Clock's the Name, Offlane's the game (6.84)

Introduction

Hello Everybody, my name is Cpfran6, and before we jump into this Clockwerk guide, a little bit about myself:
I have been playing Dota for the better part of a year now, mostly in the offlane (especially solo) and ganking positions. I have come to see many people in the offlane play it as if you are in a safe dual-lane. Nothing infuriates me more than a terrible offlane that ruins your game. So, I took it upon myself to specialize in this sometimes difficult position. Clcckwerk is personally one of my best heroes, along with Nyx Assassin and Night Stalker (Guides for them are WIP) with a 95% winrate. I saw that the guides on Clockwerk were either outdated or setup for dual lanes and I thought I would be helping by making this Guide. This is my first guide on Dotafire, so please, any comments or criticism is greatly appreciated. I will do my best to reply or explain as best as possible. But enough about me, on to the guide.

Pros and Cons

Helpful Videos

Check out Dota Cinema's video explaining Clockwerk and his abilities

Items

First off is the Item build. While a bit odd, my build emphasizes surviving and building your tankiness for the midgame.

Starting Items:

We start off with a fairly standard Tango and Stout Shield with 4 Iron Branch. This will give you stats and regen, as well as some block from the Stout Shield, as you are a melee offlane.

Early Game

This is where it gets a bit different. I am a big proponent of Bottle on Clockwerk, something I have seen people frown upon. The moment you hit level 6, go to mid or bot and gank someone. After this you will be roaming quite often and bottle is great for this play-style. After we grab a Bottle we pick up a Vitality Booster for the added health, as well as the build-up for Vanguard. Only after this do we build our boots, which will be phase boots, which will allow you to chase through the wave with Battery Assault. Clockwerk has very high base movement speed (315). And that allows us to slightly delay picking up boots. You can always switch out Vitality Booster and Phase Boots though, depending on who you are up against and how much money you are getting from ganks. Last Early game item we are grabbing is Blade Mail. Great for countering HUGE dps carries by forcing them into cogs then activating.

Mid Game

Mid-Game isn't as hectic when it comes to buying items. We keep our Phase Boots and Blade Mail, as well as our Bottle. The Mid-Game revolves around the item that makes you a Hunter Killer with your ult, Aghanim's Scepter. This lowers your cooldown to 12 seconds. 12. Seconds. If you use it correctly, you will be able to pick off any support or squishy carry every 12 seconds. This is HUGE to the lategame. It is the only real core item in the mid-game. after you get it I often start my Heart of Tarrasque with a Vitality Booster or Build a quick Vanguard.

Late-Game

By now our Heart of Tarrasque Should be done and You should still have your Vanguard. We now get rid of our Bottle, as your Regen is sky high. Build a BKB so you can add more Tank to that mess of Tankiness in your inventory. Add a Luxury and you're done. Rise my new apprentice, you are ready.

Skills

Next up is the skill build. I have seen people skill Battery Assault or Rocket Flare first, but skilling Power Cogs first Allows you too easily block the creep wave, allowing you in the offlane to farm much easier. Next we begin to max Battery Assault as it will massacre anyone in cogs with you. Battery Assault also serves as a quick way to farm and clear waves At later levels. Rocket Flare is taken at level 3 and maxed much later. I find it is only effective for the vision when playing solo Clockwerk, and the occasional harass in the early game. Take Hookshot at the standard 6,11,16. Start your combo with Hookshot then then use Power Cogs and Battery Assault, if you are worried about dying, shoot off Rocket Flare for additional damage.

Friends, Foes, and Food

Friends

Two Hooks are better than one. He Hooks, you cog, he uses Rot. This merits a kill in the early game nearly every time


Clockwerk and Tinker work well together, His March of the Machines is deadly to anyone in cogs, and If you flare his missiles will see enemies that try to break line of sight.

Clock works well with most Heroes, or none at all these are just a few he shines with.

Foes

This guy is a real b**** to deal with. Don't try to cog him, he will Overpower and rip you up. Try buying Heavens Halberd to give yourself time to kill him.


Ruptures you before you Hook. You hook. You die. Nuff said. You can also kill him in this way, but It has to be very calculated.


Invisible heroes, **** these guys. You Cog them and they laugh in your face as you try to hit them invisible while in your cogs. Bring dust if dealing with these heroes.

Food
These guy are what you prey on, either they don't have a way to escape, you can build to counter them or they get countered hard by one of your skills.


Battery Assault Keeps him from using his ult, his only way to hurt you then becomes Rot, as you often have blademail. You are the anti-Christ to a mid-lane Pudge.


Squishy supports, easy prey for Clock to find farming alone and shut down. After a few kills they will be fearful of you, and will stick with the team, giving your carries free farm.

Countering Bloodseeker

With 6.84 has come a new meta, and one of the most hated and feared pubstompers of this meta is Bloodseeker. When I started seeing this hero first picked in pubs, I figured i'd have some fun and pick Clockwerk. Since then I have been using Clockwerk to counter him HARD, and I alter my usual build accordingly. Instead of the normal BKB, I often build an orchid. I will use Hook, Battery Assault, Power Cogs, then orchid and BM. At this point he cant do much, as he is silenced and getting ministunned for extra damage.
[clear/]
You can also ruin Bloodseeker's ult by using Blademail and Hookshot while under its effect. BE CAREFUL though, as you can also get yourself killed. make sure to calculate before you try this.
[clear/]
TEAM PLAY
Rocket Flare is another way to help your team once CykaCyka goes off the map. Spam flairs into your jungle to help see ganks on your carry coming, and use bottle to heal up teammates

Tips and tricks

1. You can use your Power Cogs to trap the first creep wave, allowing the enemy wave to push closer to your tower, allowing for safer farm.
2. Once you have Aghs, do not hesitate to use Hookshot as an escape tool. With a 12 second cooldown, there is no reason not to.
3. Use Powercogs to block paths so your allies can escape from a chase.
4. Bloodseeker, with how common he is this patch can be countered by playing Tank Clockwerk. Build HP, and when he ruptures you, Blademail, and just Hook away, as it will do up to 1800 damage at max range. Who's OP now? (Still Bloodcyka)

Conclusion

I hope you liked my now reworked guide on Clockwerk. If you have and questions or comments, don't hesitate, if you have and idea or criticism, please attempt to let me know in a polite manner, I'll respond to explain or thank you ASAP. This is my first guide on dotafire, I hope it shed some light on how I play Clockwerk and hope it helped out. Thanks.