Guide To Centaur Warchief

Table of Contents
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• The Alt Tab Mini Guide
• Skills and Strategies
• Skill Build
• Item Build
• General Outline
• Roaming Centaur
• Jungletaur
• Replays
• Credits

The Alt Tab Mini Guide

Core Items Extension Items In a pushing game or If you have an advantage over enemy -  Versus an AoE team -  If you want to be a Pusher or are against fragile teams -  Physical heroes can be countered with -  Brief Gameplay Be aggressive in the lane Always search for a ganking opportunity after you got Dagger. Initiate every team-fight Absorb damage and never back off if your team is nearby

Skills and Strategies

Hoof Stomp Slams the ground, stunning and damaging nearby enemy land units.  Notes • Damage type: magic

• Hoof Stomp is your initiating skill.
• Has a relatively small AoE, so unless you have blink dagger, try to cut off all routes of escape for the opponent.
• It's a stun, so don't forget to stop enemy's channeling spells whenever possible.
• Don't spam it or use it as harassment since you have a small mana pool and low mana regeneration, not to mention the mediocre cooldown. Only use it if you are attempting to go for a kill.
• If you want to get back for healing, don't forget to stomp nearby neutrals/creeps so your mana doesn't go wasted.

Double Edge The Centaur summons a tremendous amount of inner strength and releases a very powerful attack. It can only be done at melee range, and it damages both the Warchief and the enemy unit.  Notes • Damage type: magic (both on the target and the Warchief). • It has 150 range. • Centaur Warchief cannot kill himself with this skill. • Double Edge interrupts channeling spells and items.

• The skill that makes Centaur Warchief a force to be reckoning with. Max it ASAP because 300 damage cannot be taken lightly early game.
• When engaging, use DE early. This skill has a short cooldown and by using it early, you have the chance to use this skill twice.
• Don't forget DE also has mini-stun which comes in handy to interrupt teleporting or other channeling spells
• When you have enough HP Regeneration, you can spam this skill to instantly kill neutrals or ranged creeps.
• Double edge can no longer be used to deny yourself. If you use it below 300hp (or less with HoD) then you will be left with 1hp.

Return The Centaur Warchief immediately counters every attack against him with a swift strike.  Notes • Damage type: physical • Return causes damage when the enemy begins an attack, not when their attack hits. • This ability damages anything that attacks the Warchief, including towers.

• Great skill for pushing and farming. With return maxed, you can draw creep aggro and simply wait for the wave to die.
• This skill deals negligible damage to heroes during the lane phase, so unless you are solo or leveling ridiculously fast, I would not recommend taking it over stomp or double edge.

Great Fortitude The Centaur Warchief's mammoth body is capable of absorbing great amounts of punishment.  Notes • N/A

• The STR it gives is equal to +228/+456/+684 HP, +12/+24/+36 Damage, and +0,36/+0,72/+1,08 HP Regeneration.
• One of the most boring and simple skill in DotA, but is simply Bradwarden’s bread and butter.

Skill Build

1. Hoof Stomp
2. Double Edge
3. Double Edge
4. Hoof Stomp
5. Double Edge
6. Great Fortitude
7. Double Edge
8. Hoof Stomp
9. Hoof Stomp
10. Return
11. Great Fortitude
12. Return
13. Return
14. Return
15. Stats
16. Great Fortitude

Why Hoof Stomp first?
At the start of the game, stun duration is more useful than a nuke that will hurt you. It will save your ass, and net you an early kill on the odd occasion.

Why Double Edge over Hoof Stomp?
Double Edge doesn't cost any mana while stomp's mana scales based on the level. The 0,5 second extra stun isn’t worth the extra 20 mana and loss of 25 damage, unless you can hit two opponents. The difference here is minor, and often comes down to personal preference. You may consider of maxing Stomp first if the enemy got super burst damage skill (Frost Nova/Carrion Swarm,etc).

The rest of the skill build are self explanatory and do not skip his skills for stats since all of his skills are important.


Item Build
for more detailed information about item, click here.

Starting Items Buy Magic Stick as first item if you are in a game full of spammer. Tango and Salve to deal with harassment and Double Edge. Quelling Blade if you need to rush Blink Dagger and against easy lane so you don’t need early stats to survive. Spend the rest of your item to GG Branch since you doesn't need any mana (Mantle or Clarity) as well as the needs to build a Bracer (Gauntlet or Circlet) and they are so ridiculously cost effective

Core Items Using Double Edge often leave you with red HP that can be lethal if you engaging two enemies. Magic Wand will fix that with its imbalance burst heal. Double Edge deals magical damage to the enemy and yourself so Hood of Defiance is a logical reason to reduce DE impact on us. And since you are an initiator, you will often be focused in team battles, so magic resistance will save your ass a lot. Boots of Speed is self-explanatory Stomp has a very small radius. That's what Blink Dagger for, as well as chasing, escaping, everything. After reading some forum member's comment and then testing it myself, I change my mind about Blademail. Blademail cooldown is really imba. 5 seconds of invulnerable that also a super counter for AoE skills is just plain gay. Combined with your high HP, this item allow you to survive longer to spam your Stomp and Double Edge over and over again making you a threat so the opposite team can't ignore your presence in the teamfight and thus, you complete your job as a tanker. Don't forget it also give you armor and mana which both important to Brad. Item order depends on the game line-up.  If you are in a hard lane, Buy Hoods first will be better since the regen it gives will help you survive. If you are against a defensive lane, saving up and rushing Blink Dagger is the best choice. If you died and return to the fountain, Boots of Speed or Magic Stickor Both is your best choice. Blademail can be gotten after all of your core item has been bought.

Extension Items If you manage to get three of them in less than 50 minutes, its means you farm too much. Choose Travel if your/opposite team builds around pushing. The Teleportation really help you to attack or defend. Buy this item too if your team has the upper hand and play aggressive. Pipe is the only upgrade to Hoods of Defiance. You also a very good pipe carrier since you tends to be in the middle of the fight. Since you are always in the middle of the fight, Radiance is a good choice for you. Your monstrous HP also synergies very well with this item. Assault Cuirass for more tankish power and helping your team with its aura. It also increase your DPS output and thus, makes sure that the enemy can't ignore you. Item you buy depends on the game line-up.  In an aggressive pushing game, buy Travel. Versus an AoE team its better to buy Pipe first. Against fragile teams, Radiance will sap their life away fast. Psychical hero can be countered with Assault Cuirass IF YOU MANAGED TO BUY OTHER ITEMS THAN THE CORE + LUXURY, IT MEANS YOU FARMED TOO MUCH.

Questionable Items If you have a hard game and struggle, Choose Phase for it's easy build and cheap price. Buy this item too if you seems to ganks a lot. It gives us a good mobility to roam around the map. About Vanguard, It has decent regeneration which needed and also damage block which synergies well with Return. The thing is, in early game you don't want to take damage from the enemy and you don't learn return yet. In Mid-Game to Late Game where realistically the time you buy this item, the damage block part become weaker and weaker. Shiva Guard is a nice item overall but has some weakness. First of all, the amount of EHP it gives kill your role as a tank. Nobody wants to attack a STR hero with monstrous HP and huge armor. This item also has an expensive buildup named Mystic Staff. The price of Mystic Staff is expensive and doesn't help you much when you got it. And Cuirass simply superior because Cuirass give you attack speed and thus, increase your DPS and make you a threat while the aura helps your team. Heart of Tarrasque will make you ignored more unless you already got decent DPS. And to get the acquired DPS, you need to buy another expensive item and force you to farm like chinese farmer. Manta Style is another great item on him. Brad's Illusions are very strong tanks since they got the magical resistance from Hood and give you pushing power as well as attract people to attack you. If you have Radiance, you can farm woods with you illusions. If you have BoT also, you are a decent pusher. The downside of this item is yasha doesn't give you much benefit for 2050 Gold.

General Outline

Role

• An AoE Stun and Monster Nuke screams Ganker. Always search for a ganking opportunity after you got Dagger.
• In teamfight, initiate ganks/team-fight is what you do.
• You also have bunch of HP allowing you to take a lot of damage and that part, allows you to be a tank.

What is a Tanker?

Basically a tanker is someone who absorbs the damage dealt by opposite team so our team can wipe them out without much trouble. To be a tanker, you have to be able absorb a lot of damage. You also have to posses something that can force the enemy's team to attack you.

When to Pick

• In pub play, you can pick him everytime you want. Best time to pick him if the enemies consist of fragile heroes.
• In cm/draft/competitive play, choose him if you lack of an initiator or your teams are fragile and need someone to tank the damage. He also a good choice if you need a strong and aggressive lane.

Lane
for more detailed information about Lane Control click here

• Do not fucking Jungle. To jungle you need return and in order to leveling it up, you must sacrifice either Stomp or Edge, which both important early.
• A dangerous short lane with range disabler (lion, cm etc) is preferred.
• Centaur will work very very well in a Tri-Lane.

Example of Good Lane Partner

What to do in Lane

• Play aggressive and scare enemy off the experience range by moving close and pretending you want to stomp them.
• You need to get your Blink Dagger/Hood fast and to do that you need to last hit a lot. Get your ally to harass for you.

Animation Cancel
for more detailed information about Animation click here

• Centaur does his damage when his axe is midway in the air. To reduce the damage you take from harassment when you go to last-hit, as well as to keep up with fleeing enemy, click away just after you deal the damage.
  
  
  
• Stomp has a long animation. If you press s in the 0.5 seconds after hoof stomp is pressed (when Brad pulls his leg up), the animation will start but the spell will not go off.
  
  
  
  
  
  This can be abused to fake-stomp and wasting enemy's mana, for example against blinkers.
  
  
  
  

When is the right time to gank?

• First of all, make sure you got Dagger for a sure-kill ganks.
• Secondly, if you want to gank you must make sure that your lane partner can survive the lane alone. It's not a good idea to leave a CM in Lina-SK lane.
• Thirdly, Check his HP, Skills and check if your teammate in the lane you gank got a disable/nuke or not to make sure nothing can go wrong
• And last, the best time to gank in my opinion is when you just spawn/return to the fountain. The enemy will think you in your way to your lane or healing so they will not be very cautious when you are missing on the map.

Ganking

• Initiate with Blink + Stomp when possible.
• Otherwise try to walk in enemy's escape route so you can pull off your stomp.
• Don't hesitate to use Double Edge early unless the other team has a channeling spell and your allies don't have disables.

Team Battle

• Initiate with Blink + Stomp if you can. Stay back behind your team and stay in the fog to avoid enemy damaging you and thus, disabling your dagger.
  
  
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• If you don't have Dagger, just walking to the enemy can also be good since you will be absorb disables and nukes for your teammates to initiate.
• If possible, blink to a squishy caster and kill him before the stun duration wears off.
• Never back off in the middle of the fight. You are a tank so you have to absorb damage as much as you can.

Late Game

• Brad still shines in the late game thanks to his Return. Return can be used to wipe-out the entire enemy's creep wave in a few seconds.
• Your job in late game team fights is; initiate, deal as much damage as possible, then die.

Roaming Centaur
for more detailed information about Roaming click here

IGNORE THIS SECTION IF YOU ARE IN A PUB FULL OF STRANGER

A Roamer is hero who ganking non-stop 24/7. To play as a Roamer, you must have patience because you mostly play with no-item and low level.

Yes, Centaur can be used for Roaming because he fit the criteria for a roamer.

• Has a disable skill (CHECK)
• Not too item dependant (CHECK)
• Does okay even at low-level (CHECK)
• Can spam his skills from level 1 (CHECK)

If you want to play him as a Roamer, make sure your team drafts a lot of disablers.

For the item build, buy Bottle as your first item. Yes, FIRST ITEM. It will works wonder especially if you manage to get the first rune.


Jungletaur
for more detailed information about Jungling click here

Personally I am against jungling with Centaur but since I want to make this as comprehensive as possible, I add this section to satisfy your curious on Jungletaur.

Basically, Jungling is a term for heroes that get their gold and experience from the jungle instead of lane.

When Jungling is an enabled option?

• Your team needs two competent soloers.
• You can gank (and kill) the lane which the soloer stays in.

Pull creep at 1:45 and kill the higher level creep at 5 or 3 if you have Quelling Blade.

For the Skill Build, change Double Edge to Return.
For the Item Build, buy Stout Shield as your first item.


Replays

Centaur by DarkMedina

Item Build: 

Traditional Brad the Man build.

Compettive Replay, Mcity Vs Aeon

Item Build: 

In this replay Brad played as a Pusher and later as a Carry because the team lacks one.