Weaver

A 5.3% pick rate at #37 on the ban chart shows Weaver is a genuine, if less flashy, presence in the current patch, and Time Lapse is the reason he's so hard to fully kill — a rewind that restores health and mana to a state from a few seconds earlier can undo an entire burst combo in an instant. The read most new players miss is that patch 7.41e slightly increased the distance The Swarm's threads need to travel before breaking, which means positioning during an escape has marginally more room for error than it used to. Below is the current 7.41e patch, the build that leans into the swarm-and-rewind identity, and the picks that make it much harder to use.

Role and Position Weaver Plays

Weaver is primarily a carry, with a real secondary presence at mid depending on the draft's needs.

When to pick Weaver:

• your team wants a hard carry who's exceptionally difficult to burst down thanks to Time Lapse's health-and-mana rewind;
• the draft benefits from Shukuchi's stealth-and-speed for both farming safely and picking off isolated targets;
• the game plan rewards patient scaling into a genuinely resilient late-game presence.

When to skip him:

• the enemy has strong sustained damage that outlasts Time Lapse's rewind window rather than being undone by it;
• the team needs a carry with more independent initiation or AoE damage;
• the map favors early aggression over patient, farming-focused scaling.

Weaver's Strengths

• Time Lapse rewinds Weaver's health and mana to a state from several seconds earlier, effectively undoing a burst combo;
• Shukuchi grants stealth and bonus movement speed, letting Weaver farm safely, scout, or pick off isolated targets;
• The Swarm deploys Beetles that damage a target over time, useful for both harass and finishing kills;
• Geminate Attack adds a repeated attack on every other hit, boosting Weaver's sustained damage output for free;
• Overall resilience makes Weaver one of the more frustrating carries to burst down in a straight fight.

Weaver's Weaknesses

• relatively low base damage output outside of Geminate Attack's bonus and stacked items;
• Time Lapse only rewinds health and mana, not position or debuffs, so it doesn't save Weaver from continued disables;
• The Swarm's Beetles can be broken if Weaver moves too far from the target;
• relatively weak early laning phase compared to other hard carries, needing farm to reach his damage spikes;
• value depends heavily on farm — an under-itemized Weaver deals significantly less damage in every fight.

Weaver's Abilities

The Swarm (Q) — deploys Beetles that attach to and damage a target over time, breaking if Weaver moves too far away from them.

Shukuchi (W) — grants Weaver invisibility and bonus movement speed for a short window, usable for farming, scouting, or repositioning.

Geminate Attack (E) — Weaver's attacks occasionally strike twice, adding free bonus damage on top of his normal output.

Time Lapse (ultimate) — rewinds Weaver's health and mana to their values from several seconds earlier, effectively undoing recent damage taken.

Build, Items, and Strategies

Skill order: start The Swarm for lane damage and pressure, take an early Shukuchi for safety and mobility, and prioritize Time Lapse at every level it's available.

Talents: the level 20 pick boosting Geminate Attack's proc chance rewards a build that leans into consistent, sustained attack damage.

Starting items: Quelling Blade, a stack of regen, and enough sustain to farm efficiently while avoiding early risk.

Farming build — the default path: a fast-farming item into core attack items, since Geminate Attack scales directly with raw damage output.

Fighting build — once core items land: prioritize items that boost survivability and mobility, letting Weaver use Shukuchi and Time Lapse together for maximum resilience.

Reactive items: Black King Bar once fights routinely involve disables that would otherwise prevent Weaver from farming or fighting safely.

Pro tip: save Time Lapse for a moment right after taking significant burst damage — the rewind is most valuable used reactively to undo a combo that's already landed, not preemptively.

Footnote: exact item order flexes around whether the priority is maximum farming speed or scaling toward extended teamfight resilience.

Timings, Roshan, and Power Spikes

0–10 minutes: farm efficiently with The Swarm harass, using Shukuchi to farm safely and avoid ganks.

10–20 minutes: first power spike — Time Lapse online gives Weaver real resilience against burst combos for the first time.

20–35 minutes: second power spike — with a core farming item, Geminate Attack's bonus damage and overall survivability both scale into a serious late-game threat.

Roshan window: Geminate Attack's sustained damage and Time Lapse's resilience both make Weaver a strong solo Roshan taker once farmed.

35+ minutes: use Shukuchi to scout or reposition before committing to a fight, saving Time Lapse to undo the enemy's opening burst.

Footnote: these timings shift earlier when the lane goes uncontested, since Weaver's whole game plan depends on reaching his core farming items on schedule.

Weaver Counters

Any hero with sustained, non-burst damage is a strong answer: Time Lapse rewinds health from burst damage, but steady damage over time can still finish the job.

— Silencer: Global Silence prevents Time Lapse and The Swarm from being cast at the moment they matter most.

— Any hero with reliable detection: revealing Weaver during Shukuchi removes his stealth-based safety and escape.

— Bloodseeker: Rupture's damage-over-time punishes any repositioning attempt, including a Shukuchi escape.

— Doom: the ultimate blocks item and ability usage, cutting off Weaver's ability to cast Time Lapse or Shukuchi.

Where Weaver is strong on his own: against burst-heavy drafts, where Time Lapse directly neutralizes the win condition most burst-reliant compositions rely on.

Footnote: most of these counters share a theme — sustained damage or removing Weaver's stealth both find ways around what his kit is built to survive.

Synergies with Other Heroes

— Any hero who can protect Weaver's farm: a strong laning support lets him reach his item spikes safely.

— Tidehunter: Ravage groups enemies together, letting The Swarm and Geminate Attack both contribute efficiently.

— Io: Relocate can safely reposition Weaver into a fight where his sustained damage does the most good.

— Any hero with strong initiation: a clean engage lets Weaver follow up with The Swarm and his attack-based damage.

— Any hero who benefits from a scaling late-game carry: drafts with strong early control can protect Weaver's farm until his resilience and damage both come online.

These pairings work best around protecting Weaver's early farm and setting up fights where his resilience and sustained damage can shine.

What Experienced Weaver Players Do

• save Time Lapse reactively to undo burst damage, not preemptively;
• use Shukuchi for safe farming and scouting as much as for aggressive picks;
• prioritize farming efficiency and safety over early kill participation;
• track enemy detection and sustained-damage sources closely before committing to a fight;
• maintain distance from The Swarm's target to avoid breaking the Beetles' attachment unnecessarily.

Insider insight: the real value of Time Lapse is timing, not just having it available — casting it a moment too early wastes the rewind on damage that hadn't fully landed yet, while waiting too long risks dying before the ability can be used at all.

Conclusion

Weaver rewards a player who thinks about Time Lapse as a precisely timed safety net — the rewind is strongest used right after a burst combo lands, not as a preemptive measure. He's a genuinely resilient carry who's difficult to burst down, but sustained damage and detection both find real ways around his defensive tools. Pick him against burst-heavy drafts; be cautious against lineups with strong sustained damage or reliable detection.