Use Bramble Maze to block paths, catch enemies where theyre going and threaten enemy defensive positionings. Doesnt interrupt channeling abilities. Provides Truesight on rooted invisble units.

Shadow Realm does not make you invisible, foes/allies just cant target you with physical or direct spells. AOE damage-sources still affect you. Use Shadow Realm to harass lanes, finish off an enemy from afar or to position yourself safely as your team engages. Use Shadow Realm with your Town Portal Scroll to narrowly escape bad situations. Does not work on structures.

Use Terrorize to disperse enemy ganks on allies or to prevent high-ground pushes. Its also a great way to initiate as your allies can then follow-up when your enemies are forced to flee. Good combination with large AoE abilities like Mars.

After a delay, Cursed Crown stuns both the target and the area around them. If the target goes invulnerable, the AOE still stuns around the invulerable target (just not the target). Combines very well with Bramble Maze, Rod of Atos and Euls Scepter of Divinity to ensure the target cannot flee too far until the spell stuns.

Cast this on initiating heroes like Axe or Tidehunter to really maximize their output when ganking and entrapping enemies. Sometimes Terrorize is better to use first because it returns to you earlier than Bedlam. Bedlam works great if youre cooperating on a gank and need that extra follow-up damage after you stun/CC your target. Use this ability to farm lanes comfortably. Later in the game, Terrorize will be more important than Bedlam.

Iron Branch can be placed on the ground to then be consumed by your tangos for additional healing. For Dark Willow as a universal attribute hero, she gets damage based on stats she grabs, making Iron Branch double value.

Rely on Blood Grenade as your initiating or sequential slow on foes when going for a kill in-lane or throughout the ganking phase

Don’t cheap out by not buying Sentry Wards. As a support, you need to regularly stack and pull your jungle camps to the lane but you can also use your Sentry Ward to block the enemy jungle camp from being pulled to their lane. Pulling jungle camps is not a courtesy for your carry, it’s to bring the creep wave to your side of the lane and thus will give you more runway to harass and even kill enemies as they will be far from their tower trying to last-hit creeps near your tower.

Opt for Magic Stick early if the enemy spam a lot of spells or you’ll be in the lane significantly. Magic Wand can be bought as early as before Boots of Speed or as late as after your core Boots upgrade depending on how the enemy and their spell usage. Magic Wand can also be bought to make room for other items due to limited space.

Arcane Boots is most importantly used to give you the necessary mana to heavy use your spells and abilities. You should think about picking up Ring of Basi or Boots of Speed first depending on if you need movement in the early-game to harass or engage or your team relies on the mana regen from Ring of Basi to do more spells throughout.

Initiate with Euls Scepter of Divinity and Cursed Crown to ensure enemies get stunned and take your full-damage: 1. Cast Cursed Crown on a target 2. If you have Euls/Atos, cast immediately after 4. Shadow Realm to prepare your nuke damage 5. As they get stunned from C. Crown, cast Bedlam and attack with maxed Shadow Realm 6. Finish with a Bramble Maze

Aghs Shard provides so much more crowd-control for Dark Willow by consistently ensuring your enemy is entraped by a small Bramble Maze. To add, triggers dispels, ensuring that the Bramble laid down regardless.

Glimmer Cape can be used both for you or for an ally to ensure they survive against targeted big spell abilities. The goal of Glimmer is to reduce the damage your ally is taking and to disconnect the enemy’s from targeting your ally for future attacks such as follow-ups after a stun.

Initiate with Rod of Atos and Cursed Crown to ensure enemies get stunned and take your full-damage: 1. Cast Cursed Crown on a target 2. If you have Euls/Atos, cast immediately after 4. Shadow Realm to prepare your nuke damage 5. As they get stunned from C. Crown, use Bedlam and attack with maxed Shadow Realm 6. Finish with a proper Bramble Maze

Spirit Vessel is good on a Dark Willow to seeks a lot of fights and wants to punish tanky enemies that rely on heals or regeneration to sustain in fights. Spirit Vessel capitalizes on your early ganking prowlness to then be able to dish out strong scaling damage to high health heroes.

Aeon Disk helps you get out of a jam where you are constantly being chain-stunned or destroyed by abilities like Faceless Voids ultimate or PAs massive critical strikes.

The value of Force Staff is multiple. You can use it as a pseudo-blink if youre a support hero to get into position after initiation or to avoid an enemys initiation and jump in at the right time. It can be used to pull an ally away after being engaged or initiated on. This can force enemies to have to commit harder to a kill than they want to or bringing an ally closer to the safety of your teammates.

Initiate with Blink Dagger to ensure enemies get stunned and take your full-damage: 1. Blink onto a target 2. Cast Cursed Crown (3. If you have Euls/Atos, cast immediately after) 4. Shadow Realm to prepare your nuke damage 5. As they get stunned from C. Crown, use Bedlam and attack with maxed Shadow Realm 6. Finish with a proper Bramble Maze

Aether Lens allows you to cast all your abilities even further. Be wary that means Bedlam wont be as valuable since you are so far away but your other abilities casted from afar will be a great use to your team.

With Aghanims Scepter, you change from a disabler to a long-range glass cannon. Start building attack speed to extend the amount of additional magic damage you can do with Shadow Realm.

For heroes who are dependent on their abilities to engage fights, Octarine Core is a great assistance, especially if you naturally build into it by having its components created earlier in the game.

All your abilities are magic-damaging, making Veil of Discord an incredible addition to your arsenal. Cast this before unleashing your magic abilities.

An Early Ring of Basilius allows you to more freely spam spells to harass the lane.

Boots of Bearing makes initiating easier for you. Boots of Bearing should be used liberally to give your team incredible movement speed to engage the enemy after initiation or, if necessary, as an escape if you find you or your teammates are in trouble. Your Boots will recharge, so don’t worry about running out.

For many supports, opt for Infused Raindrops for cheap mana regeneration until you can get your larger mana-leaning item. Infused Raindrops also helps a lot versus nuking abilities that would typically wipe you out.

Tranquil Boots provides you positioning power to move into a fight when you feel safe to do so or to permit you to engage on an enemy to initiate a gank.

Late in the game, Scythe of Vyse solves all your mana issues but more importantly guarantees to lock enemies down before they can even pop BKB. Its a great initiating tool when you know the enemy relies on BKB to safely output their damage.

Pavise is a good intermediary item to provide additional protection for yourself or allies while also giving you incredible magic regeneration so you wont need to pick up regen or go back to base.