Hero Discussion of this Day: N'aix, the Lifestealer (26 October 2012)
N'aix, the Lifestealer
A vicious and insidious creature, the Lifestealer is particularly good at tearing tough heroes down. Using his Feast passive skill, which deals damage and steals life based on the hit points of the target, he can serve as a powerful anti-tank hero. Open Wounds allows him to immobilize his prey and encourages allies to move in for the kill, giving life steal on all attacks against the target for a short period of time. It is likely enemies will try to stop the Lifestealer with spells of their own, but using his terrifying Rage skill he becomes temporarily magic immune and gains an attack speed bonus, giving him time to rip apart his enemies. Due to his up-close and personal fighting style, N'aix sometimes gets in over his head. If this happens, he can make use of his Infest ability. Infest allows the Lifestealer to burrow inside any non-hero unit, rendering him completely hidden from enemy eyes. When ready, N'aix can burst from his victim, stealing a large amount of their life and killing them instantly.
Lore
In the dungeons of Devarque, a vengeful wizard lay in shackles, plotting his escape. He shared his cell with a gibbering creature known as N'aix, a thief cursed by the Vile Council with longevity, so that its life-sentence for theft and cozening might be as punishing as possible. Over the years, its chains had corroded, along with its sanity; N'aix retained no memory of its former life and no longer dreamt of escape. Seeing a perfect vessel for his plans, the wizard wove a spell of Infestation and cast his life-force into N'aix's body, intending to compel N'aix to sacrifice itself in a frenzy of violence while the mage returned to his body and crept away unnoticed. Instead, the wizard found his mind caught in a vortex of madness so powerful that it swept away his plans and shattered his will. Jarred to consciousness by the sudden infusion of fresh life, N'aix woke from its nightmare of madness and obeyed the disembodied voice that filled its skull, which had only the one thought: To escape. In that moment Lifestealer was born. The creature cast its mind into dungeon guards and soldiers, compelling them to open locks and cut down their companions, opening an unobstructed path to freedom while feeding on their lives. Lifestealer still wears the broken shackles as a warning that none may hold him, but on the inside remains a prisoner. Two minds inhabit the single form--a nameless creature of malevolent cunning, and the Master whose voice he pretends to obey.
==
Roles: Carry, Durable, Jungler, Escape
==
Strength: 25 + 2.4
Agility: 18 + 1.9
Intelligence: 15 + 1.75
==
Damage: 57-67
Armour: 1.52
Movement Speed: 315
Attack Range: 128 (Melee)
Base Attack Time: 1.7
Missile Speed: Instant (Melee)
Sight Range: 1800 (Day) / 800 (Night)
Turn Rate: 1.0
==
Spells
==
Rage
Launch into a maddened rage, becoming immune to magic spells and gaining increased attack speed.
| Level | Manacost | Cooldown | Casting Range | Area | Duration | Effects |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 75 | 15 | N/A | N/A | 3 | Becomes immune to magic and gains 30 attack speed |
| 2 | 75 | 15 | N/A | N/A | 4 | Becomes immune to magic and gains 45 attack speed |
| 3 | 75 | 15 | N/A | N/A | 5 | Becomes immune to magic and gains 60 attack speed |
| 4 | 75 | 15 | N/A | N/A | 6 | Becomes immune to magic and gains 80 attack speed |
-
Activating Rage will dispel many buffs
-
The bonus attack speed stacks with Mask of Madness
The madness and brutality of N'aix makes him a vicious and unrelenting foe in combat.
==
Feast
Passive
Regenerates a portion of the attacked enemy's current HP and deals the same portion of damage per attack.
| Level | Manacost | Cooldown | Casting Range | Area | Duration | Effects |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | - | - | - | - | - | Per attack, N'aix gains 4% of unit's current HP and deals the same amount as damage |
| 2 | - | - | - | - | - | Per attack, N'aix gains 5% of unit's current HP and deals the same amount as damage |
| 3 | - | - | - | - | - | Per attack, N'aix gains 6% of unit's current HP and deals the same amount as damage |
| 4 | - | - | - | - | - | Per attack, N'aix gains 7% of unit's current HP and deals the same amount as damage |
-
The regeneration does not work on Roshan
-
Heal works independent of damage
After escaping from his cell in Devarque, N'aix subsisted on flesh and bones of those unfortunate to cross his path.
==
Open Wounds
Lifestealer rends an enemy unit, slowing the victim's movespeed and allowing all allies to lifesteal on that unit. All damage dealt will steal life, including damage from spells. The victim recovers movement speed over the duration.
| Level | Manacost | Cooldown | Casting Range | Area | Duration | Effects |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 110 | 24 | 600 | N/A | 8 | Slows the target by 70% and allows all units attacking the target to gain 15% health (lifesteal) for each instance of damage |
| 2 | 110 | 20 | 600 | N/A | 8 | Slows the target by 70% and allows all units attacking the target to gain 20% health (lifesteal) for each instance of damage |
| 3 | 110 | 16 | 600 | N/A | 8 | Slows the target by 70% and allows all units attacking the target to gain 25% health (lifesteal) for each instance of damage |
| 4 | 110 | 12 | 600 | N/A | 8 | Slows the target by 70% and allows all units attacking the target to gain 30% health (lifesteal) for each instance of damage |
- Any damage dealt will activate lifesteal, including spell damage
Fresh wounds and the scent of blood often draw out the scavengers to finish the job.
==
Infest
Ultimate
Lifestealer will infest the body of the target unit, lying dormant and undetectable inside. When he reveals himself, he deals damage to all nearby enemy units. The Lifestealer can gain experience from units that die while he is Infesting a unit. If the unit is a creep, he will devour it first, gaining health equal to the unit's current HP. Does not work on enemy Heroes.
| Level | Mana Cost | Cooldown | Casting Range | Area | Duration | Effects |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 50 | 100 | 150 | 700 (when consuming) | Until unit is consumed or dies | Goes inside a unit (creep or hero, not enemy heroes) and remains dormant. Can use the subability 'Consume' which deals 150 damage around an area and, if a creep, will gain the unit's current health as well is killing it |
| 2 | 50 | 100 | 150 | 700 (when consuming) | Until unit is consumed or dies | Goes inside a unit (creep or hero, not enemy heroes) and remains dormant. Can use the subability 'Consume' which deals 270 damage around an area and, if a creep, will gain the unit's current health as well is killing it |
| 3 | 50 | 100 | 150 | 700 (when consuming) | Until unit is consumed or dies | Goes inside a unit (creep or hero, not enemy heroes) and remains dormant. Can use the subability 'Consume' which deals 400 damage around an area and, if a creep, will gain the unit's current health as well is killing it |
-
Magical damage
-
If the infested unit is killed, Lifestealer will emerge from it
-
Lifestealer will not be healed if the infected unit is killed or if it is an ally
-
Consume will not harm an ally hero that Lifestealer has infested
With this infestation, N'aix consumes the life blood of the host, restoring him back to full unholy power.
==
Recent Changes from 6.76/6.76b
- None
Recent Changes from 6.75/6.75b
- Rage duration increased from 2.5/3.25/4/4.75 to 3/4/5/6
==
Findings (not-factual information as above):
I find that N'aix is one of the best anti-'tank' heroes you could play and is best to pick against heroes who have high amounts of HP. I don't play him alot so I can't really say much about him, you should use Open Wounds on the person you are targetting in a fight aswell as using it against a hero you are chasing (if you have enough distance you could use it on a hero that is chasing you to ensure you get away but this is risky). Rage can be used to dodge incoming projectile spells (such as Magic Missile and storm bolt). You can use infest to set up a gank (by infesting an allied hero and communicating with them where to go or who to bait), you can use it to escape (by going into the opposing team's lane creeps) or healing quickly by infesting and consuming a creep. Make sure you don't infest their creeps when they have a Chen.
==
Juicenewton428 has some very in-depth valuable discussion on what item to get when getting lifestealer.
A comment by thegreatdar talks about the problems with N'aix (especially in high level play).
This thread talks about different item and skill builds on lifestealer.
DotaCinema has a guide on playing N'aix.
==
If you guys want a specific hero to be discussed next, please feel free to post.
Valve Artwork | Voice Responses | In-game Icon | Dota Cinema Video Overview | Dota2Wiki Hero Page
Posts are every 2 days, next post will be on the 28th.
Posted Oct 26, 2012, 3:42 PM UTC · edited