Bounty Hunter – FIREWALKER Follows the Trail

For the Right Price, Anything

FIREWALKER reporting for duty. After a few sleepless nights, I’m able to bring this Bounty Hunter guide right after my Timbersaw Guide. Now let’s go cash in on those bounties...

Gondar the Bounty Hunter

Bounty Hunter is a melee agility hero, usually and most effectively played as a roaming support. Gondar’s lore reads as follows...



When the hunted tell tales of Gondar the Bounty Hunter, none are sure of which are true. In whispered tones they say he was abandoned as a kit, learning his skill in tracking as a matter of simple survival. Others hear he was an orphan of war, taken in by the great Soruq the Hunter to learn the master’s skill with a blade as they plumbed the dark forests for big game. Still others believe he was a lowly street urchin raised among a guild of cutpurses and thieves, trained in the arts of stealth and misdirection. Around campfires in the wild countryside his quarry speaks the rumors of Gondar’s work, growing ever more fearful: they say it was he who tracked down the tyrant King Goff years after the mad regent went into hiding, delivering his head and scepter as proof. That it was he who infiltrated the rebel camps at Highseat, finally bringing the legendary thief White Cape to be judged for his crimes. And that it was he who ended the career of Soruq the Hunter, condemned as a criminal for killing the Prince’s prized hellkite. The tales of Gondar’s incredible skill stretch on, with each daring feat more unbelievable than the last, each target more elusive. For the right price, the hunted know, anyone can be found. For the right price, even the mightiest may find fear in the shadows.

Stats

Strength: 17 + 1.8 per lvl
Agility: 21 + 3 per lvl
Intelligence: 19 + 2 per lvl

Health at lvl 25: 1400
Mana at lvl 25: 854

Base Damage: 24-38
Armor at level 1: 6
Movementspeed: 315
Base Attack Time: 1.7
Turn Rate: 0.6

Official Roles: Escape, Nuker

Initial Thoughts

Bounty Hunter is a unique support hero, able to keep up in farm through Track kills, simultaneously helping his team to snowball ahead of the enemy team, or, if they’re behind, to catch up with the opposition.

Requiring little to no items to function himself, Bounty Hunter can use the juicy Track gold to buy any item his team needs, providing them with a lot of utility.

Using Shadow Walk, Bounty Hunter can easily scout out the enemy and set up kills for his team. Having a disruptive playstyle can destroy the enemies’ early game.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Strong early game roaming and disruption
• Good vision with Track and scouting with Shadow Walk
• Strong team snowball potential with Track kills
• Decent teamfight with Track movement speed and Shuriken Toss bounces
• Better income than most supports
  
  

Cons

• Shadow Walk is easily countered by Dust of Appearance etc.
• Track becomes useless if your team can’t follow through with the kills.
• Squishy(like most supports)
  

Ability Descriptions

Shuriken Toss is Bounty Hunter’s first ability – a magical nuke and mini-stun. This single target spell will bounce towards all Tracked units in a 1200 AoE.

Manacost 120 130 140 150

Damage 150 225 300 375

Cooldown 10 10 10 10

Upgradeable by uAghanim’s Scepter: Causes the Shuriken to bounce towards each Tracked unit in the AoE twice.

While the shuriken may be small, Gondar’s precise aim can cause critical damage.

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A passive ability, Jinada grants Bounty Hunter a critical strike, dealing bonus damage to the target and reducing their movement- and attack speed for 3 seconds after the hit.

Critical Damage 150% 175% 200% 225%

Move Slow 15% 20% 25% 30%

Attack Slow 15% 20% 25% 30%

Cooldown 12 10 8 6

Affected by Talents: Bounty Hunter's Talent Tree gives an option at level 25 to reduce Jinada’s cooldown by 5 seconds.

Whispering an enchantment he learned from Soruq to his faithful blades, Gondar targets vital tendons and joints to disable his opponents.

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Shadow Walk turns Bounty Hunter invisible while also allowing him to phase through units. Using an item or ability will break the invisibility. Attacking from Shadow Walk will break the invisibility and deal bonus damage.

Manacost 65 65 65 65

Bonus Damage 30 60 90 120

Fade Time 1 0.75 0.5 0.25

Duration 20 25 30 35

Cooldown 15 15 15 15

The court jesters present during King Goff’s assassination can recount no other image than a dancing shadow.

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Track places a debuff on an enemy hero, lasting 30 seconds. The debuff grants True Sight of that hero and shows its current gold. Bounty Hunter and his nearby allies gain bonus movement speed when within 900 radius of a Tracked unit. If the target dies, Bounty Hunter and his nearby allies are granted bonus gold.

Manacost 65 65 65

Bonus Speed 16% 18% 20%

Bonus Gold - Self 150 250 350

Bonus Gold - Allies 40 80 120

Cooldown 4 4 4

Using his elevated senses of sight and smell, Gondar’s hit have quite a good chance of success.

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Ability Usage

Shuriken Toss provides heavy nuke damage and the bounces helps Bounty Hunter to gain a teamfight presence. The mini-stun provides some utility to this ability, making it worth an early value point to stop channeling spells and teleportations. As with all nukes, Shuriken Toss is most effective in the early and middle stages of the game, so max this relatively early.

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Jinada provides decent damage, with strong utility because of the slow. Put an early level into this to help secure kills by disabling enemies. The slow also works against Animal Couriers, so consider going into the mid lane under the cover of Shadow Walk for the courier snipe.

Critical damage and a relatively short cooldown on this ability makes people consider playing him as a carry, but some Bounty Hunter’s weak points prevent him from shining in this roll. Bounty Hunter is very squishy, and can easily be bursted down. Secondly, Jinada has a cooldown, so attack speed items are relatively worthless in this regard. Bounty Hunter is still able to transition into a core, but he is far from a hard carry.

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Putting your level one skill point into Shadow Walk is mostly recommended, allowing you to move stealthily to scout out enemies at rune spawn and the early laning stage. Consider stealing a Bounty Rune and continue to disrupt the enemy laning stage with this ability.

Remember to constantly look in the enemies’ inventories to make sure they aren’t carrying detection. Take note who is carrying the Dust of Appearance and take the time to deward enemy Sentry Wards with your own.

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After level 6, make sure to Track every enemy you see, granting your team vital vision and snowballing them with the bonus gold. The bonus movements speed gives your team the edge in teamfigths, and the bouncing Shuriken Toss will deal a decent chunk of damage Track is your most vital and team orientated ability, and the key to victory if used enough.

Talent Tree

Level 10

+15% XP Gain vs +175 HP

As a squishy support, the bonus HP will provide some durability. As a support though, you can rest assured if you die - you created space for your carry.
The more team orientated pick up, 15% bonus experience will usually be of more use, granting earlier access to level 3 Track for your team.

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Level 15

+40 Attack Speed vs +15 Movement Speed

40 Attack speed isn’t a bad pickup, but a more carry orientated one.
The more support orientated pickup, movement speed allows for better positioning, getting in range faster to Track someone and more mobility for scouting.

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Level 20

+8% Spell Amplification vs +100 Damage

Bounty Hunter’s only ability that gets effected by spell amp is Shuriken Toss, therefore this talent only provides a minor improvement.
The 100 damage helps Bounty Hunter to scale into the late game, getting even more damage from Jinada and normal right clicks. After all, once the whole enemy team is Tracked, Bounty Hunter’s job is done and he can proceed to right click enemies.

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Level 25

-5s Jinada Cooldown vs 20% Evasion

A hard carry on your team will probably already have evasion, making Monkey King Bar a mandatory pick up on the enemy cores, already canceling out your own evasion.
A shorter Jinada cooldown would be more beneficial, allowing you to deal out more damage, while also giving you greater crowd control with more Jinada-slows.

Item Build

Starting Items

Some basic regeneration throughout the early game, also helping to deward easily.



Providing some more regeneration, helping you to stay around longer and cause even more disruption, Healing Salves can also be shared, allowing you to lend a helping hand to a struggling core.



A couple of Claritys should provide enough mana regeneration to use Shadow Walk constantly.



Some stats to get you going, Iron Branches can also be upgraded into a Magic Wand or a Headdress for that Vladmir’s Offering or Mekanism.

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Early Game

Providing mana for spamming Track and building into Guardian Greaves, Arcane Boots are a solid pick up.



Another option for boots, though less recommended, Phase Boots provides some damage and a lot of chasing potential, especially when combined with Track movement speed.



A very efficient item, Magic Wand provides stats and regeneration for a very good price. As a support, every gold coin should be made to count.



Urn of Shadows provides some decent stats and an amount of sustain, a decent pickup when not going for that early Mekanism



Supporting might make you fall behind on experience. Grab a Tome of Knowledge to get Track online if you’re struggling.

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Mid Game

Mekansm provides a lot of teamfight survivability and sustain. As an unusually rich support, Bounty Hunter is able to pick this up early, making it a very strong pickup. The recommended build if there isn’t a core hero building it. Also upgradeable into Guardian Greaves for an even stronger team aura.



A dependable pickup, providing a lot for the team and solid on any support.




Pipe of Insight is a very situational item, though very strong in certain games. With Bounty Hunter’s GPM, he is able to get one against that pesky Zeus.



Providing immunity against physical damage, Ghost Scepter can be a life saver against some right clickers.



Some extra movement speed and mana, Eul's Scepter of Divinity’s real value lies in its active. An extra way to stop channels or break Linken's Sphere, the item also provides a purge to be used on yourself. A strong kiting tool, it also acts as a poor man’s Scythe of Vyse.


One of a support’s main jobs is to keep their cores alive. Casting Solar Crest on a carry might provide just that but of durability needed. The item can also be used offensively to help burst down an enemy hero. A strong pickup against a physical damage orientated lineup, or to provide a damage boost to your own team’s physical damage.



Vladmir's Offering provides a strong lifesteal, armor and damage boosting aura for the team. A solid pickup if no one else is getting one.

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Late Game

If you built a Mekansm and haven’t upgraded it earlier, now is surely the time to do it, getting an even stronger aura and saving an item slot.



Keeping with the supporting role, transferring Linken's Sphere’s spell block onto a carry will allow him to siege high ground more safely and to enter teamfights more safely. As a situational pickup, Linken's Sphere provides a strong defence against certain single target spells.


A strong deterrent against single target spells, the active also purges, allowing you to save the team’s carry from spells such as Hex.



A strong disable is something that Bounty Hunter lacks. Scythe of Vyse can solve many problems, providing hard lockdown against an important target.



Blink Dagger allows Bounty Hunter to Track an enemy and quickly retreat before they can retaliate.

Ultra Late Game

Though not a hard carry, Bounty Hunter is still able to deal substantial amounts of rightclick damage. Still sacrificing for the good of the team as a support should, going into the ultra late game, Bounty Hunter might still be able to pick up some of the following carry/damage items to help him scale. Or build them earlier for a bit of a troll...

Playing like a ganking style Nyx Assassin, this is the classic burst combo:

Dagon


Normal carry-style items:

Playstyle

Early Game

Playing mostly around Shadow Walk, Bounty Hunter is able to cause a lot of disruption during this stage of the game. Roaming from lane to lane he is able to scout out enemy movements, providing an early warning to prevent incoming ganks, all the while setting up ganks himself.

With a bit of patience waiting between the tier one and two mid towers, you might be able to kill the enemy courier using Jinada’s bonus damage and slow.

Remember to carry a Teleportation Scroll. As a support it is your job to rotate and to save carries, allowing them to farm more safely.

This stage of the game is where Bounty Hunter shines, creating tons of space and kill opportunities. Just remember to check enemies’ inventories for detection and steering clear of traps. Bounty Hunter’s squishy nature makes him an easy kill when caught out.

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Mid Game

At this stage Bounty Hunter becomes a walking ward, scouting out enemies and Tracking everything within sight. Track will help your team snowball, hopefully securing the game. Be careful not to get caught out while scouting, giving away kills can cost your team some of that Track advantage.

Look for pickoffs, if possible, to get some free Track kills to pull further ahead of the enemy.

Continue supporting the cores on your team, saving them and helping them secure kills. Help out the other support on the team by purchasing some Observer Ward and deward using a Gem of True Sight or Sentry Wards. Unlike most supports, you won’t be dirt poor. Track gold will make up for your lack of farm if your team manages to secure the kills.

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Late Game

Hopefully having gained a good advantage from Track gold, ending the game should be a breeze. Do so as soon as possible, don’t give the enemy time to catch up!

If your team had a hard time earlier in the game and haven’t been able to pull ahead of the enemy, start looking for pickoffs. Getting a Track kill makes it a lot more valuable, granting your team a much gold reward and helping you to get back into the game. Take small skirmishes, racking up the Track gold until you’re strong enough to face the enemy head on.

Friends, Foes and Food

Friends

Hard carries who need a lot of farm greatly benefit from Track , allowing them to come online faster.




Gankers who can team up with Bounty Hunter can rack up some nice Track kills.





Heroes that can snowball out of control can be even more dangerous with the added Track gold, puling even further ahead of enemies.




Track an enemy to provide vision and a ranged ally can use Hurricane Pike’s active to its full potential, having the chance to land all four hits with the unlimited range.

Foes

Providing True Sight with two of his abilities, Zeus reduces Shadow Walk’s effectiveness. Slardar and Bloodseeker can also provide True Sight. Play extra carefully against such heroes.




Gem of True Sight, Dust of Appearance and Sentry Wards are easily purchasable to provide vision of Bounty Hunter. Play carefully and look into enemies’ inventories to avoid getting caught out by these items.



Teams who like to five man and stay together won’t provide chances to get Track pickoffs. All Track gold would have to come from teamfights, so be sure to Track everyone during the fight.

Food

Heroes who usually do their own thing, splitpushing by themselves make easy targets for ganks, granting your team some extra Track gold.




Hard carries in the opposing team might not have the chance to come online. Gaining an early advantage through Track will allow your team the strength to end before they become to strong.




Heroes relying on invisibility will be in trouble if they get Tracked, making easy pickoffs with Track’s True Sight.

The Trail Grows Cold

Providing a lot for his team, Bounty Hunter is a well rounded support. Dealing a decent amount of damage, Bounty Hunter also has a teamfight presence, giving his team bonus movement speed and vision while nuking multiple enemies with Shuriken Toss.

Scouting with Shadow Walk, he can easily set up kills. Like most supports, Bounty Hunter shines in the early game, causing havoc on enemy ranks by roaming across the map.

Unlike other supports, Bounty Hunter won’t be starved of gold, gaining a lot from Track kills even though he is low farm priority. Not needing items himself, Bounty Hunter can grab a couple of team orientated items with this gold to give his side the extra edge.

Track allows Bounty Hunter to stay relevant throughout the mid game, helping your team to gain a gold advantage above the enemy team. Track each hero before the kill, causing the gold advantage to swing even further, all the while scouting out enemy movements with Shadow Walk and checking their inventories for detection.

Feel free to leave a comment with any criticism, suggestions or questions.

Good Luck and Have Fun
FIREWALKER out

**Updated for 7.01**