Dota 2 Drow Ranger Hero Guide: From Beginner to Pro
Author: Hawk Live LLC
Last updated:
Drow Ranger is one of the Dota 2 heroes who uses ranged attacks, as her arrows are cold and sharp, and she is able to impede her foes. She can inflict quite an amount of damage, both to heroes and structures, and can do so very swiftly. The focus of this article will be on how to play Drow Ranger and utilize her potential.
Credit: Valve Corporation
Strengths of Drow Ranger
High Physical Damage: She doesn’t require much to deal great damage to either a single or multiple foes.
Enemy Slow: By using frost arrows, she is able to make it extremely difficult for her opponents to not only attack but also escape.
Push Potential: She is able to take out towers and other structures in a short span of time due to her high amount of damage.
Flexibility in Positioning: She can play effectively in the safe lane, mid lane and, under certain conditions, offlane as well.
Against Whom Drow Ranger Is Strong
Drow is capable of dealing with any hero wielding melee attacks and lacks the speed or dexterity to reach her or strike her at once.
Heroes Against Whom Drow Ranger Is Strong
Hero | Win Rate |
|---|---|
Riki | 52.28% |
Bristleback | 54.61% |
Necrophos | 50.04% |
Oracle | 50.60% |
Shadow Fiend | 51.12% |
Pangolier | 53.84% |
Dawnbreaker | 50.96% |
Witch Doctor | 49.95% |
Slardar | 53.41% |
Abaddon | 46.14% |
How to Counter Drow Ranger
Being able to use high mobility heroes, surrounding them to deal instant damage, is effective against Drow Ranger. Another advantageous combo is the use of embracers with a drow ranger.
Heroes Against Whom Drow Ranger Is Weak
Hero | Win Rate |
|---|---|
Phantom Lancer | 50.05% |
Mars | 49.49% |
Naga Siren | 52.27% |
Chaos Knight | 48.87% |
Chen | 55.57% |
Spectre | 46.86% |
Pudge | 47.54% |
Batrider | 56.40% |
Earth Spirit | 49.68% |
Lycan | 49.07% |
Aspects of Drow Ranger
There are about three categories where drow ranger excels residing under and from the other side the counters are completely different.
Aspects of Drow Ranger
Aspect | Win Rate | K/D/A Ratio | Gold per Minute | Experience per Minute | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vantage Point | 49.76% | 2.84 | 557 | 733 |
| Sidestep | 52.10% | 3.16 | 588 | 760 |
Vantage Point: Drow Ranger deals 20% more damage when attacking from high ground, enhancing her positioning and damage output.
Sidestep: Allows her to move slowly and use items while channeling the Multishot ability.
Item Build for Drow Ranger
Credit: DotaFire
Choosing the right items amplifies her strengths and compensates for weaknesses.
Starting Items
Tango — for health regeneration in lane.
Slippers of Agility — increases agility and damage.
Iron Branch x2 — small attribute bonuses.
Circlet — for building Wraith Band later.
Quelling Blade — makes last-hitting creeps easier.
Early Game Items
Wraith Band — boosts main attributes and attack speed.
Power Treads — provides attack speed and attribute toggling.
Null Talisman — increases damage and mana.
Magic Wand — for instant health and mana regeneration.
Dragon Lance — increases attack range and agility.
Mid Game Items
Yasha — enhances movement and attack speed.
Hurricane Pike — allows quick escape or pursuit.
Aghanim's Scepter — improves the Multishot ability.
Manta Style — creates illusions and dispels negative effects.
Late Game Items
Black King Bar — protects against magical damage and control.
Butterfly — increases agility, damage, and evasion.
Aghanim's Shard — adds additional effects to her abilities.
Daedalus — significantly boosts physical damage with critical hits.
Eye of Skadi — reduces enemy movement speed and healing.
Satanic — grants lifesteal and survivability in fights.
Abilities of Drow Ranger
Abilities | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frost Arrows | |||
Adds a freezing effect to Drow's attacks, slowing enemy movement and dealing bonus damage. Slow lasts 1,5 seconds. | ||||
| Gust | |||
Releases a wave that silences and knocks back and reveals invisible enemy units. Knockback distance is relative to how close they are to Drow. | ||||
| Multishot | |||
CHANNELED - Drow releases a flurry of arrows in continuous salvos, hitting enemies for extra damage and applying Frost Arrows. Lasts up to 1,75 seconds. | ||||
| Marksmanship | |||
Drow's experiences in battle grant her a chance to launch arrows with incredible accuracy and effectiveness. Pierces through the enemy's defenses, ignoring their base armor. This ability is disabled if there is an enemy hero within 400 range. | ||||
Skill Build for Drow Ranger
Credit: DotaFire
Optimal sequence for leveling abilities:
Frost Arrows
Multishot
Frost Arrows
Gust
Multishot
Marksmanship
Multishot
Multishot
Frost Arrows
Talent at Level 10
Frost Arrows
Marksmanship 13-14. Gust
Talent at Level 15
Marksmanship 17-19. Gust
Talent at Level 20
Talent Build for Drow Ranger
Credit: DotaFire
Level 10: +15 Frost Arrow Bonus Damage
Level 15: -6s Multishot Cooldown
Level 20: +25% Multishot Damage
Level 25: +1 Multishot Waves
The choice of talents depends on the game situation, but this set enhances the hero's main abilities and increases her combat effectiveness.
Conclusion
The Drow Ranger is a vicious carry she chokes in seconds, an assassin in a rogue's foundation that once she gets6 her points together and starts building items she ignores her surroundings and instead calls the shots.
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