Na guide, we should all be able to play this hero. Especially the Cal roster.

Dota has seen many changes since it first began. Nerubian Assassin was first seen as a weak hero because his usefulness dropped drastically during late-game. But since the removal of Aegis and the introduction of the Bottle, Nerubian Assasin is now one of the top picks in most games (he is even banned in most games). Why is Nerubian Assassin such ownage? Because he has strong lane control and is also one of the best gankers in the game.

There is only one way to play Nerubian Assassin and his role is to gank. If you look at his skills you will see that he has 3 active single target abilities. His job is to establish lane control at the beginning of the game and to roam around the map ganking with his allies and doing massive burst damage before the enemy can react.

Nerubian Assasin works in any games because all opponents fear his ganking ability.
Read Maruchan's analysis on some heroes which includes Nerubian-Assassin.
This guide will analyse all his skills and give guidelines on how to use him. I will also provide strategical advice and hopefully this guide will aid you in gaining experience in playing Anub'arak and DotA in general.



===Nerubian-Assassin Skills/Stats and Descriptions===

Impale:
Mechanics:the damage is magical. Impale renders a unit invulnerable for 1 second while it is in the air and the Stun duration begins once the unit hits the ground, so in total the disable lasts for 3.25 overall. Because it is an Impale based spell from ladder it does not affect units that are already stunned by some other Impale-based ability. They also do not affect units that are under the effects of Frostbite or Overgrowth (because they are based on Entangling Roots) or of Ensnare.
Impaled units also face the caster when they land on the ground.
Strategics:This is your only stun so you have to use it wisely. Because of the Impale coding you don't want to ruin any of your allies spells so use this wisely. It can also be used for farming because of its large aoe and damage.

Mana Burn:
Mechanics:it has a range of 500/575/650/725 and the damage is magical. It deals damage based on the amount of mana burnt, so if they have no mana you can't deal any damage with this spell.
Strategics:This is the reason why Nerubian Assassin has strong lane control. Mana Burn ruins most lane combos because the enemy will be unable to harass you with their spells.

Spiked Carapace:
Mechanics:Stacks with Blademails and returns the damage as magic damage so magic immunity will prevent this.
Strategics:this is the weakest spell of the bunch because it only returns melee damage and your job is not to tank but to deal burst damage.

Vendetta:
Mechanics:It is the same damage as a normal attack. It is almost like as if you did a critical, which explains the numbers above his head when he attacks. Can also be used during channeling spells like TP.
Strategics:This is your signature move and the reason why ganking is so easy. The invisibility means that you are able to approach the enemy with the element of suprise and to deal burst damage. It lasts 50 seconds and has a 60 second cooldown at lvl 16 which means you can be invisible 90% of the time late game with 20% bonus movespeed. Use it to begin ganks and for the ms bonus late game.


There is only one build for Nerubian Assasin because he only has one role.

Level 01 - Impale/Mana Burn
Level 02 - Mana Burn/Impale
Level 03 - Mana Burn
Level 04 - Impale
Level 05 - Impale
Level 06 - Vendetta
Level 07 - Impale
Level 08 - Mana Burn
Level 09 - Mana Burn
Level 10 - Attribute Bonuses
Level 11 - Vendetta
Level 12 - Attribute Bonuses
Level 13 - Attribute Bonuses
Level 14 - Attribute Bonuses
Level 15 - Attribute Bonuses
Level 16 - Vendetta
Level 17 - Attribute Bonuses/Spiked Carapace
Level 18 - Attribute Bonuses/Spiked Carapace
Level 19 - Attribute Bonuses/Spiked Carapace
Level 20 - Attribute Bonuses/Spiked Carapace
Level 21 - Attribute Bonuses
Level 22 - Spiked Carapace/Attribute Bonuses
Level 23 - Spiked Carapace/Attribute Bonuses
Level 24 - Spiked Carapace/Attribute Bonuses
Level 25 - Spiked Carapace/Attribute Bonuses

If you plan to get a kill at level 1 then get Impale because the stun can be combined with an allies stun to get a kill. But if you plan to lane normally then get Mana Burn because it allows you to harass and establish lane control.

Now the splitting of paths begins. Usually if you are able to keep the opponents Mana low then your Mana Burn will not be doing full damage so Impale will be a better choice as it does will deal full damage and has higher damage. However, if the opponent has a decent Mana pool and/or regeneration at lvl 5-7 (bottle) then get Mana Burn instead because your Mana Burn will be effective and they will actively have to go look for a rune or return to the fountain to refill the bottle and will give you and your allie more time to farm. Most heroes that get bottle are usually gankers who want to regenerate Mana for their stuns or nukes, Mana Burn will be more helpful against them than Impale in these situations (note Mana Burn has a bigger casting range than Impale).

Vendetta is taken whenever available because it is allows you to gank with your allies effectively.

Spiked Carapace is only to be learnt if you are facing a majority of melee heroes (3-5 is a majority). This is levelled at 17 because the 40% will only be noticeable when the opponent has higher damage.

Build order is: Tangos/Clarities > Bottle > Boots > Nulls > Dagon > Bot

Starting Items - you will start with Tangos and Clarities because they provide early regen before you get your bottle. My personal favorite starting items are 2 sets of tangos, 2 clarities, 2 branches and a mantle of int.

Bottle - Nerubian has mana problems because he has three active spells and he wants to use them often. The solution can be found by using the Bottle. Bottle provides burst regeneration which is perfect for Nerubian Assassin as he wants to finish off an opponent and then go off to the next gank. Every single rune benefits Nerubian Assassin and he will be roaming around the map often looking for ganking opportunities.
Link to Rune Guide

Null Talisman - Nulls provide mana capacity for your combo and also a little HP if you take damage. If you want more survivability, get Bracers. Do not get Wraiths because you will rarely attack the opponent, instead you will be nuking them to death.

Dagon - NA and Dagon are like Batman and Robin, they are never seen apart. Dagon amplifies Nerubian Assassin's burst damage and also provides more mana. With the buff to Dagon you will be upgrading it to Dagon 5 because the Mana Cost and Cooldown lowers with each upgrade.
Read why Dagon is chosen.

Im not an avid dagon fan, nor am i a hater of that item. I just want to ask y people mostly recommend the dagon combo on NA while they count it as a noob or useless item on Lina/Lion, etc?

If it comes down to burst combo nukes, Lina's and Lion's combo are better than NA ryt? Plus they are int heroes that wud bnefit more from dagon's stats than NA.

Im not saying lets use dagon for Lina, Lion and other int nukers. The main point i wud like to ask is y dagon on NA than other items? What makes his combos gud enuf 4 u to buy dagon on him while not doing the same to the int ones mentioned?

Thank you guys in advance. =)

Actually, I too don't like Dagon on anybody, and I still have an NA with a Dagon. NA compared to Lina/Lion/[Nukers]... It's quite different. Other nukers like Lina already has range advantages compared to NA, giving them alot more damage potential with their own nukes and attacks, giving them another single-target nuke would be... inefficent compared to getting a sheepstick/damage item that adds to your own attack power. Na on the otherhand is a melee nuker and a weak ass whacker. Getting more out of his weak hits from a 2 second impale isn't really very pretty. But, NA has one of the best impulse combos out there because of Vendetta, which easily synegizes with Dagon. NA's job is quick disposal. Terminating a single hero(preferably nukers) when a fight starts. Lina, and other nukers cannot hope to do that better than NA. Thus, the implementation/synergy of the singe-target nuke item, Dagon.
That is my theory anyway.





Bot - Combined with Vendetta NA is a fast bug. Also the teleport helps in getting to ganks quickly. Teleportation is much more helpful than the AS and stats from Treads and the fact that the price of Treads is very similar to Bot means that price does not affect the argument.

Observer/Sentry Wards - Wards will help you in getting runes for your bottle and for killing enemy wards if they try to counter your invisibility. Your aim is to only get one or two sets of wards max because you want to spend your money on your other items afterwards (leave the warding to the ward-bitch).
Link to some of the best warding spots.


In this section I will mention the items that are situational or useful and I will explain when to get them or why not.

Necronomicon - provides helpful stats and the little dudes can kill wards for you and have Mana Burn. But they require too much micro and also needs to be farmed quickly which is not going to happen with NA, so it will not be bought in the core build. However, if you have finished the main build and wards are killing you late game then buy this warriors to kill them.

Diffusal Blade/Manta Style - get this to counter Warlock. Images sort of tank late-game (not really). You should never get this except to counter a enemy hero.

Heart of Tarrasque - If the game ever reaches late-game then it is suitable to tank up with Heart. You already have increased armor from Carapace so you want hp instead and if you want hp Heart is your answer.

Eul's Scepter of Divinity/Guinsoo's Scythe of Vyse - if your team is lacking disables late-game then get this for the extra disable. I don't put this in the core build because it provides too much mana regeneration when you only need bottle for your spells. When it reaches extreme late-game it is suitable to buy this for the extra disable.

Linkens Sphere - Pretty nice spell block. get it if you have the cash and enjoy the occasional spell block.

Eye of Skadi - provides nice bonuses which you will never be able to farm. Get this if you have hacked some money out of nowhere.

Hood of Defiance - get this if you are getting nuked to death. Some games you will not be able to tell if you are getting nuked to death or not but if you are get it after Dagon 1 and then continue to upgrade your dagon after it.

Shiva's Guard - pretty nice armor and aoe damage. It's a nice item for fun games. The aoe slow is pretty cool combined with your spells as they will be unable to escape your combo once it has begun.

Arcane Ring - provides burst mana regen and capacity. You can get this instead of bottle but I wouldn't suggest it because it costs more and doesn't regenerate your HP. Instead I suggest your allie get this item because NA does not need to spam his spells to farm, he just needs to gank.

In this section I will mention the items that are situational or useful and I will explain when to get them or why not.

Necronomicon - provides helpful stats and the little dudes can kill wards for you and have Mana Burn. But they require too much micro and also needs to be farmed quickly which is not going to happen with NA, so it will not be bought in the core build. However, if you have finished the main build and wards are killing you late game then buy this warriors to kill them.

Diffusal Blade/Manta Style - get this to counter Warlock. Images sort of tank late-game (not really). You should never get this except to counter a enemy hero.

Heart of Tarrasque - If the game ever reaches late-game then it is suitable to tank up with Heart. You already have increased armor from Carapace so you want hp instead and if you want hp Heart is your answer.

Eul's Scepter of Divinity/Guinsoo's Scythe of Vyse - if your team is lacking disables late-game then get this for the extra disable. I don't put this in the core build because it provides too much mana regeneration when you only need bottle for your spells. When it reaches extreme late-game it is suitable to buy this for the extra disable.

Linkens Sphere - Pretty nice spell block. get it if you have the cash and enjoy the occasional spell block.

Eye of Skadi - provides nice bonuses which you will never be able to farm. Get this if you have hacked some money out of nowhere.

Hood of Defiance - get this if you are getting nuked to death. Some games you will not be able to tell if you are getting nuked to death or not but if you are get it after Dagon 1 and then continue to upgrade your dagon after it.

Shiva's Guard - pretty nice armor and aoe damage. It's a nice item for fun games. The aoe slow is pretty cool combined with your spells as they will be unable to escape your combo once it has begun.

Arcane Ring - provides burst mana regen and capacity. You can get this instead of bottle but I wouldn't suggest it because it costs more and doesn't regenerate your HP. Instead I suggest your allie get this item because NA does not need to spam his spells to farm, he just needs to gank.

Fubar-Combo:

This will be your signature combo. Basically you start a gank with Vendetta and then hit the opponent once then follow with Mana Burn/Impale and if you have Dagon then use it, if they are still alive then use Mana Burn/Impale. You will should use Impale instead of Mana Burn first if they hav high ms or have a escaping ability. This combo is a lot easier to pull of with an allies stun or nuke and does much more damage. Note the amount of burst damage this combo does depending on your level and if you have dagon. Unfortunately you cannot use way-points with NA because Vendetta is counted as a normal attack and so he will contiuously attack the target if you try using way-points, another problem with way-points is Impale completely erases all way points done on the target before. Once you get used to doing this combo without misclicking/lagging, the kills will start to roll in with your unescapable combo and element of suprise.

Burn-Harrass:

Repeated use of Mana Burn will mean that the enemy will not be able to harass you with spells which you and your ally are able to farm. Burn the enemy with the stun first because disables are deadlier than nukes. If you are in the laning phase then wait till your opponent regenerates enough mana for your next burn, which is really annoying to face against.

Impale-Save:
Save your allies or yourself by stunning the opponent. You might be able to turn a gank around within the stun period if another of your allies turns up.

Impale-Target/Splash:
Sometimes you will use Impale to stun an area instead of a person because you want to stun two heroes at once. A problem that you will get sometimes is that you are chasing someone and targetted them with Impale; but when you reach the casting range to cast it they hav already moved out of the range, unfortunately you will still cast Impale and waste it. That is why you should chase the enemy a bit more before casting Impale. Another good time to use Impale-Splash is when the enemy has just gone invisible and on a low-hp and of course you can't see them.

Impale-Interrupt:
This is obvious, use Impale to stun an enemy who is using a channeling spell (TP/Freezing Field). However this does not work against magic immune enemies.

Impale-Farm:

Use Impale when the enemy creeps are low hp. You will need to hit the ranged creep once to kill it after Impale. You can also use it to help speed up your neutralling time.

Mana and HP Awareness:

Nerubian Assasin players should constantly be checking the opponents mana and hp during and before ganks. Your Mana Burn depends on the enemies remaining mana so it will be important to make sure they are above 260 mana before you use your Mana Burn. Mana Burn also acts as a disable as the opponent will only be able to run or fight with physical attacks and this makes your job much easier.

Your enemies will fall into differnet caregories because of their hero-type and how you plan your attacks will fall into these categories:

- In the laning phase always Mana Burn the hero with the leading stun (Sven will stun first so that Lina can aim her LSA) because the other stun will usually be harder to aim and thus ruining their lane combo.

- If you have to choose between which hero to Impale/Mana Burn always go for the one with the disable and if both heroes have disables then the one with either lower mana pool or the one with less HP.

- Always Mana Burn Str heroes because they have low mana pools and usually hav a disable or stun that can be deadly in team battles.

- Int heroes are also good victims for Mana Burn because they will usually always have mana for your Mana Burn to deal full damage and they have low HP pools.

- Anyone can be food for NA if their HP is low enough because of his great burst damage. Always gank the opponent carry because he will affect your late game the most.

Because Vendetta has 0 fade time this means that dodging targetted spells is quite easy and can save your life many times if you are caught in a gank or you need to dodge a Storm Bolt.

Duo-Vendetta:

It is possible to pull off two Vendettas in a battle late game because the cooldown is 60 seconds while it lasts 50 seconds. Wait till your Vendetta is around 3/4 cooled down (green in the diagram) and use it and it should be redy again after you do your combo. The red is when Vendetta is cooling down.

Vendetta-Hunt:
Begin a gank by using Vendetta and scouting around for a kill. Beginning a gank with Vendetta is a very effective method because angle of approach doesn't matter because you are invisible.

Tele-Vendetta:
Vendetta does not cancel channeling spells so you can activate it after you start to teleport. This can be useful if you want to get to a tower and suprise the enemy while they are near or pushing your tower. It can also be used as a last minute escape if you see an enemy coming at you while you are teleporting.

Jungle-Hunt:
I don't suggest you do this often, but if the opponents are so scared of your ganks and don't appear on the mini-map then use vendetta to scout neutrals and look for some victims.

Rosh-Steal:
If you know the opponent has been Roshing then sneak in and wait till Roshan is red hp and steal it or atleast the Aegis. Try to kill the opponent if he is soloing Roshan.

Roaming:
You will be roaming the map whenever you are not ganking. Things to do while roaming:

- Check Runes.

- Ward Neutrals, Ancients, River, Roshan

What-To-Do-If-The-Enemy-Has-Wards??:
You aren't screwed if the opponents get wards because you still have 3 spells that deal damage, a stun, a nuke and a mana burn. If your opponents have warded the map then stick with your teammates during ganks, use Vendetta as a finisher/nuke by utilising the -ms bonus and chasing with it. It's not the end of the world if you can't rely on invisible and especially for NA with his array of disables. Always remember that Vendetta provides 20% -ms and deals huge damage, even if the enemy has wards and so you will have to adjust your combo by starting with Impale/Mana Burn > Dagon/Vendetta.



Laning - Anub'arak can do well in any lane because of Mana Burn but he is more suited to laning with a partner because he can combine his spells with his allies for a few kills. Note that he should lane with someone who can solo the lane later because you will be leaving the lane to gank once you obtain bottle. He can also babysit carry heroes like Spectre and Faceless Void because of his strong lane control. Use Burn-Harass to keep the opponent's mana low. Always target the hero with the leading stunning spell (Sven will stun first so that Lina can aim her LSA)


Soloing - If you are forced to solo, be agrresive and mana burn the opponent while preventing them from last hitting. Rush your bottle and get your ally to come to your lane once you get Vendetta for a gank. Use Burn-Harass to keep the opponent's mana low.


Getting Ganked - Because you have Vendetta and you roam the map often you will rarely be ganked. If you are ganked escape through the use of Vendetta or Impale. During late-game when the enemy have a gem or more wards you may have trouble escaping. You should still rely in your Vendetta to escape because the ms bonus is huge and will definitely make escaping much easier.


Ganking - Ganking is Anub'arak's purpose in life so do it often. You will spend 90% of the game ganking (the 10% is laning and fountain time). You can initiate the gank by using Vendetta or Impale and then combined with your allies spells to earn a kill. Try to use all your burst damage quickly so the opponent will not be able to blink away (blink is common nowadays).

Ganking for Nerubian Assassin is split into two stages:

- Early game-Mid game: your combo is strongest around early to mid and so you can probably solo most heroes. But I suggest you gank with allies because there is less risk of missing a kill.

- Mid game-Late game: try to finish the game before it reaches late game because your combo will start to get weaker and you will need ally assistance to kill enemies. You are still able to kill low hp int heroes though. You will want to travel around in Vendetta because of the high ms bonus and the chance to catch someone off gaurd or alone. Basically you will want to gank and kill a few heroes with your team and then try to push down raxes. If you somehow finish your Dagon 5 and Bot then get a Heart for survivability and save your money for buying back. Always push with your team because NA is a horrible pusher and his spells are most usefull against heroes.

- Late Game QQ: if it reaches the extreme late game where your spells are absolutely useless, try to abuse your stun and use Vendetta as an escape/travelling spell. Buy Euls/Guinsoo to disable the enemy carry as much as you can and rely on your team's carry to finish the game for you.


Farming - Money is not as important to Anub'arak as other heroes because you only really need bottle to be an effective ganker. Use Impale-Farm as it is your only aoe skill. Remember to get the gold as fast as possible so you can get to a gank. You do not want to waste time last-hitting when you could be helping your team.


Pushing - Use Impale to push. If you need to push quickly juse use impale and then run up to the next creep wave and repeat this process. If you bought Necronomicon then summon them to speed up the pushing.


5v5 Battles (defensive) - Your job is to burn the opponents mana before the battle and do burst damage so that the enemy loose their numbers quickly. Before the battle get as many long ranged Mana Burns on the enemy initiator or mana dependant heroes. Once the battle begins spam your spells and use Vendetta if you need to escape. If your team is winning then use vendetta to finish of the escaping heroes or if your team is loosing then vendetta and cut your losses.


5v5 Battles (offensive) - This is harder than defensive battles because the enemy tower might have sight of you and you will not have the advantage of invisibility. Wait until your allies have initiated (notice the trend of entering the battle last) and then run in and do your combo. Spend time in Vendetta before the battle begins because you might be able to use it twice (during battle and after). This is similar to the defensive battle but much more riskier. Try to kill any heroes you see before this big battle to give your team the upper hand.

Also remember that getting too many levels of mana burn early can be dumb, since your opponent may have a low mana regen and you may just end up wasting your own... mana ring is really good with him because of his crappy mana regen and base mana, its really good with people who need a higher mana pool and burst regen b/c they dont have high ones themselves... Necrobook is really good if you can gank and kill to rush it (if you can micro effectively)... dagon tapers off too quickly imo