Most heroes in Dota 2 build their strengths around their ultimate skills and level six is considered to be their first power spike. But even among those heroes, there are some whose entire identity and gameplay revolve around their ultimate skills.
Without them, the community agrees these heroes would be worthless.
With that thought in mind, we have rounded up four of the most iconic Dota 2 heroes to showcase their value in the game without their ultimate skills. Spoiler alert: They fall flat.
Invoker
The Arsenal Magus without his Arsenal? Blasphemy! That’s how it feels when you take away Invoke from Invoker. All he’s left with are three Orbs that have even less utility now than they did before his Universal rework. No spells to cast makes Invoker a sad Magus.
Maybe you can still stack stats on him and be a powerful physical damage dealer, but why not instead have a carry hero do the same, only better? There is little value in having Invoker as anything but a spellcaster with 10 spells, completely wasting the hero’s potential if you can’t access them.
Meepo
If there’s anything Dota 2 has taught us, it’s that there is strength in numbers. That statement has never been more true when it comes to Meepo. Take away his ultimate, and you take away those numbers, making Meepo a less-than-mediocre disabler and damage dealer.
Without his clone army to back him up, Meepo is not capable of a lot. The Geomancer title fits the hero perfectly because if you take away the clones, Meepo is going to be tasting the dirt a lot faster than he would with his buddies to support him.
Rubick
The Grand Magus, the Son of Aghanim who mastered all of the spells in the Dota 2 universe, is now completely neutered. Rubick’s selling point is his Spell Steal, allowing him to copy spells and hit back stronger than the original caster, but not anymore.
Without Spell Steal, the only utility the hero provides is damage reduction via Fade Bolt and repositioning with Telekinesis. Both of these skills are great but without the threat of spells being stolen, there is nothing to fear from the Grand Magus.
Tinker
Where to begin with this one? A constant barrage of Heat-Seeking Missiles? Bouncing Laser spam? Shields for all teammates? Not anymore. Without Rearm allowing Tinker to constantly refresh his spells, he’s nothing more than a one-pump chump like any other caster.
Rearm also refreshes his items, allowing him to spam Scythe of Vyse, Dagon, Shiva’s Guard, and other powerful items, including his Teleport. The hero’s broken power spike at level 18 with enough items is just non-existent without Rearm to keep him going.
Apart from Invoker, none of these heroes are as prevalent in the meta today. Hopefully, this changes with the arrival of Patch 7.35 and the Ringmaster.
