Meepo

Meepo the Geomancer is a melee agility hero who is notorious for being one of the hardest carries in the game to play effectively due to his heavy reliance on micromanagement. Meepo's defining ultimate, Divided We Stand, allows Meepo to create up to 3 additional clones of himself, (4 with Aghanim's Scepter), each of which has its own mana and hit points, as well as individual cooldowns on Meepo's spells. The clones cannot use any items besides the boots that the main Meepo himself wears, but each clone can gain experience and gold additively with the original Meepo, allowing him to gain levels and gold extremely fast. This means that a well-played Meepo can gain experience faster than any other hero, capable of reaching maximum level extremely early into the game and overpowering his unsuspecting opponents; however, Meepo's greatest strength is also his greatest weakness, as the death of any Meepo, including the clones, spells death for all Meepos.

Individually, each Meepo is very weak, but by combining their strength and spells Meepo can overwhelm opponents with their nukes and disables. A single cast of Earthbind is little more than an inconvenience, but multiple Earthbinds chained together can allow a Meepo army to keep an enemy permanently rooted to the ground. Poof is a short-ranged area nuke by itself, but combined with the clones allows any Meepo to globally teleport to any other Meepo, and deal increasing amounts of damage when stacked together on the same target. Geostrike deals small damage over time and little slow by itself, but combining the efforts of all clones can paralyze a foe and deal heavy magical damage over time. With this skill set, Meepo can be everywhere on the map at once, and can group up on an unsuspecting victim in a moment's notice. Meepo redefines the power of numbers, and managed properly can overwhelm the enemy as a one-man army.

Recommended items
Starting Items:
 * and provide basic health sustain, allowing Meepo to weather harass damage from his lane opponents.
 * gives Meepo additional armor, giving him more resistance to physical damage. As well, it can be upgraded into a Ring of Basilius.
 * give Meepo cheap attributes, always useful in the early game. The branches can be sold, or built into Mekansm components.

Early Game:
 * is a great pickup in lane as it provides damage for last hitting, a helpful aura that gives his clones mana regeneration and armor in the early game, and builds into Vladimir's Offering.
 * gives Meepo much more mobility in the early game, allowing him and his clones to move around more easily.
 * is useful to have on Meepo at all times, given his ability to mob enemies with his clones. Combined with, Meepo can have a strong global presence since he can spread his clones all around the map and move them to each other as needed.

Core Items:
 * maximizes the power of by giving Meepo an extra clone, and more importantly, allows all Meepos to benefit from the attribute bonuses of any purchased items. Besides granting Meepo increased stats, the item significantly augments the strength of his clones, allowing them to scale with his farm.
 * is extremely powerful on Meepo, given his already formidable global mobility with Poof. As each clone has its own cooldown, Meepo can position any clone anywhere there are friendly buildings or creeps, and use Poof to bring them all to that location, further decreasing his turnaround time.
 * is a very strong initiation item that greatly augments Meepo's mobility and lethality. By combining the Blink with a Poof from all clones, Meepo can offensively cast Poof in order to deal nuke damage and jump himself and his clones on top of an enemy.

Situational Items:
 * gives Meepo all-around attributes as well as armor, and allows him to heal his clones in teamfights. Purchased early enough, it can be a powerful item to have in early teamfights and pushes given Meepo's farming speed.
 * are the most balanced boots for Meepo, as they provide attack speed and attributes to all Meepos. They can greatly increase Meepo's damage output and allow him to attribute switch as needed to give his clones more health, mana or damage output. When combined with, the clones even get double benefit from the selected attribute, because of the copied Treads in their own inventory, and the 100% shared stats which also shares the stats the prime Meepo gets from his Power Treads.
 * gives Meepo a useful aura that greatly benefits his clones. The clones become a much larger threat due to the increased attack damage and bonus armor, increasing their survivability and damage output. The regen keeps their HP and mana topped up, while the lifesteal allows them to keep their HP up while farming.
 * is a strong utility item that increases the survivability of Meepo and his clones. The increased magic resistance from the item and the aura allow Meepo and his clones to shrug off magic nukes even more than they normally can, increasing their survivability in fights. The active allows Meepo to shield himself, his clones and any nearby allies from a finite amount of magical damage, wasting the enemies' damage spells. The HP regen from the item and aura also give Meepo and his clones more self-sustain outside of fights.
 * is a farm-intensive but powerful item on Meepo. While the intelligence and mana regen are largely wasted on him, the item provides all-around stats that benefit the clones, and the active gives Meepo an instant hard-disable to use against targets who are too slippery to catch with.
 * , when purchased after Aghanim's Scepter, greatly increases the survivability of all of Meepo's clones, as all of them will benefit from the item's strength attribute. This makes each clone much more resilient, allowing Meepo to survive for much longer in fights.
 * greatly increases Meepo's offensive potential. The armor gives him and his clones additional survivability against physical damage, while the attack speed allows him and his clones to deal more damage when attacking. The armor reduction aura further increases Meepo's damage output, both against heroes and buildings.
 * can be a situationally strong item to purchase on Meepo. As each clone gets the bonus agility, they all gain increased attack speed and base damage, though not the Feedback modifier. The active can also be used to remove debuffs from clones, or to purge an enemy while also slowing them, making them easy targets for Earthbind.
 * is a very strong stat item to have on Meepo. It gives 40 agility and 10 strength to each clone, greatly increasing their damage output and granting them more HP. The active can be used to save a clone that's being focused down by physical attacks, or on an enemy to slow them while weakening their magic resistance to deal more damage with Poof.
 * gives Meepo all-around attributes, giving each clone more damage, attack speed, HP and mana. As well, the Unique Attack Modifier increases the potency of Geostrike, allowing Meepo and his clones to slow enemies even more.
 * can be strong on Meepo, but for reasons different from why it is strong on other heroes. The item grants more agility and all-around attributes to all clones, increasing their damage output and survivability. Since Meepo is strong against single-target disables due to his clones still being able to act, the dispel upon Mirror Image is not very useful. However, the illusions will be very strong due to Meepo building attribute items to strengthen his clones, and they can still proc Geostrike, allowing them to increase his damage output even more. Most importantly however, the illusions can be used as decoys to trick the enemy into focusing them down and wasting spells and time, and the illusions are valid targets for Poof, meaning that they can be used as scouts to safely locate enemies to gank and kill.
 * is a very unorthodox boots item on Meepo, however it can be powerful under the right circumstances. As it is a boots item, each Meepo benefits from the increased attributes, armor and mana; with Aghanim's Scepter, he can simultaneously benefit from the attributes from the Guardian Greaves on Meepo Prime and from the worn boots, effectively allowing clones to double-dip. As well, the Guardian Aura, which all clones carry regardless of distance from Meepo Prime, greatly increases the survivability of Meepo's clones when they are at low health.

Tips

 * You can bind a shortcut to each Meepo by doing Ctrl + a number. Attach the number 2 to 5 to the clones and 1 for the main Meepo, the shortcut will be saved for every game. This allows you to control individual clones with greater ease.
 * Meepo is one of the most unique heroes in all of Dota, as he is built entirely around his ultimate. While he is very difficult to learn, once mastered Meepo is capable of farming, pushing and ganking more successfully than most other heroes in the game.
 * In order to play Meepo well, it is necessary to possess strong micromanagement skills, as well as a powerful sense of map awareness. As each individual clone must be managed and moved around the map, Meepo can potentially be present everywhere on the map and congregate to focus their power when needed. However, at the same time this means that the death of one clone will mean the death of them all, so it is necessary to keep them out of harm's way and to know where it is safe to place the clones.
 * Keep in mind that despite his higher magic resistance, Meepo is very vulnerable to area disables that can disable multiple clones at a time, as well as area-of-effect spells that deal more damage to grouped up targets like the clones. As well, powerful single-target nukes and Pure damage can make Meepo easy prey against heroes that are able to single out a single clone and burst it down.
 * Generally, Meepo is played as a mid hero due to his unique ultimate. By getting an early level 3, Meepo can use the clone to help with last-hitting, scout out runes, stack camps, look for ganks and relay back to base for regen by using Poof. The clone augments Meepo's lane presence, and can serve to provide extra nuking and disable power if a support rotates mid to help you gank.
 * Meepo can also be played as a safe-lane carry, as his low base damage and dependence on levels and farm in order to be effective means that he must be protected by his team. The objective of a safe-lane Meepo is to get level 3 as early as possible, then shuttle the clone to stack and farm jungle camps or serve as a base relay when needed.
 * is an area-targeted root that allows Meepo and his clones to pin down multiple enemies at a time.
 * While weak by itself, Earthbind increases linearly in duration with the number of clones available. Since each clone has its own mana and cooldowns, each clone can increase the disable duration by two seconds. With four or more clones, it is possible to keep an enemy permanently rooted to the ground if they do not have spell immunity.
 * In general, only one level in Earthbind is needed in the early game, as Meepo's skill points are better spent on his nukes and damage output. As well, the only things that scale as Earthbind is leveled up are the cooldown and cast range; decreasing the cooldown does not matter much in the early game since each clone has its own cooldown, and the cast range usually does not matter during early game ganks with assisting disables from allies. The spell only truly becomes powerful when Meepo has enough clones and damage output to make the most of the disable.
 * While Earthbind has a very slow cast animation and travel speed, it is nonetheless a strong disable since it cannot be blocked by, and its low cooldown and long cast range at maximum level allows Meepo to hold down all enemies in its radius indefinitely if he has an Aghanim's Scepter.
 * Despite not being able to hit invisible enemies, Earthbind will reveal any caught enemies if they go invisible. When combined with detection items, Earthbind becomes a strong counter to abilities like, and.
 * In order to reduce the liability of Earthbind's slow windup time, it is best to try to get as close to an enemy as possible before casting Earthbind. When cast at point-blank range, the only delay will be Meepo's cast animation, as the travel time of the net will not factor in.
 * Conversely, Earthbind's extremely long cast range makes it a powerful disable even at long range. Used properly, Earthbind can catch enemies that are out of range of other disables, and interrupt channeling spells from a safe distance, even if he does not directly engage the enemy. However, keep in mind that against channeling abilities, it is necessary to let Earthbind expire before casting it again, if the target begins channeling after Earthbind is placed on them.
 * Keep in mind that all root disables will prevent True Blinks, and  from being cast. This makes Earthbind a very strong spell to use against certain heroes that rely on those spells for survivability, such as,  and.
 * is perhaps Meepo's most powerful ability, as it provides linearly scaling nuke damage as well as global mobility on a low cooldown.
 * Due to its low mana cost and large nuking power, Poof should be maxed out as early as possible. While weak by itself, the damage increases tremendously as more clones become available, and the spell allows Meepo to have a global presence with enough clones.
 * Poof's damage is dealt twice, once at Meepo's starting location and again at the destination. As well, Poof can target itself, so a Meepo can Poof in place to deal twice the listed damage around himself. The most efficient way to utilize Poof is to always ensure that there are enemies at both the jump-off and arrival locations, so that damage is dealt at both ends.
 * The key to utilizing Poof effectively is to have Meepos spread out across the map. If it is necessary to bring full force to bear at any one location, all Meepos can Poof to that location; if escape is necessary, the endangered Meepo is guaranteed to have a different Meepo to arrive at.
 * If a Meepo is in danger, usually the best way to survive is to simply Poof to another Meepo. Unless the enemy has long-duration silences, chain disables, or a tremendous amount of damage output, they will usually be unable to kill a Meepo inside of its 1.5 second cast animation.
 * Remember that the target of a Poof is chosen at the end of the cast animation. This can cause the spell to foul up when targeting moving Meepos, as moving the target Meepo too far away from where the spell was targeted can cause it to select a different Meepo to arrive at. Therefore, if your Meepos are grouped close together, try to "lead" Poof and target it at where you expect the destination Meepo will be after 1.5 seconds.
 * When using Poof for an alpha nuke, remember that it must be cast individually for each Meepo; selecting a group and casting Poof will only cause the first one in that group to cast the spell. Each Meepo must be cycled and individually commanded to cast Poof.
 * Activating the Quick Cast option when using Poof can make the spell easier to use, as it reduces the delay as well as the number of required key presses to command the clone army to all Poof.
 * drastically increases the attack and disabling power of Meepo as he accrues more clones, as each clone also procs Geostrike.
 * Next to Poof, Geostrike should be prioritized to level up for Meepo, as each clone will linearly increase its effect. With five Meepos, it is possible to slow an individual target by 100% and deal 160 magical damage per second.
 * Geostrike is most powerful when all clones are focused on attacking the same target, as they can reduce a target's movement speed down to the minimum possible, effectively trapping them in place.
 * One aspect of Geostrike is that it is not a Unique Attack Modifier, and it can be shared with illusions. This means that Meepo can build an attack modifier to stack on top of it (though beware that clones will not gain this modifier), and that illusions can be used alongside clones to further augment the slow and damage.
 * is Meepo's signature ability, and perhaps the most unique ability in the whole game. It duplicates Meepo, giving him a clone that has its own individual spells, mana and cooldowns.
 * Unlike other ultimate abilities in the game, Divided We Stand can be skilled as early as at level 3, and subsequently at 10 and 17. This means that unlike other heroes who reach their minimum effectiveness at level 6, Meepo only has to wait until 3 before he starts being active.
 * The key to playing Meepo effectively is to micromanage the clones and have them accomplish things all across the map simultaneously. For instance, the clones can be individually commanded to stack neutral camps, and then congregated to farm them, all while another Meepo is last-hitting lane creeps. As well, a pair of clones can be used to push a tower, while another pair prepares for a gank. Be creative and always active with the clones, and make sure that you are always doing something with them.
 * In order to make micromangement easier, it is wise to assign command groups to the Meepos so that a group or each individual clone can be selected instantly at the press of a key. It is possible to cycle though each Meepo individualy, allowing for Blink-Poof combos in conjunction with Meepo Prime. Assigning individuals to single groups allows them to be issued separate commands as needed.
 * For the purposes of experience, each Meepo clone is regarded as a hero. This allows Meepo to gain levels and farm gold extremely quickly, as each clone's experience is added to Meepo's total, allowing him to gain experience in different parts of the map all at once. While each clone is statistically weak, Meepo can offset this by exploiting these experience mechanics, giving himself more levels (and thus more attributes and stronger abilities from those levels) than heroes on the opposing team.
 * In general, Meepo's clones are best moved in groups of two or three. Two Meepos can roam and farm jungle camps fairly easily, and provide mutual support when fighting or ganking. If one group runs into an enemy, they have the option of Poofing out to the other group in case of danger, or summoning reinforcements as they engage.
 * Combined with Poof, clones can act as anchors for keeping all Meepos' HP and mana full. When a Meepo is in the fountain, other weakened Meepos can be sent home as well via Poof, and then return to the battlefield just as quickly. Using Poof to reduce Meepo's turnaround time is crucial to remaining active throughout a match and accomplishing objectives.
 * Remember to abuse Meepo's global mobility as much as possible, and use that mobility to outmaneuver the enemy. If Meepo has clones in different areas of the map, he can congregate them at any of their locations to best exploit a weakness in the enemies' position. If the enemy team is grouped on or have recently teleported to one side of the map, Poofing a number of clones to the opposite side can allow them to push a lane and threaten to take one of their towers. If a clone happens upon a lone support, instant reinforcements can be summoned for an easy kill. If two of the enemy's cores are spotted attempting to gank a group of clones, the clones can be pulled to safety by Poofing to another group, wasting the enemy's time and movement.
 * When equipped with a Blink Dagger, Meepo's textbook initiation is: command all clones to on Meepo Prime >  on Meepo Prime to jump on top of target >  target >  on Meepo Prime. If executed quickly enough, the clones will all Poof in on top of Meepo Prime right after he blinks in, dealing tremendous damage to the target and putting them in perfect position to inflict the target with Geostrike and further immobilizing them with follow-up Earthbinds.
 * In general, Meepo benefits from building raw attribute items in order to make full use of Aghanim's Scepter, and aura items that provide benefits to all Meepos. Items built will generally vary according to the situation.

Trivia

 * Several of Meepo's lines reference the Scout from Team Fortress 2, another title by Valve.
 * Meepo kill 07.mp3 "Aww, didn't mean to hurt ya. Much." is referring to Scout's line "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hit ya... No, wait, yeah I did."
 * Meepo kill 23.mp3 "I'm not even winded.", Meepo kill 24.mp3 "Who's the tough guy now, tough guy?", Meepo lose 04.mp3 "Freakin' unbelievable.", Meepo lose 05.mp3 "This is a real freakin' embarrasment.", Meepo lose 06.mp3 "No, seriously, you all suck!" and Meepo drop medium.mp3 "Now that's what I'm talking about!" are direct quotes from Scout.
 * His death lines Meepo death 07.mp3 Meepo death 08.mp3 "Hey, that hurt." are a reference to Scout's lines upon evading bullets while under the effect of his Bonk! Atomic Punch (as heard here and here).
 * Meepo death 13.mp3 "You suck!" is also a line used frequently by the Scout.
 * In his anger lines Meepo anger 04.mp3 and Meepo anger 09.mp3, he's mumbling "You've got to be kidding me", another line frequently used by the Scout.
 * His death line Meepo death 14.mp3 "You punched out all of my blood!" is a quote from the Scout in the shortfilm Meet the Sandvich.
 * With Meepo happy 02.mp3 "Ahh now that's the stuff!", he's also quoting one of the Demoman's lines, another character from Team Fortress 2 (as heard here).
 * Meepo is named after the first kobold players meet in The Sunless Citadel Dungeons and Dragons 3.0 adventure.