Kez

Agility ・ Melee ・ Hard

Carry 3Escape 2Disabler 1

Patch 7.41f2026-09-15 released ・ Game data Client 6969（Oct 27 2026）

Stats

Attributes (base and gain per level)

Strength20 (+2.8/Lv)
Agility27 (+3.5/Lv)
Intelligence20 (+1.7/Lv)

Attack

Damage22–28
Base attack time1.9s
Base attack speed100
Attack range225
Attack point0.35s
Projectile speed900

Defense and movement

Base armor1
Magic resistance25%
Movement speed310
Turn rate1
Health regen1.5
Vision (day / night)1800 / 800

These are the base values written in the game files. Totals derived from attributes (HP, mana, armor) depend on engine-side formulas, so no estimated values are shown.

Recommended items

Items the in-game shop recommends for this hero (curated by Valve). These are not win-rate statistics.

Abilities

Echo Slash

Cooldown 21 / 18 / 15 / 12sMana 75 / 90 / 105 / 120PHYSICAL

ActiveCooldown 21 / 18 / 15 / 12sMana 75 / 90 / 105 / 120

Kez slashes forward in a 800 distance line with his Katana, attacking enemies in an area and applying a brief 100% impact slow. After a short delay, the area is attacked again. Heroes take bonus damage.

Raw values (from the game files)（9）

%ATTACK DAMAGE	70 / 80 / 90 / 100
BONUS HERO DAMAGE	20 / 40 / 60 / 80
ATTACKS	2
ECHO DELAY	1.2
SLASH RADIUS	200
`katana_distance`	800
`travel_distance`	250
`tag_slow`	100
`tag_slow_duration`	0.25

Destroys trees. Doesn't apply Cleave.

Grappling Claw

Cooldown 13 / 11 / 9 / 7sMana 40Range 650 / 750 / 850 / 950

ActiveCooldown 13 / 11 / 9 / 7sMana 40Range 650 / 750 / 850 / 950

Kez swings on a grappling hook towards the target unit or tree. When the grappling hook collides with the target, that unit has slowed movement speed. Upon reaching the enemy target, Kez lands an attack on them.

Raw values (from the game files)（6）

`land_distance`	75
`projectile_speed`	3000
`grapple_speed`	1800
`max_distance_break`	2000
SLOW DURATION	0.7 / 0.8 / 0.9 / 1.0
%MOVE SLOW	70 / 80 / 90 / 100

Patch history

7.412026-03-24

When targeting a tree, now always destroys the targeted tree and ends in the tree's position

Kazurai Katana

Cooldown 24 / 18 / 12 / 6sMana 40Range 200PHYSICAL

ActiveCooldown 24 / 18 / 12 / 6sMana 40Range 200

Katana attacks and abilities apply a stacking damage over time to enemies that deals a percentage of the original attack's damage as additional damage over time. Kez may activate the ability to impale the target with his attack, preventing them from moving or turning. The target's Katana debuff bursts, causing some of the stacks to deal damage instantly.

Raw values (from the game files)（5）

DURATION	7
%DAMAGE PER SECOND	3 / 6 / 9 / 12
IMPALE DURATION	0.5
%STACKS AS BURST DAMAGE	50
MAX BURST STACKS	500

Patch history

7.41d2026-06-04

Cooldown increased from 20/15/10/5s to 24/18/12/6s

7.402025-12-15

Damage per second rescaled from 5/7/9/11 to 3/6/9/12%
The active effect may only trigger up to a maximum of 500 stacks
Aghanim's Shard now also increases Max Stacks to 1000 and stack as burst damage from 50% to 100%Aghanim's Shard

Switch DisciplineInnate

Cooldown 8s

ActiveCooldown 8s

Kez switches between his Kazurai Katana and Shodo Sai. He gains different attack capabilities and abilities based on the weapon equipped. The abilities level up together, and when an ability is used, the associated alternate weapon ability also goes on cooldown. Kez deals extra damage on the first Katana hit or ability after switching to Katana, and gains bonus speed after switching to Sai.

Raw values (from the game files)（11）

KATANA MOVEMENT SPEED	0
KATANA ATTACK RANGE	225
KATANA BASE ATTACK TIME	1.9
%KATANA BONUS AGILITY BASE DAMAGE	12
%KATANA SWAP BONUS DAMAGE	12
SAI MOVEMENT SPEED	0
SAI ATTACK RANGE	150
SAI BASE ATTACK TIME	1.5
%SAI SWAP MOVEMENT SPEED	12
SAI SWAP SPEED DURATION	2
`scepter_cooldown_timer`	3

Patch history

7.41d2026-06-04

Katana Bonus Agility Base Damage decreased from 16% to 12%

7.412026-03-24

Cooldown changed from 7.75s - 0.25s per level up to 8s - 0.25s per level有効値は変更なし
Now the first katana hit or ability will deal 12% bonus damage after switching to Katana, and after switching to Sai Kez gains +12% movement speed for 2 seconds
Aghanim's Scepter no longer restarts the alternate ability cooldown if it was already on cooldownAghanim's Scepter

7.40b2025-12-23

Katana Base Attack Time worsened from 1.8s to 1.9s
Katana Bonus Agility Base Damage increased from 12% to 16%
Can no longer be disabled by Silence

7.402025-12-15

Cooldown reduction per level increased from 0.2s to 0.25s
Cooldown on level 1 decreased from 7.8s to 7.75s
Cooldown on level 30 decreased from 2s to 0.5s
Katana Base Attack Time improved from 2.0s to 1.8s
Katana Bonus Agility Base Damage decreased from 20% to 12%

Raptor Dance

Cooldown 40 / 35 / 30sMana 100 / 125 / 150PURE

ActiveCooldown 40 / 35 / 30sMana 100 / 125 / 150

Kez enters into an uncontrollable state for 1.0 second, becoming invulnerable for 0.2s and receiving a basic dispel. If the cast completes successfully, Kez performs a series of deadly radial slashes around him that deal damage based on the max health of the target and heal Kez for a percentage of all damage dealt.

Raw values (from the game files)（9）

`strike_interval`	0.25
STRIKES	4
RADIUS	450
BASE DAMAGE	40 / 70 / 100
%MAX HEALTH AS DAMAGE	2.5
%SLASH LIFESTEAL	100
`illusion_lifesteal_pct`	20
`invuln_period`	0.2
`basic_dispel`	1

Slash Lifesteal is reduced to 20% when slashing a creep or an illusion.

Patch history

7.41a2026-03-27

Base Damage increased from 30/60/90 to 40/70/100

7.412026-03-24

No longer provides magic damage immunity

Falcon Rush

Cooldown 21 / 18 / 15 / 12sMana 85 / 90 / 95 / 100

ActiveCooldown 21 / 18 / 15 / 12sMana 85 / 90 / 95 / 100

Kez gains the ability to rush towards enemy targets to deliver echoing secondary attacks. While in this state, Kez has phased collision and slow resistance.

Raw values (from the game files)（7）

RUSH RANGE	525
RUSH SPEED	850
%ECHO ATTACK DAMAGE	30 / 35 / 40 / 45
%SLOW RESISTANCE	15 / 30 / 45 / 60
DURATION	3.75 / 4.5 / 5.25 / 6.0
`break_range`	825
%ECHO PROC CHANCE REDUCTION	50

Does not work on buildings.

Patch history

7.40b2025-12-23

Can no longer rush towards buildings or trigger on them
Echo Attack Damage decreased from 35/40/45/50% to 30/35/40/45%

7.402025-12-15

No longer causes Kez to have a fixed attack rate or any interaction with attack speed
Echo Attack Damage decreased from 45/55/65/75% to 35/40/45/50%
Echoes now have 50% reduced chance to proc random effects
Echo with Maelstrom (25% chance) will have a 12.5% chance to proc its passive
Echoes can no longer trigger Marks, but may still create them
However, their chance to mark will be reduced from 18% to 9% due to the proc chance change mentioned before
Rush Speed decreased from 1000 to 850

Talon Toss

Cooldown 13 / 11 / 9 / 7sMana 60 / 65 / 70 / 75Range 650 / 750 / 850 / 950PHYSICAL

ActiveCooldown 13 / 11 / 9 / 7sMana 60 / 65 / 70 / 75Range 650 / 750 / 850 / 950

Kez throws a Sai at the target unit, applying a fixed damage attack and silence.

Raw values (from the game files)（4）

RADIUS	0
DAMAGE	60 / 120 / 180 / 240
`speed`	2000
SILENCE DURATION	2.0 / 2.25 / 2.5 / 2.75

The fixed damage attack has True Strike.

Patch history

7.412026-03-24

Cast Range decreased from 1200 to 650/750/850/950グラップルクローと同様になる

Shodo Sai

Cooldown 24 / 18 / 12 / 6sMana 30 / 20 / 10 / 0

ActiveCooldown 24 / 18 / 12 / 6sMana 30 / 20 / 10 / 0

Kez has a chance to critically strike the target when attacking with Sais. Kez may activate the ability to disarm himself, lock his facing, and parry attacks and attack effects from the targeted direction for 1.5 seconds. If an attack is parried from an enemy Hero in this way, that Hero is stunned for 0.4s and gains a Mark. When a Marked target is attacked by Kez, it will guarantee a critical strike and stun the target. The sub-ability may be used to cancel the blocking early.

Raw values (from the game files)（11）

%CRITICAL CHANCE	20
%CRITICAL DAMAGE	125 / 150 / 175 / 200
MARK STUN DURATION	0.5 / 0.6 / 0.7 / 0.8
MARK DURATION	8.0
`forward_angle`	180
`speed_penalty`	25
`parry_duration`	1.5
%PARRY BONUS CRITICAL STRIKE	0
PARRY BONUS MARK STUN	0
`parry_stun_duration`	0.4
`parry_only_heroes`	1

Patch history

7.41d2026-06-04

Cooldown increased from 20/15/10/5s to 24/18/12/6s
Parry Duration decreased from 2s to 1.5s

7.412026-03-24

The proc effect now triggers a critical strike only instead of creating a Mark
18% Chance to Mark replaced with 20% Critical Strike Chance
As a result, marks are applied only by parrying and casting Raven's Veil
No longer restricts Kez from proccing passive Bash spells of Skull Basher and Abyssal Blade
Mark Stun Duration increased from 0.4s to 0.5/0.6/0.7/0.8s
No longer has a parry bonus by default
Now upgraded with Aghanim's ShardAghanim's Shard
Parrying creates a stronger mark that will stun the target for an additional 0.2s and an a crit bonus of 50%

7.402025-12-15

Marked Stun Duration decreased from 0.5s to 0.4s
Parry Stun Duration decreased from 0.5s to 0.4s

Raven's Veil

Cooldown 40 / 35 / 30sMana 100 / 125 / 150Range 0

ActiveCooldown 40 / 35 / 30sMana 100 / 125 / 150Range 0

Kez releases a wave of smoke that applies his Mark to nearby enemy heroes, briefly reducing their vision. Kez receives a basic dispel and gains bonus movement speed and invisibility until he attacks or casts a spell.

Raw values (from the game files)（8）

WAVE RADIUS	1500
WAVE SPEED	1500
BUFF DURATION	8 / 10 / 12
VISION DEBUFF DURATION	4.0
%BONUS MOVEMENT SPEED	15 / 25 / 35
%SLOW	0
`basic_dispel`	1
`mark_only_heroes`	1

Patch history

7.41a2026-03-27

Buff Duration increased from 7/8/9s to 8/10/12s

Cancel

Cooldown 0.0sRange 0

ActiveCooldown 0.0sRange 0

Stop blocking physical attacks.

Talents

Level 25	+80% Shodo Sai Critical Strike	+1 Echo Slash Attack
Level 20	+3.5% Kazurai Katana Damage Per Second	=40 Bonus Attack Speed During Falcon Rush
Level 15	+2.0s Falcon Rush Duration	+1 Raptor Dance Strike
Level 10	+6% Switch Discipline Swap Bonuses	+50 Raptor Dance Radius

One of the two per level is chosen. They appear in the order registered in the game files.

Patch history (hero and talents)

7.41f2026-09-15

Base Damage decreased by 1
Damage at level 1 decreased from 50-56 to 49-55

Talents

Level 20 Talent Kazurai Katana Damage Per Second decreased from +4% to +3.5%

7.41d2026-06-04

Talents

Level 10 Talent +12% Magic Resistance replaced with +6% Switch Discipline Swap Bonusesカタナのスワップボーナスダメージは12%から18%に、サイのスワップ移動速度は12%から18%になる

7.412026-03-24

Base Movement Speed decreased from 315 to 310
Base Attack Speed decreased from 110 to 100

Talents

Level 25 Talent +100% Shodo Sai Mark Critical Strike replaced with +80% Shodo Sai Critical Strike

7.40b2025-12-23

Talents

Level 20 Talent Attack Speed During Falcon Rush decreased from +60 to +40

7.402025-12-15

Base Strength increased from 19 to 20

Talents

Level 20 Talent +50% Attack Damage Added to Talon Toss replaced with +60 Attack Speed During Falcon Rush

Background

"I was born with a price on my head. As I got better at causing trouble, that price went up. Every time Queen Imperia raised the bounty, I knew I must have done something right. I think that's the worst part about being gone so long in Icewrack... I've got to get that price back up to a respectable number."

Details

Internal name	`npc_dota_hero_kez`
Hero ID	145
Aliases / search terms	bird samurai, kestrel, Kez, ケズ, けず, kezu, ケストレル, けすとれる, kesutoreru