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A cooldown is a period of wait time before a spell, ability, or item power can be used again.
Mechanics[]
Usually, an ability will be on cooldown if the ability was activated and the cast time of the ability has passed. If the hero is interrupted before the channel time is over, the ability does nothing, and the cooldown and mana is wasted. On the other hand, abilities like Assassinate and Requiem of Souls have long cast times, and they will not go on cooldown before the cast time is over. Charge of Darkness is an exception to the usual rule; it goes on cooldown once the charge ends or is canceled, not upon cast.
If a hero has several versions of the same item, all versions will be on cooldown upon activating one of them. For instance, all Dagons are in the same cooldown group.
Some abilities or items have multiple cooldowns, using a different cooldown duration if their conditions are met. For instance, Culling Blade's cooldown is 0, but only when successfully killing a hero.
Many abilities have reduced cooldown when leveled up. If an ability is on cooldown and it is leveled up, the current wait time will not be affected at all.
Some abilities have charges and a charge replenish time instead of the usual cooldown. For instance, Shrapnel has ( ) charges and a second replenish time for each charge.
Sources of Reduction[]
Some abilities and items are able to manipulate the cooldowns of abilities. There are several different types of cooldown manipulation sources:
The total or final cooldown of an ability is defined as
CD = (Base CD - Σ Flat Reductions) × % CD Reductions Multiplier - Σ Current CDR
Flat Reduction[]
These cooldown modifiers changes the cooldowns by flat amounts. Unlike percentage-based cooldown modifiers, these can affect abilities that are already on cooldown. Flat changes are applied before percentage-based changes.
Multiple sources of flat cooldown reductions stack additively.
Talents[]
Passive
Self
- Reduces all of the hero's cooldowns.
- Multiple percentage-based cooldown reduction sources do not stack. The highest value takes priority.
- The following values exist:
- 6%/8%/10%/12%/14%/15%/20%/25%/30%/40%/50%/65%
No hero has this talent.
The following heroes have talents which reduce cooldowns of specific abilities by a flat amount.
Aghanim's Scepter Upgrade[]
The following heroes have Aghanim's Scepter upgrades which reduce cooldowns of specific abilities by a flat amount.
- Impale Cooldown Reduction: 525
Reduces the cooldown of Impale by a fixed amount while burrowed.
Aghanim's Shard Upgrade[]
The following heroes have Aghanim's Shard upgrades which reduce cooldowns of specific abilities by a flat amount.
Current Cooldown Reduction[]
These cooldown modifiers change the current cooldowns by flat amounts and affect abilities that are already on cooldown. Current flat cooldown changes are applied after percentage-based changes.
Multiple sources of current flat cooldown reductions stack additively.
- Dazzle – Bad Juju
- Lua error: Found no Cargo data for "Keeper of the Light - Chakra Magic".
- Windranger – Focus Fire1
- 1 Requires talent.
- 2a Requires Aghanim's Scepter.
- 2b Requires Aghanim's Shard.
Percentage-based[]
These cooldown modifiers reduce or increase the cooldowns of all abilities and items by a percentage when used. They cause abilities and items to enter a reduced or increased cooldown after being acquired. This means they do not retroactively affect already running cooldowns.
Percentage-based cooldown reduction sources reduces all cooldowns, including all items, passives and charge replenish times.
Multiple percentage-based cooldown reductions stack multiplicatively, and its multiplier is defined as
%CD Reduction Multiplier = (1 - ri )
Unique Percentage-based Sources[]
The following abilities provide cooldown reduction on certain conditions.
- Cooldown Reduction: 0%
Cooldown reduction only applies to the Tempest Double's abilities and items. - Stolen Spell Cooldown Reduction:
Only applies to the acquired ability. - Cooldown Reduction:
Applies to the affected target. - Radius: 1200
Scan Cooldown Reduction: 50%
Aura Linger Duration: 0.5
Aura, affects all nearby allies. Multiple instances of Prescient Aura do not stack.
Examples[]
- What will be the cooldown of a Level 1 Black Hole if Enigma has Octarine Core, affected by Arcane Rune and has a talent specific 20 seconds ability bonus cooldown reduction?
- Black Hole Level 1 cooldown: 180
- Octarine Core cooldown reduction: 25%
- Arcane Rune cooldown reduction: 25%
- Talent specific flat cooldown: 20
- Percentage-based Cooldown Reduction Multiplier
- = (1 - 0.25) × (1 - 0.25)
- = 0.5625
- Final Ability Cooldown
- = (180 - 20) × 0.5625
- = 90
- Enigma's Level 1 Black Hole ability cooldown will be at 90 seconds in this example.
Sources of Resetting[]
Some abilities are able to completely reset the cooldowns of abilities and items instantly, so that they are ready to use again.
For Rearm, the following items do not have their cooldowns reset:
Aeon Disk, Arcane Boots, Black King Bar, Hand of Midas, Helm of the Dominator, Helm of the Overlord, Linken's Sphere, Meteor Hammer, Pipe of Insight, Refresher Orb, Refresher Shard and Neutral Items.
- Resets its own cooldown when the kill succeeds.
- Resets the cooldown the ability upon Primal Split cast.
- Resets cooldowns of all items, except Refresher Orb and Refresher Shard.
- Resets its own cooldown when the Phantom successfully returns to the caster.
- Resets its own cooldown when invoking an already invoked ability.
- Resets cooldowns of all basic abilities, for self and the allied hero. Does not reset any item cooldowns.
- Killing an enemy hero resets cooldown of all her basic abilities.
- Resets cooldowns of all abilities and items, except other Refresher Orbs, Refresher Shard and Ex Machina.
- Resets cooldowns of all abilities and items, except Refresher Orb and Ex Machina.
- Resets its own cooldown when self-targeted.
- Resets all cooldowns, except the items mentioned above.
Other Interactions[]
- Taking hero or Roshan-based damage triggers a short cooldown.
- Taking hero or Roshan-based damage triggers a short cooldown.
- Taking hero or Roshan-based damage triggers a short cooldown.
- Taking hero or Roshan-based damage triggers a short cooldown.
- The heal restricting buff's duration is affected by percentage-based cooldown reductions.
- The heal restricting buff's duration is affected by percentage-based cooldown reductions.
- The guard stack restricting buff's duration is affected by percentage-based cooldown reductions.
- Triggers the cooldown upon cast, and again when the buff on the ally blocks a spell.
- Cooldown triggers upon leaving the infested unit, rather than upon cast.
- Casting Adaptive Strike (Agility) puts Adaptive Strike (Strength) on a 3 second cooldown.
- Casting Adaptive Strike (Strength) puts Adaptive Strike (Agility) on a 3 second cooldown.
- Taking hero or Roshan-based damage triggers a short cooldown. Cooldown also triggers upon landing on a tree after a jump, and upon unperching from a tree.
- Cooldown triggers upon losing the provided buff, rather than upon cast.
- The armor loss on the caster is bound to the cooldown of the item.
- Taking hero or Roshan-based damage triggers a short cooldown.
- Cooldown triggers when the charge ends, rather than upon cast.
- Cooldown triggers upon losing the tree, rather than upon cast.
- The downtime is affected by percentage-based cooldown reductions, but cannot be reset.
- Taking hero or Roshan-based damage triggers a short cooldown.
- The cooldown of the sub-ability on the hero periodically sets itself equal to the shortest cooldown of Stone Form on the Familiars.
Unaffected by Cooldown Manipulation[]
The following abilities have cooldowns that are unaffected by cooldown manipulation for several reasons:
- The ability may use a custom cooldown system, which is not covered by default cooldown manipulation.
- The ability may use a cooldown for other purposes, for example, to indicate a delay before taking effect, like the effect delay of invisibility.
- Cooldown: 2.3
Unlike Skull Basher, Abyssal Blade's bash uses a custom cooldown system, because a regular cooldown would prevent the player from using the item's active ability. - Damage Cooldown: 3
Instead of getting disabled by damage, it goes on a fixed cooldown instead. The cooldown is not affected by cooldown resetting. - Damage Cooldown:
Instead of getting disabled by damage, it goes on a fixed cooldown instead. The cooldown is not affected by cooldown resetting. - Damage Cooldown: 6
Instead of getting disabled by damage, it goes on a fixed cooldown instead. The cooldown is not affected by cooldown resetting. - Damage Cooldown: 3
Instead of getting disabled by damage, it goes on a fixed cooldown instead. The cooldown is not affected by cooldown resetting. - Damage Cooldown: 3
Instead of getting disabled by damage, Fallen Sky goes on a fixed cooldown instead. The cooldown is affected by cooldown resetting. - Stack Limit Duration: 8
The stack limit duration is set upon cast and is unaffected by cooldown manipulation. - Heal Stack Limit Duration: 39
The heal stack limit duration is set upon cast and is unaffected by cooldown manipulation. - Passive Charge Gain Interval: 1
Cooldown reduction does not reduce the passive charge gain interval, it is always 1 charge per 1 seconds. - Cooldown: 14
The cooldown that triggers when blocking a spell for an ally always uses the default cooldown value for unknown reasons. - Heal Stack Limit Duration: 49
The heal stack limit duration is set upon cast and is unaffected by cooldown manipulation. - Damage Cooldown:
Instead of getting disabled by damage, Tree Dance goes on a fixed cooldown instead. The cooldown is affected by cooldown resetting. - Cooldown: 0.2
Gleipnir's Chain Lightning uses a custom cooldown system, because a regular cooldown would prevent the player from using the item's active ability. - Cooldown: 0.2
Maelstrom uses a custom cooldown system for unknown reasons. - Cooldown: 0.2
Mjollnir's Chain Lightning uses a custom cooldown system, because a regular cooldown would prevent the player from using the item's active ability. - Riki - [[Riki#|]]Fade Delay: Lua error in Module:Show at line 70: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
Cloak and Dagger uses the cooldown system to indicate its fade delay for the invisibility. It has visual purposes only. - Slark - [[Slark#|]]During the leap, Pounce is on a non-refreshable cooldown which is bound to the leap buff.
- Fade Delay: 0.75
Nature's Guise uses the cooldown system to indicate its fade delay for the invisibility. It has visual purposes only.
Cooldown Sharing[]
Charges[]
Some abilities use the charge mechanic, instead of cooldowns. These abilities have a set number of charges on them, which replenish over time. Instead of going on cooldown, these abilities use up one charge per cast. This means when having multiple charges, they can be cast quickly in succession, but cannot be used when having no charges left. Each charge takes a certain time to replenish. Multiple charges of a spell do not replenish at the same time, they recharge one after another.
Charge-based abilities will appear to be on cooldown when using the last charge. This "cooldown" however is only to visualise when the next charge is going to be ready again.
The replenish time of charges can be affected by the cooldown reductions of Octarine Core, Arcane Rune, and talents, and can all be replenished with Refresher Orb, and are also affected by Chakra Magic and Time Dilation. Other sources of cooldown manipulation cannot grant charges back or affect the recharge times.
An ability's current charges and recharge time are indicated by a number at the bottom left corner of the ability icon, surrounded by a green circle that fills up while recharging a charge.
Charge-based Abilities[]
- Anti-Mage – Blink Fragment
- Batrider – Flamebreak1
- Bloodseeker – Rupture1
- Bounty Hunter – Shuriken Toss1
- Broodmother – Spin Web
- Broodmother – Spinner's Snare
- Clinkz – Death Pact
- Dark Seer – Ion Shell1
- Death Prophet – Spirit Siphon
- Lua error: Found no Cargo data for "Earth Spirit - Stone Remnant".
- Ember Spirit – Fire Remnant
- Ember Spirit – Sleight of Fist1
- Hoodwink – Acorn Shot1
- Hoodwink – Scurry
- Keeper of the Light – Solar Bind1
- Mirana – Leap
- Muerta – Dead Shot1
- Phoenix – Launch Fire Spirit
- Lua error: Found no Cargo data for "Riki - Blink Strike".
- Shadow Demon – Demonic Cleanse2a
- Shadow Demon – Demonic Purge2a
- Shadow Demon – Disruption1
- Lua error: Found no Cargo data for "Slark - Pounce".
- Sniper – Shrapnel
- Techies – Proximity Mines
- Tiny – Toss1
- Treant Protector – Eyes In The Forest
- Void Spirit – Astral Step
- Void Spirit – Resonant Pulse2a
- 1 Requires talent.
- 2a Requires Aghanim's Scepter.
- 2b Requires Aghanim's Shard.
Self-Restoring Item Charges[]
Recent Changes[]
<div> <div class="updatetablehead"> <div id="version">Version</div><div id="description">Description</div> </div> <div class="updatetablebody">
- Percentage-based cooldown reductions now stack multiplicatively. [?]
- Percentage-based cooldown reductions no longer stack. [?]
- REMOVEDREPLACEDall cooldown reduction talents. [?]
- Refresher Orb now replenishes all charges to charge-based abilities.
</div> </div>