I'm ripping this format off my Slark guide, with a few changes, cause I'm a bit lazy at the moment to create a new format. Take it with a container of salt.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Story
3. Strengths And Weaknesses
4. The Stats
5. Epic Skills
6. Skill Build
7. Items
8. Play Style
9. The Friends And The Foes And The Counters
10. Solo Mid Matchups
11. Replay
12. Final Words
13. Updates
-Introduction-
If there's one hero that everyone fears, it's Lucifer. The Doom Bringer is hands down one of the scariest heroes in the game, and for a very good reason. Once under Doom, casters become useless, the guy with 6 Rapiers probably not so much, but it probably will cause him to tremble in fear of losing them anyway. And at some moments, some heroes just can't help but refuse to level up, in fear of the almighty LVL? Death that causes them to eat extra damage. And who knows what extra abilities this dude has after Devour? A stun, a slow? Nobody knows, which adds all much more to the fear of facing him. And as the helpless fools attempt to run away, desperate to save their own lives, god speed is turned on with Scorched Earth, ensuring little chance for escape.
-Story-
Lucifer was the leader of the Doomguard attack force of the burning legion in the first attack by the dark lord Sargeras. With his original master long gone, Lucifer grants his undying loyalty to the Scourge to finish what his lord once started. Devouring the insignificant for his greed while dissipating the souls of those brave and strong enough to withstand his strength and the heat of his fiery haven of burning earth, Lucifer takes no prisoners and makes sure those who persevere through his wrath die by the agonizing and burning pain of Doom itself.
-Strengths And Weaknesses-
Strengths
+Insanely high Strength and good Intelligence growth
+Plays -ap with -em gold
+Excellent solo hero
+Dominant through the entire game
+Very flexible thanks to Devour
+The counter to everybody
Weaknesses
-Insanely low Agility, which means no attack speed and armour
-Can't really tank due to low armour, even with high Strength
-Short mana pool early game
-Lack of good disables
-Devour is somewhat luck-based in terms of what skill you want to get (a game which suddenly becomes void of Alpha Wolves at 60 mins for example)
So, when should you pick Doom?
1. When you need a carry
2. When you desperately need to counter a gamebreaking hero
And when do you not pick Doom?
1. When someone else needs to solo mid
-The Stats-
The Normal Stats
Strength: 26 + 3.2
Agility: 11 + 0.9
Intelligence: 16 + 2.1
The Advanced Stats
Affiliation: Scourge
Damage: 53-69
Armour: 1.2
Movespeed: 290
Attack range: 150
Attack animation: 0.5 / 0.7
Casting animation: 0.3 / 0.51
Base attack time: 1.7
Missile speed: Instant
Sight range: 1800 / 1800
-Epic Skills-
Ability Type: Active
Targeting Type: Unit
Ability Hotkey: E
Swallows an enemy unit for a short period of time, digesting it and dealing minor damage. Each level decreases the cooldown and mana cost and gives bonus gold when the devoured unit is killed.
One of the best farming skills in the game. At max level, if used every time off cooldown, Devour gives close to an extra 2 gold per second. What's more, it gives you a free creep kill, which means a free last hit in lane, and less harassment in jungling. The total amount of gold received every time Devour is used is the gold from the creep (not shown) and the bonus gold (shown).
When you use this skill, the EXP from the creep is given instantly, so assuming if you are going to level and you need that level to kill a target then you can Devour for instant levelling.
If a neutral creep is Devoured, whatever skill it has will be given to you, including skills that we may never have thought existed (that's how I accidentally replaced my Centaur's stun and aura with a Giant Wolf's critical once). If Devour is used on a creep with no skills and you already have a set of skills from Devour, then the original set will not be replaced, so spam it as much as possible.
Level 1/2/3/4 Devour allows you to Devour level 2/4/5/6 neutral creeps, so don't go waste time going into the jungle finding a Centaur with only level 2 Devour.
Ability Type: Active
Targeting Type: Instant
Ability Hotkey: T
Blankets the ground around Lucifer in flames, damaging enemies and healing the Doombringer. Also increases Lucifer's movement speed.
An excellent skill for towerdiving and escaping. Not only does it give extra movespeed, it heals you as well, making you harder to kill, plus it damages in a 600 AOE.
Scorched Earth follows Lucifer around, so wherever you go, you will get the movespeed bonus and the regeneration. Try not to use this skill too much to heal, as it has a high cooldown. If your opponents catch you without it, or you don't have it when you need to secure an important kill, you might just die/lose that kill.
Ability Type: Active
Targeting Type: Unit
Ability Hotkey: V
Dissipates a piece of a target's soul. Deals 250 bonus damage if the target's level is a multiple of a specific number or 25.
This can be an awesome nuke, and a mediocre one, depending on the level of your opponent. Obviously, you should only use it when it's awesome, unless you really need to cancel someone's channeling spell, because a ministun comes attached to it as well.
Fun fact: This is the strongest level 1 nuke in the whole game (IIRC).
Ability Type: Active
Targeting Type: Unit
Ability Hotkey: D
The target unit becomes inflicted with Doom. The afflicted unit cannot cast spells and will take damage per second. Can be improved by Aghanim's Scepter.
One of the best ultimates in the game, simply because it allows you to completely counter one of the opposing heroes. Doom also does a lot of damage, so coupled with LVL? Death a kill is almost usually guaranteed.
Fully silences everything, including items, and some passive abilities, and goes through magic immunity (although they won't take the damage).
The only drawback of Doom is that after your target reaches less than 25% HP, he can be denied, which denies you the gold from killing him.
-Skill Build-
Versus solo heroes
1. Devour
2. LVL? Death
3. Devour
4. LVL? Death
5. Don't add anything
6. Doom
7. Is my opponent level 6 yet? LVL? Death x 2
8. Devour
9. Devour
10. Scorched Earth
11. Doom
12-14. Scorched Earth
15. Stats
16. Doom
17-25. Stats
Versus 2 or more heroes
1. Devour
2. LVL? Death
3. Devour
4. LVL? Death
5. LVL? Death
6. Doom
7. LVL? Death
8. Devour
9. Devour
10. Scorched Earth
11. Doom
12-14. Scorched Earth
15. Stats
16. Doom
17-25. Stats
Devour: Should be taken at level 1, because every Devour is a free last hit.
Scorched Earth: The last skill to be maxed as it isn't quite as useful as the other 2.
LVL? Death: Your only nuke, which should be maxed out fast.
Doom: No brainer, the higher the level the better the effectiveness, and Doom is a very useful skill.
-Items-
Items to Go For
Coupled with your insanely high base damage, you can easily get most of the creeps early game. Changes the animation as well.
Core on solo mid heroes (most anyway).
Absolutely core for Lucifer, and unlike other heroes who get it as core, he actually has the capability to get it extremely fast. Coupled with Scorched Earth, all you need to do to kill is to walk with your target.
The remake might have toned the overall effectiveness down, but Scepter still remains one of Lucifer's most important items, as it buffs the already insanely epic Doom to even greater levels.
The boots
All 3 shoes are actually very viable for Doom.
With Boots of Travel, your farming capability increases by a lot, plus the high movespeed bonus allows you to catch up/escape more efficiently.
With Phase Boots, you can walk through anything that would stop you from catching up with your target.
With Power Treads, you are predicting a long drawn out game where later on your normal attack is needed in addition to your other abilities.
The orbs
The only orb you should ever get, though after Radiance and Scepter (which already costs a lot of money) you should already try ending the game.
Lifesteal is the only way to go because Doom is supposed to stay as long as possible in the field so that Radiance and Scorched Earth will do their utmost, and this handy little item will prolong it.
Extensions
As they attempt to take you down, something is needed to deter them from doing so.
An extra disable never goes amiss.
The perfect item for Doom, solving his armour and attack speed problems.
Fear of disables?
If you require more HP, but IMO get this only after you get enough armour.
Turns the game into a 3v5. Something to consider if you get Perseverance and have enough sense not to turn it into a Bfury.
Rejected items
There are a lot of obvious items that Doom should not get. I'm just going to highlight the important ones.
Get it free from the Alpha Wolf.
Only for heroes who have difficulty farming. Getting it on Doom, especially when he won't be using his normal attack much in team fights, is kind of useless.
The HP and MP regen from Bfury is a big attraction to this item on Doom as well. If you need HP, turn on Scorched Earth. If you need MP, get a Void and turn it into a Guinsoo, not Bfury.
Another commonly seen item on Doom because of similar reasons to Bfury, plus it gives a non-orb lifesteal! It won't help much unless you are considering it for your last item (and even then there are much better options).
-Play Style-
Choosing your lane
Without a doubt, solo mid. As a carry, Doom needs the early levels and can't afford to be sharing last hits. Plus, he's one of the best mid solos out there, so why not?
Early Game (1-7)
As soon as you see the first creep, Devour it immediately. Try as much as possible not to get denied by your lane opponent (which should be reasonable as you have an insanely high base damage). The main reason behind this is because if your opponent gets even one deny, you won't be level 3 after the first 2 creep waves, when Devour has finished cooldown, and level 2 Devour gives 20 more gold, not to mention finishes faster. You might think this isn't much of a deal, but remember, every second that Devour could be used, it should be used. Level 2 Devour has a shorter cooldown, finishes faster, and gives more gold compared to level 1 Devour. You should be aiming to last hit as much as possible anyway, so try to achieve this state if you can.
LVL? Death usage is what separates a scrub from a good player. Proper use of LVL? Death is crucial to securing lane dominance.
Against solo heroes, at level 5 you add nothing. LVL? Death at level 2 does 250 extra damage to multiples of 5 and above, and versus a solo hero who is expected to keep up with the same level as you, shouldn't he be level 5 when you yourself are? As soon as he hits level 5, nuke him straight and force him to back. This is how you will attain your lane dominance and get overleveled compared to your opponent. When your opponent reaches level 6, he gets another nasty surprise. You are back, but this time, with LVL? Death at level 4 (multiples of 3 do bonus damage). Nuke him again, possibly using Doom to get that kill. Assuming you forced your opponent to back, getting that one level higher than him shouldn't be too difficult.
Against 2 or more heroes, when you are level 5, usually they will be around level 3. LVL? Death at level 3 does bonus damage to multiples of 4. Wait for them to level up, and then start nuking the weaker hero straight away.
Creeps that you should Devour:
Dark Troll Warlord (Ensnare/Summons)
Centaur Khan (Stun)
Satyr Soulstealer (Mana Burn)
Polar Furbolg Champion (Slow)
Ogre Magi (Frost Armour)
Mid Game (7-16)
In my opinion, Doom's early game strategies end at level 7 (after all, there's no way to reset your skill points, so you will be stuck with level 4 LVL? Death for the rest of your game). After this, your only role is to, farm. It may be boring, but with it you can rush a Radiance under 20 minutes. After Radiance, immediately go for Scepter. If possible, try not to stop for Bracers, because they aren't really needed when you can rush for bigger items.
At this point, assuming, you have bought Radiance, you can try and start killing already. To kill:
1. Doom the unlucky target.
2. Turn on Scorched Earth and start running with him.
3. LVL? Death whenever possible.
Creeps that you should Devour:
Dark Troll Warlord (Ensnare/Summons)
Centaur Khan (Stun)
Ogre Magi (Frost Armour)
Kobold Taskmaster (Speed Aura)
Late Game (16-25)
So hopefully you have got your Scepter and Radiance. Now it's time to end the game. In team fights, always Doom the hero with the biggest threat. Turn on Scorched Earth and start hitting another enemy hero. Use LVL? Death on anybody where the bonus damage is applicable.
Creeps that you should Devour:
Alpha Wolf (Command Aura/Critical)
Kobold Taskmaster (Speed Aura)
Centaur Khan (Stun)
Doom Priority
Want to know which hero you should Doom in a fight?
Highest Priority:
These kind of heroes need their spells to wreak havoc in fights. Remove that, and they are no better than above average creeps.
Middle Priority:
These kind of heroes expend their usefulness after they have finished casting their spells. After that, they aren't very useful. Either Doom them before the fight starts, or don't use it at all.
Low Priority:
These kind of heroes have no need to rely on their spells in order to win, unless you are trying to silence their lifesteal or something.
-The Friends And The Foes And The Counters-
Friends
Anybody that blesses you with higher movespeed is a very good friend to Doom. After all, most of the damage dealt comes from Scorched Earth and Radiance.
Any good AOE disabler that causes your combo to do more damage.
Foes
Mainly, the armour shredders will be your biggest enemy, as you already have pathetic armour. A level 1 SA probably has more armour than a level 25 Doom.
He undos what you do to some extent with Death Pulse, and once you reach that half health he doesn't care how much HP you have and kills you.
Negates Doom completely. Don't aim a hero with Linkens.
Reduces the effectiveness of Scorched Earth and Radiance by a lot.
Counters
-Solo Mid Matchups-
Inspired by this guide, DotA Guides, I am going to list some famous solos and how should Doom deal with them.
Famed for his runewhoring capability, there isn't much you can do to stop him from taking the runes, unless you are there when it spawns. This is one matchup you need to play passively until you get Doom. At least you will be at a level advantage as BM will always run for the runes, leaving you to get overleveled. At level 6, if he hasn't forced you to back and he's still at level 5, immediately attempt a kill.
Her flexibility is what makes her such a great solo. Brood can either go the Spiders build and push hard, or go the Bite build against massive AOE heroes. In this case, it will be the Spiders build that will be employed, and there isn't much Doom can do about it. Maxing Scorched Earth first will slow the pushing down, but not by much. You can probably try Devouring some creeps to slow the pushing down. The only way to win Brood is at level 5, where she will eat that 250 extra damage from LVL? Death. If you can successfully reach that stage, a couple of nukes and she will be hiding in her web.
Though not a common mid solo, Bane remains one the strongest mid solos out there, not because he can completely control a lane, but because there isn't much you can do to kill him. With Doom, however, things change, as he cannot rely on any of his disables to escape. Therefore, the experience gap is very important in this matchup. It is crucial to get to level 6 before he does, so that level 2 LVL? Death will still deal the bonus damage and possibly kill him.
Although he is the 'king of mid solo', Doom can completely outlane SF extremely easily. With your insane base damage, scraping last hits for Necromastery becomes hell, made worse by the fact that you can reduce the number of creeps on the field with Devour. Doom's insanely high health causes Shadowraze to merely tickle, while LVL? Death will kill SF in 2 nukes. And once SF loses the early game, the rest of it will be hell.
One of Doom's most dangerous foes while soloing mid, Astral Imprisonment not only causes Doom to become underleveled, but lose his mana as well, rendering him unable to spam LVL? Death at the right levels. There isn't much you can do to kill OD, until maybe level 8, when level 3 LVL? Death coupled with Doom can probably kill him (assuming you even got to level 6).
Another famed mid solo, Viper, like SF, is doubly unlucky when he meets Doom. Both heroes reach their effectiveness at level 5, but the fact is Viper just cannot best Doom in terms of doing damage to each other. LVL? Death can kill Viper in 2 nukes, while Viper has a horribly hard time of bringing down Doom's health. If Doom survives the 8 seconds (cooldown of LVL? Death) of poisoning by Viper, Viper is screwed.
There is a rather even chance in this matchup, both having the capability to nuke each other to death. In this matchup, the runes play a key role in determining who will attain lane dominance. If Tinker cannot get Doom to back before level 5, he will get outlaned easily.
Medusa's capability in soloing lies in the ability of stealing the opponents mana. It is important not to get hit by any of the Mystic Snakes, as you have a low mana pool already. If you can store enough mana to tank one Mystic Snake, and still have mana for 2 LVL? Deaths, a kill at level 5 is within reach.
Nukes don't hurt TA, not at all. If the TA user is a psychic, using Refraction whenever you are going to nuke him, trying to get him off the lane will be a very hard job indeed. Doom is one solution, but if he turns on Refraction just before you Doom he will probably survive. Plus, he runewhores much better than you at level 6 with his traps. This matchup is somewhat passive, as Doom can't get TA off the lane, but TA can't do anything to Doom either.
As soon as he sees you have Devoured a creep, he will instantly use Curse of the Silent, forcing you to either use LVL? Death on him (at wrong levels), or lose your mana so that you can't nuke him later. Sad as it is, this is one matchup where you will have to ration out the use of Devour, using it only to stop CotS. Once he hits level 5, make him pay.
One of the most annoying solo heroes in the game, not just because of the insane spam, but also because of a free deny approximately every minute. It is inevitable that you will lose the experience advantage against Lich, but it is still possible to both get to level 5 at the same time. Once he gets off the lane after being nuked half to death, and you get Doom, the lane is yours.
Melee heroes get screwed over by Tidebringer. Every time you come forth to last hit, you will eat it. In this matchup, lots of salves/tangoes early on are recommended, but not too much at the expense of a QB. Survive to level 5, and you have a much better chance.
-Replay-
-Final Words-
If you ever need a counter hero, Doom is one of the best choices available out there. Like all carry heroes, lane dominance is key to a good mid and late game for Doom. From then on, it is impossible to stop him from farming. But remember, never overfarm with Doom (like me). If you can end the game, don't go farming anymore. Just end it, before the opposing heroes have a chance to retaliate with a farmed hard carry.
And I couldn't find the icons for the NC and their skills, sorry about that.
-Updates-
1/6/10: Fixed the killing method (forgot that Doom cancels out using TP as well so you don't have to save LVL? Death to cancel it). Credits to theagg for pointing this out.
31/5/10: Added Refresher's Orb to the luxuries list.
