Lion

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Lion #9 18 + 2.2 15 + 1.5 20 + 3.5
Level 0 1 15 25 30 Health 20 416 1076 1824 2110 +0.5 +2.3 +5.38 +8.78 +10.08 Mana 80 320 908 1472 1700 +0 +1 +3.45 +5.8 +6.78 Armor 0 2.5 6 10.5 12.08 Magic Resist 25% 27% 31.9% 36.6% 38.55% Damage Block - Damage 29 35 49 55 98 104 145 151 164 170 Attack Rate 0.68/s 0.76/s 0.89/s 1.05/s 1.1/s Attack Range 600 (750) Attack Speed ▶️ 115 (1.7s BAT) Attack Animation 0.43 + 0.74 Projectile Speed 900 Move Speed ▶️ 290 ( 320) Turn Rate 0.8 Collision Size 27 Bound Radius 24 Vision Range (G) 1800 ( 800) Gib Type Default Internal npc_dota_hero_lion

Steals enemy mana to fuel his own abilities.
Betrayed by his demon partner, Lion went to Hell and back for his vengeance, retrieving the demon's hand and grafting it onto his own body. Lion gives enemies little chance to retaliate. Stunning targets with a damaging row of Earth Spikes, or temporarily transforming them into a harmless critter using a simple Hex, allowing him to Mana Drain them without interruption. Satisfied, the Demon Witch raises his disfigured hand, and points the Finger of Death to exterminate foes with a torrent of Infernal energy.
Roles:	Support Disabler Nuker Initiator
Complexity:
Adjectives:	Cape, Demon, Nose Legs ( 2 )

Bio

Lion, the Demon Witch

▶️ "All hells broken loose, and I hold the pieces."

Lore:

Once a Grandmaster of the Demon Witch tradition of sorcery, Lion earned fame among his brethren for fighting on the side of light and righteousness. But adulation corrupts. With powers surpassed only by his ambition, the mage was seduced by a demon and turned to evil, trading his soul for prestige. After committing horrible crimes that marred his soul, he was abandoned. The demon betrayed him, striking better deals with his enemies. Such was Lion’s rage that he followed the demon back to Hell and slew it, ripping it limb from limb, taking its demonic hand for his own. However, such demonoplasty comes at a cost. Lion was transfigured by the process, his body transformed into something unrecognizable. He rose from Hell, rage incarnate, slaying even those who had once called him master, and laying waste to the lands where he had once been so adored. He survives now as the sole practitioner of the Demon Witch tradition, and those who present themselves as acolytes or students are soon relieved of their mana and carried off by the faintest gust of wind.

Alias:

Demon Witch

Voice:

Tom Chantler (Responses)

Abilities

Earth Spike

▶️▶️QE

Ability
Target Point / Target Unit

Affects
Enemies

Damage
Physical

Rock spikes burst from the earth along a straight path. Enemy units are hurled into the air, then are stunned and take damage when they fall.

Cast Animation: 0.3+0

Cast Range: 650

Spikes Range Buffer: 275

Spikes Radius: 140

Number of Spikes: 1 ( 3)

Damage: 105/170/235/300 ( 170/235/300/365)

Stun Duration: 1.3/1.6/1.9/2.2

 Earth Spike Angle: 30°

 14/13/12/11

 90/110/130/150

Debuff Immunity Notes:

The forced movement is instantly canceled.

Spell Block / Reflection Notes:

Blocked individually by each each enemy that gets hit.

Modifiers [?]

modifier_lion_impale

Strong

The Demon Witch exercises his demonic covenant, opening a fissure from Hell.

• The spikes' max travel distance is based on the cast range, plus the range buffer.
  • With the default cast range, it has a max travel distance of 925.

• The spikes travel at a speed of 2000, taking 0.46 seconds to travel the full distance.

• With the travel distance and the spikes radius, it can hit units up to 1065 range away.

• When unit-targeted, the spikes are released towards their current location upon cast. Spikes do not home and thus can be evaded.

• Hit units are knocked up 350 range for the initial 0.5 seconds of the stun.

• While in the air, other units may pass below hit airborne units.

• The spike that hits the target is larger and is elevated. This visual effect can also be seen in the Fog of War.
  • When Earth Spike hits invisible units, the visual effects below the hit unit are still visible.

• The damage is applied upon landing, not upon getting hit.
  • When interrupted, the damage will be applied prematurely.

• TALENT
  The Earth Spike cone talent launches 2 spikes with the primary cast.
  • The extra spikes are launched with a 30° angle to the left and right of the primary spike in the center.
  • Although all 3 spikes overlap in front of Lion, they cannot hit the same target.

Hex

▶️WD

Ability
Target Unit
( Target Area)

Affects
Enemies

Damage
Instant Kill

Transforms an enemy unit into a harmless beast, with all special abilities disabled.

Cast Animation: 0+0.53

Cast Range: 550/575/600/625

Set Move Speed: 120

Duration: 2/2.4/2.8/3.2

 Radius: 250

 24/20/16/12 ( 22/18/14/10)

 125/150/175/200

Spell Block / Reflection Notes:

Blocked as a unit-targeted ability.

Not blocked when turned into an area-targeted ability.

Modifiers [?]

modifier_lion_voodoo

Strong

Lion is compelled to share his transfiguration, twisting the essence of those who oppose him.

▶️ Frog model

• Applies a hex on the target, setting its base movement speed to 120, silencing, muting and disarming it.
  • However, the target's movement speed can still be affected by movement speed bonuses from items and abilities.
  • Hex does not apply movement speed slow. Therefore, all movement speed increasing and reducing effects are calculated using the 120 base speed.

• Hex instantly destroys illusions.
  • Treat strong illusions as heroes.

• Lion's hex transforms the target into a frog.
  • COSMETIC
    The Fin King's Charm and the Fin King's Charm of Eminent Revival change the hexed model into a fish.

• TALENT
  Hex turns into an area-targeted ability, so that it cannot directly target units anymore.
  • Affects every valid target within the area, including invisible units and units in the Fog of War.
  • Does not affect invulnerable or hidden units.

Mana Drain

▶️ER

Ability
Target Unit / Channeled

Affects
Enemies / Allies

Damage
Instant Kill
( Physical)

Channels physical energy, taking mana and slowing enemies over time. Can target allies to give them mana and movement speed at a 50% rate.

Cast Animation: 0.3+0

Cast Range: 850

Max Targets: 1 ( 3)

Link Break Distance: 1100 ( 1300)

Mana Drain per Second: 20/40/60/120

Mana Drained as Damage Multiplier: 1 ( 2)

Move Speed Slow: 15%/20%/25%/30% ( 25%/30%/35%/40%)

Ally Mana Restore Multiplier: 0.5

Ally Move Speed Bonus: 7.5%/10%/12.5%/15% ( 12.5%/15%/17.5%/20%)

Max Channel Time: 5

 Secondary Target Range Buffer: 200

 Self Magic Resistance Bonus: 60%

 15/12/9/6

 0

Aghanim's Shard Upgrade:

Causes Mana Drain to affect up to 2 additional enemies and gets +200 additional break distance. Lion becomes Debuff Immune with 60% magic resistance while channeling.

Spell Block / Reflection Notes:

Blocked upon cast.

Blocked fully only when primary target.

Modifiers [?]

modifier_lion_mana_drain

Death

modifier_lion_mana_drain_immunity

Death

Lesser magi are nothing more than a source of magical restoration for the Demon Witch.

• Can only be cast on units that have mana pool.

• The link breaks on the target in the following conditions:
  • When the target gets out of vision, turns invulnerable or hidden.
  • This includes becoming invisible with True Sight immunity.
  • Upon the target's death.
  • When it exceeds the 1100 ( 1300) break distance.
    • The effective area for the link break distance is half of a sphere and not a flat circle. Therefore, the link can be broken with upward movement sources as well.

• The link still affects the target and does not break, even when the target(s) run out of mana, enter the Fog of War, turns untargetable or invisible.

• The mana replenished is based on how much the target actually lost per interval. If they have no mana left, no mana is gained either.
  • When Lion is at full mana, the enemy target is still damaged and continues to lose mana.

• Grants the following bonuses when casting on allies:
  • 7.5%/10%/12.5%/15% ( 12.5%/15%/17.5%/20%) movement speed bonus.
  • Restores 10/20/30/60 mana per second and up to 50/100/150/300 for the entire channeling duration.

• While restoring the ally's mana, it works the same as well with reversed effects, the mana replenished to the ally is based on how much mana Lion loses.
  • No longer drains mana from Lion when the ally target(s) are at full mana.
  • Replenishes the allied illusion's mana and does not destroy them.
  • The damage values are affected by mana loss manipulation sources.

• Provides True Sight over the target(s) for its duration.

• Drains 2/4/6/12 mana in 0.1-second intervals, starting 0.1 seconds after cast, resulting in up to 50 instances.
  • Can drain up to 100/200/300/600 ( 300/600/900/1800) mana when fully channeled.

• Deals the same amount of damage using the same intervals, and resulting in the same amount of damage instances.

• Instantly destroys targeted illusions on the first interval, and does not drain mana from enemy illusions.
  • Treats strong illusion as heroes.

• SHARD
  Mana Drain now affects 2 additional random enemy targets, prioritizing heroes, within 1050 search radius centered on Lion.
  • Does not consider units without mana as additional targets.
  • Since the additional links use the ability's cast range, cast range increasing effects increase its search range as well.
  • For secondary targets, the link only breaks on the target(s) in the following conditions:
    • When the channeling on the primary target is interrupted in any way.
    • Upon the secondary target's death, or upon exceeding the break distance.
  • The secondary links stop draining mana and damaging their target(s), if they enter the Fog of War, or when they are affected by invisibility, with or without true sight immunity. In any case, Mana Drain continues to apply its movement speed slow.

• SHARD
  The debuff immunity granting upgrade does not dispel Lion.
  • Stacks multiplicatively with other magic resistance sources.
  • Increases Lion's magic resistance to 70%.
  • With the magic resistance bonus from this source, every 10 points of intelligence further increases the total magic resistance by 0.4%. [?]

• TALENT
  The movement speed slow increasing talent also increases the ally movement speed bonus.
  • Does not update the current active instance.
• SOULBIND
  Mana Drain requires a minimum of 4 targets to work. Casting ability on either the primary or the secondary target without the minimum required targets are considered as canceling the channeling.

Finger of Death

▶️▶️RF

Ability
Target Unit
( Target Area)

Affects
Enemies
( Self)

Damage
Physical

Rips at an enemy unit, trying to turn it inside-out. Deals massive damage and grows stronger with each life it consumes.

Cast Animation: 0.3+0.5

Cast Range: 900

Effect Delay: 0.25

Base Damage: 600/725/850 ( 700/825/950)

Ability Damage Bonus per Kill: 40 ( 60)

Kill Grace Duration: 3

 Radius: 325

 Max Health per Kill: 70

 140/90/40 ( 80/50/20)

 200/400/600

Aghanim's Scepter Upgrade:

Increases damage. Decreases cooldown. Finger of Death hits all units in a small area.

Spell Block / Reflection Notes:

Particles effects still appear on the target.

Blocked fully only when primary target.

Modifiers [?]

modifier_lion_finger_of_death_kill_counter

Undispellable

modifier_lion_finger_of_death

Death

modifier_lion_finger_of_death_delay

Death

modifier_lion_arcana_kill_effect

Undispellable

Lion's disfigured hand is also the source of his greatest power, capable of flooding victims with malefic force.

• Places a debuff on the target upon cast, which applies the damage, and the second debuff upon expiring. The debuff lasts 0.25 seconds.
  • This means the damage can be avoided by being invulnerable, hidden, or spell immune as the debuff expires.

• Grants a stack as long as the affected target hero(es) die while having the second debuff.
  • Grants a stack even if the dying hero has Reincarnation.
  • Treats Meepo Clones and the Spirit Bear as heroes.
  • Treats illusions, creep-heroes and the Tempest Double as creeps.
  • The affected target can be killed or denied by any unit, including neutral creeps and death by self-damage. Lion does not need to be credited for the kill.
  • The number of stacks gained can be seen on the status buff icon. The current ability damage and max health bonus can be seen in its description.
    • Grants max health bonus per kill while keeping the current health percentage the same.
  • TALENT
    Both the max health bonus and damage bonus increasing talents are retroactive and update all already acquired stacks.

• The bonus modifier of successive casts stacks. If cast on the same target successively within the 3-second time frame, each cast grants a stack.
  • Although only gaining bonuses from hero kills, the debuff is placed on every affected target.

• SCEPTER
  Finger of Death is now cast on all enemy units within 325 radius of the primary target.
  • Can hit invisible units and units inside the Fog of War.
  • On each cast, the debuff grants one stack regardless of how many Meepo Clones got the debuff.
• SPELL STEAL
  The ability damage bonus per kill last for the acquired ability's buff duration and is lost upon losing the ability.

Talents

Hero Talents
+250 AoE Hex	25	+100% Mana Drain Damage
Earth Spike affects a 30° Cone	20	+20 Finger of Death Damage Per Kill
+70 Max Health Per Finger of Death Kill	15	-2s Hex Cooldown
+65 Earth Spike Damage	10	+10% Mana Drain Slow

Recent Changes

Main Articles: Changelogs, Old Abilities and Hero Lore

Version

Description

7.35c

• Increased strength gain from 2.2 to 2.4.
• Increased agility gain from 1.5 to 1.7.
• Mana Drain No longer deals damage by default

• Talents:

• INNATE ABILITY
  • TO HELL AND BACK
• New Innate ability. Passive, can't be leveled up
• Lion gains 20% debuff duration and 20% spell amplification for 90s after respawning

• FACETS

• ESSENCE EATER
  • • Mana Drain Deals damage equal to 100% of the mana stolen
• FIST OF DEATH
  • • Finger of Death After casting Finger of Death, Lion switches from ranged to melee attacks with a fixed 250 range and gains 40 + 30 damage per stack for 20s. Enemies killed within 3s of being punched will add Finger of Death stacks. Attacks during melee buff also have a 50% cleave damage with 650 distance.

7.35c

• Increased Earth Spike Cooldown from 11 to 14/13/12/11.
• Mana Drain
  • Reduced Movement Slow/Bonus from 20/25/30/35% to 15/20/25/30%.
  • Aghanim's Shard upgrade:
    • Reduced Magic Resistance bonus from 80% to 60%.
    • Reduced Bonus Break Distance from 400 to 200.
    • Now breaks on secondary targets if Lion loses vision of them.

7.35

• Increased base health regeneration from 0.25 to 0.5.
• Mana Drain now deals 1 * ManaDrained damage per second.

• Talents:
• LVL 25

   

  +150% Mana Drained as damage reduced to +100%.

Recommended Items

Starting items:

• Tango provides health sustain in-lane, allowing Lion to remain active despite enemy harass.

• Healing Salve also restores health to Lion and teammates.

• Iron Branch is cheap and can be purchased with any leftover gold, giving Lion some additional stats. It can be built into a Magic Wand or Mekansm components if needed.

• Observer Ward should always be picked up when available, one of the core duties of a support. Spotting enemy movements allows Lion and his team to re-position to meet them, and lets Lion pounce on his foes with his array of disables and nukes.

Early game:

• Magic Stick gives Lion burst nothing.

• Boots of Speed is important to get early on Lion due to his strong disables. The extra movement speed allows Lion to chase enemies and get into position to cast his disables, securing early kills for his team.

Mid game:

• Magic Wand is a great upgrade for extra attributes and the additional charges, always useful on hard supports. Its cheap price makes it useful on Lion, who will not always have the gold to buy better items.

• Tranquil Boots's passive health regeneration keeps his health pool topped off, synergizing with his ability to keep his mana pool at full with Mana Drain. The increased movement speed gives him better roaming and positioning ability.

• Blink Dagger is extremely powerful on Lion, and should be considered a core item no matter his farm situation. The ability to instantly jump on top of enemies allows him to get much more use out of Hex and Earth Spike, greatly increasing the odds of getting kills on the enemy.

• Sentry Ward is crucial to purchase regularly as a support Lion. As a ranged hero, Lion can destroy enemy Observer Wards he finds, taking away map vision from the enemy team.

• Town Portal Scroll is important to carry at all times. Lion's nuking and disabling potential allows him to turn ganks and teamfights completely around if he is present.

Late game:

• Force Staff is a powerful utility and mobility item on Lion that grants him more mana, base damage, and some health sustain. It can serve as an inferior substitute to Blink Dagger, or as a supplement to further increase Lion's mobility. The active can also be used to help allies re-position as needed, or on an enemy to disposition them or instantly break their Linken's Sphere ahead of casting other disables.

• Glimmer Cape gives Lion strong utility and some initiation power. The active can allow Lion to invisibly approach gank targets and get within range to cast his disables, and can even be used as a shield while channeling Mana Drain. More importantly, it can be cast on allies who are caught out of position, granting them invisibility and strong magic resistance to aid them in escaping.

Situational items

• Mekansm is useful to build on Lion if no other teammates can utilize the item effectively. The additional stats and armor increase Lion's survivability, while the heal drastically improves his teamfight contribution. As well, Lion does not suffer from the tremendous mana cost of the item as he can always recoup it with Mana Drain. Can be upgraded to File:Guardian Greeves icon.png Guardian Greeves, which provides Lion a stronger health and mana heal, and a self-dispel that can wipe debuffs like silences off of him.

• Aether Lens increases Lion's mana pool for him to more easily get off his spell combos due to the high cost of Finger of Death. The cast range increase can greatly extend the reach of all of Lion's abilities, especially Hex and Earth Spike for disabling foes. It also increases the cast range of Blink Dagger, one of Lion's core items. Can be upgraded to an Ethereal Blade to improve the damage of his nukes or gain a defensive tool if he gets the gold advantage.

• Scythe of Vyse is expensive, but is a strong late-game item on any casting-oriented support. In Lion's case, it gives him better overall stats and reduces his reliance on Mana Drain, while also adding yet another instant hard disable to his already formidable arsenal.

• Dagon drastically increases Lion's nuking potential, as it allows him to double up on the already formidable nuking power of Finger of Death while sustaining himself with the Spell Lifesteal that his nukes grant. However, it is extremely expensive to upgrade and can be relatively useless if bought too late, so it is best purchased if Lion already has a strong gold advantage and needs to end the game early.

• Urn of Shadows's charges accumulate quickly given Lion's strong ganking abilities; those charges either heals allies or deals minor damage to enemies in early fights.

• Medallion of Courage gives Lion more utility, along with a blend of armor and mana regeneration. As a ranged support with strong disables, Lion can use the active on gank targets, increasing the damage they take from teammates' physical attacks. It can also be used on Roshan to reduce his armor, and later upgraded into a Solar Crest for even more benefits.

• Ghost Scepter is useful on low-HP casters such as Lion. The ability to evade physical damage for a short duration can buy Lion time to survive if the enemy attempts to focus him down, giving him the few seconds he may need to get his spells off. Can be combined with the very useful Aether Lens into Ethereal Blade to improve the damage of his nukes and the added cast range to all of his spells if he gets the gold advantage.

• Eul's Scepter of Divinity can give Lion some very strong benefits. The item grants more movement speed, giving him more mobility, as well as some more intelligence and mana regen to help him with casting. The active ability can be used either as an additional disable on the enemy, or on Lion himself to give him temporary invulnerability while dispelling debuffs like silences.

Dota Plus Progress

Main Article: Hero Challenges

Relics track a hero's actions and statistics, and display in-game notifications when a milestone is reached. They are only available to Dota Plus subscribers.

Relics	Voice Lines
Multi Hero Earth Spikes Blink Hex Earth Spike Combos Finger of Death Kills Multi-Hero Finger of Death Mana Drained Stuns Leading to Kills Blinks Leading to Kills Channels Cancelled Dominating Kill Streaks Dust of Appearance Leading to Kills Enemy Ward Kills Wards Placed Kill Assists Kills	Bronze	▶️ Who-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-he-hawha! ▶️ Oh, Hell yes.
	Silver	▶️ Ah, sorry to disappoint you. ▶️ You thought to tame the lion?
	Gold	▶️ Feel the rage of a mage! ▶️ To Hell with you!
	Platinum	▶️ I've got the magic touch.
	Master	▶️ I've been to Hell and back, and back to Hell…and back.
	Grandmaster	▶️ When you get to Hell, tell them I sent you.

Equipment

Lion Equipment (expand sets) Sets Curse of the Malignant Corruption Set Gruesome Embrace Hell's Ambassador Set Infernal Rambler Legacy of Infernal Wings Nefarious Fixations Sacraments of the Witch Supreme Tools of the Demon Witch Set Weapon Fin King's Charm Fin King's Charm of Eminent Revival Hellthorn Scepter Left Arm Abyssal Hellclaw Gauntlet of the Treacherous Demon Hell-Spar Anathema Stone Infusion Head Horns of the Betrayer Infernal Ram's Horns Armor Demonic Collar Mulctant Pall Mulctant Pall of the Crimson Witness Taunt Taunt: To Hell and Back!

Trivia

• In the transition from DotA to Dota 2, the names of two of Lion's abilities were changed. "Impale" changed to Earth Spike and "Voodoo" changed to Hex.

• Lion's rival response towards Witch Doctor ▶️ "All we need now is a wardrobe." is a reference to the second book in The Chronicles of Narnia book series by C.S. Lewis, titled The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

Gallery

• 

  Concept art

• 

  Concept art

• 

  Model

• 

  Model before the April 26, 2012 Patch

• 

  Old face model and icons

• 

  The International 4 artwork

• 

  Ability icon progress

• 

  Hero icon progress

• 

  Lion illustration