Winter Wyvern · Hard Support (pos. 5)
Winter Wyvern for Beginners
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This guide is assembled by the site from match data and the game's own information — nobody wrote it by hand. Official and community guides appear alongside it when they exist.
Overview
Winter Wyvern is a ranged Intelligence hero that Valve tags as Support, Disabler and Nuker. It is played mainly as Hard Support (pos. 5): 79% of the public matches we measured, by starting lane and starting items. In this guide you play it as Hard Support (pos. 5): your job is to keep your carry safe in the safe lane, buy the wards and give up farm so the cores can have it. Winter Wyvern is of average difficulty: learn the basics below and it rewards you quickly.
Strengths
- Keeps allies alive with Cold Embrace.
- Heavy magical burst: Valve lists it as a Nuker.
- Clear job in the team: keep your carry safe in the safe lane, buy the wards and give up farm so the cores can have it.
Weaknesses
- Low base armor (1): vulnerable to physical harass early on.
- No escape in the kit: without good positioning and vision, Winter Wyvern is easy to catch.
Build cheat sheet
Pick the build that fits what you want to do this game.
Builds
Simple build
When to use it
The most-bought items without the situational ones: buy them in this order and focus on playing the hero.
Where it's played
Picked before the game: the main lane first, then the alternatives.
217%179%- Safe laneMain79% of matchesSafe lane next to your carry, as Hard Support (pos. 5).
- OfflanePriority 217% of matchesOff lane next to your offlaner, as Soft Support (pos. 4).
Starting items
Core items
- 1Blink DaggerYour first big item.
- 2Glimmer CapeSecond: buy it right after.
- 3Drum of EnduranceThird: completes your core.
Boots
Late game
Skill order
Max order:Arctic Burn›Splinter Blast›Cold Embrace
| Ability | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
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Talents by level
- Splinter Blast 1s Stun+60 Winter's Curse Attack Speed25
- +10% Arctic Burn Slow+100 Splinter Blast Damage20
- +3s Arctic Burn Debuff Duration+175 Splinter Blast Shatter Radius15
- +35 Damage+15 Cold Embrace Base Heal Per Second10
Abilities
- Arctic Burn29 / 26 / 23 / 20s100 mpWinter Wyvern soars upon an arctic wind, granting her unobstructed movement and allowing her to exhale a blistering chill into each attack. While soaring, her attacks travel further and faster, and slow enemies with a magical freeze that strips them of 4% of their current health each second.
- Flight duration
- 7·8·9·10
- Bonus attack range
- 250·275·300·325
- Health burn
- 4%·6%·8%·10%
- Burn duration
- 3
- Movement slow
- 15%·20%·25%·30%
- Splinter Blast6s105 / 115 / 125 / 135 mpLaunches a ball of brittle ice toward a unit. The ice shatters on impact, leaving the primary target completely unaffected, while hurling damaging splinters into nearby enemies in a 500 base radius. Enemies struck by these splinters are slowed by 27%.
- Shatter radius
- 500
- Movement slow
- 27%·30%·33%·36%
- Slow duration
- 4
- Damage
- 80·160·240·320
- Cold Embrace24 / 21 / 18 / 15s50 / 60 / 70 / 80 mpEncases an ally in an icy cocoon, freezing them solid while healing a base amount as well as a percentage of their maximum health each second. The cocoon blocks all physical damage.
- Duration
- 4
- Base heal per second
- 40·45·50·55
- Max hp heal per second
- 1.5%·2.5%·3.5%·4.5%
Eldwurm's EddaPassive- Winter's Curse100 / 90 / 80s150 / 200 / 250 mpWinter Wyvern dispells then freezes an enemy in place while striking those nearby with a maddening curse which causes them to attack their frozen ally with increased attack speed. The frozen ally and those cursed to attack their ally are immune to all damage from their enemies with the exception of damage from Winter Wyvern or her controlled units. Enemy heroes which enter the cursed area after th
- Radius
- 525
- Damage reduction
- 100%
- Attack speed
- 50·65·80
- Minimum duration
- 2
- Maximum duration
- 6
- Bonus duration per hero
- 1.5
Most played skill order
The most played order in the last 100 professional matches with this hero. Highlighted levels are the points spent on talents.
Max order:Arctic Burn›Splinter Blast›Cold Embrace
| Ability | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Strategy
1What Winter Wyvern does
Winter Wyvern is a ranged Intelligence hero that Valve tags as Support, Disabler and Nuker. It is played mainly as Hard Support (pos. 5): 79% of the public matches we measured, by starting lane and starting items. The kit brings sustain with Cold Embrace. Its ultimate is Winter's Curse.
2The basics
In this guide you play it as Hard Support (pos. 5): your job is to keep your carry safe in the safe lane, buy the wards and give up farm so the cores can have it.
- Vision: a ward in the right place saves more lives than any spell.
- Positioning: you are the easiest kill on the map, so stand where the enemy can't reach you first.
3Common mistakes
Most new players lose games with the same few mistakes. Avoid these and you'll already be ahead:
- Taking last hits from your carry.
- Placing wards during the fight instead of before it.
- Standing in front of your cores in fights.
4Your first games
Position 5 starts in the safe lane with your carry: their last hits come first, so harass the enemy offlaner, pull the small camp when the wave needs resetting and buy the wards nobody else will. Use the simple build in this guide and don't worry about situational choices yet.
Tips
- Vision: a ward in the right place saves more lives than any spell.
- Positioning: you are the easiest kill on the map, so stand where the enemy can't reach you first.
- Check the minimap every few seconds: most deaths come from heroes you didn't see coming.
- Learn what Winter's Curse does before anything else: it's the ability that wins fights.
Changelog
- Guide created for patch 7.41.
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