Dota 2 Hero Spotlight: Dirge the Undying
We are currently living in an age where anything related to zombies is guaranteed to become a big hit, be it a film or a video game. Therefore, it hardly comes as a surprise to see Valve and IceFrog add Dirge the Undying to the hero roster in Defense of
the Ancients (Dota) 2.
Making his entry into the game during the first week of July, Undying is expected to make a solid impact in team battles, something that becomes quite obvious after taking a look at his abilities and potential. Being a strength hero in nature, he is quite
effective in pushing lanes, though his true potential is unveiled during enclosed team battles.
Let us take a look at the abilities that Undying has at his disposal.
Decay
Dirge has the ability to deal 160 damage as well as steal up to four strength for 30 seconds at its highest level. Decay effects enemies within a 300 Area of Effect (AoE) and has a very low mana cost and cool-down. This makes the spell perfect for spamming,
thus working effective as a tool for harassment. Furthermore, the effect of Decay is stackable, with Dirge gaining 76 health or inflicting targets who end up in the 300 AoE with the same plus 160 damage.
Soul Rip
Undying’s second ability Soul Rip is a single-target spell that can be used to damage an enemy or heal an ally, depending on whom the target is. The effect of the spell is amplified depending on the number of units are present within an AoE of 975. The spell
will also deal 25 damage to an enemy unit with the AoE, though this will not deal a death blow.
The effect can become clearer by considering an example. Soul Rip will damage or heal a unit by 25 for each unit that is present within the area, with the maximum number of units that can amplify this effect is 20.
Tombstone
Undying’s third ability allows him to summon a tombstone on the battlefield. This physical tombstone can last for 30 seconds, though the structure is destroyable through physical hits and also healable through the use of Soul Rip.
The presence of an enemy within a 1000 AoE of the Tombstone triggers the summoning of an uncontrollable zombie right next to them. This zombie will continue to deal blows to the target and reduce their movement speed by seven percent, which is stackable,
for 2.5 seconds. Each enemy unit can have more than one unit attacking them if they are within the range of the Tombstone. The zombies come under the effect of death lust, which grants them 50 percent movement and attack speed, if the target is below 400 hit-points
(HP).
Flesh Golem
Dirge’s ultimate transforms him into a giant-sized Golem for 30 seconds. While under the effect of his ultimate, he will have a plague aura that will cause enemy units around him to take amplified damage. The aura will also reduce the movement speed of enemies
within a 750 AoE by nine percent.
If a creep dies while under the effect of plague aura, it will heal Dirge for two percent of its maximum health, while a dying enemy hero will heal him for six percent of his maximum health.
Undying is indeed a real valuable asset for his team and fulfils the role of tanking effectively. His skills increase his survivability as well as turn the odds against his opposition through the Plague Aura during his Flesh Golem state.
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