Dota 2 Dark Willow Guide – Pros and Cons

Dive into this Dota 2 Dark Willow Guide to learn more information about one of Dota 2’s popular supports.

Even though a lot of players thought that this hero was weird when she was released, there’s no arguing that Dark Willow is a hero that deserves more attention. She can be incredibly dangerous in a lot of different situations, especially when dealing damage. Consequently, a lot of people use the hero daily.

Before this Dark Willow Dota 2 guide reveals more information about her, we need to point out that she’s a ranged Universal her with 2 armor, 290 MS, and 46-54 damage. She’s almost always the team’s support, but she can also do a lot of damage, so let’s see more details about her.

Dota 2 Dark Willow Guide – Abilities

Before taking a look at the proper Dark Willow Dota 2 build, here’s more info about the skills.

• Bramble Maze – Creates a maze on the ground after 0.3s, which lasts for 15s, and roots targets inside it for 2.5, dealing 65 damage per tick. 
• Shadow Realm – This ability allows the hero to become untargetable for 5s, after which she deals 360 damage on her next attack and it has increased range.
• Cursed Crown – When used, Dark Willow will put a curse on a target that takes 4s to cast. After those 4s, the target will be stunned for 2.4s.
• Bedlam – This ability releases a wisp that traves at an ally on Dark Willow at the speed of 1800 and spins around and deals damage.
• Terrorize – Dark will “scare” all enemy units for 3.2s, causing them to run to their base. This ability can’t be used while Bedlam is active.

Getting a Shard for Dark Willow will create 4 brambles in a 175 radius around the targets which will trap other units. However, the stun duration is lowered by 1s. An Aghanim’s Scepter will allow Dark Willow to no longer be out of the Shadow Realm to do bonus. 

Dark Willow Dota 2 Guide – Talents

Although some people thin that Dota 2 Dark Willow copypasta skills are not interesting, they are unique, and so are the talents.

• Level 10 – Shadow Realm gets -2s Cooldown or Cursed Crown stuns for 0.4s longer
• Level 15 – Cursed Crown has a +160 AoE or Bedlam deals +30 damage
• Level 20 – Bramble Maze gets -7s Cooldown or Shadow Realm lasts for +2s longer
• Level 25 –  Bedlam attacks 2 targets or the hero gets +100 AS

Dota 2 Dark Willow Guide –  Tips

Before checking the Dark Willow Dota 2 pro tracker, you should know that this hero is usually the team’s support. You will occasionally come across a core Dark Willow, but most pro and casual players will use her as a support.

Besides warding and stacking, Dark Willow has to nuke her opponents because she is the support hero with the highest DPS in the game. She can easily bully almost anyone and can land a lot of kills when she’s alongside an aggressive carry. No wonder a lot of people are using this to their advantage.

Following the end of the laning stage, Willow is all about doing damage and trying to CC the important heroes in the enemy team. She has one of the best defensive ultimates in the game that can save her team from many bad situations. Some players even like using it offensively, but it’s better to hold on to it when things go bad.

In terms of the late game, most Dark Willow players will try to transition into right-clicking monsters. Thanks to Aghanim’s Scepter and the +100 AS talent, this hero can do insane amounts of single-target bursts. Therefore don’t be surprised if position 4 of 5 Dark Willow suddenly starts one-shotting the heroes on your team.

Dark Willow Dota 2 Guide- Pros and Cons

The Dark Willow Dota 2 Item build you go for is important, but before we go through it, let’s learn more about some of the perks and cons.

Pros:

• A lot of CC
• Incredibly high damage output for a support
• Her ultimate can save her team

Cons:

• Very fragile
• Needs levels to do damage

Dota 2 Dark Willow Guide – Items

Deciding whether to go for the Dota 2 Dark willow carry build ot the classic support route is really important, so here are some of the items you can expect to find.

Starting items

Besides wards, you need to get  HP regen and Mana regen in Mango and Clarity.

Early game 

The early game items for the hero include Magic Wand and Boots of Speed. Some people even for a Wind Lace.

Mid game

In the mid-game, Willow should get Arcane Boots and Glimmer’s Cape. Some players will also try going for a Eul’s or a Blink Dagger.

Late game

The best late game items for a support Dark Willow include Scythe of Vyse and Aeon Disc. However, a lot of players will try getting carry items like Desolator, MKB, and more.

Dark Willow Dota 2 Counter 

Even though she’s a support, there is a Dota 2 Dark Willow counter that a lot of people pick because this hero can be challenging to deal with late on.

• Anti-Mage – AM’s a living nightmare for all INT heroes, especially those that are squishy.
• Drow Ranger – Silence is incredibly strong against Willow because the latter can’t do anything about it unless she has an Eul’s or a BKB.
• Ember Spirit – Ember can absorb a portion of Willow’s damage, and he can be really hard to deal with.
• Nyx Assassin – Nyx’s damage output allows him to be really effective against Willow. He can also burn mana and stun the hero twice.

Conclusion

In addition to everything mentioned here, the Dota 2 Dark Willow voice actor makes the hero even more interesting to use. She can be perfect in many situations, but it’s not something you go for in every game. It really depends on the lineup.