Dota 2 Primary Attributes, All You Need to Know

Dota 2 is a strategy game with outstanding innovations and game concepts to help you hone your skills. Dota 2 beginners and professional players need to learn about Dota 2’s Primary Attributes to improve their in-game capabilities and win decisive battles. 

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It has been nearly a decade since the launch of Dota 2. The online game has hundreds of unique mechanics that can be used to enhance your gameplay. Whether you’re playing Dota 2 by yourself or in a 5-member team party, finding out more information on the Primary Attributes and what they mean to your hero can drastically elevate your chances of victory. 

Primary Attributes

The heroes in Dota 2 are categorized based on their Primary Attributes. Strength, Agility, and Intelligence are the 3 Primary Attributes of the game. Each hero in Dota 2 is provided with specific attributes at the start of a game. 

These base attributes determine the health points (HP) of the heroes, their health regeneration rate, their attack speed, their armor, their mana pool, and their mana regeneration rate. You can increase these attributes by leveling up, acquiring items, unlocking talents in the Skill Tree, and using specific abilities.  

Every point added to the Primary Attribute of the hero increases their attack damage by 1. The Primary Attribute of the hero can help you decide the role you want to play in your team. 

Strength 

A Strength hero might be more suited for a tank, able to sustain significant damage from enemies during battle and keep team members safe. You can also be an Initiator using a Strength hero who can start a team fight and gain the upper hand from the very first moment. 

You can increase the maximum health of heroes by 20 per Strength point gained. The Strength points gained can increase the total health points and not the current health of the hero. If your hero was critically wounded in battle and has red HP, you might consider buying a Reaver from the Secret Shop. However, buying a Reaver will not increase your current health and might not be able to save your hero from imminent death.  

Your hero will gain 0.1 health regeneration for every Strength point that you acquire. You’ll need 10 Strength points to increase health regeneration by 1. Purchasing a Reaver grants 20 Strength points, increasing the maximum health points of your hero by 500 and adding 2.5 health regeneration per second. 

Best Strength Heroes 7.31D

• Pudge
• Legion Commander
• Centaur Warrunner 

How to Use Strength to Your Advantage in Dota 2

Pudge is a Strength hero you don’t want to mess with. He has an impressive 25 base Strength. Pudge has 700 HP from the time he spawns and can be a monstrous hero in the mid lane. 

Flesh Heap is a passive ability that provides damage block and bonus Strength points for every enemy that Pudge kills. It also works on enemies that are killed around 1600 distance from the Butcher. Get at least one level of Flesh Heap before reaching level 6 to increase your maximum health points. Make sure you Meat Hook, Rot, and Dismember enemies with Pudge to dominate the game with the leading Strength hero. 

Blade Mail, Crimson Guard, and Heart of Tarrasque are builds that can turn Strength heroes into tanking machines. Blade Mail provides 6 armor and can return damage from all sources for 4.5 seconds. Legion Commander and Axe are Strength heroes that can dish out massive damage with Blade Mail. 

Agility

An Agility hero can be effective in a carry role. Most players who pick Agility heroes prefer to farm in the safe lane as they have low HP during early game encounters. Agility heroes strike their enemies using physical attacks that can pierce through their enemy’s armor. These heroes have increased movement speed, allowing them to get into the right position while killing enemies. 

For Agility heroes, you can increase their attack speed by 1 per Agility point gained. Heroes with high Agility attributes have a better chance of activating certain items and abilities. Getting items, such as a Skull Basher and Echo Sabre, that have attack modifier abilities can be triggered more easily with bonus Agility points.  

Each Agility point added to a hero increases their armor by 0.167. The increased armor reduces incoming damage from physical and magical abilities, improving your chances of surviving a battle in Dota 2. Attacks and items with Pure type of damage will not be affected by the armor of heroes. 

Best Agility Heroes 7.31D

• Drow Ranger
• Slark
• Weaver

How to Use Agility to Your Advantage in Dota 2

Drow Ranger is a ranged hero who can punish her enemies in Dota 2. She has 20 base Agility and an attack range of 625. Her ultimate ability, Marksmanship, gives Drow Ranger a 20% chance to deal 40 damage and 30% of her Agility per strike. The added bonus damage can be increased to 50% of her Agility after maxing out Marksmanship. 

Yasha, Manta Style, and Butterfly are items that can make Agility heroes a terror on the battlefield. These items can buff Agility heroes by boosting their attack damage and attack speed. It will also increase the chances of successfully activating Marksmanship for Drow Ranger. 

Intelligence

People new to Dota 2 can start their games by picking Intelligence heroes. Dota 2 Players who rely on spells to deal damage will find that Intelligence heroes are easier to handle. Most Intelligence heroes can play support roles, roaming the map to place wards and heal teammates in the process. 

You can increase the mana pool of your hero by 12 with each Intelligence point that you gain. It will also increase your mana regeneration rate by 0.05 per second. You’ll need to gain at least 20 Intelligence points to increase your mana regeneration rate by 1. Items, such as the Energy Booster, will grant heroes an additional 250 mana. However, it will not increase your rate of mana regeneration. 

Best Intelligence Heroes 7.31D

• Skywrath Mage
• Crystal Maiden
• Dazzle

How to Use Intelligence to Your Advantage in Dota 2

Intelligence heroes can frustrate their enemies by denying them experience and gold while farming in lanes. Apart from taking last hits away from their foes, Intelligence heroes can constantly use spells to drain heroes of their health. 

Skywrath Mage is a nuker that uses his Intelligence to increase the damage from his spells. His ability, Arcane Bolt, can multiply the damage by 1.5x per Intelligence point he gains. You can also purchase an Aghanim’s Shard for Skywrath Mage to grant him the ability Shield of the Scion. Each spell that is cast by Skywrath Mage adds 5 Intelligence points to his stats once you equip Aghanim’s Shard. 

Rod of Atos and Veil of Discord are excellent items for Intelligence heroes. You can get an additional 24 Intelligence points added to your stats, providing 288 mana and 1.2 mana regeneration to heroes. It also provides 240 health and increases HP regeneration by 1.2 health regeneration. Rod of Atos has the ability Cripple, that can be used to root enemies and disable their movement for 2 seconds, giving your team adequate time to land spells and attacks. 

The Veil of Discord costs 1525 gold, making it a priority for most support heroes in Dota 2. You can use the ability Magic Weakness using Veil of Discord to increase magical damage in a 600 radius for 16 seconds.