Vlads is not the best starting item in the world, why do you insist on getting it?

Too many games have I played that I see players get Vladimir's Offering on carry heroes before getting damage items. This is extremely frustrating to deal with. Here is the break down of Vladimir's Offering :

Vladimir's Offering
-Recipe Item
"An eerie mask haunted with the malice of fallen vampire."

Total : 2075 Gold
Gives +16% Lifesteal Aura (MEELE ONLY)
+0.80% Brilliance Aura
+5 Devotion Aura
+15% damage Aura

Components of Vladimir's Offering:

Ring of Basilius
-Recipe Item



"Ring given as a reward to the greatest Mages of the Alliance during the Second Great War."

Total : 500 Gold

Gives +0.65 Brilliance Aura
+3 Devotion Aura
+6 Damage
*Can be clicked to make aura only work for Heroes* (Note : Even though it says Heroes only, your necromancer/druid will still get the Aura.)

-Components of Ring of Basilius

Sobi Mask

"A common mask used by Mages and Warlocks for various Rituals."

325 Gold

Gives +50% Mana Regeneration

Ring of Protection

"Due to its small size, many have trouble putting it on."



175 Gold
Gives +2 Armor

Continuation of Components for Vladimir's Offering

Mask of Death



"The phattest lewt, definetly."



900 Gold
Gives +10% Lifesteal - Orb Effect


Ring of Reneration



"The ring is considered a good luck charm among the Gnomes."



375 Gold
Gives +2 Hp Regen per second

Vladimir's Offering Recipe







300 Gold

Vladmir's Offering is not that bad of an item. It grants: good armor, decent mana regeneration, a damage aura, and a Lifesteal aura. One of the reasons why this item is so popular is that it gives Lifesteal in the form of an aura, which means that it is not an orb effect. All the more reason why many heroes get Vlads when they already have an orb effect.

But the problem lies in the fact that many players playing carry heroes opt to get Vladimir's Offering as their first item, which I think is a pretty bad choice. First off, you're getting an item that gives you lifesteal, but lifesteal requires damage to be effective. You may argue that Vlads gives you a +15% damage aura. I would have to counter argue that even with the +15% damage aura, you wouldn't be dishing out enough damage to maximize the Lifesteal given.

My point is that you should get some damage items before investing in Vlads. Stop getting vlads as your first item on Bounty Hunter, which I see A LOT. Spectre, Juggernaut, Terrorblade, and countless more, all fall in this category.

Now, here's something that you see from time to time. Ranged heroes getting vlads. That is one of the most STUPID decisions you can make in Dota. Maybe they think it gives them lifesteal. Maybe they get it for the minor damage boosting aura. Whatever the reason is, they're pretty dumb. Don't follow in their footsteps, you'll just find yourself flamed at by your whole team. If you think you have a good argument for getting Vlads on a ranged hero, please share. I'll be more than happy to destroy your argument. Kidding of course, all opinions are welcome.

My advice to you : Stop getting Vlads before damage in most cases. Stop getting Vlads just for the damage aura. DON'T get Vlads on a ranged hero, unless you really want to get flamed to death.

Welcome to Dotadon

Hey Everyone. I have been playing DotA for more than 4 years now. I can soundly say that over these 4 years, I have gathered a good amount of game experience. Realizing that I want to help others become better DotA players, I started this blog. This blog is going to serve many purposes. For one, I will release my anger and frustration I have always had with pubs here. Two, I'm going to track events in the competitive world of Dota. And finally, I will provide guides and tips for everything you will ever need in order to become a better player at Dota.

SHOUTOUT TO ALL YOU DOUBLE VANGUARD DOTA PLAYERS

Here is something that I see a lot in pubs. People getting more than one Vanguard. This really got on my nerves. Contrary to popular belief, Vanguards are NOT the best item in the whole game. You should NOT get it on EVERY SINGLE HERO. Need convincing? I'll help you with that.

Vanguard

-Recipe Item

"The discarded mantlet of one of Gul'dan's Death Knights, Vanguard

defends it's wielder from even the most vicious of attacks with ease"



Total : 2275 Gold


Gives +300 Hitpoints
+5 Hp regen per second
Gives +65% chance to block 40 damage

Components :

Ring of Health

"A shiny ring found beneath a fat halfling's corpse"
875 Gold

+5 Hp regen per second

Vitality Booster



"Minie"



1100 Gold

Gives + 250 Hitpoints

Stout Shield




"One man's wine barrel bottom is another man's shield!"


300 Gold

Gives +40% chance to block 30 damage

This is the oh so popular, overrated item : The Vanguard. Pretty much as long as there is some kind of strength hero in a pub, then this item will probably be found. Seriously, why do people insist on getting a Vanguard? I mean there are some legitimate reasons of getting it, such as not being able to farm very well, or needing a boost in hp without spending a lot of gold. But many times, I see pubs have good lanes with decent farm, and they still get Vanguard.

I really don't see how you can justify getting this item on every hero. The hp regen is decent, and the bonus 300 hp is helpful, but it has such a mediocre passive. A 65% chance to block 40 damage is only going to help you tank creeps, which you shouldn't be doing anyways unless you're Axe or Centaur or some other hero that is supposed to tank. But even if thats the case, you shouldn't always get a vanguard. There are plenty of other items to get, most notably armlet. I will go deeper into why armlet is such an underrated item in another post.

What truly ticks me off the most, is when players get Vanguards ASAP for a carry. Are you serious? I have seen countless Antimages, Spectres, and Dragon Knights get it. The main problem here is that they're sacrificing better item passives and abilities with the gold they're spending on a Vanguard. Carries who get Vanguards are also sacrificing damage. Antimage would be better off having treads and a couple wraiths. Spectre would be better off with treads and wraiths too. Dragon Knight would be MUCH better off with an armlet.

Another scenario I commonly see, is Tidehunter getting Vanguard. Not only does he not need it, but in reality, his passive overrides Vanguard's passive.

So you see, Vanguard is really not that great of an item. If you really need the hp and hp regen, invest in a BloodStone. This item has much greater potential late game than useless Vanguard.

A final note, stop getting two Vanguards. One is already bad enough. Don't even think about getting two. Especially with Axe, I see many many players get two Vanguards. To my knowledge, the percentage for Vanguard stacks fully, but is that even signifigant? Is it really worth it to spend 4.5k on 600 bonus hitpoints, 10 hp regen, and the ability to pretty much always block 40 dmg? Personally I disagree. Realistically if you're farming well, and you manage to get 4.5k very fast, why would you even spend that money on this garbage? Wouldn't you instead buy a BKB? (depending on situation, but most games it's good to have a BKB)

On the other hand, I see people have a very hard time farming; they continue to get vanguard, which saddens me.

My advice to you : Stop getting Vanguard on every single hero. Two Vanguards is even worse, so please think twice before pursuing that path. Vanguard as first item on a carry is garbage and shouldn't be done.