Hoodwink Dota 2 HeroStats, Builds & Counters

Hero guide

How to play Hoodwink in ranked: builds, matchups and timing

Kevin · Dota2Arena · updated Oct 27, 2026 · 4 min read · numbers live from our scanner

Hoodwink is picked in 11.7% of ranked matches, above the 7.9% an average hero gets, and wins 47.2% of them, rank #107 of 127 heroes. The hero is strongest in the early game (52.9%) and weakest in the late game (46.6%). The most common item is Arcane Boots, in 75% of games, while Meteor Hammer has the best win rate with 65.0%. The hardest matchup is Wraith King, the easiest Nature's Prophet.

Hoodwink in numbers

Before the advice, the baseline. These are Hoodwink's numbers against the average of all 127 heroes in our window, all ranks combined.

How to play Hoodwink

Hoodwink is a ranged Agility hero usually played as a support. Bushwhack stuns enemies near trees, Acorn Shot bounces between targets and plants a tree, Scurry gives speed and evasion near trees, and Sharpshooter is a long-range charged shot. She is at her best in lanes and fights with trees around her, where every spell has a target, and at her weakest in open ground against heroes who can reach her.

• Use trees as your weapon. Acorn Shot can plant one where you need it, so Bushwhack almost always has a target, even in the middle of the river.
• Stay at range. Hoodwink has low health and relies on evasion from Scurry and on positioning rather than durability.
• Charge Sharpshooter from the fog. The longer the charge, the more damage, and a full shot finishes retreating heroes from far outside their vision.
• Build utility first. The item tables on this page show which support items are bought most and which ones win.
• Pull and stack with Scurry. The movement speed and tree-walking make camps and rotations faster than most supports manage.

When Hoodwink wins

Hoodwink's win rate by match length tells you when to push for the fight and when to hold. The hero peaks in the early game and is weakest in the late game. The average match with Hoodwink lasts 41:57 minutes.

Matchups: who to fear, who to farm

From ranked matches, the three worst opponents for Hoodwink are Wraith King, Visage and Phantom Lancer. The best targets are Nature's Prophet, Shadow Fiend and Shadow Demon. If you can pick a partner, Meepo and Wraith King win the most games with Hoodwink.

What to buy

Arcane Boots (75%), Glimmer Cape (25%) and Aether Lens (24%) are in Hoodwink's final inventory most often. Aghanim's Scepter is bought in 1% of games and the Shard in 45%. The item with the best win rate is Meteor Hammer at 65.0%, which usually means the games were already going well when it was bought, so read it as a late-game goal rather than a first purchase. The build cards above turn this into a full purchase order.

Item	Bought in	Win rate with it
Arcane Boots	75%	46.5%
Glimmer Cape	25%	48.1%
Aether Lens	24%	52.8%
Gleipnir	22%	59.2%
Essence Distiller	22%	49.8%
Rod of Atos	17%	42.6%

Common mistakes

• Throwing Bushwhack with no tree in the area. The net lands but nobody gets stunned.
• Charging Sharpshooter in plain sight. Enemies see the beam and walk out of the line.
• Building damage as a support. The win-rate numbers on this page show utility items winning more games.

Hoodwink's abilities explained

Mistwoods Wayfarer Innate · Passive

Hoodwink has a chance to redirect enemy attacks to a nearby tree.

Acorn Shot Point target · Physical damage

Fires Hoodwink's attack with an acorn at the target unit. The acorn bounces to nearby targets, slowing them and dealing a percentage of Hoodwink's attack with bonus damage. If point targeted, a tree is created at the target position and the acorn will bounce to nearby targets. The ability may be placed on alt-cast to force this behavior.

Bushwhack Point target · Magical damage

Tosses a net trap that stuns enemies if they are near a tree in the area. Affected enemies take damage over time and are pulled towards the tree nearest to them within the target area, and have their vision reduced to 0 for the duration of the stun.

Scurry No target

Hoodwink gains bonus movement speed, phased movement, and tree-walking for a brief time. While active, the redirect chance of Mistwoods Wayfarer is multiplied by 2.

Decoy No target

Hoodwink turns invisible, increasing her movement speed, and creates a decoy illusion that starts aiming a decreased damage Sharpshooter at the nearest enemy hero. If the illusion is attacked or hit by a targeted ability, it is destroyed and it throws a lesser bushwhack towards the enemy.

Hunter's Boomerang Point target · Magical damage

Tosses a boomerang in an arc. Upon contact, it returns to Hoodwink. The boomerang will deal damage as it passes through or hits enemies, and apply a debuff that causes affected enemies to be slowed and be more vulnerable to spell damage.

Sharpshooter Ultimate · Point target · Magical damage

Hoodwink charges up and fires a deadly bolt from her crossbow, dealing heavy damage, break and slow to an enemy Hero. The damage and debuff duration scale up to max after 3 seconds, and the bolt is fired automatically after 5 seconds. Hoodwink is knocked backwards for a distance of 350 from the force of the shot. Creeps hit by the bolt are damaged for half the values.

Frequently asked questions