Consuming and destroying all in its path, the corpulent, putrid Devourer exists only to feed. No pain can match the agony of its hunger, and so it shrugs off all attacks, spreading its rot and disease across the battlefield like doom itself.
Base Attack
Attack Type: MeleeAttack Damage: 52-58
Attack Range: 128
Attack/Sec: .67
Detailed Attributes
Movement Speed: 285
Strength per level: 3.2
Agility per level: 1.5
Intelligence per level: 1.5
Defense Information
Armor: 2.96
Dmg. Reduction: 15%
Magic Armor: 5.5
Magic Reduction: 25%
Table of Contents | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Spells | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Laning and Gameplay | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Skill build | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Items | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tips and Tricks | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Replays |
Devourer
Primary Attribute: Strength
Role: Ganker
Strength: 25
Agility: 14
Intelligence: 14
Devourer
As one of the most loved and hated heroes, the sight of Devourer is often followed by first ban, first pick, or "can we trade?". This is because of Devourer's tendency to dominate games and severely disrupt the opposing team as one of the best ganking heroes.
Radius: 250
Activation
Applies Decay to enemy targets in radius and deals 25 / 50 / 75 / 100 Magic damage per second to self.
The Movement Slow persists for 2 seconds after an enemy leaves the Decay radius.
Decay Effects
20% Movement Slow
25 / 50 / 75 / 100 Magic damage per second
Strategy: Slowly kills enemies along with Devourer. This can be turned on and off while channeling Devour.
Cadaver ArmorThis grotesque armor increases the Devourer's Magic Armor and permanently adds strength for each nearby hero kill or each kill he makes.
1 / 2 / 3 / 4 Magic Armor
On Kill
Permanently adds 1 Strength to self per hero kill.
Aura Effects
Radius: 400
Target: Enemy Heroes
Strategy: Grab a level of this early to get extra strength, the extra magic armor isn't worth skilling this early levels.
Devour
The Devourer grabs a target enemy and feasts on their flesh, dealing massive damage for every second he feeds while increasing his own power.As one of the most loved and hated heroes, the sight of Devourer is often followed by first ban, first pick, or "can we trade?". This is because of Devourer's tendency to dominate games and severely disrupt the opposing team as one of the best ganking heroes.
Devourer & Ganking
Devourer only has one job to do in a game - devour the enemy. Devourer does not need to stay in a lane to last hit and save up for core items, all he needs to be useful are Boots (but certain items improve his ganking abilities). Once Devourer becomes level 6 he should try to gank slow or weak heroes and progressively kill all enemy heroes.
Decay
The Devourer allows himself to decay, draining his Health over time and releasing poisonous gasses that both damage and slow nearby enemy units.Devourer only has one job to do in a game - devour the enemy. Devourer does not need to stay in a lane to last hit and save up for core items, all he needs to be useful are Boots (but certain items improve his ganking abilities). Once Devourer becomes level 6 he should try to gank slow or weak heroes and progressively kill all enemy heroes.
Decay
Radius: 250
Activation
Applies Decay to enemy targets in radius and deals 25 / 50 / 75 / 100 Magic damage per second to self.
The Movement Slow persists for 2 seconds after an enemy leaves the Decay radius.
Decay Effects
20% Movement Slow
25 / 50 / 75 / 100 Magic damage per second
Strategy: Slowly kills enemies along with Devourer. This can be turned on and off while channeling Devour.
Cadaver Armor
1 / 2 / 3 / 4 Magic Armor
On Kill
Permanently adds 1 Strength to self per hero kill.
Aura Effects
Radius: 400
Target: Enemy Heroes
Strategy: Grab a level of this early to get extra strength, the extra magic armor isn't worth skilling this early levels.
Devour
Range: 160
Channeling Time: 0.3 Seconds
Mana Cost: 100 / 130 / 170
Cooldown: 30 Seconds
Activation
Applies Devour to target enemy for 3 seconds or until channel is canceled.
For each second of channel, a charge that lasts 7 seconds is added to Devourer. Each charge increases damage by 15 / 25 / 35, increases maximum health by 75 / 125 / 175, and increases the radius of Decay by 30 / 40 / 50.
This ability can be boosted by Staff of the Master.
Staff Effect: Heals self equal to the damage done. Deals additional 0.75 * Strength Magic damage per second.
Devour Effects
Revealed
75 / 125 / 175 Magic damage per second
Strategy: The best of Devourer's abilities, a 30 second cooldown channeling hold while buffing Devourer.
Devourer is most often found in the middle lane as a level advantage on him usually results in an early victory. When Devourer is middle he can farm for quick items and gank non-stop. Generally when teams see Devourer they will attempt to counter pick with something like a Deadwood or Pebbles, in which case he can move to the side lane. While Devourer is in a side lane he should play aggressively early. If you have an ally with a slow or stun you will make a lethal combination.
Potential Laning Partners
Devouring with Devourer
Laning Phase
Devourer is a great hero to gank at level one. Using either his Hook or Decay abilities, Devourer can easily obtain first blood at the 0 minute rune spawn with the help of his allies. Once lanes start to form Devourer should be looking for kills at level one. As soon as Devourer becomes level two you should be trying to set up a Hook gank since you can combo it with Decay and allied heroes. If Devourer went into the middle lane try to hit them with a Hook at level three and harass/hit them with Decay activated. While in the middle lane try to use the Fog from ramps to land Hooks and attempt to drag them back into tower range.
Mid-Game
You are level six and have 240 mana? Go gank someone. Devourer is one of the strongest ganking heroes so he should have good movement around the map to assist with kills. Try to remain hidden as much as possible while ganking and move from lane to lane quickly. Fights don't have to start with Hooks, if you are in a good position you can simply run up from behind them and use Decay to slow them down while your allies assist. Coordination with Devourer has devastating results.
Late Game
Devourer can continue to remain useful during late game by creating a gigantic distraction. If Devourer can grab a hero in a team fight and Devour him many teams will overreact, which will allow for the rest of your team to have an advantage. If the enemy team does not react to you then you have effectively disabled one of their (hopefully important) heroes while increasing your survivability and damage. At this point Devourer will have high hp allowing him to last long in fights with Decay activated.
Devourer's Hook and Decay abilities are really good for level one ganks but it can be hard to decide which to get first. The best way (with most heroes) is to wait and decide in the moment. Decay will allow you to slow a hero while your team jumps in and Hook will bring an enemy back for your team to kill. At level 4 get Cadaver Armor to begin stacking strength. Some players prefer to level Decay over Hook. While neither build is wrong, leveling Decay first is definitely more suicidal and risky as you would likely have no extra magic armor. Hook, on the other hand, provides a burst of high physical damage while dragging the hero to yourself, allowing for an easy kill.
The images on the right represent what I build.
Starting items
Fast Blood Chalice Build
2x 1x 1x 1x 1x
Early Helm of the Black Legion Build
4x 1x 1x
First Items to get
Or
Devourer is one of the few heroes that has 285 movement speed - the lowest in the game, but movement is essential for a good Devourer. To make up for this, Devourer should get either Striders or Ghost Marchers as his first item (in some cases after a Bottle or Blood Chalice). By doing this you can quickly move around the map ganking as you please. Ghost Marchers are probably the better late game choice but Striders are cheaper and more effective early game, even after the nerf.
I would consider these two items to be core on Devourer; Blood Chalice allows for quick mana and Headdress mitigates most of the self-inflicted magic damage.
I would recommend Bottle if you are mid and are able to control runes and Power Supply as it is an extremely powerful item for most heroes.
Mid-Game Items
Once your core is built you should pick up whatever is needed for your team.
Always carry a homecoming stone.
Barrier Idol is more a support item but easy to make because you will have Headdress. Helm of the Black Legion is an optional early game pick-up that can later be dismantled for a Behemoth's Heart. Portal key is not needed on Devourer but it makes for interesting plays and a fun game.
Late Game Items
Adds a lot of strength and regeneration which can allow Devourer to leave Decay on for much longer.
An underrated item since its nerf - enables tanks to be viable as the game progresses.
Well Tablet is just a really fun item.
You can turn this on with Decay activated to negate the damage while also being spell immune against enemy spells.
What about Staff of the Master?
Staff of the Master improves Devourer's Devour by a large amount but I still wouldn't recommend it in a game. When Devourer is in a game everyone is looking for him in order to stop his ultimate so you will likely be interrupted. If you are confident that you will be able to channel Devour for the full duration in the middle of a fight then Staff would be a great pickup.
Tips and Tricks with the Devourer
Guttling Hook
This can be one of the most frustrating skills if you keep missing but also the most rewarding if used properly. The best way to become better with this skill would be to think what you would do in a given situation and try to counter those movements. Remember you can also save your teammates using your Hook.
Don't be Obvious
Whenever you play against Devourer I'm sure you watch his every movement. If you see him move to the side, you move across. When the enemy has vision of Devourer it is much harder to land a Hook because they will see it coming. What you should be doing is taking advantage of fog, trees, and night (yes there is night in HoN) to better position yourself. Try to make your presence unknown as it becomes much more difficult to connect with enemies when they avoid you.
On the Back End
Once Guttling Hook is used you can usually tell if it is going to grab something or not - if it stays at the same angle. Once you cast Hook you can increase your chances of collecting a bounty by moving immediately in a different direction. There is no reason to stand still while casting Guttling Hook since it return to you wherever you go (although Hook will disjoint in certain situations, but never by running). While the increase in landing Hooks won't go up by too much it does help. Below Devourer missed the initial Hook but moved up immediately, changing the angle on the return and picking up a kill.
Eat Trees
An easy way to obtain a better angle for your Hook is to destroy some trees in an area where the enemy can't see. By doing this you gain the advantage of an unexpected angle and it will be hard for him to escape from an enclosed area.
Decay
Denying yourself with Blood Chalice
One of the perks with Devourer is his ability to deny himself yet players often leave Decay on and hope for the best. An easy way to deny yourself in a hopeless situation is to watch your health very closely until you reach 150 at which point you activate Decay and Blood Chalice. By doing this you leave yourself with 1 health and Decay instantly deals that damage, denying the enemy of a kill.
Stop Leaving Decay on
Decay often spells the death of Devourer. Many players will turn Decay on at the start of a battle and allow it to slowly kill themselves until they eventually die. Decay is instant cast and has no cooldown or mana cost so it can be turned off and on continuously. This is especially useful when you see a stun coming. When Devourer is stunned or silenced with Decay on he cannot turn it off which allows for the other team to capitalize on extra damage. If Devourer were to turn off his Decay right before the stun he would be able to reduce his damage taken.
Devour
Devour Following a Hook
In many cases you will need to Devour immediately after you knab a hero so they will not stun or blink away. There are two ways to do this consistently. The first is to assume your Hook will land and immediately cast Devour on an enemy immediately following your Hook even though your Hook is still traveling to them. This will cause Devourer to run toward that hero where he might take some odd pathing but if the Hook lands he will be instantly Devoured. The other way is too be prepared to click with Devour right where the person will be after a Hook. This way requires better reaction time but it is necessary while doing blind Hook attempts.