The Alchemist Dilemma

Introduction

Alchemist is a hero that does not have a good reputation. He consistently ranks last in win percentage in matchmaking and is almost never seen in competitive play. One reason that may contribute to his dismal matchmaking record is that Alchemist is a difficult hero to play. Despite several drawbacks, Alchemist also has several strengths to be exploited.

Alchemist is a tanky hero who has strong counter push, a long duration stun, deals decent right click damage, and can farm gold at an accelerated rate. However his base stats are noticeably low for a right click damage hero, his stun requires precision to use correctly and punishes misuse heavily, and he is unable to hold targets in place long enough to damage them significantly. For these reasons he is a very item dependant hero who must choose his build carefully in order to actually contribute in games. He will do best in games where your opponents are light on disable, and he is strong against minion pusher heroes like Nature's Prophet.

Abilities

Acid Spray is a large area of effect spell that deals damage over time and reduces the armor of any enemy units in its area. I consider this spell to be Alchemist's best for several reasons. It has quit a long cast distance so it can be used from a safe distance, and it deals composite damage so it can be used on magic immune units. Spray is quite useful for pushing and counter-pushing, as well as in teamfights. It can also be used to farm creeps more rapidly. The only problem Alchemist has with this spell is not having enough mana to spam it as much as he would like. More often than not I am maxing this spell first. I would recommend conserving mana as much as possible early on so you can get spray off in engagements.

Unstable Concoction is a ranged, targetable stun that can be charged up to deal more damage and stun for a longer duration. There is a cap on the time you can charge the spell though and reaching it will cause the damage and stun to be applied to Alchemist himself. This spell is the one that Alchemist is probably most well known for. It requires skill to know when to start charging a stun and when to throw it, as many disables can be used to prevent Alchemist from throwing in time. I find the most useful times to use this spell are when you are chasing down a hero who doesn't have reinforcements nearby, when running away from a hero and near your team or towers, and when ganking. Later on in the game the stun becomes easier to use in teamfights as you will most likely be a low priority target. I usually only put one point in this ability at level 1, then ignore it until I have finished off all my other abilities. Doing this will help to minimize the punishment for misfiring.

A couple points about using Unstable Concoction: Concoction is a spell that gives Alchemist power even before you have started charging it. An alchemist with Concoction off cooldown will encourage enemy heroes to save disables, and to watch their positioning more carefully. This can be used to control the flow of teamfights to your advantage. I find that delaying your concoction in teamfights will give alchemist a greater chance of a successful throw, and it will help you to maintain a higher threat level for a longer period of time. It also does physical damage so it will synergize with the armor reduction from Acid Spray. Additionally the damage from an unthrown concoction can be used to self-deny.

Goblin's Greed is a passive ability that will boost the gold Alchemist gains from killing creeps and heroes. The gold gain will also increase based on the number of creeps Alchemist has recently killed. This ability is useful for allowing Alchemist to farm the large amount of gold he needs to purchase items. It synergizes quite nicely with Acid Spray. I find that this spell is only of minimal use in the early game. Alchemist will no be able to chain creep kills very easily until he is better able to farm the jungle and his Acid Spray is leveled up, so Goblin's Greed takes a back seat to Acid Spray for me. Mid-late game jungling is a great way to get the most out of this skill.

Chemical Rage, Alchemist's ultimate, is a long duration buff that will increase his attack speed, movement speed, max hp, and his hp and mana regeneration. It has a low mana cost and can be spammed due to the additional mana regeneration outweighing the cost at all levels. This spell will allow Alchemist to farm the jungle earlier, and to bolster his power in teamfights. Do not hesitate to use this spell often. Unless you are expecting an engagement in the near future you should be popping his ultimate, if only for the mana and hp regeneration. Ideally you will use the ultimate to farm creeps or in an engagement. The movement speed will allow Alchemist to be better position for his Concoction, and there is a great boost in Alchemist's offensive capability while enraged.

I won't give an exact skill build, because I find that Alchemist is a hero who must customize his skill build for the compositions present in the game. However as I mentioned above, I prefer a build that will focus on Acid Spray, leaves Unstable Concoction at level 1 for a long time, and incorporates early stats until Alchemist can farm enough to make good use of Goblin's Greed. Investing one or two points in early stats can help Alchemist to avoid getting shut down in the early game.

Items

Early Game Items: Tango, Healing Pot, 3 Ironwood Branches, Stout Shield

Alchemist will spend most of the early game trying not to die because of his low stats. The branches and shield will allow him to get a small amount of farm in lane, and the shield will transition nicely into ring of health and then vanguard. There are three items you are often going to want to get as soon as possible: magic wand, ring of health, and boots. You need to decide whether or not it is worth it to save for the ring, or to get boots earlier. This mainly depends on how your laning goes.

Core Items: Magic Wand, Phase Boots, Vanguard

Vanguard will help Alchemist to survive teamfights and to farm the jungle more easily. Phase boots are good for allowing Alchemist to get position for concoction, and will boost his damage output nicely.

Situational Items: Every item in the game

Once you have gotten your core items, you will find that you are able to get strong farm by spraying creep waves and jungling. The items that you build will depend heavily on the team compositions present in the game. Try to choose the items that will have the greatest impact on teamfights and pushes. Some common choices are Assault Cuirass, Black King Bar, Pipe of Insight, Drum of Endurance, Urn of Shadows, Radiance, Armlet of Mordiggian, Sange and Yasha, and Mjollnir. Items that only increase your damage are luxury and should be gotten only if you have already secured a decent advantage.

Strategy Overview

Early Game: Alchemist is at his worst in the early game. You must be extremely cautious and careful in order to avoid getting ganked in lane. You will want a lane partner with strong disables and you should mention to them that defensive play is necessary. Focus on obtaining any creep kills you can, and watching the map for ganks. Sometimes the enemy heroes in your lane will play extremely aggressively due to alchemist's poor presence, which might allow for some great gank opportunities for your mid hero. Your main goal for early game is to not die.

Mid Game: Once you hit level 6 and get your ultimate, your ability to farm increases greatly, and your power in teamfights gets a minor boost. Mid game for Alchemist is all about farming as much as you can, while still being present at every engagement. Alchemist is one of the best counter push heroes in the game so you should also be defending towers as often as possible. Carry lots of tps and farm anything you can get your hands on. Depending on compositions you should be helping your team with ganks and pushes.

Late Game: If you have made it this far without feeding heavily, congratulations. It's time for you to start buying any items you need to win the game. Your farm will increase dramatically and you should have one or two situational items already. If you aren't sure what the best item to get would be ask your team for suggestions. Sometimes they will really benefit from an item you can purchase that they would not be able to afford.

Alchemist is without a doubt a difficult, punishing hero to play, however in the right game he can be a strong force. Let's see if we can boost his win percentage a little bit.

Check out Alchemist on Dota 2 Wiki for more information.