The current meta of Dota 2 places some weird champions on top and leaves the best ones, like Huskar, down below. The list starts off with champions that have a winrate of 51-52% and are basically impossible to play as a beginner. In lower tiers people can only win by one-tricking.
Then way down below is Huskar. A pretty straightforward ranged hero who is easy to get used to, and his winrate only increases the higher you get in rank. Also, have I mentioned that he is currently the ultimate carry?
Who should play Huskar?
Anyone who is willing to take the time to practice Huskar will reap the benefits. Managing his health is the hardest part, because everything else will be made easy. Killing, pushing, teamfights: he has it all down. But when it comes to one-on-one fights, it can be hard to always survive. Typically, Huskar players in Dota 2 end the match with the most kills and deaths.
If you take the time to learn how to use him, he has the ability to slaughter the entire enemy team. Consider this: he is the Dota 2 hero that can put out the most single target DPS, with and without items. This is a huge advantage in the early game. Just remember to stay frosty as the match goes long and you get killed a few times. You will still come out on top as long as you don’t tilt.
So, either get good and become a proper Huskar murder god, or prepare to stare at the respawn screen.
What items does Huskar need?
- Burning Spear
- Morbid Mask
- Armlet of Mordiggian
- Assault Cuirass
- Heaven’s Halberd
These are you core items. They increase your survivability and kill potential, by giving you life steal and armor. The latter is highly important, as you start out with very low armor, and that can be a huge problem against opponents with high physical damage output.
From this set, you can go in several ways. First of all, boots. Power Treads or Phase Boots, depending on the current situation. Power Treads needs a little more practice if you don’t know how to tread switch properly yet, but is also more universally helpful. On the other hand, Phase Boots are extremely good if the enemy team has a lot of magic resistance or spell immunity. If that’s the case you are already ahead, though.
If you are a beginner at Huskar or Dota 2 completely, Satanic is also a pretty good build. It can potentially save your life in the middle of chaos when all hope seems to be lost. The only thing you need to remember, is that you need to use it if you are already in trouble. Do not initiate with this item.
You can also build Maelstrom, Monkey King Bar, Solar Crest or Black King Bar. These all have their pros and cons, so they are all very situational and can’t be used universally. If you want use either of them, read their stats and make your choice carefully. Oh, and please don’t think that Black King Bar is the ultimate best item for Huskar. It does help, but it’s not core, no matter how much you would like to believe. Do not rush it.
When to switch it up
Just take a quick look at the counters of Huskar in Dota 2. Do you notice something? There are about 4 heroes that actually pose a threat to him, the rest have a winrate of less than 50% against this beast. I wouldn’t be scared if either of these heroes popped up against me, they would have a much harder time.
If you like to have this kind of advantage, where you almost don’t even need to watch out for counters, check out a few of our other guides. Naga Siren and Bloodseeker are great examples of indiscriminately powerful picks.
How to play as Huskar
To be frank, there is no set route that you should follow. Trying to map out your game in advance would only disrupt your own gameplay. You need to develop your own style of murdering the enemy team, that’s the only way you can maximize the fun. That said, there are a couple of things to watch out for.
Because of your high early attack speed, you need to harass your laner as much as you can. One last hit on a minion and another for the enemy, always. This will scare them away from the creeps, even if they’re big on harassment too. That is your end goal.
Use your mid game peak wisely. It’s the time when you are at your most powerful, and you need to put all that power to work. Get as many kills as possible, and take every bit of hope away from enemy players. Because when the late game arrives, you will be in trouble if you haven’t secured at least a psychological advantage. You will still be relevant, but won’t have nearly as much survivability. Try to end the game before this phase.
