Dark Willow
Children love telling stories about the whimsical adventures of fairies... That’s because children don’t know that most fairies are spiteful jerks. And in the world of spiteful fairies there are few names spoken of with more contempt than Mireska Sunbreeze. Born to a fae merchant king, Mireska grew up in Revtel; a cutthroat nation where manipulation and murder were the norm. But while she was quite adept at navigating the etiquette, unspoken laws, and social rituals that permeated every element of her life, she found the whole thing rather boring. So, Mireska did what most rebellious children do: burn down her family estate and set off with her pet wisp Jex to live the life of a wandering grifter.
Hero lore
Children love telling stories about the whimsical adventures of fairies... That’s because children don’t know that most fairies are spiteful jerks. And in the world of spiteful fairies there are few names spoken of with more contempt than Mireska Sunbreeze. Born to a fae merchant king, Mireska grew up in Revtel; a cutthroat nation where manipulation and murder were the norm. But while she was quite adept at navigating the etiquette, unspoken laws, and social rituals that permeated every element of her life, she found the whole thing rather boring. So, Mireska did what most rebellious children do: burn down her family estate and set off with her pet wisp Jex to live the life of a wandering grifter.
Compact stat and ability fields shown here were checked against patch 7.41e where this model represents the changed field. Talents and full mechanics remain in the official notes.
Dark Willow abilities
Dark 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.
Dark 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 r…
Dark Willow casts an ancient fae curse on the target. After a delay, the target and nearby enemies are stunned.
Dark Willow sends her pet wisp to roam around herself for the duration, rapidly attacking nearby enemies. Bedlam cannot be used while Terrorize is active.
Dark Willow gains 20% bonus Health and Mana Regeneration, increased to 100% while she is untargetable or invulnerable.
Passive
Dark 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.
Popular items by game phase
OpenDota professional-match aggregate as of Jul 21, 2026, 9:50 PM UTC. Popularity rows are independent phase totals, not a coherent build, sequence, or win-rate advice.
Starting
6 items- 1
Iron Branch166 selections · 22.8% - 2
Tango102 selections · 14% - 3
Blood Grenade99 selections · 13.6% - 4
Faerie Fire97 selections · 13.3% - 5
Sentry Ward68 selections · 9.4% - 6
Observer and Sentry Wards68 selections · 9.4%
Early
6 items- 1
Boots of Speed90 selections · 70.9% - 2
Tranquil Boots17 selections · 13.4% - 3
Urn of Shadows13 selections · 10.2% - 4
Staff of Wizardry3 selections · 2.4% - 5
Arcane Boots3 selections · 2.4% - 6
Null Talisman1 selections · 0.8%
Mid
6 items- 1Staff of Wizardry47 selections · 24.7%
- 2
Essence Distiller36 selections · 18.9% - 3
Eul's Scepter of Divinity32 selections · 16.8% - 4
Blink Dagger31 selections · 16.3% - 5
Aghanim's Shard15 selections · 7.9% - 6Arcane Boots9 selections · 4.7%
Late
6 items- 1Blink Dagger39 selections · 26.4%
- 2
Force Staff18 selections · 12.2% - 3Eul's Scepter of Divinity14 selections · 9.5%
- 4
Mystic Staff12 selections · 8.1% - 5
Glimmer Cape12 selections · 8.1% - 6
Aeon Disk12 selections · 8.1%
More heroes to explore
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Dark Willow — frequently asked
What are Dark Willow's abilities in Dota 2?
Dark Willow's abilities are Bramble Maze, Shadow Realm, Cursed Crown, Bedlam, Pixie Dust, Terrorize. It is a Intelligence ranged hero played as Support, Nuker, Disabler.
What is Dark Willow's primary attribute?
Dark Willow is a Intelligence hero, starting with 20 strength (+2/lvl), 18 agility (+1.6/lvl) and 21 intelligence (+3.5/lvl), and a base move speed of 290.
What do the popular Dark Willow item phases mean?
The saved OpenDota aggregate is dated 2026-07-22. The phase lists summarize professional-match item popularity; they are not one coherent build, a recommended sequence, or win-rate advice.