Azwraith, the Phantom Lancer: Skills and Item Build Guide — DotA 1

Azwraith, the Phantom Lancer, is one of DotA 1's most iconic and elusive Agility-based carry heroes. Renowned for his capability to overwhelm opponents with an endless army of clones, Azwraith thrives in extended skirmishes, split-pushing lanes, and draining the resources of his foes. Backed by exceptional Agility growth, a natural escape mechanism, and dynamic mobility, he can safely farm up crucial items to scale into an unstoppable late-game powerhouse.


Base Stats & Attributes

Hero Attributes

Attribute Base Value Growth (per level)
Strength 19 +2.0
Agility 29 +3.0
Intelligence 21 +2.0

Statistics & Mechanics

Statistic Value Mechanic Value
Damage 51-73 Base HP Regen 0.75/s
HP 580 HP Regen +2.65/s
MP 302 MP Regen +1.06/s
Armor 4.1 Turn Rate 0.6
Move Speed 290 Base Attack Time (BAT) 1.7
Attack Range 150 (melee) Attack Animations 0.5 / 0.5

Hero Skills Breakdown

1. Spirit Lance

Sends a magical spirit lance to a target enemy unit that damages and slows it, while summoning an illusion of Phantom Lancer to attack it.

  • Illusion Damage Dealt: 20%
  • Illusion Damage Taken: 400%
  • Aghanim's Scepter Upgrade: Causes Spirit Lance to bounce on nearby enemies up to 3 times, prioritizing heroes. Also increases illusion damage by 30%.
Level Damage (Magical) Target Slow Illusion Duration Cast Range Cooldown Manacost
1 100 10% 2 seconds 525 7 sec 110
2 160 15% 4 seconds 600 7 sec 120
3 220 20% 6 seconds 675 7 sec 130
4 280 25% 8 seconds 750 7 sec 140

2. Doppelganger

Phantom Lancer briefly vanishes from the battlefield, losing most debuffs. After a short delay, Phantom Lancer and any of his nearby illusions reappear at a random position within the targeted location, along with two additional doppelgangers. One of these doppelgangers acts as a decoy (taking normal damage but dealing none), while the other is more fragile but deals minor damage.

  • Vanish Duration: 1 second
  • Doppelgangers Summoned: 2
  • Doppelganger Duration: 8 seconds
  • Yellow Doppelganger Properties: Takes 100% normal damage, deals 0% damage
  • Fragile Doppelganger Properties: Takes 600% bonus damage, deals 20% damage
  • Utility: Dispel condition (removes most basic debuffs upon cast)
Level Cooldown Manacost
1 25 sec 50
2 20 sec 50
3 15 sec 50
4 10 sec 50

3. Phantom Rush

When targeting an enemy for an attack, Phantom Lancer quickly charges into range, ignoring other units on his way. Grants extra agility for a short period if the target has been reached. Phantom Lancer's illusions also inherit this passive ability.

  • Agility Buff Duration: 2 seconds
  • Pathing: Ignores unit collision during the charge
  • Inheritance: Active illusions also trigger Phantom Rush when targeting an enemy
Level Minimum Trigger Distance Agility Bonus Cooldown Manacost
1 600 11 16 sec Passive
2 700 22 12 sec Passive
3 800 33 8 sec Passive
4 900 44 4 sec Passive

4. Juxtapose

Phantom Lancer has a chance to fracture his presence, creating an illusion of himself. Illusions also have a chance to fracture further and summon more copies.

  • Main Hero Illusion Duration: 8 seconds
  • Illusion-Generated Illusion Duration: 4 seconds
  • Illusion Damage Taken: 650%
  • Illusion Damage Dealt: 16%
  • Illusion Proc Chance (From Illusions): 8%
Level Image Limit Hero Proc Chance Cooldown Manacost
1 6 40% Passive Passive
2 8 45% Passive Passive
3 10 50% Passive Passive

Item Build Guide

Phase Recommended Items Strategic Purpose
Early Game Power Treads, Aquila, Quelling Blade, Magic Wand Builds up necessary raw stats (especially Strength/Agility) to give your illusions survivability, helps sustain early mana pool, and increases farming efficiency.
Core Items Diffusal Blade, Manta Style, Radiance or Heart Diffusal Blade is essential as your illusions burn mana on every hit. Manta Style adds more stats and illusion synergy. Radiance or Heart of Tarrasque offers massive split-push power or bulk.
Late Game Butterfly, Heart of Tarrasque, Abyssal Blade Butterfly yields evasiveness and incredible Agility scaling. Heart allows your illusions to survive AoE spells, and Abyssal Blade provides heavy lockdown.

Quick Gameplay Tips

  • Master the Doppelganger Mind Games: Because Doppelganger spawns a yellow-colored illusion that takes normal (100%) damage, enemies will often mistake it for your real hero. When escaping a tight situation, control the yellow illusion to run in one direction while directing your real hero in another to trick opponents into wasting key spells.
  • Aggressive Magic Immunity Piercing: When fighting elusive magic-immune heroes, remember that you can easily stick to them because your illusions inherit Phantom Rush. Even if enemies try to blink or escape, the constant Agility boost and charge speed keep you right on top of them.