Dota 2: The Ultimate Guide for Carry Kez

Recently, Valve introduced a new hero, Kez, that many believe could revolutionize the game. This character is appreciated for its unique mechanics and concept, which harken back to the origins of Dota 2. It’s important to note that the hero is complex and will require significant training to master. The Blix team will closely examine the hero’s statistics, abilities, builds, and talents in this article.

Dota 2: hero Kez

Main Attributes

Dota 2: Kez Attributes

The new hero is a melee agility catcher with impressive stats:

• Agility: 3.5 per level — that’s above average.
• Strength: 2.6 per level — provides a good amount of health.
• Intelligence: 1.7 is pretty low, which can be a problem when you have a lot of active skills.
• Movement Speed: 315 —  one of the highest base movement speeds in the game.

The hero can switch between two modes: Katana and Dagger, altering their abilities and basic stats.

Katana Mode

• The weapon delivers high damage and features an increased attack radius.
• Slow attack speed (base time 2.0).

Dagger Mode

• Normal damage and standard attack radius.
• Reduced base attack time (1.5).

Abilities

First Ability

Dota 2: Kez Falcon Rush

• Dagger Mode: A buff that lasts 9 seconds (or 11 seconds if you have the talent).
  • A passive ability, similar to Phantom Lancer’s, allows the hero to instantly rush to the target after an attack.
  • Dual attacks that inflict double damage. The second strike activates all effects, including bash, lifesteal, and passives.
  • The minus – a fixed attack interval, which results in a decrease in attack speed.
    
• Tip: You can switch to the Katana to offset its slow base attack speed when under the buff. This buff maximizes the hero’s effectiveness in fights.
  
• Katana Mode: Lunge forward to attack all enemies, similar to Ember Spirit’s Sleight of Fist, dealing increased damage and applying a slowdown effect. Useful for farming or escaping.
  

Second Ability

Dota 2: Kez Grappling Claw

• Dagger Mode: Magical area-of-effect (AoE) spell that deal heavy damage and have a short silence duration of 2.5 seconds. This spell is useful for crowd control and farming resources.
  
• Katana Mode: A hook throw that pulls the hero towards the target and deals an instant attack with 100% lifesteal.
  
  Tip: The dash in katana mode loses importance when the dagger buff is activated, as the hero can move freely between targets.
  

Third Ability (Passive)

Dota 2: Kez Shodo Sai

• Katana Mode: Attacks and abilities now cause bleeding that deals 10% of attack damage every second for 8 seconds (15% with the talent). Furthermore, it reduces the target’s healing by 35%.
  
• Dagger Mode: Attacks with a 17% chance leave a mark that triggers a critical hit (200% damage) on the next attack. This mark can be removed by magic damage.
  
  Active Ability: In dagger mode, the hero can block incoming damage from the front for 2 seconds. If the enemy attacks during this time, they become stunned, and the hero’s next attack deals critical damage (300%).
  
  Tip: The activatable dagger passive is ideal for direct confrontations with the enemy carry.

Ultimate Ability

Ultimate Ability — Dagger Mode

Dota 2: Kez Raven’s Veil

The ultimatum ability in Daggers mode provides:

• Invisibility for 9 seconds;
• Additional movement speed;
• Opponents within a large radius receive an enhanced mark, similar to the critical effect of the second skill, granting 300% critical damage.

The main advantage of the ultimate is their ability to reduce the visibility of enemies, similar to the Spectre passive in Dota 2. Even if enemies use Dusts, this skill will prevent them from instantly detecting you. This ability serves as your primary defensive skill. The character lacks built-in survivability, apart from the healing provided by the second Katana skill, so using the ultimates effectively can help you avoid being targeted. 

Additionally, after activating the Daggers ultimates, you can switch to Katana to deal increased damage.

Ultimate Ability — Katana Mode

Dota 2: Kez Raptor Dance

This variant is designed for an aggressive play style and is primarily used in team fights.

• Channeling for one second grants a Black King Bar (BKB) effect;
• When used successfully, it delivers four hits to nearby enemies.

Each hit deals:

• 4% of your opponents’ maximum health;
• At ability level 4, there is an additional 75 damage.

Total damage: 16% of health plus 300 damage seems small. However, keep two key points in mind:

1. Heal: You heal for 100% of the damage dealt, essential for your survivability.
2. Katana passive stacks: Each hit adds a stack, increasing the damage of the next attack by 480%. This is already comparable to Phantom Assassin’s AOE crit.

It is recommended to use this ultimate ability if:

• You need to stay engaged in the fight and deal the maximum amount of damage;
• A swift recovery of health is necessary.

You must avoid control in BKB (e.g., Basher) because it interrupts the casting and puts the ability on cooldown without any effect. However, unchecked ultimates can dodge abilities like Lina’s stun.

Aghanim’s Shard Improvement

Dota 2: Kez Shard Ability Upgrade

• For Katana: instantly deals all remaining bleed damage upon activation.
• For daggers: increases attack speed for each enemy with the mark.

Tactics and Builds

Early Game

Dota 2: Kez Early Game Items

• The primary objective is to enhance farming efficiency by improving the effectiveness of daggers and a second skill.
• Priority items: Power Treads, Magic Wand, and Orb of Corrosion (for an aggressive playstyle).

Mid Game

Dota 2: Kez Mid Game Items

It’s essential to purchase items that enhance your attacking power and survivability.

• Diffusal Blade — will increase damage and allow you to slow down enemies.
• Black King Bar — for defense against magical damage.

Late Game

Dota 2: Kez Late Game Items

• The character is completely disclosed through equipment that enhances attack speed and damage:
  
  • Satanic — to maximize your survival.
  • Monkey King Bar — against evasion.
  • Moon Shard — to increase your attack speed.
• Tip: With the dagger buff, switching to a katana offsets its slow base attack speed.
  

Countermeasures

The hero relies heavily on his first skill while in dagger mode. If this buff is dispelled by items like Eul’s Scepter, Nullifier, or abilities from Shadow Demon, the hero’s effectiveness decreases significantly. Additionally, the hero struggles to deal with AOE disables and slow effects.

Overall strategy

Katana Mode— Your primary play style, as it provides maximum damage.

• Before the battle begins:

• Activate the Daggers buff (the first skill);
• Use the second skill to apply Silence.

• Use the Katana to inflict huge damage.
• Use Katana’s ultimates to heal or evade magic damage.

If you need to escape combat or survive intense focus, switch back to daggers and utilize the passive or ultimate ability.

It is essential to monitor the Dagger Buff’s cooldown. With the talent, its duration is reduced by 11 seconds, and its cooldown is decreased by 14 seconds, resulting in a 3-second window where no damage occurs.

Features with Aghanim

Upon the purchase of the Aghanim, the following appears:

• Cooldowns for abilities reset when switching racks.
• There are no cooldowns for abilities that have already been used when switching racks.

Example of new features:

• Using Katana’s first skillet in combat was previously impossible due to the cooldown of the Daggers buff.
• Continuously apply the second Daggers skill (Silence). You can switch to Daggers, apply Silence, and then return to Katana to continue fighting.

Talents

Dota 2: Kez Talents Stats

1. Level 10: Should I prioritize mana or magic resistance? Due to high mana consumption, occasionally mana regeneration would be helpful. However, magic resistance is more critical.
2. Level 15: The duration of the Daggers’ buff is a crucial factor, as it affects the hero’s base.
3. Level 20: Passive damage is preferred. Despite the appeal of 50% misses, in the late game, enemies are likely to have MKB, and as an agility hero, you already have Butterfly evasion.
4. Level 25: It depends on your playstyle and the presence of Aghanim. Without it, the extra critical hit from Dagger Tag is less useful; however, with Aghanim, increasing the number of hits from Katana’s first skill can become a priority.

Item Build

Dota 2: Kez Item Build

The hero’s primary weakness is survivability. He resembles Juggernaut but lacks Blade Fury and Healing Ward. Consequently, you will need:

• Black King Bar (BKB), Sange and Yasha or Manta Style (to dispel a silcene);
• Basher or Desolator — for huge physical damage;
• Satanic — for maximum health and survivability.

Early Game Items:

• Power Treads, Magic Wand, Wraith Band;
• Falcon Blade — if you need more mana regeneration.

If you are experiencing difficulties with farming, consider Maelstrom, which has a lightning roll and fast attacks.

Desolator is an interesting choice, considering the physical damage from Katana’s passive; however, it lacks survivability, which can be crucial.

Skill Build

This is the optimal sequence for pumping abilities. It will allow you to farm effectively and participate in team fights.

Dota 2: Kez Skill Build

Conclusion

Kez is an eye-opener for fans of characters who deal physical damage and possess a wide range of abilities. His complex mechanics offer ample opportunities for creativity but also demand careful tactics. In the hands of a skilled player, this hero can dominate the battlefield; however, mistakes in control can render him ineffective. This hero has a high difficulty level due to his hybrid stack mechanics, but the rewards for mastering him are impressive. His strengths include powerful damage potential, healing abilities, and flexibility. However, effective resource management and a keen understanding of when to switch stances are crucial for success. While playing him in the mid lane is possible, doing so will require a high skill level to compensate for his weakness against mages. Expect to see Kez prove himself in professional games. We also recommend visiting the Reddit thread for more Dota 2 content. Good luck on the battlefield!