Theoritizing Support Huskar (With guide)

I came up with this idea after getting Huskar as my daily hero challenge in Winter Battle Pass. Huskar's third skill is nerfed recently such that he can't really tank through spells as compared with before, making him a very situational pick. I am very reluctant to pick him as he will be easily counter picked. I once read /u/Saguine guide on support Chaos Knight, and had some fun with that build, so I decided to try out Huskar as a position 4/5 support. The best part of these unorthodox support is that your enemy will counter pick you only to realize you are a support.

As a support, which constantly has lower networth and exp, Huskar has a few assets that help him well.

* At level 1, Huskar can zone offlaner (or harass the enemy mid) easily using Burning Spear.
* Inner Vitality can keep a constant high regeneration on a single core, and scales to late game.
* A value point in Berserker's Blood early game makes your enemy support/offlaner reluctant to trade with you because you can easily destroy them at low health.
* Life Break is an easy, ranged, low cd slow on your target, and it scales to late game as it reduce your enemy's health by percentage.
* You can always transition into a carry if needed.

**Skill Build**

Go 0-2-1-0 or 1-1-1-0 at level 3, depending if you need the heal. Max Burning Spear first, and then Inner Vitality, grab the ulti whenever you can. So by lv 11 you will have 4-4-1-2. Max Berserker's Blood finally.

**Laning Phase**

In lane, zone out the enemy offlaner since level 1, alone. Huskar would probably do fine even against a dual lane. Pull creep to gain some gold/exp, and stop the enemy offlaner from pulling creep whenever necessary. Secure that rune at 2 minutes or 4 minutes. Go around to harass the enemy's mid or safe lane carry if the safe lane is completely safe. Buy a TP to be ready for counter gank.

A dual roam setup is probably the best for Huskar, as any initiation from the other support + your core can usually secure a kill due to your insanely high dps at early level.

After reaching level 6, start to initiate for your core to get the kill. Always sacrifice for your core if situation arise, as you can deal the most damage to your enemy at low life, potentially turn the fight around after you die.

At late game where Support Huskar's damage effectiveness begin to drop, just Life Break someone during the war, hide in safe place, and focus on healing your core, while Burning Spear from behind if there is any hero out of position.

**Item Build**

Starting Item: Get a courier, 1/2 wards, a tango (give some to mid if necessary), a healing salve, 1/2 gg branch + circlet (if you only buy one ward).

Try to save your gold for a boots (ask for a creep or two from your core, or have some good pulls, you should be able to get it by 3 minutes), unless you are the solo support, where you should upgrade your courier at 3 mintues. Get a stick, then a arcane so that you can spam your Inner Vitality. Later, disassemble arcane boots into aether lens, which is your core item that enable you to initiate from 750 range, and heal from 1000 range.

Core item: Boots + aether lens + wand

Your itemization probably end here if game is hard and if you are the solo support (you need to buy the wards). The situational items are:

* Urn: Get this if you can get it early, for extra damage and heal during/after fight.
* Force Staff: Great utility that helps you to escape after Life Break. Also it can be used to save your core.
* Glimmer Cape: Same reason as force staff.
* Another Arcane Boots: To sustain the push and gank, also, it can be made into a Guardian Greaves
* Veil of Discord: Great synergy with your Burning Spear and Life Break.
* Aghanim Scepter: You can reduce 48.75% of enemy health just by initiation (after 25% magic resistance reduction), and spam this on most of their hero at a 4 second CD for a perma slow.
* Mekansm: Sustainability item only if your team need you to build it.
* Guardian Greaves: Same reason as above, but it's very situational as you probably won't have enough gold for it.

Alternatively you can go for a carry buildup if your team need it.

**Disadvantage of Support Huskar**

* You are bad at counter gank before level 6, if anyone ganked your mid, you can't really save him even if you tp'ed in. Your regeneration is simply not strong enough, and your damage is DoT which will probably kill their ganker, but still lost your mid.
* Lack of hard disable and AoE nuke.
* Life break throws you into your enemy for a potential 322 (you are simply not tanky enough as a support to take the full damages).

**Closing Word**

I had actually only done one match on support Huskar, will probably try this more with my friends (I'm not going to get reported in pub) as the idea seems interesting to me. I haven't tried the support Huskar in ranked yet. In the unranked match, while we won the game and the solo support Huskar actually did the job, the game is disastrous as there is a jungle Storm Spirit and a Drow Ranger who refuse to join fight and just farm even when we have the momentum, and a mid SF which actually take his times to last hit during the war. Our enemy is probably the same level with my teammates that's why we won the game quite easily.

http://www.dotabuff.com/matches/2168237764

I need more games to prove this build, and I hope fellow 9k redditors can comment on this build too!

Edit: Hero Healing on the match is fucked it seems, I definitely healed more than just 157.