dota version 6.66 released - major imba rework on DoomBringer

It has been a while since my last post about dota. Maybe some of you think that I've totally forgotten about it but no. I'm still playing a couple of games every weekend and then the rest HoN!!! LOL Actually I just played yesterday with some of my LAN buddies. :D

I was not surprised that Icefrog did a major work in Doombringer. He's rebalanced and reworked. His new skills were kinda imba. It's just right coz DoomBringer won't be considered a threat unless he has his ulti.

Per playdota.com changelog:

Old Devour:
===========
Creeps: Up to level 1/2/4/6
Bonus Gold: 10/20/30/40
cd: 30/25/20/15
manacost: 50/45/40/35

New Devour:
===========
Creeps: Up to level 2/4/5/6
Bonus Gold: 40/60/80/100
cd: 60/55/50/45
manacost: 60

Gains the abilities of the target neutral creep has until you devour another creep with abilities to replace it

Old Scorched Earth:
====================
Large aoe castable.

MS Bonus: 10/15/20/30%
AS Bonus: 10/15/20/30%
Deals: 1/2/3/4 dps
Heals: 1/2/3/4 dps

Duration: 20
CD: 10
Manacost: 60
Cast Range: 800
AOE: 700

New Scorched Earth:
====================
Temporary effect around you. Earth is scorched wherever you are walking.

MS Bonus: 20%
Damage: 15/20/25/30
Heals: 15/20/25/30

Duration: 8/10/12/14
Cooldown: 60/50/40/30
Manacost: 60
AOE: 600

Old Doom:
==========
Regular
-Duration: 12/14/16
-DPS: 40/60/80
-Cooldown: 160/130/100

Scepter
-Duration: 14/16/18
-DPS: 50/70/90
-Cooldown: 90/80/70

New Doom:
==========
Regular
-Duration: 14
-DPS: 30/50/70
-Cooldown: 110

Scepter
-Duration: 14
-DPS: 50/80/110
-Cooldown: 110

My thoughts:

Like I've said, the new DoomBringer is kinda imba. Why did I say that? Here are my reasons:

Gaining extra abilities is imba. Devour now is very unbalanced. Just imagine, gaining extra abilities by just devouring a creep. For example in laning, you can devour an Alpa wolf for extra damage. If you want a clash winner, you can get a Kobold beast for endurance aura. If you're a heavy hitter, you can get a banshee! Imagine a free 6k worth item by just eating a creep. Imba isn't it?

He is a threat even without his ulti. With his rework, doom can now kill even without his ulti. He can get a good ability like purge, stomp or clap then just attack you until you die. Why? because doom can get items faster than anyone else in the game. Even if you have a strong lineup of heroes, you can't stop doombringer from farming items. A cheap item like Vanguard can be farmed in less than 10 mins. What will you do with a fat strength hero + block in early game?

More dynamic play style. Because of the rework, doom can now play support and carry. He's still a good farmer. Gold wise, devour was nerfed but his second skill makes him almost impossible to kill. If you can't kill the enemy, that means more money and more items for him. Even with 2 stunners around is not enough, Doom can simply outrun them. Moreover, Doom can constantly pressure lanes with enough wards. Doom can dominate the lane where you are in and outfarm enemies. Doom can be a very good hitter now because of extra abilities.

My mini guide to the new Doom:

I'll share with you my mini guide in the reworked Doom. Some of you guys might not agree with me, but this build worked for 5 games straight so just read on and try it. :D

~at the start of the game, get a Hatchet, a courier and 1 tango. Farm until you get your crow and bottle then start spamming your spells like crazy.

~i usually get devour, scorched earth, devour, lvl death?, doom, lvl death and so on...depending on lvl of most enemies

~get boots early as possible so you can kill right away

~you may opt to get cheezy items right away like dagon. You may also try the sneaky doom! use lothars. Or the usual build, Radiance + protective items (vanguard/heart of tarasque)

Edit:
I just tried this yesterday. Early treads + Vanguard + pointbooster (for aghanim) is also good. If you can tank early game, you can have a good clash. :)

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Posted in: defense of the ancients,dota,gaming

Traxex painting

Kunkka is really awesome. I just saw this painting in deviant art and I think it's worth sharing. He's doing single portraits for dota heroes now...I wish he could make one for Alleria too. :)



If you don't know kunkka, he's the one doing the loadscreens for dota. Maybe icefrog used his name for admiral proudmoore to say thanks for all the hard work. Just a bit of FYI, the load screen in the current version was created using photoshop with 80 hours of painting spread out in 3 months. Imagine how long it would take to create such vibrant painting.

Anyway, if you wanna know more about this artist you can check out his profile here.

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Posted in: Art,defense of the ancients,dota,Graphics,photoshop

DotA Hero Strategy Guide:Kunkka, the Admiral Proudmoore (unfinished)

Of all the allies in the Sentinel's ranks, only one, is known by as many names and is feared in as many lands. Called Capt. CoCo by his mates, Jacksparrow by others, The Legendary Mariner by some. but only a select few, know his real name and what it stands for. He can harness the powers of the depths to conjure torrential geysers that blast his enemies into the air. His elegant blade is sworn to the Seas and with each mighty swing it ebbs like the tides. Using a watery form of spacial magic, he can bring you back to your original destination. The Captain now sails towards the Scourge lands, aboard his Phantom vessel boosting the spirits of his comrades with his fabled Rum, paving the way for the victory of the Sentinel. He is Kunkka, Master and Commander of the seven seas.

Hero Abilities

Torrent
Using his unparalleled knowledge of the sea, Kunkka is able to summon a blast of water at a targeted area. After 2 seconds a fierce torrent of water erupts from the ground, the stream blasting enemies caught in the AoE into the sky, dealing damage and slowing movement speed by 30%.

Level 1 - 120 damage, lasts 1 seconds.
Level 2 - 180 damage, lasts 2 seconds.
Level 3 - 240 damage, lasts 3 seconds.
Level 4 - 300 damage, lasts 4 seconds.

Cooldown: 12
Manacost: 120

Level 1: 120 mana, 12 sec cooldown.
Level 2: 120 mana, 12 sec cooldown.
Level 3: 120 mana, 12 sec cooldown.
Level 4: 120 mana, 12 sec cooldown.

Tidebringer
Kunkka's legendary sword Tidebringer is infused with the very power of the sea. Akin to the ebb and flow, Tidebringer passively grants the hero increased damage and large AoE cleave for a single strike every once in awhile.

Level 1 - +15 damage, 16 second cooldown, 380 AoE
Level 2 - +30 damage, 12 second cooldown, 420 AoE
Level 3 - +45 damage, 8 second cooldown, 460 AoE
Level 4 - +60 damage, 4 second cooldown, 500 AoE

Passive

X Marks The Spot

In order to make an assembly for his troops, Admiral Proudmore targets a hero and marks its current position on the ground. After a few seconds, the hero will instantly return to the mark.

Level 1 - 1 second, 500 cast range.
Level 2 - 2 seconds, 650 cast range.
Level 3 - 3 seconds, 800 cast range.
Level 4 - 4 seconds, 950 cast range.

Cooldown: 30
Manacost: 80/90/100/110

Level 1: 80 mana, 30 sec cooldown.
Level 2: 90 mana, 30 sec cooldown.
Level 3: 100 mana, 30 sec cooldown.
Level 4: 110 mana, 30 sec cooldown.

Ghost ShipThe admiral summons the mythical ghost ship S.S. CoCo to the battlefield. Allies are doused in Captain CoCo's Rum, inebriating them for 15% bonus movespeed and numbness to incoming damage, causing them to feel only half of the pain now and half after the Rum wears off. Enemies, pirates and scurvy knaves are dashed on the rocks for damage and a brief stun when the ship crashes.

Level 1 - CoCo's Rum lasts 5 seconds, 300 crash damage.
Level 2 - CoCo's Rum lasts 6 seconds, 400 crash damage.
Level 3 - CoCo's Rum lasts 7 seconds, 500 crash damage.

Cooldown: 100/80/60
Manacost: 150

Level 1: 150 mana, 100 sec cooldown.
Level 2: 150 mana, 80 sec cooldown.
Level 3: 150 mana, 60 sec cooldown.

Introduction

I used this hero for months and I keep on winning both public and private games. I'm not really as pro as the top Asian players but I have an idea of how to use this hero. For me, kunkka is a very flexible character. He is an overfarmer, nuker, ganker, tank , support and most importantly - a clash winner. I'm willing to share these pro kunkka builds and strategies because I want to see more and more players improve. Playing with uncompetitive players is just a waste of time so why not spend some time sharing your pro kunkka dota strategies?

I apologise if I can't provide any screenshots or whatsoever since I'm very busy. I know that you'll pretty much understand what I'm saying if we are in the same skill level. :p So basically, this is more of a walk-through than a step by step guide. Plus please don't blame me if I missed something since I'm just writing here what I could remember. Enjoy!

Skill Build and Reason

My skill build depends on the enemies and where I will lane. Usually, if I'll go mid, I would get:

1. Tidebringer
2. Torrent
3. Tidebringer
4. X marks the spot
5. X marks the spot
6. Ghost Ship
7. Torrent
8. etc etc

Why tidebringer first?

Tidebringer is one of my favorite skills in dota. Why? It gives you early damage that could lead to denial of creeps and money shot + harrass. Take note that you deny first before getting your money shot.

Why get level 2 X marks the spot early?

This is very simple. In pro level, you really can't be sure if your torrent will hit the enemy. Many pro players can actually forsee where you will place your torrent unless you casted it from afar. Casting X and Torrent on the same spot is what I would like to call auto-torrent. This means once you get level 6, you can kill almost any half life hero. Simply cast X, torrent and boat quickly and then finish with your normal attack.

This kind of build usually farms and ganks. A high level X can be used to kill anyone. I've seen too many Imba combos with X such as X + Mirana's arrow and X + Requiem of Souls..etc etc The thing here is that the casting range is almost 1 screen away so you really won't notice right away.

Other Skill Builds

If I know that I can't kill the enemy by level 6, I level tidebringer early so I can farm. But it's a requirement that I still get level 2 X before level 10 just to make sure that I can auto torrent gankers visiting me.

You may also opt to level torrent early if you have lots of stunners. High level torrent is so much pain considering the you can do anything while the enemy is flying. :D

Play style and items

If you will adopt a ganking play style, you are better off in getting items that will give you more capacity to fight in the early levels. 2 bracers + strength treads + bottle + TPs will do the trick. After that you can get perseverance then convert it to fury. Once you get fury, items will follow. My original preference would be Heart,Cuiras and Buriz. I won't be discussing why I prefer these three items. Maybe you should just give it a try and see what I mean.

Getting early perseverance is also good since it's an assurance that you'll get your farming tool (fury) early. My condition here is that you should get perse as early as 6-8 minutes.

Another style is getting radiance early. Like fury, radiance is an assurance that you'll have items in mid-late game.getting radiance around 20 minutes is totally great. Most of the pros I've seen really like this build. You can see their early items are just boots, gauntlets,bottle and TPs. They just kill and farm carefully until they get their radiance. Once they have radiance, you can see more items popping in.

Other item suggestions would be Black King bar, life steal, Sange Yasha and Guinsoo.

Bkb is used to counter silence/stuns/and other disables so you can cast your combo without distractions; Life steal is basically used to counter life stealers and to outank tanks; S&Y is mainly a buffer item for me. It amplifies your damage output since it gives a little bit of everything. Kunkkas with S&Y usually can't get HoT or BKB so they settle for getting a Sange for more Str, then eventually turn them to S&Y; Guinsoo is rarely used, but since kunkka is a great farmer he has the capacity to farm it. Always remeber that an additional disable would be very beneficial especially in the late game.

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Posted in: defense of the ancients,dota,gaming,warcraft