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Ancient Apparition
Unknown Hero icon
Strength attribute symbol
Agility attribute symbol
Intelligence attribute symbol
18 + 1.4
20 + 2.2
25 + 2.6
Level 0 1 15 25 30
Health 120 516 934 1506 1704
+0.25 +2.05 +4.01 +6.61 +7.51
Mana 75 375 807 1263 1443
+0 +1.25 +3.07 +4.97 +5.72
Armor -1 2.33 7.47 13.13 15.3
Magic Resist 25% 27.5% 31.14% 34.94% 36.44%
Damage Block -
Damage

1
1

26
26

62
62

100
100

115
115

Attack Rate 0.59/s 0.71/s 0.89/s 1.09/s 1.16/s
Attack Range U 600 ( ? )
Attack Speed 100 (1.7s BAT)
Attack Animation 0.45 + 0.3
Projectile Speed
Move Speed 295 (Nighttime 325)
Turn Rate Takes 0.175s to turn 180°. 0.6
Collision Size 24
Bound Radius 24
Vision Range (G) 1800 (Nighttime 800)
Gib Type Default
Internal Not Provided

Kaldr the Ancient Apparition is a ranged intelligence hero. This spell-casting elemental being possesses high range, great attributes and strong semi-spammable spells. He is commonly played in a support role and due to the nature of his skills. Cold Feet places a debuff on an enemy which will stun the unit unless it leaves the area the skill was cast. This can be devastating in conjunction with other disables. Ice Vortex applies a big slow and magic damage amplification to all units that stand in it. This is great in combination with Chilling Touch. This buffs allied heroes to hit for a large amount of extra magic damage. His ultimate, Ice Blast is one of the most devastating spells in the game as it has global range and has larger radius the farther away the blast is from the caster. This does large damage, freezes health regeneration of any kind, and instantly kills units low on life.

Bio

Ancient Apparition minimap iconKaldr, the Ancient Apparition
▶️ "One day, ice will cover these lands, and it will be as if this war never happened."
Kaldr, the Ancient Apparition, is an image projected from outside time. He springs from the cold, infinite void that both predates the universe and awaits its end. Kaldr is, Kaldr was, Kaldr shall be… and what we perceive, powerful as it appears to us, is but the faintest faded echo of the true, eternal Kaldr. Some believe that as the cosmos ages and approaches its final moments, the brightness and power of Kaldr will also intensify—that the Ancient Apparition will grow younger and stronger as eternity's end draws nigh. His grip of ice will bring all matter to a stop, his image will cast a light too terrible to behold. An Apparition no longer!
Voice:
[[Voice actors#|]] (Responses)

Gameplay

Ancient Apparition is considered an efficient ganker for his very powerful abilities, despite each of them requiring precision and good timing to reach their full potential. Because his spells work very well with those of other heroes, a good ganking partner can easily ensure kills on most heroes. Kaldr is also a good support because of his Chilling Touch ability, which gives a large amount of bonus magic damage to his teammates' attacks, but more importantly for his Ice Vortex, which slows and helps him and his team deal more damage. He can also be an Initiator by using his ultimate, but to do so effectively requires more strategy and coordination with your team.

Ancient Apparition is recommended for Intermediate/Advanced players because he requires large amounts of map knowledge to maximize the use of his ultimate, but also to avoid getting ganked because he does not have any true escape mechanism. Because his abilities are most powerful when cast in succession, pulling off quick ability combos is very helpful. Consequently, he requires lots of mana management because casting all of his spells in combination can consume a lot of mana, which can leave you unable to cast any more spells until you replenish.

Ancient Apparition can solo mid fairly effectively because of his lane dominance through harassing and denying using Chilling Touch, but side-laning is most viable, especially with a partner who can disable. He shines most during the Early & Mid-Game phases because his abilities are naturally strong while laning and valuable even with only one skill point into them. Ancient Apparition also does not require as many items as other heroes. He is good with just his abilities and therefore does not need to farm very much. Even the most rudimentary items are all that this hero really needs. Because of his mana issues, a few good mana-regen items could help. Despite how good he is early on, he is not necessarily less good during the late game. In fact, he can be extremely helpful during later teamfights as his ultimate scales, shattering enemies based on % health, not just a flat amount. As well as this Ancient Apparition has a potent Aghanim's Scepter upgrade which further increases his potential as a late game support.

Abilities

Cold Feet
Ability
N/A
Affects
Enemies
Damage
Magical
Places a frozen hex on an enemy unit that deals damage over time, but can be dispelled by moving away from the initial cast point. If the enemy unit doesn't move out of the given range, it will be stunned and frozen in place after 4 seconds.
Cast Range: 700/800/900/1000
Break Distance: 740
Damage per Tick: 37.5/50/62.5/75
Damage Duration: 4
Stun Duration: 1.25/2/2.75/3.5
Cooldown symbol
 15/13/11/9
Mana symbol
 150
Kaldr's presence draws those around him into a frozen void, threatening to lock them in an icy prison for eternity.

  • Cold Feet places an initial debuff on the target and places an icy marker at its current position upon cast.
  • As long as the target stays within 740 radius of the mark, it takes damage from the debuff and after 4 seconds gets stunned.
  • If the target moves 740 range away from the mark at any point during the initial debuff, the spell completely stops, removing the debuff and the marker.
    • This means even when the target moves back within range, it will not be frozen or damaged further.
  • Deals damage over 4 instances in a pattern of 0.8, 1.6, 2.5 and 3.4 seconds after cast. The stun is applied 0.6 seconds after the last tick.
  • The stun is applied 0.6 seconds after the last damage tick, overall 4 seconds after cast.


Ice Vortex
Ability
N/A
Affects
Enemies
Creates a vortex of icy energy that slows movement speed and increases magic damage done in its range. Lasts 16 seconds.
Cast Range: 1500
Effect Radius: 275
Move Speed Slow: 15%/20%/25%/30%
Magic Resistance Reduction: 15%/20%/25%/30%
Vortex Duration: 16
Cooldown symbol
 4
Mana symbol
 80/90/100/110
Frozen, caustic winds are at the whim of Kaldr, chilling the field of battle.

  • Reduces most heroes' total magic resistance to 13.75%/10%/6.25%/2.5% if they do not have any other source of magic resistance and are not Meepo minimap icon Meepo or Visage minimap icon Visage.
  • Reduces Meepo minimap icon Meepo's total magic resistance to 25.25%/22%/18.75%/15.5% and Visage minimap icon Visage's total magic resistance to -3.5%/-8%/-12.5%/-17% if they have no other sources.
  • Successive casts of Ice Vortex do not stack. A unit can only be affected by one of them even when multiple of them are overlapping.
  • Provides 200 radius ground vision at the targeted point for its duration.


Chilling Touch
Ability
N/A
Damage
Magical
A frigid gust enchants allied heroes, granting them bonus magical damage for a given number of physical attacks, while slowing their attack speed slightly. Ancient Apparition always receives the buff. Lasts 30 seconds.
Cast Range: 800
Radius: 525
Number of Attacks: 3/4/5/6
Damage per Attack: 50/60/70/80
Attack Speed Slow: 20
Duration: 30
Cooldown symbol
 50/42/34/26
Mana symbol
 110/120/130/140
The Ancient Apparition's eternal knowledge brings a frigid enchantment to his allies.

  • Chilling Touch places a buff on allied heroes within the area which enchants their attacks. Leaving or entering the area after cast has no effect.
  • The buff is only placed on allied heroes (including Meepo minimap icon Meepo clones), but not on illusions.
  • The buff is always placed on Ancient Apparition, even when he was outside the targeted area.
  • The damage is dealt as a seperate damage instance before the attack damage is dealt, but relies on the attack to hit.
  • This means when an attack misses, or is disjointed, no damage is dealt but the number of attacks remaining is also unreduced.
  • Only successful hits reduce the number of left attacks and apply the damage.
  • The damage source is set to be the attacking hero, not Ancient Apparition.
  • The damage does not hit buildings or wards, and attacks against them do not reduce the number of attacks remaining.
  • Can deal up to 150/240/350/480 damage per buffed ally, and up to 750/1200/1750/2400 damage with 5 buffed heroes (before reductions).
  • Ancient Apparition or a buffed ally can remove the buff by clicking on its icon in the status bar.


Ice Blast
Ability
N/A
Affects
Enemies
Lua error in Module:Ability at line 377: attempt to concatenate local 'damagetype' (a nil value).
Launches a tracer towards any location of the battlefield, which must be triggered again to mark the area to be blasted by a damaging explosion of hail. The further the tracer travels, the larger the explosion will be. Enemies caught in the explosion, or who touched the icy ball of hail as it travels, are frostbitten, taking damage and prevented from regenerating or healing. If a frostbitten unit's health drops below a certain percentage, they will instantly shatter.
Cast Animation: 0.01+1.07
Cast Range: Global
Projectile Radius: 275
Min Explosion Radius: 275
Max Explosion Radius: 1000
Explosion Damage: 250/350/450
Damage per Second: 12.5/20/32
Percentage Health Kill Threshold: 10%/11%/12%
Duration: 8/9/10 (Upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter. 17)
Cooldown symbol
 40
Mana symbol
 100/125/150
Upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter.
Aghanim's Scepter Upgrade:
Increases duration.
Ice storms from ages past flow through Kaldr's frosty limbs, crashing into the world and turning its inhabitants into monuments to his eternal power.

  • Upon cast, Ice Blast is replaced by the sub-skill Release icon Release.
  • The tracer projectile travels at a speed of 1500 until Release icon Release is cast, Ancient Apparition dies, or it reaches the map boundaries.
  • The tracer has invisibility and is never visible to enemies. However, with True Sight, enemies can see the projectile as a dot on their minimap.
  • The invisibility also causes the typical shockwave effect caused by some invisibility sources, which is visible to the enemies.
  • The tracer projectile itself is harmless. It neither deals damage, nor places the debuff.
  • The explosion radius starts at 275 and increases by 50 for every second the tracer traveled, capped at 1000 radius.
  • The tracer provides 500 radius flying vision around itself as it travels. This vision does not last.
  • Unlike the debuff, the explosion damage hits all enemy units, including creeps, excluding buildings and wards.
  • The debuff prevents the current health of affected units to increase in any way. The only exceptions are Sunder icon Sunder, Decay icon Decay and Time Lapse icon Time Lapse.
  • Units with the debuff on die instantly when their health drops below the threshold. The kill is credited to the source of the damage which brought them below the threshold.
  • However, if it was caused by self afflicted damage, Ancient Apparition will be credited for the kill.
  • The debuff deals damage in 1 second intervals, starting 1 second after the debuff is applied, resulting in 8/9/10 (17*) instances.
  • The debuff itself can deal up to 100/180/320 (212.5/340/544*) damage (before reductions).
  • Together with the explosion, Ice Blast can deal up to 350/530/770 (462.5/690/994*) damage (before reductions).


Release
Ability
N/A
Affects
Enemies
Releases the ice blast to explode at the tracer's current location.
Cast Animation: 0.01+1.1
Cooldown symbol
 1

  • Release replaces Ice Blast icon Ice Blast as long as the tracer projectile is traveling until this spell is cast.
  • Has an instant cast time, but interrupts Ancient Apparition's channeling spells upon cast.
  • Upon cast, the tracer stops travelling and marks the total area the explosion will hit once the icy ball of hail reaches its position.
  • It also provides 650 radius flying vision at that position for 4 seconds.
  • The icy ball of hail travels at a speed of 750, or reaches the targeted point 2 seconds after launch, whichever is faster.
  • The icy ball is only released when Release is cast, or when Ancient Apparition dies while the tracer is still travelling.
  • It is not released when the tracer reaches the map boundary. In this case, the spell is wasted.
  • Every enemy unit which comes within 275 radius of the icy ball as it travels, or is hit by the explosion gets the Frostbitten debuff.
  • The icy ball is fully visible to enemies. But unlike the tracer, it is not visible on the minimap.
  • The icy ball provides 500 radius flying vision as it travels, which lasts for 3 seconds.


Recommended items

Template:Recommendeditems

Equipment

Tips

  • Use Cold Feet to harass in the early game, but mind your mana pool.
  • Eul's Scepter of Divinity in combination with Cold Feet can almost always guarantee a stun (though at the cost of Cold Feet's damage over time). It also allows you to land a short-range Ice Blast in quick succession.
  • Chilling Touch can be useful to max along with Cold Feet if you are laning with another ranged hero. The harass is extremely potent and can often push your enemies out of the lane.
  • Since the Chilling Touch can be placed on Meepo clones, it is an incredibly big damage boost for him. 5 heroes and 4 Meepo clones together can deal a total of 1350/2160/3150/4230 damage through Chilling Touch alone.
  • Ice Vortex can be used to slow enemies when chasing or being chased, as well as reduce their resistance. It also gives vision, so it can be used to scout the Roshan pit, ancients, trees (if someone jukes into them), high ground, and so on. The cast range is very long, so all of this can be done from a safe distance.
  • Ice Blast is a multi-purpose spell that can be cast to anywhere on the map. Use it to aid your allies in ganks, initiate team battles, finish off low-HP heroes, and clear large creep waves.
  • Do not worry about using your ultimate sparingly, it has only a 40 second cooldown and therefore can be used even for harassment or as a deterrent for pushing. The cooldown starts running upon launching the initial tracer, so it already starts cooling down before the actual blast even released.
  • Remember that Ice Blast debuff prevents all health gain, including healing spells, natural health regeneration, lifesteal, health gained indirectly such as from activating an Armlet of Mordiggian icon Armlet of Mordiggian and even bonus health gained from the strength obtained by leveling up under its effects! Landing this spell on the enemy team at the start of a team fight will prevent healers such as Dazzle, Chen and Omniknight or a Mekansm carrying hero from regenerating any HP to their team. The debuff is even more powerful if you have an Aghanim's Scepter, increasing the duration considerably.
  • Ancient Apparition can solo mid in the early game, as he has all the necessary tools to control his lane. AA will look to start ganking as soon as possible and use the early Ice Blasts to his team's advantage.
  • In spite of his ability to solo, AA is still very potent in a dual or tri lane. Cold Feet functions well as a follow-up to an ally's stun, and Chilling Touch is able to buff every one of AA's allies, effectively multiplying its effectiveness by the number of allies you have available.
  • All of Ancient Apparition's spells have good range. Try to avoid close combat when possible.
  • You do not have an escape mechanism, so having vision of your opponents is crucial for you to survive. Ask your teammates to ward or do it yourself whenever possible.

Trivia

  • Kaldr's lore suggests that he is the embodiment of the Heat Death, a theoretical fate of the universe. According to this theory, the universe will achieve thermodynamic equilibrium and will no longer transfer energy. This would result in a universal temperature growing colder and a cessation of processes that require energy consumption, such as life.

Update history

Template:Update History

Balance changelog

Template:Update History

Gallery

See also

References


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