Dota 2 Offlane Vengeful Spirit guide: Owning the offlane in 7.30b like PSG.LGD's Faith_bian

Of the many breakout highlight builds of Dota 2 patch 7.30, Vengeful Spirit Offlane stands out in terms of originality.

A single-target hard disable and an armor reduction spell puts Vengeful Spirit among the offensive supports of Dota 2. Thus Vengeful used to be picked just as a catch to combo with strong laners. A few buffs to her kit, however, have enabled her to transition into more of a core position since 7.28, especially her reworked Aghanim's Scepter upgrade.

7.30 marks another chapter in Vengeful Spirit's journey as a mainstream Dota 2 core. The exceptional utility of a farmed Vengeful Spirit in 7.30 was highlighted in Zhang "Faith_bian" Ruida's build in the second match of the final series in the recent ESL One tournament.

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Why Vengeful Spirit is a top-tier offlaner in Dota 2

Vengeful Spirit was not the most-picked offlaner in ESL One Fall 2021 by any means, but she won 5 out of 6 matches that she was played in, i.e. a staggering 83% winrate.

Two extra features were added to Vengeful Spirit's ultimate, Nether Swap, in Dota 2 7.30. Firstly, it deals 50 magic damage, making it so that a swapped enemy can no longer simply blink away if their reactions are fast enough.

Secondly, a swapped ally and Vengeful Spirit gain 50% damage immunity for 3 seconds at the maximum level. This gives her a better chance of saving carries from perilous situations, much like Winter Wyvern's Cold Embrace. In a patch where the heal and sustain meta is not dead yet, this is one of the best utilities in Dota 2.

These changes are not the only factors that make her a good general pick in Dota 2 7.30. Vengeful Spirit brings an entire toolbelt of utilities to the table. She has a stun that can later pierce magic immunity. 'Wave of Terror' and 'Vengeful Aura' are great damage amplifiers during team fights.

Lastly, and most importantly, she often outlasts teamfights thanks to her Aghanim Scepter upgrade. When she is killed, she spawns a strong illusion that is takes and receives 100% damage, moves 25% faster, and also casts all of her spells. Essentially, Vengeful Spirit has a free Aegis of The Immortal without a cooldown on all of her deaths. The only two other instances of this in Dota 2 being Wraith King and Undying.

This makes her great against the long-cooldown heroes of Dota 2. The general playstyle is thus aggressive posturing, similar to Bristleback. The offlane Vengeful Spirit's goal is to bait the opponent into initiating on her.

As for itemization, the only core item is Aghanim's Scepter. Other than this, the build should have a balance of damage, aura and durability items. Assault Cuirass, Gleipnir, Solar Crest and Lotus Orb are all viable choices. Faith_bian decided on a Manta Style and Crystalis so he could maximize damage output. Vengeful Spirit gains great damage after Aghanim's Shard upgrade.