Item Build

The post is Windrunner Item Build for RTS Game "DotA"
Picking Items to Fit Your Role

The Walkout

Option #1: 
This option gives you a courier, Stats, and necessary consumables. It's the way I always go in pub games, and it's viable in competitive play.

Option #2: 
This used to be my favorite way to walk out. It allows you spam Powershot quite effectively and still provides Stats and regen. However, you have to choose between the salve and tangos.

Option #3: 
This is a very stat heavy build. It comes with some regen and 2 clarity potions. A very solid way to walk out of base.

Each option is completely and totally viable. The first option allows you the most flexibility and gives you a way to get your items faster; it is the most preferred option for soloing the middle lane. The second option is a bit of spammer build, but doesn't offer a great amount of anything else. The final option gives you a solid plus five to all Stats, and none but the beastliest of combos will be able to take you out.

 Phase vs Treads 

Everyone gets boots of some sort, and you need to do so as well to keep up. There are two real options that offer what Windrunner needs. It ultimately comes down to your preference, but here's a quick break down of how each will affect your game.

Phase Boots really complement your ultimate well. The raw damage is something that Windrunner really needs and this is a wonderful way to get it. The phase ability also keeps you mobile, and it is a good utility power.

Power Treads pad your Stats and grant you attack speed. The strength and intelligence settings are all you should ever consider with Windrunner. The extra HP can definitely help and so can the extra mana.

I would almost always recommend the Phase boots. You have your ultimate for attack speed, and you should stress maximizing your abilities instead of your base numbers.

Early Items



Getting a Flying Courier helps keep you in the field, and you could possibly talk teammates into buying it for you if you're pubbing. You should get a Bottle or Magic Wand if not both, these both provide great regen and emergency boosts. If you're having a little trouble farming, an early Bracer or Null Talisman can get you over your hump and into your late game. Also, Ring of Basilius can be a good cheap way to get some useful armor, mana regen, and damage.

Soul Ring gets a special mention from me. It doesn't have any really overpowered synergy like with Omniknight, but it is a feasible item for those that enjoy spamming. Its regen is nice on Windrunner, and while it's not core, it should be on your mind as an option.

Scrolls of Teleportation are a must at all times. Always have one on your person. You can use it to escape ganks after a successful juke, get to a team fight, respond to a call for aid for a teammate, get into position to defend, and retreat after a push. A complete necessity at all times.

Mekanzm has its uses if it is farmed quickly; in other words, within about 12 minutes. It provides some solid stat gains and the ability to heal yourself and allies. It also provides some needed armor. Mekanzm is effective as an item until about the 30 minute mark; hence the need to finish it fast or not at all. The longer it takes to make, the less time it will be useful. If you're past the 17 minute mark, I wouldn't bother. This will lend you towards a more Supportive role, but it has it's place in the Hybrid build if you follow up with good DPS items.

The Toolbox





21 Items are in my toolbox when I play Windrunner. Depending on my role, what heroes on are on my team and the enemy team, and how the game is flowing all determine what items I am eventually aiming to have in my arsenal. No item is exclusive to any one build for Windrunner, although some items lend themselves better to some roles than others.

You'll notice in the toolbox are what you could consider basic items. In particular the following:



These are what I would call fall back items. These are usually gotten for obscenely specific reasons or as a base item to boost you in the early or mid game. Gem of Truesight for invis enemies, counter warding, and Goblin Techies. Crystalys gives you a good damage boost for relatively low cost, so I sometimes get this item early and never get a Buriza. Vanguard should be in the back of your head in case you find yourself in need of a cheap tank item. Oblivion Staffs provide really good bonuses without ever needing to make an Orchid Malevolence; just one of these can give you great damage and mana. Kelen's Dagger helps when you're having trouble with positioning; of course, it's also great for running and ganking. Helm of the Dominator helps keep you in the field, and Satanic just doesn't always get finished. Perseverance by itself provides great regen and little bit of damage; if I can make any of these by minute eight or nine, it's totally worth it in any game, and these are what you should be aiming to make when you're not getting any farming done for some reason.




These 10 items are what I usually pick from for most games. I'll break these items uses down here a bit for you.



If you choose to go for Orb effects, please be sure to only make one such item! I'm talking about the Stygian Desolator, Diffusal Blade, and Satanic. Stygian Desolator is a good way to push your damage to the breaking point. Diffusal Blade has two extreme pluses. The Purge is good for chasing after your Shackleshot wears off or getting ridding of bothersome summons or buffs; the Feedback (mana burn) is a totally diabolical thing to use with your ultimate. You may very possibly make someone rage quit with the Diffusal Blade in your inventory. Satanic (or just Helm of the Dominator) gives you some needed HP and lifesteal; however, this has a curious interaction with your ultimate which is discussed below.



Raw damage items are good ideas when you're stressing your carry aspect and need to provide your team with some much needed DPS. The Buriza synergizes very well with your Ultimate and also with lifesteal items or a Stygian Desolator. Divine Rapier can really be a game breaker. I would recommend this as a surprise for final pushes and after you've already obtained some defensive items. The Force Staff also falls into this category. It gives you some very nice numbers and one of the more versatile abilities in the game. Finally, the Blademail also provides you with some raw numbers as well as the Return ability. This is a cheap and effective way to increase your damage as well as tone down or punish attempts to focus you down in fights.



The Linken's Sphere is a great way to pop up some HP, get some regen and dodge the occasional spell; it definitely helps on a hero like Windrunner, who is best countered by nukes. Guinsoo will also grant some Stats and regen and gives you the Hex ability; Guinsoo will always be a game breaking item. I recommend considering this every game and usually end up with it if my team is low on stuns.



Aghanim's Scepter provides you with great Stats and base increases. The improvements to your ultimate include a Reduced Cooldown to 15 seconds and a mechanic change. Usually, damage is reduced via a triggered heal mechanic when damage is calculated on the target. With Scepter, the mechanic changes to a Defend mechanic that reduces your damage so that it is calculated first instead of last. This really only comes into play for players with lifesteal. Lifesteal is calculated off of a player's outgoing damage. So, having a Scepter REDUCES your lifesteal on the frontend, and not having a Scepter grants you full lifesteal even if you do reduced damage on the backend.




This block of items is full of utility powers and effects. These should be on your backburner if you need them, but you won't generally make these too often.

Shiva's Guard provides you with a Frost Aura and an AoE effect as well as fantastic armor. This is used best when team fights tend to turn into fisty cuffs match-ups between the heroes; in other words, the enemies rely on their physical attacks most of the time.

Mjollnir can be effective when your team either needs a way to push faster or more AoE effects in team fights. You also get a utility buff to discourage attacking a particular player or to punish the enemies for targeting someone. Not really a serious item in most games.

Orchid Malevolence is a questionable item on Windrunner. The attack speed, damage, intelligence, and mana regen are amazing, but you get zero survivability out of it. No HP, armor, or HP regen. Soul Burn is best for taking out disablers in team fights or chasing down natural Blinkers. It can replace another item for raw damage quite effectively if you need the Soul Burn earlier. A note here for use against a single target, it's better not to overlap this with your stun. You are best off using it as your stun is ending.

Eul's Scepter of Divinity. It provides a decent disable, extra MS, intelligence, and good regen. It's tempting in a lot of games where you can't quite save up for the Guinsoo, and is not a bad buy in that situation.

Final say on items is all up to you. These are simply the items that work out most often and are typically effective. The items not on this list are not bad, but either offer less of what is needed for Windrunner or can be easily become detrimental to your gameplay. As an example, Dagon is NOT a bad item for Windrunner. It gives you an extra nuke and great bonuses. The problem is that upgrading it more than once or even twice is generally a bad idea, and for some reason, most players have a sense of "needing to finish the item" by upgrading it the whole four times, which wastes at least 2600 gold that could be better spent elsewhere.

Typical Item Sets

 
 
 

This is a typical DPS build. In this build, Linken's is usually the first thing to build followed by Helm of the Dominator; you can build these in opposite order. Blademail is a good followup. Then, save for a Rapier. When your team is ready for a rax push, buy it at that point. Don't buy it early and lose it, or you'll ruin the surprise  .





When you're game's not going well, you'll end up poor. A couple of bracers can help keep you alive. The Force Staff provides you with needed damage and nifty utility to keep up the fight. The Crystalys is a cheap way to give you a 30% boost in your overall damage.





This item set is geared for a supportive Windrunner. If you're a support, you won't have a great deal of farm, so your gold will be a bit limited. You should aim for some lower tier utility items that also complement your natural abilities. Mekanzm is great for prolonging team fights, Force Staff keeps your damage up to par and provides good utility if you have some imagination and timing. The Null Talismans expand your mana pool and provide some extra padding on your HP.





My typical gameplay lends me towards this item set. Gives you great mobility, great abilities for teamfights, plenty of damage, and a decent amount of survivability. In my opinion, a good all rounder, but definitely not the best. I almost never finish all these items in a game.