Heroes (Dota 2)
The heroines and heroes (original: “Heroes”) are the primary playable entities in DotA and Dota 2. In a game, each player takes control of one of the 112 playable heroines and heroes. Each hero and heroine is a character with different attributes, abilities and roles. Each heroine and hero can also be categorized by the default attacks, which happen either in melee or ranged attacks.
Valve plans to develop their own heroines and heroes for Dota 2 after the release of the classic heroines and heroes from DotA Allstars, as Erik Johnson previously announced in a 2014 interview. After the release of Arc Warden in December 2015 and that of Underlord in August 2016, the first hero developed exclusively for Dota 2, Monkey King, appeared in winter 2016, although it was at least based on concepts from classic DotA and appeared there as an event boss opponent. The Dueling Fates update announced in August 2017 confirmed the release of two completely redesigned heroes.
Io: “Io is everywhere and in everything.”
Io, the Guardian Wisp Io Ikon.png (Wisp Guardian), is a strength hero from DotA and Dota 2. Io is a ranged Radiant unit that can heal and support allies. In the game, Io can take on the role of a support, lane support, and nucker. Tether ties Io to an allied unit, giving it and Io increased movement speed. While this connection is active, the mana and health of the hero Io is connected to is regenerated by an additional 1.5 times Io’s current regeneration rate. The connection can be broken with Break Tether at any time, or is automatically broken if the credits between Io and the target are too large. Enemy units that enter the tether beam are slowed by their attack and movement speed. Through Spirits, Io summons five energy orbs that orbit it and deal damage to enemy units. If the orbs hit Creeps, they only deal damage; if they hit Heroes, they explode and deal a small amount of area damage. With the Spirits In and Spirits Out abilities, Io can determine the distance at which they circle around it. Io’s third ability, Overcharge, reduces his attack damage percentage-wise, but also grants him a percentage increase in attack speed. If Io is connected to an ally via Tether, that ally will also receive the effect of Overcharge. In theory, Io can leave Overcharge on permanently, but loses a fixed percentage of mana and health while it is active. His Ultimate Relocate can teleport Io and a unit connected via Tether to any location on the map. Io returns to his original position after twelve seconds. If he is still connected to the transported unit, it will return with Io. Aghanim’s Scepter does not improve Relocate, however.
Io- Hype
Io has a talent for helping his allies in battle. He magically connects with one of his teammates, which increases their speed and brings enemies hit by the connection to a halt. Since he can teleport across the battlefield together with his current partner, he turns many already strong heroes into excellent assassins.
Io- Biography
“Io is everywhere and in all things. Condemned by his enemies as the great force of negation, revered by scholars as the wink of a divine eye, Io walks on all planes at once, and only a marginal component of his being emerges as physical existence.
Like the great twin riders of darkness and light, Io the Wisp is another ancient traveler whose story is lost in the past, a basic element of the universe, a power older than time, an emissary from worlds beyond earthly comprehension. Io is no less than the sum of all the attractive and repulsive forces acting on matter, the manifested expression of that power which holds everything together. Only through the controlled distortion of these forces can Io’s presence be made out on the physical plane. Io is a benevolent, helping force that transfers its energy to allies to strengthen them. With powers beyond imagination and motivations that cannot be fathomed, Io moves on the physical plane as the epitome of the mysteries of the universe.”