Hero Discussion of this Day: Venomancer (12 January 2013)
Lesale Deathbringer, the Venomancer
The Venomancer uses an assortment of toxins to slowly bring down his enemies. He can shoot a fast Venomous Gale projectile out that poisons in a narrow wave front of him, which will slow enemies down greatly and deal damage over time. His attacks are coated with Poisonous Stingers that deal minor slow and damage. He can place Plague Wards far out in front of him to scout, or in the battle to push and even block off routes. His ultimate Poison Nova attack unleashes potent toxin in a large ring around his body, infecting everyone it hits, dealing large damage, but over a long time. Though this toxin is non-lethal, every other poison he carries is. He is exceptional at weakening enemies, and slowing them down.
Lore
In the Acid Jungles of Jidi Isle, poison runs in the veins and bubbles in the guts of every creature that scuttles, climbs or swoops between fluorescent vines dripping with caustic sap. Yet even in this toxic menagerie, Venomancer is acknowledged as the most venomous. Ages ago, an Herbalist named Lesale crossed the Bay of Fradj by coracle, searching for potent essences that might be extracted from bark and root, and found instead a nightmare transformation. Two leagues into Jidi's jungle, Lesale encountered a reptile camouflaged as an epiphyte, which stung him as he mistakenly plucked it. In desperation, he used his partial knowledge of the jungle's herbal bounty, mixing the venom of the (swiftly throttled) reptile with the nectar of an armored orchid, to compound an antidote. In the moments before a black paralysis claimed him completely, he injected himself by orchid-thorn, and instantly fell into a coma. Seventeen years later, something stirred in the spot where he had fallen, throwing off the years' accumulation of humus: Venomancer. Lesale the Herbalist no longer—but Lesale the Deathbringer. His mind was all but erased, and his flesh had been consumed and replaced by a new type of matter—one fusing the venom of the reptile with the poisonous integument of the orchid. Jidi's Acid Jungles knew a new master, one before whom even the most vicious predators soon learned to bow or burrow for their lives. The lurid isle proved too confining, and some human hunger deep in the heart of the Venomancer drove Lesale out in search of new poisons—and new deaths to bring.
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Roles: Support, Nuker, Initiator, Pusher, Semi-Carry
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Strength: 18 + 1.85
Agility: 22 + 2.6
Intelligence: 18 + 1.75
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Damage: 46-48
Armour: 3.08
Movement Speed: 290
Attack Range: 450
Missile Speed: 900
Base Attack Time: 1.7
Sight Range: 1800 (Day) / 800 (Night)
Turn Rate: 0.4
==
Spells
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Venomous Gale
Launches a ball of venom in a line, poisoning enemy units so that they take both initial damage and damage over time, as well as suffering slowed movement. Venomous Gale deals damage every 3 seconds over its duration
| Level | Manacost | Cooldown | Casting Range | Area | Duration | Effects |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 125 | 22 | 800 | 125 (travelling) | 15.1 | Slows units that get hit by the gale by 50% dealing 25 initial damage. Every 3 seconds after it deals 15 damage and the slow decreases. |
| 2 | 125 | 22 | 800 | 125 (travelling) | 15.1 | Slows units that get hit by the gale by 50% dealing 50 initial damage. Every 3 seconds after it deals 30 damage and the slow decreases. |
| 3 | 125 | 22 | 800 | 125 (travelling) | 15.1 | Slows units that get hit by the gale by 50% dealing 75 initial damage. Every 3 seconds after it deals 45 damage and the slow decreases. |
| 4 | 125 | 22 | 800 | 125 (travelling) | 15.1 | Slows units that get hit by the gale by 50% dealing 100 initial damage. Every 3 seconds after it deals 60 damage and the slow decreases. |
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Magical Damage
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Units afflicted by Venomous Gale can be denied by their allies when their HP drops below 25% of their maximum health
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Slow starts at 50% and decreases as time passes
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Total damage dealt is 100/200/300/400
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Cannot hit invisible units
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Cannot be purged
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Becoming magic immune while under its effects blocks damage but does not remove the movement slow debuff
A concoction of various stings, poisons, and toxins gathered from the jungles of Jidi Isle, victims surviving it are rare.
==
Poison Sting
Passive
Adds poison damage to Venomancer's normal attacks, slowing movement speed.
| Level | Manacost | Cooldown | Casting Range | Area | Duration | Effects |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | - | - | - | - | 6 | Causes Venomancer's normal attacks to slow targets by 11% and 5 damage per second |
| 2 | - | - | - | - | 7 | Causes Venomancer's normal attacks to slow targets by 12% and 10 damage per second |
| 3 | - | - | - | - | 8 | Causes Venomancer's normal attacks to slow targets by 13% and 15 damage per second |
| 4 | - | - | - | - | 9 | Causes Venomancer's normal attacks to slow targets by 14% and 20 damage per second |
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Magical Damage
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Damage from Poison Sting can kill
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Poison sting is a buff placer
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Units affected by this skill cannot be denied
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Movement slow debuff applies to magic immune (non-mechanical) units
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Cannot be purge
The paralytic sting of the creature which caused his transformation now belongs to the Venomancer.
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Plague Ward
Summons a plague ward to attack enemy units and structures. The ward is immune to magic.
| Level | Manacost | Cooldown | Casting Range | Area | Duration | Effects |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | 5 | 850 | N/A | 40 | Summons a ward with 75 HP that deals 11 damage per hit |
| 2 | 20 | 5 | 850 | N/A | 40 | Summons a ward with 200 HP that deals 21 damage per hit |
| 3 | 20 | 5 | 850 | N/A | 40 | Summons a ward with 325 HP that deals 32 damage per hit |
| 4 | 20 | 5 | 850 | N/A | 40 | Summons a ward with 450 HP that deals 42 damage per hit |
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Piercing Damage
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Creeps will ignore Plague Wards in favor of attacking you or any creeps present, as will Towers
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Most narrow pathways, and certain wider pathways, can be completely blocked off by one or more Plague Wards, making passage impossible
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Use Plague Wards to scout up cliffs and other places where enemies might lie in ambush
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Wards give 1200 vision of the area
A mixture of his old herbalist talents and newfound toxic mastery creates a living embodiment of plague.
==
Poison Nova
Ultimate
A spreading ring of poison that does damage over time to enemy units around Venomancer. Poison Nova's effect cannot bring units below 1 HP.
| Level | Manacost | Cooldown | Casting Range | Area | Duration | Effects |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 200 | 140 (60*) | N/A | 830 | 12 (14*) | Spreads poison in an area around Venomancer, dealing 36 (58*) damage per second |
| 2 | 300 | 120 (60*) | N/A | 830 | 14 (15*) | Spreads poison in an area around Venomancer, dealing 58 (81*) damage per second |
| 3 | 400 | 100 (60*) | N/A | 830 | 15 (16*) | Spreads poison in an area around Venomancer, dealing 81 (108*) damage per second |
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Magical damage
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This ultimate can be upgraded via Sceptre, (*) shows the upgraded effects
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Deals a total of 432/812/1215 (812/1215/1728) damage
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Cannot deal lethal damage (target will be left with 1 HP)
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Cannot hit invisible units
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Cannot be purged
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Becoming magic immune while under its effects blocks damage but does not remove the debuff
In the Acid Jungles, creatures releasing noxious poison to their attackers is common; Venomancer spreads this plague beyond the Jidi Isle.
==
Recent Changes from 6.77
- None
Recent Changes from 6.76/6.76b/6.76c
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Venomous Gale manacost rescaled from 90/105/120/135 to 125
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Venomous Gale initial damage rescaled from 50/70/70/100 to 25/50/75/100
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Venomous Gale damage per tick increased from 10/20/40/50 to 15/30/45/60
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Poison Sting duration rescaled from 7 to 6/7/8/9
Recent Changes from 6.75/6.75b
- Plague Wards vision decreased from 1400 to 1200
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Findings (not-factual information as above):
I find Venomancer to be a great support. It's extremely useful for your first skillpoint to be in Gale, a 50% slow at level 1 is quite deadly. Wards can be placed in many fashions, for vision (place a ward in an integral spot for vision in that area), for pushing (place wards in lane with your creeps) and defensively (place a vast amount wards at a tower that's about to be pushed). When using your ultimate in a teamfight, make sure you're in an integral spot where your ultimate will hit all enemy heroes.
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A tl;dr by Wilco-
CountJigglesWorth summarises the strengths of Veno's skills
Specifics on warding by TheVoices297
What does Veno do? Yalla_3ad and Scionix have the DL. Also Remuss
"For the love of God, max your fucking ward skill." - Shred_Kid Venomaner in a nutshell
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If you guys want a specific hero to be discussed next, please feel free to post (or message as people have for Meepo, Lina, Krobelus, Sylla, Puck, Brood, Omni, Disruptor. Viper and Shadow Demon).
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Posts are every 2 days, next post will be on the 14th.
Important Shadow Demon tip of last thread by dinoarms: "Demonic Purge one-shots illusions and summons just like Diffusal Blade. Usually it's not a great use of the cooldown and 200 mana, but the next time Warlock drops a golem on your face it's the fastest 100-200 gold you'll ever make."
Important Shadow Demon tip #2 of last thread by RougeCrown: "One thing that I don't see sd players do enough is to position soul catcher properly. Instead of casting the spells on the general area including the enemy heroes, use the edge of the circle to aim it at the hero you want to target."
Posted Jan 12, 2013, 9:16 PM UTC