Centaur Warrunner counters, Centaur Warrunner is a formidable hero in Dota 2, known for his brutal tankiness, strong area control, and devastating initiation potential. His kit allows him to dive into fights with ease and disrupt enemy formations, making him both a powerful core hero and a challenging foe when you’re on the receiving end. Countering Centaur Warrunner requires a strategic understanding of his abilities, strengths, and weaknesses in order to curb his dominance during all stages of the match. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore the best ways to counter Centaur Warrunner, including hero selections, itemization strategies, lane tactics, and team fight approaches.
Centaur Warrunner’s Abilities – Understanding His Strengths
To effectively counter Centaur Warrunner, it’s crucial to first understand his abilities and how they influence his playstyle. Each of his skills contributes to his status as a fearsome initiator and tank.
Hoof Stomp
Centaur Warrunner’s signature ability, Hoof Stomp, stuns and damages all enemies within close range. This ability is incredibly effective as an initiation tool to catch multiple heroes off guard, setting them up for follow-up damage from allies.
Double Edge
Double Edge delivers significant magical damage to a single target and to Centaur himself. The damage scaling allows him to threaten squishy heroes, although his inability to die from the self-damage makes it relatively safe to use in most situations.
Retaliate
Retaliate passively reflects incoming physical damage back to attackers, making it risky for enemies to trade hits or harass him in lane with auto-attacks. This ability also enhances his damage output during fights if opponents rely heavily on right-click attacks.
Stampede
Stampede is Centaur’s ultimate, enabling all allied heroes to gain bonus movement speed and trample enemies in their path, stunning and applying damage. This global mobility tool is excellent for both initiating fights and disengaging when needed, adding versatility to his role in the game.
General Strategies to Counter Centaur Warrunner
Countering Centaur Warrunner requires a mix of careful drafting, smart laning, and situational positioning. Below, we’ll outline the general tactics you can use to mitigate his effectiveness.
Lane Phase
- Keep your distance: Centaur excels at punishing squishy heroes that linger too close, thanks to Hoof Stomp and Retaliate. Ranged heroes or heroes with spells that allow for safe harass are highly effective during the laning stage.
- Avoid prolonged trades: Trading blows with Centaur Warrunner generally ends poorly due toRetaliate, especially if you’re relying on right-click damage. Use spells or abilities that don’t trigger this passive when harassing him in lane.
- Deny his farm: Centaur scales well with core items like Blink Dagger and Vanguard. Denying him sufficient gold and experience during the laning phase can delay his power spikes.
Team Fights
- Spread out: Because of Hoof Stomp and Stampede, clumped-up formations are vulnerable to his initiation. Encourage your team to maintain spread positioning in fights to mitigate AoE stuns.
- Control his initiations: Heroes with abilities that interrupt Blink Daggers (e.g., Poison Touch, Arc Lightning) or silence him (e.g., Orchid Malevolence) can shut down his dive potential.
- Disable Stampede: Being prepared with crowd control abilities to counter his ultimate is critical. Glimpse, Static Storm, or other displacement and silence effects work well here.
Itemization Choices
- Eul’s Scepter of Divinity: Use this item to cyclone yourself or teammates to avoid Hoof Stomp or Stampede damage. It also serves as a great disengage tool.
- Black King Bar (BKB): Centaur’s damage output heavily relies on magical damage, which BKB neutralizes. It also ensures that crucial heroes can survive through his initiation.
- Shiva’s Guard: Apply a slow aura to reduce Centaur’s effectiveness when Stampede is active while also mitigating his physical damage output.
Specific Hero Counters – The Best Picks Against Centaur Warrunner
Not all heroes are equally effective against Centaur Warrunner. Here’s a breakdown of synergistic options that perform well against him:
High Damage Dealers
- Lifestealer: As a tank killer, Lifestealer thrives against high-health heroes. His Rage also makes him immune to Hoof Stomp and Double Edge during fights, neutralizing Centaur’s key abilities.
- Death Prophet: Her Spirit Siphon heals her while dealing percentage-based damage, making her an excellent counter against Centaur’s health pool. Silence adds additional utility by disabling his combo potential.
Control and Disruption Heroes
- Disruptor: Few heroes are as effective as Disruptor at shutting down Stampede. Glimpse can displace him after using Stampede, while Kinetic Field traps him in fights.
- Kunkka: With his X Marks the Spot ability, Kunkka can force Centaur to remain stationary regardless of Stampede’s active speed boost, ensuring he cannot disengage freely.
Mobile and Evasive Heroes
- Ember Spirit: High mobility allows Ember Spirit to dodge abilities like Hoof Stomp and Double Edge. His slipperiness leaves Centaur struggling to pin him down in fights.
- Meepo: Meepo players spread out damage across clones, which reduces Centaur’s AoE impact. Centaur also struggles to focus on Meepo’s clones amidst the chaos of fights.
Utility Supports
- Witch Doctor: Maledict deals percentage-based damage over time, which works wonders against Centaur’s tank build. Paralyzing Cask also disrupts Initiations effectively.
- Necrophos: A hero that thrives against tanks, Necrophos can kite Centaur with Death Pulse while his ultimate (Reaper’s Scythe) ensures kill opportunities regardless of Centaur’s health pool.
How to Counter Centaur Warrunner – A Practical Guide
1. Draft Wisely
Building a lineup with options for silences, slows, and long-range damage ensures Centaur cannot execute his game plan unchallenged. Heroes like Disruptor, Witch Doctor, and Lifestealer can provide immense value for your team.
2. Manage Lane Aggression
During the early game, keep Centaur pressured without overcommitting. Denying creeps and controlling farm minimizes the impact of his mid-game power spike. If you’re in a safe lane, consider pulling creep waves to deny him experience.
3. Control Blink Timing
Delaying Centaur Warrunner’s Blink Dagger is critical. Without it, his ability to initiate fights is drastically limited. Apply pressure constantly in his lane to disrupt his item timings.
4. Build the Right Items
Centaur struggles against magic immunity and crowd control. Items like Black King Bar, Eul’s Scepter, and Ghost Scepter are strong defensive options. Offensive auras like Solar Crest (to reduce his armor) or Spirit Vessel (to reduce his healing) provide additional utility.
Centaur Warrunner Counters – Frequently Asked Questions
Who counters Centaur Warrunner the best?
Lifestealer and Disruptor are widely regarded as the best counters to Centaur Warrunner. Lifestealer can shred his health pool with Feast, while Disruptor completely neutralizes his Stampede with skills like Glimpse and Static Storm.
What lanes does Centaur Warrunner struggle in?
Centaur struggles in lanes where he faces consistent magical damage or sustained harassment from ranged heroes. Avoid melee heroes who repeatedly trigger Retaliate during exchanges.
Is Centaur Warrunner good against squishy lineups?
Yes, Centaur Warrunner excels against squishy lineups thanks to his burst damage and AoE stuns. However, proper positioning and silences can nullify his effectiveness in such scenarios.
How do you stop Centaur’s initiation?
To stop Centaur’s initiation, disrupt his Blink Dagger timing. Use abilities such as Acid Spray or Glimpse to stop him before committing to an engage.
What should supports do against Centaur?
Supports should focus on zoning during the lane phase and buying mobility items like Force Staff to help their cores escape Stampede initiation.
What disables work best against Centaur?
Silences like Orchid Malevolence and stuns like Hex or Disruptor’s Static Storm are extremely effective against Centaur. Chain disables can keep him completely out of fights.
How do you counter Retaliate?
Use ranged or magic-based damage to harass Centaur in lane without triggering Retaliate. Heroes like Skywrath Mage and Death Prophet excel at this.
Does armor reduce Retaliate damage?
No, Retaliate damage is calculated as returned physical damage before armor reductions, making it important to avoid triggering it through right-click attacks.
Can Stampede be stopped?
Yes, Stampede can be countered using abilities that interrupt momentum like Glimpse, Ice Path, or even chain stuns to stop advancing heroes.
What weaknesses does Centaur Warrunner have?
Centaur has limited mana and relies heavily on physical durability. Burst magic damage and silences exploit his vulnerability to mana dependency and interruptability in fights.
Conclusion
Centaur Warrunner can be a terrifying presence in Dota 2, but with the right heroes, strategic itemization, and well-executed positioning, his effectiveness can be severely limited. Understanding his abilities and power spikes is key to formulating a plan to counter him. Use the tips and heroes outlined above to dominate a match against Centaur Warrunner and secure your victory. Good luck on the battlefield!
Source : Dota2HighSchool
Stay updated with reliable Dota 2 news sources. Visit dota2gamers.gg and for more insights about Dota 2.
