With the release of Sun Wukong aka The Monkey King, the transition of DotA heroes to Dota 2 came to an end. However, the introduction was quite controversial as a major portion of the community claimed the then new hero to be unbalanced. As a result, almost every single game of Dota 2 featured a Monkey King due to his overpowered abilities. This led to the developers to roll out a number of updates, fixing the hero and his abilities.

With the implementation of these updates, Monkey King can now be called balanced. However, the hordes of nerfs and changes added to the hero’s level of difficulty. It is because of this, you do not see Monkey King being picked in Dota 2 nowadays. But, this is where we come in. We bring you a detailed Dota 2 Monkey King guide which will help you better understand the hero and his many abilities as even today, we think this hero is quite strong.

Dota 2 Monkey King

Monkey King features some of the best ganking abilities, along with the potential to deal extreme amounts of damage to enemy heroes in a specific area. However, due to an unreliable escape plan and the fact that a single mistake can land you in heaps of trouble, Dota 2 players prefer picking someone else. But that being said, if these abilities are perfected, we think Monkey King is truly one of the strongest heroes in the game.

So, if you are a player who wishes to master Monkey King, then we are here to help. Check out the Dota 2 Monkey King guide below.

Roles

Unlike other Dota 2 heroes, Monkey King is quite diverse. He can easily adapt to the roles of a carry, a core hero and for those who are not afraid of a challenge, the offlane. This is possible because of the Wukong’s increased range. Now for someone who has yet to play with this hero, would be quite confused as Monkey King is listed as melee hero in the game but actually, he is not.

According to his lore, he has the ability to extend his staff to his will. However, since this would not have been possible in Dota 2, the developers have increased his range by quite a bit. Hence, in the game, Monkey King’s range is similar to that of Templar Assassin. Thus, making it very easy for players to farm and hit enemies with his basic attacks.

Abilities

Monkey King features a total of six abilities which already grant him an advantage over everyone else. And if that was not enough, each of these abilities grants Wukong the option escape, nuke and even initiation. So, you can imagine just how diverse his list of abilities is. So, before we get on with the build and play patterns, let us look at his abilities and their stats.

Boundless Strike

Monkey King enlarges his staff and slams it against the ground, stunning enemies in a line and damaging them with a critical hit based on his attack.

Stun Duration: 0.4 / 0.8 / 1.2 / 1.6

Critical Damage: 150% / 175% / 200% / 225%

Distance: 1200 units

Cast Point: 0.4s

Tree Dance

Monkey King jumps to a tree and perches atop it. While perched, he gains the Primal Spring ability-a channeled leap attack. If Monkey King’s tree is destroyed, he falls and is stunned for 4 seconds. Taking damage from player controlled units or Roshan while on the ground puts Tree Dance on cooldown.

Distance: 1000 units

Damage Cooldown: 3.0

Primal Spring Damage: 140 / 210 / 280 / 350

Primal Spring Slow: 20% / 40% / 60% / 80%

Cast Point: 0.3s

Primal Spring

Monkey King springs out from his tree perch, damaging and slowing enemies in the area where he lands. Damage and slow amounts are in proportion to channel duration.

Damage: 140 / 210 / 280 / 350

Movement Slow: 20% / 40% / 60% / 80%

Slow Duration: 4.0

Max Distance: 1000 units

Cast Point: 0s

Jingu Mastery

Monkey King’s attacks awaken the Jingu Bang’s power. Upon the fourth hit on the same enemy hero, Monkey King earns four charged attacks that have bonus damage and life steal.

Required Hits: 4

Counter Duration: 10

Charges: 4

Bonus Damage: 60 / 90 / 120 / 150

Bonus Life steal: 15% / 30% / 45% / 60%

Mischief

Changes Monkey King’s shape to deceive opponents, using the environment nearby as inspiration for the disguise. Taking damage, attacking, or using any item or ability breaks Monkey King’s disguise.

Move Speed: 200

Cast Point: 0s

Wukong’s Command

Monkey King creates a circular formation of soldiers that spread out from his position. If Monkey King leaves the area his soldiers disperse. The soldiers have Monkey King’s attack and only target heroes. Monkey King is granted bonus armor for the spell’s duration.

Bonus Armor: 12 / 18 / 24

Soldier Attack Speed: 1.3

Duration: 13.0

Cast Point: 1.2s

Ability Build

Now, we understand that there are a number of ways of playing Monkey King, but today, we are only going to talk about the most popular build, Carry. As a result, here is the ability build you should follow, when you are playing Monkey King as a carry. However, if you want to play a Roamer, the build is going to be a little different as you are going to rely on mobility more than damage.

(Source: Dota 2 Gamepedia)

Talent Tree Build

Talent Tree provides players with a few additional perks and passives which allow them to better adapt to their specific playing styles and roles. As a result, players can go both ways when choosing the Talent Tree for Monkey King as one option focuses on the Carry build while the other, focuses on his Roaming build. And since we are here to talk about the more popular role (Carry), here is the Talent Tree build you should follow:

(Source: DotaBuff)

Item Build

Because of Monkey King’s diverse playing style, players can experiment with quite a few items in the game. However, there are a few items which are essential for Monkey King without which playing well with this hero is near impossible. As a result, here is a Monkey King Item Build guide which is universal. Hence, it can be used in every single situation.

(Source: DotaFire)

Conclusion

In the end, I would only want to say that all in all, Monkey King is still one of the strongest carries in the game which not only is a beast in late game but can also be a major threat in the early game. Plus, with his Ultimate ability in play, teams can easily take the high ground advantage, allowing them to take out towers without having the constant fear of an enemy gank. Hence, whether you are a veteran or are just starting off with Dota 2, I would suggest you check out this Dota 2 Monkey King guide and experience the true power of Sun Wukong.

This is it for now. However, if you wish to learn more about Monkey King and his other “Roaming” build, or a guide for any other Dota 2 hero, do let us know. We will do our best to bring you a guide on that hero soon. Till, then log in, play the game and experience this insane Dota 2 Monkey King “Carry” build. Hopefully, if you do everything according to plan, you will easily rank up to the medal you want. So, till then, keep calm and Carry on!