Templar Assassin Overview

Lore & Bio

“ Where the Hidden Ones send me, I go without question. I do not even question why I question not."

The Templar Assassin Lanaya found her calling through a line of inquisitive inquiry. She spent her early years meticulously studying the laws of nature because she had a scientific bent. She looked into grimoires of magic and alchemy, recreated experiments using burned pieces of the Violet Archives, and memorized observations made by the Keen recordkeepers. Her innate quietness and secrecy were only strengthened by the challenge of obtaining these items. She might have gained a reputation as a thief-scholar among the guilds if she had been less reserved. Instead, her research took her to much less obvious places. Instead of discovering the universe's mysteries, she used her cunning abilities to open a door that was hidden in nature itself: the entrance to the most Hidden Temple. Whatever mysteries the intelligences that awaited her beyond that portal proved to be expecting her, and whatever answers they held out to Lanaya should she continue in their service, were far less than the mysteries they revealed in the moment of their discovery. She vowed to keep the mysteries secret, but more importantly, by helping the Hidden Temple, she sates her insatiable appetite for knowledge. With every enemy she vanquishes, a little bit more of the mystery is exposed in their eyes.

Attribute & Stats

Level: 0 1 15 25 30

Health: 200 620 1280 2000 2280

Health regen: +0.25 +2.35 +5.71 +9.31 +10.71

Mana: 75 315 651 1035 1179

Mana regen: +0 +1 +2.4 +4 +4.6

Armor: 1 4.83 12.3 19.63 22.63

Damage Block: -        

Magic Resistance: 25%    

Status Resistance: 0%    

Damage: 30‒36 53‒59 97‒103 141‒147 159‒165

Attack Rate: 0.59/s 0.72/s 0.99/s 1.25/s 1.35/s

Attack Range: 160    (800)

Attack Speed: 100    (1.7s BAT)

Attack Animation: 0.3+0.5    

Projectile Speed: 900    

Movement Speed: 305    

Turn Rate: 0.7    

Collision Size: 24    

Vision Range: (G) 1800 • 800    

Legs: 2    

Gib Type: Default.    

Ability Upgrades:   

    Upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter: -  Psionic Projection.

    Upgradable by Aghanim's Shard: - Trap.

                                                         - Psionic Trap.

Abilities & Talents

Skills building guide

Even though we value your Blink Dagger-Meld combo highly, we'll max Refraction first for survival reasons. Early on, 2 levels of Meld are sufficient to completely destroy your opponents (-4 armor is no joke), but later on, you want to ensure that you can deal more than one devastating strike after blinking right in front of your adversary and, most importantly, survive incoming attacks. One of the few heroes, the Templar Assassin, can attempt a tower dive without becoming tanky, and this build aims to make the most of your Refraction.Moving on to the Psi Blades, you won't need the extra range because you'll blink rather than pursue on foot, so you should perfect this ability last.

Abilities

Refraction

Cast Animation: 0+0

Number of Instances: 3/4/5/6 

Attack Damage Bonus: 25/45/65/85

Duration: 17

Cooldown: 17 seconds.

Mana: 100

Effect: The Templar Assassin develops extreme stealth, avoiding harm and gaining an increase to her damage. There are only a few instances of both the avoidance and damage effects.

Meld

Cast Animation: 0+0.53

Fade Time: 0

Damage: 80/120/160/200

Armor Reduction: 5/6/7/8 

Debuff Duration: 12

Invisibility Duration: Permanent.

Talent Bash Duration: 1

Cooldown: 11/9/7/5

Mana: 35/40/45/50

Effect: As long as she doesn't move, Templar Assassin hides and turns invisible. When an enemy is struck while Meld is invisible, Lanaya deals additional damage to them and lowers their armor for 12 seconds.

Psi Blades

Attack Range Bonus: 80/130/180/230

Spill Area Width: 90

Spill Area Length: 550/600/650/700 

Attack Damage Spilled: 100%

Damage Loss per Target: 5%

Effect: The psi blades of the Templar Assassin rip through the attacked unit, splitting and harming the enemies right behind it while gaining an extended attack range. The spill damage is diminished by a certain percentage for every unit it damages.

Trap

Cast Animation: 0+0

Trap Search Radius: Global.

Slow Radius: 400

Total Damage: 250/300/350

Min Move Speed Slow: 30%

Max Move Speed Slow: 60%

Trap Charge Time: 4

Slow Duration: 5

Cooldown: 0.5

Mana: 0

Effect: Activates the closest trap, slowing adversaries nearby.

Psionic Projection

Cast Animation: 0.2+0

Cast Range: Global.

Slow Radius: 400

Channel Time: 1.5

Total Damage: 250/300/350 

Trap Charge Time: 4

Slow Duration: 5

Cooldown: 10

Mana: 50

Effect: After 1.5 seconds of channeling, the Templar Assassin is able to teleport to any psionic trap and detonate it there. Psionic Projection Channeling does not disrupt Meld.

Psionic Trap

Cast Animation: 0.3+0

Cast Range: 1800

Max Traps: 5/8/11

Trap Fade Time: 2

Trap Duration: Permanent.

Cooldown: 11/8/5

Mana: 15

Effect: Mystical traps are set by the Templar Assassin, who keeps an eye on enemy movement invisibly. They slow down the region by 30% when they are sprung at her command. After 4 seconds, traps charge up to 60% slower. when fully charged, deals additional damage.

Effective items guides

Early game

Boots of Speed

Boots of Speed: Is essential for every hero in the game to have in order to flee and pursue when required.

Bottle

Bottle: Is crucial for keeping runes safe and maintaining her health and mana as she scours the map in search of kills.

Blight Stone

Blight Stone: Is a fairly affordable early-game item that can later be upgraded to a Desolator.

Magic Stick

Magic Stick: When Templar Assassin is up against heroes who constantly spam their abilities. When employed appropriately, the instantaneous restoration of life and mana can change the course of a battle.

Mid game

Power Treads

Power Treads: Gives her the necessary characteristics, increasing her health or mana at command and accelerating her attack.

Magic Wand

Magic Wand: Utilizes the earlier Magic Stick and branches and has a stronger potential heal burst.

Blink Dagger

Blink Dagger: Is necessary to realize the full potential of Templar Assassin. She is a ranged hero in theory, however her base attack range is more like a melee hero's. She can use a Blink Dagger to close the distance between her and the target of a Meld assault or to catch up to those who have been hindered by her Psionic Trap. Her ability to position herself to make the most of Psi Blades in teamfights is helpful. On the other hand, when used in conjunction with her spells, it makes a fantastic escape tool. Refraction keeps the dagger from becoming disabled, but if it does, Meld can aid her in hiding for a brief period of time before blinking out if the adversary has True Sight or area spells.

Desolator

Desolator: Improves the damage output of the Templar Assassin significantly, as the Templar Assassin only does physical damage by default (besides Psi Blades). Desolator fully stacks with Meld's armor reduction, enabling her to decrease up to 15 armor on a victim. Due to the fact that Psi Blades base their damage on the amount of damage the initial assault victim took, this results in a significantly enhanced damage output. Desolator furthermore provides a respectable boost to raw attack damage.

Late game

Black King Bar

Black King Bar: May be necessary to handle disables; while Refraction protects her from all damage, it does not stop disables. A Black King Bar should be purchased if evading their disables with blink or Meld is not possible. Her damage output and survivability are further increased by the item, which also provides some raw damage and a small amount of health.

Situation items

Assault Cuirass

Assault Cuirass: Similar to Desolator, Templar Assassin works well with it because it lowers enemy armor and speeds up her attacks, increasing her damage output significantly. In addition, the extra protection makes up for her softness. It adds value to any teamfight because both the armor enhancements and decreases are auras.

Heart of Tarrasque

Heart of Tarrasque: Thanks to its large health boost, Templar Assassin can fight for a lot longer. Being tanky does not aid her much while she deals minimal damage, so it should only be purchased after considerable damage has been done.

Butterfly

Butterfly: Is a fantastic item that every agility hero should have because it greatly enhances attack speed and damage while also giving evasion to assist defend against opponent strikes. Additionally, the evasion works quite well with Refraction, which keeps all of its damage-blocking charges even when Templar Assassin avoids strikes.

Manta Style

Manta Style: Can be taken into account on Templar Assassin if more push power is needed. If one has quick reactions, one can also use its active to break up opponent spells and strikes. Additionally, it has respectable numbers and considerable mobility. The Templar Assassin is still a ranged hero, hence the ranged illusion values and cooldown are utilized despite the fact that she has an attack range that resembles that of a melee weapon.

Daedalus

Daedalus: Is a fantastic gear for Templar Assassin because Psi Blades' critical hit spreads to all adversaries. It also complements her powerful armor reduction from her ability and her usual item preferences quite nicely. However, other damage-increasing items are needed first to unlock its high potential because it is a chance-based effect and is dependent on her attack damage.

Eye of Skadi

Eye of Skadi: Gives qualities for damage and tankiness, while the slow also keeps opponents within striking distance.

Dragon Lance

Dragon Lance: Grants the Templar Assassin a greater field of fire and a decent number of the stats she needs in the early to midgame: strength for health and agility for armor and damage. The extended attack range also enables the Templar Assassin to maybe forego a few Psi Blades points in favor of maximizing Meld after Refraction. After that, it may be disassembled to be upgraded into a Hurricane Pike, which offers the Templar Assassin a second mobility item with Blink Dagger, and its active gives the Templar Assassin four potentially inescapable assaults from any range.

Enemies & Allies

Allies

Slardar

• There are no hard disables in Templar Assassin. Slardar is a capable initiator who has a physical damage-dealing AoE stun. This enables him to begin for her and use her Psi Blades to deliver significant damage to groups of foes. Additionally, because the Templar Assassin only uses bursts of physical damage, Slardar's Corrosive Haze will greatly improve her damage output (which can then be spilled onto other targets via Psi Blades).

Elder Titan

• She gains valuable time to position herself with Echo Stomp, which also causes significant damage because of his Natural Order.

• All of the foes are dragged into a straight line by Earth Splitter, presumably setting up a massive spill blade.

Vengeful Spirit

• Vengeance Templar Assassin attack damage can be increased by aura. She can utilize Magic Missile to set up kills early on, Wave of Terror to further degrade enemy armor, and, if required, Nether Swap on Templar Assassin to help her get out of a tight spot and possibly save her life.

Counters

Venomancer

• The full arsenal of a venomancer deals damage that lingers for a very long period, quickly depleting her Refraction. Not only that, but his team is able to catch up to her despite the disruption caused by her Psionic Trap because to his constant slowdown from Poison Sting, which can be applied repeatedly with Plague Ward.

Windranger

• She is easily bursted down by Windranger's Focus Fire because of the Templar Assassin's limited health pool when compared to Windranger's tremendous attack speed.

• Windranger is not slowed down by the Templar Assassin's Psionic Trap because of her Windrun skill.

• Due to Windrun's 100% evasion, the tremendous damage of Templar Assassin may also be effortlessly avoided.

Leshrac

• Pulse Nova may quickly burn through the Refraction charges used by the Templar Assassin and also hit her with her Meld.

Phoenix

• Phoenix's skills are dangerous for Meld and Refraction since they target specific targets and do damage over time. Although the nature of his powers makes it difficult for them to land on the intended target, this is not an issue when facing a Templar Assassin who must remain stationary during Meld.

• Phoenix is able to avoid the slow from her trap and easily escape from her ambush thanks to the Icarus Dive.

• The attack speed reduction of Fire Spirits can seriously impair Templar Assassin's ability to inflict any damage in a fight because she relies on her quality-over-quantity bursting attacks to deal fast damage to weak targets. A Meld-breaking strike from her is greatly slowed when the debuff is applied early to midgame, allowing her target to move a safe distance before she ever lands the hit.

• Sun Ray will quickly destroy her Refraction because to its rapid damage tick.

• Supernova deals damage gradually across a very vast area, and once more thanks to her preference for quality over quantity, she might not be able to attack swiftly enough to penetrate the Phoenix Sun on her own. This may result in a failed ganking attempt or even a turnaround (not to mention the debuff from Fire Spirits).

Batrider

• The Templar Assassin's layers are soon burned through by the damage-over-time tactics used by Batrider. Firefly applies damage all over the place while Flamebreak applies 7 instances of harm, compelling her to leave the Meld and risk being assaulted or remain put and risk being consumed.

• Black King Bar is pierced by a Flaming Lasso, putting the Templar Assassin defenseless barring the assistance of allies.

Viper

• Refraction charges are quickly depleted by the damage over time from Viper's Poison Attack and Viper Strike, which causes Templar Assassin to take damage. Additionally, because of Corrosive Skin, she takes damage from her own assaults over time.

• Templar Assassin faces a serious threat from nethertoxin. Her previously limited range made dealing with Nethertoxin in the laning phase exceedingly difficult. A Nethertoxin can always make her undo her Meld at any point in the game.

Dragon Knight

• Refraction is quickly burned down by the Elder Dragon Form of Dragon Knight's damage over time, allowing him to attack her.

• Additionally, Breathe Fire lowers the damage dealt by the Templar Assassin and Dragon Tail is a stun with a long duration, allowing him and his squad to deplete her health after her protections have worn down.

• Dragon Knight's high armor and health regeneration from Dragon Blood make it difficult for Templar Assassin to destroy him because she only deals physical damage.

Pudge

• Her poor defense and small health pool leave her extremely vulnerable to his Meat Hook without Refraction, and his Rot can swiftly push the Templar Assassin out of her Meld and wipe out all of her Refraction charges.

Huskar

• Huskar's Burning burn injuries The Templar Assassin is extremely prone to ganks and harassment because of the Spear's ability to totally cancel out her Refraction from the burning over time, which forces her out of the lane.

Razor

• Refraction charges are quickly expended by Razor's Eye of the Storm damage-over-time, which causes damage to the Templar Assassin.

• Even with the benefit from Refraction, Static Link drains the Templar Assassin's damage output, and it will continue to do so even if the Razor is unable to see her during Meld.

• During the Meld, Plasma Field can easily hit her.

Pugna

• Physical strikes from Templar Assassins may be rendered ineffective by Pugna's Decrepify.

• Pugna can also use Life Drain to burn the Refraction instances of the Templar Assassin.

• Pugna, on the other hand, typically has poor armor and health. Make use of this to your benefit.

Items Counter

Radiance

Radiance: Can use up the Refraction charges on the Templar Assassin's weapon and keep melting her down. These things can also stop the Templar Assassin from using her Blink Dagger to flee.

Ghost Scepter

Ghost Scepter: Is an excellent choice against her as she almost exclusively depends on physical damage

Eul's Scepter of Divinity

Eul's Scepter of Divinity: Since she lacks a strong disable to hold her opponent down, she can afford you valuable time to TP away.

Force Staff

Force Staff: Can get ahead of her, but unless you can force yourself onto high ground, her psionic trap will make it simple for her to catch up.

Favorable Matchups

Shadow Fiend

• Shadow Fiend is a perfect target for Templar Assassin's Meld due to his vulnerability and lack of a natural escape route.

• She can easily negate the burst damage of Shadow Fiend abilities like Shadowraze and Requiem of Souls.

Zeus

• Zeus has no means to deal with Refraction even if Lightning Bolt and Thundergod's Wrath can reveal Templar Assassin during Meld.

• Zeus is a somewhat weak hero that is easily defeated by the Templar Assassin's powerful burst damage.

Puck

• Magical blast at puck height is virtually completely ineffective against Refraction. To make Puck worthless in teamfights, Templar Assassin frequently purchases Orchid Malevolence icon.png Orchid Malevolence.

Game plan

Early game ( 0:00 - 12:00)

The early stages of the game are when you will most likely lose if you do poorly. This is due to the fact that you are a hero of the middle lane, which in a sense is in charge of the other lanes. You must gank the other lanes, and if you are struggling in the middle, it's likely that you won't be able to do so before the other mid, costing you the game. BUT DON'T BE AFRAID! One attack from the Templar Assassin can deny, last hit, and harass without the use of a damage charge from Refraction, making him an extremely potent hero.

Keep in mind that you are a ganking mid when playing. By the time you reach level 6, you will need farm, brown boots, a wand, and, if you're doing particularly well, phase boots. By level 6, use Psi Blades to break up the wave before ganking. If you obtain the right rune, you can even gank before six, which is a terrific introduction to.

Mid game (12:00 - 25:00)

This is the point in the game that you either succeed or lose TA. She is so focused on building a snowball that if you invest two minutes in a gank that fails, you will be significantly behind. This is mind, especially if you have allies to assist you, you should really be failing ganks.

By the time this step is over, you'll need a Desolator. Finding an enemy with low armor and approaching him with your fast movement speed thanks to Yasha, Phase Boots, and the Drum of Endurance will allow you to win the game with this gear. Watch as they disintegrate from your -12 armor as you melt next to them, hit them, and pop refraction.

Additionally, you need to put up traps around the entrances to jungles, on high ground in the middle of busy areas, and not only on top of runes (excellent if your team doesn't use wards). Don't be afraid to utilize your traps if a team battle breaks out nearby; a 50% slow can change the course of the game if they need to reposition.

Late game (25:00-75:00)

Are you being beaten up? If so, obtain a tarrasque heart. Get a Butterfly if you only need a small bit of survivability. Though it depends on the situation, this is undoubtedly the superior option. Your illusions deal a good amount of damage thanks to your deso debuff, so employ your Manta Style to help you push down towers. At this stage, ganking is probably not a possibility; just try to win the game.