Crystal Maiden
Hero
Crystal Maiden
    18 + 2.2
16 + 1.6
16 + 3.3
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Rylai, the Crystal Maiden, is a ranged intelligence hero who uses the power of frost and ice to disable and dispatch her foes. A slow and fragile support, Crystal Maiden's strength lies in her battery of strong nukes, disables and slows. Crystal Nova is an area-of-effect nuke that slows enemies' attack and movement speeds, while Frostbite immobilizes an enemy in a block of ice, dealing moderate damage per second. Coordinating these spells with a laning partner's own abilities will bring many an enemy to their knees. Her passive Arcane Aura also improves the mana regeneration for heroes in Rylai's team, multiplying their spellcasting in the early game. Later on, she has the potential to lay waste to her enemies in teamfights if she can channel her deadly ultimate Freezing Field uninterrupted. Her global mana aura, strong disables and nukes, and a lack of item dependence make Crystal Maiden a reliable and, with judicious use of her ultimate, a devastating support caster.
Contents
Bio[edit]
Rylai, the Crystal Maiden▶️ "When Hell freezes over, I'll start calling it Heaven."
Lore:
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.
Voice:
Abilities[edit]
Crystal Nova
A burst of damaging frost slows enemy movement and attack rate in the targeted area.
Cast Animation: 0.3+0.6
Cast Range: 700 (
775)
775)Effect Radius: 425
Damage: 130/170/210/260 ( 370/410/450/500)
370/410/450/500)Move Speed Slow: 20%/30%/40%/50%
Attack Speed Slow: 20/30/40/50
Slow Duration: 4.5
11/ 8/7/6/5)
130/
Slow persists if debuff was placed before spell immunity and when not dispelled.Modifiers
modifier_crystal_maiden_crystal_nova: Dispellable with any dispel.The air temperature around Rylai drops rapidly, chilling all around her to the core.
Notes:
- Provides 900 radius ground vision at the target area for 6 seconds.
- The nova first applies the damage, then the debuff.
- Plays a sound effect during the cast time which is audible to everyone.
Frostbite
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: 550 ( 625)
625)Damage Interval: 0.7
Hero Total Damage: 150/200/250/300
Creep Total Damage: 1000
Hero Duration: 1.5/2/2.5/3 ( 2.75/3.25/3.75/4.25)
2.75/3.25/3.75/4.25)Creep Duration: 10 ( 11.25)
11.25) 9/ 140/ Root and disarm persist and attempts to damage if debuff was placed before spell immunity and when not dispelled.Modifiers
modifier_crystal_maiden_frostbite: Dispellable with any dispel.Rylai channels winds from the Blueheart Glacier, imprisoning attackers in thick blocks of ice.
Notes:
- 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 spells.
- Provides True Sight over the target.
- Deals damage in 0.7 second intervals, starting immediately upon cast, resulting in 2/2/3/4 ( 3/4/5/6) damage instances to heroes and 14 ( 16) to creeps.
- The damage per tick is based on the total damage divided by the amount of ticks. The amount of ticks never changes, but the tick interval adapts to changed durations.
- This results in 75/100/83.33/75 ( 50/50/50/50) damage per tick to heroes and 71.43 ( 62.5) to creeps.
- This means the duration increasing talent has no influence on the total damage.
- Treats illusions, creep-heroes, ancient creeps and Roshan as heroes.
Arcane Aura
E
R
Ability
Aura
Aura
Affects
Allies
Allies
Gives additional mana regeneration to all friendly units on the map. This bonus is increased for Crystal Maiden.
Radius: Global
Mana Regen Bonus: 0.5/1/1.5/2
Magic Resistance Bonus: 0% ( 6%)
6%)Self Bonus Factor: 3
Aura Linger Duration: 0.5
Modifiers
modifier_crystal_maiden_brilliance_aura: Undispellable. Persists death. modifier_crystal_maiden_brilliance_aura_effect: Undispellable. Persists death.Cold temperatures promote the essence of magic, causing Rylai's presence to allow spell usage in abundance.
Notes:
- The aura's buff lingers for 0.5 seconds.
- Can regenerate up to 30/60/90/120 mana in one minute for allies.
- Can regenerate up to 90/180/270/360 mana in one minute for Crystal Maiden.
- The level 15 talent adds magic resistance to the aura. Stacks multiplicatively with other sources of magic resistance.
- The value is affected by the self bonus factor for Crystal Maiden.
- Increases most heroes' total magic resistance to 29.5%, assuming basic 25% magic resistance and no other sources of magic resistance.
- Increases Crystal Maiden's total magic resistance to 38.5%, assuming basic 25% magic resistance and no other sources of magic resistance.
Freezing Field
Cast Animation: 0+0
Max Channel Time: 10
Slow Radius: 810
Explosion Spawn Radius Min: 195
Explosion Spawn Radius Max: 785
Explosion Damage Radius: 300
Self Armor Bonus: 20
Damage: 105/170/250 ( 155/220/300)
155/220/300)Move Speed Slow: 30%
Attack Speed Slow: 60
Slow Duration: 1
Frostbite Timer: 0 (
1.75)
1.75) 110/ 200/
Applies Frostbite to any unit that has been standing in the Freezing Field for over a set amount of time. Slow persists if debuff was placed before spell immunity and when not dispelled.Modifiers
modifier_crystal_maiden_freezing_field: Dispellable with death only. modifier_crystal_maiden_freezing_field_slow: Dispellable with any dispel. modifier_crystal_maiden_freezing_field_tracker: Dispellable with death only.Once the place of her exile, Icewrack has become an anchor for Rylai's frigid onslaught.
Notes:
- The slow is applied to all enemies within the radius in 0.1 second intervals, regardless of the ice explosions.
- Every 0.1 seconds an explosion occurs, for a total of 100 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 north-east segment of the circle, following explosions proceed counterclockwise.
- Can damage units up to 1085 range away (max spawn radius + explosion radius).
- 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 slightly (5%) more damage.
- Deals about 2000/3300/4800 damage to enemies within 485 range over the full duration, ±1.9 explosions.
- If all explosion could hit a single target, it would deal up to 10500/17000/25000 ( 15500/22000/30000) damage (before reductions).
- The radius is always centered on Crystal Maiden and follows her even when she is moved (e.g. Force Staff).
- Despite the visual effects, the damage is dealt as the falling ice shards are spawned, not upon them reaching the ground.
- Aghanim's Scepter adds an aura to Freezing Field, which tracks enemies within the area.
- If an enemy unit is affected by the tracker modifier for 1.75 seconds, it has Frostbite applied to it based on its current level.
- A unit can only be frostbitten once per cast of Freezing Field. Even if they re-enter the area, they are not hit a second time.
- If a unit is already frostbitten by a manual cast, it can still be frostbitten again by Freezing Field, refreshing the duration.
- The tracker resets whenever it is reapplied to a unit. This means a unit must be affected by it for 1.75 seconds continuously in order to be frostbitten.
- The tracker modifier is placed on enemies even when not upgraded yet, tracking the duration enemies spend within the area normally.
- This means when Freezing Field is upgraded while channeling, enemies which have been in the area for more than 1.75 seconds instantly have Frostbite applied to them.
- The tracker does not affect invulnerable or hidden units.
- The tracker modifier lingers for 0.1 seconds.
- In Ability Draft, Frostbite must be drafted as well for this upgrade to work.
Talents[edit]
| Hero Talents | ||
|---|---|---|
| +240 Crystal Nova Damage | 25 | +1.25s Frostbite Duration |
| +50 Freezing Field Damage | 20 | +200 Attack Speed |
| -3s Crystal Nova Cooldown | 15 | +6% Magic Resistance Arcane Aura |
| +75 Cast Range | 10 | +200 Health |
Notes:
- The health talent increases maximum health capacity, and keeps the current health percentage.
Recent Changes[edit]
Main Article: Crystal Maiden/Changelogs
Version
Description
- Increased base intelligence from 14 to 16.
- Reduced base attack damage from 30-36 to 28-34.
- Increased movement speed from 275 to 280.
- Freezing Field
- Reduced max radius from 835 to 810.
- Reduced Aghanim's Scepter Frostbite delay from 2 to 1.75.
- Talents:
- Level 15 left talent: -2s Crystal Nova cooldown increased to -3s.
- Level 15 right talent: 8% Arcane Aura magic resistance reduced to 6%.
- Talents:
- Level 15 left talent: -1.5s Crystal Nova cooldown increased to -2s.
- Talents:
- Level 10 left talent: +100 cast range reduced to +75.
- Level 10 right talent: +250 health reduced to +200.
- Level 15 left talent: -2s Crystal Nova cooldown reduced to -1.5s.
- Level 15 right talent: 10% Arcane Aura magic resistance reduced to 8%.
- Level 20 left talent: +60 Freezing Field damage per explosion reduced to +50.
- Level 20 right talent: +250 attack speed reduced to +200.
- Level 25 left talent: +300 Crystal Nova damage reduced to +240.
- Level 25 right talent: +1.5s Frostbite duration reduced to +1.25s.
Recommended items[edit]
Starting items:
- 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 also restores health to Crystal Maiden or her allies.
- 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 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 Stick is very useful on Crystal Maiden to sustain enemies' spammable abilities during laning stage.
- Boots of Speed are a crucial early purchase on Crystal Maiden due to her extremely low base movement speed. Increasing her mobility allows Crystal Maiden to get within range to cast her disables on her foes, or outrun pursuing enemies.
- Wind Lace also gives movement speed boost for cheap, and builds into various items.
Mid game:
- Tranquil Boots are the cheapest upgradable boots available and allow Crystal Maiden to remain out in the field for extended periods of time. As Arcane Aura restores her mana pool while Tranquil Boots's passive heals her, Crystal Maiden can stay out in the field indefinitely and never need to return to base. The increased movement speed is also a boon, allowing her to roam, gank, and flee more effectively.
- Magic Wand is a cheap source of extra attributes, which Crystal Maiden lacks. The increased charge storage also allows her to do more in fights.
- 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 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.
Late game:
- 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 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.
- 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 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.
- 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.
- Drum of Endurance gives Crystal Maiden attributes to tank up. The extra movement speed allows her to position for casting spells.
- Veil of Discord is a cheap utility item that gives Crystal Maiden an attribute boost. Besides the attributes, the spell damage amplification allows her team to do more damage in fights with abilities, especially Freezing Field.
- 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 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.
- Aghanim's Scepter can give Crystal Maiden a large amount of lockdown ability with Freezing Field as well as give her attributes across the board, particularly her health and mana pool, giving her both extra survivability to cast the ultimate and the mana to do so at higher levels. If your team can prevent Freezing Field from being interrupted, it can be a strong luxury item to invest in once you have the mobility to deploy it reliably.
- 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 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.
Gameplay[edit]
| Roles: | Support Disabler Nuker Jungler |
|---|---|
| Complexity: | ★☆☆ |
| Playstyle: | 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 Frostbite, holding them in place as she freezes the ground with Crystal Nova. Magic flourishes under her Arcane Aura, stimulating mana 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. |
Audio[edit]
History[edit]
Equipment[edit]
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Trivia[edit]
- Rylai is one of the oldest heroes from the original DotA in Reign of Chaos DotA. Her title used to be Frost Maiden.
- 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.
- Crystal Maiden's Arcane Aura used to be named Brilliance Aura.
- In early versions of DotA, Crystal Maiden and Lich used to share the same Frost Blast ability (although they were both named Frost Nova). However, in later updates, Crystal Maiden's Frost Nova was changed to Crystal Nova, turning it into a free-cast area-of-effect ability, while Lich kept the original effects.
- In Warcraft DotA, Crystal Maiden's Frostbite can freeze the enemy's Fountain and the duration was counted as creep.
- 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.
- Crystal Maiden's leveling-up response ▶️ "Is it cold in here or is it just me?" is a reference to the action movie Demolition Man.[1]
- Crystal Maiden's 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". Crystal Maiden is the ice, and her sister 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.
Gallery[edit]
Crystal Maiden and Axe cartoon art
Steam profile background art
Concept art
Ability icon progress
Hero icon progress
References[edit]
