Most Concise Drow Ranger Alt-Tab Guide
The fourth of the longest alt-tab guides in existence.
by Melderv
by Melderv
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Foreword
- Introduction
- Playstyle
- Drow Ranger's Skills
- Skill Build
- Item Builds
- General Strategy
- Counters
- Miscellaneous
- Conclusion
- Replays
- Credits
- Changelog
I. FOREWORD
This guide was written by an 18-year old Filipino whose native language is not English. Comments? Debates? Suggestions? Share you Drow Ranger knowledge in the comments section on the right!
Traxex, the Drow Ranger is my first DotA Hero ever, and she is not a hard Hero at all. Most of you will probably look this guide up as a reference, as there are few advanced skills required to play Drow Ranger.
Since my first version was 6.49b, I was totally confused as to why her Ultimate was changed, and even got the impression DotA Heroes changed that fast (but was wrong).
Now, why make a guide about this simplistic Hero? I mean, no complexities are even involved, and she completely goes off-track compared to your recent guides. The answer is: I just like Drow Ranger in general, and I wanted to share my thoughts with you about her.
Enjoy reading this guide to Drow Ranger! This is aimed at both beginning and experienced players!
History: This is Traxex's history in a table starting from 6.70.
| 6.70-6.71b | No changes. |
| 6.72 | Restored Drow Ranger's night vision from 800 to 1800. |
| 6.72b-6.72f | No changes. |
| 6.73 | Base Agility increased by 4. |
| 6.73b-6.73c | No changes. |
| 6.74 | Silence AoE increased from 275 to 300. |
| 6.74b-74c | No changes. |
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II. INTRODUCTION
Here we explain my perspective about Drow Ranger.
I play Drow Ranger rather sparingly nowadays, because I find it hard to farm effectively with her and to participate in clashes compared to other carries. However, it doesn't require a very skilled player to make her strong, and so we this guide is for teaching others how to make the most of that strength, how to add a little more, and to clear up a few things about her.
Here are Drow Ranger's major points:
Map Awareness: Drow Ranger is a hard carry. Hard carries function best at late game, and to keep them at bay, they are often the target of early ganks because of being fragile and weak. Good map awareness is required to keep an eye on every important thing happening all around the map, because Drow Ranger is susceptible to a large amount of death threats.
Attributes: Drow Ranger's gains are average, but she makes up for it with Marksmanship. Like I said earlier, Marksmanship gives her a significant boost each time she levels it up, so getting it is key to overpowering your enemies even with little items. Her attack range is one of the farthest (625) and movement speed is average. Her Armor is average as well as her base damage. She also have full night vision, compared to other Heroes (1800 instead of 800).
Keep in mind, I'm not trying to be redundant with the word average, it just is the word I use to gauge strength. Others are: poor, below average, above average, excellent.
Items: Drow Ranger is item dependent. She is not overly item dependent, but she cannot survive without items. She is an average item dependent carry. Unlike Soul Keeper, who cannot live without items, she manages to retain part of her power using Marksmanship, a quality unique to this Hero.
Gold and EXP: Drow Ranger does not farm easily. She has no AoE spell to clear creeps, nor does she have any burst damage skill (like Dwarven Sniper's Assassinate) or a map control skill (like Spectre's Haunt). Take note that I can only compare her to other hard carries. She relies solely on your last hitting skills and attack damage to hastily kill creeps/waves.
Skills: Her Frost Arrows is considered one of the best slows. She also has one of the longest silences, as well as being AoE. She has a mediocre aura, and a "steroid" Ultimate. All lead to her being a carry that can usually gank (with her slow and night vision) and counter spellcasters (with her Silence).
Here are a few reasons why to pick Drow Ranger for your games:
- Farming Skill: You can keep on farming for a set period without going off-track. This is very important. The key words are "set period" and "off-track", the two weaknesses of most players who carry. Some players tend to overfarm, so to speak. All that they do is farm the entire game without contributing much to the team. That's bad. The other thing is not farming enough. They are easily distracted by the urge to kill or gank, and do not have the proper mindset to farm.
- Raw Power: You like Heroes that boast great strength. Drow Ranger will often be on the limelight for being exceptionally strong. They know you can be that strong, but still, she will hurt a lot and her presence will make a difference.
- Gamebreaking: You like Heroes that make a difference. One of her abilities that do that is Silence. A 6-second silence for the team is, simply, gamebreaking. This is one of the skills that matter.
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III. PLAYSTYLE
Hard Carry: A hard carry needs to farm for, again, a set period of time without going off-track. Set an amount of time and dedicate that time to farming. Looking for open lanes, killing neutrals as you move, avoiding ganks, and participating in won battles are key to giving you the farm you need. But do not overfarm. Once you reach your core, stop being dedicated to farming and participate in team fights.
NOTE: Do not choose Drow Ranger if you have two (or even just one) allied Heroes competing for your farming. All of you will fail.
Ganker: Part of Drow Ranger's presence can be devoted to ganking. Why let an amazing slow go to waste? Why not use her Silence? These are questions I ask newer players, and they can only answer with "damage". Well, not everything must be about damage, my friends.
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IV. DROW RANGER'S SKILLS
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V. SKILL BUILD
1. Silence
2. Frost Arrows
3. Frost Arrows
4. Stats
5. Frost Arrows
6. Marksmanship
7. Frost Arrows
8. Silence
9. Silence
10. Silence
11. Marksmanship
12. Trueshot Aura
13. Trueshot Aura
14. Trueshot Aura
15. Trueshot Aura
16. Marksmanship
2. Frost Arrows
3. Frost Arrows
4. Stats
5. Frost Arrows
6. Marksmanship
7. Frost Arrows
8. Silence
9. Silence
10. Silence
11. Marksmanship
12. Trueshot Aura
13. Trueshot Aura
14. Trueshot Aura
15. Trueshot Aura
16. Marksmanship
What happens next is we completely forget about it until we reach Level 8, where we can prolong the duration of the silence during those vital team fights. Nifty. Frost Arrows is taken second but maxed out first. This is one helluva slow considering not all people feel the need to buy a Boots of Speed when everybody's Level 7 but you do, and well, a 40% movement slow (not implying that we are ignoring the 20% attack speed slow) and chasing becomes much more efficient. Not only are you going to force them to at least consider buying BoS when they can't escape from you and your supposed lane partner, but... okay, that's pretty much all you're doing. I'll discuss Orb Walking with this skill later on in General Strategy. Just remember that Frost Arrows overrides every other orb you give Drow Ranger. Which means that you do not slow when you add Lifesteal. I'll be talking about this also on General Strategy. Trueshot Aura is taken at Level 12 when you can actually feel the difference between an aura-infused drow-arrow and an arrow. This is because you just leveled Marksmanship twice and it bordering on late game now, where percentage-based damage buffers begin to make their presence known. Marksmanship gives you the biggest boost in AGI in the game from just one skill. It makes no sense not to take it. You'll particularly feel it the most during Level 6, when you have piss-poor AGI at the beginning. Keep in mind, 1 point of AGI gives Drow Ranger: +1 attack speed, +1 damage, and 0.14 Armor. 7 points of AGI gives her a full 1 point of Armor. Stats is taken at Level 4. OMGWTFBBQ? Let's see, you might underestimate the power of a level of Stats. Consider which skills you might want to take at the time. Level 2 Silence, for four seconds? The basic core of Silence is working at Level 1, no thanks. Level 1 Trueshot Aura? Nope, this skill's going to be leveled too far off. Level 3 Frost Arrows? You can't level this skill at Level 4! Stats it is! |
You will only follow this build, and its variations, when there is not much threat coming from spellcasters, and you are the only carry they are relying on. This is highly unlikely in an organized game. Why? The enemy will always prioritize early gamers over late carries. Also, the skill build relies on your farming skills so bad, that you must have some tier item by the end of Level 11 just to make use of this build. Take it at your own risk and pleasure. |
Frost Arrows is taken at Level 4 to orb-walk. That's pretty much it. If necessary, you can take it again to max it at Level 12 and beyond, but as you can see, it is easily replaced by Stats instead. Silence is taken at Level 1, as stated before, and maxed out by Level 10 to ensure clash functionality and no retaliation from spellcasters when you need it. Stats may be taken starting from Level 12 as a single point or as continuous points throughout the later levels. If you took it as a single point at 12, you will max out Frost Arrows at Level 15. |
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VI. ITEM BUILDS
- Standard
- Build Progression #1
- Which Boots?
- HotD Build
- Build Progression #2
- Extensions
- Utility Items
- Luxury Items
Standard
Justification: Power Treads is the main item for Drow Ranger over all the Boots (more on this later). The biggest reason is the additional STR and the attack speed early on. She can also switch to AGI when farming, and if lacking a little mana, to INT to cast that vital Silence. No other Boots would provide this benefits in one go. As usual, other Boots are discussed in the "Which Boots?" tab. Don't keep it on AGI all the time.
Lothar's Edge is your main escape mechanism and ganking mechanism. Yes, it is easily countered by True Sight, which I assume organized games would have. However, you have no innate escape mechanisms in you and there are no other items that would give what she wants in one buying: additional damage and escape mechanism. Yes, the raw damage from this item is not manipulated by Trueshot Aura, but the item still holds as one of her core items.
Wraith Bands gives Drow Ranger an early boost on AGI and damage. The most you should get in one game is two. Never go beyond that amount. Why? It would delay your build, and you would not have enough space in your inventory for a life-saving Scroll of Town Portal.
Magic Wand, although sometimes it would delay, should be your survival item throughout the game. You even build it first (see Build Progression). While you'll be unlikely to be participating in many team clashes, you're not likely to use the charges either because of your low manacost spells (12 for Frost Arrows; 90 for Silence). The idea is to store the charges until you reach the maximum and keep them with you in the event that you're ganked to save your life if necessary.
Scroll of Town Portal should be with you at all times. Remember to visit the side shops when you can if you didn't have enough money to buy it from your base.
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VII. GENERAL STRATEGY
Side Lane
Starting Items: You hardly need mana consumables at this time, nor ever, so you'll be getting a Healing Salve to prolong your stay in the lane instead. A quick tip when going to the side lanes is to avoid buying things that you can buy at the goblin shops. Also, this build leaves you with enough money to buy a Magic Wand recipe (not the Scroll of Town Portal) should you want to build it first. It would need only 200 gold more to finish it up.
Goals: Get Power Treads, stay alive. Unless you have a competent lane partner, just focus on last hitting. Make it your priority. Your attack animation should be quite slow for now. What you should ask for in the very beginning is a baby-sitter (a healer, supporter) that would not compete for last hitting and keep you alive during your laning phase.
Farming: Last hitting should be your top priority. Not only is it hard enough to make up for lost time due to dying or doing something else, you don't even have any skill to help you with that problem.
Pulling: If you're taking the pull lanes, pull if you're both ranged, and make it fast. Otherwise, stay to defend if your friend is melee.
Sent-Top/Scourge-Bottom: This one's harder since you cannot pull back your wave nearer to the tower, and they will likely pull them back towards theirs. Never stray too deep into the enemy territory. You won't survive an organized gank if you do. Just stay back and last hit.
Harassing: Orb-walking is possible with Frost Arrows. With a competent lane partner, you can gain a kill by slowing your enemies' movement speed and combining it with a stun or a burst slow is quite powerful. Remember to make harassing a low priority, and never forget your last hitting. Harass the melee Heroes to make them think twice about venturing into your range and to dominate the lane.
Wrap Up: Get your core items and start moving on to bigger creeps if you can. Farm open lanes and try to avoid ganks that involve too little allies. You risk yourself valuable time if you fail and die.
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VIII. COUNTERS
Honestly, I've already mentioned Drow Ranger's greatest enemies on the "Rival Build" tab, and on the "Clashes" tab. Instead of posting disablers and the like, let me focus on other hard carries that she cannot take. We are talking of equal strength and skill here. However, let's still include the obvious counters, and begin with them.
Justification: Burst nukes will shred you. Examples shown are Laser, Light Strike Array, and Brain Sap. With your little HP, this is an obvious counter to you.
Justification: Ultimate disables that go through BKB are your biggest threats. Examples shown are Fiend's Grip, Dismember, and Netherswap. Exercise much more caution when facing these Heroes.
Justification: Lane controllers hamper your early game. I'll cite three specific examples. Gyrocopter with his Flak Cannon and Homing Missile, Ancient Apparition with Cold Feet and Ice Vortex, and Keeper of the Light with his Illuminate and Mana Leak. These won't allow you to farm at all. Switch lanes.
Justification: Troll Warlord, ranged or not, is one of your biggest threats. He will likely also take Lothar's Edge for ganking and escaping, so you two are equal rivals. What he can do is take you on 1v1. Lifesteal is his major orb and he will outlast you if he manages to stop you from attacking with his Bash. Battle Trance will readily tip the strength to his favor, so watch out.
Justification: Faceless Void loves 1v1, to the point that he pauses both his allies and his enemies in time. He has Backtrack, a triggered heal that stacks fully with Evasion. He also has Time Lock, which is just a fancy way of saying Bash. I already mentioned Chronosphere, but it can be stopped by a good Silence. Unless you're able to kite him, there's not much you can actually do.
Justification: Murloc Nightcrawler loves stats and you have a lot of AGI. Watch as he takes them away from you using Essence Shift if you fight 1v1. Not only that, you can do anything but watch as he uses Shadow Dance, and you can't keep your distance because of Pounce. Dark Pact doubles as a buff remover, so careful not to Silence him too early.
Justification: Phantom Assasin has refined her Hero-killing skills to a high degree. This is the description of the skill that will kill you faster than you think. Not only that, you can't use Silence against it. Finally, she has Blur to evade part of your attacks, and slow you down to a crawl with Stifling Dagger. Think twice about fighting this Hero alone.
Justification: A Slithereen Guard will first mark you with Amplify Damage, and there's not much you can do about it. You're gonna get that buff on you with or without Silence. Without that buff, you have a higher chance of winning, but he also has Bash and Slithereen Crush to, umm, crush you if you choose to fight. If you don't, he has Sprint to chase you down, obviously, and that Lothar's Edge won't work, because now you're tracked by Amplify Damage.
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IX. MISCELLANEOUS
Middle Lane
It's easy to get to Level 6 at middle lane, but here are his problems: No lane control and no base damage to last hit. Even Mortred has better laning prowess than Drow Ranger (at least she has Stifling Dagger). So middle lane is certainly a no-no if your enemies are rather skilled.
Just the same argument from my other guide.
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X. CONCLUSION
Again, I hope you learned a new Hero. Drow Ranger, as I said, is my very first Hero. Watching others play, and improving from how I play, led me to write this guide on her to share my insights. Have fun using her to her best!
There are many ways to play Drow Ranger, but there are better ways of using her potential to its maximum!
Final Words: My Alt-Tab series of strategy guides are meant to display as much helpful information as possible without the unnecessary portions. They are not meant for Spotlight guides, with their fancy pictures and video tutorials. That is, in my opinion, extremely time-consuming. It deviates from my purpose, which is to have fun while writing this guide to communicate with others in the DotA community. I like to maintain clean and simple updated works which are just as rich in content as most good guides are.
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XI. REPLAYS
Coming soon!
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XII. CREDITS
None, really. The usual goes to whoever deserves them. I gave due credit on specific parts, anyway. Thanks to you, though, for reading my guide from start to finish.
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XIII. CHANGELOG
- December 18, 2010 - Started the guide.
- December 19, 2010 - Finished the guide.
- December 21, 2010 - HotD Build is under construction to the guide.
- December 23, 2010 - Finalized HotD builds.
- December 25, 2010 - Updated to 6.70, Merry Christmas!
- January 23, 2011 - Updated to 6.71.
- April 8, 2011 - Made a few corrections.
- April 15, 2011 - Added new information about MKB.
- May 1, 2011 - Updated fully to 6.72.
- May 5, 2011 - Updated fully to 6.72b.
- June 14, 2011 - Updated fully to 6.72c.
- April 22, 2012 - Updated to 6.74c.
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Traxex the Drow RangerAuthor: Melderv
Map Vers.: 6.72b
Traxex Alt-Tab Guide
Most Concise Drow Ranger Guide
Last Comment:02/05/2012
Total Votes: 152
Current Rating: 8.61
Views: 377189
