DOTA Hero Tips: Lord of Avernus

Lord of Avernus is one of my favorite strength type heroes. Aside from having decent health points, his skill set made him one of the best tankers in DOTA. If used properly, Lord of Avernus can survive even the most devastating spells and physical attacks from enemy heroes. The enemy team will definitely have a hard time during the late game if they leave Lord of Avernus unattended through the early stage of the game. Are you a DOTA beginner? Have you used this hero before and ended up losing? Here are some tips on how anyone can unleash the superior tanking ability of Abbadon the Lord of Avernus.

Death Coil

This skill is often disregarded by Lord of Avernus users. However, it can be very useful at situations where your teammate barely survived an enemy attack. At the cost of some of your health points, this skill can be used to heal an ally or damage an enemy. This skill works can also ignite Abaddons’ Aphotic Shield. You can also land a last hit with this skill so you’ll gain more experience and gold. It’s imperative that you upgrade this skill especially if most enemy heroes have long range. The cooldown time of this skill is quite low as well so you can spam it with ease even without buying items that can help boost your mana points and regeneration.

Aphotic Shield

Lord of Avernus finds it very easy to survive negative buffs with this skill. He can also help his allies deal with such kind of spells as well. The damage from this skill is also high enough to bully enemy heroes especially during the early part of the game. This skill can be casted on a creep as well to keep enemy heroes at bay. Such kind of strategy will provide you more room to land last hits and earn both experience and gold in the process. Another great feature of this skill is its very low cooldown rate. Spam it as possible to gain lane advantage. You can do it as long as you have the right items to support your mana pool and regeneration.

Frostmourne

This skill can slow enemy heroes while boosting your attack. It acts like an Eye of Skadi. Upgrading this skill is imperative especially if most enemy heroes rely on impressive movement speed to run away from you. Frostmourne does not interrupt orb effects yet it does not stack with other buffs. With this skill at hand, all you need to do is boost movement speed. Buying Mask of Madness is a good idea especially if you pair it with Cramium Basher and other others which can grant added effect to Abbadon’s physical attack. To help you in tanking and further boost your attack speed, an Assault Cuirass will work well wth this skill as well.

Borrowed Time

Abaddon’s ultimate skill is the main reason why he is regarded by many as the most effective tanker. With this skill activated, any damage taken by Lord of Avernus will be added to his life points. DOTA beginners are often tricked by this skill. Probably the only spell that can counter Borrowed Time is Axe’s Culling Blade. Buying an Aghanim’s Scepter is a brilliant idea for Lord of Avernus since it can increase the duration of this skill. Just make sure to cast this spell at the right moment. You can survive even from Sand King’s Epicenter and be left with no damage at all with the use of this skill.

Early Game

Abaddon’s second skill will play a major role for him to be effective during the early part of the game. Spam it as much as possible to gain lane control. However, you need to have enough mana pool and regeneration to do so. This is the main reason why rushing a Perseverance or Ring of Basilius is a must. Your main goal is to harass enemy heroes on your lane. Don’t let them last hit your creeps unchallenged. Use your first and second skill to the fullest. Denying your creeps will also stop them from earning gold. With this strategy, you can hinder them from being effective as the game progresses and reaches the late stage.

Mid Game

Lord of Avernus is an effective ganker since he can slow down enemy heroes with his third skill. However, you need to get close to do so. This is one of the main reasons why most experienced DOTA players rush Power Threads or Phase Boots while using Lord of Avernus. Buying a Force Staff or Kelen’s Dagger is not a bad idea as well. However, these items won’t bring upon good stats for Lord of Avernus so you should prefer items that can improve your movement speed like Yasha. Your main role on this part of the game is to initiate ambushes and support your allies. You can heal those who suffer from great injuries with your first skill while protecting allies with low health points through your second skill. It made me wonder why Lord of Avernus is among the Scourge since his skill set is mostly intended to support his allies.

Late Game

During this part of the game, Lord of Avernus’s tanking abilities will be tested. Your main role is to go deep within the enemy ranks and absorb all their destructive spells and physical attacks. Don’t worry since your ultimate skill will greatly help you survive. By now, you should have Heart of Tarasque, Assault Cuirass, Vanguard, and other defensive items in your inventory. Purchasing The Butterfly is also a brilliant idea especially if you are up against heroes with absurdly high physical damage. Choose to purchase Hood of Defiance against enemy heroes who boast high spell damage. During team clashes, be on the watch for allies who need your assistance. Use your first skill at once to provide them with added health points or protect them from negative buffs.