The purchase of a divine rapier can instantly change a game. When we see one (or two, or three!) picked up in a game, like the Na'Vi vs DK MLG Columbus game, it can be tempting to try and replicate plays like that in regular matchmaking. Giving a massive 300 bonus damage, a rapier can make even the wimpiest supports hit like a truck and carries can become almost unstoppable. It is the second most expensive item in the game (only just behind abyssal blade) but is number one in terms of damage for money.

Upon death it gets dropped, making divine rapier an extremely risky investment that can quickly turn on you. Buying one at the right time can completely flip a game on its head, but get one at the wrong time and you might find yourself throwing harder than the old EG lineup. So then, when is the best time to buy a divine rapier? Lets have a look at the three most common times that a rapier are bought, and the pros and cons of each.

The insurmountable advantage

You're beyond godlike. More than that, you've just killed the entire enemy team and are on a rampage. Victory is an all but inevitable conclusion. Flush with gold from all those kills and only one inventory slot left unfilled, its time to completely crush all your enemies' hopes and dreams. So you buy a rapier. This is probably the most common situation you'll see a rapier pop up in pub games. When one team has a huge advantage over the other and either wants to further increase that lead, or more often than not wants to fountain camp for kills until the Ancient falls over.

However divine rapiers are a double edged sword (tehe) and there's nothing worse than accidentally dropping one and going from a certain victory to a quick and ignoble defeat. Especially if it's all because of you. The worst time to buy a divine rapier is when you have a substantial lead because you have very little to gain, and everything to lose. If you're already going to win, a rapier is going to benefit your enemies far more that it will you. So make sure to think twice before picking one up and remember: friends don't let friends fountain dive with a rapier.

The last stand





The enemy is at the gates. This could be the last team fight of the game, and things are looking grim. You light your cigar, tell your wife you love her and cancel your Netflix subscription. But then, on the wings of a courier flies in your last chance at salvation: it’s a desperation rapier. Now it’s game on.

In my opinion this is the best kind of rapier purchase because it’s the exact opposite of the previous situation.If you die and drop the rapier, you didn’t have much to lose anyway. And if you win… then no one will judge you for jumping up and doing a victory lap on your pc while playing Queen. That 300 damage can really turn things around, but when you’re behind already farming 6,200 gold plus a buy back plus sneaking out of the base long enough to get to the secret shop and back again can be a tall order. Because of this we rarely see a last stand rapier unless the game is a 90 minute farm fest. When that last minute rapier turn around does come along though, it’s a magical thing to behold.

The Serial Rapier





There are a very few heroes who, thanks to their abilities, are ideally placed to carry a rapier. Medusa a classic example. With mana shield she can be a huge tank, and can pop stone gaze as soon as anyone tries to focus her causing the enemy team to turn around and run away panicking. Both of these skills make it very hard to wrestle a rapier off of her and makes buying one a way less risky investment. Most importantly with split shot Medusa can wail on all five enemy heroes at once and each rapier shot is going to do massive damage despite the damage reduction. With a few core items and a divine Medusa is able to destroy the entire enemy team by herself, and that ain’t bad for an ugly old snake lady.

The only way to play Skeleton King is balls out. And to be truly balls out, you need to build a rapier. Like Medusa he’s built like a brick wall and comes with free lifesteal, crit and aegis. You might not want to buy a rapier as your second or third item like a certain guide suggests, but it really synergises with his skills and with reincarnate you have to work really hard to drop it, so it’s a great pickup for him. If you do happen to find yourself in this rather enviable situation, feel free to switch your caps lock on, A-click the enemy Ancient, and just sit back and enjoy the ride.

There are of course plenty of other heroes who would benefit from a casual rapier or two. Gyrocopter is an obvious candidate, flak cannon is effective, if not more so than Medusa’s split shot at mowing down teams. Xboct gives a great example of this in the Na’Vi vs DK game in the MLG semifinals. Unfortunately he’s a pretty squishy hero, and once flak is on cooldown the rapier is suddenly a lot less helpful. Similarly Phantom Assassin can do a lot with 300 extra damage (1k crits all day) but doesn’t have the survivability to make it a safe choice over an item such as MKB. Even Kunkka can have a lot of fun with a divine rapier, but these heroes lack the durability and utility spells that make Medusa and Skeleton King the best heroes for the job.

So hopefully all this will be of some help to you next time you’re sitting at the secret shop about to buy a divine rapier. If you’ve enjoyed these ramblings, make sure to follow @Cheewilly to get all the latest, and until next time happy gaming!