Dyrroth's kit is built around one thing: negating armor. His enhanced Spectre Step rips 75% of your Physical Defense away, and he chains that straight into Abysm Strike, which scales off your missing HP. If you're low, he kills you. If you have armor but he strips it, he still kills you. The hero doesn't have a bad matchup against physical defense items the way most fighters do.
That said, he has real weaknesses. His burst happens in a short window tied to his Rage mechanic. When he's out of Rage, he's hitting like a creep. His CC output is limited to a slow on Burst Strike. And he's melee, with a single dash to close distance.
Those three facts are your entire blueprint for beating him.
#Understanding Dyrroth's Kit Before You Counter It
Before you pick your counter hero, know what you're actually up against.
Passive (Wrath of the Abyss): Every two basic attacks fills one Rage bar. At 50% Rage, his S1 and S2 get enhanced versions. Landing hits on enemy heroes reduces both cooldowns by 1 second. This is what makes him so oppressive in sustained trades.
S1 (Burst Strike): Physical damage + slow. Enhanced version hits 5 times instead of 3, with double slow duration and extended range. The enhanced version is the poke tool that sets up his kill combo.
S2 (Spectre Step): He dashes in and locks onto you for a Fatal Strike. The enhanced version needs 3 hits to trigger, and when it does, it shreds 75% of your Physical Defense for a window. This is the most dangerous skill in his kit.
Ultimate (Abysm Strike): Charges up and deals Physical Damage plus a bonus based on the enemy's lost HP. Works with Flicker mid-cast to redirect. This is his execution tool. If you're below 50% HP against Dyrroth and he has his ult up, you're in danger.
The key pattern: He farms Rage on the minion wave, then engages with enhanced S1 to slow you, follows with enhanced S2 for the 75% defense shred, and finishes with the ult if you're low enough. The entire combo takes about 2 seconds.
#Top Hero Counters to Dyrroth
1. Esmeralda
Esmeralda is the hardest lane matchup for Dyrroth at the moment. Her Frostmoon Shield passive converts enemies' shields into her own HP, but more importantly, her kit generates shields constantly. Dyrroth's S2 shreds Physical Defense, not Magic Defense. Esmeralda builds primarily magic-hybrid items, so his 75% shred does almost nothing to her effective HP.
Her S1 + S2 combo pokes safely from range and generates the shields she needs to sustain through his trades. When Dyrroth uses his Rage burst, Esmeralda can absorb it with her shield and trade back. His burst window ends, and she's still at 70% HP.
Win rate data backs this up: Dyrroth sits at 41% win rate against Esmeralda. That's not a tight matchup, that's a hard counter.
What to do: Stay mid-range and poke constantly with S1. Activate S3 the moment Dyrroth engages so you regenerate shield during his combo. Don't let him hit you from behind, your S3 is directional.
2. Phoveus
Phoveus counters any hero with a dash skill. Dyrroth's S2 (Spectre Step) is a dash. Every time Dyrroth uses S2 near Phoveus, his own passive charges. Use that charge to dash onto Dyrroth immediately after he engages, stunning him and resetting his momentum.
The dynamic flips entirely. Dyrroth needs to land his S2 to shred your defense. Phoveus punishes that exact action. If Dyrroth plays passive and doesn't use S2, he's doing nothing. If he uses S2, Phoveus slaps him for it.
What to do: Don't run from Dyrroth's dash. Let him engage, counter-dash with S3 for the stun, then go into your full S1 > S2 combo while he has no skills to respond. Keep Oracle or Antique Cuirass to handle his remaining damage after the shred window.
Important: If Dyrroth saves his S2 and hits you with Enhanced S1 first to get range advantage, step back to reset. Don't stand in his extended Burst Strike range without your passive charged.
3. Guinevere
Guinevere's S2 creates a fake shadow that completely avoids Dyrroth's Spectre Step lock-on. When Dyrroth dashes at you and his Fatal Strike tries to target you for the 3-hit shred, using S2 at the right time causes him to chase the shadow and miss the shred entirely. No shred means no kill window.
Her ult also launches Dyrroth into the air, negating his combo entirely when timed correctly.
The combo is: bait Dyrroth's S2 > S2 to leave shadow > ult to knock up > S1 for the damage. Dyrroth blows his enhanced S2 chasing a shadow, comes out of it with no defense shred, and gets knocked airborne.
What to do: S2 timing is everything. Don't spam it early. Save S2 specifically for when Dyrroth charges his enhanced Spectre Step. If you use it too early, Dyrroth waits and catches the real you. Win rate against Dyrroth is around 48%, so it's a winnable matchup but not free.
4. Chou
Chou can kick Dyrroth's combo mid-execution. The moment Dyrroth initiates with S1 or S2, Chou's S2 (Jeet Kune Do) provides a brief immunity window that lets him eat the engagement and return a knock-up. His S3 also displaces Dyrroth entirely, breaking his lock-on during Spectre Step.
The matchup requires discipline. Chou's immunity from S2 is short. If you panic-use it on Dyrroth's slow instead of his actual engagement, you'll get combo'd anyway.
What to do: Let Dyrroth close distance first. When he dashes in with S2, activate your S2 for the immunity frame and knock him back. Your S1 > S2 > AA > S3 follow-up either kills him or sends him back to turret. Dyrroth wins at 47% against Chou, so you have a 53% edge. Use it.
5. Minsitthar
Minsitthar is the hard stop to Dyrroth's mobility. His ult creates a zone that cancels all dash skills, which means Dyrroth can't use Spectre Step at all while inside it. No S2 means no 75% defense shred. No shred means he's dealing normal fighter damage against someone building physical defense.
He's not a lane bully pick, but in team fights, his ult completely shuts Dyrroth down if placed on top of him.
What to do: Don't waste your ult until Dyrroth actually commits to a fight. His value is in the execution, not the poke. S1 poke to harass early, then ult him the moment he dives.
#Counter Items
These work on any hero you're playing against Dyrroth. You don't need to pick a specific counter hero if you buy the right items.
| Item | Why It Works Against Dyrroth |
|---|---|
| Dominance Ice | Reduces attack speed, HP regen, and his passive Circle Strike healing. First priority defensive item. |
| Antique Cuirass | Each time Dyrroth lands a skill on you, it reduces his Physical Attack. Stacks up to 3 times. Gut his damage in sustained trades. |
| Twilight Armor | Caps burst damage per hit at 900. His ult is a single massive hit, so this hard-caps the spike damage. Excellent on tanks and fighters. |
| Sea Halberd / Necklace of Durance | Reduces his healing from his passive and any lifesteal items. Forces him to commit to a fight without regen safety. |
| Wind of Nature | Physical damage immunity for 2 seconds on activation. Pop it when his ult charges. He gets nothing from the cast. |
| Immortality | Second life. Dyrroth's kill window is short. If he blows his enhanced combo and you revive, he has nothing left to finish you. |
If you're on a physical hero, your core defensive layering is: Dominance Ice + Antique Cuirass + Twilight Armor. That combination reduces his attack speed, caps his burst, and chunks his physical attack with each hit. He'll deal maybe 60% of his intended damage through that wall.
If you're on a mage or support, Necklace of Durance + Wind of Nature is enough to neuter his kill threat.
#How to Play the Lane Against Dyrroth
Early Game (Levels 1-4)
Dyrroth needs two basics to fill one Rage bar. He doesn't have his enhanced skills until he farms Rage, so at level 1 he's slow to engage. Use this window to poke, push the wave, or zone him off his creeps.
Don't let him build Rage under cover. If you let him farm freely in the wave, he rotates to you with full Rage and immediately goes into his burst pattern. Poke him constantly so he's spending time moving away, not stacking Rage.
At level 2, he gets both S1 and S2. If he has Rage stacked, treat his approach as a kill attempt. Step back to outside his S2 dash range (it's medium range, not long range) or bait the dash onto your own escape skill.
Level 4 is his power spike. He has his ult. If you're below 60% HP against Dyrroth at level 4, back off to turret. His ult charges fast and the lost-HP scaling is severe.
Mid Game (Post Level 4)
Watch his Rage bars if you can. When Dyrroth uses enhanced skills, both S1 and S2 are on cooldown and his Rage is depleted. That 3-5 second window after his burst combo is when you trade back hard.
If his S2 is on cooldown and no Rage is stored, he cannot shred your defense. Every trade you win against him in this state snowballs into a lead.
Don't fight him while he's clearing waves. He builds Rage on minions and has Circle Strike healing from his passive. Engage when he's isolated, not mid-wave.
Vision and Jungler Coordination
Dyrroth punishes your jungler. If he gets a free kill on your jungler during a gank window, he snowballs hard from the passive cooldown reduction and extra gold. Before your jungler ganks EXP lane against a Dyrroth, make sure he's engaged first and his S2 is on cooldown. A Dyrroth with S2 up can dash out of the gank and potentially turn on the jungler.
Mark his position before ganks. If Dyrroth is deep in lane pushing to your inner turret, he's overextended and the gank is clean. If he's sitting mid-lane with Rage up, tell your jungler to wait.
#Quick Reference: What Beats Dyrroth
Best hero picks:
- Esmeralda (hard counter, 41% win rate for Dyrroth)
- Phoveus (punishes every S2 with his passive)
- Guinevere (S2 avoids Spectre Step lock-on)
- Chou (S2 immunity eats his combo)
- Minsitthar (ult cancels all Dyrroth dashes)
Best items:
- Dominance Ice
- Antique Cuirass
- Twilight Armor
- Wind of Nature (active counter to his ult)
- Sea Halberd / Necklace of Durance
Battle spell: Purify removes his slow from Burst Strike. Flicker lets you dodge Spectre Step range. If you're playing a mobile hero with your own escape, Flicker is redundant. Take Purify or Vengeance.
The simplest version of countering Dyrroth is this: don't be below 50% HP around him, build Dominance Ice, and pick a hero that either ignores Physical Defense shred or punishes his dash. Everything else is execution.
Check out the full Dyrroth hero page on mlbbhub.com for his current stats and tier standing.