Once an overpowered Dota 2 item that dominated the meta, Meteor Hammer is now a husk of its former glory. It’s also dubbed the Meme Hammer, due to how ridiculous the item and its unique ability are.
What Is The Dota 2 Meteor Hammer?
As of the latest Dota 2 update, Meteor Hammer is an active item with the ability of a similar name and comes with multiple stats gain. Notably, its percentage amplifications in spell damage, mana regeneration, and spell lifesteal make it highly beneficial for magic damage casters and heroes with low mana pools too. However, even heroes with reliable setups to channel the item’s ability make them a perfect fit.
Players can craft the item with Kaya, Crown, and its recipe, with Kaya being the first-priority item to purchase first. After all, Kaya is the component that offers the amplification buffs, so it’s valuable to pick this up early.
And of course, the Meteor Hammer active ability summons a meteor that strikes a 400 AOE, stunning opponents for 0.5 seconds and dealing impact damage. It also deals unit and building damage over 6 seconds.
Is Meteor Hammer Still Worth Buying In Dota 2?
Unlike other mischievous items introduced by Icefrog, such as the Wraith Pact and Poor Man’s Shield, Meteor Hammer is still available in-game as of Dota 2 update 7.36.
However, the item remains unpopular after various nerfs, item recipes, and cost increases throughout the patch releases. At a whopping 2850 gold (as of update 7.36), there are higher-priority items to buy, especially for a popular offlane hero that formerly always bought Meteor Hammer, such as Tidehunter.
In fact, Meteor Hammer was phenomenal on Tidehunter, that most players even opted for it first before Blink Dagger. Meteor Hammer lets Tidehunter spam Anchor Smash at a lower mana cost, fixes his overall low mana problem, and amplifies Tidehunter’s magic damage skills. And as a cherry on top, it lets Tidehunter be a durable frontliner with the ability to push towers effectively.
Other heroes that also enjoy Meme Hammer’s Meteor Hammer are Treant Protector, who can channel Meteor Hammer in the guise of invisibility, and Clockwerk, who can perform a Hookshot into several enemy heroes, use Power Cogs, and channel Meteor Hammer reliably.
Why Meteor Hammer Is Now Known As Meme Hammer
Nonetheless, gone were the days when Meteor Hammer was a meta-defining item that every team would have at least two among their heroes. The overall nerfs on the building damage it could deliver, and higher cost just render the item obsolete, considering the current meta favors players who play the late-game meta.
Meteor Hammer’s iconic channeling ability was never a good one to begin with, especially when you take into account how unreliable it is to combo its long channeling time. However, the absurd damage it could deliver each execution just made it a good purchase at the time, disregarding its flaws.
Today, most players on the Dota 2 Reddit forum seem to agree that Meteor Hammer is the worst item in the game objectively. There are more effective and impactful item options in every aspect of the game, including pushing towers and having an additional disable.