Kunkka

Kunkka the Admiral is a versatile melee strength hero built with an arsenal of powerful area-of-effect spells. Two of his active spells are nukes that have long reaction times, but can disable and disrupt the enemies' position. He is mostly played as a carry or an initiator or even a spell nuker. He is known for his Tidebringer sword, which magically gives him the ability to cleave a large area around him on his attack with heavy potential damage on his next attack, which refreshes at a given period of time. Torrent calls upon the element of water to rise and burst out, dealing damage, disabling them up high, and slowing them on impact. There's a delay on this ability before it activates, so Kunkka must be wise in using this ability. X Marks the Spot targets any hero or Admiral himself to be marked on their current position, and after a few seconds delay, instantly returns to the marked spot. Useful in setting up tricky spells, escape prevention, or even saving allies, X Marks the Spot makes the Admiral a great battle strategist. His ultimate lets him summon a Ghostship, which travels on ground, until it crashes a set distance away, stunning and damaging enemy armies on that location. The Ghostship also bolsters allies with Kunkka's Rum, granting them bonus movement speed and temporary numbness to damage. Ghostship is difficult to land, due to the fixed distance of its cast point and the crash site of the ship. However, a good Ghostship absolutely cripples an enemy team. Capable of inflicting high burst damage with his spells, controlling their position while able to survive the mayhem when his spells are used properly, Kunkka is a mighty offensive team fighter, built with strong physical and magical damage output, who can indeed turn the tide of a battle.

Tips

 * Kunkka's abilities work best when the enemy team is clumped together. Time your ability usage accordingly.
 * Kunkka's skill set allows him to be played in a myriad of ways. Played as a carry, Kunkka can focus on building raw damage items and inflict massive area damage with his spells and Tidebringer. Played as a support/utility, Kunkka can focus on increasing the size of his mana pool and using his spells to lock down enemies and dealing large amounts of magical damage over wide swathes of area.
 * In general, carry Kunkka can be placed either mid or in the safe lane. As a mid, Kunkka should focus on getting early levels and harassing down the enemy's mid with Tidebringer, then using his spells to get early kills and farm his core items.
 * allows Kunkka to target an area where, after a delay, any enemies in the area will be stunned, and then damaged and slowed.
 * Due to its delay, Torrent can be very hard to land and is very mana-costly on a hero with a small mana pool. Good prediction or a leading stun is required to land it properly.
 * Kunkka makes a very visible hand gesture when casting Torrent, which opponents can easily see and use to gauge the timing in which Torrent was cast so that they can dodge it. When casting Torrent on an enemy without a leading disable, try to either cancel your animation in order to fool the enemy if they can see you, or cast it from the fog of war by taking advantage of its extremely long cast range.
 * Unlike most other spells in the game, Torrent does not require Kunkka to face in the direction that he casts the spell, preventing enemies from easily predicting the location in which the waterspout will appear. This also allows Kunkka to get the spell off a bit faster, as he will not have to turn to face the target area first. Try to be tricky with where you cast Torrent if Kunkka is visible to the enemy, and remember not to target it outside the spell's cast range, otherwise Kunkka will have to turn and walk within range to cast, allowing the enemy to easily see what direction Torrent is being cast in.
 * Torrent can be more easily landed if X Marks the Spot is used first. By inflicting X on the enemy, and then casting Torrent on that spot, you can force the enemy to return right before Torrent completes. However, mind the cast range of X Marks the Spot, as it is very low at early levels, and be sure that your timing is perfect otherwise the enemy may arrive after the torrent or have time to evade it after returning.
 * Combined with Tidebringer, Torrent can be used to lock down a foe long enough for you to maneuver into a position favourable to hit them or their teammates with cleave damage.
 * Torrent can also be used to stack a neutral camp, if timed properly. This is because the units, while thrown into the air, are technically not within the camp's spawn radius, and so new creeps will spawn. This should be utilized either to grant Kunkka's teammates a higher gold per minute, or to increase his own. Torrent should be cast at approximately the XX:57.5 second mark.
 * is a castable attack modifier that allows Kunkka to deal cleave damage in a wide area in front of him, giving him a damage bonus with each strike.
 * Because Tidebringer can only proc once every few seconds, it is recommended to build raw damage over attack speed. Getting a good Tidebringer cleave off can potentially kill enemy heroes in a single attack if Kunkka has enough damage.
 * Beware that while using Tidebringer frequently in-lane is a good way to harass a lane opponent safely from range, it will also push the creep wave and can reduce Kunkka's ability to farm safely. Conversely though, it is also a good lane pusher when playing mid, as it can force the enemy mid to retreat to their tower when the runes spawn, allowing Kunkka and his team to more easily control the rune spots.
 * Remember that Tidebringer does not work against wards and buildings, and that leaving it on auto-cast can cause it to proc before it is needed. Try to manually cast Tidebringer whenever possible, so as not to waste its attack power and so that it is readily available should a cleave opportunity arise.
 * When set on auto-cast, Kunkka retains the damage bonus when attacking allied units, even though the spell does not proc. This can give Kunkka an advantage in denying creeps, however be sure to turn off auto-cast so that you do not accidentally proc the spell when attacking an enemy creep afterward.
 * Cleave ignores armor on the splashed targets, and the cleave damage is based on Kunkka's attack damage rather than any damage dealt to the unit that was attacked. Therefore, when using Tidebringer, it is best to attack a nearby creep to inflict cleave on all enemies behind it.
 * Remember that Tidebringer's cleave has a very long range. Angled properly, it is possible to hit enemies through the fog of war, and even through invisibility, making it a powerful ability for killing fleeing enemy heroes who are low on health. It is best to use a nearby enemy creep, or even one from a neutral camp, in order to splash the damage in the direction of your choosing.
 * is a flexible spell that can be cast on enemies and allies alike to return them to their point of origin after a delay.
 * Used on enemies, X can be used to prevent escapes and lock down foes for your spells and those of your allies. Used on allies, it gives them a safe method of return if they are disabled while initiating. However, remember that Return still requires Kunkka to execute his cast animation, so the target will return to the X 0.4 seconds after Kunkka is commanded to.
 * X's principal utility is in locking down a target so that they can be hit by Torrent and Ghostship, both of which are otherwise hard to land. The same applies to teammates with similarly hard to land spells such as, , and so on. Good timing is required to do so, however, as returning the target before the spell hits gives them time to evade, while returning them after will result in a clean miss.
 * X Marks the Spot has a very short cast range at level 1, making it hard to land on an enemy during a gank. However, it lasts for the full 4 seconds at all levels so managing to cast the spell will give your team a large amount of time to set up for the return.
 * There is no maximum limit on X's return range, so it can bring its target back to the origin even after teleporting across the map. As such, it can be used on a foe who is attempting to teleport back to their base, or on an ally to get back to base to grab items from the stash or refill a Bottle and then return. Kunkka has to cast X on himself before he starts teleporting to make use of this trick.
 * X Marks the Spot lasts twice as long on allies. This gives it very powerful utility since an ally can have up to 8 seconds to scout, initiate, tower dive, or otherwise harass the enemy and be pulled back to safety.
 * Beware, X Marks the Spot cannot pull back invulnerable allied units. This means that certain abilities are able to interrupt an allied X, so be sure that you know what the enemy's capabilities are, as you can return a teammate early before they are inflicted with invulnerability, or hold back the return until after.
 * Conversely though, allies who are spell immune will still be pulled back. Therefore, if trouble is encountered, they can apply spell immunity to themselves in order to prevent themselves from being disabled, and still have a way with which they can return.
 * One useful way to gauge the timing of X Marks the Spot is to use the triplets from the spell's sound effect. Each ascending triplet marks one second of the spell's duration, so knowing the timing of any disables waiting at the return spot can allow Kunkka to pull enemies back in a timely manner. Again, remember that the target is returned on a 0.4 second delay due to Kunkka's cast animation, so be mindful of that as well.
 * is a wide-area magic nuke that deals significant damage in its impact area and buffs allies that it passes through on the way.
 * While its cooldown is quite short, Ghostship is very mana-costly, especially on a hero with a small mana pool like Kunkka. Additionally, its long delay means that landing the spell requires a large amount of crowd control or the element of surprise.
 * Like Torrent, Ghostship can benefit from being set up with X Marks the Spot in order to lock down a foe prior to casting. Because X Marks the Spot's maximum cast range at level 4 exactly matches the impact distance of Ghostship, the two spells work extremely well together.
 * Ghostship will always appear a specific distance behind Kunkka and end a specific distance in front of Kunkka, taking a specific amount of time to do so. The distance at which the boat appears and hits can be seen by hovering over the ability and noting the radius circle. You can also just cast it from outside Kunkka's range as to make him move into range and ensure that the Ghostship will land to where you targeted it.
 * The Rum buff is a very powerful ability that should never be discounted. Any allies with the Rum buff will take half damage from all enemy damage sources for its duration, and can never be killed by the remainder once the buff wears off. This allows allies to absorb up to twice the normal amount of damage and still survive, making it extremely powerful on tanky heroes who are already very damage-resistant.
 * Due to his flexibility, Kunkka can benefit from building various types of items. He benefits from the following as a carry:
 * is a useful consumable to purchase as a mid Kunkka. The damage bonus gives him last-hitting power and allows him to splash more damage on his lane opponent with Tidebringer, and consuming it can give him some last-second burst HP regen that can save him during enemy gank attempts.
 * is effectively mandatory if Kunkka is to be played mid. A Bottle is extremely useful for replenishing Kunkka's small mana pool, and can be easily replenished using X and a teleport to base.
 * , combined with X Marks the Spot, greatly extends Kunkka's reach when attacking with Tidebringer, and is useful no matter what role he plays. He can X himself and then blink forward, casting any spells or attacking with Tidebringer, and then returning to safety. Used by itself, Kunkka can instantly position himself in the best location from which to cleave the enemy, or jump within range to cast X on a foe during an initiation.
 * frees up an item slot for Kunkka, giving him room to build another major item if needed, and allows him to use X for temporary returns to base without using 75 gold each time. The ability to globally re-position is also very powerful, and the enhanced movement speed gives him better positioning, chasing and escaping ability.
 * improves Kunkka's stats across the board and greatly improves the utility of Ghostship. Because the boat will spawn directly on Kunkka and drag any nearby enemies, it can immediately place the Rum buff on Kunkka and create distance between him and any nearby opponents. Most importantly, halving the impact delay allows Kunkka to use the spell more effectively and greatly improves the odds of landing a successful boat.
 * is highly situational and very risky, but extremely powerful in Kunkka's hands. Combined with Tidebringer and a Daedalus, Kunkka can deal tremendous amounts of cleave damage and potentially wipe the entire enemy team under the right circumstances.
 * While not traditionally played as a utility/support, Kunkka's powerful nuking and disabling ability allows him to be played in a manner that does not build around increasing the power of Tidebringer.
 * allows Kunkka to dip into his HP pool for casting spells. As his small mana pool is otherwise his greatest limitation, a Soul Ring can remove that limitation and allow him to be more active on the map.
 * gives Kunkka a measure of mana regen and some more HP and base damage, enhancing his power as a roamer-disabler. The item's active can be used to heal yourself or teammates, or add more damage in a gank.
 * are useful for allowing Kunkka to cast his spells without limit due to the greatly increased mana pool, and the ability to replenish his and allies' mana as needed.
 * augments the hitting power of all of Kunkka's magic spells, as well as providing him with more stats and armor, particularly intelligence to boost his mana pool. It is a useful pickup if your team has other casters who can also benefit from the magic resistance reduction on enemy targets.
 * gives Kunkka stats across the board, as well as armor. While very mana-costly, using it alongside Ghostship will allow allies to take up to an additional 500 more damage due to the Rum buff, rather than just 250.
 * boosts Kunkka's casting power, making all of his nukes much more formidable. It improves Kunkka's mana pool while also providing HP regen to keep his health topped up. The increased casting range on all of his spells allows him to get off disables and nukes from farther away, while the spell damage amplification improves the damage they deal.
 * is a good mid-game utility item. Its aura provides armor, HP and mana regen, bonus damage and lifesteal to Kunkka and all nearby allies, giving them a useful edge in teamfights. It is very strong when combined with Ghostship's Rum buff, as the armor and lifesteal auras' effectiveness are doubled due to the reduced damage that teammates are taking.
 * is a powerful utility item for Kunkka. It gives him more mobility and a sustainable mana pool, and the active can be used to instantly disable an enemy to set up for Torrent. Most importantly though, the active used on yourself can give you temporary invulnerability if the enemy jumps on you, remove debuffs such as silences from yourself, or stop X Marks the Spot from returning you to your origin if you need to remain at your destination for any reason.
 * helps make Kunkka beefier and gives him a larger mana pool to play with. The active can drastically slow an enemy from a very long range, allowing you to set them up for an easy Torrent or Ghostship.
 * can be a powerful purchase to enhance Kunkka's survivability. The armor, HP and damage block all work to give Kunkka great resistance against physical damage, allowing him to weather attacks and get his spells off in fights more easily. More importantly though, the item's active ability can be used alongside Ghostship's Rum buff to drastically increase your team's survivability during a fight, as any damage the enemy inflicts will be greatly reduced prior to being halved by Rum.
 * works similar to the above, granting Kunkka strong resistance against enemy magic nukes, HP regen that works terrific alongside a Soul Ring, and a magic shell with which to protect teammates in fights. While Barrier is effectively only half as powerful when combined with Ghostship's Rum, it can still make a critical difference during major teamfights.
 * gives Kunkka a larger mana pool as well as additional armor for physical survivability. The aura and active can be used to slow enemies drastically in a fight, making Torrent and Ghostship easier to land as needed.
 * allows Kunkka to combine Arcane Boots and Mekansm into a single item that drastically increases Kunkka's and his team's survivability. Removing the mana cost from Mekansm can reduce the strain on Kunkka's mana pool, while the Guardian Aura greatly improves teammates' survivability at low health through drastically buffing up their HP regen and armor. The active also allows Kunkka to remove debilitating debuffs from himself that may be restricting him from participating in fights effectively.
 * is a powerful casting item, and greatly improves Kunkka's nuking power and survivability. Besides giving Kunkka much more mana and HP, Octarine Core reduces the cooldowns on his spells, allowing all of his basic spells to be brought to bear repeatedly in a single teamfight and even allowing Ghostship to be used tactically. The spell lifesteal also increases Kunkka's survivability, allowing him to maintain his HP with his nukes.

Trivia

 * Kunkka was named in honour of the artist who made numerous pieces of loading screen art for DotA and Dota 2.
 * Kunkka's official alternate/fun names were "Daelin Proudmoore", "CoCo", and "Captain Obvious". Daelin Proudmoore was a campaign boss in Warcraft III: Frozen Throne; his hero model is borrowed by Kunkka in DotA.
 * In his DotA biography, it is stated that some people called him "Jack Sparrow," but it was never seen as his name in-game. Jack Sparrow is the name of the main character in the Pirates of the Carribean movie franchise.
 * His rival hero taunts against, , and , and his allied lines for and , all come from Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
 * His battle begin line kunk battlebegins 02.mp3 "Rough seas ahead, crew. Strap me to the mizzen when I give the word." is likely a reference to The Odyssey, where Odysseus commands his crew to strap him to the mast so he could hear the Sirens sing.