If you’ve ever watched a pro Dota 2 player pull off three spell combos in two seconds to wipe an entire enemy team, chances are you were watching Invoker. This high skill-cap hero is famous for his 10 unique spells, flexible playstyles, and ability to carry games if played correctly, but most new players write him off as too hard to learn. Many new players assume you need thousands of hours of practice to learn how to play Invoker in Dota 2, but that’s simply not true if you focus on the right basics first. If you’ve been curious about how to play Invoker in Dota 2 but don’t know where to start, this guide breaks down everything you need to know without the overwhelming jargon you’ll find on most niche forums. You don’t need 1000 hours of practice to have fun and win games with him, even in low to mid rank pubs.
Core Basics You Need to Learn Before You Play Invoker in Dota 2
Invoker’s kit revolves around three orbs: Quas (blue), Wex (purple), and Exort (red). Each orb gives you a permanent passive buff when you put points into it: Quas boosts health regen, Wex increases attack and movement speed, and Exort adds extra attack damage. You combine three orbs in any order to create one of 10 unique spells, and you have two spell slots available at any time, with an “invoke” ability to swap out spells as needed. Before you jump into any public match when learning how to play Invoker in Dota 2, spend 15 minutes in a demo lobby just practicing switching between orbs and invoking the 3 core spells we mention later.
When you first start to play Invoker in Dota 2, don’t stress about memorizing every single spell right away. Start with just 3 core spells first before you move to more complex combos. For your first 10 games with Invoker, stick to the Quas-Exort (QE) build, which is far more forgiving for new players than the fast-paced Wex-Exort (WE) build that pros use. QE gives you more sustain, easier to land spells, and lower risk of feeding in lane. Never try to play a full WE build in your first 20 games — you’ll get overwhelmed by the fast combo timings and likely feed your lane opponent.
Laning Phase Playstyle and Core Item Priorities
Invoker is almost always played in the mid lane, where he gets the solo XP and farm he needs to hit key level thresholds fast. At level 1, put your first point in Quas for the extra health regen, so you can stay in lane longer even if you take harass from the enemy mid. At level 2, take Exort, so you can invoke your first useful spell: Cold Snap. Cold Snap is your best early game tool for securing kills and forcing enemies out of lane — it stuns the target every time they take damage, so if you have a support rotating to gank, you can lock the enemy mid down for 3+ seconds easily.
One common mistake new players make when they play Invoker in Dota 2 is skimping on regen items to save gold for bigger items, but that will just force you to teleport back to base constantly and miss out on valuable farm and XP. Start with a null talisman, two iron branches, a set of tangos and a healing salve. Your first core item should be Boots of Speed followed by Magic Wand — the extra stats and burst heal from Magic Wand will save your life countless times in early skirmishes. Next, go for Aghanim’s Shard as soon as you hit level 10, it reduces your invoke cooldown to 1 second, which makes pulling off combos way easier. You don’t need to rush expensive items like Refresher Orb in your first games, stick to cheap, high-impact items first.
Simple Invoker Combos You Can Master in 10 Minutes
Most guides for how to play Invoker in Dota 2 will throw 10+ complex combos at you right away, but that’s a surefire way to get overwhelmed before you even get into your first game. You don’t need to learn 10+ combos to be effective on Invoker, especially in lower ranks. The following 3 combos will work for 90% of the fights you get into before you hit Ancient rank:
- Cold Snap + Forge Spirit + Right Click: This is your go-to early game kill combo. Invoke Cold Snap first, cast it on the enemy, then invoke Forge Spirit, summon it, and just right click the target. The Cold Snap will stun them every time you or your Forge Spirit hit them, so they can’t run away even if they have a dash.
- Sun Strike + Cold Snap + Chaos Meteor: For mid game team fights, cast Sun Strike first on the target’s predicted path, then immediately cast Cold Snap to lock them in place, then cast Chaos Meteor on top of them. The full combo deals over 1200 magic damage by level 12, which is enough to delete most squishy carries before they can use BKB.
- Tornado + EMP + Blast: If you’re facing a team with lots of mana-dependent heroes like Storm Spirit or Crystal Maiden, this combo will wipe their entire mana bar before they can cast any spells. Cast Tornado to lift them up, invoke EMP and cast it under their feet, then cast Blast to knock them back into the EMP radius as soon as they land.
Practice these combos in a private lobby first for 10 minutes before you jump into a pub game, so you don’t fumble the orb combinations when you’re under pressure. Don’t worry if you mess up the first few times, even pro players misinvoke spells occasionally when they’re caught off guard. Even after you master these 3 combos, you can slowly add more spells to your rotation as you get more comfortable with how to play Invoker in Dota 2.
Team Fight Rules to Avoid Feeding as Invoker
The biggest mistake new Invoker players make is running into the front line of team fights like they’re a strength hero. Invoker is a squishy intelligence hero, so you should always stay at the back of your team, behind your front line tanks, so you don’t get focused down first. Don’t waste all your spells on the enemy tank unless they’re the only target available, focus the squishy carries and supports first, since they’re the ones that deal the most damage or heal the enemy team. If the enemy has a hero with BKB or spell immunity, don’t waste your big damage spells on them until their BKB runs out. You’re better off casting support spells like Cold Snap or Ghost Walk to help your team survive until the BKB timer ends.
Also, don’t forget to use your Forge Spirits in every team fight, they deal a surprising amount of damage and can even take towers quickly if no one is defending them. If you’re losing a team fight, use Ghost Walk to escape instead of trying to turn it around alone — you’re far more valuable alive to farm for your next item than you are dying for a low chance kill. If you follow these simple rules, you’ll find that learning how to play Invoker in Dota 2 is far less intimidating than most people make it out to be.
Invoker is one of the most rewarding heroes in Dota 2, and you don’t have to be a pro player to have fun and win games with him. Start small with the core basics, stick to the easy combos we outlined, and don’t get discouraged if you mess up your first few games. Once you get comfortable with the core mechanics, you can start experimenting with more complex builds and combos to fit your playstyle. If you’ve been putting off trying this iconic hero, now is the perfect time to learn how to play Invoker in Dota 2 and surprise your teammates with your fast combos and game-winning plays.