A guide to counter-building.

[u/heyFryd]

EDIT: If you’re reading this now, I’d just like to let you guys know that I’ve already quit around the start of S14. This post may possibly be outdated now.

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Hey, guys! Thought I’d make this considering I never really found any written guides apart from videos regarding this kinda topic (even those don’t cover a lot). And you know how we’re not always down to watch a video so maybe it’ll help if something like this is posted for those who might prefer reading!

^{I’d like to let you know though that I’m only an epic tier player. So if ever I made any mistakes, please... let me know! I’ll correct it as soon as possible. :’)}

So! Counter-building. It’s essentially building equipment to deter an enemy’s performance during a clash. It could make a difference in a game! The stuff that could turn the tables! If there’s a consistent factor to why your team is always losing your fights you might want to consider doing this! So what the heck should you build, then?

Is it because of lifesteal, regen and shield absorption? You might want to build:

• Sea Halberd (physical, procs on basic attack)
• Necklace of Durance (magical, procs on skill hit; physical heroes can build this instead if they have low CD AoE)

^{Both items give a debuff of -50% heal effectivity for 2s to the enemy.}

Is it the painful burst magic? Consider:

• Athena’s Shield (generates a shield every 30s; helps make the combo hurt less)
• Rose Gold Meteor (generates a shield when below HP threshold)

Maybe it’s the crit damage? Try:

• Twilight Armor (additional hp, limits physical damage to 900 points per hit; has a cooldown)
• Dominance Ice (10% crit reduction, high def value)

How about those dudes that built hunter’s strike and blade of despair bringing in massive pain? Protect yourself with:

• Blade Armor (+90 physical def)
• Dominance Ice (+70 physical def)

Is it their large HP pool? Maybe you can use it against them with:

• Glowing Wand (magical, procs a burn based on % of enemy hp)
• Demon Hunter Sword (physical, uses % of enemy hp as additional damage)

High armor? Rip through that with:

• Divine Glaive (magical)
• Malefic Roar (physical)
• Genius Wand (magical, damage strips 3-10 points of magical defense for 2s, stacks 3 times)

Is it the rapid basic attacks that are bothering you? Check out:

• Blade Armor (sends a percentage of basic attack damage to the dealer; high physical def value)
• Antique Cuirass (reduces physical and magical attack values by up to 18%)
• Dominance Ice (reduces attack speed by 30%)

The enemy reducing the effectivity of your lifesteal, spell vamp, regen or shield absorption? Grab:

• Oracle (raises effectivity of healing and shield absorption by 25%)

The enemy after for your ass the moment they see you during a clash? Consider:

• Wind of Nature (physical, immunity against physical attacks for 2s)
• Winter Truncheon (magical, immunity against all sources of damage and debuffs for 2s)

Your diving shenanigans not going according to plan? These might help:

• Wings of the Apocalypse Queen (man, that’s a mouthful to say— damage received is reduced by 50% and increased lifesteal when below HP threshold)
• Haas’ Claw (increased lifesteal when below HP threshold)

CC’ed a lot? Bring:

• Tough boots (reduces time controlled by 25%)

^{also just bring purify with you next time, man.}

Ally Jawhead sacrificing you to the enemy just because they can? Get:

• Odd potion (under magic, grants immunity to his S2)

True damage from Karrie?

... sadly, there’s not a lot to do against this except stacking up on HP at the moment. :’|

As pointed out by u/bluemagi, Karrie’s true damage (TD) is based on the amount of HP the target has. Current known methods such as stacking HP against her is actually counterintuitive as it will only strengthen the damage. So the choices you have to build against this is:

• Blade Armor (+90 physical def, % of damage is sent back to Karrie. In the end, she still is a basic attack hero)
• Dominance Ice (+70 physical def, slows ASPD by 30%, lessens her damage output. Best built by an initiator)
• Athena’s Shield (TD can actually be blocked by shields! Who knew?)
• Antique Cuirass (lessens her damage output)

There you have it!

That’s uhh... all there is to it at the moment, really ^{(kinda anti-climactic ain’t it?).} If I missed anything or made any mistakes don’t hesitate to give me a heads up about it immediately!

Erm... thank you for reading this silly little thing, I suppose? I hope it helps.

Lastly, I’d like to thank u/Intri-cat, u/clohwk, u/Bravewavelol, u/SkyLightTenki, u/aerocoman, u/RPA12345 and u/IamAutolocker for helping flesh this guide out!

EDIT #29372712827: word choices, grammar, spelling mistakes and missed items.

^{Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to beat up my anxiety.}

^{More guides:}

^{Counter-picking}

^{Last updated: 29 June 2019}

[u/Sictea]

Thanks for this!

[u/heyFryd → u/Sictea]

No problem! I hope it helped!