[INT-SCOURGE]Darkshade the Realmwalker

[R.B.Economy]

This is an independent thread from my 3rd CTH's entry. Reviews appreciated. Thanks.

Changelog
23 Nov 09
• Undid Nether Force's damage. Nether Force will not damage if affected units are under Cyclone effect.

18 Nov 09
• Nerfed Nether Force's damage.

17 Nov 09
• First test map done by Sgt. Failure.

7 Oct 09
• Reduced damage of Planar Void
• Rescaled Abyss of Doom's cooldown
• Changed how Abyss of Doom damages

16 Oct 09
• Planar Void now has a constant cooldown and slightly lowered mana cost.

Darkshade the Realmwalker

Background Story
A shady entity of unknown background, the Realmwalker has left traces in virtually every plane that exists. It constantly hunts unwary souls throughout various dimensions. Rumors are that it actually came from the darkest realm of all, the Twisting Nether. Those who ventured through planes claimed they felt its presence as much as they are weakened, and some luckier ones managed to escape its dimension ripping powers. There are countless cases however, whom perished in open sight, with only fading voices of agony as the tell-tale of their doom.



Strength: 17 + 1.8
Agility: 20 + 1.9
Intelligence: 25 + 2.6


Learns Planar Void, Orbital Lock, Nether Force and Abyss of Doom



Theme: Dimension, Nether
Role: Disabler
Affiliation: Scourge
Damage: 45-62
Armor: 4
Movespeed: 305
Attack Range: 450

Ability 1

Planar Void (Active) (R)

Use: Mini-disable, path-block, damage over time. Area targeted.

Rips open a planar void of the Twisting Nether, isolating the targeted space from everything in the current plane. Stuns enemies for 0.5 second upon casting, and deals damage every second to enemies within 100 AOE. Lasts 12 seconds.

Level 1 - 20 damage.
Level 2 - 35 damage.
Level 3 - 50 damage.
Level 4 - 65 damage.

Cooldown: 6
Mana Cost: 40
AOE: 100
Casting Range: 800



• Damage type: Magical
• The void stuns for .5 second.
• The void remains at the location, blocking units' paths (cannot pass using windwalk / phasing).
• Has a 1 second channeling time before void is created.
• If the caster uses the spell within 200 of a unit, there will be no channeling time.

Ability 2

Orbital Lock (Active) (C)

Use: AOE Disable. Area targeted.

Generates a horizontal gravity on a targeted point, causing nearby enemies to move in circles around the point.

Level 1 - 1.5 seconds.
Level 2 - 2 seconds.
Level 3 - 2.5 seconds.
Level 4 - 3 seconds.

Cooldown: 12
Mana Cost: 100/120/145/170
AOE: 300
Casting Range: 500
Affected Unit's Travel Speed: 500



• Affected enemies are disabled for the duration.
• Affected enemies can be attacked as usual.
• Affected enemies stop moving if they collide with units/trees/impassable terrain, but will remain disabled for the duration of the spell.

How it works:
Skill targeting is similar to Light Strike Array. All enemies caught will start moving in circular movement at 500ms, orbiting the epicenter of the 300 AOE. If they collide with a unit/tree/impassable terrain (including a well placed Planar Void), they will stop circulating, but instead remain disabled and immobile until the duration of the spell is over. The orbit size of each unit caught is related to its distance from the epicenter. So if a unit is caught exactly in the middle when the spell is casted, it will move in a smaller circle than a unit that is caught at the edge of the AOE.

p/s: A unit that moves in a smaller circle also changes direction much more frequently given the same spell duration compared to a unit that moves in a larger circle. This will deal more damage to the unit under effect of Nether Force.

Ability 3

Nether Force (Active) (F)

Use: Mini-disable, damage debuff. Non-targeted.

Causes all nearby enemies to scurry away from Realmwalker, and take damage every time they change their direction. Damage taken is based on the acuteness of the direction change.

Level 1 - Deals damage equals to 0.5x of degree change.
Level 2 - Deals damage equals to 0.6x of degree change.
Level 3 - Deals damage equals to 0.7x of degree change.
Level 4 - Deals damage equals to 0.8x of degree change.

Cooldown: 10
Mana Cost: 140
AOE: 400/450/475/500
Spell duration: 5/6/7/8
'Scurry' duration: 1 second





• Damage type: Magical
• 'Scurry' effect disables enemies for 1 second.
• Enemies under 'scurry' effect move according to their own speed for 1 second.
• The damage effect is applied before enemies 'scurry' away, hence they take an initial damage the moment enemies are affected by the spell due to the sudden direction change.
• For the remaining duration of the spell, the enemies will continue to take damage each second depending on how big the direction changes are.
• Nether Force's 'scurry' effect will override (cancel) Orbital Lock if it's casted around enemies under effect of Orbital Lock. On the other hand, Orbital Lock will work on enemies under Nether Force's effect.
• Will not damage enemies under Cyclone effect.

How it works:
Opposite to Berserker's Call, Nether Force actually causes enemies around Realmwalker to scurry away for 1 second, then remain affected by the spell until the duration is over. Effects can be dampened by not changing directions too frequent or moving in a straight line when affected by the debuff. The act of kiting will suffer much under this debuff, because of the forward,retreat,forward,retreat movement.

Ultimate Ability

Abyss of Doom (Active) (D)

Use: AOE Disable, damage over time. Non-targeted.

Conjures a perimeter of impassable dimension around himself, forming a deadly entrapment. The perimeter will shrink towards the center before it finally disappears. The perimeter deals 100 damage and stuns enemies upon contact every second. Destroys trees.

Level 1 - 600 (*700) AOE. Lasts 3(*4) seconds.
Level 2 - 700 (*800) AOE. Lasts 4(*5) seconds.
Level 3 - 800 (*900) AOE. Lasts 5(*6) seconds.

Cooldown: 180(*150)/170(*140)/160(*130)
Mana Cost: 300/400/500
Casting Range: 0
Casting Time: 1



• Perimeter shrinks by 100AOE per second.
• Abyss of Doom will always have 300 AOE of space at the end of the spell (to prevent glitches).
• Perimeter gradually shrinks with the speed of 100 AOE/second, stunning and damaging enemies at the inner perimeter each second.
• Perimeter will continuously push trapped units inwards.
• Improvable by Aghanim's Scepter (* shows improved values).

How it works:
Imagine a larger version of Sprout, only this time the trees are impassable terrains and nobody escapes unless by using a Blink or similar skill. The perimeter acts as a 'fence', trapping all units inside it. The 'fence' will shrink by 100AOE each second towards the middle, pushing all units inwards if they are near inner side of the perimeter. Enemies will not have any effects if they stay in the middle of the Abyss, but if they are caught on the shrinking perimeter, they will be stunned 0.5 second and take damage each second as the perimeter gradually shrinks. Practically, an enemy may not escape once its caught by the perimeter, so they need to avoid from touching the perimeter if they want to avoid the damage and stun.

Ability Synergy

Casts Orbital Lock in conjunction with Planar Void, disabling and damaging the enemies simultaneously.


As long as Planar Void exists, enemies need to maneuver around it, which causes direction change and therefore, damage.


Enemies under Orbital Lock are constantly changing their direction due to its circular movement, therefore damaging them.


Planar Void makes an area loses space and poses threat, limiting the maneuverability of enemies inside the Abyss of Doom.


Causes disabled enemies to unable to avoid the shrinking perimeter, taking the damage and stun.


Nether Force makes enemies around you to hit the perimeter and suffer the Abyss of Doom's effects.

Hero & Item Synergy


Heroes that causes enemies to group together are great for the Realmwalker to unleash its abilities upon them. Other than these, disablers do contribute to Realmwalker, while Realmwalker contributes to AOE and DPS heroes as he disables the enemies for his allies to take over.


Necronomicon is a great item for disablers, as it provides 2 battle thirsty minions to wreak havoc! Also prevents enemies from being invisible inside Abyss of Doom.


Force Staff works for the Realmwalker because it forces your enemy to unavoidably hit the perimeter of his ultimate.


Kelen's Dagger is great for a disabler's initiation. Blink in, Abyss of Doom, Orbital Lock, Planar Void, chaos guaranteed.


Refresher Orb is the icing on the cake for an AOE disabler, what's not to love for a double Abyss of Doom??

[hateryx]

Planar Void is a great ability though it needs some serious tweaking on its numbers. The cooldown sounds fair but since it is short and the Planar Void has long duration, the figure of 100 damage per second should be changed into something lower. It is because the possibility of using Planar Void into 4 instances within the 20 second duration can already deal 400 damage per second on a same area. I believe you should change it to a more balanced value, say, 35/45/55/65 damage per second.

Orbital Lock is interesting in terms of visual effects but in the terms of mechanics, it is just like a Vaccuum that disables but deals no damage. I appreciate your creativity about this one since you managed to approach it in an alternative way. So far, I don't see any problem on this skill ( though 3 seconds may sound a little bit imba for others, the fact that it deals no damage compensates such duration). Good job on this one.

I don't fully understand how Netherforce works. But judging on the fact that it deals depending on the facing degree of the unit, I think you should change this one. The Abyss of Doom is another great skill, no need to rework on this one.

So far, the hero has a good concept and has overall good synergy. I think this hero has the chance to make on the DotA. Good job.

[NeWnAr]

Wow, I'd never think I'll say this but this is truly a whole new concept hero! Although Planar Void is simply an ion shell that can be targetted on ground, it also blocks and ministuns and has high spam potential! A note to thee though, the numbers gets ridiculous after a few spams. As this isn't CTH, the numbers can be tweaked a little. Or make it unspammable, but that I don't recommend because it would bring Planar void closer to ion shell.

Orbital Lock is simply wicked! Imagine the synergy with Rupture! And the high mp cost and long cd together with no dmg and a small targettable AoE totally balances it out! Incredible imagination and conceptualization going on here!

Nether force is a skill so sweet and new in concept that I am totally overwhelmed. Whoever heard of dmg dealt through turning angle? Incredible new dmg-dealing mechanism! This is a totally new kind of disable which forces the enemy to move in a straight line or receive dmg. Innumerable possibilities with this skill. Great for harrassing/pwning those pricks who tower hug(run around the tower thus receiving WTFZOMG amounts of dmg from Nether Force) when you push hard on their lane. Ult is totally PWNAGE.

Abyss of Doom, easily the greatest derivation of Enigma's Blackhole ever in the history of DotA suggestions. A BH with almost twice the AoE but the effect only strikes those at the perimeter. Ingenius! And the aftereffect is even better, not only pseudo-stunning the enemies within the ring, but the perimeter actually shrinks! This would slowly close in on those heroes inside the ring which are not affected yet. This would create a mad rush for the inner perimeter of the Abyss. What a great chaos-creation/disorientation skill that actually displaces enemies without really displacing! It acts psychologically, much like Rupture! Similiar to rupture, it also gives not much choice to the targets because if they rush to wards the centre, chances are the Realmwalker's teammates are waiting for you there. If you don't you'll get one heck of a ministun package + a ton of unescapeable DoT. However there's still a few things to stretch out on the ult. Just how much is the DoT? Does the DoT increase as the Ult level increases or is it constant? Does the perimeter's ministun guarantee perma-ministun? And 1 suggestion for the ult. Instead of designing the shrinking perimeter through ticks(makes it be like wd's maledict) and starting to shrink the instant the Abyss is deployed, design it this way to be more natural and bug-free: The perimeter is sustained for 1.5 seconds, after which starts to shrink steadily at a constant speed(not at intervals/ticks), much like a shrinking circle you see at the end of Looney Toons' cartoons. Also, IF and ONLY IF the DoT of the Abyss' perimeter is not quite really high and wouldn't provide enough incentive for the enemies trapped inside to move towards the centre, you might want to put in a large AoE dmg at the end of the shrinking effect when all enemies are pulled to you. Because after the effect you'll be extremely vulnerable and in extreme danger, which you already are due to your INT-based attributes(unless of course your other teammates managed to kill off all of them during your ult).

[R.B.Economy]

Originally Posted by hateryx

Planar Void is a great ability though it needs some serious tweaking on its numbers. The cooldown sounds fair but since it is short and the Planar Void has long duration, the figure of 100 damage per second should be changed into something lower. It is because the possibility of using Planar Void into 4 instances within the 20 second duration can already deal 400 damage per second on a same area. I believe you should change it to a more balanced value, say, 35/45/55/65 damage per second.

Orbital Lock is interesting in terms of visual effects but in the terms of mechanics, it is just like a Vaccuum that disables but deals no damage. I appreciate your creativity about this one since you managed to approach it in an alternative way. So far, I don't see any problem on this skill ( though 3 seconds may sound a little bit imba for others, the fact that it deals no damage compensates such duration). Good job on this one.

I don't fully understand how Netherforce works. But judging on the fact that it deals depending on the facing degree of the unit, I think you should change this one. The Abyss of Doom is another great skill, no need to rework on this one.

So far, the hero has a good concept and has overall good synergy. I think this hero has the chance to make on the DotA. Good job.

Thanks. I've rescaled the damage of Planar Void. As for Nether Force, has 2 effects, the first effect is like an opposite Berserker's Call, you forces enemies around you to move away from your position. The second effect is placing a debuff on them. This debuff will last for a duration, and damage them based on their turning angles. At level 4, it deals 0.8x of angle change, so if an enemy under effect of the debuff has changed 180 degree (which is the max angle one can change) it will deal 0.8*180 = 144 magic damage to the unit. This debuff checks the angle every second, so if the unit changes angle every second, it takes more damage. The unit can easily minimize the effect of the damage by simply not moving, or moving in a way that angle changes is minimal (e.g.straight path). Hope you understand it now.

Originally Posted by newnar2004

Wow, I'd never think I'll say this but this is truly a whole new concept hero! Although Planar Void is simply an ion shell that can be targetted on ground, it also blocks and ministuns and has high spam potential! A note to thee though, the numbers gets ridiculous after a few spams. As this isn't CTH, the numbers can be tweaked a little. Or make it unspammable, but that I don't recommend because it would bring Planar void closer to ion shell.

Orbital Lock is simply wicked! Imagine the synergy with Rupture! And the high mp cost and long cd together with no dmg and a small targettable AoE totally balances it out! Incredible imagination and conceptualization going on here!

Nether force is a skill so sweet and new in concept that I am totally overwhelmed. Whoever heard of dmg dealt through turning angle? Incredible new dmg-dealing mechanism! This is a totally new kind of disable which forces the enemy to move in a straight line or receive dmg. Innumerable possibilities with this skill. Great for harrassing/pwning those pricks who tower hug(run around the tower thus receiving WTFZOMG amounts of dmg from Nether Force) when you push hard on their lane. Ult is totally PWNAGE.

Abyss of Doom, easily the greatest derivation of Enigma's Blackhole ever in the history of DotA suggestions. A BH with almost twice the AoE but the effect only strikes those at the perimeter. Ingenius! And the aftereffect is even better, not only pseudo-stunning the enemies within the ring, but the perimeter actually shrinks! This would slowly close in on those heroes inside the ring which are not affected yet. This would create a mad rush for the inner perimeter of the Abyss. What a great chaos-creation/disorientation skill that actually displaces enemies without really displacing! It acts psychologically, much like Rupture! Similiar to rupture, it also gives not much choice to the targets because if they rush to wards the centre, chances are the Realmwalker's teammates are waiting for you there. If you don't you'll get one heck of a ministun package + a ton of unescapeable DoT. However there's still a few things to stretch out on the ult. Just how much is the DoT? Does the DoT increase as the Ult level increases or is it constant? Does the perimeter's ministun guarantee perma-ministun? And 1 suggestion for the ult. Instead of designing the shrinking perimeter through ticks(makes it be like wd's maledict) and starting to shrink the instant the Abyss is deployed, design it this way to be more natural and bug-free: The perimeter is sustained for 1.5 seconds, after which starts to shrink steadily at a constant speed(not at intervals/ticks), much like a shrinking circle you see at the end of Looney Toons' cartoons. Also, IF and ONLY IF the DoT of the Abyss' perimeter is not quite really high and wouldn't provide enough incentive for the enemies trapped inside to move towards the centre, you might want to put in a large AoE dmg at the end of the shrinking effect when all enemies are pulled to you. Because after the effect you'll be extremely vulnerable and in extreme danger, which you already are due to your INT-based attributes(unless of course your other teammates managed to kill off all of them during your ult).

Thanks for the long comment. I've done some tweaks to the Planar Void's damage now, not as high as before. As for his ulti, it deals 100 damage per second at all levels, so the total damage increases as the duration increases. I agree that making it to shrink gradually will be better, but I wonder if it can be coded. It'd be great if there's someone to verify it. As for the description image, I'll change it soon, since it's still based on ticks.

[Audacious]

Hi Eturn,

Great idea but I got some questions.

Does the first spell work a little like venoms - Venomous Gale and moving the enemies after hitting? How far would you suggest they move?

Also... What is up with the 4 sec cooldown?
Give me a better damage and more cooldown. Don't turn it into a clicking fest.

I feel that the moving/enemies losing 100% control of their own movement it taking a little over hand.

Second spell: Would it be a problem for you, if it just kept units turning for the period of time?

Like the third spell a lot. Probably my favorit of all of them.

The ultimate seems to me like a look a like of a lot of ulties together.
Not that it can't work. But what is the use of having the enemies in the center? Especially around your self.

This hero doesn't look like the big carry type.

Hope you can answer my questions.

Great job.

Best regards.

Audacious

[R.B.Economy]

Originally Posted by Audacious

Hi Eturn,

Great idea but I got some questions.

Does the first spell work a little like venoms - Venomous Gale and moving the enemies after hitting? How far would you suggest they move?

Also... What is up with the 4 sec cooldown?
Give me a better damage and more cooldown. Don't turn it into a clicking fest.

No, think of Planar Void as Fissure, but only much smaller (100AOE) instead of a long impassable terrain. It stuns for 0.5 second upon placement, and deals damage over time to units within melee range of it (think Ion Shell). Only it can't move (think Plague Ward). During laning, it can be used to harass your enemies, it also can be used in jungling and at times of need, it's possible to block a major part of a narrow path.

Originally Posted by Audacious

I feel that the moving/enemies losing 100% control of their own movement it taking a little over hand.

I don't understand this sentence. What is it you're referring to? If you're talking about disables, I'm sure most disables make enemies lose 100% control of their movement.

Originally Posted by Audacious

Second spell: Would it be a problem for you, if it just kept units turning for the period of time?

You mean instead of orbiting, they turn around on a same spot? (Like Confuse effect in Final Fantasy 7). It'll then be quite similar to Pit of Malice, except the enemies are just spinning on their spots. I'm making them orbit because of the possible synergy with other heroes, more original and more eye-candy. It's fun to see enemies 'merry-go-round', lol.

Originally Posted by Audacious

Like the third spell a lot. Probably my favorit of all of them.

Thanks. I hope I've made it clear how it works.

Originally Posted by Audacious

The ultimate seems to me like a look a like of a lot of ulties together.
Not that it can't work. But what is the use of having the enemies in the center? Especially around your self.

If you didn't understand Planar Void in the first place, perhaps you've misunderstood how his ulti works too. Now that I've explained how his first spell works, I hope it's clear to you now. His ulti is actually weak as a standalone spell. It needs combos from allied heroes, items or his other spells. All his 3 normal spells will prove useful during his ultimate. Since he's a disabler, he can initiate, but he needs an item such as Dagger. His role will be quite similar to how ES unleashes his combo, jump in the middle of the enemy team, combo, and pray for the enemies to die within the duration of your spells.

Originally Posted by Audacious

This hero doesn't look like the big carry type.

I agree with you. He isn't made as a carry, but more of a disabler/initiator much like ES. In terms of pushing, he is far behind from Rhasta (a top ban/pick anyway), but Darkshade still has great laning and multi-disabling abilities. With a mini-stun,path-block,3 second AOE disable,damage debuff and an AOE trapping stun/damage/disable, I'm sure he'll prove useful throughout early to late game, and fitting in most lineups.

Thanks for the comments!

[TribunXIII]

i really love this one!
Support for the moment, maybe gonna do a review later

[FireFlameXx]

Most original and interesting concept ive ever seen. Love the sleek model too.Sounds really viable too with quite some potential.

Difficult placing of skills balance out the hurt of unleashing all skills. Until u get blink that is.

Team oriented hero which sounds quite fun. Can imagine the fun use of palanar void. Nether force is really nice as it is really difficult to control your hero without changing direction unless u hit the h button. Which makes you a sitting duck. Great for game chaos frustration and low hp turnarounds. Usage of ulti will really depend on your allies. Good synergy with many skills but leaves you rather vulnerable. Plus due to it being noninstant makes me consider that other skills might be better. But 1000 aoe is bigass.......

A thing that bothers me will be the animation. A good or bad animation ill make quite a difference regarding the ability to pull off your combo.

[R.B.Economy]

Do you think the casting time for his ultimate should be removed? It wasn't there in the first place, I only added it in because I fear it might be overpowering, but FireFlameXx gave a pretty good point regarding the ultimate being weak/strong depending on the casting animation.

[[SOM]Js]

u know, when i look at your icons, i felt that greenish theme dont seem to fit him well... a purple theme will look better IMO... but, they are your icons though. so, it's really up to you.

[DefineNormal]

It feels all too similar to Enigma...not saying it's bad though. As in the AoE spells and Orbital Lock seems similar to like Black Hole. But it's an amazing concept and hero. My DP is Shade too!

[SweetDeath]

you always come up with great concepts. I like both of your suggestions

[Ryyy]

The icons look too similar in my opinion. However the hero concept is good and different from the current dotA heroes

[Bloodmage]

This hero is a great concept, love the synergy!

[hamedia]

T-up

[BloodyComputer]

Awesome hero, the pictures make it so easy to understand. T-Up!

[lexiandra]

what a nice hero,this is the most original hero's concept that i've ever seen
but,the icons is pretty same each other.try to change it

[NeWnAr]

Realmwalker is like enigma and darkseer rolled into one with a totally new concept of damage dealing. Netherfroce, that is. The circular angle at which the enemy turns at is actually a crucial but forgotten aspect of playing DotA. Everyone has to turn. Even if you stop in your tracks and fight back, he can just run around you and you'll take tons of damage. It is similar to Rupture but depending on the turn angle.

[Sgt Failure]

Just wanted you all to know that all that is left on testmap is final spell, and some cosmetics. Probably done in the next 2 days.

[R.B.Economy]

That's good news Sgt. Looking forward to your masterpiece. ^^