Dota 2: How to play Ringmaster (Item Build and Playstyle)

Ringmaster is the latest to join the Dota 2 roster of heroes. It’s a ranged support hero with some nice disables, nukes, and even an escape. Most players run this hero as a Position 4 because of his excellent base stats and kill potential. After a couple of levels, the hero can start roaming the map, offering assistance wherever needed.

Wondering how to start playing Ringmaster in Dota 2? We’ve compiled this build guide showcasing all her spells, talents, and item builds to make things easier for you.

Dota 2 Ringmaster Hero Overview

Ringmaster is a ranged, Intelligence hero in Dota 2 with three abilities and an ultimate. Three of his abilities can be leveled up four times, and the ultimate ability can be leveled up three times.

Here’s how they work:

Ringmaster’s innate ability, Dark Carnival Breaker, grants him an extra ability anytime an enemy hero dies within 925 units. The ability can be accessed in the Souvanair Slot (D).

There are three abilities that he can gain this way:

• Funhouse Mirror: Creates an imperfect illusion of Ringmaster for 18 seconds. It takes 300% damage and deals 28% damage. Casting it makes you invulnerable for 0.2 seconds.
• Strongman Tonic: Somewhat similar to Alchemist’s Berserk Potion, the Ringmaster chucks a potion at an ally or himself to temporarily increase his strength. The effect lasts for four seconds and fades away over the duration.
• Whoopee Cushion: Leap forward 400 units and leave a toxic pool behind you for 3 seconds that slows enemies. You can use it to jump across cliffs.

The ability you get from kills or assists in your Souvanair Slot is entirely random. All of these abilities have a 3-second cooldown.

Picking up the Aghanim’s Shard item grants Ringmaster a new ability called Spotlight. It’s an area-targeted spell that casts a bright, moving spotlight around the target area. Enemies caught in it miss 30% of their attacks, and invisible enemies also get revealed when in the spotlight.

Related

Dota 2: Ranking System Explained (All Ranks Listed)

This guide details everything about the Ranking System in Dota 2, including a list of all the ranks and their MMR requirements.

Dota 2 Ringmaster Build Guide

Since Ringmaster was recently launched, players are still playing around with the hero, trying to figure out his limits. In most games, the hero is being played as a Position 4 Support. Some have tried running the hero as a Midlaner, but Ringmaster didn’t find much success in that role. Here’s how you want to build the hero:

Abilities and Talent Build

Ringmaster is a pretty straightforward hero to build in the Support position. The ability build is pretty standard across the board, but the talents can be swapped out depending on the matchup and game situation.

The following image showcases the standard ability and talent build for the hero:

As you can see, the first spell that you’ll want to max out is Impalent Arts. This is your main damage-dealing spell, and this ability’s cast range allows you to play from a distance. Pick up one point of Tame the Beast and Escape Act in levels 2 and 4, respectively.

Instead of the extra cast range for Escape Act, you can go with the extra AOE for Tame the Beast when you reach level 10 if you think you can play a bit more aggressively. At level 25, however, the Escape Act talent is extremely strong.

Item Progression

Ringmaster has pretty decent starting stats for an Intelligence Support hero. A set of tangos with a few stat items and a set of Observer and Sentry Wards should be fine for the starting items. We also recommend taking a Magic Stick if you go in a spammy lane.

Since the hero relies mostly on his abilities, and all of them eat a decent chunk of your Mana Pool, Arcane Boots is a no-brainer for this hero. You’ll also want to go for a Null Talisman using the Circlet to boost your overall stats. Aether Lens will let you keep your distance while casting your spell, and since it’s cheap, try to pick it up as soon as you can.

For your core items, you’ve got two options. You can either go for a Mekansm and try to finish up the Guardian Greaves. Or you can go for a Rod of Atos and A Force Staff for better positioning and crowd control. Pick up the Aghanim’s Shard early if the enemy has an invisibility hero. The missed chance is also way too good to pass up.

Depending on certain matchups, picking up a Spirit Vessel or Eul’s Scepter of Divinity is also a good idea on Ringmaster. Tanky heroes with high health regen like Husker become much easier to take down with the Spirit Vessel. The Eul’s Scepter, on the other hand, gives you another defensive tool when the enemies have too much silence.

Related

5 Best Games To Play If You Love DOTA 2

Players who want an experience similar to DOTA 2 can find those games listed here.

If your team needs an additional disable, Scyth of Vyse can be a nice option late in the game. Lotus Orb is great for dispelling and lets you keep your Carry safe during team fights. If you don’t need to help out your team, Octarine Core late game will let you use your spells more frequently.

How to Play Ringmaster in Dota 2

When playing as the Ringmaster, you want to go to the Offlane with your Position 3 as the Position 4 Support. With a high Health Pool and decent strength gain, your hero is much beefier than the enemy Position 5 in the early stage. Use it to your advantage and play aggressively on the lane.

Use your third ability to constantly harass and chip away at the enemy duo’s health. This will force them to invest more in regen, which will give you and your ally a gold advantage. Level 3 is your first big power spike, with one point into your first ability and two points into your second. If your Position 3 has a stun, use it as a setup for your first ability.

While Tame the Beasts is an excellent ability during the laning phase, you don’t want to rely on it too much during team fights in the mid-game. Play around the map, securing visions and hunting down any stacked jungle camps on your opponent’s side. When a fight breaks out, try to position close to the backline.

Use your Escape Art ability as a defensive tool to help your core dodge key enemy spells. When using your ultimate, try to catch as many enemies as possible. Constantly spam your third ability from a distance to keep draining the enemy hero’s health.

That’s pretty much all there’s to know about playing Ringmaster in Dota 2. Frankly, it’s not the most broken hero to release in the game. Winter Wyvern, when it first came out, was pretty much impossible to play against. Compared to that, Ringmaster is pretty balanced.

Dota 2

Systems

Released

July 9, 2013

Multiplayer

Online Co-Op , Online Multiplayer

Engine

Source 2

ESRB

r

Expand