Kunkka is a carry hero with very powerful spells who is usually played in the mid lane. His most unique spell is probably Tidebringer, which allows him to splash his attack to all enemies behind the enemy, dealing full damage to them. Through purchasing several damage items, he is able to deal immense amounts of damage to the entire enemy team when positioned well. His other spells allow him to burst down enemies down very quickly through the mid game and easily allows him to get solo kills. His ultimate ability has a very low cooldown, deals massive damage and allows his allies to delay 50% of any incoming damage for several seconds which makes Kunkka invaluable to his teammates in team-fights. He can be quite hard to master, since it can be quite hard to learn the timing between X Marks the Spot and Torrent/Ghosthip.
Kunkka’s item build is quite flexible, although he only needs a few specific items to be very powerful. Kunkka is a very fast-paced hero who is very enjoyable to play due to his low cooldown spells and ability to get solo-kills when played well. He can be played as a roaming support, and in these cases, it’s better to prioritize skilling Torrent and X Marks the Spot as well as purchasing utility items such as Glimmer Cape and Aether Lens.
@ Valve
[/column]Kunkka Skill Build
- Tidebringer
- Torrent
- Tidebringer
- X Marks the Spot
- Tidebringer
- Ghostship
- Tidebringer
- X Marks the Spot
- X Marks the Spot
- Talent
- X Marks the Spot
- Ghostship
- Torrent
- Torrent
- Talent
- Torrent
- –
- Ghostship
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After a short delay, a torrent of water shoots up from the ground, lifting all enemies in the area, dealing damage and stunning enemies. Upon landing, enemies are slowed for several seconds. Torrent is usually maxed lastly because Kunkka’s other spells provide more utility. Only one point is skilled in the early game so that you have a stun to combo with when your get Ghostship at level 6.
The damage is dealt over time, and the slow duration begins at the same time as the stun. Enemies cannot see where you placed the Torrent, but they will be able to see Kunkka’s casting animation. However, he will not point in the direction he cast it either. It can be good to harass enemies with Torrent during the laning phase by placing Torrent where they are likely to last-hit creeps from.
Kunkka’s next attack will cleave in a massive area behind the enemy, dealing full damage to them in addition to bonus damage. This spell should be maxed firstly because it allows you to farm faster and harass your opponent more effectively. If you attack an allied unit with auto-cast toggled, you will still benefit from the extra damage but you will not splash. Due to the nature of this spell, it’s better to build items which increase your damage but not necessarily your attack speed.
Using Tidebringer during the laning phase will push the lane out, but this is often not really a problem since the enemy is also virtually guaranteed to take a fair amount of harass damage whenever you attack which makes it a bit safer to move away from your tower. Try to use Tidebringer mostly on the enemy ranged creep so that you don’t push your lane out if you’re in a dangerous lane. Don’t forget that you can always manipulate the positioning of the creeps by clicking on the enemy hero while you’re stood near the creep-wave and moving away.
You should also try to push the creep-wave out before the runes spawn so that you can control them to gain another advantage over your opponent. Tidebringer ignores armor on splashed targets, which makes it much more effective when splashed off of a creep or a squishy hero with low armor. If you strike an enemy through invisibility or through the Fog of War, you will see the splash effect, which can be a good indicator on where they are stood which can help you to land a Torrent or Ghostship to finish off an enemy on low health.
Kunkka marks the target unit’s location with an X and after several seconds or when Kunkka toggles this spell again, the unit is returned to the X. The duration lasts twice as long on allied units. This spell is primarily used by casting it on yourself to allow you to move close to enemies without risking your life and to chain a Torrent and Ghostship combo with. X Marks the Spot is usually maxed lastly because it’s less effective than Torrent and Tidebringer are at getting kills in the early and mid game.
The spell cancels channeled spells upon returning the unit but it can be avoided by turning invulnerable or spell immune. There is a slight delay upon casting return before the unit is returned which needs to be taken into account when trying to time Torrent/Ghostship with it. You can use X Marks the spot on yourself or an ally to teleport back to base to purchase an item or to heal up. You can do this at any point in the game, so try to carry a Town Portal Scroll on you at all times. The spell has a very short cast range at level one, so try not to rely on getting close to enemies to get kills.
It can be used quite effectively on your allies as well in various different ways. For example, you can use it on a carry before pushing a tower and use it to return them to safety if they are gone on. Similarly, it can be used to scout dangerous areas and to allow your allies to dive to get kills with a means to quickly escape. An overall great spell with a high skill ceiling that only the best Dota 2 players will truly master.
@ Valve
Kunkka summons a Ghostship to sail across the battlefield, granting all allies it passes with The Admiral’s Rum and eventually smashing into the ground, dealing massive damage and stunning enemies. The Admiral’s Rum increases movement speed and delaying a percentage of incoming damage. This damage is dealt slowly over time and is not fatal. Aghanim’s Scepter causes the Ghostship to drag all enemies towards the crash site. However, enemies are not disabled for this duration.
Ghostship has a very low cooldown and relatively low mana-cost which makes it very spammable in the early game, giving you a massive amount of solo-kill potential. Try to get as many allies under the effects of The Amiral’s Rum, it is arguably just as important a factor of the ultimate as the damage and stun is. It may even be worth casting it in such a way that it affects all of your allies and perhaps only one enemy.
The extra damage is almost always a stronger talent. By itself, it is a large amount of damage, but it also makes Tidebringer far more impactful, as it will deal the bonus damage to every enemy in the cleave area. Even if you’re playing against a lineup with lots of physical damage, the bonus damage will help you to carry more effectively. Kunkka doesn’t usually stand near the front lines anyway, which means he won’t usually be the most easily targetable hero for the enemies. The armor might be better on a roaming support Kunkka however.
Generally, the extra health regeneration is a stronger talent, as it will help to sustain your health throughout the mid game and will also help to keep you alive during longer team-fights. It works quite well with The Admiral’s Rum, since it delay’s damage, giving you a chance to heal up and effectively negate some of the damage. The extra Torrent damage can be a better alternative if you’re playing against heroes who summon illusions or creeps. It will really help to deal with these kinds of summons, killing them a lot faster.
The extra Strength is usually a much stronger talent. It provides about 550 additional health, and 25 damage in addition to some other minor bonuses. The extra Torrent AoE is generally not as impactful because it isn’t really that strong. It can be good against illusions or creeps, but at this point in the game, Kunkka should rely mostly on Tidebringer for damage. The extra AoE for the disable isn’t really needed because you can more or less reliably land Torrent through an X Marks the Spot combo.
The Ghostship Fleet talent spawns 3 Ghostships, 2.8 seconds apart. This talent choice is a bit harder than the previous choices. The Fleet can be very powerful if you have other heroes on your team who can keep enemies stunned or slowed while the next Ghostship travels. It can also be good if you need more disables, since it will continuously stun and deal damage to all enemies in the area of effect. However, it can be quite easy to move out of the way of. The Ships will give your allies more chances to gain The Admiral’s Rum buff which can also be very powerful in the late game.
If you have lots of damage items, such as multiple Daedaluses, then the reduced Tidebringer cooldown will probably help you more, as it can massively increase your damage output. However, it can also be quite hard to safely use Tidebringer, since you may be relying on casting X Marks the Spot on yourself to allow you to get close enough to attack enemies without dying. In this case, the reduced cooldown may not help, since you would be waiting for X Marks the Spot rather than the Tidebringer cooldown.
Kunkka’s laning phase in Dota 2 esports is quite strong. He has good damage, respectable armor, and very high strength gain. Tidebringer also allows him to harass his opponent very effectively and secure last-hits by hitting the nearest creep, meaning he doesn’t always have to commit to moving very close to the creep-wave to get a last-hit. Nonetheless, he greatly benefits from a Stout Shield, since he is likely to take a lot of right-click damage. A Quelling Blade can be good since it helps him to farm creeps in the early and mid game. Basic health regen such as shared Tangos and Faerie Fire is usually all that’s needed for a mid lane Kunkka, but you may need a Healing Salve against an opponent who can deal a lot of damage. Iron Branches can be built into a Magic Wand and can also be used to double the regen of a Tango.
A Bottle is a great item on Kunkka, especially when laned mid. It can be used to help you deal with harass damage and to keep your mana topped up so that you can use your spells to easily get kills in the early game. Kunkka can also very easily control the runes since Tidebringer is excellent at pushing the lane out before they spawn, and Torrent can be used to contest runes. Having a source of mana regen will also allow you to cast Torrent to harass your opponent during the laning phase. Runes are also very strong on Kunkka, since he has very high kill-potential, and runes make it even easier for him to get kills. If you have lots of mana regeneration on your team and if you aren’t taking much harass damage in your lane, you don’t have to get a Bottle every game.
Phase Boots are the standard boots of choice for Kunkka. This is because they suit many of his needs and benefit him in many more ways than any alternatives. The extra movement speed can help him to position himself for Tidebringers and close the gap for an X Marks the Spot combo and can also help him to escape bad situations while he is buffed by The Admiral’s Rum. The extra damage makes his Tidebringer attacks stronger and is generally more helpful than Treads because Kunkka usually only attacks when Tidebringer is ready. On a support or roaming Kunkka, Arcane Boots or Tranquil Boots may also be acceptable.
A Magic Wand is a great item on Kunkka because he has very high solo-kill potential through his low-cooldown ultimate. This means that he can be very active in the early game through ganks and pick-offs, through which he will be able to gain many charges. The burst health and mana regeneration can also help him to survive or turn an engagement in his favor.
An Armlet of Mordiggian is a great item on Kunkka for many reasons. It can be toggled on before attacking with Tidebringer to deal even more damage to enemies while minimizing the amount of drained health, since you don’t need to leave it on to benefit from it as much. Both the passive and active stats all benefit Kunkka greatly as well. In addition, the health drain works quite well with The Admiral’s Rum, since half of the incoming damage is delayed. This makes it much easier for you to armlet toggle when on low health to survive dangerous situations. When activated, Kunkka will gain an additional 65 damage, which in itself makes it the most cost-effective item to buy on Kunkka just for damage in the early and mid game.
A Drum of Endurance is a bit less common on Kunkka since it generally isn’t needed. However, it can be very strong and provide Kunkka with many benefits in the early game in some situations. It’s mainly purchased for the active ability which will allow you to out-run or chase down faster opponents. Consider purchasing a Drum if you’re playing against enemies with slows or who move faster than most heroes.
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@ Steam Workshop
Shadow Blade is a very popular item on Kunkka, but it’s generally not necessarily a core item. When attacking to break invisibility, you will deal an extra 175 damage which is applied to all enemies affected by Tidebringer. This is very appealing, and when combined with the extra mobility and survivability which the invisibility provides, a Shadow Blade can seem like a very good item to get on Kunkka. And while it certainly can be strong in many games, it’s quite an expensive item and not very efficient on Kunkka in general. The passive damage is quite small and the attack speed isn’t very effective. Silver Edge is also not very good on Kunkka because he usually doesn’t want to get close to the enemy carry to break them and disable their passives.
Overall, it can be a good item, but it doesn’t scale into the late game very well. If you’re doing very well and can get it quite early, it can help you to dominate the mid game. Otherwise, a Blink Dagger is usually more effective. Consider also purchasing a Heaven’s Halberd if you’re playing against a very aggressive carry.
A Heaven’s Halberd can be a great item on Kunkka. It provides a large amount of strength and a fair amount of damage. The evasion and active disarm is incredibly powerful against aggressive carries who can kill you if they get on top of you. Heroes such as Huskar and Phantom Assassin can quickly close the gap against you and can often be a significant threat. Having a Heaven’s Halberd will prevent these heroes from bursting you down, giving you a chance to turn an engagement or escape a bad situation.
A Daedalus is an absolute necessity on Kunkka in order to climb Dota 2 ranks. It’s important to not get too many mid game items, as doing so will delay your Crystalys/Daedalus and will negatively impact your potential damage output. It provides a massive damage increase on Kunkka and works excellently with Tidebringer. In general, you should get one mid game item before at least getting a Crystalys. If you find that you really need a Heaven’s Halberd or Blink Dagger in addition to what you already have purchased, you can finish the Daedalus afterwards. In the late game, you should purchase a second Daedalus. This increases your chance to crit and will increase your damage output considerably.
A Blink Dagger is a very powerful item on Kunkka in almost every game. In general, you should choose between a Shadow Blade or a Blink Dagger since they largely serve the same purpose. A Blink Dagger is so powerful on Kunkka because you can use X Marks the Spot on yourself and blink into position for a devastating Tidebringer without having to worry about getting caught out. In most games, it can be incredibly risky to move in and out of fights to use Tidebringer effectively, especially if you are carrying one or more Divine Rapiers. Having a Blink Dagger makes doing so much safer.
Kunkka is one of the strongest Rapier carriers in the game. With two Daedaluses, you will be able to crit an immense amount of damage and will potentially be able to one-shot entire enemy teams through a lucky crit. A Divine Rapier is somewhat risky in many games, but it’s generally quite safe to get it on Kunkka if you have a Blink Dagger since he can still contribute a lot to a fight even if you just X Marks yourself, blink in and get a big Tidebringer hit off. Enemies will generally have a hard time to catch you unless they have many highly mobile heroes. In the very late game, if you find yourself still struggling to burst down enemies in fights, it can be a very good idea to get more than one Rapier.
Boots of Travel is a late game upgrade to your Boots which you should get in almost every game. It can be very easy to keep the side-lanes pushed out by teleporting to a creep-wave after using X Marks the Spot on yourself and clearing it with one Tidebringer. It’s usually safer to do so by teleporting to the creep-wave behind the one farthest ahead and catching up to the creep-wave by Blinking after it. They have a fairly long cooldown, and in the downtime it can be a good idea to replace them with a damage item. However, even at the late game, the movement speed makes it much easier to position yourself for Tidebringer.
A Black King Bar is a more situational item on Kunkka but it can be very strong in many situations. It can prevent enemies from disabling you in team-fights or bringing you down with excessive magical damage. It can also be strong against enemies who can make you invulnerable. This is because if they manage to time their spells well, they will be able to prevent you from using X Marks the spot on yourself. This is rarely the sole reason to purchase it, but it can be another good reason. Combined with The Admiral’s Rum, Kunkka can be very hard to bring down.
A Linken’s Sphere can be a great item to get on Kunkka. It provides some good stats and helpful regen, and a very powerful spell block. This can be incredibly powerful against heroes with strong single-target disables. Kunkka relies a lot on positioning, and if you’re playing against heroes who can forcibly reposition you or effectively remove you from a fight, then you may strongly benefit from a Linken’s Sphere.
An Aeon Disk is a far more situational item on Kunkka, but it can be good. If you’re playing against heroes who can disable you and burst you down very quickly, then an Aeon Disk will give you a small window through which you may be able to escape a bad situation. In most cases, getting caught out would result in your death, but there may be certain situations, where having an Aeon Disk would make a significant difference in saving your life.
A Monkey King Bar is quite a situational item on Kunkka. It generally is not needed because Kunkka mostly deals damage through Tidebringer which does not miss. In some games, you may find that you are able to safely attack an enemy with evasion with your regular attacks. It also provides a fair amount of damage, and the accuracy also allows you to potentially cast Tidebringer off of enemies who have evasion. This is because although the splash damage from Tidebringer cannot miss, the attack which causes it can, which in turn will result in no splash effect.
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Silencer is quite a strong hero against Kunkka because he can use his ultimate ability to mess up Kunkka’s combo and can also help to save an ally who has been initiated upon by an X Marks the Spot.
Phoenix’s ultimate is quite strong against Kunkka because it makes it hard for Kunkka to bring him down with his combos, since he can use Supernova before X Marks the Spot is triggered. Kunkka also relies on positioning and generally does not build items which increase his attack speed which makes it hard for him to destroy the Supernova.
Heroes with magic immunity are naturally very strong against Kunkka because they are practically immune to his spell combo. Try to bait out their spells which provide magic immunity or use your combo when you know that their spells are on cooldown.
Heroes who can make either themselves or enemies invulnerable can potentially use their spells to cancel the effects of X Marks the Spot if timed well. This can be used both defensively by casting it on themselves or their ally and it can also be used offensively by catching Kunkka out if he X Marks himself. It can be quite hard to time it when casting it on Kunkka because he has 8 seconds to pull himself back which is longer than any disables, so they would need to time it towards the end of the 8 seconds. As Kunkka, you need to beware of what spells the enemy heroes have not used yet and if they can cancel your defensive X Marks the Spot.
Any hero who can summon illusions or spawn creeps are relatively easy for Kunkka to deal with due to Tidebringer. It can be a good idea to get Boots of Travel a bit earlier against heroes like Broodmother or Nature’s Prophet as you can very easily repel their pushes, especially when you get a couple of damage items. Torrent and Ghostship are also very easy to land on illusion and creep heroes since they have a very wide area of effect.
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