Dota 2 - Tidehunter Build Guide

BIO
The Tidehunter known as Leviathan was once the champion of the Sunken Isles, but his motives are as mysterious as those of his people. We all know the importance of the Drylanders' shipping lanes, how empires may rise and fall according to who controls the open water. Far less is known of the submarine lanes, and how the warring tribes of the Meranthic Diaspora have carved out habitations through endless undersea skirmishes. In the fragile treaties between the Mer and Men, we can glimpse the extent of the drowned empires, but their politics appear complex and opaque. It would seem that Leviathan tired of such petty strife, and set off on his own, loyal only to his abyssal god, Maelrawn the Tentacular. He stalks the shallows now in search of men or meranths who stray into his path, and with a particular loathing for Admiral Kunkka, who has long been his nemesis for reasons lost in the deepest trenches of the sea.

INTRODUCTION
Tide hunter is a big, strong, tanky initiator hero to starting a teamfight. Tidehunter is one of the best initiator on the game. The Ravage is a massive stunning ability for all enemy heroes. He also have the Gush to slow down enemy and reducing enemy's armor. The gush is needed to intiate a gank. He also have the Kraken Shell to tank any damage. And he also have the Anchor Smash to controlg the laning phase by reducing enemy's damage.

PROS	CONS
The best initiator	His nuke damage is not high
Tanky	Rather hard to escape if being ganked
A good lane controller
A good ganker
A bit hard to farm

ROLE
Melee - Initiator - Durable - Disabler - Support

STATS

LEVEL	1	15	25
HIT POINTS	568	1,366	2,316	SIGHT RANGE	1800 / 800
MANA	208	517	998	ATTACK RANGE	128
DAMAGE	47-53	89-95	139-145	MISSILE SPEED	N/A
ARMOR	3	6	11

ABILITIES
1. Gush

Summons a gush of water to damage an enemy unit, reducing their movement speed and armor. Lasts 4 seconds.

MANA COST: 120 / 120 / 120 / 120	COOLDOWN: 12.0
ABILITY: TARGET UNIT	AFFECTS: ENEMY HEROES
DAMAGE: MAGICAL	DAMAGE: 110 / 160 / 210 / 260
SLOW: 40% / 40% / 40% / 40%	ARMOR REDUCTION: 2 / 3 / 4 / 5

This skill make your opponent's movement become slow so you chase. Good for initiating a gank.

2. Kraken Shell

Creates a thick armor shell that reduces physical damage and removes negative buffs when damage received reaches a critical threshold. Kraken Shell does not stack with items that provide Damage Block.

ABILITY: PASSIVE	DAMAGE THRESHOLD: 600 / 600 / 600 / 600
DAMAGE REDUCTION: 7 / 14 / 21 / 28

This will make you tanky. If you increase this skill in early, your body will be like rock.

3. Anchor Smash

Tidehunter swings his mighty anchor to damage nearby enemies and reduce their attack damage.

MANA COST: 30 / 40 / 50 / 60	COOLDOWN: 7.0 / 6.0 / 5.0 / 4.0
ABILITY: NO TARGET	DAMAGE: PHYSICAL
DAMAGE: 75 / 125 / 175 / 225	DAMAGE REDUCTION: 40% / 40% / 40% / 40%
DURATION: 6 / 6 / 6 / 6	RADIUS: 400 / 400 / 400 / 400

Spammable skill for you. Deal a decent damage and required small amount of mana. This skill will also reduce enemy's damage. Useful for early game. Nice skill for controlling a lane.

4. Ravage

Slams the ground, causing tentacles to erupt in all directions, damaging and stunning all nearby enemy units.

MANA COST: 150 / 225 / 325	COOLDOWN: 150.0
ABILITY: NO TARGET	DAMAGE: MAGICAL
DAMAGE: 200 / 325 / 450	RADIUS: 825 / 925 / 1025
DURATION: 2.02 / 2.32 / 2.77

This is your best skill. Very good for initiating a teamfight. All your opponet in the area will be stunned, and that's the chance for your team to attack the enemies.

SKILLBUILD

Level 1: Gush ( To hunt for firstblood, can also to defend because of its slower effect)
Level 2: Anchor Smash
Level 3: Anchor Smash
Level 4: Gush
Level 5: Anchor Smash
Level 6: Ravage
Level 7: Anchor Smash
Level 8: Gush
Level 9 : Gush
Level 10: Kraken Shell
Level 11: Ravage
Level 12: Kraken Shell
Level 13: Kraken Shell
Level 14: Kraken Shell
Level 15: Stats
Level 16: Ravage
Level 17-25: Stats

Why Gush and Anchor Smash First?

Anchor smash ise very useful for controlling the lane.

Gush is very good for ganking. This will reduce enemy's armor that makes the damage received by the enemies will be higher. And the slower will make you easier to chase your target.

STRATEGIES

Early game

On early game, try to reduce opponent's damage using Anchor Smash so you will be safer from enemy's harassment.  Also use Gush once in a while for harassing the enemy. If you are not as a support role, try last hitting every creep on your lane. Your damage is good on early game, it should be no problem on getting the last hits.
And if you are become the support role for your team, you may get the observer wards to get vision over the fog area. Vision of certain area is so important for the team because your team needs safety from any opponent's gank.

Mid Game 

In this state, it will be many ganking happening.
Everybody will roam around the map and find somebody to kill. It's your time to roam too. Don't forget to buy the Smoke of Deceit to hid from enemy's Observer Ward.

You have some ganking skill here. So if you want to initiate in a gank, what you need to do is:
1. Comunicate with your teammates about who should be ganked, you should focus fire on 1 hero in a gank, because if you don't communicate well you may attack the A person and your teammates attack the B person, and that is a bad gank and can lead to failure on getting the kill.
2. Prepare the items needed in the gank:
a. Use Smoke of Deceit
b. Prepare Dust, Sentry Wards, or Gem if you will gank an invisible hero like Rikimaru, Clinkz, or Nyx Assassin

3.Use Ravage to initiate a teamfight if there are many enemies in an area.
4. And then after Ravage, spams Anchor Smash and then
5. Gush! It will reducing the armor and slow down the target so you can easily harass him.

Late Game
On late game. The teamfight will be very intense. Beware! if your team lose a single teamfight it may cost you the game.
You should already reached high level here so you have an all high level skill and also an already high sats, HP and damage. And so does ebverybody in the map.

With the high level, that means a long respawn time. That means that every move is becoming more important and decisive. So keep focus and also don;'t panic at every sitaution. Always think clearly and use all you have.Here you should make a wise decision to choose btween 2 options:
1. To save money for buyback
2. To buy your next item
How to choose between those two? you may see how important is your next item. You can see it by: If you don't buy that item immediately, your team's can't compete with the enemy's power so buy it immediately, but if the item is not that important, you should save for buyback.

Your role in the teamfight is an initiator. What you need to do is:
1. Use blink dagger to be in position for the Ravage
2. And then you should use ravage immediatel
3. And then use Anchor Smash and Gush.
4. Use any clickable item in your pocket, you may have Mekansm or Necronomicon.

And if your team won the teamfight, you have two options:
1. You can get the Aegis for your team's main hero or
2. Your team can push enemy base and destrouy their buildings. Choose wisely!

ITEM BUILD

1. Arcane Boots
Total cost: 1450
Recipe: Boots of Speed + Energy Booster

Active: Replenish Mana - Restores mana in an area around the hero. Flat movement speed bonuses from multiple pairs of boots do not stack. + 60 Movement Speed + 250 Mana MANA RESTORED: 135 Mana Needed: 25    Cooldown: 55

Why Arcane Boots? This boots is needed because you have spammable skills. Anchor Smash and Gush. This is also makes your mana adequate for the Ravage.

2. Blink Dagger
Cost: 2150

Active: Blink - Teleport to a target point up to 1200 units away. If damage is taken from an enemy hero, Blink Dagger cannot be used for 3 seconds. Manacost: 75   Cooldown: 14

Why Blink Dagger?
1. Perfect for initiating a teamfight and also can
2. Helps you escape

3. Refresher Orb
Total cost: 5300
Recipe: Obilivion Staff + Preserverance + Recipe

Active: Reset Cooldowns - Resets the cooldowns of all your items and abilities. + 5 HP Regeneration + 200% Mana Regeneration + 40 Damage + 6 Intelligence Manacost: 375   Cooldown: 160

Why Refresher? This item makes you can use your ultimate 2 Times. Ons level 3 your ultimate will gives 450x2= 900 damage and 2.77x2= 5.5 seconds stun. Imagine that! your enemies will have a very desperate times and your friend will easily beats the enemy.
But before you buy this item, check your mana capacity first, if your mana is enough to use
2 x ulti + 1 x Refresher, then buy this.

4. Shivs's Guard
Total cost: 4700
Recipe: Plate Mail + Mystic Staff + Recipe

Active: Arctic Blast - Emits a freezing wave that does 200 damage to enemies and slows their movement by -40% for 4.0 seconds. Passive: Freezing Aura - Reduces attack speed on enemies. Multiple instances of Freezing Aura do not stack. + 30 Intelligence   + 15 Armor AURA SLOW: 25% Manacost: 100   Cooldown:   30

Why Shiva's? This item is very good in teamfights, With the slowing of attack speed and movement speed, the enemy will hardly move and attack on the teamfight. A nice defense mechanism for your team.

5. Blade Mail
Total cost: 2200
Recipe: Broadsword + Chainmail + Robe of Magi

Active: Damage Return - Returns any damage you take to the unit that dealt the damage. Lasts 4.5 seconds.  + 22 Damage   + 5 Armor   + 10 Intelligence Manacost: 25   Cooldown; 22

Why Blade Mail? After you initiate a teamfight, your opponent is likely to target you because they will hate you. So you can reflect their damege using this item

6. Heart of Tarrasque

Total cost: 5500
Recipe: Reaver + Vitality Booster

Passive: Health Regeneration - Restores a percentage of max health per second. This ability is disabled if damage is taken from an enemy Hero or Roshan within the last 4 seconds if your hero is melee or 6 seconds if your hero is ranged. + 40 Strength   + 300 Health     HEALTH RESTORED: 2%    Cooldown:

Why Heart of Tarrasque? Makes you tanky. So good item for tanker like you.

Best Partners

1. Naga Siren

She have an ultimate to setup your ultimate. So first she must use her ultimate to make all enemies to sleep, and then you come to the middle of the enemies and then after the enemies wakes up, you immediately use your ultimate to stun all the enemies.

2. Dark Seer

Same as Naga Siren, he have skills to setup your ultimate, he have Vacuum that will makes all opponent to be sucked in the middle of the vacuum and then you can use your ultimate to stun the enemies

3. Enigma

This heroes also have ulti taht can be comboed with your ultimate. You can ravage first and then followed by his blackhole, or
he blackhole first followed by your ravage.

Bad Enemies

1. Rubick

He can steal your ravage, so be careful with this hero. If you don't want your ability to be stealed, you must catch him in your ulty and then you must use your Anchor smash or Gush immediately after your ulty, so when he tries to steal your ravage, he will get anchor smash or Gush.