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Ezalor the Keeper of the Light is a rangedintelligencehero famous for his reputation as a one-man support team. Supporting his allies in need, and pushing unguarded lanes with ease, Ezalor is a very valuable ally for any team. Having a variety of useful abilities, he can channel a powerful globe of intense light that can heavily damage an army of enemy creeps in the lane, allowing for an easy push. He can also restore mana and reduce cooldown for himself and his allies as well as blind his enemies with an intense light that also damages and displaces them. His Ultimate hypnotizes enemies in an AoE periodically, allowing his allies to follow over with their attacks around this immensely powerful crowd control. Keeper of the Light requires patience, confidence, and selfless behavior to play him well, as he is played as a support instead of a killer caster like most Intelligence gankers. His set of abilities also requires good timing, reflexes, and knowledge to use well.
Bio[edit]
'They say twas I who carried the first light into the universe. They might be right, I can't quite recall.'
Upon a pale horse he rides, this spark of endless suns, this Keeper of the Light. Ezalor long ago escaped the Fundamental plane, separating from the other ancient forces to which he was bound within the great Primordial harmony. He is a power grown sentient in the dawn of the universe, and now rides forth in all planes at once, one step ahead of pursuing chaos, bearing his gift with him at the end of a radiant staff. His majestic truth lies hidden beneath the outward appearance of a slightly doddering old man who barely stays in the saddle. However, when faced with the challenge of chaos, or the forces of darkness, his primordial light bursts forth, and his full power is revealed, transforming him once again into a force to be reckoned with.
Nolan North (Responses)
Abilities[edit]
Illuminate
Affects
Enemies
(Allies)
Enemies
(Allies)
Channels light energy, building power the longer it's channeled. Once released, a wave is sent forth that deals damage and gives vision in its path. The longer it is channeled, the more damage is dealt.
Cast Range: 1800 ( 2150)
Wave Radius: 375
Damage/Heal Increase per Second: 100
Max Heal: 0 (200/300/400/500, 400/500/600/700)
150/160/170/180
Allows Illuminate to heal allies during the day for the same amount as its damage values, and causes Illuminate to not require channeling.
Artstyle Dota
Damage on enemies is blocked. Heal on allies is not.
Spirit Form: Undispellable.
Ezalor's hidden light reveals itself in marvelous fashion.
Notes:
- The wave travels at a speed of 1050, taking 1.48 ( 1.81) seconds to travel the full distance.
- Can hit units up to 1925 ( 2275) range away (travel distance + radius).
- The Damage and heal increase by 1 for every 0.01 seconds, starting as the 0.3 second cast time begins.
- The damage/heal increasing talent does not alter this. The talent's bonus is added after the scaling damage is calculated.
- This means it can deal a minimum of 30 ( 230) damage and heal for a minimum of 30 ( 230) health.
- This also means that the maximum damage and heal are reached after 1.7/2.7/3.7/4.7 seconds of channeling.
- Checks the current daytime upon releasing the wave. Cannot heal during the nights caused by and .
- Cannot heal invulnerable allies or couriers.
- During the channeling, the spell spawns vision fields in a line in front of Ezalor.
- The vision fields provide 375 range flying vision and last for 10.34 seconds each.
- The first vision field spawns 150 range in front of Ezalor. The following ones spawn 150 range away from the previous vision fields.
- The vision fields are spawned in 0.5 second intervals, starting 0.5 seconds after channeling start, resulting in up to 3/5/7/9 fields.
- When the channeling gets canceled, it stops spawning vision fields. This does not affect the travel distance of the wave.
- When fully channeled, all vision fields together reach up to 825/1125/1425/1725 range away with their vision.
- The horses only spawn when the spell is channeled for the full 2/3/4/5 seconds and only have a visual purpose.
- The Spirit Form buff is granted by . It has only visual purposes and does nothing.
Release Illuminate
Release the channel early.
0
Notes:
- Replaces until the channeling ends.
- Interrupts Keeper of the Light's channeling spells upon cast.
Illuminate (Aghanim's Scepter)
Affects
Enemies
(Allies)
Enemies
(Allies)
Channels light energy, building power the longer it's channeled. Once released, a wave is sent forth that deals damage and gives vision in its path. The longer it is channeled, the more damage is dealt.
Cast Range: 1800 ( 2150)
Wave Radius: 375
Damage/Heal Increase per Second: 100
Max Heal: 0 (200/300/400/500, 400/500/600/700)
150/160/170/180
Damage on enemies is blocked. Heal on allies is not.
Spirit Form: Undispellable.
Ezalor's hidden light reveals itself in marvelous fashion.
- This ability replaces while having equipped.
- Upon cast, an image of Ezalor is spawned at his location, which channels the Illuminate for him. Ezalor can act freely during this.
- Aside from that, same notes as for Illuminate apply.
Release Illuminate (Aghanim's Scepter)
Release the channel early.
0
Notes:
- Replaces while it is being channeled by the spirit.
- Same notes as for apply.
Blinding Light
Affects
Enemies
Enemies
A blinding light flashes over the targeted area, knocking back and blinding the units in the area, causing them to miss attacks.
Cast Range: 550/600/650/700 ( 900/950/1000/1050)
Knockback Distance: 350
Miss Chance: 70%
Miss Duration: 3/4/5/6
100/125/150/175
Knockback and blind persist if debuffs were placed before spell immunity and when not dispelled.
Blinding Light Knockback: Dispellable with any dispel.
The Primordial light turns the tides of battle in favor of Ezalor and his allies.
Notes:
- Knocks units back at a speed of 875. Knockback distance is always 350, no matter how far the unit is from the center.
- Units are not disabled during the knockback. They can still turn, attack, cast spells and use items. Channeling spells are not interrupted.
- Can knock units over impassable terrain. Destroys trees within 150 radius of affected units upon landing.
Chakra Magic
Affects
Allies / Enemies
Allies / Enemies
Restores mana to the target unit and reduces cooldowns of all abilities currently on cooldowns by a fixed amount. Can be cast on enemy, placing a debuff that drains 4%/4.5%/5%/5.5% of current mana per 100 units moved.
Cast Range: 900 ( 1250)
Ally Mana Restored: 80/160/240/320 ( 380/460/540/620)
Enemy Current Mana Lost per 100 Moved Distance: 4%/4.5%/5%/5.5%
20/18/16/14
Can be cast on spell immune allies.
Cannot be cast on spell immune enemies.
Cannot be cast on spell immune enemies.
In the same vein, Ezalor bestows his harmony among others.
Notes:
- Only reduces cooldowns of every non-ultimate ability, including passive abilities.
- Checks the enemy target's current position once upon cast and then in 0.1 second intervals, resulting in 51 checks.
- On each check, it compares the target's current position with its position on the last check and reduces its mana based on the distance between the positions.
- Does not reduce mana when the distance between two positions is greater than 300. So a unit needs to move at more than 3000 speed, or blink a distance greater than 300 to not lose mana.
- Does not reduce mana on invulnerable units.
- The sound effect upon losing mana is only audible to the target.
Ignis Fatuus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Ward | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Will-O-Wisp
Affects
Enemies
Enemies
Summons Ignis Fatuus at the targeted area. Alternates on and off every second. When active, it causes all enemies near it to stare hypnotized at it. Can be attacked by units outside of the radius, dies after a certain number of attacks.
Cast Range: 900 ( 1250)
Attacks to Destroy: 4/5/6 ( 5/6/7)
Number of Flickers: 3/4/5 ( 5/6/7)
Off Duration: 1.85
Wisp Duration: 9.35/12.5/15.65 ( 15.65/18.8/21.95)
250/350/450
Notes:
- The wisp starts flickering 1 second after cast, and then every 3.15 seconds, up to 3/4/5 ( 5/6/7) times.
- While flickering, hypnotizes all enemies within the area, setting their movement speed to 35, forcing them to move towards the wisp, and preventing them from acting.
- Only attacks from heroes (including clones, excluding illusions) can damage the wisp.
- Destroys trees within the radius upon cast.
- When casting Will-O-Wisp a second time while a previous cast is still active, the second wisp pulses synchronised with the first one.
- This is not limited to a second wisps. All wisps placed while previous ones exist pulse simultaniously.
- This also includes wisps placed by allies, but does not include enemy wisps.
Talents[edit]
Hero Talents | ||
---|---|---|
+200 Damage/Heal | 25 | +2 Flicker |
+300 Mana | 20 | +40% Magic Resistance |
+350 Cast Range | 15 | +1 Health Count |
+25 Movement Speed | 10 | +30% XP Gain |
- The cast range talent also affects the max distance of .
- The magic resistance talent stacks multiplicatively with other sources of magic resistance.
- The magic resistance talent increases Keeper of the Light's magic resistance to 55%.
Recommended items[edit]
Starting items:
- provides health regeneration while laning, which mitigates harass damage by lane opponents. Keeper of the Light can share it with allies if needed.
- also restores health early on to you and teammates.
- gives some attributes, and can be used to build Magic Wand or Mekansm.
- should always be purchased by a support at the start of the game.
- gives vision around the map, and helps Keeper of the Light get into a good position to use Illuminate.
Early game:
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- gives Keeper of the Light more movement speed for little expense. The passive regeneration keeps his health at full, allowing him to be self-sustaining as he can replenish his mana with Chakra Magic.
Mid game:
- can be used for mobility, saving teammates, or forcibly displacing enemies, particularly effective when combined with and Blinding Light.
- may save Keeper of the Light and allies with invisibility and magic resistance. Also, he can activate it before or during channeling of Illuminate and Town Portal Scroll.
Late game:
- enable Keeper of the Light to use Will-O-Wisp twice for longer hypnotizes time or enlarge the targeted area.
- grants immunity against physical damage so Keeper of the Light can survive against enemy carries.
- provides a large boost to attributes and excellent mana regeneration, allowing Keeper of the Light to use Chakra Magic on teammates more frequently instead of on himself. The Hex it offers is very powerful on Keeper of the Light, as he otherwise lacks an instant hard disable.
Situational items:
- synergizes well with Keeper of the Light's support abilities, as he can heal his teammates as well as restore their mana. The overall attributes and armor also provide Keeper of the Light with considerably more survivability, while Chakra Magic covers the item's high mana cost.
- grants more survivability and a larger mana pool. Its root makes chasing or escaping from single enemies much easier due to its long cast range and low cooldown.
- gives Keeper of the Light a sustainable mana pool and increased movement speed, allowing him to be much more active on the battlefield. The active ability dispels debuffs such as silences while making Keeper of the Light temporarily invulnerable, or disables an enemy long enough for Illuminate to charge up damage.
- allows Illuminate to heal during the day, keeping allied units healthy during fights and pushes.
- gives Keeper of the Light armor, attributes, and mana regeneration. As a ranged support, you have the ability to reduce an enemy's or Roshan's armor for your team to capitalize on, or give an ally more armor to extend their survivability.
- resists and shields Keeper of the Light and teammates against magical damage so they can survive and contribute to teamfights.
- improves Keeper of the Light's armor and regeneration. The basic dispel and active ability increase survivability of him and his allies by removing debuffs and may dissuade the enemies from using targeted abilities.
Gameplay[edit]
Roles: | SupportNukerDisablerJungler |
---|---|
Complexity: | ★★☆ |
Playstyle: | What appears to be a frail old man on his steed is, in truth, a Fundamental, the Keeper of the Light. Ezalor's staff Illuminates the darkest corners, banishing evil from the realm. He replenishes his companions with Chakra Magic, while casting a Blinding Light over the land, causing attacks to miss. Heads turn to stare at a mysterious shimmering orb, unable to look away as the Keeper's allies encircle foes hypnotized by the flickering lights of the Will-O-Wisp. |
Counters &
Matchups
Audio[edit]
Sounds
History[edit]
Old Abilities
Equipment[edit]
|
Trivia[edit]
- Ezalor's design in Dota 2 makes several references to Gandalf, an iconic character from The Lord of the Rings book series.
- His clothing is almost purely white, similar to Gandalf's attire.
- Illuminate's wave animation are a group of stampeding white horses. This is similar to the spell Gandalf cast on the torrent of water, at the ford of Bruinen, in the first book, The Fellowship of the Ring. Additionally, it has similarities to his reinforcements at Helm's Deep during the second book, The Two Towers. This is also depicted in the splash art, with Ezalor taking Gandalf's place at the head of the charge.
- The Mana Leak cast line 'You shall not cast!' is a reference to one of Gandalf's most famous quotes: 'You shall not pass!'[1]
- The unused Mana Leak cast line 'Run! Run, I say!' is a reference to another one of Gandalf's famous quotes: 'Fly, you fools!'[2]
- The respawn lines 'Ezalor.. I think that's my name' is likely a reference to Gandalf 'respawning' as The White: 'Gandalf? .. Yes .. That was my name .. Gandalf the Grey.'
- One of Ezalor's cosmetic items, the Wise Cap of the First Light makes him look even more like Gandalf.
- The lines 'Kundalini!' and 'The serpent of illumination stirs!' come, as well as the term 'Chakra' are derived from Hinduism. Kundalini is described as a dormant inner strength, or 'sleeping serpent waiting to be awakened'.
- , , , and together represent the four fundamental forces of the universe with Keeper of the Light representing the electromagnetic force, the force responsible for light.
- Io's lore mentions 'the great twin riders Dark and Light,' referring to Chaos Knight (weak interaction) and Keeper of the Light (electromagnetism) uniting under the electroweak interaction.
- The rivalry line 'And chaos fled!' may be a reference to an official bug that can occur when fighting the final boss of Final Fantasy, Chaos, as you can win the fight without damaging him (he simply just fled).
- His rare line 'I'll tell thee everything I can, there's little to relate.' and 'Very gladly will I drink your honor's noble health.' are quotes of the poem by 'Haddock's Eyes' by Lewis Carroll, a poem about a very odd old man.[3]
- His rare line 'I'll forego green girdles and questing beasts, for all such knightly trifles pale before the light.' is a reference to the book The Sword in the Stone.
Gallery[edit]
- Splash artwork
- Concept art
- Meepo, Keeper of the Light and Templar Assassin cartoon art
- Ability icon progress
- Hero icon progress
References[edit]
- ↑The Lord of the Rings, 'You shall not pass' scene
- ↑The Lord of the Rings, 'Fly, you fools' scene
- ↑Lewis Carroll: Haddocks' Eyes.
Retrieved from 'https://dota2.gamepedia.com/index.php?title=Keeper_of_the_Light&oldid=1773682'
“I heard the mission bell
And I was thinking to myself,
‘This could be Heaven or this could be Hell’
Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way
There were voices down the corridor,
I thought I heard them say…”
And I was thinking to myself,
‘This could be Heaven or this could be Hell’
Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way
There were voices down the corridor,
I thought I heard them say…”
Welcome to Dota 2, the Hotel California of online gaming. Late last December, I was naïve enough to dip a toe in its beguiling waters and today, 1,399 hours of gameplay later, I return as a semi-functional human to regale you with tales from its realm.
Dota 2 is unlike any other game I’ve ever played, both in its nature and history. It started off as a StarCraft mod popular enough to be ported to Warcraft 3, which then exploded into a kaleidoscope of player-made variants and eventually coalesced again into a single entity titled Defense of the Ancients Allstars. There is no single author of Dota, though all the anonymous contributors who’ve made it what it is have come from the community that first started playing the mods. As such, Dota is the very definition of grassroots game development. The idea of a game made by the people for the people, as a certain American president might put it, fills me with a particularly warm and fuzzy sensation.
Of course, I knew none of this when I first picked up Dota. A friend recommended it because it’s free and I’m cheap. I understood that the game had a team-based format where killing the other guys was a good thing, like with first-person shooters, but your character also leveled up through the course of a match, as in role-playing games. That seemed like a recipe for unbalanced gameplay, but as it turns out, it’s precisely Dota’s balance that makes it so unbelievably addictive.
You start off as a member of a ragtag group of five heroes intent on destroying the enemy’s base, which is embodied by the titular Ancient structure. Through a series of skirmishes against the other team, their defensive towers, and waves of autonomous creeps, you gain experience and gold, the latter of which can be spent on items that make you stronger, swifter, and deadlier. The more you kill, the more you make, the more you buy, the more you kill. Rinse, repeat, and make sure to say 'gg' at the end.
Learning a language might be quicker than mastering the full breadth of Dota
Excuse me if I’m making this sound simple, because it really isn’t. Dota 2 has a roster of over 100 heroes to choose from, and the combinations of items they can obtain is an order of magnitude greater still. Each hero has four or more unique abilities, and to have any hope of defeating a skilled opponent, you have to know what those are, what items he or she is carrying, and how they affect your chances of survival. Ignoring all of that nuance, I jumped straight into the game with the Juggernaut and was promptly beaten into a pulp of samurai sushi. A dozen humbling ass whoopings later, I was online and reading the Dota Fire hero guides.
The key reassurance I can offer is that all of these intricacies are, in fact, worth learning. As daunting as Dota’s complexity may be, without it the game just wouldn’t be as rewarding. My way of rising to the high bar of basic skill required was to pick the last enemy hero to destroy me. Thus I went from playing Juggernaut to Bounty Hunter to Bloodseeker to Ursa to Spirit Breaker. Each time I was sure I had the 'right' hero, a better player would come along, expose my weaknesses, and teach me something new. I’m the worst loser I know and yet I played Dota 2 for nearly 100 hours before I could get my winning percentage above 50. Maybe if I could actually see that I was being dominated by 14-year-old kids listening to Darude’s Sandstorm on repeat, I might have felt sufficiently embarrassed to retreat in shame. I stuck through it, though, because, in the immortal words of Agent Smith, 'as a species, human beings define their reality through suffering and misery,' and Dota delivers both with just enough victory to keep me titillated. And once I had a couple of hundred hours of experience under my belt, I too started passing on the sacred knowledge of Dota through the time-honored tradition of owning noobs.
I’m the worst loser I know and I’m addicted to a game that keeps kicking my ass
This is not a game for the impatient. Success in Dota 2 requires the strategic forethought of chess, the unselfish teamwork of basketball, and the steely nerves of poker. None of those skills are acquired with ease and there’s no magic number of matches or hours played to achieve Dota competence. It’s a lot like learning a language: I never felt discrete upgrades in my knowledge and skill, but eventually I got to the point where I could tell you every typo in the game’s hero descriptions and every corner of its single asymmetric map.
Just know that the commitment required is on a whole different scale to other games. You could complete the epic Mass Effect trilogy (plus all of its expansion packs) in less time than it takes the average Dota player to familiarize himself with everything from Abbadon’s Aphotic Shield to Zeus’s Lightning Bolt. But that’s really the point. Mastering this game in 50 hours wouldn’t feel anywhere near as satisfying as taking a good 500.
DOTA 2, I love you.
— Vlad Savov (@vladsavov) December 29, 2013I feel an appropriate mix of pride and embarrassment about my 1,400 hours in this game. It’s been debilitating to the rest of my life, as illustrated by the three accidental beards I’ve grown over the course of this year and the habitually red eyes I wake up with. Personal grooming and sleep are the innocent victims of trying to maintain both a job and an all-consuming addiction. I’ve no idea how people with actual families to take care of can persist in this world.
Dota is nothing short of a cultural phenomenon. It may be called Dota 2 now and overseen by Valve, but it’s still a community-driven, constantly evolving beast. The mysterious figure of IceFrog maintains and adjusts the game, heeding feedback from a loud and deeply engaged community of players. Those same players also contribute to Dota’s artistic style by using the in-game workshop to design and sell their own cosmetic kits for heroes. I’m too hooked on playing Dota to actually work inside of it, but these added interactions just help drive people further down the game’s bottomless rabbit hole.
The rare respite I get from needing to play is provided by my job flying me out to trade shows or events. This game’s Mac version is a cruel joke that nobody should try, so when I’m on the move I get my fix by watching the pros play. It can’t have escaped your attention that Valve hosted The International 4 tournament this summer and distributed over $10 million in prize money. Most of that came from fans buying cosmetic perks inside Dota — I found this a silly waste of money at first, but once the game sucks you in, buying your Bounty Hunter a shinier shuriken just starts to make sense. It also helps to know that you are supporting the thing you love, as money spent on items and tickets to watch live tournaments is used to fund the very existence of those tournaments, giving fans a direct way to fund exactly the sort of entertainment they desire. It’s so democratic that it hurts.
Because of its origins, the mythology of Dota is as eclectic as it is insane
For all my fawning adoration of Dota 2, I haven’t been blind to the game’s failings, either. First up, as intensely loyal and devoted as the community is, its level of discourse barely rises above the standards of primordial man. And I do mean man specifically, since the majority of players are male, and women can often struggle to find their place in an environment that’s overrun with testosterone-fuelled machismo. Crude language and curt manners prevail in the e-sport arena just as much as they do on the sports field.
One of the artefacts of the game being designed by young males is in its presentation. Female characters tend to perform clichéd support or witch roles while dressing in form-fitting costumes that seem to have shrunken in the wash. One of the long-standing bugs in the game involves the Crystal Maiden hero, whose death animation sees the character momentarily stripped down to her underwear before disappearing. Some moves have been taken to rectify this imbalance, such as the re-gendering of the Legion Commander hero from male to female. That at least gives one recognizably female character among the Strength class of fully armored and uncompromisingly fierce heroes. It’s also worth acknowledging that Dota 2 doesn’t take itself too seriously, as evidenced by its bright color palette and predilection for puns. Gabe Newell’s favorite hero, the Sand King, makes a habit of asking his fallen enemies if they were expecting 'Sandy Claws.'
Dota 2 could be more sophisticated in its design and more inclusive in its makeup, but you can say that about the vast majority of video games and a great deal of other popular entertainments too. I don’t want to make light of its issues, but they are more about us, the players, than the game itself. What sets Dota apart from anything else I’ve experienced is the very essence of the game: its finely tuned gameplay that’s as unforgiving as it is rewarding. You could have predicted I would fall in love with Dota just by knowing that it combines my two favorite things — sports and the internet — in one unique, crowdsourced creation.
Calling Dota a multiplayer game is like calling Michael Jordan a prolific dunker
Without the internet, there is no Dota, 1 or 2. This game is built on a legacy of organic participation and collective creativity that’s inspiring and affirming of the best aspects of the web. Its continued existence and the funding of professional competitions are also directly dependent on the engagement of its players. While I’d prefer to see more decorum and maturity among said players, there’s still a chance for these online encounters to bring disparate people closer together. Dota 2 allows me, a Bulgarian living in London, to watch an Australian in Berlin commentating on a match taking place in China between teams from Malaysia and the Ukraine. Calling this game’s headline tournament The International is as fitting a title as any in gaming.
The humbling experience of having your face repeatedly slammed in the mud is what builds the incredible loyalty and commitment that Dota 2 enjoys today. NBA player Jeremy Lin describes it as a lifestyle rather than a game, and my experience this year has confirmed that in every way possible. I have a relationship with this game. It’s built on the trust of knowing that every screw-up and every triumph is my own. At a time when gaming is growing more cinematic and prescribed, Dota is pure, unadulterated, interactive fun. No training wheels, no assistant popups, no pausing to gather your thoughts. Thank you, internet, for being this awesome.
Correction: This post has been updated to note that Crystal Maiden's death animation is a bug in the game rather than a design decision and to include witches among the typical roles played by female characters.
More from The Verge
Dota 2 is full of mysteries. In addition to the thrill of gameplay on offer and the variety of heroes that we can play, Dota 2 also offers a lore or an interesting story to be presented. In this first part, we will present the story of Dota 2, the origin of War of the Ancients that happened millions of years before the heroes we know today are born. Let's listen!
1. The appearance of Mad Moon, Heaven Prison
War of the Ancients on Dota 2 is not started from something simple, but comes from the millions of years of conflict between the souls of Ancients in heaven. Souls from another world accidentally enter the Earth, spreading hostility and war.
When Earth is still in its formation, a moon-shaped object flies near and surrounds it. The moon is not the month we know today, but Mad Moon. Mad Moon is not formed from rocks, but rather a kind of crystal that sparkle beats the sun.
This crystals and luster of light are derived from the souls of the Ancients who are imprisoned from the conflict in heaven. The prolonged conflict caused Primodials, the creator of the world, angry and confined all the rivalries. The crystal prison is then kicked Primodials to roam the sky forever, until it accidentally enters Earth's gravity.
2. Mad Moon Rebellion and The Awakening of The Ancients
After millions of years, Earth began to live in the intelligent beings that walked on it. Mad Moon continues to revolve around the Earth, but due to the gravitational forces of Earth, the magic that imprisons the Ancients finally begins to waver and weaken. Which was originally a small crack in Mad Moon, then enlarged until finally in one night Mad Moon broke into pieces, creating a sky that shone brightly dazzling.
Most of the pieces were destroyed by the Earth's atmosphere, but others survived and fell to the ground, becoming rare or crystallized rocks. But besides the big explosion, nothing happened for millions of years.
Mad Moon's explosion eventually became a myth and was considered a fairy tale. Mad Moon fragments scattered on Earth, already covered with plants and other rocks. Hidden and unfolded. But inside, the previously unfettered Ancients began to look for form.
Image Source: Mirana,Undying
Posted by6 years ago
Archived
As you know, heroes have been ported from DotA 1 to 2. A number of changes occurred to their name and titles during this port. One of the changes in DotA 2 is that the name + title is not displayed in-game, only the preferred name. They are, however, still used in the bio for each hero. I went and gathered all of the old and new names and titles and any differences.
Notice that heroes are not always referred to by only title or name. Some heroes go by their name, such as Kunkka, Puck, Dazzle, Sven, while a majority go by their title. I also found that while I knew most titles, I didn't know many of their names. Some of them have seen use, like Magina, Krob, Lanaya. While others are just completely new to me, like Ish'kafel, Black Arachnia, Boush, Darchrow? I couldn't tell you those with a gun pointed to my head.
Also note that some names have only really seen use in DotA 1: Trax, Gondar, Atropos, Levi, Crix, Luci, but have no mentions in DotA 2 (in my experience). DotA 2 players have more or less forgotten these names.
I thought players who started with DotA 2 might find this stuff interesting. Old school DotA players can hit up some nostalgia. If you want to be funny, start referring to heroes by their other name.
'Shendelzare missing!'
'who?'
Preferred name was extrapolated through a mix of the official game and my experience.
About fun names: When you pick a hero in DotA 1, there is a small chance that your hero will take on one of that hero's fun names instead of the normal name. Fun names were a mix of references to pop culture, popular professional players, and others. Link to explanations.
Preferred | Name | Title | DotA 1 Original | Change Reason | Fun Name |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Anti-Mage | Anti-Mage | Magina | ? | BurNing | |
Axe | Mogul Khan | Axe | Mogul Khant Touch This | ||
Bane Elemental | Atropos | Bane Elemental | |||
Bloodseeker | Strygwyr | Bloodseeker | |||
Crystal Maiden | Rylai | Crystal Maiden | Rylai Crestfall | Warcraft | |
Drow Ranger | Traxex | Drow Ranger | |||
Earthshaker | Raigor Stonehoof | Earthshaker | |||
Juggernaut | Yurnero | Juggernaut | |||
Princess of the Moon | Mirana | Princess of the Moon | Priestess of the Moon, Mirana Nightshade | Warcraft | Jumong |
Shadow Fiend | Nevermore | Shadow Fiend | YaphetS | ||
Morphling | Morphling | Morphling | |||
Phantom Lancer | Azwraith | Phantom Lancer | |||
Puck | Puck | Faerie Dragon | Kupu-Kupu / Puck! / Puck the Magic Dragon | ||
Pudge | Pudge | Butcher | |||
Razor | Razor | Lightning Revenant | Gilette | ||
Sand King | Crixalis | Sand King | |||
Storm Spirit | Raijin Thunderkeg | Storm Spirit | |||
Sven | Sven | Rogue Knight | |||
Tiny | Tiny | Stone Giant | |||
Vengeful Spirit | Shendelzare | Vengeful Spirit | Shendelzare Silkwood | ? | 820 |
Windrunner | Lyralei | Windrunner | Alleria | Warcraft | |
Zeus | Zeus | Lord of Heaven | Lord of Olympia | ? | Merlini |
Kunkka | Kunkka | Admiral | Admiral Proudmoore | Warcraft | CoCo / Daelin Proudmoore / Captain Obvious |
Lina | Lina | Slayer | Lina Inverse | Slayers - Anime Series | |
Lich | Ethreain | Lich | Kel'Thuzad | Warcraft | |
Lion | Lion | Demon Witch | |||
Rhasta | Rhasta | Shadow Shaman | |||
Slardar | Slardar | Slithereen Guard | |||
Tidehunter | Leviathian | Tidehunter | |||
Witch Doctor | Zharvakko | Witch Doctor | Vol'jin | Warcraft | Moose |
Riki | Riki | Stealth Assassin | Rikimaru | Tenchu - Console Games | Riki Martin |
Enigma | Enigma | Darchrow | ? | ||
Tinker | Boush | Tinker | |||
Sniper | Kardel Sharpeye | Sniper | Vasilij Zajcev | ||
Necrolyte | Rotund'jere | Necrolyte | A Phoe Gyi | ||
Warlock | Demnok Lannik | Warlock | |||
Beastmaster | Karroch | Beastmaster | Rexxar | Warcraft | |
Queen of Pain | Akasha | Queen of Pain | |||
Venomancer | Lesale Deathbringer | Venomancer | |||
Faceless Void | Darkterror | Faceless Void | Gorzerk | ||
Skeleton King | Ostarion | Skeleton King | King Leoric | Diablo | |
Death Prophet | Krobelus | Death Prophet | |||
Phantom Assassin | Mortred | Phantom Assassin | |||
Pugna | Pugna | Oblivion | |||
Templar Assassin | Lanaya | Templar Assassin | |||
Viper | Viper | Netherdrake | |||
Luna | Luna | Moon Rider | Luna Moonfang | Warcraft | |
Dragon Knight | Davion | Dragon Knight | Knight Davion | ? | Trogdor |
Dazzle | Dazzle | Shadow Priest | |||
Clockwerk | Rattletrap | Clockwerk | |||
Leshrac | Leshrac | Tormented Soul | Leshrac the Malicious | ||
Nature's Prophet | Tequoia | Nature's Prophet | Furion | Warcraft | |
N'aix | N'aix | Lifestealer | Gollum | ||
Dark Seer | Ish'kafel | Dark Seer | |||
Clinkz | Clinkz | Bone Fletcher | Clinkz Eastwood | ||
Omniknight | Purist Thunderwrath | Omniknight | |||
Enchantress | Aiushtha | Enchantress | Bambi | ||
Huskar | Huskar | Sacred Warrior | |||
Night Stalker | Balanar | Night Stalker | |||
Broodmother | Black Arachnia | Broodmother | |||
Bounty Hunter | Gondar | Bounty Hunter | |||
Weaver | Skitskurr | Weaver | Nerubian Weaver/Anub'seran | Warcraft | |
Jakiro | Jakiro | Twin headed Dragon | Twin Head Dragon | ? | |
Batrider | Batrider | Jin'zakk | Warcraft | ||
Chen | Chen | Holy Knight | Jackie Chen | ||
Spectre | Mercurial | Spectre | qwerty | ||
Doom | Lucifer | Doom | Doombringer | Warcraft? | |
Ancient Apparition | Kaldr | Ancient Apparition | |||
Ursa | Ulfsaar | Ursa Warrior | Fuzzy Wuzzy | ||
Spirit Breaker | Barathrum | Spirit Breaker | Roadrunner | ||
Gyrocopter | Aurel Vlaicu | Gyrocopter | |||
Alchemist | Razzil Darkbrew | Alchemist | |||
Invoker | Invoker | Kael | Warcraft | Kal-El | |
Silencer | Nortrom | Silencer | |||
Outworld Devourer | Harbinger | Outworld Devourer | Obsidian Destroyer | Warcraft | |
Lycanthrope | Banehallow | Lycanthrope | |||
Brewmaster | Mangix | Brewmaster | Pandaren Brewmaster | Warcraft | |
Shadow Demon | Shadow Demon | Eredar | Warcraft | Giblet | |
Lone Druid | Sylla | Lone Druid | Syllabear | ? | |
Chaos Knight | Chaos Knight | Nessaj | ? | ||
Meepo | Meepo | Geomancer | |||
Treant Protector | Rooftrellen | Treant Protector | |||
Ogre Magi | Aggron Stonebreak | Ogre Magi | |||
Undying | Undying | Almighty Dirge | Dirge | ? | |
Rubick | Rubick | Grand Magus | |||
Disruptor | Disruptor | Stormcrafter | Thrall | Warcraft | |
Nyx Assassin | Nyx Assassin | Nerubian Assassin/Anub'arak | Warcraft | A'noob Arak | |
Naga Siren | Slithice | Naga Siren | |||
Keeper of the Light | Ezalor | Keeper of the Light | Gandalf | ||
Wisp | Io | Guardian Wisp | Santelmo / Weird Ball | ||
Visage | Necro'lic | Visage | |||
Slark | Slark | Nightcrawler | |||
Medusa | Medusa | Gorgon | |||
Troll Warlord | Jah'rakal | Troll Warlord | |||
Centaur | Bradwarden | Centaur Warrunner | Centaur Warchief | Warcraft? | |
Magnus | Magnus | Magnoceros | Magnataur | ? | |
Timbersaw | Rizzrack | Timbersaw | Goblin Shredder | Warcraft? | |
Bristlebog | Bristlebog | Rigwarl the Bristleback | |||
Tuskarr | Ymir | Tusk | |||
Skywrath Mage | Dragonus | Skywrath Mage | |||
Abaddon | Abaddon | Lord of Avernus | |||
Elder Titan | Elder Titan | Tauren Chieftain | Warcraft | Taur Thunderhorn |
Sidenotes:
- Enigma,
Batrider, and Antimage's original names, Darchrow,Jin'zakk, and Magina, were not ported to DotA 2 for no apparent reason. These heroes remain nameless in DotA 2. - Tuskarr, Furion, and Panda are three unported DotA 1 names that are still commonly used to refer to their hero.
- Morphling is the only hero with his name as his title.
- Riki/SA, Dazzle/SP, LoA/Abbaddon, Krob/DP, LD/Sylla and BH/Gondar tend to go by either name or title. Gondar less so in DotA 2.
- Wisp's title, Guardian Wisp, is not used as the actual preferred name.
Oddly enough, Yurnero, also a name from the Warcraft universe, was ported to DotA 2.- Many heroes are still referred to by their old name in the Web API, such as Furion.
edit: added fun names per mattlight07. Thanks!
Fixes per ThisGuyIsDendi, StupidLemonEater,ilovesharkpeople,auciel,dr4gonbl4z3r, NDN_Shadow,Obesely,dairymeat,wezagred,Clarissimus,theji,BarCodeGuy,Nanayadez
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“I heard the mission bell
And I was thinking to myself,
‘This could be Heaven or this could be Hell’
Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way
There were voices down the corridor,
I thought I heard them say…”
And I was thinking to myself,
‘This could be Heaven or this could be Hell’
Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way
There were voices down the corridor,
I thought I heard them say…”
Welcome to Dota 2, the Hotel California of online gaming. Late last December, I was naïve enough to dip a toe in its beguiling waters and today, 1,399 hours of gameplay later, I return as a semi-functional human to regale you with tales from its realm.
Dota 2 is unlike any other game I’ve ever played, both in its nature and history. It started off as a StarCraft mod popular enough to be ported to Warcraft 3, which then exploded into a kaleidoscope of player-made variants and eventually coalesced again into a single entity titled Defense of the Ancients Allstars. There is no single author of Dota, though all the anonymous contributors who’ve made it what it is have come from the community that first started playing the mods. As such, Dota is the very definition of grassroots game development. The idea of a game made by the people for the people, as a certain American president might put it, fills me with a particularly warm and fuzzy sensation.
Of course, I knew none of this when I first picked up Dota. A friend recommended it because it’s free and I’m cheap. I understood that the game had a team-based format where killing the other guys was a good thing, like with first-person shooters, but your character also leveled up through the course of a match, as in role-playing games. That seemed like a recipe for unbalanced gameplay, but as it turns out, it’s precisely Dota’s balance that makes it so unbelievably addictive.
You start off as a member of a ragtag group of five heroes intent on destroying the enemy’s base, which is embodied by the titular Ancient structure. Through a series of skirmishes against the other team, their defensive towers, and waves of autonomous creeps, you gain experience and gold, the latter of which can be spent on items that make you stronger, swifter, and deadlier. The more you kill, the more you make, the more you buy, the more you kill. Rinse, repeat, and make sure to say 'gg' at the end.
Learning a language might be quicker than mastering the full breadth of Dota
Excuse me if I’m making this sound simple, because it really isn’t. Dota 2 has a roster of over 100 heroes to choose from, and the combinations of items they can obtain is an order of magnitude greater still. Each hero has four or more unique abilities, and to have any hope of defeating a skilled opponent, you have to know what those are, what items he or she is carrying, and how they affect your chances of survival. Ignoring all of that nuance, I jumped straight into the game with the Juggernaut and was promptly beaten into a pulp of samurai sushi. A dozen humbling ass whoopings later, I was online and reading the Dota Fire hero guides.
The key reassurance I can offer is that all of these intricacies are, in fact, worth learning. As daunting as Dota’s complexity may be, without it the game just wouldn’t be as rewarding. My way of rising to the high bar of basic skill required was to pick the last enemy hero to destroy me. Thus I went from playing Juggernaut to Bounty Hunter to Bloodseeker to Ursa to Spirit Breaker. Each time I was sure I had the 'right' hero, a better player would come along, expose my weaknesses, and teach me something new. I’m the worst loser I know and yet I played Dota 2 for nearly 100 hours before I could get my winning percentage above 50. Maybe if I could actually see that I was being dominated by 14-year-old kids listening to Darude’s Sandstorm on repeat, I might have felt sufficiently embarrassed to retreat in shame. I stuck through it, though, because, in the immortal words of Agent Smith, 'as a species, human beings define their reality through suffering and misery,' and Dota delivers both with just enough victory to keep me titillated. And once I had a couple of hundred hours of experience under my belt, I too started passing on the sacred knowledge of Dota through the time-honored tradition of owning noobs.
I’m the worst loser I know and I’m addicted to a game that keeps kicking my ass
This is not a game for the impatient. Success in Dota 2 requires the strategic forethought of chess, the unselfish teamwork of basketball, and the steely nerves of poker. None of those skills are acquired with ease and there’s no magic number of matches or hours played to achieve Dota competence. It’s a lot like learning a language: I never felt discrete upgrades in my knowledge and skill, but eventually I got to the point where I could tell you every typo in the game’s hero descriptions and every corner of its single asymmetric map.
Just know that the commitment required is on a whole different scale to other games. You could complete the epic Mass Effect trilogy (plus all of its expansion packs) in less time than it takes the average Dota player to familiarize himself with everything from Abbadon’s Aphotic Shield to Zeus’s Lightning Bolt. But that’s really the point. Mastering this game in 50 hours wouldn’t feel anywhere near as satisfying as taking a good 500.
DOTA 2, I love you.
— Vlad Savov (@vladsavov) December 29, 2013I feel an appropriate mix of pride and embarrassment about my 1,400 hours in this game. It’s been debilitating to the rest of my life, as illustrated by the three accidental beards I’ve grown over the course of this year and the habitually red eyes I wake up with. Personal grooming and sleep are the innocent victims of trying to maintain both a job and an all-consuming addiction. I’ve no idea how people with actual families to take care of can persist in this world.
Dota is nothing short of a cultural phenomenon. It may be called Dota 2 now and overseen by Valve, but it’s still a community-driven, constantly evolving beast. The mysterious figure of IceFrog maintains and adjusts the game, heeding feedback from a loud and deeply engaged community of players. Those same players also contribute to Dota’s artistic style by using the in-game workshop to design and sell their own cosmetic kits for heroes. I’m too hooked on playing Dota to actually work inside of it, but these added interactions just help drive people further down the game’s bottomless rabbit hole. Cost to build death star.
The rare respite I get from needing to play is provided by my job flying me out to trade shows or events. This game’s Mac version is a cruel joke that nobody should try, so when I’m on the move I get my fix by watching the pros play. It can’t have escaped your attention that Valve hosted The International 4 tournament this summer and distributed over $10 million in prize money. Most of that came from fans buying cosmetic perks inside Dota — I found this a silly waste of money at first, but once the game sucks you in, buying your Bounty Hunter a shinier shuriken just starts to make sense. It also helps to know that you are supporting the thing you love, as money spent on items and tickets to watch live tournaments is used to fund the very existence of those tournaments, giving fans a direct way to fund exactly the sort of entertainment they desire. It’s so democratic that it hurts.
Because of its origins, the mythology of Dota is as eclectic as it is insane
For all my fawning adoration of Dota 2, I haven’t been blind to the game’s failings, either. First up, as intensely loyal and devoted as the community is, its level of discourse barely rises above the standards of primordial man. And I do mean man specifically, since the majority of players are male, and women can often struggle to find their place in an environment that’s overrun with testosterone-fuelled machismo. Crude language and curt manners prevail in the e-sport arena just as much as they do on the sports field.
One of the artefacts of the game being designed by young males is in its presentation. Female characters tend to perform clichéd support or witch roles while dressing in form-fitting costumes that seem to have shrunken in the wash. One of the long-standing bugs in the game involves the Crystal Maiden hero, whose death animation sees the character momentarily stripped down to her underwear before disappearing. Some moves have been taken to rectify this imbalance, such as the re-gendering of the Legion Commander hero from male to female. That at least gives one recognizably female character among the Strength class of fully armored and uncompromisingly fierce heroes. It’s also worth acknowledging that Dota 2 doesn’t take itself too seriously, as evidenced by its bright color palette and predilection for puns. Gabe Newell’s favorite hero, the Sand King, makes a habit of asking his fallen enemies if they were expecting 'Sandy Claws.'
Dota 2 could be more sophisticated in its design and more inclusive in its makeup, but you can say that about the vast majority of video games and a great deal of other popular entertainments too. I don’t want to make light of its issues, but they are more about us, the players, than the game itself. What sets Dota apart from anything else I’ve experienced is the very essence of the game: its finely tuned gameplay that’s as unforgiving as it is rewarding. You could have predicted I would fall in love with Dota just by knowing that it combines my two favorite things — sports and the internet — in one unique, crowdsourced creation.
Calling Dota a multiplayer game is like calling Michael Jordan a prolific dunker
Without the internet, there is no Dota, 1 or 2. This game is built on a legacy of organic participation and collective creativity that’s inspiring and affirming of the best aspects of the web. Its continued existence and the funding of professional competitions are also directly dependent on the engagement of its players. While I’d prefer to see more decorum and maturity among said players, there’s still a chance for these online encounters to bring disparate people closer together. Dota 2 allows me, a Bulgarian living in London, to watch an Australian in Berlin commentating on a match taking place in China between teams from Malaysia and the Ukraine. Calling this game’s headline tournament The International is as fitting a title as any in gaming.
The humbling experience of having your face repeatedly slammed in the mud is what builds the incredible loyalty and commitment that Dota 2 enjoys today. NBA player Jeremy Lin describes it as a lifestyle rather than a game, and my experience this year has confirmed that in every way possible. I have a relationship with this game. It’s built on the trust of knowing that every screw-up and every triumph is my own. At a time when gaming is growing more cinematic and prescribed, Dota is pure, unadulterated, interactive fun. No training wheels, no assistant popups, no pausing to gather your thoughts. Thank you, internet, for being this awesome.
Correction: This post has been updated to note that Crystal Maiden's death animation is a bug in the game rather than a design decision and to include witches among the typical roles played by female characters.