Underlord

A 50.0% win rate at an 87.0% offlane pick rate makes Underlord a heavily role-locked but consistently reliable hero, and Firestorm is the reason he can split-push and defend at the same time — a percentage-max-health burn that stacks over six waves punishes tanky heroes just as effectively as squishy ones, and it works whether or not Underlord is even present to watch it happen. The read most new players miss is that patch 7.41e made Fiend's Gate's channeling interruptible by root effects, which is a meaningful new vulnerability for a spell that previously felt nearly unstoppable once started. Below is the current 7.41e patch, the build that leans into the pit-and-portal identity, and the picks that make it much harder to use.

Role and Position Underlord Plays

Underlord is overwhelmingly an offlaner: 87.0% of his games are played there, with both support roles making up a smaller but real secondary share.

When to pick Underlord:

• your team wants a durable hero who can push and defend simultaneously through Firestorm's lingering AoE damage;
• the draft benefits from Pit of Malice's slow-and-stun setup, punishing enemies who linger near it;
• the game plan rewards a tanky frontline who can also relocate the team quickly via Fiend's Gate.

When to skip him:

• the enemy has strong root effects that can interrupt Fiend's Gate's channel before it opens;
• the team needs a hero with more mobility or burst damage than Underlord's kit provides;
• the map favors early aggression Underlord can't reliably provide before his core items land.

Underlord's Strengths

• Firestorm deals repeated AoE damage that burns based on a percentage of max health, punishing both squishy and tanky targets alike;
• Pit of Malice slows and eventually stuns anyone who lingers in its area, setting up trades and fights;
• Atrophy Aura passively boosts damage for Underlord and nearby allies based on nearby enemy hero deaths, scaling with the game's pace;
• Fiend's Gate opens a two-way portal between locations, letting the whole team relocate quickly for objectives or fights;
• Overall durability makes Underlord a strong, low-risk frontline presence who can farm safely while pushing.

Underlord's Weaknesses

• Fiend's Gate's channel can now be interrupted by root effects, a real new vulnerability for the ultimate;
• relatively low mobility of his own outside of Fiend's Gate's specific use case;
• Pit of Malice's slow-into-stun takes time to trigger, giving alert opponents a window to escape;
• Atrophy Aura's bonus depends on nearby hero deaths, so it contributes less in a slower, less kill-heavy game;
• value depends heavily on Firestorm's sustained damage compounding over a fight — a short skirmish limits its full potential.

Underlord's Abilities

Firestorm (Q) — calls down waves of fire that damage enemies in the target area over time, burning for additional damage based on a percentage of their max health.

Pit of Malice (W) — creates a pit that slows enemies standing in it, eventually stunning them the longer they remain.

Atrophy Aura (passive) — grants Underlord and nearby allies bonus damage, increasing with recent nearby hero deaths.

Fiend's Gate (ultimate) — channels to open a two-way portal between two locations, allowing allied units to walk through in either direction for the duration; the channel can now be interrupted by root effects.

Build, Items, and Strategies

Skill order: start Firestorm for lane damage and pressure, take an early Pit of Malice for the slow-and-stun setup, and prioritize Fiend's Gate at every level it's available.

Talents: the level 10 pick boosting Invading Force's movement bonus and damage reduction rewards a build that leans into using Fiend's Gate aggressively.

Starting items: Tango, Quelling Blade, and a stack of regen — Underlord wants to hold the offlane comfortably while farming with Firestorm.

Tanky build — the default path: a core Strength item into defensive gear, leaning into his durability and Atrophy Aura's team-wide bonus.

Aghanim's build — once the game slows down: Aghanim's Shard for the allied-targetable Firestorm that follows a hero around, adding real mobile damage.

Reactive items: Black King Bar once fights routinely involve disables that would otherwise cancel Pit of Malice or Fiend's Gate's value.

Pro tip: use Fiend's Gate to relocate the team for an objective or a won fight, not just as a repositioning tool during combat — the portal's real strength is turning tempo advantages into map-wide pressure.

Footnote: exact item order flexes around whether the priority is early lane durability or scaling toward maximum team-wide mobility and damage.

Timings, Roshan, and Power Spikes

0–10 minutes: hold the offlane with Firestorm pressure, using Pit of Malice to punish overextensions.

10–20 minutes: first power spike — Fiend's Gate online gives the team a real map-wide mobility tool for the first time.

20–35 minutes: second power spike — with core items, Firestorm's percentage damage and Atrophy Aura's bonus both scale up significantly.

Roshan window: Firestorm's sustained damage and Pit of Malice's control both help Underlord contribute to a Roshan attempt safely.

35+ minutes: use Fiend's Gate to bring the team to objectives quickly after winning a fight or securing a pick.

Footnote: these timings depend heavily on protecting Fiend's Gate's channel, since root interrupts are now a real threat to the ultimate.

Underlord Counters

Any hero with a root effect is a strong answer: interrupting Fiend's Gate's channel denies the team-wide mobility the ultimate provides.

— Silencer: Global Silence prevents Firestorm and Fiend's Gate from being cast at all.

— Any hero with high mobility: since Underlord has no gap-closer of his own, mobile heroes can avoid Pit of Malice's slow-and-stun setup.

— Any hero with strong burst damage: punishing Underlord before his core items and Atrophy Aura scaling come online is efficient.

— Doom: the ultimate blocks item and ability usage, cutting off Underlord's ability to cast Firestorm or Fiend's Gate.

Where Underlord is strong on his own: against drafts without reliable root effects, where Fiend's Gate's mobility and Firestorm's sustained damage both go uncontested.

Footnote: most of these counters share a theme — interrupting Fiend's Gate's channel or dodging Pit of Malice's setup both cut deeply into what Underlord contributes.

Synergies with Other Heroes

— Any hero who benefits from map-wide mobility: Fiend's Gate lets the whole team relocate quickly for objectives or fights.

— Tidehunter: Ravage groups enemies together for Firestorm's sustained damage to hit multiple targets.

— Any hero who benefits from Atrophy Aura's team-wide damage bonus: the aura scales up with kill participation, rewarding an aggressive team.

— Warlock: Fatal Bonds punishes a group of enemies caught in Pit of Malice.

— Any hero with strong initiation: a clean engage sets up Pit of Malice's slow-into-stun on a target who can't easily escape.

These pairings work best around capitalizing on Fiend's Gate's map-wide mobility and Firestorm's sustained area damage.

What Experienced Underlord Players Do

• use Fiend's Gate to relocate the team after winning a fight, not just during one;
• protect the Fiend's Gate channel from root interrupts by casting it in a safe location;
• place Pit of Malice ahead of an engage, giving it time to trigger the stun;
• split-push with Firestorm while staying hidden, since the ability doesn't require Underlord to be visible;
• prioritize Strength and durability items to maximize his frontline presence.

Insider insight: the real value of Fiend's Gate is often strategic, not tactical — using it to relocate the team for a Roshan attempt or a split-push objective after a won fight is usually stronger than trying to use it as a mid-combat repositioning tool.

Conclusion

Underlord rewards a player who thinks about map-wide tempo — Fiend's Gate's portal turns any tempo advantage into team-wide pressure, and Firestorm's sustained damage supports both split-pushing and defending at once. He's a durable, reliable offlaner, but the new root vulnerability on Fiend's Gate and his own lack of mobility both create real windows of risk. Pick him against drafts without reliable root effects; be cautious against lineups with strong root-based interrupts and high mobility.