Traxex

Traxex the Drow Ranger

Introduction

It all started back when I was still playing seriously in the clan DTD (later iPlay). In clan wars I used to play faceless void, or support Warlock. Except for these two, I wasn't very good with anything else. Or should I say not good enough for leagues? My support Warlock's role was to babysit our carry hero. I was good in babysitting since I knew, what a carry would need for free farming. Later I tried to see, if any other hero could be better, then warlock to babysit a carry. I found that shadow priest, and Viper were good, but not better. They seriously lacked early game lane control. Than I tried Drow, and everything changed. In my opinion: Drow is the best babysitter in Dota today! Reasons? Orb walk on level one with low mana cost and slow, 600 attack range, 1800/1700 sight range (instead of 1800/800).

Babysitters There are two types of babysitting heroes/styles. First one is the defensive type, based on healing abilities. Whenever the carry gets a beating the supporter heals him back. This way the carry can stay in lane longer. The second type is based on offence. By harassing the opponents non-stop, the carry can farm without worries. Offensive support has better benefits for the carry, but it's more dangerous for the supporter. Some heroes can play both types, like warlock, but heroes like viper or drow can play only offensive support.

The level of support we give to the other hero, is very important. I say other hero, because it doesn't necessary have to be a carry. Heroes like Tauren or Sand King may also need babysitting. There are three levels of support. First level is the zero support. This is what people normally do in a lane. The second level is the balanced support. The third level is the full support. Balanced, and full support are very much alike. You harass massively the opponent, so that he gets out of XP range. The only difference between the two, is that when there's no one to harass, you start farming in balanced support, while in full support you don't. Heroes like Warlock, who aren't very item dependant are better suited for full support. It was very common for me in the old days, that I had more denies, or hero kills, than creeps kills in the first 6 levels of the game. Sometimes others need money more, than you do. Remember! With every creep you kill, your carry becomes weaker.

Gameplay Walkthrough

Normally I would start with the skill and item build, but this guide is special. I will explain everything step by step, since both the play style, and item build should be unorthodox for most players. Even though the drow I play focuses on babysitting, she is still a carry hero herself, so she needs a carry (item) build. However in the first 6 levels of the game, which is the time we babysit someone, the build will be a bit different.

The first two levels are the most important levels for support drow. We will bet everything on these two levels. Just think about it! We have 600 range, and a level one orb attack with no CD. What does the enemy have? Weak nukes, short disables and low move speed, mana, health and armor. Drow is probably the strongest hero on level one. She gets weak extremely fast, but on level one and two she's a beast. What we will do ,is try to harass the opponent(s) out of XP range (or even further) on level one. Normally people don't do that on level one. They try to last hit and farm, as much as possible, and they won't try to get you before level 3. We are not going for the kill. We just want to hurt him, as much as possible. The tactic is simple. If you see someone, harass, and don't stop as long as you don't reach the enemy tower! Get Boots of Seed and a pack of tangoos from the base. If someone starts with boots of speed in a game, he is either a newbie or a pro player. I'm sure that I don't have to mention the games where high level players started with boots, and were able to own their lane's. I remember a Yurnero and a pugna doing extremely well. Think about it, pugna, the hero with the second best move speed going for boots. This is the same concept. With the additional effect of your frost arrows, the difference in MS will most likely be close to 90. That's like having a Boots of Travel on level 1!

• level 1: Frost Arrows
• level 2: Stats

Level three and five are the key for nukers, so watch out! Drow won't get stronger without items. Our only help on these levels is our superior mobility, and range. The tactic is the same as before, but it may be less effective. Stay in lane, help your ally, if you have one, and beware of ganks coming for you. After you collect 300 gold get a stout shield from the goblin shop. Drow is destined to fight creeps or towers, and heroes can also deal damage with normal attacks if they want to. Of course Frost Arrows won't give any agro, but Drow doesn't have infinite mana, and you might attract creeps even without attacking. Note that there's probably nothing else this useful for the low price, that can be bought from a goblin shop. Three tangoos aren't too much, and if we wish to stay in lane we will need some extra HP regen. Ring of regen would be good, but Ring of Health can be used for better items later.

• level 3: Frost Arrows
• level 4: Stats
• level 5: Frost Arrows

Level six and onwards. On level six our offensive powers will increase, thanks to our ultimate, regardless of the fact that it's the second worst ultimate in Dota. The worst was the old ultimate of Drow. Since we have a nifty slow, and silence it's time to help our team-mates out by participating in ganks. From this point on our main priority is to gather gold, so don't forget to farm whenever possible! With the items you alredy (hopefully) poses most neutrals won't be a problem. Pushing down towers can also be a good way to gain gold, since drow can't farm very fast. Complete your vanguard as fast as possible. I know that players especially good players are sceptical about vanguard on Drow, but there are a few reasons why it's good: parts can be obtained from the goblin shops, parts are very usefully early game, the hp boost is good against nukers, the damage block is good with high armor rate, the HP regen is necessary, Drow is a chaser that will always tower dive, it's cheap and needs one inventory slot. Sine we have decent hp from vanguard we can make a max AGI item build. Remember that Trueshot aura works only with your base plus AGI damage! So with 28AGI from treads and wraith bands you get 8 extra damage with the aura. It may seem low, but that's a total of 36 damage, and 28 (63 with treads ias) IAS above your normal damage (plus normal aura damage).

• level 6: Marksmanship
• level 7: Silence
• level 8: Frost Arrows
• level 9-10: Trueshot Aura
• level 11: Marksmanship
• level 12-13: Trueshot Aura
• level 14-15: Silence
• level 16: Marksmanship
• level 17: Silence

Late Game In the end we should concentrate more on the enemies base, than before. Try to get as many towers, buildings and heroes as possible. If you wish to win I recommend 5v5 battles, or at least get as many heroes as you can from your side. With your high armor and vanguard towers and creeps shouldn't be a problem, so just 'deny' them, if you see something more appetizing. Never be late from a battle, and never go in first. Your silence and DPS can decide the outcome, but not if you die because of a mistake. Don't forget to abuse your range, and slow just as you did before. Our last item can be Butterfly or Buriza. Butterfly gives damage, ias, armor and evasion, but hard to build. Buriza gives damage, but the components are cheaper, and more effective.



Luxury


Skill Build Justification. Why max frost arrows first? The slower the enemy gets, the longer you can chase, and deal more damage. Why early stats? Drow's agi gain is bad, and since we will be very offensive, every point of damage counts. Stats also gives a little more hp, and mana for two more arrows, that might be needed for a kill. Why no silence, and why only level one later? Truth be told silence is imba, but thanks to frost arrows we wouldn't have the mana for it. One silence can cost a lot of offensive power. Later we will have the mana pool to cast it thanks to wraith bands. In early mid game we will need the damage from the aura more, than another second of our silence.

Skill usage

Frost Arrows can be autocasted or manually casted. If we cast it manually we will be able to orb walk, that is better early to mid game. Later autocast will be better since our attack time decreases, thanks to AGI. For a Drow player orb walk is a must to know. After the spell is cast, we cancel the rest of the animation, and use that time to catch up with the fleeing opponent. Cancelling the animation can be done by double clicking on the ground near the opponent. If Frost Arrows is on autocast you can still cast it manually to do orbwalk. This can be useful when the opponent is standing or coming for you. Start orbwalking as soon as he starts running. Frost Arrows is great for harassing since it doesn't give you any agro, but don't forget that sometimes that can be bad. If an ally is on low hp and attacked by creeps or the tower, don't hesitate to use normal attacks on the enemy hero to get agro. Also note that the spell has a scary visual effect, that will make most players run, as soon as they see it. If you don't want to scare them away just use your normal attack.

Silence is a very good skill to have. If you think about carry heroes, not many gets an AOE disable, that's not an ultimate. Casting range is huge, it can be casted from 900 units away. Most spells have less range closer to 600. With this we can strike first from afar, which is important for a vulnerable hero like Drow. Casting Silence must become a reflex, if you wish to master this hero. Remember to disable the enemy, before they disable you! Only exceptions would be when the enemy has channelling spells, or magic immunity. It is not wise to use silence before Sand King cats his ultimate. Remember that drow can see 1700 units far even in the night, and that Silence's range is 900, while blink dagger's is 1000. So even if he does have a blink it is possible to break his channelling. Of course, if you can kill the hero before he starts channelling, that's even better. Never hesitate! Just do it! Timing is crucial. You must be faster, than the enemy. Hitting someone with a silence is not really hard, but hitting him before he can move an inch can prove to be difficult.

thx to 1st post nekdolan@dota-allstars.com