SWolf's Guide to Chop Chop Chop!

Introduction

Welcome to my way of playing Timbersaw, the Goblin Shredder. He is a pretty straightforward Hero but, in my opinion, takes a bit of practice to play him correctly. But most importantly, hes a VERY fun hero to play.
Please check both builds before commenting!
Sorry for not posting fancy pictures, im not very skilled at it :(

Let's keep going!

Lore

Rizzrack could still hear the screams in his mind. He worked, frantically turning wrenches, twisting screws, building and carving and forging. Sleep eluded him; he only built. Months had passed since he had shut himself in his uncle's workshop, and his deliverance was nearly complete. He rubbed his back as his eyes drifted shut, and saw a blanket of flowers floating on the placid waves of Augury Bay before exploding into a cloud of pollen that silenced lives as it seized the lungs. He woke with a choking start. For hours the rhythmic sound of a whetstone filled the shop as he sharpened a set of massive blades, his mind filled with images of strangling vines garroting neighbors, enwrapping homes. The flooding of Augury Bay had been nothing compared to the violent horrors the waters left to take root beyond the city walls. But the saw-suit would make him strong and safe he thought, allowing himself this sliver of hope before the full might of his fear crashed into his fading mind. Branches and blood. When the city fell, Rizzrack fled trees that walked, and fought, and killed. Trees had shattered the gates and swarmed into the city. Trees had crushed and thrashed and stomped the last that Augury Bay could muster in defense, and stalked the few fleeing refugees. In addled silence Rizzrack unspooled the thick chain from the suit's arm, his hands quaking as he inspected each link and ran a trembling finger along the claw attached at its end. The saw-suit was ready.

With his hand trembling he sparked the bladed machine to life. Terror drove him, terror of what awaited him and of what he would have to face to have any hope of calming his mind. As the saw-suit shuddered to life he knew he must face this fear, and he knew he wouldn't like it one bit.

"Trees do have a way of DYING around me!"

Pros/Cons

Pros
-A LOT of mobility
-Tanky
-Pure Damage on every skill!
-A good ganker
-Spammy skills
-Even more tanky when focused
-Can actually carry if played correctly
-Funny voice
-Causes confusion in the battlefield
-Can get kills very early in the game


Cons
-Early game is still a pain against hard-hitters
-Squishy before core item
-No hard-CC
-Countered by Magic Immunity and Silence
-Even if he hates them, he needs trees around
-If he gets behind, it won't be an easy task to recover
-VERY mana-hungry early
-NOT really an initiatior
-Core item... it isnt cheap... Oh wait nevermind you have a plan B build ;)

When to Pick

Timbersaw is a great character for sustained PURE damage and nukes, but you should look for this factors:

Pick him when:
-Enemy team is squishy
-They don't have silences
-They have low mobility
-They dont have great laners
-High armored/magic resistace heroes (your damage is Pure)

DONT pick him when:
-They are way too beefy
-They got silence
-They have heroes with good kiting abilites
-They are more mobile than you
-They got some great laner that can beat you

Abilities

Deals magical damage around you. Pretty easy.
But it will deal PURE damage if you cut a tree in the proccess. (It cuts ALL the trees around you)
Therefore make sure you cut a tree to get that guaranteed damage.
It also reduces the primary stat of the enemy by 15%. Strenght heroes will fear you.

At level 4, it deals 250 damage. Not bad considering it's still pure damage.


Launches a chain that latches to the first tree it touches, pulling you to it, dealing, again, pure damage to anyone that stands in your way.

Now this skill is just awesome. At level 4, it has the huge range of 1400 (!), and it will always deal PURE damage, no matter what. Use it to escape, to chase, to initiate, to kill thing, or just for the hell of it, because it costs 90 MANA on a 4 SECOND CD.
Thats why you always max this first.


Its a passive skill. Each time you are attacked, you gain 1 armor and 1 hp/sec.
It stacks 16 times at level 4. Yes, it gives 16 armor and 16 hp/sec (duh).
This helps you in the early game to recover health quickly, even with just one point.


Launches a giant saw blade at a target location, dealing both Pure damage when traveling, and Pure damage while it spins in place. It costs mana to launch and to maintain on the battlefield. It will also slow enemies based on their missing health, leaving injured enemies crawling, but you wont be able to attack while its activated.

Now this is just amazing. PURE damage in AoE? F*ck yeah. Even if it disables your attacks, it doesnt matter since you dont really have to autoattack anyways.

Note that the damage while it travels is higher than when it spins.

---

Now the Skill Build, you will ALWAYS max Timberchain, because its damage just gets better, the range increases and the mana cost isnt high, so its your best option.
For second skill, max Whirling death so you get more damage. Timbersaw got epic damage in the early-mid game, but if you find struggling to much to stay in lane/farming, get some points in Reactive Armor, it really helps.
Get your ult whenever possible.

Item Explanations

BUILD 1 (TREE-CUTTER)

This build is just beast when you are getting a lot of kills, towers and gold. If that isnt the case, then i highly suggest you check build 2.
Well, starting items are pretty easy to explain.You need Tangos for the sustain, some potions, Iron Branches for an eventual , and the will come in handy against harass. Your typical regeneration set :)

is the next item you build after the Magic Wand, because it will help you with your mana-issues in the early-mid game. You can also get if you feel too squishy, and make a later.
After that, you need to focus in one item, your core, your most loved one, your treasure:



It will give you the best of every f*cking worlds: Health, Mana, and Regeneration.
Yes, the faster you get this item, the bigger the chances you have to completely destroy in every fight and snowball out of control. You can get Perseverance first for the regen, but if you want, ger the Soul Booster first. Remember to dissasemble your Arcane Boots for the Energy Booster.

Then you can just get whatever you need.
Remember, Rizzrack loves tankyness in order to spam your skills before they can kill you, and mana to cast with no limit.

BUILD 2 (LESS GOLD, MORE CHOP)

Well, this build i have been trying a lot, and its pretty powerful. I would say even more than the first one (okay maybe not).
This build is a lot cheaper than the first one, and also has more utility for the team.
The starting items are the same (as usual), but your first item you build (apart from Arcane boots) is a Urn of. This items hives you regeneration, health and an amazing active to heal anyone for 400 HP. Its a stupidly cheap item for what it grants to you and your team.
Next, you will want to get a . Its a VERY underated item which will give you Health and Mana (who needs Bloodstone now?) and an amazing active everyone overlooks. Its a long range, 4 second 60%(!) slow with a low mana cost and cd. It will help you greatly to land your ult on that pesky windrunner. Did I mention its a cheap item?
Next, you build . Again, cheap item that gives you enough mana regen to cast your spells and a good active that covers that Timbersaw weakness of having no stun. You can even throw your ult and use the active on yourself so you are untouched. Your ult wont stop spinning ;)

Playstyle

In the early game, you can do about any lane. Check Lane Preference down below for more details Just farm until you get some levels. You should harass a lot if they dont have big CC in your lane, or if you are against a STR hero. Remember that your Q reduces the primary stat of your enemy, meaning a STR hero will recieve a LOT of damage.
If you want to get some kills in the early game, just aim a Timberchain to a tree behind your target, hit him with Q either in mid-air or after, and just autoattack him to death. Its hard to escape a Rizzrack since Chain got stupid range and 4 cd, but dont get too greedy with it. Take note that kill is a lot easier (even guaranteed) to get if your target is slowed/stunned so you aim a perfect chain and Q. If you are getting harassed to death, getting two points on E will greatly help.

At level six, you can start looking for ganks or just continue farming. Your mana is still low to spam your skills or maintain your ultimate.
You need to get gold fast to get your core, since its hard if you get behind. Depending on your own playstyle, get that gold either by farming (lane or jungle) with ult/Q, by ganking, or both. Even getting towers will help.

In the mid game, you hopefully have Bloodstone, or at least Perseverance/Soul Booster. If you are following Build 2, you should have Urn of Shadows and Rod of Atos (building for it at least) Either way, Rizzrack excels at ganking with teammates, so coordinate with your allies to stun your target, and drop a Chakram in his face, and Timberchain a tree near him. You can activate Whirling Death mid-air to completely nuke your foe.
Chakram got a big range, so you can also try put it behind the enemy to block his escape path.

About teamfighting, you should know that no teamfight is the same, but you should always communicate with your team to focus one important target down. Squishies are the best targets for Rizzrack. In teamfights, try to put your ult where the most foes are standing. That way you will have them slowed for a easy Chain. Try to nuke out the supports/carries fast with your team. But be sure your team always follows you, because if your focused, you will be killed fast.
Timbersaw isnt a great intitator, so you need someone else initiate the fight so the enemy doesnt focus you immediately.

Late game, you should be tanky as hell, and your damage should still be painful considering its pure damage. At this point, I can't tell you more. Just play wisely and be sure your teammates follow you when you go in with Chain - Chakram.

Good guys - Bad guys

Good guys
You love heroes that have stuns/slows so you can aim a good Timberchain. Since he got no hard-cc, he needs a team to complement that weakness. Heroes like:






Personally, I like these heroes to have as allies:
-> His shackle will ensure your target stays put while your ult spins on top of them.

-> Her global aura will lessen your mana-issues.

and -> Kinetic Field and Dream Coil are great ways to setup a devastating Chakram.

-> Oh god. If your Enigma pulls out a great , put a Chakram into the mix, and you just won that teamfight.

Bad guys
Silence. This is the worst enemy you can encounter. This people will give you nightmares.

Doom Bringer

-> TRY TO NOT PICK RIZZRACK WHEN THIS HERO IS PICKED AS YOUR FOE
His Smoke Screen will really mess you up, as you cannot escape it fast enough.


His mana break will destroy your pitiful mana-bar early to mid game

Also, any nuker will kill you fast when you dont have Bloodstone/a health item.

Lane Preference

Even if Timbersaw can Mid, I wouldnt really recommend it. Only if the lane is easy or no one is taking it. You cant chain to any trees since it will leave you in a dangerous situation.

Instead, I recommend Suicide Lane, since Timber can escape pretty easily from sticky situations and his passive serves very well at regenerating health from harrass.
You can go Safe lane too. Its the same, but here you have the upper hand ;)

I really recommend going with a good partner (hopefully a friend) which you can communicate with. It makes lane much easier since you can time your skills with his/her and get kills easily. Timbersaw can get kills as early as hes level 3.

So... I recommend Suicide Lane if no one can take it. You escape easily, regen a lot of hp, and got a lot of damage early on ;)

But hey! What about some tips?

Since Timber Chain is probably your most important skills, knowing how to aim it is vital to play a good Timbersaw.

-First, remember the chain will ignore Heroes and terrain. It will only stop by either maximum range or hitting a tree. So no worries that it will get "blocked".
If you want escape, a good idea is to hit a tree on higher terrain, so you make a safe escape. It has a bit of cast time so cast it as fast as possible.

-If you feel that sometimes the Chain doesnt always hit the tree (even when it should), aim your cursor behind the tree your aiming for. That will ensure you will hit it.

-Also your Ult is a great way to escape. Just cut a path of trees so you can continue running or aim a chain. And leave your ult spinning so any chaser get slowed and damaged. Sometimes even the best option is to Timber Chain a tree behind you so it hits your enemy and might even kill him!
It all comes to practice ;)

-Chakram is a great zone-denial ability, forcing enemies to either avoid it or walk on top of it. Try to always throw it ahead your enemies because it is fairly slow. If you dont cast it far enough it wont do much. While they are slowed, or avoiding the Chakram, you can aim Chain pretty easily.

-If an enemy got BKB/magic immunity, just ignore him (your spells wont be doing any damage!) and go kill the supports. Your damage is high enough to make the enemy panic and die by you and your teammates.

-Remember to adapt your game to the match you are having. If you are low on gold, then go for a cheaper build! Getting Bloodstone at 35 minutes isnt a very good idea.

Closing words

I hope you liked this guide. If you liked it, please upvote it and comment. Constructive feedback is always welcome!
Well, what else can I say about Rizzrack. Play him, play him again and improve. That's what really counts.

Please note that English isnt my first language, so forgive any mistake I made.

Changelog

21/02/2013: Guide created!
22/02/2013: Corrected some mistakes and added the Tips section.
23/02/2013: Added a bit more of tips in the Gameplay section, and added When to Pick.
01/05/2013: Added a new, cheap build.
26/05/2013: Added more tips and Lane Preference.
04/06/2013: Minor Fixes.