Orb through them, then Ethereal Jaunt so you are now on the opposite side of them
4. Waning Rift and autoattack to death

The Regen

This one is short, but very, very useful. It's a great combination of Bottle/ Healing Salve with Phase Shift.

1. Use your Bottle or Healing Salve on yourself
2. Immediately Phase Shift so the pursuers can't cancel the regen

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More combos to come

Preparing & When Not to Pick Puck

Know the Enemy Team

If you know you will be going up against a mid harasser such as Viper, then go for the Bracer instead of the Null Talisman, and play less aggressively than you would normally. This will help you stay safe and not get caught out of position, where the enemy can squash you to death.

On the other hand, if you're going to be facing a squishy Riki or Lina, then take the Null Talisman to boost your damage output and mana regen, which will help you cast those deadly spells.

Keep in mind your enemies and adjust your items and playstyle according to who you're going to face.

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Puck's Best and Worst Teammates

Buddies (Good to play with)

Most quick gankers and heroes with a stun are good. Heroes with good AOE damage also help.

Not Buddies (Bad to play with)

If your team already has an initiator, Puck is practically wasted. If your team has someone who would be better in solo mid, you will struggle playing offlane, so don't pick Puck if that's the case.

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Puck's Best and Worst Opponents

Buddies? (Good to play against)

This doesn't mean that if you don't see one of the above, you shouldn't pick Puck. It just means your life will be easier if you do see them. Generally, Heroes who rely on active (point or unit target) spells should prove easier to play against.

Not Buddies by Any Means (Bad to play against)

Doom Bringer
These are to be avoided at all times. If you see one of these, do not pick Puck. Any other tanky-ish heroes that have a high damage output will wreck you. Heroes with a strong Silence will also wreck you.

Early Game (Laning)

When you start off, you should go solo mid. The reason for this is that you need farm and rune control. Keep in mind that runes spawn once every 2 minutes. This will help you take the first rune, then you should keep farming until you can get the Bottle. While farming the Bottle, use Illusory Orb to harass any enemy that's getting too close or making an attempt to kill you (or send you to base).

Once you've got the Bottle check the runes every 2 minutes, and try to harass your opponent to around half health using your Illusory Orb or simple right clicks. If you manage this (and your enemy doesn't run off to base), wait until you have enough mana and have two Bottle charges remaining, and use THE INITIATION combo, but on your single opponent. If they're still not dead, right-click them (keeping in mind your right clicks will be very weak) until they are finished, or stun themselves trying to run away. After being stunned, they're a prime target for you to kill.

If you're getting harassed yourself, stay behind your creep line and farm the next item, then attack when you can (as stated above).

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Objectives

• Farm your Bottle and other early game items.
• Harass your opponent to below half health. If you get the opportunity, kill them using THE INITIATION combo.
• Maintain rune control
• Look for potential ganking opportunities in the offlanes

• Avoid falling below half health and remaining visible to your enemy.
• Don't attempt to chase your opponent to the second lane tower (or further).
• Do not try a major, full force push at a tower

Mid Game (Ganks & Jungling)

Once you've started farming your Blink Dagger and your team are ready, you should start setting up ganks. In the case that you are new to the game and don't know what ganks are, they are organized and coordinated attacks targeted at one hero. Since you are in the mid lane, reaching the offlanes (top and bottom) should be easy. You have 2 options when it comes to choosing the targeted heroes. You can either go for heroes who are underfarmed and struggling, or go for heroes who are way ahead of the rest of their team. However, don't try for the heroes that are doing ok, since you won't be essentially harming the other team. Going for high flyers or stragglers will stall the former and further delay the latter.

I can't stress this enough: always have 2 Town Portal Scrolls in your inventory. If you are swimming in money, then you can go for Boots of Travel later on, although they are not a priority by any means.

In some cases, your team will call for a push on one of the lanes. This will usually result in a small teamfight (refer to the next section). If this is the case, join them, but always have an escape route planned just in case you get badly counterpushed.

When you're not ganking or pushing, you will be jungling. For any new players, jungling is farming gold from neutral creeps. Jungling is fairly simple: use your Illusory Orb and Waning Rift on them, then autoattack them to death. Do not try to kill magic immune neutral creeps! The majority of your damage is in your spells. If you fall below half health, use your Bottle to get back up, or go to the fountain if it's empty.

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Objectives

• Get the Blink Dagger
• Make progress on your Scythe of Vyse or Shiva's Guard (if you feel the need go for a different item; this is just what you'll be doing most of the time)
• Start ganking other lanes
• Jungle
• Initiate (if needed) small teamfights

• Do not fall victim to enemy ganks
• Avoid staying put in your lane; roam around and be unpredictable

Later Game (Teamfights)

This is where Puck's abilities are most useful! Make the best possible use of THE INITIATION combo when the enemies are clumped together. Once the rest of your team start the annihilation, you can sit back and pick off the few enemies that survived your combo using Illusory Orb or your more powerful autoattacks (thanks to Scythe of Vyse or Shiva's Guard). Don't forget that both of these items have an active ability that is very useful for you and your team. If you went for a different item, use it to its maximum capability.

As long as your team is cooperative and coordinated, you shouldn't have trouble winning every teamfight you start. Eventually, you will have a 1:1 ratio between the teamfights you initiate and the ones you win.

If you're not the one starting the teamfights, use the same combo, but just keep in mind the Orb's direction and make sure you will Jaunt to a safe place. Don't just teleport into the middle of the enemy team. You will (without a doubt) die if you do.

If you find yourself snowballing from all the kills and tower gold you're getting, you will usually get Linken's Sphere, starting with the Perseverance. Alternatively, you can opt for one of the situational items if need be. Always do your best to make choices based on the situation.

Objectives

• Initiate teamfights
• Push
• Buy Linken's Sphere/ Refresher Orb or a situational item of choice

• Do not act aggressively if you're not initiating
• Avoid being too early or too late for teamfights

General Tips (Throughout the Match)

Here are some tips I feel are important to keep in mind when playing Puck throughout the game.

• Before you execute a combo, make sure you have enough mana. One of the main reasons a Puck player can die is because they start a combo, only to realize they can't finish it after already committing.
• Confuse your enemies. This is especially important when escaping. The person chasing you only sees a potential kill, and will probably not be able to keep in mind all of your escape tools. It is also very hard for them to anticipate your next move. Switch up your escape combos each time and avoid predictability.
• Coordinate initiations with your team. Make sure they're ready, because if you rush in with everything you've got and your team are late, you're a freekill for the enemies.
• If you're going to type something in chat or want to have a look at another area in the map, do it from a safe place. If you are out of position and not controlling Puck actively, you won't have time to respond due to Puck's squishiness.
• After initiating, don't just try to kill the Heroes that got the most kills. Instead, go for the ones that you can actually kill on your own. Supports, squishy carries, etc. Don't just attempt to burst down Axe because he has 17 kills and 3 deaths, finish off the Crystal Maiden or Sniper that you can finish off. Don't engage the others until the rest of your team have started to fight them.

Conclusion

Thanks a lot for reading my guide, I hope it helps! Remember, the key to Puck is flexibility. As I said above, I would really appreciate criticisms and ways to improve this guide.

Have a nice day!

(P.S. There seems to be a glitch with DotAFire at the moment, so if you want to vote, up or down, it might not display it).