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Phantom Lancer
Strength attribute symbol
Agility attribute symbol
Intelligence attribute symbol
19 + 2.2
26 + 2.8
21 + 1.8
Level 0 1 15 25 30
Health 120 538 1198 1946 2232
+2 +3.9 +6.98 +10.38 +11.68
Mana 75 327 627 987 1119
+0 +1.05 +2.31 +3.81 +4.36
Armor -1 3.33 9.87 16.53 19.2
Magic Resist 25% 27.1% 29.62% 32.62% 33.72%
Damage Block 16 (50%)
Damage

26
36

52
62

91
101

131
141

147
157

Attack Rate 0.59/s 0.74/s 0.97/s 1.21/s 1.3/s
Attack Range Melee 225 (600)
Attack Speed ▶️ 100 (1.7s BAT)
Attack Animation 0.5 + 0.5
Projectile Speed Instant
Move Speed ▶️ 285 (Nighttime 315)
Turn Rate Takes 0.175s to turn 180°. 0.6
Collision Size 18
Bound Radius 8
Vision Range (G) 1800 (Nighttime 800)
Gib Type Default
Internal npc_dota_hero_phantom_lancer
Creates illusions of himself to trick or attack foes.
As Azwraith drove his pike through Vorn, the Dread Magus shattered into innumerable shards of light, saturating his killer with a strange new power. Once a humble fisherman, the Phantom Lancer Spears targets from afar, spawning a fragment of the Phantom Lancer himself as they Dash ahead while cutting foes apart in a breathtaking flurry of attacks. When cornered, he vanishes briefly from the battlefield, reappearing at a nearby spot while leaving behind Doppelgangers to mislead and elude pursuers. The sheer number of his army are often Juxtaposed with his foes, overwhelming them before their eyes can scarcely distinguish the Phantom Lancer from his army of clones.
Spirit Lance
Spirit Lance
Doppelganger
Phantom Rush
Juxtapose
Juxtapose
Roles: Carry Carry Escape Escape Pusher Pusher Nuker Nuker
Complexity: Hero ComplexityHero Complexity
Adjectives: Bearded, Blue, Nose
Legs ( 2 )


Bio[]

Phantom Lancer minimap iconAzwraith, the Phantom Lancer
▶️ "We outnumbered you. We outnumber them all!"
The remote village of Pole had no knowledge of the wars raging in the heart of the kingdom. For them, the quiet of spear fishing, and a family meal were all that a full life required. Yet war came for them nonetheless. Joining the able-bodied conscripts as they filed passed their homes, the humble lancer Azwraith vowed to bring peace to his kingdom, and in so doing, his people. Placed with his kin in the vanguard of the final assault against the Dread Magus Vorn, the cost to his fellows was absolute. As the charging force battled toward the fortress, Azwraith alone among his kind remained standing, and he alone was able to infiltrate the keep.

Focused and infuriated by the slaughter of his brothers, Azwraith bested each of the wizard's deadly traps and conjured guardians. Soon the simple fisherman arrived at Vorn's tower sanctum. The pair dueled through the night, pike to staff, as chaos raged below, and with a deafening cry Azwraith pierced his enemy. But the wizard did not simply expire; he exploded into uncountable shards of light, penetrating his killer with power. As the dust settled and the smoke of combat began to clear, Azwraith found himself standing among a throng of his kin. Each seemed to be dressed as he was, each seemed armed as he was, and he could sense that each thought as he did. Aware that his allies were approaching, he willed these phantoms to hide themselves, and one by one they began to vanish into nothingness. As the soldiers came upon the sanctum, they found the warrior that had bested the wizard. When they approached their champion, the lancer vanished. The pikeman who had stood before them was no more than another phantom.
Aliases:
Azwraith, PL
Voice:

Abilities[]

Spirit Lance
Spirit Lance icon
Affects
Enemies
Damage
Magical
Sends a magical spirit lance to a target enemy unit that damages and slows, while summoning an illusory phantom to attack the unit.
Cast Animation: 0.3+0.73
Cast Range: Affected by Cast Range bonuses. 600/650/700/750
Number of Targets: 1
Damage: 70/140/210/280 (Talent 110/180/250/320)
Move Speed Slow: 14%/21%/28%/35%
Slow Duration: 3.75
With Aghanim's Scepter Bounce Distance: Affected by AoE Radius bonuses. 750
With Aghanim's Scepter Number of Bounces: 2
Illusions Spirit Lance icon Spirit Lance Illusions
Damage Dealt: 20% (With Aghanim's Scepter 50%)
Damage Taken: 400%
Duration: 2/4/6/8
Cooldown symbol
 10/9/8/7 (Talent 9/8/7/6)
Mana symbol
 120
Upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter.
Aghanim's Scepter Upgrade:
Spirit Lance bounces twice on enemies, prioritizing Heroes. Increases Spirit Lance illusion damage.
Blocked by Linken's Sphere.
Blocked upon impact.
Upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter.
Blocked upon impact as primary or secondary target.
When blocked, it stops bouncing.
Can be disjointed.
Upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter.
Disjointable by primary and secondary targets.
Once disjointed, it stops bouncing.
Buff/Debuff
Modifiers [?]
modifier_phantom_lancer_juxtapose_illusion
Death
modifier_illusion
Death
modifier_invulnerable
Death
modifier_phantom_lancer_spirit_lance
Azwraith's proficiency at spearing his family's meal of fish is proving quite useful in the battlefield.
Illusion skin 5

Spirit Lance illusion as they appear to allies.


  • Spirit Lance travels at a speed of 1000.
  • The lance first applies the debuff, then the damage.
  • The illusion only spawns when the projectile successfully hits and damages or slows the target.
  • The Spirit Lance-illusion spawns at different distances, at a random spot around the affected target as follows:
    • The illusion spawns 58-distance away from the affected target in the following conditions:
      • If both the caster and the affected target have the same collision size.
      • If the affected target's collision size is 27 while the caster's collision size is 18 or vice versa.
    • The illusion spawns 87-distance away from the affected target only when the target's collision size is greater than the caster's collision size.
  • All illusions owned by Phantom Lancer within 675 range of Phantom Lancer also cast a fake Spirit Lance.
    • They play the whole cast animation and release their fake lances at the same time the real lance is released.
    • When illusions currently do not have any order and are standing still, they turn to face the target and cast the fake lances.
    • When illusions are moving or attacking, they continue to do so and do not turn to face the target. They still play the cast animation, overriding their move or attack animations.
    • When canceling the cast, the illusions still play the full cast animation, but do not release the fake lances.
    • The fake lances do not interact with anything and do nothing on impact.
  • Illusions created by Spirit Lance have a static 5 Gold and 5XP bounty which does not scale with levels.
  • The projectile bounces on another unit, prioritizing heroes, within a 750 radius.
    • Treat illusions and creep-heroes as heroes.
    • Does not bounce on invisible units or units in the Fog of War.
    • Can only hit the same unit again per cast when all other valid targets within the jump distance are hit.
      • Once all valid units are hit, Spirit Lance starts jumping on the same units again.
      • However, it still does not bounce on the same unit twice in a row, so a lone target is hit only once.
    • If the current target turns invulnerable or hidden, it does not bounce upon the projectile reaching them.
    • All bounces together can deal up to 210/420/630/840 (Talent 330/540/750/960) damage (before reductions).


Doppelganger
Doppelganger icon
Affects
Self
Phantom Lancer briefly vanishes from the battlefield. After 1 second, Phantom Lancer and any of his nearby illusions reappear at a random position within the targeted location, along with two additional doppelgangers. Extends duration of all illusions. The two added doppelgangers have different properties: one takes normal damage and deals none, while the other takes 500% bonus damage and deals 80% less damage.
Cast Range: Affected by Cast Range bonuses. 575
Reappear Radius: Affected by AoE Radius bonuses. 325
Illusion Gather Radius: Affected by AoE Radius bonuses. 900
Reappear Delay: 1
Number of Illusions: 2
Gathered Illusion Duration Extension: 2
Illusions Doppelganger icon Doppelganger Illusions
Illusion One Damage Dealt: 0%
Illusion One Damage Taken: 100%
Illusion Two Damage Dealt: 20%
Illusion Two Damage Taken: 600%
Duration: 8
Cooldown symbol
 22/18/14/10 (Talent 18/14/10/6)
Mana symbol
 50
Buff/Debuff
Modifiers [?]
modifier_phantomlancer_dopplewalk_phase
Death
modifier_phantom_lancer_juxtapose_illusion
Death
modifier_illusion
Death
modifier_invulnerable
Death
Dread Magus Vorn's death imbued the Phantom Lancer with the ability to blend with all spectrums of light.
Illusion skin 4Illusion skin 5
Two types of Doppelganger illusion as they appear to allies.

  • Phantom Lancer and his affected illusions are invulnerable and hidden during the reappear delay.
    • They are prevented from acting and it cannot be interrupted during the reappear delay. Any order given during it is queued as the next order.
    • It cannot be interrupted by anything except death. When getting teleported (e.g. with Glimpse icon Glimpse), Phantom Lancer still appears at the targeted area.
  • Phantom Lancer and the 2 created illusions face the direction Phantom Lancer was facing upon cast.
    • Other illusions which got gathered keep their previous facing angle.
    • Phantom Lancer and his illusions reappear in a formation shaped like a plus, with a bit of variation.
    • Illusions that were moving or attacking a target continue to move or attack their target after reappearing.
    • Destroys trees within 150 radius of Phantom Lancer and every affected illusion upon reappearing.
  • All illusions gathered with Doppelganger get their duration increased. The 2 illusions created with this cast are not affected by this.
    • The duration extension happens upon cast, so they effectively gain 1 second extra duration, since it takes 1 second for the illusions and Phantom Lancer to reappear.
    • However, illusions that are invulnerable and hidden while Doppelganger is cast are not gathered, and their duration are not extended.
  • The normal-damage-taking and no-damage-dealing illusion is brighter and can be distinguished by Phantom Lancer and his allies from other illusions.
  • The 600% damage-taking and 20% damage-dealing illusion looks like any other illusion Phantom Lancer can create to enemies.
  • Illusions created by Doppelganger have a static 5 Gold and 5XP bounty which does not scale with levels.


Phantom Rush
Phantom Rush icon
Ability
Toggle / Passive
Affects
Self
When targeting an enemy for an attack, Phantom Lancer quickly charges into range, gaining a temporary agility boost. Phantom Lancer's illusions also have this ability.
Min Proc Distance: 200
Max Proc Distance: 600/675/750/825 (Talent 900/975/1050/1125)
Haste Speed: 800
Agility Bonus: 10/20/30/40 (Talent 20/30/40/50)
Max Haste Duration: 5
Agility Duration: 1.5 (Talent 4)
Cooldown symbol
 13/10/7/4
Can be used by illusions.
Illusion Notes:
The ability is always toggled on.
Buff/Debuff
Modifiers [?]
modifier_phantom_lancer_phantom_edge
Undispellable
modifier_phantom_lancer_phantom_edge_boost
modifier_phantom_lancer_phantom_edge_agility
Azwraith knows that on the field of battle, speed can mean everything.

  • Can be toggled Off to not activate.
  • Requires a direct attack order (A or Keyboard White Mouse Right Right Click) to trigger. Auto-attacks or ground-targeted orders do not trigger Phantom Rush.
  • Phantom Rush can trigger on any target, including wards and buildings, except allied units.
  • Upon triggering, Phantom Lancer receives the rush buff, which grants haste and phased movement.
    • This buff lasts for up to 5 seconds, until Phantom Lancer successfully hits the rush target, or until he receives another order.
    • Non-targeted items do not cancel the rush. ↓↓ Double-tapping item abilities count as self-targeting and therefore cancel the rush.
    • The rush buff is also lost when Phantom Lancer gets stunned, cycloned, slept, hexed or hidden.
    • Roots do not cause Phantom Lancer to lose the buff, and he continues rushing once the effect expires.
    • Taunts cause Phantom Lancer to rush towards the taunting unit instead, without making him lose the buff. Forced attacks caused by taunts do not make him lose it either.
    • Fear does not make him lose the buff either so he flees with the rush speed.
    • When the target turns hidden, invisible, or moves into the Fog of War, Phantom Lancer rushes towards the unit's last known location.
  • Phantom Lancer gains the Agility attribute symbol agility buff as soon as he loses the rush buff.
    • It does not matter how he loses the rush buff, the agility buff is always gained.
    • Therefore, if the distance between Phantom Lancer and his target is less than the min proc distance, Phantom Lancer will neither receive the rush buff nor rushes to the target. The agility buff is directly granted in this case.
    • Effectively grants Phantom Lancer 1.67/3.33/5/6.67 main armor, 10/20/30/40 attack speed and main attack damage bonus.


Juxtapose
Can be used by illusions. Disabled by Break. RX
Juxtapose icon
Ability
Passive
(Upgradable by Aghanim's Shard. No Target)
Affects
Self
Phantom Lancer has a chance to fracture his presence, creating an illusion of himself. Illusions also have a chance to fracture further. Illusions created from Phantom Lancer last for 8 seconds, while illusions created from other illusions last 4 seconds.
Passive Component
Hero Proc Chance: 40%/45%/50%
Illusion Proc Chance: 8%
Max Illusions: 6/8/10
With Aghanim's Shard Cast Animation: Instant Cast Animation (DOTA_ABILITY_BEHAVIOR_IMMEDIATE) 0+0
With Aghanim's Shard Fade Time: 0
With Aghanim's Shard Active Number of Illusions: 1
With Aghanim's Shard Self Move Speed Bonus: 15%
Illusions Juxtapose icon Juxtapose Illusions
Damage Dealt: 18%/20%/22% (Talent 28%/30%/32%)
Damage Taken: 650%
Duration (from Hero): 8
Duration (from Illusion): 4
With Aghanim's Shard Active Duration: 8
Cooldown symbol
  With Aghanim's Shard 15
Mana symbol
 With Aghanim's Shard 75
Upgradable by Aghanim's Shard.
Aghanim's Shard Upgrade:
Adds an active ability to Juxtapose. Renders Phantom Lancer invisible for up to 8 seconds while generating a duplicate image to confuse enemies. His movement speed is increased by 15% during this invisibility.
Buff/Debuff
Modifiers [?]
modifier_phantom_lancer_juxtapose
Undispellable
modifier_phantom_lancer_juxtapose_illusion
Death
modifier_illusion
Death
modifier_invulnerable
Death
modifier_phantom_lancer_juxtapose_cache
Undispellable
modifier_phantom_lancer_juxtapose_invisibility
Death
Ability Draft Notes
Ability Draft Notes:
The Upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter. Vengeance Aura icon Vengeance Illusion uses the hero proc chance, instead of the illusion proc chance.
Each of Azwraith's lance attacks feels like two from a normal warrior; or three; or four...
Illusion skin 5

Juxtapose illusion as they appear to allies.


  • The proc chance neither requires mana nor has a cooldown despite visually having one.
  • Illusions created by Juxtapose attack the target that the ability was triggered upon.
    • This means that illusions created by Juxtapose use Phantom Rush icon Phantom Rush when their target is in the correct range.
  • Illusions created by Juxtapose have a static 5 Gold and 5XP bounty which does not scale with levels.
  • The illusion spawns 72 range away from Phantom Lancer, appearing either north, east, south, or west from him.
  • Juxtapose works for all illusions that have this passive ability, no matter the owner or illusion creator, it is not exclusive only to Phantom Lancer's abilities.
    • This includes illusions created with items (e.g. Manta Style icon Manta Style) or with other abilities (e.g. Reflection icon Reflection).
    • This means that even enemy illusions of Phantom Lancer have a chance to spawn new ones for the owner of the illusion.
  • Adds an active component to Juxtapose with the passive effects still present.
    • The invisibility buff duration and illusion duration are independent of each other.
    • The illusion created automatically walks forward in the direction Phantom Lancer was facing upon cast for ≈4 seconds.
  • The invisibility buff is lost upon reaching the cast point of abilities or items, or upon landing an attack. Missed attacks do not break it.
    • Grants phased movement while fully invisible and allows Phantom Lancer to path through other units, including wards, but not through buildings.
    • Phantom Lancer can pick up, drop, or attack items without breaking the invisibility.
    • Successive casts refresh the invisibility duration.


Talents[]

Hero Talents
+24% Critical Strike (200%)25-4s Doppelganger icon Doppelganger CD
+10% Juxtapose icon Juxtapose Damage20+300 Phantom Rush icon Phantom Rush Range
-1s Spirit Lance icon Spirit Lance CD15+2.5s Phantom Rush icon Phantom Rush Duration
+10 Phantom Rush icon Phantom Rush Agility attribute symbol agility10+40 Spirit Lance icon Spirit Lance Damage
Notes:
  • Critical Strike from talents is not disabled by Break.
    • The critical strike increases attack damage by an average of 24%.
    • The proc chances of multiple critical sources stack. If two sources of critical strike proc at the same time, the higher crit multiplier has priority.

Recent Changes[]

Main Articles: Changelogs, Old Abilities and Hero Lore
Version
Description


Recommended Items[]

Starting items:

  • Tango icon Tango helps keep Phantom Lancer longer alive during the early game.
  • Healing Salve icon Healing Salve is a standard regeneration item, useful for any hero to stay longer in lane.
  • Enchanted Mango icon Enchanted Mango helps Phantom Lancer endure harassment, and can be consumed to get off one last Spirit Lance or Doppelganger.
  • Iron Branch icon Iron Branch provides an extremely cost effective increase to his attributes, and can later be built into a Magic Wand icon Magic Wand.

Early game:

  • Magic Wand icon Magic Wand is a useful tool for keeping Phantom Lancer alive, especially when being ganked. It also provides a little more mana to use an extra Spirit Lance or Doppelganger.
  • Boots of Speed icon Boots of Speed grant bonus movement speed to keep up with the enemies.
  • Infused Raindrop icon Infused Raindrops provides some protection against magical damage, as well as giving mana regeneration to sustain abilities.

Mid game:

  • Power Treads icon Power Treads give Phantom Lancer attack speed and attributes, which illusions can take advantage of.
  • Diffusal Blade icon Diffusal Blade is one of the most effective items on Phantom Lancer, as its mana burn works on all of his illusions, allowing Phantom Lancer to quickly deplete an opponent's mana pool.
  • Manta Style icon Manta Style can dispel debuffs from Phantom Lancer, and provides him with a second disjoint mechanism. It can also be used to create extra illusions, which last longer and hit harder, and can multiply on their own with Juxtapose. Extra illusions are especially useful for split pushing.

Late game:

  • Eye of Skadi icon Eye of Skadi's passive slow benefits illusions, and works together with Diffusal Blade icon Diffusal Blade's mana burn, rendering enemies helpless and unable to escape Phantom Lancer.
  • Heart of Tarrasque icon Heart of Tarrasque provides Phantom Lancer with a large amount of much-needed HP, which carries over to his illusions, thus making them harder to kill. Phantom Lancer's natural elusiveness will make it easy for him to blend in with his illusions and regenerate mid-fight.
  • Butterfly icon Butterfly is a damage item that is a worthwhile late-game pickup on most agility carries. Illusions will also benefit from the evasion, making them and Phantom Lancer himself much more durable.

Situational items:

  • Vanguard icon Vanguard makes Phantom Lancer significantly tankier, and is useful for split pushing. For late game teamfights, it can be upgraded into an Abyssal Blade icon Abyssal Blade.
  • Sange and Yasha icon Sange and Yasha provides strength and agility, both of which are useful on Phantom Lancer, as well as his illusions. However, it is not recommended if Phantom Lancer already has a Manta Style icon Manta Style, as the speed bonus from Yasha icon Yasha does not stack.
  • Daedalus icon Daedalus is the final damage item that can be purchased if Phantom Lancer is struggling against tankier heroes. His illusions will also receive the critical strike bonus.
  • Boots of Travel icon Boots of Travel makes Phantom Lancer a powerful split-pusher in the late game, and also allows him to return to base after generating an illusion army to push down lanes.
  • Abyssal Blade icon Abyssal Blade allows Phantom Lancer to stun targets, giving him the time to land multiple hits and generate illusions.
  • Monkey King Bar icon Monkey King Bar should be purchased against evasion heroes, or in the late game as a luxury item. It provides a decent attack damage and procs magical damage.
  • Black King Bar icon Black King Bar is less common on Phantom Lancer than on other carries, but is sometimes necessary against enemies with numerous disables.

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
Spirit Lance icon Spirit Lances Leading To Kills
Relic Rare icon
Phantom Rush icon Phantom Rushes Leading To Kills
Relic Rare icon
Juxtapose icon Juxtapose Max Illusions Created
Relic agility icon
Slow Duration
Relic agility icon
Mana Reduction
Relic agility icon
Teleports Leading To Kills
Relic agility icon
Physical Damage
Relic agility icon
Godlike Sprees
Relic agility icon
Triple Kills
Relic agility icon
Mega Kill Streaks
Relic agility icon
Kill Assists
Relic agility icon
Kills
Plus Hero Badge 1
Bronze
Plus Hero Badge 2
Silver
Plus Hero Badge 3
Gold
Plus Hero Badge 4
Platinum
  • ▶️ Numbers have accomplished what strategy alone could not.
Plus Hero Badge 5
Master
  • ▶️ We outnumbered you. We outnumber them all!
Plus Hero Badge 6
Grandmaster

Equipment[]

Trivia[]

  • Despite being first created at 6.00 patch, Phantom Lancer is one of the oldest heroes from the original DotA in Reign of Chaos DotA. His name used to known as "Zuljin Andorhall".
  • In DotA, Phantom Lancer's in-game model was a fan interpretation of Kimahri Ronso, a playable character in the RPG game "Final Fantasy X". As such, the Phantom Lancer of Dota 2 gained many similarities with Kimahri, namely the blue skin, humanoid feline appearance, and halberd weapon.
  • Phantom Lancer's model shares design similarities with Monkey King minimap icon Monkey King, and may have been based on earlier concepts.

Gallery[]

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