Help with Dustin

[Moo]

I just recently started playing Dustin, and need some help. What do you use for items and talents? I have been starting lost treasure, then ihan, then gravity edge, symphonic seed, yamato, and situational for rest. I had good success with this build for a few games in a row once I started to get the hang of dustin.

[ANARCHY]

symphonic is not that great on him as his ulti is intant cd on his abilities anyway

the rest of your build is similair to mine besides a few exceptions;

dustin needs movement and escape try throwing in a warp shard / impact dial / lockbox, gravity edge can also suffice

 

but the best item for dustin is smoke bombs, you can still see with his passive :)

[iatebambi]

Needs moar smoke bombs.

As Dustin has no CC/escape ability you may need an item to help with that early game such as impact/lockbox/parralax or even a warpshard. They all give you INT and/or regen too which Dustin can't have too much of.

Other than that, you just need to boost your spell damage as much as possible.

 

EDIT: oh man I got ninja'ed D:

[Destroyer]

symphonic is not that great on him as his ulti is intant cd on his abilities anyway

the rest of your build is similair to mine besides a few exceptions;

dustin needs movement and escape try throwing in a warp shard / impact dial / lockbox, gravity edge can also suffice

 

but the best item for dustin is smoke bombs, you can still see with his passive :)

I have to disagree, symphonic is a great item on him. Dustin is one of the few characters that has energy issues, plus the cooldown reduction it gives you allows you to spam abilities in teamfights by repeatedly using your ult. I would go so far as saying this item is put to best use by Dustin. As to the OP, I would go impact first, as Dustin has no escape abilities plus it lets you stay in range for rockets while you ulti is lvl 1/2. After that ihan is great, then it depends on the game. Energy problems? Get a symphonic. Need damage? Grav edge. A slow or hp? Nitrogen. Always vary your build on what you need.

[ginosaji]

I agree, symphonic is awesome on Dustin. Also great on Null.

[ANARCHY]

yeah you make a good point i forgot about the mana regen on it, i have been using the energy storage component item from sunflare as its fairly cheap and you retain the stacks even after you sell it, 1000 energy for 500 minerals is really cheap early game

[Moo]

I did get impact dial in one game where they had a fed balrog, so that he wouldn't completely rip me up because of the armor and escape, but I didn't feel it was needed. Smoke bombs sound even more amazing on him than most heroes, I just have to force myself into remembering I have them (derp). Whenever they had any hero that can jump me and kill me lategame, I pretty much turned my starting lost treasure into warpshard (most games). Another thing I just thought about the impact dial, unless they have a lot of physical damage, it probably won't be needed if I just use smoke bombs, especially since I wasn't finding myself in too many situations where I was exposed. What skills should I max first, my first thought is rockets, but the laser deals so much true damage and you can almost always land it in pubs. I also was thinking about maxing e first one game vs a queen for more clear, but I just maxed laser for clear instead. As for the energy component for sunflare, I don't think delaying damage/tankiness would be worth the energy that you could just get from more int, but maybe that is just me. Thanks for the help, Dustin is getting to be on my funnest heroes list, right after justicar and marine king :D

[ANARCHY]

max E & Q first

smoke bombs have alot more use then u realise on him, sooo many heroes will try to gank dustin because hes squishy

so play the bait game, let them run in at you cast some spells at them then drop a smoke and they'll either get lost or think your trying to escape so they will just sit there like nubs then u cast some more spells and they die

[atomheartman]

A played him 3 games in a row yesterday.

and found interesting build for me

I dont like ihan too much (1st component) because healing will not help you to survive against gank -so i goooo....

start with treasure for mana regen so you can stay longer on lane, smoke screen is needed too

1st item - warp shard

2nd item - dial

3rd item - Flaregun

 

This is sounds mad but works pretty funny - you can dive very deep to last-hit enemy. also is works great for escaping.

I like to start with few points on drone coz it have good damage on creep and little cost of mana. with this hero you should be patient - kills become later, much later but very good kills.

dustin falls even with smoke screen against Nova and raynor coz of their marks( need to change lane.

[Moo]

max E & Q first

smoke bombs have alot more use then u realise on him, sooo many heroes will try to gank dustin because hes squishy

so play the bait game, let them run in at you cast some spells at them then drop a smoke and they'll either get lost or think your trying to escape so they will just sit there like nubs then u cast some more spells and they die

I did say in my post that "smoke bombs sound even more amazing on him than most heroes" so why do you say they have more use than I realize? @atomheartman, that build could probably be made to work, but I don't think it is the best build for him early. Keeping the lost treasure at lost treasure and getting ihan and smoke bombs with that money and starting on gravity edge would be so much better than warpshard flare gun on him IMO.

[atomheartman]

@atomheartman, that build could probably be made to work, but I don't think it is the best build for him early. Keeping the lost treasure at lost treasure and getting ihan and smoke bombs with that money and starting on gravity edge would be so much better than warpshard flare gun on him IMO.

Yeah, i just checked it 1 time and it looks fun, nothing more) and playable - lots of mobility with lots of int and mana regen - why not?)

 

laning against nova or ranor makes bombs and ihan useless.

[Moo]

 

Yeah, i just checked it 1 time and it looks fun, nothing more) and playable - lots of mobility with lots of int and mana regen - why not?)

 

laning against nova or ranor makes bombs and ihan useless.

Ah, so you didn't mean that it was your best build? How do nova and raynor make ihan useless? Still seems pretty good to me. Smoke bombs aren't completely useless vs raynor and nova, as you could use one before they attack/mark, but yes it would lower the effectiveness of the smoke bomb.

[Midknight]

Your build looks good; I usually eschew the Yamato and build semi-tanky with an end build of Gravity, Symphonic, (Silver Soul or Phantom Menace), Nitrogen, <flex spot 1>, <flex spot 2>. Flex spots are for whatever I happen to need for the situation; Barbed and DST if they are heavy on the AA, more SR if they're heavy on the spell damage, or more Int if I'm at a significant advantage. Sometimes, I'll go for something eclectic and pick up an Eternity. Another tip; Don't get R1 until lvl 10; you won't have the energy for it to be of any use and the 4s channeling time is horrible; focus on getting laser and rockets maxed first, then get R1 at lvl 10 followed immediately by R2 at lvl 11. My skill build typically goes as follows:

 

E1, W1, Q1, Q2, Q3, W2, Q4, W3, W4, R1, R2, E2, E3, E4, T1, R3, T2, T3.

 

Rationale: Drone is supreme for early farming; set it and forget it. It also builds a debuff so if anyone gets tagged by it a few times, that's a good point to fire off rockets. It also helps with positioning for laser; I've caught many off guard by sending the drone off at an oblique angle immediately followed by a laser when they expect it to come directly from me. This trick also helps get the drone into position faster than the idle pace it takes if you try firing the laser casually. Rockets come next because you want a sure hit early on due to energy constraints and the spell damage from rockets is amplified by drone debuff whereas laser isn't. Then, you fast-track your laser as it's your big hitter with true damage. Remember to lead your target; aim for where they will be, not necessarily where they are. Also, use your radar to your best advantage not only to target the laser or know to fire rockets, but also for important recon for your team. Nothing pisses off the other side more than your drake pulling them through the fog because your radar showed them fapping next to their tower. After laser is maxed (you'll have to take rockets at lvl 6 because you need lvl 7 for laser 4), max out your rockets because that's your backup weapon; fire and forget missiles. Just be sure you don't fire when they're about to get vortexed, tossed, lockboxed, or otherwise "made immune to your rockets". As I said earlier, your Ult isn't particularly useful until at least second rank so don't even bother with the first rank until level 10. After that, it's just maxing out your drone, taking the last rank of Reset (which can be jarring because before that, you're used to pausing for a moment to let the ult go off but at rank 3, you can trigger it on the fly so you have to "toggle off" your reflex to stop running to let the ult work), and your stat increases.

[atomheartman]

Ah, so you didn't mean that it was your best build? How do nova and raynor make ihan useless? Still seems pretty good to me. Smoke bombs aren't completely useless vs raynor and nova, as you could use one before they attack/mark, but yes it would lower the effectiveness of the smoke bomb.

 

yea, i dont play him often, just found entertainment build for pubs.

[zeeeend]

Treasure ihan edge seed all must in that order.

As dustin is one of the most energy hungry heroes there is tied with perhaps gara.

 

Then it depends if you can take down heroes with 2x qw go nitro then warpshard or another edge if they just can´t take the heat from laser

If you can´t take down heroes with 2 x qw consider another edge

if you die (dustin shouldn't die) consider warpshard before nitro

 

yamato is useless it just boost w as e is useless in teamfights for anything but the amp and q is truedmg anyways

it just gives some speed which can be good. The cdr is overkill if you have seed.

[residente]

Meh, what you need on Dustin is not the item order and that stuff, you just know how and when to do what you have to do, how to outfarm almost any other hero in the game, how to gank, how to use the drone, how to use the laser and then you can care about the items, the money will come by itself.

[Moo]

Meh, what you need on Dustin is not the item order and that stuff, you just know how and when to do what you have to do, how to outfarm almost any other hero in the game, how to gank, how to use the drone, how to use the laser and then you can care about the items, the money will come by itself.

What is the best way to farm with him? I have been using e on the wave and last hitting with aa.

[zeeeend]

Meh, what you need on Dustin is not the item order and that stuff, you just know how and when to do what you have to do, how to outfarm almost any other hero in the game, how to gank, how to use the drone, how to use the laser and then you can care about the items, the money will come by itself.

i would like to add know the range of rockets (not just the number but actual ingame distance) to this list.

[residente]

i would like to add know the range of rockets (not just the number but actual ingame distance) to this list.

 

yes, you also need to know if your rockets will hit or not, its a big waste, specially when your energy is not that high

 

ah, and if you're in mid, take advantage of your high range, deal damage over time to the enemy with auto attacks, dont spam spells constantly on him unless you are planning to go to the pool and go back with the transport talent, it's way better to hurt him each wave with AAs and then take him by surprise with your spells

 

What is the best way to farm with him? I have been using e on the wave and last hitting with aa.

 

basically that's it, use your E and your AAs to last hit, deny your creeps, and well, that's it, last hit every single creep, I love the +15 weapon damage talent because it's super useful for that purpose, and it's also nice to harass your enemy in the laning phase, you think 15 is not that much but hell dustin's attacks hurt at lvl 1

[Moo]

 

 

yes, you also need to know if your rockets will hit or not, its a big waste, specially when your energy is not that high

 

ah, and if you're in mid, take advantage of your high range, deal damage over time to the enemy with auto attacks, dont spam spells constantly on him unless you are planning to go to the pool and go back with the transport talent, it's way better to hurt him each wave with AAs and then take him by surprise with your spells

 

 

 

basically that's it, use your E and your AAs to last hit, deny your creeps, and well, that's it, last hit every single creep, I love the +15 weapon damage talent because it's super useful for that purpose, and it's also nice to harass your enemy in the laning phase, you think 15 is not that much but hell dustin's attacks hurt at lvl 1

I agree with the +15 weapon damage, that is huge early game, it makes last hitting soooo much easier, and makes aa harass much better. I am not sure which talent I have currently to switch for this though, I am debating between cdr and armor, which do you think I should switch?

[residente]

I agree with the +15 weapon damage, that is huge early game, it makes last hitting soooo much easier, and makes aa harass much better. I am not sure which talent I have currently to switch for this though, I am debating between cdr and armor, which do you think I should switch?

 

cdr, armor is good, yes, but you're a ranged hero with low defenses, the huge dmg from a right click hero will be huge with or without that armor, the best survivability for Dustin is proper positioning, the mobility of Impact Dial, take advantages of his range, and the raw hp items like seed, ihan or nitrogen can provide.

 

The cdr is great for the early game, untill you get level 11 you cant spam your spells THAT often, and the crd plus a tpi and a seed is a lot, and when you hit higher levels it's even better.

[Moo]

 

 

cdr, armor is good, yes, but you're a ranged hero with low defenses, the huge dmg from a right click hero will be huge with or without that armor, the best survivability for Dustin is proper positioning, the mobility of Impact Dial, take advantages of his range, and the raw hp items like seed, ihan or nitrogen can provide.

 

The cdr is great for the early game, untill you get level 11 you cant spam your spells THAT often, and the crd plus a tpi and a seed is a lot, and when you hit higher levels it's even better.

So the moral of the story isssssssss (don't trust the system) trade out armor because you will die if they jump you with or without it? :)

[residente]

So the moral of the story isssssssss (don't trust the system) trade out armor because you will die if they jump you with or without it? :)

 

basically, yes, Dustin has low hp and armor, sure the armor can help, but it will not help as much as the cdr, cdr is offensive and armor deffensive, for a weak ranged caster like Dustin, specially in the early game, a good offense is the best defense. You just need to annoy your enemy with the constant harass while you're farming at the same time and making him retreat. The worst enemy for Dustin will be heroes who can outrange him, like Rancor, Raynor, Nova or even Garamond, but heroes with short ranges and melees will want to change the lane very fast, they'll not even have time to attack you, why would you need armor if your enemy cant even get a single hit on the creep?

[Lios]

So, what's ur main combo in teamfight ? spam q and w ?

[residente]

Yes, what else you can do? You can keep auto attacking to deal some residual damage, but your role is to time properly the spells to hit as much ppl as posible, and position yourself properly so you stay alive to spam them again as soon as possible...