Dota 2 Abaddon Guide

Ride upon the spirit of the mist and bring the house of Avernus to every battlefield using our Dota 2 Abaddon Guide

While others prepared for battle, Abaddon meditated in the fog, becoming one with the strength of the black mist. Upon his steed he rides to war, sacrificing himself to aid his allies, protecting them from harm. And when near death, he calls upon the mists to surround him and heal him from otherwise fatal blows. 

Abaddon is a melee Universal Hero with an impressive Health pool of 604 but a poor Mana pool of 291. His 51 attack damage and 2.8 armor are average, but his movement speed is one of the highest in the game at 325. 

Abaddon, the Lord of Avernus (LoA), is a versatile Hero adept at shielding and healing his teammates, and absorbing heavy punishment himself. His abilities make him a powerful ally, and with enough levels, he can easily transition to a semi-carry into late-game. He is incredibly durable, and his abilities help allies take otherwise punishing decisions with newfound courage. As time progresses, picking up certain items can keep him relevant throughout the game.  

Abilities

Let’s look at the powers of the mist that infuses LoA and makes him such an inspiring ally in every battle.

• Mist Coil – Abaddon summons the mist, casting it forward towards a friend or foe, healing allies and damaging enemies for up to 300 (340 with level 15 talent). When cast, he also damages himself for half of the amount. Upgrading the 25 talent turns this single-target ability into one of 400 Area of Effect (AoE) targeting instead. This ability can be upgraded by Aghanim’s Shard. 
  • Aghanim’s Shard Upgrade – Causes Mist Coil to deal Abaddon’s attack damage and an instance of Curse of Avernus on impact. 
• Aphotic Shield – LoA summons a sphere of dark energy, shielding an allied unit with a damage-absorbing shield for 15 seconds and dispelling most debuffs and stuns on them. The barrier consumes up to 200 damage (300 with level 20 talent) and then bursts in a 675 radius, damaging surrounding enemies for the same damage. 
• Curse of Avernus – Abaddon strikes his enemies with his sword, inflicting his House’s curse to slow the enemy’s movement by up to 25% for 5 seconds. Any following attack counts as stacks, and with 4 hits (3 with level 25 talent), the enemy is inflicted with a curse that increases the movement speed slow up to 60% (75% with level 10 talent) and silences them for 4.5 seconds. All attacks against them gain an attack speed boost of up to 100 for 4 seconds. This ability can be upgraded by Aghanim’s Shard. 
  • Aghanim’s Shard Upgrade – Increases the Curse of Avernus base slow by 5%. 
• Borrowed Time – When LoA’s health falls below 400 HP or, if activated, he covers himself in a dark mist, removing most negative buffs. All damage received for up to 6 seconds heals him instead. With level 20 talent, he is also covered with Immolation, dealing 85 damage in a 400 AoE. This ability can be updated by Aghanim’s Scepter. 
  • Aghanim’s Scepter Upgrade – Increases the duration by up to 9 seconds, and while active, any allies taking more than 525 damage in a 1200 radius of Abaddon are automatically hit with a Mist Coil. 

Talents

• Level 10 – +7 Strength or +15% Curse of Avernus Movement Slow
• Level 15 – +40 Mist Coil Heal/Damage or +55 Damage
• Level 20 –  85 DPS Borrowed Time Immolation or +100 Aphotic Shield Barrier Amount
• Level 25 – 400 AoE Mist Coil or -1 Curse of Avernus Attacks Required

Dota 2 Abaddon Guide – Tips  

Abaddon and his powerful mist-infused abilities make him a powerful supporting spell-caster, capable of sustaining himself and his allies throughout a long battle. His Mist Coil trades some of his life into a projectile that heals allies or damages enemies on impact. Furthermore, he can shield himself or his allies with Aphotic Shield, which consumes incoming damage and, when fully charged, explodes for massive AoE damage. His Curse of Avernus slows fleeing foes and silences enemies who take him head-on. Even when outclassed, he remains undefeated, healing from every fatal blow.

LoA is usually played as a tanking support that supports his carry in the lane with healing and shielding. He can prevent his ally from getting dived upon and punish any who get too close with burst damage. His shield also applies a debuff, removing any deadly stuns inflicted to kill any ally. With your ultimate, you can even bring focus upon yourself and away from your allies, buying them crucial time to escape.

Farming is not too important for this Hero, but experience is. Try to stack and pull creeps to deny creepwaves and earn some quick XP. Stay with your carry until they are self-sufficient, and then focus on getting some experience. With proper positioning and careful casting, you should be able to stay alive and save enough Gold for some suitable support items. During mid to late-game, be present in all teamfights and debuff your allies whenever possible. 

Dota 2 Abaddon – Pros and Cons

Here are some of Visage’s greatest strengths and weaknesses that you must remember when hunting and returning wayward souls.

Pros:

• Tanky support
• Spammable spells 
• Can fulfill various roles
• Has the lowest cooldown strong dispel
• Great support Hero for beginners

Cons:

• High turn animation
• Low base armor
• Long cast animations
• Depends heavily on Mana
• No disables

How to play Abaddon 

Become one with the black mist and embrace the powers of the house of Avernus with our short guide on the basics of Abaddon. 

Starting Items

When heading to your lane, carry a Tango and Healing Salve for early restoration, and an Iron Branch for cheap attributes. Focus on denying and keeping your carry alive.

Having a few Clarites and an Enchanted Mango will help you spam your abilities with more ease, and if you are facing spell-spamming opponents, carrying a Magic Stick will work wonders to turn the tide of battle. 

Early Game

Your role as a healer comes into play here, as you will be expected to be alive on the bare minimum of a Magic Wand and Boots of Speed. Depending on your lane, you might have to pull more regeneration, especially Clarities and Mangoes.

Prioritize your shield on your carry over you when jumped upon and spam your abilities safely from a distance. If you are playing aggressively and can right-click to harass, getting an Orb of Venom might be a good idea. 

Mid Game

As a support, you should pick up your Arcane Boots and Urn of Shadows as soon as possible. If you are expected to be the Greaves Carrier, save for a Mekansm. Getting a Vladmir’s Offering or Drum of Endurance can also be good choices depending on your team’s need for lifesteal or speed auras.

If you are the center of fights and tend to get focused down and kited, then getting a Blade Mail or Ghost Scepter would be a great choice. An active Blade Mail, Ghost Scepter and Borrowed Time give you multiple instances to disjoint or punish enemies who focus on you. If you focus on a more damage-based utility build, get a Solar’s Crest to aid your allies and debuff your foes. 

Late Game 

Late-game opens you up to multiple roles, where you may transition into a semi-carry with items like Radiance, Assault Cuirass or Heart of Tarrasque for damage, attack speed and overall durability. You can also become a much more effective aura-carrier with items like Pipe of Insight, Crimson Guard, Aghanim’s Scepter and Greaves that will help your team survive longer in battles. Focus on shielding and dispelling your allies with your abilities, and tanking damage with your Borrowed Time.

If you think utility would help you win more teamfights against physical damage-dealing enemy carry, get yourself a Heaven’s Halberd for the disarm. Furthermore, items like Lotus Orb, Shiva’s Guard or Abyssal Blade. If you want more defensive utility, go for a Lotus Orb or Octarine to give you more survivability alongside utility. These disables and utility items will help your allies easily face enemy cores.

Dota 2 Abaddon Counters

Here are some counters who see right through LoA’s mist and have no trouble dealing with his magic throughout the game.

• Ancient Apparition – His Ice Blast effectively nullifies all healing from Borrowed Time and Mist Coil for Abaddon and his allies. Furthermore, the debuff can not be dispelled by Aphotic Shield. 
• Brewmaster – His Storm warrior can cast Cyclone on Abaddon and his allies to mitigate most of his Aphotic Shield or Borrowed Time duration. His abilities also hinder accuracy, making it difficult for LoA to land successful attacks to inflict his Curse of Avernus. 
• Doom – His Doom will make Abaddon unable to cast any of his abilities to heal and help his allies. Furthermore, with Aghanim’s Scepter upgrade, he can break the passive components of LoA’s Borrowed Time, making him easily killable. 
• Outworld Destroyer – He can use Astral Imprisonment to waste most of Borrowed Time’s duration. Furthermore, with Sanity’s Eclipse, he can easily nuke down and insta-kill Abaddon before he can cast his spells. 

Conclusion

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