Kunkka's Magic Sword- A Quick Guide

Hello...

This is the first time I've ever made a guide on DotaFire, for one of my favorite heroes, the Admiral. Kunkka is a powerhouse Strength hero with the capability to do huge cleave damage with Tidebringer. His cleave ignores all armor, so those high-agility heroes that rely on armor to stay alive are gonna get steamrolled. When you get Daedalus and a Divine Rapier rolling, cleaves can get ridiculous. Entire teams can be wiped out halfway through a teamfight with a lucky cleave, and with the initiation, slow, and stun you get from Torrent and Ghost Ship, plus the chasing powers of X Marks the Spot, most things won't be getting away. Invisibles are still vulnerable to Tidebringer, and you can't escape an X Marks the Spot by going invisible, meaning you can Tidebring them again!

Pros and Cons

Pros +Huge AoE Damage +Tanky +Carry +Can Initiate +Cleave Damage with Tidebringer +Fun +Crit Cleaves can kill enemies in fog +Ignores armor and can ignore many forms of escape +If played right, can dodge skillshots with X Marks the Spot +Can jungle like a boss

Cons -No escape without Shadow Blade -Hard to land skills -Item reliant -Scales slower in the late game -Low mana pool -Less potent in one-on-ones in the river (He's a saltwater man)

Skills

Torrent deals damage and knocks up after a delay in a small AoE. The units hit then are slowed. They can be attacked while knocked up. It's hard to land, so take some time practicing landing it. You can use X Marks the Spot to help land those Torrents. Torrent is used to keep the enemy immobile while taking damage from the team, Tidebringer, and autoattacks, and the slow is good for keeping the enemy around for one last cleave. Don't forget, if you're good, you can catch a running enemy in the fog and kill them, due to ridiculous range.

Tidebringer is the main damage dealer of Kunkka. The damage done on autoattack is boosted, and cleaves the area in a huge AoE in front of him. The cleave ignores armor, so does more damage than the autoattack itself, barring a Desolator or other negative armor debuffs. Use it whenever you can. Be cautious of Blade Mail Later in the game, as a good cleave will kill you as well as several others!

X Marks the Spot is an interesting chase and escape skill, sending a unit back 1/2/3/4 seconds to a specified point. Useful for landing a Ghost Ship or Torrent. The recall length gets longer as it levels, so at certain points, can be beneficial to leave at lower levels. This is Kunkka's only targeting skill.

Ghost Ship

Kunkka's ghostly crew comes riding in the Ghost Ship to stun and damage enemies in a huge AoE, hard to predict, and sometimes hard to land properly. Opening with a good initiator like Ravage can make landing this less of a chore. Fire off the boat, land a Cleave, then, before the stun dies, Torrent then cleave again. Free Kills!

Take Tidebringer first. This will let you harass cleanly in lane, keeping pressure on the enemy, hopefully hitting both the enemy laners. Be careful, though, as Tidebringer WILL push your lane, so be sure to last hit and deny. Try to get your support to deny a bit earlier, to keep your lane under your tower, or at t least at the river. This will take some coordination, but is doable with a good support. DOES NOT WORK IN PUBS BECAUSE PUBS IS SELFISH. Harrass as much as you can with Tidebringer, but not with Torrent. Save it for when the enemy Ursa gets cocky and tries to harass. Have your support stun, then land Torrent. Tidebringer a creep to get the bonus damage and armor pen, and dry to get that vital first blood. Remember, both Torrent and Tidebringer have ridiculous range, and I've gotten lucky kills with them just by staying at the creep clash and landing Tidebringer. Kills in fog are best kills.
X Marks the Spot is interesting. It works very similar to Glimpse, but in my eyes is superior. By taking two levels at ten and twelve, but leaving the rest for the end, you can save mana and land perfect Torrents. X Marks, then Torrent. They get teleported onto the Torrent hitbox, almost every time, no recall activation needed.
Ghost Ship is our initiator, the easy way of coming in and dominating that gank. Make sure you can figure out how to land a Ship, because you're gonna get flak if you miss. Does damage and stuns, lets you land a Torrent and at least two Tidebringers. Take it whenever you can.

Items

At spawn, we take Stout Shield and a Gauntlets of Strength, plus Tangos to stay in lane as long as possible, harassing and earning gold. The Shield will end up as Vanguard, so keep it around. STAY IN LANE.

Early you take components of core. I usually don't play with pure early game items, as Kunkka's mid game is relatively cheap. Crystalys should be first, then the Vanguard. Take the Ring of Health before Vitality Booster. This is when Kunkka get's tanky.
At this point, if mana problems are starting to show, then nab a Soul Ring.
Build Shadow Blade next. The 150 backstab damage shouldn't be ignored, as it spreads on Tidebringer. Hit a creep and the hero dies. The invisibility should only be played offensive on squishy heroes, otherwise save for escapes.
If your team mas a Clinkz and a Riki, and the other team has a Jakiro and a Silencer, don't bother with Shadow Blade. Instead, take a Battle Fury.
Daedalus is next. Crits now can hit around 1200 damage, and the mid-late game has begun...

But let's say things have taken a turn for the worst, and your lanes are pushed and you're out of gold. Drum of Endurance gives you needed regen and even attack speed. You can't rely entirely on cleaves anymore, and there needs to be consistent damage out.
Ring of Aquila is also viable as it helps creeps push the level i and two towers much easier. It also gives vital stats and regen.
I put Sange and Yasha here because the components are cheap. While not cost efficient, it can be put together piece by pitiful piece.
Extensions are somewhat standard. Stacking Battle Fury is fun if you're really killing and need some sustain, and you can make every hit a crit with multiple Daedalus. But, obviously, prioritize Heart of Tarrasque. Once you have that, the game is over. Teamfights end with you near full, picking up broken pieces of Rapiers and Gems and finishing the game. Black King Bar is another obvious defensive extension, giving magic immunity for landing perfect cleaves and Torrents, while you laugh in Lina's now saltwater covered face. Blade Mail for the likes of Drow Ranger and Ursa, or Gem of True Sight for Phantom Lancer and Riki are also situational.

Friends and Foes

Friends

Foes

Summary and Changelog

This has been a quick guide to Kunkka. The Admiral is a true master of AoE damage, taking down everything with his magic sword. Make sure to comment, and I may make changes depending on comments and reception. Thanks for reading, I guess.






12/27/13-1.0.0- Guide created