Is BKB worth buying in Dota 2 patch 7.33?

Black King Bar is one of the most famous items in Dota 2. It’s been around for ages and virtually every core player is buying the item at the professional level. Or at least, that’s what used to be the case until Dota 2 patch 7.33.

BKB continues to be a highly popular item, but it’s certainly not as useful as before. The nerfs it received are severe and at this point, it’s certainly worth wondering whether or not there are better options.

The purpose and weaknesses of Black King Bar

You buy a BKB because you want to be able to escape certain death in situations where the enemy team surrounds and chain-stuns you while you are not with your teammates. It could easily happen during the mid and late game.

Another reason why BKB is considered to be a useful item is that it protects you from magic resistance to a large extent.

The main problem, however, is that now you can be stunned by all kinds of abilities through your BKB. Before, you only had to worry about a Faceless Void’s Chronosphere or a Magnus ultimate. But now you can get stunned even by Lion’s Q.

In addition to this problem, if someone casts spells on you a few seconds before the BKB usage expires, those spells will affect you after the item’s active dissipates. You do get +50% magic resistance if you’re getting hit by magic through your BKB, but after it expires, you simply suffer the full consequences of the spell.

Another problem with BKB is that its active duration decreases to a point where its usefulness is not very high. If someone manages to bait you into pressing it before the ideal moment, you will have wasted it for the fight. And if you delay pressing it for too long, you might get killed or lose most of your HP before you get the chance to use it.

Better alternatives

A better alternative to BKB would be to simply purchase HP, magic resistance, armor, or status resistance, depending on the situation. The item is designed to protect against magic and make it difficult for your opponents to kill you while you are stunned. So why not become tanky enough to survive all of that damage?

One advantage when you become tankier instead of buying a BKB is that some of your teammates, instead of being targeted by enemy spells, will be spared. When you’re immune, the spells are still being used on someone. Just not on you.

Header: Valve Corporation