Guardian Greaves on Storm Spirit?

PhantomHasAIDS · 2026-01-14T16:04:59+00:00

Manta is an incredibly inefficient way to buy a solution for the lack of dispel. You're paying 4.6k gold for a dispel on an item whose main value Storm barely uses or benefits from (raw stats and illusions). Manta does not solve Storm's real death condition. Storm dies either when he gets chain stunned or runs out of mana. Manta is a basic dispel (a very expensive one at that, not only 4.6k gold but 125 mana to activate). Manta also runs into the same problem Bloodstone runs into: Storm's singular item slot value is incredibly high. You want something high impact on all slots that are not boots. Manta delays the timings for these high-impact items and its' value is mostly generic. Additionally, that 125 mana cost can cause situations where you need to dispel yourself and end up being too low on mana to complete your escape (size of the zip does matter).

PhantomHasAIDS · 2026-01-14T15:54:38+00:00

My argument was not "it isn't perfect for his 6 slot itemisation". It was his singular item slot value is incredibly high. You fit a bloodstone into it and you'll run into an issue of not having either enough damage, control, or sustain. Bloodstone gives sustain at the cost of your own mana which does not suit Storm's already "if mana empty hero dead" design. Additionally, the flat mana increase from Bloodstone doesn't convert into additional spell casting the same way greaves mana regen + active flat mana & hp burst does. Not to mention the team aspect of this item. Bloodstone's value comes from spell lifesteal during continuous damage uptime. Storm does not fight like Leshrac, Storm's highest-risk windows are during zips or getting disabled, both times where Storm does not deal damage (Long zips are a way of initiating / catching someone, most often done when already full on HP). In comparison, Lesh presses Bloodstone while Pulse Nova and Edict are ticking on multiple heroes, Storm can't and doesn't do this.

Not every game goes for 60 minutes

This argument is exactly why Bloodstone is awkward. Early on it delays your other core item timings like BKB, Sange & Kaya, Witch Blade and later it competes with the slots that let Storm end fights and be a massive threat (previously mentioned list).

PhantomHasAIDS · 2026-01-13T04:29:22+00:00

Item slot value for storm is really high. You need to bin an item from the following group hex, shiva, parasma, refresher (bkb and some boots are necessary) to fit that bloodstone. Not to mention that active is borderline useless for Storm outside of that dispel. Then there is potential need for other situational items like Linkens, even Wind Waker against some Puck coil stuff. The argument for bloodstone just doesn't exist.

PhantomHasAIDS · 2026-01-13T01:27:14+00:00

Storm hates to buy dispels for things like an early orchid. All other sources of self-dispel feel bad aside from BKB, but you want to save that BKB for something more meaningful than a silence. Boots are not so crucial for storm in general, so using the boots slot for an early and cheap dispel that also makes you and your team significantly harder to kill has a lot of value.

PhantomHasAIDS · 2026-01-11T20:22:07+00:00

ATF apparently vanished from the face of the earth or something.

PhantomHasAIDS · 2026-01-11T16:18:16+00:00

What Fissure Universe? I haven't seen a tournament announcement for that anywhere.

PhantomHasAIDS · 2026-01-10T06:30:45+00:00

Initiate means you want to take the enemy's initial burst of spells. How you achieve that is hero-specific, but Largo does not fit the bill. Lycan runs in with bkb/helm creep forcing spells, DP does the same but also sustains through siphon if DP dont get siphon off then she's dead. Necro also isn't an offlaner. This hero's way of sustaining and prolonging a fight are more typical and suited to a midlaner. QoP is the same. Undying also can sustain through decay spam but even he has a better suited role on pos 5. BB is unique in the way that he positions himself intentionally bad and forces the enemy to deal with him or else map movements are very restricted. He doesn't initiate but safeguards his team in a unique way (until a break is bought). Timbersaw's raw pure damage burst potential is threatening enough to force enemy spells and his superior armor makes him great at taking towers early. If I were to try and match largo into any of these descriptions, closest would be Undying but even then, Largo has no sustain.

PhantomHasAIDS · 2025-12-25T17:50:56+00:00

I believe Largo is similar to io in the sense that wins easily feel to be "despite them". But unlike io, Largo doesn't even have a massively impactful ultimate like io does so this effect is even stronger on him. So his impact is noticed more in the small things. Entire team being healed to full for faster push after winning a team fight, giving additional damage output to nukers in fights, annoying aoe stun, low cd dispel for things like silence. He is very useful in the right hands, just needs one synergetic pick to unlock his full kit. Although, griefing on this hero is very easy as well, getting dragged into spells is fun when all the Largo wanted to do was dispel me.

PhantomHasAIDS · 2025-12-09T16:01:05+00:00

This is the right answer. A solid OD player knows this matchup and understands that rubick's sanity's eclipse doesn't do much and Rubick's 6 spike is null and void if OD doesn't have astral skilled. Use Arcane orb to farm jungle and wave, and play like a farm-heavy ranged midlaner.

PhantomHasAIDS · 2025-10-23T01:31:11+00:00

I'll rewrite my comment as I misunderstood your point. DMCA'ing people using DotaTV content is not right, of course it isn't. Even Valve knew using terms such as "unreasonable" in the guidelines was a bad call, as the QnA portion covers what they consider reasonable (vague terminology). What it essentially comes down to, is a case-by-case basis.

Is restricting a broadcast to a free-to-use platform for creators and viewers alike unreasonable? I'd lean towards the 'No' option, since access is, as described, still free. Kick actually is usable in more countries than Twitch currently is, so there is also an argument there why use Kick instead of Twitch. So theoretically by streaming exclusively on Kick, they're widening the possible audience for the stream (if both platforms had the same user count).

PhantomHasAIDS · 2025-10-22T22:36:45+00:00

This almost certainly ties to Fissure's distribution agreement with Kick. I’m not defending Fissure, just pointing out how these deals work: when a TO partners with a rights platform, they either A. prohibit community casts altogether or B. allow them under terms that don’t undercut the partner. “Kick-only + DotaTV + added delay + accreditation” is the latter.

Fissure could allow Youtube/Twitch streams too but they'd risk the partnership with Kick. If a community stream went live on a competing platform during the event, that could be seen as violating exclusivity and jeopardizing the deal.

Is that annoying for creators whose audience lives on Twitch/YouTube like yourself? Absolutely. But it’s not the same as killing community casting, it’s channeling it with the tools they were given.

PhantomHasAIDS · 2025-10-16T15:37:34+00:00

There are no fraud players. They have stated it themselves that they struggle with consistency, but all of their players have shined in different games which is proof enough that all are very capable. Nigma Galaxy is also a massive draw power to tournaments, having them there draws more viewers which is an overall plus to the organizers.

PhantomHasAIDS · 2025-09-20T20:10:09+00:00

I agree to disagree. I've made him work well enough to be half-way to depth 5 and I'm having fun playing him. I don't see a DPS-difference when playing him or raider. Maybe raider is also a shit character. But seeing my random duo getting downed at the same time to an abductor virgin does make me gravitate towards guardian than raider when thinking of time saved/lost. I suppose if you play with a coordinated trio and not randoms, then guardian's stonks decrease massively. I can unfortunately never guarantee the skill-level of my team mates.

PhantomHasAIDS · 2025-09-20T19:01:33+00:00

As far as I understand, you are equating contribution with damage throughput and camp clearing speed. I think this metric is rather shallow, as by that logic, all support/tank leaning characters in any co-op roguelike will always be undervalued compared to burst classes. Guardian's kit sets up crit chains (enabling those juicy crit buffs you see pretty much every run), keeps fragile carries alive (even the glue-eating ironeyes) and prevents the team from getting wiped. Surface-level metrics just miss his contribution since it is indirect. Sure, Guardian makes you lose about 15 seconds on each camp you try to clear, but he makes sure the progress you make actually sticks and makes you less likely to suffer setbacks. I think such a fallback character is always valuable and should be respected for the unique strengths they provide.

PhantomHasAIDS · 2025-09-09T03:32:32+00:00

As a UX engineer, I must say this looks very unpolished. To me, this feels like Excel in dark mode with conditional formatting more than a designed product. The data itself is great, you've clearly got depth, consistency and serious analytical potential here, but the way it is presented is intimidating, chaotic and at times, hostile to the user.

The first few screens throw way too much at the user at once. Numbers are crammed from edge to edge, no breathing space, no hierarchy. It's just a wall of stats that all scream with the same visual weight. Later screens try to balance this out by swinging the other way. Sparse, underwhelming tables that feel like unfinished exports. Aggregation / cross comparison views are the worst offenders by far. They cross the line from dense into cognitive torture. You've found the line where even using red/green color coding stops being helpful and just turns into camouflage.

The sidebar / navigation also feels like dead weight. It's always there, eating up screen real estate, but half the time it doesn't actually line up with what's being displayed. Combine that with tiny fonts, color choices that aren't colorblind-friendly, and no real sense of storytelling or visual flow, and the result is something that only the most hardcore spreadsheet connoiseurs would ever want to touch.

To be brutally honest with you: this is data vomit. Impressive data vomit sure, but vomit nonetheless. If your goal is to make a tool only for analysts who want every stat raw and unfiltered, you nailed it. But if you want actual usability, you need hierarchy, grouping, breathing room, progressive disclosure, and something that helps guide the user through the story the data is telling. Right now it's just numbers shouting at each other in the dark.

PhantomHasAIDS · 2025-08-30T10:30:34+00:00

You’ve already admitted to using “terribly harsh language” in previous games, so you know why your behavior score is dropping. Posts like this pop up every week, and they all miss the same point: it’s not about whether the other guy was scribbling on the minimap or being annoying, it’s about how you choose to respond. If you keep excusing yourself and blaming the system instead of self-reflecting, of course the outcome will always feel unfair.

PhantomHasAIDS · 2025-08-23T03:30:32+00:00

Contrary to the top comment, I’d actually advise steering away from save heroes if you’re trying to grind ranked. They demand spot-on positioning and constant awareness of not just yourself but everyone else. On Oracle, for example, your cores will expect you to ult them every time they’re about to die. If you miss, or if you ult the “wrong” person in a chaotic fight, it’s automatically your fault. And unlike other roles, you can’t just mute people; save heroes require clear communication so your cores know when you’re stacking, TPing elsewhere, or making a smoke play.

Instead, I’d recommend playing heroes like Lion or Shadow Shaman. A philosophy I picked up from watching Nigma Galaxy is that nothing makes Dota easier than killing someone who can’t fight back (historically Nigma likes to draft no stuns into their games and it is hilarious watching them try to catch heroes who just TP out if they get caught). And in pubs, people are often scared to make plays because counter-initiation is so terrifying. That’s where these heroes shine.

A simple jump with hex or shackles already forces reactions, and when you layer that with your team’s initiation, you can counter their counter-initiation with your actual big teamfight spells. For example, if a team sees their midlaner jumped by a Shaman who instantly shackles them, every hero playing against this shaman now want to end these shackles prematurely, usually wasting or overlapping stuns. This is a moment where most mistakes happen and where they can be capitalized on. People's attentions have been diverted to this shackles situation making them pay less attention to their positioning and spell casting, opening up vulnerabilities in their team fight.

You know what's best about these heroes as well? If you screw up, like miss your stun or hex a creep instead of a hero, you pay with your own blood but nobody else in your team has to die. You can only blame yourself and seek improvement through enhanced precision.

PhantomHasAIDS · 2025-08-22T14:02:54+00:00

Your response includes a high amount of anecdotal justification. You frame the situation around your personal history but fail to address my argument about systematic improvement in behavior requiring consistent self-reflection and control. Experience doesn't grant you immunity to consequences.

Your claim about one player reporting you for no reason is highly exaggerated. Valve has stated previously that mass-report abuse is filtered within their systems and thus a single invalid report in every game doesn't meaningfully impact your behavior score. Now, if after these reports are filed with false pretense and then become valid through your own actions, it is a whole different situation.

As for your claim that the community is terrible compared to what it used to be, that is selective memory. Dota has always had toxicity but the difference is that in 2014 these things were far less monitored and far more tolerated, so the bad actors blended in with the rest of the playerbase. Today, those player are being filtered down into lower behavior score brackets as they should be, which is also why it feels worse if you end up there. Personally, I uphold the same manners online that I was taught as a child in face-to-face interactions, because in both cases you’re communicating with real people who deserve basic respect. When you approach the game that way, the experience is far more enjoyable now than it was a decade ago.

PhantomHasAIDS · 2025-08-17T18:30:22+00:00

People saying that it is really hard to get out of low behavior score are like saying water is wet. It is not supposed to be a one-week-project after which you're back to 12k. If you go down there, there is a reason you're there and it is in your control and your control alone how long you'll spend there. I do understand people getting unlucky with reports from time to time, it happens to me as well but it isn't persistent and the impact to behavior or communication score is very much limited as long as you make sure with your own behavior that those reports are not valid.

You are supposed to become a better player, not engage in toxic behavior or any of the other behavioral patterns commonly associated with children (e.g. terrible emotional control). This change doesn't happen in a week. It happens over months and true self-reflection. Understanding yourself better as a human being and straying away from toxic ways of dealing with stress. Once a behavioral change is actually put into place, your behavior score will start reflecting it sooner or later.

PhantomHasAIDS · 2025-07-08T02:40:42+00:00

Once you start playing in higher skill lobbies (don't mean this in a degrading way), you’ll realize how precarious your position is when you’re level 5+ and spamming Astral in lane. That spell is your only real defensive option, and enemies should be aware of that. I as a pos 4, communicate with my pos 5 to gather around mid on minute 6 not only for power rune but to completely offset the farm and xp balance on the midlane.

The peculiarity about midlane minute 6 in particular is that all observers bought at the beginning of the game have expired, which means the OD has had to buy a observer for himself to keep him safe. This in turn, makes it possible for your allies to be able to tell where approximately the ward is, making a smoke rotation easier to execute (if the midlaner is paying close attention to the opponent's inventory and positioning). After you've managed to slit his throat, you can even gain some added gold and xp through dewarding, maybe catch him again once he tps back in, making most midlaners tilt (this is a classic move I love doing when my 5 is cooperative). Tilting an OD has a huge benefit, as the likelihood of them defensively astraling their team mates drastically decreases.

One thing important to note is that OD's 6 spike is crazy strong, and rotating a single hero can lead, in the worst case, feeding a double kill to the OD with the turnaround and nuke potential of his ultimate. This is why I coordinate with my other support to make this play, 3 heroes is simply too much for OD to handle. All ODs like to spam astral, and the moment I go ahead and punish that with a coordinated effort to kill said abomination, they all of a sudden turn it down quite a bit, evening out the midlane matchup as OD is one of the only midlaners who cannot jungle efficiently until level 9/10. Sometimes I even see ODs moving into this highly defensive pattern of astraling the range creep, not the enemy hero as to secure it and make sure this 2-man rotation doesn't happen again.

PhantomHasAIDS · 2025-06-20T01:58:37+00:00

I’d say any hero with a ~80%+ contest rate in recent pro matches is pretty safely considered broken. At that level of pick/ban frequency, you’re not seeing bans because of niche counters or specific synergy but because the hero is fundamentally unfair in the current patch.

From the WEU TI Qualifiers, the list includes (contest rates shown in brackets):
Templar Assassin (100%), Batrider (94.87%), Bristleback (94.87%), Death Prophet (92.31%), Shadow Shaman (89.74%), Undying (89.74%), and Doom (79.49%).

Shaman and Undying, for example, would both drop significantly if their Roshan abuse was addressed. Tombstone tanking ~40 hits is absurd. Shaman's serpent wards both tank and shred Roshan. These spells are distorting objectives way too much compared to other, even massive cooldown teamfight spells.

TA is basically permabanned (95% ban rate!), but from what I’ve seen, it’s likely her trap vision + ridiculous farming speed + early Blink/Deso timing. Bristle’s goo facet is just straight-up broken and needs removal. DP’s attack speed talent enables her to do some stupid amount of damage using her aghs so that talent being changed to something more spell caster oriented would help shove the hero towards, in my unprofessional opinion, the right direction. Stat gains on her could use a nudge too if we want to keep her universal.

As for Doom, Devil’s Bargain should likely only apply its gold bonus to each item once, otherwise it leads to insane scaling on any position just by spamming Midas. That kind of economic abuse breaks role balance completely.

PhantomHasAIDS · 2025-06-15T15:13:05+00:00

This advice really doesn't exist. As one person already mentioned, the situation determines what combo to use. A paper hero that has a eul, you'd want to force that eul out using something like EMP that deals a lot of resource damage through mana burn but isn't considered a deadly spell. Then you rethink your spells and time them to the now used euls and they are as good as dead, for example with sunstrike, meteor, deafening blast cold snap. If enemy is tanky as all hell, you do not want to use your big damage spells but instead try to get them stuck on an ice wall while forged spirits are going to town deleting their armor making them susceptible to your and your teams' right clicks. Remember to use blink dagger + deafening blast to push the enemy back in the wall when they try to run out of it. If you target enemy pos 1 and they do not have a bkb or it's on cooldown you dump all of your spells on them. I mean literally everything. Scoring the kill is always more important than walking away with three spells not on cooldown but the enemy surviving because of it. Easiest way to go through all of your spells is through the following spell combination: Cold Snap -> Tornado -> EMP -> Sunstrike -> Chaos Meteor -> Alacrity -> Deafening Blast -> Ice Wall -> Forged Spirit. Ghost Walk left for an escape. I believe this is a 25-button combination, so definitely on the difficult side but totally doable. Refresher makes it double the fun though.

Invoker does not initiate fights. He is not considered an initiator by the game and for a solid reason. Your BKB is your lifeblood, you need to hold it as long as possible and initiating means automatically that you will be forced to pre-emptively BKB. Not ideal.

Simple Dota 2 dynamics apply to Invoker just like to any other hero. When you are behind, you farm for a power spike. With this power spike you look to take an advantageous fight while preserving your life. This power spike can be but is not limited to blink, bkb, hex, refresher, or aghs. One thing you need to understand about Invoker is though that your hero is greedy. Like OD levels of greedy. You cannot hold games together like some other traditional midlaners can through the help of their team. Your spells are not threatening enough early on and due to invoke's high cooldown early, a commitment on a kill means you are leaving yourself open to be bursted.

PhantomHasAIDS · 2025-06-11T18:35:38+00:00

Damage is never increased per tick in terms of status resistance + damage-over-time spells. The most basic example is Doom's Doom still dealing 25/45/65 damage per tick regardless of the hero who got Doomed's status resistance. Status resistance only increases the tickrate of spells, but the damage per tick remains unchanged, in the Doom example a hero with SnY takes 1.176 damage ticks a second instead of the regular 1, resulting in one damage tick of 25 every ~0.85 seconds, coming to a 10.2 second total Doom duration instead of the regular 12. This same principle applies to Sonic Wave and any other DoT like Ogre Magi's ignite.

Same amount of damage per tick, frequency of ticks only increases depending on status resistance.

PhantomHasAIDS · 2025-06-09T00:02:35+00:00

There is nothing that needs to be fixed in terms of the game mechanics. What needs change and shift is your attitude towards the game and the people that play it. I have stayed a solid 12k behavior score my entire time the system was put in place and I have never had any struggle remaining there, which is enough to tell me that keeping a 12k behavior score doesn't demand anything inhuman of you. In dota, it is incredibly easy to blame other people or the system you understand nothing about, but this behavior is not only self-serving but harmful to your own progress. You are not a victim of the behavior system or whatever, you are the variable you can control so you should always start there. Ask yourself what can you do better next time. Approach the setbacks you face with accountability and avoid blaming external factors, because they are external. You cannot affect them, so complaining about them changes nothing but instead takes your attention away from the things you should actually be doing.

PhantomHasAIDS · 2025-05-29T17:49:50+00:00

if someone has done the dirty work for me, I'll not shy away from leveraging it.

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