Hero Discussion of the Day: Lich (March 4, 2012)

Almost forgot to post this today, I've been too excited to watch the finals of The Defense!

Lich was last discussed on November 3.

Ethreain, the Lich

Lich is a ranged support hero that uses his skills to slow his enemies down with his frost-based attacks, as well as giving a boost to ally defenses. He can use Sacrifice to easily deny creeps and keep his mana high, making him very good at harassing in the early stages of the game. While a relatively frail hero, he can prove to be a force to be reckoned with when his ultimate, Chain Frost, is used on a group of enemies. Lich is a powerful crowd controller and can easily turn a teamfight, or dominate in a lane. Lich is recommended for beginners.

Lore:

In life, the frost-mage Ethreain (not yet a Lich) had used the threat of destructive ice to enslave entire kingdoms. His subjects, aided by a few desperate magicians, eventually grew bold enough to ambush him. Armed with enough charmed rope to bind him forever, they tied the frost mage to adamant weights and dropped him in a pool known chiefly for being bottomless. It wasn't. He only fell for a year or so before an outcrop snagged him. There he rested, dead but undecaying, until the geomancer Anhil thought to verify the legend of the supposedly bottomless Black Pool. Anhil's plumbline snarled with the ropes that bound the drowned magician, and up he hauled an unexpected prize. Thinking that by rendering the dead undead, he could question the Lich about the properties of the pool, he removed the bindings and commenced a simple rite of resurrection. Even the descendants of Ethreain's enemies were long forgotten by time, so there were none to warn Anhil against imprudence. But he learned the error of his judgment almost immediately, as Lich threw off the shackles and consumed him.

"Feel death's cold embrace."

Strength	Agility	Intelligence
18 + 1.55	15 + 2	18 + 3.25
Damage	Armor	Movespeed
42 - 51	1.1	315
Attack Range	Base Attack Time	Missile Speed
550	1.7	900
Soundset	Icon	Fan Art

Frost Nova

Blasts the target enemy unit with damaging frost, dealing area damage and slowing movement and attack rates for 4 seconds. The primary target takes the most damage.

Level	Mana Cost	Cooldown	Casting Range	Area	Duration	Effects
1	125	9.25	600	200	4 seconds	Deals 50 damage to the target and 75 AoE damage.
2	150	9.25	600	200	4 seconds	Deals 100 damage to the target and 100 AoE damage.
3	170	9.25	600	200	4 seconds	Deals 150 damage to the target and 125 AoE damage.
4	190	8.00	600	200	4 seconds	Deals 200 damage to the target and 150 AoE damage.

• Damage type: magical
• Frost slows movement speed by 30% and attack speed by 20%.

Frost Armor

Creates a shield around the target friendly unit, which adds armor and slows attacking melee units. Lasts 40 seconds.

Level	Mana Cost	Cooldown	Casting Range	Area	Duration	Effects
1	50	5	800	N/A	40 seconds	Adds 3 armor
2	50	5	800	N/A	40 seconds	Adds 5 armor
3	50	5	800	N/A	40 seconds	Adds 7 armor
4	50	5	800	N/A	40 seconds	Adds 9 armor

• Frost slows movement speed by 30% and attack speed by 20%.
• If autocast is activated, the Lich will cast this spell on nearby allies who are attacked.

Dark Ritual

Sacrifices a friendly creep and converts its current HP into mana for Lich.

Level	Mana Cost	Cooldown	Casting Range	Area	Duration	Effects
1	25	35	400	N/A	N/A	Converts 15% of the current HP of the creep to mana
2	25	30	400	N/A	N/A	Converts 30% of the current HP of the creep to mana
3	25	25	400	N/A	N/A	Converts 45% of the current HP of the creep to mana
4	25	20	400	N/A	N/A	Converts 60% of the current HP of the creep to mana

• Enemy heroes get no experience from creeps killed with Dark Ritual.

Chain Frost

Releases an orb of frost that bounces up to 7 times, slowing and damaging enemy units. The first target is mini-stunned.

SCEPTER UPGRADABLE: Increases damage and casting range.

Level	Mana Cost	Cooldown	Casting Range	Area	Duration	Effects
1	200	145	750 (850*)	575**	N/A	Deals 280 (370*) damage per jump
2	325	115	750 (850*)	575**	N/A	Deals 370 (460*) damage per jump
3	500	060	750 (850*)	575**	N/A	Deals 460 (550*) damage per jump

• Damage type: magical
• There is a 0.2 second delay between bounces
• Frost slows movement speed by 30% and attack speed by 20%.
• Can be improved by Aghanim's Scepter (* shows the improved values).
• The first target of this skill is ministuned.
• (**) Area of Effect means the distance the Chain Frost can bounce.

You might be interested in FlamingFist's [guide to Lich]http://www.playdota.com/guides/without-a-trace-of-warmth) on Playdota.

Be sure to take a look at DotaCinema's video overview of Lich.

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