Semi-daily hero tips. Day 38: IO

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
• Dark Seer
• Dazzle
• Death Prophet
• Disruptor
• Doom
• Dragon Knight
• Drow Ranger
• Earth Spirit
• Earthshaker
• Elder Titan
• Ember Spirit
• Enchantress
• Enigma
• Faceless Void
• Gyrocopter
• Huskar
• Invoker

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.

IO

Notes:

• Always be aware of anything that happens on the map
• Stick with your carry
• Be even more aware of your tether. Tether when you want to take your carry back, leave him behind, etc.
• Soul ring is amazing for the burst mana it gives your carry without reducing his health
• Overcharge when tethered, don't forget to turn it off when you don't need it.
• Always turn your overcharge on if your carry is lower on health than you
• Taking away IO's stun from tether made it so that he has less very good partners, unless they get a basher/abyssal (Ursa, PA)
• Best friends: Tiny, CK
• Friends: Timbersaw, Ursa, PA, void, Slardar, Troll, KOTL (tether + callback), Morphling
• Good versus: Techies, Pudge, Slark, Nyx, Riki (Roaming heroes that thrive on single hero pick offs)
• Counters: Beastmaster (can easily spot relocate attempts, 5 man push), Puck (Very hard to kill with relocate), Lesh, DP, Arc Warden, Chen, Lycan, LD (5 man push)
• Invis hero on the enemy team? carry dust at all times
• Use tether for quick escapes or to catch up to your race car building carry
• Relocate has a very noticeable visual effect and a delay, relocate out of sight on single enemies who have an escape
• Relocate is a good defensive mechanism to get your carry to the fountain too (most of the time sacrificing your own life in the process)
• Exploding spirits on one hero and immediately using them again on the same hero can cause 1000 magical damage before reductions
• Tether duration is the same as the cooldown
• Overcharge or don't heal fully when leaving the fountain. This allows you to tether up and heal a friend in lane with the fountain buff.
• Tether automatically refreshes its duration when casting AND completing a relocate.
• Versus: Keep a close eye on your minimap when playing against an Io. If Relocate is cast, you'll see a bright red TP icon on your minimap on their destination.
• Stunning/Ensnaring/Banishing/Hexing/Cycloning/Sleeping (basically everything except slowing and silencing) Io during the pre-cast of Relocate will prevent Relocate from going off.

Role: support

Item build: (Soul ring,) Bottle, Wand, tranquils/arcanes, urn, (mek --> greaves, Heart, BKB, Ghost scepter, Vlad's, Glimmer)

Skill build: lvl 1 tether, lvl 1 overcharge, max spirits --> overcharge --> tether