Dawnbreaker was recently introduced into Captain’s Mode in Dota 2 patch 7.30c, less than a month before The International begins. This hasn’t given teams much time to figure out the best Dawnbreaker counters.
Since her introduction, the hero has been picked or banned 58 times in the BTS Pro Series Season 8. Despite Dawnbreaker’s introduction midway through the tournament, she was more contested than 70% of the hero pool.
It makes sense that Dawnbreaker is such a valued pick right now. The hero is the definition of flexibility, for she can be played in both the support and core role in the game. With multiple stuns, heals, and mobility spells, Dawnbreaker has a lot going for her.
Even though Dawnbreaker has a lot of tools in her kit, there are some heroes who do an excellent job shutting her down.
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Here are the best Dawnbreaker counters in Dota 2
1. Silencer
Silencer is the best Dawnbreaker counter in Dota 2. Silencer has a 57% win rate if the enemy picks a Dawnbreaker, and it’s easy to see why.
Silencer has a strong two-hit combo of Arcane Curse and Last Word. Arcane curse slows and damages enemy heroes, and deals more damage if they are silenced. Last Word silences enemies if they use a spell or after four seconds expire.
This is a very tough combo for Dawnbreaker to deal with. Dawnbreaker needs to use her spells in fights to be a threat, and Silencer punishes that heavily as a Dawnbreaker counter.
Global Silence is Silencer’s counter to Dawnbreaker’s ultimate. Whenever Dawnbreaker uses her Solar Guardian to heal allies and teleport to them, Silencer can instantly shut that down with one button from anywhere on the map.
Silencer’s ability to punish Valora at all stages of the game and negate all her spells make him the best Dawnbreaker counter right now.
2. Jakiro
Jakiro is another Dawnbreaker counter, but he functions quite differently in how he shuts down Valora.
While Silencer can harass Valora somewhat effectively during the laning stage, Jakiro is a far more threatening presence to deal with in the early game. Jakiro’s Dual Breath deals a significant amount of damage overtime and slows, which discourages Dawnbreaker from trading blows with him.
Jakiro is also able to slow enemy attack speed to a crawl, rendering Luminosity useless against him.
Ice Path is another thorn for Dawnbreaker to deal with. It creates a wall of ice that stuns anyone who touches it. Since Dawnbreaker’s kit relies on her moving around during team fights, Ice Path is the perfect counter to have.
Similar to Silencer, Jakiro is also a long-range spell caster, which makes it hard for Valora to get her hands on him and shut him down during fights. Should Dawnbreaker get close, Jakiro is a tanky boy, and won’t go down easily, making him the second-best Dawnbreaker counter in Dota 2.
3. Underlord
In the core position, there really isn’t a better Dawnbreaker counter than Underlord in the offlane.
Underlord’s biggest selling point as a Dawnbreaker counter is Pit of Malicem, which prevents Valora from having any freedom in team fights. Pit of Malice basically functions as Ice Path, but in a circular AoE instead of a line.
This allows Underlord to stop Starbreaker and Celestial Hammer, as Jakiro does. Underlord can also prevent Dawnbreaker from taking off with Solar Guardian by trapping her the moment she arrives, setting up an easy kill.
Underlord greatly reduces Dawnbreaker’s damage thanks to Atrophy Aura. Since Valora deals a mixture of physical and magical damage, Underlord with Pipe of Insight renders most of Valora’s damage worthless.
Underlord’s ultimate teleports him and all nearby allies to any allied tower or creep on the map, which is a great response to Dawnbreaker’s global presence. Just be sure to be careful when using Dark Rift.
Dawnbreaker’s recent addition to Captain’s Mode means more players will be trying her out in pubs. Knowing a couple of Dawnbreaker counters will go a long way to shutting her down and climbing the MMR ladder.
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