Carry · Field guide
Lifestealer
Stay on a reachable target through the first exchange and use Infest to change the entry or exit.
First check
Who can still control or kite you after Rage ends?
Play as Lifestealer
- Farm toward a fight where your team can hold the target in attack range; a defensive item cannot replace access to the enemy back line.
- Coordinate an Infest arrival with the carrier’s route and the team’s follow-up rather than surprising allies with an unsupported jump.
- Use Rage for the threat you expect to cross, then plan where you will stand when that protection is no longer available.
Play against Lifestealer
- Keep a second control or repositioning answer for the moment Rage ends instead of spending every response on his first step forward.
- Watch likely Infest carriers before a fight and force them to show from a predictable route.
- Move waves away from your structures so a long fight against his sustain does not also become a free push.
Make the lesson stick
Review three Infests and mark the carrier route, target reached, remaining control after Rage, and objective conversion.
Added September 26, 2026. These are decision cues, not fixed builds or matchup guarantees. Verify current spell and item behavior in the Dota client, the official Lifestealer hero page, and official updates.