Hero Discussion of the Day: Sven (February 20, 2012)
Sven was last discussed on October 16. Sven's 6.73 changes:
- Great Cleave increased from 20/30/40/50% to 30/40/50/60%
- God's Strength is no longer purgeable
- God's Strength damage buff increased from 100/125/150% to 100/140/180%
- Warcry duration increased from 6 to 8 seconds
- Warcry cast time removed
Sven, the Rogue Knight
Sven is a Melee Hero with effective disable and chase capabilities. Though Sven is a Strength Hero, he uses his spells to gank and kill often, making him somewhat mana intensive. As a result, he'll often be out of mana or have barely enough. Sven is an item reliant Hero, meaning he needs farm to advance into the late game. Sven is recommended for beginners.
Lore:
Sven is the bastard son of a Vigil Knight, born of a Pallid Meranth, raised in the Shadeshore Ruins. With his father executed for violating the Vigil Codex, and his mother shunned by her wild race, Sven believes that honor is to be found in no social order--but only in himself. After tending his mother through a lingering death, he offered himself as a novice to the Vigil Knights, never revealing his identity. For thirteen years he studied in his father's school, mastering the rigid code that declared his existence an abomination. Then, on the day that should have been his In-Swearing, he seized the Outcast Blade, shattered the Sacred Helm, and burned the Codex in the Vigil's Holy Flame. He strode from Vigil Keep, forever solitary, following his private code to the last strict rune. Still a knight, yes...but a Rogue Knight.
"Bitter the orphans journey--and lonely the orphan's grave."
| Strength | Agility | Intelligence |
|---|---|---|
| 23 + 2.7 | 21 + 2 | 14 + 1.3 |
| Damage | Armor | Movespeed |
| 54 - 56 | 1.94 | 295 |
| Attack Range | Base Attack Time | Missile Speed |
| 128 | 1.7 | N/A |
| Soundset | Icon | Fan Art |
Storm Hammer
Sven unleashes his magical gauntlet that deals damage and stuns enemy units.
| Level | Mana Cost | Cooldown | Casting Range | Area | Duration | Effects |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 140 | 15 | 600 | 255 | 2 seconds | Deals 100 damage and stuns |
| 2 | 140 | 15 | 600 | 255 | 2 seconds | Deals 175 damage and stuns |
| 3 | 140 | 15 | 600 | 255 | 2 seconds | Deals 250 damage and stuns |
| 4 | 140 | 15 | 600 | 255 | 2 seconds | Deals 325 damage and stuns |
- Damage type: magical
- The targeting reticle must be centered over an enemy unit.
- The projectile can't be dodged by blinking or moving away.
Great Cleave
Sven strikes with great force, cleaving all nearby enemy units with his attack.
| Level | Mana Cost | Cooldown | Casting Range | Area | Duration | Effects |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 200 | N/A | 30% damage splashed |
| 2 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 200 | N/A | 40% damage splashed |
| 3 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 200 | N/A | 50% damage splashed |
| 4 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 200 | N/A | 60% damage splashed |
- Cleave damage is reduced by armor type but not by armor value.
- Cleave damage goes through magic immunity.
- The cleave damages a circular area in front of Sven.
Warcry
Sven's Warcry heartens his allies for battle, increasing their movement speed and armor. Lasts 8 seconds.
| Level | Mana Cost | Cooldown | Casting Range | Area | Duration | Effects |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 | 36 | N/A | 700 | 8 seconds | 3 armor/12% MS |
| 2 | 25 | 30 | N/A | 700 | 8 seconds | 6 armor/12% MS |
| 3 | 25 | 24 | N/A | 700 | 8 seconds | 9 armor/12% MS |
| 4 | 25 | 18 | N/A | 700 | 8 seconds | 12 armor/12% MS |
- Fully stacks with other bonus armor auras from items.
- Fully stacks with other abilities and items that give a bonus to movement speed.
God's Strength
Sven channels his rogue strength, granting bonus damage for 25 seconds.
| Level | Mana Cost | Cooldown | Casting Range | Area | Duration | Effects |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 100 | 80 | N/A | N/A | 25.0 seconds | Adds 100% damage |
| 2 | 150 | 80 | N/A | N/A | 25.0 seconds | Adds 140% damage |
| 3 | 200 | 80 | N/A | N/A | 25.0 seconds | Adds 180% damage |
- Only increases base damage and that given by the primary attribute of Sven. Raw bonus damage is not increased.
- Cannot be Purged.
- Has a 0.3 seconds transformation time.
- You can dodge stuns while transforming.
TheGizmoh has produced text tones for every Sven sound file for both android and iPhones.
Wilco- has posted a daily tl;dr on Sven.
Be sure to take a look at Dota Cinema's video overview of Sven.
You may also want to check out menage0a0trois' very highly rated guide to Sven on Playdota.
As always, check out yesterday's discussion of Necrolyte or the complete HDotD archives.
Posted Feb 20, 2012, 2:18 PM UTC · edited