The Heroes in Dota 2 - An Introductory Guide for Lifestealer

Introduction

Dota 2 is an exciting MOBA game that has many different heroes. Some of them can be played in pretty much every single position, whereas others are strictly played in a particular position. 

The uncommon usage of some heroes sometimes showcased during major events like WePlay AniMajor, which starts on June 2, 2021.

With that said, today, we will take a look at a hero that is nearly always played as a carry. However, it is possible even to see him as support, also though the chances are very slim. Let's take a look at Lifestealer, one of the most reliable carries in Dota 2, especially when he plays against certain lineups.

Basic information about Lifestealer

Lifestealer is also known as Naix, which is DotA name. He is a strong melee hero that deals massive amounts of physical damage. As the name of the hero suggests, he also has a spell that life steals, meaning that he gains a part of his HP on every single attack.  We already said that he is nearly always played as a carry, which is essential to keep in mind. 

Generally speaking, Lifestealer is a reasonably slow farmer which is why we can often see people purchasing Hand of Midas on him. Despite that, this is one of the best heroes to pick when you are facing multiple strength heroes. He can quickly pierce through their HP like a knife through butter.

Without further ado, here is a list of all abilities:

• Rage is one of the best abilities that a carry can wish in Dota 2. It gives movement speed, as well as Spell Immunity, which means that it's basically a free BKB that has a very low cooldown. Although this might not seem as much, it is actually very important because this hero can always rely on this spell during team fights. In other words, he doesn't need to buy BKB, which is an item that every single carry eventually buys.
  There are many scenarios where you would want to use Rage, so always keep in mind the cooldown of this awesome ability.
• Feast is one of the strongest passive abilities in Dota 2. This is the spell that defines the hero because it provides life steal, a mechanic that allows the hero to regenerate HP on his attacks. In fact, this is one of the most interesting life-stealing mechanism in Dota 2 because it depends a lot on the HP of the hero. In other words, if the target that Naix is hitting has a lot of HP, he will steal more from him.
  Also, this fantastic abilities provides 60 attack speed in total, which makes it even better.
• Open Wounds is a targeted ability that slows down the enemy for a couple of seconds. While they are slowed, the heroes that attack him will restore a certain percentage of their HP. In other words, this is an amazing skill to use when you have low HP and want to get back up. It can be used on creeps and heroes alike, so it all depends on the situation you're in. Sometimes, you can just leave your lane, go in the jungle, and use this ability to heal to the max.
• Infest is the ultimate of Life Stealer, and it's one of the unique abilities in Dota 2. It allows the hero to basically get inside another unit (it can either be a creep or a friendly hero). While inside, Naix is invulnerable but can't attack as well. While inside, the target that you're in has more HP and movement speed. On the other hand, Lifestealer himself also has a bonus HP regen.
  When he decides that it's go time and wants to leave his "host," he will do AoE damage on every single unit around him.

Items and Counters

Even though there are some players that favor the support Lifestealer, we believe that just isn't right. As a result, we will only cover the items that are being purchased by the carry Lifestealer. In general, every single damage item will do the job. With that said, here are a couple of trendy item choices for this hero:

• Armlet of Mordiggan is one of the most popular items when it comes down to Naix. It provides decent damage, attack speed, and gives a massive strength bonus when it's used. Usually, this is one of the first items that this hero buys after he gets boots.
• Desolator is also a widespread item that gives a lot of damage for less money. In fact, a combination of this and Armlet is one of the most popular items builds. Both items are fairly inexpensive, which allows the hero to do tons of damage.
• Monkey King Bar is an amazing damage item that really changes the game. However, it is a lot more expensive than the items mentioned above, which is why most Lifestealer players tend to lean towards it in the later stages of the game.
• Abyssal Blade is a must for every Naix. This is an item that gives this hero a free stun, which can sometimes be enough to score a kill.
• Daedalus is a popular item choice when it comes to dealing massive amounts of damage. You can get up to 1000 critical strike hits when you pair it with a couple of items.

When it comes down to counters, there are not that many heroes out there that can stand their ground against Lifesteaker. However, there is one in particular that can easily make his life a living hell, and that's Ursa. The pesky bear just deals too much single-target damage, which is why she can easily bring down Naix in just a couple of seconds.