During his mortal life as the Warchief of the Orcish Horde of Draenor; Ner'zhul commanded a number of Orcish Warlocks and Shamans. Yet, when these wicked sorcerers were captured by Kil'jaeden and the Legion after the destruction of Draenor, they were transformed into twisted aberrations of their former selves. These Liches possessed tremendous magical powers, yet their immortal, undead bodies were bound to the iron will of Ner'zhul. Since the Liches showed unswerving loyalty to their master, Ner'zhul granted them control over the furious elements of the cold north. Now, Liches wield frost magic along with their own considerable necromantic spells.
Statistics[]
| Level | Attack (Ground/Air) | Armor | Strength | Agility | Intelligence | Hit Points | Mana |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22-28 [25 avg] | 2 | 15 | 14 | 20 | 475 | 300 |
| 2 | 25-31 [28 avg] | 3 | 17 | 15 | 23 | 525 | 345 |
| 3 | 28-34 [31 avg] | 3 | 19 | 16 | 26 | 575 | 390 |
| 4 | 32-38 [35 avg] | 3 | 21 | 17 | 29 | 625 | 450 |
| 5 | 35-41 [38 avg] | 3 | 23 | 18 | 33 | 675 | 495 |
| 6 | 39-45 [42 avg] | 4 | 25 | 19 | 37 | 725 | 555 |
| 7 | 42-48 [45 avg] | 4 | 27 | 20 | 40 | 775 | 600 |
| 8 | 44-51 [47 avg] | 4 | 29 | 21 | 43 | 825 | 645 |
| 9 | 49-55 [52 avg] | 5 | 31 | 22 | 47 | 875 | 705 |
| 10 | 52-58 [55 avg] | 5 | 33 | 23 | 50 | 925 | 750 |
Hero names[]
Ordin Frostbane, Ras Splinterspine, Morbent Fell, Rage Winterchill, Araj the Summoner, Kali'naj Dethknell, Rak Coldskull, Din Frostfire, Calis Wraithson, Venim Iceblade, Naze the Eternal, Ras Frostwhisper, Coldreaver, Cho'Nammoth, Kryptikk Soulslayer, Alandil Lieng.
Information[]
The Lich is the least used Undead Hero, partly because it is difficult for beginners to use him properly. The Lich is a great first or second Hero mainly for his Frost Nova ability. Frost Nova is one of the uber abilities in the game, especially when combined with the Archmage's Brilliance Aura, Mana Potions, or Dark Ritual. Frost Armor can be useful on allied Heroes, Abominations, or Frost Wyrms. Dark Ritual is rarely used but is very powerful in a skilled player's hands. Dark Ritual works very well with Necromancers because the Lich can sacrifice Skeleton Warriors. Death and Decay can be used to attack tightly packed enemy buildings or towers.
The Lich is a very fragile caster like the Human Archmage. He can easily and quickly be killed. You can attempt to counter that by casting Frost Armor on him or healing him with Death Coil. The most common way to protect him is to do a lot of running away and never get close to enemy ranged or melee units whenever possible.
- Lich Counters
It's usually not difficult to kill the Lich with Hero Killers or by surrounding with melee units or focused fire with ranged units.
Spells and Abilities[]
Frost Nova[]
- Blasts enemy units around a target enemy unit with a wave of damaging frost that slows movement and attack rate.
| Level | Duration | Cooldown | Mana Cost | Range | Area of Effect | Allowed Targets | Effect | Hero Level Req |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 (2) sec. | 8 sec. | 125 | 80 | 20 | Air, Ground, Enemy | 100 target damage, 50 nova damage | 1 |
| 2 | 6 (3) sec. | 8 sec. | 125 | 80 | 20 | Air, Ground, Enemy | 100 target damage, 100 nova damage | 3 |
| 3 | 8 (4) sec. | 8 sec. | 125 | 80 | 20 | Air, Ground, Enemy | 100 target damage, 150 nova damage | 5 |
People pick the Lich just for the Frost Nova ability. It is a very powerful ability that is up there with Chain Lightning. Frost Nova can take a chunk out of enemy units and destroy low hit point units such as ranged units and spell casters. The second benefit of Frost Nova is that it slows enemy units so it's great to use when they are trying to run away.
Use Mana Potions to cast Frost Nova more often. Use Dark Ritual so you can get more Mana to cast Frost Nova.
Frost Armor (Auto Cast)[]
- Creates a shield of frost around a target friendly unit. The shield adds armor and slows melee units that attack it.
| Level | Duration | Cooldown | Mana Cost | Range | Area of Effect | Allowed Targets | Effect | Hero Level Req |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 45 sec. | 2 sec. | 40 | 80 | Unit | Air, Ground, Friend, Self | Adds 3 armor, 5 seconds of cold | 1 |
| 2 | 45 sec. | 2 sec. | 40 | 80 | Unit | Air, Ground, Friend, Self | Adds 5 armor, 5 seconds of cold | 3 |
| 3 | 45 sec. | 2 sec. | 40 | 80 | Unit | Air, Ground, Friend, Self | Adds 7 armor, 5 seconds of cold | 5 |
Frost Armor is useful for protecting allied Heroes and the Lich Itself. You can also cast Frost Armor on powerful units such as Abominations, Frost Wyrms, Knights, Tauren, and Bears to allow them to last longer. The slow ability is also useful because enemy units attacking a unit with Frost Armor will be slowed for 5 seconds.
Frost Armor only slows units that attack the unit with a Melee attack.
Frost reduces movement by 50% and attack speed by 25%.
Dark Ritual[]
- Sacrifices a target friendly unit to convert its hit points into mana for the Lich.
| Level | Duration | Cooldown | Mana Cost | Range | Area of Effect | Allowed Targets | Effect | Hero Level Req |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | N/A | 15 sec. | 25 | 80 | Unit | Air, Ground, Player, Non Hero | 33% HP to mana | 1 |
| 2 | N/A | 15 sec. | 25 | 80 | Unit | Air, Ground, Player, Non Hero | 66% HP to mana | 3 |
| 3 | N/A | 15 sec. | 25 | 80 | Unit | Air, Ground, Player, Non Hero | 100% HP to mana | 5 |
Dark Ritual is rarely used but very powerful because it can make the Lich have almost unlimited Mana for Frost Nova. It's best to use Dark Ritual on Skeleton Warriors.
Death and Decay (Ultimate)[]
- Damages everything in its area of effect by 4% of its base hit points per second.
| Level | Duration | Cooldown | Mana Cost | Range | Area of Effect | Allowed Targets | Effect | Hero Level Req |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N/A | 35 sec. | 150 sec. | 250 | 100 | 30 | Air, Ground, Wards, Buildings, Trees | Damage to 4% of base HP/sec | 6 |
Death and Decay is useful for attacking enemy towns when they have packed their buildings very tightly. You can then destroy a lot of buildings and greatly damage the enemy. Death and Decay is also useful against people who build a lot of towers.
Death and Decay can be used to clear away trees.
- Death and Decay Counters
This spell must be maintained to get the full effect. If the spell is interrupted, it will not reach its full power. The caster must not move while casting. Attack the Lich and force him to move which will cancel the Death and Decay.
You can interrupt this spell with spells such as:
- Humans: Mountain King - Storm Bolt
- Humans: Mountain King - Bash (uncastable on air units)
- Orcs: Raider - Ensnare
- Orcs: Tauren Chieftain - War Stomp (uncastable on air units)
- Orcs: Witch Doctor - Stasis Trap (uncastable on air units)
- Orcs: Shadow Hunter - Hex
- Night Elves: Druid of the Talon - Cyclone (uncastable on air units)
- Night Elves: Keeper of the Grove - Entangling Roots (uncastable on air units)
- Undead: Dread Lord - Sleep
- Undead: Dread Lord - Inferno (uncastable on air units)
- Undead: Crypt Lord - Impale (uncastable on air units)
- Neutral: Dark Ranger - Silence
- Neutral: Goblin Tinker - Cluster Rockets
- Neutral: Fire Lord - Soul Burn
- Neutral: Fire Lord - Volcano
Patch Changes[]
| Patch 1.03 (10/09/2002) |
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| Patch 1.10 (7/1/2003) |
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| Patch 1.15 (5/11/2004) |
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Gallery[]
External links[]
