Vengeful Spirit
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Shendelzare, the Vengeful Spirit, is a ranged agility hero who excels at ganking, disabling, and kill hunts. She is one of the most well-rounded supports in the game, possessing a skill set that allows her to set up kills for her team during ganks and teamfights, strengthening her team and weakening the enemy in large-scale engagements, and saving allies from certain death if they are caught by the enemy.
Effective at all stages of the game, Vengeful Spirit is typically seen roaming the battlefield, searching for targets to prey on. She possesses a strong targeted stun in Magic Missile and an armor reduction debuff in Wave of Terror, making her a strong partner in a gank. Motivated by her lust for revenge, Vengeance Aura boosts the damage of all nearby allies, making Vengeful Spirit an invaluable ally to teams with strong physical damage output and turning her into a potential semi-carry. Her ultimate Nether Swap immediately swaps Vengeful Spirit's position with another hero, ally or enemy, allowing her to displace a key enemy hero for easy elimination, or save an ally in distress at the potential cost of her own life. Vengeful Spirit's skill set and low reliance on farm allows her to be played with great recklessness, as even her death can be integral towards guiding her team to victory. Vengeful Spirit requires very selfless and skilled play to operate well, and relies on the competence of teammates as much as herself.
Contents
Bio[edit]
Abilities[edit]
Notes:
- The projectile travels at a speed of 1350.
- The missile first applies the debuff, then the damage.
Notes:
- The wave travels at a speed of 2000, taking 0.7 seconds to travel the full distance.
- Can hit units up to 1700 range away (travel distance + radius).
- The wave provides 350 radius flying vision as it travels, which lasts for 4 seconds.
- This vision starts 100 range away from Vengeful Spirit and reaches for up to 2000 range away (starting distance + travel distance + vision radius).
- The debuff from successive casts does not stack, only the duration gets refreshed.
- The wave first applies the debuff, then the damage.
- Does not affect couriers.
- With Aghanim's Shard, only reduces base damage and that given by the primary attribute of affected units. Raw bonus damage is not reduced.
- The attack damage reduction adapts to any changes to the hero's base attack damage immediately.
- Vengeful Spirit gains a buff for each enemy hero hit with Wave of Terror. Multiple instances of the buff stack.
- Unlike the debuff, the buff increases Vengeful Spirit's base attack damage. The damage is not granted as a raw damage bonus.
- The amount of damage gained equals the exact amount of attack damage the target lost upon gaining the debuff.
- Unlike the debuff, the buff's damage value is set once upon gaining the buff, and does not adapt to changes like the debuff.
- The debuff reduces damage of every unit it affects.
- However, Vengeful Spirit only gains the buff from affected heroes, including clones, excluding illusions and creep-heroes.
Aura
Allies

Notes:
- The aura's buff lingers for 0.5 seconds.
- Only increases base damage and that given by the primary attribute of affected units. Raw bonus damage is not increased.
- The aura affects invulnerable, but not hidden allies.
- With Aghanim's Scepter, The illusion spawns 108 range away from Vengeful Spirit's death location. It appears either north, east, south or west from that spot.
- The illusion is a strong illusion, meaning it cannot be instantly killed by abilities which normally kill illusions instantly.
- The illusion always spawns with full mana and health and all abilities off cooldown, regardless of their status on Vengeful Spirit.
- The illusion does not get a set duration upon spawning. It disappears once Vengeful Spirit respawns.
- The illusion spawns on every death, including on the short deaths with reincarnation.
- The created illusion is visually distinguishable from the real Vengeful Spirit for the enemies.
- Unlike other illusions, this illusion does not have a gold bounty.
- This illusion cannot be converted by Enchant. It gets slowed instead.
- With Aghanim's Scepter, Vengeful Spirit can gain experience even while dead.
- While dead, she is periodically moved along with the Vengeance Illusion, allowing her to gain experience around the illusion.
- This also allows her to respawn at the illusion's location, instead of at the fountain.
- However, these effects require the illusion to be alive. If it dies, she no longer gains experience, and stops moving along with it.
Target Unit
Heroes
Notes:
- The target is given a stop command as soon as it is teleported back, effectively canceling channeling spells.
- Does not disjoint projectiles upon teleporting, neither for the caster, nor for the target.
- Destroys trees within 300 radius around Vengeful Spirit and the Nether Swap target.
- Can be cast on illusions and Spirit Bear.
- Can be cast on invulnerable units.
Talents[edit]
Hero Talents | ||
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Magic Missile Pierces Spell Immunity | 25 | +16% Vengeance Aura Base Damage Bonus |
+125 Cast Range | 20 | +200 Magic Missile Damage |
-2.75s Magic Missile Cooldown | 15 | +12 Agility |
-1 Wave of Terror Armor | 10 | +12% Magic Resistance |
- The magic resistance talent stacks multiplicatively with other sources of magic resistance.
- The magic resistance talent increases Vengeful Spirit's magic resistance to 34%.
- The agility talent effectively grants Vengeful Spirit 2 armor, 12 attack speed, and 12 attack damage.
Recent Changes[edit]
- Increased strength gain from 2.4 to 2.6.
- Increased Wave of Terror damage from 60/80/100/120 to 70/90/110/130.
- Increased Vengeance Aura attack damage bonus from 8%/16%/24%/32% to 11%/18%/25%/32%.
- Reduced Nether Swap cooldown from 60/45/30 to 50/40/30.
- Increased base intelligence from 17 to 19.
- Magic Missile
- Increased cast range from 550 on each level to 575/600/625/650.
- Increased projectile speed from 900 to 1350.
- Reworked Vengeance Aura
- Old Vengeance Aura
- Increases the attack range of ranged allies, and primary attribute of all allied heroes nearby. Spawns an illusion of Vengeful Spirit when she dies, which lasts until respawning.
- Radius: 1200
- Ranged attack range bonus: 50/75/100/125
- Primary attribute bonus: 4/7/10/13
- Illusion damage dealt: 70%/80%/90%/100%
- Illusion damage taken: 150%
- Notes: Creates a strong illusion of Vengeful Spirit, that lasts until respawning. Strong illusions are immune to abilities that normally kill illusions instantly (eg. Dagon).
- New Vengeance Aura
- Increases the base attack damage of nearby allies.
- Radius: 1200
- Base attack damage bonus: 8%/16%/24%/32%
- Nether Swap
- No longer has 2 charges with a replenish time of 90/80/70.
- Now has a cooldown of 60/45/30.
- Increased cast range from 700/850/1000 to 800/950/1100.
- Reworked Aghanim's Scepter upgrade:
- Old: Causes Nether Swap to apply a 2 second duration fear on enemies within 700 radius around Vengeful Spirit's new location.
- New: Causes Vengeance Aura to create a strong illusion of Vengeful Spirit upon dying, that can cast her abilities, deals and takes 100% damage, and moves 30% faster. Continuously moves Vengeful Spirit around with the illusion while she is dead, and allows hero to still gain experience while dead, as long as the illusion is alive. If the illusion is alive as she respawns, she takes the illusion's place.
- Added Aghanim's Shard upgrade for Vengeful Spirit:
- Causes Wave of Terror to reduce hit enemy heroes' attack damage by 25% and increase Vengeful Spirits base attack damage by the amount of attack damge reduced for the same duration.
- Talents:
- Level 20 left talent changed: +100 Vengeance Aura ranged attack range ➜ +125 cast range.
- Level 25 right talent changed: Vengeance illusion may cast spells ➜ +16% Vengeance Aura attack damage bonus.
- Increased Wave of Terror vision radius from 300 to 350.
- Talents:
- Level 20 left talent changed: +6 Vengeance Aura primary attribute ➜ +100 Vengeance Aura ranged attack range.
- Level 20 right talent: +160 Magic Missile damage increased to +200.
Recommended items[edit]
Starting items:
- Tango helps Vengeful Spirit sustain during the laning phase, preventing her from returning to base due to enemy harassment.
- Clarity is crucial for replenishing Vengeful Spirit's mana from casting Magic Missile during early ganks, as her small base mana pool means that she will run completely out after one or two casts.
- Iron Branch is a cheap way to improve Vengeful Spirit's attributes, particularly her HP and mana, both of which are lacking in the early game. It can be used to build Magic Wand later.
- Observer Ward are crucial for purchasing regularly as a support hero. Map vision provides intelligence about enemy movements, and is particularly useful for Vengeful Spirit given her ability to roam and get kills on lone enemies.
Early game:
- Magic Stick is a useful pickup when in a lane against heroes who have low mana cost spells, and are harassing you with those. The burst HP and mana regen allows Vengeful Spirit to survive slightly longer and cast at least one more spell in an engagement, which can make or break a fight.
- Boots of Speed are essential early on for Vengeful Spirit, as the improved speed will allow her to escape deadly situations, as well as quickly get within range to stun them with Magic Missile
Mid game:
- Magic Wand is a useful pick up for the same reasons as the Magic Stick. Its attribute bonuses are very useful on low-farm supports, and the increased charge storage allows Vengeful Spirit to instantly replenish a large fraction of her HP and mana, enough to stay in a fight long enough to make a greater difference.
- Power Treads increase Vengeful Spirit's attack speed. The ability to switch attributes allows her to either give herself more HP for survivability, more mana for casting her powerful spells, or more damage and attack speed for damage output.
- Medallion of Courage stacks with Wave of Terror to further reduce enemy armor. Vengeful Spirit can also use it on friendly target to increase their armor, which may help them survive in fights. The bonuses on Vengeful Spirit herself give her increased armor for survivability against physical damage, and mana regeneration that helps to maintain her mana pool.
- Force Staff is a cheap support item that is very useful on Vengeful Spirit. It can be used to re-position her in order to cast her abilities particularly Magic Missile and Nether Swap. It can also be used to escape from failed fights or ganks as well as save nearby allies, or push enemies into your grasp. It also improves her mana pool, allowing her to cast her spells more often in fights.
Late game:
- Solar Crest, upgraded from Medallion of Courage, further augments the bonuses it brings. The increased armor shift allows Vengeful Spirit to make an even bigger dent in the enemy's armor, or provide even more protection to a target ally in combination with the bonus movement and attack speed.
- Aether Lens increases the size of her meager mana pool, allowing her to cast her spells more easily, and provides mana regen for improved sustainability. Boosting the cast range on all of her spells allows her to stun enemies with Magic Missile from farther away, and debuff more enemies with Wave of Terror. But most importantly, it increases the cast range of Nether Swap, allowing her to displace enemies from long distances.
Situational items:
- Tranquil Boots are a powerful alternative option for a roaming Vengeful Spirit. The increased movement speed allows her to roam more effectively, chasing down enemies more quickly to stun them. The passive HP regen can replenish any HP lost during an engagement, allowing Vengeful Spirit to be ready for another gank shortly afterward.
- Arcane Boots is a good support item that helps Vengeful Spirit and any roaming partners to cast their spells. Increasing the size of Vengeful Spirit's mana pool reduces the strain of casting Magic Missile and Nether Swap, and the active can allow her to replenish her own mana pool and that of teammates, whether they need their spells to function in teamfights or to kill gank targets.
- Aghanim's Scepter greatly reduces the cooldown on Nether Swap, allowing Vengeful Spirit to use it repeatedly in engagements, and gives her access to the Vengeance Illusion sub-ability. With a reduced cooldown, Vengeful Spirit can swap enemies frequently, preventing them from easily escaping so long as she is nearby, and the Vengeance Illusion spawning upon her death allows her to continue to contribute to fights even after death. The item itself also greatly improves her HP and mana, making her more resilient and improving her mana pool to reduce the strain that repeated casting of her ultimate will induce.
- Blink Dagger is extremely strong in the hands of Vengeful Spirit. While it cannot be used to trap enemies on impassable terrain with Nether Swap, it greatly increases her mobility and lets her quickly get in position to stun an enemy or swap a key target. It also greatly improves her roaming potential as she can traverse over cliffs and trees while hunting for targets.
- Desolator is a powerful carry item that boosts Vengeful Spirit's damage output. Combining the attack modifier with Wave of Terror and Medallion of Courage can reduce a target's armor by up to 19, which can be enough to bring down even the tankiest heroes.
- Butterfly is an expensive but strong luxury item for a carry build. The item drastically increases Vengeful Spirit's physical damage output, particularly when combined with Wave of Terror, and provides evasion to make her harder to focus down in engagements.
- Manta Style increases Vengeful Spirit's carry potential further. It improves her overall attributes, particularly her agility, and improves her movement speed for better mobility. The active allows her to remove debuffs from herself while also creating illusions to confuse the enemy; as well, the illusions can carry Vengeance Aura to benefit her team even while she herself is not within range.
- Aeon Disk enhances Vengeful Spirit's survivability and ability usage with health and mana. Furthermore, the strong dispel, status resistance, and damage reduction gives her a much higher chance of survival when swapping herself into a group of enemy heroes.
- Drum of Endurance gives Vengeful Spirit all-around attributes for a cheap price, and the active provides increased movement and attack speed for both herself and nearby allies, allowing Vengeful Spirit and her team to chase down enemies during ganks, or escape from pursuers.
- Glimmer Cape is a strong utility item on any support hero. Vengeful Spirit can use it in conjunction with Nether Swap to help ensure that an endangered ally survives, and cast on herself can improve her ganking ability as she can approach targets invisibly before disabling them with Magic Missile.
- Soul Ring is a cheap mana item that improves Vengeful Spirit's ability to roam independently. It gives her health regeneration, allowing her to sustain her HP more easily without going back to base. The active allows her to draw on her HP pool for immediate mana, useful for getting the mana she needs to cast Magic Missile and Nether Swap.
- Urn of Shadows is a useful roaming item that gives Vengeful Spirit many powerful benefits. The bonus strength and mana regen give her more HP and help to maintain her mana pool. Charges can be easily obtained through successful ganks, and the charges can be used to heal herself or allies, synergizing with Nether Swap in keeping teammates alive, or can be used to add additional Pure damage in a gank, increasing the odds of success.
- Vladmir's Offering is a utility item that increases Vengeful Spirit's teamfight presence. The aura's damage bonus synergises with Vengeance Aura further increasing the physical damage output of nearby teammates. Other components of aura also are very good in general.
- Eul's Scepter of Divinity can be a cheap utility item that serves multiple purposes, both in teamfights and ganks. The intelligence and mana regen bonuses will solve all of Vengeful Spirit's casting problems, and its movement speed boost allows her to position herself for casting spells or chasing down enemies more easily. The active can be used to temporarily disable secondary enemy targets while her team focuses down the primary target, or can be cast on herself to provide temporary invulnerability after a successful Nether Swap while also dispelling debuffs.
- Assault Cuirass is a very strong semi-carry item that drastically boosts Vengeful Spirit's team damage output. The increased armor will make her extremely resilient against physical damage, while the attack speed bonus allows her and nearby allies to further capitalize on Vengeance Aura's bonus damage. The enemy armor reduction can further reduce their resistance to physical damage alongside Wave of Terror.
- Scythe of Vyse is a powerful ganking item that can help to secure guaranteed kills. While expensive, Scythe of Vyse provides an instant hard-disable that can be combined with Magic Missile to pin down gank targets reliably. The increased intelligence and mana regen also solve all of Vengeful Spirit's mana issues.
Gameplay[edit]
Roles: | Support Initiator Disabler Nuker Escape |
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Complexity: | ★☆☆ |
Playstyle: | Robbed of her wings and rightful place in the Ghastly Eyrie, Shendelzare appealed to the goddess Scree'auk to grant her the dark energies that would complete her vengeance. The fallen princess heralds her arrival with a Wave of Terror, unnerving foes close enough to hear her anguished cry. Like her airborne brethren, the Vengeful Spirit makes liberal use of Magic Missile, a simple Skywrath spell for stunning adversaries. Seeking martyrdom, Shendelzare instantly Nether Swaps with a hero of her choosing, gladly sacrificing herself as she trades positions with a besieged ally, or a fleeing enemy. The worthy who fight alongside Shendelzare are emboldened by her Vengeance Aura, a fanaticism that intensifies their blows and persists even beyond her death. |
Audio[edit]
History[edit]
Equipment[edit]
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Trivia[edit]
- Magic Missile is one of the first and most iconic offensive spells available for arcane spellcaster classes in the famed pen-and-paper RPG series, Dungeons & Dragons.
- Previous designs of Vengeful Spirit showed her with a mask that looked similar to her Vengeance Aura ability icon.
- Vengeful Spirit's fun name, "820", is a tribute to former professional DotA player 820.
- In DotA 1, she was the sister of Mortred, the Phantom Assassin, and her name was Shendelzare Silkwood. In Dota 2, her lore was changed so that she became affiliated with the Skywrath, thus switching her affiliations to Dragonus, the Skywrath Mage.
- In the transition to Dota 2, her aura's name was changed from Command Aura to Vengeance Aura.