You can take a point in this spell earlier than suggested at level 4 if the self knockback helps you dodge a nuke from the enemy mid laner. Use this spell more for mobility than damage. The self knockback lets you get closer to an enemy hero to target them with Laser, or lets you stay out of trouble to Rearm or Teleport away.
Starting
A consumable for sustained HP regen in the laning stage. Helps you trade your HP with enemy heroes and heal back up without having to go to fountain. Provides double HP regen when eating a tree planted using an Iron Branch.
A consumable for a burst of HP. Especially useful to surprise enemies when you are at low health to survive an engagement. Also provides some useful damage in the laning stage.
The most cost efficient stats item in Dota 2. Useful in the laning stage to have an HP, mana, and damage advantage against enemy heroes. Can be used together with a Tango for double HP regen.
Early Game
A core item for mid laners to gain some HP and mana sustain. Also allows the potential to make plays with power runes past the 6 minute mark.
Start with Magic Stick if you expect high frequency of spells from enemy heroes on the lane.
A core item to increase the damage output of your spells and resolves some of your mana issues as you spam spells for fighting and farming. Builds into Kaya and Sange or Yasha and Kaya later in the game.
A core item to find the optimal positioning in tree lines every time you leave fountain. Lets you close the gap on enemy heroes to keep them in Laser range.
Mid Game
A core item that upgrades all of your basic spells. Increases the damage of Laser to take away a percentage of both the current and max health of the target. Lets your March of the Machines heal you and your allies upon impact. Increases the rate of fire of the Deployed Turrets, letting them fire an extra volley of missiles.
A core item that lets you cast spells and items from a distance and keep yourself out of danger in fights. Works well in combination with Aghanim`s Scepter to increase the cast range of Laser.
A core item to put some distance between yourself and an enemy hero while rooting them. Gives you a better chance to refresh your spells with Rearm, as well as survive getting bursted down.
A core item to become more tanky and be more fearless when attempting kills on enemy heroes. Also boosts your magic damage output and lets you use more of your spells every time you go out of base by lowering their mana cost.
A core item to avoid most disables and silences on the enemy team for Rearm channeling and be fearless when attempting kills in the middle of teamfights. Also improves your right click damage and tankiness through HP pool and magic resistance.
Late Game
A core item that gives you instant lockdown against elusive enemy heroes to follow up with all your spells to burst them down. Also provides some much needed mana pool and regen.
A core item to amplify your magic damage on an enemy hero and burst them down with all your spells. Also lets you save yourself or an allied hero against physical damage. Has great synergy with Dagon.
An upgrade for Eul`s Scepter of Divinity to dispel yourself when in trouble and reposition in and out of fights. Also provides some much needed mana pool and regen.
A core upgrade for Blink Dagger to lower its cooldown and increase the range for more mobility. Also makes you more survivable by providing some HP and mana every time you Blink. Has great synergy with Octarine Core and your innate for a very low cooldown Blink.
Situational
A situational item that helps with mana sustain to spam your spells for fighting and farming.
A situational item that makes you tanky with a bigger HP pool and provides HP sustain through spell lifesteal as you stand in the middle of teamfights to do massive damage with your spells. Builds into Bloodstone later in the game.
A mobility item to push yourself or one of your allies away from trouble, or close the gap on enemies. Also lets you push yourself over cliffs and impassable terrain.
An alternative to Kaya and Sange to increase your movement speed to move around faster while Blink Dagger is on cooldown, while improving the cast speed of all your spells.
A powerful defensive tool to block single target disables and debuffs. Also provides effective damage through stats for universal heroes.
A defensive item to survive enemy initiations and turn the fight with all your spells.
An alternative to Aether Lens that gives you massive burst potential to take down any hero from full to zero in seconds in combination with your spells. Also increases the cast range of all your spells and items, and works well in combination with Ethereal Blade for a massive burst of damage.
A mid to late game pick up to tank up with armor and increase the AoE of all your spells. Goes well with Overwhelming Blink to become extremely tanky and do massive AoE damage.
A late game pick up primarily to reduce the cooldown of your items like Blink Dagger, Dagon, Scythe of Vyse, Ethereal Blade, and Linken`s Sphere to improve your survivability and be more potent in fights. Also provides some much needed HP and mana pools as well as mana regen to spam your spells.
An alternative upgrade for Blink Dagger to have more AoE damage and control in teamfights. Makes you much more tanky with HP pool and synergizes well with Shiva`s Guard to instantly clear creep waves.
