Table Of Contents

1. Story
2. Introduction
3. Info and Stats
4. Skills
5. Skill Build
6. Item Build
7. Strategy
8. Hero Synergy
9. Screens and Additional Strategy
10. Conclusion
11. Replays
12. Credits

1. Hero's Story

2. Hero's Introduction

Vengeful Spirit (VS) is one of DotA's best gank heroes. She is often used as a roamer to pressure all lanes and enable a second solo lane or as an offensive babysitter. Thanks to the recent buffs VS sees a lot of competitive play. She is probably one of the strongest heroes at the moment.

Many public player try to use VS as a farmer and carry though, which is not the best way to play her. I will try to explain how VS should be played.

3. Hero's Info & Stats

Pros:
[+] a strong ganker and roamer
[+] versatile and gamebreaking ultimate
[+] item independent
[+] great support for dps heroes

Cons:
[-] fragile
[-] very low aoe
[-] low ms and range

Information

• Affiliation: Neutral
• Primary Attribute: Agility
• Attack Range: 400
• Sight Range: 1800/800
• Main Roles: roaming, warding

Level 1 Stats

• Strength: 16 (+ 2.3 per level)
• Agility: 27 (+ 2.35 per level)
• Intelligence: 15 (+ 1.75 per level)
• Hit Points: 454
• Mana Points: 195
• Damage: 39-53
• Armor: 3.1

4. Hero's Skills

- Magic Missile

A magic missile is thrown at an enemy unit, causing damage. Stuns for 1.75 seconds.

Level 1 - Deals 100 damage and stuns for 1.75 seconds.
Level 2 - Deals 175 damage and stuns for 1.75 seconds.
Level 3 - Deals 250 damage and stuns for 1.75 seconds.
Level 4 - Deals 325 damage and stuns for 1.75 seconds.

Cooldown: 10 seconds
Manacost: 95, 110, 125, 140
Casting Range: 500
Description: A simple single target stun. Deals good damage, low cd, low (scaling) manacost. The stun duration does not increase.

Magic Missile is her bread and butter skill. Use it to start ganks and let your allies follow with their disables and nukes.

This skill deals very high damage considering VS is a ranged hero. Unlike Sven or Skeleton King VS instantly attacks the stunned hero, while the melees have to waste their precious stun to run to him. This makes VS very dangerous even when she is still level 1.

• Damage type: magical

- Wave of Terror

Shendelzare lets loose a wicked cry, terrorizing enemy units. Their armor and damage are reduced.

Level 1 - Reduces base armor by 2 and damage by 5%.Deals 25 damage.
Level 2 - Reduces base armor by 3 and damage by 10%.Deals 50 damage.
Level 3 - Reduces base armor by 4 and damage by 15%.Deals 75 damage.
Level 4 - Reduces base armor by 5 and damage by 20%.Deals 100 damage.

Cooldown: 15 seconds
Manacost: 40
Casting Range: 1400
Description: The once upon a time useless Terror is now Wave of Terror. That was a major buff, since you can use this skill to scout, antijuke, harass, get last hits from a save distance and pull creeps.

The armor reduction is like an aoe lvl 1 Slardar ultimate when maxed. It's even better now that most heroes tend to have pretty low armor because of the Phase Boots nerf.

• Damage type: magical
• The wave gives vision as it goes forward.
• Only decreases base damage and that given by the primary attribute of the units.

- Command Aura

Increases nearby units' damage.

Level 1 - 12% bonus damage
Level 2 - 20% bonus damage
Level 3 - 28% bonus damage
Level 4 - 36% bonus damage

Cooldown: -
Manacost: -
Description: Command Aura offers a huge damage boost to your team in 900 aoe.

• The bonus damage provided by the aura is based on base damage and primary attribute.



- Nether Swap

Instantaneously swaps positions with a target Hero.

Level 1 - Vengeful Spirit and the target instantly swap positions.
Level 2 - Vengeful Spirit and the target instantly swap positions.
Level 3 - Vengeful Spirit and the target instantly swap positions.

Cooldown: 45 seconds (10 seconds with Aghanim's Scepter)
Manacost: 100, 150, 200
Casting Range: 600, 900, 1200
Description:
This is a great ganking skill. Thanks to it's versatility it is possible to save allies, initiate teamfights, save yourself etc. I will go into detail later, since this skill is tricky.

• Works on magic immune units.
• Trees near Vengeful Spirit and the target will be destroyed upon swapping.
• Interrupts channeling skills of the target.
• Can be improved by Aghanim's Scepter

5. Hero's Skill Build

Skill Build

Level 1 - Magic Missile
Level 2 - Wave of Terror
Level 3 - Magic Missile
Level 4 - Wave of Terror
Level 5 - Wave of Terror
Level 6 - Nether Swap
Level 7 - Wave of Terror
Level 8 - Command Aura/Magic Missile
Level 9 - Command Aura/Magic Missile
Level 10 - Command Aura
Level 11 - Nether Swap
Level 12 - Command Aura

Skill Build Justification:
Stun at 1 is mandatory.

I prefer to max Wave of Terror over Magic Missile. By leveling MM first you get a higher burst damage, but the stun duration doesn't change while the mana cost increases. Maxing WoT first allows you to use both skills more frequently while it greatly enhances the physical damage output of you and your allies.

MM is maxed at level 9 or skipped altogether in favor of an earlier Command Aura. Often the aura will be of more use to your team, because VS tends to be underleveled while her allies need the aura. Try to judge what is more beneficial. Am I underleveled? Does my team benefit greatly from the extra damage (i.e. heroes with high base, heroes which aim for stats items, heroes with incredibly strong attacks like Kunkka's Tidebringer etc.)? Are we aiming for early pushes/teamfights? Then starting to level aura at 8 is probably a better option than to max stun. It's also possible to leave the stun at level 1, which lets you max both WoT and CA by level 10.

Take Nether Swap at 6, 11, 16. It's a great ultimate and leveling it increases the range, which is essential.

It was usual to get some early stats points to increase HP/MP, but that was before Terror was reworked. Also, back then VS' stats used to be worse than they are know due to buffs. I wouldn't recommend to skip your skills in order to get stats.

Keep in mind that skill builds are fluent (as well as item builds). Adapt to the game.

6. Hero's Item Build

Core

Item Build Justification:

Boots and TP scrolls are obligatory. Magic Wand offers cheap stats and burst hp/mp restoration. Bottle is a great item for a heavy ganker like VS.
Urn of Shadows adds some HP and mana regeneration, but the greatest benefit is the active ability. VS is a great urn carrier because you will get many charges as a roamer. Use them to heal your allies/yourself or to finish off low hp enemies. I recommend getting Urn if noone else on your team is already doing so.

VS doesn't need many items, so this is her core build. Get a Courier and/or Flying Courier for your team. Buy Observer Wards to gain mapcontrol and destroy enemy wards with Sentry Wards. This is very important if you want to roam. You don't have to buy all this stuff yourself. Another supporter is going to help you.

Feel free to add Bracer or Wraith Bands if you need cheap hp/dmg, but remember that your slots are limited. A Point Booster would be great instead.

Extensions

or or
or

Late Game Item Justifications:

Power Treads vs Phase Boots vs Boots of Travel
All upgrades offer nice bonuses. Get Treads if you desperately need HP. Get Phase Boots otherwise, because Phase will greatly help you landing your stun or ultimate. They offer no direct defensive bonus like hp or armor, but it's easier to escape. BoT are awesome, but since you are ganking most of the time and spend gold on wards you probably won't get enough gold to buy BoT. I recommend buying BoT if you somehow manage to get 2200 gold (thanks to tower kills for example). You shouldn't be saving for it though, because you die easily. Also, you could get Phase Boots and Point Booster for the same price instead, which come in small pieces and give you phase ability and hp/mp.

Aghanim's Scepter
The reduced cooldown (10 seconds) is great. It comes in small pieces, which are effective on their own even before the item is completed (especially Point Booster). This is important, because often you won't complete even one major item.
Some say the reduced cooldown is useless, because after swapping their MVP you are going to die anyway. This is true, but you can use Swap after a succesful gank to kill another hero or to save your ally. So it depends on the game if 10 seconds cd Nether Swap is going to help you. From my experience it's a great advantage most of the times.

Force Staff
Force Staff is a great and underrated item, especially on VS. 600 range might not always be enough to escape after a swap but it also helps in many other situations. It helps getting in range for a stun or swap by basically adding 600 range to those spells. Use it to save allies and assist them killing your enemies. Imo Force Staff is a great addition to Nether Swap and makes you even more unpredictable. It's a cheap item with many uses, easy buildup and some extra mana. It doesn't add hp though.

Situational/Luxury Items

Situational Item Justification:

Diffusal Blade
A nice item for agility ganker. It's cheaper than Aghanim's Scepter and Purge is very strong. The extra agility synergizes with Command Aura. Get this item if you need to purge nasty buffs or Infernal. This item is similar to Aghanim's Scepter since they both improve your ganking. It wont benefit you that much if teamfights start because you will probably die very fast since you get no bonus hp at all. Therefore I prefer Scepter to improve your gank performance, unless you need Purge to counter certain abilities.

Black King Bar
This item helps you to survive after swapping to your enemy's team. There are skills which go through magic immunity, but most of them are strong aoe ultimates. They will think twice whether it makes sense to waste them against a VS or not.
Try to get BKB if there are many teamfights going on, in which case it is better to survive than to buy Scepter and die.
BKB is superior to Lothar's Edge because Dust/Wards/Gem won't counter it. Also, it adds strength. Linken's Sphere and Hood of Defiance are viable too, even though Linken's is even more expensive.

Hood of Defiance
I mentioned Hood. It isn't as strong as BKB, but it is much cheaper and is a nice item if you are having a hard time against nuker.

Blademail
Cheap item which adds some damage, armor and mana. Activate it after a swap to deal some damage to the opponent team. If they ignore you, it's even better, but that probably won't happen. I prefer Force Staff/Aghanim's Scepter, especially considering the recent nerfs to Blademail.

Manta Style
Manta Style is expensive, but if you are (for whatever reason) getting that much gold it can be a nice investment. Increased ms, stats and images to confuse your enemy and to dispell buffs.

Desolator
Has great synergy with Wave of Terror, resulting in -11 armor. This can be considered if your team deals serious physical damage and noone is buying Desolator. It's too expensive and offers no defensive characteristics at all though.

7. Hero's Strategy

Early Game

+ +

Point 1: You should lane with a disabler who is able to survive on his own.
Point 2: Magic Missile + other disables properly chaincasted and combined with autoattacks mean death to many heroes. You could try a FB attempt at level 1.
Point 3: Since you are probably going to roam you should try to destroy your opponent's wards. This way he can't see where you are going to during the first 6 minutes.
Point 4: Your first priority is to get Boots of Speed and a Magic Stick ASAP. Boots are prefered over Bottle because Salves/Clarities can be used to regenrate, while there is no way to replace Boots, especially considering your role is roaming.
Point 5: Don't forget to ward/counterward. Try to refill your bottle with runes as often as you can, unless your teammate desperately needs the rune. Most runes (all but regeneration) will make it much easier to gank your opponents and almost guarantee kills.
Point 6: If one of the solo lane heroes struggle you should go to this lane and help him out until he is fine on his own. Or gank this lane repeatedly.
Point 7: Try to get your core items (Boots, Wand, Bottle) as soon as possible. You will have a much easier time ganking.
Point 8: Use Nether Swap to swap enemies to your allies or in tower range.
Point 9: Abuse Wave of Terror to scout runes, scout for enemies, prevent them from juking, cancel their potions/salves, harass etc.
Point 10: Try to get some extra XP by pulling or by staying at a solo for a short time until your teammate returns. You will probably be underleveled, but it's very important to reach level 6 and 11 for Nether Swap 1/2, as well as to get Command Aura in time.
Point 11: If you are babysitting try to deny as much as possible. Leave the lasthits to your ally. Harass as much as possible. Use your spells to inflict more damage. VS is an aggressive sitter. Try to kill your lane enemies with your lane partner if they are careless.

Mid Game

+
or any of the other items mentioned in the guide or components (like Ogre Axe or Force Staff)

Point 1: Continue ganking. It's basically the same as early game.
Point 2: Sacrifice yourself to save allies. Chances are they are more important than you (otherwise they are doing it wrong). It's always better to die and save your carry than to let him die.
Point 3: WoT gives sight of the enemy, so use it and swap one of them to your team. If you survive (it's easy if there aren't many heroes helping him and next to impossible if the whole team is present) your team has a great advantage and you can push with ease.
Point 4: Skill Command Aura because your allies' base damage is getting better and you probably want to push in this stage.
Point 5: Only take the farm if your carries can't get it. Your should be busy enough ganking, counterganking and warding anyway.

Late Game


or any of the situational items, probably nothing new though

Point 1: Your role doesn't change much in this stage of the game. You permaganked, warded and sacrificed yourself to help your team. Therefore you have only few items and you are pretty weak. It's up to your allies to win this, but of course you aren't useless.
Point 2: Do smart swaps. Save your allies. Take out their key player, even if you are going to die. Of course it would be even better if you manage to survive, because you have the 5 vs 4 advantage then.
Point 3: A succesful gank with swap can win the game at this stage, because you can push hard and there is little chance to stop it 4 vs 5.
Point 4: If you completed Aghanim's already it can be gamebreaking.
Point 5: Be careful and try not to die unless you are saving your ally or taking out a very important enemy. Your presence alone is already a great factor. Command Aura is at it's peak now, and greatly increases your team's damage output.

7b. Hero's Key Points

Your mates > you.
I mentioned this a few times. Always try to save your allies, even if it means that you die instead. There might be some exceptions (they are chasing another weak supporter and you got much gold at the moment).

Don't farm.
Many public player think that VS is a carry. However, she isn't suited to be a strong carry. She has 2 skills that incease your physical damage, but it is often overlooked that your allies get the same bonuses as yourself. VS can't farm that well. Also, it would be a waste to pick a hero with 3 awesome gank abilities and trying to farm instead of ganking. If your team needs a carry, pick a carry. If your team needs a ganker, pick VS.
It's better to let your allies (carries/semi-carries) farm.

You are going to die. Often.
Get used to it or don't play VS at all. You are supposed to save your allies AND you are supposed to take out the most valuable hero, which is dangerous because the hostile team is going to protect him. And they will try to kill you if you swap next to them. Also, you will be underleveled and underfarmed in some of your games.

Wards, wards, wards.
Buy them. You need both Observer and Sentry Wards. If you manage to destroy enemy wards it will be much easier to gank them.
Read Heldarion's Total Warding Guide to learn more about warding and counterwarding.

Don't killsteal.
Let your allies get the last hit if possible. They need the gold more than you do. But if there is a chance the enemy might escape, then kill him no matter what. Dead is dead.

8. Hero's Hero Synergy

Many heroes synergize with VS. Any hero with a good disable is great. Heroes that are able to instantkill a hero. Heroes that can save you after swapping. Carries with great farming skills and high base damage. Heroes that can easily save you after a Swap.



Those are just some examples. Most heroes are fine with VS. Actually, it's harder to find heroes not synergizing with VS than the other way around.

9. Hero's Screens and Additional Strategy

<Screenshot #1>
<Screenshot 1 Explanation >



<Screenshot #2>
<Screenshot 2 Explanation >



<Screenshot #3>
<Screenshot 3 Explanation >



<Screenshot #4>
<Screenshot 4 Explanation >

10. Conclusion

<Conclusion Goes Here>

11. Replays

<Replays Go Here>

12. Credits

Thanks to
- Ramomar for sharing his template.
- Icefrog for updating and constantly improving DotA.
- Heldarion for writing a warding guide which I linked to.
- UTDC.Justin for reminding and motivating me to complete this guide.