Weaver can be played either in the safe lane or off lane. He is one of the hardest heroes in the game to lock down. If not countered well, he has the potential to snowball and destroy the enemy team.

Weaver is very good at kiting enemies and can end up dealing lots of damage especially in long team-fights.

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Weaver Item build

Starting Items

• Iron Branch
• Circlet
• Tango
• Healing Salve
• Ring of Protection
• Slipper of Agility
• Wraith Band
• Clarity

Early Game Items

• Blight Stone
• Ring of Aquila
• Magic Wand
• Dragon Lance

Mid Game Items

• Power Treads
• Linken’s Sphere
• Hurricane Pike
• Diffusal Blade
• Solar Crest
• Desolator
• Maelstrom

Late Game Items

• Black King Bar
• Mjollnir
• Daedalus
• Bloodthorn
• Butterfly
• Monkey King Bar
• Manta Style

Situational Items

• Aghanim’s Scepter
• Boots of Travel
• Heart of Tarraque
• Eye of Skadi
• Nullifier

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Weaver Skill Build

1. Shukuchi
2. Geminate Attack
3. Shukuchi
4. The Swarm
5. Shukuchi
6. Time Lapse
7. Shukuchi
8. The Swarm
9. The Swarm
10. Talent
11. The Swarm
12. Time Lapse
13. Geminate Attack
14. Geminate Attack
15. Talent
16. Geminate Attack
17. –
18. Time Lapse

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Complete Weaver Spell guide

The Swarm

Weaver throws out bugs which latch onto enemies to deal damage over time and reduce their armor. This is generally maxed after Shukuchi as it increases the damage it deals and the armor it decreases over time. The Swarm can be used to push towers as well as to slow enemy pushes. Creeps, including Roshan, will prioritize the bugs when they latch. This makes it a good spell to use against creeps-waves as they come to defend a tower as it will delay them. You should cast this spell onto one or two enemies if possible before chasing them down with Shukuchi. The bugs fall off of enemies when they go invisible but if an enemy becomes invulnerable or hidden, it will remain latched. If there are several heroes on the enemy team with invisibility, it may be advantageous to max Geminate Attack in place of The Swarm.

Shukuchi

Weaver becomes invisible and moves at maximum movement speed, dealing damage to any unit he comes in contact with. Shukuchi is always maxed first, as it allows him to chase enemies for kills and to escape from ganks. This is because it deals more damage with each level and reduces the cooldown. Shukuchi can be used while channeling, which means that you can use Shukuchi after using a Town Portal Scroll. This may allow you to escape ganks much more easily. Shukuchi also disjoints projectiles which means that it can be used to dodge many incoming stuns. Be careful when harassing with Shukuchi, as the opponent may have true-sight in the form a Sentry Ward. When using it, consider whether you could be punished or not by moving to where you intend, as you may end up taking a lot of damage.

Geminate Attack

Weaver duplicates his attack once every few seconds. This is usually maxed lastly, as his attacks become more relevant after he has built up lots of damage. The Geminate Attack will count as a regular attack, copying all of his attack modifiers and having a chance to apply procs from items such as MKB. Geminate is a great spell to use to harass your opponent with. If you trade one hit with your opponent in lane, they will take twice the damage due to Geminate Attack. Try to do this whenever it is off cooldown.

Time Lapse

Weaver turns back time, returning to the position, HP and mana he had 5 seconds ago. Aghanim’s Scepter allows him to use this spell on an ally hero and reduces the cooldown considerably. Time Lapse will remove most negative debuffs including Dust of Appearance. It can be used after buying back to return to the team-fight. Be careful though, as you may lose lots of HP and mana doing this. Time Lapse is effective when used to bait enemies in one direction, before teleporting back and escaping in the other direction. It may also be a good idea to use this after you get dusted, so that the enemies can’t see you during Shukuchi. Keep an eye on your mana when Time Lapse is at levels one and two as getting caught without mana to cast it may cost you your life.

Best Weaver Talents

Level 10: +20 Mana Break or +35% XP Gain

The mana break is very strong on Weaver because Geminate Attack allows you to burn much mana every few seconds. It also gives you loads of damage as a carry, which is very strong. It’s practically never worth it to skip out on the mana burn and get the increased XP gain, because Weaver doesn’t really need levels that much, especially because his stat gain is quite low.

Level 15: +15 Strength or +75 Shukuchi Damage

If you need to be able to survive against stuns, silences or nukes, then the strength will help you to tank up a bit.  It can be very good against silences or stuns that you need to survive through. Weaver strength gain is also very low, which the extra strength helps with. While the strength is definitely the safer option, you can sometimes get away with the extra Shukuchi damage if you don’t need to tank up and can be very offensive. If you’re playing against an illusion/creep hero as well as few disables, you may be able to get away with the extra damage.

Level 20: +0.5 Swarm Armor Reduction or +2 Swarm Attacks to Kill

Unless you are facing very tanky heroes with either high strength or armor, then the extra 2 attacks is usually a better choice in Dota 2 esports games. This is because it will take enemies longer to kill them and give you a wider window to deal more damage while they’re affected by the minus armor. It will also make it a better spell against creeps and when defending, as creeps will spend a longer time attacking them, and enemies will have to delay their push to kill the bugs first. If the enemies have some heroes with invisibility, it may be better to get the extra armor reduction, as the bugs detach when the enemy goes invisible. This would make the extra 2 attacks needed less useful.

Level 25: +200 Shukuchi Movement Speed or +1 Geminate Attack

If you have enough survivability and can chase down enemies easily enough as it is, then you can get the extra Geminate Attack for the DPS increase. It will allow you to attack an enemy once and back off, while 3 attacks launch toward the enemy. This can be a god way to pick off squishy supports at the back of the fight. On the other hand, if you need more survivability or if you’re facing heroes that are hard to lockdown or chase, then the extra movement speed will make you very to catch and let you move around the map much more easily. You will also be able to move in and out of fights much more easily without the same risk of dying. It can be less useful against heroes with movement impairing spells, such as Disruptor, Slark or Puck, however.

What Items to build on Weaver

Starting Items

• Tango
• Healing Salve
• Clarity
• Iron Branch
• Circlet
• Ring of Protection
• Slipper of Agility
• Wraith Band

The goal with Weaver’s starting items is to get more damage to be able to last hit as well as to get sufficient regen, especially if you are in the off lane. The first item Weaver usually purchases is a Ring of Aquila, so it is natural to buy items that build into it. A Clarity can be purchased if you expect to either use Shukuchi or The Swarm a lot in lane to get kills.

Early Game Items

Blight Stone

Blight Stone is a good, cheap item on Weaver because it makes his regular attacks and Geminate Attack deal more damage. It also stacks with The Swarm to reduce the enemy’s armor further. It can also be built into either a Desolator or a Medallion of Courage if needed, both of which are good on Weaver. It’s especially good on an off lane Weaver, as he tends to take part in more kills than a safe lane.

Ring of Aquila

Ring of Aquila is arguably a core item on Weaver. It gives him more mana regeneration to sustain Shukuchi and The Swarm and gives him some decent all-around stats.

Magic Wand

A Magic Wand on Weaver is good because the burst HP and mana heal may give him enough mana to either use Time Lapse or Shukuch to escape.

Dragon Lance

Dragon Lance gives Weaver some great stats, as well as an ability to attack from an increased range. This means that he can chase enemies more easily and be stood further from danger which pairs well with his escape spells in case he gets into trouble anyway.

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Mid Game Items

Power Treads

Power Treads is usually delayed on Weaver because the movement speed is somewhat wasted on him. This is because he has plenty of mobility from Shukuchi and Time Lapse. It can still be a good item to get in the early to mid game, as they provide an increase to his DPS. The Boots of Speed should be the last part purchased and do not need to be bought in lane for the same reasons as above.

Linken’s Sphere

Linken’s Sphere is a great item on Weaver as it allows him to dodge single-target disables and use either Shukuchi or Time Lapse to escape. The Ring of Health can be bought in lane to give him some HP regen and the completed item provides lots of stats and good passive HP and mana regen to sustain his spells. Linken’s also provides great all-around stats which Weaver greatly needs.

Hurricane Pike

Hurricane Pike is a good item on Weaver as it allows him to create space between him and enemies. It also provides him with another escape tool and when used on an enemy guarantees several auto-attacks. The item is very good against melee carries.

Diffusal Blade

Diffusal Blade is another core pickup on Weaver because the Geminate Attack will also burn mana. It can be used to gank an enemy very well, and the mana burn stacks nicely with the talent. The slow will also make it much easier to land The Swarm on them.

Solar Crest

Solar Crest has a variety of uses. It synergizes well with The Swarm to reduce even more armor and can provide Weaver and his allies with evasion or accuracy as needed.

Desolator

The minus armor debuff from Desolator stacks well The Swarm and allows Weaver and his allies to deal tremendous physical damage to even some of the hardest Dota 2 heroes in the game.

Maelstrom

Maelstrom will allow Weaver to be able to deal with illusion or creep heroes better and increase his farm rate. Both his regular and his Geminate Attack will be able to proc the chain lightning.

Late Game Items

Black King Bar

Black King Bar may be needed if the enemies have lots of magical damage or disables.

Mjollnir

Mjollnir is an upgrade for Maelstrom in the late game. It provides a lot more attack speed and a defensive spell which you can use preferably on an ally.

Daedalus

Daedalus is a good item if you need a boost to your raw damage. If your team lacks physical DPS, then this item may be needed. Geminate Attack can crit as well.

Bloodthorn

Bloodthorn provides Weaver with an ability to single out an enemy and to deal a lot of damage very quickly as Geminate Attack will also crit. It’s a good option if you need both true-strike and a silence.

Butterfly

Butterfly can be a good late game item on Weaver as it provides a large boost to his DPS. The ability to increase his movement speed can replace his boots. However the evasion may be wasted because Weaver generally does not need to be able to evade attacks as he can use Time Lapse or Shukuchi when he gets low on HP.

Monkey King Bar

Monkey King Bar gives Weaver lots of attack speed and accuracy. Geminate Attack will also have a chance to deal the bonus damage.

Manta Style

Manta Style works very well on Weaver, especially if he has Diffusal Blade. He will be able to drain an enemy of its mana very quickly. Manta can be used to purge silences or dusts and can be used to dodge certain spells.

Situational Items

Aghanim’s Scepter

Aghanim’s Scepter can be purchased on Weaver if you are playing less of a carry role. If you have someone on your team who will benefit from being kept alive for a long time, it can be good. However it doesn’t help you carry and is generally not needed if you are a carry. This is because you should be able to survive in fights with Shukuchi and Time Lapse anyway and the gold is better spent on other items.

Boots of Travel

Boots of Travel can free up an inventory slot, although the movement speed is generally wasted because of Shukuchi and Time Lapse.

Heart of Tarrasque

If you have lots of damage and just need to tank up, then a Heart can be a very good pickup on Weaver. You can Shukuchi out of team-fights, heal up and go back in again. Similarly, after using Time Lapse, you can stay out of combat for a short while and regenerate HP if you are low.

Eye of Skadi

Eye of Skadi will tank you up and give you some more DPS if you already have damage items. It can be good against heroes that are otherwise hard to lock down or multiple physical damage dealers.

Nullifier

A Nullifier can be a decent item on Weaver if you are playing against heroes with strong buffs as well as items that make them harder to kill. You can initiate onto them quite easily under the invisibility from Shukuchi and kill them easily with the slow it provides. It triggers on every instance of damage which makes it work well with Geminate Attack.

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Interesting Weaver Match-ups

Bloodseeker

Rupture will persist through Time Lapse. The best way to avoid dying to Bloodseeker is to buy a Linken’s Sphere, be fast with your fingers and if you get ruptured, immediately teleport away after Time Lapsing.

Faceless Void

Faceless Void can freeze Shukuchi with Time Dilation and catch you with Chronosphere. Any item which can purge you will help against Time Dilation and you must be have good positioning to not get caught by Chronosphere.

Melee carries

Weaver can very easily kite melee carries, especially after purchasing a Hurricane Pike. A Diffusal Blade will also slow the enemy to make kiting even easier.

Minus armor allies

Any allied hero that is able to reduce the armor of an enemy is strong with Weaver. This is because of The Swarm and the fact that Weaver usually buys even more minus armor items to compliment the spell. The result is that physical damage will destroy enemies.

Slark

Weaver will be unable to Shukuchi out of Pounce which means that you will have to use Time Lapse if you get caught out by him and he has detection.

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