Dota 2 Parasma

There are currently 208 artifacts in Dota 2, and if you want to become a real pro, you should learn to use every single one. Furthermore, you should also keep an eye on any item changes in patches and updates. As you can guess, being a pro is a lot of work.

If you’ve already played a couple of matches, you’ve probably noticed a strange green halberd among the craftable artifacts. It’s called Parasma and is the topic of today’s article. The arrival of Parasma in Dota 2 was quite an event, causing lots of players to rethink their itemization strategies completely. At the same time, there are gamers who still don’t know what this item does and when they should craft it, and that’s why we’re here today.

What is Parasma in Dota 2?

Any hero can obtain Dota 2 Parasma during a match. The trick, as usual, is knowing when to do so.

Definition & Concept

First of all, what is Parasma in Dota 2? This is a craftable artifact, which you can create using the items from the Base Shop and the Secret Shop. All in all, the item will cost you 5,975 gold, making it quite an expensive weapon. However, considering that Parasma is based on the Witch Blade, you’ll get good benefits even before you purchase the whole item.

Gameplay Mechanics

Parasma doesn’t have any active abilities, which means you won’t need to push a button to activate this item (which is always welcome). It’s an excellent option for newbies or players who tend to get lost during intense team fights. Just put this artifact in your inventory, and your hero will get all of its benefits.

Benefits

So, let’s have a closer look at Parasma benefits in Dota 2. First of all, the item significantly enhances the character’s attributes, providing the following bonuses:

1. +480 mana and +1.5 mana regeneration;
2. +4% flat base magic resistance;
3. +40 attack damage to Intelligence heroes or +28 attack damage to Universal heroes;
4. +40 intelligence;
5. +6 armor;
6. +40 attack speed;
7. +300 projectile speed.

As you can see, all these advantages make Parasma an ideal option for characters that need a large mana pool to deal damage. Moreover, it has two amazing passive abilities:

1. Witch Blade. Just like Witch Blade, Parasma can poison an enemy for 4 seconds, slowing them by 25% and dealing 0.75x your intelligence as damage every second. The cooldown for this ability is 9 seconds. Also, it grants the empowered attack True Strike.
2. Magic Corruption. Your attacks affect the enemy’s Magic resistance, lowering it by 20% for 4 seconds. This ability is permanently active, but its effect doesn’t stack.

Utilizing Tips

Now, let’s review the most efficient ways to use Parasma in your games. Follow these tips if you want to get the upper hand in the team fights:

• Never buy Parasma too early, as your hero won’t have enough intelligence to harness the true power of this item.
• It’s always a good idea to try and combine the Witch Blade with your other abilities. So, make sure it’s not on cooldown before committing to an attack.
• Always coordinate your actions with your teammates. For example, your allies can also benefit from the item’s Magic Resistance reduction effect.

How to Obtain and Use Parasma?

Now you’ve got the basic idea of how to use Parasma in Dota 2, let’s see how you can get one.

Acquiring Parasma

Parasma is a powerful artifact that consists of three items — Witch Blade, Mystic Staff, and the item’s recipe. Your item order should look like this:

• Buy Witch Blade first, as it has a great passive ability and stat bonuses. You can get everything to craft this item in the Base Shop, and it’ll cost you 2,775 gold.
• Get Mystic Staff in the Secret Shop for 2,800 gold.
• Finally, buy a recipe for 400 gold.

If everything is okay, the three items will automatically combine into Parasma. As a rule, it appears in the slot of the most expensive item from the recipe (in this case, it will be Mystic Staff).

Utilizing Parasma

As we’ve already mentioned, using Parasma is quite easy as all of its abilities are passive. However, it’s essential to ensure the weapon’s Witch Blade component is ready before initiating a fight. It’s wise to use this artifact against opponents with low Magic Resistance, as it will make them extremely vulnerable to your attacks. Plus, it can help you swiftly eliminate opponents with low health (i.e. supports).

Parasma in Different Game Phases

As with other expensive items, you should mind your timing when going for Parasma:

Early Game

Getting Parasma in the first 10–15 minutes of the game is inadvisable in most circumstances. You’ll need to earn at least 400 gold per minute, which is simply impossible in the early game. Furthermore, there is no reason to craft this artifact this early, as your hero won’t have enough intelligence points to efficiently use the Witch Blade’s ability.

Nonetheless, it’s still a good idea to buy Witch Blade (item) during this stage. It’ll provide you with valuable bonuses such as +12 intelligence and +1.5 mana regeneration. At the same time, we suggest you never ignore Consumables like Clarity and Tango.

Mid Game

As a rule, the Dota Parasma is purchased during the mid game (when all heroes on the map have from 11 to 15 levels). At this point, you should have enough money to purchase Mystic Staff and the item’s recipe to combine them with your Witch Blade.

If you want to build Parasma, you should focus on items that boost your hero’s intelligence, such as Kaya and Power Treads. Also, spend some time farming the forest or ask your ally to do it to obtain good neutral items (ideally, they should also provide you with extra intelligence).

Late Game

It is in the late game that Parasma can truly shine. In combination with other artifacts, high intelligence, and powerful neutral items, this weapon can deal incredible damage. Moreover, if you choose a character with scaling intelligence like Silencer, Parasma will keep increasing in power for the entire match.

Heroes and Items Synergizing With Parasma in Dota 2

You’ll need to build more than just Parasma to get the most out of this item. You should also keep in mind that this artifact isn’t appropriate for all heroes.

Best Heroes to Buy Parasma For

The best heroes for Parasma in Dota 2 are the ones who have Intelligence as the primary attribute: Puck, Storm Spirit, Outworld Destroyer, Invoker, Silencer, etc. With a good number of intelligence points, they can use the item’s passive abilities to great effect.

Additionally, all these heroes are ranged and have good attack speed and base damage. Equipped with Parasma, they’ll be able to deal damage even faster and will be able to kill even the heroes with large health pools, such as Pudge or Tiny, in seconds. Also, these characters can cast powerful spells, which will become even more dangerous due to Parasma’s Magic Corruption debuff.

Items to Enhance Parasma Efficiency

Considering that Parasma is an ideal option for “smart” heroes, obviously, your other items should also increase your character’s Intelligence, spell damage, mana pool, or all three. When it comes to choosing boots, Power Treads should be your #1 option! Also, depending on the hero you’ve chosen and the in-game situation, you may want to buy:

Item Icon	Item Name	Reason to buy
	Null Talisman	A cheap item that gives you +5 intelligence (+10 after the 25th minute of the match).
	Hurricane Pike	A great weapon that grants  +150 attack range, escape ability, and +15 intelligence.
	Kaya	A powerful artifact that offers +16 intelligence and +10% spell damage AMP.
	Aghanim's Scepter	A must-have item that enhances your hero’s abilities and grants +10 intelligence.
	Scythe of Vyse	A great debuff item that also packs an impressive +30 intelligence bonus.

Now we have Dota 2 Parasma explained, you’re all set to use the item in your games. Just don’t forget to make sure your item build aligns with your team's strategy. Finally, you should always consider the in-game situation and shift your playstyle accordingly. For example, if you see there are more valuable artifacts for your team than Parasma, focus on purchasing them first!