Hero Discussion of this Day: Shadow Fiend (14 October 2012)
Nevermore, the Shadow Fiend
Shadow Fiend's only defense lies in his superb offense. After each life he takes, he traps their soul to empower his attack damage with Necromastery. This allows him to amass high attack damage. His ultimate Requiem of Souls can summon these souls out to inflict great damage and slow anyone close to Nevermore. His unique Shadowraze allows him to blast opponents in small areas, at three separate distances. The Presence of the Dark Lord also makes enemies vulnerable to physical damage, passively reducing their armour. Deadly from a number of distances, and vulnerable if caught off guard, Nevermore's positioning in battle is of utmost importance. But also killing Nevermore if a feat that must be considered as his ultimate is also sent out dealing half the damage upon his death.
Lore
It is said that Shadow Fiend has the soul of a poet, and in fact he has thousands of them. Over the ages he has claimed the souls of poets, priests, emperors, beggars, slaves, philosophers, criminals and (naturally) heroes; no sort of soul escapes him. What he does with them is unknown. No one has ever peered into the Abysm whence Shadow Fiend reaches out like an eel from among astral rocks. Does he devour them one after another? Does he mount them along the halls of an eldritch temple, or pickle the souls in necromantic brine? Is he merely a puppet, pushed through the dimensional rift by a demonic puppeteer? Such is his evil, so intense his aura of darkness, that no rational mind may penetrate it. Of course, if you really want to know where the stolen souls go, there's one sure way to find out: Add your soul to his collection. Or just wait for Nevermore.
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Roles: Carry, Nuker
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Strength: 15 + 2
Agility: 20 + 2.9
Intelligence: 18 + 2
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Damage: 35-41
Armour: 1.8
Movement Speed: 305
Attack Range: 500
Base Attack Time: 1.7
Missile Speed: 1200
Sight Range: 1800 (Day) / 800 (Night)
Turn Rate: 1.0
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Spells
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Shadowraze
Shadow Fiend razes the area in front of him, dealing damage to enemy units in an area.
| Level | Manacost | Cooldown | Casting Range | Area | Duration | Effects |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 75 | 10 | 250 (Q/Z)/450 (W/X)/700(E/C) | 250 | N/A | Deals 75 Magic Damage |
| 2 | 75 | 10 | 250 (Q/Z)/450 (W/X)/700(E/C) | 250 | N/A | Deals 150 Magic Damage |
| 3 | 75 | 10 | 250 (Q/Z)/450 (W/X)/700(E/C) | 250 | N/A | Deals 225 Magic Damage |
| 4 | 75 | 10 | 250 (Q/Z)/450 (W/X)/700(E/C) | 250 | N/A | Deals 300 Magic Damage |
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Along with the casting range is the appropriate hotkey (QWER and Legacy)
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When Shadowraze is learned, three independent abilities will be given to Shadow Fiend, each one casting a Shadowraze at a specific distance in front of him. The cooldowns are not shared
Nevermore's trademark for harvesting souls.
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Necromastery
Passive
Shadow Fiend steals the soul from units he kills, gaining bonus damage. If the killed unit is a hero, he gains 12 souls. On death, he releases half of them from bondage.
| Level | Manacost | Cooldown | Casting Range | Area | Duration | Effects |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | - | - | - | - | - | Each unit killed gives 1 soul, each soul gives 2 extra damage. Maximum number of souls able to store is 12 |
| 2 | - | - | - | - | - | Each unit killed gives 1 soul, each soul gives 2 extra damage. Maximum number of souls able to store is 20 |
| 3 | - | - | - | - | - | Each unit killed gives 1 soul, each soul gives 2 extra damage. Maximum number of souls able to store is 28 |
| 4 | - | - | - | - | - | Each unit killed gives 1 soul, each soul gives 2 extra damage. Maximum number of souls able to store is 36 |
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Max possible bonus damage is: 24/40/56/72
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Denies, neutral creeps, and buildings also provide bonus damage through Necromastery
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The soul (with its 500 movement speed) must reach Nevermore before providing its bonus damage
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The more souls Shadow Fiend has, the more powerful Requiem of Souls will be.
Harvested souls swirl in and out of the Abysm, empowering the Shadow Fiend to increase the size of his collection.
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Presence of the Dark Lord
Passive
Shadow Fiend's presence reduces the armor of nearby enemies.
| Level | Manacost | Cooldown | Casting Range | Area | Duration | Effects |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | - | - | - | 900 | - | Enemies within the aura radius have their armour reduced by 3 |
| 2 | - | - | - | 900 | - | Enemies within the aura radius have their armour reduced by 4 |
| 3 | - | - | - | 900 | - | Enemies within the aura radius have their armour reduced by 5 |
| 4 | - | - | - | 900 | - | Enemies within the aura radius have their armour reduced by 6 |
- Fully stacks with other armor reduction abilities and auras (like Amplify Damage, Gush, etc.)
Even being near Nevermore eats away at one's soul.
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Requiem of Souls
Ultimate
Captured souls are released to deal massive damage, as well as slowing and reducing the attack damage of nearby enemy units. Requiem of Souls creates one wave of damage for every 2 souls stored by Necromastery. The closest enemy units are hit the hardest. Requiem has a 1 second cast time before it is activated. Also, the half the souls you lose on death are released in as if the spell was cast.
| Level | Mana Cost | Cooldown | Casting Range | Area | Duration | Effects |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 150 | 120 | 600 | 1375 (Damage), 700 (slow) | 5 second slow if in radius | Deals 80 damage per line of souls and a 15% move and attack speed slow |
| 2 | 175 | 110 | 600 | 1425 (Damage), 700 (slow) | 5 second slow if in radius | Deals 120 damage per line of souls and a 20% move and attack speed slow |
| 3 | 200 | 100 | 600 | 1475 (Damage), 700 (slow) | 5 second slow if in radius | Deals 160 damage per line of souls and a 25% move and attack speed slow |
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Magical damage
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To be affected by the slow enemies have to be in a 700 radius, to be damaged they have to be in a larger radius
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The amount of damage dealt is related to the number of souls captured with Necromastery
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Requiem of Souls generates damaging lines around Nevermore, 1 per 2 souls stored, for a maximum of 18 lines
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The closer the targeted unit is, the greater the number of lines hit it
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Reduces both movement speed and attack damage of units in a 675 radius
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This ability can give full damage if Shadow Fiend is in the very centre of the body of the enemy. (Shadow blade or phase boots can be used to help to get into this position)
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This ability breaks invisibility a short time before it's released
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When using Shadow Blade Shadow Fiend will not get revealed during the cast time. (Does not work with "Invisibility Rune")
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Triggers Linken's Sphere's cooldown but is not blocked by it in any way
The captured souls of those past slain are released to ravage their former allies.
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Recent Changes from 6.75/6.75b
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Necromastry hero kill soul increment increased from 6 to 12
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Presence of the Dark Lord armor reduction improved from 2/3/4/5 to 3/4/5/6
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Requiem of Souls has a new passive component that triggers upon death: Upon dying half of Shadow Fiend's souls (the amount lost on death) will be released as if you had cast Requiem of Souls with those souls. This cast doesn't put the spell on cooldown and will trigger if it is on cooldown. It is now a passive component of the ability
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Findings (not-factual information as above):
I find if farmed Nevermore can be a hard carry and deal out a devastating amount of damage and DPS. Getting off shadowrazes in the fog can give you huge plays aswell as landing that fight-changing ultimate. You should use your shadowraze to harrass the enemy and get damage on them, also it can be used to get a kill on the enemy who's out of range or in the fog. Shadowrazes can also be used to quickly kill lanes, gain souls and push the lane. Your ultimate should be saved for when multiple enemies are around and you should use it in the middle of them to hit multiple enemies and get the max amount of damage on them. But, be careful as you are squishy and can die very quickly without items and if you're aimed. You should also make sure you're last hitting and denying well so you can amount the maximum amount of souls stored quickly.
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Here Shred_Kid has wrote the basics to playing Nevermore (although a year ago should still apply), hopefully maybe he can remember that writeup that never got posted.
Wilco- has a tl;dr on Void here. Although published 9 months ago, is still applicable.
A thread discussing a script that can be used to show Shadowraze ranges is here there is also a discussion there on Shadow Blade vs Blink Dagger on him.
Dota Cinema has a video guide for Nevermore on YouTube.
TheWooSensation has a comment here discussing Shadow Fiend and blink dagger (although it can be disputed), there are comments afterwards that are worth reading aswell.
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Posted Oct 13, 2012, 6:12 PM UTC