Shadow Demon
From Dota 2 Wiki
| Hero | Strategy | Counters | Equipment | Gear | Responses | Sounds | Lore | Old Abilities | Changelogs | Known Bugs |
Shadow Demon
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shadow Demon is a menacing ranged intelligence hero who is most powerful in the early game for his strong set of spells. Disruption takes an enemy or ally out of the fight, banishing them to a shadowy realm and returning them a short time later along with two hostile demonic illusions. Soul Catcher can curse his victims with vulnerability, causing them to take more damage from attacks and spells. His Shadow Poison can harass any unfortunate foe he encounters, gradually dealing more damage with each application until the Shadow Demon releases the poison from the target in a powerful, damaging burst. Demonic Purge, his ultimate, is key for securing kills: The Shadow Demon greatly slows his fleeing victim and removes all purgeable buffs, crippling and weakening them, while also (when upgraded with Aghanim's Scepter) applying a Break that disables almost all passive skills. Heavily reliant on the coordination and effectiveness of his own team, Shadow Demon proves to be incredibly strong as a defensive support by keeping his teammates alive reliably and as an offensive support by amplifying damage and endlessly slowing enemies until they're unable to escape. A formidable ally, who requires little farm to contribute greatly to his team, good positioning and timing from Shadow Demon's spells can make all the difference, and makes for one of the most potentially powerful supports well into the late game.
Contents
Bio[edit]
 Shadow Demon
| |
| Play "Who toys with demons will find himself toyed with." | |
| Role: |  Support /  Disabler /  Initiator /  Nuker
|
| Lore: | Among the sovereign Demons with explicit access to this world, Doom scarcely bothers with the affairs of Noninfernals and Lesser Spectral Consorts, while Shadow Fiend passes through almost exclusively on collecting expeditions. The Shadow Demon, however, has always taken a deep and abiding interest in the material plane, as if sensing that mastery of this gritty dimensional nexus might be the key to total domination of all realities. Summoned first by minor wizards, the Shadow Demon granted every wish and put on increasingly impressive displays of power until he had the full attention of the greatest demonologists, and through them the various lords, tyrants, autarchs and hierophants who depended on sorcery to buttress their mundane power. So great was his deception that all his summoners considered themselves the master and Shadow Demon the servant; meanwhile, he eroded their identities and made their minds his own. In the end, most members of the cult were hollow puppets, extensions of his evil will. What Shadow Demon's next step would have been remains open to speculation, for around this time, Nevermore the Shadow Fiend bit into a particularly nasty-tasting soul and discovered that it held nothing but a foul nougat of Shadow Demon's essence. Alerted that a coup was underway, and that the ancient equilibrium of the Umbral Pact was about to be destabilized, Doom and Shadow Fiend briefly joined forces to destroy the burgeoning cult. Combining spells of incredible force, they undid Shadow Demon's centuries of patient work, reducing his cult to smithereens--and all its members to a bloody splatter. Nothing remained except a tiny speck of demon shadow. Immortal and irreducible, this mote of evil was enough to seed the Shadow Demon's next scheme, and in fits and starts, over further centuries, he began to regroup. Whatever that speck of shadow touched, it tainted, and its influence gradually grew. A chaos of damaged parts pulled together, reknit, and combined to give Shadow Demon a form even stronger than his former. He is all but complete now, and his plan for infinite dominion lacks all of its former weaknesses. It would seem that such a being of pure malice and malevolence, a threat to all creation, would be forever out of place in our world...yet Shadow Demon does not lack for followers. |
| Voice: | Nolan North (Responses) |
Abilities[edit]
Disruption
Ability
Target Unit
Target Unit
Banishes the targeted unit from the battlefield for a short duration. Upon returning, two illusions of the banished unit are created under Shadow Demon's control.
Cast Animation: 0.3+0.6
Cast Range: 600 (
675)
675)Number of Illusions: 2
Illusion Damage Dealt: 30%/45%/60%/75%
Illusion Damage Taken: 300%
Illusion Duration: 8/10/12/14
Disruption Duration: 2.5
27/
120
Modifiers
Disruption: Undispellable.The pain of deception comes not while it happens, but when it is revealed.
Notes:
- Disruption fully disables the target and turns it invulnerable and hidden for its duration.
- When the target turns invisible during Disruption, the visual effects turn invisible as well.
- Always creates the illusions, even when cast on allies or self.
- The targeted unit's position is not shuffled with the possible illusion's position. It always reappears between the 2 illusions.
- The illusions spawn 108 range away from the hero if the hero has a collision size of 24, and 72 if the collision size is 8.
- Each illusion appears either north, east, south or west from the hero and face the same direction as the hero does.
- The illusions carry the caster's name, not the targeted unit's player name, revealing that they are illusions when not cast on self.
- Can be cast on illusions, creating illusions based on the original hero.
- When the targeted unit dies during Disruption, no illusions are created.
- The -disablehelp command prevents an allied Shadow Demon from casting this spell on you.
Soul Catcher
Ability
Target Area
Target Area
Affects
Enemies
Enemies
Applies damage amplification on enemies in an area. The amplification is evenly spread among all enemies in the area. Units under the effect of Disruption can still be affected by Soul Catcher.
Cast Animation: 0.3+0
Cast Range: 600 ( 675)
675)Search Radius: 450
Total Damage Amplification: 20%/30%/40%/50%
Duration: 12
13/ 7/6/5/4) 50/
Damage amplification persists if debuff was placed before spell immunity.Modifiers
Soul Catcher: Dispellable with any dispel.Trying to resist the Shadow Demon's corruption is mostly a useless endeavor.
Notes:
- Upon cast, all enemy units within the targeted area receive a debuff, which causes them to take increased damage.
- The amount of increased damage is split evenly amongs all debuffed unit. The values are set upon cast and do not adapt if any of the targets lose the debuff prematurely.
- Can place the debuff on invisible units, and on units under the effect of the most recent
Disruption cast by Shadow Demon.
- Fully ignores other invulnerable units, ancient creeps and creep-heroes.
- Amplifies all 3 damage types, including self-inflicted damage and damage dealt by allies.
- Successive casts on the same target do not stack, but refresh the duration, and update the amplification value based on how many units were hit by the new cast.
Shadow Poison
Deals damage in a line, and afflicts enemy units with a poison effect. The poison deals 1/2/4/8/16 times the stack damage based on the number of stacks on the target, up to 5 stacks. Additional stacks cause 50 damage each. This deferred damage is dealt when Shadow Poison's duration is expired, or the Release sub-ability is used.
Cast Animation: 0.25+0
Cast Range: 1500 ( 1575)
1575)Travel Distance: 1500 ( 1575)
1575)Effect Radius: 190
Initial Damage: 26/34/42/50
Stack Damage: 20/35/50/65
Stack Duration: 10
2.5 ( 1) 50
Attempts to deal damage if enemy turns spell immune before the poison is released.Modifiers
Shadow Poison: Dispellable with any dispel.The ever growing influence of the Shadow Demon can pollute the most valiant and pure of heroes.
Notes:
- Shadow Poison travels at a speed of 1000 and always travels the full distance, which takes 1.5 ( 1.575) seconds.
- Can hit units up to 1690 ( 1765) range away (travel distance + effect radius).
- Fully affects invisible units and units under the effect of the most recent Disruption cast by Shadow Demon.
- Fully ignores other invulnerable or hidden units.
- Deals the initial damage instantly and adds 1 stack to all enemy units within 190 radius of it on each cast.
- Successive hits on the same unit fully refresh the whole stack's duration.
- The first 5 stacks multiply the stack damage by 1/2/4/8/16 depending on the amount of stacks.
- Every following stack adds 50 damage on top of that, so the damage starts growing linearly after the 5th stack.
- This is how much damage 1/2/3/4/5/6 stacks can deal on each level (ignoring the initial damage):
- Level 1: 20/40/80/160/320/370 damage
- Level 2: 35/70/140/280/560/610 damage
- Level 3: 50/100/200/400/800/850 damage
- Level 4: 65/130/260/520/1040/1090 damage
- The damage is dealt as soon as the Shadow Poison debuff is removed, no matter how.
- The current number of stacks is visible to Shadow Demon and his allies above the affected units. Enemies cannot see it.
- This number is visually capped at 19, however, the poison has no stack limit and can be stacked infinitely.
- The current number of stacks is also shown on the debuff icon, which is visible to everyone.
- The projectile provides 200 radius flying vision as it travels. This vision does not last.
- The projectile blocks neutral creep camps.
Shadow Poison Release
Ability
No Target
No Target
Releases the poison to do damage on all affected enemies. Units under the effect of Disruption can still be affected by Shadow Poison.
Cast Animation: 0.3+0
1Notes:
- Shadow Poison Release is unlocked upon learning
Shadow Poison and stays always active.
- The cast of Release Shadow Poison is not registered as a spell cast and thus does not proc any on-cast effects.
Demonic Purge
Purges the target enemy unit, removing positive buffs, and slowing the target for the duration. The unit slowly regains its movement speed until the end of the duration, upon which damage is dealt. Units under the effect of Disruption can still be affected by Demonic Purge.
Cast Animation: 0.3+0.6
Cast Range: 800 ( 875)
875)Damage: 200/300/400 ( 600/700/800)
600/700/800)Move Speed Slow: 100%
Slow Duration: 5
Non-Hero Root Duration: 3
Number of Charges: 0 (
3)
3)Charge Replenish Time: 0 ( 40)
40) 40 ( 0) 200
Cooldown is removed, replaced with 3 charges that replenish every 40 seconds. Also causes Demonic Purge to break its target's passive abilities while active.
Still loses a charge when blocked while upgraded.Modifiers
Demonic Purge Charge Counter: Undispellable. Demonic Purge Slow: Undispellable. Rooted: Dispellable with any dispel.Once Shadow Demon no longer has any need for his collected cultist, he releases it from its subservience - and its life.
Notes:
- Applies a basic dispel on the target upon cast. The damage is applied at the end of the duration.
- The debuffs from multiple casts work fully independently from each other.
- The damage can affect a unit under the effect of the most recent Disruption cast by Shadow Demon.
- The slow decreases over 5/3/2 intervals, meaning it decreases every 1/1.67/2.5 seconds.
- This is how much Demonic Purge slows on each interval and level:
- Level 1: 100%/80%/60%/40%/20%
- Level 2: 100%/66.67%/33.33%
- Level 3: 100%/50%
- When cast on non-hero units, it roots the target for the initial 3 seconds, preventing it from moving and casting certain mobility spells.
- The slow is still applied to the target, so that it still is slowed for the remaining duration once the root wears off.
- Does not interrupt the target's channeling spells.
- Does not provide True Sight over the target.
- Treats creep-heroes as heroes.
- Can be cast on couriers, treating them as non-hero units.
- Applies a break on the target when upgraded with
Aghanim's Scepter, disabling passive abilities.
Talents[edit]
| Hero Talents | ||
|---|---|---|
-6s  Soul Catcher Cooldown
|
25 | +400  Demonic Purge Damage
|
| -1.5s Shadow Poison Cooldown
|
20 | +15% Magic Resistance |
| +8% Spell Amplification | 15 | +75 Cast Range |
| +20 Movement Speed | 10 | +10  Strength
|
Notes:
- The magic resistance stacks multiplicatively with other sources of magic resistance.
Recommended items[edit]
Starting items:
-
Iron Branches provide cheap stats, and can later be built into a Magic Wand. - A set of
Tangoes is useful for health regeneration early in the game. A Tango from the set can also be shared with the team's carry, allowing them to stay longer in the lane. - If Shadow Demon takes significant burst damage, a
Healing Salve allows him to quickly get back into action. -
Animal Courier and a couple of 
Observer Ward, and 
Sentry Wards as needed as Shadow Demon is mostly played as a heavy support.
Early game:
- A
Magic Stick and Ironwood Branches can be upgraded into a 
Magic Wand, freeing up inventory space for additional core items. -
Boots of Speed give Shadow Demon the mobility he needs for ganking and escaping. - Don't hesitate to get a
Smoke of Deceit as a way to get closer to your enemy for your disruption. You'll be lucky to catch an enemy on whom you have an actual kill potential if you simply walk up to him.
Core items:
- Repeated uses of Shadow Poison will quickly drain Shadow demon's mana, and
Arcane Boots provide additional mana pool and consistent regeneration for this purpose. - The versatile
Town Portal Scroll allows Shadow Demon to rapidly escape from danger, defend towers, join teamfights, or set up ganks. - All his spells benefit from an
Aether Lens, especially disruption which has a fairly low cast range. The mana regen provided by it also allows you to sustain while you spam with poison to farm or to scout. If you're starved for gold, don't forget to disassemble your Arcane boots to save 900 gold by reusing your 
Energy Booster. You can always rebuild a second pair of arcane boots later if you or your teammates still need more mana. - The break provided by
Aghanim's Scepter as well as the two extra charges are well worth the cost and you should always consider it at one point or another. - Shadow Demon suffers from no mobility, so a
Force Staff is a perfect choice on him, a typical support item, to either reposition, run away, chase, initiate or save an ally.
Situational Items:
-
Pipe of Insight gives very good health regeneration. More importantly, it allows Shadow Demon to cast a magic-resistant shield on nearby allies, extending their longevity in teamfights. -
Shiva's Guard will give an additional area-of-effect slow if the one provided by Demonic Purge is insufficient. The Freezing Aura, increased armor, and provided intelligence give Shadow Demon greatly increased sustainability in teamfights. -
Necronomicon summons useful minions for pushing towers as well as focusing Soul Catcher's affected target. The strength and intelligence that come with it are an additional boon. Necronomicon's lvl 3 Warrior also has True Sight, which is really helpful if enemies have invisible heroes. -
Mekansm Burst health regen and armor, if used correctly can instantly turn the tide of teamfights in your favor. It also upgrades into the costly 
Guardian Greaves. -
Ghost Scepter provides another defense mechanism that is quite often needed against right-clickers such as Phantom Assassin however it may not be a viable pick against heroes that tend to get a Diffusal Blade. -
Eul's Scepter of Divinity is a similar decent choice, as it gives you an extra purge to work with, which can help remove a 
Surge or a 
Guardian Angel. The 20 ms provided by the 
Wind Lace makes it a good starting item too, and the mana regen is always nice to help you farm with poison. -
Blink Dagger is an unusual choice on Shadow Demon. Though it can help to setup ganks with disruption, don't forget it also gives time to the enemy team to react, most notably on your fragile self. Also the 2.5sec banish might not be enough for your team to follow if they don't have a mobility item of their own. A strong point in favor of Blink Dagger is you can blink out of disruption if you're caught, provided you can wait 0.5sec without taking damage. -
Dagon If you play a core Shadow Demon (in the mid position most likely), as its damage is amplified by soul catcher, plus whatever spell amp you may get from your int stat. As a theoretical scenario, a dagon 5 and three charges of demonic purge amplified add up to 3,000 magical damage before reductions and spell amp (1.5 * (800 + 3 * 400)). The damage goes up to 4,800 with the lvl25 talent. The burst damage from dagon is unlikely to be evaded, unlike the slow, build-up damage from poison or demonic purge. -
Scythe of Vyse is extremely strong on Shadow Demon. You can use it immediately after Disruption (no cast time), allowing your illusions to hit their target with ease, and should net a kill for you if you used the rest of your kit. However, as good as it is, don't forget it is extremely expensive and most games will be well over before you manage to farm it.
Gameplay[edit]
Audio[edit]
History[edit]
Equipment[edit]
| ||||||||
Trivia[edit]
- In Dota, Shadow Demon's hero name was Eredar. This was removed in his transition to Dota 2 to avoid copyright issues with Blizzard as the Eredar are a race of magic wielders from the Warcraft universe.[1]
- Shadow Demon's fun/alternate name was "Giblet", innards of birds that are used in cooking.
- All of his spell sound effects are based on some of his voice lines in the demon language "Ozkavosh". This Play line (" Sa nith icha gluth.") is used for Disruption, the first part of this Play line ("Ozh icha tak izh") is used by Soul Catcher, this Play is used by Shadow Poison and this Play line ("Ozh icha tak lash") is split up into 3 parts and then used by Demonic Purge.
Gallery[edit]
Model
Splash artwork
Concept art
Concept art
Low Violence model
Ability icon progress
References[edit]
