Guide to Leviathan

Introduction

Tidehunter is one of the most naturally tanky DotA heroes. He is known and feared mostly for his Ultimate, Ravage, which is a massive AoE stun that can initiate a teamfight with crushing results. One of the most useful things about Tidehunter is that he needs very little in the way of items to be an asset to any team looking for some solid initiation. With Arcane Boots and a Blink Dagger, Tidehunter is a danger to any team. While being a beast in teamfights, Tidehunter is not shabby as a lane support either. With a powerful armor-reducing slow from Gush, and a dangerous spammable AoE attack, Anchor Smash. Tidehunter does a good job laning with carries of all sorts, and can function rather well in a trilane. Leviathan is also quite mobile, and can effectively roam. One of Leviathan's largest assets is his strength gain and passive, Kraken Shell, that make him a tough target to kill. These are two very useful things to have, as you can be focused down by a smart enemy team before you can Ravage. While he isn't the best candidate, Tidehunter can offlane somewhat effectively, taking advantage of the extra XP. Building Tidehunter to offlane takes his focus away from support slightly, and focuses on an entirely different build.

Pros / Cons

PROS
+Excellent initiator
+Very durable
+Requires only two inexpensive items to shine
+Powerful in multiple laning setups
+Spammable, low mana AoE nuke
+Reliable, long-range slow

CONS
-Eats up mana
-Very long cooldown on Ultimate
-Has a hard time against ranged heroes
-Often focused down in teamfights

Choosing Tidehunter

WHEN TO CHOOSE

Your team needs a good initiator
You need an offlane and your team has no teamfight
The enemy team has 3 or more melee heroes
You need a tank
You need a support

WHEN NOT TO CHOOSE

Your team needs DPS
Your team has too much teamfight
The enemy team is dominated by range heroes

Tidehunter Is useful in most situations, however there are some times where you simply shouldn't choose him. Tidehunter's damage output in a teamfight is limited, and his ability to get kills in lane is somewhat dependent on the performance of your allies to take advantage of Gush. If your enemy team has too many ranged heroes, Anchor Smash wont't be very useful in lane. There are also better offlane candidates, and you should only choose Tidehunter for this role if your team lacks enough supports and has little to no teamfight.

Which build do I choose?

Tidehunter is a support hero, even if you are going offlane, don't build a Divine Rapier and expect to carry. If you are in a trilane, consider using the typical build. Gush is more effective in most situations when you are in a trilane because of its armor reduction and slow, allowing the carry to rack up some kills. The Anchor Smash build is effective in a lot of dual laning situations. If you are up against two melee heroes, you should use this build 100%. Laning up against a melee carry and a ranged support also makes Anchor Smash extremely annoying to be up against. Absolutely spam the hell out of Anchor Smash against a melee carry, so that they will have a harder time last hitting, and the damage will have them eat up their regen. If you are going offlane, then the offlane build is the way to go.

In-Depth on Skills

Gush is Tidehunter's first skill, the default hot-key being Q. While most supports are equipped with a stun, Tidehunter brings to the table a dangerous, armor-reducing slow. The slow does not scale as you level it up, so if that's what you're after, getting one level is all you need until the later stages of the game. The armor reduction isn't spectacular, but in the early stages of the game, that armor reduction converts to precious extra damage. As mentioned, your mana is a little pathetic. Prevent yourself from using Gush on enemies who can escape or purge the effects, such as Slark, Dark Seer, Bounty Hunter or Weaver.

Kraken Shell is a very important part to playing Tidehunter. Being an initiator, Tidehunter is often focused down in order to prevent the use of his ultimate. However, thanks to this passive, that is very difficult to do. Along with reducing all damage you take by a small amount, you also receive the ability to purge all debuffs, including stuns and silences, after you receive 600 damage in a short period of time. This means that if you're being focused down, the damage you take will free you from anything preventing you from using your Ravage, meaning that you're a bulky threat that any team needs to focus down, but must do with care. More often than not, you'll be landing sick Ravages in your team fights.

Anchor Smash is self-explanatory. Low cooldown, low mana cost, decent damage, as well as a very annoying damage reduction by a hefty 40%. Besides its usefulness is laning, which is explained below, Anchor Smash is your ticket to a Blink Dagger. Being a support, you won't be farming up too much. During the time that you have, the AoE of Anchor Smash will help you score some much needed extra last hits.

Ravage is a powerful stun, with a range that makes it difficult to be avoided. Anyone remotely near you, specifically in a 1025 unit radius, will be hurled into the air and stunned afterwords. Take into account a few things when using it. First, the lift into the air is .52 seconds, that take effect before the actual stun is applied. Second, Ravage does not instantly affect the enemies within it's radius. The tentacles travel and spread at a speed of 775, which is fast, but could potentially be avoided if someone is within the outskirts. Blink Dagger is simply god-like for the sole purpose of allowing you to put yourself right in the center of the fight, giving you the opportunity to wreak havoc.

Tidehunter in a Trilane/Dual Lane

TRI-LANE TIDEHUNTER
Tidehunter does a solid job supporting a carry that can take advantage of a slow, as well as contest the farm of a carry that needs to get close to last hit. Tidehunter shines in a defensive trilane, which is the Dire top and Radiant Bottom. In a Trilane, you are going to be using Gush often as you roam or go into lane to gank, so Clarity potions are important before you can get Arcane Boots. Mainly, Tidehunter's role in a trilane is to stack, pull, and gank. When another lane needs help, you should make an effort to give them a hand. Having a Town Portal Scroll at your disposal is very useful.

DUAL-LANE TIDEHUNTER
Tidehunter can lane with plenty of carries. Because Tidehunter is melee, he is best when paired up against other melee heroes. Tidehunter can't harass or deny easily against two ranged heroes. If this is the situation you have to be in, you should get plenty of levels in Gush and stock up on regen, and maybe even a Stout Shield.

Tidehunter in the Offlane

Because of Tidehunter's natural durability, he can put himself into the offlane without substantial risk. Anchor Smash and Kraken Shell are your greatest assets to the offlane, helping you last hit and reduce harass. Although, like most offlane heroes of his type, Tidehunter's last priority should be last hitting, and his first should be not dying. Once you get Ravage and Boots of Speed its most likely time to gtfo and roam to other lanes. Stout Shield and Kraken Shell do not stack, however, a Stout Shield is better than Kraken Shell at level 1, and it won't be at a high priority to level up in comparison to your other skills. Therefore, its wise to get a Stout Shield in order to survive some harassment. With the new buff to Kraken Shell, a Stout Shield isn't as necessary. However, if you need to level other skills, or are having a very hard time in lane, a Stout Shield is still a good purchase. Once you get level 2 Kraken Shell, ditch it, as it no longer serves a purpose. An Urn of Shadows is a decent investment as well if you have some extra farm.

Items

NECESSARY ITEMS

Blink Dagger is the best item in the game to get on Tidehunter. I say this because with it, you can quickly blink to a location and land a potentially game changing Ravage. Its a tad expensive, but its worth it entirely.

Arcane Boots are the boots of choice on Tidehunter when you're playing support. More mana means more skills, and Tidehunter's mana pool is an absolute joke. So definitely consider buying these.

NOT SO NECESSARY ITEMS

Urn of Shadows Extra HP, mana regen, and makes your team like you a little more. A good pickup if you've got extra cash or your team doesn't have one.

Heart of Tarrasque because surviving your own initiation is pretty fun.

Refresher Orb because the abyssal god Maelrawn is your *****. Extra regen, and two Ravages can be quite terrible for your opposition. However, make sure your mana pool is enough to support it.

Mekansm because you are a support, after all. Its best if a more squishy hero gets it some of the time, but you can certainly get one if your team needs it.

Blade Mail because you'll be the center of attention sometimes. Why not cause a little bit of damage while you die.

Hood of Defiance and Pipe of Insight because magic resistance makes you even harder to kill. No need to build a Pipe of Insight if your team has one already, of course.

Drum of Endurance can be very useful. Extra stats give you more mana and wonderful HP, and the buff helps your team out a lot.

Radiance is a bit of a gimmick, but can be purchased. It increases Tidehunter's low DPS by giving him a bit extra damage. Generally, this isn't the best item to get, but if you can afford it and your team calls for more damage, you may see some success.

Shiva's Guard adds to Tidehunter's huge bulk and gives you an extra skill to use when you initiate. Also gives you a much larger mana pool, making it a very good item to get later in the game.

Soul Ring is useful if you desperately need mana. Usually this isn't a great item, but it can work.

Power Treads can give you extra bulk. Generally not useful, but in combination with a Soul Ring, it could help you farm or get some more damage output along with adding more Strength.