Wraith King causing grief in your pubs? Our latest guide takes you through some of his best counters.

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The Dota 2 patch 7.32d included a couple of buffs and nerfs that had an effect on the current meta. Even though heroes like Leshrac are not as strong as before, the likes of Wraith King quickly rose in popularity.

WK is one of the few Dota 2 carries that received two buffs. Users may think that they are not that significant, but the stats reveal that this is not the case. Since the new patch arrived, WK is picked more often, and the hero’s win rate is much higher. 

Since Wraith King is slowly becoming one of the hottest carries in the current meta, some players have problems dealing with him. He is not like most other carriers because of his unique abilities, so Dota 2 players need to know what to do to succeed. That’s why we will go through a couple of important things you should be aware of before picking him.

Picking the right heroes

When it comes down to countering Wraith King, one of the first things you need to take into account is what you’ll pick against him. As mentioned, this is not a typical carry, meaning you must think outside the box to succeed.

Wraith King’s ultimate allows him to always have a free Aegis. As a result, the hero can be much more aggressive. What’s more, the fact that he has a second life makes him incredibly strong against heroes with burst damage. They will have to use everything to kill him the first time, meaning they won’t have anything for Round 2.

That said, there are a couple of heroes that can do really well against him, such as Slark. Although the frog is not that good early on, Slark is one of the few heroes that gets stronger if a team fight goes on for longer. In other words, he can steal tons of stats from WK and use the Essence Shift to kill him.

Aside from Slark, WK is not that good against heroes that have illusions. Sure, many players get things like Mjollnir or Radiance, but heroes, such as Phantom Lancer and Naga Siren, can be a pain to deal with. Besides doing tons of damage, they usually go for a Diffusal Blade, which means they will burn his mana.

Early and Mid-Game

Wraith King is almost always the team’s carry, so he will go the safelane. Since we’re talking about countering him, your team’s offlaner needs to be a hero that can pressure him as much as possible and even prevent him from farming.

There are a couple of good options, but Underlord is definitely the best one. Besides the fact that he is incredibly tanky and WK won’t be able to kill him, the hero can zone WK from the lane. What’s more, he can even chase him in the Jungle if needed and prevent him from farming.

Dark Seer is also a solid option because he deals a lot of damage. However, the hero is not that good against aggressive duos ot 3-lane, so players need to be careful. Speaking of being careful, Undying is also a solid option because he steals STR, meaning WK will have low HP. 

After pressuring him in the early game, your team has to make sure that WK does not get a kill on Roshan. You can’t prevent him from farming, meaning he will most likely have at least one or two items. This is when he will try to get a kill on Roshan, so it is your job to prevent this from happening. Needless to say, dealing with Wraith Kind, who has to die 3 times, is easier said than done.

The late game against Wraith King

Many Dota 2 players underestimate this hero, but there is no arguing that Wraith King is one of the strongest late-game monsters in Dota 2. He usually has a lot of HP and his Critical Strike allows him to one-shot squishy heroes and burst carries. In other words, it is not a good idea to take 1v1 fights against him.

When it comes down to the late game and dealing with Wraith King, you must focus on CC. Although the hero is really strong, your carry should also be really dangerous, especially if it is one of the heroes mentioned above. This means that the hero needs just a couple of seconds to land a kill.

There are different things you can do to CC Wraith King. Some teams pick supports who have things like hex, whereas others get items that allow them to do that. In addition to Scythe of Vyse, stuff like an Abyssal Blade, Eul’s Scepter of Divinity, and even Nullfier can be really dangerous against Wraith King.

If you don’t have the option to CC him, you have to try and kite him as much as possible. Since he is a melee hero, he needs to be close to you to do damage. Fortunately, there are loads of items that will allow you to dodge some attacks and force him to chase you. Force Staff, for example, is a great option against WK, which explains why players often go for it.

Wraith King is undoubtedly one of the best overall carries in Dota 2, especially in the current patch. He is hard to kill and can deal insane amounts of damage, especially if you decide to buy specific items. What’s more, his ultimate makes him one of the most dangerous late-game monsters, regardless of what he has to go up against.

Although he has a lot of advantages, the hero also has several drawbacks. For example, he is not that fast, meaning that heroes can kite him easily. Furthermore, WK is not good against any hero with Mana Burn, such as Anti-Mage, or heroes who buy Diffusal Blade. Keep that in mind when you’re deciding what to get against him.