Drow Ranger/Guide

General

 * Drow Ranger is usually played in the safe lane, with a support.
 * Drow Ranger is easily ganked. Make sure not to overextend if your support is not nearby.
 * Drow Ranger is all about positioning, since her Marksmanship bonus is disabled if an enemy closes to within 400 range.
 * Stay behind your teammates and use them as a buffer. Reposition throughout fights to keep your tankier teammates between you and the enemy.
 * Approach fights from the edges, and rely on the slow from Frost Arrows instead of physical proximity to keep enemies in range.
 * Any item that helps Drow Ranger keep her distance is good, such as, , and.
 * Like other ranged heroes, stutter stepping is useful for Drow Ranger, but not as important due to the slow from Frost Arrows.
 * Because of her passive abilities, Drow Ranger is slightly less dependent on items than other carries, but can still be shut down in the early game. Be careful not to take any needless risks.
 * Drow Ranger deals high damage to buildings, and should always capitalize on any opportunity to take down a tower.
 * Due to her slow attack animation, Drow Ranger should not do anything except farm until at least level six, when her first point in Marksmanship will make her attack much faster.
 * If you are having trouble timing last hits, try moving closer to the creep wave.
 * Animation cancelling with the Stop hotkey (S by default) can also help with timing.


 * Manually casting Frost Arrows (known as orbwalking) prevents Drow Ranger from drawing creep/tower aggro. Use this tactic to harass, kite and escape enemies when caught out.
 * Use Frost Arrows sparingly during the early game, as they can drain Drow Ranger's mana fairly quickly.
 * Frost Arrows are good for harassing enemies in lane, allowing Drow Ranger to land several hits while the target slowly retreats.
 * Because of the slow, Drow Ranger does not need to constantly try and catch up to her target, meaning that she should always be kept at least 400 range away to ensure Marksmanship's bonus damage is active.
 * At higher levels, Drow Ranger can simultaneously kite and attack enemies with Frost Arrows.
 * Frost Arrows can be used to slow and prevent an enemy from chasing down an ally.
 * Always toggle autocast on Frost Arrows when you anticipate an incoming fight.
 * Combined with almost any other source of slow, Frost Arrows will reduce enemies to a crawl.
 * Frost Arrows can be used to kite and farm jungle creeps, although this can be mana intensive.
 * When chasing multiple enemies with your team, hitting each target once, or cycling through targets, may prevent any of them from getting away.
 * With, Frost Arrows essentially becomes an area-of-effect slow.
 * Keep in mind that each splinter shot will cost additional mana, and this can deplete Drow Ranger's mana pool surprisingly fast.


 * Gust is Drow Ranger's only means of defense, and should not be used lightly.
 * Use Gust defensively to push enemies who get too close, keeping them beyond the 400 Marksmanship bonus range.
 * Use Gust offensively to interrupt enemies who try to react to your attacks with a disable or an escape ability.
 * With, Drow Ranger can use Gust to initiate on and gank single targets.
 * If an enemy is already hit by a long disable (such as cyclone or ), Drow Ranger can move to the opposite side of her target, and push them backwards with Gust right after the first disable ends.
 * In a teamfight, try to catch as many enemies with Gust as possible, preferably as a follow up to your team's initiator. This will shut down the enemy for several seconds, during which Drow Ranger can pick off one or two targets.
 * Use Gust on an enemy team in the Roshan Pit to push them further inside, and render them unable to respond.
 * With good timing, it is possible to push enemies onto different elevations like cliffs.
 * With a, Drow Ranger can gank by taking a shot to break the invisibility, then immediately using Gust.
 * This leaves the target slowed, and silenced, and therefore unable to react (apart from using items).


 * If you are having trouble landing last hits, an early point or two in Precision Aura will help.
 * Don't forget to use Precision Aura's active ability. It is very useful for pushing down towers.
 * Since the active applies an aura and not a buff, it works even for ranged creeps/summons that spawn after you use it.
 * Try to use the active when creep waves have catapults.
 * The active lasts a considerable 30 seconds, but has a long 120 second cooldown. In the late game, reserve it for sieging barracks, or when going for an all-out attack on the enemy ancient.
 * Although Precision Aura greatly benefits other ranged heroes, it is usually unwise to have two fragile ranged carries on the same team. Consider this during the picking phase.


 * The huge agility boost from any point in Marksmanship will noticeably improve Drow Ranger's attack speed and damage.
 * Even a single point in Marksmanship will make Drow Ranger quite proficient at taking down tier one towers.
 * Because of this, levels 6, 11 and 16 are especially important milestones for Drow Ranger.
 * Stacked creep camps and can be used to reach these critical levels before a showdown.
 * Marksmanship's bonus damage is indicated by a noticeable particle effect around Drow Ranger's body. This effect disappears when enemies are within 400 range.
 * Keep an eye on Drow Ranger to know when an enemy is too close.
 * The effect will also disappear if an invisible enemy is within 400 range, meaning that it can be used as an approximate means of detection.
 * Enemies like or  can instantly close the gap with Drow Ranger, thus completely negating Marksmanship's bonus damage.

Items
Starting Items:
 * gives Drow Ranger a massive boost of health regeneration in one go.
 * s help providing Drow Ranger with health regeneration in the early game.
 * provide a boost to Drow Ranger's primary attribute: agility; allowing for easier last hitting and more damage when attacking enemy heroes.
 * es provide a boost to all of Drow Ranger's attributes, which can be helpful in the lane.

Early-game:
 * give Drow Ranger a speed boost which can be helpful for getting around.
 * can be a good idea to pick up if the enemy is using a lot of spells, meaning Drow Ranger can use the stick charges in emergency.
 * provides Drow Ranger with bonus attributes which can be helpful in the early game. It can be sold in the late game.

Core:
 * helps Drow Ranger reach the crucial levels for her ultimate.
 * can be a good idea to upgrade to from the to take further advantage of enemy spell casting, in case of emergency.
 * provide Drow Ranger with attack speed and additional attributes.
 * 's lifesteal keeps Drow Ranger on the field, allowing her to farm continuously.
 * provides useful stats for a highly cost effective price, and the increased range allows Drow Ranger to easily achieve good positioning. It also lets her outrange towers, letting her destroy them without much risk.

Situational:
 * provides an escape for Drow Ranger, who does not have a built in escape. It also provides some useful attack speed and damage.
 * is a natural next step to, and can be very effective in ganking.
 * provides another good source of lifesteal. Drow Ranger can also take control of creeps, and use them for stacking camps.
 * gives her some stats and is good item in the mid/late game against illusions/push strategies, especially with.
 * provides ever-useful agility for Drow Ranger. It is usually picked up to help Drow Ranger defend against efficient backline attackers.
 * provides an excellent damage and attack speed boost, as well as a counter against evasion heroes. However, it has no defensive boosts, and makes Drow Ranger into even more of a glass cannon.
 * is a good source of lifesteal, and is useful for farming. It also provides a nice boost to Drow Ranger's attack and movement speed.
 * provides Drow Ranger with a critical strike chance, which synergizes well with the attack speed and damage she gets from her abilities, maximizing her DPS.
 * is important if Drow Ranger is facing a team with many disables, giving her enough time to deal at least some damage.
 * provides Drow Ranger with a huge amount of lifesteal for a short period of time, allowing Drow Ranger to stand her ground and regain practically all of her health with just a few shots.
 * The lifesteal effect is a Unique Attack Modifier and only works when Drow Ranger does not cast Frost Arrows.
 * builds naturally from, and is very useful in keeping distance between Drow Ranger and her enemies.
 * provides Drow Ranger with mobility, stats, the ability to disjoint projectiles and create illusions of herself. Because her illusions benefit from Marksmanship, Manta Style provides Drow Ranger with a large damage increase, especially when sieging buildings.