Abilities


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Abilities are unique skills that heroes   Main   Mechanics   Attributes Table   Release Dates   Grid Layout     Heroes are the essential element of Dota 2, as the course of the match is dependent on their intervention. During dota2 and creeps Creeps are basic units in Dota 2. Every unit which is not a hero, building, ward or courier is considered a creep. Creeps can belong to either faction, be neutral, or be player-controlled units. Unlike dota2 have access to on the battlefield. They range from simple passive effects, to devastating explosions of energy, to complex, terrain changing feats. All heroes have four or more abilities, three or more basic abilities and an ultimate ability, that they can assign ability points to every time they level up. Every level in an ability makes it more powerful, sometimes increasing its mana cost as well.

Abilities can consume mana Play Out of mana! “ Play It s a new age of magic! Click to listen— Keeper of the Light ” Mana (also known as MP, which is short for mana points) represents the magic power of a dota2 , and may also be placed on cooldown when used. Abilities that are on cooldown cannot be used until their cooldown timer is up, at which point they can be cast again. Abilities with low cooldowns are sometimes referred to as "spammable" abilities, because they can be used very frequently.

Upgrading abilities

Ability levels for most heroes
Ability level Hero level for
Regular Ability
Hero level for
Ultimate*
1 1 6
2 3 12
3 5 18
4 7 -
5 9 -
6 11 -
7 13 -
* Meepo   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs   Known Bugs     Meepo 23 + 1.6 23 + 2.2 20 + dota2 can upgrade his ultimate on levels 3/10/17

Every time a hero levels up, they earn an ability point, until their abilities are fully upgraded. The player can then spend the point to unlock one of the hero`s abilities, or to upgrade an already learned ability. At the start of the game, all of a hero`s abilities are locked, but they each start with one ability point which can be used at any time. Abilities cannot be used and do not have any effect if they are still locked. After an ability is unlocked, it can be upgraded several times. Basic abilities can be upgraded 3 more times, for a total of 4 levels, and a hero`s ultimate ability can be upgraded 2 times, for a total of 3 levels.
The exception to this is Invoker   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Invoker 16 + 2.2 14 + 1.9 16 + 4 Level Base dota2 , who can upgrade his basic abilities 6 times (total of 7 levels).

Upgrading abilities will make them more effective. Depending on the ability, upgrading the spell may increase the amount of damage, increase the duration of an ongoing effect such as a disable Disables (also called crowd control, or CC) refer to any abilities or status effects that prevent, impede, or otherwise inhibit a Hero from acting. Disables come in many different varieties, and most Heroes have access , or otherwise improve the ability.

Sometimes, upgrading abilities will also increase or decrease the mana cost. For instance, each level in Earthshaker   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs   Known Bugs     Earthshaker 22 + 3.2 12 + 1.4 16 + dota2 `s Fissure increases the damage it deals and the duration of its stun, but also increases its mana cost.

Besides directly leveling abilities, there are a few other ways to make abilities more powerful. Spell Amplification   Spell damage   Spell damage sources     Spell damage is all damage which is not dealt by physical attacks. This includes all spells which deal magical, physical or pure damage. Even the damage dota2 is a mechanic which increases the amount of damage of abilities slightly. Aghanim`s Scepter   Item   Upgraded Abilities   Old Abilities   Lore   Changelogs     Aghanim s Scepter The scepter of a wizard with demigod-like powers. Cost4200 Bought FromCaster Passive Ultimate Upgrade Bonus +10 Strength+10 Agility+10 Intelligence+175 dota2 is a special item which can enhance most heroes in a unique way. depending on the hero, it may enhance the power of their ultimate ability, improve one or more basic abilities, or in some cases, Aghanim`s Scepter even grants an entire new ability.

Some heroes also have an ability which improves their other abilities further. For instance, Ogre Magi For the neutral ogre creeps, see Ogre Camp.   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs   Known Bugs     Ogre dota2 `s Multicast makes his other 3 abilities more powerful.

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Basic abilities

Basic Abilities can be upgraded to a new level once every 2 levels. This means that a level 2 hero cannot upgrade a learned ability to level 2. Every 2 levels, a hero increases his maximum ability level by 1. Ultimate abilities can only be upgraded every 6 levels, starting from level 6. These abilities are usually more powerful than a hero`s basic abilities.

Ultimates

A hero`s last ability, which can usually be trained at level 6, level 12, and level 18, is called an ultimate. There is only one exception to this level restriction: Meepo   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs   Known Bugs     Meepo 23 + 1.6 23 + 2.2 20 + dota2 `s Divided We Stand, which can instead be upgraded at levels 3, 10, and 17.

Ultimates can be high-impact abilities that define a hero`s strengths and playstyle; they often have a devastating effect and a long cooldown. In some cases be that as it may, they are not the main strength, but just synergize very well when combined with the other abilities. Some ultimates have a lower effect but are spammable due to a relatively short cooldown. Ultimate abilities can also be passive abilities.

Ultimates, unlike normal abilities, are usually able to target a unit under a spell immunity   Spell Immunity   Ally Interactions   Enemy Interactions     Default buff iconPlay Error sound “ Play Magic shall not prevail! Click to listen— Anti-Mage ” Spell immunity (formerly known as magic immunity) is a modifier dota2 effect, such as Black King Bar   Item   Changelogs     Black King BarB A powerful staff imbued with the strength of giants. Cost3975 (1375) Bought FromArmor Active Avatar Bonus +10 Strength+24 Attack damage Disassemble? No Alert allies? No Recipe dota2 . They will rarely damage such a unit, but other effects such as slows A Slow is a type of status effect that reduces the afflicted units Movement Speed by a percentage, and/or Attack Speed by a flat value of their current speeds. Contents 1 Mechanics 1.1 Slowing movement dota2 or stun Stun is a status effect that prevents active actions like moving, turning, using spells or items, but does not prevent passive abilities, such as evasion and Damage Block. Stuns also interrupt spell casts, channeling spells dota2 will usually apply. This makes ultimates, especially those with stun effects, incredibly powerful, since enemy heroes cannot block the effects.

Sub-abilities

Many abilities come together with sub-abilities. These extra abilities usually do nothing on their own and mostly are only active after the spell they come with was cast first, or in some cases, they serve as a set-up for other spells. Their tasks range from activating the effects of other abilities on demand, manipulate abilities or even fully cancel them when desired. Usually, these abilities are innate, or are unlocked after learning specific spells. Since these abilities usually have a very low or no cooldown at all, they usually do not trigger abilities which react on ability usage, like Magic Wand   Item   Changelogs     Magic WandB A simple wand used to channel magic energies, it is favored by apprentice wizards and great warlocks alike. Cost465 Bought FromCommon Active Energy Charge Charges 0 Bonus dota2 `s charge gain or Arcane Curse   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Silencer 17 + 2.5 22 + 3 27 + 2.5 Level Base dota2 `s spell cast penalty.

Charge-based abilities

Main Article: Charge-based abilities

Some abilities (basic and ultimate abilities) do not use the cooldown system, but instead have a number of charges and no cooldown. Each cast of such a spell consumes one of its charges, which then replenishes over time.

Ability types

An ability`s type refers to how that ability`s effects are applied.

For abilities listed by their ability and targeting type, see here Contents 1 Active 1.1 Target unit 1.2 Target point or unit 1.3 Target point 1.4 Target area 1.5 No target 1.6 Toggle 2 Passive Active edit] Target unit edit] Abaddon – Mist Coil Abaddon – .

Active

Active

Active abilities must be used in order to apply their effects. Active abilities can consume mana, have cooldowns, and usually have some method of targeting related to them. The majority of abilities are active abilities. They can be activated by pressing their associated hotkey. If an ability can target the caster, double tapping the hotkey causes them to activate immediately on the caster.

Active abilities are indicated by a bevel around the icon, which makes them look like a button. When an ability gets used and enters its cast animation   Cast Animation   Cast Point   Cast Backswing     Every unit has unique cast animations for each of their spells. The cast animation of a spell is enacted as soon as a target , the bevel turns green and the icon shifts, looking like a pressed button. When selecting a targeted ability, the icon and the bevel appear brighter until the ability gets deselected or the cast begins. Active abilities also have a hotkey displayed at the top left corner.

Passive

Passive

Passive abilities apply their effects either permanently as soon as they are learned, or activate by themselves if the ability is learned and its requirements met. These requirements can range from attacking a unit, casting a spell or even getting attacked. Most passive abilities do not consume mana and usually do not have cooldowns, exceptions include Wraith King   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Wraith King 22 + 3.2 18 + 1.7 18 + 1.6 Level dota2 `s Reincarnation. Most heroes have at least one passive ability, though not all do.

Passive abilities do not have a bevel and look like they are pressed into the hud. Since passive abilities cannot be used manually, their appearance never changes. Passive abilities only have an icon displayed upon learning.

Autocast

Autocast

Autocast abilities are special active abilities that can be toggled on or off, or manually cast. Disables Disables (also called crowd control, or CC) refer to any abilities or status effects that prevent, impede, or otherwise inhibit a Hero from acting. Disables come in many different varieties, and most Heroes have access such as silences Play Silence! Silence is a status effect that prevents those affected from using active hero abilities for the duration of the silence. It can be useful when ganking a hero with a blink or invisibility dota2 and stuns Stun is a status effect that prevents active actions like moving, turning, using spells or items, but does not prevent passive abilities, such as evasion and Damage Block. Stuns also interrupt spell casts, channeling spells dota2 do not prevent a unit from toggling its autocast abilities on or off. Be that as it may, autocast abilities cannot be used when silenced as with all other spells. Most auto-castable spells are active attack modifiers, applying a modification to the user`s attacks when activated. When toggled on, the ability will apply whenever possible. For instance, Drow Ranger For the race in Dota 2 lore, see Drow.   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs   Known Bugs     dota2 `s Frost Arrows will be used whenever she attacks a target. When toggled off, they will not be used and will not consume mana. When an active attack modifier is manually cast, it is partially treated as a spell cast instead of as an attack. This causes nearby enemy creeps to not aggro when using them that way. This is also known as orb walking Attack modifiers are modifiers which apply an effect to a unit s basic attacks. These effects can widely vary, from healing, to damaging or even disabling effects. Most of these modifiers have their own rules. For dota2 .
Not all abilities with autocast are attack modifiers. A few of them are regular abilities, which, when toggled on, will automatically be cast when their requirements are met. An example of such is Ogre Magi For the neutral ogre creeps, see Ogre Camp.   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs   Known Bugs     Ogre dota2 `s Bloodlust. When toggled on, Ogre Magi will automatically cast Bloodlust on nearby allied heroes.

Auto-castable abilities have almost the same appearance as regular active abilities. They also have a bevel which turns white when selected and green when casting. Be that as it may, they do not turn green for attack modifiers. On top of that, they have a thicker second bevel behind the first bevel. This one glows orange when the ability gets set on autocast.

These are the only auto-castable active attack modifiers:

And these are the only auto-castable active abilities:

Targeting types

Active abilities and autocast abilities are targeted in different ways, depending on the effects of the ability.

No Target

Abilities with the no target requirement are immediately cast as soon as its button is pressed. Many of these abilities do not have a cast time. They cannot directly target a unit or a point. They usually affect the caster, or units around the caster. They can affect an area around the caster, or have a global effect.

  • Examples of instant abilities are Mirana`s Leap, Slardar`s Slithereen Crush, and Zeus` Thundergod`s Wrath.

Toggle

Toggle abilities are always non-targetable. These abilities apply a periodic effect and also commonly drain mana as long as they are toggled on. These effects can range from damaging or healing nearby allies, to switch between attack types and to manipulate other abilities of the unit. If the toggle ability drains mana over time, it turns itself off once not having mana to support it anymore. They cannot be forcibly turned off by anyone but the player by pressing their button again, or by dying. Like regular spells, they cannot be used (in this case, turned on or off) while affected by disables which prevent ability usage. Be that as it may, once they are toggled on, they persist through any form of disable, including silence.

  • Examples of toggle abilities are Morphling`s Morph, Leshrac`s Pulse Nova, and Io`s Spirits In and Spirits Out.

Target Point

Indicator of area target spells

Point target abilities require the caster to target a point or an area. Upon pressing such a spell`s button, the cursor turns into a crosshair that determines where the ability will be cast, or in which direction it will be cast. Point targeting abilities can have very varying effects. For some spells, it merely determines the direction to launch an effect, for other spells it determines an exact point where an effect will be applied.

  • Examples of point target abilities are Techies` Remote Mines, Spectre`s Spectral Dagger, and Morphling`s Waveform.

Target Area

Area target abilities work like point target abilities, with the only difference being that they require the caster to target a whole area, instead of a point. Upon pressing such a spell`s button, the cursor turns into a targeted area indicator which shows the area the ability will affect. Upon cast, these abilities usually affect the whole targeted area, or all units in the area. Some apply their effects once upon cast, and some apply a lasting effect which affects units which enter the area after cast.

Target Unit

Unit target abilities require the caster to directly target a unit, and cannot be used on the ground. Upon pressing such a spell`s button, the cursor turns into a crosshair that determines on which unit the ability will be cast. Most unit targeted abilities affect only the target. Abilities that apply their effect to a single unit are often called "single target spells". When targeting a unit which is out of cast range, the caster follows the unit until it gets in cast range or cannot be targeted anymore (e.g. the target turns invisible).

Combinations

Indicator of unit target spells with area effect

Some of the targeting types can appear combined.

Target Point or Unit

Some point targeted abilities may also be able to directly target a unit. In such cases, the spell is cast towards the targeted unit`s current location. If the target unit is out of cast range, the caster follows it until it is within range and casts the spell on the unit`s position. Even when the target moves during the cast animation, the spell is still cast on it, or launched towards it if it is a traveling effect. This does not cause the spell`s actual effects to home in on the target.

  • Examples of point target abilities which can also target units are Sand King`s Burrowstrike, Nature`s Prophet`s Sprout, and Lina`s Dragon Slave.

Target Unit with area effect

  • A few singlet-target abilities have an effect which affects an area around the primary target. Like unit targeted abilities, these must be directly cast on units, and cannot be cast freely on any area. Such abilities have their own targeting cursor, which resembles the targeting cursor or ground targeted area spells. They have the same blue ring like area targeted spells, and have pulsing gapped rings which start at the center and move outwards. At the center, they have a small yellow reticule, indicating that a unit must be targeted.
  • Examples of unit target abilities with area effects are Sven`s Storm Hammer, Oracle`s Fortune`s End, and Winter Wyvern`s Winter`s Curse.

Cast event

A small number of spells react on abilities being cast, meaning they trigger certain effects when affected units cast abilities. Abilities reacting on spell casts are:

For balance reasons, the following abilities do not trigger any on-cast event:

Time and Cost

All abilities have a cast time and cost, along with a cooldown.

Cast Time

Abilities use either the hero`s cast time or its own unique cast time. The animation can be cancelled early to stop the ability from being used, and it will not spend Mana or go on cooldown if cancelled.

Instant Cast Time

Ignores cast time and activates instantly.

Channel Time

Will only provide its effect as long as the user does not get interrupted or cancel it early. Some forms of movement do not interrupt channeling.

Cooldown

The wait period after casting. The spell may not be allowed to be cast again until the cooldown time is over.

Mana Cost

Requires Mana Points to be spent from your hero`s mana pool. It cannot be cast without enough mana.

HP Cost

HP cost was previously known as HP removal. It directly subtracts the Hit Points of the user and does not count as damage or an attack. This allows effects that are stopped by on-hit triggers such as Bottle to continue working. HP cost is not considered a damage type, is always non-lethal, and cannot lower the user`s HP below 1. The damage cannot be reduced or amplified by any ability. Below is a list of all spells with HP costs.

Charges

Main Article: Charge Abilities

Charge based abilities use an ammo system rather than a basic single-use cooldown ability. Each charge recovers on a shared cooldown, allowing only 1 charge can be recharged at a time. Another charge does not recharge until the one before it has finished. Charge an be stored to allow multiple uses in quick succession. The maximum number of charges depends on the ability.

Targeting Types

Some spells require a target to be cast, while other spells are released instantly.

No Target

Skills of this type do not require a target to be cast, and will activate when pressed. Skills of this type will start their effects as soon as their cast time or channel time has completed.

Unit Target

Skills of this type require a target to be selected to provide their effects. The cursor will change to allow target selection. If the spell has an area of effect, a blue visual indicator appears. The indicator has a central targeting visual to imply that it must be cast on a single target regardless of the area effect it provides after.

Control Modifiers
A few Consumables can be changed to Unit Targeting when the Control key is held. List is below:

Point Target

Skills of this type require an area to be selected and may affect the area around the casting point. If the spell has an area of effect, a blue visual indicator appears to indicate the area that will be affected.

Ability Types

Active

Active abilities must be used in order to apply their effects. Active abilities can consume mana, cooldowns, and usually have some method of targeting related to them. Most abilities are active abilities. Active abilities are indicated by a bevel around the icon, which makes them look like a pressable button. They can be activated by pressing their associated hotkey.

Channel

Main Article: Channel

Channeled abilities require the user to stay still while it is active. A bar showing the duration of the channel time will appear when used. The effect ends if interrupted or cancelled. See the main article for a list of all channeled abilities and actives which can be used while channeling.

Passive

Main Article: Passive

Passive abilities will apply their effects as long as they are learned. They can be applied to the hero itself, or as an aura belonging to the hero. Passive abilities do not consume mana and sometimes have cooldowns.

Toggle

Main Article: Toggle

Toggled abilities can change states between on and off. They are similar to passives but must be toggled to enable or disable their effects. Toggled abilities do not have cooldowns and sometimes consume mana.

Auto-Cast

Main Article: Auto-Cast

Auto-Cast abilities are abilities that can be toggled on to automatically cast, or turned off to manually cast. An auto-castable ability will have an empty rim around it, which glows orange when toggled on. When toggled on the ability will apply when it can. For example, Drow Ranger`s Frost Arrows will be used whenever she attacks a valid target. When attacking an invalid target such as a Tower, the Frost Arrows will not be used or consume mana, as if they are toggled off. These abilities can also be manually cast for greater precision, in which case they fire off a single time. If the ability is a Unique Attack Modifier it will be treated as a spell when manually cast, as opposed to a physical attack. This is known as Orb Walking. See here for a list of all auto-cast abilities.

Innate

An innate ability is a special ability that is not skilled and is already learned by the hero at the start of the game. This persists through all game modes, including Ability Draft. While their other skills may be shuffled around, a hero with an innate ability will still have their innate ability tied to them alone. All innate abilities are listed below:

Ultimates

Ultimate abilities are high impact abilities that may only be leveled 3 times instead of 4. They may be leveled at 6, 12, and 18 at the earliest. Some ultimates are affected by Aghanim`s Scepter, a powerful item that passively upgrades them. If dropped or sold, the upgrade is lost until the hero is in possession of it again. Upgrades with irreversible effects will not allow Aghanim`s Scepter to be removed from that hero`s inventory. The upgrade Aghanim`s Scepter provides is different for every hero. It can be a new ability entirely, an upgrade to the hero`s basic abilities, or simply an increase in power to the hero`s ultimate.