Hoodwink Guide

Hoodwink is one of the most interesting and complex supports in Dota 2. This hero combines mobility, crowd control, and high burst damage. Hoodwink is a fairly complex character who truly shines in skilled hands. In this article, we’ll cover all aspects of this hero, the build, and synergies with other characters in Dota 2.

Who is Hoodwink in Dota 2?

Hoodwink is an Agility hero with great potential and a high skill ceiling. Her arsenal includes crowd control, slows, and impressive damage. This hero can be built as either a magic or physical damage dealer.

Strengths

The hero is very strong in lane, has good crowd control and damage in the early game, a powerful ultimate capable of easily dealing up to half of an opponent’s health in the early stages, and mobility thanks to her third ability.

Weaknesses

The hero has low health and complex abilities. Her combo and ultimate can miss, failing to make an impact in team fights.

Abilities Hoodwink

Acorn Shot – performs a charged attack with an acorn, dealing 45/90/135/180 damage plus 80% of attack damage. The acorn bounces between enemies, dealing damage and slowing everyone it hits. In the new 7.41 patch, the acorn no longer bounces into trees.

If the ability is cast on a non-enemy target, it will plant a tree and then begin bouncing toward enemies within range. To guarantee planting a tree, you must enable the ability’s alternate use.

Upgraded by talents: at level 20 – +2 to the number of bounces; at level 25 – 2 charges of Acorn Shot.

Bushwhack – throws a trap net into the selected area, which binds enemies to a tree for 1.5/1.7/1.9/2.1 seconds. If there is no tree in the area, the net will not work. Deals 90/180/270/360 damage over the duration of the bind. If the tree to which enemies are bound is cut down, they will immediately break free.

Synergizes with the first ability. Using an alternative playstyle, plant a tree with Acorn Shot and bind an opponent to it.

Upgraded by a talent at level 10, which grants +50 damage from Bushwhack.

Scurry – grants 20%/25%/30%/35% bonus movement speed and allows you to pass through units and trees. It also multiplies the chance to redirect an attack with your passive ability by 200%. Lasts 3.5/4/4.5/5 seconds and has 2 charges.

Upgraded at level 15 with a talent that grants +1 to the ability’s charge count.

Sharpshooter – Ultimate ability. Hoodwink charges a crossbow shot for five seconds and fires it. The longer the shot is charged, the more damage it deals. The arrow flies in the selected direction. If it hits a hero, it deals 600/975/1350 damage and slows them by 30%/40%/50%. It also applies Exhaust.

It is upgraded at level 25 with a talent that grants +400 to maximum damage, and with Aghanim’s Scepter, which increases projectile speed by 550 and slow by 20%.

Decoy – an ability from Aghanim’s Scepter that makes the hero invisible and speeds him up. At the same time, an illusion is created in their place, which automatically charges the ultimate ability and deals 60% of the original damage.

The illusion can be killed with a single hit, but in response, it will stun the attacking opponent for 1.6 seconds with Bushwhack.

Hunter’s Boomerang is an ability that can be unlocked with Aghanim’s Shard. The squirrel throws a boomerang that flies in an arc and deals 200 damage to all enemies hit. It also slows them for 7 seconds and increases the magic damage they take by 20%.

Talents and Passive Ability: Hoodwink

Passive Ability

Mistwoods Wayfarer functions as a dodge, redirecting an opponent’s attack into a tree within a 275-radius area with a 15–44% chance. Such an attack will fell the tree. When Scurry is activated, the chance to redirect the attack doubles. Like dodge, this ability can be countered with MKB.

Talents

The hero has good talents that significantly boost her damage.

The most commonly chosen ones are:

• +50 damage from Bushwhack
• +1 to the number of Scurry charges
• +2 to the number of bounces for Acorn Shot
• +400 to max damage from Sharpshooter

It’s also important to note that the alternative talent at level 20 is useful; it grants vision while the ultimate is charging and reveals invisible enemies. If you’re building a mage build, it’s better to take +10 to Agility at level 15 and 2 charges of Acorn Shot at level 25.

Build, Items, and Strategies

The position 4 build starts with cheap combat items: consumables, branches, Blood Grenade, Sentry, and sometimes Blight Stone. Boots are most often upgraded to Arcane Boots, which help the hero since all her skills are active and require mana. Early-game slots almost always include items for sustain.

For the support version of Hoodwink, the following items are well-suited:

• Force Staff
• Eul’s Scepter
• Aether Lens
• Glimmer Cape
• Lotus Orb
• Solar Crest.

In the more aggressive version for mid or carry, there are two types of builds: one focused on cooldown reduction and magical damage, the other on physical damage from auto-attacks and the first ability.

For the magic build, take:

• Aghanim’s Scepter
• Aghanim’s Shard
• Ethereal Blade
• Scythe Of Vyse
• Octarine Core

For the physical build, take:

• Mjollnir
• Hurricane Pike
• Butterfly
• Desolator
• BKB
• Satanic
• Daedalus
• Divine Rapier (super late)

Synergies and Counters

The best allies for Hoodwink are heroes who can hold a position and lock down targets: Axe, Centaur, Slardar, Legion Commander, Dragon Knight. With them, the net and ultimate are particularly reliable. Magic heroes like Leshrac, Puck, Zeus, or Skywrath Mage also work well because Hunter’s Boomerang amplifies damage from shared casts. Poor teammates include Timber or Mars. These heroes break trees and can accidentally free the target from control.

Hoodwink’s counterpicks are primarily mobile heroes who can quickly reach the backline, such as Storm Spirit, Spirit Breaker, Slark, Phantom Assassin, Spectre, and Pangolier. Heroes with vision, silence, and reliable crowd control—like Zeus, Silencer, Disruptor, or Night Stalker—are also troublesome. Hoodwink struggles against heroes who can control her or kill her quickly, even despite her positioning.

Who is this hero good against? Against targets that rely on passives, are poor at dodging crowd control, and often spread out across the map. If the opponent prefers to move in small groups, Hoodwink will almost always be able to catch and punish the enemy.

Macro and Micro Gameplay

Macro Gameplay

Hoodwink is a highly mobile hero. She always wants to roam the map, harass enemies, and scout enemy territory. In team fights, Hoodwink prefers to stay behind her teammates and relies on a dedicated tank or initiator to draw enemy attention.

Micro play

A fully built Hoodwink has six active abilities. She is truly a skill-dependent hero who requires precise button mashing. Her ultimate must be used accurately, and her stun must hit not only enemies but also trees.

You can also pull off some very impressive combos with this hero. For example, if you first cast the net far away and immediately afterward plant a tree using Acorn Shot at the closest possible point within the radius of your second ability, the tree will grow before the net reaches its target, and the enemy will be instantly tethered to it. To execute this consistently, you should practice in the lobby first.

Conclusion

Hoodwink is a hero for fans of an aggressive playstyle, positional play, and seizing the moment. The squirrel can win the lane, set an early pace, and remain useful in the late game thanks to her control, mobility, and powerful ultimate. If you enjoy holding your position, picking off isolated targets, and constantly pushing the map, then this character is definitely worth your attention.

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