Shapeshifting jungler who trades ranged pokes for a melee wolf burst.
FighterMarksmanJungleDeals physical
Roger is a jungle Fighter-Marksman who switches between a ranged human form for poke and farming, and a melee wolf form for burst and chase via Wolf Transformation. Full Moon Curse rewards Basic Attacks with bonus damage in both forms, letting him snowball early kills into a finisher role that mops up low-HP targets.
Difficulty
Moderate
Specialities
FinisherBurst
Reading when to stay in ranged human form versus transforming into wolf form for a kill, and landing Lycan Pounce's burst window, both take practice.
Beaten by
104 hard
Strong into
0
Best duos
10
Builds
2
At a glance
Damage
8 of 10
Durability
5 of 10
Crowd Control
4 of 10
Mobility
6 of 10
Utility
3 of 10
Rated against the whole roster, not against their own class.
When Roger is strong
Attributes
Damage
8
Durability
5
Crowd Control
4
Mobility
6
Utility
3
Strengths
Wolf Transformation gap-closes and slows in one skill, turning a poke duel into a finishing burst
Full Moon Curse's HP-percent bonus damage scales into any target regardless of raw stats
Human form's Open Fire and Hunter's Steps let him farm and skirmish safely from range
Lycan Pounce lunges onto an overextended squishy and heavily slows them, so they can't walk out of wolf-form basic attacks
Weaknesses
Commits hard once he transforms — a whiffed Wolf Transformation leaves him exposed in melee range
Low crowd control of his own, relying on slows rather than hard CC to secure kills
Falls behind hyper-scaling carries in a straight late-game teamfight if he isn't ahead on kills
Vulnerable to peel and disengage since neither form has a true escape besides Hunter's Steps
Skills
Level Open Fire first for the ranged poke into wolf transition, max Hunter's Steps second for mobility, and take Wolf Transformation at 4, 8, and 12.
Passive
Full Moon Curse
Buff
In human form, Roger's Basic Attacks and skills deal additional damage equal to (+target's 4% Current HP). In wolf form, Roger's Basic Attack and skills deal additional damage equal to (+target's 4% Lost HP). This effect can only deal up to 60 additional damage against Creeps.
“Roger can freely switch between human and wolf forms.”
Always active — no cooldown
What the terms mean(1)
Current HP
Death happens when current HP is or below 0. When there is Death Immune Effect, the current HP will not be below 1.
Skill 1
Open Fire
Physical DamageSlowDebuff
In Human Form, Roger fires two shots called Open Fire; the first slows the target and the second reduces its Physical Defense. In Wolf Form the skill becomes Lycan Pounce, a lunge that deals Physical Damage and heavily slows the target on landing.
Human FormOpen Fire
Roger rapidly fires two shots at the target, dealing Physical Damage. The first shot slows the target's Movement Speed for a short time, while the second reduces the target's Physical Defense for several seconds.
Wolf FormLycan Pounce
Roger lunges in the target direction, dealing Physical Damage to enemies hit and heavily slowing them for a short time.
Cooldown not recorded
Skill 2
Hunter's Steps
Speed UpMobility
In Human Form, Roger uses Hunter's Steps to boost his own Movement Speed for a short duration. In Wolf Form the skill becomes Bloodthirsty Howl, boosting his Attack Speed and, if a nearby enemy is low on HP, granting bonus Movement Speed and revealing that enemy's location.
Human FormHunter's Steps
Roger gains bonus Movement Speed for a few seconds, helping him chase down or disengage from enemies.
Wolf FormBloodthirsty Howl
Roger howls, gaining bonus Attack Speed for several seconds. If an enemy hero nearby is below a certain HP threshold, Roger also gains bonus Movement Speed and that enemy's location is revealed to him.
Cooldown not recorded
Ultimate
Wolf Transformation
MorphPhysical DamageShield
Roger freely switches between Human and Wolf Form. Cast from Human Form as Wolf Transformation, he leaps at the target, dealing Physical Damage and heavily slowing enemies hit while turning into a wolf. Cast from Wolf Form as Restore Human Form, he rolls toward the target and reverts to human shape, gaining a Shield.
Human FormWolf Transformation
Roger leaps toward the target direction and transforms into Wolf Form, dealing Physical Damage to enemies hit and heavily slowing them for a short time.
Wolf FormRestore Human Form
Roger rolls toward the target direction and transforms back into Human Form, gaining a Shield for a short duration.
Cooldown not recorded
Signature combo
Open Fire to poke and shred Physical Defense with the second shot → Hunter's Steps to close distance → Wolf Transformation to leap in and heavily slow → Lycan Pounce finishes an overextended target.
Roger builds
Core items in buy order, with the emblem, talents and battle spell that go with them.
Burst Jungle Duelist
6,740g total
Default pick to snowball early ganks and duels off Full Moon Curse's HP-percent damage.
A well-timed Retribution on a low-HP objective — a 'smite steal' — can snatch Turtle or Lord away from a team that appeared to be securing it, often the single biggest swing play of the early-to-mid game.
Swap in when needed
Sea Halberd — Against Estes or other sustain heroes out-healing Full Moon Curse's on-hit bonus damage.
Queen's Wings — Extra durability when engaging into an unfavorable duel.
Wind of Nature — A window of physical damage immunity when he commits Wolf Transformation into enemy fire.
Roger Burst Jungle Duelist build: Swift Boots, then Hunter Strike, then Malefic Roar, then Blade of the Heptaseas.
Anti-Tank Finisher
6,970g total
When the enemy stacks physical defense and his flat burst needs scaling penetration.
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
Blade Armor — Against crit-reliant Marksmen punishing his melee trades in wolf form.
Immortality — Insurance when committing to Wolf Transformation on a locked-down target.
Dominance Ice — 40 Physical Defense and Lifebane's anti-heal against the attack-speed carries he closes on with Hunter's Steps.
Roger Anti-Tank Finisher build: Warrior Boots, then Malefic Roar, then Demon Hunter Sword, then Hunter Strike.
Who counters Roger
The heroes that make this matchup hard, and the mechanic that does it.
Farm and poke in human form, then transform into wolf form only once you're ready to commit to a kill
2
Save Lycan Pounce for the last stretch of a chase — the heavy slow on landing is what stops a target walking away mid-burst
3
Use Bloodthirsty Howl's attack-speed buff to finish low-HP targets faster, not to open a fight
4
Full Moon Curse's damage is stronger in human form against high-current-HP targets — engage healthy targets before they're already low
Roger — common questions
Is Roger good for beginners?
Roger is moderate difficulty — the human-to-wolf transformation loop is intuitive, but knowing exactly when to commit Wolf Transformation instead of poking takes real match reads.
What is the best build for Roger?
A burst jungle build with Hunter Strike, Malefic Roar, and Blade of the Heptaseas covers most games, giving him the penetration and cooldown reduction to chain ganks.
Which heroes counter Roger?
Estes and Leomord counter him hardest — Estes's team-wide healing outpaces his on-hit chip damage, and Leomord simply out-duels him without hard CC to stop the charge.
What lane does Roger play?
Roger is a jungle Fighter-Marksman who clears camps in human form for early gold, then transforms into wolf form to gank and finish overextended laners.
