How Nullifier Actually Works: Explained in 17 Minutes

Corrections:
As of 7.35b the Nullify active now lasts 4s instead of 5s so has a 40% uptime instead of 50%. Units under the Nullify active are now also slowed by 10% for the duration.
3:55 - Nullifier does not prevent an ally from cycloning an enemy as that is considered a debuff, where Nullifier only removes buffs. That's on us for not realising the same spell can be considered a buff or debuff depending on who it is cast on. Thank you to users mikawesseling320 and shortcircuited5069 for the correction.
13:45 - despite saying that Repel is dispellable: it isn't actually dispelled by Nullifier. Spells which pierce Debuff Immunity and also dispel the target such as Doom's Doom, Winter Wyvern's Winter's Curse and Shadow Demon's Demonic Purge will all dispel Repel. Thank you to user A H for this one that slipped us by. Game continues to be hard.

Please do check the description for all item and hero ability interactions with Nullifier. Shout out to zzadrianzz who popularised this style of DOTA 2 content. You can find our full playlist of DOTA videos from various creators that explain how items and mechanics of DOTA actually work from Adrian and other creators like ZQuixotix, PainDota and BalloonDota as well as links to their channels by looking in the description as well. Good luck and Happy Gaming!

you dont know how hard i was trying to find information on this item... thank you bro.

Ever had a game with raidboss built bloodseeker (aghs scepter + bloodstone) where he just can't seem to have his hp get lower than full? Chances are, he's probably had a huge stack of hp barrier from his aghs scepter effect and will keep stacking up barrier from his ability overheals up to 50% of his max hp. This makes Bloodseeker so tanky while continuously dealing lots of dmg.

With nullifier, you can immediately bring that barrier to zero and keep him from stacking up hp barrier for the duration of nullifier. From there, use every hp regen reducing spells or items you have to keep him from regaining hp from his thirst and bloodstone.

One thing I don't see often but works in my Legend bracket is buying nullifier early-ish when you need damage.
The best example is PA, if I see that the enemy team has good physical damage and no undispellable saves I don't even think about getting Deso but get Nulli instead. That way I solve the following problems:
1. enemy supports can't save themselves, I can genuinely feed on them 25 min into the game and they can't do anything about it as long as BKB is on
2. I get good damage, definitely not as much as a fully upgraded Deso but it's comparable early when not upgraded
3. I get good protection against physical damage, meaning PA is even less likely to die from physical damage
4. I can put the brakes on certain enemy core heroes such as MK, because his Jingu mastery buff is dispelled by Nullifier which makes him super sad in the midgame

And the best yet, you force enemy supports into awkward itemization choices. Imagine their pos5 has their first defensive item half-done and they see you with a Nulli. Do they finish the item? Do they get baited into getting Linken which you can pop very easily?

Super underrated in my opinion.

I need more of this item breakdown video. Nice one!

At the risk of my current spam hero being nerfed/banned… wanted to share that shadow demon ult is essentially a better/more flexible/upgradable version of nullifier

I've been waiting for a video just like this for the last couple of years. Thank you so much!

This level of explanation and analysis truly deserves some love <3 look forward to seeing more of these in your videos!

This is a great video! The hardest part of getting back into the game imo is figuring out item sense again and all the interactions between reworked items, I def want to see more videos like this!

this is very informative i used to think this item became useless after they removed the mute. thanks now i know how to deal with soo many buffs when i play carry.

Loved your video. Very detailed and exactly what i was looking for. Subscribed :) Keep it up!!

Dude you are amazing, I was looking for this information for so long and You helped me. Thankyou <3

I think for windrunner you should mention that at 25 windrunner gets windrun can not be dispelled as an option. as you are viewing this more from the perspective of a late game item the fact that a talent nullifies the effect is not ideal

Thank you fir the helpful info! I never see this item bought in my games and i think its in part to people not quite understanding the item

Amazing video, really enjoying these types of videos, great info

instantly subbed. your explanation is just amazing.

love this kind of content. Hope you can make more Item and Hero detailed guides.

tnx for ur high quality content, learned a lot 🙏

Earned a sub, please more high MMR content like this

I never used Nullifier, I've been playing DotA 2 for 3 years, and I'm still learning, but this video was extremely helpful and I'll give the item a go when facing one of the heroes you guys mentioned