HERO / GET TO KNOW THEM

Templar Assassin

Abilities, roles and builds with an explanation for every purchase.

VALVE · 7.41fChecked 06.10.2026Game data source ↗

HERO GAME PLAN

Ruslan Ukrainskyi· OOPS DOTA

What I want to do in the game

I farm with Refraction and Psi Blades, then turn early physical damage into map control.

Peppering the battlefield with slowing traps, Templar Assassin hides invisibly, ready to ambush her prey. Once she springs her attack, she shreds enemies with piercing psionic blades, and deflects counterattacks with her refracting shield.

Abilities at hand

01 / ROLE IN THE TEAM

A pick is not a plan yet.

My recommendation is a starting point. We choose another position together with the team and for its needs.

Mid · position 2

Initial recommendation

Levels, lane control and joining the team at the right moment matter.

Carry · position 1

I need protected farm, my item window and damage on important targets.

MY VIEW OF THE HERO

Pick for a purpose. Play with a plan.

When I pick

This suits farming tempo and physical focus if I can get damage and access to the target in time.

What I watch out for

Frequent damage ticks quickly consume protective layers. I check who can keep me in contact after Refraction ends.

What I do in combat

I arrange farming around safe lanes and traps. I enter a fight on an important target with ready follow-up, not the nearest creep and the hero beside it.

What I check first

Damage over time quickly consumes Refraction layers; I do not treat them as complete protection against everything.

02 / ITEMS FOR A PURPOSE

What I buy and why.

This is an editorial starting plan based on hero mechanics. It is not presented as a match I have already tested or a popularity ranking.

Mid · position 2

My starting plan

Here is my initial plan: I do my role's job first, then choose the items the team needs. I adapt the order and expensive purchases to the opponent.

01 / First stepPower Treads
Provide attack speed and switchable attributes for farming and managing my resources.
02 / FoundationDesolator
Reduces the attacked target’s armor, increasing physical focus fire and pressure on objectives.
03 / FoundationBlink Dagger
Changes the entry angle and lets me reach a target quickly. Damage taken can prevent its use.
04 / Next choiceBlack King Bar
Provides a window for my actions against eligible magical damage and disables. I check effects that pierce the protection.
05 / Next choiceDaedalus
Increases physical attack damage once access to the target and protection are already secured.

What I change for the situation 3 options

Hurricane Pike ↗

Combines attack range with a tool for breaking a dangerous close-range engagement.

Satanic ↗

Helps recover health through attacks during its active window; without access to a target, it is not a guaranteed save.

Aghanim's Scepter ↗

Unlocks or upgrades Psionic Projection, Psionic Trap. The exact effects are shown below in the abilities section.

I see the minute on the clock. And the situation too.

I do not assign one ‘correct’ minute to every purchase. I look at my gold, the next fight and the problem: am I missing mana, target access, control or protection? If an expensive slot will arrive too late, I get a useful answer earlier.

03 / HERO ABILITIES

Abilities. As in the game.

Original Valve icons and descriptions. Cooldowns and mana are shown by level from the data snapshot; talents and upgrades can change the values.

Ability

Refraction

Makes the owner elusive, increasing the damage of subsequent attacks and creating a small barrier. These effects have a limited number of charges, counted separately.

↻ 14 sec.Mana 95

Details and upgrades

Templar Assassin becomes highly elusive, gaining a small barrier and bonus to her damage. The damage and avoidance effects are separate, and have a limited number of instances. If a barrier is consumed, a new one is created as long as there are charges left. If an instance of damage would deal more damage than the remaining barrier, all of the damage is absorbed.

Aghanim’s Shard

Increases bonus damage. Refraction can be cast while disabled.

Ability

Meld

The hero becomes invisible until she moves. Breaking invisibility with an attack on an enemy deals bonus damage and reduces the victim’s armor for 6 sec.

↻ 11 / 9 / 7 / 5 sec.Mana 35 / 40 / 45 / 50

Details

Templar Assassin conceals herself, becoming invisible as long as she remains still. If Meld's invisibility is broken by attacking an enemy, Lanaya's attack will deal bonus damage to the enemy and reduce their armor for 6 seconds. Bonus damage and debuffs from Meld are applied to all enemies in the Psi Blades split range.

Ability

Psi Blades

Templar Assassin's psi blades slice through the attacked unit, splitting and damaging enemy units directly behind it, while gaining bonus attack range. For each unit it damages, the split damage is reduced by a percentage.

Ability

Psionic Trap

The hero places an invisible trap that tracks enemy movement and gradually charges up. On command, the trap triggers, slowing enemies within a radius of 400 by at least 20%. After 3.5 sec.

↻ 11 / 8 / 5 sec.Mana 15

Details and upgrades

The hero places an invisible trap that tracks enemy movement and gradually charges up. On command, the trap triggers, slowing enemies within a radius of 400 by at least 20%. After 3.5 sec., the trap reaches full power, and activating it slows victims by 50% and deals damage.

Aghanim’s Scepter

When activated, traps now silence affected enemies.

Innates, upgrades and other forms2 abilities +

These abilities are not necessarily available at the same time. I check the condition beside the name: innate ability, another form or an Aghanim purchase.

From Aghanim’s Scepter

Psionic Projection

CHANNELED — after a 2 sec. preparation, teleports the hero to any Psionic Trap, triggering it on arrival. The triggered trap is at full power, and its damage increases by 400.

Full description

CHANNELED - Allows Templar Assassin to teleport to any Psionic Trap after channeling for 2 seconds, detonating it upon arrival as if it was fully charged and instantly dealing 400 bonus damage. Channeling Psionic Projection does not break Meld.

Innate

Inner Peace

After standing still without taking damage for 0.2 sec., the hero begins meditating, gaining bonus health and mana regeneration that reaches its maximum after 1.85 sec.

Full description

After standing still without taking damage for 0.2 sec., the hero begins meditating, gaining bonus health and mana regeneration that reaches its maximum after 1.85 sec.

Valve base stats +

Health · base: 582
Mana · base: 315
Damage · Valve field: 51–56
Armour · Valve field: 3.83
Movement speed: 315
Attack range: 250
Strength · base / gain: 21 / 2.4
Agility · base / gain: 23 / 3.4
Intelligence · base / gain: 20 / 2

These are fields from the official source. The hero's final values in the client account for attributes and other active mechanics.

KEEP EXPLORING

One hero. Many decisions.

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