My name is Jonathon "MrJPickles". I've played many hours of Dota and Dota 2 as well as playing League of Legends since release. I have reached Plat 1 for two seasons running, more-so as a joke than actual skill. I wanted to show that you can have fun with the game and still play well to reach high ranks. I played League until I had access to Heroes of the Storm(which I am very very grateful to have access to as LoL is just....bleh). I now play competitively in the community and plan on sticking with this game for many years to come. I hope to teach players a good mindset for gaming as well as solid gameplay and skills! I am a former member of 2ARC Iliad playing as their tank/initiator. This is my first guide here out of many to come ^_^



I will make sure to keep this and all other guides updated as frequently as possible.

Check out my other guide on Anub'arak!

Check out my Lost Vikings survival guide!

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First off lets go over the different builds a little bit.


The Team Helper: Mainly focused around Symbiote, this build requires a coordinated team to fully utilize the hat. As Abathur, you need to make sure you try to soak as best as you can when team fights break out and also to hat and deal as much damage as you can while also saving your allies. I like this build on all maps. Great build for when you have heavy auto-attackers, especially Muradin and Illidan.

The Pusher: Pretty self-explanatory, this building focuses on pushing the lane as much as possible and trying to take structures down to give your team an experience advantage. This is more difficult to pull off successively due to the fact that your hat will be weaker. Your team will really need to be careful about team fights. I like this build on more of the bigger maps but I still prefer a hybrid.

The Pushing Team Helper: This is one of my favorite builds if you don't have strong melee attackers and instead use the attack speed for your range damage dealers. This build is more ideal for larger maps as you will be able to get more use out of your locust talents in the later game in comparison to the smaller maps. You need to focus on helping the team as much as possible and being aggressive on the map when you know where the enemy team is.

That backdoor build (not as strong now): This build really isn't that strong anymore but still sometimes fun to take. You don't really take off until level 16 when you can take locust brood. This build is mainly focused about doing your own thing and pushing lanes. You need to be very aggressive with this build once you do reach level 16. Better for larger maps as it is easier to sneak across the map to get full use of your locusts.

The Annoying Nests : This Build is based around annoying your opponents and slowing them down when they try to reach objectives or chase you. This build is all about the nest placements and also hoping your team isn't going to need a SUPER strong hat for them. Very strong on Cursed Hollow, Infernal Shrines, and Garden of Terror as you can split push and have nests to support you. I like this build but I find myself hatting my teammates mostly.

• Green = Solid talent picks.
• Yellow = Variable talent picks.
• Red = Avoidable talent picks.
• Orange = Still testing but applicable in some cases.

Pressurized Glands I really like this talent when I have an Illidan on my team as later in my talent choices I can pick up Soma Transference and get more heals out of it. This talent is a green take talentif you have an Illidan on your team. It just works so well with his kit. Regenerative microbes is solid as well but this talent has seen more play because of the later talents that combine with it so well!!

Survival Instincts I really enjoy this talent but only if I plan on going for the late game locust talents. It forces enemies to focus more damage on it in order to kill it. More time wasted for them and also a possible chance to punish. Allows a safe target to Symbiote and get off abilities before it dies. Makes taking mercenary camps MUCH easier than without it. (Still difficult though) Can soak turret and fort shots like a BOSS!!! This allows more minions to pile up which really do a major amount of damage to structures. Amazing when going the backdoor/push build. If not aiming for the locust talents then I wouldn't worry about this talent. Helping the team is more important.

Regenerative Microbes This talent is amazing even when you do have a support. I would select this talent as a flex pick when on Haunted Mines. Since Haunted Mines is an early game map, the extra health regeneration can really help turn team fights or at least put them in your favor. There is a fun combo with this talent, Sustained Carapace, and Networked Carapace. Pushing and shielding lane minions for days! That combo works best on Cursed Hollow.

Envenomed Nest I find myself using the nests more for vision that for outright damage. With no good hat targets, meaning Adrenal Overload I like to take this talent. Also if the enemy team is roaming a lot this talent is amazing with Prolific Dispersal. Might as well kill the enemy while they try to gank your team. This talent and Pressurized Glands are my favorites on this tier.

Prolific Dispersal I can see applications of this talent if there are no strong Adrenal Overload targets on your team and the enemy team is ganking a lot or you just want extra vision. This talent works well with Envenomed Nestif you take that talent. If you want to annoy people too it is fun!

Ballistospores A great choice if you feel like you cannot make moves to place your Toxic Nest in specific locations but in practice isn't really necessary. The original range of Toxic Nest is so massive that having global range is a bit overrated. If you sit in the middle of the map you can basically hit everything you need. If you are planning to place nests on your opponents side of the map then you can probably move just in range to do so. I've made this talent a plausible choice only because if you plan on going the backdoor build then it helps immensely. Downside though is you pass up Adrenal Overload which is an amazing talent.

Sustained Carapace In combination with Regenative microbes this talent is nice for that early game sustain with some upside in the late game. On the level 7 talent choices Networked Carapace is very nice in combination with this talent. I really like this talent on Cursed Hollow only though. Every other map is rather meh.

Adrenal Overload Super strong talent pick if you don't plan on taking Networked Carapace for your level 7. In combination with Hivemind at level 20 this talent is a huge buff to your symbioted allies. Love this talent a lot and with the right team composition is almost a must take.

Needlespine This talent is great as you get both damage and range on the skill. If you get to the late game in which Hivemind is achievable then this talent excels that much more! You basically can Stab a target for 530 damage if both spikes hit.

Vile Nest If you are already going with the 3 other Toxic Nest talents then pick this one up! It's annoying for the enemy team to deal with because they will be not only knocked off their mounts and slowed. Can really do a lot if you slow them enough so they can't reach objectives. If you want to hat more then go for Needlespine or even Calldown: MULE to help keep your structures up.

Networked Carapace This talent really should only be taken when Sustained Carapace is taken prior. If you plan on pushing minion waves and taking forts then this talent can help out immensely as you are basically giving the minions a Tyrael shield with Righteousness. If you don't take Sustained Carapace then I would avoid this talent.

Calldown: MULE Solid talent pick but really depends on what prior talents you have take, what your team needs, and also what map you are on. Some maps where this talent is a great choice are Haunted Mines, Blackheart's Bay, Sky Temple, and from time to time Garden of Terror. On Garden of Terror, Dragon Shire and Cursed Hollow the map objectives can ruin the MULE rendering it useless.

Ultimate Evolution You have 4 other heroes to choose from to clone and depending on what map you are on, what the enemy team consists of, as well as knowing when and who you need to ult is all crucial. Most of the time you will want to ult one of the damage dealers as Abathur is usually the replacement for that damage slot on the team. Or maybe an extra support for more heals while other times a second tank may be needed! Two Arthas running around or Stitches can be a nightmare for an enemy team. It honestly comes down to who you need to clone in order to take team fights in your favor. This is one of the many reasons Abathur is so difficult to use. You must have the knowledge to use a variety of heroes. Some things to look for on when to ult is what is the map objective and how important is it that we get it. For example on Cursed Hollow the tribute is crucial to capture. If you or the opposing team is at 2/3 tributes then you will want to have your ult for that fight. Now that you don't gain the heroes ultimate this talent has lost some merit but the goal is to get the full duration of the evolution.

Evolve Monstrosity I feel this talent is strong as you can use it globally and it can become rather strong when placed properly. Look for a heavy wave of enemy minions but make sure you assist the monstrosity. It is fragile until multiple stacks are gained so try to buffer it with Toxic Nest, Symbiote + Carapace, and sometimes your Locust Strain. When you first summon it you will need to give it attention otherwise you will lose it rather quickly. If you are going hat build this talent is amazing because it can just afk push a lane while you help the team. All in all though I feel you will need a body on your team so I highly suggest Ultimate Evolution.

Assault Strain Now that Bombard Strain locust attack speed has been buffed the assault have fallen out a little bit. It is still a toss up for the two locust talents. They are still strong especially when combined with Locust Brood. Personal preference I feel between this and Bombard Strain, I have taken a liking to Bombard Strain though.

Bombard Strain The attack speed buff on these locust makes them actually super strong in pushing lanes. Also it opens the option to backdoor if wanted! I really like these locusts but it depends if I plan on pushing and doing my own thing or helping my teammates out. They do help if you have catapults pushing your lanes!

Spatial Efficiency This talent seems like a must pick especially after taking Needlespine but there is a trick that you can use that basically cancels out this talent.(Look for the tip down below in the Tips and Tricks section.) If you plan on sitting on peoples heads for a while and Hivemind is in your future then this talent is really strong. As previously stated it is all team based and you have to find what suits the situation best! The damage that can come from the extra stab is really nice. If you take Pressurized Glands then it can be nice to get this talent as well. Just hat someone for a long time!

Soma Transferance If this talent is combined with Pressurized Glands then it is possible to apply a lot of support to your team. It all depends though how your team composition is built and your enemies. If you have an Illidan, Sonya or other heavy melee heroes on your team then this talent will really shine. Also if the enemy has some of these heroes then you can counter them with this talent. If however the enemy and/or you have a large number of range heroes then this talent loses value and you may only be hitting 1 or 2 people. Look to this talent if you have teammates that will be in the thick of things with many enemies surrounding them.

Envenomed Spikes The slow tied to this talent is great! One of the few times I would take this talent over the boost though would be if I had Illidan, Chen, or Thrall as it would allow them to keep their auto attacks going while the enemy tried to run away. It is great when paired with Pressurized Glands! Adapt and figure out what exactly the team is needing. Slowing down pesky enemies or speeding up your own team.

Adrenaline Boost This talent is amazing when going for a full on Symbiote teamwork build. This talent combined with Hivemind is amazing! Allows your team to run away or keep on the charge! I'd rather speed my teammates up than slow the enemy down. There are also a lot of heroes that come with slows, snares, or stuns so allowing them to move faster is greater I find.

Locust Brood Just....wow...Such a strong talent as it allows for pushing power, mercenary capturing, and extra damage against mercenaries pushing you. Three Locust Strain can also do quite a number on an unsuspecting victim. With a Symbiote and two Stab the damage output can be extremely high. This talent also helps with pushing turrets, forts, and keeps and soaks up a lot of damage. Best talent when synergized with the other locust talents.

Volatile Mutation This talent only applies to your ultimates and yes it is nice damage but with such long cooldowns on them you wouldn't be getting as much value from this talent as you would some of the other choices on this level.

Evolution Link This talent is strong and if you find that your team is very spread out which would render Hivemind useless then this talent is the next best thing. Giving a shield to your teammates that is slightly weaker than Stoneskin can really swing fights. Now if only you had a longer duration I feel would make this talent a more viable talent pick.

Evolution Complete I like this talent a lot if you are able to really allow your evolution to reach max stacks. When you bring it to a fight and have all the other symbiote talents then you really pack a punch. The only downfall is that you then miss out on Hivemind which can also pack an equal punch. See what fits your team better and which you prefer. I take this from time to time but sometimes I like to just use the monstrosity as a lane pusher than a team fighter especially if I have to run it across large maps. Smaller maps then I would just skip this talent and go for Hivemind.

Hivemind If your team plays properly when you choose this talent you can DECIMATE the enemy team! As long as you have chosen Symbiote talents this is almost always a must pick. In combination with talents such as Needlespine and Adrenaline Boost you can make your team super scary and a pain for the enemy. I love the usage of this talent.

Locust Nest Such a great talent and super annoying when going against it. You think you have found Abathur and then you come to find out it's a Locust Nest. This talent is great for that extra push as well as confusing enemies on where you actually are.

• One of the biggest tips to playing Abathur is to be very map aware! If you know where all five enemy heroes are then you can play a little more aggressive and sit in lanes to soak experience. Just make sure you are hiding in a bush and have some toxic nests on the pathways toward you so you have an early heads up if you are threatened.
  
• Once you have Locust Brood you are able to solo any mercenary camp EXCEPT the golem. Try and start the camp as your passive trait, Locust Strain, triggers so you have four locust. Then Symbiote and dish out the damage! It helps if you have spare Toxic Nest to try and finish the camp a bit quicker. NOTE: This can be very difficult to pull off as the camps are stronger so be careful. Can always ask your team for help!
  
• Abathur can provide experience to the team with three things. His body being near minions, Symbiote near a minion that dies, and his Locust Strain or Toxic Nest triggering the killing blow.(Also note that if you have Envenomed Nest and the minion dies while the damage over time is on them, you will get experience.) Try to use this to your advantage on certain maps when you know the enemy will be nowhere near you.
  
• You can drop Symbiote and recast it on targets to reset the cooldowns. There is a delay though between them so it isn't much of a gain but it can help.
  
• Try and place Toxic Nest in the pathways you think enemies will go through. This will help you get a jump on where they are and prepare your team on how to engage. ALSO try and toxic nest around objectives to get an idea of how many enemies are there. ALSO ALSO you can place toxic nests in certain locations near mercenary camps in which you will see when they are pulled. The more information you know about where the enemy is the better!
  
• Another thing with Toxic Nest is to use to protect yourself if you are aggressive in a lane. Place them in locations that will give you enough time to burrow away when danger approaches!