Would you like to know how to play Gyrocopter in Dota 2?
An extremely effective Agility-based Carry hero at nearly all stages in the game, Gyrocopter can easily dominate games alone. With his spread-out damage that can quickly plow through entire teams, Gyrocopter is an insanely efficient Farmer. Moreover, his ability to win the Lane is a key factor in learning how to play Gyrocopter in Dota 2.
With one of the higher Strenght-Gains for Agility heroes, he is also relatively Tanky later on. Furthermore, his attributes of both Agility-Gain and Intelligence-Gain are at the top of the list for Agility Cores and Supports. Though he does lack a longer Attack Range like other Carries, his excellent mobility makes him able to Lasthit easily.
If put into perspective, Gyrocopter’s starting damage through his ability is a lot more than other Cores. Due to this, he can be much more aggressive in the Lane and can bring down harmless Supports easily. Besides this, his high burst damage is an integral asset in allowing him to Lasthit creeps effectively. Thus, it is crucial to play Gyrocopter in Dota 2.
Due to his insane damage, there are a lot of heroes who can work well with him. Some of these heroes are Earthshaker, Enigma, and Magnus, who can use their AoE Stuns to set up good fights. As for heroes who Gyrocopter works well against, Illusion heroes like Terrorblade, Phantom Lancer, and Chaos Knight fall to him.
Gyrocopter’s Abilities
Rocket Barrage is an AoE Magic damage ability that allows Gyrocopter to shoot a massive number of rockets near himself. In a radius of four hundred units around Gyrocopter, he releases ten rockets per second, each dealing 22 damage. This barrage lasts for an impressive three seconds and has a minimal cooldown of just 5.5 seconds.
His second spell, Homing Missile, allows Gyrocopter to fire a rocket that locks onto and chases an enemy. Upon contact, the missile stuns the enemy for three seconds and deals a max of 360 damage. The Homing Missile does, however, take a long time to launch, and enemy attacks can destroy the rocket in flight.
An extremely valuable Farming and AoE damage spell, Flak Cannon is one of Gyrocopter’s main attractions. With this ability, Gyrocopter can fire 6 shots that hit all enemies in a 1000-unit search radius. An impressive six shots, along with the damage of a Gyrocopter with critical damage, is a troubling combination. It also consumes just 70 Mana per cast.
How quickly Gyrocopter can farm with Flak Cannon allows him to go up against anyone in the Game. This is also a key factor in learning how to play Gyrocopter in Dota 2. Furthermore, combining his spell with a source of critical damage makes it impossible to go up against him.
Gyrocopter’s ultimate ability, Call Down, is another AoE ability that deals Magic damage. This spell grants him the power to call down an aerial bomb strike on a 600-unit target area. Enemies in this area experience slow movement speed and a max of 700 damage for both missiles. It has high costs, with it consuming 125 Mana for each cast.
How to Utilize his Abilities
As it can deal a large amount of Magic damage, Rocket Barrage is Gyrocopter’s best Early Game spell. In the Lane, this spell is great in discouraging enemies from attempting aggressive plays while harassing them. Because the spell deals damage automatically, Gyrocopter can use it to finish off enemies who are running away.
The ability has a very long charge time and can stun enemies for a long time. Due to this, the Homing Missile should be a priority as soon as an enemy is visible. This will ensure that the spell is of use with maximum efficiency and minimal downtime. As it also has a long cooldown, targeting the right enemy is crucial for success.
A relatively long cooldown makes Flak Cannon an ability that Gyrocopter needs to conserve for the right moment. Contrary to popular belief, Flak Cannon is an extremely viable source of damage in Teamfights. This is because, with other attack modifiers, Flak Cannon can easily burst down heroes that do not expect its output.
Even though Gyrocopter lacks team fighting abilities, Call Down is still his greatest asset for initiating fights. This is because, for a large area, he can deal massive amounts of damage at once, while also slowing enemies. Moreover, because of its effectiveness, it is a great tool to use while hunting heroes who are running away.
Item Build
In the Laning Stage, Gyrocopter looks forward to increasing his stats with other items. These can include base items for Wraith Bands as well as Iron Branches. Moreover, he also builds items for healing, like Tangoes, Healing Salves, and Clarities. By the end of his Laning Stage, he should already have a few Wraith Bands and a Magic Wand.
He also requires Boots to increase his mobility and usually favors Power Treads for their versatility. After this, many Gyrocopters choose to build a Maelstorm to boost their Farming Speeds. A Dragon Lance can also help boost his fighting potential. An extremely important item, however, is the Black King Bar for its spell immunity and durability.
As he moves on to the Late Game, there is great variation in what he can build from game to game. Some popular items are the Monkey King Bar or the Daedalus. These items fulfill a similar purpose and boost his damage to a great extent. For more survivability, he can look into pursuing a Satanic or Eye of Skadi, which will make him quite durable.
Laning Stage and Gameplay
In the Lane, unlike most Carry heroes, Gyrocopter is quite strong due to his above-average Stats and damage. As a result, it is often easy to trade with aggressive Offlaners who try to apply pressure. In situations like these, he can take the help of his support and use Rocket Barrage to bully enemies. He also has to focus heavily on getting Lasthits.
As a Core, his main priority is getting appropriate among Lasthits in the Lane. To do this effectively, he should make an active effort to deny allied creeps to maintain the Creep Equilibrium. Moreover, if his Support cannot do so, he should also try to pull the creep wave. Lastly, he should always be proactive in making aggressive moves.
After the Laning Stage is over, he should move to alternate between Sidelanes and Neutral Camps. Doing this allows Gyrocopter to gain a lead over his enemies, who often lack the potential to farm as quickly. Around level 12, he also becomes strong enough to be a serious threat in fights and, as such, should fight. He can also gank other lanes.
In addition to this, Gyrocopter stays near or in the jungle until he builds at least two major items. At this stage, he feels safe and can move out with his teammates to push towers and fight enemies. With the help of his teammates and the proper placement of his ultimate ability, winning fights with Gyrocopter is quite easy.
With his excellent tools for both fighting and farming, the Gyrocopter is one of the most threatening Cores later on. His potential for both pushing towers while running through enemy supports like creeps make him daunting to face. These attributes are essential reasons why one should learn how to play Gyrocopter in Dota 2.
