REWORK: Sylph, the Dryad Daemon — Early Preview

**Rework:** Sylph, the Dryad Daemon

Agility, Ranged

# Skills Overview

Q: BLOODWOOD SPORE target point/tree
	BLOODROOT summoned unit
	BLOODWOOD SAPLING summoned unit
	ELDER BLOODWOOD summoned unit
W: FOREST MOTHER passive
E: ENTANGLING STRIKES no target, physical
R: LIFE SURGE ultimate, target ally
AGHANIM'S UPGRADE: Bloodwood Spore/Life Surge

# Description

Sylph is a pushing hero with an infestation-type lane presence like Broodmother, except that all her summons are immobile plants. A smart Sylph player will play around these deadly flora, including her invisible Bloodroots and their stronger Bloodwood cousins, and lure their enemies into traps. Besides controlling an area, including offering allies a teleport target with her strongest Elder Bloodwood, Sylph's play-style focuses healing and amplifying allies' healing. This includes her passive, which gives her a portion of healing by all heroes around her and by her summons globally, as well as her ultimate, Life Surge, which combines elements of IO's Tether with Abaddon-like healing in an area around the target based on damage taken.

## Background Info

"Their corpses will make a fine compost."

# Lore

Sylph was once a priestess who worshipped daily in the shadow of the Great Tree—a celebrant of the verdant life there in the shaded grottos and lush canopies of the Emerald Forest. The sheer number of species and phyla was, at that time, unmatched by any other under Gaia's watch. One creature was unaccounted for, however: man. One day the loggers arrived and Sylph's home would never be the same.

No Prophet, no Goddess could save the towering redwoods as they ignited and smoldered. The conflagration had a mind of its own—and Sylph saw the Great Tree burn before her.

With no magick, nor weapon to stop the evil from destroying her sanctuary Sylph fled, like all other creatures and beastkind. As she wandered for many months she grew bitterly resentful of the selfish men she sometimes came across, and turned dark with vengeance. Determined to reclaim the earth for her goddess, Sylph made a pact under the blood moon of the Vernal equinox—a pact to eradicate or consume any being who would dare harm her forest.

In her moment of transformation, Sylph's once serene form turned gnarled and vicious, fusing with a particularly territorial form of parasitic tree known as the Bloodwood that was flowering that fateful night under the blood-red moon. Growing like a dark mass across entire continents from that day henceforth, the invasive Bloodwood threatened all before it — including the less aggressive forest denizens who preached tolerance, not least of which was a certain pesky adventurer who managed to stem the massive colony's growth somehow, at least for now: Mireska Sunbreeze.

To this day Sylph still roams the lands, planting her vicious roots high and low, near and far. Some say the Goddess of the forest died when the Great Tree burned that day, but others tell of a new deity—with fearsome wings and a deathly countenance—that may seduce even the most hardened warrior before she lures them to their death within the tangled Bloodwood under-canopy.

# Appearance

A small flying tree-lady with wings, made of animated bark that grew around her once beautiful humanlike form. Throws sharp leaf projectiles for her auto-attack, and summons entangling roots from the ground with her Entangling Strikes.

## Attributes

STR: 20 + 1.8
AGI: 23 + 2.0
INT: 16 + 1.3

Movement Speed: 295
Turn Rate: 0.5
Attack Range: 550
Projectile Speed: 900
Vision: 1800/800
BAT: 1.6
Base Damage: 26-34 (49-57 total at lvl 1)
Base Armor: 2.0 (6.6 total at lvl 1)
Attack Duration: 0.5 + 0.32s
Cast Duration: 0.7 + 0.2s

# Talents

Level 10: +60s Bloodwood Damage Duration OR +40 Damage
Level 15: Entangling Strikes Spawns Bloodroot OR +20% Lifesteal
Level 20: +70/90/150 Bloodwood Base Damage OR +200 Entangling Strikes Damage
Level 25: Bloodwood Spore Global Cast Range OR +325 Attack Range

## Skills

Q: BLOODWOOD SPORE target point/tree/unit
Sylph plants a parasitic Bloodwood spore, able to induce extreme growth in a living being by targeting a tree, one of Sylph's Bloodwoods or by targeting a spot on the ground to plant a new Bloodroot. The incredible hunger generated by the seed grants each of its three progressively stronger forms lifesteal and the ability to gain stacking bonus damage for each attack.
-----
Bloodroots are passive by default and invisible but may ranged attack, advancing a growth stage after a fixed number of creep kills or one hero assist/kill. Alternatively, Sylph may cast Spore on an existing Bloodroot to force it to grow, or a normal tree to skip straight to sapling form.

Saplings appear as normal trees to enemies until they attack, are aggressive, and mature after killing a number of enemies.

Casting the ability on a mature sapling (a 'Bloodwood') will grow a powerful Elder Bloodwood with increased lifesteal and armor, aggro that changes like a tower, AND which may be teleported to by Sylph's allies like a building. Sylph takes fatal magic damage equal to the Elder's max health if it dies.
-----
Cast Range: 200 (<tal> global)
Growth Time: 0.5s root, 1s sapling, 1.5s elder
Max Bloodwoods: 9/11/13/15 roots and saplings (<aghs> 30), 1 elder (<aghs> 2/3/4/5)
Bloodwood Health: 125/250/375/500 root, 175/350/525/700 sapling, 1,400/1,600/1,800/2,000 + 20/30/40/50% of Sylph's max HP elder
Bloodwood Armor: 2/3/4/5 root, 4/5/6/7 sapling, 10/12/14/16 elder
Bloodwood Attack Range: 550 root, 700 sapling, 850 elder
Bloodwood Damage: 33-37/48-52/63-67/78-82 root, 53-57/68-72/83-87/98-112 sapling, 100-110/150-160/200-210/250-260 elder (<tal> 103-107/118-122/133-137/148-152 root, 143-147/148-152/173-177/198-202 sapling, 250-260/300-310/350-360/400-410 elder)
Bloodwood BAT: 1.0
Bloodwood Lifesteal: 50/75/100/125% root, 75/100/125/150% sapling, 125/150/175/200% elder
Bloodwood Bonus Damage Per Attack: +5/10/15/20%
Bloodwood Damage Stack Duration: 20s (<tal> 80s)
Bloodwood Vision: 600 root, 800 sapling, 1,200 elder
Bloodwood Damage Type: piercing root and sapling, siege elder
Bloodwood Gold Bounty: 70-95 root, 100-115 sapling, 185-200 elder
Bloodwood Experience Bounty: 35-50 root, 55-70 sapling, 85-100 elder
Root Fade Delay: 0.4s
Root/Sapling Level Up: 6/5/4/3 creep kills or 1 hero kill/assist
Elder Minimum Gap: 1,600
<cd> 40/30/20/10s <mana> 90/120/150/180
*The brutal reality of survival in the barren wastes forced Bloodwood trees to become more competitive than any other plant in the known worlds.*
Notes:
* Elder Bloodwoods may not be grown within the minimum gap radius of an enemy structure or another Elder tree.
* Bloodroots ONLY have an ability that toggles their stance between passive and aggressive. Saplings and Elders are aggressive.
* None of Sylph's summons have true sight, though the Elder does have flying vision.

W: FOREST MOTHER passive, aura
Sylph passively gains a portion of healing received by all allied and enemy heroes around her, and globally receives a portion of healing by her summoned units. Sylph passively gains a stacking health regen bonus for each of her summons within range around her. Killing an enemy creep gives Sylph a chance capture their energy and grow a Bloodroot at the location of their death, with killing or assisting in killing an enemy hero guaranteeing a Bloodroot spawn.
Hero Healing Absorbed: 15/20/25/30%
Hero Healing Absorb Radius: 900
Summon Healing Absorbed: 50%
Summon Healing Absorb Radius: global
Summon Aura Radius: 500
Health Regen Per Summon: +2.5/5/7.5/10%
Bloodroot Spawn Chance: 33/44/55/66% creep kills, 100% heroes
*A mother's connection to her children knows no bounds, and goes deeper than blood.*

E: ENTANGLING STRIKES no target, physical
Grants a boost to attack speed and applies a stacking attack speed slow to the next target Sylph attacks, applying a root and dealing bonus damages if she hits the target three times.
Cast Time: instant
Attack Speed Boost: +120/140/160/180
Attack Speed Slow: -30/40/50/60 per attack
Root/Slow Duration: 1.75/2.5/3.25/4s
Entangle Damage: 60/80/100/120 (<tal> 260/280/300/320)
<cd> 9/7.5/6/4.5s <mana> 75/80/85/90
*Tertiary species like this flowering vine grow to cover the Bloodwood's toxic surface.*
Notes:
* The attack speed slow lasts until Sylph switches target or the root ends, whichever comes first, though may be dispelled normally without effecting the Root. The slow may not stack above -90/120/150/180 even with successive uses.
* For the duration of Entangling Strikes, Sylph's attacks take the form of roots spawning around the enemy and striking them once each. These attacks have no projectile time and are effectively melee attacks despite Sylph's attack range not changing.
* The entangling strike/rooting attack has true strike, while the other attacks do not, but the attack speed buff is not lost until Sylph lands the entangling strike or switches targets. The attack speed buff may not be dispelled.
* If the 'Entangling Strikes Spawns Bloodroot' talent is taken, the Bloodroot spawned by the entangling strike will be aggressive by default.

R: LIFE SURGE ultimate, target ally
Amplifies all healing received and given by the target ally, causes a portion of damage dealt to the target to be healed in a radius around them, and grants the target health regeneration equal to the amount Sylph receives from all sources.
Cast Range: 700/750/800
Main Target Bonus Healing: 25/50/75%
Surge Damage Converted: 18/25/33% (<aghs> 54/75/99%)
Surge Heal Radius: 450/525/600
Heal/Restore Transfer: 100%
Duration: 5/6/7s
<cd> 120/95/70s (<aghs> 90/65/40s) <mana> 240/320/400
*With the life force of an entire colony coursing through her veins, Sylph's ability to divert energy to those under attack is critical for survival.*
**Aghanim's Scepter:** Upgrades Bloodwood Spore & Life Surge
Triples the damage healed by Life Surge and decreases its cooldown -30s. Increases the global limits for Bloodwood summons, and upgrades Elder Bloodwoods to allow allies to enter them, becoming invulnerable and able to direct the tree's attacks while gaining healing equal to the amount healed by the tree.

## **Changelogs**

# 2.1.0 – June 2018

* Added bonus healing, +25/50/75% both given and received, to Life Surge

* Slight rework to Entangling Strikes mechanics, removing RNG: Instead of having a 33/66/100% chance for the root to proc on each attack for 3 attack, the buff grants the same attack speed buff (120/140/160/180) for 3 attacks, with each attack applying a stacking +30/40/50/60 attack speed slow, with the third attack guaranteeing a root if all 3 attacks hit the same target. The entangling strike still has true strike but the attack speed is not lost until the 3rd attack lands or Sylph changes targets.

# 2.0.0 – May 2018

* Complete rework, with new Ultimate '*Life Surge*' based on old Aghanim's upgrade, a new Q that now has 3 levels of ward-type summoned units '*Bloodwood Spore*', a reworked aura W that now provides encompasses her healing absorption and an unchanged E.

* Reworked talents:
  from
Level 10: +25 Attack Speed OR +225 Health
Level 15: +6 Mana Regen OR +240 Gaia's Blessing Heal
Level 20: +12 Armor OR +70 Deathroot Base Damage
Level 25: +100% Great Tree Damage/Health OR +200 Attack Range
  to
Level 10: +60s Bloodwood Damage Duration OR +40 Damage
Level 15: Entangling Strikes Spawns Bloodroot OR +20% Lifesteal
Level 20: +70/90/150 Bloodwood Base Damage OR +200 Entangling Strikes Damage
Level 25: Bloodwood Spore Global Cast Range OR +325 Attack Range
​