A Skywrath Mage support guide. (Patch 7.38c Updated)

--- FACETS ---

It is recommended you go for Shield of the Scion to maximize defensive survivability.

Consider maxing Q over W if you are position 4. Gives you more ability to kill in a smaller period of time but is more mana intensive. You will want to focus on maximizing your damage output over supportive capabilities (Ethereal Blade, Scythe of Vyse and Blink Dagger being your game winning items, Atos, Glimmer Cape, Forcestaff and Euls are also good considerations).

Considering maxing W over Q if you are position 5. It is more mana efficient compared to damage dealt vs Q if you are low on resources or are expected to have less available networth for consumables and intelligence stats.

--- TIPS AND INFORMATION ---

Arcane Bolt (Q) - Gives lingering vision. If your enemy is relatively fast and heading towards vision obstructing areas then stagger your casting so that you give yourself as much lingering vision as possible. If your Q hits and you do not have another Q ready to cast, you can potentially lose the kill or it can complicate the chase.

Concussive Shot (W) - When using in lane against heroes with less attack range, your 4 second slow will generally let you hit them before they can get in range to hit you, you can hit then back up a bit and get 2 hits in for free. Also be aware that you can use W to stop clarities and salves. If you think someone might use a deniable or cancellable consumable behind trees and you have lasting vision of them, consider using your W.

Ancient Seal (E) - If you see a hero about to initiate you can press E on them so when they blink or initiate you instantly attempt to silence them as fast as possible. You may have to Press E then cancel repeatedly in order to not lose your positioning.

Mystic Flare (R) - All of the damage is dealt in 2 seconds, realistically you only need stuns or slows at around 1.5 seconds to properly get all your damage out. Factor in movement speed, the radius of your ultimate (170 radius) and what direction your target is facing. In most cases if your enemy is slowed and you cast the center of mystic flare very slightly infront of them, if they have to factor in turn speed then they'll generally receive all of the damage unless they are a very fast moving target, in which case using mystic flare for a bit of damage can be fine if there are no other kill targets nearby or available within some reasonable amount of time relative to its cooldown.

--- SENTRIES AND OBSERVERS ---

Remember that observers are free but only take what you need and nothing more. Don't deny your allies the ability to make plays or good decisions.
Only buy the sentries you need. Here are some pointers of when you might want to buy a sentry.

- Pushing an objective (Can place a sentry infront of an enemy tower or somewhere where you think enemies might come from).
- A fight ward for detection in the general fighting area.
- To deward an area of the map so you and/or your team can control it.
- Somewhere where you are very confident the enemies have vision that you want to deward. It is your decision on whether or not it is worth dewarding. If you are against a Riki you might save your sentry for later situations if the enemy observer is not important as sentries are limited (Depending on the stage of the game).

--- SKYWRATH MAGE MENTALITY ---

If you have your ultimate off cooldown, you should be looking to combo with your allies or to Concussive slow + Mystic Flare kill enemies by yourself. Any squishy support is generally food for you given they do not have items to deal with your abilities in the early game which makes your level 6 and 12 ultimate timings very impactful. You are an experience dependant hero, you need to look after your experience, it is so important to the hero functioning well. The goal is not to be greedy, its to be calculated. Consider stacking any safe camps on your side of the map while you are travelling around to boost your gold and XP from the stack taking mechanic where the person who stacks gets gold and XP.

As a support your job is not to be a passive healer or to reactively play the game. Your job is to be proactive, make things happen or position yourself so that when the enemies do something you can break their initiation, their team fight, save an ally or kill someone. Dota is a game that punishes "AFK" thinking and playing. If you are not top 1 do not follow your habits, habits are for consistency and performance once you are already good. If you are not top 100, you are Division 1 player food. Sky turns everyone else into food. Happy hunting.

--- GENERAL TIPS FOR LOWER MMR PLAYERS (Sub Immortal)

Watch your replays, specifically bad and very good moments. What does it look like when you do well? What does it look like when you die, are your deaths worth it? Was there a better outcome? Why did you decide to do what you did? What do other players do in the same scenario? What were they trying to achieve? What were you trying to achieve? Did you "AFK" brain do what you did? Were you just feeling off that match? It happens. Be attentive, think about your decisions and be methodical. Look at both your own, your ally and your enemy perspectives to get a proper and unbias view of what you did.

Focus on your casting order and how it feels. Try to actively think about how your casting impacts your gameplay, your ability to kill. If you need to then deviate from the guide to see for yourself what is or is not good.

Focus on mana management and whether you find yourself unable to commit a full combo (clarities are nice).

Remember that 6 and 8 minute power runes are generally very important. Lanes should usually break down on average @ 8 minutes (When heroes get lvl 5-6 timings). If your mid hero does not care about power runes but the enemy mid does, it is still good to contest the power runes or at least take them off the map.

Focus on getting 7 minute wisdom runes, consider stacking the ancient camp nearby.

Almost always sentry the enemy camp in lane at the start of the lane. No free pulls and no free stacks. Deviating your starting build is fine and I would encourage you test items, especially items you do not generally purchase so you can get a better understanding of the game as a whole. If you are avoiding items because you do not know how they work or do not feel comfortable, please take a moment to think about how expanding your information horizon on itemization can increase your scope of understanding, and therefore your skill in Dota 2.

Hold down your alt key while hovering your cursor over an item and ability to get more specific or nuanced information on the selected item or ability.

If you are out of mana then its usually okay to go back to base since your hero functions off of mana. If you have no mana you can not function, make sure you tell your lane partner. Do not randomly leave because they might be very focused. If you have everyone muted, drop a "Be Right Back" chatwheel to make sure everyone is aware of your mana situation. Give your team the information do not expect them to attentively look at your position. Do not clutter team communications with your chatwheels unless its a feel good situation where everyone is being positive, then spam the absolute ♥♥♥♥ out of everything you have got and make sure for the grandmaster Sky spammers to Predict, then 'Ghastly Eerie' chatwheel around 1-2 seconds after the Prediction voiceline starts so that you can run 3 of them together. Another important tip is to do the taunt spread throughout it and do the "Haha!" laugh slightly spread out too for maximum noise coverage. Probably the most important tip in this entire guide (Does not work with Arcana since the level 30 grandmaster voiceline changes).