0. ALT-TAB MINI-GUIDE
1. About the Author [AAA] <-- use this to find the section you're looking for
2. Hero Breifing [BBB]
3. Varying Gameplay [CCC]
4. Friends and Foes [DDD]
5. Skill/Item Build [EEE]
6. Early Game [FFF]
7. Mid Game [GGG]
8. End Game [HHH]
9. Additional Notes (Tips and Tricks) [TTT]

ALT-TAB MINI-GUIDE

Skill Build:
1. Sticky Napalm
2-3. Firefly
4. Sticky Napalm
5. Firefly
6. Flaming Lasso
7. Firefly
8-9. Sticky Napalm
10. Flamebreak
11. Flaming Lasso
12-15. Stats
16. Flaming Lasso
17-22. Stats
23-25. FlameBreak

Item Build:
1x Stout Shield -> 1x RoH -> 1x Vanguard
1x Healing Salve
2x Tango
1x Clarity
-----
1x Boots of Speed -> 1x Phase Boots/BoT
1x Chainmail -> 1x Robe of the Magi -> 1x Broadsword -> 1x Blademail
-----
1x Heart of Tarrasque

Hi guys, before we get started, I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Sam, I've been playing dota for about 4 years now. It all started at UCLA when my friend introduced me to WCIII's popular mod TD games at the time. After becoming bored of them (didn't take too long, as they were all pretty repetitive at the time), I was convinced by my friends to try DotA. The first hero I ever picked was the Phantom Assassin (I liked the name), and I got handled every time even though I was just playing with my friends. Fast forward 4 years, after a lot of experience (public games, bot-hosted games, clan scrims, local LAN tournaments, and a lot of reading/videos), I've come to the conclusion that it is time to contribute a bit back to the DotA community. Without any further delays, here it is, my first DotA guide.


Jin'zakk, the Batrider recieved quite a big nerf after it's initial release in 6.60. After the nerf, the hype died down for this hero. Now in public games and competitive games alike Jin'zakk is hardly ever picked.

Pros:
Firefly can nullify certain spells and make you untargettable
Tank oriented caster hero
AoE Slow and high AoE Damage
Great disable

Cons:
Challenging and Different from traditional DPS heroes
Requires medium-high lane control
Item dependant
Very weak against Silence

Basic Stats (Base Stats + Growth per level) *Note* This can also be found in the Heroes section on playdota. *Note*


A lot can be told about a hero just by looking at it's base stats. Having one of the highest starting STR(23) and STR gain(2.0), Batrider has natrually high Health Points and Health Regeneration. A low starting AGI(15) and low AGI gain (1.5) indicates that this hero probably will not be auto-attacking to do damage. Finally, the mediocre starting INT(24) and INT gain(2.5) can tell us that this hero may not be your traditional nuke type hero. With all of these facts in mind, the category that suits this hero most is INT TANK. However, there are many other ways to play this hero, and this is only one of the ways to play the Batrider efficiently.

Sticky Napalm
Ability Type: Active
Targetting Type: Area
Ability Hotkey: C
Mana Cost: 20/20/20/20
Cooldown: 3/3/3/3
Cast Range: 700/700/700/700
Duration: 7s/7s/7s/7s
Area of Effect: 375/375/375/375
Does not affect Allies
Effect1: 10,3%/15,5%/20,7%/25,9% (damage increase per stack/slow%)
Effect2: 70% turn rate reduction
Damage type: Magical
All damage from Batrider's attacks, items and skills is amplified, except for damage from Radiance.

Targets an area and drenches it in very sticky oil. Amplifies any fire damage and slows the movement speed and turn rate of units in that area. Extra casts of this on the same targets stack up to 10 times.

This skill is the bread and butter of the Batrider. It slows, increases damage output of the Batrider, and is AoE + spam-able. One thing to watch out for is magic sticks/wands (more detail later). This will be our primary skill, and second to be maxed.

Flamebreak
Ability Type: Active
Targetting Type: Point
Ability Hotkey: R
Mana Cost: 80/100/120/140
Cooldown: 11/11/11/11
Cast Range: 1500/1500/1500/1500
Duration: 0.5s/0.5s/0.5s/0.5s
Area of Effect: 400/400/400/400
Does not affect Allies
Effect1: 75/150/225/300 (damage)
Effect2: If a target gets directly hit, it will be stunned for 0.5 seconds.
Effect3: Enemy units not directly hit will be pushed away from the blast based on distance from blast. *Note* Does not interrupt channeling *Note*
Damage type: Magical

Hurls a highly explosive cocktail of dangerous chemicals at the target position. Upon impacting with an enemy the missile explodes, dealing damage and knocking all nearby foes away from the impact. Any unit who has been Napalmed will take additional damage from the blast.

This skills is a very versitile and is a great addition to the AoE damage that the Batrider has. Uses include chasing, sniping and exploring fog among others. Great for teamfights, will be maxed 3rd or last depending on type of game.

Firefly
Ability Type: Active
Targetting Type: Point
Ability Hotkey: R
Mana Cost: 100/100/100/100
Cooldown: 40/40/40/40
Cast Range: N/A
Duration: 15s/15s/15s/15s
Area of Effect: 200/200/200/200
Does not affect Allies
Effect1: 20/40/60/80 (damage per second)
Effect2: During this the Batrider can fly above units, trees and impassable terrain. (If duration ends when above impassable terrain, the Batrider can get stuck)
Effect3: Will destroy trees when flying above them.
Damage type: Magical

Flies high leaving a burning trail behind. Enemies who dare follow will get burned by the fiery napalm. Nothing can take the skies from him. Lasts 15 seconds.

Also a very versitile skill, when combined with sticky napalm, only a fool would stay in the AoE of the fire path that you create. Can be used to escape (using terrain to your advantage) and also to damage multiple units. This is your main damage skill and the feature that makes the Batrider so unique. Max this first!

Flaming Lasso
Ability Type: Active
Targetting Type: Unit
Ability Hotkey: F
Mana Cost: 150/150/150
Cooldown: 90/70/50
Cast Range: 175/175/175
Duration: 3s/3.5s/4s
Area of Effect: N/A
Does not affect Allies
Effect1: Drags target for 3/3.5/4 (seconds)
*Note* Disable works on magic immune units.
*Note* If the distance between the Batrider and the target is more than 400 the lasso breaks. (blink, teleport, swap will break lasso) - (Forcestaff, hook, blinding light does not break lasso)
*Note* Killing the Batrider or the target will break the lasso before its expiration.

Snags a target with a constricting lasso, allowing the Batrider to drag them behind him as he moves. Does not drag units onto impassable terrain. Teleporting or blinking will break the lasso.

An amazing skill that lets you disable and drag a hero with you so that your team can pound him/her to death. Level as soon as the skill is available.

3. Varying Gameplay[CCC]

As with any hero, there is no one particular way to play the Batrider. Although this guide focuses on playing Batrider as a tank caster, there are many other ways to play the Batrider effectively and efficiently. When playing with a team that really needs a disable and already have other tanks like Tidehunter, Centuar, Axe, Bristleback, or tank heroes like those, going for a more caster oriented build would be a better idea (in which casae, you would want to max flamebreak sooner than otherwise). Your primary role in this situation is more of a slower and disabler and it is unlikely that you will place yourself in target of enemy spells or aggro. In this case, you will not initiate the team fights. In the case that you're playing a public hosted game, chances are, you can even try to play an auto-attack type build with attack speed/damage items.

4. Friends and Foes[DDD]

Because the Batrider is such a unique hero, many heroes benefit from it. Any disable will greatly help the Batrider to DPS, so here is a list of disablers and AoE DPS that are benefitial:
Crystal Maiden, Leshrac, Rhasta, Lion, Bane, Dark Seer, Enigma, Venomancer, Zeus, Queen of Pain, Jakiro, Vengeful Spirit, Admiral, Centuar, Beastmaster, Treant Protector, Tidehunter, Magnataur, Sand King, Bristleback, Pugna, Ogre Magi, Witch Doctor, Tiny, Sven, Lina, Axe, Ancient Apparition, Slardar Storm, Windrunner, Warlock, Pitlord, Dazzle, Techies

Well either way, you get the point, the Batrider is not very hero dependant. The italic heroes are some of the Batrider's favoite allies.

Assuming that you and your opponents are about the same skill level, the only foes that can take our flying friend down are few. The most noticible commonality is the either a silence or higher DPS and tanking abilities (and magic immunity). Heroes that fall into this catergory are:
Silencer, Drow Ranger, Death Prophet, Puck, Bloodseeker, Omniknight Lifestealer, Slardar, Huskar.

With a silence on the other team, it is much harder for you to spam Sticky Napalm and chain spells together. Magic immunity will just cancel out whatever effects your firefly and sticky napalm has on them.

Items that can devastate you include blademail and Black King Bar.

5. Skill/Item Build [EEE]

Because the Item build depends on the Skill build, lets get the different skill builds out of the way.
Type Tank:
1. Sticky Napalm/Firefly
2. Firefly/Sticky Napalm
3. Firefly/Sticky Napalm/Flamebreak
4. Firefly
5. Firefly
6. Flaming Lasso
7. Firefly
8. Sticky Napalm/Flamebreak(if not taken at 3)
9. Sticky Napalm
10. Sticky Napalm/Stats
11. Flaming Lasso
12. Stats
13. Stats
14. Stats
15. Stats
16. Flaming Laso
17-22. Stats
23-25. Flamebreak

Item Build for Tank:

Start with COURIER (if no better hero to get it)
Stout Shield/Tango
1x Healing Salve/Tango
1x Clarity
Stout Shield
2x Healing Salve
1x Tango
1x Clarity
1x Bottle
1x COURIER
1x Healing Salve
2x Tango
2x Clarity

The last two options are for a mid lane solo (I do not recommend this as Batrider is not a very strong mid lane hero due to the short lane and lack of lane control skills.

Now to choose a lane. If your team has enough ranged heroes to spare for both top and bottom lane, I would recommend starting in the bottom lane (Sentinel) or top lane (Scourge). Because the Batrider does not have very good lane control, either have your teammate (probably melee) pull at x:15/x:45 times or do it yourself.

Depending on the lane you are in and how well you are doing, you want to farm up a Ring of Health as soon as possible or rush Phase boots. Phase boots are very situational and are not always the boots of choice for the Batrider. The most safe and defensive way to play Batrider is to rush Vanguard and to get regular boots of speed.

Depending on the farm and hero kill count items can be the following by 20 minutes:
TEAM
1x Flying Courier
1x or 2x Observer Wards (Situational)
1x or 2x Sentry Wards (Situational)

1x Vanguard
1x Boots of Speed
1x Scroll of Teleportation
1x Chainmail
1x Robe of the Magi
or
1x Vanguard
1x Boots of Travel
or
1x Bottle
1x Vanguard
1x Boots of Speed
1x Scroll of Teleportation
1x Chainmail
or
1x Bottle
1x Vanguard
1x Boots of Travel
1x Chainmail
or (worst case scenario)
1x or 0x Bottle
1x Stout
1x Ring of Health
1x Boots of Speed

At this point, depending on how well you did with early game laning phase, item choice will differ greatly. But to cut this section short, lets just assume that we have a vanguard and boots of speed with a chainmail for now.

Items to make! Chainmail+Robe of Magi+Broadsword = Blademail
Reason: As a tank, you gather a lot of aggro, can use blademail to ward that aggro off or to deal additional damage to enemies targetting you.
!Warning! Blademail is not a beginner-friendly item, the timing requires anticipation and timing. (Please read a guide on how to use blademail or practice using it and learn from experience)

Boots of Travel/Phase Boots
Reason: Higher movement speed allows you to keep enemies under the effect of firefly's DPS and will allow you to drag enemies further with Flaming Lasso.
!Warning! Phase Boots are not compatible with firefly, using it over unpassable terrain during flight will nullify the effect passing unpassable terrain. (you will be stuck and unable to move as long as you're under the effect of both phase + firefly)

Hood of Defiance/Pipe of Insight
Reason: Depending on the other team (nuke heavy or physical damage) you may want to switch between Vanguard and Hood of Defiance, or get both. A nice Health Point Regeneration and a large reduction in magic damage will help you tank those nukes when you go in with firefly.

Void Stone
Reason: Even without spamming flamebreak, using sticky napalm + firefly + flaming lasso will draing your mana quickly. Basic mana regeneration (can be made into perseverance -> Linkens/Bloodstone or Eul's Scepter of Divinity or Guinsoo's Scythe of Vyse.

Mekansm
Reason: In the case that you're playing semi-tank, semi-support, this item can help with bonus armor and bonus stats as well as the 250HP AoE heal.

Black King Bar
Reason: Situational, if there are tons of disablers (chain disable) then consider getting BKB so you can go in and do your stuff with firefly/sticky napalm without being stuck in one spot due to focus disables.

Heart of Tarrasque
Reason: You're a tank, this is what all tanks without physical DPS get. Only get this item if game will go into overtime (past mid-game)

Necronomicon
Reason: Situational, can also be used as a core item. Easy to make, great MS bonus + mana burn + truesight. Use with sticky napalm + firefly for more even more damage.
!Warning! Not beginner-friendly and also requires micro-management.

Forcestaff
Reason: For fun for the most part, can be used like a blink (without having to break lasso) and push enemies towards you to lasso.

Ghost Staff
Reason: Situational, can be used to evade deadly late game physical DPS heroes.
!Warning! Not a beginner-friendly item.

LUXUARY items:

Guinsoo's Scythe of Vyse
Reason: By the time you get this, it'll be end game. At this point, you'll be spamming flamebreak to deal more damage. Also, you need to a disable to help in team fight.

Eul's Scepter of Divinity
Reason: Situational, I would recommend Guinsoo's over this. The movement speed bonus helps and being able to cyclone yourself or others can come in handy.

Radiance
Reason: Not recommended as sticky napalm no longer increases radiance damage per second. However it is useful as you are the tank and it will be able to help you gain more aggro + deal a bit more damage.

Talisman of Evasion
Reason: In case of high physical dps on the opposing team. Can come in handy against heroes like:
Phantom Assassin
Troll
Lifestealer
Slardar
Faceless Void
Juggernaut

Items not included:
Shivas guard
Reason: Sure it's great slow + armor, but you've got enough slow and armor from blademail and sticky napalm.

Refresher
Reason: Your highest cooldown by the time you get this item is 50 seconds.

Assualt Cuirass
Reason: You're not an auto-attack hero with this build.

Orchid Malevolence
Reason: You're not an auto-attack hero with this build. Overkill mana regeneration without using flamebreak as a damage skill.

Dagon
Reason: Can be used in pub-stomp games, but high mana cost + lack of health point bonus makes this item not a primary choice for the Batrider.

Aghanim's Scepter
Reason: No ultimate benefit, an ultimate orb would do the trick for stats.

Helm of the Dominator/Mask of Madness/Satanic
Reason: You're not an auto-attack hero with this build.

Monkey King Bar/Buriza/Basher
Reason: You're not an auto-attack hero with this build.

Manta Style
Reason: Your images don't get firefly, unfortunately.

Battlefury/Vladmir's Offering
Reason: This item benefits melee heroes most, you're ranged.

Butterfly/Ethereal Blade
Reason: If you want evasion, a talisman of evasion would be enough. AGI does not benefit you as much as other stats like STR or INT.

Armlet of Mordiggian
Reason: The only bonus to this is the STR bonus and the armor. However, the cost and the Health Point loss per second is not very beneficial to the Batrider.

Arcane Ring
Reason: This costs too much for the basic mana regen that you need. Void stone is a far better option.

6. Early Game[FFF]

Early Game is the toughest, most challenging and most rewarding time out of the entire game. This is where you can easily tell a beginner from an experienced player. It seems to me that many public-hosted games have turned into a competition on who can farm the most. I feel that if that was all there was to DotA, it would not have survived this long (regardless of how often/good the update material was). There are some guides that focus just on the Early Game period of DotA and I highly recommend you take some time to read it).
However, I will briefly describe how the Batrider can do well in the early laning phase. First thing to do is to choose the correct lane. There is no wrong lane to start in; however, there are lanes that will make life easier for you. Chances are very low that you are the best for a mid solo. The only time that this is the case is when there are no other ranged heroes or strong rune control melee heroes (for example Beastmaster). Because this is a beginner’s guide, I will lightly cover each lane and go more in-depth for the lane of choice.
The short lane and mid lane can both be played by Batrider, however, the strategy differs a little bit based on the lane situation.
If in mid lane 1v1 vs a strong ranged mid solo like Shadow Fiend or Lightning Reverent, chances are very high that you will get destroyed. Best hope is to get lucky with runes and call for ganks from top and bottom as frequently as possible. If playing 1v1 against a strong melee hero, try your best to keep him pressured and away from last hitting creeps. As usual, do your best to grab all the runes when they spawn (every 2 minutes starting at 0:00). In the case of 1v2, chances are high that it will be two stunners who will try their best to chain disable you to death. In this case, try to call for ganks as much as possible from top and bottom lanes. Play defensively and with caution while alone.
In the short lane (top lane for Sentinel, bottom lane for Scourge), in the case of 2v2 with a melee ally and both melee and ranged enemy, lane control is key. However, because the Batrider doesn’t have any strong lane control abilities, your best bet is to spam sticky napalm when the enemies are in range. However, in the case that the enemy has bought magic stick, only start spamming sticky napalm when intending to get a hero kill. Try your best to deny and last hit creeps for extra gold so that you can get your ring of health and stout to make vanguard as soon as possible. If the lane is controlled by the enemy, ask for assistance from mid lane as much as possible. Once they have been successfully ganked a couple of times, use their fear of ganks to your advantage to gain a few more creeps. The above also applies for 2v2 against two ranged and melee. When facing enemies that pull creeps to the camp, either gank that hero or buy observer wards (to stop the camp spawn). Another option can be to pull the strong camp the same time the enemy pulls their camp (this only applies for top lane as Sentinel).
The Batrider benefits the most from the long lane (bottom lane for Sentinel, top lane for Scourge) simply because it’s the longest lane to chase without diving into enemy towers. With this in mind, chances are high that you will be playing more aggressive than defensive. If the lane is being pushed too much to the enemy tower, either take the tower early or pull creeps from the camp so that the enemy creeps can move further along the lane (allowing for more chasing space if the enemy heroes follow). The way to kill depends on what kind of ally you have with you. Be sure to communicate with your ally to know who’s going to initiate, that way there is less confusion when a clash begins. Keep sticky napalm on the enemy hero, once you get 3 stacks or more, you can start to engage. Use the 700 range of the sticky napalm to your full advantage when stacking. By the time you start engaging, the enemies will have a very slow turn rate due to the stacks of sticky napalm. When they finally are able to run in the direction you want them to run, you will be right behind them (spam sticky napalm on them as you chase). Activate firefly when close by and with just 4 or 5 stacks of sticky napalm (level 2), a level 5 Batrider will be doing 100-115 magic damage per second (before reductions). The enemy will have a turn rate of 10-20% of their normal rate and 24-30% movement speed reduction. At level 5, most heroes don’t have more than 800 HP and will die after 5 seconds under the effect of sticky napalm + firefly in addition to the attack power of your ally. When choosing a target to chase, choose the easier hero to guarantee a kill (no windwalk/blink/burst movement speed) and focus fire on that hero.
If you are being lane controlled by the enemies, try to still play aggressive. Call for ganks from mid lane and try to use fear of ganks to your advantage (since you’re in the long lane, enemies will be more reluctant to push further in due to fear of ganks). In the case of a failed gank, or in the case that you are being ganked, there are a few options open to you. Either try your best to evade the enemy in the fog of war, or keep sticky napalm on the enemy while running. If the enemy is foolish enough to take 4 or more stacks and you have enough HP to take a few hits, you can turn the gank around and start spamming sticky napalm and chasing with firefly. This is just a rough idea of what could happen, the rest really depends on the player’s experience level and the enemy’s experience level. Once you have a vanguard and boots of speed, you can play more aggressive and try to take down the first tower (if not already taken). After taking the tower, start helping the other lanes by ganking (since you have a 3s disable with 90s cooldown starting at level 6) and pushing towers. Get the tower advantage as quickly as possible so that you can work towards boots of travel or blademail. Remember, early game is when you are most effective as you can out damage an entire team with just two skills. As time goes on, the enemies get more HP and more damage, so the damage output of the Batrider will diminish greatly. Try to use your early game advantage to gain a hero level gap and item gap in order to gain an edge on your enemies.

7. Mid Game[GGG]

By mid game, your items should include Vanguard/Hood of Defiance (or both depending on situation), Phase Boots/Boots of Travel, Blademail, Void Stone, 2x Nulls/Bracers (or Ghost Scepter – Situational). This is pretty much your complete set of items (the price can range from 7.8k-12k). Because you can achieve your ideal item set much faster than a void or phantom assassin, you still have the advantage in mid game (that is, if you were able to farm those items from hero kills/creep kills). I find that in some public-hosted games, that even in mid game, players are asking me to call missing from my lane. I find this rather odd as mid game is when most of the team fights occur. Your combo of sticky napalm, firefly and flaming lasso are still a large threat at this time, so expect to be targeted by stuns and nukes. This is where the blademail comes in handy; a well anticipated/timed blademail can turn the tide of the battle in your team’s favor. Since you’re the best tank at this time, you are the initiate for a team battle. When choosing a target, look for a non-tank target with lots of disables/stuns or high burst magic damage. Spam sticky napalm and try to get as many enemy heroes as possible with it before you run in to grab someone. Activate firefly as soon as lasso an enemy hero and pull the hero back to your allies. Chances are high that you will be nuked/stunned at this point, so the chaos of a large team battle will begin. In the chaos, you want to focus on the highest DPS hero on the other team or the hero with the most disables and chase them down. Try your best to still use sticky napalm as much as possible and to get as many heroes as you can under the effect of firefly. The 80+ magic damage per second will help your team gain a huge advantage.
Asides from team battles, mid game involves a lot of pushing, tower kills, and ganking. If the other team is trying to delay the team fights, force them into one. Make them play the way you want and need to play so that they are out of their comfort zone and you are in yours. If they don’t respond to your team pushes, you can easily take down all 6 outer towers and gain a large gold advantage (200 per tower per hero). This will then allow you to have an even stronger team push to take down the inner towers and take the barracks to gain a permanent lane advantage.
If not pushing, this is the time to gank the enemy forest with your allies. Warding is such an essential part to early and mid game that will help you get the kills and avoid deaths. It is a very simple, yet complicated matter that requires an entire guide on (so go read one! there are many good warding guides here on playdota). Once they have been ganked a few times, and they are still refusing team fights, just push to finish the game. Don’t waste your time trying to out-farm them (remember that Batrider is only item dependant to a certain point), because their auto attack probably is better than your auto attack.

8. End Game[HHH]

If you’re in end game with Batrider, it could be bad news for you. Not always, but most of the time, it’s very bad news. As now flamebreak and firefly no longer do a significant amount of damage, and the enemy heroes can easily tear you pieces. But it’s not the end of you yet! The flight status of firefly is still helpful for evading enemies (going over cliffs and trees), and the sticky napalm is still a great AoE slow for turn rate and movement speed. Flamming lasso can still be used as an awesome 4s disable with only 50s cool down (and it can target BKB users, wasting their precious time of magic immunity). At this point, you may consider getting a Guinsoo’s Scythe of Vyse to get a 3.5s hex (disable). Your primary role as a tank is still intact as you are a great slower for the team. Because of this, you may want to consider getting a Heart of Tarrasque to have more hit points so you can withstand more pounding from the enemy heroes. Now the game is really not in your hands any more, and you have to rely heavily on your team’s carry to out play the other team’s carry. Hope to never get to late game with Batrider! Or try a different build… a late game Batrider build, and write a guide about it so that I can learn a few things




Here are a few tricks of the Batrider (requires confirmation).
During flight mode (firefly), when flying over cliffs you cannot be targetted by any auto attack orb (tested with bones' searing arrows).
During flight mode (firefly), you cannot be hexed.


CLOSE

Thanks for taking the time to read and review my guide! Let me know what I can improve on, I've only spent half a day on this! So please let me know anything else you'd like to see in this guide and I'll try my best to accommodate!

-floot-