The Unexpected Tricks for Playing Spirit Breaker: A Guide

Spirit Breaker is currently terrorizing pub games with a win rate of 52% in all brackets and 54% in Divine+ games. He is a hero that is both fun and easy to play. So today, let’s discuss some unexpected tricks for Spirit Breaker players that you can use to help you win.

The Vanguard, Octarine Core, and Aghanim’s Scepter Transformation

It is common knowledge that you can disassemble Vanguard into Octarine Core, but did you know that Spirit Breaker does not really need Vanguard early on, especially if you are a support player? Most Spirit Breaker players prefer Drum of Endurance after Phase Boots because it maximizes the hero’s burst damage and speed while providing decent stats for survivability. However, sometimes getting a casual Vanguard for survivability is a good idea after getting your starting mobility items. Make sure to get Aghanim’s Scepter before disassembling the Vanguard into Octarine Core as the cooldown reduction on Charge of Darkness is definitely worth it.

Double Boots – When and Why to Get Them

Phase Boots are great on Spirit Breaker because of the extra Armor and Movement Speed, but did you know that sometimes players choose to get Boots of Bearing along with them? This is mostly done in games against heroes with heavy slows like Venomancer or Crystal Maiden. In most games, getting a lower cooldown on Charge by going the Aghanim’s and Octarine route will be more beneficial, but sometimes you just need to be able to get away from some annoying slows.

Extra Night Vision over Extra Armor

Armor is a crucial stat, particularly for a hero like Spirit Breaker who loves to charge in. However, when it comes to the level 10 talent, getting extra Night Vision should be your priority. Extra Night Vision might not matter against heroes such as Slark, Luna, Night Stalker, and several others who will still see you before you see them at night. However, against the majority of heroes, you get to pick and choose when to engage. This helps you survive better than the extra 4 Armor you get otherwise, especially at higher levels of play.

+17% Chance to Greater Bash: Is It Worth It?

The level 20 talent for Spirit Breaker used to give +10% chance to Greater Bash, but this got increased to +13% and eventually to +17%. Essentially, this talent gives Spirit Breaker a BKB-piercing Bash every three hits. Spirit Breaker does not attack very often given his high BAT of 1.9 and low Agility gain. By level 20 with a default build, he usually attacks once every ~1.10 seconds. The worst case scenario is that Spirit Breaker gets an expected ~40% uptime on his BKB-piercing disable if allowed to attack his target. Add in guaranteed bashes from Charge of Darkness and Nether Strike, and you get a hero that can stunlock a priority target. Going this route is not always correct, but in certain games, especially when facing a 4+1 strategy with a very well-defined solo hard carry on the enemy team, it can be more beneficial than the extra Movement Speed and damage on Charge of Darkness.

Closing Thoughts

Spirit Breaker is an easy hero to play, and with high survivability and straightforward impact, there are few reasons not to give him a try. As long as you avoid overextending too frequently, you will be a valuable asset to your team. We hope that you found these tricks useful. Feel free to share your own findings in the comments section below.