Is aether lens bad on pos5?

[DownTriangle]

A lot of guides have aether lens as a support's first item, and I see it a lot in my games. But almost always I've felt as if glimmer or force staff are way better. It almost feels like griefing when you don't have a glimmer to save your carry either by invisibility or magic resistance.

[Tech.Noir]

as always, it depends on drafts and whats happening on the map

[Zagryzaec]

how the hell situational items are better when you cant use them then universal item that you can use to farm those situational items? you are literally unsustainable without lense.

[Ulthwé]

Aether lens is situational, you will probably need it if your team lack initiation power. I build it on shadow shaman, bane or winter wyvern for example. It allows you to stay further behind, therefore having less use for a glimmer, however, it combo with glimmer since you can cast it farther away.

It can also be good because it provides mana regen and can be done by disassembling mana boots.

[Zagryzaec]

it is never situational. cast range and mana sustainability is never out of place.

stop overestimate glimmer. its useless waste of money untill highest or lowest mmr

[Deepbluediver]

Its easy to first build mana-boots for the added sustainability in the laning phase, and then convert them into Aether Lens as the laning phase transitions into roaming, ganking, and teamfighting. Force Staff or Glimmer Cape may help somewhat with getting into range or escaping from a gank, but neither one builds as fluidly from you starting items, and in the first 15 minutes unless there is an unusually large amount of fighting going on the mana-restore and range from Lens is usually better for harassing and using your abilities.

I'm not going to say that Aether lens is 100% always the right choice, but you'd have to have very specific circumstances where I'd pick either of the other two items first.

[Bully Maguire]

Originally posted by DownTriangle:

A lot of guides have aether lens as a support's first item, and I see it a lot in my games. But almost always I've felt as if glimmer or force staff are way better. It almost feels like griefing when you don't have a glimmer to save your carry either by invisibility or magic resistance.

if you're winning lane and have gold advantage then aether is good not for all support hero
but if you are in losing condition when you team also losing glimmer/force is better choice
its situational

[Zagryzaec]

No its not situational if you are losing.

If you are losing you must buy items that will allow you to win, not that alliw you to lose more.

To comeback you must kill enemies. Nor glimmer nor forcestaff will help you with that.

[Bon❄超変態駄目青年学生退屈日常自己嫌悪克服]

it depends. Aether Lens is good for heroes that weak on ganking and depends on their pos 3&4 to be able to attack from behind, like Bane and Pugna, while for hard disablers like Lion and Shadow Shaman its better to rush blink to maximize ganking potentials

[Zagryzaec]

While theoretically blink can be great for those heroes ability to disable from greater range is actually better than ability to reduce this range. Especially for shaman that actually prefer lense to blink so its harder to break his shackles and easier to put his snakes without dieing.

Also bane is aesome as ganker with his sleep and grip, what are you even talking about? Ganking is literally where he at his best compared to teamfights.

[ixthid the desolate]

Aether lens is often broken down to create arcane boots, but it does depend on the match up. Maybe you're stronger with more cast range and mana regen for constant harass, maybe you want glimmer for save instead. But mostly at the start of the game, the stats are really important into pushing off strong.

[Zagryzaec]

There are pretty much never a situation when you want glimmer before lense if you buy lense at all. Its like finishing your build with a bf after bkb for example.

[Ulthwé]

Originally posted by Zagryzaec:

There are pretty much never a situation when you want glimmer before lense if you buy lense at all. Its like finishing your build with a bf after bkb for example.

You are useless if you die. Therefore, glimmer can be a must have against heroes like AM, QOP storm, it can also help you ward and gank. It has one condition though, the more your team have invis heroes, the worst it is. But if you are the only one, you will force them to waste sentries and to buy dust, and cores don't usually buy them, even at divine bracket, so it can save you on multiple occasions.

[Zagryzaec]

You are useless if all you can provide is glimmer that you cant use because the range is too small and you die from birst before you even have a chance to use it.

You are extremely useful if instead of throwing or attemptimg throw glimmer that wont change anything you hex said storm/pack/qop and kill them with the hero that was attacked by them.

And yes - support that gave full round os spells efficiently and died are way better than sup who didnt do nothing and survived.

[Ulthwé]

Originally posted by Zagryzaec:

You are useless if all you can provide is glimmer that you cant use because the range is too small and you die from birst before you even have a chance to use it.

You are extremely useful if instead of throwing or attemptimg throw glimmer that wont change anything you hex said storm/pack/qop and kill them with the hero that was attacked by them.

And yes - support that gave full round os spells efficiently and died are way better than sup who didnt do nothing and survived.

Only lion and shadow shaman have a hex. And now, tell me how you survive to am with only an aether lens.

Man do you even play support... For your information, I'm a divine 4 support player which you can easily verify on opendota.

[ixthid the desolate]

Originally posted by Ulthwé:

Only lion and shadow shaman have a hex. And now, tell me how you survive to am with only an aether lens.

By not being stupid.