Shadow Shaman
Born in the Bleeding Hills, Rhasta was just a starving youngling when picked up by a travelling con-man. For two pins of copper, the old con-man would tell your fortune. For three, he'd castrate your pig, for five, he'd circumcise your sons. For a good meal, he'd don his shaman garb, read from his ancient books, and lay a curse upon your enemies. His strange new youngling, part hill troll, part...something else, worked as assistant and lent an air of the exotic to the con-man's trade. Always one step ahead of cheated customers, one town ahead of a pursuing patronage, the two trekked across the blighted lands until one day the con-man realized that the little youngling could actually do what he only pretended at. His ward had a gift--a gift that customers valued. And so the youngling Rhasta was thrust before the crowds, and the trade-name Shadow Shaman was born. The two continued from to…
Hero lore
Born in the Bleeding Hills, Rhasta was just a starving youngling when picked up by a travelling con-man. For two pins of copper, the old con-man would tell your fortune. For three, he'd castrate your pig, for five, he'd circumcise your sons. For a good meal, he'd don his shaman garb, read from his ancient books, and lay a curse upon your enemies. His strange new youngling, part hill troll, part...something else, worked as assistant and lent an air of the exotic to the con-man's trade. Always one step ahead of cheated customers, one town ahead of a pursuing patronage, the two trekked across the blighted lands until one day the con-man realized that the little youngling could actually do what he only pretended at. His ward had a gift--a gift that customers valued. And so the youngling Rhasta was thrust before the crowds, and the trade-name Shadow Shaman was born. The two continued from to…
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 Shaman abilities
Creates a cone of ethereal energy that strikes multiple enemy units.
Transforms an enemy unit into a harmless creature, disabling their attacks and abilities.
CHANNELED - Magically binds an enemy unit so that it cannot move or attack, absorbing their life energy over time.
When taking lethal damage, Shadow Shaman receives a strong dispel and survives as a 1 HP chicken with increased movement speed. Incoming damage is reduced to zero for a short duration and additional chickens are created to confuse the enemy. Cooldown resets w…
Throw a snake jar at the target location, damaging all enemies in the AoE and creating a Massive Serpent Ward that has 4x the base Serpent Ward damage and health there that lasts 15s.
Summons 10 Serpent Wards to attack enemy units and structures. The Wards are immune to magic. Creeps deal half damage to the Serpent Ward.
Popular 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
Iron Branch116 selections · 18.2% - 2
Tango94 selections · 14.7% - 3
Blood Grenade85 selections · 13.3% - 4
Observer and Sentry Wards64 selections · 10% - 5
Magic Stick59 selections · 9.2% - 6
Sentry Ward48 selections · 7.5%
Early
6 items- 1
Boots of Speed83 selections · 69.7% - 2
Tranquil Boots17 selections · 14.3% - 3
Arcane Boots14 selections · 11.8% - 4
Null Talisman2 selections · 1.7% - 5
Void Stone1 selections · 0.8% - 6
Energy Booster1 selections · 0.8%
Mid
6 items- 1
Blink Dagger65 selections · 35.7% - 2Arcane Boots56 selections · 30.8%
- 3
Aether Lens25 selections · 13.7% - 4
Staff of Wizardry9 selections · 4.9% - 5
Glimmer Cape9 selections · 4.9% - 6
Aghanim's Shard8 selections · 4.4%
Late
6 items- 1Glimmer Cape22 selections · 26.5%
- 2Aether Lens16 selections · 19.3%
- 3Blink Dagger12 selections · 14.5%
- 4
Force Staff11 selections · 13.3% - 5
Black King Bar11 selections · 13.3% - 6
Eul's Scepter of Divinity5 selections · 6%
More heroes to explore
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Shadow Shaman — frequently asked
What are Shadow Shaman's abilities in Dota 2?
Shadow Shaman's abilities are Ether Shock, Hex, Shackles, Fowl Play, Urnaconda, Mass Serpent Ward. It is a Intelligence ranged hero played as Support, Pusher, Disabler.
What is Shadow Shaman's primary attribute?
Shadow Shaman is a Intelligence hero, starting with 20 strength (+2.3/lvl), 16 agility (+1.6/lvl) and 23 intelligence (+3.5/lvl), and a base move speed of 285.
What do the popular Shadow Shaman 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.