EPT![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/f/f6/Spirit_Breaker_Large.png)
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THE SPACE COW COMETH
Spirit Breaker does exactly that, he breaks spirits. The very sight of him at the pick screen makes you groan in disgust. Seeing him in your lane makes you dread the midgame. Having a Spirit Breaker on the enemy team crushes your will to play, because there's only one condition for having Barathrum charge you: being foolish enough to be seen. Spirit Breaker is not only an amazing hero, but he's an amazingly fun hero, and so I write this guide in hopes to share my fun with you.
So why don't we see Spirit Breaker in more competitive play, you might ask me? Well the answer is simple:
Spirit Breaker is not a very good hero.
Barathrum has a weak, RNG based laning stage and lacks any real utility in a 5v5 teamfight, giving him a very small window to deal damage. Any team that communicates well with one another, helps control the map with ward coverage, and carries TP scrolls to countergank if someone gets caught can easily deal with Spirit Breaker.
Fortunately you play in pub games, where none of that is the case.
I. Alt-Tab
II. Lore
III. Pros & Cons
IV. When to Pick
V. Skills
VI. Skill Build
VII. Item Build
VIII. Mindset
IX. Friends & Foes
X. Final Words
I. Alt-Tab
+ Show Spoiler [Alt-Tab] +
OH GOD I JUST RANDOMED SPIRIT BREAKER WHAT DO I DO
Well first of all please don't yell at me, secondly here is a very basic outline:
1. Charge - For emergencies only
2. Greater Bash
3. Charge
4. Empowering Haste
5. Charge
6. Nether Strike - Now you can gank
7. Charge
8. Greater Bash
9. Greater Bash
10. Greater Bash
11. Nether Strike
12. Empowering Haste
13. Empowering Haste
14. Empowering Haste
15. Stats
16. Nether Strike
17-25. Stats
Starting items:
Stout Shield, Gauntlet of Strength, Tangoes, Salve
Laning/Early Game:
Treads, Bracer
Core:
Armlet, Drums, BKB
Situational Lategame:
Sange and Yasha, Mjolnir, Assault Cuirass, Scepter, Daedalus, Satanic, Vlads, Heart
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DON'T BUILD:
Mask of Madness
Farm up until level 6-7, as you can't really contribute much until then. The midgame is your time to shine. Go forth, conquer, hunt. Barathrum is called the Spirit Breaker for a reason: Crush your enemy's will to continue. Make them dread leaving their base, make it so they never go out without two or three huddled together for warmth, jumping at every shadow.
II. Lore
Barathrum the Spirit Breaker is a lordly and powerful being, a fierce and elemental intelligence which chose to plane-shift into the world of matter to take part in events with repercussions in the elemental realm that is his home. To that end, he assembled a form that would serve him well, both in our world and out of it. His physical form borrows from the strengths of this world, blending features both bovine and simian-horns, hooves and hands-as outward emblems of his inner qualities of strength, speed and cunning. He wears a ring in his nose, as a reminder that he serves a hidden master, and that this world in which he works is but a shadow of the real one.
III. Pros & Cons
Pros:
-Unholy midgame strength
-Bashes for DAYS
-Great synergy with a number of other heroes
-Excellent escape mechanism
-Absurd global presence
-Relatively item independent, only needing a few core items to come online
-Occasionally moos loudly when gaining levels
Cons:
-Terrible laning phase
-One of the most RNG-based heroes
-Lacks any real teamfight utility
-Falls off towards the lategame.
-Easily countered by a team that works well with eachother
-Occasionally moos loudly when gaining levels
IV. When to Pick
Spirit Breaker is an extremely powerful hero who can establish a dominant midgame presence for your team. However despite what the Mask of Madness building pubbies will tell you, he can't always carry alone. Spirit Breaker can establish a huge lead for your team, but he's not always the one who can drive it home. Therefore you should pick Spirit Breaker in the following situations:
-Your team needs a strength-based tanky hero
-Your team has a carry like Antimage or Faceless Void and needs someone to carry the team until they come online
-Your team is going for a strategy revolving around global presence or heavy pushing
-Your team is looking to end the game before the enemy hard carries come online
V. Skills
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/3/37/Spirit_breaker_charge_of_darkness.png)
Charge of Darkness
+ Show Spoiler [Tooltip] +
Spirit Breaker fixes his sight on an enemy unit and starts charging through all objects. All enemy units passed through and the targeted unit will be hit by a Greater Bash. If the targeted unit dies, Spirit Breaker will change his target to the nearest enemy unit to that location.
Charge Speed: 600 / 650 / 700 / 750
Stun Duration: 1.2 / 1.6 / 2 / 2.4
Cast Range: Global
This is what defines Spirit Breaker. Everything he is, he is because of his Charge. This is what will lead you to victory, this is what will let you break their spirits. And their backs. Knowing when, who, and where to charge is what will separate you from a Mask of Madness building pubby. This skill will let you absolutely dominate the midgame, and that's why I always max it first. Many people will tell you to max your bash first, but if you sit down and think about it there's really only one reason you would do that: for damage. But you're not building Spirit Breaker to deal damage, you're building Spirit Breaker to annihilate the enemy. You don't want to punch the enemy in the face, you want to barrel accross the map, pin them down, and open the opportunity for Skeleton King to cleave their skulls. The mid game is when you are strongest. When you've hit level 7 you are ready to began your rampage. Use your absurd charge speed and the free 2.4 second stun to lock down any enemy who dares to step across the river.
I'll go over when, where, who and what to charge in the Mindset section.
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/3/3a/Spirit_breaker_empowering_haste.png)
Empowering Haste
+ Show Spoiler [Tooltip] +
Causes Spirit Breaker to gain higher movement speed. His presence increases the movement speed of nearby allied units.
Bonus Movement Speed: 6% / 10% / 14% / 18%
Radius: 900
GOTTA GO FAST
There's really not much to say about Bara's first passive. We throw a point in it early to give us and our teammates some extra movement speed. We max it last.
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/0/01/Spirit_breaker_greater_bash.png)
Greater Bash
+ Show Spoiler [Tooltip] +
Gives a chance to stun and knockback an enemy unit on an attack, as well as gaining bonus movement speed after a bash occurs. Deals damage based on movement speed.
Chance to Trigger on Attack: 17%
Damage: 10/20/30/40% of movement speed
Knockback Duration: 0.5
Stun Duration: 1/1.2/1.4/1.6
Increased Movement Speed: 15%
Increased Movement Speed Duration: 3
Not just any bash, but a Greater bash. Without Spirit Breaker's bash, he would crush enemies. With it, he demolishes them. Despite what everyone, your teammates and foes alike, will tell you, we max this after our charge. And we can reason why if we stop for a moment and think about it.
Why do we pick Spirit Breaker? We do it to charge in, grab an enemy, lock him down, and destroy him before he has any chance whatsoever to react. We come, we kill, and we're home in time for dinner. Spirit Breaker's strength comes in his ability to dominate the midgame through his brutal ganks and his terrifying stun times, but we also have to remember that when we're level 7, we barely have any major items. We probably have our treads, and we've started on our armlet. What we need is a kill, something to give us a headstart. With Charge maxed, we get a guaranteed 2.4 second stun on the enemy, buying us time to lock them down, get our team into position, and secure the kill. With Bash maxed, we get in, we deal damage, and we hope that we get lucky bashes.
Greater Bash has a 17% proc chance, meaning it occurs (on average) once in every six auto attacks. Maxed out, our Bash goes from a 1.0 second stun to a 1.6 second stun, meaning that in order to match the 1.2 second increase in stun we would get from our Charge, (1.2 seconds at Level One - 2.4 seconds at Level Four), we would have to attack the enemy an average of 12 times (.6 second increase, two times, average of six hits for a bash, math is fun). So why is that bad? Because at level 7, by the time you attack the enemy 12 times, you're pummeling a support that died 8 auto attacks ago.
6.79 UPDATE:
With the changes to Barathrum in 6.79, this is even more important. Removing the magic immunity on Spirit Breaker's ult means that the enemy has to be stunned long enough to get a hit or two in before pulling off your ult. The 1.2 second stun from a level one charge simply will not cut it at those crucial early-game ganks.
Max Charge first.
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/1/18/Spirit_breaker_nether_strike.png)
Nether Strike
+ Show Spoiler [Tooltip] +
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. Upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter.
Damage: 150 / 250 / 350
Cast Range: 400(550*) / 550(700*) / 700(850*)
Scepter Ability: Level 4 Greater Bash on target impact
Greater Bash Radius: 250
Scepter Cooldown: 20
The nail in the coffin. Spirit Breaker's ult is a constant reminder that all good things will one day come to an end, and that there is no delaying the inevitability of our own mortality. Oftentimes I see Spirit Breakers use their ult directly after charging somebody. While sometimes effective, it denies Barathrum his true purpose.
Spirit Breaker is called Spirit Breaker for a reason. He doesn't just kill the enemy. Any hero can kill an enemy. Spirit Breaker kills players. Put yourself in the position of a level 5 Warlock who has just been charged by Spirit Breaker. You're on your back, the Cow hungers above you, gnashing its teeth. You have no CC, you have no escape mechanism. You do the only thing you can think of: you run. You run to your tower, you run to your team mate sprinting towards you as fast as he can. You flee the scene. But Spirit Breaker hasn't ulted yet, has he.
Let them think they survived. Give them the slightest bit of relief in their escape, as they manage to wiggle out of your grasp. Give them hope, and then take it away. Remind them that there is no escape from the inevitability of their demise. That is how you Break their Spirit.
VI. Skill Build
There are two main trains of thought, although everyone seems to agree that Haste is maxed last. The first train of thought is that you should max bash first, but these guides probably also tell you to build Masks of Madness and should therefore be disregarded. The second, in my opinion correct, train of thought, is that Charge should be maxed first. Maxing bash gives you a strategy revolving around hope. I hope I can charge them before they get back to their tower. I hope I can land a few bashes. I hope my team gets there in time. Hope is for your enemies to have. Hope is for you to take away from them. When you max charge, you know. I know I will be there in time. I know I can lock them down long enough for my team to follow up.
Don't hope, know. That's why we skill build like this:
1. Charge
2. Greater Bash
3. Charge
4. Empowering Haste
5. Charge
6. Nether Strike
7. Charge
8. Greater Bash
9. Greater Bash
10. Greater Bash
11. Nether Strike
12. Empowering Haste
13. Empowering Haste
14. Empowering Haste
15. Stats
16. Nether Strike
17-25. Stats
VII. Item Build
Starting Items
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/b/bf/Stout_Shield.png)
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/5/56/Gauntlets_of_Strength.png)
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/9/91/Tango.png)
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/9/9c/Healing_Salve.png)
This is really all you're going to need. The shield is pretty much necessary on melee heroes to prevent you from being harassed out of lane, the gauntlet of strength will help you last hit and will build into our bracer later, and the tangoes and salve will keep you nice and healthy while you get your crucial early game farm. If you're going to the offlane, make sure either you or a laning partner has wards, if you're going solo offlane don't be afraid to ask a support to buy you wards to bring with you. We don't get branches because we don't need them and will just end up selling them back later, and we're going to need every little bit of gold we can get in the early game.
Early Game
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/0/07/Boots_of_Speed.png)
Every hero wants them ASAP and Spirit Breaker is no exception. Pick these up at your side shop as soon as you possibly can. After you've got your socks, it's time to start building.
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/7/7c/Bracer.png)
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/7/73/Power_Treads.png)
The gauntlet you bought at the start will upgrade into a Bracer, while Treads will be your boots of choice. The attack speed and extra health from the Power Treads will be invaluable, and the bracer will give us some solid early-game stats, as well as providing a gateway to our Drums. If you can get the courier to bring you your bracer components, great. If someone else is using it, go straight for Treads and pick up your bracer next time you're at the Well.
Situational Earlygame
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/7/78/Urn_of_Shadows.png)
On September 04 2013 16:34 Firebolt145 wrote:
urn is even more important if you're going armlet because otherwise you have no way to counter the health drain since you're not going lifesteal.
urn is even more important if you're going armlet because otherwise you have no way to counter the health drain since you're not going lifesteal.
As an alternative to building your Bracer and then following it up into Drums, an Urn of Shadows can help offset the life drain of your armlet, as well as providing you with another means of securing a kill from a fleeing opponent. Spirit Breaker is bound to be in the midst of conflict throughout the game, many of your team's kills will revolve around your Charges and so you're likely to have plenty of charges in your Urn.
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/a/a2/Orb_of_Venom.png)
As suggested by the thread, an Orb of Venom is a great early pickup for Spirit Breaker. With its cheap price at the side shop, an OoV can help Barathrum when he's weakest: the early-game. Spirit Breaker is already likely to be slightly faster at early levels than the enemy team, and an OoV can help lockdown an early kill or two if the opportunity arises.
Core
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/a/a2/Armlet_of_Mordiggian.png)
Our goal. What we need to come online and unleash the beast within. Armlet is your first main item and all that Spirit Breaker really needs. It gives attack speed, health, damage, and lets you do the pro MLG toggles for your youtube videos. Armlet is absolutely amazing on Spirit Breaker. The health drain will be negligible too. Once you have your armlet, everything else is really just luxury. You're now ready to contribute to smashing the enemy. Toggle it while you're charging, go in, kill the enemy, and be home in time for Breaking Bad.
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/a/a9/Drum_of_Endurance.png)
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/8/85/Black_King_Bar.png)
Drums lead towards our main goal of going fast. "But wait!" You say to me in an exasperated voice. "Those are for my support to build!" Look we already have the bracer, and this is just a hop skip and a leap away. It gives us movement speed, it gives us attack speed, and it gives us a nitro boost for our space cow if the enemy tries to run away.
Black King Bar is great on everyone, but especially on Spirit Breaker as it plugs the gap in his main weakness: CC. Your BKB can be turned on while you are charging. Got it? That means that you can pop it as soon as you're about to show up. That Rubick who thought he could lift you? Dead. That Rhasta who thought he could hex you? Dead.
Situational Core
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/4/4a/Shadow_Blade.png)
On September 04 2013 14:33 synapse wrote:
I think shadow blade is worth mentioning simply as a situational item vs a team / heroes that can easily stun you before you land your charge. Given that you're already playing spirit breaker in such a game, you gotta make your kit work somehow. Either way it gives you reasonable combat stats and a possible escape mechanism (esp in lower level pubs).
I think shadow blade is worth mentioning simply as a situational item vs a team / heroes that can easily stun you before you land your charge. Given that you're already playing spirit breaker in such a game, you gotta make your kit work somehow. Either way it gives you reasonable combat stats and a possible escape mechanism (esp in lower level pubs).
On September 04 2013 14:55 Mithhaike wrote:
Shadow blade is actually not a bad item for Spirit Breaker. If the enemy is diligent about warding(they have good supports for some unknown reason, wow), a SB can't really gank even at the tip of his power. He needs smoke/shadowblade to get past the wards.
Shadow blade is actually not a bad item for Spirit Breaker. If the enemy is diligent about warding(they have good supports for some unknown reason, wow), a SB can't really gank even at the tip of his power. He needs smoke/shadowblade to get past the wards.
Also sometimes known as Lothar's, the Shadow Blade or "No-Skill Blade" is an excellent addition on Spirit Breaker, as it helps us get around our reliance on the enemy team's lack of wards. Items can be activated while Spirit Breaker is charging, meaning that unless he runs directly over a Sentry Ward, he can pass unseen across the map towards his target and guarantee a surprise attack. If you don't want to spend the money, you can also buy:
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/b/b4/Smoke_of_Deceit.png)
On September 04 2013 14:55 Mithhaike wrote:
Smoke will cover your charge(as you can use items while charging) and by time smoke breaks, your in their face, even if you charged directly down a lane past creeps. They probably won't know what hit them until it's too late.
Smoke will cover your charge(as you can use items while charging) and by time smoke breaks, your in their face, even if you charged directly down a lane past creeps. They probably won't know what hit them until it's too late.
Once your Charge Speed is maxed, you should be able to barrel across the map in no time flat, meaning that even the short duration of Smoke of Deceit will let you close in on your target before they have a chance to respond. Buying lots of smoke has the added benefit of making you look pro, or like a good team player.
Situational Lategame
OH GOD WE'RE FORTY FIVE MINUTES INTO THE GAME WHAT DO I BUILD
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/1/1c/Sange_and_Yasha.png)
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/b/b7/Mjollnir.png)
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/4/40/Assault_Cuirass.png)
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/d/da/Aghanims_Scepter.png)
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/3/39/Daedalus.png)
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/0/0e/Satanic.png)
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/f/f5/Vladmirs_Offering.png)
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/a/a6/Heart_of_Tarrasque.png)
Sange and Yasha: Ok let's get this one out of the way first. Yes, S&Y is one of the most cost inefficient items in all of Dota. If we have the money to spare though, it can be a great investment on Spirit Breaker. Since our bash damage scales off our movement speed, not only are we getting more damage from the Strength boost we're getting more Agility, more bashes, more damage, more kickass. Should it be your first choice? Probably not, but keep it in mind.
Mjollnir: What's not to love? Attack speed, damage, chain lightning. Everything that Spirit Breaker loves to have. One of my personal favorite lategame items.
Assault Cuirass: Ask your hard carry if he intends on building this. If he says no, ask him if he wants you to build it. If he says yes, obey his wishes and build it. More speed for you, more attack speed for your carry, more corpses for the grinder.
Aghanim's Scepter: Building a scepter on Barathrum fixes one of his main lategame disabilities: he lacks any real use in a teamfight. Scepter turns your ult from a ganking tool into an AoE stun teamfight initiator, and the lowered cooldown means you'll be able to pull it off multiple times in an extended fight.
Daedalus: An item extremely popular with pub Spirit Breakers. Personally, I don't see the appeal. You don't get any attack speed out of it, making it a huge investment for a 0% increase in your bashes. Does give you a ton of damage, and can give you some satisfyingly massive crits if you're into that sort of thing.
Satanic: Damage, lifesteal, health. All good stuff for Barathrum. Satanic is a fantastic item with its only real downside being its absolutely absurd gold cost.
Vladimir's Offering: One of those items like S&Y that people try to shy away from, probably because of the shame associated with rushing it on anyone other than Lycan. But if you have a lot of melee on your team, Vlad's can be a great addition. You're going to be in the middle of any fight and anyone who needs the auras will likely be right next to you.
Heart of Tarrasque: We saved the best for last. You know what Heart does, I don't have to tell you.
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/d/d8/Boots_of_Travel.png)
Oh, and Travel Boots are great in any hyper lategame situation.
HOLY MOTHER OF GOD PLEASE DON'T BUILD THIS WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/3/3e/Mask_of_Madness.png)
Do yourself a quick favor. The next time someone suggests building MoM on Spirit Breaker, thank them; now you know to ignore absolutely everything they ever say for the rest of time. Mask of Madness is a horrible item in every scenario for every hero, except maybe on Faceless Void. Maybe. Every time I see a Spirit Breaker with a MoM I weep on the inside. Not because I'm afraid of him, but because of the lost potential for what could have been something magnificent. I don't even bat an eyelash when a Spirit Breaker with Mask charges me, because I know that as soon as he gets stunned I can blow his face off in four seconds flat.
Seriously, Armlet will give you attack speed, health, damage, armor, what more do you want? Do you want an item that doesn't increase the damage you take by 30%? Because Armlet does that too.
VIII. Mindset
Alright guys, take a seat. We need to talk about how you keep charging across the map.
Early game:
First of all, you need to acknowledge that you suck at first. You're probably going to the offlane, either solo or with a partner. If you're solo, ask someone to buy you wards. A good teammate will just be happy you have an interest in warding. If you're with a partner, especially if it's another carry, try to establish something as soon as possible: You need farm. Before level six, you're a liability to your team with no real utility. You need that experience as soon as possible, and your first couple items are crucial. If you're going to lane with a Bounty Hunter, let him know that he's gonna have all that farm all to himself once you hit six, but ask him for it before then.
If you're getting zoned or harassed out of lane, don't panic. Spirit Breaker is a hero that scales best off of levels rather than items. As long you can stay within XP range, you can afford to give up a few last hits. In disastrous cases where you're completely shut down such as playing solo offlane against a strong trilane, if you find yourself desperate don't be afraid to ask for rotations from your supports, or even for a laneswap with someone more suited to a suicide lane. Spirit Breaker can actually do remarkably well as a lane support in the early game, with a movespeed boost to help chase or escape and a guaranteed stun to give your carry time to close in for a quick kill or get away from a gank.
By the time you hit level three or four, your team might start demanding you gank their lanes. Ignore them. It doesn't matter how hard they complain, you need level six. By the time you charge around, get some damage on somebody, watch them run away without dying, and then get back to lane, you're going to have wasted your very precious early game time. Only charge as either an escape mechanism or if you're 100% sure you can secure a kill for you or your team. I'm not exaggerating when I say 100%. That Crystal Maiden better be limping through the river with 3 health and no TP scroll before you even consider charging her.
Charging:
Now before we go any farther, let's go back and remember what our number one counter to Spirit Breaker is: the enemy team communicating.
Sometimes we like to think our enemies are a group of braindead 14 year olds no more skilled than bots. This isn't true. They probably have wards up, they probably have wards up in places you don't expect them to. They probably have people with mics who are shouting out "BARA CHARGING" the moment they catch a glimpse of you on the minimap. This is why we always carry one of these:
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/1/1c/Town_Portal_Scroll.png)
A TP scroll!? But I'm Spirit Breaker, I can charge wherever I want! No, please god stop charging from top lane all the way down to bot lane. Spirit Breaker's strength in the early-game comes from his ability to show up out of nowhere. Out of nowhere. When you charge across the map you aren't showing up out of nowhere, you are loudly announcing your presence to any creep you happen to stomp on or any ward you hop past. Instead, TP down to the Tier 2 tower and charge from there. You'll be smashing Lina's face in before your lane even has the chance to call mia. It's also a great way to countergank, you can get to your buddy while he's in danger, rather than five minutes after he's already respawned. Always carry a TP scroll. I carry two, because I'm bad and forget to buy them at the side shop.
Pre-Armlet:
By the time you hit level six, you should have your treads. If not it's not a big deal, just get some more farm. With your ult and, at level seven, your level four Charge, you're now ready to gank. Watch the lanes, all three of them. Your time has not yet come, but it will soon. Does an enemy step across the river? Bad idea. Charge them. Most importantly, communicate your charge. Tell your team where you're going. If they don't speak english, spam ping your target until they start yelling at you. Draw your charge path on the map, a straight line that travels straight to Frown Town, Population: Sniper. If there's a lull in the action, grab some farm. Get your Armlet ASAP.
Post-Armlet:
Before, it was Crystal Maiden's time. In a half hour it'll be Spectre's time. But right now? Right now it's your time. With your Armlet wrapped around your muscular bovine, now is your time to shine. Hunt down your enemies, give them no quarter. Make them suffer. I said it before and I'll say it again: Spirit Breaker's true strength comes from his ability to crush the morale of the enemy team. There are a lot of ways to do it, and each Spirit Breaker comes upon his own method of breaking the will of their enemies. I'll go over just one possible way.
Pick a target. Someone squishy. Someone without an escape, or relies on a Shadow Blade or stealth mechanic to protect them. Pick them, focus on them. Charge them. Again, and again. Camp their lane, force them to go elsewhere. Put wards in their jungle. If they can't farm in their lane they'll be forced there. Nothing will protect them. Make it so that they can't go anywhere alone. Make them yell at their team, swearing and yelling at the support to wonder where the wards are. Make them complain about a lack of mias. Make them never want to play Dota, ever again. Stealth won't protect them. Grab some dust and throw it in the air when you charge Clinkz. Grab a sentry and slap it down when you charge Weaver.
This is your hour, and this is your game. Dominate the map, be everywhere at once. Dive towers if you want, your Armlet will keep you tanky enough to take the hits. Nothing will stop you. Now make me proud.
Lategame:
Well this is awkward... We're fifty minutes in and there are no rax down. So now things are different. You can't really gank anymore and you don't have the best split push in the world. You have some good antipush thanks to your charge, but you're not going to be farely useful in anything if you aren't insanely fed. By now, the carries will be doing much more damage to you, and Tinker and Furion will have more global presence than you.
First of all, stop charging everyone you see. I know it hurts, but nobody's going to be wandering around by themselves anymore. You're going to be charging to your death. Stick with your team, build aura items. You're transitioning to a more support role when it comes to your team. In a major teamfight, your goal should be to target the squishiest member of the enemy team and lock them the fuck down, especially if it's someone with a massive ult like Enigma or Warlock. Play safe, and work together with your team to ensure victory.
9. Friends & Foes
Friends:
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/thumb/8/85/Lifestealer_Large.png/120px-Lifestealer_Large.png)
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/thumb/1/16/Natures_Prophet_Large.png/120px-Natures_Prophet_Large.png)
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/thumb/c/c0/Tinker_Large.png/120px-Tinker_Large.png)
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/thumb/9/91/Zeus_Large.png/120px-Zeus_Large.png)
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/thumb/a/aa/Wisp_Large.png/120px-Wisp_Large.png)
Special mention to N'aix for the infamous Charge Bomb combo. Other than that, you may notice a pattern in who I listed. Heroes with global presence will be able to ensure your dominance by assisting in your ganks, especially intelligence heroes who hit their peak in the mid game.
Foes:
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/thumb/5/57/Rubick_Large.png/120px-Rubick_Large.png)
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/thumb/8/8d/Lion_Large.png/120px-Lion_Large.png)
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/thumb/d/d8/Shadow_Shaman_Large.png/120px-Shadow_Shaman_Large.png)
Really, anyone that can stun you before you connect with your charge will be trouble, but special mention goes to these three who can easily interrupt your charge and leave you a sitting duck while the enemy team repositions around you. Also something important to note is to bring up these guys again:
Spirit Breaker's best friends can also be his worst enemies. Someone with strong global presence will be able to quickly respond accordingly to your gank or take advantage of the moment to push down a tower. And while it was a lot of fun having N'aix inside of you when you were charging people, smashing headfirst into what you thought was a squishy Drow Ranger only to have Lifestealer burst out of her like a bloody pinata is not a pleasant surprise.
X. Final Words
First of all thanks to synapse, whose guide template I blatantly stole for the purpose of writing this. Also thanks to any Spirit Breaker who doesn't build a Mask of Madness. And a third thanks to you, for reading this, you lovely angel. If you like talking about how awesome I am watch me stream on twitch, where I mostly solo or play in a 2-3 stack with friends. If you have any questions, complaints, suggestions or disagreements, post them below and I'll be happy to blindly defend myself and ignore all criticism.
