Rylai Crestfall, The Crystal Maiden


Hi everyone, this is my first guide so don't expect it to be perfect...
I decided to do it on the hero that is (I think) one of the best support in DotA: Rylai Crestfall, The Crystal Maiden.

Background:

Adept in the manipulation of frost and ice, Rylai is the very image of elegeance and grace. Trained by a renegade wizard deep in the heart of Winterspring, Rylai brings to the Sentinel her prowess in the arts of magic. With a vast arsenal of spells, she wreaks havoc upon her foes - be it with powerful blasts of frost to send them fleeing in panic, or be it by rendering them immobile in ice. Her foes tremble in fear as the ground beneath implodes in mighty novas of frost in a dazzling array, obliterating all who dare oppose her.

Introduction:

Rylai is, as I said before one of the most usefull hero to have in your team, due to her lagre arsenal of spells. She actually is the only hero in this game to have a dissabler and a long AoE slow, which makes her a very potent ganker. On the top of this, she has Brilliance Aura which allows all allied units and heroes on the map to benefit of a large ammount of mana regeneration. Finally, her ultimate, even if it is hard to place perfectly can be deadly if used at the right time and it also is a pretty good AoE slow.

[COLOR="blue"]Skills description:[/COLOR]

Crystal Nova

Blasts enemy units around a target point with a wave of damaging frost that slows movement speed and attack rate for 5 seconds.

Level 1: 80 damage / 100 mana points
Level 2: 130 damage / 120 mana points
Level 3: 180 damage / 140 mana points
Level 4: 230 damage / 160 mana points
*Slow duration = 5 seconds
*Cooldown = 15/15/15/15
*Cast range = 700
*Area of effect = 400

Comments:
This skill is a must to have early game due to it's long slow, which is a very good synergy with alot of heroes like Juggernaut or Clockwerk. Also, it's long range allows you to slow ennemies heroes that are too far from being frozen by Frostbite.

Frostbite

Freezes the target in a case of ice, prohibiting movement and attacking. Deals 70 damage per second.
Level 1: 1.5 seconds duration / 115 mana points
Level 2: 2.0 seconds duration / 125 mana points
Level 3: 2.5 seconds duration / 140 mana points
Level 4: 3.0 seconds duration / 150 mana points
*Damage = 70 / second
*Cooldown = 10/10/10/10
*Cast range = 500

Comments:
This is Rylai's signature spell. This is of course, the most usefull spell Rylai has, due to it's multiples utilities. It is first, a very good dissable, especially during early game and also the only escape mechanism she has.
*Note that ennemy heroes frozen can still use their abilities so be careful and use it wisely.

Brilliance Aura

Gives additional mana regeneration to all friendly units on the entire map.
Level 1: +0.5 mana point / second
Level 2: +1.0 mana point / second
Level 3: +1.5 mana points / second
Level 4: +2.0 mana points / second

Comments:
This is the reason why Rylai is often picked in league or in tournements. This gives your team a massive advantage on early game. Brilliance Aura allows even low mana heroes like Sven or Skeleton King to spam their spells which gives a good lane control and ensure a very good mana regeneration (even if it got nerfed in 6.60) to spammers like Zeus or Lina Inverse who can nuke the opponent heroes to completly dominate a lane.

Freezing Field

Causes many random icy explosions in an area surrounding Rylai. Enemy units in the Freezing Field are slowed. Can be improved by Aghanim's Scepter.
Level 1: 105 (170*) damage per explosion / 300 mana points
Level 2: 170 (250*) damage per explosion / 400 mana points
Level 3: 250 (310*) damage per explosion / 600 mana points
Channeling
*Slow duration = Slowed as long as the hero remains in the field and 1 second duration if it goes out
*Cooldown = 150/120/90
*Duration = 4 seconds
*Area of effect of the field = 635
*Area of effect of an explosion = 190
*Maximum of 40 explosions (1 explosion every 0.1 second)

Comments:
This is, in my opinion one of the worst ultimate in the game, because it doesn't fit this hero too much. Here are the reasons: the mana it requires is way to high for Rylai's mana pool. Also, it is channeling which means it can be stopped by any stun/ministun and CM has to be in the middle of the battle if you want this spell to be used at it's full potential and unfortunatly, because she is made of paper, Rylai simply doesnt have enough HP to run into a fight to channel it correctly. Finally, to use it at it's full potential, you need to farm BKB and dagger which are a bit too expensive for you.

Skills build:

Alternative 1
1. Frostbite
2. Brilliance Aura
3. Brilliance Aura
4. Crystal Nova
5. Brilliance Aura
6. Frostbite
7. Brilliance Aura
8. Frostbite
9. Frostbite
10. Crystal Nova
11. Crystal Nova
12. Crystal Nova
13-15. Freezing Field
16-25. Stats

Alternative 2
1. Frostbite
2. Brilliance Aura
3. Brilliance Aura
4. Crystal Nova
5. Brilliance Aura
6. Frostbite
7. Brilliance Aura
8. Frostbite
9. Frostbite
10. Freezing Field
11. Frezzing Field
12-15. Stats
16. Freezing Field
17-22. Stats
23-25. Crystal Nova

Build explanations:

Frostbite MUST be taken first because it helps you to escape a lvl1 First Blood gank, by freezing one of the gankers. Also, at lvl 1 it has higher damage than Crystal Nova because you can hit the frozen hero with your attack. The only moment you can get nova first is if you lane with Juggernaut or Clockwerk and you want early first blood because 5 second slow is better synergie with Blade Dance than 1.5 seconds immobilization.
Maxing Brilliance Aura early is a must to your team, as explained in this skill's description.
Crystal Nova is taken at lvl 4 because it has a very good synergie with Frostbite. Also note that 5 seconds slow in a 400 aoe is much more better than adding +0.5 second dissable.
Finally, we skip Freezing Field at level 6 for the only reason that the manacost is way too high and because your Frostbite isn't good enough to hold them during the time you come closer to channel your ulti. But, if you are laning with a hero like Tide or Magnus, and that your opponents are low hp Int or Agi heroes, you can take it at level 6 to try a double kill rush, by using this ulti combo. In the alternative two, I suggest to put only one point in Crystal Nova and going stats instead of maxing it. The reason is simple: When the moment comes to max nova, it is usually after 15-20 minutes, which means the +50 damage/level isn't worth it. Also, keeping the mana cost to 100 MP helps you to chain Frostbite/Freezing Field, later in the game. The stats also help you to get more hp so you can survive longer using your ulti.

Itembuild:

When the game start, you usually go like this:
x2 x4
As you are the team support, your teammates will expect you to get a chicken that you will further upgrade to a crow. Also, at game start, if you buy the chicken, you shouldn't be the one who gets the first set of wards, but of course, you are the one who's responsability is to buy wards later in the game.
As for the tangoes, they help you stay alive early and the branches are for additionnal HP and MP that gives you a bit more of survivability.

Early game items (level 1 to 12):

At level 12, you inventory should be looking like this:
and maybe
Of course, you should have bought alot of and if there is an invisible hero in the opposite team.

Bracers are Maiden's only source of HP so you need at least 2 of them. Dont hesitate to get a third one if you are getting outnuked by the ennemy hero you lane against. Phase Boots are crucial to Rylai because her movespeed (280) is pathetic. These boots also give you the opportunity to chase enemy heroes through creeps which gives you an advantage if they dont have Phase Boots. The +5 armor is a must to improve your survivability against normal attack based heroes. But, if you really dont like Phase Boots, you can still stay longer with Boots of Speed to finally upgrade them to Boots of Travel but this item is a waste of money for the Crystal Maiden due to her poor farming capacity. About the Ogre Axe, don't hesitate to get one if you have the opportunity but focus on warding and supporting with dust and such. This item is optional but gives you an additional source of HP and can be used to make Black King Bar, later in the game which will allow you to channel your ultimate without getting stun.

Mid game items (level 13 to 18):
When you reaches level 18, this is how your inventory should be looking:
or and like in early game, alot of wards and dust if needed.

Note that not alot of things changed. The principal reason is that Rylai is such a poor farmer and you need to focus on buying wards, so Black King Bar is pretty long to farm for her. If you are not the team warder, you can try to farm this until level 18:


Dagger and Black King Bar are your core items. I suggest that if you are the warder you opt for Black King Bar instead of Dagger because it gives additionnal HP but it's up to you. Dagger is the perfect item to place Freezing Field at the right place during a team fight but I still think that a 4 seconds half good placed ulti is better that a 2 seconds perfectly placed Freezing Field. Yes, Dagger gives you the opportunity to place the ulti perfectly but it still doesn't prevent ennemys from stunning you. Even if you surprise them by using blink, it will not take 4 seconds to your ennemies to realise that you blinked in. They will focus you, which isn't a good thing, thank's to Rylai's paper skin. Well as I said before, the choice between these two items is up to you. Of course, if you are not the one taking care of the wards, getting both would be perfect.

Late game items (level 19 to 25):
If the game is not over yet, here is what you should try to farm for late game:
or or or
If I were you, I would really opt for Guinsoo because in late game, another dissable in the team can be very usefull. But, if you have enough dissables and that you feel like you need more HP, you can go for Heart of Tarrasque, which gives ALOT of HP. If one of your ally is playing Tide, Enigma or a hero with this kind of AoE "stun" and that you are good to combo your ultimate with him, you can opt for Aghanim which provides additionnal damage to your ultimate and also a bit of HP and MP. Finally, if your ennemies are playing dps heroes like Void and such, you can go for Shiva, which gives you 15 armor, 30 intelligence and a Freezing Aura. Note that you can use Artic Blast during your ultimate without stopping the cast.

Now, let me explain you how to use this powerfull support hero during different times during the game...

Early game:
If you are not the one buying the first set of wards, I suggest that you go lane bottom (if sentinel) or top (if scourge), with a fragile carry like Magina or Void, who are weak early game. Your job is to babysit him until he becomes farmed enough to take care of himself. Note that if there is someone in your team playing Juggernaut, you should deffinitively lane with him because Rylai/Yunero is one of the strongest line up in DotA.
By "babysitting", I mean that you should not focus on last hitting creeps to give your ally the opportunity to farm as much as possible. Concentrate on denying and harassing the opponents with both your spells and your auto attack. As soon as you reach 200 gold, you should upgrade your courrier into a crow/vulture, if needed.
During all early game, you should stay in your lane and pull creeps as much as you can (if you don't know what that mean, go see a guide about it), to provide you ally more experience points and more protection, by letting the ennemy creeps reaching your tower. Don't attack the neutral creeps you use for pulling to make you own creeps staying there as long as possible. Only last hit. This way, you should be good for farming your boots and your bracers before level 12. If you are the team warder, start buying wards at the 6th minute and go place them at the location that seems the most important tou you (go see a guide about warding).
*If you are the one getting the first set of wards, you should go lane top to use one of them to prevent ennemies from pulling their creeps.

Mid game:
Now that you reached level 12, your ally hero should be strong enough to survive alone. It is now the time to start ganking. Rylai is one of the best mid game heroes, due to her 2 principal spells. You should focus on ganking the lane where is laning the other team carry so you can slow his farming. If the other team has a jungling hero, you should place a ward in their jungle so your team can gank him non stop. Mid game is also the moment when you should start counter warding, using Senty Wards to kill the other team's Observers Wards.
Between two ganks, you can always go in your jungle to make some money by attacking neutral camps (note that Frostbite last 10 seconds on level 1 to 5 creeps). Still, make sure you have enough mana for that because you don't want to miss a gank because of that.
During the ganks, you should be the one initiating with Frostbite. NEVER use nova to last hit and when possible, let your carry get the kills if it is certain that the ennemy can't escape. If he can, kill him. Crystal Maiden is not a hero who's scoreboard shows alot of kills but you should be one of the one with the higher number of assists and now that assists gives gold, you should be good to get your Phase Boots and maybe your Ogre Axe. This is how mid game should be for a Crystal Maiden player: Buy wards and gank ALL THE TIME.
Your goal is to gank as much as you can while your allies are pushing towers. This way, you might be able to finish the game before reaching late game, where your hero becomes less effectives.

Late game:
Late game is something you don't want to try with Rylai. Because you gank all the time, your level should be lower than the others ansd your spells lose their effectivity. Frostbite is still a good dissable but the ennemies will probably have BKBs in late game and you won't be able to freeze tyh