Attack Modifier

Attack modifiers are modifiers which apply an effect to a unit's basic attacks. These effects can widely vary, from healing, to damaging or even disabling effects. Most of these modifiers have their own rules. For example, some modifiers may not stack with others, some may fully stack, some may be for melee units only and others for  ranged or both for some abilities. Attack modifiers can be active, in which case they require to be used manually, though most have an option, but they also can be passive, proccing, or having a chance to proc on each attack.

Mechanics
There is no set rule of how attack modifiers stack, most different types of attack modifiers stack with each other, whereas for the same type, it depends on the mechanics of the modifier itself. Note that most attack modifiers' description are only a general outline and different abilities may have specific additional rules or exceptions hard-coded.

Besides the common attack modifiers listed below, many heroes, units and items have attack modifiers which are unique to them, meaning they can be only found on those units or items. To correctly understand and predict interactions between these various mechanics, on-hit effects have a different definition from attack modifiers.

Attack Modifiers
Attack modifiers are applied to an attack at its inception. In some cases this is visually apparent on the attack projectile for ranged heroes (e.g.  or  projectile), but not all attack modifiers have visual effects. As these modifications are calculated at the start of the attack, changes during the airborne time of an attack projectile (i.e. while picking up an item) will generally not affect these attacks that were launched earlier.

Therefore, attack modifiers are not applied if the attack is missed. Since the attack modifier is carried on the attack, if the attack fails, the modifier fails as well.

Multishot abilities that apply modifiers (e.g.  and  ) will generally apply all attack modifiers, but generally not on-hit effects. This is because most on-hit effects are specified to happen only on the "first" or "next" attack, and only the attack landing on the primary target will meet this condition. The other attacks will check for on-hit effects, but as separate instances.

On-hit Effects
On-hit effects are only applied at the time the attack arrives at its target. Since the projectile is airborne and the effect has not been applied and only applies on-hit, these on-hit effects does not have a visual effect. Conversely, value changes during the projectile airborne time can influence on-hit effects — In fact, the on-hit effect is not even tied to any particular attack, rather it is tied to an ability or item. The effect have an opportunity to perform actions before evasion, but it may still be coded to take evasion into account.

For example, the attack breaking out of invisibility that disables passive abilities cannot miss; while  explicitly does nothing when the attack is evaded.

Common Attack Modifiers
Common attack modifiers are attack modifiers which are not unique abilities, but are seen commonly on many heroes and items. The only differences between them are their values and how they are activated or acquired, some being applied on each attack, others being chance-based.

Abilities which simply grant or reduce attack speed (e.g. or ) or attack damage (e.g. ) are not attack modifiers, as they directly enhance the attack, instead of granting a modification.

Corruption
Armor Corruption is an attack modifier with an on-hit effect. It reduces the armor of the affected target. Successive attacks do not stack the debuff, but refresh the duration instead. The attacks first apply the armor reduction debuff, then their own damage. Works against wards, buildings, and allied units. Fully stacks with any other items or other sources of Armor Corruption.

Critical Strike


If an attack procs more than one source of critical strike, only the highest multiplier is applied.

Bash
Multiple sources of bashes do not stack at all.

Active Attack Modifiers
Active Attack Modifiers abilities are attack modifiers that must be actively used on each attack to apply their effects. They also can be set to, causing each attack to apply the effect if the hero can support their costs. Typically they use different attack range values if the cast range is different than the hero's attack range.

If the ability is cast manually, using the designated Hotkey, the ability uses the cast range. When using, it uses the hero's attack range. The cast range of these abilities can be further increased by other attack range bonuses based on the hero's range type. However, it is not affected by cast range bonuses.

When set to, these abilities count as a regular attack; when used manually, they partly count as an ability cast. Therefore, unlike regular attacks, casting these attack modifiers manually, also known as Orb Walking, neither draws aggro from lane creeps nor towers. However, they do not count as abilities in any other scenario, meaning they cannot be used when attacking is restricted (i.e. disarms) and do not proc nor trigger any on-cast effects. These active attack modifiers still use the hero's attack speed and the ability's projectile speed unless stated otherwise.

Active attack modifiers cannot be acquired by.





Units Abilities
Most attack modifiers on units are passive abilities with some exceptions.

Trivia
Unique Attack Modifiers (UAM, or formerly known as Orb Effects) were attack modifiers that could not be used simultaneously with each other — one attack modifier always took priority, and multiple of them do not stack.

Unique attack modifiers did work simultaneously with other non-unique attack modifiers, with the following stacking priority:
 * 1st - Active attack modifiers that were manually cast.
 * 2nd - Active attack modifiers set to.
 * 3rd - Item-based unique attack modifiers.

In Ability Draft, the first drafted unique attack modifier ability always override later acquired ones. When obtaining multiple items with unique attack modifiers, only the one that has been continuously the longest in the inventory will proc or trigger the attack modifier. For illusions, it is prioritized by inventory slot in reading order.

When attacking units that were invalid targets for certain unique attack modifiers (such as spell immune units, buildings etc.) with an attack modifier set to, other unique attack modifiers that the target was vulnerable to would be used, even if they were lower in priority.

For example, spell immune heroes are immune to, but if the hero was carrying a , it would proc instead. This did not apply to other non-autocastable unique attack modifiers (e.g. ) — they still followed the above priority order regardless of a target's spell immunity.

Orb Walking
In Warcraft III, unique attack modifiers are called orb effects. This is due to the items which grant the attack modifiers commonly being orbs (e.g., Orb of Corruption etc.) and these orb effects do not stack with each other.

The items being portrayed as orbs serves as a metaphor, as stacking real sphere-shaped objects is very difficult to do. Since DotA is a custom map on Warcraft III, it made use of the abilities of these orb items, and the term "orb" was used to describe that attack modifiers based on those items do not stack. Therefore, unique attack modifiers are referred to as Orb Effects in DotA, just like how they are in Warcraft III.

The term was later changed to Unique Attack Modifiers in Dota2 while Orb Effects was dropped. However, many players which came from DotA still refer to these modifiers as orb effects. The term Orb Walking originates therefore from Warcraft III, describing the same technique as described in the active attack modifier section above.

Stutter Stepping
This technique which originated from Starcraft and carried over to various MOBAs, was commonly used together with the active attack modifier orb walking technique.

Due to this, orb walking and stutter stepping were very commonly used together, so commonly that it is just referred to as orb walking, even though it was orb walking and stutter stepping together. Even though stutter stepping can be done with regular attacks as well. The term stutter stepping became less known as a result. However, outside of Dota, the technique is still called as stutter stepping.

Recent Changes
Modificador de ataque Модификаторы атаки 攻击特效