Valve has finally released the Crownfall act four update for Dota 2, which incudes the addition of new hero Kez. This has given us a first look at his abilities and, in what is a new move for Dota, he has two very different sets of abilities depending on which weapon he has equipped.
Kez is listed as a carry on his official Dota 2 hero page, as well as being tagged as being good as escape and disables. That could make him playable in mid as well, but it will likely take a while to figure that out, as he is likely to be popular for a few weeks yet as players get to grips with him.
When it comes to his abilities, which you can see below, his innate is easily the most important. It allows him to switch between his massive katana sword, or his slightly smaller Shodo Sai blades. Activating this ability will not only switch his weapon, but also his ability set, however the abilities in both sets share a cooldown, so this is not like Invoker where you can spam as many spells as you can invoke if you are quick enough.
In general his katana ability set is more about getting up close and personal with enemies and slashing them with his sword, while his sai abilities are more distance based attacks that he can use to stay at the back of fights or create distance from enemies. You can see a full rundown of Kez’s abilities below.
The patch that added Kez also adds the fourth and final act of the Crownfall saga. As expected, there’s a new overworld map that tells the final chapter of the epic story, and a ton of cosmetics to unlock along the way. It was also announced that Crownfall will end on January 15th 2025, so you have a lot of time to make sure you complete it all.
Dota 2 Hero Kez’s Abilities
Innate – Switch Discipline
Kez switches between his Katana and Sai weapons. He gains different attack capabilities and abilities based on the weapon equipped, the abilities level up together and share a cooldown.
Katana Q – Echo Slash
Kez slashes forward in a line with his Katana, dealing a percentage of his attack damage and a brief slow to targets in the area. After a short delay, the area is attacked again. Heroes take bonus damage.
Katana W – Grappling Claw
Kez swings on a grappling hook towards the target unit or tree. When the grappling hook collides with the target, that unit has slowed movement speed until Kez arrives. Upon landing, he attacks with 100% lifesteal plus a flat bonus if the target is a Hero.
Katana E (Passive) – Kazurai Katana
Katana attacks and abilities apply a stacking damage over time to enemies that deals a percentage of the original attack’s damage as additional damage over time. Affected enemies have non-stacking reduced health regeneration.
Katana R – Raptor Dance
Kez enters into an uncontrollable channel for 1 second, gaining debuff immunity and 100% magic resistance. If the channel completes successfully, Kez performs a series of deadly radial slashes around him that deal damage based on the max health of the target and heal Kez for a percentage of all damage dealt. Kez receives a strong dispel upon completion.
Sai Q – Falcon Rush
Kez gains the ability to rush towards enemy targets to deliver echoing secondary attacks. While in this state, Kez has phased collision and an attack rate that is less affected by attack speed.
Sai W – Talon Toss
Kez throws a Sai at the target unit. The Sai detonates when it hits, dealing damage and applying silence to all enemies in the area.
Sai E – Shodo Sai
Kez’s attacks and abilities with the Sai have a chance to Mark enemies. Marked enemies are slowed, and the next attack or ability damage from Kez gains True Strike and will stun the enemy and deal a critical strike, consuming the buff.
Kez may activate the ability to disarm himself, lock his facing, and parry attacks and attack effects from the targeted direction for 2 seconds. If an attack is parried from an enemy Hero in this way, that Hero is stunned and Marked, taking additional critical strike and stun when the debuff is triggered.
The sub-ability may be used to cancel the blocking early.
Sai R – Raven’s Veil
Kez releases a wave of smoke that applies his Mark with Parry bonus to nearby enemies, briefly reducing their vision. Kez receives a basic dispel and gains bonus movement speed and invisibility until he attacks or casts a spell.
