An Easy Guide to the Tanky-Nuke Death Prophet (6.82 compatible)

A fun and simple little guide to show you how to play Krobelus, the Death Prophet as a tanky-nuke. Just because Krob wishes to die every time you're in-game doesn't mean you actually should - so hopefully this will help.

Introduction

Hello and welcome to my guide to Krobelus, the Death Prophet. She is often referred to as Krob or DP (If you giggled, that is okay... get it out of your system). The goal of this guide is for you to play Krob the way she is meant to be played - a tanky, pushing, nuking machine.

Krob is a ranged, intelligence hero who works best as a nuker (that crypt swarm) and a pusher with her ultimate. It is best to build her tanky for survivability as well as making sure she has a large enough mana pool to spam her kit all day. She is a situational pick and works best with a team who can disable and cc and also works good with a pushing team comp. If all the above things are in place, you have the potential to semi-carry, and in your hands would be a very scary Death Prophet who is very hard to stop.

Pros:

• Strong lane presence with Crypt Swarm [Q]
  
• Can push lanes and towers fast
  
• Is and can be built pretty tanky
  
• Good survivability with her ultimate, Exorcism [R]
  
• Her kit is full of nukes and AOE making her a formidable presence in team fights

♥♥♥♥:

• Needs a good amount of farm
  
• Mana-hungry early game
  
• Has no escape or stuns making her vulnerable to ganks
  
• Slow attack and casting animation

Now you're asking yourself, when should I pick Death Prophet?

DO play Death Prophet if...

• Your team has a lot of cc and stuns (example: Earth Shaker)
  
• You have a push-comp team
  
• You know you will have a solo lane or someone to support you in a lane

DO NOT play Death Prophet if...

• The other team has a lot of stuns + burst damage (example: Nyx, Lion)
  
• The other team has a lot of heroes with high armor or agility (example: Dragon Knight)
  
• You lane against someone who can harass you / deny you farm

Item Build

Starting & Early Game Items:

• It is always important to get some survivability and clarity. This allows you to harass and farm your lane.
  
• If you find yourself laning middle (or no one else is getting one), then get a bottle. This will allow you to replenish your mana so you can make it rain Crypt Swarm all day. (Feel free to skip a branch and/or clarity if you will be rushing your bottle).
  
• Getting Arcane boots fast and early will allow you to spam your kit without the fear of not enough mana until you get your bloodstone.

Core Items:

• Death Prophet played aggressively will need a lot of mana which is why Bloodstone ASAP is viable.
  
• Disassemble your Arcane boots (right-click on the item and select disassemble) to build the Bloodstone.
  
• Build Phase boots for her after you build your Bloodstone. This allows you to use the active ability to avoid blocking and allows you to position yourself effectively while your ultimate is going as well as putting down silence and and nuking with Crypt Swarm. It also works well when being chased.
  
• Getting a Heart of Tarasque makes Death Prophet very tanky which allows her to surive longer while her ultimate is active.
  
• Building a Eul's is ideal if you have a problem with agility heroes. You can use this on yourself while your ultimate is active as it will allow you to nuke others while you are untouchable and flying in the air. The Eul's also has additional movement speed with works well with your Phase Boots and makes you harder to catch.

Situational Items:

• A BKB is nice to have if you find yourself targeted by stuns and disables.
  
• The Sheep Stick (Scythe of Vyse) is a good item to build to disable an enemy hero and synergizes well with your kit to focus them down with your nuke and ultimate.
  
• Shiva's Guard... because nothing wrong with putting more AOE's on top of your other AOEs. Plus the added armor and Int is nice.
  
• Assault Cuirras is nice for the negative armor in combination with your ultimate. Plus the auras are always a welcome for the team.
  
• Rod of Atos gives you nice HP and INT with an active slow that lets you catch up to enemies and nuke them down.

Skill Build

Here is my skill build for Death Prophet:


NOTES:

• Maxing Crypt Swarm first is ideal as it is a good nuke and is perfect for harassing or pushing a lane if you need to check for runes.
  
• Put at least two points in Witchcraft to make sure that you'd have enough mana to use your ultimate and another skill once you hit six.
  
• Due to the 6.78 patch update, the radius of Krob's silence is now 350 at all levels so it would be nice to get a point in it before six to disable enemy heroes in the area around the time you cast/will cast your ultimate for some additional disable. I prefer getting it at level 5 to make sure I have two points at witchcraft early for the movement speed and mana. However, if you feel confident in waiting to get it after level six, that is okay too. Also...
  
• Depending on who you lane against, it is viable to put a point in Silence at level 4 especially if you are laning against a caster with good harass.

• Always put a point in your ult when you are able.
  
• Since you will be rushing arcane boots which you will build into a bloodstone, it is not necessary to max out WItchcraft until after Crypt Swarm.
  
• Your ultimate is great for pushing down towers and nuking down enemies. It will target the closest hostile enemy within a 700 radius.
  
• Use your ultimate when being chased - it is a good way to deter the enemies and the health it restores could turn the fight into your favor.
  
• Enemy hero has a BKB? Who cares! Your ultimate does physical damage - thus it goes through BKB.

Laning As Krob & Her Early Game

Death Prophet works best if she is allowed to farm a lane. She is viable in mid-lane to get fast levels to her ultimate and she is also able to handle a solo-bot lane due to her nuke. Last-hitting with Krob is a bit difficult in the beginning and timing it perfectly can be a challenge. She can, however, clean up creep waves with her Crypt Swarm but be careful of how much mana you use up.

Regardless of which lane is chosen, always be aware of where the enemy team is and make sure to pay attention to MIA calls as Krob has no means of escape and she is very susceptible to ganks early on.

Krob can be an aggressive laner. She is ranged and has a good harass since she has a decent base damage starting out. Just keep in mind that she does have a slower cast time with her skills and auto-attack.

Getting Krob to level six and getting the Arcane boots fast is very important. From there on out, Krob needs to be pushing towers down with her ultimate, or being a part of coordinated ganks. A properly played Death Prophet in lane would have her enemy tower pushed down fairly quickly once she hits six.

Mid-Game Krob: Nukes Everywhere!

Once Death Prophet has her ultimate, it is ideal to start ganking other lanes when your ultimate is off cool down.

Since Krob lacks any stuns, it is best to gank by allowing a teammate to stun the enemy team first before coming in with your ult and silence from behind. Nuking them down with Crypt Swarm every time it is on cool down is a must.

At this point in the game, sucessful ganks and tower pushes should be giving you enough gold to finish that Bloodstone. This should take care of any mana issues you may still be having.

During team fights, position yourself carefully so as to ensure your ultimate and your Crypt Swarm lands on the enemy. Stay close to your your teammates with stuns/disables so that you can focus all your nukes on enemies that are caught. Make sure to cast silence when you see an attempt to engage from the other enemy - or if an enemy is caught by a stun from your side.

Your kit allows you to melt down low level supports and enemies with weak armor. You should be picking up and cleaning up kills with your Crypt Swarm and Ultimate at this point - or at least racking up assists left and right.

Krob Late Game: She Wants To Die But It Isn't So Easy

If things have been going well during early and mid-game, at this point in the game you should have had your Heart of Tarasque and are pretty darn impossible to kill. Even when you die, those Bloodstone charges can bring you back faster than a hasted Windrunner.

Late game Krob, being the nuker/caster that she is, won't be dealing as much damage as you'd like especially against high-armored enemies. However, if you and your team are doing things right, you have now become this annoyingly tanky hero who can be a distraction and a problem (six second silence, anyone?) which allows your team/carry to do their late-game job.

Your kit will be very good to help whittle down the enemy towers and rax. Use that silence during team-fights and also make sure to continue to spam Crypt Swarm as it has a wonderful range and it is great way to poke and push back the supports/squishies on the enemy team who are most-likely staying in the back.

If you do find yourself the focus of the enemy team and would like to stay alive longer to keep that ultimate going - investing in either a BKB or a Eul's would be ideal.Go for the BKB if you find yourself stunned a lot, or go for the Eul's and use it on yourself to remove the auto-attack focus off of you while your ult continues to whittle down their team.

Game should end soon, hopefully with your side winning. GG

OH NO! Something Went Wrong Somewhere - NOW WHAT?!

You got ganked so hard early game? Someone in your lane decided you don't need farm? Someone on the enemy team got fed burgers and is now a few levels above you - and anyone else on your team? NOW WHAT?

Being flexible when something undesirable happens in game is very important. There are a few things you need to consider to try and even out the playing field. All very situational, coordinate with your team as to what needs to be done. A few things to consider doing just in case:

• Where are you with your Bloodstone? If you are nowhere close - skip it and keep the Arcanes for now. It will be helpful to your team to have the additional mana. if you are at least half-way and you know you are able to finish it, consider doing so. Even if the charges are minimal, you are much more viable if you are able to spam your kit.
  
• Buy Drums of Endurance for the movement speed. Remember, you do not have any escapes.
  
• Now is the best time to be helpful with your team and buy some wards.
  
• Skip the Heart of Tarasque and buy a BKB and a Eul's instead - BKB for survivability during team fights and to keep your ultimate up and the Eul's for mana and survivability.
  
• Rod of Atos and Sheep Stick are good pickups as a utility/support items for the team. Rod of Atos gives you HP and INT and allows you to slow down an enemy. Sheep lets you disable an enemy to focus.
  
• Be careful how you position yourself in team fights. Never forget, your ultimate goes away when you die.

Friends & Enemies

FRIENDS

Here are a few examples of good heroes to play with Death Prophet:

FACELESS VOID
It doesn't matter if Void is in your team or on the enemy team - Krob's kit works very well with his ultimate (Chronosphere). Getting her ultimate off before he pops Chronosphere, even with Krob inside it, does not prevent her ultimate from going and dealing damage. She is also able to Crypt Swarm and auto-attack anyone in the Chronosphere if she is not caught in it.

DARK SEER
Similar to Void, Dark Seer's vacuum allows Krob to pull off her AOE kit against a bunched up enemy team. Mass silence, along with her Crypt Swarm while her ultimate is going is not very fun to deal with if you are on the receiving end.

STUNS & PUSHERS
Death Prophet works very well with a pushing comp due to her ultimate and Crypt Swarm which allows for a fast push since her ultimate targets towers as well. Stuns work well with her kit as it allows her to melt an enemy down fast while they are disabled.

ENEMIES

Here are a few examples of heroes Death Prophet needs to watch out for. Be careful when playing against them:

OMNI KNIGHT
His ultimate and your ultimate are NOT friends. Avoid using your ultimate when his is up. Attempt to bait it out / wait until it's on cool down to cast yours.


NYX ASSASSIN
He does not like Intelligence heroes, and you are one. Be careful once he hits six - his kit is made to destroy yours. He can go invisible once he hits level six allowing himself to set up near you for a stun + massive damage and his mana burn and spiked carapace will prevent you from being able to properly fight back.

BLOOD SEEKER
An agility hero that has a silence, and an ultimate that prevents you from moving. If you are not able to survive teleporting out of his ultimate, you will probably die.

RIKI
Once he hits six, he is able to take advantage of your lack of escapes by making sure you sit on his silence cloud before you can even get anything in your kit off.

RUBICK
Nothing worse than having Rubick on the other team knowing that he can steal your skills (except for Witchcraft, which is a passive). Ideally, you'd want to spam Crypt Swarm after using your ultimate as it is the lesser of all evils.

End Notes

This is the end of my guide. Hopefully, you find it informative and it helps you some. Do remember that every game is different so be prepared to change it up to what is needed at that given moment. I've played her so many times, and she isn't always that easy. She is very situational (as I've learned the hard way) - and needs a good team comp to be useful. Win or lose though, she is my favorite hero.

Here are a few screen-caps of me using the information I have placed in my guide and it working out for me. Again, situational - but when it works, it works so good.






TWITCH VOD of me playing Death Prophet[www.twitch.tv] - Warning: Language (I cuss a bit while gaming). YT version below and only works if you're signed in otherwise it get's blocked out so feel free to watch the Twitch version instead:

A few things to note on this VOD:

• I ended up laning in the hard/suicide lane. It was difficult but when you are in this lane, you need to prioritize not dying while still getting last hits and experience. Last hitting is important but its better for you to not feed and just farm later versus trying to farm and dying.
  
• Positioning is very important.
  
• I opted to disassemble my Arcane boots later because it was good to have for the team until I had all components.
  
• This isn't my best game - but it isn't my worst. It is one of my most recent ones with Krob that I have a VOD of and I realize after that there were a few things I should / shouldn't have done. It is good practice to look back at some of your games to find ways for improvement.

Here is a link to the skill-build page for Death Prophet that I made as well in case you want it.
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=128733558

Screen caps were taken from the Dota 2 website and the skill-build page I linked above.

That is all for now. Have a great day.
--Saje

--------------
Changelog:
10/23/13 6.79 compatible
6/4/13 Updated to match 6.78 patch.
2/27/13 Added Shiva's and fixed some words and typos.

[󠀡󠀡Archie]

I am not judging you but can you please tell me what is your mmr?

[«☼» Evil Goose «☼»]

A sexy girl that plays DOTA, can you please marry me? :D

[Supernova]

very useful guide! I'm playing Krob a lot lately, I'll try some of these tips, ty =)

[SUNSfan]

I was once a feeder to the highest degree. But then I read this guide and everything changed for me. It's not only a guide on how to own with Death Prophet, but a guide on how to live your life. Thank you Sajedene for allowing me to play with my friends without wanting to kill myself. You will save many lives with this guide.

[Scout]

@TaterSalad I am so glad! Game on indeed, Ron.

[KickinWingPhD]

:D I have been around the game for a bit, but i always enjoy guides from other players perspectives. I just about always learn something. Game on!!

[Scout]

@ElfIRL - thank you so much! She is very fun indeed.

@--> MVP-Smekt.Se <-- I do have it in the in-game form as well. It is linked at the bottom of the guide :)

@TaterSalad I completely agree which is why I've included an additional screenshot of putting a point in it at level 4 depending on who you are laning against.

[KickinWingPhD]

Although, it depends on who you are laned with/against, I would agree that 1 early level in silence can be beneficial under the right circumstances. Its just too good to pass up.

[--> MvP-Michel <--]

cant u make a post so itts can be useed in game? =)

[ElfIRL]

Thanks for the guide Sajedene. Just getting started with DOTA 2 and have enjoyed fooling around with DP. Lots of great information here, can't wait to use it!