Lone Druid/Guide

Jungle
Lone Druid is usually played as a jungler. Buy a Stout Shield and  Quelling Blade to give to the Spirit Bear and quickly upgrade to an  Iron Talon to speed up farming. Gank other lanes only if your team needs help, Lone Druid can farm extremely quickly if given the space and he has a potential 12 item slots to fill. When you team is fighting during the early game you should leave the jungle and split push an empty lane to put additional pressure on the enemy. You can kill towers very fast with Battle Cry and the bear's Demolish.

Spirit Bear Brawler
This way to play Lone Druid is less common now due to the talent tree system making the hero far stronger than the bear. This build focuses on getting items on his Spirit Bear. This gives the bear the tankiness and damage to sustain itself in the middle of fights, while the Lone Druid mostly supports from behind with buffs. A is often picked up to farm for this build. Later in the game, a is usually picked up on the Spirit Bear, who can then be sent near the enemy to deal damage, and called back with Return if it comes under attack. Aghanim's Scepter is very strong is this build, if most of Lone Druid's items are on his bear this gives the bear more fighting potential while letting it live even while Lone Druid is dead.

Attack Speed Carry
An older, less common way to play Lone Druid is to maximize attack speed and damage on Lone Druid himself, and emphasize fighting from a distance in his normal form instead of True Form. This synergizes well with Lone Druid's buffs, as well as Spirit Bear's entangle, which locks down enemies for him to hit with his ranged attacks.

Due to talent system, this build is now very viable. Lone Druid gains a +175 range in his level 10 Talent tree (also he has a +55 damage at level 15), making him a very formidable range attacker. Add this with Dragon Lance (later upgraded to Hurricane Pike if possible), he can have 865 attack range allowing him to out-range towers. Then build a Mjollnir for even higher attack speed (combined with Rabid) and long-range Chain Lightning. Because his attack range is so long, you can forgo his survability and focus on his damage or attack speed. Use Spirit Bear only for entangling enemy, and focus fire him with your absurd attack range. You can even forgo summoning the Bear (because all the items you buy go to the Druid) to prevent it dying a lot and gives your enemies gold, rely on your teammates to secure your focus fired target.

General

 * Lone Druid is most dominant in the mid-game. Try to gain an advantage during this period.
 * If a match goes late, Lone Druid should consider building more damage on his bear, making his bear as powerful as he is.
 * Lone Druid can be played with very little micro, but in order to be of maximum effectiveness the bear must be controlled separately, almost as a second hero.
 * Lone Druid can use his bear to pick up runes, you can send the bear to easily steal the enemy bounty rune while you stay in lane.
 * The Spirit Bear can buy and deliver items and act as personal courier if you either cannot get to the shop yourself or it is too much of a risk to send a courier.
 * Tips needed.


 * The Spirit Bear is extremely durable, and can be used to tank lane creeps and jungle creeps in the early game.
 * An early or Blight Stone icon.png Blight Stone on the Spirit Bear makes him very adept at harassing lane opponents.
 * When killed, the Spirit Bear gives a very large bounty of gold and experience to the enemy, similar to losing a hero. Do not let your bear die.
 * If you suspect an upcoming engagement, you can use the bear to scout and use it's Reutrn to keep it from dying.
 * The Spirit Bear can deny Lone Druid, and vice versa.
 * When retreating, use the Spirit Bear to slow down chasing enemies with Entangle.
 * But also remember that Lone Druid takes 10% of his max health as damage if Spirit Bear dies.
 * The Spirit Bear can be denied to prevent the enemy from getting the gold bounty, it also prevents the Backlash damage.
 * Send the Spirit Bear out to push and attack buildings, especially up the high ground to hit tier 3 towers.
 * Unlike heroes, the Spirit Bear's does not gain stats. This means it will not be able to fight hard carries during the late game.
 * If the Spirit Bear is about to die in a teamfight, you can try to transfer its items to Lone Druid so he can continue the fight.
 * Keep in mind that the Spirit Bear's damage type is basic, meaning that its attack damage is reduced by 25% when attacking heroes and creep-heroes.
 * Tips needed.


 * Rabid's low cooldown and mana cost means the Lone Druid can keep the buff on almost all the time, level 4 Rabid has a 100% up-time.
 * Use Rabid to help the Spirit Bear catch up to a fleeing enemy and catch them with Entangle.
 * Rabid can be used both offensively and defensively. If you have to run away, Rabid's speed buff is most likely to allow you to escape a gank or a teamfight if the enemies don't have lockdowns.
 * Rabid does not affect other units under his control besides the spirit bear, unlike Battle Cry.
 * Tips needed.


 * To save an outnumbered ally, send out the Spirit Bear and use Savage Roar to scatter the enemy.
 * Use Savage Roar to push enemies into your allies.
 * Send the Spirit Bear into the Roshan Pit, and use Savage Roar to interrupt enemies attacking Roshan.
 * Savage Roar can be used to disrupte other taunt spells if it is used after they are.
 * Tips needed.


 * Spirit Form has a cast time, during which Lone Druid cannot move. Be careful when using it while retreating, as the transform time could allow enemies to catch up with Lone Druid.
 * Transform into bear form before a fight to make Lone Druid more durable.
 * Transform into bear form in an emergency to save Lone Druid by gaining extra health.
 * Transform just before a projectile hits to disjoint it.
 * Although Lone Druid is much tankier in his bear form, he is usually not strong enough to last long in an intense fight, especially if his Spirit Bear has half of his items.
 * Transforming into human form makes Lone Druid move faster, but will greatly reduce his maximum health.
 * When retreating, only transform back to human form when no enemies are close enough to kill or disable Lone Druid.
 * True Form lowers Lone Druid's Base Attack Time, effectively increasing his attack speed and making all his attack speed items more effective.
 * Tips needed.


 * Use Battle Cry just before an engagement to maximize damage.
 * Use Battle Cry around ally summons, such as units.
 * Battle Cry has a cast radius, be careful that your bear is within the radius when cast so that it also gains the buff.
 * Battle Cry has a very short duration, use it only when you are in range of your target so as to not waste the duration.
 * Tips needed.

Items
Starting items:
 * keeps Lone Druid in lane.
 * gives Lone Druid a few extra stats.
 * can be used to heal the Spirit Bear.
 * can be built into a later on.

Early-game items:
 * is needed on all heroes. Sometimes, Lone Druid will not upgrade his boots in favor of spending money on the Spirit Bear.
 * can save Lone Druid in a pinch.

Core items:
 * will give Lone Druid very fast move speed when used with Rabid.
 * can save Lone Druid in a pinch.
 * 's lifesteal aura helps Lone Druid and his Spirit Bear farm, and increases their damage.
 * Ring of Aquila (Active) icon.png Ring of Aquilla is very efficient stats for early game, it also give you the mana regen needed to cast Rabid while jungling or while in lane.
 * Dragon Lance icon.png Dragon Lance when used with his attack range talent gives Lone Druid incredible range for fights and tower sieges
 * can deal large amounts of damage with Rabid's attack speed buff, and let Lone Druid farm and push very fast.

Situational items:
 * makes Lone Druid harder to kill, and is eventually built into.
 * is an excellent late game item for quick pushes.
 * helps Lone Druid lock down enemies, and syngerizes well with the Spirit Bear's Entangle.
 * allows the Spirit Bear to attack no matter how far away he is from Lone Druid, making it a more efficient farmer and pusher.
 * Scythe of Vyse icon.png Scythe of Vyse is a strong control item and lets you quickly kill any target.
 * makes both Lone Druid and his Spirit Bear tankier against magic damage.
 * keeps enemies immobilized, and works well in addition to Spirit Bear's Entangle.
 * discourages enemies from attack Lone Druid, forcing them to focus on the Spirit Bear.

Spirit Bear
Starting items:
 * helps Spirit Bear tank creeps.
 * helps Spirit Bear kill creeps.
 * Items needed.

Early-game items:
 * makes Spirit Bear move faster.
 * helps greatly in farming during the early game.
 * is excellent for harassing and catching enemies.
 * Blight Stone icon.png Blight Stone slightly increases your damage early, and can be built into Desolator icon.png Desolator late game.

Core items:
 * provides damage, and helps the Spirit Bear run down enemies and catch them with Entangle.
 * greatly increases the Spirit Bear's damage, as its high health allows it to stay in the center of fights. It also makes up for the Spirit Bear's lack of stat gain.
 * Items needed.

Situational items:
 * is a valuable luxury item to give the Spirit Bear very high attack speed.
 * Desolator icon.png Desolator Lets the bear push extremely fast becasue of Demolish paired with Desolator's armor reduction on buildings.
 * is easily picked up with proper jungling, and helps the Spirit Bear snowball into the late game, but only purchase it if you can afford a weaker early game.
 * is suitable for the Spirit Bear, as its tankiness keeps him from dying and dropping it. Lone Druid can also pick it up if the Spirit Bear dies.
 * Linken's Sphere icon.png Linken's Sphere can be used on the hero or the bear depending on the situation.
 * Lotus Orb icon.png Lotus Orb can be used on the hero or the bear depending on the situation.
 * Rod of Atos icon.png Rod of Atos lets's you guarantee a root against high mobility heroes to catch up to them and hopefully proc entangleing claws.
 * Shiva's Guard icon.png Shiva's Guard gives you a useful aura and more armor to help the bear survive.
 * Crimson Guard icon.png Crimson Guard makes the bear very survivable, the active can be used give the hero damage block as well.
 * 's attack speed aura greatly benefits the Spirit Bear, and synergizes well with Rabid and True Form's base attack time reduction
 * Items needed.