Lion

Lion

The Dire

16 + 1.7 15 + 1.5 22 + 3

Level 1 16 25 Hit Points 454 967 1594 Mana 286 897 1482 Damage 42-48 89-95 134-140 Armor 1.1 4.46 8.94 Attacks / Second 0.67 0.81 1

Movement Speed 290 Turn Rate 0.5 Sight Range 1800/800 Attack Range 600 Missile Speed 900 Attack Duration 0.43+0.74 Cast Duration 0.3+0.51 Base Attack Time 1.7

Lion the Demon Witch is a ranged intelligence hero who is adept at disabling and nuking his enemies, as well as being a strong lane support. Although his abilities do not scale, his offensive power can destroy enemies during the early game and remain somewhat useful throughout the later game.

Lion is famous for his outstanding ability combos, making him a solid and versatile choice in any team composition. He has the ability to drain mana from enemy heroes with his Mana Drain skill and his complement of disables makes him an effective team-fighter and support in any stage of the game.

Bio

Lion, the Demon Witch Play "To Hell and back." Role: Disabler / Nuker / Lane Support / Support 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. Voice: Tom Chantler (Responses)

Abilities

Earth Spike Q E Ability Affects Damage Target Point Enemies Magical Rock spikes burst from the earth along a straight path. Enemy units are hurled into the air, then are stunned and will take damage when they fall. Range: 500 Radius: 125 Duration: 1.02/1.52/2.02/2.52 Length: 825 Damage: 60/130/200/260 12 100/120/145/170 The Demon Witch exercises his demonic covenant, opening a fissure from hell.

Notes: Hit units will fly for 0.52 seconds before the real stun is applied (included in the duration on the infobox to the left) The rock spikes travel for a length of 825 units, and hit units in a 125 radius around this line, therefore enemies at a distance of 950 units are hit The skill can only be targeted at a range of 500 units on enemies or the ground, but hits units up to 950 units away The wave of tendrils moves at 1600 units per second. If Earth Spike hits an invisible unit the damage graphic is still displayed.

Hex W D Ability Affects Target Unit Enemies Transforms an enemy unit into a harmless beast, with all special abilities disabled. Range: 500 Duration: 1.75/2.5/3.25/4 15 125/150/175/200 Lion is compelled to share his transfiguration, twisting the essence of those who oppose him.

Notes: Instantly destroys illusions. The target will have a base movement speed of 100. Hex disables damage block and evasion. Hex disables experience gain.

Mana Drain E R Ability Affects Channeled Enemies CHANNELED - Absorbs the magical energies of a target enemy unit by taking mana from it every second. Range: 850 Channel Time: 4 Mana per Second: 20/40/60/120 Break Distance: 1200 20/15/10/5 10 Lesser magi are nothing more than a source of magical restoration for the Demon Witch.

Notes: Illusions which are being Mana Drained will be destroyed after 0.25 seconds. Can continue to drain as long as the target is within 1200 range from Lion and they remain visible.

Finger of Death R F Ability Affects Damage Target Unit Enemies Magical Rips at an enemy unit, trying to turn it inside-out. Deals massive damage. Range: 900 Damage: 600/725/850 (725/875/1025*) 160/100/40 (100/60/20*) 200/420/650 (625*) Increases damage for all levels, while decreasing mana cost for level 3 and lowers cooldown. Lion's disfigured hand is also the source of his greatest power, capable of flooding victims with malefic force.

Recommended items

Explanation: Starting Items: Keeps Lion able to stay alive in lane. Tons of regen to survive harass and stay in lane. If someone else buys Animal Courier you could get an extra Gauntlet or a Circlet for the Bracer. Early Game: Typical items. Leans more towards survivability than anything else. Bracers are easy enough to drop if Lion needs another item. Observer Wards are always a good thing. Core: Magic Wand for the bonus healing. Tranquil Boots gives you free health, so you can stay in lane and have no need of regen at all, works good in conjunction with mana drain, as well as being a cheap item overall. Mekansm is good for a support Lion if only to keep him and allies healed. Wards are still a good thing. Situational: Boots of Travel make an excellent alternative to Phase Boots as they let Lion hop about for some quick ganks. Scythe of Vyse means more disables, which is not a bad thing at all. Dagon is good early on for the extra nuke but should be disregarded after about 20 minutes, but it could also be used as a supplement for Finger of Death at higher levels. Flying Courier should be a standard affair if you have a Courier. A Blink Dagger is an excellent choice if you are dominating, as it grants Lion great mobility and allows him to burst down an enemy without warning. Others: Lion players who roam and gank should consider a Bottle to keep him ready to fight. You could get a Force Staff instead of a Blink Dagger if your team needs it. Phase Boots let Lion get around quickly and add to his damage, consider getting this if you need speed or don't need regen.

Tips

• Earth Spike works as both a nuke and a stun, and can hit multiple enemies. Targeting Earth Spike on the ground can be less accurate, but is necessary to utilize the ability's max range.
• As a pure disable spell, Hex doesn't deal damage but lasts longer than Earth Spike. It also has an instant cast time, making it a more secure standard opening spell when going on the offensive in a gank (rather than risking a swift enemy reaction to Earth Spike).
• Use your disables one after the other so you maximize potential disable time.
• Using Mana Drain on enemy heroes is a very good form of harrassment, and it maximises killing potential for laning partners like Anti-Mage.
  • Whether skilling Mana Drain as a semi-carry is more or less effective is dependent on the situation. If Hex and Earth Spike are skilled and Arcane Boots are built (with an optional Attribute Bonus) Lion will be much harder to kill, and still have enough mana at any time. However, some enemy heroes will be badly maligned by having their mana stolen from them, and some allied ones will be facilitated. Let the hero lineup on both sides inform your decision. For example, if there is a Storm Spirit or Leshrac on the opposing team, skilling Mana Drain is wise as these heroes are crippled horribly by accelerated loss of mana. However, if the enemy team has an Outworld Devourer or a Keeper of the Light, skilling Mana Drain is fairly pointless as these heroes have abilities which replenish mana for themselves and others.
  • Mana Drain is still useful if left for late-game, as it greatly reduces Lion's need to return to base.
• Finger of Death is a very powerful nuke, especially considering Lion's largely supportive role. Use it to help damage enemy carries or to eliminate support; but try not to use it for a sure kill unless a carry is unable to execute it themselves, as they require kills much more than Lion does. Combined with Dagon, it deals enough damage to one-shot many heroes throughout most of the game, but its best to resist this to allow allies to level.
• The low cooldown of Hex and Mana Drain are good for dispelling Linken's Sphere and any illusions.

Trivia

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

Update history

February 07, 2013 Patch

• Fixed some ability Backswing timing issues ( Kunkka, Clockwerk, Timbersaw, Meepo, Pudge, Spirit Breaker, Sand King, Riki, Nyx Assassin, Lion, Pugna, Shadow Demon, Batrider).

May 24, 2012 Patch

• Updated Lion's hero selection icon to reflect his new texture.

May 10, 2012 Patch

• Updated Lion's minimap icon to match his new texture.

April 26, 2012 Patch

• New visual style for Lion.

April 12, 2012 Patch

• Fixed Mana Drain missing its last 1/4 tick.

August 04, 2011 Patch

• Lion portrait is less clown colors.

August 03, 2011 Patch

• Fixed Lion's Mana Drain and Shadow Shaman's Shackles to properly handle getting purged.

August 02, 2011 Patch

• Impale no longer uses a frontal cone.

July 08, 2011 Patch

• Mana Drain will now stop if the unit goes into the FOW
• Mana Drain will now kill illusions in 1 second instead of 2
• Fixed Impale' timing.
• Fixed Impale to not affect Ancients.

July 01, 2011 Patch

• Mana Drain is now eaten by Sphere and it will cancel the channel.
• Mana Drain now ticks once per second over 4 seconds.
• Mana Drain is now novt purgable.
• Finger of Death damage is now delayed by 0.25 seconds.

June 24, 2011 Patch

• Fixed Lion being able to cast Mana Drain on units without mana.
• New Shape Model and Animation for Lion [has no updated textures/details yet]

June 10, 2011 Patch

• Fixed cast point issues with Shadow Shaman, Lion and Tinker.

March 17, 2011 Patch

• Fixed Lion's impale starting too far away from him.

February 04, 2011 Patch

• Fixed Lion's Mana drain working on units with no remaining mana.

January 30, 2011 Patch

• Fixed cases where creating a linear projectile directly on yourself would cause it to get stuck. This includes fixes to Fissure, Ghost Ship, Dragon Slave, Arrow, Impale, Waveform, Illusory Orb, Meat Hook, Burrowstrike, Wave of Terror, and Power Shot.

Balance changelog

6.78

• Mana Drain break and cast range improved by 100 (750/1100 to 850/1200).
• Aghanim's Finger of Death cooldown decreased from 160/100/40 to 100/60/20.

6.76

• Mana Drain break threshold range increased from 850 to 1100.
• Finger of Death cooldown rescaled from 170/105/40 to 160/100/40.
• Finger of Death cast range increased from 700 to 900.

6.75

• Finger of Death cooldown rescaled from 150/90/55 to 170/105/40.
• Finger of Death damage increased from 500/650/850 to 600/725/850 (Aghanim's from 600/800/1025 to 725/875/1025).
• Mana Drain initial cast range increased from 600/650/700/750 to 750.
• Mana Drain threshold range increased from 800 to 850.
• Mana Drain cooldown decreased from 25/20/15/10 to 20/15/10/5.

6.74

• Hex cooldown increased from 13 to 15.
• Hex manacost increased from 110/140/170/200 to 125/150/175/200.
• Hex duration increased from 1.25/2/2.75/3.5 to 1.75/2.5/3.25/4.

6.73

• Mana Drain level 4 increased from 100 to 120 per second.
• Mana Drain now drains at 0.25 second intervals instead of 1 second.

See also

• Lion responses