Guide to Dirge, The Undying by Freestyler^

[Shoot3r]

http://www.playdota.com/img/hero/95/icon.gif


Dirge,"Undy",The Undying





1.Introduction.

This is my first guide , i thoguht of Dirge cause he is picked/banned so players who play higher skill level games will have a good chance of getting to play with him.As a hero , Dirge is a ultimative slower , his Tombstone is just way to imba , also his ulti is just great combination with you Zombies and your nukes , he can also control , early-game , mid-game , and late-game.Also i always try to pick/ban Dirge like most of the captains i know.So lets get started.





Story.

Considered to be an exceptionally filthy and despicable specimen by all who encounter him, including his fellow zombies, Dirge has wandered in from the wastes outside to serve the Lich King in hopes of finally obtaining a place of acceptance amongst the Undead masses. While he is still considered to be unpleasant as ever by the rest of the Scourge, his horrifying abilities, which include raising self-replicating lesser ghouls and spreading vile, rapidly communicable plague throughout the enemy ranks, are unquestionably powerful and may just give the Scourge the edge they need to complete their unholy conquest once and for all.





2.Pros and Cons.

[+] A good base damage , and a good animation for LH and deny.
[+]Has 2 awsome nukes , also a great heal.
[+]Dirge has one of the best surviavabilty in the game , heals when enemy creeps and Heroes die(He is called Undying for a reason :P .)
[+]Has 2 AoE slows , also one of those slows atacks you :p
[+]A big mana pool for a str hero.
[+]Amplifys all the damage done to the enemy.
[+]He is item independant.

[-]Slow strenght gain for a str hero.
[-]Dirge is ugly like sh*t , he cant speak english.
[-]When in Flesh Golem you become really big so enemies will focus you even if you are not the tank , you will recive a lot of stuns and nukes.
[-]He is unit dependant m for your best nuke you need a lot of creeps/heroes.





3.Skills.

http://www.playdota.com/img/hero/95/skill-0.gif

Decay

Dirge saps away the strength of enemy heroes and retains it for a period of time.


Tips: This is a great early game nuke/harrasing spell , takes 4 str at all levels so you dont need to level it up , also this makes him control early-game and teambattles.Damage type is magical , so it is blocked by magic resistance , also strenght gain is stackable



http://www.playdota.com/img/hero/95/skill-1.gif

Soul Rip

Redirects the flow of living energy through a target friend or foe, damaging them or healing them depending on how many units are near it.


Tips: A great nuke/heal , only con is that it is unit dependant.Has a low coolddown of 10 secs , only 125 mana at level 4.Like decay it is magical , also it can heal Tombstone.



http://www.playdota.com/img/hero/95/skill-2.jpg

Tombstone

Unholy powers summon a cursed tombstone. Zombies will frequently spawn near each enemy unit and attack them. Zombies have a passive that additively slow their target by 7%. Zombies cannot be controlled.


Tips: Always try to cast tombstone infront of the enemy , also tombstone has a massive range of 1200.Zombies have passive ability Deathlust, which gains to zombie 50% movement and attack speed, if it's target has below 100/200/300/400 hp.


http://www.playdota.com/img/hero/95/skill-3.gif

Flesh Golem

Dirge's hatred for all living beings allows him to transform into a monster. While he's transformed he carries a plague that affects nearby enemy units. Strength of the plague depends on how close the enemy is. Amplifies damage enemy units receive and reduces their movement speed. When a plagued unit dies, its essence is transfered back to the Undying, healing it for 12(3)%* of its maximum life. Lasts 30 seconds.


If hero or unit around Dirge was not killed by him, it's soul will still return to Dirge and heal him.Plague Aura is strongest within 200 distance of Dirge (amplifies 20% / 25% / 30%) and decreases farther away from him (minimum of 5% / 10% / 15%).





3.Skill build.

For me there iis only one right skill build for Dirge.

1.Soul Rip
2.Decay
3.Tombstone
4.Tombstone
5.Tombstone
6.Flesh Golem
7.Tombstone
8.Soul Rip
9.Soul Rip
10.Decay
11.Flesh Golem
12.Decay
13.Soul Rip
14.Decay
15.Stats
16.Flesh Golem

17~25 Whatever the fu*k is left.





4.Item build.

Early game


First option:

http://www.playdota.com/img/items/24/icon.JPGx1 http://www.playdota.com/img/items/22/icon.JPGx2
http://www.playdota.com/img/items/32/icon.JPG http://www.playdota.com/img/items/32/icon.JPG
http://www.playdota.com/img/items/34/icon.JPG http://www.playdota.com/img/items/34/icon.JPG


Second option:

http://www.playdota.com/img/items/119/icon.JPG http://www.playdota.com/img/items/24/icon.JPG


First option is that i use , it boosts your mana pool and inteligence , also you do not need much tangos cause you have your own heal (Soul Rip)
Also you need mana for harasing with Decay.

Second option is common i saw it in pubs , and in high skilled games , it boosts your armor , mana regen but it doesnt boost your mana pool.But basilius is a must for dirge. (I'll explain it later)



Mid game

Core items for Dirge : http://www.playdota.com/img/items/111/icon.jpg http://www.playdota.com/img/items/119/icon.JPG
http://www.playdota.com/img/items/91/icon.jpg http://www.playdota.com/img/items/110/icon.JPG


Explanation: -Bloodestone , it is a very good item boosts your hp and mana and hp and mana regen , a very good item for Dirge cause he is a semi-tank so you will ensure him a load of hp and regen , and also you are a spell caster so you wont have any problems spaming spells.

-RoB is a must for dirge , cause your Zombies are vunrable and can tank only 1 hit from creeps , when you get basilius they will be able to tank 2 hits from creeps , also it boosts your mana regen and i think this should be gotten fastly soon as you get 500 gold buy it.

-Phase boots since dirge IS NOT a carry he doesent need power threads , phase boots just give him what he needs , a lil armor , a decent damage boost and a phase that goes beautifly with your ulti since you are very big when you are in ulti , you cant move creeps block you and phase just removes your probles so you are free to run everywhere.

-Shiva it is a great addon to Dirges other slows , another nuke , and a lots of armor that will protect you in the late game from the big bad carrys :P.


Optional items


Ok i will make some possible items , and also items that NOT to get.


http://www.playdota.com/img/items/108/icon.JPG

Build this if you are against a nuker team , but i would stay with Hood/Pipe


http://www.playdota.com/img/items/116/icon.JPG/http://www.playdota.com/img/items/120/icon.JPG

Hood and Pipe also on of the great items on dirge , if you are not playing against a carry then , froget about shiva , make hood/pipe that will surely protect you from nukers.


http://www.playdota.com/img/items/121/icon.JPG

I saw this on dirge , it is good a good buff but i would leave it to the supporters , if you are in some case a support tell your team that you will make pipe.


http://www.playdota.com/img/items/114/icon.jpg

Omg :( that troll is pawning my ass i dont have money for shiva :( .No problem just buy Blademail only 2200 gold , just turn it on and look how that troll pawns himself.


http://www.playdota.com/img/items/113/icon.JPG

Lol if you buy this on Dirge , go chop your balls off this is a ussles item on him , it sucks hard NEVER NEVER buy this on Dirge.




5.How to play Dirge.

Dirge is a spellcaster after all so before going in gangs be sure that you have more than half hp , belive me you will be focused , be sure you have enoguh mana , you dont wanna be without mana when some paper hero is on red hp :P .I will write how to play some aspects of the game with Dirge , some usefull tips the rest you will have to find yourself ingame.


1-6 level

You have decay , spam it try to affect 2 heroes in lane cause it stacks and just Soul rip them they will be forced to go back , i suggest that you do not spam Soul rip much cause you will need it if you yourself get damaged in gangs just steal kills with soul rip , it has a nice damage and you will get gold for more spamming :)


Tombstone

You have learned that tombstone is a great spell but still you have to use it right every time , it is not like decay and Soul rip with a low cooldown it is 60 secs wich is much.

1 level tombstone sucks you will just loose mana for nothing it is weak 150 hp is a 3,4 hit kill.Never cast it on lvl 1 it just sucks.

2 level tombstone also like first level it does nothing.

3 level tombstone it is getting better cast it in gangs , you have it at level 3 with your ulti it is great for 5,6 hero levels it just eats them , cast it ONLY in gangs and TEAMBATTLES do not waste it on farming and killing creeps.

4 level tombstone Same as level 3 great just bigger AoE and deathlust under 400 hp is just great use it in every teambattle and gang.


Getting items.


Ok so you are doing well on lane everything goes right but you just cant kill you enemy hero call some disabler for a gang (Rhasta , Crystal maiden) Kill that bi*ch and farm some gold first get Basilius than Void stone , i perfer void stone you are always full due to your rip than get Poing booster and boots , finish that Bloodstone kill some heroes in team battles and you will have Bloodstone,Shiva/Hood and Phase boots at 30 min max.If you still cant get that dont worry you are not a farmer you are a initator/ganger/supporter.


Team battles.

Dirge is the king of team battles , just cast tomb and flesh golem you and then DECAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY just spam it , you wont be able to get killed and they will be killed easier , get one kill with Soul rip and another kill will tombstone give you , also remember if they have Earthshaker , tell your team to disable him or you will all get pawned.


Feared enemies.

Some enemies can be the real pain in the ass i will give some examples

http://www.playdota.com/img/hero/79/icon.gif
If you are on the lane with him , you wont be able to spam spells , usually you will meet him solo mid put both of you are meele just spam decay when you have it and try to farm some mana regen like basilius and voidstone.


http://www.playdota.com/img/hero/41/icon.jpg

You have a lot of zombies and he loves units he will kill the whole team if blinks and ultis , that Pipe is great against him.

http://www.playdota.com/img/hero/35/icon.gifhttp://www.playdota.com/img/hero/37/icon.gif
http://www.playdota.com/img/hero/96/icon.JPG

Ok just soul rip silencer and bloodseeker they are paper heroes and youll pawn them that way , for Doom just go back like crazy run to your mommy that doom is a bad bitch and dont stand and fight cause the more damage you take the more possibilites that you will die.



Good alies.

All disablers are good , almost all heroes are good with Dirge that is why he is great , he is in combo with every single hero :).





Thanks

I would like to thank:

Sir-Rogers for a great comunity.
Me for getting my self banned and getting time to write this guide LOL :D
Newbies that inspired me to write this guide ;).
Team mates , former Clan mates and friends with who i play ;)

[Sirian]

nice that you take the effort to write guys, but the font and language make it pretty hard to read and the skill descriptions arent full (how much mana/dmg at what lvl for example).
take a look at playdota.com guides mayb? or link to them in your guide :)

oh and when you spam decay and soulrip in a lane you will always be out of mana, i prefer to harras with decay only if i can lasthit a creep with it but thats mainly vs agressive lanes, if not i just lvl soulrip more and just lasthit all with that basedmg and heal the dmg you take from enemy harrassing with soulrip.

[Shoot3r]

I said to only harras with decay , also i do not maxout soul rip cause you cant get more than 10 creeps in lane there are no big pushes , also i dont know why the whole text is green , the forum is bugged ...


Also i dont want to copy stuff from playdota.com if you want to know about spells you can just go there and check it ;)

[Shabazza]

1.) always get lvl2 soulrip at the beginning since there are usually 10 creeps clashing each other (lvl1 only rips from 5 units)
2.) if you have a cm in your team it's usually better to max decay first (alternative skill build maybe?)
3.) Shiva AND Bloodstone as core are overkill. Imo replace shiva with pipe. UD is someone who initiates team clashes anyway so pipe is made for him.

Just my 2 cent ;)

[Shoot3r]

Thanks Shabazza , i will surely do the alternative skill build , a lot of players sugested it , i am working constantly on this guide for 2 days and 2 days before that i was writting the hero roles , so i wont write anymore , i will take a lil break you freely write sugestions here.

Thanks in advance Freestyler.

[MeatHead]

Well, depending on who I lane against I sometimes lvl up decay first - but thats just me :P I vary my skillbuild on dirge a lot so :P

When it comes to items I agree, but maybe also add HoT or Guinsoo as alternative items. Guinsoo actually rox on him quite a lot, and HoT, yeh its HoT :P

Nice to see that u are puting an effort in to writing guides =) Keep 'em comming :P

[Sirian]

i normaly go:
decay
soul rip
soul rip
stone
stone
ult
stone
stone

[gude_laune]

i also wouldnt get bkb at all, you are a tank so you want to tank and therefore get attacked in teambattles.
i usually go for
decay
rip
decay
rip
decaly
ulti
decay
tomb
tomb
if i solo mid with undying. i usually get a bottle then so you dont really need a cm to cast decay pretty often. lvling decay does not only increase the dmg but also lowers cd and gives u more time until str is given back to your enemies.

[Shoot3r]

True , but you than get tomb on level 9 that is starting of a mid game , also it is a lot better when tomb is in early game , it is overpowered than , also i put bkb in optional items...and i said that hood is better but every1 has their choises :)

I will make that Alternative skill build, but it doesent fit in my playstyle :(

[Shabazza]

Another thing:
ES countering Dirge is something that's pretty situational.

Some example:
- You (Dirge) push with your team into the enemy base. If you set up the tombstone here there will be like ~1-10 zombies max (5 for the creeps if they spawn, 5 for the enemy heroes). Since the tombstone has a huge range and the zombies stick to the person they are attacking it doesnt really give ES a great boost to his ultimate (the realistic optimum would be if all the enemies stand in YOUR creeps with the zombies attacking YOUR creeps and maybe 1-2 melee heroes engaging the enemy team which would boost your ultimate by ~7 zombies and ONLY hit dirge with it [if his team is doing it right and keeps a distance])

- Dirge is usually the one running up front taking the damage and initiating with tombstone+ultimate. That means that his team wont stick to his ass like glue since he will draw fire upon him. because. So there are 2 options: You wait for the zombies to build up to improve your ultimate and wait for a chance to get most of them, but risk the life of your own mates (don't forget: the zombies have to stick to someone :P) or you (ES) initiate as soon as possible to cancel any spells/kill the enemy team before they can unleash their spells.

- The only real boost you have as ES is if the team with Dirge is defending. Let's say you (ES) push to the enemy base and have like 10-25 creeps. There's a pretty big chance that Dirge will put up his tombestone because he can kill the creeps, try to scare you off and put up the tombstone before he gets stunned etc.. ES waits for 2-3 zombies per creep to build up, daggers in, ult and will probably kill dirge and any other melee hero that tries to kill the creeps.

Usually the zombies are too far spread or in the wrong positions to let the ES get a real boost out of them. At least that's what I experienced when playing Dirge against ES or ES against Dirge. If you have other experiences with realistic examples please tell so :>

[LimitbreaKer]

Add counters to Dirge: old ES, not so good one, and add Kunkka + Pit Lord combo. You know what I'm talking about :)

Also, IMO rush for Bloodstone, then go Cuirass/Heart/Shiva/Pipe - Cuirass is pretty punishing, too. Together with Ulti it also boosts zombies and generally helps your ulti. Only get Heart/BM if you get targeted often.

[Elvynnel]

Imho the right skill build for undying doesn't exists. Why? Because it's based on your lane and their playing style. So, if you think you might get quick FB on one of your lane heroes (if you are vs 2), go decay, soul rip, soul rip. If not, just one for decay, one for soul - and max tomb. It's because undying can often get FB+double if you'll wait for their mistake (when they try to pwn you, and you are about half they often rush, then just tomb+decay and heal or leave sr as a nuke).

All base on actual situation.