What players buy
The items bought most in each of Valve’s four game stages
Public matches · each item’s own count
1stMost bought
172 buys
2ndSecond most
158 buys
3rdThird most
75 buys
4thFourth most
50 buys
5thFifth most
34 buysBy GamGem ResearchLast updated 22 Sept 2026
Mars
Melee · Strength
- Win rate
- 47.0%
- Pick share
- 0.4%
- Matches
- 190,898
- Patch
- 7.41f
Draft coverage
BringsCarryInitiatorDisablerDurable
NeedsSupportBurstTower damageEscape
Recommendation
Pick
- The game is heading for 40–50 min — that is where this hero measures best, at 50.8% over 2,723 matches.
- You are playing around Herald — its strongest medal, 47.8% over 3,334 picks.
Avoid
- Treant Protector is on their side — this hero wins 36.0% of 111 matches against it.
- Shadow Demon is on their side — this hero wins 41.7% of 343 matches against it.
- Monkey King is on their side — this hero wins 39.2% of 120 matches against it.
172 buys158 buys75 buys50 buys34 buys
Skill Order
Which ability to max first, and where each point goes — what most league players on Mars took at each level.
QSpear of Mars
Mars throws his legendary Spear with deadly precision, damaging each enemy unit it strikes.
Point Target · Magical damage
WGod's Rebuke
Mars smashes enemies in front of him with his shield, knocking them back and damaging them with a critical hit based on his attack.
Point Target · Physical damage
EBulwark
Mars wields his massive shield to block a portion of each physical attack when hit from the front or sides.
Point Target · Instant Cast
RArena Of Blood
After a short formation time, Mars summons an arena lined with the undead warriors of the Ash Legion, who block enemy attacks and movement.
Point Target · AOE · Magical damageMax Order
QWE
Max Q first, then W, then E. Most took R at 6 / 13.
Level-up Order
- QSpear of Mars
- WGod's Rebuke
- EBulwark
- RArena Of Blood
- TTalent
| Ability | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QSpear of Mars | Q | Q | Q | Q | ||||||||||||
| WGod's Rebuke | W | W | W | W | ||||||||||||
| EBulwark | E | E | E | E | ||||||||||||
| RArena Of Blood | R | R | ||||||||||||||
| TTalent | T | T |
Matchup map
How Mars performs against every opponent with 30 or more counted games
120 opponents · public matches40%60%Mars's win rate
≥ 60%Very favorable
55 – 60%Favorable
50 – 55%Even
45 – 50%Unfavorable
40 – 45%Hard
< 40%Very hard
If this happens, use this
- They are running away
Something that holds them still, or closes the gap yourself. Matched on “stun”.
- I am being jumped
A way out, a way to shrug the debuff, or something to eat the burst. Matched on “shield”.
- Kill them in one window
Damage that lands now rather than over a minute. Matched on “magical”, “critical”.
- Clear or push the wave
Creeps, summons and anything that hits a building. Matched on “summon”, “building”.
By medal
- Herald47.8%3,334
- Guardian46.2%10,779
- Crusader47.2%21,430
- Archon47.4%34,791
- Legend46.9%43,656
- Ancient47.0%34,789
- Divine46.9%25,668
One count per medal, not one rate split across them; a medal with no counted matches is left out.
By match length
- 0–20 min45.5%4,763
- 20–30 min47.1%13,400
- 30–40 min49.3%8,312
- 40–50 min50.8%2,723
- 50 min +49.8%983
Bands under 120 matches are absent rather than shown small.
Learning Mars
Abilities
Spear of Mars
Point Target · Magical damageMars throws his legendary Spear with deadly precision, damaging each enemy unit it strikes. The first enemy hero it hits is skewered on the spear, pushing it back. If a skewered hero hits a tree, building, or cliff, they will be impaled to it and stunned.
God's Rebuke
Point Target · Physical damageMars smashes enemies in front of him with his shield, knocking them back and damaging them with a critical hit based on his attack. Bonus damage is added when hitting heroes. Has True Strike.
Bulwark
Point Target · Instant CastMars wields his massive shield to block a portion of each physical attack when hit from the front or sides. Can be toggled, granting phased movement, removing Mars's ability to attack, and locking the direction he is facing. When active, reduces movement speed and re-directs 70% of the attack projectiles aimed at allies towards himself.
Dauntless
PassiveMars gets more HP Regen the more he is outnumbered by enemy heroes in 700 radius.
Arena Of Blood
Point Target · AOE · Magical damageAfter a short formation time, Mars summons an arena lined with the undead warriors of the Ash Legion, who block enemy attacks and movement. Enemy heroes near the inside edge of the arena will be attacked by spears, dealing damage and knocking them back.
Base attributes
- Strength
- 23 +3.7
- Agility
- 18 +1.7
- Intelligence
- 21 +2.2
- Move · range
- 310 · 250
Talents
- 4God's Rebuke CritArena Of Blood Grants Team HP Regen
- 3Arena Of Blood Spear DamageSpear of Mars Stun
- 2God's Rebuke CooldownSpear Of Mars Damage
- 1God's Rebuke Distance+1.5 Mana Regen
Aghanim’s Scepter
Changes Arena Of Blood
Lowers cooldown by 10s and increases duration. If an enemy is killed in the Arena, Mars and all of his allies inside the Arena restore 35% of their max health and mana and get a 35% attack damage buff for 20s. This effect stacks.
Aghanim’s Shard
Changes Spear of Mars
Spear of Mars impales up to 2 heroes and leaves a fire trail behind that deals damage over time and slows movement speed.
Sources
- Kit, talents and upgrades · mechanicalread 22 Sept 2026
Ability names, icons, behaviour, damage type and text, plus the Aghanim’s Scepter and Shard descriptions — as the game itself ships them. Nothing here was counted over matches.
- Win rate by medal · countedread 15 Sept 2026
The same hero at each of Valve’s eight medals, over 4,610,063 public matches. Each medal carries its own sample, because the eight buckets are nothing like the same size.
- Matchups and match length · counted, on a narrower windowread 16 Sept 2026
Win rate against each opponent and across five match-length bands. This channel reports far fewer games than the medal figures above: the median hero pairing is 51 matches and the largest on the whole roster is 707. Rows under 30 games are absent rather than shown small, and the ones that remain are ORDERED by a figure shrunk toward even by its own sample — the rate you see is the real one, the ranking is the careful one.
- What players build · countedread 15 Sept 2026
The five most common items in each of Valve’s four game stages, with each row’s own pick count.
- Skill order · counted, in league matchesread 3 Oct 2026
Where skill points go, read off every player's own learning order in premium and professional league matches on patches 7.41 and 7.40. Each level shows the ability most players took there and the share that did — a column only a third agree on is printed as a third, not as the rule. Heroes under 30 counted games show no path.
- Situation index · derived, and checkableread 22 Sept 2026
Each situation is a phrase match against Valve’s own ability text, and every row shows the phrases that matched. No win rate is attached, because nobody counts one per situation.
Mechanics are the ones Valve publishes for patch 7.41f. GamGem is not affiliated with or endorsed by Valve Corporation.