Troll Warlord quickly builds attack speed, roots his target, and refuses to die during Battle Trance. Let's look at how to wait out Troll's ultimate, who can stop him from hitting one hero for long, and how to prevent him from healing.

Hero Overview

Strengths: Troll is strong in long one-on-one fights and quickly destroys Roshan or buildings. Fervor ramps up his attacks, Whirling Axes provide miss chance and slow, and Battle Trance saves him from death.

Weaknesses: The hero has poor control over his target selection during his ultimate, is vulnerable to kiting, disarms, and healing prevention. If he can't attack, he loses both damage and sustain.

Best Heroes Against Troll Warlord

Troll Warlord almost always plays in the safe lane. Counters should hide his chosen target, keep Troll under control, or wait out Battle Trance.

Carry

  • Faceless Void Chronosphere holds Troll regardless of his ultimate and prevents him from healing through attacks.
  • Phantom Lancer Illusions disrupt target selection and force him to spend attacks on something other than the real hero.

Mid

  • Pugna Decrepify prevents him from attacking, while Life Drain helps wait out Battle Trance.
  • Necrophos Ghost Shroud protects against physical attacks, while Reaper's Scythe is useful after the ultimate ends.

Offlaner

  • Axe Berserker's Call forces Troll to hit a durable target, while Counter Helix answers his high attack speed.
  • Brewmaster Cyclone removes Troll from the fight, while Dispel removes buffs.

Support

  • Shadow Demon Disruption hides Battle Trance's target, while Demonic Purge hinders pursuit.
  • Windranger Windrun can withstand regular attacks, while Shackleshot holds him in place.

Hard Support

  • Winter Wyvern Cold Embrace fully protects an ally from attacks, while Winter's Curse turns Troll's attack speed against his team.
  • Oracle False Promise prevents the target from being killed quickly, while Fate's Edict temporarily protects against attacks.

What to Build Against Troll Warlord

  • Ghost Scepter Makes the hero immune to physical attacks.
  • Heaven's Halberd Disarms Troll before or after Battle Trance.
  • Eul's Scepter of Divinity Helps wait out part of his ultimate.
  • Force Staff Creates distance and changes the target of his pursuit.
  • Shiva's Guard Reduces attack speed and healing.
  • Eye of Skadi Reduces healing and slows.

How to Play Against Troll Warlord at Different Stages

Laning

Don't take a long trade after several Fervor attacks. Reset his accumulated attack speed by moving away from Troll, and don't stand in Whirling Axes without a good reason. Keep the wave closer to your tower: this forces your opponent to move farther from safety to farm. Before making an aggressive attack, check whether the next enemy wave is approaching—extra creeps often change the outcome of a trade.

Mid Game

Keep an eye on Roshan: Troll takes him down very quickly. In fights, force him to use Battle Trance on an inconvenient target, then immediately use a save or reposition.

In the mid game, assign roles in the fight ahead of time. Don't spend both defensive abilities on the very first effect—one of them should be saved for the follow-up to the combo. After a successful trade, immediately secure vision and the nearest objective; otherwise, winning the fight won't change the map. Before a fight, check which enemies have shown on the side lanes and who has a Teleport Scroll ready. Make a move only when you know how many heroes can arrive to help and which route they'll take.

Late Game

Don't try to finish Troll off with raw damage during his ultimate. Disarm him, lift him into the air, or hide his target. Once Battle Trance ends, healing prevention and instant control let you quickly finish him off.

In the late game, one positioning mistake matters more than a small difference in gold. After a failed attack, don't chase blindly: restore vision, wait for cooldowns, and only then move on to Roshan or buildings. Leave one hero on a safe wave so the enemy can't get a free push toward your base. Don't show your main initiator in a lane before a decisive move. Have another hero safely push the lane while your control abilities stay hidden in the fog: an unknown position often forces the enemy to retreat without a fight.