Phantom Assassin in Dota 2: Complete Guide

Phantom Assassin (PA) is one of the few heroes in Dota 2 who can secure victory even if the match feels like playing 1 vs 9. She is an ideal hero who can initiate a fight, swiftly eliminate almost any enemy, and escape from danger afterward. However, if you want to turn PA into a true killing machine, you must learn how to properly manage her abilities, build the right items, and follow time-tested strategies. Luckily, our guide is here to help.

Who Is Phantom Assassin?

Phantom Assassin (PA) is a Dota 2 Agility hero capable of dealing massive physical damage through swift melee attacks and devastating critical strikes. At the same time, she is known for relatively easy-to-learn game mechanics, which makes PA an excellent choice for new players.

Short Lore Overview

Phantom Assassin, also known as Mortred, is one of the Sisters of the Veil, an ancient and secret order of killers. Through endless training and meditation, she sharpens her focus, delivering deadly strikes that instantly eliminate her targets. Mortred is one of the original heroes who were also present in DotA Allstars.

Hero Role

PA delivers some of the highest physical damage output in the game, making her a classic Carry. She reaches her peak potential in the mid to late game, usually after securing key items and fully scaling her ultimate. Plus, her escape tools, high mobility, and strong evasion compensate for her relatively low HP pool.

Phantom Assassin’s Strengths and Weaknesses

Due to Phantom Assassin’s undeniable efficiency and potential impact on the game, you can often see this hero even in professional matches. On the other hand, it’s crucial to consider her weaknesses, as ignoring them can still cost you the game.

Phantom Assassin Abilities Overview

Our Phantom Assassin Dota 2 guide will help you understand how each PA’s ability works. Review their detailed descriptions to use Mortred’s skills effectively in various in-game situations.

Stifling Dagger

Phantom Assassin throws a dagger that slows an enemy and deals 65 plus 30 percent of PA’s physical attack damage. The dagger also applies the effects from Mortred’s items and other abilities.

Phantom Strike

PA instantly teleports to a target unit, getting bonus attack speed when striking an enemy.

Blur

Mortred starts the match with this ability, and its further upgrades are unlocked each time a player boosts the ultimate. Blur makes PA invisible until she approaches a tower or enemy hero and increases her movement speed.

Immaterial

This passive ability increases Phantom Assassin’s evasion. Immaterial stacks with items that boost evasion.

Coup de Grace

When attacking, there is a 17% chance of gaining Deadly Focus, which guarantees a critical strike. Consider that using Stifling Dagger increases the chance of Deadly Focus activation to 34%.

Fan of Knives (Aghanim’s Scepter Ability)

Phantom Assassin releases sharp blades around her, dealing 30 percent damage to each opponent’s max health and applying the Break effect.

Talents and Facets

During the Draft Phase, you can select one of two facets. This choice defines your overall strategy, so it is essential to approach it carefully.

Further, it’s important to choose talents based on your in-game situation. However, if you are unsure which option is the best, you can simply follow the most popular talent build in the current meta:

How to Play Phantom Assassin?

Our Dota Phantom Assassin guide explains the core objectives you should focus on at every stage of the game. It’s strongly recommended to stick to this plan to ensure an efficient progression and consistent hero’s impact.

Early Game

Once the match begins, your core task is to kill as many enemy creeps in your lane as possible. Keep in mind that PA lacks survivability and damage during the Early Game, so it is better to avoid participating in the team fights until you reach level six.

Mid Game

Even after the fifteenth minute of the match, the PA Dota gameplay resembles a farming simulation, as you will still need a lot of gold to purchase expensive items. Fortunately, by this stage, you should already be able to farm jungle creep camps efficiently, which will significantly increase your income. In addition, your first core items and ultimate ability make Phantom Assassin much more effective in team fights, primarily when she focuses on low-HP targets first.

Late Game

Although Mortred reaches her peak power during the Late Game, she remains vulnerable to the supports with strong nuke spells. Therefore, it is still recommended to focus on eliminating such heroes first when a team fight begins, ideally with your BKB activated.

Additionally, Phantom Assassin can apply pressure to enemy lanes by secretly pushing it while Blur is active. In this situation, enemies will not be able to see you on the minimap, which greatly reduces the chance of being detected.

Best Skill Build for Phantom Assassin

A proper progression of your abilities can determine the outcome of the entire match. In the current meta (patch 7.39e), the most popular Phantom Assassin Dota 2 build includes:

	1		3		5		7
		2		4				8	9
											11		13	14		16
						6						12					17
										10					15

Best Item Build for Phantom Assassin

Understanding the most efficient Dota 2 PA item builds can lay the foundation of your future victories. However, you can not immediately purchase an expensive Black King Bar (BKB), as each stage of the match requires specific items and their gradual progression.

Starting Items

Your initial purchase should address two core issues at the start of the game: low HP and difficulty last-hitting lane creeps. So, the most reliable option is to buy the following items:

Item Name	Tango	Magic Stick	Quelling Blade	Iron Branch x3
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Alternatively, if you are laning against the enemies who spam their abilities (e.g., Zeus), you can opt for another item build:

Item Name	Magic Wand	Town Portal Scroll	Quelling Blade	Iron Branch
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Early-Game Items

Purchase of expensive items is one of the biggest challenges you may face when playing Phantom Assassin. Often, you will need to skip team fights and continue farming to afford them. So, if you play against the heroes with high armor and HP, your optimal item build includes:

Item Name	Battle Fury	Power Treads	Desolator
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If you are facing opponents with numerous stuns and heavy magical damage, it is more reasonable to focus on a slightly different item progression:

Item Name	Battle Fury	Power Treads	Black King Bar
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Core Items

Your core Phantom Assassin Dota build should always be adapted to your specific in-game situation and heroes on the enemy team. In addition, consider purchasing several items that can fix PA’s weaknesses while enhancing her strengths:

Item Name	Satanic	Abyssal Blade	Manta Style
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Luxury Items

Do you see that the game is stuck, so you need to enhance Phantom Assassin to deal more damage while avoiding death? Then, it’s just the right time to focus on farming hard to buy the following luxury items:

Item Name	Aghanim's Shard	Divine Rapier	Disperser
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Situational items

As you can see, a standard Phantom Assassin build may be ineffective against heroes with strong magic abilities. PA is highly vulnerable to targeted stuns and, at the same time, she can do nothing against the units hiding in astral form. Fortunately, certain situational items can help address these problems:

Item Name	Linken's Sphere	Nullifier	Refresher Orb	Moon Shard
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Best Neutral Items for Phantom Assassin

A proper neutral item for the Dota 2 Phantom Assassin can significantly support Mortred’s performance in fights. The table below lists the most recommended options for equipping:

Item Name	Gunpowder Gauntlet	Giant's Maul	Serrated Shiv	Magnifying Monocle
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In addition to the neutral item itself, you can also select one of three enhancements. The best choice is usually the one that maximizes PA’s strengths:

1. Vampiric;
2. Alert;
3. Tough.

Best Counter Picks Against PA

As stated in The Art of War, knowing both your enemy and yourself removes the fear of defeat. And that's why our Phantom Assassin Dota 2 guide will help you discover the most dangerous opponents against this hero and items that can counter her abilities. Below, we also cover the best allies for Mortred.

Worst Enemies

First of all, PA isn’t efficient against tanky heroes as it’s difficult for her to eliminate them swiftly. As a result, Phantom Assassin may be countered by:

1. Axe;
2. Bristleback;
3. Centaur Warrunner;
4. Timbersaw;
5. Underlord;
6. Wraith King.

Mortred is also vulnerable to stuns and hexes, which prevent her from dealing damage or healing through lifesteal (if she has Morbid Mask or Satanic). It is strongly discouraged to pick her against the heroes such as:

1. Bane;
2. Luna;
3. Lion;
4. Pudge;
5. Shadow Shaman.

Counter Items

There are several Phantom Assassin Dota counter items, and you can be 100% sure that someone from the enemy team will buy them to prevent you from massacring. Their list usually includes:

1. Ghost Scepter (saves an enemy from physical damage);
2. Blade Mail (reflects physical damage);
3. Monkey King Bar (pierces evasion);
4. Heaven's Halberd (disarms a hero).

While you cannot control your opponents’ decisions to buy this or that artifact, you must be able to adapt to their strategy right during the match. The most effective way to deal with these items is by using Black King Bar, Nullifier, or Linken’s Sphere.

Best Allies

When your team composition is well-balanced, each hero can fully unleash their potential, often leading to victory. As for Mortred, there is an excellent synergy between her and the following allies:

1. Dazzle;
2. Witch Doctor;
3. Vengeful Spirit;
4. Lion;
5. Shadow Shaman.

Conclusion

Follow the tips and recommendations in this PA Dota 2 guide, and you will soon play like a professional, leaving your opponents with little chance of victory. Also, remember to practice regularly against real players and keep an eye on game updates to stay on top of new metas and efficient strategies. Remember that Phantom Assassin is a nearly undefeatable hero if you know how to play her correctly.