Invoker

Invoker is an almighty ranged intelligence Hero, considered by many as the most complex and difficult to use. He is unique in that he possesses a total of 14 abilities in his arsenal; three of them - Quas, Wex, and Exort - are reagents and one is his special ultimate Invoke. The three abilities he learns throughout leveling up can have three instances, which serves as the basic ingredients or components for him to create a new ability using his ultimate. Once the reagents or elements are combined, he can invoke one out of ten different abilities. All of his invoked abilities are capable of a multitude of actions, from damaging enemies to aiding his allies, and even saving himself from danger. His three reagents can be upgraded up to level 7 which determines the power and potency of his invoked abilities, making it more powerful than an ordinary spell. Because of this, he can be played in almost any role possible. Invoker can be a carry, semi-carry, ganker, pusher, initiator or even tank or support (though the gold investments on both make this highly unrecommended). He is also the only hero who doesn't have Attribute Bonuses, thus he has average attributes. However, his three reagents provide passive attributes with each level, and each instance of his reagents provides a passive bonus, allowing for specialization at early levels and situational boosts at later levels. His extremely flexible nature allows him to use many different combinations of items effectively but also make him dependent on solid builds and a good gold advantage.

Gameplay
The Invoker is the most well-rounded spellcasting hero, due to his massive array of spells. Using his three elemental reagents and his Invoke ability, the Invoker can utilize a total of 10 different spells. Due to his complexity and fragility, the Invoker is a bad choice for newer players. With some experience, however, he becomes a force to be reckoned with. The Invoker is capable of massive area of effect damage, powerful disabling spells, very strong summons, and potent enchantments. While other spellcasters tend to be focused in one area, the Invoker has the ability to change his role at will. His spells tend to start out weaker than comparable abilities, but since his reagents have 7 levels each his potential spell power is very high. Although mastering his spells takes perhaps the most practice of any hero, he is definitely worth the time.

At level 25, Invoker has 7 points each towards Quas, Wex, and Exort, and 4 points towards Invoke. Uniquely among heroes, Invoker does not possess the Attribute Bonus ability (i.e., he cannot put points towards "Stats"). Instead, he gains a permanent attribute bonus to one of his stats each time he levels up Quas, Wex, or Exort.

Due to the removal of mana cost and drastic reduction in cooldown of Invoke, Aghanim's Scepter is a crucial item in almost any of Invoker's item builds.

Tips

 * Invoker is a prime candidate for mid lane; however, due to his flexibility he can also take other lane positions.
 * Invoker's skill build is very, very flexible.
 * A Quas-Wex build gives a lot of attack and movement speed, while making you a bit more durable; its main drawback is that without items you will be in need of Intelligence or mana regeneration. In the early game, you should try to use Cold Snap to scare enemies and maybe kill them, while your main combo in the mid game will be Tornado followed by EMP: with it, you'll deal a lot of damage and will drain most of your enemies' mana, but you have to time it well, since EMP won't work on cycloned units. In the late game, try to use Alacrity on yourself or the main carry if you're able to; use your main combo and/or Deafening Blast to disable enemies.
 * A Quas-Exort build gives great pushing potential: if you level up Quas and Exort to level 4, you'll be able to create two Forge Spirits. Use them in combination with Alacrity, Cold Snap or Ice Wall to deal consistent damage per second. In the late game, try to use Exort-based skills to help your team dealing more damage. Overall, it provides you with good Strength and Intelligence, making you both durable and able to cast many spells without running out of mana.
 * An Exort or Wex-Exort oriented build gives a lot of Intelligence, but leaves you with less HP. In the early game you'll have global presence thanks to your Sun Strike which, if timed well, can deal huge damage. In mid and late game, try to initiate with your Chaos Meteor, followed by Deafening Blast. You can also add Tornado before the two skills if you have enough mana, which will make it harder for the enemies to escape or flee. Use Alacrity on the main damage dealer if you're able to.
 * Taking Quas as your first abilty will increase your health regen to +6 hp/sec at level 2 with 3 instances, allowing you to stay longer in lane against harrassment. Be careful though against nuke damage, as this will not completely save you.
 * For Quas, the highest level you will usually need is 2-4, as higher levels are generally not useful; Level 4 is only useful in that it allows you to have 2 forge spirits.
 * It is generally not reccomended to take Wex as your first ability, as the added agility, attack speed and move speed are not that useful at lower levels.
 * Taking Exort as your first ability will increase your damage. Use this to your advantage by having three Exort instances active, giving you +9 damage. When you encounter an enemy hero, target them. This will very likely scare them off, as at this level health points are very low.
 * Cold Snap is, in most cases, your first and main ability in the early portion of the game. Use it to scare and harass enemies, especially when they are among allied creeps. To make better use of this skill, activate it right after right clicking on the enemy Hero, then keep attacking him whenever possible, without putting yourself in danger.
 * Ghost Walk is your most reliable escape mechanism. It makes you invisible with no fade time, and also slows enemies. Be careful when Invoking it, as it costs 200 mana to activate.
 * Ice Wall is perfect for teamfights as well as for 1 vs 1 fights. You need good positioning to use it, so it's preferable to have Phase Boots, Force Staff or even Blink Dagger to help you use this skill effectively. It damages and greatly slows enemies, making it perfect in combination with Cold Snap, Sun Strike, Chaos Meteor, EMP and Deafening Blast. You can cast Tornado right before it to make positioning easier.
 * EMP is an AoE nuke that drains the enemies' mana, while damaging them. Use it in combination with Tornado to guarantee mana drain and damage. It's a nice nuke for mid game teamfights, but it becomes less efficient as the game progresses.
 * Tornado is a useful ability that can be used to save teammates, damage enemies or even chase them, thanks to its enormous range. The more you skill Quas and Wex, the more damage it will deal.
 * Alacrity is a great pushing ability, which is especially useful in late game. Use it on yourself, on your allies or even on your Spirits to take down towers with ease. Cast it on your team's carry to help him deal even more damage.
 * Sun Strike is a deadly nuke with global range, which is perfect to kill fleeing Heroes. It has a little delay, so time it well. Avoid hitting more than one enemy, otherwise it will deal less damage, since it's spread evenly between targets in its area of effect.
 * Forge Spirit lets you summon one Spirit that will reduce the enemy Heroes' armor while attacking. It can be used to harass, scout or push. Use it with Cold Snap, Alacrity or Ice Wall to inflict constant damage over time. If you have 4 levels of Quas and 4 levels of Exort, using this skill will summon two Spirits instead of one.
 * Chaos Meteor is a powerful nuke, capable of hitting many units at once. It rolls forward and, much like Sun Strike, it has a little delay, so you have to take positioning into account while using it. It can be used with Deafening Blast to initiate a battle and deal colossal damage if executed correctly, especially in the mid and late game. You can cast Tornado before using your Chaos Meteor to make positioning easier, and to make sure that the enemies can't escape.
 * Deafening Blast has many uses, slightly depending on your skill build. It's mainly used to disable enemies, so that they can't run away or an ally of yours (or even yourself) can escape. If going for an Exort oriented build, it will deal more damage, making it good to kill fleeing Heroes while your Sun Strike is on cooldown. If going for a Quas-Wex oriented build, its damage will be greatly reduced, but on the other hand its disabling power will make it easier to win teamfights or to save allies, while pushing back enemy Heroes.

Name

 * In DotA, Invoker's name is Kael, possibly based on the WarCraft Blood Elf Mage character, Kael'thas Sunstrider. His fun name is Kal-El, a pun conflating the name Kael with the birth name of Superman.


 * In April 2011, a leaked DotA 6.72 Chinese changelog referred to Invoker as "卡尔" ("Kael"). A PlayDota forum member translated the changelog with Google Translate, in an attempt to get a quick, rough translation. Google Translate mistakenly translated "卡尔" as "Carl". PlayDota forum members were at first confused, then entertained by the mistake. IceFrog, the lead developer of DotA and Dota 2, joked "Carl had it coming".


 * In December 2011, drafts of Invoker's Dota 2 lore referred to him as "Garral" twice, presumably a nod to "Carl". This name was excised upon Invoker's release in January 2012; the lore currently refers to him only as "the Invoker".


 * Invoker's voice lines include the name Carl three times. Invoker has a small chance to speak one of these lines when his model is selected:
 * invo_spawn_01.mp3 "Carl!"
 * invo_rare_04.mp3 "Throughout the aeons I have been known by many names…but my true name of power…is Carl."
 * invo_rare_05.mp3 "Behold before you, the illustrious, the imperious, ingenious arch-mage… CARL."
 * The latter lines are intended to be humorous. One equates the awe-inspiring "name of power" with the mundane "Carl"; the other sillily spells the name in all-capital letters.


 * Undying uses the name Carl once, when meeting an allied Invoker on the battlefield, and even then only 5% of the time:
 * undying_ally_10.mp3 "Carl, is that you?"


 * Mirana uses the name Carl once, when killing an enemy Invoker, and even then only 5% of the time:
 * mir_rival_16.mp3 "Carl, meet Sagan." A pun on Carl Sagan. (Mirana's feline mount is named Sagan.)


 * In summary, whether Invoker's "real" name is Carl appears to be a subject of humor and is intentionally ambiguous.

Trivia

 * In the earliest version of Invoker, the order of instances mattered when Invoke was cast. Invoker had access to 27 spells, including the 10 still in game.
 * Invoker is (or used to be) a Magus like Rubick, who calls him the Arsenal Magus.