Gone With the Wind - A Farewell Guide

Such detail!!! +1

SLASHER'S WAY

What disappointed me about slahser's way wasn't so much the Aghs rush as much as it was how normal of a build it was! While for non-Windranger players or for "Maelstrom is core every game on Windranger, even if it's your fourth item" players it may have been thought-provoking, for me it was "So, basically a rather normal variant on Windranger." When I first clicked on his video I was hoping he'd come up with something unusual like "Skip Aghs, use Focus Fire only to kill their carry, then clean up with your upgraded Mjollnir" (incidentally I tried this out once in a bot game. It did not end well.).

I do agree that Blink Dagger is in general nicer unless they've got some wicked DoT that would otherwise wreck your escape. However, while ganking Shackleshots, where you have to make the shackle while chasing a fleeing opponent, are more difficult with a good positioning item, I find in a teamfight-heavy match you don't necessarily need a Blink or Force to get the positioning for a Shackleshot, and oftentimes a good shackle (even a one hero shackle is great! Not as gamebreaking as a two-hero shackle, but it's still nice) is possible with the right timing.

I don't think Orchid is core either, but its easy buildup means it's something you can reasonably work towards in nearly any match, while almost always being able to contribute; silencing a Lion or another support during a teamfight who doesn't have a BKB means they're basically unable to contribute for 5 seconds. During a gank, you can silence your target....or your target's backup, which may be just as effective!

And I'm glad Hamstertamer commented positively on this! I'm sure I'm horribly wrong on some of the Hero matchups, but I must say, your guide to Windranger was one of the first things I read while starting out in Dota! I'm sure you'll be able to see your influence here and there in my guide :)

My favourite builds are these:

Offensive:

Phase Boots >> Maelstrom >> Blink Dagger >> Black King Bar/ Linken's Sphere >> Aghanim's Scepter >> Monkey King Bar/Abysall Blade

Defensive:

Phase Boots >> Force Staff >> Rod of Atos/ Orchid Malevolence >> Black King Bar/ Linken's Sphere >> Aghanim's Scepter >> Daedalus

It's not outdated. Not being the current trend and being outdated are two very different things. There hasn't been a single patch that made this build obsolete, on the contrary, all the patches buffed the Maelstrom build especially the increased max attack speed.

Slahser's way is...controversial to say the least. Remember Euls Gyro? Solo mid crystal maiden? Safe lane farming shakira? AFK farming Nightstalker witrh Midas because he's such a good late game carry? I've seen streamers play that stuff...and throw the game. Trends are just what they are, trends.

Orchid is good against heroes with escapes. It's not core at all, it's just the best item if they have imba spirits or something. It's a good item on WR, but only if you need a silence.

Personally I think Windranger without a mobility item is absolutely terrible. A pure DPS WR without mobility really feels like a watered down Drow or Clinkz. Blink Dagger + Shackleshot is more than half of the hero's game impact and WR without blink is just not the same hero to me. I hate going Force Staff on WR enough as it's so much worse than blink (sometimes you have to), but WR without mobility is just...bleh. So slahser's Aghs rush into crit is fine but at least please get a freaking blink on that hero.

Anyways nice guide, especially for the matchups :)

I feel Maelstrom remains a valid item to grab regardless because it can help you snowball very quickly but only if you get it very early on, as it falls off after a certain point. Blink Dagger also does make you into a better ganker because you can have the element of surprise, although late-game if I'm a rather important core I'd prefer selling Blink to get another item to help me teamfight like a Monkey King Bar or Eye of Skadi. If your CS isn't basically perfect, the Maelstrom won't come online soon enough that more tankiness is more important. And I also note that I personally dislike picking up an Mjollnir unless you really want its active or if teamfights require you keep up your DPS between Focus Fires, and upgrading it only as one of your last items, as well as noting at that point I'd probably prefer selling the Maelstrom and buying something else.

I pick up an Orchid Malevolence for three reasons that I note when I cover it. First, if you're on the offlane, you can buy pretty much everything for it in the Side Shop, which is a big bonus because you won't need to get involved in courier fights. Every part of the Orchid also helps you in lane; Sage's Mask gives you mana regen to use your spells more often, and both Quarterstaff and Robe of the Magi improve your lasthit damage, improving your ability to CS. Although an Oblivion Staff is not the nicest interim item (it gives +25% mana regen and +5 damage compared to its components, but no extra Int, meaning the recipe for Orchid Malevolence is worth +13 Int and +10 attack speed), the resulting Orchid gives you a healthy +55 damage, all of the mana regen you'll ever need (your enemies will have a hard time pushing against you because you'll be able to spam Powershots to help clear waves from a very safe distance, or push towers from a very long distance away), and an active ability that is well worth its price with both extra lockdown and damage amplification. I don't consider Orchid an item I get on Windranger for attack speed at all! Not to mention by increasing your base damage by a healthy amount, Orchid also makes base damage amplifying factors like Magnus' Empower or a Double Damage rune nicer.

Instead of using Bloodseeker, consider using .

Other than that, the guide has some substance to it which I like. However, the biggest mistake is actually that the item builds are outdated. The SingSing build ( Maelstrom ---> Blink Dagger ---> Aghanim's Scepter) has fallen out of favor recently, and has been replaced with Slasher's way ( Aghanim's Scepter ---> Daedalus, Desolator, or Monkey King Bar ---> All the other ones).

Think of Aghanim's Scepter as an item that gives infinite attack speed, putting you at the max. Once you start stacking big damage items, your DPS becomes ludicrous. Therefore, getting attack speed items like Orchid Malevolence and Mjollnir doesn't actually increase your DPS by that much.

If you go offlane, you probably shouldn't try and rush an item anyway, as it may cost you your life.

Anyway, this is all nitpicking. Nice guide.

TheSofa said pretty much everything I was thinking. Very complete guide! Some formatting would help a lot, and consider changing some organization on your chapters if you're in the mood someday, cause it's hard to find info like this - for instance, if I want to know if there are heroes that sinergize better with Wind than others, it's hard to find them all in a place without reading her relationship with each and every one.

But congrats on the way you found to give youself dota closure! :)

Whoa, really great guide, very detailed, +1 and cookies from me!

Just maybe a bit of formatting would help though, but since you aren't going to be back for a while, it doesn't really matter.