The best level 25 talents that you’re not picking in Dota 2

Level 25 talents are flashy, but the better-looking choice doesn’t always have the best win rate in Dota 2.

Level 25 used to be the limit for how strong Dota 2 heroes could get, but now it’s just the start. Final talents are a massive upgrade to every hero, offering fancy new abilities, game-changing passives, or huge upgrades.

Choosing which one to get is usually easy, but some good choices are easy to overlook. Thanks to tracking website Dotabuff, we can look at each hero’s win rates with both talents and see which ones are secretly overpowered.

Anti-Mage can never have too much magic resistance

Anti-Mage is an icon of the carry role, and his Mana Void ultimate is the perfect spell for countering casters. His level 25 talent is a choice between a 20-second Mana Void cooldown and a whopping 65% magic resistance from Counterspell. Most players pick the aggressive option, but the stats show that the magic resistance is actually far superior.

Dotabuff records that the Counterspell talent has a 35.4% pick rate, but an incredible 64.6% win rate. It might seem counterintuitive, but stacking magic resistance can shut down entire heroes regardless of how much mana they have. For reference, a level three Laguna Blade from Lina only deals 236 damage to an Anti-Mage with this level 25 talent.

Upgraded treants talent is the best part of a terrible Dota 2 hero

Every single one of Nature’s Prophet’s abilities are great in isolation, but Teleport is an ability draft all-star for a reason. Naturally, most players choose to remove Teleport’s cooldown at level 25, but that choice only has a 54% win rate. The alternative option shoots up to 64.5%, the biggest gap on this list.

Just one in four players choose “2.5x Treant HP and Damage,” but it allows Nature’s Prophet to annihilate buildings. The stats also buffs greater treants from Prophet’s shard, making it one of the best level 25 talents in all of Dota 2. Nature’s Prophet may still have an abysmal win rate, but at least he’s got a strong talent at the top of his tree.

Invoker players ignore insane triple orb passives

Every Invoker player wants to pull off huge combos like Amer “Miracle-” Al-Barkawi, but statistics show that the simpler level 25 talent is the best for most players. Invokers get to pick between the iconic Radial Deafening Blast and triple Quas, Wex, and Exort passives. 80.3% of players opt for the upgraded Deafening Blast, but those passive are a great way to boost the hero’s win rate.

The orb passive bonuses are easy to forget about after the laning stage, but tripling them up in the late game is deceptively strong. WIth an Aghanim’s Scepter, Invokers get to pick between 63 health regen, 126 damage, or +50.4% movement and 63 attack speed. That’s essentially Heart of Tarrasque, Daedalus, Boots of Travels, and half a Moon Shard at any time. Players in the know win 66.3% of games compared to Deafening Blast’s 61.7%.

All-in on healing works best for Witch Doctor

Witch Doctor is a favorite hero among support players for his ease of use and devastating ultimate. His level 25 talents are either 60 bonus damage on Death Ward or a 1.5% max health healing boost on Voodoo Restoration. 86.8% of players go for the ward buff, but focused healers get a 4.2% win rate increase.

Dota 2 players often underestimate how powerful percentage-based damage and healing are. Supports tend to hit level 25 much later than cores, so higher total health pools mean more efficient healing. When combined with his early Voodoo Restoration mana cost reduction, Witch Doctor becomes a walking fountain complete with deadly defense turret.