Keeper of the Light mid has the most incredible magic damage combos that Dota 2 has ever seen.
After a brief stint as a core in early 7.30, Keeper of the Light mid has returned with a vengeance. Thanks to some minor buffs in patch 7.31 and the big rework to Ethereal Blade, the hero is now one of the all-time best magic damage threats in Dota 2 history. By using the right items in the right order, players can dish out up to 4,000 magical damage in a single combo.
The new Keeper of the Light mid build involves a pretty expensive set of items, but KotL is also one of the fastest farmers in the entire game thanks to Illuminate. His area-of-effect magic nuke deals 500 damage at level four, enough to blast creep waves and efficiently take out stacks. The ideal build for magic damage output is Sange and Kaya into Ethereal Blade and Dagon.
Once you’ve found an unlucky victim, apply Solar Bind then Ethereal Blade. This will reduce a hero’s standard 25% magic resistance all the way down to -40%. Charge up a full level 25 talent Illuminate and throw Dagon 5 in for good measure. All in all, this combo will deal 3,765 magic damage in just three seconds. Throw in a neutral item that boosts magic damage like Ceremonial Robe or Timeless Relic and the combo easily passes the 4,000 damage mark before reductions.
While 4,000 is enough to take out almost any target, there are ways to make the damage even higher. Pugna’s Decrepify is an obvious choice, and having two heroes means both Ceremonial Robe and Timeless Relic can come into play. This damage is enough to take out a level 30 Axe with a Reaver in just a few seconds.
Keeper of the Light is traditionally played as a soft support. Illuminate is great for shutting down pushes and Chakra Magic synergizes well with most offlaners. His resurgence as a mid is tied to several buffs in patches 7.30 and 7.31. According to Dotabuff, Keeper of the Light currently boasts a 55.56% win rate across 18 games in the top division of the Western Europe Dota Pro Circuit.
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