Everybody knows who they are. They’re the top five worst heroes to play against. They’re those heroes that, when picked, bring about a collective sigh.
Perhaps they’re overpowered? Perhaps they’re useless? Or perhaps they’re just a pain?
Come on a journey through this countdown of the worst heroes to play against in all of Dota 2.
5. Sniper
Largely considered to be one of the most boring heroes, Sniper nonetheless earns himself a spot on the list. Playing against Sniper in the mid lane is incredibly frustrating. His attack animation is instant, making last-hitting and denying a challenge. He can also zone you incredibly well with his insane right click range and Shrapnel ability.
However, easily his most frustrating skill is his ultimate. At level 6 Sniper unlocks Assassinate. You’ve won an engagement or you’re running away from one and you’re low on life. You’ve out-ranged all the other enemy heroes and you think you’re safe.
But wait.
No. It’s not to be. Sniper’s Assassinate ability is on you and in a couple of short seconds, your life is going to end. What’s worse is the voice line that sometimes plays after an Assassinate kill. “You got peeped!”
Shut up, Sniper!
4. Pudge
Since time immemorial, Dota 2 players have feared to see that blood-soaked Meat Hook emerge from the trees. Such a grizzly sight can mean only one thing – there’s a Pudge on the enemy team.
Trying to play against a Pudge in the early game is a nightmare of vision optimization and paranoia. One misstep, one area covered by fog and you know Pudge will be there to hook you to your doom.
But the problem with a Pudge pick is twofold. The list might be titled the top five worst heroes to play against, but don’t let that fool you. Seeing a Pudge on your team can be just as bad as seeing one on the other team.
Pudge’s Meat Hook is a skill-based ability. It does not use unit targeting so Pudge needs to anticipate where his target will be when the hook lands. For a player experienced with this (or a player cheating by using Rod of Atos), this is no problem. But if an inexperienced player picks Pudge and can’t land a hook to save their lives then your game is essentially 4v5.
3. Riki
Where is he?! That invisible little [redacted]!
Riki is a great hero to play as. His Cloak and Dagger ability is lethal if Riki is allowed to accumulate Agility items unchecked. In addition, his ultimate, Tricks of the Trade, creates a no-go kill zone for its duration.
It’s for these reasons and more that seeing Riki picked by the other team is a real groan moment. Inexperienced support players will be tempted to spend hundreds of gold spamming Sentry Wards. However, since patch 7.22, spamming Sentry Wards is no longer viable. This is because they now have a cooldown similar to Observer Wards.
A Riki with an early Diffusal Blade is a one-man killing machine, able to roam unchecked, catching enemy heroes unaware. In addition, if Riki selects Cloak and Dagger Doesn’t Reveal as his level 25 talent then, well… you will have a permanently invisible back-stabbing little nightmare running around.
Good luck.
2. Phantom Assassin
Playing against a Phantom Assassin is essentially rolling the dice of chance. Perhaps today her Coup de Grace will only do 80% of my hp? Or perhaps, as usual, she will cement her place as one of the top five worst heroes to play against… and insta-kill you?
In addition, a right-click fight with a Phantom Assassin is nightmarish because of the 50% evasion conferred by her Blur ability. She is a hero that you have to consider buying a specific item to counter, namely Monkey King Bar.
But, while you’ve been saving up that 4175 gold for MKB, PA has been working on new and exciting ways to delete you.
1. Techies
Everybody knew where this was going, right? Techies is the reason the list of the top five worst heroes to play against even exists. There was even a Change.org petition to remove Techies from the game.
A game featuring Techies on any team is likely to be a lot more passive. Jungles and choke points become danger zones, and sieging the high ground late in the game – forget it.
Dotabuff has a great resource that shows, among other things, the average game length by hero. Have a guess which hero is at the top for longest average games. You guessed it. It’s Techies. Want to have a guess who’s second lowest in kill/death ratio on that same list? It’s Techies again.
A game featuring Techies is the ultimate 4v5 game. Besides Blast Off!, Techies brings very little to the table in terms of team fight utility. His sole purpose is to prolong the game. This is either to allow his carries to come online or, more likely, to annoy everyone involved.
Ask yourself if you’ve ever wanted someone on either team to pick Techies in a ranked game of Dota 2. When you realize that you’ve never wanted this, you’ll understand why Techies made the number one spot on the list.
Final Thoughts
There you have it. The list of the top five worst heroes to play against. Of course a lot of you experienced Dota players have developed counters to all the heroes on the list. But if you still weep a little when these heroes are picked then friend, you are not alone.
Is there a more annoying hero than these five to play against? Do you have an interesting anecdote about the most annoying Dota 2 game you’ve ever played? Why not let us know in the comments below? We’d love to hear from you!
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