Burst damage

“I die before I can react.”

Start with Extra Health — the cheapest answer, at 800 souls . 28 more below, by tier.

Items that answer this

29 items

Tier 1 800 souls each

Extra Health Buy early against burst lanes when you are getting one-shot out of trades.
Grit Cheap early answer to a burst-heavy lane; also the component for Guardian Ward, Reactive Barrier, Spirit Shielding and Weapon Shielding.

Tier 2 1,600 souls each

Guardian Ward Buy on supports to save a focused ally from a burst window; it is the path to Divine Barrier.
Reactive Barrier Buy when enemy crowd control is followed by burst damage — it buys you the seconds you need to live through the combo. Watch out: Triggers only on Stun, Chain, Immobilize, Sleep or Silence — not on plain damage
Return Fire Buy against divers and sustained gun carries who commit to shooting you at close range. Watch out: Returns pre-mitigation damage, so it works off the attacker's raw output
Spirit Sap Buy against an enemy spellcaster: it lowers their damage and raises yours against them at the same time.
Spirit Shielding Buy against spellcaster burst combos — it absorbs the opening spike and hardens you for the follow-up. Watch out: Self-only; cannot be cast on allies
Weapon Shielding Buy against a gun carry whose opening burst kills you before you can respond. Watch out: Melee damage also counts toward the trigger threshold

Tier 3 3,200 souls each

Bullet Resilience Buy when the enemy team's damage is predominantly gun-based; it is the standard tier-3 bullet answer. Watch out: Low-health threshold raised 40% -> 50% and the bonus lowered 22% -> 15% on 6 Mar 2026
Counterspell Buy against telegraphed single-target ultimates and hex-style point-and-click abilities you can read and parry. Watch out: Multiple abilities can be parried in the window, but the heal and buffs only apply from the first
Fortitude Buy when enemy poke keeps forcing you off the map and you want to reset in the field.
Metal Skin Buy to blank an enemy gun carry's ultimate or burst window entirely. Watch out: Blocks weapon damage from players and NPCs, but on-bullet-hit effects and build-ups still apply
Silence Wave Buy to cut off enemy ability combos in a teamfight, or to Silence a channelling ultimate hero before they start — it will not cancel one already being channelled. Watch out: Silence does not interrupt channelling abilities, so it will not cancel an ultimate that is already being channelled
Spirit Resilience Buy when enemy ability damage is the main thing killing you.

Tier 4 6,400 souls each

Cheat Death Buy when you are being assassinated in every fight — it converts one death per 90 seconds into an escape window. Watch out: Clears all non-stun debuffs when it triggers
Colossus Buy on frontliners who need to absorb a full team's damage while holding enemies in place. Watch out: The bonus base health applies only to starting base health and boon health, not health from abilities or other items
Cursed Relic Buy to shut down one enemy carry or to cancel a game-deciding ultimate outright. Watch out: Voice lines still refer to the old name Curse
Divine Barrier Buy on supports to cleanse a focused ally's debuffs and shield them through a burst window from across the fight. Watch out: Removes non-stun debuffs only — stuns are not cleansed
Diviner's Kevlar Buy on heroes with a channelled or commitment-heavy ultimate that the enemy tries to burst you out of.
Echo Shard Buy on heroes with a single high-impact non-ultimate ability, such as a Stun or a big nuke, to double it in a fight.
Ethereal Shift Buy to survive a telegraphed assassination combo or ultimate — you cannot be hurt for four seconds. Watch out: Interrupts your own channelled abilities on activation
Focus Lens Buy to take one enemy caster out of the fight — it silences them for four and a half seconds. Watch out: Damage dealt to a barrier on the target counts toward the banked damage (fixed 30 Oct 2026)
Frenzy Buy on durable carries who regularly fight at low health and can survive the window.
Indomitable Buy when enemy CC lands faster than you can react — it is the automatic, no-timing-required anti-lockdown item.
Refresher Buy on heroes with a fight-winning ultimate so you can use it twice in one engagement.
Scourge Buy on supports to harden a focused ally against a caster team while adding pressure damage.
Silencer Buy when an enemy spellcaster is the main damage threat and you can land sustained bullets on them. Watch out: Silence does not apply to a target with Unstoppable active
Spellbreaker The go-to answer to a spellcaster who deletes you with one big ability — it caps the spike and shortens their stuns at the same time. Watch out: Now builds from Debuff Reducer as of 30 Jan 2026
Witchmail Buy on an ability-reliant hero who is being targeted by enemy casters — the more they hit you, the more you cast. Watch out: Only selects from abilities currently on cooldown