Dota 2 Enigma Guide – How To Use Black Hole

Enigma's Black Hole is one of the best ultimate abilities in Dota 2, find out how to master it and more in our latest hero guide.

Normally, people who play Dota 2 pubs want to pick heroes that allow them to carry the game. Hence, most of them pick position 1 carries and midders. However, there are a couple of heroes that can carry their team from other positions, and Enigma is one of the best examples.

This Dota 2 Enigma guide will focus on one of the best team-fight heroes in the entire game. Enigma seems easy to play, but this is one of the game's heroes with the highest skill cap. Besides being a regular pick for PUB players, this hero always has a role in the professional Dota 2 scene. In fact, it is one of the few heroes that always has a role in the game, regardless of the hottest heroes.

Unsurprisingly, Enigma is one of the fan favorites, so let’s learn more about the hero and everything we need to know.

Overview

We’d like to start this Enigma Dota 2 guide by saying that this is a ranged INT hero. Some of may think that Enigma is a midder, but in reality, the hero is often played as a position 4 support, jungle, or an offlaner. The latter was not that popular before, but since Enigma can farm the lane and the side camps with Demonic Conversion, the hero can work well against all sorts of aggressive lineups.

Speaking of aggressiveness, Enigma is not the most offensive hero in the game. In fact, the offlaner shines more from a defensive point of view, which is why you can often see Enigma in a double lane. That said, the hero is very fragile and susceptible to ganks. That’s one of the reasons why it's important not to die early on.

The hero’s role in the early game

Enigma’s role in the early game is the same, regardless of the positioning. The hero needs to get as much farm as possible because it needs a couple of core items to shine. Hence, securing last hits is of utmost importance.

Since some Enigma players can’t get enough farm on the lane, they often go to the Jungle, where they can clear camps much faster. This allows them to get a fast Hands of Midas or rush a Blink Dagger. The latter is one of the must-have items because it allows the hero to use the big ultimate.

Enigma’s role during the mid and late game

After surviving in the laning stage, Enigma should have either a Midas and a Blink or the latter and another interesting item. This is where things become much more interesting because the hero will have Black Hole. The latter is one of the strongest ultimates in the game because it does a lot of damage and disables all heroes caught in it, even if they have a BKB.

Since this is a team-fight ultimate, the rest of Enigma’s team needs to work alongside the hero and make sure they secure as many kills as possible when Enigma has the ult. Sadly, this hero is not that good regarding solo kills, so it relies on others to be successful.

Black Hole in the mid-game can be used to secure big team fights or several smaller important kills. In fact, it is probably better to focus on the second option instead of waiting to land a big ultimate because this will allow you to make the most of your ability.

In terms of the late-game, Enigma becomes one of the most dangerous heroes, and the ultimate is usually game-winning. However, casting an excellent Black Hole in the late game is easier said than done because your enemies will do everything they can to stop you. This is where you have to be innovative and think carefully about how to land your ult.

Tip – Do not save your ult to catch all 5 heroes

One of the biggest mistakes of Enigma players across all MMR brackets is that they want to wait for the perfect Black Hole instead of using it for important kills. Everyone wants to catch all 5 heroes and kill all of them, but this is not that easy. Hence, it is much better to focus on using the ult to secure important kills around the map.

There are loads of examples of situations where your ult can make a difference. For example, you can use it to get a kill on the enemy’s carry or midder and use this to push or get a kill on Roshan. That said, your enemies will keep track of your ult and try to take fights after using it, so you have to be careful.

Tip – You need to be careful because some heroes are very good against you

Enigma players often think that they are the best and no one can stop their ultimate. Sadly, this is not the case because this hero has a lot of counters it needs to be aware of. Generally speaking, every hero with a Stun or some kind of disable can counter Enigma because the hero needs to channel its ultimate. So, the only way to bypass them is by having a Black King Bar (it does not work in every situation), waiting until the given hero is dead, or catching the hero inside the Black Hole.

When talking about Enigma’s counters, Rubick is one of the first names that comes to mind. Besides his lift, the hero’s ultimate allows him to steal Black Hole and use it against Enigma and its teammates. Needless to say, this is one of the worst things that can happen to any Enigma player.

The second counter that Enigma is really bad against is Silencer. This is probably the worst enemy because he can always use Global Silence and interrupt Enigma’s channeling.

Faceless Void is also a counter because he can use Chronosphere and stop Enigma from utilizing the ult.

Tip – You need to get specific items

Aside from everything mentioned so far, people who pick Enigma have to be ready to get several must-have items. Although most Dota 2 heroes are versatile and can go for different item builds, Enigma is different.

This hero requires things like a Blink Dagger and a Black King Bar to be able to cast Black Hole. If Enigma has a good game, the hero can also go for Aghanim’s Scepter, Aghanim’s Shard, and even a Refresher Orb. The latter is one of the best items for the hero because Enigma can cast 2 Black Holes.