Hard carry Morphling - Morphling Guides | Dota 2

Hard carry Morphling - Morphling Guides | Dota 2

Introduction&Pros/Cons

Morphling is an agility hero a low range carry.He is one of the most flexible heroes in the game all of his skills are possibly escape skills or offensive depending on how you use them.He is my favourite hero and my most won one.

In case you want to check: https://dotabuff.com/players/92549983/matches?hero=morphling&game_mode=&match_type=real

Pros:

• Good agility gain
• Excellent survivability
• Very good nukes (during mid game)
• Potential at all stages of the game
• Flexible statistics (morph ability)
• Can Split push with replicate.
• Solid Killing Mechanism (Shotgun)
• Nearly ungankable (3 escape mechanisms)

Cons

• Low Movement speed
• Very low armor for agility hero
• Mana dependent
• Low Range (which makes laning quite the problem)

Morphling can go either be #1 or #2

Build : Hard carry

Hard carry Morphling - Morphling Guides | Dota 2

Best Allies

All kinds of babysitters are welcome when you are morphling.
Examples:
Dazzle, Witch Doctor, Warlock, Venomancer, Lion, Shadow Shaman, Lich
Special mention to Keeper of the Light
With keeper of the light all of your mana problems are solved to due to his Chakra Magic and you can have endless farm without having to pay for tp scrolls just by using Replicate and recall is it not wonderfull ?

Worst enemies

Heroes who prevent you from escaping;
Kunkka, Disruptor, Doom Bringer, Silencer, Bane, Scythe of Vyse
Heroes Who Ignore your armor Templar Assassin, Battle Fury, Sven, Kunkka, Empower
*FYI cleave damage is pure

And all kinds of silences

Special mention to Pugna. Pugna can destroy Morphling on solo mid and his Nether Ward destroys Morphling even later on .When he Morph Strength Gain stats every instance of morphing stats hurts him and burns his mana even more thats why pugna is such a pain.
Special mention #2 Ancient Apparition which makes your morph skill suicide attempt by his utimate.If you morph to strength while you are hit by Ice Blast you wont gain any hp so by doing this you are forcing your life percentage closer to the shatter percentage of Ice Blast.
Special mention to Elder Titan so you are in the endgame and you are overconfident with all your stats morphed into agility cuz you got high armor right ?NOPE Natural Order thinks otherwise so better avoid staying close to this guy if an enemy hard carry is hitting you
Special mention to Shadow Demon what hits really hard in late game ?YOU, and you fighting yourself is something you dont want so avoid approaching this guy unless u got Linken's Sphere or Black King Bar or his Disruption and Soul Catcher will get you bellow half hp in no time.

When you should pick morphling and when you should not

for #1 Morphling when you have decent consistent lanes and allies that can prolong the game long enough for you to shine.
If you plan to go Ethereal Blade build you should be able to be active earlier than enemy carry provided you have the same ammount of farm in the same time (around 12k networth which means Linken's Sphere Power Treads Ethereal Blade)
If you dont and you plan to go hard rightclick build you need an active mid hero that can create enough space for you to rock the late game

for #2 Morphling when you have a not so strong middle hero not highly recommended picking Morphling vs Shadow Fiend Queen of Pain Outworld Devourer Silencer Invoker* Puck Sniper Death Prophet Storm Spirit Templar Assassin
(*= Invoker invoker as middle vs morphling is a matter of skill depending on the invoker picker he definately has more range but his spells such as Sun Strike arent easy to land if morphling utilizes the waveform.Personally I usually dare going against invoker)
I do recommend though picking morphling against heroes such as Pudge Mirana Magnus Naga Siren Tiny Brewmaster Dragon Knight Nightstalker.
Personally I excel at crushing Pudge pickers in middle lane mostly because you cant die against pudge (once he misses hook he is easy prey to morphling as well) and you can find runes easier due to your waveofrm mobility.

You should definately NOT PICK Morphling when enemy team has tons of pushing power why ?Because you probably wont make it mid-late game your hero excels at unless your team wins all lanes.

Laning Phase

If you are going easy lane I suggest you to check first your enemies SKILL NOTHING BEFORE YOU DO (thats a general tip but especially on morph it matters even more) .If you are feeling like a first blood candidate pick waveofrm without any second thoughs.But if your enemies are short ranged and have no early power Pick morph and turn some of your stats to agility so you wont miss any last hits.By doing this your effective hit point dont change (effective hit points= HP * Armor) but in fact your hp lowers and your healings last longer that way.
Since morphling is a level dependent hero ask your babysitter once you are feeling fine and a bit independent to pull neutrals.
You have quite a killing potential in the early game with waveform being one of the best nukes in the game not only damaging but helping you position yourself right especially in level 3(considering you got a level edge by your support pulling).So get a level edge and clear the enemies on the lane.

If you are solo mid you should probably farm until level 7 get your bottle (get replicate at level 6 instead of 9 mentioned above) and gank with your waveform.Those 325 damage are way too much for the enemy sidelane heroes to handle and even worse for them if you have a haste or dd rune.

Note:Remember that on sidelane you will farm easier your core items, but on solo middle you will get easier your key levels to become effective.The choice is yours.

This Phase ends when you need your next item at around 10-15 minute mark

Mid game

In mid game real strenght of this hero starts.
Here you need to ask yourself a question.
AM I HARDER THAN THE ENEMY CARRY IN SUPER LATE GAME ?
If Yes then I can go for right click built
If Not then I should play morphling with Ethereal Blade AKA THE SHOTGUN built which I favor, because you can outnumber them in fights because you melt one of their supports instant or turn their right clicker into squishy target to nukes for 4 seconds (also to pick the shotgun built they should have at least 2-3 potential shotgun victims with low hit points)
Its safer to usually go for a Linken's Sphere before Ethereal Blade which will make you sustainable and will allow you to avoid 1 or even 2 projectiles if used correctly (watch the Linken's Sphere abuse tab for explanation)
So farm your way to ethereal blade (4900 gold).It will take average like 8 minutes off the teamfights (without tower roshan or kills).Thats the boring part.
Got a shotgun baby ?LETS DANCE !Morph most of your stats to agi and the replicate is your plan B of escape
At this point your best ally becomes the enemy crystal maiden (poor sexy rylai <3) because its 250 gold with cooldown her respawn time.
Leave a replicate behind find your target nuke him to death and replicate out .Again and again and again.
I suggest getting Manta Style after Ethereal Blade.For this simple reason.After getting some gay kills ( meaning using the shotgun combo and replicate out) you need to MAN THE FUCK UP.And it feels a bit uncomfortable being near an enemy in ethereal form.After you are done with your nukes a finger or laguna can hurt way too much even one shot you since you morphed too much agility and ethereal form is 44% more magic damage (let me do the math for you 1244 finger,1368 laguna No aghanims).
So with Manta Style you debuff your ethereal form get some extra stats as well as agility and get 2 illusions.Problem solved.

Note:If you are going to middle lane ethereal blade works even better for you because you will outlevel 4/5 enemies.

Late Game

In Late game morphling's shotgun power is fading and his true right click power rises.
Keep farming the enemy supports to the lame combo mentioned above.Also keep farming creeps.
Pick up your first luxury item among:Eye of Skadi,Butterfly,Daedalus,Linken Sphere,Satanic.
Dont replace BKB by linken or any luxury.When BKB is a need get it without second thoughs.
You cant man up versus a team of nukers & disablers without a bkb.After you get your first luxury item go pay roshan a visit and claim aegis for yourself unless you have someone else in the team carrying you.
With aegis power you can force the teamfight and go for the gg .
If you are still feeling insecure about the fight farm your way to win if the enemy carry has less ultra late game potential than you do .


Note:In competitive games most morphlings make first linkens sphere and then buy ethereal blade.In China they even get BKB first.Because they need safety first.

Utilizing the replicate

The casual use of Replicate is mostly defensive and allows you to replicate an ally/enemy use Scroll of Town Portal fill your Bottle then go back to back to your Replicate and keep farming.
However as the game proceeds the power of this skill grows much more than most people can imagine.In the end dont forget your Replicate does 50% of the damage of the hero you use it on and tanks as much as the hero you use it on.If you are raping the game this advice isnt even needed for you.But if you are in an even game replicating the correct hero in teamfights could be crucial and even game chaning.
Some examples
#1 If you Replicate The enemy Naga Siren that carries Radiance you fully profit from his Radiance and his right click which can be proved huge.
#2 If you replicate the enemy Anti Mage his Mana Break on right click of your illusion can do huge damage on enemy supports.
#3 Consider replicating Shadow Fiend why ?Aside from the damage that he can deal, replicate isnt a simple illusion but in this case it gets Presence of the Dark Lord aura which is a pretty big deal for your team (like a free ac agressive aura).
#4 Consider replicating Spectre the illusion you will create will fully profit from desolate.
However this method also has a few downsides and counters
1.You cannot rely on replicate for escape
2.Your illusion can be destroyed via Diffusal Blade Scythe of Vyse Voodoo Hex
3.even worse than being destroyed your illusion can be stolen by Enchantress using Enchant
4.You have to micro your illusion so that is stays on the right target

Solid Laner morphling

Basicly because morphling isnt a top carry anymore, since they are way better heroes to pick in order to one man carry a game (at least at some point 30-45 minute mark) you should find your own farm without asking much of the supports (of course they should get chick and wards but babysitting is less of a need with this build).
Also the other plan is to be sent offlane for another harder carry to farm.

With this build you aim on having mana and hp on lane by tranquils and aquila. Your Goal is NOT TO DIE in order to give an opening on ur supports to farm their cores (For example early meka)
The plan of this morphling is to create a window of time in mid game where your ganks shall be game breaking.

So in order to achieve that, you will need mobility which is why drums+yasha are your next items to followup ur early build,these items upgrade significantly your mobility and offer you a couple of stats for survivability.

Note:This morphling should never man up vs a Solid afk farm carry .He should kill his supports
and then attempt a carry pickup of course ONLY if he outnumbers the enemies +carry on fight.

Next he should either pickup a BKB or a shotgun.Both in diffrent cases if the plan is totally working Ethereal will make you a playmaker for the ganks (30-35 minute mark MAX).
Remember with ethereal you should do the typical plan of have a safe escape with replicate in case something goes wrong.
In case of bkb it means that probably the enemy team is fighting back and u are having nukers hurting you.

Normally if the game lasts longer after those 2 possible item choices and you dont have a main carry you would probably lose but if it works correctly it will finish your game around 35-40 minute mark MAX.

Explaining the item choices more

Early Game items:

Ring of Aquila:It gives you the mana regen you need as well as +15 damage not to miss any last hit.Excellent cost effect item.
Magic Wand its kinda situational on lane unless you are facing someone like bat rider or Phantom Assassin that has to constantly use skills.While ganking magic wand can be proved life saving and its a good option on all heroes.
Bottle most morphlings pick bottle if they go to middle lane for rune chasing.However with bottle you can save much time regening on base (while replicated and tped out) also it can synergize excellent with your morph stats.To make it more simple you morph all your stats to agility and you get like 370-500 hp.Bottle can heal (3 charges of 135 health and 70 mana )totally 405 health and 210 and after you heal on your minimum hp you morph back to strenght and you ve healed more than you normally would just by utilizing your morph skill

Mid game items

Ethereal Blade:Old ethereal blade did much more damage with less manacost.Still its a very good item choice because with getting the shotgun you get useful to your team immediately.You get a solid killing mechanism you can even initiate for bigger nukers than you (examples:Qop,Lion,Lina).

Boots of Travel:Although its a luxury, on morphling boots of travel are twice as effective as other heroes due to his replicate ability.WIth BoTs and replicate you can be everywhere in no time.

Linken's Sphere:Most people in competitive get linkens sphere before shotgun.Linkens is a luxury item for me because you spend 5175 gold and you get no big stats gain (however you can make it 30 agility or strength instead of 15 str+15 agi by your morph skill).But there are sometimes when you face enemies with superior skills like Fiend's
Grip,Doom,Primar Roar etc that you just cant avoid getting linkens.

Black King Bar:If you need to man up versus casters that have no superior skills its the best choice no doubt.Most Chinese players favor Black king Bar over the linkens sphere.

Manta Style:Although ranged manta style was nerfed and ranged illusions deal 28% of damage instead of 33% that they used to, Manta is a great item on morphling.The reason is because illusion damage is based on your main damage that you get by morphing your stats.
Also with manta you can debuff all the annoying silences but Doom and avoid projectiles.

Late Game:

Eye of Skadi :The most luxury item.It gives you stats and slow.Morphling loves stats and who doesnt love slow.Do I need to say more ?

Daedalus:Personally I love criticals ,but still most morphlings make all items that need ultimate orb (with the exception of Scythe of Vyse).If you need more damage daedalus is always a good source

Monkey King Bar:If you are facing evasion consider getting it.Nuff said

Scythe of Vyse:If your enemy is a good match for you .Make Sheepstick and melt him while he is hexed.Not the most orthodox choice, but if you are playing pubs and the retarded allied sidelane windrunner makes daedalus instead you have to take control of the game.
Butterfly:The greatest right click item choice on morphling .Also it gives you more survivability by evasion.If you have the money just get it.
Satanic:If your enemies are taking you down in a fight its time to stand tall.
With 3 hits of satanic you should be able to regen your life and get away or continue killing your enemies.(usually in compeitive satanic is the 6th item)
Also Satanic Combined with BKB makes Divine Rappier a non insane choice.

Divine Rappier :Not much to say here.You want to turn around the game that your team is losing ?(because if you are losing you wont be able to afford it) Or you just want to throw ?If you want to turn around the game best partnetrs of divine are aegis,BKB,Satanic.
If you wanna throw the game DIVINE FIRST YOLO.

Mid emphasis and few details

If you are going middle you will be a bit more effective earlier than easy lane #1 Morphling.
You can start with 3 Iron Branch 1 Tango 1 Healing Salve 1 Slippers of Agility
or if your teammates are reliable and you are a greedy one try getting Wraith Band for easiest last hitting 2-3 sharable Tango and 2 Iron Branch
Your item progression will be just like that:
Bottle > Wraith Band > Ring of Aquila> Boots of Speed > Magic Wand> Boots of Travel> Ethereal Blade
to be honest Magic Wand is optional and if you are farming well probably Wraith Band is delaying you from your bots.
Since you arent the strongest midder (as a hero, I dont have a clue about your skills) it would be kind of wise do some rune scouting.An early Haste/Invisibility/Double Damage at around level 6-8 combined with some Morph Agility Gain could easily give you an early kill.
Note:Double Damage makes your agility even more valuable since its based on primary stats.
Your primary objective after getting early game items is to get your Boots of Travel.
Although its a luxury item if you go middle Bots becomes ultra effective combined with your Replicate it allows you to go back, heal fill your Bottle from fountain and go back to your farm in matter of seconds.
Bots Timing (also depending on how many minor items you will get before it) is great among 7-13 minute mark (earlier than that your enemies should be feeding or your allies should rape enemy towers) and decent among 13-16
Then your next primary objective is to grab an Ethereal Blade.It is preferable to grab minor agility items such as Ring of Aquila before Ethereal Blade since it enhances its killing capability even more.A good timing of picking up Ethereal Blade would be 17-23 mark.A decent timing would be 23-26 then you are quite late and you need to catch up.
Note:If the enemy has much burst damage and your mana gets depleted too easy I go for a Point Booster before Ethereal Blade or even during I am having the Ghost Scepter. Point booster is a cheap cost effective item upgradable into skadi which will allow you to live a bit further or give you mana to use Morph Strength Gain in order to survive. Once you get the shotgun point booster will allow your 600 hp (when you go full agility in order to burst someone down) to become 800 instead which could be pretty survivable in case something goes wrong.
Note #2:You can build your Ethereal Blade any way you please (if your farm is great and you are agressive get the eaglehorn) ,personally I start with Ghost Scepter which allows me to get misc stats instead of only agility but mostly because of its use.
Furthermore you are free to build whatever you please personally I go for Eye of Skadi after I farm some kills

Changelog 6.80

The old waveform which allows you with fast clicks to do anything during it is back.
I think hero could use a little more buff (5-10 ms or some armor) but its already good enough to get Morphling played again in some risky lineups
Also with this changelog I think it makes much more sence rushing Linken's Sphere in morphling.

When and when not to pick midas

Hand of Midas has been a top fashion for all heroes and even Summon Spirit Bear and Animal Courier at 6.80 meta and a bit lately.

Hand of Midas makes your hero and team (if you have more than 1) to go for a more late game oriented approach.I think hand of midas in morphling is more easy lane friendly than mid lane.

There are 2 kinds of Hand of Midases
1.The casual early 5-7 minute midas which makes you a threat to the enemy team if used right.You just dont have to die more than 2 deaths before 25 minute mark and your midas will pay up for sure (provided that you farm well), eventually.
2.The catchup midas ,yes although I find the idea stupid sometimes its actually worth it to go for a comeback midas,for the levels and secondary for the faster farming

On #1 morphling if you go for greedy Hand of Midas you can usually skip the Linken's Sphere or you can still go for it that's up to your game.If you got raped in lane and somehow you found a couple of kills at 10-15 minute mark and you are sitting at 1600-1800 gold consider it,its not the best atm but if you can make it late game and u can spend 5-10 minute without dying it may pay you up.

On #2 Morphling its viable as long as it doesnt come just by farm.Let me make myself clear.Your early Bottle}]+[[Boots of Speed doesnt change and to be good enough a midas should be based on 1-2 kills.On mid Morphling Hand of Midas is viable from 6-12 minute mark.For example if you had farmed 1000 gold with Boots of Speed and Bottle and you find an 8 minute haste rune bottom and you decide to gank and you get a double kill.You should consider getting midas even though its greedy, if it succeeds ,which it most likely will if they dont have some of your worst enemies such as Doom Bringer you will be sitting at bots midas and some gold ,but most importantly LEVELS 2-4 levels ahead of the enemy middle (provdied he doesnt builds midas or kills more than you).

Some numbers

Personally I am a greedy player and I sometimes pick morph even b4 I go to lane .
I start with 3 Iron Branch 1 Ring of Protection 1 Tango 1 Healing Salve
and I morph my stats to go to 435 Hp (with items picked up) and 57 last hit damage or probably 397 hp and 59 damage when my enemy manages to contest me.Sometimes when enemy has blink or sb initiation you regret setting your hp to low but its a risk you have to take while playing morph.
You see if you don't farm in time you will lose the carry war,dying once or twice isnt the end of the world but don't have more than 3 deaths before 25 minute mark.
Don't worry about having Low Hit Point pool it makes your regen more valuable and also provided that enemy doesn't have high damage nukes and hits you too much, your effective hp stays the same pretty much and you sustain it even better because your healing numbers don't change.
^This is the reason bottle is quite valuable on morphling even if you arent in middle lane.

A small Favor ...

Please guys by all means GET Morphling TO AT LEAST 50%
its ridiculus such a cool hero to have such a low winrate.
http://strawpoll.me/1721320 also please answer this to rate this guide

Replays and Links

Although morphling's era has passed since the nerf of waveform and he isnt picked at all now.You can seek some decent replays in dota 2 and dota 1
The best morphling players imho out there are:
Europe:Era
US:Powernet,Korok,TC,Arteezy
Asia:Meracle,Hao,Burning,Sylar
Sorry but Asians are best Overall
Watch their replays I am sure they have more to teach you than I do =]
Find them in www.gosugamers.net in either dota 2 or dota 1 section.
or www.joindota.com
Thanks for your time
Leave some feedback positive or negative its always welcome

 Guide by GGnet.Ace - DotaFire.com