Storm Spirit Overview

Lore & Bio

" Everyone complains about the weather…well, I'm doing something about it!"

A force of nature, Storm Spirit is the ferocious force of the wind and weather captured in human form. And what a raucous, lighthearted, unstoppable form it is! He brings a lively energy to every scene, as cheery as a favorite uncle. However, this was not always the case, and his creation contained tragedy. Good people were starving in drought and famine generations ago in the plains beyond the Wailing Mountains. A straightforward elementalist by the name of Thunderkeg invoked the spirit of the storm while requesting rain using a forbidden spell. 

The Storm Celestial known as Raijin, furious at this mortal's arrogance, devastated the land, ravaging it with winds and floods. Thunderkeg couldn't stand a chance against the Celestial, at least not until he used a suicidal spell to seal their doomsday: he imprisoned the Celestial inside the cage of his own body. The jovial Raijin Thunderkeg, a Celestial who travels the world in physical form, was created when Thunderkeg's boundless good humor fused with Raijin's insane energy while they were trapped together.

Attribute & Stats

Level: 0 1 15 25 30

Health: 200 620 1180 1820 2060

Health regen: +0.25 +2.35 +5.15 +8.35 +9.55

Mana: 75 315 999 1611 1875

Mana regen: +0.5 +1.65 +4.38 +6.93 +8.01

Armor: 1 4.67 9.1 14.27 16.18

Damage Block: -        

Magic Resistance: 25%    

Status Resistance: 0%    

Damage: 24-34 47-47 101-111 152-162 174-184

Attack Rate: 0.68/s 0.81/s 0.96/s 1.14/s 1.21/s

Attack Range: 480(800)

Attack Speed: 115 (1.7s BAT)

Attack Animation: 0.5+0.3    

Projectile Speed: 1100

Movement Speed: 285    

Turn Rate: 0.8    

Collision Size: 24    

Vision Range: (G) 1800 • 800    

Legs: 2    

Gib Type: Electric .   

Ability Upgrades:    

• Upgradable by Electric Vortex.

• Upgradable by Overload.

Abilities & Talents

Skills building guide

Storm can be built in a variety of ways, but approximately 95% of players construct him similarly. For last hitting, Static Remnant is always taken at level 1, and Overload at level 2. Ball Lightning is taken at 6, Electric Vortex at 3, 4, and 5. While others choose to obtain the final point before obtaining the other three Overload points, some choose to leave Electric Vortex at 3 and maximum Overload. Personally, I prefer to complete all four levels of Electric Vortex by level 7, as the additional disable time has two benefits. First of all, it gives you and your allies more time to inflict damage on the opposition. Additionally, it reduces the amount of time you are slowed while the target is disabled.

Getting an extra level of Electric Vortex guarantees the kill because at lower levels you do not have enough mana to chase with Ball Lightning. The additional level of Overload does, however, significantly increase your damage output if your team has enough disables. Static Remnant is maxed last after Overload and Electric Vortex, and you always try to use your ultimate at levels 6, 11, and 16.

Abilities

Static Remnant

Mana: 70/80/90/100

Cooldown : 3.5

Cast animation: 0+1.1

Damage: 260

Duration: 12

Effect: Creates a 12-second-long, explosively charged image of Storm Spirit that will explode and deal damage to any nearby enemy units.

Electric Vortex

Cast animation: 0.3+0.77

Cast range: 300

Radius: 475

Cooldown time: 20/18/16/14

Effect: A vortex that directs an adversary unit toward Storm Spirit.

Overload

Mana cost: 150

Cast animation: 0+0

Damage: 300

Cooldown time: 30s

Duration: 0.8

Effect: The electrical charge generated by casting a spell is released in a burst during Storm's subsequent attack, dealing damage and slowing nearby enemies.

Ball Lightning

Mana: 25 + 7.5% of max mana

Cast animation: 0.3+0

Cast range: global

Damage: 200

Speed: 1400/1850/2300

Effect: Storm Spirit transforms into erratic electricity and charges across the battlefield until he runs out of mana or encounters his intended target. The cost per 100 units traveled is 10+0.65 percent of his total mana pool, and the activation mana cost is 25+7.5% of that amount. Damage is measured in terms of harm per 100 units of travel.

Effective items guides

Early game

Magic Stick

Magic Stick: Can occasionally provide Storm Spirit with a spike in mana and health. This could give Storm the edge he needs to escape a gank or cast one more spell to eliminate an opponent.

Boots of Speed

Boots of Speed: Are crucial on every hero as soon as possible. The capacity to outmaneuver his lane rival is essential to Storm Spirit's success.

Null Talisman

Null Talisman: Gives Storm Spirit a balanced set of abilities, with intelligence and damage for more mana and last-hitting power being the most important. Two Null Talismans, depending on the situation, can be helpful for giving Storm good early attributes and a respectable reduction in his mana cost, enabling him to use Ball Lightning with ease.

Bottle

Bottle: Is important to get as soon as possible when playing in the mid lane. Storm Spirit is able to keep his HP and mana against his lane opponent by bottling runes, and the runes themselves can be used whenever the player wants to, making it a very powerful item at all stages of the game.

Mid game

Magic Wand

Magic Wand: Is a cheap upgrade from Magic Stick that adds more burst HP and mana regeneration. It also offers very cost-effective attributes.

Power Treads

Power Treads: The ability to treads switch, which is essential when combined with a Bottle, to Storm Spirit The attribute bonus can be switched between intelligence for more mana and attack power and strength for increased survivability.

Yasha and Kaya

Kaya: Increases his overall presence in the game and speeds up his recovery by amplifying his mana regeneration and spell damage. Later, transform it into a Kaya and Sange icon.png Kaya and Sange for greater sustainability and better bottle icon.png recovery Bottle.

Orchid Malevolence

Orchid Malevolence: Is extremely powerful on Storm Spirit, greatly amplifying his offensive potential. He can move about the battlefield with a fair amount of autonomy thanks to the intelligence and mana regeneration bonuses, and he has more mana to use for attacking foes. Storm can use his physical attacks more effectively thanks to the damage, attack speed, and intelligence bonuses, which together increase Storm's right-click power. The ability of Storm Spirit to silence enemies that he initiates on with Ball Lightning is particularly important because it increases the damage he deals thanks to damage amplification and prevents targets from just casting escape spells, both of which would otherwise be possible. Later, you can transform your Malevolence into a Bloodthorn icon.png Bloodthorn.

Late game

Kaya and Sange

Kaya and Sage: Since the switch to Bloodstone icon.png Bloodstone, is now the preferred item for upgrading Kaya. Kaya benefits from all the improvements made by upgrading it, and Storm also gains more HP and status resistance, enabling him to withstand disables (as well as breaking certain combos, which rely on cast timing which is altered by the status resistance provided). Yasha and Kaya are outclassed by it in every way icon.png Yasha and Kaya, which gives Storm Spirit very little in addition to a Kaya (he does not benefit at all from the move speed and benefits very little from the other stats the Yahsa provides; one can compare this to HP and status resistance of a Sange upgrade, for example).

Scythe of Vyse

Scythe of Vyse: Is a very potent item that any intelligence hero should buy, and Storm Spirit benefits from it for all the same reasons that Orchid Malevolence does. Storm gains a significant mana regeneration and intelligence boost from the item, which makes him very mana independent. Storm's weaknesses in strength and agility are also strengthened by the additional strength and agility. When combined with Electric Vortex, the active ability enables Storm Spirit to hard-disable an enemy for a duration that is more than doubled during an initiation.

Linken's Sphere

Linken’s Sphere: Gives all Storm Spirit attributes, increased mana regeneration, a potent passive for survivability, and increased mana regeneration. He is incredibly slippery and harder to catch out of position because Spell Block can block targeted disables.

Black King Bar

Black King Bar: Is advantageous when Storm Spirit's captors have a variety of disabilities at their disposal. The spell immunity can be used to concentrate on enemies without worrying about being stunned or silenced during a battle.

Shiva's Guard

Shiva’s Guard: Provides a giant slow, armor, and intelligence that are all useful in team battles. If Storm Spirit needs protection from physical damage rather than from disabilities, this item may be powerful.

Bloodthorn

Bloodthorn: Storm Spirit can vaporize his targets thanks to his active ability, which ensures critical damage and accuracy.

Situation items

Dagon

Dagon: If Storm Spirit needs more single-target killing power and already has a significant advantage over the opposing team, it may be a situationally advantageous item. The item itself offers greater intelligence, and the active can deal greater damage to an enemy to hasten the enemy's demise.

Bloodstone

Bloodstone: Gives Storm Spirit a number of potent advantages, enabling him to develop into a force to be feared by any adversary. Storm Spirit is much more resilient thanks to the significant HP and mana bonuses, and he can use spells more liberally as a result. Additionally, Bloodstone offers a sizable amount of spell lifesteal and enables Storm to replenish his mana in proportion to the damage he dealt, making up for the mana he used for Ball Lightning.

Arcane Blink

Arcane Blink: Despite the fact that it seems strange for a Storm Spirit, the bonuses it offers help his Ball Lightning and debuff amplification last longer while also providing a significant mana cost reduction. In other words, when combined with two or more Null Talismans after the 25th minute, this spirit will transform into a thunder god made flesh with an ultimate that costs less mana than he can regenerate. It will also spawn chaos upon the opposing team.

Octarine Core

Octarine Core: Is a product that you might want to buy on Storm Spirit. Any intelligence hero can benefit from its bonuses, and the spell lifesteal can help Storm maintain his HP pool while using spells, making him harder to take down in battles if the enemy is able to inflict damage on him. More importantly, though, the shortened cooldowns can significantly shorten Storm's turnaround time by allowing his spells and equipment to be used more quickly. In particular, the shortened cooldown on Static Remnant can enable more Overload procs and increased damage output.

Eul's Scepter of Divinity

Eul’s Scepter of Divinity: Can be a reasonably priced item that both boosts mana regeneration and clears silences.

Enemies & Allies

Allies

Keeper of the Light

• Early in the game, casting Chakra Magic on occasion can replenish Storm Spirit's mana supply and enable him to cast one or two more spells in between runes.

Omniknight

• With Heavenly Grace, you can attack enemies right away without worrying about getting hurt. Storm Spirit is kept alive by Omniknight heal and is able to deal damage to foes with his pull.

Lifestealer

• The Lifestealer bomb combo can be helpful in a game because it allows the otherwise immobile Lifestealer to engage in melee combat while also making for a highly damaging combo against lone targets.

Counters

Anti-Mage

• Storm Spirit's mana can be swiftly burned by Mana Break, preventing him from fleeing. 

• Storm Spirit tries to use his Ball Lightning to flee, but Blink lets Anti-Mage catch up to him. 

• Storm Spirit uses Ball Lightning to deplete his mana supply, which causes Mana Void to deal a ton of damage to both him and his teammates. 

• Much of the magical damage that Storm Spirit deals to Anti-Mage is mitigated by Counterspell's passive magic resistance, and the spell's active component may even cause Storm Spirit to become incapacitated.

Doom

• Storm Spirit is rendered completely useless in a battle by Doom, which prevents him from using all of his skills and equipment.

Ember Spirit

• Ember Spirit can withstand Storm Spirit's high magical damage thanks to Flame Guard, which can absorb up to 500 magical damage (or 700 with Level 10 talents). 

• Enemies can be immobilized by Searing Chains for up to three seconds, preventing Storm Spirit from using Ball Lightning to flee. 

• When casting multiple instances of Fire Remnant at once, it deals a lot of magical damage, giving Ember Spirit the power to quickly take down Storm Spirit in the early to mid game.

Night Stalker

• Crippling Fear is a nighttime silence that can last up to 8 seconds, limiting Storm Spirit to using only his weapons. 

• Dark Ascension makes Storm Spirit vulnerable early on and prevents him from snowballing by allowing Night Stalker to initiate on him across the impassable terrain in the middle lane.

Nyx Assassin

• Mana Burn has the power to quickly deplete Storm Spirit's chances of escaping a gank or fight while also wiping out the majority of his sizable mana reserve.

Riki

• Once inside the radius, Smoke Screen prevents Storm Spirit from using his abilities. By using this power, Riki can enable his team to fight around Smoke Screen, preventing Storm Spirit from continuously casting spells that would otherwise cause Overload.

Silencer

• Intelligence of the Silencer If Storm Spirit scores some kills during the laning phase, steal may be able to lower his damage output. 

• Storm Spirit will be a simple target thanks to Last Word and Global Silence. 

• Storm Spirit can't connect abilities after using Ball Lightning on his targets, so Global Silence can stop him.

Techies

• Storm Spirit might stumble into a trap set by Techies and another hero serving as bait if he isn't careful. 

• Launch Off! silences for 4/5/6/7 seconds, effectively stopping Storm Spirit from using Ball Lightning to flee for a considerable amount of time.

Items Counter

Orchid Malevolence

Orchid Malevolence: Storm Spirit is countered, which not only renders him completely defenseless but also causes additional damage. Think about purchasing this for heroes who like to attack while building a standard orchid.

Scythe of Vyse

Scythe of Vyse: Will prevent a Storm Spirit from acting for 3.5 seconds, giving allies enough time to destroy or further restrain a Storm Spirit.

Rod of Atos

Rod of Atos: The inability to use Ball Lightning while under the effects of Rod of Atos and Gleipnir long-range root abilities will make it difficult for a Storm Spirit to initiate or escape.

Aeon Disk

Aeon Disk: Is an excellent item for supporters who want to be able to endure the initiation of Storm Spirit.

Favorable Matchups

Ancient Apparition

• When trying to stop a Storm Spirit without any other disables, Ancient Apparition's only skill to do so is Cold Feet, which is generally bad. 

• Ancient Apparition is a weak support with little Strength gain and no magic resistance, making it susceptible to Storm Spirit's combos.

Arc Warden

• Arc Warden lacks the ability to flee, so Storm Spirit can easily kill him by pursuing him with Ball Lightning. 

• All of his skills are useless against Storm Spirit because Ball Lightning can dodge them.

Bloodseeker

• Ball Lightning makes Storm Spirit immune to damage, rendering Rupture useless against him.

Mars

• All of Storm Spirit's attacks deal magical damage, which can get around Bulwark. 

• Ball Lightning can escape through the Arena of Blood, and Spear of Mars is simple to avoid.

Monkey King

• Ball Lightning makes Tree Dance ineffective by allowing Storm Spirit to significantly more trees. Additionally, it makes dodging Wukong's Command and Boundless Strike simple.

Phantom Lancer

• Ball Lightning can quickly dispel Phantom Lancer's illusions with or without the Static Remnant talent in Storm Spirit. Additionally, Spirit Storm is very difficult to catch even with Phantom Rush and Spirit Lance is simple to dodge with Ball Lightning.

Razor

• Static Link is destroyed by Ball Lightning. 

• Razor lacks the ability to capture a slick Storm Spirit.

Sniper

• Due to his weakness, Sniper is easily taken down by heroes who jump on him. Sniper's only escape route is a few items after Storm Spirit closes the distance in their battle. 

• Assassinate can be avoided by Storm Spirit with a well-timed Ball Lightning.

Spectre

• The most effective defense against Spectre's entire arsenal is Ball Lightning. With this power, he can easily defeat Spectre early on without giving her any chance to flee, and later on, when she lacks any kind of pseudo-blink, kite her and her Haunt illusions. 

• Furthermore, Spectre will always be on the move without both Manta Style icon.png Manta Style and Diffusal Blade, making it very difficult for him to deal any significant damage to Storm Spirit with Desolate. 

• Additionally, because Storm Spirit enjoys using Ball Lightning frequently, it makes him immune to damage from Dispersion and Radiance. Radiance.

Terrorblade

• Due to Terrorblade's limited mobility, Storm Spirit can easily kite him. 

• Due to his increased agility and low strength, Terrorblade is simple to take down with Storm's magical damage. 

• Storm Spirit can simply use Ball Lightning to avoid all of Terrorblade's abilities, wiping out the durations of Metamorphosis, Conjure Image, and Reflection. 

• However, Terrorblade can quickly use Sunder and dispatch a careless Storm Spirit if Storm Spirit's Orchid Malevolence is on cooldown or if he doesn't have it.

Tinker

• Ball Lightning by Storm Spirit ignores impassable terrain and decimates trees, making it risky for Tinker to hide there. 

• Heat-Seeking Missile projectile and March of the Machines damage are split apart by Ball Lightning. 

• Tinker can't teleport away due to the Electric Vortex, and Static Remnant and Overload can easily take him out.

Vengeful Spirit

• If a Magic Missile is coming at you, you can avoid Wave of Terror by using Ball Lightning, and Storm Spirit can easily get away if he ever gets Nether Swapped.

Viper

• Ball Lightning wastes Viper's mana by allowing Storm Spirit to flee via Viper Strike. 

• Additionally, waiting out the duration of Nethertoxin's break is very simple.

Weaver

• Ball Lightning enables Storm Spirit to quickly close the distance between himself and Weaver. Weaver is very vulnerable to Storm Spirit and his teammates once restrained with specific items.

Game plan

Early game

The solo experience you get from going mid is fantastic, and you can easily push spam with Static Remnant and rune control with Ball Lightning. However, if another hero can also gain from mid, Storm Spirit can also be played alone in the safe lane. For instance, at TI4, EG ran Mason in the safe lane on Storm Spirit and Arteezy in the middle on Phantom Assassin. You should really stick to solo mid storm in bars, though. Use Static Remnant to last hit and push while in the lane, and Overload to harass your opponent. 

Your main objective is to survive to level 6 without dying.Any smart enemy will attempt to gank Storm before he activates his ultimate because this is when he is most likely to be weak. To avoid being caught off guard by a slack rotation, make sure you have wards set up around your lane. Stay safe on your side of the river if the enemy reinforcements disappear. With Storm Spirit, it's always better to be safe than sorry.

Mid game

When you reach levels 7-8, you should begin to consider the outside lanes. Alert your allies and move to the outside lane if you receive a good rune (Haste, DD, or Regen). Ask them to come in the middle if you have good ganking support (Mirana, Earthshaker, Shadow Demon, or Bane), as you can kill almost any typical mid with Electric Vortex and an additional stun. In general, gank a few targets while having a significant level advantage, then farm up your Orchid Malevolence. 

Plan to gank the enemy team's top priority target as soon as your Orchid Malevolence activates. Nobody will be able to stop you and an ally from ganking any hero if you obtain Orchid Malevolence at the right time. Storm's mid-game strategy revolves around aggression. The mere possibility of you going missing will make most solo heroes play extra cautiously, even if you are just farming the enemy. One of the best counter initiators in the game is Storm Spirit, so make sure you always have a Town Portal Scroll available.

Late game

Storm Spirit can snowball strongly into the middle of the game, but he really shines in the closing stages. Even though you are not giving your team map control, Battle Fury allows you to farm nearly as quickly as an Anti-Mage. Always have buyback on Storm after 40 minutes, as you can quickly TP and then re-enter the battle with Ball Lightning. By terrorizing their supports, you can free up space for your team late in the game, enabling them to farm, take towers, take Roshan, or do whatever the hell they want. 

Make sure not to stretch yourself too thinly, though. When the game is close, dying at the wrong time can be very problematic for your team because you can no longer punish them severely for going over their limit. Be shrewd, but above all, make sure you can quickly land your disables on the right targets and move as quickly as you can. Unless there is Cheese and your carry desperately needs the extra two lives, you should always choose the Aegis of the Immortal whenever your team takes Roshan. You are possibly the best carrier of the Aegis of the Immortal in the game. Oh, and enjoy yourself! One of the most entertaining Dota heroes to play in the late game is Storm Spirit!