Abyssal Blade
Mithril Hammer
Belt of Strength
Recipe
Skull Basher in Dota 2: who buys it, when it wins and what it costs
Kevin · Dota2Arena · updated Oct 28, 2026 · numbers live from our scannerSkull Basher costs 2,875 gold and shows up in 26% of ranked matches. Players holding it at the end win 53.4% of their games across 618,907 inventories, most often on Lifestealer and Phantom Assassin. It wins most in the early game (89.3%) and least in the late game (43.7%).
What Skull Basher does
Passive: Bash
Grants melee heroes a 25% chance on hit to stun the target for 1.2 seconds and deal 100 bonus physical damage. Bash chance for ranged heroes is 10%.
In numbers: +30 damage, +10 strength, 2.3s cooldown.
- Does not stack with other sources of Bash.
- The following heroes cannot trigger Bash on this item: Spirit Breaker, Faceless Void, Slardar, and Kez while in Sai mode.
- Does not grant Bash to Clones and Tempest Doubles.
Who buys Skull Basher
The share says how many games of a hero end with Skull Basher 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lifestealer | 27% | 54.3% | 78,712 |
| Phantom Assassin | 26% | 50.3% | 71,385 |
| Anti-Mage | 18% | 47.6% | 63,145 |
| Ursa | 38% | 41.6% | 58,148 |
| Slark | 12% | 58.8% | 37,172 |
| Juggernaut | 9% | 55.5% | 36,959 |
| Marci | 36% | 55.6% | 36,196 |
| Riki | 26% | 57.0% | 31,083 |
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 | 89.3% | 3,538 |
| Mid game | 25–40 min | 64.8% | 278,167 |
| Late game | over 40 min | 43.7% | 337,595 |
What to combine it with
These items sit in the same final inventory as Skull Basher 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 |
|---|---|---|
 Power Treads | 47% | 1,400 |
 Phase Boots | 42% | 1,450 |
 Black King Bar | 39% | 4,050 |
 Battle Fury | 35% | 3,900 |
 Manta Style | 28% | 4,650 |
 Blink Dagger | 27% | 2,250 |
 Aghanim's Scepter | 23% | 4,200 |
 Radiance | 17% | 4,700 |
Frequently asked questions
Is Skull Basher good right now?
In our window Skull Basher ends up in winning inventories 53.4% of the time across 618,907 ranked games, above the 50 % mark. It does best in the early game (89.3%) and worst in the late game (43.7%).
Which heroes buy Skull Basher?
Lifestealer (27% of games), Phantom Assassin (26% of games), Anti-Mage (18% of games), Ursa (38% of games), Slark (12% of games). The highest win rate with it belongs to Night Stalker at 59.8%.
How much does Skull Basher cost and what do you need?
Skull Basher costs 2,875 gold in total: Mithril Hammer (1,600), Belt of Strength (450) and a recipe for 825.
What does Skull Basher build into?
Skull Basher is a component of Abyssal Blade (6,250).