Keeper of the Light Dota 2 Guide – Light the Way in Patch 7.18

Keeper of the Light is a support hero who provides his team with incredibly strong de-push and wave-clear. He has the ability to replenish a massive amount of his allies’ mana and can also deplete the mana of his enemies. His ultimate ability provides him with more team-fight potential, as it allows him to deal damage from a safer distance and to also do so more effectively. It also allows him to blind his enemies and potentially save his allies from harm.

KotL has an incredibly strong Aghanim’s Scepter upgrade which allows him to heal allies through Illuminate. It helps you to push offensively, since it will keep your creeps alive and will help to sustain your allies as well.  Aghanim’s Scepter also provides KotL with unobstructed vision around him during the day which makes a Gem of True Sight a very effective item on him as he can de-ward the map and take complete map control. His skill build is somewhat flexible, but he usually skills Illuminate first, or Chakra Magic if he has allies who can spam spells and harass the enemies effectively. Mana Leak is rarely prioritized but it can be effective in certain situations.

dota-2-kotl

@ Valve

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Keeper of the Light Item Build

Starting Items

  • Iron Branch
  • Healing Salve
  • Tango
  • Wind Lace
  • Clarity
  • Observer Ward
  • Sentry Ward
  • Enchanted Mango

Early Game Items

  • Tranquil Boots
  • Magic Wand

Mid Game Items

  • Aghanim’s Scepter
  • Glimmer Cape
  • Force Staff
  • Aether Lens

Late Game Items

  • Boots of Travel
  • Scythe of Vyse

Situational Items

  • Hood of Defiance
  • Gem of True Sight
  • Ghost Scepter
  • Pipe of Insight
  • Rod of Atos
  • Aeon Disk
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Keeper of the Light Skill Build

  1. Illuminate
  2. Chakra Magic
  3. Chakra Magic
  4. Illuminate
  5. Illuminate
  6. Chakra Magic
  7. Illuminate
  8. Chakra Magic
  9. Spirit Form
  10. Talent
  11. Mana Leak
  12. Spirit Form
  13. Mana Leak
  14. Mana Leak
  15. Talent
  16. Mana Leak
  17. Spirit Form
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Complete Keeper of the Light Spell guide

Illuminate

Keeper of the Light begins to channel a beam of light which builds in power the longer it is charged. When released, KotL sends out a wave of light which travels in the target direction dealing damage to all enemies in its path. The light provides vision as it travels. Aghanim’s Scepter makes the wave of light heal all allies in its path for the same values it damages for. This spell is usually maxed either first or second. Be careful about where you stand while you channel it, since KotL is quite vulnerable for the duration. Overall, it’s an incredibly strong spell at all stages of the game. While the spell is channeling, Illuminate is replaced with Release Illuminate.

In the mid and late game it allows you to defend towers incredibly easily, and makes it very hard for enemies to push into your base if you’re still alive. It can be used to zone enemies away from an allied hero as well, if they can see that you are channeling it. It’s your main farming tool and harass spell, but try not to push the creep out in the early game when using it. For maximum damage, communicate with your allies to disable enemies as the channel time is about to end. This way, they are less likely to move out of it and your allies will also be able to follow-up before the enemy has much of a chance to react.  Illuminate can be used very effectively to farm stacked jungle camps and to push lanes out in the mid and late game.

Mana Leak

KotL places a debuff on the enemy target for several seconds, which causes them to lose a percentage of their mana whenever they move. If they run out of mana as a result of moving, they will be stunned for several seconds. Mana Leak is a strong spell at all stages of the game, but particularly so in the mid and late game, as the movement speed of enemies increases. This spell is usually maxed lastly because it’s less useful than the other spells in the mid game.

During the laning phase, use Mana Leak on enemies who can harass you and your allies with their spells. This will drain some of their mana, or force them to stand still, during which time your team can go aggressive on them. It’s cooldown decreases with each skill point, which means you can use it quite often in the mid and late game when you have it maxed. It’s effective when cast on practically any hero, but focus on fast or mobile heroes and spell-casters, since you’ll usually get most value from casting it on them. It can also be used effectively on enemies with low mana, since they will run the risk of getting stunned if they move, so keep an eye on the mana-pools of enemies.

dota-2-kotl-ingame

@ Valve

Chakra Magic

Keeper of the Light replenishes the mana of a target ally and increases their total mana-pool. Chakra Magic also reduces the cooldown of the next spell that the target casts by several seconds. This spell is usually maxed either first or second since it provides his team with a massive amount of mana regeneration. Chakra Magic should be prioritized over Illuminate if you have allies who have very powerful and spammable spells in the laning phase and early game. The cooldown reduction also affects passive spells. At level 3, you should almost always have 2 points in Chakra Magic, because the spells efficiency is doubled between level 1 and 2.

During team-fights in the mid and late game, prioritize this spell on your allies who are low on mana. This is because unless you absolutely need it, you will be able to use it on yourself after 14 seconds (at max level) and it may help your allies to stay alive more than it would if you used it on yourself. It’s especially important to cast it on allies with spells which cost a massive amount of mana or who have disables on relatively low cooldowns. This is because the cooldown reduction will allow your allies to disable enemies more often. This skill is what makes KotL one of the best hard supports in Dota 2.

Spirit Form

KotL becomes a source of light, gaining two new abilities and not needing to stand still to channel Illuminate. Aghanim’s Scepter grants permanent Spirit Form and grants unobstructed vision during the daytime. Spirit Form is usually skilled after maxing Illuminate and Chakra Magic, and most often after getting one point in Mana Leak. This is because the benefits from Spirit Form aren’t as important in the early game. In some situations, it can be good to get Spirit Form at level 6 so that you can use Blinding Light, but it isn’t always necessary.

You should primarily pop Spirit Form when you need to use Blinding Light to save yourself or an ally. However, it can also be good to use it so that you can teleport an ally from another side of the map to an engagement or push. Consider though, that Spirit Form has a 40 second downtime at level 1. The ability to channel Illuminate without having to stand still is invaluable when it comes to defending towers and contributing to team-fights. You can cast Illuminate from behind trees and continue to move around a fight and by doing so, enemies may not know where to expect the damage to come from. It also makes it safer for you to channel the spell, because you won’t necessarily be as vulnerable standing still for as long.

Recall

After a short delay, KotL will recall a targeted ally hero to his position. However, if the ally takes damage from an enemy hero, they will not teleport. By targeting the ground, you select the hero nearest the cursor. You can use Recall to summon an ally who is on another side of the map to join in a team-fight or a tower push. Consider whether or not it would be a waste of your carry’s time to join a fight if they are farming somewhere and the fight doesn’t look very good. Enemies may also not want to be teleported if they aren’t able to contribute much to a team-fight, so try to predict what will happen after you teleport an ally in. Also keep your eyes out in case an ally uses their buyback, since you can use Recall to summon the ally immediately to the fight.

Blinding Light

KotL creates a blinding flash at the target area, knocking enemies back away from the center and reducing their accuracy for several seconds. Enemies are not disabled during the knockback, which means that they can still move and make actions and will not interrupt channeled spells. Blinding Light can also knock enemies over impassable terrain. At all levels, enemies will suffer from an 80% miss chance for a varying amount of time, making it incredibly powerful when enemies are chasing your fleeing allies. When combined with Mana Leak, a total of 20% of the target’s maximum mana will be removed. Try to use this spell on as many enemies as possible to maximize the blinding effect on your enemies, although be careful about knocking enemies back, since this can be detrimental to your allies.


The best Keeper of the Light Talents

Level 10: 8% Spell Lifesteal or +25 Movement Speed

The Spell Lifesteal is much less significant than the movement speed in almost every situation. The only spell you can lifesteal from is Illuminate, and it’s very hard to use this spell to reliably heal sustain yourself, since it can be very hard to hit several enemies with it. KotL also almost always buys Tranquil Boots which provide enough sustainability anyway, which makes the minor Spell Lifesteal practically useless. On the other hand, the extra movement speed helps KotL to position himself for all of his spells which have cast ranges, and will also help him to stay out of trouble by being able to position himself in safer areas more easily. Overall, the extra movement speed is almost always preferred.

Level 15: +40% XP Gain or +350 Cast Range

At level 15, the extra cast range is pretty much always a stronger option. There are a few reasons for this, but the main reason is because almost all of KotL’s spells have cast ranges. Illuminate, Chakra Magic, Mana Leak and Blinding Light as well as any items benefit from the extra cast range, and the fact that the amount is 350 is very significant. An extra 350 cast range is far more than even an Aether Lens provides. Another reason is because KotL doesn’t really benefit from levels that much by level 15. He should have Chakra Magic and Illuminate maxed by now, Spirit Form doesn’t get much better with each point in it and KotL’s stat gain is rather insignificant. His intelligence gain is nice but ultimately insignificant considering Chakra Magic exists to keep his mana-pool topped up. His level 25 talent isn’t overwhelmingly strong either.

Level 20: +40% Magic Resistance or +300 Chakra Magic Mana

The extra Chakra Magic Mana is almost always preferred in Dota 2 esports. It doubles the amount of mana it provides the target with, making it even more impactful in the late game. This will also reduce the frequency at which you need to replenish your allies’ mana pools and this will enable your allies to potentially do more in team-fights. This makes your job as a mana-dispenser significantly easier.

The extra magic resistance can be very strong in the situation where there is a large amount of incoming magical damage from the enemy team and also if you have allies who don’t rely on casting spells or who aren’t likely to have many mana issues in the late game. It will help you to stay alive, thus being able to contribute more to team-fights before being killed. It’s particularly strong if you have some defensive items which will allow you to get of a bad situation, since it will increases your chances of staying alive.

Level 25: +2s Mana Leak Stun or +200 Illuminate Damage/Heal

The extra Illuminate damage/heal is generally preferred at level 25. It will help you to defend or push against stronger creeps as the game time goes on and as barracks are destroyed by either team. The extra heal is usually far more significant than the damage, but it helps you to keep creep-waves pushed out and will also sustain your allied heroes in team-fights. A fully charged Illuminate will heal all allies in its path for 700 health on a 10 seconds cooldown, which is incredibly powerful.

The Mana Leak stun can be good if you’re playing against heroes who move about the battlefield a lot and if your team would benefit from kiting them. Heroes such as Invoker, Bristleback, and many melee heroes will have to be much more careful when affected by Mana Leak, because if they run out of mana, they will potentially be stunned for 5 seconds which is a massive amount of time. This can be more or less effective if you have allies who can forcibly reposition enemies so as to drain their mana further, or if you have allies who have other forms to burn mana. It can also be harder to use against enemies who possess means to dispel de-buffs. However, it does have a 10 second cooldown at max level which is quite strong.

The extra stun duration is a lot more situational, but if you think that your team can benefit from it more than the extra damage/heal, you should go for it.


What Items to build on Keeper of the Light

Starting Items

  • Iron Branch
  • Healing Salve
  • Tango
  • Wind Lace
  • Clarity
  • Observer Ward
  • Sentry Ward
  • Enchanted Mango

As a lane support, Keeper of the Light doesn’t need many items beyond basic regen items. He should get any necessary Support items and enough regen for his lane. He generally doesn’t need much mana regeneration due to Chakra Magic, but one Clarity can be helpful in case you run out of mana or for an ally. Wind Lace can be good because it can be built into Tranquil Boots which are almost always the best boots to get on KotL and because it allows him to move incredibly quickly in the early game, able to harass enemies easily and making him much harder to kill. An Enchanted Mango can be good if you need to immediately restore mana to use Chakra Magic on yourself or an ally to score a kill.

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Early Game Items

Tranquil Boots

Tranquil Boots are almost always the best boots to get on KotL because they fulfill his needs effectively. Arcane Boots are practically never needed since Chakra Magic will keep your allies mana pools topped up, and Tranquils help to keep you alive against magic damage since he is quite squishy. The movement speed they provide also helps you to position yourself for all of your spells and will keep you active around the map, since you won’t ever need to go back to base.

Magic Wand

A Magic Wand provides you with another means of regeneration lost health or mana. It can be skipped in games where either there aren’t many fights happening, or if the enemies have very few active spells. It’s a very cheap and effective item however, which makes it good in most games.

Mid Game Items

Aghanim’s Scepter

Aghanim’s Scepter provides Keeper of the Light with a substantial power spike. He permanently gains two new spells and Illuminate heals allies for the same damage values during the day time. He also gains unobstructed vision during the day time, which is incredibly powerful at all stages in the game. It also makes map control much more easy since you can buy a Gem of True Sight and de-ward everywhere around the map.

It’s a core item in every game and should usually be the first item you get in the game. It can be quite expensive and hard to farm in some games, but Illuminate allows you to farm a lot more easily compared to many other support heroes. You will gain gold from defending towers, and you can use Illuminate on stacked neutral camps. Just make sure that you’re not draining too much farm from the map and that your cores have somewhere to farm. That said, Aghanim’s is incredibly helpful for your entire team, so your team should prioritize it quite highly.

Glimmer Cape

A Glimmer Cape is a very strong item on Keeper of the Light because he can use it while he is channeling Illuminate. He also very high movement speed which means that you can often escape very bad situations if enemies don’t have true-sight. It’s also a great defensive item for any support hero and it will help your allies as well. The magic resistance is very helpful against lineups with magical damage and it’s very strong against melee heroes who you need to kite around.

Force Staff

A Force Staff is a great item on KotL and can in many cases be the first item you get, even before an Aghanim’s Scepter. If you’re playing against heroes such as Clockwerk Tusk or Riki who can slow or trap you and bring you down very easily, a Force Staff will do a lot to keep you and your allies alive. Often Blinding Light will help you enough to keep you alive against many heroes, so although it’s not common to rush a Force Staff, it’s definitely worth considering if the enemy team have very mobile and powerful heroes.

Aether Lens

After you have gotten an Aghanim’s Scepter and either a Glimmer Cape and/or a Force Staff, an Aether Lens can be a great item to get next. Almost all of your spells have a cast-range, and the extra cast range will help you to reach mobile allies with Chakra Magic, mobile enemies with Mana Leak and will allow you to cast all of your spells from a safer distance. It’s great against casters who have large mana-pools, since it can force them to stand still or lose a lot of mana and potentially stun them. Draining certain enemies of their mana-pools can also practically remove them from the fight. Overall, it’s a great item to get in most games.

dota-2-kotl-main

@ Steam Workshop

Late Game Items

Boots of Travel

In the late game, Boots of Travel are excellent on Keeper of the Light. If you have an Aghanim’s Scepter, you will have full vision of the area around you during daytime, and this will help you to safely keep lanes pushed out. Recall can also be used on allies who can threaten towers if you have successfully pushed a lane out, since they will usually be able to use their unused Town Portal Scroll. You will be able to teleport to different lanes, pushing them out and will also allow you to move faster between different creep-camps to farm more effectively. The extra movement speed will also help you to position yourself to cast your spells from a safer distance and to reach allies and enemies to cast your spells faster. Probably the first pick for any of the best Dota 2 players.

Scythe of Vyse

A Scythe of Vyse is an incredibly strong late game item which provides you with an incredibly strong disable. Keeper of the Light doesn’t really need many items past Aghanim’s Scepter and some defensive items to keep him alive, so he should prioritize team-fight and utility items afterwards. A Scythe of Vyse provides a lot of helpful stats and the hex is always helpful to your team.

Situational Items

Hood of Defiance

A Hood of Defiance can be a good item to get in the early-to-mid game if you’re playing against lots of magical damage. The damage block and magic resistance will really help to keep you alive since KotL is so squishy.

Gem of True Sight

A Gem of True Sight is very powerful on Keeper if he has an Aghanim’s Scepter. It will provide him with a massive amount of map control during the day time, and it’s especially powerful against invis heroes. You should be wary about getting one if you have heroes on your team who benefit from invisibility and if you can potentially be picked off by a mobile hero who can easily get on top of you. KotL is very fast and stays far back, but if an enemy can get on top of you, you’re usually quite easy to bring down

Ghost Scepter

A Ghost Scepter can be a great item to get on KotL since he is a squishy hero who can be killed quickly by the enemy carries. A Ghost Scepter helps him to stay alive when focused down, and his high movement combined with Blinding Light and at least one defensive item can make him very hard to kill and often requires him to be burst down quickly.

Pipe of Insight

A Pipe of Insight provides KotL with very high magic resistance which will help him to stay alive against lineups who deal a lot of magical damage. The active barrier will also help his team to survive. It’s strong on KotL because he generally doesn’t have very much trouble farming items, and it can be very beneficial to your allies if you get a utility item up in the mid game.

Rod of Atos

A Rod of Atos provides you with a strong root and some decent stats. It can be an incredibly helpful item for your team if you are playing against enemies who are hard to lockdown, or in case you have spells which are easier to land against immobile targets. The intelligence and health is very helpful, and it’s quite good on KotL because he can usually farm these kinds of more expensive utility items.

Aeon Disk

An Aeon Disk is a rather situational item but it can be good. If you are only likely to be killed as a result of being disabled or initiated upon, then the active self-purge and damage block will give you a short window to escape danger. It’s very situational, but if it will help you to survive engagements in the late game, it can have a large impact on your team’s ability to defend a push. KotL can provide a significant amount of de-push and sustain in the late game, and his impact is almost always noticed, so staying alive is important.

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Interesting Keeper of the Light Match-ups

Mobile heroes

Heroes who can quickly and easily get on top of Keeper of the Light are usually very strong against him, since they can usually burst him down quite quickly. Blinding Light gives you a chance to push these heroes away, but if they have magic immunity, then there is little you can do. Make sure you buy defensive items against these heroes to avoiding getting picked off too easily before or during a team-fight.

Timbersaw

Timbersaw is highly vulnerable to Mana Leak. This is because if he uses Timber Chain he will lose a significant amount of mana and additionally, he may potentially run out of mana and be stunned mid-way through the chain, making him much easier to catch. There are many heroes with this kind of interaction, such as Magnus or Mirana, but they are not stunned mid-way through like Timber is.

Low mana-pool heroes

Heroes who have low mana-pools are very susceptible to Mana Leak, since they won’t be able to travel very far without running out of mana for their spells. If you combine this spell with Blinding Light, they’ll lose even more mana.

Strong laning spells

Heroes such as Sven, Wraith King and Luna are excellent carries to lane with Keeper of the Light. This is because you can constantly supply these heroes with Mana through Chakra Magic and these spells can be spammed during the laning phase to completely zone enemies out. In most cases, this will win you the lane, since they will not be able to keep up with the harass damage. However, this usually requires both KotL and the respective carry getting some levels first, since Chakra Magic isn’t that strong with just one point in it.

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