Dawnbreaker is one of the latest heroes added to Dota 2, which has gained popularity not only in pubs, but also on the pro scene. Despite the fact that she is conceived as a solid support hero or hard, she is also assembled as a carry. However, we will primarily analyze the fourth position support Downbreaker.
Dawnbreaker Dota 2 Character Review
Let’s move on to the advantages and disadvantages of the character:
Advantages
- Huge amount of HP at the start and high strength gain. Downbreaker almost does not require artifacts that increase the health reserve, and easily stands in the line together with a ranged or just a tight trio.
- Availability of control and healing. Downbreaker has two stuns at his disposal – Starbreaker and Solar Guardian, which, among other things, also heals allies. Passive Luminosity also provides healing to allies around when accumulating charges, but is still ineffective in this regard.
- The ability to quickly farm and move around the map. Dawnbreaker’s skills together make her very mobile. Thanks to her ultimate, she can fly into a fight from anywhere on the map, and Celestial Hammer allows her to pass through obstacles in the form of trees and ledges.
Flaws
- Low mana and armor. To survive enemy attacks, Downbreaker still requires at least the most basic armor items. And to make up for the lack of mana, you will have to stock up on consumables and items that increase your mana pool.
- Starbreaker and Solar Guardian can be interrupted. The first skill can be interrupted by stuns, and the ultimate can be interrupted by silence.
- Ineffective in lane when facing ranged heroes. Since Downbreaker’s primary skills are melee, enemy ranged heroes can drain her resources or prevent her from attacking.
Tactics of playing for the character
Initial stage of the game
At the laning stage, Downbreaker is able to prevent melee heroes from farming, since she absorbs damage well. Therefore, we provide our hard hero with comfortable farming on the lane, harass enemies, pull creeps and do not forget about consumables.
In the starting purchase, you need to have at least one pack of Tango, a flask, a pair of Enchanted Mango Wind Lace or Orb of Venom. The last two items are bought depending on the lineup. If the lineup is simple, then you should not ignore these artifacts, since the Orb will help harass enemies, and Wind Lace will speed up the appearance of Tranquil Boots.
It is important to get Dawnbreaker to level 6, so you should only do creep stacking if your team does not need emergency help, and your hardlaner can easily stand the lane solo. With Solar Guardian, you can call the team to initiate fights and help allies in case of a counterattack.
Mid-game
Timely movement around the map is the key to success for Dawnbreaker. In order to properly use the hero, you must always help the team when it results in a favorable outcome for you. Therefore, keep an eye on the map and take into account requests for help in order to cast an ult or press a teleport in time.
Never forget about warding. Keep an eye on the ward supply in the shop and place your vision in the most important places to gain control over the map.
If you have an extra minute, you can go farm to quickly get Holy Locket and Medallion of Courage – some of the basic items for the support Dawnbreaker. If necessary, buy Force Staff, which will give you more HP and mana and allow you to save yourself and your teammates. The next slot is to upgrade the medallion into Solar Crest and save up for Lotus Orb, Eul’s Scepter or Aghanim’s Scepter (depending on what is more important).
In fights, Dawnbreaker can afford to be in the center of the fight – she does not need to hold position. However, to cast the ultimate, it is better to move to a safe place so that it does not get knocked down.
Late game
In the late game, Dawnbreaker does not lose its power and continues to make an impact in the game. A must-have attribute for Dawnbreaker as a support in the late game is Aghanim’s Scepter. It will provide not only more healing, but also 60% evasion to allies in the radius of the ability.
If you notice that you are starting to bring less benefit as a support, and the damage to kill enemy heroes is not enough, you have the right to buy items for damage. Here it all depends on what you need more, so the items range from Echo Sabre to Satanic.
Also a good slot is Aghanim’s Shard, which grants immunity to magic while using Starbreaker. With it, you will be sure that your ability will not be interrupted by stuns that do not pass through BKB.
As for mass fights, here everything depends, for the most part, on how successfully you used the ult and Starbreaker. The main thing is to hook as many Solar Guardian allies as possible and guarantee a stun of enemy heroes.
What talents are better to take?
- Level 10 – +15% Celestial Hammer slow is more important against heroes that need to cut movement speed. If you are sure that you will have enough damage, then the right talent is ignored.
- Level 15 – -20 sec Ultimate Cooldown – the best choice for a support. The other talent is only suitable for a carry, Downbreaker.
- Level 20 – the situation is similar to the previous talents.
- Level 25 – Situational. If you are pinned down at base and need to push out the lane, then it is much more profitable to take the hammer range. In fights, the extra charge of Starbreaker will be much more useful, especially with Shard.
What heroes does Downbreaker pair with?
There are no specific heroes in Dota that Dawnbreaker should play with. She will fit into almost any pick. Another important point here is successful laning. If you took Dawnbreaker in the four, and your three are melee heroes who are not particularly survivable, then such a line will be a priori weak. Therefore, it is better for Downbreaker to stand in a line with ranged heroes or simply dense heroes: Bristleback, Spirit Breaker, Tidehunter, Kunkka or Mars.
Conclusion
So, Dawnbreaker is versatile and will be a good addition to any pick that lacks mass stuns or healing. A gigantic, compared to other supports, HP reserve makes her almost a unique support character, and the variability of builds will allow you to assemble a full-fledged core from her.