Throwback Discussion of the Week: Keeper of the Light (April 12, 2012)

Ezalor, the Keeper of the Light

The Keeper of the Light is a one man support team. He has a wide variety of support spells for any situation. He is a master of manipulating mana, with Chakra Magic to restore large amounts of energy to his allies and Mana Leak to drain it from his foes. Illuminate turns the Keeper of the Light into a piece of artillery. After a long charge up time, Illuminate releases a massive shockwave of energy, dealing huge amounts of damage to all enemies in its path. Due to its long channeling period, this spell is generally most effective in large offensive or defensive pushes. Spirit Form further elevates the support skills of the Keeper. While in Spirit Form, he no longer needs to be present to channel Illuminate; a spirit charges it for him, allowing him to move freely and cast other spells. He also gains the valuable Recall and Blinding Light spells while transformed. Recall can teleport any allied hero to his location from anywhere on the battlefield, and Blinding Light releases a massive pulse of light which knocks enemies away and causes them to miss most of their attacks for a few seconds afterwards. For support-minded players, it's tough to find a better hero.

Lore:

Master of light and mana manipulation, Ezalor was once viewed as a scholar, and was regarded as a powerful mentor to many. However, his defection and betrayal of his allies during the War of the Magi caused him to be sentenced to banishment to the spirit realm for all of eternity. However, knowing of his tremendous power, the Sentinel granted him a corporeal form within the physical realm in exchange for his alliance against the Scourge onslaught. As such, Ezalor carries his duties of supporting his comrades valiantly despite the treacherous past that most know little about.

Strength	Agility	Intelligence
16 + 1.8	15 + 1.6	22 + 2.8
Damage	Armor	Movespeed
38 - 54	1.1	315
Attack Range	Base Attack Time	Missile Speed
600	1.7	900
Animation	Icon	Fan Art

Illuminate

Channels a ball of positive energy, letting it build up 100 damage per second. When released, it damages all enemies in a line. The distance also improves with channeling time.

Level	Mana Cost	Cooldown	Casting Range	Area	Duration	Effects
1	150	10	230	400 (Starting AoE) / 800 (Distance) / 400 (Final AoE)	N/A	Channels up to 200 damage
2	150	10	230	400 (Starting AoE) / 800 (Distance) / 400 (Final AoE)	N/A	Channels up to 300 damage
3	150	10	230	400 (Starting AoE) / 800 (Distance) / 400 (Final AoE)	N/A	Channels up to 400 damage
4	150	10	230	400 (Starting AoE) / 800 (Distance) / 400 (Final AoE)	N/A	Channels up to 500 damage

• Damage type: magical
• Illuminate gives increasing vision of the target area as it is channeled.
• Can damage Siege Creeps.
• Can hit units up to 1600 range away.

Mana Leak

Weakens the bond between the physical and magical essences of an enemy. The magical and physical essences will be divided if the target moves, causing the enemy to lose some of their mana. If the enemy loses all of its mana, it will be paralyzed while the bond is repaired.

Level	Mana Cost	Cooldown	Casting Range	Area	Duration	Effects
1	75	18	550	N/A	4 seconds	Drains 3.5% of max mana per 100 units the target moves. If the mana pool of the target is depleted, stuns for 1.3 seconds
2	75	18	700	N/A	5 seconds	Drains 4% of max mana per 100 units the target moves. If the mana pool of the target is depleted, stuns for 1.6 seconds
3	75	18	850	N/A	6 seconds	Drains 4.5% of max mana per 100 units the target moves. If the mana pool of the target is depleted, stuns for 1.9 seconds
4	75	18	1000	N/A	7 seconds	Drains 5% of max mana per 100 units the target moves. If the mana pool of the target is depleted, stuns for 2.2 seconds

• If the target travels over 300 distance in less than 0.1 second (by using blink skills, for example), Mana Leak will not decrease its mana for that distance.

Chakra Magic

Channels chakras through a friendly unit, creating a surge of mana.

Level	Mana Cost	Cooldown	Casting Range	Area	Duration	Effects
1	40	19	900	N/A	N/A	Restores 75 mana
2	55	18	900	N/A	N/A	Restores 150 mana
3	70	17	900	N/A	N/A	Restores 225 mana
4	85	16	900	N/A	N/A	Restores 300 mana

• Cannot target allies with magic immunity.

Spirit Form

Keeper of the Light turns his body luminescent temporarily. His mastery of light becomes so powerful that he can freely cast Illuminate without channeling, cast a brilliant light that blinds foes, and teleport allies from anywhere to his side at light speed.

Level	Mana Cost	Cooldown	Casting Range	Area	Duration	Effects
1	100	80	N/A	N/A	40 seconds	Morph into Spirit Form, gain automatically charging Illuminate, Recall, and Blinding Light abilities
2	100	70	N/A	N/A	40 seconds	Morph into Spirit Form, gain automatically charging Illuminate, Recall, and Blinding Light abilities
3	100	60	N/A	N/A	40 seconds	Morph into Spirit Form, gain automatically charging Illuminate, Recall, and Blinding Light abilities

• While in spirit form, Ezalor no longer needs to channel Illuminate; it will be channeled by a secondary, ghostly spirit.

Recall

Target an allied hero. Teleports that hero to your location. If the target takes player based damage during this period, this ability is interrupted.

Level	Mana Cost	Cooldown	Casting Range	Area	Duration	Effects
1	100	15	Global	N/A	N/A	Teleportation with 5 second delay
2	100	15	Global	N/A	N/A	Teleportation with 4 second delay
3	100	15	Global	N/A	N/A	Teleportation with 3 second delay

• Since the cooldown and mana cost take effect upon casting, the mana will be deducted and the spell will go into cooldown even if the spell is interrupted.
• This ability can target any allied hero on the map.
• The -disablehelp command can prevent an allied Keeper of the Light from casting this ability on you.
• This skill interrupts channeling spells.
• Clicking this skill on the minimap will target the nearest allied hero.

Blinding Light

Blind nearby units, causing them to miss 80% of the time.

Level	Mana Cost	Cooldown	Casting Range	Area	Duration	Effects
1	50	20	900	675	3 second	Causes enemies to have a 80% chance to miss in their attacks and knock them back
2	50	16	900	675	4 second	Causes enemies to have a 80% chance to miss in their attacks and knock them back
3	50	12	900	675	5 second	Causes enemies to have a 80% chance to miss in their attacks and knock them back

• Causes knockback of 250 range over 0.4 seconds, centered on the middle of the target AoE.
• If a unit being knock-backed collides with a tree, the tree is destroyed.
• Does not interrupt channeling skills.

Check Averrios' Pub guide to Ezalor on Playdota.

As always, check out Last Weeks's discussion of Goblin Techies or the complete Hero Discussion archives.