Dota 2 · Axe · Culling Blade
Why did Axe Culling Blade not reset its cooldown?
On this page
The reset is tied to killing an enemy hero with Culling Blade. Casting it on a low-health hero is not enough if the spell does not deliver the kill.
What to do next ↓ · Find the failure cause ↓Mechanics source checked October 17, 2026 · Not match-tested · Practical recommendations are editorial, not guaranteed outcomes.
Identify this ability in your client: Culling Blade. Icon © Valve. Official Axe page.
A failed dunk can leave Axe without the reset needed for a second target. Diagnose the actual kill and current damage before blaming the animation or assuming every low-health cast must execute.
What to do, in order
- Check the current Culling Blade level and its displayed damage before choosing a target.
- Look at the enemy’s remaining health and active protections. A short health bar is a proportion of maximum health, not an exact damage number.
- Cast when the spell can finish the enemy hero rather than using it automatically at the first low-health visual.
- After the cast, confirm who received the kill and whether the cooldown reset before immediately trying to cast again.
- If it did not reset, stop planning the next action around an available ultimate. Use the cooldown displayed by your client.
Match the symptom to the cause
The target lived
A non-lethal hit does not satisfy the kill condition. The current data describes pure damage, so do not use an old guide’s wording as a substitute for checking today’s tooltip.
The enemy died, but I did not get a reset
A nearby death and a kill delivered by this ability are different events. Check the combat sequence and kill feed.
I expected the same result at every skill level
Base damage changes with level. Use the current level’s value, and remember the visible health-bar fraction is not a number.
See the ability in the game
Apply it to one concrete situation
At base level 1, the listed damage is 275. A hero with 300 current HP is not automatically a valid finish merely because the health bar looks red. Compare actual HP and the live combat state, rather than treating the colour as an execution guarantee.
Current base tooltip values
Values below are the unmodified fields in Valve’s dated English ability data. Slash-separated entries are listed level values, not a recommended skill build. Read the field label: damage, range, duration and percentages have different meanings. Upgrades and modifiers can change your client’s values.
| Tooltip field | Listed base value(s) |
|---|---|
| Mana cost | 100 / 125 / 150 |
| Cooldown (seconds) | 80 / 75 / 70 |
| DAMAGE | 275 / 375 / 475 |
| KILL MOVE SPEED BONUS | 20 / 25 / 30 |
| KILL ARMOR BONUS | 10 / 15 / 20 |
| KILL BUFF DURATION | 6 |
| KILL BUFF RADIUS | 900 |
| ARMOR PER STACK | 1 / 1.5 / 2 |
Limits that matter
The example excludes modifiers and other simultaneous damage. Valve specifically notes that Culling Blade death cannot be prevented by effects such as Shallow Grave; that exception is not a licence to assume all protections behave identically.
Related questions
Does killing a creep give the hero-kill reset?
The official reset description specifies an enemy hero. Do not build a chain around a creep kill.
What do successful hero kills add?
The current description lists a reset, a nearby allied movement-speed and armor buff, and a permanent armor stack for Axe. Those are conditional rewards, not benefits of every cast.
Sources and review date
Valve’s English Axe ability data, retrieved October 17, 2026, supplies the mechanics and numeric fields used here. Valve’s official hero page supplies the ability identity and official presentation. Our diagnostic sequence and worked situations are independently written explanations, not copied match reports. No ranked win-rate, personal playtest or current item-build claim is made.