Dota 2 Trainer: Invoke Faster: The Invoker Combo Trainer Tool

The Dota 2 Invoker Combo Trainer Tool

Invoker has ten spells and only two free slots. The Invoker Combo Trainer Tool drills them with your real keys: press three orbs, hit R, cast with D or F, with the same keys and slot rules as in the game. Beat the time bar from Crusader to Immortal, chase the leaderboard, learn every combination and play real combos with as few keys as possible. Axe tried it. Axe pressed R very hard. R is now in the next room.

1. Time Attack: 30 seconds for points. Fast spells give more, five in a row multiply them, up to ×5. Then your name goes on the leaderboard.
2. Challenge: pick a rank and cast every spell before the time bar runs out. Normal is Crusader, Hard is Ancient, Very hard is Immortal. A curve shows your seconds per spell next to your last run.
3. Learn: the trainer shows the orbs for each spell, you press them, invoke and cast. One lap is all ten spells. No clock, no stress.
4. Combos: five real Invoker combos. The trainer counts your keys and compares them with the fewest keys possible.

Every spell takes three steps, like in the game: the three orbs, R to invoke it and D to cast it. R alone only puts the spell into slot D; it counts once you cast it. The strip under the spell name shows which step is next.

Need more room for your fingers? Play the Invoker Challenge fullscreen, with the leaderboard right next to the game.

Your keyboard works, and so do taps on the ability bar on a phone. Playing with other keys? Hit “Change keys” under the trainer. Medals and best times stay in your browser; only a Time Attack score you enter goes on the public leaderboard.

Axe explains

Invoker in 10 seconds

1. 3orbs: Quas, Wex and Exort.
2. 10spells, three orbs each.
3. 2spells ready at once: D and F.
4. 0mana to swap D and F.

Orb order? Does not matter. Axe checked. Twice.

Invoker game: from Crusader to Immortal

The Challenge is the Invoker game in three ranks. The spells come in random order, and after a 3, 2, 1 the bar starts running. Clear a rank and its medal lights up above the trainer.

NormalCrusader10 spells in 40 s4 s per spell, hint after 3 s

HardAncient15 spells in 30 s2 s per spell, no hints

Very hardImmortal20 spells in 25 s1.25 s per spell, no hints

Time Attack is the leaderboard game: 30 seconds, and every spell you cast gives 100 points plus up to 50 for speed. Five spells in a row without a wrong cast double the points, ten triple them, up to ×5; one wrong cast and the multiplier starts over. Enter any name and you land on the board for this week and of all time; your best score per name counts. The weekly board starts fresh every Monday (UTC).

Axe entered the leaderboard as “AXE AXE AXE”. Axe scored three. Axe says that is one per Axe.

All Invoker spells and combos: the full list

Every spell is three orbs. Three of one kind sit in the corners, the mixes sit in between: the closer a spell is to a corner, the more of that orb it needs. That is the whole Invoker spell list in one triangle.

Cold SnapQQQ

Ghost WalkQQWIce WallQQE

TornadoQWWDeafening BlastQWEForge SpiritQEE

E.M.P.WWWAlacrityWWEChaos MeteorWEESun StrikeEEE

Spell	Orbs	What it does	Stronger with
Cold Snap	QQQ	Freezes one enemy, and freezes it again whenever it takes more damage.	Quas
Ghost Walk	QQW	Makes Invoker invisible and slows enemies near him.	Quas, Wex
Ice Wall	QQE	A wall of ice in front of Invoker that slows and burns enemies near it.	Quas, Exort
Tornado	QWW	Lifts every enemy in its path into the air, then drops them.	Quas, Wex
Deafening Blast	QWE	A sonic wave that damages, knocks back and then disarms enemies.	Quas, Wex, Exort
Forge Spirit	QEE	Summons fire spirits whose attacks melt enemy armor.	Quas, Exort
E.M.P.	WWW	Explodes after a delay, drains mana and deals damage for the mana drained.	Wex
Alacrity	WWE	Gives an ally or Invoker himself more attack speed and damage.	Wex, Exort
Chaos Meteor	WEE	A meteor that lands, rolls forward and burns everything in its path.	Wex, Exort
Sun Strike	EEE	A beam from the sky on any spot of the map; enemies hit split the damage.	Exort

Combinations: Valve’s hero data. Descriptions and “stronger with”: Valve’s ability texts (“based on the level of Quas / Wex / Exort”).

Sun Strike is one of the spells that go through Black King Bar. The BKB Checker has the full list for every hero.

Axe has one spell list: Berserker’s Call, then hit. Invoker has ten. Axe feels sorry for his fingers.

Quas, Wex, Exort: what each orb does

The orbs are more than spell ingredients. Every orb you have active gives Invoker a small bonus, and every orb level gives him an attribute point. Which orbs you level decides which spells hit hardest.

Quas (Q, ice)Each active orb: health regeneration. Each level: strength.Makes stronger: Cold Snap, Ghost Walk, Ice Wall, Tornado, Deafening Blast, Forge Spirit

Wex (W, storm)Each active orb: movement and attack speed. Each level: agility.Makes stronger: Ghost Walk, Tornado, Deafening Blast, E.M.P., Alacrity, Chaos Meteor

Exort (E, fire)Each active orb: attack damage. Each level: intelligence.Makes stronger: Ice Wall, Deafening Blast, Forge Spirit, Alacrity, Chaos Meteor, Sun Strike

That is where the build names come from. Quas-Wex Invoker levels the orbs behind Tornado, Ghost Walk and E.M.P. Quas-Exort Invoker levels the orbs behind Cold Snap, Ice Wall, Forge Spirit and Sun Strike. Exort also gives attack damage for every active orb, which helps with last hits in lane.

Free tool · Dota2FreaksLast Hit Calculator: check your CS per minuteThree Exort, more damage, more last hits. Set a farming goal and see what you need next.→

Invoker hotkeys: how Invoke, D and F work

By default Invoker plays on Q W E for the orbs, R for Invoke and D F for the two spells he has ready. These are the rules behind them:

• Three orbs at most. Valve: “Invoker can only have 3 of any instance.” A fourth orb pushes out the oldest one.
• Order does not matter. Valve: “The arrangement of instances does not matter.” Q W E, E W Q and W E Q all invoke Deafening Blast.
• Invoke keeps the orbs. R turns the three orbs into a spell, and the orbs stay where they are.
• New spells land in D. The spell that was in D moves to F, and the one in F is gone.
• Swapping is free. Invoke the spell in F again and it jumps back to D. Valve: Invoke does not “cost mana or go on cooldown if the only effect is to swap the positions of existing spells.”

1. 1Invoke TornadoDFNew spells always land in D.
2. 2Invoke E.M.P.DFTornado moves over to F.
3. 3Invoke Chaos MeteorDFTornado drops out. Two slots, no more.
4. 4Invoke E.M.P. againDFOnly a swap: no mana, no cooldown.

Want D and F on other keys, or quickcast on all of them? The Hotkey Layout Builder shows every key and setting.

Invoker combos to practice

These are the combos the trainer throws at you in Combos mode. The reasons come straight from what the spells do.

›Tornado into E.M.P.QWW → WWWTornado holds them in the air, E.M.P. goes off after a delay. Time it for the landing.

›Tornado into Sun StrikeQWW → EEESun Strike lands after a delay too. Aim it where they will fall.

››Tornado, Meteor, BlastQWW → WEE → QWEMeteor rolls over them as they land, Blast knocks them back the way the Meteor rolls.

›››The full comboQWW → WWW → WEE → QWELift, drain mana, burn, knock back. All three orbs in one fight.

›Cold Snap and Forge SpiritsQQQ → QEEEvery new hit on a Cold Snapped enemy can freeze it again. Forge Spirits hit a lot.

›Alacrity and Cold SnapWWE → QQQAlacrity means faster attacks, and faster attacks mean more Cold Snap freezes.

›Ice Wall into MeteorQQE → WEEIce Wall slows them, so the rolling Meteor burns them longer.

›The escapeQQE → QQWA wall to slow the chasers, then vanish. Ghost Walk slows enemies near you too.

The orb order trick

The order of the orbs does not change the spell, but it decides which orbs are left for the next one. Say you cast Tornado and want Chaos Meteor next:

Combos mode counts exactly this: the trainer knows the fewest keys for every combo from where your orbs are, and shows how many you used. In a real game Invoke and every spell also have cooldowns and cost mana. The trainer leaves those out on purpose: it trains your fingers, not your mana pool.

Axe’s favourite combo is Tornado into Axe. Invoker lifts them, Axe catches them. Nobody asked Invoker.

What does Aghanim’s Shard change for Invoker? The Aghanim’s Shard Lookup shows it for every hero.

Invoker practice plan: 10 minutes a day

1. Two Learn laps. Say the spell out loud while you press it. Stop when you no longer look at the orbs.
2. Three Challenges. Look at the curve after each one: the spikes are the spells your fingers do not know yet. Practice those in Learn.
3. One Time Attack. Beat your own number first, then the board.
4. One Combos round. Aim for 100% key efficiency. Plan the orbs for the next spell while the last one is still flying.
5. Then a real game. A bot match is enough: now with cooldowns, mana and enemies who move.

Hero guide · Dota2FreaksInvoker: role, difficulty and item buildsFingers ready. Now see which items Invoker builds and how strong he is in each phase of the game.→

Free guide · Dota2FreaksRank Up Guide: find the one thing holding you backFast fingers are one part. Five quick questions show which habit to fix next.→

Spells learned, now test the rest of your Dota knowledge: the Rank Quiz gives you the medal it deserves.

FAQ: Axe answers questions