Dota 2 Patch 7.29c: How to destroy pub games as Medusa

Medusa is one of the best carries in Dota 2's pro scene at the moment. Players have been picking Medusa across all regions, and the hero has had a lot of success.

Medusa is a strong carry hero. She can be played in the mid-lane and the safe lane.

Medusa has a 53% win rate across all ranks, this is particularly impressive given her pick rate of 13%. The pick rate increased after the Aghanim's Shard ability was added in Dota 2 7.28.

But her most impactful buff came in Dota 2 7.29. The Mystic Snake ability was buffed by a lot, making her very viable in the pro scene.

In higher MMR brackets, Medusa is nearly unkillable late in the game. She deals massive amounts of damage and can win a game solo with an adequate amount of farm.

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Medusa in Dota 2 7.29c

As of now, there are two primary builds for Medusa. Both are physical damage builds and focus on amplifying Medusa's farm early in the game.

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Mask of Madness farming build

Six slotted Medusa with the MoM build (Image via Valve)

This build makes Medusa deal insane amounts of physical damage. No hero in Dota 2 can sustain the damage Medusa deals using this build.

Start the game with regular starting items (regeneration and attributes) and build Power Treads followed by Mask of Madness in the lane. Once the MoM is complete, Medusa can leave the lane. Medusa is one of the best junglers in Dota 2, and the MoM helps her farm incredibly fast.

She cannot afford to join fights until she completes a Manta Style as her survivability is poor. When Manta is done, players can selectively join favorable fights or go for an early Roshan. Once the Eye of Skadi is done, they can actively participate in fights.

If players can time the Skadi in 25 minutes, they can snowball the game from there without much resistance from their enemies.

Ideal talent tree for the MoM build (Image via Valve)

This build will turn Medusa into an unkillable monster.

The ideal items for this build, in order, are:

• Power Treads
• Mask of Madness
• Manta Style
• Eye of Skadi
• Butterfly or Monkey King Bar (Depending on the enemy heroes)
• Daedalus

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The Aghanim's Build

Six slotted Medusa with the Aghanim's build (Image via Valve)

This new build for Medusa makes her more durable and a menace to fight against. In Dota 2 7.28, Medusa got a new Aghanim's Shard. She also gained a new ability called Cold Blooded, which launches a mystic snake every 12 seconds she is targeted with a spell.

Her Aghanim Scepter upgrade, which turns enemies hit by Mystic Snake into stone for 1.5 seconds, works with her Shard ability. With both Shard and Scepter, Medusa can constantly keep stunning enemies during team fights. Enemies turned into stone also take 50% amplified physical damage.

This build allows Medusa to join team fights much sooner. She can rush Power Treads and Aghanim's Scepter and start fighting as soon as the clock hits 20 min. Her disruptive abilities during team fights are second to none in Dota 2 at the moment.

Since she lacks defensive items, Sange and Yasha are very valuable with this build. Apart from that, players only need to build physical damage dealing items to carry the game.

Ideal Talent Tree for the Aghanim's Build (Image via Valve)

The level 15 left talent +35% Mystic Snake Mana Gain is crucial for this build since Medusa can regain almost her entire mana pool with one Mystic Snake. Both of Aghanim's upgrades combined with this talent will make Medusa one of the most broken carries in Dota 2.

The ideal items for this build, in order, are:

• Power Treads
• Aghanim's Scepter
• Aghanim's Shard (As soon as it hits 20 minutes)
• Sange and Yasha
• Daedalus
• Eye of Skadi
• Satanic

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The constant spam of Mystic Snakes disrupting and dealing huge damage to enemies is certainly one of the most broken things in Dota 2 7.29c.