Omniknight

Purist Thunderwrath the Omniknight is a melee strength hero who is renowned for his ability to protect his allies, preventing the enemy from easily killing them. A holy and courageous hero, Omniknight is an adept support whose powerful spells give his team strong early-game survivability. He possesses a strong healing ability in Purification, which can instantly heal the targeted ally and, if there are nearby enemies, deal Pure damage in the same amount, allowing it to be used as a nuke. He is also capable of providing spell immunity to allies in the form of Repel, a basic ability that prevents himself or allies from being affected by most enemy spells. His passive ability, Degen Aura, can greatly slow the movement and attack speed of enemies, preventing them from easily using their physical attacks to deal damage. And finally, his ultimate, Guardian Angel, can provide complete immunity against physical damage to all nearby allies, completely nullifying the damage output of most carries for a short time. Few can escape the mighty and heavenly power of the Omniknight and he is a powerful ally in team fights. He is a mighty tank, and one of the most difficult heroes to kill.

Tips

 * Omniknight is a support hero who can protect his teammates from harm, healing them and providing them with powerful buffs that allow them to be very aggressive in the early game when neither team has a great amount of items or abilities. Unlike other supports, he remain relevant in the late game as his abilities lack the type of scaling that makes them irrelevant against farmed enemies.
 * Because of his powerful abilities, Omniknight should be built for mobility and casting, as he requires good positioning and a sustainable mana supply in order to perform at his best. Due to his longer than normal cast animations, playing Omniknight well requires good positioning and planning ahead, as any hesitation can prevent him from getting his spells off in time.
 * Due to his tanky nature, Omniknight is a good hero to build aura and teamfight items on, as he is less likely to die before casting his spells and his team is more likely to benefit from the auras for an extended duration. Aura items such as Drum of Endurance and Vladmir's Offering can benefit the team for longer, and active items like Mekansm, Pipe of Insight and Crimson Guard are more likely to have their abilities used before Omniknight dies.
 * Despite his strong array of game-changing abilities, Omniknight also has some crucial weaknesses that smart enemies can exploit. Because he is a melee support, he is incapable of harassing enemy off-laners effectively, and in turn can be prevented from supporting his lane through enemy harass. As well, he possesses no hard disables in his kit, making him a poor initiator and ganker.
 * Silences are one of Omniknight's greatest weaknesses past the laning stage, as he must be able to cast his abilities in order to impact teamfights. Pre-emptively casting Repel on yourself can prevent the enemy from disabling you, although good positioning also stops enemies from initiating on Omniknight.
 * Beware that while Omniknight's spells are very strong and can change the course of teamfights, Repel and Guardian Angel can also be purged. This makes one of Omniknight's greatest weaknesses, since it renders one of his most powerful basic spells and his ultimate effectively useless. Also, dispels from spells such as Brewmaster's Storm unit's Dispel Magic, Invoker's Tornado, and items such as Eul's Scepter of Divinity are able to dispel Guardian Angel.
 * Omniknight is generally played as a safe-lane support, but he can also be played as an off-laner.
 * When played as a safe-lane support, Omniknight's goal is to protect his hard carry from enemy aggression. He can achieve this mainly through lane control by pulling creep waves, as well as stacking jungle camps for his carries to clear out later. If the enemy attempts to gank his lane, Omniknight can hinder their attempts at getting kills by casting Purification on the gank target, and Repel to prevent the enemy's disables from taking effect.
 * As an off-laner, Omniknight has strong survivability since his abilities allow him to shrug off enemy gank attempts; he can heal himself and potentially damage the enemy with Purification, stop the enemy's disables from affecting him with Repel, and hinder their attempts to chase or attack him with Degen Aura. While he does not scale particularly well with farm, getting a large amount of early levels can allow him to contribute tremendously to teamfights, especially once he has his ultimate.
 * is a very strong damage nuke and heal, capable of healing an ally and dealing the same amount in pure damage to all nearby enemies.
 * Because it is Omniknight's primary healing and nuking spell, Purification is a strong spell to max out first. Healing allies for a large fraction of their health pool in the early game can give them a strong advantage during laning and early teamfights.
 * Used offensively, Purification can be used as a damage nuke. Casting the spell on an ally who is engaging an enemy at melee range can cause up to a 720 HP difference shift between the two, often enough to completely change the situation in favor of your team.
 * The target for Purification does not always have to be an allied hero. Used in-lane, Purification can be cast to gain last-hits, or to harass melee enemies by dealing Pure damage to them as they attempt to last-hit. However, both abilities are best reserved for the off-lane as profligate nuking can push the creep wave towards the enemy tower.
 * Keep in mind, at low levels Purification will not heal very much and costs a moderate amount of mana. Therefore it is not recommended to use it solely for topping up a teammate during the laning phase after taking damage from enemy harass, but rather in dire situations where you want to save an ally from death, need a Pure damage nuke to finish an enemy, or both at the same time.
 * Remember that Purification cannot be cast on spell immune allies, so casting Repel first will prevent you from healing them. Cast Purification on an ally first, then Repel.
 * Purification has a faster cast time than Omniknight's other spells, requiring 0.25 seconds to cast instead of 0.5, and has a longer cast range than Repel. It should be used first on a teammate who has been initiated on, and then followed by Repel if needed.
 * allows Omniknight to give himself or a teammate spell immunity for a short period of time, while at the same time removing debuffs from them.
 * Repel is a very powerful spell in that it can be cast on allies in the early game, when nobody on either team has enough gold to purchase a . Use this to your advantage to get off early ganks and win early teamfights by giving your teammates an advantage that they normally would not have.
 * Due to its utility, at least one value point in Repel can be very strong in the laning stage. It can be used to escape enemy ganks and protect allies who are jumped on, foiling their kill attempts and greatly increasing the survivability of your lane.
 * Even in the late game, Repel is a very strong ability, as it is capable of removing debuffs from allies prior to granting them spell immunity. Not only is it useful for giving spell immunity to a teammate who does not have a BKB, but it can shield allies who are caught and disabled before they can activate their BKB, preventing them from being chain-disabled by the enemy.
 * One of the strongest aspects of Repel is that it not only has a 14 second cooldown, but does not decrease in potency over use. This allows it to be used much more frequently, and in all types of situations. Using Repel during a gank can allow a teammate to initiate without fear of being disabled and the target escaping, using it during an initiation can allow a teammate who has a BKB to save it for later or to extend the duration of spell immunity further, and using it during an escape can save a teammate whose BKB may be on cooldown, increasing their odds of survival.
 * At maximum level, Repel lasts for 12 seconds and has a 14 second cooldown, meaning that you can give a teammate spell immunity more than 85% of the time. This can be useful in the late game when a Black King Bar has been reduced to its minimum duration of 5 seconds, and any Diffusal Blades that the enemy has purchased to counter you are out of charges.
 * Keep in mind that unlike Black King Bar, Repel will not remove buffs placed by allies (except for the buffs from Double Damage and Haste runes). Therefore, if a teammate has a purgable buff, it is possible to cast Repel on them so that they have spell immunity and retain their buff.
 * Remember that Repel can be cast on enemies, and will remove purgable buffs from them, so you can use it creatively. For example, it can be cast to remove the buff from, or to prevent an enemy from being affected by an allied so that you can focus them down while the rest of their team is disabled. However, keep in mind that this will also prevent allied disables from working on the enemy, so be very careful about using it.
 * Repel can also be cast on enemies to dispell buffs from runes, such as Double Damage and Haste runes.
 * is a low-radius slow aura that inhibits the movement and attack speed of Omniknight's foes, through spell immunity as well.
 * The greatest use for Degen Aura is as an enemy inhibitor, both when initiating on an enemy or escaping. The movement speed slow can prevent an enemy from easily running away, or stop them from easily chasing, and the attack speed slow can reduce the enemy's ability to use physical attacks to deal damage.
 * In practice, Degen Aura can only be constantly utilized by directly engaging an enemy with Omniknight's attacks. While the debuff persists for 1 second after an enemy leaves its radius, the aura's small radius means that Omniknight must get very close to them in order to affect them with it.
 * Despite its small numbers, Degen Aura's greatest strength is that the slow can be stacked with other slows, and Omniknight does not need to expend any mana or target enemies in order to inflict them with the debuff. This allows it to always be a factor in battles where Omniknight is present.
 * When inflicting an enemy with Degen Aura, the most efficient way to slow them down is to get close enough to apply the debuff to them, and then walk ahead of them to body-block their path and apply any attack modifiers that may slow them further. In escapes this can prevent them from easily chasing a low-health ally, and in ganks it can stop the enemy from getting away.
 * allows Omniknight to grant temporary invulnerability to physical damage to himself and all nearby allies, rendering enemy attacks useless.
 * Because it is one of the few abilities that grants immunity to physical damage, Guardian Angel can turn the tide of many battles. However, it also has a very long cooldown, so be sure to reserve it for the right occasion.
 * Guardian Angel is very effective against any ability that deals physical damage; for example, it can be used to negate or.
 * Combined with spell immunity, heroes can achive full immunity towards physical and magical damage. Do not worry about casting it before your carries used their Black King Bar or other spell immunity granting spells, since they cannot dispel it.
 * Because of his powerful spells, Omniknight can benefit greatly from building various items.
 * is a situationally useful laning item to purchase on Omniknight, as his mana pool is very limited before he can purchase items to allow him to cast his spells. The passive HP regen gives him a measure of health sustain, and consuming it can give him enough mana to cast any of his spells at least one more time in a fight or gank if he runs out of mana.
 * is a useful early-game item to buy, as its slow stacks with that of Degen Aura, slowing a single target's movement speed by up to 46%.
 * is a powerful support item that enhances Omniknight's ability to heal teammates and inflict Pure damage. The item grants more strength, increasing Omniknight's HP and base damage, and some mana regen to help him manage his mana pool more efficiently. The active allows Omniknight to utilize yet another heal, or deal more Pure damage in fights on top of Purification.
 * is a useful item on any support hero, and is no exception on Omniknight. Being able to re-position quickly can allow you to use your spells to greater effect, as you can get within range for casting Purification to deal 360 Pure damage to enemies, or instantly apply Degen Aura to a fleeing enemy. As well, it can be cast on fleeing allies to save them from chasing enemies, further augmenting Omniknight's ability to save teammates who are in trouble. The extra intelligence is also useful for increasing the size of your mana pool.
 * provides many of the same positioning benefits as Force Staff, but has a greater range that allows for far easier initiations and escapes. Its lack of mana cost and lower cooldown allow Omniknight to become much more mobile, getting in position to cast his spells even when standing behind teammates.
 * is a useful mid-game utility item that can give Omniknight more initiation, utility and protection capability, once he has mitigated his mana deficiency issues. Using the active on an ally can allow them to initiate or gank an enemy, as well as letting them get right next to an enemy to hit them with Purification. If a teammate is initiated on by the enemy, using the active on them can give them extra magic resistance and give them temporary invisibility. Finally, Repel can be used as a last-ditch measure to remove debuffs from an invisible ally, such as.
 * is a strong utilty item that boosts Omniknight's casting capabilities, and can be assembled more quickly by using the Energy Booster from a disassembled Arcane Boots. It provides HP regen that aids in Omniknight's survivability, and the increased cast range allows him to use Purification and Repel on allies from farther away, greatly increasing the survivability of his teammates.
 * is a good cheap support item that provides many uses. The extra intelligence and mana regeneration ensure that Omniknight will almost always have the mana he needs to cast his spells, while the extra movement speed allows him to capitalize on Degen Aura more easily. The active ability can be used to hard-disable an enemy, something that Omniknight otherwise lacks, and then get within range to cast Purification to deal damage to them, or can be cast on yourself to purge debuffs from yourself (such as silences which may be preventing you from casting your spells).
 * provides Omniknight with many benefits and adds to his pushing and teamfight contribution. The bonus strength and intelligence increase his health and mana, making him more resilient and able to cast his spells, while the active ability allows him to contribute more strongly in teamfights, or provide True Sight once it is fully upgraded.
 * is a situationally useful utility item on many support heroes, and synergizes with Omniknight's abilities as well. It gives scaling mana regen, more armor and evasion, greatly increasing Omniknight's survivability against physical damage. The active can transfer the armor and evasion bonuses to a teammate, protecting them even more on top of Purification and Repel, or used on an enemy to inflict them with reduced armor and a miss chance that stacks alongside Degen Aura to greatly reduce their ability to inflict physical damage.
 * is useful for protecting Omniknight and his team against magical damage in a teamfight, thus ensuring that he can cast his spells to their utmost and apply Degen Aura to the enemy for longer. The active ability also synergizes with his ability to protect his teammates from harm.
 * is a strong utility item that allows Omniknight to greatly hinder enemies' attempts to focus down himself or a teammate. The item's bonuses give Omniknight more armor and mana regen, increasing his durability and letting him cast his spells more frequently. Using Echo Shell on himself or a teammate in a fight will allow him to use his enemies' disables and magic nukes against themselves, slowing the pace of a battle down and giving him more time to use his defensive spells.
 * is a good pickup for giving Omniknight more resistance against physical damage, as he is a melee hero who must get close to the enemy to apply Degen Aura's debuff to them. However, its main use is in the active, Guard, which gives damage block and armor to all nearby teammates, very useful if you need to give them survivability against physical damage while your ultimate is on cooldown or you want to save it for more important situations.

Trivia

 * Some parts of Omniknight's bio are a reference to the bible story of Daniel in the Lion's Pit. Daniel was thrown into the lion's den for praying to God and challenging Darius' command not to do so, but God prevented the lions from harming Daniel, saving his life. Similarly, Omniknight was to be thrown to the pit of sacrifice for challenging his priests but the Omniscience revealed itself, saving Purist.
 * His response " Omni respawn 10.mp3 I have gazed into the Omniscience, and it has gazed into me." is a reference to German philosopher Nietzsche's quote "If you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you".
 * His kill response " Omni kill 12.mp3 You chose poorly." and item purchase response " Omni purch 02.mp3 I chose wisely." are references to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
 * Many of Omniknight's responses refer to the Bible or Christianity in general: Ie. confessing sins, having demons as nemeses, chastising Dazzle for using dark powers to heal, disliking Necronomicon (as its powers are demonic), using "omniscient" and "light" to describe his God, his death animation (with arms forming a cross, as a reference to the Crucifixion of Christ), etc. " Omni move 15.mp3 A narrow path." refers to Matthew 7:14.
 * Omniknight's nickname is "Chuck Norris", due to the similarities in appearance and the power of his abilities. As well, when he was first added to Dota 2 there was a bug that caused him to always say the voice line omni ability repel 03.mp3 "Fear nothing!"
 * Omniknight originally held and swung his hammer with one hand. This was changed after community feedback.
 * Omniknight's battle begin line omni battlebegins 01.mp3 "The Omniscience may spare them, but I will not." is a reference to General Patton's quote " May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't."