Lion's Finger of Death is one of Dota 2's most iconic ultimate abilities: a single-target nuke that deals enormous burst damage to one enemy hero and permanently increases in damage with each kill it earns. At maximum stacks, Finger of Death becomes one of the highest single-hit damage abilities in the game.
Finger of Death: Ability Overview
Type: Single-target nuke Damage type: Magical Base damage: Scales by level (level 6, 12, 18)
Stack mechanic: Each time Finger of Death kills an enemy hero, Lion gains a permanent stack that increases the ability's future damage. After casting Finger of Death, Lion switches from ranged to melee attacks with a fixed 250 range and gains 40 + 30 damage per stack for 20 seconds.
After casting Finger of Death, Lion switches from ranged to melee attacks with a fixed 250 range and gains 40 + 30 damage per stack for 20s. Enemies killed within 3s of being punched will add Finger of Death stacks. Attacks during melee buff also have a 50% cleave damage with 650 distance.
Does Lotus Orb Reflect Finger of Death?
No. Lotus Orb reflects targeted spells back at the caster, but Finger of Death's projectile mechanic and damage application are structured so that it does not interact with Lotus Orb's reflect in the way players might expect.
The full interaction: Lotus Orb creates a shell that reflects the next targeted spell. Finger of Death is a targeted unit spell. Casting it on an enemy with Lotus Orb active will reflect the effect back to Lion. This means: Lotus Orb does reflect Finger of Death — it hits Lion instead of the target. This is an important mechanic to respect when selecting targets. Never cast Finger of Death on an enemy hero you know has Lotus Orb active.
Finger of Death Cosmetics
Lion is one of Dota 2's most popular support heroes and has an extensive cosmetic collection. Finger of Death-specific cosmetics include custom particle effects on his arm and the projectile itself:
- Arcana cosmetics (if applicable): some cosmetic tiers for Lion feature altered Finger of Death visual effects
- Custom spell effects from sets: several community-created sets include custom particle effects for Finger of Death's casting animation and projectile
The most notable cosmetic interaction is that higher-tier items change the appearance of the finger itself and the projectile's arc, color, and impact effect.
Finger of Death Damage at High Stack Count
Without stacks, Finger of Death at level 18 deals approximately 600 to 700 magical damage base. With high stack counts from multiple kills over a long game, the additional damage per stack compounds significantly. In late-game scenarios with 10+ stacks, Finger of Death can deal over 1,500 magical damage to a single target in one click.
Lion's Full Ability Kit
Earth Spike: Ruptures the earth in a line, lifting enemies into the air and stunning them. Up to 2.2 second stun.
Hex: Transforms an enemy hero into a harmless critter, disabling all abilities and items for the duration. One of the strongest disables in the game.
Mana Drain: Drains mana from an enemy unit per second. Silences the target and removes their MP, making it an effective counter to mana-intensive heroes.
Finger of Death: Single-target nuke with kill stack mechanic.
Best Items for Lion
- Aether Lens: extends cast range of all abilities; critical for safe Hex and Earth Spike placement
- Blink Dagger: initiates on isolated targets from safe distance
- Aghanim's Scepter: upgrades Finger of Death to chain between nearby enemies
- Force Staff: escape and repositioning when caught out
Play Lion with ExitLag
Lion's combo relies on landing Earth Spike, Hex, and Finger of Death in rapid succession. Latency between each cast can allow an enemy to react or use an item. ExitLag minimizes the delay between your Lion's cast inputs and Valve's server.
Download ExitLag and try it free.
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