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Bad against...[]

Windranger icon
  • Windranger's highly mobile playstyle allows her to easily control Lifestealer from a distance, as he has no disables on his own. Windrun icon Windrun not only provides her with bonus move speed, but evasion as well, undoing Lifestealer's ability to attack her. In combination with Focus Fire icon Focus Fire, Windranger can easily dispose of Lifestealer without him being able to reach her.
Razor icon
  • Razor's highly mobile nature allows him to control Lifestealer from a distance. As well, Lifestealer is already slow in comparison due to his lack of disables and move speed. Lifestealer is also an ideal target for Static Link icon Static Link, for its ability to pierce magic immunity and damage steal, which can render Lifestealer's Feast useless.
  • Plasma Field icon Plasma Field can slow Lifestealer from a distance and force him to cast Rage too early.
  • Eye of the Storm icon Eye of the Storm pierces magic immunity, deals physical damage, and reduces armor, allowing Razor to easily stand up to Lifestealer.
Enigma icon
  • Lacking any stun and being heavily dependent on his physical attacks and spell immunity, Lifestealer has no way to stop Black Hole icon Black Hole, assuming he does not initiate Enigma first with Abyssal Blade icon Abyssal Blade.
  • Enigma's Black Hole and Midnight Pulse damage can pierce through Lifestealer's Rage icon Rage.
  • However, if Lifestealer manages to get Aghanim's Scepter icon Aghanim's Scepter and combines it with Abyssal Blade icon Abyssal Blade, he will be able to disable Enigma's Black Hole icon Black Hole inside him with Infest icon Infest and he will be able to help his allies recover themselves from Enigma's initiation with Open Wounds icon Open Wounds if Lifestealer gets Aghanim's Shard icon Aghanim's Shard.
Luna icon
  • Although Lifestealer can avoid Eclipse with Rage icon Rage and Infest icon Infest, Luna's physical damage can be enough to deal with him.
  • Manta Style icon Manta Style is a common pick on Luna, which can help her dispel slows from Ghoul Frenzy icon Ghoul Frenzy and Open Wounds icon Open Wounds. In addition, Lifestealer is not good against illusions created by Manta Style icon Manta Style.
Bane icon
  • Lua error in Module:Ability_ID at line 61: Could not find Cargo data for "Enfeeble". can weaken Lifestealer's Feast and may force him to cast Rage too quickly or itemize to dispel it.
  • Lua error in Module:Ability_ID at line 61: Could not find Cargo data for "Fiend's Grip". pierces through magic immunity and allows him to disable Lifestealer while in Rage.
Ancient Apparition icon
Chaos Knight icon
  • Chaos Strike icon Chaos Strike is a strong burst damage passive that allows Chaos Knight to stand up and even survive Lifestealer's attacks. Level 20 Talent: Reality Rift Pierces Spell Immunity allows him to burst down Lifestealer even while he is in Rage.
  • Lifestealer's single-target nature will struggle against Chaos Knight's Phantasm icon Phantasm illusions and will be forced to itemize for them.
Clinkz icon
  • Clinkz relies heavily on the physical damage provided by Burning Barrage icon Burning Barrage and Frosthaven Searing Arrows icon Searing Arrows, which completely overrides the capabilities of Rage.
  • Lifestealer's lack of disables will struggle to pin Clinkz down while in Skeleton Walk icon Skeleton Walk, and can allow Clinkz to kite him.
Terrorblade icon
  • Terrorblade's illusions and ranged attacks in Metamorphosis icon Metamorphosis can burst down Lifestealer very quickly.
  • Terrorblade has low health due to his low strength gain, which reduces Feast's lifesteal and damage.
  • Because Lifestealer can usually heal back HP in fights due to his innate lifesteal (and sometimes Armlet of Mordiggian icon Armlet of Mordiggian), he is a great target for Terrorblade's Sunder icon Sunder.
  • However, Aghanim's Scepter icon Aghanim's Scepter upgraded Infest icon Infest can disarm Terrorblade and allow Lifestealer to attack him from inside while also increasing Lifestealer's health regeneration that can nullify effects of Sunder icon Sunder, even if Terrorblade is spell immune, which could potentially render Terorrblade useless in teamfights. And if Terrorblade cannot attack enemy heroes, he will go down very quickly.
Phantom Lancer icon
  • Lifestealer will struggle to deal with Phantom Lancer's illusions and will either be forced to use his abilities too quickly, or itemize too heavily for them.
  • Phantom Lancer commonly builds Diffusal Blade icon Diffusal Blade, which poses a large problem to Lifestealer and his low mana pool, and can shut him down from even casting his abilities.
Slark icon
  • Shadow Dance icon Shadow Dance allows Slark to attack Lifestealer for its duration without any way for Lifestealer to fight back, allowing him to steal his stats with Essence Shift icon Essence Shift, which also reduces Lifestealer's strength and, therefore, health pool.
  • Slark can easily escape Lifestealer with Pounce icon Pounce, and can avoid Open Wounds with Dark Pact icon Dark Pact should Lifestealer be forced to itemize for it.
  • Slark commonly buys a Silver Edge icon Silver Edge, which can break Lifestealer's Feast, severely diminishing his damage output and lifesteal.
  • Depth Shroud icon Depth Shroud from Aghanim's Shard icon Aghanim's Shard allows Slark to save both, himself and his allies with Shadow Dance icon Shadow Dance while also allowing them to fight back against Lifestealer.
Troll Warlord icon
  • Lifestealer is a susceptible target to Fervor icon Fervor due to his non-mobile nature and lack of disables. Troll Warlord's ranged Berserker's Rage icon Berserker's Rage can also be used to kite Lifestealer safely. The root from its melee form also pierces magic immunity, which can potentially keep Lifestealer in place even while he is in Rage.
  • Both Whirling Axes (Melee) icon Whirling Axes (Melee) and Whirling Axes (Ranged) icon Whirling Axes (Ranged) can force Lifestealer to cast Rage too quickly and allow Troll Warlord to change strategies mid-fight, especially thanks to their separate cooldowns.
  • Battle Trance icon Battle Trance allows Troll Warlord to survive Lifestealer's Feast and turn the fight in his favor.
Ursa icon
  • Lifestealer will struggle to duel Ursa in all stages of the game due to Fury Swipes icon Fury Swipes, which pierces magic immunity. Ursa can also stand up to Lifestealer with Enrage icon Enrage, which dramatically reduces incoming damage and further delay Lifestealer's Feast.
Weaver icon
  • Though The Swarm icon The Swarm can be blocked by Rage, it can be used to lower Lifestealer's already low armor, making him even more vulnerable to physical damage while Rage is on cooldown.
  • Lifestealer has no strong disables on his own and thus cannot catch up with nor escape from Weaver's Shukuchi icon Shukuchi.
  • Lifestealer's reliance on meticulous auto-attacks will not help against Time Lapse icon Time Lapse, which can undo Lifestealer's already slow build-up of damage. Aghanim's Scepter icon Aghanim's Scepter upgraded Time Lapse icon Time Lapse can also be used to save allies from getting killed by Lifestealer, but that will require targeting the allied hero rather than just pressing the button that will trigger the Time Lapse icon Time Lapse.

Others[]

Items[]

Good against...[]

Crystal Maiden icon
  • Crystal Maiden is an ideal target for Lifestealer due to her poor mobility and low health pool. Lifestealer can usually catch up to her simply by casting Rage, as none of her abilities pierce through magic immunity. Freezing Field icon Freezing Field can potentially make her even more vulnerable to Lifestealer while under Rage as she is even more immobile while channeling it.
  • Lifestealer commonly buys Abyssal Blade icon Abyssal Blade, which allows him to cancel Freezing Field icon Freezing Field, even if Crystal Maiden is spell immune.
  • Alternatively, Aghanim's Scepter icon Aghanim's Scepter upgraded Infest icon Infest combined with Abyssal Blade icon Abyssal Blade and with items that provide attack speed which Lifestealer commonly buys allow him to to cancel Freezing Field icon Freezing Field from within the Crystal Maiden.
Undying icon
  • Lifestealer is able to endure Undying, especially in the laning phase, where Undying is strongest. Feast can offset Decay icon Decay's strength steal for its percentage lifesteal. Rage delays Undying from stealing strength and can help Lifestealer destroy Undying's Tombstone icon Tombstone uninterrupted. As well, none of Undying's abilities pierce magic immunity.
Dark Willow icon
  • Rage protects Lifestealer from all of Dark Willow's abilities.
Invoker icon
  • Rage protects Lifestealer from all of Invoker's spells (except for Sun Strike icon Sun Strike).
Centaur Warrunner icon
  • Centaur Warrunner's active abilities cannot pierce magic immunity. Hoof Stomp icon Hoof Stomp's slow wind up can also be anticipated and negated with Rage.
  • Lifestealer can offset Retaliate icon Retaliate's damage return simply with Feast. Centaur's high strength gain and therefore big health pool makes him an ideal target to Feast on, especially in the late-game.
Techies icon
  • Rage protects Lifestealer from all of Techies's abilities. Reactive Tazer icon Reactive Tazer's disarm will also not work on Lifestealer under Rage.
  • Rage can also be used to trigger Techies's Proximity Mines icon Proximity Mines safely.
Tinker icon
  • Lifestealer's Rage makes him immune to all of Tinker's damage and debuffs.
  • Lifestealer can infest a mobile ally (teams usually pick one against Tinker), which may ensure that Tinker will die if he is caught.
Ogre Magi icon
  • Lifestealer's Rage makes him immune to all of Ogre's magical debuffs and also dispels them.
  • Ogre's high health pool makes him an ideal target for Feast.
Nyx Assassin icon
  • Rage icon Rage allows Lifestealer to freely attack Nyx Assassin and hunt him down if Vendetta is on cooldown. Nyx Assassin cannot counter Rage icon Rage with Spiked Carapace because Rage icon Rage gives Lifestealer spell immunity. And besides Vendetta, Nyx Assassin has no other way of dealing damage to Lifestealer while he is spell immune.
  • Open Wounds icon Open Wounds from Aghanim's Shard icon Aghanim's Shard allows Lifestealer to severely slow down Nyx Assassin while also allowing his team to recover themselves while attacking Nyx Assassin. Open Wounds icon Open Wounds can also fester and spread if Nyx Assassin takes enough damage that will trigger the spread while he is affected with Open Wounds icon Open Wounds.
  • Infest icon Infest combined with an ancient creep makes Nyx Assassin an easy target to surprise with Dust of Appearance icon Dust of Appearance or a Gem of True Sight icon Gem of True Sight. Aghanim's Scepter icon Aghanim's Scepter upgraded Infest icon Infest can also allow Lifestealer to infest, disarm and freely attack Nyx Assassin from within. and Nyx Assassin cannot counter this with Spiked Carapace because Lifestealer is invulnerable while attacking the infested enemy hero from within.
  • Overall, any attempt for Nyx Assassin to gank and kill Lifestealer will hurt Nyx Assassin more than Lifestealer.
Silencer icon
  • Rage can protect Lifestealer from most of the Silencer's abilities with the exception of Global Silence icon Global Silence, as it will still silence if cast while the target is magic immune. However, it will not work if Lifestealer is infesting a unit.
  • Silencer is vulnerable to Open Wounds due to his lack of an innate escape.
  • Against a carry Silencer, Aghanim's Scepter icon Aghanim's Scepter upgraded Infest icon Infest can disarm him and allow Lifestealer to attack Silencer from within, even if Silencer is spell immune.
Axe icon
  • Feast makes it impossible to for Lifestealer to be culled with Culling Blade icon Culling Blade and also deals high damage to Axe due to his naturally high health.
  • However, Berserker's Call icon Berserker's Call and Counter Helix icon Counter Helix can pierce through the Rage icon Rage, and if Axe has allies with him against Lifestealer, Lifestealer may go down very quickly.

Others[]

Items[]

Works well with...[]

Clockwerk icon
  • Clockwerk's highly mobile nature thanks to Hookshot icon Hookshot and Jetpack icon Jetpack makes him an ideal ally to Infest. Battery Assault icon Battery Assault and Power Cogs icon Power Cogs also keep his targets in place, giving Lifestealer ample time to Feast.
Oracle icon
  • Fortune's End icon Fortune's End not only keeps the target rooted for Lifestealer to feast on; it can dispel certain buffs that could help them avoid being attacked, like invisibility or ghost form. As well, it could be used to remove most negative buffs from Lifestealer so that he doesn't have to cast Rage to dispel them.
  • Casting Fate's Edict icon Fate's Edict on Lifestealer's chosen target can allow Lifestealer to Feast against heroes that could otherwise stand up to him by simply auto-attacking. In combination with Rage, the target will both be disarmed and unable to cast spells onto Lifestealer.
  • False Promise icon False Promise doubles Feast's lifesteal and can buy him more time to continually deal damage.
Marci icon
  • Dispose icon Dispose not only helps Marci, but Lifestealer as well, in pursuing and attacking a target.
  • While Rebound icon Rebound can be used to boost Lifestealer's move speed, it is a good mobility skill that can help Marci close the gap on targets and stun them in place, making her an ideal ally to Infest.
  • Sidekick icon Sidekick further augments Lifestealer's Feast and turns both him and Marci into formidable frontliners for the duration.
Dark Seer icon
  • Surge icon Surge could be used to immensely improve Lifestealer's mobility, or to buff an ally infested by Lifestealer to help them initiate.
  • Due to Lifestealer's close-ranged nature, he is an ideal hero to buff with Ion Shell icon Ion Shell.
  • Wall of Replica icon Wall of Replica (often paired with Vacuum icon Vacuum) is a good initiation skill that Lifestealer can take advantage of to enter the fight, or to hide in its illusions should he need to escape.
Grimstroke icon
  • Stroke of Fate icon Stroke of Fate can provide Lifestealer with a brief gap closer and quick burst of magic damage to soften up his target.
  • Phantom's Embrace icon Phantom's Embrace allows Lifestealer to Feast on the target without fear of reprisal, saving Rage for later.
  • Ink Swell icon Ink Swell gives Lifestealer a much needed stun, something he is severely lacking. Grimstroke can also use this on himself or an ally infested by Lifestealer to allow him safe entrance into a fight.
  • Should Lifestealer acquire Open Wounds, Soulbind icon Soulbind will duplicate its effect on the two affected targets.
Disruptor icon
  • Thunder Strike icon Thunder Strike can help Lifestealer pursue or discourage a target from fighting him thanks to its magic damage and 100%-slow pulses.
  • Kinetic Field icon Kinetic Field allows Lifestealer to Feast on a highly mobile target, while Glimpse icon Glimpse can place an escaping target back for Lifestealer to chase more easily.
  • Static Storm icon Static Storm allows Lifestealer to Feast on the target without being stunned or interrupted, so that he could use Rage for later.
Queen of Pain icon
  • Blink (Queen of Pain) icon Blink makes Queen of Pain an ideal ally to Infest. The magic damage from Infest can also assist in her burst damage combos.
Riki icon
  • If Infested, Riki is great for traversing the map quickly and undetected. He is also able to close the gap between Lifestealer and his target with Blink Strike icon Blink Strike and slow them with Smoke Screen icon Smoke Screen, which if coupled with Open Wounds will grant a 90% slow, making the kill exponentially easier.
Slardar icon
  • Corrosive Haze icon Corrosive Haze greatly increases Lifestealer's physical damage.
  • Slardar is a common Blink Dagger icon Blink Dagger carrier and a good target for Infest.
Spirit Breaker icon
  • Like many others, Spirit Breaker is a great ally to Infest as he provides a perfect gap closer with Charge of Darkness icon Charge of Darkness and a follow up disable with Nether Strike icon Nether Strike.
Storm Spirit icon
Sand King icon
  • Sand King's ability to close the gap with Burrowstrike icon Burrowstrike, especially with Aghanim's Scepter icon Aghanim's Scepter, makes him an ideal ally to Infest. In combination with Epicenter icon Epicenter, both Sand King and Lifestealer can dole out lethal amounts of magic damage.


Others[]

  • Heroes with high mobility and good initiation are good targets to Infest and ambush enemies with.

Items[]


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