Hero Discussion of the Day: Dark Seer (January 21, 2012)

Dark Seer was last discussed on November 12. Keeping with the theme of discussing heroes that have seen changes in 6.73, Dark Seer has seen some buffs. He has also been making a comeback in the competitive scene with Tobi and Synderen saying he might soon be a top tier pick.

Dark Seer

Dark Seer is a support caster hero that employs his skills to fully disorient his enemies through vacuums and illusions, as well as support his allies. As a melee hero, his overall attack and natural movement speed doesn't improve over time, making any follow-up melee attacks very risky.

Lore:

Fast when he needs to be, and a cunning strategist, Ish'Kafel the Dark Seer requires no edged weapons to vanquish his enemies, relying instead on the strength of his powerful mind. His talent lies in his ability to maneuver the fight to his advantage. Hailing from a place he calls 'The Land behind the wall,' Dark Seer remains an outsider here—a warrior from a realm beyond the veil of this reality.

Once a great general among his people, and a valiant defender of the god-king Damathryx, Dark Seer’s army was wiped out by a much larger force in the final days of the Great Boundaries War. Facing certain defeat, he made one last desperate act: he led the enemy forces into the maze between the walls. At the last moment, just before capture, he crossed over—then sealed the walls forever in an explosive release of dark energy. When the dust settled, he saw that he had saved his people but found himself blinking at the sun of a different world, with no way to return. Now he is committed to proving his worth as a military strategist, and vows to show that he’s the greatest tactician this strange new world has ever seen.

"An enemy destroyed cannot rise against you."

Strength	Agility	Intelligence
22+2.3	12+1.2	29+2.7
Damage	Armor	Movespeed
60-66	5.68	305
Attack Range	Base Attack Time	Missile Speed
Melee	1.7	Instant
Animations	Icon	Fan art

Vacuum

Dark Seer creates a vacuum over the target area that sucks in enemy units, disrupting them and dealing damage.

Level	Mana Cost	Cooldown	Casting range	Area of Effect	Duration	Allowed Targets	Effects
1	100	16	550	275	N/A	Enemy units	40 damage
2	130	16	550	275	N/A	Enemy units	80 damage
3	160	16	550	275	N/A	Enemy units	120 damage
4	190	16	550	275	N/A	Enemy units	160 damage

• Damage type: magical
• This ability will interrupt channeling spells and items.
• Drags units over 0.3 seconds.

Ion Shell

Surrounds the target unit with a bristling shield that damages enemy units in an area around it.

Level	Mana Cost	Cooldown	Casting range	Area of Effect	Duration	Allowed Targets	Effects
1	70	10	700	250	20 seconds	All units	Deals 30 damage per second
2	90	10	700	250	20 seconds	All units	Deals 50 damage per second
3	110	10	700	250	20 seconds	All units	Deals 70 damage per second
4	130	10	700	250	20 seconds	All units	Deals 90 damage per second

• Damage type: magical
• Doesn't damage the target it is cast on.
• Damage is dealt in smaller amounts every 0.1 second.
• If cast on a unit that already has Ion Shell on it, the new Ion Shell will replace the old one.

Surge

Charges a target friendly unit with power, giving it a brief burst of maximum movement speed (522).

Level	Mana Cost	Cooldown	Casting range	Area of Effect	Duration	Allowed Targets	Effects
1	20	12 seconds	600	N/A	3 seconds	Self / Allied units	Gives maximum speed
2	30	11 seconds	600	N/A	4.5 seconds	Self / Allied units	Gives maximum speed
3	40	10 seconds	600	N/A	6 seconds	Self / Allied units	Gives maximum speed
4	50	9 seconds	600	N/A	7.5 seconds	Self / Allied units	Gives maximum speed

• Slowing effects from spells or items do not affect Surged units.
• Surged unit maintain maximum movement speed for the full duration, unless the Surge buff is removed (by Purge or other spells).

Wall of Replica

Raises a wall of warping light that damages and creates replicas of any enemy hero who crosses it. Enemy replicas serve at the Dark Seer's will.

SCEPTER UPGRADABLE: Creates illusions of allied heroes.

Level	Mana Cost	Cooldown	Casting range	Area of Effect	Duration	Allowed Targets	Effects
1	200	100	500	Wall Length: 1000	15 seconds	Enemy (and allied*) heroes	Illusions take 250% damage and deal 70% (50% for allies*)
2	300	100	900	Wall Length: 1000	30 seconds	Enemy (and allied*) heroes	Illusions take 250% damage and deal 80% (50% for allies*)
3	400	100	1300	Wall Length: 1000	45 seconds	Enemy (and allied*) heroes	Illusions take 250% damage and deal 90% (50% for allies*)

• Damage type: magical
• When the Wall creates an illusion of an enemy, it deals 150 damage to the affected Hero.
• Illusions are semi-transparent to enemy players.
• Does not create illusions from other illusions or Geomancer copies.
• The wall is created perpendicular to the line between the Dark Seer and the target point.
• Can be improved by Aghanim's Scepter (* show the improved value)

Take a look at Wilco-'s Daily hero tl'dr of Dark Seer.

Check out DotaCinema's video overview of Dark Seer in Dota 2.

Gaibo1 has put up a great guide to Dark Seer, and even has it up-to-date with 6.73 buffs.

As always, check out yesterday's discussion of Invoker or the (almost) complete HDotD archives.