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IntelligenceIntelligence · Ranged

Shadow Shaman

Summons powerful serpent wards to deal damage

SupportNukerDisablerPusherInitiatorSimple to play
Shadow Shaman portrait

Win rate

51.6%

A across all ranks

Pick rate

16.1%

of public matches

Public picks

545.4K

in the sample

Pro scene

1

0 bans · 100% win rate

Win rate by rank

  • Herald1Herald52.1%
  • Guardian2Guardian51.7%
  • Crusader3Crusader51.4%
  • Archon4Archon51.6%
  • Legend5Legend51.6%
  • Ancient6Ancient51.8%
  • Divine+7Divine+51.1%

Bars start at 50%. Sample sizes: Herald 13.5K · Guardian 46K · Crusader 87K · Archon 133.4K · Legend 144K · Ancient 77.3K · Divine+ 44.3K.

Last 6 days

51.8%

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
  2. 2

    Tranquil Boots

    900g

Mid game

Core items

  1. 1

    Blink Dagger

    52%2,250g
  2. 2

    Arcane Boots

    49%1,500g
  3. 3

    Aether Lens

    61%2,275g

Late game

The full build

  1. 1

    Aether Lens

    61%2,275g
  2. 2

    Force Staff

    2,200g
  3. 3

    Black King Bar

    4,050g
  4. 4

    Glimmer Cape

    52%2,150g
  5. 5

    Blink Dagger

    52%2,250g
  6. 6

    Eul's Scepter of Divinity

    2,600g

Most-bought items for Shadow Shaman in OpenDota’s sample of parsed public matches (1,012 purchases counted). Bars compare each item with the most-bought one in its phase. The percentage is the win rate in games where Shadow Shaman bought the item by minute 30 (green or red when it is clearly above or below Shadow Shaman’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 12–15 min

  1. Blink Dagger

    71 games

    55%
  2. Arcane Boots

    425 games

    46%

Bought 15–20 min

  1. Blink Dagger

    525 games

    61%
  2. Aether Lens

    80 games

    56%
  3. Arcane Boots

    142 games

    35%

Bought 20–30 min

  1. Aether Lens

    232 games

    65%
  2. Ghost Scepter

    84 games

    60%
  3. Aghanim's Shard

    281 games

    58%

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.

  • Tranquil Boots

    900

    • +65 Move Speed
    • +14 Health Regen

    Passive: Break: Whenever you attack a hero or are attacked by any unit, the bonus 14 HP regen is lost and the movement speed bonus is reduced to 40 for 13 seconds.

    Full description

    13s

    Passive: Break. Whenever you attack a hero or are attacked by any unit, the bonus 14 HP regen is lost and the movement speed bonus is reduced to 40 for 13 seconds. Movement speed bonuses from multiple pairs of boots do not stack.

  • 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.

    Win rate when bought51.8% · 1,328 games

    • ≤ 12 min51%37
    • 12–15 min55%71
    • 15–20 min61%525
    • 20–30 min44%695
    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.
  • 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 bought48.6% · 1,384 games

    • ≤ 12 min53%755
    • 12–15 min46%425
    • 15–20 min35%142
    • 20–30 min50%62
    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.
  • Aether Lens

    2,275

    • +300 Mana
    • +2.5 Mana Regen
    • +225 Cast Range

    Win rate when bought61.1% · 350 games

    • ≤ 12 min–13
    • 12–15 min–25
    • 15–20 min56%80
    • 20–30 min65%232
    Full description
    • Cast Range bonuses from Aether Lens and Dagon do not stack.
  • 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.
  • Black King Bar

    4,050

    • +10 Strength
    • +24 Damage

    Active: Avatar: Applies a basic dispel. Grants 60% magic resistance and immunity to reflected and pure damage.

    Full description

    95s50

    Active: Avatar. Applies a basic dispel. Grants 60% magic resistance and immunity to reflected and pure damage. For the duration of the effect, any negative effect from enemy spells has no effect. Duration: 9 / 8 / 7s Dispel Type: Basic Dispel

    • Purchasing another Black King Bar will not reset its immunity duration.
    • Avatar duration is not affected by increases to buff duration.
  • 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 bought51.5% · 361 games

    • ≤ 12 min–4
    • 12–15 min–6
    • 15–20 min–28
    • 20–30 min53%323
    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.

  • 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

Ether Shock

14 / 12 / 10 / 8s90 / 105 / 120 / 135

Creates a cone of ethereal energy that strikes multiple enemy units.

TARGETS
3 / 5 / 7 / 9
DAMAGE
125 / 190 / 255 / 320
  • Can hit secondary targets up to 1000 distance away.

Hex

24 / 20 / 16 / 12s130 / 150 / 170 / 190

Transforms an enemy unit into a harmless creature, disabling their attacks and abilities.

DURATION
2 / 2.3 / 2.6 / 2.9
  • Instantly destroys illusions.
  • The target will have a base movement speed of 100, but buffs granting maximum movement speed won't be disabled.

Shackles

14 / 13 / 12 / 11s125 / 140 / 155 / 170

CHANNELED - Magically binds an enemy unit so that it cannot move or attack, absorbing their life energy over time.

TOTAL DAMAGE/HEAL
100 / 160 / 220 / 280
MAX DURATION
2.4 / 3 / 3.6 / 4.2
CAST RANGE
450

Aghanim’s ScepterIncrease cast range. Every 0.9 seconds, shackled units emit a radial Ether Shock hitting all other units within 600 of the target for 100% of Ether Shock's normal damage. Shackles can now also be cast on allies and Mass Serpent Wards that stay within 2000 units of Shadow Shaman. Allied units are not disabled by Shackle.

Fowl Play

Innate120s

When taking lethal damage, Shadow Shaman receives a strong dispel and survives as a 1 HP chicken with increased movement speed. Incoming damage is reduced to zero for a short duration and additional chickens are created to confuse the enemy. Cooldown resets when Shadow Shaman respawns. DISPEL TYPE: Strong Dispel

DURATION
3
MOVESPEED BONUS
5%
TOTAL CHICKENS
1
INVULNERABLE TIME
1
  • Lethal Damage from Axe's Culling Blade and Necrophos's Reaper's Scythe will not be prevented.
  • Incoming damage reduction buff will prevent certain sources of HP removal from killing Shadow Shaman.

Aghanim’s ShardIncreases the amount of time incoming damage is reduced to 1 seconds. When Fowl Play is triggered, Shadow Shaman becomes invulnerable for 0.1 seconds. While Shadow Shaman is transformed, he can now use items.

Urnaconda

Granted by Aghanim’s Shard50s140

Throw a snake jar at the target location, damaging all enemies in the AoE and creating a Massive Serpent Ward that has 4x the base Serpent Ward damage and health there that lasts 15s.

IMPACT RADIUS
225
IMPACT DAMAGE
275

Mass Serpent Ward

Ultimate110 / 105 / 100s200 / 350 / 550

Summons 10 Serpent Wards to attack enemy units and structures. The Wards are immune to magic. Creeps deal half damage to the Serpent Ward.

DURATION
45
HITS TO DESTROY
2
WARD DAMAGE
50 / 85 / 120
MEGA WARD HEALTH
8
MEGA WARD DAMAGE
200 / 340 / 480

Aghanim’s ShardAllows to create a Mega Ward using the Urnaconda ability.

Talents

+250 Ether Shock Damage

25

+1 Ward Attack Targets

+1.5s Shackles Duration

20

+50% Serpent Wards Max HP

+160 Serpent Wards Attack Range

15

Hex Breaks

+170 Shackles Total Damage

10

+1.75 Mana Regen

Base stats

Attributes

  • StrengthStrength20+2.3/lvl
  • AgilityAgility16+1.6/lvl
  • IntelligenceIntelligence23+3.3/lvl

At level 1

Damage
63–70
Attack time
1.7s
Attack range
400
Move speed
285
Armor
4.7
Magic resistance
25%
Health
560 (+3/s)
Mana
351 (+1.2/s)
Vision day / night
1800 / 800

Recent changes

latest 12 patches
  1. 7.41d
    • Mass Serpent Ward:Gold Bounty decreased from 22-30 to 20-26
    • Urnaconda:Mana Cost increased from 115 to 140
  2. 7.41b
    • Intelligence gain decreased from 3.5 to 3.3
  3. 7.41
    • Fowl Play:No longer upgraded with Aghanim's Shard
    • Now adds a chicken illusion per 5 levels
    • Now also provides bonus movement speed equal to 5% + 5% per 5 levels
    • Urnaconda:New ability granted by Aghanim's Shard
    • Throws a jar at a location, dealing 275 damage to all enemies in a 225 radius and creating a Massive Serpent Ward that lasts for 15s. The ward has 4x health and damage of the normal Serpent Wards. Cooldown: 50s. Mana Cost: 115. Cast Range: 650
  4. 7.40
    • Shackles:Total Damage/Heal increased from 70/140/210/280 to 100/160/220/280
    • Mass Serpent Ward:Cooldown decreased from 110s to 110/105/100s
  5. 7.39d
    • Mass Serpent Ward:Wards' base attack time increased from 1.5s to 1.6s
    • Wards no longer deal 50% extra damage against Roshan

Lore

Born in the Bleeding Hills, Rhasta was just a starving youngling when picked up by a travelling con-man. For two pins of copper, the old con-man would tell your fortune. For three, he'd castrate your pig, for five, he'd circumcise your sons. For a good meal, he'd don his shaman garb, read from his ancient books, and lay a curse upon your enemies. His strange new youngling, part hill troll, part...something else, worked as assistant and lent an air of the exotic to the con-man's trade. Always one step ahead of cheated customers, one town ahead of a pursuing patronage, the two trekked across the blighted lands until one day the con-man realized that the little youngling could actually do what he only pretended at. His ward had a gift--a gift that customers valued. And so the youngling Rhasta was thrust before the crowds, and the trade-name Shadow Shaman was born. The two continued from town to town, conjuring for money as Shadow Shaman's reputation grew. Eventually, the pair's duplicitous past caught up with them, and they were ambushed by a mob of swindled ex-clients. The con-man was slain, and for the first time, Rhasta used his powers for darkness, massacring the attackers. He buried his beloved master, and now uses his powers to destroy any who would seek to do him harm.

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.