Spirit Breaker
Barathrum, the Spirit Breaker, is a warrior of omniscient power, charging across dimensions to crush the enemies of the cosmic order.
At a Glance
Core Principles
“The cosmos demands balance. Where chaos reigns, I am the thunder that shatters darkness. Where order falters, I am the stampede that crushes corruption.”
You Are Everywhere
Your presence shapes the entire map. Even when not charging, enemies play defensively because you COULD charge. Global pressure is your greatest weapon.
Speed is Strength
Forget damage items. Movement speed directly amplifies Greater Bash. Every speed boost makes you hit harder, move faster, and charge deadlier.
Charge Vision is Information
You're not just charging - you're scouting. The shared vision reveals enemy positions, wards, and intentions. Use this intelligence wisely.
Embrace Predictability
Enemies know you'll charge something. Use this against them. Charge through their vision to appear elsewhere. Make them paranoid about your true target.
Isolate and Destroy
Your job isn't teamfight engagement - it's single-target annihilation. Pick off stragglers, farming carries, and isolated supports. Create advantages through attrition.
Be the Anti-Stealth
You are the best Dust carrier and invis counter there is. Every time Riki shows his face, there should be a Charge with Dust already activated. Hunt the shadows.
Hero Overview
Spirit Breaker is the ultimate ganker and map controller, capable of appearing anywhere on the battlefield to disrupt enemy plans and create chaos. His natural tankiness and status resistance make him incredibly durable, allowing him to survive situations that would kill other heroes and continue his reign of terror across the map.
Spirit Breaker's gameplay revolves around constant pressure and surprise initiations. Use Charge of Darkness to traverse the map and appear unexpectedly, always being aware that you gain shared vision of your target's surroundings. During charge, you can position yourself to hit enemies with proximity Greater Bashes, and after connecting with Charge, follow up with right-clicks and Nether Strike for guaranteed disables and damage.
Pros
- Excellent global ganker with Charge of Darkness
- High tankiness and status resistance with Bulldoze
- Greater Bash provides movement speed and damage
- Strong counter-invisibility with Dust of Appearance
- Nether Strike pierces spell immunity
- Natural map pressure forces enemies defensive
Cons
- Reliant on movement speed for damage output
- Vulnerable to long disables when not using Bulldoze
- Can be kited by mobile heroes
- Limited teamfight utility beyond single-target lockdown
- Charge can be predicted and baited
- Mana issues in early game
Ability Analysis
Charge of Darkness
Target UnitSpirit Breaker fixates on a target enemy unit and starts charging toward it. Charging provides shared vision around the target and greater movement speed. Upon impact, Greater Bash is automatically triggered.
Notes: Your signature ganking tool. The charge provides shared vision of everything your target can see, making it perfect against heroes like Night Stalker. You can use creep redirection to bypass Linken's Sphere - charge a creep near your target and let it die to retarget. During charge, position yourself to pass near enemies for proximity Greater Bashes.
Bulldoze
ActiveSpirit Breaker releases his worldly bonds, gaining movement speed and status resistance for a duration.
Notes: Essential for survivability and chase potential. Use it to ignore disables while charging or escaping. The status resistance helps you ignore slows and stuns, making you incredibly difficult to pin down. Can be removed by basic dispels, making Eul's Scepter problematic against you. Use mid-charge to boost your Greater Bash damage.
Greater Bash
PassiveSpirit Breaker has a chance to bash enemies, dealing damage based on his current movement speed and knocking them back.
Notes: Your primary damage source that scales with movement speed, not attack damage. Uses pseudo-random distribution - after 6 non-bash attacks, the next attack has significantly higher bash chance. Charge and Nether Strike both guarantee Greater Bash procs. Other bash items don't stack with this ability. Prime your bashes on jungle creeps before ganking to take advantage of PRD.
Nether Strike
Target UnitSpirit Breaker smashes an enemy soul, dealing damage and triggering Greater Bash. This ability pierces spell immunity.
Notes: Your guaranteed disable and execution tool. The only way to guarantee Tresdin targets to attack *you* is by leading out. Always position yourself close. Cannot be cast when rooted or leashed. Can be interrupted during cast animation. Aghanim's Scepter adds Planar Pocket - create an inverse Linken's that redirects enemy single-target spells back to you.
Nether Strike (Shard Upgrade)
Target UnitNether Strike also creates a fear effect in a 325 radius around the target, causing enemies to run away for 0.6 seconds.
Notes: The Shard upgrade adds valuable displacement, making it harder for enemies to position around your ultimz. The fear effect helps separate targets from their team and creates space for follow-up. Essential for disrupting enemy formations in teamfights.
Nether Strike (Aghanim's Scepter)
Target UnitNether Strike applies Planar Pocket to Spirit Breaker for 3.5 seconds, redirecting all enemy single-target spells to Spirit Breaker.
Notes: Transforms your ultimate into a powerful defensive tool for protecting allies. The Planar Pocket acts like an inverse Linken's - any single-target spells cast at affected allies will be redirected to you. This includes enemy buffs, making it incredibly valuable for saving teammates from dangerous abilities.
Developer's Notes
Developer Insights
Spirit Breaker embodies the essence of global pressure and map domination. His Charge of Darkness isn't just mobility - it's psychological warfare that forces enemies to play defensively across the entire map.
Key Insights:
- Greater Bash scales with movement speed, not damage
- Charge of Darkness provides shared vision of your target's surroundings
- Nether Strike is your guaranteed bash and execution tool
Spirit Breaker rewards game awareness and aggressive positioning. You're not just a ganker - you're a map controller who dictates the tempo by your mere presence!
Game Strategy
Early Game
Timeframe: 0-15 minutes Objective: Establish lane presence and secure ganking opportunities Key: Exploit natural tankiness for aggressive trading; Use Herd Mentality innate to boost allied experience; Look for level 6 ganking opportunities with Charge; Secure vision control around gank paths Items: Power Treads (Movement speed focus); Drums of Endurance (Speed for team); Echo Sabre (Bash prime ability) Tips: Prime greater bashes on creeps using pseudo-random distribution; Use courier for vision of neutral camps for sneaky charges; TP to nearest structure for cross-map engagement rather than charging from base; Alt-click buff portrait to announce charge target to team
Mid Game
Timeframe: 15-30 minutes Objective: Constant map pressure and successful ganks Key: Charge jungles where enemies farm; Coordinate team vision for effective ganking; Use cross-map TPs + Charge for surprise attacks; Maintain Dust availability for invisible targets Items: Blink Dagger (Positioning utility); Black King Bar (Magic immunity); Silver Edge (Break against elusive targets) Tips: Consider backpacking speed items during charge to throw off enemies; Cast non-targeted items during charge (Phase Boots, Smoke, etc); Use Bulldoze mid-charge to boost Greater Bash damage; Remember to place wards in enemy jungle as players avoid lanes
Late Game
Timeframe: 30+ minutes Objective: Key target lockdown and team utility Key: Focus on priority targets with Aghanim's Planar Pocket; Use charge vision to scout enemy positions; Position for multiple Greater Bash procs in teamfights; Provide tank front line for team Items: Aghanim's Scepter (Planar Pocket); Heart of Tarrasque (Ultimate tankiness); Assault Cuirass (Team armor/utility) Tips: Planar Pocket redirects enemy single-target spells to you; Nether Strike with Shard provides area fear for spacing; Movement speed items dramatically increase Greater Bash damage; Coordinate with team to take advantage of charge-initiated fights
Tips & Strategies
Charge Mastery
- Charge provides shared vision of your target's surroundings - invaluable against Night Stalker or high-vision heroes.
- Use creep redirection to bypass Linken's - charge a creep near your target and let it die to retarget to the hero.
- Alt-click the buff portrait to announce your charge target to teammates.
- You can cast non-targeted items during charge: Phase Boots, Shadow Blade, Mask of Madness, Smoke, BKB, even tread switching.
Greater Bash Optimization
- Greater Bash uses pseudo-random distribution. Prime bashes on jungle creeps - after 6 non-bash hits, next attack has much higher chance.
- Damage scales with movement speed, not attack damage. Build speed items, not damage items.
- Other bash items (Basher/Abyssal) don't stack - game won't allow multiple bash effects.
- During charge, position yourself to pass near enemies for proximity Greater Bashes.
Escape & Defense
- When getting ganked and can't fight, immediately charge nearby creep or neutral for escape.
- Bulldoze mid-charge boosts your Greater Bash damage on impact.
- Backpacking speed items during charge can slow you down and make enemies think you canceled.
- Use courier to give vision of neutral camps for sneaky map-traversal charges.
Item Guide
Starting Items
Early survivability and stats to trade effectively in lane. Spirit Breaker is naturally tanky at level 1, so you can be aggressive.
Tangos, Stout Shield, Circlet
Core Items
Movement speed is priority - Drums provides speed for your team and yourself. Echo Sabre synergizes with Greater Bash's pseudo-random distribution. Tread switching helps with mana management.
Power Treads, Echo Sabre, Drums of Endurance
Situational Items
Armlet burst damage with toggle, Halberd for disarming dangerous carries, BKB against heavy magic damage, Agh's for Planar Pocket utility.
Armlet, Heaven's Halberd, Black King Bar, Aghanim's Scepter
Counter Guide
Good With
Spirit Breaker excels with heroes who can capitalize on his global pressure and follow up on his initiation. Phantom Assassin and Juggernaut provide devastating burst damage to fully disabled targets from Charge + Nether Strike combinations. Ursa or Lifestealer make perfect ganking partners - Spirit Breaker initiates, they clean up with massive single-target damage. Crystal Maiden provides mana regeneration for more frequent charges and can safely setup after Charge stuns. Earthshaker or Tiny deliver devastating AoE follow-up to Spirit Breaker's target isolation. Heroes who need enemies to be stationary or vulnerable to initiation work perfectly with Spirit Breaker's ability to appear anywhere and guarantee disables. The key is pairing him with heroes who can quickly eliminate the isolated targets he creates.
Bad Against
Spirit Breaker struggles against heroes who can neutralize his initiation or exploit his predictability. Viper and Venomancer apply strong slows and damage-over-time that counter his movement-speed-based damage. Night Stalker actually fights well against Spirit Breaker because his superior vision negates Charge's shared vision advantage. Shadow Demon with Demonic Purge removes Bulldoze and provides banish protection for allies. Nyx Assassin can spike and burst Spirit Breaker during his approach or countergank. Force Staff users (Skywrath, Puck) can immediately remove Greater Bash stun from allies. Eul's Scepter removes Bulldoze and can dodge Chargealing. Heroes with strong kiting abilities (Razor, Viper), powerful dispels (Abaddon, Oracle), or who can turn Spirit Breaker's aggression against him pose serious challenges to his global intimidation strategy.
Good Against
Spirit Breaker dominates heroes who rely on positioning, lack mobility, or are vulnerable to isolation. Sniper and Drow Ranger are prime targets - they need to stay far back but Spirit Breaker can bypass their positioning entirely with Charge. Crystal Maiden and Witch Doctor are easy prey as they're squishy supports sitting duck to Charge + Nether Strike combos. Riki and other invisible heroes are countered by Spirit Breaker's natural Dust-carrying role. Channeling heroes like Shadow Shaman, Enigma, and Crystal Maiden are helpless when charged during their spells. Position-dependent heroes such as Invoker or Tinker lose all their setup time when suddenly taunted into vulnerable positions. Farm-reliant cores who need safe jungle time like Anti-Mage or Phantom Assassin find their sanctuaries violated by constant Charge threats. Heroes who require distance, positioning, or invisibility for survival simply cannot escape Spirit Breaker's global hunting pressure.