Morphling

Morphling

The Radiant

19 + 2 24 + 3 17 + 1.5

Level 1 16 25 Hit Points 511 1119 1803 Mana 221 533 949 Damage 32-41 79-88 124-133 Armor 0.66 7.24 13.54 Attacks / Second 0.72 1 1.27

Movement Speed 285 Turn Rate 0.6 Sight Range 1800/800 Attack Range 350 Missile Speed 1300 Attack Duration 0.5+0.5 Cast Duration 0.25+0.51 Base Attack Time 1.7

Morphling is a ranged agility hero that has many flexible skills and item builds and is skilled as a carry. He relies strongly on his attributes, and is an effective ganker. Unlike other agility carries who rely on physical attacks, he relies on his powerful abilities to initiate and shift into a state from which he can make a kill. Waveform lets him surge directly forward to a location, damaging enemies on his path, working both as a nuke or an escape. Adaptive Strike is an interesting scaling skill that blasts enemies with magical water while also stunning, knocking back, and dealing damage. Its power is based on either Agility or Strength. Morph allows him to edit his physical being, switching it from Agility or Strength, transforming him into a strong damage dealer or a tank. His ultimate, Replicate, creates a copy of either an ally or an enemy. At will, he can take on the place of that Replicate and instantly surprise enemies.

Bio

Morphling Play "Beware the riptide." Role: Carry / Escape / Initiator / Nuker Lore: For dark eons the comet circled. Held in thrall to a distant sun, bound by gravity’s inexorable pull, the massive ball of ice careened through the blackness between worlds, made strange by its dark journey. On the eve of the ancient war of the Vloy, it punched down through the sky and lit a glowing trail across the night—a sign both armies took for an omen. The frozen ball melted in a flash of boiling heat, as below two forces enjoined in battle across the border of a narrow river. Thus freed from its icy stasis, the Morphling was born into conflict, an elemental power at one with the tides of the ocean, capricious and unconstrained. He entered the fight, instinctively taking the form of the first general who dared set foot across the water—and then struck him dead. As the motley warriors clashed, he shifted from form to form throughout the battle, instantly absorbing the ways of these strange creatures—now a footsoldier, now an archer, now the cavalryman—until, by the time the last soldier fell, Morphling had played every part. The battle's end was his beginning. Voice: David Scully (Responses)

Abilities

Waveform Q W Ability Affects Damage Target Point Enemies Magical Morphling dissolves into liquid and surges forward, damaging enemy units in his path. Range: 1000 Radius: 200 Damage: 100/175/250/325 11 140/155/160/165 A torrential flood takes enemies by force.

Notes: Morphling becomes invulnerable and completely immune to all spell effects when travelling in Waveform (even pauses like Chronosphere). Morphling can still use items and spells and attack under the effect of Waveform.

Adaptive Strike W E Ability Affects Damage Target Unit Enemies Magical Strikes an enemy unit with a blast of water. If Morphling's agility is 50% higher than strength, it deals the maximum damage and the minimum stun. If strength is 50% higher, it deals the maximum stun and minimum damage. Range: 600/700/800/900 Stun Duration: 0.25 to 0.75/1.5/2.25/3 Damage: 20/40/60/80 + (0.25 to 0.5/1/1.5/2) x Agility 10 100 The Morphling calls upon his elements to crush his opponents with waves.

Notes: Morphling changes the distribution of stun length to spell damage with his attributes when he initiates this spell. Knocks the target back 100-300 units. Everything in between the two (agility/strength is 50% higher) is a smooth transition from one to the other

Morph Agility Gain E D Ability Affects Toggle Self Morphling shifts its form, pulling points from Strength and pouring them into Agility. The process is reversible. Additional points in Morph increase the rate of stat change. Passively grants bonus Agility. Points Per Shift: 2 Shift Rate: 1/2/3/4 Bonus Agility: 3/4/5/6 30 per second Shifting water makes it difficult to discern the nature of Morphling.

Notes: You get this ability when you learn Morph Strength. It will continue to move stats between strength and agility even if Morphling is disabled. It cannot be silenced. Bonus Agility or Strength from items can't be converted. Its passives bonuses gives on themselves 3/4/5/6 attack speed, 3/4/5/6 attack damage and 0.42/0.56/0.7/0.84 armor.

Morph Strength Gain D F Ability Affects Toggle Self Morphling shifts its form, pulling points from Agility and pouring them into Strength. The process is reversible. Additional points in Morph increase the rate of stat change. Passively grants bonus Strength. Points Per Shift: 2 Shift Rate: 1/2/3/4 Bonus Strength: 3/4/5/6 30 per second Shifting water makes it difficult to discern the nature of Morphling.

Notes: You get this ability when you learn Morph Agility. It will continue to move stats between strength and agility even if Morphling is disabled. It cannot be silenced. Bonus agility or strength from items can't be converted. Its passives bonuses gives on themselves 57/76/95/114 max health and 0.09/0.12/0.15/0.18 health regeneration.

Replicate R R Ability Affects Target Unit Units Morphling replicates any hero, friend or foe, although only dealing 50% the original hero's damage. At any time, Morphling can instantly take the position of the Replicate. Range: 700/1100/1500 Illusion Duration: 30/45/60 80 25 Will not be blocked by friendly Linken's Sphere. Staring into Morphling produces a reflection that mimics the beholder.

Notes: When the Illusion is created, this ability is temporarily replaced by another ability until the illusion disappears. The replicate illusion deals 50% of the original's damage and receives 100% damage. The replicate illusion has all the properties of a standard illusion. Cannot target your own units.

Morph Replicate R R Ability No Target Morphling switches into his replication, instantly taking its position. Effect: Immediately takes the position of the illusion 150

Notes: The Illusion disappears when you use this ability

Recommended Items

Explanation: Two Slippers of Agility allow for greater last hitting power in conjunction with the "Morph Agility Gain" bonuses. This allows for a much easier time farming up for Perseverance early on. Clarity potions are a necessity as Morphling's spells have a high Mana cost. The Healing Salve can be either excluded or switched for a second Tango as Morphling's "Morph Strength Gain" will eliminate the need for fast healing. The Iron Branch is suggested but can be omitted for a slightly faster farm for Perseverance. It is undesirable for Morphling to have to buy Wards and the Courier as it will cause underleveling due to the increased difficulty in last hitting and the longer farm time for the Ring Of Health. A Magic Stick is not necessarily the best choice for Morphling as Morphling has abilities to protect against early ganks, but it is, as with almost every hero, a decent option. Boots allow for even more escape ability, However, if the enemy does not pressure the player, Ring of Health is a better option to farm for first, as it dismisses the absolute necessity for Tangos during lane phase and allows for more focus on Clarity Potions. Perseverance is the Core for Morphling play. It allows Morphling to stay in lane nearly the entire lane phase as it gives much greater health regen AND doubles the Mana regen rate. It is almost always the better idea to buy the Ring of Health First. After that,the Void Stone can be bought quite easily with a little farming. A Ring Of Aquila also allows for greater Mana regeneration and Armor. However, if Morphling is mid, it is actually better to get a bottle to provide the same amount of regeneration for a third of the cost (as well as the added benefit of rune control). At this point Power Treads are a great addition to Morphling's Build as they allow for a quick switch from attack power (Agility) to extra health (Strength). This helps in conjunction with Morphling's "Morph Strength Gain". and will allow for easier escape and for the extra ganking power during waveform. Helm of the Dominator is an excellent choice if late game Jungling, Tanking, and/or Ganking are going to be a focus. Standard situational item rules apply for morphling. In general, Butterfly and Manta Style are good late game items for Pushing. If Roaming, then Linken's Sphere is a good idea to buy. If there is no real tank on the team, Satanic is a great item if used correctly. Another extremely effective and arguably more popular build is the so-called "Shotgun Morphling" which focuses on getting an ethereal blade as soon as possible. With morph agility and adaptive strike, morphling can easily burst down a support immediately, and if that isn't enough, his waveform will often finish the job. The followup item to this build is eye of skadi as it provides +25 to all stats (with agi and str being the most important), effectively giving a bonus of 50 agi with morph. Although 2x agi doesn't sound like a lot, with 40% bonus magic damage from ethereal blade (which is applied before the initial damage of ethereal blade), the damage quickly adds up. It is very common to see morphling with roughly 150 agility with this build, which has the total burst potential of 495 from ethereal blade, 420 from adaptive strike, and 455 from waveform a total of 1370 damage. This also abuses the fact that morphling can replicate and bait using a support or otherwise less harmful hero.

Tips

• Boots of Travel is a commonly built item on Morphling. By using Replicate, then teleporting back to base, you can then instantly return to where you were with Morph Replicate. This strategy can also be used with Town Portal Scrolls.
• Ethereal Blade is the most common and recommended item for burst damage on Morphling. By Morphing points into agility, he can cause massive damage with Ether Blast, and then use the amplified magic damage to finish an enemy off with Waveform and Adaptive Strike. This is sometimes referred to as the "Shotgun combo". However, do not build ethereal blade if Morphling lacks farm, as this item is most effective midgame, building it too late would not be useful.
• Sometimes deciding which hero to choose for Replicate can be difficult, however potential candidates for this spell include: a hero with high DPS, those with favorable passives (such as Axe's Counter Helix) or even an enemy hero who has a Radiance or some other aura, which allows you to take advantage of receiving its effects for free.
• It can be difficult to determine whether a Morphling illusion is real because it does not take any bonus damage unlike every other illusion in the game. You can use this to try and fool opponents into blowing long cooldowns.
• A good Combo utilizing all skills would be Morph Agility Gain into Waveform into Adaptive Strike. Morph Strength Gain if things go badly. If the enemy retreats use Replicate then take the place of the replicate Or possibly waveform.

Update history

February 07, 2013 Patch

• Fixed Morph transformation stopping if Morphling gets purged or cycloned.

January 24, 2013 Patch

• Fixed Replicate dying if Morphling dies with Aegis of the Immortal.

October 25, 2012 Patch

• Updated vision values on these abilities: Unstable Concoction, Phantasm, Waveform, Storm Hammer, Mirror Image, Spirit Lance, Requiem of Souls, Spectral Dagger, Venomous Gale, Earthbind, Dream Coil, Shackleshot, Wall of Replica, Flamebreak, Deafening Blast, Ghost Ship.

June 28, 2012 Patch

• Removed ambient effects on Razor and Morphling when hexed.

June 11, 2012 Patch

• Added effects for strength and agility morph as well as an overhead timer for replicate.

May 10, 2012 Patch

• Fixed being able to heal under Ice Blast.

April 12, 2012 Patch

• Fixed Replicate being castable on Spirit Bear and Warlock Golem.

March 22, 2012 Patch

• Added timer to Replicate that shows up as a buff.

January 19, 2012 Patch

• Fixed Morph removing Curse of the Silent.

January 12, 2012 Patch

• There is now a splash effect when Morphling takes an illusion's position.

September 16, 2011 Patch

• Fixed Waveform vision.
• Fixed Morph Replicate illusion being able to lose its identity if it gets cycloned

September 15, 2011 Patch

• Fixed Waveform vision.
• Fixed Morph Replicate illusion being able to lose its identity if it gets cycloned

September 09, 2011 Patch

• Waveform now properly gives 1000/1000 flying vision during movement and for 0.94 seconds at the destination.

August 02, 2011 Patch

• Fixed colors becoming bugged.
• Fixed Morph cooldown bug.

July 29, 2011 Patch

• He can now use Morph while stunned.
• He can no longer morph when OOM.

July 22, 2011 Patch

• Fixes Morphling not playing his waveform abilities, Pudge's Rot, etc.

July 16, 2011 Patch

• Fixed Waveform speed.
• Fixed Replicate not being blocked by Linken's Sphere.
• Fixed Morph Replicate not having cast time.
• Fixed how the autocasting Morph Agi/Str works.
• Fixed how attribute bonuses interact with Morph (and in general).
• Fixed lots of bugs with Adaptive Strike.
• Fixed Adaptive Strike pushing Roshan.

July 08, 2011 Patch

• Returning Hero: Morphling [Rough Model]

June 24, 2011 Patch

• Morphling's Replicated image now is destroyed when Morphling dies.
• Fixed Morphling's Waveform to correctly hit units behind him when he starts it.

June 10, 2011 Patch

• Temporarily disabled Morphling.

March 03, 2011 Patch

• Fixed adaptive strike not doing its base damage.
• Fixed Waveform triggering linken sphere for all units it hits.
• Fixed not being able to attack/cast during Waveform.
• Fixed distance traveled on Waveform.

February 12, 2011 Patch

• Increased Morphling model size by 10%.

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.

December 17, 2010 Patch

• Fixed crash when using Morphling's ultimate.
• Morphling's Waveform and Faceless Void's Timewalk will now continue previously-commanded movement properly (should no longer double-back after using those abilities).

Balance changelog

6.77

• Cast animation time improved from 0.4 to 0.25.

6.76

• Cast animation time improved from 0.45 to 0.4.

6.75

• Cast animation time increased from 0.3 to 0.45.
• Morph manacost increased from 20 to 30 mana per second.
• Base damage decreased by 6.
• Waveform
  • AoE decreased from 255 to 200.
  • No longer allows you to start attacking/casting before it is completed.

6.74

• Morph passively grants 3/4/5/6 agility and strength.
• Waveform now properly dodges projectiles.

6.73

• Base agility increased by 5.
• Adaptive Strike cooldown decreased from 20 to 10.

6.72

• Armor reduced by 2.
• Replicate now has a visual time (player only) that counts down its duration.

6.71

• Adaptive Strike damage rescaled:

Original: Up to 0.75/1.5/2.25/3.0x Agility.

New: 20/40/60/80 + up to 0.5/1/1.5/2.0x Agility.

6.69

• Adaptive Strike damage type changed from Physical to Magical
• Replicate cannot target Morphling's own illusions anymore

6.64

• Morph Replicate mana cost increased from 0 to 150

6.63

• Morph's passive Agility and Strength bonus removed

6.60

• Reworked how Adaptive Strike works

It now always stuns and damages.

The amount of the damage and stun varies depending on how much of each attribute you have relative to the other one.

If you have 50% more agility than strength, it deals the maximum of the damage and the minimum of the stun

If you have 50% more strength than agility, it deals the maximum of the stun and the minimum of the damage

Everything in between the two is a smooth transition from one to the other

Damage(lvl1): Min: 0.25x Agility Max: 0.75xAgi

Damage(lvl2): Min: 0.25x Agility Max: 1.5xAgi

Damage(lvl3): Min: 0.25x Agility Max: 2.25xAgi

Damage(lvl4): Min: 0.25x Agility Max: 3.0xAgi

Stun(lvl1): Min: 0.25 Max: 0.75

Stun(lvl2): Min: 0.25 Max: 1.5

Stun(lvl3): Min: 0.25 Max: 2.25

Stun(lvl4): Min: 0.25 Max: 3.0

Min Knockback distance is 100, Max is 300

6.58

• Morph now gives him a passive +2/4/6/8 Agility and Strength bonus when leveling it up
• Rewrote Waveform. It no longer causes you to lose control

6.51

• Undid some of Morphling's base damage buff from last version

6.50

• Increased Morphling's base damage

Gallery

• 

  Morphling's original artwork

See also

• Morphling responses