Offlane heroes are characterized by their high health, mobility/utility-centric abilities, and decent damage output numbers. As it so happens, Spirit Breaker checks all these boxes and positions himself as probably the best Offlaner there is.
If all that intrigues you and you are tempted to pick up this hero in your next game, then that’s all right and all, but first, you will need to learn all the ins and outs of him as well. If that sounds interesting, then you have come to the right place, as that’s exactly what we will be doing in this guide!
How Is Spirit Breaker Played In Dota 2
Due to his chunky health stats and good early-game resistance values, Spirit Breaker fares well in the Offlane role. With his kit loaded with disabling abilities, he is any carry’s nightmare; even if you don’t play aggressively, the ever-looming threat of knockback and displacements will force the enemy carry to miss their farm.
Playing in the offlane also allows Spirit Breaker to gather more gold through creep kills. With his abilities emphasizing movement speed stats, you can build not only those but other utility items as well to help out your team and initiate team fights. Additionally, with great mobility, playing Spirit Breaker, you should also look to gank other lanes and roam as much as possible to support your team.
Spirit Breaker’s Ability Guide
With all the control and positioning power his abilities provide, the additional control also means there are more ways to mess things up. You might be tempted to charge straight into an enemy carry, but without vision or your team there to back you up, you could just as well be charging into your death. To make sure you know what and how to use his abilities, see our detailed breakdown of each one.
Charge of Darkness
The Spirit Breaker’s signature ability, Charge of Darkness, makes him lock his sight onto an enemy unit and then charge toward them. All enemy units in the path will be hit by a Greater Bash, and so will the target unit at the end of the duration. Due to its global range, Charge of Darkness is an extremely effective initiating ability
| Cast Range | Greater Bash Radius | Charge Speed Bonus | Stun Duration | Cooldown | Mana |
| Global | 300 | 300/325/350/375 | 1.2/1.6/2/2.4 | 17/15/13/11 | 120 |
Bulldoze
Grants Spirit Breaker movement speed and Status Resistance that stacks with stats acquired from other sources. Bulldoze can be used while Charge of Darkness is underway, boosting the accompanying Greater Bash’s damage as it scales with movement speed. However, do note that it cancels any channeling ability that Spirit Breaker is casting.
| Move Speed Bonus | Status Resistance Bonus | Duration | Cooldown | Mana |
| 10%/15%/20%/25% | 35%/45%/55%/65% | 8 | 22/20/18/16 | 30/40/50/60 |
Greater Bash
Greater Bash gives Barathurm’s attacks a chance to stun and knock back an enemy unit on an auto attack. Additionally, creeps take 50% more damage, thus making Barathurm’s wave clear all the more effective.
| Proc Chance | Move Speed as Damage | Non-Hero Damage Multiplier | Knockback Distance | Knockback Duration | Stun Duration |
| 17% | 15%/20%/25%/30% | 1.5 | 143/152/158/162 | 0.5 | 0.9/1.2/1.5/1.8 |
Nether Strike
Spirit Breaker slips into the nether realm, reappearing next to his hapless victim. Upon reappearing, a Greater Bash of the current level occurs and deals bonus damage. Knocks back for double the normal distance.
| Cast Range | Caste Range Buffer | Damage | Cooldown | Mana |
| 700 | 500 | 125/200/275 | 90/70/50 | 125/150/175 |
Spirit Breaker’s Build Guide
Refrain from spamming your abilities. The mere fact that you have an off-cooldown ability will force the enemy carry to play that much safer, as they know that even the slightest misstep will end up with them being knocked into your side of the lane.
Starting Items
Right after the picking phase, make sure to grab these items to help you out in the first couple of minutes of laning:
Tango: Playing as an offlaner makes you susceptible to ranged poke from the enemy support and carry; Tango ensures you’re able to heal back some of the damage you take.
Healing Salve: Similar to Tango, Healing Salve gives you that much-needed additional survivability.
Iron Branch: Provides you additional health regen when consumed with a Tango.
Early Game
At this stage of the game, focus on harassing the enemy carry but do keep an eye on other lanes to help gank if they are having a difficult time. That said, aim for the following items to make your laning phase and early team fights easier:
Boots of Speed: An absolutely essential item for Spirit Breaker, who thrives on additional movement speed. The extra movement speed also acts as a pseudo-disengage ability; being fast means you can retreat from sticky situations more easily.
Magic Stick: Grants health/mana in a burst, useful against spell casters. Additionally builds into Magic Wand.
Urn of Shadows: Allows more leeway with ability spam with extra mana regeneration and health. The damage over time can be a good heal-canceling passive.
Mid Game
Mid Game is your power spike; while not a dueling hero, if you have garnered even a slight amount of lead, you can get away with doing so. Otherwise, try setting up team fights or engaging on the carry or the squishiest target. Here are some essential items you should have in the Mid Game:
Power Treads: Grants attack speed which means you perform more attacks which leads to more Greater Bash procs
Magic Wand: Builds from your Magic Stick and grants additional attributes and a larger amount of burst heal/mana.
Mask of Madness: Grants bonus attack and move speed synergizing well with all of Spirit Breaker’s abilities.
Black King Bar: The spell immunity allows you to execute your Charge of Darkness unimpeded and deal the maximum amount of damage.
Blade Mail: Counters burst damage as all incoming attack damage is reflected back to the attacker for a short time when active is used. Using it in the midst of the enemy team after engaging increases your survivability.
Late Game
At this stage, you can practically look for solo killing important targets as your attack stat isn’t the focus of your build. Look to catch enemies out of position or knock back an important target into your team so they can finish them off before the team fight even starts. Here are some key items that can prove useful in the late game:
Assault Cuirass: Grants a large amount of attack speed while also providing the same to nearby allies, thus serving as a great utility item. The extra attack speed also means you can get more procs of Greater Bash.
Silver Edge: The active grants you invisibility which can be used to catch enemies off guard or to get out of bad spots yourself. Whenever you attack to break the invisibility, enemy passives will be disabled while you gain a hefty damage strike bonus. Additionally, you can use it before Charge of Darkness to make sure that it lands.
Mjollnir: Provides attack speed and area of effect damage in the form of chain lighting, something that Spirit Breaker lacks. The extra attack speed also means you can get more procs of Greater Bash.
Situational Items
With all that said, not every item recommendation is set in stone; you can try out these situational items as well, depending on the enemy team’s and your own composition:
Aghanim’s Scepter: Increases Charge of Darkeness’s speed while also reducing the cooldown.
Heaven’s Halberd: Provides Evasion and Status Resistance which increases your durability while the active disarms enemy heroes; really viable against enemy carries.
Armlet of Mordiggian: Provides attack speed and damage output whilst costing health every second to do so. The health cost can be negated by the mask of madness which is part of your core build anyways, so both items’ synergy can be used to increase your damage output.
Monkey King Bar: Boosts attack damage and allows you to hit enemies with Evasion.
Drum of Endurance: Boosts movement and attack speed and does the same for your nearby allies, thus being an excellent utility item. The extra attack speed also means you can get more procs of Greater Bash.
Final Thoughts
That rounds up our guide of Barathrum the Spirit Breaker. If you are looking for the perfect brute strength, and mobile hero for the offlane role, then you would be hard-pressed to find a better option than the Spirit Breaker. With his high octane and skill-based gameplay, any player will find themselves allured to picking him up in their next game.