Mangix

Mangix the Pandaren Brewmaster

Introduction

In this guide, I hope to popularize Panda. He is ignored potential sporting a strong slowing nuke, natural critical and evasion, target Blind and slow, and an underrated and often misused ultimate for good micro managers. I suspect that he is often swept aside because he does not have one obvious purpose: DPS, tanking, or support. However, Panda can be successful at any of these and a considerably nifty hero emerges.

Hero Overview

Look here for a general introduction to Panda.

To sum his stats up, it leans toward strength and HP. He will have nearly 2000 base HP at level 25. His agility is mediocre and intelligence is pathetic. MP will be an issue throughout the game.

Let's move on to Panda's skills (which were all shamelessly taken from ladder). The hotkey for each skill will be in red.

Thunderclap
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Slows and deals a good amount of damage to units within a large circle of radius of 400 (at level 4). This is your nuking, ganking, hero killing, and tanking skill. Keep in mind that it has a different AoE of 250/300/350/400 AoE based on the skill's level. You will not miss with Thunderclap if you have any skill playing DotA due to its tremendous AoE.
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Level 1 - 100 damage, 25% movement and attack speed reductions (90 MP).
Level 2 - 175 damage, 35% movement and attack speed reductions (105 MP).
Level 3 - 250 damage, 45% movement and attack speed reductions (130 MP).
Level 4 - 300 damage, 55% movement and attack speed reductions (150 MP).


Cooldown: 12 seconds
Slow Duration: 3 seconds on heroes; 8 seconds on creeps

Drunken Haze
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The main use of this skill is for restricting physical damage output. The move speed reduction is minimal and because of the length of the animation, it will not be too helpful in chasing. In that way, it is a situational skill for rare emergencies. Obviously, you shouldn't max this up early if you are against intelligence heroes. One level of Drunken Haze should suffice emergency situations during early to mid game. Instead of learning the other 3 levels, Stats are better because they help balance your MP and provide ... stats. More times than other, Drunken Haze will completed late game, or last.
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Level 1 - 10% movement speed reduction, 45% miss chance (50 MP).
Level 2 - 12% movement speed reduction, 55% miss chance (50 MP).
Level 3 - 15% movement speed reduction, 65% miss chance (50 MP).
Level 4 - 17% movement speed reduction, 75% miss chance (75 MP).

Cooldown: 12 seconds
Duration: 7 seconds

Drunken Brawler
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Gives a chance to avoid attacks or deal 1.8x critical damage. Improves your ability to tank, and gives you somewhat powerful physical damage. Because it is an evasion skill, it does not stack with diminishing returns with other items like Radiance or Butterfly. Rather, the skill or item with a greater chance to dodge will take precedence and override the lesser evasion. Example: Radiance will give you 24% dodge because 24% > 8%.
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Level 1 - 6% dodge, 5% chance to critical.
Level 2 - 12% dodge, 10% chance to critical.
Level 3 - 18% dodge, 15% chance to critical.
Level 4 - 24% dodge, 20% chance to critical.

Passive

Primal Split
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A complicated skill that is often misunderstood and misused. Basically, you split into 3 specialized Pandas that each have their own skills and roles. They are amazing in battle and for pushing. I will elaborate throughout the rest of the guide. See below for each of Panda's skills.
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Level 1 - Summons three mighty Pandas (125 MP).
Level 2 - Summons three even mightier Pandas (175 MP).
Level 3 - Summons three really freaking mighty Pandas (225 MP).

Cooldown: 180
Duration: 15/17/19 seconds

Storm

Damage: 37-43/75-84/159-171 piercing damage
Movespeed: 350
Base Attack Time: 1.5 (1.35 at level 3)
Range: 500
HP: 1000/1500/1900
MP: 500/750/750
Armor: 2 heavy armor

Dispel Magic

Removes all buffs from units in a target area. Deals 350 damage to summoned units. Costs 75 MP and has a 8 second cooldown.

Cyclone

Tosses a target non-mechanical enemy unit into the air, rendering it unable to move, attack or cast spells and stopping others from attacking or casting on it. Lasts 20 seconds on creeps and 6 seconds on heroes. Casting range of 600, costs 150 MP, and has a 8 second cooldown.

Wind Walk

Allows the Pandaren to become invisible, and move 50% faster. If the Pandaren attacks a unit to break invisibility, the attack will do 100 bonus damage. Costs 75 MP and has a 7 second cooldown. Lasts 20 seconds.

Resistant Skin

Reduces the duration of negative spells and renders this unit immune to certain spells.

Earth

Damage: 37-43/75-84/159-171 piercing damage
Movespeed: 325
Base Attack Time: 1.35
Range: Melee
HP: 1500/2250/3000
MP: 500/400/600 <--- Baffling
Armor: 5 heavy armor

Hurl Boulder

A magical boulder that is thrown at an enemy unit, dealing 100 points of damage and stunning the target for 2 seconds. 800 range, costs 100 MP, and has a 10 second cooldown.

Pulverize

Gives a 20% chance that an attack will deal 40 damage to nearby units in 150 AoE, or 20 damage in 250 AoE.

Taunt

The closest 10 enemies in 450 AoE are forced to attack this unit. Does NOT stop channeling spells. Cooldown 10 seconds.

Resistant Skin

Reduces the duration of negative spells and renders this unit immune to certain spells.

Spell immunity

Renders this unit immune to all spells.

Fire

Damage: 52-62/105-120/214-234 piercing damage
Movespeed: 325
Base Attack Time: 1.35
Range: Melee
HP: 900/1350/1800
Armor: 2 heavy armor

Permanent Immolation

Burns nearby enemy units for 10 points of damage per second within an AoE of 220.

Resistant Skin

Reduces the duration of negative spells and renders this unit immune to certain spells.

Strengths

• Strong nuke and slow with a giant AoE.
• Passive evasion and critical improves already amazing tanking capabilities and gives good damage.
• Very high HP and survivability.
• Very versatile.
• Micromanager's galore with Primal Split adding up to a total of 8 active spells.
• Can shut down high DPS heroes with Drunken Haze.

Weaknesses

• Low intelligence means that MP will be a problem throughout the game.
• May be tough to micromanage Primal Split.
• Melee hero

Skill Build

1. Thunderclap
2. Drunken Haze
3. Thunderclap
4. Stats
5. Thunderclap
6. Primal Split
7. Thunderclap
8. Stats
9. Stats
10. Drunken Brawler
11. Primal Split
12. Drunken Brawler
13. Drunken Brawler
14. Drunken Brawler
15. Stats
16. Primal Split
17. Drunken Haze/ Stats
18. Drunken Haze/ Stats
19. Drunken Haze/ Stats
20. Stats
21. Stats
22. Stats
23. Stats/ Drunken Haze
24. Stats/ Drunken Haze
25. Stats/ Drunken Haze

Reasoning

This is a solid build utilizing Thunderclap, Stats, and Primal Split for early game ganking; an early level of Drunken Haze for emergencies; and Drunken Brawler mid game for greater DPS and more EHP with evasion.

Thunderclap is maxed first for obvious reasons: nuke, slow, and gank.

Stats are taken early for extra HP, MP, and damage. Stats have priority over Drunken Brawler because the benefits of evasion are minor early game and rare criticals only strengthen your weak early game damage. HP from Stats is more beneficial than evasion early game because most damage will be from nukes and spells, not physical damage.

One level of Drunken Haze is taken for its 45% miss chance. It only costs 50 MP to use, so it will not hinder your ability to use Thunderclap. Good for annoying heroes like Viper, Silencer, Clinkz, and Visage, but also for emergencies in general. A good utility skill to have against any hero. It is better to have this skill ready to save an ally or yourself, no matter how small the chance, than to take one level of Stats.

Drunken Brawler is taken mid game where it will actually have noticeable effects.

Primal Split is taken at level 6 for emergency escapes and extra disables for ganks. The jump from level 1 Primal Split to 2 slightly increases the damage and duration which will allow you to deal more damage at the negligible cost of 50 more MP. Taking Primal Split at level 16 is a no brainer. It is one of the most powerful ultimates in the game.

There is an option between Drunken Haze or Stats at level 17. If you are against mostly agility and high DPS heroes, then max it then. If not, Stats are more useful, and should be taken instead while maxing Drunken Haze last.

Item Builds

A note on items and their relation with Primal Split. Necronomicon and Manta are the only items that will have any effect during Primal Split. This should not mitigate the strength of the rest of the items at all. You will be in Primal Split for less than 6 minutes during the entire game, and this is if you use it at every possible cooldown. The absence of Assault Cuirass' auras or Radiance's Immolation during this time should not prevent the purchase of the item.

Carry and Tanking Build

When to Use It

• Your team lacks a carry hero.
• No one else on your team is planning to buy Radiance as their core item (ask them).
• Your team is okay with you farming a lot for the better part of half the game.
• You are not against enemies that clearly favor the other builds.

1. Circlet of Nobility x2 and Tangos
2. Bottle
3. Boots of Speed and Bracers x2
4. Boots of Travel
5. Radiance
6. Heart of Tarrasque

Throughout the game: Observer Wards
Optional: Hood of Defiance

Reasoning

This build is the cookie cutter, rice-farming Radiance/Heart carry build. It is not meant to be original, but to be effective. The early game build is focused on ganking. Bottle and Boots of Travel the best ganking items in the game providing better lane and map control. The Bracers are for cheap stats and fixing your MP. Radiance is the best item for Panda for DPS to attract fire from enemies for the role of initiator and tank. It will also make you a semi-carry hero. The Immolation helps with farming your next item and deals damage even if you get disabled. Heart is the next item and will further develop your tanking ability by giving HP and damage. In non EM games, it is uncommon that you will finish Heart. I do not expect you to get past this point. If you do, see the Other Items below.

Because you will be spending a large amount of time farming Radiance, Observer Wards are very useful for watching incoming ganks and the other team's activities. They are also a staple in finding Runes for your Bottle. You should always get them if no one on your team has purchased them (Lich, Vengeful Spirit, etc.), or your team doesn't have a scouting skill (Beastmaster, Nerubian Weaver, etc.). Obs should be purchased throughout the game.

An optional Hood of Defiance should be purchased for an overwhelming force of casters (like three or more strong casters). Do not get it just because the other team has Tinker or Zeus.

The following two builds will both begin like this:



1. 2 Circlets + Tangoes
2. Bottle
3. Strength Power Treads and 2 or 3 Bracers
4. Scrolls of Town Portal

Throughout the game: Observer Wards
Optional: Hood of Defiance

Bottle and Bracers are gotten for the previously stated reasons. Power Treads and Scrolls of Town Portal are substituted for Boots of Travel so you have more DPS for ganks, and a teleport for lane hopping. The % attribute bonus from Strength Treads is a nice addition that will compliment your 3 Bracers. This is very easy to farm.

Then, depending on your enemies:

The Initiating Tank

When to Use It

• Your team lacks an solid initiator or tank.
• You are against a majority of powerful physically-attacking late game DPS heroes (that was a mouthful).
• You are facing numerous Blinking skills that are hindering your ability to gank (Timewalk, Leap, Blink, Waveform).

4. Kelen's Dagger of Escape
5. Heart of Tarrasque
6. Assault Cuirass

This build is best when your team lacks a good initiator and is need of an early tank. The popular Blink Dagger will be used for ganking throughout early and middle game, and a instant initiator throughout. It will be a useful utility tool for chasing or escaping late game. Heart is the simplest and most effective way to become a tank, and it also adds some damage. Assault Cuirass will increase your EHP and DPS, as well as your allies' through auras. The player should swap the order of Heart for Assault Cuirass depending on the enemies.

The All-Rounder

When to Use It

• Your team already has sufficent power in each role (DPS, tanking, and initiating).
• Your team needs a hybrid of a tank, DPSer, ganker, and supporter.

4. Point Booster
5. Ultimate Orbs x2
6. Eye of Skadi

A solid and reliable build spreading stats evenly throughout the game. The pieces to form Skadi each benefit Panda greatly. You will rarely have any MP issues, and you will have plenty of HP, damage, and agility (attack speed and armor). When Skadi is finished, you will have a total of 3 slows, making you a very strong ganker.

Item Discussion

1. Blink Dagger
2. Power Treads
3. Assault Cuirass
4. Stygian Desolator
5. Eye of Skadi
6. BKB

1. Despite Blink Dagger's popularity, it is not a mandatory item. Offensively, how much help is needed positioning 400 AoE? Defensively, your survivability is already high. You can escape with Primal Split when all else fails, your HP is huge, and you have Thunderclap/Drunken Haze for a slow/miss. I have found that buying Blink Dagger strengthens my mid game, but once Thunderclap loses power mid-late game I often wish I spent the gold on Boots of Travel. Boots of Travel will give 390 MS for positioning Thunderclap and unlimited teleports for map control and ganking for a similar price.

But then again, this is a popular item on Panda, and my paragraph of explanation will probably not phase many people. It is a good item to get if your team lacks a good initiator (even though running in from behind essentially does the same thing). Otherwise, I find it to be a luxury item that can be skipped.

2. Power Treads is a great item to increase DPS in form of attack speed, but it lacks Boots of Travel's mobility. The new Power Treads now features a small % attribute bonus. It is a nice addition, but will not increase your damage or HP very drastically unless you plan to stack strength items. Power Treads is a good alternative for Boots of Travel, especially if you decide not to aim for a carry Panda. Stocking up on Scrolls of Town Portals is mandatory.

3. Assault Cuirass is an amazing late game item on Panda. The auras will help your team, while the armor and attack speed will improve your tanking and DPS capabilities. Armor is most useful late game, and attack speed is great after buying a damage item.

4. If you're not farming well, Stygian Desolator is an alternate and cheaper way to boost your damage than Radiance. Deso is a strong item that helps your allies deal more damage due to armor reduction. It is relatively easy to farm. It also synergizes with Drunken Brawler and will strengthen future items like Heart. If you are farming well, by all means go for Radiance, otherwise, you should purchase Desolator before you fall too behind.

5. Eye of Skadi is a good item that provides stats during the building process and a slow when finished. Unfortunately, it is relatively hard to farm and I have seen people incapable of finishing it before the game ended. On the bright side, the parts give HP, MP, and damage through stats. Radiance focuses on damage while Skadi is a great overall item.

6. BKB is viable item just because of the thought of a giant panda (and to a lesser extent immunity to most magic and extra damage). A 10 second avatar will either be not enough or cause casters to ignore you and damage your allies; not what you want to happen as a tank. You only want to get this item if you are facing a majority of casters with so many spells that they are hindering your ability to tank.

7. MKB is a good DPS item that provides a % ministun. Similar to Deso, it should be purchased mainly if you are lagging behind. It is also useful for stopping channeling spells. The components for MKB have been improved in the past version. The Javelin is a nice damage booster and are relatively easy to farm, like Hammers for Deso. It is clearly inferior to Radiance in damage, but is an alternative due to the relative ease of farming.

Rejected Items

Buriza

Buriza is a waste of gold. As a general rule of thumb, avoid getting items that give you effects that you already have. Criticals stacking does weird things. First of all, it stacks with diminishing returns by the formula
1 - ( 1 - A ) * ( 1 - B ) * ( 1 - C ) .... ( 1 - X ) = 36% chance of critical.


Battlefury

Battlefury is average as a late game item after buying your core items. However, you can get the needed HP and MP from Bottle for much less than Perseverance. Regen will lose its effectiveness as the game progresses. Radiance is a better item. While you won't push the creeps as fast, Radiance has larger range and you will get more gold from each wave. It is easier to last hit with Radiance. Radiance's Immolation helps in mass aggroing neutral creeps. It also kills them quickly. In team battles, Radiance is better. Immolation will always be activated even when disabled; while Cleave will only work when you are physically attacking. You are a tank. You WILL be disabled, stunned, slowed, barraged with obscenities, etc. The regen is useless past late game. The only time I would ever consider this item is you are in a public game when there are barely any disables.

Sange and Yasha

To sum it up, for a 5000 gold price tag, the effects and bonuses that this item gives is not worth it. This is because S&Y does not give enough of one stat, namely strength and damage, to give you enough HP or damage for its 5000 gold cost. You do not need more movespeed. You can not rely on Maim. Although this is not the worst item to get (especially as a fall-back item), the gold is much better spent on another item.

Mask of Madness

The 20% extra damage taken is not worth the extra 75% attack speed. Your role is to tank, and Mask of Madness is the exact opposite of that. With more than one hero focus firing you, you can not afford the extra 20% damage. Thunderclap and Drunken Brawler combined with the extra attack speed and MS is attractive, but more times than others you will not be ramboing in for a kill 1 versus 1. This will also delay the purchase of core items.

Fun Build

Just for reference and the lack of a better place to put it, I will add this "fun" build back into the guide. I will not discuss this in the strategy section. Do not use this in serious games.



This build focuses on ganking, pushing, and tanking in that order. Necro will serve as your MP source as well as providing more damage. Diffusal Blade will give you useful Purges for ganks and Feedback, which will slightly increase your DPS. Manta will give you more survivability and add to your pushing power with images strengthened by Panda's natural strength. Heart is the last item that will make you an even better tank, provide damage, and buff your images.

Strategy

Game Plan

Early: Establish map control with aggressive playing and constant ganking.
Middle: Farm core items while continuing ganks when an opportunity arises, using Primal Split's disables to your advantage.
Late: Your role has transitioned into becoming a massive tank, pusher, and supporter. Primal Split whenever necessary to use its powerful disables to your team's advantage.

Levels 1-7

Ask for either top or bottom lane for a convenient purchase of the Bottle. It will be useful later to lane with a hero that has a positioning ability, disables, or nukes to create an optimal ganking situation. Soloing is also an option, but you can net some early kills by combining skills with a partner to maximize your gold and experience. Heroes that immediately come to mind in descending order of synergy are:

Rhasta

Rhasta is a good partner for just about anyone. The most powerful disabler in the game combined with what you will take advantage of at level 6: Mass Serpent Wards. At level 6, you obtain Primal Split, and Rhasta learns Wards. The Cyclone Ward Trap strategy for Rhasta is well-known and is often used, but only if and when Rhasta has farmed up Euls. Luckily, your Storm Panda has a Cyclone ability. Activate Primal Split in a concealed location (in fog of war). Windwalk with Storm and Cyclone the target to break invisibility. This gives Rhasta 6 seconds (longer than Eul's Cyclone effect) to lay his Wards. When the target lands, stun with Earth, Thunderclap next to the Wards, etc.. You just got an easy kill at level 6. There's an example of this further into this section.

Vengeful Spirit

Perhaps the ideal ganker. Equipped with Nether Swap where she can swap the enemy right next to you for an easy Thunderclap, followed by Magic Missile for an easy kill at level 6.

Crystal Maiden/Slayer

Both of these heroes are similar and make good lane partners for Panda. Combined with Thunderclap, Frost Nova makes two slows. Start out the combo with Frostbite. Run next to the target and Thunderclap. Finish off with physical attacks and Frost Nova for an extra slow. Crystal Maiden can more easily start combos than Slayer due to the lack of need to aim Light Strike Array.

Tormented Soul

Leshrac overwhelms the enemies with early game nukes. Later, he dominates with massive AoE damage. Panda will help tank damage, and combos well with Split Earth.

I could go on and on, but I will just generalize a good lane partner. Ranged, usually intelligence, has a disable and/or slow that is preferably targeted if playing in higher levels.

I won't delve too much into lane control, but here are is the basic gist. Solo or not, depending on who and how many you are against (melee, range, both), decide on whether you want to play in a passive or aggressive style. If you are playing passively, you will stand as far as possible while still gaining experience (about 1000 range and usually when you are soloing). A more aggressive style means you immediately start last hitting and denying, while harassing the enemy if they get too close with either Thunderclap or physical attacks. Take advantage of your quick attack animation. If you want to read more about lane control, visit these guides: BLAOW's guide to Lane Control and Genosis's Guide to Lane Control (Premium).

When you buy a Bottle, it will allow you to play more aggressively and last hit without the fear of losing too much HP or MP. The quick regeneration can substitute for losses of HP or MP and gives you increased lane control. If the enemy gets close, Thunderclap and hit him a few times to harass. If you have a partner, try to go for a kill. The enemy will start to play more defensively, leaving you free to farm. Basically at this point in the game, you want to get as much gold and experience as possible through creeps, neutrals, or heroes to prepare for the upcoming gank-fest.

General Bottle and Rune Guide

Someone should have either purchased Observer Wards or have a hero with a scouting skill (Call of the Wild, Ignis Fatius, Revanants, Watchers, etc.) for vision of the river. If not, go and buy some as soon as possible for consistent knowledge of the location of Runes and enemy activity. Information is a very strong weapon.

The bottle is a very flexible item that can be used for various purposes.

• Recover lost HP and MP for ganking.
• Prolong the time spent in your lane.
• Use when running to recover lost HP quickly (use in between enemy attacks because when attacked, it will cancel the 3 second charge).
• Capture runes for ganking, or save them for later. After capturing a rune and using it, the Bottle will refill to 2/3.
• Spam at the fountain for quicker regeneration.

The most important thing about runes is that they appear every 2 minutes either at the top or bottom river locations (the location will be random).

The runes that you can capture each have their purposes. Remember to capture it with your Empty Bottle. You have to use remaining charges first before you can capture a Rune. Capturing the rune will hold the it until you use it, or until the end of 2 minutes where it will be automatically used. It gives the ability to use the rune anywhere once captured.

Illusion: Use the illusion to maintain a presence in your original lane. This will allow suspicions of a gank to remain low. Meanwhile, send Panda to a lane of choice for a gank.
Invisibility: This provides easy initiation with Thunderclap to start a gank, or save it in your Bottle to run away in emergencies. Note: If you use Bottle right after using Invisibility, you will not break invisibility. Good if you need more HP/MP.
Regeneration: This should be kept in your Bottle until you need it. When Regen is activated, you can use Clap to farm or push and get your MP right back.
Haste: Use it either to easily position Thunderclap and return to your lane quickly after the gank or keep it in your Bottle until you think you need it for escaping (best used the first way).
Double Damage: Limited power early game, but very useful later. Save it in your Bottle until after you have Thunderclapped the enemy. Double Damage is an invitation for every enemy in sight to run the hell away. Nevertheless, it is a game breaker late game.

If my information is not sufficient, you can view these guides revolving around runes and wards. praveenkumar's Guide for Warding and MasterJoe's Guide to Runes.

Tabbing and Skill Priority During Primal Split



This is the order of SE&F you will see at all levels of Primal Split.

Tabbing is when you select a group of units that you control and press the "Tab" button to move through individuals one by one in the group. Pressing Tab once while move to the next unit to the right in the group. Tabbing is important in the chaos of a battle where you don't have time to single out one specific Panda using color or appearance. It is much easier and faster to drag select the whole area to select the three Pandas.

These hotkeys should be hardwired into your brain or you will waste your precious time in Primal Split fumbling around for the correct hotkey.

Dispel Magic: D
Cyclone: C
Windwalk: W

Hurl Boulder: D
Taunt: T

The priority of spells is different depending on your situation.

• In a team battle (more than 2v2), Cyclone takes first priority, closely followed by Hurl Boulder and Dispel Magic, while Taunt and Windwalk fall back in the list. Select all and right click. Then, press "C" for Cyclone, Tab and press "D" for Boulder. Press Tab twice, to get back to Storm, press "D" and aim Dispel Magic.
• If you are in a 1v1 battle, then Hurl Boulder takes top priority, followed by Dispel Magic, Windwalk, Cyclone, and Taunt. Tabbing can be implemented by selecting all Pandas and right clicking the target. Then, press Tab, "D," and click on the target for Hurl Boulder, then press Tab twice and "D" for Dispel Magic. While waiting for cooldowns, spam Windwalk for extra damage.
• If you are running, Cyclone first priority, followed by Hurl Boulder and Dispel Magic. I think you get it, but I'll list the order again for safe measure. Select all, right click, and press "C" and target to cast Cyclone, then press Tab and "D" for Hurl Boulder. Press Tab twice and "D" to use Dispel Magic on heroes that have annoying buffs (like Surge, Thirst, Bloodlust, or Haste).
• In chasing, Windwalk takes first priority, closely followed by Cyclone and Hurl Boulder.

Click here to watch a video demonstrating the power of Windwalk/Cyclone chasing.

From here on in the guide, I will not mention tabbing because I expect it to be natural.

Remember, if you don't think you can handle the micromanagement, you can always share control of your units with your allies.

Below is 1v2 clip where everyone had just reached level 6. My lane partner, is healing. Gorgon and I are the only ones in the lane. We harass each other to yellow HP.

This is a good example of chasing utilizing tabbing. I attempt to kill Gorgon with Thunderclap and bring her down to very low HP, but an enemy Techies runs out of the fog of war covering the forest. Knowing that he already killed two of my allies with Suicide Squad, Attack! and that there is no other reason to charge at a half HP Panda, I Primal Split to cheat death, but Medusa is spared (for now). His wasted death makes him look like a fool, while boosting my already ridiculously high ego. Once the animation is finished, I tab to quickly Hurl Boulder at an escaping Medusa. Finally, I Windwalk with Storm, chase her down, and finish her off for 230 gold.

Early Game Key Points

Pick a good lane partner that will complement your skills.
Getting a Bottle will allow you to increase aggression, capture runes, and begin ganking if an opportunity arises.
REMEMBER: Runes spawn every 2 minutes. Learn the advantages of each rune, and begin placing Observer Wards at the rune locations.
Practice tabbing in Primal Split, and familiarize yourself with the priorities of skills in different situations.
Windwalk and Cyclone is a very good chasing tool.
Share control with allies if you can't handle the micromanagement.

Levels 8-14

Farming is important, but if you see a hero in HP yellow or lower, don't hesitate to jump to another lane for a quick gank. However, do not prioritize ganking so highly that you are never in one lane for more than 5 minutes. This lowers the rate of your team's gold and experience. Panda is not extremely item dependent, but he isn't Vengeful Spirit or Venomancer who only needs to get to a certain level and buy a few items to be effective. Gank when available, then return to your lane and farm.

Exploit your high damage in Thunderclap now because as the game stretches, your 700 HP food is going to become a 1400 HP caster who will resist your 300 HP nuke easily. You will start to rely more on physical damage and Drunken Brawler, which will be maxed by level 13. You may deal occasional 200 damage criticals.

If you opted to purchase Boots of Travel you will be graced with increased map control in the form of infinite teleports. You can swiftly travel from lane to lane, whether be it for defending, ganking, healing, or farming. It also makes it easier to Thunderclap enemies with your superior movespeed (390 MS). Just run out of the fog like a rabid chimpanzee, and there. Gank initiated.

Shut your enemies down with ganking, and just keep farming. Remember to keep using Primal Split offensively and defensively when needed. The low 125-175 MP cost makes it an nifty extra disable or two and a nearly foolproof escape mechanism.

How to Use Primal Split

Defensively

Use Thunderclap, run a little further to take advantage of the enemy'(s) temporary movespeed reduction. Activate Primal Split. Use Storm to Cyclone the hero that has more disables (usually the intelligence hero). Use Earth to Hurl Boulder the other. Send Storm and Fire to attack the enemies, or try to block them if you are confident in your micro, while running away with Earth.

Offensively

Your offensive capabilities with level 1 Primal Split are limited to ganks except for rare occasions because of low piercing damage that does a combined 70 DPA (damage per attack). When you learn level 2 Primal Split, your damage will be average. However, you should focus on using your active diables, Cyclone and Hurl Boulder, first. Use Hurl Boulder whenever it is available. Use Dispel Magic to remove buffs on the enemy (God's Strength, Bloodlust, Strygwr's Thirst, etc.) or debuffs on your allies (Overgrowth, Banish, Grave Chill, Vodoo, etc.). In these ganks, only Cyclone when chasing, or if another enemy hero arrives. An early Cyclone often throws off the tempo of the gank.

As I mentioned ealier, using Windwalk and Cyclone is a very good chasing tool that will allow your allies to catch up, but it can also be used to set the target up for a Thunderclap when your timer runs out. When the 15 second duration is over, the 'hidden' Panda will be teleported to Earth, Storm, or Fire depending on who is alive (usually Earth). Therefore, you can position Earth to be slightly ahead of the target enemy so that when Panda teleports to his location, you will be in an ideal position to Thunderclap. An easy way to do this is by using Cyclone on the target when the 15 second duration is nearly over. This is especially devastating during lower levels.

Here is an example of this strategy.

1: My team focuses on Rexxar after I Hurl Boulder at him. I Cyclone Dazzle to isolate Rexxar.
2: Rexxar is killed, and we move on to Dazzle.
3: We position ourself.
4: I Thunderclap, allowing Spectre to get the kill.

Here is an example of a gank with a good lane partner, Rhasta, as mentioned in the beginning of the strategy section. This is performed by MYM|Mania- as Panda and MYM|LevenT as Rhasta.

1: Panda activates Primal Split and uses Windwalk on the Storm Panda.
2: Storm breaks out of invisibility by Cycloning Shadowfiend.
3: Rhasta easily positions Mass Serpent Wards, waiting for Shadowfiend to drop into the trap.
4: Rhasta Shackles, I Hurl Boulder, and it is over for Shadowfiend ... Or is it? Watch the replay mL vs MYM WCL Week 2 at the end of the guide to find out!

Mid Game Key Points

Ganking is vital, but you can not afford to roam.
Don't forget about runes and restocking on Observer Wards when necessary. This will be invaluable to ganking and map control.
As the game stretches, your enemies will begin to resist Thunderclap, so take advantage of its damage now.
Learn to use Primal Split defensively and offensively.
Do not forget to use your skills when escaping in Primal Split. Also, use Storm and Fire to block chasing units.
Cycloning near the end of the Primal Split timer to position Thunderclap is a devastating combo.
Hurl Boulder and Dispel Magic should be used to support your team.

Levels 15+

Restock on Observer Wards if needed, continue Bottling Runes at sight. The right rune at this time can make or break a battle (especially Double Damage or Haste).

Think about paying Roshan a visit. You are a good tank, and Roshan usually attacks the closest hero doing the most damage.

Once you finally have Radiance, you will notice an obvious power jump. The 550 AoE, 35 DPS Immolation is useful for just jumping into the battle and damaging everything in sight, neutraling, nabbing creeps that you missed, or softening them up for a easy last hit. Your newly found 60 damage will greatly increase your DPS from raw damage and Drunken Brawler. This makes last hitting and farming easier. You can really dish out damage now, and after you charge in and Thunderclap with awing sparkles, they will probably focus fire you. This is what you want as a tank. The Immolation will still go on even when you are disabled. This is also good for a tank, who will be the main target of disables. Every 10 seconds, Immolation will deal 262 damage (after magic reduction) to everyone that remains within 550 AoE.

There are two major ways to farm with Radiance. First is the conventional last hitting method, taking advantage of Immolation to grab any creeps that you may miss. Next, is the fastest way to farm on Panda. Thunderclap all creeps, Immolation will immediately take care of the ranged creeps. Last hit the melee ones.

Because Radiance will make you the accepted first target, this is when you need more HP and survivability. Solution: Heart of Tarrasque.

Radiance will aid you in farming Heart relatively quickly. Heart of Tarrasque is a strong item that gives damage, regen, and makes you an even better tank. You will rarely have to visit the fountain anymore. You will have 3091HP and 5078 EHP (what a beast). You will be able to withstand enemy focus fire for much longer.

It is vital to know your role in pushes and team battles during this time. You are mainly a tank. You are also a great initiator and decent in damage per second. Furthermore, you are a strong pusher with three tanking Pandas and two disables. Finally, you are also a good supporting hero with the disables as well as Thunderclap and Drunken Haze.

Thunderclap's role has changed from a ganking nuke to a supporting slow. Combined with Drunken Haze, it will demolish any physical DPSer. One use of this combination is to save allies.

1: I see my ally Spectre in trouble after a deep push.
2: I know that Rexxar deals more damage than Chen, so I use Drunken Haze and Thunderclap on him.
3: Spectre has only a sliver of health left. Rexxar can't do anything.
4: Spectre lives to see another day!

Or if you find yourself in a team battle. Try to position Thunderclap so it hits at least 2 or 3 enemies. This ruins them both in physical damage output and movespeed for positioning skills. Then, use Drunken Haze on the enemy with more physical damage output (usually agility: Bone Clinkz, Faceless Void, Anti-Mage, etc.).

From here, you have two choices depending on the number of heroes and their skills. Either immediately Primal Split if there are 3 or more heroes. Or tank as much damage as possible and use Primal Split when you are at about 300 HP if needed. The latter is riskier due to the chance of being disabled or dying before you can use it. Only do the latter if there are 1 or 2 heroes.

With really freaking mighty Pandas on your side, how can you lose? Level 3 Primal Split is very strong and it can turn the tide of a fight that went oh so wrong and cause mayhem in a team battle.

How to Use Primal Split

Defensively

Same as before. Although with freaking mighty Pandas, if you are against one hero you might as well take advantage of the 3v1 situation. Refer to the Offensive section below.

Offensively

In pushes, for the love of god: do not waste your ultimate on taking down anything less than the third tower and barracks. Just a complete waste of MP, cooldown, and your disables. Don't use Primal Split to take down an early tower, only to find that you are lacking a disable and escape mechanism for 3 minutes while 3 incoming heroes corner you. Do not use it in an attempt to get 300 gold more than the usual 200 everyone on your team receives. However, using the piercing damage type, high DPS, and disables on enemy defenders will take down the third tower and barracks pretty quickly. Use common sense in these types of scenarios.

Now, if you find yourself in a 1v1 situation with SE&F, be sure to fight. You have the advantage in numbers for 19 seconds. Use your active skills when ever possible. You can Hurl Boulder 2 times max with relative ease. You can cast Cyclone and Dispel Magic 3 times. Windwalk can be used 3 times quite easily. However, it's arguable whether spamming Windwalk for the extra backstab damage is more useful than auto attacking. I keep him on auto attack so I can concentrate on who to use Dispel and Cyclone on and when I can use it again. Dispel Magic will be useful to remove enemy buffs. Do not use Cyclone yet for obvious reasons. Take advantage of your fairly high DPS (more than 280 DPA). Fire is your strongest Panda with highest DPS and Permanent Immolation. Keep him auto attacked on the enemy at all times. Storm and Earth are your casters. Earth also acts as the tank (well, all of the Pandas are tanks) with 5 heavy armor and 3000 HP. At about 16 seconds into the timer, position Earth near the target for a Thunderclap at the respawn point of Panda. An easy way to do this is to Cyclone the target at around 18 seconds into Primal Split. If all else fails, just Cyclone the target and hightail the hell out of there.

Other than the priority of spells, the same strategies should be applied in a team battle. Except, (the following is IMPORTANT) chose the hero with the most DPS (usually agility) or threat (usually intelligence) and use Cyclone on him. Cyclone that same hero throughout the battle. Then order the Panda's to focus fire the next priority enemy with most DPS or threat. If someone on their team has a dangerous channeling spell, save Hurl Boulder to when he begins the spell (because Taunt does not disrupt the channeling). Aim Dispel Magic so it hits at least 2 enemies, prioritizing enemies with Buffs (like Insatiable Hunger, Gods Strength, etc.), or 2 allies with debuffs (Enfeeble, Hex, Cyclone, etc.). Try to get Taunt to affect more than one unit, but it isn't the most important thing in the world (it's more annoying, than useful). Rinse and repeat whenever the spells cool down. Cyclone is amazing in team battles, as it effectively takes one hero out of the entire length of the battle. There you go, your team gains the advantage of an extra 2 heroes. Spamming Cyclone, Disel Magic, and Hurl Boulder wisely gives your team a tremendous advantage.

By this point in the game, one team should be near win/loss. Remember to use Primal Split for hasty destruction of the enemy base and take advantage of runes like Double Damage or Haste. Push, win, cheers.

Late Game Summary

Keep restocking on Obs for runes, as they can make or break a game.
Radiance's Immolation will deal 262 damage (after magic reduction) every 10 seconds.
Radiance will help you farm with extra damage for last hitting and Immolation. To quickly farm: Thunderclap all creeps, last hit, and wait for Immolation to grab left over creeps.
Heart will make you an incredible tank with more than 5000 EHP. You are a tank.
Thunderclap and Drunken Haze should be used as support skills for their slows and miss.
Learn to use Primal Split in different situations: 1v1, escaping, pushing, and team battles. Primal Split is most useful at this stage in pushing and team battles.
Cyclone will remove one hero from an entire team battle.
Hurl Boulder priority heroes, but if they have a channeling spell, save it for that occasion.
Dispel Magic to remove dangerous buffs on enemies, or debuffs on allies.

Primal Split Guide

Before I end the guide, I am going to explain some things on Primal Split. From mid game on, Primal Split is an amazing skill to use in various situations. First, I will go into the basics of how Primal Split works, then I will explain the more technical terms on how Primal Split works. The bulleted information are fundamentals that everyone should know. The information following are on mechanics, obscure information, and details.

If you don't want to read this entire section, read the following bullets and scroll down to the summary where I'll list the key points.

• When the duration is Primal Split has finished, the order in which Panda returns is Earth, then Storm, then Fire. If SE&F are alive when Primal Split ends, the Panda reappears at the Earth Panda's location. If the Earth Panda is dead, Panda reappears at the Storm Panda's location. If the Storm Panda is dead, Panda reappears at the Fire Panda's location.
• SE&F deal piercing damage (50% damage to Heroes). For more information on weapon type attack and armor, refer to this PDF.
• If SE&F are all killed, Panda will "kill himself" (like with Rot or Suicide Squad, Attack!) and no one will get gold or experience from your death, but you still lose gold. Heroes obtain about 35-40 gold each, as well as experience, if they kill S, E, or F. Explanation below.orb
• Storm, Earth, and Fire are not considered to be Hero units. Thus, they are immune to spells exclusively affecting heroes such as: Maledict, Death Ward, etc.
• SE&F do not have an inventory and items you bought.
• The animation for Primal Split can be interrupted by Nether Swap and Netherstrike, causing the cooldown to still activate, and MP to be wasted (explanation below).
• Earth and Fire are melee summons who can only attack ground units, but can not attack flying units such as Revanants or the Dragon neutral creeps. Storm is a ranged summon, so he can attack both ground and flying units.

When Primal Split is cast, Panda becomes 'hidden' at the exact location where you cast Primal split and the splitting animation is activated. After the animation, you are given control of the Storm, Earth, and Fire Pandas for 15/17/19 seconds. The Pandaren Brewmaster is still in-game, just 'hidden' from sight at the casting point of Primal Split.

When the timer is up, the 'hidden' Panda will be teleported to Storm, Earth, or Fire depending on who is alive (refer to first bullet for order). Therefore, a strategy you can use (mentioned this earlier) is to position the Earth so that when Panda teleports to him, you will be in an ideal position to Thunderclap for prolonged damage.

Thus, making kills with Storm, Earth, or Fire will not give the 'hidden' Panda experience unless the kill was made within 1000 range.

There is a limitation on the Warcraft 3 engine and Primal Split's coding. If SE&F are all killed, then Panda will die. But the game takes it such that it killed himself, denying the enemy of gold and experience. Though, the enemy does get experience and gold from killing S, E, or F it is a biased system leaning towards Panda.

As I mentioned earlier, Panda can be interrupted midway into the animation of Primal Split to waste the ultimate, trigger the cooldown, and use MP. This only happens if the 'hidden' Panda is moved by triggers while SE&F are visible in the game instead of him. SE&F will be removed, and 'hidden' Panda will reappear at the place he was moved to by the trigger.

You can not target the Panda while he is hidden by his ultimate. Therefore, to interrupt Primal Split, you need to have a spell with the following requirements:

1. It has to be a spell that stores the target(s) as variables of some sort.
2. The specified target(s) must be moved by triggers.
3. There must be a delay from the moment you cast the spell to when the move occurs, in which the target must be able to cast spells.

Netherstrike and Nether Swap meets all the requirements. For Netherstrike, since there's a delay between the cast and the time you teleport to the target (and during that delay, the target can use abilities), at which moment a Greater Bash (done by a separate trigger from the normal Greater Bashes, though identical in performance) will be used on the target of the spell (in this case, the hidden Panda). This moves the target with triggers and thus takes Panda out of a Primal Split.

Nether Swap works in a similar fashion. You target a unit, and after about a second (in that second, the unit can cast spells) you will be moved by a trigger to the position of the target, and the target will be moved to the position of the caster. There is a delay in the swap and the animation. Therefore, it also takes Panda out of Primal Split.

The only ways to kill Panda "properly" (without killing all SE&F pandas to force a suicide) are to wait for the 15 second duration to run out. Try to disable the Earth Panda repeatedly to keep him within reach without killing him so that Panda reappears at his location, which should optimally be in the midst of your gank team/hero. Or to use Nether Strike or Nether Swap to force Panda to reappear prematurely as we just described.

Let's move on to SE&F's skills.

Dispel Magic is an interesting skill that acts like Purge, except in an AoE. Things that come up to mind that can be dispelled are Cyclone, Guardian Angel, Decrepify, and Beserker Call. It's unique in that it is can be cast on multiple units and even invisible units (with Windwalk, Sandstorm, etc.). Here is a list of spells that Dispel Magic can and can not work on (humongous credit to Tales).

Dispel Magic List by Tales

Underlined text is the formal name of the ability.
Bold text is shown with "Yes" or "No" according to whether Dispel Magic works on the certain spell.
(Text in parenthesis are the names of the spell used in DotA).

Phoenix Fire: No (Poison Nova)
Slow: Yes (Enchant, Life Break, Psionic Trap, Void, Upheaval, Poison Touch, Plague, Maim)
Invisibility: Yes (Nature's Guise, Sand Storm)
Cloud: No (Smoke Screen)
Inner Fire: Yes (Chakra Magic, Berserker Call, Enfeeble, Living Armor, Empower)
Aerial Shackles: No (Shackles, Dismember, Fiend's Grip)
Berserk: No (Frenzy, Ultimate, Rampage, Sprint, Strafe, Mask of Madness)
Bloodlust: Yes(Bloodlust, Frostmourne buff, Strygwyr's Thirst, Track, Rabid, Surge)
Burning Oil: No (Auto Attack)
Ensnare: No (Net, Geo Strike, Pit of Malice)
Lightning Shield: Yes (None ATM)
Envenomed Spears: No (Poison Sting, Geostrike)
Spirit Link: Yes (One)
Unholy Frenzy: Yes (None ATM)
Purge: No (Purge, Overload, Diffusal Blade)
Anti-magic Shell (Old): Yes (Repel)
Anti-magic Shell (New): No (Barrier)
Web: No (None ATM)
Cripple: Yes (Requiem of Souls, Grave Chill, Mana Leak, even though Mana Leak can and will still remove mana afterwards)
Curse: Yes (Blind)
Frost Attack: No (Skadi, Frost Nova's Slow)
Freezing Breath: No (None ATM)
Eat Tree: Yes (Tango)
Roar: Yes (Double Damage Rune, Guardian Angel, Howl, God's Strength, Battle Cry)
Cyclone: Yes (Eul, Cyclone)
War Club: No (None ATM)
Rejuvenation: Yes (Regen Rune)
Avatar: No (Rage, BKB)
Banish: Yes (Decrepify)
Battle Roar: Yes (Double Damage Rune, Guardian Angel, Howl, God's Strength, Battle Cry)
Big Bad Voodoo: No (None)
Black Arrow: No (Soul Assumption)
Death and Decay: No (Midnight Pulse)
Drunken Haze: Yes (Drunken Haze, Incapacitating Bite, Laser, Penitence slow, Crippling Fear)
Breath Of Fire: (extra damage by Drunken Haze) No (None)
Divine Shield: No (Flying Courier Shield)
Cold Arrows: No (Frost Arrows)
Entangling Roots: Yes (Entangle, Overgrowth, Frostbite)
Flamestrike: No (Scorched Earth)
Howl of Terror: Yes (Terror)
Earthquake: No (None)
Hex: Yes (Voodoo, Guinsoo)
Rain of Fire: No(Firestorm)
Shadow Strike: No (Shadow Strike, Viper Strike)
Silence: Yes (Silence, Global Silence)
Incinerate: No (Fury Swipes, Caustic Finale)
Poison Arrows: No (Poison Attack, Arcane Orb, Impetus, Glaives of Wisdom, Burning Spears)
Wind Walk: No (Windwalk, Sukuchi, Vendetta, Meld)
Soul Burn: Yes (Last Word, Bloodrage)
Sleep: Yes (Nightmare)
Tornado Spin: Yes (Not used)
Thunder Clap: No (Timewalk, Thunder Clap, Earthshock, Primal Roar, Slithereen Crush, Epicenter, Berserker's Call)

Taunt is thought to be broken, but it is doing what it was coded to do. Like Berserker's Call, it forces all units in range to attack Earth. However here is where it changes: if the victim(s) order another command, they will immediately stop attacking Earth to execute that command. Taunt does NOT STOP CHANNELING SPELLS.

Primal Split Key Points

THIS IS IMPORTANT. Taunt will not interrupt channeling spells.
Dispel Magic can remove many buffs and debuffs including Windwalk, Haste, or Double Damage (refer to list created by Tales).
You will respawn at Earth after the alloted time is up. If he is not alive you will respawn at Storm, then Fire.
I will not restate the other bulleted points from before, but you should know them.
The Primal Split animation can be interrupted by Netherstrike or Nether Swap.


thx to 1st post IAteGodzilla@dota-allstars.com