Kill or get killed
Did you know that Dota means “Defence of the Ancients”? That´s because Dota is not about killing, it´s about destroying the enemy´s Ancient (a structure in the middle of their base). However, this is not as easy as it may sound, there are creeps, structures, and obviously enemy heroes that defend their ancient. For this reason, the way you manage to move, push, and kill your enemies will also show how effective you are.
There are many types of heroes in the game that cause different types of damage, and the way some of them deal this damage can be very violent indeed. These heroes are considered “nukers”, thanks to their ability to burst their enemies in a matter of seconds. Most of them are naturally made as killing machines, but it is also the player who should know what they can do and what they can´t because in Dota there´s always a chance for everyone.
Whether you experienced play one of them or not, it is important to know these heroes and how to play with them or against them. If you are able to identify how to use one of these heroes you will make a massacre out of your enemy´s desperation. Yes, sometimes it´s annoying when it happens to you, but that´s why here I present you the top 10 Dota 2 burst damage heroes to use for your own benefit.
1. Sven
Sven, the father of burst damage
A lonely knight with the strength enough to make all your enemies disappear at once before they can do anything. Sven is a hard carry melee hero that has different abilities that will help you killing effectively. You are able to hunt solo enemies anywhere on the map, however, the best way to take advantage out of it is in team fights, being a hero that can cause damage to many objectives at the same time.
What makes Sven great for burst damage:
- Cleave ability (Splash: deals damage to all nearby units with his attacks)
- He is a strength hero, meaning that you can put up a fight
- Storm hammer: ability that stuns enemies, letting you striking them
- God´s strength: Ability that grants you bonus damage (110%/160%/210%)
See Sven in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xiqsiFL5BY
2. Shadow Fiend
Nevermore
A demon that collects the souls of his fallen enemies and uses them to cause explosive damage in fights. This hero can deal both magical and physical damage, going for a carry or rather a support role, being a very versatile choice for your games, but always being a nuker hero. Shadow Fiend´s main source of damage is stolen souls, the more souls you collect the more damage you will cause.
What makes Shadow Fiend great for burst damage:
- Versatility to suit any game situation
- Cooldown reduction ability to boost any skills or items you use
- Ultimate: Requiem of souls (casts an explosion of stolen souls from the hero´s position that causes instant burst damage)
See Shadow Fiend in Action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjyOZL394qQ
3. Phantom Assassin
"Don´t blink, or you´ll miss me" - Phantom Assassin
One of the game´s most instant and silent killers, the perfect weapon for bursting your enemies even if you are at disadvantage. Phantom Assassin is a hard carry melee hero that will let you use agility to kill enemies with just a few hits. Your abilities with her are quite simple but effective in focusing single heroes, in this way disappearing your enemies one by one.¡
What makes Phantom Assassin great for burst damage:
- Agility hero: fast (movement and attack speed)
- Phantom strike: ability to teleport right next to the enemy
- Coup the Grace: ultimate ability (you will gain a chance of delivering critical hits (Critical chance: 15%) (Critical Damage: 200%/325%450%)
See Phantom Assassin in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcR10goeRto
4. Techies
Just be careful with Techies
If you are looking for a different gaming style in Dota, probably this explosive goblin is for you. Techies is a support hero that can make the difference almost anywhere on the map, though not in a conventional way. His abilities imply bombing and mining the ground, waiting for your enemies to walk by and die, so being creative is the key with this hero. Even though a single of your bombs may not kill an enemy, a bunch of them may disappear their whole team.
What makes Techies great for burst damage:
- You have 2 types of bombs/mines to use
- Ultimate: Remote mines can be placed in the same spot (as many as you want)
- Mines/bombs can be placed almost everywhere on the map
- Mines are invisible
See Techies in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkmG7xD6WIo
5. Skywrath Mage
The Skywrath Mage
Although it can be considered a weak hero, this mage is fast and clever enough to help you end anybody´s life in a matter of seconds. Whether you play Skywrath as a support or core, your movement speed and magic abilities will let you make your way into victory. This hero may focus on one or several enemies at a time, however, it´s the less resistant heroes the ones that you will kill whenever you want.
What makes Skywrath Mage great for burst damage:
- High movement speed
- Concussive shot: Ability that slows down enemies
- Mystic Flare: ultimate ability that bursts damage in a determined area (total damage 1600)
See Skywrath Mage in Action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hPFyqqSXeo
6. Earthshaker
The earth moves
If you like to stun and annoy your enemies all the time this might be the hero for you. The Earthshaker is a melee support hero that provides you with different magical abilities that will alter radically lanes in early game stages and team fights along with the game. The greatest damage this hero can do is against all the enemies together, so being patient and knowing how to position yourself is necessary before killing everyone at once.
What makes Earthshaker great for burst damage:
- Several stuns for dealing with enemies
- Passive ability: Aftershock (adds additional and stuns nearby units when casting any spell)
- Aghanim´s Sceptre upgrade: allows you to jump and stunning when landing.
See Earthshaker in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wKI6iYdYK4
7. Lion
Lionized
Support heroes are not meant to kill, but sometimes it may just be inevitable, just as it is for Lion. This hero will come very helpful for your team, it disables and damages heroes with magic, mana steal, and stuns. However, his most notorious feature is his ultimate, an ability that focuses an enemy objective, causing high amounts of magical damage violently, and increasing this damage per kill.
What makes Lion great for burst damage:
- Ultimate: Finger of Death: damage up to 1022 (apart from the additional damage per kill)
- Earth Spike: ability that stuns enemy heroes
- Aghanim´s Sceptre upgrade: Finger of Death becomes AOE ability, allows it to be casted to several enemies
See Lion in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgTX8U8ZpGM
8. Axe
The Axe will kill you
This hero is quite interesting, the more you try to hit him the more damage you will receive, even if you try to avoid it. Axe is an off-laner melee hero who´s role is to face fight and block the damage from your allies. Due to this, you will be gifted with great strength and resistance, though this is not a reason not to be careful. But how do you cause damage if you are being hit? Well, thanks to Axe´s counter helix ability, you are able to deliver damage whenever someone strikes you, the more hits you receive, the more damage you cause.
What makes Axe great for burst damage:
- Ability: Counter Helix: When attacked, chance to deal damage to nearby units (Damage: 180)
- Ability: Berserker´s Call: Causes nearby units to hit you up to 3.2 seconds
- Culling blade: Whenever an enemy is weak, you can kill him directly
See Axe in Action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOcrWPXrzY8
9. Windranger
Can´t run from the wind
Killing might be hard sometimes when the enemy tries to escape, but that´s not the deal with Windranger, you cannot escape from her. This hero provides you with different abilities to stun, chase, and focus single enemies with your attacks. Thanks to this, you will be able to go for heavy physical damage items that will let you kill anybody before someone could do anything.
What makes Windranger great for burst damage:
- Focus Fire: grants you 450 additional attack against an enemy unit, you can attack even when moving
- Shackleshot: Ability that stuns enemies
- Windrun: increases movement speed and adds evasion
See Windranger in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvPMQjsM-jQ
10. Ursa
Roshan´s greatest fear, Ursa
This is one of those heroes you have to run away from if you want to live, it is not for nothing that Ursa is known as the Roshan hunter. This hero is naturally a hard carry, his abilities make him an attacking machine. With Ursa you will only be able to focus on an enemy at a time, fortunately, you won´t spend much time killing it. Thanks to his passive abilities, each attack will make more damage than the previous one, making you effective fighting by yourself or as a team.
What makes Ursa great for burst damage:
- Fury Swipes: Ability that adds up to 36 damage per attack
- Overpower: Ability that grants attack speed: (400 bonus attack speed for up to 6 attacks)
- Ursa is one of the fastest heroes in Dota, making it hard to run from him (base movement speed: 310)
See Ursa in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtzlmumB_ZI
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