Dota 2, at its core, is all about strategy, teamwork, and adaptability. While the game has its fair share of flashy core heroes that steal the limelight, the Position 5 (Position Five) support role is crucial to team success. Enter Abaddon Position 5 Guide. Known for his versatility, resilience, and unique healing abilities, Abaddon brings a lot to the table, especially for players who love to play around sustainability, mobility, and utility.
In this guide, we’ll break down everything you need to know about playing Abaddon as a Position 5 support. From his skills to item builds and key strategies, this article will help you make the most of Abaddon’s potential to tank damage, heal your teammates, and disrupt the enemy team. And of course, we’ll dive deep into how Aghanim’s Scepter enhances his ultimate, Borrowed Time, and why it’s such a game-changing item.
Let’s get into it!
Abaddon’s Skills: A Breakdown

Before we dive into builds and strategies, let’s first understand what makes Abaddon tick. His skillset is perfect for a Position 5, as it revolves around healing, tanking damage, and saving your teammates in the heat of battle. Here’s a quick breakdown of his abilities:
1. Mist Coil (Q)
Mist Coil is Abaddon’s nuke and healing spell in one. This ability allows you to either damage an enemy unit or heal an ally (or yourself) at the cost of your own HP. You can use it to save a teammate on the brink of death, or to deal a surprising amount of damage to enemy heroes in the early game.
- Pros: Can be used to burst heal your core or harass enemies in lane. Its ability to both heal and damage makes it super versatile.
- Cons: Using Mist Coil will hurt your own HP, so it’s important to be mindful of your health pool when casting it.
2. Aphotic Shield (W)
Aphotic Shield is Abaddon’s utility spell and a game-changer for a Position 5 support. When activated, Abaddon surrounds a target ally (or himself) with a shield that absorbs a certain amount of damage. Once the shield is broken, it deals explosive damage to nearby enemies. This ability can be used to save allies from crowd control or nukes, and it works particularly well when used in tandem with Mist Coil.
- Pros: Great for breaking stuns or silences on your teammates, and can be used offensively to deal damage in teamfights.
- Cons: The shield duration is limited, so timing is key. You’ll need to make sure it’s applied before incoming damage or disables hit.
3. Curse of Avernus (E)
Curse of Avernus is Abaddon’s slow and disable ability. It’s a passive skill that applies a stacking slow on enemies that attack Abaddon or his allies. After a few attacks, the slow becomes even more potent, and the enemy’s movement speed can be significantly reduced.
- Pros: Excellent for harassing enemies in lane and providing extra lockdown in teamfights. It also synergizes well with your team’s other disables and allows your cores to catch up to fleeing enemies.
- Cons: It’s a passive ability, so it requires Abaddon to be in combat for it to fully take effect.
4. Borrowed Time (R) — Ultimate
Now, here’s the real fun part: Abaddon’s ultimate, Borrowed Time, lets him tank insane amounts of damage. When activated, Abaddon can passively reduce all incoming damage and, once his HP reaches a critical threshold, the ability automatically triggers, granting him temporary immunity from most sources of damage and healing him in the process.
- Pros: Borrowed Time is incredibly tanky and can save you from dying in critical situations. With Aghanim’s Scepter, this ability gains even more utility, as it allows you to trigger Borrowed Time at will.
- Cons: The trigger is based on Abaddon’s HP dropping to a certain point, meaning it’s a bit more reactive than proactive.
Abaddon’s Position 5 Core Item Builds
Now that we understand Abaddon’s abilities, let’s talk about the item builds that make Abaddon Position 5 Guide. Abaddon thrives in roles where sustainability, tankiness, and utility are paramount. Here are some of the best items to pick up on Abaddon:
Starting Items:
- Tango / Healing Salve – For early sustain in lane.
- Clarity – Helps with your mana regeneration.
- Iron Branch – Good for stat increase and building into items later on.
- Boots of Speed – Gives you the mobility to move around the map and position yourself correctly in fights.
Core Items:
- Arcane Boots: Mana regeneration is crucial for Abaddon, as both Mist Coil and Aphotic Shield are mana-hungry abilities. Arcane Boots also help keep your entire team topped off in team fights.
- Medallion of Courage / Solar Crest: Both of these items provide armor and can be used to help your carry do more damage. Solar Crest also offers utility with its ability to reduce the armor of enemy heroes.
- Guardian Greaves: A late-game item that provides healing to your entire team while also giving you the ability to remove debuffs from yourself and your allies.
Situational Items:
- Aghanim’s Scepter: A game-changing item for Abaddon. Aghanim’s Scepter upgrades Borrowed Time to trigger immediately when your HP falls below 40%, with the added bonus of removing debuffs. This item turns Abaddon into a frontline tank that can’t be taken down easily, even when focused by multiple enemies. For Position 5 Abaddon, this item can completely shift the momentum of a team fight, letting you dive into the enemy backline while you heal yourself back up.
- Force Staff: Great for saving allies or escaping sticky situations. Abaddon isn’t the most mobile hero, so this item can provide the mobility he lacks.
- Glimmer Cape: A useful defensive item that provides invisibility and magic resistance for your team. It can be clutch for saving teammates or yourself in dangerous situations.
Luxury Items:
- Lotus Orb: Reflects targeted spells and can remove debuffs from allies.
- Shiva’s Guard: Provides armor, health, and an AOE slow that can be helpful in team fights, especially if the enemy team relies on physical damage.
Why Aghanim’s Scepter is a Game-Changer for Abaddon Position 5
Aghanim’s Scepter upgrades Borrowed Time to make it trigger automatically when your HP drops below 40%. Not only does it save you from instant death, but it also instantly removes any debuffs on you. That means no stuns, no silences, and no magic damage you can’t heal from. Essentially, you get a free pass out of sticky situations.
But the real beauty of Aghanim’s Scepter lies in its timing. You can use it to dive deep into enemy territory during a team fight, knowing that Borrowed Time will trigger if things go south. Since it’s automatic, you won’t even have to worry about mis-timing the ability or being caught by surprise.
In summary, Aghanim’s Scepter is crucial for turning Abaddon into a tanky initiator. It gives him extra survivability in fights and can even allow you to go on the offensive without the constant worry of being bursted down.
This opens up so many possibilities:
- Engaging or Escaping: You can dive into the enemy team or initiate with the peace of mind that you can instantly activate your ultimate to tank damage and heal up.
- Tanking for Teammates: Borrowed Time allows you to tank a lot of damage, which can be crucial in fights where your teammates are under pressure.
- More Control: Manual activation means you can time it to perfection, either to avoid a huge burst of damage or to bait your opponents into overcommitting.
Positioning and Strategy as a Position 5 Abaddon
While Abaddon can be tanky and a powerhouse in terms of healing and utility, positioning is key to maximizing his impact. Here are some key tips to help you stay on top of your game:
- Lane Phase: Early on, your job is to harass the enemy offlaners with Mist Coil and Aphotic Shield. Use Mist Coil to secure last hits and poke the enemy, but be cautious not to overuse it, as it will drain your health.
- Stay Close to Your Cores: Abaddon shines in the mid-to-late game by providing your cores with protection. Use Aphotic Shield to save your carry from incoming disables and nuke damage.
- Teamfights: In teamfights, your primary role is to dive in with Borrowed Time active and soak up damage while keeping your teammates alive with heals and shields. Use Mist Coil to top off your team’s health, and Aphotic Shield to disrupt enemies and save allies.
- Pick Your Fights: Abaddon doesn’t need to be the one initiating fights, but he excels in absorbing incoming damage and turning the tide of battle with the right timing.
Conclusion
Abaddon is one of the most versatile and durable Position 5 supports in Dota 2. His ability to sustain his team through heals, cleanse debuffs, and initiate fights with his Aphotic Shield makes him a reliable pick for any lineup. Whether you’re saving a teammate with Borrowed Time or applying pressure with Curse of Avernus, Abaddon is a hero that thrives in both early-game skirmishes and late-game team fights.
Maximizing the potential of Aghanim’s Scepter for an enhanced Borrowed Time can completely turn the tide of a battle, allowing you to keep your team in fighting shape longer and create space for your cores to carry. With the right item build, good positioning, and smart use of his skills, Abaddon can be a true game-changer for your team.
So, next time you’re looking for a tanky, utility-packed support that can keep your team alive and make an impact in every fight, give Abaddon a try. Mastering him will not only boost your own gameplay but also ensure your team’s success. Happy healing!
Read also: Dota 2 Positions and Roles, Explained