Razor, the Lightning Revanant Dota Hero, The Guide

Razor, the Lightning Revanant

Introduction

Why do this guide?

I merely thought that no other Razor guide has mentioned this build, which is widely popular in major matches, ihes and is the best way to go with Razor. I'm hoping that now people know the proper way to play Razor in bigger matches, since he is very popular in major matches, with good reason, but for some reason, no Razor guide in here shows anything resembling the build used in these matches, which is, imo, the best way or ways to go with Razor.

Finally, you're back with a guide!

Yeah, it's been some time since my last guide, the premium Avy one being my last venture. I've been doing other stuff, and I also don't see the need to come up with so many guides, unless they are needed, and I find in this case, they are needed. I'm hoping that this one also gets the same appraise as that.

What about Maelstrom Razor, or the other builds that other guides in here seem to have in common?

I don't think Maelstrom is worth getting on most, or probably all heroes, and that includes Razor. As for the other guides, I don't think their guides are horrible, but I just disagree on the best build to go for with Razor. Mjolnir is just a further extension of Maelstrom and also rather frivolous waste of good money that could have been spent on Butterfly. I'm sure there would be other Razor guides supporting this build, so if you are looking exclusively for that kind of build, then this guide isn't for you.

Which of your two builds are commonly used in higher level play?

The answer is actually both. He is built as a damage dealer in most high level matches, since his dps is fantastic once he gets a whole lot of damage, both Radiance and Rapier give him the option to dish out damage, albeit one more than the other. Now both builds are used in higher level play, and of course a certain amount of common sense must be used in deciding which to go for, obviously if there is more likely candidate already going for the Rapier, such as Clinkz, you should step down and use the Radiance build and be the farmer and do the pushing job for your team. If there is another hero who can use Radiance better than you, such as Avernus, you go for the Aegis Rapier build, and play the part of the carry hero.

Topics Covered

(i)Razor's skills

(ii) Skill builds

(iii) Item Builds

(iv) Strategy

(v) Replays and Acknowledgements

What are Razor's skills?

QUOTE

Frenzy

Increases attack speed for 20 seconds, at the cost of taking additional damage.

Level 1 - 25% increase, 5% damage taken increase.
Level 2 - 50% increase, 10% damage taken increase.
Level 3 - 75% increase, 15% damage taken increase.
Level 4 - 100% increase, 20% damage taken increase.

A useful spell, both for hero killing and tower pushing. It does make you slightly vulnerable though, so using this early on in the game could end up in suicide. This is meant for later on in the game, during the mid-late game period, where you are slightly stronger, and you have some damage to boot to wrap up other heroes before they wrap you up.

QUOTE

Chain Lightning

Hurls a bolt of damaging lightning at a target enemy that jumps to nearby enemies. Each jump deals less damage.

Level 1 - 75 damage, jumps 3 times.
Level 2 - 150 damage, jumps 5 times.
Level 3 - 225 damage, jumps 7 times.
Level 4 - 300 damage, jumps 9 times.

Not one of my favourite spells in the world, but I suppose since this is Razor's only nuke and method to defend himself as an offense, it can be taken into consideration. A couple of clarities early on and you could nuke enemies by using offense as the best defense. Also a somewhat decent pushing ability.

QUOTE

Unholy Fervor

Increases the movement speed and life regeneration rate of Razor.

Level 1 - 3% movement, 0.5 hp/sec regeneration bonus.
Level 2 - 5% movement, 1.0 hp/sec regeneration bonus.
Level 3 - 8% movement, 1.5 hp/sec regeneration bonus.
Level 4 - 10% movement, 2.0 hp/sec regeneration bonus.

His early masterpiece. The regen bonus is as good as an RoR, and the movespeed bonus is also good. It helps him a lot early game, so this spell is very useful.

QUOTE

Storm Seeker

Summons a storm that permanently follows Razor. Every few seconds, it strikes Razor's enemies with savage lightning bolts.

Level 1 - Deals 60 damage.
Level 2 - Deals 90 damage.
Level 3 - Deals 120 damage.

His uber farming spell. It's basically meant for creeps, and it'll help you to net a couple of last hits, so you would be grateful for it. It doesn't have as long a range as Razor's normal attack though, his normal attack being 550, and his Storm Seeker at around 400, so make sure you go slightly closer if you want to land the bolts on the creeps.

Skill Build


1.Unholy Fervor (or Chain Lightning)
2. Stats
3. Chain Lightning
4. Stats
5. Chain Lightning
6. Storm Seeker
7. Chain Lightning
8. Unholy Fervor
9. Unholy Fervor
10. Unholy Fervor
11. Storm Seeker
12. Unholy Fervor
13. Stats
14. Frenzy
15. Frenzy
16. Storm Seeker
17. Frenzy
18. Frenzy
19. Stats
20. Stats
21. Stats
22. Stats
23. Stats
24. Stats
25. Stats

Explanation

Cookie Cutter Skill Build?

Yeah, pretty much. IMO, this is still the best skill build for him to go for. I don't think CL + Unholy is going to work as well as this, because I feel some early game stat points are essential for Razor, since his stats are rather low early on.

Why Stats and not Frenzy? And why Frenzy at level 14?

Frenzy is better off later than at such an early point in the game, since Razor takes more damage from other forces when it is on. This is only good later on, when you have your first damage item, the Sacred Relic, and only then can you dish out your high dps and smack enemies silly before they get the chance to smack you.

Item Build

Starting Items when leaving the base

Good

Okay.

Bad.

Ugly.

Other early items to consider...

Great.

Decent.
No Way.

Luke...I'm not your father.

I'm not your dad, and I certainly don't know your style of play, so I'm not going to restrict your early game item build, since different people play better with different items. Know how you play, then decide which you need most. It's not a hard and fast rule here. What you buy when you go out of the fountain and what you want to buy for early game survival and farming is entirely up to you, though I left some suggestions here, for what you might need. In general, you don't really need that much mana items, though if you spam a lot than you could just take a sobi instead of just clarities.

I would suggest something around the lines of Bracers or Ring of Regen if you want to survive nukers and harassers early on, but maybe a Sobi Mask instead or/and Clarities if you use offense as the best defense and went for Chain Lightning.

You might even buy a bracer or just some flasks and clarities as long as it suits your style of play.

Brace Yourself.

I suggest that you go for Bracers if you are having trouble in your lane, and if you're hoping to get some beef on your bones and increase your health a wee bit, perhaps to tank a bit of damage, if you're the gung ho type.

Remember your Wellies.

Your Wellington Boots that is. You don't want to be the slowest kid in class would ya? Very simple analogy behind this. Everyone buys boots. If you dont buy boots, you lag behind everyone else. That means no to chasing, no to running away and yes to being barefoot.

Mid-Game Items

IF YOU NEED IT...



IF NOT/AFTER MIDAS

Money Problems?

The Hand of Midas is one of the staples in higher level play, with good reason. It eases farming, as well as give you some attack speed as a boost, but in general, its for the ease of farming that I am leaving this here as an optional item. Its for those who can't gun straight for Relic, maybe due to trouble farming and last hitting with Razor(he is tough to last hit with), maybe because of enemy heroes who keep harassing and stopping you from farming, or if you are playing in horrible lag and delay that it is tough to last hit (personal experience), and being able to just quickly cash in creeps once a minute will be a relief.

Don't worry about the recipe cost, it all eventually gets paid back and then some, as you keep cashing in on the free creep kill. Most importantly, it'll help your cash flow, which will help fund the ever important Sacred Relic as fast as possible.

It is sacred for a reason...

The oh so wonderful Sacred Relic. If you play LR much, you'll realise what a relief it is, once you get that oh so important damage item, in this case the most potent damage single item as well as the most expensive single item. Worship the Sacred Relic once you get it, because it will aid you in many damage dealing escapades and net you some kills maybe, along with help in last hitting creeps, because Razor's damage is absolutely attrocious.

Come Fly with me, lets fly away, lets fly away...and teleport

The Boots of Travel. Since you already have a decent amount of attack speed, there really isn't a need to go for Treads instead of this, and the tele ability is priceless, since it makes it easy for him to lane hop when farming when you know the lane you are in is not safe anymore, which is especially useful since you are going to be farming a lot in this period if you are going for the Aegis Rapier.

Also, combined with Razor's high movement speed, from Unholy Fervor, he will indeed be 'flying' around the map and his movespeed will be very high, and good for chasing heroes running away.

Late-Game Main Item Build

CONTINUE WITH



AND THEN WRAPPING IT UP WITH

Getting an unfair Edge from a Demon.

What's better than damage? More Damage of course! In any case, you'll need the Demon Edge for your rapier, so you might as well get it before you get your Aegis, since this will give you roughly in addition to Relic and your stats, roughly about 100 damage, which makes for easy creeping and with the BoT you have earlier, it should be easier to farm, due to the ease of which you can lane hop, should trouble arise, or it is time for you to change lane.

Being added to your damage of course, that would make for even easier damage dealing should your team actually need you for ganks and pushes, so it's all good.

Razor, the Cat Revanant

Well ok, it isn't 9 lives, but for Razor, its as good as 9 lives, since once he gets it, its just 1400 away from the oh so divine, Rapier, and from then on, he'll be almost unstoppable. Also, it provides good Spellblock from the Planeswalker's Cloak, and good armour from the Platemail. Useful against spellcasters and damage dealers respectively of course. So you get some decent defense of worth for this wonderful reviving item.

To be a Relic is Sacred, to be a Rapier, Divine.

If you thought the Relic deserved to be paid homage, then this item deserves a grand procession, a altar in its honour and a special day in the calendar called Divine Rapier day, because this item can single handedly change an entire DotA game, in favour of the bearer. Granting almost uncountable damage, it is the Utopian achievement in a single DotA game, and immediately, the bearer becomes the centrepiece of the team's strategy, and the enemy's strategy as well.

Now you can carry your team to victory, but remember, that you will of course be the hot target for assassination attempts by the enemy team, and don't be surprised if they aimed right for you the moment you pop up in battle.

Late-Game Alternative Item Build

JUST GO AND GET

Turn on the sun

This would be the alternative to the Aegis Rapier build, maybe because you have trouble farming, and can't anticipate getting the expensive Aegis Rapier, or if there already is another damage dealer going for Aegis Rapier, such as Clinx, which means that your other 3 teammates are going to need help in the mid-late game period, so Radiance would be the most practical option after Aegis Rapier.

It gives Razor amazing farming power, because of the wonderful sync of Radiance and Storm Seeker. He can solo waves without taking damage and still netting every creep kill without even hitting them with his normal attack, and all he has to do is keep running around the creeps, and he'll get them in just under a minute. Its also good for chasing, where you can just run (Razor is really fast) next to the low health hero, while not hitting them, so that both Radiance and Storm Seeker can wear the hero down, and when you are beside the hero, you can just hit him. Then chase him and repeat the same process, if he is still alive.


Cardiac Arrest

One of the main things that Razor does not have is survivability. He's a soft target, the weak damage dealer who cannot take as much damage as he dishes out. This is to buffer that weakness. For those who say that Butter is way better and that Heart is only for strength heroes, I urge you to get out of your comfort zone and see the light of this idea here. If you do not believe it yet, play him this way, with a Radiance and Heart, and see how effective he is.

Post-Item Build Items
To be considered or aimed for

Mr Sange meets Ms Yasha...and became Mr and Mrs Sange Yasha

As far as post items go, this would be a very good option for Razor. The extra HP and strength from Sange is very good, because Razor needs some meat, being the Agility damage dealer type role he plays.

The added movespeed from Yasha will add to Razor's chasing power, and combines very well with the bonus movespeed from Unholy Fervor and the Boots of Travel.

The maim will be fully utilised at this period due to Razor's high attack speed, and in every sense of the word, S and Y was made for heroes like him, and he'll be one of the top candidates to get it, along with heroes like Spiritbreaker.

I think my hero needs to be fat...

The BKB. A very good post option for Razor after the Rapier, depending on the enemy heroes, because disables really...really flatten Razor. He can't use his superior movespeed, he cant counter with his uber Rapier damage, and he'll become a sitting duck for opponents to pick off until all his 3 cat lives dwindle down to zero.

Use your initiative here. If there are many disablers and stunners, or many spellcasters, the BKB could be very important for you, and the time given will be sufficient to counter all their spells and net a few kills while sending the rest home, allowing your team to push.

The Eye of Sauron Skadi

The expensive but fantastic Eye of Skadi. A good option as well for Razor, if a tad expensive, and probably will take too long to get after Rapier....but hey who knows? An alternative to the S and Y option, giving beef through Stats and the Point Booster, as well as the passive slow that will always be useful.

Might be a tad expensive to aim for at this stage, but if you went for the Radiance build, this would be a good follow up.

Le Papillion, the insect of Doom

An item that goes very well with Razor. Gives Razor good attack speed, some nice damage and decent armour to boot, this would be for those who want the more aggresive Razor, and make mincemeat out of heroes in mere seconds, or want to set world dota records for fastest kill at level 25.

Nonetheless, this is a good item to consider, and dps is very important to Razor, so this could only be a move in the right direction.

Strategy

Early game

For the Scourge!!!

Or Sentinel if you're playing a -ap match. So ok, first few things about Razor himself. He has got amazingly poor base damage, his health is somewhat mediocre, his agility is decent, and don't bother about intel since we aren't using Chain Lightning. He is quite loud as well, so be prepared to turn off your sound once he gets on your nerves, with his FOR THE LICH KING!!! and other stuff like that. So after you've checked your team's and your opponent's hero selection, select your first item, the one where you buy just before you leave base for the first time, and hopefully, won't have to return to until much later.

Han Solo?

You could solo, but if you are going to double team, make sure you're laning with a nuker or a reasonably good harasser, for example Lich- good, PA- bad. The reason being that you yourself are only just able to take care of yourself early game, the only benefits you have being the fact that you are ranged, pretty mobile, fast and that you can regenerate fairly quickly. You have no nukes, disables, slows or toggle attacks like Clinkz or Silencer, you have really crappy damage and you aren't as tough as the melee heroes, healthwise, so the early game period is important, and its crucial you don't get owned early or get lane controlled or else your Relic would take forever, and you will be forced to go the long way and get Midas. A good early game can also mean you can get your Relic pretty early, and from there it will be smooth sailing.

Zap! Zap! Zap!

LR's normal attack isn't as clear cut as most heroes, as contrary to what some of you might think (for those who know what I am talking about feel free to meander on to the next Strat topic) Razor's red lightning normal attack, the one that just shoots out in a line and causes the loud lightning sound, isn't actually his attack, but rather the prelude to his real attack, when the red ball of lightning comes out. That red ball is the one that actually does the damage, and because of this, it might take some time for some to get used to last hitting with Razor, not only because of his low damage, but also timing it just right so your 'Zap Ball' doesn't come too late to get the creep. (I will get a screen of this soon, and probably an illustration as well, but that'll have to wait so be patient eh?)

The Power of Numbers...

Now, lets face it, not all the heroes you are going to face are going to be easy to dominate in lanes, say for example a Naix. There will be times where you might face heroes that are just plain superior to you early on, for example, a Lich/Silencer/CM, just to name a few. Mostly this applies to solo, since if you did team up with an ally with nukes or can harass effectively, this wouldn't so much of a problem, but if you do get to face a Lich solo, its going to be difficult to regenerate life back from all the endless Frost Novas he can conjure, so the best thing to do is to call a gank. Now, assuming your allies aren't dicks, at least one from the neighbouring lane will respond to your call, and organised carefully, you two should be able to send the enemy hero home or net a kill. He can stay in your lane after that, don't ask him to leave, cos he'll be a good deterrent against the nuker should he come back.

Chain! Chain! Chain!...Chain of Fools

If you had gone for the Chain Lightning alternative, you must also know what its good for, and when to use it. If your enemy gets too frisky and starts spamming nukes at you, fight back with a Chain or two just to show that you aren't a pushover. Its also good when your ally decides to nuke, or better still, disable/slow them, you could follow up with a Chain and maybe either you or an ally could net a kill. Also, its good for that hero just running out of sight that almost got away, and allowing you to just cash in on the kill with Chain Lightning. Don't use it frivolously, as though it were Lich's Frost Nova or Zeus's Arc Lightning, your mana pool isn't very high, and you will waste your time just zapping for the fun of zapping and not biding your time and using Chain when you need it the most, just to find out that you are either out of mana or waiting for it to cooldown. Chain Lightning is also good to use on creeps if you want to push quickly, say pushing a tower down quickly, for example.

Seeking the Storms

Once you reach level 6, it will be slightly easier to farm now with Storm Seeker by your side, but remember that it has a shorter cast range than your normal attack, so remember to stand closer to the creeps if you do indeed want Storm Seeker to help you out in creeping. Your focus throughout the whole of the early game is to farm, and keep farming until you can fund your Boots and your Relic, so ganks are still good, but your main focus here should be farming, so make sure you get as many creeps as possible, so that you can snatch that Relic early.

Mid Game

Erm, you have golden hands, why aren't ya usin it?

This is for those who went for the optional Midas build, and this is just a friendly reminder. Always keep in mind that every 60 seconds, you are entitled to a free creep. If you cant, then go ahead and sue Icefrog. Some people tend to forget that they have Hand of Midas in their inventory, maybe because people only look to their inventories when they are fighting heroes. In any case, another chunk of gold somehow disintegrates to dust when you forget to use the Hand of Midas, so here's a friendly reminder.

Throw caution to any wind, or in this case, missing dots.

Trust your instincts. If there are dots dissapearing from the neighbouring lane, use your initiative and hang back to a safe location, such as an enemy tower, or perhaps start neut creeping. This period is usually the time when ganks come thick and fast, and for a Razor who's happily farming, that wil always mean food for enemy teams, so make sure you check your minimap and throw caution to the wind. Its not worth dyeing at this period, of which you are close to getting your Relic or else saving up for the BoT recipe.

Cowardly Pleasures

I have to emphasise more the need to be cautious before you get your Relic. You cannot, and should not die before you do so, and it is imperative you have a low profile and be invisible. This is the critical point of the game that decides whether you make it or break it here, and how long it takes for you to do either. That includes not shittalking to the other team, boasting, gloating or being narcissistic or arrogant in any way, to attract attention. Be the quiet guy.

Play cautiously as well, do not forget that until you get the Relic, you are a sitting duck waiting to be gobbled by gankers. Always check your minimap frequently, always pick the safer option, and don't start pushing too far or you are just asking to be ganked. If there are no lanes to farm in peacefully, do not risk it, and just farm neutrals until a lane opens up for you to take.

Lane Hopping

Now farming is still very important to you, and if you have already got your BoT at this period, good, if not, never mind, it'll just take longer for you to carry this out. Lane hopping is basically farming in a side lane, or on occasion, though rare, the centre lane, and usually you should only do this when you are reasonably close to a location of safety should a surprise gank come, but if you pay attention to your minimap, you should be able to see one coming. Basically once you pushed one lane, it'll start to gradually move to opposing territory, and because of this, you should be even more cautious to missing dots coming for you.

Anyway, once you have indeed pushed a lane, its no point waiting for the creep push to come back to your territory, so until it does, push another lane, by teleporting there. Or else, if the two other lanes are occupied, then go to the nearest neut creep camp and farm till any one of the 3 lanes' creep push fight on your territory and somewhat near a place of safety, like a tower, and teleport there to creep up and get your Demon Edge or getting your Radiance recipe.

To wank gank or not to gank, that is the question.

So ok, you've heard me ramble on about how to play a safe and secure mid game and trying as hard as possible not to die in this period. So what about your own team's ganks? Do you gank? Or do you just continue farming? Well, it depends. If they are constant ganks, then obviously your farming is going to be disrupted and you are going to push back getting that Rapier or Radiance. However, on some occasions, you will need to help your team out. Use some common sense here. If you see the whole of the opposing team flattening your first tower and moving on to your second and your allies call for help, then by all means go and help, because sometimes they just need a show of force to deter opposition from continuing their attack, and if they see numbers they would just retreat so your life may not even go on the line here.

Most other times though, you would not be needing to go out and start ganking individual heroes unless of course you are really close by, of which I am sure a minute or two of your time to help an ally and even get a kill isn't too much to ask.

Everybody's Glowing

Now don't think I've forgotten those of you who have gone for the Radiance option, because, you were right...I actually did forget, until now. So anyways, once you have your Radiance, you should be able to push lanes very easily, so it becomes all the more important for you to Lane Hop, and thus the BoT will come in very usefully here. Also, don't forget to help your team out in team pushes, and save for your next item, (possible choices in my Post Item Build Section) and make yourself a good pusher as well as a decent damage dealer.

Preparing for the Carry

You should be getting or have gotten your Demon now, and should be moving on to farm Aegis, but remember not to neglect the team if they need you. If they call for you, and you can see that things are indeed bad, help them out, don't just stand quietly in the sidelanes farming when your base is being pillaged by the enemy team. Nonetheless, you are nearly ready to go all guns blazing on the enemy team, and if there isn't anything major happening, just keep farming till you get your Rapier.

End Game

Onslaught of the Holy and Divine Razor

Boom! You have your Rapier, now don't get cocky or overconfident, and especially not go kamikaze, because the enemy team will probably do all they can to bring you down by any means possible, and once your 3 strikes are out, you have to start neut farming to get another Aegis. Start pushing with your team immediately after you have the Rapier. Remember to always appear later than your fellow allies, so that the enemy team will be confused when you pop up, since they have to aim for you, but they already aimed for one of your allies, so hopefully, they will be slightly disorganised and you can just pick them off. Usually in pubs, that would be the standard case scenario, but in ihes, make sure your team helps you out as well, and have the disablers work their socks off and start stunning heroes while you pick them off.

Muahaha...TRY AND KILL ME NOW!!!

Now I know I used this tagline for my Avy guide, but ironically this tagline seems even more plausible to this guide. Razor with Rapier does not = unkillable, merely that he is a good damage dealer. Don't start going kamikaze and then fail your team by losing all your lives and having to neut farm for another aegis, or worse, losing the rapier and having an enemy team member pick it up.

Remember the finish line

Don't forget the aim of the game. The Throne. The Tree. That should always be the primary target. If your enemies are starting to crawl back up and gaining a few frags always remember the strength of numbers. Namely, the strength of numbers of mega creeps. Then you can have the pleasure of saying "GG". Hope you liked the guide, and this basically concludes the Strategy section. Good Luck, and Have Fun.

Replays

Screens will come in soon, as with all my guides, it takes a couple of days, I want to organise it first.
As for replays...here they are.

This one's an IH, with Sera's hosting making it not so tough for me to last hit with Razor, which I can tell you is bloody tough if you are from SG on a US host. So anyways, this one went so-so, I didn't have a particularly good early game, Negi's Leo kept ganking, and it was quite successful. However, during the mid-late game period things went better and its good to show some techniques of handling Razor in an IH.
Razor_2.w3g ( 759.77k )


This one is also an IH, however this one was a 4 v 4 IH. It's good to see how to use Razor and farm up to that critical Relic, and good to teach on certain aspects of playing Razor. Enjoy both replays!
Razor_3_IH.w3g ( 721.92k )