Stealth assassin who blinds the map before deleting an isolated target
AssassinJungleDeals physical
Helcurt is a jungle assassin built around Prowler state, a passive stealth he loses only when spotted, and Dark Night Falls, an ultimate that strips the enemy team's sight range and vision of each other. He burns down an isolated backline target with Deadly Stinger's stacked shots while the enemy can barely see the fight happening.
Difficulty
Moderate
Specialities
PushBurst
Managing Prowler stealth uptime, saving Deadly Stinger's stacks, and timing Dark Night Falls to hide an engage all need to line up for the combo to work.
Beaten by
83 hard
Strong into
8
Best duos
9
Builds
2
At a glance
Damage
7 of 10
Durability
3 of 10
Crowd Control
5 of 10
Mobility
6 of 10
Utility
6 of 10
Rated against the whole roster, not against their own class.
When Helcurt is strong
Attributes
Damage
7
Durability
3
Crowd Control
5
Mobility
6
Utility
6
Strengths
Dark Night Falls blinds the entire enemy team's vision, denying peel and follow-up for his target
Deadly Stinger stacks up passively while stealthed, ready to burst on demand
Prowler state's stealth resets whenever he's out of enemy sight, giving repeated ambush windows
Hidden Terror terrifies enemies while stealthed and its cooldown ticks down three times as fast
Weaknesses
Low HP and no sustain outside Prowler's passive regen, which only works while undetected
Vision items and true-sight effects strip his single biggest advantage entirely
Falls off in the late game against tanky, vision-stacked comps that can out-scale his burst
Committing to Dark Night Falls without a kill lined up wastes his best team utility
Skills
Max Deadly Stinger first for the burst damage, level Hidden Terror for the mobility and slow, and take the ultimate at levels 4, 8 and 12.
Passive
Shadow of Styx
Buff
Helcurt remains in the Prowler state until spotted by the enemy team, gaining 15% extra Movement Speed, and continuously regenerating (+30% Total Physical Attack) HP if he has not dealt any damage. He gains 50% extra Attack Speed and 50% extra Movement Speed (decreasing over time) for 4 seconds upon being spotted and leaves Prowler state 0.75 second later.
Our source cuts this description off mid-sentence — the rest is not shown.
“He who hides in the shadow.”
Always active — no cooldown
Skill 1
Hidden Terror
MobilityCC
Passive: When Helcurt is in Prowler state, the skill terrifies enemy heroes hit and its cooldown decreases 3 times as fast Active: Helcurt blinks to the target location and deals 150–300 (+70% Total Physical Attack) Physical Damage to enemies within the area, reducing their Movement Speed by 60% for 0.75s.
Cooldown
15s
What the terms mean(1)
Blink
Movement ability that can pass through obstacles.
Skill 2
Deadly Stinger
Burst
Passive: Helcurt gains one Deadly Stinger for every 1.5s spent in Prowler state or on each Basic Attack. Up to 5 stingers can be stored. Active: Helcurt fires all Deadly Stingers forward, each dealing 180–280 (+42% Extra Physical Attack) Physical Damage to enemies (Minions and Creeps only take 70% of the damage)Deadly Stinger counts as a Basic Attack, but it cannot Crit.
“He who awakes in the slaughter.”
Cooldown
4s
Attack effects
100%
Ultimate
Dark Night Falls
BuffDebuff
Helcurt summons the Dark Night, reducing all enemies' sight range and making them lose sight of their allies for 3s. During Dark Night, Helcurt gains 40% Movement Speed. The Dark Night makes it easier for Helcurt to leave enemies' sight range.
“He who resurrects in the night.”
Cooldown
60s
Signature combo
Dark Night Falls to blind the enemy team → Hidden Terror to blink in and terrify the target → Deadly Stinger to fire all stacked shots for the kill.
Helcurt builds
Core items in buy order, with the emblem, talents and battle spell that go with them.
Jungle Burst Assassin
8,180g total
Default pick for ganking and picking off isolated backline targets.
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.
Swap in when needed
Queen's Wings — Survivability when the enemy can retaliate fast after Dark Night Falls ends.
Blade Armor — Against an enemy crit-reliant marksman he keeps diving on.
Sea Halberd — Cuts healing when the enemy backline sustains through his burst.
Helcurt Jungle Burst Assassin build: Swift Boots, then Endless Battle, then Malefic Gun, then Blade of Despair.
Early Snowball
7,190g total
When you want maximum early-game gank pressure to close the game out fast.
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.
Swap in when needed
Blade of Despair — Damage spike once early kills convert into a gold lead.
Wind of Nature — A window of physical damage immunity when an enemy carry turns on him mid-gank.
Queen's Wings — Extra survivability if the game runs longer than planned.
Helcurt Early Snowball build: Swift Boots, then Malefic Gun, then Haas' Claws, then Endless Battle.
Who counters Helcurt
The heroes that make this matchup hard, and the mechanic that does it.
Save Deadly Stinger's stacks by staying in Prowler state rather than basic-attacking them away early
2
Use Dark Night Falls right before an engage, not mid-fight, to deny the enemy's reaction time entirely
3
Target the most isolated backline hero — Helcurt has no tools to fight through a grouped, alert team
4
Break vision after a failed engage to re-enter Prowler state and reset for a second attempt
Helcurt — common questions
Is Helcurt good for beginners?
He's reasonably approachable — Prowler state's stealth is largely passive — but timing Dark Night Falls to hide a real kill window and managing Deadly Stinger's stacks takes some practice to use well.
What is the best build for Helcurt?
Endless Battle into Malefic Gun and Blade of Despair covers cooldown, penetration, and raw burst; add Queen's Wings or Blade Armor depending on what threatens him after an engage.
Which heroes counter Helcurt?
Natalia and Karina are the hardest matchups since both can punish him in the exact same burst-assassin trade he's trying to win, often before Dark Night Falls comes online.
What does Helcurt's Dark Night Falls ultimate actually do?
It reduces the sight range of all enemy heroes in the area and makes them lose vision of their own allies for three seconds, while Helcurt gains bonus movement speed and finds it easier to slip back out of their sight range.
