Battle spells
One free ability, chosen before the match, on a cooldown long enough that using it wrong costs you the next two minutes. Here is what each one is for.
By lane
Every spell
Flicker
120s- Gold
- Mid
- EXP
- Roam
Flicker blinks the hero a fixed short distance in the direction they're moving, with no cast animation, then grants +5 (+1 per hero level) bonus Physical and Magic Defense for 1 second afterward. Its 120-second cooldown is the longest of any battle spell, but the instant, reaction-proof blink makes it the default pick for closing a gap onto a target or escaping a lethal combo the moment it's cast. Take it whenever no other spell (Retribution, Purify, Sprint) is a harder requirement for the role.
The 'Flicker combo' — blinking in right as a hook or stun lands, or blinking out the instant an enemy ultimate is cast — is the single most common high-elo outplay moment in the game.
Retribution
35s- Jungle
Retribution deals 750 (+150 per hero level) true damage to a targeted jungle monster or minion, or a reduced true-damage hit plus a percentage of lost HP to an enemy hero. At only 35 seconds, it has the shortest cooldown of any battle spell and is the mandatory pick for whoever clears jungle camps and contests Turtle or Lord.
A well-timed Retribution on a low-HP objective — a 'smite steal' — can snatch Turtle or Lord away from a team that appeared to be securing it, often the single biggest swing play of the early-to-mid game.
Purify
90s- Gold
- Mid
- Roam
Purify instantly removes all current debuffs except suppression and grants Control Immunity plus 15% bonus Movement Speed for 1.2 seconds; its cooldown was raised from 75s to 90s in a recent balance patch. Take it on squishy carries facing heavy hard-CC drafts, since it clears a landed stun or root before the follow-up burst connects.
Purify does not clear suppression (e.g. Franco's Bloody Hunt or Khufra's ultimate) — a common mistake is trusting it to escape a hook combo it can't actually cleanse.
Sprint
100s- Gold
- Mid
- EXP
Sprint grants 50% bonus Movement Speed and full immunity to slow effects for 6 seconds, making it the best pure repositioning spell for a hero without a dash. It's favored by marksmen and mages who need to kite away from divers or reposition mid-fight rather than cleanse CC outright.
Unlike Purify, Sprint does nothing against stuns or roots already applied — it only prevents future slows and outruns melee threats, so it's best on heroes who aren't the primary CC target.
Execute
90s- EXP
- Jungle
- Mid
Execute deals 100 (+10 per hero level) plus 13% of the target's lost HP as true damage to an enemy hero — a finishing move rather than an opener, since its damage scales with how low the target already is. Fighters, assassins, and mages take it to guarantee a kill on a fleeing low-HP target that would otherwise escape.
Because its damage is weak against full-HP targets, using Execute to open a fight instead of close one wastes most of its value.
Petrify
75s- EXP
- Roam
Petrify deals 100 (+15 per hero level) magic damage to nearby enemies, stuns them for 0.8 seconds, then slows them 50% for another 0.8 seconds — a self-contained AoE engage or peel tool for heroes without hard CC in their own kit. It's most valuable on frontline heroes who need a guaranteed lockdown to start or stop a fight.
Petrify's short stun window is enough to force a follow-up teammate combo but not to solo-lock a target — pair it with an ally's burst rather than expecting to win the fight alone.
Inspire
75s- Gold
- EXP
Inspire boosts the next 8 basic attacks within 5 seconds to 1.5x Attack Speed and temporarily raises the Attack Speed cap to 500%, turning a short window into a large basic-attack DPS spike. It's built for basic-attack-reliant marksmen and on-hit fighters, not skill-combo heroes who get little value from extra auto-attacks.
Inspire's value depends entirely on landing attacks during its 5-second window — using it before a target is in range or before a fight actually starts wastes most of the buff.
Aegis
75s- Mid
- Roam
Aegis grants a 750 (+90 per hero level) shield lasting 5 seconds to the caster, absorbing a chunk of incoming burst before it connects. Support, tank, and mage players take it to blunt a single enemy engage or combo, especially against burst-heavy assassin or dive comps.
Because the shield is flat and doesn't scale with items, its relative value drops in the late game — it's strongest as a laning-phase and early-mid-game defensive tool.
Vengeance
75s- EXP
- Roam
For 3 seconds, Vengeance grants 35% damage reduction and reflects 35% of incoming damage back at the attacker, making it a duel-oriented counter-engage spell rather than a pure defensive one. Tanks and fighters take it to punish an enemy for committing to a fight, especially against basic-attack-heavy dive heroes.
Vengeance rewards being attacked, so it's weakest against burst-and-retreat assassins who land one hit and disengage before the reflect matters.
Flameshot
50s- Mid
- Roam
Flameshot fires a projectile in the target direction that damages and knocks back enemies it hits, and at 50 seconds it has the shortest cooldown of any non-Retribution battle spell. Mages and supports take it as a repeatable poke and zoning tool, using the knockback to peel a diver off a teammate or interrupt an approach.
The short cooldown makes Flameshot the best spell for poke comps that want to repeatedly punish approaches over a long lane phase rather than save a single-use cooldown for one fight.
Arrival
75s- EXP
- Gold
- Jungle
After a 3-second channel, Arrival teleports the hero to a target allied turret, base, minion, or trap, then grants 60% bonus Movement Speed that decays over the next 3 seconds — a rotation and split-push tool rather than a combat spell. It lets a hero respond to a distant gank, reinforce a lane under pressure, or return to a split-push lane instantly from anywhere on the map.
The 3-second channel is interrupted by taking damage or crowd control, so Arrival is a map-tempo tool for safe repositioning, not an emergency escape from an ongoing fight.
Revitalize
75s- Roam
- Mid
Revitalize summons a healing zone lasting 4 seconds that restores 2.5% of max HP to nearby allies every 0.4 seconds (roughly 25% max HP total) and amplifies their shield and regen effects while they stand in it. Supports and tanks take it to sustain their team through an extended skirmish or turret siege rather than to save one specific ally instantly.
Because the healing only applies while allies stand inside the zone, its value depends on positioning the cast correctly before a fight starts, not reacting mid-fight.