abilities.kv is the authoritative list of every ability that can appear on the Legends of Dota Redux skill-select screen. It is loaded at game start and drives what players can choose when drafting their build.
Top-Level Structure
The file has two top-level blocks inside the root "Abilities" key:
| Block | Purpose |
|---|
skills | All ability brackets — the main pickable pool, neutrals, OP abilities, single-player abilities, etc. |
heroToSkillMap | Optional per-hero starting ability overrides (most entries are commented out). |
Ability Brackets
Brackets are named sub-blocks inside skills. Each bracket groups abilities that share a category or restriction.
| Bracket | Description |
|---|
main | The primary pool. All standard and custom abilities available in normal games. |
neutral | Neutral creep abilities, further sub-divided by creature archetype group (e.g. alpha_wolf_group, black_dragon_group). |
brawler | Brawler-class abilities (melee-only reversed Marksmanship variants). |
spell_lab | Spell Lab custom abilities. |
oneshotonekill | One-shot/one-kill combo abilities. |
overflow | Overflow custom abilities from the Overflow ability pack. |
angel_arena_blackstar | Angel Arena Blackstar abilities. |
resurgence | Resurgence abilities. |
radiant_jungle | Radiant Jungle abilities. |
overflow_ult | Overflow ultimate abilities. |
mercy | Mercy abilities. |
holdout | Holdout abilities. |
item_abilities | Abilities derived from items. |
cherub_abilities | Cherub hero abilities. |
uther_abiliites | Uther hero abilities. |
proteus_abiliites | Proteus hero abilities. |
"1") are used internally for network-encoding ability selections and for the encryption layer — they are not ability levels.
"Abilities"
{
"skills"
{
"main"
{
// Custom redux ability
"morph_int_str_redux" "1" // custom
// Standard Dota ability
"pudge_flesh_heap" "1"
// Commented-out sub-ability (excluded from picking)
//"alchemist_unstable_concoction_throw" "1" // sub-ability of Unstable Concoction
}
"neutral"
{
"alpha_wolf_group"
{
"alpha_wolf_critical_strike" "1"
"berserker_troll_break" "1"
"ghost_frost_attack" "1"
"gnoll_assassin_envenomed_weapon" "1"
"kobold_disarm" "1"
}
}
}
"heroToSkillMap"
{
// "npc_dota_hero_abaddon"
// {
// "1" "abaddon_aphotic_shield"
// }
}
}
Sub-abilities (e.g. alchemist_unstable_concoction_throw, the throw sub-ability of Unstable Concoction) are intentionally commented out. Showing them on the pick screen would allow players to select a sub-ability without its parent, causing broken behaviour.
Real Snippet
The following is taken directly from the top of the main bracket:
"main"
{
"morph_int_str_redux" "1" // custom
"morph_str_int_redux" "1" // custom
"morph_agi_int_redux" "1" // custom
"morph_int_agi_redux" "1" // custom
"keeper_of_the_light_innate_redux" "1" // custom
"night_stalker_innate_redux" "1" // custom
"skywrath_mage_concussive_break" "1" // custom
"abaddon_aphotic_shield" "1"
"abaddon_borrowed_time" "1"
"abaddon_death_coil" "1"
"abaddon_frostmourne" "1"
"abyssal_underlord_atrophy_aura" "1"
"abyssal_underlord_dark_rift" "1"
"abyssal_underlord_firestorm" "1"
"abyssal_underlord_pit_of_malice" "1"
...
}
// custom are Redux-specific Lua implementations. Unmarked abilities are standard Dota 2 abilities that work as-is.
Adding an Ability
- Define the ability — either add a KV entry to
npc_abilities_custom.txt (for a Lua-backed ability) or confirm it already exists in the base game.
- Add the line to the appropriate bracket in
abilities.kv:
- Comment out sub-abilities if your ability spawns sub-abilities that should not be independently selectable.
- Restart the server (or reload KVs via the dev console) so the updated file is loaded.
If an ability crashes the server or has known bugs, comment it out with a descriptive note rather than deleting the line — this makes it easy to re-enable once the bug is fixed.
