Dota 2 Tidehunter Guide

Drown your enemies in the unforgiving tides and scream ‘Kunkka’ with this detailed Dota 2 Tidehunter Guide of your favorite leviathan

Beware, land dwellers, as the lumbering leviathan Tidehunter brings the rage of the sea and impales you with ravaging tendrils.  

Tidehunter is a melee Strength Hero who starts with a massive 714 HP and a decent 291 Mana. He is also fast and tanky, with 300 movement speed, 2.5 armor and 3.0 Strength gain, but has a mediocre attack damage of 55. 

The leviathan Tidehunter is easy to play, with his skill sets giving him immense teamfight contribution. His HP and armor also give him high sustainability and durability. He is packed with powerful disables and debuffs that slow, stun and reduce the attack damage of any who dares to fast this sea monster. Furthermore, his thick shell allows him to block a large amount of damage before removing all negative status effects. With the right items, Tidehunter will always cause fear for enemies planning to take a teamfight. 

Abilities

It’s time to practice, hone our skills, and hunt down our foes, especially Kunkka.

• Gush – “Rip tide!”. Tidehunter gushes raging tides at the enemy target, damaging them for up to 260 damage (360 with level 15 talent) and reducing their movement speed by up to 40% (50% with level 10 talent) and armor by up to 6. The debuff lasts for 4.5 seconds. This ability can be upgraded with Aghanim’s Scepter.
  • Aghanim's Scepter Upgrade– Gush becomes a ground-target ability with a 7-second cooldown that creates a wave with a radius of 260 and a travel distance of 2200. Every enemy unit hit by the wave is damaged and debuffed.

• Kraken Shell – “I could eat a plesiosaur”. Tidehunter's ever-growing and strengthening thick hide passively blocks incoming physical attack damage by up to 70 (110 with level 20 talent). When reaching a damage threshold of the lowest of 450, Kraken Shell debuffs the leviathan, removing negative status effects before starting a reset timer of 7 seconds.

• Anchor Smash – “Amphibious assault!”. Tidehunter swings his massive anchor around himself, damaging every enemy unit in a 375 radius. He deals an instant attack of his base damage with a bonus of up to 180 (230 with level 10 talent) and reduces enemy attack damage by up to 60% (85% with level 15 talent) for 6 seconds.

• Ravage – “Ravaged!”. Tidehunter slams the ground with deadly force, erupting tentacles around him, traveling outwards to impale all enemy units around him in a 1250 maximum radius. All units impaled are stunned for 2.4 seconds (3.2 with level 25 talent) and are damaged for up to 450. It can be upgraded by Aghanim’s Shard, which grants Tidehunter the Dead in the Water ability.
  • Dead in the Water (Aghanim’s Shard Upgrade) – “You're sunk!”. Tidehunter throws a chain that latches onto an enemy Hero for 10 seconds. If the enemy moves beyond 350 units, they are slowed down to 100 movement speed and drags the anchor behind them. The chain deals 200 damage, removes invisibility, provides fog of war vision and can be broken with 5 Hero attacks.

Talents

• Level 10 – +10% Gush Slow or +50 Anchor Smash Damage
• Level 15 – +25% Anchor Smash Damage Reduction or +100 Gush Damage
• Level 20 – +4 Kraken Shell Damage Block per Anchor Smash Kill or Anchor Smash affects buildings
• Level 25 – 50% chance of Anchor Smash on attack or +0.8s Ravage Stun Duration

Dota 2 Tidehunter Guide – Tips 

Tidehunter is extremely difficult to take down as his Kraken Shell reduces incoming physical damage and debuffs him. His abilities are packed with disables and debuffs to help his allies quickly neutralize enemies. His Kraken Shell and Anchor Smash allows him to easily lane and farm jungle camps. Finally, picking up some AoE (Area of Effect) and aura-based items or mobility items like Blink Dagger, further amplifying his teamfight capabilities.

Tidehunter is usually played as an Offlane, as his ability to withstand and dish out damage helps him lane alone with ease. He can quickly farm up mid-game items with early levels in Anchor Smash (for easy last-hitting and denying) or Kraken Shell (for tough and aggressive lane opponents) without much fear of feeding.

A well-farmed Tidehunter can change the course of the battle, as his abilities can stun, slow and debuff enemies constantly. Getting an Aghanim’s Scepter is a staple choice in pro games, as the massive AoE boost of Gush annihilates enemy Heroes and creep waves with ease during teamfights and pushes. With some durability-boosting items, Tidehunter is almost unkillable even throughout long teamfights. 

Dota 2 Tidehunter – Pros and Cons

Here are the greatest strengths and weaknesses that make Sven the Rogue Night.

Pros:

• Devastating teamfight abilities 
• Packed with disables and debuffs
• Hard to disable and kill
• Flexible playstyle and itemization

Cons:

• Dependent on levels
• Dependent on Ravage for teamfights
• Low damage output without items
• Very Mana-dependant in early-game
• Kraken Shell does not dispel everything

How to play Tidehunter

This short guide will allow you to get acquainted with Tidehunter and his playstyle so you may fully utilize his arsenal of the deeps. 

Starting Items

You do not have much to fear in the laning phase, and a Tango, Healing Salve and an emergency Mango should be enough. Get a few Iron Branches to help with cheap attributes that will increase your health and damage.  

If you are facing a lane with spell-spamming opponents like Bristleback, Batrider, etc., it is advised to pick up a Magic Stick, as the burst heal will keep you alive. 

Early Game

When playing Tidehunter, head into the offlane with one goal – be a nuisance to the enemy carry. Get in your last hits and denies, and spam your Anchor Smash wisely, as you do not have Mana to spare. Get Arcane Boots and work towards a Drum of Endurance as it gives you attributes that improve your Mana problems and enhances your mobility.  

If you have a good lane, save money to rush for a Blink Dagger, as it will  improve your teamfight initiation abilities. Furthermore, picking up an Aghanim’s Shard adds one more disruption to your ability kit, giving you a strong disable outside your Ravage. 

Mid Game

With some levels, Tidehunter can easily farm up his mid-game items. If you are an aura-carrier, get Drums Of Endurance or Mekansm, or start building up to your Pipe of Insight. If you have difficulties saving up for a Blink Dagger, a Force Staff is also a good choice, as it assists your mobility and gives you extra Intelligence. 

If you have your early Blink Dagger, try to get your Greaves next, as you will probably be the initiator for most teamfights. Work towards building your Aghanim’s Scepter as soon as possible. During the mid-game, it is crucial for you to create some teamfights that will shift the tide in your favor, so do not be shy to call for some smoke ganks. Push, teamfight, Roshan, repeat.

Late Game

Late-game is where Tidehunter’s tool kit will be most utilized, as you will have your Aghanim’s Shard, Aghanim’s Scepter, Blink Dagger and Guardian Greaves, making you a walking menace. With the spoils of every victory, try to work towards a Refresher Orb, as a double Ravage will have devastating consequences for the enemy team. Items like Meteor Hammer and Shiva’s Guard help improve your AoE impact during teamfights.

If you are facing issues with your durability in teamfights, Heart of Tarrasque offers the perfect solution. In case of a core build, you could also have a Radiance, as it assists you in taking hits and chasing down enemies. The AoE burn and miss chance both help you cause havoc in teamfights and force your enemies to focus more of their spells on you than your carry. At this game stage, you must stick with your team and push for high ground, spamming your abilities to ensure enemies do not dare come too close.

Dota 2 Tidehunter Counter

Here are some Heroes who are as annoying to face as Tidehunter and make life difficult for this leviathan. 

• Ursa – His Fury Swipes can strip away Tidehunter’s defenses, as Anchor Smash and Kraken Shell do not reduce the damage or dispel the stacks. His Enrage also dispels the debuffs from Gush and with Aghanim’s Scepter, can also dispel Ravage’s stun.
  

• Slark – His Dark Pact dispels all the debuffs Tidehunter has to offer from his Gush, Anchor Smash and even if timed correctly, Ravage’s stun. Kraken Shell cannot dispel attributes stolen by his Essence Shift and the leash that connects with his Pounce, making both effective against Tidehunter.
  

• Juggernaut– His Blade Fury can be used to dispel and dodge every one of Tidehunter’s abilities, including his Ravage. It is also a great tool to harass in the lane, as Kraken Shell does not mitigate Spell Damage. Finally, Kraken Shell offers no protection against his Omnislash and Swiftslash, making him capable of killing Tidehunter with relative ease.
  

• Outworld Destroyer – His Astral Imprisonment devastates Tidehunter’s low mana pool. Furthermore, his Arcane Orb and Sanity’s Eclipse deal pure and magical damage, making Kraken Shell useless against him. 

Conclusion

We regularly come out with guides for favorite Heroes, so remember to watch for more. KUNKKAAAAA.