Chen/Guide

Lane Support

 * Take Holy Persuasion level 1 if Chen can find good creep to dominate his lane, e.g..
 * Otherwise, take Divine Favor level 1 for increased sustain to harass the enemies.
 * Max Holy Persuasion to control more creeps and increase their attack damage, helping teammates in ganks and pushes.

General

 * While Chen is a force to be reckoned with in the early game, he loses much of his potency in the late game. Because Chen depends on the strength of his creeps to overpower enemy heroes and push down towers in the early game, his greatest weakness is to allow the enemy to get enough farm and levels to easily deal with his creeps, rendering them useless. As such, Chen must attempt to gain a powerful early lead for his team, and try to crush the enemy before they become strong enough to simply farm his creeps and turn them into a liability.
 * Chen can buy early to approach a gank undetected by wards. Keep in mind that Smoke of Deceit has replenishing time of 10 minutes and maximum stock of 3. Therefore, Chen should buy one right at the start of the game and constantly thereafter.
 * From the jungle, start ganking at level 2 with Smoke of Deceit when you have Penitence and another disable from a creep.
 * Chen is usually played as a jungler, as Holy Persuasion allows him to convert a neutral creep to do his bidding. The creep can be used to farm other neutral camps, using its physical attacks and abilities to kill other neutrals while tanking their attacks to keep Chen safe. Furthermore, the neutral creep can use their active abilities to assist Chen in ganking the enemy, on top of adding their attacks to deal more damage to the gank target.
 * At the beginning of the game while waiting for neutral creeps to spawn, Chen should block a lane, most often mid, and then try to harass if he can.


 * Penitence applies a debuff to the target enemy unit, slowing them while increasing attack speed of allies, including creeps, when they are attacking the target.
 * An early level of Penitence can help increase the odds of a successful kill when Chen rotates to gank enemies with the help of his creeps, as it as a very long cast range and the slow and attack speed bonus can make a big difference.
 * While the slow is not very strong compared to those possessed by other heroes, Penitence can be cast as a slow debuff to aid escaping teammates. The ability's long cast range allows it to be used from relative safety, and can hinder enemies that are trying to pursue a weakened teammate.
 * Use Penitence on so allies can take him down faster.


 * Holy Persuasion is Chen's signature ability, allowing him to convert non-friendly creeps, whether they are enemy or neutral, to fight by his side. It also increases the converted unit's maximum HP if it is below the spell's threshold.
 * Taken at level 1, Holy Persuasion is what allows Chen to jungle. Given a source of mana replenishment, Chen can farm safely and reliably in order to get levels and gold to become effective. Chen can choose to max this ability out, as each additional level allows Chen to control more creeps simultaneously and increases the survivability of weaker creeps.
 * Be active immediately from the start, using converted creeps to farm, stack neutral camps, harass the enemy in-lane, scout enemy movement, and disable enemies during ganks.
 * In the laning phase, neutral creeps usually overpower enemy heroes. Thus, an army of neutral creeps and Chen, with their combined abilities, easily dominate and control the laning phase.
 * Keep trading hits with enemies using the neutrals, the enemies will have trouble retaliate, while Chen does not lose as much HP if he sits behind his creeps.
 * Assigning command groups to converted creeps allows them to be micromanaged and issued individual commands or moved as a group. Proper management of Chen's creeps is crucial for playing the hero effectively.
 * Control creeps to body-block enemies to prevent them from chasing or running away as effectively.
 * Like other controllable units, creeps can provide strong benefits to Chen's team no matter their abilities or survivability. They can be moved around to scout enemy movement and provide vision, extremely useful at night, or can be used to safely check inside Roshan's pit. As with body-blocking enemy heroes' movements, they can also get in the way of enemy spells as well, such as, , or.
 * Conversely, beware of enemies that can take advantage of the creeps' numbers and turn them against him. An or  can deal heavy damage to allied heroes by using the creeps as additional multipliers,  can absorb additional attack damage and movement speed for Elder Titan,  can deal large amounts of cleave damage if Ember Spirit has a, and so on. Beware of what abilities enemy heroes have that can counter your creeps, and plan accordingly.
 * While creeps from small camps have low damage, they can be quite powerful if their abilities are used properly. However, the existence of only one small camp in each jungle makes obtaining a specific creep unlikely, on top of the small creep camp usually being used to pull lane creeps.
 * The Kobold Foreman from the Kobold Camp or Hill Troll and Kobold Camp can be a useful utility creep to provide increased movement speed to Chen and his creeps. The aura can help initiation creeps to close the distance faster, or allow them to traverse to their destination more efficiently.
 * The Hill Troll Priest from the Hill Troll Camp is a useful utility creep for the early game. Its mana aura can help keep Chen and his creeps' mana topped up, as well as that of teammates, and the heal can be extremely helpful for keeping Chen's congregation alive and for healing Chen himself and his teammates, increasing their survivability in the laning stage.
 * The Ghost from the Ghost Camp can inflict a slow on its target, reducing their movement speed and potentially allowing Chen and his team to catch up to fleeing enemies and hit them with harder disables.
 * The Harpy Stormcrafter from the Harpy Camp possesses the ability, which deals a surprising amount of damage at low mana cost and cooldown. It is an extremely powerful harasser and pusher, as it can apply a large amount of magic nuke damage to an enemy and force them out of the lane. The nuke can also be used to farm neutral camps or push lanes to take towers.
 * The medium camps contain some useful creeps with strong abilities.
 * The Centaur Conqueror from the Centaur Camp is one of the most well-rounded creeps, as its high health makes it a beefy fighter and allows it to stun enemy heroes for 2 seconds each. Amassing multiple Centaur Conquerors allows Chen to push very strongly, or to chain-stun an enemy with consecutive stomps.
 * The Alpha Wolf from the Wolf Camp can be a strong creep to obtain in the mid and late game. Its can greatly boost your carry's damage output based on their base damage, giving your team an advantage in fights.
 * The Satyr Banisher from the Satyr Camp and Large Satyr Camp is a surprisingly strong creep that possesses a strong utility ability. Converting the Banisher will more than double its HP, negating its low natural health. Its can be used either to remove debuffs from Chen's allies or Chen himself, or to greatly slow an enemy every five seconds while also removing buffs.
 * The Satyr Mindstealer from the same neutral camps is a useful harassment creep. While its has a respectably long cooldown, it costs very little mana to cast, allowing to be used to whittle down an enemy's mana and HP repeatedly, forcing them to return to base.
 * The Ogre Frostmage from the Ogre Camp is a useful defensive creep that can be useful depending on both teams' lineups. Its ability provides additional armor to allies and reduces the effectiveness of enemy melee attacks due to the attack speed slow. It can be a powerful creep to have if your team has several heroes that can benefit from additional armor such as  and, or if the enemy has melee carries that depend on their right-clicks to win fights. Moreover, the armor can make pushes more effective by providing lane creeps and Chen's flock with additional armor to tank creep attacks and tower hits.
 * Mud Golems from the Golem Camp provide beefiness and a short-interval disable. inflicts a short-duration stun at long range, useful for cancelling channeled enemy abilities, hindering a foe long enough to hit them with a longer duration disable, or breaking . The Mud Golem can also split into two Shard Golems, which can further disable an enemy with the same disable. You can actually use Hurl Boulder three times in succession: after the initial Hurl Boulder by Mud Golem, use Holy Persuasion when at max units on a fresh new creep will cause the Mud Golem to die, splitting it into two Shard Golems so you can use Hurl Boulder two more times. You can use this tactic when ganking in the early game for the long stun duration and high nuking power.
 * Large camps contain the most powerful creeps short of ancient creeps, many of which can be utilized to great purpose.
 * The Satyr Tormenter from the Large Satyr Camp is a useful nuking and harassing creep. While it is very slow, its can be used to harass down enemies during the laning stage, and can also be used to nuke down creep waves and neutral camps. Furthermore, its  can be a very strong pushing aura, as it provides health regeneration to Chen (stacks with other health regeneration auras including ), his congregation, and any nearby lane creeps attempting to take a tower.
 * The Hellbear Smasher from the Hellbear Camp is a beefy fighter that can be useful as a disabler and pusher. Its can be used to slow gank targets, making them easier to chase and hit with unreliable disables, or as a damage nuke to farm or push. Its  increases the attack speed of allied units, allowing lane creeps to deal more damage during a push.
 * The Wildwing Ripper from the Wildwing Camp can be used as a reliable magic damage dealer, harasser, and pusher. By channeling a, Chen can either slowly whittle down a neutral camp that has been stacked multiple times, harass an enemy with an invulnerable tornado, or work down lane creeps during a push. The Wildwing Ripper's Toughness Aura also provides armor to all nearby creeps, increasing their physical toughness.
 * The Dark Troll Summoner from the Troll Camp is a well-balanced disabler, farmer, and pusher. is a ranged single-target root, making it a powerful ganking spell. It can also summon more creeps with, allowing Chen to jungle more effectively or provide extra pushing power.
 * Ancient creeps can only be converted if Chen possesses an Aghanim's Scepter, and even then only based on how many levels of Hand of God he has, at the maximum of three. However, they are significantly more powerful than other creeps.
 * Ancient creeps generally have high magic resistance, letting them shrug off most enemy nukes, and the Ancient classification allows them to ignore many abilities. As such, bringing ancient creeps to a fight can provide a powerful advantage since the enemy will be unable to kill them as easily, if at all.
 * The Ancient Black Dragon from the Dragon Camp can be used as a powerful pusher. Its can make short work of creep waves, while its  can give nearby allies an armor bonus.  is a powerful damage-over-time ability that can be used for pushing or zoning out enemies.
 * The Ancient Granite Golem from the Large Golem Camp possesses one of the most powerful auras available to Chen, increasing the maximum health of all nearby units by 15% with its . Applying the aura to Chen's teammates can make them much harder to kill in teamfights.
 * The Ancient Thunderhide from the Thunderhide Camp can be a formidable pusher. Its increases the physical damage output of all nearby allies through bonus damage and attack speed, and it can cast  to further boost its own attack speed, allowing it to make short work of enemy creeps. Frenzy can also be cast on an allied carry to greatly increase their damage output.
 * The Ancient Prowler Shaman from the Prowler Camp has less health than most Ancients and lacks magic resistance, but is very powerful against enemy heroes. applies an armor debuff in an area to bolster allies' physical damage output, and  provides a Spell Immunity-piercing root that can be lethal in a teamfight or gank.
 * The Ancient Prowler Acolyte, also from the Prowler Camp, has little offensive presence and is relatively fragile, but the bonus lifesteal and health regeneration from can greatly enhance allies' survivability.
 * Chen's creeps do not always have to be at his side; they can still be controlled even if Chen himself is dead. Therefore, micromanage to accomplish as much with the creeps as possible.
 * Holy Persuasion increases the maximum health of smaller creeps, giving them more survivability in fights and ganks. You may find it worthwhile to convert small creeps with special abilities, as they can accomplish more due to their increased health.
 * Try to avoid allowing the enemy to kill Chen's creeps. Not only does this provide the enemy with gold and experience, but Chen will be forced to find another creep to convert, wasting time and mana. Each of Chen's creeps must ultimately serve a purpose for his team, so losing them to the enemy can set him back considerably depending on its role.
 * Be especially wary of certain heroes that can make short work of Chen's creeps. Heroes that can instantly destroy them like, , and can remove them from play instantly, and benefit from killing the creeps as well. Furthermore,  can simply take control of Chen's creeps and use them against him, and  can render them impotent by removing their mana pool.
 * When jungling, you sometimes want to convert weaker creeps rather than the largest one available since converted creeps provide no gold or experience, and while it can be better utilized for farming, converting it also denies Chen the maximum possible gold and experience gain from that camp.


 * Divine Favor increases health regeneration and heal amplification of allied targets.
 * Divine Favor's heal amplification increases healing done by Hand of God and other healing abilities from allies, keeping target alive.
 * Use Divine Favor's teleport to save teammates from being killed by the enemy. If an ally's life is threatened, immediately casting Divine Favor on them can increase their chances of surviving, only requiring them to evade the enemy for a few more seconds.
 * In early ganks, Chen may choose to call his allies to assist. They can then return to their lanes with and continue to farm.
 * Use Divine Favor on teammates who just respawn or buyback to get them back to the front lines faster.
 * Play around Divine Favor's cooldown to mobilize teammates, asserting pressure on the enemies with constant ganks and pushes right from the early game.
 * When cast on himself, Divine Favor summon Chen's creeps to his current position after a short delay. This can be important for gathering his creeps to prepare for a gank or push, or to prevent the enemy from killing them for gold and experience.


 * Hand of God is a global healing spell that is capable of restoring health to all of Chen's allies and also his converted creeps.
 * Hand of God's greatest strength is its ability to heal all teammates, no matter where they are. This allows Chen to save teammates that are being ganked across the map, as well as heal his team without having to stand directly next to them in teamfights.
 * Beware Hand of God's long cooldown, as using it once will render Chen unable to use it for at least two minutes. Use it wisely, as casting it to heal a teammate who is being ganked may end up wasting it anyways if they are in a hopeless situation, also damage over time will force Chen to use it prematurely, potentially wasting it.
 * Keep in mind, Hand of God is Chen's most costly spell, so be sure to keep Chen's mana pool up so that he can cast it if it is needed.
 * During a push or teamfight, do not be afraid to push Chen's creeps to the limit, as Hand of God will restore their health too. Timing creep aggressiveness with the health of Chen's teammates is the key to making maximum use of the spell.

Items
Starting items:
 * gives Chen the ability to sustain his health. Generally converted creeps should be used to tank neutral camps while jungling, however, so health regeneration can be skipped for other items. Therefore, you should share your Tango with your teammates right at the start of the game.
 * is useful for replenishing Chen's mana pool, which is important given how frequently Chen must cast Holy Persuasion while jungling. Keeping Chen's mana up allows him to jungle continuously.
 * grants attribute bonuses for some more health, mana, and damage; use this item with Tango to double health restoration.
 * aids Chen and allied units in early rotations with invisibility and movement speed.
 * is crucial to purchase regularly as Chen, both as a support and as a pusher. Providing map vision to his team allows Chen to keep an eye on enemy movements, which in turn allows him to position himself and his creeps to best meet the threat, or to push an undefended tower.
 * is important to buy as a support. Since Chen can jungle fairly independently with only mana as a requirement, he is a good candidate for purchasing the courier.

Early game:
 * give Chen more movement speed, crucial for moving between jungle camps faster, as well as for extra mobility while rotating for ganks with his creeps. Getting within range to cast Penitence on an enemy hero can slow them enough for follow-ups.
 * applies an armor debuff on enemy target to kill them faster, especially when combined with Penitence's attack speed buff. It also applies an armor buff on an allied unit that may allow them to tank tower hits when pushing. Chen can upgrade the item to later on if he wants the slow.

Mid game:
 * replenishes Chen's and his creeps' mana pools, ensuring that abilities are always ready to be used. Furthermore, keeping allies' mana pools topped up allows them to use their abilities more often, useful when pushing towers.
 * , purchased early enough, allows Chen to push down towers quickly as he can heal his creeps and teammates to prevent the enemy from easily defending. In teamfights, it gives Chen an additional ability with which to heal his team, on top of Hand of God and Divine Favor.

Late game:
 * grants Chen the ability to cast Holy Persuasion on ancient creeps, giving him more tools to push and help his team with powerful auras going into the late game.
 * combines Mekansm and Arcane Boots, saving Chen an inventory slot. The aura gives Chen's team a survivability advantage in fights, while the active can heal them, restore mana, and remove debuffs from Chen that may be preventing him from supporting his team.

Situational items:
 * should be purchased regularly alongside Observer Wards in order to deny the enemy map vision. Furthermore, it may be necessary to purchase these to remove any enemy wards that may be blocking Chen's neutral camps, preventing him from farming during the laning stage.
 * is a strong teamfight and pushing aura that greatly benefits Chen's creeps and allies. The armor aura greatly increases survivability against physical attacks and tower hits, and the mana aura lets them recover mana more readily for casting spells. The lifesteal can allow creeps, both converted and allied lane creeps, as well as heroes, to maintain their HP during pushes and become a bigger threat against towers.
 * gives one more creep, good attributes, as well as attack speed and health regeneration aura.
 * gives Chen yet more minions to control, greatly increasing his pushing, teamfighting and ganking power. The summons can be used to push towers, hinder enemies during teamfights, add more damage output during a gank, and at level 3 provide True Sight when needed. The item also provides bonus strength for increased HP, and bonus intelligence for more attack damage and casting ability.
 * gives Chen attributes, increasing his survivability and giving him a larger mana pool. The active can allow Chen and his creeps to move more swiftly to chase down a gank target or escape enemy pursuers.
 * is a powerful teamfight item. It grants increased magic resistance to Chen, while providing an aura that gives his team and his creeps health regeneration and magic resistance. The active can be used to protect his congregation, preventing the enemy from instantly bursting them down with magic nukes.
 * allows Chen to apply an armor debuff on the enemy from range. Alternatively, Chen can use it to grant allied target armor, attack speed, and movement speed, keeping them alive and buffing them during fights and pushes.
 * allows Chen to temporary ignore physical damage, crucial for enhancing his survivability in fights. The inability to attack is of little hindrance to Chen, since he relies on casting his spells and using his creeps' abilities more than on his physical attacks.
 * gives Chen yet another way to protect his teammates from the enemy, cloaking them in invisibility while also increasing their magic resistance. The active can also be cast on a converted creep to help it get closer to an enemy to initiate with a disable.
 * is powerful in Chen's hands. It gives him more intelligence and health regeneration, allowing Chen to cast his spells more readily. The active can quickly re-position Chen either to initiate or escape, and do the same for allies. The active can also be cast on a creep to give it a quick burst of movement to get within range for a disable.
 * is a cheap mana item that gives Chen some powerful benefits. The increased intelligence and mana regen help Chen to cast his spells more frequently, and the bonus movement speed helps him with mobility for ganking, chasing and escaping. The active also allows him to make himself temporarily invulnerable if jumped on by the enemy, can remove debuffs from himself, or can be cast on an enemy to disable them long enough for a creep to disable them further.
 * is a survivability and support item that gives Chen increased utility. The extra strength, status resistance, and evasion help Chen to survive against enemy attacks, and the active allows him to disarm the enemy from range, preventing them from attacking.
 * gives Chen a powerful teamfight aura while also giving him powerful benefits. The bonus intelligence greatly increases the size of his mana pool, while the armor helps with his survivability against physical damage. The aura reduces the effectiveness of enemy attacks, and the active ability can slow their movement speed and apply a damage nuke to them.
 * gives Chen all-around attributes and greatly increased casting ability. The Hex gives Chen a targeted instant hard-disable which is very powerful in teamfights and ganks, as it can set up chain-disables with Chen's creeps.

Chen/Guia Chen/Руководство