My iron will shall break them by F.E.A.R.

Hero Introduction

Hero Introduction

True to his name, the Spiritbreaker is excellent at crushing the fight out of an enemy target. His skills are focused on disabling and killing a single enemy hero, making him much more effective in ambushes and one on one situations than large team battles. The Spiritbreaker generally opens with a Charge of Darkness, which allows him to charge from any point on the map towards the target, increasing in speed as he approaches his target. Upon arrival, he delivers a crushing stun, giving him time to follow up with his other active ability: Netherstrike. Netherstrike is a short range teleporting attack, which knocks the target back and deals massive damage. The Spiritbreaker's two passive skills supplement this combo. Empowering Haste is a aura which significantly boosts the movement speed of the Spiritbreaker and nearby allies, as well as providing him with a damage bonus based on his movement speed. Greater Bash is partly what makes the Spiritbreaker so feared by lone enemies. Upon connecting a Greater Bash, the Spiritbreaker deals extra damage and knocks the target back, stunning and disabling them completely. With Charge of Darkness, Greater Bash, and Netherstrike, hapless targets of the Spiritbreaker's attention are often dead before they can so much as lift a finger in retaliation.

Background Story

Barathrum the Spirit Breaker is a lordly and powerful being, a fierce and elemental intelligence which chose to plane-shift into the world of matter to take part in events with repercussions in the elemental realm that is his home. To that end, he assembled a form that would serve him well, both in our world and out of it. His physical form borrows from the strengths of this world, blending features both bovine and simianhorns, hooves and handsas outward emblems of his inner qualities of strength, speed and cunning. He wears a ring in his nose, as a reminder that he serves a hidden master, and that this world in which he works is but a shadow of the real one.

Hero Spotlight

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Pros/Cons

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Pros Has the highest base starting Strength Durable Has one of the best ganking spells Powerful perma basher Needs high damage and attack speed

Cons Can be easily harassed in laning phase Low mana pool Item dependent

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Advanced Statistics

29 + 2.417 + 1.714 + 1.8
60-702905.38

Affiliation: The Dire
Attack Range: Melee
Turn Rate: 0.4
Attack Animation: 0.6 / 0.3
Casting Animation: 0.47 / 0.8
Base Attack Time: 1.9
Missile Speed: Instant
Sight Range: 1800 / 800

Abilities

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Charge of Darkness

Ability Type: Targeting Type: Damage type:

Active Enemy unit Magic

Spirit Breaker fixes his sight on an enemy unit and starts charging through all objects. All enemy units passed through and the targeted unit will be hit by a Greater Bash. If the targeted unit dies, Spirit Breaker will change his target to the nearest enemy unit to that location.

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• Partially blocked by Magic Immunity. The main stun is blocked, but the Greater Bash is not.
• Blocked by Linken's Sphere. Is blocked on cast, not on colliding with the enemy.
• Cannot be Purged.
• Spirit Breaker passes through everything.
• Any unit you pass through (300 radius) and the target will be hit by Greater Bash of Spirit Breaker's current level, if Greater Bash has been learned.
• Duration of stun is determined by either with longer duration.
• The charge stops if you click anywhere (including +Shift key control), or if you are disabled.
• If the target dies, the charge is transferred to the nearest valid target.
• Some items are usable during the charge without interrupting it, such as Black King Bar or Mask of Madness. Using Black King Bar right before you strike will ensure your charge doesn't get countered.
• Because Linken's Sphere triggers on cast, this ability can be used to instantly and globally put an enemy's sphere on cooldown.
• Spirit Breaker gains shared vision of the target for the duration. But he doesn't get True Sight on enemy unit.
• While it does not provide True Sight the indicator will follow the invisible unit being charged and the Charge will still hit an enemy that has gone invisible after being charged. This will cause the skill to interrupt channeling spells being performed by invisible heroes such as Sand King's Sandstorm.
• Greater Bash damage is based on Spirit Breaker's current movement speed (after all MS increases and slows) rather than Charge of Darkness movement speed.

Spirit Breaker - Charge of Darkness

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Empowering Haste

Empowering Haste

Ability Type: Targeting Type: Damage type:

Passive N/A

The Spirit Breaker's presence increases the movement speed of nearby allied units.

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Spirit Breaker - Empowering Haste

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Greater Bash

Ability Type: Targeting Type: Damage type:

Passive N/A

Gives a chance to stun and knockback an enemy unit on an attack, as well as gaining bonus movement speed after a bash occurs. Deals damage based on movement speed.

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• Partially blocked by Magic Immunity. The damage is blocked, the stun is not.
• Not blocked by Linken's Sphere.
• Cannot be Purged.
• Does not stack with Skull Basher or Abyssal Blade.
• Knockback distance is 100.
• Because Spirit Breaker's movement speed cannot be lower than 100 or greater than 522, it can't deal (before reductions) less than 10/20/30/40 damage and more than 52.2/104.4/156.6/208.8 damage.
• Neither stun, knockback nor bonus damage affects Roshan. (as of now the damage goes through but it is a confirmed bug)
• Disabled by Doom.
• Unlike most chance-based passive abilities Greater Bash is not governed by Pseudo-random distribution.

Spirit Breaker - Greater Bash

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Nether Strike

Ability Type: Targeting Type: Damage type:

Active Enemy unit Magic

Spirit Breaker slips into the nether realm, reappearing next to his hapless victim. Upon reappearing, a Greater Bash of the current level occurs and deals bonus damage.

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• Partially blocked by Magic Immunity. The damage is blocked, the bash is not.
• Aghanim's Scepter: Causes the Greater Bash to hit an area around the initial target, decreases cooldown, and increases cast range.
• Spirit Breaker appears behind the target to deliver the bash.
• The strike is performed after a 1.2 second delay, during which Nether Strike can be interrupt.
• Performs a Greater Bash of Spirit Breaker's current level upon arrival, if Greater Bash is learned.
• With Aghanim's Scepter, Spirit Breaker performs a Greater Bash level 4 on all units in a 250 radius of Spirit Breaker upon arrival.
• The spell can be dodged by moving out of sight or out of buffer of spell's range.
• It is not a channeled spell but a long-casting spell. If interrupted during the delay, mana and cooldown are preserved.

Spirit Breaker - Nether Strike

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Skill Build

Level 1: Charge of Darkness
Level 2: Greater Bash
Level 3: Greater Bash
Level 4: Empowering Haste
Level 5: Greater Bash
Level 6: Nether Strike
Level 7: Greater Bash
Level 8: Empowering Haste
Level 9: Empowering Haste
Level 10: Empowering Haste
Level 11: Nether Strike
Level 12: Charge of Darkness
Level 13: Charge of Darkness
Level 14: Charge of Darkness
Level 15: Stats
Level 16: Nether Strike
Level 17 to 25: Stats

Skill Explanation

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• Use Charge of Darkness to get close, stun your target, and make him vulnerable to your attacks.
• Chaining together Charge of Darkness with Nether Strike can deal high amounts of burst damage in a very short amount of time.
• Charge of Darkness allows Spirit Breaker to run through units, trees, structures and terrain. In a recent change, Charge of Darkness no longer indicates your enemies when activated, letting you setup ganks.
• When charging enemy heroes in mid game, be 100% sure that they are alone. A lone enemy may wait out in the open while their ally hides in the trees, waiting for you to charge the bait hero, and finally be ganked. Therefore, Observer Wards can greatly reduce uncertainty before charging.
• Although Charge of Darkness is typically used to get into fights, it can also be used to get back out in a pinch; by targeting a creep in a different lane Spirit Breaker can move quickly to avoid death, then cancel the charge when he is out of danger.

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Empowering Haste

• Empowering Haste can be leveled up later as the bonus movespeed improves the damage of his Greater Bash as well as his general speed, improving his chasing ability even further in conjunction with it's maim.

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• Greater Bash deals more damage depending on Spirit Breaker's movement speed. Getting items that increase movement speed, such as Sange and Yasha and Drum of Endurance, will greatly improve your damage.

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• Nether Strike deals major damage to the target enemy and teleports behind them, wherever they go. You can use this to catch blinking or teleporting enemies before they get away.
• Sometimes it might be a good idea to use Nether Strike on a magic immune hero to interrupt their actions as the greater bash will hit them regardless. Situations where for example your team gets caught in a Black Hole by a magic immunue Enigma you can turn the tide of the fight if you can stop him right at the beginning.

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Items

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• Power Treads gives you extra move speed, attack speed, and durability, all of which help you stick on a target and proc your Greater Bash.
  
• Mask of Madness gives bonus attack speed and move speed when activated, increasing both the damage and frequency of Greater Bash attacks.
  
• Sange and Yasha is a fair pick on Spirit Breaker, as the bonus movespeed improves the damage of his Greater Bash as well as his general speed, improving his chasing ability even further in conjunction with it's maim.
  
• Black King Bar can make you immune to many abilities that interrupt your Charge of Darkness, allowing you to engage and damage your target unimpeded.

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• Armlet of Mordiggian is a core item on Spirit Breaker, gives more damage, attack speed and durability.
  
• Drum of Endurance increases Spirit Breaker's (and his team's) movement and attack speed with aura bonuses. It is not always a core item, but it should be bought if no one else on his team gets it.
  
• Although highly situational, A Shadow Blade can be bought by Spirit Breaker, and can be activated while charging. This greatly increases the surprise factor of his charge, and will add bonus damage on the first attack while invisible. Only useful for extra damage,however, and it is not a necessary item, and is certainly not a core item for him.
  
• Vladmir's Offering can be replaced with Mask of Madness. Despite of it that does't give attack speed, gives great lifesteal and aura.

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• Monkey King Bar and Daedalus will grant a significant damage bonus. When combined with Mask of Madness, the frequent number of attacks will increase opportunities for Critical Strike, Mini-Bash, and Greater Bash.
  
• Mjollnir will give increased attack speed which Spirit Breaker needs and perma bash to the enemy hero.

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• Like most strength carries, Spirit Breaker lacks good attack speed. Assault Cuirass more than makes up for this.
  
• Aghanim's Scepter can be built to buff Nether Strike if your team needs a powerful initiation spell, but in most cases you should opt for items that boost damage and attack speed instead.
  
• Heaven's Halberd is a good pick up against some enemies who are a bit stronger than you. Though if made Daedalus, Monkey King Bar, Mjollnir and Sange and Yasha, Heaven's Halberd won't be needed since you have a greatly increased As and damage also Ms that increases Greater Bash damage.
  
• Heart of Tarrasque greatly increases the survivability of Spirit Breaker, his damage and Hp regeneration.
  
• Satanic can be picked up over Heart of Tarrasque. Vastly increases the lifesteal and gives armor and more durability.

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Allies and Enemies

Allies

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Those who have a great stun greatly work Spirit Breaker. Such as Fissure, Hoof Stomp, Echo Stomp, Chaos Bolt who have high damage and long stun combined with the skills of Spirit Breaker the target it self becomes useless.

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Despite that Spirit Breaker can be easily harassed in lane. Heroes such these are a pain in the ***. Nether Blast, Split Earth deal high damage which will drop your Hp low. Crystal Nova, Earth Spike and Thunder Strike can be cast multiple times on you and can easily win the lane

Guide Updates

12.03.2014

• Made some changes.

Balance Changelog

6.79

• Base attack time nerfed from 1.7 to 1.9.
• Greater Bash no longer works while Doomed.
• Nether Strike now uses 1.2 Cast Time instead of a 1 sec magic immune delay (can be interrupted as a result).

6.78

• Charge of Darkness will now also Greater Bash its target.

6.75

• Base strength increased by 6.
• Damage increased by 9.
• Charge of Darkness
• No longer gives a buff indicator.
• Speed increased from 425/500/575/650 to 600/650/700/750.
• Empowering Haste
• No longer increases Spirit Breaker's damage.
• Movement bonus aura rescaled from 6/8/10/12% to 6/10/14/18%.
• Greater Bash
• Now deals damage based on your movement speed (10/20/30/40% of speed).
• Duration increased from 0.95/1.15/1.35/1.55 to 1/1.2/1.4/1.6.
• Now affects magic immune units.

6.73

• Charge of Darkness
• Cooldown decreased from 40 to 35.
• AoE knockback increased from 250 to 300.
• Nether Strike damage increased from 100/200/300 to 150/250/350.

6.72d

• Strength growth decreased from 2.8 to 2.4.
• Movement speed decreased from 295 to 290.
• Charge of Darkness stun duration decreased from 1.4/1.8/2.2/2.6 to 1.2/1.6/2.0/2.4 seconds.
• Nether Strike now hits a Greater Bash based on it's current level and not automatically level 4.

6.72c

• Charge of Darkness indicator AoE increased from 2500 to 3000.

6.72

• Base HP regeneration increased from 0.25 to 0.75.
• Greater Bash now gives a 3 second 15% movement speed bonus whenever you land a bash.
• Charge of Darkness reworked. Before, allowed Spirit Breaker to target any enemy unit to charge upto 4 seconds, gaining more speed depending on how long of a charge it was. Speed gain upto 60%, would stun 1.4/1.8/2.2/2.6 seconds on impact. Would gain vision and truesight of targeted unit during the charge's duration, would become magic immunne during the charge if fulled charged up, and would have the speed boost for 2 seconds after impact. Target would see a debuff icon when Spirit Breaker was in 2500 range of the target, and the charge would stop if the target dies, is decrepified, or cycloned. Cost 75 mana, had 40 second cooldown. Now, Charge of Darkness requires no charging, makes Spirit Breaker move at a flat speed of 425/500/575/650, stun the target on impact for 1.4/1.8/2.2/2.6 seconds. During the charge, any secondary unit in a 250 AoE of Spirit Breaker will get bashed equal to its current level. While charging, Spirit Breaker gains vision of the unit, If the target dies, will change to anther target, and will stop if stunned. Target gains a debuff icon in a 2500 range.

6.71

• Strength gain increased from 2.5 to 2.8.

6.69

• Greater Bash no longer messes up the target's command
• Nether Strike mana cost from 200/250/300 to 125/150/175
• Nether Strike (Aghanim's version) now Greater Bashes everyone in 250 area around you when you teleport to the primary target.

6.68

• Empowering Haste from 4/6/8/10 to 6/8/10/12.
• Aghanim's Scepter Nether Strike now also increases cast range (400/550/700->550/700/850).
• Charge of Darkness speed boost updates at smoother 0.5 intervals and displays a counter above your head.
• Added a button to make it more obvious how to initiate the charge earlier.

6.67

• You can still use the old move method though.
• Charge of Darkness stun duration improved from 1/1.5/2/2.5 to 1.4/1.8/2.2/2.6.
• Charge of Darkness chargeup movement bonus standardized across all levels (now 15% each second). As before, magic immunity is gained when fully charged.
• Charge of Darkness movement bonus now lasts for 2 seconds after impact with target.
• Fixed Spirit Breaker losing attack focus when you Greater Bash someone.

6.66

• Nether Strike now makes Spirit Breaker magic immune for the second that he is fading out during its cast.
• Charge of Darkness decreased manacost from 120 to 75.
• Charge of Darkness cast mechanic reworked.

6.60

• Improved AOE on Empowering Haste and added 2% more movement speed bonus.
• Added Spirit Breaker to Aghanim's Scepter. Dramatically reduces cooldown from 75 to 20 seconds.

6.58

• Charge of Darkness' buff indicator on the enemy is now visible to the enemy only when you are 2500 units or closer.
• Has magic immunity when he reaches maximum speed in Charge of Darkness.

6.57

• Increased Empowering Haste's AOE.