- Tittle: Gon-thefuck-ar
- Author: thedune
Pros:
- High base Movement Speed
- Relatively high damage nuke with Mini Stun
- 3rd highest AGI gain
- Natural escape mechanism
- Counters invisibility
- Can carry if necessary
- Low Cooldowns
- Receives gold from hero kills even without last hitting
- Gondar's target model is the smallest in the entire game, which makes him a nightmare to heroes with targetable spells.
Cons:
- Terrible base STR and terrible STR gain results in Gondar being squishy
- Early game Mana issues
- Partially countered by invisibility detection
- Very easily outcarried
Don't pick if you answered mostly YES to the below
- Enemy has a lot of Burst damage spells
- Enemy has a lot of disables
- Enemy has a lot of AOE spells
- Enemy picks Slardar
- Enemy picks Void
- Enemy Picks Tiny
- Enemy full of tanks
- Team needs a tank
- Team needs disabler
Pick if you answered mostly YES to the below
- Team needs a reliable ganker
- Team has enough disablers
- Team has a tank
- Team goes for a gank strategy
Skills
Shuriken Toss- Level 1 - 100 Damage
- Level 2 - 200 Damage
- Level 3 - 250 Damage
- Level 4 - 325 Damage
- Mana Cost: 90/115/135/155
- Cooldown: 10 seconds at all levels
- This skill is a generic ranged nuke with a bonus Ministun attached at the end.
In a gank, this can be used to finish off fleeing enemy. In a team clash this skill can probably be used only once or twice due to its cooldown, so use it wisely. Don't use this skill unless you are certain you are going for it, because it is quite Mana intensive on Gondar's pitiful Mana pool; especially early game.
Jinada- Level 1 - 1.5x critical multiplier
- Level 2 - 1.75x critical multiplier
- Level 3 - 2x critical multiplier
- Level 4 - 2.25x critical multiplier
- Cooldown: 12/10/8/6
- This passive skill gives you a critical strike every few seconds, the number of seconds decreases and the critical multiplier increases with every level you put into this skill. Additionally this skill gives a Maim that slows enemy's movement speed by 25% for 3 seconds. It also has a visual indicator visible to ally and enemy, when the critical strike is ready your hand will have a purple glow.
In laning, this skill is used to make last hit easier. This skill also helps a lot in farming. But its main use is in clashes, this skill (coupled with windwalk's backstab damage) allows you to open a battle with devastating burst damage.
Wind Walk- Level 1 - 15 second invisibility, 30 backstab damage
- Level 2 - 20 second invisibility, 60 backstab damage
- Level 3 - 25 second invisibility, 90 backstab damage
- Level 4 - 30 second invisibility, 120 backstab damage
- Mana Cost: 50 at all levels
- Cooldown: 15 seconds at all levels
- This skill is a generic invisibility with a small bonus damage upon breaking invisibility.
The two main use of this skill is an escape mechanism and to surprise the enemy. Often in a clash enemies (only in pubs) don't account for invisible heroes like Gondar or Rikimaru. They often assume if they can't see them they're not there. You must play this to your advantage, always come into a battle using Wind Walk to surprise your enemy and deal some backstab damage. Wind Walk is also a decent escape mechanism, this partially makes up for Gondar's piss pour Health. Wind Walk has a 15 second cooldown and at level 2 your invisibility lasts for 20 seconds, this allows you to cast Wind Walk right after breaking your invisibility. This helps when a gank goes wrong and you get counter ganked, normally you become the main victim as you have piss poor health; shock your enemy by casting Wind Walk again and escape with ease as your allies die around you.
Double Backstab: Warning: This technique's effectiveness have not been tested. Now, this is done by using the following combo: Approach a victim while Wind Walking and have Jinada ready. Strike him and cast Track. Now cast Wind Walk again. Your victim will either stay or start fleeing. If he stays good, if he runs chase him down while staying invisible. As soon as Jinada is ready strike him, follow it up with some normal attack if he is not dead yet.
Track- Level 1- 150 bonus gold, reduces target's armor by 1
- Level 2- 200 bonus gold, reduces target's armor by 3
- Level 3- 250 bonus gold, reduces target's armor by 5
- Manacost: 70/50/60
- Cooldown: 10/7/5
- Duration: 30 seconds at all levels
- Lastly, your ultimate Track. Track does a couple of things, first it gives true sight upon the enemy (eat that Riki), second it provides 20% bonus movement speed to allies withing a 900 AOE of the target, third it gives bonus gold to Gondar (75/150/225) regardless of how the victim is murdered target is killed, fourth it provides bonus gold (50/100/150) to allies within a 925 AOE of the target when it is killed.
Track should be frequently used, its cheap Mana-wise and will help you/your allies nab some kills and give you some extra gold. Even if your low on health and is about to go back to the fountain throw in a Track to help your allies. After all, if they killed him; hey! bonus gold. If they didn't you cannot be blamed nor flamed for that.
Milking the Cow: Sometimes, there are heroes that are too far away to ks with your Shuriken Toss. However, Track has a longer casting range (900/1050/1200) compared to Shuriken Toss (650), so if you see an enemy that is definitely going to die, but is too far to Shuriken Toss; Track his ass. It's not a crime, in fact your allies who are near will love the extra gold and you will learn to love it too.
Tracking Priority
On a scale of 1 to 6, where 1 is the highest priority and 6 being the lowest priority.
- 1 - Rikimaru
- 2 - Invisible-able Heroes
- 3 - Blinkers/Pseudo-Blinkers
- 4 - Illusionist
- 5 - Heroes that are fleeing with a silver of a HP
- 6 - Near death heroes explained in the Milking the Cow section
Skill Build:
- LVL 1: Wind Walk
- LVL 2: Jinada
- LVL 3: Shuriken Toss
- LVL 4: Shuriken Toss
- LVL 5: Jinada
- LVL 6: Track
- LVL 7: Jinada
- LVL 8: Jinada
- LVL 9: Shuriken Toss
- LVL 10: Shuriken Toss
- LVL 11: Track
- LVL 12: Wind Walk
- LVL 13: Wind Walk
- LVL 14: Wind Walk
- LVL 15: Stats
- LVL 16: Track
- LVL 17-25: Stats
Wind Walk is taken at level 1 to avoid first blood attempt against you, Jinada is taken at level 2 to make last hitting in lanes easier. Shuriken Toss is leveled twice for the damage. Jinada is maxed next as you peak in mid game. Shuriken Toss is maxed for it gives more damage than Wind Walk and Wind Walk is maxed last for more damage and duration. Track is taken whenever possible and Stats are taken last.
You: Why is Wind Walk taken at level 1?
thedune: This should be pretty obvious, but anyways Wind Walk is taken at level 1 to avoid being first blooded. Think of it this way, you are a hero who relies on damage essentially you are somewhat a carry. The more items and levels you can get the more effective you can be. And if you are first blooded, you will lose gold both gold and experience, this deprives you of both things that makes you a who you are. So, it is a must to take Wind Walk at level 1, unless you are ganking and a 25% 3-second maim will make a gank (Jinada) then you should skill it first, though this is still not recommended as Jinada is not the most reliable pseudo-disable.
You: Why is Jinada taken at level 2?
thedune: Honestly, for level 2 it should be pretty obvious to take Jinada to enable you to last hit easier. Hypothetically, if you were playing in a pub game where people don't care about your role as a carry and you are laning with an equally skilled Pudge, you would lose every last hit to him due to his high base damage. To prevent that, skill Jinada at level 2.Plus, you won't be doing much ganking/ or none at all during this time so Shuriken is somewhat wasted, unless you need some damage to pull of a kill in the lane then go for a Shuriken Toss.
You: Why is Shuriken Toss leveled only twice? aren't you supposed to max Toss before Jinada?
thedune: You'd think so but as I've explained a few times in the comment section, its better to max Jinda first and keep Toss at level 2. Adding more levels to Toss will increase the mana strain on Gondar who already has an incredibly small mana pool.
You: Why do you wait so long to max Wind Walk?
thedune: Gondar peaks at mid-game when his damage is high, so if you take Wind Walk that does a relatively small amount of damage, you would be severely reducing his damage output. At level 2 Shuriken Toss does more damage than a level 4 Wind Walk, at mid-game most of your damage will come from Jinada so we must prioritize maxing that too over wind walk. Additionally a 15-Wind Walk would normally suffice for a gank and its cooldown is a static 15 seconds so you won't benefit much from skilling it any more.
Item Build
Starting
Starting items are normally about personal choice so I advice you stick with what works out best for you. A decent combination of these items should do the job.
Here's my personal Build:
- This build makes last hitting very easy. You aren't very item independent, so normally you shouldn't be the one buying the Chicken, but in pubs, people hardly buy a Chicken and if they do buy it, they normally refuse to share it. If and only if they don't buy a Chicken or Bought a Chicken but refuses to share it, then you get a Chicken. But this build has non-existent upgrading potential.
But if you are determined to go for a wand and have good judgement in using it. Then this build should work out well for you.
- Don't be hesitant to sell your Ironwood Branch if you need the space, they're very cheap.
At one point, a normal chicken just won't do...upgrade that chick!
Core
Core Item Build 1:
or 
/ 
Price: 8359-8409 Gold- Magic Wand is simply a magnificent item because of its burst heal, could save your life, could give you just enough mana for a Wind Walk or a Shuriken Toss. But later in the game you could sell it because it loses its effectiveness in late game.The Desolator is taken to increase damage and especially for the Corruption orb. And the Vlad is taken to increase Gondar's EHP.
Core Item Build 2:
or / 
Price: 7334-7384 Gold- The self explanatory Magic Wand is taken for obvious reasons. BF is taken for the cleave that makes farming extremely easy and the huge damage bonus, Medallion is taken to mimic the effects of the Corruption orb.
Luxury
Critical can proc when Jinada is on cooldown but if Critical procs when Jinada is ready then only Jinada's critical will come into effect*. Generally any item that adds ridiculous amount of damage is highly appreciated on Gondar.
Adds damage and True Strike, for that annoying Mortred, Pandaren and Butterfliers.
You are fragile, this makes you less fragile. +1060 HP is a good thing on Gondar.
Optional
Should be taken between the early game and the mid-game. Wraith Band for extra damage and Bracers for extra HP. Sell it off for the extra space later on.
Provides a lot of what Gondar needs, more HP and Mana Regen. But that's it, no improvement of killing ability at all.
With track a Threads/Phase Boots and Manta your MS will go straight to 522. Plus your illusion might be able to save you at times, provided you play your cards right. *Note: Your illusions are even more fragile than you are but they still dish out a lot of damage*
Extreme slow. More mana and more damage, but the increased attack speed (from +AGI) is quite a waste.
Rejected
Yeah, some say this is a good item to help with his health problems, but I say, if you want more HP get some Bracers or a Heart just not Vanguard. Because the highlight of a Vanguard is actually the Damage Block. When you block a damage, a portion of it still damages you and in Gondar's case his piss poor HP don't benefit much from it.
You don't benefit much from the attack speed, the damage is very little, the HP is better from other items and finally the maim...you already have a natural maim genius.
Repeat after me, Gondar is not a DPS hero. Attack speed doesn't help him much.
If you took this, consider getting your brain checked. You might be a retard.
Your not a DPS hero and your health is piss poor, who asked you to make it worse.
Seriously?
Natural invisibility defeats lesser invisibility. Nuff said.
Bottle's are traditionally for Mid-Laners with a powerful lane control which lets them push while they fetch a Rune repeatedly having an infinite pool of mana in early game. Gondar is neither a natural Mid-Laner nor do he have any lane control. Picking this up Mid-game is not the best idea as the heal becomes less and less useful.
Leave that item to the supporter.
Situational
Pick this up fast in the laning phase if you are harrased like mad. Sell it off later when you need the space.
Take this while working on your BKB if those nukers are really bugging you... 
Too many nukers/disablers.
If one very annoying disable is fucking up your game take this if multiple annoying disables are fucking up your game get the BKB instead.
Hear me out people who take Butterfly for every AGI heroes, Gondar is not a DPS hero and by that I mean he is not capable of dishing out a lot of damage at a constant pace while receiving damage, if you didn't know Gondar is more of a burst damage hero who relies on his dmg. So an increase in damage will increase Gondar's effectiveness while Butterfly provides 60 dmg that is very expensive for its price and there are much better options to increase damage. The only situation to take Buttefly over a damage increasing item (MKB/ Buriza) is that the enemy is filled with physical attackers.
Gem whoring opponent. Gondar's piss poor health makes him food without his escape mechanism, so if the opponent are gem whoring (Hardly ever happens) then buy a secondary escape mechanism.
To be honest, I still say Gondar is not the best Raper Rapier carrier due his fragility. If he uses his Wind Walk wrongly this could end up in the enemy carry's hands and you will be utterly doomed. But, If and only if you haven't been dying much or at all and you are confident that isn't going to happen than this item will server you well.
Gameplay
Early Game / Laning Phase (LVL 1-6)
Buy your starter items, go in a lane (preferably the longer lane; bottom for Sentinel, top for Scourge). Hopefully you went into the lane with a competent ranged partner, a baby sitter would be icing on top of the cake but is really not necessary. Your main objective is very simple, last hit and deny as much as possible and don't push the creep line to far, if that happens go pull some creeps (you went to long lane right?). Hopefully by the end of the laning phase you were able to complete your Threads/Phase Boots and started working on your Deso or Battlefury
Laning with a Ranged Hero
Laning against 2 Meele Hero:
This is the best possible scenario for your laning phase, you should play aggressively and harass them if they get close to your creeps. Hopefully your partner is competent enough to harass the enemy from afar.
Laning against 1 Meele Hero and 1 Ranged Hero:
You and the enemy are on even grounds now, you and the opposing Meele Hero is gonna take the heat from the harassment of the respective opposing Ranged Hero. If you are good enough with your last hit and don't need your Jinada, you can always use it to harass your Meele opponent.
Laning against 2 Ranged Hero:
At this point, if the opponent is competent enough you will be forced to play passively as you are the easiest target for harassment. Always agro creeps by right clicking a enemy hero and moving backward so the enemy creep will attack your ranged creep while you can safely last hit some creeps.
Laning with a Meele Hero
Laning against 2 Meele Hero:
You and the enemy are on even grounds, its very likely that for hero will be cramped between the meele creep line. Not much to do here but try to last hit, deny, harass when the chance arrives and don't push your creep line too far.
Laning against 1 Meele Hero and 1 Ranged Hero:
It's painful to be harassed, so it's much better to play safe and waiting for the right time to last hit and agro creeps so you can last hit easier. Let your lane partner take the harassment, its not nice, but better him than you, chances are he's less fragile than you.
Laning against 2 Ranged Heroes:
This pair-up is going to rather hard, chances are you are going to get harassed a lot. They are going to deny creeps and it's going to be rather hard for you to last hit. The silver lining is that hopefully the ranged enemies were stupid enough to push the creep line to the tower so you can last hit easier and level up faster.
Progress:
Skills:
- LVL 1: Wind Walk
- LVL 2: Jinada
- LVL 3: Shuriken Toss
- LVL 4: Shuriken Toss
- LVL 5: Jinada
- LVL 6: Track
Items:
or /
Early Mid-Game (LVL 6-11)
If you did fairly well in the laning phase, you should have completed your Threads/ Phase Boots. Now it's time to start ganking, if you feel you lack damage or need more HP don't hesitate to grab 1 or 2 Bracers/ Wraith Band or an Urn.
Progress:
Skills:
- LVL 7: Jinada
- LVL 8: Jinada
- LVL 9: Shuriken Toss
- LVL 10: Shuriken Toss
- LVL 11: Track
Items:
or 
Optional:
Late Mid-Game (LVL 11-16)
Halfway through the Mid-Game you should finish your Deso or Battlefury and should be working on your Vlad/ MoC and/or a Luxury item. If you went with Deso, you should concentrate more on ganking than farming, but if you went with Battlefury, you can be a late game monster with enough farm, so concentrate more on farming. This doesn't mean you should completely ignore ganking or farming altogether, balance is important. At this point your team probably really needs you in clashes to dish out heavy damage.
Progress:
Skills:
- LVL 12: Wind Walk
- LVL 13: Wind Walk
- LVL 14: Wind Walk
- LVL 15: Stats
- LVL 16: Track
Items:
or /
Working on and a Luxury Item: or or
and a Luxury Item: or or
Late Game
Now, everyone should be sticking with each other, you are no different. Stick with your team, push a lane and finish the game. If an opportunity to gank approaches, you must consider its worth because, chances are the whole team is going to gank one or two unfortunate hero at the cost of a lane getting pushed back. At this point team clashes should occur pretty close to towers so be careful because of the true sight the tower provides.
Alternatively, if you went with Battlefury there is this fun pushing tactic you can try; pick an empty lane and start pushing after you've pushed past the halfway point everytime you clear a creep wave cast Wind Walk. After you've meet with the next enemy creep wave scout out the location before pushing. Rinse and repeat. You always cast wind walk to prevent getting ganked, never do this if the enemy has bought gem, dust are still fine though.
Progress:
Skills:
- LVL 17-25: Stats
Items: Completing another Luxury Item or or or saving for Buybacks.
or or or saving for Buybacks.
Edited by basicdotaguide.blogspot.com