Finally, a year after his release, Oracle is now enabled in Captains Mode, which raises the question: what does the hero even do? His skills involve the interactions of buffs and dispels, which are some of the most obscure and least understood mechanics of Dota. There’s no tutorial that runs through the list of exceptions for what is a basic dispel, a strong dispel, or what draws the line between a removable and unremovable buff. This kind of knowledge requires both practice and study. Judging by the meager win rate and popularity of Oracle, it’s fair to say that the public has accomplished neither.

Oracle’s Unpopularity

The Dota playing public suffers from the unpopularity of Oracle. He’s currently the 3rd least popular hero, right above Chen and Visage. When it comes to learning a hero, the organic method is to either play the hero, or play against it. With Oracle, he’s in 1.97% of games with a 40.97% win rate(bottom of our charts, before Arc Warden arrived). It’s a rare sighting to see Oracle in the game, and when he’s there, his impact is evidently low. This also follows even at higher skill brackets, where his win rate peaks at 45% in the 5k+ MMR bracket, and at the recent WCA tournament in China, where he had a 44.4% win rate across 9 games. His utility in the pro scene is still nascent, but his win rate in pubs has bottomed consistently.

A significant reason for is that Oracle is just weak, in the efficacy of his spells and his role in the meta. He is subpar as a core, and as a support he relies too heavily on levels to maximize the synergies between his skills. Each skill on its own is lukewarm in its effect. Fortune’s End is a poor stun; Fate’s Edict a poor Repel; Purifying Flames a poor nuke. However, each of these skills has a subset of interactions and synergies with dispels, buffs, and debuffs. It’s in these complexities where Oracle may have potential.

Dispels and Debuffs: Unlocking Oracle’s Skills

There are three categories of dispels: basic ones, strong ones, and ones from spell immunity, such as activating a BKB. Dispels allow you to remove buffs from opponents or debuffs from you allies. Basic dispels can remove basic stat effects such as slows and stuns, whereas strong dispels can in addition remove hard disables, such as stuns. Some of the most familiar examples involve using Aphotic Shield or Press The Attack to free a stunned ally. These two skills are both considered strong dispels. A basic dispel, such as Tornado or Diffusal Blade’s Purge, will not remove stuns but can remove a rune’s effect or slow such as Venomous Gale. With Oracle, the main interactions are between his own skills, but there’s a chart for the diligent who wish to dive deeper.

Oracle’s skills incorporate a basic dispel and a strong dispel, with Fortune's End and False Promise. False Promise is an improved version of Shallow Grave:doubles healing and removes debuffs, such as stuns, upon intial cast. Fortune’s End is Oracle’s basic dispel, and the essential spell that unlocks the potential in his other two spells: Fate's Edict and Purifying Flames. Both of these two spells can be used offensively and defensively on allies or enemies, and the dispel from Fortune’s End is what determines their utility:

Fate’s Edict has a buff and debuff component, so it can be used offensively for it's disarm and defensively for it's 100% magic resistance. Both effects are considered as a single buff or debuff, and dispelling Fate's edict would remove both effects. Purifying Flames has interactions with both Fate’s Edict and Fortune’s End. Used defensively, Fate’s Edict can be cast on your ally before Purifying Flames to nullify the damage and allow your target to heal. Used offensively, Fortune’s End can dispel the life regeneration from Purifying Flames, turning it into a nuke.

Compared to Oracle, a hero like Invoker is straightforward and simple. Even with ten spells, each of Invoker’s spells serves an obvious purpose—Ghostwalk to evade, Coldsnap to stun. With the exception of False Promise, each of Oracle’s skills are situational. They can be used on any hero target, whether ally or enemy, and it’s up to the player to determine which is the best spell to use, and the best way to use it. Then, follow that with the corresponding spell that maximizes its potential.

Bringing It Altogether

Not only do Oracle's four spells have intertwining mechanics but they also involve the web of interactions of dispels vs. buffs and debuffs. It's not a surprise that after all this time he still hasn't shown his full potential yet. However, that potential is highly dependent on his ability to gain levels, the composition of heroes and their spells in the game, and the understanding of the player using him. Pub players have a year to showcase Oracle’s potential. With Oracle now enabled in Captain’s Mode, it’s the pros turn.

Corrections: Oracle has been in Dota 2 for only one year, instead of two (in Dota 1). False Promise cooldown was incorrectly implied. Fate's Edict is considered as a single buff or debuff, and dispelling it would remove both effects