Table Of Contents
Click on any section below to go to that section of the guide.
1. Introduction and Foreword
2. The Hero
3. The Skills
3.1. Mini Guide to Illuminate
4. Skill Build
5. Courier and Wards
6. Roles
7. Items
7.1. Item Build
8. Early Game Strategy
9. Mid Game Strategy
10. Late Game Strategy
11. Heavy Push Strategy
12. Drafting
13. Replays
14. Conclusion
Changelog
1. Introduction and Foreword
First of all, Ezalor, Keeper of the Light (Kotl from now on) is one of the best support heroes in the game. He seems like a straightforward hero, but has many layers to his usage. He is very versatile and can be used in many different ways. I rarely see other Kotl players using him the way he, in my opinion, should be used, and surprisingly, nobody has written a guide on him. I really enjoy playing this hero, and although he does not get much credit at the end of the day, he can contribute a lot to the team. Also, Kotl is not very beginner-friendly, and will surely die a lot, but even so, his deaths are all for the team. Keep in mind that this is guide is geared towards competitive and organized games, where you and your opponents know what they're doing.
2. The Hero
Strength: 16 + 1.8 per Level
Agility: 15 + 1.6 per Level
Intelligence: 22 + 2.8 per Level
Affiliation: Sentinel
Attack Animation: 0.3 / 0.85
Damage: 38 - 54
Casting Animation: 0.3 / 2.4
Armor: 1.1
Base Attack Time: 1.7
Movespeed: 315
Missile Speed: 900
Attack Range: 600
Sight Range: 1800 / 800
Pros/Cons
Pros
+ Very item independent
+ High movespeed
+ Great attack animation
+ Has semi-escape mechanisms
+ Can heal teammate's/self's mana instantly
+ Can deal some damage in the right situation
+ Great at pushing, and even better at counter-pushing
+ Has 3 very useful skills built into his ultimate
Cons
- Fragile and very vulnerable
- No stuns/disables
- Not a reliable source of damage
- Attack and casting animations both have long backswings
- Requires good team support/communication; Team dependent
Comments
Kotl is an excellent support hero who has nice abilities. He has high natural MS and is naturally built to support, requiring nearly no items/farm. He does have a semi-escape mechanism via Blinding Light, but is very vulnerable to nukes. He has a lot of the characteristics that you want a support hero to have, which makes him a good pick in competitive games. He fits into a lot of teams, especially into today's mana-intensive, high-spell-dependent metagame.
3. The Skills
Illuminate
* Ability Type: Active
* Targeting Type: Point
* Ability Hotkey: T
Channels a ball of positive energy, letting it build up 100 damage per second. When released, it damages all enemies in a line. The distance also improves with channeling time.
Your one and only damaging spell is unfortunately a channeling spell, but this is actually not much of a problem. This spell allows you to push, defend, and harass with ease. It does have a high mana cost: 150 mana, but does wonders when used correctly, and only has a 10 second cooldown at all levels. It deals up to 200/300/400/500 damage with 800 range at all levels. The AOE is 350 and casting range is 230, which is very interesting because... The place where you cast your Illuminate is <230 range in front of you, but it has an AOE of 350, which means it will actually hit units right behind you. Also, since it has 350 AOE, it actually has a range of 1150 (800+350). You can also cancel it earlier than the maximum time by performing another action, in which case the damage will round down to the nearest 100. In the early game, you should use this as much as you can at the enemy(s), allowing your carry/lane partner to farm more easily.
Notes
• Damage type: magical
• Illuminate gives increasing vision of the target area as it is channeled, so it can be used to scout hidden places like Roshan.
• Can damage Meat Wagons and Glaive Throwers.
Mini Guide to "Illuminate"
Illuminate is actually a fairly simple spell to use. However, because this is a guide for organized games, where (hopefully) you and your enemies are decent players, its hard to make your illuminating placements not obvious. To excecute an illuminate that will hit your target, Fog of War is your best friend. Keep in mind that your enemy will not see the big lightning ball even when it gets really big, unless you are in their vision. Use trees, hills and other hiding spots to surprise your opponents.
I have taken a few screenshots of a couple of places where you are in the fog while casting Illuminate. Do feel free to try any place you want; These are just some examples that I like to use.
Note: Be careful for enemy wards. Against a good enemy warder, you may be in sight of them because of an observer ward. If you get caught, you will likely die quickly. Try to be aware of their placements and/or counterward them.
Click on "show" to view screenshots.
Maximum Length of Illuminate
Sentinel Side
Scourge Side
Scouting/Checking Roshan
Special Illuminates!
Again, these are not the only places where you should Illuminate. In fact, there are no limits to where you "should" do it. All I can suggest is to use the Fog, and go to places where you yourself would not expect an Illuminate to come from.
**Note that sometimes, the "lightning ball" from the Illuminate will not face the direction where you clicked it to be. (This happens in many of the screenshots above) This will happen often in tight, narrow paths, which you will have to use when casting Illuminate so you're in the Fog of War. Just ignore this cosmetic problem when casting Illuminate; It will still go where you clicked it to go.
Mana Leak
* Ability Type: Active
* Targeting Type: Unit
* Ability Hotkey: E
Weakens the bond between the physical and magical essences of an enemy. The magical and physical essences will be divided if the target moves, causing the enemy to lose some of their mana. If the enemy loses all of its mana, it will be paralyzed while the bond is repaired.
Basically a Mana draining version of Bloodseeker's Rupture, but instead of the amount drained being based on the distance travelled, it is based on the enemy's maximum mana pool. When casted, the target will have 3.5/4/4.5/5% of it's maximum mana drained for 5/6/7/8 seconds. If the target runs out of mana from Mana Leak, it will be slowed by 60% for 2 seconds. Mana Leak has a cooldown of 20 seconds and a mana cost of 75 at all levels. Casting range improves (550/700/850/1000 range) per level.
I feel that people only use this skill for chasing enemies, because it has a slow applied to the enemy if it runs out of mana, but it can be used in many other ways. For example, using it on an enemy Tidehunter before a battle, retreating, then having your initiator go in will give your team a large advantage in the battle. If Tidehunter walks into your team under Mana Leak, attempting to use Ravage, he will risk losing his mana before he gets in the middle of the battle. You could also use Mana Leak to stop chasers from getting you or your teammate. Just remember to cancel the backswing animation, as Kotl has a backswing of 2.4 seconds after casting (as long as Crystal Maidens!)
Notes
• If the target travels over 300 distance in less than 0.1 second (by using blink skills, for example), Mana Leak will not decrease its mana for that distance. Therefore, using it on an enemy Earthshaker or Sand King before a battle (to discourage him from blinking in) will not actually drain any of his mana.
Chakra Magic
* Ability Type: Active
* Targeting Type: Unit
* Ability Hotkey: C
Channels chakras through a friendly unit, creating a surge of mana.
A simple, yet mind-blowingly useful spell. This is Kotl's signature spell, and the main reason why he is picked in competitive games. When casted on your teammate, it heals 75/150/225/300 of his or her mana instantly, with a cooldown of 19/18/17/16 seconds. It also has a long casting range of 900, and a mana cost of 40/55/70/85. Because of the mana cost, you actually only heal 35/95/155/215 mana when you cast it on yourself. Remember to cancel the backswing animation on Kotl, because it is pointless to watch your hero wave his wand around for 2 and a half seconds finishing the casting of a spell that heals your mana instantly. Its simple: just perform another action right after you cast Chakra Magic, and you'll save some precious time. Also, remember to keep checking the cooldown on it. Never let it sit off cooldown, because mana is precious. Even if your teammate has 350/390 mana, Chakra him; theres no point in wasting time.
Note: Always check you and your teammates' amount of mana. I really want to emphasize this because your main skill is the ability to heal mana. If you don't do it all the time, and/or heal somebody who has full mana or doesnt need mana, you are wasting a hero pick of your team. You will have to use your own judgement to decide who needs the mana more, and who needs it urgently. For example, say you are trying to quickly push a lane, and you have a Necrolyte and Furion on your team. Necrolyte has 40/450 mana, and Furion has 90/420. Even though Necrolyte is lower on mana, Furion's Treants are the main pushing tool, and it will be useless to cast Chakra Magic on Necrolyte because his heal will not help your team push nearly as much as Treants would. Good decision making of things like these are the difference between a good Kotl player and an excellent Kotl player.
Notes
• Cannot target allies with magic immunity.
Spirit Form
* Ability Type: Active
* Targeting Type: Instant
* Ability Hotkey: F
Ezalor turns his body luminescent temporarily. His mastery of light becomes so powerful that he can freely cast Illuminate without channeling, cast a brilliant light that blinds foes, and teleport allies from anywhere to his side at light speed.
Spirit Form, Kotl's ultimate, actually has 3 spells built in one! I will explain each of them separately, just for clarity.
Spirit Form itself costs 100 mana, has a cooldown of 80/70/60 seconds, and lasts 40 seconds.
Recall
* Ability Type: Active
* Targeting Type: Unit
* Ability Hotkey: R
Target an allied hero. Teleports that hero to your location. If the target takes player based damage during this period, this ability is interrupted.
The above description explains basically everything. You and your teammates need very good communication (or Ventrilo, etc), to make full use of this spell. You yourself also need to be sharp and aware: both are qualities of a good support player.
This is like a free TP scroll for your teammates.. and...
Pros: Your teammate can move, cast, and do actions as if they were not using a TP scroll. It cannot be cancelled unless..
Cons: If the targetted, Recalling hero takes damage from other heroes, the TP will be cancelled.
Recall has a Mana Cost of 100, a global casting range, and a cooldown of 40 seconds (which means you will only be able to recall one teammate per Spirit Form usage, since Spirit Form only lasts 40 seconds).
Notes
• Since the cooldown and mana cost take effect upon casting, the mana will be deducted and the spell will go into cooldown even if the spell is interrupted.
• This ability can target any allied hero on the map.
• The -disablehelp command can prevent an allied Keeper of the Light from casting this ability on you.
• This skill interrupts channeling spells.
Blinding Light
* Ability Type: Active
* Targeting Type: AoE
* Ability Hotkey: B
Blind nearby units, causing them to miss 80% of the time.
This is your semi-escape mechanism which can be used in various ways. The ideal situation to use this in would be when a enraged, overpowered Ursa comes at you. Not only do you push the enemy away, but he will miss 80% of the time for the next 3/4/5 seconds. You can also use it to push the enemies into your team in a team fight. You will be fairly safe when you do this, because even though you will be near the enemy team when you cast it, they will be missing 80% of their physical attacks on you. The spell pushes all units from the central casting point outwards by 300 range.
Blinding Light has a cooldown of 20 seconds, a low mana cost of 50 mana, and a casting range of 600.
Notes
• Causes knockback of 250 range over 0.4 seconds, centered on the middle of the target AoE.
• If a unit being knock-backed collides with a tree, the tree is destroyed.
Click 'show' for 2 pictures of Blinding Light's animation
Illuminate "Upgrade"
This isn't actually a spell, but is rather a boost to your Illuminate. When you have Spirit Form activated, all the Illuminates you perform will be done by a ghost form of Kotl charging up where you casted it. Meanwhile, you will not have to stand there and channel Illuminate, and will be free to move around and do anything as if you were not casting Illuminate. This comes in especially handy when you want to bait the enemies into the Illuminate, because you can cast it, lure the enemies into it, since you do not seem to be charging anything and have a 400 damage nuke blasted at them. Note that You can press "T" anytime into the charging to make your ghost release the Illuminate right away.
4. Skill Build
Note: The skill builds below are certainly not the only skill builds there are. They are just models and guidelines to what is most commonly effective. They will just be the builds in a competitive game where you do, in my opinion, what a Kotl is supposed to do.
Laning/Babysitting Build
Level 1 - Chakra Magic
Level 2 - Illuminate
Level 3 - Chakra Magic
Level 4 - Illuminate
Level 5 - Chakra Magic
Level 6 - Spirit Form
Level 7 - Chakra Magic
Level 8 - Illuminate
Level 9 - Illuminate
Level 10 - Mana Leak
Level 11 - Spirit Form
Level 12 - Mana Leak
Level 13 - Mana Leak
Level 14 - Mana Leak
Level 15 - Stats
Level 16 - Spirit Form
Level 17-25 - Stats
In this Skill Build, Chakra Magic is maxed out first because the instant burst of mana is extremely useful in the early game, especially if you and your lane partner want more mana for harassing power, which leads to you having lane control.
Next, Illuminate is added because the extra channeling time is not a big deal (since you will be using it in the forest to harass enemies or for defending purposes), but the damage increase is very noticeable. A 500 damage AOE spell in the early-mid game can be devastating if used correctly. Therefore, we add Illuminate second.
Mana Leak is not very useful if you are just babysitting (letting your lane partner/carry farm more easily) and playing defensively, but the slow and mana "burn" can help. I prefer getting Illuminate over Mana Leak only if you are focusing on babysitting your lane partner, letting him/her farm, and not going for hero kills. Illuminate is also added first in this build because the damage from Illuminate is more noticeable early on (when enemies have low HP), while Mana Leak is based of the % of the target's mana pool, which will increase later on in the game. However, feel free to change it up according to the situation.
Lastly, Spirit Form is skilled whenever possible because you do have the mana to use it to its full potential, even in the early game. You want to be in Spirit Form as much as you can in battles, since the spells it provides are invaluable.
Standard Build
*Note: When it says, for example "Mana Leak/Illuminate", it means that I recommend getting Mana Leak over Illuminate for that Level.
Level 1 - Chakra Magic
Level 2 - Illuminate/Mana Leak
Level 3 - Chakra Magic
Level 4 - Mana Leak/Illuminate
Level 5 - Chakra Magic
Level 6 - Spirit Form
Level 7 - Chakra Magic
Level 8 - Illuminate/Mana Leak
Level 9 - Illuminate
Level 10 - Illuminate
Level 11 - Spirit Form
Level 12 - Mana Leak
Level 13 - Mana Leak
Level 14 - Mana Leak
Level 15 - Stats
Level 16 - Spirit Form
Level 17-25 - Stats
This build, in my opinion, is the standard (or atleast my standard) skill build for Kotl in a typical game. Chakra Magic is, again, maxed first because the extra boost of mana is very effective early game. It is simply too useful to give up for an extra Level of another spell.
Either Illuminate or Mana Leak can be leveled at Level 2 and Level 4. Illuminate should be added if you really want that extra harassing damage and you're not going for a kill. Mana Leak should be added if you want to get an early kill or two, or if the enemies have a high mana pool and depend heavily on Mana. The slow from Mana Leak really helps get those few extra hits in for an early kill attempt. By Level 10, I recommend having Illuminate maxed over Mana Leak because when you're Level 10, big pushes and teamfights will often happen, and the burst AOE damage of Illuminate is at its peak strength. Adding Mana Leak past Level 1 is not very beneficial early on, as the enemies still have a fairly low Mana pool. Mana Leak depletes Mana based on % of the enemy's mana, so it burns a lot more on, for example, Obsidian Destroyer than on Tiny. You want to add Mana Leak over stats, because you will really want to have a chasing spell once you stop babysitting. Kotl's main weakness is his lack of a stun/disable/escape mechanism, and Mana Leak is the only semi-solution. Mana Leak will also be more effective Late game, where Int heroes have extremely high Mana pools. On the other hand, Illuminate is much more useful early, when heroes have rather low HP. However, you should remember to adapt to your current game situation, because nothing is for sure in a DotA game.
Lastly, Spirit Form is taken whenever possible because, again, you do have the mana to use the spells to its full potential, even in the early game. You want to be in Spirit Form as much as you can in battles, since the spells it provides are invaluable.
Questions [Q&A]
Q: Why do you add Chakra Magic at Level 1 as opposed to Illuminate or even Mana Leak for a first blood attempt?
A: Rarely will a Kotl be part of a first blood attempt because there are just many other heroes who can contribute a lot more than a 200 damage nuke over 2 seconds or a short slow. Also, Chakra Magic allows your lane partner to start spamming his spells right off the bat, earning you better control of the lane from Level 1. Since it only costs 40 mana for you to cast Chakra Magic, you can just keep spamming it on your ally.
Q: Why do you get Spirit Form at Level 6?
A: When you are Level 6, the skills that Spirit Form provides are far superior to an extra Level of Illuminate. Recall helps bring your lane partner back to the lane if he had died, went ganking and left the lane, or went to get the rune. Blinding Light is your main escape mechanism, so its best to have it as soon as possible. These are all small things that make Kotl such a solid support hero, and you certainly don't want to lose these assets by not adding Spirit Form.
Q: Is it good to get Stats in the early Levels?
A: I do not recommend adding Stats early game at all. Even though this may seem like a good idea for increasing your HP and MP by a bit, it is certainly not worth stalling the levels of your other far more important skills.
Q: Why does it say "Illuminate/Mana Leak" for Level 8? I thought you said Illuminate was more useful than Mana Leak early game.
A: Yes, I did say that Illuminate is better than Mana Leak early game. Situationally, you might want to have the extra second and 0.5% of burned Mana from Mana Leak if you are facing many "squishy" Mana-dependent heroes like Slayer or maybe Nevermore. However, in most cases, Illuminate is better than Mana Leak just because Illuminate deals such significant AOE damage in early team fights.
5. Courier and Wards
Kotl is a natural support hero; Therefore, he is best suited to buy the chicken and/or the first set of observer or sentry wards. I've actually seen a Crystal Maiden in a competitive game (I believe it was MyM|PusHer), who's starting items were Observer Wards, Sentry Wards and the courier. She had 3 gold left over, and had no heal or stat items. Kotl can actually do this if you are skilled enough, confident, and have a good team, but this is very risky. Below is what I think Kotl should do in the beginning of the game in relation to getting courier and wards.
I think Kotl is not the best hero to get the courier, unless he is the only support hero in the team. Often, there will be another semi-support hero along with Kotl on a team (For example, Witch Doctor). Its better to have that other support hero buy the courier, because Kotl has very low starting stats and armour, which makes him very vulnerable to any early harassment. However, he needs to be aggressive in the lane, so he needs the gold for regeneration items and some ironwood branches. If you don't buy the courier from the start, make sure to be the one upgrading it to a crow once you have the gold; It is certainly a good investment for your 200 gold.
Kotl has a relatively high starting MS (315), allowing him to place wards quickly, which naturally makes him the hero getting the wards instead of the hero getting the courier. In my opinion, Kotl should get the wards at Level 1, and the team should have another hero get the courier. Although this is only the best case scenario, it is perfectly fine to get both the courier and the starting wards, and do not hold yourself back from doing so if you have to. Just make sure that you get at least one of them, because you are a main support hero, and both of these items are crucial to the team's early game success.
If you are doubtful about your skill in placing observer/sentry wards, please refer to Heldarions Total Warding Guide. Its an wonderfully written warding guide with a LOT of useful information.
6. Roles
Kotl as a Full Support Hero
This is the most common role that a Kotl is assigned. Kotl has all the tools to support well and babysit well. He barely needs any items, and if he does, he has Illuminate to get creeps very quickly. He can actually farm quite quickly, but the farm is much more useful for the carry, as Kotl needs barely any items to be useful. In this role, play defensively and cautiously. Your main use will be to provide Mana and some defending/pushing power. You really don't need much money and experience, so stay back in team fights. It is quite hard to master Kotl's support play-style and make a big impact in a battle, but he is meant to be played passively.
Kotl as a Pushing/Creep-Clearing Hero
Because of Illuminate, Kotl has an excellent ability to clear creep waves with ease. Kotl may be placed in a push-heavy lineup not only because of Illuminate, but because of Chakra Magic as well. In this role, you will actually cast Chakra Magic on yourself a lot, because Illuminate costs quite a bit of Mana (150) and you will run out very quickly. Your main goal will be to actually kill as many creeps as you can. If there are no creeps to illuminate and you have your Chakra Magic off cooldown, make sure to heal the teammate who needs Mana the most.
7. Items
Useful Items
Wards are the essential items of the support hero. It provides invaluable sight to prevent ganks, start ganks, and to scout other useful places such as the rune spots. Try to have 1 or 2 observer wards at all times. If you notice that the enemies seem to know where you are, counterward the common areas with sentry wards. Replenish your wards throughout the game, as it is your main role to do so.
As mentioned above in the "Courier and Wards" section, I think that Kotl should be the hero upgrading the crow rather than the hero getting the courier. He has a high MS, which makes him a natural warder, and needs some extra money for stats and heals. Upgrade the crow as soon as you have the gold, because the other heroes need the gold a lot more, even if it's just 200. Again, if needed, buy both the courier and the starting observer wards because you are a main support hero, so you shouldn't be greedy; Just do it, it helps the team a whole lot.
Try to grab your Boots of Speed as soon as possible, after you upgrade the crow. It provides you with mobility to escape minor gank attempts and to place wards more quickly. With just a Boots of Speed, you have 365 MS, which is already quite high when compared to other support heroes like Crystal Maiden, who would have only 330 MS.
Once you have some extra gold, getting Power Treads will provide you with 190HP and extra MS, a very good investment. Of course, BoT the best choice, but it is very expensive and you probably won't be able to afford it unless your team kills numerous towers early on. Of course, you'll have to make the in-game decision whether or not you should upgrade to one of these. I personally like getting Treads because it is cheap enough, yet very beneficial for 950 gold.
One of the best items for its price in today's metagame. 225 heal to HP and MP is a lot, and can help you in more ways than imaginable. Certainly fits into Kotl's low budget item build, and provides some much needed stats, even if its just a little. A must-have item for Kotl.
Urn of Shadows has become extremely popular on support heroes, and for a good reason. It provides a bit of HP, Mana regen, and since you will be near the battles providing Mana, you will pick up atleast a few charges on the Urn, allowing you and your teammates to stay in the lane longer. The best part of all is that it costs only 875 gold, and comes in very small, useful pieces. Excellent item for Kotl, and almost any other support hero.
Mekansm is an obvious item that Kotl can make use of. He has the Mana to repeatedly use it whenever its off cooldown. The whole thing comes in small parts, so its easy for Kotl to build up. Stats are nice, the heal is invaluable, and the armour is a nice bonus to increasing your EHP. Get this if you have the gold, but try to have Observer Wards on hand. It only costs 200 gold, yet provides a lot more than what any component of Mekansm can provide.
Expensive Intelligence items are always good, but cost a heck of a lot. I doubt that a Kotl, in a competitive game doing what hes supposed to do, will farm a BoT, Mekansm, and Shiva's Guard. Nonetheless, these items are awesome items for Kotl, and will make a big impact if you somehow get the gold for them. If you do get the gold to get one of these, I recommend getting Guinsoo's (Hex Stick), just because Hex is such a powerful skill to have in the late game. The stats provided are ever so useful, but again, it is very expensive and you should not expect to finish any of these items in a typical game.
Situational Items
Bracers are a purely situational item. Because of your need of inventory slots for Dust, Wards, and Counter Wards, a Bracer will really fill things up. However, it is a viable replacement to Urn, and does provide some much needed HP for a very low price. I think saving an extra 500 gold for Strength Treads is much more useful, but again, Bracers are a thing to consider in-game.
Hood of Defiance is obviously good to prevent nukes from killing you in 2 seconds. However, its real benefit comes when you upgrade it to a Pipe. Although Pipe of Insight costs 3653 gold altogether, a 400 magic damage barrier for every hero on your team is priceless in a team battle. These are certainly not must-have items, and I don't recommend getting Hood of Defiance and not upgrading it to a Pipe. It costs a bit too much for its use, but is certainly an item to consider if you have the gold.
I don't think these items need much explanation. Get them if you feel that you are being focused a lot, but want to stay in the battle longer. Kotl is going to die a lot anyways, so there are many other item choices that are more worth the money than Blademail and Ghost Scepter.
Vladmir's Offering is actually a viable option for Kotl. Since you are the support hero, you are not a bad hero to get Vlads. The whole team benefits a lot from the auras, but only get it if you have 2 or more melee DPS heroes on your team who seem to be lacking some damage and HP in battles. It does cost 1950 gold, but it comes in small, helpful pieces. This is another item that you'll have to consider getting in-game.
Rejected Items
People tend to get Vanguard on "squishy", ranged heroes like Kotl. Well, Kotl is not meant to be a tank, and does not need the survivability to be used at his full potential. For 2225 gold, you could get a lot of other items to help the team and yourself. Vanguard is quite a waste of money.
I've actually seen a Kotl player get Dagon for "burst damage". Well, Kotl is not meant to deal massive amounts of damage. If you really want to deal some damage, you have a spell that does 500 magical damage in an AOE. Why waste 2850 gold to get an item that does 400 to one target?
Obviously, the damage bonus from Phase Boots is wasted. Also, it doesn't matter if you get creep blocked, and the burst movespeed isnt really what Kotl needs. He already has 365 MS with Treads, which also gives him 190 HP. Phase Boots is a waste, and for 50 gold less, Treads is much more beneficial for him.
Kotl's skills have a low enough cooldown for you not to have to buy a 5300 gold item to make up for it. Refresher orb is simply a waste, and another rejected item.
I don't know why, but a lot of players like pulling epic l33t mindgames with Blink Dagger and Illuminate. Well, if you want to fool around and have your teammates yell at you in a competitive game, while wasting 2150 gold, be my guest. Oh, and I forgot about how you can Recall teammates onto high cliffs, trapping them there while you blink away... Real smart... /sarcasm
You already have a spell that heals 300 mana every 16 seconds. Its not worth it to waste 1700 gold buying something you already have. Don't waste your money with Arcane Ring.
Soul Ring is a useless item for Kotl simply because he already has a reliable source of mana via Chakra Magic. He doesn't have enough HP anyways to support the loss of 150HP, so this item is just a waste of money for Kotl.
DPS items are rejected because Kotl is not a DPS hero, and attacks slow anyways.
Item Build
Starting Items at Base
Option 1:
This is the most common build that I see, and I also use this build often. This build is for a Kotl who wards first, and upgrades the crow. It provides a lot of heal, a small bonus to stats, and the ever-important observer wards. A solid start which allows you and your laning partner to stay in lane for a fairly long time.
Total cost:
596Option 2:
This is the same build as above, except you will be the one getting the Courier instead of the Observer wards. Again, this build provides a lot of heal, a small bonus to stats, and the courier, which is essential for carries because they want to go back as little as possible. A solid start which allows you and your laning partner to stay in lane for a fairly long time.
Total cost:
596Option 3:
In this build, you will be getting both the Courier and the Observer wards. This leaves you with only 200 gold, so I recommend getting one salve and one tango. Tango will be for minor harassment, and Salve will be used surviving (if you do at all) a fairly large fight. Since you buy both the Courier and the Observer wards, the team will have more gold, but you will have to play more defensively. Feel free to change up the build, throwing in some Ironwood branches or some clarity potions.
Total cost:
590Option 4:
This is an Advanced Starting Item Build. Only more experienced and skillful players should attempt this build from Level 1. You will get both Observer wards and Sentry Wards at Level 1 for counterwarding the enemy's wards. This is for a more offensive lane, since you are trying to eliminate their wards so they won't see you. You will, once again, be left with 200 gold for a tango and a salve. Again, feel free to change up the build, throwing in some Ironwood branches and clarity potions.
Total cost:
590Core Items
[
]A fairly cheap Core build with no big items, mostly because all a good Kotl needs are wards and maybe treads. Treads provides a nice bit of HP and more MS, Urn of Shadows provides great bonuses and an incredibly useful heal, and Magic Wand is for that extra burst to HP/MP that everyone loves. The TP scroll and Observer wards are quite self-explanatory. However, it is situational whether or not you want to get Sentry wards and/or Dust of Appearance. Dust is obviously for those pesky invisible heroes, and it is your role, as a support hero, to buy the dust for the team. Sentry wards are for mainly for counterwarding, and whether or not you get it depends on the game situation, your knowledge of where their wards are, and your overall warding skill. Try to counterward if you have gold for Sentry wards, because having sight is a key factor in a competitive game, and if the enemy doesn't have much sight, you will have a big advantage.
Total cost:
3569. This seems like a lot, but its actually very little compared to other heroes who have a Core Item Build of 6000+ gold. Plus, all of Kotl's Core items come in small, affordable, and useful parts.
Luxury Items
Note: Don't expect to finish anything more than Mekansm, because in a realistic game, you'll rarely farm enough gold for Luxury Items. However, if you find yourself with a fairly large sum of money, then go for any of the following.
Whether or not you will get one of these items, and which you should get will depend on the game's situation. Again, do not expect to finish much more than Mekansm, because your role includes continuously buying wards for the team. Of course, if you can, try to get some Luxury Items so you can help the team, but don't steal the carry's farm to get them.
Questions [Q&A]
Q: How about Bracers, when should I get them?
A: Bracers/Nulls do provide a nice stat boost, but they take up a much needed inventory slot. In the mid-game, your inventory should contain Boots/Treads, Observer wards, Sentry wards/Dust, a TP scroll, a Magic Wand and an Urn of Shadows. Thats already 6 extremely important items. I don't think putting an extra Bracer in there would be very wise, but if you feel like you need it, by all means, get a Bracer/Null Talisman.
Q: Is it good to get an early Point Booster just for the HP/MP bonus?
A: I actually used to do this, but the mana feels like its wasted sometimes because of Chakra Magic, and the HP doesn't seem like that much. For 250 gold less, Power Treads provides the same amount of HP, and extra MS and IAS while saving a precious inventory slot. If you feel like the HP/MP from Point Booster would really help, grab one once you have the gold, because it is a viable item on Kotl.
Q: Why do you need Clarity Potions as Starting Items when you have Chakra Magic already?
A: You will often find yourself not using Illuminate much, but rather continously casting Chakra Magic on your teammate. Even though it costs very little mana to cast, it adds up when you spam it, so its good to have Clarity potions for yourself when you have low mana, and use Chakra Magic for your teammate. Also, Chakra Magic doesn't heal a lot of mana in the early levels, so its always good to have a secondary source of mana until you get to Level 5-7.
8. Early Game Strategy
Right off the bat, you should put a ward that allows you to see the rune and prevents your lane from getting ganked. You should use your good attack animation to your advantage and get a couple of hits to harass the enemy early on, but only if you have the lane in your control and you are safe. Chakra Magic your lane partner whenever possible, and Illuminate the heroes if you can. Try not to get the kills on the creeps with your Illuminate, which seems kind of silly, but there are two reasons for this.
1) You do not want to push the lane in the early game, as it will let the enemy farm more easily than your lane partner because the creeps are near the enemy's side of the map.
2) You do not need the gold. You need almost no items, while your teammates probably need a lot of gold for items.
Continue to ward and counterward, while trying to do as much as you can to help your lane partner have a good early game. Kotl is not much of a force late game, so you have to make use of your early game advantage. If your partner gets a high cs and lots of farm early on, your job is basically complete for the rest of your game. This is why each and every minute of your early game is so vital for a Kotl player.
9. Mid Game Strategy
Once you are about Level 9-10, your lane partner should have some decent DPS items. Use Mana Leak to help your carry chase, as it is extremely powerful in the fact that it burns Mana. You have to be careful in the Mid game, because nukes will be flying everywhere, and you will have no defense because of your low HP. Play smartly and be very aware of where the enemy is. You still need to continuously ward, and if you do it correctly, you should be safe from ganks and surprise attacks. Cast your Chakra Magic whenever possible, and make use of your Illuminate as much as you can, because it will soon become very weak. Kotl is usually picked in a Mid game nuking powerhouse strategy, so try to make an impact before the late game comes.
10. Late Game Strategy
If the game goes farther than expected, and you reach Level 16+, you will have to play very cautiously. You have certainly lost a lot of your impact, and unlike other heroes, you don't have many tricks up your sleeves. Illuminate will still do a bit of damage in team fights when combined with other AOE disables (Ex. Black Hole, Ravage). Try to use Blinding Light in the beginning of the battles, as it well help your initiator and carry hero attack a lot more safely. Recall your teammates to bring them into the battle, and to situationally save them. Don't stop using Chakra Magic, because 300 Mana is still a lot for a lot of str/agi heroes like Tidehunter or Phantom Lancer. Continue warding as much as you can, because map control is very important in a long game. There is not much more you can do if heroes start to turn Level 20+. All you can do is support and ward, helping your carry as much as you can. Your impact is basically gone, but you are still a great counter-push hero and your Mana Leak will burn a lot of Mana from int heroes who now will have a very high mana pool.
11. Heavy Push Strategy
This is a highly advanced and team-dependent strategy. Do not attempt this strategy unless you have a very well-coordinated team and are fairly skilled in this field. This strategy can be divided into two strategies.
1. Choosing a group of strong pushing heroes and gathering up in the mid game for a big push. The heroes will usually get to Level 7-8, when they have their main skill maxed out and have their ultimate.
Heroes often used:
Kotl, Enigma, Furion, Necrolyte, Broodmother, Vengeful Spirit, Warlock, Lycan
Heroes you should ban (assuming it is captains mode):
Pit Lord, Earthshaker, Medusa, Rhasta, Tidehunter, Magnataur, Kunkka. Basically any hero that loves having a lot of units to kill, can kill many units easily and quickly, or heroes that have strong AOE damage/stuns.
Gameplay: A solo Furion is preferred by many clans, like MyM, for example. Furion's treants have quite a bit of HP, and having him at Level 7 will make him able to "double" the amount of creeps. You should usually play defensively, basically trying to Level up and last hit. After a bit of farm is achieved (a Mekansm/Necromonicon from the solo, an Arcane ring from another hero, and maybe even a Vlads if there are some melee summons/heroes), then you should group up in a lane and use all your summons to push, putting pressure on the enemy heroes. The healer is very important in this strategy (usually Necrolyte), as burst damage will rip your lineup apart. If you execute this strategy well enough, the other team will not have much chance to counter, since each "right click" from everyone will do 400+ dmg, without even mentioning creeps or extra nukes. An early rosh might even be preferred to further boost the heroes' Levels, but is very risky due to enemy wards. If this strategy fails when you first push, it will be hard to come back, because the enemies will be positioned and ready. Again, a very risky and team-dependent strategy, requiring good teamwork.
Kotl's job: Obviously, spam Chakra Magic whenever possible. I find it ironic that I put Arcane ring on the rejected items list, but for this strategy only, you might want an Arcane ring for even more Mana heal. Recall is especially important if your teammates die, since you will probably be Level 6+ in this strategy.. Illuminate in the Fog, because the enemies have more high Level spells to throw at you if they see you. Mana Leak is not recommended for this build, because it will be like a permanent 5v5 team fight where Illuminate will be superior, but if you can afford to, put a Level in Mana Leak.
2. Choosing 5 strong Level 1 pushers and going to one lane, pushing right off the bat. This is even more risky and advanced, requiring extremely good team coordination and communication.
Heroes often used:
Kotl, Necrolyte, Furion, Pugna, Venomancer, Warlock, Broodmother
Heroes you should ban (assuming it is captains mode):
Pit Lord, Medusa, Nerubian Assasin, Puck, Tauren Chieftain. Pugna and Furion if you didn't choose them.
Gameplay: You will be pushing a lane with all 5 heroes from Level 1. Usually mid is the preferred lane, because it is the shortest, making you push slightly faster. Your team needs to put constant pressure on the enemies, summoning whenever possible and healing when needed. Extremely good teamwork is required to pull this off, as well as great communication. If done correctly, the enemies will not have much room to do anything, and since they are Level 1, they will die extremely easily. After taking down a couple of towers, assuming that you did, your team should have an Arcane ring and maybe a Mekansm, using the crow to bring it over. Keeping constant pressure is extremely important in this tactic, so spending 150-400 gold buying back early on is not a bad choice. If you do seem to be struggling, you have no choice but to keep pushing, because the heroes in this strategy are not mid-late game friendly, and you will be torn apart if that stage of the game comes. Again, note that you need a very well coordinated team for this, so do not expect to succeed against skilled players on your first try.
Kotl's job: Spam Chakra Magic on Furion, since his Treants are, arguably, the most important thing in this strategy. Do cast Chakra Magic on the other heroes depending on who needs it the most, but I think that Furion's treants are extremely important. Illuminate does clear creeps quickly, so use it to put pressure on the enemies and to push, but be aware of your own mana, because if your Mana goes below the cost of Chakra Magic, you will have to use a clarity potion, wasting precious time. Thats basically all you have to do. If you reach Level 6, Recall your teammates to put on constant pressure, but in a non-em game, you might actually not reach Level 6, unless the strategy fails.
12. Drafting
Kotl is not an extremely common pick, and should only be picked in either pushing teams or in teams with lots of Mana dependent heroes. He is an excellent babysitter, and is usually picked together with a carry as the 3rd and 4th pick (4th and 5th if you had first pick). A lot of heroes go well with him, especially now, with the high nuking and mana-oriented metagame. He is food for a lot of heroes, though, so look at the enemy's team before picking him.
Allies and Enemies
Allies
The most famous hero that Kotl is paired with. Phantom Lancer is a natural carry hero who can greatly benefit Chakra Magic because it will allow him to constantly spam his 7 second cooldown nuke. PL also needs babysitting, and Kotl's Illuminate harassing the enemies will give PL a lot of much needed early farm. Also, Mana Leak might be able to set up an early kill or two when combined with a Lance. A typical good laning partner.
Sven is another good carry hero who needs babysitting early game. Also, any Sven player would agree that he runs out Mana extremely quickly, so Chakra Magic is perfect for him. He has an AOE stun, which could pair up with Illuminate for a lot of damage. Mana Leak is good, as Sven chases a lot, and Warcry gives you even more MS on top of your already high MS.
Combined with Kotl, Broodmother can push extremely fast without having to worry about Mana. Brood also needs a good early game, so Kotl can help a lot with that. Again, Mana Leak will slow a lot when coupled with Brood's passive slow, and you both have high damage "nukes". An excellent pushing combo when played correctly.
Basically any hero who is very Mana-dependent but has a low Mana pool, and requires a fair amount of farm/babysitting to do well later on in the game.
Enemies
I'm not going to put any specific enemy to Kotl, because almost every hero, when played correctly, can be an extreme hazard to Kotl. I will simply list some of Kotl's general enemies, but only ones who are common picks in competitive games.
The biggest enemies are the ones who do a lot of burst nuking damage, but don't have to chase to kill you. Kotl has extremely low health and has no protection against nukes, so you have to play cautiously. (Mana Leak doesn't drain Mana when the target is Blinking, so heroes like Storm Spirit, Puck, and QoP will still get you.)
Special Notable Enemies
Pugna is an often counterpick to high mana-consuming teams. Since Kotl is often used in these teams, Pugna's Nether Ward will really mess up the team. The degeneration is also annoying, and the zap will notify the enemies of any incoming Illuminates.
When enemies see a Kotl on the other side of the lane, they will go and grab a Magic Wand/Stick asap. These items are a "counter" to you, because of two reasons. First of all, you will be using Chakra Magic whenever possible, and the enemies will get a free charge even if you cast it up to 1600 range away. Secondly, the enemies will get a charge on their Wand/Stick when you cast your Illuminate, notifying them of it, so it basically makes Illuminate useless if you are facing decent opponents.
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