Mithril Hammer
Ogre Axe
Recipe
Black King Bar in Dota 2: who buys it, when it wins and what it costs
Kevin · Dota2Arena · updated Oct 28, 2026 · numbers live from our scannerBlack King Bar costs 4,050 gold and shows up in 90% of ranked matches. Players holding it at the end win 53.3% of their games across 5,453,831 inventories, most often on Dragon Knight and Phantom Assassin. It wins most in the early game (84.8%) and least in the late game (50.4%).
Black King Bar is the item you buy when the enemy has spells that decide fights: stuns, silences, hexes, roots. The active, Avatar, makes you immune to most of them for a few seconds and dispels what is already on you. It is not a damage item and not a tank item; it is a "let me do my job" item for cores that get locked down.
What Black King Bar does
Active: Avatar
Applies a basic dispel. Grants 60% magic resistance and immunity to reflected and pure damage. For the duration of the effect, any negative effect from enemy spells has no effect. Duration: 9 / 8 / 7s Dispel Type: Basic Dispel
In numbers: +10 strength, +24 damage, 95s cooldown, 50 mana.
- Purchasing another Black King Bar will not reset its immunity duration.
- Avatar duration is not affected by increases to buff duration.
Who buys Black King Bar
The share says how many games of a hero end with Black King Bar in the inventory, the win rate is that hero's win rate in exactly those games. A high share with an average win rate means the item is standard on the hero; a low share with a high win rate means it is a situational pick that works when it is needed.
| Hero | Share of games | Win rate with it | Games |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dragon Knight | 75% | 55.4% | 235,554 |
| Phantom Assassin | 82% | 55.2% | 227,759 |
| Axe | 61% | 54.6% | 223,426 |
| Legion Commander | 63% | 56.6% | 216,660 |
| Sven | 83% | 53.3% | 186,618 |
| Windranger | 47% | 51.1% | 169,410 |
| Luna | 60% | 52.0% | 147,861 |
| Pudge | 23% | 58.1% | 133,412 |
Cores that need to stand still and hit, or that have to land a channelled or long-cast ultimate, buy it almost by default against heavy disable. Supports almost never do, because they are not the ones being targeted first.
When to buy it
Win rate by match length tells you in which kind of game the item pays off. Items that win short games are usually bought early and snowball; items that win long games are late-game purchases or things you buy when the game is already going well, so read the number as "games with this item at this length" rather than as advice to rush it.
| Phase | Match length | Win rate | Games |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early game | under 25 min | 84.8% | 13,011 |
| Mid game | 25–40 min | 59.7% | 1,700,464 |
| Late game | over 40 min | 50.4% | 3,744,030 |
The right moment is when the enemy lineup starts to kill you through your allies, usually after the first big fights. Buying it before that point wastes a slot that could carry farm or stats; buying it too late means you have already lost the fights it was meant to win.
What to combine it with
These items sit in the same final inventory as Black King Bar most often (based on every 4th match). Boots and other staples appear on almost every list; the interesting entries are the ones specific to this item.
| Item | In the same inventory | Cost |
|---|---|---|
 Blink Dagger | 47% | 2,250 |
 Power Treads | 41% | 1,400 |
 Phase Boots | 27% | 1,450 |
 Aghanim's Scepter | 24% | 4,200 |
 Daedalus | 12% | 5,200 |
 Blade Mail | 11% | 2,400 |
 Manta Style | 10% | 4,650 |
 Boots of Travel | 10% | 2,500 |
- The duration shrinks with every use, so the first few activations matter most. Pop it for the fight, not for a single stun.
- It does not stop every spell. Check the enemy heroes for abilities that pierce spell immunity before you rely on it.
- The dispel on activation removes most slows and silences, so cast it after you have been hit, not before.
Common mistakes
- Activating it at the start of every fight by reflex, even when nobody has cast anything yet.
- Buying it against physical damage lineups where armour or evasion would have won the fights.
- Treating it as the last core item when the enemy has two or three hard disables; then it belongs earlier in the build.
Frequently asked questions
Is Black King Bar good right now?
In our window Black King Bar ends up in winning inventories 53.3% of the time across 5,453,831 ranked games, above the 50 % mark. It does best in the early game (84.8%) and worst in the late game (50.4%).
Which heroes buy Black King Bar?
Dragon Knight (75% of games), Phantom Assassin (82% of games), Axe (61% of games), Legion Commander (63% of games), Sven (83% of games). The highest win rate with it belongs to Crystal Maiden at 61.6%.
How much does Black King Bar cost and what do you need?
Black King Bar costs 4,050 gold in total: Mithril Hammer (1,600), Ogre Axe (1,000) and a recipe for 1,450.