Drixxel the Elven Hunter

Drixxel is one of the more sneaky heroes in SMotA, if not the most. Her normal skills give it increased power for farming, chasing, etc., but what really defines the Elven Hunter is her ultimate, which allows her to become passively invisible, similar to Stealth Assassin's ultimate in DotA. However, since Drixxel is an archer with 600 range, she can exploit many situations much more efficiently than a melee attacker. Her poisoned arrows and speed draining abilties can be used along with the invisibility to brutally ambush an opponent, or just help slow enemies down.

Note: This guide is partially outdated. See this Drixxel guide for more recent info.

Stats
Affiliation: High Elves
HP: 444
Mana: 210
Primary: Agility
Str: 14 + 1.5
Agi: 24 + 2.5
Int: 15 + 1.7
Range: 600
Speed: 300

Drixxel begins with a sub-par amount of hp and mana, but neither of these values are highly important to her in the early game. With high agility and a 600 range attack, she can attack opponents at ease without having to worry about her own health. Later in the game, her invisibility makes it not as crucial to improve health, although it can never hurt to have an extra bit just in case. With just 2 active abilities, mana is not a problem later in the game either.


Poison Arrows [R]
Drixxel coats the tips of her arrows with poison, dealing damage over time and slowing move and attack speeds. Lasts 2.5 seconds.


Level 1 - 3 dmg/sec, 5% slow
Level 2 - 6 dmg/sec, 10% slow
Level 3 - 9 dmg/sec, 15% slow
Level 4 - 12 dmg/sec, 20% slow
Level 5 - 15 dmg/sec, 25% slow

Cooldown: 0
Mana Cost: 12

A very useful skill in all stages of the game; early on, this can be used to harrass any nearby enemy heroes with poison damage, and later, this will be used primarily for the slowing effect. Many players suggest maxing this skill immediately after Hunter's Blessing, if not first.


Speed Drain [D]
Drains the enemy of movespeed, adding to the Elven Hunter's own. Lasts 12 seconds.



Level 1 - 6% drain
Level 2 - 12% drain
Level 3 - 18% drain
Level 4 - 24% drain
Level 5 - 30% drain

Cooldown: 15
Mana Cost: 120

This is strong primarily in the later stages of the game, when everyone is getting higher level boots and it is hard for Poison Arrows alone to slow down a target enough for the kill. This is when Speed Drain comes in handy, reducing the target's speed even further and at the same time improving your own! This can also be used to counter heroes who would otherwise obtain high movespeeds naturally, e.g. Raider, Knight, etc.


Hunter's Blessing [H]
Increases the agility and base movespeed of the Elven Hunter.



Level 1 - 5 agi, 2% ms
Level 2 - 10 agi, 4% ms
Level 3 - 15 agi, 6% ms
Level 4 - 20 agi, 8% ms
Level 5 - 25 agi, 10% ms

Hunter's Blessing normally proves to be an important upgrade for Drixxel. Many strong players max out this ability first, for much faster damage output in the early game with 25 bonus damage plus 25% attack speed (not to mention the 2.5 armor), but also for the slightly enhanced movespeed. Having a 300 base movespeed, Drixxel can have a base movespeed of 335+ with this maxed, as 5 agi adds 1 movespeed as well. Add in a level one Boots, and we have a fast and deadly killing machine in the early game.


Natural Concealment [C]
Gives the Elven Hunter permanent invisibility. Breaks invisibility after attacking or casting a spell.



Level 1 - 6 second blend time
Level 2 - 5 second blend time
Level 3 - 4 second blend time
Level 4 - 3 second blend time

This is Drixxel's signature ability. As mentioned in the hero introduction, this ability will cause the Elven Hunter to automatically become invisible after a short time after she stops attacking or casting. Some DotA players complain that the blend time is too long, as the Stealth Assassin can blend in 1.5 seconds in some recent versions (6.52). However, they forget that Drixxel is a ranged class, and it takes some time for a melee hero to respond to her attacks and close the distance. Nonetheless, this is a powerful skill.

See the post on Invisibility for a more comprehensive discussion of this gameplay mechanic.