Bad against...[]
- Counterspell negates Dark Willow's high magic burst damage. Its active blocks Cursed Crown.
- Blink allows Anti-Mage to dodge Terrorize during its long cast animation, as well as avoiding the obstacles from Bramble Maze. On the other hand, if Anti-Mage gets caught inside Bramble Maze, he's unable to Blink away.
- Dark Willow's chained magic burst requires a lot of mana, setting her up for damaging Mana Voids.
- Berserker's Call forces Dark Willow to attack, cancelling Shadow Realm.
- Magnetic Field lets Arc Warden or allies evade Dark Willow's shadow realm attacks. The duration of the evasion can be extended with the clone.
- Spark Wraith also exploits Dark Willow's low mobility.
- Quill Spray's constant AoE damage will hit Dark Willow even in Shadow Realm. Its automatic damage will hurt her if she tries to get close and use Bedlam.
- Gust can hit Dark Willow beyond a defensive Bramble Maze, and before she gets close enough to hit Drow Ranger with Bedlam.
- Drow Ranger's long range allows her to hit Dark Willow's team without venturing into her Bramble Maze.
- Flame Guard blocks Dark Willow's magical burst damage, and harms her if she tries to get close to attack with Bedlam.
- Sleight of Fist and Fire Remnant makes it hard for Dark Willow to fully disable Ember Spirit.
- Blade Fury dispels most of Dark Willow's abilities, allowing Juggernaut to pass through Bramble Maze and cancel out Cursed Crown before the stun occurs.
- However, Dark Willow can tank Omnislash with Shadow Realm. As she is a valid target, but invulnerable to right clicks.
- Rage protects and dispels all of Dark Willow's abilities.
- Nyx Assassin's high burst damage can be the bane of Dark Willow, as her low health makes it difficult to survive long enough to escape through Shadow Realm.
- Spiked Carapace can be triggered by walking deliberately into Bramble Maze, leaving Dark Willow stunned and defenseless.
- Fortune's End not being disjointable is almost an ensured disable if Dark Willow tries to escape with Shadow Realm. Dispels Cursed Crown and Terrorize.
- Fate's Edict negates all her magic damage in case she catches a single hero.
- False Promise's strong dispel removes Dark Willow's disables.
- All of Puck's abilities are area-targeted, and will hit Dark Willow when she uses Shadow Realm.
- Illusory Orb allows Puck to bypass Bramble Maze, close the gap and silence Dark Willow with Waning Rift.
- Phase Shift helps Puck dodge attacks charged by Shadow Realm, and is easily timed against Terrorize's long cast time.
- Rot and Meat Hook hits Dark Willow even when she uses Shadow Realm.
- Flesh Heap reduces Dark Willow's magic burst damage.
- Smoke Screen prevents Dark Willow from using her abilities, rendering her defenseless and unable to deal any serious damage.
- Blink Strike lets Riki jump past Bramble Maze.
- Last Word and Arcane Curse have the range to hit Dark Willow beyond Bramble Maze.
- Global Silence renders Dark Willow useless in teamfights.
- Ball Lightning allows Storm Spirit to bypass Bramble Maze into the backline, and zip back into battle if he gets hit by Terrorize.
- Ancient Seal instantly shuts down Dark Willow's abilities, rendering her defenseless against his high burst damage spells, while she cannot cast spells of her own.
- Mystic Flare deals immense burst damage in an area, damaging Dark Willow through Shadow Realm.
Others[]
- Heroes who can silence will shut down Dark Willow entirely: Death Prophet, Silencer, Drow Ranger
- Heroes with high burst damage and Black King Bar can take down Dark Willow quickly: Phantom Assassin, Sven, Wraith King
Items[]
- Infused Raindrops reduces the early game burst damage potential of Shadow Realm.
- Town Portal Scroll can be activated immediately after Cursed Crown is cast to teleport out before the stun hits.
- Cloak greatly reduces Dark Willow's magical damage.
- Glimmer Cape reduces Dark Willow's magical damage against the owner, and can be activated to create a shield against Dark Willow's magical damage, or evade it completely via invisibility.
- Dragon Lance helps ranged heroes attack over Bramble Maze.
- Blade Mail reflects Dark Willow's high burst damage back to her, killing her quickly due to her low health.
- Black King Bar completely negates most of Dark Willow's spells, protecting the caster against her disables and significantly reducing her damage output.
- Bloodthorn will not only silence her, but allow allies to make short work of Dark Willow's low health.
- Helm of the Dominator's creep helps tank Bedlam and Bramble maze.
- Lotus Orb dispels Cursed Crown delay and Terrorize from your teammates. Additionally, Lotus Orb will reflect Cursed Crown back at Dark Willow.
Good against...[]
- Bramble Maze greatly hinders Bloodseeker's ability to run around in teamfights and pick off dying allies.
- Shadow Realm prevents Bloodseeker from attacking dark Willow, allowing her to safely teleport away.
- Terrorize forces Faceless Void out of Chronosphere.
- Terrorize forces Monkey King out of Wukong's Command.
- Casting Bramble Maze on top of Meepo guarantees a root, as it is nearly impossible to leave the thorns with all of Meepo's clones.
- Terrorize and Cursed Crown offer great disables against the grouped Meepos and can prevent them from using Poof to escape.
- Bramble Maze stops Charge of Darkness in its tracks. Its very long duration means it can be used as an obstacle to block off an incoming Spirit Break during teamfights.
- Shadow Realm and Bedlam can be activated when Dark Willow sees Charge of Darkness coming, preventing Spirit Breaker from using Nether Strike after the initial stun.
- Bramble Maze prevents Timbersaw from Timber Chaining away without getting rooted.
- Cursed Crown can still catch Timbersaw if he Timber Chains away.
- Reactive Armor offers little protection against Dark Willow's high magical damage.
- Dark Willow's burst damage and stun prevents Troll Warlord from approaching her until he has Black King Bar.
- Troll Warlord's lack of burst damage makes it hard for him to kill Dark Willow before she slips into Shadow Realm.
- Windrun does not protect Windranger from Cursed Crown's stun or Dark Willow's magical nukes.
- Focus Fire cannot target Dark Willow in Shadow Realm and will be interrupted if targeted earlier, wasting the ultimate.
Others[]
- Heroes who rely on abilities for mobility might become more vulnerable if forced to retreat on foot due to Terrorize
Works well with...[]
- Berserker's Call can be used to stop Terrorized enemies in their tracks, forcing them to face Axe, while they cannot attack. Terrorized enemies are easier to hit, as they cannot make evasive maneuvers.
- Terrorize can be used on enemies under the effect of Berserker's Call to fear multiple stationary enemies at once and extend the stun duration. Enemies cannot attack while under the effect of Terrorize.
- Enemies caught in Bramble Maze are easy pickings for all of Ember Spirit's AoE damage abilities.
- Cursed Crown and Bramble Maze long disable time helps Invoker land abilities like Sun Strike.
- Cursed Crown and Bramble Maze can help Juggernaut get early kills in lane with Blade Fury.
- Terrorize can potentially keep enemies grouped during Blade Fury and Omnislash.
- Bramble Maze helps Lina land Light Strike Array, and prevents enemies from escaping other nukes.
- Magnus can use Skewer to force enemies through multiple Bramble Maze brambles, stacking multiple instances of the effect to deal high damage to the target.
- Dark Willow can use Terrorize to easily hit multiple enemies to extend the stun duration of Reverse Polarity.
- Cursed Crown's delayed stun helps Mirana aim and land Sacred Arrows.
- Leap and Starstorm are useful when chasing after Terrorized enemies.
- Terrorized enemies' linear retreat make them ideal targets for the effect paths of Icarus Dive and Sun Ray.
- Bramble Maze prevents enemies from fleeing Supernova's damage and stun radius.
- Terrorize can save Phoenix during Supernova, if the enemy team decides to attack the egg instead of running away.
- Terrorize can force a group of enemies to break Dream Coil, stunning them and causing them to take extra damage.
- Pudge can use Meat Hook to force enemies through multiple Bramble Maze brambles, stacking multiple instances of the effect to deal high damage to the target.
- Chaotic Offering and Upheaval synergize with Bramble Maze and Terrorize to dominate the battlefield in Warlock's favor.
- Shukuchi lets Weaver to pass through multiple enemies hindered by Bramble Maze, and catch up to Terrorized enemies.
- The Swarm's linear path allows the Beetles to latch onto all enemies affected by Terrorize.
Others[]
- Heroes who deal high damage while moving can kill Terrorized enemies just by running alongside them: Leshrac, Razor, Death Prophet, Windranger
- Heroes fast enough to chase down Terrorized enemies as they run away can take advantage of the situation to deal more damage: Slardar, Storm Spirit, Bloodseeker, Pangolier, Weaver
- Heroes who create obstacles during teamfights synergize well with Bramble Maze, and the forced movement from Terrorize: Earthshaker, Jakiro