Swiindle: How to play Io + Tiny (And many more)

Who is Swiindle?

Hey guys, my name is Swiindle.

This shall be my first guide - ever on dotafire. So please leave feedback down in the comments section below.

So far, I've got 300+ hours in Dota 2, which is definitely not enough to write about such a complicated hero guide - but I'll give it my best shot. There is definitely room for improvement.

As for my Dota 2 career, it can all be viewed under DOTABUFF. Your text to link here...
Hopefully, by the time you're reading this guide my win rate is higher than it is now and that my 1v1 mid record maintains a constant >60% win rate.

Right. Now on to the guide.

Introduction

As you might know already, the Io + (hero) combo is a tough combo to play. In this guide I will try and explain any questions that you might have about this combo.

When do I play IO+(Hero)?

Firstly, there are many questions that should be asking yourself before playing this combo.

1. Can I efficiently communicate with my partner? (When to Tether, when I'm going to pull, when I want to kill, when to farm, when to back off etc.)

2. Is this combo easily countered? (Facless Void/ Enigma/ Magnus/ putting a massive ulti over the relocate etc.) *

3. Do my partner and I know how to play these heroes well? (Knowing to turn off the Overcharge, correct builds)

4. If desperate, can this combo take down buildings faster than the opposing team? (=[Tiny] and Io vs Nature's Prophet, Faceless Void, Enigma)

Pros and Cons

Here are some Pros and Cons to consider about:

Pros Incredibly powerful pushing late game Large amounts of damage Global presence with Relocate Items contemplate each other Rat doto is best doto

Cons Level dependent Wisp will have to sacrifice himself to save the carry** 3v5 turtling strat, Extreme concentration

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*: Knowing this, during captains mode, ban/pick heroes that counter this combo
**: As of 6.82, the more kill participation you have, the higher bounty you have on your head

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Professional Games with IO+(Hero)

The best way to learn a combo is not to just read guides. It's to watch.

Here are some almost perfect Io+(Hero) combos:

6.82

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Na'Vi vs Secret (StarLader X Groups)
Play Video
20 minute stomp

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ESL New York NA Qualifiers: SNA vs coL (Game 3)
Play Video
(Epic decision making)

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6.81

Beyound the Summit: MSI Beat IT 2014 PR vs Team Tinker
Play Video
(Clutch Relocate save by EGM)

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Beyound the Summit: Star Ladder X XGame vs Secret (Group Stage)
Play Video
(Excellent combo played by kky + BigDaddy)

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6.79

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TI3 Na'Vi vs Alliance Game 5
Play Video

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Just worth watching anyway.

How to play the combo?

As shown in the picture below, the Wisp Io is excellent good with heroes with Crowd control, low base attack speed, carries.



However, Io can still partner with ANYONE. There is no restrictions for who to Tether with, who to Relocate with.

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Here are appropriate mindsets for each partner to have during the game.



"OoooooOoOooOooo"

"I am the wisp. I will devote MY LIFE to making sure that my significant other ( Tiny) will get farm. This means that not only do I rush a bottle for his/her mana problems, I shall stack, pull, deny, collect runes and harras the opposing lane. When my HARD carry wants to relocate gank somewhere, I shall Tether to him and Relocate right away. If it means my life that my carry gets away, I shall use it."



"We've a quarry to settle!"

"I am the hard carry of this team. If I do not get farm early on, my team WILL lose the game. Therefore, not only will I not miss any last-hits and will communicate when I have needs, such as harassment, stacking, Relocate ganks, duties that need to be fulfilled."

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NOTE: In the case that this guide doesn't explain hero mechanics so well, please refer to other DotaFire guides.

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How to play IO?

I'll mostly be only going through Io since the carries are pretty straight forward.

IO



IO is the crucial part of this combination. With his abilities, he provides healing, mana regen, movement speed buff, attack speed buff, extra burst damage and a global teleport.

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[Q] Tether



" Tethers Io to an allied unit, granting bonus movement speed to both. When Io restores health or mana, Tethered units target gain 1.5x the amount. Any enemy unit that crosses the Tether is slowed. The tether breaks when the allied unit moves too far away, or Io cancels the Tether." - Dota 2 Blog.

• Provides a connection between Io and another hero, giving both movement, speed buffs, and constant healing and mana regen.
• Tethered units gain 1.5x Io's current healing and mana regen. (If Io is on full health, the Tethered unit won't gain any extra health)
• If you Tether to a unit that is more than 700 units away, IO will "latch on" and pull himself closer. The unit that Io Tethers to will heal 50% faster.

Please review some situations for Tether below.

Situation 1:

You and Tiny are below 50% health and mana. He is asking to go and kill the opposing laner. At the same time, the courier has just delivered the bottle to you.

( Tether > Bottle > Avalanche > Toss > Right Clicks = Kill )

Situation 2

Io is at the top rune spot. Tiny is farming the Dire medium camp. Suddenly, a level 6 PA appears!

( Tether > Tiny = Failed gank )

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[W] Spirits



"Summon five particle spirits that dance in a circle around Io. If a particle collides with an enemy hero, it explodes, damaging all enemy units in an area around it. Creeps take minor damage from touching a particle spirit, but do not cause them to explode. When its duration ends, any remaining Spirits explode." - Dota2 Blog.

• 5 balls magically pop out of Io. They float around him in a circle.
• Deals 100 at level 4 if a ball touches another hero.
• You can control the radius of the "orbit" with D and F

Situation:

You and Chaos Knight are looking at a Sniper on the other side of the mid lane.

( Reality Rift > Tether > Spirits, set to minimum orbit > Right Clicks = 2-4 second kill on Sniper. )

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[E] Overcharge



"Io gains bonus attack speed and damage reduction, at the cost of draining a percentage of its current health and mana per second. If Io is Tethered to an ally, that unit also gains the bonuses." - Dota2 Blog.

• In exchange for Io's life points and mana, Io and his Tethered unit gets a attack speed and damage reduction buff.
• Great for Teamfights, only if Io is in the right position.

Situation 1:

It's a base race! Their ancient is sitting on half it's health, without glyph and with creeps pushing in. Your base is being pushed in by their whole team. You Tether to your farmed Tiny and pop your glyph, leaving your ancient at 3/4 health and Relocate into their base.

( Tether > Relocate > Overcharge > Right Clicks = Base Race won. Ez game. Ez rares. )

Situation 2:

Oh no! Your Morphling has just taken a Nightmare+ Sacred Arrow to the face.

( Tether > Mekanasm > Overcharge > Spirits > Morph = Counter Kill )

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[R] Relocate



This is probably Io's "special spell". It allows him to teleport anywhere on the map, similiar to Nature's Prophet's Teleportation except that with Tether, Io can bring anyone with him.

• Has a cast delay of 2.5/2.25/2 secounds, so treat it like a skill shot. ( Relocate where their solo farming carry is going to be, not where he is)
• You practically want to use this whenever it's off cool-down.
• You can bring a Lifestealer along if he uses his Infest.
• When your carry is farming and you smell a gank, prep a Relocate back to fountain and Tether to your carry. You will return in 12 secounds and probably suicide, but at least you saved your late-game.
• As Io, remember to right-click yourself. Your individual right clicks can ultimately assure the kill.

Situation 1:

Your Legion Commander is farming the Top lane. Suddenly, the sound of a Ravage plays at bottom lane.

( Relocate > Spirits > Tether > Duel = Easy +10 damage for your Legion Commander )

Situation 2:

A farming natures prophet is farming bot lane. Forgetting to skill Nature's Call, he is low. He is retreating back to base. However, the only ally close to you is a LVL6 Lion. Oh well.

( Relocate > Tether > Spike = Easy gold )

Situation 3:

Tiny is farming the bot lane. You are safely back in the trees in case of a gank. Suddenly, the whole map goes missing. Since Roshan isn't up, their probably coming for Tiny. You see a Lifestealer back at base.

( Relocate back home > Tether Lifestealer > Fight > Infest Tiny > Tether Tiny )

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Time to move on from the abilities to your playstyle.


Let's split up the game into three sections. Early,Mid and Late

Early

You should already know which lane you want to be going to (More about laning below). Buy items (if needed) and Tether to your partner. Together, move towards the enemy jungle and ward the pull camp (if tri=laning) or the medium and large camp closest to the mid lane (if dual laning mid). If you are in your jungle, you want to get your carry to stand in front of the medium camp while you stand in front of the large camp. Tether to your ally, clearing the trees to make it available for double stacking.

Split up. Your partner, should start moving back to the barracks of your respective lane to creep block. You, Io should wait for the 0:00 rune.

If you happen to get killed before the 0:00 point, recover. Think happy thoughts, the game isn't over yet. Don't get the 0:00 rune and just creep block.

At 0:00, creep block as well as you can. Tether to your partner to give a movement speed bonus, making the creep block even easier. Throughout the laning stage:

1. Deny creeps and don't steal last hits from your carry.
2. Pull (42 seconds on the clock) if in the safe lane.
3. Double Stack (52 seconds for the first, 53 for the second) if in mid. (You should be doing this every minute)
4. Harass the opposing laner/s with Spirits
5. Every 2 minutse, refill your bottle by getting the rune.
6. If your carry is <50% health or mana, Tether and give him dat Bottle.
7. If your carry gets ganked, Tether and Overcharge to bring him to safety. Remember your positioning, you don't want to feed another kill.
8. Relocate gank every time it is available.

If you follow these things, it is a recipe for success. Your carry should be snowballing out of control by the 25 min mark.

If you or your partner happen to die before this point, use the stacks to recover. You might want to switch lanes with another person just to ensure the farm.

Mid

If you have done your job well, your carry should have his first farming item before 20 min mark. Whether it be Hand of Midas, Radiance or Battle Fury. Io should have already farmed the Urn of Shadows. Remember, to keep an eye out on the map. If a teammate stuns an enemy, Tether + Relocate and head over there immediately.

By this point, it's highly unlikely that your carry needs the extra support. Ask him to jungle, while you farm the lane. Alternatively, help another carry on your team farm ( Luna, Viper etc). Roshan might also become an option with another hero like Dazzle or Vengeful Spirit.

It's time to prepare for the lategame.

Late Game

The late game occurs around the 35-45 minute mark. Your carry you should already have his second "impact" item such as Black King Bar, Assault Cuirass or Manta Style. Io should have a mobility item such as Blink Dagger or Force Staff.

Generally, you want to stick with your team. If you're team is pushing the Dire top lane, push the mid lane or farm the jungle. Some carries, such as Tiny and Anti-Mage are squishy and them dying could cause you the game. As Io, when farming the enemy territory (a great example of this is the Radiant bottom lane with no vision of the Radiant Jungle), make sure to stay in the trees behind your carry, in Tether range. This ensures a quick getaway with the Tether + Relocate combo. With a mobility item, Io himself can escape when he comes back on the return.

Now, Dota 2 is an objective game and the ideally you want to be pushing towers. Any T1 and T2 towers at this point should be "Free-gold". Siege T3 towers every once in a while and keep the split push up. Following the guidelines in the above paragraph, Io should stay at a safe location if the enemy team is missing. If not, Tether + Overcharge and the tower would be gone in no time.

Rinse and repeat. With this combo, you should have megacreeps by the 45 min.

If you can't picture Relocate saving:
Play Video

What do I build?

The idea behind what to build for this combo is quite simple. For Io, you want mana sustain items for the early game and health regen throughout. Things like Bottle into Mekansm works perfectly fine. For your carries, you mainly want damage output items, or your "farming item". A good example of this is Tiny's Aghanim's Scepter and Chaos Knight's Armlet.

There is a certain style of items you should build in this combo. As Io, you want to build health regen and mana regen item. Items like Bottle and Urn of Shadows work really well. As for the carry, not only do you want a DPS item like Tiny's Aganim's Sceptre, you want items that are aura based items like Assault Cuirass.

If you want a more in-depth build guides on certain heroes, please visit other DotaFire guides.

Where do I lane?

Really, you can lane the IO+(Hero) combo anywhere. But in the case that you aren't so sure, here are some rules to help out with that.

1. If possible, lane the combo in a dual lane. You want to get as much experience as possible - the faster you get Relocate, the faster you can get kills.

2. The Mid and Safe lanes are the best lanes for this combo. IO's balls can harass extremely well in the Mid, while Bottle rushing will allow for rune control and health and mana sustain. In the safe lane, Io can pull and stack. This allows for a faster level 6 and more money for the carry later on.

3. If necessary, an aggressive tri-lane works out fine. Although you are sacrificing experience and gold, the gold and xp from the kills might just make up for it. Ideally the other lane partner should have a crowd control spell, just like Lion or Crystal Maiden. If you go back and watch the Ti3 Game 5, you should note the agression that the Alliance was putting on Na'Vi XBOCT. (Just don't feed)

Conclusion

If you follow the guidelines above, you should be good to go. Feel free to leave feedback and errors I made. Lastly, I would like to leave you with some personal mistakes I have when playing Io.

1. When I Relocate, I do not Tether to my carry. This is due to the tether
"buff" running out mid Relocate animation.

2. When I Relocate, I relocate via the mini-map. This can cause some fatal errors such as relocating into the trees.

3. My partner didn't realize I Relocateed because I didn't tell him/her that I did.

4. I forget to stack.

5. I try to "harass" the enemy laner with right-clicks and Spirits (who was a Sniper). I run up his hill and get sh*tted on. Remember. 0 armour.

2000 MMR game:

http://www.dotabuff.com/matches/869040817

Thanks for reading!