Strategy Guide for N'aix the Lifestealerby Sin X (as of v6.60)

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There once was a man in Lordaeron so consumed by greed that he was beyond remorse. Eventually caught trying to steal Prince Arthas' sacred ring, he was tried and hanged. Yet his body, so corrupted by his desire to steal, had risen by itself in the form

of a monstrous ghoul. So came into being N'aix, his old name long forgotten: the embodiment of lust and greed, bent on stealing the life of every living creature he

encounters.

Forward

Being the first hero I learned to play, N'aix was a hero I found both challenging and fun to play. After Icefrog remade N'aix in version 6.49, I found N'aix to be a very powerful hero and decide to write a guide for my favorite hero. In this guide, I'll cover everything you need to know about the new and improved N'aix.

Hero Stats

Strength: 25 + 2.4Agility: 18 + 1.9Intelligence: 15 + 1.75

Health: 625Mana: 195

Damage: 52-62Armor: 1.5 (8% Damage Reduction)

Attack Range: 100 (melee)Movement Speed: 300

HP Regeneration: 1.00 HP/secMana Regeneration: 0.61 Mana/secAttack Speed: 1.44 (+ 18% IAS)

Pros and Cons

Pros

Huge damage output. Can outmatch most heroes 1v1. Extremely good jungler. Fast attacking hero late game. Very hard to kill.

Cons

Low attack speed early game. Not the best tank. Skills require thinking and precise timing. Needs an ally to be effective early game. Somewhat lacking mana.

Why Should I Play N'aix?

QUOTEThe new N'aix sucks! Old N'aix was better!

Just because a hero became more team ordinated and harder to play, doesn't mean he's ineffective. In fact, N'aix now has one of the best heal/damage passive, a powerful attack speed booster, a slow that's also a stun and an ultimate that makes this guy extremely hard to kill. He can be just as an effective carry as Viper now. DotA is a team game, not soloing killing with passive abilities. N'aix may be harder to play now, but does it really hurt to use your head when playing DotA?

QUOTEN'aix can't kill anything by himself!

Wrong! If you master his skills and know how to use them, he can kill almost any hero mid to late game. Of course, DotA is a team game and allies stuns and slows do help. Practice makes perfect, but you have a team for a reason. Work with your team and communicate. If you still can't get kills with your allies and Open Wounds, either you're going against a team with extreme skills or you're not using Open Wounds correctly.

QUOTEN'aix desperately needs chasing power, IAS and survivability at the same time!

Not necessarily. In fact, N'aix only needs IAS and can do perfectly fine with no chasing

or survivability items. Armlet provides with most of the elements N'aix needs. If your team coordinate their disables, N'aix wouldn't need to cast Open Wounds at all. N'aix has 3 survivability skills: Rage, Open Wounds and Infest. If you practice and master the powers of Infest, you will almost never die!

QUOTEN'aix is so mana dependent!

He's not as mana dependent as Tiny, not to mention he's not a spell spammer. N'aix is a DPS/carry, meaning that he uses his attacks more than anything. Do not spam his skills, simply because you're not a caster. Use his skills when you need to, not when you want to. Making priorities and managing your mana are both crucial when playing N'aix. Ring of Basilius grants N'aix enough mana regeneration already.

QUOTEI'm still not convinced!

Which hero has a Frenzy that doesn't give you extra damage and instead gives you magic immunity? Which hero has one of the best passive ability that gives you insane health regeneration and damage? Which hero has a slow that lasts 7 seconds that stops channeling spells? Which hero has one of the best instant heal/escape mechanism in the game? Watch my replays. If that doesn't help, then try playing him before you judge him.

Role in the Team

N'aix is a Strength DPS/carry while doubles as an anti-tank hero like Necrolyte due to Feast. N'aix should farm and survive until late game where his potential is high. However, he's not completely useless early to mid game since he's has Feast for added damage and Open Wounds for ganking. In team battle, he should target enemy strength heroes with high health first, although he can take down fragile casters quickly with Rage. Infest is a ridiculous escape mechanism that makes this hero incredibly hard to kill throughout the game.

Skills Info

QUOTE

Rage (Active)

N'aix goes into a maddened rage, becoming immune to magic spells and gaining increased attack speed.

Level 1 - 30% Increased Attack Speed and Magic Immunity. Lasts for 2.5 seconds.Level 2 - 45% Increased Attack Speed and Magic Immunity. Lasts for 3.25 seconds.Level 3 - 60% Increased Attack Speed and Magic Immunity. Lasts for 4 seconds.Level 4 - 80% Increased Attack Speed and Magic Immunity. Lasts for 4.75 seconds.

Cooldown: 15 seconds.Manacost: 75

A very good hero killer with every low cooldown despite it's short duration. Level this after you get maxed Feast for more faster damage output. This also can be used as an escape mechanism if timed correctly.

Skill Mechanics:

When you activate Rage, you temporary gain increased attacked speed and magic immunity. N'aix's body will turn black when he is in Rage. Think of this skill as a very short Frenzy except no extra damage taken with the Avatar ability from Black King Bar added in.

Additional Information:

Activating Rage will cancel out most debuffs that are currently on N'aix. Bash from a melee hero goes through Rage; ranged bash does not. Rupture can be cast on N'aix while Rage is activated but it will not do damage as

long as Rage is active. The returned damage from Blademail is considered magical damage so N'aix will

not take damage. Mechanism’s heal works through Rage but the armor does not.

Here are some notable spells that go through Rage:

Doom Ensnare Purge (Only Medusa’s) Entangle (Rage removes it) Overgrowth (Rage removes it) Fiend’s Grip (No damage) Sanity's Eclipse (No damage) Echo Slam (Echo damage) Nether Swap Lightning Grapple Omnislash Death Ward Landmines (Not Remote Mines) Wild Axes

Toss Counter Helix Exorcism Ravage (No stun or damage, but throws you in the air) Chronosphere Haunt Global Silence Culling Blade Mass Serpent Wards Earthbind Charge of Darkness Track Nether Strike Viper Strike (Slow only) Primal Roar (Stun only) Reaper's Scythe (Stun only) Reverse Polarity (Stun only) Dismember (Stun only) Rot (Slow only) Pit of Malice Passive skills such as Degen Aura, Maim, Poison Sting, even Feast!

Click here for the complete list of spells that go through Rage.

***Credits goes to Chameleon12 for his old premium N'aix guide's Rage section.***

QUOTE

Feast (Passive)

Regenerates a portion of enemy's current HP and deals the same portion per attack.

Level 1 - 4%.Level 2 - 5%.Level 3 - 6%.Level 4 - 7%.

One of the best passive healing ability in the game that also gives N'aix more damage. N'aix needs Feast for jungling, healing and killing. This is the ability that makes N'aix such a powerful DPS/carry.

Skill Mechanics:

Feast is a passive ability based on the enemy's remaining health, not the enemy's max

health. When N'aix attacks the enemy, Feast calculates how much health is 4/5/6/7 percent of the enemy's remaining health is. Once it figures it out, it restores N'aix's a number of HP equal to that number. Then when N'aix damages the enemy with his attack, the same number is added to the damage inflicted. Remember this: the less health the enemy has, the less number of HP N'aix will regenerate and the less number of bonus damage will be added.

Example:

N'aix starts a battle with Sven. N'aix has 100 damage and 1,000/2,000 health while Sven has 2,000/3,000 health and 10 armor. Before N'aix's 100 damage is subtracted from Sven, Feast comes into effect. Assuming N'aix has level 4 Feast, it heals N'aix by 7% of 2,000 (or 140 HP), making N'aix health 1,140. Immediately, it also adds 140 to N'aix's damage for a total of 240 damage to Sven. Now 10 armor reduces the 240 damage by 37.5%, making the damage taken by Sven equal 150, since 240 - .375(240) = 150.

Additional Information:

The damage Feast adds to N'aix's attack is physical damage, reducing armor gives you bonus damage.

Golems and siege units are also affected by Feast since they are only immune to magic.

Feast does not work on Roshan or buildings. Images are unaffected by Feast. The Lifesteal occurs after armor reduction, so if N'aix had 10%, he will gain 15

health from Sven.

QUOTE

Open Wounds (Active)

N'aix rends the enemy, slowing his movement speed and allowing his allies to feast on his life force, regenerating a portion of the damage dealt. Victim slowly recovers movement speed over 7 seconds.

Level 1 - 10%. (LIFESTEAL)Level 2 - 15%. (LIFESTEAL)Level 3 - 20%. (LIFESTEAL)Level 4 - 25%. (LIFESTEAL)

Cooldown: 30/25/20/15Manacost: 70/80/90/100

A very unreliable slow, but very powerful if timed correctly. Leveling this skill only

improve its Lifesteal and cooldown, not slow. Not the best slow in the world for killing, but very useful for your team.

Skill Mechanics:

Allow me to clarify again that leveling Open Wounds does not increase the slow, it only increase the Lifesteal percentage. When you cast Open Wounds on a target, it gains the Open Wounds status for 7 seconds. Open Wounds stuns the target for the 1st second, slows by 70% for the 2nd second, slows by 40% for the 3rd second and slows by 10% for the remaining 4 seconds. In other words, the target slowly gains back the movement lost. N'aix or his allies can regenerate health if they deal damage to the target with the Open Wounds status.

Additional Information:

Open Wounds has a 600 cast range. Having such a short cast time, be sure to order an attack again or else N'aix will

switch targets. You can use Open Wounds to stop channeling spells like teleporting. Both physical and magical damage heals the ally that's damaging the enemy with

Open Wounds. Linken's Sphere blocks the stun from Open Wounds, but not the slow.

QUOTE

Infest (Active)

The Lifestealer tears its way into the unfortunate body of a target unit, laying dormant and undetectable inside its living frame until he is ready to consume it and come to form. Regains health from the infested unit.

Level 1 - Allied and Neutral units. Consumes current health.Level 2 - Allied, Enemy and Neutral units. Consumes current health.Level 3 - Allied, Enemy and Neutral units. Consumes max health.

Cooldown: 100/70/40Manacost: 150/100/50

An ultimate that's both a powerful instant self-heal and a reliable escape mechanism. Use it when you're neutraling or when you're in danger. Infest is the reason why N'aix almost never dies.

Skill Mechanics:

When N'aix cast Infest on a unit, N'aix enters the body and N'aix is removed from the

game (he is invulnerable and everything else in the game does not affect N'aix in anyway). He doesn't have any stats, attack, items or skills except a Consume ability. N'aix freezes in time and uses the unit as a shield almost. The only way N'aix exits the unit is either if the unit dies or N'aix activates the Cosume ability which kills the unit instantly and receives a self-heal. N'aix can only Infest non-Ancient units and N'aix cannot Infest heroes, buildings, or Roshan.

Additional Information:

Enemies do not see the green orb on top of the unit you Infested. N'aix's hidden and paused status is similar to that of Astral Imprisonment and

Phase Shift. The moment N'aix Infest a unit, all stats, buffs, debuff, regeneration stops until

N'aix consumes the unit. Auras of N'aix while he's inside a unit still affects units around the Infested unit,

except Radiance. N'aix can still gain experience if the Infested unit is in experience range.

Here are some notable units that N'aix can Infest:

All neutral creeps except the Ancients and Roshan Non-Ancients Dominated creeps Persuaded creeps Enchanted creeps Magic Immuned units Non-Resistance skin units Non-Flying units Non-Hero units Eidolons Liberated Souls Treants Rexxar's Quilbeast Spiderlings Weaver's Watchers Zombies Necronomicon summons

Skill Build

1. Feast2. Open Wounds3. Feast4. Rage5. Feast6. Infest

7. Feast8. Rage9. Rage10.Rage11. Infest12.Open Wounds13.Open Wounds14.Open Wounds15.Stats16. Infest17.Stats18.Stats19.Stats20.Stats21.Stats22.Stats23.Stats24.Stats25.Stats

Skill Build Explanations

Feast is maxed first to help early game jungling, regeneration and damage. Leveling Open Wounds does not increase slow percentage, so one level is

needed until later. Rage is taken after Feast since they both help you kill, but Rage has a very short

duration. Leveling Infest whenever possible will increase it's potential as a heal and

escape mechanism. N'aix does not need extra stats early game as long as you don't spam your

spells.

Item Builds

I have listed two very different builds that are both very effective, pick the one that best fit your situation. Desolator N'aix consists of very cheap and effective items, armor manipulation and heavy damage. Dominator N'aix is designed for higher level play where lane control, mass disables and teamwork are all present.

Starting Items

Jungling Items:

1. Animal Courier (225)2. Stout Shield (300)3. Ancient Tango of Essifation (90+)

Note: Use your Courier to transport your first Tangos while you jungle.

Laning/Soloing Items:

1. Animal Courier (225)2. Ironwood Branch (57)3. Ironwood Branch (57)4. Ironwood Branch (57)5. Ironwood Branch (57)6. Ancient Tango of Essifation (90+)

Note: You may upgrade your Courier if your team needs it.

Starting Items Explanations

N'aix does not need extra stats early game due to good starting stats and Feast. You should buy the team's Courier since N'aix doesn't need too much starting

items. Tangos are need for uninterrupted health regeneration during

jungling/laning/soloing. Stout Shield allows N'aix to Jungle by absorbing damage taken from creeps. Branches are a cheap way to boost some early health and mana while farming in

your lane.

Desolator N'aix

Core Items:

1. Gloves of Haste (550)2. Boots of Speed (500)3. Belt of Giant Strength (450)4. Power Treads Recipe Scroll (350) >>> Power Treads5. Scroll of Town Portal (135+)6. Sobi Mask (325)7. Ring of Protection (175) >>> Ring of Basilius

8. Gloves of Haste (550)9. Helm of Iron Will (950)10.Blades of Attack (650)11.Armlet of Mordiggian Recipe Scroll (700) >>> Armlet of Mordiggian12.Mithril Hammer (1,610)13.Mithril Hammer (1.610)14.Stygian Desolator Recipe Scroll (1,200) >>> Stygian Desolator

Gold Spent: 9,755+

Luxury Items

1. Mask of Death (900)2. Ring of Regeneration (375)3. Vladmir's Offering Recipe Scroll (625) >>> Vladmir's Offering4. Hyperstone (2,100)5. Plate Mail (1,400)6. Chainmail (620)7. Assault Cuirass Recipe Scroll (2,000) >>> Assault Cuirass

Gold Spent: 17,775+

Item Build Explanations

A Scroll of Town Portal should be carried at all times since you're not buying BoT.

Treads and Armlet gives you more Strength, attack speed and damage; fits right in.

RoB fixes two weaknesses N'aix have: mana and armor. Desolator combined with Armlet and Feast will give you insane damage. Vladmir and AC will give you Lifesteal and plus armor for your team and minus

armor for your enemies.

***Credits goes to Patccmoi for introducing to the Armlet + Desolator combo.***

Dominator N'aix

Core Items:

1. Gloves of Haste (550)2. Boots of Speed (500)3. Helm of Iron Will (950)4. Blades of Attack (650)5. Armlet of Mordiggian Recipe Scroll (700) >>> Armlet of Mordiggian6. Scroll of Town Portal (135+)7. Mask of Death (900)8. Helm of Iron Will (950) >>> Helm of the Dominator9. Boots of Travel Recipe Scroll (2,200) >>> Boots of Travel10.Ogre's Axe (1,000)11.Broadsword (1,200)12.Black King Bar Recipe Scroll (1,600) >>> Black King Bar

Gold Spent: 11,335+

Luxury Items

1. Demon Edge (2,600)2. Javelin (1,400)3. Javelin (1,400) >>> Monkey King Bar4. Broadsword (1,200)5. Blades of Attack (650)6. Crystalys Recipe (500) >>> Crystalys7. Demon Edge (2,600)8. Buriza-do Kyanon Recipe Scroll (1,250) >>> Buriza-do Kyanon9. Messerschmidt's Reaver (3,200)10.Satanic Recipe Scroll (1,100) >>> Satanic

Gold Spent: 27,235+

Item Build Explanations

Armlet is bought first for early Strength, attack speed and damage. HotD will give you Lifesteals and creeps to help you gank and Infest in. Scroll of Town Portals should be carried until you get Boots of Travel for pushes

and ganks. Black King Bar should be gotten since disables kill N'aix in higher level play. MKB and Buriza will give you high damage and Satanic and AC will give you

more tanking potentials.

Which Build to Use

Desolator N'aix:

This build is built for your average pub to TDA games. It's all about dealing insane damage to tear enemies apart with Rage and Feast. Jungling works extremely well with this build because you can generally get Treads around the 10 minute mark at the very least. However, N'aix has only average Strength and well organized disables can hinder

his performance. Generally, go this build if you know the enemy won't be warding or ganking you tremendously throughout the game and when you want to dominate with

your DPS potential mid to late game.

Dominator N'aix:

Unlike the previous build, this build is leaning towards higher level play, or possibly league games. Lane control with BoT, not getting disabled with BKB and having extra creeps to Infest with HotD are all vital. Jungling for an Armlet can be fairly difficult, but

it's still possible. This build is relatively hard due to controlling creeps like Chen and lack of DPS/carry potentials. However, if you know you will be playing with and against team

players, this route is the safest and most effective route to go in the elite level.

Situational Items

Bracer

Bracers may be gotten if you want some early game stats. However, N'aix already has pretty decent starting stats and RoB is enough to take care of his mana. I prefer

skipping these and farm directly towards your core items, you should have no problems doing this too.

Mask of Madness

N'aix is actually one of the better candidates for MoM. However, pure damage items kill enemies faster and the extra damage taken will effective you very much if you get

disabled in team battle. A good pub stomping item because of Berserk, but almost unless after ganking season (BKB is needed to be effective late game).

Heart of Tarrasque

Possible for N'aix, but it's an over kill. N'aix is a DPS/carry, not a tank, meaning Satanic would be a far better option due to N'aix's high damage output. However, if your team

needs a tank or if you're having trouble staying alive, buy this and you will be very hard to take down.

Kelen's Dagger of Escape

A good item for escaping out of tough situations and very useful both offensively and defensively. A decent item on just about any hero. Just don't make a habit of buying this

every game because N'aix has 3 skills to help his escape from sticky situations.

Sange and Yasha

Gives a bit of everything N'aix needs and very easy to put together, but too costs too much for its mediocre bonuses. Maim doesn't always trigger and you're better off with Desolater or HotD as an orb. Only get this at last resort if you're having an extremely

terrible game where you can't farm.

Rejected Items

Bottle

Even if you use the Bottle + Infest trick, N'aix has Feast and Infest to replenish his

health full. The only good part about this item is that it replenish N'aix's mana. However, you should focus on farming for late game. RoB is better and save the runes for the

gankers on your team (Bottle suits them more).

Radiance

One Radiance is needed per team and Viper or tanks should be the holder of this item. Even if N'aix is the team tank, you're more of an Anti-tank and DPS hero, meaning that

you'll find Desolator or MKB better. Also, Radiance also doesn't work with Infest because it kills enemy creeps, something you don't want when you want to cast Infest.

The Butterfly

A possible counter to out of control late DPS heroes, but too expensive (Blink dagger is better). Gives N'aix attack speed and evasion. Most of time your allies should be providing you with stuns to deal with late game DPS heroes, but buy this if you're

constantly getting killed by unstoppable heroes like Perma-bashers.

Eye of Skadi

Useful if you rush it and buy it before the game ends, but costs too much for a slow. You're better off getting cheaper items that help you kill faster. Only rush this in fun games like pubs. Just don't make a habit since your team should provide you with

additional slows/stuns if Open Wounds isn't enough.

Mjollnir

The orb effect doesn't work with Feast unlike Lifesteal and Corruption. It's made for

hereoes like Razor or ranged Agility heroes who can use this item more effectively. It's too expensive for the damage granted from Chain Lightning and Static Charge since

Desolator and Armlet are cheaper and efficient.

Diffusal Blade

If your team really needs Purge against certain heroes, Diffusal Blade can be an option. However, it takes over an orb effect and it doesn't really synergize with Feast. Mask of

Madness is a better option for ganking since Lifesteal and the speed boost from Berserk help you chase and kill faster.

Shiva Guard

Very expensive, but does help your team and N'aix's weaknesses: mana, armor and a slow. However, Vladmir's Offering fixes that and your allies should be aiding you with

their stuns/slows. Unless you're facing a team of all fed late game DPS heroes that are dangerously fast, don't buy this.

Necronomicon

Gives N'aix Strength, Intelligence and summons to Infest, all of which helps N'aix. However, this doesn't improve your DPS abilities at all and summons are too weak

unless upgraded. Summoners should buy this and max it to level 3; N'aix should focus on DPS items since he is a very effective DPS hero.

Hood of Defiance

N'aix is actually one of the worst hero for HoD. He doesn't need the health regeneration

since he has Feast and Infest, both of which takes care of his health all game. Rage already grants you 100% spell immunity, and Black King Bar is a better option if you

need more protection against spells.

Cranium Basher

Perma-bash only works in low level play where no teamwork is involved, but only get this is you're facing enemy DPS heroes that are giving your team a problem. Adding raw

damage items are a more ideal choice for N'aix. Bashers are not that effective if they disable you, so a BKB is possible with this item.

Jungling

If you are new to jungling, I highly suggest reading Ironfisto's guide seen below. His guide cover the basics of jungling and you should have a general idea of effective jungling after reading it. It would also help if you watch my jungling demonstration replays found in the replay section at the end of the guide.

Ironfisto's Creep Pulls & Jungling Guide

Basics

Why Jungle?

N'aix should almost always jungle in high level games because he simply can't handle most lanes. N'aix can also jungle in low level games because laning with someone inexperienced can set you back. If N'aix jungle, he will be safe from harassment and will not require him to last hit (unless he creep pulls). Meanwhile, your team will have 2 solo lanes and they will receive more experience. N'aix can also gank easily at level 2. If you master jungling with N'aix, you can generally get Power Treads around the 10 minute mark or Armlet around 20.

Key Facts:

Neutral camps spawn at the 2 minute mark in -ap and -ar, 4 in -rd and 5 in -lm and once every minute.

However, a camp will not respawn if you can see the camp or if there are already creeps or corpses near the camp.

Runes spawn at the 2 minute mark and respawn every 2 minutes. Trees respawn every 5 minute.

If you finish a camp before the 45 second mark, the camp will respawn the next minute.

So what does this mean? It means that if you want to jungle effectively and quickly, you want camps to respawn every minute whenever possible. When you're near the one minute mark and there's an empty camp, make sure you move away from that camp so that's it's not in sight. Otherwise, the camp will not respawn. Runes spawn randomly once every 2 minutes, but they are not too important to N'aix since he is not jungling with a Bottle. Use your Tangos after the 5 minute mark to creep trap (I'll explain this tactic later).

5 Important Rules

1. N'aix should almost always either be attacking a camp or moving to another camp.

2. Always target creeps from lowest health to highest health to reduce damage taken.

3. Never creep pull to build up creeps, only creep pull if you need to (N'aix has no AoE).

4. Use Open Wounds at last resort for regeneration, don't use it for every camp.5. When you're attacking the creeps, always check for any enemy heroes missing.

Creep Difficulty

Note: I am refering to this map throughout the Jungling section of this guide.

Easy:

2 Trolls and Kolbold - 200 | 150 | 100 | 503 Gnolls - ? | ? | ? | ?2 Golems - ? | ? | ? | ?3 Trolls - ? | ? | ? | ?4 Satyrs - ? | ? | ? | ?

Moderate:

5 Kolbolds - ? | ? | ? | ?3 Wolves - ? | ? | ? | ?2 Centaurs - ? | ? | ? | ?

Hard:

2 Furblogs - ? | ? | ? | ?3 Satyrs - ? | ? | ? | ?3 Orges - ? | ? | ? | ?

Extreme:

3 Golems - ? | ? | ? | ?3 Black Dragons - ? | ? | ? | ?3 Blue Dragons - ? | ? | ? | ?

Note: These numbers are results in the worst possible scenario (1 Stout Shield and Feast only).

How to Use:

The color of the creeps represent which camp they can spawn and respawn on the map. The numbers represent around how much health N'aix must have to complete each camp with Feast at level 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 . You can reduce the damage taken by buying Gloves of Haste, using Open Wounds, creep pulling or creep trapping (see Tactics).

Example:

Let's say N'aix is level 3 and jungling. He had a bad start and only has 100 health left. He decides to tackle the green camp, but he cannot clear it because he needs 150 health with level 3 Feast. However since he took Open Wounds at level 2, he can use Open Wounds to reduce the damage taken. Open Wounds is a very good skill to use if you're critically low on health. The numbers are only there to give you a general idea of the worst possible scenario of how much health you will lose. You can always reduce that number by using tactics like Open Wounds.

Creep Analysis

You can creep any of the easy camps at any level. Generally, the 2 Golems camp is the best camp (few creeps, low damage and high health). If you're lucky, you can alternate between the green/teal camp and the Orange A camp until level 3 unless you get a moderate camp in Orange A.

The moderate camps you generally want to avoid. The easiest is the 3 Wolves, but the most annoying camp is the 5 Kolbolds (lots of creeps, poor health and multiple damage). The 2 Centaurs you can use Open Wounds for, but the 5 Kolbolds are best dealt with creep pulling or creep trapping (prefer trapping).

You should ignore the hard camps until you get Infest, but they can not impossible. If you're on Scourge and once night begins, the blue camp can be easily killed with creep trapping. However if you're playing Sentinel, ignore the blue camp and focus on the nearby orange camps until level 6.

The extreme camps are the Ancients. Although they seem extremely difficult, the 3 Golems and the 3 Black Dragons can be killed at level 5 if you bought your Gloves of Haste. The blue dragons are just too difficult at any level due to Evasion, I usually don't fight them until after I complete Treads or Armlet.

Tactics

Memorization:

Health Management:

Animal Courier:

Open Wounds:

Creep Pulling:

Creep Trapping:

Survival:

Key Spots:

Stay Calm:

Walkthrough:

Laning

Soloing

Skill Usage

Rage

The important thing about Rage is that it lasts for a very short time, timing it is the hardest part. However, if you have a decent knowledge of every hero in DotA, you should have no problem. Use it when you think the enemy might nuke or stun you, whether if you're on the offense or defense. Rage gives you an attack speed boost, allowing you to kill faster and bring down towers. Rage should be activated after you casted Open Wounds because Rage and Open Wounds works well together.

Feast

N'aix's Anti-tank passive skill. Doesn't work on Roshan, meaning you'll have a hard time soloing Roshan. However, it does work on just about everything else. It adds both regeneration and damage based on the current health of the enemy. The more health the enemy has, the more effective Feast is. Therefore, it's best if you save Rage and Open Wounds until the enemy is around half time, because you'll have a hard time finishing heroes off if they're around half time.

Open Wounds

A very unreliable skill, only cast it if you see the enemy running away. It's not a good chasing skill since it's only effective for the first 3 seconds of the duration. However, it does stop channeling spells such as teleport. Also, it grants your allies health if they

damage the target, physically or magically. You generally want to cast this when you're in melee range along with Rage to use it at it's maxed potential. It would suck if you cast Open Wounds and the enemy stun you.

Infest

This ability is a both a heal and an escape mechanism. You can't Infest Roshan or the Ancients, but almost everything else is fine, even Rock Golems. Generally, you want to Infest the toughest creeps with the largest health such as a centaur, a furbolg or a satyr. However, when you're escaping, you want to trick the enemy by Infesting the creep that the enemy won't guess. You can even Infest your own dominated creeps which can turn the tide in ganks and team battles.

Item Usage

Scroll of Town Portal

Ancient Tangos of Essifation

Armlet of Mordiggian

Helm of the Dominator

Black King Bar

Satanic

Mask of Madness

Kelen's Dagger of Escape

Ganking

If you want to gank someone, make sure you can kill him. If you can't, call an ally. If you absolutely can't, don't bother your allies, there's better ways to gain gold and experience. When you're ganking, try your best to backstab the enemy if you can. If you can't, it's fine. Start attacking the enemy hero. If he fights, fight him, Rage should give you the advantage. If he runs, chase and if you have dominated creeps with you, you them to help chase your target by stomp or aura. Once you think you can finish him in 5 seconds with Rage, cast Open Wounds at melee range, you want to cast it as near as

possible for the most hits. Activate Rage and finish the hero off. If the enemy is still not dead, chase or use your creeps.

If you can't get a kill, don't bother. Let him go. Dying for a kill is not worth it, always know when to draw the boundary. In summary, you don't want to waste your Rage or Open Wounds so cast it when you think you can get the kill. Also, knowing the enemy you're trying to gank will help you. For example, if the enemy has a stun, activate Rage first and have you creeps stun him. There's many variation, improvise.

Survival

You have a mini-map for a reason, and if you don't see 5 enemy dots on the map, come up with a back-up plan in case you get ganked. Always carry a Scroll of Town Portal with you until you get Boots of Travel. It's important to watch the mini-map as your neutral creeping, since you don't need to last hit. Don't forget to juke and play some mind games if necessary.

Infest is a magnificent escape mechanism but requires a lot of thinking involved. Basically in order to survive, you want to Infest the creep that won't die and that can let you hide in the longest. It's also a good idea to know how much health the creep have so that when you come out, you'll have some health. Try to Infest the ranged creep in a creep wave since they don't get damaged much, preferably enemy units since your enemies can't kill them. However, you can use trick the enemy and Infest a melee creep, just make sure he's not the lead creep in the wave. Also, you can juke and Infest a random creep camp and call for back-up, it takes a while for the enemy to find you if you done this correctly. Don't forget you can also Infest your own dominated creeps and any creeps that are not Ancients.

Team Strategies

Defending

You should try to defend near your base or towers. Don't try to defend by yourself if the whole team is charging towards your base unless you absolutely have to. Always make priorities such as which heroes are easy to kill, which heroes are bigger threats, which heroes will kill you. Remember your goal is to kick the enemy out. By killing an easy target might scare them off, but not always. Killing their strongest hero is hard , but can be very rewarding if you do. If you see a hero that can kill you, be careful. Rage only last a few seconds and Infest is only affective when enemy creeps are around. Open Wounds can slow down melee heroes and estimate how effective your Feast is on each

hero. Use your best judgment and communicate with your team. You goal is not only to protect your base, but also to live.

Pushing

Pushing is harder than defending. First, make sure none of your other lanes are being pushed. Second, push with your entire team. Third and most important, retreat with your team when necessary. Open Wounds can be used defensively and Infest when you're in trouble in your enemy creep (try to Infest the ranged creep). The two important things you want to take down are towers and barracks. This where you should spam your Rage to quickly bring them down. Focus fire is also important because the quicker you take down the buildings, the quicker you can retreat. Speed is essential. Remember, Super Creeps will often guaranteed victory.

Miscellaneous

Good Allies

Beastmaster and Chen

Two great allies worth mentioning because not only they both provide N'aix with units to Infest, they also have abilities to help N'aix kill. Beastmaster will help N'aix with ganking due to Primal Roar and his Quilbeast's slow. Chen has Penitence as a slow and his creeps can chain stomp while N'aix attack them.

Stunners and Slowers

Stuns and slows are essential for N'aix or any other DPS heroes. Open Wounds isn't a reliable slow so N'aix will have to depend on heroes stuns and slows to help N'aix kill. N'aix has the damage, he just needs someone to prevent the enemy hero from running away when N'aix tries to kill him.

Finishers

After an enemy hero's health is under half, Feast really starts to lose its effectiveness. Therefore, Reaper Scythe, Mana Void and other finishers will kill the enemy instantly. Any hero with powerful nukes will help N'aix not let enemies run away with a fraction of health remaining.

Chasers

Open Wounds being his only slow, N'aix lacks chasing potentials. Without good chasers on his team, N'aix will find it hard to finish enemy heroes. Good chasers do make a difference for N'aix because if your team is all out of stuns/slows, someone needs to finish the job that N'aix started.

Bad Enemies

Viper and Lich

Two really bad enemies. Viper's Poison Attack and Viper Strike will stop you from kill/escape anyone throughout the game, not to mention Corrosive Skin makes you impossible to kill Viper. Lich will just Nova you every time you go close, Dark Ritual any enemy creeps you try to Infest, and Frost Armor save anyone without your Rage on.

Chain Disablers

Disables kills DPS heroes, even N'aix with Rage. Rage only last less than 5 seconds and when N'aix is not on Rage, they will disable you, meaning you can't use any of your spells to escape while their team focus fire you. Either get a BKB or go with your team

to deal with these annoying enemies.

Escapers

They will escape or help their teammates escape at the last possible moment when you think you got the kill. However, they pose no threats to N'aix, they're just really hard to kill. Against invisibility, either ward or ask an ally to get Necronomicon. Against blinkers, simply ask an ally to silence or stun them.

Healers

You generally want to kill these guys first before you kill anyone else. They will dispel Open Wounds and heal anyone you attack during battle, even themselves. Work out a plan with your team of how to dispose these pesty heroes, and N'aix should have no problems dealing with the rest of the team.

Suggested 5v5 Line-Up

| |

N'aix and Queen of Pain | Viper | Lich and Sand King

In this Scourge line-up, we have 3 of the best AoE casters along with 2 very powerful carry/DPS heroes. Scourge heroes are infamous for having AoE spells and these heroes have at least one slow or stun, which suits N'aix perfectly. The strategy revolves around massive AoE combined with fast damage from 2 carry heroes.

During early game, N'aix should go with QoP top lane or jungle. QoP can solo, but QoP also lanes well with N'aix because she can back N'aix up if the enemy is harassing him too much. To kill the enemy, ask QoP to cast Shadow Strike while you attack the enemy. If you need to, cast Open Wounds and then QoP can cast Scream of Pain.

Meanwhile, Viper should solo mid against Silencer, Enchantress, Tinker or Syllabear. Viper has a lot of lane control potentials if he harasses with Poison Attack. Viper can also help you gank your lane or you can go to his lane and gank. Either way, Open Wounds and Viper's poison will guaranteed a kill in most situation.

Lich and Sand King will take bottom lane because Frost Nova and Burrowstrike can deal heavy damage against your opponents. The best part is that they both have an AoE ultimate, meaning the slow from Lich's Frost Nova or Chain Frost will ensure a perfect Burrowstrike and Epicenter if done correctly.

When mid game comes, you should help your team do some ganking. Pair up with either QoP, Sand King or Viper because Lich isn't the best ganker compared to QoP, Lich is more of a support hero. When your team starts to push, they shouldn't be any problem. Caustic, Scream of Pain and Frost Nova will help your team push with ease.

Late game is where N'aix and Viper dominate the game. Viper is probably well fed by now and together with N'aix should be able to tear any hero apart. Open Wounds and Viper Strike will ensure a dead target along with Rage and Frenzy. On top to that, Sonic Wave, Epicenter and Chain Frost will destroy the enemy team and a victory should be no problem.

Of course this isn't the only possible Scourge line-up. For example, you can replace Lich with Necrolyte because Reaper Scythe helps finish low health heroes (he's a support hero too). Perhaps, you can replace Sand King for Tidehunter for Gush to help N'aix gank and more tanking potential. Experiment and figure out what's best for your team.

Combating Every Hero

Morning Tavern:

Vengeful Spirit: Activate Rage when you think she will MM and Swap goes through Rage, so be careful.Lord of Olympia: Be careful of his ultimate if you have Armlet; let allies silence/slow him; BKB is possible.Enchantress: Impetus and Untouchable are annoying; have your team mana burn/silence her.Morphling: Let your allies stop his Waveform with disables/silence while you OW and attack him.Crystal Maiden: BKB/Rage = No spells work; OW stops Freezing Field and go with an ally to gank her.

Rogue Knight: You can outmatch him 1v1 even with GS; careful of his Storm Bolt though.Naga Siren: Go with allies, never 1v1 due to Ensnare; focus fire and images will die.Earthshaker: Rage when you think he'll cast Fissure/Echo; shouldn't have trouble unless he has dagger.Stealth Assassin: Wards counter invisibility, so does silence and Necronomicon.Lone Druid: Feast off his bear early game and Open Wounds/slows to kill him; careful of Entangle.Slayer: BKB/Rage when you anticipate a spell, easy to kill if she didn't stun you with LSA.Juggernaut: Activate Rage when he casts Bladefury; Infest when he use Omni; cast OW after BF.

Sunrise Tavern:

Silencer: Careful of his silence since it cancels OW/Infest; pretty easy to kill due to no disables.Treant Protector: Feast off him every time he casts Armor; Rage removes Overgrowth; silence = dead.Enigma: Black Hole goes through Rage and be careful of his Eidolons; since he's INT, focus fire him.Keeper of the Light: He is food if you gank him, but careful with his Illuminate early game.Ursa Warrior: Most of the times, Feast > Fury Swipes, but be wary of disables from his team. Ogre Magi: Fireball is his only stun, Infest if you're in trouble after Multicast.Tinker: Tough early game, but late game with Rage should be easy; BKB if need to.Prophet: Go with an ally stunner/slower when you gank; Infest treants; Tangos at last resort.Phantom Lancer: Spirit Lance does cripple you, but with some good AOE allies, he's doomed.Stone Giant: Toss > Rage, but not Avalanche. Craggy does stun you, so focus fire and disable. Goblin Techies: Wards counters mines, get them. Remember this: Remotes do not go through Rage.Holy Knight: Rage cancels Penitence making this hero easy to gank, Infest Chen's own creeps for fun.

Dawn Tavern:

Beastmaster: Jungling > Wild Axe early game; focus fire him, but Roar still stuns you

with Rage on.Twin Head Dragon: Rage dispels all of his skills with stun/slow, but careful if he buys Eul/Guinsoo.Alchemist: A pathetic hero, his Concoction is channeling so Infest as he's channeling.Priestess of the Moon: Careful of her arrow, really long stun; hardest hero to kill without silence/disables.Storm Spirit: Not hard to kill despite Overload slows N'aix, Grapple moves N'aix in Rage too.Sacred Warrior: A 1v1 battle often results in a tie, so it's only a question of teamwork.Templar Assassin: Her traps does slow N'aix, but she has no natural disables; wards > meld.Faerie Dragon: Rage doesn't really counter this hero due to Orb escapes, silence does.

Light Tavern:

Moon Rider: Infest or Rage whenever she casts Eclipse; if she's a battle Luna, focus fire or disable.Dwarven Sniper: He's food, gank him alone or with your team; Infest every time he tries to Assassinate.Troll Warlord: Disable is his biggest weakness, even if he goes Perma-bash; focus fire kills him too.Shadow Shaman: Be very careful about his chain disables; go with your team and focus fire, he's fragile.Bristleback: Very hard to kill and Goo is a decent slow; however if you can outmatch him, do so.Pandaren Brewmaster: Very meaty, but careful about his clap. Kill him when his ultimate is on cooldown.Centaur Warchief: Feast off him; he does have a AOE stun, so it's a smart thing to go with an ally.Bounty Hunter: No disable, but hard to kill due to Wind Walk; ward or silence.Dragon Knight: Dragon Tail is his only stun, gank him with allies before he gets Frost Dragon.Anti-Mage: He does drain your mana fast, but disables/silence with Feast and Rage are enough to kill him.Drow Ranger: You might find Frost Arrows and Silence hard to escape from her, but she has no disables.Omniknight: Very hard to kill him and his allies due to Aura, Heal and Angel; focus fire him first in battles.

Midnight Tavern:

Soul Keeper: Even if he Sunders, Feast can beat him 1v1; prevent him from farming early game.Tormented Soul: Rage/BKB counters this hero completely, but you might have a hard time early game.Lich: His frost attacks are hard to fight against, but low health makes him fragile to ganks.Death Prophet: No disables, OW and kill. Exorcism goes through Rage however. Demon Witch: Don't cast OW or Rage if you can't kill him, go with an ally or your team.Venomancer: Poison Sting goes through Rage, that's all. Rage when he activates his ultimate.Magnataur: His ultimate goes through Rage, but due to no other disables, he is fairly easy to kill.Necro'lic: If he's good, he'll scout with his revenants; save Rage after he casted Grave Chill.Chaos Knight: He's a ganking hero so be careful when your jungling; Chaos Bolt isn't that much of a threat.Lycanthrope: Careful of Shapeshift and his wolves; you general can't outrun him, so stick with your team.Broodmother: Wards counter webs, disables counters hunger, but be careful of her slow early game.Phantom Assassin: He's weak early game, so gank her; if she does farm up, disable her.

Evening Tavern:

Gorgon: Purge is her only escape from you, so having another stun/slow with OW kills her.Night Stalker: Never jungle at night or during Darkness; OW if he's chasing you.Skeleton King: Reincarnation means you will need another stun/slow to kill him with Feast. Doom Bringer: OW on him when he use Scorched Earth and Infest a powerful creep if you're Doomed.Nerubian Assassin: Impale and Mana Burn doesn't go through Rage; dominate him late game.Slithereen Guard: Very hard to escape due to Crush and Bash, rely on your allies for him.Queen of Pain: SS and Blink make her very hard to gank, but silence/disables changes that.Bone Fletcher: Ward the map and cast OW in ward's sight range, a sure kill with your team.Faceless Void: Another very hard to kill hero, but a good team coordination disables >

Time Walk. Netherdrake: Dispite having immense slow from Poison, Skin and Viper Strike, he's fragile.Lighting Revenant: No disable, no escape mechanism, ganking with OW should be no problem.Lifestealer: Disables, stuns and slows all hinder his effectiveness as a DPS hero and killer.

Twilight Tavern:

Oblivion: If you can prevent him from Decrepifying you, you're free to gank him.Tidehunter: Dispite Rage > Gush/Ravage/Strength, he's still a hard hero to take down; focus fire.Bane Elemental: One of the best Scourge disabler; however if your team disables him first, kill him.Necrolyte: Hard to take down due to Aura and Death Pulse heals, focus fire and run if your health is low.Butcher: N'aix is a good counter to Pudge since he has tons of health and Rage > Rot; careful of Dismember.Spirit Breaker: His bashes are what messes you up, however he's screwed if you OW during his skills.Nerubian Weaver: Watchers, Shukuchi, and Time Lapse are all counterable by wards and chain disables.Shadow Fiend: Really easy to gank with OW, kill him many times early game to lose his souls.Sand King: Infest every time you see him cast Epicenter or stop it with OW; wards for Sandstorm.Axe: You can generally outmatch him; Call, Helix and Culling Blade goes through Rage though.Blood Seeker: Thirst makes it impossible to Jungle; TP scrolls/Rage counter Rupture, or just stand still.Lord of Avernus: Extremely hard to kill, but not impossible if your team focus fire and nukes before BT.

Dusk Tavern:

Spectre: OW if you get Daggered; remember to turn off your Armlet earlier due to Haunt.Witch Doctor: Activate Rage if you see a cask coming your way, easy to kill if he doesn't use Death Ward.Obsidian Destroyer: Astral Imprisonment sucks for N'aix, but having a disabler/silencer

helps a lot.Warlock: Rage cancels Bond and Shadow Word, if he doesn't have RoC, gank him.Geomancer: Gank him early with allies because he'll just Earthbind despite casting Rage.Shadow Priest: Poison Touch makes it hard to solo gank, so go with an ally.Pit Lord: Pit goes through Rage so save it when he casts Firestorm/Expulsion; a stunner/slowers is advised.Undying: Extreme hard to take down, but not impossible; a good team gank can kill this guy.Dark Seer: None of his spells work on you during Rage; do not use OW when he use Surge, save it.

How to Counter N'aix

Disables are N'aix's biggest fear. Rage only lasts less than 5 seconds and as long as N'aix's stunned, he can't deal any damage, regenerate or Infest, leaving him vulnerable on the spot.

Focus Fire with your team to bring down N'aix in team battles. Even if he has Lifesteal and Feast, constant damaging, especially from DPS heroes, will make N'aix's health drop rapidly.

Slow will destroy N'aix's killing potential. Since N'aix is melee, if you slow him down every time he tries to kill you, there's no possibility that he'll catch up unless he's with an ally.

Call for help will save your life if N'aix is in the process of killing you. If Open Wounds did not kill you, chances are if your teammates arrive in time, they can kill N'aix if no creeps are around.

Blink Dagger will help you escape even if N'aix casted Open Wounds on you. It's a decent item on any hero. Simply blink away and run away.

Frequently Asked Questions

QUOTEWhy do you get Treads? You have Rage!

Rage does not take care of N'aix's attack speed 24/7. Spamming Rage will only result in loss of mana. Rage is not Frenzy or Berserk because of it's short duration. Ever since Treads got buffed, they are a godsend on Stength heroes. N'aix is no exception. He needs additional attack speed when he's neutraling and attacking without Rage in team battles.

Replays

 Jungling_Demonstration_Sentinel.w3g ( 58.74k ) Number of downloads: 470

A good demonstration on how to jungle with N'aix on Sentinel. Messed up a camp around the 7 minute mark, but everything else is good. Got Treads around the 11 minute mark. Good demonstration of creep trapping for the lower orange camp with Centaurs and Kolbolds. I also scouted with my Mini-Pudge, but do not attempt this in real games (you will fail).

 Jungling_Demonstration_Scourge.w3g ( 54.54k ) Number of downloads: 206

A replay that shows you what to do when everything goes wrong. Failed a couple of last hits for the 3 gnolls camp, but still managed to get Treads around 12. I didn't get the Illusion rune because it would most likely not be there in real games. Good showing of Open Wounds usage and creep trapping with the orange B camp and the blue camps at night.

 Jungling_Desolator.w3g ( 343.73k ) Number of downloads: 206

An old replay of mine. The item build isn't the same, but a great game nonetheless.

 Laning_Dominator.w3g ( 320.13k ) Number of downloads: 120

An old replay of mine. The item build isn't the same, but a great game nonetheless.

 Naix_with_Weaver_on_Ice.w3g ( 348.58k ) Number of downloads: 143

A good demonstration on how to play with teamwork. Helped got Weaver FIVE kills early game and dominated the rest.

 Jungling_Is_Not_Noob.w3g ( 377.73k ) Number of downloads: 376

Moral of this replay: never jungle in noob pubs, or else they will flame you like never

before. Watch for your entertainment

Credits

Icefrog for remaking N'aix. Bichon for being adding my guide to the list. Akuryou for deleting unwanted posts. Patccmoi for introducting me to jungling, new builds and such. Chameleon12 for his old premium N'aix guide and his HGC winning

Juggernaut's guide. Beast_Pete for his Chen and Bone Fletcher guide. Tucker for his Nevermore guide. DreaM- for his Bloodseeker guide. fat404 for his Juggernaut guide. Every other author of Premium/Chosen guides for their examples.

Everyone over at the Mechanics Forum for their answers. You for reading this guide. Anyone else I forgot to mention for helping this guide.

Final Words

Well that's the end of the guide. If you find any spelling or grammar mistakes in this guide, please notify me so that I can fix them. Overall, I'm glad that N'aix was finally

remade. Sure, I miss playing the old N'aix before Icefrog remade him, but the change was necessary. Thanks to the change, N'aix is finally a worthy hero and quite powerful

too. N'aix will always be a personal favorite hero no matter how different he may be now. Please, post a comment and share your thoughts about this guide. Finally, if you

like playing N'aix as much as I do, then add the following userbar to your signature. Thank you and good luck playing N'aix.

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