Hero Discussion of the Day: Spectre (February 21, 2012)

Spectre was last discussed on November 9. Spectre's 6.73 changes:

• Dispersion damage no longer disables items like Blink Dagger

Mercurial, the Spectre

Spectre is a melee carry hero that uses her skills to confuse and hound the enemy, letting her allies take advantage of the confusion. While she may be a carry hero, her skills make for excellent ganking set-ups, especially when her target is alone.

Lore:

Just as higher states of energy seek a lower level, the Spectre known as Mercurial is a being of intense and violent energy who finds herself irresistibly drawn to scenes of strife as they unfold in the physical world. While her normal spectral state transcends sensory limitations, each time she takes on a physical manifestation, she is stricken by a loss of self--though not of purpose. In the clash of combat, her identity shatters and reconfigures, and she begins to regain awareness. She grasps that she is Mercurial the Spectre--and that all of her Haunts are but shadows of the one true Spectre. Focus comes in the struggle for survival; her true mind reasserts itself; until in the final moments of victory or defeat, she transcends matter and is restored once more to her eternal form.

"Can no one understand me?"

Strength	Agility	Intelligence
19 + 2	23 + 2.2	16 + 1.9
Damage	Armor	Movespeed
46 - 50	3.22	295
Attack Range	Base Attack Time	Missile Speed
128 (melee)	1.7	N/A
Soundset	Icon	Fan Art

Spectral Dagger

Spectre flings a dagger to draw a Shadow Path, dealing damage and slowing any enemies along the trail. Units hit by the dagger also trail a Shadow Path. While treading the path, Spectre phases through otherwise impassable terrain.

Level	Mana Cost	Cooldown	Casting Range	Area	Duration	Effects
1	130	16	2000	125	12	Spectre gains 5% movespeed, enemies lose 5%. Deals 50 damage
2	140	16	2000	125	12	Spectre gains 9% movespeed, enemies lose 9%. Deals 100 damage
3	150	16	2000	125	12	Spectre gains 14% movespeed, enemies lose 14%. Deals 150 damage
4	160	16	2000	125	12	Spectre gains 18% movespeed, enemies lose 18%. Deals 200 damage

• Damage type: magical
• Spectre can move over cliffs, trees, buildings and units while under effect of this spell.
• Debuff lasts for 7 seconds after enemy leaves shadow path.
• Slows but does not damage magic immune units.
• The dagger moves at a speed of 857.14 units per second.
• Vision is granted of shadow path when Spectral dagger is cast.

Desolate

Deals bonus pure damage when Spectre attacks an enemy hero with no nearby allied units.

Level	Mana Cost	Cooldown	Casting Range	Area	Duration	Effects
1	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	20 Bonus Damage
2	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	30 Bonus Damage
3	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	40 Bonus Damage
4	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	50 Bonus Damage

• Damage type: pure
• Damage is dealt before Spectre's actual attack.
• Works only if attacked enemy has no allies in 325 range.
• Your illusions also have the Desolate skill.

Dispersion

Damage done to Spectre is reflected on her enemies, leaving her unharmed. The effect lessens with distance.

Level	Mana Cost	Cooldown	Casting Range	Area	Duration	Effects
1	N/A	N/A	N/A	1000	N/A	10% of damage
2	N/A	N/A	N/A	1000	N/A	14% of damage
3	N/A	N/A	N/A	1000	N/A	18% of damage
4	N/A	N/A	N/A	1000	N/A	22% of damage

• Damage type: pure
• Reflected damage is not felt by Spectre, effectively reducing the incoming damage.
• Reflected damage does not disable items like Blink Dagger
• Illusions will not benefit from this ability.
• Full damage is dealt in a 300 AoE around Spectre.
• The damage dealt decreases linearly from a 300 distance to a 1000 distance from Spectre.

Haunt

Creates a spectral nemesis to attack each enemy hero after a short delay. Haunts are uncontrollable, take extra damage, and deal less damage than Spectre herself. At any moment during the duration, Spectre can use Reality to take the place of a given illusion.

Level	Mana Cost	Cooldown	Casting Range	Area	Duration	Effects
1	150	120	N/A	N/A	5 seconds	Creates an Illusion beside each enemy hero
2	150	120	N/A	N/A	6 seconds	Creates an Illusion beside each enemy hero
3	150	120	N/A	N/A	7 seconds	Creates an Illusion beside each enemy hero

• Illusions have Desolate ability with same level as Spectre's, and damage from Desolate on illusions isn't reduced.
• Illusions are uncontrollable, and only attack their own pair of targets.
• There is a 1 second delay before illusions start attacking the nearest hero.
• Gives spectre the Reality ability: Spectre physically possesses a chosen Haunt, giving it solid reality while the other images blink out of existence.

TheGizmoh has produced text tones for every Spectre sound file for both android and iPhones.

Wilco- has posted a daily tl;dr on Spectre.

Be sure to take a look at Dota Cinema's video overview of Spectre.

As always, check out yesterday's discussion of Sven or the complete HDotD archives.