The Dirge goes on. In-depth guide to Undying. (6.81)

An in-depth and easy-to-understand guide to Undying. Commonly misunderstood as a hard support, undying shines when he has an Exp. advantage over the enemy. Hes a strength Melee Hybrid Tank-Caster, with a great lane presence but no pushing or farming capability whatsoever. Understanding in what lane you belong and your role in the early game is essencial to the succsses of your team, as your reach your power peak very early into the game, and soon after you start to fall off.

Understanding Your Place

¿Do you like solo queing? Stop reading this guide right here, Undying its probably not your hero. I wont lie, doing this guide was a really hard task, not because he's a complicated hero, but because you really need a partner in crime; and your partner cant just be any hero, it needs to be someone with:

• A strong lane presense
  
• Capable of snowbowling
  
• Has to reach a power spike alongside you

I woud describe Undying as an Offlane Support, this is why If I had to assing Undying a number to fit the "1 to 5" role sistem, I woud say hes a 3.5 . You dont need a lot of items, but you really need to go to a lane when you can get enough exp to reach a decent level of tombstone for the early fights. You wont be buying any wards, you have 0 farming capabilities, so you REALLY need the money to get your early game items. Winning with Undying is a race against time, the flame that burns brighter is also the first to go down. After the 25 minute mark, zombies do no damage (still "decent" for the slow) and decay is no longer enough to keep you alive through the team fights .

If you dont get kills or at least assist, thats it, you are stuck with the items you have. If this occurs, you should always carry a tp to react to ganks and lane agression at the first opportunity you get.

Where people think Undying shoud go.

.Trilane vs Trilane situation.
. Trilane vs Solo Offlane situation
. Solo Offlane vs Trilane situatiion

Of this 3 cases i woud say only the first one is correct, as you cant get enough exp in the other two situations. (Harrasing is hard as a melee hero, and Decay really is worthless against a solo offlaner anyways)

Where you shoud really go.

• Dual Offlane vs Trilane

  
  
• Dual lane vs Dual lane (Commonly, Wisp + Carry or Lich + 1)

The best heroes you coud lane with are those hard to take down, and who can also dish out a lot of damage in early to mid game. best examples are:

Huskar:

One word, Fire Spears. Well, its actually two, but thats also the number or kills you are getting at lvl 2/3 when the opposing trilane tryes to kick you out of the lane. Huskar should start with boots to chase down supports and to kite around the enemy carry. Then, he shoud build up torward Phase boots and Urn of shadows. After this he shoud get a Mek, the armor and hp boost is great and he always has the mana and time to cast it. After Mek comes the real "late game" items, Armlet of Mordiggian and Assault Curiass. (insted of Armlet he can go Halverd if he's having problems with the enemy carry).

Bristleback:

You can almost smell the confusion cooking up in the enemy trilane when they need to choose betwen focusing an Undying or a Bristleback. He shoud pick a point in Nasal Goo at lvl 3, as this is enough to transform the Tombstone into an inescapable pit of death. He shares your mana problemes, so your priority is getting Arcana Boots as soon as posible. Urn of Shadows and Mek are once again a necessity. Bristleback is also a good counter to Undyings Tombstone, so having him on your team prevents the enemy from picking it. Its a win-win situation!

BrewMaster:

Get more lane regen this time around. Both of you are way to tanky to give a ♥♥♥♥ about whant 2 lvl 2 supports can throw at you. If they get clapped under the Tombstone AoE, they are most definitely dead. Arcane boots are obligatory this time, for both of you. At Level 6, its all Ogre, if primal split is enough to solo kill the enemy solo mid, imagine what you can do to a guy that just bought boots. As soon as you get Blink, start working on your Aghanim's (that is, if you can micro), if you cant, learn how to micro, and then start working on your Aghanim's, seriuosly. I don't like Brew as much as the other two; thats because he's one of those heroes that need to play around their powerful ults. a big Cooldown usually means "Oh right guys, we have map control, lets split up and farm and fight again when it's up" after the ultimate was used. Well, guess who cant farm? Indeed, thats you. On the bright side, having the range and versatility of a blink dagger initiator is a welcomed addition to the formula.

Weaver:

Weaver is different from the others as he sacrifices early game tankynes for the chance to be a force to be reconed with in the late game. Yes, you guessed right, you are getting the Mek this time. Weaver shoud go for a Desolator, this way you can push towers and terrorize the under leveled and under farmed enemy supports.


Lets be honest here, your best partners are not amongst the most popular offlaners, so you most probably woud have to tell your teammate what to pick to get the best out of your lane; this is why I woud recomend against playing this hero if you are solo queing. Not every hero fits every lineup, this is particulary true when your playing undying; he is no lone wolf, you NEED to stick with one of your teammates and communicate togheder so you know when to go in, and back togheder.

Remember, Undying is a very one-dimensional hero, so if you fail to gather an advantage over the enemy in the early game, things are looking grim.

Your Skill Set

Decay:

Range: 625
Radius: 325
Duration: 40
Strength Stolen: 4 (76 HP per Target)
Damage: 20/60/100/140

Cooldown: 10/8/6/4 Mana: 70/90/110/130

The important side of Decay is that it opens up a 40 seconds window of opportunity in wich the enemy heroes are easyer to kill. After the debuff goes down, they get back the stolen hp, so its pretty much ussles to harras them out of the lane. ( especially against a solo offlaner, in wich case this spell is pretty much worthless)
The classic mistake of a player who is new to playng Undying is to max out Decay fisrt. You see, you just can't sustain the mana cost of a maxed out decay. The mana keeps going up, the cooldown down, but the spell remains pretty much the same, belive me when i say that the slight damage increase is just a waste when you compare it to the strenght of a lvl 4 Tombstone.
In the lane, if you cant hit two targets, its probably not worth your mana.

You shoud level up Decay at levels 1/12/13/14

Soul Rip:

Range: 750
Radius: 1300
Maximum Units: 5/10/15/20
Heal/Damage per Unit: 25

Cooldown: 24/18/12/6 Mana: 50/75/100/125

Can heal Tombstone, but can't heal or damage any other buildings.

Soul Rip can Heal/Damage a maximum of 125/250/375/500

Notes: Arguably the most underrated of his abilities, extremly efective at transforming mana into damage / Hp, this is important, as you need all the mana you can get to sustain Decay.
Wuth a level 2 Soul Rip you can drop down an enemy support two half hp for only 75 mana, wich is perfect as you zombies get Bloodlust when they drop down below 50% hp.

You shoud level up Soul Rip at levels 2/4/9/10

(If the enemy supports got early boots, you shoud skip the point on Tombstone al level 3 in favor of a second level of Soul Rip, after this, start maxing out Tombstone as normal.)

Tombstone:

Range: 600
Radius: 400/600/800/1000
Duration: 15/20/25/30
Spawn Interval: 3
Hit points: 200/400/600/800

Cooldown: 60 Mana: 120/130/140/150

The first spawn interval of zombies happen right after the tombstone is summoned.

Destroys trees in a small radius around the tombstone when cast.

Zombies can be used as target for teleport of Boots Of Travel

Your teamfight spell. It has a huge cd, so use it wisely. Specially powerfull if the team fight breaks up near the river. You shoud always place Tombstone in the highground if possible, as it gives good vision (1800) and it will be near imposible for the enemy team to focus it. In the laning phase I save it for when the enemy supports try to pull the lane to the easy camp (this way we get to farm the wave + the camp), its simple to notice when they do so, as your creepwave will run under theyr tower without meeting opposition.

You shoud levep up Tombstone at levels 3-4 (read Soul Rip) /5/6/7.

Flesh Golem:

Radius: 750
Duration: 30
Maximum Damage Amplification: 20%/25%/30% (25%/30%/35%*)
Minimum Damage Amplification: 5%/10%/15% (10%/15%/20%*)
Amount Healed on Hero Death: 6% (10%*)
Amount Healed on Non-Hero Death: 2% (3%*)
Movement Slow: 9%

Cooldown: 75 Mana: 100

Plague Aura is strongest within 200 distance of Undying and decreases farther away from him.

I personaly skip Flesh Golem at lvl 6 and put my first point on it al lvl 8, this is because I dont farm the lane and i dont get Arcane Boots if im laning with Huskar, but this is only because i have way to much experience playing this horrible hero and I became good at managing my mana pool. If you are up to a good start and you got some kiills, you shoud definitely pick up arcane boots and you ulty as soon as posible. If you cant stand the frontline heat, this skill becomes near ussless, pick up a casual Vitality Booster and tank on!

You shoud level up Flesh Golem at levels 6 (8 if your are not getting Arcane Boots) 11/16

My usual Skill Build:

Skill Build if you are rushing Arcane Boots.

Item Choicies

Getting boots is your first priority, after that, comes the magic stick and stout shield. Place your ward in a way it spots the enemy supports movements. 8/10 times I finish Vanguard and then get Arcane (if I even get Arcane that is), but thats simple because I find Huskar to be the more viable partner, and he needs no mana. Finish your Magic Wand. Around this time you're approaching the end of the laning phase. The enemy trilane should be completely underleveled, and the enem carry with a gpm much lower than yours; this is the whole purpose of the dual offlane. Even if you dont manage to destroy the T1 tower, you'll open up the enemy jungle, and from now on, your partner can go ganking other lanes without the fear of you dying, even if you get 3 man ganked (Without the Vanguad its just too easy to burst you down). You cant play passively, win a teamfight (it should be easy by this point with the maxed out tomb) and procede to barrel down your lane of choice. Stick as five and take as many objectives as you , trying to outfarm the enemy is not advised, as you cant even farm to begin with.

Wards:

Ask for your other support to pass one to you, as the enemy supports are surely gonna go gank middle after they get completely obliterated in theyr trilane. As a "support", its generaly frown upon if you dont get wards. Your place is in the lane, not warding. You have no slow, no stun, no escape mechanism, and Soul Rip is ussles without creeps around, remember this.

Courier:

If your other support player doesn't want to buy both of the support items, just buy the courier, fly the courier, make love to the courier, everything you need to do to avoid leaving your partners side. He is to much of a scumbag to realize you are actually going to face a trilane at the offlane and not for a walk in the park.

Tangos:

Great for early regen, helps with messing up pulls / pulling the hard camp in the radiant offlane. Also good to get clean some pesky trees that obstruct your vision. Eat one preventively when you are going balls deep.

Potion of Clarity:

If you are not starting with a Ring of Basilius you'll probably need two of this.

Ring of Basilius:

It gives everything you and your partner whant. +Armor +Damage +Mana Regen and the chance of chipping the tower when enemy trilane backs off. Keep it turn off at the begining so the lane doesn´t push.

Magic Wand:

Mana and hp sustain against the trilane. Also provides a nice heal burst and can be used to bait silly supports into sticking around your tombstone.

Arcane Boots:

As statedd before, I almost never get arcane boots, but as you are a new Undying player, asking you to do the same is unffair. I woud argue that the bigger mana pool has the same importance than the mana regeneration (aprox. 3 mama/s )

Vanguard:

Your bread and butter. As much as i hate VG as an item, is impossible for me to not recomend it on Undying. Vanguard becomes ussles pass the 30 minute mark, just like you, but it makes your power spike that much stronger (you wont get bursted down with the extra 250 hp, undying hp pool is not that good). If you are not having HP regen problems, skip the Ring of Regen and just get a casual Vitality Booster.

Ghost Scepter:

Lets be honest here, a Vanguard wont do ♥♥♥♥ against an Ursa / OD / Riky. If you are getting taken out by this sort of enemy right-clikers, buy a Ghost Scepter as soon as posible. Your golem aura will remain active, and you can still cast all your spells.

Tranquil Boots:

I forgot to mention this beauties in the original version. I mentioned before I dont get Arcanes when i'm laning with Huskar, I tend to stick with Brown boots pretty far into the mid game, this is possible thanks to Undying great 310 base movement speed. Tranquil Boots give you all the movility you need and they represent just a 525 gold investment. Funnily enough, they also help you to conserve mana, as the passive regen is enough to keep you from having to Soul Rip yourself after every fight.

TP Scroll:

You are not ganker, but rather the opposite. Tp to save an ally who is getting dove under the tower. Always carry one after you reach lvl 5.

Pipe of Insight:

To much magican damage? You cant push uphill because they have a KOTL or any other annoyng way of cleaning your creepwave? Pipe is your answer.

Shiva's Guard:

To much physical damage? The enemy has 2-3 carryes and you still have mana problems? Shivas is your answer, this item is a game ender, if you can buy this, you probably already won. The frozen nova synergizes perfectly with your ult.

Heaven's Halberd:

Exelent to support Huskar, a good all around item. Increses your hp pool and gives the enemy miss chance.

Necronomicon:

Most of the lanes I listed at the begining have close to none pushing potencial. Necronomicon gives you hp and mana, and early tower pushes give you just the amount of gold to close the game. Very situational tho, if the game starts to swing before you can level it up, you get stuck with an almost ussles item.

My opinion on other commonly Built items:

Bloodstone:

If you check almost any old Undying guide (it sads me to say that even some new ones) Bloodstone will always appear as the absolute core of your item build. They'll claim its the solution to all your problems! It gives you a great Mana and HP pool, and it solves all your mana problems! In order to be an exeptional item, Bloodstone NEEDS to be rushed, as an offlane Support, its simply imposible to get that kind of farm, its just not gonna happen. That said, it's still a good "Pub Stomp" item if your team lacks a carry, its the only item in the game that allows you to spam a maxed out Decay in the mid game. Either way, you wont be able to abuse the 4 second CD in the laning stage unless you get our next item on the list.

Soul Ring:

Good item to transition into Bloodstone. 150 Mana is enough to cast a lvl 2 decay + lvl 2 Soul rip (this is how your skill build should look at lvl 4). Its not a bad item for Undying, I just dont build it because getting a larger HP pool (so I don't get bursted down) its usually a more pressing mather. Still a good item against mana burn.

Aghanim's Scepter:

Maximum Damage Amplification: 20%/25%/30% (25%/30%/35%*)
Minimum Damage Amplification: 5%/10%/15% (10%/15%/20%*)
Amount Healed on Hero Death: 6% (10%*)
Amount Healed on Non-Hero Death: 2% (3%*)
Stats are good, but the ulti Upgrade its not worth it. +5% damage amplification is 1/6 of what you get out of a Veil of Discord, and the extra healing % is unnoticeable.

The rest of your Team?

Solo Mid:

Support:

Carry:

If it's good at pushing towers early, then it fits your team needs. Puck its an exeption to this rule, but he makes up with his great teamfight and magic damage. KotL and Crystal Maiden can dish out theyr damage from far away, while they also help you and your team with your sustain and mana problems. Chen and Enchantress are not that good in this situation, they provide sub 10 minute tower push / ganks but spend to much time in the jungle and tend to leave the solo carry in an unfavorable matchup againt the enemy offlaner.

Unfavorable Matchups

Drow Ranger / Sniper:

This heroes have the perfect combination of damage, range, and kiting capabilities. Frozen arrows reduces to 0 whatever little movility you have, while Headshot can even cancel your abilities, all 3 have a horrible cast point / animation.

Antimage:

A 5 sec blink for witch you have no answer. He represents everything Undying hates; movility, spell resistance, and mana burn.

Riky:

You can take him down in the laning phase, but if he gets some semblance of farm you are done for. Silences destroy Undying, and ha has a spamable AoE one that comes with a 25% slow.

Death Prophet:

Brutal 6 sec AoE silence, she also has to much movement speed and range for you to handle. Exorcism destroys the Tombstone in about 3 seconds.

Lifestealer:

Has a BKB from the get go and does more damage the more HP you have. He also gains way too much hp with each attack he connects with you, as you have low armor.

Nyx Assassin:

Its not that bad if you get sentries. Burst damage and mana burn still a pain in the ass.

TimberSaw:

Mobility, sustain, and pure-burst-damage. Reactive armor is not your biggest problem due to most of your damage being magical, but using Tombstone is self-defeating, as the zombies will make shure he always stays at full stacks, and he can still get in and out of the fight with ease thanks to Timber Chain. Lets not forget Whirling Death destroys strength heroes (takes away 15% of your primary attribute).


Special mentions go to Earthshaker, Bristleback and Necrolyte.

Thanks for Reading!

Game on!

Many thanks to Mofetatron, my offlane carry, for his feedback!

Let your personal advide on how to improve this guide down below in the comment section!

-Marsupio

[Limp Cactus]

On top of that some games develope into "what carry is more fed" and with Dirge ensures that your carries and teammates hit harder with Flesh Golem. He even makes other mid game heros scale into the late game since the amp applies with their nukes too.

Earlier I mentioned how you should build him to be survivable. This is the main problem with Dirge, but with a blademail or Halberd he lasts significantly longer, atleast long enough to bounce back a lot of damage from bmail, or to heal up from decay stacks, soul rip, and Flesh Golem heal.

Anyways I hope this makes sense because I sort of threw my thoughts into text after thinking about it some.

[Limp Cactus]

Great guide, but the problem I have with it is the fact that you say Undying falls off late game when I believe the contrary.
Think of Undying like a U, early game he lanes really well but by late-mid game he gets targeted hard and has a hard time surviving (around the time everyone is level16-25).

However if you build him tanky and survivable as well he revels in the late game. When everyone inps 25 4 strength steal is like removing 1 (almost 2) levels of strength gain and when several stacks are taken it gives a massive advantage to your team.

[Cyanide -]

NICE GUIDE #SWAGOLEMZOMBIE #MLG

[Syu]

My fav hero :v

[RaG]

oh sure, this hero is better if u know as play good. so i just do it

[P l a y e r ~]

Unding the best hero guys!!

[「神夜」Taelin wanderer]

I think insane regen from the likes of Alche and Timbersaw are already enough to worry about.
Correctly placed, the Tombstone is already a very strong area denial for turtling AND breaking the high ground when placed directly behind your frontliners - in a way the healing from golem is like a segmented Reaper-Sadist combo from Necrophos, so I think it's not that much of a problem.

Thinking back to your comments and the universal amp from golem, I think the correct route to go for amp would be to prefer Veil or AC (totally drop the idea of AC if there's a better holder on your team) depending on lineups before even considering scepter, or going scepter instead of AC since it's pricier. In a way, golem is another pseudo area denial by discouraging combat nearby you since bonus damage is taken. What do you think?

[APOCALIPSIS OVOLACTEO]

@「神夜」Taelin wanderingsoul : Thats correct, golem amplifies all sources of damage. I'd wish they made it so the Scepter healed you for a high % of zombies HP (30) so the tombstone (already a 150 gold piñata on late game) would shift its purpose to a sustain mechanism for you.

[「神夜」Taelin wanderer]

Thanks for putting in the effort to create an in-depth guide covering a multitude of situations.

On your comments for scepter, you correctly point out that Veil provides more of a boost, but if I'm not mistaken the amp from Flesh Golem is for all sources of damage, not just magic like Veil. Of course if we were running a caster lineup, Veil would be preferable.

[VID]

nice guide dude