[Top 5] Dota 2 Best Medusa Builds That Wreck The Enemy Team



Medusa, the serpentine warrior is quite hard to play against, her identity and prowess cement her as one of the most lethal heroes in the game. Medusa is an ultra late-game hero, even if her early game is disastrous, she can bounce back and turn the game around just with one fight. She can essentially 1v5 the enemy team if she has sufficient items.

We bring you the Best 5 Medusa Builds that wreck hard, these builds are extremely relevant in the current meta and destroy enemies in no time!

5. Rapier Build

This is undoubtedly the most famous Medusa build. Divine Rapier is constantly seen as one of the most bought items on Medusa. This is predominantly due to her tanky nature which makes it fairly easy for her to deal damage and not worry about her enemies hitting her. 

Rapier can be extremely risky in most situations, especially if you are caught off-guard. Your enemies can turn the tides around if you do not plan it well. It is an exceptional build if you want to close out games fast, or if you are having trouble dealing high damage in the late game. You may also purchase Rapier if you are lagging behind in the game, in order to make a comeback. Though statistically, this build is highly volatile in terms of win rate, it is considered to be a meme build in the pubs.

Use This Build If:

  • You are having trouble closing out the game, or you are lagging behind and want to take a risk by purchasing the Divine Rapier. This build is highly risky, but if you play your cards right, you can convert the potential -30 into +30!

Skill Points

  • Level 1: Mystic Snake - Deals high magical damage, often skilled on the first level to secure last hits and deal decent damage to enemy laner. It also bounces between multiple enemies and returns up to 20% of the total enemy mana on max level.
  • Level 2: Mana Shield - Allows Medusa to block 70% of the incoming damage for the cost of her mana. It is an extremely powerful spell as it makes you tanky right from the get-go. It is toggleable and does not require any mana for activation.
  • Level 3: Mystic Snake
  • Level 4: Split Shot - Medusa’s attack projectile gets split into four, dealing less damage in the early levels, but it also allows her to push lanes and farm quickly as she acquires damage items. 
  • Level 5: Mystic Snake
  • Level 6: Split Shot
  • Level 7: Split Shot
  • Level 8: Split Shot
  • Level 9: Mana Shield 
  • Level 10: Stats - Stats are skilled usually when putting points in skills is not feasible due to mana requirements.  
  • Level 11: Stone Gaze - Turns enemies looking in Medusa’s direction into stone for up to 6 seconds. It also amplifies the physical damage dealt by Medusa by 50% if she is able to stone her enemies. This ultimate is extremely powerful right off the bat and can be used in tandem with other spells which provides crowd control, making Medusa’s job easier.
  • Level 12: Stone Gaze

Items to buy for this build (Early to Late Game)

  • Power Treads - Bought at around 5 minutes. It provides 45 movement speed and 25 attack speed along with toggleable attributes, which offer her everything from increased mana pool to armor and even strength, helping Medusa in all stages of the game 
  • Manta Style - Bought at 13 minutes. Manta Style provides increased agility and movement speed. It can also be used to disjoint spells and split push lanes. Medusa benefits heavily from Manta as it increases her damage and allows her to increase her map presence and stay durable in fights. 
  • Aghanim’s Scepter - Bought at 20 minutes. Causes enemies hit with Mystic Snake to be turned into stone. The duration increases with each bounce. It is the focal point of the build, it essentially mini-stuns people while you hit them.
  • Crystalis - Bought at around 22 minutes. Crystalis deals high critical damage upon physical attack. It can later be upgraded into Daedalus, which is lethal to deal with in the mid-game.
  • Silver Edge - Bought at around 26 minutes. Silver Edge grants invisibility, allowing Medusa to either escape or initiate. It also applies break on enemy targets, temporarily disabling their passive abilities, along with dealing extra damage when enemies get hit under the invisibility.
  • Aghanim’s Shard - Bought at 29 minutes. Grants passive “Cold Blooded” ability which reflects a single target Mystic Snake whenever Medusa is targetted with a spell.
  • Monkey King Bar - Bought at 36 minutes. Provides True Strike on physical attacks and increases the physical damage.
  • Hurricane Pike - Bought at 41 minutes. Increases the physical attack range of Medusa along with providing her with stats. The active makes Medusa push herself and the targetted unit back and allows her to attack the enemy from a distance.
  • Divine Rapier - Bought at 54 minutes into the game. Rapier has slowly become one of the most common items on Medusa. She benefits heavily from the Rapier as it provides extra 300 physical damage. It is an extremely powerful yet risky purchase as you drop it when you die, and handing it over to the enemies can just mean game over.
  • Refresher’s Orb - Bought at 58 minutes. Refresher is mostly seen in the late game. It allows Medusa to refresh all his spells and items, making him twice as deadly. 

4. Arteezy Build

It’s always too easy for Arteezy to win his lane in pub games with Medusa. He is widely regarded as one of the best carry players in the game. His flashy gameplay and mechanical skills are unparalleled.

Arteezy loves the farm-oriented build on Medusa, as the hero suits his playstyle extremely well. This does not mean that he is an idle laner, he participates in fights if he is close by but his main priority is to farm and acquire items quickly to have an edge over his enemies. The sooner you get your items on Medusa, the better it is for you and your team, as her early and mid-game dominance can quite easily secure the late game. Arteezy is well aware of this and loves to spend some time away in the jungle to inch closer to his items.

Use This Build If:

  • You want to be tanky and deal high damage at the same time. Medusa is one of the few carry heroes who are extremely tanky and deals high damage with the correct set of items.

Skill Points

  • Level 1: Mystic Snake - Deals high magical damage, often skilled on the first level to secure last hits and deal decent damage to enemy laner. It also bounces between multiple enemies and returns up to 20% of the total enemy mana on max level.
  • Level 2: Mana Shield - Allows Medusa to block 70% of the incoming damage for the cost of her mana. It is an extremely powerful spell as it makes you tanky right from the get-go. It is toggleable and does not require any mana for activation.
  • Level 3: Mystic Snake
  • Level 4: Split Shot - Medusa’s attack projectile gets split into four, dealing less damage in the early levels, but it also allows her to push lanes and farm quickly as she acquires damage items. 
  • Level 5: Mystic Snake
  • Level 6: Split Shot
  • Level 7: Mystic Snake
  • Level 8: Split Shot
  • Level 9: Split Shot
  • Level 10: Mana Shield 
  • Level 11: Mana Shield 
  • Level 12: Mana Shield 
  • Level 13: Stone Gaze - Turns enemies looking in Medusa’s direction into stone for up to 6 seconds. It also amplifies the physical damage dealt by Medusa by 50% if she is able to stone her enemies. This ultimate is extremely powerful right off the bat and can be used in tandem with other spells which provides crowd control, making Medusa’s job easier.

Items to buy for this build (Early to Late Game)

  • Power Treads - Bought at around 4 minutes. It provides 45 movement speed and 25 attack speed along with toggleable attributes, which offer her everything from increased mana pool to armor and even strength, helping Medusa in all stages of the game 
  • Dragon Lance - Bought at around 9 minutes. This item provides increased attack range for Medusa along with increasing all her attributes which eventually increases her HP and physical attack damage. It is an extremely powerful early game item. It is further upgraded into Hurricane Pike at 36 minutes into the game.
  • Manta Style - Bought at 14 minutes. Manta Style provides increased agility and movement speed. It can also be used to disjoint spells and split push lanes. Medusa benefits heavily from Manta as it increases her damage and allows her to increase her map presence and stay durable in fights. 
  • Eye of Skadi - Bought at around 22 minutes. On attacks, it reduced the enemy’s regen while also providing stats, it also slows their movement as well as attack speed. This is essential to disable heroes that heal up quickly. It is a core item on Medusa. 
  • Silver Edge - Bought at around 27 minutes. Silver Edge grants invisibility, allowing Medusa to either escape or initiate. It also applies break on enemy targets, temporarily disabling their passive abilities, along with dealing extra damage when enemies get hit under the invisibility.
  • Butterfly - Bought at around 33 minutes. Butterfly provides Medusa with increased agility and movement speed along with high evasion which complements the already existing tankability and makes her untouchable due to her high damage.
  • Divine Rapier - Bought at 37 minutes into the game. Rapier has slowly become one of the most common items on Medusa, in most builds people do not wait for the late game to purchase this item. Medusa benefits heavily from the Rapier as it provides extra 300 physical damage. It is an extremely powerful yet risky purchase as you drop it when you die, and handing it over to the enemies can just mean game over. 

3. Ana Build

The only two-time Ti champion on this list! Ana’s pro career is a story to be remembered. From his early days in iG to joining OG and winning multiple majors and Tis, Ana has achieved every feat this game has to offer.

Ana has been praised widely for his intense and nail-biting performance on Medusa. Everything from Manta dodging to farming with illusions, he knows it all. He quite well knows everything the hero can do, this helps him induce fear in the mind of his enemies. He is known to frequently switch up his builds and adapt according to the matchups that he is facing. Ana loves buying stat items first as it allows him to get early game survivability and also enables him to team fight as soon as he can.

Use This Build If:

  • You want to be highly elusive. The Butterfly is an exceptional item that makes it harder for the heroes to hit you, a Medusa, who is already hard enough to hit with her amazing mana shield.

Skill Points

  • Level 1: Mystic Snake - Deals high magical damage, often skilled on the first level to secure last hits and deal decent damage to enemy laner. It also bounces between multiple enemies and returns up to 20% of the total enemy mana on max level.
  • Level 2: Mana Shield - Allows Medusa to block 70% of the incoming damage for the cost of her mana. It is an extremely powerful spell as it makes you tanky right from the get-go. It is toggleable and does not require any mana for activation.
  • Level 3: Mystic Snake
  • Level 4: Split Shot - Medusa’s attack projectile gets split into four, dealing less damage in the early levels, but it also allows her to push lanes and farm quickly as she acquires damage items. 
  • Level 5:  Mystic Snake
  • Level 6: Split Shot
  • Level 7: Split Shot
  • Level 8: Split Shot
  • Level 9: Stone Gaze - Turns enemies looking in Medusa’s direction into stone for up to 6 seconds. It also amplifies the physical damage dealt by Medusa by 50% if she is able to stone her enemies. This ultimate is extremely powerful right off the bat and can be used in tandem with other spells which provides crowd control, making Medusa’s job easier.
  • Level 10: Mana Shield 
  • Level 11: Mana Shield 
  • Level 12: Stats - Stats are skilled usually when putting points in skills is not feasible due to mana requirements. 

Items to buy for this build (Early to Late Game)

  • Power Treads - Bought at around 7 minutes. Power Treads provide 45 movement speed and 25 attack speed along with toggleable attributes, which offer Ana everything from increased mana pool to armor and even strength, helping Medusa in all stages of the game 
  • Dragon Lance - Bought at around 11 minutes. This item provides increased attack range for Medusa along with increasing all her attributes which eventually increases her HP and physical attack damage. It is an extremely powerful early game item. It is further upgraded into Hurricane Pike at 33 minutes.
  • Manta Style - Bought at 21 minutes. Manta Style provides increased agility and movement speed. It can also be used to disjoint spells and split push lanes. Medusa benefits heavily from Manta as it increases her damage and allows her to increase her map presence and stay durable in fights. 
  • Eye of Skadi - Bought at around 26 minutes. On attacks, it reduced the enemy’s regen while also providing stats, it also slows their movement as well as attack speed. This is essential to disable heroes that heal up quickly. It is a core item on Medusa. 
  • Butterfly - Bought at around 30 minutes. Butterfly provides Medusa with increased agility and movement speed along with high evasion which complements the already existing tankability and makes her untouchable due to her high damage. 

2. Miracle Build 

Miracle has earned the respect and hearts of fans all over the world, this is due to his high octane and intelligent gameplay. He is also one of the few Ti winners on this list. Medusa is not seen played frequently by him but he makes it looks easy whenever he decides to play the hero. There are various different builds that Miracle has tried on Medusa but the early game fighter build is the most prominent.

Medusa is seen differently by Miracle as he opts to play the hero in an extremely fast-paced manner. He prefers ganking and helping his team in teamfights instead of farming away Surely it hinders his item timings but he eventually finds space for himself to farm up and get back on track as soon as he can. His item choices and skill build allow him to go aggressive on his enemies as soon as he can.

Use This Build If:

  • This is a teamfight-oriented build. Medusa is generally known to be a late bloomer, but this build makes her extremely active right off bat, skilling the ultimate earlier than what we are used to seeing makes a huge difference in the trajectory of the game.

Skill Points

  • Level 1: Mystic Snake - Deals high magical damage, often skilled on the first level to secure last hits and deal decent damage to enemy laner. It also bounces between multiple enemies and returns up to 20% of the total enemy mana on max level.
  • Level 2: Mana Shield - Allows Medusa to block 70% of the incoming damage for the cost of her mana. It is an extremely powerful spell as it makes you tanky right from the get-go. It is toggleable and does not require any mana for activation.
  • Level 3: Split Shot - Medusa’s attack projectile gets split into four, dealing less damage in the early levels, but it also allows her to push lanes and farm quickly as she acquires damage items. 
  • Level 4:  Mystic Snake 
  • Level 5: Mystic Snake
  • Level 6: Split Shot
  • Level 7: Mystic Snake
  • Level 8: Stone Gaze - Turns enemies looking in Medusa’s direction into stone for up to 6 seconds. It also amplifies the physical damage dealt by Medusa by 50% if she is able to stone her enemies. This ultimate is extremely powerful right off the bat and can be used in tandem with other spells which provides crowd control, making Medusa’s job easier.
  • Level 9: Split Shot
  • Level 10: Mystic Snake
  • Level 11: Stats - Stats are skilled usually when putting points in skills is not feasible due to mana requirements 
  • Level 12: Mana Shield

Items to buy for this build (Early to Late Game)

  • Power Treads - Bought at around 4 minutes. It provides 45 movement speed and 25 attack speed along with toggleable attributes, which offer her everything from increased mana pool to armor and even strength, helping Medusa in all stages of the game 
  • Dragon Lance - Bought at around 9 minutes. This item provides increased attack range for Medusa along with increasing all her attributes which eventually increases her HP and physical attack damage. It is an extremely powerful early game item. It is further upgraded into Hurricane Pike at 36 minutes into the game.
  • Manta Style - Bought at 17 minutes. Manta Style is a core item on Medusa as it provides increased agility and movement speed. It can also be used to disjoint spells and split push lanes. Medusa benefits heavily from Manta as it increases her damage and allows her to increase her map presence and stay durable in fights. 
  • Eye of Skadi - Bought at around 22 minutes. On attacks, it reduced the enemy’s regen while also providing stats, it also slows their movement as well as attack speed. This is essential to disable heroes that heal up quickly. It is a core item on Medusa. 
  • Butterfly - Bought at around 25 minutes. Butterfly provides Medusa with increased agility and movement speed along with high evasion which complements the already existing tankability and makes her untouchable due to her high damage.
  • Daedalus - Bought at 31 minutes. Daedalus allows Medusa to deal high critical damage. This high damage allows her to be a devastating hard hitter, as she can withstand her ground and dominate against multiple heroes with her high damage. 

1. Yatoro Build 

Yatoro is undoubtedly one of the best carry players in current times. His exceptional hero pool transcends the orthodox carry heroes, making you witness some unusual picks at times. But he is Yatoro so he makes it all work out well. Medusa is a rare sight but as mentioned before, Yatoro makes it work and puts up a show.

Yatoro loves building items that allow him to play the tanky front lining carry while his team deals damage or follows up from a distance. Beefy items like Butterfly, and Eye of Skadi are built by him quite early on in the game, these items may take time to farm as they require a lot of gold, but they are highly relevant in the late game. Yatoro loves playing the late-game reliant Medusa, hitting all the timings and then inching closer towards the Divine Rapier. This item can be of high risk but can yield a high reward if your team can follow up on time.

Use This Build If:

  • You want to take the game slow into the late game, where your enemies may not have the upper hand anymore. This build is more farm-oriented, dragging the game longer until Medusa has enough resources to sustain herself and destroy her enemies in the fights.

Skill Points

  • Level 1: Mystic Snake - Deals high magical damage, often skilled on the first level to secure last hits and deal decent damage to enemy laner. It also bounces between multiple enemies and returns up to 20% of the total enemy mana on max level.
  • Level 2: Mana Shield - Allows Medusa to block 70% of the incoming damage for the cost of her mana. It is an extremely powerful spell as it makes you tanky right from the get-go. It is toggleable and does not require any mana for activation.
  • Level 3: Mystic Snake
  • Level 4: Split Shot - Medusa’s attack projectile gets split into four, dealing less damage in the early levels, but it also allows her to push lanes and farm quickly as she acquires damage items. 
  • Level 5: Mystic Snake
  • Level 6: Split Shot
  • Level 7: Mystic Snake
  • Level 8: Split Shot
  • Level 9: Split Shot
  • Level 10: Mana Shield 
  • Level 11: Stats - Stats are skilled usually when putting points in skills is not feasible due to mana requirements
  • Level 12: Stone Gaze - Turns enemies looking in Medusa’s direction into stone for up to 6 seconds. It also amplifies the physical damage dealt by Medusa by 50% if she is able to stone her enemies. This ultimate is extremely powerful right off the bat and can be used in tandem with other spells which provides crowd control, making Medusa’s job easier.

Items to buy for this build (Early to Late Game)

  • Power Treads - Bought at around 4 minutes. It provides Arteezy with 45 movement speed and 25 attack speed along with toggleable attributes, which offer her everything from increased mana pool to armor and even strength, helping Medusa in all stages of the game 
  • Manta Style - Bought at 16 minutes. Manta Style provides Medusa with increased agility and movement speed. It can also be used to disjoint spells and split push lanes. Medusa benefits heavily from Manta as it increases her damage and allows her to increase her map presence and stay durable in fights. 
  • Eye of Skadi - Bought at around 24 minutes. On attacks, it reduced the enemy’s regen while also providing stats, it also slows their movement as well as attack speed. This is essential to disable heroes that heal up quickly. It is a core item on Medusa. 
  • Butterfly - Bought at around 30 minutes. Butterfly provides Medusa with increased agility and movement speed along with high evasion which complements the already existing tankability and makes her untouchable due to her high damage.
  • Daedalus - Bought at 35 minutes. Daedalus allows Medusa to deal high critical damage. This high damage allows her to be a devastating hard hitter, as she can withstand her ground and dominate against multiple heroes with her high damage. 
  • Divine Rapier - Bought at 42 minutes into the game. Rapier has slowly become one of the most common items on Medusa, in most builds people do not wait for the late game to purchase this item. Medusa benefits heavily from the Rapier as it provides extra 300 physical damage. It is an extremely powerful yet risky purchase as you drop it when you die, and handing it over to the enemies can just mean game over.

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After spending 11,352 hours, slaying Eldwurms and winning the mid lane, Sid is still awfully bad at Dota 2
Gamer Since: 2008
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Currently Playing: DotA2, CS:GO, Rocket League
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