Hero
Wraith King
    22 + 3
18 + 1.7
18 + 1.6
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Ostarion, the Wraith King, is a melee strength hero, as well as a carry and tank, capable of both dealing and taking plenty of damage. His infamous Reincarnation allows the Wraith King to rise again after death, acting like an Aegis of the Immortal, making him especially difficult to kill. But if left alive, the Wraith King can wreak havoc upon his enemies; his Wraithfire Blast provides reliable damage and a stun on a short cooldown, Vampiric Spirit grants himself sizeable lifesteal and passively helps make short work of foes, while its active allows for quick pushing. Mortal Strike is a guaranteed critical strike that triggers every few seconds and is Wraith King's primary form of high sustained damage, especially in the lategame, once he has enough farm and levels. A lumbering and straightforward hero, Wraith King can nonetheless be a become a terrifying lategame carry who is nigh-immortal if left unchecked.
Contents
Bio[]
Ostarion, the Wraith King▶️ "Purer than flesh, stronger than bone, imperishable is the essence of the wraith."
Lore:
For untold years, King Ostarion built a kingdom from the remains of his enemies. It was an obsessive's errand, done to pass the long eternities of a monarchy that seemed fated never to end. He believed that as long as he built up the towers of his palace, he could not die. But eventually he learned that he had been deluded... that bone itself could perish. Deeply mistrustful of flesh, he sought a more permanent way of extending his reign, and at last settled on pursuit of wraith energy, a form of pure spirit given off by certain dark souls at death. Should he infuse himself with Wraith Essence, he thought he might create a body as luminous and eternal as his ego. On the millennial solstice known as Wraith-Night, he submitted to a rite of transformation, compelling his subjects to harvest enough souls to fuel his ambition for immortality. No one knows how many of his champions died, for the only survivor who mattered was the Wraith King who rose with the sun on the following morn. Now he rarely spends a moment on his glowing throne--but strides out with sword drawn, demanding a fealty that extends far beyond death.
Voice:
Abilities[]
Wraith King sears an enemy unit with spectral fire, dealing damage and stunning, then dealing damage over time and slowing the target.
Cast Animation: 0.35+0.5
Cast Range: 525
Base Damage: 70/80/90/100
Damage over Time: 10/30/50/70
Move Speed Slow: 20%
Debuff Duration: 2
Stun Duration: 1.1/1.4/1.7/2 (
1.6/1.9/2.2/2.5)
1.6/1.9/2.2/2.5)
17/
95/
Slow persists and attempts to damage if debuff was placed before spell immunity and when not dispelled.The Wraithfire Blasts from Reincarnation with the talent do not target spell immune units.
Blocked upon impact. The blasts from Reincarnation are blocked as well.
The blasts from Reincarnation can be disjointed as well.Modifiers
modifier_skeleton_king_hellfire_blast: Dispellable with any dispel. modifier_stunned: Dispellable with strong dispels.Ostarion calls on his damned lineage, laying waste to his opponents.
Notes:
- Wraithfire Blast travels at a speed of 1000.
- The stun and slow are applied at the same time, so overall, the slow lasts for 3.1/3.4/3.7/4 ( 3.6/3.9/4.2/4.5) seconds.
- Deals the base damage instantly upon hitting, and the damage over time in 1-second intervals, starting immediately after the stun.
- Can deal up to 90/140/190/240 damage (before reductions).
- The blast first applies the damage, then the debuffs.
- Casting Wraithfire Blast orders all of Wraith King Skeletons to attack that target.
- With the level 25 talent, Wraithfire Blast based on its current level gets cast on enemies within 900 radius upon triggering Reincarnation.
- These projectile travels at a speed of 500.
- Only targets enemy heroes, including clones, but excluding illusions and creep-heroes.
- If Wraithfire Blast is not learned, Reincarnation still slows when the talent is chosen. Once learned, the blasts fully replace the slow.
- These blasts can target enemies inside the Fog of War and invisible units. However, invisible targets instantly disjoint them.
| Wraith King Skeleton | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Cast Animation: 0.1+0.5
Lifesteal: 10%/18%/26%/34%
Skeletons Spawn Radius: 300
Number of Creep Kills to Gain Charge: 2
Max Skeleton Charges: 2/4/6/8
Additional Skeletons per Charge: 1
Skeleton Respawn Delay: 3
Skeleton Duration: 60
Base Number of Skeletons: 6 50 70/
Lifesteal is disabled by Break. Charge gaining on killing is not disabled.Lifesteal on the skeletons is only disabled when applying Break on Wraith King, not on the skeleton itself.
Modifiers
modifier_skeleton_king_vampiric_aura: Undispellable. Persists death. modifier_skeleton_king_vampiric_aura_summon_thinker: Undispellable. Persists death. modifier_skeleton_king_vampiric_aura_summon: Undispellable. Persists death.Wraith King's blade drains his enemy's essence to feed his aura.
Notes:
- Stacks additively with other sources of lifesteal.
- A Wraith King Skeleton charge is gained for every 2 units killed by Wraith King. It does not matter how the units are killed.
- For each charge, 1 skeleton is spawned, resulting in 0/1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8 ( 6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14) at 0/1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8 charges.
- The skeletons spawn in 0.25 second intervals, starting immediately upon cast.
- This results in a total spawn time of 0/0.25/0.5/0.75/1/1.25/1.5/1.75/2/2.25/2.5/2.75/3/3.25 seconds.
- For each charge, 1 skeleton is spawned, resulting in 0/1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8 (
- The skeletons spawn at a random spot within a 300 radius of Wraith King.
- The skeletons cannot be controlled. They automatically choose an attack target within approximately 6500 range.
- If no unit is within that range, they move to the closest lane and walk it down like lane creeps.
- If their current attack target turns invisible, the skeletons may stop and do nothing. After a while, they select a new target or return to the lanes.
- Casting Wraithfire Blast orders all skeletons within approximately 2000 radius to attack that target.
- The skeletons do not block neutral creep camps.
- Once killed, skeletons reincarnate. This reincarnation cannot be prevented.
- Just like with hero reincarnation, killing the skeletons grants no gold or experience when they reincarnate.
- Reincarnating does not reset the skeleton's duration. This means they do not reincarnate when expiring either.
Mortal Strike
Ability
Passive
Passive
Affects
Enemies
Enemies
Wraith King passively deals bonus damage on an attack with a cooldown.
Critical Damage: 140%/180%/220%/260%
5.5/ 3.5/3/2.5/2)
Red critical numbers are before illusion and armor reduction.Modifiers
modifier_skeleton_king_mortal_strike: Undispellable. Persists death.One blow to crush a foe.
Wraith King's form regroups after death, allowing him to resurrect when killed in battle. Upon death, enemy units in a 900 radius will be slowed.
Enemy Effect Radius: 900
Reincarnation Delay: 3
Enemy Move Speed Slow: 75% ( 0%)
0%)Enemy Attack Speed Slow: 75 ( 0)
0)Enemy Slow Duration: 5 ( 0)
0)
Wraith Delay Radius: 1200 Wraith Delay Move Speed Bonus: 25% Wraith Delay Attack Speed Bonus: 75 Aura Linger Duration: 0.5 Wraith Delay Duration: 7
Number of Skeletons per Enemy Hero: 3 200/ 180 ( 0)
If a nearby allied hero is slain, they will be transformed into a wraith and have their death delayed for 7 seconds. Buffs the transformed units with +75 attack speed and +25% movement speed.
Causes Reincarnation to have no mana cost and spawn three skeletons to attack each nearby enemy hero when Reincarnation is triggered.
The slow does not affect spell immune enemies. Slow persists if debuff was placed before spell immunity and when not dispelled.Wraith Delay aura affects spell immune allies.
Modifiers
modifier_skeleton_king_reincarnation: Undispellable. Persists death. modifier_skeleton_king_reincarnation_scepter: Undispellable. Persists death. modifier_skeleton_king_reincarnation_scepter_active: Undispellable. Persists death. modifier_skeleton_king_reincarnate_slow: Dispellable with any dispel.Conspirators against the Wraith King wonder why he never stays dead.
Notes:
- Reincarnation cannot be prevented in any way as long as Wraith King has enough mana and the ability is off cooldown.
- Provides 1800/800 ground vision at the death location during its delay.
- If Wraith King has Aegis of the Immortal, Reincarnation triggers first, considering it is off cooldown and Wraith King has sufficient mana.
- The slow is applied on enemy heroes (including clones, excluding illusions and creep-heroes) upon triggering Reincarnation.
- With the level 25 talent, Wraithfire Blast based on its current level gets cast on enemies within 900 radius upon triggering Reincarnation.
- These projectile travels at a speed of 500.
- Only targets enemy heroes, including clones, but excluding illusions and creep-heroes.
- If Wraithfire Blast is not learned, Reincarnation still slows when the talent is chosen. Once learned, the blasts fully replace the slow.
- These blasts can target enemies inside the Fog of War and invisible units. However, invisible targets instantly disjoint them.
- With Aghanim's Scepter, Reincarnation provides an aura. The aura's buff lingers for 0.5 seconds.
- The aura only affects allied heroes (including clones and illusions, excluding creep-heroes), including Wraith King himself.
- The aura does not affect invulnerable or hidden heroes.
- The aura is bestowed to nearby allies even while Wraith King is dead.
- Wraith Delay triggers when the hero's health reaches 1, unless they are affected by Shallow Grave, Battle Trance, or have other Reincarnation sources.
- Units in Wraith form are kept alive by having their minimum health set to 1. Damage taken is technically not reduced.
- Works for clones as well.
- Wraith Delay does not trigger in the following scenarios:
- The hero is an illusion (although the aura places the buff on them, it does not work for them).
- The hero dies by ability expiring ( Tempest Double), or is force-killed ( Divided We Stand).
- Wraith Delay grants the affected heroes unobstructed movement, allowing them to move through units and trees and over cliffs.
- Wraith form causes the hero's model size to increase by 25% for its duration. This has no impact on its collision size.
- Also increases the hero's movement speed by 25% and attack speed by 75 for the duration.
- Allies in Wraith form can act freely like regular heroes, and can still be interacted with normally, without any restrictions.
- This means they still are fully affected by attacks and abilities normally, and already existing buffs and debuffs continue to affect them.
- When the Wraith duration ends, the hero dies. The kill is credited to whoever put the hero in Wraith form.
- This death cannot be prevented in any way. It ignores invulnerability and everything that would normally prevent death.
- If the hero has Reincarnation, it triggers normally once the hero dies.
- With Aghanim's Shard, 3 Wraith King Skeletons are summoned for each enemy hero within 900 radius upon triggering Reincarnation.
- Only summons skeletons for enemy heroes (including clones, excluding illusions and creep-heroes).
- If Vampiric Spirit is not learned, no skeletons are summoned.
- The skeletons are also summoned for enemies inside the fog of war and invisible units.
- Skeleton notes of Vampiric Spirit fully apply.
Talents[]
| Hero Talents | ||
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| Reincarnation Casts Wraithfire Blast | 25 | -2s Mortal Strike Cooldown |
| +6 Skeletons Spawned | 20 | +16 Strength |
| +24 Skeletons Attack Damage | 15 | +25 Movement Speed |
| +15 Attack Speed | 10 | +0.5s Wraithfire Blast Stun Duration |
Notes:
- The strength talent effectively grants Wraith King 320 health, 1.6 health regeneration, and 16 attack damage.
Recent Changes[]
Main Article: Wraith King/Changelogs
Version
Description
- Increased Vampiric Spirit mana cost from 65/70/75/80 to 70/80/90/100.
- Increased Mortal Strike cooldown from 4 on each level to 5.5/5/4.5/4.
- Increased turn rate from 0.5 to 0.6.
- Talents:
- Level 10 right talent changed: -1s Wraithfire Blast cooldown ➜ +0.5s Wraithfire Blast stun duration.
- Level 15 right talent changed: +12 strength ➜ +25 movement speed.
- Level 20 right talent changed: +30 movement speed ➜ +16 strength.
- Increased Wraithfire Blast cooldown from 14/12/10/8 to 17/14/11/8.
- Wraith King Skeleton
- Reduced base attack damage from 35-40 to 32-37.
Recommended Items[]
Starting items:
- Tango helps Wraith King sustain his health against lane harassment.
- Healing Salve also restores health to Wraith King.
- Clarity sustains mana so Wraith King can use Wraithfire Blast more often for early kills.
- Iron Branch gives attributes like intelligence so Wraith King will have enough mana to use Wraithfire Blast twice at level 1.
- Enchanted Mango provides passive health regeneration and burst mana to use Wraithfire Blast.
Early game:
- Quelling Blade allows Wraith King to get last hits easier. It also makes Mortal Strike hit harder against creeps which makes you clean camps and creep waves faster. It increases the effectiveness of Vampiric Aura when attacking creeps as well. It can be used to cut trees and move faster from one camp to another while farming the jungle.
- Magic Stick can sometimes be the difference between a death and a kill. Its active usually grants enough mana to sustain Reincarnation. It also combos with Armlet of Mordiggian toggle, as one can deactivate, use Magic Stick, and reactivate buying enough time for it to provide the 500 bonus hp.
- Boots of Speed provide an excellent boost of speed for any hero.
Mid game:
- Magic Wand provides the same kind of benefit as the Magic Stick does, but it also provides a small amount of attributes. It makes great use of the earlier bought Iron Branches, making room for new items.
- Phase Boots Gives armor and damage to help contest his lane. Increased speed and phased movement allow Wraith King to stay on targets in fights when Wraithfire blast is on cooldown.
- Power Treads provides attack speed and attribute switching to make his limited mana pool go much further if the treads are switched to intelligence before casting a spell.
- Armlet of Mordiggian provides lots of damage at a reasonable cost, while the health drain is mitigated by Vampiric Aura and Reincarnation.
- Blink Dagger solves Wraith King's mobility issues, letting him engage and chase more effectively and giving him an escape after Reincarnating.
Late game:
- Desolator shreds armor, boosting the damage output of Wraith King and his skeletons while improving Vampiric Aura's lifesteal.
- Mjollnir grants attack speed and can efficiently clear out hordes of illusions and/or summoned units.
- Assault Cuirass solves Wraith King's armor problems and gives bonus damage output to him, his teammates, and his skeletons.
- Black King Bar grants spell immunity to protect Wraith King against disables and mana break, so he can survive and output damage.
- Heart of Tarrasque gives Wraith King excellent amount of Health pool and regeneration, makes him difficult to kill, besides he also has Reincarnation which causes a long effective presence in fights.
Situational items:
- Blade Mail provides decent armor and damage boost, while discouraging enemies from focusing and kiting him.
- Heaven's Halberd gives Wraith King strength, evasion, and status resistance to tank up, and lets him disarm an enemy carry, shutting down their primary source of damage output.
- Radiance helps with farming and stacking skeleton charges, and with Reincarnation the enemies will burn longer.
- Abyssal Blade gives Wraith King high lockdown potential in combination with Wraithfire Blast, and the bash lets him manfight more effectively.
- Aghanim's Scepter can guarantee an ultimate cast or some extra damage for Wraith King and his teammates, but its stats are of little benefit to Wraith King himself.
- Refresher Orb is highly situational, as it allows to potentially use Reincarnation twice in a fight allowing him to deal damage for longer periods of time.
- Divine Rapier grants damage that synergizes with Vampiric Aura and Mortal Strike, and is not dropped if Reincarnation activates; combine with Aegis of the Immortal and/or Refresher Orb for best results.
Gameplay[]
| Roles: | Carry Support Durable Disabler Initiator |
|---|---|
| Complexity: | ★☆☆ |
| Playstyle: | On the millennial solstice known as Wraith-Night, Ostarion stood frozen amid the carnage, absorbing innumerable souls as his champions sacrificed their lives for the King. Now brimming with Wraith Essence, Ostarion immobilizes his adversaries with Wraithfire Blast, stunning and searing them over time. His greatsword smashes foes in one Mortal Strike, sapping their essence to feed his Vampiric Aura. Only fools trust the erratic reports of Ostarion's death. For when slain, the wraith energies that bind his body begin to reconstitute his parts, joining limb to torso until the Wraith King's Reincarnation comes full circle. |
Audio[]
History[]
Equipment[]
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Trivia[]
- Prior to December 13 of 2013, Ostarion, the Wraith King was known as Ostarion, the Skeleton King.
- On December 10 of 2013, Skeleton King was removed from the game for "pressing ceremonial reasons". After the Wraith Night event, he returned as the Wraith King.
- His model was completely reworked from the previous skeleton model to the current model. His color theme was changed from red to green and all his icons were changed accordingly.
- He also got a new voice set, by the same voice actor who also voiced Skeleton King previously. Skeleton King's responses can be found here.
- For The International 10 Battle Pass, however, Skeleton King would return as Wraith King's Arcana, which can be acquired by players that reach Level 375.
- In DotA 1, Wraith King's (who is still known as the Skeleton King in DotA 1) name is Leoric. This is a reference to the Skeleton King of Diablo who is also named Leoric. In the transition to Dota 2, his name was changed to Ostarion to avoid copyright issues.
- Copyright issues may also be a reason to why Skeleton King was remodeled and re-titled into Wraith King. Another likely factor for the remodeling was to solve many cosmetic item conflicts with the low-violence model which was made for the Perfect World client. A low-violence model was required for Skeleton King due to strict policies in China against the usage of skeletons in video games.
- Wraith King's responses for buying Armlet of Mordiggian ▶️ "I NOW HAVE ALL THE SEXY", buying a Divine Rapier ▶️ "Oh, Rapier. NOW YOUR KING IS BALLING OUT OF CONTROL!" and his battle begin line ▶️ "I'LL HELP MY WEAK AND PUNY ALLIES WHERE I CAN." are a reference to a popular DotA hero guide called "CAPS LOCK LEORIC".
- When Dota Plus first emerged with the use of a Hero's responses, many community members asked Valve to properly make the text of all of Wraith King's lines in all caps, which was done after multiple requests.
- In several responses, he refers to himself as the "Once and Future King", which is also a title for the legendary King Arthur.
- One of Wraith King's lines is "We'll lead as three kings" when he activates an Illusion Rune. This line is a reference to the three kings or three wise men story from Christmas.
Gallery[]
Splash artwork
Concept art
Concept art
Low Violence model of Skeleton King
Splash artwork including Skeleton King
Icons and bio of the Skeleton King. For the responses, see here.
Ability icon progress
Hero icon progress
