Dazzle
Each young acolyte to the Dezun order must complete a series of rites before becoming a shadow priest. The final rite, the rite of shades, is a harrowing spiritual journey through the Nothl Realm, an unpredictable domain from which not all visitants return. Of those who do, some return mad. Others return with strange aptitudes. But all who go there are changed by their experiences. <br><br>Driven by the need for enlightenment, Dazzle was the youngest of his tribe ever to request the sacred ritual. At first the order refused him, saying he was too young. But Dazzle was not to be dissuaded. Sensing something special in the headstrong young acolyte, the elders relented. Dazzle drank down the sacred potion and sat by the fire while the rest of his tribe danced through the night. <br><br>In this ethereal dimension of the Nothl Realm, the properties of light and dark are inverted. Thus his brilliant healing light, beautiful to our eye, is actually a sinister kind of evil; and the darkest deeds are done in a dazzling glow. The elders' intuition was prophetic: Dazzle returned to his people as a Shadow Priest like none seen before, with the power to heal as well as to destroy. Now he uses his gift to cut down his enemies and mend his friends.
Base STR
19 +2.3
Base AGI
20 +1.7
Base INT
25 +3.5
Move Speed
305
Attack Range
575
Base Armor
0
Attack DMG
19–25
Projectile
1200
Innate Abilities
Weave
Dazzle's abilities apply Weave to both allies and enemies they affect, increasing allied armor and reducing enemy armor. Multiple instances of this effect stack.
ARMOR CHANGE PER STACK:
1
DURATION:
6.9
His ethereal journey into the Nothl realm has allowed Dazzle to mend together the powers of light and dark, creating shifting waves of enchantments.
Abilities
Poison Touch
Cooldown
24 / 21 / 18 / 15s
Mana
125 / 130 / 135 / 140
Releases a cone of poison that strikes multiple enemy units. Deals damage over time and slows the targets. Anytime the targets get attacked by Dazzle, the debuff duration is refreshed and slow is increased.
TARGETS:
2 / 4 / 6 / 8
DAMAGE PER SECOND:
16 / 28 / 40 / 52
SLOW:
-13 / -16 / -19 / -22%
DURATION:
3.5 / 5 / 6.5 / 8
BONUS SLOW PER HIT:
-2 / -2.5 / -3 / -3.5%
- The damage is not reduced by damage block abilities.
One of the few Dezun rites used for offensive purposes, the paralytic enchantment often proves useful.
Shallow Grave
Cooldown
30 / 26 / 22 / 18s
Mana
90 / 100 / 110 / 120
An ally blessed with Shallow Grave, no matter how close to death, cannot die while under its protection. Healing on that ally is also amplified for the duration based on the hero's HP.
DURATION:
4 / 4.5 / 5 / 5.5
HEAL AMPLIFICATION PER 10% MISSING:
3 / 5 / 7 / 9%
- HP cannot go below 1 while under the effects of Shallow Grave, but Axe's Culling Blade will still kill the hero.
Only a seasoned acolyte of the Shadow can properly perform the rite of preventing death.
Shadow Wave
Cooldown
10 / 9 / 8 / 7s
Mana
90
Sends out a bolt of power that arcs between allies, healing them while damaging any enemy units standing nearby. Dazzle is always healed by Shadow Wave.
HEAL ARC RADIUS:
475
DAMAGE RADIUS:
185
MAX HEAL TARGETS:
4 / 5 / 6 / 7
DAMAGE:
85 / 105 / 125 / 145
- Prioritizes allied heroes over creeps.
- If enemies are near multiple allied units affected by Shadow Wave, they will take multiple instances of damage.
While it is a simplistic and routine rite among Shadow Priests, the Shadow Wave is also the most critical for success.
Nothl Projection
Cooldown
70 / 60 / 50s
Mana
100 / 150 / 200
Dazzle departs his body, traveling through the Nothl Realm as an invulnerable spirit that can cast spells, attack, and use items, leaving his body behind in the world with a visible tether. While active, Dazzle's basic abilities are empowered: Poison Touch hexes enemies, Shallow Grave heals upon expiration, and Shadow Wave has a shorter cooldown. The effect can be ended early, and Dazzle returns to the body at the end.
MIN DURATION:
5
MAX DURATION:
12
HEX DURATION:
1.4 / 1.6 / 1.8
SHALLOW GRAVE HEAL:
225 / 300 / 375
SHADOW WAVE COOLDOWN REDUCTION:
30 / 40 / 50%
- When Dazzle's spirit is further than 1600 units from the body, the tether will begin to pull him back. The strength of the pull increases with distance.
- Dazzle's Soul cannot attack buildings.
The allure of the Nothl Realm is intoxicating, but Dazzle never forgets his purpose for being there.
Talents
Aghanim's Scepter
Shadow Wave
Shadow Wave can now target and bounce between enemies in addition to allies. When bouncing to an enemy, they will take damage and heal nearby allies equal to 100% of the normal healing and damage values. Dazzle will also perform an attack against any enemy that Shadow Wave bounces to.
Hero Performance
Median across all public matches · OpenDotaForm
50%
Win rate in recent matches
Performance
43%
KDA ratio (kills + assists / deaths)
Laning
13%
Last hits per minute over full game
Farm
42%
Average gold per minute
Fighting
14%
Average kills + assists per match
Experience
63%
Average XP per minute
Strategy
When to Pick Dazzle?
Pick Dazzle when your team has a greedy, squishy carry that needs to be kept alive through absolutely everything the enemy throws at them—because that is what this hero does better than almost any other hard support in the game, and right now he is genuinely good in a way that people are not fully appreciating.
Shallow Grave alone is one of the most impactful single spells in all of Dota 2—one button press makes your carry literally unkillable for four seconds, and if you time it correctly, you can completely negate an entire enemy team's burst combo that they spent the last fifteen minutes setting up.
He is disgusting in lineups with right-click carries that scale hard into the late game—Medusa, Spectre, and Phantom Lancer—heroes that just need to survive the early and mid game to become absolute monsters because Dazzle buys them every single second they need to get there.
He thrives in aggressive dual-lane setups too, because Bad Juju's armor reduction stacks incredibly fast in extended fights, and suddenly the enemy carry is sitting at minus fifteen armor, getting shredded by your cores like they are made of paper.
He pairs beautifully with carries that love to fight early and often—Ursa, Lifestealer, Juggernaut—because the combination of Shallow Grave keeping them alive and Weave absolutely destroying the enemy's armor turns every early skirmish into a completely one-sided massacre.
Avoid picking him in heavy silence lineups—Silencer, Skywrath Mage, and Death Prophet make his entire kit useless because a silenced Dazzle watching his carry die without being able to cast Shallow Grave is one of the most painful experiences in Dota 2.
Also feels genuinely terrible in Ancient Apparition, because Ice Blast completely cancels Shallow Grave and suddenly your most important spell in the entire game does absolutely nothing—and if the enemy has an AA who knows what he is doing, he will save that ultimate specifically to cancel every single Grave you try to cast all game long. And if the enemy has a lot of burst that can kill your carry faster than your reaction time allows?
Be very careful—because Shallow Grave requires you to be paying attention every single second, and one moment of distraction means your carry is dead before you even reach for the button.
Tips & common mistakes
- The number one mistake Dazzle players make is casting Shallow Grave too early. If you are grave at thirty percent HP and the enemy still has all their burst cooldowns ready, they will just wait out the four seconds and kill your carry the moment it expires. Learn to grab at the LAST possible moment—it is terrifying, but it is correct.
- Poison Touch is an incredibly underrated harass tool in the laning phase, and people just walk past it like it doesn't exist. Stack it multiple times on the enemy carry early and watch their movement speed drop to nothing while you zone them completely out of the lane.
- Weave is not just a teamfight spell—cast it at the START of every fight, not in the middle of it. The armor reduction and armor buff take time to stack up, and if you wait until the fight is already halfway done, you are wasting most of its value entirely.
- Bad Juju's armor reduction during Shadow Wave bounces is absolutely devastating in extended fights. This means you should be casting Shadow Wave as frequently as possible — not just to heal, but to stack the armor reduction on every enemy hero standing near your team.
- Stop standing next to your carry like a bodyguard glued to their hip. You need vision, map awareness, and positioning that lets you see the entire fight—because if you are too close to your carry when they get jumped, you will get stunned alongside them and the Grave will never come out.
- Shadow Wave bounces between the closest units — friendly AND enemy. In a dense teamfight this means it will naturally hit multiple targets, but in a spread-out skirmish you need to position yourself carefully so the bounces actually reach the heroes you want to heal.
- Never skip Boots of Bearing or Glimmer Cape. I know people love to rush. Aghanim's on Dazzle because the upgraded Shallow Grave is incredible—but if you die before you can cast it, the upgrade means nothing. Stay alive first, then get greedy with items.
Summary
Dazzle is one of those hard supports that makes the enemy team genuinely question every single decision to commit their burst damage—because no matter how perfectly they set up their combo, one Shallow Grave makes it all count for absolutely nothing, and suddenly they have burned every cooldown they have for zero result.
He is pretty good right now because the meta rewards supports that can keep greedy carries alive through the midgame, and nobody does that better than a Dazzle who is paying attention and timing his graves correctly. Stay alert, cast Weave at the start of every fight without exception, and make the enemy team feel like their damage means nothing as long as you are standing somewhere on the map with mana in your bar.
Just don't pick him into Ancient Apparition without a plan—because a Dazzle who can't cast Shallow Grave is just a slow support throwing poison at people and hoping for the best.
Strong Against
Popular Items
Starting Items
Early Game
Core
Late Game
Popular Neutral Items
