Monkey King is a hero that appeared in Dota 2 relatively recently, but to this day he is considered a pretty strong core character. In the current meta, he is often taken in position 4, but today we will consider MK in position 1. Monkey King can be called a simple character, although Dota itself gives him 2 stars out of 3 in terms of difficulty. You can learn to play him in literally 5-10 games, so he is suitable for beginners. Let’s analyze his strengths and weaknesses.
Monkey King Dota 2 Character Review
Pros:
1) He’s a great laner. Monkey King has a pretty long attack range, even longer than some ranged heroes. This and his passive ability make him a big problem for his lane opponents.
2) Good mobility. Monkey King can be hard to catch at times, as he spends most of the game jumping around trees. This allows him to move quickly and force enemies to chase him.
3) Excellent late game potential. In the late game, MK can easily fight many core heroes, as it’s simply impossible to fight in his arena.
Disadvantages:
1) Low maximum health at the beginning of the game. From the zero minute, MK has only 560 units of health, and this is categorically little for the main hero in the game.
2) Monkey King is very strong against physical damage, but extremely weak against magic. If the enemy has a lot of magic in the team, then you will not be able to get away with it.
3) Before buying Black King Bar, he is easy to kill for any control or mute effect, since he simply cannot resist it.
Tactics for playing for Monkey King
Initial stage of the game
In theory, Monkey King is an active hero, since farming the forest is a bit difficult for him, but on the line you still need to try to finish off as many creeps as possible. If the enemy hero gets cheeky, you can start exchanging blows with him, stacking your passive, which will then give a heal. You don’t need to stand passively and look at the enemies, but on the contrary, get cheeky – this is a great idea when playing for Monkey King. An artifact such as Orb of Corrosion, which gives a huge buff to any core character, will be good for this. In addition to this item, you need to buy yourself a Magic Wand, Power Treads, Wraith Band and start collecting Maelstrom. The fact is that lightning is triggered even by copies in the arena from the ultimate. It is better to pump up all the abilities on the line, focusing on the 3rd, which gives additional damage and healing. All other skills are recommended to be taken in one.
Mid-game
Well, the game here is the same as with any active carry. We try to hit creeps, but do not devote too much time to this, and try to kill enemy heroes, most likely, solo, Nas will only be able to kill the support for now. Never spare the arena, as it gives a lot of damage and additional armor, which can save in the event of a sudden attack. When entering the roshpit, you need to hit Roshan alone or with one of your allies, the rest are better off standing outside Roshan’s lair to be on hand. Most of the time, it is worth moving along the trees, since it will be quite difficult to get Nas from there, in addition, this opportunity gives additional vision. Of the items, the most important will be Black King Bar, thanks to which Nas will not be afraid of magic for some time, during which you can kill most of the enemy heroes. We buy Mjollnir, Skull Basher and Silver Edge. These artifacts will increase the hero’s damage both in the arena and outside its area of action.
ate game
Here, Monkey King becomes the worst nightmare of any enemy support, as due to the large amount of damage, they die in almost a second. We continue to spend 80% of the time in the trees, looking for opponents who have gone on a spree. In addition, sitting in a tree, you can prevent enemy smoke attacks, which are very common at this stage. Thanks to the arena, you can win almost every fight, as the copies will inflict a colossal amount of damage. We play carefully, do not go far from the team. Do not spend all the money, but put it aside for a buyback, as it can decide the outcome of any situation. We buy ourselves an Aghanim’s Scepter, which we turn into an essence to free up a slot. The last artifact is chosen according to the situation, but most often the choice of players falls on the Eye of Skadi. We also improve the rest of the items. From the neutral ones, we take those that increase damage or attack speed.
Talents
Monkey King is one of those heroes whose talents are all good, but statistically most players take the same talents. At level 10, it is preferable to take the additional vision from the 2nd ability. At level 15 – damage. At level 20, it is better to take additional attacks from the passive ability. And at level 25, +1 soldier circle from the ultimate. At levels 15 and 25, the talents are simply wonderful, taking them your hero will become much stronger.
Who is better to take Monkey King with?
Monkey King really likes to play with heroes that have AOE control, because he can put his arena under it and kill the entire enemy team using just 1 button. The best option would probably be Enigma, who can break in well with her ult. Tidehunter would also be a great option. Combining their two ults, these two character bundles can easily deal with the entire enemy team together.
Conclusion
Monkey King is a great hero for the core position, but unfortunately, he is very dependent on artifacts and tempo. If the player can correctly analyze the situation and the enemy’s pick, then MK in his hands will be a tough killing machine. This hero is not so difficult to counter, because any heroes that chop down trees or quickly move around the map can cause Monkey King a lot of trouble. MK is very situational and can be used in different roles, where he will show himself no worse than in the carry position. In skillful hands, you can easily raise the rating on this hero, practically without straining yourself.