Dota Underlords alliances tier checklist [Mid-Season Update] – the most effective alliances in Dota Underlords

Alliances are one of many key parts of Dota Underlords that units it aside from its huge brother, Dota 2, and which provides you an unlimited quantity to consider when deciding which heroes you need in your board. Success relies upon not solely on creating an important construct, but in addition on remaining versatile all through the early-game and mid-game so you possibly can change your alliances round as and when wanted. We’ll undergo every little thing you have to know in our Dota Underlods alliances information, full with in-depth explanations of every alliance, and an updated Dota Underlords tier checklist of the most effective alliances to construct round.

As if the 60 heroes weren’t already sufficient, there are at the moment 23 totally different alliances in Dota Underlords, every with between 1 and three phases of energy which you need to use to enhance your autobattling military. But it’s not so simple as choosing one or two alliances at the beginning of a match and gathering as many heroes of that sort as attainable; it’s important to be versatile and balanced in your strategy. Our Dota Underlords alliances information options in-depth explanations of every alliance at the moment within the game, together with a tier checklist of the most effective alliances to construct round and use to show your military right into a match-winning power.

Dota Underlords alliances information – the most effective alliances in Dota Underlords

With Dota Underlords that includes 23 distinctive alliances, every with between 1 and three ranges of energy, that’s a good quantity to speak about in an alliances information. But we’ve achieved our greatest to interrupt it up into easy-to-follow chunks. We’ll begin with a primary rationalization of what alliances are and the way they work, earlier than transferring onto the tier checklist of best-performing alliances, after which tables of stats and knowledge on all 23 alliances.

• Dota Underlords alliances overview – how do alliances work?
• Alliance combinations
• Dota Underlords tier list of best alliances
• S-Tier: Knight, Mage, Troll
• A-Tier: Druid, Hunter, Savage, Scrappy, Warrior
• B-Tier: Demon, Demon Hunter, Heartless, Human, Primordial, Scaled, Warlock
• C-Tier: Assassin, Brawny, Dragon, Elusive, Inventor
• D-Tier: Blood-Bound, Deadeye, Shaman
• Dota Underlords strategy guide page links

Dota Underlords alliances overview – how do alliances work?

Dota Underlords revolves round build up a power comprised of Dota heroes – and despite the fact that these heroes are simplified from their Dota 2 counterparts, there’s nonetheless an terrible lot of complexity to them. Not solely do they every include numerous totally different stats equivalent to Health, Armor, DPS, and so forth, however additionally they function totally different talents and belong to totally different alliances.

Each hero belongs to 2 or Three totally different alliances. If your board incorporates a sure variety of heroes belonging to the identical alliance, then you definately’ll obtain a passive bonus relying on the alliance. For instance, in case you had been to gather two Heartless heroes, then all of your enemies would endure -5 Armor.

Many alliances have a number of phases of energy relying on what number of heroes in your board belong to that alliance. For instance, in case you had been so as to add two extra Heartless heroes to your board, then the bonus would improve to -10 Armor; and 6 Heartless heroes brings it as much as -15 Armor. It’s vital to notice that these alliance bonuses persist all through a battle, no matter whether or not the heroes offering these bonuses occur to be killed in fight.

Alliance combos – core and supplementary alliances

When constructing a military, you have to take note of the steadiness of offence and defence. Some alliances, equivalent to Hunter, are purely offensive in nature, and due to this fact needs to be paired up with alliances equivalent to Warrior, that are purely defensive. The intention is usually to choose a central, scalable alliance to construct your military round (examples embody Assassin, Hunter, Knight, Mage, Savage, Scrappy, or Warrior), after which attempt to steadiness out your offence/defence with different supplementary alliances you accrue as you construct in the direction of your central alliance.

Another factor to remember is that many alliances will be considerably upgraded by buying sure Global Items regarding that alliance. For full particulars, verify the tables under.

We’ll go into alliance combos in much more element in one other information. For now, taking into account what we’ve simply mentioned about central and supplementary alliances, let’s check out our tier checklist of present best-performing alliances.

Dota Underlords alliances tier checklist – finest alliances in Dota Underlords

Above you possibly can view our private rankings of all of the alliances in Dota Underlords. We’ve taken into consideration not solely the passive advantages themselves, however every alliance’s dependency upon Global Items, in addition to their attainability, and the steadiness of heroes inside each. All these are stuff you’ll additionally should study to bear in mind when selecting your alliances on the fly throughout a match.

Below you’ll discover full stats and particulars of each alliance, together with heroes, bonuses, and related objects.

Knight alliance

2 Knights: Knight items take -15% bodily and magic injury and a further -15% when standing 1 cell away from one other Knight.
4 Knights: Knight items take -20% bodily and magic injury and a further -20% when standing 1 cell away from one other Knight.
6 Knights: Knight items take -30% bodily and magic injury and a further -25% when standing 1 cell away from one other Knight.
Age of Chivalry (Global Item): Non-Knight items achieve +7%/10%/12.5% injury discount for every allied Knight unit 1 cell away.

Knights are an absolute power of nature on the battlefield for the time being in Dota Underlords. Not solely does its most tanking energy kick in with simply 6 heroes (as a substitute of, say, 9) however you’ve obtained a very unbelievable roster of heroes in right here, lots of them very straightforward to acquire. You’ve obtained DPS in Luna, Batrider, and Dragon Knight; you’ve obtained therapeutic in Omniknight and Abaddon; you’ve obtained an inherent Human alliance with DK and Omni… And that’s not even speaking in regards to the alliance buff itself and its related Age of Chivalry world merchandise, each of which make your heroes very exhausting to kill.

Mage alliance

3 Mages: Enemies endure -40% Magic Resistance.
6 Mages: Enemies endure -100% Magic Resistance.
Final Flash (Global Item): Mages reset their cooldown and get full mana when under 10%/20%/30% well being.

Mage is an alliance that may typically take the whole game to deliver absolutely on-line, however when you do – and so long as you’ve accounted for its glass cannon nature by tanking it out with robust heroes and supplementary alliances – Mage will permit you to tear via just about something. None of the person heroes are ones I’d rank extremely in some other construct, however collectively they’ve peerless burst-down potential, significantly with heroes like Lina, KotL, and Lich. Plus, in case you get that Global Item, Final Flash, it might probably completely flip the tables on a late-game dropping match.

Troll alliance

2 Trolls: All Troll items achieve +35 Attack Speed and different allies achieve +10 Attack Speed.
4 Trolls: All Troll items achieve +65 Attack Speed and different Allies achieve +30 Attack Speed.
Coordinated Assault (Global Item): Troll items give +10/20/30 Attack Speed to allies 1 cell away.

The first stage of the Troll alliance may be very straightforward to get, and it offers you with a reasonably stable early-game offered you’ve obtained a couple of extra tips up your sleeve. But a full Troll construct is kind of a sight. Your complete military, attacking with the velocity of a near-death Bloodseeker? This is one hell of a DPS construct that achieves every little thing it desires to realize utilizing simply Four heroes, leaving you with a variety of flexibility together with your board to construct up one other robust alliance or two earlier than you attain the ultimate rounds and add a Troll Warlord to deliver every little thing collectively completely.

Druid alliance

2 Druids: At the start of fight, the bottom star ally Druid is upgraded a stage.
4 Druids: At the start of fight, the two lowest star ally Druids are upgraded a stage every.
Completing the Cycle (Global Item): When a Druid dies, it heals allies 2 cells away over time for 3%/5%/7% of its complete well being each second for six seconds.

I’m a giant fan of Druids. Their alliance profit is healthier for some than others (you’ll need to use it to get an early Level 3 Nature’s Prophet or Treant Protector ideally) however it’s such a simple alliance to fit into one other construct because it makes use of solely 2 or Four heroes – and of these Four heroes, 2 have Elusive and the others have Savage, which suggests you’re mainly getting 2 alliances for the worth of 1. Add to that the Global Item which offers some actually astounding, game-saving therapeutic at instances to all of your allies; and the truth that Lone Druid, Nature’s Prophet, and particularly Treant Protector are simply actually nice heroes in their very own proper; and also you’ve obtained your self a hell of a supplementary alliance.

Hunter alliance

3 Hunters: All Hunters have a 20% probability of shortly performing 2 assaults.
6 Hunters: All Hunters have a 35% probability of shortly performing 2 assaults.
Hunter’s Focus (Global Item): Hunters deal 5%/7%/10% further Attack Damage for one another Hunter attacking the identical goal.

Having 6 Hunters in your board means you’ll actually should bulk out your military with tankiness, therapeutic, Armor, and every little thing else you’re lacking – however the truth that all these heroes, every with at the very least stable and at most unbelievable DPS, can have a 35% probability of attacking twice in the identical time is a sight to behold. Medusa is a completely magnificent DPS hero, significantly in case you stage her up and equip her with the precise merchandise; and with Mirana and Windranger you will get began on a pleasant supplementary Elusive alliance too.

Savage alliance

2 Savages: Allies achieve +10% Attack Damage.
4 Savages: Allies achieve +25% Attack Damage.
6 Savages: Allies achieve +45% Attack Damage.
Tooth and Claw (Global Item): Savage items apply a stackable 7/10/13 injury/s bleed on assault.

Savage takes rather a lot to deliver on-line as a core reasonably than a supplementary alliance, however the result’s one thing to behold. There are some nice heroes in right here (shoutout specifically to Sand King and Venomancer), and – crucially – it’s very straightforward to construct this into an especially potent summons construct utilizing Lycan, Venomancer, Lone Druid, and possibly Nature’s Prophet as effectively (rounding out your Druid alliance within the course of). With all of your items assault for an additional 25% and even 45% injury every hit, that’s an entire hell of a variety of DPS.

Scrappy alliance

2 Scrappy: A Random Scrappy unit is granted +9 Armor and +eight HP Regeneration. Armor and HP are doubled every time you have got fewer items alive than your opponent does.
4 Scrappy: All Scrappy items are granted +9 Armor and +eight HP Regeneration. Armor and HP are doubled every time you have got fewer items alive than your opponent does.
6 Scrappy: All allies are granted +9 Armor and +eight HP Regeneration. Armor and HP are doubled every time you have got fewer items alive than your opponent does.
Check the Bodies (Global Item): Scrappy items have a 10%/20%/30% probability of manufacturing 1 gold after they kill an enemy.

There’s no denying the facility of Scrappy now, not after the Mid-Season Update. Aside from the stupendous resilience your heroes obtain with even Tier 2 Scrappy, you’re additionally near-guaranteed a top-tier Inventor alliance as effectively, which suggests Four of your heroes are instantly getting a beneficiant +40 HP Regen. And apart from that, Tinker, Clockwerk, and Alchemist are three of my favorite heroes within the game. Alchemist for his loopy AoE armor discount; Clockwerk for his newfound tankiness and his unbelievable mini-stun skill; and Tinker as a result of, effectively, these rockets are simply ridiculous.

Warrior alliance

3 Warriors: All Warriors achieve +10 Armor.
6 Warriors: All Warriors achieve +15 Armor.
9 Warriors: All Warriors achieve +25 Armor.
Unstoppable (Global Item): Warriors survive for an additional 1/2/Three seconds after receiving a killing blow.

Warrior is a very fashionable (if barely boring) alliance proper now in Underlords, just because there are such a lot of heroes on this roster and the Armor achieve makes it such an excellent alliance to mix with extra offence-focused builds like Troll or Mage. The Unstoppable Global Item is a stunning factor to have, although it’s actually not probably the most influential Global on the market. Here the main focus is extra on the heroes themselves. With talents like Tiny’s or Kunkka’s; with DPS like Troll Warlord’s or Slardar’s; with tankiness like Pudge’s or Doom’s; it’s actually not a tough promote to go Warrior.

Demon alliance

1 Demon: All Demon items achieve +50% Pure Damage. Active when you have got just one sort of Demon unit on the board.
Strange Bedfellows (Global Item): Demon Hunters achieve +30%/40%/50% Pure Damage for every distinctive allied Demon unit.

Demons do two issues very effectively: they supply an important DPS enhance within the first few rounds of a match; they usually slot extremely simply into different builds, requiring simply 1 Demon to offer the injury buff. You’ve obtained a good choice to select from too, however actually you’ll need to change any early decisions like Queen of Pain or Chaos Knight with a Doom (for CC/tankiness) or Terrorblade (for DPS). But in case you joyful to get Strange Bedfellows then you definately ought actually to go all the way in which and collect as many demons as attainable spherical your two (now immensely highly effective) Demon Hunters.

Demon Hunter alliance

1 Demon Hunter: Invalidate your opponent’s Demon Alliance bonus.
2 Demon Hunters: Invalidate your opponent’s Demon Alliance bonus. All Demon items achieve +50% Pure Damage.
Strange Bedfellows (Global Item): Demon Hunters achieve +30%/40%/50% Pure Damage for every distinctive allied Demon unit.

Okay, right here’s the factor. I love Demon Hunters. I really like that your decisions are Anti-Mage and Terrorblade, each of whom are absolute forces of nature in case you use them effectively. I really like that it means that you can use a number of Demons and negates your opponent’s Demon alliance. Most of all, I really like after I get a Level 2 Terrorblade and Level 2 Anti-Mage surrounded by 4-6 Demons, as a result of as a rule I simply have to take a seat again and benefit from the present at that time, and watch my opponents scramble round looking for some form of counter to my godlike injury.

Heartless alliance

2 Heartless: All Enemies endure -5 Armor.
4 Heartless: All Enemies endure -10 Armor.
6 Heartless: All Enemies endure -15 Armor.
Fall From Grace (Global Item): Human items depend as Heartless when counting alliances.
Wicked Intent (Global Item): Opponent’s therapeutic is diminished by 10%/15%/25% per distinctive Heartless unit you have got.

Heartless is a superb supplementary alliance, reasonably than one I’d contemplate basing a complete construct round. At each flip it merely offers you with the flexibility to take down enemies extra shortly. The solely actual challenge I’ve with it’s that if you wish to flip it into greater than an incidental nicety, then you definately actually want to get that Fall From Grace Global or the Wicked Intent Global. But apart from this, you possibly can mainly make all of your enemies squishy whereas including to your board some insanely highly effective heroes like Necrophos, Lich, or (in case you get Fall From Grace, Kunkka or Dragon Knight).

Human alliance

2 Humans: All Human items achieve a 20% probability to Silence goal for Four seconds when attacking.
4 Humans: All Human items achieve a 44% probability to Silence goal for Four seconds when attacking.
6 Humans: All Human items achieve a 66% probability to Silence goal for Four seconds when attacking.
Fall From Grace (Global Item): Human items depend as Heartless when counting alliances.
Indomitable Will (Global Item): Debuffs final 75%/50%/25% as lengthy on Human items.

I like Human for its flexibility. Not solely does it offer you sufficient potential heroes you could very often achieve 2 and even 4 Humans pretty by the way; however if you wish to take issues in a very totally different route, you possibly can procure the Fall From Grace Global which turns Human into Heartless. Yes, meaning you lose the Human alliance. But it’s nonetheless a very helpful technique to make use of at instances. But no matter that, you’ve nonetheless obtained some nice CC with Human’s silencing powers, and you may construct it into Knight, Mage, Warrior, or just about anything you need.

Primordial alliance

2 Primordials: When hit, Primordial items have a 30% probability to disarm melee attackers for Four seconds and a 10% to disarm ranged attackers for Four seconds.
4 Primordials: When hit, Allies have a 30% probability to disarm melee attackers for Four seconds and a 10% to disarm ranged attackers for Four seconds.
Font of Creation (Global Item): Primordial items spawn a tier 1/2/3 Eidolon on dying. Eidolons are ranged Primordial items that don’t spawn Eidolons.

Primordials have been on fairly the rollercoaster not too long ago. First it was buffed to such a level that it shortly grew to become the brand new meta to construct Primordial/Mage; after which it was (over)nerfed with a change in its very nature from disarming to decreasing assault velocity. It’s nonetheless first rate as a complement, however I actually wouldn’t name it a viable core alliance anymore, not in its present state. That being stated, you’ve obtained some actually nice particular person heroes in right here: Enigma, Arc Warden, and Tiny are all extraordinarily potent in any construct, so it’s not going too far out of your strategy to get a Tier 1 Primordial in your troubles.

Scaled alliance

2 Scaled: Allies achieve +30% Magic Resistance.
4 Scaled: Allies achieve +50% Magic Resistance.
Retaliate (Global Item): Units attacking Scaled items take 30/45/60 injury/sec for Three seconds. This timer resets every time the Scaled unit is attacked.

I haven’t put Scaled increased for a few causes. First is it’s very situational, as a slight counter to Mage builds or significantly magic-damage-dealing heroes equivalent to Tinker or Enigma. Second, the profit isn’t all that potent, and so even with a Tier 2 Scaled alliance, it’s unlikely to make an enormous quantity of distinction in opposition to a Tier 2 Mage construct. On the plus aspect, it’s an excellent incidental supplementary, and all Four of those heroes are actually superb. I’ve already spoken about Medusa is an incredible hero; however so is everybody else. Tidehunter has top-of-the-line talents within the game; Slark can change into actually unstoppable if he’s not burst down shortly; and Slardar hits like a goddamn truck.

Warlock alliance

2 Warlocks: Whenever a Warlock casts a spell, they type a hyperlink with the Ally who has the bottom proportion well being for Three seconds. When both linked hero offers injury, each items are healed 50% of the injury dealt.
4 Warlocks: Whenever a Warlock casts a spell, they type a hyperlink with the Ally who has the bottom proportion well being for Three seconds. When both linked hero offers injury, each items are healed 80% of the injury dealt.
6 Warlocks: Whenever a Warlock casts a spell, they type a hyperlink with the Ally who has the bottom proportion well being for Three seconds. When both linked hero offers injury, each items are healed 130% of the injury dealt.
Soul Sucking Syphon (Global Item): Allied items 1 cell away from Warlocks heal for 25%/35%/50% of all injury brought on by talents and objects.

Warlocks are actually extra extremely regarded than they ever was due to latest updates. Again, it’s not an alliance I’d often contemplate sacrificing so many board slots with a view to construct all the way in which; however 4 Warlocks could make an unlimited distinction now. It’s a subtler and extra insidious type of tankiness than the Knights and Warriors, and it by no means will get outdated to see your opponent whittling down everybody’s well being just for all of them to rise again as much as full within the area of about half a second. Plus, you’ve obtained some good heroes right here. Necrophos, Witch Doctor, Warlock, and Alchemist feels like one hell of a combo to me, no matter alliances.

Assassin alliance

3 Assassins: All Assassins achieve a 10% probability to Critical Hit for 300% Damage.
6 Assassins: All Assassins achieve a 20% probability to Critical Hit for 400% Damage.
9 Assassins: All Assassins achieve a 30% probability to Critical Hit for 500% Damage.
Pocket Sand (Global Item): Assassins blind enemies 1 cell away from the place they land for 1/2/Three seconds (50% miss probability and 50% much less mana when attacked).

The individuals who like Assassin appear to love Assassin. I don’t like Assassin. I do know that it might probably change into an unstoppable snowball of destruction, however in my thoughts so can most different alliances. Assassin requires a lot effort to construct up in my expertise; it comes on-line very late; and your choices are restricted in supplementary allliances in case you go that far with it. What makes Assassin actually superb is the Pocket Sand Global, which provides the blinding debuff to their landings; however that makes this construct an terrible lot of labor and very item-dependent. Not an important look. But regardless, out of all of the alliances remaining on this checklist, don’t underestimate the participant who seems like they’re going Assassin-heavy.

Brawny alliance

2 Brawny: All Brawny items have their most HP elevated by 200.
4 Brawny: All Brawny items have their most HP elevated by 500.
Forged In Battle (Global Item): Brawny items begin the spherical with +25/50/75 Max Health for each unit they’ve killed.

Brawny is somewhat meh. 200 Health is good early on, however I by no means discover it’s price getting all Four of those heroes simply to get the top-tier Brawny bonus. I assume you would construct it from a Warrior-heavy construct with Axe and Juggernaut, however that’s two defence-focused alliances. Where’s your injury? It’s a pleasant incidental profit to have two of your items buffed with an additional 200 HP. That’s all I can actually say about this alliance.

Dragon alliance

2 Dragons: All Dragon items unlock a further draconic skill.
Dragon’s Hoard (Global Item): Dragon items achieve 0.5%/1%/1.5% Attack Damage for each gold you personal at first of fight.

The Dragon alliance is irritating. Dragon Knight is an unbelievable hero, however Puck and Viper are each extraordinarily lacklustre. So primarily what you’re doing is sacrificing certainly one of your board slots (the place you would put one thing like a Medusa or a Kunkka) with a view to make Dragon Knight realise his full potential. And yeah, generally that may be price it, as a result of DK actually is that good. But like I stated… Frustrating.

Elusive alliance

3 Elusive: All Elusive items achieve +20% Evasion.
6 Elusive: All Elusive items achieve +45% Evasion.
9 Elusive: All Elusive items achieve +75% Evasion.
Elusive Targets (Global Item): Elusive items achieve 100% evasion for the primary 2/3/4s seconds of a battle.

Elusive is one other good supplementary alliance as a result of it’s not too tough to get Three heroes with the Elusive tag – however 9? Or even 6? Don’t get me mistaken, you’ve obtained some very good heroes in right here. But in my expertise, the one time you need to even contemplate a full Elusive construct is in case you get the Elusive Targets Global, and even then you definately’d higher make certain it’s price it. I as soon as went up in opposition to a full invisible military. For Three seconds they whaled on my Knight military, with little success. Then they reappeared and I decimated them. I simply don’t see Elusive as a core alliance.

Inventor alliance

2 Inventors: All Inventors achieve +15 HP Regeneration.
4 Inventors: All Inventors achieve +40 HP Regeneration.
Unstable Reactor (Global Item): Allied Inventors explode on dying dealing 10%/20%/30% of their Max Health to all enemies 1 cell away.

The brutal fact is that I don’t consider Inventor as an alliance in itself. It’s merely a perk of build up the Scrappy alliance. The Global Item is likely one of the naffest methods to make use of up an merchandise slot, and I simply don’t see the price of choosing a number of of those heroes in case you’re not going to go all the way in which with Tier 2 or Tier 3 Scrappy, regardless of how pretty +40 HP Regen could be.

Blood-Bound alliance

2 Blood-Bound: When a Blood-Bound unit dies, all different Blood-Bound items deal +100% Attack Damage for the remainder of the battle.
Big-Time Contract (Support Item): Equipped unit is Blood-Bound along with its different varieties.

There’s actually not a lot you are able to do to make Blood-Bound viable, at the same time as a supplementary alliance. Warlock is first rate, and Ogre Magi is beefy sufficient to be helpful on the entrance strains, however even in case you put a Big-Time Contract in your best-DPS hero, I nonetheless assume you would use that merchandise slot for different issues.

Deadeye alliance

2 Deadeye: All Deadeye items focus their assaults on the lowest-health enemy.

I’m not a giant fan of Sniper or Gyrocopter to be trustworthy, I believe there are a lot better choices in each Tier Three and Tier 5. And that clearly sours my opinion of the Deadeye alliance considerably. Focusing your assaults on the lowest-health enemy will be helpful in sure conditions, significantly late-game when the opponent has introduced in a low-level Enigma or Kunkka to assist flip the tide. But it’s so area of interest and it comes on-line so late and it requires such bleh heroes that I by no means hassle with it.

Shaman alliance

3 Shamans: Enemies affected by Hexes, Silences or Stuns will generate -200% mana.
Shaman Pluck (Global Item): Units attacking a Shaman have a 7%/12%/17% probability of being become a hen.

I’ve barely ever seen a Shaman alliance in impact, and it’s straightforward to see why. You want three out of the 4 obtainable heroes (Shadow Shaman, Arc Warden, Disruptor, and Enigma), and whereas none of them are unhealthy – Arc Warden and Enigma are each positively unbelievable offered they keep alive – they don’t precisely gel effectively. It’s a tough promote to go even to three Shamans while you’ve obtained 22 different (arguably higher) alliances to construct from. The solely time to go for Shaman is in case you’re build up Primordial (wherein case you have already got Arc Warden and Enigma), and maybe you choose up a Shaman Pluck too.

Dota Underlords technique information web page hyperlinks

And that’s just about all we’ve got to supply on Dota Underlords alliances – at the very least for this information. Check out all our different Dota Underlords information pages slightly below for extra centered and in-depth overviews on numerous totally different facets of this addictive autobattler.

• Dota Underlords strategy guide – an summary of the right way to play Dota Underlords, with sensible suggestions and methods for profitable matches
• Dota Underlords heroes – stats on each hero, and an perception into the best-performing heroes proper now in Underlords
• Dota Underlords builds – a centered take a look at 6 of the most effective builds in Dota Underlords and how one can adapt them to suit your wants
• Dota Underlords items – equip your heroes with the most effective gear utilizing our in-depth objects information
• Dota Underlords gold – discover ways to create a colossal economic system with these gold-focused suggestions and tips