7.24b (Offlane) #1 AXE Guide (Berserker & Standard)

By twitch.tv/stivovic

------------Introduction & Explanation-----------

>> NOTE: This Guide is updated - PATCH 7.23 <<



One of the Best Axe players in the World (Hands Down #1 if you ask me though) has done his community service and did this Guide so you can improve not only on Axe but also in Dota!



Axe has 2 types of styles, one which is 100% all about confidence & momentum which requires you to act accordingly and continously pressure your enemies! (item timings & your lvl 20 timing)

I've named this build "The Berserker" - This build is only recommended in pubs.. If you were to use it in actual TEAM vs TEAM games , you have to know what you're doing..



The other way of playing Axe is the standard Offlane way. You get a blink, you bulk up and grab a few aura items for your team.



You usually just want a Ring of Health, if you can get away with it!.. Then you rush a Blink Dagger or BM and start pressuring your opponents!

A good example of when to rush Blade Mail is when you're against heroes like Faceless Void or Morphling.

Mogul Khan usually needs 2 Mid-Game items (Blink Dagger & Blade Mail) before he comes online. If you fall behind too much you always have to pick up Standard Offlane items.. like Pipe of Insight!



There's a text to all relatable items if you hover your cursor on them.





----------------------How to Lane--------------------





Personally I believe Axe has no real counters besides Viper, but I also know the hero to his limits.. so let's create 2 different scenarios and how you should address to it:

_________

Scenario 1 | CREEP SKIPPING



You're laning against something like Viper+IO or maybe Ursa+Shadow Shaman and laning completely feels impossible and you can't even get lasthits..

At level 1, you buy two set of salves and 6 tangos and pull between tier2 or tier 3 tower. You drag the creeps towards a camp, clear both, Repeat. (EASY as Radiant & HARD as Dire)

Radiant Side farming speed is the fastest in the entire game!.. for the first 5 to 7 minutes of the Game only however.



;: Enemy's Pos 1 will have complete free farm if you do this, even though you might have a good game this is something worth considering :;

_________

Scenario 2 | PRESSURE ENEMY CARRY



If you're laning against anything else, I recommend that you always make sure that your Position 1 has more farm than theirs! How..?...... just OWN THEM!

Axe requires a few techniques to win the lane but the most important one is to have a good "creep" understanding, you always wanna press ATTACK on the enemy carry/support so that the enemy creeps start hitting you while you run back and forth trying to get some spins! You never wanna stand still and auto attack, you always wanna keep moving and throw a few punches perhaps!



Spamming healing salves & tangos are KEY to ensure you win your Lane!



-Level 1 - If you're laning, skill Battle Hunger!

-If you're creep skipping, skill Counter Helix!



So if you feel that you're stronger on the Lane, the item you wanna progress towards first of all are Phase Boots.

If you're creepskipping and focusing on farming, the standard would be: brown boots + Ring of Health.



It's always different what you need to do, I mention at the bottom what heroes that Axe struggle against!

If you're up against Chaos Knight, Viper or Lone Druid, assume that in most games you have to abandon the Lane.





--------Berserker Build & Standard Build-------

7.23 | Neutral Creep items that are good for Axe all have a 1-10 scale added to them!

A faster Blink Dagger is recommended this patch too.



"Starting Items"

>> 2x Ring of Prot, 2x Healing Salves, 6 tangos | ☺ HIGHLY RECOMMENDED ☺

Go creep skip and you guarante yourself that you Farm & if they were to rotate with 2 supports to kill you, you have succesfully created space for your other 2 Cores!



>> 1x Ring of Prot, Quelling Blade, 1x Healing Salve, 6 tangos |☺ 4 SITUATIONAL BUILDS ☺

>> Wind Lace, Quelling Blade, 3 tangos, 1 Iron Branch

>> Orb of Venom, Quelling Blade, 3 tangos

>> Boots of Speed, 3 tangos

Just think about what you need in order to have maximum efficiency.





"Early Game"

>> Phase/Brown Boots, Magic Wand, Wind Lace, Quelling Blade, Ring of Health & hopefully any Tier 1 Jungle Item!



"Early to Mid Game"

>> Alot of Magic = Hood of Defiance & Vanguard = if they have alot of Physical

If neither seems appealing/helpful, stay with Ring of Health(You can make this into Lotus Orb later) and Rush your Dagger into BM!



"Mid Game"

>> Here are your what your items should look like in most scenarios

Phase Boots, Magic Wand, Blade Mail, Vanguard, Hood of Defiance, Blink Dagger



"Mid to Late Game"

>> Alpha Mode: Manta Style (NOTE: Only useful/strong with the momentum that you also hit Level 20 at the same time)

>> Safer Route: Finish Pipe, Crimson & Lotus - if you don't buy them, who will? also BKB is always good. Think what items will increase your team's odds of winning the game.



"Late Game"

>> The Berserker: Travels, Blade Mail, Blink Dagger, Manta Style, Abyssal, BKB (Clarity's needed)

>> The Standard: Travels, Blade Mail, Blink Dagger, Pipe of Insight, Crimson Guard, BKB (If your team needs Lotus you have to ditch either Pipe or Crimson.)



"Adaptability"

>> These item builds are bought in almost every game as Axe, but sometimes you need to think outside the box. Example: Halberd to deal with an OD/Huskar who's on a GODLIKE spree!

Make sure that you do your best to recognize what your winning conditions are - Luckily Axe is very "reliant" on the same items which are: Blink Dagger, Blade Mail and BKB.





---------------------Counters--------------------





Heroes that Axe can struggle against:



Position 5: Shadow Demon, Shadow Shaman, Bane, Undying, Jakiro, Skywrath Mage, Bat Rider

Position 4: Tiny, Grimstroke, QW Invoker, Earth Spirit

Position 3: Timbersaw, Pugna, Pangolier, Omni, Slardar

Position 2: Viper, Venomancer, Necrophos, Huskar, Puck, Death Prophet, Invoker

Position 1: Sven, Lone Druid, Viper & Chaos Knight (Lifestealer, Ursa & MK - can be troublesome if you're not close to skillcap)



Any hero that builds Eul's Scepter is technically a counter to Axe as well - Berserker Call+Blademail+Counterspin doesn't work if you're up in the air chilling with some Seagulls

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If I missed to cover something, I recommend that you figure it out for yourself! I believe in you.



PEACE ♥



/ Stivovic

