Low!-A guide to Bounty Hunter [6.84]

Introduction

Hello everybody! I am Satomi and today I am bringing a Bounty Hunter guide.
Bounty Hunter is a very versatile hero, able to be a position 2,3,4,5. He is well known for his ability to Track people, revealing them and giving bonus gold to the team after killing a tracked unit. This way he can snowball his team very fast!
This guide will teach you the basic ways of playing Bounty Hunter and which items to build on him.
Let's proceed to the guide...

Pros/Cons and general information

So, Bounty Hunter! He can be played in position 2,3,4,5. He is not, by any means, a hard carry. Yeah, he scales, but not as good as Spectre. He is not even close to her.
His best lane is offlane as he can escape easily with Shadow Walk. The thing he needs to start ganking is... Track. This means you will sap xp till lvl6 and then start ganking! When playing as a pos 4 or 5 ganking will be different-you will gank from level 1 or 2 with the slow from Orb of Venom and/or Jinada.
Bounty Hunter... he is utility hero, an aura carrier. Many people build him full dmg, glass cannon. Well, this is wrong.
He is also a very supportish hero. He does not have to kill to have gold. Just Track someone and let the carry get the kill. You will still get 200-350 gold from Track!

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Pros:
+Can snowball his team with the bonus gold from Track
+Can be played solo in the suicide lane
+One of the best armor and armor gain
+Very mobile(even more with a Blink Dagger)
+Versatile item builds!
+Good one-hit damage with Jinada
+Invisibilty counter with Track
+Good base movement speed at 315
+Fun to play, and not very hard to do so!

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Cons:
-Low hp pool
-Early game has some mana problems
-Invisibility is countered by Dust of Appearance, Sentry Ward and Slardar...
-Dependant on level 6 when played in the offlane.
-Reliant on his team late game
- Slardar ****s you up :/
-No AoE=no waveclear
-If you build no dmg items, late game Bounty Hunter becomes a hero which can only Track people and watch the teamfight :/
-Useless against deathball/pushing strats as he cannot push or counterpush
-Not a "true" teamfighter like Magnus for ex. Bad teamfight presence.

When to pick

When to pick Bounty Hunter:
+Your team needs an offlane/midlane or a support hero
+You know how to position yourself, check for enemy wards, deward
+You like ganking and not farming
+There is no Slardar on their team...seriously, **** this guy
+They have lots of squishies
+They have lots of channeling spells as Shuriken Toss ministuns
+Your team has enough lockdown, as Bounty Hunter lacks any

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When not to pick Bounty Hunter:
-They have Slardar
-You like to farm and you don't know how to gank
-They have lots of mutes(you cannot cast spells nor items) like Doom, Static Storm, Hex
-You do not have a hard carry

Skillz

Shuriken toss

This is your first spell. Basically you throw a shuriken dealing amazing amounts of damage and ministunning. With the recent damage buff to this spell, Bounty Hunter became a really scary hero in the early game. The shuriken bounces on every tracked unit which is near. This means good damage potential in early game teamfights. Max this first as the damage this spell deals is unbeliavable.

Tips and tricks:
The shuriken ministuns. Use it to cancel channeling spells and teleport scrolls!

The shuriken bounces between tracked units. Use this to make some sick playz and deal good damage in teamfights.

This spell has really short range(400). Keep that in mind.

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Jinada

This is your only passive. It makes your next attack deal percent more damage and slow when off cooldown. The damage is based on your own right click damage which means that this spell is good even in late game!
Basically this is a guranteed crit with cooldown which slows...
Max this second as one point in Shadow Walk is enough to make you perma-invis as long as you have mana.

Tips and tricks
Use this spell to last hit in the laning phase.

Because of this spell, stacking damage with zero attack speed is okay as it has cooldown(kinda like Tidebringer).

Your weapons glow when Jinada is off cooldown.

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Shadow walk

This is Bounty Hunter's third spell. When activated it makes you invisible and makes your next attack deal bonus physical damage. This spell is useful for scouting, assassinating and escaping.
You max this last as one point is enough to make yourself perma-invisible.

Tips and tricks:
Be careful of Sentry Wards and dust of apperaence. They will reveal you and make your escapes/assassinations fail.
So, always check your enemies's inventories.

Be careful of Slardar. He will reveal you, stun you and bash you to death.

One point is enough to make yourself perma-invisible. That's why you max this last.

Never overextend with your invisibility. Remember-this ability gives invisibility, not invicibility

Deward, or tell the other support to do it. This way you won't be revealed.

Some projectiles can be disjointed by going invisible. Use this to your advantage(keep in mind their is fade time)

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Track

This is Bounty Hunter's ultimate. When you cast it on someone, you track him. Tracked units are revealed(true sight), give movement speed to Bounty Hunter's allies when they are near and give bonus gold when they die. This means that with every kill, Bounty Hunter and his team will get more gold than usual and snowball to victory!

Tips and tricks:
Tracked units give movement speed to you and your allies, when near. Use Track when chasing!

Despite the visual effect, debuff is applied instantly.
Also the "flying thing" during the cast animation is not visible to enemies. They can only see how Bounty Hunter is raising his hand.

Tracked units give true sight. This means that you can reveal invisible people with this spell!

You can see how much gold a tracked unit has! Cool, eh?...

Always prioritize invisible heroes to track first. Then track the initiators as this way you won't be team wiped with a surpirse initiation from Tidehunter, Enigma etc.
Then track the carries as they are the main target in teamfights. Lastly, track supports(only if you have time).

Tracked units give bonus gold when they die. You always get bonus gold. Allies get it when they are within 1200 range of the tracked unit when it dies.
With the bonus gold, your team will be more and more powerful with every won teamfight. The bonus gold from Track reduces enemy team's chances of comeback drastically.

A good Bounty Hunter will make his team and himself rich!
After a successful teamfight, your team be like:

Items

Starting items

These are your standart starting items. Getting a Stout Shield to protect from some harass and as much regen as you need to survive in the offlane(vs 2 or 3 heroes, in pubs mostly 2). Remaining money is spent on gg branches.

Bottle rush/midlane starters

These are the starting items you will be getting in the midlane. Be careful because you will have very little stats and regen with these items. Snag some last hits, get the Bottle and start controlling the runes!

Optional early game

If you are going in the midlane. Don't get otherwise as you will not have access to the runes.

Very good item with amazing burst heal! Can help with surviving and killing. Must have if their team is spell-spammers( Bristleback, Phantom Assassin)

Makes ganking and killing a bit easier. You can keep it and when it is super late you can upgrade it to Eye of Skadi.

If you got a Stout Shield, upgrade it to this. The bonus agility and block are very nice. If you were at the mid lane, do not get this!

If you expect alot of early fights, get this. One more Shuriken Toss can net a good kill!

The minus armor can help alot when killing people. Be careful as you will also get minus 7 armor! Very good item for ganking as the minus armor helps you deal your damage. Do not get if someone else got it before you. There is no need of more of one in a team.

Rush, or don't get at all

Good item to start snowballing. The damage was nerfed, but
the price is low too! Actually, the item is more cost efficient now! If you get it early you can dominate the mid game as your damage will be very high.

Silence and mana regen? Hell yeah. Along with some damage and attack speed this item is a very good pick up on Bounty Hunter. Helps with ganking and generally-killing people. The problem is that late game everybody has a Black King Bar making the silence useless. That's why you need to rush this to make most of its effectiveness!

Boot choice

Very good boot choice for Bounty Hunter. You won't be attacking very often which means that the regen can do its work. The speed can help with chasing and escaping with Shadow Walk. The armor is good too.
I will mostly get these when I need to roam alot and/or need sustain(which is 80% of the time).

The bonus damage scales with Jinada and the Phase ability lets you chase and escape more easily.
Get these when you do not need sustain and/or your team needs more damage.

Kinda strange item choice for Bounty Hunter, but very viable. The bonus mana is always good and the active helps the whole team!
Get it if your team is very mana hungry or you find yourself often without enough mana for a competent gank.

Core options

Very good item choice for Bounty Hunter. As you are a ganker, and you'll be ganking, the charges will come up quickly. The damage can be viable for finishing off an enemy, and the heal can save an ally.
Do not get if someone else got it before you.

Gives nice stats and buffs up your team with some movement and attack speed. Bounty Hunter is a natural drum carrier, so tell your team when you are going for it, as someone else can get it before you(the auras do not stack).

Vlad's aura <3333. Definitely, this is THE item for Bounty Hunter. The aura is viable even late game, so selling this item is not advisable. IMO, this is the only lifesteal item Bounty Hunter benefits from.
Same as drums and urn, tell your team when you are going for this item, as someone else can get it before you(like drums, the auras do not stack).

This is your teamfight item. It helps you survive enemy's spells for 5-10 seconds, also gives some damage and hp. This item is always good, it is not situational like most other heroes(well maybe it is good only in 95% of situations, to be exact). If you feel like you need this, get it!

Movement speed? Check. Mana regen? Check. Cyclone which purges? Check.
Good item, if you know how to use the active. I mean to not screw your team's spells or yourself up with the cyclone...
What makes this item special? The purge ofc! It lets you purge this Dust of Appearance and escape with Shadow Walk easily. The bad part is-they can still put wards and detect you.

Very good item choice. Boosts your positioning capability through the roof! Makes escaping and chasing very easy. Not the best item for Bounty Hunter, but still, it is amazing.

Direct upgrade from Medallion of Courage. Will help the carry deal its damage, will also protect it from right clicks a bit. Makes ganking even easier as you and your carry will deal more damage to the target.
Do not get if someone else got it before you, a second one is kinda useless.

Like Blink Dagger, but lets you use it on allies-nobody 2015
Allows you to save allies or help them get a kill. Gives some intelligence and hp regen. I actually prefer this over Blink Dagger, as dagger is greedier and with Force Staff I can help my allies position too!

Good item choice for Bounty Hunter. Helps your team fight early and snowball to victory. The mana cost is quite high so mind your mana pool. Choose between healing the whole team and getting a kill with Shuriken Toss!
If you got this and Arcane Boots, do not hesitate to build Guardian Greaves!
Tell your team that you are going to build this as 2 in one team is useless as the second mek won't heal.

Situational and luxury

It is late game and you do not have enough place for tp scrolls? Get this. You need to do massive backdoor? Get this. You are swimming in money and just want to spend it? Get this.

upgraded boots of travelYou just buybacked and need to teleport to the last teamfight that wins the game? Then these boots are the ones you need. Or again, you want to spend your money on something

Name a hero on which this item sucks! Yeah, I though the same...
Gives massive amounts of stats and mana regen. The active lets you pin down their carry, before it activates Black King Bar.

Gives amazing amounts of attack speed. When you do not have place for another, more important item-consume the Moon Shard.

It's obvious! You have problem with a Butterfly/ Heaven's Halberd carrier, Phantom Assassin etc.-someone with evasion. Do not hesitate to buy when you are dealing with evasion heroes!

By far, my favourite agility item. Tanks you up a bit, gives movement speed and lets you create 2 illusions, also purge! I do not recommend getting this if you got an Eul's Scepter of Divinity as 1 purge is already enough.

Makes the enemy team think twice before casting a spell on you or your allies. Most of the times you will cast it on those allies, without BKB.
The item itself gives some mana and hp regen, damage and armor which are always good!

Get only if their team has heroes with broken spells that go through BKB( Doom, Fiend's Grip).

IMO, this is too greedy. Yeah, it gives amazing stats and a good slow, but for what price...
Get it only when you have too much money. Bounty Hunter is not a natural Skadi carrier like Slark, Medusa etc.

If your team is facing high physical damage-get this. It also gives some attack speed.
Do not get if someone else got it before you-the aura does not stack.

If your team is facing high magical damage-get this. The magic resistance will definitely help you and the active-your team.

If their team has a super fed carry with a BKB you will need this. The 2 second stun will help! You can also get it when you just need more lockdown.

If you got Arcane Boots and Mekansm, getting this is a must. The aura is broken and the active buffs your team even further!

Do not get

This is item for farming. Are you going to farm? No. Yes you do not have waveclear, but also-you won't be pushing-you will be teamfighting!

dagonHaha, so, it is a fun story-no.
You will become useless past 20-30 min.

You cannot carry a Divine Rapier. Bounty Hunter is not even tanky! Do not get this, you will throw the game... and you will be reported!

Useless, because you need more attack damage not attack speed. Also, activating this is suicidal.

Have you watched the video where one Bounty Hunter reks n00bz with the aura, while being invisible? I haven't too-this video is with Invoker.
Anyway, this item is gotten for 1 and only reason-farming or pushing(ok 2).
You will not farm, also you are not an illusion hero-this item is useless for Bounty Hunter!

Friends and foes

Friends

Big teamfighters:

Bounty Hunter teams up good with other "lockdown" teamfighters because that's what he lacks-stun.

Gank squads!

Early gankers or just heroes with high lockdown can help you with ganking trilanes or heroes with escapes.
They can also create enough space for you to get your level 6 and start geting kills!

Foes

I did say it already, didn't I? He can reveal you. Also with his high physical damage he can easily bash you to death.

HE CAN STEAL TRACK!?!?!?! This means that he can snowball his team(also reveal you), just like you used to do. Immediately cast Shadow Walk after Track to avoid giving it to him!

He can reveal you if you're low enough. Then Rupture, silence and rightclick you to death.
Oh, you also cannot manfight this guy...

Not a direct counter, but late game you literally can do nothing versus her, nothing. Gank and kill her early, only way you can win late game.

Gameplay

Early game:
Stay alive until level 6 if in the offlane.(generally stay alive lol). If playing as a support-go to gank!
Do not farm-you will die if in the offlane. If playing as a support farming=stealing farm from the carry...
Check enemies's inventories for wards and dusts and deward!
Pay attention to missing calls and avoid ganks and counterganks.

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Mid game:
Gank, gank, gank!
Do not steal farm from the carry.
Try not to die.
Deward when needed.
Try to track as many enemies as possible before a teamfight!

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Late game:
Do not steal farm from the carry, nor kills.
Do not walk alone.
Try to track as many enemies as possible before a teamfight!
Try to always be avaible in the teamfight-go with your team!
Focus the carry, not the tank, duh.

Pieliedie, a Dota 2 pro player from the team Mousesports is a perfect example of a good Bounty Hunter. Here is a game from the International 4-Cloud 9(he used to be from this team) vs Na'Vi. Here he is playing Bounty Hunter as a position 5 support, one of the ways he should be played. Play Video

Teamfighting!

So, teamfighting with Bounty Hunter is simple. You need to do some things first.
Track as many enemies as possible by this order:invisible, carry, initiator.
Try to fight on places where there are no enemy wards.
Make sure everybody is on high hp and mana.
Make sure the initiator is ready.
Focus key targets(mostly the hard carry).
Try to assassinate someone out of position(usually a support) before a teamfight, careful not to die! This is risky and requires you to have damage, so know your power, and who you are fighting.

To do list

-update friends and foes with more heroes

Conclusion

So, this was my guide to Bounty Hunter! Remember that you always need to have fun as Dota 2 is a game and it should be fun to play it... Anyway, I will want to hear any opinions you have about the guide in the comment section. Before voting, please write why you are up/down voting my guide!
Have fun with Bounty Hunter!