Dota 2: How to Play Lina Like a Pro

Lina, one of the iconic heroes of Dota 2, is a ranged Intelligence hero known for her ability to deal high damage with both her spells and right-click attacks. With her impressive nuking potential and attack speed boost from her passive, she is a powerhouse in both the early and late game. However, playing Lina effectively requires a balance of spell usage, positioning, and itemization to ensure she stays relevant throughout the game. This guide will take you through everything you need to know to play Lina effectively, from her abilities to her item builds and playstyle tips.

Key Takeaways:

1. Lina excels in both magic and physical damage – Her versatile kit allows her to burst enemies with spells and scale into a strong right-clicker in the late game.
2. Positioning is key – Lina is extremely squishy and can be taken down quickly if caught out of position. Stay behind your team and use spells wisely.
3. Adapt itemization to the game – Lina’s item choices vary depending on the enemy team, and knowing when to prioritize survival versus damage is crucial.

Hero Overview: Lina

Lina is a ranged Intelligence hero who can dish out significant damage in multiple ways. Her abilities allow her to nuke enemies down quickly, and her passive, Fiery Soul, gives her bonus attack speed and movement speed every time she casts a spell, allowing her to scale into a right-clicker as well. While Lina can be devastating in the right hands, her low HP and armor make her extremely vulnerable, meaning she relies heavily on good positioning and the ability to snowball from an early lead.

Lina’s Abilities

1. Dragon Slave (Q): Fires a wave of fire in a straight line, dealing damage to all enemies hit. It is great for clearing creeps, harassing enemies in the laning stage, and securing kills.
2. Light Strike Array (W): Lina calls down a circle of flames that stuns and damages enemies in a small area. This is her main crowd-control ability, and it requires precision to land properly.
3. Fiery Soul (Passive): Grants Lina bonus attack speed and movement speed whenever she casts a spell. This passive is the key to Lina’s transition into a right-clicker later in the game.
4. Laguna Blade (R): Lina’s ultimate ability, which unleashes a powerful burst of magic damage to a single target. It is a devastating finisher that can take out squishy heroes instantly.

Lina’s Role and Playstyle

Lina is primarily played as a mid-laner (Position 2) or occasionally as a hard carry (Position 1). In both roles, she excels at dealing burst damage with her spells and can scale into a right-click hero if needed. Her early-game objective is to dominate the lane with her high-range auto attacks and Dragon Slave harass while farming up critical items.

As the game progresses, Lina transitions into a nuker who can take down enemies quickly with her spells, but she can also become a semi-carry with the right items, dishing out physical damage through Fiery Soul stacks.

Early Game Strategy

During the early game, Lina’s focus should be on dominating the mid-lane. Start with Dragon Slave (Q) to secure last hits and harass your opponent. If possible, aim for early kills using Light Strike Array (W) followed by Dragon Slave and Laguna Blade once it’s available. Farm efficiently and look for opportunities to gank side lanes once you secure your core items like Boots of Travel or Eul’s Scepter of Divinity.

Mid Game Strategy

In the mid-game, Lina shines as a roamer and teamfighter. Use Boots of Travel to participate in fights across the map and apply pressure on the enemy team. Always have Laguna Blade ready for picking off key enemy heroes, and make sure to chain your abilities properly Light Strike Array into Dragon Slave and Laguna Blade for maximum damage.

You will want to farm aggressively and create opportunities for your team to push objectives. Fiery Soul allows Lina to push towers quickly, so use your attack speed boost to transition into objectives after winning a fight.

Late Game Strategy

Lina transitions into a semi-carry in the late game, relying on her Fiery Soul stacks for attack speed. By this stage, you should have core items like Aghanim’s Scepter (to boost Laguna Blade) and defensive items like Black King Bar (BKB) or Linken’s Sphere. Position yourself in the backlines of teamfights, using Laguna Blade to nuke down high-priority targets, while your Fiery Soul stacks allow you to deal significant right-click damage.

Ability Build and Talent Progression

• Level 1-3: Start with Dragon Slave (Q) to secure creeps and harass. At level 2, pick up Light Strike Array (W) for stun potential, and then start investing in Fiery Soul at level 3 for movement and attack speed boosts.
• Level 6: Once you hit level 6, take Laguna Blade and start hunting for kills on the map.
• Talent Tree: Lina’s talent choices should generally focus on maximizing her spell damage and improving her utility. At level 10, you can opt for increased Fiery Soul attack speed if you plan to scale into a right-clicker, or go for the magic damage boost if focusing more on spells. At level 25, consider taking the Laguna Blade damage increase or Light Strike Array cooldown reduction, depending on the game.

Lina’s Item Build

Starting Items:

• Tango, Faerie Fire, and Iron Branches: These will provide early regen and stats to help Lina secure her lane.
• Observer Ward: Ask for or purchase an early ward to control vision over the mid-lane.

Early Game:

• Bottle: Essential for rune control and regen.
• Magic Wand: Provides burst healing and mana when needed.
• Boots of Speed: Helps with mobility and kiting enemies.

Core Items:

• Boots of Travel: Boosts Lina’s mobility, allowing her to move quickly around the map and gank.
• Aether Lens: Increases the cast range of Lina’s abilities, making her more dangerous from a distance.
• Aghanim’s Shard: Enhances Fiery Soul to deal extra damage with spells and max out attack speed stacks.

Situational Items:

• Black King Bar (BKB): Essential for avoiding disables and magic damage, allowing Lina to stand her ground in fights.
• Eul’s Scepter of Divinity: Combines well with Light Strike Array for setting up kills and provides a defensive tool against silences and stuns.
• Aghanim’s Scepter: Turns Laguna Blade into a pure damage spell, piercing spell immunity and increasing Lina’s kill potential.
• Linken’s Sphere: Useful against single-target disables like Doom or Legion Commander’s Duel.
• Octarine Core: Reduces cooldowns and gives Lina more sustain in fights through spell lifesteal.
• Scythe of Vyse: Provides additional disable, making it easier for Lina to take down high-priority targets.

How to Play Lina in Teamfights

Lina excels at dealing burst damage and should focus on eliminating squishy supports or carries quickly. In teamfights, your goal should be to stay at the backlines, use Laguna Blade to burst down key targets, and then follow up with Dragon Slave and Light Strike Array to deal AoE damage. Always cast your spells early to maximize your Fiery Soul stacks for the bonus attack speed and movement speed.

Stay mobile and avoid getting caught in enemy initiation, as Lina’s squishiness makes her an easy target if she is focused. Use Eul’s Scepter or BKB to keep yourself alive, and blink into favourable positions to either initiate or escape when necessary.

Lina is a high-damage nuker with excellent scaling potential in Dota 2, capable of both bursting down enemies with spells and transitioning into a formidable right-clicker. By mastering her spell combos, maintaining good positioning, and adjusting your itemization based on the game, you can dominate matches with Lina and be the driving force behind your team’s victory.

With practice and a deep understanding of Lina’s strengths and weaknesses, you can become a powerful force in Dota 2 and climb the ranks while playing this fiery mage.