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.