Dota 2- Phoenix

SCREE! SQAWRK!

I've been playing a lot of Phoenix lately and the more I play the hero, the more I realize just how much damage Phoenix is capable of outputting. Phoenix is a ranged strength hero and acts as an initiator, tank, nuker and to an extent, an escape hero. His early to mid-game presence is powerful, especially in team fights. Phoenix is what I like to call a do-shit hero: as early as level two, Phoenix holds the potential to set up and secure kills.

Icarus Dive- This is your basic initiation skill: you press the button, select a point on the ground, and Phoenix swoops in, burning and slowing any enemy caught in his path. Also note that you can activate items and use your other skills while mid-flight. You can also stop your dive at any point by pressing the key again.

Fire Spirits- Primary damage source of Phoenix, Fire Spirits are not something to underestimate. Damage scales 40/120/200/280 over four seconds, so on paper, Phoenix has the ability to do 160 magic damage at level one and 1120 damage at level four Fire Spirits to a single target, not mentioning the AoE effect of Fire Spirits. On top of that huge amount of damage, the hits also reduce attack speed.

Sun Ray- Deals damage based on your max HP, this skill is best left to be leveled up last. After building some tank items, Sun Ray really helps Phoenix against enemy tank heroes. Don't forget that Sun Ray drains your health to use and that the skill also heals allies caught in the beam.

Supernova- Your very own panic button, if need be. You turn into an immobile collapsing star that deals damage over time to enemies in an AoE which stuns anyone caught in range after the star explodes. Phoenix emerges with full health, mana, and reset cooldowns for his minor skills. The star can only be destroyed via enemy hero right clicks.

Phoenix is superb in big team fights: Icarus Dive in, apply Fire Spirits to enemy heroes, and then Supernova on top of them. Supernova forces the enemy team to either back off or focus you down, and while that's happening, your teammates have a lot of room to act. His skills also make him a formidable ganker. Icarus Dive on top of an unsuspecting enemy and let your teammates back you up.

Phoenix also holds quite a fair amount of solo kill potential if you should choose to. Icarus Dive, Fire Spirits, and Supernova are very synergistic skills which throws Phoenix right in the middle of the action, all while dealing tremendous amounts of damage.

no cosmetics yet 0/10 would play

Items wise, I really like Tranquil Boots and Urn of Shadows in the early game. These two items provide Phoenix with some pretty neat HP regen and armor as well as even more utility in team fights. Wand is also a good pickup: if you're ganking and team fighting a lot, chances are you're going to be running into a lot of enemy spells and the burst health/mana can be the difference between you getting your ultimate off or not. Force Staff can offer further utility and survivability. Moreover, Phoenix is a good candidate for carrying a Mekansm as his skills aren't mana intensive and the bonus armor only serves to make him more tanky.

Towards the late game, I really like grabbing a Shiva's Guard and using it in conjunction with Icarus Dive. As well as survivability, Shiva's Guard also provides even more team fight power. Because items can be used mid-dive, you can activate Shiva's Guard, enter a dive, and catch many enemies within the Shiva's Guard blast radius.

That being said, Phoenix does run into problems when it comes to chain-stuns and silences that stop the casting of spells. You're also pretty much a sitting duck when your skills are on cooldown. Being out of position without your skills removes much of Phoenix's damage potential should a fight break out.

Phoenix is a really versatile hero. He can support the safe lane, go in the offlane, or even go mid depending on the match-up. Icarus Dive boasts a great range and can be used to force fights from quite a distance away. In the early game, pick up your Tranquil Boots quickly and look to use your Fire Spirits to harass the enemy, diving in on them when they are at low health. With some teammates as backup, Phoenix can easily play aggressively and place a lot of pressure on enemy heroes, and help to snowball your carries out of control.