Dota 2 - Invoker Build Guide

BIO
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.

ROLE
Ranged - Carry - Nuker - Initiator - Escape

STATS

LEVEL	1	15	25
HIT POINTS	511	963	1,666	SIGHT RANGE	1800 / 800
MANA	286	741	1,326	ATTACK RANGE	600
DAMAGE	35-41	70-76	115-121	MISSILE SPEED	900
ARMOR	2	6	11

ABILITIES
1. Quas

Allows manipulation of ice elements and grants a permanent strength bonus. Each Quas instance provides increased health regeneration.

ABILITY: NO TARGET

HP REGEN PER INSTANCE: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7

BONUS STRENGTH: 2 / 4 / 6 / 8 / 10 / 12 / 14

This skill is for defensive-support type invoker which focuses on survivability. If you prefer defense to offense, increase this skill.

2. Wex

Allows manipulation of storm elements and grants a permanent agility bonus. Each Wex instance provides increased attack speed and movement speed.

ABILITY: NO TARGET

ATTACK SPEED PER INSTANCE: 2% / 4% / 6% / 8% / 10% / 12% / 14%

MOVE SPEED PER INSTANCE: 1% / 2% / 3% / 4% / 5% / 6% / 7%

BONUS AGILITY: 2 / 4 / 6 / 8 / 10 / 12 / 14

Good for escaping cause this skill gives you extra movement speed, also helps with carrying because this skill gives you attack speed

3. Exort

Allows manipulation of fire elements and grants a permanent intelligence bonus. Each Exort instance provides increased attack damage.

ABILITY: NO TARGET

DAMAGE PER INSTANCE: 3 / 6 / 9 / 12 / 15 / 18 / 21

BONUS INTELLIGENCE: 2 / 4 / 6 / 8 / 10 / 12 / 14

This skill is for attacking type invoker, you can combined it with Wex for Meteor, or you can Combine it with Quas for Forge Spirit.

4. Invoke

Combines the properties of the elements currently being manipulated, creating a new spell at the Invoker's disposal. Click the help button to see the list of possible spells. Upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter.

MANA COST: 20 / 40 / 60 / 80	MAX SPELLS: 1 / 2 / 2 / 2
COOLDOWN: 22 / 17 / 12 / 5	SCEPTER COOLDOWN: 16 / 8 / 4 / 2
ABILITY: NO TARGET	SCEPTER MANA COST: 0

Your skill to create spells. Think carefully before creating a spell, try to match spell with situation.

5. Cold Snap

Invoker draws the heat from an enemy, chilling them to their very core for a duration based on the level of Quas. The enemy will take damage and be briefly frozen. 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.

MANA COST: 100	AFFECTS: ENEMY HEROES
COOLDOWN: 20	DAMAGE: MAGICAL
ABILITY: TARGET UNIT	INITIAL DAMAGE: 60
FREEZE DURATION: 0.4	BONUS DAMAGE: 30

This skill is a very nice chasing spell. This will make your target get mini-stunned for every damage he takes. This is a flexible skill, you can combo this skill to any damage, attack or spells. Great to combo this with skill that damaging enemies gradually for seconds like Meteor or Poisonous skills from Venomancer.

6. Ghost Walk

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.

MANA COST: 200	RADIUS: 400
COOLDOWN: 60	DURATION: 100
ABILITY: NO TARGET

This skill will make you invisible, be careful to dust or sentry wards. Use this skill in desperate condition

7. Tornado

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.

MANA COST: 150	RADIUS: 200
COOLDOWN: 30	DAMAGE: 70
ABILITY: TARGET POINT	DAMAGE: MAGICAL

Very good skill. Can be used in many conditions.
1. Combo with EMP, This skill first and then EMP second. It will make EMP hit perfectly to the target
2. To initiate a teamfight
3. To chase person
4. To harass enemies

8.  EMP

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.

MANA COST: 125	DAMAGE: PURE
COOLDOWN: 30	RADIUS: 675
ABILITY: TARGET POINT	BURN DAMAGE: 50%

It will drain your enemy's mana until he can't use skill anymore. use this skill before teamfight start to make your enemy can't skill while in teamfight, or they must retreat.

9. Alacrity

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.

MANA COST: 100	ABILITY: TARGET UNIT
COOLDOWN: 15	AFFECTS: ALLIED HEROES
DURATION: 9

Will helps the carry of your team become faster in attack speed and higher in attack damage. Powerful support for single allies.

10. Chaos Meteor

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.

MANA COST: 200	DAMAGE: MAGICAL
COOLDOWN: 55	LAND TIME: 1.3
ABILITY: TARGET POINT	RADIUS: 275
DAMAGE TICK: 0.5	BURN TIME: 3

Very powerful nuke that attacks large area. Very nice skill in a crowded teamfight.

11. Sun Strike

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.

MANA COST: 175	DAMAGE: PUREL
COOLDOWN: 30	RADIUS: 175
ABILITY: TARGET POINT	DELAY: 1.7

Global skill but small area which needs precision to get the damage. Hard to use, it will be easier if your friend stuns the target first.

12. Forge Spirit

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.

MANA COST: 75	ABILITY: NO TARGET
COOLDOWN: 30

Call an army , or two, of powerful creature which it's attack will reduce enemy's armor. Call this creature before teamfight starts.

13. Ice Wall

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.

MANA COST: 175	ABILITY: NO TARGET
COOLDOWN: 25	DAMAGE: MAGICAL

Create a wall in front of you to make the enemy hard to move.

14. Defeaning Blast

Skill invokes if Kael has 1 Quas, 1 Wex and 1 Exort instances. Invoker unleashes a mighty sonic wave in front of him, dealing up to 280 damage to any enemy unit it collides with based on Exort. The sheer impact from the blast is enough to knock those enemy units back for a maximum of 1.75 seconds based on Quas, in addition to preventing their attacks for a further 1-4 seconds based on Wex.

CASTING RANGE: 1000	MANA COST:200
COOLDOWN: 40	RADIUS: 250
DURATION: 1-4

This skill is a nice disabler and damager skill. Use this skill in the beginning of teamfight followed by your other skill like Chaos Meteor

SKILLBUILD

The skill build here I will make into 3 stage, early-mid-late.

Early Skill build: 
Here i will give a very early skill build for invoker. this build is for Level 1-3. It is up to you to be whatever type you want in mid game because you can have 1 orb in early game and not increase that again in mid game. This build is a build before you have 2 slot of invoked skill.

1. Coldsnap type
Level 1: Quas
Level 2: Invoke > Coldsnap
Use coldsnap in early Game and the right click your opponent, harass him.

2. Full damage type
Lv1: Exort
Lv2: Wex
Lv3: Invoke > Alacrity
Always use alacrity and harass the enemy, this build have the highest damage of all hero in early game, use this build for easy right click kill

3. Mana Drain Type
Lv1: Wex
Lv2: Invoke: EMP
Use EMP to drain enemy's mana, this make your enemy's mana become empty and he can't use skills

4. Invis Type/ Safety First Type
1. Level 1: Quas
2. Level 2: Invoke > Coldsnap
3. Level 3 Wex, > GhostWalk

This build makes u have invisibility to escape in a desperate condition

Mid game build: 
There are several type of skillbuild for invoker, you can choose any combination of Quas-Wex-Exort you want. You can choose Quas-Wex type, Quas-Exort Type, or Wex-Exort Type. Note that all of this classification is only for Early-mid game because in late game you will use all of his skills. All of the three type have its own advantages and disadvantages. Here I will explain the differences:

	Quas-Wex	Quas-Exort	Wex-Exort
Prime Attacking Combo	EMP-Tornado	Forge Spirit - Cold Snap	Defeaning Blast - Chaos Meteor
Defensive Skill	EMP-Tornado, Ghost Walk, Cold Snap,	Ice Wall, Cold Snap	EMP

From the table above we can conclude that:
1. The most complete build is Quas-Wex, this build have a lot of Defensive spell like Ghostwalk, or Tornado which means you are hard to kill. This build primary attacking combo is EMP-Tornado which Drain Mana and make opponent cannot use skill with EMP and Preparing an attack for your teammate with Tornadoo, this is a perfect initiating combo because it wil make
-Your opponent don't have mana
-Your team are all ready to attack
2. The highest AoE Damage is Wex-Exort
This build focuses on Chaos Meteor to deal damages. If you can land Chaos Meteor perfectly, you will have a very high damage in AoE.
3. The highest Single Targetted Damage is Quas-Exort because you will have your underlings which help you to attack someone.

1. EMP Tornado Build/ Quas-Wex Build
Type 1: Balanced. Quas-Wex-Quas-Wex-Quas-Wex-Quas-Wex-Quas-Wex-
Type 2: Quas Oriented: Quas Max, Wex minimum
Type 3: Wex Oriented: Wex Max, Quas minimum
note: take Invoke whenever is available

I recommend you to choose the Wex Oriented build because: You will have high mobility/ movement speed, to make you easy to chase or escape. This build have the longest range of Tornado, which makes the Tornado's hit rate will be increased.

2. Forge Spirit Build/ Quas-Exort Build
Quas-Exort-Quas-Exort-Quas-Exort-Quas-Exort-Quas-Exort-Quas-Exort-
note: take Invoke whenever is available

Your combo: Cold snap + Right click (You+Forge Spirit)

You are always accompanied with Forge Spirit to help you attack someone. You can increase 1 level of Wex to make
1. Chaos Meteor
Use Chaos Meteor and then Right click (You+Forge Spirit)
2. Tornado
Use Tornado and then Right Click after the enemies have landed
3. Defeaning Blast
Use defeaning blast and then right click (You+Forge Spirit)

or combined:
Tornado-Defeaning Blast-Chaos Meteor, after that > Right click

3. Chaos Meteor Build/ Wex Exort
Exort Max, Wex Minimum, and then take 1 point of Quas to make Defeaning Blast

Your Combo: Defeaning blast-Chaos Meteor

This build have a very high AoE magical damage. Hard to land it properly.

Late Game:
Here I assume you are at least level 20+

Here I will give you a fullskill invoker combo:

Combo

Call forge spirit, and ready to attack opponent, Use EMP-Tornado, your opponent will have their mana drained, and the use Defeaning Blast, and then use Chaos Meteor. And then go near your opponent and cast ice Wall. After that, use Alacrity and coldsnap, and then finish someone who is low hp with sunstrike

The main idea of invoker is to maxing you hand speed, with a full-speed hand, you can use Invoker in it's maximum potential.

ITEM BUILD
You can buy pretty much anything for invoker, it depends on your strategy. You can buy DPS items or supportive items, its all up to your strategy and your team's strategy.
DPS Item: You are become a carry to deal DPS Type Damage
Supportive item: You are a support for your team.

Here is a list of items that useful for invoker:

1. Phase Boots
Total cost: 1350
Recipe: Boots of Speed + 2 x Blades of Attack

Active: Phase - Gives increased movement speed and lets you move through units. Phase is cancelled upon using another item or ability. Flat movement speed bonuses from multiple pairs of boots do not stack. PHASE DURATION: 4 PHASE MOVE BOOST: 16% + 55 Movement Speed   + 24 Damage   Cooldown: 8

Why Phase Boots? +Decent amount of Damage and +Decent amount of Movement Speed.
If this is combined with wex, it will give a very high movement speed which will make you are hard to catch or makes you can easilly catch someone

2. Force Staff
Total cost: 2350
Recipe: Staff of Wizardy + Ring of Regen + Recipe

Active: Force - Pushes any target unit 600 units in the direction it is facing. Double click to self-cast. + 10 Intelligence    + 3 HP Regeneration Manacost: 25    Cooldown: 20

Why Force Staff? ForceStaff is useful on many purposes, you can initiate a teamfight with ForceStaff, or you can save somebody, or you can save yourself.

3.  Schyte of Vyse
Total cost: 5675
Recipe: Mystic Staff + Ultimate Orb + Void Stone

Active: Hex - Turns a target unit into a harmless critter for 3.5 seconds. Destroys illusions. + 10 Strength   + 10 Agility  + 35 Intelligence + 150% Mana Regeneration Manacost: 100   Cooldown: 35

Why Schyte of Vyse? Very good item to initiate a teamfight. or to defend against somebody.

4. Aghanim's Scepter
Total cost:: 4200
Recipe: Point Booster, Ogre Axe, Staff of Wizardy, Blade of Alacrity

Passive: Ultimate Upgrade - Upgrades the ultimates of certain heroes. + 10 All Attributes   + 200 Health   + 150 Mana

Why Aghanim's Scepter?
It will decrease your invoke's cooldown, that means that you can use more skill in certain time. That means that you will be stronger.

5. MKB
Total cost:: 5400
Recipe: Demon Edge + 2x Javelin

Passive: Mini-Bash - Gives a chance to minibash and deal bonus damage. Passive: True Strike - Prevents your attacks from missing.  + 88 Damage    + 15 Attack Speed CHANCE TO MINI-BASH: 35%      MINI-BASH DAMAGE: 100

Why Monkey King Bar?
Good Damage. It will give you 100% hit rate although you are on the lower ground.

Good Allies

Because invoker is a good initiator, then, all carry is your best friends,

1. Morphling

Have Waveform to be comboed with Your Skills. He also have high damage to finish enemies.

2. Weaver

This hero love to sneak into the middle of chaos and kill everybody inside the chaos. Because your skill is full of chaotic form, this hero is a match for you.

Non carry;

3. Shadow Shaman

Have 2 disables, 1 nuke, and 1 Pushing Skill. All of his skill can be comboed with your skills.