Phoenix's Guide

Build : Babysitter

DotA2 Hero: Phoenix

Phoenix

OFFENSE
Damage	54-64
DEFENSE
Armor	0
OTHER
Movement Speed	290

ATTRIBUTES
Strength	91.5
Agility	44.5
Intelligence	63
BASIC STATS
Health	1822
Mana	793

Purchase Order

ABOUT TO LEAVE THE FOUNTAIN

EARLY

  

CORE

     

SITUATIONAL

ALWAYS HAVE THESE

Hero Skills

ICARUS DIVE

	1											12	13	14

FIRE SPIRITS

		2		4	5		7

SUN RAY

			3					8	9	10

SUPERNOVA

6

11

16

STATS

															15		17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25

Pros / Cons

PROS

+EXTREMELY Fun to play
+Highly effective until late game
+Numerous ways of dealing large amounts of damage
+A difficult support to squash (because of his multiple survival techniques)
+Can make excellent use of a variety of support items (the synergy between  Mekansm and ID for instance)
+Proficient at both ganking and counter ganking
+An effective range unmatched by any other support without a blink dagger
+Sun Ray is an amazing skill.
+When he snowballs, he snowballs hard.
+Great escape
+Powerful zoning tools
+A manly hero for manly men and women



Cons

-Hard to learn
-Mana problems (Like most STR hero casters)
-long cooldown on spells
-Very low base movement speed (285)
-****tacular Int and Agi gain
-0 base armor makes laning against ranged heroes a pain in the ***
-You use up HP like  Storm Spirit uses up mana
-Easily taken out by highly mobile enemies such as  Weaver and  Storm Spirit
-Easily taken out in Supernova form by high attack speed heroes such as  Troll Warlord and  Ursa
-Needs a few more items than the average support to really shine
-Shut down completely by silences /  Black King Bar
-No stuns

Early Game

Alright. So as stated many times before, Phoenix is a Support and a pretty damn powerful one at that. Start out with the items I've listed above and set out to ward the rune spot and the jungle. Don't forget, the name of the game is HP regeneration; you're going to be casting a lot of spells and will probably take some harass.

Note that we get  Icarus Dive at level 1 just in case something dreadful (Like running into 5 enemies)happens, we got a good escape up our sleeves.

Now, as a babysitter, your main priority is carry safety. This means buying Observer Wards to scout out the map, as well as using Sentry Wards to deny your opponents vision. The last thing you want is for your carry to not get farm this early in the game.

Now, as  Phoenix, you're not just a babysitter, you're a babysitter that kicks some serious ***. Reach level 4 as soon as possible by stacking and pulling creeps, double-pulling (if Radiant) or getting first blood. Once you hit level 4, it is time to raise hell. Use your level 2  Fire Spirits and level 1  Sun Ray to beat the ever loving **** out of the heroes in your lane. XP range was increased in 6.79, so you gotta force them back a LOOONNGG way. Your skills all have ginormous amounts of range, this shouldn't be too hard. just don't, you know, miss. the cooldown of all your skills are ridiculously long and thus not spammable. Careful aim and efficient use of your abilities is needed.

But what if I'm Not The Babysitter?

You're NOT the Babysitter? Who the hell replaced you?  Venomancer? No matter. Phoenix kicks some serious *** roaming between lanes. All you need is a good partner with a stun or a slow, and Phoenix's great damage and range will make those kills happen.

Since using  Icarus Dive to initiate leaves you vulnerable and unable to escape, ask your partner to initiate for you. Immediately use a  Tango (You'll be needing the regen) and  Sun Ray the **** out of your target (AVOID CREEPS). Activate  Sun Ray's subability that gives you flying movement, and summon your  Fire Spirits as well and blast your poor victim. Should you be fighting more than one target, focus your  Sun Ray on the more valuable enemy, but try to catch as many heroes as you can with your  Fire Spirits blasts (it's AOE isn't too bad). Should you find yourself on very low health (you probably will), use Icarus Dive to escape any reaction TP's from your enemies. If however, they're getting away with super low hp and you're feeling ballsy, use Icarus Dive's full swing to nail that last Fire Spirit while returning to safety. It doesn't always work but when it does, it feels freaking AWESOME.

IMPORTANT:  Sun Ray ends upon a silence or a stun. it's range is long enough to sit outside the reach of most stuns and silences, but if you can have your mate bait them out for you, all the better.

Mid Game

It is at this phase of the game that you should be finishing up with upgrading your  Sun Ray to it's full potential. By now, you should also have your ultimate,  Supernova. What happens next you might ask? Well, now we fight some more.

Your goal remains the same: Get your carry fatter than theirs, and be the biggest annoying moving target you can be. At this phase of the game, the ultimates will start flying, and skirmishes will involve more and more heroes. Phoenix is almost always not in the peak of health throughout this phase, as he will be very active and also be a prime target for attack. Don't be scared: Phoenix is a manly hero for manly men (and women), and manly people do not fear death (just feeding). If dying involves rescuing your carry, or buying your team that precious few seconds to set up a counterattack (Supernova is great at doing this), then it was worth it.

As much as possible, try to not go alone. Although self sufficient, he lacks stuns, and his usefulness in combat really shines through when he has a partner to complement his skills.

Special Section: How to Ulti in Teamfights Effectively

I see this all the damn time: "Stupid KFC ulti sucks makes you sitting duck not worth it + ****ty damage lol". Shut up, you're missing the point.

See  Supernova isn't supposed to be an OMGWTFBBQ ulti (although it can) that makes clutch plays and wins 3 v 1's. It is an enormous, glowing, juicy distraction with a huge AOE that makes it tough to ignore. It is to be used after Phoenix has exhausted all of his offensive combat options (or he's about to die) and all he has left is maybe an Icarus Dive and 200 mana for an ult.

Upon such a dire situation, a good  Supernova will be much more useful than simply standing around autoattacking and pitifully squawking in your terrible attempt to look threatening. Find a spot (use Icarus Dive if pressed for time) where your enemies won't instantly be able to attack your nova form (Such as high ground, or from behind them to sandwich them between you and your team, behind some trees where they can't see you, etc)and let 'er rip. It's a big gamble yes, but one that you should be willing to take when necessary. If they kill you, well, at least hope your teammates used that precious few seconds to escape or do something useful. If you resurrect, you have full health, full mana, refreshed cooldowns, AND you just applied a 1.5-2.5 second stun to everyone within burning range. NOW who's the sitting duck?

You may now use  Icarus Dive to escape, or take advantage of your full HP and mana to rally your team and crush whatever is left.

Special Section:  Fire Spirits vs  Sun Ray

I've seen this argument crop up several times. Which should we max first?  Sun Ray or  Fire Spirits?

Mathematically speaking, it's far more efficient to level up  Fire Spirits first given that it's damage scales by flat numbers and will generally be far more effective early game due to it's ability to allow  Phoenix regular movement as well as giving him a long ranged projectile with a ton of damage and - attack speed. Which is excellent on forcing enemies out of a lane or defending yourself when jumped on by enemies who rely on autoattacks (such as  Slardar,  Lifestealer, or  Clinkz).


However, an early  Sun Ray provides an excellent heal as well as a much easier to aim attack and extraordinary amounts of AOE damage at the cost of mobility and quite a lot of HP. It's much more offensive in nature than  Fire Spirits, and should be considered if one has slow moving, chunky targets, an allied carry who actually knwos that  Sun Ray heals, and the player has difficulty aiming the spirits.

Beware though! The HP loss from  Sun Ray is pretty high early on. Only use it when it reaches level 3 or higher, and eat a  Tango first before using in lane. Until then, play passively.

And remember that  Phoenix is quite the vulnerable target when applying  Sun Ray. Try to bait out the enemy's spells first before attacking. For example,

DON'T

•  Sun Ray while  Pudge has  Meat Hook off cooldown.
•  Sun Ray while stuns and silences are up
•  Sun Ray on a mobile target like Nightstalker where he can simply run towards you and beat your face in.

DO

•  Sun Ray after  Pudge has used  Meat Hook (and missed)
•  Sun Ray disabled opponents for free damage
•  Sun Ray injured allies when enemies are not around

As always in Dota, adapt to the situation!

Late Game

From here on out, Phoenix fades into the background as BKB's are popped and carries grow in power. Your job hasn't changed in the slightest. be an annoying bird (slow down the enemy carry's attack speed with your  Fire Spirits!, cheat death, laser people you don't like, and combine your items and abilities to wreak as much havoc as you can! If you've done your job right, your carry should be fat as hell and ready for battle. If things went bad and you're behind, don't forget that there's always a next time.

Oh and remember: no matter how much HP that enemy carry is packing, if his BKB is down, a good  Sun Ray should cut him/her down to size.

Special Chapter: Mid Phoenix

This chapter is currently undergoing construction

Let's get this out of the way, I am one of the few  Phoenix players on earth who prefer to play him as a support rather than as a mid. Nevertheless, with his unparalleled range, attack speed slow,  Icarus Dive and amazing damage,  Phoenix can flat out destroy midlane if given even half a chance. However, his HP will always be constantly low from having to wage war against another mid hero (who are usually powerful, ranged nukers themselves), so extra caution and some special tactics will be needed.

In this special chapter, I will be once again displaying each of  Phoenix's skills, and showing how you can use them to win mid. I will assume you already know what each skill does, this is only some tips on how to utilize their effects to win mid.

GENERAL

•  Phoenix has a 500 range attack, ****ty base HP but with a high natural str gain, and is extremely slow moving.
• Generally, these are qualities you do not want on a mid hero. he more than makes up for it however, with his outstanding abilities.

 ICARUS DIVE

• If you're fast with your mouse, you can snatch runes mid-flight with this spell. This allows you to fly to the rune from a pretty fair distance, grab it, and cruise back to your original spot all in 2 seconds. It's pretty hard to beat a good  Phoenix to the rune. This is however, VERY difficult to do without practice. Remember that  Phoenix flies in an arc, so try not to point the dive right on top of the rune spot. Adjust your aim so his flight path goes through it.
• Remember that your abilities, autoattack, and items all work while flying, AND you can stop it mid-flight.
• Forgetful mid enemies will put down stat items before drinking their bottle to maximize it's effects. You can swoop in from a pretty far distance and destroy them with autoattacks while returning back to your position quite safely. You can also do this to snipe the enemy's  Flying Courier.
• A smoke gank coming your way? Your escape route pinned off? No worries. Run down the river then  Icarus Dive up the cliff when they enter the river to chase you. Easy escape.

 FIRE SPIRITS

• At level 1, that's a -80 attack speed for 4 seconds if it lands. You should time your skill activation for when your enemy is about to go for a last hit. Smack them with a spirit and deny like a boss.
• These spirits are pretty easy for the enemy midlaner to dodge. Sometimes leading your shots isn't enough, and this is where mind games come in handy. Whip them out and open fire on areas he would need to be in in order to last hit. if you DO hit him, he gets damaged, and you could probably deny him. If he doesn't get hit, he is still without a last hit since you made him waste time playing dodgeball.
• Should you be able to perfectly chain these shots together (Fire, wait 3 seconds, fire again) you will be dealing colossal amounts of damage to the enemy midlaner. Use  Fire Spirits' superior range and shove them out of the xp range!
• These are great for cancelling bottle charges, salves, and clarities. If you see that the enemy is about to use a consumable, bombs away.
• The spirits are much easier to hit the closer you are. Should your opponent be low on health, consider combining  Icarus Dive with  Fire Spirits to perform an aerial bombing combo and make him feel like London under WW2.

 SUN RAY

• Won't be seeing too much use in the middle lane (it's risky as hell) but DOES have an enormous range, which can be used to nail the last few hits on a fleeing enemy.
• The range is large enough that the  Sun Ray can shoot through the river and hit someone on the other side. If you can use  Sun Ray to push the enemy away, I would approve of the huge risk you're taking.

 SUPERNOVA

• Ahh  Supernova. Once you have this baby, their tower is no longer a safe zone.
• Although you may be tempted to give them both barrels (of flaming action), always reserve 200 mana for emergency ults. You never know when that  Pudge will score a lucky hook.
• Remember, unless they've got some major way to boost attack speed, if they're alone (and just ate a Fire Spirit), there is practically nothing they can do against your nova form. if you must dive them under their tower to shove them out of the lane or outright kill them,  Supernova is there to cover your sorry, armor-less *** from death by tower poo-poo.
•  Supernova makes for an excellent panic button vs other mids. For example, a  Storm Spirit on their side just hit 6. he zips up to you, and is about to perform his deadly combo. What do you do? Well. If you're confident you can survive the combo, wait for him to carry it out, then ult in his face. If you don't think you can, ult immediately and give him the finger.
• Remember that being mid is not all about the midlane! You have every possible tool you need now to gank the sidelanes, make aggressive dives, and survive. Go forth and gank my dear fiery chickens! Create space, shut down carries, raze supports, melt faces, and most importantly, look awesomedoing it!

Special Chapter: Offlane Phoenix

This chapter is currently undergoing construction

Squishy, slow, no armor, and an escape with a ridiculously long cooldown. Why would anyone ever think of putting  Phoenix in the offlane?

Answer: his ridiculously long range on his spells. With the recent changes to the offlane, not only is it easier for  Phoenix to survive, he could actually thrive, getting oozles of experience and gold where most heroes would balk. Just remember to exercise great amounts of caution!

GENERAL

• Remember that experience range is approximately the length of your  Sun Ray. Stay in xp range as much as you can to get a level advantage.
• DO NOT spam your spells. You need your HP in the offlane. Only cast when you think you can get away with it safely.

 ICARUS DIVE

• You get one shot at using this spell due to it's ridiculous 36 second cooldown. Unless you can earn yourself a double kill, use this spell defensively!
• If you're feeling fast, you can actually use this to shop from the side shop while it's being blocked by enemies (make sure not to stop at the shop lest you get ganked). Usually you might want to do this when you need to buy a TP and you need it NOW.
• Don't use it immediately when multiple enemies attack you. You want to use it to dodge certain death, such as a  Disruptor using  Glimpse and  Kinetic Field to trap you. If possible, run to covered areas such as the side shop where you can use your  Icarus Dive under the cover of fog of war.
• Your biggest threats are heroes with stuns and silences that aren't ground targeted such as Magic Missile and  Last Word.

 FIRE SPIRITS

• At level 1, that's a -80 attack speed for 4 seconds if it lands. You should time your skill activation for when your enemy is about to go for a last hit. Smack them with a spirit and deny like a boss.
• Abuse the fact that these babies have ridiculous range and fire them off into the pull camp during a pull. Those creeps, both lane and neutral, belong to YOU damnit!
• Take advantage of the fact that most lane supports absolutely cannot afford to be hit by this spell. If you can nail a few of them, they'll need to pop their salves. Or better, go back to the fountain.
• If you are in the radiant offlane, there should be a medium camp to your right which you can easily pull to your own lane creeps. Fire a Fire Spirit into it and they'll sure as hell come out angry and looking for something to punch. Lead them into your lane creeps. WARNING: This is easily challenged by the lane supports, but that's what the other 3 fire spirits are for!
• Don't be afraid of using Fire Spirits to secure some last hits from a safe distance. You'll be needing that gold to be well prepared when your mid hopefully comes up there hungry for a kill.

 SUN RAY

• As much as possible, you will not be using this.
• It DOES have one use however. Poke turtling enemies out of their tower with your  Sun Ray during a (hopefully multi-man) dive. You may also use the ray to heal up allies fighting under the tower. Phoenix ****py base armor means no diving for him. Unless....

 SUPERNOVA

• Never fear another tower dive and their annoying tower poo-poo once this baby is online!
• Although you may be tempted to give them both barrels (of flaming action), always reserve 200 mana for emergency ults. You never know when that  Pudge will score a lucky hook.
• Speaking of tower dives, this is the perfect tower diving deterrent for  Phoenix. Should your enemies wish to dive you, quickly apply  Fire Spirits on all of them and  Supernova next to the tower. If they still are going for you, you're either vastly outnumbered, or they're really really brave. or stupid. Sometimes it's one or the other, or all damn three.