How to 1v1 PvP

[bartmasta]

Most of the time when playing HoN/DotA we kill other players as a team. But sometimes you're playing 1v1 or playing normally but your team is retarded and they won't help you gank so you're forced to do it on your own.

What are some classes/items that are good for 1v1? If you're playing against someone with half a brain they can run and can tell if you're planning to go behind them etc.

[RogerDodger]

Arachna obviously

[dreamex]

Scout duh.l

[PsychoClown]

My vote goes to Pollywog Priest. Spawn wards and let them attack while you shackle, if he isn't dead after that morph and go on, put a jolt after that. Or ward trap him, it will take him some seconds to realize he is trapped (some people never realize it and don't attack the wards and just die).

[Agitator5]

You can used enhanced marchers to get out of wards too but people dont seem to realize that, I would agree with shlurman polly is your best bet, either that or the insta gibbers pyro and pebbles

[binbo]

Scout duh.l
This. Even if they buy anti-stealth items, you'll be getting good farm because your Vanish will guarantee last hits, and they'll be wasting gold on countering you. By the time it gets to late game, you'll be heavily farmed, much more than your opponent.

[r00kie]

Succubus is pretty good in 1v1, especially if you are talking about early stage of the game... You will outlevel your opponent and win the game that way

A late game succubus can't kill anyone on her own (given the same level) you will definitly never die in 1v1 but you'll probably not win either.


EDIT : Late game hero would definitly be Predator, you can take most heroes on your own with a few lifesteal items + decent DPS items.

[Workdawg]

I've found Defiler to be very effective 1v1 on Forests. With 3k starting gold, I've played multiple games with NEVER going back to the fountain.

Arcane Ring - 1700 gold
Bottle - 600 Gold
Winged Courier - 400 gold
Wards - 200 gold

Total - 2900

Go mid and Rune whore. You can spam Wave like crazy to harass and push them back to check the Runes. I like to ward one of the runes, and ward on the top of their ramp so I can see where they are and Wave them when they are trying to hide. While you'll have tons of mana, save Wave until you'll be able to get 1-2 last hits AND hit your enemy. By level 6 you should be able to push the tower down with your ult, and once you've got your ult, you're all but unstoppable.

Further info on items:

You should rush Enhanced Marchers right after the starting set, so you can chase and run better.

For mid/late game items, it really depends on who you're facing. The old standby Sac Heart is good if you are killing them a lot, but most of the time if you're farming them, they'll concede. Hellflower is pretty good against a caster, an extra silence really messes with their plans. Totem of Kuldra is also a great choice since Defiler lacks a disable. Frostfield is good if you're against a melee hero and need more survivability, but really, you should just save your ult for building bashing or defensive usage when they come after you. Few heroes, unless they are farmed up, will be able to melee you down with your ult pecking at them.

[Zulmar]

on a 1v1 where you got allies on every lane (so its basically 3v3 without ganking) i enjoy playing bloodseeker since his lifesteal is great if you have the hatchet from the outpost since then you easily lasthit mobs.

the hatchet is very good for ALMOST all melee units since 32% is alot of + damage, usually i begin with a bottle and hatchet, then i get some runes every now and then to keep my mana up.

[elNiuBi]

A lot of heroes are good on 1v1.

The key: don't reveal your pick. Every hero has a counterpick. I just played a 1v1 game and the guy picked a Defiler as soon as the screen showed, and clicked ready, giving up his option to repick (actually the game was APEM, so he thought he would push my towers with his ult giving him an instant win). So I picked Magebane. He never got to lvl 6, he quitted before that.

The other key is to be VERY aware of the correct items that each hero needs to counter your opponent. The other guy will probably pick a hero that's good for 1v1 also, and he will probably know very well how to play it, so you will have to be ready to counter any of the strategies he tries to pull off.

Good heroes to play 1v1? Arachna, Succubus, Hag, Defiler, Scout, Madman (they are specially strong in pushing all three lanes simultaneously, giving you an overall advantage in the game, but don't forget to be able to kill or at least severely damage your opponent if you get the chance), Magebane (specially against newbies that pick nukers such as Pyro or TB)... you get the point. These are not the only good ones, but they are the ones that I usually use.

The last comment: try to avoid ultra-late heros, such as Chronos or Predator. You might never get the chance to reach that point of the game, since the key to a win in 1v1 is a GOOD START.

Good luck :)

[Surtr52]

Hammerstorm is rape 1v1.

[SolidStroke]

Hammerstorm is rape 1v1.

Hammerstorm best character in the game right now, hands down. Best disabler, best DPS, best support, best carry.

[dreamex]

Hammerstorm best character in the game right now, hands down. Best disabler, best DPS, best support, best carry.

+100

[r00kie]

Hammerstorm best character in the game right now, hands down. Best disabler, best DPS, best support, best carry.

Erh, hammerstorm has really good DPS yes, but he has 1 disable that last 2 seconds, you can hardly call that best disabler, he has 1 support that gives +12 armor and MS, it's good support but it doesnt make him the best support class with 6sec duration on 18sec cooldown...

In 1v1 many heroes will own him early game and he won't reach his full potential...

EDIT : Barbed Armor vs Hammerstorm = GG

[sneakysob]

Erh, hammerstorm has really good DPS yes, but he has 1 disable that last 2 seconds, you can hardly call that best disabler, he has 1 support that gives +12 armor and MS, it's good support but it doesnt make him the best support class with 6sec duration on 18sec cooldown...

In 1v1 many heroes will own him early game and he won't reach his full potential...

EDIT : Barbed Armor vs Hammerstorm = GG

sigh

[Kradluk]

Gonna go Succubus on this one. Her damage is not great, but her staying power is rediculous. If the fight truely goes 1v1 without interuption, shes my pick hands down.

[RudeDawg]

Hammerstorm best character in the game right now, hands down. Best disabler, best DPS, best support, best carry.

How the hell can you call him the best disabler in the game?????

Are you serious?

Just off the top of my head

Tempest
and Pestilance are better.

And best support?

Jereziah is better.

You make my head hurt.

[Crivens]

Lol zephyr owns all in 1v1. Only certain heroes getting purge can beat zephyr XD

[GuyGin]

Succubus clearly...

Ult + Heartache = most characters close to dead. Particularly if you add in a codex or a staff of the master.

Versus Agi Carries you can counter them in general with smitten.

She is a better choice than polywog priest for sure because you can counter poly's ult with a iron shield in general.

[CandIeJack]

Succubus does NOT get codex... unless you have down syndrome.
Try a puzzlebox sometime, especially in 1v1. Summon d00ds and ult. Basically adds damage to ult, better than staff of the master PLUS its mostly physical damage added on.

[Isin]

Arachna obviously

Madman > Arachna.

[Testknight]

Succubus > thread and should be insta-banned in any semi-serious 1v1. She can seriously face roll her way to victory.

[Chamie]

I play a lot of high rated real 1on1 games, in those games it's basically whoever picks arachna first wins (if only 1 lane allowed).
Succubus can also be very strong however. But when it comes to taking 1on1 kills in 5on5 games it all comes down to things like level, items and knowledge about the game telling you when you can kill and when you can not.

You need to make sure you can kill your target before they can start running off from you, if they get too far someone can teleport to a nearby tower and help them.
Therefore, if you are a beginner, try avoid 1on1 kills unless you are really sure that you can kill your target fast.

[arcainic]

Lol zephyr owns all in 1v1. Only certain heroes getting purge can beat zephyr XD

Wouldn't savage mace counter it as well? cause it has truestrike now?

[elNiuBi]

Succubus > thread and should be insta-banned in any semi-serious 1v1. She can seriously face roll her way to victory.

NO, FAIL.

[ruskor]

Everyone is a loser compared to HAMMERSTORM.

[CrashLemon]

Zephyr, at lvl 5 u can solo creep behind the tower and get all the money while ur creeps push, as soon as you have Mock of Brilliance u can just stay near the enemy and he's dead.

[Xist1]

A late game succubus can't kill anyone on her own (given the same level) you will definitly never die in 1v1 but you'll probably not win either.
I killed lvl 25 Jereziah among others the other night with Succubus. Went in, used ulti, sleep, refresher (can't recall the HoN name), ulti again before sleep is over and finnish with a drain spell. They didn't have the chance to do a thing :)

[Reonhato]

pick swiftblade. lvl to 6. kill creeps. press r

[Bludgar]

Going to have to go with my personal favorite, Blood Hunter.

Strategy #1: Silence. Makes Succubus completely useless, and she's not a DPS build, so you don't have to worry about her boost to damage. Silence will also stop Arachna from using ult or webbed shot, which is why I like to keep it at level 2 until mid-late game, so it minimizes the boost on enemies, deals 135 damage, and CD is only 10 secs.

Strategy #2: Incredible chasing abilities with ult/blood sense. The enemy can either absorb the ult and keep running, likely dying, or stand still and suck up the damage from BH. Blood sense lets you know EXACTLY where they are, coupled with +44% ms speed and your ult has a really low CD.

Strategy #3: Mock of Brilliance adds nice chunks of healing during creep waves. So, you can be fighting/harassing a hero and find yourself suddenly with an insta-heal.

Strategy #4: Ult used as anti-chase device. You're fighting, you've silenced them, but it's clear that they're out-damaging you. Run. Get enough of a lead on them, then turn around and ult. They can't chase you any more without risk of making themselves so weak, you can turn around and finish them.

There are lots of other strategies. I feel that BH is a lot better AGI hero than others strictly in the hero vs hero category. Madman is still a better choice for pushing, NH is a great choice for team ganking, but heroes like Soulstealer, Arachna, Valkyrie pale in comparison to a well-played BH, in my opinion.

EDIT: Starting from midgame on, there are few opposing heroes I've ever had trouble beating one on one with Blood Hunter, depending on how we've farmed early game.

[Sunforger]

With equal skill level and 3000 starting gold, Arachna is unbeatable. Proven by many games. Theoretically, Zephyr can beat her, but I doubt this.

[Birdulon]

With equal skill level and 3000 starting gold, Arachna is unbeatable. Proven by many games. Theoretically, Zephyr can beat her, but I doubt this.
Succubus is pretty much a hard counter. Smitten takes away Arachna's dps, Mesmerize on self negates spiderling, and grip and sap works very well against low hp heroes. Oh, and grip goes through BKB (no damage though) so there's pretty much nothing arach can do against an equally skilled succy.

[orangemaen]

Played a game as Arach 1v1, versus a Zephyr who want early helm, and cut lanes constantly. Managed to edge him out in the early game, but as soon as he got Heart, it became a different ball game. Eventually won after an epic 1 hour game, having required 2 double upgraded nullfire's (purge ftw) and a doombringer.

[PsychoClown]

She is a better choice than polywog priest for sure because you can counter poly's ult with a iron shield in general.

No you can't, it has been fixed.

[LOLDUMP]

OR you can stop being a SCRUB and go play 5v5.

[Heroe]

succ

well best idea is to let them pick first and counter

[Doombunnie]

Intresting, because as pyro or predator i eat both char's alive....

[Sunforger]

Succubus is pretty much a hard counter. Smitten takes away Arachna's dps, Mesmerize on self negates spiderling, and grip and sap works very well against low hp heroes. Oh, and grip goes through BKB (no damage though) so there's pretty much nothing arach can do against an equally skilled succy.
I agree that Succubus should win if the spiderling is countered by sleep. The main strength of Arachna isn't even her supreme harrasing/lasthitting, but 30 sec CD on almost uncounterable ult.

[VoltG]

blood hunter > all. its how i make pugs concede in first 20 minutes

[VoltG]

I agree that Succubus should win if the spiderling is countered by sleep. The main strength of Arachna isn't even her supreme harrasing/lasthitting, but 30 sec CD on almost uncounterable ult.

you obviously don't know a bit about arachna. The main strength is her ability to harras with webshot, and her ulti aint 30 sec from the start but only late game, so against succubus your dead as arachna.