Puck counters, Dota 2 is a game of strategy, skill, and counterplay, where understanding your opponent’s strengths and weaknesses can often make the difference between victory and defeat. One such challenging hero to deal with is Puck—a slippery, magical damage dealer known for its elusiveness and game-changing ultimate ability, Dream Coil. Countering Puck successfully requires careful hero selection, strategic gameplay, and understanding how to exploit its vulnerabilities. In this article, we’ll dive deep into the best ways to counter Puck, including the ideal hero picks, strategies, itemization, and tips to neutralize this highly mobile hero effectively.
Puck’s Strengths – Why Is Puck So Difficult to Deal With?
Puck is one of the most versatile and elusive heroes in Dota 2, with a skill set that can outplay even the most seasoned players. Here’s why Puck is a challenging hero to counter:
- High Mobility: Puck’s primary skill, Illusory Orb, allows him to travel long distances quickly. Coupled with Waning Rift, Puck can blink right into the middle of your lineup or escape dangerous situations with ease.
- Elusiveness: Phase Shift makes Puck temporarily invulnerable, dodging incoming spells and attacks with perfect timing. This ability is what makes Puck one of the hardest heroes to pin down.
- Pressure in All Stages of the Game: With strong lane harassment, high-impact magical damage, and flexibility in positioning, Puck can dominate in the early game and disrupt fights mid to late game.
- Game-Changing Ultimate: Puck’s ultimate ability, Dream Coil, is a teamfight-winner. It roots enemies in place and punishes them if they try to escape, often leading to game-deciding moments.
Puck’s Weaknesses – Exploiting the Vulnerabilities
Despite Puck’s numerous strengths, the hero isn’t invincible. Understanding its weaknesses is the key to countering it:
- Fragile and Low Health Pool: Puck has relatively low health and can be burst down if caught out of position or silenced.
- Reliant on Cooldowns: Puck’s power is tied heavily to the availability of its abilities. Catching Puck when its Phase Shift or Illusory Orb is on cooldown is aprime opportunity.
- Struggles Against Silences and Instant Stuns: Abilities that can silence Puck or prevent its escape render it highly vulnerable.
- Waning Late Game Presence: While Puck is a major threat in the early to mid-game, it loses potency as the game progresses and carries with high damage output come online.
Best Hero Counters to Puck
To effectively counter Puck, choosing the right heroes is essential. Here are the best counters, divided into lane phase counters and general counters:
Lane Phase Counters
These heroes excel in pressuring Puck during the laning phase, preventing it from building an early lead:
- Night Stalker: One of the most effective counters against Puck, Night Stalker’s Crippling Fear silences Puck within a large area, even during Phase Shift. The darkness also limits Puck’s vision, reducing its ability to play aggressively.
- Tiny: Tiny’s naturally high health pool and two types of crowd control—Avalanche and Toss—make him a nightmare for Puck. He can trade hits effectively and even burst Puck down in one combo later in the game.
- Dragon Knight: With his exceptional durability and Dragon’s Blood, Dragon Knight can outlast Puck in trades. His Breathe Fire is difficult for Puck to dodge early on due to long cooldowns of Puck’s escape skills.
- Templar Assassin: Templar Assassin punishes Puck with her Psionic Traps to silence and slow him. Additionally, her Refraction allows her to ignore Puck’s magical damage and win trades.
- Huskar: As a risk-taking hero, Huskar thrives by leveraging his ability to harass Puck while surviving its counterattacks. Burning Spear applies consistent pressure, making Puck vulnerable in prolonged fights.
General Counters
These heroes can limit Puck’s effectiveness throughout the game:
- Disruptor: Disruptor’s Glimpse and Static Storm completely neutralize Puck’s mobility. Once silenced within Static Storm, Puck has no options to escape.
- Riki: Riki’s stealth and burst damage are perfect for catching Puck off guard. His Smoke Screen can silence and cripple Puck’s ability to use spells effectively in fights.
- Zeus: Zeus counters Puck with his non-projectile spells. Both Arc Lightning and Lightning Bolt hit Puck even during Phase Shift, and his high magical burst can delete Puck in seconds.
- Faceless Void: Faceless Void’s Chronosphere is one of the most reliable ways to immobilize Puck and ensure fatal follow-up damage. Late game, Void often has the damage needed to kill Puck instantly.
How to Successfully Counter Puck
Countering Puck isn’t just about hero selection. You need to employ strategic gameplay to shut down this elusive foe. Below are some crucial strategies to implement:
Maintain Map Awareness
Puck thrives on catching opponents off guard. Always keep your lanes warded and anticipate Puck’s movements, especially once it gains its Blink Dagger. Teleport scrolls are your best friend to counter Puck’s rotations.
Force Defensive Itemization
If you can pressure Puck enough, you’ll force it to invest in defensive items like Eul’s Scepter or Blink Dagger early, delaying its progression into damage-dealing items.
Exploit Cooldown Windows
Puck relies heavily on its cooldowns to remain elusive. Capitalize on moments when Illusory Orb or Phase Shift are unavailable, and pin it down with silences or stuns.
Prioritize Ganking
Coordinate with your team to gank Puck, especially during the early game. Heroes like Disruptor or Lion, who have AoE silences or stuns, are exceptionally good choices here.
The Role of Items
Strategic itemization can also drastically reduce Puck’s effectiveness:
- Orchid Malevolence: A great item for heroes that need to apply silences to Puck.
- Eul’s Scepter of Divinity: Can dispel Puck’s abilities and help you escape Dream Coil.
- Black King Bar (BKB): Provides immunity against Puck’s magical abilities and ultimate.
FAQ – Puck Counters
What is the best way to counter Puck in the laning phase?
Pick heroes like Night Stalker, Tiny, or Templar Assassin who can apply early pressure. Avoid heroes with slow animations or no means to silence or stun.
Which abilities can stop Puck from escaping?
Silences like Night Stalker’s Crippling Fear or Riki’s Smoke Screen are excellent at preventing Puck’s slippery escapes.
How does Disruptor counter Puck effectively?
Disruptor’s Static Storm silences and nullifies Puck’s ability to escape, while Glimpse forces him back into precarious situations.
Is Faceless Void a good pick against Puck?
Yes. Faceless Void’s Chronosphere locks Puck in place, making it easy to deliver lethal damage.
How can itemization help counter Puck?
Key items like Orchid Malevolence, Eul’s Scepter, and Black King Bar can negate Puck’s spell-based dominance in fights.
Why is Night Stalker a strong pick against Puck?
Night Stalker’s silence ability, Crippling Fear, can easily disrupt Puck’s combos and render him helpless during nighttime fights.
Does vision play a critical role in countering Puck?
Absolutely. Warding high-risk areas and maintaining map control are vital to predicting and countering Puck’s rotations.
Can late-game carries overpower Puck?
Yes. Heroes like Faceless Void, Anti-Mage, and Juggernaut can overpower Puck in the late game due to their high physical damage and sustain.
Why does Puck struggle against Templar Assassin?
Templar Assassin’s Psionic Traps silence and slow Puck, while her Refraction absorbs damage, making it hard for Puck to dominate her.
Should I gank Puck early or wait for the late game?
It’s essential to shut down Puck early. Ganking and pressuring Puck before it builds its core items can prevent it from snowballing during the mid-game.
Source : NoobFromUA
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