Solo Criticizes Dread’s Weaver Build with Octarine Core

During a joint live stream, Alexey “Solo” Berezin, captain of the Dota 2 team 9Pandas, discussed and criticized Andrey “Dread” Golubev’s signature Weaver build featuring Octarine Core as a first major item.

Solo initiated the conversation about this build, prompting Dread to explain his reasoning behind choosing Octarine Core for Weaver. Golubev argued that Weaver’s early game potential is maximized with Octarine Core due to increased Shukuchi and Swarm usage, as well as improved mana regeneration for faster farming.

However, Solo interrupted Dread’s explanation, dismissing the build entirely. He asked rhetorically if Dread had prepared a speech or talking points, then bluntly stated that the idea of Octarine Core on Weaver sounds completely absurd and that all of Dread’s arguments were nonsensical.

Dread began popularizing this unconventional Weaver build in mid-2024, often rushing Octarine Core as one of the first major items. While many players and analysts criticized the build as ineffective, Golubev continued to use and defend it, drawing parallels to the acceptance of magical damage builds on heroes like Shadow Fiend.