Introduction
I didn't think I'd ever finish this guide, but here it is. Juggernaut is one of the first heroes I played and has been my best and favorite hero for a very long time, but somehow I never got around to finishing this guide until now. I put a ridiculous amount of effort into writing this guide, testing builds and getting good replays, so hopefully it shows.
This guide is extremely long and comprehensive, but I think that all the information is necessary, and I gauruntee it's worth the effort to read. Whether you play Juggernaut religiously, or you're just trying him for the first time, I'm sure you can take something from this guide, and hopefully start to enjoy playing this hero as much as I do.
Stats and Skills
Stats
Strength: 20 + 1.9 each level
Agility: 20 + 2.85 each level
Intelligence: 14 + 1.4 each level
Base HP: 473
Base Mana: 182
Base Damage: 44 - 48
Base Armor: 4
Base Move Speed: 305
Range: 100 (Melee)
Attack Speed: 1.42 (+ 20% IAS from base agility)
Agility: 20 + 2.85 each level
Intelligence: 14 + 1.4 each level
Base HP: 473
Base Mana: 182
Base Damage: 44 - 48
Base Armor: 4
Base Move Speed: 305
Range: 100 (Melee)
Attack Speed: 1.42 (+ 20% IAS from base agility)
Juggernaut has relatively good starting stats and stat gain. His agility gain is very high, his strength gain is reasonable and intelligence is less important for agility heroes. His base damage and armor are reasonable as well. In recent patches his move speed was increased to 305, which is above average, and his base attack speed is quite good.
Blade Fury
Level 1: Deals 80 damage per second.
Level 2: Deals 100 damage per second.
Level 3: Deals 120 damage per second.
Level 4: Deals 140 damage per second.
Mana Cost: 110
Cooldown: 30 Seconds
Level 1: 10% chance for double damage
Level 2: 18% chance for double damage
Level 3: 26% chance for double damage
Level 4: 36% chance for double damage
Level 1: Heals 1% of hit points per second.
Level 2: Heals 2% of hit points per second.
Level 3: Heals 3% of hit points per second.
Level 4: Heals 4% of hit points per second.
Mana Cost: 140
Cooldown: 75 seconds
Lasts: 25 seconds
Level 1: Attacks 3 times.
Level 2: Attacks 5 times.
Level 3: Attacks 8 times.
Mana Cost: 200/275/350
Cooldown: 130/120/110 seconds
Level 2: Deals 100 damage per second.
Level 3: Deals 120 damage per second.
Level 4: Deals 140 damage per second.
Mana Cost: 110
Cooldown: 30 Seconds
Juggernaut spins with his blade causing damage to all units near him. You become immune to magic while using this. Blade Fury is your primary hero killing skill early game and your escape mechanism throughout the game. Becoming proficient with this skill is essential to playing Juggernaut well.
See the Guide to Blade Fury later in the guide to learn more about how this skill works and how to use it.
See the Guide to Blade Fury later in the guide to learn more about how this skill works and how to use it.
Blade Dance
Level 1: 10% chance for double damage
Level 2: 18% chance for double damage
Level 3: 26% chance for double damage
Level 4: 36% chance for double damage
Basically boosts your damage by 10, 18, 26, and then 36 percent. Blade Dance is very useful mid and late game but isn't too helpful early on because you'll be relying on your spells rather than your physical attack. Criticals from Blade Dance have a chance to trigger when additional slashes occur during Omnislash.
Healing Ward
Level 1: Heals 1% of hit points per second.
Level 2: Heals 2% of hit points per second.
Level 3: Heals 3% of hit points per second.
Level 4: Heals 4% of hit points per second.
Mana Cost: 140
Cooldown: 75 seconds
Lasts: 25 seconds
Heals all allied units near the ward for a percent of their max HP every second. Great skill for pushing but easily destroyed. Healing ward can be moved by selecting the ward and moving it as you would move a hero.
See the Guide to Healing Ward later in the guide to learn more about how this skill works and how to use it.
See the Guide to Healing Ward later in the guide to learn more about how this skill works and how to use it.
Omnislash
Level 1: Attacks 3 times.
Level 2: Attacks 5 times.
Level 3: Attacks 8 times.
Mana Cost: 200/275/350
Cooldown: 130/120/110 seconds
Juggernaut performs random blink attacks that deal 150-250 damage each. Absolutely amazing ultimate but somewhat hard to use. Additional slashes are possible between the set slashes if Juggernaut’s attack speed is high enough. These slashes are based on your normal attack damage rather than the 150-250 set damage from the other slashes. Omnislash deals physical damage.
See the Guide to Omnislash later in the guide to learn more about how this skill works and how to use it.
See the Guide to Omnislash later in the guide to learn more about how this skill works and how to use it.
Skill Build
Blade Fury
Stats
Blade Fury
Stats
Blade Fury
Omnislash
Blade Fury
Blade Dance
Blade Dance
Blade Dance
Omnislash
Blade Dance
Healing Ward
Healing Ward
Healing Ward
Omnislash
Healing Ward
Stats
Stats
Stats
Stats
Stats
Stats
Stats
Explanations
Why gets stats early?
During the laning phase of the game, Juggernaut relies almost entirely on his spells to get kills. Stats give you more mana to use your spells, more HP to avoid dying in skirmishes, and more base damage for last-hitting creeps. Two or three levels of stats is ideal, because you want to start putting points into Blade Dance early enough that you'll have it maxed by the time you farm your first damage item, which should be around level 13 or 14 if you're doing well.
What about Healing Ward?
For the sake of simplicity, I'll say to start getting Healing Ward immediately after maxing Blade Dance. However, with the Desolator build, it's usually best to wait until levels 17-20, because it's hard to support the mana cost at level 14 or 15. If you have a CM on your team, or something else to handle your mana problems (like someone with an Arcane Ring or Kotl) then you'll be fine taking it right after maxing Blade Dance, but if not take a few points in stats first. With the Battlefury build, you have 150% mana regen, so you won't have mana problems.
Any Exceptions?
Always. Although these are the typically the best skill builds for Juggernaut, there is always room for adjustment depending on how the game is going. If you're doing poorly, take a few more points in stats early to tank yourself up a bit. If your team has absolutely no coordination or teamwork, consider delaying Healing Ward a few levels. Always feel free to adjust the skill build to fit your own playstyle and the level of play you typically play at.
During the laning phase of the game, Juggernaut relies almost entirely on his spells to get kills. Stats give you more mana to use your spells, more HP to avoid dying in skirmishes, and more base damage for last-hitting creeps. Two or three levels of stats is ideal, because you want to start putting points into Blade Dance early enough that you'll have it maxed by the time you farm your first damage item, which should be around level 13 or 14 if you're doing well.
What about Healing Ward?
For the sake of simplicity, I'll say to start getting Healing Ward immediately after maxing Blade Dance. However, with the Desolator build, it's usually best to wait until levels 17-20, because it's hard to support the mana cost at level 14 or 15. If you have a CM on your team, or something else to handle your mana problems (like someone with an Arcane Ring or Kotl) then you'll be fine taking it right after maxing Blade Dance, but if not take a few points in stats first. With the Battlefury build, you have 150% mana regen, so you won't have mana problems.
Any Exceptions?
Always. Although these are the typically the best skill builds for Juggernaut, there is always room for adjustment depending on how the game is going. If you're doing poorly, take a few more points in stats early to tank yourself up a bit. If your team has absolutely no coordination or teamwork, consider delaying Healing Ward a few levels. Always feel free to adjust the skill build to fit your own playstyle and the level of play you typically play at.
Item Build
1. The Desolator Juggernaut
The Desolator Juggernaut is the build main build that I pioneered and advocated, and continues to be my favorite way of playing him. With the various buffs to Battlefury, Desolator seems to have fallen out of the limelight, but this build remains incredibly strong.
Advantages
- Armor Reduction amplifies Omnislash's damage by a huge amount
- For it's cost, Desolator boosts your damage more than any other big item
- Reducing armor amplifies your allies' damage
Bottle
Bottle is a great item in general, especially for ganking heroes like Juggernaut. This will take care of your mana needs, save you from taking fountain trips and greatly increase your ganking potential through use of runes. It isn't always necessary though. Sometimes it's fine to simply rush Phase boots. Bottle is best used when you need the extra regen to stay in your lane, or when there aren't a lot of other players getting Bottle and/or going for the runes. In that case, Bottle is incredibly useful.
Wraith Bands
With the exception of Branches, Wraiths are the most cost-efficient damage item you can get. They come in small, cheap pieces and greatly increase your damage output, as well as giving you a small but significant HP and mana boost. One of the most common mistakes I see budding Juggernaut players make is forgoing small stat items like Wraiths in favor of big damage items like Battlefury and Butterfly. This makes them much more fragile and much less dangerous early game, which damages their chances of dominating mid and late game. Wraiths are cheap, extremely efficient damage items that will help you be successful early game and transition into mid game. Always get them.
Phase Boots
There's a lot of debate about which Boots are best on Juggernaut. Many pub players swear by Treads, some older Juggernaut players still stick with their trust Boots of Travel, but most of the best Juggernaut players, as well as the competitive DOTA community, unanimously choose Phase Boots. There are two reasons that Phase Boots are the footware of choice for Juggernaut. The first is because of the huge boost to Blade Fury's effectiveness relatively early in the game. Blade Fury is essentially a 700 damage nuke, but becomes useless if you aren't able to keep up with other heroes. Without Phase Boots, chasing down any hero who has Phase is a lost cause, and you will miss a lot of kills this way vs good players. The second reason is that Phase Boots are very cheap, easy to farm and give great bonuses. Treads and Travels are still good items, but Phase Boots are almost always better.
Desolator
Desolator is the best damage item for it's cost and is especially effective on Juggernaut because Omnislash deals physical damage. That means that the negative armor buff that Desolator inflicts will amplify the damage of your ultimate. A lot.
Manta Style
Manta Style is a core item on a good number of agility carries, and Juggernaut is no exception. It gives him a much-needed HP boost, unrivaled damage output, move speed and to top it all off, images. It literally gives Juggernaut everything he needs.
Bottle is a great item in general, especially for ganking heroes like Juggernaut. This will take care of your mana needs, save you from taking fountain trips and greatly increase your ganking potential through use of runes. It isn't always necessary though. Sometimes it's fine to simply rush Phase boots. Bottle is best used when you need the extra regen to stay in your lane, or when there aren't a lot of other players getting Bottle and/or going for the runes. In that case, Bottle is incredibly useful.
Wraith Bands
With the exception of Branches, Wraiths are the most cost-efficient damage item you can get. They come in small, cheap pieces and greatly increase your damage output, as well as giving you a small but significant HP and mana boost. One of the most common mistakes I see budding Juggernaut players make is forgoing small stat items like Wraiths in favor of big damage items like Battlefury and Butterfly. This makes them much more fragile and much less dangerous early game, which damages their chances of dominating mid and late game. Wraiths are cheap, extremely efficient damage items that will help you be successful early game and transition into mid game. Always get them.
Phase Boots
There's a lot of debate about which Boots are best on Juggernaut. Many pub players swear by Treads, some older Juggernaut players still stick with their trust Boots of Travel, but most of the best Juggernaut players, as well as the competitive DOTA community, unanimously choose Phase Boots. There are two reasons that Phase Boots are the footware of choice for Juggernaut. The first is because of the huge boost to Blade Fury's effectiveness relatively early in the game. Blade Fury is essentially a 700 damage nuke, but becomes useless if you aren't able to keep up with other heroes. Without Phase Boots, chasing down any hero who has Phase is a lost cause, and you will miss a lot of kills this way vs good players. The second reason is that Phase Boots are very cheap, easy to farm and give great bonuses. Treads and Travels are still good items, but Phase Boots are almost always better.
Desolator
Desolator is the best damage item for it's cost and is especially effective on Juggernaut because Omnislash deals physical damage. That means that the negative armor buff that Desolator inflicts will amplify the damage of your ultimate. A lot.
Manta Style
Manta Style is a core item on a good number of agility carries, and Juggernaut is no exception. It gives him a much-needed HP boost, unrivaled damage output, move speed and to top it all off, images. It literally gives Juggernaut everything he needs.
2. The Battlefury Juggernaut
Battlefury has been a common item on Juggernaut for quite some time, but only recently has it been buffed to the point where it actually is a strong choice. It's easy build up and respectable damage-to-cost ratio have made it a favorite among pros and amateurs alike.
Advantages
- Battlefury provides quick and easy farming without using Blade Fury, so you can use Blade Fury to escape ganks
- HP and mana regen eliminate the need for Bottle, and help support Healing Ward use during mid game
- Battlefury is very cheap and easy to farm
Wraiths
Just like the above build, wraiths are important to your success early game. See the previous build for a full explanation. You won't need Bottle with this build, since you'll be getting Perseverance for Battlefury.
Phase Boots
Players who go Battlefury seem disproportionately likely to get Power Treads, which admittedly aren't a bad choice, but are still outclassed by Phase Boots. See the description in the above build for a full explanation.
Battlefury
When Battlefury was first introduced it cost almost 1000 more, and added less regen and less damage. Not only that but the main alternative, Radiance, was quite a bit stronger. And people still bought Battlefury. Now Battlefury has finally been buffed to the point where it's a strong item on a good number of heroes, specifically non-imaging melee agility heroes. So surely enough, Juggernaut fits into that category and is currently a good candidate for Battlefury. He benefits from the HP and mana regen, the direct damage is amplified by Blade Dance (unlike MKB's mini stun or Mjollnir's lightning), and it helps him farm well enough to become a strong carry hero late game. Many players still get Battlefury too early (before Phase Boots and small stats items), and many players still have terrible reasoning for getting the item, but there's no denying that Battlefury is a very strong choice on Juggernaut at the moment.
Sange and Yasha
Much like Manta Style in the previous build, SnY gives Juggernaut everything he needs for late game. An HP boost, attack speed to balance Battlefury's direct damage and move speed. SnY tends to be better than other late game DPS items like Butterfly for several reasons. First and foremost, you need the HP. Wraiths and - in most games - Magic Stick/Wand, will get you through early and mid game, but most of the time you just can't make it through late game with less than 1.5k HP. Second, SnY comes in tiny, effective pieces rather than big expensive chunks. You can finish Yasha right after Battlefury and already have great DPS, but bigger items like Eaglehorn are more difficult to farm and don't give the same immediate benefits.
Utility Items
These are extra items that you'll want to get whenever needed with both builds.
Explanations
TP scrolls - These should be bought throughout the game and carried almost all the time. TPs will allow you to move around the map ganking without Boots of Travel, abuse the Blade Fury TP trick (illustrated later in the guide), and help defend towers and save allies. TP scrolls are severely underrated and underused by most players, but I promise they will make a big difference in your game if you make a habit of carrying them around.
Magic Stick/Wand - Both Magic Stick and Magic Wand are very strong items that are highly underused by the typical player. Buying Magic Stick at the side shop will give you a huge advantage vs any hero that spams spells (Bat, Zues, Dirge, Tree, Doom, Bristleback, etc). Magic Wand is useful throughout the game, giving you a large amount of Mana and HP for less than the cost of a Bracer. Worth getting in almost all games.
Poor Man's Shield - Buy this from the side shop if you're getting harassed badly by physical attacks. Great vs orb walkers like Viper and Huskar, and useful vs just about any ranged harasser. Other than that, PMS basically serves the same function as a Wraith Band.
Magic Stick/Wand - Both Magic Stick and Magic Wand are very strong items that are highly underused by the typical player. Buying Magic Stick at the side shop will give you a huge advantage vs any hero that spams spells (Bat, Zues, Dirge, Tree, Doom, Bristleback, etc). Magic Wand is useful throughout the game, giving you a large amount of Mana and HP for less than the cost of a Bracer. Worth getting in almost all games.
Poor Man's Shield - Buy this from the side shop if you're getting harassed badly by physical attacks. Great vs orb walkers like Viper and Huskar, and useful vs just about any ranged harasser. Other than that, PMS basically serves the same function as a Wraith Band.
After the Core Items
After obtaining all the core items, you can go in several directions. Survivability items will keep Juggernaut from getting ripped to shreds by AoE spells and nukes, while damage items will move him along the path to becoming a carry and allow him to compete with other late-game heroes. It all depends on how the game is going.
Explanations
Heart - Heart is a ideal against caster teams. It will allow you to tank AoE and nukes well enough that you can run into the fray and dish out punishment with your physical attacks. Against other DPS carry heroes, Butterfly and Vlads are stronger choices, but if there's enough nukes, stuns and AoE that it's hard to utilize the physical damage that you already that, get Heart.
Butterfly - Butterfly is the best late-game damage item on Juggernaut. It balances the direct damage of Desolator or Battlefury with attacks speed, optimizing your DPS, and furthermore, the evasion helps tremendously when dealing with other carry heroes, especially ones with Bash.
Vladmir's Offerings - Vladmir’s is a good item but is horribly misused and misunderstood. Early in the game, Vladmir’s is all but useless for Juggernaut. You’re relying mostly on your skills, so the usefulness of life steal is extremely limited, and even when you are attacking, your damage is so low that it really won’t help much. It’s important to recognize that Vladmir’s is a survivability item – life steal is meant to keep you alive – and early on, small stat items, among other items, will keep you alive much better than Vladmir’s will. However, Vladmir’s is a good pick after you have a couple big damage items. If you have Deso and Manta, for example, you'll have enough damage that Vlad's life leech will actually help a lot. Even after you get damage though, Heart is often a better choice vs teams with a lot of disables and AoE spells.
Dagger - Although not as strong as it was several patches ago, Dagger is still a great item on many hero, and Juggernaut is no exception. Dagger allows you to easy catch lone heroes and finish them with Omnislash, and can even be used for chasing with Blade Fury and escaping (you're invulnerable for several seconds after Omnislash, so you can blink out immediately afterwards if you don't get attacked first). Dagger can be taken at virtually any point in the game.
Butterfly - Butterfly is the best late-game damage item on Juggernaut. It balances the direct damage of Desolator or Battlefury with attacks speed, optimizing your DPS, and furthermore, the evasion helps tremendously when dealing with other carry heroes, especially ones with Bash.
Vladmir's Offerings - Vladmir’s is a good item but is horribly misused and misunderstood. Early in the game, Vladmir’s is all but useless for Juggernaut. You’re relying mostly on your skills, so the usefulness of life steal is extremely limited, and even when you are attacking, your damage is so low that it really won’t help much. It’s important to recognize that Vladmir’s is a survivability item – life steal is meant to keep you alive – and early on, small stat items, among other items, will keep you alive much better than Vladmir’s will. However, Vladmir’s is a good pick after you have a couple big damage items. If you have Deso and Manta, for example, you'll have enough damage that Vlad's life leech will actually help a lot. Even after you get damage though, Heart is often a better choice vs teams with a lot of disables and AoE spells.
Dagger - Although not as strong as it was several patches ago, Dagger is still a great item on many hero, and Juggernaut is no exception. Dagger allows you to easy catch lone heroes and finish them with Omnislash, and can even be used for chasing with Blade Fury and escaping (you're invulnerable for several seconds after Omnislash, so you can blink out immediately afterwards if you don't get attacked first). Dagger can be taken at virtually any point in the game.
Other Items
Power Treads (Strength) - Although Phase Boots are almost always better, Treads are currently pretty good on Juggernaut. Early on they don't do much, since the attack speed doesn't help much with a low level Omnislash and you won't be using your physical attack much. After completing your first damage item, however, (Desolator or Battlefury) the attack speed is very helpful, as is the 190 HP. The problem with Treads is that you won't be nearly as dangerous early game as you would with Phase Boots. You won't be able to help out your team as much early on or get enough kills to propel you into a dominant mid and late game. Still, Treads aren't bad, and if you really want to use them, go ahead. There are far more important aspects of playing Juggernaut than picking the right footwear.
Boots of Travel - Although previously a core item on Juggernaut, Travels are now overshadowed by Phase Boots, the main reason being the time it takes to get each item. Phase Boots are very cheap and come in small pieces, so it's possible to get them very early in the game when Blade Fury is still very strong. Travels take longer to farm, and since so many players get Phase Boots on other heroes, you won't be fast enough to follow them early on, when Blade Fury is strongest. Still, if you have a really strong start (like getting first blood and/or farm very well) and can get Travels very early, they're still a good choice on Juggernaut.
Black King Bar - While BKB is a very good item on most DPS carry heroes, it doesn't tend to work quite as well on Juggernaut. Since Jugg lacks a slow, stun, or get-into-battle-quickly skill, 5-10 seconds is hardly enough time to do much damage. BKB isn't bad on Jugg, but in most cases, you’ll be much better off with Heart or Linken’s.
Scepter - Great in theory, but after all, you are a carry and you can't just rely on your ultimate to get kills. In most cases, you're much better off with damage items to boost the strength of your ultimate. If you feel like you need the HP, Manta, SnY and Heart are generally better choices
Radiance - With the slight buff to its damage and nerf to it's cost, Radiance is once again a viable choice on Juggernaut, although generally overshadowed by Battlefury and Desolator. If you do get Radiance, it's best vs caster teams with mass disables. Radiance/Heart won't do much against Naix, Void or PA, but it's great vs heroes like Rhasta, Bane and Lion.
Diffusal Blade - Awesome for ganking, especially since it can be used during Blade Fury, and great for countering Warlock on Omniknight. It really doesn’t add much damage for it's cost though, and it’s difficult to carry if you dish out 3300 gold for Diffusal. Still, it can be choice if you have an ally who can carry hard and you can play a more support and ganking-oriented role.
Boots of Travel - Although previously a core item on Juggernaut, Travels are now overshadowed by Phase Boots, the main reason being the time it takes to get each item. Phase Boots are very cheap and come in small pieces, so it's possible to get them very early in the game when Blade Fury is still very strong. Travels take longer to farm, and since so many players get Phase Boots on other heroes, you won't be fast enough to follow them early on, when Blade Fury is strongest. Still, if you have a really strong start (like getting first blood and/or farm very well) and can get Travels very early, they're still a good choice on Juggernaut.
Black King Bar - While BKB is a very good item on most DPS carry heroes, it doesn't tend to work quite as well on Juggernaut. Since Jugg lacks a slow, stun, or get-into-battle-quickly skill, 5-10 seconds is hardly enough time to do much damage. BKB isn't bad on Jugg, but in most cases, you’ll be much better off with Heart or Linken’s.
Scepter - Great in theory, but after all, you are a carry and you can't just rely on your ultimate to get kills. In most cases, you're much better off with damage items to boost the strength of your ultimate. If you feel like you need the HP, Manta, SnY and Heart are generally better choices
Radiance - With the slight buff to its damage and nerf to it's cost, Radiance is once again a viable choice on Juggernaut, although generally overshadowed by Battlefury and Desolator. If you do get Radiance, it's best vs caster teams with mass disables. Radiance/Heart won't do much against Naix, Void or PA, but it's great vs heroes like Rhasta, Bane and Lion.
Diffusal Blade - Awesome for ganking, especially since it can be used during Blade Fury, and great for countering Warlock on Omniknight. It really doesn’t add much damage for it's cost though, and it’s difficult to carry if you dish out 3300 gold for Diffusal. Still, it can be choice if you have an ally who can carry hard and you can play a more support and ganking-oriented role.
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