What should you know before going into a game of Dota Underlord?

25. Never roll before the round starts

If you want to make sure that your income is steady and you don't miss out on gold, make sure to never roll before the round starts. Your goal is to always be at 50 gold or above.

•  Wait for the round to start and start rolling

24. Check the enemy builds

There are 8 players in a match, always look out for what units they're going for so that you have a higher chance of getting the ones that you need. Example: If 3 players are already going for Knights, try to stay away from that build since you don't want to fight all of them for the same units.

•  Open the tab on your left corner and click the units you need to see how many players have them

23. Don’t force a build

Don’t go into a game of Dota Underlords with a build in mind, play the hand that you are given even if you wanted to go for that 9 Assassins build. Make the best out of the units you have and remember that the “Play Again” button is always at your disposal.

•  If you don’t get the units you wanted for your build by round 10-11 ,adapt to what other units you have

22. Losing is good

The most important thing to keep in mind in Dota Underlords is your economy. Losing early game due to unlucky units can also be good due to the lose streak mechanic. When you can’t win, make money.

•  Sometimes removing a weaker unit in early game from your board can help you build an economy that could win you the game

21. Keeping a win streak

When you are about to finish your win streak, you should always keep in mind that sacrificing 10 gold might reward you with double the amount. Check everyone’s status and level up if you want to ensure an easy win.

•  Level up if you need to keep your win streak

20. Keep an eye out for round 15

Many players, including myself can sometimes get caught into Dota Underlord’s oldest trick in the book, round 15. Always swap the positioning of your frontline with your backline due to the round 15 creeps being Assassins.

•  Your frontline becomes your backline and vice versa.

19. Always spread versus mages

Builds like Primordials/Mages usually pack a large amount of AoE damage. Make sure you spread your units across the board to ensure that not all of your creatures get hit at the same time by the magic damage units your opponents have.

•  Occupy the entirety of your board, don’t get wiped out by the AoE Mages bring about

18. Stand together or die alone

Due to their alliance trait (Knight units take 25% less physical and magic damage and an additional 25% when standing 1 cell away from another Knight), you want to position your knights in a square . These units do not need to spread versus mages.

•  Keep your Knights clumped up so they benefit from their trait

17. Going against Assassins

Always make sure you take measures when going against Assassins. Either place a tanky unit to guard your backline or just go for a corner positioning where your backline is always protected. One more way of denying access into your backline is to put a tank unit in the opposite corner so that it may distract some assassins to go on it.

•  Create diversions with your tanky units so that your backline may survive and prevail

16. Always pick Smuggler

If by any chance you come across a round 2 Smuggler, make sure you always pick it. Being able to receive better items can always come in clutch.

•  Always pick Smuggler, last round to pick it is usually round 15

15. Big Time Contracts

One of the most sought after item in the game is the Big Time Contract. General rule of thumb is to pick it when you see it in early game. Combine them with a couple of one star Blood Bound units and equip it on a Juggernaut or Luna and you might have an easy game.

•  Big Time Contracts can also give birth to weird  but successful builds

14. Chainmail is always good

Out of all the tier 1 items in Dota Underlords, the Chainmail will always be the best one to pick. Having 10 extra armor on one of your frontline creatures early into the game can easily head you towards a free win streak.

•  Chainmail can win you early rounds, pick it as often as possible

13. Corner positioning for ranged

If you are playing Hunters or Mages or anything that has more range and you think your unit is safe, think again. You never want your Sniper to be in a corner due to Pudge always hooking the corner units. Always get your ranged units one row ahead .

•  Never place your ranged units in the corner, Pudge will hook them away

12. Check cooldowns on your units

For an item like Octarine Essence, you always want to check the cooldowns on your spells, especially when some units have a passive spell as well. Never put this item on a 3 star Tinker or a unit that has a cooldown that is too high or too low.

•  Usually goes very well on Puck due to it having a second ability

11. Net Worth is very important

Aside from checking the units your opponents have, look out for everyone’s Net Worth. That stat will always tell you who is doing good in terms of their economy and who is not. The higher yours is, the better you are.

•  Keep an eye out for high Net Worths, they usually end up in the first 3, HP is not everything

10. Free rerolls stay

Whenever you lose a round in Dota Underlords, you are given a free reroll. It’s a comeback mechanic but it can also be a gold sinker if you don’t use it wisely. Make sure you don’t use it unless you are about to lose another round or you are really craving for that upgrade.

•  Don’t waste a free reroll, try to build up your economy if you are losing

9. All in when you need to

It’s always good to be above 50 gold so you receive the 5 extra gold incoming every round but when your health is going down and you don’t think you will survive your next opponent, all in. Level up or look for 3 star units, don’t let that gold go to waste.

•  Calculate your chances of survival and all in when you are low on HP

8. Keep an eye out for round 35

Round 35 is when “Things are heating up” and what I mean by that is that you are going against a dragon who will deal splash damage. Always make sure that you spread your units so that you get that very important loot.

•  Stay focused on the creep rounds as well and place your tankiest unit in front of the dragon

7. Don't run 2 Demons

The Demon trait is a one of a kind bonus that will empower the unit with 50% Pure damage. This effect only happens when you have one Demon unit active and no more. The only time you can have more demons is when you have your Demon Hunter trait active.

•  Pay attention to how many demons you have on your board before the round starts

6. Positioning

Aside from your ranged units always being placed in the backline, there are certain situations where you don’t want a melee creature to get hit first. Terrorblade or Beastmaster, you always want to place these one row behind your frontline. Always leave a space for them to path through.

•  Place your unit one or two rows behind your frontline

5. Pick strong stand alone units

Whenever you start a fresh game of Dota Underlords you want to be looking out for certain units that do well on their own. Most of the time you don’t know the build you’re going for in the early rounds. Pick wise for your potential win streak.

•  The strongest standalone unit is Chaos Knight

4. Blink Dagger is good

Early Blink Dagger is a very good opportunity for your units to cast their spells faster. Especially when the cast will most certainly happen in the backline. Pick the unit that has the most powerful spell and equip it with the Blink Dagger, it will do wonders.

•  Equip the Blink Dagger on Demons or Units that have CC type of abilities

3. The frontline Assassins

If you are looking for the Primordial/Assassins build you want to make sure that your frontline buys enough time for the massacre occurring in your opponents’ backline. Morphling and Sand King usually want to act as frontliners as well so they can get their abilities off faster.

•  Viper can act as a front line due to his passive ability

2. Claymore doesn't scale

Out of all the early game items, the one that has the least value is most certainly the Claymore. The Gloves of Haste will have a weak but reasonable scale and so does the Chainmail.

•  Try to stay away from Claymore

1. Pick Aegis of the Immortal early game only when...

This item has a lot of potential to be good but you only want to pick it when you aren’t offered something that can help you win early game rounds. Aegis is picked when going Assassins due to your Underlord taking a lot of damage early game.

•  Gets picked in the early game when you really want to go Assassins