Dota 2 bug acidentally gives Rubick powerful three-spell buff, but there’s a catch

Rubick is a Dota 2 hero who separates the sheep from the wolves. His ultimate, Spell Steal, is lethal in the hands of skilled support players. Xu “fy” Linsen and Yazied “YapzOr” Jaradat have shown that time and time again in the professional scene, but it happens in pubs, too.

As the name suggests, it lets Rubick steal the last spell a targeted enemy hero cast, including Ultimates. When upgraded with Aghanim’s Scepter, he can steal two, with a slot for each one. But what if it were possible to steal three? It turns out, that’s actually possible at the moment; Dota 2 players have discovered a bug that allows him to do it. It requires some very specific steps, but it can be done.

The first is acquiring an Aghanim’s Scepter and stealing Fiend’s Grip and Nightmare from Bane. Naturally, that means it can only be done in games with a Bane on the enemy team. In order for it to work, Fiend’s Grip must be stolen first and Nightmare second.

The second step is casting Nightmare, which adds a third slot, allowing players to cast Nightmare, then cancel it or let its duration pass.

The third and final step is simply stealing another spell. It will occupy the extra third slot that appeared beforehand, meaning players will have Fiend’s Grip, Nightmare, and whatever other spell they’ve stolen.

Players have tested the bug and it still works at the time of writing this article. It’s apparently been in the game for at least two months. Now that it’s catching on, Valve will likely remove it via a hotfix. Until that happens, though, Rubick players are free to wield three spells to their heart’s content—as long as there’s an enemy Bane and they’ve followed the steps above.