Bernd Becker 
As a Dota 2 player looking to master the Phantom Assassin hero, you know her power when played well. With proper farm and itemization, PA becomes an unstoppable force capable of deleting enemy heroes in seconds. However, she is also easily countered if not played carefully. This guide will provide you with in-depth tips to dominate your matches with PA. You will learn optimal skill and item builds, power spike timings, matchup advice, and expert strategies to get rampages and increase your MMR. We will cover everything from early-game CSing and harassment to late-game split push and pick-offs. Follow this PA guide to strike fear into your enemies and hard carry your team to victory.
Introduction to Phantom Assassin
Skills and Abilities
As an agility hero, Phantom Assassin (PA) relies on her powerful physical attacks and critical strikes to dominate enemies. Her skill set allows her to close gaps, evade damage, and boost her attack speed. PA’s ultimate, Coup de Grace, gives her attacks a chance to critically strike for massive damage.
Item Build
For PA, prioritize items that increase damage, attack speed, and survivability. Core items include Power Treads, Desolator, and Black King Bar. Luxury items include Monkey King Bar, Satanic, and Abyssal Blade. With these items, PA becomes nearly unstoppable in the late game.
Playstyle
PA is an elusive banker and glass cannon carry. In the early game, use Phantom Strike and Blur to score kills in side lanes. Blur’s evasion allows you to avoid damage in fights, but you are still vulnerable to disables and magic damage. Once you obtain your core items, PA transitions into a formidable carry that shreds enemies with huge critical strikes.
In teamfights, focus on isolating and eliminating enemy supports before turning your attention to cores. Use Phantom Strike to quickly close gaps and stick to targets. Blur minimizes damage from enemy right-clicks while your high damage allows you to burst down foes. With Coup de Grace, even the tankiest heroes melt under your barrage of critical hits.
PA requires patience and a farm to become an unstoppable force. If you snowball early with successful ganks and farm efficiently, the enemy team will cower in fear of your obscene damage potential. Master this elusive assassin, and you’ll be solo killing and rampaging your way to victory.
Core Item Build for Phantom Assassin
Starting Items
As Phantom Assassin (PA), you’ll want to begin the game with a Quelling Blade, Tangoes, and either a Stout Shield or Poor Man’s Shield. The Quelling Blade helps you last hit and gain early farm, while the Tangoes provide crucial health regeneration. The shield offers protection from harassment as you focus on farming.
Early Game
In the early game, your goal is to farm for core items. Rush a Power Treads for attack speed and stats, then build a Battle Fury. Battle Fury provides cleave for faster farming, damage, and mana regeneration. The desolator is also a strong second item, giving PA high damage and armor reduction to destroy enemies. After Battle Fury or Desolator, build Blink Dagger to improve your mobility and secure kills.
Mid Game
In the mid-game, PA becomes a formidable ganker with high burst damage. Finish Satanic for lifesteal, damage, and strength. Assault Cuirass gives PA armor, attack speed, and armor reduction in an area. With these two items, PA can survive team fights, take objectives, and maintain a strong presence on the map.
Late Game
If the game goes late, PA transitions to a powerful carry. Upgrade to Abyssal Blade from Blink Dagger. The active stun and damage block help lock down and kill enemies. Butterflies provide evasion, damage, and attack speed. A second damage item like Nullifier or Bloodthorn increases your killing potential. By the late game, PA can swiftly eliminate enemy heroes and end the game.
With the proper items at each stage of the game, Phantom Assassin becomes an unstoppable force, swiftly eliminating enemies from the battlefield. Master her core build, and victory will be within your grasp.
Phantom Assassin Skills and Talents
Stifling Dagger
Phantom Assassin’s first ability, Stifling Dagger, throws a dagger at the target enemy, dealing physical damage and slowing their movement speed. This ability allows Phantom Assassin to chase down enemies and secure kills. Upgrading the Stifling Dagger increases the damage and slow amount.
Phantom Strike
Phantom Assassin’s second ability, Phantom Strike, allows her to teleport to a target unit and gain bonus attack speed for a few attacks. Phantom Strike synergizes extremely well with Coup de Grace, as the bonus attack speed will allow Phantom Assassin to quickly burst down enemies. Upgrading Phantom Strike decreases the cooldown and increases the attack speed bonus.
Blur
Phantom Assassin’s third ability, Blur, passively grants her invisibility after a few seconds of not taking damage. Blur allows Phantom Assassin to sneak up on enemies and take them by surprise. Upgrading Blur decreases the fade delay and increases the bonus agility.
Coup de Grace
Phantom Assassin’s ultimate ability, Coup de Grace, gives her a chance to land a devastating critical strike on each attack. The high critical strike chance and damage allows Phantom Assassin to quickly burst down enemies. Upgrading Coup de Grace increases the critical strike chance and damage.
Phantom Assassin’s talents augment her abilities and stats. Some notable talents include increased Blur agility, reduced Phantom Strike cooldown, increased Stifling Dagger damage, and increased Coup de Grace critical strike damage. Choosing the right talents for each game can further enhance Phantom Assassin’s power.
With the proper use of her abilities and talents, Phantom Assassin transforms into a stealthy and deadly assassin, eliminating enemy heroes before they know what hit them. Careful management of her cooldowns and mana is key to dominating with this hero.
Phantom Assassin Gameplay Tips and Tricks
Master Last Hitting and Farming
As a carry hero, Phantom Assassin relies heavily on gold and experience to dominate
in the late game. Focus on last-hitting creeps in the lane to maximize your gold intake. Once you have a few core items, you can start clearing jungle camps in between creep waves to accelerate your farm.
Choose Your Targets Wisely
Phantom Assassin excels at quickly eliminating lone enemy heroes, especially squishy
supports and casters. Look for opportunities to gank enemies who are isolated from their team. Wait in the shadows until your target is alone, then blink in, unleash your full combo, and blink out. Rinse and repeat to steadily gain a gold and experience advantage.
Itemize for Max Damage
Build items that synergize with Phantom Assassin’s abilities and provide raw damage output.
Core items include Power Treads, Battle Fury, Desolator, and Monkey King Bar. Luxury late-game items include Satanic, Abyssal Blade, and Divine Rapier. With the right items, Phantom Assassin can melt through even the tankiest enemies in just a few hits.
Play Aggressively in Team Fights
Once you have your core damage items, look to aggressively initiate team fights. Blink onto
enemy squishy heroes, unleash your full combo, and eliminate them from the fight as quickly as possible. Your high burst damage and evasion will allow you to dive in, get a quick kill, and get out before the enemy team can focus you down. Repeat this process to gain a numbers advantage and win the team fight.
Following these tips will allow you to maximize Phantom Assassin’s damage potential and dominate matches. With enough farms and the right targets, Phantom Assassin is nearly unstoppable. Play aggressively, accumulate kills, and carry your team to victory.
Pick a Good & Trustworthy Platform to Join Cash Tournaments on Dota 2
Dota 2 players seeking competitive gameplay and an opportunity to win cash prizes should consider joining Duelmasters.io. This platform hosts Dota 2 tournaments where players can compete for a share of the prize pool.
Daily and Weekly Tournaments
Duelmasters.io offers daily and weekly Dota 2 tournaments at a range of skill levels. Players can join free open tournaments or pay a small entry fee for tournaments with bigger prize pools. The daily tournaments typically have smaller prize pools, while the weekly tournaments offer larger cash prizes, often $50 to $500 or more for first place. These frequent tournaments give players an incentive to hone their skills and strategies.
Team and Solo Play
Both solo players and teams can join the Dota 2 tournaments on Duelmasters.io. For team play, Duelmasters.io supports 2v2, 3v3, and 5v5 team sizes. Solo players will be matched with teammates to form a pickup team. Playing with a regular team allows for developing advanced strategies and teamwork, while the pickup teams option gives solo players an opportunity to gain experience in a competitive team environment.
All Skill Levels Welcome
Duelmasters.io aims to offer competitive Dota 2 gameplay for players at every skill level. Tournaments are divided into skill tiers so that players will face opponents of a similar level. New players can join the “Beginner” tier to learn the ropes of competitive play, while more experienced players can join “Intermediate” or “Advanced” tiers to face tougher competition. Reaching the higher skill tiers unlocks the opportunity to win bigger cash prizes.
Overall, Duelmasters.io provides an excellent platform for Dota 2 players to experience the thrill of competitive esports and potentially win money. Both solo players and teams will find daily and weekly tournaments suitable for their skill level and schedule. Competing in these Dota 2 tournaments is an exciting way for players to challenge themselves and push their game to new heights.
Conclusion
You now have a comprehensive guide to playing Phantom Assassin in Dota 2. With the right item builds, skill builds, and playstyle, you can dominate matches with this powerful carry. Remember to farm efficiently, pick your moments in fights carefully, and push objectives at the right times. If you master Phantom Assassin’s abilities and play to her strengths, you will swiftly climb the ranks. Follow these tips, practice constantly, and watch high-level PA players to keep improving. You are now equipped to unleash the full potential of this lethal hero. Follow this guide diligently, and you will be assassinating your way up the MMR ladder in no time.
