DOTA 2 Chaos Knight Guide
An enormous hero count, each with unique abilities and staggering build varieties can be challenging to explain when introducing new players to DOTA 2. However, deciding which hero you should start with and learn is difficult. Fortunately, we’ve found Chaos Knight a great starter, with easily-executable abilities and a damage output that can make the enemy carry look like a critter. This DOTA 2 Chaos Knight Guide will help players figure out the ins-and-outs of this hero.
This guide will focus on explaining Chaos Knight’s abilities, itemizations, and how to effectively play the hero in different game situations.
Table of Contents
Chaos Knight’s Playstyle
Chaos Knight is a strength hero that should ideally be played as a Carry due to its high damage output and reliance on farm-heavy items. However, even if you’re a slow farmer, with the right build and enough leveling, the hero can become an unstoppable force in the late-game. To build this beast though, you need to focus on creating items that amplify its attack power and complement its ultimate.
Understanding Chaos Knight’s Abilities
You need to be familiar with and understand the abilities of Chaos Knight before you can use him in the game. We’ve discussed the abilities of Chaos Knight, their stats, and their optimal uses below:
Chaos Bolt
| Cast Range | Min – Max Damage | Min – Max Stun Duration | Cooldown | Mana |
| 500 | 60/90/120/150 – 120/180/240/300 | 1.25/1.5/1.75/2 – 2.2/2.8/3.4/4 | 13/12/11/10 | 110/120/130/140 |
This ability throws a bolt at an enemy unit dealing random damage and stunning them for a temporary amount of time. Damage dealt and stun duration is random; however, they are inversely proportional to each other. So, even if your stun bolt doesn’t damage them enough, it’ll grant you ample time to right-click and attack the stunned enemies to make up for it.
Reality Rift
| Radius | Target Pull Distance | Armor Reduction | Duration | Cooldown | Mana |
| 550/600/650/750 | 250/300/350/40 | 4/5/6/7 | 6 | 18/14/10/6 | 50 |
This ability teleports Chaos Knight, his illusions, and line-of-sight enemy target to a point in the middle. The teleported enemy appears between Chaos Knight and his illusions with reduced armor and nowhere to run.
The rift is incredibly great during early-mid game ganks as it allows you to close the gap between you and your enemy and initiate the fight. You can also use it to secure the range creep when you’re laning to amp up your farm and XP.
Chaos Strike
| Proc Chance | Min – Max Crit Damage | Lifesteal | Non-Hero Damage Percentage |
| 33.33% | 120% – 140%/175%/210%/245% | 20%/30%/40%/50% | 150% |
This is a passive ability that gives Chaos Knight a chance to deal critical damage and gain some health back through Lifesteal. The Lifesteal is based on the percentage of damage dealt, and the maximum crit damage can vary.
However, since this applies to Chaos Knight’s illusions as well, it stacks up to make Chaos Knight incredibly destructive after a Reality Rift and Chaos Bolt combo.
Phantasm (Ultimate)
| Split Time | Number of Illusions | Illusion Damage Dealt | Illusion Damage Taken | Duration | Cooldown | Mana |
| 0.5 | 1/2/3 | 100% | 325% | 30 | 75 | 75/125/175 |
Chaos Knight’s ultimate creates his own illusions, which are fairly beefy and can dish out a ton of damage. Combining Reality Rift with Phantasm is the perfect combo as it teleports you and your illusions in the face of your enemy. And since you’re indistinguishable from your illusions, your foes have nothing to do but run away from the chaos that’s raining down on them.
Moreover, your illusions automatically start attacking enemies near them, so you don’t have to micro-manage them if you find that difficult.
Chaos Knight’s Build Guide
Executing Chaos Knight’s abilities flawlessly can’t guarantee you a win just yet. You need to pair your abilities up with complimenting items that support the situation. Here’s a quick rundown on what to build on the hero and when:
Laning And Farming
As a Carry, Chaos Knight should start in the Safe Lane and your focus should be farming as much gold and XP as possible in the beginning. As a rule of thumb, you should aim for 50 last hits and level 8 in the first 10 minutes.
However, even if you can’t meet that benchmark, it isn’t the end of the game. You can always spend a couple of minutes farming camps in the jungle and teleporting to winnable team fights whenever you get the chance.
When it comes to deciding which ability to max out first, it all comes down to your game’s situation. If you have aggressive support, you can focus on maxing Reality Rift first to lower its cooldown and be aggressive in the lane.
On the contrary, if you’re facing someone like a Timbersaw with no kill expectation, you’re safe to max our Chaos Strike so that you can farm quickly without requiring much regen.
Some beginning items that can really help speed up your farming are as follows:
Quelling Blade: Provides bonus attach damage against creeps that’ll help you farm easier and faster in the lane and jungle.
Tango: Necessary health region required so you can trade blows in the lane and continue farming
Enchanted Mango: Keep one of these on you at all times during the early phase of the games. Consume it to get some extra Mana when needed during a kill situation.
Early Game
You can afford to be rather flexible during the early game, however, given the slow farming of Chaos Knight, you should focus on maxing out your Chaos Strike for increased creep damage (if your lane is passive). Furthermore, you should also help your team with the tower pushes as soon as your ult is up. Here are some items that’ll amp up your early game:
Braces: Makes you tanky enough to survive early-game skirmishes and come out on top. You can keep it in your inventory until you’re six-slotted since it doubles in stats after the 25-minute mark.
Magic Wand/Stick: This allows you a fair bit of HP and Mana that can turn the tide of the fight if used at the time time. The decision of upgrading your stick to the Magic Wand depends on how well your farm is going.
Boots of Speed: With damage and HP taken care of, all you need is a quick boot to help you reach your enemies in time. Setting them to agility and strength also adds to your overall stats.
Mid-Late Game
Mid-game is where you should focus on essentially becoming a powerhouse as Chaos Knight. By the late game, with enough farming, you will be the strongest hero in the lobby. Focus on buffing your phantoms with items like Armlet, Heart, and Echo Sabre to deal immense amounts of damage to enemies. Pay attention to the following core items:
Armlet of Mordiggian: Pop this before your ultimate to get increased strength, attack damage, and armor. You can also practice toggling it to save you in sticky situations.
Echo Sabre: The mana regen and extra stats, along with the double-hit fares well with Chaos Knight’s kit. Since his passive crit has a 33% proc chance, the more hits you make, the better.
Aghanim’s Shard: When you use this shard, you can summon an illusion upon successfully connecting your Chaos Bolt without needing to use Phantasm. It’s a great way to melt down squishy supports with a click of a button.
Black King Bar: A necessity when it comes to the late game. Having BKB grants you spell immunity which is crucial, especially if you’re facing off against spell-dependant heroes.
Heart Of Tarrasque: This item sets off health loss due to the use of Armlet by regenerating it faster. Hence, it helps to keep the Armlet permanently on, so you can take advantage of additional bonuses. Its healing coupled with the passive lifesteal allows you to continue fighting for longer periods.
General Tips
Apart from following the build guide above, you can take care of some essential things during the game. Here are a few general tips that will further help you use Chaos Knight to its fullest:
- Focus on maxing out your Chaos Bolt and Reality Rift first as Chaos Strike barely does any damage in the beginning.
- Get Armlet by mid-game and use it before casting your ultimate. Its bonuses translate to your illusions which are going to be your main source of damage output.
- As a Chaos Knight, you should focus on closing out games as early as possible. If you lose farming advantage against enemy carry mid-game, Chaos Knight suffers greatly due to his sluggish farming as compared to other Carries. Therefore, use your tanky build to deny the enemy carry of essential items and space on the map.
Conclusion
Chaos Knight may be a slow farmer, but he makes up for it with his fairly high DPS and tanky build. When executed right, the hero’s kit allows you to score some pretty sick rampages, even if your whole team is down. With that said, we hope you enjoyed our guide on how to play Chaos Knight. Let us know in the comments if you’re left with any questions!
