Base Mana: 195
Strength:15 + 1.4 per level
Agility: 26 + 4.05 per level
Intelligence: 15 + 1.5 per level
Base Stats: 56
Stat Gain: 6.95
Move Speed: 295
Base Damage: 39-49
Base Armor: 4.7
N'aix has some of the strangest stats in dota. He’s a strength hero, but has the lowest strength gain in the entire game. He has the highest agility growth of any hero and more intelligence than he needs. N'aix has the second highest final stats in the game - second only to the Troll Priest - and below average MS and base damage.
PROS AND CONS
Pros
- Built-in spell immunity
- Can use orbs without conflicting with his skills
- Very strong late game
Cons
- Abysmal early game
- Item dependant
- Somewhat hard to use well
SKILLS
FEAST [F]
N'aix restores some of his life force by eating flesh.
Level 1 - Regains 10% of attack damage
Level 2 - Regains 20% of attack damage
Level 3 - Regains 30% of attack damage
Level 4 - Regains 40% of attack damage
Feast is arguably your most useful passive skill. It will help you stay in a lane, let your creep neutrals, and enhance your fighting capabilities later on.
Feast Facts:
- Feast is not an orb effect so it can be used with additional life leech or other orbs.
- You cannot leech life from images.
- You cannot leech from buildings except for the fountains and the sentinel’s main tree.
- Feast stacks with Leoric’s Vampiric Aura and Vladmir’s.
POISON STING [T]
N'aix's attacks sting, adding a slight poison-based damage and significantly slowing movement speed.
Level 1 - Deals 2 damage per second and slows movement speed by 10%.
Level 2 - Deals 4 damage per second and slows movement speed by 20%.
Level 3 - Deals 7 damage per second and slows movement speed by 30%.
Level 4 - Deals 10 damage per second and slows movement speed by 40%
Great slowing skill which happens to be your only means of getting kills. The poison damage is barely noticeable, but it’s not an orb effect, so it’s nothing to complain about. On a side note, images benefit from Sting too.
ANABOLIC FRENZY [Z]
Increases the attack speed and movement of N'aix.
Level 1 - 3% movement and 10% attack.
Level 2 - 5% movement and 20% attack.
Level 3 - 7% movement and 30% attack.
Level 4 - 9% movement and 40% attack
Frenzy is the least useful skill N'aix has, but it’s still helpful. It boosts your MS to an acceptable level (321 without boots and 376 with), and helps a little with your DPS.
RAGE [R]
Shrugging off most magic spells as if they were insects, N'aix closes in on his prey, poison oozing from his jaws and a maddened rage in his eyes.
Level 1 - Adds 10 bonus damage and lasts for 10 seconds.
Level 2 - Adds 15 bonus damage and lasts for 15 seconds.
Level 3 - Adds 20 bonus damage and lasts for 20 seconds.
Mana Cost: 150/ 200/ 250
Cooldown: 90
Rage is the only active ability N'aix has. The damage added is negligible, but the spell immunity is absolutely priceless. Rage is a great ultimate both for offensive and defensive purposes. Most ultimates go through Rage, but only a few actually do something. A few normal spells go through, but they’re mostly limited to spells that deal physical damage or those that aren’t actually considered spells.
Spells that go through Rage:
1. Purge (Only Medusa’s, not Diffusal)
2. Ensnare
3. Entangle (Rage removes it though)
4. Overgrowth (Rage removes it)
5. Fiend’s Grip (Doesn’t damage)
6. Sprout (Can't actually target N'aix)
7. Omnislash
8. Landmines (Not Remote Mines)
9. Wild Axes
10. Toss
11. Counter Helix
12. Ravage (Doesn’t stun or damage but throws you in the air)
13. Chronosphere
14. Culling Blade
15. Earthbind
16. Charge of Darkness
17. Nether Strike
18. Viper Strike (Slow only)
19. Primal Roar (Stun only)
20. Reverse Polarity (Stun only)
21. Dismember (Stun only)
22. Rot (Slow only)
23. Passive skills such as Degen Aura, Maim, and Poison Sting (Venomancer’s and N'aix’s).
Other Rage Facts:
- Activating Rage will cancel out most debuffs that are currently on N'aix. This includes Entangle and Overgrowth.
- Bash from a melee hero goes through Rage; ranged bash does not.
- Rupture can be cast on N'aix while Rage is activated but it will not do damage as long as Rage is active. If Rage runs out before Rupture’s duration is up, it will begin to deal damage.
- The returned damage from Blademail is considered magical damage so N'aix will not take damage while Rage is activated.
- There is about one second at the beginning and end of Rage where you can be targeted by spells but they won’t effect you. This can be nice since if a hero tries to disable you the second they can target you, the spell will hit you but won’t affect you.
- Mechanism’s heal works through Rage but the armor does not.
SKILL BUILD
1. Feast
2. Frenzy
3. Feast
4. Frenzy
5. Feast
6. Rage
7. Feast
8. Frenzy
9. Frenzy
10. Sting
11. Sting
12. Rage
13. Sting
14. Sting
15. Stats
16. Rage
17. Stats
18. Stats
19. Stats
20. Stats
21. Stats
22. Stats
23. Stats
24. Stats
25. Stats
Why Feast and Frenzy Early?
N'aix’s early game is all about getting to mid game. That’s it. No competent player is going to die to a low level N'aix, so your skill build should focus on survivability and farming. Feast is maxed first since it will help you stay in your lane and allows you to creep neutrals. Frenzy will help you creep neutrals more quickly and boost your below-average move speed enough that you can escape when you get ganked.
Why Take Rage at Level Six? Why Twelve?
Rage is taken at level 6 because it will help stay alive in your lane when your opponents try to kill you with a combo. It's especially helpful against spells like Rupture or Poison Nova since you can completely counter the damage with your spell immunity. If you have an easy lane, consider taking Rage at level 9 because more points in Frenzy will help you creep neutrals faster, although it really doesn't matter that much.
The second level is taken at level 12 because you need two levels of Sting to keep a hero slowed. You can kill a hero at level 11 with two levels of Sting and one level of Rage, but you probably won't with one level of Sting and two levels of Rage. However, if you haven't farmed Reaver yet, or if you decide to solo Roshan instead of ganking when you complete Reaver, take Rage at level 11 instead.
GENERAL PURPOSE N'AIX
START:
Two Gauntlets and three sets of Tangos.
This is about the strongest start possible with N'aix, which is important because of his horrific early game. Gauntlets are taken to boost your HP and damage, and because you have no need for intelligence and already have the highest agility of any hero. Tangos are taken over RoR because they will keep you in a hard lane longer and you have no need for regen after the first 8 or 9 levels since you can regain your HP with Feast. If you know your lane won't be too tough, start with three Gauntlets and one set of Tangos instead.
Grab your items and head off to your lane. Go top or mid for the scourge side and either bottom or mid on the sentinel side; you want to be near neutral camps. Middle lane is actually the best for you since it's very near two easy neutral camps and the hill will keep you from being harassed hard. Levels are extremely important for N'aix so take solo in pubs, and in TDAs too if you feel like you can handle it. If not, lane with someone who can help you stay in your lane, such as Warlock or Troll Priest. The worst thing for N'aix is being stuck in a double lane with another weak melee hero who just makes leveling slower.
EARLY GAME
1. Third Gauntlet (150)
2. Fourth Gauntlet (150)
3. Boots of Speed (500)
4. Helm of Iron Will (950)
5. Complete Helm of the Dominator (900)
Four Gauntlets will boost your HP to a decent level for only 600 gold. They are taken over Bracers because N'aix does not need agility or intelligence, making Gauntlets much more cost effective. Stout Shield in place of one of the Gauntlets is a good option too, since it will help you creep neutrals and can be bought without taking a fountain trip. Either way works, it’s just personal preference. Helm of the Dominator is completed next because it will boost your ability to creep neutrals safely, quickly and efficiently, and greatly aid you in killing once you've farmed enough to do so. HotD will let you solo Roshan very early and the dominate creeps will help you tear through neutral camps quickly. It's also part of Satanic, which you will eventually complete. Helm of Iron Will is taken before Mask of Death because it will actually help more for creeping neutrals and if you choose to stay in your lane, the regen is nice to have. It's also available at the secret shop, so you don't have to take a fountain trip to get it.
Simply staying in your lane is the most important thing at this point. Stay just within experience range and go for last hits when it’s safe, using Tangos when needed. When the creeps push close to your tower, auto-attack between last hits to regain HP. When laning, it is important to know exactly what your opponents are capable of. Against some heroes you should be able to farm pretty well, but others heroes can instantly kill you with a chain nuke/disable combo if you get too close. Know what the heroes you're laning against can do and remember that you're a melee hero with no escape mechanism and very low HP.
Laning 101
When laning against melee heroes you can generally farm pretty well. If they are aggresive, stay back at near your ranged creep and rush in and out to last hit. You cannot farm vs all melee heroes though. Heroes like Juggernaut and Tiny may kill you if you get too close. Know what each hero is capable of and pay attention to how much mana each hero has. It is also very helpful to know how much opposing heroes need for their spells and how much they need for their full combo. Juggernaut, for example, needs 310 mana for his Bladefury and Omnislash combo.
When laning against a ranged hero, or a ranged hero and a melee hero, it is very important to know how dangerous the hero is and to quickly figure out how aggressive the player is. Heroes like Troll that lack a nuke or arrow skill shouldn't be able to stop you from farming a little. Against heroes like Drow or Tinker you'll have to be much more careful. If the opposing ranged hero is not aggressive, you can generally hang back and rush in and out for last hits and denies. If they are, stay back at a safe range and go for last hits and denies when the creeps are pushed close to your tower.
When laning against two ranged heroes, or heroes heroes with a disable combo you'll have to be much more careful. For the first 2-4 levels you should be able to go in for last hits occassionally, but when level five or six roles around stay back. Only last hit and deny when you're right next to your tower since a hero combo like Rhasta/CM or Tinker/Zues can kill you almost instantly. When you're not near a tower, run back as soon as you see one of them move towards you, since if you get caught by a disable you'll probably die. If you're in a lane like this, especially if you're soloing, try to get out as soon as you can creep neutrals efficiently. Every second you're in a lane where you can't farm will slow you down, and dying is a huge set back.
Unless your lane is incredibly easy and you have no trouble farming, start creeping neutrals between level 5 and level 7. Pick up a Helm of Iron Will at the secret shop if you can, but you won't always be able to since it's pretty dangerous to shop there in a tough lane. Whether you have it or not, neutralling shouldn't be too hard. Alternate between camps and look for a Centaur camp since they’re the best creeps you can get. If you find one, save it until you finish HotD and dominate one. Get HotD before Boots if you run into a Centaur camp early on. If you don't find a Centaur camp early, get a Furbolg instead. They spawn pretty often. Although Kobolds are good too because of the speed bonus, you want your first few creeps to be stompers. Centaurs and Furbolgs are stronger than Kobolds so they'll help you creep a lot faster, and stomp is amazing for escaping ganks.
Once you’ve dominated a creep and you are level 10 or 11 you can gank a little if you see an opportunity, but don’t get carried away. You’re still a melee hero with around 900 HP. Your main focus should still be farming.
Guide to Neutral Creeping
Key:
Possible at: The level it's possible to creep each camp with four Gauntlets
Recommended at: The level you can creep a camp without losing much HP
Helm: Helm of Iron Will
HotD: Helm of the Dominator
- 3 Gnolls(scourge only) – Possible at: lvl 1 – Recommended at: lvl 3 - Gold: ~ 85
- 2 Troll and Kobolds (sent) – Possible at: lvl 1 – Recommended at: lvl 3 - Gold ~ 75 – Creep Kobold first.
- 3 Trolls – Possible at: lvl 1 – Recommended at: lvl 3 – Gold ~ 70
- 4 Satyrs – Possible at: lvl 1 – Recommended at: lvl 3 – Gold ~ 100 – Creep bigger Satyrs first.
- 2 Golems – Possible at: lvl 3 – Recommended at: lvl 5 – Gold ~ 110
- 3 Wolves – Possible at: lvl 3 – Recommended at: lvl 5 – Gold ~ 85
- 2 Centaurs – Possible at: lvl 4 – Recommended at: lvl 7 – Gold ~ 100
- 5 Kobolds – Possible at: lvl – Recommended at: lvl 4 – Gold ~ 75 – Creep bigger Kobolds first.
- 3 Satyrs – Possible at: lvl 4 – Recommended at: lvl 6 – Gold ~ 165 – Creep largest to smallest.
- 3 Ogres – Possible at: lvl 4 – Recommended at: lvl 6 – Gold ~ 125
- 2 Furbolgs – Possible at: lvl 7 (lvl 6 /w Helm) Recommended at: lvl 9 (lvl 8 /w Helm) – Gold ~ 145
- 3 Dragons – Possible at lvl 8 (lvl 6 /w Helm) – Recommended at: lvl 10 (lvl 8 /w Helm) – Gold ~ 300 – Creep small dragons first.
- 3 Golems – Possible at lvl 12 (lvl 9 /w Helm)(lvl 7 /w HotD) – Recommended at: 15 lvl (lvl 11 /w Helm)(lvl 9 /w HotD) – Gold ~ 230 – Small golems first.
- 3 Dragon Sorcerers – Possible at lvl 15 (lvl 11 /w Helm)(lvl 9 /w HotD) – Recommended at: lvl 18 (lvl 15 /w Helm)(lvl 12 HotD) – Gold ~ 260
As you can see, many camps can be crept very early, some of which yield quite a bit of gold. Your ideal camp, however, is the ancient camp with 3 Dragons since it gives more gold than any other camp and can be crept as soon as level 6 with 4 Gauntlets and Helm of Iron Will. Satyr camps are also worth mentioning since they are very easy and give a pretty good amount of gold. The 3 Troll camp and the 5 Gnoll camp don’t give much gold for the time it takes to creep them, but they’re not worth avoiding since you want to open up the camps for better creeps. The only camp you should try to avoid as N'aix is the 3 Ogre camps since the Frost Armor makes it an incredibly slow process. If you do creep this camp, hit one of the ogre warriors so the magi will cast armor on one of them, then kill the magi.
In the event that your opponents ward the neutrals camps, it's usually best just to farm a lane for a bit, or creep the acients camp near Roshan since it usually won't be warded. You can have an ally counter ward for you, but N'aix probably won't be in games where your allies are good enough to be willing to help you.
MID GAME - Reaver
6. Mitshersmits Reaver (3200)
Reaver will probably be the most difficult item for you to farm, since you’ll still be relatively weak before you complete it. As I said before, don’t try for kills before completing Reaver unless an easy one presents itself. If you die, Reaver comes a lot slower. Use the creeps you’ve dominated to help you go through neutral camps more quickly and protect you from ganks.
In the event that you absolutely cannot get enough gold for Reaver, massing smaller strength items is the best alternative. As strange as it may sound, three Sanges will actually give you around the same buffs as Heart for 650 more gold.
Avoiding Ganks
The most important and most obvious step in avoiding ganks is simply to be careful about where you farm. Pay attention to missing calls, don’t farm camps near where your opponents are farming, and don’t farm on the other side of the map unless you’re absolutely sure it’s safe. To ensure that you don’t repeatedly die, use your dominated creeps to stun, block, and absorb fire from gankers while you activate Rage and run. Try not to let your creeps die, but sometimes you’ll have to to avoid dying yourself. Also, remember to frequently and carefully examine the map while neutral creeping. Since creeping neutrals takes a lot less attention then last hitting, you should be able to get a better sense of what’s going on in the game than you normally would. Check items, check which heroes are doing well, and use the information to help you prepare for late game.
Roshan
The addition of the new Roshan gave N'aix a very nice indirect buff and is now an essential part of playing him. Although it is a slow process, N'aix can solo Roshan right after purchasing Reaver. Yes, even if you got it at level 10. Rage can help because it will keep him from stunning you for 10-15 seconds and he will waste a stun on you right when Rage expires (see "Rage Facts" section), but it is usually better to save Rage incase you get ganked. If you have a Centaur or a Furbolg, use it to help you kill Roshan more quickly. Roshan will switch his focus to your creep each time he stuns you, so make sure to move your creep back for a second so that he continues to attack N'aix. If you have more than one creep, do not have more than one assist you because three or more units at melee range will cause Roshan to use his stomp skill. The Aegis charge recieved will help you reach Heart quickly without dying to a gank and the gold will speed up the process too.
Once you have Reaver, and hopefully one or two Creeps, you’ll finally be able to start killing regularly. Aim for heroes you can kill, which may vary depending on which creeps you have. Heroes with escape mechanisms like Blink and Windwalk should generally be avoided; almost anyone else can be killed if you’re smart about who you target and when. Still, focus on completely Heart.
MID GAME – Heart
7. Vitality Booster (1100)
8. Complete Heart of Torrasque (1200)
HotD -> Heart is taken over Satanic because it adds a lot more EHP and because dominated creeps are infinitely useful. Satanic is a very strong item after the buff, but requires N'aix to be attacking constantly to stay alive. You'll often be taking damage while disabled or while you're running so Heart is a more helpful source of survivability. If you didn't see the long list of disables that go through Rage at the beginning, I suggest you check it out. Satanic's new active ability is strong, but remember that Heart/HotD gives 20 more damage than Satanic when you're not in the frenzy state, so the only real benefit you're getting is survivability, and an extra 500 HP will do more for you than 25% leech. Satanic is a great item for N'aix, but it’s better to complete later on, when you have enough damage to really benefit from the extra leech and enough HP to survive when you're not attacking something.
Once you complete Heart, you can finally devote most of your attention to killing heroes and pushing with your allies. Creep in between using Rage, but carrying your team is first and foremost right now. In team battles, target fragile casters and agility heroes first in order of how much damage they can do to your team. Radiance-carrying carry heroes are usually good targets, as well strong AoE casters like THD and CM.
Killing with N’aix
First things first: find your target. Generally look for a lone hero either farming in a lane or moving between them. Most good players will stay near their tower, but that’s okay. Try to come in from the side, or even from behind if possible so you won’t have to cover as much distance to get them into a slow lock. Try to get in and out as quickly as you can since it may only be 10 or 15 seconds before other heroes come to help. Gank with one or two other heroes on your team if possible.
When you go for a kill, rush in with N’aix – activating Rage right before you get in spell range – and slow-lock the hero with Sting while simultaneously moving your Centaur(s)/Furbolg(s) into the heroes escape path, which will almost always be directly away from N’aix or directly towards their fountain. When the hero begins to run, time Stomp and stun it. If you have two or more creeps, use Stomp several times consecutively with about 2 seconds between each. Try to move your creeps directly infront of the enemy hero to keep your slow lock from being disrupted by fog of war. If you do this right, most heroes should have no chance to escape. Try your best not to lose creeps since you only get one every five minutes, or even longer if you can’t fight a good camp.
Advanced Rage Usage
Ever wondered if there's any way around Purge? Ever given up on trying to kill a Syllabear because Entangle goes through Rage? This section is for you.
The thing about Rage is that it dispels most negative buffs when you activate it. I'll give you a hint: Purge is a negative buff. Starting to get it? You see, if you wait to activate Rage until right as Medusa purges you, it will completely negate the effect. The same goes for Entangle, Overgrowth and other similar spells. Simply activate Rage right as the spell hits you and you're good to go. So how do you counter Medusa if there's another disabler with her? I thought you'd never ask.
The solution here is BKB. It seems like a big investment to counter something like Purge, but fortunately it's a good item on N'aix anyway, especially vs a lot of disablers. Simply activate the BKB, then use Rage right as you get Purged. Playing N'aix just got a lot easier.
LATE GAME
9. Sacred Relic (3800)
10. Complete Radiance (1525)
11. Complete Boots of Travel (2200)
Both Radiance and Buriza work well after completing Heart, although Radiance is better in most situations. See the description of Buriza below in the “Other Items” section for a comparison of these two times. Boots of Travel are taken next because creeps begin to become an unreliable source of movement speed this late in the game, and also because this is the first point in the game where you don’t desperately need HP or damage.
The game should be winding down now if it hasn’t ended already. Be wary of strong DPS heroes, illusion heroes, and permabashers, and feed off of everyone else. Don’t forget to continue farming between ganks and pushes, and work on items that will counter what you’re up against. Rely on your allies to disable permabashers and destroy illusions with AoE. Other than that, you should be able to handle just about anyone 1v1 and you should be stronger than most heroes in team battles since Rage will keep you from being disabled and you’ll be carrying Radiance.
You can solo Roshan once you complete Satanic, which becomes more useful than HotD this late in the game. Roshan returns a lot of damage, so extra leech is much more important than damage vs him. In other words, it's easier with Heart/Satanic/Radiance than with two Rapiers. Honestly though, you should probably focus on finishing the game instead. If you made it this far with N'aix the other team already missed out of their chance to kill you. Enjoy killing.
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