The threatening Lifestealer is a deadly force to be reckoned with. His strength ruptures even the strongest of foes and leaves them crippled. Lifestealer is a carry hero, and he is quite good at carrying the team on his back! Due to the lifesteal, he can fare well in the laning phase and deal decent damage to his foes due to high armor. He is a fight-oriented hero, as with the right items he can obliterate the enemy team and turn their ashes into dust.
To counter this ungodly force of evil, we have compiled this list of the Best 10 Lifestealer counters in the current meta, these heroes are extremely relevant in the current meta and can wreak havoc in any matchup!
10. Ancient Apparition
Kaldr, the Ancient Apparition is quite literally a cool counter to Lifestealer. He possesses all the quintessential qualities to ruin the latter’s game with the help of Ice Blast, making it impossible for him to survive the team fight or lifesteal. He is also a great pick due to his flexibility as he can also be played in the mid-lane, which is quite a rare sight but can do wonders if played exceptionally well. Lifestealer stands no chance in the late game if the mighty Apparition gets his spells off in skirmishes.
What makes Ancient Apparition a great counter to Lifestealer?
- Ice Blast prevents Lifestealer from life-stealing and healing with Infest in fights.
- In the lane, Ice Vortex slows Lifestealer’s already poor movement speed to a crawl; this, coupled with the amplification of magic damage, can set up an early kill on him if Ancient Apparition has a suitable lane partner.
Items to buy on Ancient Apparition
- Force Staff - Another great tool to close gaps or escape from Lifestealer
- Aghanim’s Scepter and Shard - Increases Ice Vortex damage and heal reduction, destroying Lifestealer’s game
- Rod of Atos - Allows him to lock Lifestealer down and prevents him from using any spells
- Glimmer Cape - Provides invisibility, can also be used on allies to escape or to initiate on Lifestealer
- Scythe of Vyse - Disables Lifestealer and removes him from the fight
9. Windranger
Behold the ranger of the gusts and the wild winds! Windranger is one of the few heroes who can be picked in any lane. No matter the position, she is known to deal some heavy damage or assist her allies in doing so. To utilize her to her full potential, she is picked in the middle lane, where she can thrive in most matchups due to the insane damage that she is known to dish out. Along with winning the lane, she can also dominate the middle and late game if she hits the right item timings, hence her pick rate skyrockets.
Why is Windranger a great counter to Lifestealer?
- High physical damage output with just a few items
- Great stun-lock potential with Shackleshot
- Windrun and Focus Fire can easily allow Windranger to kite Lifestealer and do good amounts of damage in the process.
Items to Buy on Windranger
- Monkey King Bar - Increased physical damage, also provides true strike in case Lifestealer buys Butterfly
- Maelstorm - Exceptional for pushing lanes and farming quickly
- Black King Bar - Provides spell immunity
- Aghanim’s Scepter and Shard - Reduces Focus Fire cooldown and increases damage
- Daedalus - Immense critical damage
8. Chaos Knight
Chaos ensues when this veteran of the countless battle of a thousand worlds steps his foot into the battlefield. Chaos Knight is unbearably strong against Lifestealer due to the lack of AoE damage from him, allowing his phantasms to freely do the job and get some heavy-hitting done. Although he lacks in the farming department, CK is extremely tanky and is only threatened by multiple heroes at once. All he needs is a good early game and free farm to counter his deathly counterpart in the late game!
Why is Chaos Knight a great counter to Lifestealer?
- Chaos Knight's Level 20 Talent: Reality Rift Pierces Spell Immunity allows for quick bursting down of Lifestealer during his Rage.
- Lifestealer has no way of dealing with Chaos Knight's illusions.
Items to Buy on CK
- Armlet of Mordiggian - Increased damage and HP, can toggle through Lifestealer’s damage
- Black King Bar - Spell immunity completely ignores Lifestealer’s combo
- Manta Style - Can work in tandem with Reality Rift, exceptional to push lanes and dispel spells
- Assault Cuirass - Increased armor gain, while also reducing Lifestealer’s armor
- Eye of Skadi - Reduced HP gain for Lifestealer while offering immense stats
- Echo Sabre - Great stat gain along with immense damage and attack speed
https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Chaos_Knight
7. Weaver
Weaver is the only unfixed bug in the game! Threading through the needle of time, Weaver arrives to devastate his enemies with his massive time-bending abilities, exceptionally countering Lifestealer. Weaver is a great ranged hero as he can also escape the clutches of Lifestealer hence faring well in the laning phase. Shukuchi is a lifesaver and can be used to harass enemies as well. The Swarm and Germinnate deal a great amount of damage and help neutralize him. Weaver can be quite unkillable in the late game as he acquires farm and gets tanky.
Why is Weaver a great counter to Lifestealer?
- The Swarm is not blocked by Rage and can be used to lower Lifestealer's already low armor, making him even more vulnerable to physical damage.
- Weaver can easily harass Lifestealer out of his lane thanks to his high base damage and Geminate Attack.
Items to buy on Weaver
- Maelstorm - Exceptional for pushing lanes and farming quickly
- Desolator - Increased damage and armor corruption
- Black King Bar - Provides spell immunity
- Daedalus - Immense critical damage
- Monkey King Bar - Increased physical damage, also provides true strike in case Lifestealer buys Butterfly
https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Weaver
6. Bane
Bane is the culprit of endless nightmares in the shadow realm, He remains a solid counter to various heroes in the game, especially escape heroes. He can quickly disable them by applying debuffs, and locking them down for a good duration. The late stages of the game bear witness to utter control by Bane if he manages to use Fiend’s Grip on his foes without getting caught. A skilled Bane will also save his allies from potentially lethal damage by using Nightmare on them at the right time.
Why is Bane great against Lifestealer?
- Fiend's Grip pierces spell immunity, making Lifestealer useless.
- Nightmare sets Bane's team up for chain disables on him.
- Enfeeble lowers Lifestealer’s status resistance and magic resistance, making him more vulnerable to disables and magic damage.
Items to Buy as Bane
- Aether Lens - Increased cast range, can catch Tiny off-guard
- Aeon Disk - Saves him from getting burst quickly from Lifestealer and also applies a basic dispel
- Ghost Scepter - Makes him immune from physical damage from Lifestealer
- Force Staff - Another great tool to close gaps or escape from the clutches of Lifestealer
- Glimmer Cape - Provides invisibility, can also be used on allies to escape or to initiate on Lifetstealer
- Aghanim’s Shard - AoE Brain Sap, making it easy for him to push lanes
https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Bane
5. Ursa
This ferocious and breathtaking bear is a force to be reckoned with! Ursa is one of the most played carry heroes in the game, known for his ability to jungle smoothly and slay Roshan alone. His third ability, Fury Swipes, combined with his second, Overpower, can obliterate squishy enemy support heroes in the early game. Buying a Morbid mask allows him to sustain in lane and turn around a fight swiftly coupled with his ultimate, Enrage.
Why is Ursa a great counter to Lifestealer?
- Lifestealer can't fight Ursa at any stage of the game because of his high physical damage with Fury Swipes and Overpower.
- Less reliable on items, more reliable on abilities.
- Can easily secure Roshan alone, gaining the Aegis of Immortality.
Items to buy on Ursa
- Blink Dagger - Great for gap closing or initiating
- Diffusal Blade - Slows down Lifestealer and burns his mana
- Satanic - Can quickly heal up on physical attacks upon activation, also provides basic dispel from the latter.
- Black King Bar - Provides spell immunity
- Skull Basher - Can bash Tiny and prevent him from TP’ing, can later be upgraded into Abyssal Blade
4. Beastmaster
Beastmaster is a force of nature, his ferocious abilities and vigor have made him into a primal killing machine! He is by far one of the most threatening heroes in the game! Beastmaster is primarily played in the offlane due to his split pushing and initiating abilities, though he can also jungle effortlessly thanks to his Wild Boar. His attack speed is also amplified by his abilities, allowing both him and his allies to hit faster. Beastmaster snowballs right after a few kills, his ganking potential is insane after a few essential item purchases.
What makes Beastmaster a great counter to Lifestealer?
- Wild Boar helps with split-pushing and the Hawk provides the vision that can alert Beastmaster or his allies from enemy invasion.
- Mostly builds utility items, supplementing his team’s abilities.
- Primal Roar pierces Rage and can disable Lifestealer in fights.
Items to buy on Beastmaster
- Aghanim’s Scepter - Reduces the cooldown of Wild Axes to 1 second.
- Blink Dagger - Great for gap closing or initiating
- Helm of the Overlord - Can control Ancients with this item
- Solar Crest - Reduces armor of enemies and provides armor to allies on usage
- Aether Lens - Increased cast range, can catch Lifestealer off-guard
https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Beastmaster
3. Clinkz
Hailing from the cursed land of the forest kingdom, Clinkz is the sole protector of this unholy territory. His immortality is a gift that he uses to his strengths, his threatening aura and vigor have made him a threatening archer that no one has the power to compete with. Clinkz is the ultimate bone fletcher. His excellency and deadly gameplay make him a suitable pick in the safe lane. Clinkz is currently blessed with buffs, making him a relevant entity.
Why is Clinkz a great counter to Lifestealer?
- Clinkz relies heavily on the physical damage provided by Searing Arrows, which completely overrides the capabilities of Rage.
- Clinkz, by nature, will often build items that Lifestealer hates dealing with such as physical damage items like Desolator or Daedalus and instant silences or hexes from Bloodthorn and Scythe of Vyse.
Items to buy on Clinkz
- Desolator - Increased damage and armor corruption
- Bloodthorn - Silences Lifestealer and deals immense damage at the end of the duration
- Sange and Yasha - Provides decent stats and physical damage
- Black King Bar - Provides spell immunity
- Daedalus - Immense critical damage
https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Clinkz
2. Terrorblade
No other hero fills you with dread and terror as much as Terrorblade. Not all heroes can turn around a team fight like Terrorblade. The sheer power of Sunder is not to be underestimated! Terrorblade has insane early game potential in regards to farming. His mirror illusions can jungle comfortably as he farms the lane, surpassing the enemy carry’s net worth by a mile. Having great level 1 stats and attack speed drives his farm exponentially.
What makes Terrorblade a great counter to Lifestealer?
- Terrorblade's illusions and ranged attacks in Metamorphosis can burst down Lifestealer very quickly.
- Terrorblade has low health due to his low strength gain, which reduces Feast's lifesteal and damage.
- Terrorblade's high armor makes Lifestealer's Desolator useless.
- Because Lifestealer usually walks around with high HP in fights due to his lifesteal (and sometimes Armlet of Mordiggian), he is a great target for Terrorblade's Sunder.
Items to buy on Terrorblade
- Battlefury - Essential to split push and farm quickly
- Mana Style - Exceptional to push lanes and dispel spells
- Diffusal Blade - Slows down Lifestealer and burns his mana
- Eye of Skadi - Great for reducing Lifesteaer’s regen while also providing stats.
- Daedalus - Immense critical damage
- Satanic - Can quickly heal up on physical attacks upon activation, also provides basic dispel from the latter.
https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Terrorblade
1. Phantom Lancer
The countless army of fierce warriors is quite overwhelming for his foes. The sheer capability to multiply and confuse his enemies. Phantom Lancer may be quite underwhelming in the early game due to the lack of items but the late game is quite a treat for him as he can fight with the help of his items. His ultimate is extremely great against heroes that lack AoE abilities to counter him. He can pounce on enemies easily and deal a ton of physical damage.
Why is Phantom Lancer a great counter to Lifestealer?
- Lifestealer has no way of dealing with Phantom Lancer's illusions.
- Phantom Lancer also commonly builds Diffusal Blade, which poses a large problem to Lifestealer and his low mana pool.
Items to buy on Phantom Lancer
- Diffusal Blade - Slows down Lifestealer and burns her mana
- Mana Style - Exceptional to push lanes and dispel her silence
- Butterfly - Increased evasion, agility, and movement speed
- Eye of Skadi - Great for reducing Lifestealer’s regen while also providing stats.
- Abyssal Blade - Can be used to quickly lock down Lifestealer after getting on top of her, allowing you to beat her down with the physical damage
- Heart of Tarrasque - Increased HP, useful to survive the massive physical damage from Lifestealer
https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Phantom_Lancer
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