Dota 2 Bane: Abilities and How to Play Him

Dota 2 Bane is a strength hero played offlane or support, and unlike most of the cast he isn't there to deal damage — he's there to take one enemy hero completely out of the fight.

The kit

• Enfeeble cuts the target's physical damage and the healing they receive, worn down over its duration.
• Brain Sap drains health from an enemy and heals Bane, doubling as lane sustain.
• Nightmare puts a unit to sleep — ally or enemy — breaking on damage. Used to save a teammate or to freeze an enemy in place before the ultimate lands.
• Fiend's Grip is the ultimate: a channelled drain on health and mana that silences the target completely for as long as it holds.

The combo

Nightmare an enemy core, then channel Fiend's Grip the instant it wakes them — or open with the ultimate directly if you can guarantee they can't escape or interrupt it. Either way, the target is silenced and unable to act while you drain them.

Building him

Items that protect the channel matter more than damage: Blink Dagger to get into position safely, and anything that keeps Bane alive while Fiend's Grip is running — Aeon Disk or Force Staff are common picks.

The counter

Spell immunity. Black King Bar blocks Fiend's Grip outright, so against a core who can buy one, the window to land the ultimate is before they can afford it.