Queen of Pain

Hero

 

Strategy

 

Counters

 

Equipment

 

Gear

 

Talents

 

Relics

 

Responses

 

Sounds

 

Lore

 

Old Abilities

 

Changelogs

 

Known Bugs

 

Queen of Pain 18 + 2.3 22 + 2.5 25 + 2.9
Level 0 1 15 25 30 Health 200 560 1200 1660 1880 Health regen 0 1.8 5.02 7.32 8.47 Magic res. 25% 26.08% 28.01% 29.39% 30.08% Mana 75 375 855 1203 1383 Mana regen 0 1.25 3.28 4.73 5.46 Spell dmg 0% 1.75% 4.59% 6.62% 7.64% Armor 0 3.52 9.12 13.12 15.12 Att/sec 0.67 0.81 1.05 1.21 1.3 Move sp amp. 0% 1.1% 2.85% 4.1% 4.73% Damage 20‒28 45‒53 85‒93 114‒122 129‒137
Movement speed 290 Attack speed 100 Turn rate 0.5 Vision range 1800/800 Attack range 550 Projectile speed 1500 Attack animation 0.56+0.41 Base attack time 1.5 Damage block 0 Collision size 24 Legs 2  Gib type Default

Akasha the Queen of Pain is a ranged intelligence hero who uses her abilities to close in and deal huge area damage to the enemy. She is typically played in the middle lane as a ganker and semi-carry, with her ability to appear in battle and deal damage in quick succession, as well as hunt down fleeing heroes with ease. Her Blink ability is the lynchpin of her skill set, allowing her to enter and leave fights at her whim. Once in position to attack, Akasha can unleash her Scream of Pain and Sonic Wave, able to devastate an entire team at once. Chasing down straggling prey is another of her fortes, with Shadow Strike crippling their ability to escape. Akasha is very adept at getting kills early in the game, and transitions very well into a semi-carry if she acquires the proper items.

Bio

Akasha, the Queen of Pain

▶️ "They say pain is all in the mind, but they're wrong: It's all in my hands."

Lore:

The Ecclesiast-King of Elze nursed a desire for pain — forbidden pain. In a less prominent political figure, such desires might be considered unwise, but in a monarch of his stature, to satisfy such thirsts would have threatened the virtue of the Divine Throne itself. Therefore he turned to his dungeon full of demonologists, promising freedom to whoever could summon a personal succubus of torment and bind it entirely to his service. The creature who arrived, Akasha by name, visited upon him such exquisite torments that he named her his Secret Queen, and he began to spend all his spare moments submitting to her clever torments—eventually abdicating all his responsibilities in his pursuit of the painful pleasures that only she could bring. Queen of Pain could bring him to the brink of death, but she was rune-bound to keep him alive. At last the King's neglect of state brought on an uprising. He was dragged from his chamber and hurled from the Tower of Invocations, and at the moment of death, Queen of Pain was let loose into the world, freed from servitude—freed to visit her sufferings on anyone she deigned to notice.

Voice:

Linda K. Morris (Responses)

Abilities

Shadow Strike

▶️

Q

D

Ability
Target Unit / Target Area

Affects
Enemies

Damage
Magical

Hurls a poisoned dagger which deals large initial damage, and then deals damage over time. The poisoned unit has its movement speed slowed for 15 seconds. An instance of damage is dealt every 3 seconds.

Cast Animation: 0.4+0.67

Cast Range: 450/500/550/600

Radius: 0 ( 650)

Initial Damage: 50/75/100/125

Number of Instances: 5

Damage per Instance: 30/50/70/90

Move Speed Slow: 20%/30%/40%/50%

Duration: 15

16/12/8/4 ( 14.08/10.56/7.04/3.52)

110

Slow persists and attempts to deal damage if debuff was placed before spell immunity and when not dispelled.

Blocked upon impact, only when primary target. Never blocked for secondary targets

Modifiers

Shadow Strike: Dispellable with any dispel.

Akasha's envenomed dagger allows her to delight in the drawn out suffering of her victims.

Notes:

• The dagger travels at a speed of 900.

• The slow decreases in 1 second intervals. This is how much Shadow Strike slows on each level at each second:
  • Level 1: 20.0% / 16.3% / 13.1% / 10.3% / 8.1% / 6.2% / 4.7% / 3.5% / 2.5% / 1.8% / 1.3% / 0.9% / 0.6% / 0.4% / 0.3%
  • Level 2: 30.0% / 24.5% / 19.6% / 15.5% / 12.1% / 9.3% / 7.0% / 5.2% / 3.8% / 2.8% / 2.0% / 1.4% / 1.0% / 0.6% / 0.4%
  • Level 3: 40.0% / 32.6% / 26.2% / 20.7% / 16.1% / 12.4% / 9.3% / 7.0% / 5.1% / 3.7% / 2.6% / 1.8% / 1.3% / 0.9% / 0.6%
  • Level 4: 50.0% / 40.8% / 32.7% / 25.9% / 20.1% / 15.5% / 11.7% / 8.7% / 6.4% / 4.6% / 3.3% / 2.3% / 1.6% / 1.1% / 0.7%

• A unit with less than 25% of its maximum health can be denied when it has the Shadow Strike debuff on.

• Deals the initial damage upon impact and the damage over time in 3 second intervals, resulting in overall 6 damage instances.

• Can deal up to 200/325/450/575 damage to the target (before reductions).

• Successive casts on the same target remove the debuff from the previous cast and place a new one.
  • This means the initial damage is dealt again, and the slow value and tick interval are effectively reset.

• The level 20 talent adds a 650 radius to this spell. The targeting reticule must be centered over an enemy unit.
  • Upon cast, Queen of Pain sends daggers towards every enemy within the radius.
  • These behave just like a regular cast, and can be disjointed normally.
  • Also targets units inside the fog of war and invisible units. However, invisible targets instantly disjoint it.

Blink

▶️

W

B

Ability
Target Point

Affects
Self

Short distance teleportation that allows Queen of Pain to move in and out of combat.

Cast Animation: 0.33+0.07

Cast Range: Global

Max Blink Distance: 1300

15/12/9/6 ( 13.2/10.56/7.92/5.28)

60

The Secret Queen lives up to her title, making her Pain impossible to escape.

Notes:

• Disjoints projectiles upon cast.

• Does not blink for the full distance when targeting closer than the max distance.

• When targeting beyond the max blink distance, Queen of Pain will blink for the max distance towards the targeted point.

Scream of Pain

▶️

E

F

Ability
No Target

Affects
Enemies

Damage
Magical

The Queen of Pain lets loose a piercing scream around her, damaging nearby enemies.

Cast Animation: 0+0.63

Search Radius: 525

Damage: 75/150/225/300

Fear Duration: 0 ( 1.5)

7 ( 6.16)

80/100/120/140

Modifiers

Scream of Pain Fear: Dispellable with any dispel.

The sultry voice of Akasha beckons her opponents while stealing their souls.

Notes:

• Scream of Pain interrupts Queen of Pain's channeling spells upon cast.

• The projectiles travel at a speed of 900.

• Affects invisible units and units in the Fog of War.

• Does not affect invulnerable or hidden units.

• The talent adds fear to Scream of Pain, forcing them to run towards their team's fountain, while preventing them from acting.
  • When hitting neutral creeps, they retreat to their camps instead.
  • The scream first applies the damage, then the debuff.

Sonic Wave

▶️

R

W

Ability
Target Point

Affects
Enemies

Damage
Pure

Creates a gigantic wave of sound in front of Queen of Pain, dealing heavy damage to all enemy units in its wake and pushing them back.

Cast Animation: 0.452+0.9

Cast Range: 700

Starting Radius: 100

Travel Distance: 900

End Radius: 450

Damage: 340/430/520 ( 390/500/610)

Knockback Distance: 350

Knockback Duration: 1.4

135 ( 118.8) ( 40, 35.2)

250/360/500

Increases damage and decreases cooldown.

Modifiers

Knockback: Dispellable with any dispel.

Her most exquisite of all of torments, Akasha's Sonic Wave puts her poor foes out of their misery.

Notes:

• Sonic Wave travels at a speed of 900, taking 1 second to travel the full distance.

• Can hit units up to 1350 range away (travel distance + end radius).

• The complete area is shaped like a cone.

• The knockback angle depends on the angle between the hit target and Queen of Pain's cast location.
  • This means the knockback direction does not equal the cast direction. Very close enemies may get pushed to the sides.
  • Knocks hit enemies 350 range back over 1.4 seconds, resulting in a speed of 250.

• The knockback destroys trees around the units while being moved.

• Sonic Wave first applies its damage, then the knockback debuff.

• Fully affects couriers.

Spell Block

▶️

Ability
Passive

Affects
Self

There is no description for this ability.

15

Illusions have the status buff, but it does nothing for them.

Notes:

• Does not block spells cast by allies.

• Does not block Ion Shell, Toss, and Snowball.

• Does not block Urn of Shadows, Spirit Vessel, Medallion of Courage, and Solar Crest.

• For a list of blocked spells, see Spell Block.

• Fully stacks with the Spell Block of Linken's Sphere, with the one acquired first also proccing first.

• Cooldown reductions fully affect the cooldown, but cooldown resets do not.

Talents

Hero Talents
15s Spell Block	25	Scream of Pain 1.5s Fear
650 AoE Shadow Strike	20	30% Spell Lifesteal
+40 Attack Speed	15	12% Cooldown Reduction
+10 Strength	10	+25 Damage

Notes:

• The strength talent effectively grants Queen of Pain 200 health, 1 health regen and 0.8% magic resistance.

• This attack damage talent is added as raw attack damage, so it does not benefit illusions, and is not affected by most percentage-based damage increasing or reducing effects.

• The cooldown reduction talent stacks multiplicatively with other sources cooldown reduction.

• The spell lifesteal talent stacks additively with other sources of spell lifesteal.

• The spell lifesteal talent heals for 6% from non-hero units. Treats creep-heroes as creeps and does not heal off of illusions.

Recent Changes

Main Article: Queen of Pain/Changelogs

Version

Description

7.23

• Increased agility gain from 2.2 to 2.5.
• Increased Scream of Pain radius from 475 to 525.

7.21d

• Increased base armor from -1 to 0.

7.21c

• Increased base intelligence from 22 to 25.
• Reduced base attack damage from 23-31 to 20-28.
• Increased Sonic Wave damage from 320/410/500 ( 370/480/590) to 340/430/520 ( 390/500/610).

Recommended items

Starting items:

• Null Talisman gives Queen of Pain a decent early game attributes boost.
• Faerie Fire helps Queen of Pain score last hits and gives a chance to survive a gank.
• Iron Branch improves Queen of Pain's early attributes, and can be built into a Magic Wand later on, or eaten with Tango.
• Healing Salve can patch Queen of Pain up after a gank or heavy trading with her opponent.
• Clarity helps Queen of Pain to continue harassing her opponent with Shadow Strike.

Early game:

• Magic Wand gives Queen of Pain much needed burst regen which can be used in emergency situations.
• Bottle provides Queen of Pain with reliable health and mana regeneration. Blink grants her almost incontestable rune control allowing her to easily replenish Bottle charges.
• Infused Raindrops helps Queen of Pain resist harassment and gankers, while providing much needed mana regeneration.

Mid game:

• Power Treads provide Queen of Pain attack speed and attribute switch, allowing her to be more durable and gain more value from Bottle and shrines.
• Orchid Malevolence gives Queen of Pain a silence to prevent the hero she blinks on from fighting back, as well as plenty of mana regeneration and damage increase.
• Linken's Sphere's Spellblock helps Queen of Pain to survive long enough to blink to safety, while providing all-around attributes and regen.
• Black King Bar protects against most disables and nukes, allowing Queen of Pain to blink into fight with no fear.

Late game:

• Shiva's Guard increases armor, as well as mana pool. The Arctic Blast active double-downs on Queen of Pain's ability to slowdown and nuke enemies.
• Mjollnir's Chain Lightning and Static Charge paired with Spell Lifesteal talent can tremendously boost Queen of Pain's survivability in teamfights.
• Bloodthorn is a natural late game upgrade from Orchid Malevolence. It can be purchased earlier to help Queen of Pain and her team deal with evasion.
• Assault Cuirass is an alternative armor piece that helps Queen of Pain's team take objectives such as towers and Roshan.

Situational items:

• Veil of Discord grants Queen of Pain good early-mid game armor and health regen, at the same time greatly increasing her team's magic damage. But don't forget that Sonic Wave will not benefit from it.
• Eul's Scepter of Divinity can dispel silence, or it can buy Queen of Pain enough time to get a blink off, while providing cheap mana regen.
• Aghanim's Scepter highly reduces Sonic Wave's cooldown time, ensuring it is always available when it is needed. It also provides marginal increase in Sonic Wave's damage.
• Scythe of Vyse gives good attributes, increasing Queen of Pain's survivability while also giving her the mana she needs to cast her costly spells. Hex is also one of the strongest hard-disables in the game that can completely turn teamfights around.

Gameplay

Roles:	Carry Nuker Escape
Complexity:	★★☆
Playstyle:	Summoned in secret to fulfill a forbidden desire, Akasha performed the most exquisite torments—until her client was thrown to his death for neglecting his royal duties. Released from her contract, the Queen of Pain was now free to bring agony to whomever she pleased. She Shadow Strikes, hurling a poisoned dagger that draws out the suffering over time. Running is futile. Akasha Blinks past defenses, wracking her victims with Scream of Pain. There is only one release from such torture. The Queen flexes her membranous wings, then delivers an earpiercing Sonic Wave that will put an end to all misery.

Strategy & Tips

Counters &
Matchups

Audio

Responses

Sounds

History

Lore

Old Abilities

Changelogs

Equipment

Queen of Pain Equipment (expand sets) Sets Adornments of Blight Set Bindings of Enduring Torment Set Bonds of Vincere Set Chained Mistress Set Dark Angel Delightful Affliction Obsidian Nightmare Raiments of Twilight Shade Raptures of the Abyssal Kin Regalia of the Parasol's Sting Sanguine Royalty The Arch Temptress Throes of Anguish Set Wicked Succubus Set Weapon Bloodfeather Feast Golden Bloodfeather Feast Tear of Agony Head Tormentor's Diadem Back Bloodfeather Wings Sinner's Embrace Wings of Searing Pain Wings of the Ruby Web Kinetic Gems Kinetic: Allure of the Succubus

Trivia

• Akasha is the name (or variant of the name) of the fifth element in many religions such as Hinduism, Wicca (or other Neopaganism), with its roots deriving from ancient Paganism. "Akasha", when translated to English (from Sanskrit), means "aether" (air/spirit, depending on context). This element is seen/represented as the top point of a pentagram, a symbol sometimes misused as one of evil (there is no devil-esque figure in Paganism), and could have been intended to show or derive from Queen of Pain's sadistic nature. Doom's Doom skill icon is a regular pentagram, so it might be a misconception held by the DotA staff and reasoning for her name. A regular pentagram on someone, ignoring misconceptions, is actually protective.
  • The name Aether is one of the many references Dota 2 makes to Greek mythology, as it is derived from a Greek deity of the same name.
  • Akasha is also the name of the Queen of the Damned from Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles novel series, which could have inspired Queen of Pain's name, who, in turn, could have derived her name from the above roots.
• Scream of Pain's and Sonic Wave's sounds are based on some voice lines of Queen of Pain. Scream of Pain is based on this ▶️, while Sonic Wave uses a part of this ▶️.
• Queen of Pain's dying line "Your queen is dead" is possibly a reference to The Smiths' album, The Queen is Dead.
• Most of Queen of Pain's abilities were derived from the Warcraft III Night Elf hero, the Warden, with Sonic Wave being the only new ability introduced, replacing Vengeance. Fan of Knives was also substituted for Scream of Pain with the same effect, though an older version of Queen of Pain did have the Fan of Knives ability.
• Queen of Pain's response for killing Phantom Assassin "Blink! You're dead." likely refers to the popular Dr. Who episode "Don't Blink" in which the Doctor says, referring to Weeping Angels, "Don't blink, don't even blink. Blink, and you're dead."
• This line ▶️ "The Queen is dead, long live the Queen." is a reference to the movie Robin Hood (2010), when Prince John received King Richard's crown from Eleanor of Aquitaine.

Gallery

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  Splash artwork

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  Wraith-Night artwork

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  Concept art

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  Concept art

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  Ability icon progress

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  Hero icon progress