Chaos Knight
Fourth Rider and bringer of Armageddon, Chaos Knight is a vicious foe that taps into all the forces of Chaos to bring death and destruction to his enemies. Chaos Knight is one of the hardest damage-per-second heroes in the game, overwhelming his opponents with sheer physical damage and lockdown abilities.
Chaos Knight is currently one of the strongest heroes in Patch 7.32b, with basic changes to his talent tree that make him even stronger than he was before. With a plethora of damage and sustain abilities as well as reliable lockdown measures, Chaos Knight is one of the strongest cores that is usually played in the safe or offlane.
In this article, we will be looking at how the professionals build Chaos Knight and use his forces of Chaos to pressure and eventually seal games.
5. Ammar ATF’s Offlane Chaos Knight Build
OG’s very own position 3 player, Ammar (A.k.a ATF), shows us the pure strength and raw power of Chaos Knight in the offlane, serving as a prime initiator and explosive damage dealer at all stages of the game.
ATF’s Skill Allocation:
Level 1- Q - Chaos Bolt
Level 2 - W - Reality Rift
Level 3 - E - Chaos Strike
Level 4 - E - Chaos Strike
Level 5 - E - Chaos Strike
Level 6 - R - Phantasm
Level 7- E - Chaos Strike
Level 8 - W - Reality Rift
Level 9 - W - Reality Rift
Level 10 - W - Reality Rift
Level 11 - Q - Chaos Bolt
Level 12 - R - Phantasm
Level 13 - Q - Chaos Bolt
Level 14 - Q - Chaos Bolt
Level 15 - Left Talent
Level 16 - Left Talent
Level 18 - R- Phantasm
ATF’s Item Build:
First Buy: Two Gauntlets of Strength, Circlet, Tangoes and a Branch
The two Gauntlets of Strength with the Circlet and Branch give Chaos Knight a huge damage edge in the lane. With his already high base damage, ATF does a whopping 75 damage per auto attack in lane. This combined with his Chaos Bolt ability allows him to get in at least two auto attacks as well as the Bolt’s damage for exceptionally strong lane harass. The Tangoes, as per usual, give Chaos Knight some much needed initial healing before he levels up his passive lifesteal ability, Chaos Strike.
5 Minutes: Glove of Haste and Mango
Bought to sustain mana problems and to offer the extra edge in engagements. Primal Beast is always trying to play aggressive in the early game, making it common for more engagements and hence, charges for his stick. This item is usually non-negotiable and makes Primal Beast’s utility and up-time considerably higher.
8 Minutes: Armlet of Mordiggian
Rushing the Armlet of Mordiggian on Chaos Knight is always one of the best choices as the item is simply one of, if not the best item that you can build on Chaos Knight. The item does many things, allowing Chaos Knight to deal some incredible damage as he is a strength hero. The item improves his DPS, with the active giving a total of 60 damage as well as armor. The bonus damage further transfers directly to his illusions which make 100% use out of the damage from the item. The health tax from the active of the Armlet is also very easily offset by his Chaos Strike ability which returns the damage done from his auto attacks as healing. Additionally, the item serves as an incredible sustain item which also acts as a potential source of unlimited toggling ability, allowing you to survive some encounters that you would not normally survive.
All in all, if you play Chaos Knight, BUILD ARMLET! It is almost non-negotiable.
10 Minutes: Power Treads
Chaos Knights boots of choice are usually fixed. Power Treads is the most effective damage and stat efficient boots for Chaos Knight
14 Minutes: Echo Saber
Echo Saber is all in all, a stable choice for Chaos Knight. The extra auto attack from the item’s passive ability is a nice addition to increase the chances of proccing his Chaos Strike and gives him incredible stats which compliment his illusions. As an extra additive, the item also serves as a source of mana regeneration which is usually lacking, especially against a Phantom Lancer that tends to build Diffusal Blade which can etch away at Chaos Knight’s already meager mana pool.
18 Minutes: Blink Dagger
Blink Dagger is usually a situational pick on Chaos Knight that is important for closing the gap and initiating upon key targets the enemy team has. ATF had a number of potential targets this match he wanted to explode from the get go and closing the gap could be potentially problematic.
20 Minutes: Gem of True Sight (Gifted)
ATF was given a gem this match as a situational choice. The enemy Invoker was particularly evasive, and his team was doubly ahead. As such, the most effective source of utility in this game was for ATF to be the frontliner and disable the enemy cores. The Gem helps deny vision and puts pressure for the enemy team to secure the game. Of course, his support bought this item for him to hold and this can be hard to convince for your local matchmaking games.
26 Minutes: Satanic
ATF has built a Satanic this game to combat the multiple debuffs the Radiant team had in their arsenal. Satanic is a situational but powerful choice in matches that require a necessary purge as well as extra brawling power that enables Chaos Knight to stand amidst battle and tank for his team.
34 Minutes: Heart of Tarrasque
Heart of Tarrasque is one of the strongest items after Armlet that you can build on Chaos Knight. The huge strength bonus as well as the health pool it gives doubles for his illusions, giving his illusions and himself a massive tanking advantage. Even the strongest of carries like Phantom Lancer, who is a natural counter to Chaos Knight, found it near impossible to bring down ATF’s Phantasms, solidifying the victory for the Dire team.
4. Costabile’s Safelane Chaos Knight Build
Costabile is one of the top carry players in the world, and for good reason. Currently playing for team “nouns,” here we will take an indepth look at Costabile’s Chaos Knight in the safelane and how he builds the hero to suit the situation to gain MMR.
Costabile’s Skill Allocation:
Costabile’s build is identical to ATF’s skill build and is generally the most widely acceptable build for Chaos Knight as it balances raw damage with farmability.
Level 1- Q - Chaos Bolt
Level 2 - W - Reality Rift
Level 3 - E - Chaos Strike
Level 4 - E - Chaos Strike
Level 5 - E - Chaos Strike
Level 6 - R - Phantasm
Level 7- E - Chaos Strike
Level 8 - W - Reality Rift
Level 9 - W - Reality Rift
Level 10 - W - Reality Rift
Level 11 - Q - Chaos Bolt
Level 12 - R - Phantasm
Level 13 - Q - Chaos Bolt
Level 14 - Q - Chaos Bolt
Level 15 - Left Talent
Level 16 - Left Talent
Level 18 - R- Phantasm
Costabile’s Item Build:
First Buy: Quelling Blade, Magic Stick, 2 Branches, Gauntlet of Strength, Sentry Ward
Quelling Blade offers Costabile reliable damage when securing creep kills, especially against other high right click damage cores in lane such as Primal Beast and Tiny. Due to the low harassment potential in his lane, Costabile did not purchase any Tangoes as his innate skill ability seemed enough to deal with any potential damage from the enemy. He also played very carefully in the early game, reducing his need for consumables and instead relying on his support and his stick charges to supply him with regeneration.
4 Minutes: Boots, Tangoes, Soul Ring
Costabile opted for early boots and Soul Ring, to initiate some level of kill potential for his lane that grows exponentially stronger with a couple of extra levels. The Boots of Speed also helps with aggression and catch up, to deal with the Primal Beast who usually opts for early boots as well to compliment their trample damage. The Soul Ring is an interesting choice here and is not a common pick up for the hero. Only pick it up if you plan on being extremely aggressive as it does weaken your Phantasms as well.
6 Minutes: Power Treads
Once again, Chaos Knights boots of choice Power Treads which are the most effective damage and stat efficient boots of choice for Chaos Knight
12 Minutes: Armlet of Mordiggian
Once again, Armlet of Mordiggian is a negotiable item to pick up as it is the strongest value for money item you can pick up for the hero in the early to mid-game. For reasons aforementioned, the only difference is that Costabile built his treads first as a more aggressive choice that enables him to rotate off to different parts of the map where he is required (an uncommon behavior for the position 1 carry).
18 Minutes: Sange and Yasha
Compared to the Echo Saber, Sange and Yasha is definitely a stronger choice for Chaos Knight that boosts his damage, survivability and mobility where mana regeneration is not an issue. As Costabile had a Soul Ring and benefitted from Crystal Maiden’s passive, mana regeneration was little hindrance, meaning he could opt for other items other than the Echo Saber.
21 Minutes: Aghanim’s Shard
Costabile has opted for a Shard which allows Chaos Knight to poke and prod at enemy heroes, giving him a more Phantom Lancer playstyle rather than making him fully commit to fights. This is especially useful in this game as the enemy team had decent counter initiation tools such as Shadow Demon, who can turn Chaos Knight’s own damage against him. The Shard is a powerful pick in most matches and you should always consider getting one.
27 Minutes: Eye of Skadi
The Eye of Skadi is a very noticeable choice for Chaos Knight in that it gives incredible stats as well as a passive effect that makes brawling and running away from the hero significantly harder. The Skadi is more suited for the carry position where your team needs a little bit more chase potential while the Heart is more for the offlaner as they generally need to tank up just a little more. Either way, both items are great to pick up in your local pub matches.
3. BurNing’s Safelane Chaos Knight Build
BurNing’s Skill Allocation:
Once again, BurNing’s skill build is nearly identical to ATF and Costabile’s skill build with only minor changes to the leveling up of the talent tree.
Level 1- Q - Chaos Bolt
Level 2 - W - Reality Rift
Level 3 - E - Chaos Strike
Level 4 - E - Chaos Strike
Level 5 - E - Chaos Strike
Level 6 - R - Phantasm
Level 7- E - Chaos Strike
Level 8 - W - Reality Rift
Level 9 - W - Reality Rift
Level 10 - W - Reality Rift
Level 11 - Q - Chaos Bolt
Level 12 - R - Phantasm
Level 13 - Left Talent
Level 14 - Q - Chaos Bolt
Level 15 - Q - Chaos Bolt
Level 16 - Left Talent
Level 18 - R- Phantasm
Costabile’s Item Build:
First Buy: Quelling Blade, 2 Branches, Gauntlet of Strength, Tangoes, 2 Mangoes
BurNing’s item choice offers a bit more sustain, choosing for more mangoes to not only benefit from the passive health regeneration that they give, but offer up more kill potential. As you can see, Viper and Tusk is a strong lane combo that Chaos Knight can simply not out sustain. As such, he goes for stronger kill setups that can only be made possible with aggressive use of his Chaos Bolt and Reality Rift abilities.
1 Minutes: Bracer
Bracer is a common first item pick up for Chaos Knight especially if he does not have the luxury of rushing out early boots or an Armlet. In a Viper Lane, BurNing has chosen more Stats, increasing his kill potential and his ability to sustain in the lane.
5 Minutes: Power Treads
Once again, Chaos Knights boots of choice Power Treads which are the most effective damage and stat efficient boots of choice for Chaos Knight. BurNing does not choose to go for Armlet as the Viper can much easily kite him in lane.
11 Minutes: Armlet of Mordiggian
They say that all roads lead to Rome. And none other is more true than Chaos Knight eventually picking up an Armlet. He picks up the Armlet a minute faster than Costabile by forgoing the Soul Ring. This may be due to the fact he is more comfortable farming and still has his two mangoes available.
16 Minutes: Echo Saber
As you can see, there is a trend. Chaos needs a small source of mana regeneration and the perfect item that balances that with damage and stats is the Echo Saber.
22 Minutes: Heart of Tarrasque
A relatively early Heart of Tarrasque is usually a staple choice for Chaos Knight. Being already hard to kill, BurNing is looking to finish the game and the best item that enables him to do that is the Heart. The item not only makes him extremely tanky, but gives him the potential to frontline for his team and siege enemy towers.
36 Minutes: Overwhelming Blink
Even though the game was all but finished, Overwhelming Blink is a great pick up on Chaos Knight due to the high strength gain it gives Chaos Knight and his illusions, as well as making him a prime frontlining initiating tool.
2. BeastCoast.Wisper’s Offlane Chaos Knight Build
Wisper’s Offlane build shows us the power of Chaos Knight in the lane and high aggression in the Mid-lane. What these professional gameplay videos show us is that the Chaos Knight build does not digress far from the standard, with Armlet, Echo Saber and the same skill build being a stock standard for all games. These videos also show his dominance in lane and how more aggression is definitely better than playing defensive in the laning phase.
Wisper’s Skill Allocation:
The standard is once again to max Chaos Strike for damage and farming speed, then Reality Rift with a value point in Chaos Bolt for reliable lockdown.
Level 1- Q - Chaos Bolt
Level 2 - W - Reality Rift
Level 3 - E - Chaos Strike
Level 4 - E - Chaos Strike
Level 5 - E - Chaos Strike
Level 6 - R - Phantasm
Level 7- E - Chaos Strike
Level 8 - W - Reality Rift
Level 9 - W - Reality Rift
Level 10 - W - Reality Rift
Level 11 - Q - Chaos Bolt
Level 12 - R - Phantasm
Level 13 - Q - Chaos Bolt
Level 14 - Q - Chaos Bolt
Level 15 - Left Talent
Level 16 - Left Talent
Level 18 - R - Phantasm
Wisper’s Item Build:
First Buy: Magic Wand, 3 Branches
Wisper has opted for an early Magic Wand and 3 Branches, setting him up for as many stats as possible as well as providing an early opportunity to obtain stick charges due to their pre-game gank. His choice may be reasoned with the fact that the enemy carry, Templar, has reasonably low auto attack damage compared to him, allowing him to have the edge in denying and securing creep kills.
1 Minutes: Quelling Blade, Tangoes.
Extra regeneration is always needed prior to obtaining your passive ability. Whisper also wanted to push his advantage in the laning phase, purchasing a quelling blade to increase the difference in damage between Templar and himself.
4 Minutes: Power Treads
Once again, Chaos Knights boots of choice Power Treads which are the most effective damage and stat efficient boots of choice for Chaos Knight.
9 Minutes: Armlet of Mordiggian
You guessed it. Wisper was able to purchase his Armlet relatively quickly in this game as he was essentially free farming due to the Templar and Warlock being already disadvantaged as soon as he reached level 3. By that time, he was able to self sustain with his passive and bully the Templar out of the lane. Always remember to keep the active toggled on while farming creeps or just auto attacking in general.
12 Minutes: Echo Saber
Due to the early Armlet and a couple of early game kills, Wisper was able to grab himself a relatively early Echo Saber. By this stage, he is an incredibly formidable hero, with only Mars on the enemy team being able to deal with his power spike. Even then, at 13:00, Wisper was able to run over the Dire team, snagging himself an Ultra Kill and pretty much closing the game out from there.
15 Minutes: Blink Dagger and Dust
To ensure that the enemy is unable to ever recover, Wisper got himself a Blink Dagger and used it very early to get into position to keep the enemy away from their jungle and eventually choking them in their base. Dust is very important as the offlaner especially in this game, ensuring that he always has the means to detect Dire’s comeback scenario, the Templar Assassin.
21 Minutes: Assault Cuirass
A relatively new item on this build list, the Assault Cuirass synergies very well with Chaos Knight’s high physical damage. As his team already had strong sustaining abilities, he has opted for the best item to push towers and hasten the end of the game. This item is generally picked up if the majority of your core team mates also have strong physical damage outputs.
1. Yatoro’s Safelane Chaos Knight Build
Last but not least, we are going to cover Yatoro’s position 1 Chaos Knight as he does vary his skill build slightly compared to the other players we have covered in this article. This particular match is a treat as his team is behind for a majority of the game, showing you how you can build Chaos Knight to adapt when the game doesn’t go as planned.
Yatoro’s Skill Allocation:
Yatoro changes his skill build slightly, opting for two early points in his passive to sustain the extremely strong harass coming out from Jakiro and Bane. Maxing Chaos Strike is still the stock standard, as it just gives Chaos Knight a huge damage boost in engagements and fast tracks his farming speed.
Level 1- Q - Chaos Bolt
Level 2 - E - Chaos Strike
Level 3 - E - Chaos Strike
Level 4 - W - Reality Rift
Level 5 - E - Chaos Strike
Level 6 - R - Phantasm
Level 7- Q - Chaos Bolt
Level 8 - E - Chaos Strike
Level 9 - W - Reality Rift
Level 10 - W - Reality Rift
Level 11 - W - Reality Rift
Level 12 - R - Phantasm
Level 13 - Q - Chaos Bolt
Level 14 - Q - Chaos Bolt
Level 15 - Left Talent
Level 16 - Left Talent
Level 18 - R - Phantasm
Yatoro’s Item Build:
First Buy: Two Circlets and Two Gauntlets of Strength
Yatoro’s mindset here is to opt for a larger hp pool and damage from his auto attacks in order to mitigate the strong harass coming out from Jakiro and Bane. By putting more points into Chaos Strike, Yatoro is able to out sustain the strong Damage Over Time (DOT) coming out from the enemy Jakiro, regenerating a larger portion of life due to his higher damage. Starting at a whopping 820 HP also makes it much harder for the enemy offlaners to bring him down. Chaos Knight is one of the strongest sustain lakers in the game, and Yatoro finds the neat spot in his build to abuse this despite the strong lane that he is up against.
3 Minutes: Two Bracers and a Belt of Strength
With higher stat items, Yatoro essentially shrugs off Jakiro's harassment tools, making him regain most of the damage done to him in pretty much one successful lifesteal auto attack. With the two bracers and the Belt, he has a huge 1080 health with 94 damage at level 3. This is generally the option you want to go for when you are up against annoying laners like Jakiro.
7 Minutes: Power Treads, Gloves of Haste and a Sage’s Mask
Once again, Chaos Knights boots of choice Power Treads. He also includes an early gloves of haste, which is the best item to start off with for the Armlet as well as a Sage’s mask which can later build into the prized Echo Saber.
11 Minutes: Armlet of Mordiggian
By now I hope that you should know to purchase Armlet in every game when you play Chaos Knight. The hero is unmatched as one of the best users of the item in terms of early game damage, sustain and survivability.
17 Minutes: Echo Saber
As boring as it sounds, an Echo Saber is once again a strong choice for Chaos Knight. Note however, the item’s timing is considerably later than the other players covered on this list as the enemy team is in the lead and has killed Yatoro. As the Templar Assassin in this game is considerably stronger in this match, it causes Yatoro to lose the team fight at the 18 minute mark, showing that item timings for Chaos Knight is crucial and you cannot afford to be too passive with this hero.
24 Minutes: Black King Bar
Surprisingly, the other players in this list have not incorporated Black King Bar as part of their build. This just goes to show, that when your team is even or behind, your item choices need to be more particular. In this game, there are multiple ways that the enemy Radiant team can disrupt Chaos Knight’s abilities. From Huskar’s AOE disarm, to Jakiro’s Ice path, without a BKB, Yatoro would be easily kiteable, making him an easy target to chip away at. However, with a BKB, Yatoro can play more aggressively and be more useful in team fights.
30 Minutes: Blink Dagger
Being on the backfoot, Yatoro cannot just brute force into the enemy team. As such, he needs perfect positioning, to engage on important heroes on the enemy team that makes his life miserable. For example, in this match, Yatoro would ideally want to pick off Bane, Pugna or Jakiro right off the bat so that he can focus on their cores later.
32 Minutes: Aghanim’s Shard
Aghanim’s Shard is a particularly useful pick up this game as a way of picking and prodding at the enemy team, especially when they try to push the high ground.
40 Minutes: Linken’s Sphere
Being two Barracks down, Yatoro cannot afford the luxury of usual high damage items such as Heart, Skadii or even Satanic and chooses to opt for more defensive measures. As one can say, one cannot do damage if they are dead.
In this match, there are a number of enemy heroes that prevent him from being the strong damage dealer that he needs to be. Particularly Bane’s ult, Huskar’s percentage HP leap which taunts and even Pugna’s decrify. The similarities between these lockdown abilities is that they are point target abilities, meaning that Linken’s would be a great choice to defensively counter these skills. We see the Linken’s at work in team fights, reducing the number of times he gets aimed due to the substantial amount of resources that is needed to bring him down.
43 Minutes: Overwhelming Blink
Overwhelming Blink is a natural and the best upgrade of the Blink Dagger that Chaos Knight can obtain, to add some extra damage, tankiness and crowd control utility to engagements.
47 Minutes: Bloodthorn
With the game going well into the late game, Echo Saber as an item, falls off. As such Yatoro has chosen to replace the Echo Saber with a Bloodthorn. It is useful to note that you are able to disable the Echo Saber and utilize the oblivion staff that you receive to purchase the bloodthorn. This saves a bit of gold and increases the hero's damage output significantly, not to mention, provides the potential to silence potential enemies.
47 Minutes: Bloodthorn
With the game going well into the late game, Echo Saber as an item, falls off. As such Yatoro has chosen to replace the Echo Saber with a Bloodthorn. It is useful to note that you are able to disable the Echo Saber and utilize the oblivion staff that you receive to purchase the bloodthorn. This saves a bit of gold and increases the hero's damage output significantly, not to mention, provides the potential to silence potential enemies.
50 Minutes: Aghanim’s Scepter/Blessing
With Yatoro being 6 slotted, the natural choice for the hero would be consumable late game items such as Aghanim’s Blessing or the Moon Shard. Aghanim’s upgrade gives Chaos Knight the ability to convert his entire team into illusions, instilling even more chaos and damage onto the battlefield.
51 Minutes: Assault Cuirass
With a surplus of gold and Yatoro’s BKB reaching a very low duration, Yatoro has decided to go for an Assault Cuirass to enhance his physical damage and siege potential when his BKB is on cooldown.
56 Minutes: Boots of Travel 2
Being this late into the game, the Boots of Travel is a necessary item to join up with team mates within a moment's notice, not to mention, the significant movement speed advantage it yields.
