Learning to play Invoker - Part 1

Invoker is one of the most powerful, versatile and complex heroes in Dota 2. With his all -rounder attributes, Quas, Wex and Exhort and ten spells at his disposal he can fufil almost any role and dominate team fights. No matter what the situation, Invoker is the right choice. This versatility and cornacopia of spells can be somewhat of a double edged sword however, as he's really really hard to learn to play well.

Apart from having ten different spell combinations to remember and try and cycle through in the heat of battle you have to constantly be thinking a few steps ahead, planning not just what spells you need now but what spells will be useful next and then next after that. His ability to assume any role can also mean that for players just starting out it can be difficult to know what they should be doing as opposed to a hero whose role is more narrow and well defined.

For these reasons and more I had always put off learning how to play Invoker. 'He's not for me,' I would say, 'Who needs ten spells anyway?' Still, his awesome potential called out to me to be mastered and so now I am finally taking the plunge to learn this most complex of casters.

 

Step one: The Basics

Before playing Invoker, we need to know the basic information. What are his spells, what kind of stats does he have? What do his abilities do? Who is his daddy and what does he do?

"In its earliest, and some would say most potent form, magic was primarily the art of memory. It required no technology, no wands or appurtenances other than the mind of the magician. All the trappings of ritual were merely mnemonic devices, meant to allow the practitioner to recall in rich detail the specific mental formulae that unlocked a spell's power. The greatest mages in those days were the ones blessed with the greatest memories, and yet so complex were the invocations that all wizards were forced to specialize.

The most devoted might hope in a lifetime to have adequate recollection of three spells—four at most. Ordinary wizards were content to know two, and it was not uncommon for a village mage to know only one—with even that requiring him to consult grimoires as an aid against forgetfulness on the rare occasions when he might be called to use it. But among these early practitioners there was one exception, a genius of vast intellect and prodigious memory who came to be known as the Invoker. In his youth, the precocious wizard mastered not four, not five, not even seven incantations: He could command no fewer than ten spells, and cast them instantly.

Many more he learned but found useless, and would practice once then purge from his mind forever, to make room for more practical invocations. One such spell was the Sempiternal Cantrap—a longevity spell of such power that those who cast it in the world's first days are among us still (unless they have been crushed to atoms). Most of these quasi-immortals live quietly, afraid to admit their secret: But Invoker is not one to keep his gifts hidden. He is ancient, learned beyond all others, and his mind somehow still has space to contain an immense sense of his own worth...as well as the Invocations with which he amuses himself through the long slow twilight of the world's dying days."

 

 Starting attributes

- Strength: 19 (1.7 gain per level)
- Agility: 20 (1.9 gain per level)
- Intelligence: 22 (2.5 gain per level, main attribute)
- Health: 511
- Mana: 286
- Damage: 35-41
- Armour: 1.8
- Attack Speed: 0.7/s
- Move Speed:280
- Turn Rate: 0.5
- Attack Range: 600
- Missile Speed: 900

Invoker's starting attributes are all quite good. His base damage has been lowered recently but is negligible with an Exort build so he can still last hit and harass effectively. His movement speed is quite slow, but with a few points in wex he becomes quite fast and when combined with Phase Boots and an Euls he becomes a speed demon. His mana pool is also fairly low but is enough to get by until a bottle can be purchased. The first few levels he won't be spamming his spells all that much except for the occasional cold snap if the enemy is out of position anyway.

Abilities

Invoker's abilities are what set him apart from all other heroes. Rather than having four spells, he has three 'reagents' which are combined using his ultimate Invoke to create spells. These reagents can be levelled seven times and replace the plus attributes that other heroes have. Invoke can be leved four times and can be used at level two. He can have any combination of these three reagents active at any one time, each giving him different bonuses when active. The active reagents at the time of his ultimate will determine which spell is created.

Quas: Quas allows for the manipulation of icy elements and gives a passive regeneration bonus when activated  and a permanent strength bonus and can be useful for healing up after taking damage or for tanking during a fight. Each reagent gives 1/2/3/4/5/6/7 strength and 2/4/6/8/10/12/14 strength. Quas is a useful build for access to spells such as Cold Snap, great for picking up early game kills.

Wex: Allows manipulation of the storm elements and gives an increased movement and attack speed and a permanent agility bonus. Each reagent gives 2/4/6/8/10 percent attack speed, 1/2/3/4/5/6/7 percent movement speed and 2/4/6/8/10/12/14  agility. Wex is great for chasing or escaping with a huge movement speed bonus when all three reagents are activated.

Once upon a time you would be laughed out of Dota and asked to uninstall for going any build except Quas/Wex as a Tornado/EMP combo was unstoppable. EMP and Tornado have since been nerfed and so Quas/Exort is now the more common build, particularly with Invokers base damage reduction, but Wex is still a useful tool in his arsenal.

Exort:  Allows manipulation of the fire elements and gives increased  damage and a permanant intelligence bonus. Gives 3/6/9/12/15/18/21 damage and 2/4/6/8/10/12/14 intelligence. I know I've said this several times already, but once again this is a very important skill for last hitting and harrassing early game.

At level 1 Exort give an extra 9 damage with all three reagents, which is a free Blades of Attack. At level 2 with Invoke you can have Sun Strike invoked and ready for some early kills as well. If you are mid (and as Invoker you almost certainly are) make sure to pick this so you can dominate the lane. Used correctly this skill makes Invoker arguably one of the best mid lane heroes.

Invoke: The spell that brings it all together and makes Invoker the hero he is. So it's pretty important is what I'm trying to say. It combines the three reagents that Invoker currently has active to create a spell, determined by the combination of Quas Wex and Exort active. Invoker can only have two spells at a time invoked, so it is best if possible to invoke any spells you think you will need in an engagement early, so the cooldown is off during for using his full compliment of spells.

For goodness sake as well make sure you don't invoke a spell you already have as it will fail, still using the mana and putting it on cooldown but doing nothing. Getting an Aghanims reduces the mana cost of Invoke to zero and the cooldown to 2s at level 4 so is a good item to purchase if you can. I'll speak more of items in part 2 though, so I'll just leave you that tidbit for now.

Spells

Here it is, Invoker's capacious catalog of spells. It may seem like a lot to remember at first, but with enough practice you'll be flinging spells and invoking with the best of them.

Quas (Q)
Wex (W)
Exort (E)

Cold Snap - QQQ
Cooldown: 20s
Mana Cost: 100

"Invoker draws the heat from an enemy, chilling them to their very core for a duration based on Quas. Further damage taken in this state will freeze the enemy again, dealing bonus damage. The enemy can only be frozen so often, but the freeze cooldown decreases based on the level of Quas."

Stun Duration: 0.4
Damage: 60
Cold Snap Duration (based on Quas level): 3 / 3.5 / 4 / 4.5 / 5 / 5.5 / 6
Stun Duration upon taking damage: 0.4
Bonus Damage upon taking damage: 30
Cooldown Between Stuns (based on Quas level): 0.7715 / 0.7430 / 0.7145 / 0.6860 / 0.6575 / 0.6290 / 0.6005
Range: 1000

Cold Snap is primarily used as a disable or to harass early game and can even score a kill if you catch an enemy out of position or are able to dive behind a tower. It can also be used in jungling to avoid tanking the large creep of a creep camp.

Ghost Walk - QQW
Cooldown: 60s
Mana Cost: 200

"Invoker manipulates the ice and electrical energies around him, rendering his body invisible. The elemental imbalance created as a consequence slows nearby enemies based on the level of Quas, and slows Invoker as well based on the level of Wex. "

Slow Radius: 400
Slows Enemy (based on Quas level): 20% / 23% / 26% / 30% / 33% / 36% / 40%
Slows Self (based on Wex level): 30% / 25% / 20% / 15% / 10% / 5% / 0%
Duration: 120 

Ghost walk is a great escape mechanism, although your position can be estimated by the enemy due to the slow radius. Like regular invisibility in can be used for scouting, but the slow means you can also use it to help you team mates chase if you're on low health or prevent the enemy team from catching your allies before you make your escape.

Tornado - WWQ
Cooldown: 30s
Mana Cost: 150

Unleashes a fast moving tornado that picks up enemy units in its path, suspending them helplessly in the air shortly before allowing them to plummet to their doom. Travels further based on the level of Wex. Holds enemies in the air for a duration based on the level of Quas. Deals damage based on the levels of Quas and Wex.

Range (based on Wex): 800 / 1200 / 1600 / 2000 / 2400 / 2800 / 3200
Disable Duration (based on Quas): 0.8 / 1.1 / 1.4 / 1.7 / 2.0 / 2.3 / 2.5
Damage (based on Wex and Quas): 70 + 20* (Level of Quas + Level of Wex) 

Tornado is a great disable for initiating and despite the nerfs is still a good combo with EMP. With good  positioning an Ice Wall could also be placed underneath for a deadly double disable. It can also be used in an escape to hold the enemy heroes in place while you team makes its getaway.

EMP - WWW
Cooldown: 30s
Mana Cost: 125

"Invoker builds up a charge of electromagnetic energy at a targeted location which automatically detonates after a duration based on the level of Wex. The detonation covers an area, draining mana based on the level of Wex. Deals damage for each point of mana drained. "

Delay (based on Wex): 3.7 / 3.4 / 3.15 / 2.85 / 2.6 / 2.3 / 2
Radius: 675
Damage: 0.5x mana burned
Mana Drain (based on Wex): 100 / 150 / 200 / 250 / 300 / 350 / 400

EMP is most useful against supports with high mana pools and low HP. Its charge up time and medium radius means that to catch more than one or two heroes it needs to be used in conjunction with an AOE disable such as Tornado or Ice Wall. Disruptor's Static Field or Enigma's Black Hole also synergise well.

Alacrity - WWE

"Invoker infuses an ally with an immense surge of energy, increasing their attack speed based on the level of Wex and their damage based on the level of Exort."

Duration: 9
Increased Attack Speed (based on Wex): 20% / 30% / 40% / 50% / 60% / 70% / 80%
Increased Damage (based on Exort): 20 / 30 / 40 / 50 / 60 / 70 / 80
Range: 650 

Alacriy is a pretty straight forward spell compared to Invoker's others. Cast it on the teams carry for mass pwnage, or on yourself if you're determined to be the team's carry. The duration is 9 seconds so it can be cast just before a teamfight, allowing you to Invoke another spell in its place for during the engagement.

 

Chaos Meteor - WEE
Cooldown: 55s
Mana Cost: 200

"Invoker pulls a flaming meteor from space onto the targeted location. Upon landing, the meteor rolls forward, constantly dealing damage based on the level of Exort, and rolling further based on the level of Wex. Units hit by the meteor will also be set on fire for a short time, receiving additional damage based on the level of Exort."

Main Radius: 275
Main Damage Per 0.5 Seconds (based on Exort): 57.5 / 75 / 92.5 / 110 / 127.5 / 145 / 162.5
Meteor Range (based on Wex): 465 / 615 / 780 / 930 / 1095 / 1245 / 1410
Additional Damage Per Second (based on Exort): 11.5 / 15 / 18.5 / 22 / 25.5 / 29 / 32.5 

Like EMP Chaos Meteor needs the enemy team too all assemble nicely in position for it to do the most damage. They are rarely willing to do this and so an AOE disable before casting this is ideal to maximise damage. When positioned well it does a huge amount of damage.

Sun Strike - EEE
Cooldown:30s
Mana Cost: 175

"Sends a catastrophic ray of fierce energy from the sun at any targeted location, incinerating all enemies standing beneath it once it reaches the Earth. Deals damage based on the level of Exort, however this damage is spread evenly over all enemies hit."

Delay: 1.7
Radius: 175
Range: Global
Damage (based on Exort): 100 / 162.5 / 225 / 287.5 / 350 / 412.5 / 475 

Sun Strike can be difficult to hit with, but when on target they are a glorious thing to behold. The stuff youtube montages are made of. With Sun Strike, no enemy is safe. Teach the enemy team to fear you as you call death from above to greet them at their fountain. Make sure to get plenty of practice so your Sun Strikes are a byword for deadly precision, and not joked about after the game in the locker room.

Forge Spirits - EEQ
Cooldown: 30s
Mana Cost: 75

"Invoker forges a spirit embodying the strength of fire and fortitude of ice. Damage, health, and armor are based on the level of Exort while attack range, mana, and duration are based on the level of Quas. The elemental's scorching attack is capable of melting the armor of enemy heroes. If both Quas and Exort are level 4 or higher, Invoker will create two spirits instead of one."

Forge Spirits' Duration (based on Quas): 20 / 30 / 40 / 50 / 60 / 70 / 80
Forge Spirits' Mana (based on Quas): 100 / 150 / 200 / 250 / 300 / 350 / 400
Forge Spirits' Attack Range (based on Quas): 300 / 400 / 500 / 600 / 700 / 800 / 900
Forge Spirits' Damage (based on Exort): 29 / 38 / 47 / 56 / 65 / 74 / 83
Forge Spirits' HP (based on Exort): 300 / 400 / 500 / 600 / 700 / 800 / 900
Forge Spirits' Armor (based on Exort): 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 

Forge Spirits are often overlooked, but are deadly companions. Their Melting Strike quickly reduces an enemies armour to nothing, and melts through towers like nobodies business. Good for pushing, ganking or extra DPS in a teamfight they work exceptionally well with Cold Snap or Ice Wall.

Ice Wall - QQE
Cooldown: 25s
Mana Cost: 175

"Generates a wall of solid ice directly in front of Invoker for a duration based on the level of Quas. The bitter cold emanating from it greatly slows nearby enemies based on the level of Quas and deals damage each second based on the level of Exort."

Duration (based on Quas): 3 / 4.5 / 6 / 7.5 / 9 / 10.5 / 12
Movement Slow (based on Quas): 20% / 40% / 60% / 80% / 100% / 120% / 140%
Damage Per Second (based on Exort): 6 / 12 / 18 / 24 / 30 / 36 / 42 

Ice Wall can be used in a lot of different ways. It can be used as an initiate, trapping several heroes inside. This works particularly well if you Ghost Walk or blink in behind the enemy team to stop them escaping. Your enemies will quickly learn to avoid walking into it so it can be used to partition of an escape route or to dissuade enemy heroes from moving in, either defensively in front of a tower or offensively behind an enemy tower.

Once your enemies are trapped in there you can throw down a Chaos Meteor or EMP (or even both if you're bad ass enough) for extra damage. Then once they've finally made their way through the Ice Wall use Deafening Blast to knock them back in. Make sure to practice with Ice Wall as the positioning is everything and can take some getting used to.

Deafening Blast - QWE
Cooldown: 40s
Mana Cost: 200

"Invoker unleashes a mighty sonic wave in front of him, dealing damage to any enemy unit it collides based on the level of Exort. The sheer impact from the blast is enough to knock those enemy units back for a duration based on the level of Quas, then disarm their attacks for a duration based on the level of Wex."

Stun Duration (based on Quas): 0.25 / 0.5 / 0.75 / 1 / 1.25 / 1.5 / 1.75
Attack Prevention Duration (based on Wex): 1 / 1.5 / 2 / 2.5 / 3 / 3.5 / 4
Damage (based on Exort): 40 / 80 / 120 / 160 / 200 / 240 / 280
Range: 1000

Deafening Blast is often just thrown out in the middle of a team fight as an Invoker frantically tries to make sure they cast every single one of their spells during a team fight. Used incorrectly, it can move the enemy heroes away from your allies attacks and move then to safety.

Used cleverly it can push enemies out of their carefuly chosen positions and into the waiting arms of your team, particularly if used with Blink Dagger or Force Staff to move behind the enemy team and push them forward. It also stops channeling spells so use it to stop that Black Hole, Death Ward or Teleport Scroll.

 

Invoker? I just met her!

So we've got all the information. We've read it back to front a dozen times and memorised it so well Invoker would be impressed. Are we ready to jump into a game then? No! Of course not! Before we're ready to start playing with Invoker, we need to get a feel for the hero. Learn his attack animations, play around with his spells and make sure we know ranges, AOE's and spell effects so those spells we've spent so long memorising don't end up missing their target. When learning a new hero it is always a good idea to take them into a practice lobby and spend time learning them in this way.

 

Last Hitting

You won't be doing your team any good if at thirty minutes you've got 5 last hits. So play a couple of games up to the ten minute mark just practicing getting those last hits. Practice in both the mid and bottom lane on the radiant (or mid and top on the dire), mid because that's the lane Invoker normally plays and bottom (or t0p) to practice last hitting underneath the tower.

 You should be aiming for at least forty last hits before you start playing public games. Ideally they should be in the fifty to sixty range but that will come with practice

 

Here I have 45. Not too bad, but I still need practice.

Spells

Like I mentioned earlier, spend some time running around the map casting spells like a madman. Get used to swapping between spells, casting them in combinations and positioning them. This is also a good time to try out item combinations and expriment with hotkeys.

 

My First Game - Match ID 57418243

My first game actually goes quite well, if I do say so myself. Starting off with the reccomended items and a point in Exort, I'm laning mid against a Pudge. Luckily he's not Dendi in disguise and I'm able to avoid his hooks and harass him with Cold Snap and my Exort powered attacks. He attempts to psych me out with some shit talking, but he only has five last hits at the six minute mark, so I think I was doing ok.

I make a mistake when heading top for a gank at the seven minute mark (about ten minutes on the playback) and cast Cold Snap too late, missing out on a KOTL kill. I make a couple of mistakes like this throughout the game, but overall I think it went ok for a first try. During team fights I need to cast more spells in succession, and there were a couple of times where I thought afterwards 'Oh damn, I should have used X spell there,' but with practice it should all come together.

I hope this has been useful for all you guys who haven't yet taken the time to learn Invoker, and for those who have I hope my fumbling around with him has provided some measure of entertainment. Make sure to tune in next week when I talk about skill and item builds, strategy and more. Until then, happy gaming!