Lifestealer counter and synergy picks
Pick Lifestealer with Wraith King to increase win-rate from 53.1% to 57.7% or against Chen to increase win-rate to 59.2% in Patch 7.38c.
Good with...
...based on stats [7.38c]
Hero | Change in Win Rate ▼ |
|---|---|
4.5% | |
4.1% | |
3.7% | |
3.6% | |
3.5% | |
3.1% | |
2.9% | |
2.8% | |
2.5% | |
2.4% | |
2.4% | |
2.1% | |
2.0% | |
2.0% | |
1.8% |
...based on gameplay [under review]
Lifestealer can use his ultimate Infest on Axe to greatly empower Axe's initation and mobility. Allows LS to close the gap on his enemies easily. LS can additionally Infest purely for the instant heal and keep Axe alive and fighting.
LS can Infest Batrider for a classic Infest Bomb combo allowing him a consistent way of getting in the midst of battle, while empowering Batrider's own survivability and mobility.
Silences are very effective against LS as it prevents him from using Rage or Unfettered - Fortune's End provides LS with a Basic Dispel to purge most Silences and allow him to turn the fight with Rage/Unfettered. The 2 pair well together in lane as they are melee/ranged and Purifying Flames can be combined with Rage/Unfettered to heal LS for the full amount, while dealing reduced damage.
Feast does Physical Damage and gets amplified by Corrosive Haze's armor reduction. Slardar regularly buys Blink Dagger and is a great Infest Bomb teammate as he provides follow-up disable with Slithereen Crush and Bash of the Deep to ensure LS gets the chance to attack a stationary target and secure the kill.
Charge of Darkness allows LS to Infest bomb globally, mitigating the downtime of his farming, significantly. Nether Strike provides follow-up disable to ensure LS gets the chance to attack a stationary target and secure the kill. Greater Bash scales with movement speed, which Infest provides.
Storm Spirit makes for a perfect Infest Bomb teammate as Ball of Lightning's range is soft capped by Storm's mana and Electric Vortex provides follow-up disable to ensure LS gets the chance to attack a stationary target and secure the kill.
...core items [under review] [E]
A core Boots upgrade to boost damage and tankiness while allowing you to stay on top of enemy heroes using the Phase active and hitting them.
A core item to increase your tankiness and damage output to dominate and zone out most offlaners from the lane.
A core item that works really well on Lifestealer since he is tanky and can survive long in fights. Speeds up your farming speed as well.
A core item that increases your movement speed, attack speed, tankiness and overall damage output of the hero. Great item for Lifestealer.
A core mobility item to quickly close the gap on enemy heroes and hit them during Rage. Works well to get on top of squishy backline heroes on the enemy team.
A late game upgrade that allows you to stun enemies to get in more right clicks onto them in the fight.
A core item that allows you to attack enemy heroes without showing yourself. Massively improves your sustain and buys you time for next Rage cooldown.
A core late-game item for more physical damage output against tanky heroes.
A core item that gives you extra tankiness and a lot of attack speed. Must be picked up if the enemy hero has high physical damage output.
Good against...
...based on stats [7.38c]
Hero | Change in Win Rate ▼ |
|---|---|
6.1% | |
5.7% | |
5.1% | |
4.9% | |
4.9% | |
4.0% | |
3.9% | |
3.8% | |
3.6% | |
3.5% | |
3.4% | |
3.4% | |
3.2% | |
3.1% | |
3.1% |
...based on gameplay [under review]
Lifestealer has multiple ways of dispelling both Pit of Malice and Firestorm trough Rage/Unfettered and Infest. Infest can be used during Pit of Malice's root and Rage negates Atrophy Aura's damage reduction for it's duration. Being a tank shredder Lifestealer naturally matches up well versus Underlord as he has ample sustain trough Open Wounds, Infest and Feast.
A natural counter to Axe as he has built in Lifesteal that scales with Axe's high HP, making him significantly difficult to burst in a single combo. Additionally, Rage causes him to avoid BM damage and Open Wounds provides him even more Lifesteal.
Rage/Unfettered can be used to soak/dispel Hoof Stomp and Double Edge. Aghanim Scepter allows LS to Infest any retreating with Stampede targets and stay on top of them. His abudance of sustain trough Feast, which scales with Rawhide and Open Wounds can easily result in a situation where LS completely outheals Centaur's Retaliate and total damage output.
Lifestealer has multiple ways of mitigating or completely avoiding Leshrac's damage trough his Rage/Unfettered and Infest. His abudance of sustain trough Feast and Open Wounds can easily result in a situation where Leshrac runs out of Mana before LS runs out of HP.
Rage prevents Lion from controlling Lifestealer with Earth Spike or Hex, while mitigating most of his damage. Infest can be used to save an ally from being bursted by Finger of Death or to heal back Lifestealer up and reset his resources to keep fighting.
Feast scales with Flesh Heap - you know it's a bad matchup when your own scaling, scales your opponent as well. Both Rage and Unfettered are amazing against Pudge as Rage mitigates most of Pudge's damage output and ignores Rot's slow, while Unfettered can be used DURING Dismember to dispel it. Between Open Wounds and Feast, Pudge struggles to output enough damage to get trough LS's sustain alone. Even Infest can be used as a save by instantly healing a Dismembered ally.
Lifestealer is one of Spectre's hardest counters as his kit counters Spectre at EVERY stage of the game. LS is so good against her that even if he is an ENTIRE item behind he still easily wins out. His abundance of lifesteal combined with his debuff immunity and actual immunity from Infest is too much for Spectre to handle.
Rage allows Lifestealer to ignore most of Techies' kit altogether as it can mitigate most of Sticky Bomb's, Blast Off!'s and Proximity Mines damage. Rage/Unfettered can dispel Reactive Tazer and Open Wounds can quickly heal LS back up. Rage is particularly effective at soaking multiple Proximity Mines.
Rage/Unfettered can be used to dodge/dispel Wraithfire Blast. Feast + Open Wounds outheal Vampiric Spirit and in a 1 on 1 fight, which WK is supposedly "king" of LS tends to win as he outdamages and outheals WK. Infest can disarm trough Debuff Immunity once upgraded with Aghanim's Scepter, removing most of WK's damage output for it's duration.
Bad against...
...based on stats [7.38c]
Hero | Change in Win Rate ▲ |
|---|---|
-13.1% | |
-11.9% | |
-9.8% | |
-9.8% | |
-9.7% | |
-8.9% | |
-8.8% | |
-8.5% | |
-8.4% | |
-8.1% | |
-7.9% | |
-7.8% | |
-7.7% | |
-7.6% | |
-7.2% |
...based on gameplay [under review]
Flaming Lasso pierces Debuff Immunity capable of stunning an repositioning LS even during his Rage. Flamebreak can be used to kite LS and Firefly allows Batrider to move over impassable terrain like cliffs to prevent him from hitting you.
Fiend's Grip pierces debuff immunity making it great at controlling LS during his Rage. Enfeeble greatly reduces his rightclick damage, which is his main source of damage and forces him to get even closer in order to use Infest or Open Wounds. Nightmare is effective at controlling or isolating him in a fight and Brain Sap can damage him during Rage.
Black Hole pierces Rage's Debuff Immunity and does not get mitigated by Unfettered's Status Resistance nor does it get dispelled as it is a channel, giving Enigma a reliable way of locking down LS. Midnight Pulse also pierces Rage's Debuff Immunity and does not get mitigated by Status Resistance. In lane Eidolons are amazing at securing last hits and more importantly denies due ot LS's low base attack damage.
Corrosive Haze and Bash of the Deep pierce Debuff Immunity and can be applied during Rage. Rage and Unfettered provide massive amounts of Magic Resistance and LS's main defensive tools, which don't work well versus Slardar's highly physical damage and Debuff Immunity piercing kit. LS struggles in lane versus Slardar, just like most melee heroes.
Rage and Unfettered provide Magical Resistance and Debuff Immunity/Status Resistance, neither of which do well against Quill Spray and Bristleback Procs. In lane, LS struggles to make use of the excess mana that Quill Spray and Viscous Nasal Goo can provide and to control the wave due to Quill Spray doing AOE damage and naturally pushing the wave in.
...counter items [under review]
Gives you movement speed to kite Lifestealer and counter the movement slow from Ghoul Frenzy. Also helps you match his movement gain from Rage.
Gives you movement speed to kite Lifestealer and counter the movement slow from Ghoul Frenzy. Also helps you match his movement gain from Rage.
Gives you tankiness to take less damage from Lifestealer's right clicks and trade HP more effectively.
Lets you silence and kill Lifestealer in its duration without letting him get debuff immunity through Rage.
Lets you kite Lifestealer by protecting yourself or an ally against his right clicks through invisibility.
Lets you kite Lifestealer by pushing yourself or an ally away from him.
Lets you kite Lifestealer by protecting yourself against his right clicks in Ethereal form.
Gives you an instant disable against Lifestealer to burst him down in its duration before he gets debuff immunity through Rage.
Lets you kite Lifestealer by protecting yourself or an ally against his right clicks in Ethereal form.
Gives you an instant lockdown against Lifestealer and burst him down with a possible chain stun before he lifesteals back his HP with Feast.
Helps lower the lifesteal from Feast and Open Wounds.
Provides armor and helps lower the lifesteal from Feast and Open Wounds.
Bad with...
...based on stats [7.38c]
Hero | Change in Win Rate ▲ |
|---|---|
-9.7% | |
-8.0% | |
-7.5% | |
-6.3% | |
-5.9% | |
-5.7% | |
-5.4% | |
-5.2% | |
-5.1% | |
-4.9% | |
-4.4% | |
-4.4% | |
-4.4% | |
-4.3% | |
-4.2% |
