Root
Root (formerly known as Ensnare and Entangle) is a status effect that prevents affected units from moving, and from casting some mobility spells.
Contents
Mechanics[edit]
Root does not prevent a unit from moving by setting its movement speed to 0. It instead impairs movement in the same way as stuns do. They do not interrupt the move order either, so that the unit resumes moving towards its destination as soon as the root expires.
Root does not interrupt a unit's attack or spell cast orders either. If a unit is attacking or midst a cast animation, getting rooted neither stops it from attacking, nor cancels the cast of the spell. The unit continues executing those orders normally. If the unit's attack target or spell target gets out of range while the unit is rooted, it starts moving towards the target to attack it or cast the spell on it as soon as the root expires, similar to how the unit resumes its move command.
There are a few sources of roots which fully stop any of the unit orders, so that it does not resume moving, and does initially get its attack or spell cast canceled. However, this is caused by the source ability, and not by the root mechanic. The source ability orders the target to stop any actions it is currently taking. After the initial stop order, the unit can again be ordered to move, attack, or cast a spell, so that it executes them as soon as possible, either while still rooted if it is an attack or spell cast command, or once the root expires if it is a move command, or the target is out of range.
Similarly, some sources of root prevent a unit from attacking while rooted. This is again not a mechanic of root. In these cases, the source abilities also apply a disarm along with the root.
Roots may or may not interrupt the target's channeling spells. This trait varies from spell to spell and is not consistent throughout. The same applies to root's interaction with invisibility. Some sources of root apply true sight over the affected units, while others do not.
A consistent trait of roots is their ability to disable numerous mobility spells. Since a root is not a hard disable, several blink, pseudo-blink and teleport spells are disabled while rooted, to prevent an easy escape. However, although it prevents casting those spells, it does not cancel them when getting rooted while the spell is already cast. In such cases, the unit remains rooted at its new location. A list of disabled spells can be found below.
Rooting abilities[edit]
The following abilities root enemy units:
Duration: 1.75
Interrupts Channeling: Yes
Provides True Sight: Conditionally
Conditional True Sight
Duration: 1/1.5/2/2.5
Interrupts Channeling: No
Provides True Sight: No
Can affect unrevealed invisible units.
Non-Hero Duration: 3
Interrupts Channeling: No
Provides True Sight: No
Only roots non-hero units.
Duration: 1.5/2/2.5/3 (
2.5/3/3.5/4)
Interrupts Channeling: Yes
Provides True Sight: Conditionally
Conditional True Sight. Forces a stop command, canceling affected units' movement, attack, and cast orders.
Duration: 2
Interrupts Channeling: No
Provides True Sight: Yes
Duration: 2/3/4/5
Interrupts Channeling: Yes
Provides True Sight: Yes
Min Duration: 0.25
Max Duration: 2.5 ( 3.5)
Interrupts Channeling: No
Provides True Sight: Conditionally
Conditional True Sight
Duration: 2
Interrupts Channeling: No
Provides True Sight: Conditionally
Conditional True Sight
Hero Duration: 3
Non-Hero Duration: 9
Interrupts Channeling: Yes
Provides True Sight: Yes
Forces a stop command, canceling affected units' movement, attack, and cast orders.
Duration: 2/3/4/5
Interrupts Channeling: No
Provides True Sight: No
Duration: 0.4/1/1.6/2.2
Interrupts Channeling: Yes
Provides True Sight: Yes
Applies disarm. Forces a stop command, canceling affected units' movement, attack, and cast orders.
Duration: 3/3.75/4.5
Interrupts Channeling: Yes
Provides True Sight: Yes
Applies disarm. Forces a stop command, canceling affected units' movement, attack, and cast orders.
Duration: 0.9/1.2/1.5/1.8 ( 1.3/1.6/1.9/2.2)
Interrupts Channeling: No
Provides True Sight: Yes
Can affect unrevealed invisible units.
- These roots with "Conditional True Sight" only provide true sight over the target for the duration of the root as long as, at the time the root is applied, the target is not fading into invisibility, and the target is not already completely invisible. Examples:
- An invisible enemy hero can be seen due to Dust of Appearance. The root will not apply true sight.
- Bounty Hunter casts Shadow Walk and is in the process of fading into invisibility when he gets rooted. The root will not apply true sight.
- Bounty Hunter gets rooted first and then casts Shadow Walk. The root WILL provide true sight.
- An enemy hero affected by Moonlight Shadow is soon to be invisible. The root WILL provide true sight, because Moonlight Shadow uses a fade delay instead of a fade time.
Self-rooting abilities[edit]
Some abilities root the caster to prevent them from performing certain orders like moving or attacking.
Disabled by roots[edit]
The following abilities are disabled by root:
Anti-Mage – Blink
Blink Dagger – Blink
Chaos Knight – Reality Rift
Earth Spirit – Rolling Boulder
Ember Spirit – Activate Fire Remnant
Faceless Void – Time Walk
Magnus – Skewer
Meepo – Poof
Mirana – Leap
Monkey King – Primal Spring
Monkey King – Tree Dance
Morphling – Waveform
Nature's Prophet – Teleportation
Pangolier – Rolling Thunder
Pangolier – Swashbuckle
Phantom Assassin – Phantom Strike
Phantom Lancer – Doppelganger
Phoenix – Icarus Dive
Puck – Phase Shift
Queen of Pain – Blink
Riki – Blink Strike
Riki – Tricks of the Trade
Sand King – Burrowstrike
Slark – Pounce
Spirit Breaker – Charge of Darkness
Storm Spirit – Ball Lightning
Timbersaw – Timber Chain
Tusk – Snowball
Version history[edit]
- Doppelganger can no longer be cast while rooted.
- Activate Fire Remnant can no longer be cast while rooted.
- Root now disables the following movement spells:
- Blinks: Reality Rift, Poof, Phantom Strike, Blink Strike and Burrowstrike.
- Pseudo-blinks: Rolling Boulder, Time Walk, Skewer, Leap, Tree Dance, Primal Spring, Icarus Dive, Waveform, Pounce, Ball Lightning and Timber Chain. [?].
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