So why is Windranger so popular right now? The hero’s rise in the meta can be attributed to one major item: Gleipnir. Whenever Gleipnir is strong, heroes who hit hard but have an unreliable setup (like Windranger) tend to creep up into the meta. The item’s easy buildup from Maelstrom into Rod of Atos makes it very accessible to all heroes who benefit from it.<\/p>
This item is also responsible for the rise of heroes like Mirana and Nature’s Prophet as cores, heroes who love having their own Gleipnir setup for their follow-up damage.<\/p>
The Windranger-Gleipnir trend is also picking up in pubs of every rank, where Windranger now sits as the fifth most popular hero. Nerfs are certainly warranted, but we don’t expect them to arrive before the end of TI13. For now, the hero stocks are on the rise, so there is no better time to learn the hero and dominate your pubs before the inevitable nerfs hit.<\/p>
