Guide To Meepo's Potential

Unlocking Meepo's Potential
An extensive guide to playing Meepo

Table of Contents

I. Foreword
II. Introduction
III. Playstyle
IV.Skills
V. Skill Order
VI. Item Build
VII. General Gameplay Walkthrough
VIII. Controlling your Meepos
IX. In-depth Skill Usage and Strategies

i. Using Earthbind
ii. Proper Usage of Poof
iii. Using Mekansm
iv. Blink Dagger Usage

X. Hero-specific Strategies
XI. Runes and Meepo
XII. Conclusion
XIII. Replays
XV. Credits
XVI. Changelog


I. Foreword
Meepo is one of the most interesting heroes in DotA history. When he was first introduced, he was very quickly declared useless by the community. Too Cumbersome, not practical, broken concept, food, useless were but some of the words and phrases used to describe him. This continued for quite a few versions until at one point he was buffed quite a bit. It was during the end this time that I began to have an interest in Meepo. It was this that prompt me to write the original version of this guide, which can be found here. At that time, the few people that played Meepo ignored his strongest early game skill, Poof, which I realized was actually ridiculously powerful. I wrote a guide arguing for maxing Poof and using it in battles, later entering it in the 12th Hero Guide Contest on DA (it was a time long before PlayDota) and won 2nd place.

Soon people were beginning to realize his potential. The bolder competitive teams were experimenting with him, and were greatly rewarded for doing so. Poof Meepos were appearing in pubs, and in most games rolling them. A while later people were beginning to argue that Meepo is too powerful.

Not too long after, Meepo was heavily nerfed (several times :/), as IceFrog realized he was imbalanced. Sadly, he was overnerfed and his status returned to that of when he was first introduced (except this time justifiably so). Again, this continued for some time.

Fortunately, after a series of buffs, Meepo is currently now viable again (although strangely, still as unpopular as ever) Although he wasn't as strong as he was so long ago (partly due to his nerfed skills and partly due to the nature of the new heroes introduced , he is perfectly capable of holding his own in today's game. He is now, I believed, balanced, but the essence of his gameplay hasn't changed. If played well, Meepo is still one of the best pub rollers, he is also a strong pick in the hands of a good player in more serious matches.
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II. Introduction
Meepo, as we all know, is the only hero that can asexually reproduce in DotA. His strength comes at a price. His strength and weaknesses lies in the fact that there are 4 of him, however if one of him dies, all of him dies. This means that Meepo, although really strong, is more cumbersome to control then most heroes, as it is hard to dodge spells and pull off ninja moves with him. If played well, however, he is like a small army of elite troopers on his own, each Meepo covering for the other, making him one of the scariest heroes in DotA. That is why we call him MAT - Meepo Assault Team.
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III. Playstyle
Meepo's is the most unique hero in DotA, therefore, his role in the game is also very unique.

He is a DPSer, a disabler, a superb crowd control hero, and AoE nuker, and last but definitely not least, a ganker. The only things he can't do is own early game, initiate, and tank.

Although not as ridiculous as the Meepo of past, Meepo can still gank fairly well at the early levels of 6-10. At level 11 with 3 Earthbinds, Meepo is a devastating crowd control hero, with the ability to keep a few heroes from moving at the same time.

With proper support and timing (or if the enemy lack spells), Meepo is one of the hardest AoE nukers around. If you manage to survive any battle, Meepo is also excellent at finishing off fleeing heroes, either by killing them himself or netting his super long range nets for his allies. After Level 16, Meepo should try to end the game as fast as possible as this is the time where he is the strongest.
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IV. Skills
Earthbind
Rains earthen spikes across a target area, pinning down all enemy units in the 225 AOE. Lasts 2 seconds.

Level 1 - 500 casting range.
Level 2 - 750 casting range.
Level 3 - 1000 casting range.
Level 4 - 1250 casting range.

Cooldown: 20/16/12/8 seconds.
Mana cost: 100.

Useful things to know:

• Best movement disable in the game due to the ability to cast it multiple times and long range.
• Interrupts channeling, but only if the target isn't already netted.
• Blink and Blink-like skills disabled under it's effect.
• Cannot net magic immune units.
• Cannot net invisible units, but keeps them from going invisible if they are already netted.

Poof
Drawing mystical energies from the earth, Meepo can teleport to another Geomancer, leaving destruction in his wake. After channeling for 1.5 seconds, Meepo instantly teleports to nearest target Geomancer, dealing damage in 400 AOE in the departure and arrival locations.

Level 1 - 50 damage. 140 mana, 16 sec cooldown.
Level 2 - 80 damage. 120 mana, 14 sec cooldown.
Level 3 - 110 damage. 100 mana, 12 sec cooldown.
Level 4 - 140 damage. 80 mana, 10 sec cooldown.

Useful things to know:

• Damage is dealt where the Meepo that used the skill departs and arrives (can be the same area, damage just x2 in that case)
• Can be casted on self, essentially making it an AoE nuke.
• If targeted on ground or mini-map, the Meepo that casted it will be teleported to the closest Meepo from the targeted area.

Geostrike
The Geomancer enchants his weapon with the essence of the earth, crushing the life from his enemies and numbing their legs. Slows target movement speed and deals damage per second. These effects are additive with other geomancers. Lasts 2 seconds.

Level 1 - 5% slow. 5 damage per second.
Level 2 - 10% slow. 10 damage per second.
Level 3 - 15% slow. 15 damage per second.
Level 4 - 20% slow.20 damage per second.

Useful things to know:

• Each Meepo's slow stacks perfectly.
• Does not stack with buff placers.

Divided We Stand
Meepo summons an imperfect, semi-autonomous duplicate of himself, which can gain gold and experience as he does and shares his experience and abilities. However, the clones cannot wield any items but the boots that Meepo himself wears. If one clone dies, they all die.

Level 1 - 1 Geomancer.
Level 2 - 2 Geomancers.
Level 3 - 3 Geomancers.

Useful things to know:

• The new Meepo will appear beside the Meepo that you selected to level up this skill with.
• Any type of Boot(Phase Boots, Power Treads and Boots of Travel) with it's stats and abilities will be transferred fully to the clones.
• 25% of stats from items bought will be transferred to clones.
• Damage or effects from items will not be transferred.

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V. Skill Order
Level 1 Earthbind
Level 2 Poof
Level 3 Poof
Level 4 Earthbind
Level 5 Poof
Level 6 Divided We Stand
Level 7 Poof
Level 8 Geostrike
Level 9 Earthbind
Level 10 Earthbind
Level 11 Divided We Stand
Level 12 Geostrike
Level 13 Geostrike
Level 14 Geostrike
Level 15 Stats
Level 16 Divided We Stand
Level 17+ Stats

Ulti is leveled whenever it's available. Poof is maxed early for obvious reasons. It's an AoE nuke, which means with 2 Meepos, you have 2 AoE nukes and 4 second AoE disable. Earthbind is leveled at 4 instead of Geostrike for the range and cooldown which will help to gank or to escape. Geostrike at 9 is for the slow which might not seem like much but can let you land that extra last hit.

Earthbind is maxed next for the range and cooldown so you keep someone in place for a long long time when you have 3 or more Meepos.

After that max Geostrike for the slow. This will enable you to Earthbind targets that you aren't physically attacking, as well as improve your DPS.

You can take Stats after Earthbind is maxed before Geostrike if you find yourself desperately needing the extra life.
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VI. Item Build
Starting Items

A Ring of Regeneration, because we will build Meka later and to help us farm in lane early. 2 GG branches and tangoes.

Core Items

Make a Headress, then rush Treads. Treads are awesome for Meepo, they add 12.5 str to your clones and 10 str for your main, which is invaluable, as it is the only reliable and cheap way to increase your clones hp. Attack speed and movement speed early on all your clones are also really really good for your combat and chasing abilities, something you will want since we'll be ganking early. After Treads, farm Basilius then rush Meka. Basilius is bought for the mana and armor, so that we can prolong jungling/farming without having to go back often. Meka is for the heal that can affect all your Meepos. You can get Meka first before Basilius if you got the money to buy it straight.


Recommended Items after Core

In competitions or more serious games, Blink Poofing is one way to give you an edge when playing Meepo. You can still play a decent Meepo without this, and you can safely ignore this item in most games, but you will need to learn to use Blink on Meepo if you want to get the most out of Meepo.


Whatever bad things you say about Vlad, it's still one of the best items for Meepo. For it's low price, it grants a lot of benefits. With this you can camp in the jungle almost indefinitely and keep your mana high enough for fights. The lifesteal might not be very helpful in battles, but it's great against creeps and lets you solo Roshan at Level 11, although with some effort. The armor aura gives your clones a decent survivability boost, and the damage aura adds to your DPS as well.


400 damage block from spells for all your clones is almost required in certain games, and will be useful in all games. Meepo's greatest fear are heavy nukers, and this item will help you a lot against them. With this you can kill nukers easily and safely, use your mass-poof much more safely in team battles, and it can let you rush in to fight without dying to spells instantly. Being a great support item that doubles as a shield for all your clones is really what make this great on Meepo.


Desolator and Assault Cuirass are the best dps items for Meepo, and after much testing and better experience, I've come to the conclusion that Desolater is the supperior one. In terms of dps, Desolater is only very very slightly (And i do mean very) better then AC, but in terms of cost, it is much cheaper. If you think Meepo doesn't need damage items, then you would be wrong. Late game Meepo will have trouble competing with agi dpsers without a damage item, and you do want to own that pesky Phantom Assassin even till late game. Also it lets you kill faster, making the divide and conquer (with earthbind) strategy extremely effective. Also, a rushed Deso after the Core Build would let you dice up even the toughest of tanks.


Get these if you're having trouble with fat lategamers, or skill-dependant Meepo-counters (which in a decent game, will probably happen quite often). They may seem strange at first glance, but when you think about it, they really are good items for Meepo. The reason is simple, most items don't work well on Meepo because they don't work on your clones, but the disable on these items work just as well. Guinsoo is nice as it helps defeat carries as well as casters, but against casters Orchid is better due to the duration.You already have net to keep them from running. Generally Guinsoo is better against DPSers (Troll, Void, Etc), while Orchid is better against tanky heroes with AoE disables (Centaur, Axe) as well as anything that relies on spells (from Earthshaker to Lina).


Yes, it is recommended. With Meka, Treads and Vlad’s, Meepo can solo roshan at Level 11 and take this almost for free, while giving your team a gold advantage over your opponents as well. Be wary of ganks though if you decide to go at Level 11. You can choose to take it at Level 16 so that it's much safer. You can give it to your allies if you think it would be more useful, but personally I’d only consider giving to my team’s carry if he is really really farmed.


Meepo being such an imba farmer that spends much time in the forest, should always contribute should the team need any Observer wards and Sentries. Observers will help you avoid ganks if in your forest, and help you gank if you place them if the opponent’s forest. Meepo’s map controlling abilities should be abused, and a few Observers here and there can net you a lot of kills. If there are invisible enemies around, contribute sentry wards, you should be richer then most of your allies, and should help out the team as much as possible.


The thought of placing Meepo in items tickles me, however it does not in anyway make this point any less valid. We all know Meepo won't benefit from items as much as other heroes. Couple that with the fact that if you play Meepo right, you'll be outleveling most, if not all of the heroes in the game, you will see that it is wise to save enough gold for a buyback or 2 after you reach Level 16. In most cases, you'll want to buy back during a push, or when defending against one, since the buyback of Meepo can often change the tide in these cases. It is important, however, not to buy back if there is no significant advantage to be gained from doing so.

Situational Items

Popular choice, and very useful, -5 armor to your enemies is almost like a desolater, increases your dps by a ton as you have 4 Meeps pounding on a target. Some might argue that the aura isn’t good, +15% IAS is barely significant, the armor doesn’t stack with Vlad’s, but it is still the best dps item for Meepo, second only to Desolater, and only very slightly so. The reason Desolater is prefered is due to its much lower cost, however, get this instead of Deso when you already have 6k+ and no way to spend, and get it along with Deso if there are no serious burst damage or enemy carry hero problems. Don't get this if you have an ally having it or going for it.


Boots of Travels is good on Meepo because all of your Meepo clones gain the teleport ability. Note that while you can buy both Treads and BoT, you can't get both the bonuses at the same time - only 1 Boots is shared with the clones. BoT is a good choice when you need to push really fast or travel around a lot, with 4 Teleports and Poof, you can appear anywhere on the map in a blink of an eye. This, of course, comes at a huge price, which is the bonuses from Treads which is the only item that can boost the combat abilities of your clone.

Rejected Items

Contrary to popular belief, Meepo does not need this, and is strongly not recommended by me. Your core build is too important to squeeze this in, and truth is, Lothar-Poof is a completely unnecessary strategy. You’ve got a 1250 range aoe-perma-disable, an 80% slow, and you need to rely on this to land a decent Poof? You don’t need any more surprise then a flying net from the fog or Blink. Waste of money and waste of a slot. Lothar’s edge is currently a great item, but it’s just not meant for Meepo.


Complete waste of money on Meepo. You’ve already got a slow, and the stats transferred to your clones are not worth the huge price tag. Never get this.
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VII. General Gamplay Walkthrough
Early Game, Level 1-5
Grab your handy RoR, 2 Ironwood Branches and your set of tangos and head out to the lane of your choice. Best lane for Meepo is the long lanes closest to the forest (Top lane for Scourge and bottom lane for Sentinal).

Try to get a good lane controller as a lane partner, Meepo’s early game isn’t that good. Soloing is not recommended, but preferable then having another Hero that can’t control his lane well sucking up your precious experience.

Your priority now should be to get to Level 6 as soon as possible. Get last hits and denies, but never endanger your life for it. Remember, the only thing that truly matters is to get to Level 6 asap! Stop last hitting and just hang around getting experience if it is too dangerous. Play safe, DO NOT endanger yourself or take unnecessary risks at this level. Money will almost never be a problem for Meepo later, don’t worry about it. If you're at the long lanes (Sentinal bottom or Scourge Top) then you should pull the neutrals closest to the lane towards your own creeps at either 15 or 45 seconds on the clock. Doing it right will pull your own creeps to the neutrals, and you can thus get experience and gold, not to mention make the creeps closer to the tower.

Do not underestimate yourself, at Level 3, you’ve got a big Level 2 Aoe Nuke, at Level 5, a Level 3 Aoe Nuke, and a 2 second disable. With a good ally you might be able to grab some kills, save your ally when he needs it, but remember, Do not risk your life for anything this early.

Level 6-10
Once you click your first level ultimate, you’ve just doubled your combat abilities. At level 6, look for opportunities to kill in your lane. With a good nuker/stunner ally, you can gank pretty well. Once the chance arises, quickly cast Earthbind and Poof away.

If there are no chances to kill, head to the forest. At this level, Meepo is the fastest neutral creeper in the game. Destroy neutrals with Poof. Creep stack when possible. Watch the mini-map for ganks when farming. Check for chances to gank not too far from you. If there are chances to gank not too far away, do so. If not, continue creeping. Continue as before till Level 11. Help in pushing if needed, you can clear waves with 2 Poofs as well.

Participate in team battles and pushes if needed. With 2 nukes and 4 seconds of AoE disable you are very formidable already at this stage.

Level 11-15
With 3 clones, you are now a very strong force. With 3 Poofs and Earthbind at a decent level, you should now focus on ganking. Look out for lone enemy heroes, you should be able to take most of them out. Gank with allies when possible, push when they need you, participate in team battles but don't forget to farm when there's a chance.

In team fights, don’t rush in first, but don’t be a coward, engage when there is a chance. If you think it’s too dangerous, help with your imba range nets and enter when the time is right. You will already be a great help this way. If there are no chances to gank or push, just farm.

It’s important to note that with Vlad’s, you can solo Roshan at Level 11. If you choose to do so, make sure it’s safe by planting an observer nearby. At this level it is still not very easy, and take some time to kill Roshan, Remember to move away injured Meepos when Roshaning, cause Roshan has the very annoying habit of focusing on anything with low hp. Be wary and get out of there if the situation turns dangerous. If it isn’t safe, wait till you have 4 clones before you try to Roshan.

Level 16 onwards
If you’ve been a good Meepo, killing or helping out in kills, farming well, and pushing, you should be outleveling your opponents pretty well. Get the Aegis if you haven’t already. If you are doing well, press the advantage, push like mad, end the game, don’t give the enemy breathing space. If not, help your team to victory by defending pushes , defending or by participating in team fights. Carry your team to victory!

Summary of Walkthrough
Level 1-5 Don’t die, get experience in lane.
Level 6-10 Neutral creeping, gain lots of experience fast with Poof. Gank when possible.
Level 11-15 Less creeping, more ganking, killing, pushing, team battles.
Level 16-25 End the game fast if doing well, focus less on/stop farming and carry the team to victory.
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VIII. Controlling your Meepos
Group Assigning
Only 1 Control Group is truly required, that is to group all your Meeps into Ctrl Group 1. To do so, simply drag select all your Meepos, and hold down control and press the number 1.
Another useful Control Group is one excluding the Main Meepo. This makes it easier when buying items (when a clone goes near a shop before your main Meepo you can’t buy anything until you bring the clone out of range of the shops.
When pushing 2 lanes, assigning 2 groups of 2 Meeps each helps.

Using Shift
Using shift + click on a unit outside of a Control Group will add that Unit to the Group, while shift + click on a unit in the group will exclude it from it. This will proof useful when trying to escape with a low hp Meepo. Remove the injured Meepo from the Control Group, send him towards somewhere safe while tab-netting with the others.

The Tab Key
Very important key when playing Meepo. Pressing the tab key traverses through your selected units, enabling you to cast repeated Earthbinds and Poofs from different Meepos with ease.

F1 to F4 Keys
This 4 keys will directly select any of your Meepos. If you get used to it, you could use it to remove low hp Meeps fast and easily (since you can look out for their hp on the top left corner of the screen.)
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IX. In-depth Skill Usage and Strategies
Here we will go in-depth on the usage of Earthbind, Poof as well as general tips and fighting strategies.

i. Using Earthbind
One of the games best disables. Earthbind has a whopping range of 1250 when maxed. (Almost the range of a full screen).
When Meepo casts Earthbind, there will be a brief animation and a net will fly from Meepo, when it lands, it will trap any in it for 2 seconds.

Like Light Strike Array or Split Earth, you have to aim your net AHEAD of the target, so that when the net lands, the target is caught in it. Unlike other AoE stuns, however, the time for the net to reach its target is proportional to the distance Meepo is from the target. The further you are from the target, the longer the net will travel before it lands, thus you have to aim further ahead if you are catching up to someone further away.
Note that if the target is more then 1000 range away and moving it gets pretty hard to catch due to the fact mentioned before. In most cases, you'll want to manually select the Meepo closest to the enemy to cast earthbind, after that you can easily follow up with the others.
Max range of Earthbind.

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Aiming Earthbind

Red arrow indicates the Meepo throwing the net, Green arrow indicates the targets movement direction.

Multicasting/Pinning down your target
The advantage that Earthbind have over other disables is simply because you can cast it more times then other skills. The cooldown for Earthbind is very short when maxed (8 seconds).Therefore you shouldn’t hesitate to use Earthbind once you have 3 or 4 clones. Cast it even if there is a slight chance of hitting the target. Don't, however, forget that you still need to aim.

Earthbind is a 2 second disable with an 8 second cooldown. With 4 Meepos, that means that you can keep people from moving indefinitely.This is one of Meepo's strongest points. Once you manage to catch your target with an Earthbind, just simply follow up with another and another and another.. Doing this is simple, and is a skill that all Meepo players must learn, after your first Earthbind, simply follow up by pressing the Tab key followed by E, then click, then after a brief pause, Tab followed by E again. Rinse and Repeat.

After your first net lands:

(Tab > E > Click > Pause) x infinity

Against Invisible and Blinking heroes. Keep the pause shorter then you normally would if you are pinning down these heroes. Earthbind will keep enemies from going invisible and Blinkers from Blinking, however should there be a pause between the nets, however brief, your prey will escape. Blinkers you might catch up by predicting where they go and continue Netting, but Invi-heroes will escape you if you don’t have wards/Gem.

Escaping with Earthbind
If 1 of your Meepo is getting chased because of his low-hp, the most important thing to do is DON'T PANIC and stay calm! Don't forget that you have a 1250 range perma-disable.

First thing to do is (as you probably selected the whole group) command them to run like hell! Next thing to do is to remove the injured Meepo from the group, you can do this by holding Shift while selecting the group, and clicking on his icon.

Now you should just tab-net with the remaining 3 Meepos and let the injured one run away. Continue fighting with the other 3 or run away and continue tab-net depending on the situation. A simpler way is to send all your Meepos running, then manually selecting the high hp Meeps one by one to net, then send him running again.

Isolating an enemy, keeping 2 enemies at different places from moving
Hitting an enemy with 4 Meepos and disabling another with Earthbind is effectively keeping both of them from moving, enabling you to finish both of them, or kill 1 while the other watches helplessly, or kill 1 while the other(s) watch helplessly, or kill 1 while the other(s) watch helplessly, then kill the other(s).

This can be done when you're attacking an enemy and have a high enough level of Geostrike. When you're pounding away, you can Earthbind on places where the enemy's backup are likely to appear, or where they already are, then continue pounding on your target.

Keeping Opponents at bay when pushing
When pushing, it is useful to throw nets out occasionally to prevent the enemy from getting near or give the enemy a disadvantage in battle. For example, you're pushing one of the second towers, as you are whacking the tower, throw some nets at max range to prevent the enemy from getting close/scare them off. Doing this right will

1. Let your team pick off anybody caught in the net.
2. Scare off the enemies making the push successful.
3. Give your team a positional advantage should they decide to engage.

Earthbinding in team battles
In team battles, help your team by trying to net the enemy heroes from afar. If you succeed, you will give your team a huge position advantage and let your tankers/initiators and anyone else have a chance to get close and use their skills in a more efficient manner.

Breaking channeling with Earthbind
Earthbind breaks channeling, So If you see any enemy heroes trying to channel anything (especially things like Sand King), quickly throw an Earthbind to break it. This should be of top priority. Due to Earthbind’s range you will usually manage to break it if you cast it in time. Note that you cannot break channeling if you follow up your net before the previous one expires, this means that you shouldn't perma-net channeling heroes when you're hitting them, instead, rely on Geostrike and net only when they're escaping, this way you save your Earthbind to break their channeling if they try anything.

Revealing fog with Earthbind
Earthbind can be casted in the Fog of War, and as the net travels, will gives sight till it lands. I find this useful when farming in the opposite forests, either to scout for potential prey or to check for any sneaky attempts at assassination. Also check once in a while when you are soloing Roshan to prevent any surprises. You can also use it to check for runes without actually moving to the rune spot, saving precious time to do whatever you wish.
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ii. Proper Usage of Poof
Here are some usages of Poof that every Meepo player has to learn.

The Mass-Poof
This is one of the most important skills that a Meepo player has to learn, and it's easier then most think. If you can tab-net, you can Tab-Poof. The idea is the same, simply press F then Tab then F then Tab then F again. The difference between Mass Poofing and tab-net is that while you want to set the interval between netting at roughly 2 seconds to maximize the disable time, with Mass Poof, you wanna cast all your Poofs as fast as possible.

*with all Meepos close enough to target*

(F > Click Ground > Tab) x n

where n is the number of Meepos you have.

We click the ground because when we're Mass Poofing we want to be fast and clicking on the individual Meepos would waste precious miliseconds. Do not click on the enemy hero you're trying to Poof. Your Meepos will just stand there stupidly probably die.

This is not hard at all. Try doing it now as fast as possible, it doesn't matter if you do it more times then you have to, but with some practice, you should be able to do it well and cast all your Poofs in under a second.
Mass Poof Damage number with max level Poof:

• With 2 Meepos 140 x 4 = 560
• With 3 Meepos 140 x 6 = 840
• With 4 Meepos 140 x 8 = 1120

Farming with Poof
From Level 6, Meepo is(are?) one of the the fastest neutral creeper in the game. When you hit Level 6/7, simply walk in the forest and Poof away.

For harder camps, Poof twice (or even thrice) and finish them off with normal hits, for weaker camps, Poof once. To farm fast, creep stacking is very effective on Meepo.
Mini creep stacking guide

Creep stacking is very simple, simply hit any jungle camp when the clock reaches 51-52 of every minute, and lure the creeps away a distance from the camps. This is because neutral creeps respawn every minute if there are no units in the area. With some good micro you can pull 2 or even 3 camps with Meepo at once, then clear them for some major gold and more importantly, experience.

Pushing/Defending/Farming with Poof
With Poof, Meepo has the ability to clear normal creep waves at level 7 in 2 seconds. Use this to your advantage, whether to get gold, experience, to get that tower, or to save yours.

Moblity with Poof
Poof transports any one of your Meeps to any other Meepo. With a bit of micro-management, you will never have to take 100% of your hero back to base after Level 11.

When neutralling (the recommended way to farm with Meepo in this guide) or after a gank, send any injured Meepo home. If you need to buy anything Poof your main meepo back then Poof the healed Meepo back to the battlefield, followed by the Main Meepo with items. Using Poof this way well will save you lots of time that can be spent ganking, farming or pushing.

Ganking with Poof
Once you have 2 Meeps, Meepo becomes an effective ganker.
Ganking with Poof involves Earthbind as well, and here are the basics to micro Meepo to continuously net and cast multiple Poofs.

Step 1, Secure your target.
This involves casting a good earthbind.

Step 2, Keep your target from moving.
This involves the above Tab-Net strategy. Usually this involves casting a second Earthbind or even a third. Assign your Meepos to attack the target as Geostrike will help keeping them in place as well.

Step 3, Mass-Poof
Move in close and when you're close enough Mass Poof. It doesn’t matter which Meepo in the group you’re selecting. If any of the Meepos is stuned when attemping to cast Poof, don’t worry about it the others will still cast Poof and it will cast after the stun time. Again, you should be able to click all those keys in about half a second. 1.5 seconds later, all your Meeps should disappear one by one and reappear instantly, damaging your target in the process. With Poof’s huge AoE it is very hard to not get hit by it.

Step 4, Finish your target
Start casting Earthbind of your pathetic fleeing targets. Finish them with normal hits or Poof again if you still have a Meepo with Poof not on cooldown.

This is simply to give you an idea of ganking with Meepo effectively. With some practice you will be able to do it easily and with more flexibility.
Here are some examples of ganking with Meepo:

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Delaying Poof, I maximise the damage possible by hitting both targets..

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In this game (was a pub), I soloed and thus was higher level then the enemies.

Here are more examples:

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Look at how fast their hp goes down. Mirana's arrow hit NA, which is why I can pull this off.

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Another screen showing an early gank.

These early ganks is one of the main heroes we max Poof first on Meepo.

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Outnuking Lina. Oh, the irony.
Notice the multiple Poofs before the Laguna Blade animation disappears.
They were done together in less then a second.

Also, you don’t need to use Poof in every gank. If you are going 1v1 with many heroes, Earthbind + hitting is often enough. You can save the Poofs when their allies arrive.

Chasing with Poof
There is a way Poof can help with chasing. This is most useful around level 6-10, when you have only 2 Meepos and Earthbind isn't at a high level yet. In the situation where both Meepos have used Earthbind and the opponent is still alive, follow your prey with the Meepo closer to it, then Poof the other Meepo to the one following your prey. This will deal a hefty 140 damage and at the same time make your Meepos closer to your target, perhaps for a cooled Earthbind or another Poof Chase.

Poofing in team battles
Never be the first to rush in a team battle. Throw some nets and try helping your team pick off some Heroes. Let your initiator/tanker enter first, after a few disgusting nukes and stuns are thrown around, dive in there. Earthbind when getting close, get as many heroes as possible once you are within range, Mass-Poof ASAP. As long as you manage to do this, you have won the battle for your team. After, don’t panic and take out your injured Meeps and send them home. If you aren’t very hurt, proceed to pound the shit out of any of the enemy heroes remaining.

When to enter Team Battles

1. When most of the opponent’s skills are in cooldown.
2. When you have a great initiator that entered the battle. (Magnus, Treant, Tide etc)
3. When someone is being focused.
4. When you know Poof will destroy them before their allies can reach in time.

Here are some examples of Poofing in team battles:

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Watch as Naga’s illusions disappear with a poof. Look at Axe's hp drop with every Poof.

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Nice timing deals full Poof damage.

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When an initiator goes in, you go in.
Sometimes, it doesn't matter if you don't get your enemies, as long as you make them scatter you give your team a huge advantage.

Poofing as an escape
Often, Poof is useful as an escape mechanism. Personally, this is most useful when you have got an injured Meepo walking back to base or healing, or far away from battle. Simply select the Meepo in danger, press F and click where your other Meepo is at. Note that this can be used to escape certain disables as well (Ensnare and Sprout). If you are experienced, you can even leave 1 Meepo at base or behind on purpose to escape when you're ganking or fighting. With the Poof cast time of 1.5 seconds this escape rarely fails.

Dual Lane Pushing/Defending with Poof
Simple yet effective. Sometimes you just want to push as fast as possible, or to prevent a tower loss, and continue pushing at the same time. Meepo is among the few heroes with the capability to push/defend 2 lanes at once

Simply separate your Meepos into 2 groups and Poof twice with every creepwave you see on both lanes. Should there be an emergency or you want to participate in a fight, just Poof your Meepos together.

Do not do this if it is too dangerous. It isn’t worth it.
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iii. Using Mekansm

Mekansm is Meepo’s most important item. To play a good Meepo you should use it well. Using it usually has something to do with common sense and strategic thinking.
Use Mekansm when

1. A Meepo is dying.
2. Many Meepos are quite injured.( Yellowish Hp)
3. In fights to give you an edge.
4. For multiple teammates in a battle, or to heal multiple teammates.

Do Not Use Mekansm when

1. Only 1 Meepo is injured, send him home or let him lifesteal with Vlad’s.
2. When a single ally wants a heal. Don’t give it to him, most of the time Meka will be more useful for yourself. If it is to save a life however, consider it.

Make a judgement call.

iv. Blink Dagger Usage
Blink dagger is needed to maximize Meepo's potential. At least be able to tab-net and Mass Poof properly before trying to learn how to use Blink Dagger.

The Blink Poof
Blink Poofing is much less cumbersome then moving in with all your Meepos and Mass Poofing, and therefore is very suitable for many split-second situations, which in mid to high tier games should occur often. However, the increased speed comes at a price - significantly less damage (only half of Poof damage is dealt with the clone Meepos), therefore, it is not always optimal to Blink Poof. Just because it's more advanced, doesn't mean it's better in every situation, so bear that in mind when playing Meepo.

Step 1, Blink and Net
There are two ways to start a Blink Poof. You can either blink in straight with your main Meepo, then cast an Earthbind right beside your target, or you can cast Earthbind from afar, and Blink in while your net is flying towards the target (assuming you have confidence in it hitting).

Step 2, Paratroopers
After the main Meepo has Blinked in, immediately Poof all your other Meepos in using the tab key. This is similar to when you're trying to Mass Poof normally, except that you have to click the ground nearest to the main Meepo.

Step 3, Net and Whack/Net and Run
Now all your 4 Meepos should be surrounding your target. Imme
immediately begin tab-netting starting from your second Meepo. Continue netting and kill your target if you can, or run if you are in danger. Remember you can always move the Meepo in danger out while fighting with the others, which you should do in many cases (the slow and nets will prevent the enemies from chasing)

When to Blink Poof

1. When moving in to Mass Poof is dangerous/impossible due to heavy nukes and disables in team battles.
2. When you want to surprise the enemies (reduces reaction time) or deal damage as fast as possible in a team battle. (Example: Tide Blinks in and you can't reach in time)
3. When ganking to reduce the time for enemy backup to arrive.
4. When ganking enemies that are good at escaping like Blinkers or invisible heroes.

Blink Escape
Sometimes Blink can be used to run from dangerous situations. Simply Blink your main Meepo away and Poof the rest there. This isn't possible in a lot of situations, but keeping this in mind can save your ass sometimes.
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X. Hero-specific Strategies
We all know that certain Heroes counter Meepo well, here we will go through some ways of dealing with them.

Bad Enemies

Heavy Nukers
Avoid them early unless you’re sure they are without their combo or their hard nukes.

Don’t approach them unless you can survive their combo. If you can then you can usually kill them, in a team battle however, be wary of their nukes and be extra careful when they are around.

If you manage to survive their combo, usually you’ll be able to turn the tables and take them down, just move the injured Meepo away and proceed to kill them.

Position Swappers
These heroes can’t take you alone, but in a team fight, isolating one of your Meeps is one of the worst things that could happen to you. Play extra careful with them around.

Best way is to Poof your isolated Meepo back to the Group. This may not work well for Vengeful Spirit, but if you have fast fingers you can Poof back your sick Meepo from a Toss or Dismember (In Dismember’s case, a channel breaking Earthbind is required. It will be within range as Earthbind’s range is further then Hook’s.

Alternatively, if you think you can win the fight, you can instead, Poof your other 3 Meepos to the targetted Meepo, giving them a nasty surprise.

Tanks
Don’t hit them if you think it will hurt you more, and don't aim for them in team fights. Poof helps counter these tanks. Even they will feel the pain from 4 nukes. Don’t go out of your way to kill them, with their high armor/health/damage reduction, sometimes it isn’t worth it. Try to take them down with allied assistance. Deso, AC and Orchid will all help against this type of enemy.

Earthshaker
Don’t dive in the middle of team battles or a whole lot of creeps with this guy around. Sadly this is as much as you can do against this guy or risk killing yourselves and your teammates. Outside of team battles however, you should try to take him down. His health isn’t impressive and will fall with a few Poofs and a few hits.

Nerubian Assasin
This bug is a real pain. His high damage nukes can tear you apart quick, invisibility lets him sneak up on you when you are killing stuff, making it extremely hard for you to function well in a battle. Buy some sentries before engaging if there is an NA lurking. Like other nukers, be wary and only engage if you already outleveled him or if his nukes are on cooldown.

Pit Lord
Pit Lord is super annoying to go against as Meepo. His Pit of Malice makes it hard for you to move in close and his AoE spells are hard to evade with Meepo. To deal with him it's best to rely on Blink Poof to close distance fast, whether in team battles or ganks. Note that you are not silenced in Pit of Malice so remember to throw your Earthbinds or Poof if they're near.

Note on counters: If you are having serious trouble against skill dependant heroes, consider farming up an Orchid and laugh at them. Against fat carries, Guinsoo is a nice item, tanks, Deso.

Good Allies

Initiators
With their disabling Ultimates these heroes enable you cast your Poofs much more efficiently in battle. Earthbind can also stop any enemies from escaping after your allies ultimate duration ends.

Heroes with melee AoE disables
Earthbind will keep enemies in place easily for them to aim their stuns while their disable is invaluable in helping you cast Poof. Their tankish nature also makes them a natural distraction for Meepo to do his dirty work.

AoE Nukers/Disablers
Heroes with high Damage over Time AoE skills synergize great with Meepo’s Earthbind. With them around, a Netted hero is a fried Hero. I particularly like playing with a decent Invoker, with net and meteor as well as Tornado/Icewall to keep the enemies around while you pound on them or give you time to comfortably cast Poof.
Very chaotic, very fun.

AoE Silencers
Silence lets you literally able to walk in straight and cast your Poofs swiftly without much danger. Meepos number one fear in team battles are spells, and with proper timing these heroes can totally negate them long enough for you to devastate your enemies.

Supporters/Healers
Supporters and Healers such as those mentioned are great as they help your individual Meepos survive. With them around you can afford a great deal more risk in battle, making you much more effective.
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XI. Runes and Meepo
Only the original Meepo can pick up Runes, so most Runes will only affect him. Only exception is Double Damage which affects all your Meepos.

Meepo isn’t a Rune dependant Hero, nor does he gain lots of benefits from them, but they are handy at times.

Regeneration
In most cases, it is better to let your ally take it rather then you, since only your main Meepo gets it.

Haste
Not as useful on Meepo then others. If your ally wants it, let him take it. Useful if you want to return to fountain fast though.

Illusion
Gives you illusions. You can send the illusions to the enemies’ creep camps or use them as wards. If the enemy realizes that they are illusions and not Meepos and tries to destroy the illusions, you can Poof your real Meepos to the illusion and kill him. Walking them around with your real Meepo team also makes it really confusing for your enemies. You can send an illusion back home for a free fountain trip as well.

Double Damage
Best rune for Meepo, and one to look out for. Before picking the rune up, make sure all your clones are close to it, or else those further away will not get the buff. If you are lucky enough to get this after Level 11 with Vladimir’s, go Roshan.

Greatly increases Meeps damage output, getting this before a team push will help a lot as well, letting you destroy towers and heroes really fast.

Invisibility
Quite useful. Send your Invisible Main Meepo to the enemy forest and scout for food. You can send your clones to your own forest to farm when during this. If you see an enemy, select all your Meeps (Including the invisible one) and Mass-Poof. Earthbind for the finish. You can do this in team battles as well, but it is more risky, do it though if you have teammates support, and tell them you are going to do it. Bear in mind that you will not deal the full damage of Poof from the Clones, only the Invisible Meepo will deal full Poof damage.
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XII. Conclusion
Hopefully with the rewrite of this guide, Meepo will once again be owning in DotA. Meepo is a great hero to play and own with at all levels. If you have any agreements, disagreements, praise or insults, please do not hesitate to leave a comment.

Thank you for reading my guide and I hope you learned something from it.
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