Windranger

Lyralei the Windranger is a ranged intelligence hero that uses powerful abilities in conjunction with her physical attack to take down enemies. Despite being an intelligence Hero, Windranger's playstyle resembles that of an agility Hero, due in large part to her skill set. Windranger is most often played as an offlane solo due to her escape, long range harass, and farm capability; however, she is quite versatile and can be fielded as a midlaner, roamer, lane support, or even a carry, if the game calls for it. She is famous for her immense utility and versatility, and as such, she is one of the most common picks of experienced players.

Tips

 * If you must solo a lane, take Windrun first. This will give you a reliable escape if you are being ganked early.
 * Power Shot should always be maxed first, as it is a very powerful nuke early. One point in both Shackle Shot and Windrun is usually sufficient. Remember that Power Shot damages invisible heroes, so if you know where they are do not hesitate to use it. Late-game, Power Shot can be used as an exploratory long-range spell.
 * Power Shot claims to do reduced damage if released early, but releasing it at 80% or more inflicts full damage.
 * Power Shot can be used to farm the inner large and medium neutral creep camps simultaneously and can also be used to stack them from afar. Consider building an Orchid Malevolence so you can spam your nuke for quick farming while negating your utimate's damage reduction.
 * Mekansm is very strong on Windranger. Consider getting it on her after your upgraded boots, provided no one else can get it at a similar time. Remember, Mekansm is better the earlier it's gotten.
 * Getting either a Blink Dagger or a Force Staff is practically a necessity on Windranger, as she is entirely a positioning-based hero.
 * Shackle Shot's ministun is extremely useful for interrupting channeled spells, such as Bane's and Pudge's ultimates.
 * Early-game, unless circumstances are unusual, always save enough mana to Windrun when you are in dangerous territory.
 * Due to the rework of Focus Fire, it might be useful to level it early, as it is now more useful in teamfights, allowing you to focus down the enemy carry or get an exposed early tower.
 * Despite being an escape mechanism, Windrun is potentially a very powerful offensive spell, as it allows complete evasion for six seconds at level four giving you a chance to effectly trade hits with an enemy especially by using Focus Fire in conjunction.
 * Building an Aghanim's Scepter with a powerful attack modifier can shift Windranger's role from supportive chaser/nuker to that of a semi-carry, as it will allow her to scale. However, building a scepter without an attack modifier is not very useful, and Windranger can function very well with attack modifiers even without building a scepter. Build an attack modifier first, then choose whether or not to build scepter.
 * Blink Dagger is an excellent alternative to Force Staff, recommended for advanced users. Defensively, Windrun synergizes well with Blink Dagger to allow Windranger to escape extremely bad situations, which in turn allows her to split push much more effectively without fear of getting caught. Offensively, Blink Dagger will allow Windranger to land 2-hero Shackleshots on demand and chase down fleeing targets with Windrun. Lastly, Blink Dagger can be used in the middle of a teamfight to improve Windranger's position and allow her to attack from a position of strength, since she will benefit from having the space to work with. Particularly recommended against heroes who counter Force Staff, or if you feel that you need to avoid getting caught altogether e.g. Slark's Pounce, Faceless Void's Chronosphere. Bear in mind that Blink has a significantly shorter cooldown than Force Staff, which therefore allows her to use Blink much more aggressively and positionally than Force Staff would.
 * As a Mid or Offlane Windranger, Maelstrom is an excellent item on Windranger provided you can get it early enough, as it serves multiple purposes while shifting her role into that of a damage dealing ganker. It provides an excellent attack modifier for Focus Fire, greatly increasing both her single-target and AOE damage, and also does not prevent Windranger from using other Unique Attack Modifier (e.g. Desolator, Skadi). Maelstrom greatly increases her pushing and depush power, as she is able to clear large waves quickly and efficiently with Powershot and Maelstrom procs. It acts as a farm accelerator, meaning that she will be able to farm more expensive items more quickly. The damage increase is very significant, allowing you to burst most heroes from 100 to 0 within the duration of a Shackleshot when you first buy Maelstrom. The powerful attack modifier leads into Aghanim's Scepter due to the increased farm rate and kill potential, while the increased damage and reduced cooldown vastly improves Windranger's sustained damage in teamfights, ganks and while pushing towers. Do not get Maelstrom if you cannot get it early enough, as its damage does fall off, and getting it late often will be at the cost of a late mobility item or generally low farm.

Trivia

 * In DotA, Windranger was known as Alleria the Windrunner. Alleria Windrunner is a character from the Warcraft universe. In the November 21, 2013 update, her name was changed to "Windranger", likely to avoid copyright issues with Blizzard.
 * Windranger's current name, Lyralei, is a partial anagram of Alleria (one of the A's was replaced with the Y).