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Franchise-warcraft This is from the Warcraft universe.


Let the army of the damned rise!

Damage (6/10) Utility (5/10) Survivability (8/10) Complexity (4/10)

Arthas, the Lich King, is a Melee Warrior hero from the Warcraft universe. Once the crown prince of Lordaeron and protégé of Uther the Lightbringer, Prince Arthas was corrupted by the cursed blade Frostmourne in a desperate bid to save his people. Now he rules over the damned as the Lich King and all shall know his wrath.

Background[]

Kil'jaeden created the Lich King from the spirit of the orc shaman Ner'zhul to raise an undead army to conquer Azeroth for the Burning Legion. Initially trapped within the Frozen Throne with Frostmourne, the Lich King eventually betrayed Kil'jaeden and merged with the human Arthas Menethil.

Gameplay Summary[]

Strengths[]

Weaknesses[]

  • Mediocre burst heal and burst damage
  • Easy target for ranged attackers
  • Requires closing up to effectively deal damage to everything

Abilities[]

Arthas has death knight-centric abilities.[1]

IconDeathCoil
Death Coil (Q)
Mana: 50
Cooldown: 9 seconds

Deals 170.56 (+4% per level) damage to target enemy. Can be self-cast to heal for 262 (+4% per level) Health.

IconHowlingBlast
Howling Blast (W) [Area of Effect]
Mana: 60
Cooldown: 10 seconds

Root enemies within the target area for 1.25 seconds and deals 70.72 (+4% per level) damage.

IconFrozenTempest
Frozen Tempest (E) [Aura]
Mana: 15
Cooldown: 1 seconds

Deals 20 (+4% per level) damage per second to nearby enemies. Slows enemy Move Speed and Attack Speed by 10% per second, stacking up to 40%.

Traits[]

IconFrostmourneHungers
Frostmourne Hungers (D) [Trait]
Cooldown: 10 seconds

Activate to make Arthas's next Basic Attack strike immediately, do 99 increased damage, and restore 30 Mana.

Heroic Abilities[]

IconArmyoftheDead
Army Of The Dead [Heroic Ability]
Tier 4 (Hero Level 10)
Mana: 80
Cooldown: 80 seconds

Summons Ghouls that last 15 seconds. Sacrifice Ghouls to heal for 277.68 (+4% per level) Health.

IconSummonSindragosa
Summon Sindragosa [Heroic Ability]
Tier 4 (Hero Level 10)
Mana: 100
Cooldown: 100 seconds

Deals 230 (+4% per level) damage and slows enemies by 60% for 3.5 seconds. Also disables Minions and Structures for 20 seconds.

Talents[]

Tier 1, Hero Level 1[]

IconFrostmourneHungers
Eternal Hunger
Tier 1 (Hero Level 1)

IconQuestTalent Quest: Use Frostmourne Hungers on an enemy Hero.
IconQuestTalent Reward: Increases the Mana it restores by 4, to a maximum of 40, and its damage by 4.

IconHowlingBlast
Frost Presence
Tier 1 (Hero Level 1)

IconQuestTalent Quest: Root enemy Heroes with Howling Blast.
IconQuestTalent Reward: After rooting 5 Heroes, Howling Blast's cooldown is reduced by 2 seconds.
IconQuestTalent Reward: After rooting 10 Heroes, Howling Blast's range is increased by 30%.
IconQuestTalent Reward: After rooting 20 Heroes, Howling Blast also roots enemies in its path.

IconBlock
Rime
Tier 1 (Hero Level 1)

Every 5 seconds, gain 60 Physical Armor against the next enemy Hero Basic Attack, reducing the damage taken by 60%. Stores up to 3 charges.

Tier 2, Hero Level 4[]

IconFrozenTempest
Frozen Wastes
Tier 2 (Hero Level 4)

Frozen Tempest Mana cost reduced by 4 per second.
IconQuestTalent Quest: Damage enemy Heroes with Frozen Tempest.
IconQuestTalent Reward: After damaging enemy Heroes 150 times with Frozen Tempest, the Movement and Attack Speed slows of Frozen Tempest last an extra 1.5 seconds against enemy Heroes.

Icon Icy Talons
Icy Talons
Tier 2 (Hero Level 4)

Gain 3% Attack Speed for 1.5 seconds every time a Hero is damaged by Frozen Tempest, to a maximum of 60%.

IconDeathCoil
Deathlord
Tier 2 (Hero Level 4)

Reduces Death Coil's cooldown by 3 seconds and increase its range by 30%.

Tier 3, Hero Level 7[]

IconRuneTap
Rune Tap
Tier 3 (Hero Level 7)

Every 3rd Basic Attack heals you for 4% of your max Health.

IconDeathCoil
Immortal Coil
Tier 3 (Hero Level 7)

Gain the healing effect of Death Coil even when used on enemies. If Death Coil is used on Arthas, it heals for an additional 50% bonus healing.

IconIceboundFortitude
Icebound Fortitude
Tier 3 (Hero Level 7)
Cooldown: 35 seconds

Activate to reduce damage taken by 25% and reduce the duration of silences, stuns, slows, roots, and polymorphs against you by 75% for 3 seconds.

Tier 4, Hero Level 10[]

IconArmyoftheDead
Army Of The Dead [Heroic Ability]
Tier 4 (Hero Level 10)
Mana: 80
Cooldown: 80 seconds

Summons Ghouls that last 15 seconds. Sacrifice Ghouls to heal for 277.68 (+4% per level) Health.

IconSummonSindragosa
Summon Sindragosa [Heroic Ability]
Tier 4 (Hero Level 10)
Mana: 100
Cooldown: 100 seconds

Deals 230 (+4% per level) damage and slows enemies by 60% for 3.5 seconds. Also disables Minions and Structures for 20 seconds.

Tier 5, Hero Level 13[]

IconHowlingBlast
Shattered Armor
Tier 5 (Hero Level 13)

Enemy Heroes hit by Howling Blast have their Armor reduced by 15 for 4 seconds.

IconFrostStrike
Frost Strike
Tier 5 (Hero Level 13)

Reduces Frostmourne Hungers' cooldown by 2 seconds. Frostmourne Hungers also slows the enemy by 50% for 1.5 seconds.

IconFrozenTempest
Biting Cold
Tier 5 (Hero Level 13)

Each second an enemy is damaged by Frozen Tempest, it deals 12.5% bonus damage, up to a 50% bonus.

Tier 6, Hero Level 16[]

IconFrozenTempest
Remorseless Winter
Tier 6 (Hero Level 16)

Enemies that remain in Frozen Tempest’s area of effect for 3 seconds are rooted for 1.25 seconds. This effect can only occur once every 10 seconds.

IconFrostmourneHungers
Frostmourne Feeds
Tier 6 (Hero Level 16)

Increases the amount of Basic Attacks empowered by Frostmourne Hungers to 2.

IconEmbraceDeath
Embrace Death
Tier 6 (Hero Level 16)

Death Coil deals more damage and heals more the lower Arthas's current health is, to a maximum of 100% bonus damage and healing.

Tier 7, Hero Level 20[]

IconArmyoftheDead
Legion of Northrend
Tier 7 (Hero Level 20)

3 additional Ghouls are created. Ghouls heal for an additional 50% and last 5 seconds longer.

IconSummonSindragosa
Absolute Zero
Tier 7 (Hero Level 20)

Sindragosa flies twice as far. Enemy Heroes are rooted for 2 seconds, and then slowed by 60% for 3.5 seconds.

IconDeathsAdvance
Death's Advance
Tier 7 (Hero Level 20)
Cooldown: 50 seconds

Passively increases your Movement Speed by 10%. Activate to increase this bonus to 30% for 3 seconds.

IconAntiMagicShell
Anti-Magic Shell
Tier 7 (Hero Level 20)
Cooldown: 60 seconds

Activate to make Arthas immune to Spell Damage for 3 seconds and heal Arthas for 25% of the damage prevented.

Talent Builds[]

Tips[]

Matchups[]

Pairings[]

Kel'Thuzadplate
Kel'Thuzad shines the most when his enemies are grouped up so that he can land his devastating 3-spell combo. Heroes like Arthas who have strong crowd control abilities are great for acting as a wall for Kel’thuzad as well as grouping up enemies so that he can perform at his best offensively.


Lúcioplate
Lúcio’s Speed Boost is a great enabler for heroes who are normally limited by a lack of mobility. Arthas benefits greatly from Lúcio’s ability to quickly get him into the fray so that he can slow the enemy team and enable additional teammates to burst them down.


Malthaelplate
Having an ally who can make it easier to get close to enemies and apply Reaper's Mark is a huge benefit for Malthael, and few do this better than Arthas. In addition to powerful slow and root effects that keep enemies from escaping, Arthas’ ability to self-heal and stay in the fight is a great match for Malthael.


Medivhplate
No longer will Warriors have difficulty engaging with the enemy team’s back-line thanks to Dark Portal. The terrifying damage and lockdown of Arthas combined with Medivh’s Dark Portals can instantly ruin a safe Assassin’s day.


Probiusplate
Probius needs a strong frontline hero who can take a lot of punishment and act as a wall between him and his opponents. It also helps if his frontline consists more of heroes who do not tend to dive the enemy team, as that leaves Probius in a vulnerable position. Arthas’s commanding battlefield presence and great peel between Howling Blast and Frozen Tempest make him a good tool to keep the enemy team from getting to and quickly eliminating Probius in teamfights.


Effective against[]

Cassiaplate
The Lich King could honestly care less about pitiful lightning damage thrown around by a self-proclaimed demi-god. One misstep by Cassia will quickly put her in range of death’s cold embrace. A single well-placed Howling Blast will turn off her Trait, and allow him to close the gap. Once Arthas has her in range of Frozen Tempest, Cassia’s lack of mobility will slowly cause her to succumb to the same fate that has befallen countless poor souls before her.


Effective foes[]

Skins[]

The Lich King (base)
Arthas - TLK - Grey Arthas - TLK - Blue Arthas - TLK - White Arthas - TLK - Tarnished
The Lich King Saronite Tundra Tarnished IconShard 100
Frost Wyrm IconShard 100
After the death of the Ashen Verdict's champions, none could halt the Lich King's advance. As a reminder of his victory, he grafted the bones of his fallen servants onto his armor.
Arthas - FW - Purple Arthas - FW - Orange Arthas - FW - Green
Frost Wyrm Flesh Unholy
Death God IconShard 100
As Frostmourne devoured more and more souls, the Lich King's dominion over the damned grew ever stronger. It wasn't long before his armor began to manifest changes.
Arthas - Master - Blue Arthas - Master - White Arthas - Master - Pink
Death God Beryl Sanguine
Crown Prince IconShard 400
As his hands gripped the hilt of the cursed blade Frostmourne, a dimensional gateway erupted from the icy pedestal, dragging the young prince Arthas into the Nexus.
Features replaced voice-over and themed abilities.
Arthas - CP - Blue Arthas - CP - Green Arthas - CP - Purple
Crown Prince Kul Tiras Dalaran
Mystic Kingdoms IconShard 1600
Revered for his bravery and martial skill, General Arthas has led his king's armies to countless victories. His loyalty knows no bounds, and nothing can make him break his oath of service.
This skin is related to the Mystic Kingdoms themed-skins. Features themed abilities.
Arthas - MK - Green Arthas - MK - Blue Arthas - MK - Black Arthas - Mystic Kingdoms - Royal
Mystic Kingdoms Frozen Shadow Royal IconShard 2400
Crimson Count IconShard 400 (Hallow's End skin)
Few of Sarah von Kerrigan's suitors are as bold or brash as Marquis Arthas du Menethil. The Crimson Count hopes their unholy union will spell doom for Raven Court's vampire slayers.
This skin is related to the Raven Court and Hallow's End themed-skins. Features themed abilities and themed mount.
Arthas - CC - Red Arthas - CC - Green Arthas - CC - Blue Arthas - Count Arthas - Consecrated
Crimson Count Toxic Shadow Consecrated IconShard 600
Arthas - Bat Transformation
(Bat Transformation)

Development[]

Arthas was conceived within the first two years of the game's development.[2] His model was designed first and his role in the game was decided upon later.[1] His ultimate ability originally let him pull, heal, and deal damage simultaneously.[3]

Trivia[]

  • The "Mystic Kingdoms" skin is a reference to Guan Yu, one of the best known Chinese historical figures throughout East Asia, whose life stories have largely given way to fictionalised ones, most of which are found in the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. In the Western world, Guan Yu is sometimes called the "Taoist God of War". He is often depicted with a red face, and riding a large red stallion.

Patch changes[]

  • Patch (Patch February 6, 2018Note: Royal Mystic Kingdom skin added.
  • Patch (Patch March 28, 2017Note: Physical Armor decreased from 15 to 10.
  • Patch (Patch March 14, 2017Note: Health increased from 2404 to 2524; Health Regeneration increased from 5.0117 to 5.2578; Basic Attack damage reduced from 99 to 95.
  • Patch (Patch January 4, 2017Note: Now has 15 Physical Armor.
  • Patch (Patch May 17, 2016Note: Arthas has received updated visual effects to coincide with his Talent rework.; Health increased from 2382 (+4% per level) to 2582 (+4% per level); Health regeneration increased from 4.96 (+4% per level) to 5.37 (+4% per level).
  • Patch (Patch April 19, 2016Note: Crimson Count Arthas’ Health bar will now appear much closer to his Hero model while in bat form.
  • Patch (Patch February 2, 2016Note: All Arthas Skins and Skin Variations have received facial animations.

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 011-10-23, BlizzCon 2011 - Starcraft 2: Heart of the Swarm and Blizzard DOTA - Art & Technology Panel (Full). YouTube, accessed on 2011-11-07
  2. 2016-11-21, BlizzCon 2016 Heroes of the Storm Deep Dive Panel Transcript. Blizzplanet, accessed on 2016-11-21
  3. Charles Onyett. 2011-10-21. Blizzard DOTA isn't More of the Same. IGN. Accessed 2012-05-13.

External links[]

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