Here’s how to play and build Primal Beast, the new Dota 2 hero

Aghanim’s Labyrinth is gone from Dota 2, but the Primal Beast is here to stay.

After several teases, the limited-time game mode’s final boss has been added to Dota 2 as a playable hero. The Primal Beast will be sticking around and boasts a move set heavily inspired by the boss version of the character.

As an initiator and disabler with a mix of stuns and mobility tools, the hero will likely fit into an offlaner role. Here are the Primal Beast’s abilities:

• Onslaught (Q)- The Primal Beast channels and then charges, repositioning enemies and allies alike while dealing damage to enemy units. The reposition only goes a short distance, working more like Mars’ God’s Rebuke and less like Magnus’ Skewer.
• Trample (W)- The Primal Beast is disarmed but stomps the ground every 140 units of movement, dealing AOE damage around itself. While active, trees can be knocked down.
• Uproar (E)- The Primal Beast collects stacks of Uproar with every 35 damage received, which provides passive attack damage. This can be activated to roar, which slows nearby enemies and provides the Primal Beast with extra bonus attack damage and armor.
• Pulverize (R)- The Primal Beast grabs an enemy hero and smashes them into the ground repeatedly. The grabbed hero is disabled during this time and each smash deals AOE damage and a bash on all nearby enemy units.

So with all this in mind, how should the Primal Beast be built? And what role does the new hero currently fit into?

What position is the Primal Beast in Dota 2?

The Primal Beast is likely imagined by Valve as an offlaner or soft support hero in the vein of Sand King or Centaur Warrunner. The hero is bulky, has spells that offer increased mobility, and owns strong crowd-control options.

All of that makes the hero fit in comfortably at positions three and four. Its spells are strong enough to be impactful without too much farm, but odds are that a couple of completed items will make a big difference under the right circumstances.

What are the best items for the Primal Beast?

Players looking to lock in the Primal Beast would be well-served getting items such as Boots of Bearing, Black King Bar, Aghanim’s Shard, and Echo Sabre.

Though the recommended items are Phase Boots, Blink Dagger, and Armlet of Mordiggian, the Primal Beast suffers from the same mana struggles as Mars or Centaur Warrunner. Even at level 30, one volley of spells will eat through half of the Primal Beast’s mana pool and its regen is very limited. 

The new Boots of Bearing, a new item that builds from Drum of Endurance and Tranquil Boots, is potentially a very strong choice on the Primal Beast. It offers extra strength and intelligence as well as a speed burst that can increase the damage of Trample.

Echo Sabre also gives the Primal Beast much-needed strength and intelligence alongside some extra mana regen and damage. The item also synergizes well with Uproar, letting it get in some serious damage after activating it.

Though it isn’t recommended, the Primal Beast also has a strong Aghanim’s Shard ability. Rock Throw is a targeted AOE spell that deals damage and stuns enemies. It can be thrown from a long distance away, but has a Snapfire ultimate-style buffer area that prevents the rock from being thrown too close to the Primal Beast.

The full Dota 2 7.31 patch notes and more details on the Primal Beast can be found on the official Dota 2 blog.