Dota 2 · Witch Doctor · Maledict
How healing changes Witch Doctor Maledict burst damage
On this page
Maledict’s periodic bursts depend on health lost since the curse began. Restoring health can reduce that deficit; Valve explicitly says the burst is zero if health rises above its starting value.
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: Maledict. Icon © Valve. Official Witch Doctor page.
The curse is not just a fixed timer that repeats the same damage regardless of recovery. Separate its ongoing damage from its health-loss-based bursts when deciding how to survive it.
What to do, in order
- Notice the cast early and reduce further incoming damage instead of waiting for the next burst before reacting.
- Remember the health state when the curse started. The burst comparison is against that starting point, not simply maximum HP.
- Use an available, appropriate source of recovery if it improves your survival; consider the effect’s own restrictions and enemy healing reduction.
- Keep avoiding damage while recovering. Healing followed by new incoming damage can reopen the deficit before a burst.
- After the curse ends, reassess normally. Do not continue spending resources to solve a debuff that is already gone.
Match the symptom to the cause
I healed, but still took damage
Reducing a burst is not the same as removing the curse or all of its periodic damage. The description includes a separate ongoing damage component.
The later burst was larger
Health lost since the cast can increase as more damage arrives. Do not assume every burst uses a permanently fixed deficit.
I expected full HP to be the only relevant reference
Valve’s note refers to health when Maledict was cast. The comparison is not simply “missing HP from maximum.”
See the ability in the game
Apply it to one concrete situation
Suppose the curse began at 1,000 HP. A target at 700 HP has a different deficit from the same target healed back to 950 HP. This illustrates the comparison only: it is not a complete tick-order calculation, and it does not claim that healing dispels Maledict.
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 | 105 / 110 / 115 / 120 |
| Cooldown (seconds) | 30 / 26 / 22 / 18 |
| RADIUS | 200 |
| LOST HEALTH BURST DAMAGE | 16 / 24 / 32 / 40% |
| DURATION | 12 |
Limits that matter
Base burst intervals are four seconds and duration is 12 seconds in the dated data. Exact survival depends on timing, other incoming damage and recovery modifiers; this page does not promise a particular heal will always save you.
Related questions
Does healing remove Maledict?
This guide describes changing the health deficit, not dispelling the curse. Do not confuse those outcomes.
What if health rises above the starting amount?
Valve’s official note says the burst damage will be zero in that case. That statement concerns the burst component.
Sources and review date
Valve’s English Witch Doctor 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.