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Tango
Clarity
Ring of Protection
Iron BranchIron Branch
Healing Salve
Boots of Speed
Ring of Basilius
Magic Wand
Power Treads
Helm of the Dominator
Manta Style
Black King Bar
Power Treads
Drum of Endurance
Manta Style
Butterfly
Assault Cuirass
Boots of Travel
Hand of Midas
Monkey King Bar
Moon Shard
Satanic
Silver Edge
Black King Bar
Daedalus
Aghanim's Scepter
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Hello, Ladies and Gentlemen. My name is gamerisdc.
Thank you for choosing this guide to learn about how to play Luna.
Luna is played as a Carry(1) or Mid(2) position.
She is a farm-dependent hero as her fragility and potential to do a lot of damage will make her a deadly hero in the mid and late game, where she really shines.
Even with a bad start, she can build farm back easily if bought enough space. Of course, you can also avoid being ganked and stack-pulling to farm faster if your team is not giving you the space, but that boils down to your own skill as a dota 2 player to find the farm.
Pros:
-Aura grants damage to allies and increases night time vision to counter ganks
-Moon Glaive ensures fast farm
-Low Cooldown Nuke (Lucent Beam) + Eclipse = Good killing kit
-High Late Game Damage (With Farm)
Cons:
-Squishy, easy to kill (No Escapes, low base hp and strength gain)
-Low attack Range (330, almost melee)
-Low Base Attack Time (1.7)
Skill choice
In all of my builds, I start with Lunar Blessing, because adding 14 bonus damage will allow you to last hit so much better. Also level 1 Lucent Beam isn't THAT worth the mana to spam to harass the enemy, so try to wait for level 2 Lucent Beam to harass the enemy UNLESS you think you can kill the enemy with your level 1 lucent beam (With the help of a support or a ganker). Get Moon Glaive at lvl 4 so that you will not push the lane too hard for the first 3 levels.
Item Choice
(Build 1)
In a STANDARD Luna game, starting with 1 TANGO, 1 SALVE and 1 CLARITY will allow you to have the mana and health regen you need to stay in lane and keep farming. Buying a ring of protection early is to build it up to a ring of basilius, that improves your mana regen (for lucent beam usage), armour (lane sustain) and damage (~Yes!~)
(Build 2)
Sometimes, you will have a lane support to give you mana via skills or items so you can get a Slippers of Agility and Circlet to build up into a Wraith Band later.
(Build 3)
Due to Luna's poor range, you will get harassed heavily by ranged enemy heroes. If you know that the enemy will have these kinds of heroes, it's advisable to get a stout shield to reduce the right-click damage they can do to you.
Gameplay
Focus on last hits
... And denies. When you can, harass your enemy with lvl 2 Lucent beams(See above), but your main focus is last hitting and getting the farm you need.
When going for a kill, use lucent beam to lower your enemy hp, and get as close to your enemy as possible so that you can hit him with your right-clicks (See: Cons, Low attack Range). When you reach level 6, try and have as few enemies as possible so your eclipse lucent beams are more likely to hit the enemy heroes. Same strategy: get as close to your enemy as possible.
*IMPORTANT* Use Lucent beam on a teleporting enemy to STOP their teleport. It is a huge determining factor if you can stop a hero from escaping or going to help other lanes.
DO NOT DIE.
You lose crucial gold and time, so when enemy heroes are missing, play defensive and hide behind creeps or the tower. In lane, try to keep your hp above 60-70% as you are easy to kill.
The only difference between playing middle lane and safe lane is the item choice. Try and opt for a bottle asap for the mana regen and hp regen. It's basically a replacement for ring of basilius that doesn't give as much an early game bonus.
Do not gank other lanes until you get level 6 or get a double damage/haste rune. Your priority is still farming.
#1 Build: Farming
After Power Treads, get a helm of dominator and use the dominated creep to start pulling and stacking the jungle hard camp or ancient camp. Focus on farming until you get your next core item out. I personally like to go Manta Style after helm of dominator as it gives decent stats and micro-ing illusions to farm other camps and other lanes.
Try to push and get towers when your enemy is preoccupied. When you get your first core item (In my case, manta style), join fights as your aoe (eclipse and lucent beams combined with your manta style illusions) will shred through your enemy team quickly.
After that, game becomes pretty standard: Push when your enemy team cannot defend, take towers, and farm when your team doesn't want to fight.
#2 Build: Ganking
Luna CAN be built as a semi-carry, meaning she is pushing towers and engaging in fights while farming when she has the opportunity. This is viable as her nuking power with Lucent Beam and Eclipse will make her a powerful threat.
To sustain her ganking and pushing power, the first core item after treads is the cheap Drums of Endurance, which gives a decent stat bonus as well as movement speed and attack speed boosts. Activating drums will increase your movement speed and attack speed for a short duration, allowing you to push and engage in teamfights better.
After that, go for the next core item (See above for my preference of Manta Style)
#3 Build: Jungling
This is normally something you change to halfway when you cannot farm in your lane well. It's basically a skill-build and style change to enable you to jungle and farm better. However, this also greatly limits your ganking and killing potential because your eclipse is not needed.
In other words, this buiild sacrifices mid game for more farm in the late game. Use this build ONLY if your enemy team has a better mid-game presence than your team and your team has better late-game presence.
Now that you have made it to the late game, it's basically a continuation of #1 Build; farming when you're not fighting. In a teamfight, focus down the most important heroes(The carry or the aoe heroes).
The Following items are possible choices in the late game, but always get your Boots of Travel when you are approaching 6-slotted:
Black King Bar
Sometimes, this item could be built first instead of Manta Style if you intend to enter fights earlier and if the enemy has high magic damage and diables (slows, stuns, etc.)
Hand of Midas
If you can find 2050 gold before 8 minutes, buy a midas to speed up gold gain. This will allow you to reach your core items faster. HOWEVER, please play more defensive after you have obtained the Midas as you are made a bigger target and have also become more vulnerable as you have exchanged a possible damage or survivablity item for an item that only helps you to farm.
Monkey King Bar
As Luna has a low Base Attack Time, I wouldn't recommend this as a first core item UNLESS you have a hero in your team that can increase your attack speed. In that case, this is the perfect item for you as MKB gives a high amount of damage and your attacks will never miss. Furthermore, the mini-bash does help interrupt channeling spells.
Butterfly
A good boost overall to your hero (as she is an agility hero). The evasion helps against right-clickers and also the active ability, which exchanges your evasion for a movement speed bonus, makes it a worthwhile mid-game item.
Assault Cuirass
If you have trouble surviving right clicks, or physical damage burst, and only if NOBODY else in your team buys this item. Then go ahead.
Moon Shard
Although very expensive, it is a good late-game item (and sometimes mid-game item if your damage is already decent enough) that improves your attack speed TREMENDOUSLY.
Satanic
Regardless of whether you get helm of dominator in the early or mid game, getting a satanic in the late game can vastly improve your survivablity as your high damage output can heal you with satanic's 175% lifesteal active.
Shadow Blade/Silver Edge
A good item when you go for the ganking build, as the invisibilty initiation will allow you to get close to an enemy and initiate with eclipse. It also makes a half-decent escape if your enemy does not have detection (or is smart enough to predict your movements and kill you with their aoe skills) Upgrading to silver edge will improve your survivability and add maim to your right clicks
Daedalus
Okay, what's deadlier than Luna with Crit? Once enough attack speed items are built on her (agility or raw attack speed), buying a daedalus will make her damage in a teamfight EVEN more deadly. Oh yeah, and crits also apply to your moon glaives. JUST SAYING
Aghanim's Scepter
Buff's Luna's Ultimate in a team fight, but I wouldn't recommend it since it costs a good amount of gold for half-decent stats and occupies an item slot. BUT, upgrading Luna's ultimate to put it on your initiator can turn a teamfight. Do not underestimate the power of Eclipse.
Sange and Yasha
Why? Because Yasha is better built up into Manta as illusions can help in team fights by doing extra aoe damage. Even if the enemy hero has an illusion/aoe counter (Lion for former, Earthshaker for latter), you can still use illusions to split push and farm. Sange Maim is good, but not good enough.
S&Y has some viability in the ganking build, but getting a shadow blade is a better option for initiation and movement, and even if you say "Oh, I just buy S&Y and build Manta AND Silver Edge", that's a big waste of money because with that extra gold you spent on 2 items, you could have gotten another core. And if you argue that you need the strength, a drum will give you decent strength AND int which you need for your nuking power. SO yeah.... S&Y is a no-go
Maelstrom/Mjolnir
Why is this bad? Luna already has a good aoe farming tool called "Moon glaive". What you want to do as a Luna is build HIGH damage and attack speed items so that your Moon glaive can help you farm better. You do not need the extra pushing and clearing ability maelstrom offers.
Mjolnir's active is good on Luna, since it protects her and allows her to do extra damage if your attack speed is high, but I want to argue that ANOTHER hero can buy mjolnir and put the active ability on her. Even if you wanted to farm faster, manta will give you illusions that can help you clear easy and medium neutral camps as well as the lane creeps.
Veil of discord
I have no idea why somebody argued with me that this is viable, but I'm just putting it here to emphasise some things. Helping your team with a magic resistance reduction AND armour to yourself sounds good, but it isn't completely worth it. Your eclipse and lucent beams are good nukes, but is it worth the extra mana spendage, gold and item slot?
One more arguement: Magic damage supports would WANT to buy this for themselves, as it is cheap, gives half-decent stats and helps them just as much as it does to you.
Also: One counter to this is Pipe, high magic resistance, and of course, BKB.
Luna needs SPACE and FARM.
As her lane support, keep her health high and save her constantly from ganks. While she can bounce back with her fast farming ability, giving your opponents an edge is not recommendable. If you have an offensive kit (disables or high damage nukes), co-op with her to kill the opposing lane hero and get a gold advantage. Harass your enemy constantly to keep them off Luna's back and possibly even kill them.
As every other hero, keep a Teleport scroll to save your Luna if it is needed. Buy space for her by killing enemy heroes, pushing towers and forcing their attention away from Luna.
Playing against Luna can be as difficult as playing AS a Luna if your enemy is competent.
Your enemy team will protect and make space for their carry. For a carry like Luna who is deadly but squishy, the goal to shutting her down is easy. Gank her in 2s or 3s as her eclipse will fry you if you attempt to gank her solo UNLESS you are a high burst damage hero, like Phantom Assasin or Queen of Pain. Luna's fragility is as obvious as Crystal Maiden's and Techies's movement speed.
KEEP GANKING HER NON-STOP.
As she can farm fast, constantly ganking her will halt her item progression. You know you did a good job when 25 minutes into the game, your enemy Luna only has treads and small components for her next item (like an incomplete Yasha)
In a teamfight, FOCUS her down. Her deadly aoe damage, if left unchecked, will wipe out your team if you are stupid enough. When being ganked by Luna, run as fast as you can away from her, or towards creeps. Eclipse's range is limited and has random targeting, so running to creeps gives you a higher chance of surviving not being hit by Eclipse's beams.
Another counter is simply ending fast. Late-game Luna is no laughing matter when she has items. (see above: Shreds people in teamfights)
To sum up, Luna is simply a glass cannon. Easy to kill, and easily kills. Farming well on Luna will help her kill easier, and harder to kill her, so play your game well WITH or AGAINST her.
She is one of my favourite and highest win-rate carries, http://www.dotabuff.com/players/113496741/matches?hero=luna
I hope you enjoyed this very very long and comprehensive guide to Luna and I hope to see you in-game.
Bye... for now
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