Viper counter and synergy picks
Pick Viper with Naga Siren to increase win-rate from 48.1% to 56.1% or against Beastmaster to increase win-rate to 59.6% in Patch 7.39c.
Good with...
...based on stats [7.39c]
| Hero | Change in Win Rate ▼ |
|---|---|
8.0% | |
7.2% | |
5.7% | |
5.1% | |
4.8% | |
4.7% | |
4.5% | |
4.3% | |
4.0% | |
4.0% | |
3.9% | |
3.7% | |
3.6% | |
3.5% | |
3.4% |
...based on gameplay [7.39c]
Dazzle sustains Viper in lane with Shadow Wave and saves him with shallow grave. Poison Touch stacks damage over time with Viper’s poisons. Both heroes dominate early lanes with slows and harass. Dazzle amplifies Viper’s longevity and fighting ability.
Vacuum sets up perfect Nethertoxin placement and kiting potential. Surge lets Viper reposition during fights or chase escaping enemies. Ion Shell adds damage to Viper’s early game pressure. They combine to create relentless map control and tempo.
Warlock provides healing sustain while Viper harasses and trades. Fatal Bonds amplifies all of Viper’s poison damage across multiple targets. Chaotic Offering punishes clumped enemies already slowed by Viper. Their teamfight damage is overwhelming early and late.
Earth Spirit sets up kills with slows and stuns while Viper follows up. Boulder Smash and Magnetize punish heroes already weakened by poison. They control runes and tempo together. Their synergy makes them deadly in early skirmishes and river fights.
Tusk’s Ice Shards and Snowball control targets for Viper to poison freely. He initiates early kills while Viper zones and finishes off. Tusk allows Viper to play aggressively by soaking pressure. Together they dominate lanes and tower dives.
Snapfire provides long-range burst with Mortimer Kisses that synergize with Viper’s slows. Cookie helps reposition Viper during engagements or escape. Together they control the tempo with sustained AoE and harassment. Viper zones while Snapfire nukes from range.
Grimstroke’s Ink Swell combos well with Viper’s frontlining style. Soulbind allows double Viper Strike and spreads poison effects. They synergize well in early fights and kill lanes. Grimstroke adds control while Viper supplies the damage.
Omniknight gives Viper immunity to disables with Heavenly Grace. Guardian Angel protects him during dives and sieges. Purification keeps Viper alive during extended fights. They combine strong sustain with oppressive teamfight presence.
Clockwerk traps enemies in Cogs for Viper to stack poison safely. Hookshot provides the initiation Viper lacks. Battery Assault keeps enemies in place while Viper deals damage. Their synergy punishes low-mobility heroes without defensive items.
Treant provides global sustain and armor for Viper’s aggressive positioning. Leech Seed and Overgrowth lock enemies in poison zones. Viper zones lanes while Treant supports with control. Their combination excels at tower defense and drawn-out fight
...core items [7.39c]
A core 
Boots of Speed upgrade to improve your mobility and damage output with attack speed and stats. The attack speed gain lets you quickly build up Poison Attack stacks for more damage and slow on enemy heroes. Also lets you conserve mana through stats toggling.
A core item with the Caustic Bath facet to use your tankiness in the early game and return a ton of damage along with Corrosive Skin. The item only gets better as you get more tanky with items like 
Shiva's Guard and 
Rod of Atos.
A core item in the mid game to apply Nethertoxin and Corrosive Skin on enemy heroes around you. Has great synergy with the Caustic Bath facet. Also works as a mobility tool to jump in or out of fights.
An upgrade for 
Veil of Discord to gain some much needed armor to stand in the middle of fights and dish out increased damage with your spells and Poison Attack right clicks. Also reduces the tankiness of enemy heroes around you by reducing their HP regen and lifesteal.
An upgrade for
Rod of Atos to lock down multiple enemy heroes inside the Nethertoxin AoE, while also keeping them in range for Viper Strike and Poison Attack right clicks. Also increases the AoE of Nethertoxin.
A core upgrade for Poison Attack to deal more damage to enemy heroes and buildings with minus armor. Also helps you take 
Roshan faster.
A core item to lifesteal back up in the middle of fights with your massive damage through spells and Poison Attack right clicks. Also provides a basic dispel on cast. Has great synergy with the Caustic Bath facet to do massive damage and heal back up while standing in your Nethertoxin.
A core item for mid laners to gain some HP and mana sustain. Also allows the potential to make plays with power runes past the 6 minute mark.
A core item in the early game when going for the right click build with the Poison Burst facet. Increases your damage output while providing some much needed tankiness and mana regen. Also reduces the spell damage of enemy heroes you attack with right clicks. You should rush this item when going for right click items.
A core item when going for the right click build with the Poison Burst facet. Makes you significantly more tanky and provides some much needed mobility and attack speed. The status resistance also makes it harder to kite or lock you down.
A core mobility item that also increases your attack range to hit enemy heroes and buildings from further away. Works well to put some distance between you and an enemy hero and hit them with infinite range for a short period with the Hurricane Thrust active.
A core item to avoid most disables and silences on the enemy team to use your spells and hit freely in fights. Also improves your right click damage and tankiness through HP pool and magic resistance.
A mid to late game pick up to significantly increase your tankiness and damage through stats. Works well against lifesteal and high HP regen on enemy heroes. Reduces the movement speed and HP sustain of enemy heroes you hit to make them less tanky and keep chasing them.
Good against...
...based on stats [7.39c]
| Hero | Change in Win Rate ▼ |
|---|---|
11.5% | |
9.2% | |
9.2% | |
7.8% | |
7.5% | |
7.4% | |
7.2% | |
7.0% | |
6.6% | |
6.6% | |
6.0% | |
5.2% | |
5.1% | |
5.0% | |
4.9% |
...based on gameplay [7.39c]
Viper is one of the hardest counters to Huskar due to Break and magical damage. Nethertoxin disables Huskar’s passive, reducing his tankiness. Viper’s poison cuts through his magic resistance early. He forces Huskar to buy BKB much earlier than desired.
Viper shreds Dragon Knight's armor and disables Dragon Blood with Nethertoxin. He wins lane handily and denies DK's early push potential. Corrosive Skin counters DK’s harassment over time. Viper’s range keeps him safe from melee retaliation.
Bristleback’s durability is nullified by Nethertoxin's Break effect. Viper’s slows and damage-over-time stack quickly and kill him before he turns. Bristleback can’t survive sustained fights when he can’t rely on his passive. Viper forces him to play defensively.
Viper melts the bear quickly with high single-target damage and slows. Nethertoxin disables the bear’s Entangle and Lone Druid’s survivability. Viper controls teamfights with range while LD struggles to engage. He can safely kite both hero and summon.
Viper’s damage-over-time removes TA’s Refraction immediately. He out-trades her in lane and denies her jungle recovery. Nethertoxin punishes her attempts to fight or farm under pressure. TA can’t win early skirmishes unless Viper is controlled.
Viper clears Visage's familiars easily and breaks his tanky passive. His damage doesn’t rely on burst, which makes it effective against cloak stacks. Visage struggles to output damage through Viper’s slow and poison. Viper wins both lane and midgame pressure.
Viper harasses Doom heavily in lane with ranged poison spam. Nethertoxin denies Scorched Earth sustain and slows his farming. Doom cannot outtrade him until Blink or BKB. Viper also forces Doom to use ultimate reactively, not offensively.
Viper breaks Batrider's chase by slowing him and controlling fights with range. Flamebreak and Firefly are ineffective against Viper’s tankiness and slows. He wins lane and forces Batrider to retreat early. In midgame, he zones Batrider away from teamfights.
Viper keeps Earthshaker zoned out and punishes his slow animations. His range and damage make it difficult for ES to blink safely. He stops teamfight initiations before they start. Earthshaker struggles to farm or survive without backup.
Night Stalker cannot gap close effectively against Viper’s constant slows. Viper wins the lane, and later kites NS in teamfights. Void and silence don’t prevent Viper from damaging over time. Night Stalker’s night advantage is reduced by Viper’s control.
Bad against...
...based on stats [7.39c]
| Hero | Change in Win Rate ▲ |
|---|---|
-8.1% | |
-7.6% | |
-7.2% | |
-6.4% | |
-6.3% | |
-6.2% | |
-5.9% | |
-4.9% | |
-4.7% | |
-4.6% | |
-4.4% | |
-3.7% | |
-3.6% | |
-3.5% | |
-3.2% |
...based on gameplay [7.39c]
Naga Siren’s illusions overwhelm Viper’s single-target damage style. He can’t clear illusions quickly, and they burn his mana. Song of the Siren resets fights where Viper tries to initiate. She scales harder into late game and dominates after laning.
Phantom Lancer creates too many illusions for Viper to handle. Viper’s slows do little once PL gets Diffusal and Manta. He can’t clear illusions fast enough and gets overwhelmed. PL shrugs off poison damage with high sustain.
Terrorblade resists Viper's early pressure due to high armor and Conjure Image. He outscales Viper and punishes his lack of burst. Viper can’t stop Sunder and gets destroyed in later fights. TB's illusions also act as meat shields against Viper's output.
Arc Warden outranges Viper with Spark Wraith zoning and Tempest Double. He controls space safely while Viper struggles to close the gap. His clone soaks Viper's abilities and allows for free harassment. Arc Warden wins the map with split pressure.
Chaos Knight overpowers Viper with illusions and high burst damage. Viper’s slow single-target spells don’t impact CK’s phantoms. He forces Viper to buy items like Mjollnir that delay timing. CK punishes Viper's immobility and paper armor.
Tinker spams lasers from fog where Viper can’t retaliate. He outscales Viper completely with high magic burst and mobility. Viper has no tools to stop rearming or teleportation. Once Blink is online, Tinker dominates the tempo.
Brewmaster splits before Viper can kill him and dispels poison effects. Viper’s DOTs are useless against the Primal Split. He offers no way to stop Brewmaster from controlling fights. Brew’s utility and scaling outmatch Viper’s direct style.
Lycan summons overwhelm Viper’s single-target approach. Viper can’t kite or burst Lycan before he closes the gap. His ultimate runs through slows and forces Viper out of fights. Lycan wins lane with sustain and summons if Viper can’t zone early.
Dark Seer surges through Viper’s slows and sets up big AoE fights. Viper’s single-target focus is weak into illusions and Vacuum combos. Ion Shell punishes Viper in lane and ruins his supports. In teamfights, Dark Seer forces Viper to play reactively.
Chen's summons and heals overwhelm Viper’s damage-over-time style. He baits spells on creeps and sustains through fights. Viper struggles to lane if Chen rotates early. In the midgame, Viper’s poison is outclassed by Chen’s army and utility.
...counter items [7.39c]
Gives you HP sustain to stay in the lane and not get zoned by Viper's constant damage from Poison Attack right clicks and spells.
Gives you movement speed to kite or close the gap on Viper. Also counters the movement slow from Poison Attack, Corrosive Skin, and Viper Strike.
Gives you movement speed to kite or close the gap on Viper. Also counters the movement slow from Poison Attack, Corrosive Skin, and Viper Strike.
Gives you magic resistance to significantly reduce the damage taken from Viper's Poison Attack right clicks and spells.
Gives you HP sustain to stay in the lane and not get zoned by Viper's constant damage from Poison Attack right clicks and spells.
Lets you dispel the Poison Attack stacks off yourself or an ally. Also lets you reflect Viper Strike back onto Viper.
Provides magic resistance and reduces the damage dealt by Viper from all his spells to nullify his burst potential.
Gives you and your team magic resistance and barrier to significantly reduce the damage taken from Viper's Poison Attack right clicks and spells.
Gives you magic resistance to significantly reduce the damage taken from Viper's Poison Attack right clicks and spells.
Gives you debuff immunity and magic resistance to avoid the movement and attack speed slow from Viper's spells as well as reduce the damage taken from his Poison Attack right clicks and spells.
Provides evasion and lets you disarm Viper to prevent him from right clicking freely in fights with Poison Attack.
Gives you a repositioning tool to kite Viper and push yourself or an ally to safety when slowed by Viper Strike and Poison Attack right clicks.
Gives you magic resistance and barrier to significantly reduce the damage taken from Viper's Poison Attack right clicks and spells as well as save yourself or an ally slowed by his spells.
Gives you an instant lockdown against Viper and burst him down with a possible chain stun before he can impact fights or disarm you and get away using Nosedive.
Gives you armor and evasion to defend yourself against Viper's Poison Attack right clicks with the tankiness and miss chance.
Bad with...
...based on stats [7.39c]
| Hero | Change in Win Rate ▲ |
|---|---|
-8.8% | |
-8.2% | |
-6.9% | |
-6.8% | |
-6.6% | |
-6.5% | |
-6.3% | |
-5.9% | |
-5.6% | |
-5.2% | |
-5.2% | |
-5.1% | |
-5.0% | |
-4.9% | |
-4.6% |
