Dota 2 Hero Guide: How to Use Ax

Ax is a hero strength very hard to kill. Not only that, he also has a strong initiation ability and can reverse the attacks he receives on the opponent. This makes Ax a scourge for a team of many heroes melee or being rash with taking a position.

Due to his strong survivability, Ax is often placed as a offlaner in a team. Then if squeezed or need to get gold quickly, he can also do farming in the forest if have one or two items base.

Excess

Have a very strong initiation ability
Tanky alias is very difficult to kill especially from physical attacks
Laner solid and flexible (can move to the forest if needed)

Deficiency

It’s quite difficult to face long range heroes or ranged
Have where limited
Potency damage reduced once entered late game because I don’t have damage physical attack

1. Berserker’s Call

Ax challenges surrounding enemies to beat him. At the same time, he also gets a bonus armor.

Radius: 300
Bonus armor: 30
Duration: 2/2.4/2.8/3.2 seconds
Cooldown: 16/14/12/10 seconds
Where is the cost: 80/90/100/110

Berserker’s Call is one of the important components of Ax in initiating. The affected opponent was forced to attack Ax without being able to do anything. That way Ax’s teammates can freely do follow up. Then because Ax got a bonus armor very high, he barely received damage at all.

The only thing you should pay attention to is that Berserker’s Call has a fairly small radius. So, when using skills In this case, make sure the opponent’s hero is close together so you can lure many opponents at once.

Also read: Understanding the Differences in Armor, Magic Resistance, Damage Block, and Evasion

2. Battle Hunger

Battle Hunger delivers debuff to the opponent who will produce damage per second and slow down movement speed. Ax will also get movement speed for each unit affected by Battle Hunger. The Battle Hunger effect will disappear if the duration runs out or the opponent manages to kill one unit, friend or foe.

Aghanim’s Scepter will make Battle Hunger reduce damage that the target produced, be it damage attack, skills, or items

Distance: 750
Damage per second: 16/24/32/40 per second
Movement speed slow: 12%
Movement speed bonus: 12%
Reduction damage: 30% (if using Aghanim)
Duration: 12 seconds
Cooldown: 20/15/10/5 seconds
Where is the cost: 50/60/70/80

Because you have distance cast far enough away, Battle Hunger can be a good tool to do harass. So hit debuff, the opponent must accept damage or go ahead to get last hits. However, if you advance rashly, your opponent may be provoked by the Berserker’s Call Ax.

To maximize the effect, use skills this is when creeps in lane still healthy or full HP. That way the opponent still receives damage which is quite large even though in the end can get last hits.

In teamfight, skills this also cannot be ignored. Profit movement speed What you get will benefit you, especially when chasing opponents.

3. Counter Helix

When receiving an attack, Ax has the opportunity to respond with a rotating attack that hits nearby enemies.

Radius: 275
Opportunity: 17%/18%/19%20%
Damage: 60/100/140/180
Cooldown: 0.3 seconds

Counter Helix is another component that becomes the Ax initiation tool. Damage produced is pure, which means it cannot be reduced by armor or magic resistance.

When combined with Berserker’s Call, Counter Helix can be skills terrible. Because the more opponents that attack Ax, the greater the chance for Counter Helix to come out many times in a very short time.

4. Culling Blade

Kills your opponent directly if you step on threshold or a certain minimum HP limit. When Ax manages to kill a hero with Culling Blade, he and his surrounding teammates will get a bonus movement and attack speed, and the Culling Blade can be reused immediately. If the opponent’s HP turns out to be more than that limit, the Ax will only generate damage small one.

Aghamin Scepter will make the enemy hero in the area of 700 units of the opponent he kills hit by Battle Hunger (according to the Battle Hunger level at that time).

Distance: 150
Radius buff: 900
Damage: 150/250/300
threshold HP for insta-kill: 250/350/400
Movement speed bonus: 30%
Attack speed bonus: 30
Duration buff: 6 seconds
Cooldown: 75/65/55
Where is the cost: 60/120/180

Culling Blade is finishing blow after a successful initiation. If you get a good Berserker’s Rage initiation and produce enough attacks, Ax can kill one or more enemies quickly. Buff as well as cooldown reset obtained is also very useful for making teamfight keep it running.

Talent Tree

Level 25: +100 damage per second Battle Hunger or +100 AoE Berserker’s Call
Level 20: +20 HP regen or +150 threshold Culling Blade
Level 15: Attacking has a chance to take out the Counter Helix or +2 where is regen
Level 10: +20 movement speed or +25 attack speed

To maximize damage outputmu, maximize Counter Helix as soon as possible. Ax rarely does last hits and it doesn’t have such a strong attack. So source damage Your biggest one is at Counter Helix.

After Counter Helix, max out Berserker’s Call. Although not much, but the additional duration of skills this is quite useful because it can make you earn more damage with Counter Helix.

In between raising the Counter Helix and Berserker’s Call, you may need to take a level of Battle Hunger to take effect. movement speed as well as the ability to do harass. But after one level, leave skills this is after you maximize the Counter Helix and Berserker’s Call.

Build for Ax it’s almost always centered on the idea of making it even more tanky and can withstand as many opponent attacks as possible. Once the match starts, Stout Shield plus standard HP regeneration like Tango and Healing Salve should be enough to keep you alive. Then to complete it you can buy a Ring of Protection which can later be used as Tranquil Boots or Iron Talon.

As an alternative option at the beginning of the game, you can also buy Iron Talon plus Tango. It will help you to earn more last hits, but the risk is that you might find it a little difficult to survive because at the beginning of the game Stout Shield is stronger than armor. Alternatively, you can buy Poor Man’s Shield which is clearly more defensive. Which is the best choice really depends on what you’re dealing with in lane.

Shoes for Ax are almost always Tranquil Boots. The given HP regeneration can make you survive longer. Not only that, Tranquil Boots also allows you to make the transition to the forest if you have to.

Items Your first and foremost is definitely Blink Dagger. You can’t do initiation at all if you don’t have items this. You might be able to buy Vanguard first if you get a lot farm from the start of the game. However, you still have to get the Blink Dagger, and if your team needs it urgently, you should buy it as soon as possible.

After Blink Dagger, your choice depends on matchup or the composition of the opponent’s hero. Blade Mail is a great choice in almost any situation because it synergizes with Berserker’s Call. If your opponent has a lot magic damage, buy Pipe of Insight or BKB. If you need additional mobility, the Force Staff will also be of great help to you.

Many more items survive that you can buy for Ax. Shiva’s Guard, Crimson Guard, or Lotus Orb can be good choices. Just analyze your opponent and buy items exactly according to need.

Your job is to get it as quickly as possible items your first and foremost, especially Blink Dagger. Generally, you will perform this task in the position of offlane.

How easily you can do it really depends on who you are dealing with. If you face lane with a less threatening hero, you can be braver to go forward and get last hits as much as possible. If your opponent is a hero melee, you can even threaten him back with Counter Helix.

Even if you feel confident and can’t be bothered, you can cut creeps. That way apart from getting gold, you also force the opponent to do last hits under tower and have to accept damage from creeps. But because it’s high risk, make sure you can do it safely.

Sometimes, you will get lane which is quite heavy because the opponent can repel or even kill you. This will make gold what you can get is very limited. If this happens, you inevitably have to retreat to the forest, either temporarily or permanently until you get the Blink Dagger.

If you can do farming and determine your priorities well, you should be able to get the Blink Dagger in the range of 10 to 14 minutes. Even if you really need it, you can skip buying Tranquil Boots so you can get the Blink Dagger on time.

Also read: Complete Guide to Playing As Offlaner in Dota 2

Enter mid game, with Blink Dagger, you are required to play more actively. Look for opportunities to do gank and initiate with Blink Dagger. Make sure you bring a teammate or two so you have damage sufficient.

In teamfight, the initiation of Blink Dagger plus Berserker’s Call is also very terrible, whether it’s for initiation or replying to the opponent’s initiation. If you hit multiple targets, you’ll lock up a lot of heroes and give your team time to get close and do follow up. Not to mention the more opponents you provoke, the more likely it is damage that you generate via Counter Helix.

The point is, when doing teamfight nor gank, always pay attention to the position of the opponent. Initiate when opponents are close to each other so you can get the ideal Berserker’s Call.

If you manage to do teamfight or gank who succeeded thanks to your initiation ability, you should be able to do snowball and become a serious threat in the game. But if not, you might have to play a little safe or collect items important other in the forest and do gank once in a while if there is an opponent who out of position. Beyond that, make sure you only do teamfight if the conditions or position are in your team’s favour.

Enter late game, your task remains the same, which is to initiate. But apart from Blade Mail, damage output what you produce is starting to be less significant. But your initiation ability is still very strong because both Berserker’s Call, Counter Helix, and Culling Blade can penetrate immunity.

Make sure you identify your opponent well. Decide who you should and can initiate with the Berserker’s Call and finish it off as quickly as possible. If you can finish off important targets quickly, your team will gain a significant advantage in teamfight. Make sure you communicate with your team about who needs to be initiated and of course how you can do a safe initiation.

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