Abaddon, Lord of Avernus - Dota Hero Guide

Last Updated on Monday, 26 December 2011 14:10

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Abaddon
Lord of Avernus



A support hero often mistaken for a carry, Abaddon users are frequently seen in-game desperately scrounging the components of a Sange and Yasha and Vladmir's Offering over the course of a long, arduous 45 minutes. Seldom winning games with their ‘imba’ strategy and being left dazed and confused by the ordeal as a consequence, they resort to blaming their ‘noob’ allies for the inevitabilities of their numerous losses. Whether aforementioned losses stem from the failure to acknowledge the folly of their laughably predictable ways, or the reluctance to detach oneself from the comforting familiarity of +12% ms and stackable slows, this Guide unfortunately does not claim to know or fully understand. Instead, it merely hopes to one day inspire a pandemic-level epiphany in the countless sheep who refuse to deviate from their undoubtedly terrible builds.


Abilities



Death Coil

Instantly heals allies for 100/150/200/250 OR damages enemies for the same amount.
75 mana cost at all levels
6 second cd at all levels
Has high casting range (800)
Depending on the level of coil, Abaddon loses 50/75/100/125 hp respectively
Abaddon can kill himself with coil if his HP is low enough



Aphotic Shield

Sheilds an ally or self, absorbing incoming damage (Max of 110/140/170/200) and then releasing it as magic damage to all enemies in an area
105/110/115/120 mana cost
18/15/12/8 cooldown
Low casting range (300)
15 second duration
Dispels negative buffs (e.g Shadow Strike) AND disables (e.g Storm Bolt/Hex)



Frostmourne

Passively slows an enemy on each hit (5/10/15/20)
Allies who attack him gain 10% movespeed bonus and attackspeed bonus (10/20/30/40)
Slow lasts 2 seconds
Ally buff lasts 4.5 seconds



Borrowed Time

Activation causes you to be healed by all incoming damage and dispels any negative buffs on you (e.g slow from Frost Nova)
Can be manually used, or automatically triggered on taking damage below 400 hp.
Casting borrowed time effectively dodges any projectiles (e.g Chain Frost)



Early game


Skills

Level 1: Shield
Level 2: Coil
Level 3: Coil
Level 4: Shield
Level 5: Coil
Level 6: Borrowed Time
Level 7: Coil
Level 8: Shield


Items



+

- - - - >
OR
- - - - >

+




Strategy

Stock yourself with tangos and a clarity potion.

Pick a side lane and keep your ally alive with coil. If your ally gets stunned in lane, remember to dispel it with shield. 

Harass with shield when you can, but use it sparingly. You can afford to be aggressive, but not suicidal. 


Mid game


Skills

Level 9: Shield
Level 10: Frostmourne
Level 11: Borrowed time 
Level 12: Frostmourne 
Level 13: Frostmourne 
Level 14: Frostmourne
Level 15: Stats


Items (CORE)

OR- - - - >

+



OR


Strategy

Playing against a good Abaddon is a wonderful paradox. If you don’t kill him, he keeps his allies alive and you die. If you DO try and kill him, you will end up wasting all of your spells and die yourself. Abuse this fact to your fullest extent.

Your basic role in battles is to charge in Rambo style and tank damage. Don’t worry about drawing focus fire, as long as you support your allies well (with both spells and items) you will make every single enemy hero around you want to MAKE YOU DIE, DIE A HORRIBLE DEATH. You know you're playing a good Abaddon if you have succeeded in pissing off the entire opposite team. 

Oh, and if there's ever risk of death, use ultimate manually before auto-activation triggers. Remember that you're not exactly invulnerable to death, and that anything that deals over 400 hp of damage (e.g Laguna Blade) can still potentially kill you. If your ultimate is on cooldown and your health is red, stick around on the sidelines and keep your allies alive with coils as long as your health permits.


Late Game


Skills

... What, do you need me to hold your hand as well? Take Borrowed Time at Lvl 16, max Stats afterward.


Items






Strategy

The items displayed above are meant to be options. Don't be stupidly ambitious and try to farm all of them. At most, you'll only manage to farm one or two.

Try to maintain a healthy balance between health and armor when deciding your further items. 
For instance, Shivas can be farmed faster, but Cuirass is better for pushing. 
A Blade Mail can instantly tip any battle in your favor.
While a Hex may seem attractive and IS infinitely useful at any phase of the game, farming it takes valuable time that your team may not be able to spare. 

Your role stays the same as always, although you’ll find your spells not being as effective as they once were. Your ability to tank also lessens as the opposition buys stronger damaging items. 


Replays

None yet. Check again later .


FAQ/Dissection of Logic

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If you have a different build that works better in games, more power to you. But in respect to a guide, that line of argument is a a logical fallacy: You don't need a guide to beat opponents you already outclass through skill. 

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+Stat items like bracers are only useful early game to give you an 'edge' over your opponents. Abaddon's natural stat gain is kind of on the pitiful side compared to heroes such as Clockwerk, and as such, bracers are an important staple to compensate for his inadequate strength gain. Don't believe me? Simply imagine a battle where your ultimate is on CD. You are not just reluctant to enter battle, you are worried about dying. And that is a tragic thing for a hero who is meant to Tank.

Also, though Abaddon's natural abilities are wonderful, early game, his mana tends to be on the depleted side, and what little spells he has to spare must be conserved to save allies instead. Bracers keep him alive in those situations, and strengthen his early game. 

Oh, and mixing and matching stat items is never a good idea. You rob yourself of the potentially high hp/high mana gain with the 3 bracers/3 nulls route. Why settle for mediocrity when you can have as much as +28 strength by level 9?

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That's true only to a certain degree. While Battlefury and Mask of Madness can be tempting on Abaddon, there's rarely a time you are tempted to go for The Butterfly.

But in a sense, I also agree with you. Guides are meant to be just that, a guideline on how to play your hero. Being rigid means you will never grow as a player when the time comes to adapt to a new situation.

It is up inevitability up to the player following the guide to decide how best to utilize the information in the guide. The build and items given aren't my personal take on the 'ten commandments', they are simply suggestions I feel have proven most useful and efficient. If the playstyle doesn't a player, that's perfectly acceptable. It's up to them to tailor the guide to their own personal needs. Not every game is a Clan War, after all.

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I strongly disagree for 4 reasons. 

1) Ring of Bacillus provides more than half the pushing benefits of a Vlads for almost a quarter of the total price. 
2) Ring of Bacillus itself is a waste of an item, providing pitiful mana boosts compared to the lowly priced Arcane Boots. 
3) Vlad's Lifesteal rarely factors into play (useful only if at least two other melee heroes on your team deal damage with attacks, not spells).
4) Assault Cuirass outclasses Vladmirs in every conceivable way, except maybe the price tag.

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I'd love to showcase the effectiveness and efficiency of this build, but my internet connection keeps hindering any progress on scraping together a decent leaver-less replay. I'll have one soon enough though.


Regards, 
JustOrdinary

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