Attack speed


Info

Base attack time

Every unit has a base attack time (BAT), which refers to the default interval between attacks for an unbuffed unit with 0 agility and no attack speed bonus. For instance, a melee lane creep has a BAT of 1.00 seconds, and thus attacks once every second by default. Similarly, if a hero with 1.7 BAT had 0 agility and no bonus attack speed, they would attack once every 1.70 seconds. While nearly every unit can have their attack speed modified, only a few heroes can actively change their BAT.

Every hero has a BAT of 1.7 except for the following:

Hero Base Attack Time Difference in Attacks/Sec AS Range in 1.7 BAT Representation Actual AS Range in game
Alchemist   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs   Known Bugs     Alchemist 25 + 2.1 11 + 1.2 25 + dota2 (under Chemical Rage level 3) 1.0 (+70.0%) 34~1020 90~670
Alchemist   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs   Known Bugs     Alchemist 25 + 2.1 11 + 1.2 25 + dota2 (under Chemical Rage level 2) 1.2 (+41.7%) 28~850 61.7~641.7
Alchemist   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs   Known Bugs     Alchemist 25 + 2.1 11 + 1.2 25 + dota2 (under Chemical Rage level 1) 1.4 (+21.4%) 24~729 41.4~621.4
Juggernaut   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Juggernaut 20 + 2.2 26 + 2.4 14 + 1.4 Level Base dota2 1.4 (+21.4%) 24~729 41.4~621.4
Oracle   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs   Known Bugs     Oracle 18 + 2.2 15 + 1.7 23 + dota2 1.4 (+21.4%) 24~729 41.4~621.4
Anti-Mage 1.45 (+17.2%) 23~703 37.2~617.2
Lone Druid   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs   Known Bugs     Lone Druid 17 + 2.4 24 + 2.7 13 dota2 (under True Form) 1.5 (+13.3%) 23~680 33.3~613.3
Queen of Pain   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Queen of Pain 16 + 2 18 + 2 24 + 2.5 dota2 1.5 (+13.3%) 23~680 33.3~613.3
Terrorblade   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Terrorblade 15 + 1.7 22 + 3.2 19 + 1.75 Level Base dota2 1.5 (+13.3%) 23~680 33.3~613.3
Troll Warlord   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Troll Warlord 20 + 2.5 21 + 2.5 13 + 1 Level dota2 (under Berserker`s Rage) 1.5 (+13.3%) 23~680 33.3~613.3
Windranger   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs   Known Bugs     Windranger 15 + 2.8 17 + 1.4 22 + dota2 1.5 (+13.3%) 23~680 33.3~613.3
Morphling   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs   Known Bugs     Morphling 19 + 2.3 24 + 3.7 17 + dota2 1.55 (+9.7%) 22~658 29.7~609.7
Huskar   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Huskar 21 + 2.7 15 + 1.4 18 + 1.5 Level Base dota2 1.6 (+6.3%) 21~638 26.3~606.3
Lina   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Lina 18 + 1.8 16 + 1.5 27 + 3.2 Level Base dota2 1.6 (+6.3%) 21~638 26.3~606.3
Bristleback   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Bristleback 22 + 2.2 17 + 1.8 14 + 2.8 Level Base dota2 1.8 (-5.6%) 19~567 14.4~594.4
Magnus   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Magnus 21 + 3.2 15 + 2.5 19 + 1.65 Level Base dota2 1.8 (-5.6%) 19~567 14.4~594.4
Sven   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs   Known Bugs     Sven 23 + 3 21 + 2 16 + dota2 1.8 (-5.6%) 19~567 14.4~594.4
Weaver   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Weaver 15 + 1.8 14 + 2.8 15 + 1.8 Level Base dota2 1.8 (-5.6%) 19~567 14.4~594.4
Lifestealer   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Lifestealer 25 + 3.3 18 + 1.9 15 + 1.75 Level Base dota2 1.85 (-8.1%) 18~551 11.9~591.9
Treant Protector For Nature s Prophet s summons, see Treant. For the race in Dota 2 lore, see Treant Protectors.   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities dota2 1.9 (-10.5%) 18~537 9.5~589.5
Spirit Breaker   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Spirit Breaker 29 + 2.7 17 + 1.7 14 + 1.8 Level dota2 1.9 (-10.5%) 18~537 9.5~589.5
Doom   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Doom 26 + 3.5 11 + 0.9 13 + 2.1 Level Base dota2 2.0 (-15.0%) 17~510 5~585
  • Note: Rubick is also capable of lowering his BAT if he steals and uses any of the abilities listed in the above table.
Unit Base Attack Time Difference in Attacks/Sec AS Range in 1.7 BAT Representation Actual AS Range in game
Witch Doctor Death Ward model.png Death Ward 0.22 (+672.7%) 155~4636 692.7~1272.7
Visage Familiar model.png Familiar 0.4 (+325.0%) 85~2550 345~925
Necronomicon Warrior 3 model.png Necronomicon Warrior 0.75 (+126.6%) 45~1360 146.6~726.6
Nature`s Prophet Treant model.png Greater Treant 1.0 (+70.0%) 34~1020 90~670
Melee creeps.png Melee and Ranged Creeps 1.0 (+70.0%) 34~1020 90~670
Necronomicon Archer 3 model.png Necronomicon Archer 1.0 (+70.0%) 34~1020 90~670
Lycan Wolf model.png Lycan Wolf (level 4) 1.1 (+54.5%) 31~927 74.5~654.5
Lycan Wolf model.png Lycan Wolf (level 3) 1.15 (+47.8%) 30~887 67.8~647.8
Lycan Wolf model.png Lycan Wolf (level 2) 1.2 (+41.7%) 28~850 61.7~641.7
Warlock Golem model.png Warlock`s Golem 1.2 (+41.7%) 28~850 61.7~641.7
Beastmaster Boar model.png Boar 1.25 (+36.0%) 27~816 56~656
Lycan Wolf model.png Lycan Wolf (level 1) 1.25 (+36.0%) 27~816 56~656
Earth 1.35 (+25.9%) 25~756 45.9~625.9
Fire 1.35 (+25.9%) 25~756 45.9~625.9
Broodmother Spiderling model.png Spiderite 1.35 (+25.9%) 25~756 45.9~625.9
Broodmother Spiderling model.png Spiderling 1.35 (+25.9%) 25~756 45.9~625.9
Lone Druid Spirit Bear model.png Spirit Bear (level 4) 1.35 (+25.9%) 25~756 45.9~625.9
Lone Druid Spirit Bear model.png Spirit Bear (level 3) 1.45 (+17.2%) 23~703 37.2~617.2
Enigma Eidolon model.png Eidolon 1.5 (+13.3%) 23~680 33.3~613.3
Invoker Forged Spirit model.png Forged Spirit 1.5 (+13.3%) 23~680 33.3~613.3
Venomancer Plague Ward model.png Plague Ward 1.5 (+13.3%) 23~680 33.3~613.3
Shadow Shaman Serpent Ward model.png Serpent Ward 1.5 (+13.3%) 23~680 33.3~613.3
Storm 1.5 (+13.3%) 23~680 33.3~613.3
Lone Druid Spirit Bear model.png Spirit Bear (level 2) 1.55 (+9.7%) 22~658 29.7~609.7
Undying Zombie model.png Undying Zombie 1.6 (+6.3%) 21~638 26.3~606.3
Lone Druid Spirit Bear model.png Spirit Bear (level 1) 1.65 (+3.0%) 21~618 23~603
Nature`s Prophet Treant model.png Treant 1.75 (-2.9%) 19~583 17.1~597.1
Roshan model.png Roshan 2.0 (-15.0%) 17~510 5~585
Siege creeps.png Siege Creeps 2.7 (-37.0%) 13~378 -17~563

Videos

Attack speed representation

The reciprocal of base attack time is base attack speed. For most heroes, this is 1 / 1.7 = 0.588 attacks per second. Attack speed is expressed in percent of base attack speed. The base is therefore expressed as 100. Each point of increased attack speed (IAS) adds 1 to that, giving 1% of base attack speed. Each point of agility Agility is the attribute that grants armor and attack speed. For each point of agility a hero gets: 0.14 (1/7) Armor 1 Attack speed Additionally, agility heroes also get 1 attack damage per agility point. dota2 increases IAS by 1. IAS is also modifiable by items, abilities, buffs, and debuffs. Attack speed works together with BAT to determine how often a unit can attack.

Attack speed caps of 20 and 600 are reached with -80 attack speed reduction and with +500 increased attack speed respectively, since every unit has a base attack speed of 100.

  • Note: When mousing over attack damage in the HUD, the first field shows the attack speed and the time per attack in parenthesis. The attack speed field is defaulted to 100 and adds the IAS afterward, leading to a lower boundary of 20 and an upper boundary of 600. Even though the display may show a unit to "exceed" these boundaries, the actual attack speed used for calculations will still obey the caps of 20 and 600. This can be easily verified by observing that the "time between attacks" display does not change even when pushing well past "600 attack speed".
  • Note2: Units that do not have 1.7 BAT will display their attack speed differently in the in-game HUD as if they had 1.7 BAT. For instance, a unit with 0.85 BAT and no bonus attack speed (100 attack speed) will display itself as having 200 attack speed, because 0.85 seconds is how long a unit with 1.70 BAT and 200 attack speed would take in between attacks. This strange quirk makes it harder to figure out if a hero without 1.7 BAT is nearing the attack speed cap, but it does allow players to compare this uniform "attack speed metric" across all heroes more easily.

Attack speed formula

IAS vs BAT: attacks per second

The formulas below denote the relationship between BAT, IAS, attacks per second, and time between attacks.

Attacks per second = (100 + IAS) ⃗ 0.01 / BAT
Attack time = BAT / (100 + IAS) ⃗ 0.01 = 1 / (attacks per second)

For instance, a lvl 1 Axe with no items has 1.7 BAT and 20 agility, which is converted to (0.20).

Attacks per second = (100 + IAS) ⃗ 0.01 / BAT
Attacks per second = (100 + 20) ⃗ 0.01 / 1.7
Attacks per second = 1.2 / 1.7
Attacks per second = ~0.706

>> Axe attacks about 0.706 times per second.

Attack time = 1 / 0.706
Attack time = ~1.417

>> Axe takes about 1.417 seconds between attacks.

Remember that units start with 100 attack speed, which caps at 20 and 600. This can be modified by IAS, which therefore caps at -80 and +500.


Here are some attack speed benchmarks and their effect on attacks per second:

-80 attack speed, a unit with 20 AS will take 5/1 times their BAT to attack (1/5x normal speed) (lower cap)
-75 attack speed, a unit with 25 AS will take 4/1 times their BAT to attack (1/4x normal speed)
-66 attack speed, a unit with 33 AS will take 3/1 times their BAT to attack (1/3x normal speed)
-50 attack speed, a unit with 50 AS will take 2/1 times their BAT to attack (1/2x normal speed)
+00 attack speed, a unit with 100 AS will take 1/1 times their BAT to attack (1x normal speed)
+100 attack speed, a unit with 200 AS will take 1/2 times their BAT to attack (2x normal speed)
+200 attack speed, a unit with 300 AS will take 1/3 times their BAT to attack (3x normal speed)
+300 attack speed, a unit with 400 AS will take 1/4 times their BAT to attack (4x normal speed)
+400 attack speed, a unit with 500 AS will take 1/5 times their BAT to attack (5x normal speed)
+500 attack speed, a unit with 600 AS will take 1/6 times their BAT to attack (6x normal speed) (upper cap)

List of items increasing attack speed

Bonus attack speed
Item Value Item cost Cost per value point
Armlet of Mordiggian 25 2370 94.8
Assault Cuirass 30 5250 175
Bloodthorn 30 7195 239.83
Butterfly 30 5525 184.17
Dragon Lance 12 1900 158.33
Echo Sabre 10 2650 265
Eye of Skadi 25 5775 231
Glimmer Cape 20 1850 92.5
Gloves of Haste 20 500 25
Hand of Midas 30 2150 71.67
Helm of the Dominator 10 2025 202.5
Hyperstone 55 2000 36.36
Maelstrom 25 2800 112
Manta Style 15 5000 333.33
Mask of Madness 10 1975 197.5
Mjollnir 80 5700 71.25
Moon Shard 120 4000 33.33
Oblivion Staff 10 1650 165
Orchid Malevolence 30 4075 135.83
Power Treads (Agility) 25 1350 54
Power Treads (Intelligence) 25 1350 54
Power Treads (Strength) 25 1350 54
Quarterstaff 10 875 87.5
Rod of Atos 6 3080 513.33
Sange and Yasha 16 3900 243.75
Shadow Amulet 20 1300 65
Shadow Blade 30 2700 90
Silver Edge 30 5550 185
Ultimate Orb 10 2150 215
Yasha 10 1950 195
Values may include portions from actives or auras.

List of abilities increasing attack speed

Attack Speed Formula

Using a hero`s BAT and IAS, their attack speed (length of time it takes to attack) is calculated using this formula:

Base Attack Time ⃷ (1 + (Increased Attack Speed ⃷ 100)) = Attack Speed

In the formula above, the IAS after calculations, which is the final value BAT gets divided by, has a maximum of 6 and a minimum of 0.2. Any values exceeding the maximum or below the minimum are rounded to the nearest acceptable threshold. This means that any value above 6 would be lowered to 6 and any value less than 0.2 would be raised to 0.2.

Example using Windranger with no items at level 1:

1.5 ⃷ (1 + (17 ⃷ 100) = 1.5 ⃷ (1 + 0.17) = 1.5 ⃷ 1.17 = 1.28 seconds per attack

In the example above it takes a cooldown of 1.28 seconds to attack.

Base Attack Time

Base attack time is the default cooldown for a hero`s attacks. Heroes with a lower BAT will attack faster than heroes with a higher BAT even when at equal IAS.

All heroes have a BAT of 1.7 seconds except for the following:

Hero Base Attack Time
Alchemist 1.4 / 1.2 / 1 when Chemical Rage is active
Juggernaut 1.4
Oracle 1.4
Anti-Mage 1.45
Lone Druid 1.5 when True Form is active
Terrorblade 1.5
Windranger 1.5
Troll Warlord 1.5 when Berserker`s Rage (Melee) is active
Huskar 1.6
Lina 1.6
Morphling 1.6
Queen of Pain 1.6
Bristleback 1.8
Weaver 1.8
Lifestealer 1.85
Spirit Breaker 1.9
Treant Protector 1.9
Doom 2

Attack Time

Heroes also have an attack duration which is labeled by two numbers. These are written as:

Attack Point + Backswing = Attack Time

For example Windranger`s attack time is 0.4 + 0.3, and she has a BAT of 1.5.

Windranger`s BAT acts as a cooldown, meaning she can only attack once per 1.5 seconds. If she has 0 IAS it would take 0.4 seconds to execute her attack, have a 0.3 second backswing, and then be able to attack again after the remaining 0.8 seconds. The backswing can be canceled, but that does not change her BAT cooldown. If her backswing animation were to be canceled immediately, she would take 0.4 seconds to execute an attack and then take 1.1 seconds of remaining wait time before her next attack. This practice is known as animation canceling and is extremely useful when chasing down other heroes. By canceling the backswing and performing other actions such as moving or spell casting during the BAT cooldown period, it allows the hero to act rather than standing still.

Just as the duration of BAT scales as BAT ⃷ (1 + (IAS ⃷ 100)), attack time also scales as Attack Point ⃷ (1 + (IAS ⃷ 100)) and Backswing ⃷ (1 + (IAS ⃷ 100)). In the previous Windranger example (no items and level 1), her Attack Point would equal 0.341 and her Backswing would equal 0.256.

The only exception to the above rules occurs when the units attack point is greater than their BAT. In this situation, the unit`s attack point is used as the unit`s BAT instead. The only unit for which this is the case is Witch Doctor`s Death Ward.

Cast Time

Like attack time, all heroes have a cast time. Cast times are static and cannot be changed. BAT does not apply to spell casting either. They are written as:
Cast Point + Backswing = Cast Time

Some abilities have a reduced cast point, while others have a extended cast time or even 0 instant cast time. Animation canceling during the cast point will not release the spell or put it on cooldown.

Version History

Patch Version Balance Changes
6.83
  • Maximum Attack Speed increased from 500 to 600 (the primary impact of this is on abilities like Windranger`s Focus Fire and Ursa`s Overpower)
6.81
  • Attack Speed now always continually adjusts based on the latest modifications applied to the unit