Winter Wyvern
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Winter Wyvern
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Auroth, the Winter Wyvern, is a ranged intelligence hero whose arsenal of spells gives her powerful nuking capabilities. Usually played as a lane support, Winter Wyvern's spells allow her to fulfill a myriad of roles depending on what her team needs. Arctic Burn grants her temporarily flying movement, increased attack range as well as night vision while causing her attacks to slow enemies and burn their health over time, allowing her to gank and harass with ease. Splinter Blast is a low-cooldown nuke that, while leaving its target unaffected, slows and deals tremendous damage to all other nearby enemies. Cold Embrace allows Winter Wyvern to encase a target ally within a protective layer of ice, disabling them for the duration of the spell but also rendering them immune to physical damage while healing them for a percentage of their maximum health. Her ultimate, Winter's Curse, turns the enemies' own weapons against them by stunning the target enemy while forcing all of their nearby allies to attack them. A fearsome ganker and powerful nuker, Winter Wyvern can chill her foes to the bone and wreak havoc on their ranks.
Contents
Bio[edit]
 Auroth, the Winter Wyvern
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| Play "Some breathe fire. I breathe ice." | |
| Role: |  Support /  Disabler /  Nuker
|
| Lore: | Like many great poets, Auroth just wants time to write, but the Winter Wyvern's life is full of interruptions. The epics of the Eldwurms have a long and colorful history, but some fear that the remaining dragon scholars are not as prolific as they once were, with few lines added to the Eldwurm Eddas since the last age of greatness. Auroth laments: "We forget that there is more to life than triumph and dominion over enemies. We must also live our lives in the pursuit of creative expression." She embarks on research expeditions, collecting books for inspiration. But all this research can be terribly distracting, and she spends less time writing than she should. Although she knows she should be lurking in her lair, adding to the Eddas, she finds herself engaged in epic battles against powerful enemies. She loots castles, raids ancient libraries... and if she happens to heap glory on herself in the process, she tells herself that it's merely a side effect of her research. The fact is, while her skill and power on the battlefield are legendary, her scholarly travails have thus far hardly been the stuff of literary acclaim. But she is not content to stand as a protagonist of heroic lore. She wishes also to create it. |
| Voice: | Merle Dandridge (Responses) |
Abilities[edit]
Arctic Burn
Winter Wyvern soars upon an arctic wind, granting her unobstructed movement and allowing her to exhale a blistering chill into each attack. While soaring, her attacks travel further and faster, and slow enemies with a burning freeze that strips them of 9% of their current health each second. Her sight is also hardened against night's chill, granting her 400 additional vision range at night while soaring.
Cast Animation: 0+0
Attack Range Bonus: 275/375/475/575
Attack Projectile Speed Bonus: 500
Night Vision Bonus: 400
Current Health as Damage per Second: 9%
Move Speed Slow: 22%/28%/34%/40% (
37%/43%/49%/55%)
37%/43%/49%/55%)Debuff Duration: 5
Arctic Burn Duration: 8 (
Indefinite)
Indefinite)Mana Cost per Second: 0 ( 40)
40)
50/ 0)
120/
Causes Arctic Burn to be a toggle ability, draining 40 mana per second when active. Removes limit on number of attacks per target.
Slow persists and attempts to damage if debuff was placed before spell immunity and when not dispelled.Modifiers
Arctic Burn Flight: Undispellable.
Arctic Burn Slow: Dispellable with any dispel.The same organ where some dragons stoke their inner flame is, in Auroth, a crucible of unimaginable cold. From deep within her frosty gullet, an exhalation sends enemies into burning agony.
Notes:
- Arctic Burn interrupts Winter Wyvern's channeling spells upon cast.
- Temporarily turns Winter Wyvern into a flying unit, allowing her to fly over impassable terrain, trees, units and buildings
- However, it does not grant Winter Wyvern flying vision.
- Increases attack range to 700/800/900/1000, projectile speed to 1200, night vision range to 1200 and reduces attack point to 0.1.
- Each enemy can only receive the debuff once per cast. Successive attacks on the same target neither stack, nor refresh the duration.
- Deals damage in 1 second intervals, starting 1 second after the debuff is placed, resulting in 5 instances.
- Can deal up to 37.6% of the target's current health as damage (before reductions), assuming nothing else affects the target's health.
- Since the damage per second is based on a percentage of the target's current health, it can never kill an enemy by itself.
- During Arctic Burn, Winter Wyvern can neither trigger nor take damage from
Proximity Mines.
- Destroys trees within a 250 radius at the end of the duration.
-
Aghanim's Scepter turns this spell into a toggle ability.
- As such, it no longer interrupts Winter Wyvern's channeling spells upon cast.
- It also stops proccing any on-cast effects, like how other toggle spells do not either.
- Scepter also removes the 1 attack per target limit, allowing her to refresh the debuff with consecutive attacks on the same target.
- Drains mana in 1 second intervals, starting 1 second after toggling. Still uses the initial cast cost upon toggling on.
Splinter Blast
Launches a ball of brittle ice towards an enemy. The ice shatters on impact, leaving the primary target completely unaffected, while hurling damaging splinters into nearby enemies in a 500 radius. Enemies struck by these splinters are slowed by 25%.
Cast Animation: 0.3+1.17
Cast Range: 1200
Splinter Search Radius: 500
Damage: 100/180/260/340
Move Speed Slow: 25%
Slow Duration: 4
7 ( 4) 120/
Cannot be cast on spell immune enemies. Secondary projectiles are launched towards spell immune enemies. Does not slow or attempt to damage spell immune enemies. Slow persists if debuff was placed before spell immunity and when not dispelled.
Blocked fully only when primary target. Blocked upon impact.Modifiers
Splinter Blast Slow: Dispellable with any dispel.Produced slowly by specialized vesicles in her frozen gullet, Winter Wyvern blast shards of ice at her enemies.
Notes:
- The initial projectile travels at a speed between 650 and 4000. It adapts so that it reaches the target in 1 second.
- This means when the target gets more than 4000 range away on cast, it takes more than 1 second to reach it.
- Vice versa, if the target gets closer than 650 range on cast, it takes less than 1 second to reach it.
- The initial projectile cannot be disjointed.
- The secondary projectiles travel at a static speed of 600 and can be disjointed.
- Fully affects invisible units and units in the Fog of War.
Cold Embrace
Ability
Target Unit
Target Unit
Affects
Allies
Allies
Encases an ally in an icy cocoon, freezing them solid while healing a base amount as well as a percentage of their maximum health each second. The cocoon blocks all physical damage.
Cast Animation: 0.3+0.63
Cast Range: 1000
Base Heal per Second: 25
Max Health as Heal per Second: 3%/4%/5%/6%
Duration: 4 ( 5)
5) 24/ 75
Modifiers
Cold Embrace: Undispellable.From winter's heart comes a cold, healing embrace. The ice slows the blood and allows the spell to better work its curative magic.
Notes:
- Stuns the target and turns it immune to physical damage. The target can still be attacked and affected by magical and pure damage.
- Heals in the form of health regeneration, so it heals for 2.5 + 0.3%/0.4%/0.5%/0.6% health in 0.1 seconds intervals.
- Can heal up to 100 + 12%/16%/20%/24% ( 125 + 15%/20%/25%/30%) of maximum health over the duration.
- Cannot be cast on allies who have disabled help from Winter Wyvern.
Winter's Curse
Ability
Target Unit
Target Unit
Affects
Enemies
Enemies
Winter Wyvern freezes an enemy in place while striking those nearby with a maddening curse which causes them to attack their frozen ally with increased attack speed. The frozen ally and those cursed to attack their ally are immune to all damage from their enemies.
Cast Animation: 0.3+1.37
Cast Range: 800
Radius: 500
Curse Damage Reduction: 100%
Curse Attack Speed Bonus: 85
Duration: 3.25/4/4.75
80 250
Can target spell immune enemies. Cannot taunt spell immune enemies. Taunt persists if debuff was placed before spell immunity. Blocked fully only when primary target.Modifiers
Winters Curse Kill Credit: Undispellable. Winters Curse Aura: Undispellable. Winters Curse: Undispellable.The oldest of the bookwurm's spells, this curse lends truth to the old saw: sometimes the enemy of my enemy is my enemy still.
Notes:
- Enemies that enter the radius after cast also get taunted for its remaining duration.
- The taunt sticks on the affected units. Getting moved outside the area does not free the unit from the taunt.
- The taunt area is centered around the primary target, meaning it is moved with the target when it gets forcibly moved.
- The taunt has the same priority as
Berserker's Call, but lower priority than 
Duel.
- Same priority means, affected units attack either
Axe or the curse target, depending on which taunt affected the unit first.
- Same priority means, affected units attack either
- The taunt does not affect buildings, wards, and invulnerable or hidden units.
- Only affects units allied to the target. This means when cast on an enemy, neutral creeps are not taunted, and vice versa.
- All affected units gain 100% damage reduction, they do not gain damage negation. HP Removal is not reduced.
- If the target gets killed by its allies or enemies during the curse, Winter Wyvern gets credit for the kill, except under the following circumstances:
- If the target is affected by
Reaper's Scythe upon dying, 
Necrophos gets the kill credit, no matter who made the killing blow. - If Winter's Curse is cast on a
Meepo clone and the original then uses the suicide of 
Bloodstone, it counts as a suicide, not as a kill for Winter Wyvern.
- If the target is affected by
- Does not disable any abilities. However, most passive abilities do not affect allied units.
- When the primary target dies, the taunt effect ends immediately.
Talents[edit]
| Hero Talents | ||
|---|---|---|
-3s  Splinter Blast Cooldown
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25 | +15%  Arctic Burn Slow
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+1s  Cold Embrace Duration
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20 | +120 Gold/Min |
| +50 Damage | 15 | +20 Movement Speed |
+7  Strength
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10 | +8  Intelligence
|
Notes:
- The attack damage is added as bonus attack damage, and therefore does not benefit illusions.
- Gold granted from the talent is unreliable gold.
Recommended items[edit]
Starting items:
-
Tango and 
Healing Salve are useful in the laning stage to deal with harassment. -
Clarity provides a way to replenish mana early, important since both of Winter Wyvern's nukes are very expensive in the early game. -
Iron Branches are cheap and give a small amount of attributes, and can build into a 
Magic Wand or 
Mekansm components. - As a hard support, Winter Wyvern is expected to buy the
Animal Courier.
Early Game:
-
Magic Stick gives Winter Wyvern burst health and mana regen, which can allow her to survive just long enough to cast one more important spell in a teamfight. -
Boots of Speed are a must for all heroes, and will help improve Winter Wyvern's lackluster movement speed. It is particularly useful in order to get in position or chase/escape with Arctic Burn. -
Urn of Shadows gives Winter Wyvern additional strength for more health and some mana regen. The active can be used alongside Cold Embrace to heal teammates, or adds yet more damage to her arsenal of nukes.
Core Items:
-
Town Portal Scroll is crucial to carry at all times, particularly on supports. Auroth's ability to save teammates and turn ganks around makes her a powerful ally to have in any engagement. -
Observer Ward is important to purchase regularly as a support, in order to provide map vision. Getting vision on the enemy allows Winter Wyvern to know when and where to rotate to counter their movements. -
Magic Wand gives Winter Wyvern additional stats and increased charge storage for a cheap price. 255 health and mana can sometimes be the breaking point that allows her to get her ultimate off against the enemy. -
Arcane Boots improves Winter Wyvern's movement speed while giving her a bigger mana pool and a way to replenish both her mana and that of her allies. -
Force Staff is a cheap multipurpose item that greatly increases Winter Wyvern's utility. The intelligence and health regen give her more mana and better roaming capability, and the active can help her to position herself more easily for casting her spells, particularly to get 
Winter's Curse off on an important target. It can also be used to displace allies during Cold Embrace to move them to less dangerous terrain.
Situational items:
-
Mekansm gives Winter Wyvern more stats and armor, and the active gives her another method with which to heal teammates on top of Cold Embrace. -
Scythe of Vyse greatly improves Auroth's intelligence and provides all-around attributes as well as plenty of mana regeneration to fuel her costly spells. The hex is a powerful hard-disable that greatly increases her ability to contribute to ganks and teamfights. -
Eul's Scepter of Divinity is a cheap but very powerful utility item that gives Winter Wyvern many strong benefits. The intelligence and mana regen greatly improve her ability to cast her spells, and the additional base movement speed makes her more mobile and able to position herself for casting her disables. The active can be cast on herself for temporary invulnerability and debuff removal, or used as an additional disable to take an enemy out of the fight or pin down an enemy during a chase/escape. -
Pipe of Insight is a strong teamfight item that allows Winter Wyvern to shield her teammates from enemy magic nukes. The magic resistance improves her survivability as well, giving her more leeway to cast spells in the thick of engagements. -
Blink Dagger is a great way to increase Winter Wyvern's mobility and allows her to more easily initiate with her ultimate. -
Rod of Atos gives Winter Wyvern a tremendous amount of health and greatly improves her intelligence for more mana and base damage. The active can stack alongside Arctic Burn to greatly slow an enemy from extremely long range. -
Glimmer Cape is a cheap but powerful utility support item in Winter Wyvern's hands. It can be cast on herself to allow her to invisibly approach the enemy during initiations, or can be targeted on an ally under the effects of Cold Embrace to fortify their magic resistance on top of nullifying physical damage. -
Sentry Ward is important to purchase regularly on top of 
Observer Ward. Winter Wyvern is very adept at de-warding due to her increased night vision and flying movement from Arctic Burn, both of which allow her to easily check elevated terrain for enemy wards. -
Flying Courier should be purchased as early as possible, gold permitting, in order to allow allies to more easily purchase and retrieve items. -
Orb of Venom is a situational pickup, as Winter Wyvern is a ranged hero who can only apply a limited slow with the item. However, combined with Arctic Burn, it can increase the amount that an enemy is slowed, sometimes enough to ensure a kill. -
Soul Ring is a cheap purchase that increases Winter Wyvern's ability to cast her spells. It provides health regen and a small amount of mana regen, allowing her to roam more independently. The burst mana regen allows Winter Wyvern to cast her spells more readily, and the health cost can be recouped through Cold Embrace. -
Tranquil Boots is a very cheap boots upgrade that improves Auroth's roaming capabilities. The movement speed boost helps to mitigate her poor base movement, and the armor and passive health regen help to increase her survivability and allows her to reserve Cold Embrace to cast on allies rather than on herself, conserving mana. -
Medallion of Courage and its upgrade 
Solar Crest give Winter Wyvern may powerful bonuses for a comparatively cheap price. The armor (as well as evasion with the 
Talisman of Evasion component) makes her much tankier, allowing her to take advantage of her respectable strength growth, while the scaling mana regen helps keep her mana pool topped up. The active can be cast on a Winter's Curse target, weakening their armor and increasing the odds of killing them. -
Veil of Discord gives Winter Wyvern all-around stats and armor, giving her survivability. The active synergizes with her spells, increasing the amount of damage that Arctic Burn and Splinter Blast deal, and can be cast from extremely long range like her spells. -
Shiva's Guard adds yet another slow to Winter Wyvern's arsenal, while improving her mana pool and survivability. The armor makes her much tankier, allowing her to use Arctic Burn offensively to swoop in while casting the active to apply the aura and damage nuke to multiple enemies. However, its Freezing Aura undesirably slows enemy attacks during a Winter's Curse, the former's radius being slightly larger than the latter's cast range. To mitigate this anti-synergy, this item should be paired with 
Aether Lens to increase the Winter's Curse cast range and Winter Wyvern should not get close while the spell is in effect. -
Refresher Orb is an expensive purchase, but drastically increases Winter Wyvern's teamfight contribution. The item provides extremely strong mana regen, ensuring that she will always have the mana to cast what she needs, and having two casts of Winter's Curse at her disposal can secure key kills in major teamfights. -
Eye of Skadi gives Winter Wyvern stats across the board, making her much tankier and giving her much more mana to cast her spells. The attack modifier can drastically slow an enemy alongside Arctic Burn, allowing her to lock down enemies from extremely long range.
Gameplay[edit]
Audio[edit]
History[edit]
Equipment[edit]
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Trivia[edit]
- Winter Wyvern made her first official Dota 2 appearance in the New Bloom trailer "The Coming of the Year Beast" which was showcased the first time after the finals of the Dota 2 Asia Championship 2015 on the 9th of February 2015. The trailer video was later posted on the official Dota2 blog as part 1 of the New Bloom event.
- Her next official appearance was in the comic "The new neighbors", which was posted on the 10th of February 2015 on the official Dota2 blog. In the comic, she is depicted as an "artistic" dragon with interests in books who does not follow the traditional behavior of dragons razing cities to the ground.
- Much like
Legion Commander, who is also voiced by Merle Dandridge, the gender of Winter Wyvern was changed from male to female with the transition from DotA to Dota 2.[1] - In DotA, Winter Wyvern makes use the model of the Warcraft 3 version of a frost wyrm, a well known undead dragon type from the Warcraft universe.[2]
- Winter Wyvern's response when meeting Axe as an ally, Play "In this world, nothing is certain but ice and axes" is a nod to a quote by Benjamin Franklin, which states: "In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes."[3]
- Winter Wyvern's response, Play "Winter is coming. Winter Wyvern that is." is a reference to Game of Thrones, specifically the motto of the House of Stark: "Winter is coming."[4]
- Winter Wyvern's rivalry line towards
Dragon Knight Play"I knew Slyrak, Dragon Knight. You're no Slyrak." is a reference to Lloyd Bentsen's political quip "... I knew Jack Kennedy... Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy".[5] - When the hero's abilities were showcased in The International 2016, Winter's Curse was cast on a Naga Siren, which caused her team mates, Gyrocopter, Ancient Apparition, Earthshaker and Storm Spirit, to kill her. This is in reference to how Aui_2000, who played Naga during Game 4 in the finals of the previous International against CDEC, was subsequently kicked out of the team.
Gallery[edit]
Model
Hero icon progress
References[edit]
