Is Parasma Broken in Dota 2 7.35b? – Busting the Myth

Parasma is a new item in Dota 2 introduced in Patch 7.35. It’s a good item for sure, but is it really as broken as everyone says it is? Find the answers here

In the dynamic world of Dota 2, the meta is always shifting and evolving. Some heroes seem broken one patch, only to be hit with the Nerf hammer the next and fade into oblivion. But while broken heroes are certainly a thing in Dota 2, many people are complaining about a new item.

The item we’re talking about here is Parasma, the new upgrade for Witchblade. Apparently, it’s been stomping games non-stop since its release, and people are having a tough time playing around it.

Parasma is a Support category item in Dota 2 that inflicts a debuff and Damage Over Time effect on basic attacks. For Intelligence-heavy Carry heroes, it’s become somewhat of a core item in the current meta because of how strong it is.

But is it just strong? Or has it transcended to the realm of being downright broken in the meta?

Let’s find the answer to this question by looking at the item and its performance stats in this article!

Dota 2 Parasma Item Overview

Parasma was introduced to Dota 2 in Patch 7.35. It costs a total of 5575 gold to make and requires Witch Blade and Mystic Staff. You don’t need a Recipe to make this item.

Credit: Dota 2

Witchblade was already a pretty handy item for Intelligence Carry heroes for its Move Speed Slow and Damage Over Time effect. However, since there was no way to upgrade this item, Witchblade became less useful as the game approached the later stages. At one point, it became a Slot hog, and you had no choice but to sell it.

Well, Parasma came into Dota 2 looking to solve that problem. By combining your Witchblade with a Mystic Staff, you would end up with an Item that’s perfectly suited to meet your late-game demands.

It still Procs the previous passive effect that you got from Witchblade with a handy boost to its total damage output and Cooldown. But in addition, your basic attacks also applied a debuff on enemies, reducing their Magic resistance by 20% for 4 seconds.

Heroes That Benefit the most From Parasma

Credit: Dotabuff

Parasma is a strong item; there’s no doubt about it. But like all Items in Dota 2, it’s not good on every single hero. Similar to Khanda, Parasma requires a very specific skill set from the hero to utilize it.

The main damage output of Parasma is the “Witch Blade” passive effect and the damage of this Passive effect scales with the Intelligence Stat of the hero who buys the item. So heroes that have a high Intelligence stat and decent Intelligence gain will benefit the most from building this item.

Here are a couple of heroes that are performing well with this late-game item in Dota 2 7.35b:

Outworld Destroyer

Credit: Dota 2

With the addition of Parasma to the game, Outworld Destroyer immediately saw a massive surge in his pick rate. This hero always did hit hard and had a massive Intelligence Gain per level. He is a natural Witchblade builder.

Outworld Destroyer also benefits from Intelligence items, and the Mystic Staff that you need to build the item gives you 25 Intelligence. That translates to 300 Mana, which further boosts the damage from OD’s Arcane Orb ability.

Outworld Destroyer currently has a win rate of 70% when he buys Parasma, making it a core item for the hero.

Storm Spirit

Credit: Dota 2

Storm Spirit is a hero that often gets hit hard with the Nerf hammer. In The International 12, it was one of the most picked heroes for Abed from Shopify Rebellion, and he dominated most of his games on the hero.

Though he’s a popular hero among pubs, his win rate before Parasma came into the game wasn’t really that high. This hero often lacks the damage to burst the enemy hero, especially when he falls behind on the farm.

Parasma gives Storm Spirit that extra tick of damage that he needs to quickly pick off an enemy hero. He currently has a win rate of 67% when he picks up the item.

Puck

Credit: Dota 2

Puck, the ever-elusive Fairy Dragon, is a prime candidate for Parasma. Witchblade is one of the first items that this hero likes to buy. But although this hero gets enough damage from his spells early on, later in the game, his damage starts to fall off.

However, thanks to Parasma, Puck can now scale easily into the late game with enough damage to burst down any enemy cores. On top of that, the mobility of this hero allows him to get in and out of fights, refreshing the Parasma tick damage without any issues.

Silencer

Credit: Dota 2

As we said, Parasma’s Damage scales with the Intelligence stat of the hero. Now the question is this – which Dota hero has the highest potential for Intelligence stat?

Answer: Silencer!

With Silencer’s second ability, Glaives of Wisdom, he passively steals Intelligence from any hero that dies in a specific area around him permanently. Near the end of the game, Silencer sits pretty on stacks of stolen Intelligence, which, combined with Parasma, can cause obscene amounts of damage.

Of course, Silencer is not a popular hero in the meta, at all. In most cases, he is picked as a support, and making Parasma in that role is really not a good idea.

However, if you decide to play core Silencer, make sure you buy Parasma as early as you can to boost your damage output.

Invoker

Credit: Dota 2

Although Invoker is now a Universal hero, if you’re playing as a right-clicker on the hero, Parasma can work wonders.

Invoker’s ability Exort passively gives him 1 Intelligence per level, and the intelligence growth of the hero is also pretty high. The Damage Over Time proc from Parasma also pairs well with the Stun proc from his ability, Cold Snap.

However, Invoker mostly plays as a spell caster rather than a heavy hitter. Parasma only works if he decides to build complimentary items that let him hit freely without getting bursted down by the enemy.

Dota 2 Parasma Overall Performance

Credit: Dotabuff

According to Dotabuff, Parasma’s win rate is pretty high. However, since it’s such a Hero-specific item, its pick rate is really not all that high.

The heroes that can utilize this item are few and far between. Outworld Destroyer is amazing with this item; we’re not arguing that. But apart from him, there are very few other heroes that perform as well with this item.

What’s The Verdict?

Whether you love it or hate it, Parasma is here to stay. It’s a part of the game now, and frankly, despite what you might personally think, the stats indicate that the item is pretty well-balanced in Patch 7.35b. Even though it has a high win rate, its low pick rate offsets it.

If you’re having too much trouble against Parasma, just buy BKB. The debuff and damage from Parsama do not pierce spell immunity. Good luck!