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caspian

Imperator Posts: 2387 Joined: 27 Mar 2007 gold

Power-ups/Runes Walkthrough

Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2007 1:17 pm

(Screenshots taken from DoTA Allstars v6.48b in SINGLE PLAYER mode)

Table of Contents
Please use CTRL + F and enter in one of the following topics to zoom in to your desired content.

General Information about the Runes
How to use Runes
Using the Timer - when drawing out the scoreboard is difficult
Suggestions for Runes usage on heroes
Conclusion

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General Information about the Runes

There are 5 types of runes: Double Damage , Haste , Invisibiliy , Regeneration , Illusion . These will be discussed in detail below.
Runes can be located in either near the top or the bottom of the river (more like a ford to me ). Of course you don't see runes on both places at the same time! Here are the locations:
Top

Bottom
Runes spawn every 2 minutes starting from 2:00, assuming the following conditions are met:
- Every time a rune spawns, it is taken.
- The rune that was taken is taken more than 5 seconds before the supposed spawning time, eg 3:52, 5:54, 7:49, etc.
- In 6.56, the timer starts at min 2:00 (assuming -ap for technical purposes) and then proceeds to countdown to 0, after which the first rune will spawn in either aforementioned spot.
Runes are considered items that can only be picked up by units with an inventory. Heroes obviously fit this requirement, but units like the chicken and Spirit Bear level 4 can take runes also. Illusions cannot take runes.
Like items, Runes can be destroyed . They have a HP of 75.
It is possible for a Hero to get 2 runes. The condition is to get one rune more than 5 seconds before the next rune spawns, eg 11:51 and then grab the next rune. DOUBLE POWAH!!!
3 Runes can be removed by Purge: Haste , Invisibiliy , Double Damage . Illusions can be damaged but not immediately removed by Purge, while Regeneration cannot be purged.
Runes can be stored in Bottles, refilling them (more information below). However they cannot permanently remain in bottles; if after 2 minutes they still remain without being used up they will affect the hero automatically.

Now on to the runes themselves.

Double Damage

Adds +100% of your base damage to your damage for 45 seconds. Base damage is damage from your Hero's primary attribute (eg AGI) and items/abilities that increase your primary attribute (eg The Butterfly). Damage from pure damage items like Buriza, Radiance, etc are not affected by this rune.

The Double Damage Rune triggers on all player-controlled hero units within 500 AoE of the rune, eg Meepo & his clones, hero with images. However on images the bonus damage does not work even though the animation shows they have the buff.

Therefore be very careful of Meepos who have just seized this rune! Surprised

Haste

Adds +100% to your current move speed for 30 seconds. It practically gives the unit the maximum move speed of 522 MS. No amount of slow can negate Haste , ie the Hasted target moves at maximum speed even if it is slowed.

Invisibility

Makes the unit invisible for 60 seconds unless it attacks, stops (pressing S) or casts a spell.

Regeneration

Gives 3000 hp and 2000 mp over 30 seconds, but immediately dispels if you take damage from spells or attacks. However, damage-over-time spells that do not create any other effects on the Regenerated target other than simply damaging him (eg. Poison Nova, the decay damage from Shadow Strike not the initial damage, Shadow Word) will not remove this Rune. Hence we can say that spells like Curse of the Silent and Battle Hunger will remove this Rune.

Illusion

Create an image of the hero that deals 50% of its base damage but receives 300% damage. The image lasts 75 seconds.

How to use Runes
Since Runes are technically items, all you need to do is right-click on the Rune to receive its POWAHHH. However, a better way is to fill an Empty Bottle with a Rune. Since a Rune will fill the Bottle to 2/3***( refer below ), you can get unlimited heals merely by scouting for runes every 2 mintues. Here's a how-to for Bottle usage:

A Bottle can be filled only when it is empty. Left-click on the empty bottle.

Left-click the rune to select it.

The Vengeful Spirit will go towards the rune to put it in the bottle. Look at the bottle - it looks greyish, a rune has been stored in it.

To use the rune in the bottle, left-click the bottle. You are now left with a 2/3 filled bottle ( In 6.54b you get a full bottle ). Use the water wisely!!

***The above images are valid for players using DoTA Allstars v6.48b, which was the previous stable map. The same principle still apply to the latest versions with some exceptions. For DoTA Allstars v6.54b the following applies to the Bottle:

Costs 600 gold
Does not require mana to refill
Auto-fills it when you are near the fountain
A rune refills it to full
Resells at 50% like normal
Purchasable at base only (in 6.48b it is possible to purchase Bottles from the secret shops at the side lanes)
Regenerates less than previously (135 HP/70 MP per use)

Using the Timer - when drawing out the scoreboard is difficult

You don't have to use the scoreboard. Icefrog has been most kind - he put up a timer on the top! There you can check the time and plan your "travels" carefully to have a rune appear exactly when you want it! Laughing

Suggestions for Runes Usage on Heroes

Runes are for all, so naturally all heroes use some rune or other. It is important to judge which runes are beneficial for your hero. For the sake of brevity though, I'll limit myself to heroes that are often featured as Bottle users:

Zeus the Lord of Olympia
Anub'arak the Nerubian Assassin
Pudge the Butcher

Zeus the Lord of Olympia
This hero is known for his lightning spells, however his spells are so spammable that even for an intelligence hero, Zeus often exhausts his mana pool quickly. To make up for this weakness Bottle is often gotten on this hero to supplement his mana needs, and to abuse runes to his advantage. Some of the runes that are especially helpful to Zeus are Regeneration, Haste and Invisibility. Regeneration allows him to replenish mana and spam spells like the Thunder God he is Laughing

, Haste aids him in last-hitting because he does not have disable/slow abilities and Invisibility aids him in backstabbing from behind.

Anub'arak the Nerubian Assassin
As his name implies, this hero is one of the most deadly assassin heroes under the Scourge. Unlike other self-styled assassins however, he uses his spells to create a combo that does massive damage to enemies. Moreover in his assassin role he often goes around the map seeking his victims. Therefore the Bottle is an especially powerful tool for him, supplying him with mana, regenerating him on the way to another place and empowering him in his dark mission. Helpful power-ups are Regeneration, Haste, Invisibility and Double Damage.

Pudge the Butcher
Known for his horrible hooks and his Freah Meat utterance, Pudge has enormous potential for butchering heroes to death, but is limited by his mana pool, his sometimes clumsy model that moves slower than many heroes and his Rot that hurts himself. Helpful runes are Haste, Regeneration, Invisibility and Illusion. An image of Pudge, if well controlled can deceive enemies and allow the real hero to do his business easily.

Miscellaneous Circumstances
If your hero is at full health, do you take Regeneration? No, you try to leave that to your allies. If I am Terrorblade the Soul Keeper with a level 4 Conjure Image, do I take Illusion? Not really, I have my own image conjuring ability which is better than an Illusion Rune because my illusions deal better damage (55%). But if no others can take it, yes let Terrorblade have it, because +50% base damage is always better than none.

It is always important to never let the enemy grab a power-up, even if your hero does not seem suited to use it. If say, you play a hero that has poor damage output (eg. Goblin Techies), you pass by a double damage rune, no one else can take it, some enemy players have empty Bottles, it is nearly the time when the next rune will spawn (eg 11:52), the compelling circumstances mean that it is better you grab the rune OUT OF SPITE towards the enemy.

As Sun Tzu says, "Those who win by use of tactics according to changing situations may be said to be masters of war. Of the 5 elements none is ever predominant." Ironically his statement is a parallel of the 5 runes in the game. Using personal judgement to maximise the effectiveness of runes is important.

Rune abuse using Bottle has been proven to be very effective. I will update this part with the most relevant 6.52e (league) or 6.54b replays to showcase power-ups abuse.

Conclusion
Thanks to

the DoTA-Allstars.com Mechanics Forum.
Photobucket.
Fraps
Last but not least DoTAStrategy.com

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Last edited by caspian on Fri Nov 07, 2008 5:53 am; edited 13 times in total