[Daily Hero tl;dr #26] Venomancer

Ahh Venomancer - my recent favorite hero to play. He's one of those agility support / pusher heroes that we've come to adore so much.

TL;DR -

• Skills (solo build) - Gale (1,12,13,14) Sting (2,3,5,7) Ward (4,8,9,10) Nova (6,11,16)
• Skills (push build) - Gale (1,12,13,14) Sting (2,8,9,10) Ward (3,4,5,7) Nova (6,11,16)
• Skills (roam/gank build) - Gale (1,3,5,7) Sting (2,8,9,10) Ward (4,12,13,14) Nova (6,11,16)
• Items (lane) - branches, regen, Basilius (into Aquila because why not)
• Items (early) - any boots upgrade (I like Phase), Urn, Drum, Mek
• Items (later) - Necrobook, Aghs, Sheepstick
• Tips - use wards for scouting, harass as much as possible
• Counters - magic immunity (BKB, repel), burst damage

Okay. I want to lead off saying that people underestimate the power of poison sting. I personally think it is your strongest skill. You are doing so much damage it's ridiculous at early levels and you will EASILY out harass your opponent in almost any lane. That being said, solo mid is not only legitimate but great. At level 2 sting, you are doing 70 extra damage each attack. That is A LOT of damage. Don't underestimate its power, I like maxing it first.

Anyhow, Venomancer is an excellent ganker, pusher, and laner. At level 1 you have this amazing slow that lasts for quite some time. It's more than enough (combined with another disable) for an easy first blood. That's why you should get Gale at level 1. Then I get Sting at level 2 for the extra slow and DPS. Wards are amazing for pushing and scouting, and unless you're permanently roaming they should be gotten (and maxed) pretty early.

So your strategy for early-mid game is simply gank and push, gank and push (unless your job is to shut down a lane, which is do-able with max Sting). Place wards in odd locations for vision and even blocking off paths. They don't do too much damage, but if you can get 3-4 out while pushing, it can add up and help destroy towers. If you're being pushed against, set up a brigade of wards next to your tower to help destroy their creeps.

In teamfights, your job is pretty obvious. Run in, hit your ultimate, try to get off a few attacks, and then you'll probably die. Before fights, use wards for both scouting and even disabling blink daggers.

// I'll answer questions in the comments and take suggestions for tomorrow's write up.

/// I am compiling a list of my threads (until something better comes up) on my profile at GG.net