Dota 2 Hoodwink Guide

Scurry through the battlefield and learn to catch enemies off guard with your nature-blessed wild magic with our Dota 2 Hoodwink Guide 

Hoodwink is a ranged Agility Hero with a low Health pool of 494 and a decent Mana pool of 327. Her attack damage of 49.5 is average, but she has good base armor of 4 and a movement speed of 310. 

Hoodwink (HW) is slightly difficult to play, as her abilities need proper positioning and timing to utilize to the fullest. She needs trees to maximize the effect of her abilities, which can easily disorient enemies and cause chaos in teamfights. Her ability to nuke and finish off enemies from massive distances keeps enemies on their toes, even when fleeing. 

Abilities

Let’s look at HW’s set of disorienting and powerful woodland magic, and wreak havoc in every battle. 

• Acorn Shot – Hoodwink shoots an acorn at a target unit, dealing an instant attack damage of up to 140 and an extra 75% of her attack damage. The acorn bounces up to 7 times to targets in a 525 radius, and each bounce slows targets by 100% for 0.45 seconds. When targeted in an area, a Tree is created for 20 seconds as well.
  
• Bushwhack – HW shoots a net at a target location of 265 radius (400 with level 25 talent) that stuns and drags enemies towards their nearest tree for up to 2 seconds. Enemies stunned are also damaged for up to 300 (360 with level 15 talent) and have their vision range set to 0.
  
• Scurry – Whenever in a 275 radius around trees, Hoodwink gains up to 30% evasion. Activating the ability also grants her bonus movement speed of up to 35% and gives her phased collision and tree-walking for 4 seconds.
  
• Sharpshooter – HW charges her crossbow for a maximum of 3 seconds (2.25 with level 20 talent) in one place, with a 60° turn-rate per second for 2 more seconds. After 5 seconds, she releases a max-charged bolt that damages a target for up to 1250 from a distance of up to 3000. The enemy is also debuffed with a break and slowed for up to 50% of their movement speed for a maximum of 5 seconds. Hoodwink is also knocked back for 350 distance. This ability can be upgraded by both Aghanim’s Scepter and Aghanim’s Shard to gain new abilities.
  
  • Decoy (Aghanim’s Scepter Upgrade) – Becomes invisible for 6 seconds with a bonus movement speed of 15% and sends forth a decoy illusion that starts aiming a lesser Sharpshooter (60% damage) at the nearest enemy Hero. When the illusion is attacked, it dies to create a tree with lesser Bushwhack cast upon it.
    
  • Hunter’s Boomerang (Aghanim’s Shard Upgrade) – Tosses a boomerang in an arc, dealing 250 damage upon contact with enemies in a 150 radius and 400 arc distance. Enemies hit are affected with a Hunter’s Mark, reducing their movement speed and increasing their spell damage amplification by 20% for 7 seconds.

Talents

• Level 10 – -3s Bushwhack Cooldown or +40% Scurry Evasion When Active
• Level 15 – +2 Acord Shot Bounces or +60 Bushwhack Damage 
• Level 20 – -4 Armor Corruption or 25% Sharpshooter Faster Projectile/Charger Time
• Level 25 – +135 Bushwhack Radius or 2 Acorn Shot Charges

Dota 2 Hoodwink Guide – Tips  

Hoodwink can be played as both a solid Offlaner or Mid, due to her soloing capabilities. She is highly slippery and a good wave clearer; she can easily handle a lane alone. Her abilities make her a great split-pusher and a powerful semi-carry. HW depends on farming for items, and excels with physical damage items as her Acorn scales with them. 

Dota 2 Hoodwink – Pros and Cons

Here are some of Hoodwink’s best and worst traits to remember. 

Pros:

• Excels around trees. 
• Strong wave clear and split pushing
• Versatile roles 
• Scales powerfully with items
• Long-range abilities

Cons:

• Low base Strength
• Requires positioning and timing
• Often relies on trees
• Cannot hard-carry in late-game
• Item dependent

How to play Hoodwink 

Master the slipper ways of the woodlands with our detailed gameplay breakdown.

Starting Items

If you are playing as an Offlaner, buy Iron Branches, Circlet, Slippers of Agility for attributes, and essential regen items like Tango and Healing Salve.

If you are playing as a Mid, getting Blades of Attack and Faerie Fire will help your last-hit better. Remember to focus on last-hitting and denying, and use Scurry to escape ganks easily.

Early Game

Damage items can help you scale your Acorn Shot powerfully, so finish up your Wraith Band and Falcon Blade as soon as possible. Focus on farming, split-pushing lanes and putting pressure to focus off your carry. 

You may also go for a Veil of Discord, which will boost your magic output significantly and also synergizes well with Hunter’s Boomerang and spell-caster allies. As for boots, it is advised to pick up Power Treads. 

Mid Game

Be as much of a nuisance as possible, taking fights and leading ganks to keep focus off your carry. Getting a Dragon Lance is a good item, as it also increases Acord Shot’s range. You can also invest in a Blink Dagger to increase your Mobility. 

For damage, you can pick up a Maelstrom, Desolator or Mage Slayer, as they all greatly aid your damage output. You can also get a Force Staff for more mobility and later upgrade it to Hurricane Pike. Buying the starting item sets for complete Yasha and Kaya is also a feasible route.

Late Game 

Your semi-carry nature will force you to shift into a more single-target nuker and Split-pusher role. You can pick up a Mjollnir or Gleipnir to synergize with your Acord Shot as you see fit, and maybe even a Black King Bar for some spell immunity to survive disables and nukes. Getting a Boots of Travel also synergizes excellently with Scurry and lets your split push easily.

If you need more damage, getting a Daedelus, Monkey King Bar or Ethereal Blade is also a good choice, as the first two increase your damage and crit chance, and lets you counter evasion. The latter amplifies your spell damage output and enables you to go into Ethereal form. As for more durability, you can also get a Linken’s Sphere disjoint or an Eye of Skadi for the best stats upgrade and the slow which procs with Acord Shot.

Dota 2 Hoodwink Counters

Here are Heroes that can easily ax down Hoodwink’s shenanigans throughout the game. 

• Timbersaw – His ability kit lets him quickly destroy trees and effectively foil all Acorn Shot and Bushwhack combos. His Chakram can also punish a channeling HW, and his Timber Chain can also help him dodge Sharpshooter. 
• Windranger – She can destroy trees with Powershot, preventing Scurry’s passive and Bushwhack’s effectiveness. Acorn Shot can be dodged with Windrun, and Hoodwink’s reliance on trees makes her an easy target for Shackleshot. 
• Storm Spirit – His Ball Lightning can destroy trees, disjoint combos, and chase down Hoodwink even when Scurrying. His high nuking potential also works well to kill the squishy HW. 

Conclusion

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