Global-range marksman whose spear pierces lines and finishes fleeing targets
MarksmanGold LaneDeals physical
Moskov is a gold-lane Marksman built around piercing damage and map-wide reach. Spear of Quiescence lets his basic attacks hit whoever stands behind the primary target, Abyss Walker gives him a short repositioning teleport, and Spear of Destruction — his global-range ultimate — can poke, scout or execute a fleeing hero from anywhere on the map.
Difficulty
Moderate
Specialities
FinisherChase
Abyss Walker's teleport positioning and landing Spear of Misery's wall-stun setup take map awareness, and the ultimate's travel time has to be led like a skillshot across the whole map.
Beaten by
105 hard
Strong into
6
Best duos
10
Builds
2
At a glance
Damage
8 of 10
Durability
3 of 10
Crowd Control
4 of 10
Mobility
6 of 10
Utility
6 of 10
Rated against the whole roster, not against their own class.
When Moskov is strong
Attributes
Damage
8
Durability
3
Crowd Control
4
Mobility
6
Utility
6
Strengths
Spear of Quiescence pierces through the primary target to hit whoever stands behind them, rewarding good positioning against grouped enemies
Abyss Walker is both a repositioning teleport and an attack-speed buff, resetting his positioning after every trade
Spear of Destruction has global range, letting him poke, scout or finish a fleeing low-HP hero from anywhere on the map
Landing an ultimate hit refreshes Abyss Walker's cooldown, letting him immediately reposition or chase right after the poke connects
Weaknesses
Spear of Misery's knockback can accidentally save a target by knocking them out of his team's follow-up range instead of into it
No hard, reliable single-target stun of his own — Spear of Misery's stun only triggers on a wall or hero collision
Squishiest gold-lane marksman archetype with no shield, cleanse or stealth escape beyond the short Abyss Walker teleport
Spear of Destruction's long travel delay lets an alert enemy simply walk out of its narrow line before it lands
Skills
Max Spear of Misery first for the damage and lower cooldown, put one early point into Abyss Walker for the mobility, and take Spear of Destruction at 4, 8 and 12.
Passive
Spear of Quiescence
Buff
Moskov's Basic Attacks can penetrate the target and deal (+65% (+3% × Hero Level) Physical Attack) Critical Physical Damage to enemies behind them (inherits Attack Effects). Each Basic Attack hit reduces the cooldowns of Abyss Walker and Spear of Misery by 0.5 seconds.
Always active — no cooldown
What the terms mean(2)
Physical Basic Attack
Deal Physical Damage to enemies. Triggers ATK Effects and Lifesteal.
Cooldown
The time needed for casting the skill one more time, which can be affected by CD Reduction
Skill 1
Abyss Walker
MobilityBuff
Moskov teleports to the target location, increasing his Attack Speed to 1.15–1.5 times for 3 seconds. Meanwhile, his Basic Attack deals 10% more damage to enemies behind the primary target.
Cooldown
10s
Mana
45 → 70
What the terms mean(2)
Blink
Movement ability that can pass through obstacles.
Attack Speed
Current Attack Speed = Base Attack Speed + Extra Attack Speed × Attack Speed Ratio. The current total Attack Speed determines the number of attacks per second (capped at 3 attacks per second).
Skill 2
Spear of Misery
CCDamage
Moskov launches a powerful strike at the target enemy hero or Creep, dealing 300–450 (+60% Total Physical Attack) Physical Damage, knocking them back, and revealing their position for 5 seconds. If the target collides with an enemy hero when knocked back, they'll both take 200–275 (+30% Extra Physical Attack) Physical Damage and be stunned for 1.5 seconds. If the enemy is knocked into a wall, they will also be stunned for the same duration.
Cooldown
12s
Mana
80 → 130
Ultimate
Spear of Destruction
Physical DamageSlowMobility
Moskov throws the Spear of Destruction in the target direction, dealing 340 (+100% Total Physical Attack) Physical Damage to enemies along its path and to the first enemy hero hit, then pierces through for 10% of that damage to enemies behind. The target and any enemies hit by the piercing damage are slowed by 50% for 1 second, with the slow lasting longer the farther the spear traveled. Hitting an enemy hero creates a shadow behind them and refreshes the cooldown of Abyss Walker, letting Moskov blink to the shadow's location.
Cooldown
55s
Mana
130 → 170
Signature combo
Abyss Walker to reposition behind cover → Spear of Misery to knock the target toward your team → basic attacks under the pierce passive; use Spear of Destruction from off-screen to finish fleeing targets or refresh Abyss Walker after it lands.
Moskov builds
Core items in buy order, with the emblem, talents and battle spell that go with them.
Standard Hypercarry
7,050g total
Default scaling build when Moskov can safely farm and poke from range.
Purify does not clear suppression (e.g. Franco's Bloody Hunt or Khufra's ultimate) — a common mistake is trusting it to escape a hook combo it can't actually cleanse.
Swap in when needed
Haas' Claws — Sustain against a poke-heavy lane before his core items come online.
Wind of Nature — Two full seconds of physical damage immunity against a physical dive comp collapsing on him.
Immortality — Insurance once he's the team's main backline damage.
Moskov Standard Hypercarry build: Swift Boots, then Windtalker, then Berserker's Fury, then Malefic Roar.
Anti-Dive Poke
6,870g total
When the enemy has a strong diver and Moskov needs to survive to use his global ultimate.
The 'Flicker combo' — blinking in right as a hook or stun lands, or blinking out the instant an enemy ultimate is cast — is the single most common high-elo outplay moment in the game.
Swap in when needed
Wind of Nature — Two full seconds of physical damage immunity so he survives a diver long enough to fire his global ultimate.
Malefic Roar — Against a stacked-defense frontline blunting his physical penetration.
Immortality — Insurance once he's the team's main backline damage.
Moskov Anti-Dive Poke build: Tough Boots, then Haas' Claws, then Windtalker, then Queen's Wings.
Who counters Moskov
The heroes that make this matchup hard, and the mechanic that does it.
Position so enemies stack in a line before engaging — Spear of Quiescence's pierce and the ultimate's line damage both reward it heavily
2
Use Abyss Walker defensively to teleport behind cover the instant a diver closes distance, not only offensively to chase
3
Angle Spear of Misery toward a wall whenever possible to guarantee the stun on collision instead of relying on a hero-to-hero hit
4
Fire Spear of Destruction across the map at a fleeing, low-HP enemy hero to secure kills your team can't otherwise reach in time
Moskov — common questions
Is Moskov good for beginners?
Moskov is moderate difficulty — his basic-attack pierce and short teleport are simple to use, but positioning for Spear of Quiescence's line pierce and leading his global ultimate take practice to use well.
What is the best build for Moskov?
Swift Boots into Windtalker, Berserker's Fury and Malefic Roar is the standard scaling build, shifting toward Haas' Claws and Queen's Wings for sustain when the enemy has a strong dive threat.
Which heroes counter Moskov?
Karina, Alpha, Eudora, Lukas and Barats counter him hardest since they close distance, suppress or stun through his one short teleport, denying him the range he needs to be effective.
What does Moskov's ultimate do?
Spear of Destruction has global range: after a short delay, Moskov throws a spear that deals heavy physical damage and slows the first enemy hero hit and anyone behind them, and landing it on a hero refreshes Abyss Walker's cooldown.
