A hero for adrenaline junkies, Storm Spirit provides arguably the best nonstop movement of any hero, and is commonly seen bouncing around the battlefield, zapping his foes and zippingaway. Storm Spirit mixes up physical attacks spell damage. Static Remnant lays down a flickering electrical clone, which on contact will explode, delivering shocks to all foes in the vicinity. Electric Vortex is a powerful disabling spell, which Storm Spirit uses to reel in enemies; he especially likes to reel them into a Static Remnant. Completing this combo, Overload adds a blast of electricity to every spell he casts. Storm Spirit's ultimate ability is Ball Lightning, a teleportation spell with no cooldown and no maximum range, which gives Storm Spirit the ability to zap around the map as long as his mana and regeneration don't give out. Like a storm, this hero gathers strength slowly, but once at full power, he is an unstoppable force of nature.
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A massive leviathan of incredible strength and toughness, Tidehunter is a real tank. Using his Gush skill, he can slow and damage a single target while reducing their armor, allowing him and his allies to pummel the target to a pulp. To aid his close combat skills, Tidehunter has a powerful Anchor Smash spell, which he can use to unleash a devastating area of effect spin attack. A target of Gush who is hit by an Anchor Smash or two is in deep trouble. To protect himself while chasing down and smashing enemies, Tidehunter has a passive: Kraken Shell. This ability reduces all damage from physical attacks by a set number, allowing the Leviathan to wade into combat without fear, ignoring the blows of lesser foes. Kraken Shell also occasionally dispels negative spell effects, making him even more difficult to stop. By far the most feared ability of the Tidehunter is Ravage. This mighty ability allows the Tidehunter to cause immense damage and stun all enemies in a large area around him. This ability is most effective in large team battles, where it is a simple matter to hit the entire enemy team at once with its writhing tentacles, setting up the Tidehunter and his allies for an easy victory.
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Although she is an intelligence hero, Windrunner's gameplay style resembles that of an agility hero in many ways. Most of the time she relies on her physical attack. Her archery skills are powerful to start with but also enjoys a steadily increasing rate of fire. Deadly Power Shots not only pierce the nearest target with massive damage, but continue on to damage any units in the line of fire. Due to its exceedingly long range, Power Shot is also excellent for picking off injured heroes as they flee. To stop enemies from fleeing in the first place, Windrunner has Shackleshot--one of the best single-target stuns in the game. Shackleshot allows Windrunner to shackle a target either to a tree or to another enemy unit, potentially stunning two heroes. Her third skill, Windrun, allows her to escape dangerous situations, position herself for good Shackleshots, and catch up to fleeing enemies. If Powershot isn't enough to take down a target, she can use Focus Fire. This powerful ability makes her attack a single enemy at the fastest possible rate; while it reduces her total damage, it has a long duration. Focus Fire is also highly effective against buildings and other stationary targets--and woe to the enemy hero who is first hit by Shackleshot, since they are now essentially a stationary target themselves.
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Chen's standard gameplay is different than most other heroes. Holy Persuasion allows him to convert creeps to his side, including powerful neutral creeps. As a result, Chen is usually found in the forest searching for creeps to convert. When he finds a strong creep or two, he descends on his unwary enemies, using both his own spells and the abilities of his persuaded creeps to take them out. Due to the difficulty of effectively controlling multiple units and abilities, Chen can be a tricky hero to play to his full potential. When ambushing enemies, Chen generally uses his Penitence ability, which slows the target and causes them to take extra damage from Chen's flock. Test of Faith can both finish off enemies, and also double as a way to save threatened allies by teleporting them to safety. Chen's support skills are rounded out by Hand of God, a healing spell which instantly restores a set amount of life to all allied heroes across the battlefield. Although Chen can be difficult for newer players, those who are skilled at controlling multiple units will find him very powerful.
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Anti-Mage's passive Mana Break allows him to deal extra damage and deplete a spellcaster's supply of mana. As he grows into his powers, his Spell Shield makes him more resilient against magical attacks. Meanwhile, Blink gives him the ability to teleport across short distances for superb maneuverability. Seeking out weary casters, he uses Mana Void to inflict immense damage on those who are low on mana. Although Anti-Mage is disadvantaged against casters in the early game, his powers grow quickly, and there is no one better suited for destroying the greatest spellcasters at what ought to be their moment of triumph.
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Venomancer is a hideous monstrosity who casts an assortment of toxins to bring down his enemies. He uses a fast Venomous Gale attack to project his poison at all enemies in a narrow path in front of him, slowing victims greatly and dealing damage over time. His attacks are coated with Poisonous Stingers that both slow and damage afflicted enemies. He can summon Plague Wards to do his bidding-deploying them either far out in front of him to scout, or in the heart of the bloody battle itself, to fight and weaken enemies. The wards can also be used to push and block off routes of attack or escape. His ultimate attack, Poison Nova, unleashes a potent toxin in a large ring around his body, infecting everyone it hits, dealing large damage, but over a long time. Though this toxin isn't lethal, every other poison he carries is. He is exceptional at weakening enemies, and slowing them down so that they don't stand a chance in team fights.
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Dazzle is an unusual support spellcaster, who focuses entirely on physical damage rather than magical attacks. Hence, he is extremely effective backing up allies with strong physical attacks. Poison Touch doesn't deal much damage, but it is a very effective slow and stun with a ridiculously short cooldown. Escaping from Dazzle with a high level Poison Touch is nearly impossible. Shadow Wave doubles as a good heal and damage ability. Similar to Poison Touch, this ability may seem weak at first, but due to the extremely low cooldown it can be cast constantly, and with some clever placement can cause a lot of damage. Shallow Grave is an essential ability. When cast on a damaged ally, it can prolong life for several crucial seconds, allowing them to escape or cause even more damage before they go down. Often enemies will chase a hero who is under the effect of this spell, believing them to be an easy kill. This is can be a fatal mistake. Finally, the Weave spell gives Dazzle a method for boosting the power of his own spells and also giving his team a significant advantage in any battle. Due to the low cost and cooldown of Weave, he can cast it at practically every fight with great effect.
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Necrolyte is an unusual offensive spellcaster, since he has two passive skills and only one primary attack spell. However, this doesn't stop him from being one of the strongest offensive spellcasters around. Necrolyte's Death Pulse is his bread and butter. This powerful ability doubles as a damage spell and a healing spell, with both effects on every cast. Death Pulse hits all nearby heroes, causing damage to foes and healing both friends and Necrolyte himself. Since it has a short cooldown period, this spell can be cast very often, providing constant harassment to enemies while keeping allies in top form. To fuel this barrage, Necrolyte has a passive skill named Sadist which replenishes some of his mana every time he kills a unit. To further weaken his enemies, his powerful Hearstopper Aura slowly drains the life of all foes in a large area of effect around Necrolyte. When he sees a sufficiently injured enemy hero, Necrolyte uses Reaper's Scythe, which is arguably the best spell in the game for killing off damaged heroes. This deadly spell deals damage based on how much life the target is missing, so even the toughest heroes die as a fast as the fragile ones. A strong Necrolyte is nearly impossible to defeat, releasing constant Death Pulses and draining enemies' lives with Heartstopper Aura until they are finished.
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Vengeful Spirit is so driven to seek revenge against her foes that she will sacrifice herself if it gives an advantage to her team. Her Magic Missiles stun and damage targets. Releasing Wave of Terror, she exposes an oncoming enemy while shredding its armor and dulling its ability to damage. Her lust for vengeance is contagious: nearby allies feel compelled to deal more damage. Even though she is not a particularly tough or agile hero, she will Swap her position with a key enemy or allied hero in an instant, disregarding her own safety for a promise of sweet revenge.
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Dark Seer is a master of manipulating the positioning of allies and enemies and causing confusion in battle. His Vacuum ability drags all enemy units in a wide area to a central location. This spell is very deadly when combined with allies who have strong area of effect spells. Dark Seer's primary damage source is Ion Shell. When cast on an allied unit, or the Dark Seer himself, Ion Shell continuously damages all adjacent enemies, making it the natural complement to Vacuum. Ion Shell is powerful when cast on allied melee heroes who like to be in the thick of the fight. To aid his allies and to make sure Ion Shell is in range, the Dark Seer uses Surge, a powerful spell that makes a target ally move at maximum speed for a short period of time. This ability is useful in any situation, and due to its low cooldown period and mana cost it can be cast quite frequently. Dark Seer's final spell, Wall of Replica, summons a shimmering barrier which duplicates any enemy hero that passes through it, creating an illusion of him. Wall of Replica is great at causing a lot of confusion during large battles, especially combined with Vacuum. Dark Seer is a perfect fit for players who like a more strategic playstyle and can quickly determine the flow of battle.
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