The post is Nevermore Item Build for RTS Game "DotA"
Nevermore Early Game Items
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Everything here is pretty much self explanatory.
- The Bottle is important for some quick heals and grabbing the rune.
- Boots of Speed need no real explanation.
- Since Nevermore will be doing a lot of ganking, a Magic Wand can help you pull off some ridiculously awesome escapes, or give you that little bit of Mana for that one last raze. A Magic Wand is a MUST for Nevermore.
- Always keep a TP scroll with you at all times, so you can either help you Allies defend a tower, or farm in an empty lane (the latter part is exceptionally important for Nevermore as he needs a lot of farm before he becomes effective in the Middle Game).
- Personally, I prefer Wraith Bands over Bracers because I feel that if you do get ganked by 3 heroes, getting Bracers makes no difference to getting Wraith Bands. Wraith Bands help you get last hits and gives you a lot more damage. A lot of people WILL disagree with me on this, so get Bracers if you want. In fact getting Bracers is most probably the safest option out of the two, but I guess it just boils down to personal preference.
Nevermore Middle Game Items:
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Plus the items you already have:
OR Boots of Travel, Black King Bar and Kelen’s Dagger are probably the most common mid-game items you will see on Nevermore. On the other hand, Power Treads + Black King Bar and Manta Style is a newer build which is more focused on clan wars where teammate support is a lot better than that of pubs, and Nevermore is seen more as an AoE hero than a carry.
Boots of Travel gives him plenty of speed and much more farm, Black King Bar gives him magic invulnerability for a certain period of time and Kelen’s Dagger can be used as an escape mechanism, or used offensively as a blink to land your Ultimate right in the centre of a team battle. This is by far the most common build that I use with Nevermore, and perhaps it is the most common one out there as well.
Perhaps the reason why that you see Power Treads being opted instead of Boots of Travel in clan wars is probably due to the ever-changing pace of the game. Nevermore will probably take up to 12-15 minutes to farm a Boots of Travel in a standard clan war game, and Boots of Travel is really an utility item. The real difference between clan war and pub gameplay for Nevermore is that in a clan war, Nevermore will probably spend slightly more time doing ganks and participating in those small 2v2, 3v3 fights than just taking the time farming. Power Treads is cheap, efficient and contributes to Manta Style as well. Black King Bar is ABSOLUTELY neccessary in this build. To be quite honest, this build is not that optimum for your average pub game, since this build is an AoE build, rather than being carry-oriented.
There are a couple of alternative builds out there, such as:
Boots of Travel gives him plenty of speed and much more farm, Black King Bar gives him magic invulnerability for a certain period of time and Kelen’s Dagger can be used as an escape mechanism, or used offensively as a blink to land your Ultimate right in the centre of a team battle. This is by far the most common build that I use with Nevermore, and perhaps it is the most common one out there as well.
Perhaps the reason why that you see Power Treads being opted instead of Boots of Travel in clan wars is probably due to the ever-changing pace of the game. Nevermore will probably take up to 12-15 minutes to farm a Boots of Travel in a standard clan war game, and Boots of Travel is really an utility item. The real difference between clan war and pub gameplay for Nevermore is that in a clan war, Nevermore will probably spend slightly more time doing ganks and participating in those small 2v2, 3v3 fights than just taking the time farming. Power Treads is cheap, efficient and contributes to Manta Style as well. Black King Bar is ABSOLUTELY neccessary in this build. To be quite honest, this build is not that optimum for your average pub game, since this build is an AoE build, rather than being carry-oriented.
There are a couple of alternative builds out there, such as:
Sometimes used when your game’s not going so well and you need BKB first, but the game does turn around after you get your BKB and a Kelen’s Dagger ‘seals off the deal’, so to speak. To be honest, I don’t really like this build because Dagger is most effective before the 30th minute mark, and most of the time it’s probably better to leave Dagger out of the build because it’s not as effective as before. I would much rather prefer this build especially when I play more serious games with my friends/clan mates.
The next two builds are the build you will see in a lot of professional replays:
The next two builds are the build you will see in a lot of professional replays:
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This build is a very ‘safe’ build. It gives you a lot of DPS and the BKB ensures that nothing gets in the way of casting your Ultimate or simply carving some serious damage. The only problem is that a lot of the time you have to rely on your teammates to stun your opponents so that you can calmly walk in, activate BKB and cast your Ultimate. It is by far the safest build for Nevermore and possibly the ‘most boring’, but is probably a build most Nevermore player opt in most professional/serious matches.
Whenever the game’s not really going your way (say you get ganked a lot) then by using this build you’re ensuring that you’re doing your part in team battles. Everything’s pretty much self explanatory and every Nevermore player will eventually have to buy BKB. Try getting Boots of Travel + BKB before the 22nd minute mark (if your team’s winning) and try aim for a 20 minute BKB if your team’s at a disadvantage. And one final thing: if you can’t or you couldn’t farm a Boots of Travel in under 18 minutes, get Power Treads instead. It’s cheaper, gives you a lot of Stats and you can push for that eventual BKB sooner.
I really don’t recommend this build. Spending your first 2150 gold on an item that only gives you blink, in my opinion, isn’t really worth it at all. You might then ask ‘then why do you get Dagger after you get Boots of Travel?’
The reasoning is simple. After you get Boots of Travel, your ability to farm increases a thousand-fold and it doesn’t really take that long before you can quickly farm yourself a Dagger and really start ganking and do your part in team battles. An experienced Nevermore player can easily farm a Dagger in 5 minutes and getting Boots of Travel first is a safer option.
If you choose to get Kelen’s Dagger first, however, you’re taking a risk because it’s going to take you the same amount of time that you’ve spent on farming the Dagger to farm Boots of Travel, and if you don’t rack up those kills and ‘get your money back’, then what’s the point of getting Dagger first? Secondly, a Nevermore with Dagger probably has the same effect in battle as Queen of Pain and it’s probably much better to do what Nevermore is best at: using his AoE abilities in team battles, rather than trying to chase someone down individually and get ganked in the process. That’s the job for Queen of Pain and Storm Spirit, not Nevermore.
If you ever plan on using this build, make sure that (1) you have the reflexes to maximize the effect of Dagger and (2) you have some VERY cooperative teammates, preferably clan mates or friends. It’s an interesting, sometimes exhilarating build to try out (since you’re in the middle of action all the time), but if you miscalculate and you blink in, nine times out of ten you won’t blink back out again.
The reasoning is simple. After you get Boots of Travel, your ability to farm increases a thousand-fold and it doesn’t really take that long before you can quickly farm yourself a Dagger and really start ganking and do your part in team battles. An experienced Nevermore player can easily farm a Dagger in 5 minutes and getting Boots of Travel first is a safer option.
If you choose to get Kelen’s Dagger first, however, you’re taking a risk because it’s going to take you the same amount of time that you’ve spent on farming the Dagger to farm Boots of Travel, and if you don’t rack up those kills and ‘get your money back’, then what’s the point of getting Dagger first? Secondly, a Nevermore with Dagger probably has the same effect in battle as Queen of Pain and it’s probably much better to do what Nevermore is best at: using his AoE abilities in team battles, rather than trying to chase someone down individually and get ganked in the process. That’s the job for Queen of Pain and Storm Spirit, not Nevermore.
If you ever plan on using this build, make sure that (1) you have the reflexes to maximize the effect of Dagger and (2) you have some VERY cooperative teammates, preferably clan mates or friends. It’s an interesting, sometimes exhilarating build to try out (since you’re in the middle of action all the time), but if you miscalculate and you blink in, nine times out of ten you won’t blink back out again.
What about Nevermore Lothar’s Edge?
-vs-Lothar’s Edge used to be one of my favourite items for Nevermore, but its usefulness is decreasing steadily and while it remains a decent choice in pub games, Lothar’s Edge is quite rarely seen in Clan Wars or the vast majority of Inhouse Games (though I have seen MiseRy- going for Lothar’s Edge once in a while when he uses Nevermore). I hardly ever go for Lothar’s Edge nowadays. Now why is that?
One: Kelen’s Dagger gives you the initiative. If you have Lothar’s Edge and you try land a good Ultimate midst a team battle, you have to Windwalk in first—and if your opponents get Dust or Sentry Wards, you’re very vulnerable (even if you have BKB). With Kelen’s Dagger, you can stay well back and blink-ulti when you see the time is right (most likely after all those mass stuns have all been casted, such as Tidehunter’s Ravage).
Two: To some extent, if the player has enough reflexes, Kelen’s Dagger is far more useful as an escape mechanism compared to Lothar’s Edge (assuming your opponents are decent enough to buy Dust against you). You might ask: “But Kelen’s Dagger can’t be used three seconds after you get attacked!” That is true. But what’s the point of Windwalking away if they can see you with Dust and you die anyway?
Three: Kelen’s Dagger is far cheaper compared to Lothar’s Edge, and I would much rather prefer getting Kelen’s Dagger and almost a Boots of Travel than just Lothar’s Edge. In fact, I would even prefer BKB over Lothar’s Edge. Sure, Lothar’s Edge gives you a way of escape. But with Kelen’s Dagger and BKB, you can actually do something to change how the game is going and really contribute to team battles.
Hint: Lothar’s Edge does work wonders in pubs, so if you can farm it in less than 16 minutes, then by all means do so! The extra DPS really helps in most cases and most pub players are too lazy to buy Dust. You will find, however, that the better you opponents are, the more pointless it becomes to buy Lothar’s Edge. That’s just my opinion.
So if you ever consider buying Lothar’s Edge as one of your items, get it ASAP!
One: Kelen’s Dagger gives you the initiative. If you have Lothar’s Edge and you try land a good Ultimate midst a team battle, you have to Windwalk in first—and if your opponents get Dust or Sentry Wards, you’re very vulnerable (even if you have BKB). With Kelen’s Dagger, you can stay well back and blink-ulti when you see the time is right (most likely after all those mass stuns have all been casted, such as Tidehunter’s Ravage).
Two: To some extent, if the player has enough reflexes, Kelen’s Dagger is far more useful as an escape mechanism compared to Lothar’s Edge (assuming your opponents are decent enough to buy Dust against you). You might ask: “But Kelen’s Dagger can’t be used three seconds after you get attacked!” That is true. But what’s the point of Windwalking away if they can see you with Dust and you die anyway?
Three: Kelen’s Dagger is far cheaper compared to Lothar’s Edge, and I would much rather prefer getting Kelen’s Dagger and almost a Boots of Travel than just Lothar’s Edge. In fact, I would even prefer BKB over Lothar’s Edge. Sure, Lothar’s Edge gives you a way of escape. But with Kelen’s Dagger and BKB, you can actually do something to change how the game is going and really contribute to team battles.
Hint: Lothar’s Edge does work wonders in pubs, so if you can farm it in less than 16 minutes, then by all means do so! The extra DPS really helps in most cases and most pub players are too lazy to buy Dust. You will find, however, that the better you opponents are, the more pointless it becomes to buy Lothar’s Edge. That’s just my opinion.
So if you ever consider buying Lothar’s Edge as one of your items, get it ASAP!
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Try getting Lothars in any of those two orders—the BKB really helps when you try pull off a good Ultimate. Lothars does give you a more aggressive early-mid game, which is why it is so popular in pubs.
So When Should I Expect Myself to Get Those Items?
Since every game’s different, it is hard to say when someone would ‘expect’ himself to farm Nevermore those items. I’ve managed to get Lothar’s Edge, BKB and Boots of Travel in less than 23 minutes and in another game I only managed to get Boots of Travel + BKB by the 30th minute mark.
As a general rule of thumb, though, in a ‘normal’ game (there isn’t really that much ganking, you haven’t died a lot etc), one would expect Nevermore to have Boots of Travel, Dagger and BKB by AT LEAST the 30th minute mark. I think it is fair to say that if you can’t farm them quick enough, then you wouldn’t be as effective as you will be in team battles because team battles are a frequent occurrence after the 30th minute mark. So work on those last hits, learn how to combine farm with a bit of gank and soon you’ll be able to farm those items in no time.
Try get at least 150 last-hits by the 30th minute mark and at least 250-300 by the 1 hour mark. I've seen many players to a lot more than this and do I think that this is a reasonable amount of farm for a Nevermore player. Don't rush yourself too much on the first try though, and definitely DON'T overfarm.
As a general rule of thumb, though, in a ‘normal’ game (there isn’t really that much ganking, you haven’t died a lot etc), one would expect Nevermore to have Boots of Travel, Dagger and BKB by AT LEAST the 30th minute mark. I think it is fair to say that if you can’t farm them quick enough, then you wouldn’t be as effective as you will be in team battles because team battles are a frequent occurrence after the 30th minute mark. So work on those last hits, learn how to combine farm with a bit of gank and soon you’ll be able to farm those items in no time.
Try get at least 150 last-hits by the 30th minute mark and at least 250-300 by the 1 hour mark. I've seen many players to a lot more than this and do I think that this is a reasonable amount of farm for a Nevermore player. Don't rush yourself too much on the first try though, and definitely DON'T overfarm.
