Medusa is a monster to face in a lane and can pin almost any hero down with the help of her Mystic Snake while almost using little to no mana in the process . Unlike most carry heroes she can actualy withstand one hell of a beating thanks to her Manashield and once she hits level 6 ganking her becomes almost impossible , and her ability to stop nearly every push in its track is a thing to be feared .
Pros:
- Early game lane dominance through Mystic Snake
- Very hard to kill due to Manashield and Gaze
- Split Shot scales into the late game
Cons:
- Very mana depenant early/mid game for both her lane dominance and survivability
- Item dependent
- Lowest starting STR in the game
Medusa's Skill
Split Shot
Medusa magically splits her shot into four arrows. These arrows deal a lower percent of her normal damage.
The strongest self damage amplifier in the game effectively giving her a 300% increase to her damage wich goes even higher if you opted for a manta . Combined with some damage items turns you into a AOE monster.
Mana Shield
Creates a shield that absorbs 50% of the incoming damage by using Medusa's mana.
The skill Medusa is known for . Changed in earlier versions for being too powerfull but still being awesome as it gives you a monstorous increase to your EHP . Also usefull for playing mindgames with your opponents.
Mystic Snake
A mystic snake made of energy jumps from target to target dealing damage and stealing some energy. After it reaches its last target, it jumps back to Medusa to replenish it with mana. The snake deals more damage and steals more mana per jump. The snake's power is increased by 20% each jump.
Your bread and butter skill early to mid game . It is the only nuke in Dota with wich you can harras enemy heroes while refilling your own manapool at the same time .
Stone Gaze
Any enemy units staring at the Gorgon will slowly turn to stone, removing status buffs and slowing all speed properties. Deals more damage to summoned units per level.
In my opinion a very underused and underated skill . Not to be confused with her old purge which slowed only one person , this can target multiple units in a AOE granted they are looking at you . This is also why she is so hard to gank and able stop enemy pushes dead in their tracks .
Medusa's Skill Build
Level 1 - Mystic Snake
Level 2 - Stats
Level 3 - Mystic Snake
Level 4 - Stats
Level 5 - Mystic Snake
Level 6 - Stone Gaze
Level 7 - Mystic Snake
Level 8 - Mana Shield
Level 9 - Mana Shield
Level 10 - Mana Shield
Level 11 - Stone Gaze
Level 12 - Mana Shield
Level 13 - Split Shot
Level 14 - Split Shot
Level 15 - Split Shot
Level 16 - Stone Gaze
Level 17 - Split Shot
Level 18 -+ Stats
Mystic Snake is gotten first for obvious reasons being your only way of dominating a lane . Stats are taken over Mana Shield early as you do not have the mana to support both her snake spamming and her shield and leaves you to vulnurable when out of mana . Stats also increase your manapool early which helps greatly in harrasing with your snake. Manashield is leveled from level 8 onwards after you have gotten some form of regen items , this is also the time when it is at its strongest giving you a huge boost in your ehp before the real carry heroes actualy gets enough damage to make your shield useless . Gaze is taken whenever you can for its sheer usefulness . Some people tend to skip it but there are too many situations where a well timed gaze could have saved you or your ally or prevented that early push to not be leveled. Split Shot is taken around mid game when you tend to start to focus on damage items . This also tends to be around the time where you will be getting your manta wich greatly boosts your damage output coupled with split.
Medusa's Strategy
Early Game
Starting the game: GG branches are a no-brainer and is great for the early stats they provide , it also is later turned into Magic Wand so they dont go to waste . Wand in itself is an awesome item that synergizes with Medusa very well and is gotten regardless if there are many spammers on the opposing team . 1 set of tango's is gotten to survive early in your lane , but being range this should'nt be much of a problem . If you are being harrased perticulary well you can also use your chicken to ferry you some cheap consumables . 1 Gauntlet is gotten for the added hp at the start of the game and will later be upgraded into a Bracer wich should cover your survivability quite nicely early on . Ckicken is gotten as Medusa is one of those heroes who dont realy need to leave their lanes and is able to hold a lane quite well . She is also largely item / level dependent and needs to stay on the battlefield for as long as possible. Upgrade to flying currier whenever needed .
Level 3 and onwards: Once you hit level 3 you can start to harras opponents with your snake . This takes some practise but generlay just count the number of units before you release your Mystic Snake . At level 2 it can bounce four times so if there are two melee creeps and one ranged and a hero close by release your snake to the nearest creep to get the most damage / mana . If there are two heroes in the lane the creepcount should be : Maximum number of bounces = number of enemy creeps and heroes in the lane . Practise a bit and this should soon become second nature . Note that at level 7 you can just cast your snake at the nearest creep and it will hit both enemy heroes if they are within range . Your goal early game is to get controll of the lane and survive until you get your BoT.
Mid Game
After you have boots and your other core early game items you should start focussing on getting your BoT . This part is very crucial as a death or two here could delay your BoT far too long and reduces your effectiveness drasticly . Getting a fast Travels allows you to be all over the map pushing undefended lanes and tp'ing out whenever necesary . It also allows you to surpress pushes with your Mystic Snake / Split Shot / Gaze and be at those crucial teamfights faster . Perseverence is gotten after your BoT for the great regen it provides and lets you abuse your nuke more than you usualy would and increases your survivabiliy by always having your shield ready and generaly being at a decent HP level , remember you want to return to your base as little as possible throughout the game . You can leave it as it is as focussing any more on regen / survival delays the rest of your more important items .
Yasha is gotten soon after for the buildup to Manta and you want to finish your Manta by the time you have Split Shot maxed .
Late Game
At this point in the game you should have finished your Manta and your DPS with Split Shot goes through the roof . Your next item on yor list if the game should last this long is largely dependent on the enemy and your team's lineup . If you are not the main carry and the opponents have a carry of their own you would be better off opting for a Skadi . It provides great stats and turns Medusa into a semi-tank and also is very effective against other carries making it harder for them to take you down and slowing them to allow your own carry to have the upper hand in teamfights . If however you are the main damage dealer or if the enemy consists of high HP STR or low HP INT heroes go for Butterfly . It sends your EHP through the roof and at the same time buffs your damage imancely , even more when you have your images active .
Just continue pushing and ruining enemy counter attacks with your team and procede to finish the game . If you still find yourself at a stalemate farm up a Divine Rapier and go and rape the entire enemy team all by yourself . Rapier is the ultimate in damage items and the fact that you amplify it by boatloads with your Split Shot is no laughing matter . Combine that with the fact that Medusa is anything but fragile and you have yourself an item that not only ends games , but gives your opponents nightmares for many games to come .