Bloodseeker is a trending hero in Dota 2, frequently appearing in various roles. According to Dotabuff, he ranks high in the offlane and carry positions. His versatility makes him a favourite in many different game scenarios.
Description
Bloodseeker is a melee agility hero renowned for excelling in various roles, primarily the offlane and carry positions. His playstyle revolves around high mobility, sustain, and the ability to capitalise on enemies' low health. He possesses a unique skill set that allows him to dominate the battlefield by tracking and hunting down weakened foes, making him a formidable presence in any game.
Playstyle and Role Flexibility
Bloodseeker's versatility is one of his greatest strengths. He can be played as a core in the safe lane, where he can farm and scale into a late-game carry, or in the offlane, where his sustain and ability to harass the enemy safely make him a strong laner. Additionally, he can occasionally be seen in the mid-lane, taking advantage of his solo kill potential and ability to snowball from early kills.
Itemisation
Bloodseeker's item build is flexible and can be adjusted based on the game situation. Core items often include:
- Phase Boots: Enhance his movement speed and ability to chase down enemies.
- Black King Bar (BKB): Provides spell immunity, allowing him to fight through enemy disables.
- Blade Mail: Returns damage taken, synergising well with Rupture, as enemies will think twice before hitting Bloodseeker.
- Aghanim's Scepter and Shard: Enhancements his abilities, making them more effective in fights.
- Mjollnir: Increases his attack speed and allows him to deal more damage in team fights.
Laning Phase
During the laning phase, Bloodseeker excels at sustaining himself through harassment and trading. His passive Thirst grants him health regeneration and speed, which allows him to stay in the lane longer and secure the farm. Bloodrage can deny creeps effectively and heal himself when killing enemies, ensuring he maintains high health. A well-placed Blood Rite can secure last hits on multiple creeps and harass enemy heroes simultaneously.
Mid to Late Game
In the mid to late game, Bloodseeker transitions into a powerful team fighter and tanker. His ability to quickly traverse the map using Thirst makes him excellent at picking off isolated enemies. Rupture can disable key enemy heroes in team fights, while Blood Rite provides area control and silence. Bloodseeker's high movement speed and attack damage allow him to quickly burst down targets and sustain through fights with the lifestyle provided by Bloodrage.
Latest Updates
The recent Dota 2 Patch 7.35b brought several significant updates to Bloodseeker, enhancing his capabilities and balancing his power in various game stages. Here are the specific changes and their implications:
Bloodrage
Bloodrage's self-damage and damage amplification mechanics were fine-tuned to ensure that Bloodseeker can sustain longer in fights while significantly boosting his damage output. When using this ability, the changes help maintain his balance between risk and reward.
Blood Rite
The radius of Blood Rite was slightly increased, making it easier to land this ability on multiple enemies during team fights. This adjustment enhances Bloodseeker's ability to control areas and disrupt enemy spellcasters effectively.
Thirst
Thirst now grants a larger vision radius for low-health enemies, improving Bloodseeker's map awareness and gank potential. This change ensures that Bloodseeker can capitalise on enemies across the map more efficiently, maintaining his role as a fearsome hunter.
Rupture
The cooldown for Rupture has been reduced, allowing Bloodseeker to use his ultimate more frequently in fights. This change increases his ability to isolate and pressure key enemy heroes, especially during mid to late-game engagements.
Talent Changes
- Level 10 Talent: The attack speed bonus talent at level 10 has increased, making Bloodseeker's early game even more potent in damage output. This helps him secure early kills and farm faster, scaling more effectively into the mid-game.
- Level 25 Talent: The maximum movement speed increase from Thirst has been slightly decreased to balance his late-game chasing potential. This change ensures that while Bloodseeker remains fast, he is not overwhelmingly so, allowing for fairer engagements.
General Impact of 7.35b on Bloodseeker
These updates collectively enhance Bloodseeker's effectiveness in various phases of the game. Early game improvements in Bloodrage and Blood Rite make him a formidable laner and ganker. Mid-game adjustments to Thirst and Rupture ensure he maintains pressure across the map and remains a significant threat. Late-game changes to his talents balance his speed and damage output, ensuring he remains a powerful but fair hero.
Benefits
High Mobility
Bloodseeker's mobility is boosted by his passive ability, Thirst, which provides movement speed when enemy heroes are low on health. This allows him to move quickly across the map and chase down enemies.
Strong Sustain
Bloodseeker has strong sustain in laning, and team fights with Bloodrage, increasing attack speed and damage while providing healing through kills. This allows him to stay on the map without returning to the fountain, engaging in skirmishes and farming effectively.
Versatility
Bloodseeker is a versatile hero who can be played in multiple roles, such as offlane, carry, and mid. His flexible skill set allows him to adapt to different game situations, and his item builds further enhance his versatility.
High Damage Output
Bloodseeker is a versatile hero with abilities that amplify both his physical and magical damage output. His Blood Rite deals significant area damage and silences enemies, while Rupture forces enemies to remain still or suffer severe damage. These abilities enable him to deal massive damage in various combat scenarios.
Information and Map Control
Thirst provides the vision of low-health enemies on the map, allowing for strategic ganks and rotations. It deters enemies from playing aggressively when low on health and adds a psychological advantage to Bloodseeker's team.
Downsides
Lack of Hard Disable
Bloodseeker's main weakness is his lack of a hard disable. While he can silence and slow enemies, he has no stun or root to entirely immobilise opponents, making it challenging to control highly mobile or elusive heroes. Bloodseekers often depend on teammates to provide crowd control for secure kills.
Item Dependency
Bloodseeker relies on critical items like Black King Bar, Blade Mail, Mjollnir, and Satanic to reach his full potential. He can struggle to stay effective without these items, especially in the late game. A poor early game can significantly impact his overall performance due to his item dependency.
Vulnerability to Silences and Disables
Bloodseeker is vulnerable to silences and disables. Heroes like Silencer and Disruptor can prevent him from using spells effectively, while stuns and roots can stop his high mobility. Bloodseekers must be cautious and may require items like BKB to mitigate these threats.
Risky Playstyle
Bloodseeker's aggressive playstyle can sometimes backfire due to his reliance on Bloodrage, which causes him to take increased damage. Chasing low-health enemies can lead him into dangerous situations. Playing Bloodseeker requires balancing aggression and caution to maximise effectiveness without overextending.
Abilities
- Bloodrage: Increases attack speed and spell damage at the cost of health. Can be cast on allies or enemies.
- Blood Rite: Deals damage and silences enemies in an area after a short delay.
- Thirst: Passively grants movement speed and vision of low-health enemies.
- Rupture: Causes an enemy to take damage when they move, making it difficult for them to escape or reposition.
Hints and Tips to Master
- Timing Blood Rite: Use it to secure kills or prevent escapes. Silence is crucial in team fights.
- Managing Bloodrage: Use it wisely on yourself for farming and on enemies or allies, depending on the situation.
- Thirst Awareness: Keep an eye on the map to exploit low-health enemies for speed boosts.
- Rupture Utilisation: Pair it with allies who can force enemies to move, maximising its damage potential
Recommended Allies
Grimstroke
Grimstroke's ultimate, Soulbind, synergises exceptionally well with Bloodseeker's Rupture. Soulbind binds two enemy heroes together, causing Rupture's effects to apply to both. This combination can lead to massive damage and disruption, often securing key kills in team fights.
Earth Spirit
Earth Spirit can force enemy movements with his abilities, making Rupture more effective. His stuns and silences complement Bloodseeker's Blood Rite, allowing seamless coordination in ganks and team fights.
Puck
Puck's Dream Coil can immobilise enemies, forcing them to take significant damage if they try to move under Rupture. Puck's mobility and crowd control abilities make it easier for Bloodseeker to land Blood Rite and secure kills.
Crystal Maiden
Crystal Maiden provides valuable mana regeneration with her Arcane Aura, helping Bloodseeker to spam his abilities more freely. Additionally, her root and slow skills can help keep enemies in place so that Bloodseeker can finish them off.
Venomancer
Venomancer's poison slows, and sustained damage can keep enemies at low health, triggering Thirst and giving Bloodseeker enhanced movement speed and vision. This makes it easier for Bloodseeker to chase and secure kills.
Counters
Juggernaut
Juggernaut's Blade Fury makes him immune to Blood Rite's silence and damage. His healing ward provides significant support, countering Bloodseeker's harassment in the lane. Juggernaut's Omnislash can also quickly eliminate Bloodseeker if caught alone.
Anti-Mage
Anti-Mage's Blink allows him to evade Rupture and Blood Rite easily. His high mobility and magic resistance make it difficult for Bloodseeker to pin him down and kill him. Additionally, Anti-Mage's Mana Break and Mana Void can be very effective against Bloodseeker.
Medusa
Medusa's tankiness and mana shield make her a difficult target for Bloodseeker to burst down. Her ability to deal sustained damage in team fights can also outlast Bloodseeker, especially when Rupture and Blood Rite are on cooldown.
Phantom Lancer
Phantom Lancer's ability to create multiple illusions makes it hard for Bloodseeker to identify the real hero. His mobility and doppelganger ability allow him to dodge Rupture and Blood Rite, making him a challenging target.
Disruptor
Disruptor's Glimpse can force Bloodseeker out of position, while Kinetic Field and Static Storm can silence and trap him, preventing him from using his abilities effectively. Disruptor's spells are particularly disruptive to Bloodseeker's mobility and sustain.