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Crystal Maiden
Strength attribute symbol
Agility attribute symbol
Intelligence attribute symbol
17 + 2.2
16 + 1.6
18 + 3.3
Level 0 1 15 25 30
Health 120 494 1154 1902 2188
+0.25 +1.95 +5.03 +8.43 +9.73
Mana 75 291 843 1383 1599
+0.5 +1.4 +3.71 +5.96 +6.89
Armor 0 2.67 6.4 11.07 12.73
Magic Resist 25% 26.8% 31.42% 35.92% 37.77%
Damage Block -
Damage

30
36

48
54

94
100

139
145

157
163

Attack Rate 0.59/s 0.68/s 0.81/s 0.98/s 1.04/s
Attack Range Ranged 600 (800)
Attack Speed ▶️ 100 (1.7s BAT)
Attack Animation 0.45 + 0
Projectile Speed 900
Move Speed ▶️ 280 (Nighttime 310)
Turn Rate Takes 0.175s to turn 180°. 0.6
Collision Size 27
Bound Radius 24
Vision Range (G) 1800 (Nighttime 800)
Gib Type Ice
Internal npc_dota_hero_crystal_maiden
Unleashes a high damage blizzard upon her foes.
Wherever Rylai went, the cold went with her. Fields and orchards withered in her wake, leaving her parents no choice but to pack her off to Icewrack, a realm in the frigid north. Under the tutelage of a hermit wizard, Rylai learned to imprison her enemies with a Thick Block of Ice, holding them in place as she Freezes the Ground. Magic flourishes under her, stimulating Arcane Energy Regeneration in all her companions. In the heat of battle, Rylai keeps a cool head. Channeling her Elemental Talents, the Crystal Maiden summons enormous shards of ice from the skies, obliterating all foes foolish enough to remain in her Freezing Field.
Crystal Nova
Frostbite
Arcane Aura
Crystal Clone
Crystal Clone
Freezing Field
Freezing Field
Roles: Support Support Disabler Disabler Nuker Nuker
Complexity: Hero Complexity
Adjectives: Blue, Cape, Cute, Female, Icy, Nose
Legs ( 2 )


Bio[]

Crystal Maiden minimap iconRylai, the Crystal Maiden
▶️ "When Hell freezes over, I'll start calling it Heaven."
Born in a temperate realm, raised with her fiery older sister Lina, Rylai the Crystal Maiden soon found that her innate elemental affinity to ice created trouble for all those around her. Wellsprings and mountain rivers froze in moments if she stopped to rest nearby; ripening crops were bitten by frost, and fruiting orchards turned to mazes of ice and came crashing down, spoiled. When their exasperated parents packed Lina off to the equator, Rylai found herself banished to the cold northern realm of Icewrack, where she was taken in by an Ice Wizard who had carved himself a hermitage at the crown of the Blueheart Glacier. After long study, the wizard pronounced her ready for solitary practice and left her to take his place, descending into the glacier to hibernate for a thousand years. Her mastery of the Frozen Arts has only deepened since that time, and now her skills are unmatched.
Aliases:
CM, Rylai, Wolf

Abilities[]

Crystal Nova
Crystal Nova icon
Affects
Enemies
Damage
Magical
A burst of damaging frost slows enemy movement and attack rate in the targeted area.
Cast Animation: 0.3+0.6
Cast Range: Affected by Cast Range bonuses. 700
Effect Radius: Affected by AoE Radius bonuses. 425 (Talent 550)
Damage: 110/160/210/260 (Talent 410/460/510/560)
Move Speed Slow: 20%/30%/40%/50%
Attack Speed Slow: 30/45/60/75
Slow Duration: 5
Cooldown symbol
 11/10/9/8 (Talent 7/6/5/4)
Mana symbol
 115/135/155/175
Upgradable by Aghanim's Shard.
Aghanim's Shard Upgrade:
Grants the Crystal Clone ability.
Buff/Debuff
Modifiers [?]
modifier_crystal_maiden_crystal_nova
The air temperature around Rylai drops rapidly, chilling all around her to the core.

  • Provides a 6-second 900 radius ground vision at the target area upon cast.
  • Crystal Nova first applies the damage, then the debuff.
  • Plays a sound effect during the cast time which is audible to everyone.


Frostbite
Frostbite icon
Affects
Enemies
Damage
Magical
Encases an enemy unit in ice, prohibiting movement and attack, while dealing damage over time. Lasts 10 seconds on creeps level 6 or lower.
Cast Animation: 0.3+0.6
Cast Range: Affected by Cast Range bonuses. 600 (Talent 725)
Damage Interval: 0.2
Damage per Second: 100
Hero Duration: 1.5/2/2.5/3 (Talent 2.75/3.25/3.75/4.25)
Creep Duration: 10 (Talent 11.25)
Cooldown symbol
 9/8/7/6
Mana symbol
 125/135/145/155
Partially pierces debuff immunity.
The True Sight pierces debuff immunity.
Blocked by Linken's Sphere.
Upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter.
Not blocked when passively applied by Freezing Field.
Upgradable by Aghanim's Shard.
Not blocked when passively applied by Crystal Clone.
Buff/Debuff
Modifiers [?]
modifier_crystal_maiden_frostbite
Rylai channels winds from the Blueheart Glacier, imprisoning attackers in thick blocks of ice.

  • Despite the visual effects, Frostbite applies its effects immediately and cannot be disjointed.
  • Roots and disarms the target, preventing it from moving, attacking, and casting certain mobility abilities.
  • Deals 20 damage in 0.2-second intervals, starting 0.2 seconds after cast, resulting in 7.5/10/12.5/15 (Talent 13.75/16.25/18.75/21.25) damage instances to heroes and 50 (Talent 56.25) to creeps.
    • Can deal up to 150/200/250/300 (Talent 275/325/375/425) damage to heroes and 1000 (Talent 1125) damage to creeps (before reductions).
  • Successive casts do not stack but refresh the duration.


Arcane Aura
Can be used by illusions. Disabled by Break. ER
Arcane Aura icon
Ability
Aura
Affects
Allies
Gives additional mana regeneration to all friendly units on the map. Allies within a 1200 radius of Crystal Maiden receive 3x the mana regeneration. Crystal Maiden herself receives 7x the bonus.
Aura Radius: Global
Proximity Aura Radius: 1200
Base Mana Regen Bonus: 0.4/0.6/0.8/1
Proximity Bonus Factor: 3
Self Bonus Factor: 7
Aura Linger Duration: 0.5
Can be used by illusions.
Illusion Notes:
Bestows and benefits from the aura.
Buff/Debuff
Modifiers [?]
modifier_crystal_maiden_brilliance_aura
Undispellable
modifier_crystal_maiden_brilliance_aura_effect
Undispellable
Cold temperatures promote the essence of magic, causing Rylai's presence to allow spell usage in abundance.

  • Arcane Aura provide two auras, and its buff lingers for 0.5 seconds.
    • The first aura has a Global radius.
    • The second proximity aura grants her allies 1.2/1.8/2.4/3 mana regeneration bonus per ability level within 1200 radius.
    • Crystal Maiden receives 7 times of the base mana regeneration value, regenerating 2.8/4.2/5.6/7 mana per second per ability level.
  • The base mana regeneration aura can regenerate up to 24/36/48/60 mana per minute for allies.
    • Within the proximity aura radius, allies can regenerate up to 72/108/144/180 mana per minute.
    • Can regenerate up to 168/252/336/420 mana per minute for Crystal Maiden.


Crystal Clone
Not blocked by Linken's Sphere. Partially pierces debuff immunity. DT
Crystal Clone icon
Ability
No Target
Affects
Self / Enemies
Damage
Magical
Slides backward, creating a crystal clone of herself in her place. If the clone takes enough damage or times out, it shatters, Frostbiting enemies in a 450 AoE around its place.
Split Time: 0.1
Move Distance: 275
Move Duration: 0.3
Frostbite Radius: Affected by AoE Radius bonuses. 450
Illusions Crystal Clone icon Crystal Clone Illusion
Damage Threshold: 150
Damage Dealt: 100%
Damage Taken: 100%
Illusion Duration: 5
Cooldown symbol
 10
Mana symbol
 50
Partially pierces debuff immunity.
The True Sight of Frostbite pierces debuff immunity.
Not blocked by Linken's Sphere.
Not blocked when Frostbite is passively applied.
Buff/Debuff
Modifiers [?]
modifier_crystal_maiden_crystal_clone
Undispellable
Ability Draft Notes
Ability Draft Notes:
Upgradable by Aghanim's Shard.
* Requires drafting Frostbite icon Frostbite to be unlocked.

  • Does not interrupts Crystal Maiden's channeling abilities upon cast.
  • Crystal Clone disjoints projectiles upon cast.
    • Also provides 0.1-second Daytime 1800 and Nighttime 800 ground vision respectively upon cast.
  • Crystal Maiden slides backward from the direction she is facing, at a speed of 916.67 up to 0.3 seconds.
    • Can move over other units and over impassable terrain.
  • While sliding, Crystal Clone cancels all movement orders and attack orders, and then it creates an illusion instantly despite having a slight animation delay.
  • The illusion created does not visually animate, it is also unselectable and uncontrollable.
    • However, it can still be attacked by enemies via ground-targeting an attack (A) on the nearest unit.
  • Despite the ability tooltip, the illusion does not have a fixed health, it passively shatters when it collectively receives 150 damage (before all reductions, except Damage Barriers).
    • When the illusion shatters, it applies Frostbite icon Frostbite within 450 radius based on its current level.
    • Frostbite notes fully apply. If it is not learned, it is not applied.
    • The Frostbite applied is independent of the ability and does not cost any mana.
  • Taunt sources and its mechanic notes fully apply to the illusion.
    • However, once the illusion is taunted, the taunt state lasts indefinitely regardless of the taunt duration and does not change targets even when it cannot find the taunting unit anymore.


Freezing Field
Freezing Field icon
Affects
Enemies
(Upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter. Self)
Damage
Magical
Surrounds Crystal Maiden with 100 random icy explosions that slow enemies and deal massive damage. Grants bonus armor while channeling. Lasts 10 seconds.
Passive Component
With Aghanim's Scepter Frostbite Timer: 2.5
Max Channel Time: 10 (With Aghanim's Scepter 0)
Slow Radius: Affected by AoE Radius bonuses. 810
Min Explosion Spawn Radius: 195
Max Explosion Spawn Radius: Affected by AoE Radius bonuses. 785
Explosion Damage Radius: Affected by AoE Radius bonuses. 320
Self Armor Bonus: 20
Explosion Spawn Interval: 0.1 (With Aghanim's Scepter 0.083)
Damage per Explosion: 105/170/250 (Talent 155/220/300)
Move Speed Slow: 40%
Attack Speed Slow: 60
Slow Duration: 1
With Aghanim's Scepter Self Move Speed Slow: 75%
Cooldown symbol
 100/95/90
Mana symbol
 200/400/600
Upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter.
Aghanim's Scepter Upgrade:
Grants the Stop Freezing Field ability.
Allows you to move, cast and attack during Freezing Field. Can still be interrupted by enemies. You move 75% slower during this. Increases total number of explosions by 20%. Applies Frostbite to any unit that has been standing in the Freezing Field for over 2.5s.
Not blocked by Linken's Sphere.
Not blocked when Frostbite is passively applied.
Buff/Debuff
Modifiers [?]
modifier_crystal_maiden_freezing_field
Death
modifier_crystal_maiden_freezing_field_slow
modifier_crystal_maiden_freezing_field_tracker
Death
Ability Draft Notes
Ability Draft Notes:
Upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter.
Frostbite icon Frostbite must be drafted as well for it to get applied.
Once the place of her exile, Icewrack has become an anchor for Rylai's frigid onslaught.

  • Both the movement speed and attack speed slow is applied to all enemies within the radius in 0.1-second intervals, regardless of the ice explosions.
  • The explosions occur in 0.1 (Upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter. 0.083)-second intervals, starting 0.1 (Upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter. 0.083) seconds after cast, resulting in 99 (Upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter. 121) explosions.
  • Each ice explosion can spawn within a random distance of 195 to 785 away from Crystal Maiden.
    • The explosion spawn radius is divided into four 90° segments (0°–90°, 90°–180°, 180°–270°, 270°–360°).
    • The first explosion occurs within the northeast segment of the circle, following explosions proceeding counterclockwise, regardless of facing direction.
  • With the max spawn radius and explosion radius, it can damage units up to 1105 range away.
  • The average damage is roughly constant up to a radius of 485, falling off after that.
    • It is slightly less than 50% at a radius of 785. The very center does 5% more damage.
    • It approximately deals 2000/3300/4800 (Upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter. 2400/3960/5760) damage to enemies within 485 range over the full duration, ±1.9 (Upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter. ±2.28) explosions.
  • The radius is always centered on Crystal Maiden and follows her even when she is moved.
  • Despite the visual effects, the damage is dealt as the falling ice shards are spawned, not upon them reaching the ground.
  • Freezing Field now provides an aura that tracks enemies within the area. The tracker lingers for 0.1 seconds.
    • If an enemy unit is affected by the tracker for 2.5 seconds, Frostbite icon Frostbite is applied to the enemy unit based on its current level.
    • A unit can only be affected by Frostbite once per cast of Freezing Field. Even if they re-enter the area, they are not affected a second time.
    • If a unit is already frostbitten by a manual cast, it can still be frostbitten again by Freezing Field, and refreshing the duration.
    • The tracker resets whenever it is reapplied to a unit. This means a unit must be affected by it for 2.5 seconds continuously in order to be frostbitten.
  • The tracker is placed on enemies even without having Aghanim's Scepter icon Aghanim's Scepter, tracking the duration enemies spend within the area normally.
    • This means when acquiring the item while channeling, enemies which have been in the area for more than 2.5 seconds instantly have Frostbite applied to them.
    • The tracker does not affect invulnerable or hidden units.


Stop Freezing Field
Does not proc any on-cast effects when cast. RF
Stop Freezing Field icon
Ability
No Target
Affects
Self
Immediately stops the Freezing Field
Max Duration: 10
Cooldown symbol
 1
Mana symbol
 0
Sub-ability
Sub-ability of Freezing Field.

  • Replaces Freezing Field icon Freezing Field until the sub-ability is used or the duration ends.
  • Interrupts Crystal Maiden's channeling abilities upon cast.
  • Goes into a 1-second cooldown right after Freezing Field is cast, this is to prevent accidental double-casts prematurely ending the ability.


Talents[]

Hero Talents
+300 Crystal Nova icon Crystal Nova Damage25+1.25s Frostbite icon Frostbite Duration
+50 Freezing Field icon Freezing Field Damage20+225 Attack Speed
-4s Crystal Nova icon Crystal Nova Cooldown15+125 Frostbite icon Frostbite Cast Range
+125 Crystal Nova icon Crystal Nova AoE10+250 Health
Notes:
  • The health talent increases the max health capacity and keeps the current health percentage.

Recent Changes[]

Main Articles: Changelogs, Old Abilities and Hero Lore
Version
Description
  • Increased base Intelligence attribute symbol intelligence from 16 to 18.
  • Increased base armor -1 to 0.


Recommended Items[]

Starting items:

  • Tango icon Tango provides Crystal Maiden with health regeneration to stay in lane and support her teammates without being harassed away and being forced to return to base.
  • Healing Salve icon Healing Salve also restores health to Crystal Maiden or her allies.
  • Clarity icon Clarity is a useful purchase due to Crystal Maiden's low base intelligence preventing her from casting too many spells in the laning stage.
  • Enchanted Mango icon Enchanted Mango can allow her to bring both of her disables to bear on an enemy, greatly increasing the odds of a kill during a gank.

Early game:

  • Magic Wand icon Magic Wand is very useful on Crystal Maiden to sustain enemies' spammable abilities during laning stage.
  • Tranquil Boots icon Tranquil Boots give a large amount of movement speed and health regeneration at a very low price. As Arcane Aura sustains her mana, Tranquil Boots help with two of Crystal Maiden's biggest weaknesses and let her stay in the field.
  • Pavise icon Pavise is a cheap support item that protects Crystal Maiden or an ally against physical damage.

Mid game:

  • Glimmer Cape icon Glimmer Cape can be a useful item to purchase if you intend on making use of Freezing Field regularly. Casting the active on yourself prior to jumping in with your ultimate can give you a little extra time to channel it. In other situations, it can be an awesome stealth initiation, escape, or survivability tool when used either on Crystal Maiden or her ally.
  • Blink Dagger icon Blink Dagger augments Crystal Maiden's mobility, allowing her to instantly jump within range for locking down enemy heroes with her disables. It allows her to move around the map more easily either to support her teammates or to escape pursuing enemies.
  • Solar Crest icon Solar Crest is an upgrade to Pavise that provides the powerful Shine ability for bolstering allied carries in fights. It can also be cast on Crystal Maiden herself in emergencies to block physical damage.
  • Urn of Shadows icon Urn of Shadows is a good utility item for a roaming Crystal Maiden, as it can add a little periodical damage to her nukes or be used to recover health after ganks. The additional attributes and armor tank her up a bit, while the mana regeneration works alongside Arcane Aura to keep her mana topped up.

Late game:

  • Eul's Scepter of Divinity icon Eul's Scepter of Divinity grants Crystal Maiden additional movement speed, a larger mana pool, and mana regeneration. It is generally built if an additional disable against enemies is needed.
  • Force Staff icon Force Staff provides Crystal Maiden with repositioning abilities and increases the size of her mana pool to allow her to cast her disables more easily. Particularly, it is a good choice if saving up for a Blink Dagger is unfeasible, or be used in tandem with Blink Dagger to grant both initiation and escape.
  • Black King Bar icon Black King Bar is an expensive luxury item that should be considered only if given farm priority and all other support duties have been met. It prevents interruptions to Crystal Maiden's ultimate as well as increasing the size of her health pool.

Situational items:

  • Ghost Scepter icon Ghost Scepter gives survivability against attacking carries by granting Crystal Maiden a brief period of invulnerability to physical damage as well as some additional attributes. The active is also useful for preventing enemies from ending the channelling of Freezing Field by attacking her.
  • Drum of Endurance icon Drum of Endurance gives Crystal Maiden attributes to tank up. The extra movement speed allows her to position for casting spells.
  • Aether Lens icon Aether Lens is a strong caster item that greatly improves Crystal Maiden's disabling capabilities. The item facilitates casting spells from her small mana pool. The increased cast range allows Crystal Maiden to cast Frostbite and Crystal Nova from longer ranges to catch enemies.
  • Meteor Hammer icon Meteor Hammer can be used as an extra means of disabling enemies when combined with Frostbite. It provides Crystal Maiden with useful attribute and regeneration bonuses and improves her team's pushing potential.
  • Scythe of Vyse icon Scythe of Vyse is a very expensive support item, however, it gives a very reliable ranged hard-disable, a larger mana pool, some more HP, and a powerful mana regeneration boost.
  • Shiva's Guard icon Shiva's Guard gives Crystal Maiden a strong area slow which synergizes with Crystal Nova and Freezing Field. The armor bonus also makes her much more resistant to physical damage, making it harder to focus her down.

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
Multi-Hero Crystal Nova icon Crystal Novas
Relic Rare icon
Three Hero Freezing Field icon Freezing Fields
Relic intelligence icon
Roots Leading To Kills
Relic intelligence icon
Slows Leading To Kills
Relic intelligence icon
Triple Kills
Relic intelligence icon
Dominating Kill Streaks
Relic intelligence icon
Dust of Appearance icon Dusts Leading To Kills
Relic intelligence icon
Enemy Observer and Sentry Wards icon Ward Kills
Relic intelligence icon
Observer and Sentry Wards icon Wards Placed
Relic intelligence icon
Kill Assists
Relic intelligence icon
Kills
Plus Hero Badge 1
Bronze
Plus Hero Badge 2
Silver
Plus Hero Badge 3
Gold
Plus Hero Badge 4
Platinum
Plus Hero Badge 5
Master
Plus Hero Badge 6
Grandmaster

Equipment[]

Trivia[]

  • Rylai is one of the oldest heroes from the original DotA in Reign of Chaos DotA. Her title used to be Frost Maiden.
    • In some earlier versions of DotA, Rylai's title was changed to "Batrider" and used Troll Batrider model as default.
  • Rylai's name in Warcraft DotA was Rylai Crestfall. Her surname was removed in the transition to Dota 2 for the implementation of her sibling rivalry with Lina minimap icon Lina.
  • In early versions of DotA, Crystal Maiden and Lich minimap icon Lich used to share the same Frost Blast icon Frost Blast ability, although they were both named Frost Nova.
    • In later updates, Crystal Maiden's Frost Nova was changed to Crystal Nova icon Crystal Nova, turning it into a free-cast area-of-effect ability, while Lich kept the original effects.
  • In Warcraft DotA, Frostbite icon Frostbite can freeze the enemy's Fountain and uses the creep duration.
  • "League of Legends" features an item called Rylai's Crystal Scepter as an homage to Crystal Maiden, boosting Ability (spell) Power and adding a slowing effect to spells and abilities.
  • In World of Warcraft an Alliance NPC is named Rylai Crestfall, a homage to the original Crystal Maiden from Warcraft III's DotA.
  • Her leveling-up response ▶️ "Is it cold in here or is it just me?" is a reference to the action movie "Demolition Man".[1]
  • Her respawning line ▶️ "You only live ice..." is a reference to the 1967 James Bond film "You Only Live Twice" based on the novel of the same name.
  • Crystal Maiden's line ▶️ "It's all fun and games until someone's frozen solid." is a reference to a novel written by Christopher Brookmyre entitled "All Fun and Games until Somebody Loses an Eye".
  • Crystal Maiden's rare response ▶️ "Can you guess my... favorite poet?" is a reference to Robert Frost due to his last name, and also an allusion to Frost's poem "Fire and Ice".
    • She is the ice, and her sister Lina minimap icon Lina is fire. An excerpt: "Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice ... know enough of hate, to say that for destruction ice is also great, and would suffice.".
  • Her Crystal Clone icon Crystal Clone spell is inspired by the Ice Klone special move of Sub-Zero from the Mortal Kombat franchise.
    • Just like Sub-Zero who jumps back and leaves an ice clone in his previous spot, Crystal Maiden slides backward and leaves a crystal clone in her place.
    • Its ability to freeze anyone near it by taking enough damage is similar to how Sub-Zero's ice clone freezes opponents who make contact with it.

Gallery[]

References[]

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