Thursday, December 10, 2015

Global Mobility - Abuses and Synergies with Io

Hero Spotlight:  Io

I was reading the dotapedia on Io/Wisp, and it occurs to me that:

a) he's under-utilized and under-practiced at the pub level
b) if you and a carry practiced with him, you'd have a potent weapon on your arsenal
c) you could build a team around global mobility that would make it disgusting.

Things you need to know about Io:
- He doesn't give health regen to his tethered ally if he's at full HP
- He DOES pass mana to his tethered ally even at full mana.
- He's squishy.  He needs at least some items to make him less squishy (Bracer/Urn/etc).
- You only really need 1 point in Tether
- An early point in Overcharge is optional, otherwise, max spirits first.
- Always take your Ult at levels 6, 11, 16.

Good partners for Io are listed in the Dotapedia Entry, but I'll talk about a few more global line-ups that could be good, with balanced teams & lanes.

Yes, I know the Tiny + Io combo is the most common, so I'll try to show some alternatives.

Team Ideas (with Io):

#1
Lifestealer + Io safelane
NP Jungle
Storm Spirit mid
Spiritbreaker solo offlane

With Agh's on Lifestealer (which is weird, but ...you can put another hero in the Infest, and zip around with Storm Spirit, even without Io!)

#2
Sven + Io + Crystal Maiden safelane
Puck mid
Dark Seer solo offlane

Crystal Maiden is on the team for mana regen.  She can also jungle a bit with Frostbite, and stack for Sven.  Dark Seer Synergizes well with Puck's Dream Coil and Sven's Storm Hammer and CM's Blizzard.

#3
Slardar + Io + Ancient Apparition safelane
Pudge mid
Legion Commander solo offlane (or pick Doom, to deny him to the enemy team!)

Legion commander's heal can be cast on Io w/Tether to multiply its effects!
One of Pudge's main problems is lurking around, hoping for a gank opportunity.  What if you could bring him where he's needed for a quick Dismember?  Sven is usually limited by his mobility - but not anymore!  You leave AA in the lane while you go gank, so he can get a good Ice Blast from cross-map.



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