How to counter or kill Roshan in Dota 2 is an important question that newcomers always have, especially since Valve’s steady content updates always necessitate a refresher. This neutral boss presents an important objective in the game, and countering it gives players an immense boost via the resources they can get. Simply put, Roshan’s item drops in Dota 2 have a very good chance to set a team up for success. While some of Roshan’s item drops can be sold, it’s best to keep the others on hand.
Given the importance, Roshan counters in Dota 2 are always something that need to be worked on as a team given that the neutral boss is exceedingly strong and damage resistant. Also, it is recommended to attempt countering Roshan when the team is above Level 10 or at the 15-20m mark.
Dota 2 is one of the best live-service games in the market, which means the developers steadily roll out quality updates and balance tweaks. Patch 7.33 and 7.35 brought in major content changes, including those for location, item drops, movement, and such. Keeping these factors and Roshan’s abilities in Dota 2 in mind, here’s a guide to know more about the neutral creep and how to counter it.
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Dota 2: Roshan’s HP and Abilities, Explained
We can’t talk about how to counter Roshan in Dota 2 without talking about its HP. Unfortunately, all we can say is that it has a large health pool that scales throughout the game’s phases. Patch 7.33 did add a certain quantitative change that should be mentioned here: the neutral creep’s HP regeneration now stands at 130 points per minute, instead of the old 115. Plus, its base armor has been increased from 20 to 30.
Before the said Dota 2 patch, Roshan’s counters had only one location to work on: a pit on the north-west side of the river. Now, it has two pits on the map, one each on Radiant and Dire sides. It uses the Twin Gates to travel between them, staying at the former during the day and at the latter during the nighttime. Depending on where it’s killed, Roshan’s item drop in Dota 2 differs. But we’ll talk about that later. For now, let’s take a look at what it can do.
Best Heroes For The Mid Lane In Dota 2
Mid laners get to solo farm and roam in Dota 2, but that also makes it a challenging position. Here’s which heroes are best suited for the task.
Here’s an overview of Roshan’s abilities in Dota 2:
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Roshan Abilities |
What They Do |
|---|---|
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Roar of Retribution |
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Spell Block |
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Slam |
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Bash |
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Strength of the Immortal |
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On the Move |
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Dota 2: How to Kill Roshan
When to attack
Countering Roshan in Dota 2 is a tricky endeavor. It is strictly a team-based strategy — going at it solo and without multiple allies will always lead to an unnecessary death. It is also impossible very early on in a match. However, naturally, there are a couple of exceptions who can take it down early on solo or with minimal ally help.
For example, Ursa or Troll Warlord can take down Roshan in Dota 2 quite early with a maxed passive ability and lifesteal item like Morbid Mask or Mask of Madness. This can be done with these at Level 7 around the 10-15m mark.
Ensure you keep track of game time (day-night cycle) and be ready around the pit that Roshan will walk into next. There is nothing more frustrating than attacking and dwindling its HP, only for it to travel invincibly to the next pit and get back to full health.
Dota 2: Best Heroes For The Off Lane
Dota 2’s off lane requires a special approach from players. Here’s which heroes work best in this position.
How to
Other than niche exceptions, it is imperative that players counter Roshan in Dota 2 as a team. Supports need to focus on healing, buffing, and debuffing, while tanks focus on tanking damage and the entity’s stuns. In the meantime, carries and damage dealers need to focus on taking it down.
Roshan counters in Dota 2 depend heavily on team effort and item/ability usage. As such, you will need to ensure you have important utility items on hand. This could be the Smoke of Deceit for your team to safely reach Roshan’s pit without being noticed. Others like Blink Dagger, Force Staff, and Wind Waker will help jump in the pit and initiate fights with Roshan or steal from opponents.
Using wards is also important to counter Roshan in Dota 2; this will help ensure enemies don’t have vision over you and know who’s coming in so you don’t get ganked. The other way can be using the Scan ability given to the team, although its 210s cooldown can be cumbersome if used improperly. Skills like Clockwork’s Rocket Flare or Invoker’s Sun Strike help in countering Roshan in Dota 2 by scanning its pits for enemy presence. While these are not securing tools, the utility they offer by gathering information is useful in decision making.
What to be aware of
The main goal of any Roshan counter in Dota 2 is to take it down and deny the spoils from the opponent. Since this activity forms a crucial part of the game, the enemy team will be vying for it as well. So you will need to be ready for any interruption or gank.
Best Heroes for The Safe Lane in Dota 2
The safe lane holds many opportunities for players in Dota 2, but these heroes will shine the most in this position.
Developing map awareness is incredibly crucial in countering Roshan in Dota 2. Not only will it help you see which enemies are farther away and won’t be able to interrupt, but also know which ones aren’t visible and may just gank you mid-attack. The Roar of Retribution alerts all players and Roshan’s damage-dealing and debuffing abilities can put the attacking team at deep disadvantage when attacked. The aim thus becomes to initiate an attack with the full team or more than three members in mid- to late game, getting in and out as soon as possible. Remember, leveling up by stacking camps in Dota 2 is the way to progress.
If you do get ganked by enemies, deciding swiftly between shifting focus and retaliating or retreating is key. Losing Roshan’s spoils to them and additional feeding can land you at a severe disadvantage for further on.
Also, Roshan counters in Dota 2 need to be restricted to its pit. It is invincible when outside. Also, when traveling between pits, the HP Regen tops up full health by the time it reaches the destination. As such, it is important to keep track of game time and only initiate an attack when there is enough time on hand to complete the run and make it back to safe shores.
Dota 2: All Roshan Drops and Uses
Roshan’s item drops in Dota 2 are crucial because of the boosts they give to the winning party, and thus knowing its counters is important. The items have selective match criteria to ensure their drops, like a certain death count. Aside from these, Roshan also drops gold that will help you buff your inventory. The “spoils” here are greater than when you deny a tower or hero, and the effort are justifiably matched.
Here is an overview of Roshan’s item drops in Dota 2 once it is killed:
| Item | Criteria for drop | Effect details/Sale | Optimum usage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aegis of Immortal | Drops on every death. |
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A team fight with an objective in mind. This could either be taking down a tower or ending the game by destroying enemy Ancient. This gives an extra life to your carry or core tank, so the enemy is forced to face them twice. |
| Aghanim’s Blessing – Roshan | Third death onwards when killed in Dire pit. |
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High priority goes to carry and tank, who require all 6 slots for other item usage. |
| Cheese | Available from Roshan’s second death onwards in Dire pit. |
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High priority given to tanks. If none present, then it should be given to hard carry. Use Cheese when having a teamfight. Advised for when HP is around 20%. |
| Refresher Shard | Third death onwards when killed in Radiant pit. |
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Higher priority goes to heroes with long cooldowns. Some game-changing picks can be Enigma with Black Hole, Faceless Void with Chronosphere, and Crystal Maiden’s Freezing Field. Basically gives the strategic upperhand by casting these abilities twice in a row. |
| Roshan’s Banner | Second death onwards when killed in the Dire pit. |
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High priority to support players. Can be effectively used to split-push. If your team is focused on one lane, you can globally push another lane without leaving allies. |
| Gold | Drops on every death. |
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| XP | Drops on every death. |
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Dota 2
- Released
- July 9, 2013
- Genre(s)
- MOBA
