Dota 2 Dragon Knight Hero Guide: Pro Tips and Strategies
Author: Hawk Live LLC
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Dragon Knight is a melee hero in Dota 2 who is regarded as having a great deal of survivability and can morph into a dragon. He is quite flexible and can play as a carry, a tank, or an initiator. In this guide, we will cover in detail how to play Dragon Knight and draw his full potential.
Credit: Valve Corporation
Strengths of Dragon Knight
Durability: Because of his passive ability that increases armor and increases health regeneration, he can inflict and withstand a quantity of damage.
Excellent Crowd Control: Turn enemies into statues for a lengthy period, and great for team fights or assassinations.
Pushing Capabilities: After transforming into a dragon, he adds extra damage to towers and structures.
Great Mobility: Can be deployed mid, offlane position, or occupies as offlaner.
Against Whom Dragon Knight Is Strong
Dragon Knight is effective against bag heroes that deals substantial physical damage but are unable to quickly penetrate his thick armor and dense health regeneration.
Heroes Against Whom Dragon Knight Is Strong
Hero | Win Rate |
|---|---|
Io | 52.16% |
Shadow Fiend | 49.40% |
Legion Commander | 47.81% |
Void Spirit | 49.49% |
Axe | 47.74% |
Bristleback | 52.33% |
Drow Ranger | 49.94% |
Death Prophet | 51.99% |
Wraith King | 45.39% |
Skywrath Mage | 51.21% |
How to Counter Dragon Knight
Although it is onerous to the enemies to dissipate or inflict damage onto Dark Knight, he is still weak to magic damage and abilities with a possibility of burning his health regeneration.
Heroes Against Whom Dragon Knight Is Weak
Hero | Win Rate |
|---|---|
Viper | 46.96% |
Necrophos | 43.63% |
Batrider | 54.88% |
Brewmaster | 49.96% |
Huskar | 49.63% |
Slark | 47.41% |
Venomancer | 47.05% |
Sand King | 45.91% |
Lich | 42.13% |
Dark Willow | 48.78% |
Dragon Knight's Aspects
When Dragon Knight wants to play aggressive, he has three aspects to choose from which includes Fire, Frost, and Corrosive.
Dragon Knight's Aspects
Aspect | Presence | Win Rate | Kills/Deaths/Assists | Gold per Minute | Experience per Minute |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fire Dragon | 80.85% | 49.12% | 3.00 | 577 | 764 |
Frost Dragon | 10.76% | 50.01% | 2.73 | 482 | 669 |
Corrosive Dragon | 8.39% | 48.19% | 2.61 | 494 | 665 |
Battle tactic for Fire Dragon is to deal damage to a wide area and to push which is easier to accomplish by destroying clusters of the enemy team.
Frost Dragon is used when there is a possibility of a team fight as it slows down the enemy allowing for crisper attacks.
Corrosive Dragon: Deals too much damage that also applies damage over time while debuffing armor, which allows the enemy to be physically ripped apart.
Item Build for Dragon Knight
Credit: DotaFire
Choosing the right items enhances the hero's strengths and compensates for his weaknesses.
Starting Items
Tango — for health regeneration in lane.
Quelling Blade — makes last-hitting creeps easier.
Iron Branch x2 — small attribute bonuses.
Gauntlets of Strength and Circlet — to later build Bracer.
Observer Ward — provides vision and protects against ganks.
Early Game Items
Bracer — increases survivability and main attributes.
Soul Ring — provides mana for using abilities.
Power Treads — gives attack speed and allows attribute toggling.
Magic Wand — useful for instant health and mana regeneration.
Orchid Malevolence — increases damage and allows silencing enemies.
Mid Game Items
Blink Dagger — allows quick initiation or escape from danger.
Black King Bar — protects against magical damage and control.
Late Game Items
Assault Cuirass — increases team's attack speed and reduces enemy armor.
Daedalus — significantly increases physical damage with critical hits.
Bloodthorn — enhances the ability to silence and deal critical damage to targets.
Overwhelming Blink — improves mobility and deals damage upon landing.
Octarine Core — reduces cooldowns and increases spell lifesteal.
Aghanim's Shard — enhances the hero's abilities with additional effects.
Dragon Knight's Abilities
Credit: Valve Corporation
Breathe Fire
Dragon knight spews fire towards enemies directly in front of him while reducing their attack damage for a period of time.
Dragon Tail
Stuns the chosen target while also dealing damage. While in dragon form, it has longer cast range which allows controlling targets further away.
Wyrm's Wrath
A passive skill that grants the hero's basic damages varying effects based on which dragon aspect he is currently in.
Elder Dragon Form
An ultimate skill that enables him to become a dragon. Any new dragon form has enhanced past skills and new effects added.
Skill Build for Dragon Knight
Credit: DotaFire
Optimal sequence for leveling abilities:
Breathe Fire
Wyrm's Wrath
Breathe Fire
Wyrm's Wrath
Breathe Fire
Elder Dragon Form
Breathe Fire
Wyrm's Wrath
Wyrm's Wrath
Dragon Tail
Elder Dragon Form 12-14. Dragon Tail
Talent at Level 15
Elder Dragon Form 17-19. Dragon Tail
Talent at Level 20
Talent Build for Dragon Knight
Credit: DotaFire
Level 10: +15 Damage
Level 15: +300 Health
Level 20: +150 Dragon Form Attack Range
Level 25: +400 AoE Dragon Tail in Dragon Form
The choice of talents depends on the game situation, but this set enhances the hero's main abilities and increases his effectiveness in combat.
Conclusion
In DOTA 2, Dragon Knight is a potent and flexible character who is able to change the pace of the game at any point. Correct high skill usage of the hero, right itemization and knowing strengths and weaknesses of his character will allow you to rule over the battleground while helping your team take the coveted victory.
Curious about other heroes and strategies? Head over to our in-depth Dota 2 hero guides for the tips and tricks that will elevate your gameplay to the next level.
