Introduction
This is the tenth guide I’ve ever created and I wanted to start with a short introduction about myself and the hero featured in this guide, Dazzle, one of the strongest lane supports and harasser!
I’ve been the Community Manager of DOTAFire since March 4th, 2014 and I’ve started playing Warcraft III’s DotA map back in 2007. In 2012 I’ve joined DOTAFire and a month later I’ve received a Steam invitation to play DotA 2 BETA, at the time you needed an invitation to play so I had to wait for a while to get one. 😀
Right now I have over 4.000 hours played and I’m trying my best to climb up my MMR, currently sitting at about 5.000 MMR. I’ve used to play competitively years ago in some amateur 6.000 – 7.000 MMR teams and didn’t focus too much on ranked matchmaking at the time, so hopefully, whenever I have the chance to play I’ll be able to improve more!
Let’s talk a little bit about Dazzle, his role and when to pick him. Well, Dazzle has proven to be this patch and the previous patches one of the strongest supports in the game. He can heal his allies, easily shove lanes, harass his lane enemies and decrease the armor of his foes around him. I have to say that I’ve had a lot of fun and success playing him recently, gaining plenty of commends while doing so!
Since Dazzle excels on any lane, you should feel safe to pick him anywhere during the picking phase. If you’re confident and you wish to give your teammates some extra time to think their picks, you can pick him first without worries. However, there are a few heroes that can strongly counter you, such as Axe and Ancient Apparition, in which cases you’re going to have to play more carefully than usual and play better in the laning stage to secure an easier situation. In conclusion, Dazzle should be a safe pick in any situation, considering he’s got everything a support needs and he’s strong at every stage of the game.
We’re going to talk more about what’s Dazzle role at each stage of the game in the fourth chapter of the guide “Game Play”, till then let’s discuss his strengths and weaknesses and skill and item build.
Pros & Cons
When to pick Dazzle?
Think well about your strategy starting with the picking phase! The right pick and decision can decide the outcome of the match!
Skill & Item Build
Since all of Dazzle’s abilities are strong, we must have a point in each of them in the early game to suit every situation. Most players tend to ignore Shaddow Grave early on, but I’ve found it to be really useful in many situations when my lane partner is in danger. Also, it’s great to have it early in case your teammates are getting dived and they need some extra time to survive.
The first ability we’re going to max out is Shadow Wave, since each level decreases its cooldown and increases the heal and max targets that it affects. It’s important to have low cooldown and higher number of targets because this way you can use it efficiently in fights. This is also the ability that makes Dazzle a strong lane pusher in comparison to other supports.
The last skills we’re going to focus on are of course Shallow Grave and Bad Juju. The early point in Shallow Grave is more than enough in the early stages of the game, but as the game progresses, having points in Shallow Grave is important because it greatly reduces its cooldown and increases its range. Of course, concerning the ultimate, Bad Juju, we’re going to level it up whenever we have the chance. Bad Juju is one of my favourites, you basically have to spam abilities and the armor of your enemies just melts, poof!
Alright, let’s see what we’ve got for talents!
At level 10 we have to pick between +50 Damage and +1.75 Mana Regen. Since Dazzle greatly reduces the armor of his enemies, the damage could be an option in some situations. However, since you must always have enough mana to use your abilities and spam Healing Wave in fights, the bonus mana regen should be better in most situations.
At level 15 we have to choose between +150 Cast Range and 35 Attack Speed. You don’t really need the bonus attack speed, I would say the cast range is a very easy pick here. It makes your abilities way stronger, especially your Shallow Grave
At level 20 we have two interesting options, but it’s pretty clear what we’re going to go for. We have to pick between +36 Poison Touch DPS and +30 Movement Speed. Damage also sounds so good and something makes me want to pick it, but it’s really underwhelming to have as a talent at level 20. Once you’re level 20 as Dazzle, it’s very likely that most of your enemies will already have ways to purge off effects and also magic immunity. I would rather pick the +30 Movement Speed because it helps Dazzle at all times and it greatly increases his mobility. Having the extra damage is useless if enemies have Black King Bars and other ways of mitigating Poison Touch’s effects.
For level 25 we have the same situation as level 20. We have to choose between -32% Poison Touch Slow and +0.5 Bad Juju Armor Reduction. Since Bad Juju is a passive effect and it also greatly boosts the physical damage output of your team, I would go for this talent instead of the slow. However, feel free to pick any talent you like, it’s all about preference in the end!
Let’s begin with the starting items:
The item that can win games, the Observer Ward. Always pick it up at the beginning of the match and place it in a spot that can help your lane or your mid player. Usually I place it where it can scout one of the runes while also providing vision for my carry and mid player, it’s important for them to be safe. Don’t forget that wards can also be used offensively, if your teammates are safe enough and you’re confident you can get something done, feel free to plant them in the enemy territory. Also, try to find spots that aren’t too obvious, it’s important not to get your wards removed. Besides losing vision, your enemy is also earning gold for the ward kill.
That’s everything to say about the starting items, let’s discuss further the core items:
The faster you can get this item, the stronger impact it will have. Decreases the armor of an unlucky enemy target while increasing your mana regeneration. Synergizes well with your ultimate. However, if your team doesn’t rely that much on physical damage, you can skip this item. Can be upgraded later into Solar Crest.
That’s all about the core items, let’s move on to the situational picks:
And to sum it up, let’s talk about the luxury items that are mostly bought in the late game:
Rarely seen because it’s very expensive, the Scythe of Vyse is a great boost to mana and mana regen while providing a strong 3.5 seconds disable. Always great to have but takes time to save gold for. The +180 Gold/Min talent will usually be the mean to get this item.
Game Play
We’ve already discussed a little bit about what Dazzle is supposed to do, but we’re going to go in a bit more detail here about each stage of the game and what you should be looking for.
In the mid game and late game your purpose is quite the same. The most important aspect is positioning yourself right in team fights. You should be close to your team but in the same time in a position safe from the enemy team. Getting stunned, silenced or picked off before the fight begins will deal a great blow to your team. The more you survive in a fight, the more you’ll be able to heal your teammates and reduce the armor of your opponents. Always pay attention in fight to the health of your teammates and heal them whenever Shadow Wave is off cooldown. Be careful who you are going to Shallow Grave and always make sure it is off cooldown and ready to be cast for every team fight. Some times you might get focused and you will feel the need to grave yourself to be extra safe, but try to be careful because you might not die and afterwards you won’t have grave to immediately save your team. Positioning and decision making is key for Dazzle! You shouldn’t have mana issues, but if you’re good on mana you can use Shadow Wave and Poison Touch as much as possible in fights to apply pressure and keep your team alive. However, if your mana is limited at that specific moment, try to focus on healing and using Shallow Grave at the right time.
Always play with your team and for your team! Maintain map vision and control, only fight when the odds are in your favor, get objectives and don’t waste time, sacrifice yourself for your cores and for the better outcome of the fights, play smart and have fun!
Thank you for reading!
Thanks you for reading and please let me know what if you have any question or suggestion!
I hope you’ve enjoyed my tenth guide and I’ll make sure to keep this guide updated as soon as the patches are released.
Good luck and enjoy dazzling! 😀