Dread Shaman

Summary

Strength	15	+1.65
Agility	18	+1.45
Intelligence	19	+1.75
Primary:	Agility

Se'ra

Dread Shaman is a support with high attack damage scaling potential.

The Dread Shaman is very versatile with high utility and two snares, though he lacks reliable spell damage. Dread Shaman has average stat gains with no clear emphasis. His ability to hit multiple targets compensates for his low weapon enhancement scaling.

Base Damage: 29-35 (Low)

Damage Per Weapon Improvement: +6-9 (Below Average)

Attack Speed: Above Average

Attack Range: 600

Armor: 8

Skills

Ancestrial Fury [Active/Passive Self Buff]

Hotkey: Q
[[]]

Innate

120

0s

0

Passive: All attacks bounce and hit 2 additional targets without penalty.

Active: 20% movespeed/attackspeed buff, and adds additional effects to all skills.

This skill makes the dread shaman strong at DPS. His base damage is poor, but any bonus damage and attack speed is effectively multiplied by 3 (though on average the gain is closer to 2x).

Spell buffs:

Mass Regeneration: Adds armor for 15 seconds.

Expunge: Also scatters life.

Voodoo Doll:

Cleansing Totem: Provides mana in an AoE.

Fire Totem: Stuns on explode.

Earthbind: Adds damage to nearby melee-based allies.

Skyfury: Attacks nearby foes.

Spiritwatcher: Turns hero invisible.

Mass Regeneration [AoE Heal]

Hotkey: W
Conjuration

Applies a buff to all allies in a target area which heals them over time.

Spell Details
Level 1	20s	60	?	Heals 100 + 1.0 INT over 5 seconds.
Level 2	20s	80	?	Heals 200 + 1.4 IN over 9 seconds.
Level 3	20s	100	?	Heals 300 + 1.8 INT over 13 seconds.
Level 4	20s	120	?	Heals 400 + 2.2 INT over 17 seconds.
Level 5	20s	140	?	Heals 500 + 2.6 INT over 21 seconds.
Level 6	20s	160	?	Heals 600 +3.0 INT over 25 seconds.

Mass Regeneration is a powerful ability and is one of the few area of effect heals in EotA. It is valuable for pushing in addition to healing yourself and allied heroes. Note that the healing time and efficiency increase as it is leveled up, while the healing per second stays roughly the same. Mass Regeneration is useful as a pre-emptive buff due to its long duration and low cooldown. However, it is not suited to quickly healing an ally that is about to be killed.

Voodoo Doll [Damaging Debuff]

Hotkey: E
Necromancy

Summons a ward linked to targeted enemy hero; damage dealt to the ward is translated to the target hero.

Spell Details
Level 1	?s	?	?	100% of damage dealt to doll + agility bonus
Level 2	?s	?	?	120% of damage dealt to doll + agility bonus
Level 3	?s	?	?	140% of damage dealt to doll + agility bonus
Level 4	?s	?	?	160% of damage dealt to doll + agility bonus
Level 5	?s	?	?	180% of damage dealt to doll + agility bonus
Level 6	?s	?	?	200% of damage dealt to doll + agility bonus

The Doll's health scales with the Shaman's Intelligence, its summon duration with his Strength, and his Agility increases the damage transfer by 1% for every point.

Debuffs fade when a doll is killed.

Expunge [Dispel/Disable]

Hotkey: R
Abjuration

Stops enemy movement. Move is gradually recovered over time. Also scatters some enemy mana which can be picked up by any hero. Cooldown decreases every level.

Spell Details
Level 1	s	45	{{{range1}}}	immobilized for 1 second. move speed slowed for 3 seconds.
Level 2	s	53	{{{range2}}}
Level 3	s	61	{{{range3}}}
Level 4	s	69	{{{range4}}}
		77
		85

Expunge is a strong snare spell. You may only want to pick up one point in the skill to snare an enemy hero so they can be killed or at least beat up more while they attempt to escape. . One good combo is to Expunge to slow a hero, catch up, then drop an earthbind before they can escape for a double-snare punch.

Totemic Mastery[AoE Buff/Selfcentered]

Hotkey: C
Conjuration

Drops one of 5 totems. Indefinite duration until destroyed or shaman drops another totem. ONLY ONE totem can be active at any given time. When this skill is selected, a sub-menu appears with 5 subchoices.

Spell Details
Level 1	s	variable	{{{range1}}}	Drops a skill rank 1 totem.
Level 2	s		{{{range2}}}
Level 3	s		{{{range3}}}
Level 4	s		{{{range4}}}

Totem Mastery is your signature ability, and gives the shaman a lot of flexibility. Each totem is discussed in turn. Note that taking a new level in totem mastery will DESTROY any existing totems. You will have very little luck with several of these totems when enemy heroes are present, since they can just target them and kill them quickly.

• Cleansing Totem - Very handy for countering several hero abilities, especially undead. Its long cooldown prevents much use though.
  

• Earthbind Totem - Slows down enemies in an area around the totem.
  

• Fire Nova Totem - Blows up after 5 seconds, doing damage.
  

• Skyfury Totem - Disables enemy heroes and troops within range with a cyclone.

• Spiritwatcher Totem - Provides long range sight and detects invisibility.
  

Fire Nova Totem [AoE Damage]

Hotkey: R
Conjuration

Explodes after 5 seconds, doing damage to a small surrounding area.

Spell Details
Level 1	60s	60	{{{range1}}}	Deals 130 +1.3INT damage
Level 2	s	71	{{{range2}}}	Deals 165 +1.55INT damage
Level 3	s	82	{{{range3}}}	Deals 200 +1.8INT damage
Level 4	s	93	{{{range4}}}	Deals 255 +2.05INT damage
Level 5		104		Deals 270 +2.3INT damage
Level 6	60s	115		Deals 305 + 3.05INT damage

The Fire Nova Totem does a lot of damage in a medium area of effect and scales very well. Mid to lategame, you can run behind to the archer/mage troops and detonate this to make lots of money and nerf the push. To do this, you must stay in range of the spawns for 5 seconds or they will target the totem and ruin it.

However, this totem is practically useless if an enemy hero is present since it is very easy to target and kill the totem before it detonates. The long cooldown prevents it from being an effective main pushing/farming skill against troops. It is useful, but not as much as you might expect.

SpiritWatcher Totem [Invisibility Counter/Sight]

Hotkey: A
Conjuration

Provides long sight range and sees invisible stuff.

Spell Details
Level 1	60s	50	{{{range1}}}	No discernable difference in skill ranks.
Level 2	60s	50	{{{range2}}}	No discernable difference in skill ranks.
Level 3	60s	50	{{{range3}}}	No discernable difference in skill ranks.
Level 4	60s	50	{{{range4}}}	No discernable difference in skill ranks.
Level 5	60s	50		No discernable difference in skill ranks.
Level 6	60s	50		No discernable difference in skill ranks.

This totem is great against Infiltrator, Tactician, Nephilum,and other heroes that have intrinsic invisibility powers. Otherwise, the sight range itself is not particularly useful, although it does extend to about 2000 range. It would be more useful if it did not effectively lock down your other totem skills. (placing it in a strategic location would take time and destroys it if another totem is used). This could be a valid option if you plan on taking only 1 rank in totem skill, while maxing other skills.

Cleansing Totem [Dispel]

Hotkey: W
Conjuration

Dispels effects every second from friend and foe. Also damages enemy summons.

Spell Details
Level 1	60s	50	{{{range1}}}	Dispels 1 effect per second. Deals 24 + 0.3 INT per second vs summons.
Level 2	s		{{{range2}}}
Level 3	60s		{{{range3}}}
Level 4	60s		{{{range4}}}
	60s
Level 6	60s	95		Dispels 6 effects per second. Deals 84 + 0.6 INT per second vs summons.

The Cleansing totem is really good against blazing priest summons, and also strong against foes that have debuffs. For a single relatively low cost, the shaman can negate a number of nasty buffs such as Frailty, Brainfreeze, etc. It can also dispel buffs from enemy troops like Mass Haste and the like.

Earthbind Totem [Mass Slow]

Hotkey: E
Conjuration

Slows enemy movement in a large area of effect.

Spell Details
Level 1	60s	40	{{{range1}}}	Slows 30%
Level 2	s	48	{{{range2}}}	36
Level 3	60s	56	{{{range3}}}	42
Level 4	60s	64	{{{range4}}}	48
Level 5	60s	72		54
Level 6	60s	80		Slows 60%

Earthbind totem is your second snare which is typically used to prevent enemy heroes from escaping. The effect lingers for a few seconds after leaving the AoE so keep this in mind. The shaman can use Expunge to catch up to an enemy hero, then drop earthbind for a double-snare. Or vice versa. The totem is strong from escaping also, although skyfury is usually better since it fully disables the enemy briefly. Using skyfury to cyclone then drop Earthbind is the best bet if you have a long ways to run.

Skyfury Totem [Mass Disable]

Hotkey: T
Conjuration

Cyclones a hostile unit in a decent area of effect every few seconds, thus removing them from combat for a while.

Spell Details
Level 1	60s	70	{{{range1}}}	Disables for 8 seconds vs troops, 2 sec vs heroes.
Level 2	s		{{{range2}}}
Level 3	60s		{{{range3}}}
Level 4	60s		{{{range4}}}
	60s
Level 6	60s	130		Disables for 23 seconds vs troops, 7 sec vs heroes.

A great escape and pushing totem. It has a long grab range and the cyclone will help your troops focus-fire the enemy and push through to the archers/mages. It can disable a lot of troops, thus saving your troops a lot of damage. It is sometimes usable to trap an enemy hero by surrounding them while cycloned if they are close to a corner or building.

Ancestrial Fury [Misc.]

Hotkey: T
Necromancy

60 second duration. Slight buff to attack. Misc effects: Mass Regen - adds armor for 15 seconds. Expunge - drains mana. Shared Pain - redirects some damage taken. Cleansing Totem - Provides mana in an AoE. Fire Totem - Stuns on explode. Earthbind - Adds dmg to nearby melee-based allies. Skyfury - Attacks nearby foes. Spiritwatcher - Turns hero invisible.

Spell Details
Level 1	180s	120	{{{range1}}}	+15% attack speed, +5% move speed. Regen: +8armor. Expunge: 100+INT drain. Shared Pain - 15% redirect. Cleansing: 15 mana per second. Earthbind: 20% dmg. SKyfury: 15 dmg per 0.4 seconds. Spiritwatcher: 120sec of invis.
Level 2	s	160	{{{range2}}}	+30% attack speed, +10% move speed. Regen: +16armor. Expunge: 160+1.2INT drain. Shared Pain - 30% redirect. Cleansing: 20 mana per second. Earthbind: 28% dmg. SKyfury: 20 dmg per 0.4 seconds. Spiritwatcher: 120sec of invis.
Level 3	s	200	{{{range3}}}	+45% attack speed, +15% move speed. Regen: +24armor. Expunge: 220+1.4INT drain. Shared Pain - 45% redirect. Cleansing: 25 mana per second. Earthbind: 36% dmg. SKyfury: 25 dmg per 0.4 seconds. Spiritwatcher: 120sec of invis.
Level 4	180s	240	{{{range4}}}	+60% attack speed, +20% move speed. Regen:+32 armor. Expunge: 280+1.6INT drain. Shared Pain - 60% redirect. Cleanse: 30 mana per second. Earthbind 44% melee damage. Skyfury - 30 dmg per 0.4 sec. Watcher: 120sec invis.

Your ultimate does a LOT of stuff. Note that after Ultimate wears off, any bonus effects stay which is especially strong on totems. Also note that the bonus effects have NOTHING to do with what level the base-skills are, other than duration possibly.

• Attack/Move rate - A nice self-buff that is strong when sieging a base, since several other bonus effects to your spells are beneficial when doing so.
  

• Mass Regen - The armor bonus is very helpful when sieging a base. The heal and armor combined help overcome the constant tower damage.
  

• Shared Pain - untested. In theory, it makes the foe take damage from shared pain, and actually TRANSFERS some of the damage you would have taken to them as well. (Shared Pain doesnt transfer..it just copies a percentage of the damage to them)
  

• Expunge - Mana drain is a nice bonus, but it does not actually manaburn the target. It is very efficient to use a 45 mana spell to drain hundreds from enemy heroes, so always use it when you active the ultimate. When ultimate is active, DO NOT expunge yourself or allies though to dispel! You will mana drain your ally which will result in many cries of "noob"...
  

• Cleansing Totem - The mana bonus is really awesome, creating a droppable fountain for all intents and purposes. Make sure you have enough mana for both the ult and the totem and you can quickly regen yourself while soaking XP from a fight. Make sure to drop this a ways back, as enemy heroes will pop this on sight. This is a good use of your Ult, to replentish your mana. Your allies will love you too.
  

• Earthbind Totem - The bonus to melee heroes is solid when sieging a base or in large battles. The standard slow effect makes it difficult for an enemy hero to show up and lure your troops off, making it do double duty.
  

• Fire Nova Totem - Worthless. Nothing should survive your fire nova anyways, so stunning the near-dead survivors accomplishes little. You will never ever hit a hero with this other than blind luck.
  

• Skyfury Totem - Solid in a big fight as it does decent damage (from 38 to 76 DPS) in addition to its normal effect.
  

• Spiritwatcher - Useful when using Ult/Cleans for mana recovery. Right before Ult expires, if you are maxed out on mana, drop this for the invisibility. It might be helpful so you can appear behind an enemy hero and drop earthbind and start DPSing them down. Otherwise it is useless, since if you are seen vanishing, they kinda know to expect you...

Skill Build

1 Mass Regen

You want to pick up Expunge early for the snare. There is no dire need to have the regen/totem skills maxed as early as possible, unlike most heroes skills.

General Strategy

As you can see, Shaman is all about utility and versatility. His healing is very strong and his two snares can help kill enemy heroes. However, he is lacking in offensive capability.

You can either do a spawn suport or an attack damage based build.

An attack damage build takes advantage of your multi-hit, and reasonably fast base attack speed.

A spawn support build focuses on you mantaining mana to help other heros and your own spawns

Early Game - Your Regen will help you push and negate any nukes that may fly your way, and keep you from needing any healing potions except maybe 1 or 2 for emergency. Look for good opportunities to Expunge any enemy melee heroes that linger too long on the front lines. Your troops and long range attack will punish them for their insolence. Try to save 200 mana for your mana recovery combo at level 15.

Mid Game - Your attack will still be pretty weak, but if no heroes are around you can run behind the tanks and drop a fire nova totem to wipe out mage/archers. Use your ranged attack to bounce around mages/archers if possible without taking excessive damage from enemy ranged heroes. Remember that you can heal and your attacks will bounce unlike theirs. Healing is very important.

Another interesting strategy to do here around level 15 is to start buying critter-creation items from the Goblin shop, and use them to assist with pushing and farming gold. The first available is the Sea Elemental which has 800HP and a decent ranged attack and is very cheap for only 85 gold per critter. After a while, the mighty Sludges become available which has double the HPs and attack capability plus the ability to split into smaller versions when it dies. The concept is that the Shaman can use his AoE heal to keep his critters alive, and thus get a lot more use out of them as opposed to most other heroes that cannot heal non-heroes. (Oracle and Blazing Priest can sort-of use this strategy too)
This is a pretty effective strategy during the midgame as it is extremely difficult to kill a 1600HP player-controlled ranged creep that can heal at 40HP/s with Mass Regen on it. Enemy AoE spells are easily negated with Mass Regen. Each critter can bring quite a bit of firepower to bear for their minimal price tag, thus being much better than using mercenaries or other gold spending sources. As the game progresses, the Shaman can continue to build up an ever increasing horde which pushes and farms very effectively.
The only downside is that it requires a lot more micromanagement skill to implement. However, the shaman is not particularly difficult to use for the most part when pushing so this is not a huge issue. After all, the Shaman tends to spam Mass Regen and autoattack.

Late Game - With a few items, your autoattack is pretty strong. You can wipe out small clusters of troops with fire nova. Your heal is maxed out and lasts for a long time. Use it on your troops whenever possible.

Items and Enhancements

DO NOT get the Orb of Fury!!! It will mess up your attack, such that you are firing blanks from then on! Literally... you will toss absolutely nothing 100% of the time and do no damage.

Do NOT get the Gloves of Crit either. When a crit occurs, it disables your multiattack. This is ok sometimes, but overall it actually decreases your damage.

Once your orb is maxed, there are several other items you can pick up which are less efficient but useful. In no particular order, these are:

• Sun Talisman - You don't need the HP-regen so much, but the other properties are great: More HPs, attack speed, movespeed, manapool.

• Dragon Heart - I would not pump this item up until last, but even at base level, the attack damage is beneficial, and the mana regen boost is extremely strong since you cannot really spare an orb or helm slot for a dedicated mana-regen item. 60% mana boost is a LOT. Plus, the dragon summon really helps your weaker early offense.

• Helm of the Executioner - Heavy attack damage makes this a winner, although it is about 40% less efficient than the orb of battle for this purpose.

• Zephyr Thing - This is an excellent item, as the attack speed is great to have. Blink is incredibly useful for the Shaman for escape or hero pursuit. Blink + earthbind is massive ownage vs fleeing heroes. Remember, your offense is limited to your autoattack, and this is the best way to actually get kills. Don't upgrade until very late, as it is too expensive just for a quicker cooldown and faster attack.

• AGI gloves - Not as useful as crit gloves should be, but its still a solid choice. Helps with hero pursuit, adds a bit of damage, and gives a big attack speed boost.
  

• Leather Armor - An efficient item with lots of useful abilities. The attack speed is welcome, as is the armor and evasion.

Note: If against a hero lineup that can inflict massive damage in a short period, you may need the sun talisman or another HP buffing item for survival. You can heal most damage, but that doesnt matter if you get 1-shotted by the Infiltrator...