How Will Abyssal Underlord Be Played?
By Phil Newman
We still don’t know what exactly to expect from the (hopefully) soon to be released Abyssal Underlord. But so you’re ready for his release, here’s an analysis of how he’ll fit into competitive roles.
What with Steam Database’s recent heavy hinting at Abyssal Underlord’s release and DOTA news front-runner Wykrham Reddy adding fuel to the fires of speculation with this recent tweet (seen below), we thought you might like some predictions about how Abyssal will handle once he gets released. In the image Wykr posted, you can clearly see the arcane gate behind that horned, shadowy figure.
— Wykrhm Reddy (@wykrhm) July 11, 2016
It can’t be anyone else. Well, it could, but if Valve did that to us after waiting so long, I would consider it to be a serious breach of trust. I want the entire cast assembled, Valve! Stop dragging this out!
Anyways, it sure as heck seems like Valve is going to be releasing Abyssal Underlord, as promised, before or right around TI6. That makes now the perfect moment to reflect on prior incarnations of this hero to see what can be inferred about the roles in which you might play the Underlord.
It’s unlikely that Abyssal Underlord will make a strong safe lane carry. He lacks the damage for this role, though the bonus damage he gains from enemies dying while under Atrophy Aura might pair well with a crit build or maybe Battlefury so you farm up that damage extra fast. But if I could make a general observation about the original Pitlord and the hinted at skillset of the new-and-improved Abyssal Underlord, it seems likely that his skills will scale independently from farmed items.
We can’t be certain until Abyssal is released, but if you want to play a safe game, it’ll probably be best to let someone else take the safe lane farm.
It’s not likely going to be a consistently good fit, but under the right circumstances we think Abyssal Underlord can be a great mid hero. His powerful utility and the mass TP of his ultimate make solo experience valuable on this bad mama jama. Our big concern with Abyssal is his melee attack range and limited early game mana pool.
While Firestorm has proven to be an effective farm skill, it’s currently predicted to cost 100 mana at level 1. Now, if you’re trying to catch a hero in the danger zone of Firestorm for the max time possible, you’ll probably want the ensnare of Pit of Malice, and that’s another 100 mana. At a base mana pool of 254 at level 1, you’ll likely have to choose between either harassing the enemy midlane hero or farming.
Midlane could be especially difficult against some popular picks, like Templar Assassin or Queen of Pain. Prior experience tells us that Abyssal’s AOE doesn’t scale quite as well into the lategame as other big AOE clear-capable heroes like Dragon Knight or Alchemist. Which is why we put the Underlord as situational midlaner.
Next: Off Lane and Support