What are Universal Heroes in Dota 2?

Universal Heroes completely changed a core mechanic of Dota 2 when they were introduced in patch 7.33. Universal Heroes are a new attribute of heroes. This new categorization is for heroes who don't have a primary attribute. With Universal Heroes, there are some unique aspects to them which makes them insanely strong.

In the most simple of terms, Universal Heroes are just another attribute of heroes. Currently, there are 31 Universal Heroes in Dota 2. Most of the Universal Heroes are heroes that didn't quite seem to fit in their original attributes like Bane, Visage, and Snapfire. However, there are also culprits which the community was surprised to see were changed to being a Universal Hero like Abaddon, Invoker, and Sand King.

Regardless, the change to being a Universal Hero greatly benefited these heroes. This is because Universal Heroes work a little differently than Strength, Agility, or Intelligence Heroes. The full list of Universal Heroes is below:

So let's set the precedent of what the original three attributes provide to heroes before jumping into Universal Heroes. Per point in Strength, all heroes receive 22 max health and 0.1 more health regen. On the other hand, there's Agility, which per each point in the stat increases armor by 1/16th and attack speed by 1. And last, but not least, is Intelligence. Points in Intelligence provide 12 max mana, 0.05 mana regen, and 0.1% magic resistance. Additionally, for heroes who have a primary attribute which matches with the stat bonus of an item or talent, they receive one point of damage per one point.

For example, if Pudge has a Drum of Endurance, he will receive 154 health, 0.7 health regen, 7 damage from the 7 Strength that the item provides. Additionally, for the 7 Intelligence, he will receive 84 mana, 0.35 mana regen and 0.7% magic resistance. If an Intelligence hero equips Drum of Endurance, they would also receive the same exact bonuses.

When Phantom Assassin, who is an agility hero, equips a Drum of Endurance, it's a little different. She still receives 154 health, 0.7 health regen, 84 mana, 0.35 mana regen, and 0.7% magic resistance but no bonus damage.

Now that we have a basic understanding of the original three attributes, we can now dive into Universal Heroes in Dota 2. Universal attribute heroes receive 0.7 damage for each point of Strength, Agility, or Intelligence that they have on top of the bonuses. So going back to example with the Drum of Endurance, Invoker receives 154 health, 0.7 health regen, and 4.9 damage from the Strength. Then Invoker also receives 84 mana, 0.35 mana regen, 0.7% magic resistance, and another 4.9 damage from the 7 Intelligence.

In short, Universal Heroes get significantly more damage from items that provide different attribute bonuses. For that reason, when Universal Heroes were first introduced, Void Spirit's Echo Sabre build was very popular. The item provided at the time featured Strength and Intelligence on top of its attack bonus. Void Spirit, being a Universal Hero, capitalized on the change immensely.

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