Grimstroke

• Overview
• Equipment
• Responses

[e][h]Grimstroke

Dire Hero

Attributes

21 +2.4

18 +1.9

25 +3.8

21 - 25

0

290

Base Stats

Base HP Regen

0

Base Mana Regen

0

Sight Range

1800 / 800

Attack Range

575

Missile Speed

900

Attack Duration

0.35 + 0.53

Cast Duration

0.15 + 0.53

Base Attack Speed

100

Base Attack Time

1.7

Base Magic Resist

25%

Turn Rate

0.6

Level Changes

Level

1

15

25

Health

578

1172

1604

Mana

450

1245

1815

Armor

2.9

7.1

10.2

Damage

46-50

99-103

137-141

Most Played As

LessMore

Role

1

2

3

4

5

Grimstroke

Recommended Roles

Support Nuker Disabler Escape

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.

Abilities

Stroke of Fate

QF

Targeting
Point Target

Affects
Enemy Units

Damage Type
Magical

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	120 / 180 / 240 / 300 420 25

Bonus Damage Per Target	16 / 24 / 32 / 40 56 25

Movement Speed Slow	50% / 60% / 70% / 80%

Slow Duration	1.5

Radius	120 ➜ 160

Cast Range	1400 2200 20

Cast Point	0.8

11 / 9 / 7 / 5

100 / 110 / 120 / 130

	Does not pierce Spell Immunity.
	Dispellable.

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 2400 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.

Phantom's Embrace

WE

Targeting
Unit Target

Affects
Enemy Units

Damage Type
Magical

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	6 / 14 / 22 / 30

Rend Damage	120 / 200 / 280 / 360

Latch Duration	5

Latch Radius	100

Hero Hit Count	2 / 2 / 3 / 3 4 20

Non-Hero Hit Count	6 / 6 / 9 / 9 12 20

Cast Range	900

Cast Point	0

32 / 28 / 24 / 20

110 / 120 / 130 / 140

	Does not pierce Spell Immunity.
	Blocked by Linken's Sphere and echoed by Lotus Orb.

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:
  • 105 / 220 / 335 / 450
• The phantom travels at 750 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.

Ink Swell

EW

Targeting
Unit Target

Affects
Allied Units

Damage Type
Magical

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 a few seconds the swell triggers, applying damage and stunning the area around the unit. The swell damage and stun duration depend on how long ink tendril damage was inflicted to enemy heroes across the duration.

Tendril Damage Per Second	25 / 35 / 45 / 55

Maximum Swell Damage	100 / 200 / 300 / 400 480 10

Maximum Stun Duration	1.0 / 1.9 / 2.8 / 3.7

Movement Speed Bonus	12% / 14% / 16% / 18% 38% 15

Buff Duration	3

Radius	400 550 25

Cast Range	400 / 525 / 650 / 775

Cast Point	0.15

30 / 25 / 20 / 15

120 / 130 / 140 / 150

	Does not pierce Spell Immunity.
	Dispellable.

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:
  • 5 / 7 / 9 / 11
• Max ink swell damage and stun are reached after a full duration of tendril damage is dealt to an enemy hero.
• Total damage:
  • 175 / 305 / 435 / 565
• 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.

Soulbind

RB

Targeting
Unit Target

Affects
Enemy Heroes

Binds a targeted enemy hero to its nearest allied hero within the bind radius, preventing both from moving away from each other. Any enemy unit target spell that a bound hero receives also gets cast on the other bound hero. If soulbind is broken before the duration expires, the initial target will be bound to the next nearest allied hero in the radius.

Leash Duration	6 / 7 / 8

Bind Radius	550

Break Radius	700

Cast Range	700 / 800 / 900

Cast Point	0.15

100 / 75 / 50

150 / 200 / 250

	Blocked by Linken's Sphere only. Ignores Lotus Orb.

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 Ability

Dark Portrait

DD

Targeting
Unit Target

Affects
Enemy Heroes

Creates a spell immune ink illusion of a target enemy hero.

Illusion Duration	15

Bonus Movement Speed	30%

Illusion Damage Dealt	150%

Illusion Damage Taken	350%

Cast Range	1200

35

200

	This spell is granted directly by the scepter.
	Does not pierce Spell Immunity.

Talent Tree

Talent Tree
+40%  Stroke of Fate Damage	25	+150  Ink Swell Radius
+3  Phantom's Embrace Hit Count	20	+800  Stroke of Fate Cast Range
+150  Ink Swell Radiu	15	+20%  Ink Swell Movement Speed
+80  Ink Swell Max Damage	10	+100 Cast Range

Summon Stats

Phantom [h]

Stats

Unit Type

Summoned

Attack Type

 

Basic

Armor Type

 

Basic

Health

2 / 2 / 3 / 3
5

20

Health Regen

0

Attack Range

0

Missile Speed

Instant

Attack Duration

0 + 0.5

Cast Duration

0 + 0

Base Attack Time

1

Armor

0

Movement Speed

750

Sight Range

200 / 200

Magic Resistance

Immune

Turn Rate

1

Gold Bounty

35-40

Experience

20

Notes

Uncontrollable
Phased

Recommended Items

Starting Items			Early Game

Mid Game			Late Game

General Strategy

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.

Grimstroke (In-Game Description)

Overview

Skill Build

Level	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Spell
Level	11	12	13	14	15	16	18	20	25
Spell

Early Game

Mid Game

Late Game

Version History

Version	Balance Changes
7.27b
	Attack range increased from 550 to 575 Level 10 Talent changed from +20 Movement Speed to +100 Cast Range Level 15 Talent changed from +150 Cast Range to +20% Ink Swell Movement Speed Level 20 Talent increased from +650 Stroke of Fate Cast Range to +800
7.26c
	Level 10 Talent reduced from +25 Movement Speed to +20
7.26b
	All talents are now about 20% weaker
7.25
	Phantom's Embrace rend damage increased from 80/170/260/350 to 120/200/280/360 Level 15 Talent increased from +15% Spell Amplification to +20% Level 20 Talent increased from +600 Stroke of Fate Cast Range to +800
7.24
	Base Intelligence increased by 2 Level 10 Talent changed from +90 Gold/Min to +100 Ink Swell Max Damage Level 15 Talent increased from +125 Cast Range to +175 Level 15 Talent increased from +12% Spell Amplification to +15%
7.23
	Phantom's Embrace Rend damage increased from 75/150/225/300 to 80/170/260/350 Ink Swell cast range increased from 400/500/600/700 to 400/525/650/775
7.22f
	Base damage reduced by 4
7.22e
	Base damage reduced by 2 Soulbind no longer reduces movement speed by 10%
7.22d
	Soulbind slow reduced from 10/20/30% to 10%
7.22b
	Dark Portrait illusion incoming damage increased from 200% to 350% Dark Portrait illusion duration reduced from 20 to 15
7.22
	Added Scepter upgrade: Grants you a new ability, Dark Portrait Creates an ink illusion of a target enemy hero Illusion lasts 20 seconds and is magic immune with +30% movement speed Takes 200% incoming damage and deals 150% outgoing damage Cooldown: 35 Mana Cost: 200 Ink Swell is now castable on allied Spell Immune units
7.21
	Ink Swell stun duration reduced from 1.4/2.2/3.0/3.8 to 1.0/1.9/2.8/3.7 Soulbind slow reduced from 15/30/45% to 10/20/30%
7.21
	Movement Speed reduced by 5 Phantom's Embrace rend damage reduced from 120/200/280/360 to 75/150/225/300 Ink Swell mana cost increased from 90/100/110/120 to 120/130/140/150 Ink Swell movement speed reduced from 18% to 12/14/16/18%
7.20e
	Ink Swell max stun duration reduced from 1.7/2.4/3.1/3.8 to 1.4/2.2/3/3.8 Soulbind cooldown increased from 90/70/50 to 100/75/50
7.20d
	Ink Swell max damage reduced from 160/240/320/400 to 100/200/300/400 Ink Swell max stun duration reduced from 2/2.6/3.2/3.8 to 1.7/2.4/3.1/3.8 Soulbind cooldown increased from 80/65/50 to 90/70/50
7.20
	Enabled Grimstroke in Captains Mode Soulbind now applies a Leashed state to the targets Disallows teleportation and mobility based abilities Soulbind duration reduced from 6/8/10 to 6/7/8 Phantom's Embrace creature now gets closer to the target before latching on Ink Swell now does its maximum impact based on the duration it hit any hero (Rather than amount of DPS dealt to all heroes combined) Scales linearly from 0 to 3 seconds Ink Swell max stun duration reduced from 2.2/2.8/3.4/4 to 2/2.6/3.2/3.8 Level 20 Talent changed from +2 Hits to Kill Phantom to +1
7.19d
	Ink Swell max damage reduced from 220/280/340/400 to 160/240/320/400 Ink Swell movement speed bonus reduced from 18/22/26/30% to 18% Phantom's Embrace latch duration increased from 4/4/5/5 to 5 Phantom's Embrace DPS rescaled from 12/18/24/30 to 6/14/22/30
7.19c
	Ink Swell no longer makes the target immune to attacks Ink Swell no longer silences and disarms the target Soulbind duration increased from 4/6/8 to 6/8/10
7.19
	2018/08/29 Update Stroke of Fate movement slow duration reduced from 2➜1.5 Stroke of Fate movement slow can now be dispelled Stroke of Fate projectile vision radius reduced from 240➜160 Stroke of Fate projectile endpoint vision radius reduced from 300➜160 and duration reduced from 3.34➜2 Fixed +600 Stroke of Fate cast range talent incorrectly updating the range preview Phantom unit's vision range reduced from 400➜200 Changed phantom latch duration from 4/4.5/5/5.5➜4/4/5/5 If the target dies, the phantom now flies back to caster to refresh the cooldown Fixed a bug with +2 hits required talent only giving +1.3 hits (4 non-hero hits instead of 6) Ink Swell bonus movement speed reduced from 28/32/36/40%➜18/22/26/30% Ink Swell damage and stun amounts now range from 0 to max, instead of from a base value to max Ink tendril particle doesn't display if the affected enemy unit is invisible Soulbind no longer sees through invisibility on leashed targets 2018/08/25 Update New Hero

Notable Players

N0tail

See also

• Slow