Semi-daily hero tips. Day 49: Lone Druid

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
• IO
• Jakiro
• Juggernaut
• Keeper of the Light
• Kunkka
• Legion Commander
• Leshrac
• Lich
• Lifestealer
• Lina
• Lion

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.

Lone Druid

Notes:

• Classic build transform rules: druid form for healing, running, transform dodging stuns. True form for everything else.
• Don't be afraid to use the bear for more than attacking (BoT TP target, scout, draw aggro...)
• If your bear dies in a teamfight you're probably gonna lose (pre-7.0 build), wait to respawn him until after the fight (or when you respawn)
• Wait to skill lvl 4 bear until you get in a fight. Get an entangle, level up bear and the cooldown for entangle is refreshed.
• Don't be afraid to move over the AC, maelstrom and even basher to your hero in the later stages of the game, as he will deal more damage by then. (pre-7.0 build)
• You can keep the midas on the bear, but you should always use it with the hero, or you will miss out on the XP
• Versus: Note when Sylla just spawned his bear. If so, you should try and kill him asap.
• Killing level 4 spirit bear deals 270 damage to sylla himself.
• Very good hero for lvl 1 roshan.
• Have the bear attack once or twice, no entangle? Don't go in. Try again, first hit entangle? Go in.
• Good against: Bane + Mirana combo (tank arrow or take nightmare with bear), Meepo, Ursa (Entangle), DS (hard for him to catch out sylla in his close range combo's, bear doesn't really care about shield), Silencer (sylla bearely (huehuehue) uses skills), IO (sylla is often off the map, making him hard to find for relocate), Omni (no good depush), Enigma (eidolons melt to bear or sylla, no good depush), Techies (use bear to trigger mines)
• Counters: Tinker (Laser blind, March is a great depush skill), PA (can jump the druid himself), Clinkz, BH (can reach the back lines to jump druid himself), Kunkka (X on bear ensures he can't be recalled), Brewmaster (drunken haze blind, Storm panda cyclone against bear), Sniper (Even longer range than sylla, high damage), Puck (entangle is useless, can reach back lines)
• Versus: Put 2 supports against him
• Place the midas on the bear when the active is on cooldown for the small AS increase. (pre 7.0)

Role: Solo laner(, jungle)

Items:

• Classic item build druid: Midas, Tranquils, cloak, (drum, dragon lance, maelstrom,) AC, BKB

• Classic item build spirit bear: brown boots, radiance, phase, (basher, aghs) BKB, (Shiva's)

• Alternative build druid: Midas, Tranquils, cloak, (Drums, Dragon Lance, Maelstrom,) AC, Heart

• Alternative build spirit bear: OoV, phase, Maelstrom, Basher, Vlad's, MKB, Mjollnir, (Shiva's)

• 7.0x build druid: Phase, (RoA, HotD,) Dragon Lance, (Desolator,) Maelstrom -> Mjollnir, Pike, (EoS, Daedalus, BKB, MKB, BoT)

• 7.0x bear build: OoV, Blight Stone, Phase, (AC)

Skill build: Max bear > Rabid > Roar. 7.0 build: don't skill True form until the end.