Quas
Allows manipulation of ice elements and grants a permanent strength bonus. Each Quas instance provides increased health regeneration.

Active: Instances of Quas added: 1 (up to 3 maximum)
Passive: HP Regeneration Per Instance of Quas: 1/2/3/4/5/6/7
Passive: Strength Bonus: 2/4/6/8/10/12/14

So, when do you activate Quas?
That's right, when you have some off time from attacking/fighting and need to regen some health, or you have put yourself in a shitty situation where you, the team's main nuker, are sitting there taking damage, and for some reason all of your fucking CC's and escapes are on cooldown at the same time. Idiot.
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Wex
Allows manipulation of storm elements and grants a permanent agility bonus. Each Wex instance provides increased attack speed and movement speed.

Active: Instances of Wex added: 1 (up to 3 maximum)
Passive: Attack Speed Bonus Per Instance of Wex: 2%/4%/6%/8%/10%/12%/14%
Passive: Bonus movement speed Per Instance of Wex: 1%/2%/3%/4%/5%/6%/7%
Passive: Agility Bonus: 2/4/6/8/10/12/14

So, when do you activate Wex?
That's right, when you want to get somewhere FAST! OR WANT TO TAKE DOWN A TOWER OR ROSHAN FAST!
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Exort
Allows manipulation of fire elements and grants a permanent intelligence bonus. Each Exort instance provides increased attack damage.

Active: Instances of Exort added: 1 (up to 3 maximum)
Passive: Bonus Damage Per Instance of Exort: 3/6/9/12/15/18/21
Passive: Intelligence Bonus: 2/4/6/8/10/12/14

So, when do you activate Exort?
EVERY FUCKING TIME YOU ARE ATTACKING SOMETHING AT FULL HEALTH. YOU BETTER HAVE EXORT INVOKED UNLESS YOU ARE INVOKING ALL OF YOUR OTHER SPELLS.
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Invoke
Combines the properties of the elements currently being manipulated, creating a new spell at the Invoker's disposal. The invoked spell is determined by the combination of Quas, Wex and Exort.

Manacost: 20/40/60/80 (0 with scepter)
Cooldown: 22/17/12/5 (16/8/4/2 with scepter)
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Now, let's look at Invoker's bread and butter. His real spells. All 10 of them.

Let's start with Cold Snap


Cold Snap (QQQ)

Ability- Target Unit
Affects- Enemies
Damage- Magical

Ability invokes if Invoker has 3 Quas instances. Invoker draws the heat from an enemy, chilling them to their very core for a duration based on Quas. Further damage taken in this state will freeze the enemy again, dealing bonus damage. The enemy can only be frozen so often, but the freeze cooldown decreases based on the level of Quas.
Stun Duration: 0.4
Damage: 60
Cold Snap Duration (based on Quas level): 3 / 3.5 / 4 / 4.5 / 5 / 5.5 / 6
Stun Duration upon taking damage: 0.4
Bonus Damage upon taking damage: 30
Cooldown Between Stuns (based on Quas level): 0.7715 / 0.7430 / 0.7145 / 0.6860 / 0.6575 / 0.6290 / 0.6005
Range: 1000
CD: 20
Mana cost: 100

Pretty straight-forward.
Use this to: Kill a single target, interrupt a big channeled spell like enigma black hole, piss of an earthshaker who is trying to fissure but can't so he spams his fuckin Q CLICK UNTIL HE HAS HAD ENOUGH AND FREAKS THE FUCK OUT ON HIS TEAM AND SCREAMS IN ALL CAPS BECAUSE HE IS TOO WEAK TO USE HIS MIC. LIKE A REAL FUCKING MAN.
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Ghost Walk

Ability- No Target
Affects- Self

Ability invokes if Invoker has 2 Quas and 1 Wex instances. Invoker manipulates the ice and electrical energies around him, rendering his body invisible. The elemental imbalance created as a consequence slows nearby enemies based on the level of Quas, and slows Invoker as well based on the level of Wex.
Slow Radius: 400
Slows Enemy (based on Quas level): 20% / 23% / 26% / 30% / 33% / 36% / 40%
Slows Self (based on Wex level): 30% / 25% / 20% / 15% / 10% / 5% / 0%
Duration: 120

*note that the slow effect does apply to magic immune enemies. So this is your chance to finally chase down that faggot shadow fiend that just bkbs the second he sees one of your team because he is a fucking pussy. HOW IS YOUR 5 SECONDS OF IMMUNITY WORKING WHEN YOU CAN'T FUCKING MOVE?

You will basically be using this to escape. If the enemy team is full of fucks who don't like killing Invoker and don't carry dust, you can use it to slow them while your slow fucking team catches up to you, or if for some reason your ice wall and deafening blast are down, you can use it to keep the enemy team burning in your meteor's path of destruction



For this to be used to it's full potential, you have to be FUCKING FAST.
This is me before I got fast: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fu0_3RVcN_A

This is me now: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D75EgUrO4Gw

Which would you rather be?
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Ice Wall(QQE)

Ability- No Target
Affects- Enemies
Damage- Magical

Ability invokes if Invoker has 2 Quas and 1 Exort instances. Generates a wall of solid ice directly in front of Invoker for a duration based on the level of Quas. The bitter cold emanating from it greatly slows nearby enemies based on the level of Quas and deals damage each second based on the level of Exort.

Duration (based on Quas): 3 / 4.5 / 6 / 7.5 / 9 / 10.5 / 12
Movement Slow (based on Quas): 20% / 40% / 60% / 80% / 100% / 120% / 140%
Damage Per Second (based on Exort): 6 / 12 / 18 / 24 / 30 / 36 / 42

Cooldown: 25
Mana Cost: 175

Ice Wall is, in my opinion, the most slept on spell in Invoker's arsenal.
Ice wall is pretty much the best slow in the game once it is landed, even when you only have 4 or 5 into quas, the movement speed reduction is huge.
The damage on the spell is shit, and is just there so exort actually does something to the spell, but the damage is not why you invoke it.
Using Ice Wall can be tricky. It lays down perpendicular to the way you are facing, directly in front of you.

I cannot tell you the number of times I have gotten a double kill off of some noobs trying to gank my under my tower middle lane by simply ice walling and running into the trees, while throwing a coldsnap on one of them. 5 seconds of a tower pelting their face is just funny to watch.

Ice wall can also be useful while chasing. You use your forcestaff or blink and catch up and just lay down the ice wall and that guy is NOT getting away. Like not even close. He will hardly move and inch before he dies. It's fucking aggravating as hell if you are him.


So to recap: Ice wall is used mainly for Escaping/Chasing. Remember that if your coldsnap is on cooldown when moving in for a kill, icewall is your other big movement speed killer. It is just as good as using coldsnap, minus the damage if you are simply ganking someone. My biggest piece of advice on this spell is to not forget you have it. Like during a fight when you've casted meteor tornado sunstrike emp forge spirits alacrity and coldsnap and you are just searching for something to cast, cast this. It can really swing the odds in your team's favor.
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EMP (WWW)


Ability- Target Point
Affects- Enemies
Damage- HP Removal - Unless it kills them, then it is pure.

Ability invokes if Invoker has 3 Wex instances. Invoker builds up a charge of electromagnetic energy at a targeted location which automatically detonates after a duration based on the level of Wex. The detonation covers an area, draining mana based on the level of Wex. Deals damage for each point of mana drained.

Delay (based on Wex): 3.7 / 3.4 / 3.15 / 2.85 / 2.6 / 2.3 / 2
Radius: 675
Damage (based on Wex): 0.5x mana burned
Mana Drain (based on Wex): 100 / 150 / 200 / 250 / 300 / 350 / 400

Cooldown: 30
Mana Cost: 125


EMP is just one of those spells. One of those spells that inflicts anger in all 5 of your foes every single time it hits. When you build the Wex Quas build and you gank early, they could not go smoother; every time. Say you gank a leshrac and a venomnancer on the enemies top lane. Tornado them then EMP while they are in the air, and they will land with no mana. Now coldsnap one and if your teammate(s) are paying attention in lane, the two half HP heroes with no mana can do nothing but cry.
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Alacrity(WWE)

Ability- Target Unit
Affects- Allies
Damage- Physical

Ability invokes if Invoker has 2 Wex and 1 Exort instances. Invoker infuses an ally with an immense surge of energy, increasing their attack speed based on the level of Wex and their damage based on the level of Exort.
Duration: 9
Increased Attack Speed (based on Wex): 20% / 30% / 40% / 50% / 60% / 70% / 80%
Increased Damage (based on Exort): 20 / 30 / 40 / 50 / 60 / 70 / 80
Range: 650

Cooldown: 15
Mana Cost: 100

I mean... I think this spell is pretty self explanatory. With a high wex you can make someone a fucking walking machine gun.

The possibilities of this spell are endless. It works on Sylla's spirit bear - which, thanks to his demolish, you can MELT towers with ease. I think it is one of the strongest uses of the spell. With a simple crystalis you can crit for ~500 dmg and just focus someone down who has been coldsnapped so easily. Not to mention you will do tons of damage thanks to forge spirits' armor reduction.

Like I said, this spell is pretty self explanatory: use it for pushing down towers real fast, taking down an enemy 1v1, and when fighting Roshan.

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Sunstrike (EEE)

Ability- Target Point
Affects- Enemies
Damage- Pure

Ability invokes if Invoker has 3 Exort instances. Sends a catastrophic ray of fierce energy from the sun at any targeted location, incinerating all enemies standing beneath it once it reaches the Earth. Deals damage based on the level of Exort, however this damage is spread evenly over all enemies hit.
Delay: 1.7
Radius: 175
Range: Global
Damage (based on Exort): 100 / 162.5 / 225 / 287.5 / 350 / 412.5 / 475

Cooldown: 30
Mana Cost: 175

Ah yes, Sunstrike; my favorite ability. Having an exort invoker in combination with a lane with 2 stunners can often times seal the deal in public games. 2 stunners in 1 lane is already a big advantage, but having the extra 2-300 dmg drop down on the idiot who stepped up's face is just the icing on the cake.

I literally can not fathom the number of sunstrikes I have hit in my life time. I could try to give you a number, but you wouldn't believe me.

Not only can sunstrike guarantee kills, It can be so fucking clutch catching that bounty that just invised, or that bitch who thought it was safe to TP to fountain when the sunstrike was just WAITING FOR HIS BITCH ASS TO LAND..

Protip: If some noob is tping away from your team because you can't stun him, odds are he is tping right to the back of the fountain area. Throw the suntrike there ASAP. If hes low it will kill him, and you are an instant God for the game. It is the easiest sunstrike you will ever hit, but maybe the best feeling.

Also, a friend and I love to pick Ancient Apparition with Invoker. Some INT hero can be in fountain with 700 HP and you can just kill him right there. How fucking mad would you be if you were at full HP in fountain then all of a sudden you instantly died and you couldn't even see it coming... No where is safe when playing against an Exort Invoker.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqSc9sbjEFE
There is a video with a bunch of sunstrikes from Dendi. Some better than others, but it's the best video I could find.

Here are some match ID's and times of some of my favorite sunstrikes that I have landed:

ID 14266750
Time 5:04-5:22
Sunstrike the fountain to kill the leshrac that got sent back by Chen.

ID 22083634
Time 35:20
Sunstriking the fountain to kill the axe who talked as he tp'd away

ID 12770882
Time Not sure - I can't load the replay ATM... I post it later
I sunstrike a Bounty Hunter who thought invis would make him safe at the radiant tier 1 tower on bottom lane.

These aren't even the best sunstrikes. I'm sure you all have seen some sick ones. I'd even go as far as to say I've probably hit you with a sick one... BITCH.

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Chaos Meteor(EEW)

Ability- Target Point
Affects- Enemies
Damage Type- Magical

Ability invokes if Invoker has 2 Exort and 1 Wex instances. Invoker pulls a flaming meteor from space onto the targeted location. Upon landing, the meteor rolls forward, constantly dealing damage based on the level of Exort, and rolling further based on the level of Wex. Units hit by the meteor will also be set on fire for a short time, receiving additional damage based on the level of Exort.
Main Radius: 275
Main Damage Per 0.5 Seconds (based on Exort): 57.5 / 75 / 92.5 / 110 / 127.5 / 145 / 162.5
Meteor Range (based on Wex): 465 / 615 / 780 / 930 / 1095 / 1245 / 1410
Additional Damage Per Second (based on Exort): 11.5 / 15 / 18.5 / 22 / 25.5 / 29 / 32.5

Cooldown: 55
Mana Cost: 200

BEHOLD THE METEOR says the invoker as he lays it on your whole team because you idiots bottlenecked at the ancient camps.

Meteor is just a wrecking machine. A common combo is Tornado>Meteor>Deafening Blast. The tornado is used to hold the enemies in place just as the meteor falls down, and the deafening blast is used to keep enemies in the rolling hot ball of fiery death.

This is taken from a DotA 1 video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5ASm0CXFPE

It's only a triple kill, but as you can see the combo I was just talking about can destroy pretty much anyone.

If you went with the uncommon EW build, Meteor is one of your main spells. You can alacrity yourself and if you land a good meteor your damage is simply insane. Off the charts, even.

Meteor is only to be used when you know it will hit, due to its long cooldown. So don't go throwing meteors out like a coldsnap. Although that is a pretty good combo now that I mention it...


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Forge Spirit (EEQ)

Ability- No Target
Affects- N/A

Ability invokes if Invoker has 2 Exort and 1 Quas instances. Invoker forges a spirit embodying the strength of fire and fortitude of ice. Damage, health, and armor are based on the level of Exort while attack range, mana, and duration are based on the level of Quas. The elemental's scorching attack is capable of melting the armor of enemy heroes. If both Quas and Exort are level 4 or higher, Invoker will create two spirits instead of one.
Number of Forge Spirits Summoned: 1 (2 if both Quas and Exort are level 4 or higher)
Forge Spirits' Duration (based on Quas): 20 / 30 / 40 / 50 / 60 / 70 / 80
Forge Spirits' Mana (based on Quas): 100 / 150 / 200 / 250 / 300 / 350 / 400
Forge Spirits' Attack Range (based on Quas): 300 / 400 / 500 / 600 / 700 / 800 / 900
Forge Spirits' Damage (based on Exort): 29 / 38 / 47 / 56 / 65 / 74 / 83
Forge Spirits' HP (based on Exort): 300 / 400 / 500 / 600 / 700 / 800 / 900
Forge Spirits' Armor (based on Exort): 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8

Cooldown: 30
Mana Cost: 75

They have a sub-skill as well:



Melting Strike


Melts away the armor of heroes hit by the spirit's attack if the spirit has enough mana. Each successive hit increases the amount of armor melted.
Armor removed per hit: 1
Maximum armor removed: 10
Duration: 5


These little guys are cute aren't they? No. They aren't fucking cute and if you aren't careful they'll shred that armor to scrap metal. On top of that, you are about to get sunstriked... Cute.

Spirits have an excellent armor reduction stacking debuff. You can combine them with alacrity and coldsnap in a 1v1 for an easy kill. You can literally use just the spirits to kill someone with really low base health. You can just Attack-Click down a lane and get farm while you retreat to base at low hp. You can push towers with them. They are your best friends and you had better respect them.

On a serious note, you should be stutter stepping when attacking with spirits. This means attacking, then moving closer to the target while their attacks are on cooldown. It is fairly simple to do, and with enough practice you can kill people with just the spirits. It is quite funny and can elevate... SPIRITS! WOO U DID NOT SEE THAT COMING DID YOU?

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Deafening Blast(QWE)

Ability- Target Point
Affects- Enemies
Damage- Magical

Ability invokes if Invoker has 1 Quas, 1 Wex and 1 Exort instances. Invoker unleashes a mighty sonic wave in front of him, dealing damage to any enemy unit it collides based on the level of Exort. The sheer impact from the blast is enough to knock those enemy units back for a duration based on the level of Quas, then disarm their attacks for a duration based on the level of Wex.
Stun Duration (based on Quas): 0.25 / 0.5 / 0.75 / 1 / 1.25 / 1.5 / 1.75
Attack Prevention Duration (based on Wex): 1 / 1.5 / 2 / 2.5 / 3 / 3.5 / 4
Damage (based on Exort): 40 / 80 / 120 / 160 / 200 / 240 / 280
Range: 1000

Cooldown: 40
Mana Cost: 200

This is Invoker's big utility spell. He utilizes all of his elements and combines them to deal damage, move their position, and disarm them all at once.

I've already mentioned to use it with meteor.
You can use it to interrupt channeling spells, including TP's.
DONT FUCKING PUSH PEOPLE OUT OF BLACK HOLE.
This ability CAN be used to push people down/up cliffs. So use it carefully. It is great in 1v1 situations where they have burned all their spells.

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Exort-Quas Build (Biggest learning curve, Nuker, semi-carry)

Level 1 - Exort
Level 2 - Invoke/Quas
Level 3 - Quas/Invoke
Level 4 - Exort/Quas
Level 5 - Exort/Quas
Level 6 - Exort/Quas
Level 7 - Invoke
Level 8 - Exort/Quas
Level 9 - Exort/Quas
Level 10 - Exort/Quas
Level 11 - Wex
Level 12 - Exort
Level 13 - Exort
Level 14 - Exort
Level 15 - Wex
Level 16 - Wex
Level 17 - Invoke
Level 18 - Wex
Level 19 - Wex
Level 20 - Wex
Level 21 - Wex
Level 22 - Wex
Level 23 - Quas
Level 24 - Quas
Level 25 - Quas

The main goal is to have level 4 Exort and level 4 Quas at level 10. Why? Because when you have 4 and 4 and you Forge Spirit, you get two spirits instead of one. This is huge. If the enemy team has a squishy hero, you literally can send these on him until he is ~250 hp, which isn't hard considering they reduce armor, and then sunstrike him. How awesome is that? It is free money every time someone on the other team decides to be dumb and run around with 700 hp on Zeus all game.

*Note that is is acceptable to start out with 2 early Quas if playing against a her that you know will be harassing often (for example; Templar Assassin, Queen of Pain)

The way you get to Level 10 is up to you. You will be mid. If you aren't taking mid in a public game as Invoker then you really need to QUIT FOREVER. If you are getting pressured somehow, whether it be by ganks or just getting out-skilled by the opponent, you should level up Quas to at least two before getting Exort higher. The HP regen allows you to always stay in lane. After you get level 10, pick up a Wex so you have your full spell book. Then, you should max exort for maximum damage on your nukes.. After that, Level up Wex. Frankly, because it is just more useful at this level than Quas. You wont need much more HP regen than you naturally have and from your items if you are doing well, and on top of that it makes your spells that use Wex SO MUCH MORE USEFUL. You can now effectively use the devastating tornado EMP combo that you have been owned by so many times. You can now deafening blast a group of people for 4 seconds instead of 1. The range on your meteor is no longer SHIT. Quas will give you less versatility and more of what you already have. Level 4 Quas is all you need until level 22, if your game even reaches that far.




Wex-Quas Build
Level 1 - Quas
Level 2 - Invoke
Level 3 - Quas
Level 4 - Wex
Level 5 - Wex
Level 6 - Wex
Level 7 - Invoke
Level 8 - Wex
Level 9 - Quas
Level 10 - Wex
Level 11 - Exort
Level 12 - Invoke
Level 13 - Wex
Level 14 - Exort
Level 15 - Wex
Level 16 - Exort
Level 17 - Invoke
Level 18 - Exort
Level 19 - Quas
Level 20 - Exort
Level 21 - Exort
Level 22 - Exort
Level 23 - Quas
Level 24 - Quas
Level 25 - Quas


OK, this build may seem strange, but it is a good one. Basically maxing Wex is the primary focus, but along the way you pick up a few exort levels to open up your spell book. Starting with 2 in Quas early is usually the way to go - the regen is better than the attack/movement speed.

The main combo you will be using is Tornado - EMP. Tornado simply holds them in place long enough for the EMP to go off and drain a lot of mana, and do decent damage. Of course, your other spells are to be used when they are needed.

You will not be the main damage dealer on your team when you build this way.

Item Build

Exort Quas Build
Starting Items:

, ,

Core:
, .

Luxury
,

Situational
,, , , ,


Explanation: You want to get phase boots as fast as possible. You get so much regen early from Quas that the only consumables that you may want is the salve just in case a gank comes in.
I really like phase boots- they are the item of choice on pretty much all Invokers, low skill and pros. It is rare to see treads. You go faster and treads are more for those heroes that just stand there and right click.
Force staff is required to chase heroes, set up good ice walls, escape, force an enemy into you, save an ally, etc. Invoker is a lot about positioning. We will get more into combos with our skills later, this is the items section. Sheep stick is typically my next go-to item, but there are other choices...

For example, if you are level 17 with Agh's scepter, you literally never have to go back as long as you buy a void stone after it to build into your Scythe of Vyse. You can run around spamming spells like a mad man. IMO It is one of the biggest items you can get on him.

Buy BKB if you can't get off a full combo without getting chain disabled until the enemy burns your ass into the ground.
Buy heart if you want to never die.
Buy Daedalus + MoM for that right click damage your team needs.
Buy Blink Dagger for extra positioning help.
That pretty much covers it. Don't be surprised if you find yourself using a lot of the same items almost every game.
I put ghost scepter in because it really is a situational item. If it is really hard to fight without the enemy AM raping your face, then buy one. It's simple. Ya, you lose your auto attack, but its better than dying.


*** A note On Eul's Scepter of Divinity ***

A lot of people like to build this item...

For me personally, I use this item when I can get it before the 10 minute mark. On top of that, if I do get it, I max exort as fast as possible. The way to utilize this is obviously to Eul's>Sunstrike>Meteor>Deafening blast.... The sunstrike and meteor are to land the second they touch down, and the deafening blast pushes them along with the meteor so they burn for maximum time. This pretty much insta-kills almost anyone early.. That is why I say to get this item only if you can before the 10 minute mark. You use it to snowball out of control by picking people off with your insta-gib. Once heroes get their core items, it is till effective, but not as effective - to the point where its not worth it.

Wex Quas Build


Starting Items:
, ,


Core:
,


Luxury:
,

Situational:
, , ,

Explanation:
Starting items are the same for the same reasons as above. They build into your core really well, and tons of regen/stats items aren't needed in this stage for you like a normal hero.

I really like phase boots- they are the item of choice on pretty much all Invokers, low skill and pros. It is rare to see treads. Treads are typically for those heroes seeking more HP out of necessity and those who stand and right click. I know they do more dps, but if you aren't going to be autoattack-dueling then phase are better.

Drums are considered core because they fit really well on a semi-carry. Not to mention since you can get them really early (~10 mins) It makes ganking and mid game really, really, easy. The stats are good but the aura is what does it.

Once again I usually go force staff next, I really, really love that item. Not only are the stats good, but the push mobility is incredible.
"If you could buy the push for 300 it would be so broken" - Na`vi. Puppey on Talk Dota.

Scythe of Vyse - it is sheep stick. It is amazing, and since you are so strong mid you can get it just as that enemy void starts coming into the game. It can save you and your teammates, is excellent for chasing, and the list goes on. There is a reason why it is so expensive.

Situational items are the same as above. I don't list the crit stick and MoM this time because you probably wont have exort leveled enough to make it worth it. It would be similar to buying it on venomnancer or vengeful spirit (which isn't good, btw!)




Exort WexBuild:

Starting Items:
, ,


Core:
OR , ,


Luxury:
, ,


Situational:
, ,


Explanation:
This build is when you go for the 100% hard carry build. It is extremely powerful against teams with a low number of disables (commonly found in pubs), and can do INSANE amounts of damage

Starting items - I have already explained this. Just scroll up a bit.

Core- This time, as you may have noticed, I have put treads up as a viable option. This is because treads do give more DPS than phase boots do, and since with this build you actually do a good amount of right clicking, they become viable.
Crystalis is the next item you go for. Since you are maxing Exort you have huge damage and by the time you get this you will be critting for over 500 with alacrity on.
MoM is taken because the attack speed on it along with alacrity while you have 3 exort orbs up with a crystalis is INSANE FUCKING DPS. Like seriously you can come alive relatively early with these low cost items and the other team will think you are playing a 50 minute farmed morphling. It's crazy.

Luxury- Skadi pretty much is for replacing coldsnap. Since you basically will just be using alacrity and meteor, and maybe a deafening, you will be struggling a bit to stay on your target in the later stages of the game when they have more health. Skadi's slow is awesome for this and YES YOU IDIOTS, YOU CAN HAVE SKADI AND LIFESTEAL.
Daedalus is there because it is a lot more damage. Hope you could figure that one out.
Mjollnir- interesting choice right? Not really it makes perfect sense. A TON more attack speed and the chance to proc lightining is actually some real dps. P.S. Interaction between mjollnir and other orbs is as follows: Other orbs will be used whenever mjollnir does not activate. When it does, it takes precedence and other orbs will not for that one attack.

Situational- Ya. Divine Rapier. When all else is lost you go for this item. If you are going to lose without it, why not build it? OK so you died and lost it. Now the other team ends faster. Not to mention according to dotabuff.com, aside from aegis of the immortal, it is the most winning-est item in the game. Also huge dps.
BKB is obvious. You are the hard carry. If you would pick it up on AM for this match, pick it up on EW Invoker.
Manta Style is more useful than you may think. It has a great debuff remover, and illusions that can crit will actually deal a ton of damage. It is a great item overall, but some games there are just better items to get for you.

Strategy

Early Game

Okay. This might be the most important section. I am going to teach you how to win your lane almost every time, assuming no ganks from either side, and wards are up on the rune spots equally.

First and foremost: Block the creeps. Don't go for the rune. Give it to your side laners. Blocking the creep wave so that the creeps are located on the top of the hill on your side is huge. It pretty much secures you the first 4 creep kills of the game.

Second, don't leave middle for a gank unless you know you are going to get a kill. You have utter control of middle lane as Invoker if you play it right. There is no need to leave that free money and experience unless there is more free money elsewhere.

Do your best to make sure you have 3 exorts activated when attacking a creep or harrassing an enemy hero. The +dmg is insane. For example, you can let the tower hit the ranged creep twice and then attack it once even at level 1. That is something that a lot of heroes can't do. Without exort, this is not possibly, and therefore last hitting is a bit more challenging.

Always have coldsnap Invoked at levels 1-6. If the enemy hero makes a mistake by walking up to the creeps, do this: Send an attack. While the projectile is in the air, coldsnap them. Then run forward a bit, and attack again. This sequence of events should result in the enemy getting frozen+damaged by coldsnap 3 times, while being hit by an invoker with 3 exorts activated twice. That will put any hero below half health, easily. If the enemy hero dives you because he is nightstalker and he thinks he is a tough mother fucker, coldsnap his ass as soon as he is in tower range, then run and attack him and laugh as the tower and you kill him, or force him to run out at 200 hp, which you then press EEER and then sunstrike his bitch ass faster than he thinks to juke your sunstrike. Same shit applies for when you are being ganked. Run to tower and coldsnap the person being hit by the tower. You might want to activate Quas three times if you really think you are going to die, but you might not get a kill that way. Also, if someone dives you, while you are doing your thing, PING THE SHIT OUT OF THE TOWER. It is much easier when someone on your team is there to help you (assuming at least one person tp'd because they have a brain).

So now that you see the importance of coldsnap, let's talk about runes.
at X:55 is when you should just ditch everything and run towards the top rune. If it isn't there at X:00, run to the bottom one. A neat trick is to push the lane at about X:45. This forces your opponent to stay at his tower because he can not give up the exp or allow you to damage his tower. This makes rune whoring easy.

Regen rune: Always take it. This means the opponent wont get it, whether you need it or not, because if you are doing this right, they will need it.

Haste: Use it to gank the lane you headed to. Most of the time a coldsnap and auto attacks will do the trick if your allies are paying attention. This is one of those things that can guarantee a good gank.

Illusions: Take them, use coldsnap on your oppenent mid and send the illusions on him. Laugh as your illusions deal more damage to him than he does to them. Sunstrike if it will kill him

Invisibility: Gank only if you know the enemies in the other lanes are pushed to far and your allies have enough mana to cast a spell. Otherwise, gank your opponent mid or just happily stroll back to lane.

If you do exactly as I have told you, you should have at LEAST 50 creep kills by minute 10. This puts you on pace for a quick core, allowing you to own all over the place.

One more thing, every time you notice a skirmish on the mini map, take a peak. There might be a suntrike kill waiting to happen .

Mid Game

Once you have your Force staff and you are at least level 10, go around and gank a bit. Have forge spirits out when you get there, with coldsnap and ice wall invokeed. If you are level 11, use deafening blast after you use those two spells. Sunstrike anyone who runs off, and use meteor if you know you can land it.

A good way to get some farm is to just take forge spirits out mid, A click down the lane, and go gank. By the time you get to the lane you are ganking the CD on Forge Spirit should be up, and you can resummon to kill people with, and you have probably made 100+ gold while running from mid to sidelane. Awesome, right?

We will get into skill combos later.

Late Game

Late game is the same as any other hero. Try and win by grouping with your team. I will use this section to show you some deadly combos for Invoker.

Also, I use G and T for my 4th and 5th skill slots, so when I give the order of operations for these combos, you now know what I am referring to when I say to use hotkeys G and T. I don't give a fuck what your hotkeys are. If you use Z and P I don't give a fuck, just as long as you realize that G and T for this guide's purpose mean 4th and 5th slots.
Combos to devastate enemies:
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Forge Spirit, Coldsnap, Sunstrike
We've talked about this one already: send the spirits in, attack with exorts, use coldsnap while doing so, and sunstrike if they miraculously escape.

Select all units, right click enemy, G click enemy, R, G click where they are running to sunstrike kill.

Add alacrity to this and you can pretty much be sure that they wont get so far that you have to sunstrike.
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Tornado, Deafening blast, Chaos Meteor
Start off with tornado in your last slot, and meteor in your next one, while having QWE activated.

You tornado, then invoke deafening blast, then instantly send meteor so it lands on them as they hit the ground, and as fast as you fucking can, you deafening blast them so they are stuck eating meteor shit. Attack down any survivors of this apocalypse.

T click, R, T click, G click, attack.

If you are a fucking boss like me, you forcestaff your self in after deafening them and lay down a beast of an icewall while you invoke EMP and put it on the wall so the slowed enemies with no HP now have no Mana either. That's a more advanced combo and I'm trying to keep these at a maximum of three, since I know there are a lot of people who can't handle more than that.
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Tornado, EMP
Lay down EMP then quickly tornado them. Woah look at that! They have no mana and they are pissed off because there was NOTHING THEY COULD FUCKING DO.

Note that since this was recently changed so that you can not be hit by EMP while in the air, after level 6 quas and 7 wex, you need to tornado first, or it wont hit. Either way THEY FUCKING MAD.
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Chaos Meteor, Ice wall
This is pretty situational. Best used at Roshan. If you walk in on 5 heroes doing Roshan you lay down the meteor and icewall. You can follow it up with deafening if you like, but be sure not to push them out of the Roshan pit. You can also ghostwalk and run through them if they dont have a gem or dust to see you. They will be unable to get out of the fire and they will all die. Like seriously it doesnt matter you could 1v5 in this case. Easiest rampage of your life.
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Forge Spirits, Sunstrike
This is how you can kill any stupid player who is running around at 1000 health thinking they are tough shit counter picking you by playing silencer. You send these puppies on him and micro them properly, then follow it with the biggest sunstrike of your life and boom. That faggot silencer is dead and you are sitting in fountain with your troll face on in full force. It is like telepathic rape. Or just killing a noob. You pick.
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There are plenty of combos, but those are the ones I find myself using most frequently.

Key Points

This section was designed to have 5 key points. There is only one key point I am going to make. INVOKE SHIT AND CAST SPELLS AS FAST AS YOU FUCKING CAN. I am serious. You need to be able to fire off all ten spells in less than 20 seconds to be really effective, not to mention sheep sticking that fucking bounty hunter while putting your forge spirits on him while watching to make sure the enemy lion isn't about to give you anal so you are prepared to QQWRG (ghostwalk) in less than the time it takes for that noob to even click his finger down on his R button.

Dendi, arguably the best Invoker in the world practices in WTF mode. Get to be as fast as him, and maybe I will respect you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yE9ecc0eQC0

Hero Synergy

YOUR HERO SYNERGY INTRODUCTION GOES HERE
Almost any hero goes with Invoker, especially ones that can create kills in lane. My favorite teammates are:

Additional Strategy

Additional Strategy? If you want Strategy then go play a game and do exactly what the fuck I told you. You will probably fail to do exactly what I told you to, so watch the replay and see what the hell you did wrong. If you figure it out, fix it next time. If you don't figure it out, then don't send me an email or post a comment crying about how noob you are. I don't care if you suck, I don't care if you hate me or my guide. I made this shit so some people out there can improve