Manta dodges? Armlet toggles? Backswing cancels? Messing up any of Dota 2's advanced techniques can cost you a kill or even your life, but there’s an easy way to practice.
Training Polygon by c0mb1ne is a Dota 2 arcade game meant to help players practice difficult mechanics. The custom game has modes for ability dodging, Armlet toggling, skillshot training, and more. Training Polygon is available for free in the Dota 2 arcade section.
How to practice Manta Style dodging
Manta Style is usually considered an offensive item in the hands of Anti-Mage or Phantom Lancer, but it also has a hidden defensive ability. When the Mirror Image active ability is used, the hero briefly disappears. The invincibility lasts 0.1 seconds, but it can be used to dodge enemy spells.
Training Polygon treats Manta dodging as its core feature. There are dozens of options to tune your Manta dodge practice sessions. The time bar feature creates a ticker showing exactly when to activate Mirror Image. The shuffle feature lets you queue up a specific set of spells and react to them in real-time. Hardcore mode simulates an enemy hero blinking just into range before casting their spells.
When first starting out, don’t rush to the hard stuff like Invoker’s EMP or Elder Titan’s Earth Splitter. Start off with fast, but easily readable spells like Lina’s Light Strike Array or Alchemist’s Unstable Concoction. Spells with a long delay after their visual cues are much harder to Manta dodge.
How to practice Armlet toggling
Armlet toggling is one of Dota’s weirdest item quirks. Armlet of Mordiggian constantly drains health when active, but it also grants a bunch of bonuses including 500 health. When an Armlet-wielding hero gets low on health, they can deactivate Armlet and quickly turn it back on to bring their health up to 500. The process can be repeated several times, but each toggle carries a major risk. Deactivating Armlet below 500 health briefly leaves the player with 1 HP, leaving the player killable by literally any attack in the game.
Armlet toggling is stressful, but Polygon Trainer can help players get accustomed. Simply choose an attacker and set their damage and attack speed. Let Armlet drain HP below 500 and start finding the rhythm. Try to Armlet toggle as soon as the enemy attack lands. The health gain isn’t quite instant, so the sooner the activation, the better.
Polygon Trainer also offers modes for Invoker combos, Eul’s combos, skillshots, last hits, and more. It’s the most versatile and polished training game on the Dota 2 arcade.
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