What Are Innate Abilities in Dota 2?

The competitive landscape of Dota 2 underwent significant changes with the release of the 7.36 update. Each hero was given a new appearance and now possesses individual Innate abilities that enhance their own strengths or benefit their team. But what exactly are Innate abilities and how do they function in Dota 2?

How Do Innate Abilities Work in Dota 2?

In Dota 2, innate abilities enhance the strength of all heroes. These abilities provide unique effects or increase a hero’s existing abilities to level five. With each hero already possessing their own distinct skills, the addition of an innate ability encourages a more strategic team composition, such as pairing Dawnbreaker with Io. For instance, Dawnbreaker’s innate ability reveals the entire map at sunrise, allowing Io to teleport a teammate and ambush isolated enemies.

The majority of these Innate abilities are passive and do not offer much flexibility. It is necessary to acquire most, if not all, Innate abilities in order to adapt to the game’s meta.

Despite this, the patch also brought in Facets, which further enhance the abilities of all heroes by providing an additional upgrade. It is important to familiarize yourself with these new elements in order to gain a better understanding of how each hero’s Innate abilities work together. Some Innate abilities may even completely alter your style of play.

Here is a brief list of some of the most game-altering innate abilities:

Axe – Whenever Axe kills an enemy, he gains +1 permanent armor. Kills with Culling Blade gives 2x that amount.
Dawnbreaker’s ability reveals the full map to all allied heroes for a duration of 4 seconds whenever the sun rises. After this brief period, the Fog of War immediately returns.
Whenever Disruptor receives 250 or more damage from enemies within a 400 range, all nearby units are forcefully moved 400 units away from Disruptor. This ability has a cooldown of 4 seconds and the damage counter resets after 7 seconds.
Huskar does not rely on mana as his resource, as he converts the mana cost of items and abilities into health costs. However, his magical resistance can help to reduce the damage he takes.
Lich – Lich’s max mana regeneration is set to 0. Whenever a unit, friendly or foe, dies nearby, Lich restores a portion of his maximum mana. Dying heroes restore a bigger portion. Lich can still regenerate mana under the effect of a fountain.
Nyx Assassin – Nyx Assassin can sense invisible heroes in a 400 radius.

Numerous Innate abilities significantly alter a player’s usual gameplay. For instance, Lich’s Innate ability compels the player to be more involved during the Laning Stage of the game. While laning, Lich gains more mana, providing the player with nearly endless opportunities to use skills.

The changes to the Disruptor player’s playstyle allow for a more aggressive approach as a support, as they can now push enemies back when they attempt to engage. This also increases the difficulty of targeting the Disruptor, providing more opportunities to utilize their abilities in a team fight.

Teams facing Axe must now strategize against his increasing armor stacks by relying on magical damage. If Axe’s armor reaches a high level, it can pose a challenge for teams with primarily physical damage dealers.

The possibilities are endless, and it feels like Dota 3 has finally arrived with the 7.36 patch. If you’re searching for alternative MOBAs to try, consider giving League of Legends’s 14.2 patch a chance.