OMGBergrush
7th September 2007, 04:15 PM
This is a guide dedicated to one of the better reinforcements to the scourge.
Up until recently the scourge always had problems with constant pushes as they lacked the summoned mass and constant healing abilities of the sentinels. Fortunately this is where Dirge the Undying comes in.
He is a very grateful hero meaning he doesnt need many items to be functional but he truly shines with a well build inventory.
That is why i have concluded here a summary of items and skills Dirge needs to carry out a successful game.
1. the start
start with basilius ring as it gives you the much needed armor for yourself and your zombie companions, mana regeneration comes in handy too but Dirge has a big mana pool and good regeneration coupled with a huge cooldown on both your active spells which means you will rarely run out of mana.
for the remaining slots buy branches to boost your overall effectiveness.
2. the side
choose either upper or lower side depending on your teams needs. since you generally dont have problems with hp regeneration you can afford to be on the enemy tower but dont get too reckless either since you will be saving up a lot of money and cant afford to die often.
avoid mid lane if at all possible as most often enemy ranged heroes and/or nukers will be there and like i said before you need to farm real good.
3. the skills
if you are on a line with a single hero you wont have much trouble as you can safely harass him as your zombies will be your constant source of healing. take the aura to further boost your harassment capabilities.
if vs 2 heroes then go for the 1st+2nd spell combo and prioritize the first spell over the second. use every opportunity when there is a large mass[enemy creeps+ your creeps+ zombies etc.] to cast second spell either for a major heal or some nice dmg to your enemies.
4. farm
Dirge has a very good base damage and an exceptional amount of hit points for an intel hero but he has a major deficit in attack speed. this makes last-hit attacking relatively easy and you should score about 2-3/4 creeps per wave.
if you auto-attack on the other hand you will rarely get more than 1 creep per wave but you shouldnt auto-attack anyway because only noobs to that and if you were a noob you probably wouldnt pick Undying in the first place.
5. stockpile
After you get about 2k gold which should be at roughly lvl 7-9 you should send your 4 zombies into the woods while you keep making gold on the line. the period from 2.5k-3.5k gold is critical. you can ill afford to die at this time as it will set you back quite a while. buy wards if you can and always be on the lookout for gangs. at about 20-25 mins you should have the sacred relic. once you do get of the lane and stick to the woods until you have radiance.
this shouldnt take more than 10 mins once you have the relic which effectively doubles your damage.
6. tactics
with radiance you have 2 mass hp reducing effects the other being your aura which takes 1% of max hp every second. at this stage either seek out solo heroes which are farming use ult on him and just follow him until he dies. if he strikes back raise your zombies and fight him. you always have a heal/dmg spell up your sleeve so you shouldnt lose a duel.
your second option is to support your team. you have a nice ultimate thats very cheap and has a very short cool down so use it on the enemy push or in a defense at the first opportunity. keep moving with the enemies striking the weakest with the support of your team. remember that while you do have a solid amount of hp you cannot afford to go alone versus multiple heroes...well at least not yet.
7. more farm
while your ultimate is on cooldown or if you have mana shortage stick to the woods again and farm for skadi. once you have skadi you can safely take on 2 heroes or even more depending on their skill. the only other essential items you need are boots of travel both to increase you move speed so enemies can escape you and for quickly joining your team from the woods to the push.
things to note:
-dirge can go to the woods from the game start freeing another lane for a solo hero. if you do this buy 2 stout shields and some branches and use zombies for additional damage as well as healing.
-if you are on a difficult lane postpone relic in order to buy bracers and circlets. buy as many as you need as it is better to have a few bracers and a late radiance than to die a few times and have a late radiance.
-radiance is your core item so get it asap. all other major items are secondary but try getting skadi for the slow and bot to make you faster. you are not a damage dealer when you strike, you deal damage by your very presence[like butcher] so its always good to be fast and your enemies slow.
-avoid attack speed increasing items. your base as is low combined with dismal agility makes you one of the slowest attacking heroes in the game. so anything related to high attack speed[s&y,basher,mom...] is a bad choice.
-use your ultimate at every opportunity. i seriosly cannot stress this enough. your ult has a lower mana cost than your 2 spells and has a somewhat larger cool down so use it every time you can.
-while its nice to make vladimir out of basil ring it costs almost 2k gold and you dont need lifesteal because you attack so slow and you deal more damage with your aura+radi than with your base attack.
Up until recently the scourge always had problems with constant pushes as they lacked the summoned mass and constant healing abilities of the sentinels. Fortunately this is where Dirge the Undying comes in.
He is a very grateful hero meaning he doesnt need many items to be functional but he truly shines with a well build inventory.
That is why i have concluded here a summary of items and skills Dirge needs to carry out a successful game.
1. the start
start with basilius ring as it gives you the much needed armor for yourself and your zombie companions, mana regeneration comes in handy too but Dirge has a big mana pool and good regeneration coupled with a huge cooldown on both your active spells which means you will rarely run out of mana.
for the remaining slots buy branches to boost your overall effectiveness.
2. the side
choose either upper or lower side depending on your teams needs. since you generally dont have problems with hp regeneration you can afford to be on the enemy tower but dont get too reckless either since you will be saving up a lot of money and cant afford to die often.
avoid mid lane if at all possible as most often enemy ranged heroes and/or nukers will be there and like i said before you need to farm real good.
3. the skills
if you are on a line with a single hero you wont have much trouble as you can safely harass him as your zombies will be your constant source of healing. take the aura to further boost your harassment capabilities.
if vs 2 heroes then go for the 1st+2nd spell combo and prioritize the first spell over the second. use every opportunity when there is a large mass[enemy creeps+ your creeps+ zombies etc.] to cast second spell either for a major heal or some nice dmg to your enemies.
4. farm
Dirge has a very good base damage and an exceptional amount of hit points for an intel hero but he has a major deficit in attack speed. this makes last-hit attacking relatively easy and you should score about 2-3/4 creeps per wave.
if you auto-attack on the other hand you will rarely get more than 1 creep per wave but you shouldnt auto-attack anyway because only noobs to that and if you were a noob you probably wouldnt pick Undying in the first place.
5. stockpile
After you get about 2k gold which should be at roughly lvl 7-9 you should send your 4 zombies into the woods while you keep making gold on the line. the period from 2.5k-3.5k gold is critical. you can ill afford to die at this time as it will set you back quite a while. buy wards if you can and always be on the lookout for gangs. at about 20-25 mins you should have the sacred relic. once you do get of the lane and stick to the woods until you have radiance.
this shouldnt take more than 10 mins once you have the relic which effectively doubles your damage.
6. tactics
with radiance you have 2 mass hp reducing effects the other being your aura which takes 1% of max hp every second. at this stage either seek out solo heroes which are farming use ult on him and just follow him until he dies. if he strikes back raise your zombies and fight him. you always have a heal/dmg spell up your sleeve so you shouldnt lose a duel.
your second option is to support your team. you have a nice ultimate thats very cheap and has a very short cool down so use it on the enemy push or in a defense at the first opportunity. keep moving with the enemies striking the weakest with the support of your team. remember that while you do have a solid amount of hp you cannot afford to go alone versus multiple heroes...well at least not yet.
7. more farm
while your ultimate is on cooldown or if you have mana shortage stick to the woods again and farm for skadi. once you have skadi you can safely take on 2 heroes or even more depending on their skill. the only other essential items you need are boots of travel both to increase you move speed so enemies can escape you and for quickly joining your team from the woods to the push.
things to note:
-dirge can go to the woods from the game start freeing another lane for a solo hero. if you do this buy 2 stout shields and some branches and use zombies for additional damage as well as healing.
-if you are on a difficult lane postpone relic in order to buy bracers and circlets. buy as many as you need as it is better to have a few bracers and a late radiance than to die a few times and have a late radiance.
-radiance is your core item so get it asap. all other major items are secondary but try getting skadi for the slow and bot to make you faster. you are not a damage dealer when you strike, you deal damage by your very presence[like butcher] so its always good to be fast and your enemies slow.
-avoid attack speed increasing items. your base as is low combined with dismal agility makes you one of the slowest attacking heroes in the game. so anything related to high attack speed[s&y,basher,mom...] is a bad choice.
-use your ultimate at every opportunity. i seriosly cannot stress this enough. your ult has a lower mana cost than your 2 spells and has a somewhat larger cool down so use it every time you can.
-while its nice to make vladimir out of basil ring it costs almost 2k gold and you dont need lifesteal because you attack so slow and you deal more damage with your aura+radi than with your base attack.