Quick guide to Primal Beast, Dota 2's newest hero
Dota 2's long-awaited 7.31 update is finally here and it brings with it a new hero: the fearsome Primal Beast.
Primal Beast is a melee strength hero designed for initiating fights thanks to his innate tankiness and a strong array of disables.
The new hero should be very familiar to anyone who has played Dota 2 recently, as Primal Beast first appeared as the final boss for the previous iteration of Aghanim's Labyrinth.
Here's how the Primal Beast looks like in-game:
Here are Primal Beast's base stats and attributes:
Base HP: 720, Base HP regen: 2.6 HP per second
Base mana: 267, Base mana regen: 0.8 mana per second
Strength: 26 (+4.3 per level); Agility: 15 (+1.0 per level), Intelligence: 16 (+1.4 per level)
Base damage: 62-64, Base armor: 4.5
Base movement speed: 305, Vision (Day/Night): 1800/800
Primal Beast's abilities
Primal Beast's abilities revolve around initiating into the enemy team and causes as much chaos as possible while also giving the hero some added survivability.
If you've played through Aghanim's Labyrinth, then Primal Beast's abilities as a hero are very similar to the ones he uses as the game mode's final boss.
Onslaught
Primal Beast charges up for up to two seconds and then runs in the chosen direction, knocking back enemies and allies alike. Enemies are dealt up to 380 damage and stuns for 1.6 seconds on max level.
The longer Onslaught is charged, the farther Primal Beast's momentum will carry him with the max charge distance being 2,000 units. Can be cancelled at any time with the Stop command.
Cooldown: 25/22/19/16 seconds
Manacost: 160
Trample
Primal Beast stomps over everything for 5.5 seconds. For every 140 units traveled, all enemies around in a 230 area around the Primal Beast receive 50 base damage at max level and an additional 40% of the hero's attack damage. Deals base damage plus a multiplier of Primal Beast's attack damage.
Primal Beast is disarmed for the duration of the ability.
Cooldown: 30/28/26/24 seconds
Manacost: 90/95/100/105
Uproar
The Primal Beast's temper passively provides him base up to 25 bonus damage at max level. Additionally, for every instance of 35 damage or more that Primal Beast takes from enemy heroes, he accumulates stacks of Uproar.
When Uproar is activated, Primal Beast releases a roar that slows enemies in a 900 area by 10% for 3 seconds while also granting the Beast up to 45 additional attack damage and 4 armor for 7 seconds at max level per stack. The maximum number of Uproar stacks is 5.
Ultimate: Pulverize
Primal Beast channels his rage to cast his ultimate, grabbing a target enemy and slamming them into the ground repeatedly, dealing up to 270 damage at max level and mini-stunning for .3 seconds any enemies within a 600 area of the Beast. Pulverize lasts for 2.3 seconds and hits every .8 seconds.
Cooldown: 32/28/24 seconds
Manacost: 100/115/130
Aghanim's Shard ability: Rock Throw
Acquiring an Aghanim's Shard allows Primal Beast to throw a rock at a target location that stuns enemies in a 225 radius for 1.8 seconds while dealing 275 damage. The rock cannot be thrown within a minimum 550 range of Primal Beast.
Cooldown: 25 seconds
Manacost: 85
Here's Primal Beast's talent tree:
Level 10: +2 Mana Regen or +12% Magic Resistance
Level 15: +120 Onslaught Damage or +3 Uproar Armor per stack
Level 20: Beast dispels himself when activating Uproar or +20% Trample Attack Multiplier
Level 25: 50% Spell Lifesteal or +100% Pulverize Duration
How to play Primal Beast
While it will still take some time to figure out which position is best for Primal Beast, he seems suited for either the midlane, the offlane, or the position 4 support role.
Regardless of your farm priority in the team, Primal Beast's role remains the same; charge into the enemy team and cause chaos.
As Primal Beast, charge into the fray with Onslaught then use Trample or Pulverize depending on the situation to wreak havoc on the enemy team. They will be sure to retaliate with normal attacks, so make good use of the bonus damage you gain from Uproar to help finish them off.
If you can get Aghanim's Shard, Rock Throw can be used at the beginning of your combo to stun enemies before you charge in with Onslaught.
Depending on who the other heroes on your team are, Primal Beast will either start the fight himself or come in after the primary initiator to deal even more chaos.
Don't just charge in mindlessly, wait for an opening to present itself and strike when the enemy team is most vulnerable.
While Primal Beast's abilities don't have high manacosts by themselves, you will still need a lot of mana to use your entire kit in teamfights. Soul Ring should solve any mana issues you may have from the early to midgame.
Arcane Boots can also alleviate mana problems and fill in your boots slot, though Phase Boots seems better suited as Primal Beast's choice of footwear as it provides excellent mobility in teamfights.
Black King Bar is a must-have item, as it will allow Primal Beast to unleash his full array of abilities without any worry of getting stunned or slowed by enemy abilities (as long as they don't pierce magic immunity).
Since Primal Beast will be in the thick of things often, items that increase his tankiness like Sange, Heaven's Halberd, or Heart of Tarrasque will be good pickups.
You can also easily clear creepwaves and neutral camps with Onslaught and Trample, so don't be shy about farming in between teamfights. Since Onslaught ignores terrain, it can also double as an escape mechanism should the fight not go your way.
Look out for our full guide on how to play Primal Beast soon. You can also check out his hero page for more in-depth information.
Primal Beast is just one of the many additions coming to Dota 2 with the 7.31 update, you can check the patch notes for the game's new version here.
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