Guide to Brewmaster 6.81 - The Ultimate Kegger Build Dota 2

 "Shall we call this off and have a friendly round?"

Brewmaster is a melee strength hero that can fill almost any role, though he is primarily seen as a carry, ganker, tank or initiator. He fits well into any lane, but is very experience dependent, which means he is often seen on the offlane or the midlane. His core abilities make him a respectable physical damage dealer and an especially good duelist, since he has abilities that involve negating opposing auto-attacks while strengthening his own. However, his true power lies in his ultimate,  Primal Split, which, if used properly, can by itself turn the tide of a team fight. Each of the three aspects of the Brewmaster are exceptionally powerful, with exceptional disables, survivability against magic and physical attacks, and damage; they are also able to charge recklessly into the enemy since the damage they take is not permanent, and very rarely will all three die before Primal Split ends. Guide to Brewmaster - The Ultimate Build Brewmaster Dota 2, for this reason, Brewmaster is almost always built to fully maximize the potential of this ultimate, getting items such as Blink Dagger  so that he can combo into his ultimate without risk of being initiated on, Heart of Tarrasque to ensure he can survive the first wave of stuns and burst in order to cast his ultimate, and of course Aghanim's Scepter to give his spirits his abilities,  Thunder Clap to earth, Drunken Haze to Storm, and Drunken Brawler to Fire, all independent of the original brewmaster's cooldowns for his abilities.

Guide to Brewmaster 6.81 - The Ultimate Kegger Build Dota 2

Introdution The Ultimate Kegger Build Dota 2

Hello one and everyone! Safecyn here, bringing you my first ever guide to... anyone! Why'd I choose Brewmaster? Well, frankly, because, as I'm writing this, no guides have been written since 2013 and... a LOT has changed since then. I can only assume the Dotafire community is mostly teetotalers. As an overweight drunk, I feel it's my duty and responsibility to give the guy his much needed re-introduction.

But Safecyn, why should we listen to you? Are you any good at the game?

Um... well...

SAFECYN?

Ok fine, I'll admit it, I'm not good at this game. But I'm of the opinion that no one's actually good at Dota: there are just people that suck less than most. Like Dendi! And EE! And... all the pros really, heck, that's why they're pros...

This was a guide Brewmaster?

Oh, right! Brewmaster ! This guy's awesome, you'll love playing him. His voice acting is great, his lines are funny, AND he has a decently high skill cap thanks to his ultimate, so you won't get tired of playing him! He's also a very flexible hero, able to be a tank, an initiator, a ganker, a semi-carry... even a hard carry depending on how you build him. So yeah, definitely give him a try. Guide to Brewmaster - The Ultimate Kegger Build.

And do remember, this guide is just suggestions based on my own experiences and understanding of the game, and shouldn't be followed to the letter (especially because, if you just look at the pictures, you'll end up buying two pairs of boots. Don't do that. Please? Ok, cool.) Being able to adapt to your specific game is what separates the pros from us rank amateurs. Feedback is appreciated, as long as it's constructive!

Pros and Cons Brewmaster

Pros

• Tanky with above average strength gain and built in evasion.
• Good base damage for an easier time last hitting.
• Versatile; can be built to match the situation.
• Flashy, showy ultimate with myriad uses.
• Drunken Haze shuts down right-clickers hard.
• Thunder Clap is an amazing slow, and stacks with  Drunken Haze.
• Scales decently well with items.
• Possibly the most interesting Aghanim's Scepter upgrade in game.
• Fun to listen to, and fun to play!

Cons

• Mana-starved in the early to mid game.
• Primal Split requires good micro to be used to its fullest.
• Can become a sitting duck if silenced before getting his ult off.
• Thunder Clap casting range is small.
• Requires a Blink Dagger to initiate.
• Monkey King Bar counters him. Hard.

Abilities Skills of Brewmaster

Thunder Clap

This is your bread and butter nuke, dealing good damage (even at level one!) as well as laying down that almighty slow. Just how almighty? Well, at level 1, the slow from this skill is already better than Sange's maim, and better than Viper's level 2 Poison Attack. At level 2, this skill already slows opponents more than anything Lich can throw out. At level 4, it's almost equivalent to a Rod of Atos, except that it can hit an entire team, and it ALSO slows attack speed to a level equivalent to stealing someone's Hyperstone, which is oft overlooked.

By who?

Me...

That's what I thought.

The catch, of course, is that the range is small, and centered aroundBrewmaster  , which is why movement speed and positioning items are core on Mangix. It's also not terribly cheap, mana-wise, and you'll find yourself running low if you spam this too often early on. Another, lesser known catch that cropped up circa the 6.79 patch is that the slow is now purge-able, so Diffusal Blade carriers can get out of it pretty easily. If they survive you being up in their face, that is. Guide to Brewmaster - The Ultimate Kegger Build.

Early game, you can use this skill to harass: try and use it when your opponent approaches the creep wave to last hit, and ideally grab one or two last hits yourself. Get in a few auto-attacks while they're slowed, then back off, unless you think you can get the kill. And even then, you may still want to back off, because a lot of first bloods come from people attempting to secure kills that they're sure they have, and then getting pummeled by a tower. I've seen things, man. Bloodseeker in the jungle on bottom lane. Spirit Breaker charging past a tier 2 mid. All of it, gone, like first blood in rain.

That's kinda morbid.

Ain't it? Anyways, during the mid to late game, the relatively low cooldown on this skill coupled with your hopefully bolstered mana supply will make both farming and pushing a breeze. Press Q to kill creeps, it's that simple.

Drunken Haze

 

So, you know how I was saying how one of Thunder Clap's biggest drawbacks is the small radius? It sure would be nice if Brewmaster had a skill that helped him get in range to use that spell, wouldn't it? Yeah. Yeah, it probably would.

This is where you yell 'oh wait', ri...

OH WAIT.

Predictable.

Shush. Anyways, this skill, man. It's good. Real good. A 14% slow might not seem like a lot, especially compared to the almighty thunderclap, but it's a 14% slow that lasts a whopping 8 seconds. EIGHT! When ganking and chasing most heroes, that's more than enough time to catch up and kill them, and if it isn't? Well, the cooldown is also 8 seconds, so you can spam this on an enemy indefinitely provided you have adequate regen.

The miss chance ain't nothing to sneeze at, either. See how it's 45% at level 1? That's already more evasion than a Butterfly . I know, I know, it's not a fair comparison because one is a miss chance and one is evasion and butterfly gives a lot more stats and is always active and doesn't have a mana cost, yadda yadda, it's for emphasis, damn it!

The slow and miss chance is adequate for most purposes, even at level 1, which is why we take an early point in this and then skill it last. When would you prioritize this over drunken brawler? Well, if you're playing a very heavy gank game, or the enemy team has hard to catch heroes like Death Prophet, Razor, and  Spirit Breaker (dem passive move speed buffs, man), it might be worth it for the extra slow, even if the scaling isn't the best. More likely, you're going to want to level this early if an enemy right clicker is starting to get out of control: Lifestealer isn't that scary all of a sudden when he's missing over half of his attacks.

There's also been a pretty nice buff to this skill in the Guide to Brewmaster 6.81 - The Ultimate Kegger Build, which gives it a small AOE of 200. This adds to its punch as an initiation ability, as you can potentially blink in, Thunder Clap, and then Drunken Haze a good portion of the enemy team all at once! Please note, though, that if your fingers aren't sufficiently fast, you'll probably get stun-locked right after you use Clap. Just... speaking from experience, over here.

Drunken Brawler

 

Let me get one thing out of the way, since I know this is the question that's probably on your mind. Even though Dotafire's database says that this skill doesn't stack with evasion... it does. As of 6.79, ALL evasion stacks diminishingly, meaning that one source is checked, and if that source doesn't proc another source is checked independently of the first chance. Basically, 25% + 25% doesn't equal 50%, it equals 43.75% because it's (25% + (.25*75)%).

Does that mean you should get evasion on Brewmaster now? That's a question for a different section. Right now, we're focusing on skills, and boy is this a good one. A few levels with this let you hit like a truck and avoid damage like you're Faceless Void . 25% evasion is a huge survivability asset, especially considering that it stacks with the blind chance from Drunken Haze (again, diminishingly). This skill can get so annoying to play against that enemy carries will have no choice but to buy a Monkey King Bar.

At which point, this skill is reduced to a sub-par critical strike ability. So, y'know. Make sure your opponents don't get too much farm, and you're fine!

UPDATE: As of the 6.81 patch, this skill just got a whole lot more interesting! The following mechanic was added:
- If you have not attacked for 10 seconds, your next attack will always activate a Drunken Brawler critical hit
- If you have not been attacked for 10 seconds, Drunken Brawler will cause you to evade the next attack

Guaranteed crits? Virtual immunity to being brutally murdered by Nyx Assassin's Vendetta? Now this is what I'm talking about. Thanks for the love, Icefrog!

Primal Split

  

THIS SKILL. This skill has gotten some major buffs over the last two patches, the main ones being the new Aghanim's upgrade and the insane cooldown cuts: 140 used to be the level THREE cooldown on this skill, now it's level 1.

How you use this skill is by and large how people will judge whether you're a good Brewmaster or not. You can use it to dodge projectile stuns, survive ganks... oh, and it also gives Brewmaster a stun, a purge, a cyclone, a Shadow Blade, and a Radiance.

You're over-exaggerating.

Only a little! Yeah, the bonus damage from invisibility isn't as high and the burn damage isn't quite as powerful, but still! It's good. Using this skill to its full potential requires you to know the ins and outs of each individual spirit, something that is no small task, believe me. I'll try and wrap my tiny mind around it and give you the best info I can, so bear with me, ladies and gents.

That was a pun, wasn't it?

Not admitting to anything. Before we dive into each individual spirit, though, there's a few things to keep in mind when using this ability. The first one being that your spirits have fixed strengths. They get marginally stronger with each level of your ult, but don't get any sort of bonuses from the stats of your items. They DO however, benefit from auras, which is why pretty much every aura item is a viable choice on Brewmaster.

Another thing to keep in mind is that each spirit has a bounty of EXP and gold that's separate from Brewmaster himself, meaning that a poorly used ult can end up giving the enemy team a lot more than if you'd simply allowed yourself to die. Sacrificing one or even two of the spirits for Mangix' life is, of course, the best course of action in pretty much every situation, but you NEED to make sure at least one survives. Take into account the composition of the enemy team, possible escape routes, and your own comfort with playing the hero before deciding to press that R button is all I'm saying. Oh, and do it all within the few seconds you have before you're completely burst down and destroyed.

Care to give us an example?

Um... what? Dude, I told you I was bad at this game. First section. Don't go asking me for high-level advice like that, you knew what you were getting into when you started this guide. Guide to Brewmaster 6.81 - The Ultimate Kegger Build.

... Can we just move on to the spirits now?

I thought you'd never ask.

Earth, Wind, and Fire

 Earth

The Earth Spirit is the tankiest of the three, by a large margin. At max level, it has more than 1000 HP more than its two siblings, a good deal more armor, and on top of all that, it's magic immune! It even has a stun that has a really nice range to it: longer than Sven's Storm Hammer, for one. What's not to love?

He's slow. He's slow, and he's the default aura carrier, meaning that if your other spirits outpace him (which is a very real possibility), they no longer get the benefits of all the nice aura items you built. He's slow, and he's the one Brewmaster automatically jumps back into when the duration of the ult is over, meaning that if you're in full retreat, the enemy is going to be right on top of you when you come back.

But if he's so slow, the enemy will just kill him first, right?

Well... I mean, I'm not gonna lie. Probably. But that's actually bad play on their part, as by himself the Earth Spirit isn't a terrible threat. His damage is piercing, so it only does half to heroes, his stun does a measly 100 damage that can't be increased and gets reduced by magic resistance, and as for pulverize... I mean, just look at pulverize. Sure, it's a nice skill to get tacked on for free, but is that extra 40 damage a threat? It may be universal, but... no. Not really.

Keep that in mind when playing AGAINST Brew: if you've got the enemy team on the ropes, and he pops his ult to escape, just follow the Earth Spirit, and only kill him if you can guarantee kills on the other two. When that low-health Brewmaster pops back into him and your entire team is surrounding him, you can almost HEAR the player on the other side let out a surprised little squeak.

Aghanim's Upgrade: Thunder Clap [D]
Getting the all powerful ult stick adds one more thing to Earth's bag of tricks: Thunder Clap. This means that, as an ideal initation, you can blink in, Thunder Clap, use Primal Split, and immediately Thunder Clap again, as Brewmaster and Earth Spirit don't share cooldowns (Earth Spirit is automatically selected when you hit your ult, so there's no need to hit Tab). Just remember that this skill gets mapped to D during your ult, so it's QRD not QRQ. I've mucked that up enough times, believe me. Anyways, onto the next guy!

Storm

The Storm Spirit is cursed to be the middle child of the three. He's the second one selected when tabbing through, the second one to carry the auras and re-spawn Brewmaster if Earth dies, is the second fastest, the second most armored and just, in general, looks kinda pathetic when compared to the other two. His base attack time is also noticeably worse than the other two spirits, though he makes up for that a little with his range.

But where he shines, and what makes him by far the most difficult spirit to use, is his spells. All three of them are active abilities, and all of them are good. Cyclone is the one most people learn about first: free Eul's, right? Well, keep in mind you can't Cyclone yourself, so double-tapping does nothing. Also, unlike Eul's, this cyclone doesn't dispel anything.

Luckily, you have Dispel Magic which, you guessed it, DISPELS things. Did a crucial teammate just get hit with Frostbite? Dispel Magic. Did the enemy carry just get buffed with Bloodlust? Dispel Magic. Did
Warlock just summon four golems at once? Dispel Magic and... you know, it does some damage anyway. An important thing to note is that since  Thunder Clap can now be purged, Dispel Magic will remove it, so... don't do that. Being able to use this skill effectively is what separates a good Brewmaster from an average one, so keep it in mind.

Storm's last skill, Wind Walk, is basically a  Shadow Blade with less bonus damage and a boatload more bonus speed. No unit-walking, though. As you can imagine, you typically want to use this skill the same way you would a shadow blade: to make an escape, to catch up to a fleeing enemy, or to dodge an incoming stun, as the Storm Spirit isn't immune to magic. All in all, he's the caster of the group, and mastering him is to tackle a large step on the way to ultimate Brewmastery.

 Aghanim's Upgrade: Drunken Haze [D]


The almighty ult stick gives the Storm Spirit one more button to press, but it's worth it. Why? For all the reasons I listed in the previous section, that's why, Drunken Haze is an all around baller skill. Just remember: Dispel Magic THEN Haze, not the other way around. Oh, and don't Haze the guy that you're going to Cyclone anyway. And remember that it's D instead of W, or you'll end up Cycloning the guy you meant to haze! And...

Practice?

Yeah. Practice is probably the best advice I can give here. Not messing up the order of your skills while trying to not die AND trying to use the skills of two other spirits is way too complicated. Lucky for us amateurs, though, we don't technically have to worry about that. Bring out the last spirit!

Fire

And Lo, Icefrog, in his infinite wisdom, decreed that having 6 active skills split between two units was sufficient, and was difficult enough for the minds of mortals to comprehend. Therefore, he bequeathed upon us the Fire Spirit, a unit who was useful simply by staying alive and right clicking enemies.

The catch of course, being that he has no armor and the lowest health of all three spirits. Though his damage is noticeably lower than those of his siblings, it's calculated as HERO damage, which does 100% damage regardless of armor, magic resistance, and denial. This actually makes his DPS the highest of all three spirits, especially with his passive, and a prime target for the enemy to take out. Good thing he runs at max move speed, eh? Provided someone tells him to move...

 Aghanim's Upgrade: Drunken Brawler

The synergy here is actually somewhat amazing: the DPS spirit with no active abilites gets another passive that increases his DPS. Not only that, but evasion. Evasion! For a squishy guy like Fire Spirit, evasion is a godsend.

And there you have it! A hopefully complete look at each and every spirit that comes out of Primal Split . Hope you learned something! I know I did.

But... you're the one writing it...

Brewmaster, like Storm Spirit, Ember Spirit and Earth Spirit, was a Pandaren in DotA. However, he was re-skinned due to copyright issues with Blizzard. His design is similar to that of red pandas, rather than the giant panda that the Pandaren in DotA were based off of.

 

Abilities Items Brewmaster Guide Build

Starting Item

This starting build is for farming safe-lane (or off lane, I suppose, but that's not ideal.) The idea here is pretty simple. Get some basic regeneration, plus some stats to help with last hitting. The nice thing about Brew is that, being a Strength hero, upping his damage also pumps up his HP, thereby increasing his survivability!

Shouldn't you still have a Healing Salve in there though?

Well, yeah... I mean, maybe? The Circlet build is a bit greedy, I'll admit, as it's gearing to get you that
Drum of Endurance as soon as possible, but 4 tangos really does give a lot more staying power than 3, to the point where I barely buy salve on anyone any more. Brewmaster in particular has built in survivability thanks to his passive, so it's even more viable.

It's a valid point though. If the lane looks like it's going to be difficult (lots of stuns or high burst damage), or if you just don't feel comfortable without that  Healing Salve , feel free to swap out the Circlet for a Salve and a Clarity.


into

The classic 'Fast Bottle' build for mid heroes. I certainly didn't invent it, and I'm not going to fix what isn't broke. Despite being melee, Brewmaster can really excel in the mid lane: a bottle lets him spam Thunder Clap for some wicked harass and a solid chance at getting kills, and Brew in general utilizes runes really well.

Early Game

or and probably  

Let me be clear. I am not, by any means, suggesting that you get two pairs of boots on Brewmaster. But there is a choice to be made here, and it likely depends on what role you'll be filling in your game.

First though: Magic Ward . It's almost self-explanatory, but I might as well justify it nonetheless. It's one of the most cost-effective items in the game, not only giving you some stats and some much needed item space, but that almighty burst heal and mana boon that can make the difference between life and death, whether it be narrowly escaping a gank or squeaking out that last bit of mana you need for a spell. Seriously, get it. It's good on any hero, and Brewmaster especially, because he'll gain charges while in  Primal Split mode! Finish up your Bracer too, so that you can have that shipped out on the same courier trip.

Arcane Boots  address pretty much all of Brewmaster's early game mana issues, allowing him to spam his spells like crazy. They're also just a good item for a team to have in general, since everyone loves mana. These are very much for a Brewmaster that's going straight initiator or ganker, but shouldn't be entirely dismissed on carry brew either, particularly if you went safe lane and don't have a bottle: have to build that mana pool somehow.

Otherwise, pick up those Phase Boots . The damage will help you farm better and make those crits from  Drunken Brawler sting even more, and the active allows you to catch up to enemies quicker for a good old  Thunder Clap. Not to mention that unit-walking through your own creep wave can save your butt if things go sour.

Now it's time to work towards that Drum of Endurance . Drum is a good item on basically any hero, but Brewmaster in particular gets a little extra oomph out of it. The +9 to all attributes is never to be underestimated, and help solve your mana issues while making you tankier and quicker hitting.

The aura is what really shines on Brewmaster, though, as it will affect his spirits after he's used  Primal Split. That slow Earth Spirit is running a little faster, that Storm Spirit is hitting a little quicker, and that Fire Spirit is... doing his thing. The active charges can't be used during the ult, but are still useful for pushing, chasing, and teamfights where  Primal Split is on cooldown. It's an all around great item that addresses a lot of Brewmaster's needs, and should be picked up in nearly every game regardless of role.

Which brings us to our final question: to blink, or not to blink? Blink Dagger is another item that's good on most every hero because of its sheer versatility, but it IS a 2150 gold investment into an item that gives no stats whatsoever, and can't be used when you're getting hit. Then again, any damage you take during  Primal Split won't reset the counter on the Blink Dagger , so it can always be used immediately after your ult to aid in a getaway. An initiator Brewmaster needs this no questions asked, but a carry? If you've got a strong initiator on your team already, it may be a smart move to delay or outright skip Blink Dagger
in favor of a big ticket, late game item.

It really does depend on your game. Personally, I almost always get a Blink Dagger even when I'm playing carry Brew, but I've already admitted to being bad at the game. It's utility really is unmatched and allows for some clutch plays that can make or break a game, and so my general advice would be unless you know you don't need it, or you absolutely NEED a different item now and can't afford to put gold into it, get it, and Blink Clap Haze Ult Clap like crazy.


then or and  

Caving into peer pressure, eh?

Oh, shush. This early game progression is perfectly viable too, thank you very much. Brewmaster's natural tankiness makes you survivable even without the health buff from Bracer , and now that  Blink Dagger has no mana cost, you don't need that extra int from  Drum of Endurance to sustain your initiations.

Going straight for the Blink lets you be aggressive earlier on in the game, which is especially good when facing a hero that takes forever to come online like Spectre, Phantom Lancer, or Faceless Void
. It's a riskier build, though, as you're delaying those extra stats and movement speed you'd otherwise get, so think twice about doing it if you're the only hero on your team with any carry potential.

Slams the ground, dealing damage and slowing the movement speed and attack rate of nearby enemy land units.

Mid Game

and or with maybe a  

Note that the above reads Aghanim's Scepter and (Heart of Tarrasque or Assault Cuirass

), not ( Aghanim's Scepter and Heart of Tarrasque ) or Assault Cuirass. I know, it's seventh grade math come back to haunt us. Moving on.

Brewmaster really does benefit from having more of each stat, which would make Aghanim's Scepter
a viable pick-up even if the upgrade to  Primal Split wasn't amazing. That ult upgrade though, pushes it over the edge to absolute core. The crushing teamfight presence that Aghanim's upgraded spirits give really can't be matched by any other item, if for not other reason than it lets Fire Spirit live longer and be able to crit with HERO damage. Two bouts of  Thunder Clap  ain't a bad justification, either.

After this, tank up. You want to be able to survive the first wave of stuns and nukes they throw at you, as well as be able to delay your ult if the situation calls for it. Which to get, though, AC or Heart?

Well, in general, once you get past 2000 HP (or something around that mark) armor gives you more EHP than raw health, and since Brewmaster doesn't benefit from health in any special way (like say, Ursa) there's a very nice argument to be made for an Assault Cuirass . The extra attack speed really ramps up your DPS as it will proc more critical strikes, and the Assault Aura will cary over to your spirits during  Primal Split, giving them additional armor they desperately need and increasing their DPS as well.

Heart of Tarrasque  on the other hand gives more raw health and a nice solid chunk of damage, as well as some insane regen when you're not actively being damaged, which isn't all that ideal considering Brewmaster, even when carrying, tends to be a team's tank. Why get it instead of an AC, then? It's quite simple: Brewmaster regens health during his ultimate.

So let's say you start a fight as Brewmaster, eat a ton of damage, and then pop your ultimate to stay alive. After 4 seconds, since Brew is melee, Heart of Tarrasque will start providing that insane regen again, even if his spirits are actively being hurt. A level 3 ultimate lasts 19 seconds, so 19-4 is 15 *2% health regen per second, gives a grand total of 30% health recovery! Coupled with his natural regen from his strength, and it's safe to assume you'll come out of Primal Split with a third of your health bar magically intact again, which can be pretty game breaking.


Heaven's Halberd is by far the most controversial item listed here, except perhaps Butterfly which we'll get to in a bit. There's certainly a case to be made for it, though. The components are cheap and useful in their own right, with Sange adding to Brewmaster's already formiddable arsenal of slows, not to mention giving him an additional 26 damage. The evasion DOES stack, as previously mentioned, and I don't care who you are: it's annoying playing against someone that you'll miss 43.75% of the time.

The disarm active, as well, is an oft overlooked (again, by me) ability that is astoundingly useful for shutting down hard right clickers, though the mana cost puts some strain on Brew's already shaky mana pool: unless you got Arcane Boots . With that in mind, this is a pick-up that's at least worth consideration on a tank or initiator Brewmaster. On a carry? Enh... unless you're going a super-reckless all evasion build and plan on getting Butterfly as well, you might want to skip it. There are better items for Brew, when all is said and done.

Late game extensions

 

Late game items are always a 'play your own way' experience: now more than ever you need to buckle down, figure out what your best shot at winning is, and farm, farm, farm for it. This section is going to be more a general case for each item rather than a progression, and since I already made a case for both AC and Heart in the last section, I'll skip those, with the final note that getting both is perfectly fine, and makes Brewmaster a tank to end all tanks.


Shiva's Guard not only gives extra armor for some more tank ability, but effectively solves all of Brewmaster's mana issues for the rest of the game. The blast gives him one more nuke during an initiation, and the aura will, of course, carry over to your spirits, decreasing enemy attack speed in the area. Combine that with attack speed slow from  Thunder Clap and all of a sudden your enemies are attacking as slow as Tiny fighting Enchantress. Well, ok, maybe not THAT slow, but close. Ish.


Boots of Travel  are a good option on any carry, and Brewmaster is no exception. The extra movement speed helps with his positioning, and the teleportation is always useful, whether you need to go back to base to help defend or get to a lane and flash farm real quick.

Radiance provides a good chunk of physical damage, not to mention that burn damage aura that, yes, works through Primal Split. If you're going Radiance, you probably want to pick a Heart over an AC during the mid game. Sure, the AC is more EHP, but the Heart is more TIME, and time is on your side when you're dealing 50 damage per second to everything around you. Makes farming and pushing a breeze too.


Refresher Orb. What is there to say about Refresher Orb, apart from that it doesn't JUST refresh your amazing ultimate? It gives you mana regen to help sustain your spells, it gives a little bit of attack speed to help improve your DPS, and it gives 40 damage, which is nothing to sneeze at.

It goes particularly well with the Heart/Radiance idea, as well, as all of a sudden you have not 19, but 38 seconds to both regen your health and dish out burn damage. 50*38 is 1900 by the way, and that's not including the damage from Fire Spirit's Permanent Immolation and, y'know, everyone's right clicks. It's an expensive as all heck build, but if you're going really, really friggin' late game you can probably afford it.

Which brings us to Butterfly , which... I'll be honest, is on here because it's a fun idea, not necessarily a good one. If you get a Heaven's Halberd and a Butterfly and max out Drunken Brawler, Brewmaster's total evasion comes out to 63.43%, and THAT's not even factoring in the 75% blind chance from  Drunken Haze which DOES stack as well. (If you do factor it in, you get a cumulative miss chance of 90%, by the way.)

It would be obscene, if it wasn't immediately countered and made completely useless by good old
Monkey King Bar , the bane of Troll Warlord, Phantom Assassin and almost ESPECIALLY Brewmaster . One would hope that, if you've manage to farm both a Halberd and a Butterfly, you would be winning so hard that the other team can't afford an MKB, but it's not a guarantee.

Nothing's a guarantee in Dota.

That's probably the wisest thing you've said in this entire guide. Guide to Brewmaster 6.81 - The Ultimate Kegger Build.

Allies and Enemies

Allies

Crystal Maiden

Let's be honest, though, who DOESN'T love Crystal Maiden ? Extra mana regen so I can spam my spells? Yes, please. A disable and a slow that let me walk right up to an enemy and smash them over the head with  Thunder Clap? Marry me, Rylai. We'll have the most beautiful cat/panda/human children the world has ever seen.

Vengeful Spirit

Magic Missile to hold people in place for you, but can use Nether Swap to bring them literally right next to you if things line up correctly. But the real clincher? Vengeance Aura. If you've learned anything from this guide, I hope it's that Brewmaster's spirits love them an aura, especially one that gives a boatload of extra damage. And speaking of auras...

Beastmaster

Inner Beast is almost like giving Brewmaster's spirits a Hyperstone. Almost. In addition to that,  Primal Roar is the longest single target stun in the game: if you can't catch up to someone with that, you weren't getting that kill anyways. Plus, they're both named B-master, and have a Primal ultimate! That's next-level strategy right there. Guaranteed progress on the road to 8000 MMR.

Magnus, Dark Seer, Puck

These heroes can force an entire team to stay in one spot, allowing Brewmaster to land a  Thunder Clap to end all Thunder Claps.Reverse Polarity from Magnus and Vacuum from  Dark Seer will near guarantee that the small AOE of  Drunken Haze hits as many people as possible. Dark Seer even has Surge, to help with your positioning! What's not to love?

Warlock

I've decided to add Warlock to this list. Why? Well, for one,  Shadow Word lets an already tanky Brewmaster be super aggressive in his lane, allowing him to easily dominate. His  Fatal Bonds synergizes nicely with both Thunder Clap and  Primal Split: remember, that Fire Spirit comes with a Radiance! Then there's  Chaotic Offering to either initiate for you or follow up on yours, plus your Thunder Clap will keep enemies in place long enough for him to really get the most out of  Upheaval . Warlock is strong in general, but the combo potential here is notable.

Keeper of the Light

Keeper of the Light is a useful ally to Mangix thanks to Chakra Magic, and its ability to let you spam  Thunder Clap with virtually no limits, but that by itself isn't enough to put him on this list. No, what makes KotL especially synergistic with Brewmaster is the interplay between Recall and  Primal Split, namely that if KotL uses Recall, and Brewmaster activates Primal Split before he's teleported to Keeper's side, Recall... still works.

You'll get the full duration of your ultimate, with all three spirits running around causing as much mayhem as possible, but when your ultimate ends, you won't go to where the Earth Spirit (or whichever spirit is left alive) is, you'll appear where Keeper cast Recall, even if he's moved since then. It's an obscure, interesting mechanic that can confuse the heck out of the enemy team, and make for some guaranteed escapes in otherwise hopeless situations.

Enemies

Silencer

Silencer jeopardizes Brewmaster's mana pool just being around during a team fight, and in the early game his typical  Curse of the Silent spam will leave you running on empty.  Global Silence is a quick way to ensure that you can't get your ultimate off, and even if you do it'll still make the Storm Spirit useless, which is 4 of your 6 abilities down the drain.

Huskar

Huskar does not care how much health you have. At. All. One  Life Break and a few auto attacks and you're all but forced to panic ult, and panic ults... are never ideal. Prioritize armor over raw HP, and be grateful that your Earth Spirit is magic immune.

Necrophos

Another hero who doesn't care about your health, Necrophos will straight up tear you a new one with  Reaper's Scythe. There will be no last second ultimates that completely turn around team fights with this guy in the enemy line-up... I mean, unless the guy playing him's a noob. Then you're fine.

Lifestealer

Lifestealer eats tanky heroes like Brewmaster for breakfast, and good timing with his Rage ability can render your entire kit pretty much useless. Drunken Brawler will you help avoid his right clicks and a Heaven's Halberd might actually not be a bad idea here... I mean, until he goes and gets...

Gameplay Tips for Brewmaster

• Brewmaster is strong against auto-attack heroes; Thunder Clap slows down attack speed,  Drunken Haze causes them to miss, and  Drunken Brawler helps him dodge attacks and deal critical damage.
• Thunder Clap is extremely strong at the early stages of the game, acting as his area-of-effect cripple. It is generally leveled up first.
• Against extremely strong physical harassment (such as Sniper or Weaver), consider going for a  Drunken Haze and  Drunken Brawler build to maximize your dodge chance.
• Many players opt for Arcane Boots if the hero is being played in a ganking or initiator role, as it can allow you to use  Thunder Clap and  Primal Split in succession much earlier and solve mana issues.
• Use  Primal Split sparingly, as it has an extremely long cooldown. Try to avoid using it to run away if at all possible.
• If Brewmaster is being played more in the semi-carry role, consider using his ultimate as a life saver to keep yourself in the fight when you would normally die. The utility of the Brewlings works excellently for finishing off opponents as well as initiation.
• When playing Brewmaster , try to gain an advantage for your team early before anybody on the enemy carry can build a Black King Bar. Against magic immunity, both his anti-carry abilities and  Primal Split abilities are rendered useless and must be focused on another target.
• Soul Ring can solve all of Brewmaster 's mana problems for a cheap cost while also providing some health and mana regen. Guide to Brewmaster 6.81 - The Ultimate Kegger Build for Brewmaster.

Na`Vi Dendi Brewmaster Gameplay

Guide to Brewmaster 6.81 - The Ultimate Kegger Build Source