| “ | ▶️ Thanks for standing still, ganker!
— Sniper
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” |
Root (formerly known as Ensnare and Entangle) is a status effect that prevents affected units from moving, and from casting most mobility spells.
Mechanics
Attempting to blink while rooted.
Root does not prevent a unit from moving by setting its movement speed to 0. It instead impairs movement in the same way as stuns do. They do not interrupt the move order either, so that the unit resumes moving towards its destination as soon as the root expires.
Root does not interrupt a unit's attack or spell cast orders either. If a unit is attacking or midst a cast animation, getting rooted neither stops it from attacking, nor cancels the cast of the spell. The unit continues executing those orders normally. If the unit's attack target or spell target gets out of range while the unit is rooted, it starts moving towards the target to attack it or cast the spell on it as soon as the root expires, similar to how the unit resumes its move command.
Some sources of root prevent a unit from attacking while rooted. However, this is not a mechanic of root. In these cases, the source abilities also apply a disarm along with the root.
Roots do not interrupt channeling spells, but always cancel the teleports of Town Portal Scroll and Boots of Travel. Some roots may apply true sight over the affected units, while others do not.
A consistent trait of roots is their ability to disable numerous mobility spells. Since a root is not a hard disable, several blink, pseudo-blink and teleport spells are disabled while rooted, to prevent an easy escape. However, although it prevents casting those spells, it does not cancel them when getting rooted while the spell is already cast. In such cases, the unit remains rooted at its new location. A list of disabled spells can be found below.
Rooting abilities
The following abilities root enemy units:
-
Duration: 1.75
Provides True Sight: Conditionally
Conditional True SightThis is an old ability. -
Hero Duration: 1.5/2/2.5/3 ( 3/3.5/4/4.5)
Non-Hero Duration: 10 ( 11.5)
Provides True Sight: Yes
Applies disarm. - Dark Troll Summoner - [[Dark Troll Summoner#|]]Duration: 1.75
Provides True Sight: Conditionally
Conditional True Sight -
Duration: 1/1.5/2/2.5
Provides True Sight: No
Can affect unrevealed invisible units. -
Non-Hero Duration: 3
Provides True Sight: No
Only roots non-hero units. -
Duration: 1.5/2/2.5/3 ( 2.5/3/3.5/4)
Provides True Sight: Conditionally
Conditional True Sight. -
Duration: 2
Provides True Sight: Yes
Can affect unrevealed invisible units. -
Duration: 2/3/4/5
Provides True Sight: Yes -
Min Duration: 0.25
Max Duration: 2.5 ( 3.5)
Provides True Sight: Conditionally
Conditional True Sight -
Duration: 2
Provides True Sight: Conditionally
Conditional True Sight -
Hero Duration: 3
Non-Hero Duration: 9
Provides True Sight: Yes - Techies - [[Techies#|]]Duration: 2/3/4/5
Provides True Sight: Yes -
-
Duration: 0.9/1.2/1.5/1.8 ( 1.3/1.6/1.9/2.2)
Provides True Sight: Yes
Can affect unrevealed invisible units.
- These roots with "Conditional True Sight" only provide true sight over the target for the duration of the root as long as, at the time the root is applied, the target is not fading into invisibility, and the target is not already completely invisible. Examples:
- An invisible enemy hero can be seen due to Dust of Appearance. The root will not apply true sight.
- Bounty Hunter casts Shadow Walk and is in the process of fading into invisibility when he gets rooted. The root will not apply true sight.
- Bounty Hunter gets rooted first and then casts Shadow Walk. The root WILL provide true sight.
- An enemy hero affected by Moonlight Shadow is soon to be invisible. The root WILL provide true sight, because Moonlight Shadow uses a fade delay instead of a fade time.
Self-rooting abilities
Some abilities root the caster to prevent them from performing certain orders like moving or attacking.
-
Roots and disarms the caster during Rolling Boulder, so it cannot move, blink or attack during it.
-
Roots and disarms the caster during Omnislash, so it cannot move, blink or attack during it.
-
Roots and disarms the caster while Burrowed, so it cannot move, blink or attack during it.
-
Roots and disarms the caster inside the Snowball, so it cannot move, blink or attack during it.
-
Roots and disarms the caster during Supernova, so it cannot move, blink or attack during it.
Disabled by roots
The following abilities are disabled by root:
- Anti-Mage – Blink
- Arc Warden – Tempest Double
- Arcane Blink – Arcane Blink
- Astral Spirit – Echo Stomp
- Blink Dagger – Blink
- Chaos Knight – Reality Rift
- Chen – Holy Persuasion
- Clockwerk – Jetpack
- Dawnbreaker – Converge
- Dawnbreaker – Solar Guardian
- Dawnbreaker – Starbreaker
- Earth Spirit – Rolling Boulder
- Earthshaker – Enchant Totem
- Elder Titan – Echo Stomp
- Ember Spirit – Activate Fire Remnant
- Ember Spirit – Sleight of Fist
- Enchantress – Sproink
- Faceless Void – Reverse Time Walk
- Faceless Void – Time Walk
- Fallen Sky – Fallen Sky
- Fiend's Gate – Warp
- Harpy Scout – Take Off
- Hawk – Dive Bomb
- Io – Relocate
- Juggernaut – Omnislash
- Juggernaut – Swiftslash
- Keeper of the Light – Recall
- Kunkka – X Marks the Spot
- Lone Druid – Summon Spirit Bear
- Magnus – Skewer
- Marci – Rebound
- Meepo – Dig
- Meepo – Poof
- Mirana – Leap
- Monkey King – Boundless Strike
- Monkey King – Primal Spring
- Monkey King – Tree Dance
- Morphling – Waveform
- Nature's Prophet – Teleportation
- Ogre Seal Totem – Ogre Seal Flop
- Overwhelming Blink – Overwhelming Blink
- Pangolier – Roll Up
- Pangolier – Rolling Thunder
- Pangolier – Shield Crash
- Pangolier – Swashbuckle
- Phantom Assassin – Phantom Strike
- Phantom Lancer – Doppelganger
- Phoenix – Icarus Dive
- Phoenix – Toggle Movement
- Primal Beast – Onslaught
- Puck – Ethereal Jaunt
- Puck – Waning Rift
- Queen of Pain – Blink
- Riki – Blink Strike
- Riki – Tricks of the Trade
- Rubick – Telekinesis
- Sand King – Burrowstrike
- Slark – Pounce
- Snapfire – Firesnap Cookie
- Sniper – Concussive Grenade
- Spectre – Reality
- Spirit Bear – Return
- Spirit Breaker – Charge of Darkness
- Spirit Breaker – Nether Strike
- Storm Spirit – Ball Lightning
- Sven – Storm Hammer
- Swift Blink – Swift Blink
- Techies – Blast Off!
- Tempest Double – Tempest Double
- Templar Assassin – Psionic Projection
- Timbersaw – Timber Chain
- Tinker – Keen Conveyance
- Town Portal Scroll – Teleport
- Tumbler's Toy – Vault
- Tusk – Snowball
- Twin Gate – Warp
- Underlord – Fiend's Gate
- Vengeful Spirit – Nether Swap
- Viper – Nosedive
- Void Spirit – Astral Step
- Void Spirit – Dissimilate
- Weaver – Time Lapse
- Wildwing Ripper – Hurricane
- Zeus – Heavenly Jump
Version history
- Ethereal Jaunt can no longer be cast while rooted.
- Phase Shift can now be cast while rooted.
- Sleight of Fist can no longer be cast while rooted.
- Root abilities no longer interrupt the target in any way, and no longer cancel channeling spells.
- Frostbite no longer applies a 0.1 second ministun.
- Searing Chains, Overgrowth, and Nature's Guise (7.00-7.21d) no longer interrupt the target's current order.
- Town Portal Scroll and Boots of Travel can no longer be cast while rooted, and are interrupted by root when already channeling.
- Nether Strike can no longer be cast while rooted.
- Aghanim's Scepter upgraded Enchant Totem can no longer be cast while rooted. [?]
- Doppelganger can no longer be cast while rooted.
- Activate Fire Remnant can no longer be cast while rooted.
- Root now disables the following movement spells:
- Blinks: Reality Rift, Poof, Phantom Strike, Blink Strike and Burrowstrike.
- Pseudo-blinks: Rolling Boulder, Time Walk, Skewer, Leap, Tree Dance, Primal Spring, Icarus Dive, Waveform, Pounce, Ball Lightning and Timber Chain. [?].
