Ogre Magi just got easier to play, where his gameplay is synonymous with the iconic Twitch chat spam, “:SMOrc ME HIT”. Since the Dota 2 Update 7.33, Ogre Magi became a Strength-based hero with zero max intelligence.

By zero max intelligence, it means Ogre Magi will never have any int even if he purchases items that provides int stats. This makes Ogre Magi’s typical item builds, such as Sheepstick a poor choice because he’s missing out on the valuable int stats the item provides.

Hence, even though Ogre Magi did not have much rework on his skillset, his gameplay has drastically changed to accommodate his low mana pool but very beefy health.

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Ogre Magi Spell Guide Fireblast (Q)

Not much has changed since patch 7.33 for Ogre Magi’s single-target stun besides a reduced stun duration to 1.2 seconds. Nevertheless, it still deals an instant nuke on a target, which is great for catching out squishy heroes or initiate on them.

Ignite (W)

Ignite remains the primary skill to prioritize max-skilling because of its great value addition. It’s an extensive slow and damage that can be casted from up to 1000 range, so certainly a great harassment skill.

Bloodlust (E)

Bloodlust offers a movement and attack speed buff to an ally target or self, which is great for your teammates. However, it’s not a useful skill to prioritize early because nobody could really capitalize on the faster speeds until it’s late game where your carry players have decent damage to leverage on the attack speed.

Additionally, the same can be said when applied to yourself, as it offers 50% more attack speed buff, which is only beneficial when you got damage output and fights to be in.

Multicast (R)

Multicast is Ogre Magi’s passive ultimate, which multiplies the proc chances of skills and active items he uses. For instance, using Fireblast might have a chance to stun a nearby target or the same target up to four times. Or perhaps even more overpowered when you land a four-man Sheepstick or Midas on multiple creeps.

Pick the Right Talents Level 10 Talent: +16 Ignite DPS

At level 10, having that extra 16 damage on Ignite’s DPS delivers an additional 80 damage. It’s certainly the better option than the other cooldown reduction on Fireblast instead, as cooldowns shouldn’t be a priority for Ogre Magi’s auto-attack build.

Level 15 Talent: +80 damage

A whopping 80 auto-attack damage for a Bloodlusted Ogre Magi is a deadly combo even for enemy carry players. As the combo goes, Ogre Magi initiates onto an unsuspecting target, stuns it, and goes ham on auto-attacking the target to death.

Level 20 Talent: +30 Strength

More strength stats for the already-beefy Ogre Magi? Well, don’t mind if I do.

A Level 20 Ogre Magi with no items and this +30 Strength talent has 3.1K health, or 4K health with the early game item build. This is textbook Dota 2 gameplay right here, where you just have to be durable enough to outlast your opponents. Taking the blunt force of the enemy damage instead of letting it hit your team is as honorable as Ogre magi players can expect.

Level 25 Talent: 17% Fireblast chance on attack

Lastly, the level 25 talent essentially lets you passively stun the opponent you hit with Fireblasts. Also, these Fireblasts can be multiplied by Multicast.

Not that Ogre Magi players ever reaches level 25 before the game ends, but we have seen first-hand what an abomination a Level 25 Bloodlusted Ogre Magi is. Hence, if you foreseen the game going into late game, consider picking up Basher as one of your midgame items.

What items to build on Ogre Magi Starting items

For consumables, 2 sets of Tango and Iron Branch provides the lane sustainability Ogre Magi needs to stay until Level 6. Since a good Ogre Magi player will always harass and zone out the enemy heroes, having doubled health regen via the Iron Branch helps.

Of course, be a caring support when necessary, by sharing your Tango to your ally.

Early Game Items

Ogre Magi is innately great with decent auto-attack damage and simple skills. Rush Hand of Midas because you want that exponential gold and experience gain it offers. Especially important since Ogre Magi’s early game advantage will deteriorate if he doesn’t have his carry items by midgame.

Magic Wand can come in handy if the enemy team has spammable skills, as it collects charges for regen.

Soul Ring, Bracers and Boots of Speed provides Strength stats that are great for Ogre Magi at a relatively low cost. Soul Ring’s active ability to gain bonus mana ensures you always have mana to land a full set of skill combo every 25 seconds.

Mid Game Items

Aether Lens offers the skill cast range for his skills, but it’s certainly not the best utility item to get.

Instead, the new item, Harpoon offers initiation for Ogre Magi to get close to an enemy hero via a hooking mechanism, like Pudge. Skull Basher adds a nice passive stun on Ogre Magi’s auto-attack, which can be frequently proc-ed when Ogre is bloodlusted.

If the game calls for playing defensively, especially when your team is falling behind, Eternal Shroud and Aghanim’s Shard provide defensive abilities.

Late Game Items

In late game, consider building Basher into Abyssal Blade as it is an active stun ability that also gets proc-ed by Multicast.

Additionally, you can leverage on Bloodlust’s multiplier for higher damage output items or utilities, such as Dagon or even Sheepstick if necessary. However, Dagon has received a decent stats buff in Patch 7.33, making it a phenomenal late game item.

Situational Items

Given the scaling of Hand of Midas, an Ogre Magi player should have the funds to purchase any item the match calls for. BKB lets you go ham on your opponents uninterrupted, while Octarine Core offers lower cooldowns across all skills. Great when you already have the late game items in hand.

Silver Edge is situational in matches, where you might be facing a pesky Bristleback or durable opponents to shut down.

Blink Dagger, of course, lets you blink onto an enemy hero in the backlines or just for initiation since Ogre Magi has a skill combo to pull it off.

Interesting Match-ups for Ogre Magi

Well then, in hindsight, Ogre Magi’s drastic attribute change might seem like a massive change. However, it brought forward a new playstyle that could potentially be a fun build to cause havoc amongst the enemy team with his beefy build in update 7.33.

Let’s go over some of the interesting match-ups for Ogre this patch.

Backline Heroes

Ogre Magi is a deadly initiator given the nature of his item build and heavy damage output. Heroes, such as Sniper and Drow Ranger, cower in fear whenever an enemy Ogre Magi hunts for them.

Illusion Heroes

There’s just so many targets Ogre Magi’s Multicast can hit, four at most. Without any AOE damage, Ogre Magi is relatively ineffective against Phantom Lancer, Chaos Knight and Naga Siren, that have illusions.

Duration-based damage heroes

Leshrac and Batrider can be a nuisance as they walk around the fights, dealing AOE damage over time. However, such magic damage against a high-health Ogre Magi, is typically ineffective at killing him quickly. Hence, letting Ogre Magi the opportunity to land several stuns and even kill the former.

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