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Hello everyone, this is Max and welcome for this Dota 2’s character introduction video.
Today we will talk about a handyman,
and he can do so much things actually, that this video lasts 17 minutes.
I’m referring to Invoker,
alias Garral.
Invoker is an intelligence hero that can theoretically have any role in a team.
He is officially known as THE most difficult hero to master.
His combinable skills require a good level to be well used and make him a completely unique character,
since he can create up to 10 different spells.
Given this aspect, Invoker can’t upgrade his stats like the other characters,
however he can upgrade all his skills up to 7 times and his ultimate up to 4 times.
Every of his 3 “original” skills doesn’t cost mana, doesn’t have cooldown and can be used in 3 instances.
Which means that the passive bonus it gives can be stacked up to 3 times :)
Quas is an ability giving Invoker the capacity to manipulate ice spells.
It gives him a strength bonus of 2 at each level (meaning 14 at max level)
and 1 point of HP regen per level (meaning 7 at level max).
Wex grants Invoker with the ability to manipulate storm.
It gives him a bonus of 2 agility at each level (meaning 14 at max level),
an attack speed bonus of 2% at each level (meaning 14% at max level)
and a movement speed bonus of 1% per level (maning 7% at max level).
Exort is Invoker’s third spell, it gives him THE FIRE POWER.
It also gives him an intelligence bonus of 2 at each level (meaning 14 at max level)
and a damage bonus of 3 per level (meaning 21 at max level).
If you don’t know your 7 multiplication table by heart at the end of this video, you really suck...
Invoke can be considered as Garral’s ultimate.
This skill makes him able to combine the element that you used to create a new spell.
To make it simple, if you use Quas, Wex & Exort, your bonuses will change
depending on the attributes explained previously for each element.
If you then use Invoke, a new spell among the 10 available will appear on your skillbar,
which will be the result of the combination of these elements, meaning in that specific case : Deafening Blast.
You can only have 2 created skills at the same time on your skillbar.
Aghanim’s Scepter reduces the mana cost of Invoke from 80 to 0 and also its cooldown from 5 to 2 seconds.
We will know explain each of the 10 skills that you are able to create,
the damage and other attributes given in this video will be those of the skill when at max level.
Be aware though, that when a skill combines different instances,
the attributes of the combined skill (damage, crowd control, bonuses, etc.) will depend on the level of each instance.
For example, the “BlaBla” skill is created thanks to the combination of element A and element B
deals damage and stuns.
If you want to increase the damage, you’ll have to upgrade the element A’s level,
if you want to increase the stun duration, you’ll have to upgrade the element B’s level.
Read carefully Garral’s skills descriptions in the game.
Here we go !
Cold Snap is invoked having 3 Quas instances.
During 6 seconds, the target will be briefly stunned for each damage received.
To be more specific,
for each damage over 10, the enemy will be stunned for 0.4 seconds and will receive 30 more damage.
Ghost Walk is invoked with 2 Quas and 1 Wex.
Garral will turn invisible and it can lasts up to 100 seconds.
Each enemy in a 400 AoE around Invoker will be slowed by 40%.
Ice Wall is created thanks to 2 Quas and 1 Exort.
This skill gives the ability to create an Ice Wall (no kidding !) face to Invoker lasting 12 seconds
and which slows enemies by 140% and deals 42 damage per second.
EMP is generated by 3 Wex instances.
This spell creates a negative charge which explodes after 2 seconds in a 675 AoE.
Each enemy in the AoE will receive 400 mana points burn and 0.5 damage for every mana point burnt.
Tornado is accessible using 2 Wex and 1 Quas.
THIS SPELL WILL CREATE A TORNADO (THANKS CAPTAIN OBVIOUS !)
that will be going on a 3100 range and will suspend in the air all the enemies on its way for a 2.5 seconds duration,
dealing 375 damage when enemies will fall on the ground.
Alacrity is invoked thanks to 2 Wex and 1 Exort.
It’s an active buff that can be used on any ally,
increasing his attack speed by 80% and giving him a bonus damage of 80 for 9 seconds.
Sunstrike is obtained with the combination of 3 Exort.
It’s a GLOBAL range spell
that after a 1.7 seconds will deal up to 475 damage on the specific chosen spot of the map in a tiny 175 AoE.
Careful though, damage are distributed to all enemies in the AoE,
meaning that if there are 3 enemies for example, it will deal 159 damage to each (at max level).
If you kill an enemy while being at his complete opposite on the map, you still earn the EXP.
Forged Spirit is invoked with 2 Exort and a Quas.
This skill gives the possibility to create two fire elementals that will be under your control.
Those elementals stay on the map up to 80 seconds and got an ridiculous attack range of 900 MOTHERFU****
They reduce the enemy’s armor by 1 at each auto attack (up to a maximum of 10).
Only one spirit is invoked as long as Exort and Quas aren’t both upgraded to level 4 or more.
CHAOS METEOR is invoked thanks to 2 Exort and 1 Wex.
This ability makes a meteor (OH REALLY ?) fall from the sky
which will roll straight forward on a 1410 range, dealing 290 damage per second in a 275 AoE.
It will also deal damage over time (29 per second during 3 seconds) to enemies touched by it.
Last but not least, Deafening Blast is invoked with an instance of each element.
This skill will create a sonic wave face to Garral dealing 280 damage and pushing away the enemies for 1.75 seconds.
This spell interrupts channeling abilities and prevents enemies to attack anyone for a 4 seconds period.
Which will be developed in the rest of this video only concerns 2 possible templates
among the infinite possibilities.
Invoker is a complex and polyvalent hero,
and it would be too long to explain in one video everything that you can do with that character.
Be aware though that what will be shown is the remaining part of this video
constitute the most frequently used templates, we’re not complete idiots :D !
The first template we will talk about is the Forged Spirit one.
It is based on Exort and Quas instances.
It’s a solo laner template and of course, it’s always funnier if played versus an other solo laner.
Take Exort on level 1 then Invoke directly at level 2.
Take one more level of Exort then a level of Wex when you’re level 4, and another level of Exort next.
Take a level of Quas once level 6 then your second level of Invoke at level 7.
Take then a level of Exort then 3 levels of Quas in a row.
If everything is okay,
you should be level 11 with 4 levels of Exort, 4 levels of Quas, 1 level of Wex and 2 levels of Invoke.
For the remaining levels, give the priority to Invoke, then max Exort, Quas and finally Wex.
Once level 4, add the Alacrity spell on your skillbar (2 Wex + 1 Exort), to guarantee you the lane control.
The goal is then to prepare a Sun Strike (3 Exort) to be able to kill your opponent.
If you have to play defensive, take Ice Wall of Ghost Walk.
Invoker can’t really kill before level 7 (except against an enemy underestimating Alacrity).
However he can benefit of the boost given by this spell and of an eventual Sun Strike
if one of your allies help you with a good gank.
During levels 7 to 10, have Forged Spirit ready (1 Quas + 2 Exort)
and get prepared to switch for an Alacrity + Ice Wall combo.
If those skills are not enough to kill your enemy,
be ready to invoke a hypothetical Sun Strike or Cold Snap to finish him off.
One you’re level 11, your Forged Spirit
with the help of an Ice Wall and/or Cold Snap combo or a Chaos Meteor/Deafening Blast combo
should be able to kill your opponent.
Since Garral is really powerful once level 11,
take the advantage of the situation to take your enemies by surprise followed by your 2 Forged Spirits
with an Ice Wall/Alacrity combo ready.
Get prepared to use an eventual Cold Snap just in case.
Chaos Meteor can also be useful if you gank or during team fights.
Don’t forget to use Ghost Walk is you’re in a tough situation.
During well planned team fights, your Forged Spirits + the Chaos Meteor/Deafening Blast AoE combo,
finishing with a Cold Snap to focus the enemy of your choice will be devastating.
Alacrity is really useful to push lanes and destroy towers (and be sure to have the last hit)
even more than the Forged Spirits, since you'll have only one before level 11.
Let's talk about the equipment used with this template.
If you want to have boots as quick as possible, start with 3 Iron Branches, 2 Healing Salve and 1 set of Tangos.
However if you want to build a Drum of Endurance,
take 3 Iron Branches, a Gauntlet of Strength, a Circlet and a set of Tangos.
Buy Boots of Speed, then upgrade your Gauntlet into a Bracer as soon as possible.
On an Exort typed template, your damage will be godd, but not your survivability.
The increased attack speed and stats given by Power Treads
are then way more interesting than what Phase Boots offer.
When you upgraded your boots, finish your Drum of Endurance which will give you some stats
and a movespeed/attackspeed aura, really useful with your Forged Spirits.
Then, taking an Aghanim’s Scepter is a good idea for many reasons.
The first one is that it is composed with affordable items
which will between other things, give you HP and a good mana pool.
The other is that when you’ll have to permanently switch your spells between
Forged Spirits, Ice Wall, Cold Snap, Chaos Meteor, Deafening Blast and eventually Ghost Walk,
it will REALLY make the maneuver easier.
If you feel like doing a little bit of micro management, Necronomicon is a really powerful item on Invoker.
Your Forged Spirits combined to Necronomicon and Cold Snap will make it impossible for the target to move.
The other items depend of your personnal interpretation of what you’ll need to be more effective,
and also on the situation and the opponent team composition.
Taking items increasing your stats would be wise since Invoker is pretty fragile
and that you’ll have really good damage at the same time.
Urn of Shadows is a good defensive item giving HP regeneration,
Manta Style increase a important part of your stats and its acive ability can come in handy during team fights.
It’s exactly the same with Eye of Skadi,
which increases your overall stats and gives a snare auto attack passive.
If you have to protect yourself against crowd control effects, taking a Black King Bar seems inevitable,
it’s the same way with Linken’s Sphere which increases your stats and gives you a spell block passive.
To make it simple, increase your stats, your total HP and mana, and protect yourself against cc effects and disable.
The second template we will talk about is the Tornado/EMP one.
It is based on the Quas and Wex instaces, and is more teamplay oriented.
It’s really diffrent from the Forged Spirits one.
Take Quas at level 1, then directly Invoke at level 2.
Take an other level of Quas than a Wex level once you’re level 4.
Take 2 levels of Wex in a row, than a second level of Invoke at level 7 and a level of Wex again.
If you haven’t done anything wrong, you should be level 8 with 4 levels of Wex, 2 levels of Quas and 2 levels of Invoke.
Give then the priority to the upgrade of Invoke, then upgrade Wex to the max, Quas and finally Exort.
From level 2 to 7, farm quietly and punish your enemy if he’s aggressive with a Cold Snap/auto attack combo,
also think to switch for Tornado if you’re in trouble or to gank with an ally’s help.
As said in the previous template, Invoker isn’t tha much powerful before level 7.
Prioritize farm and XP gain.
Early game should however be easier to handle than with the Exort typed template
since Cold Snap and Tornado are really useful to engage or counter an engage.
Your EMP can also be of help to empty your opponents mana,
try to place it in trees packs to make it invisible and to benefit of its huge explosion range.
Once you’re level 7, you have your Tornado/EMP/Cold Snap combo.
It’s way more difficult to kill an enemy alone with this template than with the Forged Spirits one,
let’s get on with teamplay so !
Use your Tornado spell to engage on lanes and give the possibility to your allies to catch up easier the enemies.
During team fights, your Tornado + EMP combo will be a real nightmare for the opponents,
EMP being really annoying during early and mid game.
The advantage of a Wex typed template compared to an Exort one if the huge movespeed gain,
giving you the ability to chase your foes.
The loss of Exort’s damage is partially given back thanks to the Wex’s attack speed bonus.
Of course, you can also if you want to chose to take one level of Exort whenever you think it’s useful during early.
It will grant you access to cc spells needing an Exort level (meaning Deafening Blast & Ice Wall),
however the damage of those spells depends on Exort skill’s level, taking more than one point is useless.
Let's talk about the equipment used with this template.
With this template, you start by upgrading Quas, so regen is less important because you’ll earn some from your orbs.
So start with 3 Iron Branches, a Gauntlet of Strength, a Circlet and a set of Tangos,
to build a Drum of Endurance later.
Buy your Boots of Speed first and build your Bracer.
On a Wex typed template, your damage being low and your attack speed high,
the damage and sprint given by the Phase Boots are really interesting.
Plus if you are lucky enough to find a Haste Rune : JACKPOT !
Even Usain Bolt would turn pale (and it’s a big deal cause the guy is black).
Finish your Drum of Endurance, which will give you stats, movespeed and attack speed,
meaning all that Garral needs.
Once again, the choice of items if yours to make.
However Aghanim’s Scepter is less interesting on this template since you won’t alternate your skills for a long time.
If you chose to take a level of Exort in your skillbuild though, you’ll have to take it in consideration.
This being said,
IF YOU HAVE FUN MODIFYING SKILLBUILDS WE MAKE FOR YOU DON’T COMPLAIN DUH !
Just like for the previous template, opt for items increasing your stats as well as your survivability.
Eye of Skadi, Linken’s Sphere, Assaults Cuirass and Shiva’s Guard are good choices to increase your resitance
and got some passive or active skills pretty useful.
Manta Style, Scythe of Vyse and Radiance are also interesting items giving stats,
damage and non negligible actives for team fights.
You can even think bout buying a Daedalus for some more damage and critical strikes
since this template is more attack speed oriented.
I repeat it though, templates shown is this presentation are a few possibilities among a lot of others,
Invoker is the character having the most different ways to be played of the whole game,
you’ll then understand that it’s impossible for us to develop more through this video.
There it is, it’s over for Garral,
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Thank you for watching, in the meantime, we’ll go back to play some Dota 2 ;) !