Sven

Sven the Rogue Knight is a versatile melee strength Hero with superior physical power yet is coupled with various abilities that provide various utility. He can fulfill various roles, but is often played as a support or a semi-carry due to his high utility even without items. He possesses a versatile arsenal, from shouts that grant armor both for escaping and pushing to throwable gauntlets that disorient enemies around the target unit. With enough items, Sven has the potential to be a strong late-game carry due to his ultimate which increases his damage and his passive which allows him to hit multiple targets at once. He is a formidable foe and his versatility makes the Rogue Knight a great asset to any team.

Tips

 * Early on Sven has very low mana, so building mana boosting items may be a good idea.
 * Sven's good strength gain and base health pool make Soul Ring an effective item in situations where you plan on skirmishing early and often.
 * Drum of Endurance is a great item as it meshes well with Sven's role and play style, all while providing a strong aura to other members of your team.
 * Take Stats over the two other skills instead if you want more Mana, Attack Speed and Strength to increase the bonus of God's Strength early on and to help sustain your mana for using skills. However, this is only useful very early on, as Warcry is amazing for teamfights and Great Cleave helps Sven's farming speed.
 * If you prefer to initiate, get a Blink Dagger. Blink to your target and stun them with your Storm Hammer, make sure you activate God's Strength immediately or beforehand, which is more preferable as you can save more time on the casting animation and transformation time.
 * Avoid leveling Great Cleave early on, as it will greatly push the lane towards the enemy tower making farming more difficult.
 * As a melee carry without a blink, Sven is especially susceptible to being kited and having crowd control effects placed on him, negating his damage output. Don't skip Black King Bar to buy more damaging items, as it may result in doing no damage at all.
 * Sven's unique position of being a Support and Carry at the same time can make him a decent babysitter for a ranged carry like Weaver, Luna, or Sniper.
 * Consider support items such as arcane boots to give you and your lane partner more mana for your spells.
 * Without taking anything away from your lane partner, always try to find gold whenever and wherever possible (through pulling jungle creeps, roaming to help allies across the map, etc).
 * Sven's unique kit allows him to transition into a strong late game hero. Although transitioning a dedicated support into a carry is not often ideal and difficult to execute, this can give your team an edge in long games; use this strategy carefully.

Trivia

 * Sven's name is a reference to Sven-Ole Thorsen, a Danish bodybuilder and actor.
 * In an earlier version of DotA, Sven had a fun name called Arnold Schwarzenegger.
 * The phrases "Twas only a flesh wound" and "It was but a scratch" are references to the Black Knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.