Dota 2 Treant Protector is a strength-based hero that gets played in the Support role. He is very powerful in the laning phase and provides a major vision advantage throughout the rest of the game. These qualities make him an excellent choice for position 5 players.
If you’re interested in learning more about the hero, this Dota 2 Treant Protector guide will tell you all you need to know about him.
Treant Protector’s Pros and Cons
These are the pros and cons of picking Treant Protector in Dota 2.
Pros:
- He is powerful in the laning phase
- He is difficult to kill thanks to his abilities
- Provides excellent crowd control for his team
- He can keep heroes and buildings alive for much longer
- His base attack damage is one of the highest in the game
Cons:
- He is very slow
- He’s highly dependent on being around trees
- He doesn’t provide much damage after the laning phase
Lore
Treant Protector comes from the mountains beyond the Vale of Augury. There, he is one of the mighty Treant Protectors whose job is to maintain the peace and guard the secrets of the place. He is an ageless, titanic being who was sent into the wider world to discover what unknown dangers might threaten his sacred home.
Attributes and Stats
These are Treant Protector’s general stats:
| Win Rate | 54.3% |
| Level | 1 – 30 |
| Health | 762 (at level 1) |
| Health regeneration | 0.25 |
| Mana | 315 (at level 1) |
| Mana regeneration | 0.5 |
| DMG | 87 – 95 |
| Armor | 1.4 |
| DMG Block | none |
| Magic Resistance | 25% |
| Status Resistance | 0% |
| Attack Rate | 1.9 |
| Movement Speed | 285 |
| Attack Range | 150 |
| Attack Animation | 0.6 + 0.4 |
| Projectile Speed | instant |
| Attack Speed | 102 |
| Turn Rate | 0.5 |
| Collision Size | 24 |
| Vision Range | 1800 / 800 |
| Gib Type | Wood |
Ability Upgrades:
Treant Protector gains Eyes in the Forest if you purchase an Aghanim’s Scepter. The rest of his abilities are also upgraded by his 8 talents.
- Level 10 talents: -5s Nature’s Grasp cooldown / +2 Living Armor heal per second
- Level 15 talents: +30 Nature’s Grasp DPS / +15% Leech Seed Slow
- Level 20 talents: +40 Leech Seed Damage/Heal / +8 Living Armor bonus armor
- Level 25 talents: Overgrowth becomes undispellable / 450 Living Armor AoE
Roles Treant Protector Can Take On
Treant Protector is a natural Support hero. You can also play him in the offlane role, but he’s not a very strong offlaner unless you play him with a Blink Dagger, the way you would play a Tidehunter.
Always itemize in a way that allows you to escape imminent danger and disable the enemy team. This hero greatly benefits from a Blink Dagger.
Treant Protector Item Builds
These are the most important items that you should consider purchasing when picking Treant Protector. From time to time, you may find yourself competing against a hero composition that requires you to take a different path. But in most cases, the items presented here will turn you into a capable position 4/5 hero.
Early Game
For the early game, consider buying these items:
- Magic Wand
- Arcane Boots
- Bracer
- Orb of Venom
- Urn of Shadows
Mid Game
During the mid-game, you will usually be buying several of these items:
- Meteor Hammer
- Blink Dagger
- Aghanim’s Shard
- Pipe of Insight
- Vladmir’s Offering
Late Game
In the late game, this hero thrives if you have one of these items:
- Aghanim’s Scepter
- Refresher
Abilities
Treant Protector has 4 starting abilities and a passive, but he can unlock a 6th if you buy an Aghanim’s Scepter. These abilities are presented below:
Nature’s Grasp
Nature’s Grasp is Treant Protector’s most basic crowd control ability. It deals 30 – 60 damage per second to every enemy unit, slows enemy movement speed by 25% – 40%, and last for 9s – 12s. The cast range is huge: 1500.
Mana cost: 75 – 90
Cooldown: 20s – 17s
Leech Seed
This is an AoE ability that allows Treant Protector to both damage enemies and heals himself at the same time. The seed heals friendly units in an area of 650 radius as well. The amount of damage/heal per second is 20 – 65, and the duration is 5 seconds. The target is also slowed by 8% – 26%. You can cast this ability from a range of 400 – 550.
Mana cost: 80 – 110
Cooldown: 18s – 12s
Living Armor
This is Treant Protector’s second-best ability. It allows him to shield and regenerate himself, an ally or even an ally structure. Because of this protective coating, it tends to be really difficult to win the early game against a Treant and to destroy tier 1 towers with ease.
Any push that isn’t completed quickly will be repelled by Glyph of Fortification and Living Armor.
This ability heals 3-6 HP per second and gives 6-12 armor. It lasts for 15-30 seconds, which is a very long time. During the mid-game, your carry has almost twice his effective HP against physical damage for 30 seconds. That’s a huge advantage in any team fight.
Mana cost: 50
Cooldown: 30s – 15s
Overgrowth
Overgrowth is Treant Protector’s ultimate ability and deals 85 damage per second. However, that’s not the most important thing here. Overgrowth roots enemies in a huge area (800 radius) for 3 – 5 seconds. This means that you’re effectively a scarier type of Magnus and not that different from a Faceless Void.
Mana cost: 200 – 300
Cooldown: 100s
Nature’s Guise
This is a passive ability that gives Treant the ability to move through trees as long as he hasn’t taken damage for 3 seconds. While under Nature’s Guise, he gains a 15% move speed bonus, invisibility, and a 40% heal/regen amplification.
Eyes in the Forest
You gain this ability when you buy an Aghanim’s Scepter. What it does is brilliant. It allows you to enchant a tree, which then gives you vision in an 800 radius area. You start with 3 charges, and you recover 1 charge every 40s.
Thanks to this ability, Treant is very hard to beat in the late game. His team ends up having the equivalent of a maphack.
Mana cost: 100
Cooldown: 40s
Ability Build Guide
When you play Treant Protector in Dota 2, you should try to follow this ability build order:
- Nature’s Grasp: levels 2, 9, 10, 11
- Leech Seed: levels 1, 3, 14, 16
- Living Armor: levels 4, 5, 7, 8
- Overgrowth: levels 6, 12, 18
In some cases, you will need to prioritize Living Armor and have it maximized by level 7. Otherwise, key towers or key heroes will die.
Combo
When playing Treant Protector, the primary combo is Nature’s Grasp into Leech Seed into Overgrowth into Meteor Hammer (if you have the item). You can also right-click on the enemy heroes, but you’re more useful if you just stay back and make sure that you do not die.
However, if you want to play the hero as tanky support that distracts the attention of the enemy team while your own teammates win the fight, you can certainly do that. Just make sure you buy armor and stats. Otherwise, the combination between your slow movement speed and inability to defend yourself will get you killed too quickly.
As a hero, Treant Protector works well in combination with all damage dealers that need someone to hold their targets in place. A Tiny, an Invoker, a Drow Ranger, or a Clinkz will thrive when paired with a Treant.
Game Plan
This is what excellent Treant Protector players do each game in terms of strategy and tactics.
Early Game
In the early game, your objective is to be annoying and harass the enemy offlaner or carry as much as possible. You have a lot of HP and a lot of damage. You can also buy yourself a bit of armor and put one point in Living Armor. With these capabilities, you should be able to trade hits with almost any hero and win the duel.
The enemy heroes should feel like they cannot farm safely with you around. If an enemy tries to get near the creeps, be there and punch him. Cast your Leech Seed so he gets slowed down and buy yourself an Orb of Venom to slow him even more.
Another constant preoccupation when playing Treant Protector is to look around the map and cast Living Armor on the heroes and buildings that need it. You could easily save one tower and several teammates during the first 10 minutes of the game.
Mid Game
During the mid game, you will be one of the main crowd controllers and vision providers on your team. People will rely on you to give them excellent opportunities to jump in and deal massive damage to the enemy heroes. Or, if they get jumped, you’ll be expected to blink in and stop the action with a well-placed ultimate.
Your capabilities are similar to those of a Naga Siren and you should make effective use of them. Whenever you can, split push if you have a Meteor Hammer and try to deal damage to enemy buildings.
Late Game
In a late-game scenario, Treant Protector’s primary role is to provide a vision for his team. Crowd control remains important, but some of your other skills are less valuable at this point because the enemy team will have lots of Black King Bars and Linken’s Spheres.
Try to have some armor or magic-resist items that can help your team. Always cast your Living Armor on your most important heroes and don’t lose anyone at the start of the fight. Otherwise, the chance of winning are slim. You can do this using your ultimate.
If you have a blink dagger, you can guarantee yourself a well-placed Overgrowth in every fight. The need to stay close to your allies will be less severe because you’ll have the possibility to jump in from a long distance.
Keep in mind that the enemy team will be searching for you in the trees. Do not play in a predictable way or you’ll get killed, especially if your team is behind in networth and experience.
Counters
Treant Protector is naturally countered by heroes with excellent ways of winning the vision war, such as Beastmaster and Bounty Hunter. He is also countered by heroes that destroy trees with their AoE abilities, such as Timbersaw and Magnus.
Advantageous Matchups
For Treant Protector, any matchup against a melee hero that cannot easily find him in the trees is advantageous.
Most Used Skins
There are plenty of cool-looking Dota 2 skins that you can use when playing Treant Protector. Three of the best ones are presented below:
Frost Auburn Hideaway
This is easily one of the best Treant sets. It turns the hero into a Winter tree and gives him some very cute tree houses and an owl.
Bark of the Ageless Witness
This is another great skin that gives the hero a wild look. He’s barely recognizable, but if you like eccentric Dota 2 skins, this one is perfect.
Protector of the Ancient Seal
Protector of the Ancient Seal is a set that gives Treant Protector a powerful look. Not everyone will resonate with the design but it’s absolutely majestic.
