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Blade Mail is an item purchasable at the Base Shop, under Armor.

Components required from the Base Shop
Blade Mail
Blade Mail icon
A razor-sharp coat of mail, it is the choice of selfless martyrs in combat.
Armor
Cost 2100 Gold (550)
Sell Value Full price refunded within 10s. 1050 Gold
Active Damage Return
Passive ? Damage Return (Passive)
Bonus ? +7 Armor
+18 Attack Damage
Shareable No
Disassemble No
Usage Alert ? No
Recipe
Blade Mail (2100)
Components3
Broadsword (1000)
Chainmail (550)
Recipe (550)

Additional Information[]

  • Multiple instances of Damage Return from Blade Mails do not stack.
  • Fully stack with other no-reflection damage sources.

Ability[]

Damage Return
Ability
No Target
Affects
Enemies
For 5.5 seconds, the damage returned from all sources is increased by 85%.
Damage Returned: 85%
Duration: 5.5
Cooldown symbol
 25
Mana symbol
 25
Buff/Debuff
Modifiers [?]
modifier_item_blade_mail_reflect
Death

  • Does not interrupts the caster's channeling abilities upon cast.
  • Upon cast, causes Blade Mail to reflect 105% of attack damage taken, plus the flat value.


Damage Return (Passive)
Cannot be used by illusions. Does not pierce debuff immunity.
Ability
Passive
Affects
Enemies
Everytime you are attacked, you return 20 damage plus 20% of the attack damage dealt to you.
Base Return Damage: 20
Damage Taken as Return Damage: 20%

  • Only reacts on attack damage. Other sources of damage are ignored.
  • Returns incoming damage before all manipulations. However, damage manipulation on the enemy still affects the damage normally.
  • Reflected physical damage is affected by damage block as well.
  • The returned damage is always dealt right after the incoming damage.
  • Returns damage back to the source. This means damage done by summons is reflected back to the summons, not to their owner.


Recommended Heroes[]

Axe icon
  • If taking Counter Helix icon Counter Helix damage was not enough of a punishment for attacking the Axe, then Blade Mail will make sane people cry. Few heroes can take damage from both abilities early on, and Blade Mail continues to be lethal in the late game, unlike Counter Helix which scales off.
Bristleback icon
  • A highly durable hero, his namesake Bristleback ability icon Bristleback helps him last longer in teamfights. Combined with Blade Mail, this provides him a significant increase in both offense and defense.
Clockwerk icon
  • Similar to Axe minimap icon Axe and Legion Commander minimap icon Legion Commander, Clockwerk can stop heroes from running away from him and forces out engagements while continuously barraging the enemy with Battery Assault icon Battery Assault. Having Blade Mail makes it so much worse for them as Clockwerk's high health pool makes it very unlikely that he will die first
  • Clockwerk also benefits from all the stats Blade Mail provides.
    • The extra armor is very vital as Clockwerk is otherwise short in armor
    • The extra attack damage let him hit harder with his right-click
Elder Titan icon
  • Pairs really well with Natural Order icon Natural Order.
  • Elder Titan loves to be in the middle of the fight.
Enchantress icon
  • She can heal up quickly and will slow any direct attacker thanks to her passive, forcing anyone to cast strong spells on her to deal significant damage only to get it reflected back at them.
Legion Commander icon
  • Duel icon Duel forces enemies to engage Legion Commander head-on and attack her without pause, maximizing Blade Mail's efficiency if she is using it.
Necrophos icon
  • Having a natural heal ability Death Pulse icon Death Pulse, he can slip away and heal in the process easily.
Spectre icon
  • Already having a damage reflect ability Dispersion icon Dispersion Spectre ensures no one touches her as long as blade barrier is active.
Wraith King icon
  • Enduring tons of damage Wraith King can have breathing space.

Tips[]

  • It is a powerful counter against Bloodthorn icon Bloodthorn and Silver Edge icon Silver Edge to prevent enemies from attacking you while under the debuff.
  • Enemies with copious amounts of damage resistance or high health could very easily ignore Blade Mail's ability. Heroes like Ursa minimap icon Ursa, Spectre minimap icon Spectre, and Abaddon minimap icon Abaddon are good examples of said resistant heroes, as are items such as Pipe of Insight icon Pipe of Insight or Heart of Tarrasque icon Heart of Tarrasque.
  • It can be useful to get Blade Mail if you get outcarried, to counter the DPS and turn the enemy's damage against them.
  • Buy it as a counter if the opposing team has high damage (crits, nukes or attack speed) and have low health. If timed properly, some heroes can get killed just from their own damage. And even if you cannot do that, it could make the enemy hesitant to attack you for 5.5 seconds.
  • A good situation to use Blade Mail is if you're inflicted with a heavy damage over time ability. For example, you can kill (or severely damage) Bloodseeker minimap icon Bloodseeker by walking around with Rupture icon Rupture, or Tinker minimap icon Tinker by staying under his March of the Machines icon March of the Machines. However, do make sure that you yourself can take the damage you'll be receiving, else you'll just be helping the enemy instead.
  • The return damage is only dealt to the unit who attacks. Therefore, Techies minimap icon Techies' mines, Witch Doctor minimap icon Witch Doctor's Death Ward icon Death Ward and Shadow Shaman minimap icon Shadow Shaman's Mass Serpent Ward icon Mass Serpent Ward won't affect their main hero as they are considered separate units.
    • Since the Blade Mail returns damage on the unit that attacks the owner, you can use Book of the Dead icon Book of the Dead units to attack and the melee Necronomicon Warrior will die quicker to return 800 damage.
  • This is a commonly bought item for initiator heroes that can soak up some damage (commonly Strength heroes), such as Clockwerk minimap icon Clockwerk or Spirit Breaker minimap icon Spirit Breaker.
  • Blade Mail is less effective with evasion and attack slow because it reduces the hits you receive, and thus the damage you can return.
  • It also loses effectiveness against enemies who can turn themselves or their allies invulnerable with abilities like Phase Shift icon Phase Shift or Astral Imprisonment icon Astral Imprisonment, or with Eul's Scepter of Divinity icon Eul's Scepter of Divinity, as Blade Mail cannot damage invulnerable units.
  • It is an ultimate counter against heroes who rely on critical strikes such as Phantom Assassin minimap icon Phantom Assassin, Bounty Hunter minimap icon Bounty Hunter, Wraith King minimap icon Wraith King, etc. Also against Crystalys icon Crystalys or its upgrade Daedalus icon Daedalus.

Items Synergy[]

  • Shadow Blade icon Shadow Blade, Blink Dagger icon Blink Dagger and Force Staff icon Force Staff: these are good ganking and initiation items.
  • Mask of Madness icon Mask of Madness: will protect you from being attacked while under the debuff of the Mask of Madness.
  • Crimson Guard icon Crimson Guard: gives you more armor and damage block, allowing to return more physical damage than you take, since it gets reflected before reductions.
    • The same applies to magic resistance or any other source of damage reduction. For example, even if incoming damage is fully blocked by spells like Borrowed Time icon Borrowed Time, Blade Mail still reflects the full damage.

Gallery[]

Recent Changes[]

Main Article: Blade Mail/Changelogs
Version
Description



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