Lanaya, the Templar Assassin, is a high-impact Agility-based carry in DotA 1, renowned for her explosive physical burst damage, defensive durability, and unique battlefield positioning requirements. Armed with solid baseline attributes and superb scaling, she operates primarily in the solo middle lane. Lanaya manipulates the flow of battle by completely negating incoming enemy damage instances, melting opponent armor from invisibility, and spilling her attacks linearly onto targets behind her primary focus. Her highly aggressive playstyle rewards precise positioning, allowing her to easily dominate skirmishes and quickly transition into a scaling physical powerhouse.
Base Stats & Attributes
Hero Attributes
| Attribute |
Base Value |
Growth (per level) |
| Strength |
21 |
+2.4 |
| Agility |
23 |
+3.2 |
| Intelligence |
20 |
+2.0 |
Statistics & Mechanics
| Statistic |
Value |
Mechanic |
Value |
| Damage |
53-59 |
Base HP Regen |
0.25/s |
| HP |
620 |
HP Regen |
+2.35/s |
| MP |
290 |
MP Regen |
+1.01/s |
| Armor |
4.3 |
Turn Rate |
0.7 |
| Move Speed |
305 |
Base Attack Time (BAT) |
1.7 |
| Attack Range |
160 (missile speed 900) |
Attack Animations |
0.3 / 0.5 |
Hero Skills Breakdown
1. Refraction
Lanaya manipulates psionic energy around herself, granting a mystical refraction of light that protects her from external harm and rewards her with bonus damage for a limited number of instances.
- Buff Duration: 17 seconds
- Damage Block Mechanics: Negates any damage source above a small threshold (fully blocks the instance)
- Instance Depletion: Attacks consume offensive charges, and taking damage consumes defensive charges
| Level |
Bonus Damage |
Protected & Active Instances |
Cooldown |
Manacost |
| 1 |
25 |
3 |
17.0 sec |
100 |
| 2 |
50 |
4 |
17.0 sec |
100 |
| 3 |
75 |
5 |
17.0 sec |
100 |
| 4 |
100 |
6 |
17.0 sec |
100 |
2. Meld
Lanaya conceals herself in plain sight at any time, waiting to strike from the shadows with armor-shredding blades. When she breaks her invisibility with an attack, she deals bonus damage and reduces the target's armor.
- Damage Type: Physical
- Debuff Duration: 12 seconds
- Invisibility Restriction: Invisibility is broken immediately upon moving from the casting spot
- Debuff Interaction: Can be stacked on the same target multiple times, with each debuff instance tracking its duration separately
| Level |
Bonus Physical Damage |
Armor Reduction |
Cooldown |
Manacost |
| 1 |
50 |
5 |
12.0 sec |
50 |
| 2 |
100 |
6 |
10.0 sec |
50 |
| 3 |
150 |
7 |
8.0 sec |
50 |
| 4 |
200 |
8 |
6.0 sec |
50 |
3. Psi Blades
Using her psionic powers, the Templar Assassin causes enemy units behind her target to feel the same pain as the target itself. This psionic power also permanently extends her attack range.
- Spill Damage Type: Divine (Pure damage that is unaffected by the armor values of the secondary targets behind the primary target)
- Spill Angle: Linear projection directly behind the primary target's orientation
| Level |
Bonus Attack Range |
Spill Range |
Cooldown |
Manacost |
| 1 |
60 |
590 |
Passive |
0 |
| 2 |
120 |
630 |
Passive |
0 |
| 3 |
180 |
670 |
Passive |
0 |
| 4 |
240 |
710 |
Passive |
0 |
4. Psionic Trap
Creates invisible psionic traps on the ground. When manually triggered, a trap will slow units within its immediate area. The slow effect charges up over time, and when fully charged, the trap will also deal damage over time to affected units.
- Area of Effect (AoE): 375
- Slow Scale: Charges up from a base slow to a maximum slow by gaining strength each second
- Charge Duration: 4 seconds to fully charge (slow increases by 7.5% each second)
- Aghanim's Scepter Upgrade: Adds Psionic Projection, enabling Lanaya to channel and blink to any active Psionic Trap.
| Level |
Maximum Trap Count |
Minimum Slow |
Maximum Slow |
Damage Per Second |
Cooldown |
Manacost |
| 1 |
5 |
30% |
60% |
50 |
11.0 sec |
15 |
| 2 |
8 |
30% |
60% |
60 |
8.0 sec |
15 |
| 3 |
11 |
30% |
60% |
70 |
5.0 sec |
15 |
Item Build Guide
| Phase |
Recommended Items |
Strategic Purpose |
| Early Game |
Power Treads, Wraith Band, Bottle |
Power Treads (set to Agility) boosts attack speed and scales raw physical damage. Wraith Band provides efficient early stats, while Bottle secures runes and offers essential mana and health regeneration in the midlane. |
| Core Items |
Blink Dagger, Desolator, Black King Bar |
Blink Dagger is crucial for instant gap-closing to execute Meld strikes. Desolator stacks beautifully with Meld to reduce enemy armor to near zero, and Black King Bar ensures you aren't disabled while relying on Refraction. |
| Late Game |
Daedalus, Butterfly, Aghanim's Scepter |
Daedalus scales your raw physical damage and allows Meld strikes to critically strike. Butterfly provides evasive defense and heavy Agility scaling, while Aghanim's Scepter grants global mobility via Psionic Projection. |
Quick Gameplay Tips
- The Spill-Damage Harass: Lanaya's Psi Blades deal Divine (Pure) damage based on the actual damage dealt to the primary target. If you attack an enemy lane creep with low armor (or one affected by a high damage attack), the full raw damage spills behind it. Stand in alignment to hit a high-armor enemy hero behind a low-armor creep; this bypasses the hero's natural armor entirely and inflicts massive damage.
- Armor Melting Burst: Always initiate with Blink Dagger directly on top of your target, immediately activate Meld, and attack. The combination of Desolator and Meld will instantly strip away up to 14 points of armor (at level 4), leaving most heroes completely defenseless against your high physical damage attacks boosted by Refraction.
- Pre-cast Refraction Cooldown: Before jumping into a teamfight, activate Refraction early. Because the buff lasts 17 seconds and has a 17-second cooldown, you can enter the battle with full defensive and offensive charges, and immediately cast it again as soon as your active charges are depleted. This effectively grants you 12 instances of invulnerability and bonus damage in a single fight.