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Introduction
Mirana is, without a doubt, one of the most balanced heroes on the game. She has an AoE nuke that, if used in close range, deals a good amount of damage; one of the best single targeted stuns, an amazing fleeing or pursuing skill, and a global invisibility, which can be used for various purposes. She has the ability, if played in the right hands, to own early , mid and late game. She is also a very versatile hero: she can be a amazing ganker, a strong semi-carry and a ok support hero.
She is also a hero that requires a lot of practice, unlike other click-and-kill heroes, you will need to play a good amount of games before getting a good average of hits with Elune's Arrow.
Table of contents
Alt + Tab Mini guide
Description
Stats
Pros and Cons
Mirana: Semi-carry or support?
Skill Build
Item Build
How to play
Elune's Arrow
How to Leap
How to use Starfall
When to use Moonlight Shadow
How to gank
Best Allies & Worst Enemies
Replays
Change-log
Credits
Alt + Tab Mini guide
Skill buid
1 - Elune's Arrow 1 / Leap 1
2 - Leap 1 / Elune's Arrow 1
3 - Starfall 1
4 - Starfall 2
5 - Starfall 3
6 - Elune's Arrow 2
7 - Starfall 4
8 - Elune's Arrow 3
9 - Elune's Arrow 4
10 - Moonlight Shadow 1
11 - Moonlight Shadow 2
12 - Leap 2
13 - Leap 3
14 - Leap 4
15 - Stats
16 - Moonlight Shadow 3
17 - Stats
18 - Stats
19 - Stats
20 - Stats
21 - Stats
22 - Stats
23 - Stats
24 - Stats
25 - Stats
Item Build
Start with
if no one buys chicken
Core
or 
After core
Semi-carry
For survivability AND dps
For pure damage
For HP, if you still can't last long in team fights
Support
If things are good
If things are bad 
AoE nuke and slow + Armor
If your team needs defense against spells
Survivability
or 
1 - Elune's Arrow 1 / Leap 1
2 - Leap 1 / Elune's Arrow 1
3 - Starfall 1
4 - Starfall 2
5 - Starfall 3
6 - Elune's Arrow 2
7 - Starfall 4
8 - Elune's Arrow 3
9 - Elune's Arrow 4
10 - Moonlight Shadow 1
11 - Moonlight Shadow 2
12 - Leap 2
13 - Leap 3
14 - Leap 4
15 - Stats
16 - Moonlight Shadow 3
17 - Stats
18 - Stats
19 - Stats
20 - Stats
21 - Stats
22 - Stats
23 - Stats
24 - Stats
25 - Stats
Item Build
Start with
if no one buys chicken
Core
or After core
Semi-carry
For survivability AND dps
For pure damage
For HP, if you still can't last long in team fights
Support
If things are good
If things are bad AoE nuke and slow + Armor
If your team needs defense against spells
Survivability
or Description
A matriarch and high priestess of Elune's blessed order, Mirana Nightshade serves as a light in darkness for the front line of the Sentinel ranks, raining arrows and falling stars alike upon the shambling undead masses of the Undead Scourge, while her very presence is said to be so holy that it melts away the fatigue of nearby allies, giving them greater haste on the battlefield. In times of need however, she can fade herself and others around her into the safety of invisibility, making her a potent supporter matched by few.
Stats
Mirana Nightshade
Range: 600 | | Move Speed: 300 | Primary: AGI
Str: 17 + 1.85 | Agi: 20 + 2.75 | Int: 17 + 1.65
Damage: 38 - 49 | HP: 473 | Mana: 221
HP Regen: 0.76 | Mana Regen: 0.69
Attack Speed: 1.14 (+ 20% IAS) | Armor: 1.8
Level 1 information:
- Health: 473
- Mana: 221
- Damage: 38-49
- Armor: 1,8
- Attack Speed: 1,42 sec.
Level 25 information (without any worn items):
- Health: 1689
- Mana: 988
- Damage: 104-115 +20
- Armor: 11,2 +2,8
- Attack Speed: 0,83 sec
As you can see, for an Agility hero, the Priestess of the Moon has average Agi base growth, slightly above average Int and below average Str growth. Obviously, Mirana is a hero that depends more on her skills then on her Stats.
Range: 600 | | Move Speed: 300 | Primary: AGI
Str: 17 + 1.85 | Agi: 20 + 2.75 | Int: 17 + 1.65
Damage: 38 - 49 | HP: 473 | Mana: 221
HP Regen: 0.76 | Mana Regen: 0.69
Attack Speed: 1.14 (+ 20% IAS) | Armor: 1.8
Level 1 information:
- Health: 473
- Mana: 221
- Damage: 38-49
- Armor: 1,8
- Attack Speed: 1,42 sec.
Level 25 information (without any worn items):
- Health: 1689
- Mana: 988
- Damage: 104-115 +20
- Armor: 11,2 +2,8
- Attack Speed: 0,83 sec
As you can see, for an Agility hero, the Priestess of the Moon has average Agi base growth, slightly above average Int and below average Str growth. Obviously, Mirana is a hero that depends more on her skills then on her Stats.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Can own early, mid and late game
- Excellent escape mechanisms
- Ultimate is helpful for the whole team
- Excellent ganker early-mid game
- Can play the role of a support or a semi-carry hero late game.
Cons
- Requires a lot of practice to master Elune's Arrow.
- Somewhat fragile.
- Somewhat item dependent late game.
Mirana: Semi-carry or support?
An important decision to make at mid-game is if you're going to play a support or a semi-ganker PotM. In my opinion, the semi-carrier is a better use for Mirana, but sometimes, it's worth it to go Support. So, what do you need to check to make this decision? Basically you need to look your allies, especially in pubs, where everyone -random or simply pick without caring for what the team has. Sometimes you will find yourself with a extremely late-game team. Your team already has a Troll and a Mortred so in this case go for support. Sometimes the opposite will happen: there are no carriers, Mirana then is supposed to carry late game.
Skill Build
In depth information on PotM skills here
1 - Elune's Arrow 1 / Leap 1
2 - Leap 1 / Elune's Arrow 1
3 - Starfall 1
4 - Starfall 2
5 - Starfall 3
6 - Elune's Arrow 2
7 - Starfall 4
8 - Elune's Arrow 3
9 - Elune's Arrow 4
10 - Moonlight Shadow 1
11 - Moonlight Shadow 2
12 - Leap 2
13 - Leap 3
14 - Leap 4
15 - Stats
16 - Moonlight Shadow 3
17 - Stats
18 - Stats
19 - Stats
20 - Stats
21 - Stats
22 - Stats
23 - Stats
24 - Stats
25 - Stats
Skill Build Justification
Elune’s Arrow and Leap for the first two levels. The choice of which one to go for first is entirely yours. You should get Elune’s Arrow if you think your team will try an early gank or Leap if you’re trying to escape an early gank attempt. I usually go with Elune’s Arrow but hey, it’s your choice.
Next you want to maximize Starfall. The reason why you want to maximize Starfall before Elune’s Arrow, is because Starfall is a much more reliable skill then Elune’s Arrow. You can’t really miss Starfall. Besides Elune’s Arrow’s stun stays the same at all levels, so level 1 is fine for you.
At level 9 you should've maxed out both Starfall and Elune’s Arrow, because, as the game goes on, the less effective your nuke's damage is.
Next two points at your ultimate, you don't want your ultimate earlier because you won't really have the mana required to use it, since you'll be ganking all the time.
Following then max out Leap. If you feel you need it, you can trade Leap for Stats, although I really think Leap is superior.
Same thing for your ultimate, if you feel you need the extra stats go ahead and take them instead of Moonlight Shadow.
Item Build
Start with
if no one buys chicken
Slippers can be upgraded later on, branches for cheap stats, Magic Stick for burst healing. If no one buys a courier, you can buy one yourself, in my opinion it's worth it.
Core Build
or Core Build Justification
Bottle for the hp and mana regen you will need for all your ganking, wand for the cheap stats and the burst healing, Diffusal because it greatly increases Mirana's ganking potential, Wraith if you feel you need that extra - HP, Mana and damage improvement. And for the boots, I'd say travel if you're playing more like a supporter late-game and treads for a semi-carry. If the game goes on for too long Treads could also de traded for Travel.
Extensions
Semi-Carry
Manta Style is a great item for Mirana, it synergizes very well with your stun and diffusal's purge: three Mirana's smacking a stunned/purged opponent. Yasha comes in nice small pieces, which can be assembled without great difficulty. Ultimate Orb on the other hand need a somewhat solid 2100 gold.
The Butterfly is a good item in any Agi DPS hero, Mirana is no exception. Other then the damage and attack speed, it also provides a nice 30% evasion, which will give you more survivability. The downside is that Eaglehorn is a really expensive item.
Cuirass is a great item if you need survivability and some DPS. It will provide you with damage, attack speed and armor. Best of all, it also helps your allies and penalizes your enemies. Downside is that it's really expensive. Get it when you feel your team will benefit the most of it and when you need more survivability.
and Pure damage items, they should be considered when you feel you can't survive long enough in battle. Between the two of them I like MKB better, especially against heroes with evasion (Mortred, Butterfly carriers).
Tarrasque gives you lots of HP. Personally, I don't like this item a lot for Mirana. But, if you're getting smacked by your opponents even after getting other survivability items, go ahead and grab it.
Malevolence is also a viable choice for a semi-carrier. It increases your damage output and solves all your mana problems, and has the nice Soul Burn skill. Personally not my favorite for the semi-carry Mirana, because it doesn't provide with any HP and there are better damage items. But if you think your mana just isn't enough, or the disablers aren't doing their job correctly go ahead.
Support
Guinsoo is an excellent support item. 3.5 seconds of pure smacking can make all difference. This item is so powerful that in some leagues having more then one or two in a team is prohibited by the rules. Besides, it solves all your mana problems.
Malevolence is similar Guinsoo, but inferior. But if your getting pwned all the time, I suggest you go for this one, because it's composed in nice, cheap pieces.
Shivas gives you a great AoE nuke, and a passive attack speed slowing aura, and it still gives you some armor.
Pipe is one of the best support items in the game. This item is so powerful that it's being completely BANNED on some leagues. Get it when your team needs to block some spell damage.
Alternative Orbs
and later 
Maelstrom and Mjolnir provide a good DPS addition and a nice AoE damage for team battles, besides it help farming a lot. Note that Maelstrom and Mjolnir are particularly effective against illusions, so it's a viable choice against hardcore late-game illusion based heroes like Phantom Lancer and Terrorblade.
Desolator gives you huge amounts of damage. Period. Get this if you feel your team needs the Corruption orb and that you're playing a semi-carry Mirana.
Skadi gives a nice boost to your attributes, and a really cool orb effect, which will make escaping a lot harder for your enemies. Can be combined with Mjolnir, since Skadi is only a buff placer for ranged heroes.
S&Y gives you damage, HP and a Greater Maim... I'd say it's a good Orb but not really the best one on Mirana... And besides the movement speed bonus doesn't stack with the one on Manta.
Survivability Items
Linkens is a pretty good item on Mirana, giving you HP and mana plus HP regen and mana regen, and the awesome skill of blocking most single targeted nukes. Get this if you're getting chain-stunned and just can't Leap out of the situation.
BKB is a must if you're aiming for semi-carrying. Providing you 10/9/8/7/6/5 seconds of magic immunity while you dash damage is pretty damn good.
How to play
Early Game
The game begins and you picked/randomed PotM. First thing is choosing your lane. Mirana is a pretty good solo hero, but if there are any better heroes for the job (Tinker, Shadow fiend), you should leave the solo lane for them. Try harassing your enemies with normal attacks on the first few levels. At level three you are already able of killing someone. If the opportunity appears throw and arrow, and try killing them. The best time to do this is when your creeps just ended killing their creeps. If you're laned with a disabler wait for him to stun first, so you have 100% chance of hitting with your arrow. This, of course, will require some communication. Try last-hitting and denying until level 6-7. Until then you should have at least your Wand and Boots or Bottle. Your choice, I usually go with Bottle first, since you have leap you can keep up to your enemies but hey, your choice. At this point you should look for good ganking opportunities without wasting too much time without farming. Mirana is somewhat item-dependent late-game so try roaming as shortly as possible. But don't just stay AFK-farming either, as the game goes one your 2 damage skills lose their effectiveness.
Middle Game
Almost the same as Early Game, try keep a balance between farming and ganking. If you see some allies are getting ganked don't hesitate on using Moonlight Shadow. Somewhere in this stage you should complete or almost complete your core. At this point, you can use use Starfall from times to times to farm and push.
Late Game
At this point of the game you should simply accompany your team in pushes or team battles. Use Moonlight Shadow for positioning or fleeing. Try keeping some distance and not getting to much attention. If your team is winning and you see some fleeing enemies, feel free to leap in and snatch a kill. Spam Starfall to farm and push, but in a much intensive way then in middle game. Especially if you went for a support build and now have lots of mana and mana regen.
Elune's Arrow
This part of the guide is dedicated to teach how to aim correctly Elune's Arrow. Please notice that Elune's Arrow does 5 seconds stun starting at a 1500 range, anything further then that will simply keep the same stun duration. All the credit for the aiming guide goes for Ingolf, the original comes from his guide here
Shooting Elune's Arrow is not like throwing a Storm Bolt. You have to aim and time it. The very first lesson is the most basic and important one:
Do not click directly on the target when you shoot your arrow. Always aim and time it and click on the ground.
Clicking on the target itself makes the arrow's trajectory odd and you will almost never hit it like this. Instead, time the arrow, think ahead of your enemy and guess where he's going to run. When you think you've got a clear shot and a correct estimation, shoot and (hopefully) hit. This technique is going to take a lot of practice but once you master it you can damage and stun your opponents over cliffs, hills, corners and whatsoever for a crap-load amount of damage and stun them for nearly 5 seconds. Here are a some situations.
Situation: Direct, clear shot.
Description: This shot is prolly the most simple shot. It has a short distance, there are no enemies to block your shot and you are shooting directly at your enemy. This shot requires very little aiming. Just watch out your opponent doesn't suddenly change direction in order to avoid your arrow. That's pretty much the only thing you have to be aware of in this situation.
Situation: Using the creeps as a cover for your short.
Description: As you can see on the picture, my enemy's last creep is just about to die and he is just about to walk back. I fire my arrow a split second before the creep dies. By doing this, my enemy's attention will still be around denying his last creep and not so much about getting away. In the moment the Necromancer dies, my arrow hovers over the field and stuns the unprepared Shadow Fiend. If I have waited a few more seconds, Nevermore would have run into cover by his tower and I wouldn't have killed him. This is an excellent First Blood method. Not only do you catch your enemy unprepared, but your creeps also get a short moment to shoot on your target helping you taking him down. Just make sure you time your arrow so you don't hit the nearly-but-not-quite-dead last unit. This is of course most effective when your creeps are the pushing force.
Situation: Curved and/or long distanced arrows.
Description: It is here in a not-so-directly-shot situation where you need to be very judgmental. It's important that you take a lot of things into account before shooting. Your position. Your target's position, direction and movement speed. Possible detour routes near your target. Additional enemies and neutral creeps that can eventually block your shot. It's also important that you shoot a good distance ahead of your enemy. Aiming directly at him is wrong. Aiming behind him is of course a failure. Aiming in front of him but not enough is bad too. Make sure to aim your arrow perfectly in front of where he goes and also compared to where you stand. Giving it too little throttle is one of the most common mistakes. Giving it too much also happens though, so don't overdo it, but in general people mostly don't aim it far enough.
Situation: Curved and/or long distanced arrows.
Description: Description: A few times you will get into very advanced but nonetheless situations. Many of these situations you won't have sight your hero for several seconds and the arrow will be a much blind shot. This requires very much practice, excellent aiming and perfect timing. You will prolly rarely hit in these situations unless you are very, very skilled. It's always worth the try, but don't bet your money on it. It doesn't only takes a lot of skills for such an arrow but also a bit of luck. As you can see on the picture, Death Prophet is running away from me with Haste. Knowing that I can't outrun her, I choose to position myself for a curved arrow. Judging from her high movement speed and knowing which way she's heading I throw my arrow a large piece in front of her. Without having sight of her for nearly 10 seconds I hit and kill her with a perfect shot.
Various tips when taking your aim:
* Be patient. Waiting with shooting your arrow will many times be the best method. Most smart enemies will try to dodge your shot by running in curves, but they will lose track to you. After realizing you "won't" launch it at them they will mostly start running in a direct line to get away from your auto-attack shots. At this time launch your arrow and hit it. By shooting it too fast you're just wasting it and it will be too predictable. Always be a step ahead of your enemies and wait untill the right moment.
* Sometimes, close-up shots are actually very difficult. If you let the enemies run a bit away before shooting you will have a much higher chance to hit because the degrees they can avoid it has been lowered significantly. The stun will also last much longer. Instead of stunning them for 0,5 seconds they will not be disabled for about 2 seconds if you do it perfectly. Again, patience is a keyword for timing it perfectly.
* It can't be said enough. Have patience and wait untill the right moment before shooting your arrow. Give it a few seconds to predict where the enemy is moving. If you see two ways near him, wait for him to choose either one of them and then launch the arrow in his direction. Patience, patience, patience.
Shooting Elune's Arrow is not like throwing a Storm Bolt. You have to aim and time it. The very first lesson is the most basic and important one:
Do not click directly on the target when you shoot your arrow. Always aim and time it and click on the ground.
Clicking on the target itself makes the arrow's trajectory odd and you will almost never hit it like this. Instead, time the arrow, think ahead of your enemy and guess where he's going to run. When you think you've got a clear shot and a correct estimation, shoot and (hopefully) hit. This technique is going to take a lot of practice but once you master it you can damage and stun your opponents over cliffs, hills, corners and whatsoever for a crap-load amount of damage and stun them for nearly 5 seconds. Here are a some situations.
| This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 599x624. |
Situation: Direct, clear shot.
Description: This shot is prolly the most simple shot. It has a short distance, there are no enemies to block your shot and you are shooting directly at your enemy. This shot requires very little aiming. Just watch out your opponent doesn't suddenly change direction in order to avoid your arrow. That's pretty much the only thing you have to be aware of in this situation.
| This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 600x635. |
Situation: Using the creeps as a cover for your short.
Description: As you can see on the picture, my enemy's last creep is just about to die and he is just about to walk back. I fire my arrow a split second before the creep dies. By doing this, my enemy's attention will still be around denying his last creep and not so much about getting away. In the moment the Necromancer dies, my arrow hovers over the field and stuns the unprepared Shadow Fiend. If I have waited a few more seconds, Nevermore would have run into cover by his tower and I wouldn't have killed him. This is an excellent First Blood method. Not only do you catch your enemy unprepared, but your creeps also get a short moment to shoot on your target helping you taking him down. Just make sure you time your arrow so you don't hit the nearly-but-not-quite-dead last unit. This is of course most effective when your creeps are the pushing force.
| This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 902x488. |
Situation: Curved and/or long distanced arrows.
Description: It is here in a not-so-directly-shot situation where you need to be very judgmental. It's important that you take a lot of things into account before shooting. Your position. Your target's position, direction and movement speed. Possible detour routes near your target. Additional enemies and neutral creeps that can eventually block your shot. It's also important that you shoot a good distance ahead of your enemy. Aiming directly at him is wrong. Aiming behind him is of course a failure. Aiming in front of him but not enough is bad too. Make sure to aim your arrow perfectly in front of where he goes and also compared to where you stand. Giving it too little throttle is one of the most common mistakes. Giving it too much also happens though, so don't overdo it, but in general people mostly don't aim it far enough.
| This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 1050x788. |
Situation: Curved and/or long distanced arrows.
Description: Description: A few times you will get into very advanced but nonetheless situations. Many of these situations you won't have sight your hero for several seconds and the arrow will be a much blind shot. This requires very much practice, excellent aiming and perfect timing. You will prolly rarely hit in these situations unless you are very, very skilled. It's always worth the try, but don't bet your money on it. It doesn't only takes a lot of skills for such an arrow but also a bit of luck. As you can see on the picture, Death Prophet is running away from me with Haste. Knowing that I can't outrun her, I choose to position myself for a curved arrow. Judging from her high movement speed and knowing which way she's heading I throw my arrow a large piece in front of her. Without having sight of her for nearly 10 seconds I hit and kill her with a perfect shot.
Various tips when taking your aim:
* Be patient. Waiting with shooting your arrow will many times be the best method. Most smart enemies will try to dodge your shot by running in curves, but they will lose track to you. After realizing you "won't" launch it at them they will mostly start running in a direct line to get away from your auto-attack shots. At this time launch your arrow and hit it. By shooting it too fast you're just wasting it and it will be too predictable. Always be a step ahead of your enemies and wait untill the right moment.
* Sometimes, close-up shots are actually very difficult. If you let the enemies run a bit away before shooting you will have a much higher chance to hit because the degrees they can avoid it has been lowered significantly. The stun will also last much longer. Instead of stunning them for 0,5 seconds they will not be disabled for about 2 seconds if you do it perfectly. Again, patience is a keyword for timing it perfectly.
* It can't be said enough. Have patience and wait untill the right moment before shooting your arrow. Give it a few seconds to predict where the enemy is moving. If you see two ways near him, wait for him to choose either one of them and then launch the arrow in his direction. Patience, patience, patience.
How to Leap
Leap is activated upon clicking, not targeting.
You will always leap to the direction you are facing, so aim first, then press "E".
Try making use of shortcuts when leaping, especially when running away.
Keep in mind Leap buffs you and your team mates, so it might be a good idea to leap just to buff your friends.
You will always leap to the direction you are facing, so aim first, then press "E".
Try making use of shortcuts when leaping, especially when running away.
Keep in mind Leap buffs you and your team mates, so it might be a good idea to leap just to buff your friends.
How to use Starfall
Starfall is a pretty good nuke early game and a nice farming skill later on, which hits all targets at a 600 AoE range for a maximum of 300 damage.
But it doesn't end there, as already mentioned before, Starfall hit twice for half the damage one random unit inside a 200 AoE area. So when you gank, try using Starfall with your enemy, and only your enemy, inside the area. Keep in mind corpses count as units, and the second strike might hits one of those. Most of the times you will want to fire Elune's Arrow, Leap and Starfall at melee range.
Also, Starfall has a 60% chance to hit an enemy at a 900 AoE range. Sometimes you will find yourself pursuing an enemy with a tiny bit of Hit Points,with Leap and Elune's Arrow on cooldown, and you know you won't catch your enemy (his move speed is equal or higher then yours, you don't want to tower dive, your Hit Points are almost low, his allies are coming to rescue him), you might as well use Starfall and try getting that meteor to fall, odds are that it will, since it's a 60% chance. Here is a picture showing the range of Starfall.
But it doesn't end there, as already mentioned before, Starfall hit twice for half the damage one random unit inside a 200 AoE area. So when you gank, try using Starfall with your enemy, and only your enemy, inside the area. Keep in mind corpses count as units, and the second strike might hits one of those. Most of the times you will want to fire Elune's Arrow, Leap and Starfall at melee range.
Also, Starfall has a 60% chance to hit an enemy at a 900 AoE range. Sometimes you will find yourself pursuing an enemy with a tiny bit of Hit Points,with Leap and Elune's Arrow on cooldown, and you know you won't catch your enemy (his move speed is equal or higher then yours, you don't want to tower dive, your Hit Points are almost low, his allies are coming to rescue him), you might as well use Starfall and try getting that meteor to fall, odds are that it will, since it's a 60% chance. Here is a picture showing the range of Starfall.
When to use Moonlight Shadow
Moonlight Shadow can be used for:
Fleeing - the most common use of Moonlight Shadow, you are trying to save your and your friend's ass from getting pwned. Since Moonlight Shadow has a big fade time (2.5 seconds, 2 seconds, 1.5 seconds respectively), you will probably have to try to juke your enemies until it actually takes effect. Try running between trees or uphills so they can't nuke and kill you before you actually fade. Keep in mind Moonlight Shadow has a small casting time, so sometimes it's better to simply run away, or else they might catch you.
Positioning - in my opinion, the most effective way of using this skill, Moonlight Shadow provides the perfect way of your team to position near the enemy team, especially for your close range disablers and nukers (Cent, Earthshaker, Enigma, etcetera etcetera). Imagine this: your team is pushing a lane when OMFG a Leviathan comes out of nowhere and uses Ravage, a Lich then uses Chain Frost, now you guys are all running away while other 3 heroes appear and chase you down. You get the idea right? It's awesome for getting the other team unguarded.
Scouting - basically you want to check your enemies are in a certain place, but you don't want them to see you, Moonlight Shadow is there for you. You think the enemy team is killing Roshan, use Moonlight Shadow an go there, if they are, and if your allies are near you can pretty much cause havoc.
Covering channeling spells - Moonlight Shadow is also a viable way to covering up your allies with IMBA channeling spells (for example: Crystal Maiden's Freezing Field). Simple, wait for them to cast their spell then you cast yours. Nothing else to say about it.
Just think about it, I'm sure you can come up with a use of Moonlight Shadow that I didn't mention here.
Fleeing - the most common use of Moonlight Shadow, you are trying to save your and your friend's ass from getting pwned. Since Moonlight Shadow has a big fade time (2.5 seconds, 2 seconds, 1.5 seconds respectively), you will probably have to try to juke your enemies until it actually takes effect. Try running between trees or uphills so they can't nuke and kill you before you actually fade. Keep in mind Moonlight Shadow has a small casting time, so sometimes it's better to simply run away, or else they might catch you.
Positioning - in my opinion, the most effective way of using this skill, Moonlight Shadow provides the perfect way of your team to position near the enemy team, especially for your close range disablers and nukers (Cent, Earthshaker, Enigma, etcetera etcetera). Imagine this: your team is pushing a lane when OMFG a Leviathan comes out of nowhere and uses Ravage, a Lich then uses Chain Frost, now you guys are all running away while other 3 heroes appear and chase you down. You get the idea right? It's awesome for getting the other team unguarded.
Scouting - basically you want to check your enemies are in a certain place, but you don't want them to see you, Moonlight Shadow is there for you. You think the enemy team is killing Roshan, use Moonlight Shadow an go there, if they are, and if your allies are near you can pretty much cause havoc.
Covering channeling spells - Moonlight Shadow is also a viable way to covering up your allies with IMBA channeling spells (for example: Crystal Maiden's Freezing Field). Simple, wait for them to cast their spell then you cast yours. Nothing else to say about it.
Just think about it, I'm sure you can come up with a use of Moonlight Shadow that I didn't mention here.
How to gank
Ganking with PotM isn't as easy and simple as ganking with a, say, Vengeful Spirit.
There are basically two ways to gank with Mirana:
1 - The Elune's Arrow initiation way: basically you will hide and wait for a good opportunity for Elune's Arrow. When it appears, use Elune's Arrow at a 1500 range, Leap near your target and cast Starfall at a 200 AoE range with no creeps/corpses near. If there is a disabler in the lane, this can split in two ways: the disabler stuns/slows first and then you throw the arrow, or, you throw the arrow, and just your enemy is not stunned anymore, the disabler stuns/slows. The first one is pretty safe, because you will greatly increase your chance of hitting the arrow right. But, the second one deals more damage, for two reasons: 1) you will probably waste 1 second of stun from your ally. 2) You will also waste some damage. For example, say your friend Sven stunned Huskar for 2 seconds. If you throw your arrow now, it will get at Huskar in about 1.5 seconds, 0.5 seconds wasted, besides, you still will have to run and leap to your enemy, so you won't deal any damage at all during Sven's stun, only at your own. This may not seem a lot, but sometimes it's the difference between getting the kill and running back pissed at yourself. Now, Huskar is at his lane, when he suddenly gets stunned for 5 seconds. Sven and Mirana start beating him, the stun is over, but now Sven throws his stun, that way, Mirana smacks Huskar for both her's and Sven's stuns. So, which one to go for? If your enemy is quite beefy I'd say the second one, but in most time of the cases the first one can do the job. Sometimes only the first one will work, when your allies have only short-ranged stuns (like Dragon Knight).
2 - The walking in/leaping in initiation way: this method is specially effective against blinkers. Basically, you walk in/ leap in from behind, use Starfall and start beating him up, when he blink, you use Elune's Arrow and then leap in / walk in (the opposite of what you did before). This method is great against blinkers, because if you try the first method, you probably won't catch up to them when they blink away. Make sure the creeps aren't coming, or else they will block your Arrow. Another advantage for this method, is that you might be able to cast Starfall twice, since it only has a 12 seconds cooldown. If you have allies you want them to disable your enemy at the same moment you walk / leap in.
There are basically two ways to gank with Mirana:
1 - The Elune's Arrow initiation way: basically you will hide and wait for a good opportunity for Elune's Arrow. When it appears, use Elune's Arrow at a 1500 range, Leap near your target and cast Starfall at a 200 AoE range with no creeps/corpses near. If there is a disabler in the lane, this can split in two ways: the disabler stuns/slows first and then you throw the arrow, or, you throw the arrow, and just your enemy is not stunned anymore, the disabler stuns/slows. The first one is pretty safe, because you will greatly increase your chance of hitting the arrow right. But, the second one deals more damage, for two reasons: 1) you will probably waste 1 second of stun from your ally. 2) You will also waste some damage. For example, say your friend Sven stunned Huskar for 2 seconds. If you throw your arrow now, it will get at Huskar in about 1.5 seconds, 0.5 seconds wasted, besides, you still will have to run and leap to your enemy, so you won't deal any damage at all during Sven's stun, only at your own. This may not seem a lot, but sometimes it's the difference between getting the kill and running back pissed at yourself. Now, Huskar is at his lane, when he suddenly gets stunned for 5 seconds. Sven and Mirana start beating him, the stun is over, but now Sven throws his stun, that way, Mirana smacks Huskar for both her's and Sven's stuns. So, which one to go for? If your enemy is quite beefy I'd say the second one, but in most time of the cases the first one can do the job. Sometimes only the first one will work, when your allies have only short-ranged stuns (like Dragon Knight).
2 - The walking in/leaping in initiation way: this method is specially effective against blinkers. Basically, you walk in/ leap in from behind, use Starfall and start beating him up, when he blink, you use Elune's Arrow and then leap in / walk in (the opposite of what you did before). This method is great against blinkers, because if you try the first method, you probably won't catch up to them when they blink away. Make sure the creeps aren't coming, or else they will block your Arrow. Another advantage for this method, is that you might be able to cast Starfall twice, since it only has a 12 seconds cooldown. If you have allies you want them to disable your enemy at the same moment you walk / leap in.
Best Allies & Worst Enemies
Allies
Disablers
Everyone's best friend, these guys are particularly good when you're having a hard time aiming your arrows.
Close ranged DPS freaks
These guys love you for your IMBA 5 seconds stun. Simply stun so they can get at close range and do the rest of the job.
Special mentions
Atropos
This guy, thanks to nightmare, makes your arrows undodgeable. Pretty much holding someone for 5 seconds, you move your mouse over him and click. At the moment Atropos use Nightmare the guy is pretty much dead, even a Magina. If he, for some reason, survives Nightmare + Elune's Arrow + Starfall + Brain Sap Atropos still has Fiend's Grip, which will hold him for additional 5 seconds!
Rhasta
Works pretty much the same way as Atropos, only that he will shackle your enemy so you don't miss.
Crystal Maiden
Other then being an awesome disabler, CM has her IMBA global regen aura, that will help you A LOT on keeping the ganks up. Also, your ultimate covers her while she's channeling Freezing Field.
Worst Enemies
Silencers
These guys can pretty much screw all your plans. Leaving you just as a fragile target riding a pretty, but useless, tiger.
Long disablers
These guys can keep you in a place for a long time. Long enough you can't even leap out of the situation.
Special mentions
Bloodseeker
This guy is Mirana's nightmare. He can silence you (Bloodrage), catch up with you even after you leaped (Strygwyrs Thirst), see your or your allies even after Moonlight Shadow when less then 40% hp (Strygwyrs Thirst) and leave you unable to move (Rupture), while he kicks your ass.
High burst damage combos heroes
Due to Mirana's low HP, these guys can pretty much kill you with their combos. Sometimes even when you're at full health.
Replays
GosuGamers DotA | Replay: OK vs Unique
Epic pro game with PotM acting as a carry hero. On this replay you can see some pretty good uses of Moonlight Shadow. But seriously, even if you don't want to watch a Mirana replay, this one is worth it, because it was an awesome match.
Comments about this match:
It's cool to see how PotM, as the only carry of the team, can still own Medusa with the right items and team play.
Change-log
04/30/10:
-Wrote and posted the guide
04/31/10:
-Fixed some minor typing mistakes.
-Added "Mirana: Semi-carry or support?".
-Improved the guide's formatation.
-Added a replay
-Fixed some image problems
08/29/10
-Added a "Credits" section to the guide
-Wrote and posted the guide
04/31/10:
-Fixed some minor typing mistakes.
-Added "Mirana: Semi-carry or support?".
-Improved the guide's formatation.
-Added a replay
-Fixed some image problems
08/29/10
-Added a "Credits" section to the guide
