
“ | Let the army of the damned rise!
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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[]
- Strong resistance against physical and low health attacker
- High sustain thanks to Death Coil and Frostmourne Hungers
- Powerful crowd control with Howling Blast, Frozen Tempest and Summon Sindragosa
- Shields plenty of damage with Summon Sindragosa or Army Of The Dead
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]

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.

Mana: 60
Cooldown: 10 seconds
Root enemies within the target area for 1.25 seconds and deals 70.72 (+4% per level) damage.

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[]

Cooldown: 10 seconds
Activate to make Arthas's next Basic Attack strike immediately, do 99 increased damage, and restore 30 Mana.
Heroic Abilities[]

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.

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[]

Tier 1 (Hero Level 1)
Quest: Use Frostmourne Hungers on an enemy Hero.
Reward: Increases the Mana it restores by 4, to a maximum of 40, and its damage by 4.

Tier 1 (Hero Level 1)
Quest: Root enemy Heroes with Howling Blast.
Reward: After rooting 5 Heroes, Howling Blast's cooldown is reduced by 2 seconds.
Reward: After rooting 10 Heroes, Howling Blast's range is increased by 30%.
Reward: After rooting 20 Heroes, Howling Blast also roots enemies in its path.

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[]

Tier 2 (Hero Level 4)
Frozen Tempest Mana cost reduced by 4 per second. Quest: Damage enemy Heroes with Frozen Tempest.
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.

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%.

Tier 2 (Hero Level 4)
Reduces Death Coil's cooldown by 3 seconds and increase its range by 30%.
Tier 3, Hero Level 7[]

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.

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[]

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.

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[]

Tier 5 (Hero Level 13)
Enemy Heroes hit by Howling Blast have their Armor reduced by 15 for 4 seconds.

Tier 5 (Hero Level 13)
Reduces Frostmourne Hungers' cooldown by 2 seconds. Frostmourne Hungers also slows the enemy by 50% for 1.5 seconds.

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[]

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.

Tier 6 (Hero Level 16)
Increases the amount of Basic Attacks empowered by Frostmourne Hungers to 2.

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[]

Tier 7 (Hero Level 20)
3 additional Ghouls are created. Ghouls heal for an additional 50% and last 5 seconds longer.

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.

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.

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[]
Effective against[]
Effective foes[]
Skins[]
- The Lich King (base)
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The Lich King | Saronite | Tundra | Tarnished ![]() |
- Frost Wyrm
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.
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Frost Wyrm | Flesh | Unholy |
- Death God
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.
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Death God | Beryl | Sanguine |
- Crown Prince
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.
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Crown Prince | Kul Tiras | Dalaran |
- Mystic Kingdoms
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.
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Mystic Kingdoms | Frozen | Shadow | Royal ![]() |
- Crimson Count
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.
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Crimson Count | Toxic | Shadow | Consecrated ![]() |
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(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 February 6, 2018) Note: Royal Mystic Kingdom skin added.
(Patch March 28, 2017) Note: Physical Armor decreased from 15 to 10.
(Patch March 14, 2017) Note: Health increased from 2404 to 2524; Health Regeneration increased from 5.0117 to 5.2578; Basic Attack damage reduced from 99 to 95.
(Patch January 4, 2017) Note: Now has 15 Physical Armor.
(Patch May 17, 2016) Note: 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 April 19, 2016) Note: Crimson Count Arthas’ Health bar will now appear much closer to his Hero model while in bat form.
(Patch February 2, 2016) Note: All Arthas Skins and Skin Variations have received facial animations.
References[]
- ↑ 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
- ↑ 2016-11-21, BlizzCon 2016 Heroes of the Storm Deep Dive Panel Transcript. Blizzplanet, accessed on 2016-11-21
- ↑ Charles Onyett. 2011-10-21. Blizzard DOTA isn't More of the Same. IGN. Accessed 2012-05-13.