Dota 2 Marci guide - Abilities, ultimate, role, item build and more

Valve has finally released its latest hero Marci to the fight in Dota 2 patch 7.30e, which follows her surprise reveal at The International 10 playoffs. This came shortly after the announcement of Season 2 of the Dota: Dragon's Blood series on Netflix, which is expected to premiere early next year. In this comprehensive hero guide, we'll break down Marci's abilities, role, item build and more!

On the Dota 2 blog, Marci's hero bio reads: "Admired by many, Marci's origins are known to nameless few. She travels mostly in the company of Princess Mirana, but the roots of their friendship are entwined in secrets neither would ever needlessly reveal. To allies, she serves as fierce and honest companion."

"To enemies, she acts as dauntless deterrence against harming any she deems friend. Though unwise opponents may consider her size unremarkable, Marci possesses an inner power that imbues her strikes with incredible might. She'll decimate those who think to test her, but those who earn her favour will have an unflappable confidant for life."

What are Marci's abilities in Dota 2?

Below are all of Marci's hero ability descriptions.

Dispose ability:

Unit Target. Marci grabs an allied or enemy target and throws it effortlessly behind her, damaging and stunning the unit if it’s an enemy. Any enemy units in the landing area will also be damaged and stunned.

Rebound ability:

Vector targeted. Marci bounds to the targeted unit, choosing a direction and distance she will spring away from it. Upon reaching the unit, Marci lunges to her final destination, damaging and slowing enemies in the area.

Sidekick ability:

Unit Target. Marci’s loyalty helps ensure survival, imbuing a chosen allied hero and herself with lifesteal and attack damage.

Unleash (Ultimate)

Marci taps a hidden power, gaining Fury charges that allow her to deliver a rapid sequence of strikes. The last strike in every Fury combo creates a damaging pulse around the target that slows movement and attack speed for two seconds. In between Fury combos, Marci is unable to attack for 1.5 seconds. Marci receives a basic dispel when Unleash is cast and gains 15% movement speed.

Talent Tree

• Level 10: +2 Mana Regen or +5 Armour
• Level 15: +250 Rebound Cast / Jump Range or +0.75s Dispose Stun Duration
• Level 20: +30 Movement Speed or +1.75s Sidekick Spell Immunity (LOL!)
• Level 25: +50% Sidekick Lifesteal or +1.5s Unleash Pulse Silence

Is Marci a Carry or a Support in Dota 2?

This is a tricky question to answer. Marci is Mirana's sidekick in the Netflix Original Series, so it would make sense to think that she would be a Support hero in the game. However, Marci has decent hero stats and seemingly absurd abilities, which makes me firmly believe that she could also be viable as a Carry.

Also, Marci is a Strength hero and boasts base stats of 23 Strength, 20 Agility, and 19 Intelligence, with decent attribute gains for each. She also deals between 56-60 base damage and has a base armour of 3. She's also highly mobile, with a base movement speed of 310 that allows her to run down enemies in the game.

I'm sure I'm not the only person that thinks this, but Valve seems to have a propensity to release new heroes with seemingly stupid stats. So, it's challenging to ascertain what Marci's actual role in the meta will be; well, at least for now, that is.

BananaSlamJamma seems to agree. In a recent analysis of the hero, BSJ said he thinks she will be played as a Midlaner right now simply because she is so broken but thinks she will be a Hard Carry or Offlaner.

In the same breathe, BSJ also said she could be played in all five roles. So, while we could debate whether Marci is a Support or Core, one thing is sure: she needs a severe nerf already!

What is the best item build for Marci in Dota 2?

It's hard to gauge what the best item build will be since Marci only recently got released. With that said, please take the following item build with a pinch of salt.

I would build Marci as a Carry. This means picking up Phase Boots, Wand, Soul Ring, and Echo Saber as the initial core items. Black King Bar is a vital pickup for any Core in High to Very High Skill brackets.

Depending on the hero matchup, you could also pick up an Armlet, Maelstrom, Mage Slayer, Basher, Daedalus, Assault Cuirass, Silver Edge and Satanic.

Evil Geniuses' Arteezy recently played Marci in a Dota 2 match, which you can check out in the embedded video below.

Of course, item builds are primarily situational, so you shouldn't take a fixed approach when it comes to your hero item builds unless you're playing in the trenches. However, higher skill games will require flexibility and adaptation, so it may be best to see how the pros will be building Marci over the coming days and weeks.

And that's it! I hope this Marci hero guide helps. Let me know what you think of the hero on Twitter!

• Read more: Vladimir Putin sends message to Team Spirit after TI10 win.

Don't forget to check out our dedicated Dota 2 section featuring news, updates, esports coverage, and more.

Featured image courtesy of Valve.