Hero Discussion of this Day: Necrolyte (30 January 2013)
Rotund'jere, the Necrolyte
The Necrolyte is an unusual offensive spellcaster, since he has two passive skills and only one primary attack spell. However, this doesn't stop him from being one of the strongest offensive spellcasters around. The Necrolyte's Death Pulse is his bread and butter. This powerful ability doubles as a damage spell and a healing spell, with both effects on every cast. Death Pulse hits all nearby enemies causing damage, and also hits all nearby allies and the Necrolyte which heals them. Since it has a short cooldown period, this spell can be cast very often, providing constant damage to enemies and health to allies and allowing the Necrolyte to plenty of creep kills. To fuel this barrage, the Necrolyte has a passive skill called Sadist which replenishes some of his mana and hit points (via extra regen) every time he kills a unit. To further weaken his enemies, his powerful Hearstopper Aura slow drains the life of all foes in a large area of effect around the Necrolyte. When he sees a sufficiently injured enemy hero, the Necrolyte uses Reaper's Scythe, which is possibly the best spell in the game for killing off damaged heroes. This deadly spell deals damage based on how much life the target is missing, so even the toughest heroes die just as a fast as the fragile ones. A strong Necrolyte is nearly impossible to defeat, releasing constant Death Pulses and draining enemies' life with Heartstopper Aura until they are finished.
Lore
In a time of great plague, an obscure monk of dark inclinations, one Rotund'jere, found himself promoted to the rank of Cardinal by the swift death of all his superiors. While others of the order went out to succor the ill, the newly ordained cardinal secluded himself within the Cathedral of Rumusque, busily scheming to acquire the property of dying nobles, promising them spiritual rewards if they signed over their terrestrial domains. As the plague receded to a few stubborn pockets, his behavior came to the attention of the greater order, which found him guilty of heresy and sentenced him to serve in the plague ward, ensorcelled with spells that would ensure him a slow and lingering illness. But they had not counted on his natural immunity. Rotund'jere caught the pox, but instead of dying, found it feeding his power, transforming him into a veritable plague-mage, a Pope of Pestilence. Proclaiming himself the Necrolyte, he travels the world, spreading plague wherever he goes, and growing in terrible power with every village his pestilential presence obliterates.
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Roles: Carry, Durable
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Strength: 16 + 2.0
Agility: 15 + 1.7
Intelligence: 22 + 2.5
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Damage: 45-49
Armour: 1.1
Movement Speed: 290
Attack Range: 550
Missile Speed: 900
Base Attack Time: 1.7
Sight Range: 1800 (Day) / 800 (Night)
Turn Rate: 0.5
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Spells
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Death Pulse
Necrolyte releases a wave of death around him, dealing damage to enemy units and healing allied units.
| Level | Manacost | Cooldown | Casting Range | Area | Duration | Effects |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 125 | 8 | N/A | 475 | N/A | Damages all enemies around Necrolyte by 70 and heals all allies by 75 |
| 2 | 145 | 7 | N/A | 475 | N/A | Damages all enemies around Necrolyte by 125 and heals all allies by 90 |
| 3 | 165 | 6 | N/A | 475 | N/A | Damages all enemies around Necrolyte by 200 and heals all allies by 110 |
| 4 | 185 | 5 | N/A | 475 | N/A | Damages all enemies around Necrolyte by 275 and heals all allies by 130 |
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Magical Damage
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Death Pulse can't be evaded by moving or blinking
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Can heal magic immune units
Combining his monk heritage with his newfound affinity for plague has a menacing result.
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Heartstopper Aura
Passive
Necrolyte stills the hearts of his opponents, causing nearby enemy units to lose a percentage of their max health over time.
| Level | Manacost | Cooldown | Casting Range | Area | Duration | Effects |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | - | - | - | 1000 | - | Deals 0.6% of an enemy's Max HP as damage to all enemies in the area every second |
| 2 | - | - | - | 1000 | - | Deals 0.9% of an enemy's Max HP as damage to all enemies in the area every second |
| 3 | - | - | - | 1000 | - | Deals 1.2% of an enemy's Max HP as damage to all enemies in the area every second |
| 4 | - | - | - | 1000 | - | Deals 1.5% of an enemy's Max HP as damage to all enemies in the area every second |
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HP Removal Damage
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Damage counts as negative regeneration
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Heartstopper Aura deals HP Removal damage, and thus will not disable abilities or items like Blink Dagger or cancel consumables
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Will not affect ancient units or Roshan, despite going through magic immunity
Those who come within a short distance of the Necrolyte can feel pestilence and plague in the air.
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Sadist
Revelling in death and pain, the Necrolyte gains HP and mana regeneration for killing units. Lasts 6 seconds. Hero Kills give 10 times the bonus.
| Level | Manacost | Cooldown | Casting Range | Area | Duration | Effects |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | - | - | - | - | 6 | Each unit kill causes Necrolyte to receive 2 mana regen per second and 1 HP regen per second. Hero Kills give 10 times the bonus |
| 2 | - | - | - | - | 6 | Each unit kill causes Necrolyte to receive 4 mana regen per second and 2 HP regen per second. Hero Kills give 10 times the bonus |
| 3 | - | - | - | - | 6 | Each unit kill causes Necrolyte to receive 6 mana regen per second and 3 HP regen per second. Hero Kills give 10 times the bonus |
| 4 | - | - | - | - | 6 | Each unit kill causes Necrolyte to receive 10 mana regen per second and 4 HP regen per second. Hero Kills give 10 times the bonus |
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Sadist is also triggered by denies
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Stacks with itself. Each stack operates independently
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Regen a total of 12/24/36/60 mana and 6/12/18/24 health (120/240/360/600 mana and 60/120/180/240 health for hero kill)
Poor souls who succumb to Rotund'jere's plagues are recycled for future use.
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Reaper's Scythe
Ultimate
Stuns the target enemy hero, then deals damage based on how much life it is missing.
| Level | Manacost | Cooldown | Casting Range | Area | Duration | Effects |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 175 (150*) | 100 (70*) | 600 | N/A | 1.5 | Stuns the target enemy hero, then deals 0.4 (0.6*) damage per life point missing |
| 2 | 340 | 85 (70*) | 600 | N/A | 1.5 | Stuns the target enemy hero, then deals 0.6 (0.9*) damage per life point missing |
| 3 | 500 | 70 (70*) | 600 | N/A | 1.5 | Stuns the target enemy hero, then deals 0.9 (1.2*) damage per life point missing |
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Magical Damage
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This Ultimate can be upgraded via Sceptre, (*) shows the affected values
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Damage is dealt at the end of the stun
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Stuns goes through magic immunity but damage does not
The amount of death and suffering in the air increases the power of the Necrolyte's plague magic.
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Recent Changes from 6.77
- Reaper's Scythe stun/delay increased from 1 to 1.5 seconds
Recent Changes from 6.76/6.76b/6.76c
- Heartstopper Aura damage increased from 0.6/0.8/1/1.2% to 0.6/0.9/1.2/1.5%
Recent Changes from 6.75/6.75b
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Death Pulse heal rescaled from 50/75/100/130 to 70/90/110/130
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Sadist reworked (goes from giving mana for each unit kill to giving HP and Mana regen for each unit kill)
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Findings (not-factual information as above):
When using your ultimate, don't waste it on a person who's about to die just for the kill, utilise to properly by using it on someone who has a fair amount of HP left but enough to be killed by your ultimate.
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"NO SUPPORTING" - plasmamaker Necrolyte isn't a support
ACNoth explains why Necrolyte and Death Prophet aren't supports
This post by Ilovesharkpeople talks about why Necrolyte isn't seen alot competitively
mikelorus talks about why Radiance isn't that good on Necrolyte
HookerPunch has a writeup from a previous thread
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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, Shadow Demon, Prophet, Rhasta, Rubick, Medusa and Necrolyte).
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Posts are every 2 days except patch days, next post will be on the 2nd.
Important Medusa tip of last thread by HKBFG: "Remember that split shot transfers to your illusions as long as you are in split form when they are generated. Your mana shield does not transfer to illusions (this would be silly as they do not have mana)." Extra advice included.
Posted Jan 30, 2013, 8:02 PM UTC · edited