Chen - Top-1 Arlington Major Star-Support
What's inside
It's the turn of the guide for Chen, one of the most underrated heroes in Dota 2, whose peak causes disapproval of allies and rejoicing of opponents. But in vain, because Chen is rightfully considered one of the best supports and pushers on the professional scene. And the relatively low proportion of peaks is not due to its uselessness but to the complexity of its execution. Let's go to the chase and discuss how to play Chen in 7.31d.
Early game
Chen is far less mana intensive than most junglers. It's allowing him to gank effectively in the jungle with minimal regen. An early Headdress is usually bought early to increase health regen for your pets. Then Boots of Speed can be picked up quickly to boost his roam and ganking potential. Sometimes Basilius Ring is bought to increase Chen's armor and mana regen, as well as his creeps. Your major task is to protect your ally and let him pick up level 6 as fast as possible while you are "vacuuming" the jungle.
Mid game
Chen needs a quick Mekasm. He usually purchased it on 9-11. Well-timed Mekansm makes Chen more effective and gives him a stronger presence in a mass fight. This is especially important during Chen's power levels (5-15 minutes). Pipe of Insight is bought to protect Chen's creeps', although it's equally important to help your team avoid AOE magic damage spells. At this game stage, you may call allies to push Tier-1/2 towers and set an accurate vision in order to take Roshan before pushing the Tier-3 ramp.
Late game
Vladimir's Offering or Wraith Pact is a "must have" item for Chen in the long late game. WP helps to improve his pushing and fight potential but should generally only be done if you have all other necessary items. Aghanim's Scepter can also be built on Chen due to his Ultimate's massive cooldown reduction. Aghanim's Scepter is generally the most popular Chen expansion artifact. However, it requires Arcane Boots to maintain its mana cost. For survivability, the most effective in the late game are Force Staff or Ghost Scepter.
Few words ab neutral creeps
If you find Harpy Stromcrafter at level 1, it means that you insta win any lane. This unit has a 140 damage nuke on a five-second cooldown. So, you can spam 4-5 lightning and force opponents to run away under a fountain. Ghost Phantom is another good creep. Permanent 25% MS slow and 25 AS slow are good for slowing targets or chasing them under Tier-1 towers. Satyr Mindstealer is a creep you can't get until level two Holy Persuasion.
Satyr grants two extra mana per second and the ability to Mana Burn. Centaur Courser grants a 15% magic resistance aura to allies. So, you can get Hood of Defense for free. Alpha Wolf with Packleader's Aura is a consequential damage buff that helps to deal +15% attack damage. Please never miss this creep! Hill Troll Priest can heal +135 HP 4-5 times. It's valid when you stay against Sky, Silencer, or Zeus. Kobold Foreman awards a 12% MS buff. Pick up this creep when you storm your opponent's high ground or kiting enemy heroes like Naix, Ursa, or Chaos Knight.
