Identify whether healing or defense is keeping an enemy alive, then choose an item your hero can apply.
If an opponent heals back after you damage them, start by checking an anti-heal item your hero can reliably apply. If their health barely falls while they have built physical defense, a physical damage dealer should look at physical penetration instead. Those solve different problems: penetration does not stop healing, and anti-heal does not erase armor.
Find the reason they survive
Open the scoreboard during a safe moment and inspect the opponent's equipment. Notice whether their health rises during the fight, whether shields repeatedly appear, or whether your damage is low from the first hit. Also check your own level and item gap: buying one counter item will not automatically erase a large disadvantage.
| What you observe | First item category to check | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Repeated healing in fights | Healing reduction your hero can trigger | Physical damage: Sea Halberd; magic damage: Glowing Wand |
| High physical defense against your physical damage | Physical penetration | Malefic Roar |
| High magic defense against your magic damage | Magic penetration | Divine Glaive |
A frontline tank can also inspect Dominance Ice: its healing reduction applies to an enemy that damages its wearer, so it may not affect a healer who never attacks the tank. Check the current item description.
Names and effects can change with a patch or locale. Open the item in your current shop and read its description before buying; check how its effect is applied, not just the category. A ranged damage dealer and a front-line tank may not trigger the same defensive effect in the same way.
Change one slot, not the whole plan
Keep the early items your hero needs to function, then bring the counter item forward when the problem starts deciding fights. For example, a physical marksman fighting a repeatedly healing opponent can check Sea Halberd before committing to another pure damage purchase. If the opponent is instead stacking armor and healing is not the issue, consider Malefic Roar after checking its current description.
If you cannot safely hit the target who heals, tell a teammate who can apply the effect; your purchase alone will not affect an untouched opponent. Later, reassess after a fight: did the enemy recover health, or were they protected by armor, shields, positioning or teammates? Use that observation to choose the next slot instead of selling equipment repeatedly in panic.
Once your build is full, replace the least useful slot only when the expected counter is worth losing that slot's damage or survival. Exact item order depends on your hero, gold and opponent; there is no universal six-item sequence.
Sources
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