Health
582
1308
2100
2408
27.5%
32.82%
37.82%
39.92%
Damage
46-50
99-103
149-153
170-174
Grimstroke[edit]
The people of Ashkavor crowded around the temple square, eager to witness the ascension of their new guardian—to stand near the man as he bound their souls to his own. But as his final brush strokes fell against the runestone, and the bond of a new Ascended One was forged, everyone—even those who'd stayed in their homes—could sense that something had gone terribly wrong.
He knew the cause instantly. The droplets of ichor he'd procured to amplify the potency of his inkpots had instead contaminated them, and the power of the binding spell he'd cast now threatened to consume him. An inky corruption snaked upward from the runestone, along the handle of his brush, soon overtaking his hands. From there it spread quickly. Once it overcame his face and his mouth, he couldn't have screamed even if he'd wanted to.
All of his life he'd calculated on how to attain ever greater powers than the limits presented by his teachers would allow—going so far as to break the sacred prohibition against augmenting the inks. Indeed, with the wellspring of the Ascended bond open to him, he felt a measure of power coursing into his soul like he'd never imagined. His greatest triumph was upon him, if he could only survive it.
He drew deep from the power of the bond, pushing back against the corrupted ink flow. A great moan filled the air—the collective cry of his people. Some swayed on their feet. The weakest collapsed. Many tried to run. And still deeper he pulled from their bloodline reservoir. But it wasn't enough to stop the ink tide.
It was only when the breath trapped in his lungs began to fail him, and the inkpool darkness fully encased him, that he saw his way out. The bond he'd made with the Ashkavoran people—his people—meant to be drawn upon only in service of their protection... It flowed two ways.
With a final surge of strength—this time directed by more than just blind repulsion—he pushed the ink torrent into the bond itself.
Slowly, he felt the tide retreat... and heard the awful wails of his people as the corruption in turn rolled over them. When at last the ink relented, his eyes opened upon a world changed. The Ashkavoran people as he knew them were gone. Every last soul was transformed into terrifying shades of their former selves—comprised no longer of blood and bone, only viscid, tainted ink.
Skilled at manipulating battle from the outskirts, Grimstroke studies every movement and assesses each line, deciding when to emerge from inky darkness to disable his victims and bind them together with a swipe of his brush. He delights in unleashing phantom thralls to vex opponents, as he carefully considers how to dispatch multiple enemies with one fateful stroke.
Abilities[edit]
Grimstroke paints a path of ink with his brush, damaging and slowing enemies. The damage is increased with each enemy the ink hits.
| Initial Damage | 100/160/220/280
160/256/352/448 |
|---|
| Damage Increment Per Hit | 20/30/40/50
32/48/64/80 |
|---|
| Movement Speed Slow | 50%/60%/70%/80% |
|---|
Cast Point 0.6
Cast Backswing 0.5
| Does not pierce Debuff Immunity.
|
|---|
| Dispellable.
|
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| Affected by cast range bonus.
|
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The corruptive force of Grimstroke's ink, drawn from the reservoir of his fallen people, consumes any enemy caught in its path.
Notes
- The ink path travels at 2000 speed.
- Provides 160 radius ground vision on enemies hit, lasting 2 seconds.
- Multiple casts do not stack, it only refreshes the duration.
- Affected enemies are briefly painted dark red while slowed.
Summons a phantom that moves quickly towards the target, latching to it when she arrives. Once latched, the phantom damages and silences. If she survives the full latch duration, she rends her victim for heavy damage and refreshes the cooldown of Phantom's Embrace.
| Damage per Second | 10/20/30/40
75/85/95/105 |
|---|
| Rend Damage | 120/200/280/360 |
|---|
| Cooldown Reduction per Return | 36/30/24/18 |
|---|
| Hero Hit Count | 2/2/3/3
3/3/4/4 |
|---|
| Creep Hit Count | 6/6/9/9
9/9/12/12 |
|---|
Cast Range 900
Cast Point 0
Cast Backswing 0
| Does not pierce Debuff Immunity.
|
|---|
| Blocked by Spell Block.
|
|---|
| Reflected by Spell Reflection.
|
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| Affected by cast range bonus.
|
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Grimstroke holds no sorrow for the downfall of his people. Only for Yaovhi, she who was most dear to him, does he feel even a semblance of longing.
Notes
- Total damage:
- The phantom travels to the target at 850 speed.
- The phantom travels back to Grimstroke at 1150 speed.
- The phantom provides 200 vision of the target while chasing it and while latched on.
- The phantom instantly dies if the target becomes unattackable or spell immune.
- The phantom returns to Grimstroke if it survives the entire latch duration or if the target dies.
- The cooldown is refreshed when the phantom returns to Grimstroke.
- A phantom mask is visible over the target until the phantom reaches it.
Grimstroke shrouds an allied unit in ink, increasing its movement speed. Enemies in range of the allied unit are damaged with inky tendrils over time. After few seconds it triggers, applying damage and stun in an area around the unit in proportion to how long ink tendril was near any hero.
| Tendril Damage per Second | 25/40/55/70
35/56/77/98  |
|---|
| Maximum Trigger Damage | 90/180/270/360
126/252/378/504 |
|---|
| Movement Speed Bonus | 20%
36% |
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| Maximum Stun Duration | 1.3/1.8/2.3/2.8 |
|---|
| Maximum Power Duration | 2.5 |
|---|
| Tendril Heal per Second | 4/6.4/8.8/11.2 |
|---|
| Trigger Damage as Heal | 50.4/100.8/151.2/201.6 |
|---|
Cast Range 500/600/700/800
Cast Point 0.15
Cast Backswing 0.73
| Causes Ink Swell to deal more damage and heal the target for % of the damage Ink Swell deals. Upon expiration, the target will receive a strong dispel.
|
|---|
| Does not pierce Debuff Immunity.
|
|---|
| Dispellable.
|
|---|
| Affected by cast range bonus.
|
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Now that the rise of the ink tide no longer threatens to overwhelm Grimstroke, its tendrils of power are never far from his hand.
Notes
- The tendril damage is dealt in smaller amounts every 0.2 seconds, for 15 instances total.
- Damage per instance:
- Max ink swell damage and stun are reached after a full duration of tendril damage is dealt to an enemy hero.
- Total damage:
- The swell and stun do not occur if the user dies before it expires.
- Dispelling the buff still causes the swell damage and stun.
- A moon encircled is visible over the target. The circle shrinks over the duration until touching the moon and bursting at the end.
- Castable on Spell Immune allies.
Trigger an existing Ink Swell.
Cast Point 0.2
Cast Backswing 0
Notes
- Replaces
Ink Swell until the sub-ability is used or the debuff disappears.
Binds a targeted enemy hero to its nearest allied hero within the bind radius, preventing both from moving away from each other. Any unit-targeted ability that either bound hero receives also gets cast on the other hero. If the bind is broken before the duration expires, the initial target will be bound to its nearest allied hero in the radius.
| Spell Damage Amplification | 25% |
|---|
Cast Point 0.15
Cast Backswing 0.5
| Pierce Debuff Immunity.
|
|---|
| Blocked by Spell Block.
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| Not reflected by Spell Reflection.
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| Affected by cast range bonus.
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The Ascended were chosen sons of Ashkavor, granted immense power by the bonds forged between their own souls and those they were charged with protecting. In the years that follow the ruination of his kin, Grimstroke discovered much more sinister applications for the binding rituals...
Notes
- Soulbind can only link to one hero at a time. Multiple soulbinds cannot be linked to each other.
- Casting again on the primary target does not stack, it only refreshes the duration.
- Casting again on the secondary target has no effect.
- Does not bind to invisible or invulnerable heroes.
- A skull mask is visible over the primary target.
Aghanim's Scepter[edit]
Creates a spell immune ink illusion of a target enemy hero.
 Illusion Damage Dealt | 150% |
|---|
| Illusion Damage Taken | 350% |
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| Illusion Move Speed Bonus | 30% |
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| Illusion Magic Resistance Bonus | 95% |
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| Illusion Duration | 25 |
|---|
Cast Point 0
Cast Backswing 0.54
| Granted by Aghanim's Scepter.
|
|---|
| Blocked by Spell Block.
|
|---|
| Reflected by Spell Reflection.
|
|---|
| Affected by cast range bonus.
|
|---|
Talent Tree[edit]
Summon Stats[edit]
Notes
Uncontrollable
Phased
Recent Changes[edit]
| Version
|
Balance Changes
|
| 7.34
|
 Phantom's Embrace
 Now refreshes when the phantom reaches Grimstroke rather than the moment Rend Damage is dealt Projectile Speed increased from 850 to 1150
- Ink Swell
- Buff Duration increased from 3s to 5s
 Can now be detonated via Ink Explosion sub-ability at any time during its effect to end it with an AoE explosion- The sub-ability replaces Ink Swell for the duration of the buff. Cooldown starts upon cast
- Max Stun Duration increased from 1/1.6/2.2/2.8s to 1.3/1.8/2.3/2.8s
- Cast Range increased from 400/525/650/775 to 500/600/700/800
 Soulbind
- Now fully pierces debuff immunity
|
| 7.33
|
- Ink Swell
 Max Stun Duration decreased from 1.1/1.9/2.7/3.5s to 1/1.6/2.2/2.8s- Movement Speed Bonus increased from 12/14/16/18% to 20%
- Cooldown decreased from 30/26/22/18s to 27/24/21/18s
 Dark Portrait
- Illusion is now a Strong Illusion
- Spell Immunity replaced with Debuff Immunity with 95% Magic Resistance
 Talent
- Level 10 Talent Phantom's Embrace DPS increased from +50 to +65
- Level 25 Talent Stroke of Fate Damage increased from +50% to +60%
|
| 7.32e
|
- Ink Swell
- Damage per second increased from 25/35/45/55 to 25/40/55/70 (75/120/165/210 total damage)
- Soulbind
- Cooldown decreased from 90/70/50s to 70/60/50s
|
Notable Players[edit]
|
皮球
|
Jaunuel
|
Jhocam
|
Ace12
|
Xakoda
|
Additional Content[edit]
References[edit]
| Game Mechanics |
|---|
| Gameplay
Mechanics | | | Hero Mechanics | | | Attack Mechanics | | | Status Effects | | | Item Mechanics | | | Metagame | | | Game Client | |
|
Support 
Nuker 
Disabler 
Escape
