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Phantom Lancer
Hero
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Azwraith, the Phantom Lancer, is a melee agility hero who can fill the role of carry and pusher because of his ability to generate an army of illusions in a matter of seconds. He requires deep cunning, positioning, and most importantly, great micromanagement as his illusions might just get in the way rather than help the situation if not utilized correctly. Many of his abilities help him in his creation of images, allowing him to always have a companion. He has a nuke ability in Spirit Lance, which deals moderate damage, slows the target, and creates an illusion at his target's location. His escape ability Doppelganger allows him to quickly relocate himself and any nearby illusions while creating additional ones, possibly tricking enemies into wasting their spells and time in trying to kill said illusions. His toggle Phantom Rush allows him and his illusions to close the distance toward a target when issued an attack order, giving him the ability to quickly focus single targets in battle. His ultimate Juxtapose gives him the ability to generate a large number of illusions when attacking a target, while giving said illusions the ability to replicate themselves as well. Phantom Lancer is an extremely mobile hero who is hard to pin down and can quickly overwhelm his opponents in battle.
Contents
Bio[edit]
Azwraith, the Phantom Lancer▶️ "We outnumbered you. We outnumber them all!"
Lore:
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.
Voice:
Abilities[edit]
Spirit Lance
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: 525/600/675/750
Damage: 100/150/200/250 (
225/275/325/375)
225/275/325/375)Move Speed Slow: 10%/18%/26%/34%
Illusion Damage Taken: 400%
Illusion Damage Dealt: 20%
Illusion Duration: 2/4/6/8
Slow Duration: 3.25
Bounce Distance: 0 (
400)
400)Number of Targets: 1 ( 5)
5)
7
110/
Causes Spirit Lance to bounce to nearby enemies.
Slow persists if debuff was placed before spell immunity and when not dispelled.Also stops the lance from bouncing when hitting a spell immune unit.
Blocked upon impact as primary or secondary target. When blocked, it stops bouncing.
Can be disjointed by primary and secondary targets. Once disjointed, it stops bouncing.Modifiers
Spirit Lance: Dispellable with any dispel.Azwraith's proficiency at spearing his family's meal of fish is proving quite useful in the battlefield.
Notes:
- Spirit Lance travels at a speed of 1000.
- The lance first applies the debuff, then the damage.
- The illusion spawns 58 range away from the target, at random spot around it.
- Illusions of Phantom Lancer within 675 radius of Phantom Lancer cast a fake Spirit Lance.
- They play the whole cast animation and release their fake lances at the same time the real Spirit Lance is released.
- When illusions currently are not having any order and are standing still, they turn towards the target and cast the fake lance.
- When illusions are moving or attacking, they continue to do so and do not 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 fake lances.
- The fake lances do not interact with anything, deal no damage, do not slow and spawn no illusions.
- Illusions created by Spirit Lance have a static 5 gold and experience bounty which does not scale with levels.
- Does not bounce on invisible units or units in the Fog of War.
- Can never hit the same unit twice per cast.
- All bounces together can deal up to 500/750/1000/1250 ( 1125/1375/1625/1875) damage (before reductions).
Doppelganger
Ability
Target Area
Target Area
Affects
Self
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 Animation: 0.1+0
Cast Range: 600
Reappear Radius: 325
Illusion Gather Radius: 900
Reappear Delay: 1
Number of Illusions: 2
First Illusion Damage Taken: 100%
First Illusion Damage Dealt: 0%
Second Illusion Damage Taken: 600%
Second Illusion Damage Dealt: 20%
Gathered Illusion Duration Extension: 2
Doppelganger Illusion Duration: 8
25/ 19/14/9/4) 50
Modifiers
Doppelwalk Phase: Undispellable.Dread Magus Vorn's death imbued the Phantom Lancer with the ability to blend with all spectrums of light.
Notes:
- Doppelganger disjoints projectiles upon cast.
- Applies a basic dispel on Phantom Lancer upon cast.
- Phantom Lancer and his affected illusions are invulnerable and hidden during the reappear delay.
- Phantom Lancer cannot do anything during the reappear delay. Any order given during it is queued as next order.
- 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 variaton.
- Illusions which were moving or attacking a target continue to move or attack their target after reappearing.
- All illusions gathered with Doppelganger get their duration increased. The 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.
- 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.
- Unlike illusions created by Phantom Lancer's other abilities, Doppelganger illusions use the default bounty values which scale with levels.
- Doppelganger cannot be interrupted by anything except death. This means when getting teleported (with e.g. Glimpse), Phantom Lancer still appears at the targeted area.
- Destroys trees within 200 radius of Phantom Lancer and every affected illusion upon reappearing.
Phantom Rush
Ability
Toggle
Toggle
Affects
Self
Self
When targeting an enemy for an attack, Phantom Lancer quickly charges into range, gaining a temporary agility boost upon reaching the target. Phantom Lancer's illusions also have this ability.
Minimum Proc Distance: 250
Maximum Proc Distance: 600/700/800/900 ( 1100/1200/1300/1400)
1100/1200/1300/1400)Haste Speed: 800
Agility Bonus: 11/22/33/44
Max Rush Duration: 5
Agility Duration: 2
16/Modifiers
Phantom Edge Boost: Dispellable with any dispel. Phantom Edge Agility: Dispellable with any dispel.Azwraith knows that on the field of battle, speed can mean everything.
Notes:
- Can be toggled to not activate. Only Phantom Lancer can toggle it, it still remains toggled on for his illusions.
- Requires a direct attack order to trigger. Auto attacks or attack ground orders do not trigger Phantom Rush.
- Disarm or ethereal effects do not prevent Phantom Lancer from rushing, however, attack immune units (e.g. invulnerable or ethereal) cannot be targeted.
- Upon triggering, Phantom Lancer receives the rush buff, which grants haste and phased movement.
- This means the hero's movement speed cannot be slowed, and can walk through units and wards, but not through impassable terrain or trees.
- 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. Items which can be double-clicked to cast on self still count as targeted.
- 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 ensnare 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 that he runs with the rush speed towards the fountain.
- 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 buff and loses the rush buff upon starting an attack on an enemy.
- This means if the rush gets canceled in any other way than by an attack on the target, no agility is gained.
- Since giving a new attack order cancels the rush, he can gain the buff by only attacking the rush target.
- Since the buff is given on attack start, it does not matter whether the attack misses or not.
- The agility buff effectively grants Phantom Lancer 1.76/3.52/5.28/7.04 armor, 0.55%/1.1%/1.65%/2.2% movement speed, 11/22/33/44 attack speed and 11/22/33/44 attack damage.
Juxtapose
Ability
Passive
Passive
Affects
Self
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.
Hero Proc Chance: 40%/45%/50%
Illusion Proc Chance: 8%
Max Illusions: 6/8/10 ( 11/13/15)
11/13/15)Illusion Damage Taken: 650%
Illusion Damage Dealt: 20%
Illusion Duration (from Hero): 8
Illusion Duration (from Illusion): 4
Each of Azwraith's lance attacks feels like two from a normal warrior; or three; or four...
Notes:
- The chance to spawn illusions only triggers upon attacking.
- Juxtapose uses pseudo-random distribution.
- Illusions created by Juxtapose attack the target that the ability was triggered upon.
- This means that illusions created by Juxtapose use Phantom Rush when their target is in correct range.
- Illusions created by Juxtapose have a static 5 gold and experience bounty which does not scale with levels.
- The illusions spawns 72 range away from Phantom Lancer, appearing either north, east, south or west from him.
- Affects all illusions of Phantom Lancer, not just the ones from his abilities.
- This includes illusions created with items ( Manta Style) or with other abilities ( Disruption, Reflection).
- This means that even enemy illusions of Phantom Lancer (created with e.g. Disruption) have a chance to spawn new ones for the owner of the illusion.
Critical Strike
Ability
Passive
Passive
Affects
Enemies
Enemies
There is no description for this ability.
Proc Chance: 30%
Critical Damage: 200%
Red critical numbers are before illusion and armor reduction.Notes:
- Increases attack damage by an average of 30%.
- The proc chances of multiple crit sources stack.
- If two sources of critical strike proc at the same time, the higher multiplier has priority.
- Critical Strike uses pseudo-random distribution.
Talents[edit]
| Hero Talents | ||
|---|---|---|
| +30% Critical Strike (2x) | 25 | -6s Doppelganger CD |
| +5 Max Juxtapose Illusions | 20 | +500 Phantom Rush Range |
| +125 Spirit Lance Damage | 15 | +275 Health |
| +20 Attack Speed | 10 | 20% Evasion |
Recommended items[edit]
Starting items:
- Tango helps keep Phantom Lancer longer alive during the early game.
- Healing Salve is a standard regeneration item, useful for any hero to stay longer in lane.
- Enchanted Mango helps Phantom Lancer endure harassment, and can be consumed to get off one last Spirit Lance or Doppelganger.
- Iron Branch provides an extremely cost effective increase to his attributes, and can later be built into a Magic Wand.
Early game:
- 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 grant bonus movement speed to keep up with the enemies.
- Infused Raindrop provides some protection against magical damage, as well as giving mana regeneration to sustain abilities.
Mid game:
- Power Treads give Phantom Lancer attack speed and attributes, which illusions can take advantage of.
- 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.
- The mana burn damage is not affected by the illusions' attack damage penalty, therefore greatly increasing his damage output the more illusions are spawned.
- The extra agility increases Phantom Lancer's as well as his illusions' attack damage and attack speed.
- The active ability slows enemies, and combined with Phantom Rush, helps him and his illusions chase down enemies.
- 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's passive slow benefits illusions, and works together with Diffusal Blade's mana burn, rendering enemies helpless and unable to escape Phantom Lancer.
- 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 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 makes Phantom Lancer significantly tankier, and is useful for split pushing. For late game teamfights, it can be upgraded into an Abyssal Blade.
- 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, as the speed bonus from Yasha does not stack.
- 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.
- Radiance makes Phantom Lancer an intimidating pusher, as the burn damage aura works on his illusions, and enemies are unlikely to move out of its range due to Phantom Rush and Spirit Lance. The minor blind effect also helps Phantom Lancer stay alive.
- 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 allows Phantom Lancer to stun targets, giving him the time to land multiple hits and generate illusions.
- 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 is less common on Phantom Lancer than on other carries, but is sometimes necessary against enemies with numerous disables.
Gameplay[edit]
| Roles: | Carry Escape Pusher Nuker |
|---|---|
| Complexity: | ★★☆ |
| Playstyle: | 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 with Spirit Lance, spawning an illusion to harass his opponent as he closes the gap with Phantom Rush. When cornered, he vanishes briefly from the battlefield, reappearing at a nearby spot while leaving behind two Doppelgangers to confuse pursuers. In the heat of combat, Azwraith summons illusions through Juxtapose, overwhelming foes before their eyes can scarcely distinguish the Phantom Lancer from his army of clones. |
Audio[edit]
History[edit]
Equipment[edit]
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Trivia[edit]
- 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, and may have been based on earlier concepts of Monkey King.
Gallery[edit]
Splash artwork
Trading card art
Ability icon progress
Hero icon progress
