Weaver's Return To The Meta
Weaver has emerged in recent patches as being one of the strongest heroes of the meta. His Aghanim’s Scepter upgrade had brought some attention to a Support or Offlane Weaver, but he’s received a series of buffs that has brought him back as a potent carry. Weaver was the 3rd most contested hero overall at DAC Qualifiers and the 2nd most contested carry, narrowly behind Ember Spirit.
Valve has minorly nerfed Weaver in 7.01 and 7.02, but prior to that, since the introduction of his Aghanim’s Scepter upgrade in 6.84, he has been getting buffs patch after patch. From 6.84 to patch 7.00, his base damage was increased from 50-60 to 55-65 (now back to 53-63), Agility Gain from 2.5 to 2.8 , Shukuchi now phases instantly, and The Swarm gained buffs in mana cost and damage that created nightmares for opposing offlaners.
Weaver’s New Talents
The difference in win rates of Weaver’s Talents
Weaver’s bugs from The Swarm were a little ridiculous, before Valve nerfed its damage in 7.02, so that the damage output that players used to have at level 1 is now scaled to level 4 of the skill (from 20 to 14/16/18/20). The bugs do a bit less damage, but why they’re really strong is they allowed Weaver players to dive opposing offlaners right under the tower, especially in the early game. It was and still is a well spent value point for any Weaver in the early game, but especially for support Weavers it felt too strong. One tip: Poor Man’s Shield stops the bugs from damaging you, though you’ll still receive armor debuffs until you get rid of them.
Patch 7.00 introduced a group of talents that opened up a more aggressive playstyle for Weaver players. Early extra Shukuchi damage and more HP at either lvl 10 or 15, along with 
Dragon Lance’s +10 Str component, shifted Weaver into an early to mid game contributor in team fights. Moreover, the bonus talent stats made him less item dependent, making him just as versatile for less farm-oriented roles like as an offlaner or support. That flexibility in lanes is what has made him a valuable pick in the meta.
In patch 7.02, Weaver received a boost for his level 25 talent, increasing the Magic Resistance bonus from 20% to 25%. This hasn’t deterred players from picking what is by far the superior option: +200 Shukuchi Movement Speed. Skill altering talents like this offers an upgrade that no item can replace. The net win difference here is +5.5% for players who opt for the bonus speed, which consequently also boosts his distance travel, similar to Puck’s Illusory Orb upgrade, which is also favored by 5.9% in win rate.
More Flexible Itembuild
Matumbaman’s build in his 11-0-8 KDA game over B)ears during the DAC qualifiers
One thing that pub players consistently do wrong is building 
Linken's Sphere for every game. From our pub stats, people more frequently end up with more Linken’s Spheres in the inventory than Power Treads, Town Portal Scrolls, and Dragon Lances (to be fair, TP scrolls are low priority items across all heroes in pubs).
Linken’s may be a core item on Weaver, but it has become much more situational than ever before. Now that Dragon Lance is a valuable early item, pro players especially have opted for more flexible and stats oriented builds. A buildup of Treads, Aquila, 
Blight Stone, and Dragon Lance is sufficient for Weaver to contribute in the early phases of the game. This more aggressive playstyle also complements Weaver’s new, early talents—whether it’s added Shukuchi damage or more stats, it enables Weaver to enter the fray. The current meta encourages scrappy engagements early on and these items ensure that Weaver can have as much impact necessary to fight with the team.
These items also allow Weaver to transition seamlessly into a more carry oriented build. When later building into DPS items such as Desolator, Mjollnir or Daedalus, the added range and stats from Dragon Lance make Weaver more well-rounded and harder to kill. Some pro players have even opted to skip a defensive item like Linkens' or BKB entirely, like TnC's Raven in the recent Starladder LAN.
In The Current Meta
With the nerfs over 7.01 and 7.02, Weaver is seeing a decrease in play, especially in the ongoing Starladder i-league tournament, where he’s holding a 57% win rate across 7 games, including a dominating game by VGJ.Agressive against wings.gaming.
Weaver has ascended into the meta through the confluence of several factors: the versatility to be a support and an offlaner, allowing captains to build flexible drafts; a sequential of minor buffs dating back to 6.84; and the arrival of 7.00 talents and Dragon Lance that opens up an early, fighting build that can transition into a late game, hard-carry role. The minor nerfs may have been enough to knock Weaver down a little in favorability for pros, but Weaver still remains a top pick for pub players, who are still catching up on pro trends.
1st for the 1st time in my 1st life on this the 1st world of the 1st race of mankind
2ND damn too late now
woah 3rd?
4st
report the fuckin stupid above me WTF !! XD
I'm 8th elejiggle
aquila
dragon lance
desolator
linkn
gg
kids are still arguing about when did they get there? oh nobody fucking cares. i wouldn't think "first" is something that links to weaver
um im a bit late im i ;-; welp atleast im 8th...
he's not returning to the meta he is returning to the pubshit games
I'm not too much of a weaver user but the 25% magic resistance as its other level 25 talent is just too underwhelming.
Slight spelling error: it's Agressif, not Agressive.
I usually don't play carry, but Weaver is a really good hero right now and low skill players can abuse his versatility in -3k mmr matches
Weaver I'd say still needs a defensive item fallback option for the late game. It's certainly no problem to wait a little longer to grab a linkens, but if you're going that route you'll notice the effects of not having the mana regen it provides. With a linkens you basically can use shukuchi every time it is off cooldown, especially with the inclusion of shrines. However, I think the article is very right that pub players (myself included) value linkens too much over a dragon lance. If you're not facing targeted spells at all, you would clearly be better off with a bkb, but at that point you might be better off getting a butterfly instead anyway.
For anyone interested in learning the hero, be sure to avoid playing when there are silences involved. Weaver relies heavily on being able to disjoint projectiles and move in and out of a fight. The longer Weaver sticks around, the greater chance of death. Stuns are most of the time pretty short, allowing for a timelapse, but a silence is usually much longer, and the small health pool Weaver has can't afford the extra time being visible and slow. I think this is why it is enticing to build a tanky item on Weaver, but if you are smart about your engagements (Weaver works best as a harasser, picking off stragglers near the end of a teamfight and using guerrilla tactics during the fight), you will get more use out of a stats item than a damage or regen item. Deso will always be the exception though, as geminate attack makes far too good use of it.
I gotta say, this article really, really hit the nail on the head.
https://dota2house.com/?r=76561198329666676
Is lycan also back in the meta coz in 2-3k pub it seems the early stick and push strat really works efficiently
First item Linkens is kinda a waste but 95% of the time I think it's still worth getting later on in the game - primarily because the mana sustain lets you spam the living shit outta shukuchi. If you build Aquila > Treads > Deso > Dragon Lance and THEN consider linkens you get to be an early teamfight beast and be much more efficient when farming.
Well I rush bloodstone on weaver and then I go suicide
kappa
I wish he wasn't in the meta. People keep taking my hero now...
People should sotp getting boots on him lol and also that magic resist talent is simply lame :|
buy detection or Gg u have a hasted bug running around killing ur team
THIRST!
@Brock Hall I liked what you had to say about it, was actually interesting.
@Chal
Thanks kindly.
No diffusal blade?
Works kinda well with geminate attack.
@Dante
Diffusal works better on heroes that can apply the mana burn to multiple targets or to a single target multiple times, maximizing upon the hybrid mana/health removal the item provides. Examples include PL, Ember Spirit, Naga Siren, and Riki (Tricks of the Trade). Weaver doesn't need to slow the target, and doesn't have illusions. The money is better used on items that focus on a single thing and do it well, preferably a stats item. I'd point you towards Skadi for the slow, and Manta as a suitable replacement for the self dispell. Both items will give stats, and as Weaver hits like a truck with the stacking minus armor, the attack speed helps marginally.
In low skill games pick axe and make his life a misery.
A well placed blink call will eat Weaver for dinner.
@Brock Hall If you look at the VGL.aggresif match (https://www.dotabuff.com/matches/3019998050/builds) he actually builds it after dragon lance. It can give weaver decent damage early to mid game (25 agi and 50 mana burn of which 0.8 is physical dmg, so +40)
28th :D
its the only invis based hero against whom sentrys and dust just isnt enough...need some coordination or its just impossible to kill
iec brew
I like this hero. 4head
tip:
While clashing, dont engage the cannon fodders, get the squishy ones behind them like sniper/drow and you'll win most of the clashes
don't forget to say "Skitter on" :)
@Dante
Aggressif did that build twice, both times augmenting it with mjollnir and no deso, so I feel like it might only work when you have things to purge and have the extra attack speed from mjollnir. I would still call that a pretty specific situation, considering both the build and the fact that both times VGJ was far ahead before the diffusal was purchased.
Don't get me wrong, there are definitely situations where it can work, but I wouldn't call it a universally good item on Weaver.
Linkens is a MUST have item on weaver, give you all the mana regen that you need to spam W the entire game without need to have boots
weaver is really strong , you can skip boots and finish dragon lance in 10min , then you just need a perseverance to start chasing kills all over the map
Тут блядь ,Русские присутствуют?!!
хах, видимо нас мало
I'd say the map changes have contributed a little to his success as well. There's a lot more steps and random trees blocking vision, and more juke spots, making it a lot harder to keep track of mobile heroes.
There is a free Steam gift card giveaway at http://steamkeygiveaway.com/ I recommend this!
I m in top 5 weaver players:
https://www.dotabuff.com/heroes/weaver/players
Everyone is underestimating Geminate attack that is working with Lifesteal Orb. Satanic and Rapier = GG
https://www.dotabuff.com/players/63865765/matches?date=all&hero=weaver
Nice topic, i mean Weaver - strongest hero in this meta.
seen him more in pubs, winning lots of games and being on top with kills just like PA is crazy right now.
@Raphus
Considering the fact that Weaver can timelapse to get that life back, why not instead do heart and rapier? You'd increase your health pool while still having a slot for an orb, which you could then use on the deso. In fact, you could still get the satanic just for its active, although I don't know if the mechanics would work the way I'm assuming they do.
+best items:
situation item and this most picked item by weaver: linken's sphere
*best item: bloodthorn
pusher item and vs tanks: desolator
vs riki and pa and windranger and..: monkey king bar
continue fighting with out scaping! : heart of tarrasque
vs illusion heroes: mjollnir , radiance
vs silencer and sky or another silence : manta style
vs riki smoke or like this: hurricane pike
attack speed: butterfly
and an item for doing ks XD : ethereal blade
enemy team is noob: divine rapier
so many disablers? : black king bar
a fast enemy: diffusal blade or eye of skadi
so many debuffs? : lotus orb!
if enemies havnt mkb and u need more evasion! : radiance , butterfly , solar crest
more push and more armor and more attack speed: assault cuirass
u have hp regen problem in start? : tranquil boots!
u have speed problem in start? : phase boots!
u need attack speed and stats in start? : power treads!
*dont buy arcane boot if u need more mana! for mana in start build ring of aquila and perseverance!
but guardian greaves is a good item for dispel some spells!
for dispell spells buy manta style + lotus orb, will be enough
if u realy need to see invis heroes and u cant buy gem or dust and sentry wards build necronomicon on weaver! and buy diffusal blade too!
Yep first build bloodstone then suicide every cooldown #ezpzlemonsqueezy
yay! always wanted to be the 47th comment
Weaver must build BKB or Linken (depends on enemy skill)
Nerf tinker plox xd
Yeah please nerf Tinker, I f___ hate him :(
My favorite hero before this Meta