What players buy
The items bought most in each of Valve’s four game stages
Public matches · each item’s own count
1stMost bought
187 buys
2ndSecond most
113 buys
3rdThird most
107 buys
4thFourth most
98 buys
5thFifth most
73 buysBy GamGem ResearchLast updated 22 Sept 2026
Dark Willow
Ranged · Intelligence
- Win rate
- 48.7%
- Pick share
- 0.6%
- Matches
- 296,580
- Patch
- 7.41f
Draft coverage
BringsSupportNukerDisablerEscape
NeedsCarryInitiatorFrontlineTower damage
Recommendation
Pick
- The game is heading for 30–40 min — that is where this hero measures best, at 50.1% over 4,836 matches.
- You are playing around Divine — its strongest medal, 50.1% over 39,949 picks.
Avoid
- Treant Protector is on their side — this hero wins 32.0% of 75 matches against it.
- Snapfire is on their side — this hero wins 41.9% of 248 matches against it.
- Dazzle is on their side — this hero wins 34.4% of 64 matches against it.
187 buys113 buys107 buys98 buys73 buys
Skill Order
Which ability to max first, and where each point goes — what most league players on Dark Willow took at each level.
QBramble Maze
Dark Willow creates a 500 AoE maze of 8 brambles that grow in the target area after 0.3 seconds.
Point Target · AOE · Magical damage
WShadow Realm
Dark Willow recedes into the shadows, becoming untargetable.
No Target · Instant Cast · Magical damage
ECursed Crown
Dark Willow casts an ancient fae curse on the target.
Unit Target
RTerrorize
Dark Willow releases her pet wisp to terrorize her enemies.
Point Target · AOE · Magical damageMax Order
QEW
Max Q first, then E, then W. Most took R at 6 / 13.
Level-up Order
- QBramble Maze
- WShadow Realm
- ECursed Crown
- RTerrorize
- TTalent
| Ability | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QBramble Maze | Q | Q | Q | Q | ||||||||||||
| WShadow Realm | W | W | W | W | ||||||||||||
| ECursed Crown | E | E | E | E | ||||||||||||
| RTerrorize | R | R | ||||||||||||||
| TTalent | T | T |
Matchup map
How Dark Willow performs against every opponent with 30 or more counted games
112 opponents · public matches40%60%Dark Willow's win rate
≥ 60%Very favorable
55 – 60%Favorable
50 – 55%Even
45 – 50%Unfavorable
40 – 45%Hard
< 40%Very hard
If this happens, use this
- They are running away
Something that holds them still, or closes the gap yourself. Matched on “stun”, “root”.
- Kill them in one window
Damage that lands now rather than over a minute. Matched on “magical”, “damage over time”.
- Stay in lane
Healing, regeneration or lifesteal — not having to walk back. Matched on “regenerat”.
- Pressure their mana
Burn it, drain it, or take the spell away entirely. Matched on “mana”.
By medal
- Herald47.3%7,127
- Guardian47.4%23,044
- Crusader48.0%38,524
- Archon48.0%54,321
- Legend49.4%62,516
- Ancient49.4%47,778
- Divine50.1%39,949
One count per medal, not one rate split across them; a medal with no counted matches is left out.
By match length
- 0–20 min46.5%2,461
- 20–30 min49.2%7,563
- 30–40 min50.1%4,836
- 40–50 min47.5%1,879
- 50 min +48.3%714
Bands under 120 matches are absent rather than shown small.
Learning Dark Willow
Abilities
Bramble Maze
Point Target · AOE · Magical damageDark Willow creates a 500 AoE maze of 8 brambles that grow in the target area after 0.3 seconds. Enemies that walk into a bramble are rooted and take damage over time. Lasts 12 seconds.
Shadow Realm
No Target · Instant Cast · Magical damageDark Willow recedes into the shadows, becoming untargetable. Her next attack has 600 bonus attack range and deals bonus magic damage, and will end Shadow Realm. Damage scales based on how long she remains under the effects of Shadow Realm, the maximum being reached after 3 seconds.
Cursed Crown
Unit TargetDark Willow casts an ancient fae curse on the target. After a delay, the target and nearby enemies are stunned.
Bedlam
No Target · Instant Cast · Magical damageDark Willow sends her pet wisp to roam around herself for the duration, rapidly attacking nearby enemies. Bedlam cannot be used while Terrorize is active.
Pixie Dust
PassiveDark Willow gains 20% bonus Health and Mana Regeneration, increased to 100% while she is untargetable or invulnerable.
Terrorize
Point Target · AOE · Magical damageDark Willow releases her pet wisp to terrorize her enemies. After a short delay, all enemies in the target area become fearful and run toward their home fountain. Terrorize cannot be used while Bedlam is active.
Base attributes
- Strength
- 20 +2.0
- Agility
- 18 +1.6
- Intelligence
- 21 +3.5
- Move · range
- 290 · 475
Talents
- 4Bedlam Attack TargetsTerrorize Impact Damage
- 3Shadow Realm DurationBramble Maze CD
- 2Bedlam DamageTerrorize Cooldown
- 1Bedlam Duration+12 Intelligence
Aghanim’s Scepter
Changes Shadow Realm
Attacking no longer takes Dark Willow out of Shadow Realm. Each attack still has bonus damage based on the duration of the buff.
Aghanim’s Shard
Changes Cursed Crown
Cursed Crown creates 4 brambles in a 175 radius around the target after the counter ends. Triggers even upon dispel. Cursed Crown cooldown reduced by 1.5 seconds.
Sources
- Kit, talents and upgrades · mechanicalread 22 Sept 2026
Ability names, icons, behaviour, damage type and text, plus the Aghanim’s Scepter and Shard descriptions — as the game itself ships them. Nothing here was counted over matches.
- Win rate by medal · countedread 15 Sept 2026
The same hero at each of Valve’s eight medals, over 4,610,063 public matches. Each medal carries its own sample, because the eight buckets are nothing like the same size.
- Matchups and match length · counted, on a narrower windowread 16 Sept 2026
Win rate against each opponent and across five match-length bands. This channel reports far fewer games than the medal figures above: the median hero pairing is 51 matches and the largest on the whole roster is 707. Rows under 30 games are absent rather than shown small, and the ones that remain are ORDERED by a figure shrunk toward even by its own sample — the rate you see is the real one, the ranking is the careful one.
- What players build · countedread 15 Sept 2026
The five most common items in each of Valve’s four game stages, with each row’s own pick count.
- Skill order · counted, in league matchesread 3 Oct 2026
Where skill points go, read off every player's own learning order in premium and professional league matches on patches 7.41 and 7.40. Each level shows the ability most players took there and the share that did — a column only a third agree on is printed as a third, not as the rule. Heroes under 30 counted games show no path.
- Situation index · derived, and checkableread 22 Sept 2026
Each situation is a phrase match against Valve’s own ability text, and every row shows the phrases that matched. No win rate is attached, because nobody counts one per situation.
Mechanics are the ones Valve publishes for patch 7.41f. GamGem is not affiliated with or endorsed by Valve Corporation.