Shadow Fiend
It is said that Nevermore the Shadow Fiend has the soul of a poet, and in fact he has thousands of them. Over the ages he has claimed the souls of poets, priests, emperors, beggars, slaves, philosophers, criminals and (naturally) heroes; no sort of soul escapes him. What he does with them is unknown. No one has ever peered into the Abysm whence Nevermore reaches out like an eel from among astral rocks. Does he devour them one after another? Does he mount them along the halls of an eldritch temple, or pickle the souls in necromantic brine? Is he merely a puppet, pushed through the dimensional rift by a demonic puppeteer? Such is his evil, so intense his aura of darkness, that no rational mind may penetrate it. Of course, if you really want to know where the stolen souls go, there's one sure way to find out: Add your soul to his collection. Or just wait for Nevermore.
Hero lore
It is said that Nevermore the Shadow Fiend has the soul of a poet, and in fact he has thousands of them. Over the ages he has claimed the souls of poets, priests, emperors, beggars, slaves, philosophers, criminals and (naturally) heroes; no sort of soul escapes him. What he does with them is unknown. No one has ever peered into the Abysm whence Nevermore reaches out like an eel from among astral rocks. Does he devour them one after another? Does he mount them along the halls of an eldritch temple, or pickle the souls in necromantic brine? Is he merely a puppet, pushed through the dimensional rift by a demonic puppeteer? Such is his evil, so intense his aura of darkness, that no rational mind may penetrate it. Of course, if you really want to know where the stolen souls go, there's one sure way to find out: Add your soul to his collection. Or just wait for Nevermore.
Compact stat and ability fields shown here were checked against patch 7.41e where this model represents the changed field. Talents and full mechanics remain in the official notes.
Shadow Fiend abilities
Shadow Fiend razes the ground directly in front of him, dealing damage to enemy units in the area, dealing bonus damage based on his current Necromastery Soul amount. Adds a stacking damage amplifier on the target that causes the enemy to take bonus Shadowraz…
Shadow Fiend razes the ground a short distance away from him, dealing damage to enemy units in the area, dealing bonus damage based on his current Necromastery Soul amount. Adds a stacking damage amplifier on the target that causes the enemy to take bonus Sha…
Shadow Fiend razes the ground a longer distance away from him, dealing damage to enemy units in the area, dealing bonus damage based on his current Necromastery Soul amount. Adds a stacking damage amplifier on the target that causes the enemy to take bonus Sh…
Shadow Fiend gains Bonus Movement and Attack Speed for 8 seconds. For the duration of the effect, every 0.5s he collects souls from 2 enemies in a 600 radius. After the effect is over, he loses the souls whose owners are still alive, retaining the rest for 8s…
Shadow Fiend's presence reduces the armor of nearby enemies.
Shadow Fiend gathers up to 20 of his captured souls to release them as lines of demonic energy. Units near Shadow Fiend when the souls are released can be damaged by several lines of energy. Any unit damaged by Requiem of Souls will be feared and have its mov…
Shadow Fiend steals the soul from units he kills, gaining 1.35 bonus damage per soul. Hero kills grant 4 souls. On death, he releases 30% of them from bondage.
Passive, HiddenPopular items by game phase
OpenDota professional-match aggregate as of Jul 21, 2026, 9:50 PM UTC. Popularity rows are independent phase totals, not a coherent build, sequence, or win-rate advice.
Starting
6 items- 1
Faerie Fire130 selections · 33.1% - 2
Iron Branch94 selections · 23.9% - 3
Magic Wand78 selections · 19.8% - 4
Tango39 selections · 9.9% - 5
Magic Stick12 selections · 3.1% - 6
Quelling Blade10 selections · 2.5%
Early
6 items- 1
Boots of Speed101 selections · 25.8% - 2
Power Treads96 selections · 24.5% - 3
Falcon Blade89 selections · 22.7% - 4
Morbid Mask36 selections · 9.2% - 5
Blade of Alacrity29 selections · 7.4% - 6
Broadsword20 selections · 5.1%
Mid
6 items- 1Blade of Alacrity127 selections · 13.1%
- 2
Dragon Lance83 selections · 8.6% - 3
Staff of Wizardry78 selections · 8.1% - 4
Yasha68 selections · 7% - 5
Force Staff52 selections · 5.4% - 6
Claymore48 selections · 5%
Late
6 items- 1
Demon Edge90 selections · 16.9% - 2
Crystalys53 selections · 10% - 3
Daedalus44 selections · 8.3% - 4
Black King Bar39 selections · 7.3% - 5
Reaver38 selections · 7.1% - 6
Satanic38 selections · 7.1%
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Shadow Fiend — frequently asked
What are Shadow Fiend's abilities in Dota 2?
Shadow Fiend's abilities are Shadowraze, Shadowraze, Shadowraze, Feast of Souls, Presence of the Dark Lord, Requiem of Souls, Necromastery. It is a Agility ranged hero played as Carry, Nuker.
What is Shadow Fiend's primary attribute?
Shadow Fiend is a Agility hero, starting with 19 strength (+2.7/lvl), 25 agility (+3.6/lvl) and 16 intelligence (+2.2/lvl), and a base move speed of 305.
What do the popular Shadow Fiend item phases mean?
The saved OpenDota aggregate is dated 2026-07-22. The phase lists summarize professional-match item popularity; they are not one coherent build, a recommended sequence, or win-rate advice.