Overview

Countess is a melee assassin (or burst mage, as EPIC love to define her) that excels at killing single target Heroes quickly. In many ways she functions similarly to Kallari but fares far better than her peer for a variety of reasons.

Unlike Kallari, Countess has excellent wave clear with relatively short cooldowns allowing her to lane comfortably. She also has fantastic lane sustain thanks to the passive on Blade Siphon returning a proportion of health to her every time she kills an enemy. It’s effectively a free Drink the Spirits (a famed card) that gives amazing survivability when laning.

Unsurprisingly and based on the Countess’ kit, she excels at quickly killing targets. Her ability to blink towards players and cause damage, or to cast her Ultimate in order to jump to them provides exceptional mobility and high burst.

When it comes to “downsides” I’d argue Countess has very few. Excellent wave clear, sustain, burst and mobility make her an absolute nightmare to deal with and terrifying in the right hands. If she has one weakness it's simply that she struggles to help her team defend once they're on the back foot. 

Updated: 07 April 2017

Lore

• Remembers every meal she has ever had; taste, smell, and texture.
• None have ever traveled to her lands, yet none doubt her claim to nobility.
• Seeks that which is greater than herself, and believes she has found it.

Abilities

Slice (LMB) - As your basic attack, Slice allows you to last hit relatively well even early game. Unlike other Heroes however, Countess doesn’t rely entirely on Slice for her damage. She is, instead, reliant on her abilities to burst down enemies quickly. For those last few hits however, Slice is your bread and butter.

Blade Siphon (RMB) - When activated, Blade Siphon causes Countess to deal a burst of point-blank AOE damage around herself. Its damage is relatively low, but can comfortably finish off low health Heroes or minion waves. What’s particularly good about Blade Siphon is that any enemies killed with it return a percentage of her maximum health. Be aware that if you kill a Hero with it, you’ll receive 10% maximum health back while minions also provide a steady stream. It's best to use Blade Siphon to finish off a low health hero after using your Ultimate. 

Tip - When pushing a wave quickly use Dark Tide followed by Blade Siphon to finish off the minions. You’ll gain lots of health back in the process.

Shadow Slip (Q) - As your primary form of engagement, Shadow Slip blinks Countess forwards, dealing damage and then slowing her target. The slow is short lived (1 second), but it’s often enough to gain several Slice attacks on your opponent before they attempt to evade. What’s particularly strong about Shadow Slip is that you can not only blink to the target from a reasonably long range, but also return to your original location for up to 4 seconds afterwards. This ability to dart into and out of combat puts you at a huge advantage when finishing off foes attempting to flee, or engaging early. Finally, Shadow Slip can be used on minions to kill them instantly but it's also an invulnerability frame, meaning the brief moment you're teleporting can mitigate any incoming damage. 

Tip - Try to use Shadow Slip when you anticipate incoming damage. Have a Sticky Mine on you from Gadget? Use Shadow Slip before it detonates to avoid all the damage.

Dark Tide (E) - Probably my favorite skill in the entire game, Dark Tide deals wide area damage in a wave in front of Countess. Its incredible for clearing minion waves and deals high amounts of damage even from level 1. Be aware however that it’s relatively mana intensive so use it sparingly when laning. Dark Tide is also your only gaurenteed means of defending a heavy minion wave so don't waste it. 

Tip - It’s worth follow up with Dark Tide after your Ultimate or Shadow Slip. It’s instant burst damage that usually finishes off low health players.

Feast (R) - A targeted skill that deals enormous damage, Feast is the reason why Countess is so feared. It acts similarly to Khaimera’s Cull and requires you to target a player. Once you do, you’ll leap onto them for massive burst damage. Although you’re locked down for the duration of the attack, if you time it so you use the ability as an execute, you’ll easily make it out alive. Just be aware that Feast has a very short range, so using Shadow Slip > Feast > Blade Siphon > Dark Tide can kill just about anyone. 

Tip - Feast deals around 315 damage early game. Try to get your lane opponent under half health before quickly finishing them off. New players don’t often expect such high burst so early on.

Skill Order

Countess is amazing in lane and has fantastic poke. It’s key to level up Dark Tide early to wave clear quickly and secure as much card experience as possible.

1. Dark Tide

2. Blade Siphon

3. Shadow Slip

4. Dark Tide

5. Feast

6. Dark Tide

7. Dark Tide

8. Shadow Slip

9. Feast

10. Shadow Slip

11. Shadow Slip

12. Blade Siphon

13. Feast

14. Blade Siphon

15. Blade Siphon

Recommended Cards

Full build (including active link)

Tactics

Early Game (Level 1-9)

Countess is ideally placed on off-lane as this allows her to comfortably farm, hold back the opposing duo, before quickly getting level 5. It's at this point you should begin to bait the enemy carry and if/when they are on half health (or slightly above) you can usually secure a kill, regardless of the support they're with. You also shouldn't have any worries about roaming at this stage as even if your tower falls (which it eventually will) you can comfortably push a lane before heading back to "gank" mid. 

Mid Game (Level 10-12)

Mid game for Countess is all about hanging back during a team fight. Most fights right now occur over Raptors or Orb Prime. Countess is weak if she dives in first, but she's incredible at cleaning up fights. Ideally you want to be regularly rotating looking for easy kills against a "carry" and if a fight does break out, to hang back. Once the fight has started and players are low, it's at this point you should be diving in. 

Late Game (Level 13-15)

Late game is the most difficult for Countess as teams group up. She'll struggle to find a way in here and so has to hang back more and more. If her team are on the defensive, her role is even more difficult. To wave clear against towers she puts herself at risk, while she'll struggle to find an "in" against a grouped up team. Once again just hang back, buy your time and wait for an opportunity to secure a kill and activate your Necroveil. 

Matchups

These god threat levels (1 being lowest threat and 10 being highest threat) are to help you determine which enemy gods can give you a headache. For the gods listed here, take extra care as they're particularly dangerous for Countess. 

Tips

This list of tips and tricks are just a handful of things we think will help your Countess play. We'll continue to add to the list as required and if you have any tips you'd like to share, let us know in the comments below and we'll place them here. 

1. It's best to take a mana potion and build an early mana card if you're laning as Countess. It allows you to clear waves quicker and pressure your laning opponent more often without needing to back as much. 

2. Your highest burst is Shadow Slip > Feast > Blade Siphon > Dark Tide. It's mana heavy, but deals a huge amount of damage. 

3. Remember that you can use Shadow Slip to target enemy minions. If you're in lane, you can often use this to escape or switch positions quickly. 

4. Feast has a surprisingly short range - you pretty much have to be next to someone to use it.

5. Blade Siphon is best used towards mid and late game when your power is strong enough that it can wipe enemy minions out after a single Dark Tide. Using it before will be a waste because the minion wave won't have low enough health to make use of the passive. 

6. Countess is pretty terrible on Tower defence. If the enemy is pushing hard, the best she can do is use Dark Tide and back off. If she engages against a full team, she'll be gunned down instantly. 

7. If you can, try to always flank the enemy team. You need to be securing damage on ADC's or the Support Heroes so that they're forced to back off (or die). 

8. If you don't have Shadow Slip available, I'd recommend you hang back from a team fight. Running in might get you to the target, but you'll take tons of damage in the process. 

9. Try to always secure the river buff. It gives much needed mana. 

10. It's often worth packing a Blink card on Countess. Your lack of escapes leaves you highly vulnerable at times where as Blink will get you out of most situations.