Hero Mastery

Skywrath Mage

A glassy nuker: Mystic Flare punishes a single target with huge damage, Ancient Seal silences + amplifies magic, Arcane Bolt nukes, and Concussive Shot auto-slows.

Mastery parameters

Your GPM, last hits and damage per game against other Skywrath Mage players — average vs Top 20%.

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 Skywrath Mage your mastery hero to start — progress shows on Home and Arcana.

Phase by phase

The 1v1: last hits + rune control

You 70%Team 30%

Skills in lane — Max Arcane Bolt (Q) for a spammable nuke + harass; value Ancient Seal (E) for the silence + magic amplification (which doubles your burst). Concussive Shot (W) for the slow.
Ancient Seal → Mystic Flare — Ancient Seal amplifies magic damage, then Mystic Flare on a still target deletes them. Rod of Atos locks first.

Skills 1–7

Starting items

Iron Branch17%
Tango16%
Circlet of Nobility15%
Blood Grenade14%
Mantle of Intelligence10%
Sentry Ward7%

Pros buy this phase

Arcane Boots80%
Kaya20%

The Midlaner's job this phase

Focus on last hits & denies — a 10-creep lead by minute 5 is a real level advantage.
Minutes 6, 8, 10, …: check water/power runes. A full Bottle means you can spam spells.
Ask a support to arrive 30 seconds before power runes when your lane is rough.

Counters & weaknesses

Magic burst heroFragile hero (easy to catch)

The items that shut Skywrath Mage 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 Skywrath Mage 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.