Semi-daily hero tips. Day 21: Dark Seer

PREVIOUS HEROES

• Abaddon
• Alchemist
• Ancient Apparition
• Anti-Mage
• Arc Warden
• Axe
• Bane
• Batrider
• Beastmaster
• Bloodseeker
• Bounty Hunter
• Brewmaster
• Bristleback
• Broodmother
• Centaur Warrunner
• Chaos Knight
• Chen
• Clinkz
• Clockwerk
• Crystal Maiden

DISCLAIMER

A lot of you probably know about the weekly hero discussion, but that often ends up in a meta discussion (whether or not the hero needs buffs, etc) or a meme war than actual tips to play, itemize and build the hero.

This is what I'd like to do. Please discuss any notes I made and possible improvements while also giving tips of your own if you have them.

The roles, skill builds and item builds, as well as a lot of the notes are my opinion on matters and should not be seen as a must do or don't. Also remember that almost every single build or role is situationally possible.

A lot of the tips on heroes were also mentioned in tsunami's amazing hero tips series he did over the last couple of years.

Dark Seer

Notes:

• Versus a dual or solo lane, you can sometimes surge the first creep once or twice to get it to the enemy tower and draw the lane to your tower.
• Friends: Doom, Pudge (Surge, ion shell), Batrider (surge on lasso), Invis heroes (ion shell invis)
• Help supports ward quickly with surge
• Vacuum can take down trees
• Shell the second creep in your wave, this one will normally not take a lot of aggro
• Good versus: Meepo (shell one), Omniknight (needs to be close to allies with ion shell...), Brood (ion shell dmg on spiders), TA, Treant, TB, CK (Ion shell), PL, Naga (ion shell + wall), WK (Ion shell, surge vs his ult), Luna (wall), WW (DS barely has right click and is tanky vs WW ult, Ion shell is great against WW heal)
• Counters: Oracle (Purges Ion shell and surge), Sniper, Ember (DS wants heroes to be close together), Huskar, AM (mostly magic damage), Enigma (BH counters DS' main wish of heroes being in close quarters), Disruptor (glimpse)
• Combo: Vacuum into wall. If you put the wall first, the enemy has time to react with BKB or run away.
• Putting a wall preemptively can help prevent a push (up your T3 for example). Think twice before you do so though.
• Versus: Stand next to the lane, wait for him to shell a creep, then harass him out with auto attacks
• Versus: Don't stand in wall as it will give you the damage slow and a new illusion every time you pass through it.
• Versus: Surge and ion shell can be purged
• Versus: Consider getting 2 supports to zone him out.
• You can stack the Radiant offlane camp on the ward cliff (infinitely?) with vacuum. (/u/effigus)

Role: Solo laner(/jungler), teamfighter

Skill build: max shell

Item build: soul ring, mana boots, mek --> greaves, (Blink, pipe, shiva's, agh's, sheep stick, Crimson)