Dota 2: Puck Position 2 Build Guide

Matching up against the true master of Puck, the Faerie Dragon, is one of the scariest experiences in Dota 2. With multiple escape tools at its disposal, along with massive burst damage from its abilities, a skilled Puck player can dominate the game from the laning phase to the moment the opponent's Ancient is destroyed.

However, Puck is also one of the most challenging heroes in Dota 2 to learn, let alone master. While the hero's item build is relatively straightforward, truly mastering Puck requires time, patience, and a lot of practice. In this build guide, we'll outline the optimal ability order and item progression to help you learn the hero the right way.

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By Muhit Rahman

Dota 2 Puck Hero Overview

Puck is a ranged Intelligence hero with a complexity rating of two stars in Dota 2. The hero starts with decent primary stats, but its exceptionally low base Strength and Strength gain make it an easy target to kill. However, the mobility spells at its disposal offset this weakness, allowing Puck to evade threats and stay alive in fights.

Standard Abilities & Ultimate

Ability Name	How it Works
Illusory Orb	Puck launches a magic orb that floats in a straight path, damaging enemy units along its path.
Waning Rift	Puck teleports to the target location, dealing damage to enemies in a small AOE, pushing them away and silencing them for a duration.
Phase Shift	A channeled ability that shifts Puck into an alternative dimension where he can't be targeted or attacked.
Ethereal Jaunt	Only available when an Illusory Orb is flying. Allows Puck to instantly teleport to the Orb at any moment during its flight.
Dream Coil	Leashes enemies in an AOE and damages them. If the enemy breaks the leash by moving away, they are stunned and take massive damage.

Additionally, Patch 7.36, aka the Crownfall update, introduced an Innate Ability and two Facets for the hero to choose from at the start of the game:

Innate Ability (Puckish): Puck restores a bit of health and mana anytime it disjoints an attack or spell projectile.
Facet 1 (Jostling Rift): Waning Rift can be set to Alt-Cast, pulling enemies towards the center of its AoE.
Facet 2 (Curveball): Illusory Orb becomes a vector-targeted spell that can be curved in any direction. Its travel speed and duration are also increased.

The health and mana restored from Puckish is higher when you manage to disjoint a spell projectile.

Puck also gains upgrades for its abilities after purchasing the Aghanim's Shard and Aghanim's Scepter:

Aghanim's Shard: Upgrades Phase Shift, allowing Puck to attack all enemies within its attack range each time the ability is used. It also grants bonus magic damage to Puck's auto-attacks.
Aghanim's Scepter: Upgrades Puck's ultimate ability, Dream Coil. Enemies caught by Dream Coil are automatically attacked by Puck.

Aghanim's Scepter Dream Coil keeps damaging the enemy heroes even if they break the coil.

Best Puck Build in Dota 2

There are two ways to play Puck in Dota 2: as a physical damage-dealer, or a caster that relies on his spells. While both builds are good, in the high MMR bracket, most players tend to favor the caster build. This build focuses on building items that allow Puck to survive in fights and use his abilities to deal massive damage to the enemy heroes.

For this guide, we will focus on the caster build, as it utilizes Puck's abilities to its fullest extent. Puck's biggest strength is his elusiveness. With this build, you'll be playing from a distance and using your spells to contribute to the teamfight. You can also commit to killing the opponent backline if you find the right opportunity.

Puck usually plays as the Position 2 midlaner of the team.

Most Puck players opt to go with the Jostling Rift Facet when playing Puck. It adds an extra bit of catch to the hero's toolkit. Since Waning Rift has a low cooldown on its own, you can use it multiple times during a chase to keep the enemy from running away. Besides, you can still turn off Auto-Cast to push enemies and break coils.

As for his abilities, Puck usually focuses on maxing out its two nukes early on during the laning phase. The first ability you'll take for the lane is Illusory Orb. It lets you harass your lane opponent from a safe distance and shove out the creep wave under the tower. You can put a value point in Phase Shift if you're up against a nuker like Lina to dodge some of her spells. Alternate between Phase Shift and Waning Rift and put a point in your ultimate when you hit level 6.

For Puck's Talents, we recommend the following:

Level 10: +40 Illusory Orb Damage
Level 15: +60 Waning Rift Damage
Level 20: -3s Waning Rift Cooldown
Level 25: Dream Coil Pierces Debuff Immunity.

Item Progression

Puck is one of those heroes who doesn't like to build damage items, especially when playing as a spellcaster. You'll want to work towards mobility items so that you can survive the teamfights while consistently spamming your abilities to create chaos in the enemy ranks. Here are the items that work well on the hero.

Starting Items

Since you're playing as the solo mid, you don't need to focus as much on regen as a safe lane carry. A set of Tango, one Faerie Fire, and four Iron Branches should be all you need to secure the last hits on the lane without dying until you get your Bottle. You'll also want an Observer Ward on the rune spot to scout gank attempts from the enemy team.

Early Game

As a midlaner, your first two waves of creeps are extremely important. Use your spells to harass the lane opponent while securing the last hit to buy your Bottle. Once you have your Bottle, make sure you pick up the Water and Bounty Runes to ensure a steady source of regen in the laning stage.

After your Bottle, buy a Null Talisman for some stats, a Magic Wand for an extra bit of sustain, and Boots of Speed. Upgrade the Boots of Speed to Power Tread as soon as you manage to save up enough Gold for it.

Core Items

The biggest power spike for Puck in the early game is when you manage to buy the Witch Blade. This item increases your projectile speed and also gives you an extra DOT (Damage Over Time) attack to help kill enemy heroes on the map. If your other lanes are doing well, focus on farming until you get your hands on the item.

After that's done, you can start playing a bit more actively. Rotate to your side lanes and help your Offlaner secure kills on the enemy core. The next item to go for is the Blink Dagger. This will serve as your primary initiation tool. Aghanim's Shard comes next, adding more damage to your arsenal.

Situational Items

Dota 2 is an extremely dynamic MOBA where every matchup can affect your item choice and decision. After picking up your core items, you'll want to take a moment to consider what you'll need to be more effective during fights. If the enemy team has too many disables for you to play around, go with Black King Bar. Against one or two silences, however, Eul's Scepter of Divinity should suffice. You can even upgrade it to Wind Waker in the late game. When you're playing against a strong initiator like Storm Spirit, it's better to go with a Linken's Sphere to disjoint the first instance of disable.

In certain matchups, you can even consider going with Aeon Disk if you're having trouble staying alive.

If you'd rather buy aggressive items, you've got a few good options. Upgrading your Witch Blade to Parasma is an excellent way to maximize your inventory space while adding more damage potential. Aghanim's Scepter is also a fantastic pickup for Puck to upgrade the Dream Coil.

You can also go with Octarine Core to lower your spell cooldowns so that you can cast more spells during fights.

Mastering Puck requires a solid understanding of when to engage with your spells and when to back off. Due to the hero's low Health Pool and weak Strength Gain, a single well-placed stun can easily send you back to the fountain awaiting your respawn. However, with the right positioning, quick reflexes, and well-timed spell casting, Puck can become an untouchable menace in Dota 2, capable of carrying entire teamfights on its own.

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