How to Jah'rakal: The Troll Warlord(Updated for 6.84)

Introduction

Hello guys, I am BE3DU23 and this is my first guide on DotaFire.This guide is a compilation of my own experience playing as Jah'rakal and information I have gained online. Any constructive criticism would be great, also any tips or opinions are available. (Just a reminder that this guide is in no way finished. That is another reason why I would appreciate any comments or suggestions).

The Troll Warlord is the definition of an auto-attacker. I mean this guy has a tunnel syndrome.He is able to choose to attack from a distance or up close.He is the perfect hybrid, able to choose between his melee and ranged forms. He capitalizes on attack speed, being able to strike and move quickly, as well as enhance his allies to do the same. He is Ja'rakal, the Troll Warlord

Although he was nerfed after the dreaded "HO HO HA HA" era where he and a certain midget ruled the roost, this does not mean he was made a completely useless prick like Elder Titan

Pros/Cons

Pros-
- Can choose to fight ranged or melee.
- Low manacost on skills.
- Short cooldown on skills.
- At it's longest Bash lasts for 2.0 seconds.
- Ultimate affects whole team and makes them pushers.
- High Movement speed due to Berserker's Rage.
- Can do a fast roshan and jungle effectively if Laning Stage fails.

Cons-
- Prone to burst magical damage.
- Will be targeted in teamfights.
- Low Bash chance (10%).
- Somewhat squishy.
- Switching target lowers DPS and attack speed.
- Really dumb (Worst Intelligence growth per game at 1 per level).
- No inbuilt escape mechanism.

Skills

Berserker Rage [Q]
CASTING METHOD: TOGGLE
TARGETTING METHOD: INSTANT
ALLOWED TARGETS: SELF

Allows the Warlord to use his throwing axes as melee weapons, attack speed, movement speed, hitpoints, armor, and a chance to bash targets on attack. Berserker's Rage also changes the functionality of Whirling Axes.

Bonus HP: 100
Bonus armor: 3
Bonus movement speed: 10 / 20 / 30 / 40
Base attack time: 1.55
Bash chance: 10%
Bash duration: 0.8 / 1.2 / 1.6 / 2
Bash damage: 20 / 30 / 40 / 50

This is Jah'rakal's signature skill. This is what makes The Troll Warlord unique to all other heroes. The ability to switch from ranged to melee instantly! You can harass enemy heroes while in ranged mode or if the lane is full of harrasers, then switch to melee if they want a fight. Although the chance to bash is low at 10% at all levels but, at level 4 you can actually perma-bash enemies if you have enough Attack speed and if you are lucky.

We take our first point always and always in this ablity. I cannot strees that enough. Often I see players take thier first point in Whirling Axes. The bonus armor that it provides and the movement speed bonus are also welcome greatly. Geneally a point is enough till level 6. We will max this out after Whirling Axeswhich is a much more important skill early game.

Whirling Axes (Ranged) [W]
Troll hurls a fistful of five axes in a cone shape over 900 range, slowing and damaging enemy units.

Range: 900
Damage: 75
Movement speed slow: 30%
Slow duration: 3 / 3.75 / 4.5 / 5.25
Mana Cost: 50
Cooldown: 20 seconds

Important thing to note is that this skill and the melee version is that they have Independent Cooldowns, meaning that they do not share the same cooldown. When you use this skill you can still use the melee version and vice-versa.

This Troll's one of Bread and Butter ablities. It acts as one of two of Jah'rakal's nukes. Although the damage is low at 75 dmg at all levels, what we are really after is the slow, a 5.25 second, 30% slow is a lot to ask for. Use this to chase fleeing enemies or as an escape mechanism by slowing down your attacker. One thing great about this skill is the range and area covered by this skill. the range is 900 in a triangular cone-shape area.
After the 6.83 nerf it does give the flying vision over the area the axes are thrown which means we won't be able to see the units hidden in the fog of war or the units moving uphill. But that should not stop you from using this skill as Troll is fast enough to catch them with the slow.

Whirling Axes (Melee)[W]
Troll unleashes a set of magical axes which whirl around him in a circle. Nearby enemies take damage and have a chance to miss on their attacks.

Radius: 450
Damage: 75 / 125 / 175 / 225
Miss chance: 60%
Duration: 4 / 5 / 6 / 7
Mana Cost: 50
Cooldown Time: 12



This is Troll's main nuke skill. It has a shorter cooldown and shorter range than the ranged version. Primarily, you will use this skill to farm creeps since it has good damage and also a large circular radius. But it's true hidden purpose is to shut down DPS carries like Drow RAnger or Phantom Assassin which only relies on right-click Physical attacks with it's Miss Chance.

At 60% chance to miss is nothing to scoff at. Its more than Phantom Assassin's blur at maxed level. It's likely that only 1 of 2 attacks will only hit you. I've had many scenarios in which I was being attacked chased by a Drow Ranger or a Sniper thinking that they could kill me with their damage alone. I quickly turned to melee mode and used this skill and they were surprised that their attacks kept on missing which lead to their demise. With enough luck you will be able to perma-bash them and crush them.

This is the skill that we need to Max out in the beginning because of the versatility it offers. This is troll's main skill. Always be sure to spam it to clear creeps or if you are going to manfight any hero.

Fervor [E]
With each continuous blow on the same target, Troll gains increased attack speed. If Troll changes targets, the stacks drop to zero.

Bonus attack speed per stack: 16 / 22 / 28 / 34
Max Stacks: 4

Jah'rakal's only passive skill. This is why he doesn't need any more Attack Speed items because this skill and his ultimate provides all the attack speed he needs. This is also what makes him very deadly on a 1-vs-1 fight. The only downside to this skill is that you need to target and to lock on to one hero only because switching targets drops the attack speed down to zero. So make sure you kill your target before switching heroes.

Normally I put a point in it at level 3 cause its great for ganking or focussing a single enemy in lane. You go whirling axes (Ranged) to slow him then use your Whirling Axes (Melee) to make that poor hero to miss his *** off and with fervor you bash his sorry *** to death. It also works great if you are laning with a support with a reliable lockdown or stun such as Shadow Shaman or Crystal Maiden. Then can disable him while troll beats the **** out of them.


Battle Trance [R]
Troll's presence on the battlefield increases the attack speed of himself and all allied heroes.

Radius: Global
Duration: 5 seconds
Bonus attack speed: 60 / 120 / 180
Mana Cost: 75
Cooldown Time: 30 seconds

This is what makes Troll a monster manfighter and a tremendous pusher. A Great ultimate skill in my opinion, it's like a Global Mask of Madness to all heroes without the damage increase. Use this to push towers, in clash fights, in 1-vs-1 fights. Don't be afraid to use this skill as often as necessary. It has a very low mana cost and short cooldown. Use this even if you are far away in a clash fight. You must be aware when your allies are engaging. It also increases the synergy of troll with other dps carries like ursa and faceless void. Remember that its range is global so whenever you see a clash occouring, just pop your R and see your team beat the **** out of the enemy team.

With the nerf to this skill in the 6.83 patch which reduced its duration, Troll was somewhat nerfed. But that does not mean he can't manfight now. 5 seconds is enough for Jah'rakal to beat perma-bash the enemy and beat them to death. Don't be afraid to use this skill even if you are farming the stacks in the jungle or the ancient creeps. Just be careful that its buff is visible on your team mates. So they may suspect something is up and can check the jungle or the roshan pit.

Items

Starting Items:

As you can see that I have started with 2 circlets 2 gg branches and 1 tango. In my opinion it is the best starting items for Troll. As per the new patch magic stick which now requires a circlet and 2 branches. The remaining circlet will be used to make into a wraith band which will be further upgraded into the ring of aquila.

Since 6.84 patch the bonus damage from the berserker's rage was removed therefore nerfing Troll's last hitting. So you may replace the circlet for a quelling blade.

Early Game Level's 1-8 (Minutes 1-10)

Ring Of Aquila

By now you should have killed some creeps and made some gold. This is the stage where you upgrade your wraith band into a ring of aquila.Get this item second by buying sobi mask as you already a wraith band, the reason why you need this item is because it provides damage, agility and a .65 mana regen which helps solves troll's mana problem early game and more armor. Just remember to turn off the aura so that you will not push too much.

Phase Boots

My preferred boots of choice for troll are Phase Boots. They provide everything troll needs to increase his dps. It provides a decent movement speed buff when helps his kiting problems and decent damage. Power Treads are not preferred because trolls does not benefit greatly from the attack speed it provides.

Morbid Mask

You should also buy a morbid mask as soon as possible because of lifesteal greatly synergizes with troll's passive which can help him sustain and stay in the lane a lot longer.

Middle Game lvl 9-15

This is the point from where troll begins to come online and start doing some serious damage with some items.

Helm of the Dominator

Your morbid mask should be upgraded into Helm of the Dominator. It provies troll with decent damge armor and lifesteal.
Now other items are purely situational.

Sange and Yasha

Sange and Yasha in my opinion are core on troll as they provide him with more EHP to work with, increase his movement speed and also provide a good main to slow and catch enemies.

Shadow Blade

Shadow Blade is a situational item and can be a good pickup if you find yourself being caught many times. Also the first hit from shadow walk may result in a bash meaning you can melt down anyone with that and your ultimate. You can also upgrade it into a silver edge to break the passives of certain heroes like Phantom Assassin and Faceless Void.

Black King Bar

If the enemy team has a lot of magical damage then Black King Bar is a no brainer. It provides you with magic immunity and prevents those pesky supports from shutting you off before you can wreak them.

Late Game lvl 16-25

This is where troll becomes a major pain in the *** for the enemy.
Satanic

First of all the Helm of the Dominator should be upgraded into Satanic. The lifesteal of 25% on every hit is no joke and combined with Troll's ataack speed you can go from little to full health with its active and satanic's ultimate.

Eye of Skadi

Eye of Skadi is a great pickup on Troll. It provides Troll with even more EHP to make him into a moving wreaking truck smashing the faces of opponents. Plus the slow provided by the skadi fully stacks with slow from your whirling axes and the kifesteal from satanic making ita great pickup.

Monkey King Bar

Is the opponent team comprised of that elusive Phantom Assassin or heroes tha make butterfly. Feel free to grab a Monkey King Bar. It increases your DPS greatly. Also the mini-bash provied by the MKB will proc more often as Troll has tons of attack speed.

Butterfly

Don't hesitate to make a butterfly if the enemy is full of DPS carries. Butterfly combined with the miss chance from the axes will make you virtually invincible.

Daedelus

If you find yourself come short in the DPS department(believe me you never will) you can opt for the Daedelus. With troll;s attack speed the crits will be a regular fixture and you will melt your opponents like a hot knife does butter :)

Manta Style

Manta Style is a situational pickup on troll if the enemy team has a lots on single target lockdown. It can also be used to dodge stuns and projectiles if you time it correctly.

Assault Cuirass

It can also be a good situational pickup to increase his EHP and armor. Pick it up if the other team has a lot of Physical damage dealers.

Additional Items

I have separately made a chapter for some additional items which are purely situational but may come in handy in certain situations.

Vladimir's Offering


It is a very situational item troll and should rarely be purchased. Although with the recent changes (Which also provide ranged heroes a lifesteal of 10%) one can argue about its viability on troll but I still don't think it's usefulness on troll. The mana regen and the armor which it provides can easily be provided by ring of aquila and it also limits troll's late game presence. Helm of the dominator can be upgraded into a satanic which makes Troll a late game beast and tankier. There are howerver no such upgrades with Vladimir's so it should be avoided.

Maelstorm


I suggest this item you are against an illusion based carry such as Phantom Lancer or Spectre. Otherwise I don't see its usefulness. Altough people say the its a farm accelerator but Troll is already a good jungler and with the gold he can make a yasha which improves his DPS ans synergises well with his skillset.
However it comes very handy against illusion based carries. The lighting proc will occur more due to Troll's attack speed and it can be further upgraded into a mijolnir to improve hos DPS and attack speed.

Gameplay

Laning Phase

The laning phase is pretty straightforward. Troll generally prefers the safelane with a support or an aggressive trilane. He is best suited with a disablers like Crystal Maiden or Shadow Shaman.
He can also go into the middle lane and farm with ease owing to his high movement speed and armor. But be sure to have a Bottle for rune control if mid, also the ring of aquila can be skipped and bottle can be used to provide the necessary health and mana regen. Use whirling axes melee to keep harrsassing the enemy and secure last hits. If your opponents keep on an aggresive lane switch to ranged form and last hit from distance.

Midgame

Midgame for troll can be divided into and 2 scenarios.

Situation 1:
If you have had a couple of kills and around 50-60 CS by minute 10, you are going good. In this case you can keep following the standard build and go on. Complete your items and start pressuring the tower when you find space. Even with a level 1 Battle Trance Troll can push towers with ease. Keep farming and brace yourself for the end game.

Situation 2:
If for some reason your mid got owned (cyka Blyat) and you keep getting ganked by the opposing mid hero you can fall back and switch to ranged form. Always be wary of missing hero and always carry a TP! I cannot stress this enough. Too many times I see inexperienced players being caught out of position with no TP and feeding on. Further on I will tell you how to catch up in my section Jungling and Roshan.

Keep farming and continue taking towers to put pressure on the other teams. After a successful fight push your way towards thier high ground.

Late Game
Although we can argue that troll comes online rather early, the recent nerfs to his starting damage and flying vision reduction on the whirling axes have made his early game somewhat stunted. But take nothing away from troll. Jah'rakal is still a monster from late mid game to the end. This is the part of the game where troll truly shines. With the required items troll is one of the best if not the best manfighters and can outcarry nearly all the hard carries with ease.(Exception can be made for the holt trinity). His ultimate acts as a huge DPS steroid for the whole team and 180 attack speed is nothing to be scoffed at. It makes your dazzle hit like a Wraith King and push like crazy. Just remeber to pop your BKB start your ulti ans smash the face of the other team.

Roshan and Jungling

Roshan
Here is a whole section dedicated to this part cause I feel it covers a large aspect of Troll's game. Troll is one of those heroes who can take a quick Roshan with a limited items and levels. Troll can take on roshan with as soon as level 7. The build has to be changed somewhat with 3 points in fervor and 2 in berserkers rage and 1 in the whiling axes and his ultimate. He need phase boots morbid mask and a ring of aquila to successfully solo rosh. As soon these items can be acquired he can use a smoke to sneak in and solo rosh.

Jungling

Personally one should never start jungling with Troll until he has some levels and a morbid mask. Troll can jungle fairly quickly thanks to Whirling axes melee and berserkers rage but he needs to be atleast level 5 on higher. As discussed above it should be a scenario when you were severely ganked in the laning stage and are behind on farm. Troll generally starts jungling when he has made space by pushing the tower of his lane (preferably safe lane) and he has some space to work. He can jungle very quickly and also the ancient creeps should also pose not much of a problem with troll. Remember if you are in a very bad shape just rush a morbid mask and go jungling. This does not mean the afk jungling. Always ward the entrances and look for enemy heroes which may notice you missing and come gank you. Also don't be afraid to use the ultimate while farimng .It's relatively low cooldown and mana cost means you can use it to farm the ancients creeps stack with ease.

Allies and Foes

Allies

Anyone with a great disabling skills or lockdown are the best friends of troll. They are

-Shadow Shaman
-Crystal Maiden
-Vengeful Spirit
-Lion
-Omniknight
-Ogre Magi

Also DPS carries synergize well with Troll due his ultimate.

Foes

Burst magical damage and illusion heroes are his worst nightmares (as troll need to focus on a single target for maximum effect). Never pick troll if the enemy teams has
-Bane
-Faceless Void
-Phantom Lancer
-Lion
-Lina

Conclusion

Its been a pleasure to write this guide. Feel free to add any suggestions or comments for me to improve.