TUSKAR GUIDE (by P0larBear)

  • Tittle: Punch Em In The Face!
  • Author: P0larBear
Tuskar Dota

Pros:
  • Very good ganker/initiator
  • Synergizes well with a lot of heroes
  • Strong at every phase of the game
  • Can breathe underwater
Cons:
  • Mana problems
  • Partner dependant
  • Item dependant
  • Fat


Hero's Skills

 Ice Shards
Tuskarr compresses 5 shards of ice into a ball of frozen energy that damages all enemies in comes in contact with. If the ball comes in contact with an enemy hero or reaches its maximum range the shards are released, creating a barrier that lasts for 5 seconds. 
  • Level 1 - 70 damage
  • Level 2 - 140 damage
  • Level 3 - 210 damage
  • Level 4 - 280 damage
  • Cooldown: 18/16/14/12
  • Manacost: 120
  • Area of Effect: 200
  • Damage type : magical
  • The maximum range of the shards is 1600.
  • The shards create an unpassable barrier once released. 
 Snowball
Tuskarr and any nearby allied heroes roll in a quickly growing snowball towards the target enemy unit. Any victims caught in the snowball's path take damage and are briefly stunned; the final target takes 40 extra damage and 0.25 extra stun duration. 
  • Level 1 - 40 (+40 for the main target) 
  • Level 2 - 80 (+40 for the main target) 
  • Level 3 - 120 (+40 for the main target) 
  • Level 4 - 160 (+40 for the main target) 
  • Cooldown: 40
  • Manacost: 75
  • Area of Effect: 200+40 per second
  • Stun Duration: 0.25/0.5/0.75/1 (+0.25 for the main target)
  • Main ganking and initiating skill. Takes nearby allies with you. This skill synergizes well with lots of heros.
  • Damage type : magical
  • The speed of the snowball is equal to the Tuskars MS plus %50 of the other heroes MS.
  • If Tuskarr is alone in the snowball, its speed is equal to 150% of Tuskarr's speed.
  • Illusions will not roll into the snowball, but Meepo clones will.
  • The snowball stops chasing its target after 3 seconds.
  • The snowball can cross cliffs and will destroy trees. 
 Frozen Sigil
Tuskarr summons a Frozen Sigil by calling upon the deepest cold of winter. The Sigil creates a snowstorm which slows all enemy units within 600 range. 
  • Level 1 - Slows movement speed by 10%, attack speed by 30%
  • Level 2 - Slows movement speed by 15%, attack speed by 40%
  • Level 3 - Slows movement speed by 20%, attack speed by 50%
  • Level 4 - Slows movement speed by 25%, attack speed by 60%
  • Cooldown: 50
  • Manacost: 75
  • Duration: 30
  • Dont let the enemies kill it! It gives a lot of gold.
  • The Sigil will automatically follow Tuskarr if no order is given to it.
  • The Sigil flies, has a 310 MS, 220/240/260/280 HP, a 400/400 vision, and gives a 90/100/110/120 gold bounty. 
 Walrus Punch
Tuskarr prepares his mighty Walrus Punch; his next attack will do a critical strike and launch the victim into the air. The victim will be slowed upon landing and take damage. 
  • Level 1 - 2.5x (4x) Critical 
  • Level 2 - 2.5x (4x) Critical 
  • Level 3 - 2.5x (4x) Critical
  • Cooldown: 30/24/18 
  • Manacost: 50/75/100
  • Air Duration 1
  • Slow Duration 2/3/4
  • Damage type : physical 
  • The skill deals physical damage, then throws the target in air for 1 second and then slows for %40 for 2/3/4 seconds.
  • Walrus Punch cannot miss.
  • If you don't land an attack against a valid target in the next 10 seconds, Walrus Punch ends.
IMPORTANT: If you use this skill at an enemy, whose HP is lower than %50, it hits 4x cri. Even though it has a short cooldown, dont initiate with this skill!



Hero's Skill Build
  • Level 1 - Snowball 1
  • Level 2 - Ice Shards 1
  • Level 3 - Ice Shards 2
  • Level 4 - Snowball 2
  • Level 5 - Ice Shards 3
  • Level 6 - Walrus Punch 1
  • Level 7 - Ice Shards 4
  • Level 8 - Snowball 3
  • Level 9 - Snowball 4
  • Level 10 - Frozen Sigil 1
  • Level 11 - Walrus Punch 2
  • Level 12 - Frozen Sigil 2
  • Level 13 - Frozen Sigil 3
  • Level 14 - Frozen Sigil 4
  • Level 15 - Stats 1
  • Level 16 - Walrus Punch 3
  • Level 17+ - Stats 2-10
Skill Build Justification:
  • Snowball is obviously taken first for first blood attempts. 
  • Ice Shards maxed first, because damage increase is bigger compared to Snowball. Snowball also has a looong cooldown (40 sec). Ice Shards is more spammable. 0.25 second stun increase is not important.
  • Some people can say that Frozen Sigil should be taken earlier. The AS reduction may come handy but at Early Game nukes are more important then normal attack. You also have mana problems, dont make it worse.
  • Walrus Punch is taken whenever available.
Alternative Skill Build
  • Level 1 - Snowball 1
  • Level 2 - Ice Shards 1
  • Level 3 - Ice Shards 2
  • Level 4 - Stats 1
  • Level 5 - Ice Shards 3
  • Level 6 - Walrus Punch 1
  • Level 7 - Ice Shards 4
  • Level 8 - Frozen Sigil 1
  • Level 9 - Frozen Sigil 2
  • Level 10 - Frozen Sigil 3
  • Level 11 - Walrus Punch 2
  • Level 12 - Frozen Sigil 4
  • Level 13 - Stats 2
  • Level 14 - Stats 3
  • Level 15 - Stats 4
  • Level 16 - Walrus Punch 3
  • Level 17-22 - Stats 5-10
  • Level 23-25 - Snowball
Skill Build Justification:
  • This is an alternative skill build "thanks to phantom146". I tried it and it works. Not recommended for newbies because the stun from the Snowball remains 0.5, which makes it hard to land your skills. Getting Frozen Sigil earlier drastically increases your combat effiency (%60 AS early game is really much) and the MS slow prevents the enemy from running away. The only problems are the high mana cost of this build and if Snowball gets too big, the stun will be over before the Snowball disperses, which will cause your enemy to escape just by running away.


Hero's Item Build

To Start With:
 /  or  or 
  • Item Build Justification:Grab three branches for cheap stats and later for a magic wand. One salve and a tango for healing. Take a QB if you dont have the control of the lane. Take a Stick if you want to play more aggresively. Normally heroes like Chen or Rylai buy the ward. You should just place. But if they dont buy one by yourself instead of QB.
Core Build
  • You have enough slows. You have enough base movement speed. You benefit from damage well, but power treads gives you stats and some AS which you so badly need.
  • Branches upgraded to wand. Some people said that you should skip Urn and Bottle for an early armlet. GET A BOTTLE BEFORE ARMLET! You are a ganker which needs mana. Without bottle, you cannot gank.
  • Janggo is a very good item for gankers. Mainly, use it after Snowballing to chase the enemy more easily. Its MS and AS boost is AoE, so it synergies with Snowball well. In rare situations, you can use it before Snowball to increase Snowballs speed, if the Snowball normally cannot catch enemy in 3 seconds. Use it while escaping to boost MS. Janggo+Sigil makes you almost unchaseable. The stats are very nice too.
  • Armlet is a really good option. It gives you cheap HP and damage. You are an initiator so you need HP. Your Ultimate hits critical. Armlet gives you both (insane HP and damage) only for 2600 gold. Absolute core.
  • Tuskar is a ganker and its gankers role to ward.
Extensions

 IMPORTANT: The cleave and your ultimate STACKS. After armlet, you have enough HP and should aim damage items. BFury gives you +65 damage for only 4400 gold. It also gives you mana regeneration which you lack and cleave helps you to farm between ganks. 

 VS  
  • Desolator gives +60 damage and -6 armor. You are aiming to get damage and Armor Reduction boosts your damage output. Desolator gives you BOTH.
  • On the other hand, Satanic, can also be an option. Desolator is a glass cannon item, which means it doesnt gives any EHP (EHP is boosted by armor or HP or evasion). As an initiator you also need EHP. The lifesteal it gives is the best in the game. Even though lifesteal is not your first priority, it helps you a lot.
  • RESULT: It depends on your role in the game. If you are the damage dealer and no one in your team has a Desolator, get Desolator. If one of your teammates has a Desolator (-6 Armor doesnt stack from multiple Desolators) and you need more survivability instead of damage, get Satanic.
 This item is actually a situational item but I wanted to put it after Satanic. If you bought Satanic instead of Desolator, this is a useful item (You wont be upgrading it to Skadi). If you are having difficulties chasing enemies, get this item.

 Assault Cuirass is a very good item on Tuskar. So far you should have insane damage but low AS. It gives you %40+15 AS. Its -5 Armor Aura synergizes well with your ultimate and the auras are a good support for your team. It also increases your EHP greatly, because you have 2000+ HP.

 If there is a hero with evasion skills or Butterfly you need this item. Yes, Walrus Punch doesnt miss, but you also need your auto attack. It is the item which gives most damage (+88) in the game (except Divine) by the way.

 This item should only be bought in late game. This item gives three things: 
  • Raw HP (~1000)
  • Damage (+35)
  • Regenaration (%2 HP/sec)
You are only interested in HP because there are better alternatives for damage and regenaration will not aid you in combat, which is the only important thing that you do in late game. To sum up, you buy this item if you need more survivability and wouldnt say no to a little bit damage.

Situational Items
Ursa Warrior DotA HeroPhantom Assassin DotA HeroBone Fletcher DotA Hero +  = 
  • If a burst damage hero like Mortred, Clinkz or Ursa farmes too much, the only way to counter them is Blademail. Mortred can still chop through you with Satanic though. Otherwise a cheap item which can only bought for its nice damage, Int and armor boost if you have a fetish with spikes. 
 If your team has a lot of hard carries and needs disables, but lack them, get this item. Endless mana supply and good stats, but of course 3.5 second hex.

 The armor increases your EHP greatly and unlimited mana. The Arctic Blast is the main purpose of buying this item which is a AoE Nuke&Slow. Helps greatly in team clashes.

 If the opposite team has a lot of disablers or if all of them farmed Sheepstick AND if they seem to have taken a liking to you, buy this. Summary: Very, very situational item.

 One of the coolest items in game. Even though it synergizes well with your skills, I didnt put it to the Extensions, because it is situational (means I am gonna use a lot of "if"). If the game didnt go well, (either you followed this guide and it sucks or you suck or the opposing team is uber pro) or if the opposing team has a lot of Invisible heroes, (Gondar, Rikimaru, Treant etc) buy this item. Str boost is huge and Int bonus is always welcomed.

 IF (it is gonna be over soon) the opposing team is taking care of your team with AoE nukes (Crystal Maiden, Thrall etc) AND if there is no natural Hood carriers in your team (Axe, Centaur etc) buy this item.

 This newly introduced item reduces enemy armor temporarily. It is a pretty good setup for your ganks and your ultimate.

Rejected Items

 There is a reason why this item is rejected: Stacking - When two Critical Strikes proc at the same time only the last acquired will work, a skill is considered acquired when the first level is learned, and an item is considered acquired when it's picked up.The red number shown by Critical Strike is displayed before reductions (this is why images don't show very low red numbers) 

 I thought it was necessary to put Aghanim to Rejected ones, because someone mentioned it in comments. Its Simple: Doesnt work with Tuskar.

 I know you are a burst damage hero, but Dagon really is useless on you. You have some nice slows, a bash, a ultimate which hits with Cri, why buy Dagon instead of physical DPS items?

 Even though you have mana problems in early game, your mana pool is enough in mid-late game. You are not a spammer and your skills dont use much mana. If you want raw HP, go buy a HoT, or maybe you dont need raw HP?

 MoM should not be bought on Tuskar. Yes, it gives life steal to balance armlet, yes it gives AS which Tuskar lacks, and yes it gives MS which helps you chase. The only problem with this item is extra damage taken. The extra damage also limits the lifesteal of this item. As an initiator, you must have some EHP. MoM drastically reduces your EHP. For attack speed there is Assault and for lifesteal Satanic. As the game goes on it, this item loses effectiveness and in the end it just becomes a burden.

 Money is not the meaning of life. But rolling in a Snowball with 4 of your friends towards an unsuspecting victim is.

 Gives too little damage and AS boost for 3300 gold. Invisible Break Damage Bonus doesnt stack with Walrus Punch and you do not desperately need the wind walk it gives thanks to Frozen Sigil.



Hero's Strategy

Early Game
Tuskar shouldnt start roaming at level 1. He is not a roamer like Vengeful Spirit or Tidehunter. He actually is item dependant, so he must also farm. In early game, try to have a strong lane control and lasthit creeps. With a well combo, you can dominate the lane with 2 melee heroes. DO NOT leave the lane. You shouldnt start ganking for now. You should place wards to increase your teams map awareness. Check the hero synergy part for a strong lane combination. 

Mid Game
This part is where you truly shine. (Shining Walrus. Kinda funny.) If you bought Boots, Bottle and Wand you should start ganking with your partner. You can also gank alone but it will not be very effective. Use Urn and Bottle to heal after ganks. Use Snowball to initiate and Ice Shards to prevent them from escaping. Finish with Walrus Punch. Your main role is not farming, but you can farm between ganks. It is important that you gank the enemy teams CARRYs. Killing Ezalor 10 times may make your score look good, but killing enemy Traxex 3 times will help your team more. Because Ezalor wont be a problem in late game, but Traxex will.

Late Game
In team clashes your main role will be to AoE slow with Frozen Sigil and take a bit damage. Use Walrus Punch on the enemies carry to kill, or at least to disable them. If a clash is not going well, use Snowball to flee with your whole team (Target a neutral creep). This is an advanced technique, but if you can use Ice Shards to seperate the teammates of the opposite team, you will greatly increase your chance to win the clash. I will try to put an screenshot about that.

Edited by basicdotaguide.blogspot.com