FS Headhunter

How it plays

• Far Seer Spirit Wolves are free tanks that absorb Death Coil and Holy Light
• Headhunters with Berserker Upgrade have extreme DPS under Bloodlust
• Shaman Hex removes key enemy units from fights for several seconds
• Purge removes Unholy Aura speed, Brilliance Aura, Devotion Aura
• Tauren Chieftain second — Endurance Aura stacks with Bloodlust for insane attack speed
• Wins against: DK openers that rely on Death Coil micro, standard AM play
• Loses to: fast T2 pushes that arrive before Shamans get Bloodlust upgrade

Tier progression

Hero skill order

Far Seer

• Chain Lightning — level 3
• Feral Spirit — level 3
• Earthquake — level 1

Tauren Chieftain

• Shockwave — level 2
• Endurance Aura — level 2
• War Stomp — level 1

Core upgrades

• Shaman Training
• Berserker Upgrade
• orc backpack

If you are new to this build

• Far Seer opens -- Chain Lightning bounces between enemies (great vs clumped units and casters), and Far Sight reveals a chunk of the map for free scouting. Creep with him toward level 3.
• Make Headhunters non-stop from the Barracks. They're ranged, so position them, let them shoot, and pull wounded ones back -- don't a-move them into melee.
• Get the Berserker upgrade at the War Mill (Headhunter -> Berserker: more HP and damage), and start Melee/Ranged Weapons + Unit Armor level 1 early -- cheap and huge for the whole army.
• Shaman at T2 cast Bloodlust on your Headhunters (big attack-speed boost). Don't worry about Wind Riders, Taurens, or T3 yet -- Headhunter + Shaman with Bloodlust is a complete army.

Common mistakes

A-moving Headhunters into the enemy melee line.

They're fragile ranged units. Stand them at max range, attack, and micro the front ones backward -- let your hero and any Grunts soak the hits.

Forgetting the Berserker upgrade and attack/defense at the War Mill.

Berserker and Weapons/Armor level 1 are cheap and transformative. Queue them as soon as you can afford them.

Not casting Bloodlust in fights.

Bloodlusted Headhunters attack ~40% faster. Cast it on your damage dealers at the start of every engagement -- unspent Shaman mana is damage you didn't do.

Throwing the Far Seer in alone or wasting Chain Lightning.

Chain Lightning wants a clump (multiple enemy units close together) -- fire it then, not at a lone unit. Keep the FS behind the army; a dead hero is a lost game.

Before you try it

• Comfortable positioning ranged units and pulling wounded ones back from the front.
• Know how to cast Chain Lightning into a clump and Bloodlust on your own damage dealers.

Pro replays running this build

15 tournament games. Each opens in the 3D simulator on this player's side.