This trick by Team Liquid’s qojqva makes Lone Druid OP

You’ve heard of item drop regeneration, but Team Liquid’s mid-laner is pushing inventory management to the next level. 

During a training stream, Team Liquid’s Max “qojqva” Bröcker pulled off a series of absurd inventory swaps to outplay his enemy laner. Playing Lone Druid mid, he survived a gank attempt by swapping his boots back and forth between his hero and his Spirit Bear. By managing the active and passive stats, he pulls off a massive turnaround on his aggressors.

qojqva’s Phase Boots start out on the bear when Pangolier rolls in to initiate. Qojqva quickly swaps them to his hero and gets bumped on the low ground when the radiant Void Spirit joins in. Now in trouble, he swaps his Phase Boots back to his hero for the active movement speed and passive armor.

The extra armor from the boots helped qojqva survive at 130 health. Spotting an opportunity, he transferred the boots back over to the Spirit Bear and used it to chase down Void Spirit. A lucky Entange secures the kill. Lone Druid is one of qojqva’s signature heroes, so he’s probably had this play deep in his back pocket. While Team Liquid failed to qualify for The International 10, the German mid-laner’s skills are unquestionable.

How does Lone Druid’s bear work?

Lone Druid’s first spell Spirit Bear summons an animal companion. Spirit Bear has its own item slots, health, and mana separate from Lone Druid. The bear can maneuver freely but can only attack within 1,100 range of its master. Aghanim’s Scepter removes that restriction.

Lone Druid can transfer any items between his hero and the bear. The bear doesn’t benefit from stats, but it benefits from unique bonuses like Boots of Speed and actives like Blink Dagger.

Spirit Bear is a creep-hero, a different category from Lycan’s wolves or Beastmaster’s boar. It’s still a creep, but Spirit Bear is immune to instant creep kill effects like Doom’s Devour, Mirana’s Sacred Arrow, or Hand of Midas. Brainwashing effects like Enchantress’s Enchant can’t affect it either. Other creep heroes in Dota 2 include Visage’s Familiars, Warlock’s Golem, and Brewmaster’s Primal Split bears.