Servant of the Afterlife - Visage

Introduction to Visage

Visage is a very underplayed and underestimated Dire intelligence support and nuker hero. Due to the minimal micromanage skill needed to maximize his Summon Familiars effectiveness he is often avoided. However, with his powerful slow Grave Chill and passive magic resistance Gravekeeper's Cloak, he can be a force to be reckoned with.

Background Story

Perched atop the entrance to the Narrow Maze sit the looming shapes of sneering gargoyles, the paths into the hereafter forever in their gaze. Beasts and birds, men and monsters, all creatures that die and choose to travel beyond must someday pass beneath their sight. For an untethered spirit, the decision to journey through the veil of death is irrevocable. When chance comes, and by craft or cunning some restless soul escapes their hells and heavens, it is the dreaded gargoyle Visage, the bound form of the eternal spirit Necro�lic, who is dispatched to reclaim them. Ruthless and efficient, unhindered by the principles of death and fatigue, Visage stalks its prey without mercy or end, willingly destroying all which may give shelter to the fugitive essence. That which flaunts the laws of the afterlife may never rest, for while it is true that the dead may be revived, it is only a matter of time before Visage finds and returns them to their proper place.

Pros and Cons

Pros
-Relatively easy to micromanage with
-Powerful slow that temporarily steals movement speed and attack speed ( Grave Chill)
-Passive temporary magic resistance from Gravekeeper's Cloak
-Very easy to learn
-Quite underestimated by other players
-Passive armor gain from Gravekeeper's Cloak

Cons
-May be difficult if you have little to no experience in micromanagement
-Damage of Soul Assumption based on number of charges
-Reasonably item dependent
-Like most supports, easily focused down

Visage's Skills

Type: Targets:

Active Enemy Units

Visage drains the movement and attack speed of the targeted unit, gaining it for itself.

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Notes:

• Excellent for chasing as it temporarily steals the movement speed and attack speed percentage and gives it to Visage
• Great way to shut down DPS carries such as Drow Ranger

Type: Targets:

Active Enemy Units

Visage damages the targeted unit based on the number of soul charges. Visage gains a soul charge when damage taken by all heroes around him reaches the damage threshold.

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Notes:

• Very powerful provided you retain as many charges as you possibly can.
• Charges last 6 seconds so if you can get your Soul Assumption out, throw it!

Type: Affects:

Passive Self

Visage generates a layered barrier that protects him from physical and magical attacks. If he receives damage from a player, one layer is removed, and takes time to recover.

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Notes:

• Passively grants armor and magic resistance.
• As the layers are only stripped away upon player damage, you can make the most of farming neutral creeps without taking too much damage.
• Be wary that you will gradually become easier to kill as these layers are removed. Be cautious!

Type:

Active

Conjures up two blind Familiars to fight for Visage. Familiars have high attack power, but each attack drains a charge of damage that recharges slowly over time. Familiars possess the Stone Form ability, that allows them to turn into stone, stunning enemies upon landing. While in Stone Form, Familiars are invulnerable, and rapidly regenerate their health and damage. Familiars grant high bounty when killed.

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Notes:

• The Familiars last indefinitely until they die.
• Summon Familiars is Aghanim's Scepter compatible, therefore it will grant you 3 familiars instead of just 2.
• The Familiars yield a very high bounty if they are to be killed so be wary how you use them.
• Stone Form has a very large AOE. Chain each Stone Form accordingly to maximize the longevity of the stuns.
• In Stone Form the Familiars will regain all their HP and attack damage so take this into account during team fights.

Nuker Role: Items and Skills

Visage, provided you build around maxing Soul Assumption, can dish out large amounts of damage early on in the game. Assuming you maxed Soul Assumption and you accumulated 6 charges, you're looking at dealing 380 damage with a cooldown of 8 seconds. That's a very reasonable nuke. However you must consider the following:

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As well as taking note of your Soul Assumption charge counter, be aware that your Familiars' Stone Form ability will also deal damage. By chaining the Stone Form abilities together you will be dishing out 280 damage plus your 380 damage from Soul Assumption (it would be 420 damage if you have boosted it with Aghanim's Scepter).

Micromanaging the Familiar's is not as difficult as it sounds. Simply, you can learn to use control groups or use your Tab key to toggle through each unit you control. However it's far more effective to use control groups for instance.

Arcane Boots: Nukers need a constant flow of mana so they can constantly dish out damage and Visage is no exception. Also provides your team with mana as well.

Force Staff: gives Visage a safe means of escaping from ganks and potential dangers. It can be used to save allies, push initiators such as Tidehunter into enemies, or force an enemy closer to your team. It also provides you with an increase to your INT stat, giving you more mana.

Drum of Endurance: provides Visage, his familiars and the team move speed and attack speed. The active is great during team fights as it provides an additional temporary boost to attack and move speed to chase and get those kills.

Orchid Malevolence: boosts damage done to a single target by 25% and silences for 5 seconds. Great for pesky casters on the other team who need to be killed quickly.

Orb of Venom: an attack modifier that grants your auto attacks a slow and damage over time. This will stack with your Grave Chill and slow your enemies to a crawl.

Medallion of Courage: works incredibly well with Visage due to the passive armor granted by his Gravekeeper's Cloak. Use it to reduce tanks and carries armor on the enemy team to make them easier to kill.

Magic Wand: by far one of the most important items in the game. Save the charges up to clench a hard get-away or for a quick source of mana.

Aghanim's Scepter: boosts your Summon Familiars, providing a third familiar you can control (which means 3 stuns!)

Supporter Role: Items and Skills

Familiarize yourself with the Red and Yellow warding spots. YELLOW dots provide a large area of vision in the jungle/forest area which can aid in ganks on jungling heroes such as Lifestealer. Rune spawn wards should be placed where the RED dots are allotted on this map. You should also aim to use Sentry Wards whenever possible to deny the enemy vision of the map. This will aid in:

Maxing Grave Chill increases its duration so therefore is quite a safe supportive option for Visage as he will be severely slowing a target for his carry to kill and get farm from. Opting in several levels of Soul Assumption is viable as well as it will safely nuke an enemy without killing them, making it easier for your carry to land a kill. Remember to make the most of your Familiars' Stone Form stuns.!

Arcane Boots: it's the same case as the Nuker role, Visage needs mana to spam Grave Chill.

Mekansm: is a core supporting item for any support hero. Grants Visage and his team HP regeneration and a heal which can be used in team fights.

Animal Courier: if you're not purchasing wards you should buy this. It will keep your team in lane a whole lot longer as they won't be scrambling back and forward between the base and lane just to grab items.

Rod of Atos: a great item for Visage as it provides more mana and HP which every support needs. Its active will slow an enemy granting Visage another slow.

Shiva's Guard: quite a nice luxury item as it grants a large addition of armor and mana. It passively slows attack speed of nearby enemies and its active is a nuke that also slows movement speed temporarily.

Scythe of Vyse/ Eul's Scepter of Divinity: grants disables to Visage that will aid locking down pesky DPS carries and unwanted disablers such as Tidehunter. Also provides considerable mana regeneration and increased mana pool that Visage can benefit from.

Medallion of Courage: similar principles to the Nuker role. Lowers armor of your target which will make it that much easier to kill them.

Conclusion

Visage can be a force to be reckoned with when the player gets a grip on how he functions. He works well in any line up. Make the most of the underestimation other players will give and show them the true power of the Visage!