How to Play as Juggernaut in Dota 2

Credit: DOTA 2

Role

Juggernaut is an agility-based melee hero. Equipped with a sword, Juggernaut is a carry/pusher best suited for working with a team member in the easy/top lane. As a carry, Juggernaut is expected to gain in-game equipment and level-up before he becomes powerful. As a pusher, Juggernaut has the ability to clear creeps in his path with his blade fury skill. This will allow him to gain gold and experience quicker than other classes. Furthermore, Juggernaut works great teamed with a support class because if his partner can use a stun on an enemy hero, Juggernaut can finish them off with blade fury.

Skills

Juggernaut has the following skills:

• Blade Fury – Allows Juggernaut to spin for 5 seconds whirling his blade around him; making him immune to magic and dealing large amounts of damage to all enemies in his reach.
• Healing Ward – Allows Juggernaut to summon a healing ward that provides healing per second up to 5% at max level. The ward lasts for 25 seconds and will heal all allies within its radius.
• Blade Dance – A passive buff for Juggernaut that increases the chance that he will do double damage on his auto-attack. At max level it is a 35% chance.
• Omnislash – Juggernaut leaps toward the enemy that is targeted, and then will slash any other nearby enemies randomly. The damage is in between 175~250 per slash and at max level Juggernaut will be able to do 9 slashes, or 12 if equipped with Aghanim’s Scepter. Most importantly about this skill is that it makes Juggernaut invulnerable and will stun the initial target.

Credit: DOTA 2

Recommended Level Build

1 Blade Fury                      

2 Blade Dance                  

3 Blade Fury

4 Healing Ward (can be replaced by Attribute Bonus if you are hurting for mana)

5 Blade Fury                      

6 Omnislash

7 Blade Fury                      

8 Blade Dance                  

9 Blade Dance

10 Healing Ward              

11 Omnislash                    

12 Blade Dance

13 Healing Ward              

14 Healing Ward              

15. Attribute Bonus

16 Omnislash

Equipment Optimization

As mentioned above, Juggernaut’s omnislash is a skils that is boosted by Aghanim’s Scepter. While I personally cannot recommend spending your gold on purchasing Aghanim’s Scepter, it is up to the player to decide if they need those three extra hits from omnislash. The reason why I do not like it because unless you have absolute situational awareness, often times you can find yourself behind enemy lines or in the heart of a mob of enemy heroes in thanks to omnislash’s random targeting of enemies.

The equipment that I do recommend is:

• Starting:

1. Slippers of Agility
2. Healing Salve
3. 3x Clarity

 

• Core Optimization:

1. Soul Ring (if you constantly need mana, remember this will convert 150 HP to 150 mana)
2. Poor Man’s Buckler
3. Phase Boots
4. Battle Fury
5. Drums of Endurance

 

• Luxury:

1. Manta Style
2. Sange and Yasha

Tips

• Blade Fury is great for escaping thanks to the immunity to magic. Furthermore, Juggernaut can use healing ward or cast town portal while blade fury is in use making it an amazing escape tool. Watch out for ranged heroes that do physical damage as blade fury only can protect against magic.
• Use omnislash when there are only enemy heroes around, waiting a slash on enemy creeps is a waste when heroes can be dropped. It is an effective stun on heroes and can cancel the casting of town portal.
• If Juggernaut is pushing, a maxed out healing ward will keep allied creeps healed as they take down towers.

Final Thoughts

Juggernaut is an amazing hero in Dota 2 that is easy to learn and is used in competition and by beginners alike. Understanding how to use items and skills while Juggernaut is using blade fury has a learning curve but the results can make Juggernaut practically invincible.