As we near the main stage of Dota 2’s The International 13, many new hero trends have emerged. One hero who gained momentum throughout the TI13 qualifiers was Windranger, who only soared in popularity throughout the group stages and the playoffs.
Unexpectedly, Windranger eventually became so popular that she boasted a contest rate of 86 percent across every game at TI. In the rare instances where players banned her, she was promptly picked up, leading to varying degrees of success. Even though Windranger ties with Mirana and Kunkka at 36 picks, her in-game impact has arguably been higher, enough to be first picked in many games.
The hero’s first-pick potential was thanks to her ability to be played in two roles, flexing between a position four support and a position one carry. This led to Windranger dominating both side lanes, building a networth advantage, and scaling toward the late game.
She’s also one of the few heroes who gets the most out of both of her facets: Whirlwind and Focus Fire, depending on which role she is playing. As a support, Focus Fire helps her burst down a single priority target while Whirlwind lets carry Windranger shred an entire teamfight in seconds.
Windranger’s power was on full display throughout the playoffs by Xtreme Gaming’s Wang “Ame” Chunyu and Cloud9’s Alimzhan “watson” Islambekov’s proficiencies on the hero.
So why is Windranger so popular right now? The hero’s rise in the meta can be attributed to one major item: Gleipnir. Whenever Gleipnir is strong, heroes who hit hard but have an unreliable setup (like Windranger) tend to creep up into the meta. The item’s easy buildup from Maelstrom into Rod of Atos makes it very accessible to all heroes who benefit from it.
This item is also responsible for the rise of heroes like Mirana and Nature’s Prophet as cores, heroes who love having their own Gleipnir setup for their follow-up damage.
The Windranger-Gleipnir trend is also picking up in pubs of every rank, where Windranger now sits as the fifth most popular hero. Nerfs are certainly warranted, but we don’t expect them to arrive before the end of TI13. For now, the hero stocks are on the rise, so there is no better time to learn the hero and dominate your pubs before the inevitable nerfs hit.
TI13’s main stage will begin on Sept.13. We will keep you posted as the tournament reaches its grand finale and a new champion is crowned.
