Drafting Analysis: Good Draft, Stupid Lanes

ForewordI didn't draft this game, but I was watching it.  I thought "yeah, that's a decent draft", and then the guy totally messed up the lanes. Thus, I thought it would be a good example to explain why the lanes wouldn't (likely) work, even though the draft itself is fine.The Draft:http://dota2draft.the-cluster.org/show?fp=d&pick=S1Zk0zb1Y2Zy1ZY4t4ZR2r0b1&ban=ZfZdMZmLzgZCKOzeAnalysis:The way these lanes sit, all Dire lanes will lose, even though I think they have a more balanced draft with better hero synergies. Morph against Razor: ...

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Composite Damage

Composite damage was a mechanic where damage could be both physical and magical, and both armor, damage block and magic resistance applied to it, but it could damage magic-immune target, but does not affect ethereal units. Composite damage will be removed in Dota2 patch 6.82.  The heroes that had composite damage abilities prior to that patch included:Leshrac - Diabolic Edict (changing to Physical)Beastmaster - Wild Axes (changing to Physical)Alchemist - Acid Spray (changing to Physical)Techies - Land Mine (changing to Physical)Lone Druid...

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A Breakdown of Initiators

Types of Initiators:AOE damage (direct or over time)AOE lockdown (slows, stuns, movement restrictions, positioning)AOE debuffs (silences and debuffs)Isolation (separates a hero from their team for a pick-off)Examples of Initiator by TypeAOE Damage:Earthshaker (Echo Slam)Sand King (Epicenter)Elder Titan (Earthsplitter)AOE Lockdown:Enigma (Black Hole)Disruptor (Static Storm + Kinetic Field)Warlock (Chaotic Offering + Upheaval)Puck (Dream Coil)Medusa (Stone Gaze)Naga (Song) Faceless Void (Chronosphere)Magnus (Reverse Polarity) AOE SlowsBeastmaster...

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Started on a winter enchantress set for pro player 1437

I've been wnating to make this set for a while and approached Theeban if he would like this set. He agrreed so I get to make him a cute and fluffy ench set all ready for winter :DHere is the basic zbrush blockout and concept a...

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Finished my Mirana SnowStorm set!

Finally ccompleted this set! Here is a full res version of the loading screen perfect for a widescreen 1920x1080 res monitor.It's now up on the workshop so please feel free to hop on over and give it a vote! I'd really appreciate it!http://steamcommunity.com/workshop/filedetails/?id=309453782Some in game pictur...

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Finished the texture on my Mirana Snow Storm set!

I even gave the mount two colour styles as I really love both styl...

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Mirana SnowStorm final High poly

Here is a render of the final highpoly model for my Mirana Snow Storm set! Complete with fluffy bow...

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Ear morphling final render

I rendered this image here in marmoset toolbag to then send of to Danidem who made it look amazing.And here is an animated giff of the set in the games loado...

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Team Ideas: Global Pain!

Just for fun, I thought up some viable teams with global-effect spells or positioning.Heroes of Choice:  Clockwerk, Gyro (Aghs), AA, Zeus, NP, Spectre, Invoker (Exhort), and Wisp.Also "Global":  Spiritbreaker,  Tinker, Centaur, Troll, Drow, Crystal MaidenTeam Ideas:#1Clock, Gyro (Aghs), AA, Zeus, NPClock solo offlaneNP jungleZeus mid (early Refresher)Gyro + AA safelane#2:Zeus, Silencer (Aghs), NP, Spectre, AANP + Zeus offlaneSpectre + AA safelaneSilencer mid#3:Clock solo offlaneInvoker midNP jungleGyro + AA/Zeus safelane#4:Tiny,...

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The Math on Axe

There's been an idea that taking a double-stout shield on Axe is actually more effective for damage mitigation than other alternatives. Now, double-Stout Shield doesn't completely stack.  However, you get a 60% chance to block 20 of the damage that gets through the first 60% chance, meaning your net block chance is 84% to block 20 damage. There's been some controversy about the usefulness of double-stout shield on Axe as early items.  I did the math, and here's the result:https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4HHV8LhGPUuSUxFS1VpT0ZjNUU/edit?usp=sharingSummary...

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The Math on Ogre Magi

Here's a spreadsheet of the math on Ogre's Magi's Fireblast-versus-Ignite damage scaling:As of patch 6.81:https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14qwcEPuv6nckulk4z2ZnvjQ1iotvasxWKwzhm7AH6sk/edit?usp=sharingAs of patch 6.82b:Fireblast has a fixed damage scaling of 65 additional damage / level after L1.Ignite, on the other hand, increases in damage faster than Fireblast, and each subsequent level adds more damage than the previous level-up.Ignite is also more efficient damage per mana, at all levels.This leads to the idea that maximizing Ignite first...

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Strong 1v1 Lane Heroes

The following heroes are strong solo-lane against another hero 1v1.See also:  List of Solo Offlaners (also called Suicide Laners) Strong Solo Laners:a) are unlikely to die 1v1b) may be able to get kills 1v1 with no level advantagec) have strong harass and/or strong escapeBatriderBeastmasterBloodseekerBrewmasterClinkzClockwerkDragon KnightEmber SpiritInvokerMirana Nature's ProphetNightstalkerObsidian DestroyerPhoenix PuckQueen of Pain RazorSlarkTemplar AssassinTimbersawViperWeaverThe following heroes are SOMEWHAT good against other heroes 1v1,...

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