Guide to Rooftrellen, the Treant Protector

Hero Overview

Pros:
1. Highest strength gain of 3.4
2. Easy deny/last hitting
3. Unique ability: Eyes of the forest. Gains vision around a tree
4. Unique ability: Living Armor. Heals your allies as well as YOUR TOWER!
5. Invisibility for your team
6. Pretty imba ultimate
7. Almost unkillable
8. Hard to click!!!

Cons:
1. Melee with no disable
2. No instant heal/aoe
3. Dependent on items
4. Easily countered escape mechanism


What is Rooftrellen good at?
Map awareness, team battle starter, tanking, healing towers,

When would be a good situation to choose Rooftrellen?
Your team can deal enough damage but lacks wide range team disabler
Most of your teammates are fragile and need a tank
Your team has less than 2 item dependent heroes

Detailed explaination:



Skill builds

1. Eyes of the forest
2. Living Armor
3. Living Armor
4. Nature's Guise
5. Living Armor
6. Overgrowth
7. Living Armor
8. Eyes of the forest
9. Eyes of the forest
10. Eyes of the forest
11. Overgrowth
    Stats
    level up ultimate when possible

Reasoning:
This build is the most common build for Rooftrellen, it's advantages are obvious, from lv4 few heroes can force you back to heal or kill you, and it often takes 2-3 of them together. Eyes of the forest is maxed second so you can almost maphack one side of the river well before the 30th mark. Stats are taken over 3 lvs of Nature's Guise because for me, 15 secs is good enough. I often go refresher orb which puts Rooftrellen's mana to a strain, stats is important to use it.

Items

1. Early game items



2. General build



Explaination
Radiance is a great item that synergizes with Rooftrellen because, well, it works well with any hero that's hard to kill. If you're looking for dps then Radiance is definitely No.1. Refresher Orb is next to double your ultimate's power. But why not get it first? See below.


3. The supporter


or
or

Explaination

This is the basic build for tanking/supporting. Living armor would be enough against physical damage, a HoD will work against spells. Bracers are not needed because of his huge strength gain, just make sure you don’t fall behind on levels.

Perservance helps reduce your hp/mp strain, make no mistake: it's a RECOVERY ITEM only, doesn't help much in team fights. Vlad's however, is much more team-oriented. Keep a Ring of Basilius and turn it later in the game.

Reason for Vlad's:


However, I wouldn't spend my first 0000s on both Perservance+Vlad's. Choose between one. In pub games, you will always have more money. Refer to recommended items below.


3. Special Items worth to mention


This item is removed from core items due to faster game pace. Getting a Vanguard/Hood of Defiance is much better early game. However, there is one type of Rooftrellen that jungles lvl 7+ till Radiance and only comes out for ganking. If you're one of those, I suggest you consider getting this before the 13th min mark.


If your enemies have invisibility, you can be a real pain in the ass. The stats reward also synergizes with Rooftrellen well, but requires micro controlling. The problem with it is, once you buy lvl 1, you either need to farm and farm for some time till lvl 3, or leave it there which makes it useless.


A very good physical damage booster. If your team lacks physical dps but has enough disable, this is a cheap useful option.


Contrary to common belief, Refresher shouldn't be rushed as your first item because it's expensive, offers little dps, decent regen and a skill you can't combo until 18+. Why get something so early when you cannot use it? If ultimating is Rooftrellen's only purpose, why not choose Tidehunter or Earthshaker? A lv3 Overgrowth combo costs 875 mana, at lv17 Rooftrellen has 715 mana naked and 845 with power treads intelligence. So he can do a full combo lv 18 and run dry. If you plan on Rrefresher, I suggest you time the progress.


Very useful against spell-damage oriented enemy teams. I remember dota gods complaining it's imbaness and matches banning it. Period.


I know many folks are opposed to getting this. But now I think there should be a change of mind. We all know Bristleback is a beefy tank, but why is his mainstream build Vanguard+HoD+Radiance? To make him even beefer!
However, I do not suggest Vanguard+HoD for Rooftrellen. Heroes fit for those like Viper/Dark Sage/Bristleback have one thing in common: the longer they survive in team fights, the more annoying they get. Rooftrellen isn't. Well, not until Radiance. A fast game pace allows you to farm much faster than previous versions, that's why a Vanguard/HoD early game is an effective safeguard on your way to Radiance.


Actually I got this idea watching recent MYM replays. It works wonders against burst damage dealers, provided you activate it in time. However I don't think it's a newbie-friendly item.


I added it in the supporter's build and I'm gonna emphasize on it here. Any team should have a Vlad's by mid-late game. Reasons are seen above in the build section. If no one would get it, Rooftrellen should. But it's not a good early item for Rooftrellen. Keep a Ring of Basilius instead.

Tactics

• Keep a magic wand for a handy invisibility, emergency hp or an ulti. Keep TPs with you at all times.
• Plant trees whenever it cools down, don't wait till you get to "the perfect spot".
• Rooftrellen is a nearly unkillable tank with highest base attack in Dota. Buy a Quelling blade to make your early game much easier.
• If you are going Radiance, I highly suggest you get a HoD/Vanguard first. You must be good at farming.

Early game you should focus on last hitting and denying with your huge hp, high damage and imba regen. Frustrate your enemies and wait for them to make a rash move. Then wear them off and establish dominance. Before lv3 your regen isn't high enough, don't get harrassed too badly.

By middle game you should farm, plant trees, babysit towers and do team fights when you have an ulti. Determine your role and make up your item build. Rooftrellen can jungle effortlessly, so jungle when you're harrassed or no lane's safe etc, but his efficiency isn't high, so get to a lane asap.

Late game you should have your items complete and keep pushing. Being a tough hero with average escape mechanisms, moving in enemy territory shouldn’t be a problem. Solo push a lane to farm and join others so you strain their battle lines.


Skill Usages

1.

• Tree search radius 375. You cannot cross the lane without breaking invisibility.
• If casted outside the radius, the target gains invisibility for 1 sec. Causes enemies to lose target. Newbies will get confused. Useful for saving fleeing teammates.
• Plant a tree before team fights to gain true sight for a small radius and emergency invisibility
• Rooftrellen can cast spells in Nature’s Guise without breaking it

Countering invisibility:

's ignores invisibility and is great to finish of any hero with 200- hp. Plus it cuts trees.
Any hero with aoes that ignore invisibility, like 's and a lot more.
Heroes that reveal invisibility.
's
's
's
Plus a lot of skills that can neutralize you before you cast invisibility. For example, Naga Siren can ensnare and show you for the spells duration. Above are only examples.

2.

• Your bread and butter skill. Equals 1 plate mail+2 ring of regen. Allows you to infinitely farm on lanes or jungle.
• Can be cast on Towers! The only way to regen tower health plus an armor boost.
• You can cast it on creeps&besieging weapons to tank&deal more damage to towers
• You can easily maintain 2 other heroes in Living Armor during team battles. Really helps!

3.

• Your ultimate. Wait where is Eyes of the Forest? Below!!
• Entangled enemies can cast spells but cannot move or attack. Casting it breaks TPing but doesn’t once it’s cast.
• Won't catch enemies you can't see. But once caught, it will delay their invisibility for its duration.
• If cast first and an enemy uses magic immunity, the effect is dispelled. But if he does it first then the spell holds him.
• Certain heroes with mirror images like Naga Siren and Chaos Knight will dispell the effects too, Manta Style does the same.
• When you are the main dpser, it might be nice to let others jump in 1st if possible. Use your ulti when one is finished and others are fleeing. But if you're the starter, you wanna entangle them all of course.

4.

• Casting range of 100. Basically right where you are standing.
• Increases sight slightly per level from some 600 to 690. Not very big radius. Cooldown drops dramatically from 300 sec to 75 sec. There’s no way to ward&see lower rune out of riverbed.
• Combine it with Quelling blade to confuse your enemy. Caution: Chopped trees will REGROW!!If you’re not careful with positioning 2 trees will appear in one same spot. Safer way would be to plant one among a bush.

How to plant eyes best

• Plant one right after you choose him and you have your 2nd eye around 5th minute mark. Normally you’d have it at level 2-3 when the 3rd eye is ready. By then it’s already mid game. Time is limited and you can’t highlight every spot.
• The first 2 eyes should always be the 1st screenshot and the 1st of scourge jungle. Handy and close.
• If your towers are down, warding that area offers more defense and warding enemy creeps gives advantage for ganking and pushing.
• Ward sentinel secret shop area when the 2 sentinel 1st towers are down for better effects. Screenshot 2,3,4 and the lower opening of secret shop(coming 5)
• The highland flanked by scourge 1st and 2nd towers is a priority for scourge jungle. This part is close to scourge base, ganking should be quick and clear. Also helps check enemy support&escape route. Key eyes are 4,7 and 8(coming) of scourge jungle.
• Scourge secret shop area is better warded when scourge mid and lower 2nd tower are threatened or down.
• Sentinel jungle area is somewhat harder to ward, eyes work better here. 1,2 and 5(coming) of sentinel jungle are key ones here.
• And pleeease don’t plant a tree right next to lower rune spot!

Misconception: Having rooftrellen on your team means wards aren't necessary.
The sight range of Eyes are limited, their advatage is hovering sight and true sight, lighting up small parts of woods where wards cannot. It's used at:

• tricky spots where advanced players manipulate shadows and low-high terrain sight.
• Lots of smaller key areas to supplement wards.
• Anti-wards

1.


When you start early game, level up Eyes of the Forest and immediately head out with your +. Hurry, you might not be able to head back to your lane in time.
This is the 1st eye you should have, and you should maintain it throughout the game. Why do I not chop&ward the middle tree? Because it's too obvious.
2.


See the highlighted tree? I planted it without cutting. Useful for ganking/chasing/escaping. With that tree your enemies cannot play high/low terrain sight games. Useful to monitor activities aimed at sentinel top/middle tower. Even more useful after they fell.

3.

Very useful when sentinel mid 2nd tower is threatened.

4.


Place an eye where I'm standing, or chop&grow. This eye monitors sentinel ancients as well as traffic. Butchers, Enigmas and Earthshakers find this spot pretty attractive, to say the least.

SENTINEL JUNGLE
1.

The 1st eye requires you to chop down 2 trees. It doesn't offer a large sight of the river or the entrance, but it's perfect to detect enemy wards planted nearby. The 2nd eyecam monitors entrance to the sentinel jungle from lower river, one of the most frequent paths used by both sides, as well as the creeps.

2.

Useful throughout the game. Fastest way from middle lane to sentinel jungle/lower rune spot.

3.

Monitors sentinel lvl1 creep and provides sight in the woods. Very useful when sentinel 1st and 2nd middle tower is threatened/down.

4.

Gives sight in woods. Very useful when 2nd sentinel tower is threatened. And if hiding in the shadows around this part is very popular, you might want to plant a 2nd eye in the cluster of trees between here and the lvl5 creeps.



Scourge Jungle

1.

This is always the 2nd eye I plant after the upper rune spot one. It's pretty near and very useful. Surveillance over lv3 creeps plus an entrance.

3.

There are different ways to plant an eye at this creep point. Combine this eye with the one below and you will have a clear vision of the area below the scourge tower. Plant it in the woods below the creeps and you have sight over an entrance.

4.


Very useful eye. Covers traffic between top/middle scourge lane, gungler ganking and surprise attacks aimed at scourge mid towers.

5.


Useful when the tower's down or you're sentinel.

6.

Useful when sentinel's attacking 2nd mid tower and base tower.

7.


8.


Replays coming soon
So long for my TP guide. Welcome to comment