Puck Guide for Dota 2

Puck is one of the most fun Dota 2 heroes, as it can cause real chaos using its unique abilities. At the same time, despite its playful nature, the Faerie Dragon is a serious enemy who can wipe out opponents, leaving them no chance to even realize what happened.

And if you want to know when to pick this hero and how to properly develop its abilities throughout the match, our Puck guide for Dota 2 players is just for you. Keep reading to discover helpful tips, efficient item builds, and time-tested skill combos.

Who Puck Is and When to Pick It

Puck in Dota 2 is a flexible Midlaner (and, in exceptional cases, can even be played as a Carry) with high magic damage, excellent escape abilities, and strong initiation. It remains effective throughout the entire match, often taking the lead in executing complex tactical maneuvers such as swift ganks and deep jungle attacks.

The Faerie Dragon can control the pace of fights and has a significant advantage over heroes who lack disables and have a low HP pool. According to the current meta, it performs particularly well against opponents like Queen of Pain, Weaver, and Invoker.

Unfortunately, Puck is extremely vulnerable to unexpected attacks followed by silence or long-duration stuns. Therefore, Puck players must be cautious if the enemy team includes heroes such as Night Stalker, Riki, and Nyx Assassin.

Luckily, you can always rely on your teammates. Puck pairs exceptionally well with heroes that have powerful AoE abilities, such as:

1. Gyrocopter (Call Down).
2. Batrider (Flamebreak).
3. Phoenix (Supernova).

Puck Skill Build for Dota 2

Before you learn how to master Puck in Dota 2, you must understand how its abilities work. This knowledge forms the foundation for successful farming, killing enemy heroes, and applying lane pressure. In our Puck Mid guide in Dota 2, we’ll review the two most popular skill builds: Standard and Defensive.

Standard Skill Build for Mid Puck

Traditionally, Puck Midlaner always opts for Illusory Orb, as it is a perfect skill for dealing magic damage, performing early ganks, farming creep waves, and escaping danger. It’s also a good idea to take Phase Shift at level 2 so you can dodge attacks near enemy towers once you start aggressively pushing your lane and harassing opposing heroes. After that, focus on leveling Illusory Orb and Waning Rift, as shown in the table below:

Illusory Orb		1		3		5		7
Waning Rift					4				8	9	10
Phase Shift			2											13	14	15
Dream Coil							6						12						18
Talents												11					16

At level six, you’ll finally unlock your ultimate ability, Dream Coil, which allows you to easily eliminate solo targets or rotate to other lanes to support your teammates’ attacks.

As for talents, most players prefer the following options for this aggressive skill build:

1. +40 Illusory Orb Damage.
2. -15s Dream Coil Cooldown.
3. -3s Waning Rift Cooldown.
4. Dream Coil pierces Debuff Immunity.

Defensive Skill Build for Hard Matchups

If your teammates are losing their lanes, you can’t farm properly, and the enemies already have a noticeable advantage, playing aggressively is usually a mistake. In such situations, be wise like Aghanim and opt for a defensive Puck skill build for Dota 2, with a primary focus on Phase Shift to increase survivability. Overall, your ability and talent progression should look like this:

Illusory Orb		1		3		5		7
Waning Rift					4						10			13	14
Phase Shift			2						8	9			12
Dream Coil							6					11					16
Talents																15		17	18

This build allows you to avoid heavy Nukers and withstand strong right-click Midlaners. At the same time, you will still be able to farm creep waves and camps efficiently using Illusory Orb. When it comes to talent choices, the most effective options are:

1. +40 Illusory Orb Damage.
2. -15s Dream Coil Cooldown.
3. +200 Initial/ Break Dream Coil Damage.
4. Dream Coil pierces Debuff immunity.

Puck Item Build in Dota 2

All Dota 2 Puck builds are based on the following core principles:

1. Ensuring high mobility.
2. Increasing mana pool and regeneration.
3. Boosting Puck’s survivability in teamfights.
4. Reducing ability cooldowns.
5. Increasing magic damage.

Early Game Starting Items

The first minutes of the game are the most difficult and important for a Midlaner. Therefore, your Dota 2 Puck hero item build must ensure stable lane sustain, reliable last-hitting, and safe harassment of an enemy Midlaner. In the current meta, the most optimal starting items include:

Item Name	Tango	Healing Salve	Iron Branch x2	Enchanted Mango	Faerie Fire
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Alternatively, you can opt for a starting build that focuses more on improving Puck’s mobility:

Item Name	Tango	Healing Salve	Iron Branch x2	Wind Lace
Item Icon

Core Items for Tempo Puck

There are many variations of a Puck item build in Dota 2. However, the “classic” Midlaner’s inventory by the end of the Mid Game Phase usually includes:

1. Bottle: Provides lane sustain and improved rune control.
2. Power Treads: Allows flexible management of survivability, mana pool, and damage.
3. Blink Dagger: Greatly enhances initiation and escape potential.
4. Witch Blade: Increases burst damage and kill potential.

You can replace the final damage item with an alternative artifact if an in-game situation requires it. For example, consider purchasing the following items when you need more survivability, protection from disables, or serious incoming damage:

Item Name	Eul's Scepter of Divinity	Linken's Sphere	Shiva's Guard	Refresher Orb	Scythe of Vyse
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Laning as Mid Puck

Now it’s time to learn how to play Puck in Dota 2 using proven tactics and tips. Once you enter the mid lane, focus on the following objectives:

1. Secure XP: Mid lane is about perfectly last-hitting enemy creeps and denying your own to gain more gold and experience while limiting your opponent’s progress.
2. Rune control: Runes are essential in the early game, enabling efficient ganks and sustained lane pressure.
3. Attack the Mid Tower: Aim to deal as much damage as possible to the enemy Tier 1 tower, ideally pushing together with siege creeps for maximum effectiveness.

Mid Game Gameplay and Rotations on Puck

In this part of our Dota 2 Puck gameplay guide, let’s focus on your actions and core objectives after reaching level six and purchasing your first core items. First of all, as a Midlaner, you must actively gank both the top and bottom lanes to apply map pressure on your opponents. However, don’t forget to inform your teammates beforehand to ensure they actually indeed need your help. Additionally, focus on protecting all your Tier 1 towers as long as possible to maintain strong control over the map.

The basic rotation pattern for Mid Puck looks like this:

• Pushing Mid, especially during the siege creep wave.
• Taking a rune and holding it in the Bottle.
• Ganking the lane where your assistance is needed.
• Returning to farming Mid or jungle creeps.

It’s also essential to understand the key events that are likely to happen during the match. This way, you can maintain excellent tempo and better anticipate what to expect from your enemies:

Teamfights, Combos, and Orb Usage on Puck

With proper Orb usage, Puck can easily initiate fights by launching unexpected attacks. At the same time, he can take away the enemy’s initiative by disrupting their actions, zoning them with Dream Coil, and applying silence with Waning Rift. You can experiment with different skill combinations, but it’s important to master the most reliable ones:

• Blink Dagger + Waning Rift + Dream Coil + Illusory Orb + Phase Shift: Allows you to close the distance, apply silence, lock enemies in place, and escape from incoming damage.
• Illusory Orb + Ethereal Jaunt: Instantly places you near an enemy to deal damage. This combo can also be used to escape dangerous situations while ignoring terrain.

One of the most important Dota 2 Puck tips is to never Jaunt to your Orb without vision. Otherwise, you may land directly into an enemy trap. Additionally, always keep at least one escape option available so you can retreat whenever necessary.

Common Mistakes That Hold Your MMR Back

Puck is a hero of medium complexity, making it a solid choice for players who already understand Dota 2 fundamentals. However, even experienced players often make the following “deadly sins” that prevent them from winning matches:

1. Not using the Illusory Orb often enough.

Fix: Learn to use Orb for farming, initiating fights, escaping, and harassing enemies.

1. Ganking without Dream Coil.

Fix: Avoid early ganks until you reach level six whenever possible.

1. Wasting Dream Coil on low-value targets.

Fix: Plan engagements so Dream Coil leashes at least three opponents instead of a single enemy Hard Support.

1. Ignoring survivability items.

Fix: Purchase Eul's Scepter, Linken’s Sphere, or even BKB to increase your chances of surviving teamfights.

1. Poor Phase Shift timing.

Fix: Study other heroes' cast and attack animations so you can predict enemy moves and use the Phase Shift at the right moment.

Conclusion

Follow the skill progression and gameplay tips from our Puck Dota 2 build guide to drive your enemies crazy while consistently winning teamfights. Keep in mind that mastering Faerie Dragon requires a lot of time, but once you do, you’ll start playing like Miracle, dominating the Mid Lane, outplaying opponents, and steadily raising your MMR.