Dota 2 Checker: Basic or Strong Dispel? The Dispel Checker Tool
The Dispel Checker Tool shows for every Dota 2 spell and item whether a basic dispel removes it, only a strong dispel does, or nothing does, plus every strong and basic dispel item and skill.
Who is casting on you?Add up to 5 enemy heroes. Axe sorts their debuffs: basic dispel, strong dispel, or stuck on you.
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Something stuck on you? Type it in. Axe tells you if soap helps, strong soap helps, or nothing helps.
This tool is created with love for Dota 2 and for helping you to play better every day and rank up! Have Fun and Enjoy!
By Kevin “Kevin10k”·Dota 2 Expert · Mid & Offlane PlayerArticle updated
The Dota 2 Dispel Checker Tool
You are silenced, slowed and on fire, and you have a Manta Style. Does it help? The Dispel Checker Tool answers for every spell and item in Dota 2: a basic dispel removes it, only a strong dispel removes it, or nothing removes it. Type the spell, read the big answer, see which items and heroes would wash it off. Axe sat in the tub for an hour with a Doom on him. The tub did not help. The tool would have told him.
Check a spell: search any ability or item effect, like Doom, Hex, Nullifier or Spirit Vessel. You get the verdict, the effect chips and everything that removes it.
Enemy lineup: add up to five enemies and see their debuffs in three columns. Click your own dispel (Manta, Eul's, Lotus, Aeon Disk, or your hero) to light up what it clears.
Dispel sources: every basic and strong dispel in the game, items and heroes, with what each one does on top.
Axe explains
Dispels in 10 seconds
183enemy debuffs go with a basic dispel.
52need a strong dispel.
118cannot be dispelled at all.
1item has a strong dispel: Aeon Disk.
Counted from the Dispellable line in the game's own ability data. Axe counted twice. Same number.
Basic dispel vs strong dispel: what each one removes
Dota 2 has two strengths of dispel. A basic dispel removes most effects that change your stats: slows, silences, damage over time, armor reductions, and most buffs when it is cast on an enemy. A strong dispel removes everything a basic one does plus the hard disables: stuns, hexes, roots, fears and sleeps. A few effects are marked as not dispellable and only end when their duration runs out or when you die. The chart counts the enemy debuffs in the game's data by effect type: green is a basic dispel, orange needs a strong dispel, red cannot be dispelled.
Which dispel removes which effectEnemy debuffs by effect type, counted from Valve's Dispellable field and Liquipedia's modifier lists. One spell can carry several effects.
basic dispel removes it
only a strong dispel
cannot be dispelled
Slow9125120
Silence1318
Damage over time331756
Root1014
Stun14411671
Hex3
Disarm12
Break10
Mute2
Taunt3
Fear10
Sleep1
Two rules to remember. A dispel on an ally (or yourself) only removes debuffs, never buffs. A dispel on an enemy only removes buffs, never debuffs. So Nullifier takes an enemy's Ghost Scepter away but leaves your Doom on him, and your Manta Style removes the silence on you but never your own Haste rune. Every enemy-targeted dispel in the game is a basic one, which is why buffs that need a strong dispel are safe from enemies.
Basic dispel is a wet rag. Strong dispel is Axe with a brush. Not dispellable is a tattoo.
Dispel is not immunity. The BKB Checker shows which spells still go through Black King Bar after its dispel.
Strong dispel items and skills: the full list
19 sources in the game apply a strong dispel: 1 item and 18 hero abilities, 6 of them only with a talent, Scepter, Shard or facet. Most of them are self-saves that trigger when you are low, the rest are cast on an ally.
Aeon Disk Item · on yourselfCombo Breaker: below 70% health a strong dispel fires by itself, then 2.5 seconds of near-immunity.
Aphotic Shield Abaddon · on an allyStrong dispel on the ally, then a damage barrier that bursts.
Borrowed Time Abaddon · on yourselfDispels Abaddon and turns all damage into healing. Triggers by itself below the threshold.
Press The Attack Legion Commander · on an allyRemoves debuffs and disables from the ally, plus movement speed and regen.
False Promise Oracle · on an allyRemoves most negative effects and delays all damage and healing.
Supernova Phoenix · on yourselfPhoenix becomes a sun: strong dispel on cast, full health and mana when it hatches.
Dark Pact Slark · on yourselfAfter a short delay, a series of pulses purges most negative debuffs.
Time Lapse Weaver · on an allyRewinds Weaver (or an ally with Scepter) five seconds and removes most negative buffs.
Enrage Ursa · on yourselfRemoves any existing debuffs, then damage reduction and status resistance.
Blade Fury Juggernaut · on yourselfDebuff immune while spinning, and a strong dispel at the end of the spin.
Kraken Shell Tidehunter · on yourselfRemoves negative status effects by itself once the damage taken crosses the threshold.
Fowl Play Shadow Shaman · on yourselfOn lethal damage: strong dispel, survives as a 1 HP chicken.
Objurgation Outworld Destroyer · on yourself · Aghanim's ScepterWith Scepter: damage that would drop him below the threshold is prevented and he gets a strong dispel.
Hand of God Chen · on an ally · talentLevel 25 talent: Hand of God applies a strong dispel to every ally it heals.
Chakra Magic Keeper of the Light · on an ally · talentLevel 25 talent: Chakra Magic strong dispels the target.
Bodyguard Marci · on an ally · talentLevel 25 talent: Bodyguard strong dispels.
Escape Act Ringmaster · on an ally · talentLevel 25 talent: Escape Act grants a strong dispel and flying.
Battle Trance Troll Warlord · on yourself · talentBattle Trance applies a basic dispel; the level 25 talent makes it a strong dispel.
Nothl Projection Dazzle · on yourselfListed by Liquipedia as a strong dispel on cast: Dazzle leaves his body as an invulnerable spirit.
Strength and target from the item and ability texts in the game (“Dispel Type: Strong Dispel”, talent texts); Liquipedia’s Dispel page as the checklist.
Basic dispel items and heroes
Basic dispels are everywhere: 15 items and 36 hero abilities. These are the ones you buy or pick for them:
Basic dispel items
Black King Bar on yourselfAvatar applies a basic dispel, then debuff immunity and 60% magic resistance.
Manta Style on yourselfMirror Image dispels you while the illusions appear. Many effects are removed upon using Manta.
Lotus Orb on an allyEcho Shell dispels the target and reflects most targeted spells for 6 seconds.
Guardian Greaves on yourselfMend heals nearby allies and removes most negative effects from the caster.
Satanic on yourselfUnholy Rage dispels you and gives huge lifesteal for 6 seconds.
Eul's Scepter of Divinity on any unitCyclone on yourself or an enemy: basic dispel, 2.5 seconds in the air.
Wind Waker on any unitCyclone on yourself, an ally or an enemy; cast on yourself the tornado can be moved.
Nullifier on an enemyNullify dispels the target and keeps dispelling and slowing it for 4 seconds.
Disperser on any unitSuppress dispels both you and the target: enemies are slowed, allies sped up.
Force Boots on an allyForce dispels when cast on an ally and pushes 600 units.
Witchbane on any unit · neutral item tier 4Cleanse dispels all enemies and allies around you.
Minotaur Horn on yourself · neutral item tier 4Lesser Avatar: basic dispel and 5 seconds of debuff immunity.
Book of the Dead on an enemyThe Demonic Archer from Book of the Dead has a basic dispel with a slow (15 s cooldown).
Helm of the Dominator on an enemyDominate dispels the neutral creep it takes over.
Helm of the Overlord on an enemyDominate dispels the creep it takes over, ancients included.
Heroes with a basic dispel
Chemical Rage Alchemist · on yourselfTransformation with a basic dispel; the rage itself cannot be dispelled.
Rage Lifestealer · on yourselfBasic dispel, then debuff immunity and magic resistance.
Infest Lifestealer · on yourselfHiding inside a unit dispels Lifestealer.
Omnislash Juggernaut · on yourselfBasic dispel on cast, invulnerable for the duration.
Swiftslash Juggernaut · on yourself · Aghanim's ScepterA short Omnislash with the same basic dispel.
Life Break Huskar · on yourselfBasic dispel on cast; debuff immune while leaping.
Berserker's Blood Huskar · on yourself · Aghanim's ShardWith Shard the passive can be activated: dispels Huskar, then heals per debuff removed.
Pierce the Veil Muerta · on yourselfBecoming ethereal applies a basic dispel.
Raven's Veil Kez · on yourselfKez receives a basic dispel, speed and invisibility.
Raptor Dance Kez · on yourselfInvulnerable for the cast time and a basic dispel.
Dig Meepo · on yourselfDig: dispels Meepo, invulnerable and untargetable while buried.
Mirror Image Naga Siren · on yourselfMost effects are removed from Naga when the images appear.
Phantasm Chaos Knight · on yourselfRemoves most negative buffs from Chaos Knight when the phantasms appear.
Doppelganger Phantom Lancer · on yourselfDoppelganger can be used to dodge projectiles and dispel debuffs.
Rolling Thunder Pangolier · on yourselfRolling Thunder: debuff immune ball with a basic dispel on cast (Liquipedia).
Whirling Axes (Melee) Troll Warlord · on yourself · Aghanim's ScepterWith Scepter the melee axes dispel Troll Warlord.
Unleash Marci · on yourself · Aghanim's ScepterWith Scepter, Unleash applies a basic dispel on Marci.
Uproar Primal Beast · on yourself · talentLevel 20 talent: basic self-dispel when Uproar is cast.
118 enemy debuffs in the game's data are marked as not dispellable: no item, no ability, only time or death. Ultimates like Doom, Chronosphere and Winter's Curse are here, and so are auras, which never count as dispellable because they reapply as long as you stand in them. 52 more debuffs, mostly stuns and hexes, go only with a strong dispel.
Axe’s Berserker’s Call is on that list. You come to Axe. Axe does not care what you bought.
Can Doom, Break, Nullifier, Silver Edge or Spirit Vessel be dispelled?
The questions players type most, answered from the game's own data:
Can Doom be dispelled?
No. Doom cannot be dispelled. The tooltip's Dispellable line says No. Doom even applies a basic dispel on you first, so your Ghost Scepter or Glimmer Cape goes away with it.
Can Break be dispelled?
Not the break from Khanda: its item text says it outright, “The break debuff is not dispellable”. Silver Edge's tooltip has no Dispellable line for its break. Hero breaks differ: Viper's Nethertoxin breaks only while you stand in its area.
Can Nullifier be dispelled?
Not early. Nullify keeps dispelling and slowing you for 4 seconds, and the debuff itself is listed as not dispellable. The other way round: Nullifier removes most buffs from an enemy, but it does not pierce debuff immunity (Liquipedia), so a hero under Black King Bar cannot be nullified at all.
Can Silver Edge be dispelled?
The break: no (see above). The Shadow Walk invisibility on the Silver Edge carrier: yes, it is a buff, and an enemy dispel like Nullifier or Eul's removes it.
Can Spirit Vessel be dispelled?
Yes: Liquipedia lists Soul Release as dispellable by any dispel. The healing version on an ally ends early when they take damage from a hero or Roshan.
Can Hex be dispelled?
Only with a strong dispel. Lion's Hex and Shadow Shaman's Hex are both marked Strong Dispels Only, and so is Scythe of Vyse. A Manta or Eul's does nothing while you are a frog.
Can stuns be dispelled?
Most stuns need a strong dispel: Aeon Disk, Press the Attack, Dark Pact, Enrage and the others in the list above. Basic dispels do not remove stuns.
Buying against a lineup? The Item Counter Finder ranks the counter items for any five enemies, and the Item Comparison puts Manta, Lotus and Eul's side by side.
Dispel list for every Dota 2 hero
All 127 heroes from A to Z with their enemy debuffs: green goes with a basic dispel, orange needs a strong one, red cannot be dispelled. Click a spell to open it in the tool.
What is the difference between basic dispel and strong dispel in Dota 2?
A basic dispel removes most stat-changing effects: slows, silences, damage over time, armor reductions and most buffs on enemies. A strong dispel also removes hard disables like stuns, hexes, roots and fears. Neither removes effects marked as not dispellable. In the game's own data 183 enemy debuffs go with a basic dispel, 52 need a strong one and 118 cannot be dispelled.
Which items give a strong dispel?
Only one: Aeon Disk. Its Combo Breaker applies a strong dispel by itself when you drop below 70% health. Every other dispel item (Black King Bar, Manta Style, Eul's Scepter, Lotus Orb, Guardian Greaves, Satanic, Wind Waker, Nullifier, Disperser) is a basic dispel.
Which heroes have a strong dispel?
Abaddon (Aphotic Shield), Abaddon (Borrowed Time), Legion Commander (Press The Attack), Oracle (False Promise), Phoenix (Supernova), Slark (Dark Pact), Weaver (Time Lapse), Ursa (Enrage), Juggernaut (Blade Fury), Tidehunter (Kraken Shell), Shadow Shaman (Fowl Play), Dazzle (Nothl Projection). With an upgrade: Outworld Destroyer (Objurgation, Aghanim's Scepter), Chen (Hand of God, talent), Keeper of the Light (Chakra Magic, talent), Marci (Bodyguard, talent), Ringmaster (Escape Act, talent), Troll Warlord (Battle Trance, talent).
Can Doom be dispelled?
No. Doom's ultimate cannot be dispelled according to the in-game tooltip. Doom itself applies a basic dispel on the target when cast.
Can Nullifier be dispelled?
The Nullify debuff keeps dispelling you every tick for its whole duration and is listed as not dispellable by Liquipedia, so nothing removes it early. Nullifier is a basic dispel, so it removes buffs like Ghost Scepter or Glimmer Cape from an enemy, but it does not pierce debuff immunity: a hero under Black King Bar cannot be nullified.
Can Break be dispelled?
Usually not. Khanda says it in its item text: the break debuff is not dispellable. Break ends when its duration runs out.
Does BKB dispel?
Yes. Black King Bar applies a basic dispel on yourself when you activate Avatar, then makes you debuff immune. It does not remove stuns that are already on you: those need a strong dispel.
Data: Valve's official Dota 2 datafeed · updated
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