* Morphling can Attribute Shift to strength after being hit by Maledict. Since Maledict deals its damage based on the difference between HP on cast and HP after two seconds, odds are Morphling will have more HP than when Maledict was cast, thus resulting in no damage.
* On the upside, players prone to panicked reactions may Morph to agility, making Maledict even more efficient than intended.
* Adaptive Strike (Strength) can interrupt Death Ward at a decent range.
* Morph allows Morphling to copy abilities of Spirit Breaker and combine them with
Waveform to turn things around.
Aghanim's Scepter upgraded
Morph also allows Morphling to create a strong illusion of Spirit Breaker that can cast all of his basic abilities. This allows Morphling to give Spirit Breaker a taste of his own medicine.
* Spirit Breaker's low attack speed and lack of burst damage makes it unlikely for him to win against Morphling when he has Attribute Shift (Strength Gain) toggled on.
* Death Ward does little damage against Dragon Knight's armor, and Dragon Knight's high health regeneration minimizes damage from
Maledict.
* Spirit Breaker's slow attack speed and moderate damage do very little to harm Dragon Knight, even if ganked with Charge of Darkness.
* Witch Doctor's iconic
Death Ward is a perfect spell for Rubick to output high damage.
* Death Ward requires channeling which makes Witch Doctor a clear tagret for stealing. Rubick can steal the spell outside of Death Ward's attack range most of the times.
* Note that an skilled Witch Doctor player can cast
Voodoo Restoration to disrupt their last spell for Rubick to steal.
* Telekinesis can interrupt a channeling
Death Ward. With
Death Ward's high burst damage, combining
Death Ward and
Telekinesis to hold enemy in place can result in a solo kill in the early game.
* Paralyzing Cask provides an additional disable. The ability also helps moderately with farming.
* Voodoo Restoration provides some utility by healing Rubick and his team.
* Maledict is a damage-over-time nuke that amplifies the damage enemy taken.
* Telekinesis can reposition the enemy within the range of
Maledict.
Additional:
* Rubick can steal Death Ward easily as it is a channeled ability and then use it to turn teamfight to his advantage.
* However, a skilled Witch Doctor will toggle Voodoo Restoration immediately after placing his Death Ward to prevent that.
* Rubick can cancel Spirit Breaker's Charge of Darkness with Telekinesis under the condition that Rubick is able to cast it on time. And considering Rubick commonly buys
Eul's Scepter of Divinity that can also cancel Charge of Darkness, Spirit Breaker will have a hard time charging Rubick or his allies until Spirit Breaker buys
Shadow Blade.
Telekinesis can also be used to cancel Nether Strike and
Aghanim's Shard upgraded
Telekinesis also allows Rubick to save his allies from Spirit Breaker.
* Fade Bolt weakens Spirit Breaker's damage output, reducing damage of Greater Bash.
* If Rubick succeeds to steal Charge of Darkness, he will be able to reduce much of Spirit Breaker's global presence. Rubick can also steal Nether Strike to further disable Spirit Breaker once he disables him with stolen Charge of Darkness. But bear in mind, however, that a skilled Spirit Breaker can use Bulldoze to prevent all that.
* Kraken Shell dispels the stun from Paralyzing Cask. However, it does not dispel the damage from Maledict.
* Once Witch Doctor first uses his Death Ward in team fights, Tidehunter can simply cancel it with Ravage, turning the tables against him, especially if Witch Doctor does not have a
Black King Bar.
* As a precaution, Witch Doctor should let Tidehunter use Ravage first before channeling Death Ward to turn a team fight in his favor.
* Durable heroes: Axe,
Dawnbreaker,
Bristleback,
Mars,
Omniknight,
Tidehunter,
Wraith King,
Primal Beast,
Underlord.
* Generally, any fragile heroes will have a hard time dealing with Undying's tankiness, and even more so if Decay is used on them. Some examples are Crystal Maiden and
Witch Doctor.
* Due to Spirit Breaker's low attack speed, Tombstone is problematic for Spirit Breaker as the zombies summoned from
Tombstone apply a stacking movement speed slow, which can significantly reduce Greater Bash's damage.
* Soul Rip and
Decay allows Undying and his allies to survive and recover from any incoming ganks by Spirit Breaker.
* Heroes with slow movement speeds and small health pools (supports like Crystal Maiden or
Witch Doctor) are easy targets for Phoenix. Should they be inflicted by its DOT debuffs, they will be very quickly killed without even getting a chance to fight back.
* Due to Spirit Breaker's low attack speed, Supernova is problematic for Spirit Breaker to take down, and even more so with
Fire Spirits debuff applied.
* Wraithfire Blast cancels Death Ward in decent range.
* Death Ward is meaningless while Reincarnation is off cooldown.
* Vampiric Aura can out-heal the {tooltip:DoT|Damage over Time} from Maledict.
* Heroes with summons and illusions as Spirit Breaker has no strong AoE capabilities to deal with them: Chaos Knight,
Phantom Lancer,
Terrorblade,
Naga Siren,
Broodmother,
Warlock,
Visage,
Nature's Prophet,
Shadow Shaman,
Lycan,
Wraith King.
* Heroes with channeled abilities can be interrupted by a long-range Fissure: Crystal Maiden,
Witch Doctor,
Bane,
Pugna,
Pudge.
* Fissure interrupts Spirit Breaker during Charge of Darkness.
* Death Ward can be easily canceled by Jakiro, or even turned against him with Macropyre, due to it's attack range being smaller then Jakiro's cast range. And
Crystal Maiden, his Scepter does not allow him to move while using it.
Voodoo Switcheroo is even easier to land Jakiro's Macropyro/Ice Path combo. And unlike
Crystal Maiden, Witch Doctor's Aghanim's Scepter upgraded Death Ward does not allow him to move while using it.
* While Maledict can be quite effective on Jakiro, along with repetitive stuns from Paralyzing Cask, it is very difficult to get a strong Maledict on him. Although Witch Doctor's Paralizying Cask, Maledict and Death Ward combo will still quickly eliminate Jakiro.
* On the other hand. Voodoo Restoration will partly protect his allies from Jakiro spells, as it heals based on their Max Health once he gets his Talent (Level 25). Before then though, it won't make a dent in the damage Jakiro deals.
* Heroes that can slow Charge of Darkness by a huge amount: Venomancer,
Viper,
Dazzle,
Arc Warden,
Lion,
Huskar,
Shadow Shaman,
Visage,
Undying,
Jakiro.
* Luna can easily cancel channeling spells with Lucent Beam and 0.25s Eclipse Lucent Ministun talent for
Eclipse, she can also buy
Abyssal Blade in case they decide to buy
Black King Bar:
Enigma's
Black Hole,
Witch Doctor's
Death Ward,
Shadow Shaman's
Shackles,
Lion's
Mana Drain,
Bane's
Fiend's Grip,
Pudge's
Dismember,
Crystal Maiden's
Freezing Field,
Pugna's
Life Drain,
Dawnbreaker's
Solar Guardian, and
Naga Siren's
Reel In from
Aghanim's Scepter.
Additional:
* Lucent Beam interrupts Death Ward from a decent range.
* With Dust of Appearance, Eclipse kills Witch Doctor during Death Ward, even through
Glimmer Cape.
* If Luna chooses to use Eclipse in anticipation right before Spirit Breaker gets to her with Charge of Darkness, she will be able to kill Spirit Breaker before he will be able to kill her as Spirit Breaker's attack speed is rather low.
* Meanwhile, when Spirit Breaker is focusing on any of Luna's allies with Charge of Darkness, Aghanim's Scepter upgraded
Eclipse can be used to counter-initate against Spirit Breaker.
* Aghanim's Shard upgraded
Moon Glaives allows Luna to reduce damage from Greater Bash and Nether Strike inflicts on her, and damage Spirit Breaker whenever he is close to her, even while he is invisible.
* Lucent Beam can be used to cancel Spirit Breaker's Charge of Darkness under the condition that Luna is able to cast it on time.
Lucent Beam can also be used to cancel Nether Strike. But bear in mind, however, that Spirit Breaker can counter this with
Planar Pocket from
Aghanim's Shard which can be used to reflect
Lucent Beam back at Luna.
* If Luna buys Linken's Sphere, it will become nearly impossible for Spirit Breaker to reach Luna unless some of Spirit Breaker's allies can pop it and put it on a cooldown.
* Even though Spirit Breaker can evade all of Luna's abilities with Shadow Blade, smart Luna will always buy
Dust of Appearance to provide vision on Spirit Breaker to her and her team. Luna can also buy
Gleipnir to counter Spirit Breaker's Charge of Darkness and
Shadow Blade combo.
Additional:
* If Luna chooses to use Eclipse in anticipation right before Spirit Breaker gets to her with Charge of Darkness, she will be able to kill Spirit Breaker before he will be able to kill her as Spirit Breaker's attack speed is rather low.
* Meanwhile, when Spirit Breaker is focusing on any of Luna's allies with Charge of Darkness, Aghanim's Scepter upgraded
Eclipse can be used to counter-initate against Spirit Breaker.
* Aghanim's Shard upgraded
Moon Glaives allows Luna to reduce damage from Greater Bash and Nether Strike inflicts on her, and damage Spirit Breaker whenever he is close to her, even while he is invisible.
* Lucent Beam can be used to cancel Spirit Breaker's Charge of Darkness under the condition that Luna is able to cast it on time.
Lucent Beam can also be used to cancel Nether Strike. But bear in mind, however, that Spirit Breaker can counter this with
Planar Pocket from
Aghanim's Shard which can be used to reflect
Lucent Beam back at Luna.
* If Luna buys Linken's Sphere, it will become nearly impossible for Spirit Breaker to reach Luna unless some of Spirit Breaker's allies can pop it and put it on a cooldown.
* Even though Spirit Breaker can evade all of Luna's abilities with Shadow Blade, smart Luna will always buy
Dust of Appearance to provide vision on Spirit Breaker to her and her team. Luna can also buy
Gleipnir to counter Spirit Breaker's Charge of Darkness and
Shadow Blade combo.
* Stone Form can easily interrupt heroes with long channeling spells, like Crystal Maiden,
Bane,
Witch Doctor, or
Enigma.
* Heroes with summons and illusions as Spirit Breaker has no strong AoE capabilities to deal with them: Chaos Knight,
Phantom Lancer,
Terrorblade,
Naga Siren,
Broodmother,
Warlock,
Visage,
Nature's Prophet,
Shadow Shaman,
Lycan,
Wraith King.
* Arc Warden's
Magnetic Field dodges all damage from Death Ward.
* Heroes that can slow Charge of Darkness by a huge amount: Venomancer,
Viper,
Dazzle,
Arc Warden,
Lion,
Huskar,
Shadow Shaman,
Visage,
Undying,
Jakiro.
* Heroes who have channeled abilities can be stunned by Light Strike Array, like Witch Doctor with
Death Ward and
Bane's
Fiend's Grip.
Additional:
* Light Strike Array cancels out Death Ward from a long distance.
* Heroes who rely on armor or evasion to survive can easily be bursted down, like Phantom Assassin,
Terrorblade,
Underlord,
Spirit Breaker.
* Heroes that depend on disrupting fights with ability combos or big ultimate abilities are vulnerable to the long stun of Fiend's Grip: Disruptor,
Death Prophet,
Enigma,
Faceless Void,
Invoker,
Lich,
Magnus,
Mars,
Medusa,
Outworld Destroyer,
Phoenix,
Puck,
Queen of Pain,
Shadow Fiend,
Treant Protector,
Underlord,
Winter Wyvern,
Witch Doctor,
Zeus.
* Heroes that can cancel Charge of Darkness: Ogre Magi,
Earthshaker,
Lion,
Rubick,
Lina,
Luna,
Jakiro,
Dawnbreaker,
Alchemist,
Ogre Magi,
Axe,
Shadow Shaman,
Naga Siren,
Mars,
Bane,
Pudge,
Clockwerk.
* Heroes with long channeling abilities like Witch Doctor are easy targets for Kunkka to interrupt in team fights.
Additional:
* Torrent can cancel Death Ward from a far distance.
* Heroes that punish mobile heroes: Bloodseeker,
Keeper of the Light,
Kunkka,
Disruptor.
* Heroes that have a channeled ability that can be interrupted by Meat Hook: Shadow Shaman,
Witch Doctor,
Enigma,
Bane.
Additional:
* Meat Hook interrupts Death Ward from a decent range, even through
Black King Bar &
Glimmer Cape.
* Pudge can survive the damage from Maledict because of his Flesh Heap stacks.
* However the damage-over-time from Rot is counteracted by Voodoo Restoration.
* Heroes that can cancel Charge of Darkness: Ogre Magi,
Earthshaker,
Lion,
Rubick,
Lina,
Luna,
Jakiro,
Dawnbreaker,
Alchemist,
Ogre Magi,
Axe,
Shadow Shaman,
Naga Siren,
Mars,
Bane,
Pudge,
Clockwerk.
* Heroes who cannot escape from Trample early might be easy first blood. Heroes like Witch Doctor and
Omniknight should play very cautiously alone...
* Heroes who rely on burst damage with magical damage will struggle to kill Primal Beast: Spirit Breaker,
Gyrocopter,
Leshrac
* It is especially easy for Oracle to negate the damage from Maledict, and even heal through it with Fate's Edict and
Purifying Flames.
* If by some miracle an enemy is still about to die because of Maledict, he can still save him with False Promise.
* Solar Guardian can save an ally getting targeted and focused by Spirit Breaker.
* Clockwerk can use Power Cogs to repel Spirit Breaker when he charges in with Charge of Darkness.
* Spirit Breaker's slow 0.6 second attack animation attacks do little damage against Clockwerk. It can also constantly be interrupted by Battery Assault.
* Nether Strike's 1.2 second charge time gives Clockwerk plenty of time to activate
Blade Mail and for Battery Assault to cancel it.
Additional:
* Battery Assault will continuously prevent Spirit Breaker from using Nether Strike, Charge of Darkness and even right clicking because of his slow base attack speed.
* Like any hero with a channeled spell, Last Word is a counter to it.
* Global Silence goes through spell immunity and prevents Witch Doctor from casting his spells.
* Malefice prevents Spirit Breaker from using his spells for the duration.
* Eidolons from Demonic Summoning have high magic resistance, receiving little damage from Charge of Darkness and Greater Bash.
* Midnight Pulse can deal big damage to Spirit Breaker, as it deals damage based on enemy hero's max health.
* Black Hole makes it very dangerous for Spirit Breaker to reach Enigma with Charge of Darkness unless if he has Nether Strike available to use.
Additional:
* Malefice prevents Spirit Breaker from using his spells for the duration.
* Eidolons from Demonic Summoning have high magic resistance, receiving little damage from Charge of Darkness and Greater Bash.
* Midnight Pulse can deal big damage to Spirit Breaker, as it deals damage based on enemy hero's max health.
* Black Hole makes it very dangerous for Spirit Breaker to reach Enigma with Charge of Darkness unless if he has Nether Strike available to use.
* Astral Imprisonment can be used to protect allies by imprisoning either them or Spirit Breaker.
* Arcane Orb will heavily drain Spirit Breaker's maximum mana, rendering him almost useless and unable to cast spells. And considering how Spirit Breaker's intelligence is very low,
Sanity's Eclipse will deal a lot of damage to him.
* Even if Spirit Breaker survives Sanity's Eclipse, mana allergy applied by the
Sanity's Eclipse will discourage Spirit Breaker from using his abilities as it will cause him to lose health and heal Outworld Destroyer.
* If Medusa activates Stone Gaze before Spirit Breaker reaches her with Charge of Darkness, the charge will inevitably fail.
* Medusa has three ways to counter Spirit Breaker's Charge of Darkness: Stone Gaze can disable Spirit Breaker's Charge of Darkness if he faces Medusa directly.
Aghanim's Scepter upgraded
Mystic Snake can disable Spirit Breaker and cancel his Charge of Darkness if it hits him. And
Cold Blooded provided by
Aghanim's Shard that can cast a single-targeted
Mystic Snake at Spirit Breaker if he uses Charge of Darkness on her.
* Mana Shield and overall tankiness allows Medusa to easily survive Spirit Breaker's initiation. And to make things worse, Spirit Breaker is not a common
Diffusal Blade nor
Disperser wielder to counter this problem at all.
* Overall, any attempt for Spirit Breaker to gank and kill Medusa will hurt him more than the other way around.
* Nether Strike can't remove Static Link and reduces Spirit Breaker's physical damage output.
* Eye of the Storm melts Spirit Breaker's armor, and makes him much less tanky.
Additional:
* Plasma Field can slow Spirit Breaker and reduce damage from Greater Bash.
* Static Link drains damage bonus from Greater Bash, and it cannot be removed by Nether Strike.
* Storm Surge will proc on Spirit Breaker every time he attacks Razor or if he uses Charge of Darkness on Razor, damaging him and alerting Razor to Spirit Breaker's incoming ganks, no matter how far Spirit Breaker is from Razor.
* Eye of the Storm can rapidly reduce Spirit Breaker's armor, making him much less durable, especially in teamfights.
* Bramble Maze stops Charge of Darkness in its tracks. Its very long duration means it can be used as an obstacle to block off an incoming Spirit Break during teamfights.
* Shadow Realm and Bedlam can be activated when Dark Willow sees Charge of Darkness coming, preventing Spirit Breaker from using
Nether Strike after the initial stun.
* Ice Wall can slow down Charge of Darkness in its tracks at max level, allowing counterplays such as Cold Snap to end the charge, bursting down with Tornado, Meteor, and right clicks, or even teleporting back to spawn to drag Spirit Breaker into the fountain.
* Cold Snap (if timed right) and Invoker's other disables like Tornado can interrupt Charge of Darkness, especially since Charge is telegraphed by the symbol appearing over head.
Additional:
* Cold Snap allows Invoker to interrupt Charge of Darkness and Nether Strike.
* Tornado's long range can be used to cancel Charge of Darkness.
* Deafening Blast prevents Spirit Breaker from right clicking and thus proccing his Greater Bash.
* Searing Chains can stop Charge of Darkness if timed correctly.
* Activate Fire Remnant can be used to escape an approaching Spirit Breaker, or lead Spirit Breaker into a bad situation.
* Fire Remnant and
Sleight of Fist allows Ember Spirit to dodge Charge of Darkness if timed correctly.
* Nature's Grasp severely slows down Spirit Breaker, reducing effects of Charge of Darkness and Greater Bash.
* Living Armor can mitigate a large portion of Spirit Breaker's damage since his attacks are slow.
* Treant Protector can also counter-initiate against Spirit Breaker with Leech Seed,
Overgrowth and with his root from
Aghanim's Shard upgraded
Nature's Guise before he manages to escape.
* Aghanim's Scepter gives Treant Protector access to
Eyes In The Forest ability, which allows him to turn trees into wards that provide vision, allowing him to keep his allies warned about Spirit Breaker's attempts to gank them.
Eyes In The Forest will also trigger
Overgrowth if Spirit Breaker is in range of the tree affected by it.
Additional:
* Spirit Breaker's slow attacks cannot harm a hero shielded by Living Armor.
* Beware of placing the Death Ward if Chronosphere is off cooldown, as it will cancel the effect and leave Witch Doctor vulnerable if he does not react in time.
* Heroes that have a weak laning stage: Spectre,
Nyx Assassin,
Clockwerk,
Spirit Breaker,
Omniknight,
Pudge.
* Heroes with plenty of summons, such as Broodmother or
Nature's Prophet can have their minions soak up most of your Paralyzing Cask.
* With Aghanim's Scepter, Broodmother will gain access to
Spinner's Snare, which will allow her to create invisible lines on her webs from
Spin Web that will root, deal damage over time, and reveal enemy heroes if they unwittingly step on them. This allows Broodmother to keep her allies alerted on heroes who rely on invisibility-themed and movement-themed abilities and items to surprise enemy heroes and disrupt ganking attempts of enemy heroes:
Phantom Assassin,
Nyx Assassin,
Mirana,
Bounty Hunter,
Templar Assassin,
Riki,
Spirit Breaker,
Anti-Mage,
Tusk,
Ursa,
Nature's Prophet,
Enigma,
Void Spirit,
Magnus etc.
* Charge of Darkness provides shared vision over its target, keeping track of heroes who rely on invisibility, mobility, or illusions: Riki,
Broodmother,
Phantom Lancer
* Heroes that can cancel Charge of Darkness: Ogre Magi,
Earthshaker,
Lion,
Rubick,
Lina,
Luna,
Jakiro,
Dawnbreaker,
Alchemist,
Ogre Magi,
Axe,
Shadow Shaman,
Naga Siren,
Mars,
Bane,
Pudge,
Clockwerk.
* Heroes who can continue dealing damage even while being stunned: Luna,
Razor,
Axe,
Bristleback,
Leshrac,
Death Prophet,
Jakiro.
* Heroes that punish mobile heroes: Bloodseeker,
Keeper of the Light,
Kunkka,
Disruptor.
* Heroes that can cancel Charge of Darkness: Ogre Magi,
Earthshaker,
Lion,
Rubick,
Lina,
Luna,
Jakiro,
Dawnbreaker,
Alchemist,
Ogre Magi,
Axe,
Shadow Shaman,
Naga Siren,
Mars,
Bane,
Pudge,
Clockwerk.
* Heroes that have small health pools and little to no escape mechanisms are even easier prey for Necrophos. Ghost Shroud's slow will allow him to catch him with them, and get nuked down with his abilities, even preventing retaliation due to Reaper's Scythe's stun. Such heroes include Crystal Maiden,
Witch Doctor,
Warlock or
Shadow Fiend.
* Channeling heroes will not go well against Warlock, especially those who build Black King Bar as Warlock's ultimate ability stun goes through spell immunity. E.g.:
Crystal Maiden,
Witch Doctor,
Enigma, etc.
* Heroes with summons and illusions as Spirit Breaker has no strong AoE capabilities to deal with them: Chaos Knight,
Phantom Lancer,
Terrorblade,
Naga Siren,
Broodmother,
Warlock,
Visage,
Nature's Prophet,
Shadow Shaman,
Lycan,
Wraith King.
* Warlock is a very strong hero when positioned correctly, and his long cast range helps him with this. However, some heroes might disrupt or sneakily pass through his allies and deal with him, preventing him from doing his job. Such heroes include Chaos Knight,
Spirit Breaker,
Riki, and more.
* Heroes that usually build Linken's Sphere as either a core or situational item:
Weaver,
Medusa,
Morphling,
Queen of Pain,
Storm Spirit,
Luna,
Naga Siren.
* Heroes who can continue dealing damage even while being stunned: Luna,
Razor,
Axe,
Bristleback,
Leshrac,
Death Prophet,
Jakiro.
* Mana Drain has an fair long range and low cooldown. It can easily deplete most heroes of their entire mana pools, especially those with smaller mana pools such as
Tiny or
Spirit Breaker.
* Heroes who can continue dealing damage even while being stunned: Luna,
Razor,
Axe,
Bristleback,
Leshrac,
Death Prophet,
Jakiro.
* Heroes with powerful channeling abilities are easily interrupted by Phantom's Embrace: Bane,
Pudge,
Witch Doctor,
Crystal Maiden,
Enigma.
* Heroes that can slow Charge of Darkness by a huge amount: Venomancer,
Viper,
Dazzle,
Arc Warden,
Lion,
Huskar,
Shadow Shaman,
Visage,
Undying,
Jakiro.
* Heroes with mobility spells like Queen of Pain,
Anti-Mage,
Phantom Assassin,
Riki,
Puck, and
Spirit Breaker that are cancelled by Frostbite can suffer greatly from the presence of Crystal Maiden. It is absolutely critical, however, to have followup from teammates, as all of the above heroes can make quick work of the squishy Crystal Maiden after they are released from her grip.
* Heroes with the ability to heal allies will not be able to heal heroes affected by Doom:
Chen,
Dazzle,
Io,
Oracle,
Omniknight,
Witch Doctor,
Winter Wyvern,
Abaddon, etc.
* Heroes with blink or movement abilities, which are disabled by Pounce's leash: Anti-Mage,
Earth Spirit,
Faceless Void,
Magnus,
Mirana,
Monkey King,
Morphling,
Pangolier,
Phantom Assassin,
Phoenix,
Puck,
Queen of Pain,
Riki,
Sand King,
Spirit Breaker,
Timbersaw,
Tusk.
* Durable heroes: Axe,
Dawnbreaker,
Bristleback,
Mars,
Omniknight,
Tidehunter,
Wraith King,
Primal Beast,
Underlord.
* Can easily interrupt and disable Spirit Breaker with hex if being charged.
* Heroes that are squishy by nature are an easy target for Spirit Breaker: Sniper,
Drow Ranger,
Shadow Shaman
* Earthbind's root prevents/interrupts Charge of Darkness.
* As a single-target focused hero without much damage output, Spirit Breaker is ineffective in general against Meepo.
* Heroes who can stun multiple units at once: Dark Willow,
Spirit Breaker,
Slardar,
Invoker, and
Tidehunter.
* Without Dust of Appearance or Sentry Wards, Riki is able to silence Witch Doctor with Smoke Screen, and is likely to build a Diffusal Blade, leaving Witch Doctor without mana to cast Voodoo Restoration, as well as Skull Basher to interrupt Death Ward.
* Charge of Darkness provides shared vision over its target, keeping track of heroes who rely on invisibility, mobility, or illusions: Riki,
Broodmother,
Phantom Lancer
* Pit of Malice can be cast in the path of Spirit Breaker's Charge of Darkness to cancel it.
* Spirit Breaker's damage output is entirely physical, therefore Atrophy Aura is very hazardous for him in most of the stages, particularly since it also affects
Greater Bash, hindering Spirit Breaker's main source of damage.
* Fiend's Gate provides a way to escape from a gank for Underlord and his teammates. Likewise,
Fiend's Gate can be used to ambush Spirit Breaker who has little to no ways of intercepting Underlord and his teammates when they use it to move around the map.
Additional:
* Pit of Malice can be cast in the path of Spirit Breaker's Charge of Darkness to cancel it.
* Spirit Breaker's damage output is entirely physical, therefore Atrophy Aura is very hazardous for him in most of the stages, particularly since it also affects
Greater Bash, hindering Spirit Breaker's main source of damage.
* Fiend's Gate provides a way to escape from a gank for Underlord and his teammates. Likewise,
Fiend's Gate can be used to ambush Spirit Breaker who has little to no ways of intercepting Underlord and his teammates when they use it to move around the map.
* Heroes with magical or pure damage output will not have any problems against Atrophy Aura at all: Luna,
Lina,
Jakiro,
Pugna,
Bane,
Snapfire,
Muerta,
Nyx Assassin,
Enigma,
Tinker,
Witch Doctor,
Zeus,
Crystal Maiden.
* Witch Doctor's Maledict burst damage can be prevented by Sunder if timed correctly. But it can kill Terrorblade if he has no target to be Sundered with, especially in the early game.
* Death Ward deals physical damage, and Terrorblade's high armor can help him survive against Death Ward. However, Terrorblade has no disable in his skillset at all, and he cannot stop Witch Doctor from channeling Death Ward to maximum. And if Witch Doctor owns
Aghanim's Scepter, attacks from Death Ward will be able to bounce around and wipe out Terrorblade's illusions and his team.
* Terrorblade must be careful as Paralyzing Cask is commonly tricky to dodge for him due to his reliance on illusions.
* Heroes with summons and illusions as Spirit Breaker has no strong AoE capabilities to deal with them: Chaos Knight,
Phantom Lancer,
Terrorblade,
Naga Siren,
Broodmother,
Warlock,
Visage,
Nature's Prophet,
Shadow Shaman,
Lycan,
Wraith King.
* Heroes who have channeling abilities because Terrorblade has no disables to cancel them at all besides Terror Wave from
Aghanim's Scepter, and he does not like buying disabling items at all:
Enigma's
Black Hole,
Witch Doctor's
Death Ward,
Shadow Shaman's
Shackles,
Lion's
Mana Drain,
Bane's
Fiend's Grip,
Pudge's
Dismember,
Crystal Maiden's
Freezing Field,
Pugna's
Life Drain,
Dawnbreaker's
Solar Guardian, and
Naga Siren's
Reel In from
Aghanim's Scepter.
* Unlike with other heroes who can summon illusions of themselves, Terrorblade's illusions from Conjure Image have different colors than other illusions which can be seen even by enemy team, which can also make Terrorblade weak even against heroes he naturally counters:
Bane,
Lifestealer,
Spectre,
Chaos Knight,
Spirit Breaker,
Sniper. Terrorblade's only solution to counter this problem is to get
Manta Style as quickly as possible.
* Sacred Arrow can be used to interrupt Death Ward from a safe distance, forcing him to cancel it to dodge or get hit.
* Paralyzing Cask is a slow-moving stun, and Mirana can Leap away from her allies to keep it from bouncing.
* Witch Doctor has low health and can easily be killed with an Aghanim's Scepter combo or just when hit with an arrow.
* Heroes that rely on invisibility can be tracked with Charge of Darkness opening them to team attacks: Bounty Hunter,
Mirana,
Riki
* Spirit Breaker won’t do much harm to Enchantress because of Untouchable and Nature's Attendants. Unless Enchantress is low on HP, Spirit Breaker won’t be able to catch her with mere spells.
* Heroes with nukes that can jump her: Clockwerk,
Snapfire,
Spirit Breaker,
Techies
* Heroes with plenty of summons, such as Broodmother or
Nature's Prophet can have their minions soak up most of your Paralyzing Cask.
* Heroes with summons and illusions as Spirit Breaker has no strong AoE capabilities to deal with them: Chaos Knight,
Phantom Lancer,
Terrorblade,
Naga Siren,
Broodmother,
Warlock,
Visage,
Nature's Prophet,
Shadow Shaman,
Lycan,
Wraith King.
* Spirit Breaker can chase Nature's Prophet from anywhere on the map with Charge of Darkness, making it hard for Nature's Prophet to split-push.
* Charge of Darkness and
Nether Strike gives vision of Nature's Prophet when he tries to Sprout himself and teleport away.
Additional:
* Charge of Darkness allows Spirit Breaker to catch Nature's Prophet out when he tries to split push.
* Nature's Prophet can't hide in his Sprout against Spirit Breaker, as his Charge of Darkness provides vision on its target.
* Spirit Breaker can easily cancel Nature's Prophet's Teleportation.
* Paralyzing Cask will repetively bounce between Chen and his converted creeps every single time. This can get even worse if Witch Doctor buys
Aghanim's Scepter that will allow his
Death Ward to bounce between Chen and his converted creeps.
* Paralyzing Cask,
Maledict and
Death Ward combination will often kill Chen's allies before he can save them with
Hand of God. And to make things worse, Chen has no way to cancel
Death Ward on his own, and must rely on outside from {U:Centaur Conqueror} or {U:Mud Golem} under his control.
* Voodoo Switcheroo from
Aghanim's Shard cannot be interrupted by Chen's creeps at all because Witch Doctor is hidden for it's duration.
Additional:
* Paralyzing Cask will repetively bounce between Chen and his converted creeps every single time. This can get even better if Witch Doctor buys
Aghanim's Scepter that will allow his
Death Ward to bounce between Chen and his converted creeps.
* Paralyzing Cask,
Maledict and
Death Ward combination will often kill Chen's allies before he can save them with
Hand of God. And to make things better, Chen has no way to cancel
Fiend's Grip on his own, and must rely on outside from {U:Centaur Conqueror} or {U:Mud Golem} under his control.
* Voodoo Switcheroo from
Aghanim's Shard cannot be interrupted by Chen's creeps at all because Witch Doctor is hidden for it's duration.
* Heroes that can easily bypass Chen's creeps to get to Chen: Riki,
Tusk,
Clinkz,
Sniper,
Slark,
Phantom Assassin,
Void Spirit,
Storm Spirit,
Ember Spirit,
Earth Spirit,
Spirit Breaker.
* Heroes with abilities or items that can silence or disable Anti-Mage for long periods of time will prevent him from Blinking away: Lion,
Silencer,
Shadow Shaman,
Grimstroke,
Witch Doctor,
Riki,
Faceless Void,
Skywrath Mage,
Puck.
* Anti-Mage usually relies on Blink to escape, but with vision from Charge of Darkness it is easier to catch him.
* Spirit Breaker could single-handedly lock Anti-Mage down for 4 seconds (or even more with lucky bashes), allowing his teammates to follow up.
* As Anti-Mage is an elusive hero who likes to farm alone, Spirit Breaker could choose to charge whenever Anti-Mage is in sight.
* Heroes with summons and illusions as Spirit Breaker has no strong AoE capabilities to deal with them: Chaos Knight,
Phantom Lancer,
Terrorblade,
Naga Siren,
Broodmother,
Warlock,
Visage,
Nature's Prophet,
Shadow Shaman,
Lycan,
Wraith King.
* Paralyzing cask bounces between him and his wolves, keeping him stunned for long amounts of time.
* Charge of Darkness allows Spirit Breaker to catch up to Lycan after he uses Shapeshift.
Additional:
* Vision from Charge of Darkness will easier to catch Lycan Shapeshift and Charge of Darkness out of reach Lycan
Summon Wolves and Lycan's other creeps. Until upgrade
Aghanim's Scepter faster catching Lycan
Shapeshift.
* Charge of Darkness allows Spirit Breaker to gank Shadow Fiend in the early game, preventing him from getting Necromastery stacks.
* Nether Strike and
Charge of Darkness can be used to prevent Shadow Fiend from casting Requiem of Souls.
* Tinker relies on his high mobility from Keen Conveyance and
Blink Dagger to survive. Those items don't help him if Spirit Breaker manages to cast Charge of Darkness on him.
* Spirit Breaker can easily cancel Rearm and
Keen Conveyance.
* Possibly Clinkz's worst enemy. He has many tools to utterly destroy Clinkz.
* Charge of Darkness can be used on Clinkz if Spirit Breaker's team spots him anywhere. This charge will track his location through Skeleton Walk's invisibility and movement speed bonuses.
* When Spirit Breaker charges onto Clinkz, he can easily use Dust of Appearance to guarantee a reveal on him while stunned.
* All three of Spirit Breaker's spells help him and his team quickly close the gap to Clinkz even at the edge of his attack range or when running away with Skeleton Walk.
* Spirit Breaker's high strength and above average armor makes him able to endure Clinkz's onslaught, meanwhile Clinkz will be heavily threatened if Spirit Breaker procs a Greater Bash.
Additional:
* Once caught with dust, Clinkz could be locked down for a long time by Spirit Breaker and has nowhere to escape.
* Charge of Darkness provides shared vision over its target, showing Clinkz even when he is in Skeleton Walk.
* Paralyzing Cask can save ally from Legion Commander Duel's until she purchases
Aghanim's Scepter.
* Voodoo Restoration can heal Witch Doctor allies from Duel's.
* Death Ward can help Witch Doctor allies from winning Duel's, if, he is not a target.
* Charge of Darkness can be used to escape or counter-initiate against a Relocate gank.
* Greater Bash and
Nether Strike is devastating due to Io's low armor, and can even knock it away from his
Tethered target.
* Paralyzing Cask is likely to bounce between him and his bear every single time.
* Lone Druid's lack of mobility makes him vulnerable to Death Ward and Maledict.
* Heroes with summons and illusions as Spirit Breaker has no strong AoE capabilities to deal with them: Chaos Knight,
Phantom Lancer,
Terrorblade,
Naga Siren,
Broodmother,
Warlock,
Visage,
Nature's Prophet,
Shadow Shaman,
Lycan,
Wraith King.
* Heroes with long-lasting, undispellable debuffs will pinpoint the true Naga Siren: Spirit Breaker,
Bloodseeker,
Witch Doctor.
* Heroes with long-lasting, undispellable debuffs will pinpoint the true Naga Siren: Spirit Breaker,
Bloodseeker,
Witch Doctor.
* Fragile supports with low armor are always a good prey, also her Psionic Trap will wear down most attempts to flee with their built-in disables: Silencer,
Crystal Maiden,
Warlock,
Ancient Apparition,
Grimstroke,
Witch Doctor
* Multiple attackers thanks to summoned units or clones: Meepo,
Witch Doctor,
Lycan,
Enigma,
Shadow Shaman
* Heroes that can quickly deal damage to her, regardless of how weak they are, can easily break through her Refraction:
* Multiple attackers thanks to summoned units or clones: Meepo,
Witch Doctor,
Lycan,
Enigma,
Shadow Shaman
* Multiple attackers thanks to illusions: Phantom Lancer,
Chaos Knight,
Naga Siren (bonus for her
Ensnare). Also despite the visual effects, Templar Assassin does not spill damage against illusions or buildings, so she is not a really good hero to clean up illusions.
* Weak damage but high tick rate or persist in a long time: Slark,
Gyrocopter,
Queen of Pain,
Shadow Shaman (
Shackles),
Jakiro,
Pugna,
Doom
* Because Templar Assassin does not have escape potential in lane, any support hero with roaming potential and a Dust of Appearance can be great at shutting her down early game:
Earth Spirit,
Spirit Breaker,
Tusk,
Bounty Hunter,
Riki,
Warlock.
* Heroes who build Black King Bar as either core or situational item will be able to fight back against Nyx Assassin and freely attack him as Spiked Carapace cannot pierce spell immunity at all:
Axe,
Broodmother,
Dawnbreaker,
Enigma,
Huskar,
Jakiro,
Legion Commander,
Lina,
Luna,
Lycan,
Slardar,
Slark,
Troll Warlord,
Witch Doctor.
* Generally, heroes that can close the gap on Drow Ranger to cancel her Marksmanship such as Phantom Assassin,
Spirit Breaker, and
Tusk are effective at limiting her power and bursting her down.
* Heroes with long range abilities are also able to touch Zeus, such as Clockwerk,
Kunkka,
Puck,
Skywrath Mage,
Spirit Breaker,
Tusk and others.
* Heroes with channeled abilities which Assassinate may cancel at long range: Witch Doctor,
Crystal Maiden,
Shadow Shaman,
Pugna
* Spirit Breaker can charge towards Sniper from anywhere on the map with Charge of Darkness.
* Greater Bash deals magical damage, which can prove dangerous to Sniper and his low health.
* Both previous abilities combined with Nether Strike ensures that Spirit Breaker can easily solo kill Sniper.
* Heroes who rely on channeling abilities can be interrupted in teamfights by Rolling Thunder: Crystal Maiden,
Pugna,
Witch Doctor
* Charge of Darkness can be used to chase down Pangolier if he escapes with Swashbuckle or Rolling Thunder.
* Nether Strike ignores Rolling Thunder's spell immunity, and will still hit Pangolier if he rolls or dashes away.
* Heroes that usually build Linken's Sphere as either a core or situational item:
Weaver,
Medusa,
Morphling,
Queen of Pain,
Storm Spirit,
Luna,
Naga Siren.
* Shukuchi vision can easily target Charge of Darkness before Weaver purchase
Linken's Sphere.
Additional:
* Spirit Breaker's strong escape combo abilities from Charge of Darkness and
Bulldoze can easily catch Shukuchi from Weaver.
* Time Lapse cannot dispel neither Charge of Darkness nor
Nether Strike.
* However, Weaver is a common Linken's Sphere wielder. And if he has it, Spirit Breaker will not be able to catch up with Weaver neiter with
Charge of Darkness nor with
Nether Strike.
* Heroes that can slow Charge of Darkness by a huge amount: Venomancer,
Viper,
Dazzle,
Arc Warden,
Lion,
Huskar,
Shadow Shaman,
Visage,
Undying,
Jakiro.
* Voodoo Restoration heals to counter damage over time of Poison Nova and
Poison Sting.
* Heroes with summons and illusions as Spirit Breaker has no strong AoE capabilities to deal with them: Chaos Knight,
Phantom Lancer,
Terrorblade,
Naga Siren,
Broodmother,
Warlock,
Visage,
Nature's Prophet,
Shadow Shaman,
Lycan,
Wraith King.
* Maledict cannot be dispelled by Phantasm, and can be used to tag the real Chaos Knight hiding within his illusions.
* If Witch Doctor has an Aghanim's Scepter,
Death Ward will bounce between Chaos Knight's illusions, destroying them quickly.
* However, Death Ward is easily interrupted by Chaos Bolt until Witch Doctor buys
Glimmer Cape or
Black King Bar.
* Heroes with ways to protect themselves or allies from Spirit Breaker's initiation: Shadow Demon,
Outworld Destroyer,
Omniknight,
Dawnbreaker.
* Death Ward with
Aghanim's Scepter makes quick work of the spawned illusions from Disruption.
* However, it can be cancelled by Disruption until Witch Doctor buys Linken's Sphere or
Black King Bar.
* All of Witch Doctor's abilities are active, making Demonic Purge break from Aghanim's Scepter useless.
* Voodoo Restoration can out-heal the damage from Shadow Demon's abilities.
* An attempt to save an ally using Disruption can easily become a perfect setup for a Maledict or
Paralyzing Cask for the enemy.
* Heroes that can slow Charge of Darkness by a huge amount: Venomancer,
Viper,
Dazzle,
Arc Warden,
Lion,
Huskar,
Shadow Shaman,
Visage,
Undying,
Jakiro.
* Voodoo Restoration heals to counter damage over time of Viper abilities.
* Viper has no way to cancel Death Ward, even through Rod of Atos.
* Low mobility heroes: Heroes with no/little means of traveling fast have difficulty getting to/away from Bounty Hunter due to his slowing Jinada and hastening Track. Few examples of such heroes are: Crystal Maiden,
Sniper,
Ursa,
Witch Doctor, etc.
* Spirit Breaker's Charge of Darkness semi-reveals Bounty Hunter, taking away his element of surprise for the duration of the charge. Also, as Charge of Darkness shows Bounty Hunter's position, Spirit Breaker's allies can proceed to gank Bounty Hunter while he is roaming alone.
* Heroes with gap-closing abilities who attempt to use them for escaping Bloodseeker will suffer serious damage from Rupture: Phantom Assassin,
Anti-Mage,
Faceless Void,
Riki,
Slark,
Spirit Breaker.
* Voodoo Restoration heals to counter Bloodseeker's Thirst.
* Rupture is generally useless against Witch Doctor while he is staying on Death Ward.
* Although Witch Doctor needs to be careful as Blood Rite can interrupt Death Ward.
* Death Ward's first target (before it bounces) can evade it, therefore Windranger and
Phantom Assassin are poor choices to use it on.
* Windranger tends to fare badly against high mobility heroes that can easily dodge Powershot, close the gap on her when she uses Windrun or escape from Focus Fire's reach. Examples of such heroes include Spirit Breaker,
Lycan,
Storm Spirit,
Earth Spirit,
Void Spirit,
Slark and others.
* Heroes with summons and illusions as Spirit Breaker has no strong AoE capabilities to deal with them: Chaos Knight,
Phantom Lancer,
Terrorblade,
Naga Siren,
Broodmother,
Warlock,
Visage,
Nature's Prophet,
Shadow Shaman,
Lycan,
Wraith King.
* Charge of Darkness provides shared vision over its target, keeping track of heroes who rely on invisibility, mobility, or illusions: Riki,
Broodmother,
Phantom Lancer
* Paralyzing Cask's short stun rarely prevents Monkey King from ambushing Witch Doctor.
* Death Ward's long channel is easily interrupted by Boundless Strike.
* Another hero that should not leave a special circle for his ultimate. The only thing to be afraid is Boundless Strike.
* Heroes that usually build Linken's Sphere as either a core or situational item:
Weaver,
Medusa,
Morphling,
Queen of Pain,
Storm Spirit,
Luna,
Naga Siren.
* Heroes that rely on escapes to stay alive can be caught and locked down for a long time: Queen of Pain,
Phantom Assassin
* Heroes who can continue dealing damage even while being stunned: Luna,
Razor,
Axe,
Bristleback,
Leshrac,
Death Prophet,
Jakiro.
* Spirit Breaker's
Nether Strike with
Aghanim's Shard disables Bristleback's passives.
* Low health spellcasters: Lina,
Witch Doctor,
Tinker,
Keeper of the Light, all rely heavily on their spells and are fragile heroes. They all also have avoidable spells, allowing Puck to get to them and quickly burst them down.
* Axe,
Bristleback,
Centaur Warrunner,
Spirit Breaker,
Pudge,
Huskar,
Wraith King,
Doom: These heroes are too tanky for Puck to burst down. Also, all of them have spells which can deal with and shut Puck down reliably.
* Heroes that punish mobile heroes: Bloodseeker,
Keeper of the Light,
Kunkka,
Disruptor.
* Heroes with channeling abilities: Enigma,
Witch Doctor,
Crystal Maiden.
* Fragile support heroes are all ideal targets for the Phantom Assassin. Heroes such as Lina and
Witch Doctor are all prime targets that may not be able to react quickly and fight back due to Phantom Assassin's sudden appearance.
* Heroes that rely on escapes to stay alive can be caught and locked down for a long time: Queen of Pain,
Phantom Assassin
* Heroes that can slow Charge of Darkness by a huge amount: Venomancer,
Viper,
Dazzle,
Arc Warden,
Lion,
Huskar,
Shadow Shaman,
Visage,
Undying,
Jakiro.
* Spirit Breaker's stuns pierce spell immunity, making him a good choice against heroes that heavily rely on Black King Bar;
Huskar
* Heroes like Slark,
Witch Doctor and others also tend to suffer in Ice Blast's heal denial.
* Heroes with mobility/escape mechanisms to dodge Ancient Apparition abilites, or to easily jump on him: Riki,
Queen of Pain,
Phantom Assassin,
Windranger,
Bounty Hunter,
Spirit Breaker,
Night Stalker,
Storm Spirit,
Juggernaut, etc.
* Vengeful Spirit has two abilities to interrupt Death Ward, even through Black King Bar.
* Magic Missile has a considerably long cast time, making it difficult to stop Charge of Darkness with it.
* Other than Magic Missile, Vengeful Spirit has no way of canceling Nether Strike.
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Witch Doctor
*
Guardian Angel protects allies from Death Ward's physical damage.
Purification and
Heavenly Grace will most likely save teammates from dying to Maledict.
*
Spirit Breaker
* In the early game, Omniknight can look like an easy target for Spirit Breaker, but with
Purification and
Hammer of Purity, what could be an opportunity could quickly turn into disaster.
Repel can be used to counter Charge of Darkness by minimizing the damage and lowering the stun duration with status resistance.
*
* Spirit Breaker's Greater Bash from all sources (Charge of Darkness or normal attacks) will deal no damage at all if Omniknight and his allies are protected with presence.
* Due to this, Spirit Breaker's damage will always be lower when targeting Omniknight.