There are different attitudes towards seeker, but most of the time he is just out of sight of captains during picks ( I shall speak about inhouse/clanwar games only in this guide, omitting public games as worthless time spending)



Not being even a semi-pro dota team we ( i mean myself and my mates with who i communicate on skype ) search for more unexpected ways to outpick our foes.

After a successeful 3x3 funwar(balance in 2x2 and 3x3 is different from 5x5, someheroes are nonsence - overpowered or useless) we tried bs in 5x5 and he did his job there as well. I shall try to give a few tips on how to play bs and prove that he can contribute to your victory as well as venge, sk, lina e.t.c. ( all the basic picks )



Starting stats:

Strength: 23 + 2 per lvl
Agility: 24 + 2.6 per lvl
Intelligence: 18 + 1.7 per lvl
Armor: 5.4
Movespeed: 305
Attack Range: 100
Damage: 53-59

Overview :
Strong points:
- extremely fast movespeed
- good attack animation
- high armor
- high starting attributes
- above average jungling capabilities
- gorgeous support for the team
- not so easy to dominate and prevent from farming as other melee heroes
- all in all doesnt require an escpecially high-skilled player to play well ( like mirana for example )
Weak points:
- only average physical damage without bloodrage
- not too strong vs spellcasters, ganks with stuns e.t.c in early
- a pretty bad dueling, face-to-face hero even in late game
- it's not always easy to decide which item-build to opt for, since this hero can do a plenty of them, some are really different from each other.

Skill Build:
In my opinion this hero is one of those not many for who skill builds are not that important, but keep in mind that
- ultimates are to be maxed out as soon as possible
- stats go 17-25 as other skills do matter both in early and lategame
- by level 5 you must have at least 1 level of each skill ( no need to explain, just think about many situations you can face and besides, bloodbath levels dont differ that much, % of hp gained can be compensated by many lasthits and denies )
- bloodrage can damage and kill enemy heroes with low hp, but actually as the level grows its efficiency as dmging spell is decreasing so according to the situation u should sometimes leave it lvl 2 and not lvl-up further till u have achieved some goal, for example killing some lina/leshrac with ur lane partner

Skill descriptions(here i must have copied and pasted some formal crap, but I will explain the skills my own way):



Bloodrage. In clanwars , especially in ganks and big battles with many casters it's what your allies are going to ask you for all the time.
We often see that stunners and silencing heroes are picked but why do we forget that there is such an interesting disable as bloodrage?
Although it does give your enemy a decent (in late game) dmg boost, however nukers/casters/supporters dont really benefit from it since the ability to cast something for them is more important. Their disabled state is a great advantage for you, and what's more imporatant, at last lvl it lasts rly long, 15 sec. Do whatever you want. We shall come back to this matter in more detail further in the guide, but the most useful tip for this skill is - listen to your allies!



Bloodbath is the skill that's gonna make your enemies angry a couple of times each game that you play bs. Although it partially loses it's imbalanced power in late game and you just dont notice how it still aids you, in early game it allows you never to come back to the fountain and limit the usage of tangos/heals practically to one-two for the whole game.
The important things to keep in mind : a) some players often concentrate only on last-hitting and get a bit too beaten-up, while they would do way better lasthitting and denying 50/50%.
b) every pursuit, every gank of enemy heroes starts with a quick calculation in your mind - you try to create the model of the upcoming clash and understand whether u gain more from it or exchange 1 for 1 for example. remember that bloodbath works on heroes and if you're sure in your kill you can chase deeper into enemies base/behind towers, since you're surviving anyways with the additional hp u recieve from the kill.



Bloodthrist. Some pubbers might think this skill seems of less importance than all the other ones, but for experienced cw players it's nonsence. it's a freaking free observer ward stuck into your hero's uhm... head.
Useful tips : it might sound too general, but it's really related to this skill - NEVER IGNORE THE MINIMAP, be attentive. with strygwyr it might pay off sooner than you think. shall talk bout it a little later, in strategy description.



Oh my god. I'm dead. Guys help! Help ! Oh why didnt you help ?
You all know why. Because they simply couldnt.
This skill is probably really teamwork related when used in cw, but when you've mastered it's usage you and your teammates become undefeatable with this rather exotic strat.
Important tips :
Don't wait for the best opportunity to use your skill, the cooldown is only 70 seconds. I believe every strygwyr is missing about 4-5 kills every game only because of it. Remember - there is human factor, your enemy might just get distracted while running somewhere and get much more damage that you expected him to in current situation.



Item Build:
Take into consideration that it's -CM/-CD/-RD

Starting build might vary from game to another and even depend on your personal preferences, of course a lot more depending on your lane partner.

Here is a possible variant :





Why so ? Well we are into some serious business here, we dont want any "ops i have no mana" or "gtg to base quick" till we have made our first kill at level 6. Strygwyr needs all the 3 stats early in the game, that is why starting with 1-2 bracers or 1-3 wraith bands, while you're waiting for some bigger items to come in, is good for survival and will help you not to miss any kills.

Besides, bs is more than capable of deciding the outcome of a game even before it's lvl 15 for most of the heroes, that's why always aiming for some higher-class item is just pointless. Play what you have the best you can.

As for what to do with , which you're getting as soon as possible ( with a chicken ), you're never supposed to make

out of them.
The choice between and should 80% of the time be made in favour of , however I recommend to use your brain and think situationally. It might so happen that you will need more speed for escaping/chasing and i wont discourage you from assembling phase boots.

Now about intelligence items.
Simply don't assemble them.
There are two expections that can be made once in 100 years and those are manta and dagon. But seriously, it's only stylish, not efficient in any way.
Better buy 2-3 clarity bottles in the mid game and that's it.

Final build:
(an example of post-lategame build probably, a set of great items that are universally wanted in most cases )


(only goes last)


(goes right before rapier, rly late)

Situational midgame items:

S&Y isnt your primary item, but if it happens so that you dont have any other heroes who'd get it before you - dont stop yourself from assembling this item, especially if you find it difficult to chase some weak enemy casters without serious stuns.


Many would say vlad or satanic are musthave, but actually strygwyr doesnt need lifesteal too much, but once again, as i've said - if no heroes in the team are melee, or they are plain tanks and cant assemble vladimir - do it after you have 1000hp.


Good for two things in early game - amateur style creep pulling and some quick jungling, and endurance laning , when you are opposed to two ranged heroes who dont hesitate to shoot at you.


Not that you should get it right away as 1st item, because on the lane skill can make up for relatively small damage and u can still lasthit ( and what you cant - your ally can, u just deny creeps instead ), but sometimes if you want to go jungling fast around 4-8th levels it can be bought.


it's not that bad for chasing, no stun can stop you , and besides if you havent assembled anything for str before this item - its a chance to boost your hp.


Rejected Items:








You 1) already run fast 2) dont attack too fast and you probably wont 3) arent supposed to endure many magical damage cast right on you, and khadgar's pipe isnt for you either.

Strategy

Overview and small tips:
You arent supposed to lane mid solo.
You aren't supposed to buy chicken or recipe, although u might aid with wards in mid and late game, but thats it.
You arent ( supposed to be ) the highest DPSer in the team.
You are facing good enemies - dont rely only on yourself to chase and gank, although dont stand too back , you're melee ;].
Axe/Cent in wood are your clients ! You can see their hp when they're low and even without a ward sometimes you can have them.
In extreme situations you can kill(deny) your ally heroes, for example if there is no negative buff on a hero with 10 hp but you know that enemenies can kill him in any seconds since they are around or zeus is reviving with ultimate.

Early game levels 1-9
Killing neutral creeps after lvl 10 isnt for your hero ( as well as for most others ;o ) that's why if u wanted to let your lane ally farm more and go to woods - do it now, or dont do it later.
By the time level 6 comes you must chose your gank target, be it your lane enemies or heroes from other lanes ( teleport costs only 135 ;o remember it ).
The thing is - you put ultimate on one of two enemies pushing close to your tower, then he cant run away. if the hero has a stun you can use bloodrage on him. if his ally does - disable him then. here come your allies with another stun and the gank is complete.
this must repeat every 70-120 seconds you know, ulti is valuable, but it can work more often than you think. it really does the trick in early game.
When planning a gank you must look closely at enemy hero's HP. Keep it in mind that your ally will be dealing 70% of the kill's damage and will maybe have the kill, its all np. you can only pretty much deal the damage of your ult+ some bonus from distance, and thats it. you attack pretty slow and using bloodrage on yourself isnt an option, you're disabling, otherwise kills arent that easy.
as for pushing towers, you're not that strong as for example brood , but dont hesitate to give enemy tower a strike or two, you can escape the defending enemies by giving them bloodrage, not letting them stun you.

Mid Game levels 10-16
Now that's when you really start ganking non-stop. There are no more lanes anyways since some of the towers are down by now.
Just run from one lane to another and do not disappoint your allies, cast your ultimate whenever possible , keep the tempo up.

If you manage to kill 2-3 enemy heroes at once and you have a tank( magnus/cent/levi ) and a damager to give dmg boost to - take a try on roshan. 80% damage bonus might do the trick.

If somehow your team failed early game its the best chance to fix it now.

Late game level 16 and beyond

You start slowly gaining damage, but without good support you are focused and killed in no time, so pretty much keep doing what you've been doing all the time.

It only gets a little bit more difficult since your ultimate is useless in offensive actions. Heroes wont be getting any significant damage from your ult since they're defending now if you've been playing well before. Listen to your team's opinion on how to push towers , never miss enemies who are coming to you from sides ( from forest ), because if they dont go in packs really-really close to eachother, the first of them who you see are pretty vulnerable.

If you havent killed roshan by now... WTF ?

Your personal achievments might be a bit unsatisfying, the damage of your hero is high, but the DPS isnt your primary focus, in lategame you're here to watch these nasty massive ultimates arent stunning your dear allies.


Best allies.






Worst enemies.






additional info.
The chicken. Do you happen to know that when a teambattle 3x3 or more is about to begin scouting is the advantage because you are 100% sure whether they are coming from forest or from lane e.t.c. and now how it is related to BS. Don't forget to use chicken as often as possible. Hovering over the woods it can help you use ult ( silence has too small range ) and start a reallly unexpected gank with your team, to attack the attackers who are assembling in woods near you.


The article isnt over just yet, but I might need your assistance.