Techies is a truly unique hero, who completely changes the pace of the game and can be very hard to play against when fully utilized effectively. Proximity Mines and Remote Mines can make it very hard for enemies to push against him and Stasis Traps are very strong at keeping enemies disabled and can be very hard to evade.

Techies’ skill build is very straight-forward with little variation, although his item build can be diversified a bit. His play-style is very unusual in that he spends most of his time placing various mines around the map, and usually has minimal contribution to team-fights, since all of his spells have low cast range, long cast animations and high mana costs.

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Techies Item build

Starting Items

• Clarity
• Tango
• Boots of Speed
• Orb of Venom
• Gauntlet of Strength
• Observer Ward
• Sentry Ward

Early Game Items

• Soul Ring
• Arcane Boots
• Tranquil Boots

Mid Game Items

• Eul’s Staff of Divinity
• Force Staff
• Aghanim’s Scepter
• Kaya

Late Game Items

• Scythe of Vyse
• Octarine Core
• Bloodstone

Situational Items

• Dagon
• Mjollnir
• Hurricane Pike
• Bloodthorn
• Ghost Scepter

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Techies Skill Order

1. Proximity Mines
2. Blast Off!
3. Proximity Mines
4. Blast Off!
5. Proximity Mines
6. Remote Mines
7. Proximity Mines
8. Blast Off!
9. Blast Off!
10. Talent
11. Stasis Trap
12. Remote Mines
13. Stasis Trap
14. Stasis Trap
15. Talent
16. Stasis Trap
17. –
18. Remote Mines

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Read Also: Techies Dota 2 Guide

What spells does Techies have and how to use them?

Proximity Mines

Techies plant a mine which is invisible and hidden which explodes after a 1.6 second delay when an enemy comes near enough to it and stays near it for the delay. Proximity Mines deal 25% damage to buildings. Proximity Mines are usually maxed firstly because you spend most of the laning phase and early game placing these mines around the enemy team’s jungle and side-shop. Increased Proximity damage also allows you to push towers a lot faster. Proximity Mines can be destroyed during the 1.6 second delay, since the Mines are revealed for this duration. They have 1 HP at all levels and give a 25 gold bounty, which means that you should avoid placing them in open areas, especially against ranged heroes. The beginning of this delay also triggers a sound which can be heard by enemies, even through the Fog of War.

Placed mines have an activation period of 1.75 seconds, which means that a placed Proximity Mine will not detonate for 3.35 seconds if placed next to a structure or hero. This means that it’s very hard to use Proximity Mines offensively in fights without long or chained disables. The mine will deal damage equal to the current level of the mine, rather than the level it was when it was when placed. An effective way to place Proximity Mines is in the shape of a Triangle with a Stasis Trap between them all. This means that if an enemy walks into one of them, the trap will trigger and all of the other mines will also trigger.

Stasis Trap

Techies place a mine which will immediately root nearby enemies when they enter the activation radius. Stasis Trap has a 2 second activation delay when placed, although it can often be effectively coupled with other disables. Stasis Trap is maxed lastly because you rely more on your other spells to get kills in the early and mid game. It’s generally a lot more useful in the late game because it contributes more to fights than anything else, and team-fights are more common in the late game.

Techies struggles with mana, and having another spell to use causes even more mana-issues. However, if you are facing very mobile heroes, it can be good to get 1 level of Stasis Trap earlier if you also have allies with decent disables to help with the activation delay.

Avoid placing Stasis Traps too close to one another because when one is triggered, all other ones within 600 range are destroyed. That said, it can still be good to place them quite near to one another since it’s still good to catch enemies who are otherwise hard to lockdown. Unlike Proximity Mines, the duration of the Stasis Trap is determined by what level the skill was when it was placed. The trigger range of Stasis Trap is 400, although it will affect enemies within a 600 range. Try to place Stasis Traps all over the map, and particularly where in places where fights are likely to occur.

Blast Off!

After a short delay, Techies launch to the target destination and deal massive AoE damage to all nearby enemies as well as silencing them. Blast Off! deals 50% of Techies’ HP to themselves and this damage can be fatal. This spell is maxed secondly because it allows you to get a lot of kills in the early and mid game. The silence duration is very long, especially at level 4, so consider using it against heroes who rely a lot on spells if it doesn’t risk your life unless you can’t contribute anything else to a fight.

Minefield Sign

Techies place a warning sign to the enemy that they may be entering a minefield. This sign cannot be destroyed, has no other effects and lasts for 180 seconds. This skill does not require leveling and is known from the beginning of the game. Aghanim’s Scepter makes the sign hide any nearby mines from true sight. Only one sign can be placed at a time, and it cannot be interacted with in any way, which also means that it cannot block movement. The Aghanim’s Buff has a very small radius, so you need to place it practically on top the mines which you want to hide. With this spell, there is a lot of potential to play mind games and tilt your opponents.

Remote Mines

Techies throws an invisible remote mine at the target location which deals damage when detonated. Techies can detonate individual mines or select them in a cluster with Focused Detonate. Remote Mines should be placed by towers and in lanes in the early and mid game, and more-or-less everywhere in the late game as you gain more mana regeneration. Remote Mines are excellent when it comes to defending as well as preventing potential pushes, by killing enemies who are pushing a lane in.

Focused Detonate

Techies detonates all Remote Mines within the target area. This spell is linked with Remote Mines. Focused Detonate allows Techies to destroy several mines at once and instantly burst down potentially several heroes. Be careful about using Focused Detonate too early however, because it may be better to wait until more heroes have gathered over the mines. Also avoid keeping the area of effect over Remote Mines which will not damage anyone.

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What Talents to Pick on Techies

Level 10: +30% XP Gain or -4s Proximity Mines Cooldown

The reduced Proximity Mines cooldown is generally a bit more preferable because it allows you to place your mines around the map a bit sooner. This scales very well into the late game as well, as you will be able to place more mines in your base while defending high-ground, for example. The extra XP gain is quite a lot and can be very good if you expect the game to last into the late game or if you are a bit behind and know you will catch up in the next few team-fights.

Level 15: +300 Blast Off Damage or +4 Mana Regen

The extra mana regeneration is almost always helpful on Techies because it keeps you planting your mines throughout the game. The extra Blast Off! damage can be good if you are able to reliably land the spell against a hero like Clockwerk. Generally it’s a riskier talent choice because it’s a harder to get as much value from it than it is from the mana regeneration because it relies on being able to land the spell. The mana regeneration will almost always pay off on the long run.

Level 20: +75 Movement Speed or +150 Gold/Min

The extra GPM will help you to get late game items such as Scythe of Vyse and Bloodstone a lot more easily and this can be very helpful if the game is likely to last a lot longer from when you hit level 25. If you are already very farmed and don’t need many more items, then the movement speed may be better. The movement speed allows you to move around the map faster and place mines where they need to be sooner. It also helps to mitigate Techies’ very low base movement speed and makes him a bit harder to catch out in general.

Level 25: +251 Damage or +25 Mines Movement Speed

Techies’ level 25 talents are quite gimmicky, and not especially powerful. The extra damage can be very strong because of their long attack range, especially when coupled with items like Mjollnir or Hurricane Pike. However, it can often be hard to attack enemies reliably given Techies’ low movement speed. The mines movement speed doesn’t offer much, but it can be used in a few interesting ways that can be helpful. For example, you can place mines in more rough locations and move them to keep lanes pushed out, or move them around your base or other lanes as needed. The movement speed can also be good against mobile heroes who can potentially get locked down by Stasis Traps.

In general, you will usually get more use out of the damage since it increases Techies damage output and allows him to contribute more to team-fights, especially if you farm some items to go with it.

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Which Items to build on Techies

Starting Items

• Clarity
• Tango
• Boots of Speed
• Orb of Venom
• Gauntlet of Strength
• Observer Ward
• Sentry Ward

Techies starting items depend a bit on his lane. Usually Techies goes off lane and places aggressive Proximity Mines around the enemy jungle and side shop. Having several Clarities is vital on Techies as it will keep you casting Proximity Mines and Blast Off! Boots of Speed can be good starting items because they make up for Techies’ atrocious movement speed. Having Boots of Speed are also good on Techies because they help you move around the map a lot in the laning phase, which Techies does a lot of. It also gives him a much better chance to escape from bad situations.

An Orb of Venom can be a good item if you expect to be able to right-click harass an enemy melee carry lots in your lane. This is because it grants a big boost to your right-click damage in the laning phase. Techies has exceptionally long attack range which means he can stand far back and harass enemies from a distance, particularly if they don’t have many ways to threaten you. Gauntlets of Strength can be good starting items on Techies because they can be built into a Soul Ring.

Wards should be gotten because Techies doesn’t need many starting items and can help his team out. In addition to this, an Observer Ward can scout incoming enemies and you can sometimes use this information to land Blast Off! more easily. Dota 2 Sentry Wards can be good against heroes with invisibility as well.

Early Game Items

Soul Ring

A Soul Ring is a core item on Techies because it provides a massive increase to his mana regeneration. Make sure to use Soul Ring before you place any mines if possible, as this will effectively grant you a 0 mana-cost Mine every 25 seconds.

Tranquil Boots

You should decide between Tranquil Boots or Arcane Boots when playing Techies. Tranquils are great because they make up for the HP cost of Soul Ring. They also increase your movement speed more than most other boots which allows you to roam the map a bit faster and place more mines in different places. The HP regen is also very helpful when it comes to restoring HP lost to Blast Off! if you survive a fight after using it. If you’re taking a lot of damage from enemies in the laning phase and early game and need some form of HP regen, then Tranquil Boots may be more preferred over Arcane Boots.

Arcane Boots

Arcane Boots are another excellent choice of boots to get on Techies, and are generally the standard boots to get on him. This is because they further help Techies with his mana issues and are very efficient when coupled with Soul Ring. In the early game when you lack much mana regeneration, make sure to drop your Arcane Boots on the ground before using Soul Ring, as this will effectively grant you more mana afterwards. This is because of the way it manipulates the percentage of your mana-pool. Arcane Boots will allow you to keep placing your mines all across the map more often without running as low on mana as you would otherwise.

Mid Game Items

Eul’s Staff of Divinity

A Eul’s Staff of Divinity is a good item on Techies because it provides several helpful passives as well as an active which has great synergy with your other spells. Firstly it grants a lot of mana regeneration which makes up for the high mana costs of your spells. The movement speed it provides will also allow you to roam the map a bit faster as well. The active can be used either offensively to set up for Blast Off! or any of your mines, or defensively to purge yourself of any debuffs including slows or damage over time or to evade incoming projectiles.

The ability to cyclone enemies for 2.5 seconds will also allow any placed mines to finish their activation delay and will affect enemies shortly after landing. In general, it allows you to contribute to team-fights much more easily than you could otherwise. In most games this is a core item on Techies, although it may be less useful than other mid game items in certain match-ups.

Force Staff

A Force Staff is another great item on Techies since it adds a large amount of intelligence and some HP regen which makes up the HP cost of Soul Ring. A Force Staff is core in almost every game because Techies has incredibly low movement speed and no innate escape abilities, other than the potential deny from Blast Off! Overall, a Force Staff will greatly increase your survivability and is practically needed against several heroes that can kill you if they get close enough. You can even use the Force ability on enemies when they are facing a large number of your mines, be it Proximity Mines or Remote Mines. Just be sure to use Focused Detonate if they are Remote Mines.

Aghanim’s Scepter

An Aghanim’s Scepter should be gotten on Techies in every single game at some point. It makes Minefield Sign hide all of your mines from true sight and makes Remote Mines deal more damage and increases their cast range. This is important because Techies spends almost all of his time placing mines around the map, and the increased damage makes them even more dangerous. The increased cast range also allows you to contribute to team-fights from an even safer distance which is important because Techies suffers from very low mobility.

Kaya

A Kaya can be a great mid game item if you haven’t gotten too many mid game items already. The stats it provides are great although if you already have for example a Eul’s, Force Staff and an Aghanim’s, it’s usually better to farm for stronger late game items since you will also be running out of inventory slots soon. If you don’t need many mid game items such as a Force Staff or Eul’s Scepter, you could get a Kaya instead and place more mines around the map which deal more damage.

Late Game Items

Scythe of Vyse

A Scythe of Vyse is a really strong late game item on Techies because it grants him a massive boost to his mana regeneration as well as a very strong disable. The disable makes it much easier to land Remote Mines as well as Stasis Traps which can keep the enemy disabled for even longer. It will let you contribute to more in team-fights and is overall a very strong late game item.

Octarine Core

An Octarine Core is a very strong late game item if you need to defend your base more. The cooldown reduction allows you to use all of your mines sooner, and it increases your mana-pool by a very significant amount. The spell lifesteal will also help you sustain you which is very useful if you are against lineups with lots of AoE or global damage. The ability to spam your mines sooner will allow you to place mines all around your base and make it much harder for your enemy to take fights in and around your high-ground.

Bloodstone

A Bloodstone is a very strong late game item because it can potentially gain several charges in the late game when you are less likely to die and more likely to be around kills from your mines when defending or pushing towers. The mana regeneration it provides is incredibly helpful as it helps you to spam your mines and use them much more frequently. It will tank you up a lot and provide another way to deny yourself in addition to Blast Off! Overall, it’s a very strong late game item, although it is both too costly and ineffective to buy in the mid game to be worth it.

Situational Items

Dagon

A Dagon 5 can be a very strong late game item if you are facing relatively squishy heroes or if you need more damage on your team. It provides a large amount of intelligence and can be used to burst down enemies very easily when used in conjunction with Blast Off! or Remote Mines. It’s a situational item because it doesn’t provide any mana regeneration, but it can potentially be very strong if there aren’t any other late game items which you could put to greater use. Most importantly, it’s a fun item that often sees use even in professional Dota 2 esports scene.

Mjollnir

A Mjollnir is a very situational item, and should generally only be considered if you chose the +251 damage talent at level 25. The extra attack speed will allow you to dish out a rather significant amount of physical damage in the late game, which works surprisingly well with Techies’ very long attack range. The lightning procs also allow you to defend the high-ground from a safer distance as you will be able to clear creep-waves a lot more easily. Make sure to use the active on an ally who front-lines more than you do.

Hurricane Pike

A Hurricane Pike is another item which can be good if you chose the damage talent at level 25. The active can be used to keep yourself alive from enemies that can kill you if they get to close, as well as to kite enemies a lot more easily. It provides a large increase to your already very long attack range and this will allow you to attack enemies from a very far distance. Hurricane Pike also has the added bonus of being a fairly natural upgrade to Force Staff which you may have gotten earlier in the game as well.

Bloodthorn

A Bloodthorn can be a very strong late game item on Techies if you are playing against mobile heroes or spell-casters, or heroes with evasion. The mana regeneration and intelligence is very nice for Techies and helps him to place mines more often. The damage, attack speed, crit chance and true strike can be very strong if you chose the damage talent at level 25 and even without it will allow you and your allies to deal a lot more physical damage. It’s a situational item on Techies because it’s not always very effective, however there are certainly many situations where it can be a very strong pickup.

Ghost Scepter

A Ghost Scepter can be a good item on Techies if there are a lot of physical damage dealers on the enemy team. In general, you shouldn’t need it if you have a Force Staff and a Eul’s, but if you are facing an excessive amount of physical damage, it can be quite an effective purchase.

Ethereal Blade

An Ethereal Blade can be a strong late game item on Techies as it can be used both offensively and defensively to a great extent. If you are facing several physical damage dealers, then it can be very effective to use it either on yourself or allies to prevent enemies from attack any of you, which can be a very good idea if they are magic immune. When used offensively, it will slow enemies and reduce their resistance to magical damage. This makes them very vulnerable to your mines, as the long cast time and activation delays don’t matter as much, and Remote Mines and Blast Off! will deal much more damage.

Aether Lens

An Aether Lens can be a strong mid game item if you need to contribute more to team-fights and it’s very risky for you to move closer to enemies to engage them. The extra mana and cast range are very helpful buffs, and the cast range can be particularly helpful when it comes to locking down mobile heroes, as it will be a bit easier to land Stasis Traps which root enemies or Blast Off! which silences them.

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Interesting Match-ups and how to best prepare

Necronomicon

Necronomicon units are quite strong against Techies because they provide true sight over his Remote Mines, can destroy them easily, and can even walk over Proximity Mines to waste them. It’s quite an expensive item and is almost never gotten specifically to deal with Techies but beware of heroes who naturally buy a Necro-book.

Illusions/summons/creeps

Heroes who naturally spawn illusions, summons or creeps can also very easily deal with Proximity Mines, as they can very easily walk over places where they suspect there to be mines and trigger them to blow up. Illusion heroes may even be able to bait out a Focused Detonate explosion of Remote Mines, thereby potentially wasting several of your mines and a lot of time and also potentially missing out on any future kills.

Templar Assassin

Refraction is very strong against any mines, as it can potentially shield her from 6 explosions. This is very strong when it comes to remove Proximity Mines from across the map, which also makes it harder to snipe her if she’s low and running in the direction of some Mines. It also makes her very strong at pushing towers, because she can often ignore Remote Mines that are placed under the tower unless all of her Refraction charges are first triggered. This is very strong because you usually don’t place more than 6 mines in one place anyway.

True sight

Gem of True Sight and items like Sentry Wards are all very strong against Techies and you’ll almost always find that enemies prepare themselves by buying items such as these. The best Dota 2 players will almost always buy it against Techies. That said, there are some heroes in particular who are very strong against Techies since they can potentially have a large amount of map control. Night Stalker and Keeper of the Light with a Gem of True Sight will receive unobstructed vision and will be able to spot any mines which are hidden by Minefield Sign. Zeus is also very strong at revealing Remote Mines through his Lightning Bolt.

Oracle

Oracle can grant his allies or himself a 100% magic resistance buff, which allows them to search for, and trigger, any Proximity Mines. This is limited in usefulness however, since it also applies a Disarm which means that it cannot be used to protect carries who are taking towers.

Roaming heroes

Heroes who roam during the laning phase and early game always have to worry about if they’re about to walk into Proximity Mines. This makes them much less effective in general when playing against Techies. As Techies, try to place your mines in places where they are likely to gank you or your allies from.

Mobile heroes

Heroes that are very hard to lockdown such as Weaver or Ember Spirit are quite vulnerable to Stasis Trap. Consider getting a Eul’s Scepter against these kinds of heroes, as it makes it much easier to land Stasis Trap against them.

Pudge/Vengeful Spirit/Magnus

Heroes that have spells which force the movement of enemies are very strong on the same team as Techies. This is because they can use their respective spells to move enemies into a large number of mines. This will usually guarantee a kill at almost all points in the game.

Bane

Bane’s Nightmare has an incredible amount of synergy with Techies and his spells, since they all have a long cast delay and short range. Nightmare effectively allows you to move close enough to use any of your spells without them being able to move away.

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