Monkey King

Mischief Transformations
Casting transforms Monkey King based on nearby entities, from trees to items, runes, and non-hero units.

Trivia

 * Monkey King's name, lore, and abilities are based on Sun Wukong, the legendary hero from the Chinese classic "Journey to the West".
 * In the novel, the Monkey King wields the Ruyi Jingu Bang, a flexible magical staff that can change size and length.
 * The name for in Dota 2's Chinese client is "Seventy-two Transformations" - 七十二变  (qī shí èr biàn), a reference from the novel to Sun Wukong's ability to change into numerous forms. This is referenced by his voice line, "’s got one transformation, I’ve got seventy-two."
 * is based on one of the Monkey King's magical powers from the novel. He creates clones of himself from his hair, which he pulls from the back of his head, and blows into the wind.
 * In the novel he can fly on a cloud, called the Cloud Somersault technique. This is referenced by the names of his 6.80 beta unreleased abilities, the cloud riding effect added by the , and his voice line: “Where’s my cloud?”


 * first and second soldier rings are based on the concept of the authority of the emperor in ancient Chinese culture.
 * 九五之尊 (jiǔ wǔ zhī zūn)
 * In ancient China, numbers were divided into yang and yin, with odd numbers being yang and even numbers being yin. Among the Yang numbers, the number nine (九) is the highest, and five (五) is in the middle, with the second and first rings having 9 and 5 soldiers respectively. Therefore, "nine" and "five" symbolize the authority which only the emperor has.


 * Monkey King is the first original hero made for Dota 2. All previous heroes were ported from DotA.


 * Monkey King is based on early concepts developed during the DotA era.
 * An easter egg boss fight versus Monkey King was added to the 6.79 DotA map to hint at his upcoming release.
 * Monkey King's stats were revealed in the version 6.80 beta, but he was never added to the release version.


 * was based on Monkey King’s 6.80 beta version, his original model was approximately the same as the present Phantom Lancer, as well as his abilities. However, this version was not released and instead was released with some changes as Phantom Lancer.
 * Monkey King's rivalry line against Phantom Lancer, vo_monkey_king_monkey_rival_131.mp3 "Honestly, I don't see the resemblance.", acknowledges this.
 * His beta abilities included much the same mechanics as Phantom Lancer’s current ones: a ranged spell to create an illusion to attack an enemy hero, temporary invulnerability with illusions created on return , a dash towards a point , and a passive to create illusions upon attacking an enemy hero.


 * Several early ability concepts were considered for Monkey King's "Dota 2" release, including a "pickpocket" ability.


 * The item, which only appeared in private lobbies, may have been an early hint to Monkey King's release. The item was removed on the same patch as Monkey King was released.


 * Monkey King's default weapon is based on the in-game item,.


 * 's lore line "Watch out for that tree" is a reference to "George of the Jungle", a classic comedy film.


 * The Monkey King concept has been widely used throughout the ARTS/MOBA genre, with other Monkey King heroes appearing in "League of Legends", "Heroes of Newerth", "Vainglory", "Strife", SMITE", and "Paragon".


 * The emblem on the ground made by is called a "Bagua", which is a Daoist symbol that represents the fundamental principles of reality.


 * Monkey King's was voiced in his teaser trailer by Matthew Mercer, who also voiced the Monkey King hero from "Heroes of Newerth". However, his voice actor was later changed to Bill Millsap.


 * Monkey King's Chinese voice actor is Shihong Li, who also voiced Monkey King in the famous 1986 TV show, "Journey to the West".


 * The sound effect played during ( weapons_hero_monkey_king_fur_army.mp3 ) comes from a Balinese music and dance called "kecak".
 * Accompanied by male chorus, this ritual song depicts a battle where a group of monkeys (Vanara) helped Prince Rama to fight the evil King Ravana.


 * One of Monkey King's lines directed at, "I've seen Xin and Kaolin. Where's your other brother?" implies the existence of a fourth spirit, presumably , who was revealed two years later at The International 2019.