After ~15 days (March 17th to April 1st), we have risen from 65,005,837 to 67,682,378 combined subscriptions

A difference of 2,676,541
Average Growth of subscribers is 457,545.57
Growth Percentage is 3.92%

5 least popular guides (bottom being the least popular):

5 most popular guides (top being the most popular):

Notable Growths in Subscriptions:

Troll Warlord (Middle) (51,166 -> 95,810
Winter Wyvern (297,989 -> 336,722)
Ember Spirit (Middle) (370,960 -> 400,002)
Faceless Void (713,179 -> 753,085)
Phantom Lancer (816,110 -> 847,658)
Juggernaut (845,505 -> 890,278)
Lifestealer (Jungle) (1,315,730 -> 1,344,188)

Newly Released Guides:

Associated Reddit Topic - n/a

Torte de Lini

Germany38463 Posts

April 02 2015 12:46 GMT

#3304

Growth of Subscribers still manages to stay at 2 million growth since August 3rd.
Growth Rate Percentage is bumped to 3.92%, only because I was suppose to do the stats yesterday (so there's a 16-day difference instead of 15)
12.40% of last month's unique players [10,843,778] are subscribed to the Lifestealer (Jungle) Guide
Three guides are currently swimming towards the 1 million mark: Sven (982,373 subs), Necrophos (970,373), Nyx Assassin (Middle) (934,951).
Both Skywrath Mage guides, swapped since March 27th have not had any change in growth (approx. 10,000 new subscriptions).
Top 14 guides are approx. 800k subscribers or higher each (up to 1 million+ in a guide)
Top 32 guides are approx. 700k subscribers or higher each
Top 53 guides are approx. 600k subscribers or higher each
Top 72 guides are approx. 500k subscribers or higher each
Top 96 guides are approx. 400k subscribers or higher each
Top 115 guides are approx. 300k subscribers or higher each
Top 123 guides are approx. 200k subscribers or higher each
Top 133 guides are approx. 100k subscribers or higher each

Plansix

United States60190 Posts

April 02 2015 12:47 GMT

#3305

So the PA guide. I've used it for a couple games and folks who are better than me have been suggesting that I max Blur over Phantom Strike as my standard. Thoughts? Also they suggest aquila be standard, since it is so good.

Torte de Lini

Germany38463 Posts

April 02 2015 12:51 GMT

#3306

On April 02 2015 21:47 Plansix wrote:
So the PA guide. I've used it for a couple games and folks who are better than me have been suggesting that I max Blur over Phantom Strike as my standard. Thoughts? Also they suggest aquila be standard, since it is so good.

Given the way the meta is going, I think the blur suggestion is right.
Aquila is also gaining popularity all around.

I'm surprised they didn't contest the core build, that gets a lot of argument.

I have to:

Update Lifestealer item build
Add Blink to Necrophos
Add HotD to Drow (?)
Update Phantom Assassin skill build

Plansix

United States60190 Posts

April 02 2015 13:04 GMT

#3307

The specific game I was playing I got rekt pretty hard, so they did not see the full item spread. As a pub build, HoD and BF are not bad if you can farm them up. The only real decision you need to make when you need that BKB.

ahswtini

Northern Ireland22213 Posts

April 02 2015 13:44 GMT

#3308

aquila is a must if you arent going for bfury imo

Buckyman

1364 Posts

April 02 2015 16:29 GMT

#3309

I build aquila as core as well, though I sometimes disassemble it for Vlad's.

TheYango

United States47024 Posts

April 02 2015 16:56 GMT

#3310

Blur max is OK for the right games, but I think 4-4-1 is still a better "cookie-cutter" skill order.

tehh4ck3r

Magrathea7084 Posts

April 02 2015 22:38 GMT

#3311

with troll/juggernaut in every game i think max blur is probably better

Torte de Lini

Germany38463 Posts

April 03 2015 13:08 GMT

#3312

Necrophos
Added Blink Dagger to Situational Items

Drow Ranger
Added Helm of the Dominator to Core Items
Moved Black King Bar to after Manta Style

Plansix

United States60190 Posts

April 03 2015 13:19 GMT

#3313

On April 03 2015 07:38 tehh4ck3r wrote:
with troll/juggernaut in every game i think max blur is probably better

I was going to say that as well. With a lot of these right click monsters in the meta and no ability to make two separate skill paths, blur does seem better.

TheYango

United States47024 Posts

April 03 2015 19:46 GMT

#3314

How much does being "in the meta" matter for people using these guides though?

Like, I have no experience with 2.5-3k MMR pubs, but below a certain point I feel like picks would stop following high-level trends. By the time a player is good enough to be seeing Troll every game, I'd expect them to be good enough to exercise their own judgement rather than blindly following a guide.

Plansix

United States60190 Posts

April 03 2015 19:52 GMT

#3315

I can only comment on my 2K MMR games, but I see a TON of troll, sniper and juggernaut. The lower skill players are think are just as prone to picking "OP" heroes that are in the beat, if not more so that high level players. I literally never see leshrac, wisp, chen, visage or any other hero that would be considered challenging.

Also on the subject of higher skilled players, I know some 4K and higher people in TLIH were saying it would be awesome to have pro-versions of the guides without skill paths, just items. It might not be worth the effort, but it was an idea for higher level players that can make their own calls on skills.

TheYango

United States47024 Posts

April 03 2015 20:28 GMT

#3316

I know my own recommended items I did are just a random dump of items I would consider for those heroes without any real organization--I just made them so I don't have to tab over to the combined items section of the shop and can just buy off my recommended items to save time.

Torte de Lini

Germany38463 Posts

April 03 2015 20:28 GMT

#3317

On April 04 2015 04:52 Plansix wrote:
I can only comment on my 2K MMR games, but I see a TON of troll, sniper and juggernaut. The lower skill players are think are just as prone to picking "OP" heroes that are in the beat, if not more so that high level players. I literally never see leshrac, wisp, chen, visage or any other hero that would be considered challenging.

Also on the subject of higher skilled players, I know some 4K and higher people in TLIH were saying it would be awesome to have pro-versions of the guides without skill paths, just items. It might not be worth the effort, but it was an idea for higher level players that can make their own calls on skills.

There's no way to manage 150+ more guides with the current 144. Plus, it's not really relevant besides for quick-buy comfort, which you can do yourself anyways.

I'll play some PA games.

Plansix

United States60190 Posts

April 03 2015 20:33 GMT

#3318

I did not know you could make your own recommended items per hero without using the guide system. I might do that for the heroes I feel comfortable with.

ahswtini

Northern Ireland22213 Posts

April 03 2015 20:54 GMT

#3319

yeah i do it for quick access to items

Torte de Lini

Germany38463 Posts

April 03 2015 21:52 GMT

#3320

You can edit the items suggested list directly in-game (it'll create a "scratch" guide).

Creating guides for "pros" would not bring on more scrutiny, but it'd be a crowd I could never please unless I want The International 10 times over.