Wondering what the best Alliances are out there?
Dota Underlords is a strategy game that requires the player to know certain mechanics and some things that are bound to studying the game by playing it. Since the game works on a meta type of system, the best way for a new player to learn is usually to check out somebasic information of what is good and what is not.
One of the most important things to know about Dota Underlords is the Alliances and what their traits do. What is viable and what is not is usually bound to the new patches but most of the time, some builds that are really good stay the same. Major patches or not, there is a core for every single build and that is a good thing to know when trying to find success in Dota Underlords.
Down below, I’ve written all the main parts of the core and rated them accordingly. What is good will most certainly see more action in the upcoming patches but in general, one small change could shift the meta in a completely different direction. Here is my take on the best alliances in Dota Underlords (S- best, D- worst):
S Tier Alliances: Like every other competitive game with a patching system, the meta usually favors certain Heroes. The best alliances are the ones the meta imposes.
A Tier Alliances: They are usually parts of the best builds in the game
B Tier Alliances: They lack the stability to work as core build alliances
C Tier Alliances: Have a great amount of futility to their bonuses
D Tier Alliances: Need buffs for these to become viable builds
S Tier Alliances
- Knights
- Trolls
- Mages
A Tier Alliances
- Demons 93/100
- Scrappies 90/100
- Warlocks 92/100
- Scaled 93/100
- Dragons 90/100
B Tier Alliances
- Brawnies 88/100
- Warriors 88/100
- Hunters 87/100
- Inventors 88/100
- Elusives 86/100
- Assassins 87/100
- Demon Hunters 85/100
C Tier Alliances
- Druids 82/100
- Humans 82/100
- Heartless 80/100
- Savages 81/100
- Shamans 82/100
- Primordials 82/100
D Tier Alliances
- Bloodbounds 79/100
- Deadeye 77/100
Knights ( S Tier Alliance ) – 6 units
The Demon Knight!
Being the most solid alliance, Knights have shown a tremendous amount of success in Dota Underlords. There are 6 Knights in the game and that makes things a lot easier for a player to have a good start in early game with Bat Riders and Chaos Knights. If not the best starts, one of the best.
Reasons why Knights are an S Tier Alliance:
- They’ve got a strong start , mid-game and late game
- Physical and magic damage resistance
- Decent damage and good utility
- Everyone can make Knights work
Alliance Power Rating: 97/100
Trolls ( S Tier Alliance ) – 4 units
Witch Doctor brings the groove around!
Trolls have had a great amount of success and that is due to the fact that they work very well with Knights. On their own, they don’t do well but you will always see 2 or 4 trolls accompanying the Knights set-up. Most of the time you see Batrider and Witch Doctor. Trolls basically empower every other composition with good attack speed buffs ( +35 AS for trolls / +10 AS for all units, respectively +65 AS for trolls/ +30 AS for all units when you have 4 trolls).
Reasons why Trolls are an S Tier Alliance:
- They offer great support abilities and buffs for all your heroes
- Their late game is very strong
- You don’t need the full alliance to get good results
Alliance Power Rating: 95/100
Mages ( S Tier Alliance ) – 7 units
Not so far away from becoming King.
Mages have had a rough time finding success on their own lately but the buffs they bring about and the amount of AoE damage makes them the perfect candidates for the S Tier ranks. Not all the mages in the game have a lot of impact but since you have 7 units, you get to choose who you want in your composition. The true potential of the Mages usually sits in the alliance trait that empowers every unit that deals magic damage.
Reasons why Mages are an S Tier alliance:
- You find them in most of the builds that lead tosuccess in this meta
- They bring a massive amount of utility (mana gains, burst damage etc.)
- Have the potential to turn Primordials into an S Tier alliance
- 40%/100% less magic resistance makes it that all your units hit harder
Alliance Power Rating: 96/100
Demons ( A Tier Alliance ) – 5 units
Doom trying to organize his fellow Warriors.
Demon Units have always had a spot on the Dota Underlords boards. Individually, they can carry early to mid and late game in a lot of situations. Demons have a tough time finding a build of their own but they bring a lot of damage to all sorts of compositions.
Reasons why Demons are strong/weak:
- True damage bypasses armor
- Their early game is better than most creatures, individually
- There aren’t enough demons to create a build with them as a core
Alliance Power Rating: 93/100
Scrappies ( A Tier Alliance ) – 7 units
Alchemist smash!!
Scrappies have had a rough patch in Dota Underlords ever since their costs got increased but lately, with the latest changes of more higher costs added into the game, they found success and finally took their place in the A Tier ranks.
Reasons why Scrappies are strong/weak:
- Besides Bounty Hunter, all their units are strong individually
- Scrappies are just better warriors with more magic damage
- It can be hard to find your units early into the game due to higher costs
Alliance Power Rating: 90
Warlocks ( A Tier Alliance ) – 7 units
"Darkness there and nothing more."
This alliance has always found a place in almost every build. Due to sustain being a resource that becomes a necessity, Warlocks have seen a lot of action, as they are very present in every patch.
Reasons why Warlocks are strong/weak:
- Healing is good in almost every build if not in every build
- Almost every Warlock has an AoE type of ability
- They are not very tanky
Alliance Power Rating: 92
Scaled ( A Tier Alliance ) – 4 units
When she looks like this, look away!
In a meta of magic damage and AoE burst, the Scaled alliance has found a lot of success countering the heavy buffs that the Mage alliance brings about. With the latest buffs, now they bring about a sustained amount of damage as well, as long as you find your Ace, Medusa.
Reasons why Scaled are strong/weak:
- Magic resistance is a must have in almost every game
- Individually, all scaled units are strong in general
- The Ace scaled bonus could use a buff
Alliance Power Rating: 93
Dragons ( A Tier Alliance ) – 3 units
Puck looks very friendly; unless he isn't in your team.
The Dragon alliance has been considered to be not that good but in my opinion, every unit in this alliance finds itself a spot in the best Dota Underlords builds. With the right units alongside your Dragons, not even the Knights could survive the might of this alliance.
Reasons why Dragons are strong/weak:
- All dragons have a secondary ability
- It’s very easy to get your Dragons active and ready to go
- The game could use one more Dragon to allow a core build to be created
Alliance Power Rating: 90
Brawnies ( B Tier Alliance ) – 4 units
Axe always looks very mad.
With the changes made to Disruptor lately, the Brawnies have taken a hit and dropped a couple of rows. Brawnies are still viable but definitely not as strong as they used to be. With that in mind, there’s still not a lot that can stop you from winning with them, given the right strategy.
Reasons why Brawnies are strong/weak:
- They usually start their scale very early into the game, which can turn your units into complete beasts
- It’s pretty hard to find Disruptor nowadays
- Most of the time you will see Brawnies with Hunters or Warriors, not a lot of viable options
Alliance Power Rating: 88/100
Warriors ( B Tier Alliance ) – 10 units
Tusk will give you a fluffy punch, nothing to worry about.
Warriors have had a rough time finding success lately, with certain problems ranging from not enough damage to having no space due to most of them being melee units, besides the Troll Warlord.
Reasons why Warriors are strong/weak:
- They can act as a semi- strong frontline for a lot of builds
- The amount of damage this alliance can do is too low for it to matter
- They are very weak against mages
Alliance Power Rating: 88/100
Hunters ( B Tier Alliance ) – 7 units
Windranger should never miss, but sometimes...
Hunters are the strongest physical damage Alliance in the game. They have had a great run in terms of success but lately, with Knights being the strongest and Mages blasting entire board in seconds, Hunters have lost a lot of credibility.
Reasons why Hunters are strong/weak:
- Hunters usually get to cast their abilities faster without the need for a Crystal Maiden
- They lack burst damage and CC
- They will always need a strong frontline in order to function properly
Alliance Power Rating: 87/100
Demon Hunters ( B Tier Alliance ) – 2 units
And your whole mana pool is gone!
With a strong set up, Demon Hunters will find success against all types of builds. With a high amount of damage coming from Terrorblade and because there are only two Demon Hunters in the game, anyone can opt to go for a build like this.
Reasons why Demon Hunters are strong/weak:
- Invalidates the opponents Demon bonus
- Allows more Demons to be played
- They are not strong in defence
Alliance Power Rating: 85/100
Inventors ( B Tier Alliance ) – 5 units
Gyrocopter looks like he's having a good one blowing stuff up.
With AoE being such a powerful tool in Dota Underlords, Inventors have started to show off a lot of their potential when it comes to blowing up enemy units. Harder to find and complete such an Alliance, they still have a good amount of success.
Reasons why Inventors are strong/weak:
- With Techies as an Ace unit, Chain Reaction brought a new explosive and fun method to win games with
- Inventors can deal pretty well against most builds
- It’s hard to find your units due to high costs
- Weak versus ranged units
Alliance Power Rating: 88/100
Elusives ( B Tier Alliance ) – 9 units
Mirana is one of the best hunters around.
Due to the high requirements for this build to find success, the Elusives have gone a couple of brackets down. Elusives are very strong versus physical damage compositions but they lack magic resistance , which makes them easy targets for Mages.
Reasons why Elusives are strong/weak:
- Very effective versus melee/ranged physical damage compositions
- You will find it hard to complete this build due to the requirements of you reaching level 9
- Very weak versus magic damage compositions
Alliance Power Rating: 86/100
Assassins ( B Tier Alliance ) – 9 units
Sand King should sit in your frontline most of the time.
You will find the three pair Assassins in a lot of builds. The more confident players will risk going for only Assassin builds but most of us tend to stay away from them due to how hard it is to find the right upgrades.
Reasons why Assassins are strong/weak:
- Not all assassin units are good
- They are very weak against clumped up units, usually in corners
- Have a good amount of damage but not enough for Assassins to be that good
Alliance power Rating: 87/100
Druids ( C Tier Alliance ) – 4 units: Have a decent early game but can’t not compete in late game. Try to swap out of Druids once you decide on your final build.
Humans ( C Tier Alliance ) – 8 units: Humans are not a viable composition. Their alliance bonus can come in clutch sometimes but they’re not worth going for.
Heartless ( C Tier Alliance ) – 5 units: Can be quite good in some builds (Knights) but in general, they are not worth going for.
Savages ( C Tier Alliance ) – 6 units: The alliance bonus is pretty weak for mid game and late game. Not the best units.
Shamans ( C Tier Alliance ) – 3 units: Do not have enough of an impact right now in the game. The good Shaman units are expensive and can’t be played in a lot of builds.
Primordials ( C Tier Alliance ) – 5 units: Primordials are very weak on their own, if not accompanied by Mages, their alliance bonus is not worth it.
Blood-Bound ( D Tier Alliance ) – 2 units: This alliance relies a lot on the Big-Time Contract too much for it be viable. They can be fun to play with the necessary item.
Deadeye ( D Tier Alliance ) – 3 units: Have found no success in Dota Underlords. They require a lot more buffs for this set of units to become a decent alliance.
