Defending The Ancients

This is a bit juvenile (not to mention 2-3 years late), but I’ve picked up playing Defense of the Ancients on Warcraft III: Frozen Throne lately. The people I play with have been playing for quite some time now and though I have some ways to go, I’ve been able to hold my own ground (from time to time). I stick to one hero until I get good results.

LINA INVERSE – Slayer
Primary Attribute: Intelligence
Skills: Dragon Slave, Light Strike Array, Ultimate and Laguna Blade

Lina Inverse was my first hero. I died gazilions of times and I doubt if I ever had a game with more than 3 kills. Lina is thought to be a beginner’s hero by some, but it’s clearly not the case. She has a strong direct damage spell in Laguna Blade, but given her early game vulnerability, it just doesn’t make much sense. She is extremely strong offensively one she gets Laguna Blade – one of the best direct damage spells in the game — but as the game drags on, she risks getting left behind and being a bit helpless against other opponents. Also, Light Strike Away can be quite a chore to use for a beginner.

LION – Demon Witch
Primary Attribute: Intelligence
Skills: Impale, Voodoo, Mana Drain and Finger of Death
When the Lina Experiment came to a pathetic resolution, I was advised to check out the sturdier Demon Witch. He was practically the same hero as Lina save for the fact that his “stun” spell was easier to target and he can effectively neutralize opponents with his innate Voodoo skill. Finger of Death also ranks among the more powerful spells in the game and as a beginner, it does bring some thrill to be able to pawn veterans from time to time. It still didn’t feel right.

TRAXEX – Drow Ranger
Primary Attribute: Agility
Skills: Frost Arrows, Silence, Trueshot Aura and Marksmanship
I had my first great game (10-0) with Drow Ranger. She’s not quite a crazy hero killer during the the start of the game, but given her insane attack speed and penchant for getting easy money due to the Marksmanship skill (20% chance to kill a creep with one shot), it’s quite doable to compete toe-to-toe with far beefier opponents. The biggest concern of course is that she is very fragile and one needs to play very catiously to make sure she won’t be a free kill early in the game. Late game, Drow Ranger’s Frost Arrows and Silence skill are great for neutralizing and weakening enemy heroes, effectively giving you an advantage for a couple of seconds.

King Leoric – Skeleton King
Primary Attribute: Strength
Skills: Storm Bolt, Vampiric Aura, Critical Strike and Reincarnation

After being labeled predictable and boring, I had to sell out and say goodbye to Traxex. King Leoric was a suggestion from one of the better players in our group (some would even call us a pseudo-fraternity due to the loyalty that we have for playing the game together). I haven’t had a double figures game with Leoric, but I definitely see the potential.

Till next time. 🙂