Throwback Discussion of the Week: Guardian Wisp (June 15, 2012)

Io, the Guardian Wisp

Lore:

Originally nothing more than a lowly spirit of the trees, Io dwelt peacefully amongst his kind in the Great Forest. As the Great War spread across the land the creatures of the forest were forced to defend their home. The desire to protect his kin awoke power in Io he had not known he possessed. He discovered he was able to connect his life force to another creature to strengthen them or help them flee by instantly transporting them out of harm. Io became known amongst his people as the Guardian Wisp, a protector of the Spirits. All other spirits swore to assist him and can be summoned to his side to aid him in his battle. Uninterested in the battle between the Sentinel and the Scourge, Io fights only to protect his people.

Strength	Agility	Intelligence
17 + 1.9	14 + 1.6	23 + 1.7
Damage	Armor	Movespeed
43 - 52	0	295
Attack Range	Base Attack Time	Missile Speed
575	1.7	1600
Animation	Icon	Fan Art

Tether

Io tethers himself to an allied unit, granting both units bonus movement speed. Any enemy units that pass the tether will be stunned. The tether will break if it stretches further 900 units. This ability Lasts 12 seconds.

Level	Mana Cost	Cooldown	Casting Range	Area	Duration	Effects
1	40	12	1800	900	12/0.75 second *	20% ms bonus
2	40	12	1800	900	12/1.25 seconds *	20% ms bonus
3	40	12	1800	900	12/1.75 seconds *	20% ms bonus
4	40	12	1800	900	12/2.25 seconds*	20% ms bonus

• (*) Tether duration/stun duration
• If you try to tether a unit that is 700 distance or further away from Io, he will latch on and pull himself closer to the tethered unit to a distance of 300).
• The tethered unit will benefit from Overcharge, Relocate, and from Io regenerating HP/mana.
• Has a sub ability that lets you break the tether.

Spirits

Io summons 5 ancient Spirits over the course of 4 seconds; the Spirits dance around Io in a circle to protect him. If an enemy hero moves close enough to touch a Spirit, the Spirit releases its life energy in a burst, damaging all enemies in a 300 radius. Non-hero units only take minor damage upon touching a spirit and do not cause them to explode.

Level	Mana Cost	Cooldown	Casting Range	Area	Duration	Effects
1	120	20	N/A	300*	19 seconds	8/25** damage
2	130	18	N/A	300*	19 seconds	14/50** damage
3	140	16	N/A	300*	19 seconds	20/75** damage
4	150	14	N/A	300*	19 seconds	26/100** damage

• (*) Area of Effect of the explosion
• (**) Damage to creeps/heroes
• Damage type: magical
• Min/max Oscillation range: 100/875
• You gain 2 subabilities to control how far away from Io the spirits orbit.

Overcharge

Io draws on more energy than he can safely handle, granting him bonus attack speed and damage reduction, but draining 2.5% of his current HP and MP per second. If Io is tethered to an ally the bonuses are also given to that ally.

Level	Mana Cost	Cooldown	Casting Range	Area	Duration	Effects
1	2.5% of current HP and MP	N/A	N/A	N/A	40 IAS, 5% damage reduction
2	2.5% of current HP and MP	N/A	N/A	N/A	50 IAS, 10% damage reduction
3	2.5% of current HP and MP	N/A	N/A	N/A	60 IAS, 15% damage reduction
4	2.5% of current HP and MP	N/A	N/A	N/A	70 IAS, 20% damage reduction

• This bonus affects a tethered unit as well.
• The hp/mana lost can't be reduced in any way.

Relocate

Io temporarily relocates himself, along with any tethered hero, to the target location for 12 seconds.

Level	Mana Cost	Cooldown	Casting Range	Area	Duration	Effects
1	100	90	Global	N/A	N/A	Teleport after 2.5 seconds
2	100	75	Global	N/A	N/A	Teleport after 2.25 seconds
3	100	60	Global	N/A	N/A	Teleport after 2 seconds

• There is a casting delay and the enemy has visual indicators on the minimap at the target location before it happens.
• If Guardian Wisp is disabled during the this casting delay, Relocate will be cancelled.
• If an allied hero is Tethered, that hero will teleported along with you. You can break the tether at any time to prevent that hero from returning back with you.
• The -disablehelp command will prevent an allied Guardian Wisp from teleporting your hero with this this ability.

As always, check out Tuesday's discussion of Gyrocopter or the complete Hero Discussion archives.