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Tango
Slippers of AgilitySlippers of Agility
Ring of Protection
Wraith Band
Ring of Basilius
Boots of Speed
Power Treads
Morbid Mask
Mask of Madness
Shadow Blade
Crystalys
Daedalus
Butterfly
Vanguard
Monkey King Bar
Manta Style
Black King Bar
Power Treads
Shadow Blade
Mask of Madness
Crystalys
Town Portal Scroll
Ring of Aquila
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2 | 3 | 7 | 8 |  |
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5 | 9 | 10 | 12 |  |
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13 | 14 | 15 | 17 |  |
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6 | 11 | 16 |  |
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1 | 4 |
Welcome to my guide on Drow Ranger, please take the time to read the reasons for my choices before casting your vote.
Drow is heavy carry that is item dependant, her main use is to slow enemies by orb walking. Drow can excel in any lane but I find her best in mid as she can easily avoid harass from most enemies due to her range and is quite efficient at setting up ganks.
Frost Arrows (Q)
Adds a freezing effect to Drow's attacks, slowing enemy movement.
Range: 625
Duration: 1.5 (7 on creeps)
Movement Speed Slow: 11% / 24% / 37% / 50%
Mana Cost: 12
Frost Arrows are an orb effect, although it doesn't add additional damage it adds a vital slow effect that should be used when harrasing and always in team fights! It's important to level this early for the additional slow effect which is priceless for de-railing enemies who stray from a fight.
Silence (W)
Stops all enemies in a target area from casting spells.
Range: 900
Area: 275
Duration: 3 / 4 / 5 / 6
Mana Cost: 90 Cooldown Time: 15
Silence is self explanatory, within the used area enemies will be unable to cast abilities. This should not be ignored especially when up against enemies with the ability to go invisible, as silence prevents invisibility (Riki, Brood). I take one level at 5 as it can save a team mates life, some may find this a waste....it's simply personal preference.
Trueshot Aura (E)
Adds bonus damage to the ranged attacks of friendly units in the area.
Area: 900
Damage Bonus: 7% / 14% / 21% / 28%
Many people make the mistake of taking this passive skill early, I say mistake because this ability has a very small effect before you obtain what I consider to be your core items, it will also cause your range creeps to do more damage will in turn will push your lane up and make you vulnerable.
Marksmanship (R)
Increases Drow's accuracy.
Agility Bonus: 15 / 30 / 45
Drows ultimate is a passive ability that makes you overkill, giving a massive boost to damage and attack speed.
Finally stats are worth taking early on as you will rarely find the need to be using frost arrows for ganks before level 5 (unless your team is trying to force ganks constantly, whichshouldn't be encouraged unless deemed neccesary), plus it gives a much needed boost to your health and damage which will enable easier last hitting.
Early Purchasing
First purchase for me is the Ring of Aquila, upgrade one of your slippers and the ring for starters to give you a nice damage and stats boost that will last until late game. Boots of speed should be bought next for obvious mobility reasons, upgrading these next to Power Treads will give some welcome attack speed and additional health (when used on Strength).
What's Next...
This is where my play style differs from the majorities, Mask of Madness is my next Core item! No, i'm not crazy, Lifesteal is an orb effect and doesn't stack when using frost arrows......but as mentioned before frost arrows aren't used all the time. Yes frost arrows should be used in team fights, that's a no brainer...but Mask of Madness gives you two things:
1) The ability to stay in line after harass, team fights and gank attempts saving you from wasting time at your fountain.
2) An insane use ability that when used with shadow blade gives you a huge advantage when initiating ganks. This increased in attack speed and lifesteal will also make farming alot easier and quicker, allowing you to obtain further items with ease.
Shadow Blade is my next Core item, in PUBS it acts as a very cheap escape mechanism that adds some decent damage and attack speed. Although it can be countered by a Gem or Dust you would be surprised how little people invest in these items.
The final Core item for me is a Crystalys, it is a simple and cheap choice giving the chance to critically hit enemies, which when used with Mask of Madness and Shadow Blade can tear your opponents apart in a matter of seconds. Following this up with a Deadalus is a wise choice as it will deal between 700-800 damage per crit.
Situational/Preference
As with most characters BKB is always worth a mention, it adds a small amount to survivability with the bonus strength but is mainly used to prevent being shut down during team fights, this is situational and should be bought when you find yourself being stunned or CCed alot during team fights.
Butterfly is a massive boost to damamge, survivability and attack speed. If you have the farm late game this is a must have especially when used with Mask of Madness and Power treads.
During early team fights your goal is simple, Silence and Slow. Keep in mind that you are farm dependant so you shouldn't involve yourself in every fight or gank possible, but ensure that you're there when needed as your slow and silence are a huge utility to tipping the fights into your favour.
After obtaining your Shadow Blade it's vital for you to be in all team fights, try and use it before a team fight initiates so that you can position yourself in a safe area where you can break invisibility early to gain a burst of extra damage and to surprise your enemy with a silence.
When a team fight or gank is about to initiate this is what I do, Use Mask of Madness (as it has a reasonably long duration) , Use Shadow Blade (ASAP so it comes off cooldown encase you run into trouble) position yourself where you think they will run away and unleash them frost arrows. From my experience this combo kills the majority of enemies.
Don't underestimate Drows silence, it can win team fights when used correctly. Remember to keep a TP scroll on you at all times so you can get involved in team fights once you have some of your Core items. Please Feel free to comment with any additions you may have found successful on Drow, if you have any serious issues I would suggest you try my build before criticizing it.
Got to give credit where it's due, I found Loveless's guide very useful when I began playing Drow so I would suggest checked out both his and my guide :)
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