“Does it pierce BKB?” in Dota 2

Black King Bar and the eternal piercing question

Black King Bar, or simply BKB, is an item that temporarily makes a hero immune to most enemy effects. But not all of them: some abilities “pierce” it, and which ones is a question players have been answering differently for years.

The wording “Does it pierce BKB?” is not quoted in the sources as a set phrase, and it has no single author. What is documented is years of confusion about the mechanic, from 2015 threads to breakdowns of patch 7.33, which is what turned the question into a meme.

The question usually concerns a specific ability or item: does BKB stop the Orchid silence, the Abyssal Blade stun, Bane's ultimate or Beastmaster's roar? The answer depends not only on the ability but also on the game version: the list has changed from patch to patch, and old answers have gone out of date.

A 2015 thread: Orchid, Abyssal Blade and opposite answers

As early as June 2015, players on the Steam forums were arguing over whether BKB stops item disables such as Orchid and Abyssal Blade. People gave directly opposite answers, and the final advice was: check the wiki and the description of each individual ability.

That advice still holds: according to Liquipedia, piercing is listed in each ability's description, and ultimates are the ones that most often go through immunity. There is no complete, fixed list, since it changes from patch to patch.

Patch 7.33: from Spell Immunity to Debuff Immunity

On April 21, 2023, patch 7.33 New Frontiers came out, and the mechanic changed fundamentally. Spell Immunity was replaced with Debuff Immunity: effects that do not pierce BKB are no longer blocked entirely but delayed, taking effect once the immunity ends.

BKB also started granting increased magic resistance and full protection from pure and reflected damage. The changes were covered in detail by ONE Esports, Liquipedia and cyber.sports.ru.

Hence a new version of the old argument. Before, the answer “it doesn't pierce” meant the effect simply didn't work; after 7.33 it means the effect will land later, once BKB ends. The question “does it pierce or not?” gained a follow-up: “and what happens when the immunity runs out?”

What pierces and what waits for immunity to end

Abilities that pierce BKB include Beastmaster's Primal Roar and Bane's Fiend's Grip. Ones that don't include Jakiro's Dual Breath and Vengeful Spirit's Magic Missile. The Orchid silence doesn't go through immunity either; it is applied after immunity ends.

The item itself has changed too: in patch 7.31d in June 2022, its cooldown was raised from 75 to 90 seconds, which ONE Esports described as a BKB nerf. And on April 17, 2026, as cybersport.ru reported, ATF couldn't activate BKB after Invoker's Tornado, and Satanic wrote to him “YOU NOOB.” That case was about activation timing rather than piercing, but it also stems from confusion over how BKB works.

The golden staff in the picture and example captions

The catalog image is the Black King Bar item art: a golden staff with a red stone at its tip on a dark background.

These examples were made up for illustration: “Popped BKB and still died. Guess it pierces,” “Me: reading every ability description. Also me a minute later: wait, does this pierce BKB?”, “Patch 7.33: it doesn't pierce, but it'll wait for you after BKB.”

The captions usually rely on one device: a player's confidence in the mechanic runs into reality, and in the end it all comes down to the ability description.