Mortred the Phantom Assassin is a melee agility Hero fitting the role of hard carry. Mortred is best-known, and infamous for, her ability to inflict staggering damage with single strikes. Her abilities synergise supremely well with each other, rendering her an extremely formidable foe once she has acquired the items she requires. She is a very farm-dependent melee Hero, but she farms creeps with much more ease than many of her fellow carries, using her Stifling Dagger for last hitting.

Besides eliminating the weakness most melee Heroes have in their farming, it also saves her from expending gold on important melee carry items like Quelling Blade. Her second ability, Phantom Strike, acts as both her escape and initiate, while Blur gives her an edge against other Heroes that depend on their physical attacks by evading them; giving her partial damage immunity to many carries. Her ultimate, the strongest critical strike in the game, is what connects Mortred with four-digit damage and what gives her a place amongst the very best support killers in the late game, since they usually fall instantly from the divine strike her ultimate provides. Mobile and able to fight back nearly every enemy that dares to face her, Mortred is a formidable foe that should never be underestimated, and with appropriate item choices and a few kills, she can snowball out of control and become next to impossible to stop. Through a process of divination, children are selected for upbringing by the Sisters of the Veil, an order that considers assassination a sacred part of the natural order. The Veiled Sisters identify targets through meditation and oracular utterances. They accept no contracts, and never seem to pursue targets for political or mercenary reasons.


Their killings bear no relation to any recognizable agenda, and can seem to be completely random: A figure of great power is no more likely to be eliminated than a peasant or a well digger. Whatever pattern the killings may contain, it is known only to them. They treat their victims as sacrifices, and death at their hand is considered an honor. Raised with no identity except that of their order, any Phantom Assassin can take the place of any other; their number is not known. Perhaps there are many, perhaps there are few. Nothing is known of what lies under the Phantom Veil. Except that this one, from time to time, when none are near enough to hear, is known to stir her veils with the forbidden whisper of her own name: Mortred. Healing Salve and Tangos provide basic regen to stay in lane and continue farming despite enemy harassment. Given that Phantom Assassin is an agility melee carry who must close in to get last-hits, regen is important to ensure that she can survive the early game and transition smoothly into farming by herself. Iron Branches give a very cost-effective increase to Phantom Assassin's attributes, and can be built into a Magic Wand. Stout Shield helps reduce harass damage taken from lane opponents, increasing survivability. Boots of Speed are important to obtain early on. Phantom Assassin must be able to easily move in and out of range to last-hit, as well as chase or escape as needed without having to rely as much on Phantom Strike icon.png Phantom Strike. Poor Man's Shield provides increased damage block, and additional agility for more base damage and armor. It can greatly improve Phantom Assassin's lane survivability and aid in getting last-hits. An early Magic Wand can greatly improve Phantom Assassin's survivability and effectiveness in the early game. It provides a small amount of attributes and tremendous charge storage for burst HP and mana regen, both of which are crucial on an agility hero with low strength and intelligence. Helm of the Dominator gives Phantom Assassin many strong benefits. The armor helps increase her resistance to physical damage, the HP regen and lifesteal allow her to maintain her health outside of teamfights, and the extra damage improves her combat effectiveness. The ability to dominate a creep allows her to provide aura bonuses to herself, add an extra nuke or disable to fights, and always have a Phantom Strike target to use for escape. As well, it can also be used to remotely stack Ancient camps, increasing her gold gain. Black King Bar gives Phantom Assassin much-needed spell immunity, allowing her to ignore enemy disables and nukes as she directly engages enemies in fights. The extra HP helps increase survivability, while the damage improves attack power.

dota2 heroes phantom assassin