Knight Davion, the Dragon Knight, is an exceptionally durable Strength-based frontline carry, mid-laner, and siege executor in DotA 1. Celebrated for his unrivaled baseline survivability, Davion relies on his dense ancestral bloodline to shrug off massive physical assault and passive attrition. With a highly reliable single-target stun and a wide-sweeping fire breath that weakens enemy offenses, he effectively anchors team formations before transforming into a massive Elder Dragon—shifting from a standard melee brawler into a ranged, freezing, area-of-effect destruction engine.
Base Stats & Attributes
Hero Attributes
| Attribute |
Base Value |
Growth (per level) |
| Strength |
21 |
+3.4 |
| Agility |
19 |
+2.0 |
| Intelligence |
18 |
+1.7 |
Statistics & Mechanics
| Statistic |
Value |
Mechanic |
Value |
| Damage |
52-58 |
Base HP Regen |
0.25/s |
| HP |
620 |
HP Regen |
+2.25/s |
| MP |
230 |
MP Regen |
+0.91/s |
| Armor |
2.7 |
Turn Rate |
0.6 |
| Move Speed |
295 |
Base Attack Time (BAT) |
1.7 |
| Attack Range |
150 (melee) |
Attack Animations |
0.5 / 0.5 |
Hero Skills Breakdown
1. Breathe Fire
Breathes fire at enemy units which deals magical damage. Burned enemies suffer a temporary penalty to their raw base attack power.
- Damage Type: Magical
- Base Damage Reduction: 35%
- Debuff Duration: 11 seconds
- Targeting: Cone-shaped area of effect projecting outward from the caster, ideal for securing creep last-hits while concurrently applying an offensive penalty to opposing heroes.
| Level |
Damage (Magical) |
Cooldown |
Manacost |
| 1 |
90 |
14 sec |
90 |
| 2 |
170 |
13 sec |
100 |
| 3 |
240 |
12 sec |
110 |
| 4 |
300 |
11 sec |
120 |
2. Dragon Tail
Knight Davion bashes an enemy target with the fury of a dragon's tail swipe. Stuns the target and deals minor magical damage.
- Damage Type: Magical
- Melee Cast Range: 150 base (extended dramatically when modified by ultimate transformation)
- Mechanic: Extremely reliable, near-instantaneous single-target lockdown that leaves zero windows for evasive targets to dodge the impact.
| Level |
Damage (Magical) |
Stun Duration |
Cooldown |
Manacost |
| 1 |
50 |
2.50 seconds |
12 sec |
100 |
| 2 |
75 |
2.75 seconds |
11 sec |
100 |
| 3 |
100 |
3.00 seconds |
10 sec |
100 |
| 4 |
125 |
3.25 seconds |
9 sec |
100 |
3. Dragon Blood
Grants Dragon Knight blood from his ancient ancestral dragon heritage, which permanently increases health regeneration and armor.
- Ability Type: Passive
- Mechanic: Directly infuses raw static armor and health recovery rates into the hero's base defensive profile without consuming physical item slots or active mana pools.
| Level |
Bonus HP Regeneration |
Bonus Armor |
Cooldown |
Manacost |
| 1 |
4/s |
3 |
Passive |
0 |
| 2 |
8/s |
4 |
Passive |
0 |
| 3 |
12/s |
9 |
Passive |
0 |
| 4 |
16/s |
12 |
Passive |
0 |
Transforms the Dragon Knight into a powerful elder dragon, altering his basic attack type to a ranged state. Gives a movement speed boost, extends his single-target stun execution reach, and unlocks powerful elemental attack modifiers depending on its level.
- Transformation Duration: 60 seconds
- Movement Speed Boost: +30
- Form Attack Enhancements:
- Level 1 (Green Dragon): Corrosive Breath (applies damage over time to targets, working on structures).
- Level 2 (Red Dragon): Corrosive Breath + Splash Attack (spreads full physical attack damage to surrounding targets).
- Level 3 (Blue Dragon): Corrosive Breath + Splash Attack + Frost Breath (freezes and slows target and splash-radius units' movement and attack speed).
- Scepter Upgrade: Increases current ultimate state by an additional level. At maximum level, it unlocks the Bronze Dragon, granting increased magic resistance along with scaled-up status traits.
| Level |
Elder Form State |
Cooldown |
Manacost |
| 1 |
Green Dragon (Corrosive) |
115 sec |
50 |
| 2 |
Red Dragon (Splash) |
115 sec |
50 |
| 3 |
Blue Dragon (Frost Splash) |
115 sec |
50 |
Item Build Guide
| Phase |
Recommended Items |
Strategic Purpose |
| Early Game |
Quelling Blade, Soul Ring, Power Treads |
Quelling Blade secures immediate farm lines. Soul Ring converts his massive, passive Dragon Blood health regeneration into free, continuous mana to spam Breathe Fire, while Power Treads give essential early attack speed. |
| Core Items |
Blink Dagger, Black King Bar (BKB), Manta Style |
Blink Dagger acts as his primary initiation vector, allowing him to instant-stun with Dragon Tail from long range. Black King Bar stops magic kiting, and Manta Style adds movement speed while allowing his illusions to inherit his Dragon Form modifiers. |
| Late Game |
Assault Cuirass, Daedalus, Aghanim's Scepter |
Assault Cuirass stacks perfectly with his natural armor to make him practically immune to physical attacks. Daedalus provides massive critical strikes that scale through his Red/Blue Dragon splash zones, and Aghanim's unlocks the apex Bronze Dragon form. |
Quick Gameplay Tips
- Long-Distance Tail Whipping: While in human form, Dragon Tail is strictly limited to melee range (150). However, activating Elder Dragon Form extends his basic attack range and transforms Dragon Tail into a ranged spell. This allows you to combine it with a Blink Dagger initiation to catch fast, slippery enemy cores from safely out of their defensive visual fields.
- Splash Farming and Wave Control: Once you reach Level 2 in Elder Dragon Form (Red Dragon), your basic attacks deal full physical splash damage to secondary targets. Combine this with Breathe Fire to instantly melt entire lane creep waves or stacked neutral camps, pulling yourself massively ahead in total team net worth during your transformation windows.
- The Structure Melting Attack: The Corrosive Breath mechanic applied by your Elder Dragon Form works against buildings. When executing a team push, drop Breathe Fire onto the incoming defensive creep wave to weaken their attack damage, and continuously tap the enemy tower once to maintain the persistent damage-over-time acid burn on the structural asset.