Death Prophet Overview

Lore & Bio

"What I've seen goes far beyond death."

Telling the fortune for the wealthiest who wished to sneak a peek into the future was what Krobelus, a well-known Death Prophet, did on a daily basis. But after years of seeing the future of others, She got fed up with it and wanted to look at her own future. When persuading Death to share the secret seemed impossible, Krobelus offered a trade with her life. However, it seemed like even with that, she could not saturate Death.

Death, cruel as it always was, tortured her oftenly because it never revealed its deepest mysteries. Krobelus was so envied with other living creatures when they could truly die and totally got out of the living loop while she couldn’t. Nevertheless, she still kept up with until finding the answer.

Whenever she got back from death and crawled out of the grave, the Wraiths followed her into this world. Her blood and ectoplasm got thinner, the twilight's eating creatures took her to their relatives. She devoted every niche of her life to death. She kept throwing herself into the endless death void  and eventually her determined effort had a little progression which would fulfill her desire of being dead for eternity.

In-game, Death Prophet is described as: 

“When she unleashes her army of ghosts, Death Prophet excels at demolishing enemies and their defenses alike. Leading her team's forces toward the enemy base with wave after damaging wave from her swarm, her onslaught can seem unstoppable.”

Attribute & Stats

• Strength: 21 + 3.1 each level;

• Agility: 14 + 1.8 each level;

• Intelligence: 24 + 3.3 each level;

• Health: 620;

• Health regeneration: + 2.35 each second;

• Mana: 363;

• Mana regeneration: + 1.7 each second;

• Damage: 47 - 57;

• Amor: 3.33;

• Magic Resistance: 25%;

• Turn Rate: 0.8;

• Attack Range: 600;

• Projectile speed: 1000;

• Attack Animation: 0.5+0.51;

• Movement: 325;

• Sight Range: 1800/800;

• Base Attack time: 1.7 seconds per attack;

• Damage Block: 0;

• Collision size: 24.

Abilities & Talents

Notes:

• The magic resistance granted by talent can stack with other sources of magic resistance.

  • Which means the total magic resistance of Death Prophet is 34%

• The bonus attack damage granted by talent can be counted as raw attack damage.

  • Most percentage-based damage increasing or reducing effects don’t affect this bonus. Besides, this bonus does not affect illusion’s attack.

• The health granted by talent only expands the health pool, not changing the current health of Death Prophet.

Skills building guide

In this guide, I will guide you how to build Death Prophet as a mid laner. The first ability that I recommend you max out is Crypt Swarm as it can deal a lot of damage on many enemies in a cone shaped area and clear the creeps wave pretty great as well as harass the melee heroes if they try to step up to farm the creeps. Then Spirit Siphon is the second ability you should max out. 

The reason for that is because Spirit Siphon can deal damage on various enemy targets as well as heal Death Prophet which help her increase her endurance in the combat or the laning phase. The last skill to max out is Silence. Although it arms Death Prophet a great silence debuff, it can be dodge easily. Therefore, maxing it out when the game is dragging to the late ,can be extremely useful in combat or teamfight. Never forget to add a point on ultimate if possible.

Abilities

Crypt Swarm

Crypt Swarm (Point Target, Magical)

Effect: Death Prophet releases a swarm of flying monsters which deals damage to the enemies in front of her. 

Mana cost: 80/95/110/125

Cooldown: 8/7/6/5 (Talent 6/5/4/3)

Cast Animation: 0.2+0.5

Cast Range: 600

Starting Radius: 110

Travel Distance: 810

End Radius: 300

Damage: 75/150/225/300

Notes:

The Crypt Swarm will fly towards the location of the targeted enemy when this spell is cast.

The traveling speed of the Crypt Swarm is 1100 which means it takes 0.74 seconds to reach the end of the range.

The total distance that Crypt Swarm can travel is up to 1100 range.

• The active area of this spell is shaped like a cone.

Silence

Silence (Area Target)

Effect: Death Prophet creates a silent land which prevents the enemies in this area from using their abilities. 

Mana Cost:80/90/100/110

Cooldown: 15/14/13/12

Cast Animation: 0.2+0.9

Cast Range: 900

Radius: 425

Duration: 3/4/5/6

Notes:

The traveling speed of this projectile is 1000

Only impacts on the enemies who are standing in the active area when the spell is cast. If enemies enter or leave the area after that won’t be affected. 

Spirit Siphon

Spirit Siphon (Unit Target, Magical)

Effect: A soul link between Death Prophet and the targeted enemy is created which helps her suck the health of the target and heal her simultaneously.

Mana Cost: 80

Cooldown: 0

Cast Animation: 0.1+0

Cast Range: 500

Link Break Distance: 750

Base Health Drain per Second: 14

Max Health Drain per Second: 1%/2.5%/4%/5.5% (Talent 2%/3.5%/5%/6.5%)

Drain Duration: 6

Number of Charges: 1/2/3/4

Charge Replenish Time: 36/34/32/30 (Talent 16/14/12/10)

(Talent) Move Speed Slow: 20%

Upgradable by Aghanim’s Shard: 

• Number of charge: 2/3/4/5
• Drain Time Required to Fear: 4
• Fear Duration: 2

Notes:

When adding a point into this skill, Death Prophet will receive the charges instantly. However, when this skill is leveled up further, these charges won’t be granted like the first time.

When the enemy is out of the active range or dies, the connection will disappear.

The health restored from this spell does not rely on the amount of damage it deals.

• It means Death Prophet will be healed no matter whether the target receives any damage or not.

Every 0.25 seconds, Death Prophet drains 3.5 + 0.25%/0.625%/1%/1.375% (Talent 0.5%/0.875%/1.25%/1.625%) of the enemy's max health, beginning 0.25 seconds after cast which means the target will be drained for 24 times.

• The total health that the Death Prophet can drain from the target before reduction is up to 84 + 6%/15%/24%/33% (Talent 12%/21%/30%/39%) of the enemy's max health.

• If the Spirit Siphon is cast before the talent is leveled up, the max health drain talent won’t affect the current spell.

One target can not be affected by two Spirit Siphons at the same time.

• Uncastable on Roshan.

The target does not share the vision which means even when the target is out of the caster's sight or in the Fog of War, the link does not be broken.

• When the target is no longer visible, the link will connect to the last place where the target was spotted.

The slow debuff granted by the talent will be added to the currently active Siphon Spirits links.

With the upgrades from Aghanim’s Shard, the fear debuff is applied on the target in the fourth second during the Siphon Sipirts’s period.

• The fear still affects the target even when the debuff is disabled due to its reliance on the link buff on Death Prophet

• The target is not affected by the fear when he/she is invulnerable, hidden, or spell immune on the 4th second.

• The fear debuff will force the affected targets to run away from the caster instead of heading to their fountain.

Crypt Swarm

Exorcism

Exorcism (No Target, Physical)

Effect: 24 evil spirits are summoned by Death Prophet and roam around her for 35 seconds which drain the life of not only the nearby enemy units but also the structures in the active range.When this spell reaches its duration, Death Prophet will get healed for 25% the damage that the evil spirits deal.

Mana cost: 250/350/450

Cooldown: 150

Cast Animation: 0.5+0.77

Spirits Acquisition Radius: 700

Max Attack Radius: 1200

Spirits Spawn Interval: 0.35

Number of Spirits: 8/16/24 (Talent 16/24/32)

Spirits Min Damage: 59

Spirits Max Damage: 64

Life Drain: 25%

Self Move Speed Bonus: 16%/18%/20%

Exorcism Duration: 35

Passive Spirit Damage Multiplier: 1

Upgradable by Aghanim’s Scepter:

• Passive Spirit Damage Multiplier: 1.5
• Passive Spirit Move Speed Slow: 100%
• Passive Spirit Slow Duration: 0.3
• Passive Spirit Max Duration: 20

Notes:

The spirits are produced every 0.35 seconds which begins right after the spell is cast, which costs about 2.45/5.25/8.05 (Talent 5.25/8.05/10.85) seconds to release all of the spirits.

The spirit can not be targeted, interacted with or affected by any attack, spells or items because it is not considered as a unit.

The Spirits move around Death Prophet within the 700 radius and their flying speed is 525.

• They can only turn by traveling in arcs of around 150 radius.

The target will be picked by the spirits arbitrarily but will focus on the target that Death Prophet is attacking.

• When a spirit has singled out the target, it won’t let go of the target except the death of the either target or Death Prophet or out of active range.

• The released spirits which are chasing the targets can not be stopped until they reach the targets or the targets are out of the 1900 range.

•  Although the maximum distance that the spirits can reach is 1900, they only deal damage within the range of 1200 around Death Prophet. 

• When the spirit already catches up with the target and deals damage, the spirits will retrieve to Death Prophet before flying out again and deal damage.

Any attackable units will be the targets of the spirit including buildings, wards, and units inside the Fog of War. The only exception is the invisible units.

• Invulnerable or ethereal units can not be targeted by spirits, but the spirits still follow the targets if Exorcism is cast before they turn invulnerable or ethereal.

The damage is dealt by reaching the target of the spirits not by attacking.

• Which means spell life steal or spell damage can amplify the damage dealt by the spirits. Besides, the on-hit effect can not be triggered  and the evasion or damage block can not disable or reduce the damage caused by the spirits.   

The spirits will disappear if they reach the range of 2000 and will respawn at the Death Prophet’s position.

• Reappearing spirits are still linked to the spawn interval, so when many spirits vanish, they do not return on Death Prophet at the same time.

When the duration of the Exorcism is over, the spirits will return to Death Prophet and heal her instead of healing right after the spirits deal damage.

• The damage value per spirit is what decides the amount of health Death Prophet will be healed, not on the actual damage dealt.

•  That means each spirit will heal Death Prophet by 14.7 - 16 for each attack it caused, no matter how much damage the targets actually get.

When casting the new Exorcism , the ongoing Exorcism will be canceled immediately which means the spirits will return to Death Prophet’s position and heal her.

Besides buffing the Exorcism, Aghanim’s Scepter also has an impact on the Death Prophet’s basic abilities, Crypt Swarm, Silence and Spirit Siphon.

• When the enemy is hit by Crypt Swarm and Silence or targeted by Spirit Siphon, a spirit will be produced. The enemies receiving the regular attacks (including buildings,excluding wards) also generate the spirits.

• If the basic attack is affected by evasion or disjoint, the spirit will not be created. The same goes for Spirit Siphon if it is blocked by Spell Block.

•   For Rubick, as he only steals one skill per time, so if he steals Exorcism, only regular attacks can generate the spirits. With great timing, Rubik can also trigger the spirit by Crypt Swarm and Silence if stealing Exorcism while the projectiles are still moving.

• Which means only regular attacks can trigger spirits in the Ability Draft mode.

• The spirits created by attack or Death Prophet’s abilities have the similar characteristics with the ones from regular cast.

• The damage dealt by spirits and the healing that Death Prophet receives are 88.5‒96 damage and 22.13‒24 health respectively.

• The spirits can follow the target for 20 seconds before giving and traveling back to Death Prophet.

Effective items guides

Early game

Tango

Tango and Healing Salve are items to help you heal and regenerate your health so you can stay in the lane longer for farming.

Iron Branch

 Iron Branch gives Death Prophet a small amount of attack speed and attack damage as well as intelligence, allowing you to last hit the creeps easier in the early game.

Clarity

Clarity provides mana regen which helps Death Prophet cast Crypt Swarm more frequently.

Magic Stick

Magic Stick is a source of mana and health restoration which helps Death Prophet to cast more Crypt Swarm.

Boots of Speed

Boots of Speed increases mobility.

Null Talisman

Null Talisman expands Death Prophet’s mana pool and grants extra health and damage.

Mid game

Magic Wand

With the Magic Stick that you purchase in the early game, Magic Wand is a decent and reasonable upgrade as it can grant you a small bonus and extra health..

Phase Boots

Phase Boost: Besides the movement speed it grants, it also grants a small amount of armor as well as attack damage which help Death Prophet survive better and deal more damage respectively.

Eul's Scepter of Divinity

Eul’s Scepter of Divinity: Besides being a great tool to disable an enemy or herself, it also grants Death Prophet movement speed as well as mana. Eul’s Scepter of Divinity synergizes well with Exorcism as it temporarily keeps Death Prophet out of the combat while dealing damage and gets healed at the end.

Aghanim's Scepter

Aghanim’s Scepter upgrades the ultimate of Death Prophet which increases the damage output of her as well as increases the survivability.

Late game

Black King Bar

Besides the health and damage bonus which is granted by Black King Bar, the Ability of BKB can guard her Exorcism from being disabled while casting.

Octarine Core

Octarine Core is the ideal item for Death Prophet as it expands the mana and health pool, grants mana regeneration as well as cast range which allows Death Prophet to cast more spells in a safe distance and survive better. Besides, the cooldown reduction lets Death Prophet to spam her skill more frequently.

Situation items

Eternal Shroud

Eternal Shroud increases Death Prophet’s survivability and endurance by granting health regeneration, magic resistance as well as the Spell lifesteal. Furthermore, it is a great item in the teamfight or combat as the shield it creates can block a huge amount of magical damage and convert the damage taken into mana, allowing allies to cast more spells.

Bloodstone

Bloodstone grants Death Prophet various bonus stats from mana regeneration, health, mana to lifesteal amplification which make Death Prophet survive better in the teamfight or combat.

Drum of Endurance

Drum of Endurance is a great item with a reasonable price as it grants great attributes and movement speed for her and her allies which can lead to the victory of the teamfight.

Pipe of Insight

Pipe of Insight provides health regen and magic resistance. This item synergizes well with Mekansm and can turn the table in the teamfight.

Solar Crest

Solar Crest reduces the armor of the enemies which makes Exorcism deal more damage. It also grants a great amount of attributes, mana regeneration and armor.

Assault Cuirass

Assault Cuirass can provide negative armor debuff, attack speed and massive armor gain for Death Prophet so your chance of survivability will increase and deal more damage and push the lane faster.

Shiva's Guard

Shiva’s Guard expands the mana pool as well as grants a lot of armor. Furthermore, the huge intelligence stats it grants is what Death Prophet needs to survive better and deal more damage.

Scythe of Vyse

Scythe of Vyse: morphs the target into a harmless swine which gives her more time to finish casting Exorcism.

Heart of Tarrasque

Heart of Tarrasque: A total 1300 health and 14.5 health regeneration are what Death Prophet receives when buying this item. Death Prophet can survive longer in a teamfight and keep its health in the sustain state.

Kaya

Kaya increases Death Prophet’s damage and regenerates mana for her to cast more spells regardless of the small mana pool. It can be used to upgrade to Kaya and Sange later.

Rod of Atos

Rod of Atos: Besides, the stats it grants, the root effect can help her cast Silence on the enemy easier.

Enemies & Allies

Allies

Enigma

Enigma’s Black Hole synergizes well with Death Prophet’s abilities as it disables the enemies which helps Death Prophet finish casting Exorcism or cast Crypt Swarm and Silence on the enemy target easily.

Faceless Void

Faceless Void caught the enemies inside the circle by casting Chronosphere which is a perfect set-up for Death Prophet to land all of her abilities and deal tons of damage.

Counters

Ancient Apparition

Ancient Apparition: even with the assistance from Eul’s Scepter of Divinity, Death Prophet can not get away from the debuff caused by Cold Feet. With Ice Vortex, Ancient Apparition can kite Death Prophet quite easily and reduce her magic resistance. Ice Blast can counter the healing effect from Spirit Siphon and Exorcism.

Anti-Mage

Anti-Mage: As Death Prophet relies on her mana pool to deal damage, Anti Mage can prevent her from causing damage by casting Mana Void. With Blink, Anti Mage has an advantage when chasing or escaping from Death Prophet due to her lack of mobility.

Doom

Doom: By casting Doom, Doom can prevent Death Prophet from casting spells which means a high reduction in damage output and makes her useless in combat.When it comes to chasing, She can’t escape Doom when he casts Scorched Earth.

Legion Commander

Legion Commander: Duel can finish Death Prophet before her ultimate can deal damage and heal her. Besides, with Blade Mail, attacking Legion Commander can reflect the damage and bring death to Death Prophet.

Omniknight

Omniknight: Death Prophet will be slowed when Omniknight casts Degen Aura which keeps her in his attack range. Guardian Angel makes physical damage from Exorcism become useless with Omniknight.

Shadow Fiend

Shadow Fiend:  Shadowraze (Near), Shadowraze (Medium), and Shadowraze (Far) give Shadow Fiend a leg up in the laning phase and harass her easily. Furthermore, Requiem of Soul’s massive damage can leave Death Prophet no chance at all to contribute in the teamfight.

Items Counter

Blade Mail

Blade Mail can cause the death of Death Prophet by reflecting her own damage.

Orchid Malevolence

Orchid Malevolence and Bloodthorn:discontinue Exorcism and silences Death Prophet which prevent her from dealing damage.

Diffusal Blade

Diffusal Blade drains her mana which stops her from spamming her spells as well as slows her down.

Eul's Scepter of Divinity

Eul’s Scepter of Divinity, Guardian Greaves, Lotus Orb and Manta Style can make Death Prophet’s silence become useless.

Favorable Matchups

Zeus

Zeus: an ideal target for Spirit Siphon and Exorcism due to his low mobility. The magical damage that Zeus applies on Death Prophet can be healed by Spirit Siphon. With Silence, Zeus can not cast his spells to deal damage.

Invoker

Invoker: When Quas-exort Invoker has no Vox to help him move faster, he is an ideal prey for Death Prophet to land Spirits Siphon and Exorcism on him. The damage is dealt by Forge Spirit and Cold Snap can be healed easily by draining Invoker’s HP with Spirit Siphon. With Silence, Invoker can not cast his ultimate which directly reduces his damage output.

Morphling

Morphling: As Morphling deals a great amount of damage by casting spells, Silence can prevent him from doing so.

Timbersaw

Timbersaw: Death Prophet can silence him which prevents him from dealing damage in the team fight. Reactive Armor can not be activated when Timbersaw receives damage from the spirits.

Nature's Prophet

Nature’s Prophet: the Treants or Necronomicon units stand no chance against Exorcism. Additionally, Death Prophet can stop him from running away by landing Silence on him.

Game plan

Early game

You must focus on farming as much as you can. With the help from Crypt Swarm, farming is not a big deal to you in the early game as it can clear the minion’s waves pretty quick. In case the opponent plays a little aggressive, remember to cast Spirit Siphon on him so you can keep your health at a sustain state after trading skills. If you are an underdog in this lane, stick to the tower and use Crypt Swarm to clear the creeps, only move up when the jungle is near.

Mid game

Your priority is still farming but be ready to engage in any imminent fights. As you can deal tons of damage , you must be present in any team fight.  You should hold your position well or find a good spot to cast Exorcism. Besides, you can initiate a combat by casting a perfect Silence.

Late game

Your objectives in the late game are quite the same with the mid game but this time you and your team might play around the keys objectives like Roshan and towers. As you are insanely strong when the game is dragged to the late so you must find a great position to cast Exorcism and then win the combat or even the game.