How to play Juggernaut in Dota 2 – Ultimate Guide

Juggernaut is one of Dota 2’s most reliable and versatile heroes, known for his iconic ultimate ability – Omnislash. He has a mix of early-game kill potential and late-game scaling, making him one of the easiest Dota heroes to learn for beginners. In this guide, we’ll look at Juggernaut’s timings, item builds, and teamfight execution to carry games in style. 

Juggernaut Overview

Let’s go through a quick overview of Juggernaut to see what he’s all about:

• Primary Role: Carry, Position 1
• Damage Type: Physical damage through Omnislash, slight magic damage through Blade Fury
• Difficulty: Moderate – easy to learn, hard to master

Main Strengths

1. Has an ability that grants magic immunity
2. Strong laning stage and early-game kill potential
3. Game-changing and easy-to-use ultimate
4. Has healing to reset fights or sustain lane

Main Weaknesses

1. Low mana pool, difficult mana management
2. Heavily farm reliant
3. Depends on his ultimate to have team fight impact

When to pick Juggernaut

• The team needs a safe, consistent carry who can fight early and scale late.
• The enemy team has lots of magic damage, allowing maximum use of Blade Fury.
• The enemy team lacks single-target lockdown (e.g., no Bane, Lion, or Shadow Shaman).

When to avoid Juggernaut

• The enemy team has strong instant disables such as Doom, Primal Roar, and Flaming Lasso.
• They have illusion-based heroes that can absorb Omnislash hits.
• They have high armor and tanky heroes that Omnislash struggles to kill.

Juggernaut Abilities Breakdown

Blade Fury (Q)

“Causes a bladestorm of destructive force around Juggernaut, rendering him immune to magic and dealing damage to nearby enemy units.”

• Juggernaut cannot take magic damage or be stunned during Blade Fury (unless spells pierce through magic immunity).
• Juggernaut receives a strong dispel after the spin, meaning all debuffs are cleansed.
• An amazing spell in the early game, giving Juggernaut huge kill potential during the laning stage.
• Can be used offensively and defensively. Just because you use it doesn’t mean you need to chase enemies down – you can also use it to run away.
• Attacking (right-clicking) doesn’t deal damage when under Blade Fury, even though it sounds like you are attacking.
• However, attack modifiers (Desolator, Maelstrom, Eye of Skadi) do apply their effects when attacking during Blade Fury.

Healing Ward (W)

“Summons a Healing Ward which heals all nearby allied units, based on their max health.”

• Juggernaut’s Healing Ward can be controlled and moved around.
• It heals Juggernaut and his allies in a large AoE.
• Healing Ward only has one hit point, meaning it is easy for enemy heroes to destroy.
• Make sure to control the Healing Ward and put it in a safe position to get maximum value out of the spell.
• Healing Ward is a great way to reset and rejoin fights in all stages of the game.
• It can be used for taking objectives such as Towers and Roshan – make sure it is positioned far away from enemy heroes to prevent it from being destroyed.

Blade Dance (E)

“Gives Juggernaut a chance to deal critical damage on each attack.”

• Blade Dance is a passive ability, granting Juggernaut critical damage when triggered.
• The ability has a 35% chance of dealing critical damage, which are relatively high odds. However, the critical damage itself isn’t as high as sources in the game.
• Since Juggernaut has built-in crit, he doesn’t buy items like a Daedalus.
• Blade Dance can also trigger while Juggernaut is dealing hits in Omnislash.

Omnislash (R)

“Juggernaut leaps towards the target enemy units, and then slashes the target and other nearby enemy units at an increased attack rate. Juggernaut is invulnerable for the duration.”

• Omnislash is Juggernaut’s most iconic ability.
• Ideally, the best way to use Omnislash is to deal heavy single-target damage to a specific hero. However, Omnislash can bounce around if multiple heroes are in the area, which spreads out the damage.
• Be mindful of the surroundings when casting Omnislash, especially since it can bounce to nearby creeps or illusions.
• Omnislash can be countered by items such as Ghost Scepter, Eul’s Scepter of Divinity, and Glimmer Cape.
• Though the spell sounds straightforward on paper, it takes practice and awareness to get the maximum value out of it.
• Omnislash hits are based on duration. This means higher attack speed leads to more hits during the duration.

Best Skill Build for Juggernaut

Knowing how to carry in Dota is easier said than done. Here is how you should build your abilities when playing Position 1 Juggernaut.

• Maxing Blade Fury is the best option in the early game, as the spell provides huge kill potential in the laning stage.
• Juggernaut hits a power spike after every level of Blade Fury, as the damage significantly increases in the early game.
• Healing Ward can help Juggernaut sustain in the jungle, while Blade Dance is always nice for hitting creeps.

Best Item Build for Juggernaut

Juggernaut’s item build can be a little tricky, as he can go for two different routes that can help him secure kills as well as hit objectives in Dota. This will be explained in the Core Items section:

Starting Items

• Quelling Blade: This item gives Juggernaut additional damage to creeps, making it easier for him to contest last hits and denies.
• Tango: Required to provide Juggernaut with early regeneration to sustain the laning stage.
• Magic Stick: A Magic Stick can be a good pickup against enemy heroes that enjoy spamming spells in the laning stage. This item is essential for Juggernaut, who has mana issues.
• Iron Branch (3x): Three Iron Branches provides Juggernaut with much-needed stats, and two can be used to upgrade to a Magic Wand.

Core Items

There are two ways to build Juggernaut – Physical or Magical (attack speed). We’ll go through each way.

Physical Route

The physical damage route works well against Intelligence heroes, or those who have magic-immunity spells such as Lifestealer. 

• Phase Boots: This feels good on Juggernaut. You have increased movement speed to chase down enemies with Blade Fury, and gain additional damage and armor. 
• Battle Fury: This is your primary farming tool when going for the physical damage route. Battle Fury helps you clear out camps quickly and efficiently, while also providing merits when casting Omnislash on multiple targets.
• Sange and Yasha: Overall, Sange and Yasha is an amazing item on Juggernaut for its stats. This item grants Juggernaut movement and attack speed, while also making him tankier with health and status resistance. 

Magical (Attack Speed) Route

The magical damage route is generally more popular than the physical route due to its flexibility. It is potent against Agility heroes, since they have high armor. 

• Power Treads: Make sure to stay on Agility treads, while also Tread switching every time you cast a spell. 
• Maelstrom: One of Juggernaut’s best damage items. It provides him with additional attack speed while also creating opportunities to trigger Chain Lightning. Chain Lightning works with Omnislash and Blade Fury, making Maelstrom a very popular choice. 
• Manta Style: Instead of S&Y, Manta Style works better for the magical damage route. On top of dispelling potential silences and slows, Juggernaut can also send his Manta illusions to shove waves, especially when he applies Mjolnir on them.
• Mjolnir: We’re going to upgrade Maelstrom to Mjolnir as soon as possible. Mjolnir gives Juggernaut much-needed attack speed for Omnislash and Chain Lightning procs, and works well with Manta Style, as discussed above. 

Luxury Items (Situational)

When entering the luxury items, we can ignore which route we’ve gone for, as these suggestions assist Juggernaut either way.

• Butterfly: One of the best luxury items on Juggernaut – you can buy this item almost every game regardless of situation. It provides Juggernaut with much-needed stats and makes him survivable, especially when under Blade Fury.
• Eye of Skadi: Juggernaut is a very squishy hero when none of his abilities are being used. Eye of Skadi helps him tank up, and is also helpful against tanky heroes with a lot of health regen. 
• Aghanim’s Scepter: Gives him a new ability, Swiftslash. It’s a miniature Omnislash great for low commitment, such as using it on enemy supports.
• Nullifier: Juggernaut struggles to land a good Omnislash against items like Ghost Scepter, Eul’s Scepter, or Glimmer Cape. Nullifier allows him to deal with these items and land a clean ultimate. 
• Swift Blink: Getting a Blink Dagger is potent on Juggernaut, allowing him to easily select Omnislash targets. It’s also a great way to follow up an initiation from a teammate. For example, Tidehunter lands a ravage on multiple heroes, and Juggernaut blinks in to Omnislash. 
• Abyssal Blade: An Abyssal Blade is a great way to improve Juggernaut’s man-fighting capabilities, and is also useful against heroes with Black King Bar. However, the other luxury items mentioned earlier feel much better than Abyssal Blade since Juggernaut doesn’t benefit too much from the stats it provides, so get it only when you need to. 

How to Play Juggernaut by Phase

It’s important to understand how Juggernaut should be played in all stages of the game, as he is strong throughout all phases. 

Laning Phase

Juggernaut is one of the strongest carries in lane, primarily due to Blade Fury. Blade Fury offers kill potential, especially when paired with a support hero with a stun or slow. Juggernaut should play in lane aggressively whenever possible.

On top of Blade Fury, Juggernaut also has the ability to skill Healing Ward, which can heal both himself and his support simultaneously. Still, Healing Ward costs a lot of mana, so be sure to get a Magic Wand or additional mana items if needed. 

It’s vital to keep in mind that, though Juggernaut is considered a strong laner, he isn’t the best at trading hits. Don’t force yourself to hit the opponent, as Juggernaut’s laning prominence comes from Blade Fury.

Farming Core Items

After the laning stage, Juggernaut will build either a Maelstrom or a Battle Fury, which will act as his farming item. 

Naturally, Juggernaut isn’t the best at hitting neutral creeps, as his stats aren’t the greatest. You will often notice your health bar dropping down significantly, as Juggernaut does not have built-in tankiness or build any lifesteal items. In this case, use Healing Ward to keep yourself healthy. 

Unlike other carries, Juggernaut has the potential to join teamfights while his core items are yet to be completed. During this stage of the game, try joining fights with Omnislash. Normally, using Omnislash on a support hero will suffice. 

Mid Game

After farming core items, Juggernaut becomes very potent in the mid game. Omnislash becomes one of the best spells in the game during this period, as the enemy team will likely not have Ghost Scepters or Eul’s Scepters yet. This gives Juggernaut free reign to delete any hero with Omnislash. 

In the mid game, it is still alright to spend Omnislash deleting an enemy support whenever possible. Juggernaut isn’t strong enough to kill multiple targets when Omnislash is shared between heroes, so focusing on a single target is recommended. 

However, remember that Juggernaut faces a lot of mana problems during this phase. He does not have enough mana to cast all his spells multiple times, so always be mindful of your current mana pool.

Late Game

The late game can get tricky for Juggernaut. Though you might be the strongest hero in the game, landing clean Omnislashes can be quite difficult, as at this point, most heroes on the enemy team would have built items that deal with your ultimate. 

Unless you have a Nullifier, it is vital to not get too trigger happy when casting Omnislash. Make sure to play out the fight and bait some items before letting it rip. It’s important to be patient and look for the right opportunity to cast your ultimate, as your teamfight contribution significantly drops if a bad Omnislash happens. 

Pro Tips and Tricks for Juggernaut

Now that we’ve made it to the end, let’s go over some tips and tricks to make you a master of Juggernaut:

1. Juggernaut can cast Blade Fury and teleport out of sticky situations. If your enemies do not have stuns that pierce through magic immunity, you can farm more aggressively and get yourself out of gloomy fights.
2. Though Blade Fury is a useful spell for survivability, Juggernaut is extremely vulnerable if he doesn’t get the chance to cast it. Be careful of chain stuns or silences, as he is a squishy hero without his spells. 
3. When Juggernaut attacks enemy heroes while under Blade Fury, there will be sound effects of the attacks landing, but they do not actually deal any damage. You shouldn’t right-click enemy heroes while spinning, as it’ll only slow you down in the chase. However, modifiers such as Maelstrom or Eye of Skadi still apply on those attacks. 
4. Micro your Healing Ward. Though it may take practice, having a Healing Ward survive as long as possible can completely change the outcome of a teamfight. If you are not confident with your micro skills, don’t cast it in the middle of an engagement and waste it – wait until you can do it safely. 
5. You can use items during Omnislash. This means you can cast Abyssal Blade or even Blink Dagger to jump onto another target in a flash.