Artanis Abilities and Strategy

• Use Blade Dash to reduce the cooldown of Shield Overload, to finish off enemy Heroes, or to deal damage when affected by Blind.
• Do not spam Twin Blades because it is your only gap-closer and your main tool to reduce the cooldown of Shield Overload.
• Use Phase Prism during Blade Dash to surprise an enemy Hero with this displacement combo.
• Actively watch the cooldown of Shield Overload to decide when to use Twin Blades, Blade Dash, or just Basic Attacks.
• Use Suppression Pulse just as you enter a large team fight to reduce the damage that you and your allied Heroes will take.
• Use Purifier Beam on enemy Heroes with low mobility, else it goes wasted.

Blade Dash (Q) Artanis

• Mana: 50
• Cooldown: 10 seconds

Dash forward and deal 63 (+4% per level) damage to enemies, then return and deal 171 (+4% per level) damage. Every enemy hit reduces the cooldown on Shield Overload by 1 second, and Heroes by 2 seconds.

Blade Dash is quite a unique Ability that allows Artanis to dash in a direction, dealing damage to all enemies hit, and then go back to his original position, dealing triple damage to all enemies on the way; furthermore, every enemy Hero hit will reduce the cooldown of Shield Overload by 1 second, doubled on Heroes. It is your primary source of waveclearing and your secondary source of survivability, after Basic Attacks.

Be careful when using Blade Dash nearby enemy Heroes because, unless you are Unstoppable thanks to Phase Prism hitting an enemy Hero or allied Heroes supporting you, its animation can be interrupted. Sometimes you can use this aspect to your advantage by dashing at the right moment towards your chosen position where a non-lethal crowd control will hit you and deny the second part of the animation (for example you can exploit Bone Prison by Xul to escape).

While you cannot use Basic Attacks during its animation, Blade Dash will deal a good amount of Spell Damage, something that will help you to maximize your damage output and survivability when affected by Blind effects while you wait for them to expire.

Twin Blades (W) Artanis

• Mana: 20
• Cooldown: 4 seconds

Artanis's next Basic Attack immediately causes him to charge a short distance and strike the enemy 2 times.

Twin Blades is one of Artanis's most important Basic Abilities because it provides him with what he lacks the most: mobility. Other than that, it also adds burst damage and helps you to reduce the cooldown of Shield Overload.

Avoid using this Ability when Shield Overload is ready to trigger and use it when your Trait still has a few seconds of cooldown and you need its Shield.

Phase Prism (E) Artanis

• Mana: 50
• Cooldown: 12 seconds

Fire a Phase Prism that deals 66 (+4% per level) damage to the first Hero hit and swaps Artanis's position with theirs. Hitting a Hero also grants Artanis Unstoppable for 1.5 seconds. Can be used during Blade Dash.

Phase Prism is a peculiar Ability that allows Artanis to swap his position with the enemy Hero hit and become Unstoppable for a short period of time. The enemy Hero hit will be pulled towards Artanis's previous position while Artanis will be pulled towards the target Hero's previous position. Heroes affected will be dazed, so any stationary-channeled Ability will be interrupted on hit and they will be unable to perform actions until the displacement ends.

Phase Prism can be cast during Blade Dash and you can cast Blade Dash while its projectile is flying. Thanks to those interactions, you can basically increase the range of this Ability. You can use it over impassable terrain as well.

• Engage Swap—Cast Blade Dash towards the target enemy Hero and then cast Phase Prism in the same direction before Artanis starts going back to his original position. Use this to engage an enemy Hero.
• Disengage Swap—Cast Blade Dash through the target enemy Hero and then cast Phase Prism in his direction. Use this to escape from an enemy Hero that is following you.
• God Swap—Cast Blade Dash towards the target enemy Hero and then cast Phase Prism in the same direction after Artanis starts going back to his original position. Use this to engage from the distance (similar to Hook by Stitches).
• Reverse Swap—Use Twin Blades to get nearby the target enemy Hero, cast Blade Dash behind you, then cast Phase Prism as fast as possible towards the target enemy Hero. Use this to bring the enemy Offlaner under your own Structures during the early game, to escape from an enemy Hero that is on your way, or just to move enemy Heroes during team fights.
• Extended Swap—Use Phase Prism from high distance and then immediately use Blade Dash in the opposite direction. Use this to bring enemy Heroes towards your team, especially under your Structures, or to move them away from your team.
• Simple Swap—Just cast Phase Prism towards the target enemy Hero. Use this to peel for your team or to interrupt a dangerous Ability (such as Mosh Pit by E.T.C.).

In this section we discuss how this Heroic Ability works and give some tips on how to use it. If you are looking for a detailed explanation on when and why you should pick it, check out the dedicated section in the Talent Build page.

Suppression Pulse (R) Artanis

• Heroic
• Mana: 40
• Cooldown: 50 seconds

Fire a large area pulse from the Spear of Adun, dealing 114 (+4% per level) damage and Blinding enemies for 4 seconds. Unlimited range.

Suppression Pulse is a defensive Heroic Ability that deals a bit of damage and applies a Blind to all enemies hit, something that will negate all Physical Damage done by the affected enemies. Use it to reduce the damage done by the enemy team as soon as the team fight starts because it lasts for a few seconds. If you use it too early, the enemy team can just disengage. If you use it too late, your team does not get enough value from it. Do not forget that it has unlimited range, so always look for opportunities to use it.

In this section we discuss how this Heroic Ability works and give some tips on how to use it. If you are looking for a detailed explanation on when and why you should pick it, check out the dedicated section in the Talent Build page.

Purifier Beam (R) Artanis

• Heroic
• Mana: 65
• Cooldown: 70 seconds

Target an enemy Hero with an orbital beam from the Spear of Adun, dealing 184 (+4% per level) damage per second for 8 seconds. The beam will chase the target as they move. Unlimited range.

Purifier Beam is an offensive Heroic Ability that deals damage based on how slow the target enemy Hero is at moving away from the beam that will follow them at a fixed Movement Speed. You can use it to either force a low-mobility enemy Hero to keep moving instead of doing what they wanted to (for example Sgt. Hammer will have to exit from Siege Mode instead of using her Basic Attacks) or to damage an enemy Hero affected by crowd control.

Shield Overload (D) Artanis

• Cooldown: 24 seconds

After taking damage while below 75% Health, Artanis gains a 365 (+4% per level) Shield for 5 seconds. Basic Attacks lower the cooldown of Shield Overload by 4 seconds.

Shield Overload provides Artanis a Shield when he can land a good amount of Basic Attacks and/or hit a few enemy Heroes with Blade Dash, something that drastically increases his survivability in prolonged team fights while also being decent against burst damage that does not immediately kill him.

Be aware that Blinds deny any cooldown reduction you would get from Basic Attacks. So, when affected by them, you have to hit enemy Heroes with Blade Dash or cleanse yourself by going Unstoppable with a successful Phase Prism cast.