Hero Mastery

Chen

A creep commander: Holy Persuasion recruits neutral creeps into an army, Penitence amplifies damage + slows, Divine Favor gives a regen aura + armor, and Hand of God heals the team globally.

Mastery parameters

Your XP and damage per game against other Chen players — average vs Top 20%. Supports are not graded on GPM.

Members only

Learning journey

1 Know the kit
2 Win the lane
3 Timing & rotations
4 Win the fights
5 Master

5 stages, each with one target from your own games and one short quiz. Make Chen your mastery hero to start — progress shows on Home and Arcana.

Phase by phase

Laning: make your carry's life easy

You 30%Team 70%

Skills in lane — Pro supports max Holy Persuasion (W) first — 98% of 132 games since patch 7.41, then Divine Favor (E). First talent at level 11.
Creep army — early ganks — Recruit creeps with auras/stuns, then gank lanes before minute 5 — your early pressure is scariest.

Skills 1–7

Starting items

Iron Branch25%
Tango16%
Blood Grenade15%
Sentry Ward11%
Smoke of Deceit11%
Faerie Fire7%

Pros buy this phase

Arcane Boots83%
Drum of Endurance14%
Mekansm3%

The Hard Support's job this phase

Pull at minutes 2 & 4 to keep the lane from pushing — the single most important HS skill.
Harass the enemy offlaner whenever they step up for XP, but never abandon your carry.
Ward near the enemy pull camp; buy sentries to deward when your pulls get blocked.

Counters & weaknesses

Fragile hero (easy to catch)

The items that shut Chen down, 3 heroes that trouble it, and your answer when you play it.

Members only

Why this way? How OpenAI Five learned

One hero, one role first
OpenAI's first bot played only Shadow Fiend, only mid, until it mastered it. Stay on Chen in one role before moving on.
Small, measurable rewards
OpenAI Five was rewarded for last hits and staying alive long before it understood winning. That's why each journey stage has one number to hit.
From yourself to the team
Its 'team spirit' rose over the game: early on, look after yourself; late, play for the team. Each phase's meter shows the split.
Use proven builds
OpenAI Five's builds were hand-written, not trial and error. Start from the pro build, then experiment.

Phase items: what pros buy on this hero (OpenDota). Parameters: percentiles of players on this hero (OpenDota). Item effects checked against Valve's own item data.