The fierce and cold markswoman, Drow Ranger has her eyes set on her enemies, and we all know that she never misses her mark. Her chilling spells freeze her foes to death. Drow Ranger is an exceptional carry hero if your team lacks a carry with active fighting abilities right from the get-go. She can slow and disable her enemies while dealing an ungodly amount of damage. She is highly picked in the pub games as she is an easy-to-play and reliable hero who has no trouble in farming due to her physical as well as AoE damage. If you are looking to pick a carry hero who can win you games, then look no further, because Drow is all you need!
Drow Ranger is an exceptional carry hero, her fighting capabilities make her highly sought after in pub games. As strong as she is, she has equal weaknesses which can be dangerous for her if exploited. We bring you 10 Drow Ranger counters who recognize the weakness of this hero and ensure that she does not stand a chance against them.
Best general items against Drow Ranger
- Heaven’s Halberd - Upon usage, it disarms Drow, making her unable to do physical attacks while the caster and others can freely attack her. This essentially wastes her time as she can’t physically damage you or your allies.
- Shadow Blade - Provides invisibility which can be used to escape or set up on Drow Ranger It can later be upgraded into Silver Edge which can disable the latter’s passive ultimate right after breaking invisibility.
- Eul’s Scepter - Upon usage, it is used to sweep yourself or Drow Ranger into the air for 2.5 seconds, making her unable to use spells or move, along with interrupting any channeling spells. This essentially removes her from the fight if she does not have magic immunity.
- Rod of Atos - Upon usage, it can lock Drow down, making her unable to use spells or move. It can also be upgraded to Glepnir later on.
- Ghost Scepter - Upon usage, it makes the caster immune to physical attacks while making them unable to attack at the same time. They also take increased magical damage under their duration. Drow can’t do any damage if you have Ghost Scepter. It can further be upgraded into Ethereal Blade, causing you to cast the spell from a distance.
10. Spirit Breaker
Getting hit by a Spirit Breaker is quite the equivalent of getting hit by a truck. Drow Ranger is quite a squishy hero against the likes of the Spirit Breaker as she lacks the armor to withstand his damage. More than the damage, it is the global potential of SB’s Charge which makes her stay alert at all times, farming only in secure locations and never showing herself too far out on the map.
Drow Ranger often opts for Black King Bar, but it is seen as a useless item against the likes of Spirit Breaker due to his bashes and ultimate Nether Strike which pierce his spell immunity. Though the late game can be a little difficult for Spirit Breaker as Drow Ranger eventually catches up with farm, the former does not rely on items and his job is only to gank the bone fletcher or provide vision for his allies to gank him. Drow Ranger is deeply annoyed by such interruption and thus can’t optimally play his game.
Why is Spirit Breaker a great counter to Drow Ranger?
- Possibly Drow Ranger's worst enemy. He has many tools to utterly destroy Drow Ranger, let it be the Bash, Charge, or even Nether Strike.
- When Spirit Breaker charges onto Drow Ranger, he can easily use Dust of Appearance to guarantee a reveal on him if she manages to use her Shadow Blade.
- All three of Spirit Breaker's spells help him and his team quickly close the gap to Drow Ranger even at the edge of his attack range.
Items to buy on Spirit Breaker
- Shadow Blade - Provides invisibility which can be used to escape or set up on Drow Ranger
- Drums of Endurance - Upon usage, it provides a high attack and movement speed bonus to SB and his allies in an AoE. It can be used while charging to increase his charge speed and damage.
- Black King Bar - Provides spell immunity, making you invulnerable in the fight against Drow Ranger’s Gust.
- Echo Sabre - Provides immense stat gain along with increased physical damage and attack speed
- Solar Crest - Upon cast, it grants armor, attack speed, and movement speed to the targetted ally while reducing the same stats from enemies. This reduces Drow Ranger's armor and eventually weakens her, making her unable to stand firm in teamfights.
https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Spirit_Breaker
9. Faceless Void
The time-bending Faceless Void is a hot commodity in the recent patches and this was quite evident during the recent International. He has a high pick rate due to his ability to catch multiple nimble heroes, and Drow Ranger is no exception to this list. Faceless Void is a highly lethal hero in the late game against Drow Ranger due to his high damage and crowd control potential. Agreed that the mighty dinosaur has high armor, but it wears off in the late game when the nefarious Void beats him down with his immense damage.
Drow Ranger can’t match Void’s efficient and fast-paced farming skills. The latter works best if paired with heroes that supplement his Chronosphere ultimate ex. Kunkka, Invoker, Skywrath Mage. His mid-game potential is unmatched because all he needs to brawl is his ultimate and a few items against Drow Ranger.
What makes Faceless Void a great counter to Drow Ranger?
- Time Walk makes it impossible for Drow Ranger to stay on top of Faceless Void with his abilities and allows him to backtrack almost all damage taken during Pulverize if he survives it.
- Once Faceless Void has Aghanim's Shard Onslaught can be easily escaped. He could also choose to get a lower cooldown on Time Walk, making it even harder for Drow Ranger to catch him in fights or stop his initiations.
- Time Dilation will make Drow Ranger useless for an extended time after casting his abilities if he does not have a dispel.
- Chronosphere stops Drow Ranger from casting abilities or stopping Faceless Void from damaging allies within.
Items to buy against Drow Ranger
- Shadow Blade - Provides invisibility upon cast which can be used to escape or set up on Drow Ranger.
- Monkey King Bar - Gives increased physical damage and also provides a true strike.
- Butterfly - Provides Faceless Void with increased evasion, agility, and movement speed. Butterfly essentially makes him untouchable in the late game due to the high miss chance and physical damage.
- Eye of Skadi - It reduces HP regen and healing upon physical attacks from the Void. It helps reduce Drow Ranger’s regen. Eye of Skadi also provides increased stats and HP to Faceless Void.
- Satanic - Allows Faceless Void to lifesteal and sustain himself in teamfights. This item also dispels any negative buffs, quickly life-stealing from 0 to 100 in no time.
https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Faceless_Void
8. Tusk
Ymir, the Tusk, is a hardcore brawling hero, he was made to fight and ruffle some feathers! Tusk is an exceptional hero against pretty much any carry hero in the current meta, Drow is no exception to that. She is essentially countered by all of Tusk’s spells, as they help him hunt her down and reduce her impact by a margin. Laning is never fun for Drow against the Tusk as the latter can snowball (no pun intended) if he gets a few kills on her.
Tusk is known to be a heavy hitter right from the laning phase. His icy disabled and chilling moves paralyze Drow and eliminate all her chances of escape. Tusk can hunt her down with his Snowball, which can also be used to save allies by clicking on them, making them get inside the ball! All it takes is one Smoke of Deceit to gank the Drow, which can be done quite easily with Snowball and Tag team, essentially ruining her gameplay.
Why is Tusk a great counter to Drow Ranger?
- Snowball lets Tusk get to Drow Ranger and stop her Marksmanship bonus. It can also be to save allies affected by Gust.
- Tag Team allows Tusk to slow her down and land a killing blow on her.
- Snowball also lets Tusk get to Drow Ranger and stop her Marksmanship bonus. It can also be to save allies affected by Gust.
- Walrus PUNCH! slows Drow Ranger and deals a huge amount of damage to her.
Items to buy on Tusk
- Blink Dagger - Great for gap-closing or initiating
- Desolator - Increased damage and armor corruption
- Drums of Endurance - Provides increased movement and attack speed to Tusk and his allies on the activation
- Force Staff - Another great tool to close gaps or escape from Drow
- Aghanim’s Scepter and Shard - Scepter provides Walrus Kick which allows him to kick Drow away during teamfights, even if she has BKB on!
- Shadow Blade - Provides invisibility which can be used to escape or set up on Drow Ranger.
https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Tusk
7. Nyx Assassin
Nyx Assassin is a pesky and annoying hero to play against, especially as a Drow Ranger as he can counter her with his stuns and disables, paralyzing her and hence removing her from the team fights completely. Drow Ranger can fare well in the laning phase against Nyx but his early and middle game is ruined when Nyx can get his ultimate. Nyx Assassin can freely scout Drow Ranger with his ultimate Vendetta, which allows him to go invisible, striking at Drow Ranger whenever the moment is right followed by insane damage dished out by his teammates.
Nyx is often picked instantly against Drow Ranger, regardless of the patch as his abilities are just too good to be ignored. He can use Impale to deal AoE damage to both Drow Ranger and her allies, as well as disable her with the help of his mana burn to ensure he does not get her spells off in teamfights. A well-timed Mana Burn can catch Drow Ranger off guard and turn the trajectory of the game in Nyx’s favor.
Why is Nyx Assassin a great counter to Drow Ranger?
- Nyx Assassin has a lot of burst damage from his Impale, Mana Burn, Dagon, and the bonus damage from Vendetta. All of this damage is enough to kill Drow Ranger.
- Nyx Assassin is usually invisible most of the time thanks to his ability Vendetta, which allows him to gank Drow Ranger easily.
Items to buy as Nyx Assassin
- Blink Dagger - Blink transports Nyx 1200 units in the distance he is facing, it can’t be used for 3 seconds if he takes any form of damage. Blink is used to closing the gap and getting on top of Drow Ranger and following it up with Impale.
- Force Staff - Allows Nyx to force himself or the targetted unit 600 units ahead in the direction they are facing, it can be useful to catch or escape from Drow.
- Aghanim’s Scepter - Allows Nyx to burrow beneath the ground, increasing his cast range and making him invulnerable
- Aether Lens - Increased cast range along with providing decent stats and mana.
- Lotus Orb - Upon usage, it reflects targetted spells to the caster. Along with that, it can be used to dispel any enemy debuffs. It can be used to dispel the effects of Gust when used.
- Spirit Vessel - Immense DPS and heal reduction to the Drow Ranger when used. This item can be used to reduce Drow Ranger’s lifesteal. It can render heals and Satanic useless.
6. Clockwerk
The mechanical genius Clockwerk is quite a rare sight in the current meta, but he is often seen picked against Drow Ranger as he can easily disrupt Drow Ranger’s onslaught. He is played in the offlane or as roaming support against Drow Ranger, as early rotations can cause great damage to him. With his ultimate, Hookshot, Clock can easily stun him and trap him even if the former has Black King Bar, he is a thorn in the backside of Drow Ranger with the Hookshot into Cogs combo.
There is immense scout potential with Rocket Flare that can help track Drow Ranger’s location and potentially remove him from teamfights. Drow Ranger can lane well and deny farm to Clockwerk in the laning phase but Clock as we know relies more on levels as opposed to farm to have an impact in the game. Items just amplify his impact in the late game.
Why is Clockwerk a great counter to Drow Ranger?
- Hookshot lets Clockwerk close the gap to Drow Ranger, disabling her Marksmanship bonus.
- Power Cogs and Battery Assault keep Drow Ranger from escaping.
- Power Cogs and Battery Assault also keep Drow Ranger close, nullifying Marksmanship.
Items to buy on Clockwerk
- Blademail - Reflects Drow Ranger’s damage to him upon activation. This is highly useful in teamfights to make Drow Ranger stop hitting you as she relies heavily on physical damage.
- Crimson Guard - Upon usage it provides immense physical damage block to Clockwerk, his allies, and even buildings in an AoE.
- Aghanim’s Shard - Provides Jetpack ability which provides flying movement, flying vision, and bonus movement speed. It is helpful to escape from Drow Ranger as she does not have unobstructed pathing.
- Black King Bar - It provides Clockwerk with spell immunity from Drow Ranger’s Gust silence.
- Force Staff - Allows Clock to force himself or the targetted unit 600 units ahead in the direction they are facing. It is quite essential in catching or escaping from Drow Ranger’s onslaught.
https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Clockwerk
5. Slark
The mighty Slark needs no introduction as he easily can be called the lethal carry of the current meta. He is one of the best counters to Drow Ranger. He performs well against the squishy and low armor Drow Ranger, as she offers him increased agility stacks quickly, making it easy for him to deal damage during teamfights and mow her down, gaining more agility. He can easily pounce away from Drow’s Multishot channeling and disengage away from the fight with the help of Shadow Dance. Drow Ranger may farm comparatively faster than Slark but in the late game, Slark leaves no stone unturned as he wreaks havoc on the enemy team with his six-slot farm.
Slark is also known to be a slippery carry hero due to the items he builds, which makes it hard for Drow Ranger to lock him down. Also, items like Diffusal Blade makes him immensely strong as it causes Drow Ranger to lose mana while crippling her movement speed and also dealing high damage with the help of Sange and Yasha. He can also purge off Multishot or Frostbite debuff,, which may allow him to turn the tides effectively in his favor in the team fight.
Why is Slark a great counter to Drow Ranger?
- A well-timed Dark Pact can dispel Frost Arrows and Gust, letting Slark engage and escape freely.
- Shadow Dance lets Slark quickly close the gap and deal heavy damage without giving Drow Ranger a chance to retaliate.
- Pounce counteracts Frost Arrows' slow, letting Slark easily pin Drow Ranger down or flee.
Items to buy on Slark
- Shadow Blade - Provides invisibility which can be used to escape or set up a gank on Drow Ranger. It can later be upgraded into Silver Edge which can disable the latter’s passive Marksmanship right after breaking invisibility.
- Aghanim’s Scepter - Increases Pounce distance by a huge margin, also providing him two charges of the same, allowing him to catch the Drow Ranger or escape from him.
- Aghanim’s Shard - Provides Depth Shroud ability which creates a cloud, hiding Slark and his allies inside it, making Drow Ranger unable to hit them, while they can freely hit the former.
- Diffusal Blade - Upon usage, it can slow Drow Ranger while Slark’s normal attacks cause her to lose mana, crippling her fight and spellcasting potential.
- Eye of Skadi - Reduces regen and healing upon physical attacks. It helps reduce Drow Ranger’s regen even if he has his ultimate on. Eye of Skadi also provides increased stats and HP to Slark.
- Butterfly - Provides increased evasion, agility, and movement speed, which is essential in the late game to counter the lethal attacks of Drow Ranger
- Black King Bar - Provides spell immunity against Drow Ranger’s spells.
4. Riki
The deadly Riki is rarely seen in pro games (no joke intended), but his presence is often seen in pub games as he still is a tough carry hero. In theory, Drow Ranger performs extremely well against Riki due to the latter’s lack of AoE and farming capability and also due to the range factor. Rik is a slippery hero and Drow Ranger finds it hard to catch him unless he has Hex or Silence.
With the right amount of damage, mobility, and even a disability, Riki can stop Drow Ranger right in his tracks. He is a threat if paired with the right support in the lane against Drow Ranger, due to his rather shaky early game. But the late game is a smooth sail for the assassin goat if he manages to keep up the pace and acquire a few items. Riki is the ultimate snowball hero if he is fed off a few kills.
Why is Riki a great counter to Drow Ranger?
- Blink Strike gets Riki close to Drow Ranger and disables Marksmanship.
- Smoke Screen makes Drow Ranger miss her attacks.
- Cloak and Dagger let Riki stay close to Drow Ranger without her noticing, disabling Marksmanship.
Items to buy on Riki
- Diffusal Blade - Slows down Drow Ranger and burns his mana, powerful in tandem with Smoke Screen
- Abyssal Blade - Upon cast, it stuns the targetted hero for 2 seconds. Can be used to quickly lock down Drow Ranger after pouncing on top of him, allowing you to beat him down with the physical damage
- Mana Style - Exceptional to push lanes and dispel spells or Silence from Drow Ranger
- Black King Bar - Provides spell immunity from Drow Ranger’s spells.
- Daedalus - Immense critical damage which is hard for Drow Ranger to negate.
https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Riki
3. Sniper
If there is one hero that Drow Ranger players could permanently delete then it would have to be Sniper! Looks are often deceiving, this dwarf marksman is the stuff nightmares are made of. Seriously, does anyone not have PTSD from 6.82 patches? Drow struggles largely against higher-ranged heroes as they can prove to be menacing if not stopped early on in the game. Sniper is no exception, his significant attack range makes it quite hard for Void to target him, while the marksman can simply demolish him with his attack damage.
The late game can be quite tricky for the Sniper if Drow Ranger decides to opt for items like Silver Edge or Swift Blink, as they allow him to get on top of the former and beat him down. Positioning is always the key while playing against crowd-control heroes like the Void. A good Sniper player can impact teamfights without being in the forefront. All his items grant him ungodly amounts of damage which can ruin the game of the Drow if he does not lock him down.
What makes Sniper great against Drow Ranger?
- High base attack range allows Sniper to strike Drow Ranger down if he isn’t caught in the Chronosphere.
- Can have an impact right from the mid-game, while Drow Ranger farms away to acquire multiple items.
- Due to Sniper's Shrapnel and his attack long-range, Drow Ranger has a hard time taking the high ground, buying more time for his allies to either respawn or discourage Drow to push any further.
Items to buy on Sniper
- Maelstorm/Mjolnir - Malestorm provides Sniper a chance to deal AoE damage on physical attacks. It’s a great item to deal AoE damage. Its upgrade, Mjolnir, can be used to cast on yourself or allies to deal AoE damage to enemies attacking you under its duration. Both of these items are excellent to stop Drow’s onslaught.
- Dragon Lance - Provides increased stats and regen along with increased attack range. Sniper is anything but tanky, but an early-game Dragon Lance assures he does not get prioritized by Faceless Drow in fights. It can further be upgraded into a Hurricane Pike.
- Mask of Madness - Increased attack speed and lifesteal, along with increasing your movement speed. This allows Sniper to deal high damage without many intervals.
- Shadow Blade - Provides invisibility which can be used to escape or set up on Faceless Drow. It can later be upgraded into Silver Edge which can disable the latter’s passive Bash right after breaking invisibility.
- Monkey King Bar - Provides increased physical attack damage, and also provides true strike upon physical attacks, preventing or essentially countering Drow if he purchases Butterfly.
- Daedalus - Deals high critical damage, it can be used to deal high damage to Faceless Drow in the mid-game.
https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Sniper
2. Razor
The wrath of the Storm takes away the mightiest of opponents, Razor is prepared to whip Alchemist. Razor obliterates melee heroes, he steals their damage, slows them down, and whips them back with their damage! Razor can farm faster with his spells, which translates to early-game domination and early team fights as well. He is known to be a tempo-control hero, just like Alchemist but he is far more lethal right from the early game!
Razor decimates the likes of Alchemist due to the range advantage he has. The former is absolutely a beast when it comes to shoving people out of the lane and ruining their gameplay. Razor is also highly relevant in the current meta, making him the right pick in most matchups, He hits like a truck in the late game, leaving Alchemist no chance to recover if he is killed a few times.
Why is Razor a great counter to Drow Ranger?
- Static Link steals all of row Ranger’s high attack damage.
- Due to Drow’s low mobility, Razor finds it easy to hunt her down and secure a kill or two in the early game.
- Plasma Field & Storm Surge keeps Razor close to Drow Ranger, continuously disabling Marksmanship.
Items to Buy on Razor
- Assault Cuirass - Increases armor and attack speed for Razor and his allies while reducing the same for Drow Ranger in an AoE.
- Refresher’s Orb - Can refresh spells and items and use them again in quick succession to delete Drow Ranger from teamfights
- Shiva’s Guard - Upon activation, it deals damage in an AoE, slowing down the affected targets. It also provides increased armor and reduces enemy armor in an AoE, which is highly essential against Drow Ranger.
- Aghanim’s Shard - Ultimate affects buildings and deals immense damage to heroes as well. Works exceptionally with Refresher’s Orb.
- Heaven’s Halberd - Can disarm Drow Ranger, making him unable to attack for a few seconds, while Razor can freely attack him or steal his damage at the same time.
1. Axe
Not all heroes can deal ungodly amounts of damage right from the early game. Axe is a noble exception to this statement! He is an exceptional laner and leaves no stone unturned against melee heroes like Drow Ranger. The latter finds it hard to lane against Axe as he is constantly harassed and shoved off the lane with both Battle Hunger and Counter Helix. Just like Drow, Axe is also relevant through the late game, but the latter prevails as he has high armor and HP, and does not falter easily. He can always jungle to acquire his Blink if he somehow has a difficult laning phase.
Even a six-slotted Drow Ranger can succumb to one Axe Blink Call. Drow simply can’t do much to Axe when he obtains items like Black King Bar and Blademail, rendering the former quite useless. As the warmonger is tanky, Drow can’t penetrate his armor inside the Chronosphere, ignoring him largely in teamfights. Even if Drow manages to hit Axe inside his Chrono, he may just be susceptible to the Counter Helix spins, which can mow him down within no time.
Why is Axe a great counter to Drow Ranger?
- Berserker's Call forces Drow Ranger to attack Axe up close, disabling her Marksmanship bonus.
- Counter Helix occurs more often with Drow Ranger's high attack speed.
- Culling Blade is a dangerous ability against a low-health hero like Drow Ranger.
Items to Buy on Axe
- Blink Dagger - Blink transports Axe 1200 units in the distance he is facing, it can’t be used for 3 seconds if he takes any form of damage. Blink is used to closing the gap and getting on top of the Drow Ranger and following it up with Call.
- Blademail - Reflects Drow Ranger’s damage to him upon activation. This is a staple item on Axe, as he has enough HP to tank through the damage while reflecting it to the Drow Ranger, it can also make her ignore you in teamfights.
- Aghanim’s Scepter and Shard - AoE Battle Hunger and reduced CD on spells
- Force Staff - Allows you to force yourself or the targetted unit 600 units ahead in the direction they are facing, it can be useful to catch or escape from Drow’s Chronosphere if you time it right.
- Black King Bar - Provides spell immunity, making Axe invulnerable in the fight
https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Axe
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