Centaur Warrunner in Dota 2: Complete Guide

Centaur Warrunner is one of the most durable initiators in the game, able to absorb a lot of damage while also dishing out punishment in return. However, the rather low pick rate of just 7.49% suggests that most players struggle to get the most out of Centaur’s kit. Luckily, our Centaur Dota 2 guide is here to help you master his abilities and discover the best item builds for different in-game situations.

Who is Centaur Warrunner in Dota 2?

But before we talk about how this hero plays, let’s take a look at his background.

Lore Overview

Centaur has been a part of the hero pool since DotA Allstars, and was then known as Bradwarden the Centaur Warchief. Once a brutal barbarian from the Druud clan who defeated every enemy in Omexe, this Centaur warrior came to the battle between the Ancients to find worthy opponents. His real name, Bradwarden, is a reference to the centaur from the first Demon Wars trilogy by R.A. Salvatore. Neat!

Hero Type & Primary Role

In game, Centaur is an aggressive tank who can withstand significant physical damage due to his extensive HP pool. At the same time, his abilities allow the hero to stun and deal damage to the attackers, making him a serious threat in solo fights. As a rule, Centaur Warrunner is played as an Offlaner (Position 3), but can also be played as a Soft Support (Position 4).

Key Gameplay Identity

Uniquely among the tanky heroes, Dota 2 Centaur Warrunner can sacrifice health to deal damage via Double Edge. This is a big part of what makes him interesting, and can give you an edge in virtually any fight as long as you know what you're doing. Finally, Retaliate makes the hero heavily dependent on Strength, since the reflected damage directly depends on this attribute.

Centaur Warrunner’s Strengths and Weaknesses

Now, let’s take a closer look at the hero’s pros and cons. Here’s what Centaur Warrunner looks like at a glance.

Strengths

Dota 2 Centaur is a dangerous opponent, and underestimating his power can cost enemies their throne. Bradwarden always has several aces in the hole:

1. High health: Centaur has one of the largest HP pools in Dota 2, enabling him to survive even when focused in a fight.
2. Strong AoE initiation: Stampede is a massive team-wide movement speed and damage buff based on the Centaur’s Strengths. It is a perfect tool for quick engagement, repositioning, or escape.
3. Effective both in teamfights and in duels: AoE stun, durability, and damage reflection make Bradwarden efficient in both team and solo fights.
4. Item scalability: Centaur Warrunner can get the most out of both cheap items (Bracer or Vanguard) and expensive artifacts like Heart of Tarasque. Naturally, this grants the hero a great deal of versatility.

Weaknesses

Like any hero in Dota 2, Bradwarden has some blind spots. The most important of them are:

1. Weak in early game: Low mana pool and armor, combined with reliance on self-damaging Double Edge, make early-game Centaur vulnerable to physical damage despite his large health pool.
2. Poor magic resistance: Bradwarden has low base magic resistance, which makes him susceptible to burst magic damage from nukers like Lina and Timbersaw.
3. Requires proper positioning in fights: Without items like Blink Dagger, Centaur Warrunner relies heavily on positioning and timing to initiate a fight with Hoof Stomp. In other words, getting caught out of position means quick yet painful death.

Centaur Warrunner Abilities Overview

In this part of our Centaur Warrunner Dota 2 guide, we’ll discuss the hero's core abilities and Aghanim’s upgrades. The table below includes everything you need to know about each of his skills.

Icon	Ability Name	Short Description	Cooldown	Manacost	Aghanim’s Upgrade
	Hoof Stomp	AoE stun that is best used after initiating with Stampede or Blink Dagger. It allows Centaur to lock down enemies, secure kills, and set up for a later Double Edge cast.	18 / 16 / 14 / 12	100 / 110 / 120 / 130	-
	Double Edge	Low-cooldown AoE ability that causes damage to both enemies and the Centaur himself. It’s a good option for fast farming and harassing enemies on the lane, as well as securing kills on low-HP enemies.	3.5	0	Aghanim’s Shard causes Double Edge to slow enemies and increases the Centaur’s strength for each hero hit for a short time.
	Retaliate	Passive ability that deals a fixed amount of damage to the attacker each time Centaur is hit. Scales with Strength, and also works on towers! Great for when you get focused in teamfights.	-	-	-
	Stampede	Ultimate ability that gives your entire team a burst of movement speed, useful for initiation, picking off lone opponents, or escaping. Has a strong synergy with AoE lockdowns and allies who lack speed but need to get close and personal to shine.	100 / 95 / 90	150 / 200 / 250	-
	Work Horse	Perfect addition to Centaur’s escape and disengage toolkit. This ability allows you to hitch an ally to save their life while dealing damage from Stampede to nearby enemies. Also looks positively hilarious in-game.	35	75	Aghanim’s  Scepter Upgrade

How to Play Centaur Warrunner

Centaur is relatively straightforward gameplay-wise, making him an excellent hero for new players. However, there are still some rules to keep in mind if you want to get the most out of his kit.

Laning Stage Strategy

Dota 2 Centaur Warchief usually starts the match at the hard lane in the third position. Up to the 15th minute, your core objectives will be:

1. Surviving poke from the enemy carry.
2. Prevent your lane opponents from farming.
3. Get enough gold to buy the first items to enhance your survivability.

Mid-Game Gameplay

From the 15th minute, your team will start initiating fights and ganking lanes, and your task is to take part in every battle you can. Remember to properly position yourself and your teammates before using Stampede to initiate. Also, analyze which heroes cause the most damage to you and counter them with items.

Late-Game Gameplay

In the late game, Centaur transforms into a walking tank with an extremely high HP pool, strong regen, and good passive damage via Retaliate, especially when boosted by items like Blade Mail. At this stage, your core tasks will be:

1. Initiating fights on the enemy's high ground and pushing lanes.
2. Protecting your carry and midlaner.
3. Avoiding solo fights since you’ll be an easy target for heroes with strong lifesteal abilities or items.

Best Skill Build for Centaur Warrunner

There’s no single best Dota 2 Centaur Warrunner skill build, and your choice of abilities should always depend on the situation you find yourself in. However, the most popular way of handling his abilities and talents in the current meta looks something like this:

	1												13	14		16
		2	3		5		7
				4				8	9		11
						6						12					18
										10					15

Early Game Skill Order

Your early game largely depends on what your opponents are doing. If your enemies play passively, go for Hoof Stomp and Double Edge for more damage. If you face pressure from your lane opponents, try prioritizing defense and focus on Hoof Stomp and Retaliate.

Mid–Late Game Priorities

In a mid-late game, you should prioritize Stampede since this ability provides your team with strong fight initiation. Also, if you notice that you keep getting focused in teamfights, try maximizing Retaliate. Alternatively, if you play against enemies with small HP pools and have already assembled some survivability items, you may focus more on damage output with Double Edge and Hoof Stomp.

Best Item Build for Centaur Warrunner

Let's briefly go through the Centaur build for each stage of the game. Moreover, we’ve calculated how much gold you’ll need to spend to obtain all these items.

Starting Items

At the start of the match, you should purchase items and utilities that make the laning phase more comfortable:

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Item Name	Circlet	Gauntlets of Strength x2	Tango
Total price	525 gold

Early-Game Items

The early game stage lasts up to the 15th minute of the match. By this time, you must collect enough gold to buy:

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Item Name	Bracer x2 Item Dota 2	Chainmail Item Dota 2	Phase Boots Item Dota 2	Blink Dagger Item Dota 2	Cloak Item Dota 2
Total price	6,110 gold

Mid-Game Items

Mid-game lasts from the 15th to the 35th minute. Once there, you must focus on increasing your survivability to withstand team fights. Here are some items that work well with Centaur:

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Item Name	Ring of Tarrasque	Pipe of Insight	Aghanim's Shard	Shiva's Guard
Total price	11,200 gold

Late-Game Items

Our Dota 2 Centaur item build focuses on maximizing the hero’s survivability. If that’s your thing, we suggest you purchase the following items:

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Item Name	Heart of Tarrasque	Overwhelming Blink	Aghanim's Blessing
Total price	13,750 gold

Situational Items

These are the items that you can purchase in specific in-game situations to boost your damage or specific abilities:

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Item Name	Crimson Guard	Blade Mail	Sange & Yasha

Luxury Items

If the game goes perfectly and you have more gold than the Secret Shop merchant, you can think about purchasing some luxury items, such as:

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Item Name	Lotus Orb	Black King Bar

Best Counter Picks Against Centaur Warrunner

Here, we’ll discuss the main Centaur Warrunner counter picks and his best lane buddies.

Heroes That Counter Centaur Warrunner

The table below showcases the top 5 Centaur Dota 2 counter picks. It’s better to avoid choosing Bradwarden if you see any of these heroes in the enemy team:

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Hero Name	Clinkz	Legion Commander	Invoker	Ember Spirit	Slark

Items That Counter Centaur Warrunner

Your enemies can also assemble items to counter you. You should be extra careful if you notice one of the following artifacts in your opponent’s inventories:

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Item Name	Silver Edge	Spirit Vessel	Satanic

Best Allies & Synergies

Finally, let’s end our Centaur Warrunner Dota 2 with a small list of his best allies:

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Hero Name	Bane	Elder Titan	Visage	Ogre Magi	Void Spirit

Conclusion

Follow the tips from our Dota 2 Centaur guide to boost your performance and increase MMR. Remember that it’s always a good idea to test a hero in a match with bots so you can better understand their kit. Furthermore, try to play with friends whenever you can to get the most out of Centaur’s ultimate ability.