What players buy
The items bought most in each of Valve’s four game stages
Public matches · each item’s own count
1stMost bought
350 buys
2ndSecond most
98 buys
3rdThird most
87 buys
4thFourth most
87 buys
5thFifth most
15 buysBy GamGem ResearchLast updated 22 Sept 2026
Queen of Pain
Ranged · Intelligence
- Win rate
- 47.3%
- Pick share
- 0.9%
- Matches
- 418,768
- Patch
- 7.41f
Draft coverage
BringsCarryNukerEscape
NeedsSupportInitiatorDisablerFrontlineTower damage
Recommendation
Pick
- The game is heading for 50 min + — that is where this hero measures best, at 52.9% over 1,459 matches.
- You are playing around Guardian — its strongest medal, 47.7% over 31,203 picks.
Avoid
- Keeper of the Light is on their side — this hero wins 33.0% of 115 matches against it.
- Largo is on their side — this hero wins 31.5% of 92 matches against it.
- Chen is on their side — this hero wins 35.3% of 85 matches against it.
350 buys98 buys87 buys87 buys15 buys
Skill Order
Which ability to max first, and where each point goes — what most league players on Queen of Pain took at each level.
QShadow Strike
Hurls a poisoned dagger which deals large initial damage, and then deals damage over time.
Unit Target · Magical damage
WBlink
Short distance teleportation that allows Queen of Pain to move in and out of combat.
Point Target
EScream Of Pain
The Queen of Pain lets loose a piercing scream around her, damaging nearby enemies.
No Target · Magical damage
RSonic Wave
Creates a gigantic wave of sound in front of Queen of Pain, dealing heavy damage to all enemy units in its wake and pushing them back.
Point Target · Pure damageMax Order
EWQ
Max E first, then W, then Q. Most took R at 6 / 13.
Level-up Order
- QShadow Strike
- WBlink
- EScream Of Pain
- RSonic Wave
- TTalent
| Ability | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QShadow Strike | Q | Q | Q | Q | ||||||||||||
| WBlink | W | W | W | W | ||||||||||||
| EScream Of Pain | E | E | E | E | ||||||||||||
| RSonic Wave | R | R | ||||||||||||||
| TTalent | T | T |
Matchup map
How Queen of Pain performs against every opponent with 30 or more counted games
120 opponents · public matches40%60%Queen of Pain'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 “slow”.
- I am being jumped
A way out, a way to shrug the debuff, or something to eat the burst. Matched on “blink”, “teleport”.
- Kill them in one window
Damage that lands now rather than over a minute. Matched on “magical”, “pure”, “damage over time”.
- Stay in lane
Healing, regeneration or lifesteal — not having to walk back. Matched on “lifesteal”.
By medal
- Herald47.1%8,783
- Guardian47.7%31,203
- Crusader47.5%57,651
- Archon47.4%86,761
- Legend47.5%97,001
- Ancient46.5%64,946
- Divine46.6%41,052
One count per medal, not one rate split across them; a medal with no counted matches is left out.
By match length
- 0–20 min47.8%4,986
- 20–30 min49.3%13,517
- 30–40 min50.6%8,584
- 40–50 min51.3%3,409
- 50 min +52.9%1,459
Bands under 120 matches are absent rather than shown small.
Learning Queen of Pain
Abilities
Shadow Strike
Unit Target · Magical damageHurls a poisoned dagger which deals large initial damage, and then deals damage over time. The poisoned unit has its movement speed slowed for 16 seconds. An instance of damage is dealt every 3 seconds.
Blink
Point TargetShort distance teleportation that allows Queen of Pain to move in and out of combat.
Scream Of Pain
No Target · Magical damageThe Queen of Pain lets loose a piercing scream around her, damaging nearby enemies. 25% of the damage dealt to heroes is reflected back to her.
Succubus
PassiveAll sources of Spell Lifesteal also apply to Pure Damage. Queen of Pain gains Spell Lifesteal that increases with proximity to her enemies. Lifesteal is at its maximum when the enemy is 150 units or closer to her and at its minimum when the enemy is 800 units or further from her.
Sonic Wave
Point Target · Pure damageCreates a gigantic wave of sound in front of Queen of Pain, dealing heavy damage to all enemy units in its wake and pushing them back.
Base attributes
- Strength
- 20 +2.4
- Agility
- 22 +2.5
- Intelligence
- 25 +3.4
- Move · range
- 290 · 550
Talents
- 4Blink CooldownSonic Wave Damage
- 3Scream of Pain DamageSonic Wave Cooldown
- 2Shadow Strike Damage Interval+30 Damage
- 1Attack Speed against Shadow Striked units+7 Strength
Aghanim’s Scepter
Changes Shadow Strike
Causes Shadow Strike to become a 375 AoE Spell. When Shadow Strike ends or is re-applied to an enemy Hero, the target emits a Scream of Pain, hitting any nearby enemies.
Aghanim’s Shard
Changes Blink
Releases a sonic boom when Queen of Pain blinks, at both her starting and ending locations. Deals 125 damage in a 300 AoE and silences the target for 1.75 seconds.
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.