Orb Stacking

Items will specifically state if they are an orb effect or not. So for example, Mjollnir would stack with Crystalys. But AFAIK you can't run two Orbs at once. One or the other would have a chance to proc. Maybe this ought to be tested. :P

Slightly unrelated, but this has always bugged me -

Why exactly are "orb" effects called "orb" effects?

What is "orb walking"?

Is an orb effect basically a proc from an item? I assume so.

An orb effect is an old term from the original Warcraft 3 Dota. In Dota 2 they're called Unique Attack Modifiers--things which modify your attacks and cannot be active simultaneously with one another.

Well there are other procs that do not count as an "orb" such as Skull Basher or Critical hits. But items that are totally passive, such as lifesteal items, (with the exception of Vladimir's Offering) Desolator and even Orb of Venom all count as "orb" effects.

"Why exactly are "orb" effects called "orb" effects?"

My only answer to this is: Back in the Warcraft 3 Dota, when a melee hero got a Passive attack modifier, (idk why only melees lol) a little "orb" would spin around the hero...lol

Ah, that's cool - very simple explanation for those that have played WC3! I actually know where the term "proc" comes from - it was originally used by developers as shorthand from "Special Procedure" (that could happen). It got shortened to specproc and eventually proc. I wondered if it would be similar!

Ah, I see regarding the unique attack modifier - I remember near the start of playing DotA 2 buying a Morbid Mask on Ursa and wondering why it wouldn't work (Fury Swipes was a Unique Attack Modifier).

Well thanks for the explanation! It's certainly a weird and I'd assume simply there for archaic purposes mechanic, I see no reason why many of these are actually restricted to simply one (except a few, like maybe Ursa's Fury Swipes). As a quick example, what's so deadly about Desolator and Orb of Venom that means you can have but one? Is there any particular reason as to why these are disallowed?


I found out what "Orb Walking" was from the DotA 2 wiki page, I quote -
"Typically when you right-click on an enemy hero, the nearby creeps will agro you, and attack you. When you cast spells on enemy heroes this is not the case.
Orb-Walking involves using abilities that have Unique Attack Modifiers. Select the ability once and click on an enemy hero, this is now considered casting an ability so nearby enemy creeps will not attack you. You can repeat this as many times as necessary.
On the contrary, however, if you enable auto-cast for the Unique Attack Modifier and right-click on a hero creeps will attack you."

That's really obscure and random. I'm not a fan of mechanics that require knowledge like that - it should really tell you that it does it rather than assuming everybody already knows.

Multiple modifiers do not stack; for each attack one modifier always takes priority. The order of priority is as follows:

• Conditional Modifiers - Modifiers that only occur on some attacks and are not controlled by the player, such as Maelstrom (chance-based), Mjollnir (chance-based), and Geminate Attack (cooldown-based). If a Conditional Modifier fails to proc then a Standard or Ability Modifier will be present on the attack (if applicable)
• Ability Modifiers - Modifiers granted by Hero abilities
• Standard Modifiers - Modifiers granted by items, with the oldest one in a Hero's inventory taking priority (priority can be shifted by dropping an item and picking it up again)

If I remember correctly, Warcraft 3 Ladder had various orb items that specifically changed the way your hero attacked. For example...


Due to the nature of WC3, orbs never stacked, as it was deemed too powerful to have so many effects apply on each attack. And when DotA was created, many effects were derived from these "orb effects," such as Desolator from Orb of Corruption. Naturally, these effects did not stack with each other either, due to the underlying mechanics of WC3, and eventually, it just became part of the game's balance.

As for the original topic, Mjollnir is always an orb effect. Therefore, it should never stack with any other orb effect, such as Satanic's lifesteal, even when it procs (when it is considered both an orb and a buff placer). However, keep in mind that these are the mechanics for DotA 1, and they may have changed it when porting over to DotA 2.

By the way, I'm pretty sure Orb of Venom was never an orb effect, but merely a buff placer like Eye of Skadi. That means that you could potentially stack it with another orb effect that doesn't place buffs, such as lifesteal.

TL;DR

• Orb effects don't stack
• Buff placers don't stack
• Orb effects can stack with buff placers

I think you're thinking too hard about it. It's just saying that if you (for example) use Drow Rangers Frost Arrows by Q+Left Click on enemy, instead of simply auto attacking it, (or setting Frost Arrows to auto by right clicking them) the creeps will not attack you, so you can harass without taking creep damage, or pushing the lane.

Also, Fury Swipes will comeback into effect as soon as you get Vladimir's Offering.

Crystalys isn't an orb.

I know, that's why I said they stack. Because it does not state it is a unique attack modifier (orb effect), therefore it is not an orb, therefore they stack.