Work In Progress (A Guide on Alt build Kunkka)

Introducing, the Captain.

Lore: As Admiral of the mighty Claddish Navy, Kunkka was charged with protecting the isles of his homeland when the Demons of the Cataract made a concerted grab at the lands of men. After years of small sorties, and increasingly bold and devastating attacks, the Demon Fleet flung all its carnivorous ships at the Trembling Isle. Desperate, the Suicide-Mages of Cladd committed their ultimate rite, summoning a host of ancestral spirits to protect the fleet. Against the Demons, this was just barely enough to turn the tide. As Kunkka watched the Demons take his ships down one by one, he had the satisfaction of wearing away their fleet with his ancestral magic. But at the battle's peak, something in the clash of demons, men and atavistic spirits must have stirred a fourth power that had been slumbering in the depths. The waves rose up in towering spouts around the few remaining ships, and Maelraun the Tentacular appeared amid the fray. His tendrils wove among the ships, drawing demon and human craft together, churning the water and wind into a raging chaos. What happened in the crucible of that storm, none may truly say. The Cataract roars off into the void, deserted by its former denizens. Kunkka is now Admiral of but one ship, a ghostly rig which endlessly replays the final seconds of its destruction. Whether he died in that crash is anyone's guess. Not even Tidehunter, who summoned Maelraun, knows for sure.

So... Basically Kunkka is a real badass.


I'm an amateur at Dota 2, with only around 400 hours of playtime (if this displeases you, you can stop reading). However, I love number crunching and have had my fair share of guides.

I understand Kunkka is actually a carry/disabler and not really a hard carry.

Note that this is my first guide, and is a work and progress.


Picture from deviantart by th02

Pros and Cons, When to Pick

Pros

-Good initiation
-Good in lane, adaptable
-Good Teamfight
-Farms well
-Cleave can both harss and farm
-Enjoyable

Cons

- Torrent and Ghost Ship need practice in order to land
-May Digress as the game drags on (outcarried)
-Mana issues
-Sort of countered by Black King Bar, depending on your build

When to pick

Pick when...

*Team is lacking teamfight capabilities
*Enemy team has squishy heros
*Enemy team has PA (Cleave proc is 100%, only evaded by

Backtrack)
*Team is lacking carry (this... has happened.)
*Team is lacking of stuns

When NOT to pick

Don't pick when...

*Enemy team has hard disablers (

Bane, Sven,etc.)
*Team needs a support
*Enemy team can burst you down

Skill Build

Kunkka is one heavy hitter.

Tidebringer is cheese (I feel bread and butter is overrated). A giant AOE cleave, and extra damage.

IMPORTANT:

CLEAVE GOES THROUGH BKB, AND CANNOT BE EVADED (except by Backtrack)! THIS MEANS WINDRUNNER AND PHANTOM ASSASSIN WILL DIE!

IMPORTANT:

CLEAVE DAMAGE GOES THROUGH ARMOR! TIDEHUNTER AND BRISTLEBACK WILL DIE! YAY!

This is why we get Daedalus: if the crit procs, then EVERYONE within the cleave takes the crit!

Torrent is a semi-reliable stun, because of its 2 second cast delay (0.6 second cast time, 1.4 second delay). The cooldown is pretty decent at 12 seconds, however the mana cost is high for Kunkka's small mana pool. One part of this skill is overlooked: the 35% slow. At level 4, Torrent can slow the enemy for 4 seconds! Lets say Luna has treads, and therefore has... 380*0.35... 247 movement speed! Lets say you skipped Phase Boots and have... 300 base movespeed. In 4 seconds, you would have advanced 212 extra units, quite enough to finish off Luna. Good for chasing after foes.

X Marks the Spot is your positioning skill. You can use this to "hit and run", where you blink in and try to snag a kill. If you are stunned, X Marks the Spot can get you back to where you were. Also helpful for combos ( X Marks the Spot+ Torrent+Ghost Ship), and saving teammates. Or setting up for ganks.

Bonus!

X Marks the Spot Return cancels channeling spells! Crystal Maiden channeling ult? Witch Doctor channeling Death Ward? Enigmawrecking your tema and you need a to stop him, now (cause torrent's too slow)? Cast X, and X return!

This is why I put a point at 8, where the insane ults come online. Also good for saving your butt.

Ghost Ship is a great teamfight skill. It does 400/500/600 damage in a AOE, as well as a 1.4 second stun. A buff is obtained when the ship passes through you or teammates. It causes you to take 50% damage, which is applied later (in Damage over time), and cannot be fatal. Although it can be used as initiation, it is better for the main initiator to start because it is not always that reliable.

Items

Starting Items
Iron Branch and Tango.
Iron Branches are for stats, especially mana regen. I usually get 2 tangos over 1 tango and 1 salve, however getting a salve is cheaper and generally better.

Early Game
Bracer for the extra damage and tankiness.
Drum of Endurance cause we need that extra speed. Good for catching up to running enemies.
Bottle cause you have partial mana problems, and so that you don't take too much harass during lane.
You can start ganking once you hit 6 and get all these items

Mid Game
Battlefury
Get it to farm, great regen, and for the damage. You can skip it (not recommended) if your rushing Daedalus (just gonna point this out: this item is core for this Hard Carry build, only skip if you're behind or if you're going damage, but not hard carry).
Blink Dagger is the replacement for Shadow Blade. Shadowblade can countered by wards; the extra damage for the first hit is nice, but it doesn't give that many choices in how you gank. Blink dagger can get you into nice positions, where you can easily land a stun or 2 before blinking in and the other team. It's more versatile.
Daedalus
Your core core, get it to crit, and more damage! Buying multiple Daedalus's don't increase your crit damage, but does increase your crit chance and overall damage. You're gonna be attempting to deal as much damage with one hit, so crits are crucial.

Situational

Monkey King Bar is a good item on Kunkka, because it provides nice damage, and PA will just cry.

Edit:

Didn't do my research -.-... Cleave goes through all evasion except Backtrack.

Black King Bar is a solution to many of your disabling foes, e.g. Nyx's Spiked Carapase, Lion combos, etc.

Linken's Sphere gives nice stats, including much needed mana regen and health regen. Because your only going to be in a fight for a few seconds ( Blink Dagger+ X Marks the Spot), Linken's Sphere gurantees you won't get disabled. Kinda. Also good against (again) Lion, because it basically messes up his combo.

Urn of Shadows MAY be considered core, because of the mana regen and because your gonna have a lot of dying people around you. Just make sure your teammates don't also have one.

Friends and the Foes

Friends

- Crystal Maiden helps with your mana problems, even though you are soloing mid. Frost Bite locks enemies in place for your combo, and her ultimate works well with your stuns.


- Warlock is good because he can set up your combo by using his ult, as well as slowing them with Upheaval.


- Bane is also good because Nightmare is a good setup for your torrent and ship.


- Magnus is one of the best characters with Kunkka - Empower is basically Battlefury, and gives extra damage. Reverse Polarity brings them all together, perfect for setting up your combo.


- Dark Seer's Vacuum also enables you to land your stuns, and surge is good for getting in and out of tight situations.


- Disruptor also has sort of the same effect as Dark Seer, only it keeps them IN. His silence also helps VERY well, because it prevents enemies from silencing and disabling YOU.


- Rubick's Telekinesis provides a nice setup for your stuns. Even better if he steals another! Null Field also helps with your survivability.
-Special Mention: Sven as support. This is because Sven's Ult, when coupled with Aghanim's Scepter, provides you with 90% extra damage.

Foes

- Rubick is a friend, and a foe. This is because he can weaken you by using Fade Bolt, and steal your spells.


- Bane is your bane! Enfeeble weakens you damage by a lot! His (its?) ultimate is a huge disable! Nightmare locks you in place! Oh no!


- Vengeful Spirit haunts you. If you kill her, Vengence Aura gets back at you. Wave of Terror makes you more vulnerable, and Nether Swap really screws up your positioning.


- Lifestealer's Rage makes your stuns useless, and it's incredibly hard to 1v1 this eating machine.


- Nyx Assassin can shut you down. Mana Burn really hurts, and when he hits 6, he'll be coming for you. Suddenly your down to half health, and when you try to fight? Spiked Carapace comes up and you just DIE.


- Tidehunter... ugh. Anchor Smash reduces your damage, makes it impossible to last hit, and Kraken Shell absorbs too much damage. Gush also prevents you from running. Consider changing lanes. Now.

In a sense, Kunkka is countered by diables. And tanks.

Thanks

To anyone who commented.

Cause I knew the internet ruins me.
And I still made this guide.

Thanks to caine1232 for pointing out Bane is also a friend.

Thanks to Keep Calm And Feed for pointing out that this guide is ****, and that my passion for Dota and my creditably was completely decimated in one guide. Also, I don't play him in pub matches a lot, that's all.

Thanks to Kody for teaching me how to code, and I must say, this is an alternative build guide.

And yes, the first time I wrote this guide I was bored. Took me 30 minutes. Nice guess, by the way. Apologies.

Don't take me wrong, some parts of me still like the original.

But apparently the public doesn't.
So.
I'm changing it.
Until then:

Comment below, constructive criticism is encouraged!