Wraith King

Hero

 

Strategy

 

Counters

 

Equipment

 

Gear

 

Talents

 

Relics

 

Responses

 

Sounds

 

Lore

 

Old Abilities

 

Changelogs

 

Known Bugs

 

Wraith King
22 + 3.2 18 + 1.7 18 + 1.6
Level Base 1 15 25 Health 200 640 1520 2160 Health regen 0 2.2 6.68 9.88 Magic res. 25% 26.32% 29.01% 30.93% Mana 75 291 555 747 Mana regen 0 0.9 2.02 2.82 Spell dmg 0% 1.26% 2.83% 3.95% Armor -1 1.88 5.69 8.41 Att/sec 0.59 0.69 0.83 0.93 Move sp amp. 0% 0.9% 2.09% 2.94% Damage 39‒41 61‒63 105‒107 137‒139
Movement speed 315 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 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 helps make short work of foes.

Bio

Ostarion, the Wraith King

Play "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

Play

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: 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 ( 3.5)

14/12/10/8

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

Hellfire Blast: Dispellable with any dispel.

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 ( 4.6/4.9/5.2/5.5) 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 120/160/200/240 ( 140/220/300/380) 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 travel at a slower speed of 500.
  • They deal full damage and stun like a regular cast.
  • 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
Toggle / Aura

Affects
Allies

Nearby friendly melee units restore health based on the damage they deal when attacking enemy units.

Radius: 1200

Lifesteal: 18%/22%/26%/30% ( 43%/47%/51%/55%)

Aura Linger Duration: 0.5

0

Illusions always spawn with the aura toggled off, so they always bestow it for nearby creeps.

Modifiers

Vampiric Aura Buff: Undispellable.

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

Notes:

• Can be toggled on to make it only affect heroes. Treats creep-heroes as heroes.

• Stacks additively with other sources of lifesteal.

• 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 90 Health 250 Health regeneration 0 Armor 1 Magic resistance 50% Status resistance 0% Attack damage 35‒40 ( 70‒75) 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 Vision type Ground Bounty 5 Experience 5 Model scale 1.1 Notes Reincarnate once when killed.

Mortal Strike

PlayPlayPlay

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

Skeletons Summoned per Charge: 1 ( 2)

Skeleton Respawn Delay: 3

Skeleton Duration: 90

50

30/45/60/75

The passive component is disabled by Break

Red critical numbers are before illusion and armor reduction.

Modifiers

Mortal Strike Summon: Dispellable with any dispel.

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.

• 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.

• The skeletons die upon losing the Mortal Strike Summon modifier, so, besides with damage, they can be killed by dispelling them.

• 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

PlayPlay

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 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

Reincarnation: Undispellable.

Reincarnation Scepter: Undispellable.

Reincarnation Scepter Active: Undispellable.

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 or have Reincarnation or Aegis of the Immortal ready.
  • 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	+25% Vampiric Aura Lifesteal
2x Skeletons Spawned	20	No Reincarnation Manacost
+35 Skeletons Attack Damage	15	+15 Strength
+20 Attack Speed	10	+1.5s Wraithfire Blast Slow Duration

Notes:

• The strength talent effectively grants Wraith King 300 health, 1.5 health regen, 1.2% magic resistance and 15 attack damage.

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.
• Stout Shield blocks some physical attacks to increase resilience in lane.

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. Increases the effectiveness of Vampiric Aura when attacking creeps. 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 cost of health drain, but Vampiric Aura helps negate it.
• Blink Dagger solves another Wraith King's deficiency: mobility. It negates countering through kiting, helps with positioning, as well as moving across the maps quicker, thus increasing farm speed. Another possible trick is to instantly blink away after using Reincarnation, as Reincarnation delay and Dagger cooldown are both 3 seconds.

Late game:

• Desolator causes Wraith King's physical attacks to hit harder, especially against targets with already low armor as well as towers. With Mortal Strike, Wraith King can quickly kill squishy carries and low-armor supports in the stun duration of Wraithfire Blast. Besides, it synergizes well with Assault Cuirass from the aspect of armor reduction; Vampiric Aura benefits greatly as the aura heals based on dealt damage after armor reduction.
• Mjollnir increases attack speed and damage output. The item should be considered if Wraith King is counter picked by illusions, damage-over-time and slows, as the Chain Lightning and Static Shield are more likely to trigger against them. The item also accelerates his farm speed.
• Assault Cuirass increases his damage output by increasing the attack speed of his team and reducing enemies' armor, and single-handedly settles Wraith King's armor problem most of the time. The Assault Aura lasts longer thanks to Wraith King's high durability.
• Black King Bar grants spell immunity to protect Wraith King against disables and mana break, so he can survive and output damage.

Situational items:

• Blade Mail provides decent armor and damage boost. If Wraith King is the primary target of the enemy, the active damage return strongly discourages enemies from focusing him and helps Wraith King with damage output.
• 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 adds a burn effect on Wraith King which constantly deals damage and a miss effect to nearby enemies. The effect of the item lasts longer on Wraith King because of Reincarnation and his high durability. The item also helps him farm faster and clears out creep waves.
• Abyssal Blade allows Wraith King to stun an enemy for a total of 4 seconds on top of Wraithfire Blast. Meanwhile, the item gives him an edge in close combat due to the bash component. Though the HP bonus as well as damage block is at least moderately decent, the item is bought most of the time for its lock-down viability.
• Aghanim's Scepter enables Wraith King to elongate his teammate's lives and allow them to unleash powerful ultimates or dish out damage without fear of being focused down at first. While the item provides overall decent attributes, it does not provide much damage output for Wraith King and should be considered situational.
• 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 is very special item for Wraith King because it doesn't drop if Reincarnation activates upon death, thus making it less likely for him to lose it. When carrying the Aegis of the Immortal, Wraith King has to die at least 3 times (at least 4, if Refresher Orb is used) to lose the Rapier. The great damage boost also increases his endurance by improving his lifesteal aura's returns.

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 Dark Reservoir 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 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.
• In DotA1, Wraith King's (who is still known as the Skeleton King in DotA1) 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 Play "I NOW HAVE ALL THE SEXY", buying a Divine Rapier Play "Oh, Rapier. NOW YOUR KING IS BALLING OUT OF CONTROL!" and his battle begin line Play "I'LL HELP MY WEAK AND PUNY ALLIES WHERE I CAN." are a reference to a popular DotA hero guide called "CAPS LOCK LEORIC".
• 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