Windranger is a pretty popular character in a game like Dota 2. Playing her isn’t as easy as it seems, but learning how to do it is pretty easy. Now Vrka can be taken for all five roles, but she looks best in the 4th position, which we will consider today. Let’s talk about her pros and cons.
Windranger Character Review in Dota 2
Pros:
1) High mobility. Thanks to her Windrun, she quickly moves around the map, allowing her allies to rely on her help at any time. It is also very difficult for enemies to escape from her.
2) Good stat growth. Vrka has +3.0 strength, +1.4 agility and +3.6 intelligence per level. There may be questions about agility, but they will disappear after you study her abilities. After all, the maximum attack speed is achieved due to the ultimate, and armor is not so important, because the 3rd ability gives a 100% miss on it.
3) Does not become a useless hero over time, and not all characters in the game can boast of this. Vrka is relevant at any stage of the game, as she does a lot for the team.
Disadvantages:
1) Depends on artifacts. Although she is a support, without her key artifacts she will become a burden for her team.
2) No strong AOE damage. Vrka hits only one target, Powershot does not count, since after 20-30 minutes it practically does not damage enemies.
3) The hero is not so easy to master. It is quite difficult to understand and learn all the mechanics of the skills of this hero. This may take several dozen games, but still, it is difficult to call her a difficult hero to master.
Windranger Gameplay Tactics
Initial stage of the game
Since we are playing on the 4th position, we will have to go to the offlane to help our ally on the 3rd position. At first, everything is simple, we hit enemy characters and try to finish off allied creeps so that the enemies get less experience. Since the mana regen is pretty good, you can spam abilities in order to inflict even more damage to opponents and cause them some discomfort. Vrka’s main task is to provide an easy lane for her offlaner, she copes with this in 7 out of 10 cases, since the hero is very good at repelling enemies. From the artifacts, we first take Boots of Speed and Ring of Basilius, after which you should buy Null Talisman and Magic Wand. After purchasing these things, we immediately set the goal of buying Blink Dagger as quickly as possible, since this is the most key item on this hero. From the abilities, everything is not so simple. At least up to level 10, we don’t need the ult, since it practically doesn’t do any damage, it’s much better to pump up the 1st and 2nd abilities, taking the 3rd one in one.
Middle game
After the initial stage, we begin an active game, moving with the team. Movement should not consist only of killing, protecting your carries is also the main goal. If possible, buy wards and place them, so as not to put all this on one support. With the receipt of the blink, we also pump the ultimate, after which we begin to initiate fights. The most important thing here is to assess the situation and jump competently, so that the enemy hero connects with something (tree, creep, another hero). Otherwise, the attack may not be successful, since the stun will be too short in time. You can collect anything from artifacts, but recently it has become popular to collect such an item as Gleipnir. You will also need a Force Staff, since at any moment it can save the life of any of the team. And the boot purchased at the beginning of the game should be upgraded to Arcane Boots or Phase Boots.
Late game
At this stage, you will need a lot of patience, as you will need to sit and wait for someone to show up to tie him up. We try to kill one of the supports by pressing the combo and your ult on him, in order to immediately get rid of one hero in a fight. When entering the enemy’s HG, we also wait behind the allies for a successful jump, when defending our HG, we do the same, while spamming the 2nd ability. In the late game, Vrka can already be collected for damage, buying her Monkey King Bar, Aghanim’s Scepter, Aghanim’s Shard and Bloodthorn. Even if the artifacts for damage are collected and the heroes die quickly from your hand, this does not give a reason to go alone, so we move only with the team, leaving money for buyback if necessary.
Best Hero Combos with Windranger
1) Windranger + Neture’s Prophet – a classic hero combination that has been around for quite a while. Furion places his trees, and Vrka ties with 100% probability. These actions provide a kill in 80% of cases.
2) Windranger + Invoker – thanks to Invoker’s Cold Snap and Vrka’s ult, it becomes simply impossible to escape from them
3) Windranger + Juggernaut – both heroes, using the first ability, are able to kill any enemy from the very beginning of the game, so standing in line against these heroes becomes impossible.
In general, Vrka likes to play with characters that highlight opponents or increase her damage. For example, Bloodseeker would be one of the best options.
conclusions
Vrka is a great laner, and a good hero in general. She fits many positions and does not lose her relevance at any stage of the game. In the late game, she becomes a full-fledged core, which most supports cannot boast of. She will not suit everyone, but those who can learn to play her will receive only positive emotions, because playing Windranger is a pure pleasure.