This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/dota2 by /u/ZQuixotix on 2025-01-11 17:19:06+00:00.
Hello friends!
I spent 100+ hours trying to beat Nest of Thorns without any upgrades. Enjoy a fun video of the process here.
TL:DWit's a pretty good video though
- Most of it is RNG to get a build that works. The order of items/abilities is also really important
- I reset most runs within 30 seconds. The first 3-5 minutes is the hardest to get to a winning build
- Low movespeed/damage is the main challenge. Damage is solved with a specific build order. Movespeed comes down to really good pathing (can't really afford a Yasha until late game with Track). This is mostly good pathing to circle around minibosses, avoid meteors, and keeping track of the Scythe. It's not just about the insta-death (there's 3 in the last minute to avoid btw) but he will absorb what few low damage attacks you have in the early game so you have to keep away from him in order to actually scale up
- My preferred build is Dragonus with Arcane Bolt, Knife Throw, Swashbuckle, Stampede, and Track. Max Knife Throw first. Stampede and Track can be left at one point (Level Stampede in tricky situations/finish bosses). I prefer to level Swashbuckle if I get a Demon Edge/Daedalus, Arcane Bolt with Phylactery/Khanda. I think Kez could do a similar build but I never got lucky with him. I think there’s some wiggle room on changing an ability, but I found most other builds don’t work without upgrades
- Knife Throw carries the build once it has infinite pierce and no cooldown, it does everything you need in a way no other individual ability can. The first few levels are rough and some minibosses are hard though (Cinderguard is the easiestfight me)
Some tips to beat the game
- Save yourself the hassle, get upgrades. If I could get any, I would prioritize Rerolls, Damage, and Projectile Count
- Look at item spawns, reset runs if the items aren’t close (and close together). Don’t go for corner items. Ideally, the magnet is where a mini-boss spawns but it’s not critical. You can see some examples in my video.
- Roshan spawns at 30 seconds and will respawn 30 seconds after he dies. Kill him ASAP any time he’s up
- You can easily get a close item and hit level 2/3 so that you can kill the first Rosh when he spawns. Get the next item and then just farm near a miniboss spawn. If a magnet is close, you can grab it for a level boost before doing the boss
- You need a mix of AOE damage to kill the swarms of low HP monsters and high single target DPS to kill Rosh/bosses
- You want one major damage item (Khanda or Daedalus) and Heart for survivability. Reaver is more important than Ring of Tarrasque in case you can only pick one
- People told me just about every ability/build on all 3 heroes was broken and could beat Echelon 7 besides Annihilation and Rot, so do whatever build you enjoy
- If you can do the first miniboss quickly, you can get Track aghs, otherwise get Knife Throw. Even without the Aghs, Track is useful for the 20% damage amp on bosses/roshans. Save a reroll for your first aghs to make sure you get the one you want
- You don’t have to get all three Aghs, but at least 2 is good (Magic Missile is bugged, don’t get it)
I'm probably just bad and could have done it faster, but it was mostly fun until it devolved into constant resets. It was still pretty satisfying to beat though since a lot of people thought it wouldn't be doable. Happy to answer any questions! and please watch my video <3