Clockwerk

Rattletrap the Clockwerk is a melee strength hero renowned as one of the most well-rounded initiator-gankers in the game. His wide array of disables allows Rattletrap to cause chaos among the enemy and break up their formation, giving his team a powerful advantage in any fight. Battery Assault allows Clockwerk to inflict repeated damage ticks and mini-stuns on nearby enemies, allowing him to constantly hinder any enemies he manages to get close to and single out. He can also disrupt enemy movement and pen in foes with his Power Cogs, which induces an electric shock to foes outside, stunning them while damaging them and burning their mana, and can render enemies caught inside helpless. His damage nuke, Rocket Flare, gives him global nuking power that also provides scouting vision for him and his team. Finally, his ultimate, Hookshot, allows Rattletrap to instantaneously stun a foe at long range and quickly close the gap between them, making him a very strong ganker. Few can escape Clockwerk once he has his sights locked in, and his machinations make him a powerful ally to have on any team.

Recommended items
Starting items:
 * and give Clockwerk enough basic lane survivability through health regen. Depending on how much harass is expected in the off-lane, more than one Tango may be advised.
 * gives Clockwerk protection against harassment in-lane, as he is a melee hero who must walk within range to get last-hits.
 * es are cheap and give Clockwerk stats in all categories, giving him more HP, some armor and attack speed, and mana.

Early game:
 * early on give Clockwerk enough movement speed to evade ganks by the enemy's supports. They also allow him to chase with and get early kills against squishy supports if he can single them out.
 * gives Clockwerk useful stats, especially strength for more HP and base damage. The additional HP helps him to survive enemy nukes and attacks when initiating.
 * is important on Clockwerk given his mobility, ability to roam around and gank targets, and small mana pool. As he can pick up runes while roaming, the regen lets him stay out on the field without having to return to base as often, allowing him to accomplish more for his team.
 * can be a useful item to purchase on Clockwerk during the laning stage, as his low base intelligence means that its flat mana regen benefits him disproportionately. The extra armor also gives him more survivability, and the extra damage helps with last-hitting. It can be disassembled to build other items using the components, or built into a Vladmir's Offering.
 * is a very useful utility item on a roaming Clockwerk in place of a Bracer. The strength gives him more HP and base damage, while the mana regen helps with his casting. The active can be used to deal more damage to an enemy during a gank, or heal yourself or allies afterward.

Core items:
 * give Clockwerk more mobility, allowing him to get in position to cast his spells or chase an enemy more easily with Battery Assault. The extra damage also lets him last-hit more easily, and deal more damage to enemies penned in by
 * can be useful to pick up on Clockwerk depending on your build. Being able to switch attributes can allow Clockwerk to take better advantage of Bottle, and reduces the mana cost of his spells while also allowing him to give himself more HP during initiations. As well, the increased attack speed helps with his right-click damage output in teamfights or while farming.
 * can be useful to purchase on a utility Clockwerk who is dependent on casting spells and using item abilities. Clockwerk's main weakness is his small mana pool, so alleviating that allows him to cast his spells more often.
 * gives Clockwerk some stats, and allows him to replenish some HP and mana instantly. The former is useful for giving him more HP after casting to initiate on the enemy, extending his survivability, while the latter can give him enough mana to cast any of his spells in an emergency.
 * is arguably Clockwerk's most important item. The armor gives him more survivability against physical damage when initiating with Hookshot, the intelligence gives him a bigger mana pool to cast spells, and the damage gives him more damage output. The active allows him to use his HP pool offensively by punishing the enemy for focusing him, and can buy him survivability if the enemy avoids targeting him while the item is active.
 * should always be carried by all heroes. Clockwerk's initiating power is useful at all times in teamfights, ganks and counter-ganks.

Situational items:
 * can be bought when necessary, as Clockwerk is not extremely reliant on items.
 * is ideal for ganking invisible enemies, as Clockwerk's close promixity after initiation guarantees the debuff will be applied without guesswork. Remember that cannot hit invisible enemies.
 * significantly reduces Hookshot's cooldown, and gives him stats across the board. The reduced cooldown allows Clockwerk to use his ultimate tactically, as he can cast it multiple times in a single teamfight.
 * gives Clockwerk stats across the board, generally increasing his survivability as well as ability to cast spells. The movement speed aura also makes him more mobile, allowing him to position for spells or chase more easily.
 * is a very good item to get on Clockwerk as it increases his survivability during initiations. As Clockwerk is already very resistant against magic nukes, the damage block makes him quite tough against physical attacks as well, and the HP regen allows him to maintain his HP pool in the field, meaning less returns to base.
 * gives Clockwerk an extra tool for more mobility on top of the highly beneficial intelligence, allowing him to quickly close the gap to cast Power Cogs or Battery Assault, or escape from unpleasant situations. Its most powerful use is to allow Clockwerk to escape from inside his own Power Cogs without having to destroy them, allowing him to trap dangerous melee enemies inside that could otherwise tear him apart with right-clicks.
 * drastically increases Clockwerk's mobility and gives him yet more initiating power. Clockwerk can blink on top of enemies to initiate rather than using Hookshot, or use the blink to quickly re-position himself for a clear line of fire for Hookshot.
 * gives Clockwerk stats across the board, additional armor, and a way to heal himself and his team, especially after using Hookshot to initiate. However, its high mana cost means that you should increase the size of your mana pool if you want to build this item.
 * is a useful survivability and aura item that can give Clockwerk's team an edge in fights. The armor aura increases Clockwerk's survivability, and the mana regen and lifesteal can allow him to roam over extended periods of time without returning to base for HP or mana.
 * gives Clockwerk a powerful amount of utility for a cheap support item. The extra movement speed helps Clockwerk to chase down enemies with Battery Assault, and the intelligence and mana regen allow him to cast his spells much more often. The active adds yet another disable to Clockwerk's repertoire, allowing him to disable another enemy after a Hookshot initiation or stopping someone in their tracks so that you can walk over and surround them with Power Cogs. As well, the active can be used on Clockwerk himself to give him temporary invulnerability while at the same time removing debuffs.
 * is extremely strong on Clockwerk, as it serves many of the same purposes as Blade Mail. It gives Clockwerk regen and armor, increasing his durability and staying power. The active can be cast during Hookshot-Cog initiations to use the enemy's targeted spells against them if they decide to attempt to focus Clockwerk down.
 * is a good utility upgrade from Vanguard, as it gives Clockwerk additional armor for a modest buildup. The active can greatly help your team in fights, and drastically increases Clockwerk's survivability against physical damage during initiations.
 * is a good utility item that increases Clockwerk's initiating power. Besides the stats and armor, Clockwerk is uniquely qualified to use the item's active ability as he will often find himself right in the middle of the enemy after Hookshotting in, allowing him to apply the magic resistance debuff to the enemy team and making his team's magic nukes hit for more, as well as those of Clockwerk himself.
 * has strong synergy with Clockwerk. Using the item after initiating on an enemy with Hookshot and Power Cogs can trap them inside the barrier with you and two summons that help to deal additional damage, on top of providing True Sight within the area once it is upgraded. It also provides strength and intelligence to Clockwerk, giving him more HP and mana.
 * is a strong boots item that gives Clockwerk strong survivability if upgraded from a Mekansm and Arcane Boots. The aura gives him increased survivability when initiating with Hookshot-Cog, particularly once its bonuses increase when his health drops below a certain threshold, and the self-dispel can remove debuffs from him, increasing his survivability.
 * allows Clockwerk to shield himself and his team from magical nukes, and gives him significantly more survivability after initiating with Hookshot as he can resist enemy magic nukes more easily.
 * greatly increases Clockwerk's HP pool and gives him some base damage. The greatly increased durability allows him to initiate without fear of being quickly destroyed by the enemy, which can allow him to make full use of his disables in a teamfight.
 * allows Clockwerk to inflict burn damage to the enemy during Hookshot initiations, as well as when chasing enemies down with Battery Assault. The induced miss chance also gives him and his team increased survivability against physical attacks, as all enemies affected by the burn will miss some of their attacks no matter who the attacks are directed at.
 * increases the size of Clockwerk's mana pool, allowing him to cast spells more often, and greatly increases his survivability against physical damage. The active can be cast prior to using Hookshot, instantly applying the nuke damage and slow to the entire enemy team upon reaching your destination.

Trivia

 * One of Clockwerk's death animations is a reference to the movie Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
 * An old competitive strategy that was used in DotA was sending a rocket flare over to the enemy fountain, and having teleport to the enemy base and snipe the courier. This tactic has long been discontinued due to triggers being implemented to stop it.
 * The line " Ratt death 05.mp3 I'm lost... like gears in the rain." (death line) is a reference to the movie Blade Runner.
 * The line " Ratt spawn 02.mp3 Some assembly required" (spawn line) is a reference to a song of the same name composed by Mike Morasky, for the game Portal 2, another game made by Valve.
 * The line " Ratt respawn 16.mp3 I'm the six million gold piece man!" (respawn line) is a reference to the American television series The Six Million Dollar Man.
 * The line " Ratt move 24.mp3 The turtle wins the race" (move line) is a reference to one of Zeno's Paradoxes named Achilles and the tortoise.