Largo Dota 2 Guide: How To Play, Abilities, Item Builds & Strategy
- Largo is a strength-based position 4 or 5 support built around buffing allies, sustaining long fights, and amplifying team damage rather than making solo plays.
- Largo’s ability kit excels in drawn-out engagements, but he struggles against burst damage, silences, and poor positioning.
- To succeed on Largo, you must master his rhythm-based ult and exercise solid positioning and coordination with your team.
Largo is the newest hero in Dota 2—a strength-based support focused on empowering and buffing allies. While the Bard Frog is not the hardest hero in the game, there are tons of nuances to his ability kit. What’s more, his rhythm-based ultimate can completely throw players off mid-fight.
In this guide, we’ll cover everything about Largo in Dota 2, including his abilities, talents, item builds, and advanced tips to help take full advantage of his unparalleled sustain and damage amp.
Editor’s Note: This Largo Dota 2 guide is accurate for Dota 2 Patch 7.40b and is subject to change after balance changes.
- 1. Who Is Largo in Dota 2?
- 2. Dota 2 Largo Abilities Explained
- 3. Dota 2 Largo Rhythm Mechanic Explained (How It Actually Works)
- 4. Best Skill Build Order For Largo In Dota 2
- 5. Best Talent Choices For Largo In Dota 2
- 6. Best Item Builds for Largo In Dota 2
- Largo Starting Items
- Largo’s Core Items
- 7. How To Play Largo Through Each Game Phase
- Early Game (0–10 Min)
- Mid Game (10–25 Min)
- Late Game (25+ Min)
- 8. Best Allies, Synergies & Team Compositions for Largo
- 9. How To Counter Largo In Dota 2: Weak Matchups & How To Play Around Them
- 10. FAQs
Who Is Largo in Dota 2?
Largo is a strength-based hero who brings his utility and damage amplification as a position 4 or 5. Much like Io, Largo’s role is centered on buffing and enabling his allies. While this checks out with his hero fantasy as a chill bard, it also means it’s up to your teammates to finish the job.
Regarding team composition, the Bard Frog is a versatile support that offers a bit of everything and can be picked during either the first or second draft phase. However, Largo is best paired with at least one heavy magic damage dealer, such as Leshrac, Queen of Pain, Lina, and Zeus.
This Largo hero guide emphasizes that he is unmatched for sustaining drawn-out fights, but struggles against burst or huge AoE ultimates. Moreover, you shouldn’t pick Largo into a team that lacks hard crowd control, as his abilities have a short range and are better for following up on allies.
Dota 2 Largo Abilities Explained
As mentioned, Dota 2’s newest hero has a versatile kit. However, it’s up to you to determine how to properly utilize Largo’s multifaceted abilities.
| Ability | Type | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Encore | Innate | Largo has an extended duration on applying buffs. |
| Catchy Lick (Q) | Unit Target | Licks a target, pulling them and applying a basic dispel (on allies) or dealing damage (on enemies). Largo gains temporary health regen in dispel. |
| Frogstomp (W) | Point Target | Tosses froglings at an area that stomps the ground every second. Each stomp deals magical damage, mini-stuns, and slows enemies. |
| Croak of Genius (E) | Unit Target (Allies) | Buffs an ally with reduced mana costs on abilities/items and causes a portion of their damage to echo over five seconds. |
| Amphibian Rhapsody (R) | Stance | Largo is disarmed and enters a stance. His ability bar switches to three song abilities that he must strum on the beat. Each successful note grants a stack of Groovin’ (bonus armor & reduced song mana cost). |
Catchy Lick (Q)
Catchy Lick is Largo’s primary tool for harass and saves. In lane, keep an eye out for opportunities to pull enemies out of position. It’s almost guaranteed to lead to a kill, especially when paired with a Blood Grenade and a core with strong early burst, like Juggernaut.
Defensively, the ability is one of the few spammable abilities with a Basic Dispel in Dota 2. This allows Largo to play against heroes with annoying debuffs and damage-over-time effects. Lane bullies like Axe, Silencer, and Venomancer will think twice about using their abilities.
That said, always keep track of whether the enemies have something to dispel, including items with roots or silence, and stay close enough to allies because the cast range is moderate. The Catchy Lick timing is also a tight window, so be mindful of Largo’s positioning.
Frogstomp (W)
Frogstomp is Largo’s AoE zone control ability and farming tool. In the laning stage, the mini-stuns and slows are a perfect setup for Catchy Lick, locking enemies down for an uncomfortably long time. Time it when the enemy tries to last hit the ranged creep for best results.
Understanding how to use Frogstomp properly is critical to Largo’s impact. Its damage is applied over time, so you’ll have to anticipate enemy movement. Defensively, it acts as a strong deterrent against blink-reliant cores that dive the backline.
Similar to Largo’s other abilities, the range is quite short and not worth putting yourself in danger just to follow up on a stun. When initiating a fight, be ready to throw Frogstomp to protect your team. It’s definitely an ability worth maxing out almost every game.
Croak of Genius (E)
Croak of Genius is Largo’s best ability—but its effects aren’t immediately noticeable. It’s basically a long-lasting buff that reduces the mana cost of abilities and items, while adding bonus damage based on the ability dealt over time. In simpler terms: buff a caster and let them go to work.
At max level, the buff duration lasts 30 seconds, but this is extended when taking Largo’s Innate ability into account. It’s a subtle but powerful ability that defines Largo’s support mechanics. To maximize ally buffs, identify which teammate will have the most impact in advance.
Oftentimes, Croak of Genius is best used on Largo himself to sustain the high mana demands of his ultimate.
Amphibian Rhapsody (R)
Largo’s ultimate is a unique ability that turns Dota 2 into a rhythm mini-game. While in this stance, the Bard Frog can play three songs that grant team-wide buffs:
- Bullbelly Blitz (Q) — Amps spell damage and grants bonus magic damage on attacks.
- Hotfeet Hustle (W) — Grants movement speed and slow resistance.
- Island Elixir (E) — Heals nearby allies
The key to using Largo’s ultimate effectively is learning to weave playing songs in combination with his base abilities. Like a good song, Largo can maximize each buff by assessing the fight moment to moment.
An ideal Amphibian Rhapsody combo is to engage or reposition using the speed boost from Hotfeet Hustle, which can even be done through Smoke of Deceit. Then, buff the team’s damage with Bullbelly Blitz while allies still have their biggest abilities available. Finally, heal to sustain the fight.
Dota 2 Largo Rhythm Mechanic Explained (How It Actually Works)
Toggling Amphibian Rhapsody’s stance brings up a guitar-like UI, offering some guidance on when to strum each song. In Dota 2, Largo’s rhythm mechanic requires you to press any of the three songs once the small dot aligns with the bigger circle near the end.
There is a beat interval of one second when playing consecutively. The timing is lenient and can be built into muscle memory with only a few minutes of practice on the demo. Additionally, there’s a metronome track to help get the timing right.
After getting the hang of the timing in Dota 2, click the icon above Amphibian Rhapsody and turn off the setting to show the beat indicator above the ability bar, while enabling it to appear above the hero. This change removes the distracting bar and places it on top of Largo’s health bar instead.
Pro Tip: It’s generally better not to play a song than to miss the beat, since this decreases Largo’s stacks of Groovin’.
Best Skill Build Order For Largo In Dota 2
The best Largo skill build should take advantage of his strong kill potential in the laning phase with Catchy Lick and Frogstomp, saving Croak of Genius for later levels. Most of the time, Largo leaves Q with 2-3 points and maxes W for clearing waves and jungle camps, before dedicating remaining skill points to E.
Situationally, consider maxing Catchy Lick against multiple or strong debuffs, like Bounty Hunter’s track, for a lower cooldown to dispel. Either way, the best skill build order for Largo always maxes Frogstomp for its strong crowd control and setup potential.
While it’s tempting to get an early point of Croak of Genius when partnered with a burst hero like Mars or Sand King, an extra point into the first two abilities offers far more front-loaded damage and utility to support your cores.
Best Talent Choices For Largo In Dota 2
As a support hero in Dota 2, Largo’s talent build is obvious on first glance, but there is some wiggle room for situational picks depending on the game state. That’s because it offers a mix of both offensive and defensive boosts.
Level 10
The +15 Frogstomp Damage talent is more useful. The added damage not only boosts Largo’s only farming tool from 65 per stomp to 80 at max level, but also offers extra lethality if paired with other lockdown spells. If all 7 stomps land, that’s 560 area damage before factoring in resistances.
Alternatively, increasing Catchy Lick’s health regen is viable when paired with Aghanim’s Shard against heroes with stacking debuffs like Viper. At max level, this heals for 32 per second for at least 10 seconds (before Largo’s Innate).
Level 15
At Level 15, you can default to the +100 Catchy Lick’s Cast Range and +50 Pull Distance. It’s extremely useful for saving teammates or chasing down enemies. Importantly, the longer reach allows Largo to stay a safer distance away from the frontline.
Against multiple high-HP heroes, adding a max health burn to Croak of Genius is a value pick that can help your cores melt their tanks faster. However, this depends on whether you’re confident enough that these cores don’t need to be rescued with Catchy Lick in the first place.
Level 20
By Level 20, teamfights are far more common, making the +50% Groovin’ Armor Aura talent the right choice in all cases. At Level 16, Groovin’ maxes out at 20 armor for Largo, which means that he’ll share 10 armor with all his allies.
At this point in the game, the extra damage of Catchy Lick is negligible as a support, especially since you’ll be using more to save allies. There’s literally no scenario where you’re skipping team-wide armor—even in the rarest of cases where every hero on the enemy team deals magic damage.
Level 25
Both Largo’s Level 25 talents are powerful, and it all depends on the game state. Generally, +35% Amphibian Rhapsody is the stronger choice, amplifying Largo’s signature ultimate, which in turn enhances the whole team. This talent is also the default choice when investing in a full heal build.
On the other hand, an extra Catchy Lick charge guarantees a save or a kill during late-game fights. If your team is sorely lacking in catch or save, then it’s much more valuable to take this talent. However, this is a niche compared to the general potency of buffing Largo’s songs.
Best Item Builds for Largo In Dota 2
Largo’s primary issue, being a strength-based support, is his poor mana pool. Beyond that, he’s quite self-sufficient and picks one or two defensive items based on what the team needs. Here are some recommended item builds for Largo.
Largo Starting Items
- Starting Items: 2 Iron Branch, 1 Blood Grenade, 2 Tango, 1 Magic Stick, 1 Sentry.
This is an all-around standard starting item for a support, offering a good mix of stats, sustain, and a Blood Grenade to secure early kills when contesting the runes. You can always courier yourself more Tangoes and Enchanted Mangoes as required.
In difficult matchups where you can anticipate heavy harassment with little hope of winning in a fight, we suggest buying a Headdress for regeneration and try to even the score by pulling camps and dragging waves.
Largo’s Core Items
- Core items: Arcane Boots, Magic Wand, Holy Locket, or Glimmer Cape/Pavise
Largo’s item build starts with Arcane Boots to sustain his hefty mana costs. After that, most players default to Holy Locket since it amps up their healing from Amphibian Rhapsody’s E.
The best support players know how to properly identify and counter the biggest threats on the enemy team. In times when Largo’s slow area healing is suboptimal, it’s best to skip Holy Locket for other defensive core items.
Glimmer Cape turns friendlies invisible while providing magic resist. Pavise is great against physical-heavy comps. There’s also Force Staff, Eul’s, Urn of Shadows, Solar Crest, and Aether Lens—use your judgment to determine the best defensive item for your match.
- Extensions: Aghanim’s Shard, Linken’s Sphere, Lotus Orb, Mekansm, Aghanim’s Scepter
After that, Largo wants to buy or ideally take down a Tormentor for his Aghanim’s Shard. The shard duplicates Unit Target buffs on Largo and a nearby ally, which applies to Croak of Genius and most support items. Largo can even double Linken’s Sphere or Lotus Orb with his shard.
Aghanim’s Scepter allows Largo to play two songs at once, while also dealing area damage as he plays. It’s an expensive luxury item as a support, but it’s something to consider to close out a winning game.
How To Play Largo Through Each Game Phase
Early Game (0–10 Min)
In lane, Largo has a strong burst combo with Catchy Lick and Frogstomp that can guarantee a kill with a good core. Outside of this burst, he isn’t as oppressive as other supports like Undying or Jakiro, so you should be careful with trading without any abilities.
Largo’s area control with Frogstomp is valuable for contesting early objectives like Lotus Pools, Wisdom Shrines, and Power Runes. Just make sure you communicate this to your lane partner since Largo lacks escape tools to disengage from a disadvantage.
Try to float close enough to the enemy duo that you can catch them anytime with Catchy Lick. Its capability to reposition is always a threat whenever they step slightly forward to last hit creeps.
Mid Game (10–25 Min)
By mid-game, Largo wants to balance roaming with farming camps or clearing dangerous waves with Frogstomp. At this stage, Amphibian Rhapsody’s speed boost will be his best asset, since it allows the whole team to roam and skirmish much faster.
Largo’s winning strategy in the mid-game is to carry a Smoke of Deceit, then speed boost his allies under its effects. Largo’s short range on his Q and W makes it dangerous for him to initiate first, but it makes for an amazing follow-up during a gank.
As always, deep wards are essential for successful rotations.
However, don’t get carried away by overplaying songs and losing all your mana for Largo’s base abilities. Aside from farming, Largo can’t make any solo plays like Skywrath Mage or split push like Shadow Shaman. Either make plays with your team or farm up your Shard.
Late Game (25+ Min)
Late game is where Largo’s positioning matters the most. His short cast range makes him vulnerable, yet he needs to stay near the fight to play his songs. His personal goal is to survive the initial jump from the enemy team so that he can heal or buff uncontested.
Be patient and prioritize survival since Largo’s enhanced buffs can be the key to winning a teamfight. Preemptively apply Croak of Genius to casters and item effects like Linken’s Sphere, since Largo’s Innate would be leveled enough to have permanent uptime.
During high ground sieges, amp up the team’s damage with Bullbelly Blitz, but keep the speed boost ready to disengage. When the enemy is trying to siege the high ground, stall with Frogstomp without walking too far forward, or you might get caught.
Best Allies, Synergies & Team Compositions for Largo
Overall, Largo fits into team compositions that want to group up and fight together, or deathball strategies. His buffs from Croak of Genius and his ultimate will make the whole team hit harder and faster.
As for the individual Largo ally synergy, he pairs well with magic damage dealers because of E, melee heroes that are prone to being kited, like Sven or Ursa, and any fragile backliner that could use the save from Catchy Lick.
How To Counter Largo In Dota 2: Weak Matchups & How To Play Around Them
Largo’s buffs are very powerful when left uncontested. However, he is a vulnerable target with limited self-defense and mobility. His buffs are free-flowing but short-lived, so any silences or hard disables targeted at him take him out of the fight.
Silence is an annoying Largo counter, but the problem can be solved through items like Guardian Greaves, Eul’s Scepter of Divinity, and Lotus Orb, which dispel. Take more time to farm in these matchups.
Other Largo counters are enemies with huge burst damage, since they can kill allies before they can heal them back up. Largo also directly suffers from enemies that can punish his low mobility, but he can’t escape from them with his movement speed boost.
Heroes like Clockwerk, Mars, and Slark will wait for you to show before jumping into the fight. Don’t be excited to walk in the middle of the fight since you have the potential to save your allies, but they can’t do the same for you.
FAQs
What role is Largo in Dota 2?
Largo is best played as a position 4 or 5 support in Dota 2, but can also flex into a utility offlaner.
How hard is Largo to learn compared to other supports?
After taking time to master Largo’s rhythm game, Largo is a relatively straightforward hero in Dota 2. However, his short cast range and low mobility mean that he must be more aware of his positioning.
How does Largo’s rhythm mechanic work?
Largo’s ultimate, Amphibian Rhapsody, replaces your basic abilities with three songs. Strum them to the beat or when the dot reaches the circle to play a song.
What are the best items for Largo in Dota 2?
Largo needs Arcane Boots and a Magic Wand to sustain his mana. Afterwards, he can go for a full heal build centered around Holy Locket, or standard support items like Glimmer. It’s also ideal that he gets Aghs Shard at some point.
When should you pick Largo in a Dota 2 draft?
Largo is a great first pick in Dota 2 as he offers a little bit of everything. However, he is reliant on competent teammates, so you might want to avoid him in lower ranks.
