Is there ANY proper item guide ?

[Lady Alcina Dimitrescu]

I'm looking for an item guide that explains which heroes need specific type of stats.
Like, I don't need to hear what each and every item do, I just need to know what the heroes need.

I know I shouldn't buy arcane boots right away while playing a mage or something.
For example, what do I need when I play Crystal Maiden?

What stats or items do I need if I want to play her as a damage dealer ?
What stats or items do I need if I want to play her as a support ?

I know certain heroes relies on some items like Earthshaker + Blink dagger and stuff.
All the damn tutorials are just getting overcomplicated I don't even know most of the items anyway.

Not only that, I can't play most of the heroes, they're locked.
I'm trying to learn the game in Turbo mode (Think like getting familiar with it I do know the actual game is far away from Turbo mode) but since 60% of the heroes are locked I can't.

And by stats, I mean like: What stat do I need as a Mage ?
Intelligence ? Attack speed ? Movement speed ?
What kind of stat amplifies my damage and overall performance ?

[Zagryzaec]

You need guides. Try dota fire.
https://www.dotafire.com/dota-2/hero/crystal-maiden-25

You may also try dota 2 wiki
https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Dota_2_Wiki

[Calmf]

When you select a hero, you can choose a community made guide for that specific hero, they give you advices on what items to build (and when mouseovering it it explains why or in what situation), choose the most upvted ones (with the newest game version)

[vongogh]

Because Crystal Maiden (CM) has passive mana regen, but a small mana pool, she can struggle with spell casting early on. So instead of Arcane boots, guides suggest other boots that generate health.

As damage dealer, you can choose Spell Amp items like Kaya, then Sange for more health. Or go for Aghanim's Scepter for stats and for boosting your ultimate.

Glimmer cape is very handy for escape, you can use Glimmer Cape after you channel your Ultimate, but before you get that, if you can hide in trees when you cast your ultimate, do so, or Freeze the target then Ultimate in their face right in front of them.

Aghanim's Shard is super useful as well, allows you to clear entire wave of creeps or creep camp with just one spell.

There are a lot more possibilities.

[Zagryzaec]

What mmr are you?

While naturally build should be situational most likely you get tranquil because you Regen mana passively with your skills and don't Regen health as much, then you get blink to utilise your initiation and be able to cast your ultimate or glimmer of you can position without blink but enemies interrupt your ultimate. Then bkb shard and aghanim will go in some order depending on what you need first.

Then usually game ends.

How do you fit kaya or something in here? You won't do MORE damage if your ultimate is either interrupted or you can't position yourself. That means you NEED things to position and let you cast your ulti as long as possible. Aghs is the best durability support item, bkb stops from stun interruption, glimmer hide you in ultimate from opponents stuns and autoattacks.

If you manage to get it all chances are you already finishing the game.

Kaya doesn't change anything for you.

[Artek [General]]

That is a tall order that can't be TL:DR'd in any meaningful way.

Every hero has a unique kit that that synergises with specific items. Stats don't even really matter in that case.
For example: Skywraith Mage has to make rod of Atos as he can't ult properly without it.

Generally your items depend on your role. If you are an initiator who starts fights by jumping into the fray (usually STR hero with a stun) - you NEED a blink dagger: Axe, Centaur, Shaker, Magnus, Enigma, Sven, etc etc etc.

Characters that need a lot of mana to perform their function and to spam spells require Arcane Boots: Warlock, Wyvern, many others. Later it can be upgraded into Grieves to become the ultimate back line support, but also some tanks make it as well like Undying and Underlord.

Carries buy items that enhance their damage output. Phase boots for mobility and victim pursuit, Power Threads for stars and attack speed.
Characters that already can attack fast usually buy Phases ie troll warlord. Characters that hit hard, but not fast enough buy PTs ie Sniper, carry Sven, Outworld Destroyer, etc.

[Lady Alcina Dimitrescu]

Originally posted by Artek General:

That is a tall order that can't be TL:DR'd in any meaningful way.

Every hero has a unique kit that that synergises with specific items. Stats don't even really matter in that case.
For example: Skywraith Mage has to make rod of Atos as he can't ult properly without it.

Generally your items depend on your role. If you are an initiator who starts fights by jumping into the fray (usually STR hero with a stun) - you NEED a blink dagger: Axe, Centaur, Shaker, Magnus, Enigma, Sven, etc etc etc.

Characters that need a lot of mana to perform their function and to spam spells require Arcane Boots: Warlock, Wyvern, many others. Later it can be upgraded into Grieves to become the ultimate back line support, but also some tanks make it as well like Undying and Underlord.

Carries buy items that enhance their damage output. Phase boots for mobility and victim pursuit, Power Threads for stars and attack speed.
Characters that already can attack fast usually buy Phases ie troll warlord. Characters that hit hard, but not fast enough buy PTs ie Sniper, carry Sven, Outworld Destroyer, etc.

Thank you, this was the answer I was looking for.
I played League and item stats matters as much as their passive and active effects.
Since I'm relatively new at Dota 2, I wanted to know if mages or warriors, tanks needs spesific stats to be stacked in order to be usefull.

But looking at your comment, buying items that could enhance your characters abilities or capabilities are more important than stats.
That would be all, thank you.

[Zagryzaec]

You think about dota a bit wrong.

Each character in dota has one or several play styles that can drastically change even for one character.

You need to decide what style you wanna play and based on that build your character.

Sometimes the style you should play will be defined by your opponent. For example if enemy has strong passive consider buying silver edge instead of blink.

You may need either ability to blink with dagger OR get a aether lense to increase your cast range.

For example if you need to hunt hero with strong escape the blink is preferable. On the other hand if you need to stay far from battle to avoid mass control like chronosphere of echoslam and stun the opponent then you need cast range to not get hit by those.

What a hero truly need is up for you to decide on the end and this decision will determine a big part of outcome.

[Artek [General]]

Oh, BTW, about crystal Maiden: you can't play her as a right clicker. You just can't - she has no abilities or passives that would allow her to do so. Maybe the level 20 (or 25?) talent that grants her 300 attack speed, but you can't really build heroes expecting to just get there - most games end before that milestone is even reached.

Her meta boots of choice are Tranquil boots because her passive already regenerates mana and her movement speed is CRINGE. Tranquil fixes that problem plus gives her HP regen to not have to go back to spawn for it. But you CAN buy her arcanes, if you want. Even more skill spam, and then you upgrade it into Grieves for heals too.
Her 2nd item of choice is either Blink Dagger to stun reliably (again: the princess of ice is infamously tardy) or the... Cape thingy that turns you invisible for a moment, primary function of it being to hide yourself before casting the ult as any stunner will immediately go after your throat when he notices you dancing. Also helps saving allies too.

Tranquil boots are unique in that they are made by characters who are either not concerned or quickly stop being concerned with mana, despite being casters.
For example: Pugna.
He has a record +5 INT gain per level, so as the game goes on and he levels up his mana pool and regen just inflate with record speeds, and since his skills don't require THAT much mana to use averaging at about 125 MP - he can just get away with it.
And since his ult allows him to act as Health Dispenser - he gains quite a lot from having a passive HP regen of tranquils.

[Lady Alcina Dimitrescu]

Originally posted by Artek General:

Oh, BTW, about crystal Maiden: you can't play her as a right clicker. You just can't - she has no abilities or passives that would allow her to do so. Maybe the level 20 (or 25?) talent that grants her 300 attack speed, but you can't really build heroes expecting to just get there - most games end before that milestone is even reached.

Her meta boots of choice are Tranquil boots because her passive already regenerates mana and her movement speed is CRINGE. Tranquil fixes that problem plus gives her HP regen to not have to go back to spawn for it. But you CAN buy her arcanes, if you want. Even more skill spam, and then you upgrade it into Grieves for heals too.
Her 2nd item of choice is either Blink Dagger to stun reliably (again: the princess of ice is infamously tardy) or the... Cape thingy that turns you invisible for a moment, primary function of it being to hide yourself before casting the ult as any stunner will immediately go after your throat when he notices you dancing. Also helps saving allies too.

Tranquil boots are unique in that they are made by characters who are either not concerned or quickly stop being concerned with mana, despite being casters.
For example: Pugna.
He has a record +5 INT gain per level, so as the game goes on and he levels up his mana pool and regen just inflate with record speeds, and since his skills don't require THAT much mana to use averaging at about 125 MP - he can just get away with it.
And since his ult allows him to act as Health Dispenser - he gains quite a lot from having a passive HP regen of tranquils.

She was just an example, what my main question was about stats.
I meant can she be a damage dealer mage.

Like I said, I played League as well, and in League, stat stacking gives your character more power. (Example, Ability Power = Your skills will deal more damage)
I tried to apply that same thing to here and think like (Hmm, perhaps intelligence increase my damage or healing rate ?)
And tried to stack those stats to some random heroes like healers and mages to see what happens. But seems like their own skill upgrades and skill tree more than enough to give them power I guess.

[Over]

Someone mentioned guides, but there are in-game guides that walk you through items, spells, and even have annotations that briefly explains why they suggest it. But if you are playing turbo (it's fun but I believe it teaches really bad habits that don't transfer to the normal game) here is an example of a guide for turbo.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3368393422&searchtext=crystal+maiden

You just subscribe and there it is. You can also do this in game.

The best authors who's guides are the most popular are
Thunderpick (formerly torte de lini)
Immortal Faith
and Dotacoachapp

They pop up immediately in the in game guide section because they do guides for all heroes and are thorough. Eventually the goal is to not rely on guides but have them as a reference for once you know the game better.

Sometimes guide will say Position or POS - that means what is their priority of farm.
1. is the safe lane carry
2. is Mid
3. tank on the offlane
4. Offlane support.
5. The safelan "hard" support
So a lot of crystal maiden guides might say POS 4/5 as they believe it is most optimal for her to be blade as a support but on and off there are some fun guides for damage.

Hope this helps! once you get passed the hurdle I think you'll like the game a lot.
My friend who never played a moba did!

[Lady Alcina Dimitrescu]

After learning it, it's a lot more fun that League imo thats for sure.
If only the items weren't THIS complicated.
I'll get the grip of it by time but damn.
It's hard to tell if my items is fully upgraded or not.

I started to play Dazzle for a while, his gameplay was really interesting for me so I gave it a shot.
I started with Warlock then Witch Doctor, now Dazzle. I also tried Naga, Crystal Maiden and some other heroes I forgat about.

I wanted to give IO and Invoker a try but they're locked sadly. So I'll just keep playing.
And yes I know turbo is not a proper place to learn the game, I'm just trying to build different items and learn overall heroes, items and get familiar with the game until I start to play normal or ranked games.

And oh god even Turbo mode has toxic people.

[Artek [General]]

Originally posted by Lady Alcina Dimitrescu:

After learning it, it's a lot more fun that League imo thats for sure.
If only the items weren't THIS complicated.
I'll get the grip of it by time but damn.
It's hard to tell if my items is fully upgraded or not.

You can open item in the store and it will show you what it can combined / upgraded into.

[Louffe]

First, thanks a lot for your topic and valuable question(s). It is quite rare those days in this trash toxic forum.

1. Is there a guide to help you: let's face it, no. The in game guides are so-so, at best. But it is mandatory you make yours. To defend the creators, it takes hell of a time to maintain the guides properly with all the updates.

2. Stats and items: actually, stats matter as much as abilities. Many items are stats driven, such as Vladmir Offering, Khanda, Witch Blade, Parasma, Crimson Guard, Heart of Tarrasque, etc.

3. Locked heroes : yeah, that is a shame, especially when you discover Grimstroke as support after 100hours, or other heroes locked so far. A new world of opportunities.

4. What items for what hero : no recipe, you have to check hero by hero. Make a simple SWOT analysis per hero to find out, with one idea / one word.

In your example, Crystal Maiden:
Strength : spells DoT
Weakness : vulnerable
Opportunity : surprise effect
Threat : disables

CM is a slow and squishy vulnerable support with low HP, spells with damage over time and a channeling ultimate. Now you know that, here are the items and boots.

Boots : regular boots are enough (or Tranquil Boots otherwise)
Strength : Scepter
Weakness : Aeon Disk
Opportunity : Blink Dagger (or Force Staff)
Threat : BKB

Why.

Boots: no specific needs aside of a better movespeed.
Scepter : 400HP, empower your ultimate significantly and match the need to last longer due to the channeling
Aeon Disk : 250HP and match the channeling (it does not interrupt the channeling)
Blink Dagger : positioning and timing to release the ultimate
BKB : in case of stuns and silences which stop the channeling

Be careful with the generic advice such as no mana -> Arcane Boots. Generic is nok in DotA itemization.

Actually, Arcane are pretty bad for the moment. Many other items cheaper or at the same price tag are far better for Mana, such as Falcon Blade, Null Talisman, Pavise, etc. They were good when it was possible to disassemble them into Aether Lens and their cost was 1300.

Regarding invisibility, it may look like a good idea but it is not. Any good player(s) will buy dust and sentries and your investment will be useless.

Hero by hero for the items, always.

The only common items per role are consumables.

Hard support : observers and sentries (check the shop every minute)
Soft support (ranged) : smokes of deceit (check the shop every 7 minutes)
Soft support (melee) : smokes of deceit and dust of appearance (you initiate, connect)
Offlaner : dust of appearance (your are supposed to be in the middle of the fight from start)

These are the mandatory ones. Aside of that, none are.

[Lady Alcina Dimitrescu]

Thank you for the recommendations and explanations.
Learning the items would be a lot easier if the Menu wasn't this complicated and a bit more clear. GUI is terrible, but eh, I can't change it with mods. So eh.

I now started to practice with support items and learn what they do.
After this I'll play Maiden or Witch doctor with Bkb, I always played them but never buy it lol.
This time I'll give it a shot, and you know, try to practice the timing and stuff.

The in-game coach thing also doesn't work either but it's there...
For some reason

[Louffe]

Originally posted by Lady Alcina Dimitrescu:

Thank you for the recommendations and explanations.:lunar2019piginablanket:
Learning the items would be a lot easier if the Menu wasn't this complicated and a bit more clear. GUI is terrible, but eh, I can't change it with mods. So eh.

I now started to practice with support items and learn what they do.
After this I'll play Maiden or Witch doctor with Bkb, I always played them but never buy it lol.
This time I'll give it a shot, and you know, try to practice the timing and stuff.

The in-game coach thing also doesn't work either but it's there...
For some reason :lunar2019deadpanpig:

Oh lord, do not do that. Make a guide with shortcuts.
The shop is hell of a mess.

I do not have a guide for CM but I can make it one (with my layout, not the default layout) in 5min.

Let me jump in the game.