DOTA Hero Spotlight – Chen Holy Knight Strategy Guide

Prophesying a new dawn, a new world cleansed of the old evils, the Holy Knight’s entrance into the war against the Scourge forever changed the course of history. A crusader riding under the banner of Hextar, the Holy Knight promises ever-lasting glory and redemption for those who march with him, and obstacles ahead to test the faith of all those sworn to forever cleanse evil from the land. Fanatically devoted to his cause, his followers come from every race, every background, and will stop at nothing to see the Scourge destroyed. If ever the redeeming hand of God touched earth, its name was Chen, the Holy Knight.

Comment:
When I first started playing the game, I don’t mind getting random hero Chen. More often I used to do assists with my team. Later I realized that Chen can be great character when .

Note: Credit goes to Killing you Softly of Dota forums for creating this guide. In my opinion this guide is an extensive strategy guide for Chen the holy knight.

 

Killing you softly’s Chen the Holy Knight Strategy

This guide is not targeted at newer players and is focused more on strategy.

Chen has often been the target of changes in new maps, not only because of direct changes to the hero itself but the neutral creeps and terrain as well. Before the 6 series, Chen’s gameplay does not revolve around creeps. After which, he underwent a remake where he has new skills, most notably Holy Persuasion. In 6.50, Chen received indirect buffs because he was too weak. They are so huge that Chen rose from a nobody to a top pick or a common ban instantly in competitive plays.

He is definitely not an easy hero to play and excel in and I believe you agree too. But contrary to what most people think, micromanagement is not that difficult. As micro is a skill like all others, you will improve as you play more Chen games.

In order to play Chen at his peak level, you need to at least:

• to know when to gank.
• to be able to control your creeps well in team battles.
• to keep an eye, literally on the minimap every non-engaging moment for your global heal

And a battle Chen is ridiculous.

Chen Holy Knight Skill and Item Build

Chen Skills

Penitence
Forces a unit to accept punishment for its sins, causing it to move slower and accept more damage from attacks and spells.

Test of Faith
If cast on enemy, will deal variable damage based on the unit’s faith. If cast on allied Hero, it will teleport the hero to safety. Instantly teleports Chen’s persuaded units to safety.

Holy Persuasion
Fully regenerates your converted creeps. Heals all allied heroes on the map.

Hand of God
Fully regenerates your converted creeps. Heals all allied heroes on the map.

Skill Build

1 – Holy Persuasion
2~3 – Penitence
4~5 – Holy Persuasion
6 – Hand of God
7 – Holy Persuasion
8~9 – Penitence
10 – Test of Faith
11 – Hand of God
12~14 – Test of Faith
15 – Attribute Bonus
16 – Hand of God

An early level of Test of Faith can replace Penitence for teleportation purposes.

Holy Persuasion is maxed asap. No surprise here, since it is his best skill early game.

Penitence is maxed earlier than Test of Faith. It allows more room for mistakes because it is much easier to stun the slowed enemy with creeps and its mana cost is too high (175 mana). The damage caused is higher with Penitence is usually more than Test of Faith, even if it deals exact damage.

The next likely controversial skill build should be maxing Test of Faith. What is the main reason of having a level 1 Test of Faith? More survivability from stats (114hp). And what’s the difference between level 1 and level 4 Test of Faith? Damage and 3 seconds lesser teleportation time. Even though it is less useful than his 2 other skills, it’s damage must not be underestimated. On average it deals 300 precise damage, with Penitence it deals an average 384 precise damage. That’s slightly more powerful than a lvl 1 500(375) dmg Finger of Death; So do you prefer +114hp or Finger of Death? Not to mention its teleportation time improves from 6 to 3 seconds.

Chen Starting Items

Chicken: Since you are jungling and have low risks of getting killed, it is very unlikely for Chen to return to base early game so a chicken is a must.

Bracer: To make up for his weak early game HP.

Ring of Basilius: A must have item for Chen, it gives him everything he needs and benefits from it more than any other hero. It allows mana regeneration for creeps, which have none. By having mana regeneration in creeps, you need not send them back to fountain to restore their mana. Extra armor is always welcomed when tower diving and neutral creep tanking.

Mekansm: Allows constant neutral creeping when you have your desired creeps. Without Mekansm you have a harder time in spreading the damage across your army. With Mekansm, Hand of God will be your secondary heal instead. In addition, your persuaded creeps can tower dive more effectively.

Chen Advance Items

Necronomicon: Necrobook is a good choice to get after your core items but it is usually inferior to Guinsoo. Because if you didn’t do well when you bought the book, you will be a bottleneck late game. The time where you should get Necrobook over Guinsoo is when you are in a situation where your enemies are Skeleton King / 2 or more Hand of Midas users / NA, SA, BH, BeastM, Weaver, etc / having ward wars.

It is a very good choice when your team is considering to end the game early. In these situations your allies (e.g. Pugna) will usually buy Mekansm so you can skip it and rush Necrobook 3. Otherwise, don’t get it.

Guinsoo’s Scythe: No doubt the best item for Chen late game. A 3 seconds disable + Penitence on a carry is no joke. An early void stone + Mek can guarantee a permanent hunt and creating constant pressure for enemies in neutral forests. Mana regeneration for Chen is important, it is necessary to have a constant large pool of mana to prepare for engages in forests/lanes and have a reliable global heal to help your ally across the map. His spells tax heavily on his mana pool mid game, usually exhausting almost all of it in engages.

Vladmir’s Offering (Optional): This item is not meant for Chen and his creeps, partially maybe, but its not the main reason. It is used to help support your carry late game by granting them lifesteal ability. Since in late game, he does not need much items after Guinsoo, Vladmir’s aura can help the carry on his survivability. Also, it is cheap and a natural upgrade to Ring of Basilius so why not?

Helmet of Dominator (Optional): I recommend to buy this only if your enemies have Hand of Midas. The extra creeps help but delaying Necrobook/Guinsoo by 2k is not advisable. It also pays off quite late because its cooldown is 6 minutes.

Wards: Chen benefits more from the extra sight than your allies as it serves as a tool to see the kind of creeps that spawned in the warded area. He is usually the most powerful hero in mid game if you got the right creeps. In order to make use of that strength, you gank unwary heroes, alone or with allies before you become less useful later. Be careful that improper placing of wards can hinder the spawns of neutral creeps.

The main purpose of Sentry Wards is to destroy enemy wards preventing spawns and observer wards that allows them to know your army is marching towards them. It is usually used in early game.

Chen’s Important Converted Neutral Creeps

These creeps are most essential to playing Chen effectively, without any of them you have no intimidation power.
Note: Persuaded creeps have no collision size, so don’t bother trapping.

Dark Troll Warlord (Ensnare, Raise Dead)
It is the most important creep of your army but get only 1 of these.

Its main purpose is to initiate the attack by Ensnaring your victim so that your Centaur/Ursa can annihilate anything that stands in your way. Persuading 2 or more Trolls help little compared to Centaur/Ursa because piercing damage type does reduced damage to heroes and its disable is inferior to Ursa’s or Centaur’s when your victim is stuck. Another useful thing about them is that they can summon Skeletons to tank the neutrals and speed up your jungling process.

Centaur Khan (Hoof Stomp, Endurance Aura)
You must have at least 1 of these in your army.

The mascots of Chen’s army. They are the only persuadable creeps to have a stun. There is no reason not to have them.

Polar Furbolg Ursa Warrior (Thunder Clap)
Ursa is better than Centaur early game in most cases.

Ursa is underestimated and usually thought to be less useful than Centaur. But this is often not the case. Compared to Hoof Stomp, Thunder Clap has a slightly bigger AoE, 150 damage and slows for 3 seconds. 150 damage is a nice amount early game. It has a higher mana pool than Centaur so you can use it 1 more time. If you do not have Troll as initiator, Ursa is a viable alternative.

Other Creeps

These creeps are less important than the above. They are usually used for specific purposes.

Satyr Hellcaller (Shockwave, Unholy Aura)
Spamming of Shockwave on stacked (2 or more) neutral creeps and provide early regeneration aura.

Enraged Wildkin (Tornado)
Destroying stacked creeps with Tornado.

Tornado’s AoE is 600 and the effect lasts for some time after the enemy is out of Tornado range. In other words, once you cast it near your opponent, you can stop microing it.

Alpha Wolf (Command Aura, Critical Strike)
Only useful in late game or when you have Helm of Dominator.

During late game, stick one of them to your carry hero. Remember to Perusade it instead of Dominate for the extra HP.

Satyr Soulstealer (Mana Burn)
Babysitting creep.

It is a very useful creep for babysitting a carry with some laning capabilities (SF, Drow). It is recommended to persuade them when your persuasion level is 3 or above.

If your nearby ally is having a hellish time breathing in his lane, don’t hesitate to persuade it early and send it to mana burn the initiating hero (e.g. SkeleK, SandK, ES, NA) or nukers.

Kobold Taskmaster (Speed Aura)
Only get it when you have Helm of Dominator.

Coupled up with disabling creep you can build up a powerful chasing force. Remember to Perusade it instead of Dominate for the extra HP.

Satyr Trickster (Purge)
Only get it when you have a hard time finding disabling creep, or hunting Broodmother in a nearby lane.

 

Chen Game Strategy

 

Micromanagement

• Press F1 and it highlights Chen.
• Double click on a stationary unit to select all units of the same type.
• Highlight unit(s), press Ctrl+[1 to 9] to set a control group.
• Highlight unit(s), press Shift+[1 to 9] to add unit(s) to a control group.
• Select a control group, Shift+[Left Click] unit’s icon to deselect a unit from control group, but does not remove them from group.
• Use Tab to select unit types.

Steps in Engages

• Get Chen behind of his creeps and get in position.
• Highlight Chen, cast Penitence, shift cast Test of Faith, shift attack.
• Micro creeps. Make sure you don’t cast multiple disable spells at same time.

Minimap

• Turn on creep display in the minimap with Alt+R.
• If a neutral camp cannot spawn because of wards, there will not be a green dot appearing when the clock hits the minute mark.
• Watch out for engages in the minimap so you can use your heal in time.
• Be sure to toggle your formation to “scattered” instead of “packed”. This way your creeps will not move at a slower speed.

Unfavorable Situations

Midas:

• Here is no direct counter to Midas but it is not an effective counter for the holder either because he needs to waste some time to find and reach you and Transmute your creeps.
• To mitigate the adversity of Midas, gank the holder once he appears on the minimap for some time, about 15 seconds. It is even possible to gank him alone because they are usually weak (carrier or spent money on Midas instead of focusing on survival). Chances are that he has already used Transmute on creeps; Midas cooldown is 100 seconds.

Poor Creep Spawns:

• Get Necronomicon.
• Get Helmet of Dominator.
• Focus on clearing high level creep camps.

Warding

In a competitive game, assuming you are jungling at home ground, buy a set of sentry wards at the start of game. Plant 1 or 2 sentry wards at these 2 areas if you suspect they bought observers/sentries.

 

Source: http://forums.dota-allstars.com/index.php?showtopic=240516

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