Silencer
Hero
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   19 + 2.7
22 + 3
25 + 2.9
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Nortrom, the Silencer, is a ranged intelligence hero who can be played as a support, carry, or initiator. He is one of the few intelligence heroes that truly benefit from intelligence items and is effective against heroes that rely mostly on spells, as he can silence them while stealing their intelligence and adding it to his own. He is a notorious anti-caster hero who can disrupt the magical abilities of his enemies and cripple spellcasters throughout the game. Arcane Curse slows and causes enemies to lose health for a set duration, but increases with each spell the enemy casts, forcing them to either wait and cast no spell until it expires, or cast spells and prolong the debuff and thus take more damage. Last Word places a curse on Nortrom's target that damages and silences for a long duration if the target casts a spell. If the target does not cast a spell before the curse duration ends the effects are the same. Glaives of Wisdom is an active attack modifier that deals a percentage of Nortrom's intelligence as pure damage. Nortrom's ultimate, Global Silence, silences all enemy units on the map for a few seconds. A well-timed Global Silence can be used to save yourself or an ally, initiate a teamfight, or ruin the enemy's initiation.
Silencer has the unique innate ability, Intelligence Steal, which permanently steals the intelligence of enemy heroes that die near him or are directly killed by him and adds it to his own. This rewards his presence in teamfights, also making his glaives ever stronger as the battle goes on.
Contents
Bio[edit]
Nortrom, the SilencerPlay "Enemies should be seen and not heard."
Lore:
Part of the seventh and final generation of a carefully designed pedigree, Nortrom was bred by the ancient order of the Aeol Drias to be the greatest magic user the world had ever seen. He was the prophesied one, the culmination of two-hundred years of careful pairings, a war-mage who would bring glory to the order, and destruction to their sworn enemies, The Knights of the Fold. Raised with other young mages in a hidden cantonment among the hills of the Hazhadal barrens, the order's preceptors waited for Nortrom’s abilities to manifest. While the other students honed their talents with fire, or ice, or incantatory spells, Nortrom sat silent and talentless, unable to cast so much as a hex. As the day of final testing approached, he still hadn’t found his magic. In disgust, the preceptors berated him, while the children laughed. “You are no mage,” the head of the order declared. Still, Nortrom did not slink away. He entered the day of testing and faced down the young mages who had mocked him. And then his preceptors learned a valuable lesson: a lack of magic can be the greatest magic of all. Nortrom silenced the young mages one by one and defeated them in single combat, until he alone stood as champion of the Aeol Drias, in fulfillment of the prophecy.
Voice:
Abilities[edit]
Intelligence Steal
Ability
Passive
Passive
Affects
Enemy Heroes / Self
Enemy Heroes / Self
Silencer will permanently steal 2 intelligence from any enemy hero that dies within 925 range or is killed by the Silencer.
Steal Radius: 925
Stolen Intelligence: 2 (
4)
4) Illusions cannot steal intelligence.Although the status buff is copied by illusions, the stolen intelligence is not copied.
Modifiers
Int Steal: Undispellable.Notes:
- This is an innate ability and does not need to be skilled. It is not bound to any ability, but to Silencer himself.
- Stolen intelligence is directly removed from the enemy's base intelligence and added to Silencer's base intelligence.
- Can only steal from base intelligence + intelligence gained from levels. Bonus intelligence cannot be stolen.
- It does not matter how an enemy hero within the radius dies, Silencer always steals its intelligence.
- Silencer also always steals intelligence when he deals the killing blow on an enemy hero, regardless of distance.
- However, Silencer needs to be alive as the kill happens to steal the intelligence.
- Cannot steal intelligence from illusions or hero clones.
- When Silencer kills a Meepo clone however, he does steal intelligence, since killing a Meepo clone also kills the main Meepo.
- Cannot reduce enemy base intelligence below 1. Silencer also does not gain intelligence from heroes that are at 1 intelligence.
- The status buff, however, increases by 2 on every kill or nearby death.
- Enemy non-intelligence heroes effectively lose 24 ( 48) mana, 0.1 ( 0.2) mana regen and 0.14% ( 0.28%) spell damage.
- Enemy intelligence heroes effectively lose 24 ( 48) mana, 0.1 ( 0.2) mana regen, 0.14% ( 0.28%) spell damage, and 2 ( 4) attack damage.
- Vice versa, effectively increases Silencer's mana, mana regen amplification, spell damage, and attack damage by the same amount per stack.
- Enemy intelligence heroes effectively lose 24 (
Arcane Curse
Curses the target area, causing enemy heroes to take damage and slowing their movement speed. Anytime affected enemies cast a spell, the duration is increased.
Cast Animation: 0.3+0.37
Cast Range: 1000
Radius: 425
Damage per Second: 16/24/32/40 ( 46/54/62/70)
46/54/62/70)Move Speed Slow: 9%/12%/15%/18%
Base Duration: 6
Penalty Duration: 5
20/
125/
Slow persists and attempts to damage if debuff was placed before spell immunity and when not dispelled.Modifiers
Curse Of The Silent: Dispellable with any dispel.Nortrom's lack of incantations is less of a problem for him than it is for his adversaries.
Notes:
- Whenever an affected unit casts a spell, the duration is increased by 5. This effect has no stack limit.
- Fully ignores toggle abilities, active attack modifiers and the abilities listed here.
- If an affected unit gets silenced, the duration and the damage are paused until the silence expires.
- However, the slow is not paused while silenced and still slows affected enemies.
- Successive casts of Arcane Curse fully stack, always placing an independent debuff.
- Deals damage in 1 second intervals, starting 1 second after the debuff is applied, resulting in 6 (+5 per penalty) instances.
- Can deal up to 96/144/192/240 (+80/120/160/200 per penalty) ( 276/324/372/420, +230/270/310/350 per penalty) damage to a single unit (before reductions).
- The sound effect played on every damage instance is only audible to the affected unit's player.
Glaives of Wisdom
Silencer enchants his glaives with his wisdom, dealing additional damage based on his Intelligence.
Cast Range: 600 ( 725)
725)Intelligence as Damage: 25%/40%/55%/70% ( 45%/60%/75%/90%)
45%/60%/75%/90%)Damage Multiplier Against Silenced: 1 (
2)
2) 0 15
Causes Glaives to pierce Spell Immunity and deal 100% more damage against silenced units.
Cannot be cast on spell immune enemies.Can be cast on spell immune enemies when upgraded.
Although lacking in traditional incantations, Nortrom's pedigree of the Aeol Drias gives him uncanny wisdom, which he applies to physical combat.
Notes:
- The bonus damage is dealt in a separate damage instance, and counts as spell damage.
- This means it is not affected or considered by anything that works with attack damage.
- This also means that it fully works with spell damage amplification and spell lifesteal.
- Glaives of Wisdom deal their damage before the attack damage is applied, but still depend on the attack hitting the target.
- Checks Silencer's intelligence as the projectile hits. Gaining/losing intelligence while the projectile is travelling does affect its damage.
- When having Aghanim's Scepter, the glaives deal 50%/80%/110%/140% ( 90%/120%/150%/180%) of Silencer's intelligence as damage to silenced targets.
Last Word
Enchants a target, causing them to be damaged and silenced if they cast a spell or if the enchantment timer expires.
Cast Animation: 0.3+0.47
Cast Range: 900
Initial Debuff Duration: 4
Damage: 75/150/225/300
Silence Duration: 3/4/5/6
22/ 115
Does not attempt to damage or silence if initial debuff was placed before spell immunity and when not dispelled. Silence persists if silence debuff was placed before spell immunity and when not dispelled.Modifiers
Last Word: Dispellable with any dispel. Last Word Disarm: Dispellable with any dispel. Silence: Dispellable with any dispel.Nortrom ensures that spells uttered by his opponents will be their last.
Notes:
- When the target casts a spell during the initial debuff, it gets damaged, then silenced, and then the cast spell goes off.
- Since the spell counts as cast, the silence does not prevent it from happening. Although the silence happens first, the spell's effects are already queued up.
- However death does stop the spell, meaning when the damage from Last Word is enough to kill the target, the cast spell does not go off.
- This also means that damage negating spells like Refraction and spells that provide spell immunity do not block its damage.
- Does not trigger on toggle abilities, active attack modifiers and the abilities listed here.
- Triggers on channeling spells, but waits for the channeling to stop first.
- Last Word does trigger on Phase Shift. However, it only applies its effects when Phase Shift is canceled by the player prematurely.
- When Recall is cast while having the debuff on, it freezes and does not trigger until another spell is cast.
- When the initial debuff expires, it still damages and silences the target.
- The curse first applies the debuffs, then the damage.
- Grants shared vision as long as the 4 second initial debuff is on.
- The Last Word Disarm debuff, although no longer serving a purpose, is still applied and visible in the HUD.
Global Silence
Ability
No Target
No Target
Affects
Enemies
Enemies
Silencer stops all sound, preventing enemy heroes and units on the map from casting spells.
Cast Animation: 0.3+0.37
Radius: Global
Duration: 4.5/5.25/6 ( 6.5/7.25/8)
6.5/7.25/8) 130 300/Modifiers
Global Silence: Dispellable with any dispel.With a shock to the ground, all magic and sound pauses, and Nortrom fulfills his prophecy.
Notes:
- The silence affects spell immune, invisible and invulnerable creeps, summons and heroes. Does not affect hidden units.
- The sound effect of Global Silence which plays on each enemy's hero has the highest sound priority in the game.
- This means it heavily tones down other game sounds for enemies, making it basically the only sound they can hear during the silence.
Talents[edit]
| Hero Talents | ||
|---|---|---|
| +2s Global Silence | 25 | +20% Glaives of Wisdom Damage |
| +30 Arcane Curse Damage | 20 | +125 Attack Range |
| +2 Intelligence Steal | 15 | +120 Gold/Min |
| +25 Attack Speed | 10 | +6 Armor |
Notes:
- The attack range talent also affects the cast range of Glaives of Wisdom.
- Gold granted from the talent is unreliable gold.
Recommended items[edit]
Starting items:
- Tango sustains Silencer's health in lane; as a support, he can also share the item with his team.
- Healing Salve also restores health to Silencer or an ally.
- Clarity allows Silencer to harass enemies with his abilities as needed.
- Null Talisman provides damage for securing last hits and denies.
Early game:
- Magic Wand has all the benefits of Magic Stick, along with providing stats and greater charge storage. As Silencer is quite vulnerable to enemy attacks even as a carry, burst HP regen is always helpful.
- Boots of Speed help Silencer get close enough to use abilities, and potentially get kills or assists to enjoy Intelligence Steal.
- Wind Lace also provides movement speed boost. Additionally, it can build into Eul's Scepter of Divinity or Drum of Endurance.
- Town Portal Scroll transports Silencer to fights in order to steal early intelligence.
Mid game:
- Power Treads provides Silencer with attack damage and appropriate attributes, particularly strength to give him more health. The ability to switch attributes can help with spell casting or damage output.
- Hurricane Pike can be used on himself or a teammate as an escape mechanism or him to close the distance upon a fleeing enemy, or can be used to push an enemy out of position. Also, it improves his attack range and allowing him to finish off an opponent with four glaives at long range.
- Orchid Malevolence is a powerful item to build on a carry Silencer, synergizing with all of his spells. Orchid is the only item which gives a large amount of int, mana regeneration, attack speed, and attack damage in one spot, and they're all things Silencer needs if he wants to be an effective carry.
- Arcane Curse's duration pauses when silenced, so a third source of silences increases the effectiveness of this spell, and increases the likelihood of being able to apply a second curse, before the first wears off.
- Glaives of Wisdom get more damage and more attack speed, plus Orchid's active will amplify all the damage done during its duration. Additionally, in combination with Aghanim's Scepter, this item increases the length of time Nortrom can gain the bonus damage to silenced targets.
- Last word's biggest weakness is the 4 second delay before damage and silence is inflicted, allowing ganked targets to cast an escape spell. By using Soul Burn, then Last word, the delay duration becomes a benefit, as it provides True Sight over the target for the full duration, and continues into a total of 11 seconds of silence without using Silencer's ultimate.
- Blink Dagger is a powerful mobility tool, no matter what role Silencer is played in. As a support he can easily position himself to cast his disables on the enemy, as well as use it to evade enemy ganks. As a carry, it gives him strong positioning, allowing him to move quickly into a fight to attack after disabling the enemy with his ultimate. Or to simply blink in to steal intelligence from dying enemy heroes.
Late game:
- Bloodthorn, upgraded from Orchid Malevolence, provides additional critical strike and True Strike to counter evasion and bring down even the tankiest heroes.
- Scythe of Vyse provides a strong disable. It also gives intelligence and strength, as well as powerful mana regeneration to sustain his abilities.
- Black King Bar greatly increases Silencer's survivability with strength and spell immunity so he can continue to output damage without worrying about enemy disables.
- Aghanim's Scepter improves Glaives of Wisdom, allowing him to deal his full damage potential even against spell immune targets, as well as doubling the pure damage of his Glaives when he strikes silenced targets. The item itself also grants Silencer many beneficial attributes across the board, giving him more survivability overall.
Situational items:
- Drum of Endurance suits an offensive Silencer in the early game, increasing the power of pushes with attack speed and improving his ability to chase enemies with movement speed.
- Glimmer Cape, a support item, grants invisibility and magic resistance to Silencer and allies so they can escape.
- Eul's Scepter of Divinity increases movement speed and mana regeneration so Silencer can make plays on the map. The active Cyclone can disable enemies, remove debuffs from yourself, and make yourself temporarily invulnerable.
- Rod of Atos provides both intelligence and strength, as well as a root to catch enemies out of position, or to hold them in place so Silencer can retreat.
- Shiva's Guard increases Silencer's survivability against physical damage while also granting him more intelligence to fuel his abilities and attacks, making it a well-rounded item. The slow can also help chase down fleeing enemies more easily.
- Nullifier synergizes well with silence so enemies cannot use abilities or items, while being slow every time an attack land on them.
- Refresher Orb, an ultimate late game item, enables Silencer to inflict a 12 seconds silence at highest level that pierces spell immunity and invulnerability, shutting down enemy heroes who rely on using abilities in team fights. It also refreshes items so he can use Black King Bar or Bloodthorn a second time, improving survivability and damage output.
Gameplay[edit]
| Roles: | Carry Support Disabler Initiator Nuker |
|---|---|
| Complexity: | ★★☆ |
| Playstyle: | Two hundred years of selective breeding had produced Nortrom, the prophesied war-mage that would bring glory to the order of Aeol Drias. Therefore, disgust and disappointment followed when it was found that the boy could cast not even a hex. Yet, on the day of final testing, Nortrom would have the Last Word. His arranged opponents fell under an Arcane Curse, draining their health with each incantation made. Then, there was Global Silence. Not a gasp or whisper escaped their lips as Nortrom finished off each challenger with his multipronged Glaives of Wisdom. At that moment, it became clear to all watching: The absence of magic can be the greatest magic of all. |
Audio[edit]
History[edit]
Equipment[edit]
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Trivia[edit]
- Unlike most heroes, Silencer's attack projectiles actually use the model of his equipped cosmetic weapon.
- Like Death Prophet, Omniknight and Io, Silencer received a color palette change, changing his model and icons, having his former red armor replaced with violet.
- Before his palette change, newer players would occasionally mistake Silencer for Dragon Knight, and he would sometimes be referred to as "The other Dragon Knight". Even after the palette swap, some older players may refer to him as "Purple Dragon Knight".
- Silencer's spell sound effects are based on some of his voice lines. Arcane Curse debuff sounds is based on "Play Curse you!", Last Word is based on one of his laughing lines and Global Silence is based on Play this.
- Chen is a member of the Knights of the Fold which would make him an enemy to Silencer based on Silencer's background. Despite this, there is no dialogue between the two heroes.
Gallery[edit]
Splash artwork
Ability icon progress
Hero icon progress
