Wraith King

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Wraith King 22 + 3 18 + 1.7 18 + 1.6
Level 0 1 15 25 30 Health 200 640 1480 2080 2380 Health regen 0 2.2 6.4 9.4 10.9 Mana 75 291 555 747 843 Mana regen 0 0.9 2.02 2.82 3.22 Armor -1 2 5.97 8.8 10.22 Att/sec 0.59 0.69 0.83 0.93 0.98 Damage 40‒42 62‒64 104‒106 134‒136 149‒151
Magic resistance 25% ▶️ Movement speed 315 ▶️ Attack speed 100 Turn rate 0.5 Vision range 1800/800 Attack range 150 Projectile speed Instant Attack animation 0.56+0.44 Base attack time 1.7 Damage block 8 Collision size 24 Legs 2  Gib type Ethereal

Ostarion, the Wraith King, is a melee strength hero, as well as a carry and tank, capable of both dealing and taking plenty of damage. His infamous Reincarnation allows the Wraith King to rise again after death, acting like an Aegis of the Immortal, making him especially difficult to kill. But if left alive, the Wraith King can wreak havoc upon his enemies; his Wraithfire Blast provides reliable damage and a stun on a short cooldown, Vampiric Aura grants his team sizeable lifesteal, and Mortal Strike passively helps make short work of foes, while its active allows for quick pushing.

Bio

Ostarion, the Wraith King

▶️ "Purer than flesh, stronger than bone, imperishable is the essence of the wraith."

Lore:

For untold years, King Ostarion built a kingdom from the remains of his enemies. It was an obsessive's errand, done to pass the long eternities of a monarchy that seemed fated never to end. He believed that as long as he built up the towers of his palace, he could not die. But eventually he learned that he had been deluded... that bone itself could perish. Deeply mistrustful of flesh, he sought a more permanent way of extending his reign, and at last settled on pursuit of wraith energy, a form of pure spirit given off by certain dark souls at death. Should he infuse himself with Wraith Essence, he thought he might create a body as luminous and eternal as his ego. On the millennial solstice known as Wraith-Night, he submitted to a rite of transformation, compelling his subjects to harvest enough souls to fuel his ambition for immortality. No one knows how many of his champions died, for the only survivor who mattered was the Wraith King who rose with the sun on the following morn. Now he rarely spends a moment on his glowing throne--but strides out with sword drawn, demanding a fealty that extends far beyond death.

Voice:

Dave Fennoy (Responses)

Abilities

Wraithfire Blast

▶️▶️

Q

T

Ability
Target Unit

Affects
Enemies

Damage
Magical

Wraith King sears an enemy unit with spectral fire, dealing damage and stunning, then dealing damage over time and slowing the target.

Cast Animation: 0.35+0.5

Cast Range: 525

Base Damage: 70/80/90/100

Damage over Time: 10/30/50/70

Move Speed Slow: 20%

Stun Duration: 1.1/1.4/1.7/2

Slow & Damage over Time Duration: 2

14/12/10/8 ( 13/11/9/7)

95/110/125/140

Slow persists and attempts to damage if debuff was placed before spell immunity and when not dispelled.
The Wraithfire Blasts from Reincarnation with the talent do not target spell immune units.

Blocked upon impact. The blasts from Reincarnation are blocked as well.

The blasts from Reincarnation can be disjointed as well.

Modifiers

modifier_skeleton_king_hellfire_blast: Dispellable with any dispel.

modifier_stunned: Dispellable with strong dispels.

Ostarion calls on his damned lineage, laying waste to his opponents.

Notes:

• Wraithfire Blast travels at a speed of 1000.

• The stun and slow are applied at the same time, so overall, the slow lasts for 3.1/3.4/3.7/4 seconds.

• Deals the base damage instantly upon hitting, and the damage over time in 1 second intervals, starting immediately after the stun.

• Can deal up to 90/140/190/240 damage (before reductions).
• The blast first applies the damage, then the debuffs.

• Casting Wraithfire Blast orders all of Wraith King's skeletons to attack that target.

• When the level 25 talent is chosen, Wraithfire Blast gets cast on all units within radius around Wraith King whenever Reincarnation triggers.
  • These blasts deal full damage and stun like a regular cast, but travel at a slower speed of 500.
  • When Wraithfire Blast is not learned, Reincarnation still slows when the talent is chosen. Once learned, the blasts fully replace the slow.
  • The blasts can target units inside the fog of war and invisible units. However, invisible targets instantly disjoint them.

Vampiric Aura

W

V

Ability
Aura

Affects
Allied Heroes

Nearby friendly heroes restore health based on the damage they deal when attacking enemy units. Has 50% effect on ranged allied heroes. Does not affect allied creeps.

Radius: 1200

Lifesteal: 8%/16%/24%/32% ( 28%/36%/44%/52%)

Ranged Allies Effect Percentage: 50%

Aura Linger Duration: 0.5

Modifiers

modifier_skeleton_king_vampiric_aura: Undispellable. Persists death.

modifier_skeleton_king_vampiric_aura_buff: Undispellable. Persists death.

Wraith King's blade drains his enemy's essence to feed his aura.

Notes:

• Stacks additively with other sources of lifesteal.

• Ranged allies lifesteal for 4%/8%/12%/16% ( 14%/18%/22%/26%).

• Despite the tooltip, Vampiric Aura does affect allied non-hero units.

• Cannot lifesteal off of wards, buildings and allied units.

• The aura's buff lingers for 0.5 seconds.

• Affects invulnerable, but not hidden allies.

• The lifesteal particle effects do not appear when Wraith King is not visible to the enemy.

Wraith King Skeleton
Summon
Level 1 Duration 3 Health 175 Health regeneration 0 Armor 1 Magic resistance 50% Status resistance 0% Attack damage 35‒40 ( 59‒64) Acquisition range 300 Attack range 115 Base attack time 1.2 Attack animation 0.56+0.64 Movement speed 350 Follow range 100 Turn rate 0.5 Collision size 4 Vision range 800 • 600 (G) Bounty 5 Experience 5 Model scale 1.1 Notes Reincarnate once when killed.

Mortal Strike

▶️▶️▶️

E

E

Ability
No Target / Passive

Affects
Enemies

Wraith King passively gains a chance to deal bonus damage on an attack. Every two kills on an enemy unit adds a skeleton charge. Skeletons respawn once when killed.

Cast Animation: 0.1+0.5

Proc Chance: 9%/11%/13%/15%

Critical Damage: 300%

Number of Kills to Gain Charge: 2

Max Skeleton Charges: 2/4/6/8

Base Number of Skeletons: 0 ( 6)

Additional Skeletons per Charge: 1

Skeleton Respawn Delay: 3

Skeleton Duration: 60

50

50/60/70/80

The passive component is disabled by Break. Charge gaining on killing is not disabled.

Red critical numbers are before illusion and armor reduction.

Modifiers

modifier_skeleton_king_mortal_strike: Undispellable. Persists death.

modifier_skeleton_king_mortal_strike_summon_thinker: Dispellable with any dispel.

modifier_skeleton_king_mortal_strike_summon: Dispellable with death only.

One blow to crush a foe.

Notes:

• Increases attack damage by an average of 18%/22%/26%/30%.

• A skeleton charge is gained for every 2 units killed by Wraith King. It does not matter how the units are killed.
  • For each charge, 1 skeletons are spawned, resulting in 0/1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8 ( 6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14) at 0/1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8 charges.

• Upon cast, the skeletons spawn in 0.25 second intervals, starting immediately upon cast.

• The skeletons cannot be controlled. They automatically choose an attack target within approximately 6500 range.
  • If no unit is within that range, they move to the closest lane and walk it down like lane creeps.
  • If their current attack target turns invisible, the skeletons may stop and do nothing. After a while, they select a new target or return to the lanes.
  • All skeletons within approximately 2000 radius around Wraith King switch to whoever Wraith King casts Wraithfire Blast on.
  • The skeletons do not block neutral creep camps.

• Once killed, skeletons reincarnate. This reincarnation cannot be prevented.
  • Just like with hero reincarnation, killing the skeletons grants no gold or experience when they reincarnate.
  • Reincarnating does not reset the skeleton's duration. This means they do not reincarnate when expiring either.

• The proc chances of multiple crit sources stack.
  • If two sources of critical strike proc at the same time, the higher multiplier has priority.

• Unlike other critical strikes, this one also works against wards.

• Mortal Strike uses pseudo-random distribution.

• The sound and particles play upon start of the attack, not when the attack lands.

Reincarnation

▶️▶️

R

R

Ability
Passive
( Aura)

Affects
Self
( Allied Heroes)

Wraith King's form regroups after death, allowing him to resurrect when killed in battle. Upon death, enemy units in a 900 radius will be slowed.

Slow/Wraithfire Blast Radius: 900

Effect Delay: 3

Move Speed Slow: 75% ( 0%)

Attack Speed Slow: 75 ( 0)

Slow Duration: 5 ( 0)

Wraith Delay Radius: 0 ( 1200)

Aura Linger Duration: 0 ( 0.5)

Wraith Delay Duration: 0 ( 7)

200/120/40

160 ( 0)

If a nearby allied hero is slain, they will be transformed into a wraith and have their death delayed for 7 seconds.

The slow does not affect spell immune enemies. Slow persists if debuff was placed before spell immunity and when not dispelled.
Wraith Delay aura affects spell immune allies.

Modifiers

modifier_skeleton_king_reincarnation: Undispellable. Persists death.

modifier_skeleton_king_reincarnation_scepter: Undispellable. Persists death.

modifier_skeleton_king_reincarnation_scepter_active: Undispellable. Persists death.

modifier_skeleton_king_reincarnate_slow: Dispellable with any dispel.

Conspirators against the Wraith King wonder why he never stays dead.

Notes:

• Reincarnation cannot be prevented in any way as long as Wraith King has enough mana and the ability is off cooldown.

• Revives with full health and mana. Spells and items are not refreshed.

• Provides 1800/800 ground vision at the death location during its delay.

• If Wraith King has an Aegis of the Immortal, Reincarnation triggers first, considering it is off cooldown and Wraith King has sufficient mana.

• The slow is applied only once at the beginning of the revival, not at the end.

• The Aghanim's Scepter upgrade adds an aura to the ability. The aura's buff lingers for 0.5 seconds.

• The aura affects allied heroes exclusively including Wraith King himself. It does not affect illusions or creep-heroes.

• Wraith Delay does not affect invulnerable or hidden heroes, so they die without getting into Wraith form when killed.

• An ally enters Wraith form when their health reaches 1, unless they are affected by Shallow Grave, Battle Trance, or have Reincarnation.
  • Units in Wraith form are kept alive by having their minimum health set to 1. Damage taken is technically not reduced.
  • When Meepo or one of his clones gets killed outside of the aura's range while 1 of them is within range, he does not enter Wraith form either.
  • However, when a Meepo clone dies within the aura's range, that Meepo enters Wraith form, delaying the death.
  • Multiple Meepos can be in Wraith form at the same time. When the one who entered it first expires, or another Meepo gets killed outside the aura's range, Meepo dies.
  • An allied Tempest Double can enter Wraith form as well, if its health reaches 1 before it expires.
  • A Tempest Double does not enter Wraith form if its duration timer reaches 0. It simply vanishes, regardless of being affected by the Wraith Delay aura or not.
  • A Tempest Double, that has already entered Wraith form, still vanishes when its duration timer reaches 0. Its duration is not extended.

• Wraith Delay grants the affected heroes unobstructed movement, allowing them to move through units and trees and over cliffs.

• Allies in Wraith form can act freely like regular heroes, but are also still affected by everything like a regular hero, except that they cannot die during it by any means.
  • This means they can still be attacked and targeted by spells regularly, making it possible to disable them.
  • It also means that, upon entering Wraith form, all buffs and debuffs affecting the hero persist through it. They are not dispelled.

• When the Wraith duration ends, the hero dies. The kill is credited to whoever put the hero in Wraith form.

• Once in Wraith form, the hero cannot be saved by any means. It will die once the duration is over, even while invulnerable or under the effect of e.g. Shallow Grave.
  • If the hero gains reincarnation during Wraith form, it still triggers regularly and reincarnates the hero.

• Wraith form causes the hero's model size to increase by 25% for its duration. This has no impact on its collision size.

• The Wraith Delay aura is bestowed to nearby allies even while Wraith King is dead.

Talents

Hero Talents
Reincarnation Casts Wraithfire Blast	25	+20% Vampiric Aura Lifesteal
+6 Skeletons Spawned	20	No Reincarnation Manacost
+24 Skeletons Attack Damage	15	+12 Strength
+15 Attack Speed	10	-1s Wraithfire Blast Cooldown

Notes:

• The strength talent effectively grants Wraith King 240 health, 1.2 health regen, and 12 attack damage.

Recent Changes

Main Article: Wraith King/Changelogs

Version

Description

7.27b

• Increased base attack damage from 37-39 to 40-42.
• Vampiric Aura
  • No longer grants 4/10/16/22 attack damage.
  • No longer grants Wraith King 1.5 times more attack damage and lifesteal.
  • Now affects ranged allies as well, with 50% potency.
  • Increased lifesteal from 5%/10%/15%/20% to 8%/16%/24%/32%.
• Increased Wraith King Skeleton attack damage from 30-35 to 35-40.

7.26c

• Reduced strength gain from 3.2 to 3.
• Talents:

Level 10 right talent changed: +1.2s Wraithfire Blast slow/damage duration ➜ -1s Wraithfire Blast cooldown.

Level 20 left talent changed: 1.8x Wraith King Skeleton spawned per charge ➜ +6 Wraith King Skeletons spawned.

7.26b

• Talents:

Level 10 left talent: +20 attack speed reduced to +15.

Level 10 right talent: +1.5s Wraithfire Blast slow/damage duration reduced to +1.2s.

Level 15 left talent: +30 Wraith King Skeleton attack damage reduced to +24.

Level 15 right talent: +15 strength reduced to +12.

Level 20 left talent: 2x Wraith King Skeleton spawned per charge reduced to 1.8x.

Level 25 right talent: +25% Vampiric Aura lifesteal reduced to +20%.

Recommended items

Starting items:

• Tango helps Wraith King sustain his health against lane harassment.
• Healing Salve also restores health to Wraith King.
• Clarity sustains mana so Wraith King can use Wraithfire Blast more often for early kills.
• Iron Branch gives attributes like intelligence so Wraith King will have enough mana to use Wraithfire Blast twice at level 1.
• Enchanted Mango provides passive health regeneration and burst mana to use Wraithfire Blast.

Early game:

• Quelling Blade allows Wraith King to get last hits easier. It also makes Mortal Strike hit harder against creeps which makes you clean camps and creep waves faster. It increases the effectiveness of Vampiric Aura when attacking creeps as well. It can be used to cut trees and move faster from one camp to another while farming the jungle.
• Magic Stick can sometimes be the difference between a death and a kill. Its active usually grants enough mana to sustain Reincarnation. It also combos with Armlet of Mordiggian toggle, as one can deactivate, use Magic Stick, and reactivate buying enough time for it to provide the 500 bonus hp.
• Boots of Speed provide an excellent boost of speed for any hero.

Mid game:

• Magic Wand provides the same kind of benefit as the Magic Stick does, but it also provides a small amount of attributes. It makes great use of the earlier bought Iron Branches, making room for new items.
• Power Treads provides attack speed and attribute switching to make his limited mana pool go much further if the treads are switched to intelligence before casting a spell.
• Armlet of Mordiggian provides lots of damage at a reasonable cost, while the health drain is mitigated by Vampiric Aura and Reincarnation.
• Blink Dagger solves Wraith King's mobility issues, letting him engage and chase more effectively and giving him an escape after Reincarnating.

Late game:

• Desolator shreds armor, boosting the damage output of Wraith King and his skeletons while improving Vampiric Aura's lifesteal.
• Mjollnir grants attack speed and can efficiently clear out hordes of illusions and/or summoned units.
• Assault Cuirass solves Wraith King's armor problems and gives bonus damage output to him, his teammates, and his skeletons.
• Black King Bar grants spell immunity to protect Wraith King against disables and mana break, so he can survive and output damage.
• Heart of Tarrasque gives Wraith King excellent amount of Health pool and regeneration, makes him difficult to kill, besides he also has Reincarnation which causes a long effective presence in fights.

Situational items:

• Blade Mail provides decent armor and damage boost, while discouraging enemies from focusing and kiting him.
• Heaven's Halberd gives Wraith King strength, evasion, and status resistance to tank up, and lets him disarm an enemy carry, shutting down their primary source of damage output.
• Radiance helps with farming and stacking skeleton charges, while making Wraith King a walking hazard that is difficult to ignore.
• Abyssal Blade gives Wraith King high lockdown potential in combination with Wraithfire Blast, and the bash lets him manfight more effectively.
• Aghanim's Scepter can guarantee an ultimate cast or some extra damage for Wraith King and his teammates, but its stats are of little benefit to Wraith King himself.
• Refresher Orb is highly situational, as it allows to potentially use Reincarnation twice in a fight allowing him to deal damage for longer periods of time.
• Divine Rapier grants damage that synergizes with Vampiric Aura and Mortal Strike, and is not dropped if Reincarnation activates; combine with Aegis of the Immortal and/or Refresher Orb for best results.

Gameplay

Roles:	Carry Support Durable Disabler Initiator
Complexity:	★☆☆
Playstyle:	On the millennial solstice known as Wraith-Night, Ostarion stood frozen amid the carnage, absorbing innumerable souls as his champions sacrificed their lives for the King. Now brimming with Wraith Essence, Ostarion immobilizes his adversaries with Wraithfire Blast, stunning and searing them over time. His greatsword smashes foes in one Mortal Strike, sapping their essence to feed his Vampiric Aura. Only fools trust the erratic reports of Ostarion's death. For when slain, the wraith energies that bind his body begin to reconstitute his parts, joining limb to torso until the Wraith King's Reincarnation comes full circle.

Strategy & Tips

Counters &
Matchups

Audio

Responses

Sounds

History

Lore

Old Abilities

Changelogs

Equipment

Wraith King Equipment (expand sets) Sets Armor of Eternal Reign Aspect of the Year Beast Curse of the Crow King Dark Reservoir Grim Destiny Haunted Lord Regalia of the Wraith Lord Set Relics of the Sundered King Remains of the Dreadknight Set Ritual of the Dreadborn Regent Shards of Malice Stonemarch Sovereign The Dead Reborn The One True King Bundle Vile Reliquary Weapon Ambinderath's Jaw Blade of Dead Kings Blood Shard Boneslayer Crimson Unbroken Fealty Golden Unbroken Fealty Imperishable Spirit of the Lord Relic Sword Salvaged Sword and Board Shattered Blade of Levinthal Shattered Destroyer Spine Splitter Spine Sword Unbroken Fealty Winterblight Arms Blistering Shade Blistering Shade of the Crimson Witness Taunt Taunt: Fit to Rule Kinetic Gems Kinetic: Salvaged Sword Kinetic: Wraith Spin

Trivia

• Prior to December 13 of 2013, Ostarion, the Wraith King was known as Ostarion, the Skeleton King.
  • On December 10 of 2013, Skeleton King was removed from the game for "pressing ceremonial reasons". After the Wraith Night event, he returned as the Wraith King.
  • His model was completely reworked from the previous skeleton model to the current model. His color theme was changed from red to green and all his icons were changed accordingly.
  • He also got a new voice set, by the same voice actor who also voiced Skeleton King previously. Skeleton King's responses can be found here.
  • For The International 10 Battle Pass, however, Skeleton King would return as Wraith King's Arcana, which can be acquired by players that reach Level 375.
• In DotA 1, Wraith King's (who is still known as the Skeleton King in DotA 1) name is Leoric. This is a reference to the Skeleton King of Diablo who is also named Leoric. In the transition to Dota 2, his name was changed to Ostarion to avoid copyright issues.
• Copyright issues may also be a reason to why Skeleton King was remodeled and re-titled into Wraith King. Another likely factor for the remodeling was to solve many cosmetic item conflicts with the low-violence model which was made for the Perfect World client. A low-violence model was required for Skeleton King due to strict policies in China against the usage of skeletons in video games.
• Wraith King's responses for buying Armlet of Mordiggian ▶️ "I NOW HAVE ALL THE SEXY", buying a Divine Rapier ▶️ "Oh, Rapier. NOW YOUR KING IS BALLING OUT OF CONTROL!" and his battle begin line ▶️ "I'LL HELP MY WEAK AND PUNY ALLIES WHERE I CAN." are a reference to a popular DotA hero guide called "CAPS LOCK LEORIC".
  • When Dota Plus first emerged with the use of a Hero's responses, many community members asked Valve to properly make the text of all of Wraith King's lines in all caps, which was done after multiple requests.
• In several responses, he refers to himself as the "Once and Future King", which is also a title for the legendary King Arthur.
• One of Wraith King's lines is "We'll lead as three kings" when he activates an Illusion Rune. This line is a reference to the three kings or three wise men story from Christmas.

Gallery

• 

  Splash artwork

• 

  Concept art

• 

  Concept art

• 

  Low Violence model of Skeleton King

• 

  Splash artwork including Skeleton King

• 

  Icons and bio of the Skeleton King. For the responses, see here.

• 

  Ability icon progress

• 

  Hero icon progress