Would you like to learn how to play and win games as Lion in Dota 2?
A potent spellcaster with disables that can hold a candle to any other in the game, Lion deserves his popularity. With pick rates among the top five for up to 5000 MMR, Lion’s low skill-cap makes him significantly favored. His relatively low cooldown disables make it a must for Supports to learn how to play Lion in Dota 2.
Being more mobile as a support grants Lion the power to play more aggressively while also manipulating the enemy. Blessed with insane burst damage which rivals any other hero, he can easily get kills at any stage. Moreover, he can also drain enemy resources, which quickly depletes their fighting potential.
Peaking in the Early to Midgame before heroes have BKBs, Lion can be the most annoying hero in the game. Spells that allow layering of disables along with almost unrivaled damage scaling potential are exactly why he is so popular. Though he is not as popular at high MMR, learning how to play Lion in Dota is extremely worth it.
Like some other supports, Lion’s lockdown abilities work well with a combination of many heroes. Some of these heroes include Leshrac and Ursa, who have quite a bit of burst damage and lockdown. As for who Lion works well against, Medusa is countered extremely well by Lion’s mana drain ability and multiple disables.
Lion’s Abilities
Earth Spike is Lion’s first lockdown ability and brings forth protrusions of rock from underneath the ground. Contact with these spikes makes one fly up into the air, stunning and damaging the target when they fall down. A stun duration of almost three seconds is often enough to burst down a target in its entirety.
One of the longest-duration disables in the game, Hex, turns enemies into utterly useless and harmless frogs. For four seconds, this ability disarms, mutes, and silences hostile targets, reducing their movement speed to just 120. Apart from this, it is extremely overwhelming at its initial level, with an incredible duration of 2.5 seconds already.
Lion’s third ability is Mana Drain which allows him to decrease the fighting potential of any spellcaster drastically. He achieves this task by draining the mana pool of enemies for a max channel time of five seconds. With the ability to suck out 120 mana per second, a significant amount of mana disappears in a few seconds.
An ability with Immense burst damage and the capability to become stronger with each kill, Finger of Death is overwhelming. As Lion hits level six, his pickoffs increase, and his capacity to kill enemies becomes exponentially greater. Selecting the appropriate talent also adds health per kill, making Lion a tank later. This is why it’s important to know How to Play Lion in Dota 2.
How to Utilise his Abilities
Being the first ability, Earth Spike is extremely good as a harassing tool as well. Earth Spike has only a twelve-second cooldown in the lane and even more minimal mana cost. This allows Lion to spam the spell and constantly harass players. Furthermore, it also aids in reducing the chances of enemies getting the last hits.
Another aspect of Earth Spike many ignore is that to extend its range, one can use it on the ground. Also worth noting is that it is best to use it before all other disables due to its longer range. Lion also utilizes this spell to scout areas under fog-of-war and invisible targets as it reveals the targets it hits.
Hex’s best use is as a delaying and kiting spell due to its long duration and slow movement speed. Following up with Hex on a core, soon after a multi-hero Earth Spike to slow the pace of a team fight. This is also beneficial as Lion benefits from long and drawn-out fights due to his minimal disable cooldowns.
Mana Drain is one of the best ways to counter illusion heroes and potent spell casters. The first part is true, as Mana Drain instantly finishes off any illusion it targets. As a result, using the multi-target mana drain talent demolishes illusion-based heroes and lineups with multiple intelligence heroes.
Many think of Finger of Death as a spell to steal kills or to finish off enemies suddenly. However, its best use is to use it on a core at the start of the fight to weaken them immediately. This gives Lion a chance to use the spell again at the end of a long fight at level 18. As this is when it has a cooldown of only forty seconds.
Item Build
In the lane, Lion should focus on enabling bis core with healing and regeneration. Thus, starting with multiple Tangoes, Enchanted Mangoes, Healing Salves, and Clarities for constant mana regeneration. As the laning stage begins, Lion should ideally pursue Wind Lace or Magic Stick for sustainability and escape potential.
Moving onto the early game is where Lion starts to come into his own and can start to dominate. To help achieve these goals, buying items that supplement mobility, such as Tranquil Boots is mandatory. These boots not only add massive boots to one’s health regeneration but boost movement speed when off cooldown.
The next item that is integral in the early to midgame for its mobility is Blink Dagger. Not only allows Lion to catch enemies or retreat from disadvantageous fights, it also allows him to reposition easily. This repositioning possibility allows one to get close enough to use abilities effectively and to get a quick kill with the Finger of Death.
In the midgame, there are many options as to what Lion should pursue and are completely dependent on the game. An incredibly useful addition to Lion’s inventory can be the Force Staff. This is because the Force Staff supplements all the benefits that Blink Dagger provides and is applicable to allies.
As the game progresses and reaches the late game, there are a wide variety of items he can build. These items can also include Aghanim’s Sceptre or Ethereal Blade, which can further improve his burst damage.
Laning Stage and Gameplay
As a support, it is essential to ensure that the core succeeds in lane and gets enough farm to carry. One has to make sure that when playing Lion. Their spells are never off cooldown. Constantly harassing enemies by stunning them and draining their mana is usually enough to render them useless in the lane.
Another great way to control the lane is to pressurize the creep wave by pulling creeps. As soon as one reaches level six, the Finger of Death is perhaps the best bursting spell at this stage. A great way is to rotate around to the midlane at the five-minute mark to kill the midlaner. Doing this allows the effortless destruction of the tower.
Rotations using the Smoke of Deceit and with one’s Offlaner are truly the best way to win games. Getting map control and pressurizing their jungle by invading their jungles and taking down tier 1 towers is optimal. Hiding on the sidelines to appropriately time spells while locking down enemies is an effortless way to pick off enemies.
Lion, the Demon Witch, is an extremely popular support hero who demolishes heroes with multiple disables. A low-skill cap and his beginner-friendly .point target spells are key in shutting down enemies. These reasons are why it is a must to learn how to play Lion in Dota 2.
