Yatoro, one of the most renowned Dota carry players in the world, has overtaken watson on the ranked leaderboards, claiming the number one rank in the European region.
The two-time TI winner boasts a 77% win rate over 56 matches in the last eight days, with the main contributor being his Drow Ranger that possesses a mind-blowing 19-2 record. Here’s how to play Drow Ranger like Yatoro.
What Makes Drow Ranger Good In Patch 7.37e?
We haven’t really seen Drow Ranger make her mark in the professional scene for quite a while, so why is Yatoro playing her all of a sudden? It’s also interesting that she hasn’t received any balance changes since 7.35d, meaning she remained untouched throughout massive tournaments including The International 2024 and the Esports World Cup until today.
I dug into Dota2ProTracker and noticed that Drow Ranger generally works really well against the meta carries at the moment. In a world where Morphlings, Shadow Fiends and Dragon Knights get picked every single game, these staple carries are weak against counterparts that can outrange them – a box Traxex easily checks. Add Drow Ranger’s Aghanim’s Shard, Glacier into the mix, and it becomes even harder for opponents to close the gap.
Drow’s ult allows her to pierce through base armor, making her even better against Agility carries such as Morphling, Medusa, and Shadow Fiend so I think I’ve proved my point.
What Does Yatoro Build On Drow Ranger?
Though you probably can’t copy Yatoro’s skills and apply them for yourself, you can at least mimic the items and builds he is going for to have a 90% win rate in 21 matches.
Facet
Yatoro always goes for the same facet every game – Sidestep. This facet allows Drow Ranger to move freely while channeling Multishot, and most importantly, allows her to use items and cast spells during the channel as well. Sidestep is incredible for positioning purposes, especially against the ranged carries mentioned above.
Starting Items
In 20 out of 21 games, Yatoro goes for the exact same items, which consists of a Magic Wand and three branches. He then queues up a Tango and ships it after his team secures the Bounty Runes.
In the one match where he didn’t go for his staple build, he went all-in on stat items because he was laning against an Enigma. Enigma only casts a spell once every minute, and high-ranked players will make sure to use Demonic Conversion behind vision to prevent Yatoro from getting Wand charges.
Ability Build
Level 1 is always going to be poured into Frost Arrows, as it helps you harass the enemy offlaner without drawing aggro, and also deals additional damage which can help you secure creeps.
Level 2 goes to Multishot, and level 3 goes to Frost Arrows again – this is always the same.
However, Yatoro tends to build the rest of his abilities depending on his matchups. He would often skip Gust until level 8, or he might skill it at level 4 against enemy laners who pose a kill threat.
Once you’re done with the laning stage, you’re going to max out Multishot, followed by Frost Arrows. The interesting part that I agree with is that Yatoro keeps Gust at level 1 for the rest of the game, pooling his skill points into attributes instead.
As far as his Talent Tree goes, here are his selections:
- 15 Frost Arrow Damage
- -6 Multishot Cooldown
- +25% Multishot Damage
- +10% Marksmanship Chance
These are Drow Ranger’s right, right, left, and left talents. Yatoro has never gone for another route.
Item Build
Now for the most complex part, we’re going to take a look at Yatoro’s item builds, split into the three stages of the game.
Early Game Items: One thing Yatoro is abusing that other players aren’t is the Falcon Blade. He buys Falcon Blade every single game on Drow Ranger. This is his first item, choosing to finish it before he even buys Boots of Speed. Next, he would go for Power Treads and a casual Wind Lace if needed.
Mid Game Items: His next item progression varies depending on the situation. He would either buy a Dragon Lance, or he would finish a Yasha and sometimes even a Manta Style before going back for the Lance.
When he rushes a Manta Style, it would be against active mid laners such as Storm Spirit and Earth Spirit, as both heroes have silences assuming the former would always rush Orchid Malevolence. However, Yatoro also has games where he would go for Sange and Yasha instead.
His next items are almost always Aghanim’s Scepter or Hurricane Pike. These two are must-buy items on Drow, so I think these choices are pretty self-explanatory.
Late Game Items: The late game is where things get interesting, as most of these items are purchased situationally.
You’ll see Daedalus and Butterfly on most of his end-game builds, but he would always juggle between BKB, Silver’s Edge, Linken’s Sphere, Satanic, and sometimes, a Swift Blink.
Silver’s Edge is a popular item since heroes like Timbersaw and Bristleback are running rampant. Linken’s Sphere is always nice to have against the Dragon Knights, Beastmasters, and Batriders or any other hero with unreactable or BKB-piercing stuns.
Satanic is usually picked up against ranged counterparts that require some man-fighting. These heroes are Luna, Dragon Knight, and Gyrocopter.
