Alchemist is a strength-based melee hero. He is a natural carry because of his ability to gather gold swiftly. This is the reason for his popularity and what made him the most banned hero of The International 2019. Listed below are the Best Alchemist Counters in Dota 2 who can help you fight against him.
His arsenal of abilities contains disables, AOE damage, debuffs, and overall, everything that a core hero needs. He can farm creep waves and jungle camps with Acid Spray while earning a tremendous gold bonus with Greevil’s Greed. Alchemist can single-handedly decide the game’s outcome if he receives sufficient farm.
His ultimate ability is a game-changer. Initially, it is a farming tool but turns fatal with proper itemization, leaving no enemies alive. Any hero rarely survives a head-on encounter with a farmed Alchemist, so knowing how to counter him is necessary.
Despite all these buffs, there are counters available in Dota 2 for Alchemist. Early on, Alchemist requires support and camp stacks to get farmed because he’s a weak laner. Even with the buffs of his ultimate, he is easily subdued as he’s heavily item-dependent. With the correct tactics and positioning, countering Alchemist is possible and easy.
Alchemist
Razzil Darkbrew is popularly known as the Alchemist. He is a versatile hero with dynamic item builds based on the situation. His ability to farm quickly gives him a huge mid and late-game presence. Depending on the enemy’s draft, a well-equipped Alchemist can stomp the game when played right.
Alchemist’s skill set allows him to pick off enemies or push towers quickly, depending on the game’s requirement. He can control the flow of the game with the right items, this is why it’s best to target him from the start. His abilities make him a formidable foe who should never be taken lightly.
Alchemist’s Abilities
The first ability for Alchemist is Acid Spray, which is an AOE damage-dealing ability. It drastically lowers the armor of enemies under its effect. It is a great farming move, as it can kill multiple creeps over a short duration of time. The armor debuff is fatal for heroes with already low armor and is useful in team fights.
Unstable Concoction is his second move and is a damage-dealing ranged stun. Alchemist starts brewing a concoction which has five seconds to be thrown, or else it explodes on him. This stuns and damages Alchemist, providing his enemies the chance to take advantage and kill him.
The stun duration and damage depend on the timer. It reaches its maximum stun and damage at five seconds, however, you have only these few moments to throw it. This is an excellent initiating and disabling move, but perfect execution is necessary to have the best impact.
Greevil’s Greed is his third move and the best move for a carry hero. It grants him additional gold on all last hits and bounty runes. Alchemist receives base bonus gold and bonus gold per last hit. If Alchemist kills an enemy in the next thirty-six seconds, he gets an instance of Extra Bonus Gold.
Time is of the essence when a core has to farm, and that applies more for Alchemist. He has to farm a lot of creeps in minimal time to maximize this effect. This is where Acid Spray comes in as it helps in clearing many creeps together, making Alchemist an effective farmer.
Ultimate Ability
Alchemist’s Ultimate is Chemical Rage. It gives him a huge boost in HP regen, movement speed, and attack speed. This move is good for farming in earlier stages, and with proper items, Alchemist can wreak havoc in this form with proper items. He can initiate and soak hits in his ultimate, while his teammates can finish off the opponents.
Counters
Alchemist is nigh impossible to kill in the late game and can melt down towers easily. The only way of winning against him is to disrupt his farm and end the game before it’s too late. This list will tell you the Best Alchemist Counters in Dota 2 and what makes them such a threat.
Ancient Apparition
Ancient Apparition is a natural counter to Alchemist because of his ultimate. He can harass Alchemist in the lane with his Chilling Touch and Cold Feet stopping him from getting last hits. Ice Vortex is a great scouting tool, and all these moves are deadly against Alchemist in the early game.
Ice Blast is the biggest counter to Alchemist because it stops health regeneration from all sources under its debuff. It cancels out the rapid health regeneration of Chemical Rage, making Alchemist an easy target. The timing of Ice Blast should be perfect but is lethal when it connects with Alchemist.
Slark
Slark is a great counter to Alchemist because of his mobility and high damage. He can use Dark Pact to purge Unstable Concoction’s stun when timed correctly. Pounce is useful in catching Alchemist when his ultimate is on cooldown, and he has no Black King Bar.
Essence Shift is useful against a low attribute hero like Alchemist. Slark can steal the attributes for a long duration, significantly reducing Alchemist’s damage output and health. This works great with Shadow Dance, as it helps in gaining Essence Shift’s stacks and staying safe from Unstable Concoction.
Razor
Razor is a very strong counter to Alchemist because of his damage-stealing ability. Alchemist is a single target hero, making Static Link the perfect counter as it steals all the damage. A physical damage-based hero like Alchemist is rendered useless when he has no damage output.
Plasma Field allows him to push the lane, so creeps move out of Acid Spray’s range. Alongside with high mobility from Storm Surge, Razor is hard to catch for Alchemist. This dexterity adds up with Eye of the Storm, which reduces armor and damages enemies on every strike. This ability makes Razor one of the Best Alchemist Counters in Dota 2.
Slardar
Slardar is an incredible counter to Alchemist. Corrosive Haze drastically reduces the armor of the affected hero, making them vulnerable to physical damage. Along with Slithereen Crush and Bash of the Deep, this makes quick work of Alchemist because of the high-damage output.
Guardian Sprint grants mobility to Slardar, and when all his abilities are in perfect synchronization, Alchemist can be killed easily.
Lifestealer
Lifestealer is a strong counter to almost any hero with high strength attributes. The larger the HP pool of the enemy, the harder Lifestealer counters them. Feast allows him to stand up to Alchemist and fight him on even footing. Despite Alchemist’s high regen, Lifestealer can continue to deal damage and take a percentage of his maximum health.
If timed right, Lifestealer can activate Rage, making him untargetable. This forces Unstable Concoction to explode on Alchemist himself. Providing Lifestealer with an excellent opportunity to take him down.
Additionally, Ghoul Frenzy causes Lifestealer’s attacks to slow down Alchemist while increasing his Attack Speed. Ensuring that not only does he hit harder but also faster. Making it impossible for Alchemist to win in a fight against him without the help of his allies or proper itemization.
Alchemist is a strong opponent to be up against and a huge threat throughout the game. Only the right team draft and playstyle can give you a winning chance. Hopefully, this article will help you pick the Best Alchemist Counters in Dota 2 and help you win your games against him.
