Find out just how much MMR Lone Druid can make you if you master him in our latest Dota 2 hero guide.
Some heroes in Dota 2 are much stronger than others when it comes down to gaining MMR. Lone Druid is probably one of the best examples because it is a hero people use to reach their desired rank. Although mastering LD is not easy, this hero has what it takes to carry his team, which is why it has loads of fans.
The idea of this Dota 2 Lone Druid guide will be to help people learn more about the hero and the things they have to keep an eye on. Everyone knows Lone Druid is special because the hero requires good unit control. Furthermore, people need to know their timing.
Overview
We’d like to start this Lone Druid Dota 2 guide by saying that this hero is unique in many ways. LD is a ranged AGI hero that can be played as positions 1, 2, and 3. Players like MATUMBAMAN usually take the safe lane, but we’ve seen AdmiralBullDog and his legendary offlane LD many times throughout the years. Needless to say, the hero can also be a decent midder, depending on the matchup.
The thing that makes Lone Druid so special is that the hero relies almost entirely on his Spirit Bear. This unique Dota 2 ability allows the hero to summon a companion with no duration. In other words, the bear stays alive for as long as the hero is alive or someone kills her.
Besides doing a lot of damage and being incredibly tanky, Lone Druid players can even buy special items for the bear. This allows it to do even more wear and push towers really fast.
Two different styles of playing
As mentioned in this Dota 2 Lone Druid guide, this hero relies a lot on his bear because it allows him to do a lot of damage. That said, there was a patch a couple of years ago that favored the mid-lane Lone Druid, where people focused on the hero instead of the bear. In other words, no one brought items for the bear because people relied on the hero to do the damage.
This style of play has its pros, but it also has a lot of drawbacks. For starters, Lone Druid’s bear is not as helpful as she should be, which means she dies much faster and feeds gold. What’s more, the hero is very fragile and can be an easy target even when he gets 6-slotted. That’s why this playstyle slowly faded, and people started using the standard one.
What’s your role in the game?
Lone Druid is a unique hero in many aspects, which is why people who want to learn how to play with him should know what to expect. The most important thing to keep in mind is that LD is a hero that likes to play alone. Since he has a bear, he does not always need to have lane support. In fact, the hero can lane against pretty much anything.
Like any other core, Lone Druid’s job in the laning stage is to get as much farm as possible and get Hand of Midas ASAP. Despite the nerfs, this item has a very important role for the hero because he is the only 12-slotted carry in the game. In other words, he can make use of Midas throughout the entire game.
After securing Midas and getting at least a few items (more about them in a bit), it is time to start pushing. Lone Druid is a hero that relies a lot on timing, meaning he can be very dangerous when he has the lead. Needless to say, experienced LD players know this, which is why they start taking fights or pushing towers.
Once the late game arrives, Lone Druid is usually one of the strongest heroes in the game. Sadly, this makes him the number one target for enemies who will do everything they can to kill him. In other words, Lone Druid’s team must ensure they help him survive for as long as possible because he usually needs a couple of seconds to secure a kill.
Items
Getting the right items for Lone Druid is one of the most important things if you want to utilize the hero to his full potential. The good thing for people new to the hero is that there are 2 popular options to choose from. The first one focuses on Radiance, and to work, Lone Druid needs to get it as soon as possible.
Although the Radiance item build for Lone Druid might seem boring, it is solid, especially in PUBs. People who know what they’re doing will get this item before the 16th-minute mark. This will make the bear almost impossible to deal with, meaning that LD can easily dominate all fights in the next couple of minutes. This is why players start pushing towers as soon as they get this item.
If you don’t want to use the Radiance build, you can also get things like Maelstorm and Basher. These items are much cheaper than the one mentioned above, but they are also not that effective, at least early on. What’s more, Radiance allows Lone Druid to increase his farming speed which can be very important.
Counters
Although this Lone Druid Dota 2 guide is to help you learn more about how to play with the hero, we also have to point out that he has a lot of counters. In fact, LD is one of the heroes that you can’t pick right away. He can work against pretty much anything, but there are a few heroes that can make his life a living hell.
Starting with Naga Siren, this hero is notorious for its damage output and the fact that her illusions are powerful. Although LD’s bear can do a significant amount of AoE damage, it is usually not enough to bring Nagas down.
Terrorblade is also a big counter to Lone Druid because the hero deals too much damage, and he can always use Sunder to survive. In terms of supports, Winter Wyvern is the worst hero to play against because her ult means that LD will almost always kill someone from his team.
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