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Bad against...[]
- Enfeeble weakens Viper's attack damage, any healing he receives and his cast range, which makes him unable to harass enemy heroes with Nethertoxin, Poison Attack and Viper Strike.
- Viper's Corrosive Skin is useless against Bane as all of his damaging abilities deal Pure damage.
- Viper has no solutions to cancel Fiend's Grip and in addition, he hates buying disabling items like Eul's Scepter of Divinity.
- Viper's lack of escape and durability means he can be ran over in a laning stage by Spawn Spiderlings.
- Broodmother can bring Viper down quickly with Insatiable Hunger activated.
- Viper has no response to the standard initiation combo of Reality Rift into Chaos Bolt.
- Phantasm and Chaos Strike can eliminate Viper almost instantly with it's damage output.
- Besides Nethertoxin, Viper has no other ways of dealing with Phantasm.
- The Keeper of the Light easily farms on the line against the Viper, due to the fact that it has a long-range Illuminate, and the Viper, in turn, cannot use its advantage of dominance on the center line, due to the fact that it does not reach the Keeper of the Light
- Ice Wall and Ghost Walk can be used to kite and escape from Viper.
- Chaos Meteor and Sun Strike deal heavy damage and can quickly bring Viper down.
- Cold Snap, Tornado, and Deafening Blast are powerful disables that reduce Viper's effectiveness.
- E.M.P. burns Viper's limited mana pool, reducing his potential poison damage.
- Forge Spirits can melt Viper's armor and reduce his durability.
- Viper has no disable, which means he has no way of preventing Morphling from escaping from any of his abilities or keep him inside Nethertoxin.
- Viper is almost exclusively damage over time, which is weak against Morphling due to Attribute Shift (Strength Gain). Additionally, Morphling has no passive abilities, reducing Nethertoxin's effectiveness against him even further.
- Morphling can turn into Viper himself, allowing him to use any of Viper's abilities against him (excluding Viper Strike). This is particularly bad due to the fact that Viper is already a very slow hero, making Poison Attack and Corrosive Skin's slows especially difficult to deal with.
- Rage ignores all of Viper's magical damage, although Viper Strike can pierce spell immunity and slows him down.
- Feast and Open Wounds from Aghanim's Shard can be combined to heal through Viper's physical damage.
- Aghanim's Scepter upgraded Infest can be used to disarm Viper, preventing him from using Poison Attack on Lifestealer's allies.
- Even though Luna has a hard time laning against Viper due to Nethertoxin being able to disable Moon Glaives and Lunar Blessing, Luna can take out Viper once she builds either Black King Bar or Silver Edge which will allow her to attack Viper freely.
- Eclipse can often finish off Viper from early-to-mid stages of the game before he can retaliate as Corrosive Skin gives little magic resistance to him early on.
- Manta Style is an item that Luna commonly buys in most of the games, which lets her disjoint Viper Strike. Additionally, illusions from Manta Style can make Viper waste time attacking them.
- Phantom Lancer can overwhelm Viper with spawned illusions from Spirit Lance and Doppelganger.
- Viper's various slows do not work against Phantom Rush. Additionally, it is almost impossible to keep Lancer inside Nethertoxin's radius in order to disable the passive.
- Pugna's Decrepify allows him to save allies from being ganked by Viper, since Viper mostly relies on direct attacks in order to deal damage.
- Nether Ward can discourage Viper from spamming his abilities.
- Viper's damage over time is not enough to kill Pugna as he will have more than enough time to save himself (or his allies) with Life Drain and Viper has no solutions to cancel it.
- Pugna has no passive abilities, which renders Nethertoxin nearly useless.
- If Rubick can use Spell Steal to take Nethertoxin, he will be able to disable Corrosive Skin, reducing much of Viper's durability.
- He can also steal Viper Strike, which can be used to hinder a hero on your team (or multiple heroes, if Rubick has Aghanim's Scepter).
- Viper's damage over time and lack of disables makes him easy to Sunder.
- Viper's physical damage is mitigated by Terrorblade's high armor.
- Terrorblade under Metamorphosis can quickly kill Viper with heavy physical damage.
- Shukuchi ignores slows and allows Weaver to escape Viper's onslaught.
- Time Lapse dispels Poison Attack and Corrosive Skin and undoes poison damage.
- Weaver's high burst damage allows him to kill Viper before being killed.
- Windrun evades Poison Attack and counteracts the slow.
- Viper's low mobility makes him an easy Shackleshot target.
- Focus Fire grants Windranger significant physical damage output to quickly wear Viper down.
- Powershot is a strong harassment and zoning tool against Viper in lane.
- Viper's Nethertoxin cannot disable Reincarnation, which could put him in disadvantage against Wraith King if his whole team is with him.
- In addition, Viper doesn't like buying Diffusal Blade, which is the only item that can help him against Wraith King.
- Wraith King's high burst damage allows him to kill Viper before being killed.
Others[]
- Viper cannot interrupt heroes with powerful channeling abilities: Bane, Enigma, Shadow Shaman, Warlock
- Heroes with a built-in haste can ignore Viper's slows: Dark Seer, Lycan
- Illusion or summon-based heroes can be a problem to Viper due to his lack of AoE damage: Naga Siren, Phantom Lancer, Beastmaster
- Heroes with high physical or pure burst damage can kill Viper before his damage over time sets in.
- Heroes that can drain mana negatively affect Viper's ability to use Poison Attack, Nethertoxin and Viper Strike: Lion, Anti-Mage
- Heroes who do not have nor rely on passive abilities make Nethertoxin much less effective: Clinkz, Pugna, Nature's Prophet, Dark Seer, Lycan, Tusk
Items[]
- Town Portal Scroll allows heroes to escape from Viper, as he cannot interrupt it nor kill a healthy hero before they teleport.
- Black King Bar nullifies most of Viper's arsenal as most of his damage comes from his damage-over-time abilities.
- Ghost Scepter can protect against Viper's attacks. And when upgraded into Ethereal Blade, it can reduce his magic resistance that Corrosive Skin provides him while also disarming him, rendering him unable to use Poison Attack and increasing cast range, which allows it's owners to fight against Viper without getting into range of Corrosive Skin.
- Glimmer Cape's invisibility prevents Viper from attacking the target, and the magic resistance counteracts Viper's damage over time.
- Force Staff can allow a hero to escape while slowed by Viper, or to close the gap on Viper while he is on the run. Later it can be upgraded into Hurricane Pike that can do the same while also increasing attack range, which allows it's owners to fight against Viper without getting into range of Corrosive Skin.
- Silver Edge's break disables Corrosive Skin, making him weaker even against the heroes he naturally counters.
- Manta Style can disjoint Viper Strike and can make Viper waste time attacking illusions.
- Diffusal Blade can slow Viper with its active ability and pin him down while burning his mana.
- Linken's Sphere blocks Viper Strike, and Viper has no other ways to break the Spell Block. In addition, Viper hates buying disabling items.
- Lotus Orb will reflect Viper Strike back at Viper, discouraging him from using it himself. It also dispels most enemy debuffs.
Good against...[]
- Because Poison Attack has almost no cooldown, Aphotic Shield is ineffective as a hard dispel.
- Viper Strike can prevent Borrowed Time from activating passively and block Curse of Avernus.
- Viper Strike prevents Counter Helix from triggering, which significantly lowers Axe's damage output in the early to mid game.
- Viper's various slows and damage over time prevents Axe from initiating as well as putting his Blink Dagger on cooldown.
- Viper Strike can disable Bristleback and prevents Warpath from building stacks. Besides losing his defensive passive, Bristleback also loses his ability to build up damage over lengthy battles.
- Viper can perpetually kite Bristleback with Poison Attack and Viper Strike.
- Dragon Knight is easily harassed by Poison Attack after the laning stage ends.
- Corrosive Skin protects Viper from Breathe Fire and returns damage.
- Viper Strike can disable Dragon Blood, Dragon's Knight main source of armor and health regeneration.
- Between Poison Attack and Viper Strike, Viper can keep Dragon Knight permanently slowed even in Elder Dragon Form.
- Being a melee hero, Earthshaker's movement is liable to suppression by Poison Attack and Viper Strike.
- Earthshaker's kit, with the exception of Enchant Totem, deals magic damage. Corrosive Skin effectively blunts his killing potential with a standard Blink combo among other things.
- Viper Strike can disable Aftershock, which removes the stun and bonus damage from Enchant Totem and Echo Slam.
- Viper Strike can disable Berserker's Blood, which Huskar relies upon for attack speed and healing.
- The damage from Burning Spear and Life Break is largely absorbed by Corrosive Skin. It also will return some damage, making it risky to use Burning Spears in the laning stage.
- Because Huskar wants to be on low health for Berserker's Blood, he is particularly vulnerable to Poison Attack.
- Most of Magnus's abilities except Empower will trigger damage through Corrosive Skin.
- Poison Attack and Viper Strike can slow Magnus during Skewer, as well as putting his Blink Dagger on cooldown, preventing him from initiating or re-initiating.
- Viper Strike can disable Bulwark entirely, making Mars far less tanky. Using Nethertoxin inside Arena Of Blood may discourage enemies from following up with Mars's initiation.
- Rod of Atos is currently common on Viper and keeps Mars in position long enough to be killed.
- However, Viper is not very tanky earlier in the game, so positioning against Mars is important for Viper since a well-timed Spear of Mars can be the end of Viper.
- Viper Strike prevents the buildup of Jingu Mastery stacks.
- Monkey King's high base movement speed is of little worth against the array of slows Viper possesses.
- All of Viper's magical damage over time stops Monkey King from using Tree Dance. It also ignores the extra armor bestowed by Wukong's Command.
- Viper wins on the central line of Puck, because he has a huge damage from the Poison Attack ability, which Puck is not able to constantly avoid using Phase Shift, which will give Viper an advantage in the possible damage inflicted on each other
- Puck takes more damage than it does due to the passive Corrosive Skin ability of the Viper, which makes it unprofitable for the Puck to fight against the Viper at an early stage of the game, when the Puck has a very small pool of health
- Viper Strike prevents Heartstopper Aura from dealing damage or healing Necrophos.
- Viper's magic damage is amplified whenever Ghost Shroud is used.
- Corrosive Skin makes Viper tankier against Death Pulse and Reaper's Scythe.
- Corrosive Skin minimizes the damage from Impale and Mind Flare, and anything else Nyx Assassin tries to throw at Viper.
- Nyx Assassin cannot survive several poison damage-over-time output from Poison Attack, Nethertoxin, Corrosive Skin and Viper Strike, not even while he has Spiked Carapace active. And to make things worse, Nyx Assassin is not a common Silver Edge wielder to counter this problem at all.
- Storm Surge is counteracted by Viper Strike, leaving Razor without his extra movement speed.
- Static Link's damage drain doesn't bother Viper a lot as most of his early to mid game damage is magical.
- Viper Strike can disable Essence Shift and the regeneration aspect of Shadow Dance.
- Dark Pact doesn't mean a lot against Viper's ubiquitous slows.
- Viper becomes a relevant presence in team fights before Slark can procure his standard items (e.g. Shadow Blade).
- Viper Strike can disable Desolate and Dispersion, leaving Spectre with far less damage output and damage mitigation in engagements.
- Spectre is one of the weakest heroes at early levels. Viper can stifle her farm with early fights before Spectre purchases any major items.
- All of Viper's abilities quickly burn through Refraction charges.
- Templar Assassin's short range, aside from Psi Blades' spill damage, makes her vulnerable to Poison Attack harassment.
- Templar Assassin usually buys health and armor items for damage. Outside of Black King Bar, Viper will almost always be able to kill her when Refraction is down.
- Viper Strike cancels out Kraken Shell and stops the hard dispel from passively activating, preventing Tidehunter from functioning as a frontline tank.
- Anchor Smash is mostly irrelevant against a ranged hero like Viper.
- Tidehunter relies on the threat of Ravage, which has an obscenely long cooldown. Viper can exploit the downtime with his short cooldowns.
- Viper Strike can disable the attack damage bonus from Vengeance Aura and the components of Nether Swap.
- Both Magic Missile and Wave of Terror are counteracted by Corrosive Skin, making Vengeful Spirit's fighting harder against Viper.
- Corrosive Skin means Viper can often outlast Venomancer in a battle of attrition.
- Venomancer has no mobility without items, which makes him vulnerable to constant slows.
- Viper Strike can disable Gravekeeper's Cloak, Visage's primary defense mechanism.
- Viper can ignore Grave Chill's attack speed slow with his magic damage output.
- Corrosive Skin severely reduces Zeus's damage output throughout the game.
- During the laning stage, Viper can abuse Zeus' reliance on spells by hugging the creep wave. Zeus will take constant damage over time from Corrosive Skin unless he drives Viper from the lane or returns to farming in his absence.
- Prior to buying Blink Dagger or Force Staff, Zeus is fragile and possesses low mobility. Any of Viper's numerous slows can set up an easy kill.
Others[]
- Melee heroes with low mobility can be kited and killed by Viper: Treant Protector, Kunkka, Alchemist, Troll Warlord, Wraith King, Tiny, Sven.
- Heroes reliant on magical damage cannot easily wear Viper down due to Corrosive Skin.
- Any hero that relies on a passives is vulnerable to Viper Strike.
Items[]
- Blink Dagger will continuously be on cooldown with Viper's damage over time spells.
Works well with...[]
- The combination of Aphotic Shield and Mist Coil make Viper nearly unkillable after he egresses the laning phase.
- The AS/MS slow from Poison Attack sets up Curse of Avernus and vice versa.
- Beastmaster by nature expediently pushes towers with maximum points in Inner Beast and Call of the Wild Boar. The aura boosts Viper's DPS while the boars contribute additional slows to assist Poison Attack.
- Primal Roar solves Viper's lack of disables that pierce spell immunity.
- Hookshot into Power Cogs, combined with Nethertoxin, equals death for many opponents: the magic resistance reduction empowers Battery Assault while Cogs isolate heroes for Viper to focus.
- Clockwerk only needs levels to begin rotating for ganks and 1-2 items to significantly contribute to team fights. This ramp-up aligns with Viper's power curve.
- Arcane Aura grants the necessary mana regeneration for Viper to use Poison Attack in the lane. Unlike Keeper of the Light she does not have to rotate to help him in this regard.
- Crystal Maiden is very slow with low health. Viper acts as a distraction with his innate tankiness so she can get off her spells without interruption, especially Freezing Field.
- Ion Shell heavily punishes melee opponents that attempt to kill Viper with standard attacks instead of magic damage. It also pushes out the side lanes quickly, a task Viper needs others to perform.
- Surge is one of the best abilities to boost Viper's low base movement speed.
- Poison Touch in practice is an intuitive combination with Poison Attack. Even if the target runs away, it is easy to refresh its duration by throwing out Poison Attack and Nethertoxin. This is particularly strong in the early stages of the game.
- Shallow Grave and Shadow Wave can save Viper in dangerous spots while he continues to wear down his opponents.
- Bad Juju steadily decreases enemy armor throughout long battles, the type of scuffles Viper excels in.
- Precision Aura greatly increases Viper's attack speed, making his laning phase even stronger.
- Gust and Frost Arrows combined with Viper's slows make it difficult for an enemy to escape.
- Nethertoxin eliminates the defenses of several heroes that Drow Ranger struggles to kill.
- Corrosive Skin makes Viper tanky so he can shield Drow Ranger, who prefers to output damage from the backline.
- Between Boulder Smash, Rolling Boulder and Geomagnetic Grip, the hero is proficient at setting up kills in the midgame. Viper and Earth Spirit become a potent ganking duo that can secure map control.
- Earth Spirit is one of the best supports for ganking the midlane. He can secure Viper an advantage before level 5, a period when the hero is traditionally mediocre.
- Magnetize contributes strong area-of-effect damage over time, setting up Poison Attack's inverse scaling.
- Earth Spirit doesn't need Viper to position himself in a defensive manner; he has such high health that he takes the initiative and willingly barrels into fights.
- Chronosphere provides easy targets for Viper to pick off from a distance.
- When used in the middle of a team fight, Time Dilation halts the cooldown of disables that are troublesome for Viper to deal with.
- Nethertoxin's break mechanic makes many heroes that Faceless Void struggles to kill much easier to take down.
- Viper creates space for Faceless Void to farm up lategame items since the former is a potent threat so early in the game.
- Frost Shield protects Viper from the majority of damage thrown his way. Additionally, it sets up counterattacks by slowing and damaging nearby enemies.
- Sinister Gaze locks fleeing opponents in place, ensuring they can't run away from the slow carry.
- Chain Frost is a powerful deterrent against teams that aim to dogpile Viper and kill him before the fight extends too long.
- Lich has no escape abilities, making him vulnerable if exposed in team fights. Viper draws attention away from him, enabling Lich to use all his abilities without interruption.
- Level 4 Lunar Blessing turns Viper into an intimidating tower pusher when combined with inexpensive items like Dragon Lance, Helm of the Dominator, and Drum of Endurance.
- As a hero oriented towards early and midgame battles, Viper makes space on the map for Luna to farm the expensive stats items that make her powerful.
- Luna can split-push with Manta Style, ameliorating Viper's lack of movement speed.
- Heartstopper Aura whittles down enemy health over time, making them more susceptible to Poison Attack.
- Death Pulse replenishes Viper's health in small amounts. It can be repeatedly used in fights to save him from certain death.
- Like Viper, Necrophos hits his first power peak soon after the laning phase ends.
- Necrophos frequently buys items that synergize with Viper's abilities, except they are either obnoxiously expensive or lose effectiveness too quickly to be prudent on the hero itself. These include Radiance, Veil of Discord, and Guardian Greaves.
- Preemptive Bloodlust accelerates Viper's farm, doubly so if he buys Maelstrom.
- Ignite as well as Ogre Magi's high base attributes and armor help secure the lane for Viper early on.
- Slithereen Crush interrupts channeling abilities and can lock down a target for Viper to kill.
- Corrosive Haze massively increases Viper's single-target damage.
- Both Viper and Slardar fight at the same pace. They possess low cooldown spells and the tankiness to use them several times in a fight.
- Living Armor protects Viper in lane without the need for rotations. Combined with Corrosive Skin, Viper becomes almost impossible to gank.
- Overgrowth locks opponents in place for Viper to attack them.
Others[]
- Viper excels when he is assisted by heals and other means of survival: Pudge, Witch Doctor, Oracle
- Viper is a robust tank that can protect fragile ranged heroes with high damage output: Sniper, Dark Willow, Tinker, Weaver
- Heroes with magic resistance reduction amplify the power of Nethertoxin and vice versa: Pugna, Skywrath Mage, Elder Titan
- Heroes with abilities that increase movement speed compensate for his mobility issues: Dark Seer, Ogre Magi
