The power of Dota heroes is kept secret. But that’s until the pros pick them and reveal their capabilities at major tournaments. We’ve seen it at The International 2023. Let’s look at the most favored and victorious heroes of this tournament.
Bristleback
He just refuses to take damage. Bristleback is one of the tankiest Dota 2 heroes. Thanks to his Bristleback passive ability (which has the same name as the hero), he takes 40% less damage from the back and 20% from the side.
He doesn’t just survive but also deals a ton of damage. As he takes hits to his back, his Quill Spray ability procs, thrusting needles into enemies around him. They stack. The more needle stacks a foe has, the more damage each consecutive Quill Spray does.
When Bristleback gets an Aghanim’s Scepter, his Bristleback passive gets an active skill. After its cast, he turns his back in a direction and fires 6 rapid quill sprays. That’s nearly 1,000 AoE physical damage in a few seconds.
To get the most out of the hog’s kit, The International players have bought him an Octarine Core. It enables healing from his ability damage. Combine this with Bristle’s Quill Spray bursts and a passive, and you’re a tanky self-healing machine that outputs hundreds of AoE damage.
Brewmaster
As ban stats prove, Brewmaster is the most feared offlaner of The International 2023. And that’s for a reason. This hero is exceptionally versatile, thanks to his reworked abilities.
The first of them is the Drunken Brawler. It allows Brew to switch stances and activate different passive bonuses. They boost:
- Armor and resists;
- Evasion and move speed;
- Attack speed and crit chance;
- Status resistance and let Brewmaster apply a slow effect on attacks.
Moreover, Brew can enhance all these effects by 2.5 with his Cinder Brew ability. Together, it makes him very strong in laning. TI players have shown his adaptability in defensive and offensive plays.
But that’s not all for the Brewmaster. His power spikes rapidly after his level 6. It gives him one of the strongest early-game ultimates, increasing his map pressure.
His R turns him into 4 spirits with unique abilities. Brew uses them to deal damage, disable enemies, and dispel negative effects. Plus, an Ultimate makes him almost unkillable. To send a Brew to the tavern in his Ultimate, players must kill all the spirits with a health pool 4,900 at level 6.
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Primal Beast
This Dota 2 hero can do anything. Primal Beast is an initiator, frontline, disabler, and burst hero. Moreover, he’s a hell of a strong in the early game.
His initiation comes from his Q Onslaught ability. It charges Primal Beast through the 2,000 range, passing any terrain and knocking back enemies. And when he’s on top of them, he uses a Trample.
It is an AoE ability. It deals 10 claps, which scale off Beast’s attack damage and can even crit. This skill deals good damage at any match stage.
But the coolest part about Primal Beast is his Aghanim’s Scepter. It gives him an Uproar skill. When activated, it launches 3 circular waves of projectiles that cast Break debuff onto enemies.
Break disables all the heroes’ passive abilities. Most meta TI heroes, Phantom Assassin, Bristleback, Brewmaster, etc., rely heavily on their passives. Primal Beast counters them.
Chaos Knight
At last, here’s a non-offlaner on our list. Even though he can play this role, Chaos Knight is much better at a carry position. And TI has proven it.
The reason for Chaos Knight’s success is his all-capable kit. First, he has a stun useful during the laning phase. But with his Reality Rift (teleports him to the chosen enemy), stun deprives CK of typical melee carry problems. No one can escape his strikes.
And most importantly, he hits very hard. After using his ultimate, he summons 1 – 3 illusions who deal 100% of his damage. Plus, there’s his passive on top.
It lets CK and his illusions deal up to 245% damage crits with a 33.3% chance. Critical strikes also heal him for up to 60%. Thus, if CK or his clones deal a 1,000 damage crit, he heals for 600 HP! It greatly boosts his survivability.
This entire kit suits a current Dota 2 meta perfectly. It makes CK strong at any match phase, giving him versatility, which is very important right now.





















