Armlet(can exchange for S&y) + HOtD(later up fot satanic) + AC + Crits + skadi because slow is op in dragon form + bkb
fk boots
I only played him mid in the past few months. I usually go
tango, 3x gg branch
Bottle, wand, treads, drums, HotD
here come the twist, most people will go BKB into AC now but you will actually deal really low damage with that build. Sure, you are tanky as hell but getting a Daedalus or MKB now will give you really good damage and you will still be tanky.
After that the usual BKB, AC, Satanic....
For mid I normally go 3 branch, get 2 tangoes from team, bottle, phase, drums, armlet, AC.
I find you can use DK well as a counter initiator cause IMO when you are in dragon fo you don't really need blink/ lothars, better to buy tank and damage. Oh and bkb is always essential, bkb after armlet, depends how you need it etc if you're getting aimed or not. But cause of your level advantage and shit you should be being aimed
fast HotD -> stack ancients
treads
SB
Crystalys
after that are situational items (bkb, mode damage??? i.e. complete daedalus / malestrom / ac)
with dk you need fast lvl to reach 16 and do great dps... so farm ancients stack is better than midas imo
you get more money and you can go kill with your sb while stacking and move around map...
easy to kill with the spell that dk has :D
dragon form > sb > hit until your dota sense tells you to stun > stun> hit and fire breath
Take a look at this game:
http://dotabuff.com/matches/572984516
Game was hard as heck, Radiant did some stupid mistakes and probably not very good draft.
The DK played pretty well.
EDIT:
From personal experience Blink Dagger>Shadowblade, especially after dagger buff. Then instant stun initiation is VERY strong. (At least I'd do this if I was mid)
Ok, some of my thoughts on that game, dangdang:
1) DK goes for a 11:30 Midas. That seems like a self-fulfilling prophecy. For example, get a late Midas, which puts you behind and hurts your team, so you drag out the game to make it pay itself off. Also Midas'd the small camp when he had died a few times. He should have used it on the large camp to catch up in XP. Fortunately he does use it later on the large camp more regularly.
2) Grabs a Magic Wand at 14:30 when Timbersaw was in his lane. He could have easily finished that first and used it when he tried to 1v1 him in lane.
3) Generally is prudent about using his ultimate, but isn't always mindful of Razor's debuff. A couple times he popped his BKB late which also hurt him in teamfights.
4) They lose middle lane so early in this game and give the enemy team super creeps. His first big purchase after Midas/Drums/BKB is a Crystalys. Why? I think critical strikes are awesome for DK's manfighting, but how does he expect to push out the lane? A Maelstrom seems like a much better idea at that point and can be built into a Mjollnir late (after AC/Daedalus).
Overall thoughts on the game:
Weaver had a 42 minute Desolator. Before that he had Treads, Aquila, Linken's. In 42 minutes.
Earthshaker made a lot of plays in teamfights to help turn things around.
Dire had warded Radiant's base and they still couldn't split push. They had such an early lead in kills and towers that I don't think I've ever seen such a choke job before.
Re Shadow Blade vs Blink Dagger
I think I'd rather have Shadow Blade for the attack speed/damage and the initiation. If you're roaming from mid, chances are you will be spotted by wards without Shadow Blade. If you don't have Drums, you'll be really slow. The back stab damage + instant stun is better than Blink + instant stun IMO.
Most strength heroes are better with Blink. I think DK is not one of them.
There's only 2 builds for him. Pinoy style shadowblade into BKB or bauss' guide to DK.
Why would you want shadow blade or blink on him? To get close so you can stun when not in dragonform? I don't get it.
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For mid I often hear:
Tango, 3x Branches, [Stout Shield] --> Bottle --> Wand --> Power Treads --> Drums (???) --> Shadow Blade --> Black King Bar -- Assault Cuirass --> Daedalus (???) / Mjollnir (???) / Satanic (???) / Heart (???)
Safe lane is where it gets tricky:
QB/Stout Shield, Tango, 3x Iron Branches --> Boots --> Wand (???) --> Soul Ring --> Power Treads --> now what?
I've tried different setups from this point and I'm not sure which is the best.
Tanky: Armlet + HotD --> BKB --> etc.
Early teamfight: Drums --> BKB --> etc.
Other: Drums + Armlet *or* Drums + HotD *or* Drums + Maelstrom --> BKB --> etc.
Here's why I'm unsure: the tanky build gives you a lot of presence in teamfights with +10 armor and lifesteal/attack speed to offset the drain. However, you still can't move around unless you have Dragon Form up and your mana pool will suck (even with Soul Ring). Early teamfight gives your team an aura and the ability to fight early with BKB. The last build has you buying one major damage item before your BKB so you come online slower, but it can be used to jungle or push towers. If I go Drums, should I just skip Soul Ring altogether and grab an early Bracer?
Are both of these builds correct? Neither? How would you tweak it?
I know how to level his skills.