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Sven's skills allow him to deal Area of Effect damage to several enemies at once. Storm Hammer, a powerful damage spell, stuns the target and surrounding units for several seconds, allowing Sven to catch up and strike them with his sword. Warcry gives Sven and nearby allies a temporary movement speed and armor bonus so they can charge quickly and fearlessly. Sven's foes must be wary of his powerful physical attacks, for God's Strength pumps his damage up to very high levels, while Cleave turns every attack into an Area of Effect strike. Although his strengths are straightforward, they are not to be underestimated. The best course of action when faced with a fully pumped Sven is to run.
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Loved by aggressive players everywhere, Puck is one of the best heroes for starting fights. Puck's highly flexible skill set is useful in any situation, making Puck a great hero in both support and offensive roles. Illusory Orb functions like a regular line damage spell--yet at any point along its course, Puck can use Ethereal Jaunt to instantly teleport to Illusory Orb's position. This makes the spell useful for both attacking and escaping. It also meshes perfectly with Puck's offensive spell, Waning Rift. Waning Rift deals damage and silence in an area around Puck, making it the natural choice for use after an Illusory Orb and Ethereal Jaunt. Puck's final offensive spell, Dream Coil, can be used either before or after this combo with great effect. Trapping enemies in a small area, Dream Coil forces them to remain near the target point or take damage and get stunned. Phase Shift, meanwhile, renders Puck invulnerable for several seconds--a highly useful skill on the frequent occasions when Puck ends up right in the middle of the fray. Puck is a relatively easy hero to pick up, and a highly rewarding one to master.
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Beastmaster is a well-rounded fighter, with many tactical options available for all types of combat. Although his physical attacks are melee, he can throw his axes at long range to slice through enemies, dealing lethal damage. His Primal Roar can turn the most organized defense into chaos, allowing Beastmaster and his allies to move in for the kill. His summoning skills serve as effective support for his blitz-style combat. Beastmaster's agile Hawk flies above the battlefield scouting for enemies, and the powerful slowing abilities of his Boar's spines give him time to finish off fleeing foes. A skilled Beastmaster is a deadly foe, capable of fighting any enemy on any terms and crushing them to a pulp.
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Venomancer is a hideous monstrosity who casts an assortment of toxins to bring down his enemies. He uses a fast Venomous Gale attack to project his poison at all enemies in a narrow path in front of him, slowing victims greatly and dealing damage over time. His attacks are coated with Poisonous Stingers that both slow and damage afflicted enemies. He can summon Plague Wards to do his bidding-deploying them either far out in front of him to scout, or in the heart of the bloody battle itself, to fight and weaken enemies. The wards can also be used to push and block off routes of attack or escape. His ultimate attack, Poison Nova, unleashes a potent toxin in a large ring around his body, infecting everyone it hits, dealing large damage, but over a long time. Though this toxin isn't lethal, every other poison he carries is. He is exceptional at weakening enemies, and slowing them down so that they don't stand a chance in team fights.
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Although Weaver may be fragile, he more than counters this weakness with constant bursts of speed and invisibility, along with the ability to periodically deal double damage on attack. He is the master of in, out, and back in. He sends out swarms of beetles which latch onto foes to damage and create chaos. The beetles also reduce his prey's armor, making them vulnerable to team attacks. Finally, Weaver can Time Lapse into the recent past, returning him to the location, as well as to levels of health and mana, that he'd been at 5 seconds prior. Weaver is a paradox--quick and agile, extremely hard to kill due to Time Lapse, but also fragile if caught off guard.
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Chen's standard gameplay is different than most other heroes. Holy Persuasion allows him to convert creeps to his side, including powerful neutral creeps. As a result, Chen is usually found in the forest searching for creeps to convert. When he finds a strong creep or two, he descends on his unwary enemies, using both his own spells and the abilities of his persuaded creeps to take them out. Due to the difficulty of effectively controlling multiple units and abilities, Chen can be a tricky hero to play to his full potential. When ambushing enemies, Chen generally uses his Penitence ability, which slows the target and causes them to take extra damage from Chen's flock. Test of Faith can both finish off enemies, and also double as a way to save threatened allies by teleporting them to safety. Chen's support skills are rounded out by Hand of God, a healing spell which instantly restores a set amount of life to all allied heroes across the battlefield. Although Chen can be difficult for newer players, those who are skilled at controlling multiple units will find him very powerful.
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Nature's Prophet is an unusual intelligence hero. His only damaging spell is his ultimate, Wrath of Nature, which is most effective when cast as far as possible from its intended victims. Instead of offensive spells, he relies on his physical attack and his allies to take down enemies. With his summoned army of Treants, he is a great lane pusher. His main advantage is his amazing mobility. Using Teleportation, he can jaunt anywhere on the battlefield at will. A player with good map awareness is invaluable help to his allies, since he can potentially join any battle, anywhere on the map. With Sprout, he can trap enemy heroes and then finish them off with his strong physical attack and allied help. He can summon an army of Treants with Nature's Call and quickly destroy enemy towers and structures before the enemy can regroup to retaliate. His final spell, Wrath of Nature, can be used to soften up targets across the map while drawing large amounts of gold from enemy creeps. Whether you wish to play Nature's Prophet, or effectively oppose him, map awareness is key.
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Slardar is a powerful close-range stunner who depends on physical damage. He excels at chasing down fragile heroes and Bashing them into the dirt. Slithereen Crush and Bash allow him to stun and damage a target, then follow up with additional bashes to keep them stunned while he finishes them off. In order to get into close enough to use his stun skills, Slardar relies on Sprint. Sprint gives him a massive movement-speed bonus for a relatively long duration, but comes with the negative side effect of making him take extra damage from enemy attacks and spells. Slardar may find himself Sprinting right into a trap, with his increased vulnerability putting a sudden end to his pursuit. Amplify Damage allows Slardar to keep an eye on his target, while drastically reducing their armor, making them easy prey for his powerful attacks once he has chased them down. When faced with this dangerous hero, it's best to keep as far away as possible.
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Shadow Shaman is one of best heroes for disabling enemies, with two strong spells of this type. However, he is a fragile hero who tends to become a focus for enemy wrath in combat. Teamwork and communication are essential if Shadow Shaman is to make full use of his potent spell arsenal. Ether Shock is a useful ability, good for harassing foes, killing creeps, and finishing off wounded enemies who try to escape his snares. Hex is a straightforward polymorph skill, transforming the target into a critter and knocking them out of the fight for a few valuable seconds. Shackles is an interesting ability which disables the target and also Shadow Shaman, who must remain immobile while he channels the spell. However, this is not as much of a disadvantage as it might seem, since his Mass Serpent Ward gives him a powerful means of destroying his target while he holds them in place. The wards are a powerful siege tool as well, able to level buildings very quickly. Since towers can only defend against one ward at a time, they stand little chance against Shadow Shaman's legion of serpents.
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Leshrac's four skills all focus on dealing a lot of damage to his enemies in a variety of ways. He is one of the most powerful direct damage spellcasters, and his spells can even out-damage pumped up physical attack heroes late in the game. Split Earth is an area of effect stun. Although new players will find it can be difficult to hit, it has a relatively low cooldown and is sure to cause a lot of pain if it does connect. Diabolic Edict is an extremely effective spell if used well, causing a huge amount of damage if it hits a single enemy hero for its entire duration. Since it deals physical damage, it is excellent at destroying buildings and fighting magic immune heroes. Lightning Storm is a straightforward spell, but since the cooldown period is only 6 seconds long, it is one of the best harassment spells around. In addition, each bounce deals full damage, allowing clever Leshrac players to hit foes from very long range by targeting creeps and letting the lightning bounce to the intended victim. Pulse Nova is Leshrac's final offensive spell, and can potentially deal the most damage of any of his abilities. Although it costs huge amounts of mana to sustain, the damage output of this spell is very high, especially in large battles where it can hit many targets at once.
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