Primal Beast
Primal Beast is Dota 2’s newest hero and boy does he pack a punch! This apex predator is a flexible addition to your ranked matches, bringing a huge arsenal of crowd controlling and ganking abilities unrivaled by other heroes of his generation.
Primal beast is an ancient creature whose playstyle favors reckless plays and unwavering commitment. He is at the very least, a disabler with low cooldowns. At the very most, he is a tanky frontliner who is able to both control the battlefield as well as deal significant Area Of Effect (AOE) damage.
Primal beast can be played in all of the positions of Dota 2, and can be seen as one of the game’s most flexible hero choices. He can play from position 1 straight through to position 5. However, he is most effective amongst professional players as a position 4 and 5 hero. These are the positions that we will look at and how professionals build Primal Beast in their ranked matches.
5. Mind Control’s Soft Support Primal Beast Build
Primal beast has extremely strong utility in the early game, straight through to the late game. His low cooldown spells and ability to farm without the prerequisite of items makes him a valuable soft support hero in any lineup. His tendency to initiate head first into battle and frontline is quite applaudable, with only a couple of heroes in the hero pool able to do the same thing. Such heroes that perform similar functions to Primal Beast include Spirit Breaker and Dawnbreaker.
The fact that Primal Beast is already a very tanky support and can offer up a lot of crowd controlling utility makes it extremely frustrating for the enemy team to ignore, forcing spells that would generally be targeted for your allies cores to end up being redirected to himself. This makes Primal an exceptional soft support hero who is able to make space in his own right. A primal example of this hero by a top tier professional is Mind Control’s Soft support.
Gameplay of Mind Control’s position 4 Primal Beast:
Mind Control (Professional Dota 2 Player) utilizes Primal Beast’s strengths to a whole new level, using his highly disruptive skill set to solidify kills and interrupt enemy positions. As we will see in the gameplay, he plays the position 4 role fearlessly, throwing his body into battle to initiate and provide vision for his team, offering his life at times to win team fights. You will see that Mind Control tends to opt for more stat heavy items early, to make it so that even as a position 4 hero, he is a mighty force to be reckoned with. He opts for an early boots for the laning stage to enforce his harassment potential and damage within lane, and carries sustain items to compliment his team’s pacing.
Mind Control’s Skill Allocation:
Level 1- W - Trample
Level 2 - Q - Onslaught
Level 3 - Q - Onslaught
Level 4 - E - Uproar
Level 5 - Q - Onslaught
Level 6 - R - Pulverize
Level 7- Q - Onslaught
Level 8 - W - Trample
Level 9 - W - Trample
Level 10 - Talent of Choice (Situational)
Level 11 - W - Trample
Level 12 - R - Pulverize
Level 13 - E - Uproar
Level 14 - E - Uproar
Level 15 - Talent of Choice (Situational)
Mind Control’s Primal Beast Item Build:
- First Buy: Boots and Tangoes
Bought for more aggression in lane due to boots giving you more opportunities to get off an extra auto-attack, run in and out without taking much damage and increase the damage done with his W.
- 5 Minutes: Magic stick and branches
Bought to sustain mana problems and to offer the extra edge in engagements. Primal Beast is always trying to play aggressive in the early game, making it common for more engagements and hence, charges for his stick. This item is usually non-negotiable and makes Primal Beast’s utility and up-time considerably higher.
- 10 Minutes: Wards as required, Magic Wand, Wind Lace, Bracer and Ring of Protection
As a position 4 soft support, you should always be trying to proactively ward and counter-ward. Upgrade your Magic Stick to a Wand for a little bit of extra sustain and tankiness. The Bracer and Ring of Protection is interesting for a position 4 hero. This gives Primal Beast an extra layer of defense as he is usually found in the middle of battle and needs the extra amount of stats to tank more and be more of a nuisance.
- 15 Minutes: Sentry Wards as required
As a position 4, sometimes it is better to prioritize denying enemy vision if you have a good inkling of where the enemy’s observers may be.
- 20 Minutes: Soul Ring, Blink Dagger
Soul Ring is a valuable pick up on Primal Beast due to his high health pool that mitigates the health tax from the Soul Ring’s active which solves his mana problems. A Blink Dagger is usually non negotiable as it not only allows Primal Beast to initiate with his low-cooldown ultimate, but escape in unfavorable encounters in conjunction with his high mobility Q.
- 25 Minutes: Aghanim’s Shard and Boots of Travel (Only because their team was in a significant lead)
These items were specifically picked up in this game, as luxury, game closing items. For more difficult games, opting for Tranquil Boots or building a Black King Bar may sometimes be more viable.
4. Dubu’s Hard Support Primal Beast Build
Dubu’s hard support build contrasts Mind Control’s position 4 in that he builds more sustain in his lane due to a somewhat more aggressive lane. In addition, due to it being a more aggressive enemy lane up, Dubu opts for his passive ability E over his W to better trade during the laning stage.
Gameplay of Dubu’s position 5 Primal Beast:
Dubu’s Skill Allocation:
Level 1- E - Uproar
Level 2 - W - Trample
Level 3 - Q - Onslaught
Level 4 - Q - Onslaught
Level 5 - W - Trample
Level 6 - R - Pulverize
Level 7- Q - Onslaught
Level 8 - Q - Onslaught
Level 9 - W - Trample
Level 10 - Talent of Choice (Situational)
Level 11 - W - Trample
Level 12 - R - Pulverize
Level 13 - E - Uproar
Level 14 - E - Uproar
Level 15 - Talent of Choice (Situational)
Level 16 - E - Uproar
Dubu’s Primal Beast Item Build:
- First Buy: Orb of Poison, Tangoes, Sentry Ward, Faerie Fire, Healing Salve
Orb of Poison allows Primal Beast to harass and hinder enemy supports that get too close. In conjunction with his early level in his E, it makes strong duelists like Monkey King, hard to trade with. As Dubu opts for harassment through the use of his auto attacks, he can spend more of his initial gold on health sustain consumables rather than clarities and mangoes.
- 5 Minutes: Infused Raindrops, Tangoes, Healing Salve, Mango
By the 5 minute mark we can already see the difference between Position 4 and 5 itemization. As the Hard Support, Dubu opts for higher sustain consumables and Raindrops to supplement his mana regeneration. This enables him to always stay at fighting capacity, ready to support his allies wherever and whenever a fight may break out. As a hard support, Primal Beast can delay his boots ever so slightly as he is used in most cases as an interrupt. The damage bonus he gains with his boots and his trample are almost negligible by the 5 minute mark so going for more consumables in this case is usually the best way to go about it.
- 10 Minutes: Boots of Speed
Boots of Speed is an eventual must on all heroes.
- 15 Minutes: Tome of Knowledge, Magic Wand, Wards, Smoke of Deceit
Magic Wand is a must on Primal Beast on a majority of his games, giving him extra sustain potential and reducing his reliance on consumables. A smoke can be necessary to set up for ganks which Primal Beast is a master of.
- 20 Minutes: Arcane Boots, Clarities, Wards, Aghanim’s Shard
Primal Beast will always have some sort of Mana issue. As a result, Dubu has opted for Arcane Boots to supplement his allies and his own mana problems. An Aghanim’s Shard is particularly valuable for Primal Beast as it gives him an extra disable for a relatively cheap price.
- 25 Minutes: Cloak, Headdress, Ring of Regeneration
Dubu has chosen to build towards a Pipe of Insight due to the enemy’s relative reliance on magic damage due to Tinker and Death Prophet. For different line ups, Drums of Endurance or a Glimmer Cape may sometimes be a better choice
- 30 Minutes: Pipe of Insight, Mekansm
As the Position 5 Hard Support, Dubu has opted to go for Aura Items that boost team engagements. The Pipe of Insight once again helps mitigate some of the damage outgoing from the enemy team while the Mekansm allows for extra health and armor in team fights.
- 35 Minutes: Guardian Greaves
Guardian Greaves is a direct upgrade from Mekansm and Arcane boots that doubles as a dispel for possible silences coming from the enemy Death Prophet.
- 45 Minutes: Wards, Wards and more Wards, Gem of Truesight
With the enemy team being far behind, the Dire team is just looking to close out the game. As the hard support, Dubu’s job was to choke the enemy of farm by denying them of any vision. Any outpositioned enemy heroes would be quickly disposed of. As such, by the 45 minute mark, the Dire team was able to easily run over the Radiant Team due to the sheer gold advantage their team had.
3. Saksa’s Soft Support Primal Beast Build
Saksa gives us a good idea of what a position 4 Primal can achieve, opting for more stats and regen in the early game to deal with a double ranged and somewhat tanky enemy safelane. This is a good replay to see what build you should opt for when going against an extremely difficult lane with minimal farm potential.
Saksa’s Skill Allocation:
Level 1- W - Trample
Level 2 - E - Uproar
Level 3 - Q - Onslaught
Level 4 - W - Trample
Level 5 - W - Trample
Level 6 - R - Pulverize
Level 7- Q - Onslaught
Level 8 - Q - Onslaught
Level 9 - Q - Onslaught
Level 10 - Talent of Choice (Situational)
Level 11 - W - Trample
Level 12 - R - Pulverize
Level 13 - E - Uproar
Level 14 - E - Uproar
Level 15 - Talent of Choice (Situational)
Saksa’s Primal Beast Item Build:
- First Buy: Tangoes, 2 Mangoes, Gauntlet of Strength, 2 Branches and a Faerie Fire
Saksa has chosen to forgo early boots due to the pretty much impossible task of closing the game with the boots. Even with an early point in Q, the Outworld Devourer would make the lane unplayable, with extensive use of disrupts from an astral into split earth combo. Instead, he has opted for some early consumables, prioritizing mangoes for that extra bit of health regeneration to ensure that his health is always high so that he won't get bursted and feed the enemy core.
- 5 Minutes: Magic Stick
Due to a hard lane, Saksa has opted for an early Magic stick over boots, in hopes that he can go for a roam and build up some stick charges.
- 10 Minutes: Boots of Speed, Magic Wand
Boots of Speed is an eventual must on all heroes. Upgrading his Magic Stick to a Wand enables him to hold more charges and tank up a little bit.
- 15 Minutes: Wards, Phase Boots, Ogre Axe
Most games, as a support hero, Primal Beast usually chooses either tranquil or arcane boots. However, in this game, there is a Crystal Maiden, reducing his need for extra mana regeneration. Saksa also observes that the timbersaw is the main initiator in this match, and as such, makes the Primal Beast less prone to needing the extra health regeneration going in and out of battle. Phase boots are a great choice, increasing damage and tankiness.
- 20 Minutes: Ogre Axe, Wards
The enemy team has a lot of magical disabling abilities that make it hard for Saksa to close the gap and make the most use out of his abilities. An early Ogre Axe sets Saksa up for a Black King Bar as well as adding a little bit of health and damage to his hero.
- 25 Minutes: Black King Bar, Wards
It is uncommon for support heroes to rush Black King Bar. However, due to the incredible amounts of disables the enemy team has, an early Black King Bar is a crucial item to pick up, making him able to dump his entire skill set on the enemy and walk out alive. Because of his early Black King Bar timing, the Radiant enemy team were unable to deal with even just a position 4 hero and with one decisive team fight, Dire were able to close out the game before the 28 minute mark.
2. Synderen’s Hard Support Primal Beast Build
It is interesting to see how dynamic the item choices are for professional players, showing that most item builds in Dota 2 are situationally based the higher you move up the ranked ladder. Synderen’s hard support mirrors Dubu’s playstyle. However, due to the double melee set up and strong lane partner (Chaos Knight), Synderen has opted for an early wind lace such that he can stay on top of his foes for longer.
Synderen combines Saksa’s item build for soft support as well as Saksa’s to place himself as a formidable position 5 hero who is able to lockdown key targets and punish greedily positioned cores.
Synderen’s Skill Allocation:
Level 1- W - Trample
Level 2 - Q - Onslaught
Level 3 - W - Trample
Level 4 - E - Uproar
Level 5 - W - Trample
Level 6 - R - Pulverize
Level 7- W - Trample
Level 8 - E - Uproar
Level 9 - E - Uproar
Level 10 - Talent of Choice (Situational)
Level 11 - E - Uproar
Level 12 - R - Pulverize
Level 13 - Q - Onslaught
Level 14 - Q - Onslaught
Level 15 - Talent of Choice (Situational)
Synderen’s Primal Beast Item Build:
- First Buy: Tangoes, Wind Lace, Healing Salve, Clarity
Synderen has opted for an early Wind Lace due to the extra damage and catch potential it does during Primal Beast’s trample ability. A naked boots and tango would have also been good here, but as the safer option, he has prioritized some extra regeneration items to assist his carry. Dubu’s early orb of poison here would not be as valuable here due to the mobility of the enemy support.
- 5 Minutes: Magic Stick, Wards, Clarities
With a very strong laning stage, Synderen has chosen for a magic stick for more sustain as well as multiple clarities. This helps assert his dominance in the lane that he has already won as well as makes him always available for potential rotations around the map.
- 10 Minutes: Boots of Speed
Boots of Speed is an eventual must on all heroes.
- 15 Minutes: Arcane Boots, Smoke of Deceit, Wards
Most games, as a support hero, Primal Beast usually chooses either tranquil or arcane boots. However, in this game, there is a Crystal Maiden, reducing his need for extra mana regeneration. Saksa also observes that the timbersaw is the main initiator in this match, and as such, makes the Primal Beast less prone to needing the extra health regeneration going in and out of battle. Phase boots are a great choice, increasing damage and tankiness.
- 20 Minutes: Wards, Ogre Axe
The enemy team has a lot of magical disabling abilities that make it hard for Synderen to close the gap and make the most use out of his abilities. Synderen chooses to skip out on a Magic Wand as it seems that the extra money can be used to much rather rush out an earlier Black King Bar by purchasing an Ogre Axe for stats. Additionally, the enemy team seems to have less spammable spells, reducing the need for this upgrade.
- 25 Minutes: Black King Bar, Wards
It is even more uncommon for hard support heroes to rush Black King Bar. However, due to the even stronger amounts of disables the enemy team has, an early Black King Bar is a crucial item to pick up, making him able to dump his entire skill set on the enemy without fear of being interrupted. This makes Synderen near impossible to kill due to the enemy’s lack of BKB piercing abilities. Consequently, with the Dire Team unable to even kill a position 5 hard support, the game quickly rushes to an easy victory and some claimable MMR.
1. W33’s Primal Beast Build
Primal Beast can make for a valuable offlane pick due to his already tanky nature and strong initiation capabilities. He is a great pick in most matchups where the enemy has a reasonably squishy core that needs to be initiated upon reliably. We will take a look at how W33 makes this offlane Primal Beast live up to its name.
W33’s Skill Allocation:
Level 1- E - Uproar
Level 2 - W - Trample
Level 3 - Q - Onslaught
Level 4 - W - Trample
Level 5 - W - Trample
Level 6 - R - Pulverize
Level 7- W - Trample
Level 8 - Q - Onslaught
Level 9 - Q - Onslaught
Level 10 - Q - Onslaught
Level 11 - Talent of Choice (Situational)
Level 12 - R - Pulverize
Level 13 - E - Uproar
Level 14 - E - Uproar
Level 15 - Talent of Choice (Situational)
Level 16 - E - Uproar
Level 17 - Stats
Level 18- R - Pulverize
W33’s Primal Beast Item Build:
- First Buy: Quelling Blade, Branch, Faerie Fire, Tangoes, 2 Gauntlets of Strength
W33 goes for a Quelling Blade, a dominant item choice for melee heroes to not only easily be able to secure creep last hits, but also to speed up his farming when rotating to and from the lane to the jungle. The rest include stat boosting items and regeneration consumables.
- 5 Minutes: Magic Wand, Boots
With Sniper being hard to lane against, W33 has chosen a Magic Wand and Boots to increase his chances of dealing with Sniper in engagements. While other player’s may opt for Bracer’s which is a valuable choice, it does little against Sniper if he is unable to consistently stay on his target. As such, W33 aims to go for an earlier phase boots timing which gives him extra armor against Sniper and Chen’s minions as well as movement speed to both initiate and escape.
- 10 Minutes: Phase Boots, Soul Ring
Once again, Soul Ring is a valuable item to pick up on Primal Beast due to his extremely high strength gain and HP, resolving a lot of his mana issues.
- 15 Minutes: Black King Bar, Wind Lace
You probably get the idea now after this article. Black King Bar is a core item to build on Primal Beast. It is only a question of how early you get the item which is dependent on how many disables or controlling abilities the enemy team has. As an extra addition, with the fact that there are no BKB piercing abilities on the enemy team, a cheap Wind Lace pick up is doubly nice in that it increases his movement speed and hence damage with no immediate counterplay from the enemy team.
- 20 Minutes: Smoke of Deceit
With W33’s early BKB timing, W33 recognised the crucial power spike to make space for the rest of his team. As such, you can see from the gameplay replay, W33 barely hit any creeps between the 15-20 minute mark, focusing on making plays with his supports and abusing his early BKB. Resultantly, W33 was unable to purchase any new core items.
- 25 Minutes: Sange and Kaya
W33’s next core item, Sange and Kaya, is a great all-rounded item, giving him a good mix between damage as well as tankiness.
- 30 Minutes: Octarine Core
In this game, W33’s team lacked strong initiation and strong disables. W33’s Primal Beast had to perform both functions in order to fill up what the team lacked. As such, W33 opted for an Octarine Core, which not only replaces his need for a Soul Ring, but enables him to have reduced cooldowns to disable the enemy team even more as well as reduce the cooldown of his BKB. The extra cast range for his ultimate additionally assists him in locking down key targets from afar.
- 35 Minutes: Blink Dagger and Shiva’s Guard
By this stage of the game, the enemy team had many repositioning and saving tools which made it extremely difficult for W33 to initiate. As such, a Blink Dagger helped with positioning and to catch Radiant’s cores, then get out with his Q. Shiva’s Guard allowed for even more crowd control and tankiness and doubled as a vision providing tool to access where their Sniper would be.
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