The EZest Mid Laner In Existence
Gravitas
September 1, 2017
Starting Items
Most guides make starting items out to be the simplest part of the game, but that could not be further from the truth. Starting items usually determine the flow of the laning phase; it is a delicate balance between stat items to help you out last hit & harass your opponent and regen so you don't have to go crying back to base every 2 minutes. The multiple build orders included in this guide are all centered around different opponent matchups and how to change your starting items accordingly.
Standard: The standard or, even matchup, is the build order versus mid heroes that last hit and harass about as well as you do without using spells. These are heroes such as Invoker, Meepo, Dragon Knight, Razor, Storm Spirit etc. Basically any hero that may have one spammyish spell they can use, but other than that just right click creeps. Most good mid lane heroes have at least one spammy spells they can use to control the wave, and in cases such as this it is all about technical skill and out last hitting your opponent. Null talisman is a great all encompassing starting item which gives you 9 damage and decent stats all round. It is by far the most popular starting item on the hero. A set of tangos is purchased for regen and sustain so you can stay in lane until your bottle arrives, or, if you're doing extremely poorly, until the 5:00 minute mark when the shrines then become available. A healing salve is included in the build order, but it is not a necessity. It is only required if you are taking more harassment than you can heal with a set of tangos, and need a buffer to help you stay in lane until bottle. This is the build you will follow 95% of the time.
Heavy Magical Harrasment: This is against heroes that have not just a spammy spell, but a ridiculously spammy spell or spells that they just use to **** on you no matter what you do. Heroes that fall under this category are Queen of Pain, Skywraith Mage, Zeus, Puck, Silencer, and a relatively new hero that not many people have heard about, Pugna. The starting items for this build include two gg branches for that sweet +2 damage, a set of tangos so those branches actually do something useful, a salve because no amount of armour is saving you from 15 nether ward blasts or arc lightnings to the face, and a wind lace. Wind lace is included because the extra moment speed it provides is actually critical for avoiding harass. You are able to weave in and out of your opponents range to cast astrals and harass before they can react. Plus, if you are up against a Skywraith or Silencer, Euls is a very good item to purge their silences and slows. OD is already very fast at level 1, and wind lace enables him to be practically unmatched.
This Guy Wants to Trade with Me?: In case it wasn't obvious, this build order is against physical attacking opponents that like to get in your face a little... too much. All orb walking heroes fit under here, as well as Templar Assassin with her ******** psi blades. Melee mid heroes technically fit under here, such as Ursa Timbersaw, or Pudge, but no one is dumb enough to pick those heroes into OD. The starting items for this build are similar to the magic damage one, two iron branches, tangos, and a healing salve. The only difference is that instead of a wind lace, we get a mantle of intelligence instead. The reason for this is simple. You need damage in order to trade, but because of the amount of regen, we can't afford a straight up null. This is the next best thing. This is actually the least used build order, mostly because of astral's ability to just remove the opponent from the game and push out the creep wave, but it does happen.
My Teammates Pooled me Tangos: You have tangos from your teammates, just buy fairy fires instead. They give extra damage which allows you to last hit better, and they give you regen if you really really need it.
Intro
Outworld Devourer is a ridiculously strong mid hero that can snowball out of control with only a few items on the strength of his abilities alone. In that regard, he is similar to heroes such as Phantom Assassin, however is much more level dependent, and is thus played far more commonly in the mid lane.
The greatest strength of OD is his unparalleled ability to secure farm in the laning phase; arcane orb (Q), and especially astral imprisonment (W) allow OD to not only push out the lane at will and out damage all opponents, but basically enable OD to completely remove the opposing mid hero from the game.
This guide focuses primarily on the laning phase, and how to secure it, as that is by far the most important stage for a hero like OD that needs many early levels and a good start to really snowball and carry a game. The laning phase is also by far the most general stage of Dota 2, in that it will more than likely go the same way every single game, with a few notable exceptions such as 1 vs. 2 where your opponent has a Nyx Assassin.
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