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Axe
Strength attribute symbol
Agility attribute symbol
Intelligence attribute symbol
25 + 2.8
20 + 1.7
18 + 1.6
Level 0 1 15 25 30
Health 120 670 1528 2408 2760
+2.5 +5 +8.92 +12.92 +14.52
Mana 75 291 555 891 1011
+0 +0.9 +2.02 +3.42 +3.92
Armor -1 2.33 6.3 11.13 12.88
Magic Resist 25% 26.8% 29.04% 31.84% 32.84%
Damage Block 16 (50%)
Damage

30
34

55
59

94
98

134
138

150
154

Attack Rate 0.59/s 0.71/s 0.85/s 1.02/s 1.08/s
Attack Range Melee 150 (600)
Attack Speed ▶️ 100 (1.7s BAT)
Attack Animation 0.4 + 0.5
Projectile Speed Instant
Move Speed ▶️ 315 (Nighttime 345)
Turn Rate Takes 0.175s to turn 180°. 0.6
Collision Size 27
Bound Radius 24
Vision Range (G) 1800 (Nighttime 800)
Gib Type Default
Internal npc_dota_hero_axe
This article is about the hero. For other uses, see Axe (Disambiguation)
Taunts and forces enemies to attack him.
One by one the soldiers of the Red Mist fell, some in battle, others to Mogul Khan's ambitions, until the self-declared general found himself a commander without troops. "No matter", Axe thought, "For a one-man army is the best army of all." — Leaping into battle, Mogul Khan compels nearby foes to attack him with a taunting Berserker's Call. Absorbing blows from every direction, the indomitable Axe reacts by swinging his axe full circle in a Counter Helix, easily dispatching the swarm he had gathered. But alas, not all stay long enough to meet their end. The few limping away from Mogul Khan feel an inexplicable Battle Hunger, a hunger never sated before Axe slams his Culling Blade through a weakened enemy, sending them to an early grave. Axe, Axe is always charging onward.
Berserker's Call
Berserker's Call
Battle Hunger
Battle Hunger
Counter Helix
Counter Helix
Culling Blade
Roles: Initiator Initiator Durable Durable Disabler Disabler Carry Carry
Complexity: Hero Complexity
Adjectives: Bearded, NicePecs, Red, Nose
Legs ( 2 )


Bio[]

Axe minimap iconMogul Khan, the Axe
▶️ "Axe is all the reinforcement this army needs!"
As a grunt in the Army of Red Mist, Mogul Khan set his sights on the rank of Red Mist General. In battle after battle he proved his worth through gory deed. His rise through the ranks was helped by the fact that he never hesitated to decapitate a superior. Through the seven year Campaign of the Thousand Tarns, he distinguished himself in glorious carnage, his star of fame shining ever brighter, while the number of comrades in arms steadily dwindled. On the night of ultimate victory, Axe declared himself the new Red Mist General, and took on the ultimate title of 'Axe.' But his troops now numbered zero. Of course, many had died in battle, but a significant number had also fallen to Axe's blade. Needless to say, most soldiers now shun his leadership. But this matters not a whit to Axe, who knows that a one-man army is by far the best.

Abilities[]

Berserker's Call
Berserker's Call icon
Ability
No Target
Affects
Enemies / Self
Axe taunts nearby enemy units, forcing them to attack him, while he gains bonus armor during the duration.
Cast Animation: 0.3+0.5
Radius: Affected by AoE Radius bonuses. 315 (Talent 415)
Armor Bonus: 25 (Talent 29)
Duration: 1.8/2.2/2.6/3
Cooldown symbol
 17/15/13/11 (With Aghanim's Scepter 14/12/10/8)
Mana symbol
 80/90/100/110
Upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter.
Aghanim's Scepter Upgrade:
Berserker's Call applies Battle Hunger to affected units and reduces Berserker's Call cooldown.
Not blocked by Linken's Sphere.
Upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter.
Battle Hunger applied by Berserker's Call is not blocked.
Buff/Debuff
Modifiers [?]
modifier_axe_berserkers_call_armor
Death
modifier_axe_berserkers_call
Death
Ability Draft Notes
Ability Draft Notes:
Upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter.
Battle Hunger icon Battle Hunger must be drafted as well for it to get applied.
Mogul Khan's warcry taunts opponents into engaging in an unconquerable battle with the Axe.

  • Does not affect the following units:
    • Lane creeps from the first creep wave that spawns, until they meet the opposing creeps in the lane.
    • Animal Courier Radiant minimap icon Couriers.
    • Applies the debuff to uncontrollable units (e.g. Undying Zombie icon Undying Zombies), but the taunt does nothing.
  • Successive taunts on units under the taunt effect of Berserker's Call refreshes the duration.
  • When Axe dies, the taunt ends immediately.
  • Berserker's Call effectively increases Battle Hunger icon Battle Hunger's damage per second by 25 (Talent 50) for its duration.
    • Can increase Battle Hunger's total damage by up to 25/50/50/75 ‒ 50/75/75/75 (Talent 29/58/58/8758/87/87/87), depending on the tick timings.
  • Battle Hunger icon Battle Hunger of its current level is now applied to all enemies within 315 (Talent 415) radius upon cast.
    • Both the taunt and Battle Hunger debuff are applied at the same time.
    • Battle Hunger notes fully apply. If it is not leveled, Battle Hunger is not applied.


Battle Hunger
Battle Hunger icon
Affects
Enemies
(Upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter. Self)
Damage
Physical
Enrages an enemy unit, causing it to take damage over time until it kills another unit or the duration ends. The damage is increased by a factor of Axe's armor. The enemy is also slowed as long as he's facing away from Axe.
Cast Animation: 0.3+0.5
Cast Range: Affected by Cast Range bonuses. 700/775/850/925
Base Damage per Second: 10/15/20/25
Armor as Damage per Second: 100% (Talent 200%)
Move Speed Slow: 11%/19%/27%/35% (Talent 23%/31%/39%/47%)
Creep Speed/Armor Multiplier: 0.5
Facing Angle: 90°
Duration: 12
With Aghanim's Scepter Enemy Armor Reduction: 7
With Aghanim's Scepter Self Armor Bonus per Affected Enemy: 7
Talent Self Move Speed Bonus per Affected Enemy: 12%
Cooldown symbol
 20/15/10/5
Mana symbol
 50/60/70/80
Upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter.
Aghanim's Scepter Upgrade:
Battle Hunger also reduces enemy armor and grants Axe armor per affected target.
Partially blocked by Linken's Sphere.
Blocked upon cast.
Upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter.
Not blocked when applied by Berserker's Call.
Buff/Debuff
Modifiers [?]
modifier_axe_battle_hunger_self
Undispellable
modifier_axe_battle_hunger
Ordinary heroes cannot withstand Mogul Khan's rage for battle, such that it injures them until it is satisfied.
Axe Battle Hunger angle

Battle Hunger's angle visualised


  • The debuff can be removed by killing any unit that is not an illusion, in any way. This includes buildings, wards, and denying allied units.
    • The affected unit has to make the kill to remove the debuff. Summons, player-controlled units, and illusions owned by the same player do not remove the debuff when they make a kill.
  • Enemies are not slowed when they have Axe within 90° in front of them, regardless of distance or Fog of War.
    • This does not apply to the movement speed bonus granting Talent talent.
    • Reduces non-hero units' movement speed by 5.5%/9.5%/13.5%/17.5% and armor by 3.5, while granting self 6% movement speed bonus per affected non-hero units.
    • Treats creep-heroes and illusions as creeps.
  • Deals damage in 1-second intervals, starting 1 second after the debuff is placed, resulting in 12 instances.
    • Can deal up to 120/180/240/300 + 12x (Talent 24x) armor as damage (before reductions) when lasting its full duration.
    • Axe's armor is checked periodically and the armor-based damage is updated immediately.
    • The armor-based damage is not capped at 0 armor, meaning if Axe has 10/15/20/25 (Talent 5/7.5/10/12.5) negative armor, it deals 0 damage per second.
  • Leveling up Battle Hunger does not update both the movement speed slow and base damage values of already placed debuffs.
  • Re-casting Battle Hunger on the same target refreshes and updates the debuff.
  • Battle Hunger has a passive modifier that is present on Axe at all times, but hidden when no enemies are debuffed. By default, this modifier serves no purpose.
    • With Aghanim's Scepter icon Aghanim's Scepter, this modifier now grants Axe the armor bonus and movement speed bonus for each debuffed enemy. This means, acquiring Aghanim's Scepter immediately updates the current instance.
    • Effectively increases Battle Hunger's damage per second by 7 (Talent 14) and total damage by 84 (Talent 168) per affected hero.
  • TALENT
    The armor multiplier increasing Talent talent immediately updates already placed debuffs as well.
    • Both the self movement speed increasing and the slow increasing Talent talents do not update the value of already placed debuffs.


Counter Helix
Counter Helix icon
Ability
Passive
Affects
Enemies
Damage
Pure
After a set number of attacks, Axe will perform a helix counter attack, dealing pure damage to all nearby enemies.
Radius: Affected by AoE Radius bonuses. 300
Incoming Attacks: 7/6/5/4
Damage: 95/120/145/170 (Talent 125/150/175/200)
With Aghanim's Shard Max Debuff Stacks on Enemy: 6
With Aghanim's Shard Damage Reduction per Stack: 15%
With Aghanim's Shard Stack Duration: 6
Cooldown symbol
 0.3 (With Aghanim's Shard 0)
Upgradable by Aghanim's Shard.
Aghanim's Shard Upgrade:
Counter Helix now applies a stacking debuff to enemies hit by it that causes them to deal less total attack damage to Axe. Counter Helix no longer has a cooldown.
Disabled by Break.
Break Notes:
If Break is applied by an attack, Counter Helix may trigger on that attack before getting disabled.
Buff/Debuff
Modifiers [?]
modifier_axe_counter_helix
Undispellable
modifier_axe_counter_helix_damage_reduction
Axe is the only reinforcement this army needs.

  • The attack counting buff starts at 7/6/5/4 and lowers by 1 when Axe is hit by a basic attack regardless of distance. This includes secondary attacks from other instant attacks.
    • The buff is always present, but it is hidden when the ability is not learned.
    • When the counter reaches 1, the next attack to hit Axe will proc Counter Helix and reset the counter to 7/6/5/4.
    • Attacks will not reduce the counter under the following conditions:
  • The attack counter has no duration and lasts indefinitely, and persists death.
    • However, when respawning, reincarnating, or leveling up Counter Helix, the counter is reset to 7/6/5/4.
  • Despite the visual effects, the damage is applied instantly within the radius.
  • Counter Helix now places a debuff that refreshes on successive procs on enemies within its radius.
    • Successive procs also refresh the entire stack's duration.
    • The debuff can stack up to 6 times. A number on the icon shows the current number of stacks.
  • Applies a unique outgoing damage reduction debuff on affected enemies that reduces attack damage.
    • Only affects the target's attack damage against Axe. Neither reduces any other damage types nor attack damage against other targets.
    • Can reduce an enemy's attack damage by 15%/30%/45%/60%/75%/90% with each amount of stacks.


Culling Blade
Culling Blade icon
Affects
Enemies / Allies
Axe spots a weakness and strikes, dealing pure damage. When an enemy hero is killed with Culling Blade, its cooldown is reset, Axe gains bonus armor permanently and all nearby allied units gain bonus movement speed and armor.
Cast Animation: 0.3+0.5
Cast Range: Affected by Cast Range bonuses. 175
Damage: 275/375/475 (Talent 425/525/625)
Current Health Kill Threshold: 275/375/475 (Talent 425/525/625)
Armor Bonus per Kill: 1/1.5/2 (Talent 2/2.5/3)
Kill Speed Radius: Affected by AoE Radius bonuses. 900
Kill Move Speed Bonus: 20%/25%/30%
Kill Armor Bonus: 20/25/30
Buff Duration: 6 (Talent 10)
Cooldown Skip on Target Death: 100/85/70
Cooldown symbol
 100/85/70
Mana symbol
 100/125/150
Buff/Debuff
Modifiers [?]
modifier_axe_culling_blade_boost
modifier_axe_culling_blade_permanent
Undispellable
modifier_axe_culling_blade_jungle_weapon_gesture
Death
Mogul Khan is the embodiment of battle and fury, launching into a gruesome fatality against those who dare engage the Axe in combat.

  • Checks the target's current health upon cast.
    • If the current health is lower than the final outgoing damage of Culling Blade, it results in an instant kill.
    • The kill threshold can be increased by the following sources:
    • Incoming damage reduction sources on the target do not prevent Culling Blade from killing it this way.
    • Does not instantly kill Unknown Unit icon Tormentors.
  • Upon culling an enemy hero for the first time, Axe gains a permanent buff that grants armor. Following successful kills on enemy heroes update this buff.
    • Treats the Tempest Double minimap icon Tempest Double, illusions and creep-heroes as creeps.
    • Does not gain a stack if the culled enemy is affected by Upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter. Reincarnation icon Wraith Delay.
    • Gains a stack even when the culled enemy has Reincarnation.
    • The number of stacks is visible on the ability icon, while the armor bonus is visible in the buff's description.
    • The armor bonus is retroactive, leveling up the ability and learning the armor per kill increasing Talent talent update the value.
    • The armor bonus effectively increases Battle Hunger icon Battle Hunger's damage per second by 1/1.5/2 (Talent 2/3/4) permanently.
      • TALENT
        With the armor per kill increasing Talent talent, this further increases to 2/2.5/3 (Talent 4/5/6).
  • COSMETIC
    The jungle weapon gesture modifier is responsible for the sound effects and ability animations used by Fists of Axe Unleashed Culling Blade icon Fists of Axe Unleashed.
  • The armor bonus per kill buff is not lost upon losing the ability.
  • Culling Blade's cooldown reset depends if the primary target dies to the damage. If only the secondary target dies to the ability's damage, Culling Blade grants only the speed bonus with the ability going on cooldown.


Battle Hunger Calculations[]

  • The values below are to be considered as the minimum damage per second values lasting for its full duration, they do not include armor bonuses or reductions from items or other abilities.
Ability Level Battle Hunger icon Battle Hunger Total Damage Calculations
Base Damage + Main Armor
Level 10 Level 15 Level 20 Level 25 Level 30
Level 1
Σ Dmg
120 + 62 (Talent 124) 120 + 79 (Talent 158) 120 + 96 (Talent 192) 120 + 113 (Talent 226) 120 + 130 (Talent 260)
Level 2
Σ Dmg
180 + 62 (Talent 124) 180 + 79 (Talent 158) 180 + 96 (Talent 192) 180 + 113 (Talent 226) 180 + 130 (Talent 260)
Level 3
Σ Dmg
240 + 62 (Talent 124) 240 + 79 (Talent 158) 240 + 96 (Talent 192) 240 + 113 (Talent 226) 240 + 130 (Talent 260)
Level 4
Σ Dmg
300 + 62 (Talent 124) 300 + 79 (Talent 158) 300 + 96 (Talent 192) 300 + 113 (Talent 226) 300 + 130 (Talent 260)
With Aghanim's Scepter icon Aghanim's Scepter + Upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter. 84 damage per Hero affected.

Talents[]

Hero Talents
2x Battle Hunger icon Battle Hunger Armor Multiplier25+100 Berserker's Call icon Berserker's Call AoE
+1 Bonus Armor per Culling Blade icon Culling Blade Stack20+150 Culling Blade icon Culling Blade Damage
+30 Counter Helix icon Counter Helix Damage15+12% Battle Hunger icon Battle Hunger Slow
+12% Movement Speed per active Battle Hunger icon Battle Hunger10+4s Culling Blade icon Culling Blade Speed Bonus Duration

Recent Changes[]

Main Articles: Changelogs, Old Abilities and Hero Lore
Version
Description
  • Increased base armor from -1 to 0.
  • Reduced Berserker's Call icon Berserker's Call armor bonus from 25 on each level to 16/19/22/25.
  • Culling Blade icon Culling Blade
    • No longer grants 20/30/40 kill attack speed bonus.
    • Now grants 20/25/30 kill armor bonus. [?]
  • Increased Berserker's Call icon Berserker's Call radius from 300 to 315.
  • Culling Blade icon Culling Blade
    • Increased damage from 250/350/450 to 275/375/475.
    • U
      Increased current health kill threshold from 250/350/450 to 275/375/475.
  • Reduced Agility attribute symbol agility gain from 2 to 1.7.
  • Increased Counter Helix icon Counter Helix damage from 80/110/140/170 to 95/120/145/170.


Recommended Items[]

Starting items:

  • Tango icon Tango is needed for every hero to slowly regenerate lost health in lane.
  • Healing Salve icon Healing Salve regenerates most of the health lost to enemy harassment, giving you a very big edge on heroes who don't buy one.
  • Iron Branch icon Iron Branch builds into a Magic Wand icon Magic Wand which you will want at some point in the early stages of the game, as Axe likes to be in the thick of things.

Early game:

  • Bracer icon Bracer should be considered as a small item as it allows Axe to gain some additional health and health regeneration. It's especially useful when you are ahead and doing well, as it buffs your strength.
  • Ring of Health icon Ring of Health grants much-needed regeneration early on, and builds into several useful items later.
  • Boots of Speed icon Boots of Speed without upgrades is often sufficient for Axe in the early game, as rushing Vanguard and Blink Dagger is usually more important than boot upgrades.
  • Phase Boots icon Phase Boots is an excellent alternative with 4 bonus armor and an active ability to improve his chasing ability.
  • Magic Wand icon Magic Wand allows Axe to gain burst health and mana while in the middle of fights, where he excels at most.

Mid game:

  • Blink Dagger icon Blink Dagger is the most important item for Axe as it allows him to initiate and counter-initiate for his team.
  • Aghanim's Shard icon Aghanim's Shard significantly improves Counter Helix's damage output by removing its cooldown, particularly against illusion-heavy opponents, and makes Axe more durable with its debuff.
  • Blade Mail icon Blade Mail it provides Axe some damage and armor. The active gives a real punishment for any hard hitting hero caught within your Berserkers Call.
  • Town Portal Scroll icon Town Portal Scroll is necessary for allowing Axe to be present at teamfights and ganks. His powers as an initiator can set up fights decisively for his team.
  • Vanguard icon Vanguard gives Axe even more survivability against physical damage by giving him increased damage block, more HP and HP regen. If bought early enough, it allows him to bully lane opponents with ease and shrug off harassment, while also retaining its utility in the jungle later on, and can be disassembled for stronger items later or kept for Crimson Guard.

Late game:

  • Black King Bar icon Black King Bar can be a necessary purchase if he is facing a very disable-heavy lineup, due to Berserker's Call's noticeable cast time making it interruptible. Because he jumps right into the middle of the enemy to initiate, he is a prime target for focusing down with magic nukes and stuns, so having spell immunity can allow him to do more in fights and get more uses of Berserker's Call.
  • Crimson Guard icon Crimson Guard, upgraded from Vanguard, is a strong utility item that provides Axe with even more survivability against physical damage. The extra armor and attributes on top of the existing damage block and bonus HP can make him extremely tanky, and he can augment it even more and protect his allies with the active.
  • Pipe of Insight icon Pipe of Insight allows Axe to initiate without fear of hard magical damage and allows him to march on the front lines and support his team against said magical damage.

Situational items:

  • Soul Ring icon Soul Ring is an early-game option to keep Axe supplied with mana if he is called on to gank frequently. His high innate regeneration, paired with a Vanguard, offsets the health cost.
  • Urn of Shadows icon Urn of Shadows is a good ganking item early game that gives Axe many benefits. The extra strength increases Axe's HP and base damage, and the passive mana regen helps with his mana problems. This should usually be gotten by a teammate however.
  • Arcane Boots icon Arcane Boots can be built as an intermediate item that sustains Axe's mana, before being disassembled for Lotus Orb or Octarine Core.
  • Lotus Orb icon Lotus Orb provides armor and mana, improving Axe's sustain and durability, and Echo Shell further improves his initiation by punishing enemies that target Axe with single-target abilities.
  • Heart of Tarrasque icon Heart of Tarrasque greatly increases Axe's health and provides base damage, giving him much more power as an initiator, since he can continue disabling the enemy during fights so long as he is alive. As well, if he manages to survive fights and escape, he can quickly regenerate his HP and jump straight back into battle.
  • Shiva's Guard icon Shiva's Guard drastically boosts Axe's intelligence and armor, giving him yet more survivability against physical damage while also eliminating his mana problems. The attack speed slow aura can greatly hinder the enemy from making physical attacks during fights, while the active can be used as a damage nuke and a slow to hinder their mobility.
  • Boots of Travel icon Boots of Travel gives Axe additional battlefield and global mobility. The global teleport allows Axe to show up to fights to initiate for his team more easily, while the increased movement speed allows him to be more mobile on the battlefield, chasing enemies down and inflicting them with Battle Hunger to slow them.
  • Assault Cuirass icon Assault Cuirass is a strong teamfight item that greatly increases Axe's armor and attack speed. The armor provides yet more resistance against physical damage, and the attack speed allows Axe to become much more threatening with his right-clicks. The allied armor and attack speed aura is a strong edge in teamfights.
  • Heaven's Halberd icon Heaven's Halberd is a strong survivability and utility item that can help Axe if the enemy's physical damage output is more than he can handle. The additional strength and evasion give him more health and survivability against physical attacks, respectively, and the active disarm allows Axe to completely stop an enemy from attacking.
  • Aghanim's Scepter icon Aghanim's Scepter gives Axe excellent area-of-effect damage by applying Battle Hunger in an area and improves the uptime of Berserker's Call.
  • Octarine Core icon Octarine Core gives a good bonus to Axe's health and mana while letting him use Berserker's Call and his items more often, and can be built by disassembling Vanguard.

Dota Plus Progress[]

Main Article: Hero Challenges

Relics track a hero's actions and statistics, and display in-game notifications when a milestone is reached. They are only available to Dota Plus subscribers.

Relics Voice Lines
Relic Rare icon
Berserker's Call icon Berserker's Call Damage Done
Relic Rare icon
Near Death Kills
Relic Rare icon
Enemies Culling Blade icon Culled
Relic strength icon
Berserker's Call icon Berserker's Call Damage Taken
Relic strength icon
Teleports Leading To Kills
Relic strength icon
Pure Damage
Relic strength icon
Blade Mail icon Blade Mail Damage
Relic strength icon
Blink Dagger icon Blink Leading To Kills
Relic strength icon
Triple Kills
Relic strength icon
Mega Kill Streaks
Relic strength icon
Kill Assists
Relic strength icon
Kills
Plus Hero Badge 1
Bronze
Plus Hero Badge 2
Silver
Plus Hero Badge 3
Gold
Plus Hero Badge 4
Platinum
  • ▶️ Axe has no time for all this jibber jabber.
Plus Hero Badge 5
Master
Plus Hero Badge 6
Grandmaster

Equipment[]

Trivia[]

  • Several of Axe's deny and Culling Blade icon Culling Blade killing blow responses (e.g. ▶️ "You get nothing. Good day, sir!") are references to Willy Wonka's infamous rage scene in the 1971 movie Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.[1]
  • Axe's name, lore, and "one-man army" image may have been inspired by Khan Noonien Singh in the "Star Trek" series, who was also described as a "one-man army" and killed uncooperative subordinates, along with used-to wearing a red shirt.
  • Axe was once the mascot of Dota 2, featuring only himself in several Dota 2 pages and game arts. This was removed in November 2013 for unknown reasons.
    • Such was his popularity that Valve once considered creating a Dota 2 spinoff RPG, before coming up with a single-player RPG featuring him as the main character, dating way back in 2013 when Valve was preparing new games for the Source 2 engine. This never left the conceptual stage, however.[2]
  • In The Lab, a VR game by Valve, there are some Bendies who wield Axe's war axe, along with other Dota 2 weapons like a Stout Shield icon Stout Shield, Huskar minimap icon Huskar's spear and Legion Commander minimap icon Legion Commander's sword.

Gallery[]

References[]

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