
Team Liquid offlaner Markus Folke “Ace” Helgard Christensen discussed how to play Largo and Underlord on his personal YouTube channel and explained how to choose a hero for a difficult lane based on which side you start on.
On the lane, Frogstomp does all the work for you. At max level, it stuns seven times. Each stomp is a mini-stun and slow, so it prevents enemies from finishing off creeps, pushes them away from the creeps, and clears the wave at the same time. Use it on the creep wave, not on an enemy hero.
Catchy Lick is the spell that separates good Largo players from bad ones, because it does four things at once. It deals damage, pulls the target toward you, removes beneficial effects, and restores your health when you kill the target or remove an effect. So, on the lane, pull the enemy toward your wave of creeps, and then use Frogstomp directly on them.
But it’s important to note that the spell also pulls allies. If your support is about to die, you can pull them out of a dangerous situation. And since it’s also a dispel, you’ll remove any slow or silence from them along the way. It’s a lifesaver with a seven-second cooldown. And here’s another small detail that many overlook: you can pull runes toward you, and the mana spent on the spell is refunded. This means you can pull Wealth Runes from across the river for free.
You should give Croak of Genius to the player dealing the most damage. The item reduces the cost of spells and items, and a portion of the damage they deal is additionally dealt over the next five seconds. Therefore, in a fight, give it to your carry, not yourself.
And finally, the ultimate. Remember that you’re defenseless while it’s active, so don’t use it on the lane when you need to finish off creeps. It’s better to activate it right before the fight starts and begin playing the melody while you’re still approaching. That way, by the time the fight begins, you’ll already have Groovin’ stacks built up, instead of starting from scratch with no armor and expensive melodies.
Once you’re in a fight, pay attention to what your team needs. If you’re chasing enemies, play the movement speed melody. If your allies are losing health, use the healing melody. If your carry is attacking someone—play a damage-boosting melody. And with Aghanim’s Scepter, you won’t have to choose anymore—you’ll be able to play two melodies at the same time.
Three things that will help you play him better.
First, Firestorm should be used after Pit of Malice, not the other way around. Stun the enemy first, then cast Firestorm to ensure it hits the enemy, who can’t escape it.
Second, Pit of Malice is a tool for controlling territory, not just a trap. You don’t necessarily have to trap anyone with it. It’s often better to place it in a way that forces the enemy to take a different route or walk through it to reach you. Additionally, the ability reveals invisible units, which many players forget.
Third, before a team fight, go farm jungle creeps. Every unit that dies near you strengthens the Atrophy Aura, so you’ll enter the fight with a large reserve of bonus damage.
If you’re playing for the Forces of Light and want an offlaner who farms well and reaches peak power at the right time, Doom, Necrophos, and Dark Seer are excellent choices. If you’re playing for the Forces of Darkness, these three heroes become noticeably harder to play, so a safer choice would be someone like Centaur Warrunner or Lycan, who don’t need a lot of space to farm.
No one talks about this, even though it’s free information you can get from the stats. So my honest advice is this: whether you’re copying pro players’ picks or just playing your own ranked matches, stop assuming that a popular choice is necessarily the right one. Look at what actually wins, not what’s picked most often.
Earlier, Team Liquid offlaner Markus Folke “Ace” Helgard Christensen highlighted the key changes in Patch 7.41e, discussed the nerfs to Drow Ranger and the buff to Troll Warlord, and shared tips on adapting to the new meta.
Photo: Valve.