Hello and welcome to my guide about Lesale Deathbringer, the Venomancer. I am going to try to explain how powerful this hero can be and give advices on how to play him.



1.The hero
2.The stats
3.Pros and cons
4.Skills
5.Skill build
5.1.Brainstorming
5.2.Support
5.3.Killer
5.4.Fun(pub)
6.Item build
6.1. 6.73 items
6.2.Brainstorming
6.3.Support
6.4.Killer
6.5.Rejected items
6.6.Some information before you improvise
7.How to play Venomancer
8.Friends and foes
9.Venomancer in 1v1
10.Replays
11.Conclusion





Remeber that face. It can rape pretty much any hero early game if played correctly. Well, it can be easier if Venomancer has a slight level advantage, but that is not the point. There is one thing that Veno has and uses it all the time - poison. But when is poison useful?

WHEN TO PICK VENOMANCER:
- when your team can benefit from a mass of slows
- when your team needs a bit of support
- when you are in the mood for a lot of harassing
- when you want to have fun in pubs

DO NOT TO PICK VENOMANCER:
- if you think you can easily carry with every single hero in Dota
- if you think you are the most important player all the time
- if you are just trying to killsteal all game
- if your team has no solid carry and you have the last pick



Attack range: 450
Strength: 18 + 1.85
Agility: 22 + 2.6
Intelligence: 15 + 1.75
Base damage: 46 - 48
Base armor: 3.08
Movespeed 290
BAT 1.7
Attack Animation: 0.3 / 0.7
Casting Animation: 0 / 0.51
Missile Speed: 900
Sight Range: 1800 / 800

What can we conclude from that infromation? First your starting stats are not unusually high although they are slightly above the average. Next we have the slightly below average stat gain per level which is not that much of a problem. Now you have good starting armor but a bit lower ms. Have no fear, your skills are a pain in the ass anyway and you will see that Veno actually seems to be running way too fast in some cases Veno also has pretty good attack animation but long backswing. To make it shorter, you should learn how to orbwalk in order to get more hits. Wasting 0.7 seconds is unneeded so you should use that time to do something else.



Pros:
1. Has one active and one passive slow
2. Can use wards to scout
3. Great for harassing
4. It is almost impossible to run away from him
5. Has decent lane control
6. Great pusher
7. Big teamfight presence
8. As Lycan reminded me, Venomancer is an agility support which makes him pretty strong late game.

Cons:
1. Can be a main target in ganks
2. Not really high HP
3. Can have mana problems
4. No escape mechanism
5. Can be nuked down without much trouble
6. His skills don't scale really well into late game
7. Your skills may let the other team deny the hero you are focusing




Venomous Gale - (Active, Enemy Unit)

____________________

Releases a Venomous Gale which poisons enemy units it comes in contact with. Poisoned units take initial damage, damage over time, and have their movement speed slowed for a short duration.

__	____.	________.	_______.	___.	_______.	__________________________.
	Mana	Cooldown	C. Range	AoE	Duration	Effects
1	90	22 sec	800	125	15.1 sec	50 strike damage, 10 duration damage
2	105	22 sec	800	125	15.1 sec	70 strike damage, 20 duration damage
3	120	22 sec	800	125	15.1 sec	70 strike damage, 40 duration damage
4	135	22 sec	800	125	15.1 sec	100 strike damage, 50 duration damage

Notes:
• Damage type: magical
• Units afflicted by Venomous Gale can be denied by their allies when their HP drops below 25% of their maximum health.
• Duration damage is dealt every 3 seconds.
• Slow starts at 50% and decreases as time passes.



Now a few stuff to point out. At level 4 Gale does 350 damage. But this is done after 15 seconds which means that the target can easily regen some HP and therefore survive or take really low damage. A tango can regenerate 115 HP over 16 sec which combined with a Ring of Regeneration or another HP regenerating item can lead to Gale doing pathetic amount of damage. So why is it so important? Because of the slow. 50% slow is nothing to laugh at, although it gets decreased. Therefore there are a few uses of that skill.

Ganking


Escaping
Walls of text coming your way ...


Killing



Poison Sting - (Passive, Enemy Unit)

__________

Adds poison damage to this hero's normal attacks, slowing movement speed. Lasts 7 seconds.

__	____.	________.	_______.	___.	_______.	__________________________.
	Mana	Cooldown	C. Range	AoE	Duration	Effects
1	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	7 sec	Deals 5 damage per second and slows for 11%
2	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	7 sec	Deals 10 damage per second and slows for 12%
3	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	7 sec	Deals 15 damage per second and slows for 13%
4	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	7 sec	Deals 20 damage per second and slows for 14%

Notes:
• Damage type: magical
• Damage from Poison Sting can kill.
• Poison sting is a buff placer.


Additional damage, how cool is that? Well, there is a catch - this does NOT stack. Instead the buff will be renewed. Note that this CAN kill so you can use it sometimes on fleeing heroes to secure a kill. There is also a minor slow effect which allows you to orbwalk a bit easier(although it isn't orbwalk if you don't have an orb, right )


Plague Ward - (Active, Point)

__________

Summons an immobile serpentine ward. The ward is immune to magic. Lasts 40 seconds.

__	____.	________.	_______.	___.	_______.	__________________________.
	Mana	Cooldown	C. Range	AoE	Duration	Effects
1	20	5	850	N/A	40 sec	75 hit points, 11 max damage
2	20	5	850	N/A	40 sec	200 hit points, 21 max damage
3	20	5	850	N/A	40 sec	325 hit points, 32 max damage
4	20	5	850	N/A	40 sec	450 hit points, 42 max damage

Notes:
• Damage type: piercing

Isn't that great? These wards have low cooldown, can be cast from quite far and give you many options. Now, just so you don't have to figure them out, here they are:

Scouting


Pushing


Killing


Blocking



Poison Nova - (Active, Point)

__________

Creates a ring of noxious poison that damages enemy units over a 12 second period. Can be improved by Aghanim's Scepter.

__	____.	________.	_______.	___.	_______.	__________________________.
	Mana	Cooldown	C. Range	AoE	Duration	Effects
1	200	140	N/A	830	12(14*) sec	36 (58)* damage per second
2	300	120	N/A	830	14(15*) sec	58 (81)* damage per second
3	400	100(60*)	N/A	830	15(16*) sec	81 (108)* damage per second

Notes:
• Damage type: magical
• Can be improved by Aghanim's Scepter (* shows the improved values).
• Cannot deal lethal damage (target will be left with 1 HP).

Well, that is one beast ultimate. Just at level 1 it can deal 432 damage. And at level 3 with Aghanim's Scepter that grows to the mighty 1728! Also note that this is an AoE skill and it can easily hit the whole opposing team. This is what makes Veno such a monster in teamfights - his ability to wreck havoc with the use of just one of his skills. But be careful as this skill shouldn't be wasted. It is a bit like Tidehunter's Ravage - you shouldn't use it for just one enemy. A different use for it is when you are going to die. If you get a chance use it because you never know when there will be another opportunity.





The reason why I distributed this part to so many sections is because your skill build will always change depending on the game. So let's start with this, shall we?



The thing I want to do here can be described only with this word - brainstorming. I am going to explain when it is good to level up a certain skill and when not so you learn how to order them. From that I hope you will get a bit of ideas about when to improvise and with what. Then I will suggest a few builds which can fulfill a certain type of play.

Venomous Gale


Poison Sting


Plague Ward


Poison Nova


Attribute Bonus




1.Venomous Gale
2.Poison Sting
3.Poison Sting
4.Plague Ward
5.Poison Sting
6.Poison Nova
7.Poison Sting
8.Plague Ward/Venomous Gale
9.Plague Ward/Venomous Gale
10.Plague Ward/Venomous Gale
11.Poison Nova
12.Venomous Gale/Plague Ward
13.Venomous Gale/Plague Ward
14.Venomous Gale/Plague Ward
15.Attribute Bonus
16.Poison Nova
17.-25.Attribute Bonus

The reason why you would want to max Poison Sting first as a suppport is because it offers a lot of bonus damage which you can use to harass or secure a kill. It is really just too good to miss. Venomous Gale is taken at level 1 pretty much because the huge slow may get you an easy First Blood. Poison Nova is taken whenever you can get it because it is simply too awesome to resist. Then it is up to you to decide which to max next. Get Plague Ward if you will be pushing or Venomous Gale if your team wants more kills.



1.Venomous Gale
2.Poison Sting
3.Venomous Gale
4.Poison Sting
5.Venomous Gale
6.Poison Nova
7.Venomous Gale
8.Plague Ward
9.Poison Sting
10.Poison Sting
11.Poison Nova
12.Plague Ward
13.Plague Ward
14.Plague Ward
15.Attribute Bonus
16.Poison Nova
17.-25.Attribute Bonus

Since this probably looks strange I will explain it like this - early game Veno can deal unbearably high damage. Let's say you are level 6 and followed that build and you have NO items in you. If you just hit, use Poison Nova, hit again, use Gale and run you will deal about 230 direct damage, 86 DoT for 5 sec and another 46 DoT for 2 sec after that. You can get the kill only if there is some other source of damage except for your ultimate. So that is about 750 damage although most of it is magical. But if you stay you can ensure the kill on almost every hero. But now let's explain why do you get all these and what's with the weird order. Venomous Gale is maxed first because it is your nuke and it helps Poison Nova do its job. Poison Sting is taken next to maximize the chances of you scoring a kill. Just a single level of Plague Ward is taken at level 8 to scout and get vision of places where your prey might be hiding. And the rest is kinda self-explanatory.

ALWAYS CHECK YOUR OPPONENT'S INVENTORY! If your opponent has a TP scroll he can get away almost instantly. And if you waste your ultimate on that it means that you are probably not thinking what you are doing.



Well, I am not posting a build here trololol. The reason for that is because in pubs you play for one of these 2 reasons:
- Fun
- Sudden rush of adrenaline which you want to use on a pubstomp
Since you can have fun by many different means I CANNOT post a build for that. OK, then I should probably give a build for pubstomping, right? A pubstomp depends more on the player's skill NOT on the hero, build, etc. But the main thing you will want to do in pubs is improvise. Get Dagon on Gondar, buy a Radiance for Ezalor and get the massacre started. But please when you do these, use your brain a bit. The builds must be unique and functional. Try to get that Radiance on Rikimaru, for example. Everyone will know you are there and a Dust will just fuck you up. When playing pubs the key of winning lies in surprise.




Well, I mentioned 2 builds and said that you should improvise in pubs, right? So let's get that covered with a thick layer of ideas which we will later organize and then we will see what happened, ok?




You may be thinking: "Why are these separate from the others?" Well, the answer is simple - the new items add a lot to the disabling part of the game .. and that makes them really valuable to Venomancer. But in what way?

Rod of Atos



Ring of Aquila



Tranquil Boots



Abyssal Blade



Heaven's Halberd





What does a Venomancer truly need? It is up for you to decide ..

What items will be suitable for Veno? I mentioned he can be a support so he should probably get a few items that work well with this type of heroes, right? Stuff like Eul's, Force, Mekansm, Pipe and other like them. But I also said he could kill. Killers usually get items that suit their type of killing and Veno does this with spells. So what should he get? Mana to use them? A bit probably. HP to abuse them? Most definitely. But what else can he get? Well, let's organize these first and we will see.




Starting items
Before I start talking about this please look at this guide:

603 Shopping Guide - DotA Guides

This is by far the best guide for starting items I have ever seen. It applies to all heroes so read it, it will be useful.

But now, back to Veno. Of all the possible starting items he could get, these are probably most suitable:
Build #1 is aimed at putting wards at certain places that you will choose. To get those places right I will suggest this guide:

Wardposition Guide - DotA Guides

This is an excellent guide about the positioning of wards. Better learn those spots if you want to be any good in warding!

But still, there are always heroes like Crystal Maiden who may do the warding instead. But if you don't have a courier, build #2 is the way to go. Note that I used the extra gold to buy Gauntlets of Strength which can later be upgraded to a Bracer which is both cheap and useful.

But, hey! You can't play all game with those items. What do you get next? Well, here is a little suggestion:

Core items:

But for the rest of the items. Mekansm is bought because it is simply too good to skip. Gives you armor, stats, HP regen aura and an active heal. Still if someone else on your team got it already set your eyes on another goal - Aghanim's Scepter. I already explained how beast Poison Nova can get so it shouldn't be skipped without a good reason. You should always carry a TP scroll in you as you can save an ally's ass or help your team win a huge teamfight. The Magic Wand is bought for all the burst HP and mana regen you get and also let's face it - in teamfights this thing is so goddamn useful. And last but not least the Ancient Janggo of Endurance. It is another great item you can get if nobody on your team got it and it can help pushing by quite a bit. Gives you cheap stats, a bit of damage, an Endurance aura and a decent active ability that can boost MS and AS by even more.

With this I think I covered why you get the items in these builds. I recommended 3 builds since these are the combinations you should aim for. Not like there aren't other options but I will cover them in a moment. Now on to the boots!

These boots ...
OR OR

Which to get? Well, if you get Power Treads you won't benefit way too much. Yes, you do get +8 to a stat of your choice and you can use the Attribute Switch for better mana and HP management. But the +25 attack speed is rather wasted since Venomancer isn't the type of hero that stands around hitting like a boss. Veno simply doesn't need the bonus attack speed which makes PT a rather bad choice. Phase Boots on the other side, give you +24 damage for better harassing and easier lasthitting and the active Phase ability which I mentioned in a certain usage of Plague Ward. It can be also used for chasing or getting your Poison Nova a bit further so you can get heroes that are trying to dodge it. But don't forget Arcane Boots because they can be pretty important, too. They solve your possible mana problems and can give mana to allies that need it. So it depends a lot on the situation what will you get. If you are in a team, that is not mana dependent you can buy Phase Boots and have no worries if this was the right choice. But if that is not the case carefully look at your teammates. If some of them will need the mana from Arcane Boots, you can consider them.


Why aren't these amongst the others? Well, because there is a moment in a game at which you simply don't have enough mobility. And Boots of Travel can solve that. They also act as a TP scroll so you save an inventory slot. But remember that they are not core on Veno so you should get them if the game is getting way too long (60+ minutes).


Other possible items:

A great item for sure. Veno can make a good use of all the bonuses this "very powerful relic" gives. The Cyclone ability is just great, although it is better for defensive purposes. 2.5 sec invulnerability sure are quite a bit, especially if there is a powerful skill aimed at you (Epicenter, for example). Remember to use Eul's on the carry if you have to choose as this hero is your chance to win the game when it goes on for too long. There is always this point at which casting spells only is simply not enough.


Get teammates out of trouble, get opponents out of position or get a teammate/yourself in the perfect position. This is what you can do with Force Staff. Downside is that Force DOESN'T break channeling skills so don't push Crixalis in your team. It will hurt.


Fun fact - Sange and SnY work perfectly with Poison Sting. The slows stack and the buffs do not cancel each other. If you are lucky enough you can get both buffs from the first hit which will lead to the target being screwed up in terms of speed. STILL!!! Remember that Venomous Gale outshines that combination by a lot. So be wise and think if you really need the stats and the extra slow.


Another great item. Still I didn't put Urn in Core items since many other heroes get it, too.


Some heroes benefit from Vlad's you know. Not only does it help pushing but it can also save 2050 gold for a melee carry on your team.


-6 armor? Cool.


As Kenshiro suggested this is a really good item on Venomancer. 3 of your skills are dealing magical damage and Veil of Discord increases that. It can be really a pain if there is something like Leshrac on your team. Still, again as Kenshiro said you should get a bit of HP before you buy Veil.

But what happens when you get too much cash? Well, you spend it on a luxury item.

Luxury items:

First slowed, then hexed. That guy sure isn't having a great time. Scythe of Vyse also solves all sorts of mana problems Veno can have.


Now, Ethereal is quite expensive and it is important to know how to use it. Better read the whole spoiler or you will just spend 4900 gold for nothing.



Just awesome for countering Storm. No Ball Lightning means no escape mechanism and no escape mechanism means a dead Storm. But Orchid can be useful for countering other heroes, too. What will Akasha and Magina do when they get ganked and silenced during that?


MORE SLOW! But first ensure you have enough HP for this item to pay off. It is no use to carry Shiva's Guard if you get instagibbed by every hero on the opposing team.

Okay, I think that is enough luxuries so click here to see the rejected items.



Oh, man, this guide is getting long But still here are the starting items you should probably go for when you want to be a killer:

Starting items:

And of course you have 59 gold which you can save up for another item. You get 2 clarities so you have the mana for those Gales you will be using. 3 Branches so you can make a quick Magic Wand and a Circlet for some stats. Salve is self-explanatory.

Core items:

Looks a bit familiar, doesn't it? That is build #2 suggested as core in the Support build. But why is it here when you are going to play it different? Because your skill build is different at that point and you also are going to buy different items after the core.

Optional items:

Oh, am I gonna get trolled or what ... PLEASE ALL THE PEOPLE THAT JUST SAW THE ICON AND ARE NOW TYPING THEIR FLAMING COMMENT ABOUT THE ITEM READ THIS! I agree that Dagon is used more for killstealing. But do you see this as a core item or some must? No. It is an optional item you can buy to get more kills. It can be useful as a Venomancer is capable of stopping most int heroes from leveling up ... by killing them. And Dagon just makes this whole thing a bit simpler. Also in teamfights if you will probably get focused so your main priority will be to throw all your spells in and Dagon gives you a better chance at killing someone. If not you will still contribute even by just casting your gamebreaking ultimate. In both situations your team benefits.


For sure Eul's can keep you out of trouble for a while. The bonuses are also important to you so you can consider getting that.


Another thanks to Kenshiro for reminding me about Veil of Discord(this is getting kinda too much but I am really grateful to him). When you are going to focus on killing this way you should get Veil to increase your damage. And if you already bought Aghanim's Scepter you won't have much problems beating the crap out of your targets.


If you need survivability Vanguard is a good choice. But please remember that Veno isn't a carry. And please remember that at least until you finish reading the "Luxury items" section

Luxury items:

Manta Style on Veno? WTF? Yes, this is right. After all you are playing it as a killer, right? You definitely can use the help of Manta to increase your damage potential and survivability.


Major wtf ... well The Butterfly has great synergy with Manta ... and boosts up your damage ... oh, fuck it, this is going really late game. Better end it faster as late game is kinda random and that is the part where you don't shine that much.


Seriously ... END THE GODDAMN GAME!





Well, the slows don't stack. You don't even get Skadi's slow. Only Poison Sting works so in the end you bought this for the stats, +200 HP and +150 mana. Don't get me wrong, this IS quite something but there are other items you can aim for. Don't get just the stats, get the unique bonuses the items grant.


Which one will work? Poison Sting or Orb of Venom? Well, the one you got last therefore this item just wastes 500 gold for nothing. Poison Sting is better and stronger so it is no use getting Orb of Venom.


Are you kidding me? If your team is failing so much, I just simply can't imagine how much should the other team fail in order for you to win ...


You will just fuck up everything man ...


Read the Aegis part ...




Try to remember the way these items interact with Poison Sting:
- both Poison Sting and Lifesteal will work.
- if the Chain Lightning appears this hit won't apply the Poison Sting buff. If the buff was already applied then it won't disappear.
- just Stygian Desolator will work.
- only Poison Sting will work.
- the last you acquired will work.
- both Maim and Poison Sting will work.
- when you stun you won't apply Poison Sting. If the Poison Sting buff was already applied then it won't disappear.
- When True Strike is on Poison Sting won't work. Poison Sting will work when True Strike is off.
- when you get a critical hit the Poison Sting buff won't be applied. If the buff was already applied then it won't disappear.
- if you got Diffusal BEFORE the first level of Poison Sting, then Poison Sting will work. If you got Diffusal AFTER the first level of Poison Sting then only Diffusal will work.



Early game(Levels 1-8)
Well, this will change depending on your type of play and the way you decided to build Veno. But in general you should either harass and deny like mad or roam and gank like a boss. Poison Sting lets you keep opponents at low HP while Venomous Gale lets you slow them so someone else can handle them(that doesn't mean you should just drop the Gale and leave). Once you get your Poison Nova teamfights are starting to get sick. REALLY SICK. That ultimate is fucking great, abuse it. Use the wards to guarantee yours and your ally's safety.

Mid game(Levels 9-16)
You have your Poison Nova, you have your Gale ... what are you waiting for? Kill, gank or push depending on your build ... or just do it all! Who said you can't gank mid, then swing top for a kill and push a tower? Towers are gold advantage for your team and gold is an important factor for the outcome of the game.

Late game(Levels 17-25)
Bad luck, you are not as good as you were earlier. Well, you still got the goddamn OMGWTFBBQ ultimate, right? Just make sure you get it off in the best moment and don't waste it on crap and you will be kinda fine. At this part of the game you shouldn't wander around all on your own. Go with a teammate, preferably one you can help out.




Friends:
Good lanemates:

You just let these guys get close and personal. Still don't take Leoric as a permanent lanemate since one of you(if not both) will have to do some ganking.
Special mention:

Oh, that Juggernaut. Do you know how much damage can he deal with his Bladefury at level 1? 400. What you do is get a Venomous Gale off in the right moment and then get a couple of hits in so you can net him the kill. This lane is actually capable of getting a really early FB but you should know that people are aware of it so things may not always be perfect for you.

Damage Amplifiers:

These guys + your Poison Nova = no opponents alive.


Foes:
Silencers:

When you are silenced you are just no threat to them. And to make matters worse most of these can easily kill you ...

Heroes that don't care about Gale:

Lycan can run at 522 ms all the time with his ultimate, Balanar has high ms bonus at night and can slow you while Magina can just blink right next to you all the time. Congratulations one of them just raped you.

Disablers:

Nothing new here .. they are everyone's best friend and most feared enemy.

Carries:

Late game you just can't handle them bro.




Now before I go into items and skill order I think I should cover another section. There are 2 popular ways of playing 1v1. The first is by the ESL rules and is 853 starting gold and the mode is -sharomnp or -shapomnp. In both cases you are playing the same hero as your opponent but once it will be a random hero and in the other situation it will be a hero that you and your opponent wanted to play. I am not going to cover that part since if you are going to play it like that you have to know Venomancer well. And this also requires a bit of practice which you probably don't have if you are reading the guide. Still, I will cover the other way of playing 1v1 which will still give you ideas on how to play Venomancer in this situation.

Now on to that. The other way of playing 1v1 isn't so popular but still. You start with 4265 if you randomed and 4015 if you picked. Both cases you won't be playing against yourself so that is a bit of good news. But who are the guys you should watch out for. Well, I am going to surprise you here. You should watch out for both no one and everyone. Venomancer is really strong early and can easily rush Aghanim's by level 6. And that means much more damage and easier kills - something that is key to winning a 1v1 game. Now, why should you be so careful? Well, you can easily kill someone but you can also easily die since Venomancer isn't a hero that scales very well in late game. So you should do your job very well earlier if you want to survive. But still there are guys that you just can't handle unless they are retarded. Examples are Lycanthrope and Doom Bringer. These two are just going to make your life miserable so never pick against them. Not like Tinker will be any better with his core items bought at level 1 but these are just examples. Both no one and everyone can beat you 1v1 purely because it depends on your play, not only on the hero. And for that reason I am not going to list popular counters. Venomancer should win early unless he wants to risk it.

And to make it shorter, here are the tips:
1. Be smart and creative. If there are runes, control them or at least don't let your opponent do it.
2. Be aggressive but don't push it too far. Weaken your target do make the kill easier but beware of other factors like creeps, towers, hills and trees that can make it harder to get a kill.
3. Never play without Plague Ward. It is too important in 1v1 to skip and I will explain why.
4. If you kill your opponent, IMMEDIATELY try to take a tower or even rax if you are at that point of the game. Use the wards if you have to and don't miss the opportunity!
5. Always do the math before you attack. I will save you a bit of time by posting some of the more basic stuff but you may need to make some calculations while in the game.
6. Never let carries farm. For those without an escape mechanism, it will be rather easy to farm a Lothar's Edge. At least try to make it slower so they don't get out of your sight so quickly.
7. If you can ambush heroes. A quick kill may get you a big advantage in the game.
8. And, of course, play for fun. Even if it is a tournament game respect your opponent and don't rage at him for nothing. Flaming doesn't get you anywhere and sure isn't winning anyone's game.

Now since I think I covered the basics let's go on to the skill build!

1.Venomous Gale/Poison Sting
2.Plague Ward/Venomous Gale
3.Venomous Gale
4.Poison Sting/Plague Ward
5.Venomous Gale
6.Poison Nova
7.Venomous Gale
8.Plague Ward
9.Plague Ward
10.Plague Ward
11.Poison Nova
12.Poison Sting
13.Poison Sting
14.Poison Sting
15.Attribute Bonus
16.Poison Nova
17.-25.Attribute Bonus

You may notice that the build seems to be kinda set in stone. This can change. As I said you should be creative. Still I will say why I suggest this for a skill build.
Venomous Gale - taken early for a possible lucky First Blood but no other reason. At level 1 it is weak and won't do much. This is why I give Poison Sting as an option since it is a decent harassing tool even at level 1. Still the extra levels in Venomous Gale can be important since with it maxed you can try to harass the opponent and push the creep wave really fast at the same time. Still, if going for that I recommend buying Arcane Boots to avoid the mana problems which this will cause.
Poison Sting - the ability sure is cool but it isn't as good in 1v1. You can get it to harass melee heroes but in 1v1 it is more important to get your opponent's HP bar to red as quick as possible. And since Venomancer's spells are based on damage/sec effects you should maximize the potential of those that do the most. And that is Venomous Gale and Poison Nova. Don't forget that Poison Sting is still a viable option but it is outshined.
Plague Ward - this is probably your main tool. Using the wards can give you many options which I described earlier in the Skills section. But you will mainly use them to bulldoze a tower while your enemy is dead or for some reason away. This is the reason to max them over Poison Sting after level 7.
Poison Nova - take it whenever you can. It is your main killing weapon as it deals mass damage to your opponent although it does it over a long period.

Now before I continue I will do a bit of calculations on how much damage will Venomous Gale, Poison Sting and Poison Nova do at each of their levels. They all deal magical damage so I am going to include Hood of Defiance and Planewalker's cloak in the math. Rubick, Magina and Pudge are considered with level 4 in their magic resistance skills.

Venomous Gale


Poison Sting


Poison Nova


If you looked at the spoilers you are probably thinking that I am crazy ... the exact word is mad but that isn't the point. You don't have to remember these exact numbers because as you see they can change a lot. You should just remember about how much damage can the used skill do so you can utilize it better. But if there is someone who can remember a ton of information just like that I want stop him/her from reading this.


Now that we discussed the skills let's go a bit into items.
Starting items:

Let's explain that. Arcane Boots give you the mana to use Venomous Gale over and over again. It can prove to be worth it so you should give it a try. Point Booster and Ogre Axe are bought for the Aghanim's Scepter which you can rush. The reason I got Ogre Axe and not one of the other 2 +10 stat items is that you will probably need the HP to make a good use of your ultimate. Healing Salve is obvious. And, of course, since this is 1v1 I think it is obvious that you may need an Animal Courier. You shouldn't miss gold and exp unless you are dead.

Other possible items:

Aghanim's Scepter isn't a possible item, it is more of a must. It is just that I didn't feel like doing a separate section for it.


Yo dawg I herd you liek magik? Veil of Discord is a really good option for Venomancer so give it a try. You will like it.


Ah, nothing like the good ol' Mekansm. It can make a big difference as it can keep you alive in some situations and also slightly enhances your pushing power.


There are just so many ways you can use Force Staff. You can run away, get in position, etc. Be creative with this one since it has nearly unlimited uses.


Lothar's Edge gives you a few things: DPS, escape mechanism and a surprise attack with +125 backstab damage. Pretty cool, huh? Can replace Mekansm in terms of saving your ass.


Crystalys is used only for DPS purposes. But with a decent help from your other items you can pull out a pretty good physical attack and hit hard enough to kill your opponent even without the help of Poison Nova.


Are we going to push or what? Necronomicon is a really good item for that. And it can also help you with the kills.


Vanguard isn't really the best item for Venomancer but it is viable. Still you won't need it that much most of the time and there are other ways of boosting your survivability.


Ghost Scepter is like an Aegis when an Enraged Ursa wants to get a double Overpower on you. A pretty good item against physical attackers but beware of guys like Skeleton King. He can use the moment to put your ass on fire with a Hellfire Blast. And since you are in ethereal form you will get more damage from this. Not to mention that you will be still slowed when Ghost Scepter's effect ends.


Well, why not? If you got the DPS to use it then abuse it! Even if not upgraded, Mask of Death is still useful.

Luxury items:

Heart of Tarrasque is the solution to all HP problems in DotA. You must agree that +1060 HP is a lot.


Now who are you going to hit, smartass? Manta Style boosts nearly everything you use - DPS, movement speed, survivability, etc. But still it is a luxury item.


Your damage is already >81? Then Buriza is the choice for you. It will already be outshining Monkey King Bar and it offers a ton of killing potential. Yet, expensive and a luxury.


U MAD EVASION FAGS? Monkey King Bar will help you land hits against heroes like Mortred, Void, etc. And it also counters The Butterfly.


Ethereal Blade is a pretty darn good item. And since I am such a nice guy I will copy the spoiler from above. Please read it.



Scythe of Vyse is a really annoying item when used against you. So feel free to troll your opponent by turning him into a sheep. This also disables evasion!

Rejected items:
Feel free to click here to see them.


Enough items. Let's talk a bit about how you should behave in this situation and we will be done!

You are playing 1v1. No one will be there to fix your mistakes. But neither will there be anyone for your opponent so make use of EVERY opportunity. I once won against a Night Stalker by just abusing his mistakes and ended up 6/1*. So I think you can say that this strategy can work. But still, don't play defensive all the time. Harass your opponent and ensure that you have the lane control. Now if you are against something like Traxex or Huskar I doubt that you will be able to harass as freely as against a Juggernaut but try to land a hit or two when you can. Poison Sting will do the rest Another way to harass is with Venomous Gale but this pushes the lane really quickly. You can use it to delay a creep wave marching to your tower .. although you can do the same with a few Plague Wards.
And remember! If you kill your opponent, IMMEDIATELY push. This makes your chances to win bigger and to be honest who doesn't like +500 gold?

* - I was not playing Venomancer in that game. I randomed Earthshaker so it wasn't as easy to outlane my opponent.




Pub Venomancer 5v5



1v1 Venomancer






In the end Venomancer is one great guy. Respect him, learn him and rape with him. I would like to thank these people:
IceFrog for making the awesome map
parawarrior for his 603 Shopping Guide
Eumellein for his guide "The warding basics"
gwho for his guide "The Right Guide to Guide-Write"
my friends for introducing to DotA a long time ago

*Will do(in the near future):
- a section about Venomancer in 2v2