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IntelligenceIntelligence · Ranged

Ancient Apparition

Launches a powerful icy blast from anywhere on the map

SupportNukerDisablerModerate to play
Ancient Apparition portrait

Win rate

51.4%

A across all ranks

Pick rate

7.9%

of public matches

Public picks

268.1K

in the sample

Pro scene

2

0 bans · 100% win rate

Win rate by rank

  • Herald1Herald53.3%
  • Guardian2Guardian51.9%
  • Crusader3Crusader51.9%
  • Archon4Archon51.8%
  • Legend5Legend51.5%
  • Ancient6Ancient50.5%
  • Divine+7Divine+49.6%

Bars start at 50%. Sample sizes: Herald 5.4K · Guardian 19.4K · Crusader 39.3K · Archon 65.9K · Legend 74.9K · Ancient 40.4K · Divine+ 22.7K.

Last 6 days

51.4%

Popular item build

Starting items

Bought before the horn

  1. 1

    Iron Branch

    55g
  2. 2

    Tango

    90g
  3. 3

    Blood Grenade

    50g
  4. 4

    Observer and Sentry Wards

    50g
  5. 5

    Faerie Fire

    65g
  6. 6

    Sentry Ward

    50g

Laning

The first minutes

  1. 1

    Boots of Speed

    500g

Mid game

Core items

  1. 1

    Arcane Boots

    51%1,500g
  2. 2

    Glimmer Cape

    53%2,150g
  3. 3

    Aghanim's Shard

    49%1,400g
  4. 4

    Rod of Atos

    50%2,250g
  5. 5

    Force Staff

    2,200g

Late game

The full build

  1. 1

    Blink Dagger

    2,250g
  2. 2

    Glimmer Cape

    53%2,150g
  3. 3

    Force Staff

    2,200g
  4. 4

    Scythe of Vyse

    5,200g
  5. 5

    Aeon Disk

    3,000g
  6. 6

    Eul's Scepter of Divinity

    2,600g

Most-bought items for Ancient Apparition in OpenDota’s sample of parsed public matches (1,129 purchases counted). Bars compare each item with the most-bought one in its phase. The percentage is the win rate in games where Ancient Apparition bought the item by minute 30 (green or red when it is clearly above or below Ancient Apparition’s average). Teams that are ahead buy items sooner, so a high number shows the item goes with winning games, not that it causes the win. Items with fewer than 100 games show no percentage. Cheap components are hidden from the mid and late game.

Best win rate by purchase time

Bought 15–20 min

  1. Aghanim's Shard

    125 games

    51%
  2. Arcane Boots

    66 games

    42%

Bought 20–30 min

  1. Force Staff

    75 games

    56%
  2. Rod of Atos

    67 games

    54%
  3. Glimmer Cape

    145 games

    51%

Final items compared within the same purchase window (at least 60 games each), so they are not simply ranked by how late or expensive they are. Still a correlation: a team that is far ahead can buy anything sooner.

What these items do

  • Iron Branch

    55

    • +1 All Attributes

    Use: Plant Tree: Targets the ground to plant a happy little tree that lasts for 20 seconds.

  • Tango

    90

    Use: Devour: Consumes a target tree to gain 7 health regeneration for 16 seconds. Consuming an Ironwood Tree doubles the heal duration. Comes with 3 charges.

  • Blood Grenade

    50

    • +50 Health

    Use: Throw Grenade: Throw a grenade at the target area. Enemies in the area will take 50 damage on impact, and be slowed by -15% and take 15 damage every 1s for 5…

    Full description

    10s

    Use: Throw Grenade. Throw a grenade at the target area. Enemies in the area will take 50 damage on impact, and be slowed by -15% and take 15 damage every 1s for 5 seconds. Radius 300.

  • Observer and Sentry Wards

    50

    Use: Plant: Plant the currently active ward. Double-Click to switch the currently active ward.

    Full description

    Use: Plant. Plant the currently active ward. Double-Click to switch the currently active ward.

    • Hold Control to give one ward to an allied hero.
  • Faerie Fire

    65

    • +2 Damage

    Use: Imbue: Instantly restores 85 health.

    Full description

    5s

    Use: Imbue. Instantly restores 85 health.

  • Sentry Ward

    50

    Use: Plant: Plants a Sentry Ward, an invisible watcher that grants True Sight, the ability to see invisible enemy units and wards, to any existing allied vision within a…

    Full description

    1s

    Use: Plant. Plants a Sentry Ward, an invisible watcher that grants True Sight, the ability to see invisible enemy units and wards, to any existing allied vision within a 1050 radius. Lasts 7 minutes. Does not grant ground vision. Hold Control to give one Sentry Ward to an allied hero.

  • Boots of Speed

    500

    • +45 Move Speed

    Movement speed bonuses from multiple pairs of boots do not stack.

  • Arcane Boots

    1,500

    • +45 Move Speed
    • +0.25 Mana Regen
    • +125 Mana

    Active: Replenish: Restores 150 mana to all nearby allies. Radius: 1200

    Win rate when bought51.0% · 418 games

    • ≤ 12 min55%210
    • 12–15 min48%132
    • 15–20 min42%66
    • 20–30 min–10
    Full description

    55s

    Active: Replenish. Restores 150 mana to all nearby allies. Radius: 1200

    Passive: Basilius Aura. Grants 1 mana regeneration to allies. Radius: 1200 Movement speed bonuses from multiple pairs of boots do not stack.

    • Does not work on Meepo clones.
  • Glimmer Cape

    2,150

    Active: Glimmer: After a 0.5 second delay, grants invisibility, 20 movement speed and a magic damage barrier that absorbs up to 375 damage to you or a target allied unit…

    Win rate when bought52.9% · 191 games

    • ≤ 12 min–1
    • 12–15 min–2
    • 15–20 min58%43
    • 20–30 min51%145
    Full description

    15s125

    Active: Glimmer. After a 0.5 second delay, grants invisibility, 20 movement speed and a magic damage barrier that absorbs up to 375 damage to you or a target allied unit for 5 seconds. Can be cast while channeling.

  • Aghanim's Shard

    1,400

    Passive: Ability Upgrade: Upgrades an existing ability or adds a new ability to your hero.

    Win rate when bought48.6% · 405 games

    • ≤ 12 min–16
    • 12–15 min–19
    • 15–20 min51%125
    • 20–30 min45%245
  • Rod of Atos

    2,250

    • +12 Intelligence
    • +275 Health

    Active: Cripple: Roots the target for 2 seconds.

    Win rate when bought49.6% · 115 games

    • ≤ 12 min–7
    • 12–15 min–7
    • 15–20 min41%34
    • 20–30 min54%67
    Full description

    18s100

    Active: Cripple. Roots the target for 2 seconds.

  • Force Staff

    2,200

    • +10 Intelligence
    • +175 Health

    Active: Force: Pushes any target unit 600 units in the direction it is facing.

    Full description

    19s150

    Active: Force. Pushes any target unit 600 units in the direction it is facing.

    • Self-cast will cause you to use Force on yourself.
    • Force Staff doesn't interrupt the target's actions.
    • Will not work on a unit inside Chronosphere, Duel, or Black Hole.
    • Force Staff has 850 cast range when cast on enemies.
  • Blink Dagger

    2,250

    Active: Blink: Teleport to a target point up to 1200 units away. Blink Dagger cannot be used for 3 seconds after taking damage from an enemy hero or Roshan.

    Full description

    15s

    Active: Blink. Teleport to a target point up to 1200 units away. Blink Dagger cannot be used for 3 seconds after taking damage from an enemy hero or Roshan.

    • Self-casting will cause you to teleport in the direction of your team's fountain.
  • Scythe of Vyse

    5,200

    • +30 Intelligence
    • +8.5 Mana Regen

    Active: Hex: Turns a target unit into a harmless critter for 2.8 seconds. The target has a base movement speed of 140 and will be silenced, muted, and disarmed.

    Full description

    20s250

    Active: Hex. Turns a target unit into a harmless critter for 2.8 seconds. The target has a base movement speed of 140 and will be silenced, muted, and disarmed. Instantly destroys illusions.

    • The target will have a base movement speed of 140, but buffs granting maximum movement speed won't be disabled.
  • Aeon Disk

    3,000

    • +250 Health
    • +300 Mana

    Passive: Combo Breaker: When you take damage and your health falls below 70%, a strong dispel is applied and you gain a 2.5 second buff that provides +75% Status…

    Full description

    105 / 125 / 145 / 165s

    Passive: Combo Breaker. When you take damage and your health falls below 70%, a strong dispel is applied and you gain a 2.5 second buff that provides +75% Status Resistance and causes all damage you deal and are dealt to be reduced to zero. Only triggers on player based damage. Cooldown increases every time it triggers. Dispel Type: Strong Dispel

  • Eul's Scepter of Divinity

    2,600

    • +10 Intelligence
    • +2.5 Mana Regen
    • +20 Move Speed

    Active: Cyclone: Sweeps a target unit up into a cyclone, making them invulnerable for 2.5 seconds. Cyclone can only be cast on enemy units or yourself.

    Full description

    23s175

    Active: Cyclone. Sweeps a target unit up into a cyclone, making them invulnerable for 2.5 seconds. Cyclone can only be cast on enemy units or yourself. Enemy units take 50 magical damage upon landing. Dispel Type: Basic Dispel

    • You cannot cyclone allies.
    • Cyclones cast on yourself go through spell immunity.
    • Cyclone can dispel some buffs and debuffs.
    • Cyclone duration is unaffected by status resistance.

Abilities

Cold Feet

15 / 13 / 11 / 9s110 / 115 / 120 / 125

Places a curse on an enemy, dealing damage over time. If the enemy unit doesn't move outside of the given range from the initial location, it will be stunned and frozen in place after 4 seconds.

DAMAGE PER SECOND
25 / 45 / 65 / 85
BREAK DISTANCE
725 / 750 / 775 / 800
STUN DURATION
1.8 / 2.2 / 2.6 / 3
  • Deals damage every half second.

Ice Vortex

10 / 8 / 6 / 4s40 / 55 / 70 / 85

Creates a vortex of icy energy that slows, deals damage, and increases magic damage done to enemies in its range.

RADIUS
275
MOVEMENT SLOW
-8
INCREASED MAGIC DAMAGE
-16 / -19 / -22 / -25
DAMAGE PER SECOND
10 / 20 / 30 / 40
DURATION
6 / 8 / 10 / 12
  • Provides vision in a small area where it is placed.

Chilling Touch

10 / 7.5 / 5 / 2.5s35

Enhances Ancient Apparition's attack with increased range and a burst of magical damage and slow.

DAMAGE
35 / 65 / 95 / 125
SLOW
100
SLOW DURATION
0.7 / 0.8 / 0.9 / 1
ATTACK RANGE BONUS
60 / 90 / 120 / 150

Aghanim’s ScepterRemoves cooldown.

Bone Chill

Innate

When Ancient Apparition deals Magic damage to an enemy with his abilities, it is slowed for a short duration. If the target is a Hero, its Strength is also reduced. Multiple instances of this effect stack and have independent durations.

STRENGTH REDUCTION
0.2
DURATION
4
MOVEMENT SLOW
2

Aghanim’s ScepterIncreases Base Strength Reduction by 0.8.

Ice Blast

Ultimate50 / 45 / 40s175

Launches a tracer toward any location on the battlefield, which must be triggered again to mark the area to be blasted by a damaging explosion of hail. The further the tracer travels, the larger the explosion will be. Enemies caught in the explosion, or who touch the icy ball of hail as it travels, are Frostbitten, taking damage over time and prevented from regenerating or healing. If a Frostbitten unit's health drops below a certain percentage, they will instantly shatter.

PATH RADIUS
300
FROSTBITTEN DURATION
10 / 11 / 12
SHATTER HEALTH THRESHOLD
12 / 13 / 14
DAMAGE PER SECOND
12 / 24 / 36
  • Upon cast, this ability is replaced by Release, used to stop the tracer on the target area.
  • The area of effect is 300 + 50*TimeTraveled, capped at 1000.
  • Kill will be granted to the source of the damage that triggers the shatter.
  • The shatter effect doesn't work on illusions.
  • The HP Freeze prevents most kinds of healing, including the fountain, except Sunder, Time Lapse and Supernova.

Aghanim’s ShardFreezes enemies hit with the current level of Cold Feet for 50% of the duration.

Talents

450 AoE Cold Feet

25

+4% Ice Blast Kill Threshold

+4s Ice Blast Frostbitten Duration

20

+100 Chilling Touch Damage

-2s Ice Vortex Cooldown

15

+250 Cold Feet Break Distance

+300 Chilling Touch Attack Range

10

+30 Cold Feet Damage Per Second

Base stats

Attributes

  • StrengthStrength20+1.9/lvl
  • AgilityAgility20+2/lvl
  • IntelligenceIntelligence23+3.1/lvl

At level 1

Damage
44–54
Attack time
1.7s
Attack range
675
Move speed
285
Armor
2.3
Magic resistance
25%
Health
560 (+2.3/s)
Mana
351 (+1.2/s)
Vision day / night
1800 / 800

Recent changes

latest 12 patches
  1. 7.41e
    • Ice Blast:Cooldown decreased from 60/50/40s to 50/45/40s
  2. 7.41d
    • Cold Feet:Damage per second increased from 20/40/60/80 to 25/45/65/85
    • Chilling Touch:Cooldown decreased from 12/9/6/3s to 10/7.5/5/2.5s
    • Damage increased from 30/60/90/120 to 35/65/95/125
  3. 7.41c
    • Ice Blast:Path Radius increased from 275 to 300
    • Base Area of Effect Radius increased from 275 to 300
    • Talents:Level 20 Talent Chilling Touch Damage increased from +80 to +100
  4. 7.41b
    • Bone Chill:Aghanim's Scepter Strength Reduction bonus increased from 0.3 to 0.8
  5. 7.41a
    • Bone Chill:Base Strength Reduction increased from 0.1 to 0.2
  6. 7.41
    • Removed Death Rime innate ability
    • Bone Chill:New innate ability. Passive, improves with Ancient Apparition's level
    • When Ancient Apparition deals magic damage with his abilities, affected enemies are chilled for 4s, reducing their movespeed by 2% per stack. If the target is an enemy hero, debuff also reduces their Strength by 0.1 + 0.1 per 3 levels. Each instance stacks and has independent duration
    • Upgraded with Aghanim's Scepter
    • Increases Base Strength Reduction by 0.3
    • Cold Feet:Now deals 20/40/60/80 damage per second
    • Ice Vortex:Now deals 10/20/30/40 damage per second
    • Now slows movement by 8%
    • Chilling Touch:Mana Cost decreased from 45/50/55/60 to 35
    • Aghanim's Scepter no longer reduces mana cost
    • Ice Blast:Now deals 12/24/36 damage per second
    • Talents:Level 10 Talent +2 Cold Feet Death Rime Stacks replaced with +30 Cold Feet Damage Per Second
    • Level 15 Talent Cold Feet Break Distance decreased from +300 to +250
    • Level 25 Talent +50% Death Rime Slow/Damage replaced with 450 AoE Cold Feet

Lore

Kaldr, the Ancient Apparition, is an image projected from outside time. He springs from the cold, infinite void that both predates the universe and awaits its end. Kaldr is, Kaldr was, Kaldr shall be...and what we perceive, powerful as it appears to us, is but the faintest faded echo of the true, eternal Kaldr. Some believe that as the cosmos ages and approaches its final moments, the brightness and power of Kaldr will also intensify--that the Ancient Apparition will grow younger and stronger as eternity's end draws nigh. His grip of ice will bring all matter to a stop, his image will cast a light too terrible to behold. An Apparition no longer!

Win rates come from public Dota 2 matches (OpenDota), 3.4M matches counted, refreshed Oct 24, 2026. Tiers use the win rate in the chosen rank: S 52.5%+, A 51%+, B 49%+, C 47.5%+, D below; heroes with too few games are left unrated. Hero data and patch notes are Valve’s. Builds Forge is an unofficial fan site, not affiliated with Valve.