Kunkka/Guide

Carry
Kunkka is usually played as a carry. Using as his main source of damage, he must build items like  and  to keep up with other carries. Due to Tidebringer's splash damage, farming is fairly easy for Kunkka. This build also allows for ganking with, which greatly increases Tidebringer's damage.

Support
Kunkka is sometimes played as a support or utility hero. In this role, he uses to catch fleeing enemies, and  as a form of initiation. With this build, 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. It is also possible to transition into a semi-carry if the game goes on long enough.

General

 * Kunkka's abilities work best when the enemy team is clumped together. Time your ability usage accordingly.
 * 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.


 * Torrent 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.
 * Torrent has a very long range for an area stun, and can be used to predict and pick off fleeing enemies.
 * 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.


 * Tidebringer 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.
 * Using Tidebringer frequently in-lane is a good way to harass a lane opponent safely from range, but 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 that 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.


 * X Marks the Spot is a flexible spell that can be cast on enemies and allies alike to return them to their point of origin after a delay.
 * X Marks the Spot counters enemy heroes with great mobility since the ability forcibly drag them back after enemy moves away and his or her abilities are on cooldown.
 * 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.
 * When being chased, X Marks the Spot can be used to return the chasing enemy to an early and more distant location.
 * 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.


 * Ghostship is a wide-area magic nuke that deals significant damage in its impact area and buffs allies that it passes through on the way.
 * 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. Also remember to walk back and cast the spell if the target is marked at a closer distance.
 * Ghostship's cooldown is pretty short compared to other ultimate ability. After Kunkka kills a hero with all him abilities, his ultimate will be ready in less than a minute.
 * 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.
 * 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.
 * Although it is not obvious, 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 that are already very damage-resistant.
 * The Rum buff lasts only 10 seconds. If your team can't finish the fight in 10 seconds and the enemy teams has DoT abilities such as or, consider retreating after or even before the Rum buff dissipates.

Items
Starting items:
 * is very useful on Kunkka as his spells are all very mana-costly. Being able to use more than once without running completely out of mana greatly increases his ability to lock down foes and score early kills.
 * and Healing Salve are basic regen requirements in all lanes but mid. Having flexible regen allows Kunkka to remain in lane without being harassed out.
 * increase Kunkka's base damage and HP, giving him more resilience and last-hitting power.
 * 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.

Early game:
 * are important on all heroes, but can be quite important on Kunkka for getting in position to cast on foes at early levels.
 * is useful on all heroes. On Kunkka, it can help alleviate his mana issues by giving him some burst mana regen for casting his spells.
 * 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.
 * 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.

Core items:
 * are the best boots for Kunkka, as they give him bonus damage with which he can last-hit more easily, as well as increasing the effectiveness of . The active also increases his mobility, allowing him to more easily get into position to cast his spells.
 * is powerful for all the same reasons as Magic Stick, 255 burst HP regen is very powerful and 255 burst mana is enough to allow Kunkka to cast any of his spells.
 * is a very powerful initiating item to get on Kunkka, as it allows him to inflict an additional 175 damage to the entire enemy team when combined with Tidebringer. As well, it can be used for mobility or escape as demanded.
 * gives Kunkka stats and bonus movement speed.
 * is mandatory on all heroes. On Kunkka, it can be used to show up to teamfights, and in clutch situations be used after casting X Marks the Spot on yourself to temporarily relocate yourself to another part of the map.

Situational items:
 * increases the cleave percentage of Tidebringer, while also adding a cleave that can be used while Tidebringer is on cooldown. It also gives Kunkka good health and mana regeneration, allowing him to remain out in the field for longer without returning to base.
 * is useful both for increasing Kunkka's survivability and damage output, especially in situations where the enemy is trying to lock Kunkka down to prevent him from casting his spells.
 * is an extremely powerful damage item in the hands of Kunkka, who can additionally benefit from building more than one to increase the proc chance. If his damage is high enough and he procs a crit alongside Tidebringer, Kunkka can potentially slay multiple enemy heroes with a single slash of his sword.
 * provides some Strength and evasion, and allows you to disarm the enemy's carry in a teamfight. It is useful for giving Kunkka some damage alongside survivability against physical damage.
 * reduces enemy armor, allowing you and your allies to deal more damage, while giving an armor and attack speed boost at the same time. While it lacks synergy with your spells and abilities, the aura it provides should never be underestimated.
 * provides a lot of extra health and regeneration, and helps Kunkka recover from fights almost immediately. It's especially useful if you're always being focused in teamfights. As well, the additional base damage can help you inflict damage with Tidebringer as it can be augmented by percentage-based damage buffs from certain allies.
 * adds more strength to Kunkka, giving more attack damage and a potential slow to proc on an attack. The Break component of Silver Edge can make killing certain enemy heroes easier, such as Phantom Assassin or Viper.
 * , 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.
 * 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.
 * 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.
 * 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.