Grimstroke is a control-heavy support who turns positioning mistakes into lost fights. He slows, silences, stuns, and links enemies so that one target’s pain is shared by another. This guide explains his lore, abilities, item paths, and practical tactics in Dota 2.
Table of Contents
Lore: Ashkavor’s Cost
The peoples of Ashkavor gathered to witness a sacred ascension. Grimstroke, hungry for power, tainted the ritual with corrupted ink. The ink consumed him and his kin, binding their souls to his own. Now he fights with phantasms and ink that embody that ruin.
“I’ll paint this world as I see fit.”
His kit mirrors that past: ink trails, a returning phantom, and a chain that binds two foes. Every tool carries the theme of shared suffering and control.
Role and Identity
Grimstroke fits four tags: Support, Nuker, Disabler, and Escape. He thrives on long cast ranges and punishing, short-cooldown spells. He is fragile, mana-hungry, and depends on timing and team coordination. Play from the back, set up fights, and let allies capitalize.
How Grimstroke Wins Fights
Grimstroke excels when he forces choices the enemy cannot answer. He slows one side, silences the other, then chains both with Soulbind. His pressure starts early with lane chip damage from Stroke of Fate. Later, a well-timed Ink Swell turns allied initiations into multi-hero stuns.
Abilities
Stroke of Fate (Q)
Grimstroke paints a fast path of ink that damages and slows enemies in a line. Damage increases for each unit hit during its travel.
- Range: up to 1400 (talent 2400); projectile speed ~2000.
- Damage: 100/160/220/280 base + 20/30/40/50 per unit hit.
- Slow: 50%/60%/70%/80% for 1.75s.
- Cooldown/Mana: 11/9/7/5 sec; 100/110/120/130 mana.
The projectile grants brief vision as it travels and on each hit. It applies damage before the slow and scales with wave and creep hits.
Use it to: chip in lane, secure range creeps, stack camps, and start chases. Compensate for the cast animation by aiming when enemies commit to actions.
Phantom’s Embrace (W)
Grimstroke sends a phantom that latches, deals damage over time, and silences. If it completes the latch, it rends for heavy damage and refreshes the cooldown.
- Range: 900. Phantom spawns ~150 units in front and travels at ~1150 speed.
- Durability: takes 2/2/3/3 hero attacks (towers ignore it); more hits from creeps.
- Damage: 10/20/30/40 per second while latched + 120/200/280/360 rend.
- Latch duration: 5s; successful return skips cooldown by 36/30/24/18s.
- Cooldown/Mana: 36/30/24/18 sec; 80/100/120/140 mana.
It cannot be disjointed by enemies and provides vision over its target. It dies if the target becomes invisible, invulnerable, or dies.
Use it to: force attention in lane, secure silences on spellcasters, and fish for resets. Pair it with ally disables so the phantom survives the latch window.
Ink Swell (E)
Covers an ally in ink, granting move speed and damaging nearby enemies with tendrils. After up to 5 seconds, it stuns and deals burst damage based on time near enemy heroes.
- Range: 500/600/700/800; Radius: 375 (talent 525).
- Buff time: 5s; Max stun: 1.3/1.8/2.3/2.8s; Expire damage: 90/180/270/360.
- DoT: 25/40/55/70 per second (instances every 0.2s).
- MS bonus: 20% (talent 32%).
- Cooldown/Mana: 27/24/21/18 sec; 120/130/140/150 mana.
Shard upgrade: +30% damage, heals the target for 30% of damage dealt, and applies a strong dispel on expiration.
You can trigger the explosion early with Ink Explosion (sub-ability).
Use it to: ride initiations, chase or retreat, and counter-initiate when enemies jump.
On mobile allies (Blink, dashes), it reliably lands multi-hero stuns.
Dark Portrait (Scepter)
Creates a spell-immune ink illusion of an enemy hero with bonus attack damage and move speed.
- Range: 1200; Duration: 25s.
- Illusion: 150% damage dealt, 350% damage taken, +30% move speed, +95% magic resistance.
- Cooldown/Mana: 35 sec; 200 mana.
Illusions are distinguishable, spawn offset from the target, and can’t be instantly killed by typical illusion-kill effects. They benefit from the target’s damage auras and passives that affect illusions.
Use it to: pressure physical carries and add safe DPS in long fights. It pairs well with Soulbind when you copy a high-DPS target.
Soulbind (R)
Binds a primary enemy to the nearest ally in a radius, leashing both together. Unit-targeted abilities cast on one also copy to the other.
- Range: 700/800/900; Latch radius: 600; Break distance: 700.
- Duration: 6/7/8s.
- Cooldown/Mana: 70/65/60 sec; 150/200/250 mana.
- Pierces debuff immunity for vision and copying, with specific notes on connections.
- Scepter: grants Dark Portrait.
If the chain breaks, the primary target re-links to the next valid enemy in range. The link exposes both targets and applies true sight.
Use it to: amplify single-target spells and items across two heroes. Time it with ally nukes, disables, and bounce spells for decisive swings.
Lane and Midgame Plan
Keep early trades simple. Use Stroke of Fate to hit enemy heroes when they go for last hits, and secure ranged creeps. At level 3–4, combine Phantom’s Embrace with a partner’s disable. If the lane is passive, farm small stacks with Stroke of Fate’s scaling damage. As fights begin, play from max range. Open with Soulbind when two enemies are close, or hold it to catch a second target after a pick.
Itemization
Starting: Tango, Healing Salve, Enchanted Mango, Clarity, and Iron Branch.
These keep you casting and healthy in lane.
Early: Boots of Speed, Magic Stick/Wand.
You need movement to position and a small burst of mana and health.
Mid: Arcane Boots cover high mana use and can be disassembled into Aether Lens or Aeon Disk.
Glimmer Cape helps you escape or approach for Ink Swell setups.
Late core: Aether Lens for range and mana regen, Scythe of Vyse to hard-disable two heroes under Soulbind, Aeon Disk to survive dives.
If the game opens up, Boots of Travel let you push waves fast thanks to Stroke of Fate.
Situational:
Force Staff for chase or escape; Dagon with Soulbind for burst on two targets;
Ethereal Blade to amplify magical damage and disarm a phantom’s victim;
Orchid Malevolence to add another silence, potentially affecting up to three targets with the right chain.
Combos and Execution
Lane Patterns
Chip with Stroke of Fate whenever multiple units line up. Cast Phantom’s Embrace after a slow or stun so it survives to rend. If an enemy commits, cast Ink Swell on your carry or on yourself to threaten a stun. The move speed bonus flips chases and retreats.
Midfight Patterns
Look for pairs close enough for Soulbind. Once linked, aim unit-target spells and items at the primary target to duplicate value. If your team has bounce or chain spells, hold Soulbind until you can keep both heroes close. It also anchors enemies for big AoE channels.
Notable Interactions with Soulbind
(Single bullet list section, as requested)
- Assassinate (Sniper): fires at the primary target, then the secondary, sharing damage so each effectively gets hit twice.
- Duel (Legion Commander): both bound enemies duel LC; if she dies, both gain damage.
- Winter’s Curse: affects both bound enemies; their teammates attack the closest one.
- Sunder (Terrorblade): health transfers involve both bound targets and TB as specified.
- Nether Strike / Static Link: can affect only the secondary target by rule.
- Nether Swap (Vengeful Spirit): swaps positions among VS and both bound targets in sequence.
- Life Break (Huskar): jumps first to primary, then to secondary, dealing damage on each jump.
- Arcane Bolt, Mystic Snake, Fatal Bonds, Multicast, Fortune’s End: gain extra casts or doubled effects per the ability’s notes when Soulbind is active.
These interactions make Soulbind a force multiplier. Plan fights around heroes and items that gain the most from duplicated casts.
Practical Tips
Stroke of Fate
Use it to pull ahead on lane trades and to control waves. Aim when enemies stop to attack or cast, since the spell has a cast animation. Its long line can stack multiple camps at once. It also slows from far away to help allies secure kills.
Phantom’s Embrace
Do not send it into ready focus-fire without setup; two hero hits kill low levels fast. Use it to scout and track evasive targets because it grants shared vision. Cast after enemies use invisibility or invulnerability. On levels 3–4, it becomes a lane win condition if it latches.
Ink Swell
Place it on an initiator with Blink or high mobility for reliable stuns. Use it to peel for allies by forcing enemies to back off or get stunned. With Shard, it doubles as a dispel and a heal at the end. Trigger Ink Explosion early if the window is closing.
Dark Portrait
Target physical carries or heroes whose illusions scale well. Use the illusion to safely apply pressure or to help land Ink Swell when alone.
Soulbind
Cast when two enemies are already near each other. If the chain breaks, it rebinds from the primary target, so keep eyes on spacing. Pair with single-target items like Scythe of Vyse and Orchid. It shines in team comps with strong single-target nukes or bounces.
Pros and Cons in Practice
Grimstroke offers long range, multiple slows and disables, and strong AoE presence. He doubles ally spell impact through Soulbind and punishes clumped play. He is squishy, mana intensive, and suffers under silences and stuns. He demands coordination and precise timing across his entire kit.
A Forward Look
Grimstroke rewards players who value control over chaos. As you learn enemy movement and cast habits, your ink will shape every fight. Keep your range, track cooldowns, and call your links. When your team plays to your chain windows, the canvas often ends up black.
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