Spirit Breaker charges through the meta – here’s why the space cow is broken cover image

Spirit Breaker charges through the meta – here’s why the space cow is broken

It’s the space cow era.

There has been a rise in Spirit Breaker's presence not only in general pubs but even in professional play. He is currently the most picked pos 5 hero in high-MMR pubs and he rocks an astounding 60% win rate. He is also universal in his role, and there have been a handful of pos 4 and pos 3 picks for Spirit Breaker. So let's jump on the choo choo train and learn how to crash your pub games using this space cow.

Spirit Breaker's pick rate rises by the minute.<br>Screencapped from <a href="https://www.dotabuff.com/heroes" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">DotaBuff</a>
Spirit Breaker's pick rate rises by the minute.
Screencapped from DotaBuff

What changed Spirit Breaker in Patch 7.33c?

During the ESL One Berlin Major, Spirit Breaker was only picked ONCE. He was basically non-existent throughout the tournament. But that was until Patch 7.33c dropped and a surge of Spirit Breaker picks and wins surfaced. Here's what IceFrog tweaked on Spirit Breaker in the latest patch.

Spirit Breaker received buffs on all his abilities alongside a strength gain (from 3.0 to 3.3). While buffs are typically delivered in small tweaks, Spirit Breaker's buffs were massive.

  • Charge of Darkness - Mana cost decreased from 120 to 100 | It can no longer target debuff immune enemies without Aghanim's Scepter
  • Bulldoze - Status Resistance increased from 35/45/55/65% to 40/50/60/70% (5% increase on each level)
  • Greater Bash - Cooldown decreased from 1.5s to 1.2s | Movement Speed as damage increased from 15/20/25/30% to 20/25/30/35% (5% increase on each level)
  • Nether Strike - Cooldown decreased from 90/70/50s to 70/50/30s (20 seconds decrease on each level)

Why is Spirit Breaker good?

Spirit Breaker has always owned a handy spell kit and his global mobility is lethal, especially on the enlarged Dota 2 map in this new patch. But now he's even more valuable with the buffs to his damage and cooldown.

He can consistently gank and travel across the map to clear waves. His abilities are decorated with bashes and it's really not that difficult to execute. Spirit Breaker also possesses a BKB piercing stun! Plus, he doesn't require all that many items to cause chaos on the map, which makes him very universal and suitable for various positions.

Let's take a look at how the pros are itemizing on this broken hero.

How to itemize Spirit Breaker in Patch 7.33c

Spirit Breaker's itemization remains similar to how he is usually built. Movement speed items are the go-to for this hero alongside magic amplification. And in cases of playing against annoying rooting heroes that can interrupt your charge (such as Underlord and Dark Willow), get yourself a Black King Bar.

Screencapped from <a href="https://www.dota2protracker.com/hero/Spirit%20Breaker#" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">Dota 2 Pro Tracker</a>
Screencapped from Dota 2 Pro Tracker

Here's the recommended item progression that is built by most pro players in the past week.

  • Blood Grenade
  • Wind Lace
  • Phase Boots
  • Drum of Endurance > Boots of Bearing
  • Shadow Blade > Silver Edge
  • Black King Bar
  • Kaya and Sange
  • Aghanim's Scepter

You can also toss in an Octarine's Core or even Dagon by the late game. Items are similar no matter what role you play. Of course, if you're assuming the support role - you need to prioritize wards, SoD, and smaller items that give movement speed and stats. But as you progress toward the late game, the items that you want to get will be just as listed above.

Stay tuned to Esports.gg for more Dota 2 news and updates!