The Heroes in Dota 2 - An Introductory Guide for Windranger

Introduction

Dota 2 has a wide range of heroes to choose from. All of them are unique in their way, but some are just way more popular than others. 

Today, we will take a look at one of the most played heroes in Dota 2 - Windranger. This pesky ranged hero is picked all the time, and there is a reason behind it. With its fast attacks and good range, she is more than capable of ruining the lane of every hero.

Let's take a look at her spells, the best items to get, and also which heroes are capable of making her life a living hell.

Windranger, one of the most annoying heroes in Dota 2

As we mentioned above, many people consider this to be an extremely irritating hero to play against. Windranger is an intelligence hero that can be played in pretty much all positions. She is useful at every stage of the game, even though her late-game capabilities are not that great. This hero has four active spells, and they are all pretty awesome:

• Shackleshot - this is one of the most potent non-ultimate disables in Dota 2 that's capable of completely turning the course of a team fight. However, unlike many other disables, this one is pretty tricky to pull off. To land a stun, the enemy hero has to either be in front of a tree or another creep or a hero. In the first case, you will shackle the enemy hero with the tree, whereas in the second - you will get a double-stun. While it is indeed a very tricky spell to land, it can be priceless, especially in certain situations.
• Powershot - this is Windranger's nuke that has a long-range and deals pretty significant damage.  Most WR players tend to level this skill very early on because it allows them to grab kills and farm faster. However, if you want to get the most out of it, you need to cast it for around one second. On the other hand, if you use it straight away, you won't nearly do as much damage as it's supposed to do.
• Windrun - as the name of the hero suggests, it's pretty much based on this spell. Regardless if you're in a sticky situation or you need to chase an enemy down, you can use Windrun to your advantage. Apart from giving you tons of movement speed, you are also immune to physical attacks, and you also slow down your enemies when you run near them. In other words, this is the best tool when you need to keep someone in place.
• Focus Fire - last, but definitely not least, we have the Focus Fire, one really strong ability which is capable of bringing down even the most active enemies. It allows Windrunner to do tons of damage with her attacks, but the best part is that it stacks with every item. This makes it extremely useful during the later stages of the game, especially if you're playing as a core. Apart from heroes, you can also target buildings, which makes Windrunner a very fast pusher.

Positions, Items, and Counters

As we mentioned earlier, Windranger is a hero that can be played in various positions. However, she definitely shines the most as an offlaner and support. Even though there were times where mid-Windranger was a thing, the hero does not scale all that well compared to other heroes. It's not that she is a mad mid laner, but there are just other heroes out there that do the job better. That said, she is definitely one of the best offlaners when it comes down to pub games. 

In terms of the item choices, it all comes down to what position is she filling in for the current game. As you can imagine, the items will differ a lot if she is a core or a support. However, here are a couple of universal item choices for every Windranger player:

• Blink Dagger - this item works every time, regardless of which position is Windranger playing it. Apart from an escape mechanism, the Dagger is an excellent way to land those tricky Shackeshots. In fact, that's pretty much the only way in which you can do it against good players. If you want to make the most out of this hero, this is definitely something you want to have.
• Aghanim's Scepter - even though it's mainly worth getting if you're a core, this item can still work for supports. It basically allows you to use the full potential of your ultimate. When you combine this with a couple of dangerous things, the results can be pretty devastating.
• Maelstorm - another relatively inexpensive core item, but it's pretty strong. Apart from the fact it allows you to farm faster, it also works wonders with Focus fire.

Counters

When it comes down to WR's counters, there are a couple of heroes that you need to be careful of:

• Templar Assassin - for some reason, people believe that WR is a good hero against TA. However, that's not the case. TA is capable of hitting WR through her Windrun using Psi Blades, so she is always capable of doing damage. What's more, since WR is very squishy, TA is capable of easily one-shotting her.
• Storm Spirit - even though Windranger wins the laning stage, a well-fed Storm Spirit is capable of making the life of every Wr player a living hell. Once he gets a couple of items, he is capable of killing him every single time.
• Leshrac - another counter that can quickly demolish any Windranger unless she buys a Black King Bar. Despite being squishy, Leshrac is capable of doing tons of magical damage, something which WR is very vulnerable.