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Read MoreGuide to Rubick
Rubick is a versatile and powerful wizard who has the ability to steal and use the spells of his enemies. He is an excellent support who can heal his allies, hinder his foes, and control the battlefield. In this guide, we will give you some tips and tricks on how to play Rubick effectively.
Item Builds
As Rubick, you usually want to buy items that increase your mana regeneration, your survivability, and your spell range. Here are some common item builds for Rubick:
- Standard Build: Arcane Boots, Aether Lens, Glimmer Cape, Force Staff, Blink Dagger, Scythe of Vyse
- Greedy Build: Arcane Boots, Aghanim's Scepter, Octarine Core, Refresher Orb, Shiva's Guard, Ethereal Blade
- Situational Build: Arcane Boots, Eul's Scepter of Divinity, Ghost Scepter, Lotus Orb, Black King Bar, Aeon Disk
Ability Builds
As Rubick, you usually want to max out your abilities in the following order:
- Telekinesis
- Fade Bolt
- Null Field
- Spell Steal
However, you can also adjust your ability build depending on the situation. For example, you can level up Null Field earlier if you are facing a lot of magic damage, or you can level up Spell Steal earlier if you can steal some powerful ultimates.
Gameplay Tips
As Rubick, you want to do the following things:
- Stay in the backline and use your spells from a safe distance. You are very squishy and can die easily if you get caught.
- Use Telekinesis to lift and reposition enemies or allies. You can use it to initiate, save, or disrupt. Be creative with your Telekinesis usage.
- Use Fade Bolt to harass and nuke enemies. It also reduces their attack damage, which is useful in team fights.
- Use Null Field to increase your and your allies' magic resistance. You can also toggle it to reduce the enemies' magic resistance, which is great for amplifying your or your allies' magic damage.
- Use Spell Steal to steal and use the enemies' spells. This is your most powerful and fun ability. You can steal almost any spell in the game, except for passive abilities and some ultimates. Try to steal the most impactful spells, such as Black Hole, Ravage, or Echo Slam. Be aware of the cooldown and duration of the stolen spell, and use it wisely.
As Rubick, you want to avoid the following things:
- Don't steal spells that are useless or harmful for you. For example, stealing Rot from Pudge will only damage yourself, or stealing Berserker's Blood from Huskar will only increase your magic resistance, which is already high.
- Don't steal spells that are too mana-intensive for you. For example, stealing Laguna Blade from Lina will cost you 680 mana, which is more than half of your mana pool at level 6.
- Don't steal spells that require other spells or items to work. For example, stealing Requiem of Souls from Shadow Fiend will only deal minimal damage without Necromastery stacks, or stealing Omnislash from Juggernaut will only bounce once without Aghanim's Scepter.
As Rubick, you want to have fun and be creative. You have a lot of potential and versatility with your spell stealing ability. Experiment with different combinations and surprise your enemies and allies with your plays.
A table of the most frequently purchased items for each role
In Dota, there are five main roles that players can choose from: carry, mid, offlane, support, and hard support. 
Each role has different responsibilities and objectives in the game, and therefore, different item preferences. Here is a table that shows the most frequently purchased items for each role, based on the data from [DotaBuff], a popular Dota statistics website.
| Role | Items |
|---|---|
| Carry | Power Treads, Battle Fury, Black King Bar, Manta Style, Monkey King Bar, Daedalus |
| Mid | Phase Boots, Bottle, Eul's Scepter of Divinity, Blink Dagger, Black King Bar, Scythe of Vyse |
| Offlane | Phase Boots, Vanguard, Hood of Defiance, Pipe of Insight, Crimson Guard, Lotus Orb |
| Support | Arcane Boots, Magic Wand, Glimmer Cape, Force Staff, Ghost Scepter, Aghanim's Scepter |
| Hard Support | Tranquil Boots, Magic Wand, Observer and Sentry Wards, Smoke of Deceit, Dust of Appearance, Gem of True Sight |
Note that these are not the only items that you can buy for each role, nor are they the best items for every situation. Dota is a complex and dynamic game, and you should always adapt your item choices to the specific circumstances of each match. However, these items are generally popular and effective for each role, and they can serve as a good reference for beginners or intermediate players.
A short article about patch 7.35 in Dota 2
Patch 7.35 was one of the biggest and most anticipated updates for Dota 2. It introduced many new features, improvements, and fixes for the game. In this article, we will summarize some of the main changes and their impact on the gameplay.
New Neutral Items
Patch 7.35 added 12 new neutral items to the game, each with unique effects and abilities. These items can be obtained by killing neutral creeps after the 7-minute mark, and they are divided into four tiers, depending on the game time. Some of the new neutral items are:
- Ringmaster's Hat: A tier 1 item that grants +10% movement speed and +10% attack speed to the wearer and nearby allied units. It also allows the wearer to summon a circus tent that provides vision and protection to allies inside it.
- Graveyard Key: A tier 2 item that grants +15% magic resistance and +15% spell lifesteal to the wearer. It also allows the wearer to open a portal to the Graveyard, where they can resurrect a dead ally or enemy for a short duration.
- Statue of Liberty: A tier 3 item that grants +20 to all attributes and +20% status resistance to the wearer. It also allows the wearer to place a statue of themselves that taunts nearby enemies and reflects 50% of the damage taken back to the attackers.
- Mine Detector: A tier 4 item that grants +25% vision range and +25% true sight range to the wearer. It also allows the wearer to detect and defuse any mines in the area, gaining gold and experience for each mine defused.
Reworked Roshan
Patch 7.35 also reworked Roshan, the most powerful neutral creep in the game. Roshan now has a new ability called Roar of Retribution, which triggers when he is attacked by the team that last killed him. This ability deals damage to all enemies in the area and increases the damage they take by 25%. Roshan also drops different items depending on which side killed him. For example, if the Radiant team kills Roshan, he will drop Cheese, Refresher Shard, and Aegis of the Immortal. If the Dire team kills Roshan, he will drop Roshan's Banner, Aghanim's Blessing, and Aegis of the Immortal. Roshan's Banner is a new item that creates a banner that buffs allied lane creeps, while Aghanim's Blessing is an upgraded version of Aghanim's Scepter that grants a permanent bonus to the hero's ultimate ability.
Balance Changes
Patch 7.35 also made many balance changes to the heroes, items, runes, and map. Some of the notable changes are:
- The bounty for killing neutral creeps was reduced by 2 across the board.
- The Double Damage Rune was renamed to Amplify Damage Rune, and it now also provides +15% spell amplification.
- The Regeneration Rune was changed to not be disabled by taking damage, but instead it lowers the regen rate to 1% HP/MP per second.
- The courier health was replaced with attacks to kill, and the courier can no longer be healed or regenerate health, except in the fountain.
- The fountain now deals 25% splash damage in a 250 radius around the target.
- Many heroes received buffs or nerfs to their abilities, stats, or talents. For example, Anti-Mage's Mana Break damage was increased from 50% to 60%, Invoker's Invoke cooldown was reduced from 6/5/4/3 to 5/4/3/2, and Lina's Laguna Blade damage was increased from 450/650/850 to 500/700/900.
For the full list of changes, you can visit the official patch notes or read some of the news articles that cover the patch in more detail.
Valve's Dota 2 Crownfall Delay
Dota 2 players have been eagerly anticipating the arrival of the massive update called Crownfall. Unfortunately, it seems that the release date for Crownfall is much later than previously planned.
With the announcement of Crownfall, excitement surged among the Dota 2 community. Speculation ran rampant about when the big update would drop. However, Valve recently clarified that it won't be coming as soon as expected. In fact, it's being delayed.
Dota 2 Patch 7.35d has already been released, bringing changes to hero bans during matchmaking and providing pre-match matchmaker analytics. But there's one crucial part missing: Crownfall.
Valve has now revealed a new release date for Crownfall, which is a bit later than initially predicted. At the end of the patch notes, developers stated:
"We know many of you are looking forward to Crownfall, and we're looking forward to getting it into your hands. We're wrapping things up and expect to release in mid-April. We'll see you then."
Some Dota 2 players expressed frustration at having to wait even longer for the long-awaited update. Others were relieved to finally have a timeline. Regardless, the anticipation remains high.
As for what Crownfall will include, it's still a mystery. The uncertainty adds to the tension surrounding the delay. Gamers have theories: Arcanas, a new hero named Ring Master, PvE co-op adventures, or even multiple maps with unique features. We'll have to wait until April to find out!